Posted in Culinary Events, Dine Out Vancouver, Joyce, News, tagged Announcement, Dine Out Vancouver, Dine Out Vancouver 2017 on February 7, 2017| Leave a Comment »
The official Dine Out Vancouver may have ended on Feb 5, 2017, but some restaurants have decided to offer the Dine Out menus just for a few more days.
Vancouver Aquarium Pop-up Restaurant 2017 Dine Out
Here are their respective extended end date and menu (some are from their own websites; some are from the Dine Out Vancouver website which may get taken down any day now):
Posted in Culinary Events, Dine Out Vancouver, Dinner, Hotel Dining, Joyce, Meat, Restaurants, Seafood, Vancouver, West Coast, tagged Beef Short Rib, Dine Out Vancouver, Dine Out Vancouver 2017, Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, ice cream, ling cod, Mushroom Tart, Notch8 Restaurant & Bar, Savoury Macaron, wagyu beef on February 1, 2017| 1 Comment »
Since the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver renovated the ground floor restaurant space, naming it Notch8 Restaurant, I’ve been wanting to eat there. I really like the big light fixture in the middle of the restaurant (in case you forgot, I’m often fascinated by lights!) and it just looks like a huge upgrade/improvement from what it was before. Then, without much hesitation, I made a reservation there for Dine Out.
Priced at $40, Notch8’s menu was intriguing and interesting. The menu has items or ingredient combinations that you don’t often see on a Dine Out menu, or they have some unique way of preparing the usual ingredients, so I was quite excited going into it.
The dinner was off to a good start. I was immediately blown away by how pretty my appetizer was. Look at this Savoury Macaron! Caviar, smoked salmon, scallop mousse, roe…all sitting on a piece of slightly sweet, slightly chewy macaron cookie. There was a good balance of sweet and savoury, and umami flavours from the seafood. It’s so pretty!!
It was a bit puzzling to us why they would serve the Forest Mushroom Tart on such a big plate, but I guess having negative space on a plate is also a thing. (more…)
Posted in Dine Out Vancouver, Dinner, Joyce, Meat, Restaurants, Seafood, Vancouver, West Coast, Yaletown, tagged Albacore Tuna, Beef Short Rib, beet salad, Chocolate Mousse, Dine Out Vancouver, Dine Out Vancouver 2017, gnocchi, salmon, Seafood Chowder, WildTale, WildTale Coastal Grill, Yaletown on January 17, 2017| 1 Comment »
Did you know WildTale’s Dine Out menu is only $30 this year? When my family and I went there for Dine Out last year it was $40! I was invited to a preview of this year’s menu and I was curious to see how it has changed.
Turns out there are a couple repeating items on the menu, which makes this $30 menu a pretty good deal.
One of the repeating items is the WildTale Seafood Chowder. Well, it’s not entirely the same as last year’s, but the idea is there. The chowder was the most memorable appetizer last year, and this year’s chowder was my favourite appetizer on the menu. It was rich, creamy, flavourful – and the corn and crab fritter was nice and crispy, adding some texture to the soup.
If you look for something lighter in the appetizer, either the Organic Beets & Watercress salad or the Albacore Tuna Carpaccio would make a great option. I love beets, so any beet salad could easily win my heart. These beets were sweet, balanced by the hint of bitterness in watercress. It’s missing some tang and acidity, though – I love me some goat cheese in my beet salad. (more…)
Posted in Culinary Events, Dine Out Vancouver, Dinner, Fine dining, Great Views, Hotel Dining, Joyce, Meat, Media Events, Patio, Restaurants, Salad, Seafood, Vancouver, West Coast, tagged Beef Wellington, Chocolate, crab cakes, Dine Out Vancouver, Dine Out Vancouver 2017, Dockside Restaurant, Duck Prosciutto, Granville Island, Granville Island Hotel, Linguini Alle Vongole, panna cotta on January 11, 2017| Leave a Comment »
Have you checked out the Dine Out Vancouver website yet? Are you doing any prix fixe dinner? I was invited to a tour on the Granville Island to visit some restaurants for their menu preview. First up, Dockside Restaurant at the Granville Island Hotel.
Dockside has been around for a long time. I remember going there for the first time for Dine Out back in 2008, then Christmas brunch with family in 2013, my bridal shower in 2015, then here we are again for Dine Out. Food quality was always solid and we always had a good time.
There are three options for appetizer. First, the Winter Green Salad was so pleasing on the eyes. It’s colourful, with a good variety of vegetables. I like that it uses polenta as croutons; not only does it give a crispy texture, but also creamy, cheesy flavours.
My friend JX loves her crab cakes, and I think she’ll enjoy these Dockside Crab and Shrimp Cakes. Perfect two-bite size, crispy on the outside and meaty inside. Not much filler there. The sweetness of mango salsa and creamy aioli balanced it really nicely.
My favourite appetizer was the Duck Prosciutto Tart. (more…)
Posted in Culinary Events, Dine Out Vancouver, Dinner, Joyce, Lunch, News, Vancouver, tagged Announcement, Dine Out Vancouver, Dine Out Vancouver 2017, News, Tourism Vancouver on January 10, 2017| 4 Comments »
Dine Out Vancouver is back! Running from January 20 to February 5, more than 280 restaurants are offering prix fixe menus and more than 100 food-themed events are planned over this 2-week period.
The 3-course dinner are priced at $20, $30 or $40. Some restaurants are also offering a lunch menu, which could be at a cheaper price point. The menus are now live and reservations are open. Pretty excited about some of the participating restaurants this year. After perusing the menus, here are our suggestions, based on past experience as well as menu attractiveness:
Posted in Chinese, Chopstick Fest, Culinary Events, Dessert, Dinner, Joyce, Restaurants, Richmond, Seafood, tagged 0755 Restaurant & Lounge, Chopstick Fest, Coconut Pudding, Fried Rice, Lobster, Loofah, scallops, spot prawns, Toast Box on October 20, 2016| 1 Comment »
Imagine you arrived at a restaurant where the exterior was all wrapped up so you couldn’t see the inside, and all you could see was the LED marquee sign by the door. Then, as you were led into the restaurant the interior décor made you feel like you entered a night club, and you started thinking to yourself, what the heck did I get myself into?!
That’s kind of how I felt when I went to 0755 Restaurant and Lounge in Richmond. As part of the Chopstick Fest preview, a few of us were invited to sample the menu of this restaurant. Frankly I didn’t know what to expect even by the time we were seated inside.
According to the menu, 0755 is an area code in Shenzhen. It symbolizes that the restaurant menu is inspired by the food culture of this city in Southern China.
And we were all pleasantly surprised. We tried a number of savoury items and there were many high points. Some of my favourites were:
Sour Jellyfish Head – Jellyfish head is actually the edge of a piece of jellyfish, so it has a crunchier texture that regular jellyfish. Because it didn’t have much flavour on its own, it really took up the black vinegar and chili pepper in the marinade. It’s quite refreshing and the sourness helped whet your appetite.
Garlic Steamed Scallop – This is one of my favourite ways to prepare fresh scallops. It reminds me of my visit back to Hong Kong where we had a big seafood feast in Tuen Mun. The fresh scallops would be steamed on the half shell with a garlic sauce. If you are a garlic fan, you would really enjoy the prominent garlic flavour. It’s light, but luxurious at the same time.
Braised Spot Prawns – I usually prefer lighter sauces for spot prawns so I could taste their natural sweetness, but this dish really surprised me.
Posted in Chocolate, Culinary Events, Dessert, Dinner, Fine dining, Food Bloggers, French, Joyce, Meat, Media Events, Restaurants, Seafood, Steak, Taste of Yaletown, Vancouver, Wine Pairing, Yaletown, tagged Bavette Steak, Bouillabaisse, Chocolate Mousse Cake, Gruyere et la Rouille, lemon tart, Provence Marinaside, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Smoked Trout, Steelhead Salmon, Talk Shop Media, Taste of Yaletown on October 17, 2016| 1 Comment »
Taste of Yaletown is back! For the 12th year, 31 restaurants in the Yaletown area are each offering a special menu at $25, $35 or $45. Running from Oct 13 to Oct 27, this event has a “Sharing and Pairing” theme this year. Some menus are created grazing, share-plate style, allowing diners to to share with each other while pairing the food with wine, beer or a cocktail; and with smaller portions it would allow diners to even plan a restaurant hopping experience around the neighbourhood.
As part of the media preview, a number of us were whisked away to one of the participating restaurants. I was lucky enough to sample the menu at Provence Marinaside. It’s been awhile since I last ate there, so I’m glad to go back for a re-visit.
Provence’s Taste of Yaletown menu is $45. To start, you would receive a Provence Tasting Plate. It includes 1) Tomato and Bocconcini Salad; 2) Rustic Country Style Pate; and 3) House Smoked Ruby Red Trout. You can’t go wrong with the classic tomato and bocconcini combination, and the basil added a herbaceous note. The pate was rich and flavourful; the meat had a nice, chunky texture. My favourite, and it’s a close call, was the smoked trout. It was flaky, lightly smoked, and for me it wasn’t fishy at all. I may have a favourite, but honestly I would eat any of the three appies again. And the good news is, you get all three!
For entree, you have three options. We were able to try all three – but the pictures below are not actual portion size so I’ll try to help you visualize the actual portion as best as I can.
The Dijon and Fresh Herb Crusted Lois Lake Steelhead had a nice crispy skin, and the meat was moist and flaky. I personally found the dijon mustard to be a bit overpowering. The beurre blanc was creamy, perfect pairing for the salmon; the warm potato salad was pleasant on the eyes, and on the palate. The actual portion should be about two pieces of salmon on our tasting plate.
The second option is the West Coast Bouillabaisse. (more…)
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