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Archive for the ‘By Invitations’ Category

A Flavourful Journey – Sneak Peek of Interesting Food Products from Indonesia

Posted in By Invitations, Grocery, Joyce, Media Events, Online Store, Product Reviews, Shopping, Snacks, Vancouver, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 30, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Do you sometimes get this giddy feeling when you come across something new and unique, knowing that you’re among the firsts to know about it, and you can’t wait to tell people? I get that when I try a new restaurant, or spot a new product at grocery stores. And I just had a moment like this when I attended a food and beverage product trade show at the Indonesian Trade Promotion Centre in Gastown.

Named “A Flavourful Journey to Indonesia”, the purpose of the event was to provide Canadian businesses with a glimpse of the food and beverage products Indonesia offers, thus bringing these products to Canada and making them available at local retail stores. So naturally, many products I saw at this event are not yet available in Canada, but I had the opportunity to sample them and I seriously hope they will be available here soon.

Here are a few that got me really excited:

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[Dine Out Vancouver 2020] PiDGiN: 6-course menu shared family style #DOVF

Posted in Asian, Beverage, By Invitations, Culinary Events, Dine Out Vancouver, Dinner, French, Fusion, Gastown, Joyce, Restaurants, Vancouver, Vegetarian, Wine Pairing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on January 15, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Where have you booked for Dine Out this year? If you are still deciding, I’m going to start sharing my experiences, whether it’s an invited dinner or out of my own pocket. I was invited as a media to preview the menu at PiDGiN. Their food is a fusion of Asian and French cuisines, and they decorate the interior by rotating artworks by local artists.

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They have designed their $45 DOVF menu to be as close to their regular prix fixe menu as possible, which is a 6-course menu shared family style for a minimum of 2 people. You have the option of an omnivore menu, or a vegetarian one. You can also order drink pairing for an additional $40-50 per person. The Dine Out website didn’t include the vegetarian menu, so I suggest you to visit PiDGiN’s website for the menus, and I’m posting them here as well. Note that the following plates are all meant to be shared by 2 people – they will adjust the portion based on party size.

Food

In addition to the 6-course menu, you can also order snacks a la carte. The Beef Tendon Chicharron was addictive. It’s crispy, and it wasn’t greasy. There was just enough seasoning, and the gochugaru citrus spice reminded me of sour plum flavour, with the tiniest hint of heat.

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They use different vegetables to make their Daily Pickles. On this day, it was cucumber, ume-infused daikon and shitake mushrooms. They were just slightly pickled, so they weren’t overly briny or vinegary.

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Donnelly Group Dine Out Preview Tour #DOVF

Posted in By Invitations, Chocolate, Culinary Events, Dessert, Dine Out Vancouver, Dinner, Joyce, Pasta, Pub, Restaurants, Salad, Soup, Vancouver, Yaletown, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 14, 2016| Leave a Comment »

We were invited to go on a tour to check out the various Donnelly Group properties and their Dine Out Vancouver menu. Executive Chef Alvin Pillay has recently returned to the company group, and he’s quite proud of the menus that he’s put together. Ten of the Donnelly Group properties are offering similar items. Specifically, there are 6 core items that can be found at all these locations, which we tried on this tour, along with their respective beverage pairing. Each Donnelly Group location also offers an additional entree option on their Dine Out menu.

Food

Our first stop was at The New Oxford, where we tried the two appetizers.

The Curried Parsnip Soup could definitely warm you up on a chilly winter day. The curry spices really came through; I could taste a lot of ginger. Soup was creamy, and the roasted apple offered some texture in contrast. Suggested wine pairing is the Volcanic Hills Pinot Gris. The apple note in the white wine was a great match with the soup.

Curried Parsnip Soup

The Winter Salad sounded and seemed simple, but there’s an interesting depth to it. The buttermilk sumac dressing brought tartness and spice, black sesame added some nutty flavours, and the Moroccan pita bread gave it some crunch. The 50th Parallel Riesling isn’t as sweet as a typical Riesling, which worked well with this light salad.

Winter Salad

Next, on a trolley, we were taken to The Blackbird Public House, right upstairs from Royal Dinette.

Bar at Blackbird

The first of the two core entrees was the Bangers & Mash.
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The First Tastes of Fall at Hawksworth Restaurant #DineWithAmex

Posted in By Invitations, Canadian, Chocolate, Culinary Events, Dessert, Dinner, Eat Local, Fine dining, Joyce, Meat, Seafood, Soup, Vancouver, West Coast, Wine Pairing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 14, 2014| 1 Comment »

As mentioned in my earlier post, we were invited to attend the private Amex Platinum Cardmember Dinner at Hawksworth Restaurant, joining roughly 60 Amex Platinum Cardmembers at the York Room.

champagne to greet each guest

#DineWithAmex at Hawksworth Restaurantwarm bread

As soon as we arrived, we were greeted with a glass of champagne. Chef David Hawksworth made an appearance and walked us through the menu that was designed to celebrate the kickoff of the fall season. Each course was paired with wines provided by WineOnline.ca. Let me tempt you with some delicious photos!

Chef David Hawksworth made an appearance

Food

Our dinner started with a Roasted Acorn Squash and Pear Salad. It’s finished with chèvre (goat cheese) and a walnut vinaigrette. What a perfect combination to represent the fall. Wine Pairing: Nicolas Maillart Rose Champagne.

roasted acorn squash and pear salad

Then our server brought over this plate of seared scallop with crispy cauliflower and capers. It was difficult to stop ourselves from digging into the perfectly seared scallop, but we had to wait till they poured the silky Cauliflower Veloute into the dish. The surprise was in the lemon supremes (the naked flesh of the lemon — no rind, pith, or seeds), as well as the fried capers; they helped cut through the richness in the creamy veloute. Wine Pairing: Vinos Sanz’s Sanz Rueda Clasico.

pouring the veloutecauliflower velouté

Next, the Duck Conft Raviolo was definitely encore-worthy!

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[Event] Amex Platinum Cardmember Dinner at Hawksworth, September 30

Posted in By Invitations, Culinary Events, Joyce, Media Events, Vancouver, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 18, 2014| 1 Comment »

I have been invited to an Amex Platinum Cardmember Dinner at Hawksworth on September 30, a unique dining experience created as part of Amex’s Taste from Platinum Dining Program. We will be enjoying the first tastes of Fall in the luxurious private York Room, celebrating the fresh, seasonal local produce.

The Event

When: Tuesday, September 30, 6-9pm
Where: Hawksworth Restaurant, York Room, 801 West Georgia Street, Vancouver

Not only will this feature a specially crafted menu, but this will also include wine pairings. Maybe there will be a meet and greet with Chef David Hawksworth too!

Beautiful Pencil Drawing of Chef David

What is the Taste from Platinum Dining Program?

As an Amex Platinum Cardmember, you have access to exceptional travel, dining and entertainment benefits, and invitation to exclusive dinners. Through the Taste from Platinum Dining Program, Cardmembers get to enjoy a unique dining experience and perks at 65 of the most acclaimed restaurants in the country, plus hundreds around the world. (more…)

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