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Posts Tagged ‘chowder’

Chicha Restaurant – Peruvian-Inspired Comfort Food [Dine Out Vancouver 2015]

Posted in Comfort Food, Culinary Events, Dine Out Vancouver, Dinner, Group Dinner, Joyce, Latin American, Meat, Restaurants, Tapas, Vancouver, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 28, 2015| 6 Comments »

For a triple-date night, we went for Dine Out at Chicha, a Peruvian-inspired eatery in the Mount Pleasant area. There were lots of options on the $28 menu, with some interesting combination of ingredients. I was intrigued.

Food

Because of its “tapa-style” menu, instead of 3 courses, you actually get 4 plates at Chicha. Definitely a bonus, I’d say. To start, I ordered myself a Chilcano (left), a ginger-beer based cocktail. It had some nice acidity to it, with a bit of heat from the ginger root. Mr. ordered the Inka Cola, a Peruvian soda which we were told “taste like cream soda.” And it did taste just like cream soda, not much fizz, and a bit sweeter than the actual cream soda we’re used to.

ChilcanoInka Kola

And then the feast began! First, my Aji Amarillo Local Seafood Chowder was pretty good. I was expecting a bit of heat with the aji amarillo chili pepper, but rather on the mild side for me. In addition to fish pieces, there were squid in the chowder, tender and not like chewing bubble gum, which I thought was different from most other ones.

Aji Amarillo Local Seafood Chowder

Mr. had the Palitos de Yuca, which was basically cassava root fries. They were a lot starchier than potato fries, and had a harder exterior too. The Peruvian Huancaina sauce was spicy, creamy, reminded me of a curry mayo. This was quite filling as an appy. While it’s good, I think we prefer regular potato fries.

Palitas de Yuca

Each of us received two entrees, i.e. 4 for us! Each of the Pan Con Chicharron Sliders had a hearty slice of pork belly, and the fatty part just melts in your mouth!
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Mahony & Sons Stamps Landing – $18 #DOVF Deal [Dine Out Vancouver 2015]

Posted in Culinary Events, Dessert, Dine Out Vancouver, Dinner, Irish, Joyce, Pub, Restaurants, Vancouver, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 22, 2015| 2 Comments »

Back in August, Mahony & Sons celebrated the opening of its 3rd location at Stamps Landing, where Monk McQueen used to be. It’s such a beautiful location with fixture imported from Ireland and a gorgeous view of False Creek. When Dine Out kicked off, my girlfriends and I decided to have our next dinner together there.

Mahony & Sons Stamps Landing

Food

Before we placed our food order, I got myself an Irish Rose. I completely forgot that I had it at the opening party until I saw the picture just now, but the description on the menu was just so appealing that I had to get one. It is actually really similar to a mojito, but it uses gin with a mix of lemonade. It was refreshing and fruity. Good girly drink, even better in the summer!

Irish Rose

Its Dine Out menu is only $18, serving some of its popular dishes. To start, we all ordered the Pacific Chowder. I had it at the opening party and really liked it, and this was no difference. It was rich and creamy, and was in no shortage of seafood. Every spoonful there were chunks of salmon and cod. You can tell they used some big prawns, and they were really good. Meat was still crunchy — I just wish they put in more of them. Fennel flavour was a bit subtle but overall a very good chowder.

Pacific Chowder

Then, I had the Mahi Mahi Taco. I was expecting a couple of small tacos, but arriving at our table was a cone-shaped tortilla wrap. (more…)

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Ocean Wise #ChowderChowdown 2014 – A Recap

Posted in Beer, Cooking Competition, Culinary Events, Joyce, News, Seafood, Soup, Vancouver, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on November 27, 2014| Leave a Comment »

November is Ocean Wise Month, and to celebrate sustainable seafood in the area, Vancouver Aquarium hosted the Ocean Wise Chowder Chowdown last week. Lucky for me, I got to check it out, so let me tell you all about it.

Ocean Wise Chowder Chowdown

Ocean Wise Chowder Chowdown (photo by Three Sixty Photography, courtesy of Samuel Adams)

How does it work? As you enter the Vancouver Aquarium, you receive a wooden spoon and a plastic cup; and you just walk around with them to the 14 participating booths. You also have a ballot to take notes of each chowder and vote for your favourite.

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Each of the 14 competing chowders was paired with craft beer. I was quite impressed to see that there were restaurants from Prince Rupert and Pemberton competing in this event.

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Among the participating craft breweries, there was Samuel Adams, the only non-local craft brewery at the event. It partnered with Fable and Chef Trevor Bird not only in the beer pairing, but it’s also used in cooking of the halibut chowder. SA’s Boston Lager is darker than most lagers out there (has an amber-ish hue), yet it’s light and quite easy drinking; would be a good entry beer for most people and would make great pairing with rich food like a chowder or deep-fried goodness.

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Chef Trevor Bird at Chowder Chowdown

Chef Trevor Bird at Chowder Chowdown (photo by Three Sixty Photography, courtesy of Samuel Adams)

In addition to the People’s Choice Award voted by the general public, there were also 4 industry judges tasting all dishes to select the top 3. (more…)

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The Baker & The Chef Sandwich Cafe Grand Opening

Posted in Brunch, Cafe, Casual, Food Bloggers, Joyce, Lunch, Restaurants, Sandwiches, Soup, Vancouver, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 14, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Last week we were invited to the blogger “Meet & Eat”/grand opening party of The Baker and The Chef cafe. What a cute name! It’s so simple yet it describes exactly what you get out of it — baked goods from the baker, and other tasty food from the chef.

The Baker & The Chef Sandwich Cafe

The Baker & The Chef Sandwich Cafe

By the time I got to the party after work, most familiar faces – Alvin, Kevin, Dee, and the long-time-no-see Jenny & Ricky – were already there and almost finished eating. It seemed like they were quite enjoying the food.

And the food was great. The cafe prides themselves on baking fresh bread daily and it definitely shows. I tried two of their Panini Sandwiches and the foccacia bread was wonderful. It was thin and light, and was grilled to crispy on the outside with gooey cheese inside.

The Whistler & The Capilano

The Whistler (left) – Foccacia bread, Roast beef, Red onion, Asiago Cheese, Mozzarella, Horseradish Mayo
The Capilano – Foccacia bread, Grilled Chicken breast, Brie, Mixed Greens, Pesto

By the way, they have some really cute names on the menu as well. (more…)

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