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Posts Tagged ‘lamb’

Memory Corner 有香 – Taiwanese Comfort Food in the Heart of Richmond

Posted in Asian, Comfort Food, Dinner, Joyce, Meat, Restaurants, Richmond, Taiwanese, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 18, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Mr. and I were planning a dinner with his friends one weekend, and we’re all craving Asian food. In Richmond. Endless options, I know. We narrowed it down to Taiwanese, and came to Memory Corner just steps away from Richmond Centre.

Food

Between the two of us, we shared a few things. First, the Taiwanese Deep Fried Crispy Chicken 鹽酥雞 is like a staple item for us whenever we go for Taiwanese food. This was a generous portion! It was crispy outside, and the meat was tender, moist inside. The breading was quite thin so it wasn’t all breading that we were eating. The Thai basil on top was not just a garnish; because it’s slightly fried, it actually added some aroma and subtle flavours to the chicken nuggets as well.

Taiwanese Deep Fried Crispy Chicken

LH told us that the Satay Lamb series at Memory Corner is really good. According to its website and signage at the restaurant, this is a 3rd-generation of a family restaurant that specializes in lamb cuisine. We had to order one of those dishes.

The Satay Lamb with Fried Noodles 沙茶羊肉炒麵 was very good!
(more…)

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Chang’An Restaurant 品味長安 – Chinese Fine Dining in Downtown Vancouver

Posted in Chinese, Dinner, Fine dining, Food Bloggers, Great Views, Joyce, Meat, Restaurants, Soup, Special Occasion, Vancouver, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 16, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Our friends at ChineseBites invited me to a Chinese fine dining experience at Chang’An Restaurant. It’s located right under the Granville Bridge, where Nu and Stonegrill used to be, with the gorgeous view of the False Creek.

Chang'An Restaurant

It turned out to be an elaborate 17-course dinner. Hold the drool! This is going to be a long and delicious post!

Food

As each table of guests is seated, they would be greeted with Guo Kui Pita 鍋盔. This was like complimentary bread served at western restaurants. The pita bread was served warm, crispy on the outside, and soft inside. I really liked the fermented bean sauce that came with it; it’s nutty and spicy, kinda like XO sauce too.

Guo Kui Pita 鍋盔

But we were all distracted by what’s happening on the table-side. It’s the Chang’an Roasted Duck 長安炙鴨! This was what we came here for. It’s the restaurant’s signature dish, and you must pre-order ahead of time. Why? Because it takes 72 hours to prepare the duck, then it’s roasted in-house for over an hour. According to the restaurant, they actually schedule the cooking time based on your dinner reservation, so it would be served roughly 15 minutes after you are seated, ensuring the optimal tenderness of the meat and crispiness of the skin.

Chang’an Roasted Duck 長安炙鴨

Usually for Peking Ducks, restaurants would just skin the duck and serve it with crepes, etc. Here they actually serve the skin two ways: first of all, they serve the crispiest part of the skin, and skin only with just a thin layer of fat, and you dip it in brown sugar. (more…)

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Supermarine – A Hidden Gem Tucked Away in Kitsilano

Posted in Bistro, Cocktails, Dessert, Dinner, Drinks, Eat Local, Joyce, Meat, Neighbourhood Gem, Restaurants, Seafood, Sustainable, Vancouver, West Coast, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 8, 2016| 1 Comment »

For my birthday, Mr. surprised me with a dinner at Supermarine. Since its opening, I’ve been wanting to check it out so I was very excited when our car pulled up right in front of the restaurant.

Supermarine focuses on sustainable, seasonal, local products, highlighting the best that our farmers and fishers can offer. There are a number of staple items on the menu with seasonal dishes as well as daily features.

Food

There isn’t a clear division of appetizers vs. entrees on the menu, so we basically just order a bunch of items to share. First, the name Octopus Chips immediately caught our attention and it just sounded like something fun to eat. And it sure was fun! Sliced octopus and fingerling potatoes were lightly battered then deep fried to become “chips”, served in a little jar. Both octopus and potatoes were crispy on the outside; the octopus was tender and not at all chewy, while the potatoes were soft and fluffy inside. The bravas sauce was a tomato-based aioli, slightly spiced. The chips became quite addictive and we couldn’t really stop eating them.

Octopus Chips

You probably don’t know but I’m a sucker for fried/roasted Brussels sprouts (best with bacon, of course!). Our friend NS makes a killer one and I even requested it for our Thanksgiving dinner. So when I saw Fried Brussels Sprouts on Supermarine’s menu, obviously it made its way to our table. There’s an Asian touch to this version with the use of soy and shallot as well as cilantro as garnish, and the honey added some sweetness to the dish. I always think balsamic vinegar and Brussels sprouts are a perfect match, but Supermarine used yogurt instead to introduce acidity and to my surprise, it worked just as well. The Brussels sprouts had crispy edges, yet they’re still tender. This was one of the best Brussels sprouts I’ve had.

Fried Brussels Sprouts

Squid & Lamb, what an unusual combination of surf and turf! And the Middle Eastern influence was pretty apparent as they’re served on top of hummus! (more…)

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Home BBQ – Barbecue Chilled Noodles, what?

Posted in BBQ, Chinese, Dinner, Grill, Hang-Out with Friends, Joyce, Meat, Restaurants, Richmond, Wraps, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on November 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »

A new Chinese restaurant popped up in Central Richmond earlier last month — Home BBQ, serving Szechuan Chinese dishes such as grilled skewers and spicy chili hotpot 麻辣燙. Out of curiosity, we checked it out.

Food

What caught our eyes was one of their signature items named Barbecue Chilled Noodles ($4.99). If it’s barbecued, how can it be chilled?! We were intrigued.

Turns out it’s quite similar to the Shanghainese beef wrap, but instead of a pancake, it’s a big piece of noodle. And instead of sliced braised beef, it’s a mixture of ham and green onion. OK maybe they are not very similar but you get the idea. The flavour was not bad. The noodle itself, even though brushed with an egg wash, is quite bland but the green onion & ham combo made some good fillings. The green onions weren’t cooked through, so there’s still that punch you got from raw green onion. It may get a bit messy to eat as the little pieces of filling fell out of the wrap. That said, I’m still not sure how it’s chilled noodles – the server couldn’t explain to us.

Barbecue Chilled Noodles

Then, we ordered a while bunch of Grilled Skewers (more…)

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AnnaLena – All Senses, All Satisfied

Posted in Contemporary, Dinner, Joyce, Meat, Neighbourhood Gem, Restaurants, Seafood, Vancouver, West Coast, tagged , , , , , , on September 4, 2015| 3 Comments »

Having some 1:1 time with CC and I was suddenly inspired to try a new restaurant (I usually wait a bit before going to a new place, just to give them time to work out the kinks, etc.). There were a few options but the name AnnaLena, as well as its menu, intrigued me, so we checked it out on a Friday night.

Food

Its menu is not too big, but with a good variety highlighting a key ingredient in each dish. Between the two of us, we shared a few things:

The Grilled Octopus reminded me of a potato salad, an elevated version that was executed well. The octopus was cut into small pieces so they were easier to cook and could absorb flavours easily. They were tender, and the suction cups were so much fun to eat. The lobster mayo offered a hint of ocean taste. The dill was quite prominent but I liked the fresh element that it brought.

Grilled Octopus

The Cured Salmon was basically a deconstructed lox and bagel. The house cured salmon had a good meaty texture thanks to the thick cut, and it’s not overly salty. The croutons were perhaps a bit too greasy for my liking, but I absolutely loved the chewy texture. Especially when you combined the croutons with the everything bagel spice, it definitely reminded me of the Montreal style bagels we kept on going back for when we visited Montreal this summer.

Cured Salmon

Even though pork belly was supposed to be the star of Tamari Marinated Grilled Pork Belly, what surprised and impressed me was the braised beets. (more…)

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