Vikram Vij | VanFoodies.com

Posts Tagged ‘Vikram Vij’

My Shanti – A Taste of Vikram Vij in the Suburbs

Posted in Dessert, Dinner, Indian, Joyce, Meat, Oysters, Restaurants, Surrey, tagged Chicken Korma, Goat Curry, Macarons, My Shanti, oysters, pakora, rice pudding, Vij's, Vikram Vij, Wild Boar on January 23, 2015| 2 Comments »

Believe it or not, to this day I still haven’t been to Vij’s. Yes, I know. The closest thing was Vij’s Railway Express, the food truck. So when My Shanti was opened last year in South Surrey, it presented the perfect opportunity for me to get one step closer to Vij’s. We invited WK and MS to join us on a double date.

Food

Going to an Indian restaurant, it’s hard for Mr. to not order a Mango Lassi. So he did. It’s relatively light for a mango lassi, not overwhelmingly thick. There were lots of acidity from the yogurt but just a hint of sweetness from the mango puree. It tasted natural and Mr. liked it.

I ordered the Shaam Masti, a very fruit-forward cocktail. It reminded me of a mojito, refreshing but a bit more tart from the use of citrus juice and blueberry jam. I quite enjoyed it.

We shared a couple of appetizers to start. First, Chhatra Sagar’s Wild Boar Kebabs were nicely charred, well seasoned with a good mix of herbs and spices. To WK and MS it was a bit dry, but knowing that wild boar is leaner than pork I thought they were tasty with just the right amount of juiciness. The accompanying chutney offered some sweetness and tartness that worked well with the sausage-like kebabs.

We’ve had pakoras before, but never oyster ones. Here the Goan Oyster Pakoras were an excellent deal!
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Hawksworth Young Chef Scholarship Competition – Recap

Posted in Cooking Competition, Culinary Events, Joyce, News, Vancouver, tagged Anthony Walsh, Black Box Competition, British Columbia, Bursary, Canada, culinary competition, David Hawksworth, Hawksworth Restaurant, Hawksworth Young Chef Scholarship Competition, Jacob Richler, Kelowna, Kristian Eligh, Mark McEwan, Normand Laprise, Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, Red Seal, Scholarship, Scott Jaeger, Vikram Vij on October 31, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Last weekend, one young chef was crowned the winner of the inaugural Hawksworth Young Chef Scholarship Competition. The Hawksworth Young Chef Scholarship program is a non-profit culinary foundation created to recognize and inspire young Canadian chefs, while promoting professionalism and culinary excellence within the hospitality industry. To be eligible, they must be Canadian chefs under 28, with a Red Seal certification, and are working full-time in a professional kitchen. 10 finalists across Canada were selected:

Mark Andrew Brown – Ayr, Ontario
Ross Derrick – Winnipeg, Manitoba
Arnie Mitchell Guieb – Vancouver, British Columbia
Talib Hubba – Sherwood Park, Alberta
Carmen Ingham – North Vancouver, British Columbia
Hayden Johnston – Thunder Bay, Ontario
John Ly – Vancouver, British Columbia
Brad Masciotra – London, Ontario
Paul Moran – Kelowna, British Columbia
Garrett Rotel – Calgary, Alberta

During Round 1 of the competition, these ten finalists competed against each other to create a main course dish for two within two hours, using provided ingredients. The top 3 finalists then moved on to Round 2, the black box challenge. They had two hours and fifteen minutes to cook a main course and dessert using mystery ingredients from the black box.

My guest reporter Terence checked out Round 2 of the competition at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts and watched the following candidates compete for a chance to receive a $10,000 bursary, provided by the Chefs’ Table Society of BC, and a stage at a leading international restaurant.

From left: Carmen Ingham, Paul Moran & Brad Masciotra (Photo credit: Hawksworth Young Chef Scholarship Twitter feed @HawkScholarship)

The black box ingredients were (more…)

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[Food Truck] Vij’s Railway Express

Posted in Food Truck Series, Food Trucks, Indian, Joyce, Lunch, Meat, Restaurants, Vancouver, tagged chai, food cart, Goa, lamb kebab, Lucknow, Rangoli, Vij's, Vij's Railway Express, Vikram Vij on July 16, 2012| 8 Comments »

Every other Friday this summer, KB, AM and I would go enjoy the nice weather and stop by a food truck for lunch. When it was my turn to pick, I suggested Vij’s Railway Express.

Vij’s Railway Express

If you are slightly into food, you would know Vikram Vij. Regrettably, I have never been to Vij’s Restaurant or even Rangoli; so when I heard that Vij’s mobile truck is just around the corner of my office, it immediately got on my “hit list”.

Vij’s Railway Express

Having heard that line-ups could be long, we got there just after 11:30am and there’s already a line formed. The line never got any shorter from that point on. There was constantly 15 or so people waiting in line. We waited 10 minutes to place our order, and another 10 minutes for food. I really hoped that the food was worth the 20-minute wait.

Long line-up

Food

The food of Vij’s Railway Express is inspired by the railway journey in India. The menu changes on a regular basis, featuring items that represent different regions of India.