Restaurant: Pho Lan
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Last visited: January 6, 2012
Location: Richmond, BC (Richmond Central)
Address: 6950 #3 Rd
Train: Brighouse Station Southbound
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: FMF Must Try!

Food: 4-4.5
Service: 3
Ambiance: 1.5
Overall: 4
Additional comments:

• Vietnamese owned/operated
• Hole in the wall/Dive
• Not the cleanest place
• Local favourite
• Busy at peak hours
• Casual/quick
• Cheap eats/budget friendly
• Parking at rear
• Cash only
• Dine in/Take out
• No delivery
• Daily 10:30am-10pm

**Recommendations: Pho Lan Special Beef Noodle Soup, Spring Roll (which I missed, but they’re supposed to be great), BBQ Lemon Grass Pork Chop

Talk about a hole in the wall huh? To be fair, this was just the back entrance. You can park in the rear for free and enter through the back door, which is very common of many divey/casual places. Heads up! Don’t focus too much on what’s going on in the kitchen as you walk by…

Okay so this is the front! Pho Lan is a local favourite and usually the first to come to mind when people ask for “the best pho in Richmond”. It was actually my first visit here, but I’m likely to come back.

To be honest, I did hesitate a bit since it failed a health inspection a few months ago and had to temporarily close. However it’s cleaned up now (I think) and has reopened, although the degree of improvement is very questionable. In a way I kind of expected a bit of uncleanliness for this style of dining though. I’ve likely dined at more dirty restaurants than I know… but it happens.

Referring back to my 10 Things to Look for When Dining Vietnamese! blog post, Pho Lan was rocking it! Let’s see… looks like a dive with a crappy sign containing lots of words? Check!

Cash only? Check! I saw about 4 of these signs throughout the restaurant.

Mostly Vietnamese people dining inside? More or less, but being in Richmond there were a lot of expected Chinese. There were actually a lot of Westerners too, but this place is a local favourite, so I was still buying into it. (This was taken just after the Friday lunch rush, otherwise it was packed.)

As for the authentic Vietnamese menu, I was surprised there was no Vietnamese on it. It had English and Chinese, but no Vietnamese. The owners are Vietnamese though, so it’s not Chinese style Vietnamese either. The food is cheap and the menu has all the typical dishes of any Vietnamese restaurant.

It’s Christmas time all year? Check, even though the string of lights weren’t turned on. I didn’t see the waving cat, but it already had about 5 of the things I look for when dining Vietnamese, so we’re looking good! On top of that, all I could hear was the yelling of orders in Vietnamese, which sounded like choppy out of tune singing… signs were pointing to legit! The owners are pretty friendly and quick with orders too, so that was a bonus!

Yes, definitely ghetto. There’s nothing like a sauce dish to fix a wobbly table…

Again, Pho Lan really isn’t the cleanest place, so if you’re a germaphobe you may want to reconsider. Of course even clean appearing restaurants can be dirty in the kitchen, but Pho Lan is almost obviously dirty in the front… so I really don’t want to know what’s going on in the back. I don’t want to scare you and it’s not like I got sick, and a lot of people I know who have eaten here have never gotten sick, but just giving you a heads up. If you want something more comfortable in the context of Vietnamese food in Richmond there are a lot of other options (like Pho Boi), but they might not taste as good as Pho Lan.

On the table:

Complimentary Bean Sprouts

• They serve them cooked so if you like them raw you need to ask.
• It was missing the chilies so you might have to ask for those too.

**#7 Pho Lan Special Beef Noodle Soup – 4.5/6 (Very good-Excellent)

• Rare steak, well-done flank, tendon, tripe, beef ball Small $6.50 Medium $7.50 Large $8.50
• What?! #7? The special is always supposed to be #1! Well technically it was the first listed in the Beef Noodle Soups section, so we’re good!
• The large size was unusually larger than normal so $8.50 was very reasonable.
• It was served piping hot with very thin and tender pieces of rare steak and a good amount of meat.

• The thin rice noodles were dried rather than fresh and they were pretty firm and finished cooking in the hot soup.
• I prefer fresh, but almost nowhere in Metro Vancouver makes them with fresh noodles.
• The colour of the hot beef broth was pale and somewhat clear which is better than deep and dark brown.
• The soup wasn’t as oily as I prefer and I actually wasn’t hit with the beef flavour until later on when I scooped the bottom. It’s weird how that happens because the beef flavour shouldn’t really sink to the bottom, but it kind of does.
• There wasn’t any anise flavour and it wasn’t too salty or sweet. A lot of places have a sweet broth which is likely from MSG (which is salty and sweet, not just salty).
• The broth still didn’t beat Pho Tam which is the best pho I’ve had to date. Their beef broth really tastes like authentic home made pho.

• All the beef pieces were incredibly tender and delicious.
• The fatty beef brisket slices were almost falling apart tender and they still retained a natural beef flavour.
• Sometimes they can taste bland and the flavour of the beef all cooked out into the soup, but not this one.
• There were about 3 beef ball pieces and they were better quality than usual. They seemed darker with more beef content and flavour and firmer in texture overall.

**BBQ Lemon Grass Pork Chop on Steamed Rice – 4/6 (Very good)

• $7.50
• For $7.50 it was a huge portion and well worth it.
• The grilled pork chop wasn’t all bone or fat and they were marinated nicely with fresh lemongrass.
• I prefer them a bit more charred, but these were cooked well and not dry. They weren’t necessarily juicy either, but they were tender.
• I do like them a bit saucier with more intense lemongrass flavour and a bit of a sweeter glaze like the ones from Pho Boi (see here), but these were still delicious.
• It comes with a side salad and orange nuom choc fish sauce which I love. It’s a sweet, salty and tangy vinaigrette you can pour over the whole dish.

• The steamed rice was Vietnamese short grain broken rice, which is a bit unexpected.
• Most Vietnamese places I’ve been to just use long grain, so this was an interesting detail.
• Short grain is usually used for sticky rice and it does have a stickier texture and tends to clump together.
• I really wish they offered the dish with Vietnamese fried rice, but fried rice isn’t available here.

Vietnamese Steamed Rice Crepe – 3.5/6 (Good-Very good)

• Stuffed with pork, onion, Chinese mushroom, served with fried onion flakes and Vietnamese ham rolls $7
• I love this dish (Banh Cuon) and it can be enjoyed as an appetizer or a main. This was the main and it’s like a substantial warm salad.
• It’s a very light dish and it’s traditionally served with bean sprouts, Vietnamese ham, deep fried shallots and cucumbers.
• I personally prefer it served covered with bean sprouts, basil leaves and more cucumber instead of mostly lettuce, although there were bean sprouts underneath.
• The pickled carrots were a bit uncommon for the dish, but I do like them.
• The dish is eaten with the orange nuom choc fish sauce. It’s a sweet, salty and tangy vinaigrette.

There were about 5-6 warm crepes and they looked more Chinese in style than Vietnamese. They were rolled wider like Chinese steamed rice rolls at dim sum instead of  traditional thinner and log-like Vietnamese ones.

• The skins were thin, but a bit brittle and breaking apart. I question how fresh or made upon order they were.
• They were decently stuffed, but the skins weren’t chewy or as translucent, and the ends were slightly dry.
• The skins were heavier on the rice flour than tapioca starch so they really tasted more Chinese.
• The filling was marinated minced pork, black wood ear mushrooms and onions.
• The mixture was nice and peppery, but not spicy and the meat was very tender, soft and seasoned with fish sauce without being too salty.
• The wood ear mushrooms were completely soft and not crunchy, but overall the filling wasn’t dry and crumbly nor wet.
• There were a lot of textures with the steamed rice rolls and crunch of fresh vegetables.
• The crispy aromatic deep fried shallots and the nuom choc fish sauce just makes the dish come alive and it’s sweet, salty and tangy.
• It was good here, but Pho Tam is still my favourite for this dish – see Steamed Rice Rolls (Bahn Con).

BC Chinese Chef of the Year Award at BC Foodservice Expo Recap & Results!

A Follow Me Foodie Recap of the Chinese Chef of the Year Competition

All photos provided by Alvin K.C. Lee Photography

Congratulations to all the chefs who competed in the culinary competitions at The BC Foodservice Expo (January 29-30) at the Vancouver Convention Center. Organized by The Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA), the B.C. Chefs Association (BCCA) and Canadian Culinary Federation (CCFCC), chefs from various restaurants in Metro Vancouver came together to compete for the title of “BC Chinese Chef of the Year” and “Roasted Chef of the Year”. After 2 days of Iron Chef like cooking challenges in front of a live audience the scores have been tallied and the results are in.

BC Chinese Chef of the Year

Gold Medal Winner: Chef Kent Wong, Fraser Court Seafood Restaurant

Other competitors include:

Gordon Ping Wah Chan of Always Seafood Restaurant
Sam Ka Bo Leung of Dynasty Seafood Restaurant
Wing Ho of Fortune Seafood Restaurant
Anthony Shy Wing Leung of Grand Dynasty Seafood Restaurant
Joseph Jiang of The Jade Seafood Restaurant
Chun Lum Ma of Shiang Garden Seafood Restaurant
Keng Wai Ng of Vivacity Restaurant
William Tse, The Sandbar Seafood Restaurant
Todd Bright of Wild Rice Modern Chinese Restaurant

**The competing chefs are members of the Canadian Culinary Federation (CCFCC) and the BC Chefs Association. Ten teams have been selected to date, based on merit and experience.

Roasted Chef of the Year

1st Place: Jeff Kang – Diva at the Met, Vancouver
2nd Place: Dan Craig – Delta, Burnaby
3rd Place: William Tse – The Sandbar, Vancouver

Other competitors include:

Rebecca Johnson – Italian Cultural Centre, Vancouver
Gerard Martin -Penticton Trade and Convention Centre, Penticton
Romeo Oloresisimo – Ora Restaurant, Kamloops
Tyler Leeson – Kingfisher Restaurant at Halcyon Hot Springs Resort, Nakusp
James Marinoff – Bon Rouge Bistro and Lounge, Victoria
John Waller – Victoria
Colman Herrington – Vancouver
Nathan Wright – Coast, Vancouver
James Hanna – RauDZ Regional Table, Kelowna

**All 12 chefs are active members of the Canadian Culinary Federation. Chefs from each of the four provincial chapters will represent their region thanks to a combination of merit, previous competition experience and success in regional challenges.

About the Chinese Chef of the Year Competition

For many of these Chinese chefs it was their first time competing in this sort of challenge, let alone in front of a live audience. Vancouver is world renowned for its excellence in Chinese cuisine and many, including myself, find that it’s just as good as what you can get in Hong Kong and China. For one, some of the best chefs in Hong Kong and China are the ones in the kitchen of many of our famous Chinese restaurants in Vancouver. Another reason is because the seafood quality and water is also better in Vancouver, which is especially important since Chinese food consists mainly of seafood. Quite often, it all starts with using the right ingredient. Sure there are dishes Hong Kong and China excel in, like Peking Duck, hand pulled noodles, and congee just to name a few, but generally speaking, Vancouver is the most well recognized North American city to house the best in authentic Chinese cuisine.

It’s not often to have a Chinese chef step out of a kitchen and that’s partially why I’m so passionate about this initiative. The BC Chinese Chef of the Year competition is a platform that gives them the opportunity to be equally as recognized as other well known and talented chefs in the city. Starting with a “Chinese Chef of the Year” is perhaps the first step, since it’s the most popular ethnic cuisine in Vancouver, but even better would be to eventually see Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese and other Asian cultures being showcased in the same context. In the end, cooking is cooking, technique is technique and good food is good food, so seeing them all represented in their respective categories is something I look forward to.

Judging Panel & Criteria

This was the first BC Chinese Chef of the Year competition and I was honoured and overwhelmed to be invited as a guest judge. The judging panel was lead by Chef Alex Chen, who is the 2013 chef representing Canada in the most prestigious and demanding culinary competition in the world – Bocuse d’Or in France. Other culinary masters on the panel included Sylvain Cuerrier (Executive Chef of RiverRock Casino Resort), Paul Ho (Treasurer of BCCA), Michael S.Pinter (Director of BCCA), and Ned Bell (Executive Chef of YEW at The Four Seasons Hotel).

The judging criteria included: Presentation, Taste, Organization, Sanitation, Safety, Kitchen Skills, Creativity, Communication with Chef and Sous Chef, and Wastage of Food.

With a similar stage set up to Iron Chef, the additional ingredients, spices and sauces were provided.

If I look through a cultural lens at Chinese food there are many factors that come to mind, such as efficiency and cost. Yes, this could be true of many cultures, and I know I’m speaking quite generally, but it is especially true with Chinese cuisine. Quite often it’s about getting the food out there as fast as you can because one less turnover is one less sale. Wasting is also highly frowned upon and that’s why every part of the animal is used and for the most part eaten.

Being very familiar with Chinese cuisine I’ve become immune to the expected family style servings and presentation. Making a dish look nice is not exactly the important focus, although what’s considered “nice presentation” is also debatable. Nonetheless, part of the competition was to challenge these chefs to strengthen their presentation skills and hopefully one day be able to have them at a level fit for national chef competitions. In a way it does mean these dishes need to visually appeal to Western and European standards, but at the same time it isn’t to take away from what they already know and do.

If there was an award for “game face”, he would have won it hands down. This is Chef Sam Ka Bo Leung of Dynasty Seafood Restaurant who is currently training to compete in the World Culinary Olympics in Germany. Best of luck to him!

Although many of these Chinese chefs are classically trained in Chinese cuisine and have cooked for decades in Asia and in Vancouver, there were also some chefs representing Vancouver’s modern Chinese restaurants, like Chef Todd Bright from Wild Rice and Chef William Tse from The Sandbar. These two chefs have exercised the idea of fusion in their own style at their perspective restaurants. While some could consider this as comparing apples to oranges, it is more or less an equal battlefield when there are chefs trained in traditional Chinese cuisine trying to modernize dishes, and chefs trained in non-traditional Chinese cuisine trying to keep them authentic.

It was interesting to see the different approaches to the challenges. On one hand there were the chefs with a set of nicely sharpened knives, and on the other hand there would be the chefs with one knife, which is the cleaver. You can predict which teams had which knife. The cleaver is the one knife that does it all if you know how to use it, and this all partially goes back on the idea of efficiency too. There’s no right or wrong, but they’re just completely different set of tools for different cooking styles.

This also stems from the fact that most traditional Chinese cuisine will require chopping of bones and the fish rarely has to be de-boned since it’s served whole, so the clever is more or less required. In Asia you rarely come across perfectly packaged chicken breasts and quite often the whole chicken is used and presented. A personal default I find with the cleaver is that it makes it harder to be intricate and detailed with its blunter blade and I find this also affects presentation. Once in a while I would see carving knives to cut lotus blossoms out of daikon, but generally the cleaver played the dominant role as expected.

In terms of cooking techniques, the wok was typically the cooking equipment most used as you may have guessed. The ovens were pretty much decoration as Chinese cuisine rarely requires an oven, and in fact, many homes in Asia don’t have ovens.

In regards to ingredients, the most used ingredient was likely the mushrooms since they symbolizes wealth and prosperity. It’s also especially popular to use during this time since it’s around Chinese New Year. The ingredients that were never touched were quite predictable too, the beets and fennel. Those are just way out of Asian comfort zone, although I’m sure they could do something amazing with it once they start experimenting. Who knows? Maybe next year?

**I apologize in advance for those hoping to read the “critiques” of the food. I’m not going to be commenting on the food too much, since that’s not really the purpose of this blog post. I just want to share with you my insights and experience at the Chinese Chef of the Year competition. I will however include some general comments on interesting techniques I witnessed.

Day 1: Chinese Chef of the Year Protein Challenge

The first Chinese Chef of the Year cooking challenge was to create one dish using a protein they previously drew from a hat. Given time to prepare and bring their proteins to the competition, the time limit was 45 minutes to complete the one dish. The point is to maximize this time, which again is a rather new concept for traditional Chinese Chefs who are accustomed to speed. Each chef had one sous chef and 2 teams competed at a time. Protein choices included chicken, beef, pork, lamb, duck, or seafood. Just like Food Network’s Iron Chef, additional ingredients, spices and sauces were provided for use.

Always Seafood Restaurant – Protein: Chicken

Sauteed Chicken in Phoenix Sauce – Chef Gordon Ping Wah Chan, Always Seafood Restaurant

The Sandbar Seafood Restaurant – Protein: Seafood

Steamed Mussels with Black Bean, Sauteed Seafood, BC Spot Prawn in Coconut Broth – Chef William Tse, The Sandbar

Shiang Garden Seafood Restaurant – Protein: Beef

Diced Beef Tenderloin with Pepper – Chef Chun Lum Ma, Shiang Garden Seafood Restaurant

Dynasty Seafood Restaurant – Protein: Duck

Duck in Two Delicacies: Pan Fried Stuffed Duck Breast with Mushroom & Sauteed Duck Diced Meat with Fresh Greens – Chef Sam Leung, Dynasty Seafood Restaurant

• The Endive leaves are very modern to Chinese cuisine and in this dish they filled them with mushrooms like a lettuce wrap.

The Jade Seafood Restaurant – Protein: Seafood

West Coast Sablefish Duo – Stir-fried fillet of sablefish with salted egg and pan-fried fillet of sablefish with pea tips and ginger puree – Chef Joseph Jiang, The Jade Seafood Restaurant

• The sauce used for the calligraphy was a puree of peas and ginger.

Fortune House Seafood Restaurant – Protein: Duck

Duck Breast in Yunnan Wild Mushroom Sauce & Sliced Duck in Black Pepper Sauce – Chef Wing Ho, Fortune House Seafood Restaurant

Grand Dynasty – Protein: Pork

Baby Pork with Black Vinegar Sauce and Pork Chop with Golden Maple Syrup – Chef Anthony Leung, Grand Dynasty

• The pork chop cutlet reminded me of the deep fried prawn dish tossed in mayonnaise and honey with candied walnuts. It’s a modernized Chinese dish and in this case it was executed with pork and a maple syrup glaze which hardened like crispy candy mimicking pork crackling to me.

Fraser Court Seafood Restaurant – Protein: Beef

Year of the Dragon with Delicious Beef – Chef Kent Wong, Fraser Court Seafood Restaurant

• I’ve never seen this done before. Chef made egg crepes and wrapped them around thin strips of beef tenderloin and then rolled it all together with more beef tenderloin like sushi. It visually reminded me of oxtail, but the whole execution process I’ve never seen.
• The wraps along the edges were almost like Peking Duck Wraps, but stuffed with mushrooms.

Vivacity Restaurant – Protein: Duck

Shunde Style “Sammi” Duck – Chef Keng Wai Ng, Vivacity Restaurant

• This showcased duck breast and duck tongue. The orange sauce was made with salted egg yolk and red pepper which are ingredients I’m familiar with separately, but not together.

Wild Rice Modern Chinese Restaurant – Protein: Pork

Sauteed Pork Liver with Szechuan Caramel, Mushroom Steam Bun, and Sauteed Vegetables – Chef Todd Bright, Wild Rice Modern Chinese Restaurant

Day 2: Chinese Chef of the Year – The Black Box Challenge

Day 2 of the BC Chinese Chef of the Year was The Black Box Challenge. Each team was given a black box featuring 2-3 ingredients which had to be used to make an appetizer and a main. Each team was given 45 minutes and only discovered their ingredients a minute before starting their challenge. Each chef had one sous chef and 2 teams competed at a time.

Secret ingredients: Mussels & Monkfish

Appetizer: Mussels with 3 different sauces – Chef William Tse, Sandbar

Secret ingredients: Mussels & Monkfish

Main: Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Monk Fish with Coconut Milk and Vegetables – Chef William Tse, Sandbar

Secret ingredients: Mussels & Monkfish

Appetizer: Monkfish on Grilled King Oyster Mushroom with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce

Secret ingredients: Mussels & Monkfish

Appetizer: Black Bean Stir-Fried Mussels with Peppers and Baby Bok Choy

Secret ingredients: Beef Sirloin, Hamachi

Appetizer: Beef Tartare & Hamachi Tartare with Wonton Crisps – Chef Todd Bright, Wild Rice Modern Chinese Cuisine

Secret ingredients: Beef Sirloin, Hamachi

Main: Seared Beef Sirloin, Hamachi Sashimi & Pan-Fried Fermented Black Bean Stuffed Gyoza, Chef Todd Bright, Wild Rice Modern Chinese Cuisine

Secret ingredients: Beef Sirloin, Hamachi

Appetizer: Seared Hamachi (Rare) with Wasabi Mayo

Secret ingredients: Beef Sirloin, Hamachi

Main: Seared Beef Sirloin, Hamachi Sashimi Tower with Egg, Cucumber and Wasabi Mayo & Potato Salad with Mushrooms

Secret ingredients: Saba, Beef Chuck

Appetizer: Grilled Saba with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce

Secret ingredients: Saba, Beef Chuck

Main: Sauteed Beef Chuck in Satay Sauce with Saba Endive Wrap on Enoki Mushrooms

Secret ingredients: Saba, Beef Chuck

Pre-Appetizer: Fried Saba with Garlic and Onions – Chef Kent Wong, Fraser Court Seafood Restaurant

Secret ingredients: Saba, Beef Chuck

Appetizer: Saba Poached in Egg with Dried Scallop on Butternut Squash with Sweet Soy Sauce – Chef Kent Wong, Fraser Court Seafood Restaurant

Secret ingredients: Saba, Beef Chuck

Main: Sauteed Beef Chuck wrapped with Chinese Broccoli in Satay Sauce & Sauteed Black Trumpets, Chanterelles and Vegetables – Chef Kent Wong, Fraser Court Seafood Restaurant

Secret ingredients: Horse Mackerel, Kangaroo

Appetizer: Deep Fried Noodle Wrapped Horse Mackerel with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce in Endive Leaves and Sauteed Vegetables

Secret ingredients: Horse Mackerel, Kangaroo

Main: Kangaroo Meat Patties with Baby Bok Choy

Secret ingredients: Horse Mackerel, Kangaroo

Appetizer: Deep Fried Horse Mackerel with Butternut Squash

Secret ingredients: Horse Mackerel, Kangaroo

Main: Sauteed Kangaroo with Sugar Snap Peas in Black Bean Sauce

Secret ingredients: Monkfish, Sirloin Tip, Mussels

Appetizer: Fried Monkfish with Sauteed Mussels and Chinese Broccoli in Black Bean Sauce

Secret ingredients: Monkfish, Sirloin Tip, Mussels

Main: Seared Sirloin Tip on Lotus Root with Honey Sauce

Secret ingredients: Monkfish, Sirloin Tip, Mussels

Appetizer: Minced Monkfish and Mussels Wrapped in Egg Crepe

Secret ingredients: Monk Fish, Sirloin Tip, Mussels

Main: Sauteed Sirloin Tip in Sweet Soy Sauce with Leeks and Endive

Restaurant: Pizzeria Barbarella
Cuisine: Italian/Pizza
Last visited: January 10, 2012
Location: Vancouver, BC (Fairview)
Address: 654 East Broadway
Train: VCC Skytrain
Price Range: $10-20

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: FMF Must Try!

Food: 4
Service: 2
Ambiance: 2
Overall: 3.5
Additional comments:

• Neapolitan meets New York style
• Local/organic ingredients
• Hand tossed pizza
• Wood burning oven
• Very casual
• Rather bare atmosphere
• Sit down service
• Reasonably priced
• Family friendly
• Previous owner of Ah-Beetz Pizza (Abbotsford)
• Accepts Visa/MC
• Dine In/Take out
• Tuesday – Sunday: 5pm-10pm

**Recommendations: Fungo Portobello Gratinato, Gnocchi Alla Cardinale, Ossobuco Classico

Oh dear. I kind of feel bad for the little guys like Elma’s Kitchen 2 for 1 Pizza & Salad Bar right next door to the newly opened Pizzeria Barbarella.

Pizza proves to be big business in Vancouver. I’m not talking about 2 for 1 pizza, I’m talking about real authentic Napoletana pizza. With a pizza place popping up every 3 months, I’m not sure how many more the market can sustain. But I guess for now the more the merrier, especially if it can only get better.

It’s almost getting to the point where it’s all good when you compare the creme de la creme of pizza. From what I’ve tried, that would include Nicli Antica Pizzeria, Pizzeria Farina, and Verace Pizzeria Napoletana and Enoteca, and maybe The BiBo (even though I personally wasn’t as keen). Regardless, the competition is tight. There are also a handful more I haven’t tried, but I’m satisfied with what I’ve tried so far, and I probably prefer them in the order I just listed too. The newcomer is Pizzeria Barbarella and I’d squeeze it in tightly between Pizzeria Farina and Verace Pizzeria Napoletana and Enoteca. The differences are quite marginal, but it can compete with the big boys, or the so called “best pizzas in the city”.

Pizzeria Barbarella is the newest pizzeria to hit Vancouver, but it’s not the newest to hit the Metro Vancouver pizza scene. The owner is actually the previous owner of Ah-Beetz Pizza which was located in Abbotsford.

For the last few years it was known as the only place in Vancouver to get authentic New York style pizza, and now he’s finally sold it and moved his pizza business to the big city! Of course big city means bigger competition. If it moved here before the pizza scene exploded last year, it would still be the front runner, but since great authentic Neapolitan style pizza isn’t as hard to find in Vancouver anymore, people can be pickier with the many options.

I rarely go to a restaurant when it first opens. Personally I like to give at least 4-5 weeks before I visit so that the menu, service and prices settle down to the market demands. However on this occasion it was somewhat unavoidable, so together with Sherman I checked it out on opening day. I do expect things to change with time, and it’s not a place for ambiance, but so far it is off to a solid start.

Pizzeria Barbarella specializes in hand tossed, wood fired oven pizza made with fresh and local ingredients you can taste. The pizza seemed like a combination of an authentic Neapolitan style pizza meets a New York style pizza.

It was much smaller than a New York style pie (see my post on Grimaldi’s Pizzeria in New York for reference), and more along the size of a Neapolitan style pizza. The crust was thin, crispy around the edges, soft and tender in the centre, but not soggy either (Neapolitan type), but the toppings were a bit heavier, not all from Italy, and it was served pre-cut (New York type). My only issues were that the crusts were a bit inconsistent and at times the pizzas were a bit salty, and I already have a high tolerance for salt. Other than that, the price was right for what you get and it’s nothing pretentious, but still good quality and worth revisiting.

On the table:

**Margherita – 4.5/6 (Very good)

• Tomato, fior di latte, aged mozzarella, basil, parmigiano reggiano and extra virgin olive oil $12
• It’s the staple. The Margherita is the most simple pizza, but it’s the one that tells all. You can’t hide anything.
• It was a hybrid of a Neapolitan style pizza and a New York style pizza. The crust and size was closer to a Neapolitan style pizza, but the amount and origin of toppings was closer to a New York style pie.
• It was heavier with the toppings which made it a bit saltier and the tomato sauce was thin, but not quite translucent to the crust.
• It was quite cheesy, salty and stringy and the three kinds of cheeses were generous as opposed to the standard two kinds of cheese for a margherita.
• The tomato sauce was fresh and a bit acidic, but I wouldn’t mind it a bit less salty if there were already so many cheeses and the crust was already salted.
• I did appreciate the generous amount of basil leaves, however traditional Neapolitan pizzas will usually have 3 leaves in the centre and that’s the authentic style.
• Personally I prefer a basil flavour throughout the pizza, so I liked this. It was also put on after the baking, which is how it should be done.
• There was freshly grated parmesan and some extra virgin olive oil to finish off the pizza.
• Although I normally like the olive oil addition, this one didn’t really need it since the cheeses had released so much oil on their own.
• It wasn’t a greasy pizza, but the natural oils were very present, yet not overwhelming.

• It was a thin crust with a tender soft centre and it was nice and foldable with crispy edges and a charcoal crust.
• The crust wasn’t particularly salty, but it was salted and it was quite thick and chewy, but not tiresome to chew until it got cold (which is natural).
• I kind of wish there was more consistent blistering and leoparding around the edges of the crust too.

The leoparding on the bottom was visibly there, but it wasn’t blistering and I couldn’t taste the charcoal flavour I always look for. Again, at times the crusts were baked a bit inconsistent (ovens can have hot spots), but generally I enjoyed them.

Amatriciana – 4/6 (Very good)

• Tomato, fior di latte, aged mozzarella, house smoked pancetta, red onions, fresh garlic, chili flakes, parmigiano reggiano and extra virgin olive oil $16
• Again, it was a hybrid of a Neapolitan style pizza and a New York style pizza. The crust and size was closer to a Neapolitan style pizza, but the amount and origin of toppings was closer to a New York style pie.
• To read more about the crust see the Margherita crust section, but this one was slightly thicker so I’m not sure if it’s consistent.
• This one was perhaps the most New York in style because it had the heaviest toppings and it weighed down the pizza a bit. However it would make most diners feel like they got their money’s worth.
• The toppings ended up being more of a focus than the crust, and usually that’s the best part, but when it comes to high quality pizzas like these, the crust plays an equally or even more important role.
• There were nice spicy onions, thick salty cuts of pancetta and a little chili for some heat, but it wasn’t really spicy.

**Funghi – 4.5/6 (Very good-Excellent)

• Bechamella, fontina, oven roasted cremini mushrooms, parmigiano reggiano and white truffle oil $17
• Again, it was a hybrid of a Neapolitan style pizza and a New York style pizza. The crust and size was closer to a Neapolitan style pizza, but the amount and origin of toppings was closer to a New York style pie.
• To read more about the crust see the Margherita crust section.
• I love bechamel and mushrooms, and fontina, parm and truffle oil… okay so basically I love all the ingredients on this pizza a lot, so naturally I’m going to gravitate towards it.
• This one was perhaps the saltiest, but I still loved it and nobody else that I’m aware of is making pizza with bechamella right now.
• Bachamella or bechamel is pretty much one of my favourite sauces of all time. It’s a creamy white sauce made with flour, butter and cream and it’s just so velvety smooth and silky like a pommes puree.
• It was a super creamy and rich pizza with lots of salty, nutty, buttery and mushroomy flavours and it was almost the “comfort food” pizza.
• It wasn’t particularly strong with truffle oil, but it was still heavy with mushroom flavour.
• It wasn’t garlicky, which might have been nice so I might add that topping next time.

Bianco Rosa - 4/6 (Very good)

• Red onions, rosemary, pistachios, parmigiano reggiano and extra virgin olive oil $14
• Again, it was a hybrid of a Neapolitan style pizza and a New York style pizza. The crust and size was closer to a Neapolitan style pizza, but the amount and origin of toppings was closer to a New York style pie.
• To read more about the crust see the Margherita crust section.
• This one had the least leoparding around the edges, but could have benefited with having the most since it was almost all about the crust as a Bianco.
• I needed to try the Bianco and I’m a huge fan of pistachios and nuts so I was excited about this one.
• It was definitely the drier pizza of the four, but I could taste everything on it although the toppings came across a bit bittier adding to the dry quality.
• It wasn’t a dry pizza, but since there’s no tomato sauce, minimal cheese and nuts, it’s naturally drier.
• It was garlicky and herby with a rosemary finish in the nose and I could taste its aromatics throughout the pizza.
• The thin shavings of crunchy red onions were the dominant flavour and they were sweet, but not yet caramelized or melted in texture. They were still crunchy and cooked during the baking process rather than pre-caramelized and baked.
• There was a generous amount of toasted unsalted pistachios and I loved that. The more pistachios the better! And none of them were burnt.
• The crust really stood out more on this one and it was the lightest in flavours.
• Some may find it a bit boring or dry (perhaps more olive oil to finish would do it), but I enjoyed it.

Restaurant: The Jade Seafood Restaurant
Cuisine: Chinese/Dim Sum/Seafood
Last visited: January 23, 2012
Location: Richmond, BC (Richmond Central)
Address: 8511 Alexandra Rd
Train: Lansdowne Station Northbound
Price Range: $10-20 (dim sum) $ 30-50, $50+ (dinner)

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: FMF Must Try!

Food: 4
Service: 3
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 4.5
Additional comments:

• Authentic Cantonese cuisine
• Fine dining Chinese
• Popular for fresh seafood
• Local favourite/Busy
• “Chinese Chef of the Year” Tony Luk
• Voted “Best Dim Sum”
• Award winning Chinese restaurant
• Some modern Chinese dishes
• “Customized Cuisine” available
• Banquets/events
• Reservations recommended
• 15% off Take Out Menu before 6:30pm
• 9-11am 20% off
• Dim Sum/Lunch: Mon-Sun 9am-3pm
• Dinner: Mon-Dun 5pm-10pm
• Free parking
• See my Jade Dinner post here.

**Recommendations: For dim sum: Steamed Mushroom Dumpling, Deep Fried Shrimp Ball with Almond Chips, Baked BBQ Pork Bun, Steamed Beef Ball with Bean Curd, Baked Mushroom Pie, Steamed Vegetable with Preserved Vegetable, Mixed Mushroom Chow Mein, Jade Fried Rice, Preserved Egg & Pork Congee, Steamed Brown Sugar with Honey Cake, Blueberry Glutinous Ball (I’m curious about their Deep Fried Milk). For dinner recommendations see here. Any live seafood is a good bet.

Oh crap. I woke up late for dim sum. It was a Chinese New Year Eve dim sum and since I was going to be late, I told everyone to go ahead and order first. For most people you would feel guilty for showing up late, and I do, but as a foodie, it also sucks that you miss out on the ordering. Boo. That’s one of my favourite parts. Yes, that should also be in “Sh*t Foodies Say“. Therefore the items you see are not necessarily what I would order, but I did add a few items to the list.

It’s not even tradition, but my Chinese New Year Eve dim sum last year happened to also be at The Jade Seafood Restaurant – see here. It was with different groups of people, but it’s generally well liked by locals for upscale dim sum or Chinese fine dining. The prices have increased slightly since last year and most of the dim sum comes in 3 rather than 4.

I find the general issue with The Jade is that the items are a bit pricey for what they’re serving. While that is somewhat true, the ingredients and techniques are still good, and they do offer some specialties unique to the restaurant. Some dishes I can find better elsewhere, but it’s still never been “bad” from my experiences here, if anything just overpriced. They do have award winning credentials as the “best dim sum in Richmond” and the chef is Tony Luk, who was last year’s Chinese Chef of the Year, so all of the above sums up to higher prices and that’s somewhat expected.

What I like about The Jade is their willingness to challenge tradition by offering innovative dim sum and overall dishes. I wouldn’t go as far as to call it “fusion”, but they do add their own twists to authentic Chinese food without butchering it.

On this occasion I actually came to The Jade for dim sum on Chinese New Year Eve and then again for dinner for Chinese New Year with Tourism Richmond. I’ve come here on several occasions for dim sum and dinner without Tourism Richmond, and I’ve never had a bad experience although there are hit and miss dishes which I find is pretty normal. Whether it offers the “best dim sum” is debatable, but I feel comfortable to say it is one of the best in the context of Richmond from what I’ve tried, which is quite a bit. It’s not necessarily my favourite dim sum, but it’s still one I go to and like. I recommend it because they’re reliable, quite consistent, and offer dishes I can’t get anywhere else.

On the table:

**Steamed Shrimp Dumpling - 3.5/6 (Good-Very good)

• $4.88
• Well I’ve never seen it served like that before.
• I’m not sure if the prawn was special for the New Year, but it was an unexpected surprise. Deciding who got to eat it was the hard part, but out of respect, it’s usually the oldest person. Luckily I was at the kids table, so lucky me!
• The Shrimp Dumpling proves the skill of a chef and it’s usually the must try item at every dim sum restaurant.

• The skin was thin, but it wasn’t as chewy as I had hoped and that’s an important part to a prawn dumpling.
• The prawn meatball was juicy and crunchy with no bamboo shoots, but I do remember the skin being better previously.

Steamed Pork Dumpling – 3.5/6 (Good-Very good)

• $4.88
• It was about 50% pork and 50% shrimp and for a high end restaurant like this I expected it to be at least 70% shrimp. Most high end dim sum restaurants will give more shrimp since it makes it more valuable.
• They each had a little Shiitake mushroom and they were very juicy and tender with a nice crunch from the shrimp and sponge like texture from the pork.
• Personally I prefer the Red Star Seafood Steamed Pork Shiu Mai Dumplings, but these were still good.

**Steamed Mushroom Dumpling – 6/6 (FMF Must Try!)

• $4.88
• This is one of their signature items and award winning dishes and I have to say it’s a must try if you come here. I always order it every time I come.
• It’s very good and original, but at the same time it has few ingredients and the flavours are not necessarily complex, but simply enjoyed by all.
• It is made for mushroom lovers and they’re rich, but not saucy dumplings that would suit the tastes of both Chinese and non-Chinese.
• The dumpling skin was pretty perfect and it’s a different skin than the prawn dumpling skin. This one is a bit thicker, but it’s much chewier and has a great resistance to it.

• The inside is generously filled with sweet Shiitake mushrooms, Enoki mushrooms and Oyster mushrooms.
• The mushrooms give the dumpling a nice crunch and there’s a good balance of all three.
• There was supposed to be an accent of truffle oil, but I couldn’t taste it as much as I could get the aroma of it.
• It’s the best when you get one stuffed with a bundle of Enoki mushrooms because it gives the dumpling an extra crunch to contrast all the soft and juicy textures.
• The natural juices from the mushrooms are the sauce and it gives the dumpling a very slippery texture, although it can get a bit gummy at times if it’s over steamed.

Dried Oyster Seaweed Dumpling - 2/6 (Okay)

• $4.68
• This is a special dim sum dish only available for a limited of time during the New Year so I had to order it. It’s unique to Jade restaurant.
• The ingredients used to make it are quite pricey, but also symbolic to the New Year.
• The oysters and seaweed (actually dried black moss) translate to prosperity and good business.
• The execution was quite interesting and it was almost like a purse with 2 compartments, one for the oyster and the other for the seaweed.
• Underneath the two features was a roughly chopped mixture of prawns, dried oyster and seaweed. It’s not a creamy or saucy stuffing.
• I would say this dumpling is acquired in taste and texture because it can be a little mushy and pungent due to the dried oyster.
• There really wasn’t much dried oyster and it was all kind of crumbled into the mixture and I think it should have been one entire piece of dried oyster to show quality.
• It has a strong seafood flavour, but the pieces of shrimp gave it a nice crunch so it’s not as mushy as it could have been.
• Personally I would have loved more dried black moss because there was so little I couldn’t tell the quality.
• I feel kind of bad because black moss is going extinct so it’s hard to get nowadays and that’s why it’s so valued and prized.
• I’m familiar with all the ingredients and I would eat it again, but I wouldn’t order it again. I just expected more.

**Steamed Beef Ball with Bean Curd – 4.5/6 (Very good-Excellent)

• $4.38
• I’m actually not a huge fan of these, but I’ll still eat them and I actually really liked these one and so did everyone else.
• I’m usually not keen on the orange peel flavour, which these ones still had, but I still liked them and the orange was quite obvious too.
• They were super soft and tender meatballs wrapped in tofu skins and they were juicy, spongy and full of flavour without being too salty.
• The meatball mixture had some chives, cilantro and minced water chestnuts for some texture and crunch and they almost melted in your mouth.

**Baked BBQ Pork Bun - 5/6

• About $4.18
• These are one of my favourite dim sum items. The baked BBQ pork buns are so much better than the steamed ones to me.
• These are rather new at Jade and not even on the menu yet, but I hope they eventually include them.
• They’re basically melt in your mouth savoury “donuts” and my non-Asian friend calls them savoury Krispy Kremes.
• My all time favourite baked BBQ Pork Bun is still at Top Gun J& C Restaurant, but these ones are definitely up there as one of my favourites.

• The topping on this one was almost like a meringue and it was all crispy and buttery, but not as sugary and sweet as it usually is and that I usually prefer.
• The crumbly topping forms a dome shaped crust, and this one was excellent, but I wouldn’t mind it a bit sweeter and more of it.
• The BBQ pork meat was a little heavy on the dye, but it still tasted delicious and the meat wasn’t fatty or chewy, but also not dry.
• The filling wasn’t too sweet and it was nice and saucy with some crunchy onions.
• The onions were more apparent and usually there are less onions and almost all pork.
• The bun was very soft and it’s a sweeter type of Asian bread and I just love these things!

Steamed Chicken Wrap with Fish Maw – n/a

• $4.98
• Okay so I know it looks like dead crow, but keep an open mind.
• The black chicken is Silkie Chicken and it offers lots of health benefits and is often used to create chicken stocks.
• I rated it “n/a” not because I didn’t try it, but I just don’t really know how to eat the chicken.
• Eating the Silkie Chicken just seems like sucking on skin and bones to me. I left it for the “older generation” to appreciate.
• The part I liked is everything else.
• Fish maw (gas bladder) is a Chinese delicacy. It’s a chewy, jelly-like spongy tube and it has a slight crunch. It’s a bit slimy and acquired, but I really like it. It doesn’t even really have a flavour and just absorbs the flavour of everything it’s cooked in.
• The broth is one of the best parts of this dish and it’s meant to be enjoyed as soup, but the qualities of it make it like a rich sauce.
• The broth was infused with a bit of ginseng which makes it naturally a bit bitter, but very healthy, and then some dried gogi berries are added which give it a sweetness.
• The broth was thick and full of rich chicken flavour and a sweetness that was not from granulated sugar, but from natural sugars.
• It almost tasted a bit caramelized, but this is considered a healthy and high end dim sum dish although acquired.

**Baked Mushroom Pie - 5/6 (Excellent)

• $4.88
• This is from my previous Jade dim sum post, but I still think it’s worth re-mentioning.
• Chef likes mushrooms and I love mushrooms! Actually Chinese people really like mushrooms because they represent wealth and prosperity.
• As “non-Chinese” as these were I still loved them! This was definitely modern dim sum and it is a signature dish that is very catered to Western tastes.
• Compared to a Western baked mushroom pie it might not be comparable, but I still liked it a lot.
• It’s almost like a quiche meets a mini mushroom pot pie, but made with Shiitake and Oyster mushrooms.
• It had a generous layer of baked cheese over top which is not Chinese, but it was all still incredibly delicious!
• Mushrooms + melted ooey gooey cheese in a tender buttery pie pastry shell… sign me up!
• If you like this you might also like the Baked Seafood Pie with Portuguese Sauce at Top Gun J & C Restaurant.

**Preserved Egg, Dried Oyster & Pork Congee - 5/6 (Excellent)

• Bowl $6.99 Casserole $14.99 (By “casserole’ they mean large bowl)
• This is my favourite kind of congee and this was likely one of the best versions of it I’ve had.
• I’ve never had huge chunks of pork in my congee like the ones they gave here, and I’m pretty sure it was their leftover roasted suckling pork. It was delicious!
• The congee was incredibly creamy and well flavoured on its own too.
• The pork was lean and slightly dry, but in the context of the congee, it was easily overlooked.
• There was a good amount of egg and I can’t comment on the amount of dried oyster since I didn’t get any.

The congee comes with savoury Chinese donuts which were completely crunchy, light and airy. There are also green onions, and some pickled Chinese radish as accompaniments. The Chinese donut is basically a “Chinese churro”, but it’s not sweet. The photo was a late photo, but it came with more of them.

Wok Fried Sweet Rice with Chinese Sausage Bits – 3.5/6 (Good-Very good)

• $15.59
• I’m not huge on this dish, but for what it was, it was very good.
• The rice is called sweet rice, but it’s not actually sweet. It’s sweeter than regular rice and does have a sweetness and chewiness, but it’s not dessert.
• It’s a bit like sticky rice and it was fried very well with a nice wok aroma and it wasn’t clumpy, wet, or dry.
• The Chinese sausage added a sweetness and there was also lots of dried shrimp which gave it salty nutty bites and intense flavour.
• For what it was, I actually liked it a lot, but it’s just not something I would order.

I came late and people had started on this so I tried reassembling the dish for the photo.

**The Jade Fried Rice – 5/6 (Excellent)

• $16.99
• Next to Red Star Seafood’s Dungeness Crab with Wild Rice Sea Conpoy & Chicken, this is possible my next favourite modern version of fried rice.
• It had fresh chopped prawns, scrambled eggs, minced carrots, slices of Chinese broccoli stems, preserved Chinese olives, and dried pork floss (dried and shredded pork jerky) generously sprinkled over the top.
• The Chinese olives and the dried pork floss was what made this fried rice different and I personally love those ingredients so it worked well for me.
• The rice was well fried, separate and well flavoured with a wok aroma and it was so much more interesting than your basic fried rice.
• There was crunchy texture from the vegetables and great savoury flavour from the pungent olives which were used sparingly because a little goes a long way.
• I would have loved some dried scallops for even more flavour, but it was still great as is.

**Mixed Mushroom Chow Mein – 5/6 (Excellent)

• $15.59
• I came late and people had started on this, but I have a photo of a special order dinner sized version below.
• It’s called “Mixed Mushroom and Truffle Chow Mein” on the dinner menu, but it should be the same thing.
• See description below.

I came late and people had started on this so I tried reassembling the dish for the photo.

Fried Rice Noodle with Beef in Satay Sauce – 4/6 (Very good)

• About $15.59
• The noodles were soft and chewy and there were plenty of tender beef slices and even some Enoki mushrooms which was a modern twist.
• The sauce was not heavy with the usual cornstarch so it wasn’t as gluey or gelatinous.
• The savoury and aromatic satay sauce had a bit of heat and it was slightly gritty and very nutty with garlic.
• It seemed heavier with Hoisin sauce and I don’t think there was peanut or sesame sauce since it was a Chinese version of satay sauce and not South East Asian version.

New Year Rice Cake Layered with Biscuit– 2.5/6 (Okay-Good)

• $3.98
• This is a special item new to the menu specifically for Chinese New Year. This is from my previous Jade dim sum post.
• This was their own creation. It was a sweet sticky rice cake called “New Year Cake” and it was topped with a pineapple bun crust that has no actual pineapple, but it tastes like a short bread cookie.
• I’m indifferent about New Year Cake, but it was pretty good here.
• It’s served warm and it’s very chewy, sticky and gummy and it’s made with rice flour and brown sugar.
• It’s not very sweet at all but has a caramel like flavour, but way less intense and sweet.
• Eaten together I kind of felt like I was eating a Fig Newton or Nutri-Grain Bar, but instead of fruit puree it’s a chewier sticker rice cake.

Steamed Layer Cake with Egg – 4.5/6 (Very good-Excellent)

• $3.98
• This is from my previous Jade dim sum post.
• I actually really liked this! It was made very well for what it was.
• It’s a warm and layered sponge cake and there’s a bit of caramelized coconut custard and sweetened egg yolk layers in between.
• It’s moist, soft, chewy and slightly sweetened. It’s quite mild in sweetness, but it’s very aromatic and enjoyable.
• You can’t compare it to Western style cakes, but it’s unique and good in the Asian category of desserts.

Dinner at The Jade Seafood Restaurant

Complimentary Peanuts

• This is a common complimentary appetizer in China.
• It’s equivalent to complimentary bread and butter.
• Unlike North America, peanut allergies are very rare in China and peanuts and peanut oil are used in a lot of Chinese cooking there.

**Steamed Mushroom Dumpling - 6/6 (FMF Must Try!)

• $4.88 for 3 at dim sum.
• I wrote about them above, but we special ordered these for dinner and they were just as good.

Seafood is the specialty at all Chinese restaurants and the sign of an in house live seafood tank is a sign of quality and freshness. The whole sustainable seafood thing is a whole other topic that includes culture, so I won’t get into that although your comments are welcome below.

Most if not all Chinese restaurants will bring out your seafood before they prepare it to show you size and freshness. At this point you can approve it before they start. They do this all over Asia and part of the reason is to reassure you that you’re not getting tricked.

**Sautéed B.C. Dungeness Crab & Mixed Mushrooms with Amoy Premium Soy – 6/6 (FMF Must Try!)

• Seasonal and market price.
• You can select your choice of seafood and style of preparation.
• It may be apples and oranges, but personally I’ve always preferred the Asian methods of preparing seafood in Vancouver.
• This was won the Critics’ Choice Signature Dish Gold Award in the seafood category at the Chinese Restaurant Awards 2012.
• First off, it smelled delicious. The aromas were lifting off the plate.
• It was crab sauteed with lots of green onions, onions, garlic, ginger and mushrooms.
• The crab was no doubt fresh and cooked perfectly with flaky and juicy crab meat.
• The flavours were aromatic and a bit nutty with sauteed shiitakes and oyster mushrooms in a bit of soy sauce and sesame oil. The mushrooms had a bit of chewiness and they were quite meaty.
• The pieces of ginger were also sauteed to the point of almost being like jerky and I could eat them whole and they weren’t spicy or crunchy.
• The head of the crab is always served and the tomalley (sperm, guts, brain) is highly prized and “fought” for. It’s basically seafood butter and although rich and high in cholesterol, it’s often known as the best part. “Real foodies” will fight for it.
• Other Jade seafood dishes include: Braised Fresh Whole Australian Abalone, Sauteed Pumpkin & Prawn with Salted Egg, Fresh Crab Meat Sauteed with Egg Yolk & Soy Milk and Live Rock Cod.

**The Jade Smoked Grandpa Chicken - 6/6 (FMF Must Try!)

• $14.99 half
• I don’t know if they left the head out intentionally to not freak out the “Westerners”, but it should have been the whole bird, head to tail, to symbolize coming together of families… on the other hand dinner was “business-oriented” so I guess it wasn’t necessary. =p
• This is one of Jade Seafood Restaurant’s award winning dishes and most famous items on the menu.
• It’s not my first time trying it, but I love it.
• It’s a chilled chicken and full of flavour. It’s not heavy or greasy, but the flavours will keep your taste buds excited and guessing.
• There is a very light sauce, but the flavour is literally in every thread of the chicken meat, down to the bone. The sauce is still fantastic though!
• It was sweet and savoury and you could taste the smokiness infused in the chicken meat as well as the sauce. I just wonder if they use liquid smoke because there’s no grilling or barbequing going on here.
• It’s a free range chicken so the meat is naturally firmer and more flavourful with a drier texture, but it’s certainly not a dry chicken.
• The sauce has some sweet Chinese cooking wine that’s similar to Japanese mirin, and it’s combined with the natural flavours of the chicken oil. This is what gives it the savoury and sweet balance.
• It’s infatuating to not see a heavy sauce or any visible spices and rubs and to still achieve such intense flavour throughout. A real talent from the Chef.

The chicken is served with green onion and ginger oil, but it doesn’t even need it. It was made in house and nicely salted, but I prefer my onions a bit more minced. I love this condiment in general though and can eat it alone.

Pea Tips (Seasonal Vegetable) Sauteed with Garlic – 5/6 (Excellent)

• Around $13.99
• It’s just a simple vegetable dish and for what it was it was pricey, but expected and at least they did a good job with it.
• The pea tips and garlic were fresh and the dish wasn’t greasy or overcooked, so that’s pretty much all you look for in a dish like this, hence the 5/6.

**Mixed Mushroom and Truffle Chow Mein - 6/6 (FMF Must Try!)

• $15.59
• There’s a slight increase in price since last year and it’s also offered during dim sum, but called “Mixed Mushroom Chow Mein”.
• This is an original Jade creation and I would say it’s a must try here. It’s even better than the one I had last year and they even looked different.
• These were not the crispy chow mein, but the soy sauce wok tossed chow mein.
• It’s tossed with Shiitake mushrooms, Oyster mushrooms, bean sprouts, green onions, carrots and drizzled with truffle oil.
• I could definitely smell the truffle oil as soon as it hit the table, but I couldn’t really taste it in my noodles, which was disappointing. It was the same issue with the mushroom dumplings. Regardless, they’re both still delicious.
• It had more mushroom flavour and mushrooms compared to last time and it was better seasoned overall.
• There was nice crunchy texture from bean sprouts, green onions and carrots and the noodles had a great wok aroma and smokiness without being dry.
• It’s actually a great dish for vegetarians.

**Blueberry Glutinous Ball (Cold) – 4/6 (Very good)

• $4.28
• Being that I’m not a fan of most Chinese desserts, I actually like this one because it’s a modern Chinese dessert catered towards Western tastes.
• This is unique to Jade and it’s a Chinese-American style Japanese mochi.

• It’s a chilled light and fluffy mochi, but it’s not frozen and the skins were very soft and not as chewy as the Japanese kind. They also weren’t starchy or doughy.
• The inside is filled with fresh whipped cream that’s semi melted and some frozen blueberries that have thawed out so they’re a bit wrinkly.
• The inside was a super creamy semi melted mixture of very lightly sweetened whipped cream with the blueberries folded in and I found them enjoyable.
• At times in the past, some of them had harder bottoms which meant air got to them.

**Steamed Brown Sugar with Honey Cake - 6/6 (FMF Must Try!)

• $4.38
• This was delicious and so unique! Apparently it’s very common and traditional in Hong Kong, but I’ve never seen it in Vancouver.
• It was a very light and airy warm cake, and it had a caramel flavour, but as usual it still wasn’t that sweet like most Chinese desserts.
• It looked like honeycomb, but it was completely soft and seemed like a bunch of compacted mini straws.
• It was almost like a chewy very elasticky sponge cake and they used rice flour to make it.
• There were very squishy with a nice bounce and spring to them and they’re almost water resistant, yet incredibly moist from being steamed.
• It was the love child of a traditional Chinese sweet brown sugar rice cake and a traditional steamed Chinese almond cake (the almond cake is available at most dim sum places – see Steamed Sponge Cake).
• I’ve really never had anything quite like this cake though and it was very peel-able like cheese string. Definitely a must try for uniqueness.

Restaurant: Soirette Macarons & Tea
Cuisine: French/Desserts/Coffee/Tea
Last visited: January 21, 2012
Area: Vancouver, BC (Robson Street/West End)
Address: 1433 West Pender Street
Train: Burrard Skytrain
Price range: $20-30 ($15-20 mains)

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: FMF Must Try!

Food: 5
Service: 2.5
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 4.5
Additional comments:

• Specializes in macarons
• All natural ingredients
• Gluten-free
• No dyes
• Coffee/Teas
• Loose leaf tea
• On site bakery
• Limited menu
• Stylish/sophisticated
• Limited seating
• Tea/macarons gifts to go
• Mon-Fri: 10am-7pm
• Saturday 11am-6pm
• Sunday 11am-5pm

**Recommendations: Parisian Macarons

This is a definite feel good post! It had all the qualities I look for in a macaron. What? Did you think I was going to say “man”? C’mon this is Foodie in the City, not Sex in the City!

Anyways, I feel great, because I found something great! Thanks to Follow Me Foodie reader Heather for giving me the suggestion to try Soirette Macarons & Tea.

By now, I will fully admit that I have become a macaron snob. I denied it for so long, but the fact of the matter is, is that I’ve written a post called “The Perfect Parisian Macarons“, which details what exactly I look for in a macaron. I’ve also intentionally detoured to Point G in Montreal just because it was the most highly recommended macaron shop, and last, but definitely not least, is that I’ve stood in line for 2 hours on the fifth day of the opening for the first ever Ladurée in the United States (see my pathetic experience here). So what does this all add up to? A waste of time? No, but thank you… it just means I’m still not quite satisfied and can get extra picky on my Parisian Macarons now.

Opened by the former Executive Pastry Chef Shobna, who apprenticed and worked in several of the best pâtisseries, is Soirette Macarons & Tea. This cute, sophisticated and stylish macaron and tea boutique is the answer to my macaron fetish! I’ve tried Thierry, Thomas Haas, Kitchening with Carly, The Urban Tea Merchant, Stewart’s Bakery, French Made Baking, CinCin Ristorante +Bar, Jean-Georges, Bouchon Bakery, Ladurée, Point G, and a few other macarons from hotels and bake sales, and for me, this comes right after Point G which is my favourite thus far. It really comes down to personal tastes, but when there’s new talent… there’s new talent! And this one well deserves to be recognized.

Soirette Macarons & Tea specializes in handmade macarons that are baked on site. Macarons are best eaten 2 days after they’re baked and I’m quite sure they follow that “rule of thumb” here. They have to be made, stored and served at the right temperature and they’re fincky things to make (yes, I’ve made them before), so I see their value since they’re always quite pricey. I could sense the passion and see the technique at Soirette and they really have a sense of product control and quality, so I have high hopes they are consistent.

These were the only other desserts at the moment and I’m not sure if they plan to expand the menu. It would be nice to have variety, but at the same time I’m a fan of specialty shops. Specializing in a few things and making them the best? I like!

Just to put things into perspective to show where I’m coming from, I’m going to reiterate my blog post The Perfect Parisian Macarons. Here’s a quick recap of what I personally look for in a macaron.

What I look for in a Parisian Macaron:

1) Smooth shells with no cracks or bumps
2) Macarons that hold their shape and don’t fall apart when you pick them up
3) Feet (the rim or edges of a macaron)
4) A gap between the shell and the inside of the cookie (if no gap, should be still crisp)
5) A crisp thin shell that cracks like an egg shell
6) Moist, soft, tender and smooth inside
7) Sweetness (flavour of ground almonds and not just sugar)
8 ) Filling (ratio, chocolate/buttercream/jam)
9) Quality of ingredients (natural, local, fresh or extracts)
10) Freshness/shelf life (best eaten 1.5-3 days after it’s made, not fresh or stale)
11) Size (authentic ones are bite sized, but I’m not picky about this)

To be honest, it’s not even like macarons are my favourite cookie or anything, but for some reason I’ve just become obsessed with finding the perfect one. Maybe it’s just the “foodie” in me? And what kind of foodie would I be if I didn’t do my research for you? “Follow Me Foodie to Food That’s Okay”… ew, no thanks. Anyways thank goodness I can tell you to Follow Me Foodie to Soirette Macarons & Tea now!

On the table:

Organic Matcha Latte – 4/6 (Very good)

• Petite $4.50 Grande $5
• It’s organic and unsweetened and the petite glass could pass for grande size.
• For the portion and quality of matcha powder it was great, although the latte art could use some work.
• I personally could use more matcha powder, but I think it would be fine for most people.
• The sugar is sugar syrup rather than packaged granular sugar too.

**Parisian Macarons – 5/6 (Excellent)

• Single $2 Box of 6 $11.50 Box of 12 $22
• The only thing stopping me from giving the 6/6 is only because I wouldn’t mind the flavours a bit stronger and I found them quite mild at times. That’s why I prefer Point G.
• They were served at the right temperature and again they’re best 2 days after baked.
• I liked that they were fresh (not long shelf life) and used natural and real ingredients as opposed to artificial dyes and extracts.
• They were all relatively smooth with no cracks and an occasional bump which is fine.
• They held their shape and didn’t fall apart when you pick them up.
• They had nice looking vertical feet and little garnish. Well made macarons shouldn’t be able to hold a heavy garnish anyways, so this was good.
• They were slightly larger than authentic Parisian macarons (I’m not picky about size), but I’d still consider them rather bite sized and worth the price.

• The best part of all was that they were crisp! All 6 of them were crisp! It cracked like an eggshell when I bit into it.
• The crispness seems to be the hardest quality for me to find in a macaron, so I was ecstatic that I had found it. And it was consistent!
• There was a tiny gap which I like (debatable if it’s “okay” to have it), but even if there is no gap, it should still be crisp.
• The inside was moist, soft and tender and I could really taste the almonds and not just sugar.
• The ground almonds (what macarons are made out of) were so strong and aromatic. It was almost like marzipan, but not pasty or overly chewy.
• The filling was all chocolate based rather than buttercream based. This is quite classic for macarons and pricier than using buttercreams.
• I could have used more filing and again at times the flavours were mild, but I still loved the composition and overall technique of these macarons.

Matcha Parisian Macarons – I found this stronger in white chocolate ganache than I did matcha. High quality matcha powder, which they use, still requires quite a bit to get the full flavour, so I would have loved more matcha. It wasn’t too sweet and I could still taste the almonds which is fantastic. Pistachio Parisian Macarons – Pistachio is probably my favourite kind of macaron and I loved having actual pistachio nuts in it. It was a white chocolate buttery pistachio ganache and I wouldn’t mind a bit more pistachio paste in the filling. It was still undeniably pistachio and not just an extract, but I love that thick texture of real pistachio paste.

This one just came out of the back and it wasn’t quite at the right temperature to be enjoyed ideally, but they did give the warning which I appreciated.

Caramel Fleur de Sel Parisian Macarons – The salt was very mild and only in the very beginning, but it quickly went away. I definitely wouldn’t mind more salt, but I’m also very keen on sweet and salty combinations in desserts.

The buttery fluid caramel is in the centre and the rest is dark chocolate ganache and I could taste a good balance of both. It wasn’t too sweet, sticky or chewy and I could still taste the almonds. Another amazing caramel macaron is Kitchening with Carly’s Natural Almond Macaron with Rosemary Salted Caramel and Vanilla Cream.

Malibu Parisian Macarons – This was a coconut based macaron with a white chocolate ganache filling and and I could taste the coconut, but again I wouldn’t mind it stronger. If those dried coconut shreds on top had been a bit more toasted that would have helped. The almond flavour really came threw, but I was hoping for more filling and this one didn’t have much.

Mandarin Parisian Macarons – This one was beautiful, but again a bit thin on the dark chocolate ganache filling. The mandarin flavour was more fragrant and it wasn’t particularly citrusy or even very tart. I could still taste the almonds and the orange flavour tasted light, but real. I’m not keen on artificial orange with poor quality chocolate and this was none of that.

If you’re into pretty macarons, I would suggest checking out the ones at CinCin Ristorante +Bar by Executive Pastry Chef Christophe. The look like works of art.

Pink Peppercorn Parisian Macarons – The pink peppercorn was unique, but very mild. I couldn’t taste the heat until after I completely finished the macaron and really waited for it. Pink peppercorns aren’t spicy, but they do carry a nice heat, but this one was still mild.

Restaurant: C Restaurant
Cuisine: Seafood/Fine Dining/West Coast/Pacific Northwest
Last visited: January 25, 2012
Location: Vancouver, BC (Downtown)
Address: #2 – 1600 Howe Street
Train: Yaletown-Roundhouse Stn Southbound
Price Range: $50+

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: FMF Must Try

Food: n/a (Dine Out Menu)
Service: n/a
Ambiance: 5
Overall: n/a
Additional comments:

• Kambolis Restaurant Group
• Fine dining
• West Coast/Pacific Northwest cuisine
• Seasonal menus
• Local ingredients
• Award winning
• Leader in sustainable seafood
• Specializes in seafood
• Executive Chef Robert Clark
• Oceanfront view
• Heated patio
• Award winning wine list
• Ocean Wise
• Weekend brunch – see here
• Dinner Daily from 5pm

**Recommendations: Pumpkin Soup, any Velouté, Spiced Chocolate Pudding, The Pickled Beet Salad is good and also if you enjoy caviar you should check out their Northern Divine Caviar Dinner.

Dine Out Vancouver menus and events are at their halfway mark and there’s still another week to participate in this annual food festival. I recently posted on my thoughts about Dine Out Vancouver (see here) and I’m personally more interested in the events rather than the price fixe menus. I just have my biases with Dine Out Menus and find them more or less samples of what the restaurant can do on a regular night. Therefore I strongly recommend people to go back on a regular night regardless of how impressed or disappointed you were with them during Dine Out.

I am quite familiar with the regular menu at C Restaurant and have been there on several occasions. In fact I even saw some of the regular dishes offered on the Dine Out menu. However they were slightly altered, simplified and made more approachable for the price fixe. On this occasion I was invited to try their Dine Out menu, which I expected would either confirm or even better convert my preconceptions regarding Dine Out. I respect those of you who do participate in Dine Out Vancouver, and if you’re looking for options then I’m pleased to share my experiences and what is available.

C restaurant is an award winning fine dining seafood restaurant and they’re offering a 4 course menu for $38 during Dine Out Vancouver (January 20 – February 5, 2012). Most restaurants in the $38 category are only offering 3 courses, and although the price fixe is a bit more limited at C, the additional course balances it out. I must say I was incredibly impressed with my dinner, however a big part of that was due to the added supplements and wine pairings. If I just had the regular $38 Dine Out menu, I would be content, but not necessarily full or as enthusiastic to go back.

I find this experience quite common with many restaurants providing a $38 prixe fixe menu, since cost margins are harder for those specializing in fine dining. That was also one of the points I brought up regarding my thoughts on Dine Out. With the added supplements and wine pairings (which was a great investment at only $26) it would have been about $100, which is more or less standard for 4 courses + wine at C Restaurant on a regular night ordering a la carte.

I’ve become a fan of their sommelier, Sarah McCauley, who does fantastic wine pairings that really enhanced this meal. The $38 Dine Out menu is enjoyable, and a deal, but the supplements (which are more representable of the regular menu) and wine pairings is what impressed me most and what I would return for.

On the table:

Complimentary Bread & Butter

• I look forward to the bread here, specifically the seaweed bread, but they serve it differently each time.
• This time it wasn’t served warm, but they still had their three daily varieties.
• The seaweed bread is standard and also my favourite. It’s always good, but that tastes different each time too.
• It’s a buttery seaweed bread that’s somewhat sweeter and more like a loaf.
• It was super tender, soft, crumbly and moist with chewy bits of seaweed throughout and white sesame seeds to give it texture and nutty flavour.
• It was almost like cornbread and it’s fine without butter, but even better with it.
• The smoked sea salt butter adds a savoury smoky flavoour which I love.

First Course

North Arm Farms Beet Panzanella Salad - 3.5/6 (Good-Very good)

• Harissa dressing, shaved ricotta salata
• Jackson Triggs White Meritage 2009
• This was the standard first course.
• I had this before for brunch (see North Arms Farm Pickled Beet Salad) and I must say I enjoyed that version even more.
• On the regular menu it’s served with shaved ricotta silata, scotch pearls and olive oil sorbet $13
• It was a very fresh and clean salad with shaved watermelon beets, baby golden and red beets, frisee and arugula.
• Beet salads are quite common, but the quality and types of beets is what made this one unique.
• It was served with two dollops of harissa dressing which is a North African dressing made with paprika, chili, garlic, and coriander.
• There was a nice sweetness and tang from the pickled beets and the dressing added bold flavour as well as complementing sweetness.
• This Harissa dressing almost tasted like a spiced Middle Eastern molasses, but not as thick and with a nice sweet and smoky balance without being spicy.
• There were a couple large crunchy homemade croutons on the plate for texture and I would have loved more shave ricotta salata since it was very subtle.

Second Course

Seared Albacore Tuna - 3/6 (Good)

• Winter minestrone, parmesan pistou and crisp basil
• Add burgundy truffles shaved tableside $12
• Wine pairing: SYL Ranch Nelly 2009
• This was the standard second course and although good, it wasn’t as memorable as the sauteed spot prawns (+$9 supplement).
• The tuna was seared rare, but I was looking for that charcoal grilled flavour to come through.
• It sat on a winter minestrone which was almost like a tomato orzo meets a ratatouille.
• The winter minestrone had butternut squash, carrots and tomato and it wasn’t soupy, but more of a sauce or side with the added orzo.
• The Parmesan pistou seemed more like an herb puree and I think a pesto would have worked better giving it more flavour.
• There was a slight cheesiness that showed up for short moments on random bites, but otherwise I was hoping for a bit more.
• It reminded me of the ahi tuna I had at Federico’s Supper Club – see Ahi Tuna Special.

Sauteed Spot Prawns – 5/6 (Excellent)

• Kale, chilli, lime and romesco sauce +$9 supplement
• Wine pairing: Jackson Triggs White Meritage 2009
• This was a new dish for me and I really enjoyed it, but again it was a supplement.
• It’s the first BC Spot Prawns I’ve had this year and it made me miss them even more.
• I couldn’t help to think what they did with the heads, and I was hoping they would be deep fried and served alongside.
• There was a very strong acidity to this dish with vinegar braised juicy kale, fresh lime segments, and a slight kick of chili that left a bit of heat, but wasn’t spicy.
• Romesco sauce is one of my favourite sauces and it’s a Spanish sauce made from fire roasted tomatoes and ground almonds.
• The sauce almost looked like pureed uni (sea urchin) and it was very creamy, rich, smoky and nutty and played well as a sophisticated “cocktail sauce”.
• The prawns were seasoned and cooked well without being mushy and the bursts of lime segments kept the dish fresh and bright.
• The crispy parsnip chips made for texture and there were also pieces of toasted pistachio nuts which I loved for crunch and flavour.

Poached Lobster - 4/6 (Very good)

• Lemon herb risotto, cognac cream +$12 supplement
• Add white truffles from alba shaved tableside $40
• Wine pairing: SYL Ranch Nelly 2009
• It’s ambitious offering risotto during Dine Out when it’s usually extra busy and dishes need to be sent out quickly.
• Everything about this was a time sensitive dish, but it was actually quite perfect and the risotto was cooked with care although I wouldn’t mind the Arborio even a bit firmer.
• It was rich and creamy with a hint of parsley, but I did miss a little more cheese because it was more buttery than it was cheesy. It wasn’t very cheesy at all.
• The lobster bisque was a wonderful addition except I couldn’t taste the lobster crustaceans and it just tasted a little like a tomato bisque, but not as acidic and more sweet.
• I could have used a hint of saffron in the risotto or bisque to give it another layer of flavour.
• The cheese and lobster bisque was rich in texture, and unusually subtle in flavour although not bland.
• The only real downfall was that the lobster was a bit overcooked and chewy, however there was a whole piece of it which was better than having it all cut up and mixed in the risotto.
• The lobster is pretty much the most important part to this dish, so it’s harder to forgive.

Third Course

Seared Lake Babine Salmon - 3/6 (Good)

• Squash puree, almond tapenade
• Wine pairing: NK Mip Pinot Blanc 2010
• I’m a bit biased with this dish because I’ve had the original from the regular menu – see here.
• On the regular menu it’s served with roasted North Arm Farms vegetables, creamed leeks, caviar-lobster hollandaise $35
• I’ve tried the Lake Babine Salmon Tasting Menu before and it is quite delicious – see here.
• This is kind of one of my issues with Dine Out and I was hoping they would serve things from the regular menu and just leave all the ingredients as is. I know caviar-lobster hollandaise is hard to give with a $38 price fixe, but that’s kind of the catch 22.
• Had I not been given the down low for why the Lake Babine Salmon isn’t served with the skin I would have been disappointed, but since I already knew I could let it go.
• The Lake Babine Salmon skin is hard to cook and make taste good so they just leave it out.
• I do wish there was an effort to replace the texture of the crispy skin though like they did for the same dish on the regular menu.
• The salmon was cooked medium and it was quite firm, but not dry. I do like Lake Babine Salmon, but it’s definitely not an oily or buttery breed of salmon.
• The almond tapenade was potent with olive, almond and I think pumpkin seeds which I love.
• The fish needed that texture and flavour of a heavy sauce and the sweet and creamy squash puree balanced out the saltiness of the tapenade.
• I liked the brussel sprouts, but would have like a couple crispy brussel sprout leaves and/or deep fried capers for texture, especially since there was no crispy salmon skin.
• The best salmon I’ve had at C (and one of the best in general) was the Seared Hawkshaw Salmon.

Roasted Beef Tenderloin - 5/6 (Excellent)

• Walnut polenta, tarragon butter, confit portobello mushrooms +$12 supplement
• Add spot prawns $8 Add poached lobster $18
• Wine pairing: Petales d’Osoyoos 2008
• A steak is a steak and I normally order steaks only at steakhouses. I wouldn’t think to order steak at a seafood restaurant either, but this was a very pleasant surprise!
• Everything on this plate melted in your mouth like butter, and the only thing that didn’t really melt was ironically the butter.
• The steak was excellent and it has a great crust and dry rub and I could taste the charcoal flavours. It was perfectly cooked to medium rare and it was a great steak.
• It was topped with a terragon butter which was very herby and not salted, but it didn’t really melt into the steak so I wish it was served a bit hotter.
• Even better is if that butter was a blue cheese mousse/butter… together with the walnut polenta I might have cried happy tears.
• The walnut polenta was probably one of the best polentas I’ve had and I could taste the freshly ground walnuts. The texture of that and the cornmeal was enough for me to remember for a long time.
• The polenta was creamy, nutty, buttery and rich and the au jus just folded nicely into it. It was better than a pommes puree and I love pommes puree.
• The sauce could have been a bit thicker and more reduced, but this was a sign of the restaurant getting busy, which it was since it was Dine Out (even busier).
• The confit portobello was incredibly oily (not greasy) and meaty in flavour, but not in texture. It pretty much melted in my mouth like silk and it seemed almost sous vide in duck fat, not just sauteed in it.
• I would have loved some actual toasted walnuts as a garish, but I still found this excellent.
• The wine was an amazing wine and I could drink it with or without the steak. It was smooth and well aged and I’d be interested in just buying a bottle for the weekend.

Spiced Chocolate Pudding - 5/6 (Excellent)

• Vanilla chantilly, crisp caramel puffed rice
• Wine pairing: Sumac Ridge Vintage Pipe 2006
• Again, I’m a bit biased with this dessert because I’ve had the original from their regular menu – see here.
• The original is actually one of the best desserts I’ve had at C.
• The chocolate pudding tasted like a mild chocolate gingerbread pudding.
• It was creamy, rich and in between a pudding and a mousse. It was almost smoother and creamier than a pannacotta if possible.
• It had nice warm spices of cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and cloves and a hint of vanilla bean seeds.
• It was creamy and smooth and not too sweet and the crunchy caramelized puffed rice on top gave it great texture. It would have been great as pecans too.
• The vanilla chantilly didn’t have the vanilla bean seeds and I wish it did.
• This was excellent, but the original was just out of this world (as cliche as that sounds).

Petit Fours

• Lemon Poppyseed Biscotti and candied ginger
• This was more like a soft and tender and slightly chewy lemon poppyseed shortbread than a biscotti, but it was good.
• I actually enjoyed eating it with a little candied ginger sprinkled on top.

Restaurant: Xi Shi Lounge – Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea
Cuisine: Tea/Pacific Northwest/West Coast/Fusion/Desserts
Last visited: January 24, 2012
Location: Vancouver, BC (Downtown)
Address: 1128 West Georgia Street (At Shangri-La Hotel)
Subway stop: Burrard
Price Range: $20-30+ ($34 Afternoon Tea)

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: FMF Must Try!

Food: 4 (for Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea)
Service: n/a
Ambiance: 5
Overall: 4.5
Additional comments:

• Inside Shangri-La Hotel
• Euro-Asian/Fusion menu
• Tearoom/Lounge/Restaurant
• Aafternoon Tea Service
• Lunch service
• Great for snacks
• Elegant/posh
• Cocktail/wine list
• Afternoon Tea with live classical piano
• 11.30am – 1am (Seasonal Patio from 11.30am – 11pm)
• 11.30am - 5pm (Saturday and Sunday)

**Recommendations: Afternoon Tea

Adding to the growing list of Chinese New Year menus in Vancouver is Xi Shi Lounge’s Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea (limited time). I’m loving the enthusiasm for the New Year and the various restaurant choices and menu options are more than welcome in a multicultural city.

Xi Shi Lounge opened late last year at the Shangri-La Hotel just underneath Market by Jean-Georges. It features an Euro-Asian fusion inspired menu with a focus on chilled and hot snacks, limited lunch items and a traditional Afternoon Tea. Yes, Afternoon Tea, not High Tea, there’s a difference (see my post here). On this occasion I was invited to their Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea which is offered from January 23rd through Sunday, January 29th from 11:30 am to 5:00 pm.

One of the things I valued most at the Xi Shi Lounge Afternoon Tea service was the live classical piano performance they had for entertainment. I’ve been to Afternoon Tea at the Fairmont Vancouver, The Secret Garden Tea Company, The China Cup Tea Company, Applewood Country Gifts, Tearoom & Bakery, Tracycakes Bakery Cafe, and The Urban Tea Merchant, but this is the only one that featured live entertainment which really made it an elegant and upscale experience. This is featured on a daily basis even with their regular Afternoon Tea service.

It was nice to see Xi Shi continue the Asian theme with the Nikko chinaware rather than the English brands. When it comes to Afternoon Tea I can get quite particular because there are a certain set of expectations and traditions that come with it. Ambiance is a big part of it. It was an elegant, stylish and posh tearoom, and I found it carried more of a cocktail atmosphere fit for after work drinks.

I recently tried the “Year of the Dragon” Signature Afternoon Tea at The Urban Tea Merchant a block away. It featured a standard version of Afternoon Tea, but with some playful Asian influences. It was definitely still more Westernized, and if you’re looking for something more traditional to the Chinese culture, that isn’t quite authentic as dim sum, then I would suggest trying this Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea at Xi Shi. Personally, the “foodie” part of me enjoyed the food, value and overall experience at Xi Shi more, but the “tea lover” (not connoisseur) in me appreciated the luxury teas and tea culture at The Urban Tea Merchant. They both offer very different experiences and each have their strengths and clientele so it depends on what you’re looking for.

Even though I am very familiar with traditional dim sum, I still appreciated this Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea at Xi Shi, but on another level. I didn’t have expectations for authentic dim sum, but I was expecting a general understanding of the East meets West concept since the menu was developed by Chef Wayne Harris of Market by Jean-Georges upstairs. Jean-Georges is notorious for Asian fusion, so I was quite confident in the Chinese New Year menu even though the chef is of non-Asian decent. The selection of dim sum was more traditional than I expected from a place like Xi Shi, and if it can introduce or warm people up to traditional Chinese food via a modern context, I’m more than happy.

Now for the “stick to tradition” readers, I wouldn’t compare this Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea at Xi Shi Lounge to authentic Chinese dim sum. However, they actually did a good job replicating dim sum dishes making it more approachable for Western tastes. I would say the food was probably more Westernized than a place like Wild Rice (where the chef is non-Asian, but culinary trained in dim sum), but I do respect the extra effort they went on creating an entire menu just for the New Year and it was representable of Chinese food. Food authenticity aside, I would recommend this for anyone who values ambiance and style and it plays well into the Chinese New Year celebration.

On the table:

**Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea - 4/6 (Very good)

• $34/per person (Includes choice of loose leaf tea)
• Available January 23rd through Sunday, January 29th from 11:30 am to 5:00 pm.
• It was Western style dim sum, but again they did a respectable job with it.
• I was very impressed with what was delivered and the value was certainly there, especially when you factor in the provided classical piano performance.
• The menu featured great variety and every item was handmade and actually representable of traditional Chinese food.
• If you compare the items to the real deal, this doesn’t really do it justice, but it also wasn’t disappointing and I really did enjoy it.
• It’s supposed to be an Afternoon Tea, but with 9 hors d’ouevres, it’s definitely substantial enough as a lunch, and that’s coming from me! (I eat a lot.)

Choice of Loose Leaf Tea – 5/6 (Excellent)

• It was a premium brand of loose leaf tea from England, and I would have loved if they offered an Asian brand to suit their Asian theme.
• I have to admit, The Urban Tea Merchant is my shrine for luxury teas and it’s hard to compete with that quality.
• **Shangri-La Blend
• A black tea blend with pineapple, kiwi and plum.
• This is the signature tea. It was a fruity tea, but it smelled fruitier and sharper than it tasted.
• It was floral, with a hint of citrus, but I couldn’t pick up the kiwi although I enjoyed it overall.
• **Classic Chai
• An assam tea with exotic spices – India at its best.
• How can I resist “India at its best”?
• This was an excellent Chai and it was heavy with the cinnamon with a hint of cardamom and even spicy ginger notes.
• The spices were quite apparent and well rounded after adding cream.

Barbeque Pork and Puff Pastry, Vegetable Spring Roll, Shrimp Dumplings

• The items on this plate is representable of Cantonese style dim sum.
• It had something baked, fried and steamed and there was good variety.

The tier of hot appetizers were served with a soy and rice wine vinegar, Hoisin sauce, and lemon plum sauce. Traditionally the only item that would come with a sauce is the spring rolls, but this was the Westernized version.

Barbeque Pork and Puff Pastry - 4/6 (Very good)

• This is more or less an Asian inspired “sausage roll”, but it does exists in authentic Chinese dim sum. See BBQ Pork Pastry.
• This was meant to be eaten with the Hoisin sauce, which is the modern take.
• It was a soft and flaky buttery puff pastry that wasn’t dry and it was well stuffed with sweet and salty barbeque pork and green onions.
• The barbeque pork was lean, but not dry and although I prefer the authentic version, I still easily enjoyed this one.
• It was less saucy than the traditional version and since it had the Hoisin dipping sauce, it was understandable.
• If you like BBQ pork style buns, I would highly recommend these Baked BBQ Pork Buns.

Vegetable Spring Roll - 4/6 (Very good)

• A spring roll is a spring roll, but for a vegetarian spring roll, this was very good!
• It was well stuffed with carrots, cilantro and sweet Shiitake mushrooms and a bit of cabbage and celery.
• They were very crispy and the vegetables still kept their flavours and textures and it had a great crunch.
• There was a very subtle heat, but it wasn’t spicy. This was meant to be enjoyed with plum sauce and I was surprised that I even liked it at all since it was just a spring roll.
• A traditional Chinese style spring roll would be stuffed with prawns and the dipping sauce would be Worcestershire sauce. As for their vegetarian versions, I actually don’t think it’s as good as this one.

Shrimp Dumplings - 2/6 (Okay)

• It’s ambitious to take on the shrimp dumpling.
• This is what dim sum chefs and restaurants pride themselves on and it’s one of the hardest things to master. You judge a Chinese restaurant based on their Shrimp Dumplings.
• This requires a lot of technique to make so it almost holds too much significance for me to enjoy unbiasedly.
• The skin was actually quite chewy and nice, but it was too thick and classically it should be very thin and transparent, but not breaking.
• The prawn was a Side Stripe (?) and it had a mild infused ginger flavour, but it was on the dry side.
• It just didn’t carry that desired juicy crunch of an authentic prawn dumpling – see “Har Gow“.
• The effort is commendable, but if you’ve had a great version of the real thing, this was tough to appreciate.
• It was served with a soy and rice wine vinegar which is very modern, but it actually made it taste better. Traditionally soy and vinegar sauces are served with fried meat dumplings.

Green Onion Pancake, Steam Buns, Crunchy Sesame Balls

• This was the starch tier that was in between sweet and savoury. It led up to the top tier of sweet desserts nicely.
• The items on this plate is more traditional of Shanghainese dim sum.
• Green Onion Pancake – 1.5/6 (Poor – Okay)
• Next time I would start by eating this one first. It hindered from being eaten cold. That being said, I’ve had cold versions of the green onion pancake that have worked better.
• Usually there is more green onion and it should be all crispy and flaky.
• This one was quite dense and chewy, but it tasted better with the Hoisin sauce, which is not an uncommon method to enjoy together.
• I prefer it fried, but traditionally Shanghainese cultures tend to deep fry it – see Grilled Onion Pancake (it’s not actually grilled).
• Crunchy Sesame Balls – 2/6 (Okay)
• I loved that they served these, but the only thing is that they under baked/fried them and the inside was still doughy and stretchy. The flour flavour was cooked out, but they were still under cooked.
• This is very traditional to Chinese New Year – see my post on Chinese New Year Food.
• Traditionally they’re known as “Laughing Sesame Balls” and they’re enjoyed as a dessert or sweet snack.
• The sesame balls have a crack or dent in them which represent a smile and the seeds are symbolic for “having kids” (procreation) so you’ll get pregnant after one… just kidding.
• It’s actually a deep fried sweetened pastry and usually it’s crusted with white sesame seeds.
• I actually liked the black sesame seeds better and it made it even nuttier and more aromatic.
• They’re supposed to be crunchy throughout, but these were crunchy just on the outside and then soft and bready in the middle and unfortunately still doughy in the centre.
• I really loved the flavour of these (even more than the traditional ones) because I think they used all butter rather than lard/shortening (which Chinese people use). It was richer, a bit sweeter and not as greasy or dry as the traditional ones – see traditional Laughing Sesame Ball Cookies.

Steam Buns – 4.5/6 (Very good-Excellent)

• Wow. This was impressive. They did a great job with this and I was surprised to even see them. It was almost the “scone” on the tier.
• It’s traditionally a Shanghainese dish and they’re basically deep fried buns known as “Mantou buns”. Terracotta Modern Chinese actually uses them to make amazing Short Rib Sliders.
• These tasted very authentic and perhaps even better than some traditional ones.
• They’re meant to be dipped in condensed milk (in the centre) and enjoyed as a dessert.

• It’s deep fried, but it’s not a doughnut and it’s only the outside that is meant to be crispy.
• The inside was soft, somewhat spongy and fluffy as it should be, and the bread is a sweeter type of Asian white bread.
• The larger versions of mantou (loaves) are rolled like cinnamon buns before being deep fried and it creates a noodle like inside that Asian kids often enjoy. You can peel them like cheese strings.

Lychee and Osmanthus Flower Shooter, Red Bean Mochi Ball, Egg Tarts

• Oh gosh. Chinese desserts. Desserts is not the forte in Chinese cuisine and usually it’s just fruits, which I kind of expected, but this was still appreciated.
• I eat everything, but Chinese desserts and Indian desserts are hard for me to love.
• Indian desserts I find often too sweet and Chinese desserts often not sweet enough, and it bothers me that they’re usually served warm.
• Anyways, they took the “better” of Chinese desserts and I didn’t fear getting to the top tier.

Red Bean Mochi – 2/6 (Okay)

• Alright, so I kind of feared this so I ate it first. Save the best for last…
• If you know this blog, you all know how I feel about red bean. Basically, it’s something I think I’ll appreciate when I’m older.
• Red bean mochi is more of a Japanese thing, but Chinese people still have their own version and so do Koreans. I prefer the Japanese kind – see here.
• The mochi skin was a bit doughy, dense and starchy and sprinkled with coconut, the coconut I liked!
• The inside was filled with sweetened red bean paste that was smooth and sweeter than traditional Chinese red bean paste.
• This was very rich and pasty and it’s just not my thing. That being said I still swallowed my bite and it wasn’t bad for what it was.
• A mochi that is my thing that I love (since it has no red bean) is the one from Hapa Umi that’s filled with ice cream – see Passionfruit Mochi Ice Cream.

Egg Tarts – 3/6 (Good)

• They did a good job with the egg tarts and they’re made in house too.
• It was a sweetened, crumbly, soft and moist shortbread like tart and the egg custard was also smooth and well made.
• It wasn’t a flaky or crispy egg tart shell, but they were very tender and even better than some Chinese dim sum places.
• There are some amazing ones at authentic Chinese dim sum, but these were still good.

Lychee and Osmanthus Flower Shooter – 4.5/6 (Very good-Excellent)

• When I heard “shooter” I expected a drink, but this was actually jello.
• Jello shooters at Afternoon Tea was new, but of course non-alcoholic… boo. Just kidding.
• This was a version of the traditional Longan & Wolfberry Pudding or Lychee and Gogi Berry Jello.
• The bottom was the Chrysanthemum(?) flowers and I’m not sure if they meant them to sink to the bottom, but traditionally the flowers float throughout the jello.
• The gogi berries usually float throughout the jello too, but they just had the one dried one on top. This is perhaps a bit “exotic” so I understand the interpretation.
• This lychee jello was probably the best lychee jello I’ve had to date. It was full of fresh lychee fruit flavour (how? I don’t know since it’s not in season), but I loved it.
• It was fragrant and fruity and definitely sweeter than most Chinese desserts, and as sweet as most American jellos.

Restaurant: The Urban Tea Merchant – “Year of the Dragon” Signature Afternoon Tea
Cuisine: Tea/Pacific Northwest/Sandwiches/Desserts
Last visited: January 18, 2012
Location: Vancouver, BC (Downtown)
Address: 1070 West Georgia Street
Subway stop: Burrard
Price Range: $30-50+

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: FMF Must Try!

Food: 3.5-4 for Afternoon Tea (6 for tea)
Service: n/a
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 4
Additional comments:

• Family owned/operated
• Flagship location in downtown
• Original location in West Vancouver
• Cafe/tearoom/gift shop
• Popular for afternoon tea
• Tea sampling welcomed
• Tea education classes
• Sophisticated, but kid-friendly
• Limited wine/champagne list
• Brunch 10am-1pm
• Afternoon Tea 12-5pm
• Mon-Wed. & Sat.: 10am – 7pm
• Thurs-Fri.: 10am – 8pm
• Sundays & Holidays: 12pm – 7pm

**Recommendations: Any of their teas. Freshly Baked Scone, Petit Tea-Infused Chicken Salad Cone, and “Year of the Dragon” Signature Afternoon Tea

On the third day of Chinese New Year my true love gave to me, the “Year of the Dragon” Afternoon Tea! Well that’s something different! It’s the second day of Chinese New Year and I mentioned The Urban Tea Merchant’s Chinese New Year menu in Follow Me Foodie to the Chinese New Year Kick Off & Chinese New Year Menus! It may not be traditional, but it’s something new, modern, fun and still festive to the New Year.

The last time I came to The Urban Tea Merchant was for their Holiday Afternoon Tea, and this time I was invited to their “Year of the Dragon” Afternoon Tea in honour of Chinese New Year. These special feature menus are festive twists on their standard Signature Afternoon Tea Service, and the “Year of the Dragon” Afternoon Tea is available from January 16th to January 31st. Even if you don’t come for afternoon tea, they do have a tea boutique as well as some Chinese New Year teas at their gift shop.

And this is my favouite part of The Urban Tea Merchant. They carry about 200 kinds of TWG Tea which is a 100% natural, high end luxury tea from Singapore and they’re the exclusive distributors for it in Canada. I could probably spend a day here just smelling all the various teas and it’s definitely a place for tea lovers and tea connoisseurs. If you’re neither, no worries, they have tea sommeliers to assist you.

Obviously this is not going to be a traditional Chinese New Year menu. Traditional dim sum is often compared to Afternoon Tea, and in this case it was still very much a Western version of Afternoon Tea, but with slight influences of Chinese and Asian ingredients. This is the first year The Urban Tea Merchant has introduced a Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea Service and I was ecstatic at the idea. We live in a multi-cultural city and it’s just another option to celebrate food and ring in the Chinese New Year.

Although I enjoyed my Holiday Afternoon Tea Service here last time, I wasn’t necessarily keen on the food. I found it pretty good with some unique tea-infused twists, but I didn’t really see the full value and I did expect a bit more. However on this occasion I felt like I did get more and my experience and food was even better, although still pricey. Perhaps it was because I already knew what to expect, but even so, there were improvements to the menu that I could see and taste. I just felt like there was more creativity and effort and maybe that was due to the theme. The “Year of the Dragon” Signature Afternoon Tea was generally well played and presented.

Now heads up! Xi Shi Lounge at the Shangri-La Hotel nearby is also hosting a Special Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea Monday, January 23rd through Sunday, January 29th from 11:30 am to 5:00 pm. $34 per person. Compared to The Urban Tea Merchant the items are more traditional Chinese with dim sum inspired bites like BBQ puff pastries, shrimp dumplings, egg tarts, mochi balls and more. My post here.

On the table:

Tea Sommelier’s Choice of Chilled TWG Tea Jasmine Pearls Tea & Sorbet

• I didn’t get this last time, but they start you off with a little amuse bouche or palate cleanser.
• The chilled tea was the White House which was very mild, light and refreshing with rose notes and fruity flavours of berries.
• The mango sorbet is delicious! It tasted like pure mango pulp and it was smooth, creamy, rich and thick and full of natural mango flavour without being too sweet.

**TWG Tea Selection – 6/6 (FMF Must Try!)

• TWG Tea is a 100% natural, high end luxury tea from Singapore.
• It’s a premium quality tea at a premium price, but if you appreciate tea, it’s easy to see the value.

• Jade Dragon Tea – 50g/$58
• This is a very rare green tea and although it appears mild, it has a strong finish that’s slightly dry and bitter. It’s reminiscent of a traditional Chinese tea and it goes with everything.
• It’s very expensive due to its unique qualities, and it’s an included option in the Year of the Dragon Signature Afternoon Tea at no extra charge.
• Dragon Gate Tea - 50g/$11
• This was a mix of white, green and black tea and there were hints of ginger and mint.
• There was a natural sweetness and the mint was mild, but almost a flavour that went away quickly.
• The ginger was more aromatic and not spicy, and I could taste it without it being dominant.
• This went well with sweet and savoury food.
• Timeless Tea – 50g/$11
• This was perhaps my favourite and it was incredibly fruity in aroma and flavour.
• There were strong notes of Hibiscus and sharp flavours of red berries in a black tea base.
• It was naturally sweet in flavour and would even taste great chilled.
• Earl Gray Chocolate Tea – 50g/$9
• It tasted more chocolatey than it smelled and it worked well with a bit of cream.
• It wasn’t particularly sweet or bitter and I found the chocolate quite mild.
• It was a good tea, but I probably wouldn’t choose it to pair with an Afternoon Tea.

“Year of the Dragon” Signature Afternoon Tea Service - 4/6 (Very good)

• $48 per person
• Chef’s selection of savouries and sweets and tea of your choice.
• It was still very much a Western style Afternoon Tea Service, but there were some playful Asian influences and ingredients used here and there.
• It’s not meant to be traditional Chinese and I appreciated the effort and variety of savoury and sweet selections.

Savoury Tier

• From top: Open faced smoked salmon, wasabi mayo & soy jelly, Tiger Hill Tea-infused egg salad sandwich, Cucumber, watercress & cracked black pepper sandwich, Traditional wrapped Peking duck & plum sauce, Wagyu beef carpaccio with horseradish foam, Petit tea-infused chicken salad cone & petit savory tart, Boursin cheese mousse with crisp endive & candied walnut, Baby shrimp & chopped apple served in Chinese spoon.
• I loved the variety this time and I was so happy it wasn’t all tea sandwiches.
• It seemed like there was more effort and higher quality ingredients
• Sure there were some standard things, but there were also a few surprises and I never got bored which is key.

Traditional Wrapped Peking Duck & Plum Sauce – 3/6 (Good)

• This was the most traditional the menu got and I didn’t even expect it to get this traditional. It was nice!
• It was a home made parsley and garlic crepe wrapped with a little piece of duck, carrots and green onion with Plum sauce.
• Of course this is a modern take of the authentic Peking Duck wraps, so it was in its own category and I wouldn’t compare them.
• It was served cold and I could have used a bit more duck and I was hoping for crispy skin, but the crepe was thin and there was good texture and balance of sweet and savoury.

Open Faced Smoked Salmon, Wasabi Mayo & Soy Jelly – 3.5/6 (Good-Very good)

• So it’s definitely more Japanese than it is Chinese, but regardless of the origin, it was good and it wasn’t just the typical “smoked salmon sandwich”.
• I liked the open faced concept much more than the sandwich because the salmon was a bit hidden as a smoked salmon rillette sandwich. 
• I would have loved if the bread was toasted for texture and extra nuttiness, but I could taste the salmon, hint of lemon zest and kick of wasabi.  
• They really didn’t hold back on the wasabi and I loved that! It wasn’t burning at all, but it was obvious and it worked with the freshly cracked black pepper.
• I would have loved more from the soy gel because it added a desired saltiness. The squiggle on top was unusual, but I appreciated the effort.
  

Wagyu Beef Carpaccio with Horseradish Foam – 4/6 (Very good)

• Using a high quality ingredient like Wagyo beef are the things that show value to the afternoon tea menu. These are things I wanted in the previous menu, but I’m glad they’re doing it now.
• Again, more Japanese than Chinese, but as long as it’s good, I’m okay.
• It was on a crunchy piece of toast with a layer of roasted garlic tapenade and black pepper Wagyu beef on top.
• I was surprised the horseradish foam was so mild considering the wasabi in the salmon was so strong, so if anything stronger horseradish would be great because I would have never guessed there was horseradish.

Selection of Tea Infused Sandwiches

• Tiger Hill Tea-Infused Egg Salad Sandwich - 2.5/6 (Okay-Good)
• $15 a la carte
• It was good, but I thought it was just a regular egg salad sandwich with alfalfa sprouts on multi-grain bread, but this time it wasn’t dried out.
• It was easy with the mayo, but the tea was unnoticeable even though it was infused for 24 hours.
• Had there been more egg salad I might have been able to tell, but the nuttiness I was getting was coming from the bread more than the tea infusion.
• I almost wanted the Chinese Soy Sauce Tea Leaf Eggs, but that’s something entirely different.
• Cucumber, Watercress & Cracked Black Pepper Sandwich - 2/6 (Okay)
• This was quite standard and expected with a little cream cheese, but I wouldn’t mind more crunch of cucumber.

**Petit Tea-Infused Chicken Salad Cone & Petit Savory Tart – 4/6 (Very good)

• $15 a la carte as a sandwich
• It was a thin, crisp, and lightly sweetened mini waffle cone stuffed with chicken salad. I had this last time and my feelings haven’t changed.
• I almost wanted dried cranberries, pomegranate seeds, or nuts in the chicken salad for texture and flavour, but it was just a basic chicken salad with some celery, although it was good!
• I can’t say I tasted the tea in the chicken salad and it was perhaps a bit smoky, but I wouldn’t have known unless I was told there was tea in it.

Petit Savory Tart - n/a

• I think they forgot this…

Boursin Cheese Mousse with Crisp Endive & Candied Walnut – 3.5/6 (Good-Very good)

• I was really happy they replaced the Celery Confit with Gorgonzola Mousse with this! I liked this much better!
• It’s not hard to do and expected, but it was still good and I could taste the Boursin cheese.
• It would have been great with the Gorgonzola, but endive leaves are more costly than celery.

Baby Shrimp & Chopped Apple served in Chinese Spoon - 3.5/6 (Good-Very good)

• I really enjoyed the baby shrimp salad in a spoon more so than a tea sandwich. I just couldn’t taste the shrimp in the sandwich as much.
• It was creamy and sweet and savoury with crisp fresh apples and I wouldn’t mind having the dill in the salad rather than just as a garnish.
• It was pretty literal, but it had texture and it was still good.

Cheese Petit Quiche – 2.5/6 (Okay-Good)

• This wasn’t made in house before so I loved that they started making it in house. It adds more value to the menu and shows that extra bit of effort.
• It was a standard quiche in a thin soft tart with a little cheddar cheese melted into it.
• It’s quite basic, but as a one biter, it was fine, however as a full quiche I would expect more.

**Candied Ginger Scone with Devonshire Crème & Tea-Infused Jelly – 5/6 (Excellent)

• $4 a la carte
• I loved this scone! It’s actually from Savoury Chef a great catering company in Vancouver.
• It would have been even better warm, but it was excellent regardless.
• It had a nice crunch on the outside and the inside was almost cakey and not dry.
• The crunch was the best part though. It was like a cookie!
• It wasn’t that buttery or really flaky, but it was delicious!
• There were some candied moist ginger and it wasn’t too sweet or rich, and it was indeed a scone, not a biscuit.
• It was served with strawberry jam instead of tea-infused jelly though.
• The Devonshire creme was the real deal too and not whipped cream with creme cheese or creme fraiche etc.

Sweets Tier

• Tea-infused macaron, chocolate dipped dragon fruit, chocolate truffle, petit fours, fresh exotic fruit, Matcha tea-infused fortune cookie

Petit Fours - 4/6 (Very good)

• The Petit Fours are made by TWG Tea and distributed by The Urban Tea Merchant.
• I love marzipan cakes and petit fours, but the fondant is usually too sweet and sugary, or just not good.
• In this case the fondant was more like a semi-soft white chocolate shell and it was very sweet, but good compared to the usual fondant.
• The cake wasn’t dried out like last time, and I enjoyed it much better. This probably varies with shipment and the you happen to get it.
• Personally my favourite marzipan cake is from Market by Jean-George – see Marzipan Layer Cake here.

Fresh Exotic Fruit

• Chocolate dipped dragon fruit, dragon eye, star fruit, pineapples and oranges.
• I wasn’t expecting the star fruit, dragon fruit or dragon eye so I was quite impressed with the details.
• I don’t even know where to buy Dragon Fruit right now, but they were actually pretty sweet.
• It would have been even better if the dragon fruit was dipped in Matcha white chocolate to continue the theme, but this was still good.

Chocolate Truffles – 4.5/6 (Very good-Excellent)

• I tried the 1837 Black Tea (Signature tea with berries, anise and caramel) and the Singapore Earl Grey truffles.
• As mentioned, the chocolate truffles are made by Chocolate Arts in Vancouver and distributed by The Urban Tea Merchant.
• The truffles are all infused with teas which again I’m a fan of.
• The truffles are great quality and made with 70& dark chocolate.
• They had nice creamy tea infused ganache centres and thin shells, but the tea was quite subtle for my tastes.

TWG Tea Infused Parisian Macaron (Raspberry Tea Infused Macaron) - 3.5/6 (Good-Very good)

• $4 each
• As mentioned in the intro, I do find them very expensive, and it’s because they are flown in from Singapore on a weekly basis.
• They are made by TWG Tea with TWG Teas and distributed by The Urban Tea Merchant.
• The pastry chef who made these trained with the Mecca of macarons Ladurée, which I tried in New York – see my post here.
• I wrote a post called The Perfect Parisian Macaron so that just shows where I’m coming from.
• It was well made and it actually tasted just like a Ladurée macaron, but even better assembled.
• However I wasn’t huge on the Ladurée macarons because they didn’t have a crisp shell and this one didn’t either.
• The macaron was good, but it was missing the crisp shell and I do find them overpriced and I couldn’t taste the tea.

Matcha Tea-Infused Fortune Cookie - 4/6 (Very good)

• I really didn’t expect this either! So cute!
• A homemade Matcha Fortune Cookie was another detail that just added to the effort of the menu.
• I suggested selling these separately, but unfortunately it’s only available with the “Year of the Dragon” Signature Afternoon Tea.
• They were made with real Japanese TWG Tea Matcha powder and it was really strong and high quality which I loved.
• It wasn’t bitter or that sweet and it was very crunchy and almost brittle. I really enjoyed them.

Follow Me Foodie to National Peanut Butter Day!

It’s Everything and Anything Peanut Butter!

What? Are you serious? There’s a National Peanut Butter Day? Um, you mean you didn’t know? Just kidding! I actually just discovered the news yesterday, since yesterday was National Pie Day. What? Don’t tell me you didn’t know it was National Pie Day!? (*Ahem* Sh*t Foodies Say) But yes, yesterday was National Pie Day and today is National Peanut Butter Day, and tomorrow is what I thought was Wednesday… but now that I think, I think it’s National Pretzel Day. Oh no, sorry, that’s actually April 26. Geez, how could I mess that one up! Forgive me.

So how am I celebrating National Peanut Butter Day? Well actually how is anybody celebrating National Peanut Butter Day? I feel like it’s banned from almost every school nowadays. It’s funny because in China peanut allergies are extremely rare. Everything is cooked in peanut oil and peanuts are so common that people are likely immune to the allergy there. It’s almost like how Japanese women still eat raw fish when they’re pregnant and French women still each unpasteurized cheese. Anyways there are your “anti-peanutters” and then there are your peanut butter lovers! This post caters to the latter.

Personally, I’m not particularly crazy about peanut butter although I do like it! I eat it, I buy it and I order stuff with it, but I’m not a “must find the best peanut butter cookie ever” person… oh my gosh… *insert clip art for light bulb here*… I must find the best peanut butter cookie ever! Okay, so I’d still be up for the challenge and I think I’m just obsessed with food in general. It could be an obsessive compulsive thing, but that’s what makes this Follow Me Foodie! So here we go!

Note: These aren’t necessarily “the best”, but they’re good enough to remember and I’d gladly purchase them all over again!

Follow Me Foodie to Everything and Anything Peanut Butter!

Monkey Butter

Oh gosh. If you don’t like peanut butter, you will now! It’s homemade gourmet peanut butter that started in Vancouver by two sisters Kathleen and Gillian Gook. It’s a home business and you can only order online or through e-mail at the moment.

I discovered Monkey Butter at the One of a Kind Show in Vancouver over the holidays. I ended up sampling their six flavours: White Chocolate Raspberry peanut butter, Dark Chocolate Cherry peanut butter, White Chocolate Pretzel peanut butter, Dark Chocolate Banana peanut butter, Salted Caramel peanut butter and Maple Bacon peanut butter and ended up buying them all.

Personally my favourites were the White Chocolate Pretzel peanut butter which actually has little bits of crispy pretzels in it, the Salted Caramel peanut butter which is as good as it sounds, and the Maple Bacon peanut butter which has little bits of bacon in it. All of them have a great salty and sweet balance and they’re good enough to say goodbye to jam. Actually I didn’t even need the bread… a spoon was enough.

Follow Me Foodie Tasty Twist: Try heating some up and pouring it over ice cream.

Peanut Butter Hedgehog

The Peanut Butter Hedgehog cake ($7 slice, Whole cake $34-39) from Giovane Cafe + Bakery + Deli is pretty much what peanut butter and chocolate dreams are made of. This is Giovane’s most popular cake and it’s a Reece’s Pieces Peanut Butter Cup in gourmet cake form. It’s super thick, rich, creamy, moussey and indulgent cake. It’s almost a one biter, but it’s possibly one of the best peanut butter and chocolate bites you’ll ever have.

The Peanut Butter Sandwich

So I mentioned that peanut butter cookie search in my introduction, and not that I’ve started it, but this Peanut Butter Sandwich would be a serious contender! Butter Bakery is responsible for this over sized traditional peanut butter cookie that tastes “just like Grandma’s”. (If you think your grandma’s peanut butter cookie can compete, I’d like to meet her). “It’s two big soft peanut butter cookies with a creamy peanut butter filling… for serious peanut butter lovers” $2.75. They offer it in chocolate as well.

Follow Me Foodie Tasty Twist: I actually buy both, twist it like an Oreo and then swap the cookies so I have half chocolate and half peanut butter. Warm it up and eat it with banana ice cream or vanilla ice cream

Peanut Polvoron

I recently professed my love for Polvoron. They’re Filipino shortbread cookies made from toasted flour, milk, butter, and sugar cooked and then molded. The most famous ones are the house made ones from Goldilocks. Although Pinipig (Crispy Rice) Polovrons are my favourite, the peanut kind is also great! They taste like peanut butter shortbread cookies, but drier, softer, nuttier and much creamier.

PB&J Bon Bons

Deep fried peanut butter anyone? PB&J Bon Bons is a heavy dessert I had the pleasure on trying at Local 360 in Seattle. They’re super indulgent and more than one was enough for me. Thank goodness it was served with a shot glass of milk because I felt like Mr. Ed the talking horse. They’re good if I stop at one.

Peanut Butter Crunch Bar

This Peanut Butter Crunch Bar is actually from Cactus Club Cafe. It’s one of my favourite desserts and it used to be served with sour cream ice cream when they first introduced the Rob Feenie menu. It’s now served with traditional vanilla ice cream which saddens me, but it’s still good of course. C’mon people! Try something new!

Follow Me Foodie Tasty Twist: I go ahead and sprinkle a little table salt in the caramel. It’s that salted caramel and chocolate combination and of course fleur de sel is ideal, but I take what I can get. Use only a little bit because table salt is saltier and sharper than fleur de sel.

Chicken Karekare

Bet you weren’t expecting this? Chicken Karekare is a traditional Filipino dish and it tastes like a melted peanut butter stew. It’s chicken and vegetables in a rich and creamy peanut sauce and the one above is from Kumare Restaurant.

Peanut Butter

I had to save this one for last because it’s the best peanut butter dessert I’ve had to date. This peanut butter masterpiece was from Redd in Napa Valley, California. It was a milk chocolate gianduja bar, peanut honeycomb parfait milkshake, and chocolate hazelnut mousse on a bed of candied roasted peanuts sprinkled with a touch of fleur de sel. OMG. I’m jealous of myself right now! It’s been almost 2 years and I still remember it like yesterday.

Follow Me Foodie to Shit Foodies Say!

SHIT FOODIES SAY!

A parody based on “Shit Girls Say”. Special thanks to Justin of Three Sixty Photo, Steve of SteveTan.net, Cento Notti, Goldfish Seafood and Chops, Hapa Izakaya, and Urban Thai Bistro for providing locations. “Shit Foodies Say” YouTube link here.

Subscribe to my YouTube channel here.

“Like” Follow Me Foodie on Facebook here.