If you are familiar with Chinese cuisine, or even Asian cuisine, meaning you grew up eating food from these cultures, you will experience and relate to benu’s Tasting Menu differently. For me it was personal and at times nostalgic and even challenging. It started off with a modern play on Chinese appetizers and childhood snacks which I found the most fun.
Japanese
Chef Lee worked under Chef Thomas Keller at The French Laundry for 8 years and was chef de cuisine for the latter half. Being classically trained in French cooking, his 2 Michelin Star restaurant benu is an eclectic and creative mix of Asian inspired Californian cuisine expertly executed with French, Asian and New American techniques.
I got to drive the boat, have spot prawn sashimi for breakfast, kiss a live octopus, and then eat one cooked 5 ways for lunch… next to the 24 lbs of spot prawns we caught that morning. And between the docking of the boat and lunch I got to see a mother goose hatch her eggs! Last Saturday was hard to beat.
There are many excellent restaurants that go unnoticed or fly under the radar. Here are a few of my favourite mom-and-pop restaurants that have been around for years. They are rarely talked about and rely on word of mouth, but are key contributors to Vancouver’s diverse food scene.
The search is on for the perfect noodle dish: prizes and fame await! Win 2 round trip tickets to Hong Kong and have your noodle dish featured on their in-flight menus! See here for details! Here is my 5 Spice Maple Roasted Squash & Edamame with Warm Soba Noodles in Miso-Sesame Soy Sauce recipe.
Le Tigre puts an innovative twist to Asian street food using French techniques. With such reasonable prices, quirky owners, and serious culinary talent, I would say that this is a must try… at least for the following things I had, which are the top three best sellers.
Last time I came here I loved it, and perhaps it’s because I’ve experienced more now that it wasn’t as satisfying, but things were noticeably different. It was a bit of a hit and miss menu with strengths in the soups and noodles and they do have an impressive selection of donburi and noodles.
