Gyoza King

No pictures - sorry.  We came here after attending the Christmas lights event at Stanley Park one evening several weeks ago (pre-Christmas).  We were a bit hungry but not quite starving, and we wanted something yummy but not too expensive.  I remembered Gyoza King from our Dining Out Guide 2009 magazine; they said that this place was where many of the city's chefs went to eat after work.  It's apparently an inside secret that this place offers quality goods at affordable prices.

So, without a reservation, we sauntered in one evening.  We were seated right away, but the tables were super close to each other and it was raining outside so we were soaking wet, as were our umbrellas.  We made a total mess of the floor near our seats and probably unintentionally sprayed the couple beside us with our drippy umbrellas.

We ordered a few dishes; we didn't recognize many of the names but I know we had the chicken karaage, which we were introduced to by our bro-in-law Bengee the previous week.  Of course we also had some gyoza, a bowl of udon (don't recall which one), and a deconstructed negitoro. All of the food was fresh and delicious.  Nothing sat too heavily nor did any of the items stand out in a bad way to us; we thorougly enjoyed the food as well as the relatively efficient service.  The price was right too; I believe our total was around $35?  It was affordable and the Japanese tapas had hit the spot perfectly. 

Best of all, I'm pretty sure that one of the bloggers who I read regularly, Lainey (from e-Talk), was the girl sitting beside Hubbs at the table next to ours.  I kept looking at her trying to figure out if she was who I thought she was, but I wussed out and didn't actually ask for confirmation. Still, it made me a little giddy to think that I ate at the same place that she eats at :)  

 

Anyway, we love Gyoza King and will definitely be back.  Affordable quality food, in a casual atmosphere accepting of all patrons (including the drowned-rat varieties) - what more could you ask for? 

Service: 4 out of  5

Food: 4. 5 out of  5

UPDATE:  Of course we couldn't stay away, so we were back for more kaarage, ramen, gyoza, and negitoro.  Once again, the place did not disappoint.  We thoroughly enjoyed the food, and the cozy atmosphere, and the affordable prices.  Even though we had to wait to get a seat, it was worth the extra 10 minutes to get that delicious grub.  We'll be back again soon, I'm sure of it.  Hubbs is in love with their negitoro. :)

Fuel Restaurant

Rarely do we get the opportunity to dine out super fancy, but last night was a special night with friends.  Hubbs, Froggers, the Igloo Coder, and I checked out Fuel Restaurant for the first time.  The night was all the more special because it marked the first time that the Igloo Coder dined at his cousin's restaurant.  We were hoping to catch more than a glimpse of the owner/executive chef but he apparently had a charity dinner to attend to.

Anyway, the restaurant was lively and filled to capacity when we arrived.  Intimate soft lighting and a very sleek, modern look characterized the interior of the place.  We had many many libations ranging from the very tart to the very sweet, and slowly got around to ordering our grub: the 5-course chef's menu.  

Before our dishes even came out, servers brought us an amusee bouche, compliments of the kitchen.  It was a bit of some sort of shredded vegetable with roasted sunflower seeds mixed in.  It's not on their menu and I don't remember the name of it but it was incredibly delicious and an excellent way to kick off the night!

The first courses served were 4 different appies for the 4 of us, which up to this point I'd never seen before in a set menu.  Generally when they require everyone at the table to order the same host menu, they do up the same dishes for the entire table.  This was an unexpected delight, made more so by the Igloo Coder's insistence to our server to surprise us with the dishes.  In the end we were able to enjoy things that we probably wouldn't

 have otherwise ordered.  The four appies served were the Cauliflower Soup with cured salmon (Hubb's), the Ultra Rare Albacore Tuna (Frogger's), the Traditional Brodo (Igloo Coder's), and my Heirloom Beetroot Salad with a lemon-citrus creme fraiche.  Igloo Coder nearly had an attack over the deliciousness of his broth, Froggers couldn't stop smiling about her tuna, and Hubbs thought that his soup was an excellent balance of flavours between the cream and the salmon.  I enjoyed my salad, but truth be told I think the other three appies were better.

Course two consisted of two different dishes: the Duck Confit and Foie Gras Mousse Terrine for the ladies and the Carnaroli Risotto for the guys.  I tasted Hubbs' risotto and it was perfectly done; not too heavy but still hearty, and smooth textures that blended well with the more-chewy crab.  I loved my terrine too (I did share half of it with Hubbs) though I think Froggers found it a bit heavy and salty.  I love just about all things foie gras, so this was no exception.  The terrine was pate-esque with a slightly more rich flavour, and it paired well with the toasted bread and the sliced apples.

Next up were the mains, which we each had two of (in reduced portions).  First we had the Roasted Wild BC Salmon, which was done well - cooked thoroughly but still moist, and yet with the crispiness of the skin intact.  I particularly loved the two little perogies that came with the dish, as did Hubbs.  The watercress cream was a hit and miss with our table; some of us found it a little bland for our liking while others of us appreciated the blandness relative to the chantrelle mushroom-watercress saute.

Our second entree was the Fraser Valley Free Run Lamb, seared rare and served with a glazed lamb shoulder (Igloo Coder was in heaven over this part of the meal).  I thought the lamb was tasty and not gamey, and the shoulder was really moist and smooth-textured (like the fatty dark meat from a turkey).  Yumm-o!

Finally, our desserts were served.  I had been looking forward to this all night long.  The guys received portions of their Gravenstein Apple Cake, and Hubbs thought his cake was really soft and pretty good.  I ate his ice cream (ceylon cinnamon) and thought it was sweet and creamy, but really subtle flavour-wise.  I think I would've loved to have a more strongly-flavoured gelato.  We were served their Carnaroli Rice Pudding; the rice pudding itself had a slight almond taste to it, which I really enjoyed.  The pistachio sorbet and chocolate crumble were good pairings for it.  I wasn't as keen on the preserved apricots, though; I found them tart and would rather not have had the sourness of the preserves taint my otherwise sweet warm dessert.

Overall the dinner was lovely and the company even better.  The drinks were also very tasty and in the end, we felt that we had experienced a fine dining sort of meal befitting the formal attire we sported for the evening.  The bill was a little on the steep side though, due mostly to the sheer number of cocktails added to the bill over the course of the 3 hours.  The blow was softened by the sweet morsels of delight that they served to us along with the bill, though.  In retrospect, I think that if we had been completely sober water-sippers, the meal would have been very appropriately priced considering the quality of the food.  It's the booze that cost us dearly!

In the end, we'll come here again.  We thought this was a first-class establishment and the food was fresh and delicious.

Service: 4 / 5

Food: 4.5 / 5

**PS Food images belong to Urban Mixer on flickr. They're not mine. :)

Lift Bar & Grill - New Year's Eve

I should qualify this review by saying that it was NYE and so the menu was set for us in advance.  We had wanted to try Lift Bar & Grill out since we started doing walks in the Coal Harbour area, but were never afforded an opportunity until this particular evening.

We showed up on time and were seated beside the window.  Right away our drink orders were taken (we had martinis) and then we got down to business: ordering. :)  The amusee bouche brought to us was so yummy: it was a quail egg on serrano ham with a green sauce (I think pea shoot).  

Next we were served appies: Hubbs and I both had the wild game consomme with ravioli.  It was the most delicate broth, and yet flavourful and satisfying.  It surprised me that I could feel so strongly about a soup!

Next came our second round of appies.  Hubbs ordered the Scallop St. Jacques, which he enjoyed (though he didn't elaborate on it much) and I had the quail and winter truffle terrine.  I'm not sure what the contents of the shooter glass were, but at the bottom of the glass there were two grapes, and the liquid in which they soaked was tasty and sweet and chilled.  I'm almost certain it was boozy too!

Of course we also asked for bread, which I had been consuming throughout this meal, between dishes.  Bad mistake.  I was also onto my second martini before my entree was served.  Second bad mistake.  In the end, I was too boozed up and too full to enjoy all of my organic bison dish.  The meat was flavourful and moist (an accomplishment considering that bison is oft more dry and easily overdone), though I found the sauce a bit salty.  Hubbs had Lobster Thermidore, and since he's a huge shellfish fan, he really couldn't go wrong with a full tail.  He cleaned his plate so I assume his meal was to his liking ;)

Finally dessert came round.  By now the booze effects had begun to fade and I was gaining my second wind for dessert.  Good thing, since their pot de creme trio was absolutely decadent.  I liked the slight tartness and light moussy texture of their raspberry creme as well as the rich full-bodied flavour of the coffee creme.  Hubbs' favourite was the pumpkin creme, the creamiest and sweetest of the three.

By the time the champagne came round I was full again, and reluctant to resubmit my body to the ravages of alcohol.  Hubbs was left drinking the majority of both flutes, but I think he didn't mind too much.  The lovely folks at Lift even brought us noisemakers and hats for the countdown, which I thought was a nice touch.

Overall, I think we rang in the New Year well.  The food was very tasty and generously portioned (well, individual dishes were appropriately portioned but when you add in the bread and the sheer number of courses, that's where the abundance comes in), and servers were present but unobtrusive.  The restaurant was quite lively while we were there, but perhaps it was not at capacity, since the noise levels remained moderate throughout the evening.  Sure, the restaurant set us back a few $$$ but hey, it was NYE and you can't complain if you leave with your belly full and a smile on your face!

Service: 4 / 5

Food: 4.5 / 5

New Look for the New Year

I've neglected this blog in recent months, and so I found it fitting that with this resurrection of Aftertastes, the Vancouver edition, I would give it a much needed face-lift, the result of which is before your very eyes. 

Happy eating adventures, and I'll be back with some posts in the near future!

Accents Restaurant

Okay, so we tried this place back in early December on the recommendation of my uncle.  My sis, my bro-in-law, Hubbs and I had heard good things about the place based on previous dining experiences of my uncle and aunt.  Well, I can definitely say that Accents is the worst restaurant we've tried in Van so far, and I'm pretty sure it will remain so for a long long time.

Here is Hubbs' review of the place (with some edits from me):

*****

Sincerely, the second worst restaurant I have ever been to
I went to Accents last Saturday and sincerely, this place was terrible enough to warrant my posting about it to warn others, especially given some of the other "positive" reviews out there (which we suspect to be written by restaurant staff and people with deadened taste buds).

First of all, we arrived and were initially seated at a table with ripped, dingy chair covers. Sincerely, two of them were stained all over the back of the chair or the seat while all 6 had rips and tears in the chair cover fabric. Now, this is a little iffy but I'm willing to forgive it if the food and service are good. However, both were absolutely *terrible*.

Someone in a review had mentioned the "diverse menu selection". Another person noticed that the lights flicker on and off every so often, like they are microwaving food. Allow me to tie this all together here because our party of 6 noticed the brownouts, and then we noticed that:

* all of our food was scorchingly hot in temperature, and it felt like these dishes had been recently microwaved
* all of our desserts had freezer burn on them and tasted rancid

For those who were saying, "I don't know what you were expecting, but you got a great meal", no, I actually didn't. And I didn't get any value for it either. Here are some highlights of the experience aside from what I have listed:

* horrifically long wait times - we waited 20 minutes just to get a drink order, an *hour* to get appetizers (and let's be real here, for the quality of food I received it shouldn't take an hour), and another hour to get our main course!  It took us over 3.5 hours to receive our 3-course meals and the bill.  

* terrible service - not only were the servers poorly dressed in ratty, untucked polo shirts sporting large spills and stains, but several of their staff were also very rude and unaccommodating.  When asked if we could be relocated from our ratty table near the door to one in the dining area, we were informed that they were too busy to bother clearing up the emptied tables in order to get us moved.
* dry meat (think jerky), bland flavouring, soggy entrees
* freezer-burned desserts
* a dirty, dingy environment
* mistakes made on orders; we were expecting cheese gnocchi with our duck orders and instead got potatoes. Wouldn't be so bad except when we asked our waitress about the cheese gnocchi, she insisted the cut potato pieces *were* gnocchi, *then* said that there never was gnocchi on that dish and ran off to get a menu to prove it. When she then discovered her mistake she walked off! Some other guy server ended up having to come to our table to apologize! I don't care how much "value" I am getting at a restaurant, it doesn't excuse rude or abrasive behavior. 

I'm sorry, but there are *hundreds* of wonderful restauarants of varying prices in Vancouver - it's a wonderful city for that. I never thought I would have the second worst dining experience of my life here. I sincerely post this so that you don't make the same tragic mistake we did when we thought this place would be decent.

*****

It's Hubbs' 2nd worst of all time.  It's probably my second worst as well, and definitely the worst in Vancouver.  Don't listen to the reviews that say that this place is any good, and do not be misled by their website; the place was probably good 6 years ago, but the downhill decline has been steep.  Avoid Accents and find a real European restaurant.  The price may be cheaper here, but you'll get what you pay for, and even less!  You've been warned.

Service: 1/5 (except the busboy - he gets 3/5 for working hard all night long)

Food: 0/5 

Ouisi Bistro - Dine Out Vancouver

Hubbs and I are total lovers of cajun/creole food.  We even loved the stuff at Louisiana Purchase in Edmonton and at the New Orleans restaurants at Disneyland, so our tastes aren't very refined in this food category.

Ouisi Bistro was selected based on their type of food alone.  We were excited to eat there, and we were not disappointed.

When we showed up for our reservation, the place was loud and packed.  The red

-hued walls were covered in paintings of jazz artists of yesteryear, and the atmosphere was bustling and full of life.  We loved it.  We got seated and promptly ordered a drink.  Our server misheard me and brought me a glass of wine when I wanted a fruity cocktail, but because it was so busy I actually didn't send it back.  Hubbs had a spicy Caesar, which I'm convinced is the best Caesar he has ever had; it's certainly the best I've tasted, and I hate clamato juice.

We ordered our food quickly (having studied the DOV menu online in advance), and also ordered an additional serving of corn bread.  The appies were brought out quickly.  Hubbs' crab cakes were flavourful and gently fried, falling apart when you poked it too much.  I loved my chorizo-crusted oyster.  It was perfectly fried and sufficiently rich, but not overly oyster-y or breaded.  

Our server came by shortly after this to ask if we were ready for dessert, which annoyed me slightly given that this was her second mistake of the night.  After informing her that we still needed our entrees and our cornbread, the bread was brought out to us.  I was expecting a warm, moist loaf, but our slices were cold and a bit on the dry side.  It was still hearty and filling, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed with the bread.  

After a bit of a wait (during which time the restaurant began to quiet down and clear out a

 bit), our entrees were served.  My pork chop was delicious, as was the sweet potato-bacon-pecan hash.  My chop had a nice little bit of fat on the edge (which I love) and wasn't overdone.  The hash was interesting texture-wise, and rich with flavour, but I found it very filling so I didn't finish it.  Hubbs' jambalaya wasn't what I was expecting, but he thoroughly enjoyed his dish and ate every last bit of it off his plate.

We had to wait a bit for our dessert, but we enjoyed the jazz music playing in the backround and didn't feel too badly about the delay.  My pecan pie was yummy, but non-descript, while Hubbs found his bread pudding to be quite delectable.  

Not bad for $28/person, and in the end our server who had messed up 3 times (she forgot to add one of our DOV meals to the bill) by the end of the night, waived the cost of our cornbread.  Not a huge consolation, but given that we loved the atomsphere of Ouisi and thought the food was really good as well, we didn't push it.

We'll definitely be back and we'll be bringing friends.  There are lots of other things on their menu we have yet to try, and we're pretty psyched about giving those dishes a go. :)

Service: 3/5

Food: 4.5/5

Zen Japanese Restaurant - Dine Out Vancouver

Dine Out Vancouver happens Jan. 14-Feb. 1st. I believe it has become an annual event, sponsored by Tourism Vancouver.   Not wanting to miss out on a good deal, Hubbs & I chose a few places to try based on the attractiveness of their online menus and some of the reviews we've read about them.

Our first selected restaurant, Zen Japanese Restaurant, appealed to us because of its comely pictures on the website and also the DOV menu we saw online.  This restaurant is quite highly regarded in the sushi world, and is known to be quite innovative with their menu.

We went on a Saturday night and arrived right on time.  We were seated immediately.  Unfortunately, our table happened to be situated right beside a large 10-top table, and the big boisterous lady seated next to Hubbs (separated be a mere foot of space between their table and ours) happened to bellow and laugh very very loudly.  We quickly asked to be moved, and were reseated at a table at the opposite end of the restaurant from the loud diner.  The restaurant was only about 40% full when we were there, so we probably had the pick of the tables had we insisted.

We ordered quickly and our meals came relatively quickly, though our appies did not arrive simultaneously.  Thankfully, since Hubbs & I were sharing, it wasn't so bad; if I would have had to watch him eat while my tummy grumbled, he would have had a miserable dining experience ;)  Hubbs' Prawn 3 Ways was very yummy, with my favourite being the lightly breaded and fried Popcorn Shrimp Roll.  I liked my Crunchy Duo but to be honest, I found some of the sauces too strong, and they overpowered the flavours of my rolls.

Hubbs' Chef Selection Sashimi and my Signature Sushi were both okay, but nothing extraordinary.  They were fresh, the cuts were reasonably-sized, but as entrees we found the dishes a little less spectacular than they could have been.  After a while, everything seemed to taste similar, and that's not the impression any good Japanese restaurant wants to leave.   DOV is an opportunity to showcase your best, and we both kind of felt let down that Zen didn't seem to do that with their entrees.  The portions were also a bit wee for our appetites.

For dessert we both enjoyed the chocolate brownie.  It was warm with a crispy top, and the gooieness of the cake melted in our mouths.  I'd say that the brownie was my favourite part of the meal, although my piece of brownie was again far too small for my liking.

The DOV menu was priced at $38/person, and after we tacked on green tea and a drink apiece, the total was a bit steep, particularly since we weren't even full.  The restaurant, by appearance, didn't look terribly elegant or upscale, so it wasn't like we were paying for the ambiance.  Overall, we found Zen Japanese Restaurant to be poor value for the dollar, and not nearly as innovative and spectacular as some reviews have hyped them up to be.

Service: 3.5/5

Food: 3/5

Aftertastes - Vancouver Edition

Now that I'm a Vancouverite, it hardly makes sense for me to review Edmonton restaurants anymore.  So, I'm switching over.  I'm beginning anew, with a focus on Vancouver's best (and worst).

I can't promise pictures, but I'll try to keep the word count low whilst doing the summary of our dining adventures.  I am also going to change up the rating system a little bit, and give two ratings (both out of 5) in the categories of "Food" and "Service."  You should be able to glean value for dollar based on the write-ups, but if you don't, then feel free to drop me a comment and I'll give it to you straight ;)

Welcome back to the new Aftertastes - Vancouver Edition.  May your tummy be full and your company be fantastic!