Archive for January, 2008
Thursday, January 17th, 2008
After Jenkins and I finished our cake tasting at Ganache, we headed over to Cupcakes on Broadway for our second and last tasting of the day. If you are going to cake tastings, I would recommend not doing more than twice a day, or else you will get tired of cake pretty quickly. I didn’t think that could actually happen to me but it did! 
Cupcakes has two locations in Vancouver but all wedding (cup)cake consultations take place at the Broadway location. Once we were there, we were greeted by Isabella, who coordinates all the wedding cake orders. In addition to the cost for the cake, you would also be charged for delivery and cake stand rentals. Cupcakes offers both regular wedding cakes and cupcake-style wedding cakes.
I had been looking forward to choosing which flavours to try at Cupcakes, but unfortunately, they were all pre-selected for us. Not only that, but we got the tiny cupcakes rather than the regular sized ones! It was also a bit difficult to cut the cupcakes in half for both Jenkins and me try.
We were given four cupcakes: lemon, vanilla, chocolate, and coconut. I started with the chocolate cupcake. The cake was moist but the chocolate icing was very sweet. I normally like lemon cakes but I found it hard to taste the lemon flavour in the lemon cupcake and again, the icing was too sweet for my taste. The vanilla cupcake was more of the same, with the icing being too sweet for my taste. I liked the coconut cupcake the most but that’s probably because the sweetness of the icing was cut with the shredded coconut.
To tell you the truth, I was a bit disappointed with Cupcakes but not overly surprised. I find that the cupcakes here are hit and miss and since we weren’t able to pick which cupcakes to try, we were unfortunately stuck with some duds. Both Jenkins and I found the icing much too sweet and there was way too much of it. Jenkins even noted that he preferred Safeway cupcakes more! Long after we finished our tasting here, we could still feel the sticky sweetness on our teeth. Cupcakes seems to be pretty popular despite our personal opinions. I guess it is an acquired taste or only appeals to some people.
Details:
2887 W. Broadway, Vancouver
Tel: 604-974-1300
Summary:
Food: 
Service: n/a
Price: $$
Posted in Cake, Wedding, Dessert, Reviews | 7 Comments »
Wednesday, January 16th, 2008
As some of you may know, Jenkins and I are getting married later this year. One of the best things about the wedding planning process (or maybe even the best thing!) is cake tasting. Before I started looking into cake tastings, I had no idea that most of them were complimentary and that you had the opportunity to try so many cakes.
The first place Jenkins and I went to was Ganache Patisserie in Yaletown. I first experienced Ganache last year when some friends took me there for some birthday cake. I was quite impressed with the variety and quality of dessert there so it was definitely at the top of my list when it came to cake tasting places.
We arrived at Ganache and were greeted by the pastry chef, Peter. He was very friendly and asked us what we had in mind for a wedding cake. I had some ideas which I expressed to him but also said that since Ganache was the first place we were visiting, we really weren’t set on any particular design. After giving us an overview of what we would likely need for the cake and answering our questions, he led us to the counter so we could pick out some cakes to try.
Peter told us that the Chocolat-Banane cake was one of the most popular items so it was definitely something we wanted to try. It was so popular that even my aunt and uncle had Chocolat-Banane from Ganache for their wedding cake! It was layered with dark chocolate mousse, caramelized bananas, and a crunchy layer on the bottom. To jazz things up, there were even gold flecks on top. Yum! This cake was delicious and we could see why this was one of the most popular items. I had to remind myself that there were still three more cakes to go so it probably wasn’t a good idea to polish an entire piece right at the beginning.
I can’t remember what this next cake was, but it was a layered cake with white chocolate cheesecake and berries (strawberry or cherry). It had a nice light taste and you could really taste the berries and the white chocolate. I wasn’t sure if I would like this cake because it seemed a bit plain to me, but the combination of the berries, chocolate, and cake went really well together.
Next was the Coco-Mango cheesecake. This cake was also delicious. It was very creamy and you could really taste the mango and toasted coconut in every bite. There’s not much else to say about this but it was very tasty. Jenkins wasn’t sure if this would be an odd choice for a wedding cake though.
Finally, we were at the last cake that we picked. This cake was called, if I remember correctly, Chocolat Canneberge. It had chocolate mousse layered with chocolate cake and another layer of cranberries with white chocolate. The mousse had an interesting consistency and the cranberries added a light tang.
Of the four cakes we tasted, I liked the Chocolat-Banane and the Coco-Mango the best. Jenkins thought the Coco-Mango was good but he wasn’t sure if it would make a good wedding cake. I really liked how the cakes at Ganache all tasted very light and was not too rich. Overall, we were very impressed with the cakes at Ganache and with Peter’s friendly demeanor. Ganache is definitely in the running for our wedding cake!
Details:
1262 Homer St, Vancouver
Tel: (604) 899-1098
Summary:
Food:
Service: n/a
Price: $$
Posted in Cake, Wedding, Dessert, Reviews | 4 Comments »
Monday, January 14th, 2008
Jenkins, his brother, his dad, and I trooped over to Athene’s for lunch one day. His dad was in the mood for some Greek food, we had a coupon for Athene’s, and Athene’s always has great reviews so it was a no brainer. If you have an Entertainment Book, there are also coupons in there you can use at Athene’s although you can only use a maximum of two at a time.
His dad picked the barbecued baby lamb. It was roasted in herbs and garlic and had a crispy outer layer. The meat was very tender and aromatic with the herbs. It also came with sides of vegetables, potatoes, and rice. For lunch, this was a great size. I’m not sure if the dinner portions are bigger though.
Jenkins’ brother picked the roasted lamb chops. For $16.95, he got five generous lamb chops that were roasted over a fire. Of all the lamb dishes we had, I think this one was the best as it had a great taste of being roasted over an open flame and the meat was super tender and cooked a nice medium rare.
Jenkins had the chicken souvlakia with potatoes, rice, and salad. The tzatziki sauce went very well with the chicken and gave it a refreshing garlicky taste.
I picked the slow-roasted lamb shoulder. The lamb was very moist and had a nice gravy on top. I didn’t even need to use my knife because it just fell apart as I picked up the pieces with my knife.
Our lunch at Athene’s was quite enjoyable. We got to the restaurant fairly late (around 2pm) so we were the only people there. Despite being the only party there though, the food took quite a while before arriving. For lunch, the portions were a good size although it was a bit expensive. Using the 2-for-1 coupons definitely helped with the bill though.
Details:
3618 W. Broadway, Vancouver
Tel: 604-731-4135
Summary:
Food:
Service:
Price: $$
Posted in Greek, Reviews | No Comments »
Sunday, January 13th, 2008
It was Jenkins’ dad’s birthday so we went to Otokomae at Kitanoya Guu or more casually known as Guu Gastown. Of the three Guus in Vancouver, this is supposed to be the fanciest and a bit more trendy inside. I had blogged about Guu with Garlic back in the summer and it had been a while since I was last at this Gastown location so I was eager to see how the food matched up.
Jenkins’ family had never been to any of the Guus or to an izakaya-style place before so we ordered a bunch of dishes so they would have a good exposure to what this food was all about.
We started with negitoro (chopped tuna belly and chives) with a sour plum dipping sauce. You can spread the negitoro on your choice of saltine (likely Premium Plus) crackers or seaweed. I liked the contrast of the sour and tangy plum sauce with the creamy and slightly sweet tuna. The seaweed was a bit difficult to eat with the tuna though because it was difficult to balance the tuna on.
Ebi Chilli Mayo is one of my favourite izakaya items. The batter on the shrimp here was a bit heavier than the one at Shiru-Bay but still quite tasty. The chilli mayo sauce was also lighter which gave it more of a shrimpy flavour. I would have liked it if this dish was a bit bigger though.
Next came the crab cake in a tomato-based sauce. The crab cake was very creamy and went quite well with the tomato sauce, which was not too overwhelming for the crab. I think this dish would have been nice if there was something to spread the crab cake on to offset the creaminess.
The grilled duck breast with mango and blueberry sauce was very tasty. The tang of the mango and blueberry sauces complemented the juicy duck breast.
I was somewhat disappointed by the oyster gratin. It sounded so good in the menu: oyster, peas, and broccoli in a cream sauce baked with cheese. The oyster pieces were very small though and few and far between. One good thing about this sauce though was that the amount of cheese was just right and it was not too heavy.
This next dish was one of the best of the evening. The grilled saba with deep-fried garlic chips is also offered at Guu with Garlic and comes on a sizzling hot plate. The saba (mackerel) is moist inside and crispy on the outside. One would think that the massive amounts of garlic chips would be too much but this actually went well with everything!
The okonomiyaki at Guu is one of the best I’ve had in Vancouver. It is a Japanese-style pancake and is packed with veggies and seafood. The bonito flakes on top add a nice touch to the dish and the mix of sauces on top complement this very well.
The stone bowl rice came in a sizzling bowl and was mixed for us by our server. It was slightly spicy and came with a mix of veggies and ground pork. Because the rice was mixed at our table in the hot stone bowl, the edges of the rice were still being cooked by the stone and had a nice crunchy texture.
The shio yakisoba was ordered as a “filler” dish and came with some veggies, pickled ginger, and seaweed in a tangy sauce. I found this dish to be a bit plain for my taste although the noodles did help fill us up.
The ebi chilli pie sounded interesting so we ordered that for our last savoury dish. This was basically an ebi chilli soup with a baked puff pastry on top. I was not very crazy about this dish. There were very few pieces of shrimp and the chilli soup did not match the puff pastry.
We ended our meal with a couple of desserts. The black sesame ice cream with maple syrup was excellent. It sounded plain on the menu but I love black sesame ice cream. :) The sesame must have been pre-toasted because the ice cream had a very aromatic and toasty flavour.
The deep-fried banana with coconut ice cream was also very good. The banana had a nice light batter that still allowed the banana flavour to come out. The coconut ice cream went great with the banana and also had lightly toasted coconut chunks in this. If they had take-out versions of either the sesame or coconut ice creams, I would definitely buy from here.
Overall, our meal here was pretty good. The dishes were a bit hit and miss but I suppose that is the risk you run into when you are adventurous. :) The atmosphere in the restaurant is quite bustling and tends to get a bit rowdier later in the evening. The lighting is also a bit dark, which you can probably garner from my pics.
Details:
105-375 Water St, Vancouver
Tel: 604 685-8682
Summary:
Food:
Service:
Price: $$
Posted in Japanese, Asian, Reviews | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 9th, 2008
Gene, Christina, Mabel, and I went to Saffron restaurant to celebrate our last day of work together before some of us started our Christmas holidays. Saffron is an Indian restaurant located on Kingsway near Metrotown. For lunch, they offer a small but tasty buffet for $10.95. I had only ordered take-out from here so I was interested to see what was offered at the lunch buffet.
I must have forgotten to turn on my macro mode on my camera that day as some of my pictures are a bit blurry but I think you will get the general idea of what the food looked like.
The chicken biryani was quite tasty and packed with a lot of veggies.
Butter chicken is always one of the most popular dishes here. The chunks of chicken are quite big and the sauce is great to dip your naan bread in.
I don’t remember what this was called but the potatoes were a bit undercooked. The extra crunch of the potatoes did make this dish interesting though.
My favourite dish at Saffron is the Tandoori chicken. The chicken is always juicy and full of great flavour.
I don’t remember what this dish was called either but Christina recommended it to me. It is full of peas and lentils and went very well with naan because of its saucy consistency.
The fried dough was surprisingly light and was also good for dipping in the saucy dishes like the butter chicken and the lentil dish above. It is slightly sweet and very crunchy.
Finally, we were on to dessert. I tried a mango pudding that also had other types of fruit mixed in. It was very creamy and had a strong mango taste. I am not a big fan of creamy puddings though so this did not appeal to me very much.
I also had some rice pudding. I’m not sure what this is called but I have tried it in other Indian restaurants. It is slightly sweet and has a soupy texture with well-boiled rice. I found it lighter than the mango pudding and enjoyed the taste of this more.
Mabel is a big fan of the sweet cake balls offered at Indian restaurants. Again, I am not sure what this is called. It is the sweetest of the three desserts in this review so if you enjoy sweet things, this may be a dessert for you.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but the food at Saffron is very rich and will sit in your stomach long after you have stopped eating. Because everything was so tasty and I wanted to try a little of everything, I overate quite a bit. The important thing to remember at buffets like this is to know when it is time to stop eating! At $10.95 per person for the lunch buffet, this is a good deal, especially when considering the large selection of items to choose from.
Details:
4300 Kingsway, Burnaby
Tel: 604-436-5000
Summary:
Food:
Service:
Price: $$
Posted in Indian, Reviews | 5 Comments »
Tuesday, January 8th, 2008
Jenkins and I popped over to Vogue Restaurant in Richmond for some lunch one day. Vogue is located in Continental Square just down the street from Aberdeen Centre. It features Taiwanese and Northern Chinese cuisine. I remember when Vogue first opened, it was always packed for both lunch and dinner. These days, the crowds have eased somewhat and you don’t have to be right at the door when it opens in order to get a seat.
We tried to order the cold cucumber salad with chillis and garlic but for some reason, they did not have it available that day. Maybe it’s not cucumber season?
Instead, we shared a couple of items. First to come was the “three cup chicken”. I believe the three cups in the sauce for this is one cup of rice wine, one cup of sesame oil, and one cup of soy sauce. It also comes with some fried basil leaves and goes great with rice.
We also shared some tan tan noodles. It is a sesame and peanut soup-based noodle with shredded cucumbers and peanuts on top. There is no meat in this dish, but I think because of the peanut sauce, it is actually quite filling. I found the soup a bit too heavy just to drink on its own though.
Vogue is a great place to go when you are in a large group because everyone can share a large variety of dishes. I do notice that the menu here is not as large as before though but the core of popular dishes is still available for order. The food is still very tasty though and different from the more run-of-the-mill Chinese food.
Details:
1118-3779 Sexsmith Rd, Richmond
Tel: 604-244-8885
Summary:
Food:
Service:
Price: $
Posted in Asian, Chinese, Reviews | No Comments »
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