Too Much Pasta

 

Anton's Pasta Bar is one of the famous store for pasta mainly because of the large portion they served.  When I say large, it is LARGE!  I can make 5 meals out of one plate. The restaurant does not allow you to share an entree.  So, everyone has to order an entree and ended up asking for an empty container for take home.  Actually, the servers will bring an empty container for everyone on the table the moment everyone put down their utensils.

Other than the notorious portion they serve, the variety of pasta amazes me as well.  I particularly like the white sauce options but sometimes, they overcook the pasta.  The more consistent options are the pasta dishes that require baking.  

Since it has been a while that I have visited the restaurant, I cannot remember exactly the name and details of each dishes I have ordered.  So, I will leave it here until I find another chance to visit the restaurant again to take better pictures and take more notes.

iWR II - Santouka Ramen

A friend said, "Whenever I ordered ramen at other ramen store, I would add some spicy pepper flakes in them. But, I don't do that here."

I went there with a Japanese friend and commented, "It is sort of chewy... you know what I mean?" 

He nodded and said, "I know what you meant.  I like it too and I don't know how to describe that texture ."

Do you C?

I have a thing for the C Restaurant ever since we came here for the Groupon deal back in April 2010.  I came back a few times with different deals they offered and if there was another deal, I would go back again. Why? The restaurant is has nice view if you were seated at the right place.  The service and food are simply amazing.  This is one restaurant that I will definitely miss when I leave Vancouver.

Like any restaurant, they always start us off with some bread and butter.  The bread they served on the table differed everytime I had been there.  Usually, they will give us several types of bread to try.  The first time I was there, they served us four types of bread!  I am going to write about the dishes they served during my third visit mainly because I have lost the photos from my first visit and forgot to take photos during my second visit. Boooo me :(

Ok.  The Groupon deal we had was a four course meal.  The first course is a very flavourful soup -- Wild & cultivated mushroom veloute with confit garlic and brioche croutons.  The soup was creamy but it didn't irritate me nor make me feeling too full for my next course.  The soft texture of the garlic and the crunchy croutons did not take away the sweetness from the mushrooms.

I was not really looking forward to the risotto because it was usually very filling for me.   However, this corn risotto with green onion relish came as a shock to me.  Every bite of risotto has a little bit of sweetness from the corn.  With the help of the relish, the sweetness stands out a lot.  This dish is very unique to my taste bud and the reasonable portion saved me enough space for the next dish!

The third course is BC albacore tuna with some fantastic potatoes and zucchini.  Based on my few experiences here, this is the most filling course and it usually has the longest name --
BC albacore tuna, lyonaise potatoes, zucchini ribbons, parmesan soubise.   Even though the tuna was nicely done, I still prefer the potatoes and zucchini better.  Strong flavoured tuna with simple vegetables as side dishes... yum~~

Chocolate brownie as dessert this time!  I have always had bad experience with burnt brownies but this time it was soft in the inside and outside.  It is not as if the brownie was melting away.  They used dark chocolate and hence there was a tiny bit of bitterness to it but I like that bitterness.  They used a sweet (berry chantilly) and sour (lemon curd) combination of sauce to complement the bitterness for those who do not like dark chocolates.  I love the lemon curd because the sourness did not make me made funny faces.



The macaroon was not a part of the course but they served it as we asked for our bill.  It was not as amazing as the other courses but hey, it's a change from the chocolates!

Atithi Restaurant

Dining at this restaurant was not in our plan.  We registered for a chocolate tasting class and the lady gave us a special deal to dine in Atithi. It is a very small restaurant but we got ourselves a good seat at the window.

They brought us some papadum to start with.  Crispy and tasty but the sauces were very spicy.  The appetizers we ordered were the vegetable samosa and House Frankie Special.  Both dishes came with some fries on the side and the sauce was the same as the ones they served for the papadum.  I tried them without the sauce of course.  House Frankie Special is similar to a grilled chicken wrap.  The chicken was coated with curry before cooking and was nicely done.   There was nothing special about the samosa except it was very very spicy.

 
From left to right: papadum, vegetable samosas and House Frankie Special

Among all the dishes we had, I like the lamb palak best because it has an exotic combination of spice.  I am not an expert with spices so I cannot tell which spice was used.  The mutton was not overly done but the gamey smell of the mutton is still there.  The thick spinach puree helped a lot to cover the awful odor though.

The prawn is very spicy.  So spicy that I cannot taste much.  One thing I am sure of is that prawns were nicely cooked.  The sauce was too spicy for me to comment further but I know the spiciness did not come from plain chilli pepper or cayenne pepper.  Maybe someone can enlighten my dumb taste buds for spicy food.

Hmmm..... mango mouse ~~ I am very sure they used fresh mango to make it without added sugar.  I love it.  If I go back again, I will definitely have the mango mousse.  Or perhaps, I will go there just for the mango mousse!

Sailing with Five Sails

We went to Five Sails Restaurant for out first Dine Out Vancouver 2012 for our Chinese New Year eve dinner.  We were seated near the window where we can see the sea and North Vancouver. Wonderful lights.  Wonderful scenery. Wonderful food.  

Lobster bisque "cappuccino" with fresh Atlantic lobster

They started me off with a really wonderful dish -- lobster bisque.  I enjoy how it was served in a cup.  I can smell a very strong lobster fragrance from the bisque before tasting it.  I was very excited when I found a small piece of fresh lobster in there too!  If I wasn't sitting in a five star restaurant, I probably would have lick the bowl.

Creamy wild mushroom risotto shaved parmigiano reggiano

The risotto was very nicely done too.  Usually, the amount of risotto served would have made me very full but this one didn't make me feel that way.  I like the bland but appetizing taste of it.  The sauce did not take away the points from the risotto and the same can be said with the risotto.  They complement each other very well.




Lobster for Chinese New Year dinner is the best thing ever.  Even though it's a small piece but the side dishes that came with it make up for everything else.   The different flavours from each dish complement each other very well.  The bland vegetables complement the flavourful meat.

Duo of butter poached 1/2 fresh Atlantic lobster orange & tangerine scented butter emulsion
Crisp Kurobuta pork belly berry gastrique, roasted squash puree & shiitake mushrooms

The lobster was very fresh and sweet.  It was a little bit overcooked. Just a tiny tiny tiny bit otherwise it would have been very dry.  With the sauce that came with it, my complaint can be swept under the rug though.


The sauce on the pork belly was amazing.  It has a very strong flavour but did not turn me away.  Nicely done! A story on the side... I am not a big fan of fat.  So I left the fat part of the pork belly at the side of my plate.  My friend stared at it for a long while and decided to ask, "Are you going to eat that fat?" I told her no. She immediately took it and finished it! 


I was amazed at the vegetables that was on the plate too.  I think they used the same sauce for the pork belly to stir fry the mushroom slices.  The mushroom slices were then put on top of a plain but well cooked radish.  The strong flavoured mushroom slices brought out the sweetness of the radish. 

Pavlova with fresh seasonal & exotic fruits fruit coulis
& silky creme Anglaise

Dessert time!  We ordered both types of dessert.  I have never tried pavlova before.  When it was served, both my friend and I said, "A huge macaroon? "  It was very sweet but the fruits were very fresh.  There was a lot of whipping cream on it but it did not turn me away much. In fact, I enjoy having it with the pavlova itself while having the fruits on the side.

Crisp phyllo pastry with chilled lemon cream salted caramel sauce,
roasted pear & golden pineapple warm sour cherries

I might have mentioned this before -- I am not a big fan of sour stuff.  Lemon is one of those scary thing to me. But this was not too bad for me.  The ratio of lemon and phyllo was just right. However, I would like the phyllo to be a little more crispy.






They served us two tinyyyyyyyyyy pieces of chocolate ganache when we asked for our bill.  They were really nice.  I wish I can share this with someone another day <3

El Inka

I will be honest, if it wasn't a friend who drove me and the coupon we came across on tastygo, I would have never set foot at El Inka.  It is not a place that I can go by public transport.  The restaurant was really a normal restaurant - nothing fancy.  It is probably run by a small family too.  The menu was just print outs. Ouch!  None of us who was there is familiar with Mexican food so we were relying on the pictures on the menu to decide what to order.

While we were waiting for our food, we saw other diners had different types of drinks.  Drinks that we have not seen before so we were curious and asked the little waitress to surprise us.  She brought us three different drinks: Sangria, Mexican apple soda and Colombian.  The tastes were exotic except I felt that the apple soda tasted like bubble gum to me.

   

The appetizer - Yuquitas - caught my eye because the menu said, "If you have never had this before, try it and you will be hooked for life."  Big words! But so true.  The outer layer of the cassava slices were extremely crispy but the inner bits were soft.  I like it a lot and it tasted better than french fries! It was served with a spicy sauce on the side, even though the little girl warned us that the sauce is very spicy, I can still eat dip the cassava slices into the sauce so I doubt it is too spicy for spice lovers. 

I am not very sure what dish is this but we think it is called Bandeja Paisa.  It is sort of a combo meal in our opinion with an egg, some black beans, deep fried pork belly, deep fried banana, sausage, taco and avocado.  Too much deep fried goodness.  I love the crispiness of the deep fried pork belly.  I actually finished the fat part of it without complaining.   

I wasn't sure why we ordered this unfamiliar dish.  I still cannot remember the name of the dish :(  As shown in the picture, it comes with rice and beans and deep fried fish.  The bean has a different sauce and I like it much better than the previous beans because it is more flavourful.  However, what blows me away is the fish.  Despite the crispiness on the outside, the meat inside was soft and completely cooked.  I do not sense a single bit of overcooked at all.  As I said to my friends, "This is the second fish that pass."  I love it! 

After we ordered the other two entrees, we figured we need to buy another entree that is more familiar to us and hence, the chicken taco.  The chicken was very nicely done.  The onion and parsley make me felt like the dish was pretty well balanced in terms of dietary concern.  I get my protein and my veggie! I couldn't tell what sauce that came with it but I love the combination. My friend said it is the biggest taco she has ever had and it's pretty true.   Thumbs up again! 

Cork & Fin

This is my first time at Cork and Fin Restaurant and my second Dine Out Vancouver 2012 experience.  In general, this is a nice place to chill with friends.  I like the atmosphere but the restaurant is a little small when there are too many people.  We were seated at the second level and it felt a little uncomfortable when the tables are a little too closed to one another.  Anyway, back to the food...

Winter Salad, poached pear, gorgonzola, organic greens

I love the salad.  There was no sauce but the pears that came with it did an amazing job to make me finish it.  And the best part is the blue cheese.  I usually do not like blue cheese but who knew that the blue cheese would go well with the pear!

Sawmill Bay Oysters on the half shell served with Champagne mignonette.

The other appetizer we had was the oyster.  Fresh oysters and very nice sauce.  The sauce was not strong at all so it brought out the original taste of the oysters.  Between the salad and the oyster, I prefer the salad better though.

Salmon Ceviche, heirloom finger radish

The first entrees came in the size of the appetizer, in our opinion.  The salmon pieces are fresh but lack a bit of sweetness.  My other complaint about the dish is the lack of sauce.  It came as a little too dry to me even though the radishes were very juicy.  Maybe a little olive oil over it will make a difference.  I had to add some salt to the dish to increase my appetite for it.

Manilla Clams, saffron broth, crostini

There was a tiny bit of sand in the first clam I had.  They were nicely done though.  The same complaint I had about it was the lack of flavour to the sauce.  That might be because they want to bring out the sweetness of the clams but since the clam was a little overcooked, it didn't go well.  Oh, the crostini was very yummy though!

Pan Seared Snapper, carrot & ginger puree, watercress

This entree was a disaster for me.  First, I found a little bug in the green.  The waitress was very nice to get me a new plate.  But, the second piece of fish was not completely cooked.  I can still see transparent meat :( They were probably in a rush to get me a new plate and hence the uncooked fish.  On my first plate, the skin of the snapper was very crispy and I like it a lot.  The downside is overcooked flesh.  Yes, it was overcooked on the inside.  The puree made it less dry to eat. I didn't taste a lot of ginger in the puree and the sweetness of the carrot was not there as well.  I wonder if it's because of all the commotion with my plates that I ended up not realizing how nice the puree was.  Maybe I will try to make the puree myself to see if it's supposed to be what I had.

Tart of the day: Pear tart

The dine out menu did not include dessert.  We figured we might not be back any soon so we might as well try the dessert.  They have quite a selection but we ended up with the tart of the day and Hazelnut Buttercream Napoleon.  The pear tart was nicely done.  It is not too sweet and there was a generous amount of pear!  The crust was not crispy but I like the texture.  I have a thing for hazelnut so I might be bias when I said that I like the Napoleon better.  The biscuits that came along wasn't crispy or it was supposed to be not crispy? The cream, on the other hand, was very nicely done -- not heavy nor too sweet with a strong hazelnut fragrance in every bite.  So, I was very satisfied in the end!

Hazelnut Buttercream Napoleon

Don Guacamole

We went to Don Guacamole a long long time ago because 1) it is always packed when I pass by; 2) Groupon!  I regretted not writing down the name of the dishes I have tried and now when I am trying to write this, I do not quite remember the name of one of the dishes.  We tried to stick with the Groupon deal we had and ended up with funny choices of dishes in order to optimize our Groupon. (I know we are cheap.)

                                    

                                                Appetizer - Tortilla chips with different sauces.  The sauces were spicy!

I think we had carnitas estilo michoacan. Keyword: think.  I didn't like it much because it was too salty.  I would have love some rice to go with it but since I am not Mexican nor I have any knowledge of authentic Mexican food, I can't complain much.  Despite the salty soup, the pulled pork was great.  I would love them on a taco or burrito. 

However, I would never forget the name of this dish - Pozole.  It's the best out of the three dishes I had tried.  The sauce is very thick the meat was great!  

If I am not mistaken, this is mole poblano. The sweet sauce is amazing. I would love to have more of those on my plate.  There was too much rich but not enough sauce!  In the end, I had the rice with some sauce from the other two dishes instead.  Another not-so-good-thing was the chicken. It was too dry. As we ran out of sauce,  I dipped the chicken in the other two dishes and the chicken was still dry.  Oh well...

Goldfish Seafood and Chops

Note: Restaurant will be closed officially on February 05, 2012. 

Simba's Grill Ltd - RAWR!

 Happy New Year!  I am late. But at least I am back.  It's not that I have lost interest in food.  I was too occupied with something else.  I had lots of good food last year, thanks to someone who knows nothing but eat! 吃货!

Anyway, this is the first restaurant  - Simba Grill Ltd. that we went to in order to celebrate my return from my holidays.  It is an East African restaurant.  I have never tried African food before that so I cannot tell if it's authentic.  The restaurant is not fancy - simple and plain but when they serve the mango lassi, I cannot believe how good it is.  It is the thickest and most creamy mango lassi I have ever had!



There was not a lot to choose from the menu.  We decided to follow the crowd and recommendation from different blogs. 




The creamy sauce for the Chicken Surwa was fantastic.  If no one was looking, I probably would have licked that plate clean. It's very flavourful.  Lots of cream and lots of spices but none of them make you sick of eating it.  Does anyone by any chance have the recipe for this fantastic dish?  I would love to have it.

I have never been a big fan of spinach.  Tomato sauce isn't my favourite as well so I was a little wary to order this dish -- Machicha Masala with shrimps.  There was not a lot of sauce for this dish and I could barely taste tomato.  Lots of spinach but they taste perfect together!  I really do not mind spinach and tomato if they were cooked like this.





We ordered a rice and Ugali (African rice) to go with our yummy entrees.  The rice was cooked with saffron. Yum! What fascinate me is the Ugali.  It's tasteless.  I think it's make of glutinous rice flour but I might be wrong.

 

Tasteless rice + Flavourful entrees = Perfect combo to me!