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