Blue Water Cafe and Raw Bar

I have been to Blue Water Cafe and Raw Bar one other time before this and I absolutely love their main entrees.  So,  I am going to attempt to summarize my two visits with as many pictures as I can and as few words as I can

Starting us off some bread and some spread.  I think it's butter with herb and some red pepper beans?

Gulf Island Swimming Scallops
I love the crunch crunch crunch of it! And the scallops was very juicy!

Lobster Roll

Dungeness Crab + White Asparagus Panna Cotta
I did not know what I was expecting. I can have a few servings of this for lunch!
The green apple really lighten up the dish a lot.

Artic Char
The skin was nice. Love the sides!

Ling Cod
Wonder why there are sausages? It adds flavour to the whole dish.
But the sausages are a little too salty to my liking.

Ahi Tuna
It was nicely grilled.  I would like it more if the inside is a little more juicy.

Brownie with Chocolate Ganache
A little too dry for my liking

Food Market

First, I have to apologize for the blur and crappy picture because I couldn't wait to dig in!   Second, I think it's called the Food Market.  Anyway, it's a cafeteria opposite The Bay downtown Vancouver at the ground level near the Skytrain.

Fruits Tart! Fresh fruits! The crust wasn't crunchy enough to my liking though :(

Mango Cheesecake -- I think I bought it too late.  I would like it more if it's fresher and tasted more like mango

Lastly! I am so sorry for not posting for so long... Real life can really get in the way!

Minami Restaurant

Minami Restaurant is a sister restaurant to the famous Miku Restaurant that I like a lot too.  My friend was very nice to pick this restaurant for her birthday dinner since I wanted to try this restaurant for the longest time.  My personal preference is Minami for a girls' night out while Miku for a date night ;)

Deep fried goodness!
Ebi Fritter -- I love the mayo! And of course, the cruncy shrimp!

Love the freshness and the charcoal
Aburi Sashimi - Three types of sashimi: Tuna, Salmon and Hamachi.

More charcoal!
Aburi Saba Oshi Sushi -- Balanced portion of rice and fish. Rice are gently pressed too.

Crunchy Scallop Roll -- It's scallop roll sprinkled with tempura bits.
I felt a little tricked by the name but now I know!

A different kind of roll.
Yasai Maki Chicken -- Roasted chicken breast with vegetables rolled underneath it. 
I like to think of it as stuffed chicken!

Saikyo Miso Baked Sablefish and Shrimp Crab Dumpling -- The miso took away the attention to the softness of the fish.
It's still good but I prefer the one from Blue Water Cafe and Raw Bar across the street :D

Happy Birthday Suli!
Coconut Blueberry Cream -- The coconut taste was not strong.
I don't usually like coconut so yes, I enjoyed it. 

Sweetness <3
Passion Fruit Verrine -- I have to love that almond pudding!
The passion fruit ice cream was a little sour to my liking though

A Journey to Iran

This is from a while ago when there was a coupon deal that brought us to Darchin Restaurant -- an Iranian restaurant near downtown Vancouver.  My friend, who happens to be an Iranian, thought the food was very authentic and she went back there two weeks later!

In general, if you like flavourful dishes, give Iranian food a try! It's very different from Indian food.  The food is on the sweeter side.

PS: The restaurant is a little dark and to avoid annoying other customers with camera flashes, the pictures are not as clear as they should be :(

Lunch at Guu

Lunch special at Guu!  I was at Guu with Garlic  Yes this is just about the lunch special for now.  I know a lot of crazy Guu fans out there.  Thoughts about the regular menu will come when I have time later on.  (I have tried all the Guu in Vancouver so it's taking a while for me to compile everything.) They just started the lunch menu so it might not be as well thought of in comparison to the dinner menu.  My recommendation is: If you do not mind the wait, go to Guu for dinner.

Sushi Elephants

I have always been tempted to walk in there because of the attractive signboard but when most reviews talk about how good the rolls are, I was afraid that I will never be able to finish all the rolls I want to try.  So, when we needed a reasonable restaurant for a farewell dinner, off we go to Sushi Elephants!  Overall, the rolls are unconventional but tasty; ingredients are not unique but certainly fresh.  One of the sushi restaurants that I will go back to!

Falling for Korean Deep Fried Chicken

I was skeptical with Dasarang when the focus of the advertisement was deep fried chicken but when someone wanted to go there, I went.  Of course, half of the menu is about deep fried chicken, such as spicy deep fried chicken, non-spicy deep fried chicken, spicy boneless deep fried chicken, non-spicy boneless deep fried chicken etc etc etc..... And the result was, I made my friend bring her sister there last December and I went there again last week!  The service was a little slow but it was worth the wait. 

Hapa Izakaya

Hapa Izakaya -- another Japanese tapa style restaurant, but unique!  I was there almost a year ago for my housemate's farewell dinner and all of us had a good time.  Strongly recommended for those who like fusion food!

For the love of chocolate

Chocolate is the answer... whatever the question.

Xoxolat an excellent chocolate store if you are looking for gift for anyone who has any opinion about chocolates.  They carry high quality chocolates that makes chocolate not just a dessert but food that people need to take time to enjoy it.

I attended the chocolate tasting class offered by Xoxolat a year back and the experience makes me enjoy chocolate more.  So, as I am about to visit some friends who have different preferences for chocolates, I took a 1.5 hour bus ride there and picked up everything I needed.

Le 100% -- 100% dark. Organic!
Theo Spicy Chile -- 70% dark. Organic fair trade!
By Xoxolat:
Sea salt & Nibs -- 75% dark. Lavendar -- 75% dark.
Westcoast Breakfast -- Bacon, espresso in deep rich milk chocolate!

My list of favourite stuff in the store goes like this (roughly):
1) Lavendar chocolate bar (shown in the picture)
2) Spicy hot chocolate -- must have for the winter!
3) Chocolate nibs -- They have plenty of selections for this. 
4) TBA after i go back there a few more times!

The first time the chocolate shoes caught my eyes in the mall, I thought they were too fancy as chocolate.  But now, I am planning to get them as presents for some of the ladies ;)
 

Miko Sushi Restaurant

Everytime I passed by Miko Sushi Restaurant, I have an excuse to go to the restaurant down the street for something non-sushi.  This time, I couldn't come up with any good ideas as of why I shouldn't go in.  After a long day at Stanley Park, we were too tired to walk any further for whatever food is there.  So, we went in!  There were a lot of pictures and signatures of ice hockey players on the wall.  The atmosphere is friendly and warm.  It gets crowded as time goes by and we were glad that we made it there before the huge crowd.  All the typical rolls, nigiri, sashimi and cones are on the menu.

Glad to be Home

Woo Ree Jip means "My home" in Korean and true to its name, the restaurant serves a wide variety of home cooked Korean soups and other dishes.  They are well known for their variety of soup.  Their menu has at least 20 types of soups.  Some of them are complete strangers to me but all my friends are team players that each of us order something different to try.  I was sitting at the very end of the table so some, I have not tried BUT since it's 5 minutes away from my house... please anticipate the little foodie's thoughts of the remaining dishes.

Under the Banana Tree

The Banana Leaf Restaurant opens up a new location along Denman Street.  I haven't been there for a long while since the last time it didn't taste home-ly to me.  Anyway, I went because a friend suggested it.  Picky me when it comes to Malaysian food!

Hawksworth

The Hawksworth Restaurant won a few awards in the Golden Plate 2011, which hints me to pay the restaurant a visit with a few friends.  The restaurant has a very nice atmosphere - simple and sleek design -- fitting for downtown Vancouver.

Zakkushi

Zakkushi is one of the few special izakaya around.  They specialize in Japanese skewers.  There are wide variety of those and some other dishes like oden, okonomiyaki, sashimi, salads etc.  But, I still like their skewers best.  It was probably a hit-or-miss because the skewers were extremely salty when I went there to celebrate my birthday a few years ago. It didn't stop me from going back though.  And this time, I am very proud of myself to go back there!

The Boathouse

It was a few friends' farewell party that we decided to pay The Boathouse at English Bay a visit.  I have been there before and my favourite is their Miso Crusted Wild Halibut that I had a few years back.  It was so good but I didn't get it because it is the restaurant's 30th Anniversary and... ... they offered a very reasonably priced 3 course meal for $30.  Of course, I went for it!  Keeping the comments as short as I can ...

Tojo's Take 2

There is really nothing much to say about the goodness of Tojo's so, I will post some pictures of the Omakase that I tried for the second time.  Some are dishes I do not quite remember what they were although the memory of the taste still lingers in my mind.  

More words about Tojo's can be found in my previous post.

Where is this?

I will be honest... I don't remember what name was this restaurant when I found this stack of pictures in my picture folders.  I do however remember who I went with and where it was located.  So I attempted to visit the restaurant to check out its name but I can't find the restaurant! Uh oh!  So, I guess here is some pictures of some nice Japanese dishes, sushi rolls especially, for the eyes!

Hart House

I haven't been posting regularly, I know...  Life has been in the way but nothing is in the way for a good afternoon lunch at Hart House.  It is near Deer Lake, a beautiful lake.  They have an afternoon lunch special and guess what I ordered? The Express Lunch.  The lunch special is a 2 course meal with an appetizer and entree.  There are two appetizers and three entrees to choose from.  

Ma Dang Goul

I sort of came across Ma Dang Goul as I went to Simba a while back.  It's not a fancy restaurant.  In fact, it's extremely small.  I would think the maximum amount of customers they can have at a time is 15.  The dishes they serve is a little different from other big Korean restaurant as they are more like simple dishes you would make at home.  The price is reasonable considering its location at Denman/Robson.

Thierry Chocolateria Patisserie Cafe

Instead of buying birthday cakes, we have been bringing our birthday friends to Thierry for a treat while we have a taste of different desserts.  It's a wonderful to chill and chat with friends while satisfying our sweet tooth.