food & drink Archives - Page 91 of 115

Zest Japanese Cuisine – Birthday dinner!

January 13, 2016

For my birthday this year, I didn’t feel like doing anything big, so the boyfriend just took me out for dinner. Originally, he had made reservations for Suika but the day before, we both decided we wanted to try a new upscale place.

We saw that Zest had tables left on OpenTable, and have heard good things about this place and made the reservation.
I used to frequent this neighbourhood a lot, but I actually never noticed Zest and was so surprised at where it was. It is tucked behind/beside the Starbucks on 16th & McDonald.

There was a really small parking lot but we found free street parking really close by.
The restaurant was pretty empty, but we had an early reservation. The restaurant slowly filled up near the end of our meal during regular dinner hours. The restaurant was very clean and the seating was very comfortable.
Wild Sockeye Salmon Sashimi, $15: Every time we go to a new Japanese restaurant, we order their sashimi and use it as a basis for comparison.

The sashimi tasted fresh and had a good salmon-y taste to it. It wasn’t anything that special and we weren’t too blown away with it, so probably wouldn’t order it again.
Assorted sashimi salad, $15: I’ve been having sashimi salads more lately wanted to see if Zest can make a stellar sashimi salad as well. It came with one thick piece of seaweed tempura, sashimi, fresh greens, seaweed, and grapefruit.

We thought the grapefruit was strange, but it actually went really well with the salad. We both devoured the salad within minutes because it was that delicious. It came with a soy onion dressing, which was delicious.

This is what it looked like on my plate, with the dressing on the side. The greens were very fresh and crisp, as was the seaweed. Everything about this dish was so refreshing and delicious. We would definitely order this again!
Miso Cured Grilled BC Wild Salmon, $16: This dish originally came with quinoa, but I substituted for rice as I was really wanting plain, warm white rice that day.

Again, this dish was delicious. The house blend miso was slightly sweet and thick. There was just the right amount of miso so that I could still taste the freshness of the salmon. Speaking of the salmon, it flaked off perfectly and had a nice, subtle smoky flavour to it.
Roasted Duck Breast Carpaccio, $14: This was the boyfriend’s entree, I don’t think we both expected it to be that small.

This dish was an explosion of delicious, crazy flavours that went together so well. It was an eclectic mix of savoury, zesty, sweet, and crunchy (due to the fresh veggies) that had us wanting more.
Zest Roll, $13: We were glad that we ordered this since the duck carpaccio was quite small, albeit delicious. The zest roll came with albacore tuna, grilled salmon skin, cucumber, and tobiko.

The grilled salmon skin was the highlight of the roll and saved the roll from being bland. Without the grilled salmon skin, it was underwhelming but the salmon skin gave it a nice smoky taste and crunch texture.

The only complaint I would give them was that service was slow, especially since it was quite empty when we were dining. The servers also weren’t that knowledgeable of the dishes.

Overall, we really enjoyed our meal here and glad that we tried it out. Our favourite dish would have to be the sashimi salad, followed by the entrees. Zest does an amazing job of combining different ingredients together, resulting in an explosion of fireworks for your tastebuds.

Yay!

Thanks for reading!

Carmen

Veggemo: Plant Based, Non-Dairy Beverage

January 2, 2016

Since I have been confirmed with lactose intolerance (lab test) a few months ago, I’ve been really mindful of the food I eat and which restaurants I go to. Although it sucks, I’ve come to be a lot more conscious of what I can eat. Luckily, I didn’t have much of a sweet tooth to begin with so cutting out desserts and ice cream wasn’t so hard.

It’s the cheese that is hard to give up because I love my cheeseburgers, nachos, and other cheesy goodness. I am able to eat dairy in very small amounts without reacting (eg. a few spoonfuls of Greek yogurt because it has less lactose than regular yogurt, dark chocolate, cookies, etc) or I take Lactaid pills before eating. However, those pills don’t work half the time for me since I guess my case is slightly more ‘severe’ so I find it easier to just avoid dairy in general.
I’ve been trying non-dairy alternatives recently, which was why I was super excited to learn about Veggemo (Bonus points for being Canadian!). Veggemo is a veggie based, non-dairy beverage that was recently introduced on the shelves a couple of months ago.

I’m always very interested in finding out how companies come up with innovative ways to combine different ingredients to resemble dairy products! Veggemo is composed of peas, tapioca, and potatoes.

The peas provide some protein and flavour, while the tapioca gives it a creamy texture. Potatoes make Veggemo smooth and easy to drink, and gives it a milky-white colour.

You can also look at the nutrition facts and ingredients in the photo above. The nutrition facts pictured are from the vanilla flavour, which slightly differs from the original and unsweetened flavours.
Veggemo is a great dairy substitute for those people that require specialized diets, whether it be for health or ethical reasons. At first sip, I noticed that the texture of the original and vanilla was very similar to 2% milk. The unsweetened one had the texture of skim milk.

I found it slightly creamy in texture and the taste of the original and unsweetened to be very mild. The vanilla had a slight hint of sweetness and could use a bit more vanilla taste to it!
I love making smoothies with my Veggemo! I simply blended a banana and the original flavour Veggemo, which tasted delicious. It has the exact texture and taste of a regular smoothie.

In addition to making smoothies, I also use Veggemo for cereal. Since the unsweetened flavour is very plain and mild, my cereal gives it a lot more sweetness and I drink the Veggemo after I’m done eating!

Their super informative and interactive website also has some recipe ideas on how to incorporate Veggemo into your cooking, such as creamy tomato soup, holiday eggless nog, fluffy pancakes, and coffee cakes! I definitely will be trying their suggested recipes with these products!
Tomato soup following the recipe on Veggemo’s website, but added some penne pasta & ham. We also didn’t puree the soup as we didn’t have the proper blender for it. This tasted delicious and was super filling with the pasta & ham!
Banana bread also following their recipe! My friend used original instead of vanilla, and substituted the oil with greek yogurt. She enjoyed the finished product and said it tasted great!

Veggemo is a great dairy substitute in cooking and baking. I would prefer to use Veggemo in a recipe as I found the taste to be very mild, although the texture and consistency was perfect. Veggemo was rated 1 of the 10 most innovative new products (out of 300 products) at the Grocery Innovation Canada show.

You can currently find Veggemo at major grocery stores such as Save On Foods, Pricesmart, London Drugs, Urban Fare, IGA Marketplace, Walmart Supercentres! The price ranges from $2.99-$3.79, depending on which retailer you go buy from.

Thanks for reading!

Carmen

Deer Garden Signatures (Vancouver location)

December 28, 2015

I can’t believe I haven’t written about Deer Garden yet because I love this place so much! I would come here more if there wasn’t any lines, and if I lived closer. The boyfriend and I both hate waiting in lines for food, which is why we don’t come here as often as we like.
Does anyone here watch Big Brother Canada? Every time I come here, I am reminded of Marsha the Moose from their wall decor.
Soup base & noodles combo, $9.95: The reason why the boyfriend loves this place a lot more than Cattle Cafe is that Deer Garden still serves the spicy peanut soup. Ever since Cattle Cafe discontinued the spicy peanut soup, he jumps at the chance to go to Deer Garden as they are the only place around that still has it. Correct me if I’m wrong or if you know of any other restaurants with the spicy peanut soup base!

Choice of soup: Chili peanut
Choice of noodles: Egg Noodles
Choice of toppings: Chicken balls and Vietnamese style pork (choice of 2, additional toppings @ 1.50 each)
The soup has a very strong peanut taste, so I would definitely recommend this broth if you are an avid peanut sauce lover like he is. For me, I am neutral towards peanut butter and thought that the Cattle Cafe soup too strong. I can have some of the peanut soup here without feeling that it is overwhelming peanut-y.

As usual, the bowl came with a very generous amount of noodles!
Soup base & noodles combo, $9.95: Fun fact about me, I have been known to place the wrong order with the soup noodle combo. This is the third time that I ordered incorrectly -_- I think it’s because whenever I look at the ordering paper, I see part of the name and I just check it off without bothering to read the rest. The worst time was when I ordered a tomato soup base instead 🙁

Choice of soup: Fish soup
Choice of noodles: Vermicelli
Choice of toppings: Sliced cuttlefish (ordered the wrong item by accident), beef ball, and basa fish fillet ($1.50 extra)

I normally get fish soup w/ century egg & parsely, but I’ve been getting off tasting century egg the past couple of times so I decided to just try the fish soup. It’s actually just the same soup but without the century egg, and comes with some beancurd.

Normally, I would have just eaten the cuttlefish since it was my mistake and Asian restaurants aren’t forgiving when it comes to this stuff and won’t replace it for you. But I was really looking forward to the fish fillet and ordered it as an extra, giving the cuttlefish to the boyfriend.

As usual, the bowl of noodles was warm, comforting, and extremely filling. We love coming here because the noodle combos are consistently delicious and satisfying. It’s too bad that there’s always a line up here, or we would be coming a lot more!

Yay!

Thanks for reading!

Carmen

Q Shi Q Japanese BBQ

December 12, 2015

When I first heard about Q Shi Q, I knew that I definitely had to try it. While trying to find a place to eat with a friend, I suddenly remembered this place and was so excited when he agreed to try it with me!
Q Shi Q opened its doors in late October, so it is still pretty new. It is located just on the border of Olympic Village, a walking distance from the pubs in OV and Earnest Ice Cream. Since this area is mostly industrial (for now), with an exception of new restaurants popping up here and there, it was really quiet in the evening and easy to find parking.

Q Shi Q was the only lit up building on the street, so I definitely knew I was at the right place. I’m predicting that over the coming years, this place will be populated with more restaurants and night life as Olympic Village continues to expand.
After finding parking effortlessly, I made my way into the restaurant. The exterior reminded me of a night club rather than a restaurant, as they had a small rope fence and waiting area.

I was greeted warmly by the owner, and this welcoming tone set the mood for the rest of the visit. Service was very friendly and welcoming, though our waitress was trying very hard to sell us certain items.
Pictured left is a cocktail made out of egg white, lemon peel, and ume (a type of delicious plum wine). The ume made it sweet and refreshing, but the lemon gave it a subtle sour taste as well.

Shouga soda, $2.50: It was very rich, strong and spicy, as ginger is supposed to be. At first sip, you are greeted with a strong blast of ginger that carries out throughout the drink. I drank this very slowly, and the potency of the ginger was lessened near the end of our meal as the ice cubes had melted.
Nana fries, $3: They have two types of fries, shio and nana fries. Shio fries are seasoned solely with sea salt, while nana fries are seasoned with 7 different spices. The fries arrived fresh and piping hot, and were absolutely delicious! I loved the seasonings, and there was a hint of spice as well.

These fries are a great alternative to your standard fries and I would recommend trying these! I would come back just for these fries. They start off salty, savoury, and spicy and end with a slight, well rounded hit of sweetness.
Lobster miso mayo skewer, $9.50: This was one of the daily specials that night, and came highly recommended by the server. The sauce tasted very well rounded and was slightly sweet and creamy, although there wasn’t any cream or dairy ingredients inside. I double checked because since I recently became lactose intolerant, so I have to be very careful and avoid dairy. =(

(Yes, I did a lab test which confirmed the intolerance, which can develop suddenly. Mine is bad so I have to be careful when I’m eating out now. Also, yes that means no more ice cream, cheesecake, cheese, etc unless I take pills but even those don’t help sometimes! Boo).
Skewers, any 5 for $11 (excluding specials): Q Shi Q has two standard flavours- oishii which is a blend of green onion, garlic, ginger, soy, lemon, and other things, and shio which is just sea salt. Pictured here are the oishii pork, oishii sirloin, kirashi sirlion, oishii chicken, and oishii tsukune.

While mid way through the pork skewer, I noticed that the pork was pretty pink in the middle so I stopped eating it. However, I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. The lighting was pretty dark in there so maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me? But after the meal, I got a stomachache so it was probably from the under-cooked meat.

Other than that, the other skewers were pretty delicious and all had a nice hint of smokiness to them. My favourite was the oishii chicken, which was moist, juicy, and bursting with grilled and seasoned flavour. My least favourite was the oishii tsukune because it was a chicken ball skewer. It had a light and somewhat fluffy texture and did not have as much flavour as the oishii chicken.
Skewers, any 5 for $11 ( excluding specials): oishii salmon, two ponzu salmon, ebi fritter and broccoli

Just like the pork, I found the salmon to be undercooked. Some areas flaked off nicely and were a nice light pink but some parts in the middle did not look cooked. I ended up avoiding the areas that looked undercooked. Looking back, I’m not too sure why I didn’t just ask for them to grill it a bit more.

The ebi fritters were very small and had was composed of mostly batter instead of prawn. This was disappointing and I wouldn’t order this one again.

Considering the meat and two pieces of broccoli are the same price (any 5 skewers for $11), it is more worth it to get the meat. However, it is still important to eat veggies (says the girl who barely eats veggies) so we decided to order one broccoli skewer. It was fresh and crunchy, and tasted a lot better since it was grilled (can you tell I don’t like veggies?).

Matcha amasake parfait, $4: My friend ordered this for desert and was going to let me try some, but we were notified by our server that the rice pudding had cream and milk in it. However, my friend really enjoyed the dessert and said that the matcha was really strong and delicious!

All in all, we both enjoyed Q Shi Q except for that some meat might have been undercooked. The service was excellent, the atmosphere was great, and the food was very flavourful. It is a good place to hang out with friends and share some good skewers!
I took the boyfriend here the following week because I wanted him to try the nana fries! We ordered pretty much the same thing as my first visit.

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen

New Product! Prana Coconut Chips

December 7, 2015

Are you the same as me, and prefer savoury snacks over sweets? I would take a bag of chips or french fries over pastries any day. Although everyone I know prefers yam fries, I still like regular fries better because yam fries are sweeter than regular fries.

I love chips, but I try not to eat them often because it’s not healthy and my throat gets sore the next day if I eat anything more than a small handful! Which is why I was excited to try Prana’s new coconut chips and to see if they are a great savoury alternative to traditional chips.
For now, there are four flavours but they only launched last month, so I am predicting that there will be more flavours on the shelves over the next few months or even years.

The coconut chips are 100% organic, gluten-free, and non genetically modified. The only ingredients in the chips are coconut slices and seasoning (except for the classic, which only contains coconut slices). The boyfriend gladly helped with sampling as well, he thought that this was an interesting concept.

Prana Coconut Chips — A mixture of the different flavours!

Also, Flavours are named after popular dances around the world! Can we also take a minute to appreciate the lovely packaging and branding?
The first flavour we sampled was the sea salt & pepper, because I wanted to try the flavour that seemed the most savoury first. It was…very interesting?

I was expecting the chips to be completely dry, but they were slightly moist due to the coconut meat, which I didn’t mind. However, we both thought that the slight sweetness of the coconut chips didn’t go that well with the sea salt and pepper flavour.
After sampling the salt and pepper flavour, we tried the spicy chili next! The spicy chili, or jive, was my personal favourite.This flavour tasted more like your traditional chip since you don’t taste the sweet coconut, yet can feel the slightly moist but crunchy texture of the coconut meat.

Unlike the salt and pepper flavour, the subtle coconut taste went really well with the spicy chili by making it more rich and the spice less intense.
Third on the list was the barbecue flavour, or charleston! Again, the bbq flavour went really well with the coconut taste. This was the boyfriend’s favourite flavour because he loves anything barbecue.
Lastly, we tried the original, or classic flavour. This is just pure coconut slices with no other added ingredients. This one was nice and simple, and really showed the quality of the coconut!

All in all, the Prana coconut chips are a great healthy alternative to chips. I can eat more of these without feeling as guilty or wake up with a sore throat. Although I wouldn’t have the sea salt and pepper flavour again, I enjoyed the other three and will be munching on these in the weeks to come!

Thanks for reading!

Carmen

Press samples featured. Opinions are own.