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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

Nero Belgian Waffle Bar

May 31, 2015

Hi everyone!

After a satisfying brunch a few months ago, Naomi from Constant Cravings and I decided to go grab dessert at Nero! No, we weren’t hungry still… but I told her that Nero has been on my dining list for probably 2 years now, and I still haven’t gotten the opportunity. Since Forage was a mere few blocks away, we decided to walk there after and share a waffle.

Naomi had already been here before, so she led the way. To be honest, I was a bit surprised when we got there as I was not expecting their design and branding to look like this! Judging from the pictures I saw, the place looked a lot brighter and less rustic/wooden than it actually was. Not that I minded though, but that was just my first opinion=)

It’s smart that they have their menu on a chalkboard outside. Naomi told me that it lines up pretty quickly here during the summer, so this is an efficient way to speed up the wait!

Yep, I was still surprised at how wooden and cozy it was inside Nero. I honestly thought it would look like a bubble tea or Asian dessert cafe, LOL!

Nonetheless, I did like the interior and here is a picture of a bicycle on their wall. The seating area is quite small and there is no way that all their customers are able to get a seat right away. Which is unfortunate, because their specialty waffles aren’t something that can be easily packed and taken to go.

Since I was the newbie, I let Naomi decide for the both of us. We shared the liege au chocolat waffle, which came with a dark chocolate drizzle, fresh raspberries, and a big ol’ scoop of vanilla ice cream.

The waffle was nice and light, with a sweetness to it and served warm. The dark chocolate and tart raspberries counterbalanced the sweetness of the waffle and vanilla ice cream.

I would love to come back and try more of their different flavours, but I especially hate standing and waiting in lines for restaurants.. that’s a big pet peeve for me and probably one of the biggest reasons I haven’t tried a couple of well known, yummy establishments. I should also mention Nero was empty when we came in around 2pm on a Saturday, but as we got ready to leave, we saw a line that was already out the door!

I saw another customer with a huge fruit assortment on her waffle, I am definitely trying that one next time I come back!

Is Nero worth the hype? For me personally, yes!

-Carmen

The Flying Pig (Olympic Village)

March 9, 2015

Happy to announce that this will be a guest post by le boyfriend. We tried The Flying Pig for the first time but we left disappointed, read on to find out why. Thanks for reading! – Carmen

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Hi everybody! Welcome to another guest post. Carmen really wanted another post from me, but I was hesitant at first. I originally intended to write my post on Fable Kitchen as part of the Dine at Fable event, but that went nowhere as evidence by the lack of a post. So here is a review for The Flying Pig, at their newest location in Olympic Village. Carmen had really wanted to try The Flying Pig for a long time, and one night we decided to visit the aforementioned location.
This location does not have big signs or bright lights on the outside of the building, and it was quite difficult to locate in the dark. Once inside, we were greeted and seated promptly. The restaurant was about 75% full when we arrived, but I found that the table we were seated at was pretty cramped. Our server was very friendly, and rang off the specials of the day for us.
For an appetizer, we ordered the Bone Marrow Cheezy Bread. Carmen heard from a friend that the bread was a “must try” item, and it did not disappoint. It was warm, fluffy, and loaded with cheese.
For her entrée, Carmen ordered the Veal Piccata. It consisted of a parmesan risotto in a lemon caper butter sauce, served with veal slices. The risotto was creamy and cooked perfectly, but that’s about as good as it gets.

The veal, while tender, was underwhelming and bland. The lemon capers gave it an overly lemony taste, which required a lot of salt and pepper to mask. It also had a slimy texture that was very off-putting.

Overall, Carmen did not enjoy it very much, and I switched dishes with her only because I could tolerate it a bit more. We both agreed, it’s not worth recommending.
Next up is the entrée I selected: The Flying Pig Signature Pork Rack. It really sounded good on paper but was sadly another uninspiring dish. The pork rack consisted of one piece of pork chop attached to the bone, served with a side of pulled pork poutine, with an apple cider reduction sauce and seasonal vegetables.

The pork was cooked very well, being very tender and juicy, but just like the veal, it was bland and poorly seasoned. Carmen tried a piece and was not impressed either. Sadly for this dish, the best part was the side of pulled pork poutine, which you can add as a side to other dishes as well. There was a generous amount of pulled pork layered on top, and the pulled pork was absolutely delicious.

Considering how poorly seasoned the rest of the meats we had that night were, this was an absolute delight. There is also a generous topping of cheese curds and gravy.

Our first experience at The Flying Pig was, overall, not a very positive one. Most of our food ended up being very disappointing, and for what we paid, we felt like it was definitely not worth the price. We also agreed that it would be worth revisiting another time.

Carmen did in fact go back to The Flying Pig (albeit their Gastown location) and had a much better experience during their happy hour. You can expect that review to be up pretty soon after this one. Until next time, thanks for reading!

The Fish House – Valentines 2015

February 22, 2015

Hi everyone,

For Valentines Day this year, the boyfriend and I decided to go out for a nice dinner. Since we didn’t make reservations a month in advance, we were a bit strapped on our dining options. A lot of places that we wanted to go were already all booked. Lesson learned, figure out what to do way before Valentines Day!

But everything worked out in the end, and we couldn’t have been happier with our decision =) We ended up making a reservation two weeks before to The Fish House in Stanley Park. I thought I had went there a few years ago for my aunt’s bridal shower, but I think that was actually The Tea House in Stanley Park.

They had called us two days before our reservation to confirm. Driving to The Fish House was pretty easy, there’s a shortcut that you can take so you don’t have to drive around the whole park. Also, Stanley Park doesn’t have any street lights so it may look a bit creepy since it’s pretty much pitch black except for the car lights.

We had asked for a window spot, preferably with a view. Unfortunately,they weren’t able to give us a window seat and the restaurant didn’t have a nice view of the water, as I was hoping since it wasn’t that close to the water. We were seated quickly and there was a nice, fresh rose and lit candles waiting for us!

As expected, the restaurant was packed with other couples celebrating Valentines Day. Our server was really nice and made an effort to check in on us a few times, even though we could tell she was busy. Their service was excellent.

To start, we received a complimentary bread basket, served with lobster oil and vinaigrette. The bread was very soft and served warm. The Fish House also sells the lobster oil, serving it as a side with the complementary bread is a great way to advertise!

The lobster oil had a strong seafood taste and scent, so those who don’t like seafood probably will think it smells too “fishy” , but we loved it.

The boyfriend insisted that we both get appetizers, even though I thought it was going to be a pricey bill =( He wanted to order either the crab cakes or clam chowder, but decided on the latter.

The clam chowder was creamy, rich, with a generous amount of seafood. It also came sprinkled with small bacon bits and potatoes.

For myself, I knew what I wanted instantly when I saw “arugula” and “salmon” in one line. Salmon and arugula salad, with beet-cured Sockeye salmon, argula, pistachio, red onion, and dill vinaigrette ($13).

I loved the arugula- it was fresh, crisp, and the dill vinaigrette sauce had a tart taste to it which completed the dish perfectly. I thought it would be served with smoked salmon, so I was a bit surprised when the salmon had a sweet taste to it. The egg was cooked hard, which I didn’t mind and tasted average.

As I mentioned earlier, the restaurant was pretty busy that day and they forgot our drinks. After our starters came, we asked if our drinks would be arriving soon and they came shortly after. Caesar for the boyfriend, a raspberry mint soda for me. The boyfriend enjoyed the caesar, which was spicy enough for him.

I loved my raspberry mint soda so much that I ended up ordering two, hehe. The addition of the fresh mint really enhanced the raspberry flavour and it wasn’t too sweet. I found that the second order I received had a stronger tonic water taste. It was also a bit heavy on the ice but I drank it so fast that the melting ice wasn’t a problem =)

So far, we were having a great time. The starters were great, and so were the drinks and service! Now it’s time for the main course!

I’m not too sure why the boyfriend ordered a sirloin steak at a restaurant named The Fish House but oh well =) This was the “surf and turf”, which came with a 6 ounce sirlion and a ravioli made with sable fish and wild mushroom.

He asked for the steak to be cooked to be cooked medium rare, and it was cooked puuuuurfectly. As for the ravioli, he said it was very flavourful but wished there was more.

His vegetables were cooked in the same beurre blanc sauce as mine, and the sauce was amazing. Beurre blanc is a French sauce made of melted butter and white wine. So heavenly.

I ordered from the “simply grilled fish” section, since I wanted to try the seafood at a seafood specialty restaurant. That, and I love my salmon. They had a wide variety of fish to chose from, I ordered the sockeye salmon.

The sockeye salmon was cooked perfectly and flaked right off. It was darker in colour since it’s wild salmon. The beurre blanc sauce was lightly covering the top, and it complemented each other so well. My beurre blanc sauce was also made with lemon juice, since we all know how amazing lemon and salmon go together.

The potatoes were also bursting with flavour and seasoned with herbs. Swirling the beurre blanc sauce with the potatoes and fresh, crunchy vegetables was just amazing.

I’m sorry to be using the word amazing so much in this post, I’m not sure how else to describe the meal. DELICIOUS? PERFECT? Take your pick =)

We were too full for desert, but after paying for the bill, our great server came by and gave us a small present from the restaurant! It was a strawberry macaron and a marshmellow! The strawberry macaron was pretty big, fluffy, and sweet but the marshmellow was pretty gross…. it was grey and tasted like wet cardboard. Anyways, we enjoyed the little gift from them!

I have nothing but positive things to say about our experience at The Fish House. From the quality food, romantic ambiance, and service, The Fish House really knows what they are doing and everything is executed perfectly. I’m so glad that we came here and it was the perfect place to spend Valentines.

After the dinner, we drove to the other side of Stanley Park to see the city skyline. Apparently, lots of other couples had the same idea because the parking lot was packed. This is one of our favourite spots for a late night drive, so we’ve been here a lot of times but never seen it this busy at night!

What did you do for Valentines? What are some other great restaurants for Valentines Day?

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen

Al Porto Ristorante

December 8, 2014

Al Porto Ristorante is an Italian restaurant in the heart of Gastown, located in the basement of one of Gastown’s many beautiful historic brick buildings. Al Porto had a fancier feel to the restaurant, but I wouldn’t describe it was fine dining. It is certainly a restaurant that to go to when you’re not in a rush. I thought that this place would be great for romantic dates, but after reading a few reviews and hearing some stories from friends, seems like this place gets quite noisy in the night time and it’s hard to hear the person across the table from you.

The main entrance to Al Porto is located off the side of the building, towards the train tracks. There is a sign out front with a big arrow, so it’s pretty hard to miss the entrance. The picture above is the entrance to their second floor loft. I came with a few of my coworkers for lunch. The restaurant was pretty empty when we arrived, and were seated quickly. I liked how we got one of the round tables for the five of us, it made conservation easier and it was nice to see everyone without having to lean forward or anything like that. I wish more restaurants had circular tables =P Like Chinese restaurants!

Right after we ordered, our bread came! If I was going to be picky, it would have been nice to have the bread warm, but oh well. I’m not sure what the bread on the left was called, but it was very doughy and chewy, with subtle garlic and herb tastes to it. I liked how it was chewy and I am a big fan of herbs so this bread was an obvious winner in my books. I wish I could say the same about the right one, but unfortunately I found the outside to be rock hard and bland tasting.

My side of caesar salad was better than I expected it to be, which is always a great surprise! That, or I normally don’t have great experiences with side salads. The lettuce was very crunchy, as were the croutons (and not in a bad way like the complementary bread above). It had a great garlicky flavour to it. Everything tasted really fresh and tasted like what a delicious caesar salad should taste like! There was also bits of crushed pepper, which added more dynamic and a hint of spice to the salad.

Soup of the way was a white bean, tomato and basil soup. It had a thick texture to it, and was a bit starchy due to the potatoes. However, all of the flavours in the soup complemented each other really well and I didn’t find the soup to be extremely salty (I’m looking at you, Olive Garden). I try to stay away from soups at Western restaurants because I find them to be very salty, but this wasn’t the case. I added a bit of pepper to the soup to give it a bit of a flair too. Yum!

For myself, I ordered the tagliatelle buongustaio ($10.95). Tagliatelle is the type of pasta, which is a flatter and wider noodle. My plate came with chicken, sweet pea, and mushrooms in a garlic cream sauce. The tagliatelle was cooked al dente, and had a good bounce to it. The sauce was delicious as well, it was very creamy without being too heavy, and had a subtle garlic and butter taste to it. The chicken chunks had a slightly grilled and smoky taste to it, and was juicy. I love my pepper, and requested for extra in my plate which completed my dish perfectly. I sprinkled a bit of Parmesan cheese, which melted a bit due to the warmth of the everything else.

With all that said, one thing I found a bit off was their service. The service wasn’t bad or rude… it was just a bit off. I wasn’t feeling well that day and had a cold, so I asked for a warm honey water to maybe give my sore throat a relief, and so that I was actually able to talk with my coworkers because I was about to lose my voice. She seemed very confused about it and looked a bit annoyed. The rest of the time, I felt bad and uncomfortable asking her for more water, which I don’t think a server should make you feel especially at a restaurant that is known to be a bit more upscale. So I sucked it up and took Halls like there was no tomorrow.

Going to a restaurant is not just about the food, it is about the ambiance, service, and overall atmosphere. Al Porto really hit the points high with their food, but I think their service could use a bit more work, or maybe the two staff were having an off day. I don’t think I would come back for dinner since I know it gets pretty busy and is a popular tourist destination, but I wouldn’t mind coming back for lunch (if there is better service).

-Carmen