Author: My Husband

Some of our readers may recall the post about Paris where I wrote “Business travel blends into a blur of planes, hotels, and boardrooms…”. Most frequent travelers can relate to this, where they – just for the briefest of moments – don’t remember where they are. This is especially true when travel takes you to any one of the generic-looking “developed” cities around the world.

But then there are some places that are so different, so in-your-face unique, that you can’t help but be reminded of where you are at every waking moment. Kolkata happens to be one of them. I’ve been in India for the last 2 weeks on business, and I must say that I did not, at any moment, forget where I was.

Kolkata was quite an experience, but one of the curious side effect of staying there and eating local food for a fortnight is that you begin to pine for other types of food. Now, Indian food in India is brilliant, with tastes, smells, and nuances that Vancouver Indian food can only aspire to. However, after two full weeks of eating spicy food, no matter how brilliantly cooked, I started becoming a little indifferent to it. I mean, you would get sick of lobster if you eat it everyday, no? Most people, especially people who care about food, would wholeheartedly agree that variety is the key to gastronomic happiness. Sure, taste is important, but can you see yourself eating the same beautifully cooked dish every night for dinner? I’m sure you would be willing to trade a little quality for more variety, wouldn’t you? So variety and choice is really what enjoying food is about, and that statment then provides a nice segue into the topic for this post.

During the last week of March, Christina and I were invited to a “Foodie’s night” at the recently opened R.TL restaurant. Since we are always game to try out new places, we accepted the invitation. In the interest of full disclosure, we were guests of the restaurant and did not have to foot the bill for our food and beverages that evening.

RTL is located in a cozy little space in Yaletown. We initially thought that the place was more of a lounge than a restaurant, since the L in R.TL stood for “lounge”. The darkly tinted automated sliding glass door entrance didn’t change our impression – if anything, it felt even more lounge-ish. But once inside, we discovered that it was set up like a little bistro. A bistro with very modern touches and a lounge-ish feel, that is. Carrie, who invited us, showed us to a nice table near the window and explained R.TL’s concept to us.

R.TL, as it turns out, is a full-fledged restaurant featuring a menu that focuses on three culinary regions at any given time. Also, in keeping with the “lounge” part of its name, R.TL features a wine program that allows customers to order some pretty high-quality products by the glass (more on this later).

That evening, we were given a sampler of the type of food RTL serves, along with free-range of the beverage menu. Here’s the food:

Starting from the left, a duck liver pate served on a toast point. Next, bacalhal (salt cod) fritters. Then prawns piri piri. Then a Dungeness crab and shrimp cake. Finally, a petite nicoise salad.

As you can see, the sample plate was beautifully presented, and the prawns piri piri as well as the bacalhau really tickled our palette. We would very happily order full size portions of these. The rest were decent, but didn’t stand out all that much taste-wise.

And here are the drinks:

I had a flight of Riesling, Sangiovese (actually it’s a super tuscan – Sangiovese/Cab blend), and a very nice Pinot Noir. These wines showed no sign of oxidation at all, and drank very well. For wines served by the glass, I was really impressed.

And here’s one the machines that dispenses the wine. The Enomatic machine injects the equal volume of argon gas into the bottle from which it had just dispensed, thus minimizing oxidation of the wine. This allows each bottle to keep for days, and allows R.TL to offer some expensive wines to be sold by the glass. This is a win for the R.TL, and a huge win for oenophiles who visit the restaurant.

And RTL does have a good selection of very drinkable wines. I had a quick chat with Alain the sommelier/Operations Mgr and he told me his philosophy was to buy products that he liked and was accessible to R.TL’s customers. The flight of three I had was certainly very likeable, and at the listed prices, quite reasonable.

Because the guests that evening were presented with sampler portions, the chef also prepared some full-sized plates to show us. Here they are.

We did not taste these as my wife and I had another appointment to keep, but look-wise, they were certainly appealing.

So what did we think? R.TL is quite good foodwise, but it is not at the level of, say, the Bins yet. But the ability for guests to buy wines by the glass is a definite winner. Too many times, you see something interesting available on the winelist, but cannot order as you are the lone drinker at the table. The Enomatic machines installed in R.TL has solved that problem nicely. And just for that, Christina and I will return for a few more glasses…

Author: My Husband

Monday Feb 9, 3pm-ish. I was in the office, ensconced in the glass-walled war room with several members of my team, all of whom were guys save one. The team had just surfaced for air after spending an eternity submerged in work minutiae, and the topic of discussion turned to just about ANYTHING other than work.

Most of us were sprawled backwards on our seats, arms folded behind our heads, raised legs resting comfortably against the conference table, chatting away and feeling pretty relaxed. Just then, one of the secretaries walked by holding a brightly-coloured potted plant, and the lone female member of the team piped up with, “Oooh, that’s a nice flower. Speaking of flowers, hey, what are you guys doing for Valentines Day?”

My friend and colleague D sat up so quickly the spring-loaded backrest of his chair almost threw him right off it. “What?!! Is it Valentines already? I totally forgot about it!” exclaimed D, eyes wide open. This was then followed by sighs and much head-shaking from the other guys. K, our female colleague, and the one who undoubtedly prevented several Valentine’s Day quarrels this year, starting laughing, “Yes D, it is this Saturday!! Good thing I reminded you, huh? So ET, what plans do you have?”

Now, in years past, I would have been right there with the guys, looking sheepish and trying valiantly to complete the half-formed witty retort in my mind. But not this year! This year, I had plans made well in advance! Rather smugly, I replied “We’re going to Market for dinner.”

This preparedness resulted from the eGullet discussion I’d been following about Jean-Georges Vongerichten opening his first restaurant in Vancouver. When several eGulleters reported back with positive reviews of the place, named Market, after it opened in January, I started to cast about for an excuse to go and try it. Since Valentine’s Day was less than a month away, it was a no-brainer. I had my reservations made before January ran out of days…

Market is located in the Shangri-la, Vancouver’s newest hotel and the city’s tallest building. Walking into the lobby from the Georgia St. entrance, one gets the impression that this is not your “typical” Shangri-la. Fans of the Shangri-la group’s other properties will find Vancouver’s version to be more contemporary in design and decor. Compared to Shangri-la’s locations in Asia, the property in Vancouver is also decidedly smaller. Nevertheless, the decor looks good and all the details that makes the Shangri-la a 5* chain are still present.

Market is on the third-floor of the hotel, and can be reached via a bank of elevators accessible from the Geogia St. lobby. The restaurant is divided into two distinct sections: a more formal dining room, and a more loungy café. A bar, which was really hopping when we finished dinner, separates the two sections. The dining room has the full dinner menu while the café offers small plates, pizzas, burgers and the like. Remember to specify which section you’d like to visit when making your reservation.

We decided to have the Market tasting menu that evening. Suffice it to say, Jean-Georges’ multiple Michelin stars are well-deserved. The menu that he designed, when taking the price (CAD $65 pp) into account, represents pretty good value as far as fine-dining is concerned. And save for one course, the meal was spectacular.

If I had to describe the meal in two words, “balance” and “harmony” would be my choices. Tastes and textures were beautifully balanced, and all the flavours worked in harmony. In lesser menus, there would invariably be accompaniments or sides that do not work well with the main ingredient, but there were no such problems here. Truly, it was one of the best meals I’ve had in Vancouver.

From this point on, I’ll let the photos do the talking. The description of each course reflects the taste and texture of the food, so I will skip much of my usual colour commentary in this post.

First up, the amuse. “Rice cracker Crusted Tuna, Citrus-Sriracha Emulsion”. Christina liked this so much she tried to replicate it at home.

Next, “Foie Gras Brule, Dried Sour Cherries, White Port Gelee”. Tied for the best torchon I’ve had, right up there with the one I ate at Manresa.

Next, “Cripsy Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, Passion Mustard and Avocado”. This was the one course that we did not find spectacular. It tasted good, but when the other courses were of such high standard, we singled this out to nitpick.

Next, “Sablefish, Nut and Seed Crust, Sweet and Sour Broth”. Fantastic.

Next, “Soy Glazed Short Ribs, Apple-Jalapeno Puree, Rosemary Crumbs”. Also fantastic.

Finally, dessert. Chocolate cake with a molten center and home-made ice cream. Delicious, and a great way to finish the meal.

Well, what can I say? Assuming the service and food standards are maintained, Market may well give Le Croc a run for it’s money as our fave restaurant in Vancouver. We’re already planning to visit again in March.

Author: My Husband

Christina and I are generally not fans of hotel restaurants. When we travel, we make it a rule to eat in non-hotel-ensconced places, knowing that by so doing, we would avoid the double-trap of high-priced and mediocre quality food. But rules are meant to be broken sometimes, which is precisely how we ended up having dinner at the Five Sails restaurant in Vancouver’s Pan Pacific Hotel.

Having dinner at the Five Sails was a decision some three years in the making. In 2005, Christina and I went for a prix-fixe dinner at the restaurant during that year’s Dine Out event and she came away with a really good impression of the place. Yes, the restaurant was spacious. Yes, it served decent food. And yes, the service was good. But all that paled in comparison to the bank of large picture windows that provided customers with a panoramic view of Burrard Inlet and the North Shore mountains; it was this view that left an indelible impression in our minds. On a clear night, with the lights of the Lion’s Gate and North Vancouver acting as a sparkling backdrop against the darkly reflective waters of Burrard inlet, the view is simply magical. We’d meant to return for a meal outside of Dine Out season, but for one reason or another, it never rose to the top of our LIST.

Finally, for my wife’s birthday last year, we decided to return for dinner at the Five Sails. The restaurant is not operated by the Pan Pacific hotel; rather, it is run by chef proprietor Ernst Dorfler and his wife Gerry Sayers. The night of our dinner, Gerry was working the front of house, and it was she who showed us to our table.

The first thing that we encountered after stepping into the restaurant was the smell of stale seafood – definitely not the kind of greeting that we’d expected for an establishment such as this. And while walking to our table, I noticed the restaurant was more than two-thirds empty. The fact that it was a miserably cold Monday night – and only several days after Vancouver had dug itself out of a snowstorm – may have had something to do with the empty restaurant. It may also have to do with the restaurant being larger than average for an establishment like this. Regardless, the dull stench of stale seafood that lingered in the air did not do much to reassure me that we had made the right decision to eat here.

But since we had already driven all the way here, we decided to go ahead with dinner. We had a couple of cocktails while waiting for our meal to be served, and they were borderline undrinkable. My mojito was cloyingly sweet and had an almost syrupy consistency; I couldn’t help but wonder if a mix was used in its preparation. Christina’s ice wine martini, served in a champagne flute, was embarrassingly bad for $18. It was a mixture of flavors that did not work together, and it is definitely not something we’d try again.

We were each presented with a complimentary amuse bouche before our starters arrived. It was combo of a vegetarian consommé and a layered terrine. It got the taste buds working, and free food is always good!

Christina started with Foie Gras Yin and Yang. This dish offered foie in two ways, torchon-style and pan-seared. The torchon was wonderful: smooth, rich and earthy, it is everything foie should be. The pan-seared was quite good too, though it had a little more vein that we preferred. Still, the liver worked well both ways with the quince and balsamic reduction, and it was a successful dish overall.

I had the lobster bisque. The smoky lobster stock came through clearly in this luxurious soup. Rich and complex in flavors, I drank it all up and didn’t even mind the foam sitting on the surface. The bits of lobster meat in the soup were a nice bonus.

Christina order the roasted Fraser Valley duck breast for her main course. The duck breast was prepared to just the right doneness, and masterfully seasoned. Each bite was juicy and flavorful. The seared foie gras that accompanied this was of a lesser quality than that of the appetizer, this being grittier and more vein-y. The minced duck meat wontons were interesting, though the wonton-skin was definitely too doughy.

I had the lamb loin and lamb chop. Visually, the doneness of the loin looked spot on, but it was a touch too chewy. The lamb chop was much better, with every bite being a nice mix of peppery crust and succulent meat. The accompaniments of ratatouille and potato galette were not very tasty, though that may have been my predisposition towards disliking veggies…

We are usually full by the time we finish our main courses, but we ordered a dessert – a cheesecake and a mini crème brulee – to share anyway. The crème brulee was pretty good, but the cheesecake was strangely gritty. And the pina colada sorbet was positively vile – it was bitter and had a decidedly non-pina-colada like aroma. We left it untouched after a little taste.

Overall, it was a reasonable meal. The occasion and the view from our table played a large part in making it enjoyable. While most of the dishes were competently executed, none particularly wowed us. One gets the sense that the team in the kitchen has mastered journeyman continental cooking, but hasn’t yet made the leap to the level that Vancouver’s top cheffing teams operate at. Given the multitude of restaurants that exist or that will soon exist in the city, it will be quite a while before we would consider a third visit.

Author: My Husband

In Vancouver, the revolving door that is the local restaurant scene ensures that foodies will always have a steady stream of new eateries and cuisines to try. The flip side is that no restaurants are safe. Even Rob Feenie’s critically acclaimed Lumiere all but disappeared except in name, illustrating only too well that Vancouverites are mighty fickle when it comes to eating out. So when a local restaurant – one established 25 years ago – is not only still in business, but actually going from strength to strength, both wannabe restaurateurs and diners alike should sit up and take notice.

That restaurant is none other than Le Crocodile. It doesn’t get as much attention in blogs or the media as newer restaurants, but it probably doesn’t need the publicity as much. Some have called Le Croc the best French restaurant in Vancouver, and others have pronounced it one of the best in Canada! But for me, I’ll always remember it as the place where I had my first “proper” French meal. Unsurprisingly, over the years it has also become Christina’s and my favorite restaurant for birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions.

The first meal I had at Le Croc – Alsatian Onion Tart and Veal Osso Bucco – saw me coming away with good impressions of both the food and service. And on subsequent visits, those initial impressions were steadily reinforced. For me and many others, it is the unwavering consistency in both food and service that keeps us coming back again and again. In fact, my wife and I have a little tradition where we – just the two of us – have a quiet dinner at Le Croc several days before Christmas each year, allowing us to have some alone time before the crush of celebrations and dinners with friends and family.

This year was no exception. We caught a break between Vancouver snowstorms and braved the drive downtown, gingerly threading the car through side streets piled high with dirty snow to avoid losing what little traction was available. Amazingly, we made it to the restaurant on time. We were even more amazed to see most of the tables occupied (it was a Monday night, with lots of snow still on the ground). Nevertheless, we were quickly shown to a two-top by the window, a table that I had requested when making the reservation. The restaurant felt as comfortable as always, and the lively buzz quickly put paid to any notions that this was your formal and stuffy French affair. An interesting observation I made – one that highlighted the difference between the sexes in sub-zero temperatures – was that most of the women were dressed to the nines, and most of the men were dressed casually. So depending on your point of view, men are either really practical or they are wusses…

Le Croc has a long list of specials every day, but by tradition, these weren’t written on paper. Instead, our waiter recited the specials to us verbatim; as was often the case, we could only recall a couple of the things he said, but since we had already decided to order from the menu, it wasn’t a big deal. That night, I chose to start with roasted beef bones and Christina had the foie gras.

Before the starters arrived, we were presented with complimentary amuse bouches from the chef – a tart filled with a savory custard made with eggs and foie.

This was very nicely done, and the taste/texture can be likened to that of a savory HK egg custard tart.

My starter, served with crostinis, looked great. Not having had marrow before at Le Croc, I was hoping for something similar to the dish I had at Au Pied de Cochon. Le Croc’s version tasted a little burnt, and did not have as much marrow as I would like. I was later told by the hostess that I could have requested it done any way I like; if I were to choose this again in the future, I would ask for it with just salt/pepper sans breadcrumb.

Christina’s foie gras was one of the specials recited by our waiter. In all the years we’d been going to Le Croc, the foie gras has never been a menu item; yet it was always available as a daily special. And in all the years we’d been going to Le Croc, Christina would scan the menu and furrow her brows trying to decide on a starter; yet she would always end up getting the foie gras. Talk about unbreakable traditions…

Here’s the actual slice of liver. We’ve definitely noticed price inflation taking a firm hold here. While pricing for this dish has been held pretty constant, portion sizes have decreased over the years. What hasn’t changed is the taste – the balsamic reduction and cantaloupe perfectly complemented the sweet, unctuous, and perfectly seared foie. We would never think of asking chef to change the preparation of this dish.

My main course was a pappardelle served with braised veal cheeks. These were the most tender pieces of meat, bar none, that I’ve ever had. The flat, broad pasta was perfect for soaking up the sauce, made with reducing pinot noir with veal stock and infused with truffle oil.

Christina had the double-cut veal chop. We both thought it was cooked beyond the medium rare that Christina ordered, but it wasn’t too overdone, so we thought we’d just leave it be. When our waiter came around, he noticed Christina having some difficulty cutting through the chop and offered to have it redone. We declined as we didn’t want to wait 15 mins for a new plate. Taste wise, Christina liked it, but I thought it was a little too acidic. But since I have an aversion to overly acidic cream sauces, it may just have been me.

Our waiter brought the doneness issue to the kitchen’s attention anyway, and chef was gracious enough to send out a small veal steak, along with a copious amount of morel cream sauce, so that we could sample how the kitchen did medium rare. It was very good, I must say.

Both main courses were served with fries. Christina had the regular, which were great, and I had the shoestring, which were fantastic. Many French restaurants claim to do shoestring fries, but we have found Le Croc’s to be the best. They were super crunchy from first bite to last.

The wine accompanying this dinner was a 2003 Chateau d’Argadens. Strong notes of cherries, with more than a hint of oak. I was expecting it to be very tannic, but was pleasantly surprised to find that fruit, tannin, and acidity were quite well balanced. It was an easy to drink wine, and is available @ the LDB for $21.99. Not bad value, and imho better than other budget Bordeauxs like the Mouton Cadet.

Before dessert, we were given green apple sorbet as a palette cleanser.

After the sorbet, we were already very full. But we both wanted to end the meal on a sweet note, so we ordered chocolate covered crepes with hazelnut cream filling to share. These were scrumptious, and even Christina, who doesn’t usually like desserts, had her fair share.

And finally, we were presented with these chocolate crocodiles – two dark and two milk. It’s a nice Le Croc tradition that has been observed all these years, and a lovely finish to yet another great meal.

Le Crocodile is one of the restaurants that we look forward to eating at, and which never fails to put smiles on our faces. There certainly are more inexpensive eateries in Vancouver serving French food, but none of them really compares with Le Croc in terms of food sophistication, ambiance, and service. That’s the reason why it’s been around for 25 years, and if chef Michel is willing, it will easily be around for 25 more.

And finally, before signing off, Christina and I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2009!!

Author: My Husband

I have often lamented to Christina, “Wouldn’t it be nice if we can get reasonably priced prix-fixe meals at French restaurants in Vancouver?” Walking around the streets of Paris, it is easy to spot eateries offering three-courses starting from as little as 25€, but it has been well nigh impossible to find such deals (in CAD) in Vancouver. This is, of course, quite curious because the cost of doing business in Paris is certainly no less than that in Vancouver. Though I do not have visibility into the costs/revenue breakdown of the local restaurant business, I nevertheless hope the day will come when local restaurateurs are able to offer values as compelling as those offered by their Parisian counterparts.

Recently, there has been a trend for restaurant owners to open their new places in Vancouver’s east side. With lower overall operating costs, increasing gentrification, and an underserved market, it makes perfect sense for the likes of Crave, Splitz Grill, and Les Faux Bourgeois to locate there. We first learnt about Les Faux Bourgeois some time ago; the sheer volume of accolades it has received convinced us that we should move it to the top of our dine out LIST. We finally went on a cold rainy Friday evening, right after I stepped off a flight from snow-ravaged Calgary and was wanting of some comfort food.

Les Faux Bourgeois is located in yellow shophouse on the west side of Fraser Street. From the outside, aside from the color, it looked pretty non-descript. We walked into an already hopping restaurant and were shown to a nicely sized two-top in the middle of the room. The space isn’t large, but we weren’t squeezed up against other patrons. The atmosphere is pretty casual and the din of conversation meant there is always a lively buzz in the air; we thought the place was as suitable for bringing a date as it was for having dinner with some good friends. There dining room was taken care of by several personable francophone waitstaff, and we received some very friendly and prompt service.

I ordered escargots to start, while Christina chose the onion soup.

Surprisingly, the escargots were gritty, a little chewy, and quite tasteless. It was a bit of a disappointment, but it was the only letdown that evening.

The onion soup was some of the best we’d tasted. Rich and hearty, it was the perfect prescription for the cold weather outside.

I followed up with a duck confit that was tres fantastique. The duck leg was served on a bed of frisee and accompanied by long beans and potatoes. The tender, flaky duck went really well with the reduced sauce that was made with balsamico and liver. Very rich and nicely done.

Christina had a flavorful grilled filet mignon that was served with blanched veggies and potato gratin. The meat was cooked to perfection and very tender. The pototo gratin was very tasty – almost as good as the version served as La Regalade.

And at a bistro, how could we not order the frites? The serving size was extremely generous and the fries tasted great. True to its French focus, the restaurant served these with mayo rather than ketchup.

The wine selection at LFB wasn’t very extensive, but they were priced very well. Markup was approximately 100% over retail, which for a Vancouver restaurant is pretty reasonable. We didn’t order any wine, but I did get a mojito; the LFB bartender wasn’t shy with the mint or rum, and the drink turned out exactly the way I like.

Except for the snails, we couldn’t find much fault with the food. Service was friendly and prompt. The value was also pretty compelling – for two courses each plus a side of fries, the bill averaged out to ~$27 per person before tax and tips. Andreas, one half of the duo who runs LFB, used to work for Gord Martin (of Bin 941/942 fame) and it is pretty apparent he has managed to bring a bit of Gord’s magic touch to his new place. For those of our Vancouver readers who like bistro fare, make a beeline for this place. You won’t regret it.

Author: My Husband

Kobe beef in Kobe. Kind of poetic isn’t it? When we were traveling in Japan, we managed to get our guide to order us a wagyu steak. He got the beef shipped to our hotel via overnight delivery and took us to a self-serve BBQ joint to cook it.

The beef was shipped in a clear air-tight bag along with a piece of fat. We didn’t think it was top-grade wagyu as the marbling wasn’t as extensive or well-distributed as some of the stuff we’ve seen in pictures, but it was still miles better than any steak we’ve seen sold in North American stores.

We threw it on the grill along with some other items we picked up at the restaurant’s food cabinets. We rubbed the slowly melting square of fat all over the surface of the wagyu steak to keep it moist – not that it needed a lot of help in that department.

After browning both sides, we took it off the grill and dug in. It was the most tender piece of beef we’ve had. The reports about the meat melting in your mouth are not far from the truth – it really did melt a little in our mouths, similar to the way foie gras or oh-toro would. Also similar to foie or oh-toro is the rich, pleasing, unctuous mouthfeel. Flavour-wise, there was sweetness and a huge sense of umami. Interestingly, the ‘beefiness’ (or gaminess) was pretty subtle compared to North American breeds. All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed it.

For our readers in greater Vancouver looking for a taste of real Wagyu, visit Nikuya Meats in Richmond. They sell a range of products spanning Japan-raised Wagyu to American “Kobe” beef (along with other interesting meats). Bring money…

The title is not a mistake. I, a meatatarian by choice, actually had a vegetarian meal. I had it not once, but twice, and was happy with the meals both times. Saravanaa Bhavan is a chain restaurant that specializes in Southern Indian cooking. All dishes on the menu are vegetarian. The restaurant was packed with South Asian diners and I took it as a sign that their dishes are very authentic.

Quick a few appetizers look alike but they all tasted different. They are made of a kind of fried dough. The dough could be plain or filled with curry flavoured mash potatoes and pieces. I have no idea what is in the chutneys that came with the dish, but they were very tasty.

Paneer dosa with masala. The best dosa I have ever had. The crepe was thin and crispy, and yet substantially doughy. I love the texture of the crepe. The masala and paneer filling was a little spicy for me but it was also very tasty. The green chutney at the top left is my favourite.

ET had rice with a set of different types of curry. The ufo-like puffs were actually very soft. I poked one and immediately it deflated. Who said you can’t play with your food, especially when they look cute?

The mango lassi had a rich yogurt flavour without an overly thick consistency. I sipped it while I had my dosa to neutralize the spiciness.

Author: My Husband

It was one of those blissful weekends of meeting up with friends, hanging out, and eating some really great food. No chores to do, no work to catch up on, no bank/doctor/dentist/[insert boring task] appointments to keep – like I said, blissful… Saturday morning, Christina and I went to Spa Utopia with her friend L and we all got all de-stressed and ‘relaxed up’ for the weekend ahead. That was followed up by H’s BBQ Saturday evening, dim sum with the parents Sunday morning, and dinner with a long-lost friend on Sunday evening.

Save for a chance encounter in Singapore in 2003, I haven’t seen VC in over 10 years. We were pals at University, but he returned to HK after completing his studies and we gradually lost contact over the years. But friendship never really ends does it? It might take a breather and be placed on hold, but it’s always there, waiting for the right trigger to come along and jumpstart it. For VC and I, that trigger was Facebook. Say what you might about Facebook, but it really is a fantastic tool for getting back in touch with long-lost friends. And when we found out through Facebook that VC was going to be in town for a visit, we rustled up some of the old gang from school and agreed to meet up at Chambar to reminisce about days gone by…

I haven’t been to Chambar in over a year, so I was quite curious to see if the room had changed. Impressions upon walking into the restaurant were good. The same airy, but atmospheric space, greeted us. The exposed beams, the naked brick walls, the lighting design, and the height of the ceiling made the room both spacious and cozy at the same time; it felt like the right kind of place for a group of old friends to share an evening.

Christina started with “La Tapas de Poule” – a baby octopus salad. The octopus meat was tender, with just enough firmness to give it a satisfying chew, but not chewy enough to make the process tedious. The salsa and lime juice provided the acidity that was needed in a dish like this, and some slivers of romaine gave it a nice textural contrast. Taste wise, it was one of those “good, not great” dishes.

I had the bison carpaccio. Dressed in olive oil and accompanied with some sweet beets, it was very tasty. I am growing to like bison more and more. For all its “exotic” qualities, I find it to be as tender and as flavourful as regular beef, and it has more of the good stuff (omega-3 fatty acids, iron, antioxidents) and less of the bad (saturated fats). Sounds like a winner to me. The potato chips that accompany the bison make the dish quite novel; that said, the chips were quite effective in delivering the salt and texture contrast for the meat.

Christina then followed up with the Beef Bourguignon – a nicely cooked slab of ribeye in a red wine sauce. Regular readers will know that Christina likes her steak, so it was no surprise that she thoroughly enjoyed this. I thought it was very well prepared, but I didn’t find it any better or worse than steak in establishments of a similar calibre.

I chose the lamb tajine for my main. I don’t see the connection between tajine and Belgian cusine, but I will say that the chefs at Chambar cook a really mean tajine. They weren’t shy about being generous as well – there was a lot of meat on the lamb shank. The cinnamon came through clearly, and the sweetness of the sauce, as well as the figs, gave the dish a distinctly middle eastern taste profile. I think it is a very successful dish. The tajine came with a bowl of cous cous that looked very pretty, but tasted quite bland. However, I tasted the cous cous as an afterthought, and I suspect that the explosion of flavours that was the tajine probably masked the seasoning of the cous cous.

And of course, at a Belgian restaurant, how could we not order the frites? They were every bit as good as they look.

By the time we finished our mains and the fries, Christina and I were quite full. However, there was an item on the dessert menu that intrigued us. Not quite a cheese course, but not quite a dessert either – it was a “Brie chaud aux fraises” or a warm brie with strawberries. We ordered it to share and we both ended up liking it. The soft, almost runny, brie complemented the sweet/tart strawberries very well, with the short crust providing a nice interplay of textures.

Even though it was a Sunday, the restaurant was hopping. There was a fair amount of high-spirited buzz and chatter in the room, and that was very much aligned with the mood at our table: old friends catching up, new friendships starting, food and drinks being enjoyed, and much laughter punctuating the conversation. The food was great, the atmosphere couldn’t be better, but a bunch of friends getting together and shooting the breeze – that’s what made the evening.

So to my old friend VC, and my new friend MM, let’s not wait another 5 years to catch up again… Let’s hook up in HK next year?

Author: My Husband

Bin 941 first came to our attention several years ago, when one of Christina’s foodie colleagues spoke in glowing terms about the place. However, this particular colleague was also very effusive with his praise for quite a few other restaurants, and so we added them all to our LIST of places to try. And over the years, other restaurants were added to the LIST, and for no particular reason, Bin 941 never quite made it to the top.

Fast forward to last weekend and we found ourselves on Robson doing some shopping. As Christina is much more… err… professional (yes, that’s it, professional)…than I at that particular activity, she was doing the looking and I was doing the “following”. Now, my fellow “followers” will attest to the fact that one’s mental faculties aren’t overly taxed during the activity of “following”, and so it is the perfect time for us to let our minds wander and think about… well, just about anything else. So I thought about the LIST and mentally checked off the places that we had been to (and that we haven’t blogged about – boy, it will be a job and a half to catch up with all the writing), and then I remembered Bin 941. We were downtown, we didn’t have dinner plans, it was still early enough to get reservations. Great! I whipped out the BB to look up contact information, and put a call through. ‘Sorry, we don’t take reservations’ came the reply from Bin 941, ‘but if you want to come before 6, seating shouldn’t be a problem.’ So, armed with the perfect excuse, I hijacked Christina from shopping, and off we went for dinner.

We knew that bin 941 wasn’t a big space, but we had no idea just how small it was. In fact, we walked right past it and had to double back after we realized our mistake. First impressions are positive. It is a long space, dominated by an open kitchen and a bar along one wall. The other wall was lined with a waiting area (which is in the back as opposed to the front) and several two-tops that could be reconfigured for larger groups. There are two cozy window nooks that would be perfect for groups of two or four, and those would probably be the most popular tables in the place. We arrived there at 5:30, but the restaurant was already hopping. The nooks and two-tops were occupied, so we were seated at the bar.

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Bin 941 is referred to as a “tapas parlour”. To be honest, the items on the menu are not so much tapas as downsized mains. When I think tapas, I think of finger foods or single-portion servings, and that wasn’t the case here. But this wasn’t a bad thing – quite the opposite – in fact, as we would soon find out.

We order three “tapatisers” to try, along with a side of pomme frites.

The fries were AWESOME. Prepared shoe-string style, piled high on a plate, and then drizzled with reduced balsamico. These were really crispy, with just the right amount of seasoning. The balsamic vinegar gave it that extra oomph. Good till the last fry – literally.

Next up, Yucatan spice rub bison flat iron steak. We haven’t had bison before and were a little concerned it would be overly tough and gamey. But our server told us it was one of the more popular items on the menu, and convinced us to try it. Good thing she did, because it turned out to be beautiful. Doneness was perfect, meat was tender, and the spice rub imparted a nice smoky flavour. Accompaniments included a spicy jicama salad (more chefs should use this ingredient!) and a roasted pearl onion, which went well with the meat. This dish is a winner.

Next up, a crispy-skin duck breast with a potato hash. This was even better than the bison! The duck was expertly cooked, with the crispy skin playing off the succulent meat. The cranberry sauce provided the hint of sugar that rounded off the duck perfectly. The hash is a mix of crusty potato nuggets, crispy pancetta and spices held together by goat cheese. Yes, it is every bit as good as it sounds.

Finally, mussels in a classic white wine sauce. Fresh, plump meat with forward garlic flavours, immediately followed by the tang of the tomato and white wine. Scrumptious. We polished off everything in the bowl. Our server offered us extra toast to absorb every last bit of the sauce, but we were too stuffed to accept.

So…. conclusion? Every dish was better than the one that came before it. These guys could seemingly do no wrong when it came to the food – quite a few follow diners told us their previous meals here were ’sublime’. Certainly, this was one of those rare meals where our expectations were blown out of the water.

Was everything perfect? Foodwise, pretty much. Service wise, for the most part yes. Our server was very friendly, made some excellent recommendations, and took pretty good care of us through the evening. Where “service” could use a little improvement was the speed with which the dishes came. It seemed to take an inordinate amount of time between plates, and while we didn’t mind too much, could certainly use some improvement. Otherwise, Gord Martin – owner and chef – is quite the culinary genius. Bin 941 has a sister restaurant, Bin 942, and that is now on the LIST. I think it is safe to say that Bin 942 is going to make it to the top of said LIST very soon…

Author: My Husband

Several months ago, I received an offer from Starbucks (via email) to become a member of their Starbucks Gold Card pilot program. I was a little surprised, to say the least; while I would consider myself a good Starbucks customer, I certainly didn’t think I was that good. But since I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I signed up. (As this program was supposedly extended to their ‘best’ customers, I got a little alarmed and went through my records to figure out what I had bought at Starbucks in the last little while. Budget wise, I don’t mind being a ‘good’ customer, but I have no aspirations to be one of their ‘best’ customers…)

The Starbucks Gold Card program was introduced in two test markets – Vancouver and Denver – earlier in the summer. Why these two cities? Well, I don’t know about Denver, but Vancouver is one of Starbuck’s top-tier markets. What makes it so? Well, let me offer up one example: the constant over-the-top line-up of customers at the two store locations on Robson & Thurlow, enough said?

A good 10 weeks after I signed up for the program, the card finally found its way into my hands.

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It looks very much like a Christmas edition Starbucks card, nicely understated with some interesting detailing. I’m relieved it isn’t all blinged up with chrome or gold paint or blinking lights – it’s actually something I wouldn’t hesitate to use.

So what does the Starbucks Gold Card offer? Well, as far as I can tell – you get a free drink for every ten that you buy, a “gift drink” on your birthday, as well as access to discounts on “friends and family” days (see the letter below for Starbuck’s take on the program). In return, Starbucks gets to understand their customers’ buying habits better, and will be able to tailor their products and services to serve specific markets more effectively. I suppose this is one of the pillars for rebuilding the business, given the challenges that Starbucks has been facing lately.

Will the card change my coffee drinking habits? Well, I don’t think I will drink any more than I currently do. And I will certainly continue to patronize Artegiano, JJ Bean, Tim’s and others for variety – but I think that free drink after every 10 will incent me to be a little more loyal to *$ from now on.

Hmmm…all this writing is making me thirsty, now where did I put that card…..

7-Nov-2008 Update:
The Gold pilot program ended on Oct 31. Starbucks has officially rolled out the Starbucks Gold program in the USA. Learn more about it here: Starbucks Gold