Forage: DineOutVancouver #2-- beautiful creations!

So... by this time every place is almost fully booked. And Adorables found a booking here-- for 9:30pm. Suuuuper late dinner. But worth it! Super excited about Dine Out #2 =D All photo credits to Adorables (now my official photographer heh heh)








Restaurant: Forage (visit their website here)

Location: 1300 Robson Street, Vancouver
Cuisine: Canadian, Seafood
Price range: $20+ per person





Date of visit: January 29, 2014
Atmosphere: 4.5/5
Staff/service: 5/5
Food variety: 4/5
Food quality: 4/5
Buck worthy? 4/5

Their dine out menu is $28 and is a three course meal. For the appetizer, I chose their Forage Award Winning Seafood Chowder, it looked so nice. Rich, creamy, and "sweet". Loaded with salmon, scallops, and what I believe to be mini lobster tails. I really liked this soup, including the soft-boiled quail egg. (Feediddles also ordered the chowder-- this is actually hers because hers looked more interesting than mines did hehe)

Since I got the chowder, Adorables was convinced into getting the other option (because we wanna try more variety), which was the Spruce Tip Smoked Bison Carpaccio which was equally amazing. I've never had bison before, but the meaty flavors were so delicious. Alongside the crispy parsnip, black pepper cranberry jelly, and everything else they put on top-- it was a beautiful foodgasm in my mouth. The bison itself had a bit of chew to it, which I enjoyed.

Onto the main courses! Adorables was the unique one this meal, ordered the Roasted Gelderman Farm Pork Belly. The marbling and layers of fat/pork just made the piece melt in my mouth. The skin was nicely done as well, a bit on the salty side, but it was a fluffy crisp-- which was surprising because it looked a lot like Chinese roasted pig, but was simpler and had fluffier crispy skin.

The rest of us (Feediddles, Eggtart and I) chose the Pacific Provider Spring Salmon option. This was beautifully arranged, like the rest of our meal. The salmon was flaky and "smooth"-- it melted in my mouth but had a crispy exterior-- LOVED IT. Was a bit salty on some parts (chunks of salt) but I'll dismiss that because the celery root remoulade was delicious paired with the salmon (neutralized the salty). The hash was nice too, nothing super special and neither Feediddles or Eggtart wanted the smoked onions (which I really enjoyed).

Finally, dessert! Again, Adorables chose the different option (partly because I happened to choose what everyone else chose haha). The Crumb Crusted Maple Rye "French Toast" was super good. The toast was crispy on the outside and the inside was so moist it just melted. I found the marshmallow hard to get at though. And too much chocolate it was overwhelmingly sweet.

Annnnd everyone else got the Blueberry Hazelnut Financier. It was a cakey creation with a crispy exterior. Moist on the inside while with a bit of spring in it, I really liked it and wished I could have more, if I had not been sick =( Adorables ate double desserts hehe. I snuck some cream before a photo was taken, hence the blob on my financier. I mostly tasted the blueberry and found it not overly-sweet.

Super friendly waitress who checked up on us frequently, I enjoyed my meal. Although we were here so late, the restaurant was still pretty full (until the very end, when everyone left).

Not a bad choice for dine out! Although for those of you who aren't light munchers, this might not be filling enough =(

The Teahouse: First DineOutVancouver EVER! =D

Super excited about this! I feel like I can finally be a true foodie ^-^ Anyways, after many tough decisions, decided upon a double date at The Teahouse! (Also because most of the other options were fully booked hehe)

Restaurant: The Teahouse @ Stanley Park(visit their website here)

Location: Ferguson Point (past 3rd beach), Stanley Park, Vancouver
Cuisine: Pacific Northwest, Seafood
Price range: $30+





Date of visit: January 24, 2014
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 5/5
Food variety: 4/5
Food quality: 4.5/5
Buck worthy? 4.5/5

We lucked out because parking was free after 6, and lo and behold, our booking was for 6! Pure luck or perfectly planned? Who knows ;) Traffic here was horrid at this time though =( Either way! We were greeted by friendly hosts and led to a nice table. Our guest appearance, and star of the night, was BMO, proudly owned by Donutmon =)

Of course we chose the dine out option ($28), but their actual menu doesn't look too scary *surprised* For appies, Adorables ordered the Tuscan Salad, which was packed full of greens and nuts, but in the end, just a salad with pieces that weren't bite-sized (too big!).

I ordered the Roasted Roma Tomato Soup (with Goat Cheese) and it was surprisingly creamy! Besides having some texture to it, it was still smooth and rich. Very tomato-y =) (the other two also ordered the soup, so nothing much worth noting besides they enjoyed it too, and we had a mini soup-spooning-etiquette lesson)

Oh! Complimentary bread with very milky butter (creamy?). Anyways, everyone enjoyed lots of butter on their bread-- of course this weirdo stayed away cuz uh. BREAD. *meep* Not saying it's bad. I just don't prefer bread.

Onto the mains!!! I ordered a Slow Roasted Lamb Shanks. It was GIGANTIC. Honestly the best deal for the price, and everyone agreed. The flavors were infused into the meat but not so overwhelming that I couldn't taste the lamb. Still had the lamby flavor! Texture was nice, wasn't falling apart, but not too tough either! The mash that came along with it was great too, wasn't just potatoes, so it felt light.

Adorables ordered the Brome Lake Duck Confit, which was nice and tender. The portion looked tiny compared to my gigantic lamb, but the skin was crispy and the meat was moist and tender. Reminded me of Chinese BBQ duck! Very rich duck flavor.

Donutmon ordered their Sablefish ($38 option), and said it was the most amazing fish she's had. It looked really juicy and flaky-- fell apart easily and melts in your mouth. Very fresh!

Yipster ordered a 7oz Tenderloin ($38 option) after much indecision (we were trying to figure out how big 7oz would be xD) It came with two giant onion rings and pomme frites, which was pretty nice! The meat itself was pretty bloody, but he said it wasn't bad. Maybe not amazing but it wasn't unsatisfactory.

On the side, Adorables also ordered Pomme Frites with Truffle Aioli ($6 + $2), I had a few and they were great! Fluffy potato on the inside and crispy on the outside, with flavors enhanced by the truffle oil. I felt it was a bit expensive for $8 though =/

Onto desserts!! Everyone ordered a Shortbread Lemon Bar, which was beautiful. Super tangy and light, I loved it! The strawberry puree was enjoyed very much by Yipster especially. The coconut macaroon was chewy and had coconut bits in it, quite nice.

I was the lone person venturing a Raspberry Sorbet, a decision I didn't regret. Although for pictures, it couldn't last very long (started melting) but we had good times. I felt it was very rich in raspberry flavor, I think it was high in raspberry puree content. Delish. None of that fake waxy flavor from fake raspberry flavoring! Mint was a bit odd with it though, perhaps I just don't know how to enjoy it.

Alongside the desserts were drinks, Yipster with his Mocha ($3.95)-- couldn't get a good photo of it, but it was nice and fancy, and Donutmon's Tea ($2.95). Rather personal preferences, so nothing much to say about them, besides the fact that they exist ;)

A most enjoyable evening indeed, with great company, food, and service. Stanley park is still too touristy for my liking though. Until my next DineOut adventure, toodles!