Cork & Fin: A fine DineOut #2

Onto Dine Out number 2! This time, we find ourselves in Gastown late at night (could only get a reservation at 9:30pm)! And here, introducing NotMooStachio, our newest member/mascot of the team!






Restaurant: Cork and Fin (visit their website here)

Location: 221 Carrall Street, Vancouver
Cuisine: Seafood, Asian, French, Latin
Price range: $30/person (Dine Out)



Date of visit: January 22, 2016
Atmosphere: 4.5/5
Staff/service: 5/5
Food variety: 4/5
Food quality: 3/5
Buck worthy? 5/5

Their $30 menu caught my eye because it consists of a six course savoury menu with options for oysters ($29.00/dozen) and dessert on top. We were seated promptly and our waitress was very friendly. Also was the option of drink pairings with the meal. MaidKendra opted for the Mocktail Pairings ($12.00/3 pours). First one was a bit bland, but came in a cute cup! Second cup (tall cup) was too bitter, as reported by MaidKendra. Last cup (not pictured) was too sweet.

This was our Burdock Salad consisting of fried tofu, organic greens, and seven spice. The burdock was seasoned and acted like the meat of the dish, quite nice flavors there. Unfortunately all clumped together. Greens were fresh but the major disappointment was the tofu. Coming from a Chinese background, I grew up with deep fried tofu. This was by far the worst I've had, cold, bland, hard, and not even crispy. Those poor soybeans being tarnished.

Their Hamachi Carpaccio in apple-ginger vinaigrette topped with tobiko, on the other hand, was amazing. The hamachi was light and flavorful with the vinaigrette drawing out the fresh fish flavors. I wish there was more!

I mean, look at that beauty!

Crab Croquette arrived next with bechamel, potato on tomato ragout. This was crispy on the outside, fluffy and moist inside. Couldn't quite taste the crab, and we all felt that the tomato ragout was very herby. I didn't mind it, but can see how it can overwhelm the flavors of the dish. The size of the balls was quite uneven, look at NotMooStachio joining the rounds :P

Another favorite of the night was the Seared Scallop on a bed of kabocha puree and braised fennel. These were cooked perfectly, loaded with delicious scallop flavor. MaidKendra's had sand in it, which almost chipped his teeth and he said it was too fishy. Adorables said he didn't taste the kabocha in the puree.

I was lucky, mines was quite delicious, but gotta agree that the puree was lackluster.

We were pleasantly surprised by the size of the Seafood Gratin consisting of prawns, salmon, garganelli, and parmesan crema. First impression was the overwhelming buttery flavor. It was quite rich, but after a few more bites, got to love this creamy rich dish. MaidKendra found the prawns (sliced in half) to be just a wee overcooked, but acceptable. Forgot to mention he's our picky seafood connoisseur of the night xD

The other large dish was the Braised Short Rib with red wine, herb potato, and hot mustard vinaigrette. This was like a mountain of steaming meat drizzled with hot mustard.

I tore the tender mass apart for good portions to feed all three of us. Maybe it got cold when I finally ate it, but it was quite dry. It was a bit underseasoned, but I could taste the flavors in the fat. Potatoes were flattened and soaked up more flavor of the meat juices.

Couldn't stop there, had to have some sweet to end the night, so we ordered a Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse with Blueberry Compote ($8.00). This was very very very decadent, rich, and dense. It was smooth and chocolaty though!

Blueberry compote was too sweet to contrast the mousse. Adorables and MaidKendra ended up eating a couple spoonfuls and left the rest for me. It did get a bit much near the end-- came in such a cute Mason jar that I couldn't stop gushing about it. Too dense to be called a mousse, and couldn't really taste any "cheese". Love/hate relationship with this one =P

We enjoyed our experience here though, the service was great and they never pushed us to leave even though I knew they were closing/closed while we were trying to finish dessert.

Salmon n'Bannock: Worthy of being first post of the year!

Just been super busy with school, work, and life-- sorry I've been MIA! But 2015 was a wonderfully food-filled year, with many great and memorable moments! Starting 2016 is a restaurant participating in Dine Out Vancouver 2016 of course!

Restaurant: Salmon n'Bannock (visit their website here)

Location: 1128 West Broadway, Vancouver
Cuisine: First Nations
Price range: $40/person (Dine Out Vancouver)



Date of visit: January 19, 2016
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 5/5
Food variety: 3/5
Food quality: 4/5
Buck worthy? 3.5/5

For Dine Out, they offered a $40 set menu and only have two seating times: 6:00-7:30pm or 8:00-9:30pm. It was a quaint little restaurant, seating was spacious and decorated with many First Nations artwork. Staff were attentive and kind, but it did take them a while to figure out I was standing awkwardly at the door before being seated.

First, I started with their West Coast Wild Sockeye Bake with Smoked Sea Salt and Seaweed Emulsion. Plating was simple and I liked how it was placed on top of a grill where the sea salt could continue smoking the salmon after it arrived. Could definitely taste the smokey flavors and the salmon was cooked perfectly. It also came with cucumbers, nothing special; the seaweed emulsion was too salty and just there.

MaCherie and KHomey ordered the Grilled Venison Striploin with Spinach and Caramelized Onion Salad, Blackberry Vinaigrette. Good veggies for the meal, they felt the venison was very gamey. It reminded me of pork liver. I liked the flavors but felt the meat itself was quite tough. We felt the salad would have been well complimented with some sort of cheese on it (ie. feta or blue cheese).

Just a random picture of the appies together =P

On the side was, as their name suggested, Bannock with Whipped Butter. Bannock, for those who are unfamiliar, is a Native version of a scone (unleavened bread). It was chewy and moist inside, the outside was crispy. Normally I avoid bread-like items, but these were good enough for me to order extra for takeout!

Onto entrees, our waitress highly recommended the Braised Free Range Bison Back Ribs with Scalloped Potatoes, so I got it. Glad I did! The bison was not gamey, tender, and fell off the bone. The sauce overwhelmed the flavors of the meat itself, so unfortuneately I could mainly just taste sauce. Scalloped potatoes were tasty, fluffy, and cheesy!

MaCherie went for their Alder Smoked Bella Bella Halibut with Roasted Yam Mash and Organic Cranberry Reduction. I tried some and the halibut was cooked nicely, flakey and moist. I got a chunk with lots of bones and almost choked though xD It went well with the yam mash and cranberry reduction heightened the flavors.

For dessert, a Layered Ojibway Wild Rice Pudding with Signature Berry Compote. It reminded me of creme brulee because of the crispy sugar coat on top. Flavors were interesting, it started as a creamy mixture that was more watery than your normal creme brulee along with the crispy texture of the sugar.

Then came the tangy flavors of the berries, which I actually enjoyed. I was disappointed with the wild rice however, it felt out of place and didn't fit in with the creamy dessert. The rice was too hard and felt undercooked.

Overall we enjoyed our first experience of First Nations cuisine. Stepping out of our regular comfort zone in terms of meat, it was memorable. The staff checked on us frequently, they made it feel homey and welcoming!