Shirakawa: Do I look like I'm 12?!

For CH's birthday, we chose this quaint restaurant nestled in the heart of Gastown. It was a bit difficult to find since it was tucked away in a little alley and their sign outside was dark and small ^^". Anyhow, the exterior looks classy and modern.

Restaurant: Shirakawa by Itoh Dining (visit their website here)

Location: 115-12 Water Street, Vancouver
Cuisine: Japanese, Drinks, Tapas
Price range: $25-$30+ per person





Date of visit: January 10, 2015
Atmosphere: 4.5/5
Staff/service: 2/5
Food variety: 2/5
Food quality: 4/5
Buck worthy? 1/5

I did a little research before coming and was ecstatic to try their uni pasta. Sadly, I was informed they had no uni, and had to substitute with kani =( So I didn't get it. SexyNapkins had asked how big the portions were, and the waitress told her that usually 3-4 people share the dishes. I guess we misunderstood what she meant. Either way, BeautyQueen and BigGuns ordered before I could make up my mind.

One of the dishes they ordered was a salada (it was quite large), and this Salmon Nanban ($16.00). The presentation was beautiful, with the skin removed from the fish and fried. It sat on a bed of Shirakawa tartar sauce and aonori roasted potatoes.

LadyH ordered a Gindara ($15.00) which was saikyo miso marinated black cod on a bed of sauteed mushrooms and sundried tomato. There were a two sweet peas in there too. First thing, we were all surprised by how TINY the portion was. Sure, it's known for high quality ingredients, but I didn't hear about how stingy they were with it. It was oily but tasty, the fish was cooked well. LadyH wished there were more on her plate.

Adorables suggested their wagyu beef options, so I chose the Wagyu Tataki ($20.00). It was snake river wagyu beef with garlic soy and walla walla onions. There were some tomatoes too. Sadly, after ordering this (I was indecisive and took longer than everyone else), the waitress snatched the menu out of my hands, stating "It's made of paper and you'll get it dirty". DO I LOOK LIKE I'M TWELVE YEARS OLD?! I still wanted to order one more thing for Adorables (he was late), but she wouldn't give it back until I asserted my need for said menu and I would take GOOD CARE of her paper =.= So rude of her.

It was beautiful plating and beef was nicely marbled. I rolled everything up together and the taste was amazing! The portion definitely was not meant to be shared. There were five pieces of thinly sliced beef on top of about a cup of onions. Too much soy sauce at the end it overwhelmed the beef.

It was too busy of a night so they couldn't make us Buta Don, so we settled with Kakuni ($15.00). It was braised pork belly, sweet slow cooked gala apple, crisp onions, soy reduction with karashi mustard. Honestly, the pork itself was delicious. It melted in my mouth with the layers of fat and tender meat.

The apple tasted more like pear, the wasabi was very strong, and the onions were out of place. There were six pieces of 1" x 1" x 1.5" pork cubes. Needless to say, this was a tiny portion size.

Everyone left hungry, because as poor starving students, we couldn't afford any more. I guess it's just not our kind of place to hang. The ambiance and environment was nice though. Service could use some upgrading. I can see the effort and care put into each of their dishes though, the flavors just made me want more... or was it the portion size? xD 

41 West: Perfectly mouthwatering!

Having been here with MH for lunch and loving it (also doing that late post here haha), Adorables surprised me with dinner here for our one year anniversary <3

Restaurant: 41 West (visit their website here)

Location: 2279 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver
Cuisine: French, Seafood
Price range: $20-35ish per person





Date of visit: August 15, 2014 and Oct 1, 2014
Atmosphere: 4.5/5
Staff/service: 4.5/5
Food variety: 3/5
Food quality: 4.5/5
Buck worthy? 4.5/5

Let's go by chronological order here and do the lunch experience first~

With the brunch/lunch Social Shopper Coupon, it was $19 for brunch/lunch for two which included two drinks, two mains, and a dessert to share. Not a bad deal if you ask me. There was a choice of coffee or juice, of which I chose the orange juice and MH got coffee (which had free refills btw). I spotted it to be SunnyD. Dunno what to say about that.

Anyhow, we chose from their lunch menu (cuz its a far better deal that way hehe). I got their Chef's Daily Seafood Creation, which was sockeye salmon (and seems to be the same every day). It was beautifully plated with salmon layered on top of a bed of potatoes and veggies, topped with a mango avocado salad. It was ringed with a balsamic glaze which enhanced the flavors of the salmon. The salmon was fresh and perfect. Moist and smooth, this was cooked wonderfully-- it just melted in my mouth. The mango avocado on top was great too, added to the creaminess of the salmon while presenting a bit of sweet and tart to cut the fat. Potatoes and veggies (asparagus and carrots) cooked to perfection. Just cooked enough to have some bite but not over/undercooked, Kudos to the chef!

MH ordered their Pan-Roasted Ruby Trout with balsamic glaze, green olive and artichoke tapenade, potatoes and daily veggies. I tried a bit of the trout and it too, was amazing. The fish was fresh and the skin was crispy. I had just learned that trout wasn't supposed to be pink, so I took this lighter color to mean less food coloring was added to the fish food. MH enjoyed it a lot too =)

Now dessert, I wasn't sure what to get, so we tried their Crème Caramel. It was truly a smooth and creamy custard as advertised on the menu, but I didn't find anything super "wow" about it. Sadface =( This was quite average.

Waitress was super friendly and helpful, I felt really welcomed and not-neglected at all here!















On our anniversary night (Oct 1) . . .

Turns out the menu for dinner is very similar to lunch-- with prices being the main difference. I believe it was $39 for a three course dinner for two. It included an appie to share, two mains, and a dessert to share.

We were debating between the escargot and mussels, Adorables gave in to the mussels as I love mussles. =) We'll try those snails next time ;). The Mussels Marinière were great, a tad undercooked but this made the mussels softer and richer in taste. The white wine and cream sauce paired nicely with the seafood and the mussels were very fresh.

I had a hard time deciding between the delicious salmon I had last time or trying scallops (I was worried I'd only get 3 and be hungry haha), but I succumbed to my loves-- Pan Seared Sea Scallops with vermouth cream sauce. These little guys (5 of them hehe) were decent in size, cooked nicely, and the sauce complimented it well. They were tender and soft on the inside (a bit undercooked for my style, but then again, I eat scallops raw anyways), and crispy on the outside. Every bite was fresh and full of scallop taste. On the other hand, the quinoa and veggies were a bit overcooked and too soft. Flavors were great though!

Adorables ordered their special steak for the night, I forgot what cut it was but when it showed up, reminded me of something you'd get from a Hong-Kong style cafe. However, what we put in our mouths was absolutely different. This was a tender piece of meat with some bite. It was crispy on the outside and then just melted in my mouth. Not the kind of meat that's been over-tenderized with tenderizer at all. Just. AWESOME. He got potatoes under his steak and veggies. Again, the chef has totally mastered making potatoes because these were chewy and perfect.

Finally dessert. Our waiter recommended us their cheesecake of the night, which was a Japanese cheesecake with blueberry compote and berries. It was light and had the consistency of chiffon cake with a bit of cheesy taste. Overall well-rounded, it paired nicely with the sweet blueberry compote.

I feel so blessed to be with such a wonderfully thoughtful man! Also feeling spoiled with the pampering and food <3 Our evening was heightened by our witty waiter who was attentive and brought us laughter. Such yummy, much love, so spoiled, wow ;)