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 ;)

Yokohama Japanese: Is my steak.... ROTTEN?!

Having frequented here as a child, I thought I'd relive my childhood memories since there was a SocialShopper coupon for this place. I probably should look for different things and not go back to reliving childhood memories since most of the time-- they were better left as fond memories xD

Restaurant: Yokohama Japanese Teppanyaki

Location: 12251 No. 1 Road, Richmond
Cuisine: Japanese, Sushi, Teppanyaki, Seafood
Price range: $20+





Date of visit: March 8, 2014
Atmosphere: 3/5
Staff/service: 4.5/5
Food variety: 5/5
Food quality: 1/5
Buck worthy? 1/5

Since it was a 10-course meal for 2 people ($59 + taxes and gratuity), I figured it might not be enough for the three of us, so we ordered an Uni Sashimi ($8.95) on the side. For a restaurant located conveniently next to the harbour, I was greatly disappointed at the low quality of their uni. It was not fresh. It smelled and tasted a bit garbage-y too-- I was concerned about eating it =/ So besides the presentation... there was nothing noteworthy about this.

We also ordered a Tuna Kama ($0.99) because they ran out of salmon kama. For such a price I didn't expect much, but it came as a large portion. However, as I always say, quality over quantity when it comes to food. I worried for my whole family if we'd survive the night after this rotten piece of fish. My dad said it was over-cooked, dry, and wasn't fresh. He could taste the garbage-y taste to it and it was rotting. ALRIGHT THEN.

First the meal came with 2 miso soups and 4 pieces of California roll and 4 pieces of yam tempura roll (this was 3 dishes out of the 10 courses). I couldn't really taste any mayo in the California roll but I guess that's healthier-- didn't help the flavoring though. Yam tempura roll was limp and oily =(

The stir-fried veggies tasted good but it was smothered in oil. Cooked nicely though!

Our seafood cooking (2 Lobster tails, 2 salmon pieces)~

So he added butter, then more butter, and finished off cooking with extra oil. Wowwww. Anyways, the lobster was very buttery and tasty, a bit overcooked and not super fresh. The salmon was a tiny piece =/ Like-- seriously?! Anyways this was also oil smothered with a bit of garlic, well done. (I split my portion with my mom though, so this is only half)

Onto the meat. It was 2 pieces of New York Steak. These were decently sized and I was happy about the marbling I saw on them.

Some fire display for fun, but probably burnt the steak a bit too much, although nonetheless entertaining.

As I nibbled on my steak bites (he cut them up, this time I got the full portion cuz daddy doesn't eat beef), I noted that it was a bit... rotten to the bite. I thought it was because it wasn't fully cooked, it was around 60% cooked? However, my mom noticed it too and we determined it was the meat itself that was... ROTTING. How many things have been rotting so far?! Again lots of oil in this, taste was nothing special.

With the little chunks of fat at the end of our steak he set aside, the fried rice was cooked with it. Loads of oil and butter added TO this FAT. Gosh the rice was and oily mess =( I was so full from the oil that I couldn't eat much of the rice, but this was one of the fresher items of the meal, and it tasted half-decent.

Since a couple arrived at the same teppanyaki table, the chef combined our bean sprouts with theirs and made this cute heart =P

Annnd the finished bean sprouts (they were very fresh btw). Just again, very oily and the same salt+pepper seasoning. Drab. (This was two servings)

Cleaning after cooking!

Finally, the last course to our meal: Green Tea and Mango Ice Cream. They gave us an extra on the house, how nice of them =) I liked the mango more than the green tea because I was so stuffed and the mango was more tangy ^-^

Would I come here again? HELL NO. I worry about the health of my family and I believe we can afford to eat food that's not rotting-- for this price anyways. We walked away paying around $25 each, which isn't cheap. The chef was a funny guy and the teppanyaki show was great, but if the food doesn't make the cut, it doesn't matter how great it is to watch this guy =( They also gave me a "VIP" discount card for 50% off meals-- wonder why they need to cut their prices so much eh.

Sushi One: Lets get King Crabby~

*late post* Got a SocialShopper coupon for this place, and finally had a chance to come here! Probably not the best night to come because it started snowing after our meal =/ Either way, finishing off the day with food =D

Restaurant: Sushi One

Location: 130-12480 No. 1 Road, Richmond
Cuisine: Japanese, Sushi, Seafood
Price range: $15-20





Date of visit: March 1, 2014
Atmosphere: 3/5
Staff/service: 3/5
Food variety: 5/5
Food quality: 3.75/5
Buck worthy? 3.5/5

Just toured TRIUMF at UBC with Adorable today, and what better to end the day with sushi? The coupon deal for a Three-Course King Crab Meal was $29 + taxes and gratuity. Not bad I'd say! We were there pretty late, luckily they let us in anyways!

First to arrive were the King Crab Salads. It was topped with a few pieces of king crab (previously frozen most likely). King crab was pretty limp and felt like canned crab. I liked the greens selection though, since it wasn't just iceberg lettuce (nothing wrong with that by all means). I found the sauce too tangy and strong, but for the parts that weren't drenched in the sauce, it was a good salad.

Next were two King Crab Rolls, which was plated nicely. I loved the vibrant colors. At first I was trying to overcome my disappointment with the frozen/canned king crab, but this roll was actually quite good. The flavors were like that of a California roll with extra tarty-soy-saucey sauce on it. The creamy avocado just moistened the roll and pulled everything together.

The finale were two King Crab Motoyakis. These were tangy, creamy, and-- oily. I found it was a bit overwhelming after eating so much other food already but nonetheless a good motoyaki. The lemon really helped ;) It was lighter than I'd expected and was filled with other veggies along with the surprisingly large amount of king crab!




And here we were thinking we wouldn't be full from this meal =P Such silly peeps we were! Both of us were stuffed and ready to tackle the harsh weather outside. I didn't notice that it was our anniversary day either (such a bad girlfriend I am), but I'm glad to have spent it stuffing my face with my one special man ^-^