Vancouver Foodster Presents: Tasting Plates Lonsdale North Van (July 23, 2014)

Another tasting plates so soon! Surprised by Adorables, we went as a group this time, and it was in the Lonsdale area of North Van. Never occurred to me there could be interesting food all the way out there, but I was treated to a pleasant surprise this evening!

Registration took place at Pier 7 Restaurant and we were served in a private dining area upstairs. Their Tasting Plate consisted of (1) Compressed melon salad with yuzu, (2) Scallop ceviche, and (3) Prosciutto carpaccio. The melons were just melon to me. The scallops were fresh and pretty good, they placed salt beneath the shell to stabilize it. Finally the prosciutto was a bit salty for my liking but everyone else said it was good prosciutto-- ah well, what do I know? Rated at 6 -7/10 by the group, I'd have to  lean towards the 6.

Onwards in this rainy weather, we didn't quite beat the crowd but found ourselves a table promptly at the small seating area of Anatoli Soublaki. Their Tasting Plate arrived with (1) Grilled Haloumi caprese, (2) Avgolemono soup, (3) Spanakopita, and (4) Houmus + pita. It was a plate with two portions, and it looked really huge! The grilled haloumi caprese was delicious, highlight was the chewy cheese. I personally enjoyed the Avgolemono soup, which was a chicken rice soup with egg and lemon. Some found it to be like congee with lemon-- rather confusing. The rich chicken flavor fueled this soup. Spanakopita was fluffy, light, and crispy. Seasoned well. Houmus and pita. . . needed more pita. We couldn't finish their generous portion of houmus because we ran out of pita =( It was creamy and had a light hint of garlic-- just perfect.

Moving on just down the street was Fishworks Restaurant. A rather unique dining experience standing up and eating, but cool because they just effortlessly made a simple Halibut poutine beautiful. I mean, how can four fries, a piece of halibut, cheese, some scallions and balsamic vinegar be so good? Well they did it. I found the fish a bit overcooked but the rest was amazing. The cheese was light, the balsamic vinegar cut the oily feeling and the fries were crispy and fluffy. DELISH.

Already feeling a bit stuffed, we meandered over to Two Daughters Bakery. It was a bit sketchy as we had to go to a back alley to where their entrance was. Inside it was nice, and luckily they had their goodies packaged to go, so we could enjoy them later! In the bag was a (1) Gluten free vegan mini donut, and (2) Gluten free vegan brownie. I enjoyed the brownie more as the texture and taste were that of a normal brownie. The mini donut... was too dense and had an odd flavor + texture. However the chocolate on top was normal. I'll just be thankful that I don't have to go gluten-free/vegan for my food =P

Still raining, we march onwards to Plantoplanto, which was UP (yes, very uphill) the street. A cute little (seemingly, there were more tables in the back) cafe, they offered (1) Smoked tofu caprese salad, (2) Beets and feta, (3) Wasabi spiced potato salad, and (4) Sesame soy corn & quinoa. The smoked tofu was a dense chewy tofu on a skewer with tomatoes and lettuce. Average. The beets and feta were well liked, the flavors of the beet were present and the feta added a bit of saltiness to the skewer nicely. I enjoyed the potato salad a lot, wasabi wasn't overwhelming and the potatoes were tender but still had some bite to them. The corn and quinoa didn't suit my tastes... bland but the quinoa was cooked well. They also had a bonus kale salad which most of us didn't care for as it was an odd flavor and the kale was tough.

For a break we decided to travel (now by car) to The Juicery Co. Their tasting cups were (1) Strawberry lemonade on tap, (2) Mini raw cocoa acai bowl, and (3) Vanilla bean & pear almond mylk. I tried the almond mylk first and it was like milk with some sediments and vanilla flavor, quite rich in flavor/creaminess but still/light. The strawberry lemonade was very tart and I barely tasted the strawberry. However, it was refreshing-- they said they used alkaline water, which I forgot the benefits of ^^".

The mini raw cocoa acai bowl had ice cream on the bottom which was meant to be partly melted-- this was the highlight for me. I really liked the granola's sweet crunchiness against the cold creamy ice cream =D (or I'm just a sucker for ice cream overall).

Travelling onwards further away from the core of all the other restaurants, we arrived at The Little District. Inside it was really homey and they were preparing their tasting plate, Cod and shrimp fritters with spicy mayo. By this time most of us were stuffed and this was too filling.

I found I only tasted the mayo and dough. Not much cod or shrimp that I could pick out and decipher the flavors. It was too much for me to just chew on deep fried flour at this time of the meal. It was however, freshly made and nicely "plated".

At our last stop, was a little shop by the name of Rosemary Rocksalt. As we stepped in, we were greeted by a delicious aroma of freshly baked goods-- it was stunning. Very little seating, we were super glad we beat the crowd and got some seats. On the platter was (1) Montreal smoked meat on a rosemary rocksalt bagel, (2) Lox & cream cheese on a bagel, and (3) Sweet rugelach pastry (we got the apricot one). Everyone was super pleased by the flavors of every item.

I loved the smoked meat, there was so much meat but it was delicious. However the pickle on the side was too sweet =/ The lox and cream cheese on bagel was lovely as well, creamy and moist the cream cheese with capers heightened the flavor of the salmon.

Finally, the sweet rugelach pastry, it was amazing. Everyone was surprised at how flakey it was-- just melted in my mouth. They said they'd return here for more! The little chunks of apricot were really nice.









Afterthoughts:

Pros
- Lots of variety: different types of dining atmospheres
- Portion sizes were reasonable
- Registration was simple and efficient
- Special seating ares were easy to find
- Staff were helpful and friendly at all the restaurants

Cons
- Definitely not walkable to all locations
- (out of their control) perfectly normal Raincouver raining on our party
- The food felt really.... hipster (excuse the lack of a better word) and more vegan than the others I've been to
- Felt a bit rushed as we wanted to get to all 8 locations in the rain

Regardless of how wet we all got, it was still good fun and delicious food. Also quite the eye-opener for me as I never imagined North Van to have any food worthy of travelling there for. Now I guess I have to give it a second chance! =) Also a lovely new picture (taken at The Juicery Co).

Vancouver Foodster Presents: Tasting Plates Central Richmond (July 9, 2014)

At my second TastingPlatesYVR experience, and I'm super stoked! Last time was in Gastown, this one is located in Central Richmond-- so I'm thinking... with a Chinese flare? No! It was located at many of the hotel restaurants, and my taste buds were about to be tantalized! Many thanks to my blog photographer and nomming buddy Adorables for the great shots =D *Long post warning!*

Registration was at Harold's Bistro and Bar and we dined in a reserved outdoor patio area (which was beautiful) as the the chefs prepared our meals.

We were first served their Tasting Cup which was a Somersby Cider. Neither Adorables or I could tolerate alcohol well, so this was sadly just a pretty cup of liquid. I took a little sip though, light and a bit sweet, I liked it =)

Their Tasting Plate included (1) Five-Spice Rubbed Tuna Tataki with Papaya Relish, (2) Pulled Pork Sliders, and (3) Italian Meatball topped with Asiago. Presentation is nice, neat, and the portions were surprisingly generous (I'm comparing this to the last tasting plates I went to).

I sunk my teeth into the Pulled Pork Slider first and it was delicious. The bun was chewy and moist plus it balanced out the salty and sweet pulled pork. The smokey flavor really pulled through in the pork as the tender bits melted in my mouth. I found the pulled pork to be a bit too salty afterwards, but enjoyed the slider.

Then I dug into the  Italian Meatball topped with Asiago. This was one massive meatball (at least 2 inches in diameter) which packed a lot of flavor. I liked their pairing of herbs and the perfect amount of tomato sauce that was on it-- mm mm GOOD! However, to be fair, the meatball in itself was just a slightly above-average meatball, nothing crazy about it =P

Last on this plate was the Five-Spice Rubbed Tuna Tataki with Papaya Relish. Three beautiful slices lay before me and it melted in my mouth. The tuna wasn't overpowered by the spices, worked in a nice harmony. I couldn't quite taste the papaya even when I just tried the relish, however this was a well-thought out and delicate plating that I appreciated a lot.

Right next door was American Grille, offering a non-alcoholic option to their Tasting Cup, a Peach Breeze. This was nice and fruity (couldn't put my finger on what fruit it was exactly) and the fruit skewer added fanciness to it.

This was one of the self-serve restaurants where the chefs prepared the plates on a large table and we grabbed our own when we were told it was ready =) (kinda confusing because they never said anything)

They offered a (1) House Cured Gravlax of Salmon, (2) Poached Anjou Pear on a Stilton Crumble Savory Tart, and (3) Roasted BC Halibut, Spaetzle, Corn Succotash and Green Pea Puree. I couldn't quite see the poached pear, perhaps it was sitting under my salmon? (Adorables' plate looked like it had no salmon) The salmon was like smoked salmon, chewy and a bit fishy. Not bad. Inside I believe was the pear (tasted like some Boursin cheese) and the tart. The tart itself was very generic, kinda disappointing that it was a bit harder and less melty in the mouth than expected. Then there was the Roasted Halibut, which was tender and moist. Delicious. Mines was a bit undercooked (probably because Adorables got me the biggest piece he saw), but I'm still alive. Mixed in the green pea puree with the spaetzle and corn succotash-- very bland and under seasoned. Spaetzle had a good texture to it though, chewy and moist.

Next we hurried over to CAVU Kitchen Bar. We were warmly greeted by servers and brought to reserved tables while nibbling on a blueberry ice panna cotta (complimentary) "palate cleanser". We were introduced to the setup of the restaurant: where drinks were located, what they offered, and where we could sit.

All the drinks offered were alcoholic, so we asked if there were any virgin options, and were brought a yummy Shirley Temple! After some stirring it wasn't the pretty sunset color anymore... it turned so bloody x.x Adorables found it too sweet, but I really liked it.

Some people were served their food, but being impatient, I sent Adorables to fetch us some grub. Plating I must say, was beautiful. With the center card describing the food, this was so exciting for me. They presented (1) Chicken Chorizo with Malagueta, Country Relish, Yucca, Honey Glaze and (2) Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Coconut and Mango Gels, Dulce du Leche, Crispy Pearls, Fruit Bark, and a Macaroon.

Super excited to dig in, I went for dessert first! The macaron was AMAZIIIINNNG! Chewy but melted in my mouth, not too sweet either! Now the coconut and mango gels were disappointing, rather bland and hard to pick up with a fork (really soft) but when I ate them with the crispy pearls, it was better balanced out. Pineapple upside down cake had pineapple on top and a dulce du leche themed bottom. A bit on the sweet side, the cake was light and fluffy (didn't really touch the pineapple though-- allergies ><")

Onto the Chicken and Chorizo, the chorizo was a bit spicy and packed full of herby goodness with the ground pork (?). My chicken was dry but seasoned well. The yuuca chip on top was something new to me, I liked the crispiness of it, no feeling of oiliness here =) Relish was just enough with the chicken, not overpowering and not too tart.

I must say here, CAVU was the winner of the evening, with their service and presentation. A well-rounded experience with delicious food and drinks! I just wish they leaked where they got those tasty macarons *-*

We drove to the next location, as it was getting farther down the road, Thai House. A rather empty restaurant but with a cute waitress who was dressed in traditional Thai-wear. Very cute. Anyways, the dishes here are (1) Chicken Satay, (2) Shrimp Cake, and (3) Beef Lettuce Wrap. Having come from an amazing CAVU experience, this was very un-satay-sfying. Served on styrofoam plates and with plastic forks, the food here was cold and looked realllly sketch. Anyways, they also offered drink specials (for $2.00). We got a Lychee Coconut milk drink, it was really tasty! The lychee was hard to decipher at first but then it came through and added some ZING to the coconut milk. Not picture-worthy for Adorables though.

So I tried the chicken satay first, whcih was smothered in peanut sauce and a vinaigrette sauce. Chicken didn't taste too fresh, and I prefer my satays to be hot =( Flavors were authentic though!

Then there was the shrimp cake which also wasn't very fresh (starting to go bad). It was cold and not crispy buuuuut it did have the right amount of spring in its texture. Sauce was generic sweet-spicy sauce... covered up the "garbage" taste as I swallowed the entire piece (which I kinda regretted after, but I survived). The beef lettuce wrap was quite tasty, but again, cold. I only tried the beef, was too scared to have the lettuce and others, a bit on the salty side.

Moving on, we arrived at a drink stop, Fresh Press Coffee. The owner and her daughter were super friendly and told us they had just opened recently. They made us fresh coffee and there was an overall great vibe there. We got to try their (1) Affogato, (2) London Fog, (3) Pour Over Coffee, and (4) Almond Croissant.

I especially enjoyed the croissant, it was flaky and moist with the almond being prominent in the piece. Affogato was my favorite out of the three drinks as the ice cream was delicious with that hint of espresso. London fog was a bit cold when we tried it (wandered around the store so much it got cold), but it was nicely sugared, not too sweet. I only watched them make the pour over coffee but it smelled really nice and legit =3

Onto our last stop, The Apron! It was quite a ways away and hard to find parking, but just caught the sunset's last rays here =) Didn't realize it was such a small establishment, so I just sat down after listening to and watching the chef assemble our Tasting Plate. Here they had (1) Tamarind Seared Scallop, Honeydew & Calamansi Gazpacho and (2) Sous Vide Pork Belly, Parsnip, White Chocolate, Cider Jus.

After listening to how fancy the dish was and all the time and effort behind the dish, I was rather disappointed at the pork. The main item tasted like BBQ pork from a Chinese place but was dry, tough, and unevenly fat-layered. The rind which he had made himself that day... was like something you could buy from a store in a package. Crunchy but average. Now, the parsnip and white chocolate puree was quite a beautiful pairing. The white chocolate made the parsnip sweeter and creamier-- great! Onto the scallop, which was disappointing as it was just a scallop on a skewer. I mean it was cooked and seasoned well but nothing wow about it. The honeydew and calamansi gazpacho was the highlight of the meal-- light and refreshing, packing in some tangyness and sweetness. I ended up drinking Adorables' half cup too heh.

Afterthoughts:

Pros
- Fast, efficient registration process
- Portion sizes were generous
- Dishes were beautifully portrayed
- Six locations paired with Tasting cup made it easier to get to all locations within allotted time

Cons
- Some restaurants only offered alcoholic options for Tasting Cup
- Locations were more spaced out and required alternate mode of transportation (couldn't possibly walk there in a reasonable amount of time)
- Plates and service was a bit confusing (some were self-serve, some had service, but neither was specified) and it was sometimes rather slow

Overall, this was a great event. I love the class this one brought, I probably wouldn't have had the chance to try all these places with my poor student budget, but this was great! Got to go to fancy restaurants without breaking my bank =D I felt this one was better organized than the other TastingPlatesYVR (Gastown) event I went to; it's reassuring to see them improving consistently!

Vancouver Foodster Presents: Tasting Plates Gastown Edition (April 23, 2014)

I am super stoked to be blogging about this, partly because it was an AMAZING event, and partly because I have been super busy and haven't had the chance to blog in a while =( Anyhow! The event was under $28 per person for the ticket, and there were 8 locations involved. Some comments about the event:






Pros:
- Lots of variety
- Get to try food from different restaurants throughout the evening
- Some walking to burn off the calories while eating
- Overall great experience

Cons:
- Registration took a long time
- Not enough time to wait for a table (huge crowd due to the event) and get around to all the places-- very strapped for time (6:00-9:30pm but lining up for registration took us until 7:30pm)
- This particular location was a bit sketch when it got darker =/

Alright, lets move onto the food! Since registration was at Catch 122, Adorables and I decided to stay and eat there first! They were offering a Pressed Confit Pork Shoulder, Smoked Potato, Pork Crackling. The confit was slightly crispy but so moist and tender in the middle and flavorful. It went so well with the creamy potato thing on top of it (looked more mashed than smoked hehe)-- it in itself was delicious! The pork crackling on the other hand, was confusing to me. It was hard and not very crispy =/ Looked pretty though!

The House-made Tortellini with Quebec Cheese Curd, House-smoked Bacon, in Soubise Sauce was a bit underwhelming. The pasta was al dente, filling didn't stand out (wheres the bacon?!), and the sauce didn't seem to belong with the "dish". Presentation-wise though, it was nice to the eyes =)

Finally! Dessert was "krehm broo LAY" (Cointreau custard, sugar biscuit, lavender meringue, mint). The both of us wondered for the longest time what the white crumbly bits on top with no flavor were-- then reading this again, had an "ah-ha!" moment =P Custard portion was a bit soft and grainy for my liking, but the sugar biscuit idea was ingenious. Don't think there was mint because of the giant sugared orange slice on top ;)

I tried to be methodical and choose a good route for our self-guided tour, Hives for Humanity (collaborating with Martin's Marvelous Naturals) was down the street, so we ended there first! They offered a DTES Raw Honey served on the Comb with Martin's Marvelous Rosemary Lavender and Chocolate Mole Crisps.

The honey was great, it was light and sweet (but not too sweet), along with the crisps, it was a nice snack! I preferred the Rosemary Lavender Crisp because the floral hints enhanced the honey rather than overwhelm and conceal the honey flavor (like the choco one).

Down the street was Bitter Tasting Room. The wait was quite long since our group moved to the small establishment almost all at once! Many thanks to a fellow foodster who put my name on the waitlist (I was too scared to write my name on there without making sure we were allowed or not), Adorables and I were seated after a 10 minute wait. Here, they offered a (soft) Taco with Barbecue Pulled Pork, Fresh Cut Slaw, and Pepperoncini Aioli. It didn't look too amazing on the plate, but the flavors were all there.

The pulled pork was tender, moist, and perfect tanginess. Slaw cut out the fatty feeling of the Aioli (which wasn't too strong but made the taco nice and moist). Worth the wait! Waitresses were friendly and attentive too! =)

Next was Burgundy Restaurant. They have an open "artsy" feel to it. Too bad neither of us drink, since they had a free complimentary wine tasting =( Their Goat Cheese Fondue was a very smart design, since they had a little holder to prevent fondue from dripping down! I liked the fruit and bread pairing with it, refreshing and made the goat cheese lighter.

There was a small Beef Bourguignon (something like a nice beef stew minus the sauce). I had one tiny piece of beef, which was tender and a bit dry, but the veggies were yummy as the flavors were infused nicely.

This place also offered dessert! Luckily there were two of us, so we got to try both desserts!

Adorables got the Chocolate Mousse, which was nice and creamy-- a bit hard to put in my mouth because of the design =P Also had to photobomb and shift the focus of the camera for this pic heh heh >:]

I got the Orange Galliano Sorbet, tangy and cold. Nicely orangey! Traded Adorables for it since he's not one for sweets whereas I have a huge sweet tooth ^-^

Due to parking circumstances, we took a detour to Trees Organic first (who wouldn't want dessert in the middle of their meal anyways? =D) Greeted by a super fun cashier, we were directed to some coffee and had some more dessert =)

The New York Cheesecake was too soft, felt like it was melting! Flavors were there, I just wish the crust were not so crumbly. And then there was their monthly special, a Almond Marzipan Cheesecake. This was REALLY SWEET but the graham cracker crust was nicer. Plating was pretty, except for Adorables'... his NY cheesecake was oozy =P

Moving on, we noticed how strapped for time we were, so we rushed over to Salt Tasting Room-- through a scary Blood Alley x.x I seriously thought I would get jumped and killed there.

Anyhow, got there, and went DOWNSTAIRS to a cellar! Super interesting!

Here, they offered Salt's Classic Tasting Plate (Small Size): 2 meats, one cheese, 3 condiments, crackers-- tonight, we got 2 pieces of prosciutto, aged cheddar, three pieces of house-made baguette, mustard, and cherry jam. The prosciutto was delicious and I loved the cheddar-- creamy and cheesy! The mustard was a bit strong for me, the cherry jam was interesting (tangy and sweet, couldn't' quite taste the cherry). I found the baguette too dry and chewy =(

Our last stop for the night was The Irish Heather (almost missed it on our way, kinda hard to find!). They were super nice and let us in, we were the last customers!! I noticed it was already 9:28pm, and realized we probably wouldn't be able to make it to the last location =( (Made Adorables wander over to Milano Coffee to get the items, but they were closed already)

Either way! Here, they had a Steak & Ale Stew on Colcannon (Irish Mashed Potatoes). Or so the menu said. What I saw was pie and fries. Not that I minded. Adorables noted that the pie tasted like a beef version of the chicken pot pie from Costco, and I can't disagree. It was rich and meaty, well-balanced flavors. Crust was flaky and the fries were crispy on the outside, moist and fluffy on the inside. I couldn't finish it though-- ended up packing most of it home haha!

Overall, this was a great experience because I got to have so much variety in one evening! I also was pretty stuffed (I started off being concerned whether it would be enough food, since the portions were tiny) at the end of the night, and couldn't be happier stuffed ^-^ Highly recommended! Great for date nights, I may try the other locations! =) Many thanks to Adorables for the photos! And lovely company! <3 Until next time peeps!