Sorry folks for the complete and utter lack of any sort of posting! I have the two worst sorts of characteristics a person can have: procrastination and laziness. Both have been a contributing factor to the stagnant state of my blog. I guess school 5 days a week and working the other two doesn't help either "sigh"
Well enough excuses; besides the busy schedule I've been to some great restaurants lately and had an amazing 25th birthday weekend - which was now quite a while ago (June 26th). Here's a review on the spots I checked out:
Bao Bei (163 Keefer Street) is a great date restaurant and also the first stop on the weekend Birthday stay-cation! It has a wonderful Asian meets French vibe that completely works. It's cozy and low lit with a fantastic assortment of delicious cocktails. The cuisine is considered to be Asian brasserie style but it was hard to distinguish where the French influence came in; everything seemed to be very traditional Chinese. The food was very tasty but, for the price/portion ratio, you could easily eat at many places in Chinatown and receive similar quality for less with a bigger portion. That being said, I would return to Bao Bei for the winning combination of ambiance, stellar drinks and food that I really had zero complaints about. We had the marinated eggplant ($4) which I very much enjoyed! Followed by Mantou, which is steamed buns with braised beef short rib, hoisin, scallions, pickled cucumber, and roasted peanuts ($9), Steamed prawn and chive dumplings ($7.5), and Pearl Bok Choi with ground pork and black bean ($7). We ended the meal with the Almond Panna Cotta with lemon gastrique, mandarin slices and salted cinnamon almond brittle (7). Although the panna cotta had delicious almond flavor, a bit too much gelatin was added making it quite firm when it should be soft and velvety. Everything must have been good though considering we ate too quickly to take a decent picture:
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Yummy Bevies!
Next stop on the Birthday dining train was $12 brunch at Twisted Fork Bistro (1147 Granville Street). This place was a very pleasant surprise. The food was so delicious and far removed from the typical eggs and bacon brunch used to squelch a Saturday morning hangover. I started with a lovely raspberry mimosa and the man drank beer. We decided to share two mains as everything looked too delicious to decide on just one.
We had the Gruyere baked eggs with sourdough toast, bacon, rosti and baked beans as well as the Bacon, Caramelized Onion and Brie Frittata filled with potato and fresh basil, served with fresh greens and sweet corn relish. C'est Magnifique! I can't wait to try the $8 pound of mussels and frites they have on Tuesdays!
The last dining excursion was the evening of my Birthday. We had spent the whole sunny afternoon at the beach with friends, food and wine and were now ready to get a little dolled up and have a fantastic $35 six-course meal at Mis Trucos (1141 Davie Street). Chris, the owner and chef, has an intriguing and well executed sense of imagination when it comes to the dishes that he creates. The only word I can think of to describe the dishes we tasted that night is decadent.
spot prawn and oyster consume
Chris's version of cannelloni: avocado puree in a mango wrapper with spot prawns
sardines on a watermelon salad
foi gras
pork belly
Sorry for the dark pics. Mis Trucos has a beautiful patio where we enjoyed our meal by candlelight. I'm embarrassed to say this but, since this meal was a while ago, I can't remember every ingredient on our plates. Not pictured here was the delicious, and properly done, panna cotta. It was melt in your mouth with crunchy pralines.
Side Note: If you have time before September, check out the Vancouver Art Gallery's Surrealist Exhibit. It's splendid!
Until next time.....
