March 2013 ~ Eating With Kirby

30 March 2013

CHAU VeggiExpress- Healthy Yet Delicious

Saturday, March 30, 2013 Bakery, Fast Food, Rating: 4/5, Vancouver, Vegetarian, Vietnamese 2 comments

Long ago, Misu raved about this one restaurant she was in love with. I was intrigued and totally up for trying it out but when she said it was a vegetarian pho place, I stopped. I couldn't imagine what vegetarian pho would taste like! Wasn't all pho broth made with meat and bones? And what would replace the oh so delicious tripe, beef balls, and raw beef slices?

All my worries washed away when I saw the incredibly high rating on Urbanspoon. Surely, if 96% of 200

people liked CHAU, it must be pretty damn good.

The interior is quite small with only a large communal table and seats along the wall. Albeit kind of small, the place was reminiscent of a family style setting where everyone sits together to enjoy a beautiful meal.

They have extremely creative (and long) names for their items such as "Candlelit Lantern Down the River" and "Soft Tropical Rainstorm".

Misu ordered the Night Market Stroll ($7) which is a papaya salad with shredded apple, carrots, herbs, peanuts, tofu, and a lemongrass citrus dressing.

Golden Temple Prayers ($9.25) comes with either noodles, rice, or baked bread and consists of a light yellow coconut curry broth with seasonal vegetables. The curry was definitely more soupy than I imagined but I liked it. If I were to get this next time, I'd get it with noodles because the curry can be more of a broth.

I ordered Diving for Pearls ($9.25) because I wanted to try vegetarian pho. In place of the typical meaty broth was a light, savoury, and absolutely mouthwatering broth made with lychee and dates. There were ample amounts of veggies and rice noodles so this was not only delicious, but very satisfying. I HIGHLY recommend trying this one out.

A less impressive vegetarian pho choice was the Sliding Down the Sand Dunes ($8.25). The broth was made with lemongrass, ginger, and pineapples and it also comes with a side of beansprouts. R thought the broth was a bit too spicy and her lips were on fire by the end of it. Plus, she would have preferred more seasonable veggies over beansprouts similar to what I had.

Based on these reasons:

vegetarian food never tasted so good
definitely try "Diving For Pearls"
you will never leave feeling like you're in a food coma
healthy and delicious food

Service Rating: 4/5

Food Rating: 4/5

Price: $

Overall Rating: 4/5

Happy Eating!

courtesy of http://www.pdfmagazines.org/cookbooks/44356-cooking-vegetarian-healthy-delicious-and-easy-vegetarian-cuisine.html

Indochine Kitchen + Bar - Phnom Penh #2

Thursday, March 28, 2013 Late Night, Malaysian, Rating: 3.5/5, Snacks, Thai, Vancouver, Vietnamese 2 comments

It has been a while since I've had a foodie night, so last week, I caught up with foodobyte and Desmond for some Vietnamese eats at Indochine Kitchen + Bar. And in case you were wondering. Yes. I drew faces on the chicken wings.

One of the reoccurring statements I often hear about this place is that it is a Phnom Penh #2. They serve pretty much the same dishes, and so far, it seems like they are doing just as well of a job, or better.

We found out from the waitress that Indochine is opened by the grandson of the Phnom Penh owner. THAT's why it's so similar! It makes perfect sense now doesn't it?

Butter Beef ($12.00) is pretty much the staple item most people get when they go to Phnom Penh. This one here at Indochine suited my tastes buds even better so I would definitely recommend this dish to others. That is... if you don't like to eat raw beef of course... because if that's the case, you should run in the opposite direction.

The Papaya Salad ($7.50) was a spontaneous choice made my moi only because I felt like we should get at least one dish with vegetable/fruit as the main ingredient. You can choose between beef jerky or tofu puffs as the topper and we chose the latter. The papaya was incredibly refreshing and kind of acted as a cleanser of the palate in between all the other savoury, salty, delicious, and frankly, MSG filled entrees.

Hallelujah for half priced wings on Wednesday! We chose the ever-so-popular Garlic Butter Chicken Wings ($4.75) and it came with garlic chips and lemon pepper dipping sauce. I thought these were hands down way juicier than the ones at Phnom Penh (see post here).

The Coconut Red Curry ($9.50) had beef brisket in it and came with some untoasted french baguette.

All three of us loved the curry and beef brisket but disliked the baguette. There wasn't enough bread to soak up all the curry goodness and toasting it first would have made it a lot better.

Overall, we had a great time at Indochine and most of the dishes we ordered lived up to our expectations (ie. butter beef and chicken wings). I would definitely recommend coming on a Wednesday though because all chicken wings are half price.

Check out foodobyte's blog as well for his point of view on Indochine Kitchen + Bar. All photos were taken by foodobyte's camera. Thanks again Curtis!

Service Rating: 3.5/5
Food Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $$

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Happy Eating!

courtesy of http://frabz.com/2rjb

Wildebeest- Foie Gras Poutine, Thymus Glands, and Bone Marrow.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013 Fine Dining, French, Gastown, Rating: 3/5, Steakhouse, Vancouver, Westcoast, Western No comments

Last Saturday, me and the girls decided to go out, dress pretty, and party our little butts off till dawn. We haven't gone to downtown Vancouver in a while so we decided to hit up Wildebeest to try their exotic and much talked about menu.

I heard they serve bone marrow, sweetbreads (aka thymus glands O.O *gulp*), and foie gras poutine. It's a foodie's dream, really.

Wildebeest is located in Gastown on West Hastings Street and next door is the popular Catch 122 Cafe Bistro.

The ambiance reeks of hip, sophisticated awesomeness and it's clear that this is a hot spot for many people as it was packed when we arrived at 9:00pm.

LOVE the open kitchen concept. Too bad I missed them in action as our table was seated quite far from it. I love watching chefs cook. It's like watching The Food Network without having to pay for cable.

Both Rae and I ordered an Improved Spagliato ($10) which was a concoction of campari sorbet, Italian vermouth, grapefruit, and sparkling wine. It tasted delicious but I thought it was way overpriced for the amount you get.

The Crispy Pork and Polenta Croquettes w/ Tomato Jam ($6 per dish) was actually one of my favourite items of the night although it was not unanimous across the table.

The stringy pork was plentiful and the polenta was creamy and mildly... corn-ey. Heh heh. I really enjoyed it with the fresh tomato jam since the acidity helped balance out the dish.

The Ling Cod ($15) was incredibly flaky and tender. Overall nice dish.

We were feeling fancy so we ordered the Foie Gras Poutine ($16). For those of you who don't know, foie gras is french for 'fat liver' and is essentially the liver of a duck or goose who have been force fed to get extra fat. :( It's sad.. I know. Nobody at the table particularly liked the taste of foie gras because it was quite pungent but it was a novelty item that I'm glad I tried.

Guess what these are? The dish is called Roasted Sweetbreads, caramelized buttermilk, wild mushrooms, porcini vinaigrette ($15) but it doesn't really give you an idea of what part of the animal you are eating. Or in fact, what animal you are eating in the first place. Sweetbreads are thymus glands of the calf. Funny enough, it tasted LIKE glands when I tried a bite. Very chewy, and organ-y in texture.

I definitely enjoyed the caramelized buttermilk and wild mushrooms (cause ya know... those are my fav) but overall I thought the dish was pretty pricey for what it is.

This was probably the most disappointing dish of the night. The Roasted Bone Marrow, parsley gremolata, grilled bread ($13) yielded barely any marrow, didn't have much flavour, and tasted like liquid meat fat on bread. Bone marrow is pretty popular in Chinese cuisine so I might just stick with eating it Asian style.

Overall, my girlfriends and I thought Wildebeest was alright. It was definitely a cool place to check out despite the higher price point and the hit-or-miss dishes. I'm not raving about this restaurant, but I won't be completely writing them off either.

Service Rating: 3/5
Food Rating: 3/5
Price: $$$

Overall Rating: 3/5

Happy Eating!

courtesy of http://memecrunch.com/meme/5SXY/foie-gras

The Keg Steakhouse and Bar (Burnaby)- What a Beautiful Sight

Saturday, March 23, 2013 Burnaby, Dessert, Rating: 3.5/5, Steakhouse, Westcoast, Western 2 comments

The Keg is a place I don't go to very often because of its relatively higher price range and fine dining atmosphere.

Meta Knight and I recently went to The Keg in Burnaby and we were extremely surprised to see a line up to the door! The wait was around 45 minutes for the dining room so we decided to try our luck in the lounge. We were lucky that day and found two seats at the bar! Perfect for the Canucks game on that night as well!

The Keg in Burnaby is probably the most impressive looking location and it is huge in comparison to some of the other locations.

I started with a Strawberry Margarita because I saw a woman drinking it nearby... I know, what a copy cat eh? :P The alcohol taste was light so this drink was right up my alley.

Big loaf of complimentary bread and whipped butter. Not much to say here although we did like the fact that it was warm and toasty when it was brought over.

There is apparently a 'worldwide shortage of escargot' (that's what the waitress said) so we had to get an alternative appetizer. The Scallops & Bacon came with a zesty martini cocktail sauce which was a great accompaniment. I would have preferred a little more char or caramelization on the scallops but it wasn't that big of a deal.

Baller Meta Knight went with the Prime Rib & Lobster combo which consisted of a slow roasted medium rare prime rib with oven baked Atlantic lobster tail. The side he chose was the twice baked potato.

The prime rib had a few large chunks of fat in it but the taste and texture of the meat was great. The twice baked potato is a must get item!! They essentially baked the potato once first, scoop out all the insides, mixed it with bacon bits, sour cream, and green onion, and baked again. It was DELISH!

I tried to go the healthier route and ordered the Spinach Salad w/ Top Sirloin (add on). The salad consisted of baby spinach, strawberries, dried cranberries, pecans, and red onion in a vinaigrette with blue cheese crumble. To be honest, I think I got a total of one and a half strawberries in my entire salad which kind of sucked because I really enjoyed how the sweetness cut through the otherwise pungent blue cheese. If they gave me double more strawberries, this salad would have been perfect.

Overall, we both enjoyed our time at The Keg and will most likely return. FYI, a dinner for one will cost approximately $30-$50.

Based on these reasons:

Make sure you make reservations! Weekday or not!
Salad with a steak on the side is surprisingly good
Great steak

Service Rating: 3.5/5

Food Rating: 4/5

Price: $$$$

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Happy Eating!

courtesy of http://www.troll.me/2012/01/19/boromir/one-does-not-simply-cook-a-steak/

Fray on Fraser (Now Closed)- Portobello Jenga Fries. Bam.

Friday, March 22, 2013 Brunch, Burgers, Misc, Vancouver, Western 1 comment

If you haven't heard already, the local dining and board gaming restaurant called "Fray on Fraser" is now officially closed. The reason was not because they were not earning enough profit, it was because of a legal dispute between investors. It's a very sad thing to witness, really.

I came here with a bunch of my friends right before Fray closed and had a wonderful time. We were definitely planning on coming back but now I guess we can't. :( I won't be writing a full blog post on how the food was but here are some pictures of our dining experience.