Category

French

Category

Jules Bistro is a French bistro hidden in the heart of Gastown. I’ve passed by so many times that I am shocked I’ve never noticed the place. They have been around since 2007 when Chef Emmanuel Joinville moved to Canada.

On the menu, you’ll notice a mix of classic French flavours with a West Coast twist. They do have classic French dishes and then you’ll notice a good amount of seafood dishes on the menu too using fresh and local ingredients where possible.

We were invited to check out Jules Bistro. The hubby and I decided to make it a date night away from Baby E.

Interior

The space is a good size and they also have a patio outdoors in the front open on nice warm sunny days.

Good for groups too but make sure to reserve ahead of time.

The ambiance is quite nice and during dinner time, I love that they is live piano music that sets the mood.

Menu

Kir Royal

I started with the Kir Royal, which is a classic French cocktail. This has sparkling wine and Creme de Cassis. It is served in a flute and is about 3oz. It was good and I enjoyed it a lot.

Pinot Noir

My husband is into his pinot noir. There is actually a large variety of wine on the menu and can be confusing to navigate. You can ask the staff to help pick the perfect wine for the evening.

Bread and Butter

The bread and butter arrives before the dishes start arriving. It’s pretty decent bread and since we only had a piece each, they suggested we pack it to go as it makes great French Toast for the next morning.

Homemade country style pate

Pate is essentially liver and not for everyone. I like pate but my husband hasn’t taken to liking any pate I’ve made him try. The pate is smooth and full of flavour. It pairs well with the pickled and toasted bread. There’s quite a bit of pate in the dish, so you’ll probably want more bread to spread the pate on.

French Onion Soup 

French onion soup is another French classic made of beef broth, onions, and topped with gratinée. It comes out super hot, so make sure it cools down a bit before you dig in. It has a depth of flavour and my husband really enjoyed it.

Dill Marinated Salmon Carpaccio

I decided to go more West Coast with my appetizer and I just can’t resist a good salmon carpaccio. There is lots of fresh dill, red onions, salty capers, and the base of house smoked salmon. I really enjoyed it too.

Ribeye steak

My husband can’t resist a good steak when he sees it on the menu. It is 12oz and he asked it to be cooked medium rare. He also chose to have scalloped potatoes on the side as it was highly recommended.

The steak was cooked perfectly and had so much flavour.

Roasted Rack of Lamb

I was debating if I should go with another more West Coast inspired menu item, but I couldn’t say no to the lamb. It is served with sautéed potatoes and corn. It also has a rosemary jus which was very nice and fragrant.

The lamb was perfectly cooked at medium rare and hit the spot. I wasn’t a fan of the sauteed potatoes and corn. I should have swapped it out for something else or gotten another side.

Melting Chocolate Cake

This is served in this ceramic container with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream on top. It wasn’t what I expected it to be like as we couldn’t see the chocolate batter inside ooze out. It was mostly contained in the container, more like a soup. It did have a nice dark chocolate flavour which was enjoyable.

Latte

I ended off the dessert with a decaffeinated latte. Something about a nice warm latte really readies me for the night. I ate a lot and now it’s time to go home and end the night.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we did enjoy our date night at Jules Bistro. The classic French dishes were great and done very well. I absolutely adore the live piano music to really set the mood during dinner time. The staff are super friendly and very knowledgable about the menu.

If you’re looking for French cuisine that isn’t pretentious, check out Jules Bistro.

Address:
216 Abbott St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.julesbistro.ca

Black Market Supper Club is an exclusive dining experience in a secret supper club atmosphere located in South Surrey. This is hosted and prepared by a world class chef, but no identity has been revealed. Not even a hint. As they cook in the kitchen, they wear black masks to keep their identity a secret.

I have my hunches who this chef is, but lets’ just keep that mystery as it’s more fun that way.

Each dinner has a particular theme attached to it. The one we attended was honouring the 25 year Anniversary of The French Laundry. This is the Chefs rendition of some classic french laundry dishes from the restaurant.

We were invited to check out the supper club and see what it entails.

Arrival

72 hours before the dinner, we were given and email with instructions to prepare for the dinner. This included the instructions and what to do when we arrived.

It began at 7pm, but we were told to arrive at 6:45pm at the said location. We just walked in, mingled and found our seats.

The home is gorgeous and it made me have some envy.

BYOB

The dinner doesn’t have alcohol provided, so you have to bring your own booze. An email will arrive and it will suggest what types of wines to pair with the meal.

They poured sparkling and still waters, as well has tonic, soda and cola, as these are complimentary.

Bread Service

Dutch Cheese and Charcoal Gougères with 3 types of compound butters:

  • lemon shallot and herb compound butter
  • brown butter burnt onion
  • everything bagel

The gougères were delicious and I loved all the different types of butter. I really loved that everything bagel butter.

Truffle Custard

The truffle custard is served with a black truffle ragout in a beautiful and colourful egg shell. As you dig through the layers, you get a dominant truffle aroma and then the texture of the silky custard. I found it was a tad salty.

Lobster Pancake

The pancake is stuffed with lobster, chives and mascarpone. Then it is served with a brown butter and carrot puree. The chunks of lobster were a good size and cooked well. You can’t go wrong with that delicious puree either which adds great complimentary flavour.

Yabba Dabba Do

This dish has various components – a slice of wagyu beef, braised short rib, bone marrow stuffed inside a potato and chanterelle mushrooms.

This was the main dish of the evening and was very hearty and rich. The bone marrow just oozed out of the potato with all its liquid gold. The braised short rib was very tender and fell off the bone. As for the slice of wagyu, it was a bit inconsistent from plate to plate. My friend got the end piece, so it was hard to get the melt in our mouth feel if you have those pieces.

Chocolate Veloute

Under the chocolate veloute is a Dutch caramel cookie and cinnamon stick ice cream with an edible flower as a garnish.

I found the dessert pretty sweet and the Dutch caramel cookie really sticks to your teeth.

Final Thoughts

Overall, if you’re looking for something out of the ordinary, this is definitely it. Each dinner is themed differently, so you can see which cuisine fits your tastebuds. The pacing of the dishes were very good as it started at 7pm and ended by 9:30ish depending how long you want to keep chatting.

With supper clubs, you’ll have a better time if you are mingling with the others at the table as it is communal seating. It’s not a place to have a quiet intimate meal, as these types of dinner are meant for you to meet others who have come to the dinner.

They haven’t revealed the next dinners yet, but you can email chef@blackmarketsupperclub.com to see what upcoming dinners are available and get your reservations.

Website:
https://blackmarketsupperclub.com

Cafe Crepe started out in Vancouver and currently has 4 locations in BC. There are other locations in Santa Monica, Union Station, Toronto, and even Hong Kong.

Since their humble beginnings in 1999, they have been sharing Parisian crepes with their customers. It’s what draws in most people, but they do have other savoury and sweets on the menu.

Interior

Each location is different but at the one on Robson Street, there are lots of tables inside and can get busy during peak times. There are a few people who get their crepes to go as its hand-held and easy to eat on the go.

Menu

Crepe in the Making

The best part about ordering a crepe is really watching them put it together. The way the batter is spread on the hot griddle and cooked slowly.

The combination of ingredients that get layered on top of each other to ensure each bite will have a taste of each ingredient.

Boeuf Fumé

This has Montreal smoked meat, Swiss cheese, mushroom and creamy dijon mustard. Most people gravitate towards sweet crepes, but savoury crepes are really good and shouldn’t be overlooked. You get the smokiness from the meat and the savoury mushroom and cheese combination that doesn’t disappoint.

Crepe de Crevette

This was the monthly special when we visited. It has tomato, mushroom, shrimp, parmesan cheese, garlic with lemon and capers. A good contrast of ingredients that match well with the shrimp.

Bon Enfants

This is a decadent sweet crepe with Kinder Bueno garnish, hazelnut cream, vanilla wafers, and dark chocolate sauce. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll love the chocolate and hazelnut combination.

Fresh Strawberry and Banana

This has the simplicity of fresh sliced strawberries and bananas with sugar. A good combination.

Nutella

Classic Nutella crepe and you really can’t go wrong with this at all. If you can eat Nutella off a spoon, you can eat it in a crepe.

Final Thoughts

Cafe Crepe has a good selection of sweet and savoury crepes for when you’re on the go or eating in. Sometimes this simple indulgence is all you need. The price of the crepes can be seen as pricey to some but based on the neighbourhood, rent is pretty steep along this neighbourhood. You get more full with the savoury versus the sweet crepes.

Address:
1032 Robson St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://cafecrepe.com/

Bouchon Bakery in Yountville California is Thomas Keller’s first and original location for his bakery. This is beside Bouchon Bistro as well as French Laundry a little bit further away.

We came here for a snack in the morning before we headed off to some wineries.

Inside the bakery, there is only standing room to order. A lot of people do take out or sit outside if the weather is nice.

There are treats everywhere and getting just picking 1 item is so difficult so we got a lot to share between the 4 of us.

If you come here earlier in the day, you can see the staff making the pastries. We came later in the day, so there wasn’t much action going on.

Coffee

As everything is take out, they only have to go containers for their coffee and water. Even though we asked for our lattes for here, there are no reusable cup options offered.

The lattes were pretty average and nothing special.

Pain aux Raisins

This is packed full of raisins and they were not too dry. It had a good amount of sweetness to it.

Croissant

The croissant is a classic and it has many flaky layers but we were missing more of a crunch at the end tips of it.

Chocolate Almond Croissant

The almond chocolate croissant is decadent and filled with the almond mixture to give you a sweet kick to your day. Delicious.

Strawberry Cheesecake Croissant

The croissant-like tart has the strawberry cheesecake mixture in the centre. Fun to eat it with a knife and fork so you don’t get messy.

Lemon Tart

The lemon tart was ok but nothing too impressive about it.

Final Thoughts

Bouchon Bakery is a good option in the area, but I found it wasn’t the best bakery I’ve ever been to. There are a few other places that can do croissants better but its all up to personal preference. I thought Bouchon Bakery was ok, but it didn’t wow me.

Address:
6528 Washington St, Yountville, CA

Website:
https://www.thomaskeller.com/bouchonbakeryyountville

One of the most memorable meals of our Napa Valley and Sonoma trip was at The Girl & The Fig. We got reservations for dinner through their website a few weeks in advance. There are a few shops in the area, so we got here a bit early and decided to walk a few blocks to check out some stores until our table was ready.

Interior

There aren’t too many tables inside, but luckily, we were seated in their back patio which was really nice. It is a heated patio, so we weren’t worried when the sun went down.

Menu

Complimentary Olives, Bread and Butter

An assortment of olives arrived at the table and they were so addictive. Our favourite ones were the big plump green ones. They are unlimited, so you can ask for more.

Bread and butter arrived too. We were trying to save our appetite since we ordered a lot of dishes, but ended up eating all the bread since it was also good.

The Works

If you want to try a bit of their meats and cheeses, they suggested we try The Works, which has 3 selections of cheeses, cured meats, seasonal fruit, house-made fig cake, spiced nuts and sliced baguette.

The cheeses that we chose were:

  • La Délice de Bourgogne: Full-fat cow’s milk with fresh cream for a rich, whipped texture.
  • Laura Chenel Chèvre: A goat’s milk with creamy texture and delicate flavour.
  • Central Coast Creamery Ewenique: A sheep’s milk that is velvety and white with sweet and savoury flavours.

All of them were delicious, but the Laura Chenel Chèvre as it went with the honey drizzle.

As for the meats, I don’t remember what we got, but we still enjoyed it. The other accompaniments of this board were delicious like the wine grapes, fig cake, and nuts. It all worked so well as finger food before our entrees arrived.

Grass-Fed Steak Tartare

This has a traditional steak tartare with a raw egg, caperberries, lavender sea salt, mustard, and toast. This was really good and fresh. We liked how the pieces of the tartare was not too fine.

Fig & Arugula Salad

We had to get a dish with figs in it because thats the name of the restaurant. This has toasted pecans, Mano Formate pancetta, Laura Chenel Chèvre, and a fig & port vinaigrette. Perfectly dressed and all the ingredients balanced very well.

Duck Confit

We got this dish with 2 duck confit legs. It sits on top of sweet corn, green tomatoes, farro, and a bacon vinaigrette. The legs were delicious, tender and juicy.

Wild Flounder Meunière

The flounder is served with a Yukon​ potato purée, spinach, and lemon-caper brown butter. A nice combination of ingredients and were pleasantly surprised with how good it was.

Steak Frites

The 6-ounce prime flat iron steak was served medium rare with skinny frites, and a roasted padrón butter. We were also impressed with the dish as it wasn’t too salty and everyone loves fries.

Cookies & Milk

This is a fun dessert for adults and kids. You get two warm chocolate chunk sea salt cookies and a vanilla milk shake. It was very delicious and gives you so much nostalgia when you devour this treat.

Profiteroles

This is more like a profiterole ice cream sandwich. It has Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream in the cream puffs and drizzled with bittersweet chocolate sauce and powdered sugar. Also another amazing dessert!

Final Thoughts

We loved every item we ordered and was well worth the price we paid for 4 people. It was definitely the most delicious and memorable meal of our time in Sonoma and Napa Valley. Highly recommended to make a stop here.

Address:
110 W Spain St, Sonoma, CA

Website:
https://www.thegirlandthefig.com/

Have you ever seen silk on the ceiling or chandeliers of Egyptian gemstones? Just one block east of Gastown on Powell is a new escape into an opulent lounge of Indian and French cuisine with an unexpected healthy twist. It has taken 5 years for the owner, Gary Sidhu, to bring his vision to life. Much of that effort went into building relationships with organic and local, when possible, suppliers and the gathering of extravagant décor items.

From the outside, the giant Buddha head and bright turquoise, traditional Rajasthani door may throw you off guard on this block that isn’t particularly known for anything. The hand painted elephants of this 135 year old door are guarding a treasure trove. Step beyond the doors and you’re immediately transported into a tranquil sitting area washed in pastel blue with subtle hints at what’s to come with the subtle gold foil details, silk ceiling and a beautiful floral mural.

Peel back the curtains into the main dining area and it’s another world again. Another giant Buddha head hovers behind the bar and candles dot the tables, shelves and corners. Silk covers the walks, leather covers the seats in the lounge area and everything else is in gold foil or gemstones. The more you look the more there is to see.

With the extravagant show that the décor puts on, it was unexpected that the owner was this modestly dressed, soft spoken but all smiles man. We chatted in the bright waiting area about growing up in India, organic farming, nutrition and how he hasn’t caught a cold in 7 years due to healthy eating.

Gary grew up working on his father’s organic farm in India with his siblings when they were children.  He absorbed all of the techniques that his father taught him but it wasn’t until he came to Canada that he realized how important it is to grow organically. One of his first jobs in Canada was working at a non-organic greenhouse tomato farm. He described to me his shock when he learned all the practices. His sentiment could be felt in way he said this single sentence: “nothing came from the soil.” Taking what he learned from his father and wanting to make something good for the world, so comes Silk Lounge with its organic ingredients and whole eating philosophy.

“The main thing I want is to stop unhealthy foods like processed foods.”

Gary described to me the loss of nutrients and other benefits that come from natural foods as they become more processed. Which means a high involvement in sourcing and preparing ingredients in their kitchen. They grind their own spices from seeds. They avoid using white flour and opt for other grains such as barley or millet which is more nutritious.  Most impressively they make their own cheese in-house with milk from  local and organic Avalon Dairy.

I am convinced that organic food is more healthy but sometimes I wonder just how much of a difference does it make in the taste department. I got my answer when their paneer cheese blew me away. I’ve never really liked paneer. I’ve always found the texture strange and dry and the taste pretty bland on its own. Silk Lounge’s paneer is on another level and was my favorite dish of the night. I’m convinced this is how paneer should be and everything I’ve had before were imitations. You should know it’s not the blinding of healthy food talks. I ate the food before I chatted with Gary and evaluated the taste prior without knowing the story.

At the table we filled our bellies with appetizers and cocktails. Mushrooms with a gingery kick and steak bites with very fragrant peppercorn.

If a hot chili kick is more your game, the shrimp is dressed to spicy perfection.

If you don’t like spice then there is the basil chicken. Locally raised and free-range.

For dessert we wrapped up with a completely house-made cheesecake with mango and caramel sauce.

There is a certain joy in this restaurant amidst the shimmering decor. Their floor manager in training Baz, pictured in the candid above, lights up when you ask him about his favorites. The owner fights through language barriers to share his passion for whole and organic foods. They shared a moment when Baz was telling me about how much work has been put into the ingredient sourcing and Gary gave Baz appreciation for his dedication  to the front of house.

I’m definitely going to visit this hidden gem again. In all dimensions from food to service to atmosphere, there’s something special going on here.

Address:
132 Powell St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.silk-lounge.ca/

Kosoo Resaurant is a fusion restaurant using typical Korean and Japanese ingredients with French cooking techniques. A very interesting flavour combination but can work well together. The restaurant is located by Cardero and Robson Street in the West End of Downtown Vancouver. They are open for lunch and dinner.

Interior

There are a good amount of tables inside for small to large groups. If you’re in a large group, its best to make a reservation in advance for big groups.

Kosoo Set Menu

The best deal on their menu is their lunch course set for minimum 2 people. It’s a lot of food, but for $15 per person, it’s very good. It comes with:

  • Oyster
  • Mushroom salad
  • Bibimbob balls
  • Kosoo Taco
  • Japchae
  • Sweet and spicy assorted sashimi salad
  • 24 hour pork belly, miso marinated pork belly with salad and pickle
  • Mackerel
  • Beef Soy Bean Paste Soup
  • Kimchi
  • Matcha Creme Brûlée

Caprese

This beautiful dish has tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and a bed of pesto sauce. Very good way to start off the meal, but isn’t what you would normally think would be on the menu.

Tartare Sampler

The sampler comes with beef, tuna and salmon tartare. A good way to taste all three tartares on the menu. I really enjoyed it.

Toro Sashimi

Toro is the deliciously fatty portion of the tuna belly. It’s rich fat content gives it a melt in your mouth texture. The toro is wrapped up in a rose. Just unravel it and eat it with some wasabi and soy sauce.

Gomae

This dish has sauteed spinach sitting a top of a sesame seed dressing. It’s a little bit Japanese and a little bit Korean.

Spicy Tuna Roll

On the base is a California roll topped with seared tuna and jalapeños drizzled with spicy mayo and their secret sauce.

Unagi Roll

This also has a base of California roll but has variations of eel (unagi) and avocado.

For both the rolls, I thought it was ok. Nothing special, but if you’re here and craving sushi, you have options here.

Cheese Chicken Galbi

This is one of their signature dishes and it’s quite popular. It has chicken galbi in the centre with veggies. On the side, there is corn with yam puree and mozzarella cheese.

Tomato Mussel Stew

It has fresh mussels in a broth of Korean spices, prawns and other aromatics. I didn’t really like the taste of the dish as it was salty, fishy and sour all at the same time.

Gambas

This dish has extra virgin olive oil, garlic mussels and prawns. Mussels were on the small side.

Spicy Popeye Gyoza

The crispy gyozas have a spinach cream cheese and prawn inside the crispy wrap.

Drinks

There is beer, wine, cake, soju, and other spirits on the menu. They have recently added Sangria to their menu. They have a Red Wine Bloody Berry and White Wine Fresh Citrus sangrias.

Good for a hot Summer’s day. Fruity, refreshing and sweet.

Final Thoughts

Overall, a unique concept that fuses a variety of cuisines but is predominantly Korean. Their best dishes are those signature dishes like the cheese chicken galbi.

Address:
832 Cardero Street, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.kosoorestaurant.ca/

Restaurant Yugo just opened up on Main Street serving up a fusion of Japanese and French cuisine. If you’re a fan of their sister restaurant – Kitchen by Yugo on Denman Street, you’ll enjoy this too. I came after work with a few friends for dinner to chat over food and drinks.

Interior

The space is beautiful and seats small to large groups. They have a portion of the restaurant for reservations and some saved for walk-ins. We loved the atmosphere and the service from their staff.

Menu

Drinks

We had to start off the weekend with some drinks, so I got an Asahi Super Dry beer. I enjoy refreshing beer to go with this type of cuisine. My friends went with their Osamanthus cocktail which has tangerine peel infused gin, honey, osmanthus and lemon juice. They loved this cocktail and would highly recommend it.

Spicy Fish Tartar

This appetizer has crispy cheese sushi rice cake on the bottom, topped with avocado, spicy fish tartar, tobiko and green onions. On the plate is also quail egg and unagi sauce. You take the quail egg and drape the egg yolk all over the tartar. A fun appetizer to share and start off this dinner.

Gindara

This dish has a beautifully grilled black cod marinated in maple syrup and soy sauce. It is then served with fried soba noodles, kale and yuzu foam. The black cod has delicate and well balanced with the salty soy sauce and sweet maple.

Scallops Risotto

This dish has Hokkaido scallops, black truffle, mushrooms, ikura honey ricotta, bonito flakes and fried leeks. This is one of the most popular dishes to get here and it lives up to that reputation. So good and so comforting.

Sakura Cheese Cake

This 4 layer cake is perfect for the spring as the cherry blossoms are blooming around town. There is cherry blossom jam and green tea cookie crumbs. It is sweet and subtle sakura flavour.

Matcha Mille Crepes

Layers of paper-thin matcha crepes with red beans in the middle. It is then topped with more matcha powder on top. I really liked this dessert as crepes are awesome and when you turn that into a cake with whipped cream, its a good thing.

Homemade Ice Cream

Two scoops of ice cream all dressed up. If you’re looking for something simple, this is an option.

 Final Thoughts

Overall, we were all pleasantly surprised with the combination of Japanese and French flavours. It’s a great addition to the area where there isn’t this style of food. Dinner is slightly more expensive, but they are also open for lunch too with cheaper options.

We Rate Restaurant Yugo

Address:
4265 Main St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://restaurantyugo.com/

Kitchen by Yugo is located on Denman and Robson specializing in French and Japanese Fusion cuisine. I’ve heard lots about this place and I decided to come with a friend for lunch as it’s interesting how they will marry these two types of cuisines together.

Interior

The interior is nice with seating mostly on the left side and a kitchen and bar on the other.

Lunch Menu

Fish Miso Soup

This was the soup of the day and it was delicious, It has a piece of scallop and fish on the rim of the bowl. The miso soup had good depth of flavour. Highly recommended.

Pressed Aburi

This is pressed sushi with chef’s choice of assorted flame seared fish. It comes with 6 pieces and some fried veggie chips. My friend thought it was meh when you compare it to the other places in town that make similar aburi sushi.

House Bento

The house bento comes with 4 small dishes and served with rice. This seems to be quite popular item to order as you get to try a variety of items.

The items are:

  • Grilled Salmon with miso
  • Cauliflower Karaage
  • Tuna Tataki
  • Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Lardons and Onions

The flavours of the bento box is more on the Japanese side beside. The salmon was delicate and the miso paste on top paired well. Usually I see this combination on black cod, but salmon was good too.

The roasted brussel sprouts were more on the heavier side taking on the French influences. Tasty but was a bit of the odd dish out as the others were more delicate in flavours.

The tuna tataki was great. Nicely seared on all sides with some veggies and ponzu sauce.

The deep-fried cauliflower was a nice touch to compliment the meal with added textures and crunch.

Final Thoughts

Being to pull off French and Japanese fusion is pretty hard and I applaud the chefs for finding the balance as the styles are very different. Japanese is simple and delicate where French is most heavy and rich. Somewhat polar opposites.

We Rate Kitchen By Yugo

Address:
792 Denman St, Vancouver

Website:
http://restaurantyugo.com/

I may be lactose intolerant, but that didn’t stop me from attending La Glace‘s tasting preview event a couple of weeks ago. Ice cream at the end of a hard work day was much needed, and Roman and I were eager to get our hands on a decadent treat. As we approached La Glace, I was delighted by the balloons and the setup outside of the shop. The colours of mint, black and white were so welcoming, and the touch of gold made it so pretty. Needless to say, I was already impressed!

I could not help but notice and smile when I saw an ice cream cart with a large black and white umbrella. A young female staff member greeted us and asked us if we would like to try the Matcha Black Sesame Swirl. Roman quickly agreed (he loves matcha) and reported back on how good and creamy it was. I was amused by how it was served in a small cone. It made it look oh so cute!

Matcha Sesame Swirl

We entered the shop and I took in the beautiful interior design. Although the shop is inspired by a Parisian aesthetic, I could not help but notice some familiar pieces that my mother also has in her house. It was an unexpected touch of home, and I excitedly pointed them out to Roman. These were the peacock decor that were on display on the shelves behind the counter. The peacock imagery was reflected on the beautiful walls as well.

Lately, I have been more inclined to choose a vegan ice cream option, since it is dairy free (I am NOT vegan). Pastry chef, founder and culinary director, Mark Tagulao, informed me of the shop’s vegan offerings. Mark spoke with such enthusiasm and passion, I found myself even more excited to try the vegan flavours! Hugh, the front-of-house manager was very friendly and encouraged Roman and I to try everything. I immediately gravitated towards the Vegan Coco Pandan, because it made me think of Buko Pandan (which is a Filipino dessert made with young coconut and green gelatin that is similar to grass jelly). Anyways, this ice cream was an elevated translation of that dessert. The coconut flavour did not overpower the pandan flavour, and it was so creamy! I could not believe it was vegan! Hugh even offered to add a macaron and a marshmallow of my choice. I went with the lavender marshmallow and it complemented the Coco Pandan well.

Vegan Coco Pandan with Macaron and Lavender Marshmallow

The other two delicious vegan flavours we tried were the Chocohuète and the Chocolat à la Menthe. These two flavours did not disappoint! The Chocohuète was a rich peanut butter and dark chocolate flavour, and the Chocolat à la Menthe was a cool and creamy mint and dark chocolate combo. I loved mint chocolate chip ice cream when I was a kid, and the latter is a grown up version that I will come back to.

Vegan Chocohuète and Vegan Coco Pandan​

Roman and I also had sample tastes of the other flavour on La Glace’s menu, including the Bananes Foster (banana rum cream, toffee swirl & cinnamon) and the Pretzel Cremèux (sweet & salty pretzel cream). Although these flavours are dairy-based, I HAD to try them and good thing I came prepped (thanks to my lactase pill). These flavours were amazing! Extremely creamy, rich in flavour, and indulgent. Speaking of indulgent, Roman and I plan on going back to La Glace because one of the parfait offerings piqued our interest. It was the Sans Rival, which is two scoops of vanilla ice cream and cashew meringue that is topped with fresh whipped cream. Again, I could not help but notice that this is also inspired by another Filipino dessert with the same name. I am definitely curious as to how it was translated into an artisanal ice cream.

Marshmallows

La Glace definitely had a sweet Parisian patisserie feel. The colours, decor, and space were so inviting, just like Mark and his staff. Roman and I felt pure bliss when we were experiencing La Glace and its ice cream. It is a great spot for a dessert date, or to celebrate a special occasion. Enjoy the last hot weeks of summer with a cool treat at La Glace, where “All things are better when shared with someone cherished”. La Glace is open Wednesday to Sunday from 12pm to 10pm.

Address:
2785 W 16th Ave, Vancouver, BC

Website: http://laglace.ca/

La Glace Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

PiDGiN has always been a place I wanted to check out. I went with a friend to try their prix-fixe tasting menu for $55 per person, but there was an awesome voucher on TravelZoo for the 7 course dining for 2 people at $66, so I purchased it to save a little bit of money.

Interior

The interior is hip and cozy. The lighting is dim but it sets the atmosphere.

Happy Hour

Since it was happy hour, drinks were on special, so I grabbed Tiger, which is an Asian Lager. Good and crisp to pair with the dishes.

Daily pickles

Some daily pickles were carrot, onions and cucumbers. Nice to much on as we waited for the other dishes.

Oyster shot

This also has apple, cucumber granite, and a horseradish dashi. AN interesting combination of flavours.

Spring salad

The salad comes with marinated tofu, onsen egg and wasabi yogurt. A good refreshing salad before the other dishes arrived.

Mantou bread

This dish has 3 pieces of mantou bread with bayildi, miso, eggplant, onion, and tomato.

Cultivated Mushrooms

This is topped with a delicious ramen egg, soy yuzu brown butter, and onion puree. If you love mushrooms, you’ll love this dish. The mushrooms just soak up all that delicious butter.

Spring Salmon

This dish has clams, maitake mushrooms, sesame butter, and tobiko. The salmon is perfectly cooked with more mushrooms and the yummy calms.

Beef Striploin

Topped with broccolini, spinach gomae, and some local wasabi. The wasabi was freshly grated and not as potent as the ones in tubes. The dish was ok but the gomae was on the salty side.

Chai Panna Cotta

The dessert was ok but I didn’t really take a liking to it.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was a good 7-course meal between myself and my friend. The dishes were well thought out, there is lots of food between 2 people.

We Rate PiDGiN

Address:
350 Carrall St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.pidginvancouver.com/

PiDGiN Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

L’Éclair de Génie has officially opened their first location in Canada. It is located on Robson Street in Vancouver. L’Éclair de Génie is a pastry concept started by renowned chef Christophe Adam. Christophe has dedicated the last 14 years to creating a chic snacking version of the French pastry landmark, the éclair, and the store now offers over 250 flavours. L’Éclair de Génie is adored worldwide with 25 boutiques throughout France, Japan, Hong Kong, Italy, and now here in Canada.

They specialize in eye-catching eclairs. There are also other treats and beverages here. I was invited for a sneak peek to try a few different items. Paris-trained, Vancouver-based local chef, Melanie Patricio is behind this magic to keep Christophe Adam’s concept to standard.

Vanille Framboise

This has vanilla cream, raspberry confit, fresh raspberries and white chocolate. Very refreshing with the raspberry on top.

Chocolat Grand Cru

This is filled with chocolate cream inside and topped with chocolate on top. Great for chocolate lovers.

Vanille Pecan

This is stuffed with vanilla cream and topped with caramelized pecans. I really like the vanilla cream in the centre and those crunchy pecans.

Framboise Passion

This is filled with passionfruit cream, raspberry confit and topped fresh raspberries and a passion fruit jelly.

Pistache Framboise

This eclair is stuffed with raspberry confit, then pistachio chantilly, fresh raspberries and roasted pistachios.

Caramel Beurre Salé

This has salted caramel and mascarpone cream. It’s really delicious and I love the shiny top to this eclair. One of my favourites.

Praline Noisette

This is stuffed with caramelized mascarpone cream, hazelnut praline and topped with caramelized hazelnuts. So good. I love the contrasting texture of the hazelnuts. I would recommend this too.

Matcha Bambou

This is stuffed with matcha cream and white chocolate. It has a sweet white chocolate that dominates the matcha.

Siroup D’erable

This is made just for their Canadian store and it is stuffed with maple cream and its surprisingly not that sweet at all. A good balance. On top, I <3 Vancouver is written on top.

Citron Yuzu

This has lemon yuzu cream inside and topped with crispy meringue dots.

Anastasia Tea

This is a blend of earl grey, lemon and orange blossom. You can also get this as a hot beverage too.

Detox

The detox is a blend of maté, green tea and lemon grass.

Cappuccino

If you want something a bit stronger, they have espresso-based beverages. I got a cappuccino with a strong espresso topped with light airy foam. Goes well with eclairs too.

Iced Caffé Latte

They also have iced cold espresso drinks too. With hotter days coming to Vancouver, a good iced beverage perfect for the Summer.                         

If you aren’t into eclairs, they also have pastries and chocolates.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the eclairs are delicious. They will costs you between$5.85 – $6.75 depending on which kind you get. The price point is good for a few bites of decadent eclairs. I’m really excited to see L’Éclair de Génie opening up in Vancouver and giving us a taste of Parisian eclairs by chef Christophe Adam.

We rate L’Éclair de Génie Canada

Address:
1210 Robson St, Vancouver

Website:
http://leclairdegenie.ca/

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Shop The Neighbourhood by Yellow Pages celebrates small businesses all year round, and reminds Canadians how shopping locally makes a difference in our lives and directly impacts the local economy. Small businesses are our economic backbone: they create jobs, funnel funds back into the community, keep decision-making power localized, and generally contribute to building healthy, thriving neighbourhoods.

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In partnership with Yellow Pages, I wanted to highlight my favourite small business – French Made Baking located in Mount Pleasant.

French Made Baking

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Mount Pleasant is a vibrant neighbourhood known for its unique stores, heritage buildings, artistic residents, and fun community festivals. The area is popular with urban professionals and young families. What better place than a French patisserie shop to appear. The Mount Pleasant Business Improvement Area has worked with them over the years to help promote their business at local events and on social media.

David and Catherine Introligator

French-from-France couple, David and Catherine Introligator produce authentic and tasty French pastries. They are dedicated to their craft and have been around since 2011. I remember meeting them at various bakers markets and special events before they had their storefront.

Yummy Treats

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They have croissants, madeleines, caneles, and other items but their most popular items are their macarons.

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Their macarons are fabulous! The texture and the flavours have always been spot on. I don’t think I’ve found one I didn’t like yet.

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My usual order at French Made Baking is a canelé and a pack of macarons.

Canelé is a classic French pastry made from eggs, milk, flour, and sugar. It is a small pastry with a balance of sweet and savoury flavours. What I love most is the crunchy caramelized crust.

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Macaron is another classic French treat characterized by 2 pieces of meringue cookie sandwiched with filling like ganache, buttercream or jam. It is generally made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar and ground almond.

They have rotating flavours, but a few of my favourites are:

  • L’Anglais: Earl Grey tea infused milk chocolate ganache
  • L’Oriental: rose & litchi white chocolate ganache
  • Le Provençal: lavender & honey white chocolate ganache
  • Le Praliné: hazelnut & almond praliné buttercream
  • Pistache: roasted pistachio white chocolate ganache

Sometimes they make limited edition macarons for special events. I remember one when they made totoro macarons.

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They also have larger macaron cakes.

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They also sell 11 kinds of Kusmi Tea, a tea company which has been around for 140 years. Delicious high quality tea.

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Classes

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What to learn how to make macarons, croissants, or choux pastry? They offer hands-on classes with David at their “Atelier” kitchen on Kent Avenue.

A fun way to learn how to make French pastries the correct way while having fun with friends or coworkers.

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Go for a visit

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French Made Baking is one of many amazing local businesses in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood. When you come for a visit, say “hello” or “bonjour” to their amazing staff as they serve their customers in both English and French.

Local businesses are neighbourhood-oriented. Business owners and staff share the community’s interests, and are personally invested in the welfare and future of the neighbourhood.
If you want to learn more about Shop The Neighbourhood, follow Yellow Pages on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Address:
81 Kingsway, Vancouver

Website:
http://frenchmadebaking.com/

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Located in the heart of the West End, La Brasserie is a relaxed 35-seat restaurant that serves authentic Franco-German cuisine.

La Brasserie was one of my favourite brunch places and I was super sad that it closed down temporarily years ago.

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William Wang purchased La Brasserie in January of 2015. Driven by his love for the restaurant and news that it was meant to close its doors indefinitely, Wang took over this small West End gem with hopes of renewing the quality and consistency it had previously been known for.

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La Brasserie offers dinner daily and brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The menu still has the same favourites and even the chef is the same.

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Using high quality, locally sourced ingredients, all of the dishes served at La Brasserie are made to order. I love sitting by the bar since thats where all the action happens in the kitchen.

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A good brunch starts with brewed coffee, sugar and milk. Free refills, so I always have at least 2 cups.

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As I sipped on my coffee and chatted with CanucksGirl, we watched our brunch being put together. I always admire all the hard work that goes into the meal.

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Chicken Mornay Crepes has pulled rotisserie chicken, mushroom, Mornay sauce, gruyére, and topped with salad. It’s a very rich and satisfying dish since I love cheese.

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Suckling Pig and Eggs has confit potato, seasonal vegetables, poached eggs, and hollandaise. Another great dish and the suckling pig is very flavourful. Eggs poached perfectly.

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Brasserie Burger has ground hanger steak, white cheddar, bacon, crispy onion, truffled aioli, and frites. It’s a classic item to order here and people always marvel at the amount of crispy onions they can stack on top. Also ask them for their house-made ketchup. The burger was so big that I had a hard time eating it, but tasted really good.

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For those who are gluten-free or have dietary restrictions, they can make some adjustments to the menu, so you can have a good time.

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Overall, the food was as good as before. I’ll be back for more.

We Rate La Brasserie4rated

Address:
1091 Davie Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.labrasserievancouver.com/

La Brasserie Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Au Comptoir is a classic Parisien cafe in Kitsilano. Flo was back in town and we love meeting up over coffee and delicious food. Thats what foodies do best.

They are open at 8am everyday for breakfast. It’s great that they are open so early.

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No breakfast is complete without coffee. I grabbed a cappuccino with my meal. It has a nice pit of latte art on top. They also serve it with a small little cookie. Nice touch.

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The water bottle is pretty neat as they reuse old Whiskey bottles.

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Breakfast Au Comptoir ($13) has oeuf cocotte, potato rösti, and your choice of house-made sausage or bacon. Flo got the bread replaced with more salad. Bacon is deliciously crisp.

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Croque Madame ($14) has gruyère, ham, fried egg on country bread, and salad. I liked how it was served open-faced and it wasn’t too heavy for breakfast. The salad balances out the croque madame.

Overall, it was a good place to catch up with friends over breakfast. The servers were nice and a good place to start the day with food and drinks.

We Rate Au Comptoir35rating

Address:
2278 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver

Website:
http://aucomptoir.ca/

Au Comptoir Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Tableau Bar and Bistro is located close to Coal Harbour under the Loden Hotel and is known for their traditional French bistro fare. The meals are prepared by Executive Chef Marc-André Choquette.

We came here for Dee‘s Birthday Brunch to celebrate being a year wiser.

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Their interior combines old world classic bistro elements with modern touches and a French-inspired menu that blends classic culinary flavours of Paris with the use of fresh west coast ingredients.

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All brunches start with coffee, at least for me it does. I can’t function without it these days. I think I ended up getting 3 refills.

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For others, it’s all about the cocktails to accompany brunch.

Bacon Caesar consists of bacon infused vodka, clamato, and a nice slice of crisp bacon on top.

1181 has gin, elderflower, lemonade, sparkling wine

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Patisserie Basket ($12) was what we started off with. It consists of daily baked pastries croissant, pain au chocolat, muffins, and maple pecan danish. Sometimes the items in the basket may change. For us, they didn’t have any more maple pecan danishes, so chocolate banana bread was substituted. It was a good items to order for the large group of us. Everyone would try a piece.

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Croque Monsieur and Frites has toasted, honey ham, gruyère cheese, with the added free range egg on top. They ran out of frites when we were here, so the alternative was potatoes.

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Florentine Eggs Benedict had perfectly poached eggs on top. The spinach was delicious.

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Shaved Brisket Eggs Benedict had a good portion of brisket.

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Mushrooms on Toast is one of the featured items. I am a sucker for mushrooms, so I just gravitated towards this dish. It has a fried egg on top with creamy mushrooms, and toasted brioche on the bottom. The mushrooms were beaming with flavour from that sauce.

Overall, it was a good brunch with great friends to celebrate another milestone.

We rate Tableau Bar and Bistro

Address:
Loden Hotel, 1181 Melville Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://tableaubarbistro.com/

Tableau Bistro & Bar - Loden Hotel Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

41west-outer

I love exploring the brunch scene in Vancouver and I thought the best way to try new places would be to buy a Social Shopper deal. 4 people brunch for $36 fine dining brunch didn’t sound too bad.

41 West serves up modern French cuisine, but the interior didn’t really match the description of “fine dining”.

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At first glance, we were really not impressed. There was a bowl of an unknown substance that looked dirty. Also, the table was lined with 4 cloth napkins instead of a proper table cloth.

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Coffee arrived lukewarm and it wasn’t very warm after putting in milk and sugar.

Also, our iced water came with a tiny fleshy bit of lemon. It looked pretty disgusting and we wish they just didn’t add the lemon. At this point, all of us were not impressed and didn’t have much hope that it would get turned around.

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Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict ($13) has 2 poached eggs, smoked salmon, hash browns, with your choice of ham or sausage. My friend ordered it with sausages, but ham came instead. She didn’t mind and we were not going to fuss over this mistake. The dish was pretty meh.

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Croissant Croque Monsieur ($12) has a croissant baked with ham and cheese and topped with béchamel sauce, with a green salad. The dish was ok, but the flavours felt flat.

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Steak and eggs ($15) has grilled tenderloin with eggs, hash brown and toast. M asked for soft poached eggs but it turned out medium hard instead. The steak was small and looked a bit weird. M was unimpressed with the quality and flavours.

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Dark Chocolate Espresso Mousse ($7.95) is light and airy, with a strong chocolate and coffee flavour combination. The redeeming factor of the meal were the desserts. The mousse was really good and it had a good flavour balance of espresso and chocolate.

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Warm Butterscotch Croissant Bread Pudding ($7.95) has a croissant baked with custard and butterscotch, topped with a warm dark chocolate sauce.

Overall, this brunch wasn’t very good and could use considerable amounts of improvement. Our group consensus was that we would all not return again. Service was poor and food was subpar. The only good part about the meal was dessert, but people usually don’t order dessert for brunch. I’m glad it came with the Social Shopper or else we would be very sad diners.

We rate 41 West Restaurant

Address:
2279 West 41st Avenue
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://41westrestaurant.com/

41 West Restaurant on Urbanspoon

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Linh Cafe is located on West 4th in Kitsilano. I’ve heard very good things about this café, so when I saw a deal on Groupon for $49 to get 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts, I thought it was a steal. An entree is around $25, so getting the Groupon was awesome! What can I say? I like a good deal!

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The other half of the restaurant by the front entrance looks for like a café.

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Their menu is quite unique as it serves French Cuisine with a Vietnamese twist. Owner and Chef Tai Nguyen merges his two loves of French food and family.

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Mussel ($16.50) comes with a wine and fresh herbs cream sauce. It is served with 4 pieces of bread on top.

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The mussels were nice and plump! Very delicious and the sauce was great. We dipped a lot of the bread into the sauce.

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Nem Cha Gio Spring Roll ($10.50) is packed with shrimp, pork, wood-ear mushroom, and glass noodles.

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I loved how crisp the outside was. One of the best spring rolls I’ve had.

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Cassoulet ($23.90) has duck confit, house made sausage, pork confit, and white beans in a hot skillet. This was really good! How can you not love all this meat in a pan?

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It also came with frites. Very crispy on the outside.

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Gigot ($27.50) has 12 hour braised lamb legs in red wine and mirepoix. It is also served with bread.

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I found the meat to be a tad dry and the portion is a bit on the small side.

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Don’t forget to dunk it into the stew.

By this point, M and I were quite full from the meal, so we had to take the dessert home.

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Apple Chausson ($4.50) are French Apple Turnovers. I popped it into the oven until the pastry crisps up a bit more. It’s pretty good, but I wish I had some vanilla ice cream to eat it with.

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Three Chocolate Mousse ($6.95) M loved it. He was very satisfied with the dessert.

Overall, the entire meal was very delicious and I loved the combination of French and Vietnamese. You really get the best of both worlds. Our entire meal would have been over $90, but with the Groupon, it was around $50. Not bad at all. You know it’s a good meal when M can’t stop raving about the restaurant.

We Rate Linh Cafe:

Address:
2836 W 4th Ave
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.linhcafe.com/

Linh Café - French Cooking on Urbanspoon