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Seafood

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May is typically the start of the Spot Prawn season in British Columbia. This is when local fishermen start harvesting from the cold, clean waters of BC. Spot Prawns are highly prized for their sweet, delicate flavour and firm texture.

But, did you know you can actually get Spot Prawns year round? Skipper Otto has flash frozen spot prawns with easy and convenient pick-up at 90+ locations across Canada from Victoria to Ottawa. 

Skipper Otto Coupon Code: FOODOLOGY

If you use our code ‘FOODOLOGY‘ for a $50 off coupon (includes a free membership and $20 share credit towards your first seafood order). You must purchase a minimum $200 share size to sign up (this can be applied to ANY seafood order until the end of the year.Deadline for the offer and to become a member is May 31st, 2023.

Become a member now.

Skipper Otto: Access to a wide-range of high quality, wild and sustainably caught Canadian seafood.

Skipper Otto allows their members to purchase sustainably harvested seafood directly from independent Canadian fishing families.

When you sign up for a membership with Skipper Otto, rest assured, the seafood is 100% traceable, caught by independent Canadian fishing families – versus industry wide issues around mislabelling and poor quality.

Skipper Otto has a unique business model where you need to become a member and decide what size share you will need for the year before the fishing season begins (Deadline May 31). This helps to ensure fair prices for the fishermen and gives consumers access to fresh sustainable seafood year round.  

The local, independent fishing families love working with Skipper Otto because they treat them with the dignity and humanity they deserve, paying timely, a living wage, and helping with the steep upfront costs of fishing. Thus in turn, giving members seafood that is the highest quality, and is harvested in a way that minimises its impact on the environment.

Each product comes with labels that have the face and name of the fisherman who caught it, when, where and how the seafood was caught. As a member, you can order what you want, when you want it. 

Flash frozen spot prawn

Flash frozen spot prawns are a great option for enjoying the delicious taste outside of the traditional May spot prawn season. 

Flash freezing is a process where the spot prawns are frozen quickly at a very low temperature, usually within hours of being caught. This helps to preserve the quality, flavour, and texture of the spot prawns. They can be cooked in the same way as fresh spot prawns and can be eaten raw.

To prepare them, simply thaw the prawns in the refrigerator overnight or by placing them in a bowl of cold water for about 30 minutes. Then, you can grill, boil, sauté, or steam them to your liking.

This year’s spot prawns will be available for Skipper Otto members by the end of May. Other items in season this month are halibut and lingcod.

Here is a recipe inspiration below!

Foodolody’s Easy Ceviche

My personal preference is to enjoy spot prawns raw or turn them into a ceviche. Skipper Otto provides home cook members with access to lots of easy to follow recipe ideas with the

seafood they order, but I’ve adapted their ceviche recipe to make it simpler and full of spot prawn flavour.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb spot prawns from Skipper Otto, peeled
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 4 limes, juiced
  • 2 roma tomatoes, diced
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • ½ cucumber, diced
  • ¼ red onion, diced
  • ½ jalapeno, diced
  • ¼ bunch of cilantro, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

  1. In a bowl, mix spot prawns, lemon and lime juices and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  2. After the spot prawns marinate, add tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, red onion, jalapeno pepper, cilantro, salt and pepper. Gently stir to combine.
  3. Chill in fridge for another 30 minutes.
  4. Serve it up in your favourite individual glasses, on a plate, or with crunchy tortilla chips.
  5. Enjoy!

Final Thoughts

Skipper Otto is a great option for individuals and families who want to support sustainable fishing practices, local families, and enjoy delicious, fresh seafood from Canadian coastal waters. 

The seafood products are incredible and you can really taste the difference in quality.

This blog post is sponsored by Skipper Otto but the opinions are all my own.

It’s almost Mother’s Day and there are many exciting meals and kits created by local Vancouver restaurants. One of them is Tojo’s Mother’s Day Temaki Party Sets. They are available for pre-order now until May 8th, 2020 for pickup on May 10th from 12-4PM.

We got a nice little sneak peek to give these their Temaki Party sets a try.

Temaki Party – Classic Set (For 2)

This set includes everything you need to make your favourite temaki (handrolls) at home. It features their selection of the finest local and imported seafood and fresh seasonal vegetables. It’s a great way to unleash your creativity and invent your own rolls, or follow the recipe ideas included.

This is aimed for 2 diners, where they can make 7-10 rolls each. You can definitely stretch this meal and have more people.

The Classic Set includes:

  • Albacore Tuna with Ume (pickled plum)
  • Negitoro (tuna belly and scallions)
  • Wild Pacific Salmon
  • Unagi (Barbequed Eel)
  • Hotate (Hokkaido Scallop)
  • Ebi (Wild Jumbo prawn)
  • Ikura (Salmon Roe)
  • Tobiko (Japanese Flying fish Roe)
  • Tamago
  • Cucumber
  • Avocado
  • Asparagus spears
  • Bell pepper
  • Canola flower
  • Wasabi
  • House pickled ginger
  • Tojo’s special sauce
  • Seasoned Sushi Rice
  • Nori

Final Thoughts

The quality of the ingredients are really fresh and the sushi rice is superb. It’s a very fun dinner activity and we were all trying to find out who at the dinner table could create the best temaki handroll. The ladies at the table did win and the men did not fare so well. hahaha.

My personal favourite combination was the Albacore Tuna with Ume and avocado rolled up in the cone.

Love the interactivity of the meal and highly recommended. Make sure you pre-order before Mother’s Day.

Address:
1133 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://tojos.com/

Tojo’s is back with a new menu which focuses on takeout and prepare at home meals. With the Covid-19 pandemic, they really have to work hard to pivot their business to offer fresh and delicious meals to their customers while maintaining social distance.

Their main focus is to provide comforting, healthy and flavourful dishes using locally sourced ingredients. They have always stuck to this motto and it shows with their new offerings.

They offer curbside pickup and complimentary delivery to Vancouver addresses with a minimum order. If you do decided to pick up, they offer a nice complimentary side dish for all takeout orders.

Complimentary Side Dish

You can choose between miso soup, sunomono salad or potato salad with your order. We tried the miso soup and potato salad for our meal and its a nice accompaniment especially for the bento bowls.

Spring Vegetable Roll

This roll uses fresh organic vegetables, beautifully topped with Nanohana and pickled cherry blossom. It’s really nice and fits the season perfectly as the cherry blossoms are blooming right now for a short amount of time.

The ingredients are very fresh and provides a nice crunchy texture to this item.

Battera Sushi

Their newest items it the Battera Sushi Box sushi topped with either house smoked Canadian Sablefish, Salmon or Mackerel and pickled kombu. I was very impressed by strong flavours of the fish and it worked well with the amount of rice. I was skeptical at first, but it worked well. You can eat it right away when you get home. It does stay good for 2-3 days in the fridge.

The Battera Sushi depicted in our pictures are a different size and was part of a media sample to try a few different sushi items.

Tako Chirashi Bowl

The tako chirashi bowl features thinly sliced Pacific Octopus, and masago smelt roe with organic greens, wakame salad, seasonal veggies served over sushi rice. It is accompanied with a soy balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

It is a beautiful bowl and the seasonal ingredients are very fresh. The octopus is a touch chewy, but thats pretty typical of octopus.

Soy Ginger Sablefish

There are a few items on the menu where you can prepare at home. One of those items is their Soy Ginger Sablefish. This is Tojo’s famous Canadian Sablefish marinated in soy ginger honey. It’s so nice and tender that it melts in your mouth. Make sure you serve this over rice as it’s a perfect pairing. You can also pair this with steamed, sautéed or baked veggies.

If you don’t eat this right away, this can be stored for 12 months in freezer.

Final Thoughts

It’s great to see Tojo’s is back with different dining options with this pandemic. Their new items like the Bento Bowls and Battera sushi are more affordable option. I really love the marinated seafood in the pouches as it tastes so good and you just pop it in the oven to cook.

Address:
1133 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC

Tojo’s at Home Website:
https://my-site-100695.square.site/

I love discovering new restaurant I’ve never been to, but during the Covid-19 pandemic, thats a little bit hard at the moment. Now, I rely on word of mouth and social media to figure out what restaurants are doing to innovate their business and keep things going.

The Hoké Poké is located in Kitsilano and they serve poke bowls. They are pretty far from me since I live in Burnaby, but a friend told me they deliver. They don’t always deliver, but you can always message them and ask.

I emailed my order and sent an e-transfer to the owner. Simple and with no issues. Food arrived on time and very fresh.

I ordered 4 regular sized poké bowls for the family to share.

Ohana Bowl

I got this bowl with salmon, albacore tuna, a mix of greens and brown rice, plus the crab meat, seaweed, and ginger as toppings.

The salmon and tuna is mixed with sweet shoyu, sweet onion, green onion, furikake, and cucumber. Nice classic combination of flavours to showcase the fish.

Yuzuke

I got this bowl with salmon, albacore tuna, a mix of greens and brown rice, plus the crab meat, seaweed, and ginger as toppings.

The salmon and tuna is mixed with yuzu ponzu, masago, green onion, cilantro, and furikake. The yuzu ponzu is a nice light sauce and the salmon and tuna still shine through if you want more of the fish taste.

Ono Bowl

I got this bowl with salmon, albacore tuna, a mix of greens and brown rice, plus the crab meat, seaweed, and ginger as toppings.

The salmon and tuna is mixed with sriracha aioli, masago, sweet onion, green onion, crispy onion. The ono was our favourite bowl. The sriracha aioli added a nice kick to the dish and it wasn’t too spicy either. Highly recommended.

Chef Special Bowl

I got this bowl with salmon, albacore tuna, a mix of greens and brown rice, plus the crab meat, seaweed, and ginger as toppings.

The salmon and tuna is mixed with their Chef sauce, green/sweet/crispy onion, cilantro, cucumber, jalapeno, masago, and furikake. This bowl is more saucy, but because of how much rice and salad was in the bowl, it was a good ratio. A good item to order if you can’t decide on a customized bowl.

Final Thoughts

The menu is limited but I don’t mind it at all. You get unlimited topping choices and I feel like the flavours are closer to the Hawaiian clean flavours. Simple and delicious.

Address:
1834 W 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://thehokepoke.ca

The Fish Man (渔人) is located on Alexandra Road and specializes in Szechuan style Chinese seafood made with Oceanwise seafood where possible. In 2019, their Stir Fry Spicy Clams won Critic’s Choice Award at the Chinese Restaurant Awards.

The menu boasts an array of seafood-forward dishes, then there are some BBQ items that round out the menu.

Bo Li, is the man behind The Fish Man (渔人) who used to run Li’s China Grill in Vancouver before selling the operation to new owners. Li is a talented young chef creating stellar Szechuan style dishes.

Interior

The space is large and clean. It’s still a fairly new restaurant and I love the modern yet rustic look of the space. Great for small to large parties.

The menu is very customizable and is meant to be eaten family style. You can find the full menu at the end of this article.

Geoduck Clam Sashimi

The Geoduck Clam is freshly prepared raw as sashimi and paired with salmon roe and seaweed. There is also soy sauce and wasabi on the side too. This was very fresh and we really enjoyed it as an appetizer.

Stir Fry Spicy Clams

This award winning dish was so good! A good amount of spice and had a depth of flavour. The clams have a good amount of meat and natural sweet taste that compliments the sauce.

This was one of my favourite dishes of the night.

Ginger Onion Razor Clams

The razor clams were fantastic and cooked perfectly. Razor Clams are a bit tricky to cook as it is easy to overcook and become chewy. There was none of that and they really know their seafood. Under the razor clams were bean sprouts.

Baked Beach Oyster

The beach oysters come 4 pieces to an order and we got it in a garlic and motoyaki sauce. Both flavours were delicious but I just love how meaty these beach oysters are.

BBQ Lamb Skewers

The lamb skewers were deliciously seasoned. It’s a good appetizer to add to your meal and pair with beer. The lamb was tender, nicely seasoned, and had a good hint of spice.

BBQ Beef Tongue

The beef tongue had a similar spice to the Lamb Skewers. It was very thin, but still tender and delicious.

Spicy Local Shrimp

The shrimp were a little bit small in size, but they were nice and sweet. Perhaps it’s just the season. The sauce was delicious and spicy. Pairs so well together.

Grilled Catfish

You cane have the catfish prepared any way you like. You can select your sauce and side items. Ours had black fungus, bean curd, and quail eggs.The cat fish was very crispy on the outside and enjoyable to eat in this hot pot.

The broth was nice and spicy. I couldn’t get enough of it. Very delicious.

Sour Cabbage Tilapia Fish

This dish may look intimidating with all the red peppers, but this was so flavourful. The first few bites were heavenly. I was surprised as it was tilapia but they were able to cook it so well in this hot pot.

You can drink the broth too and its delicious.

Steamed Green Ling Cod

This was great as well. They really can’t go wrong with any fish they cook. Just so succulent and cooked perfectly.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed all the dishes. Well executed and so much flavour. I really love spicy food that has a depth of flavour to it. The fish is really main feature and I like how there are many varieties to choose from. Their execution is great and know how to cook seafood very well.

I’ll definitely be back and the prices are not bad too. If you love Szechuan style food, you’ll enjoy The Fish Man (渔人). I was very impressed.

Address:
8391 Alexandra Rd #1170, Richmond, BC

Website:
https://the-fish-man.business.site/

Full Menu

This is the menu at the time of publication and is subject to change.

Seaside Provisions recently opened inside the Seaside Hotel, a boutique hotel in the Shipyard District in North Vancouver. It’s a great addition to the North Vancouver area and it gives more options to visitors and locals who want a taste of the best the sea can offer.

Interior

The design of Seaside Provisions blurs the lines between restaurant, bar, and lounge. These clusters of space divides up the room to give customers different experiences.

There’s the bar area, counter by kitchen to watch the Chefs prepare food, centre space is for casual dining and is a little more fun and lively. Beside the lounge space with sofas is a more intimate dining space and finally in the back, there is a semi-private space.

This creates a holistic dining experience in a style-infused place featuring locally sourced coastal tapas and bespoke cocktails in a space filled with curated art and photography. 

Menu

Their menu changes every week with some staples on the menu that may remain the same. Prices are pretty good for the location and food quality.

Tropical Fizz

This zero-proof cocktail has fresh strawberries, orange, sparkling apple juice and passion fruit nectar. It was really delicious and a great option for those who want a nice drink without the alcohol.

Berry Smash

Another zero-proof cocktail is the berry smash. It has muddled fresh berries, raspberry purée mint, lime, and topped with soda. It’s very light, refreshing and not too sweet.

Complimentary chips and bread

We were served a plate of veggie chips and bread to start. Those veggie chips were so good!

Jamón Ibérico

This ham is paired with parmesan, olives, olive oil, and cipollini onion. Love how they use cured ham from Spain. It has a great ratio of fat and meat, so its really delicious and not too salty.

Burrata

The burrata is served with white anchovy, chive oil, and tomato. It was delicious and we liked the pairing with the crisp. The anchovy is strong in taste, so it can take away from the delicate Burrata.

Crispy Potato

The crispy potato is paired with a smoked garlic and spicy tomato sauce. The plating doesn’t do it justice but it was delicious. The potatoes are smashed and then deep-fried, so it is nice and crispy.

Freshly Shucked Oysters

Of course you want to taste some fresh Oysters right from the sea. It is paired with ponzu, meyer lemon, chili oil, and lemon. We love the dropper bottles as you can control how much goes onto your oysters.

Wagyu Beef

The wagyu is cooked well and it was nice and tender. It was quite lean and not a lot of marbling.

Humboldt Squid

The Humboldt Squid is paired with chermoula, quinoa tabbouleh, tahini, and chili oil. It was one of our favourite dishes. It’s super tender in texture and was well enjoyed.

Dessert

When we were dining here, they didn’t have a set dessert menu yet, so the Chef made us this frozen chocolate bar with fresh strawberries. The frozen chocolate and the fresh Strawberries were a great pairing. It was well balanced with the sweet and tart.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was a good dining experience at Seaside Provisions. Its tapas style, so the dishes are meant to be shared among the table. I can see it as a great spot for drinks and some nibbles after work.

Address:
130-125 Victory Ship Way, North Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://seasideprovisions.com/

Don’t we all love a good discount? First Table, is a restaurant discovery platform that connects diners around the world with local restaurants that offer its members 50% off the food bill at specified times.

Every week, participating Vancouver restaurants will list their ‘first tables’ for the upcoming seven days on the First Table website, allowing diners who pay a $10 booking fee to secure a table at the restaurant of their choice and 50% off the food bill for two to four people.

There are many Vancouver restaurants added on an ongoing basis and the list is pretty good including restaurants like Nuba, Ancora, Fable Diner, Cuchillo, and The Greek by Anatoli to name a few.

We were invited to Papi’s Seafood and Oyster Bar by First Table to get a sneak peek of this experience.

Papi’s Seafood and Oyster Bar

Papi’s Seafood and Oyster Bar is located right by English Bay and has a cozy ambiance and decor appropriate for its seaside location. There are wood ceiling and floor mimicking a boat’s deck.

They even have a beautiful feature wall drawn by a local artist in the back dining room. Their choice of music is questionable with rap, dance and pop music, when perhaps classical is more fitting. Nonetheless, people come here for the seafood.

Chips

We started off the meal with these chips instead of the usual bread. It has paprika and other seasoning. It reminded us of shrimp crackers as its light and crunchy. It came with a spicy aioli which was a nice touch.

Fried Oyster

The fried oyster has charcoal butter, lemon crème fraiche, and jalapeno. It is a unique dish to Papi’s and it did stand out compared to the other dishes on the menu. It’s not aesthetically pleasing, but nicely fried and not greasy at all. Good for those who don’t eat raw oysters.

Octopus and Popcorn, red pepper, smoked paprika, warm bread with pesto

The popcorn gave the dish an interesting look, but didn’t add much to it in terms of taste. The octopus was cooked well and on the soft side without it being chewy. It looks to be the body of the octopus rather than the tentacle which most restaurants use.

Lobster Risotto

This was the favourite dish of the night. It has a generous amount of lobster. With a regular price tag of $30, it’s a steal at 50% off with First Table. Highly recommended.

Coffee Espuma

The coffee espuma is part of their 3-course meal. We’ve never had this before and it was fluffy and light.

Brownie with mousse

We ended the meal with their brownie mousse. Nice presentation but the taste wasn’t anything special.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I love the First Table concept and the discounts of course. For people who love to eat early around 5-6pm, it’s perfect as you can enjoy the discounts. I love that it helps restaurant owners fill tables at the beginning of the evening. For myself, dining at 5-6pm is perfect since I have a child. Not everyone wants to eat so early, but when there is a discount that is too good to pass up, why not?

Website:
https://www.firsttable.com/ca/vancouver/

I’ve passed by Toyo Sushi so many times last year and it always seemed to be closed. I was on Instagram the other month and I saw one of my followers going and I had to check it out for myself as it’s right in my neighbourhood.

Reservations

I would highly recommend getting reservations, not because it will be really full as this place is still under the radar. Some people have said their hours of operation is unreliable, so best to make reservations to ensure they are open on the day and time you’re planning to dine.

Bar Seating

The space is a decent size, but bar seating is best if you’re in a small group. Watching the chef prepare your meal is the best. The chef isn’t very chatty, but I always appreciate all the hard work of seeing the meal come to life.

Sashimi Omakase

The sashimi omakase starts at $70 and it is essentially a sashimi platter. We expected the chef to serve it piece by piece as we sat at the bar like at other sushi bars around town. We were the only people at the restaurant, so we watched him make the whole platter and then present it to us.

When we went there, our sashimi omakase had 7 different sashimi and 14 pieces in total. The chef didn’t explain what sashimi was on the plate, but the server told us quickly. I tried my best to remember the names, but some of them looked very similar, so sorry if I accidentally misnamed any.

The sashimi omakase was a great way to try the freshest cuts of sashimi decided by the chef. My favourites were the blue fin otoro and scallop.

Hotate – Scallop
Bluefin Tuna
Aji – Horse Mackerel
Madai – Snapper
Shima Aji – Striped Jack
Bluefin – O Toro
Chopped Hamachi and negi with fresh ginger
Fish is deep-fried and then can be eaten whole

Sushi Omakase

The sushi omakase has 10 pieces of nigiri on a platter and it starts at $60. It was similar types of fish in the sashimi omakase. At first it does seem steep of a price, but the quality is there. The negitoro, ikura, otoro, and scallop were outstanding. The other types of fish were good, but it wasn’t my personal favourite.

Ikura – Salted Salmon Roe
Negitoro
Shima Aji – Striped Jack
Madai – Snapper
Hotate – Scallop
Blue Fin O-Toro
I can’t remember what this one was.
Madai – Snapper
Aji – Horse Mackerel
Bluefin Tuna

Unagi Nigiri

We ordered these both after the omakase because my husband judges a Japanese restaurant based on how they make unagi nigiri. This was really good! Very soft, tender, and packed full of flavour. Highly recommended.

Tamago Nigiri

Another item that my husband judges is the tamago. The side of tamago was thick and had a good balance of sweet and savoury to it. Highly recommended as well.

Kushi Katsu

These are deep fried and battered skewers. There is scallop and prawn in one skewer, chicken on another and then salmon on another. It comes with a dipping sauce too. These were decent. Since the meal we had was very clean and not too oily, this was the only fried dish we got beside the fried fish from the sashimi omakase.

Final Thoughts

The quality is definitely the best in Burnaby. It’s a great little hidden gem in The Heights, but it isn’t cheap. You are really paying for the quality. My husband and I spent just under $200 after tax and tip here. We had to try the omakase, so that why it’s pretty steep. Next time, we will probably skip the omakase and go with our tried and true favourite items.

Address:
3978 Hastings St, Burnaby, BC

Website:
https://www.toyosushi.ca

YEW Seafood + Bar has launched their 2019 Fall Menu. The menu explores traditional Pacific Northwest ingredients infused with international influences created by Restaurant Chef Evan Morgan. Executive Pastry Chef Suraj Karmakar has created a collection of desserts with local and tropical flavours.

We were invited to check out a few of their new dishes on the menu.

Appetizers

We tried a few of their new appetizers and classic items on the menu – grilled octopus, prawn cocktail, crab cake, and burrata. The grilled octopus is the new item on the menu and it was pretty tender with a lot of flavour. Loved the texture of the crispy grains, and the squash.

All of the other appetizers are solid and you can’t go wrong with them.

Grilled Octopus 
Butternut Squash, Crispy Grains, Smoked Onion Aioli
YEW Prawn Cocktail 
Salsa Verde, Pickled Red Onion, Cabbage, Cilantro
Dungeness Crab Cake 
Green Apple, Celery, Tarragon, Piquillo
Burrata 
Roasted Baby Beets, Greens, Cherry Vinaigrette Black Pepper Shortbread

From the Sea

The 3 new seafood dishes – seared scallops, Maple Gochujang Glazed Sablefish, and the Peppercorn Crusted Lingcod. All 3 dishes were very impressive. The scallops were cooked perfectly with a nice sear on each side. The gochujang sablefish was very flavourful and loved the rice cakes which adds great chewy texture to the dish. The addition of the beans adds a heartiness to the dish for the fall. The lingcod was moist and the cheese gnocchi was outstanding.

Seared Scallops 
Celeriac Purée, Confit Sunchokes, Baby Turnip Chipotle Vinaigrette
Sablefish 
Dashi Scented Beans, Jalapeño, Kale, Crispy Rice Cake, Charred Cucumber, Radish
Seared Ling Cod 
Gnocchi Parisienne, Mushrooms, Dressed Greens, Peppercorn Sauce

Dessert

Executive Pastry Chef Suraj Karmakar has crafted 3 new desserts on the menu – ‘Fall-en’ Stone, Oven Roasted Pear + BC Blueberry Crumble, and Beyond the Black Forest. Of the 3, the Oven Roasted Pear + BC Blueberry Crumble was perfect for the fall weather. You have the warm crumble with the contrast of the cold vanilla ice cream.

‘Fall-en’ Stone 
Banana Mousse, Makrut Lime Cream, Kalamansi Marmalade
Oven Roasted Pear + BC Blueberry Crumble 
Spiced Caramel, Choice of Housemade Ice Cream
Beyond the Black Forest 
Rosemary Mousse, Amarena Cherry, Chocolate Shortbread, Raspberry Sorbet

Final Thoughts

Overall, the new Fall items as it’s perfect for the season and some classic items are great year round. My favourite items were the grilled octopus, gochujang sablefish and lingcod.

Address:
791 W Georgia St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.yewseafood.com/

Taste of Yaletown is back for 2019 from October 17 – 27th, 2019. This is the 15th year showcasing the very best of Vancouver’s chefs as they present a unique set of cuisine, tasting plates and pairings for this distinctive festival.

WildTale is participating again with a decadent $45 3 course menu that will have you salivating. They specialize in fresh seafood with their coastal flavours.

We were invited by the Yaletown Business Improvement Association to check out the space and menu.

Appetizers

There are 3 appetizers to choose from kale salad, beef carpaccio or ahi tuna tostadas. All three appetizers I really enjoyed. Definitely a tie between the ahi tuna tostadas and the beef carpaccio. The sauces were so good.

ROASTED SQUASH & ORGANIC KALE SALAD
shaved pear, crumbled feta, pomegranate vinaigrette

BRANT LAKE WAGYU BEEF CARPACCIO
pickled shallots, shaved pecorino, horseradish aioli

FRANCISCO’S AHI TUNA TOSTADAS
corn tortilla, avocado crema, burnt salsa

Entrees

As for the entrees, there are also 3 to choose from – lamb, trout, and bolognese. Of the 3 options, I was surprised that I liked the trout the most. It was really tender and bursting with flavour.

PEACE COUNTRY LAMB DUO
roasted lamb sirloin, risotto of braised lamb shoulder Pinot noir jusor

CRAB & BRIE STUFFED STEELHEAD TROUT
rosemary whipped potatoes, buttered beans citrus & dill beurre blanc

BAKED VEGETARIAN BOLOGNESE MACARONI
porcini mushrooms, cauliflower, zucchini ragout roasted san marzano tomato sauce

Dessert

Ending off the evening with dessert is a nice finish. There is only one choice – the bittersweet chocolate tart. I wasn’t a fan of the crust but the mousse was delicious.

BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE TART
caramel & chantilly cream

Final Thoughts

For the Taste of Yaletown 2019 $45 menu at WildTale, it is a solid menu. My favourite dishes of the evening are the beef carpaccio, ahi tuna tostada, trout, and lamb.

Address:
1079 Mainland St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://yaletowninfo.com/event/taste-of-yaletown/
https://wildtale.ca/

Ancora Waterfront Dining & Patio is releasing their brunch menu and I’m pretty darn excited because this makes having a taste of Ancora more affordable and more people can get a taste of their Japanese and Peruvian inspired dishes.

During brunch hours at both False Creek and Ambleside locations, the lunch menu is also available if you choose to select some other items off that menu.

We were invited to check out the brunch menu and a few other features also available during brunch time.

Interior

We were dining at their Ambleside location and the space is stunning. They were able to take inspiration from fishing nets and other boating object and incorporate it into their space. It’s absolutely gorgeous.

Complimentary bread

I love complimentary bread! This was slices of brioche and focaccia with a hummus spread. It was pretty good and not the usual bread and butter.

[Brunch Menu]

Soft Shell Crab Taco

The soft shell crab taco is topped with mango salsa, harissa emulsion, seaweed, ikura, and micro greens. It sits on top of 2 grilled taco shells and a slice of lime.

I ordered this dish since I love soft shell crab it was good as the harissa emulsion added more depth to the taste of this dish.

Dungeness Crab Benny

The dungeness crab is served with Botanical greens, nori spiced baby potatoes, and a miso hollandaise. The eggs are poached perfectly, so when you cut into the egg, it runs. If you want it to be less runny, you can request it done however you like.

Forbidden Rice Peruvian Paella

One of their specialities at Ancora is paella. This brunch version has black cod croquettes, rocoto aioli and fried egg.

Flank Steak Burger

The burger is cooked medium rare and it also has rocoto aioli, aged cheddar, yucas bravas, and we added a fried egg to it. It’s not brunch without a fried gooey egg. Those yuca fries are so damn good. Super crisp!

[Lunch Menu]

The brunch menu isn’t extensive, but their lunch menu is also available to order from.

Spider Roll

Inside the roll has soft shell crab, masago and asparagus. There are 8 pieces to a roll and good for sharing among the table.

Sashimi

There is fresh sashimi on the table and we go the chef to decide what to add to ours. there is wild salmon and hamachi. Each order comes with 5 pieces each.

Ceviche Mixto

This bowl of delicious ceviche has mussels, scallops, shrimp, crispy squid, seaweed, and yam. I like the different textures of this bowl. There is acidity, there is sweetness and it really compliments the seafood.

Peruvian Style Paella

Their lunch paella is different than the brunch version. This has halibut, chorizo, corn, baby shrimp, and pico de gallo.

Donburi Rice Bowl

This beautiful dish has uni, wild salmon, marinated ikura, sushi rice, and acevichado sauce. There is ginger and wasabi on the side too.

Brussel Sprouts

If you want something extra with your meal, they offer sides. Can’t go wrong with the deep fried Brussel sprouts.

[Dessert]

Spiced Picarones

These are like mini donuts covered in candied pecans, and spiced syrup. Then it is served with lucuma ice cream. A good dessert to share. I loved the combination of spices and its not too sweet.

Suspiro de Chocolata

This has a plate of chocolate pot de creme, mazamorra morada, green apple, sweet cream and lime ice cream. This has mostly a dominate chocolate taste but the hints of apple paired well.

Pineapple and Corn

This has white chocolate mousse, roasted pineapple and corn meringue. Man, this dessert as good. The pineapple was very bright and vibrant. One of my favourite desserts.

The Nikkei

This has passion fruit, blonde chocolate mousse, lucuma, and sesame seeds. This was also really good! The passionfruit was pretty darn good! Another one of my favourite desserts.

Strawberry ‘Tea’

This has a base of cream cheese panna cotta, almond, and irigome hojicha jelly.

It’s the perfect time to get this as strawberries are in season. Sweet and delicious when paired with the panna cotta.

[Drinks]

Mimosa

A classic brunch beverage of champagne and orange juice. It was delicious but it could have used more champagne.

Chicha Morada

This is one of the mocktails and it has steeped purple corn, spices, and lime.

Latte

If you need caffeine like me, I got at latte.

Final Thoughts

The brunch menu is solid, but I do like having the option to choose from the lunch menu too. It definitely opens up more choices for more people to try different things. The dishes are great and I would highly recommend getting dessert.

If you have a big appetite, they also have their Prix-fixe lunch menu launch as well.

Address:
1351 Bellevue Ave, West Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.ancoradining.com/

Vitality Steam Seafood Restaurant is the winner of the Ocean Wise Sustainable Seafood award from the 2019 Chinese Restaurant Award. They are best known for their unique steamed seafood experience. It’s been very popular in China for the past few years, but finally it’s in Richmond, BC.

They have partnered up with a lot of local suppliers to ensure their seafood is Ocean Wise certified and is a sustainable choice to continue to keep our oceans healthy. Vitality Steam Seafood restaurant uses Blundell Seafoods, Fanny Bay Oysters, Ocean Mama Seafood and Tri-Star Seafood as some of their suppliers.

Interior

There are a lot of booth seating inside with the steaming contraption in the middle of the table. Best for people in groups of 4 or 6. It is pretty spacious inside too.

Fanny Bay Oyster with Pickle Congee

You can choose to have congee cook throughout your meal. When it arrives, they pour it into the bottom of the steamer with water so it will slowly cook.

What I love about this is that the juices from all the seafood drips into the congee, so you get a delicious seafood-infused congee in the end.

Very delicious and we liked it even more when we added a dash of soy sauce to it for salt.

Japanese Style Black Cod

Not everything on the menu needs to be steamed. There is Japanese-style black cod and its very delicious and fatty. Highly recommended.

Pan Fried Scallop

There are some pan fried scallops too. They were big and plump!

Live Spot Prawn

The spot prawns were definitely alive and jumping around before being put into the steamer. The spot prawns are in season so they were plump and sweet. The price per pound can fluctuate depending on the market price.

Live Dungeness Crab

The crabs are beautifully presented on an ice platter before putting them into the steamer. Having this steamed really highlights the delicate and sweet meat.

Live Scallop

The texture from the live scallop and the pan fried scallop is so different. This had a soft texture and you can really taste the quality. They also put in vermicelli noodles on top for steaming.

Live Manila Clam

The clams were fun to watch as they steamed. They would slowly open up to indicate they are done. The quality was really good and each clam was plump.

Deluxe Korean Abalone

Seeing the abalone steamed like this is pretty interesting as it’s usually braised. With steaming, it is a bit tough as it’s such a big piece.

Organic Shrimp Fried Noodles

The are fried noodles with organic shrimp if you want something a bit more filling to compliment the meal. The shrimp were plump and very delicious but the noodles were a bit oily.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s a new experience in Richmond featuring high quality steamed seafood with the Ocean Wise certification. Steaming is a good way to taste the natural sweetness and delicacy of seafood. It’s a fun interactive way to cook too.

If you love fresh seafood and want to impress some out of town family or friends, definitely check out Vitality Steam Seafood.

Address:
8500 Alexandra Rd Unit 140, Richmond, BC

Website:
http://www.vitalitysteamseafood.com

The Dolar Shop is a global chain specializing in premium hot pot experiences with 52 locations and over 3000 employees worldwide. This is their first location in Canada.

Each customer orders their own individual hot pot and then shares all the other dishes at the table. A great way to do hot pot and not share any germs.

I was invited by The Dolar Shop and I brought my parents and sister to experience this type of hot pot.

Waiting Area

The waiting area is pretty nice. There is a claw machine for kids, snacks, hot tea, and even complimentary phone chargers. I was definitely impressed as they really care about their guests even before they begin dining.

Interior

The restaurant has a lot of booth style seating and great for small to large groups. Each table/booth has their own indiction stove for everyone’s individual hot pot.

The space is very comfortable and mostly has white decor, which makes it look very clean and enjoyable.

30% off Deal

If you dine at Dolar Shop on Monday – Friday between 2pm – 5:30pm or 10 pm – 12am, you get to enjoy 30% off your entire bill (except alcohol).

You must begin dining at 2pm and finish by 5:30pm to get the deal. Be sure to follow them on their social media account for more details as this deal is available at the writing of this article and might be subject to change.

Appetizer, Fruit and Sauce Bar

For an additional $3.99, you get access to the sauce bar as well as appetizers and seasonal fruits. You do get The Dolar Shop Sauce made right at your table, but if you wanted a few different flavour options, the sauce bar is a great choice.

Look at all those sauce combinations that you can create!

There are 3 different kinds of appetizers.

It’s nice to have some fruit and appetizers to nibble on before the meal begins.

The Dolar Shop Sauce

They make the Dolar Shop Sauce table side with green onions, garlic, cilantro, Thai chili and soy sauce. If you don’t like spicy, you can omit the Thai Chili. Its nice to see they make everyone’s sauce in front of the table and it’s delicious too.

Soup Base

There are 6 different kinds of broth to choose from and they are around $6 – $9 per pot. I personally like the combination so I can dip the meat into the spicy portion and veggies into the non-spicy side.

Combination of Szechuan Hot & Spicy with The Dolar Shop Spare Rib Broth
Pepper Pork Tripe and Chicken Broth
Pork Leg Bone Broth
Mushroom Broth

Balls and Paté

It’s not a hot pot without balls and paté right? They don’t have a large selection of balls or paté on the menu, but it’s very tasty and fresh.

Secret Agent Balls (Secret Off Menu Item)
Noodle Forming Shrimp & Fish Paté

Meats

There is a large selection of beef on their menu and some lamb. The quality of the items were really good and they offer premium beef like wagyu and A5 Miyazaki Beef. All very delicious as well.

Selected Beef Platter with boneless short rib, boneless beef plate, beef tongue, and wagyu cubes
A5 Miyazaki Beef
Thick Cut Wagyu
Crispy Pork

Seafood

Their seafood options are pretty large too with live seafood sold at market price, so the price does change depending on the season. They have tanks of seafood so they are very much alive.

To get a taste of the seafood menu, the deluxe platter is a great option.

Deluxe Platter with Shrimp paté, jumbo scallop, wagyu cubes, King Crab Legs, raw oysters, and white shrimp.
Sea Cucumber Meat

Fungi

Mixed Mushroom Basket with wood ear mushroom, enoki mushroom, oyster mushroom, Shimeji mushroom, shiitake mushroom, and king oyster mushroom.

Vegetables

Gotta have veggies to balance out the meal.

Veggie Basket with napa cabbage, lettuce, snow pea sprouts, spinach, tong ho and purple lettuce.
Fried Bean Curd
Frozen tofu, Seaweed Knots, Quail Eggs and Gluten

Starch

Tri Colour Hand Crafted Noodles

Complimentary Ice Cream

At the end of the meal, everyone gets complimentary ice cream. The cone is nice and crisp and the vanilla soft serve is filled all the way down into the cone, so you get a lot of ice cream.

It was a perfect end to the meal.

Final Thoughts

My family and I were impressed by The Dolar Shop! The service was great and the staff was very informative and gave a lot of good recommendations on what to order as the menu is a bit overwhelming with so many choices.

A lot of the ingredients we ordered with our hot pot was very fresh and flavourful. You can decide to be more fancy by othering the platters if you have guest you want to impress or go with the other cheaper options. It is still more expensive than some other hot pot options in Vancouver, but you are going to get great service, and quality ingredients here.

I like the use of the individual hot pots as you don’t have to share broth and spread germs. Plus, it’s just nice to have different hot pot broths.

Address:
5300 No 3 Rd, Richmond, BC

Website:
http://www.dolarshop.com/en/Global.htm

Riz Sushi & Catering just launched a few new items for the Spring of 2019 with more hot items offered on the menu. They used to only sell sushi and poke bowls, but now they have expanded their menu with hot dishes made with quality ingredients. If you’re in a rush, they still have their quick takeout sushi and Asomi Mochi.

We were invited to have a taste of their new menu items.

Interior

There are a few picnic tables inside for larger groups and some seats at the side of the restaurant. It’s not big but it does accommodate those eating in or taking out.

Menu

Chicken Karaage

This comes with 5 pieces and it’s nicely fried and presented in the bowl. The chicken is very moist and tender on the inside. It paired nicely with the sauce and the greens too.

Chicken Udon

This was very surprising to see as it looks pretty darn good and not what we were expecting. With the addition of the greens and use of lean shredded chicken, it is a healthy twist on the dish without compromising taste. Works very well together.

Kimchi Beef Yakisoba

If you love a little kick in your yakisoba, the kimchi beef yakisoba might be for you. The flavour combination works very well together and of course it has to be topped with a sunny side up egg.

Shiso Skirt Steak Salad

The skirt steak has been sous vide for several hours and then seared to perfection, thus giving it a taste and tender texture. On top of the salad are also some noodles.

Pork Belly Chashu Don

There is a good amount of veggie like the pickled mushrooms, beansprout and cabbage that go into this pork belly chashu don. The egg in the centre is soft, yolky and pairs nicely with the chashu. A very well balanced bowl and it’s not too heavy.

Creamy Seafood Uni Udon Pasta

Our favourite dish of the tasting was the creamy seafood uni udon pasta. Very rich and creamy sauce the covers each strand of udon noodle. You can add 3 pieces of Uni for $4, which is a pretty good price.

Final Thoughts

The dishes were well balanced and we really like how they added in more green and pickled veggies too. Sometimes classic Japanese dishes can be a bit rich and heavy, so Riz was able to create dishes that really fit with the taste buds of the West Coast.

Address:
2887 E Broadway, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.rizsushi.com/

New Mandarin Seafood Restaurant recently opened their doors near Kingsway and Gladstone right beside the new T&T Supermarket. There is ample parkade parking and if you make a purchase, your parking is covered.

We decided to come here on a Friday at noon for dim sum since I saw that they had some pretty unique items on the menu. How can I resist not coming here? We made reservations an hour before we came but we still had to wait a little bit for the next available table to be ready.

Interior

There are lots of large tables and many VIP rooms and tables as well. For a Friday, this place was busy!! I can’t imagine what the weekend looks like here. The ceilings are high, lots of TV screens and a HUGE LED TV too.

I can see this place being a space for a lot of wedding receptions as they already have strobe lighting set up.

Do note that from the main entrance, there are a few steps to get to the front desk and main dining area, instead of going down the stairs in a treacherous manner, use the mini lift. Thats what we did for our stroller.

Dim Sum Menu

Ordering

What I found unique about this place is their ordering system. You can either fill out the form with pencil and give it to the staff to input into the computers or you can scan the QR Code at the table and input your own order to ensure no mistakes. It’s great because you know the price of each item as well as your whole meal will be prior to the dishes arriving.

Of course this app isn’t for everyone. I know my parents would not want to order with their phone as its such a strange concept. Some of the dishes are named differently in the app and on the paper ordering menu, so just beware. I submitted the order through the app and when the restaurant gets it, they print out the ordered items like a receipt and tape it to your table. They cross off each item as it arrives.

Rose Honey Sweet Potato Swan Crisp

This is all edible and very cute. Definitely a fun item to order as the whole table will want to take pictures of it. The exterior is very crispy and it reveals the sweet potato mixture inside. I didn’t taste much of the rose or honey in this dish. Nonetheless, it still tasted very good and I was surprised.

Panda Egg Yolk Steamed Bun

No pandas were hurt in the making of this egg yolk steamed bun. It’s a fun item to order for the table if there are kids or big kids at the table. It’s very delicious and has a decent amount of the salty egg yolk inside.

Steamed Black Garlic with Egg Yolk Sui Mai

I thought it was awesome that dish has a whole quail egg inside with the gooey centre. It was well executed and one of the favourite dishes of the meal.

Steamed Truffle Sui Mai

When this dish arrived, you can really smell the truffles. A good combination with the sui mai which I haven’t seem many people do for this dish. Highly recommended too.

Crispy Shrimp Dumplings

This was on the menu too and it’s interesting to see these deep fried instead of steamed so I was very curious about it. It does add a crispy texture to the dumplings but was missing something. Maybe like some sauce to accompany it.

Steamed Special Hot and Sour Meat in Soup Dumpling

This was like a Xiao Long Bao but filled with hot and sour soup and a chunk of meat. It was surprisingly really good and it has a kick of spiciness. If you have a very low spice tolerance, you may not like this. I personally really enjoyed this!

Steamed Carrot Buns with Mashed Taro

This is another cute steamed bun. You can tell your kids to eat their vegetables and be delighted that it doesn’t taste like a carrot. I found this bun to have a small amount of mashed taro inside so it felt like a lot of bun to get through. I wouldn’t get this again.

Steamed Beef Ball with Black Fungus

4 comes to an order and it was a pretty standard beef ball. Nothing too interesting. It is a staple dim sum dish for my family as we always order this during dim sum.

Steamed Cordyceps Flower with Chicken Rice

This was a filling dish on the menu with a bed of hot rice and topped with the chicken, cordyceps flower and veggies. Make sure you pour the sauce over the rice so it can soak up all of its flavours.

Moon Rabbits

This was a cute dessert made to look like rabbits. It tasted like a subtle coconut pudding. Decent but nothing spectacular.

Soufflé Topped with Almond Flake and Blueberry

This was a beautiful and big looking dessert made mostly with egg whites. On the outside, there are the slices of almond and in the centre there is a small spoonful of blueberry jam.

They cut it up into 4 pieces but it can serve a lot more than that. The taste was very bland and fell flat. It was missing something and we wouldn’t order this again.

Final Thoughts

It was a bit annoying to see some dim sum dishes come with 4 pieces and some other with 3 pieces. As a table of 4, sometimes we would have to half items or someone would be left without a piece and ordering another basket didn’t seem logical. Nonetheless, there are some very aesthetically pleasing dim sum that taste good too, and a few that were flops. My favourite items of the meal were the black truffle sui mai, Steamed Special Hot and Sour Meat in Soup Dumpling, and the black garlic quail egg sui mai.

Address:
4650 Gladstone St, Vancouver, BC

Western Lake is celebrating their 12th year in Vancouver and their latest win at the 2019 Chinese Restaurant Awards for Critic’s Choice winner of the Roasted Salt Free Range Chicken dish. They have always been highly rated for the dim sum and dinner service. It’s been my family’s go-to restaurant for many years now.

We were invited for their media appreciation dinner and they showcased a plethora of their signature and award-winning dishes.

Chinese Restaurant Awards: Critic’s Choice winner of the Roasted Salt Free Range Chicken

The Roasted Salt Free Range Chicken is very juicy, tender and flavourful. In order to get this consistency, this dish is cooked in a unique way. The chef turns off the heat when the water starts to boil and allow the chicken to get cooked in its entirety in the residual heat. After poaching, he then plunges the chicken into ice water to stop the cooking process.

If you get a chance to try this during dinner, it’s definitely a must-have dish.

The chicken’s skin remains light-coloured, nearly white and the meat is tender and flavourful. It is served in pieces with the skin and bone attached.

This dish is accompanied by a condiment made b finely minced ginger, finely minced garlic and green onion.

King Crab Dinner

King Crab dinner is a luxurious feast and in season in the Spring. This is usually the best time to indulge in this delicacy. King Crab is prized due to its sweetly succulent flavour and the short duration of its season. The rise in popularity can be seen by how much the price has gone up over the years.

My family has been here several times especially when relatives come over from Hong Kong in the Spring. My grandpa always requests fresh King Crab. Luckily, Western Lake has several King Crab set menus.

At Western Lake, they typically showcase the king crab in an elaborate multi-course dinner that uses every part of the crab. The steamed King Crab legs are topped with lots of sweet and nutty garlic. The sauce it sits on is the natural crab juices. It’s so good and I love how the shells are already open, so eating this is so darn easy.

Another staple of the King Crab experience is the lightly battered and fried knuckles topped with rice cakes – King Crab in Superior Soy Sauce Bedded with Rice Cake. This dish is also really good since the sweetness from the crab and the soy sauce aroma just go so well together. The chef cook this dish really well.

Last but not least, leftover sauce from the steamed garlic crab leg course is being used to toss with noodles, chives and bean sprouts. The item pictured below is the noodles tossed in shrimp roe. I love how every part of the King Crab isn’t put to waste. Delicious as well and with the noodles it makes the whole meal more filling.

Chives and Crab Garlic Sauce Fried Rice with Black Truffle Topped with Gold Leaf looks amazing as it is presented in the shell of the King Crab. Nothing goes wasted. You don’t have to be as fancy with the truffles and gold leaf. Their standard fried rice is very good as well.

Peking Duck Dinner

Peking duck, one of the most delicious dishes of Chinese cuisine with a history of more than 400 years. Peking Duck is a meal with royal lineage, as it has been a staple for the elite and ruling class for centuries. A lot of care and preparation goes into these dishes so I can see why it’s a popular item on the menu.

This dish of Peking Duck has a thin, crisp skin with very little meat attached. Traditionally the skin is sliced in front of diners, but they don’t do that at Western Lake as the dining room is pretty busy. Peking duck is usually served in two courses, one with crepes and another with lettuce wrap. The succulent Peking Duck skin is accompanied by hoisin sauce (a sweet bean sauce), scallions cut into brushes, and thin wheat-flour pancakes, all of which are eaten together as a wrap.

Having this dish is such a delight and always fun to eat. Love the interactivity! Add a little bit of everything and eat it up.

The second dish of Peking Duck is made into this dish – Lettuce Wrap with Minced Duck and Assorted Vegetables. The meat of the duck is cut up and served with vegetables as a second course.

I love the crunch of the lettuce and the different textures the of the duck, veggies, and crisp noodles.

Beef Tenderloin with Deep Fried Potato

Another dish is their beef tenderloin with deep-fried potato which is beautifully presented in this deep-fried basket. The beef is tender and so flavourful. Highly recommended if you want something added to your meal that isn’t duck or seafood.

Assorted Seafood with Pumpkin Thick Soup

Western Lake has a variety of soups on the menu and different daily soups as well. A unique dish is their assorted seafood with pumpkin thick soup. Lots of seafood in it like this big scallop.

Egg Tofu Braised with Pea Tips and Enoki Mushroom

To balance out all the meat in a meal, there is always a veggie dish. Pea tips are delicious and when accompanied with mushroom and tofu, it tastes good and hearty. The freshness of the ingredients also shine through.

Dessert

Don’t forget to end your meal with dessert. Usually when you have dinner here, they have complimentary desserts. You can ask them what they have or pay a little bit extra for something more unique like their baked tapioca pudding.

Final Thoughts

There is a reason why there are huge line ups during dim sum and full tables during dinner time at Western Lake. The food is solid and reasonably priced for what you get. It’s one of the top Chinese restaurants in Vancouver.

Address:
4989 Victoria Dr, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://westernlake.ca/

Globe@YVR is the restaurant inside the Fairmont Vancouver Airport and is quite popular among travellers to and from the Vancouver International Airport, as well as locals. They boast a solid afternoon tea, brunch, as well as lunch and dinner made with local seasonal ingredients by Executive Chef Nandaskishore Rangan.

His style of cooking that is represented on the menu as he calls it ‘local and honest’. They work really closely with local producers like Gastown Greens to secure the best produce and support local businesses. I really admire this as they put a lot of care into their dishes.

As a bonus, if you spend a minimum of $30, you get 3 hours of free parking at the airport.

We were invited to get a taste of a few of the items off their Spring menu. Pretty exciting as we haven’t dined at the Globe@YVR yet.

Amuse Bouche

The amuse bouche was a beautiful bacon wrapped scallop with a maple glaze. Really delicious and the maple goes so well with the bacon. The scallop was seared nicely too.

Globe@YVR Signature Beer Bread

You can add this to the start of your meal and it’s really delicious. It is made with local honey and baked fresh from the oven. It’s a treat and we really liked it.

Mushroom

This dish is comprised of a variety of mushrooms, spinach tortellini, small vegetables, ricotta, and Gastown Greens. I like how they add a bit of interactivity to the dish as well. The come out the pour the broth and also shred the cheese.

The dish is simple but packed full of flavour with all these local ingredients. The mushrooms have a lot of savoury umami flavour.

Nova Scotia Lobster

This is flown in daily to retain its optimal freshness. It is paired with sautéed spinach, triple-cooked fries, garlic toast, béarnaise, and charred lemon. Really great item to share among the table.

Haida Gwaii Halibut

This is accompanied with parisienne potato, zucchini, tapioca crisp, and crab bisque. The halibut was soft with a delicious seasoning that doesn’t overpower the beautiful taste of it. I really enjoyed that tapioca crisps that came along with it.

Mascarpone

For dessert we have a mascarpone mousse on the bottom, fresh strawberries topped with a kataifi nest. Then a strawberry consommé is poured around the dessert. It’s a light dessert and I like the contrasting textures of the mousse and nest.

Final Thoughts

It was my first time dining at Globe@YVR and it was good to get a taste of what Executive Chef Nandaskishore Rangan has done to transform the menu. It is very representative of BC and what this province has to order, so, locals and visitors will get a joy from experiencing the dishes here.

They are popular for Afternoon Tea as it’s a great price and conveniently located right by the Airport as well as transit. Next time, if you’re at the airport and want to treat yourself or your friends to a great meal, check out Globe@YVR.

Address:
Vancouver International Airport, 3111 Grant McConachie Way, Richmond, BC

Website:
https://www.fairmont.com/vancouver-airport-richmond/

FIVE is a New England style Oyster Bar infused with Lebanese flavours. They are located right by the pier with views of the ocean. What better way to enjoy the sights than with the best that the West Coast has to offer. They only use fresh seafood and their seafood availability depends on whats in season. You won’t find any frozen seafood here.

We were invited to dine here and try a few of their signature items. It’s not that often that we are in White Rock, but good to see the restaurant scene diversifying.

Interior

There are lots of seats for small to large groups and you can grab reservations via OpenTable to make sure you have a table set aside for you and your party.

With some tables, you can get a view of the kitchen if you want to see their chefs hard at work crafting your meal.

Menu

Lobster Ravioli

This dish has ricotta and spinach ravioli with lobster meat and a blue cheese cream sauce. There are 4 huge pieces of the ravioli covered in the thick and creamy blue cheese sauce that compliments very well. This was one of our favourite dishes of the evening.

Creole Chicken

This dish is made of free range grilled chicken, topped with a spicy seafood creole butter sauce, lobster, prawns, scallops, bell peppers. served with roasted vegetable and potatoes. The sauce is very delicious with a subtle kick of spice, which goes well with the whole dish. The veggies and potatoes were cooked well.

Paella

Our portion was plated in a smaller portion for pictures, so the normal size of the dish will be bigger. This is made of short grain rice, chorizo, chicken, prawns, mussels, clams, sweet peas and kalamata olives in saffron tomato braise. This dish is a bit spicy and we found the rice to be a bit on the harder side.

Steak Board

The steak is served with daily potatoes, roasted vegetables and a Cognac peppercorn sauce. There are 2 versions of this board on the menu, either with Sirloin or Filet Mignon. Both are great options and it showcases Canadian beef and tastes great.

Oyster Rockefeller

These were huge!! It comes 4 per order and it is topped with blue cheese cream sauce, garlic, shallots and spinach. Good for those who like oyster and creamy sauces.

Kusshi raw oyster

Kusshi is a type of BC oyster named after the Japanese word ‘precious’. It’s our favourite type of oyster as it is so fresh, creamy, and sweet. If you’re new to eating raw oysters, its one of the varieties that are easiest to eat specially for those who may not like slimy textures.

These raw oysters were served with salmon roe, horseradish, lemon and their house made sauces.

Spinach Salad

This salad has spinach, pickled golden beets, dried cranberries, toasted pumpkin seeds, feta cheese and red-wine vinaigrette. If you looking for something light to accompany your meal, this is definitely it.

Final Thoughts

Overall, solid restaurant on the pier if you’re looking for some West Coast cuisine with a hint of Lebanese influence. We really enjoyed their fresh seafood, steak, and other items that show off some of the items that are produced in Canada.

Address:
15047 Marine Dr, White Rock, BC

Website:
https://www.fivewhiterock.com