West Vancouver Archives

In Brunch

[Sneak Peek] Ancora Waterfront Dining & Patio: Brunch, Lunch, and much more in Vancouver

August 9, 2019

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/

In Brunch

Earls Ambleside Beach: Brunch Happy Hour $8 Dishes

May 19, 2018

Earls has finally opened their Ambleside Beach location in West Vancouver. The new waterfront dining destination is in the Grosvenor Ambleside development a few feet from the water, which has a view of Lions Gate Bridge and Stanley Park. This is actually the first Earls to open in BC since 2010 and Earls Ambleside Beach was created specifically for this West Vancouver location and people in the area.

Interior

The interior is designed in a ‘West Coast meets California Beach’ style. They can seat up to 189 guests inside, while their patio will allow more than 80 guests to sit outside. You will also notice several commissioned artworks for their corporate art collection from Vancouver artists including Andy Dixon, Fiona Ackerman, Ben Skinner and all-female artist collective, Thrive Art Studio, for its art program. These custom works are featured prominently throughout the restaurant as part of the Earls commitment to supporting local artists.

Brunch Menu

There are 9 brunch items on the menu along with a few drinks. What I like about the menu is how there is brunch happy hour from opening till 11am where all the food is $8. What a steal.

Brunch Drinks

Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are on the menu. Very fancy to go well with brunch. I opted for my usual coffee in the morning, but if you’re in need of something a little bit more fancy, the option is there.

Smoothie Bowl

This hearty brunch bowl comes in 2 sizes and has fresh blueberries, strawberries, mint, toasted almonds, banana, flax seed granola, and spirulina. This dish is exclusive to this location.

A very healthy option for breakfast as it has grilled zucchini, roasted sweet potato, tomato, avocado, romesco yogurt, and fried egg. That grilled avocado looks really good.

Avocado Brunch Toast

This has poached eggs, smashed avocado, furikake, chili and radish. They make the eggs perfectly soft and it’s another good option if you don’t want anything too meaty or rich.

Eggs Benedict

This classic breakfast has two poached eggs, classic hollandaise, virginia ham, toasted baguette, and it is served with crispy potatoes. I added a side of bacon onto it. The baguette was toasted so it was crisp on the outside and went with the bennies well.

Golden Waffles + Cream

A fun sweet item for those with a little sweet tooth in the morning. It has Chantily cream, maple syrup, and their seasonal compote over golden waffles.

Country Breakfast

There are 3 pieces of Shrimp Har Gau, 3 pieces of pork + shrimp Siu Mai, with tobiko, soy vinegar, and sriracha. Something a little bit different. They tasted ok, but not the best.

Final Thoughts

Overall, its great value for brunch happy hour for $8 per dish. The atmosphere is great and you can very close to the water. There is also lots of free parking spots too. If I’m in the area again, I’ll definitely be back.

Address:
1375 Bellevue Ave , West Vancouver BC

Website: https://earls.ca/locations/ambleside-beach

In Cafe

Temper: Pastries, Desserts, and Hot Chocolate in West Vancouver

February 12, 2017

Temper Chocolate & Pastry is located in West Vancouver in the Dundarave neighbourhood. Owner and chef, Steven Hodge grew up in this neighbourhood and decided to put his years of experience to use by opening up his own shop. He has a plethora of experience working with world renowned restaurants.

Foodgressing brought me along to give a few of their delicious treats a try. I couldn’t say no as I have a little sweet tooth.

Interior

Their interior has beautiful marble on their counters and wood surrounding the shop. Very sleek, modern and beautiful.

In their display cases are their pastries, cakes, chocolates, sandwiches, and other sweet and savoury treats.

Individual Desserts

We started off with a few desserts. All the desserts looked really good, so it was hard decide where start. Some of these have large full cake sizes available.

Coconut Lime Tart

The tart has a coconut mousse, lime curd, chocolate coconut dacquoise on an almond sable crust. Very beautiful tart with it nice colour. The crust was crisp and I love the tartness from the lime curd.

Mango Caramel

I love the look of this cake as it has a galaxy-look to the exterior. I liked the combination of mango and caramel.

Dark Chocolate Ganache Cake

All those layers of chocolate ganache cake and buttercream. It is even topped with a but a gold flakes.

Cheesy Bite

Cheesy Bite was one of my favourite items here. It’s so cheesy and I am so in love with this item. I would definitely get this again.

Hot Chocolate

They are also participating in the Hot Chocolate Festival until February 14th. They have 3 different types of hot chocolate available:

Smoking Bullet
Princess and the Frog
Memoirs of a Geisha

Memoirs of a Geisha

It has Valrhona white chocolate blended with raspberry matcha. It is also served with a matcha shortbread cookie. The chocolate with dried raspberries that sits on top of the hot chocolate. I love the contrast between the raspberries and matcha. Very nice combination.

Princess and the Frog

This uses Valrhona milk chocolate steamed with pistachio butter. It is served with a rose macaron. This hot chocolate is slightly more traditional and has the rich body of a hot chocolate with the subtle hints of pistachio.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was great to discover another awesome cafe in our city. We are definitely very lucky to have such talented pastry chefs in Vancouver. If you’re in the area, definitely stop by for a coffee, cake or pastry.

We rate Temper Pastry:

Address:
2409 Marine Drive, West Vancouver

Website:
http://www.temperpastry.com/

In Deli

Black Forest Delicatessen: Cheap Meats in West Vancouver

October 25, 2014

Black Forest Delicatessen makes a lot of appearances at German-inspired events like the Christmas Market and trade shows around the Lower Mainland. They have some pretty fantastic cured meats to choose from. Their main processing location is in North Vancouver, but they have retail locations in North Vancouver and West Vancouver (Park Royal – South).

Park Royal has gone through much changes over the years and it’s in their newer section of the South side close to the construction.

I really wanted to come to Black Forest Delicatessen after attending the Fraser Valley Food Show and tasting their award-winning pâté at the sausage contest. It was so addictive.

The store isn’t too large, but you will find a large deli counter and a few shelves of items that go well with their cured meats.

Lots of varieties of sausages, cold cuts, bratwurst, liver sausages, bacon, ham, turkey, salami, dried cured meats, pates, and a lot more.

I find that their staff are very helpful when trying to figure out what to buy. There really are a lot of choices.

I bought some spicy salami snacks, liver sausage/pâté and savoury crisp crackers.

The savoury crisps were a bit expensive, but it works perfect with the pâté.

I got about 50 grams of their herb liver sausage and it was between $1 or $2. I can’t remember the price, but it was cheap! I don’t think I could ever go back to ordering pâté at a restaurant.

I ate the pâté with the savoury crisps and it was perfect! Mmm Mmm Mmm.

Black Forest Delicatessen is pretty awesome and has a lot of delicious meats.

Address:
2002 Park Royal South
West Vancouver, BC

Website: http://www.bfmeats.ca/

In Dineout

Fraiche: Dine Out Vancouver 2013

February 1, 2013

Fraiche is a restaurant located in West Vancouver and is popular for their views of the Lions Gate Bridge and surrounding areas. Their Dine Out this year is $38 and contains 3 courses.

The space isn’t very large. You get the best view when you sit near the window. Perhaps its best to request sitting by the window.

We ordered a few cocktails in the beginning since we got to the restaurant very early. Who knew there would be very little traffic on the Lions Gate Bridge after work.

Even the men had some cocktails too.

All the cocktails were pretty good! A great way to start off the meal, but definitely hurts your wallet afterwards.

Amuse Bouche

Complementary bread comes in 2 varieties – white and an olive bread. We all agreed the olive bread was the best.

Poached Lobster Salad also has melon, jalapeno, and basil. Good amount of lobster, but it was a small salad. I think there were more lobster pieces than greens.

Smoked Onion Veloute has a 63-degree egg in the centre, parmesan, and shimiji.

House-Cured Duck also contains foie gras mousse, blood orange, and brioche. The duck reminded me of prosciutto.

Butter Poached Sole with Truffle also has oyster root, asparagus, and potato.

Roasted Sablefish is on top of brandade dumplings, sunchoke, and topped with a horseradish foam.

White and Dark Chocolate was ok, but didn’t taste super amazing.

Orange Mascarpone was the better dessert, but it wasn’t crazy amazing.

Overall, the view is breathtaking up at Fraiche. The Dine Out menu wasn’t very impressive for the $38 price, but I am sure they bring their A-game on a regular night. The service was very attentive and the staff was helpful in figuring out the menu.

We Rate Fraiche:

Address:
2240 Chippendale Rd
West Vancouver

Website: http://www.fraicherestaurant.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=2240+Chippendale+Rd+West+Vancouver,&hnear=2240+Chippendale+Rd,+West+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V7S+3J2&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Fast Food

Five Guys Burgers and Fries: Burgers, Fries and Peanuts

August 8, 2011

Five Guys Burgers and Fries is a burger chain in North America and is famous for their large burgers, fresh meat, and complementary peanuts. They have a few locations in the Lower Mainland – West Vancouver, Surrey and Langley.

Since a few of us were in the area, I thought it would be cool to check out another burger joint and see how it stacked up against the others.

The menu is a bit different and they do not have any combos. All items are ala carte, so having a complete meal can add up quite quickly. The descriptions of the burgers are a bit different “little” just means that item has one beef patty and the regular items have 2 patties.

Something about the interior decor keeps telling me it is the “Best Burger”. I swear, there were 10 large signs saying that. This place is plastered with testimonials. I am always skeptical when there seems to be a strange amount of good comments.

They cook everything in their open kitchen, so if you want to sneak a peek at how they fry their fries or grill their patties, you can do that!

Their drinks ($1.99) are unlimited, so go nuts with all the pop.

The peanuts are complementary and can be found on the side of the restaurant. They have boxes and boxes of them, so if you just had a burger and the nuts, you can still get full. The nuts are salted, so they nuts do have a bit of taste.

Regular Fries ($3.49) are freshly cut and fried in peanut oil. It has no preservatives and cholesterol. M and I didn’t really like their fries. A few of them were nice and crunchy, but a majority of them went soft and limp really fast.

Little Bacon Cheese Burger ($6.59) comes with your choice of toppings. If you add all the toppings, the burger gets fairly larger and can be quite messy. The taste of the beef was really good and a bit smokey. All the toppings were good and I have no problems.

The burger as a whole, was alright, but nothing was too special about it.

Does this burger live up to their great reputation? I think it’s hyped up too much and can be comparable to Vera’s or Fat Burger. After eating up everything, we felt super fat and with all the salt in this meal, I am sure we consumed quite a lot of calories.

Words of Wisdom:

Getting a whole meal can be quite expensive
Burger is nothing special
unlimited peanuts

We Rate Five Guys Burgers and Fries:

Address:

2002 Park Royal South
West Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.fiveguys.com

Twitter: @Five_Guys

In Dessert

Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt: Fruits Fruits Fruits!

August 4, 2011

Pinkberry opened their first location in Canada at Park Royal in West Vancouver. They serve up frozen yogurt similar to Qoola. After a long hike at Lynn Canyon, I came here with ConsultingGirl and Monster.

When we arrived, there was a huge line going out the door. The line goes pretty fast, so you won’t be dying from the summer heat.

All you do is choose the size of yogurt, choose the flavour (you can have more than 1 flavour), and then add as much topping as you want! if you are not so into that, they also have Fresh Fruit Parfaits, Fruit bowls and smoothies.

There are so many toppings! So many to choose from! They are quite unique and they have more variety than Qoola.

Fresh fruit is honestly the way to go!! They only have the freshest ingredients. When I went, they didn’t have mango because they couldn’t get their hands on fresh ripe mangoes. It’s goo that they do not sell the frozen fruits.

I was excited when I saw the fruity pebbles!! I have search far and wide (Ok..just in Vancouver) for Fruity Pebbles. Does anyone know where I can buy a box of this stuff?

Monster ordered the mini size with toppings ($2.95). She’s not a big fan of a lot of sweetness, so she likes everything in a smaller size to have a small taste. It fits about 3 toppings comfortably. She enjoyed the original flavour as it was sweet and tart.

ConsultingGirl ordered the medium size ($5.55) with mango and original frozen yogurt. She piled quite a bit of toppings on top. She enjoyed the flavour combo since she wanted to try both.

I decided to be quite different and ordered the Fruit Parfait ($4.75) You get to choose your yogurt flavour and then 3 types of fruits. I went with the original since I really love the tart/ sour taste! I wanted mango, but no more… so I got kiwi, strawberries and pineapples. The granola was one of the best I’ve ever had.

Overall, I quite like Pinkberry but I am not very fond of their location. Since I live in Burnaby, it’s quite a long ways to go. I love their pricing of their yogurt and how you can have as many toppings that fit comfortably on top. I am a fan of Qoola, but I think Pinkberry wins on their quality and quantity of toppings, plus the large amounts of frozen yogurt flavours.

Words of Wisdom: