Cuisine Archives | Foodgressing

H Tasting Lounge Golden Week 2018 Afternoon Tea

October 1, 2018 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

H Tasting Lounge at the Westin Bayshore is currently offering a limited-time dining experience in celebration of Mid-Autumn Festival and Golden Week. Available from Saturday and Sunday from 12 – 5 pm until October 7, the traditional Afternoon Tea in H Tasting Lounge boasts an enhanced menu of Asian- and European-influenced indulgences. I was invited to try out this unique afternoon tea experience at H Tasting Lounge. Here’s a look at what you can expect.

Priced at $80 per person, the afternoon tea set had all sorts of surprises and whimsical elements to it. I was really impressed with the variety of items and creativeness in which they were presented. Above is a photo of all the delicious items we received as part of the afternoon tea experience. I will go on to discuss each part in further detail below.

Tea Selection

The experience started after the hostess seated my guest and I at one of the plush corner booths at H Tasting Lounge. She then presented us with box containing samples of Tealeaves loose leaf selection. The tea were in small vials such that we were able to smell the tea before making our selection. I went with the Organic Vanilla Rooibos while my guest had the Imperial Earl Grey.

Bonsai Candy Floss & Scones

The next item that was brought to us was a selection of freshly baked scones along with a bubblegum bonsai candy floss. The idea was that you would tear away some of the cotton candy to enjoy with the savoury scones. Also offered was vanilla butter, honey and jam.

Golden Flower Cocktail

The featured cocktail included in the afternoon set was the “Golden Flower”, created by H bartender Andrew Kong for these annual celebrations. The cocktail is an aromatic marriage of sweetened Osmanthus tea (Osmanthus tea and elderflower syrup), Bombay Sapphire East gin, Umé Japanese plum wine, Giffard ‘Ginger of the Indies’ liqueur, and Ms. Betters ‘Mt. Fuji’ bitters.

Golden Ferris Wheel

The Golden Ferris Wheel held the savoury items of the afternoon tea including: BBQ pork puff, dim sum (har gow, siu mai), charcoal bao, prosciutto croissant sandwich, braised pork-belly bao, and open-faced smoked-turkey sandwich.

Tiffany-blue jewelry box

The sweets were presented in a Tiffany-blue oversized jewelry box featuring mini moon cakes, green-pea cakes, BBQ pork puffs, Chinese pastries, and panna cotta.

Overall Impression

I really enjoyed all the creative elements of H Tasting Lounge’s Golden Week afternoon tea set. From the cocktail to the savouries and the sweets, there were so many different and interesting items to stimulate your senses from beginning to finish. While H Tasting has afternoon tea service regularly, this limited edition set is available until October 7. Bon appetit!

H Tasting Lounge
Address: 1601 Bayshore Dr, Vancouver, BC
Website: htastinglounge.com‎

Toronto Japanese Dessert Cafe: Little Pebbles

September 27, 2018 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

In Vancouver, we don’t really have Japanese dessert cafes specializing in pastries for me to satisfy my sweet tooth. One of the most prominent ones was Chicco Cafe on Robson which had closed down last year. Last year, when I visited Toronto, I made it a point to go to Little Pebbles to indulge in some Japanese-style baked goods. I was excited to try out some of their treats over coffee with my friend who I was staying with.

Kensington Cafe

Since my visit, Little Pebbles remains in the Kensington area but apparently moved a few units down from their original location but to a larger space. At the time, I really enjoyed their clean, minimal interior with a homey atmosphere which made a nice place to get together with others over coffee and treats.

All their baked goods are made in-house. Little Pebbles uses Japanese Juhakuto sugar which apparently is sweeter without the calories and more moist than granulated sugar. They also use ceremonial-grade matcha for their matcha-based drinks and desserts. On their menu as well were a variety of espresso-based drinks as well as tea.

What We Tried

My friend and I shared the Black Sesame Chiffon Cake ($5.25), Osaka-Style Strawberry Roll Cake ($5.25) and I had a Black Sesame Latte ($5).

The roll cake was Osaka style so the outside was not decorated and the inside is only cream. However, Little Pebbles does incorporate a few strawberry segments into this delicious, light and fluffy cake.

The Black Sesame Chiffon Cake definitely felt like a melting sponge. I enjoyed the moist, light texture with a light black sesame flavour.

The Black Sesame Latte comes in your choice of sweetned or unsweetended. It was nutty, smooth and delicious.

Overall Impression of Little Pebbles

I really enjoyed my experience at Little Pebbles and would love to visit when I’m in Toronto next time. The house-made goods were satisfying but not too indulging. I heard that they opened up a sister dessert place called Koishi Ice Cream which I would love to try. Rating: 4.5/5

Little Pebbles
Address: 160 Baldwin St #8, Toronto, ON
Website: little-pebbles.com‎

Just Opened: Ta Bom Korean Cuisine Robson

September 16, 2018 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

Newly opened in the West End neighbourhood is Ta Bom Korean Fusion Cuisine. Located at 1536 Robson Street (between Nicola and Cardero), this is Ta Bom’s second location with their original restaurant in Coquitlam. I never made it to Coquitlam to try Ta Bom but I had heard positive reviews from other food bloggers who had dined there and enjoyed the experience. They made an announcement on Instagram of their soft opening this past Friday at 5 pm. With much eagerness, I took my family for dinner there just after they opened their doors. Here’s a look at what they are offering and our experience there.

Larger Space

Ta Bom is reported to be almost double in size of the Coquitlam location. The space is over 2,500 square feet and can accomodate 80 – 100 people. I enjoyed the modern interior with exposed brick walls and a mix of dining tables and booth seating.

Tabom Menu

I have included photos of the menu below but for a higher-resolution of them download my compiled pdf here (large).

Tabom is known for their circular hot plates featuring choice of main dish (meat or protein – minimum 2 orders) along with side dishes. Meat options include dak-galbi (stir-fried spicy chicken), jeyuk bokkeum (stir-fried spicy pork), jukkumi-jeyuk-bokkeum (stir-fried spicy small octopus with spicy pork) and more. The hot plate already comes with egg and corn but you can order additional side dishes like rice cake, noodles, fried-rice and so forth.

Also on the menu is the Tabom Signature Hot Pot, Korean BBQ, appetizers, stone bowl rice, noodles, platters, combos and so forth.

Ta Bom Robson also serves a variety of beverages including house wine, champagne, cocktails, Traditional Japanese alcoholic beverages, and other house-made drinks.

What We Tried

We had the bulgogi (pork) hot plate ($28) with cheese (+$5), corn and egg. For banchan (side dishes), we were provided kimchi, bean sprouts and potato.

The pork was nicely tender and the soup base was flavourful and on the sweeter side. The corn was also reasonable being juicy and sweet; I’ve had a bad experience before at a ramen restaurant (see post here) where the corn was not properly defrosted.

The side dishes seem a bit limited in terms of selection and portions compared to what other Korean restaurants offer. The potato was not very good as it was very hard.

We also had the Tabom Chicken which was a spicy popcorn chicken topped with cheese. The chicken had a nice flavour being mildly spicy and the texture was also very good being tender and juicy.

Service

Things were off to a good start when we were the first customers in the restaurant. It was pretty empty at that time and the servers were quite attentive. As the restaurant got busy, the service we received really suffered. In fact, we had originally ordered a Volcano Rice which was meant to be mixed in with the main dish and soup base on the hot plate sometime closer to the end of the meal. The rice didn’t arrive in time before the soup base caramelized. The manager apologized for the delay, cancelled the order, and gave us a few coupons for a few dollars off on our next meal at Ta Bom.

Overall Impression

I thought the food was pretty good being more of a comfort food type with all the cheesiness in the dishes we ordered. It was flavourful but rich so I couldn’t really eat to my usual capacity. Hopefully, the service improves after they fine tune their operations. Rating: 3.5/5

Ta Bom Korean Fusion Cuisine
Address: 1536 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC
Instagram: @tabom_korean_cuisine‎

Where to Go For Afternoon Tea in Metro Vancouver

September 13, 2018 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

Here is a list of restaurants in Metro Vancouver that are afternoon tea service. I have not included images as this list is designed for you to obtain quick information on what is being offered and compare the options. Please check with the restaurant for the most up-to-date and accurate information on dates, times, prices and menu offerings. This list is updated as information becomes available. Be sure to check back! I’m adding more restaurants and menu details all the time. If you are a restaurant and want to be added, please contact me at foodgressing@gmail.com.

If you are looking at this post on mobile, rotate your phone sideways to see the entire table.

Restaurant	Price	Location	Types of Tea Sets	Availability	Menu Link
Origo Club	$45	Richmond	Traditional	Fridays and Saturdays from 1:30 pm to 4 p.m	Menu
La Petite Cuillere	$18 - $35	Vancouver	Deconstructed Tier (Sweet, Savoury), High Tea, Afternoon Tea, Children's	Daily Seatings	Menu
Notch 8 @ Fairmont Vancover	$30 - $59	Vancouver	Themed-high teas; Children's	Select Seatings	Menu
Secret Garden Tea	$25 - $40	Vancouver	Traditional, Gluten-Free, Children's, High Tea to Go	Daily Seatings	Menu
Baachus @ Wedgewood Hotel	$45	Vancouver	Traditional	Daily: 2:00pm - 4:00pm	Menu
Neverland Tea Salon	$22 - $48	Vancouver	Traditional, Gluten & Dairy Omitted, Vegetarian, Vegan, Children's	Daily Seatings	Menu
Patisserie Für Elise	$35	Vancouver	Traditional	Daily Seatings	Menu
TWG Tea Salon	$19 - $58	Vancouver	Finger Sandwiches, Set Menus. Royal Tea Set	Daily Seatings	Menu
Adonia Tea House	$23 - $38	Vancouver	Traditional, Gluten, Vegetarian, Vegan	Daily Seatings	Menu
Truffles Fine Foods @ Van Dusen Garden	$45 (for two) or $90 (for four)	Vancouver	Traditional	Daily Seatings	Menu
Rose House	$13 - $33	Vancouver	Traditional, Vegetarian	Daily Seatings	Menu
Laduree Canada	$50	Vancouver	Traditional	Daily Seatings	Menu
H Tasting Lounge	$55 - $80	Vancouver	Traditional	Daily Seatings	Menu
Butter Baked Goods	$30	Vancouver	Traditional, Gluten, Free	Every Sunday	Menu
Faubourg	$62 (for two)	Vancouver (Kerrisdale location only)	Traditional	Saturdays and Sundays from 12:00 pm to 05:00 pm	Menu
Indigo Age Cafe	$34	Vancouver	Vegan, Gluten Free	Reservations required	Menu
Adorabelle Tea Room	$12 - $36	Richmond	Traditional, Deconstructed Tier (Sweet, Savoury), Children's, Senior	Daily Seatings	Menu
L'Opera Patisserie		Richmond	Traditional	Daily Seatings
Globe @ Fairmont Vancouver Airport	$35 - $69	Richmond	Traditional, Children's	Reservations required	Menu
Yandoux Patisserie	$56	Vancouver	Traditional	Reservations required	Menu
Audrey Moment Cafe	$25 - $35	Burnaby	Traditional	Reservations required	Menu
London Heritage Farm	$15	Richmond	High Tea, Afternoon Tea	Saturdays and Sundays : 12 pm to 5 pm	Menu
Cakes N Sweets	$15 - $29	Coquitlam	HIgh Tea, Gluten Free, Children's, High Tea to Go	Tuesday to Saturday - 12pm, 2pm and 4pm sittings \| Sunday - 12pm and 2pm sittings	Menu
Golden Ears Cheesecrafters	$25	Maple Ridge	Traditional	Wednesdays	Menu
Tracy Cakes Bakery	$12 - $33	Langley, Abbotsford	Traditional, Champagne, Gluten Free, Children's	Reservations Required	Menu
Enchanted Cake Studio	$19 - $33	Surrey	Traditional, Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Children's	Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays: 11:00 am, 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm	Menu
BCD Academy		Langley	Thai High Tea	Private Parties on weekends only	Menu
Little White House	$14 - $26	Langley	Traditional, Gluten Free, Vegan, Children's, High Tea to Go	Reservations Recommended	Menu
Frosting Cupcakery	$10 - $17	Langley	Traditional, Children's	Reservations Required	Menu
Butter Lane Bake Shop	$18 - $33	West Vancouver	Traditional, Demi, Children's, Gluten Free	Reservations Required	Menu
Laurence and Chico	$29	Vancouver	Afternoon Tea To Go	Daily	Menu
HY Tea Lounge	$29 - $88	Vancouver	Demi, Traditional, Signature	Daily	Menu
Clancy's Tea Cosy	$13 - $28	White Rock	Traditional, Gluten Free, Children's	Reservations Required	Menu

Here are my experiences with afternoon tea in Metro Vancouver:

Afternoon Tea in Richmond at Origo Club

September 12, 2018 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

Origo Club – a multi-concept establishment featuring a restaurant, cafe and art gallery – opened up in the Olympic Oval District of Richmond earlier this past summer (see post here). Following their successful launch, Origo Club has started offering an afternoon service available from Fridays and Saturdays from 1:30 pm to 4 p.m. I was invited to a media tasting of the afternoon tea service at Origo Club. Here’s a look at what you can expect.

Priced at $45 per guest, the three-tier afternoon tea set features small bites, sandwiches and pastries served in Origo’s relaxed-yet-refined dining room and paired with a choice of tea or coffee. The service can also be supplemented with a glass of Barons de Rothschild Champagne for an additional $35 per person.

Overseeing Origo’s Afternoon Tea service is Café Manager and Pastry Chef Remi Ho, who honed his skills under such acclaimed local chefs as Pino Posteraro (Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill & Enoteca), Kira Desmond (Secret Location) and Christophe Bonzon (Chez Christophe) before joining the team at Origo Club earlier this year.

Savoury

Savouries in the afternoon tea set included:

Chou aux Champignons
- choux pastry, mushroom duxelle
Quiche Lorraine
- puff pastry, coppa, spinach, gruyère cheese
Sandwiche au Saumon Fumé
- white bread gravlax, capers, crème fraiche
Canard et Cerises au Kirsch
- seared duck breast, Kirsch-marinated cherries
Scone avec Crème et Confiture
- plain and savoury scone, served with house-made jam and fresh cream

Sweets

The sweets included in the afternoon tea set were:

Éclair au Gianduja et Fruits de la Passion
- choux pastry, gianduja whipped ganache, passionfruit caramel
Flan au Fromage Blanc
- pâte brisée, cream cheese, vanilla bean
Tartelette au Citron
- lemon curd, lemon meringue
Gâteau Roulé
- pistachio sponge, rum and vanilla chantilly, fruit
Macarons
Financier
- burnt butter almond cake

My favourites were the seared duck breast, scones, eclair, pistachio sponge, and lemon tart. I liked that the sweets weren’t very sweet and the ornate teaware was very charming!

Reservations for afternoon tea can be made by calling the restaurant at 604-285-8889 or booking online via OpenTable.

Origo Club
Address: 10-6888 River Rd, Richmond, BC
Website: www.origoclub.ca‎

Richmond BBT: Chatime Richmond – Alexandra Road

August 27, 2018 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

One of the newer Chatime locations in Metro Vancouver is the one in Richmond on Alexandra Road. This Chatime opened at the end of 2017 and is located within a plaza.

Chatime Alexandra boasts an industrial sleek interior design with overhanging lights and a faux brick wall. It’s a very spacious cafe with an elevated platform area, roundtables, and counter seating by the window. This cozy environment makes for a great place to catch up with friends or to spend the afternoon working away on a laptop.

#1 BUBBLE TEA BRAND IN THE WORLD

Originally from Taiwan, Chatime has now over 1200 locations worldwide including Abu Dhabi, Miami, and London to name a few. 100 million cups of Chatime bubble tea are sold annually – now that’s a lot of bubble tea.

Chatime Richmond Alexandra Road Menu

Chatime has a wide selection of drinks organized by category including Milk Tea, Fresh Tea, Smoothie/Slush, Chatime QQ, Refreshing Juice, Fruit Tea, Mousse and more. Drinks typically range between $4-$6. You can decide on the ice level (extra, normal, less, no ice) and sugar level (extra, normal, less, 80%, 50%, 30%, none). Topping options include pearl, grass jelly, coconut jelly, malt, red bean, coffee jelly, aloe vera, and rainbow jelly, pudding and more.

At the time of my visit, they were selling new Chatime Milk Tea Gift Boxes priced at $9.98. I had previously reviewed Chatime Milk Tea Boxes, but these newer ones are apparently less sweet.

I went with a large Taro Milk Tea with Pearl ($6). The taro flavour was on point. The tapioca pearls were good: smooth and slightly soft on the outside, but chewy through to the middle with a slightly increased level of firmness.

Overall Impression

Chatime Alexandra Road makes for a great space to work, study or get together with others. The parking at the plaza is free but as Alexandra Road is known for limited parking you’ll probably find some challenges.

Chatime Richmond Alexandra Road
Address: 160-8351 Alexandra Rd, Richmond, BC
Website: ‎www.facebook.com/chatimebc/

Morak Korean Restaurant in Burnaby

August 25, 2018 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

After watching “Crazy Rich Asians” with a few girlfriends at Silvercity Metropolis, we decided to grab some dinner at nearby restaurant. One of the girls lived in the neighbourhood and recommended Morak Korean Fusion Restaurant – an eatery where she was a regular.

Interior

Morak seemed like a quaint restaurant with a modern interior and a mix of booths and dining tables.

Morak Korean Restaurant Menu

The menu was divided into appetizers, specialty dishes, noodles, stews/soups, BBQ dishes, rice and desserts.

What We Tried

The food overall was good with reasonable portions for the prices. Nothing stoodout for me perhaps because all the dishes we ordered tasted more or less the same. Our dinner was rather meat-centric with the meat dishes having very similar Korean sweet and spicy flavours. I think that if we added a seafood pancake, tofu soup and so forth, the meal would have been less one tonal. Here’s a look at the dishes we tried.

S5 – Yuzu Pork ($20.95)

The deep fried pork was lightly battered and wonderfully crispy on the outside while tender on the inside. I enjoyed the citrusy, sweet and sour flavours.

S6 – Ggebi Chicken ($18.95)

The Korean-style sweet and spicy chicken was accompanied by rice cakes and topped with nuts. The deep fried chicken was very crispy, tender and flavourful.

B5 – Squid and Pork Bulgogi ($15.95)

Pork bulgogi is my favourite thing to order at a Korean restaurant but at Morak it only comes with squid! The dish was okay as I don’t think squid and pork go really well with each other. I would have much-preferred squid on its own.

H9 – Rice Cake Stew ($7 for a small)

Korean spicy rice cake stew with fish cake. I think we ordered this thinking that it was like soup. However, it turned out to be rice cakes and fish cakes in sauce.

Service

Service was friendly but there were some misses. We needed to follow up on our order of Yuzu Pork which they probably only started making after we inquired about it. I also didn’t really like how we were brought the bill when we weren’t quite finished yet. I know it is a small, busy restaurant but there were some empty tables when they gave us the bill without us asking for it.

One funny thing happened after I took some interior photos of the restaurant as we were leaving. A server ran out onto the street and asked if we needed a picture as a group. Super funny!

Overall Impression of Morak Restaurant

The dishes we tried were OK though nothing to write home about. Prices were reasonable for the portions. There are also quite a few Korean restaurants in the area and I don’t know how Morak would compare to them as I don’t dine in the area often. My recommendation would be the Ggebi chicken. Rating: 3.5/5

Morak Korean Restaurant
Address: 6285 Nelson Ave, Burnaby, BC
Website: ‎www.morakkoreanfusion.com/

Dinner at Fiore South Granville

August 25, 2018 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

I love days when my only problem is pizza or pasta. However, when my friend and fellow foodie Kristina went to Fiore this past week, we didn’t need to choose between the two; we went with both. Fiore is a new addition to the dining scene in South Granville and they are operated by the same people who run The Stable House Bistro.

Their focus is on simple, Italian dishes including pizzas (featuring naturally-leavened doughs) and house-made pastas along with an Italian wine list. Located just off 12th and Granville, it’s a place to grab a bite to eat during a shopping trip, pre-theatre, or while exploring the neighbourhood’s galleries. Here’s a look at my dinner experience at Fiore.

Note: None of the food and drinks in this post were complimentary. This is not a sponsored post. This review is done anonymously.

Modern, Chic Interior

Fiore’s well-appointed interior features an L-shaped bar, a mix of dining tables and a cozy banquette. The dining space is tastefully decorated with a few paintings on the wall. The overhanging industrial lights and candlelighting add to a cozy and romantic atmosphere.

Fiore Menu

The simple and focused menu at Fiore is divided into three sections: antipasta ($5-$14), sourdough pizzas ($17 – $20) and fresh pasta ($18 – $24).

What We Tried

For dinner, we had one antipasta, one pizza and two pastas.

Beef Carpaccio ($12)

To start, we had the beef carpaccio featuring roasted cauliflower emulsion, focaccia, and manchego. I enjoyed the fresh, pure, meaty flavour and melt-in-your-mouth, velvety texture of the beef. The cauliflower emulsion had earthy, nutty flavours.

Now, on to pizza and pastas!

Pappardelle ($24)

The pappardelle was wonderfully al-dente pork and went nicely with the rich, meaty bolognese sauce.

Those slithery, slippery ribbons of pappardelle were an absolute delight!

Finocchio ($19)

Our fennel-centric sourdough pizza had fennel soubise, fennel sausage, shaved fennel, and fennel fronds. I really liked the soubise sauce with the fennel sausage which made for a creamy, smoky and savoury mouthful. My issue was that the edge of the crust was too thick for my liking. I end up cutting the edge off which was rather unfortunate.

Manti ($24)

Manti (otherwise known as dumplings) are dumplings which are popular in Turkish and Central Asian republics. I’ve had manti at a restaurant serving Afghan food so it was interesting to see manti served from an Italian perspective at Fiore. The one we tried was beef & red currant-filled and topped with peppers, chilli tomato sauce, and parmesan.

What I would have liked more is the filling being more tender. It was a little dense and hard for me and I think I would have enjoyed it more if it were more melt-in-your-mouth.

Service

The service had Fiore exceeded my expectations and was definitely a 5/5. Despite being the only server on the floor, he was friendly and checked in on us regularly. The dishes were brought out to us in a very timely manner. I also appreciated that he changed our plates after the appetizer.

Overall Impression

I had a enjoyable time at Fiore with my friend where the food was good in general though could use some tweaking in a few areas. Our food bill came out to $40 per person plus tax and tip. We even had some leftover which was nice! The service was excellent. I would be interested in returning or visiting their sister restaurant Fiore Famiglia in Kitsilano. Rating: 3.5/5

Fiore – South Granville
Address: 1485 W 12th Ave, Vancouver, BC
Website: fiorerestaurants.ca/‎

Peninsula Seafood Restaurant Dinner Reception

August 24, 2018 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

I was recently hired by a friend to shoot his relative’s wedding reception dinner held at Peninsula Seafood Restaurant. Located at Oakridge Mall, Peninsula opened up just a few years ago and is an upscale restaurant specializing in elevated Cantonese dishes. It is also known as a hot spot for the nouveau riche immigrants from Mainland China who now live in the Shaughnessy area (perhaps Crazy Rich Asians?)

I was graciously offered a seat at the dinner as a guest so I had the opportunity to try what Peninsula had to offer. I had noticed that the restaurant received low ratings on Yelp (2.5/5) and Zomato (3/5) so I was interested to see why that might be the case. In the end, I found the dinner to be quite excellent from the flavours to presentation as well as the service. I had heard that the dinner was priced at $150 per guest (definitely on the higher end for Chinese banquets) and that seemed reasonable to me.

Service

Before I present the dishes of the evening, I’d like to say that the service exceeded my expectations for the banquet. All the dishes came out in a timely matter where the server presented the full dish to the table and then took it away to separate it into individual servings. The pace of the dinner was on point and everything went smoothly.

12-Course Dinner

Course 1: Crispy Piglet Platter | 鴻運當頭：脆皮乳豬大拼盤

I particularly enjoyed the presentation of this appetizer platter. The skin of the pork was nicely crispy.

Course 2: Peninsula Speciality Soup | 喜氣洋洋：半島精品工夫湯

I found the soup to be very hearty and comforting.

Course 3: Sweet Green Beans, Fried Shrimp, Scallops | 甜甜蜜蜜：碧綠甜豆炒蝦球帶子

The green beans were sweet and crispy, the shrimp was bouncy and the scallops were tender.

Course 4: French Foie Gras with Abalone | 幸福美滿：法國鹅肝拼鲍魚

This dish was rich, flavourful, and tender.

Course 5: Lobster Duo | 縱横四海：墓葸煽雙龍蝦

Good things come in pairs, right? This exquisite dish featured two lobsters with juicy, sweet and succulent meat. Bravo.

Course 6: Braised Pigeon | 龍鳳呈祥：紅燒三喜鸽

I enjoyed the tender meat and crispy skin.

Course 7: Steamed Fish | 魚跃龍門：清蒸海上鮮

A nicely presented steam fish where the meat was light, flaky and slightly sweet.

Course 8: Vegetarian Bowl | 海誓山盟：法海蒲團

Course 9: Peninsula Speciality Fried Rice | 福星高照：半島特色炒飯

Wow, I have never seen fried rice presented so beautifully. Shaped like a fish which is a symbol of good fortune.

Course 10: Fried Noodles | 長長久久：干燒伊麵

Course 11: Cookies with Goji Berries and Sesame Balls | 心心相印：美點雙輝

How cute are those heart-shaped cookies with goji berries on top? The sesame balls were crunchy, chewy, sticky and sweet.

Course 12: Red Bean Soup with Lotus Seed | 百年好合：蓮子百合紅豆沙

To finish off the dinner, a comforting bowl of red bean soup with lotus seeds.

Overall Impression

I was really impressed with Peninsula’s execution for the banquet dinner. The dishes were flavourful though not overly salty and greasy and there were some really nicely presented dishes. I can’t understand why they would garner such a low rating on Yelp and Zomato, perhaps their dim sum is not what people expected. At $150 per person, their Chinese banquet seems fairly valued and I’m a fan of what they have to offer. Rating: 4.5/5

Peninsula Seafood Restaurant
Address: 650 W 41st Ave, Vancouver, BC
Website: www.bandao.ca/‎

Brunch at Spade on Commerical Drive

August 17, 2018 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

It had been several months since I visited Spade (see post here), an Italian cafe and restaurant on Commercial Drive. Spade opened less than a year ago and is the sister restaurant of Prado. By day, it’s a place for espresso-based drinks, Italian sandwiches and salads and at night it transforms to a restaurant serving cocktails, wine and family-style plates in the evening. This past weekend, I visited Spade to try out some of their brunch and lunch items.

Disclosure: I had received a gift card from Spade. Most of my meal was covered by the gift card. Opinions are my own.

Spade Brunch and Lunch Menu

On the daytime menu for Spade are Italian breakfast bowls, sandwiches, toasts, salads and wraps. The bread they use is from A Bread Affair – a certified organic bakery based on Granville Island.

What I Tried

They have a lovely seating area just outside the cafe with a signature Spade painted on the wall.

We ordered the Eggs in Purgatory ($9.50), Porchetta on Toast with an egg ($10), and a Beetroot Latte ($5.50).

Eggs in Purgatory

A very tasty dish featuring two poached eggs in a spicy, flavourful chili tomato sauce on sourdough toast. The sourdough was fantastic with a nice chewy flavour.

Pink Latte

The Pink Latte is a special offering at Spade. It features a beetroot blend with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, honey and steamed with raw almond milk. The drink is vegan, caffeine-free and organic. Proceeds from every Pink latte are donated to The Downtown East Side Women’s Shelter and Cynthia’s Place in Surrey which is a part of the Elizabeth Fry Society. I enjoyed the flavours of the latte which tasted mildly of beets. I also liked that it was a dairy-free latte which is great for someone like me who is a bit lactose intolerant.

Porchetta On Toast

This toast had shaved porchetta, romesco, arugula, pickled red onion, green mayo, on sourdough. The porchetta I found was a bit understated. Perhaps the portion was just too little? I found that the arugula and sourdough came through more in each bite.

Overall Impression

The brunch/lunch items I tried from Spade were overall pretty good. I’d be interested to revisit in the future and try more of their menu. Rating: 4/5

Spade Coffee Spirits & Treats
Address: 1858 Commercial Drive
Website: www.spadecoffee.ca‎

Tea Selection

Bonsai Candy Floss & Scones

Golden Flower Cocktail

Golden Ferris Wheel

Tiffany-blue jewelry box

Overall Impression

Kensington Cafe

What We Tried

Overall Impression of Little Pebbles

Larger Space

Tabom Menu

What We Tried

Service

Overall Impression

Savoury

Sweets

#1 BUBBLE TEA BRAND IN THE WORLD

Chatime Richmond Alexandra Road Menu

Overall Impression

Interior

Morak Korean Restaurant Menu

What We Tried

S5 – Yuzu Pork ($20.95)

S6 – Ggebi Chicken ($18.95)

B5 – Squid and Pork Bulgogi ($15.95)

H9 – Rice Cake Stew ($7 for a small)

Service

Overall Impression of Morak Restaurant

Modern, Chic Interior

Fiore Menu

What We Tried

Beef Carpaccio ($12)

Pappardelle ($24)

Finocchio ($19)

Manti ($24)

Service

Overall Impression

Service

12-Course Dinner

Course 1: Crispy Piglet Platter | 鴻運當頭：脆皮乳豬大拼盤

Course 2: Peninsula Speciality Soup | 喜氣洋洋：半島精品工夫湯

Course 3: Sweet Green Beans, Fried Shrimp, Scallops | 甜甜蜜蜜：碧綠甜豆炒蝦球帶子

Course 4: French Foie Gras with Abalone | 幸福美滿：法國鹅肝拼鲍魚

Course 5: Lobster Duo | 縱横四海：墓葸煽雙龍蝦

Course 6: Braised Pigeon | 龍鳳呈祥：紅燒三喜鸽

Course 7: Steamed Fish | 魚跃龍門：清蒸海上鮮

Course 8: Vegetarian Bowl | 海誓山盟：法海蒲團

Course 9: Peninsula Speciality Fried Rice | 福星高照：半島特色炒飯

Course 10: Fried Noodles | 長長久久：干燒伊麵

Course 11: Cookies with Goji Berries and Sesame Balls | 心心相印：美點雙輝

Course 12: Red Bean Soup with Lotus Seed | 百年好合：蓮子百合紅豆沙

Overall Impression

Spade Brunch and Lunch Menu

What I Tried

Eggs in Purgatory

Pink Latte

Porchetta On Toast

Overall Impression

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