Progressive latin cuisine is not something that you typically hear being served in Vancouver.  But one newish restaurant in Kitsilano, Cacao, specializes in just that and perhaps could be credited for coining that term.  Cacao opened just about 10 months ago in the Armory District which is home to quite a few popular restaurants (AnnaLena and Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co).  Most recently, Cacao received the honour of being nominated by Air Canada’s Enroute Magazine as best new restaurant in Canada.  I had heard about them when they had just opened and fellow food blogger, David, had a rave review about them.  With some high expectations, a group of us visited Cacao for dinner on a Ladies Night Out this past weekend.

Note:  None of the food in this post was sponsored.  This review is done anonymously.

Progressive Latin

So what exactly is Progressive Latin cuisine?  Helming the kitchen at Cacao is chef and co-owner Jefferson Alvarez (formerly Executive Chef of the restaurant at Secret Location).  In an interview with the Georgia Straight, Chef Alvarex noted that Progressive Latin means they are always developing and trying to do as many Latin flavours as they can.  For example, one dish can incorporate flavours from three different continents.  Customers can expect a range of Latin flavours from Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and more.

Cozy and Inviting

Located at the corner of West 1st and Cypress, Cacao actually is a two level restaurant:  the ground floor being the main dining area and the upstairs is the cocktail bar.  They also have tables outside the restaurant (on the side and in front) which is perfect for al fresco dining in the summer.  The dining room seats just about 30 people so reservations are recommended for large groups.

What We Tried

My friend had made a reservation for our party of four and our table was ready when we got there.  We started off the evening with some drinks.  I had the Ginger & Basil mocktail ($8) which was too subtle in flavour.  I thought that the ginger flavour could definitely be stronger.

My friend had the Guarapita ($10) which was the house made fortified Sangria.

The amuse bouche was a Black Bean Arepa, cornmeal biscuits, stuffed with chorizo.

For an appetizer, I went with the Tostones ($14) which is fried plantain topped with avocado and mezcal cured salmon roe.  The fried plantain had an interesting texture being firm and starchy and generally dense.  The avocado slices added a creaminess to the dish.  I quite enjoyed the bursts of juice from the salmon roe.  I thought the appetizer exhibited quite a bit of creativity and interesting use of ingredients.

My Main was the Duck ($28) which a sour chocolate sauce infused with decaf coffee.  Subtle yet wonderful aromas of chocolate and coffee emanated from the dish.  The duck was reasonably tender and chewy and the sauce went well with it.  Although the sauce was noted to be “sour,” I just found it to be subtlely bitter and sweet.  I soaked up all the sauce I could with the meat as it was delicious.

Another friend had the Pan Seared Bransino ($25), a fish dish, which came with green plantain and pipian rojo.

For dessert, I had the Flor de Jamaica which is hibiscus semifreddo dipped in liquid nitrogen, shattered and sprinkled with pop rocks.  The dessert came out smoking and I needed to mix it all up together before eating.   A very innovative and memorable dessert with a meringue-like texture accented with pop rocks.

My friend had the Tres Leches ($10) which is a sweet corn sponge cake topped with coconut milk.

Service

Our server was on point throughout the evening in terms of taking our orders, checking in and keeping our water glasses full.  My only concern, though small, was that the dishes came out rather slowly perhaps due to the greater attention to detail.

Overall Impression of Cacao

The dinner at Cacao was truly memorable with dishes that showed a lot of creativity and excited the palate with interesting flavours and textures.  I would recommend others to try Cacao and go for a three-course meal in order to be satisfied as portions were smaller.   I’d be interested to try the Journey (tasting menu) sometime in the future. Rating: 4/5

Cacao
Address: 1898 W 1st Ave, Vancouver, BC
Website: https://cacao-vancouver.squarespace.com

Mak N Ming is a new, modern fine dining restaurant in Kitsilano that serves cuisine with French and Japanese influences.  They recently were nominated by Air Canada’s Enroute Magazine to be one of Canada’s top new restaurants.  Kristina (drunkennoms.com) and I were curious about their menu so we decided to try them out recently for dinner.

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Note:  None of the food in this review was complimentary.  This review is done anonymously.

Tasting Menus

Mak N Ming is chef-owned and operated by two chefs and husband and wife duo: Makoto Ono (Mak) and Amanda Cheng (Ming is her Chinese name).  If you’ve dined at Gastown’s Pidgin before (see review here), you might find an air of familiarity in the menu and ambiance at Mak N Ming.  In fact, the two chefs formerly had worked there with Makoto in charge of the savoury and Amanda executing the pastry.

At Mak N Ming, there are only tasting menus: a 6-course one ($78) and a demi ($54).  Both come with an amuse bouche and a plate of mignardise at the end.  I must admit that the limited and higher-priced menu deterred me from visiting Mak N Ming until I found the right dining companion – the adventurous and amazing Kristina of drunkennoms.com – who was interested in doing the Chef’s tasting menu as well.

Interior

The interior of Mak N Ming is small being just 850 square ft and accommodates up to 28 people.  The design is minimalist but elegant and refined featuring wood, marble, and leather elements.  The restaurant has no bar but there is a table in the centre of dining room which has wine glasses and wine chilled in galvanized tubs.  This apparently was a clever design for a dining room that was too small for a bar.

The fact that they are offering a modern fine dining experience in the food hub of Cornwall and Yew makes them a bit of standout compared to the more casual pubs and eateries in the area.  I mean, just across the street is Basil Pasta Bar which is known for cheap $10 pasta.

Chef’s 6-course Menu

We started off with an amuse bouche that was very much like a corn fritter.  I enjoyed the warm filling sandwiched between the light and crispy shell.

Next up was the New Zealand abalone which was tender yet still retained a nice amount of chewiness.  The abalone was pre-cut into many slices that had a perfect thickness for eating.  On the side was grated cucumber and black garlic sauce.   For some added taste was sea salt which was placed underneath the abalone shell.  The grated cucumber cleansed the palate from the sea salt and black garlic sauce.

The third course was my favourite of the meal in terms of taste and presentation.  The dish was Eggs and Green Peas featuring pea yogurt with crepe noodles topped with quail egg and tobiko.  You needed to mix in the egg and sauces before eating.  I loved the light and smoothness of the crepe noodles.  The yogurt and egg added a creaminess to the dish.  I enjoyed the textural contrast from the crunchy tobiko.

The Parmesan French-style bread with garlic aioli was a heavenly combination.  The bread stick was light, crispy and could be dipped easily into the creamy, tangy, garlic aioli.

The black sesame glazed sablefish with lettuce on the side was an interesting dish.  I must admit, not the most visually appealing of the dishes.  I love a buttery, tender sablefish and this black sesame glazed one was delicious with a hint of nuttiness.  The vegetable puree and lettuce cleansed the palate from the black sesame.

Moving on to starches, we had a bowl of crispy rice cooked in corn broth topped with ricotta, blanched corn, and crispy ginger.  I can see that Chef tried hard with this dish but it didn’t resonate with me.  In my opinion, corn with rice doesn’t seem inventive enough for me and lended more like “peasant cuisine” rather than fine dining.  It helped fill me up but this rice bowl certainly wasn’t a favourite of mine.

One of the desserts we had was the pickled blueberries with soft meringue and honeycomb.  Now as a dessert fan, I was really expecting something more visiually appealing for dessert.  So when we received a bowl of yogurt with blueberries, I wasn’t terribly excited.  I thought the meringue and honeycomb were nice touches but felt the dessert needed more effort particulary the presentation part.

The Summer Peach, a deconstructed dessert, faired slightly better in my opinion.   The dish featured a cardamom poached peach with vanilla cream and pate brissee.  The pate brisee was insanely delicious being rich, buttery, crispy yet still crumbly.  The peach was bursting with flavour and very tender and juicy.  The vanilla cream was lusciously smooth and creamy.

The plate of mignardise featured a blueberry financier, plum gelee and chocolate with malted chocolate ganache.

Overall Impression of Mak N Ming

In general, I thought the dishes tasted good overall and the flavours went well with each other from course to course.  However, some of the dishes were just too simple for my liking like rice and corn and blueberry with yogurt.  Unfortunately, the Chef’s tasting menu at Mak N Ming didn’t impress me as much as I had hoped.  The flavours seemed to have depth but the presentation was too simple and were generally not very visually appealing.  My favourites of the Chef’s Tasting Menu were the New Zealand Abalone, Eggs and Green Peas, and Summer Peach.  Rating: 3.5/5

Mak N Ming
Address: 1629 Yew Street, Vancouver, BC
Website: www.maknming.com/‎

References

• https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/with-a-notable-clarity-of-vision-mak-n-ming-is-truly-love-at-first-bite/article34912889/
• https://www.straight.com/food/855776/photos-mak-n-ming-brings-elevated-dining-kitsilano
• http://scoutmagazine.ca/2016/07/15/diner-talented-chef-duo-opening-mak-n-ming-in-kitsilano-before-the-end-of-summer/