Type Archives | Foodgressing

Notch 8 Restaurant Weekend Brunch Buffet

June 20, 2018 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

Taking part in weekend brunch is a decidedly indulgent and wonderful way to enjoy your time off. At Notch 8 Restaurant located inside the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, weekend brunch is a delicious affair with Chef-led action stations, hot and cold offerings and a decadent dessert bar. The brunch is available on Sundays from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm; adults $59 and $29 for kid 12 and under. Having enjoyed Notch 8’s breakfast buffet, I was excited to try Notch 8’s weekend brunch. Here is a look at my experience.

Disclosure: I visited Notch 8 as media where my meal was complimentary. Opinions are my own.

To start, diners can choose from either a mimosa or Caesar cocktail as part of the buffet.

The buffet has a variety of offerings and is organized into different sections.

The pastry section features rustic artisanal bread, cereals, fresh pastries, juice, smoothies, whole fruits as well as carved fruits. Some of the cold offerings include coconut chia seed pudding and salads (like heirloom tomato bruschetta salad).

The charcuterie section features cheese boards as well as seafood platter with hot smoked salmon, sockeye candied salmon and cold smoked prawns.

Hot offerings are aplenty and include steamed dumplings (like har gaw and siew mai), French toast, wild salmon frittata, Canadian Bacon Benedicts, Porchetta Hash and more.

At the carving station, you’ll find classic prime rib, the feature rotisserie (it was Turkey when I was there) as well as Yorkshire Pudding and gravy.

Notch 8’s Chef de Cuisine Will Lew leads a very elaborate “Eggs on Toast“ action station. The dish can certainly be customized to your liking and here is the impressive list of ingredients available:

Eggs:
- selection of poached and sous vide eggs free range BC chicken eggs
- trout caviar| ikura | masago | lumpfish caviar
Toast: tuscan loaves | brioche | artisan sour dough| blini multigrain
Spreads: smashed avocado | tomato bruschetta | herb garlic neufchatel cream cheese
Toppings: smoked salmon bacon | crab| shrimp| prosciutto | Chorizo
Garnishes: Scallions | chives| dill | micro greens | pickled shallots | grilled cipollini onions
Sauces: Hollandaise| crème friache| motoyaki sauce

It was very entertaining to watch Chef Will create my customized Eggs on Toast creation complete with a fiery torching.

The ultimate eggs-for-brunch action station @notch8restaurant @fairmontvan led by Chef de Cuisine Will Lew. Take a look at the amazing ingredients you can choose from. Available at the weekend brunch buffet. – The Eggs: poached and sous vide free range british columbia chicken eggs | trout caviar| ikura | masago | lumpfish caviar – The Toast: tuscan loaves | brioche | artisan sour dough | blini multigrain – The Spreads: smashed avocado | tomato bruschetta | herb garlic neufchatel cream cheese – The Toppings: smoked salmon bacon | crab | shrimp | prosciutto | Chorizo – The Garnishes: Scallions | chives| dill | micro greens | pickled shallots | grilled cipollini onions – The Sauces: hollandaise | crème friache | motoyaki sauce #Media – #video #chef #cheflife #chefs #yvreats #chefsofinstagram #gastroart #brunch #fairmont #fairmontvancouver #fairmontmoments #theartofplating #chefstalk #videography #foodgressing #foodvideo #cooking #videoshoot #videostar #videograms #myvancouver #yvreats #vancouvereats #vancouver #sonya7iii #instagramvideo #igvid #gourmet #eggs #culinary

A post shared by Food•Travel•Lifestyle Blogger (@foodgressing) on Jun 19, 2018 at 4:43pm PDT

The drool-worthy dessert bar comes complete with a decadent selection that includes strawberry cake, pumpkin bundt cake, crème brulee, pecan pie, sticky toffee pudding, blueberry crumble, the OMG cake, cheesecake.

Diners can also enjoy music from a live DJ.

I certainly enjoyed the sweet and savoury offerings at Notch 8’s decadent brunch buffet. The weekend brunch buffet at Notch 8 is a great way to gather with friends and family over delicious food in a warm and inviting environment. I would love to revisit in the future and would recommend the buffet to others.

For reservations or more information, 604-662-1900 or email hvc.concierge@fairmont.com.

Notch 8 Restaurant & Bar
Address: 900 W Georgia St, Vancouver, BC
Website: www.notch8-dining.com‎

Soft Peaks Ice Cream Burnaby (Metrotown Area)

June 17, 2018 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

Popular Gastown-based soft serve parlour, Soft Peaks Ice Cream, opened a second location in Burnaby this past April. The popular dessert spot which opened in 2015 is known for their handcrafted, organic ice cream creations made with Avalon organic milk and creative toppings like locally made honeycomb, Himalayan pink salt and more.

After enjoying dinner at Dinesty on Friday night, we visited Soft Peaks for some dessert. It had been a while (see old post here) since I tried Soft Peaks and I was eager to have some of their soft serve again.

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

Spacious Location

Soft Peak’s Burnaby location has been reported to be double the size of their Gastown shop. There are a few dining tables near the front of the cafe, bench seating along the wall, and more tables at the back.

Soft Peaks Ice Cream Burnaby Menu

On the menu at Soft Peaks Burnaby are their signature soft-serve creations. The signature creations differ by toppings and syrups but you get to choose your soft serve flavour (classic milk, dark chocolate or twist). The desserts are mostly priced between $6 for a small size and $7-$8 for a regular size. Cups are available for either small or regular, while cones are for regular-sized only.

If you also feeling adventurous, you can also opt to build your own soft serve and customize it with toppings (like yuzu marmalade, red bean, and more) and syrups (like liquid honey, matcha condensed milk and more).

Also available at Soft Peaks Burnaby is an espresso-bar serving Milano Coffee. Their drinks offerings include an Espresso Shot, Americano, Cappuccino, Caffe Latte and Cafe Mocha. A few non-espresso signature drinks are also on the menu: the Strawberry Milk Tea and Black Cube Latte.

Unique to the Burnaby location is the Frissant Ice Cream Sandwich. Created by The Swiss Bakery, the Frissant is somewhere between a fritter and a doughnut. This is sandwiched around the soft serve and syrup of your choice.

What I Tried

I came to Soft Peaks to specifically try the Frissant Ice Cream Sandwich ($6.75) and it did not disappoint! The Frissant Ice Cream Sandwich had previously received unfavourable reviews as customers had complained about the Frissant being “stale.” However, in an Instagram announcement last month, Soft Peaks noted that they improved on the quality of the Frissant.

I can certainly attest that it is wonderfully butter, crispy and flaky. The soft serve did melt rather quickly but Soft Peaks did mention in their Instagram announcement that their soft serves melt faster when served in Frissant Sandwich as compared to when served in a cup or cone.

I went with the original/dark chocolate soft serve twist with a strawberry puree syrup and loved how everything was satisfying but not overly rich and sweet. In all, I very much enjoyed the Frissant Ice Cream Sandwich as compared to the too sugary Churros Ice Cream Sandwich I have had from Hugo’s Churros.

Overall Impression of Soft Peaks Ice Cream Burnaby

It was a solid experience at Soft Peaks and I am looking forward to visiting again soon. I recommend their Frisssant Ice Cream Sandwich and would love to have it again. Rating: 4/5

Soft Peaks Ice Cream Burnaby
Address: 115-4603, Kingsway, Burnaby, BC
Website: softpeaks.ca‎

Vancouver Happy Hour: Copper Chimney

June 15, 2018 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

Executive Hotel Le Soleil’s signature restaurant, Copper Chimney Indian Grill & Bar, has just undergone some changes to bring customers new and exciting experiences. The restaurant has new menus, a bread bar concept, gin and tonic bar and Happy Hour with an Indian Twist.

At Copper Chimney Indian Grill & Bar, you’ll find contemporary Indian comfort foods made in-house from scratch using family recipes, hand-ground exotic spices, and fresh BC ingredients. The kitchen also has two tandoor (clay) ovens to prepare some mouthwatering tandoori dishes. The extensive, yet simple, menus pair classic Indian dishes with more Western-influenced menu items with a few fun twists. Gluten-free, dairy-free and vegetarian options are available.

Copper Chimney’s Happy Hour features an Indian-twist on classic dishes. From handmade samosas, lamb meatballs or Bombay short rib sliders to squash fritters with tamarind dipping sauce and poutine creatively topped with butter chicken, Happy Hour at Copper Chimney’s Happy Hour menu is blending of cultures. Below is a copy of the Happy Hour menu.

I attended a media event where we sampled some of the Happy Hour offerings. Below are a few photos from the evening.

The Manchurian Cauliflower was my favourite item featuring a crispy, sweet and sour cauliflower.

The space at Copper Chimney is undoubedtly beautiful featuring art deco-inspired decor and soaring ceilings. They also have a very charming, private dining room on the second floor with pretty string lights and a skylight.

Copper Chimney
Address: 567 Hornby St, Vancouver, BC
Website: ‎www.copperchimney.ca

“Flavours of Summer” Farm-to-Table Pop-Up Dinner

June 8, 2018 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

This past week, the “Flavours of Summer” pop-up dinner was presented by Mielye Mitchell, Jorge Tuane and Aphrodite’s Organic Cafe. “Flavours of Summer” was a farm-to-table dining experience featuring seasonal organic produce from local organic farms such as Solefood Street Farms, Glorious Organics and Cropthorn Organic Farms. This dinner followed “The Flavours of Spring” event which took place last month.

“Flavours of Summer” included five courses with complimentary wine pairings and dessert. I attended as media; here is a look at all the deliciousness of the evening.

Amuse Bouche: Ahi Tuna

Puffed Rice Crisp – Ahi Tuna – Cilantro Aioli – Compressed Cucumber – Togarashi | Bella – 2016 Sparkling Chardonnay (Naramata, BC)