High school reunion - Provence Marinaside

I can't believe September is almost coming to an end!!

Time surely flies and, no, I am not at all ready for my journey to Cambridge!

Perhaps a little more Vancouver seafood will calm my nerve...

so there I went to the Provence Marinaside :)

I haven't heard much about this place other than its pricy price tag, so off we went!

whole crab - $41 - 5/5

I ordered a whole crab - steamed with beurre blanc sauce.

OMG.

The crab was incredibly meaty and sweet.  It tasted great with the beurre blanc sauce and although priced at $42, I do believe that it is quite reasonable for a restaurant located at yaletown harbour front.

I do believe that the condition of the crabs are seasonal tho so - be careful when you go in I guess...

Grilled Whole lobster with beurre blanc sauce - $37 -  4/5

I didn't try this personally but according to my friends who've tried it, it was plump and sweet.  The meat was firm, indicating its freshness and yea, what more can I say? it was pretty awesome!!

You can also have it steamed or sautéed (same with the crab, but crab can't be grilled)

overall we had a great time there at Provence.  Although I wouldn't recommend their antipasti so much (esp the ones from the show windows)but their seafood is definitely of high quality and if I were ever back in Van again I wouldn't hesitant to give them a try over The Keg's crab dinner!!

food - 4/5 - antipasti were not good...

Service - 4/5 - attentive server; quite knowledgable as well

Ambiance - 5/5 - date night <3 although a tad noisy, you still get the awesome view of granville island from seawall!!

Mizuki Buffet - a much too "sweet" and "pungent" Seattle adventure

I know.

I know.

But I am not a foodie with really refined taste buds and I must admit that I do enjoy occasional splurge on mediocre quality food at large variety!

(come on, regardless who you are, you must have craved for McD fries or delivery pizzas for at least once at some point of your life... something "junkie"...;) you know I am right!)

Anyhow...

My brain, in response to my recent dieting (btw, reached my goal of 100lb!!!) urged me to get a fatty buffet fix to award myself for reaching my ideal weight.

Since Jordan and I have planned my last states trip before I head to UK for schooling - I thought I'd take this opportunity and find myself a vegas style buffet in the states with unlimited seafood!

My all time favourite Eagle's buffet at Tulalip Casino has gone down the hill tremendously (and no seafood on Friday night) so I had to search for a new place and that's when I came across Mizuki Japanese buffet.

Located in a deserted strip mall near the Sea-tac airport; Mizuki is surely a neighbourhood's fav because 1) it is one of the few surviving business in that strip-mall (most of the places are empty and out for lease) and 2) the place started to fill up quickly at 5:00pm Friday night.

The restaurant is quite large with a huge dining hall.

The bathroom is also fairly clean (at around 5-6pm; not sure how it will be after...)

Jordan and I started our meals with some salads/veggies.

The field greens were of good quality as I didn't find any wilted or rotten leaves in my salad.  There was also a caesar salad, a coleslaw, a beet and onion salad; as well as some cucumber and tomato salad.  Condiments were placed right next to the salads which consisted of Italian, French, Caesar, Ranch... etc.

Over all, I find the salads to be decent quality and I enjoyed the sprouts tremendously (love sesame sprouts!!) 

I ventured into the Chinese food and sushi/sashimi section after I finished my salad.

Here is a list of things I remember from the buffet table (this is for references only as it seems that the buffet table changes quite often)I will add in my comments with bold so you can do a quick read.

From the inner most station (the one directly across from the main entrance): 

Fried items, chicken teriyaki, crab cakes, grilled sausages, roast beef, grilled pork ribs:

Tried the crab cake and ribs here.  The ribs were pretty decent.

The rest of the items there looked dry and a tad gross so didn't bother trying anything else.

Crab cake was passable.

Next station (after the see-through grilling kitchen:

Veggie spring rolls, pot-stickers, deep fried frog legs, fried wonton wrapper with cottage cheese filling, imitation crab meat au gratin, steamed mussels, and pizzas

The spring rolls were good - crispy and light.  The pot-stickers had good tasting pork and cabbage filling but the skin was so dry that I couldn't chew through.  Deep fried frog legs were cooked really dry too; though the salt and pepper coating is still crispy. 

Steamed mussels - the exposed edges of mussel flesh were completely dried up; it was hard.

3 soups:

Hot and sour, miso soup, and cream of broccoli soup and steamed rice

Tried the hot and sour soup. It was your standard Knorr soup package.

More fried items!

 French fries, chicken wings,  some other fried items I cannot recall...(yam?), deep fried salmon bits, stir-fried green beans, fried dough (no idea what it was... could've been sweet?)

I did not try anything from this station... The entire table seemed really unappealing..

Chinese food station:

Chicken and broccoli stir-fry; fried rice; general tao's chicken (???? sweet and sour pork?); hibachi beef (more like beef cubes stir-fried with mushrooms); some sort of fish, stir-fried rice noodles; seafood stir-fry; clams in black-bean sauce, shrimp in Chinese wine sauce, steamed Lobster, Snow crab legs (cold), mussels on half shell, kelp salads, beet salad, various potato and cole slaw (unhealthy) salads.

Steamed lobster was quite disgusting - first of all, there was a lot of the body pieces which not only have minimal amount of flesh in them but also difficult to extract. The few tail pieces I found tasted really mushy and had foul smell to them perhaps due to the fact (and I truly hope this is the reason; not that because the lobsters are bad....) that they didn't bother devein the lobsters.

Snow crab legs had some funky smell to them too.  Though the legs were nice and large, the flesh for some reason were stuck to the shells that made it really difficult to eat.

Shrimps in Chinese wine sauce were also quite mushy and they were also difficult to eat because of the hard to peal shell (I am beginning to think it is their strategy.... haha)

Clams in black-bean sauce was good - at least the flesh wasn't stuck to the shell!  It wasn't gritty (phew) and the clams were fairly large. The sauce was a tad towards the sweeter side.

Mussels on half shell was laughable - defrosted previously frozen mussels (I doubted its safety...)

I only picked broccoli from the chicken broccoli stir-fry and I liked it.  I love over cooked broccolis for some reason so, if you are not a fan, you will probably hate it.

Hibachi beef was cloyingly sweet.  Though the beef chunks were nice and tender and mushrooms were surprisingly NOT over cooked (hooray!) but the sauce was much too sweet.  It tasted like sugar coated beef chunks.. This is where we began our "sweet adventure"..

General Tao's chicken was horrendous - I can almost swear that it was sweet and sour pork; wait, substitute pork with dried freezer tasting things; and there you have it.  This deep fried thing in this ultimately sweet sauce.

The kelp salad had a foul smell to them too (kind of like, mop after it has been wet and sitting there for too long)

Seafood stir-fry was Okay.  It was quite sweet too.

Japanese food station: located right to the left hand side of the restaurant!

Oysters on half shell; and scallop sashimi on half shell

Various rolls including BC roll with salmon or crunchy tempura left over on top.  Various sushi/sashimis i.e. scallop sashimi, salmon, tuna, tuna tataki, squid, octopus, snapper,sweet shrimp.. etc etc...)

Oysters on half shell was definitely disgusting.  Please do not try them.  And I am afraid that they might kill you (I don't know what possessed me to actually try it...) Thank you mother for an iron-like digestive tract that I am still alive to write this blog.

Scallops on half shell was mushy and tasted like nothing. (previously frozen - honestly those cannot be used to make sashimi...)

The salmon and tuna sashimi were too fatty and too dry, respectively.  The only palatable sashimi there were amaebi (sweet shrimp) and squid.  There was also a larger scallop sashimi that still tasted mushy and quite disgusting. (no sweetness that you'd expect from a scallop sashimi)

For some reason they like to drizzle this really sweet sauce (no idea what it is...) onto all of their sashimi items that made them quite unpleasant.

Seaweed salad was really sweet. (REALLY sweet)so were the other japanese inspired salads.

Various rolls were actually Okay (rice doneness aside) - some rolls were actually quite enjoyable.

I did not bother trying any desserts because they had minimal selection and baked goods and they had tab ice-creams for self-serve.

Over all, I did not enjoy my experience here at all.  I guess for $24pp, I was expecting way more considering mandarin Buffet at Redmond is only $15 and serves up way better quality buffet food.  I am just glad that I didn't get sick from this experience because it seems that they will definitely fail the health inspection on handling of many of their food items.

It is understandable that their targeting the locals and I do like Americanized Asian food but their version is simply way too sweet even for someone with high sugar tolerance like me. 

Food - 1.5/5 - I am really sorry, it was just bad; +0.5 for the effort of offering lobsters and snow crabs for buffet in a local joint 

Service - 3.5/5 - our server was tentative and did what she was supposed to do; quick and efficient

Ambiance - 3.5/5 - the restaurant at least appeared really clean with a really clean bathroom (very rare for an asian restaurant)

Lobster Summer at The Keg steakhouse and restaurant Granville Island

After dining at The Keg on Thurlow last time, it officially became our favourite steak restaurant in GVR.

No, really, for the price to quality ratio, the steak at The Keg is one of the best you can find.

Other places like Glowbal, Hy's, and Ruth's Chris; yes, they serve up great steaks, but also come with premium prices.

The Keg is the only place that can satisfy your steak craving (esp if you are a meatatarian like Jordan) without breaking the bank! (and we love the casual ambiance! you don't feel the need to be in something particularly fancy... just like having a steak dinner at granny's home!)

Anyways, because I kept on mentioning the Lobster Summer at the Keg - Jordan got annoyed and was partially "forced" to dine at the Keg with me. 

Don't get me wrong, he still loves his steaks.  It's just he's been trying to lose weight and a steak dinner really won't help...... (plus he's been restricting his diet, so you can imagine the CRAVINGS!! Hah!)

I chose The Keg Granville Island for no particular reason other than the fact that I could not book burnaby The Keg on Open table (and I just don't prefer New Westminster the Keg.... no particular reasons either!)

It was a beautiful sunny day... 

After circling around Granville Island, we somehow managed to snatch a (free) spot right in front of the Keg.

yay!

All Vancouveriattes know that it is difficult to find a free parking on a beautiful day during the summer on Granville island - it is THE tourism spot!

Upon checking-in with the maitre' d - we were lead to a quiet two people table.

Our server was really pleasant and answered all our questions including one of my really dumb question regarding their larger sized prime rib... (I swear they had a 24oz prime rib on menu before!!)

Anyhow... now to the food!

lobster and crab spinach dip - $9.95 -  3/5

 It was cheesy, creamy, savoury and a bit nutty from the sautéed spinach.

Great compliment to the crunchy nacho chips (except for approx 30% of the nacho chips weren't crunchy but rather hard... I cut the back of my mouth with a chip.....

They gave us half a lemon but I wouldn't recommend squeezing all the juice into the dip - I found it to be too tart and over powered the flavour of the dip.

BUT!!! For $9.95 - this was alright.  Yes, it's true that you could barely detect any crab or lobster meat but.... it was a good dip :)

16oz Prime rib (as rare as possible) with baked potato - $ 28.95 - 4.5/5

 The Prime rib is their specialty... Undeniable!!

Tender, juicy, and flavourful.... I mean, what more can you ask for a piece of prime rib at 16oz and less than $30??!  

It was served with au jus and horseradish... oh so heavenly!

The only failure is the fried onion string - somehow it is almost always soggy and oily :(

why not replace it with seasonal veggies or fries?  Even onion rings (2 large but crunchy ones) would have been better!

8oz sirloin with half lobster - $38.95 - 4/5

8oz sirloin with half lobster - $38.95 - 4/5

Now the main attraction.... surf & turf!!!

I debated for a long time :(  

I was originally going for the full atlantic lobster ($41.95) - but I suddenly had a craving for steaks too!! (girls are indecisive creatures. FACT) 

Of course my greediness came in and I wanted both steak with lobster..... but I really didn't want Sirloin because I knew it would be too tough for my liking...

(later I learned that you could opt sirloin for prime rib at $1? or $5 extra.... make sure you ask!!)

According to our server, the lobsters weighed 2 - 2.5lb on average on our day of dining.  I now regret not ordering the whole lobster!

Anyhow...

I ordered Chicago style medium rare sirloin with half a lobster.

The meal came with some grilled veggies and a twice baked potato.

The Lobster was surprisingly... A-MAZING!!!! 

It was sweet, bouncy, and full of meat.  All positive signs of a fresh lobster.

I thoroughly enjoyed my lobster with lemon and butter...

and felt a tad of regret from not ordering the whole lobster!

The Chicago style sirloin steak was not really my favourite.

I usually go for the tenderloin or the filets...

I don't like chewy meats. (though sirloin is definitely more flavourful)

It was nicely charred on the outside and a tad over cooked on the inside (closer to medium)

My steak was really really well seasoned - yet it was quite tough (for me; Jordan liked it).

I would really suggest to order the prime rib with the lobster (will definitely worth every extra penny!)

Over all we both enjoyed our dinner at the Keg.

Our server was friendly and everything was smooth - we didn't have to wait for long to receive our bread, and we received our entrees right when we finished with our appetizer.

Food - 4/5 - The Keg food. Predictable but good.

Service - 5/5 - We were tacked in a quiet corner but our server checked up on us quite often. Though you may want to take into consideration that we went in at 5:30.

Ambiance - 3.5/5 - The Keg ambiance but more antique-y than posh - it's a tad old but things are in good condition; just old. 

Market by Jean-Georges at Shangri-la hotel Vancouver - Great patio!!

It was supposed to be a girl's night out but... we had several guys joining us for the night :)

We wanted a nice patio for these hot summer nights, so I arranged us to meet at the Market by Jean Georges at Shangri-la hotel.

I had a great experience at the restaurant's patio, so I recommended the place and everyone agreed!

Off we went!

We had 7 people so it was a little hard arranging for us at the patio as the patio seats were first come, first served.  So we actually had to wait for quite a bit for our tables to be ready....

At least the complimentary rosemary dusted popcorn was quite tasty!

When we were seated, we were presented  with the full menu.

Judy went for the watermelon and goat cheese salad and the truffle, fontina cheese pizza.

Watermelon and goat cheese - $10 - 3/5

Truffle, fontina cheese pizza - $19 - 3.5/5

Judy enjoyed the watermelon, goat cheese appy quite a bit.  She thought it was creamy yet refreshing with the use of the watermelon.  I felt that the watermelon was too warm and not sweet enough - hence the entire dish became a little too sour and bland.  The goat cheese tho was really creamy with just the right amount of gaminess.  

Only if the watermelon was a tad colder (and sweeter!!)

Overall, it was a good balance between creaminess and refreshing, grassy taste of the watermelon.

The black truffle, fontina cheese pizza with a tad of fricassee and chives topped was a good pizza.  I got a tiny hit of truffle scent which was perfect because it wasn't too strong.  However, the truffle paste felt like the truffle paste I have once purchased from one of the "eat Vancouver" event - which is a bit disappointing.  I know how much I have paid for that entire jar of truffle paste........ 

Though, the pizza had a great, well balanced taste.  

don't you just hate it when the truffle oil really over powers?

Tuna tartare - $16 - avocado, spicy ginger relish dressing

Jenny and I shared a Tuna Tartare and a steamed shrimp salad ($18 - no picture...)

I had these two dishes last time I visited them and they were simply amazing!

I had to recommend them to my friends so... we got the two to share :)

The Tuna tartare was refreshing with the spicy la-yu oil providing a great kick and the ginger dressing cutting through the richness of the tuna.  I liked the tanginess from (perhaps ponzu?) some sort of citrusy dressing.  It really brightened things up a lot! The avocado beneath the tuna tartare provided another layer of creaminess to the already creamy tuna tartare that when you place the entire thing into your mouth, it is an explosion of flavours with a perfect  balance of creaminess, tartness, spice, and savoury.  

Loved it!!

The steamed shrimp salad with Champagne dressing was another stunning dish.  The dressing was a great balance between sweet. savoury, and tang.  I loved how they placed arugla together with shiso leaves and mint.  

Every bite was like a little surprise of flavour burst in your mouth because it wasn't your usual combination of the greens.

ahhh - so heavenly!!

cheesecake - N/A

Siny decided to order  a dessert instead of an appie or a meal.  She opted for a cheesecake.  

According to her, it was creamy and well balanced.

She enjoyed it!

Over all, our experience at Market was pretty good.  We loved the patio and courteous service.  Though the price was to the higher side, it was still well worth the trip if you were looking for a fun evening with courteous service.

Food - 3.5/5 - I really did not enjoy their main dishes last time, so make sure that you stick to the appies instead.

Service - 4.5/5 - impeccable! Always courteous just like their hotel service!

Ambiance - 5/5 - we LOVED the patio!! Though the inside is also really nice!

2005 Yiron Galilee from Israel - $$?

2005 Yiron Galilee from Israel - $$?

2005 Yiron Galilee from Israel - $$?

2005 Yiron Galilee from Israel - $$?

Gosh this was a tasty wine!!  I just randomly found it in Jordan's collection (he hates wine... :$ so I am doing him a favour.....)

Anyhow, I have no idea where this was from or why he has this and I just randomly picked it up and opened it.... The first glass tho wasn't so great because I didn't aerate it enough so the flavour was really harsh with really strong hints of barrel (oak?) flavour and it was actually quite unpleasant.  

The second day when I had my second glass... 

Oh My God, it was SO good.

Hints of cherry wood with a touch of oak barrel in the background; with predominantly the flavours of berries and some vanilla; it was unexpectedly fruity and surprisingly with minimal tannin (unlike many aged wines!!)  I love it........... and I feel terrible finishing the bottle all on my own!

Keep my fingers crossed that Jordan will not find out :$  

A day at the quay by new Westminster

It was our planned movie day to watch The Dark Knight Rises.  

Jordan went into the theatre at the beginning of this week, just to book a time to watch that movie.

Boys and their cartoons! (and yes we love the AVX service!)

Anyways, I thought it went a little too long... 2 hrs and 45 min was a tad too long and at 3/4 of the movie, it felt a bit draggy... well, that's just my opinion.

BTW, I LOVE Josephe Gordon-Levitt!!!! 

We went into the movie at 12:30pm on Saturday without anything in our stomach, so certainly we were quite hungry at the end of it. I mentioned the "buck-a-shuck" deal at the Boathouse and he was totally in! So we picked the New Westminster location and off we went.

Adventure 1: Appy hour at The Boathouse New Westminster

I made a reservation for us at 4:30pm.

From what I've read online, their appy hour runs from 3pm to 6pm at their lounge and on their website - the oyster special was $1 per shuck; and appies ranged from $3.99 to $5.99.

It was such a misled information and I am just going to say this up front that I will NEVER visit them ever again.  Yes, that's how disappointed we were.

First of all, after we were seated,we were presented with the appy hour menu where we quickly found out that the oysters were actually $1.29 per shuck instead of $1 as stated on their website

Immediately I felt ripped off as 30 cents increase is actually a 30% increase in price - it's quite a lot!!

We also found that the appies ranged from $4.99 to $8.99 instead of $3.99 to $5.99 as stated online.

Umm... time to update your website, maybe?????

With my bad feelings, we only ordered 1 dozen of oysters and 1 appetizer special (surf and turf $7.99) to share.  I also ordered a cocktail special of today which was the redheaded girl - according to our server it is similar to a crantinni except it is made of strawberry vodka.

Even with my pre-caution, I still regretted ordering a dozen oysters because I should've just ordered 2....

Yep that's how bad the oysters were.... We had 2 types of oysters.  One of them (smaller) being the boathouse kiss and the other one (larger) being the kumamoto.  

Jordan completely freaked out with how tiny some of the boathouse kiss were - the flesh was literally smaller than a penny.  We even wondered if they served us by mistake.

No, you cannot/should not serve people this for $1.29!!!!!

We quickly slurped down the oysters feeling EXTREMELY unsatisfied.  

And I thought the buck-a-shuck oyster at Oyster raw bar was a rip off!

Our other appetizer - Surf and Turf ($7.99) consisted beef satay skewer and their famous firecracker shrimp.  There were literally 5 of the 41/60 sized over cooked shrimps and 2 cherry tomatoes with 2 skewers of 20g tough beef skewers.  

This, cannot be $7.99..... no...

We were in shock!

Anyway, we quickly left the restaurant after we devoured down (perhaps within 15min) all the food....

We will not be back... I am so sorry.  Here is a generous warning to those of you who are looking for a great appy hour deal or buck-a-shuck... please, do not come here... :( it is not worth the price, and of course, you do not need to listen to me...

I ignored the warnings from some other diners and.... I regret not listening to them.  The $30+ I spent here could've been used SO much more wisely (if you continue reading my blog)....

Food - 1.5/5 - the martini was quite nice..........

Service - 2/5 - really slow, if you sit at the lounge or patio, you are more likely to be ignored...

Ambiance - 2.5/5 - it was Okay.  I wouldn't take someone here for a romantic dinner.....

Adventure 2: Re-Up BBQ

After a super unsatisfactory meal (mmm, can't really call that a meal...) at The Boathouse, Jordan and I ventured into the Quay market.  I knew there's the Re-Up BBQ that would for sure catch the carnivore's attention... 

so off we went!

3 meat combo - $20 - bbq ribs, pulled pork, and beef brisket

3 meat combo - $20 - bbq ribs, pulled pork, and beef  brisket

3 meat combo - sides - cole slaw, chilli, and mashed potatoes

Being the carnivore as he is, Jordan decided to go for the 3 meat combo.  We were free to choose 3 types of meats (among 4 - pulled pork, beef brisket, bbq chicken, and ribs)and 2 sides. (Cole slaw came with every meal)
Although I have read many negative reviews regarding their beef brisket (being dry and tough) - Jordan made the executive decision of getting the brisket over the chicken.  
We were so pleasantly surprised!

The beef brisket was wayyyy more tender and juicy than we expected and it was plenty flavourful from the sauce it came in.  Jordan noted that he detects abundant smokey flavour from the meats and the brisket was definitely tender (and I agree).

I even squeezed the beef brisket half way through our meal and the juice just woozed out!  Maybe we were just lucky but our experience with the brisket was more than satisfactory.  It was really tasty!

The pulled pork was pretty standard.  It was a tad dry and it wasn't "pulled" properly because I have gotten many chunks of meats throughout.  But honestly, I'd say that's nit-picking because really the flavour was great (I became a huge fan of their BBQ sauce - wayyy better than the Hog-Shack as the flavour didn't appear so aggressive in sweet, sour and saltiness)


The ribs, on the other hand, weren't the tenderest of all.  But just to be fair, many of the tender - fall of the bone ribs are par-boiled ribs. Meaning that they were partially boiled prior to be bbq-ed.  When you expect a BBQ-ed rib, it is generally a tad drier with a tad chewier meat.  I admit the fact that it wasn't heated thoroughly made a chewier rib - but I don't think it was a technical mistake when BBQ-ing their ribs.  Regardless, the meat was bouncy yet tender enough to be teared off the bones with teeth with minimal effort.

The sides were pretty standard fairs.  My least favourite was the cole slaw as it was mainly tangy and had least amount of other flavours.  
I guess with all the meat, you'd need something a bit more refreshing.....


ahh!! just too sour!!! :(


The Chilli and the mashed potatoes were pretty standard.  There weren't anything too special about it and the mashed potatoes; well, I'd recommend to order the biscuit instead as the potatoes were quite bland...


Over all at $25 (after tax and everything) - it was a much more satisfying meal than what we had at The Boathouse....

Food - 4/5 - way better than what we've anticipated; really disagree with some of the negative comments on Urbanspoon

Service - 4/5 - our food was brought to us though it was more of a pick-up-your-own-food kind of vendor... they were really friendly and patient with us!

Ambiance - N/A - food court... :$ but maybe if you enjoyed the water front view of Fraser river!!

Adventure 3: Crepe Des Amis

Lyon with Cheese ($1 extra) - Turkey, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes and ceaser dressing + cheese

Lyon with Cheese ($1 extra) - Turkey, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes and ceaser dressing + cheese

Lyon with Cheese ($1 extra) - Turkey, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes and ceaser dressing + cheese

Umm, so yes.  Call me a big eater - after all that BBQ - I went for a savoury crepe at Crepe Des Amis for my "dessert" :$

(Thank you mom for the fast metabolism!!!!!)

While Jordan went for the sweet (Chantelle) crepe - bananas, brown sugar, and walnuts; I opted for the savoury (Lyon) crepe.  

First thing I noticed when I received my crepe, was that the crepe itself was a lot thicker than I am used to.  It was crispy on the outside and chewy and fluffy on the inside - almost like a super thin version of the belgian waffle (does it make sense?)

I really really enjoyed the texture!!

The fillings were well balanced between savoury, tangy, sweet, creamy... the use of caeser dressing really boosted up the umami profile and it was just delicious!!

I was a tad worried about the undercooked mushrooms when he simply placed it onto the crepe but it turned out to be just fine!(though I'd preferred it to be sautéed... it would have contributed more flavour to the crepe!)

I only had a tiny bite of Jordan's Chantelle crepe but the entire thing tasted really nutty and not too sweet.  I liked it - but I liked my savoury crepe more!

Over all it was an enjoyable experience.  The owner was really friendly to all his customers (maybe because it was a slow day?) and the food was delicious.  I will be back for more savoury crepes!!! 

Food - 4/5 - really delicious crepes - though could work a little more on the fillings

Service - N/A (4/5 for friendly owner)

Ambiance - N/A - again, food court :)

Birthday dinner #2 - Joe Forte's, smoking dog bistro, and r.tl (regional tasting lounge)

So, there was a little funny story to this birthday of mine.

I got upset at Jordan for letting me plan everything myself.  I know, I know.... being a guy, he just thinks that it's the best if I plan everything myself so that I'd get everything I want.

But I don't want that!!

I just want a quiet  and relaxing birthday - I just don't want to plan!!! I'd be pleased with anything he plans, even if it were a free burger at Red Robin's! Anyhow.... so I got upset :(

Him, being the insensitive and man of the men and know that I simply can't resist seafood, surprised me with a seafood dinners weekend. LOL So now, after my crab dinner at The Keg, we are back to Joe Forte's (right across the street from the Keg) for more seafood!

Bread - with balsamic vinegar and lobster oil (3/5)

Seafood tower on Ice - 2 tiers - $60/person 3/5

The Bread - I loved the lobster oil.  But it was just, cooking lobster shells and heads in olive oil..... I don't understand how it can be sold for $22/bottle when it is easily replicated at home.. (with the waste parts too!) I'd recommend to make this at home if you love lobster - why wasting the shells and everything right? :)

The seafood tower - what a disappointment!  It was composed of (from top, clock wise) salmon fillet, oyster rock feller, steamed half lobster, dungeness crab, seared scallops and (middle) steamed mussels in white wine scarce.  The salmons were really really dry and tough; though the dill flavour really came through.  The mussels were the worst; they had a foul smell to them.  (This was the biggest turn off, as I didn't expect the mussels to smell funky... it didn't have to be fresh, but unsanitary was a whole different story!  Jordan had a mild allergic attack after consuming the food.... and I am suspecting the dirty mussels)

Our favs of the dish were the scallops and the oyster Rockefeller.

The scallops were really nicely seared and with a perfect doneness being plump.  It was bouncy and sweet; a great sign for it being fresh.  The Oyster Rockefeller, well, hands down for it to be their signature dish.  It was garlicky, sweet, savoury, crunchy and creamy... all the greatest flavour and texture combinations you can ask for!  A little splash of lemon cuts down the richness of the sauce a little and it was super heavenly!  

The ambiance tho was a bit too touristy - it almost seemed like everyone in the restaurant were a tourist.... our server wasn't very attentive either and we had to ask multiple times just for our water to be filled.  He only came around to take our orders and basically to give us our bill.  I didn't feel welcomed or well taken care of and really was a bit disappointed.

Food - 2.5/5 (fairly average for the quality....)

Service - 2.5/5 (not very attentive

Ambiance - 3.5/5 - great if you are a tourist!  but it looked a bit dated for me...

The smoking dog bistro - bouillabaisse - 3/5

I planned my girl's night out with the girls on the day of my birthday; so I picked the Smoking Dog Bistro in kits.  There were many more dishes ordered and other than the bouillabaisse I also tried the escargot as well as the baked brie.  The escargot was a tad too salty but it was plenty garlicky and buttery - but it was really salty....  The baked brie tho was creamy and paired well with the balsamic vinegar, cranberry, and (esp) the garlic!  

My bouillabaisse tho, was quite bland.  The saffron broth lacked any depth or flavour, the seafood was predominantly mussels and that piece of toasted bread was like a joke.... There were some spicy mayo at the bottom of the bread that not only made the bread soggy but also made no sense at all.  I didn't enjoy it very much.

However, what made the night was the company and also Jordan's second surprise.  

He phoned the restaurant and paid for all of our meals!

It was definitely a surprise and although a tad cheesy, it was definitely a plus point among all my girl friends :) A word of advice for all you boys out there: 

it is feasible - so try impress your girl's girls with this! 


Service for the night was great too; but that could have been because we were the only customers there.  We received all the attentions and even got a glass of wine on house!

Food - 2.5/5 - really average food...

Service - 4/5 - minus for server watching hockey during work

ambiance - 3.5/5 - not exactly romantic but definitely casual and comfortable

Bread chipotle butter - 2.5/5

Another day for my bday in yaletown with my faux sister - Sophi <3 we were roommate for 3 years in Toronto and she's just like my little sister; probably the closest person to me other than Jordan and my mother. :)  We headed to R.TL (Regional Tasting Lounge) in yale town for my bday gathering.

It really took me by surprise that a restaurant of this calibre is charging extra for the bread.  At $5, it does not live up to what it is at all.  The bread was cold and the chipotle butter was nothing special.  I wouldn't order this again; and I don't think you should either.  It's just not worth it!

We ordered the "La Formule for two" that was composed of :

Mussels - green curry - 3/5

(From left to right) Szechuan steak sliced flank, vegetables & spices 1.5/5 ; (choice) wild mushrooms 3/5;  mushroom  & truffle risotto, wild mushrooms, shaved parmesan 3/5

dessert - 

saffron gelato rose water, pistachio, crème congelé 

The mussels were really flavourful with a lot of lemon grass flavour.  However the steak was so tough that I could barely chew.  I liked the risotto as the truffle oil really came through and the rice was al dante.  (I love truffle oil so... it might be a bit overwhelming for some...)

The whole meal was $55 (+$5 bread) and Sophia and I ordered a bottle of wine to share.  It was definitely  not the best value but given the ambiance and the service (quite nice; but it was slow when we went in...) it was Okay.  

Food - 2.5/5 - mediocre at best - maybe we didn't order the right items?

Service - 3.5/5 - very good - but it was slow when we went in!

Ambiance - 3/5 - not the most romantic place; but definitely cute and chic