2012-08-09 Dinner @ The Lobby Restaurant & Lounge (Pinnacle Hotel at the Pier)

138 Victory Ship Way, North Vancouver, BC

604-986-7437

We don't venture out to North Shore too often, but being a budget-conscious couple, we made our way over the bridge after Buddha Girl purchased a deal voucher on Travelzoo for The Lobby Restaurant & Lounge located inside Pinnacle Hotel at the Pier in North Vancouver.  The deal entitled us to any two appetizers, any two entrees and a shared dessert.  What I liked about this deal was it had very minimal restrictions.

 

We made a reservation for 6:15pm but arrived early at around 5:30pm.  Just like its name, the restaurant is located at the lobby-level of the hotel.  We were greeted then seated by the window.

Bread basket arrived promptly after we ordered.  There's nothing special about the bread, however, we were pleased that the butter balls were at room temperature. 

Being the big boy, I order two appetizers.  First was the Local BC Crab Cakes.  These were well formed and well seasoned.  The only downside was these were a bit too crisp.  My preference would be a simple pan-fry crab cake where the outer texture is less "hard".  I didn't quite like the citrus dressing, just a personal preference.

My second starter was the Alberta AAA Beef Carpaccio.  The fried onions and truffle-scented rocket greens (arugula) worked well with the dish.  This was a well presented dish and I would order it again.

Buddha Girl started with a Tiger Prawn Cocktail.  A simple dish that was, well, simple.  The prawns weren't the best quality, they kind of reminded us of Costco prawns.  While it's not as good as Trader Joe's, the cocktail sauce provided was still quite enjoyable.

Next came my pan-seared Haida Gwaii Halibut served with Yukon potatoes, vegetables and saffron sauce.  The fish was cooked perfectly.  It was moist and tender with a nice crust on top.  The sauce was mild and it did not overpower any part of the dish.

Buddha Girl had the Duo of Wild Salmon, a dish we both loved.  The dish presented two different techniques using two different but similar fishes, coho salmon and sockeye salmon.  While both were cooked a bit past perfect, neither was overcooked and neither overpowered the other.  The chorizo was a bit on the saltier side.  The orzo was not quite al-dente but it was still good.  The truffled gnocchi was firm and nicely flavored. 

For dessert, Buddha Girl opted for Citrus Mascarpone Doughnut Rounds.  This was served with warm Belgian chocolate sauce, blueberries, strawberries and a scoop of ice cream.  I'm not a dessert person so not much to comment about this dish.

My wife and I enjoyed our experience.  Our server was courteous and attentive.  The ambiance was comforting.  We look forward to our future visits.

2012-08-08 Dinner @ Accent Cruises (M.V. Burrard Queen)

MomJ, Buddha Boy and I were invited by David/Susana from New Town Bakery & Restaurant 新城餅家餐室 to join their annual staff appreciation party.  This year, they chartered the M.V. Burrard Queen with Accent Cruises for a dinner cruise along the harbor.

All cruise staff, including our captain, were extremely friendly and pleasant, however, the cruise director (couldn't recall his name), was impatient, rude and discriminating.  One incident that I could never forget (nor forgive) was when the cruise director, literally, yelled at a group of New Town employees when the group significantly didn't understand English.  Throughout the night, the cruise director kept rolling his eyes whenever things "did not go as he directed" and treated majority of the attendees like second-class citizens.  I would strongly advise all my clients, and all FFB readers, to stay away from Accent Cruises.

Other than what was catered by the yacht kitchen, David/Susana also provided some Chinese food.  Overall, the food was nothing memorable.

Buddha Boy and I spent most of time on the upper deck.  Despite the lousy cruise director, we enjoyed our evening with beautiful scenery and great company.
Thank you David/Susana!

2012-08-08 BLLT @ Edible Canada

1596 Johnston Street, Vancouver, BC

604-662-3606

Less than a week after munching at Edible Canada (see post 2012-08-03 Snacks @ Edible Canada ), we were at Granville Island again.  This time, with MomJ, we were invited by New Town Bakery & Restaurant 新城餅家餐室 to join their staff appreciation dinner cruise.  Since we arrived pretty early, plus we thought the cruise food may not be sufficient for us, Buddha Girl and I headed over to Edible Canada for a quick BLLT (Bacon, Lobster, Lettuce & Tomato).  Unfortunately, we left extremely unsatisfied and disappointed.

First off, my wife picked me up from work at 5:30pm, we got there at approximately 6pm and place our sandwich order.  We waited...and waited...and waited.  After fifteen minutes, Buddha Girl was getting impatient and insisted that our order was forgotten...and she was right.  The restaurant was pretty dead.  The to-go window was slow with only us waiting for food.  Throughout our wait, we constantly made eye contacts with the kitchen staff but they were busy chatting and giggling.  After approximately another five minutes, I finally went up to the window and asked...yup, with no apologies, they forgot.

So what did we end up with?  Take a look at this crap.  The bun wasn't toasted.  The tomato was roughly and poorly cut.  The lettuce lacked texture and was just "dumped" on the bun.  Moreover, I didn't think the lettuce was butterhead but Eric Pateman, founder/owner of Edible Canada, insisted it was.  Taste-wise, the whole package failed.  Simply speaking, our mood hampered our enjoyment of this sandwich.  

We tweeted our concerns after we approached the take-out window.  The next day, founder/owner of Edible Canada, Eric Pateman, contacted us to find out what happened.  After speaking to Eric, he apologized and offered to make it up to us.  We give props to Eric for acknowledging and reaching out to concerned diners.  In the end, we kindly declined his offer but assured that we will return.  After all, with our previous satisfactory visits, this perhaps was an "off day" for us all...

2012-08-04 Lunch @ Nishiki Sushi 田七壽司

6501 Victoria Drive, Vancouver, BC

604-323-0002

Originally, since Buddha Boy was out golfing with the guys, I was going to have a lunch date with Octopus.  Just when the ladies took our time and bummed around trying to figure out where to eat, I got a text from Buddha Boy asking us where we were...yup, the big boy needed more food!!!  Apparently, the guys cut their lunch short because one was still hung-over from the night before and needed to go home, ASAP...hahahaha!

I suggested to try the $7.95 mix-&-match combo noodles at Nishiki Sushi 田七壽司 on Victoria Drive and East 49th Avenue in Vancouver, the same block where my Chinese herbal doctor is.  The combo does not include a drink, instead, it includes a snack (choice of spring rolls or yam tempura).

My usual selections of Udon 烏冬 ($0.50 extra) in Parsley & Century Eggs 芫茜皮蛋湯底 (grrr...drives me nuts when restaurants call it "parsley" when it's really cilantro) with Chicken Ball 雞丸 and Pan Fried Chicken 日式煎雞扒.  I opted for Spring Roll 春卷 as snack.

Let me tell you, the soup base was, if not at par, better than those popular places such as Deer Garden Signatures 鹿園魚湯米線 or Cattle Cafe 牛仔餐廳.  Yes, pork broth was detected, however, the "fish" fragrance made its strong presence without being fishy.  The bowl didn't have much cilantro but it had a good amount of century egg wedges.  The meatballs were store-bought.  The tender and moist chicken was served with salty teriyaki sauce.  The vegetarian rolls were boring.

Octopus had Rice Noodles 粗米線 in Tomatoes & Pumpkins Soup Base 番茄南瓜湯底 with Sliced Chicken 滑雞片 and Fish Puffs 魚腐.  They somehow gave her the right soup base and the right noodles, but the toppings were completely off.  Octopus ended up getting the right ingredients on a side plate.  Lucky Octopus, got extra toppings for free...hahahaha!  The Yam Tempura 甜薯天婦羅 was pretty standard.

Buddha Boy suggested an order of Phoenix Roll (left) to share.  This was simply a California roll topped with layers of smoked salmon and mango.  The Spicy Chopped Scallop Hand Cone (right) had chunky scallops, but I was expecting the spicy sauce mixed in with the chopped meat, not drizzled.

Since my dear husband doesn't like soup noodles, he ordered a Teriyaki Chicken Combo.  This came with a standard Miso Soup and a bowl of white rice with furikake.  The order was served on a hot plate with the chicken sitting on top of a bed of vegetables (mostly cabbage).  The chicken was moist, but the teriyaki sauce was, again, salty.

The restaurant is owned by Chinese, but from where I couldn't quite detect.  On my first visit, a while ago, I heard them speaking China-Mandarin.  Then on my second visit, I heard them speaking Cantonese with a Vietnamese accent.  This time, the Cantonese sounded very "Hong-Kong"...

2012-08-03 Snacks @ Edible Canada

1596 Johnston Street, Vancouver, BC

604-662-3606

Summer is coming to an end and I still have not yet tried any of the B-A-C-O-N offerings from Edible Canada, what's wrong with me? 

The menu of bacon, bacon, and, yes, bacon, was only offered at their to-go window.

First up, Bacon & Duck Rillette Poutine.  With crumbled bacon, duck rillette, cheese curds, caramelized onions and gravy all piled on a bed of duck fat fries, this poutine was a hit.  Everything worked well and I really enjoyed it...well, there's bacon on it, how could I not?  My only suggestion would probably be to use better cheese curds and perhaps a bit more gravy.

Next was the BLLT, or the Bacon, Lobster, Lettuce & Tomato.  This was our favorite of the visit.  As you can see, this looked like it was put together with care.  The Swiss roll was fresh and soft with a nice crust from toasting.  The butter lettuce and tomato added the freshness.  The creamy lobster happily married crumbled bacon.  This was a delicious sandwich.  I, or we, had no complaints about it.

The weakest part of our meal was the Crispy Fish & Bacon Tacos.  One was salmon and the other was catch-of-the-day (or in their words, "daily ocean wise seafood"), which appeared to be cod.  Honestly, there's nothing wrong with the tacos, they were just simply underwhelming.  Compared to TacoFino Cantina, these tacos were boring.  Perhaps adding some corn relish or avocado?  In any case, these were not bad, but not memorable either.  We wouldn't order this again. 

My name is Buddha Boy and I love B-A-C-O-N.