F O U R weeks

That's all it took.  Four weeks to lose all the muscle I worked hard to build up over the past year (since June 2010).  Cross Country (running) season is coming up and I won't be allowed to run for at least another month.  Sigh, life sucks.


I've been eating hospital food for a while now... and my perception of typical hospital food hasn't changed.  It tends to be bland (with the rare good meal ie. veggie curry) and boring.  No exciting rainbow trout with green olive & anchovy tapenade, or veal lasagna with a fried spaghetti garnish - we get stuck with VERY unsaucy spaghetti and meat balls, hummus wrap that doesn't taste authentic, or a peanut butter and jam sandwich.  Yum.  I also had a week where I was eating about 6 banana's a day.  No exaggeration.


One thing that I did get to celebrate was my birthday - and with birthdays comes cake... delicate, rich, and heavenly tasting cake.  The one that I had was the High Five Cake at Senova on 57th and West Blvd.


I've had several things from there before such as stuffed trout, linguine puttanesca, lasagna, antipasto platter, caprese salad, etc.  They are ALL so good.  They aren't overly salty, they're light, they appease the taste buds, and give you that "feel good" moment that's possible with amazing food.  Though Senova is a small place, it should not be overlooked.  Often small places tend to be surprising - go check out a local cafe or restaurant that you may pass by and not think about - you might leave the place with a surprise, and possibly a new favourite restaurant.

The Cake to the left is the High Five cake, the tiramisu was also delish, and the Cheesecake was alright (I'm not a huge fan of cheesecake, but everyone else enjoyed it).  Hopefully you'll step out of your comfort bubble and try a new restaurant.  Maybe you'll enjoy it, maybe you wont, but what counts is that you're giving a local a chance to show their skills (or lack of skills).  But the best restaurants, I found, were the small-er independently owned restaurants, rather than chains.

Don't go, Aqua Riva!

Recently both Lumiere's and DB Bistro closed down, 

WITHOUT me having a taste of their fine food before their closing.  I've heard great things about both restaurants, but never got a chance to try them, and I regret that.  Though one restaurant that I have tried, and loved, was Aqua Riva.  After hearing about their future summer closing, I thought "I HAVE to go there again".  My friends and I were literally squealing and jumping out of our seats while waiting for our food.  Why? Because the three course menu looked so damn decadent.  Surprise was a huge element played in our enjoyment of the food of course, when we arrived at Aqua Riva, we never expected a three course menu to be waiting patiently beside the un-touched regular menu.  Not only did it consist of our favourite foods, but the food was made as it should at a fine dining restaurant: fresh, indulgent, and of course, delicious.

Starters

Truffle Pizza

Organic Greens with Madrona
Valley Goat Cheese Brulee with
roasted almonds, Chilliwack dried
cranberries, candied salmon
 & lemon basil vinegrette

J started with a pizza, I don't remember what was on it besides truffles (and of course cheese) but god, was it delicious.  T and I started with the Candied Salmon Salad.  Which just happens to be one of my favourite things ever - wait, almost every food is my favourite thing ever.  Slightly drizzled with a refreshing dressing, pieces of candied salmon, nuts, and topped with creamy goat cheese. 

Lamb with Mashed Potatoes

White Asparagus Risotto

Mains

For my 

Salmon with Risotto

main course, I couldn't pass up the salmon filet with truffle risotto - salmon and truffles are VERY high up on my "Favourites" list (yes, I said before that I don't play favourites but...).  J, being more of a meat eater ordered the lamb.  Not just any lamb, but Wood Grilled Peace River Lamb Sirloin with roasted shallot & yam puree, date & pistachio marmalade with mashed potatoes.  T, ordered the third option which was the White Asparagus risotto.

Dessert

Chocolate cake or Apple-cranberry crisp? I don't know about you, but I couldn't decide.  I had to call my waitress back to change it from the Chocolate Cake to the Apple-cranberry crisp.  This decision was so difficult - I thought that my mind was going to implode.  C'mon, who doesn't love chocolate cake? Especially with mousse. Mmm...  But I always get Chocolate cake when I get dessert, so to try something different, I got the Crisp - and boy, was I ever happy.  This crisp, was so... beyond what words can describe.  It got me hooked onto Fruit Crisps.  The oat coating was the perfect texture, it had enough 'crisp' to it to complement the piping warm soft fruit inside.  Just pure happiness.

So there you have it - a three course heavenly meal that was enjoyed by a Foodie and her friends with no guilt.  It's good to have those meals once in a while - or daily.  It's up to you. (I prefer daily, but my thighs and stomach disagree)

Now lets take a 180

Unlike the elegant and delicious food of Aqua Riva, Shaughnessy Restaurant's pricy hit and miss menu doesn't appeal to my tastebuds.
First Experience: I had got to try several menu items - Seafood Stuffed Cannelloni with lobster scented cream sauce, Pacific Coast Paella, Crispy Organic Steelhead Trout & Seared Qualicum Scallop with Lemon Spatzel with toasted almonds, and the Mac & Cheese with a side of fries.  The calorie bomb of a Cannelloni was delicious, it was the best thing that I tried there that night. The side watercress and tomato salad was also very tasty.  My second favourite thing I tried was a tie between the Paella and the Mac & Cheese, but that doesn't mean that I liked it that much.  The Paella was kinda dry, and just meh tasting.  The Mac & Cheese had a nice crispy coating, and was filled with cheese and bacon which didn't enhance the flavour, which I'm sure was the purpose of the bacon.  Other than making it's consumers a pound heavier.  Then the Lemon Spaztel was just... no.  I didn't really enjoy that enough to take a bite of the Trout.
Second Experience: "First the worst, second the best..." did not apply to my second experience at Shaughnessy restaurant.  This time my favourite meal was the Grilled Prawn & scallop Quesadillas.  My only complaint about them would be that they were dripping with oil from being deep fried - that made them crispy and even more delicious, but they were WAY too oily, and not filled with enough prawns and scallops.  All I could taste (and see) was cheese, oil, and the crispy outer crust.  My brother ordered the Mac & Cheese again, and this time, I'd have to say it was pretty good.  But like the Quesadillas, the Mac & Cheese was way too oily.  It was possibly from the bacon - but then why was the first time my brother ordered this was this dish more dry?  I could also take another guess that they put more cheese in this time, but I'm not sure why it was better this time.  My grandmother had the Chicken Pot Pie which I didn't taste, but it looked good.  My grandfather had the Clam Chowder Soup, and the Hamburger.  The soup looked meh, and the burger, looked greasy.  I stole half his toasted bun because he didn't eat any of his burger with cheese and bacon, and also because my bun on my tuna burger looked as if it just came out of a bag that was bought at Safeway.  My Tuna Burger was filled with cabbage, tuna, dill and chive aioli, and tomatoes.  You would think that there would be some tuna in a tuna burger, but I was able to finish my tuna with half of the bun left.  As for the dill and chive aioli, I asked to have it on the side, but they smothered it all over the burger, and all I could see was what I thought was coldslaw, but it was just the green cabbage and aioli.  With the tuna hiding in the mess of cabbage.  So I sent it back to get the aioli on the side, and I think they gave me an un-toasted bun because of it.  Let's just say I was not a happy camper with this burger, at all.

Last Words: Go check out the VanDusen Gardens, but skip the garden salad, or the restaurant as a whole unless you want to play a little lottery with the food.  As for Aqua Riva, I suggest giving it a taste before it's too late; Like it was for me and Lumiere's and DB Bistro.

Dine Out Vancouver: Hapa Izakaya

As a HUGE fan of Three Course Menu's, I could not give up the yearly experience of Dine Out Vancouver.  Hundreds of restaurants offer Three (sometimes four, five, six, even nine - Yes, Banana Leaf had a nine course menu) Course Menu's concocted of the dishes they believe are top notch, at other $18, $28, and $38.


So for my first Dine Out 2011 Experience, Hapa Izakaya, a western-modern Japanese style cuisine, was my target.  The fact that they divided their menu into three menu's (vegetarian, meat, and seafood) appealed to me, therefore my friends and I decided that Hapa Izakaya on Yew would be the ideal restaurant.  Though you were allowed to choose any dishes from any menu (mix n' match).


Going to restaurants with friends is always the best, because you don't feel bad asking to try their every meal, therefore I was able to try food from all three of the mini-menu's, which I have to say, was delish.

Appetizers from the Vegetarian (Gomaae, edamame, chilled tofu - mini platter of all three) and Seafood Menu (Negitoro: finely chopped Albacore tuna belly topped with sesame oil based sauce, onions and green onions; served with garlic toast)

Yes, that's me stealing my friend's Salmon risotto croquette: dashi risotto with salmon and deep fried topped with oba mayo. And yes, it was delicious.

The Appetizer on the Vegetarian Menu was simple.  Chilled tofu (no sauce) so it was tasteless, but it tasted good when I mixed it with the Ahi Tuna Sauce (sesame sauce).  The edamame was unexpected, and in the good way.  The smokyness of it woke up my taste buds because I assumed that it would be the normal salted edamame beans.  But it had a hint of Miso, which I presume made it taste smoky.  The Gomaae was also very flavourful.  The small bits of feta cheese definitely added a little oomph to the green beans & asparagus delicately covered with the sesame sauce.


When I asked my boyfriend what his favourite part of tonight's dinner was, he didn't say "The  Meatballs and bacon" (two of his favourite things combined), or "Ishiyaki", but he said "The garlic bread."


You heard right.  The bread. (See picture above: Part of the Appetizer for the Seafood Section)

Two plates of the Kalbi: grilled BBQ short ribs marinated in sake soy

I didn't try the BBQ Short ribs, but I was told they were REALLY good, and I trust my friend's taste buds.

To finish the night, there were three orders of the Sesame cheesecake: sesame crust, topped with raspberry puree, and one order of the Crème Brulee: vanilla scented.

C'mon, you have to agree that the cheesecake looks delicious.  AND it tasted even better.  If you don't like cheesecake, no problem, this still might be a choice for you because I'm not a big fan of cheesecake at all.  The cheesecake was smooth and creamy, the crust was the perfect balance of sweetness and sesame, and with a little drizzle of raspberry puree - my mouth is watering thinking about it.

To wash that all down, how about a Hello Kitty?

HELLO KITTY
Vodka, Calpis, strawberry puree and soda

Of course that's available virgin.


Last Words:  Is Hapa Izakaya worth it?  YES.


Speed: Dishes come fast, with the exception of one.
Size:  The plates are perfect for sharing, or eating yourself.
Atmosphere: Uplifting, and lively.
Overall: Why are you still reading this? Go get up and get yourself to Hapa Izakaya on Yew!


No, it wasn't THAT good, but it was high up there.  My favourite dish though is the KINOKO MESHI: Hot stone bowl with rice, mixed mushrooms, and iwanori (seaweed seasoning), mixed tableside, which I highly recommend you try.


So if you're looking at these pictures and thinking "Darn, I wish I went."  You can drool even more while checking out the whole menu below.
Hapa Izakaya Dine Out 2011 Menu

Not as comforting as mom's comfort food, but still decent

Comfort Food makes you feel like a teddy bear: warm and fluffy inside.  So when White Spot introduced their new Comfort Food menu, I thought I'd give it a try.

So the Creamy Curry Chicken it was.

That doesn't seem much like comfort food, and it did not create the "warm and fluffy" sensation, but I'd have to say it was alright for a non-authentic Indian curry.  (I'm not Indian so I'm not an expert on Indian curry but I've had Indian curry before so I used that as my comparison).  Ironically, my favourite part of the dish was the broccoli, there was something about the texture that made it so perfect.  They were soft, yet still had a little crunch.  Smothered in the curry sauce... yumm.  Add the rice pilaf and you have a decent meal, if only it came with some naan bread.

Of course it's nothing compared to other dishes available out there, but for White Spot, it's worth a try.

The seafood fusillini on the other hand was in war with my tastebuds.  The noodles were too soft to my liking, the sauce was not "sauce" like (too much tomato), and the whole dish was just not what you would expect out of a pasta dish.  Hoping to receive al dente noodles, those dreams were shattered with a plate of limpy pasta.  This is why White Spot is not attracting Italians.

As for pictures, I wish I took some but I was in such a rush (thank my dad) that I wasn't able to take any.  Next time, I promise you'll have some visuals.

For now, eat yourself silly with chocolates as Valentines day is soon!

Check out their menu:
White Spot Comfort Food Menu