Dineout Vancouver 2014 Part 2: Chambar

This post is part 2 of our Dineout Vancouver series this year. If you haven't checked out our previous post, which includes a little blurb about what Dineout Vancouver is, you can find it here . This Dineout adventure takes us to Chambar ($38), a Belgian-inspired restaurant near crosstown (or the Stadium skytrain station).

We started off with two appetizers from their dineout menu and a side of Belgian poutine. The cauliflower soup and gambas played well, with generous portions. The gambas were unexpectedly not spicy and full of garlic as their Spanish counterparts, but the bits of chorizo were nice. Below is a picture of the poutine which we recommend because it's delicious and not as heavy as poutine normally is. It is taken beside their Earl Grey cocktail, which is basically tea-infused alcohol with what we understood was some Italian aperitif/digestif. 

Belgian poutine and an Early Grey cocktail

Cauliflower soup 

For mains, we went with the spiced rubbed duck breast with chestnut hummus, Brussels sprouts, pistachios and wild berry compote, a twist to what's normally offered on the regular menu. We also had the steelhead trout with swiss chard, shaved zucchini, meyer lemon, parsnip puree and mustard sauce. It's hard to pick a favorite because the flavors of the two were very different. We also regret not having room for the mussels, because Chambar mussels are also highly recommended and delicious. 

The trout (aka Duo de truite)

Spiced duck breast! 

What is interesting about this Dineout experience was that it left a dessert option for people that don't like dessert. We ended up with the coconut raspberry pannacotta (sweet..), which is served with a green apple sorbet, and the cheese plate (savoury!) which featured brie, blue and cheddar cheeses, each with a corresponding "sauce" (tomato jam, balsamic reduction, etc) and crostini. The pannacotta had a very smooth texture and is less gelatinous but is paired well with the sorbet which is tart. Our favorite cheese was the cheddar paired with the tomato jam because it really brought out the "cheesiness" of the aged cheddar.

Raspberry pannacotta and green apple sorbet

cheese plate 

The Chambar experience left for very happy stomachs and it would be a great place to have a nice dinner on occasion (we forgot to mention the eclectic background music and a good drink selection apart from what's featured here). This is our last post in our Dineout Vancouver 2014 series. We'll be back in the kitchen soon!

Cheers! 

Dineout Vancouver 2014 Part 1: Baru Latino

January is a special time of the year for Vancouver food lovers. Come mid-January the Dineout Vancouver Festival rolls around. It's during this time that the city enjoys 3 course meals for either $18, $28, or $38 at restaurants that would offer those same meals at a higher price for the rest of the year. We find it a good way to discover new eats or try things that don't normally fit in our "eating out" budget. Our first feature restaurant in 2014 is called Baru Latino, which is located in Point Grey/ Kitsilano close to the University of British Columbia.

Here's a look at their Dineout menu 

Baru Latino, from its name, is a Latin restaurant. Most Latin restaurants in town feature tapas, but Baru also has a solid lineup of Latin main courses and features Live Jazz on Monday nights. You can find their dineout menu here .

Ecuadorian Ceviche

Beef Tiradito

We ordered two kinds of appetizers. The Ecuadorian ceviche uses less fish and more other seafood and is served with a root vegetable biscuit. Later on we found out they offer two other kinds of ceviche which is made very differently depending on the Latin region. We also had the Beef Tiradito - a Latin rendition of carpaccio.

Paella! 

We made a unanimous decision to both order the Paella -- because this might have been the first time we've had Paella since moving to Vancouver. This Paella felt very fresh - without all the oily stuff we were expecting. The rice is less sticky and it's less loaded with chorizo and chicken, but filled with a lot of good seafood. The Paella is also served in a plate in a sizeable portion that we didn't worry about overstuffing ourselves, thankfully we had room for dessert...

which we forgot to snapshot. The dineout menu doesn't give diners a choice on dessert, but it does not disappoint! The Latin flan (better known to us as Leche Flan) was nice, sweet, VERY creamy and is served with a berry compote on top and mango/raspberry puree on the side. We'll be tweaking our existing recipe in a future entry to achieve a less gelatinous and more creamy texture to replicate this so stay tuned! 

Overall, it was a good dining experience and we're likely to come back to either try the other types of ceviche or more of the tapas not offered in the Dineout menu. Cheers!

Faubourg

We are very excited to announce that one of our favourite French Baking shops had just opened downtown across the Vancouver Art Gallery!

Faubourg's new location opened last month! 

What it looks like inside

Faubourg specializes in French baking, while offering the classic coffee/tea beverages. It also has a small patio, which is great because we're trying to get as much sun as we can before fall starts. 

Our Faubourg favourites include their bread/croissants, particularly the Nutella and pistachio flavoured ones. More importantly, they have awesome French macarons. What we like about the macarons is their texture - a solid macaron shell on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. Favourite flavours include Lavender Early Grey, Salted Caramel, Tahitian Vanilla, Cappucino and Dark Chocolate (we're clearly not fruity macaron people)

We were so happy we had to get a whole box

Macaron "feet" up close. Because making macaron "feet" is an art

And in case you didn't want to make the trip downtown to try these, Faubourg's original location is on Kerrisdale (41st and Arbutus). :)

BaoQi

While Vancouver has a lot of pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) places to dine in when the weather gets gloomy, pho is not the only Vietnamese option in town. If you're feeling a little more adventurous, this little gem called BaoQi, is a reasonably priced hole-in-the-wall place downtown. We recommend going either really early or really late, as the place is small (seats about < 20 people) and can get busy! Here are some of our favourite dishes from BaoQi, that don't involve Pho. 

Shrimp salad rolls

BaoQi has four kinds of salad rolls, each one patterned after a season. Since it is still summer, we decided on the summer salad rolls which uses the rice-based wrap, shrimp and some vegetables. This is served with what we are guessing is Nuoc Cham (vinegar dipping sauce).

Pomelo Salad

The best part about Vietnamese food is getting fresh vegetables into the diet--without it really feeling like you're eating vegetables. The pomelo salad is a mix of fresh chopped or shredded veggies, with a hint of spice and sweetness. Shrimp and pomelo is definitely a refreshing combination for a hot summer day.

Beef wrapped in Bettle leaf

Shrimp wrapped in sugar cane

BaoQi also serves a variety of foods "to assemble". During this dinner, we ordered the beef wrapped in bettle leaf and the shrimp wrapped in sugar cane. These dishes are served with Vietnamese rice wrappers (think really thin tortillas), vegetables (basil, shredded carrots, shredded daikon, cucumber, some bean sprouts) and some kind of rice noodle such as vermicelli. The fun part is taking the meat, vegetables and noodles into the rice wrapper and assembling it into a wrap before eating it. These dishes are also served with Nuoc Cham (vinegar dipping sauce).

Other adventurous dishes are available such as gelatinous shrimp cakes wrapped in banana leaves or a dessert (that we are unsure is in the real menu) involving coconut milk, black eyed peas and tapioca. All these are a good change from more common dishes like pho and vermicelli bowls. That being said, there is a pho option on the menu, if one wants to opt for some southeast asian comfort food on a rainy day!

Tropika

Got a craving for some Thai/Malay/Singaporean or just Asian food in general? When we're craving some Asian goodness, a favorite of ours is Tropika. Tropika serves a whole array of dishes from many different Asian countries.

We started off the meal by ordering their Chichee drink, which you can see in the top right of the picture. Tropika has quite an extensive drinks menu, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic but we decided on the Chichee because it was described as "everyone's favorite" and we soon discovered why! It was deliciously refreshing, sweet, creamy and satisfying! Because the description on the menu didn't really tell us much about what was in it, we asked the waiter and he told us it was a combination of coconut cream, pineapple juice, grenadine and ice. Who knew, such a simple combination would make something so delicious!

Following our drink, we ordered the sambal bunches (green beans pictured in the lower right) and this might've been our favorite of the night! They disappeared so quick! These bad boys packed a whole lot of punch and flavor in one bite!

As for our entrees we ordered some Hainanese Chicken and Beef Rendang Curry. Hainanese chicken is a classic Singaporean dish that is prepared by boiling the chicken repeatedly in various stocks which makes for an extremely tender and falvorful chicken. It is served with a light and sweet soy sauce like mixture on the side, as well as fresh ginger and some chili sauce if desired. The Hainanese chicken of Tropika did not disappoint! We also ordered the Beef Rendang Curry, which was soft and tender and had just the right amount of spice and kick to it. The only criticism we have is that the curry was a little oily, making it a little heavier on the palette but it was overall very rich and good. Of course an Asian meal is not complete without some form of rice! Tropika had many different types of fried rice to choose from but we settled on their Coconut Seafood Rice. We loved how it was served in an actual coconut! The rice was very good, and the coconut was very light and not overpowering at all. The little bits of seafood (shrimp and scallop) added a nice and welcomed touch. The rice went very well with all of our entrees.

Lastly, we finished our meal off with a traditional Malaysian dessert: iced kachaang (pictured top right). Iced kachaang is a combination of ice with some lightly sweetened coconut milk, different flavored jello and some asian ingredients such as red bean. The dessert was very light, and had the perfect amount of sweetness which was a perfect way to end our Asian feast.

The Parlour

We wanted pizza, so we got pizza. Introducing - The Parlour. 

The Parlour is a relatively new establishment, specializing in pizza. We must've been 8 people sharing 7 different pizzas, with plenty of leftovers after, meaning maybe 8 giant pizzas were a bit much. Here are some of the dishes we tried:

salmon tartar: salmon tartar with avocado, garnished with cilantro and served with what I'm guessing is toasted baguette

Prosecco: Haven't found many places in Vancouver that sell prosecco by the glass so this is a treat. Prosecco is a bubbly wine, and well, a cheap version of champagne--classy.

Bottle of Gehringer Riesling

The wake n bake pizza: Tomato, prosciutto, easy egg, basil, mozzarella. Fresh ingredients for a light but flavourful taste. 

Pizza prices are $17 CAD, mostly to share if you don't have a monstrous appetite. Other favorite pizzas included the Yaletown (albacore tuna, red onion , green onion, avocado, cilantro, spicy aioli) and The Standard (pepperoni, button mushroom, red pepper, onion, bacon, olive, mozzarella)--both are considered some of their best sellers. No qualms there. 

Word on the street is their white wine sangria is good too. Actually, take it from us-- their white wine sangria is pretty good.

Hapa Izakaya

An Izakaya is a Japanese tavern, primarily drinking places that serve small dishes for snacking. Hapa Izakaya's hapa hour starts at 5pm where a select number of dishes become cheaper than usual (50-70% off). We were a bit late for hapa hour (this week, so technically we arrived during sad hour). Nonetheless, here's what ended up on the table... 

Ebi Mayo: deep fried prawns coated with japanese spicy mayo

Tuna salsa dip: albacore tuna, avocado, seasoned with nori and taken with plantain chips

Ishiyaki (stone grill) bowls: on the left is the mushroom ishiyaki and to the right is spicy pork ishiyaki

Hapa Izakaya has a good selection of Sake, amongst other drinks. Moonlight pearl is my personal favorite which has less of a kick than Gekkeikan, the sake they serve if you just ask for "sake". Hapa Izakaya also has a seasonal menu that periodically changes several times a year on top of the usual hot/cold tapa favorites. I am happy to say that the Matcha Creme Brulee is a constant thing on the dessert menu, and a must try for all you matcha sweets fans out there. 

Reflections

The thing about Vancouver is that it rains ALL THE TIME, but it's very beautiful when it's sunny. That is why when the sun comes out, the entire city feels the urgency to spend the day outdoors, doing outdoors-y things and I suppose we can count chilling in a patio as an outdoor activity.

So we decided to hit up a patio-bar called Reflections in the fourth floor of the Hotel Georgia...

This is what it looks like on a sunny day

For drinks, we shared a bottle of Joie Noble Blend, which is a local wine from beautiful BC (Okanagan). This noble blend is a mix of Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Auxerrois and Schoenberger, aka it was sweet (a thousand wine loving souls have probably screamed in pain at that comment). To be honest, it's nice cause it's fruity and refreshing and we like sweet wines. 

Not to mention sweet cocktails. 

Hammer also had a Pimm's cup. 

And a bellini, which we failed to take a picture of. Reflections bellinis are made the old fashioned way, so less on the grenadine and slush and more of the peach flavour true to old fashioned bellinis. We're not going to mention how many we ordered... 

And for food... 

The charcuterie plate... 

Props on the prosciutto flower. The cheese was mostly manchego and I believe that spread with the hazelnuts on top is some kind of mango chutney. We went full out on the manchego-fest by ordering the risotto balls too (below). 

Three manchego risotto balls. <3 

and because everyone was relaxed and had a great time, we stayed all the way into the night. 

There's some wine... oh! and a half-empty glass of those delicious bellinis. 

Romers Burger Bar & Society Dining Lounge

A friend of ours bought a groupon to Romers so we decided on burgers for dinner last night. We're regulars at Romers, so we how could we say no to the prospect of getting a groupon? Romers has quite an extensive menu. Not your typical burger joint, they serve everything from entree sized salads to  amazing gourmet sides such as truffle fries (a favorite of ours!) Not to mention, Romers has quite a drinks menu. Apart from the usual cocktails and beer, they also have alcoholic floats and wine on tap!

We chose to start our meal off with Sangria and beer!

The extensive burger selection means there's something for everyone!

Apart from what's on the menu, Romer's always has a burger of the month. This month's burger was an angus burger with blackened spices, topped with smoked gouda, applewood bacon, tuscan greens, vine ripened tomato, white onions and a sweet onion chipotle relish. Once the server told us about it our minds were made up.

The burger of the month "gone green"

One of the great things about Romers is you have the option of "going green" for your burger - meaning, instead of their usual homemade brioche buns (which by the way are dangerously delicious) your burger will be served in a "lettuce bun". Great for the calorie conscious! On another note, the burger of the month was delicious yet spicy!  A little too spicy for our tastes, but delicious nonetheless. The gouda and bacon lent a nice smokey touch to the burger, while the sweet onion relish helped to balance out the spice from the chipotle. If you're into spicy, definitely give this guy a try!

Of course, our meal wouldn't be complete without an order of the truffle and parmesan fries!

Truffle and parmesan fries

A favorite at Romers, a meal is never complete without these fries! Tossed in luxuriously rich truffle oil and topped with fresh parmesan, the truffle fries at Romers never disappoint!

Of course a meal is never complete without dessert! Although we are big fans of the mini donuts at Romers, we opted to head to Society instead for dessert. We ordered their "Junkfood Platter". 

Junkfood Platter: spun cotton candy, caramel kettle corn, macaroons, chocolate chunk cookies, stuffed donut holes, triple layered chocolate cake, mini nutella creme brulee and maple soaked pudding. 

The Junkfood Platter at Society is always so sinful! This is where we get dessert when we can't agree on something. There's such a huge variety that the platter is bound to satisfy everyone's sweet cravings! Minimum of two people per order on this sinful platter!

Overall, a deliciously satiating dinner! Alcohol, burgers, fries and sweets - what more could you want?

Back Forty Saloon

Waking up on a sunny Sunday morning is a rare occasion in Vancouver, and called for Sunday brunch at a patio. We decided to go check out Back Forty Saloon for some chicken and waffles. Upon arriving, our server told us about  $3.99 mimosas on special, which were hard to say no to.

Bonus points for serving them in mason jars instead of champagne flutes!

And although the menu had some awesome items like steak and eggs, eggs benny's and hangover cures, our appetites called out towards the chicken and waffles.

The chicken was boneless, and super crispy and juicy in its buttermilk batter. The gravy-maple syrup combination worked well with the little bits of crispy bacon and scallions. Not to mention there were about 6 belgian waffles crispy and chewy at the same time. An order was about $14, which could have easily filled the two of us, and maybe then we could've had two mimosas each. Our only regret, is being too full to try the chocolate lava cake, which we will definitely be back for--- we did however make it to Bojangles for some afternoon caffeine by the harbor.

Overall Sunday brunch success!