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!

Classic Chocolate Chip (Oatmeal) cookies

Today we're going to share a recipe that we've been using for years! Who doesn't love the classic chocolate chip cookie? This batch of cookies has some oatmeal in it, for those of us that are still about about keeping up healthy eating habits in the new year (disclaimer: these cookies aren't really THAT healthy).

INGREDIENTS (yield is about 40 cookies depending on size) 

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs 
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2.5 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (we used a combination of butterscotch and chocolate chips this time. mix and match is a good way to go if you're feeling adventurous)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Cream butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla until very smooth and fluffy.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. In a food processor, blend oatmeal until fine (NOTE: this has to be fine or the cookies will turn out "weird"). Add to flour mixture
4. Stir butter mixture into flour/oatmeal mixture. Blend well
5. Add chocolate chips and walnuts. Stir until blended. 



Yummy cookie dough ready to be shaped

6. Roll into golf balls size and bake for 8-10 minutes in the second level from the bottom of the oven. You do not want to over bake these.

These tiny little balls are filled with goodness. If you're a chocolate fiend, adding a few extra chocolate chips would not hurt at all

The final product! pardon the shadow, we baked this late at night. 

Mini Apple Pies with Cheese Streusel Topping

Happy new year, folks! Our latest kitchen adventure happened during the holiday season, but it's good to be back to talk about it. Our original recipe for mini apple pies called for Pillsbury pie crusts. Little did we know that everyone else in the city wanted to make pies for christmas. We had one night to bake these goods, and after several trips to about 5 different supermarkets, we decided we needed to experiment on making our own pie crust. We're pretty happy with the result, so here is what we used to make apple pies from scratch:

Crust:  (care of the internet with a few tweaks)

Ingredients: 
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 stick) cut into small pieces
4-7 tablespoons ice water

Process: 

1. Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl and stir briefly until the mixture is aerated. Add the butter and mix it with the dry mixture until fully combined (some sort of powdery consistency) 
2. Add ice water one tablespoon at a time just until the dough comes together - do not overmix the dough as it becomes tough to handle
3. Shape the dough into discs and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour 

Disc of crusty dough ready to be chilled for 60 minutes

While the dough is chilling, we prepared the apple filling and cheese streusel. The filling recipe was taken from here. And the streusel was a kitchen creation.

Apple filling: (about 24 mini pies, and a little bit of extra filling) 

Ingredients: 

10-12 apples (we used a mix of granny smiths and fuji apples) 

12 tablespoons of flour

1.5 cups of sugar

4 teaspoons cinnamon

Process: 

1. Wash, peel and remove the apple cores. Then slice into small pieces. 
2. Mix the diced apples with flour, sugar and cinnamon until all of them are coated evenly

Cheese Streusel: 

Ingredients: 

1 cup grated cheddar

5 table spoons evaporated milk

8 tablespoons sugar

12 table spoons flour 

Process:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients
2. Slowly mix in the milk until texture is consistent (we like to use our hands) 

Here comes the fun part! 

How to put all the pieces together: 

1. Preheat the oven to 400. Add 1 teaspoon of flour to lightly coat a flat and clean surface and place a disc of dough at the centre. 
2. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it is about 3mm thick. Use mason jar lids to make circular cutouts of the dough and place lightly in a muffin pan
3. Press the dough against the top edges but make sure it does not touch the bottom of the mold (halfway is best guess).
4.  Add the apple filling until level with the edge of the mold. 
5. Take a pinch of cheese streusel and flatten into a disc that is big enough for the muffin pan mold. Lightly place the disc on top
6. When ready, place in the oven for 18-20 minutes. The crust is not supposed to brown, so don't place it in there any longer.
   

   

   Mini apple pies assembled in a muffin pan right before we popped them in the oven

   
   Enjoy!!!
    

Chocolate Crinkles

Tis the season to be jolly! The Holidays are upon us and Christmas is just around the corner. This can only mean one thing...

HOLIDAY BAKING!

Chocolate Crinkles is a cookie dear to our hearts because it's something we've grown up with. It's not a common type of cookie and not everyone knows what they are. But all you need to know about them are that they're delicious soft cake like cookies rolled in confectioners sugar. When they bake, the dough rises and little crinkles peak through, hence their name. Crinkles are a staple in our Holiday Baking because not only are they delicious... they're also low maintenance and are very easy to make.

Here is the recipe:

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Steps:

1. In a bowl mix together the cocoa powder, white sugar and vegetable oil until it forms a shiny and gritty black dough. 
2. Add the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together your dry ingredients.
4. Mix the dry ingredients into the chocolate mixture until just combined. Do not overmix.
5. Chill the dough for four hours or overnight.
6. Preheat the oven to 350F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
7. Scoop out the cookie dough and roll eahc piece into 1 inch (2.5cm) sized balls using your hands and roll them in the confectioners sugar and place on the cookie sheets.
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then transfer to  wire rack or plate to cool completely.

Chocolate Crinkles

Note: You can be adventurous and mix other flavors in with the confectioners sugar to create a flavored crinkle.  We mixed the confectioners sugar with some cinnamon and green tea powder as well.

Cinnamon and Green Tea Chocolate Crinkles

The cinnamon crinkles turned out great. The cinnamon added a nice unsurprising kick to them. The green tea ones were alright, but the green tea made them a little bitter, so if you decide to try them we would suggest only mixing in a small amount of green tea. Other suggestions could be some coffee, or earl grey tea.

Give these holiday cookies and try, they're sure to be a crowd pleaser! 

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!