Sherman's Food Adventures: Dine OutSide Vancouver @ The Rise Eatery

Dine OutSide Vancouver @ The Rise Eatery

Now I'm sure you have heard about Dine Out Vancouver where some of the best restaurants in town offer up special multi-course meals at fixed prices.  That usually occurs during the slower month of January into early February.  With Covid-19 and the accompanying fears of dining inside a restaurant, we now find Dine OutSide Vancouver where restaurants are offering multi-course meals that are served not only inside, but outside and to go.  I was invited to try the menu at The Rise Eatery along with Jacqueline outside on their patio behind the restaurant.  It truly is a hidden slice of peace and quiet to enjoy the food and sunshine.

Before we got to the food, we tried a few cocktails first including the popular Lolliwood North featuring Bench 1775 sauvignon blanc, lychee liquor, elderflower soda, cranberry & orange-mango popsicle.  This was refreshing, especially for a hot day.  Crisp and clean with various fruity notes, the cocktail was so easy to drink.  Presented in a beautiful green hue, The Green Light consisted of white rum, matcha, ginger ale, lime, vanilla, celery bitters and vegan foam.  As much as this appeared to be matcha-forward, it really wasn't.  Rather, it was light, and the matcha was subtle.  No bitterness or aftertaste.  

For our appies, we started with the Chicken Seoul Good with KFC (Korean Fried Chicken), wild mushroom cream, truffle oil and grated parm.  We've had this before and it didn't disappoint.  The nuggets of dark meat were tender and juicy with a firmly crisp rice flour coating (hence gluten-free).  As much as the mushroom cream appeared to be heavy, there wasn't too much and the lemon really brightened things up.  I liked how they were conservative with the truffle oil as it can often be overpowering.

Visually-appealing, the Lo Hay Salad Vegan Edition sported julienned cucumber, daikon, carrot, pickled ginger, onion, tomato and taro crisps with arugula, crisp vermicelli, toasted sesame and peanuts dressed in a apricot and beet vinaigrette.  Light and refreshing for a Summer's evening, this salad had plenty of textures going on and the brightness of the veggies.  Strikingly red, the vinaigrette was mildly sweet with good acidity and a bit of earthiness.  I enjoyed this very much.

Of course a visit to The Rise isn't complete without their famed Uni-versal Pasta XO Edition ($8.00 upcharge if you pick this for the set menu).  I consider this one of the real gems in Vancouver where it is as delicious as it is strikingly beautiful.  A combination of squid ink pasta, sea urchin cream, free run egg yolk, house XO sauce, sautéed prawns, flying fish roe and toasted seaweed, there is umaminess, taste of the sea, silky textures and the meaty snap of the prawns.  One of my favourite dishes in Vancouver without a doubt.

Our other main was the Fryday Meat-up featuring a medium-rare 5 oz. Flat Iron Steak, miso gravy, togarashi compound butter, frites and spicy vegetable jardinère.  Once again, this was a creative use of Asian ingredients that worked with what was essentially steak frites.  Beyond the tender and well-prepared steak, the compound butter was creamy and slightly spicy with umaminess.  Loved the pickled veggies as they were crunchy and offered up an appetizing zing.  Rich and thick, the miso gravy was a good accompaniment to the crispy fries.

I'm not a huge fan of lavender, but the Inside Scoop was fantastic.  It was basically mochi ice cream with passionfruit ice cream in the middle.  Dried lavender was sprinkled on top.  So yes, I did get the lavender notes, but it was completely balanced off by the tangy and sweet ice cream.  Even though it looked really cold, the mochi on the outside was soft and thin.  Loved the colour of the dish.

The other dessert was the Boba Coma with tea tres leches, brown sugar tapioca pearls, crème anglaise, crema, brown butter crumble and warm caramel.  Hidden inside the soft and lightly sweet tres leche cake were tender boba that were just sweet enough.  I liked the crumble as it added more buttery sweetness as well as crunch.  This was right up my alley as it looked sweet, but it really wasn't over-the-top.  Overall, we enjoyed our meal and personally, I've never had a bad meal at The Rise.  They are offering a worthy menu for Dine OutSide Vancouver for $35.00.  It is available from August 21st to September 21st, 2020.

*All food and beverages were complimentary

The Good: 

 - When fusion is done right

 - Vegan and gluten-free options 

- Cute little patio 

The Bad:

- Too bad the Uni-versal Pasta is an upcharge (but I get it, higher food costs for that dish)
 

0 comments:

Search this Site