*Restaurant is now closed*
About a month ago, I was invited by Executive Chef Curtis Webb (via
Victoria) to a preview of the new menu at Goldfish. I really didn't give it much thought because it has been a goal of mine to give Goldfish another go. You see, about 3 years ago, I had visited Goldfish and came away unconvinced. Not that it was horrible or anything, the food just wasn't memorable. However, I liked the decor and vibe. There is no mistaking it, Goldfish fits Yaletown. This brings up an interesting point. When we look at establishments in Yaletown, certain things come to mind - style, hip, trendy, c
lassy and pricey. Well, the pricey part cannot be helped. Considering the high-rent and costs associated with Yaletown, nothing comes cheap. Well, I guess Subway counts; but I'm not talking about that. So, the tasting consisted of 5 dishes, all of which were still in the "experimental" phase. Beautiful ingredients, spot on execution; yet some of the flavours were definitely a work-in-progress. I didn't end up blogging about it since it was not the final product. Sure, I could've just posted the pictures and attached a description; but you know me... I have verbal diarrhea...
Fast-forward a month later, I was invited to the media launch of their new menu. The same items would be there, as well as some others. I decided to go and see for myself if they had made the necessary tweaks to the dishes I had tried. The first item was the
Tuna Poke consisting of Ahi, chopped scallop, hamachi, creamy avocado and ceviche sauce. Adding some crunch is fried taro. With this item, they have been able to balance the flavours, unlike the first time I had it. Gone is the predominant cilantro. Now the flavours are much more clean with the tuna really shows up. Next up was the
Jumbo Tiger Prawns with a spicy coconut sauce finished coriander temp
ura. I liked this dish the first time I had it, so I'm glad they didn't change it. The prawn was perfectly crunchy while both the sauce and coriander did not take away from its natural sweetness. Then we were presented with the
Lemon Grass Chicken with jasmine rice. This is usually prepared with dark meat since it remains juicy and tender. In this version, they used white meat and surprising it was not dry at all. Well-executed in that respect. For me at least, I would've preferred more lemon grass flavour. It could've been a result of the thick piece of chicken where the flavour wasn't able to penetrate.
Now here comes the dish that was both good and bad the last time I had it -
King Crab Tempura wrapped in bacon finished with crushed avocado, sweet soy, grana padano. Hey, it's king crab. A very delicious and expensive ingredient. And hey, it's bacon. I love bacon. However, when we fry bacon and it isn't crispy, it becomes leathery and not very aromatic. This is the case here. The large piece of crab leg meat was outstandingly sweet while the tempura was perfectly crispy. Furthermore the sweet and savoury sauce made
for a delicious dish. But, as for the bacon, I'm still not a big fan.
Presented on individual forks was the
Green Papaya Beef Salad with rice noodles, julienne vegetables and spicy peanuts. I loved the crunch of the veggies and the peanuts (with a bit of spice). I wanted to like the beef since it was cooked perfectly rare; but it was a tad chewy. I think this would be alleviated if it were sliced thinner. Tender wasn't a problem with the
Miso Sablefish with sauteed king tips and crispy spring onions. Perfectly cooked with nice colour
and plenty of sweet miso, the flesh practically
melted in my mouth. The king tips were well-executed exhibiting a slight crunch. Something out of left field came our way next. It was not on the menu. On the existing menu, there is the requisite Asian fusion item of BBQ Duck Spring Rolls with sweet fish sauce. This particular spring roll was of the
Cheeseburger variety. Yah, go figure, that's really going fusion! It's ground beef in a spring roll atop cheese sauce. Currently it is in the experimental stage (not on the menu yet). I must give them kudos for trying it. We often see Asian food fit North American food for fusion purposes.
In this application, we get the reverse in a North American classic fitting into an existing Asian dish. I oddly liked it, despite some reservations. Honestly, almost anything works in a spring roll. Okay, I really guess the best things come last. My favourite from the previous time was the
Kurobuta Pork Buns. I was happy that they added more meat for their final product. Sure, the mantou is the "it" bun these days, especially in Asian fusion. Where most places have been using short rib, they use the pork equivalent of Kobe beef combined with pickled onions and coriander.
Definitely juicy, definitely tasty. Probably the
best version of an Asian slider so far, better than
Terracotta and
Bao Bei. Finally, we were presented with a
Pannacotta and a light
Cheesecake. Honestly, I quickly scoffed those down since I needed to leave. Didn't get much of an impression of the pannacotta; but the cheesecake was light and not too sweet. It was "fluffy" rather than being of the dense variety.
Despite my initial reservations about accepting the media invitation, I was ultimately happy attending. Of course I realize the food was carefully prepared and of course I'll be waited on
hand and foot. I get that. However, my main mission was to see if menu in the conceptual stage moved towards a satisfying final product. Furthermore, I wanted to see for myself if my initial impressions of Goldfish could change. Honestly, the first time I ever visited the place, I found the food to be lackluster and lacking creativity. Sure, it was fusion, but honestly, all I got was a piece of fish steamed with ginger and onions. I could do that at home thank you very much. The new items are a combination of "safe" dishes and some that try to be different. We must also take into account what the target customer is
as well. After all, this is Yaletown. If you were looking for inexpensive eats with no frills, you are in the wrong neighbourhood. Hey I get it, I used to live here. As mentioned in my
Bao Bei post, there are times I do not want to eat in an environment with fluorescent lighting and linoleum floors, no matter how good the eats are. Naturally, I will reserve final judgment when I visit Goldfish independently in the future; however, this tasting has given me incentive to do so.
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*Cart now closed*
a block away on Robson. With Rich Guy manning the car, I made my way to the food cart. Looking over the menu, there are only a few items available such as a Salmon Burger, Po Boy and Venison Burger. Fries and Poutine round it out. Hey, that is good thing, do one thing and do it well. Prices are indeed on the higher side with it maxing out with the Po Boy at $10.00. However, keep in mind that they are Ocean Wise which means that products are sustainable and responsibly harvested.
sandwich, I selected the most expensive one being the Po Boy. With 3 large oysters, this was a decently filling sandwich. I could definitely taste the oysters since the coleslaw topping was quite mild. It did add a nice crunch though. As for the Fries, they didn't look that promising; but ended up to be quite crispy. Looks like they used something like peanut oil here to achieve both the colour and crunchiness. I decided to try these without the "poutine" option since I was not really that hungry.
Black Currant Soda. I liked how it was not very sweet and some zing was added in the form of lemon. Honestly, the food ain't bad here. In fact, it's pretty good. As mentioned by many others, the pricing is on the steeper side for street food. Sure, that cost is partially attributed to the raw materials - there is nothing one can do about that. Moreover, it's seafood (which is never cheap). For me, the $10.00 special was worth every penny. It is in-line with other food carts in the area. I'm just not sure if everyone out there will be as keen on the regular price of $14.00. If it were a sit down restaurant, I'm sure no one would complain.
