To be honest, my first few experiences with Dine Out Vancouver Festival were disappointing. Several restaurants developed DOVF-specific menus that did not reflect their usual offerings which meant I really didn't get the true experience. To be fair, DOVF has improved over the years with more relevant menus and more restaurants participating. With that in mind, one still has to peruse all of the menus and choose wisely for it to be a good experience. Frankly, I wasn't planning on any DOVF reservations this year, but with an invite to try The Rise Eatery's menu, I changed my mind. No, it wasn't because it was complimentary. Rather, I tried their menu last year (which was their own version of DOVF) and came away impressed. I was looking forward to what they had in store for this year as an official Dine Out Vancouver Festival restaurant.
Like last year, joining me again was Jacqueline. For our appies, we started with the Chicken Seoul Good featuring Korean style fried chicken, wild mushroom cream, truffle oil and grated Parmesan. Tender and juicy, the chicken would've done North Road proud. It was crispy with rendered skin and sufficiently seasoned. On top, the woodsy cream was not over-truffled, which was a good thing. This ate heavy, so for an appy it was substantial. Plated on top of masala pumpkin seed romesco sauce and topped with sun-dried tomato chutney, the Curve Ball was made of house vegan cheese, spinach & mushroom risotto. Essentially an arancini, this ate very well considering the cheese was vegan. The rice was still firm and the coating was crispy. I enjoyed their version of a romesco as it was nutty and mild. What really made the dish was the spicy and tangy chutney.
Onto our mains, the Ode to Adobo sported adobo duck leg confit and menudo longanisa cassoulet. There was certainly the unmistakable hits of vinegar, soy and garlic while at the same time it was muted enough that it didn't scream out adobo either. This could've been partially attributed to the addition of carrots and sausage as well as the menudo that created multiple layers of flavour. I liked how the skin was rendered while most of the meat was tender with a few drier portions. Okay, we really wanted to try something different this time around, but we just couldn't resist having the famed Uni-versal Pasta XO Edition. This has to be one of the most unique dishes in Vancouver consisting of squid ink pasta, sea urchin cream, free run egg yolk, house XO sauce sautéed ocean wise prawns, flying fish roe and toasted seaweed. When mixed together, there were hits of fishiness (in a good way), spice, brininess and umaminess. The pasta was perfectly al dente and coated evenly with the creamy mix of ingredients.
I really enjoyed one of the two desserts we had in the I Care-A-Mel About U featuring salted caramel crème brûlée, pecan praline and brown butter quinoa crumble. When I got a scoop of everything in the cup, I swear it tasted like a salted Almond Roca. Not sure if that is what they were aiming for, but it was pure deliciousness. I found it to be silky and light with the sweet crunch of sugar and the nuttiness of the pecan. Just like last time, we had the Luv U So Matcha that was really good. Appealingly buttery, the tart shell was firm being a good contrast to the airy matcha cheese. The matcha was rather strong, but good for those who like the flavour. Brightening things up was the raspberry coulis on the side. My only wish that it was bigger, so I could eat more of it. Other than the great tasting food, the best part of the DOVF menu at The Rise is that all of the dishes are on their regular menu. No "made-for-DVOF" dishes here. 3-courses for $35.00 starting tonight until February 2nd.
*All food and drink was complimentary*
The Good:
- Same as regular menu
- Unique food
- Asian fusion that actually works
The Bad:
- Um... tart could've been bigger?
The Rise Eatery (Dine Out Menu)
Posted by
Sherman Chan
on Saturday, January 18, 2020
Labels:
Asian,
Dine Out,
Fusion,
Vancouver,
West Coast
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