Moltaqa Moroccan Restaurant

A few years ago, I had a delicious meal at Moltaqa Moroccan out in Yaletown.  It was just shortly after they received Michelin-Recommended status in the guidebook.   It wasn't for this I wanted to dine there though, it was because I really wanted to try the place after so many years planning to do so.  In general, there aren't many Moroccan restaurants in town. Recently, I was invited for a return visit and I brought Ipanemagirl with me.   

What better way to get a taste of their appies than to get the Moroccan Sampler Platter.  My favourite item had to be the Lentils as they were tender with a pleasant bite.  They were sweet, earthy and aromatic.  Beets were great too with appealing sweetness and earthiness.  They had a brightness to them and were served at a good temperature.   I thought the White Bean Stew was quite tasty as well.  Tender beans that were savoury and slightly sweet while flavoured with warm spices.

Included with this platter, we found 2 soups.  The one on the left was a Traditional Bessara Soup.  This split pea soup was smooth and almost creamy.  It was not heavy though as the viscosity was just slightly thick.  Definitely got the natural sweetness to go along with some earthiness.  As for the other, it was the Classic Harria Soup made with tomato, lentils and chick peas.  This was tomato-forward without the edge of sourness.  Rather, it had the flavour, but was fairly mild with the richness of butter.  Lots of herbaceous hits, especially from the cilantro.

Even with the sampler, we wanted to some full-sized versions of their dips.  We tried the Chilled Eggplant Dip first and it was fantastic.  At the forefront, we got all of the smokiness due to the char on the eggplant.  That added considerable depth and impact.  In terms of texture, it was delicate and silky.  Hits from the garlic came through too as well as the smoothness of the EVOO.  Just a touch of acidity came in the form of lemon. 

Since we love hummus, we also had the appetizer version of the Moroccan Hummus.  Much like the eggplant dip, this was served with warm semolina bread.  The sturdiness of the bread fit well with the dips as we could get a lot of it onto one bite (and there was plenty on each plate).  About that hummus, it was thick, yet still creamy with earthy hits from the spices.  For me, I would've liked to see even more of the spices, but as a hummus, this was good.

Another classic small dish was the Lamb Merguez Sausages.  Due to the side of harissa on the side, we could customize the heat level to our liking.  I needed quite a bit of it since the sausages were default to a very mild flavour.  Definitely deliberate so that the spice level would be accessible to all.  I thought the texture was meaty, yet moist and tender.  Lots of earthiness and warmth from the spices.  With the addition of the harissa, it really brought the sausages to life.

Although the Beef Briwats weren't particularly interesting to look at, they were delicious and a textural delight.  Outside, the hand-rolled phyllo was uniformly crispy and a bit nutty.  Inside, the tender beef was nicely spiced and benefited from the natural sweetness of the onions.  Since they were mild (again, on purpose) where the harissa on the side was necessary (for me) to elevate the base flavours.

Something I had last time that I really wanted again was the Seafood Pastilla.  Sporting thin and flaky pastry, this had quite the healthy amount of seafood filling.  It was sweet and briny with textures that were appealing.  None of it was hard or overdone where the fish was still flaky and moist.  Loved the prawn on top as it had a natural aroma and essence.  Once again, this was served with harissa, but I didn't need it as I could get the flavours of the seafood better as is.

Once done with the smaller dishes, we moved onto the mains.  Naturally, we had to get the Lamb Shank Tagine.  As the lid of the tagine was lifted, we could get the aroma of lamb, saffron and spices.  The meat fell off the bone and was at its gelatinous succulent best.  For those who are concerned about lamb being gamy, for me at least, it wasn't.  Loved the saffron lemon braising jus as it was aromatic, bright and surprisingly light.

The show-stopper had to be the Rack of Lamb Flambé.  We decided on the half-rack and it was plenty of meat for us.  It was flambéed and carved tableside.  As you can see, the meat was about medium where it was juicy and extremely tender.  There was a spiced Dijon rub on the outside which was earthy and aromatic.  On the side, we found roast potatoes, tomatoes and rice.  Although a bit fatty, the lamb jus was full of umami and more of the spice from the lamb.

The biggest piece of meat we had was the Tagine of Lamb Shoulder.  Size wasn't the only great thing about this dish as the texture was on point too.  Fatty and tender, the meat had the classic velvety fall-off-the-bone quality.  It sat atop couscous that had soaked up all of the delicious juices including the accompanying veggies.  Naturally, the saffron and fall-flavoured spices was evident as well.

Finishing off our meal, we had a selection of Richbond Cookies, Walnut Cookies and Almond Briwat.  Yes, they were on the sweeter side, but really, not too bad.  Lots of textures here and aroma.  The Richbond was coconut forward, as it should be and the Walnut Cookies were nutty and floral.  Briwat were crispy due to the phyllo and had some almond paste inside.  Overall, we enjoyed our meal at Moltaqa where the lamb was prepared properly and the portion sizes were generous.  Loved the aromatics and hey, it is something different in a sea of Asian food (I love Asian food, but need a break sometimes!).

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Something different
- Proteins were properly prepared
- Love the Moroccan spices

The Bad:
- Things could be spiced more heavily, but we understand that it appeals to the average customer 

 

Elem (Tomato Tasting Menu)

Recently, I finally tried Elem's tasting menu or "Let us Cook for You" rather than ordering a la carte.  In reality, it was us two sharing a curated selection of plates instead of being served individual small dishes.  The meal was delicious and gave us a good overview of the menu and what Elem is all about.  So we returned to Elem a month later to experience their Tomato Tasting Menu, at the tail end of Tomato season.  Unlike our previous experience, this was an actual tasting menu.

Things started with the 3 "snacks" in the Stoney Paradise Gazpacho, Tuna Tomato Tartlet and Lamb Belly Skewer.  I sampled the gazpacho first and it was creamy and tangy.  There was considerable brightness and natural sweetness.  There seemed to be a layer of sweetness from onions and red pepper as well.  That tartlet featured bright and buttery soft tuna which contrasted beautifully with the crispy shell.  Even though the tomato was bright and tangy, it was subtle enough that it didn't overwhelm the delicate tuna.  We also found some earthy notes.  I was delighted to see the lamb skewer as that is one of my favourites at Elem.  This was fatty and melted in my mouth.  Sweet and sticky, the medjool date glaze was deeply sweet and further enhanced the flavour of the lamb.  

We moved onto the Aloo Chaat next.  It was herbaceous and tangy with sweet and sour notes from the pomegranate seeds, as well as some earthiness.  The Sungold tomatoes were supremely fresh and at the forefront of this dish.  However, the chaat was definitely potatoey (as the dish name suggests) with a certain creaminess.  There was a light crunch and nuttiness from the puffed rice. 

One of my favourite dishes of the meal was the Dungeness Crab Salad served in a whimsical crab shell plate.  This was more than appearances alone as the bevy of fluffy crab was the star in terms of texture and taste.  Loved the combination of briny, sweet, earthy, slight tang and background earthiness.  Pops of sweet bitterness from the pomelo was refreshing.  There was some crunch in there to give some texture and of course some tomato for brightness.

Our next course was another stunner in the Hokkaido Scallop sitting in a tomato kadhi.  The scallop itself was tender, buttery and rare in the middle.  On the outside, it was aggressively seared so there was smokiness and caramelization.  Loved the kadhi as it was spicy and earthy.  Tomato aachar was sweet and tangy.  It was a really punchy dish with lingering spice and impactful aromatics.

Next course was a beautiful Rotolo with a concentrated passata and kale cream underneath.  It was cooked down with only garlic, salt and pepper, hence it was pure tasting and clean.  It was complimented by the cavalo nero with earthiness.  The pasta itself was quite firm, but had a great mouth-feel.  Inside, it was stuffed with provolone, ricotta and pine nuts.  Really well-executed dish with on point textures and flavours.

Featuring a singular peeled tomato, the Tomato Farci was deceptively flavourful.  This was mainly due to the shell bisque made from a variety of shellfish.  With a bevy of Argentinian prawns this was heavily briny and sweet with a subtle tang.  The bulk of the tanginess was provided by the juicy tomato.  It burst with freshness as well as plenty of brightness.  There was a balance between the savoury bisque and the sweet tomato which was just right.  For a bit of crunch, we found some bubu arare on top.

Our final savoury item was the Shio Koji Tenderloin with lacto fermented tomato.  The slice of PEI Blue Dot tenderloin was prepared rare being buttery and tender.  The truffle demi was silky and only mildly earthy.  Loved that it was not salty.  Definitely sweet as well. Moreover, the corn atop the tender zucchini took the sweetness to another level.  We also had some squash puree that was silky and had an earthy sweetness.  That tomato was so juicy, almost like a grape. It provided the acidity needed to balance all the sweetness in this dish.

If you can see Mickey Mouse atop my palate cleanser, you aren't seeing things.  That is what I saw too with the Tomato Sorbet infused with strawberries.   Yes, I could taste the tomato in this, but they did a great job in making this fruity and tangy rather than sour.  At the same time, the sweetness was restrained. Definitely refreshing after the most heavy bite from the tasting menu.

Appropriately titled One Last Tomato, our dessert was made with tomato (of course).  This was comprised of sungolds that were marinated in red wine and a reduction of water and honey.  In the centre, there was a creamy and rich heirloom tomato ice cream.  It was tomato-forward, yet restrained.  We got a sweet caramel crunch from the praline.  There was also smokiness and nuttiness within the dessert too.  Those marinated tomatoes were explosions of juice and sweetness.

At the end, we were presented with some Mignardise sporting Chocolate Cream Puff, White Chocolate Fudge with Tomato Jam and Cookie with Dark Chocolate Drizzle.  These were nice little bites to finish off a fantastic tasting menu.  In fact, I believe this was the most consistent and well-thought-out meal I've ever had at Elem.  That is saying a lot since I've been there 11 times!  Chef Vish truly celebrated the in-season (at the time) tomatoes in many different and create ways.  The meal progression made sense and the flavours of tomato were unique and varied.  I can't wait for his next tasting menu!

The Good:
- Well thought-out menu
- Spot-on execution
- Flavours were not repetitive (despite the theme)

The Bad:
- Maybe not for those who don't like tomato? But really, they might even like it

Ringside

The last time we were in Portland, I had to make some hard decisions as to where to eat and what to cut out from our schedule.  Unfortunately, Ringside didn't make the final schedule and we never got to try the steakhouse that has been around since 1944.  This time around, we made a reso to ensure we got to try the place out.  Besides, it has glowing reviews online and it is an institution right?  When we arrived, we knew this was special as a Ferrari and Porsche were pulling up to the valet line.  Not that nice cars matter to food right?

Apparently, THE thing to get here is the Onion Rings.  No joke.  Not only is it mentioned online, but our server encouraged us to order them.  So we did and this was only a "small" portion.  Normally, I'm not a fan of battered onion rings as I like the breaded version more.  But oh my, these were excellent!  The batter was so thin and super crispy, I was completely sold on these.  I'm not even that big a fan of onions in general!  This was served with a side of sauce that was tangy, sweet and creamy.

Originally, we considered ordering the prawn cocktail, but noticed they had a Dungeness Crab Cocktail too.  Well, it didn't take a lot of debate to get that instead!  What a great decision as this thing was chock full of fluffy and briny crab meat.  Lots of body and leg meat here.  There was no filler beneath it either!  This was served simply with some tangy cocktail sauce and a wedge of lemon.  Really enjoyed this!

Since we were here on a Monday night, I took advantage of their 3-course Prime Rib Special for only $57.00.  It included a salad of Mixed Greens with melon, prosciutto, mascarpone and lemon honey.  This was a pretty sweet salad due to the dressing but also the fruit and creamy mascarpone.  It felt like I was eating dessert instead of a salad.  However, the crispy prosciutto helped balance that to a degree.

So all of their steaks are served atop a sizzling cast iron plate, so the intoxicating smell of searing meat tickles your senses even before it hits the table.  We had a 8oz Tenderloin with a side of Lobster Mashed Potatoes.  Yes, the steak was only secondary here to the mash.  Look at it!  The entire thing was doused in a lobster bisque sauce and topped with claw meat.  That has to be the best lobster mash we've ever had.  So creamy, buttery and aromatic with big hits of briny lobster.  Oh, the steak was tender and nicely-seared too.

Just because it was on special, they didn't skimp on the Prime Rib.  It was a full 12oz portion and was around medium, so maybe a bit more cooked than I would've liked.  However, it ate really well being tender and well-seasoned.  It was served with Yorkshire pudding, freshly grated horseradish and demi-glace.  I added 3 prawns as well and it came with some lobster bisque sauce.  Prawns were excellent being bouncy and meaty.  Loved dipping it into the sauce.

As if this wasn't enough food already, we got some sides in the BBQ Heirloom Carrots and Sauteed Spinach.  Carrots were outstanding with a beautiful smokiness and blackened exterior.  They were also naturally sweet and not overcooked.  Same with the spinach as they only lightly touched heat and wilted.  Hence, they were tender but had somewhat of a crunch still.  They were simply sauteed with EVOO and lemon.

As part of my 3-course meal, I originally was to have the Creme Brulee, but I was given a choice to have the Salted Caramel Corn Ice Cream instead.  They didn't have to ask me twice!  This was tasty as the salt elevated the sweetness of the caramel and also the corn.  It was also hard and creamy.  We also tried the Salted Pecan Dark Chocolate Toffee.  This was a smaller dessert and it was welcomed as we were pretty stuff.  This was bitter and had rich sweetness from the toffee.  Overall, our meal at Ringside was excellent.  Food was well-prepared and delicious.  Service was also outstanding.  Definitely a must-try.

The Good:
- Well-prepared eats
- Large portions
- Outstanding service

The Bad:
- Asked for medium-rare for the prime rib and it was medium, possibly forgivable since the roast is already prepared and maybe that is the closest they could slice for me

Phuket Cafe

Ever since we had a great experience with Langbaan and it's delicious Thai tasting menu, we were rather curious with their more casual outfit in Phuket Cafe.  Situated in a train car-like dining space just outside of Langbaan, the menu is more typical Thai, Southern-inspired in this case, with plenty of share plates.  Reservations are recommended as the space is small and it is quite popular.

We ended up with a bunch of items including the Mon Tod.  This was essentially a bunch of aggressively-fried fingerling potatoes that were glazed with yellow curry.  They were further topped with chili, fried garlic and fried Thai Basil.  Despite being coated in creamy curry, the potatoes were crispy while creamy soft inside.   I thought the flavors could've been more intense but the textures were great.

Now if we were looking for a flavor bomb, the Miang Plaa Ta Deaw was it.  This featured deep-fried sole that was tossed in a Miang Kum sauce.  Much like the one we got at Langbaan, the combination of ginger, lemongrass, lime, dried shrimp, shallots, peanuts, palm sugar and fish sauce made for an explosion of everything that tickled our palates.  We wrapped the crispy fish with lettuce and betel leaves for extra freshness and crunch.  This was a pretty large dish and definitely needs to be shared.

Not far behind in terms in overall impact was the Crying Tiger.  This large piece of marinated Wagyu flank steak was beautifully-grilled to rare.  Normally, anything Wagyu that isn't cooked to at least medium-rare, it can be chewy due to the fat not being rendered.  It wasn't the case here though. It was super tender with a strong beefy taste.  Of course it wouldn't be a Crying Tiger without the sauce and it was so flavorful.  Lots of sweetness with tang and brininess.  Combined with the side of sticky rice, this was great.

Another excellent dish was the Goong Yang or grilled head-on prawns.  These were beautifully-charred where the prawns were smoky and the inherent brininess was concentrated.  Meat was moist with sweetness.   It all sat in a turmeric and peanut curry which was thick and tangy with some spice and earthiness.  The shell had been cooked so well that I was able to eat the prawn whole without deshelling.

Onto our next set of dishes we had the Pad See Ew with fried tofu.  The dish was subjected to a good deal of work hei which meant things were caramelized and smoky.  There was intense sweetness from the palm sugar and possibly a bit more saltiness was needed for balance.  Noodles were chewy and charred as with the firm tofu.  Veggies were still crunchy but we would've liked to see gai lan but maybe they couldn't source some good quality ones.

The Pad Thai was pretty good as well with chewy noodles and a sweet & tangy sauce.  Loved the small dried shrimp on top for texture and seafoodiness.  I would've liked a bit more sauce as the noodles were somewhat clumpy and dry.  Mind you, that is subjective as some people like the noodles drier and subjected to more wok hei and searing, which was the case here.  We found some crunchy pork rinds on the side for texture.

We had to add more veggies (Pad Pak) to our meal as we weren't getting much lately.  Same as the pad see ew, the veggie of choice was Shanghai Bak Choy.  But that didn't bother me as I happened to like the vegetable and also, it was prepared so well.  Cooked through, but still plenty crunchy, the bak choy was caramelized and a bit smoky.  The oyster sauce used in the stir fry was flavorful and there was plenty of garlic.

Onto dessert, we Sacuu Piek that consisted of tapioca pearls, lychee and strawberry jelly.  This was somewhat like a mango sago except without the pomelo.  The creamy coconut was sweet and tropical with the pops from the tapioca pearls.  Crunch came in the form of meringue and of course the fruit helped layer in some fruitiness.  Fairly straightforward but refreshing nonetheless.  Overall, the meal at Phuket Cafe was really good and had great wok hei.  Things were caramelized and smoky.  Flavors were impactful and delicious.  Totally a return visit candidate, much like Langbaan.

The Good:
- Things had wok hei
- Flavorful
- Generous portions

The Bad:
- Sitting outside is neat, but I can imagine it being a bit stuffy on a hot day

Published on Main

After enjoying a delicious meal at Elem, we were right back at it the next day at Published on Main.  I've yet to try their tasting menu and this meal, the drought would continue as we went à la carte.  As much as it can cost more money (not all the time by the way), à la carte gives more control over the dishes ordered.  Published is one of our favourites right from day one in its existence.  I still love their original launch menu and many of the subsequent menus up until 2023, hence the #1 ranking in 2022 on Canada's Best 100 Restaurants.  I am looking forward to them ranking in the top 5 again and am always on the lookout for new dishes from them.  This time around, we had some classics as well as some seasonal items.

My prayers were answered when our double-order of Aebleskiver arrived.  I've always wondered why they didn't offer up their tasting menu version of the dish.  Small one-biters that capture the deliciousness without committing to the 3 large ones in the à la carte menu.  These were excellent with a mildly crispy and aromatic exterior giving way to a soft pancake texture on the inside.  The stewed herbs on the inside and herb emulsion on the bottom offered up the herbaceous notes while the generous dollop of caviar added saltiness and brininess.

Next, we had another classic dish in the Chips & Dip.  Other than that time they took it off the menu due to a lack of the right potatoes, this has been on the menu from day one.  Although advertised as "sturdy", these chips were far from being heavy.  However, they more or less stayed in one piece when dipped into the smoked fish dip.  Combined with the sour cream, onions and dill, this dip could be put atop anything and it would taste good.  The cooling smokiness with a bit of tang really lightens up an otherwise perceived heavy snack.

At Published, they have created many different versions of the Dungness Crab.  Last time we were here, they had Sungolds and preserved tomatillos.  For this iteration, we found a flying tiger sauce with serranos, lime, basil and cilantro.  Triangles of crunchy kohlrabi were neatly placed on top with angry bird seeds finishing the dish.  Definitely a bit of spice and lots of herbaceous notes while the tang and brininess of the sauce came though.  But none of it overwhelmed the delicate and fluffy dungeness crab.  

Despite my protests against ordering the Glorious Greens Salad, we ended up with it anyways.  Well, turns out that I was wrong as the salad was rather delicious.  Consisting of 25 different greens and veggies, this had plenty of different textures and crunch.  Furthermore, the greens really had inherent flavour on their own (appealing bitterness as well as sweetness).  We had some sweet crunch from the praline and candied walnuts.  This was all brought together by the tangy and floral elderflower vinaigrette.

Normally, there are never any bad dishes at Published, however, our order of the Kentucky Fried Maitake was a miss.  We've had this dish countless times before and it has always been on point.  Unfortunately, these were fried far too long and/or the mushrooms lacked body.  The result was extremely crunchy batter but no mushroom texture could be found.  Hence, it also ate greasy and despite the delicious garlic scape ranch, it felt like we were eating batter only.

Back to our regular programming with the GBP Gnocchi.  This was a fantastic offering with pillowy small pieces of gnocchi.  Despite being soft, the gnocchi still retained a chew.  Although the sauce was buttery, it didn't eat heavy.  Shallots added sweetness and brightness while the white wine kept things light.  We went for the extra shaved black truffle and it didn't overwhelm the dish.  In fact, it added the proper amount of woodsiness.

The dish I was looking foreword to the most was the Smoked and Candied Sablefish and oh did it deliver.  That fish was a flavour bomb with sweet smokiness that had an appealing saltiness.  It was perfectly balanced by the aerated sweet corn dashi.  We had some charred corn which also provided another layer of sweetness and a bit of smokiness.  Crunch was added in the form of puffed rice on top.  Nice textural contrast.

Bringing things down just a notch or two, we were served the Badger Flame Beets.  These were so plump and juicy being sweet and not exhibiting any earthiness.  To compliment the sweetness, we found a sunflower seed miso underneath that was rich and exhibiting unmistakable fermented saltiness of miso.  Nice balance between salty and sweet while the crunch from the pralines on top added textural contrast.

Ending off the savoury portion of our meal, we went for the PEI Blue Dot BBQ Beef Striploin prepared perfectly medium-rare.  It was well-rested where there was no residual juices on the plate.  Underneath, we found a burnt onion soubise which was buttery and smooth with a touch of smokiness.  We had some chanterelles for both texture and flavour while the potato dumplings were a bit chewy on the outside, but tasty on the inside.

Of course we had to finish off this delicious meal with another day one classic in the Hay.  That aerated hay custard was so light, yet creamy at the same time.  Definite grassiness with mild sweetness.  The green apple granita surrounding it was key for texture and flavour.  The refreshing and cold crunch of the ice complimented the less cold custard.  Secondly, the green apple tang and sweetness provided another layer of flavour to the mild custard.  Lastly, some chamomile provided a bit of floral notes.

We had one more small dessert in the Total Currant Dilly Bar.  This was an interesting creation that tasted like things I would find in the forest.  We found hits of black currant leaf, wood and flowers.  I was thinking fruity when I first saw it and it did have tartness, but the true flavours were the elements of the forest for sure.  Of course there were a few treats accompanying the bill as always in some Brown Butter Caramels and Sweet Tea Pâtes de Fruits.  Once again, a delicious meal at Published where we enjoyed fan favourites as well as some stellar new dishes.  Too bad about the maitakes though.  I'm sure that was a one-off.

The Good:

- In typical Published fashion, dishes were well-thought out where components did not conflict with each other

- Layers of flavour

- On point service

The Bad:

- Too bad about that Maitake dish...