Sherman's Food Adventures: Cocktails
Showing posts with label Cocktails. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cocktails. Show all posts

Desi Lounge

Ethnic cuisine at one point in time was purely associated with inexpensive, cheap and unsophisticated.  Many customers are looking for more memorable experiences with elevated cuisine and equally impressive decor, cocktails and service.  Of course, there are those who still want good value and there are plenty of choices for that.  It is especially important since the economy is still not quite there.  We've seen higher end Chinese proliferate the Vancouver restaurant scene as well as extravagant Omakase and even elevated Vietnamese.  Now we are seeing more and more luxurious Indian restaurants.  One of the newest is Desi Lounge in Downtown Vancouver.  Jackie and I checked the place out recently.

To illustrate the elevated cuisine at Desi Lounge, the best example of this was the Udupi Burrata.  Naturally, we don't see this soft fresh cheese in Indian cuisine.  But the chef combined that with Indian flavours with success.  The fresh burrata sat in a udupi-spiced smoked tomato puree, which was earthy, a bit spicy and full of fall-type flavours.  The smokiness did come through while the tomato tang as muted.  As much as garlic toast might seem like an odd accompaniment, it worked well with a contrasting crispiness while giving way to a soft airy centre.

Going with something more traditional, we had the Raj Kachori which was majestically plated.  It consisted of a large crispy semolina shell stuffed full of diced potatoes, red onions, yogurt, spiced chickpeas and tamarind & mint chutneys.  I've had this dish on numerous occasions and this one was definitely up there in terms of execution.  Potatoes were tender while maintaining texture, onions were crunchy and bright, chickpeas were flavourful with some kick.  Combined that with soothing yogurt and the tangy sweetness of the tamarind as well as the brightness and heat from the mint chutney, it was a flavour explosion in my mouth.


The Tandoori Chicken was another example of a dish that was elevated while still maintaining the integrity of the dish.  On that note, the custom plates really made a difference in the presentation of the food and it shows the effort they are putting into that part of the experience.  Sure, the chicken was plated nicely, but its execution was also flawless.  Each piece of chicken featured beautifully-rendered skin that was crisp and exuded the flavours of the marinade including earthiness, spice, sweetness and nuttiness.  The chicken itself was moist and succulent.

One of the most impressive dishes we had was the Tandoori Sockeye Salmon.  Many other fine-dining spots in town may not even execute a piece of salmon better than Chef Bal.  Featuring spiced and crispy skin, the salmon was beautifully prepared.  It was flaky and moist throughout despite being a leaner type of salmon.  The accompanying apple and pickle salad went well with the salmon with sweet crunch as well as an appetizing tanginess.  The mint chutney raised the brightness level even more so while adding a creamy heat.

Moving onto the curries, they were definitely more traditional, but in terms of flavour, the Bombay Seafood Delight surprised us.  In my experience with Indian seafood curries, I find that the flavour of the curry and seafood are usually mutually-exclusive.  For this one, things were incorporated that the curry were it was reminiscent of a seafood chowder but with Indian spices.  Definitely got the nutty earthiness as well as some spicy tanginess.  The seafood was just perfect with the sweet snap of the shrimp, tender crunch from the squid, plump butteriness of the mussels and tender bounce of the scallops.  Delicious!

Although Jackie isn't into lamb, I had to get my way and order the Lamb Rogan Josh.  I got the dish to myself!  Good thing too as it was also excellent.  Each cube of lamb was tender and the gaminess was quite mild due to the lean cut of the meat.  I found the spice level for the curry to be on point.  It had heat, but not to the point where I could not taste the other spices.  Definitely got the ginger as well as the sweetness from the cardamom as well as the fall-flavours from the cloves.  There was plenty of body to this with rich spices and warmth.

Moving onto some vegetarian dishes, we had the Kolhapuri Paneer Mushroom.  This was surprisingly spicy, yet that was just perfect for me!  Once again, it wasn't spicy for the sake of being spicy.  There was heat, but I could get the layers of spices as well.   Definitely got the nuttiess and earthiness as well as the aforementioned heat.  There was also background sweetness from the coconut.  I thought the plating of the mushroom and the paneer on top of the curry was neat as it allowed them to have more texture.  Also the dusting of spices on top concentrated the heat even more so.

I thought the Malai Kofta was one of the best curries amongst the ones we tried.  It was creamy and rich with a noticeable natural sweetness.  This was quite mild and we didn't find any particularly flavour to be more dominant than the other.  There was apparent nuttiness though which added to the creaminess.  Once again, we had some earthiness from the spices.  As for the potato and cheese kofta, they were light and not overly dense.  Nice soft texture while not mushy either.


Our last 2 curries consisted of the Malvani Chicken & Palak Paneer.  I found the chicken to be super tender while nestled in a thick and rich curry.  Definite aromatics going on with the coconut and noticeable spice too.  As for the Palak Paneer, it wasn't as dark as some other versions and it was also not as heavy.  The brightness of ginger really came through and although the spinach was cooked down, it still had a bit of texture.  The paneer were soft and squishy, just how I like it.


Naturally, we had some Garlic Naan to go with all the curries and it was solid.  The bottom was crispy and well-charred while the rest of it was soft with appealing elasticity.  Nice garlic essence to go with the ghee.  As much as we enjoyed the Garlic Naan, the Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Naan was outstanding.  One of the best versions I've had.  The outside was crispy with an aromatic nuttiness.  The naan was almost flaky while the filling was delicious.  I gladly ate this just by itself. 

Beautifully-plated, the Malai Ghewar consisted of a crispy nest of batter that was akin to fried honeycomb.  It was light and purposefully sweet.  On top, we found malai, nuts and berries.  This made for a refreshing dessert that was a good end to the heaviness of the curries.  Overall, the food at Desi Lounge is fantastic.  From the classics to the some more creative dishes, they were all prepared with care and did not lack impact.  Combined with the beautiful decor and reasonable prices, Desi Lounge makes for a night out that won't break the bank.

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

The Good:
- Delicious food with impactful, but balanced spice
- Beautiful decor
- Reasonable-pricing

The Bad:
- Parking is limited in the area

Thai Peacock

Three straight Thai restaurants to start off our Portland trip?  Woah, Thai food is excellent here, but isn't this a bit of an overkill?  Of course not!  There is never too much of a good thing!  Well maybe except too many fried chicken sammies.  That gave me bad cholesterol!  Anyways, Thai Peacock is related to some other great PDX Thai restaurants in Khao Moo Dang and Ruk-Diew.  Since we enjoyed those 2 spots already, we were pretty confident that Thai Peacock would too!

So all of the food pretty much showed up at the same time.  Hence, I'll just put them in order of how I would've eaten them starting with the House Combo with a variety of small appies.  My favorite item on the plate was the chicken teriyaki meatball.  Sure, not really a Thai item, but delicious nonetheless.  It was moist, meaty and had all the great caramelized sweetness from teriyaki.  The coconut prawns were pretty awesome too.  They were crispy and aromatic with a buttery snap texture.  Also not Thai, the gyozas were solid having a thin crispy dumpling skin with tender chicken and cabbage filling.  Veggie spring rolls were crunchy with non-mushy veggies inside.  Salad roll was veggie too and it was okay, I would've preferred some meat but I get there needs to be non-meat options.


As always, we got the Papaya Salad since we can say we got our veggies!  Well, also because we enjoy it due to the crunch and briny tangy dressing.  This one here was no exception as it was fresh and had plenty of brightness with a touch of spice.  On that note, we could customize our spice level with their box of Sauces.  I was using the hot chili with lots of the other dishes including the following one.

Yes, I added it to the Pad See Ew since I love my noodles spicy!  Even though this was prepared medium spiced, I wanted more heat.  Loved this version as the rice noodles were intact and not clumpy.  This was the case despite the dish not being overly greasy.  Lots of wok hei ensuring caramelization and smokiness.  Also a touch of brininess from fish sauce provided that umaminess.  We opted for tofu in this one and that goes the best in this dish in our opinion.

For our choice of soup, we had the Tom Kha this time around and it was fragrant due to the lemongrass.  It was pretty prominent and of course had the bite of the galangal and brightness of the kaffir lime leaves.  Due to the addition of coconut milk, the sharp tanginess was muted while the spiciness (we asked for medium) was balanced.  We had this with prawns and they were buttery and cooked just right. For me, I wished there was even more coconut milk.


From the soup, we moved onto 2 pork dishes in the Braised Pineapple Pork and Pad Ka-Phrao with Pork Belly.  Due to the use of pineapple, the natural enzymes broke down the pork muscle fibers.  The result was super tender meat with a natural sweetness.  The stir-fried pork belly was really good with proper wok hei that produced intense sweetness.  The Thai basil really came through with added sweetness and herbaceousness.

We were all ready to order a standard Pad Thai with shrimp but it was suggested we have the Pad Thai with Crispy Trout instead.  Good call as the trout was fantastic.  Crispy on the outside but flaky and moist on the inside, it was unexpected match for the noodles.  The noodles were chewy and not clumpy with a tangy and sweet tamarind sauce.  It had balanced spice and the extra squeeze of the lime made it even more impactful.

One of my favorite dishes was the Garlic Fried Rice with Garlic Shrimp.  As expected, the wok hei was evident here with the nuttiness of the rice and the caramelization of the shrimp.  Since it was an open kitchen, we had a clear view of the flaming wok.  Lots of aromatics within the rice including plenty of garlic.  It wasn't greasy though and the rice was chewy.  Shrimp were bouncy and naturally sweet with spot on seasoning.

We also decided to try the Seafood Khao Soi where it came with a pretty impressive amount of ingredients.  The large scallops were so buttery and soft while the prawns were as good as the other dishes.  Calamari was tender while still retaining a bite.  As for the broth, it was a bit less rich than other versions I've had but still aromatic.  Noodles were al dente and did soak up some of the flavors of the broth.

For our curry selection, we had the Kaeng Matsaman with Beef.  Although this is generally a milder curry, it still had plenty of impact from its nuttiness and creaminess.  It was medium spiced with a small lip tingling at the end.  The ample amount of beef was fairly tender while the nuggets of potato were delicate and soaked up all of the sweet and peanutty goodness.  Of course this went well with some white rice.

For our drinks, we had the Thai Iced Tea and Thai Iced Coffee.  Predictably sweet, the ice tea had all of the strong tea flavors.  It was actually not overly sweet, so we enjoyed it.  As for the coffee, it was pretty strong and that was enough to balance off the sweetness.  It had Vietnamese French coffee vibes and that suited us just fine.  We also had one mocktail in the Lychee Daiquiri.  It was fruity and semi-sweet.  Great with the spicy food!  Overall, the food at Thai Peacock is solid with some memorable dishes.  Pricing is affordable and portions are fair.  Definitely an option if you are craving Thai food in Downtown PDX!

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

The Good:
- Excellent wok hei and caramelization
- Well-priced
- Open dining space with high ceiling and plenty of light

The Bad:
- Tom Kha and Khao Soi could've used more coconut milk

Coquette Brasserie

So as many of you might know (if you read this blog regularly), we were in France last year.  I don't believe that we have dined on French food since then (at least from what I can remember).  So I was quite excited to try Coquette Brasserie where Gramercy Grill used to be located.  Met up with Steph for this one and we were greeted to a truly French experience with French staff and true brasserie-like feel, except with more space.  After going over the menu, we went ham with the dishes.

We started with the Tartare de Bison with gribiche sauce and egg yolk jam.  We also found some pickled shallots on top and caperberries.  Despite being lean, the bison was fairly buttery and tender.  I found the seasoning a bit weak, so the shallots and caperberries had to do the heavy lifting in terms of acidity and saltiness.  The side of crostinis were light, airy and crispy.  They were the perfect compliment to the tartare.

Next, we had La Jambon Persillé with cornichons, grainy mustard and toasted baguette.  Upon digging into the terrine, it resembled more of a ham hock rillette rather than a terrine.  No matter though as it ate quite well with a meatiness that was also tender and full-flavoured.  The tanginess of the pickles and mustard went a long way into keeping things bright and balanced.  Wished there was more baguette, but I'm sure you could ask for more.


However, we didn't need to ask for more bread because we ordered La Corbeille de Pain featuring bread from Bad Dog Bakery with foie gras butter.  The best small plate we had was the Tartelette à L’échalotes.  To me, it looked and ate more like an onion tart, but it really didn't matter as the tart was caramelized, sweet and aromatic.  Despite being broken, the tart shell was nicely textured being soft and firm at the same time.  On the side we found a frisée salad and goat cheese.

Despite it being categorized as a main course, we got the Moules Frites as another appetizer.  This consisted of 1lb of PEI mussels in a marinière sauce.  All the mussels were open and cooked just right maintaining a briny butteriness.  As for the sauce, there was only a bit of it on the bottom of the pot.  It was aromatic and sweet with the brininess of mussel nectar.  The side of frites were thin but and mostly crispy.

The best main dish we had was Le Canard sporting a confit leg, pomme purée, beets and whole grainy mustard & orange sauce.  The duck leg itself was fall-apart tender with crispy rendered skin.  The meat itself was only salty enough, so that the sweet and tangy sauce was able to compliment.  Buttery and smooth, the pomme purée was great with the shreds of duck meat while the beets added a sweet earthiness.

When we were deciding what to order, there was no hesitation to add Le Burger to the list.  Turns out it was a good decision as the Wagyu beef patty was moist and juicy (well, actually fatty, but tasty!).  It had a good sear and was dressed in a caramelized onion jam. gruyère, burger sauce and arugula.  As a whole, the burger was delicious where the bun was toasted properly and things go messy.  This had savoury, sweet and umaminess.

Our last main dish was the Steak Frites sporting 6oz flat iron prepared medium rare.  In general, the steak was good being tender with a nice char on the outside.  It was could've been salted a bit more though.  It came with the same frites and a side salad.  I liked the fact that the steak was medium rare by default.  For me personally, that is the way to go with moist steaks.  Since the steak was well-rested, there was no pools of steak juice leaking onto the plate.


Onto dessert, we didn't mess around and ordered all of them!  The Tarte Tartin was pretty good with a flaky and buttery crust.  Inside, the apple was tender and sweet with some background tang.   Nice caramelization throughout.  It came with buttermilk ice cream and drizzles of salted caramel.  The Crème Brûlée was one of the best versions we've had in quite some time.  It was a fairly large portion served in a shallow oval ramekin.  The custard was creamy and light while being semi-sweet and aromatic from the vanilla.  On top, the sugar was evenly torched creating a smoky and sweet crunch.  Delicious.


The other 2 desserts were the Mousse au Chocolat and Panna Cotta aux Fruits de la Passion.  These were also solid with the mousse having some body, yet still light and airy.  It was purposefully sweet with background chocolate bitterness.  As for the panna cotta, it was on the firmer side but not heavy.  Naturally, it was refreshing with fruitiness and tangy sweetness.  Overall, we thought the meal at Coquette was good with some highlights.  It did remind me of my time in Paris last year down to the ambiance and the "Frenchness" of the place.

The Good:
- Above average
- Nice ambiance
- Authentic experience

The Bad:
- Definite highlights, but some other dishes were just okay

Moltaqa Moroccan

Trying to hit up the last few restaurants on the Michelin guide for Vancouver, it has brought me to Moltaqa Moroccan.  This has actually been on my radar for quite some time even before it became Michelin-recommended.  However, it is the same thing over and over again - too many places to eat at and so little time.  We made it a point to go there since we actually do like Moroccan cuisine, in particular a lamb or chicken tagine.

So before those tagines, we had went for their Moroccan Hummus and bread.  This was an extremely smooth and creamy hummus with the strong nuttiness of sesame seeds that were on top.  I got a bit of the garlic, yet was wanting more lemon.  Even the squeeze of the lemon wedge wasn't enough.  Maybe I like things more acidic, so the hummus overall was very good.  The side of Moroccan bread was fantastic.  A bit crispy on the outside and plenty fluffy inside, it was perfect for mopping up the hummus.


Our next small plate was the Duck Pastilla.  Oh my, this was absolutely mind-blowingly delicious.  Beyond the flaky and crispy phyllo casing, the ample amount of duck inside was moist and well-spiced.  There was definitely the sweetness of the onions while the powdered sugar made this almost a quasi-dessert.  But it all worked well with the combination of savoury and sweet.  Loved the almonds too as it added texture and nuttiness.


Continuing with the same protein, we had the Flambe Duck with cherie sauce.  The flambe was served tableside and that was pretty cool.  However, this dish was not only for show, it was also super delicious.  The skin of the duck breast was blackened with Moroccan spices and hence had rich fall flavours cinammon and cloves.  The duck itself was moist and tender while complimented perfectly by the sweet and tart sauce.  The side of roasted root vegetables were prepared nicely.

Finally, here we are with the tagines!  The first was the Lemon & Olive Halal Chicken Tagine with saffron.  This was truly an aromatic dish with the saffron coming through.  The chicken itself was super tender and moist with the salty brininess of the olives and the tangy lemon being quite evident with each bite.  There was also the earthiness of the turmeric as well.  With olives and thinly sliced lemon at our disposal, we could make each bite even more flavourful.  We had rice as our side dish for this tagine.

For me it was all about the Tagine of Lamb with saffron prunes and almond.  This was delicious where the lamb fell off the bone and was at its fatty best.  The meat had the gelatinous fattiness that I was looking for.  Due to the lamb being more robust than the chicken, the saffron was much more muted, but still present.  There was a certain sweetness to go with the rich Moroccan spices.  I had the side of cous cous with chickpeas with this.

We had a few cocktails to go with our meal in the Moroccan Cherie Sour and La Bel Aicha (we were also served some olives at the outset of the meal).  I found the sour to be quite nice and appetizing with the classic fall flavours of Moroccan spice paired with bourbon and white cherries.  A bit of sweetness to go with that tang.  As for the other cocktail, it was floral and refreshing with some ginger notes.  Overall, we quite enjoyed our meal at Moltaqa.  The portions were generous and the flavours were exotic.  Considering its Yaletown location and the deliciousness of the food, the prices were fair too.  Will come back.

The Good:
- Impactful exotic spices
- Generous portions
- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:
- Maybe a few repetitive spices, but I didn't mind

Ju Contempory Cuisine (New Menu)

The original menu at Ju when it first opened was quite ambitious due to the many options of canapes, appetizers, entrees and desserts.  Although most of the dishes were delicious, there was a lack of focus.  Now hitting its stride, they have streamlined the menu so that it prominently features a tasting menu for $88.00 (which is a steal).  To compliment this, there are a select few a la carte dishes available.  This post will feature the other dishes we had in addition to the tasting menu (featured in the previous blog post).

One of the most interesting items was the Teriyaki Chicken.  Yes really.  It was an oven-roasted chicken leg that was super tender and juicy.  The teriyaki was quite balanced with sweet, savoury and tanginess.  To compliment this, there was a mildly spice serrano aioli.  To provide a bit more acidity and bite, we had some pickled ginger.  Lastly, some katsuobushi (or bonito flakes) provided the usual combination of salty umaminess.

Something a bit more conventional but with a twist, we had the Gochujang Yook Hwei.  This was essentially a beef tartare but with the quintessential Korean condiment in the sweet & spicy gochujang.  The CAB was soft and tender while the use of gochujang showed restraint.  That ensured that the meat flavours were still present and the subtle sweetness of the Asian pear was noticeable.  The seaweed on the side served as a vessel for the beef.  However, I would've personally liked some tapioca chips for more crunch.

Looking like merely a slaw of some sort, the Creamy Green was actually quite good.  Sure, it wasn't anything complex or super amazing, but at the same time, very welcomed.  Something so fresh, crunchy and light acted like a palate cleanser and also made us feel just a bit healthier.  It was comprised of shredded cabbage and field greens dressed in a creamy coconut dressing.  Naturally, it was aromatic and sweet, but there was a balancing tanginess as well. 

Trying to stay with the Korean influence on the menu, the Miso Jjajang-Myun was their take on the classic dish.  Rather than a black bean sauce, we found a fermented soybean, which gave similar salty richness, but in a more subtle manner.  Naturally, this dish would be incomplete without the onion and they were sweet and well, oniony.  There was also tender zucchini, cabbage and mushrooms which added both texture and a bit of extra earthy sweetness.  Noodles were perfectly al dente.

Off to another noodle, the Vongole Kal-Guksu was another interpretation of the Korean dish.  I very much enjoyed this as the knife cut noodles had so much bite and rebound.  Very nice mouth feel and chew.  The ample clams afforded sweetness and a bit of brininess.  The addition of garlic and shallots upped the aromatics and overall flavour profile.  Some zucchini provided soft textures and just a tiniest bit of bitterness.  So unassuming, but delicious.

For reference only, I will refer to a previous time I visited Ju and talk about another item that is still currently on the menu.  It is the Poached Oyster with roasted garlic mushroom espuma, rosemary oil and togarashi crunch.  This is particularly great for people who don't eat raw oysters.  However, it was poached just enough, so that all of the butteriness and brininess was still present.  It was not obscured since the espuma was subtle.  Loved the crunch on top.

They also have an array of unique cocktails including the Rose-Merry, Maple Cinnamon, Snowy Battle Field and Rice Punch.  Despite my love for fruity drinks, my favourite of the bunch was the Maple Cinnamon with its milky "eggnog" like vibes.  Just sweet enough and Fall-tasting.  With the rosemary being torched, there was some definite woodsy aroma going around.  But then, the actual cocktail was fruity with pomegranate and vodka.  The Rice Punch had some vodka and sik-hye (which is a sweet rice drink), hence this was lightly sweet and plenty nutty from the rice.  Lastly, the Snowy Battle Field consisted of Calpico, gin, vodka and red wine.  This looked quite Halloween-like, but was went down easy due to the addition of sweet and tangy Calpico.  There is one more item on the menu that I didn't feature, which is the Galbi.  However, it is in the tasting menu, so you can refer to it in the previous post.  I would say that these items were good, but the tasting menu is still the best bet.  You get all of the highlights and it is only $88.00.

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

The Good:
- Overall tasty
- Reasonably-priced
- Unique cocktails

The Bad:
- Theses dishes can supplement your meal, but the highlight is the tasting menu
- Noodles may need more colour

Search this Site