Loula's

Just like most cuisines outside of North America, Greek food is served family-style.  Up until recently, it was pretty much accepted that someone would order a honking huge dish of roast lamb with rice, potatoes, veggies, tzatziki and pita.  Well, thankfully, we are seeing a trend towards sharing plates.  Actually, this has been happening for quite some time, but it seems to be popular across the board.  That brings us to Loula's on Commercial Drive.  They belong to the same group as Nammos and Selene Aegean, where yes, they do promote sharing plates.

We began the sharing with the Mediterranean Dips featuring hummus, tarama, smoked eggplant spicy feta and tzatziki.  Beyond these dips, the star of the show was the pita.  They were well-charred with a slightly crispy exterior and a fluffy chewy centre.  Dips were great too with a well-seasoned hummus that had some texture to go with the blended smoothness.  As expected, the tarama was a bit briny and tangy.  Loved the eggplant dip as it was indeed smoky with some spice.

Another delicious mezze was the Spanakopita.  Loved the colour on the phyllo pastry.  It wasn't only aesthetically-pleasing, as it was crispy and plenty aromatic and nutty.  Inside, the spinach and feta filling was delicate but not mushy.  Loved the added sweetness of honey as it balanced everything out.  Extra feta on the side allowed things to be creamier.

We got more of that awesome grilled pita with our order of Saganaki.  As much as the pita was great with the fried sheep's cheese, I thought this dish could've been better.  It was not as as golden brown uniformly as I would've liked.  Even the bottom was somewhat pale.  Despite this, the cheese itself was still crispy on the outside and a bit nutty.  

Next up was a great portion of Calamari.  This featured a good mix of tubes and tentacles.  They were lightly dusted and ended up to be golden and crispy.  Seasoning was a bit aggressive and the texture of the squid was tender with a nice chewiness.  I particularly enjoyed the tentacles as they have more bite.  The tzatziki underneath was creamy and bright.

We ended up with both the Chicken Souvlaki and the Tiger Prawn Souvlaki.  They were properly grilled where the charring was evident in both appearance and taste.  As for the chicken, it remained tender and juicy.  The prawns were aromatic and had a meaty snap texture.  Both were well-seasoned with the pepperiness of oregano.  Once again, the tangy tzatziki was a nice compliment.

Normally, Jackie and Eileen don't eat lamb, but since they know I love lamb, they ordered the Roast Lamb Shoulder (Arni Psito).  Turns out they ended up trying some as it was really good!  The generous portion was super tender and gelatinous while benefitting from the smokiness of the char.  The Lamb Jus that came with it was full of depth, but a bit salty.  It sat on a bed of smooth mashed potatoes and grilled broccolini and zucchini.

To compliment the lamb, we had the Patates which were robust and slightly charred in spots.  I enjoyed these as they were soft and creamy with the essence of rosemary.  Furthermore, the seasoning on them was impactful without being salty (could've used a bit more lemon).  Possibly, the sear/char on them could've been more even as well.

I was happy that they had Ekmek on the menu as it is one of my favourite Greek desserts.  This one was excellent as it was served really cold, hence it had some semi-freddo vibes to it.  It was creamy and sweet, but not too sweet.   Beyond the almost frozen whipped cream, the custard was firm too but still had a velvety texture.  The phyllo at the bottom added some light crispiness.  Overall, our meal at Loula's was quite good.  Their Mezze are on point and their souvlaki are cooked beautifully.  A good option for Greek on The Drive.

The Good:

- Food as a whole is solid

- Charring on the pita and souvlaki are excellent

- Excellent service

The Bad:

- Some dishes were a bit salty

La Terraza (Happy Hour)

As mentioned in my previous post, many people are looking for value these days when it comes to dining out.  Hence we see the increasing popularity of all-you-can-eat (AYCE) as well as the veritable Happy Hour.  There are quite a few options in the GVRD with many being at chain restaurants.  However, did you know that a fine dining spot has a rather affordable Happy Hour that features some appealing items?  La Terrazza has been a Yaletown staple since it opened in 1998 and yes, they have a Happy Hour menu from 5:00pm - 7:00pm.  Only 19+ as it is only served in the bar area.

Jackie and I dropped by prior to a concert at Rogers Arena.  We began with the 1/2 Dozen Oysters.  Totally wasn't paying attention to what was the type, but they were definitely Westcoast.  Small like kusshis, these were clean-tasting, a bit briny and pretty sweet.  They were shucked properly with no shell fragments.  Condiments included yuzu pink peppercorn vinaigrette, horseradish, hot sauce and lemon.

Staying with cold, we also had the Chilled Tiger Prawn Cocktail.  These were prepared well being cooked just enough where the bounciness of the prawns were cold-water crunchy.  This was served with a horseradish rose sauce that was tangy and slightly sweet with a bite at the end.  Now if that wasn't your fancy, there was also a seared half-lemon too.

Still with the cold appies, we had the Beef Carpaccio served with a side of freshly-baked fontina flatbread.  This was a competent version where the Angus Reserved beef tenderloin was tender and moist.  Possibly, there could've been a bit more condiments to this, but the black truffle vinaigrette did have impact with its tangy woodsiness.  Loved the flatbread as it was warm and slightly crispy.  Plenty of nuttiness as well.

We moved onto some pastas including the Gnocchi al Forno.  Baked with plenty of mozzarella on top, this was plenty cheesy and robust.  We found the gnocchi to be good where they were soft, but not too much so that there wasn't any texture.  As for the San Marzano tomato sauce, it was nicely balanced where it was naturally sweet with only a bit of tanginess.  Lots of depth and it was bright.

Our favourite dish of this Happy Hour menu was the Strozzapretti Bolognese.  Starting with the pasta, the shaped held onto the sauce effectively.  On top of that, the texture was spot on where it was tender, but had a firm bite as well.  Oh and the bolognese, it was so delicious.  Just slightly creamy, but plenty tomatoey, the cooked down meat was tender and full of umami.  I could eat a few of these myself!

Just to round out our meal, I just had to get the Truffle Parmesan Fries.  Yah, probably other things to order off the menu, but I just love fries!  These were serviceable being crispy and well-salted.  The star of the dish was indeed the truffle aioli.  super creamy and nutty.  Overall, the Happy Hour menu at La Terrazza is a steal in my opinion.  In this economy, it is nice to see we can still have a meal with quality ingredients for an affordable price.  Located in Yaletown too!

The Good:

- Affordable, especially for Downtown

- Lovely setting and service

- High-quality food

The Bad:

- Only in the bar area, so pretty dark and limited in space

Selene Aegean Bistro

Here we go with another restaurant on my "to eat at" list but it has taken me until now to actually pay them a visit.  When Bluebeard and Nikita wanted to meet up for dinner, it was as good as any time to suggest Selene Aegean Bistro out on Pentiction at Hastings.  Not be confused with Chez Celine out on Fraser, this place features a Mediterranean menu as its name suggests.  We really loved the front facade of the place as it created the right atmosphere even before we set foot inside.  After discussing what to have on the menu, we ended up with their Tasting Menu for $80.00 per person.

Things got off on the right foot with a trio of items including Babaganoush.  We found the eggplant to be silky smooth and quite pleasant with a touch of earthiness.  We would've liked to see a bit more smokiness though.  It went really well with the fresh pita as it contrasted the crispiness of the pita (where it was fluffy inside).  

With much more impact, the Tirosalata had plenty of kick from the fermented red chilis as well as a balancing amount of tanginess.  It was also slightly creamy from the feta and of course nuttiness from the walnuts.  Although not as prominent in size, the small cup of Stuffed Olives was impactful.  Beyond the initial briny and tangy notes, the creaminess of the feta really came through.  

Lastly, the Amberjack Crudo was a pleasant dish with meaty slices of fish in a strawberry ouzo broth.  Nice sweetness with only a touch of licorice.  As amberjack can typically be, it started off with a fairly firm texture, but it got much softer as I chewed it.  The slices of jalapeno were thin and did not overwhelm the fish.  Rather it gave the necessary bite for impact.

Second course featured Horiatiki and Mussels.  As you may already know, I rarely fawn over a salad.  However, the tomato-forward horiatiki was magnificent.  The fresh tomatoes were plump and the marinated ones were sweet like candy.  These were balanced off by the pickled onions and some olives as well as some creamy red wine feta.  Consisting of plump out-of-the-shell mussels, these sat in a spicy loukaniko butter.  So many layers of flavour here including briny, sweet, nutty and of course spiciness.  Some freshly-shaved fennel added crunch and brightness. The toasted and oiled olive focaccia was the perfect thing to sop up all of the sauce.   

Since Nikita cannot have any gluten, they were able to make the Kalamari with potato starch for the Kalamari to accommodate.  Honestly, if no one told me this was gluten-free, I would've accepted it as the standard dish.  I found it really good with tender squid with a nice bite while the coating was firmly crispy.  That tzatziki was money with notable dill hits and purposeful tanginess.

Third course had the bigger dishes in the Arctic Char and Bavette Steak.  This set of dishes were okay, but not as good as the the first two courses.  We found the Arctic Char to have a uniformly crispy skin that was well-seasoned, but the fish itself was a bit overdone.  It wasn't dry though, so still pretty good.  Underneath, we found spinach sitting in an avgolemono which had a nice viscosity and brightness.  As much as I enjoyed the ezme underneath (which was tangy, mildly spicy and earthy), the Bavette Steak was not as tender as we would've liked.  It was prepared a perfect medium-rare though and properly rested.  Loved the white anchovies and pickled pearl onions on top as it added some brininess to the dish.

The side of triple cooked Patatas were super crunchy and nutty with creamy potatoey insides.  Loved the creamy feta mayo on the side.  Smoky with slight bitterness, the Oyster Mushroom Souvlaki was sitting on a bed of walnut skordalia, which was thick (from the bread), nutty and tangy.  I didn't mind it, but others at the table thought it tasted off.

Onto dessert, we were served the Mahalepi and Amygdalota Ice Cream Sandwich.  We really enjoyed the ice cream sandwich as the tahini ice cream was nutty, sweet and nicely sweetened by the honey caramel.  The almond cookie had a crumbly crunch and of course nuttiness.  The fig-infused pannacotta to be smooth and silky with just the right consistency.  The macerated strawberries add a sweet tanginess while the brown sugar kataifi (served on the side) added crunchiness.  Overall, it was a pleasant meal at Selene.  We felt the prices were reasonable for the amount and quality of food we were served.

The Good:

- Generally delicious food

- Well-priced

- The calamari

The Bad:

- Steak was not as tender as we would've liked

Food by Fanta

If you've ever been to Baan Lao out in Steveston, you will know that they take Thai cuisine to a whole new level while still honoring the traditional techniques and ingredients.  I've been a few times and it has been fantastic, if not a major indulgence (it's expensive).  However, what if I told you that Food by Fanta out in Langley has similar elements while being significantly more affordable.  Jackie and I went out for a tasting and came away rather impressed.

This isn't my first time visiting Food by Fanta, but as you will soon see, I got to experience some carefully curated smaller bites.  This included the Miang Kham which literally translates to "one bite wrap".  This it was with pomelo, dried shrimp, ginger, pineapple, lime, peanuts and herbs in a betel leaf.  Combined with the sweet and savoury miang sauce, this had all the flavours such as brininess, sweetness, tang, nuttiness and herbaceousness.

Next little bite was the Kratong Tuna Tartare sitting in delicate pastry cups.  Delicate was the operative word here as the tuna was buttery and lightly sweet.  The other bite was the Yum Som with a mix of pomelo, herbs, toasted coconut, crispy shallots and garlic with Nam Prik Pao dressing and crispy prawn sprinkles.  This was aromatic and toasty with tangy sweetness.

Served on a handheld metal spoon/serving vessel, the Tom Kah Scallop Bites were one of my favourite dishes.  It featured a fairly large scallop that was beautifully seared.  It was slightly rare in the middle being buttery and soft.  Plenty of natural scallop sweetness that was concentrated due to the caramelization from the sear.  In addition to being properly seasoned, the scallop all benefitted from the creamy and aromatic tom kha which had balancing tanginess.

Another little bite that was neatly presented was the Shrimp Toast.  I was amazed that the toast was not greasy at all despite its thickness.  Depending on your preference, this could've been too dry also.  Personally, I would've liked to see the toast be less thick and surprisingly, a bit oiler.  However, it was still good since the shrimp mixture was bouncy and sweet while the layer of herbs provided plenty of flavour.

In addition to the shrimp toast, we had another trio of items from their high tea service including the Khanom Krok.  This crispy crepe was nutty and had a great hit of creamy coconut with the smoothness of blended rice.  I absolutely loved the Khao Kriap Pak Mor which was steamed rice-flour dumpling that had a beautiful soft texture with appealing elasticity.  It was filled with a tender savoury minced chicken mixture.  At the top, we found the Khanom Buang which was a crispy pancake filled with grated coconut, diced shrimp and lime leaves on top of lemon meringue.  This pancake had a light crunch coupled with the sweet and briny filling.  Lots of aromatics going on here.

One of their most beautiful dishes happens to be the Chor Muang Flower Dumplings.  These glutinous rice flour dumplings were texturally on point with a delicate chewiness with elasticity.  Inside, we found 3 fillings including chicken, pork and veggie.  Believe it or not, my favourite was the veggies with its combination peanuts, sweet radish, onion and cilantro.  It was not hurting for texture or flavour.  Loved the sweet tanginess with aromatics.

Colourful and presented as individual components (prior to mixing), the Khao Yum Salad consisted of 22 fresh-cut ingredients.  I'm not going to list them all here but the crispy rice made this dish.  Not only did it add texture, but the aromatics and nuttiness blended well with the crunchy vegetables, sweet fruit and herbaceous components.  This was dressed with tangy tamarind and that brought out even more sweetness and tang.

One dish I've had before was the Bechamel Taro Nachos.  Featuring thin waffle-cut taro chips, these were topped with tamarind prawns, melted Swiss and mozzarella and of course, an avocado bechamel.  Beyond the crispiness of the thin taro chips, the best part of this dish was the little bits of prawns.  Due to the cook on them, they were rather meaty and held up to the rest of the components.  They were sweet with a slight tang while the cheese held everything together.

Another nicely-plated dish was the Miso-Orange Roasted Carrots.  This consisted of a variety of carrots that had been butter-poached.  As such, they were super tender to the point they were almost breaking apart, but stayed intact.  The natural sweetness was definitely there with background earthiness.  Complimenting the nutty peanut sauce, we found a bright and tangy beet vinaigrette.

One of the more interesting dishes was the Seared Eggplant with Green Curry.  This acted almost like a vegetarian pate with a silky baked eggplant topped by poached carrots.  This was spread onto toasted and buttered ciabatta served on the side.  Texturally, this only worked because the toasted bread was the contrast.  Eggplant and carrots by themselves were very soft and hence spreadable.

Something a bit more usual was the Confit Chicken Leg Khao Soi.  The combination of delicate egg noodles and crispy noodles helped soak up the rich and coconut curry soup.  It was aromatic, slightly sweet, a bit earthy and plenty creamy.  The large chicken leg was definitely meaty and tender, but at the same time, it was maybe too tender?  I loved the crispy skin though.

One of the most impactful dishes we had was the Khao Khluk Kapi Bowl Thai Fried Rice.  This was not only due to the fact it was the beneficiary of smoky wok hei (high BTUs), but the fermented shrimp paste afforded plenty of umaminess.  With that being said, it wasn't so pungent that it was overwhelming.  Just enough of it.  As evidenced in the picture, the plate was also loaded with crunchy veggies as well as crispy shallots and fried garlic.  Lots of textures and further aromatics.

Encased with an egg lattice, the Pad Thai featured 2 large prawns on top.  They were meaty with a bounce texture.  Inside the lattice, the chewy rice noodles were coated with just enough homemade tamarind sauce.  It was quite balanced as the noodles weren't too tangy nor too sweet.  It had plenty of savouriness with smokiness from the wok hei.

I was happy that we got to try the Coconut Crème Brûlée since I enjoyed it very much the last time I was here.  Presented beautifully in a half-coconut, the dessert benefitted from the fresh coconut meat on the sides.  Beyond that, the custard was creamy and had a light thickness.  Sweetness was balanced and the brûlée was crunchy and caramelized.

Seemingly super simple, the Som Choon consisted of lychee, pineapple, strawberry, jackfruit, and orange in jasmine-scented syrup,

with orange zest, ginger and crisp shallots. The trick with this was to drizzle the syrup to your fancy and then serve it with ice. The result was something that was fruity, refreshing and pretty cold.  I loved it!

Colourful with a variety of ingredients, the Pandan Chocolate & Strawberry Khunafeh was full of different textures.  The crunch from the khunafeh was reminiscent of that in a Dubai Chocolate.  Heck, the chocolate drizzle helped it even more so.  The house-made pandan custard even looked like pistachio, but instead, it gave off a different form of nuttiness.  It was like a Jedi mind trick as it looked like Dubai Chocolate, but it had a twist of slightly different flavours.

A stealthily delicious dessert was the Gluay Buad Chee.  It featured a coconut cream mousse that was silky and rich.  It had plenty of aromatics and sweetness.  That in itself was quite satisfying already but we found a brûléed slice of banana on top.  The contrasting textures between the soft banana and the smoky crunchiness of the torched sugar was appealing and gave the dessert some body.

Of course we ordered some bevvies to go with our meal too. We thought the Watermelon Mule was the most refreshing with fresh-squeezed fruit.  Loved the natural flavours and the texture of the drink.  Mango Supreme was floral and also fruity.  The Mojito was refreshing from the passionfruit and also the mint.  Being savoury, the Tom Yamgrita was a bit spicy with the usual fragrances of lemongrass and galangal.  Overall, the meal was impressive as it featured traditional Thai flavours with some twists and a dose of modern presentation.  Definitely something to consider as the prices are quite reasonable given the quality of the food.

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

The Good:

- Traditional Thai flavours but with a certain refinement

- Reasonable pricing

- Unique dining space

The Bad:

- Confit chicken was far too soft