Osetra

One of the newest restaurants in Downtown Vancouver has opened up on Georgia Street at Homer.  Osetra (yes, the same name as the caviar) now occupies the former location of Bar Haifa.  It has a focus on coastal cuisine that features fresh seafood.  Now with a name like Osetra, you might have guessed they have a love for caviar as well.  That they do and we even got some randomly during our meal!

Before we got to the caviar, we had the Scallop Crudo.  This was doused in an apple and coconut nage.  This was plenty creamy and aromatic.  There was also an avocado vinaigrette which added even more richness as well as some acidity.  I wasn't completely sold on the serranos on top, but it did make things pop.  As for the chopped scallop, it was buttery soft, fresh and clean-tasting.  I enjoyed eating this with less of the sauce, since it was rather heavy.  Flavours were good though and the seasoned crisps were perfect vessels for the scallops.

For our Caviar appie, it featured a crispy buttermilk and chive waffle that was lightly sweet and a bit nutty.  We found some smoked crème fraîche and chives occupying 2 squares on the waffle while there was a toasted pepper and egg yolk gel settling in 2 of the other squares.  However, the most important ingredient was the dollops of caviar in the remaining squares.  I thought when everything was combined into one bite, there was a good balance.  If you are familiar, you'll notice that they re-imagined the typical condiments served with a tin of caviar, such as the egg yolk, crème fraîche and chives.  Quite clever really and in general it worked.  Possibly the only thing I would've changed was the waffle itself.  Something thinner would've helped highlight the brininess of the caviar more so.

It was suggested we order the Grilled Sourdough to accompany the Squid Plancha.  Great call on that as the nutty, smoky and crunchy sourdough mopped up that delicious sauce beautifully.  There was a nice dousing of single origin olive oil on the bread itself, where it ate well without sauce too.  The little bites of squid nestled in the n'duja & confit tomato sugo were tender and buttery.  I found the sugo to have a mild tomato flavour while exhibiting some spice.  Some preserved lemon provided the acidity and a balanced saltiness came from the manchego espuma.

Two of our vegetable sides came out next in the form of the Oyster Mushrooms in a rendang sauce and the Potato Pavé with pecorino and kimchi powder.  Really enjoyed the mushrooms as they were seared nicely.  The rendang was creamy and earthy with the usual coconut aromatics.  As for the pavé, it was not pan-fried.  Rather, it was deep fried which created a uniformly crunchy exterior that was also buttery and nutty.  Inside, it was still tender and revealed the multiple layers of potato.  I didn't notice the kimchi powder as much as I wanted, but it did provide a slight bite.

My favourite item of the night was the Dungeness Crab served in its own carapace (or head shell).  They de-shelled the whole crab and mixed it with a ginger & scallion emulsion.  I found the crab meat to be excellent being fluffy with a slight bounce.  It was naturally sweet and a bit briny with the emulsion complimenting rather than dominating.  We had some acidity in the form of lemon and the whole thing contained a good amount of crab.

Now we had crab, so the next would be Lobster right?  This was a half-lobster with diced meat that was mixed with a motoyaki mayo sauce and baked.  It was also topped with chives and ikura.  The result was tender morsels of sweet lobster that were lightly bathed in a mild-tasting sauce.  Underneath, we found some watercress gomae that added some freshness and texture.  The pops of brininess from the ikura was a nice break from the creamy sauce.

I thought the Carrots was probably the best veggie side dish we had.  They were aggressively charred which made them smoky and heightened the sweetness.  That honey mustard toffee on the bottom of the plate was richly sweet and buttery with a slight sharpness from the mustard.  Adding texture and nuttiness, there was puffed rice  was strewn across the plate.

Had to end the meal with caviar right?  So we had the Fior di Latte & Lemon Gelato topped with Osetra caviar and drizzled with single origin olive oil.  Creamy and sweet, the gelato benefited from olive oil with extra silkiness and of course the flavour of the oil.  Of course the caviar on top provided a "je ne sais" quality to the dessert that was only in the background.  Overall, the food we tried at Osetra was good.  There might've been a few things that could've been refined a bit more (such as the scallop crudo) and possibly the plating on the squid was a bit flat, but nothing outrageously deficient.  Atmosphere and decor fit the Downtown theme and pricing was okay, especially compared to Aquafarina across the street.

*All food was complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Good Downtown vibes and atmosphere

- Food was generally well-prepared

- Fresh seafood

The Bad:

- Some dishes could use further refinement

C|Prime Modern Italian Steak and Wine

Haven't been back to C|Prime in the Century Plaza Hotel for quite some time.  I remember when it was Roy's Steakhouse (that closed 20 years ago), that my parents would frequent back in the day.  Yep, they brought me along and I was that little kid who was getting his fill of steak.  I guess not much has changed as I still like my fill of steak!  Recently, I returned with Jackie to try out some dishes.

We started off with a showstopper in the Osso e Manzo (Bone Marrow Beef Tartare).  With filet mignon tartare on top, the huge bone marrow was really over-the-top.  It served its purpose though by being a serving vessel for the tender and buttery tartare.  Of course there was fatty bone marrow underneath all that, which only helped make the dish more sinful and buttery.  Soaked with butter, the side of toasted bread was the perfect crispy texture to compliment the bone marrow and tartare.  I do think the bone marrow and tartare did clash a bit and I'd rather have them separately.  Both were good though.

Next, we had the Risotto Nero which featured a grilled 1/2 lobster.  However, the thing that made this dish sing was the lobster bisque reduction.  Our senses of both smell and taste were blasted with the concentrated lobster essence.  It helped flavour the risotto completely and made us wanting our next spoonful of risotto.  Thick but evenly spread on the plate, the risotto was cooked right with chewy rice that exuded the beautiful colour of squid ink.

The main event was the Angus Reserve Bone-in Ribeye prepared medium-rare.  This was a bit closer to rare, which kept the meat moist, but possibly less tender.  With that being said, the steak was sufficiently tender and had good natural beef flavour.  It was served with a silky and gelatinous demi-glace which was flavourful with a pleasant saltiness and umami.  It was also properly rested as there was minimal juices on the plate.

On the side, we had two dishes including the Truffle Mac & Cheese as well as the Foraged Mushrooms.  Typically, I find mac & cheese at most steakhouses to be highly disappointing.  This one bucked the trend by being cheesy and properly sauced, so that it wasn't dry.  There was plenty of truffle flavour (with real black truffle too) and seasoning.  Toasted crumbs on top added a nice crunch while the noodles were not mushy.  As for the mushrooms, they were texturally on point while completely seasoned.  

For desert, we had the Tiramisu, which was presented in a showy manner.  Once the clear cylindrical container was removed, it revealed plenty of mascarpone cream.  This ate quite well with moist espresso-soaked lady fingers and sweet mascarpone.  Although this looked rather wet, it didn't eat as such.  Overall, this was a solid meal and there was some pizazz to go with it. 

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

The Good:

- Nice decor and atmosphere

- The items we had some flair

- Some really good dishes

The Bad:

- Steak was prepared properly but could've been a bit more tender

Bahubali Biryani House Downtown

Awhile back, I had the chance to try out Bahubali Biryani House in North Delta with a few other people.  It turned out to be a tasty experience with the biryani being really good (yes, it is in the name of the restaurant right?).  There was a low-key dish that I am still remembering quite fondly.  That was the Crispy Corn which was "wow", super addictive and would go really well with a tall cool one.  Now, they have a Downtown location that serves some of the same delicious items, but also features a lunch buffet for only $19.95.  For those who want to take away, they offer "all-you-can-take" for the same price.  In this economy, that is a really great deal and super flexible as you can take it to go as well.

So we came here to try that exact Buffet and also sample some of their a la carte specialties.  As you can see, there was a good selection of items available as hot food in the buffet.  We found Butter Chicken, Tandoori Chicken, Chicken Curry, Saag Paneer, Chana Masala, Aloo Matar and Onion Pakora.  We also found both Basmati and Dum Rice on the side to compliment the curries.  I thought everything looked vibrant and fresh, which cannot be said about all Indian buffets.

The curries tasted as good as they looked and surprisingly with a good amount of spice.  The Butter Chicken was creamy with a mild tanginess and earthiness.  Chicken was in good sized chunks and tender.  Loved the Saag Paneer as the cubes of cheese were soft and squishy.  The cooked down spinach sat in a semi-creamy curry that was earthy and slightly gingery.  Chicken Curry was solid with fall-apart pieces of meat while being bathed in a spicy and sweet curry that had the taste of fall flavours.  Slightly gingery, a bit sweet and of course earthy, the Chana Masala was definitely flavourful.  Same could be said about the Aloo Matar with its tomato-based curry that was, once again, earthy and slightly spicy with the sweetness of the peas.

The last 2 items that I had to try from the hot items was the Onion Pakora and Tandoori Chicken.  The pakora was crispy and fairly light with completely cooked through onion.  Maybe needing just a bit more char, the Tandoori Chicken was juicy and tender while having some spice and tang.  The rest of the buffet featured some veggies, fruit, chutneys, raita, gulab jamun and kheer.  Those chutneys were a great condiment to the spicy curries, especially the sweet and sticky Mango Chutney and tangy Tamarind Chutney.

Since Naan should be eaten fresh out of the tandoor, they make it to order for the buffet.  You have a choice between Butter Naan and Garlic Butter Naan.  We had both and they were fantastic.  Look at that char and external crispiness!  That crunch gave way to a chewier, yet soft, interior.  So much nuttiness and aroma from these two fresh breads.  They weren't shy about the ghee either as they were glistening.  Naturally, the garlic naan had some more flavour.

Moving away from the buffet, we ordered a few dishes off the regular menu.  Of course we couldn't do without the Crispy Corn.  Marinated, battered and then deep fried, the corn was super crispy and super sweet.  Being tossed with fried curry leaves, we got some real earthy aromas.  Once again, I feel that this dish is perfect with a cold beer.  The wedge of lemon was there to cut through some of the deep-fried heaviness, but honestly, I didn't use it since the aroma would've been less apparent.

To my horror, Jackie decided to order the Cilantro Chicken.  Okay, I'm not the biggest fan of cilantro, but this looked to be quite the challenge for me to eat.  But something surprising happened...  I enjoyed this dish!  The tender nuggets of chicken were bathed in plenty of greeness but it wasn't overpowering with the cilantro.  Rather, it combined well with the rest of the ingredients to create a cohesive flavour that was partially earthy, a bit spicy, somewhat tangy and of course cilantro-tasting.

We ended up with 2 sizzling Tandoori platters including the Mixed Tandoori Platter and Tandoori Prawns.  Both did indeed come out sizzling (as some places do not) and the aroma was intoxicating.  Unlike the tandoori chicken in the buffet, these tandoori items were nicely charred and smoky.  I particularly liked the fish as it was flaky and full-flavoured.  The prawns were excellent too having an intense brininess and sweetness.  Good texture on them too.

For myself, I needed to have the Goat Curry.  I just love the texture of goat and yah, I don't mind the gaminess either.   Actually, I didn't notice too much in the way of gaminess, but then again, I'm used to it, so it could be subjective.  Each piece of goat was tender with its usual gelatinous texture.  The curry was really flavourful bordering on salty but not being salty.  The spice level was great for me as it had a real bite.  Of course the usual earthiness and fall flavours came through.

We couldn't get out of here without having at least one biryani right?  So we opted for the Vijayawada Fry Piece Chicken Biryani.  As you can see, this was overflowing with basmati rice that was nutty and chewy.  Hidden underneath, there was a considerable amount of tender pieces of chicken that were the beneficiary of being fried.  Hence, they retained their juiciness and intensified their flavour.  This was pretty spicy but completely up my alley.  I could see it being a problem for some people, but I loved it.  The side of raita helped cool things down and the salan provide even more spice and nuttiness.

We also got an order each of the regular Paratha and the Spinach Paratha (only the spinach pictured) and these were good.  They were lightly browned on the outside with some leoparding while maintaining a soft fluffiness.  It had more body due to the whole wheat flour.  Nice aroma on them and with the spinach paratha being a bit more loose due to the moisture.  Overall, the food at Bahubali Downtown is fantastic with a high default spice level.  Portions are generous and the prices are affordable, especially for its location.  Would totally recommend.

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

The Good:
- Flavourful food with a high default spice level
- Affordable, especially the buffet
- Generous portion sizes

The Bad:
- A bit hidden and parking isn't the best, but most people would be in the area anyways
- Seating is a bit limited, was really busy when we were there

Biryani Lounge Restaurant and Bar

It wasn't that long ago that finding good Indian eats in Downtown Vancouver was limited to some tourist traps.  Unless you were willing to travel to Surrey, particularly Scott Road, you would be hard pressed to find anything decent.  Well, those days are gone since Indian restaurants have been popping up all over the place.  In fact, many of them are rather fancy and sport nicely appointed dining rooms.  Recently, Jackie and I visited Biryani Lounge perched on the 2nd floor at the corner of Denman and Davie.  Really awesome location, but how does the food stack up?  Well, we were about to see...

We began with a few appies including the Samosas filled with potato and peas.  Normally, I don't have a lot to say about samosas because many are very similar.  This one had a pretty typical filling with soft potato and peas with the usual spice and earthiness.  However, the pastry was a cut above because it was flaky and almost airy.  Very appealing since it wasn't heavy, yet at the same time was uniformly crispy on the outside.  Really good!

Next, we had the Vada Pav consisting of a fried potato patty (or ball in this case) and chili peanut chutney on a soft roll.  Despite being carb-on-carb, this Indian slider (as described on the menu) was satisfying and delicious.  I've had this many times before and I found this particular version to be extra crispy (the patty that is).  Hence, there was a distinct textural contrast between the soft bun and the patty.  There was good spice and to top it off (literally and figuratively), we found a hot pepper to amp things out even more so.

I know, I know, the Butter Chicken is often seen as a defaultish dish like Sweet & Sour Pork in Cantonese cuisine.  But, I happen to like both of these dishes and am not a food snob.  Good thing that we ordered this as it was quite good.  It was thick and creamy but also had an impactful tanginess.  There was the usual earthiness from the spices with equal parts sweetness and savouriness.  I would say this version was pretty mild though.  The pieces of chicken were tender and a bit smoky.

The best curry I had was the Coconut Goat Curry.  This was rich and creamy but at the same time, wasn't overly heavy.  The aromatics from the coconut milk was at the forefront, but the shredded coconut added some sweetness as well as texture.  There was the usual earthiness from the spices that balanced off the sweetness.  Of course, the best part was the goat.  It was tender, gelatinous and super moist.  So pleasing and delicious!

Now I emphasized that "I" enjoyed the goat curry because Jackie doesn't like goat.  Therefore, we went for the Coconut Prawn Curry as well.  You will notice the difference in colour and that also resulted in different flavours.  The curry featured less fall flavours and was sweeter.  Less depth due to the use of prawns, but brighter too.  The prawns were cooked nicely being meaty with a light snap texture. 

To go with these curries, we were served some Garlic Sesame Naan.  This was well-charred, nutty and the beneficiary of delicious ghee.  It was the thinner variety, so it ate more like a cracker-type bread rather than a fluffy and chewy interior.  We also had a few drinks including the Indian Coffee and Mango Lassi.  I found the coffee aromatic and sweet while the lassi to be thick, sweet and creamy.  Nice compliments to the curries we were enjoying.

Naturally, we were going to order some biryanis too in the Tandoori Chicken Biryani as well as the Prawn Biryani.  Predictably, the tandoori chicken biryani was much more rich and impactful due to the flavours imparted by the charred and marinated tandoori chicken.  I liked how the rice was fairly dry and not overly wet.  It was nutty and nicely spiced.  The prawn biryani was even drier due to the main protein and also lighter tasting as well.  This would be good to go with some curry (despite Biryani not generally eaten with curry, that is where plain basmati rice comes in).

Speaking of Tandoori Chicken, we got an order since we were so impressed with the chicken in our biryani.  Since it was served on a sizzling platter and not cooked into the rice, it was more smoky, more flavourful and more moist.  Very nice render on the skin which was nutty and earthy.  The chicken was super tender and well-marinated.  Overall, the food at Biryani Lounge was really good and well-priced.  Considering its prime location at English Bay, you might think it would be a tourist trap.  It is clearly not.

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

The Good:

- Delicious

- Well-priced

- Prime location

The Bad:

- Parking, of course, is not the best down here

Stackhouse Steak Sandwich

One of the most convenient quick take-out lunches (or dinner) is the classic sandwich.  Even though they have been on the downturn as of late, Subway has been the go to spot for decades if someone wanted a sandwich.  However, with prices creeping up, there are other options and that would also be one of the contributing factors into Subway's struggles.  Consider the new Stackhouse Steak Sandwich on Davie offers up their signature Steak Sandwich for only $12.00, you can see why people are not flocking to Subway as they did before.  We dropped by Stackhouse to try their wares recently.

Before we got to the sandwiches, we had some of their accompaniments including the surprisingly delicious French Onion Soup.  For a sandwich shop, this was a pretty solid soup with the sweetness of slow-cooked onions coming through.  Unlike many other versions, this was not overloaded with salt either.  This was topped with the usual toasted baguette as well as a slice of gruyere.  With all of the usual components, this was a classic French onion soup!  Even the Caesar Salad was elevated with house-made dressing and anchovies on top.  That added the salty fishiness that was noticeable and provided impact to the salad.

The Stackhouse Steak Sandwich is their signature menu item.  It features medium-thick slices of medium-rare flat iron with a chimichurri sauce and crispy onions.  This was a really good sandwich!  The beef was tender but still had a natural texture while the sauce was bright and tangy which kept things light.  Loved the crispy onions as they added aroma and more texture.  The bread itself had a crusty exterior with a soft and almost fluffy interior.  Really good value at only $12.00.

Something a bit more fancy, the Steak Tartare Open Sandwich was also well-priced at $12.00.  It featured a considerable amount of fresh beef that was tender with a slight chew.  It was dressed with the usual components such as dijon, cornichons, capers, parsley and red onion.  A sous-vide egg yolk topped the whole thing.  When mixed together, we had a silky custardy texture from the egg yolk.  The sturdy bread was a good compliment to the tartare but secretly, I liked putting it on top of the chips! 

Yes, the previous 2 sandwiches were good, but it was all about the French Dip for me.  This featured the same sliced flat iron with Swiss cheese, horseradish cream and fried onion chips.  I really enjoyed the horseradish as it a slight bite, but the biggest thing was the aromatic creaminess it provided.  The au jus on the side was flavourful without being salty.  When dipped into the au jus, the bread soaked it up well without going completely soggy.  It added the last bit of flavour that put this sandwich over the top.

They also had a featured sandwich which was the Pulled Pork.  There was no shortage of fully sauced and tender pulled pork.  It was on the sweeter side, but I appreciated the impactful flavours.  Sometimes, people forget that the bread is pretty neutral-tasting and the filling needs to compensate for that.  That it did and it was delicious with each bite.  There was some crispy onions for crunch while a bit of slaw provided a creaminess to the sandwich.

Dessert came in the form of a jarred Cheesecake with strawberry topping.  I found the no-bake cheesecake pretty creamy as there was whipped cream mixed with the cream cheese.  Possibly too much whipped cream as it took away from the cream cheese.  It was lightly sweet, but the strawberries on top were quite sweet.  I really enjoyed the crispy crumbs on the bottom.  Added so much texture to the dessert.  Overall, I was pretty impressed with Stackhouse since their stuff is pretty good quality but their prices are low (especially for Downtown).  I would totally come back, especially for the beef dip!

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

The Good:

- Quality ingredients

- Reasonable prices

- Surprisingly elevated food

The Bad:

- Limited seating, but it is a sandwich shop

- Cheesecake could use less whipped cream