The Victor (Mother's Day Brunch)

Normally, we don't celebrate Mother's Day on the actual day.  Being practical people that we are, we tend to avoid the crowds and the inflated prices that are generally found at restaurants.  Hence, we do it the day before or maybe even the week afterwards.  However, there are perks to do it on the actual day.  One of which is the elaborate brunches available at many of the hotel restaurants in town.  This year, we did do a proper Mother's Day at The Victor located in the Parq Hotel.  I've been to the Sunday Disco Brunch here before and it was great.  So we knew what to expect this time around.

To facilitate the Sunday brunch buffet, they have to spread out the food into different sections.  The main part of the spread is near the sushi bar, with the bar itself being the main focal point.  The "lineup" starts with some smaller items and Salads.  I didn't include the romaine and mesclun greens but they served as the base for the rest of the items and the salad dressings.  One item of note was the devilled eggs, they were really salty.

 

Once past the salads and little bites, we moved onto the Sushi Rolls as well as some Poké.  In general, the rolls were pretty typical, yet did feature some chewy sushi rice and fresh ingredients.  I thought the poke was quite good with large chunks of either salmon or ahi tuna mixed with their respective sauces.  I wished there was some rice to go with it.

 

Onto the showstopper section, we found a selection of Oysters on the half shell, Cocktail Prawns and split Snow Crab Legs.  Even though I would've preferred king crab, that would've put the cost up by a lot.  With that being said, the snow crab legs were pretty large and meaty.  Not bad.  Oysters were shucked well and they weren't too big, hence they went down easy.

 

Over at the Carvery, we found BBQ pork which was decent and BBQ Salmon, which was a bit over and dry.  The Ham was great being baked until super tender and buttery.  As much as it wasn't really a carvery item, the Shakshuka was tasty with silky eggs in a earthy, tangy and slightly spicy tomato sauce.  Right beside it, the Prime Rib Roast was tender, juicy and mostly medium-rare.

 

Adjacent to the Carvery was a selection of Breakfast Items that featured sausages, bacon, smashed potatoes and scrambled eggs.  As you can see, the eggs were completely runny and not cooked to oblivion.  Hence, they were silky and soft.  The bacon was lean and crispy while the sausages were meaty and well-seared.  Potatoes were crispy with a soft interior while tossed with peppers and onions.  Although I didn't have one, you could get a custom omelette as well.

 

Over at the bar, we found a Dessert Spread with different cakes, cupcakes and cookies.  I particularly enjoyed the carrot cake as it was moist, nutty and sweet.  Back across the sushi bar, we found a Power Bowl station with the usual ingredients as well as a bunch of fruit such as orange slices, green & red grapes, strawberries, pineapple and watermelon. 

 

Finally, one cannot leave any buffet brunch at The Victor without hitting up their famous Candy Bar.  Now the picture you see above is from their Disco Brunch because the one at the Mother's Day Brunch was super busy and some items were getting empty (although they were constantly refilling).  So this is a much better picture.  Overall, the brunch was quite good with quality items that were generally well-prepared.  Sure, it is pricey, but you must take into account the service, Downtown location, quality and selection of food as well as the beautiful dining space.

The Good:

- Generally solid eats

- Nice dining space

- Excellent service

The Bad:

- Since they have to makeshift their buffet stations, sometimes there is a bottleneck at the start of the lineup

- Dessert selection is fine, but could be more refined

Cibo Trattoria

Cibo Trattoria is yet another restaurant I've not been back to for quite some time.  I know in the meantime, there have been a few changes including the head chef.  Currently, they have one that is from Naples, which gives the restaurant some legitimacy.  However, we all know, it doesn't really matter where someone is from, rather, it is how they cook.  We stopped by for an early dinner before heading over to the Orpheum for some music from the VSO.

To get things started, we had a bunch of appies including the Focaccia and Burrata.  Extremely fluffy with a slightly crispy exterior, the focaccia was only okay for me.   I wished I had some more inherent flavour from the bread before I dipped it into the EVOO and balsamic.  As for the burrata, it was served with prosciutto.  I thought the burrata was fresh as it was still creamy in the middle and not runny.

Really enjoyed the appetizer that I selected, which was the Grilled Humboldt Squid.  This was a generous piece where it was a bit smoky from the grill.  Loved the colour on it.  It had an initial squishy chew to it, but gave way tenderness.  It was properly seasoned and it rested a tangy arugula and chickpea salad.  Some salsa verde added more brightness and seasoning.

Viv went for the Seared Ahi Tuna atop an orange fennel salad.  Evenly seared on each side, the ahi tuna was soft, but a bit meaty at the same time.  I wished there was some salt atop the tuna, but the citrus vinaigrette was plenty punchy to make things bright and tangy.  More sweetness and crunch was added by the fennel and orange slices.

For our mains, we had a couple of pastas including the Linguine with Sea Scallops.  The fresh pasta was prepared firmly al dente and had a good chew to it.  Really great mouth-feel and completely fragrant from the saffron.  The creaminess of the sauce held on tightly with the pasta without having a big pool of it on the bottom of the plate.  Scallops were nicely seared and slightly rare in the middle.

With an abundance of meat sauce, the Tagliatelle al Ragu was my favourite dish.  Just like the previous pasta, the tagliatelle was fresh and cooked until barely tender.  There was a firmness to it that added texture and a robust quality to the dish.  That was completely aided by the rich ragu where the meat was super tender while taking on the sweetness of the veggies.  Super delicious.

In addition to the pastas, we also the Asparagus Risotto.  There was an option to add scallops, but since we already had them, we had it as it came.  Honestly, the dish didn't need it as it was plenty rich and cheesy with al dente grains of arborio rice.  The risotto spread on the plate and that was our first indication of proper execution.  Moreover, the distinct flavour of asparagus emanated from the risotto.

Although the Roasted Duck Breast was cooked to medium-rare where it was tender and juicy, the skin was a real miss.  It was flabby and not crispy.  Hence, it was chewy and frankly, unappealing.  Really too bad as the meat was perfect.  Furthermore, the amarena cherry jus provided the delicious sweet & tangy compliment to the duck.

Our meal then transitioned to dessert with the classic Tiramisu.  This was textbook with soft espresso-soaked lady fingers as well as some liqueur.  The mascarpone cream was light and mildly sweet.  With a dusting of cocoa powder on top, we had some chocolaty goodness.  Solid tiramisu.

The other dessert we had was the Vanilla Bean Pannacotta.  This was also quite good where the pannacotta set properly but was not too gelatinized.  Hence, it was creamy and light.  Sweetness was measured and the fresh strawberries added brightness and sweet tang (pretty great even though they were not really in season yet).  Overall, the meal at Cibo was beyond solid.  Sure, somethings could've been better, but the new chef knows what they are doing with the pastas and the risotto.  Would come back.

The Good:

- Solid pastas and risotto

- Well-portioned

- Excellent service

The Bad:

- Duck skin was not great

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

H2 Kitchen & Bar (Sunday Supper)

It has been a minute since I've last visited H2 Kitchen & Bar nestled within the Westin Bayshore hotel.  They've gone through a few iterations with the current setup being a casual dining spot with a BBQ focus.  I've had that a few times now and it has been pretty solid, especially for a hotel restaurant (that are usually not known for thinking out-of-the-box).  This time around, we were here for their Sunday Supper Series and to have a few of their other items on the menu.  This is not the first time I've tried their Sunday Supper, as they used to have a family-style menu.  Now they feature a 3-course meal for only $43.00!

For the first course, there is an option of either the Caesar Salad or Chicken Corn Chowder.  We went for the chowder because I've also had that before and it was great!  Topped with a piece of puffed pastry, the large bowl was packed with delicate corn niblets that burst with intense sweetness and tender pulp.  There was a wealth of chicken that was moist and tender.  As for the broth itself, the viscosity was on the thinner side, but fine by us since it wasn't overly heavy.  It was sweet, a bit creamy and spot-on with the salt content.

The featured plate for the Sunday Supper was the Cherry Cola Braised Short Rib with celeriac polenta, pickled gem tomato and charred broccolini.  Compared to some of the past featured mains, this was one of the more appealing offerings.  The large piece of boneless short rib was for tender and succulent.  A bit sweet and full of umami, it really took on the flavours of the braise.  Rich and creamy, the polenta had some aggressive seasoning (which was good).  Broccolini was vibrant with a fresh crunch.

For dessert, we had the Roasted Apple Cheesecake with shortbread crust, roasted apples, oat crumble, vanilla ice cream and brandy snap.  This was a pretty dense cheesecake and we weren't surprised as it was New York style.  Plenty of baked cream cheese flavor with balanced sweetness.  Loved the roasted apple on top as it added a sweet fruitiness.  It was mixed with oat crumble which added texture as well as nuttiness.  The vanilla ice cream wasn't completely necessary, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Of course we didn't just have the Sunday Supper and call it a day...  We also had some other dishes including the Firecracker Shrimp.  This was more about the crunchy batter (must've had rice flour) than anything else.  It held up to the sweet, tangy and spicy sauce nicely.  The Buffalo Wings were okay, but really needed more sauce.  The meat was moist and the batter was still crispy, but there was a lack of moisture and flavour to the dish.

With a bevy of legit cheese curds, the Waffle Fries Poutine was pretty good.  First off, the waffle fries were crispy while still maintaining a soft potato texture.  They topped it with a balanced gravy that wasn't too salty, but had enough flavour though.  Just like it should be, the cheese curds weren't completely melted, so we go that squeak.  Not pictured was the side of brisket, that should've been on top of the poutine.  When we added it, there was much more body and layers of meatiness.

From the Happy Hour menu, we selected the Fish Taco as well as the Burnt End Sliders.  The fish taco was pretty solid where the piece of flaky fish was rather large and coated with a crispy batter.  The usual condiments were there.  Really loved the sliders where the meat was tender but had candied bark that was smoky and sweet.  A slice of pickle helped add some acidity while the Hawaiian buns were soft and sweet.

So we couldn't not order something from their BBQ menu right?  I've had their larger combo platters before, but we had to get something smaller since we had so much food already.  Therefore, we settled on the CAB Smoked Brisket with mac & cheese and market vegetables.  This plate was generous with 2 thick slices of brisket.  Although it looked dry at first, the meat was decently moist and completely fork tender.  We chose the O.G. H2 BBQ Sauce and it was smoky, sweet and tangy.  Veggies were still crunchy while cooked through.  Mac was al dente with lots of real cheese, but we would've liked to see more cheese sauce for moisture.

Looking enormous with 2 crispy strips of bacon, the Whiskey BBQ Burger was delicious.  The well-seared beef patty was crispy and smoky on the outside while still being fairly moist on the inside.  The aged cheddar provided some smokiness while the bacon did the same as well as adding some crunch.  A few tempura-battered onion rings provided even more crunch.  This was all sandwiched in a toasted brioche bun.

We ended up with the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich as well since I wanted to reminisce about my fried chicken sandwich IG account (that I no longer update due to bad cholesterol...  LOL).  This was a serviceable version with a generous amount of juicy chicken coated in a crunchy batter.  We found the heat level to be rather mild though.  Bun was soft with crispy surface areas while the slaw was crunchy and fresh.

We ended up ordering 2 drinks including the Gin in the Garden and the Fig & Strawberry Spritz.  Really enjoyed the first drink as it was refreshing and light with floral notes.  The second was a mocktail and was also floral with some tang.  We added a second dessert in the Banana Pudding Jar.  Despite my reservations about anything banana for dessert, this was actually fantastic.  Much better than the cheesecake.  Purposefully sweet and aromatic custard with fresh bananas.  This was yet another solid meal at H2 Kitchen & Bar where the food is much more casual than fine dining.  As you can probably tell, the dishes are comforting and generous in portion size.  Great for a date but also for the family as well.  The Sunday Supper deal is particularly a great value.

 

*Partial comp on the food and beverages for this blog post*

 

The Good:

- Sunday Supper 3-course meal is a great value

- Considering the portion size, it is a good value

- Nice dining space

 

The Bad:

- Wings were so-so

- Cheesecake a little too dense

Stock & Supply

One of the most hidden restaurants in Downtown is Stock & Supply within the Delta Hotel Vancouver.  It doesn't get much fanfare despite being open since 2020.  Maybe opening just before the pandemic wasn't the best timing, but I've always heard good things about the place.  They are known for their Stock Boards where one can choose 3 items from a selection of 12 for $40.00.  All boards include sourdough, soft truffle butter (which was awesome with the bread!), house pickles and peppers.  Jackie and I were invited to try those stock boards as well as a few other menu items.

Located right in the lobby of hotel, Stock & Supply features a fully-stocked bar that is a great place to hang out and meet some new friends.  We ordered a few drinks that included the Basil Zen, She's a Feisty Mango and Classic Summer Spritz.  The showstopper was the basil zen since the bubble contained a good amount of smoke.  It helped create an aroma around the drink while complimenting brightness of the fresh cucumber and gin.  Naturally, the mango cocktail was fruity with some spice, tang and plenty of tequila vibes.  The spritz was refreshing and a great drink for the summer, as expected.

Onto the Stock Boards, we ended up with 2 of them with 5 items each (so we could try nearly all of the options).  The first board consisted of  Whipped Jalapeno & Feta Tirokafteri, Beet Hummus, Crusted Halloumi Cheese and Sticky Bourbon BBQ Pork Belly.  On the side (since it didn't fit onto the board, we had the Poutine Croquettes.  Beyond the appealing creaminess of the whipped feta and hummus, the grilled pita was excellent.  Nice grilled smokiness and the texture was a bit crispy and plenty soft in the middle.  Loved the spice with the feta.  The crusted halloumi was super crunchy with melty cheese in the middle.  Presented in large slabs, the pork belly was tender and meaty with a sweet glaze.  I found the croquettes to be also quite crunchy and the potato, gravy and cheese in the middle was very poutine-like.

The second board included Summer Strawberry & Goat Cheese Bruschetta, Signature Chorizo Scotch Egg, Grilled Artisanal Truffle Sausage, Smoked Island Brie and Blistered Brussel Sprouts.  For me, this board was all about the scotch egg as it was perfect with a runny yolk and juicy spicy chorizo encasing it.  Nicely crispy on the outside too!  I found the strawberry & goat cheese bruschetta something completely different.  What brought this altogether was the balsamic as it tied the sweetness of the strawberries to the creamy and gamy cheese with tang and more sweetness.  Baked brie was smoky and of course was complimented well by the side of grilled sourdough.  Sausage was pretty good, but I found it a touch dry.  Had great earthy flavours though.  Brussels sprouts sported crispy leaves on the outside but was tender yet firm on the inside.

Onto some mains, we tried the garlic & ginger brined Fried Chicken with spicy glaze atop slaw with pickled fresno, scallion and crispy garlic.  The big pieces of chicken featured a crispy batter than was thin and not heavy.  I could really get the brine with plenty of gingeriness coming through.  The chicken itself was on the drier side though.  However, when combined with the creamy slaw, that wasn't an issue.

Next up was the Suite Burger with 7oz CAB chuck patty, sharp cheddar, butter lettuce, dill pickled, tomato, onion and S&S sauce on brioche.  Due to the large patty, the burger was rather robust and filling.  I found the patty to be tender but a little on the leaner side.  The ample amount of sauce and produce did make things more juicy though.  There was a nice sear on the patty which added nice aroma and caramelization.  

We also went for the Fennel Sausage Rigatoni with mascarpone cream, whipped harissa puree, spring peas and butter brioche crumble.  This was a large portion of pasta that would be fit for even the biggest of appetites.  There was an abundance of fennel sausage that was pretty tasty.  Those little nuggets were juicy and well-seared with hits of fennel.  The rigatoni was al dente and soaked up the cream well.  I think there could've been more cream as the pasta ate a bit dry.  Flavours were good though and the harissa came through.

Lastly, we had the 7oz AAA NY Steak & Egg atop a duck fat rosti with chili honey carrots and horseradish cream.  We asked for the steak to be prepared medium-rare and it was exactly that.  I found the steak to be meaty while being tender on the inside.  Loved the crispy sunny side free-range egg.  Lots of texture, but still runny yolk.

Onto dessert, we had the Yuzu Cheesecake and Triple Layer Key Lime Pie.  We enjoyed both desserts as they were not overly heavy despite appearing to be.  The cheesecake had the classic rich cheesiness, but also was not dense.  It was mildly sweet with the brightness of yuzu and the berry compote.  The key lime pie was also not heavy, but it was definitely creamy, sweet and tangy.  Really enjoyed the firm buttery crust.  Overall, the meal at Stock & Supply was fun, interactive and delicious.  Those stock boards are the real draw here and are perfect for a social gathering to share.  The mains were a bit hit and miss though.  Loved the space and the cocktails.  Great place to hang out.

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

The Good:

- Wonderful stock boards with many different and delicious bites to choose from

- Great space to hang out, especially at the bar.  Maybe meet new friends!

- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:

- Some of the mains need some work