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

Tahini's (North Vancouver)

At first, I wasn't sure what I was getting into when we were invited to try out the North Vancouver location of Tahini's.  It focuses on Shawarma bowls and wraps that have an international twist to them.  I've been to many similar quick service spots and they haven't been memorable.  However, we found some clues that Tahini's could be quite different.  First of all, everything is freshly made, including the saj bread (which are made to order).  Secondly, they have flavours not normally seen at a Shawarma place, such as Korean BBQ and Tandoori.  I guess we were in for a treat as many of the things on the menu seemed quite appealing.

To get a baseline of the food, we had to get one of their most popular items in the Habibi Bowl.  We chose a rice base that came with chicken shawarma on top.  Nicely charred with crispy smoky bits, the chicken itself was rather tender and almost juicy.  It was topped with sauces that made things a bit spicy and creamy.  Some pita chips added some crunch.  Solid bowl that had plenty of chicken and flavourful rice that had a nice chew.

We had another top-rated bowl in the Butter Chicken Bowl also on a rice base.  This was also made with chicken shawarma that was crisped up on the flat top while mixed with butter chicken sauce.  We asked for mild and indeed it was, but also had some background spice.  Chicken was moist and the sauce had an earthy tanginess.  A dollop of sour cream added more tart creaminess.  Sumac coated onions provided crunch and another layer of tanginess.

We had something different as well as being vegetarian in the Falafel Salad.  These falafels were legit as they were made-to-order by hand.  Hence, they were not overly dense, yet still held together.  Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.  Nicely spiced with mild herbaceousness.  It was served with hummus, pickled turnips and tomatoes.

So what if you didn't want rice or salad?  How about some Messy Fries, which is their ode to poutine.  What we had here was a bed of crispy starch-coated fries topped with a considerable amount of chicken shawarma, and a few sauces (that were tangy, creamy and spicy), feta cheese and parsley.  Completely messy, but super-tasty since the chicken itself was already plenty seasoned while the sauces provided hits of heat, tang and saltiness.

We had one more bowl in the 50/50 Bowl consisting of half salad and half rice.  It was topped with beef gyro and halloumi.  Tender in spongy way (which is typical of the processed beef), the beef was tasty on its own with an intensely savoury flavour.  As for the fried halloumi, there was a slight crispiness giving way to the classic rubbery texture.  Some sumac onions, tomatoes and some sour cream rounded out the bowl.

Onto the wraps, we went for some of the other fusion flavours such as Korean BBQ Chicken Wrap.  As expected, this was on the sweeter side with only a bit of spice.  Nice compliment from the sumac onions with some tang and sharpness.  This added a crunch as well.  But the best part was the saj bread itself since it was made-to-order with fresh dough that was pressed and then cooked on a saj domed maker.  So fresh, soft and full of elasticity, the bread had a great chewiness and was beautifully seared.

One of the most flavourful wraps was the Jerk Chicken Wrap.  We asked for this to be made spicy and it was indeed that.  Lots of tingling on my lips and lingering sting on my tongue.  This was exactly how I like it and the fermented and earthy flavours of the jerk spices added plenty of umami.  Once again, the chicken was juicy with crispy bits and the saj bread was texturally on point.

We had one last wrap in the Tandoori Chicken Wrap.  Employing the chicken shawarma with the tandoori spices was such a natural pairing.  We had smokiness from the char itself where it complimented the earthiness of the spices.  Nice tang as well from the yogurt and the crunch from the cucumbers and pickles helped brighten things up.

We had a few smaller items as well in the Beef Samosas and the Chicken Tenders.  These mini-samosas were crispy without the heaviness of the dough-heavy larger versions.  Inside, the beef was tender and moist with some spice.  As for the chicken tenders, sure, they didn't look any different than any other tender, but they did have a good crunch and some spice as well.  Chicken came out moist and tender.  Overall, we were thoroughly impressed with the food at Tahini's.  They pride themselves on "unbland food" and I would say it is accurate.  Furthermore, things are indeed fresh where the saj bread is the star.  I could eat that just by itself with just a bit of their creamy hummus.  Highly recommended and also cost-friendly too.

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

The Good:

- That made-to-order saj bread!

- Fresh food

- Flavourful

The Bad:

- Parking in the area is a bit hard to come by sometimes

Byblos Downtown

Staying within the vicinity of our last food adventure (Pai), we paid a visit to Byblos just down the street.  This bustling restaurant dishes up classic Eastern Mediterranean cuisine that combines new methods with traditional ingredients.  This place came highly recommended and we were super excited to dine here.  So much so, we went a bit nuts with the menu.  Our server was a bit concerned with the amount of food we ordered, but hey, "this is how we do it!".

We kicked off things with the Labneh.  Thick and rich, the tangy labneh was beautifully balanced off by the sweet wildflower honey.  Some crunch, nuttiness and savoury elements was provided by crushed pistachios.  This was great with the side of nutty barbari bread.  To literally top it off, we found tender and earthy beets.  Served in a cast iron plate, we found the Turkish Manti Dumplings sitting in a yogurt sauce with date molasses and creamy eggplant.  I found the dumplings to be delicate with a thin skin that had a slight chew.  Absolutely loved the tangy sweetness of the dish and the soft textures.

There was a whole section of Pide, which is a type of flat bread topped with cheese and other components.  This reminds me of a Khachapuri (which is one of my favs).  We ended up choosing black truffle & cheese.  As you can see, the leavened dough was nicely charred. Hence it was nutty and crispy.  In the middle, the cheese was stringy and nicely savoury.  There was just enough black truffle for some earthiness.

Even though Viv doesn't enjoy eating lamb, I went ahead and ordered the Lamb Ribs for myself.  These fatty ribs were so moist and fall-apart tender.  There was such an aromatic nuttiness from the dukkah while the raz el hanout glaze provided the classic fall flavours that naturally complimented the lamb.  It added such depth and aromatics.   There was also a bit of background spice.  Adding more sweetness was the red chili schug.  Drops of cool yoghurt completed the dish.

Wearing a beautiful glaze and charred edges the Short Rib Kebab was so flavourful and delicious.  Each piece was buttery soft while still exhibiting a meaty chew. If you look at the picture, you can see the intense caramelization. This was further enhanced by the chemen spice mix that included earthy cumin.  The pine nut dukkah gave the dish nuttiness and an extra hit of earthiness.  If all that depth wasn't enough, we found some more earthiness from the truffle yogurt.  It did cool things down a bit as well as the brightness of the mint.

As if the previous dishes weren't tasty enough, the Whole Grilled Branzino was just plain excellent.  Featuring crispy and well-charred skin, the fish was flaky and super moist.  It was already well-seasoned, but the chermoula on top gave off tangy, earthy and aromatic vibs.  To literally and figuratively top things off, there was a creamy saffron toum which added such intoxicating floral notes.

As a side, we added the Sweet Jeweled Rice with carrots, saffron, barberries and almonds.  Aromatic, sweet and nutty, this rice was pretty tasty by itself.  Ultimately, we paired it with the short rib and fish.  Went quite well as it wasn't intrusive.  We ended the meal off with their famed Chocolate Olive Oil Cake.  This was so rich and chocolatey that we really didn't need anything else added to it.  But there was, in the form of nutty tahini chantilly, sweet medjool dates and almonds.  Overall, we really enjoyed our meal at Byblos.  The Eastern Mediterranean spices offered up aroma before we dug into our plates and flavour when we did.  If you are looking for something a bit different before catching a show, this is your place.

 

The Good:

- Appealing aroma and flavours

- Nicely cooked proteins

- Balance of sweet and savoury

 

The Bad:

- Need to order more dishes to be full, even in bigger groups

- There might be less expensive options but then again, the dining room and service are exceptional 

 

Qube Lebanese Cuisine

To be completely blunt, I was torn as to if and how I would write this post about my visit to Qube Lebanese Cuisine. Would I be vague and not say what is truly on my mind or should I just let it all out?  After weeks of going back and forth, I've decided to report what I know, what I'm afraid of and how the meal went according to me (and not influenced by outside noise).  So what is this outside noise you speak of?  Well, originally, Qube had a very different menu and direction.  However, they change chefs and the menu was reworked.  There has been a bit of drama relating to this and I will not personally get into it because it doesn't involve me or do I really know the actual story.  All I can say is I will report what I ate and what I thought of it.  Am I a bit worried about any backlash?  Well of course.  However, I cannot judge that as I mentioned, I'm not involved.  Also, this is a warning to any trolls out there.  If you want to leave messages about this, I'm deleting them because I will not be part of the drama.  It is between you and the restaurant.  Period.

Okay getting back to my visit...  So if you recognize the storefront in the picture, you will know that Qube took over the old location of the original Trattoria on West 4th.  The decor inside is nice and it has a prominent bar.  As such, we tried some of their Drinks including QV, QII, QI and QIV.  I'm not going to get into all of them since I tried maybe 2, but l can say I loved the glasses and the presentation.  For the ones I did try, they were balanced and not too strong so that I could taste the rest of the components.

Onto the food, we were served a selection of appies including the Tuna Tartare with avocado puree, tuna, ponzu, shallots and chives.  This featured fresh albacore tuna that was buttery and soft.  It was dressed enough so that there was some salty tanginess from the ponzu.  I would've liked just a bit more acidity, but it was still fine as it was.  Avocado underneath was ripe and creamy providing a nice binding agent when mixed with the tuna.

We also had a duo of Hummus with the first being the classic version tahina and the second, being avocado hummus.  These were blended smooth where the tahini was noticeable in the classic version.  Good quality EVOO added some aroma and silkiness to the hummus.  The avocado was mild-tasting but rich.  To give both a bit of custom acidity, there was a half-lime on the plate.  This was served with house bread.

To keep the house bread from going too far with any dips, we had 2 more in the form of Moutabal and Labneh.  Much like the hummus, these two were on point in terms of texture and taste.  The moutabal consisted of roasted eggplant, garlic, tahini and lemon juice.  Hence, there was a bit of smokiness, plenty of tanginess and aroma.  It was smooth and creamy.  Thick and also creamy, the labneh featured strained yogurt, Himalayan salt and smoked olive oil.  As a result, there was also smokiness as well as a certain silkiness.

So we continued on with our appies with House Grape Leaves stuffed with rice, tomato, parsley and lime juice as well as Makdous featuring oil-aged eggplant filled with walnuts and red peppers atop labneh.  Being house-made, the stuffed grape leaves were bright and delicate.  Definitely enough acidity within the rice and tomato mixture.  That was even more pronounced with the tender eggplant.  They were very tangy with a bit of sweetness from the red peppers.

One of my favourite items was the Homemade Lebanese Sausages sauteed with onion, garlic, lemon, cherry tomatoes and pomegranate.  These were meaty with enough fat to create plenty of aromatics as well as keeping the sausage moist.  There was a good combination of tanginess and spice.  On the topic of tangy, the minted yogurt in the Shish Barak was plenty acidic (maybe a bit too sour).  Good thing too as it kept the heaviness of the dough in check.  It was filled with wagyu beef, onions and herbs.

We moved onto a pair of fish plates including the Salmon Lemoni and BC Halibut.  I found the salmon to be prepared properly being moist and flaky with crispy skin.  Like most of their other dishes, the acidity from the sauce was pronounced and it was further amped by the sundried tomatoes, artichokes and capers.  As for the halibut, it was buttery and soft where it was topped with a nutty tahini sauce and sat on a bed of roasted walnut and pepper emulsion.

The next dish featured Chops 2 Way with one each lamb chop and venison chop.  The larger venison chop was cooked nicely being medium inside, hence the meat was not dry.  However, the accompanying lamb chop was well-done.  At the very least, it was fattier and still ate tender.  The chimicuhurri was bright and helped lighten the heaviness of the meats.  I found this plate to be clunky in terms of plating though.

Our last 2 savoury items consisted of the Basterma Handheld and the Seared Lamb Belly.  Sporting Lebanese air-dried meat, house pickles, house mayo, tomato, Dijon and melted raclette on brioche, this was a tad hard to eat due to the chewiness of the meat.  However, it did taste good with the combination of ingredients as we got salty, tangy and nutty.  I really enjoyed the lamb belly as it was fatty and tender in only lamb can be.  It was seared well with a smoky caramelization.   Like most of the other dishes, the plating was a bit basic.

For dessert, we were served different forms of Baklava and house vanilla ice cream.  One of the few things not made in-house, the baklava was excellent.  The crispy layers of phyllo were light and blessed with enough sweetness that wasn't overwhelming.  Of course we also had the nuttiness of the pistachios.  Ice cream was quite good being creamy and purposefully sweet.  Overall, the food was not bad with some real highlights.  I do think the plating needs some work and possibly the portion sizes for the larger plates might need to be re-evaluated.

*This post features complimentary food and beverages*

The Good:
- Interesting food as Lebanese isn't too common in Vancouver
- Nice dining space
- Appealing cocktails

The Bad:
- Plating needs work
- Portion sizes for the larger dishes are inconsistent