Moltaqa Moroccan Restaurant

A few years ago, I had a delicious meal at Moltaqa Moroccan out in Yaletown.  It was just shortly after they received Michelin-Recommended status in the guidebook.   It wasn't for this I wanted to dine there though, it was because I really wanted to try the place after so many years planning to do so.  In general, there aren't many Moroccan restaurants in town. Recently, I was invited for a return visit and I brought Ipanemagirl with me.   

What better way to get a taste of their appies than to get the Moroccan Sampler Platter.  My favourite item had to be the Lentils as they were tender with a pleasant bite.  They were sweet, earthy and aromatic.  Beets were great too with appealing sweetness and earthiness.  They had a brightness to them and were served at a good temperature.   I thought the White Bean Stew was quite tasty as well.  Tender beans that were savoury and slightly sweet while flavoured with warm spices.

Included with this platter, we found 2 soups.  The one on the left was a Traditional Bessara Soup.  This split pea soup was smooth and almost creamy.  It was not heavy though as the viscosity was just slightly thick.  Definitely got the natural sweetness to go along with some earthiness.  As for the other, it was the Classic Harria Soup made with tomato, lentils and chick peas.  This was tomato-forward without the edge of sourness.  Rather, it had the flavour, but was fairly mild with the richness of butter.  Lots of herbaceous hits, especially from the cilantro.

Even with the sampler, we wanted to some full-sized versions of their dips.  We tried the Chilled Eggplant Dip first and it was fantastic.  At the forefront, we got all of the smokiness due to the char on the eggplant.  That added considerable depth and impact.  In terms of texture, it was delicate and silky.  Hits from the garlic came through too as well as the smoothness of the EVOO.  Just a touch of acidity came in the form of lemon. 

Since we love hummus, we also had the appetizer version of the Moroccan Hummus.  Much like the eggplant dip, this was served with warm semolina bread.  The sturdiness of the bread fit well with the dips as we could get a lot of it onto one bite (and there was plenty on each plate).  About that hummus, it was thick, yet still creamy with earthy hits from the spices.  For me, I would've liked to see even more of the spices, but as a hummus, this was good.

Another classic small dish was the Lamb Merguez Sausages.  Due to the side of harissa on the side, we could customize the heat level to our liking.  I needed quite a bit of it since the sausages were default to a very mild flavour.  Definitely deliberate so that the spice level would be accessible to all.  I thought the texture was meaty, yet moist and tender.  Lots of earthiness and warmth from the spices.  With the addition of the harissa, it really brought the sausages to life.

Although the Beef Briwats weren't particularly interesting to look at, they were delicious and a textural delight.  Outside, the hand-rolled phyllo was uniformly crispy and a bit nutty.  Inside, the tender beef was nicely spiced and benefited from the natural sweetness of the onions.  Since they were mild (again, on purpose) where the harissa on the side was necessary (for me) to elevate the base flavours.

Something I had last time that I really wanted again was the Seafood Pastilla.  Sporting thin and flaky pastry, this had quite the healthy amount of seafood filling.  It was sweet and briny with textures that were appealing.  None of it was hard or overdone where the fish was still flaky and moist.  Loved the prawn on top as it had a natural aroma and essence.  Once again, this was served with harissa, but I didn't need it as I could get the flavours of the seafood better as is.

Once done with the smaller dishes, we moved onto the mains.  Naturally, we had to get the Lamb Shank Tagine.  As the lid of the tagine was lifted, we could get the aroma of lamb, saffron and spices.  The meat fell off the bone and was at its gelatinous succulent best.  For those who are concerned about lamb being gamy, for me at least, it wasn't.  Loved the saffron lemon braising jus as it was aromatic, bright and surprisingly light.

The show-stopper had to be the Rack of Lamb Flambé.  We decided on the half-rack and it was plenty of meat for us.  It was flambéed and carved tableside.  As you can see, the meat was about medium where it was juicy and extremely tender.  There was a spiced Dijon rub on the outside which was earthy and aromatic.  On the side, we found roast potatoes, tomatoes and rice.  Although a bit fatty, the lamb jus was full of umami and more of the spice from the lamb.

The biggest piece of meat we had was the Tagine of Lamb Shoulder.  Size wasn't the only great thing about this dish as the texture was on point too.  Fatty and tender, the meat had the classic velvety fall-off-the-bone quality.  It sat atop couscous that had soaked up all of the delicious juices including the accompanying veggies.  Naturally, the saffron and fall-flavoured spices was evident as well.

Finishing off our meal, we had a selection of Richbond Cookies, Walnut Cookies and Almond Briwat.  Yes, they were on the sweeter side, but really, not too bad.  Lots of textures here and aroma.  The Richbond was coconut forward, as it should be and the Walnut Cookies were nutty and floral.  Briwat were crispy due to the phyllo and had some almond paste inside.  Overall, we enjoyed our meal at Moltaqa where the lamb was prepared properly and the portion sizes were generous.  Loved the aromatics and hey, it is something different in a sea of Asian food (I love Asian food, but need a break sometimes!).

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

The Good:
- Something different
- Proteins were properly prepared
- Love the Moroccan spices

The Bad:
- Things could be spiced more heavily, but we understand that it appeals to the average customer 

 

Elem (Tomato Tasting Menu)

Recently, I finally tried Elem's tasting menu or "Let us Cook for You" rather than ordering a la carte.  In reality, it was us two sharing a curated selection of plates instead of being served individual small dishes.  The meal was delicious and gave us a good overview of the menu and what Elem is all about.  So we returned to Elem a month later to experience their Tomato Tasting Menu, at the tail end of Tomato season.  Unlike our previous experience, this was an actual tasting menu.

Things started with the 3 "snacks" in the Stoney Paradise Gazpacho, Tuna Tomato Tartlet and Lamb Belly Skewer.  I sampled the gazpacho first and it was creamy and tangy.  There was considerable brightness and natural sweetness.  There seemed to be a layer of sweetness from onions and red pepper as well.  That tartlet featured bright and buttery soft tuna which contrasted beautifully with the crispy shell.  Even though the tomato was bright and tangy, it was subtle enough that it didn't overwhelm the delicate tuna.  We also found some earthy notes.  I was delighted to see the lamb skewer as that is one of my favourites at Elem.  This was fatty and melted in my mouth.  Sweet and sticky, the medjool date glaze was deeply sweet and further enhanced the flavour of the lamb.  

We moved onto the Aloo Chaat next.  It was herbaceous and tangy with sweet and sour notes from the pomegranate seeds, as well as some earthiness.  The Sungold tomatoes were supremely fresh and at the forefront of this dish.  However, the chaat was definitely potatoey (as the dish name suggests) with a certain creaminess.  There was a light crunch and nuttiness from the puffed rice. 

One of my favourite dishes of the meal was the Dungeness Crab Salad served in a whimsical crab shell plate.  This was more than appearances alone as the bevy of fluffy crab was the star in terms of texture and taste.  Loved the combination of briny, sweet, earthy, slight tang and background earthiness.  Pops of sweet bitterness from the pomelo was refreshing.  There was some crunch in there to give some texture and of course some tomato for brightness.

Our next course was another stunner in the Hokkaido Scallop sitting in a tomato kadhi.  The scallop itself was tender, buttery and rare in the middle.  On the outside, it was aggressively seared so there was smokiness and caramelization.  Loved the kadhi as it was spicy and earthy.  Tomato aachar was sweet and tangy.  It was a really punchy dish with lingering spice and impactful aromatics.

Next course was a beautiful Rotolo with a concentrated passata and kale cream underneath.  It was cooked down with only garlic, salt and pepper, hence it was pure tasting and clean.  It was complimented by the cavalo nero with earthiness.  The pasta itself was quite firm, but had a great mouth-feel.  Inside, it was stuffed with provolone, ricotta and pine nuts.  Really well-executed dish with on point textures and flavours.

Featuring a singular peeled tomato, the Tomato Farci was deceptively flavourful.  This was mainly due to the shell bisque made from a variety of shellfish.  With a bevy of Argentinian prawns this was heavily briny and sweet with a subtle tang.  The bulk of the tanginess was provided by the juicy tomato.  It burst with freshness as well as plenty of brightness.  There was a balance between the savoury bisque and the sweet tomato which was just right.  For a bit of crunch, we found some bubu arare on top.

Our final savoury item was the Shio Koji Tenderloin with lacto fermented tomato.  The slice of PEI Blue Dot tenderloin was prepared rare being buttery and tender.  The truffle demi was silky and only mildly earthy.  Loved that it was not salty.  Definitely sweet as well. Moreover, the corn atop the tender zucchini took the sweetness to another level.  We also had some squash puree that was silky and had an earthy sweetness.  That tomato was so juicy, almost like a grape. It provided the acidity needed to balance all the sweetness in this dish.

If you can see Mickey Mouse atop my palate cleanser, you aren't seeing things.  That is what I saw too with the Tomato Sorbet infused with strawberries.   Yes, I could taste the tomato in this, but they did a great job in making this fruity and tangy rather than sour.  At the same time, the sweetness was restrained. Definitely refreshing after the most heavy bite from the tasting menu.

Appropriately titled One Last Tomato, our dessert was made with tomato (of course).  This was comprised of sungolds that were marinated in red wine and a reduction of water and honey.  In the centre, there was a creamy and rich heirloom tomato ice cream.  It was tomato-forward, yet restrained.  We got a sweet caramel crunch from the praline.  There was also smokiness and nuttiness within the dessert too.  Those marinated tomatoes were explosions of juice and sweetness.

At the end, we were presented with some Mignardise sporting Chocolate Cream Puff, White Chocolate Fudge with Tomato Jam and Cookie with Dark Chocolate Drizzle.  These were nice little bites to finish off a fantastic tasting menu.  In fact, I believe this was the most consistent and well-thought-out meal I've ever had at Elem.  That is saying a lot since I've been there 11 times!  Chef Vish truly celebrated the in-season (at the time) tomatoes in many different and create ways.  The meal progression made sense and the flavours of tomato were unique and varied.  I can't wait for his next tasting menu!

The Good:
- Well thought-out menu
- Spot-on execution
- Flavours were not repetitive (despite the theme)

The Bad:
- Maybe not for those who don't like tomato? But really, they might even like it

Elem (Tasting Menu)

It's been awhile since I've been back to Elem.  I think it has been 2 months!  All kidding aside, the reason for this recent visit was to celebrate ipanemagirl's birthday!  She's been having a great time during her birthday month by dining at Okeya Kyujiro and AnnaLena.  So up next was Vancouver's best new restaurant (according to Vanmag)!  For the first time ever, I didn't go for the à la carte and went for the tasting menu (aka "Let us cook for you").  There are 2 price points for this at $95.00 and $125.00.  We decided on the latter.

Things kicked off with a few bevvies including the Mango Rasmalai and the Roasted Corn Highball.  The Rasmalai has been on the cocktail menu from the very start (thanks to Winnie Sun).  With a combination of gin, mango, saffron milk and cardamomo, the drink was light, floral and somewhat sweet.  Saffron white chocolate paint provided even more sweetness if needed.  For the highball, it was made with roasted corn tequila, corn extract and aperol.  As expected, this was a bit stronger than the rasmalai, but not considerably.  I wasn't sure that the corn was the main flavour I got as the aperol was rather dominant, especially with the finish.  Loved the popcorn on the side!

It was fitting to start the meal with Sungold Tomatoes as they just came into season.  This was a tomato-forward dish with the natural sweetness and brightness coming through.  However, there was still restraint and balance so that the white peach gazpacho was able to stand out with its bright sweetness.  To balance out the acidity, we found marinated burrata balls.  Rounding out the dish, more fresh tomatoes and fresh strawberries.  Some basil oil provided a bit more layering to the flavours with obvious herbaceousness.

I don't think I've ever dined at Elem without ordering their parker rolls.  This time around, we were served Milk Brioche Buns which were beautifully toasted.  Nicely crispy and with a toasty-tasting exterior encasing a warm and fluffy interior.  On the side, we found a quenelle of berry butter with black pepper.  Naturally, this added a creamy sweetness to the bread with just the a slight pepper aftertaste.

When the Elk Tartare sitting atop a large piece of roasted bone marrow showed up, I was elated.  Yes, that is right, I was elated.  Why?  Well this particular dish is wickedly delicious!  For such a lean cut of meat, the elk was tender and buttery.  It wasn't gamy at all (in my opinion at least) and the buttery bone marrow added that luxurious fattiness that made each bite memorable.  Seasoning was balanced and offered up just enough saltiness and a touch of background acidity.  The side of fresh potato chips were light and crispy.

Another dish I was happy to see was the Lamb Skewers.  Believe it or not, for all the times I've been to Elem, I've only had this dish 3 times (including this time).  Problem being is that most people I eat with do not enjoy lamb (including Viv).  However, ipanemagirl was all game for this (sorry for the pun...).  Love this dish as the lamb belly is cured for 24 hours and cooked for 18 hours, then sits in its own fat for another day before being trimmed and cubed.  Finally it is grilled and glazed with medjool date.  This results in a buttery and melt-in-my-mouth lamb with smokiness, sweetness and meatiness atop a ginger labneh with crunchy buckwheat.

Another dish that celebrates tomatoes is the Rolled Pappardelle stuffed with charred corn and ricotta.  Firm with a lovely chew, the pasta had a nice elasticity.  Inside, the sweetness and smokiness of the corn came through, but make no mistake, the star of the dish was the fresh and natural-tasting tomato sauce.  They took 25 pounds of stony paradise tomatoes and cooked it down to four litres of sauce with just a bit of garlic and salt.  After straining, the sauce was smooth and silky.

For my second cocktail, I went back to the well and had the Mai Tai.  Their take on the classic drink consisted of 3 types of rum, pistachio orgeat, dry curacao and lime.  I've had this many times and when mixed with the passionfruit ice, the drink trends towards floral and sweet with a caramel woodsiness finish.  Ipanemagirl went for a mocktail this time with the Clarified Mango Lassi topped with half a mango mochi.  As expected, this was fruity and refreshing.

Moving onto the proteins of the meal, we had the King Fish sitting atop a warm tartar sauce with BC chanterelles, cipollinis, peas and dill.  As evidenced in the picture above, the fish skin was totally seared where it was crispy and also well-seasoned.  Flaky and firm, the king fish was still succulent and slightly buttery.  With just a bit of acidity and being lightly creamy, the sauce helped compliment the fish without taking away from it.  Loved the bevy of chanterelles and sweet peas.  The dill provide its usual brightness.

Arriving as one of the largest pieces I've ever seen, the Quebec Margret Duck Breast was super plump and prepared expertly.  It was aged for 5 days and then seared until the skin was well-rendered.  The duck was prepared medium in this application and turned out to be super tender and juicy.  We found more chanterelles here along with lightly cooked apricots and a jus.  The most impactful ingredient, other than the duck, was the apricot as it added a light crunch and sweetness that helped lighten up the dish.

Served with the duck was a Southern Italian-style Polenta topped with mushroom hollandaise.  This was described as being a lot looser than the polenta we've been accustomed with.  Sure enough, the whole thing collapsed as we dug into it.  Yet, it was delightful as it wasn't as heavy as it appeared.  With that being said, this combined with the duck was trending towards a fall combo.  This whole dish was a bit creamy with pops of sweetness from the charred corn.  With the addition of mushroom powder, the hollandaise was totally woodsy and packed with umami.  

We were presented with one of their newest desserts on the menu - Strawberry.  Well, with the considerable topping of cream, it was obviously strawberries and cream.  Hidden in the middle was a scoop of basil ice cream.  Underneath, we found macerated strawberries along with more basil.  Unlike the usual iteration of this dessert, this one had herbaceousness thanks to the basil (in all applications).  The creaminess of the ice cream added more body to the fresh cream.

To be honest, it took me awhile to take a liking to the Popcorn.  Vish's ode to Chicago mix with caramel popcorn, cheese and caramel, he made a dessert that captured every component.  There was caramelized sweetness combined with the aroma of popcorn and then the cheddar cheese added that something something.  Great for people who like something savoury with their sweets.  One last treat was the 2 White Chocolates with a tinge of citrus.  Overall, this was a really solid tasting-like menu with a bit of the old and a bit of the new.  A great way to get an overview of the menu at 2 price points - $95.00pp for around 6 dishes and $125.00pp for around 10 dishes like we had.

The Good:

- Well-executed proteins

- Really captured the natural flavours of tomato

- That elk tartare!

The Bad:

- Maybe a la carte can be more expensive, so choosing the tasting might be better?

- On weekends, the parking situation in the neighbourhood can be challenging, weekdays are much easier, got a spot right in front 

Gallagher's Steakhouse NYC (Lunch Special)

While dining at places such as Penny, Le Bernardin and Le Veau D'or gave us a taste of the best places to eat in NYC, they weren't a cheap proposition.  By no means do I think they weren't worth it.  Believe me, we truly enjoyed them and don't regret it.  However, we also need to check out other more accessible places as well.  Yes, we did some pizza and pastrami sandwiches, but we are talking about a proper sit-down dinner that would not break the bank.  Enter Gallagher's Steakhouse in the conversation.  They are well-known for their $34.00 3-course lunch special.  Yes, you heard me right.

Even though the actual meal is already a steal, they don't nickel and dime you.  We were started out with a Bread Basket that was loaded with different options.  It included a multigrain, sesame and plain white, but the star of the basket was the date nut bread.  Oh so sweet and a bit cake like.  All of this was served warm and went really well with the generous amount of butter.  You could ask for more if you wanted.

For myself, I started my meal with a small Wedge Salad sporting a quarter of an iceberg lettuce.  It had the usual items like bacon, blue cheese and blue cheese dressing.  Although this wasn't the biggest version of a wedge salad, it was more than enough, especially for lunch and the multiple courses with bread.  I found the lettuce to be crisp while the tomato was ripe.  That bacon was meaty while the amount of blue cheese was just enough for sharpness.

Viv went for the Manhattan-style Clam Chowder that featured a fairly decent broth.  It probably needed a bit more brininess, but there was no mistaking what type of soup we were drinking.  There was enough veggies and clams to make this hearty.  This was a bowl of chowder and not a cup.  Once again, they did not skimp despite the pricing of this 3-course meal.

For my main, I opted for the Chicken Paillard only because I wanted something different than Viv's choice.  The best way to describe this dish would be that it was "fine". The chicken breast itself was lightly grilled and a bit dry. The outside texture wasn't slightly crispy as it should be.  It pretty much ate like a plain grilled piece of chicken with very little flavor (lemon helped though).  The side of green beans were solid though being still a bit crunchy while being cooked through.

Viv had the Sliced Filet Mignon, which was pretty good, especially for the price.  The meat was closer to medium, but still tender and well-seared.  It was served with crispy roasted potatoes and buttery sauteed mushrooms.   On the side, it came with a red wine sauce that had A1 vibes.  Hence, it was thick, tangy and sweet.  If you wanted to spend some more money for a whole 8 oz filet mignon, it would be a $22.00 surcharge.

I was rather impressed with the size of the NY-style Cheesecake slice.  In addition in being large, the cheesecake itself was pretty good.  In true NY-style fashion, it was dense and rich with lots of smooth cream chese goodness.  However, at the same time, it wasn't so dense that you could kill someone with it.  Lots of cream cheese flavor while being accented by the strawberry sauce and some whipped cream.

Viv had the Key Lime Pie and it was a bit similar to a lemon meringue pie, expect with much less meringue and a noticeably more tangy flavor.   We found this to be a bit on the denser side, almost like a cheesecake.  However, it didn't eat heavy due to the light and tangy sweetness.  Overall, the 3-course lunch at Gallagher's isn't going to blow your socks off.  However, the food is more than acceptable given the pricing.  They do not skimp on the portions either.  If you had an extra lunch slot to fill while in NYC, give Gallagher's a try.

The Good:

- Super reasonable price on their 3-course lunch

- More than enough food

- Service was pretty good

The Bad:

- Food is generally good for the price, but I thought my chicken was meh

- There is a lineup to get in, even with reservations, so it becomes a bit chaotic

Le Veau D'or

Here we were at an oldie but goodie in Le Veau D'or in NYC.  Established in 1937, it has been dishing up traditional French cuisine until its 5-year hiatus starting in 2019.  Thankfully, after the pandemic and other things, the place reopened in 2024 under the direction of chefs Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr.  We stopped by for their lunch menu which included 2 courses for $85.00.

Yah, I'm not normally talking about complimentary Bread these days, but this has to be pointed out because many places charge for bread now.  They kept refilling our bread tray as we were progressing through the meal.  It was some pretty standard stuff, but it did come plenty of butter and went well with my appie.

Now about that appie, I predictably went for the Tripes à la Mode.  Honestly, this looked more like a main than a starter.  It was chock full of tender strips of honeycomb tripe.  There was a tinge of gaminess, which was delicious to me.  However, the tripe had soak up all of the delicious braising jus.  There was rich sweetness from the carrots and onions while some earthiness came through as well.

Viv ended up with something much lighter than what I had in the Mackerel au Vin Blanc.  This was so colorful and beautifully-plated that it was a shame to eat it.  Well, we didn't just look at it, we ate it!  This was tasty and appetizing with bright acidity and herbaecousness.  Such a refreshing combination of crunchy cucumbers, tangy pickled onions and of course, meaty and intensely taste of the sea.

She followed that light appetizer with the Steak Frites with beurre maître d'hôtel.  The uniformly seared steak had a slightly crispy crust on the outside.  It was well-seasoned and also aided by the butter.  We requested medium-rare and it came out perfect.  Being well-rested, the meat was juicy and hence naturally meaty. 

Loved that they served the Frites on the side as it came in a large portion and stayed crispy until the end.  As you can see in the picture above, they were rather uniform which meant there was consistency with the texture and cook on them.  Crispy as mentioned with plenty of fluffy potato in the middle.  This was, of course, served with some aioli.

I went off the menu and had their daily feature in the Skate Wing.  This was pan-fried until there was a crispy sear on both sides.  This had all things great about skate wing where the meat was tender, slightly gelatinous with a chew, yet still plenty silky.  This was prepared with a brown butter sauce with capers that had a passing resemblance to piccata.  This was further exemplified by the balancing acidity.

Despite being really full from the dishes we had, we couldn't pass up dessert.  We decided on the Mousse au Chocolat since it was the "lightest" option.  Of course, the mousse was still pretty rich and creamy.  It had measured sweetness, hence, the chocolate did come through impactfully.  For textural contrast, we found a crunchy tuile on top.  Overall, we enjoyed our meal at Le Veau D'or.  It offered up a traditional French bistro experience with generous portions.  Definitely reminded me of some places we visited in Paris.

The Good:

- Delicious

- Large portions

- Classic, non-fussy experience

The Bad:

- A touch expensive compared to other similar restaurants