Ajisai Sushi Bar

The previous night, Rich Guy and I attempted to watch the new movie 2012 after dining at Toshi. However, I guess we were a bit naive to believe we'd actually get tickets for opening night. Tonight, we gave it another go by arriving more than an hour earlier. Once again we were denied faster than trying to fight for a parking spot at Yaohan Centre. I suppose next time we should actually just get our tickets online, just like the commercial tells us to before every movie. I guess we just don't pay much attention to ads and previews that last longer than a sitcom on TV.

A bit dejected, we found solace in the only thing that would do the job - food! We took the opportunity that we were without our respective kids once again, to eat at a place which would be either too small, wrong type of food or have a potential lineup. Yesterday was Toshi, today was Ajisai. Bear has been raving about this place before; but it could never accommodate our entire softball team in the summer. With only 2 people and eating at 9:00pm, we felt our chances at getting a seat were better than having your windshields forcibly squeegeed at an intersection. Why must they do that when I have just washed my car? I digress. We ended up sitting at the sushi bar, which was fine by me. I enjoy watching the knife skills of the sushi chef. At Ajisai, they are Japanese sushi chefs and staff. That's right folks, a real Japanese restaurant!

We decided to start with the Salmon Sashimi and it was excellent. The fresh buttery and sweet flesh was a great way to begin the meal. We were quite impressed with the next dish which was the Geoduck in a ponzu dressing. The geoduck was very fresh being sweet and crunchy. The tangy ponzu really enhanced the sweetness of the geoduck by giving a contrasting flavour. We also got a few pieces of Nigiri which consisted of Red Tuna, Inari and Whole Scallop. Predictably, they were once again really fresh (Inari was fresh too, despite being only tofu skin). The sushi rice had the desired soft while slightly chewy texture. Presented on the same platter was the House Roll which consisted of Tuna, Salmon, Tobiko, Imitation Crab, Ebi and Cucumber. Despite being a relatively large roll, it stayed together without being squished.

Saving the best for last, our order of BBQ Gindara arrived with lemon, asparagus, grated daikon and nato (fermented beans). The perfectly cooked black cod melted in our mouths. When combined with the other items on the plate, there was a nice combination of salty, sweet and tartness. At this point, we were a bit full; but a dish we had seen prepared earlier was still on our minds. The Seafood Salad looked so good, we just had to order it! And order it we did. There was a bounty of seafood resting on a bed of lettuce and spring mix. Tako, ebi, salmon and tuna was generously distributed over fresh greens laced with a light vinaigrette. To top it all off, there were corn flakes! It added a nice crunch to the salad.

Seriously, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of food we ate at Ajisai. Not only was it fresh, it was masterfully prepared and presented. It definitely is a hidden gem since you actually cannot see it from the street. I'm inclined to say that this is now one of my favourites for authentic sushi. Having visited Toshi the day before, I can confidently state that Ajisai is better. If you ever make it out to Kerrisdale, you gotta give this place a try.

The Good:
- Carefully prepared sushi
- The stuff just tastes great
- Authentic

The Bad:
- The place is so darn small, not sure why the washroom is so big...
- If you didn't know where it was, you'd never find it

Thomas Haas

Inspired by Kim's post and the fact that I would be in North Van already, my son and I paid a visit to Thomas Haas. Back in my Charlie's Chocolate Factory post, I mentioned that he would not appreciate the quality and intricate flavours of Thomas Haas. After all, anything that is sweet is usually fine by him. I could probably give him a cube of sugar and he'd be giddy for the rest of the day. So off to Thomas Haas we go to see if it is as good as everyone says it is (including my picky sidekick). Actually, I had already had a taste of Thomas Haas on my visit to Vij's. Although it didn't blow me away, the chocolates were indeed smooth, delicately crafted and not super sweet.

We headed over on Saturday morning and as expected, it was an absolute zoo. For the amount of seating space provided, it's best to just get it to go. The fact it was raining as well didn't help the matter, it rendered the seats outside unusable. Since I've already tried the chocolates, I decided to sample their pastries and a sandwich this time around. I got my son a piece of Manjari Chocolate Cake and a Prosciutto Panini for myself. With Prosciutto, butter, asiago cheese, roasted red pepper, watercress, and mayonnaise on organic casalingo ciabatta, the panini was delicious. A little heavy handed on the prosciutto, it was a bit salty; but I'm not going to say no to more meat! My son took a few bites of the chocolate cake and decided that it wasn't for him. I don't blame him, there's rum in it! Well, I really guess he doesn't appreciate the more gourmet chocolate selections they have here.

I also got a Double Baked Almond Croissant, Lemon Tart, Almond Marscapone Cake, Fruit Danish and Macaroons to go. For my beverage, I went for a Mocha. Viv and I absolutely loved the almond croissant. The outside of was sweet and crunchy, while the inside was more buttery sweetness. This was an extremely sinful treat. The lemon tart was fantastic. The filling was very well... tart. Thin, only slightly sweet and very buttery, the crust was a perfect accompaniment to the tart filling. The macaroons were alright, a little too sweet for our liking. Just a bit sweet while still exhibiting the flavour of coffee, I did enjoy my mocha, in between my son's complaining about the cake. I gotta say, most of the items I tried at Thomas Haas were pretty darn good. I will be back.

The Good:
- Carefully crafted pastries, cakes and paninis
- It wasn't really too expensive
- Great service

The Bad:
- Nowhere really to sit
- Crazy busy all the time

Fritz European Fry House

What can I say? I love French fries! In fact, they are probably one of my favourite foods. I think I've mentioned this before; but I would eat some really good fries over lobster. No kidding! I've eaten some pretty darn good fries lately and some of my favourites include McD's, Salade de Fruits, Belgian Fries and Go Fish. Hey don't give me heck about McD's, the fries are indeed good. Also, I must mention that once I saw a negative review on Dinehere regarding the Pomme Frites at Salade de Fruits. The reviewer suggested they replace them with McCain fries. Dude, what are you smoking??? Anyways, I vaguely remember trying Fritz European Fry House a long time ago when I lived in downtown. It was a about time I returned to do a comparison.

With very little parking available on a Fryday night (sorry for the pun), I got Rich Guy to circled the block while I picked up our order. It's a good thing he was with me since there literally was no parking at all. I decided to get a small Poutine and a small Fries with Chipotle Mayo. The woman behind the counter must've noticed my DSLR because she offered to give me the eat-in version with the mayo in a separate cone, even though I was getting take out. Essentially, she helped me "stage" the fries for my picture. How considerate of her! After I finished taking my shots, she packed up my mayo in a take out cup. It's so nice to run into people who actually want to help you (since it's good publicity for the store anyways). This is in stark contrast to the staff at Anna's who were not happy with my picture taking at all.

Both Rich Guy and I agreed that the mayo was fantastic. Exhibiting a smoky spiciness, it was not a feeble attempt; rather it was a kick in the pants flavour rush. The fries weren't bad, they were adequately crisp. That's not to say they weren't any good; I just like them crunchier. The poutine didn't look all that appetizing at first glance with it's pale gravy. However, it did taste a lot better than the colour. A tad on the salty side, the gravy was able to melt all the cheese curds. In terms of being the best poutine in the GVRD, I'm not sure if Fritz nor Belgian Fries can make that claim. I still liked the one from Chambar (albeit a different class of restaurant). With that being said, it was solid and I wouldn't hesitate to go back for more.

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced
- Open really late
- Quality stuff

The Bad:
- Maybe it's just me, but I would've preferred crispier fries
- Just walk there, you won't find parking

Congrats to the Winners!!!

Alright, first and foremost, thank you for everyone who entered the draw. Second, thanks for the kind comments, I really do appreciate it! So after I entered all the names into Random.org, it came out as the picture shows. I'm taking the top 3 names and awarding them a $50.00 gift certificate each. So I'll need an email from Margaret, Holly and Eat 'n About, so I can arrange for delivery of the prizes. Margaret received a gift card from The Keg, Holly and Wendy received gift certificates to The Cannery. Thanks again to everyone who entered and congrats to the winners!

Toshi Sushi

Rich Guy made an impromptu return to Vancouver and he was wondering if I could join him for some eats. Of course I was game. It's like asking if Paris Hilton wanted more exposure! Since he had flown in from the Philippines, his sleeping and eating patterns were a bit wacky. Thus, we didn't end up heading out until 8:30pm for food. We threw some ideas around and eventually decided on paying Toshi a visit. After all, we had no kiddies with us, it was the perfect opportunity to do so. You see, Toshi is a very small restaurant with a very long lineup - a recipe for disaster if we had kids with us. Heading over to Toshi, we had pretty high expectations. After all, it is a widely held notion that Toshi is one of the best in town.

I guess other people hold Toshi in high regard since there was a healthy lineup when we arrived, even at 9:00pm. I sometimes wonder about restaurants with long lineups. Is the lineup a product of it's reputation of having a lineup or is the food really that good. After a reasonable wait, we were seated at the sushi bar. We got the Salmon and Tuna Sashimi to start. The wild salmon was fantastic, in appearance and taste. However, despite tasting sweet and fresh, the tuna was curiously mushy. I realize that tuna can be mushy to begin with; but this was a bit too mushy. We really couldn't figure out why since it looked and tasted great. To be a little different, we got the Tofu Hot Pot and it's exactly what it was. Several pieces of tofu, enoki and napa cabbage in essentially hot water served with a vinegary ponzu dip on the side. Nothing really special about this dish other than it was a good deal at $4.00.

We originally had our hearts set on the Gindara; but they didn't have anymore, so we settled on the Spicy Beef. It turns out that it wasn't a bad consolation at all. Resembling a Korean dish, the tender beef was bathed in a sweet and only slightly spicy sauce. We could have kept eating this if there was an unlimited supply. The Chicken Karaage that we ordered was a bit different than we have been used to. With the mid wing and drumette still attached together, these babies were fried until they were very crispy. However, the meat was still quite tender. It was as good as it looked.

Last dish to arrive was the Assorted Nigiri. It consisted of one piece each of tamago, ebi, ika, salmon, tai, tuna, hamachi, saba, amaebi and something that resembled tai, but wasn't. For the life of us, we couldn't figure it out. No matter, all the pieces were fresh and the rice was a perfect consistency. Not being necessarily a bad thing, the tamago was freakishly large. Anyways, we thought this was a good value at $12.95. Despite being a small restaurant, there seemed to be enough staff to take orders, refill tea and settle the bill. The food came out quite efficiently in even intervals. In terms of the food itself, we were pretty happy with our meal. However, we were far from blown away. We're still not sure why people line up for Toshi. Don't get me wrong, there was not much to complain about and the prices are indeed quite reasonable; but is this the best in town? With so many choices in Vancouver, I'm not so sure about that.

The Good:
- Well prepared food
- Reasonable prices
- Good portions

The Bad:
- It's a really small restaurant
- Eternal lineup
- Only open for dinner

Ricky's

Honestly, I haven't been to Ricky's since my age was in single digits. No joke! After all, why would I? I never really had that much of an impression about the food anyways. However, today was the day to return and try out their breakfast. In terms of their other food, I haven't really heard great things, although their breakfast gets some positive remarks. So for comparison purposes, we made it over to the Scottsdale Ricky's to investigate. You know what the good thing about chain restaurants is? Predictability. I swear the decor has not changed very much since I last visited. Also, you know it's a family restaurant when there are no servers prancing around in barely-there outfits. In fact, our server was probably pushing 70. No matter, she was sweet as honey and took care of us.

Perusing the menu, I quickly notice that most items are roughly around the $10.00 mark. That's not bad. I decided to get the Eggs Benedict and to my disappointment, the eggs were cooked in a mold. Despite the perfectly domed shape, the egg whites and yolk were a bit overcooked. I did ask for medium; but it was more like well-done. The Hollandaise sauce was a bit bland, neither exhibiting tart or buttery qualities. There was ham rather than Canadian back bacon which was another disappointment. At this point, you might thing I hated my breakfast; but that really wasn't the case. I was a bit indifferent since it wasn't disgusting; yet it wasn't great either. Other dishes included 2 omelets. Big German Guy had the Portobello Mushroom & 3 Cheese Omelet. Overloaded with portobello and button mushrooms, the omelet was very cheesy. Definitely a hearty breakfast. Not bad; however the eggs looked a bit overdone.

Waffle Guy had The Works Omelet which consisted of Ham, Portobello and button mushrooms, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions and 3 cheeses, topped with a slice of bacon. As you can see in the picture, they were not shy about loading up on the filling and toppings. You might also notice that the egg is overdone here too. I'm sure some people like their omelets this way; but I like my eggs fluffy, not crunchy. Also, I wasn't a big fan of the hash browns. It's probably due to a personal bias against the shoestring type; but they were a not crispy on the outside and too soft on the inside. If we look at the last picture, you can see that the scrambled eggs resembled spatzle. Not a good thing.

The breakfast wasn't horrible by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, it wasn't that great either. Although, we did enjoy the friendly service and the homey atmosphere. Value-wise, there is not much to complain about. The prices and portion size were very reasonable. Mind you, if you are near Amelia in New West, you can get an equally good breakfast for spare change.

The Good:
- Reasonable prices
- Friendly service
- Predictable

The Bad:
- Average food
- Interior needs an update

Deer Garden

So after an exhaustive 6-day non-stop eating adventure, you'd think the last thing I would do is go out to eat. You see there, you got it all wrong. That is exactly what I was going to do! Shortly after being picked up from the airport and hugging everyone in my family, we headed out for dinner. We ended up at Deer Garden in Coquitlam. When we still lived in Coquitlam, this was one of the few places where you could get decent Chinese food consistently. Sure, there is Kirin; but it's pricey and inconsistent. There's Poco Ocean; but you have to guess when they are open and they have all of 10 tables. And yes, there is Hon's; but please don't get me started... One thing you'll find at Deer Garden is that there are never enough parking spots and there is usually a lineup. Furthermore, you'll find that there are not nearly enough staff for how busy it gets here. In fact, there really wasn't anyone greeting at the front. That would probably explain the server who acknowledged people lining up with a bit of indifference and never came back to take parties to their tables. Everyone was a bit confounded by it. Do we seat ourselves???

When we finally sat down, we went for their meal for 4 which includes soup, rice, choice of 4 dishes and dessert. The 2 most popular dishes here are Free Range Chicken and Malaysian Style Curry Brisket. Very similar to Mui Garden. I personally thought that the chicken is better than Mui Garden. It seemed meatier and was quite tender, which is surprising since free range chicken can be a bit chewy. The accompanying grated ginger added the necessary bite to the modestly seasoned chicken. For those who are unfamiliar to "Chinese-style" Malaysian curry, it is a smooth concoction consisting of coconut milk and yellow curry. Not really all that spicy, it's quite mild and creamy. The one here tastes more robust than the mild one at Mui Garden; however, the meat was not really all that tender. Furthermore, I think they need to have a talk with the prep guy. There were pieces of brisket in there that were so huge, a knife and fork was needed.

We had a love/hate relationship with the Satay Beef with Vermicelli Hot Pot. We loved the bountiful amount of tender beef slices. We hated that the vermicelli was more limp than a 80-year old who just ran out of viagra. We tried picking it up with chopsticks, a fork and a spoon. All we got were clumps of dissolved vermicelli. Not good. Thank goodness, everything looked "up" when we got the Seafood and Tofu Hot Pot. There were large shrimp, scallops and squid resting on a bed of soft tofu. This dish was delicately seasoned and would've went well with some hot sauce. Another pretty solid meal at Deer Garden. Considering where it is located, there is not much to choose from. Despite the indifferent service, it is more than acceptable Chinese food, especially the free-range chicken and curry brisket.

The Good:
- Decent portions
- Food ain't bad
- Prices are reasonable

The Bad:
- Service is both lacking and indifferent
- Lineups
- Not enough parking

Millbrae Pancake House

With my flight back to Vancouver scheduled for 1:09pm today, there was enough time to squeeze one last meal. Originally, I was planning on doing some Dim Sum in Millbrae at Zen Pennisula since I've been there before and it was also recommended by Foodnut. However, it wasn't going to be open until 11:00am. I'm a fast eater; but that would've been tight for me to make my flight. Yes, even some things take precedent over food! Finally, after some research on Urbanspoon and Yelp, Cable Car Guy and I figured that the Millbrae Pancake House was my best option. It is close to SFO and apparently it's pretty darn good. Too bad CCR couldn't join AZee and I today for breakfast since he had to work. He was neither a Federal employee or worked at a bank to enjoy the day off on Veteran's Day.

As mentioned on the online reviews, there was a wait for a table. Fortunately it was only a wait of 5 minutes. I ended up ordering the Ham & Cheese Omelet with a side of Swedish Pancakes. These pancakes are a bit similar to Dutch Pannekoeks. Enhancing them is a good helping of Lingonberry Butter. Not as filling as a regular pancake, these ones were easy to eat and the sweet lingonberry combined with the goodness of butter was the icing on the cake (so to speak). My omelet was packed with with ham and cheese. I was barely able to finish it. AZee and I had differing opinions on the hash browns. She likes the crispy shoestring type you'd find at IHOP, while I personally liked the ones here. It resembled more of a pan fried potato cake than hash browns. With a crunchy exterior and an almost mash potato interior, these were good in my books. A truly satisfying breakfast before my flight for a reasonable price.

The Good:
- Reasonable prices
- Good portions
- Great Swedish pancakes

The Bad:
- Pretty busy, lineups are common (esp. on weekends)
- Pretty noisy (if you care about that)

Bi-Rite

Even since Sal knew I was coming down for a visit, she has been raving about Bi-Rite. At first, it sounded like a pharmacy and it left me wondering why she would be so excited about prescription drugs. Well... Maybe I don't know her as well as I thought I did! In actuality, Bi-Rite is a small ice cream shop just down the block from Tartine. After our dinner at Chapeau! tonight, Sal had planned that we would all visit Bi-Rite. She's almost sounding a bit like me, as in "coercing" people in visiting a place of her choosing. Rice-a-Ronnie had no choice since Sal was giving her a lift. Cable Car Guy and AZee was my ride and I had promised to go to Bi-Rite. Thus, we all had to go!

Finding parking was quite the exercise. Round and around we went without a space in sight. Finally we spotted one and CCR did a nice U-turn to snag the space. While walking up the block, we noticed that Sal was attempting to park in a spot. Watching her try to park was equally amusing and painful. Even a bystander couldn't take it anymore and yelled out some instructions. Further perpetuating the Asian stereotype, she finally finished parking after 8 minutes. Fortunately for us, it was a cool night and there was no lineup at Bi-Rite. Apparently, when it's warm, you'd be waiting for quite awhile.

Sal picked a very peculiarly flavour - Honey Lavender. She kept swearing that it was the best flavour in the entire world! Uh, we'll see about that! One taste and... pitooey... No thanks! Tasted like soap to me. And believe me, I've tasted soap. Not intentionally; but I have. Me not likey. That goes the same for CCR, AZee and Rice-a-Ronnie. However, I did like the Salted Caramel as seen in the picture. The salt only helped heighten the sweet creamy caramel. Honey Lavender aside, the ice cream here was creamy and had much more flavour than Mitchell's. I liked the consistency of the ice cream where it was creamy without being thick. Pretty good ice cream except for the soap.

The Good:
- Interesting flavours
- Nice and creamy
- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:
- Interesting flavours
- Small store - you pay, get ice cream and leave

Chapeau!

After consultation with Foodnut, Bay Area's top food blogger, I made a reservation at Chapeau! out on Clement street. Honestly, I've never heard of the place and it really doesn't show up on the radar for most out-of-towners. Apparently, all my cousins have heard and dined at this place before. They had nothing but good things to say about it. Originally, it was only going to be Sal and myself; but Cable Car Guy, AZee and Rice-O-Ronnie were able to join us as well. Awesome, the more, the merrier... and more pictures! Residing at the old location of Clementine, Chapeau! was still in the process of renovations. That would
probably explain the bare walls and modern-on-traditional light fixtures. Sal was obsessed with the walls, constantly complaining that there should be wallpaper. It really didn't bother me, I was more interested with the food.

We had an early reservation for 5:45pm and the place was packed during this time. The reason? Between 5:00pm - 6:00pm, there is an early bird special consisting of 3 courses for $28.00. A pretty good deal in my books. I decided to order off the menu because I wasn't really in the mood for dessert. Actually, Sal was planning on taking us to Bi-Rite afterwards, so my "no dessert" idea was more strategic than anything. Prior to our appetizers, we were treated to complimentary amuse bouche in the form of a Creamy Corn Soup. Cable Car Guy was running late and they actually brought him his soup when he arrived. Moreover, they encouraged us to order for him before the 6:00 cutoff time for the early bird special. We liked how they took care of everyone, even the one that wasn't even present.

I got the PEI Mussels Soup as my starter and I was pleasantly surprised at how many fresh, plump mussels rested in the aromatic broth with a slight hint of heat. The addition of creme fraiche was a nice touch as it gave the soup some body. Cable Car Guy went for a classic - Escargot de Bourgogne in Butter-Parsley & Garlic Sauce. It was a bit hard to take a picture of it since each escargot were covered with plenty of butter and parsley. However, that made for some good eating, especially dipping the bread in the remaining sauce. For my entree, I had the Skate Wing in Brown Butter. It was served with fingerling potatoes and finished with a Grenobloise sauce. The skate was moist with a slightly crispy exterior. It was slightly on the overcooked side; but not terribly so. The capers, shallots and lemon juice (?) added both aromatics and tang.

Sal picked my 2nd choice if I hadn't chosen the skate wing. It was the Cassoulet de Toulouse which is essentially a bean stew with a duck leg (or duck confit) and a lamb sausage. Definitely rich and robust, the dish was quite filling. I tried the duck and it was tender and full of flavour without being salty. Sal could only finish 1/3 of it and instructed the assistant waiter to pack it up. We're not sure what got lost in translation; but he ended up dumping the rest of the dish. More on that later... Both AZee and Rice-a-Ronnie had the Louisiana Gulf Wild Flounder which was served with mashed potatoes, braised leeks and roasted tomatoes. The dish was finished off with a mussels-saffron sauce. I also got to sample this dish and the flounder was cooked perfectly. Moist, tender and only flavoured by the sauce, this was a simple; yet well executed dish. Rice-a-Ronnie didn't care for the mussels in the sauce and on the dish. I would tend to agree with that since the mussels could detract from the delicate flavour of the fish. For me, I love mussels, so it
was a non-issue.

For dessert, Cable Car Guy went for the Profiterolles. These chocolate-covered cream puffs were decadent; yet light at the same time. Don't ask me why that is, it just tasted that way. Not a good dish for someone who is on a diet. Now if you were, Sal chose a very light dessert in the form of a Basil Napoleon with Maui Pineapple, Manilla Mango, Banana, Kiwi & Strawberries with
Champagne-Citrus Pastry Cream. Similar to a mini fruit salad, this was both refreshing and very light. Now on the other hand, AZee went all out
and got the French Toast. Yes, French toast in a French restaurant, go figure... It was finished with a rich caramel sauce with hazelnut ice cream. I normally do not go OMFG over French toast; but I will here. Pure buttery, sweet and slightly crispy heaven which would blow any calorie restrictions.

Chef and owner Philippe Gardelle greets and welcomes every guest sometime during their meal. He is a gracious host and shows his appreciation for their patronage. In fact, when he found out that Sal lost her leftovers, he marched straight into the kitchen and made up a partial portion for her to take home. I really enjoyed my dinner at Chapeau! from the food to the service. Combine this with reasonable prices, especially with the early bird, you really can't go wrong here.

The Good:
- Great value
- Well-executed dishes
- Philippe Gardelle is a gracious host

The Bad:
- Although bigger than the old location, it's still pretty small