Provence Marinaside

In the latest edition of "places I used to frequent", we paid a visit to Provence Marinaside today. Joining me were Whipping Girl and Vandelay. Yes, it's Vandelay, after a long absence. You see, he and Donna Chang just had their first child - a boy! Congrats to them! Talking about absences, I haven't been back to Provence since I had moved from downtown 4 years ago. In fact, the reason we dined at Provence so often was that I lived in the same complex. Funny thing, it's the same complex that Daniel Sedin lived in. One time I saw him stroll out to the common driveway we shared with the complex beside us to meet up with Henrik who was driving... you guessed it, a Volvo! Let's just say they were better neighbours than Donald Brashear. He would mistaken the parkade for a go-kart track.

I arrived a bit early with Whipping Girl and Vandelay arriving shortly after. While I was waiting, I took the opportunity to peruse the menu and noticed that they had a 3-course lunch for $25.00. It seems like quite a few restaurants offer set menus for lunch and dinner these days. It almost defeats the purpose of Dine-Out. Anyways, we all decided to share an Antipasti platter with 3 items. There is a display case at the entrance with different antipastos which you can choose from. We settled on the Squid, Artichoke Hearts and Mushrooms. Served hot, the antipasti was really good. The grilled squid was perfectly cooked being a bit chewy and buttery soft at the same time. Don't ask me how that can be, but it was. The mushrooms (button, oyster and Portobello) were cooked just right, while the artichoke hearts equally good. For me at least, I find that $5.00 per item is a very reasonable price.

The dish that caught my eye was the Bouillabaisse consisting of potatoes, scallops, mussels, clams, salmon and halibut in a lobster broth. Served on the side were Gruyère, croutons and what I believe was lobster mayo. The Gruyère was meant to be mixed into the lobster broth when all the seafood had been finished. I gotta tell you, the broth was aromatic, a bit salty and with the Gruyère, I was making all sorts of suggestive noises. The seafood itself was just cooked allowing the natural sweetness to come to the forefront. The fish was also perfectly cooked with a good balance of tender meatiness.

Whipping Girl loves mussels. No, not Jean Claude Van-Damme. Well, he ain't muscular anymore anyways. Saw him at Victoria Restaurant a few times and he's got more of a one-pack than a six-pack. Rather, she loves steamed mussels. There was no doubt what she was going to order -
Steamed Mussels with White Wine and Cream. I didn't bother trying any mussels because I had some in my own dish; but I did sample the broth and it was delicious. A good combination of wine, cream, onions and herbs. It was flavourful; yet wasn't too strong that it was overpowering.
Going in a completely different direction, Vandelay ordered the Cannelloni. It arrived piping hot. I sampled a good chunk and the sauce was a bit tart and the beef was very moist. Maybe a bit too moist because it was quite loose and hard to eat. Otherwise, this was a pretty pedestrian dish. It was accompanied by a side salad.

Yet another solid meal at Provence. I find that during brunch and lunch, the food is pretty good for the prices that they charge. However, Dinner is a bit pricey for the portions that you get. The service was both attentive and friendly. Our server was quite pleasant; albeit he had this James Spader thing going with humongous 80's glasses. I know it's not polite to stare; but we did. Another plus is it's location. Situated right at the marina on False Creek, there is somewhat of a view and lots of light. Sitting outside on a nice sunny day, you can really soak in what Vancouver is all about. Mind you in Yaletown, you might only get a glimpse of what Vancouver is all about. Hey, you might even spot one of the Sedin twins in their Volvo!

The Good:
- Reasonable prices (Brunch & Lunch)
- Pretty good food
- Excellent location

The Bad:
- Flavours could be a bit more bold
- Dinner is not as good of a value as lunch

The Dock House

*Restaurant is now closed*

Have you ever continually passed by a restaurant and for some reason or another never have eaten there? Well, this is the case with the Dock House restaurant. In fact, I've avoided this place for so long, it has changed owners and name in the mean time. It used to be known as the Sea Shanty. Finally, I decided to try it out. Well, to be honest, there are not many choices out in North Delta left. So I really had no choice! The Dock House is your typical fish 'n chip joint, where everything is cooked in the deep fryer. Healthy eating this is not. Not being particularly hungry (which is a rare occurrence), I decided on the 1 piece Halibut and Chips. While waiting for my order, the students from the nearby high school descended on the place like a pack of hungry wolves. You see, they have a $2.00 special here that consists of a massive mound of fries. The place was completely taken over by the students to the point where they began sitting at my table without asking. They even reached over me to use the condiments on my table! Manners anyone?

Anyways, much like the time I went to Asian Spice, they left as fast as they arrived once they ravaged their fried potatoes. Good thing too, I'm not sure how I would've taken my pictures otherwise. They were taking invading personal space to a whole new level. As the restaurant was clearing out, a decent sized piece of halibut rested on a ridiculously large bed of crispy fries arrived. The batter was neither really thin nor thick, it resided somewhere in the middle. It was moderately crispy and not oily. The halibut itself was quite fresh and flaky. I thought it was cooked quite well. The fries are very much like White Spot fries being crisp and very starchy at the same time.

I was a bit indifferent with the homemade tartar sauce. I really wanted more zing. Rather, it was quite creamy and seemed more like mayo than tartar sauce. I did like the coleslaw, it was simple, tart and crunchy. Overall, for $9.00, it was a fair price for some decent fish n chips. I've heard and seen some negative reviews of this place; but I'm not sure if they've been fair. Sure, there are better fish n chip places; but it was more than acceptable.

The Good:
- Fish was fresh
- Not oily
- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:
- Tartar sauce needs more flavour
- Don't come during lunch on weekdays, the place gets taken over by high school students

Indishpensable

What happens when you want to cook at home, but have absolutely no ingredients to do so? Well, the people at Indishpensable think that they have your solution. In addition to being a restaurant, they specialize in packaging fully prepped ingredients for you to cook at home. Exact quantities and detailed instructions should make it easy for even the worst of cooks (in theory that is). This would be a great way for anyone to fool dinner guests into thinking they were a gourmet chef. For this post, I was challenged by Indishpensable to try one of their pre-packaged take and make meals. After that, I needed to purchase all of the ingredients for that meal and make it again. The challenge was to make it for less than the meal would have cost at Indishpensable. Of course, the first meal was complimentary and the second meal was covered up to $50.00. Although I did get a freebie of sorts here, I was assured that I could say whatever I wanted about the product and the resulting challenge.

When I went to pick up my package, I was greeted by Brent, one of the co-owners of Indishpensable. He explained that all of the items are freshly prepared and packaged for each customer. Best thing to do is to call ahead, so the package is ready for pickup when you arrive. For the really busy or lazy person, there is also delivery (using a cooler bag) available as well. I was given a choice of 4 dinners for two and decided on the Oven-roasted Halibut & Rosemary wrapped in Prosciutto, smashed new potatoes with dill & truffle oil, confit of tomato, zucchini & capers. Upon inspecting the ingredients at the store, it was noted that they used local ingredients and the halibut was Ocean-Wise. Furthermore, the meal came with a coupon for 10% off a paired bottle of wine from Kitsilano Wine Cellar.

Upon getting home, I hastily started cooking because daylight was becoming scarce (for the pictures!). Following the instructions, I first started boiling the potatoes while preheating the oven. While that was going, I started on the tomato confit. As both things were happily cooking, Viv got home from work and helped me wrap the halibut and rosemary in the prosciutto. She stuck that in the oven and I continued cooking the confit. While that was finishing off, I drained the potatoes and added the prepackaged ingredients and proceeded to smash them. By then, the halibut was done and I merely plated it as per the instructions. What impressed me here was the accurate timing and organization of the cooking. Obviously, everything has been thought out thoroughly and made as easy as possible for the end user. That's a good thing, because some customers are probably not used to cooking.

As you can see in the picture, the dish looks pretty tasty. In fact, it was pretty good. Despite the large quantity of herbs used in this dish, they did not overpower any of the ingredients. The herbs added flavour without copious amount of salt. Presentation- wise, there was quite a bit of green on the plate though. I really liked the use of anchovies in the tomato confit because it gives a saltiness that is more complex than plain salt. The use of truffle oil added a subtle earthiness to the potatoes and the prosciutto helped flavour the halibut. However, I think a bit more seasoning was needed for the fish. Since you are cooking it, you can adjust the seasoning as you wish.

Now this meal for 2 purchased at Indishpensable would normally cost $38.00. The second part of the challenge saw me go out and purchase many of the ingredients to recreate the meal. Since some of the items would not be found in a regular grocery store, I chose to shop at Urban Fare. Wait a minute Sherman, you might be yelling out right now. Isn't Urban Fare expensive??? You are correct, but if I were to find truffle oil, there ain't any at Stupidstore! Moreover, if I went to different stores trying to find each item at it's cheapest, I'd waste more gas than any savings I would incur. The only other place I had in mind was Granville Island and it probably would have been a little bit cheaper.

Anyways, I bought most of the items at Urban Fare other than the white wine, rosemary, basil, dill, oregano, garlic, butter, and olive oil. The reason for this is that I had these items already. This is valid because for some people, they would have existing items on hand. The total bill at Urban Fare came to roughly $60.00. If you factor in the other ingredients, it would be well over $90.00 for this meal. Now, of course some of the items would not be completely consumed by this one meal such as the truffle oil, white wine, olive oil and herbs. But you get the gist of it though, there is absolutely no way that someone, purchasing through a retail outlet, could do this meal for $38.00. The only way you can do this meal for remotely the same price is to have most of the items on hand already. But if you did, you'd probably not be Indishpensable's target market. Mind you, if you were short on time, this still could be a dinner solution. Furthermore, you must remember that everything is prepped and cut. Ultimately, for those who want to cook a gourmet meal; but either do not have the know-how or a pantry/fridge stocked with ingredients, Indishpensable is their saviour.

The Good:
- Everything is pre-cut and ready to cook
- Very good portions of food
- It's fresh and everything is thought out carefully
- Can impress girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband

The Bad:
- Some people who have a stocked pantry and can really cook may not go for this
- Although there is delivery available, more locations would be handy (if they continue to be successful, I guess this won't be an issue)

Hatto Sushi

Thinking that I hit all the sushi places in North Delta (Minori & Akari), I wasn't expecting to see another Japanese restaurant when I dined at the Green Lettuce. Hidden in the corner of the same shopping complex is Hatto Sushi. So far, Minori has been a decent choice for Japanese food out here. Akari was decent, but on subsequent visits, it hasn't impressed me. I was quite excited to eat Japanese for lunch today since most of the restaurants on Scott Road are Indian. Don't get me wrong, I love Indian food, but after awhile, I feel like I'm sweating curry!

Arriving a bit early, I expected Hatto to be closed. However, their door was ajar, even though the hours indicated they open at 11:30am. Oh well, I walked in and indeed they were open. They should really change that sign. I was greeted warmly and I got my choice of tables because I was the only one there. At that point, I was hoping it was because I was early! I was quite impressed with the selection of sushi on the menu, especially for a Japanese restaurant out here. I really hate when there is too much choice, I end up taking really long to order. Well, I did decide on the Salmon Sashimi and when it arrived, I was pretty surprised to see wild salmon. Happily digging in, the slices of salmon were sweet and fresh. A really nice start to the meal. The prices of the Nigiri Sushi were a bit high; but I decided to get some anyways. I got 2 pieces each of Toro, Unagi and Inari. Not particularly looking that impressive, they did taste better than they appeared. I liked the sushi rice, it was soft; but not mushy. The Toro could have been sliced a bit bigger in my opinion, especially for the price.

The last item I ordered was at their suggestion - the Caterpillar Roll. It sure looked impressive when it arrived with lots of avocado on the outside and 2 strips of cucumbers doubling as the antenna. It did taste good since the avocado was fresh and there was just enough sauce. However, far too much rice overwhelmed the unagi in the centre. I really didn't even notice it was there to tell you the truth. The 3 items that I got cost me close to $30.00; yet I really didn't seem overly full. Although the food was pretty decent, I'm not sure if I got good value. The salmon sashimi was a real treat; but the other items were pretty average. While I can't say that I didn't like Hatto Sushi, I wasn't all that excited about it either.

The Good:
- Decent Japanese food considering the location
- Friendly staff
- Good selection of items on the menu

The Bad:
- A tad pricey
- Portion size could be a bit better

Tuttimelon

*This is now closed*

I swear it's a conspiracy. Of all people, I win a coupon for a free topping from Tuttimelon thanks to Wendy (Eat 'n About). You see, I have a love-hate relationship with Richmond and guess where Tuttimelon is located? On one hand, there are a multitude of great places to eat, drink or grab a snack in Richmond. On the other hand, I have to put up with people who: drive 30km/h in a 50km/h zone, do not understand how a 4-way stop works, fight to the death for a parking spot, cut you off like you didn't exist and wear those ridiculous full shield visors. Wendy... this one is for you...

Alright, to drive all the way to Richmond for some froyo didn't seem quite fulfilling, so this visit to Tuttimelon was right after a pretty satisfying lunch at Rainflower. This actually worked out perfectly since we didn't order dessert at Dim Sum. Also, something fruity and cool is the perfect refreshment to counteract salt and MSG. Walking into Tuttimelon, it reminds me a lot of Qoola. Trendy modern decor? Check. Fresh fruit? Check. Multitude of dry toppings? Check. Menu on 2 flatscreens? Check. Crazy Richmond traffic outside? Check. Hmm... I wonder who's copying who? If I'm not mistaken, Tuttimelon opened their San Francisco store in 2007.

Not really knowing what to order, I asked the staffer there for her opinion. She said that a popular combination is the Mango Frozen Yogurt with Mochi and Strawberries. For those who do not know what Mochi is, it is essentially a rice cake that is soft and a bit chewy. The staffer was bang on, the Mochi really complimented the froyo. I was skeptical at first because I thought soft with soft would be just mush. But, the slight chewiness did give a texture contrast and the
neutral flavour of the Mochi did not conflict with the mango froyo. The strawberries added a nice zing and sweetness. The froyo itself was extremely light and refreshing. It was almost guilt-free dessert eating. Almost. I liked how the mango flavour was pronounced and it wasn't merely just sweet. There was a bit of mango tartness which ultimately added to the refreshing taste. The one thing that detracted from the texture of the froyo was that it was not cold enough. While I was taking the picture, it was already melting. Maybe I was too early and they had not properly froze the yogurt yet? Despite that, I enjoyed my froyo from Tuttimelon and it didn't cost me an arm and a leg (well, thanks to the coupon from Wendy). However, it required me to drive to Richmond and I bet Wendy was pretty happy with that!

The Good:
- Fresh toppings
- Great tasting froyo
- The place is spotless

The Bad:
- It was a bit too soft
- Good luck finding parking

Rainflower

Although there are plenty of places where you can get Dim Sum in the GVRD, I've been to quite a few of them already. Yes, I still go to Victoria Restaurant for Dim Sum; but when I want to go to a place I've never been before, there are not a lot left. So, I got my mom to scour the Chinese newspapers in search of a good Dim Sum place I've never been to before. She spotted one called Rainflower in Richmond and asked if I knew about it. In fact I have seen it before when I drove by the old XS Cargo location. But from the outside, it didn't catch my fancy and never thought about it again. Knowing that I had to visit Richmond eventually to redeem the coupon for Tuttimelon I had received from Wendy (Eat 'n About), we headed south to try out Rainflower. We took our chances and made a reservation for 11:30am. We chose this time because it is 30 minutes clear of the early morning discounted Dim Sum. After 11:00am, it's regular pricing and thus we figured that it would be less busy. Turns out we were right, we got seated immediately. Wow, did I ever misjudge this place! When we walked in, the interior was nicely decorated with classic colours. Hanging from the center of the ceiling was a very big chandelier. Unlike many other Chinese restaurants, the seating arrangements were spacious and the chairs were comfortable.

Similar to many of the newer Chinese restaurants, there are no Dim Sum carts here; but only an order sheet where you check off what you want. We started with the Sui Mai (Pork & Shrimp Dumpling). I normally do not order this dish because Viv really doesn't prefer it. With my mom around, I finally had a willing diner. This particular sui mai was extremely lean. I'm not sure if there were even any pieces of pork fat in it. This made for a much stiffer texture. Furthermore, with less fat, the flavours were not as rich. The shrimp spring rolls arrived next and they were only passable. There was nothing wrong with the roll itself because it was crunchy and not oily. However, the shrimp filling was in little pieces; thus becoming a bit mushy.

It always seems like we order the Beef Meatballs... It's really quite a boring dish. After all, it's just ground beef with green onion (sometimes cilantro) and steamed. But when you dip these suckers into Worcester sauce, it comes alive. Don't ask me, it's a Chinese thing. Dip food into English sauces: Worcester, Maggi, HP and the sort. These meatballs were good. Soft, lightly seasoned and not completely reeking of baking soda (that's what makes them soft), they were exactly how they should be. Okay, the moment of truth, the Shrimp Dumplings arrived. The litmus test for any Dim Sum joint are the Haw Gow. These ones were pretty large and the outer wrapper was soft, a bit chewy and translucent. Despite tasting pretty delicate (not too much salt and/or MSG), the shrimp inside were not large enough. This resulted in a pretty loose filling which ultimately fell apart pretty easy when bitten into. I'd give these only a passing grade.

We also ordered the Fish Maw with Shrimp. For those who do not know what fish maw is, it's a fish air bladder which has been fried, then dried. Usually, it's steamed or boiled to rehydrate it for eating. If this scares you, it's really not that bad. This particular dish was delicately sweet and the fish maw was still intact. The flavours were so delicate, it was bordering on bland. Definitely a candidate for some hot sauce. The next dish would have never even come if we didn't look at our bill. We had marked down Geoduck Congee; but the server did not enter it into our order. We inquired and found out they were out of Geoduck, that's why it was never entered. Uh... Would it have been too much trouble to tell us that in the first place??? I can never understand the service at Chinese restaurants. Anyways, we substituted it with the Chicken and Dried Scallop Congee instead. For a non-congee/wonton restaurant, the congee was pretty good. Decently thick and not reeking of MSG, the congee was delicately flavoured by the dried scallops. I didn't get to eat much of this since my daughter went to town on it.

If you're wondering why we always order the Beef Rice Noodle Roll, it's because the kids eat it. Wait, let's try again... My daughter eats it, my son doesn't like the "things" in it. This particular one was more along the lines of the chewy, stiff version. It wasn't terribly hard; but I personally like the softer kind. However, the beef was tender and moderately seasoned. Seeing how the 2 measly pieces of greens on this dish would not count as "eating our veggies", we ordered the Pea Shoots with Bean Curd Stick and Ginkgo Nuts. Beautifully executed, the pea shoots were cooked just right (tender, but still some crunch) and the ginkgo nuts were tender without falling apart. The flavour profile of this dish is usually quite bland and this one was no different. Sitting in a lightly seasoned broth, this whole point of the dish is about delicate textures more than bold flavours.

To fulfill our pork quotient, we got the Steamed Spareribs with Garlic and Pumpkin. As simple as this dish sounds, there are several factors that make or break it. First, some places put so many "crappy" pieces in it, there is no meat to eat. The best pieces are meat attached to bone, not cartilage. Furthermore, the meat should be lean and tenderized with just the right amount of baking soda. Too much and the meat becomes mush. Lastly, it should be flavourful; yet not salty. The spareribs at Rainflower satisfy the aforementioned criteria. As you can see from the picture, there is an ample amount of meat with very little fat or cartilage. Although it's a filler, the pumpkin at the bottom did taste good because it absorbed all the tasty flavour from the seasonings and pork.

While we were eating, I kept seeing a dish that seemed to go by our table every few minutes. I wasn't exactly sure what it was, but it did resemble Hand Shredded Chicken Salad. I took a chance and ordered it. When it arrived it was indeed that dish; however, it was a big mound of mess. They really have to work on the presentation of this! But, the good thing is that it was very large and full of tender chicken, pickled vegetable, julienned carrots, cucumber and seaweed. It certainly tasted a lot better than it looked. With only a slight taste of sesame oil, the whole dish was delicately season. There was good texture contrast between the soft chicken and the crunchy vegetables. No wonder every table ordered this.

The last 2 dishes were Daikon Radish Cake and Vegetarian Goose Roll. The radish cake was pretty good, it was soft without falling apart. As you can see in the picture, it was pan-fried nicely. The real dud of the meal was the last dish. For some inexplicable reason, the vegetarian roll was served fried to a crisp. Looking as wrinkly as Robert Redford's face, this was both an aesthetic and textural failure. However, that was one of the few misses we had for Dim Sum. Generally, the food was quite good and the service was solid (except for the congee incident). Beautifully decorated and quite spacious, the Rainflower has a lot going for it. One thing to note is that there are very few parking spaces allocated for the restaurant. Do not park in the adjoining lots because you will get towed.

The Good:
- Delicately flavoured food
- Good food at good portions
- Excellent dining room

The Bad:
- Very few parking spots
- If you prefer more traditional Dim Sum items, there aren't that many here

Sushi Garden

Whenever there is a lineup, you can assume one of 2 things: it's cheap and/or it's very good. We see lineups at places such as Anton's, Stepho's, Sushi Town, Kintaro Ramen and Japadog. All the aforementioned places are inexpensive, have big portions and the food is generally acceptable (I personally don't like Anton's). Another one of these infamous "lineup" places is Sushi Garden. I haven't been here since it was only a small one unit Japanese restaurant. Currently, they occupy 2 store units and do good business. There is practically a never ending lineup in front. Last time I tried to crack the lineup, I gave up and went next door to the Green Basil instead. Today, we were determined and actually lined-up. Looks like I've been having some luck with lineups lately because we were seated within 15 minutes.

When dining at Sushi Garden, there are certain concessions to be made. First, you need to accept the decibel level here, it's loud. Second, you really need to give up your personal space because the people beside you are literally sitting right next to you. I was listening in on the conversation beside me and almost wanted to join in! The last time I did that at Lhy Thai, it didn't go down too well... Third, don't expect any service other than the bare minimum (if you're lucky). It's funny how the table next to us kept staring at me taking photos of my food. It was hard to be discreet when the person next to me could've hit me with his chopstick if he wasn't careful.

We started off with the Takoyaki (can you tell it's one of my favourite dishes?) and let me tell you this - you are not here for the presentation. But, hey, they were fluffy with just the right amount of sauce and mayo on top. I only wished that there were more bonito flakes. I usually don't order Gomae; but I really needed some vegetables in my diet (yes, call me pathetic). When it arrived, it looked... interesting. Clumped into 4 distinct sections and violated by an obscene amount of overly sweet dressing, this was a flop. WTH? The dressing was like liquid candy. I could barely taste any sesame flavour because it was so sweet.

Arriving next were the Nigiri Sushi (Scallop, Unagi, Chopped Scallop and Inari). These were very good, topped with large pieces of scallop and eel. Very fresh and very tasty. I particularly liked the sushi rice, it was soft; but still had some resistance when eaten. At $13.00, the Assorted Sashimi looked like a good value on paper. This was confirmed when it arrived on our table. In the middle of the plate resided 3 huge pieces of tuna and salmon respectively. Rounding out the dish were 3 pieces each of Tai, Hokkagai, Amebi and Tako. We particularly liked the tuna because it wasn't mushy. Of course tuna sashimi by nature is never going have the texture like salmon or tai; but at least this one had some meatiness to it.

Last but not least was the BC Roll. I only ordered this because I wanted to try a roll sushi and I assumed it would be small. After all for $2.95, how big could it be? Well, it wasn't big, it was enormous! With very little rice on the outside, it was filled with plenty of imitation crab, cucumber and curiously a small amount of salmon skin. Portion-wise, I have no complaints regarding Sushi Garden. In terms of quality, it was more than acceptable. Service was alright, especially if you take into account how much you are paying. If you are hungry and have little to spend, Sushi Garden can fit the bill. But if you want a bit more quality and service, there are other options.

The Good:
- Large portions
- Low prices
- Food is decent

The Bad:
- Service is quite basic
- Seating is tight
- For some, it's not worth lining up