Foodbuzz Gala Dinner

I can't believe a year has gone by since the last Foodbuzz Blogger's Festival. Time really flies when one is eating every day. *Burp*. Now unlike last year, there is a contingent of Vancouver bloggers, albeit a small one. Thus, it was slightly good and bad. Sure, I had people to hang out with who I already knew; yet I didn't get to meet as many other bloggers as last year. Was I being anti-social? Not sure, maybe... I was probably just being lazy to tell you the truth. Well, on that note, fresh off afternoon drinks and appies at the Slanted Door with Mijune, we were off to the 2010 Foodbuzz Gala Dinner. Conveniently held at the Ferry Building since we were there already! We met up with Kim and TS/JS just as they were setting up the for dinner. We were "held" in a separate area for cocktails and various appies. It's funny how we positioned ourselves near where the appies were prepared. That way, we could "intercept" them before they hit the hungry crowd. Starting from top left and going clockwise, we have the Madelaine with tuna. Then Gougère with Gruyere. After that we spotted some crunchy Fried Chicken Balls with a sweet glaze. Despite my propensity towards balls, this was only my second favourite. My
personal favourite was the soft Polenta with a Brunoise. Lastly, we had Beef Roll with scallions.

We were very much done with the appies and waited and waited and waited so more. Finally, we were seated at around 8:00pm, completely famished. I guess catering for 350 people is not an easy thing to do! Starting with the first course, Roasted Golden Beet Tart with crimson beets and arugula basil puree. This was a mild start to the meal as most of the components were quite understated, arugula withstanding. The beet tart was sweet and smooth and was accented quite nicely with the puree. Good stuff, just not my personal favourite.

Now the next dish was a favourite for sure! The Seared Scallops were some of the biggest I've ever seen. Resting underneath was braised fennel while on top was fried fennel fonds. The dish was finished with a Bonny Doon Vineyard Verjus beurre blanc. Honestly, it was all about the scallops though. They were perfectly seared (on one side) and just barely cooked. Perfection! They were naturally sweet and the mildness of the other components let it shine. I liked how the fennel still had some crunch too. Next up was the Rosemary and Garlic Infused Rack of Lamb. My portion was small and not picture-worthy, so I traded with Mijune. Now her rack was bigger and juicier... er... yah... Apparently it was "Frenched" as well... uh... Well, she was so impressed with the pictures of her rack, she wanted me to share it with everyone. So here you go... It was perfectly cooked and definitely flavourful. No complaints here. It was served with mushrooms, Pinot Noir sauce and a butternut squash puree. I found the mushrooms to be a good compliment to the lamb and the sauce and vice versa. Nice combination of woodsy and red wine flavour. Although I liked the squash puree, there seemed to be an overabundance of it.

For dessert, we were served an Almond Tart with oranges, Spanish Sherry sabayon finished with figs. The tart itself was buttery; yet curiously a bit dry. I liked how it was not too sweet and I could actually taste some of the individual components. Not too bad considering the silky sabayon on the side. A "safe" dessert for the differing tastes among the 350 guests. Pretty good dinner if we take account the venue and the large party size. Execution was pretty much spot on and the wait could be forgiven since they had to sear 700 scallops!

Cockney Kings

Way back when, over 2 years ago, I had blogged about Cockney Kings. In particular, their all-you-can-eat Cod 'n Chips for $9.50 including non-stop pop. That was early on in my blogging days and to tell you the truth, the pictures have been bugging me since. You see, I started taking pictures with my Blackberry (may it rest in peace...). It gradually elevated to my Canon SD600 point and shoot up until now with the DSLR. So, during these past 2 years, I have been waiting for my chance to return. I'm not sure why it took so long since I always drive by it. Yet, it took an innocent looking coupon to seal the deal. Rather than going for the AYCE dinner again, I went for the 2 Halibut or Salmon Dinners for $18.95. Sounded good to me! Of course for variety purposes, I asked if we could have one Halibut and one Salmon. A confirmation from our server meant it was good to go. Included in the meals were chips of course, coleslaw, dinner roll and refillable drinks.

Before my blogging days, I'd been to Cockney Kings quite a few times and I don't remember a bad meal. Sure, there would still be subtle variations each time; yet, if you have ever run a restaurant or worked in a restaurant, you will know how difficult it is to be exactly the same every time. All I look for is some resemblance of consistency and that is good enough for me. So before I could even set up my camera, the food arrived. Wow, talk about some quick frying. I started with the Wild Salmon 'n Chips first. Normally, fried salmon can get very tough and dry. I know it is a bad comparison; but the version at Red Robin is akin to eating shoe leather. So I wasn't holding much hope. To my surprise, not only was the salmon moist and tender, it was quite flavourful as well. I guess it has something to do with being wild. Viv thought it had a slight fishiness to it. For me, it tasted quite good and besides, salmon is a fatty fish, there will be some flavour there. As for the batter, it may not be necessarily the thinnest out there; but it is quite light and crisp. The fries are pretty much the same as I've had before. They are not overly crisp while not soggy either. I find them slightly starchy. It goes well with the mild tartar sauce (only some hint of zing, mostly smooth). We would've benefited from some lemon wedges.

Viv and I split the pieces of fish and I got to try the Halibut 'n Chips second. Once again, pretty solid, just like I remembered. The halibut was cooked perfectly. Flaky, moist and with some firm texture, this is how halibut should be prepared. The batter on this piece was about the same with good crunch in certain spots. The good thing about both pieces was that they weren't too greasy. What Viv particularly like was the Coleslaw. It was fresh and crispy with a good amount of zing. It wasn't too heavy on the dressing either. Just for the curiosity of it all, I added a bowl of Clam Chowder. For some reason or another, I had forgotten that it's not really my cup of tea. Neither creamy (Boston-style) or tomatoey (Manhattan-style), this was more like a strange pea soup than a chowder. It was actually quite thin and extremely salty. And believe me, I like salt. Furthermore, it was a seafood chowder rather than exclusively clams. It wasn't terrible. It just wasn't clam chowder. But honestly, it's the fish 'n chips that matter here. And they do it right. Another solid meal here. No surprises, honest service and a dining room in need of a makeover. That's about it. Just stay away from the chowder.

The Good:
- Consistently solid
- Reasonably-price (even w/o coupons)
- Decent AYCE cod 'n chips on Mon, Tues, Wed

The Bad:
- In past visits, I've had their other items - stick with the fish 'n chips
- It gets busy during AYCE, better arrive early or later on

Taylor Street Coffee Shop

All along, we were planning on paying Dottie's True Blue Cafe for some breakfast during our time in San Francisco. After all, it's only located 1/2 a block from the hotel. But for the love of everything, there was a lineup that looked to be 1 hour long. You know how much I love lineups. Scratch that plan. So off we went in search of other morning eats. Strolling around downtown, while dodging smeared dog poop all over the sidewalks, we ended up at Taylor Street Cafe. Well... with the help of the internet, specifically Yelp. Essentially a dive, it did not have a lineup and there were some items on the menu that looked a bit different from the ordinary. C'mon, breakfast is not rocket science. Anything a bit different catches my attention. You can get bacon and eggs anywhere.

We sat down at a table for 2 in the spatially-challenged dining room and started to strategize as what to order. No duplicates! So, as a baseline of sorts, we got a typical breakfast in the Meatlover's. 2 eggs, ham steak, bacon, chicken apple sausage ($1 more) and toast, pretty standard fare. Not much to complain about here, ample meat prepared correctly and the eggs were nicely runny, if not really sunny-side up (cooked with a lid on, thus the appearance). I liked how the toast was not pre-buttered, which allowed me to be conservative with it.

Kim ended up ordering something different and pricey in the Sailor's Hash. A unique combination of shrimp, crab, smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, cheddar, bacon and peppers atop a piece of crispy hashbrown, this was not a typical hash. It was not a hash in the normal sense since it really was a scramble on top of hashbrowns. But I liked it. The eggs were not too overcooked while the ample ingredients gave a mix of flavours. Not sure what flavour it was, it was pleasing though. The crispy hashbrown provided a nice textural contrast. Although this was a solid dish with good components, the price tag of $13.00 was a bit high considering the venue and location. With that being said, the eats here are solid, if not good. Staff are friendly and its got this homey, dive feeling about it. Yet, you can practically eat anywhere for $13.00, so I'm not sure if Taylor Street Coffee Shop would necessarily be considered a cheap place for breakfast.

The Good:
- Nice staff
- Solid eats
- Good portions

The Bad:
- Not really cheap
- Narrow dining space

Momoyama

Seeing how I visited Minake recently and have only 2 more Japanese restaurants left in the area of the Newton Wave Pool, I decided to knock off another today. Since I've already been to the Scott Road location of Toyko Sushi Express already, the natural choice was Momoyama. Located in the plaza across the street from Minake, Momoyama is one of many restaurants which include C-Lovers, India Gate and Lee's Chicken (yay!). Yes, no need to head all the way to Abbotsford for Lee's Chicken anymore! This one is "relatively" closer. As a side note, this area is terrible for those wanting to turn left into a plaza. You just can't. Either you have to be lucky enough to be traveling in the right direction or you have to literally go around on a scenic drive to align yourself going the right direction! I think practically every time I've been in the area, I've made a U-Turn somewhere to get to my destination (well, not in front of the cop shop though!).

Fortunately, this plaza had a side entrance once I made a left, so no circling around this time! I ended up with the Deluxe Bento Box in order to try out a variety of items. Normally, most bento boxes include an Ebi Sunomono and there is very little difference between all of them. So imagine my utter shock when I was presented with the bowl you see in the picture. If the 10+ pieces of shrimp weren't enough, there was a sushi ebi to top it all off. Unfortunately, the vermicelli underneath was super soft and warm. Furthermore, it was sweet with very little tang, I had to use the lemon to make up for it. Although, I do give them kudos for the massive amount of ebi. Included in the combo was a full size Dynamite Roll. It was indeed large and topped with a large amount of tobiko. With very little rice on the outside and a large amount of surimi and a crunchy ebi tempura, the roll was not bad. I would've liked that the rice wasn't so gummy; but it wasn't too bad. The rice itself did have some flavour; yet ever so slightly.

The Sashimi consisted of salmon and tuna. The salmon was fine; but the tuna was not. Still frozen and icy, I ate one and left the other to thaw. Even leaving it to the last thing I ate, the tuna was still frozen. Imagine frozen and mushy at the same time. Not good. The Tempura was not much better. With globs of batter on the exterior of most pieces, I had to physically remove the batter to eat it. Otherwise, I got chunks of doughiness mixed in with slightly crunchy bits. The green bean was particularly confusing. Not sure how they got a glob of batter to adhere. It looked like a growth or something. On the topic of doughy, the Chicken Teriyaki was subpar. The flour coating was not crisp at all; rather, there were mushy parts abound. It was like eating pieces of chicken with unmixed roux attached to it. On the positive, there was plenty of tender chicken. Furthermore the sauce was not too overpowering.

This was one large combo! I didn't even include the 3 pieces of Nigiri... There were also 3 Gyozas! These confused me though. They were definitely not fried gyozas; however, they seem to try very hard to be fried. The wrapper was hard and dry from top to bottom. Although I did appreciate that it was thin. As for the filling, it was mealy and flavourless. Although the meat filling was cooked, it had the texture of uncooked pork. I'm okay as I write this, so it was cooked. I was barely able to finish all the components of this bento box. There was so much food. Considering that it cost exactly the same price as the combo I had at Minake, this was a much better value. Now, in terms of execution, there was a lot to be desired. I think there was an issue with every single item. Not a ringing endorsement... Yet, if you are looking for a decent value and food that is edible, Momoyama is still an option. You must remember that I've been to many Japanese restaurants and I may just being picky.

The Good:
- Good value
- Large portions

The Bad:
-Execution issues
-Limited service since there is only one server (friendly though)

Boudin Sourdough Bakery & Cafe (Fisherman's Wharf)

Although not really a recommended thing to do, sometimes it is fun to be the tourist. Well, I'm from Vancouver, so since I was in San Francisco, I would be a "tourist". However, I have family down here and have visited well over a dozen times. Thus, I feel more like a local than a tourist. So visiting places like Fisherman's Wharf is both a bit boring and predictable. For some reason or another, I have never tried clam chowder in a sour dough bowl on the Wharf before. Too touristy? Probably. Now, there are many places to get clam chowder down at the Wharf. I had some last time at the Pier Market and it was less than stellar. I know, I know... Tourist trap = mediocre food at high prices.

With that in mind, it didn't stop Kim and I from visiting Boudin Sourdough Bakery for their "famous" Clam Chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. Isn't everything world famous at tourist traps anyways? I'm sure even the corn dogs are world famous. Well, the clam chowder wasn't too bad. It was thick and had the requisite clam taste. Not a whole lot of clam meat though. As mentioned, it was thick; but not all that creamy though. It had a sweet onion flavour; yet missing the slight smoky savouriness from bacon (not sure if they even used any). The sourdough held up to the soup and was indeed sour and chewy. It did what it was suppose to do. Better than Pier Market; however, it is hardly a great clam chowder, just an acceptable one.

For variety purposes, we asked the person behind the counter to recommend a second item. The first thing she said was the pizza and that was good enough for us. We went for the Tomato, Garlic and Basil Sourdough Pizza since we like it simple when it comes to pizza. For a thin crust pizza, this wasn't too bad. Plenty of fresh toppings including a whole lot of tomatoes and garlic. I could really taste the garlic and in fact, it was probably a bit too raw. I prefer mine cooked more. Nice tang from the tomatoes and only a hint of basil. I liked the sourdough crust. It was not as thin as it could be; but crunchy and nicely browned nonetheless. It is what it is. The food is alright while the sourdough is pretty good. However, the place is still a tourist trap where food is priced on the higher side. Moreover, there is better food found elsewhere. Once again, it serves a purpose and you really can't deny that.

The Good:
- Sourdough bread is pretty good
- Great location and it's a neat place
- Serves its purpose well

The Bad:
- There is better elsewhere
- A bit pricey (forgivable considering the location)

Minake Sushi

For an area not synonymous with sushi, there are a whole lot of Japanese restaurants in the Newton area, specifically near the wave pool. Think of it, there is Akashi-Ya, Kyoto, Minake, Toyko Sushi Express, Sushi Line, Tokyo Ken and Momoyama within a 2 block radius of each other. Now quantity cannot be used as a substitute for quality. With that in mind, we have to be reasonable as well. Of course we aren't going to get the very best sushi out here and neither should we expect it. There could be the hidden gem or the odd out-of-the-way restaurant that could buck this trend; but believe me, this isn't the case since I've been to almost all of them. Yes, there are 3 that I haven't tried, one being Toyko Sushi Express (but I did try their other location), Momoyama and Minake. So without further ado, the next up in the Newton sushi experience is Minake...

Hidden behind the movie theatres within the same complex as Safeway, this little Japanese restaurant is pretty utilitarian. No fancy exterior, no trendy decor and no long sushi bar. It's functional, that's about it. Now, for such a minimalistic place, you'd expect the prices to be cheap. However, I found that wasn't so. In fact, it was getting a bit on the pricier end of things. It got me thinking the food better be good! For me, the only way to sample a wide variety of items was to order their largest combo being the Bento Box E. For a hefty $18.95, it included Miso Soup, Ebi Sunomono, Double Real Crab Dynamite Roll, 2 pcs Sashimi, 2 pcs of Nigiri, Tempura and Shrimp Kushi. Other than the Miso Soup, the meal started with an Ebi Sunomono. This was very well done. The vermicelli had a nice snap, temperature was right and flavourwise, it was tangy, tart and sweet. Textbook sunomono. The tuna and salmon Sashimi was pretty good with sweetness and fresh texture. The nigiri was fine; yet the fish to rice ratio was completely off. The piece of tuna atop the rice was so thin, it could pass off as carpaccio. The rice itself was a tad on the dry side.

As for the Real Crab Double Dynamite Roll, it was very large. They didn't skimp on the crab meat; but for me, I find that it usually gets lost. The roll itself was also fine; yet difficult to eat since it was both big and dry. Even with soy and wasabi, I was having a difficult time chewing and swallowing. Despite this, the roll itself was still acceptable. The ebi tempura was crispy and warm while the cucumber was fresh and crunchy. The Assorted Tempura was very crunchy. The Ebi was curiously shaped like something you'd find at a North American restaurant, it almost seemed butterflied. However, it ended up to be very good, so no harm, no foul. I liked how the tempura batter wasn't too thick.

The Ebi Kushi wasn't something I cared much for. With 2 really small shrimp and even smaller pieces of scallop, it was very much the afterthought of the box. Completely overcooked, dry and difficult to remove off the skewer, this should be removed from the combo. Well, that was probably the only bad thing about the combo. As a whole, the food was decent, if not on the pricier side. My order took quite a long time to arrive considering there was only one other table. It's probably a mom and pop operation. Nothing to write home about; but fine considering the location.

The Good:
- Friendly owner operator
- Decent food

The Bad:
- A bit pricey
- Curiously, some items were very skimpy

2nd Anniversary Draw Winner!

Okay, I didn't use Random.org because I had to pay. So I decided to use an alternate site. After painstakingly entering all the names in, I find out that I put it in the wrong box. Had to do it again! So without further ado, the winner of the $50.00 gift card is... Ada C.!!! Ada, please email me directly at admin@shermansfoodadventures.com and I'll have it mailed to you. Congrats to Ada and thanks for all that entered!