Ensemble Tap

*Restaurant is now closed*

Fresh from opening Ensemble earlier this year, Top Chef Canada winner Dale MacKay is at it again with his latest venture - Ensemble Tap. Located only one and half blocks down from his flagship restaurant, it takes over the space left by the former Azia. The "tap" part of the name refers to the 15 different craft beers on tap. Furthermore, Ensemble Tap attempts to be a higher end quasi- gastropub with emphasis on "sophisticated" pub food. As intriguing as this seemed, I was planning on visiting the place after Friday night hockey in the future. I say future is because my knee is still on the mend and that means no hockey until January at the earliest. But with Whipping Girl available for lunch, we couldn't' resist and decided to go try it out on their 4th day since officially opening. As such, we noticed Dale hurriedly making sure everything was running smoothly.

As per our server, we decided to start our meal with the Sausage Platter. At first, I was confused why a cutting board of 3 sausages would be so impressive. That question would be answered immediately after we bit into the house-made links. In reference to the picture, from left to right, we had a caraway sasuage, Thai sausage and finally a BBQ sausage. Grainy mustard and a fresh pretzel completed the platter. The moist meatiness was one thing in common with all the sausages. They were juicy (as the liquid on the cutting board illustrates) and not overly fatty. Definitely quality made sausages. We liked the Thai sausage the most due to its flavourful punch. As Whipping Girl remarked, "I could taste the Thai immediately as I bit into the sausage". Now with a comment like that, it could mean many different things... er... But let us focus on food. I definitely agreed as there was a definite basil kick. The caraway sausage was also very flavouful and there was no mistaking of its composition. However, the BBQ sausage was on the saltier side. Despite this, the finish was one of meaty-smokiness.

Since Whipping Girl can't go without her moules et fries, we had the Mussels and Fries (as an appie...). This was a fairly standard attempt with a mild Thai coconut broth. The broth was fragrant, yet could've benefited from more "punch". All of the mussels were open and most were plump with one or two smaller ones (not their fault though). The side of fries were fantastic. Fried until a dry crisp (in a good way), they were light and we kept on munching on them (because we had like 3 orders of them due to our dish selection). And that brings us to the Tap Burger. Consisting of a large beef patty topped with caramelized onions, Swiss cheese, mushrooms, fresh horseradish, butter lettuce, tomato and red onion, this was a very messy burger with juices flowing down our arms. This is what a burger should be with a big oversized patty, an abundance of toppings and a just-soft-enough bun. The meat was cooked all the way though, yet moist and juicy. There was a nice balance of flavours including a nice kick from the horseradish.

Lastly, we had Dale's famous Top Chef Pulled Pork Sandwich with apple-horseradish slaw and BBQ pulled pork beans. Seeing how I've already had this at Ensemble, I only took a small sample of this one. As expected, it was the same with moist tender pork with a balanced BBQ sauce and a tangy crunchy slaw. Whipping Girl had this for the first time and she was really happy with it. Yet, we were even happier with the pulled pork BBQ beans. At first, the texture was a touch gritty due to the mushed-up beans, but the finish with the pulled pork and the deep sweetness made for a tasty spoonful.

Alright, I know there will be the usual "it's too expensive" crowd out there. Hey, I hear ya. But let me ask you this: with prices that are inline with Cactus Club and Earl's, is Ensemble Tap really that expensive? Considering its prime Downtown location and with Dale Mackay's namesake, the prices seem reasonable to me. Portion size did not seem to be a problem either as we struggled to even put a dent into the mains we ordered (granted we ordered 2 big appies). For us, Ensemble Tap represents a more laid-back approach from Dale Mackay. It shows in the decor and the food. Service was really attentive and at times nervous and over-bearing (because it has only been open for 4 days!). The bottom line is that Chef Mackay tries to put his spin on pub food and succeeds.

The Good:
- Nice spin on pub food
- Relaxed atmosphere
- Good selection of craft beers on tap

The Bad:
- For some, it maybe pricey (but considering it costs the same as the chain restaurants, maybe not)
- Decor is a little bit stark

7 Sweet Sins

*Now closed*

After a disappointing meal at Rockford (yes this was in the summer), all of us needed something sweet to balance things out. We briefly considered Death by Chocolate down the street; but that was quickly quashed. Face it, the place is expensive and the desserts are not that impressive. So where to? I quickly remembered a place I had driven by after my visit to Verace Pizzeria down near Rogers Arena. With all the recent condo developments in the area, many new businesses have opened up along Abbott Street. One of them happens to be a dessert joint named 7 Sweet Sins. From the outside, it really doesn't look like a classic dessert place. And one look on the inside, it has got this quasi-blended look that resembles one-half Asian bakery and one-half ice cream shop. Honestly, the desserts did not look very impressive in the display. In fact, I was ready to turn around head out.

In the end, we stayed since it could accommodate our large group (including 6 kids). Furthermore, for a dessert place, the prices were incredibly cheap. Barely anything was over $5.00. For myself, I played it safe and got the classic New York Cheescake with whipped cream and a fresh glazed strawberry on top. Well, for the price, I thought the cheesecake was alright. It was somewhat smooth and exhibited a good baked cream cheese flavour. It wasn't too sweet either. For my son, he went for the Chocolate Lava Cake which was more like a mini-bundt cake with melted chocolate and gold flakes (courtesy of the microwave...). Since the cake was "reheated", it was soft and moist. The chocolate ganache was not bad really, considering the venue. Let's be honest here, we really needed to have reasonable expectations here... On that note, I did find the dessert to be quite sweet though.

Marshmallow's son had the Chocolate Walnut Cake which he devoured within 3 bites. Of course asking a kid what he thought of chocolate cake would akin to asking if a foodie liked eating. Hence, I can only ascertain that it was alright. Right next to me, Rich Taiwanese Guy (yes, this is a different rich fellow), had the Chocolate Caramel. This hard shelled chocolate cake/brownie- like thing had a soft caramel centre. He remarked it was quite sweet, which was not at all surprising. In the end, he thought it was dense while still alright. His indifference sort of said it all. And really, what would one expect with desserts that are around $5.00? Also, the microwaving of the lava cake illustrates what 7 Sweet Sins represents. So if one is not too picky and wants a place to hang out while munching on so-so desserts, then 7 Sweet Sins is your place.

The Good:
- Cheap
- Lots of choice

The Bad:
- Desserts are hit and miss
- Decor is so-so

De Fresh Bakery

I'll admit it. I am a masochist. Why else would I keep returning to Crystal Mall? Furthermore, why do I insist on parking in the spiral lot of hell when I could easily park across the street? Do I like the pain? Do I enjoy watching Corollas try to navigate the pie shaped parking spots only to be completely crooked off to one side? Do I love the fact I have waited 10 minutes watching that Corolla going back and forth in front of me? Oh wait. I know. I just love the enjoyment of being pushed out of the way when I'm trying to exit the elevator at Crystal Mall. Don't people understand that the elevator must VACATE before there is room to enter? I guess not, might as well enjoy the door slammed in my face too as I was expecting someone to hold it open for me. How naive I am. So here I was at Crystal Mall again... ready to take my lumps.

The real reason we were here was to buy food. In particular some Chinese pastries for the kiddies. For the longest time, we would walk past De Fresh Bakery on our way down to hell, er... I mean the parking lot and have never tried it out. This time, we stopped and grabbed some buns... For some reason or another, there weren't any BBQ Pork Buns available, so we had to make due with what they had. My daughter loves Chicken Pies, so we got a few of those. They were okay with a buttery crust which wasn't too heavy. However, the filling was pretty one-dimensional as you can see in the picture. Was it a bad mix? There wasn't anything other than chicken in it (which I'm sure some people prefer anyways).

The kiddies also love Egg Tarts, so yes we got some of those as well. Call this a personal preference, but for us, we like the puff pastry type of tart shell over the one you see here. Something about the dense pastry we don't like with the light egg custard. And this custard was sure light, in fact, a touch thin. On the topic of personal preferences, my son absolutely loves Pineapple Buns. Despite its name, there is no pineapple in them, rather, the sweet topping resembles the exterior of a pineapple (I suppose...). We were disappointed with these ones though. The dough was far too chewy and dense. Even after a quick nuke, it was still chewy (and yes, it was quick. I know that it gets tough if nuked too long). On the positive side, the sugary topping was not mushy and tasted quite good. With such "tough" dough, it was predictable that the Ham and Corn Bun would be a fail. Too bad really since there was a good amount of ham and corn. In the end, we had a few more different buns, but I'm not going to talk about the Weiner Bun since the common theme was the overly chewy dough. Was this a bad batch? No idea. One things for sure: with so many different Chinese bakeries around, I probably would steer clear from here and it has nothing to do with the parking lot either!

The Good:
- Easy to access location
- Fillings were adequate in portion size

The Bad:
- Dough is too chewy and dense

Aroma Indian Restaurant and Lounge

Not too long ago, Viv's co-worker raved about an Indian restaurant in Port Moody. That both piqued my interest and confused me at the same time. Well, that is not a stretch, Viv thinks I'm confusing in general. You see, I wasn't aware there was an Indian restaurant in PoMo and furthermore, the location didn't seem to ring a bell. However, when I met up with Rich Guy for eats at this mysterious Indian restaurant, it all made sense. When I pulled up to the place on Queens Street, it was very familiar. Formerly S Restaurant, then Hogan's, Aroma Indian Restaurant and Lounge is the latest attempt to make it work at this location. Well, at the very least, they have an existing following. They were formerly located on Coast Meridian in PoCo.

Since S Restaurant was upscale, the decor remains modern and classy. When we arrived, the place was roughly a third full (and in fact past 9:00pm), but we were seated at a small table for 2 in a corner. We asked for a bigger table (which there were many) and were accommodated. I know this is being picky, however, it was confounding to us why we were seated at that table to begin with. Good thing we had a bigger table since we ordered a lot of food! We started with 2 of their Veggie Samosas and an order of Tandoori Wings. We liked the large samosas since they were crispy, not greasy and were comprised of a great tasting filling. There was a decent amount of spice, yet I would've liked to see more peas. As for the wings, the meat was still moist while the "sauce" was flavourful with only a slight hint of spice. I say "sauce" because the wings were pretty wet. For tandoori, that is a bit unusual. If they were more dry, they would've been better.

Of course we had to order the Butter Chicken as a baseline of sorts. It was full of big chunks of chicken which was neither dry nor moist - somewhere in the middle. We found the sauce to be a touch too sweet and leaning towards the tomatoey-side of the butter chicken continuum. Despite the tomato paste slant, it was still sufficiently creamy. I would say it was decent. On the other hand, the Lamb Rogan Josh was more balanced. The lamb was again in large chunks except it was tender and not very gamy. Rich Guy commented that the flavours were balanced with a good amount of familiar Indian flavours, except it could've been more pronounced. Furthermore, the one thing that we noticed, as with the butter chicken was the lack of heat. We were given the option of mild, medium and spicy. We went for medium and it was felt more like mild (and Rich Guy doesn't like it too spicy either). I guess we needed to try spicy? So for those who like it hot, ask for spicy x 2.

Lastly, we ordered a vegetarian dish since Rich Guy was bringing some back for Rich Gal. We decided on the Eggplant Bhurta, which surprisingly, was our favourite dish of the meal. Naturally, the eggplant cooked down and became a mush, yet it was a good mush in this case (if that makes sense). Combined with the peas, there was a natural sweetness that really went well with the spices. Again, we would've personally liked more heat though. Overall, the meal was pleasant enough and really, there is no other Indian restaurant nearby (except for The Bombay, which is in Poco).

The Good:
- Nice dining space
- Food is decent considering its location
- Prices are okay given the decor and location

The Bad:
- Flavours could be more pronounced

Cafe Zen

"Where's a good place for brunch?", queried Whipping Girl via MSN Messenger on a Saturday night. Boy, that was a loaded question. So many choices, but only a few really good ones. The first thing that came to my mind was Cafe Zen. Now, that was a strange recommendation, especially since I've never personally been there. Well, everyone seems to like the place, so I figured that it would be a "can't miss" for brunch. However, upon further reflection, it was pretty lame of me to suggest it to her without trying it first... So, to make things right, the family and I made the trek over to Kits. Oh how I love this part of Kits... When one would think Richmond is the equivalent of parking hell, there can be worse. For the amount of people who live near the beach and as well as the businesses, there are very few parking spots. Reminded me of nights of circling around and around, so we could score 25 cent turkey wings at the King's Head. Or the AYCE wings at Malone's (where Viv dusted off 4 dozen by herself!).

Finally, with parking spot secured and $4.00 poorer, we headed up Yew towards the predicted lineup at Cafe Zen. Not too bad, there was only a couple of parties ahead of us. And as if it was meant to be, the party of 3 ahead of us got a smaller table, which allowed us to be seated right next to the window. As for the food, Viv decided to go with the Omelet Bomme Femme consisting of bacon, mushrooms and cheese. We found the eggs to be overcooked which in turn led to a relatively "hard" omelet. This was partially offset by the abundance of filling. Therefore, the omelet did not lack flavour nor texture. We liked the homefries, they were potatoey and not greasy while crisp on the outside.

For myself, I went for a mix and match with the Crab Benedict and B.C. Benedict (smoked salmon). Although the eggs were made in a mold, they were cooked perfectly runny and soft. I found the Hollandaise to be rather thin due to their use of margarine. Yet, the flavour was pretty balanced with a nice lemon hit. The crab was mild as expected and while the smoked salmon provided a nice salty kick. Lastly, for the kiddies, we got them the Chocolate Crepes. Honestly, these were not very good. The crepes were thick and gummy. Furthermore, the chocolate filling was far too runny and made it difficult to eat without losing it all to the plate. On a positive note, the chocolate was not to sweet and was quite tasty. Okay, I'm probably going to anger the faithful who frequent Cafe Zen, but I'm thinking that the place is slightly over-rated. Not that we didn't like our breakfast, it was mostly fine except for the crepes. However, it really didn't leave a lasting impression. With all that being said, the place is quaint, prices are reasonable given its location and service was friendly.

The Good:
- Prices are okay considering where it is located
- Friendly service
- Quaint

The Bad:
- Tight seating arrangements
- Not sure why there are so many glowing reviews (not to say the food isn't good though)

Recipes to Riches

I first learned about Recipe to Riches from an email. The production team was trying to both drum up interest for applicants and to see if some local bloggers would be interested in auditioning. Yes, I was invited to audition for Recipes to Riches in that email and for a moment, I considered it. After a short deliberation, I didn't consider myself worthy nor have the time for such an endeavor. I love to cook, but did I have what it took to be one of the top 3 recipes in a specific category? Nope. I don't have that kind of confidence. Besides, I'd rather go out buy the winning products to try anyways. When I found out Mijune had earned her gold ticket to Toronto, I was really happy for her and waited eagerly to see if she made the show. Well, watching her on TV was kinda surreal, but fun at the same time - especially those high heels! While enjoying the first episode, Viv and I decided that it would be fun to try the winning recipe every week and then blog about it.

So without further ado, the winner of week 1 (Sweet Puddings and Pies) was Glo McNeill with her Luscious Lemon Cake. It's amazing such a simple recipe would win. I guess sometimes, simplicity does take the cake. These came in a box of 4 which were packaged in individual bakeable containers. Once cooked in the oven, these had to be gingerly removed along with the lemon sauce. Overall, the cake was moist and pleasant. We thought the lemon sauce was possibly too sweet. Viv and I felt this was a pretty simple recipe and were curious to see what lay ahead in the future episodes.

For Week 2, the show featured cake recipes and the winner was Jacqui Keseluk with her Rock 'n Peach Bliss Cheesecake. As you might know by now, sweets are not my first choice when it comes to eats. However, this cheesecake was money. Originally, when I spied the "crust" at the bottom, it looked all wrong. Turns out that it was "cake" and its texture went really well with the smooth cheesecake which exhibited a good amount of cream cheese flavour. Yet, the crowning glory of this cake was incidentally the topping. In the original recipe on the show, the peach concoction was in the middle of the cake. I suppose due to mass production issues, the
peaches ended up on top. The peaches really did bring the cake together with a nice sweet pop and a hint of brandy. I really couldn't stop eating it. And became the early favourite to win in our opinion... until the following week's winner.

At first, when it was announced that John Grass' Chicken Grenades had won in the Appetizers category, it was not really all that surprising considering his competition (stuffed olives... really?). To some, this might have seemed like a really simple recipe to win anything, especially a national cooking competition. To be honest, that is exactly how Viv and I felt about it... until we tried a box. Each bacon-wrapped chicken morsel was skewered and kissed with a sweet and spicy jam which really made an impact. The combination of the smoky and salty bacon with the sweetness of the jam and the spicy zing of the jalapenos made for a flavour explosion. Again, such a simple dish, yet surprisingly effective. Another thing going against this dish was the cost - $8.99!

Now after 2 really good recipes, Week 4 (Savoury Pies) seemed like one of the most interesting items in the Savoury Bannock-Topped Pie by Melaney Gleeson-Lyall. Watching the episode, we were pulling for her to win because her recipe was both different and intriguing. Personally, I love bannock and for it to be used in a savoury pie in place of a regular crust seemed like pure genius. When I opened up the box, there was frozen pie filling in a bakeable container. In a separate bag, there were the contents for the bannock. After baking the pie for 30 minutes, the bannock dough was placed on top and the pie baked for another 30 minutes. The result? Well, to be honest, a bland tasting mix of root veggies and hazelnut topped by a dense bannock. With that being said, when we took a scoop of everything plus a good helping of bannock, it made it slightly more bearable. Despite this, we didn't end up finishing the pie. It just really wasn't that tasty. We really wanted to like it. In the end, this was our least favourite recipe so far. And in conversation with others who had it as well, this was their least favourite too.

As we were watching Week 5 (Sweet and Savoury Snacks), it didn't seem possible for a gluten-free cookie to have a shot at winning. C'mon, anything missing something important such as flour usually results in a marginal product fit only for those who need to eat it. Again, we were so wrong. Not only did the cookie win, it appeared that many people liked it. So off I went to Superstore for the 5th time in 5 weeks to purchase Sonya Walos' Gluten Free "The Smart Cookie". Once home, we all dug into it and you know what? For a gluten-free product, they were right, it was pretty good. Sure, it had a bit of grit and it did not exactly erase my yearning for a flour-based product. Yet, there was a nice crunch, a balanced sweetness and chocolate chips (product has now been disqualified).

The episode for week 6 (Frozen Treats) was PVR'd because life got kind of busy. Therefore, I didn't get a chance to purchase Rosy Banwait-Soobrattee's Kulfi Karma Ice Cream until the following week. By that time, the stock of the ice cream began dwindling. Could it be that the show was beginning to attract a larger audience? What I do know is there were plenty of Bannock Pies left... As for the ice cream, it was definitely light and airy. Seems like they whipped it to achieve that consistency. One taste and the "ethnic" flavour really announced itself. For an ice cream to stand out, it has to be something no one has ever tried before. In this case, it succeeded. Now, I'm not sure if the flavour is for everyone, but for us, it was not bad. We could taste the cardamom after the initial hit of sweetness from the condensed milk. The rose water added a hint of fragrance as well as another layer of sweetness. Unfortunately, due to mass production, the pistachios that were originally a topping, were mixed into the ice cream. Thus, they not only lost their crunch, the resulting soggy texture was not appealing at all.

Now since we were already a week behind, I didn't get a chance to make it out to Superstore to buy Robert Luft's Slow & Low Pulled Pork until late into the weekend. To my utter surprise, they were sold out of the pulled pork! So off I went to another location and the same story... Did the show suddenly take off and viewers flocked to Superstore in search of the most recent winner? Or was the pulled pork the most popular of all? Maybe it was the least scary of any of the other products? Not sure, but it took my third kick at the can to score a box of it. And there were only a few left at the last Superstore I visited. Simply vacuum-sealed and frozen in 2 individual packets, you have to buy the buns and coleslaw separately. Therefore, everyone will have their own unique experience with the product. Well, unless you just eat it straight from the bag. I ended up buying Wonderbread white hamburger buns, Dole coleslaw and Kraft dressing. Sure, I wasn't being very creative here, but I didn't care, it was all about the pulled pork. Now, I have made pulled pork before and believe me, it ain't rocket science. With that being said, to put the whole package together in terms of texture, sauce and consistency, that is another story. Viv and I felt that the Slow & Low Pulled Pork was pretty decent. It had a wonderful meaty consistency that was moist and tender. The sauce was the right thickness and packed quite a lot of flavour. However, we did think that the sweetness level was a bit too high. More acidity or smokiness would've balanced it out better.

So there you have it. After 7 weeks and 7 products, I think my mind is pretty made up who the favourite is to win. Here are my rankings:

1. Rock 'n Peach Bliss
2. Chicken Grenades
3. Slow & Low Pulled Pork
4. Luscious Lemon Cake
5. Kulfi Karma Ice Cream
6. Gluten Free "The Smart Cookie"
7. Savoury Bannock-Topped Pie

The reason I chose the peach cheesecake as my top choice is two-fold. First, I felt that the flavours were bold and unique. Second, the difficulty level in making such a dessert is higher than some of the other products. I put the chicken grenades second because they were plain tasty. Don't care about the simplicity nor the price. And frankly, I know it doesn't really have a chance to win either. The pulled pork was yet another item that one could make at home and for much cheaper, yet I felt that the overall product was good enough to place 3rd despite the sweetness. Furthermore, it is "mainstream" enough for the general customer. Nothing particularly wrong with the lemon cake other than the fact I thought it was slightly boring. I put it 4th for the sole reason of being "mainstream". Nothing ground breaking nor special about it, but it will sell and legitimately has a chance win despite what I think. The ice cream places 5th because it is possibly "too" different. I personally enjoyed it. However, it also doesn't have a chance to win due to the "ethnic" taste. Not sure the general public can warm up to that product. The gluten free cookie finishes in 6th for no other reason that there were better products ahead of it. And of course, the bannock pie slots in at 7th since it was not our favourite due to the lack of flavour. So congrats to the weekly winners and we'll have to see who will ultimately prevail on December 14th. For now voting starts today on December 7th.