Hy's Encore

You'd think after a filling and somewhat similar meal at the Shore Club the night before, it wouldn't be a great idea to visit Hy's Encore. Think again. Just like the time I had Pho 3 times in one day or the month I had Subway everyday, I can handle monotony, especially if it is good food. Okay, the Subway thing was more out of desperation than anything else. In actuality, Hy's was my scheduled 2nd birthday dinner. Due to Chinese New Year, the meal got pushed all the way to the end of the month. I ain't complaining though... I didn't have to pay! Now, unlike my visit to Gotham, Black+Blue and most recently the Shore Club, we brought the kiddies with us. Considering that Hy's is not exactly a kid-friendly restaurant, this was somewhat of a daring adventure. No matter, put an iPad in front of them and it's all good. Now I must point out that despite appealing to a more mature clientele, the staff was more than accommodating.

So without a hope in the world of a kid's menu (apparently they do!) and a particular meat theme going on, what to order for the little ones? How about Hy's famous Cheese Toast? Oh yeah baby, how about for the whole table? For something that does not seem like a complicated food item, these sinful, buttery and cheesy toasts of joy absolutely rock. Every
artery-hardening bite made us want for more. Oh yeah, the kids couldn't get enough of it as well. Next up was the Dungeness Crab Cake with house-made coleslaw. This was a pretty good attempt with lots of leg meat and minimal filler. The outside was crisp and nicely browned while the inside was fluffy and naturally sweet and savoury. Loved the sweet red peppers which were sweet, yet didn't overpower the delicate crab. The lemon dill mayo on top was quite mild which, in my mind, was fine since I wanted to taste crab, not sauce. The side of coleslaw was refreshing and light being mostly tart.

While not the most exciting dish to talk about, we decided on the Prawn Cocktail with horseradish cocktail sauce because my mom loves prawns. Besides, she's not into tartare nor carpaccio anyways (too bad eh?). Well, as you can clearly see, the prawns were quite large and meaty. Pretty standard and not much to complain about really. On a side note, every time I have prawn cocktail, it reminds me of my first cruise in 1997. Viv and I ordered a tonne of these at dinner and ate prawns like there was no tomorrow. I think in subsequent cruises, we were smarter than that. However, there was that lobster tail eating contest on one cruise in 2002... Big German Guy bested my 9 with 11 lobster tails! I digress. Our last appie was the Oysters
Rockefeller, baked with spinach and Hollandaise sauce. For me, this version (which was considerably different from the original) were only okay. I found the sauce to be quite salty, even with a liberal dousing of lemon. The spinach was quite nice though, it was not mushy where it actually retained most of its colour and texture.

Onto the mains, I only had my eye on one thing - The 22oz Porterhouse! I requested it to be prepared medium-rare and it was more or less so. I say that because some parts were closer to medium. It was probably due to the 2 different cuts of meat in one steak, especially with a bone involved. Hence, the filet portion was more cooked than the strip. It wasn't a huge deal since the meat was fantastic. There was a good char on the outside and the strip was flavourful while the filet was super moist. My choice of starch was the twice-baked and stuffed potato which was a touch dry and mealy. I wasn't a huge fan of it, even with all the fixins'. Viv wanted something other than a steak and went for the Baby Back Ribs. By virtue of being a steakhouse, we weren't expecting much and the ribs pretty much exemplified a non-BBQ version. These were your typical par-boiled then grilled type finished off with a vinegary BBQ sauce. As such, the ribs in general were pretty dry and lacking in any depth-of-flavour. As mentioned, the sauce was not all that smoky and was more tart than anything else. Again, I will cut them some slack because ribs are not their specialty.

In the same vain, my dad had the Wild Salmon Filet with a lemon butter sauce. Hey, the reason he chose this dish was mostly for health reasons. He loves steak, but just not a lot of it. The piece of salmon was itself very good being naturally flavourful. I would've personally liked to see that it was cooked a touch less though. The sauce was nicely balanced where it wasn't overly rich nor too tart. On the other hand, my mom had the belief that you either go big or go home when visiting a steakhouse. So she went for the feature of the day, which was the Steak Medley consisting of one 3oz piece each of the filet, striploin, ribeye and one cut of lamb rack. Completing this carnivorous delight was a large king crab leg, veggies and baked potato. This meat monstrosity had multiple personalities though because all of the meats were cooked to varying degrees of doneness. The lamb was perfectly medium-rare as was the striploin. The filet was closer to medium while the rib steak was well done. Once again, I can understand why that would be, especially with the relatively small cuts of meat. However, when one is paying a pretty penny, the meat should come out perfect despite the challenges at hand. With all that being said, my mom still enjoyed her dish and I would have to concur since most of the meat was good except for the rib steak.

So what to get the kiddies for their main at a steakhouse? Why Aged Cheddar Mac 'n Cheese of course! To our pleasant surprise, this was very good. Due to the use of aged cheddar, there was a tasty sharpness to the sauce which was cheesy and creamy. We felt that it was rich without being overly heavy (if that makes sense). The noodles were soft while not being mushy and the crunchy top added a nice texture. Another side that was impressive was the Sauteed Mushrooms. This was a fairly large portion of perfectly cooked button mushrooms kissed by spicy seasoning. Normally, sauteed mushrooms are pretty standard when it comes to flavour with the usual garlic and butter. But this was a unique version which tickled our tastebuds.

We also got the Steamed Asparagus, but I didn't bother taking a picture of it. It was good though. Perfectly steamed and not over-salted. Lastly, we had the Creamed Corn and it was very good. The best part of it was the consistency of the cream which was not watery nor too thick. The corn was sweet and it was pleasant all-around. Now despite some execution issues surrounding the proteins, we still enjoyed our dinner at Hy's. Some might point out that with the price we paid, our expectations should be higher. That is true, but if you have never worked in a restaurant kitchen before, you can't possibly understand the variables at play. So we have to look at our meal as a whole, which was enjoyable due to some highlights to go with some issues as well.

The Good:
- Professional service
- Meats were good despite some execution issues
- Unlike some other steakhouses, there are included sides (we added more sides though)

The Bad:
- Pricey
- Execution issues with the proteins

Shore Club

*Restaurant is now closed*

Does there need to be a reason for dining out? Well, not really. However, when it is a special occasion, which calls for more premium eats, I guess that would be an excuse to go. This was the case when Snake mentioned that we should all go out to eat since his, mine, Chill and Costanza's birthdays fall within a month of each other. At first, Costanza suspected it was another one of my lame excuses to gather a bunch of people for the purposes of visiting a new restaurant. Partly true I suppose, but it really was Snake's idea. Now as for the choice of restaurants... Of course it was mostly my influence. I had suggested the Shore Club (part of David Aisenstat's restaurant group) because it seemed to fit the theme of the dinner. 4 guys celebrating each others' birthdays at a swank place which boasts a variety of food.

I arrived a bit late to find the guys relaxing in the lounge waiting for our table to be set up. They were in the process of ordering a bottle of wine when I heard from the lounge singer croon "Happy Birthday Sherman's Foooood". Huh? Apparently, Snake had made a request for the singer to wish me a happy birthday by using my blog name, but it didn't come out right. Uh yah. Why does he always want to embarrass me so? Yah, and the trick they played on me with the help of our server was classic too. They convinced me that the restaurant didn't allow flash photography nor any other photography for all that matters. When our server was confirming this, I was thoroughly confused as the table beside us was madly taking pictures with flash! Well, the prank kinda fizzled out there...

As for the food, we shared 4 appies to start. The Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio was nicely presented with diced red onions, capers, shaved Parmesan, dijon peppercorn drizzle and truffle oil. The beef tenderloin itself was thin and buttery soft. Some good flavours at work on the plate except the red onions. I could see where they were going with this due to the nice crunch, however, I felt the red onion was overpowering. If they didn't add that, the carpaccio would've been better. At first, when Costanza suggested we get the Steamed Mussels Meuniere, I was indifferent. As much as I love mussels, they can be pretty generic and uninspired at times. Not this one though. It arrived in a large pot and was served hot. One sip of the broth and "Bam", the flavours smacked us in the face. Sure, it was on the saltier side, but we didn't mind because it was garlicky and buttery. And for once, the mussels were plump and humongous. Very satisfying.

Although the Dungeness Crab Leg Cocktail drew some mixed reviews, there was no denying the quality of the meat. It had pillowy soft texture with the requisite fresh bounce. Naturally sweet and savoury, the leg meat was a real treat. The mixed response was essentially due to the dijon mayo dip which was considered bland. I didn't mind it since a more powerful dip would've overwhelmed the crab meat. As for our last appetizer, we all agreed it was the weakest. The Vanilla -Battered Prawns, in theory, sounded like a can't miss dish. In reality, the batter was too thick. Although the prawns were fantastic, the batter was too prominent. We did love the dip though. It may have looked like the run-of-the-mill sweet chili sauce, however, it really delivered a lingering kick.

When it came down to ordering our mains, we were having a difficult time deciding. Actually, I was trying to stay way from a steak since I would already be having it the next day. Then Costanza suggested we all share 4 entrees instead. He totally read my mind! LOL... So this way, I could still order steak and eat it too since I would only be obligated to 2 pieces. We ended up deciding on the Bone-In Rib Steak which was grilled to a perfect medium-rare. It was well-marbled (Canadian Prime) and charred for a full-bodied flavour. The meat was super-moist and didn't require much effort to eat. It was a touch salty though. This was an expensive, yet well-worth it steak. Snake wanted to go for a fish dish and ended up choosing the Smoked Alaskan Black Cod. It was poached in milk and presented with a lemon beurre blanc sauce. As explained by our server, the restaurant receives the cod smoked whole and then they cut it up piece-by-piece. Hence, the smoke flavour was really intense and penetrated deep into the flesh. There was no absence of flavour which really made the buerre blanc more of a bystander than anything else. Although the fish was moist and flaky, we would've liked to see it a bit more "black cod-like", if that makes any sense.

Even before we got a chance to open our menus, Costanza called dibs on the Braised Short Ribs. This 16oz behemoth took up the entire plate and would prove to be our undoing. Believe it or not, we could not finish all of our food, not even by a long shot. The ribs in general were okay, but not as good as they looked. There was a rich meat flavour, yet we could've used more seasoning. Furthermore, the meat was a little stringy for a large untrimmed portion of short rib. Our last entree was the Bouillabaisse with prawns, mussels, clams, snow crab leg and fish (in this case, it was sea bass). The tint from the saffron both coloured the seafood and flavoured the broth. It was fragrant and seasoned just right. All the seafood was perfect - from the fluffy crabmeat to the flaky fish. For our sides, we went for 3 items including the French Fries. These appeared to be fresh cut and double-fried which gave them a very French-bistro like appearance and texture. For me, I was a bit surprised to see this type served here. A definite pleasant surprise though. They were crisp and for me at least, appropriately served with a side of mayo.

Our second side was the Tempura Battered Onion Rings. Resembling the battered prawns we had as an appetizer, the tempura was thickly applied to the onions. We would've liked to see just a touch less batter because it was not really all that appealing in the middle despite the crisp exterior. With all that being said, we didn't dislike them either. Lastly, to get our fill of veggies, we got a side of Fresh Asparagus. Not sure if this qualified as our recommended intake since everything else could not be considered health food. Not much to say about the asparagus other than it was cooked perfectly with a nice colour and maintaining a crunch. Not that we really bothered by it, but it was salted aggressively.

After it was all said and done, we had spent a pretty penny. A good time was had by all and we're not sure if it had anything to do with the 2 bottles of wine either. Although there were some highlights, some of the food was salty. Sure, it wasn't cheap, yet we got more than enough food and really enjoyed the ambiance.

The Good:
- Nice ambiance
- Decent eats
- We got great service (but then again, Snake likes to blow my cover)

The Bad:
- Pricey
- A touch salty

Dinner @ Fortune House

OMG. My birthday again? At one point in my life, I would sooo look forward to it. C'mon. Gifts and food, people buying you drinks... what's not to like? Now, it is only a reminder of my fleeting youth (can I even say that anymore???). At the very least, the food part of it still exists and in fact, the eating destinations have gone considerably upscale. Such was the case this year since we had made plans for my birthday dinner a few weeks later at Hy's . However, my mom felt it was not right to not at least go out for dinner on my actual birth date. Hence, I got a bonus of sorts because all-of-a-sudden we headed to Fortune House at Metrotown for the 1st of my 2 birthday dinners.

As we were running late from my visit to NCIX (waiting in line as usual), my parents had already ordered and the food showed up as I sat down. Apparently, there was no option to order Duck Lettuce Wrap without ordering the 2 courses of Peking Duck, so we settled on the Seafood Lettuce Wrap. We were indifferent with this dish because seafood doesn't necessary make for a great lettuce wrap (unless it is dried oysters). I'm not blaming the restaurant at all for this because it was prepared quite well. The shrimp was cooked beautifully and the veggies were crunchy. It's just that seafood doesn't add any "meatiness". One thing we would have liked to see was a better trim job on the lettuce, some parts were discolouring.

When the next dish arrived, I was confused. Well, Viv says I'm always confused, so that shouldn't be a surprise. You see, my eyes spied eggplant while my nose smelled salted fish. Huh? Apparently, my senses weren't deceiving me. It turned out to be the Eggplant, Salted Fish and Chicken Hot Pot. Not the most usual of combinations, yet to me, it worked. Eggplant is pretty mild and with the kick of the salted fish and peppers, there was a smorgasbord of flavours going on. Just think of a Szechuan eggplant hot pot with the addition of salted fish. From the unusual to the standard, the Gai Lan with Beef was wedged onto our small table. This was executed really well. The beef was both plentiful and appealing. Good colour, well-marinated and tender, it still retained its meat texture. We appreciated that they cut the gai lan stalks into bite-sized pieces, so it was easy to pick up with our chopsticks. Moreover, the gai lan was cooked perfectly as well, being vibrant, crisp and well-seasoned. With barely any liquid at the bottom of the plate, it exemplified good wok heat too.

As if we had any more room on the table, the Seafood & Tofu Hot Pot was gingerly sandwiched in between the lettuce and eggplant. Right from the get go, it was obvious they loaded it up with a bevy of seafood. There were big scallops, shrimp, squid and basa filets mixed in with fried tofu and shiitake mushrooms on a bed of lettuce. There was just enough balanced starch-thickened sauce to coat the properly-cooked seafood (except for the squid, it was chewy). Lastly, we had to do some puzzle maneuvers to fit the Black Vinegar Pork Chops onto the table. This was probably my favourite dish of the night. These were meaty with very little in the way of fat and still had a chewy pork texture while tenderized enough that it wasn't hard to chew. They cut up the pieces into the perfect size where it could maintain its moisture through the cooking process while still being easy to pick up. In terms of flavour, I felt this used just the right amount of black vinegar. I could definitely smell it and taste, yet it didn't overwhelm the dish. There was a subtle tartness while the dish was predominantly sweet. The sauce clung onto each piece of pork beautifully where it provided all the necessary flavour without compromising the crispy parts and creating a goopy mess on the plate. Lastly, we were presented with dessert which included Almond Cookies (with a walnut on top) and Coconut Milk & Tapioca Soup. It ain't cheap to eat here, but despite what I've read on Urbanspoon, the food was prepared with good ingredients and the execution was spot-on (at least for our meal).

The Good:
- Good ingredients
- Proper execution

The Bad:
- Expensive
- Service was not bad but we couldn't find our server for long stretches

Burger Heaven

When I first starting blogging, one of my earlier posts was on Burger Heaven. I remember it vividly because I used my Blackberry to take pictures and looking back, they sure looked horrible. At the time, they still offered 2-for-1 with an Entertainment coupon, but sadly, that is now gone. Oh well, I guess where there is success, discounts need not apply right? Burger Heaven has been high on my re-visit list for quite awhile, not only because of the crappy photos though. You see, I've always been intrigued with their Ernie's Mile High Burger. Consisting of 8 patties totaling 2.5 pounds of beef, cheese, mushrooms, bacon and sauce, this was something I needed to eat. Reminded me of the Everest Burger at Hilltop Diner in Langley... Where I had to get Mijune to share it with me since I'm hardly capable of a real Man vs. Food adventure. Hence, I enlisted the help of Miss Y for this eating adventure. This way, there would be no way she could order something ridiculous off the menu. She often orders the most whacked-out item from a place that specializes in anything but the thing she chooses. Case-in-point, she ordered the quiche from the Red Onion. Who eats a freakin' slice of quiche from a burger joint??? What's next? Lasagne at a Japanese restaurant? Wait... I did that...

So about that mile high burger... Pretty impressive I'd say. I queried Miss Y how it felt like to be part of the mile high club and all I heard were crickets... *Awkward* Anyways, the burger was extremely large and there was more than enough food for 4 people, let alone 2. Despite the ample charring on the surface of the patties, the meat was quite moist and a bit greasy (hence it was moist!). The meat was nicely seasoned and I really didn't notice the toppings because we had to deconstruct the thing to eat it. Once again, their famous Potato Wedges didn't disappoint. They were large, crispy and potatoey on the inside. Very good texture. As you may know already, having one item, even if it is insanely large doesn't do a restaurant justice. Therefore, I returned one day with my son after skating for lunch. This time, I had the Kangaroo Burger (which I've had in the past) and a side of Poutine. As expected, the kangaroo meat was on the drier side (leaner meat), yet not terribly so. The burger was still moist and combined with the toppings (beets, fried egg, cheddar, bacon, red onions, lettuce and tomato), it was a quite filling.

Looking at the Poutine, it shouldn't have worked in theory. The large wedge fries and the dark gravy would make some people shy away. However, I enjoyed it for what it was. It was extremely filling due to the large wedges and the abundance of melted cheese curds. Not a traditional poutine, but it never was advertised to be. My son took one look at the menu and only had eyes for the Grilled Cheese. *Sigh* He is definitely not a foodie in the making... Now, after I had left, I figured out they totally messed up the order. I was charged for a kid's meal when all I got was the grilled cheese and fries on a small plate. There should've been a drink and a sundae included. For the food my son got, that cost more than a regular order of grilled cheese. Wonder how they could make such a mistake and not notice. Whatever the case, it was made with real cheddar and a whole lot of butter. Translation - he liked it. And really, after these 2 revisits, I continue to like Burger Heaven. The burgers are unique (elk, kangaroo, lamb etc...), the service is good and the place has a certain charm.

The Good:
- Some unique options
- Solid burger
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- The bill could get up there depending what you order
- It's a small shack, you'd better not be shy

Dragon View Chinese Cuisine

For awhile there, I was trying to hit up all of the Dim Sum joints in Richmond. That stopped pretty quickly due to the lack of proximity. It is amazing I make it out to Richmond as much as I do already considering the distance, parking headaches and potential car damage that can be incurred. Alas, even those challenges cannot prevent me from gravitating towards the land of no shoulder checks and broken turn signals. The dearth of good Chinese food around where I live only adds more fuel to the fire. So with Viv out-of-town, I tagged along with my parents for Dim Sum at Dragon View in Richmond. Affiliated with Wah Wing in Coquitlam, I was curious to see if the food was any better due to its location.

Similar to many Chinese restaurants, a reservation for Dim Sum is akin to not having one at all. Despite arriving on time, we waited an hour for our "reservation". At the very least, we
scored a nice table in a corner, away from the mass confusion at the centre of the restaurant. And much like any other Dim Sum joint, there is no rhyme or reason to the expedition of dishes. Hence, we received the Egg Tarts first. These weren't too bad with a flaky crust and nicely texture filling. I found the filling to be rather sweet, but I guess that is not a huge problem considering the well-executed components. Feeling guilty about not getting enough greens lately, I got an order of the Stir-Fried Yui Choy. These were prepared properly being soft enough to chew while still retaining some crunch. Furthermore, the dish wasn't too greasy nor overseasoned either.

For the kiddies, we got an order of the Fook Chow Fried Rice. As the picture suggests, there was no absence of ingredients on top. Lots of tender chicken, mushrooms and crisp beans and carrots. However, the one thing that made this dish a partial fail was the really dry and hard fried rice base. We believe it was done beforehand and left out too long. In actuality, this is a common practice to make a big batch of fried rice, so no real surprise. It just shouldn't have been so dry to begin with and left out to dry out even more. Yet another kid favourite, the Shrimp Spring Rolls arrived next. With the addition of seaweed, this made for an interesting version. In some ways, it added some flavour to the roll. Yet on the other hand, it completely changed the normally crunchy texture. When we typically chew through a spring roll, we get an immediate crunch followed by a softer filling. In this case, the crunch gave way to a layer of extreme chewiness that halted our eating enjoyment as we struggled to get through it. On the positive side, the shrimp filling had a nice sweet nap. In the end, we could've done without the seaweed.

Onto my son's favourite dish, the Soy-Fried Rice Noodle Rolls. How much does he like this? He can have this for breakfast, lunch and dinner all in one day... Talk about the anti-Atkins diet. These were a bit stiff and dense for our liking. For those rice noodle roll aficionados, you might question why the rolls look "soft", even though my experience was the opposite. Yes, some rolls began to fall apart, particularly in the front of the picture. Let me assure you that it was not soft, rather, it was just prepared haphazardly. Now due to the different cooking method (actually, it would be the second stage of cooking rice noodles since they have to be steamed as a sheet to begin with), the Beef Rice Noodle Roll was much softer. The meat filling was plentiful and not gritty. We would've preferred less green onion though, it was overwhelming.

Of all the dishes, it was a bit surprising that the Bean Curd Skin Roll was my favourite. Generally, there are more "sexier" choices than this as the best item at Dim Sum. However, I really liked the texture of the bean curd skin since it was still chewy while soft at the same time. The filling really benefited from the addition of large chunks of shrimp, which added a nice snap to the moist pork. I also liked that there was not a big glop of sauce on top and underneath the rolls. That, to me is not really all that appealing. Now, the connection with Wah Wing didn't really sink in until we got the Sui Mai. These were exactly the same as the ones I had a there and unfortunately, they were not any better. By looks alone, they look awesome with a big cold-water shrimp and tobiko on top. However, the dumpling looks way better than it tastes. It was like they forgot to season it or something. Furthermore, the pork was far too chewy and did not exhibit that "bounce" texture achieved with proper tenderizing (strange since the pork in the bean curd roll was fine...).

Of course when we have Sui Mai, there is also the other Dim Sum staple - Haw Gow (or steamed shrimp dumplings). I'm sure if you look at the picture, it is quite obvious one of the dumplings had a boo-boo. Aesthetically unpleasing and really a no-no, luckily it was not an indication of how the dumplings really were. The skin was slightly sticky while the filling was pretty good. Lots of snap and crunch combined with the natural sweetness of shrimp, it was almost forgivable for the damaged-looking dumpling. Almost. For us, another must order is the Steamed Black Bean Spareribs. We usually like it on rice, but it seems that more and more Dim Sum restaurants do not offer it. I guess it would be too much of a filler and people would end up ordering less? Could be... Well these were pretty good. The meat was tenderized properly exhibiting a slight chew which was still tender. Lots of garlic and seasoning, in particular, the chili flakes which added another layer of flavour. As you can also readily see in the picture, the pieces were meaty with very little fat or cartilage.

For our last dish, it was predictably offal. Hey, for myself Dim Sum is not complete without innards of some sort. In this case, we had the Beef Tendon and Tripe. This was a large portion of soft tendon and tender tripe. Some of the tendon was a touch too soft, yet not overly so. The tripe was a perfect balance of tender while still having a slight chew. The dish was predominantly sweet with plenty of garlic. So, by virtue of being affiliated with Wah Wing, I can't help but make comparisons. The good news is that Dragon View was better than Wah Wing. The bad news is that it was a bit uneven. Considering it is located in Richmond, there is plenty of competition nearby and I'm not sure if I would personally pass up any one of the following: Sea Harbour, Fisherman's Terrace, Rainflower, Sun Sui Wah, Red Star or Kirin, to eat Dragon View. However, they are very busy and continued to be so throughout our meal. Hence, they must be doing something right because they are not hurting for business.

The Good:
- Decent-sized portions
- Okay pricing

The Bad:
- Food is okay, but there is better
- Crazy lineup where reservations don't really matter (but that is normal with Chinese restaurants)

Announcement

Huh? Where is the post for today??? Yup, that's what some of you might be wondering. Don't worry, I'm still eating. But, after 3+ years of posting everyday, I've decided to only blog on the weekdays from now on. It was a good run. But something had to give. See you right here again Monday!

Pearl Urban Bistro

As much as I get around the Lower Mainland, specifically for eats, there are still areas I don't frequent. One particular place is White Rock. No, there are no fears of bad drivers nor bad eats. Rather, it is just plain too far from where I live. I envy those who live nearby, there are many restaurants to choose from on Marine Drive. Speaking of which, one of my colleagues happens to live in the area and frequents many of those establishments. On many occasions, he has mentioned Pearl Urban Bistro. At first, he was not that impressed, but according to him, it has significantly improved. Coincidentally, the owner of Pearl Urban Bistro contacted me recently about the possibility paying the place a visit. So with Viv and I having to be out in those parts anyways, we figured might as well kill 2 birds with one stone.

We were greeted by the manager, Gina, who gave us the option of either ordering from the menu or dine on the chef's choices. We chose the latter and were presented with an amuse bouche to start. Served in an espresso cup, the Roasted Carrot & Brie Soup with creme fraiche was aesthetically appealing and steaming hot. We sampled the smooth puree and it was texturally pleasing and exhibited only a mild amount of cheesiness (mind you brie isn't exactly that flavourful though). We got a hint of tomato (possibly tomato paste) and a good amount of natural carrot sweetness. I think if there was a touch more salt, it would've heightened the flavours even more so. We were presented with our appetizers next consisting of the Crab Spring Rolls and Flamed Prawns. The Crab Spring Rolls came plated with a cut roll resting precariously on top of 2 uncut rolls. This was a real challenge for our server since it was a tough balancing act. Within the crispy wrapper, there was rock crab meat, fennel, red pepper and carrot. A streak of lemon garlic aioli and salsa verde completed the plate. These were pretty good with the crunch of the veggies complimenting the texture of the fluffy crab. We enjoyed the flavourful aioli, yet didn't get much out of the salsa verde.

Our second appie was the Flamed Prawns presented in a sizzling cast iron pan which was lit on fire (with the help of sambuca) tableside. Although we were impressed with the presentation, the actual dish itself could've been less sweet. The roasted garlic butter sauce was somewhat muted due to the sugar content. Now that's not to say the dish was bad per se. C'mon, there are prawns at play here! I loved the red peppers, which went really well with the sweet prawns. For our main, Viv and I had the same dish being the Pemberton Striploin with Morel Risotto topped with a demi-glace accompanied by beets, carrots and kale. As you can see, the steak was thick and cooked to a medium-rare. Furthermore, the steak was cooked evenly and was super tender. There was a good char on the exterior and it was obvious the steak had rested properly (no juices flowing out when cut). As for the risotto underneath, it was a pretty good attempt, considering Pearl is not an Italian restaurant. The rice still had a bite (a touch more cooked than I personally like it though) and it was creamy and cheesy. Loved the morels, they added another layer of texture and flavour.

For dessert, we were presented with the 2 selections. The Chocolate Pate was accompanied by mascerated cherries, hazelnut praline and creme fraiche. The pate was smooth with some sugar granules. I'm not sure if this was intentional or not, but I didn't mind it since it added some texture. Flavourwise, it was sure chocolaty and sweet. The tart cherries were necessary to cut the heaviness of the dessert. Lastly, we had the Vanilla Creme Brulee which had a relatively thick torched sugar topping. As such, the dessert was quite sweet. When we only sampled the custard underneath, it was actually not that sweet by itself. The real vanilla bean added a nice flavour. Alright, I have to admit that these invited dinners are somewhat of a catch-22 for me. If I am too enthusiastic, it would appear I've been "bought". On the other hand, if I am too critical, it might seem like I'm "reaching" for negatives to look legit. So there is never a way I can win. Hence, the only thing going for me in these cases is the body of work on this blog. What I am going to say about Pearl Urban Bistro is that the food as a whole was decent. It is a better option than many of the chain restaurants out there. As much as there were good components to each dish, there also could be some more refinement as well. I can't comment on the service since they knew we were there. However, I did like the decor and ambiance. Very cozy and classy.

*Note: This was an invited dinner where all food was comped*

The Good:
- Nice ambiance and cozy dining room
- Food is decent
- Of course, by virtue of being on the strip, the environment is fantastic

The Bad:
- The food could use some refinement
- Prices are consistent with the strip (which is not cheap)