Oru

I'll admit it. When I received an invite to try out Oru's new revamped menu, I was slightly hesitant. After all, the place had some pretty dubious reviews strewn all over the internet. In fact, Whipping Girl had told me about her experience there and let's just say it didn't make me want to visit the place anytime soon. C'mon, there was an $18.00 Banh Mi on the menu! Sounds like fusion gone wrong (and overpriced). Enough said. Little did I know that Executive Chef David Wong had left to open his own restaurant on the Island. Replacing him is well-traveled and experienced chef Darren Brown, who redid the menu and refreshed the layout of the restaurant.

We were first treated to some appies from the Skybar and then moved onto a tour of the facilities. To say that the food services in the Fairmont Pacific is impressive would be an understatement. It is refreshing to see Darren Brown's influence on the operation. Most of the ingredients are made in-house, right down to the sausages and cured meats. Oh and I can't ignore the BLT we sampled beforehand. This was made with their house-cured bacon and let's just say I could've eaten more than what was offered on the plate. We finally made it back to Oru and were seated with a nice view of the open kitchen. Arriving first was the Sunchoke Soup which was a pure veloute of roasted sunchokes (no onions) with truffle foamed milk. Immediately, there was a big hit of truffle oil. The soup was flavourful, creamy and rich without relying on salt. I liked how it was smooth while retaining some texture. Next up was the Notch Hills Beet Salad consisting of pickled and poached baby Sorrento beets, beet chutney, chimichurri vinaigrette and Cabrales blue cheese. I'm not normally a huge cilantro fan, but there was just enough in the chimichurri to brighten the flavours without making it taste pungent. A beet salad is usually, well, a beet salad. However, the shaved blue cheese on top really made it pop with an Earthy saltiness.

Continuing on, we were presented with the Qualicum Island Diver Scallops which were seared beautifully and served with sesame sweet peas, smoked salmon lardon, preserved lemon condiment all atop a cauliflower puree. The scallops were pretty small, but packed a sweet punch. There was a multitude of flavours going on the plate including the nutty sesame peas, sweet, tangy lemon and the smooth flavourful puree. The small piece of salmon added a salty smokiness which capped off the flavourfest. Then the dish we'd all been waiting for showed up - the Kalua Pork Belly (Fraser Valley pork belly, pineapple, maple-mustard glaze, fried sage, pork cracklings and lotus root puree). Okay, let me get this out of the way first - the pork belly was not as melt-in-my-mouth as I would've liked. However, I'm not sure if that was the intention or not. It was cooked so slowly that the fat had pretty much rendered down leaving mostly meat. For me at least, I like my pork belly fatty and melty. With that being said, there was a lot to like about this dish. The cracklings were crispy and light while the bak choy was crunchy albeit salty. The sweet glaze went well with the pork belly, yet the lotus root puree looked odd in colour. It did taste good though with a nice balance of flavours.

Before the meal, I had pegged the pork belly to be my potential favourite. It turned out that the Sake Cured Haida Gwaii Sablefish took the honours. When curing sablefish with sake, one needs to be careful as it can turn the fish to mush if not careful (like the one I had at NFA). No problems here as was flaky and moist with a beautiful sear. It was served atop an Alaskan salt cod brandade with roasted sunchoke, melted leeks, fennel, chorizo in a tomato-mirin broth. All these ingredients provided all the flavour needed and therefore, the fish was not aggressively seasoned. The salt cod emulated the texture of crab and offered up saltiness (of course). With the mildness of the broth and the conservative amount of chorizo, the sablefish was able to stand on its own.

Moving onto dessert, we were presented with the Strawberry Rhubarb Vacherin with buttermilk ice cream. This ended up to be very refreshing, like a palate-cleanser to a degree. A palate cleanser for what you might ask. Well, we had one more sweet dish which was the Textures of Chocolate. Starting from the top left corner clockwise, we had the Carmella Mousse with textures of puffed rice and praline and Alpaco Consomme with hints of fresh mint. Both of these were made with Valrhona chocolate. On the bottom right, we had the Mi Amare chocolate cremuex mille fieulle made with Michel Cluizel chocolate and on the bottom left, the Mangaro Lait Chocolate Bar with cocoa nib nougatine made with Cocoa Barry. Of these, my favourite was the Carmella. It was essentially a rich and deluxe version of a Crunch bar. Loved the textures and smooth chocolate. This was a sweet end to a solid tasting menu. On this experience alone, it is quite obvious that Darren Brown wanted a more classic approach incorporating housemade ingredients which represent Westcoast cuisine and then some. *Note - this meal was comped*

The Good:
- From this tasting, it appears the food has a direction
- Dining space is simple yet elegant

The Bad:
- Prices are pretty high

Fraser Court

When it opened 2 years ago, we had tried out Fraser Court's Dim Sum service and it was pretty decent. However, we never had a chance to sample their dinner menu. Normally, we'd do that pretty soon after but fellow blogger (I mean absent blogger) Jessica had a pretty disappointing experience. So we never had a real good reason to eat there. However, my mother-in-law booked a whole table as part of an association dinner, which meant we were literally forced to go. Yah, forced to go for dinner - #firstworldproblems. As we arrived, they were doing Karaoke on stage and lemme put this out there - if you are tone deaf, please do not subject people to pain. They continued to do this throughout dinner. The horror! At least they did a rendition of Shanghai Beach... Love that song!

So onto the food, the dinner was a set menu which started with the usual Appetizer Platter consisting of marinated jellyfish, honey garlic spareribs, jellied pork hock and sliced five spice beef shank. This was a well-composed dish where the jellyfish was crunchy, washed thoroughly (no fishy taste) and seasoned nicely with plenty of sesame oil, white pepper, chili flakes and soy. The honey garlic spareribs were meaty and crisp. There was a good amount of flavouring which was quite sweet with a touch of spice. The pork hock was sliced thin and aggressively salted. As for the beef shank, texture was fine yet it was on the sweeter side. Next up was the Stir-Fried Chicken and Scallops with snap peas and flowering chives. The snap peas were cooked perfectly. They were crunchy and sweet. The scallops were a touch overcooked which made them rubbery. The chicken, which was thigh meat, was moist and tender. The dish was quite mild and slightly greasy.

In place of the usual crab or lobster dish was the Stir-Fried Prawns with black vinegar. Normally, the prawns are deep-fried first for a couple of reasons. First, it is to quickly flash cook them evenly. Secondly, the frying makes the shell edible. In this case, the shell was tough to eat which meant we lost most of the flavour de-shelling them. Other than that issue, the prawns were meaty and naturally sweet. The seasoning was very strong and there was obvious hits of MSG. We liked the depth of flavour provided by the black vinegar. Right on cue, the soup arrived next. It ended up to be the Dried Fish Maw Soup with dried scallop, chicken, enoki mushroom and flowering chives. I loved how there was a massive amount of ingredients within the silky broth, however, it was far too salty. I needed to add some vinegar to cut the saltiness.

In place of the abalone, we had the Sliced King Mushrooms with baby bak choy. Naturally, the texture of king mushrooms would never be able to replicate abalone, so we could only think of it as cooked mushroom. In that respect, it was done right where it was not overcooked. The bak choy was just barely done retaining a crunch and vibrant colour. The oyster sauce was neither salty nor bland and it had a nice consistency (there was no pool of water at the bottom of the plate). Arriving with the head prominently displayed on the plate, the Free Range Chicken looked menacing to my son. I stuck the head in his bowl and he chucked it back onto the plate. Guess he wasn't eating this dish... Well, due to the nature of free range chicken, the meat can be chewy and lean. Hence, not everyone's cup of tea. For me, I'm indifferent. As long as it is prepared right, I have no problem with it. It was more or less done properly with a nice layer of gelatin between the skin and meat. We liked how there was a large serving of grated ginger on the side since the chicken was quite mild.

For our meat dish, we had a large plate of Peking Pork Chops. Depending on which piece we picked up, the texture ranged from dry and chewy to moist and fatty. There was just enough sauce to coat each piece. It had a nice consistency where the flavour was quite pronounced while being predominantly sweet. For our fish course, we had the Steamed Whole Live Tilapia. Okay, I'm just going to be frank here - I personally can't stand tilapia. Something about the texture - so mushy. Therefore, due to my biases, I can't say I enjoyed the steamed tilapia. Well, the fact it was slightly over-cooked didn't help things. After so many dishes of food came the filler items. Yah, the carbs when nobody really has any interest in eating anymore. I suppose it is better than at the start because one would be full too early. For me, I'd like to change it up a little and have it arrive in the middle of the meal. Too radical? Not traditional? Whatever, if they can serve egg tarts at the start of Dim Sum, we can most certainly have rice and noodles mid-meal! I digress...

So... To our surprise, the Yee Mein was pretty darn good. It was the right balance between being wet and dry. It was not oily and had plenty of flavour without being salty. Moreover, it was served steaming hot. Lastly, we had the Fried Rice which was an interesting mix of shrimp, baby scallops, ham, carrot, sliced gai lan stalks and egg. The rice was clumpy in spots. It wasn't wet, in fact, it was plenty dry. Hence, the texture was nicely chewy and a touch nutty from the
stir-fry. There was a good amount of ingredients which kept each bite interesting while providing texture and flavour. Overall, the dinner was not bad despite our initial thoughts. They must've done something to improve their dinner service recently which is quite important, considering that their seating capacity is very large. They need to fill the restaurant to make money! I wouldn't make Fraser Court my first destination for Cantonese food, but I wouldn't say no if someone suggested it either.

The Good:
- Big dining room, good for banquets
- Service is actually not bad

The Bad:
- Food has a few inconsistencies here and there
- For a big dining hall, it is sure cramped

Bob Likes Thai Food

Sometimes I wonder if there is ever much thought put into naming a restaurant. There is the "let's name it after the street" approach such as Kingsway Deli, Slocan Restaurant and The Main. I really love the "it could mean something else" restaurant names as well. Come Along, Pho T&A and the defunct Pho Bich Nga are perfect examples. Oh and I really love the Chinese restaurants that are named "golden". Golden this, golden that, it actually gets a bit confusing. And let's not forget the iconic Fook Yue where Senor Rooster stands now. It was so outrageous, it made it onto Leno. I often wonder how that place did in daily conversation... "Hey, where did you go for dinner last night?" "Fook Yue"... Anyways, there are too many boring, run-of-the-mill restaurant names out there. However, Bob Likes Thai Food is certainly not one of them.

The Thai joint with a funny name caught my attention when it first opened, but due to its relatively early closing time, we could never make it after hockey nor softball. So I had no choice but to visit the place during the day instead. And coming in to rescue me from eating all alone was Rich Guy. Funny how we eat less together since he is back for good... We started with something a bit different in the Miang Kham which literally translates as "eating many things in one bite". These many things consisted of chaphlu leaves, roasted grated coconut, lime, shallot, peanut, ginger with tamarind palm sugar sauce. For such a simple dish, there was lots of flavour at work. It was aromatic with some spice, a touch of nuttiness, a bit herbal, sweet and crunchy. It practically had all the flavours my tongue could process. We liked it very much. Another interesting item we ordered was the Poutine by Bob. This version saw fried thin-sliced taro root topped by a green curry sauce with lemongrass, lime leaves, deep fried tofu and chilis. Although the flavours were fantastic - with a spicy coconutty curry, the taro chips were a fail. They were far too delicate to stand up to the moisture and ultimately became a soggy mess. Maybe if they used lotus root chips instead? Too bad really since the combination of green curry with the aromatic lemongrass and spicy chilis really did work. They could've added more fried tofu as well.

Seeing how their lunch specials (which included rice, salad and wonton crisps) were only $7.50 each, I did my best Mijune and ordered 3 to share. We started with the Eggplant Pad Ka Pow which was quite good. The eggplant was cooked perfectly. It was bathed in a sauce which was spicy, tart and sweet with a hit of basil. We liked how they were not shy about making the flavours bold. That would the same for the Chicken Green Curry. It was spicier than most other places which made it quite balanced. Rather than being predominantly sweet, it had savoury-spiciness that lingered on my tongue. Furthermore, there was no absence of chicken and bamboo shoots along with the requisite basil.

Lastly, the Pad Thai didn't disappoint as well. The dish exhibited good wok heat where the flavours were in sync. By virtue of using tamarind, there was a good tartness that was accented by some sweetness and savouriness. All the usual stuff was present including crunchy shrimp, pickled turnip, pressed tofu, crushed peanuts and bean sprouts. Despite the very non-Thai sounding name of the place, there is no mistaking that the food is legit. The flavours were definitely there, especially the spice level, and the prices were quite reasonable as well.

The Good:
- Reasonable pricing
- No sissy flavours here
- Pretty legit Thai food

The Bad:
- Limited menu (which also could be a good thing)
- Limited seating

Golden House

A couple of weeks ago, the hockey team tried to grab some dessert a Breka Bakery at a relatively early hour. Well, the place was packed and that plan fizzled before it even started. We decided to hightail it out of there because we had already eaten at Sawasdee Thai. It wasn't imperative that we have dessert. Somewhere I can imagine Mijune sheding a tear... While I was walking out the door, I spied with my little eyes (and they are little), a tiny Chinese restaurant advertising daily Dim Sum service. Really... I was intrigued. Further to this, LotusRapper reminded me of this place in the comment section of the Golden Harvest post. Okay, I just had to try the place out. But with who? Ah yes, Rich Guy, the ever-so-willing dining companion that I have suddenly taken for granted since he has moved back. In actuality, I kinda guilted him into it since he needed my help replacing the fog lights on his Bimmer. By the way, can they make it any harder to replace those bulbs??? I digress.

So when I thought the place was small, it was shockingly small on the inside. There was about 8 tables only for the whole place. So what kind of Dim Sum could such a small place serve? Well, we were about to find out. The first thing that showed up at our table was the Preserved Egg & Salted Pork Congee. It was really thick and had a home-style feel. We didn't find it particularly salty nor was it laced with too much MSG. Yet, it wasn't bland either since we could taste the pork that had been cooked in the congee. What we didn't like was the aggressively shredded salted pork. It was so shredded, it was more like meat floss than anything else. Furthermore, the meat was hard and chewy. If the congee was mild-tasting, then the Shrimp Mousse Stuffed Eggplant was a flavour explosion. Normally, I complain about bland black bean sauces. Not here. It was garlicky and just salty enough to accent the eggplant. As for the eggplant, it was moist and crispy on the outside. The shrimp, on the other hand, was mostly crispy since there wasn't really a whole lot of it.

When the Haw Gow arrived, it looked pretty legit. They were big and the shrimp filling was peaking through the translucent rice flour wrapper. Considering where we were eating these, the haw gow were impressive. Inside the nicely textured dumpling skin lay a good mix of whole shrimp and shrimp mousse. It displayed plenty of the bounce and snap we look for in haw gow filling. If I had to nitpick, the filling was probably seasoned too aggressively and the mousse was a tad soft. The Sui Mai were equally good. They too were large and texturally sound. The pork was marinated properly exhibiting a good bounce while still having a bite. The meat was juicy and flavourful from the seasoning and shiitake mushroom. One thing we would've liked to see was more shrimp.

Well, shrimp was not a problem in the Bean Curd Skin Rolls because that was the main ingredient for the filling. The perfectly cooked shrimp had a snap which really changed the makeup of this usually heavy item. It was lighter than the all-pork version and we easily ate it all. We also liked how the bean curd skin was not too soft nor too tough. Okay, for no reason other than the limited selection, we got the Xiao Long Bao. Yes, I know it is a Shanghainese dish served in a Cantonese restaurant. So therefore, we did not expect XLBs, rather we would've been happy with decent pork dumplings. And they were more or less, okay pork dumplings. The skin was thick and doughy, however, the filling was actually quite tasty with lots of meat flavour and a good hit of ginger. It was moist and not-gritty either. It just wasn't an XLB.

Last but not least, we had the Black Bean Spareribs, which were not bad. The dish consisted mostly of meat pieces (the rib ends) rather than ribs. They were properly tenderized so it wasn't difficult to chew. In fact, they were mostly soft with only the rib pieces having a chew. There was no absence of flavour here with lots of garlic and black bean with a touch of spice.
Overall, not including the XLBs (and really, I'm not holding anything against them), the Dim Sum at this little place was surprisingly good. Not exactly the cheapest, but with the level of execution and quality, we would be willing to do a return visit.

The Good:
- Dim Sum is surprisingly good
- The service we got was friendly

The Bad:
- Calling the place small would be an understatement
- Service is friendly, but with only one staff member, it gets a bit sparse

Salam Bombay

Normally, I'm not really in the mood for Indian food outside of Surrey. Why? Well, you would be hard-pressed to find the combination of value and good Indian eats anywhere else. Sure, there is decent Indian food to be found in Vancouver - for more money. And sure, there is Indian food to be found in the rest of the burbs, yet it generally is hit and miss. However, when Rich Guy and Rich Gal wanted to meet up for lunch in Downtown, I actually suggested we try Salam Bombay. The reason for this was due to some form of ESP between Rich Guy and I. As we were texting, we messaged each other simultaneously that we should go for Indian since that is Rich Gal's favourite cuisine. Furthermore, time was tight since Rich Gal had a massage appointment afterwards (wait, Indian food and then a massage? uh...).

The most popular thing at Salam Bombay during lunch hour is their buffet for $15.00. It's a great way to quickly down some food before heading back to work (not sure if one would necessarily want to work after that). We didn't have to worry about that since we were all off for the day. The buffet started off with mesclun greens and a bean salad. I ignored both since they are fillers and I am a meatatarian. Right next to it was the Tandoori Chicken and Butter Chicken respectively. We found the tandoori chicken to be relatively moist considering it was in a chaffing tray. It was quite mild, yet not devoid of flavour either. The Butter Chicken was more of the tomato paste version rather than being very creamy. We didn't mind that as it was not as heavy. The one thing that was quite appealing was the level of spiciness - it was apparent. Now, we could handle spicier, but it was much appreciated since many versions of butter chicken can be overly mild. As for the chicken, it was a touch dry but that was understandable since it was all breast meat.

The next item was the Beef Curry and we universally didn't care for it. The small cubes of beef were dry and spongy. Furthermore, the flavours were overly one-dimensional. For me, I got a lot of cloves and bay leaves which made this more of a stewed beef dish rather than curry. Up next was the Seafood Curry which was predominantly squid. Therefore, the entire thing had a squid taste to it (which wasn't necessarily bad). I didn't mind it since there was a good level of heat. The Baingan Bharta was one of my favourites but it seemed that I was in the minority. I guess it has partly to do with the texture which is akin to baby food. This happened at East is East where most people didn't like the pureed squash and I did. Anyways, I didn't get much smokiness from the eggplant, but I did like the mild and subtle flavours. And yes, I loved the mushy texture.

Rich Guy was trying to figure out what the next item was since it was so watery and seemingly devoid of ingredients. In reality, it was the Daal Makhni and there wasn't much of it in the sauce. I did like the flavours since there was once again a good kick, but it wasn't exactly creamy though. The "balls" to the right of the daal were Potato Pakoras which were actually pretty good. The potato in the middle was soft and spiced nicely. As with most Indian buffets these days, the Naan was made-to-order and served upon request. I found the naan to be more like puffed flatbread than anything else. The bottom was very crispy while the bread itself was very light and airy. There was some chewiness and in the end, it did the job.

Lastly, there was a fruit salad as well as Kheer which was really sweet and thick. Despite this, I could definitely pick out a substantial cardamom hit which helped distract my tastebuds from the sugar content slightly. After dusting off a few plates, we were okay with the food in general considering it was a buffet. Now the price was a reflection of its location more than anything else because one could get better for less in Surrey. Ultimately, Salam Bombay is located in Downtown, and more or less does the job with all things considered.

The Good:
- Okay for its location
- Clean with nice decor
- Good service

The Bad:
- There is better for less, but can't compare to Surrey

Lay's Chip Giveaway

*Contest is now closed* Congrats to Patricia Z! Okay, I don't blog on weekends anymore, but when Lay's contacted me about a giveaway, I decided to share it with my readers. Lay’s is excited to launch two new potato chip flavours that are only available in Western Canada: Wavy Lay’s Smoky BBQ and Wavy Lay’s Old Fashioned Ketchup. So if you want to win 8 large bags of the new flavours (which will be shipped directly to you from Lay's), make a comment with your first name and initial from your last name. I will draw a winner on Tuesday. Enjoy snacking!

Caché Bistro & Lounge

*Restaurant is now closed*

Location, location, location. That's what we hear all the time. It can be about buying a house and it also can mean where you should run a business. Actually, it could also mean where not to go if you don't want any unnecessary grief (ie. Richmond during rush hour...). Anyways, there is this one spot in Yaletown right at the end of Hamilton near Drake. There have several restaurants that have come and gone without much long term success. The most recent attempt was Charm Modern Thai which recently closed. Now, rising from the ashes comes Caché Bistro & Lounge. For me at least, I don't mind the location, because it means a greater chance at scoring a parking spot (a safe one at that...). Most of the spots in the heart of Yaletown seem to be designed only for Minis or Fiat 500's.

Caché is the owned and operated by Chef Alex Mok who previously ran the successful Underground Supper Club. I was invited, along with other food writers and media, to sample their 5-course tasting menu. I met up with some familiar faces including Rick, Sean and Ange. We were first presented with a baguette flanked by 3 types of butter consisting of Cranberry, Satay and Truffle. The cranberry was tart and not that sweet while the truffle butter was very Earthy and strong. I liked the satay the best as it exhibited a je ne sais quoi quality. Our first course (Foie Gras Creme Brulee) was presented beautifully in an egg shell on a bed of frisee. Inside lay a creamy concoction of mild custard and chunks of foie topped with flying fish caviar. Not really a creme brulee in the literal sense of the word, it was heavy and rich. The portion size was about right, as if it was any larger, it would've been too heavy for a starter. The richness was somewhat alleviated by the
frisee salad with white truffle vinaigrette.

Next up was the Black Tea Smoked Duck Breast with arugula salad, lemon vinaigrette, onion jam, white wine soaked raisins and candied walnuts. The duck exhibited a subtle smokiness and was super tender. There was a good amount of fat, but it was not chewy at all. The salad and onion jam added a nice acidity to compliment the duck. The crunch of the walnuts and the sweetness from the raisins added another layer of texture and flavour. This was the best dish of the night. From one fowl to another, we had the Bacon-wrapped Semi De-boned Quail stuffed with marinated dried cranberries. Served on the side was grilled asparagus, eggplant, zucchini and peppers. This was bit difficult to eat despite the partial de-boning (that doesn't sound right does it?). Regardless, the meat was moist and subtle in flavour. The cranberries added a sweet tartness while the bacon did its bacony thing. There was flavour, yet I would've personally liked just a touch more. As for the veggies, they were grilled up nicely and well-seasoned. This was a well-executed dish, however, it lacked impact.

Onto our 4th course, we had a vegetarian offering with the Spinach & Cream Cheese Stuffed Portobello Cap with aged balsamic reduction and spinach salad. One bite and the flavours really stood out, especially the drizzle of reduced balsamic. Due to the use of generous use of cream cheese, this was not light. The crunch from the bread crumbs somewhat alleviated the lack of texture from the mushroom and cream cheese. I liked the flavour profile of the dish, but not necessarily the textures. Lastly, we had the Pavlova with fresh strawberries and hibiscus cream. The meringue was a touch dense and clumsy to eat. The cream was not heavy and benefited from the addition of basil. This was a light way to finish off the meal. Despite not being blown away, the meal as a whole was pretty decent. The one thing that really stands out is the price points on the menu. Nothing is over $20.00 and that is an accomplishment for any restaurant situated in Yaletown. Considering that Caché Bistro & Lounge serves up fine-dining fare, it represents a good value in a neighbourhood that usually is known for being overpriced.

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

The Good:
- Reasonable pricing
- Nice dining space

The Bad:
- The food wasn't bad, but could've been more impactful