Toe Dam Korean Fusion BBQ

For all the things that my son refuses to eat, there is one that he craves and asks for specifically.  No, it's not mac n' cheese nor grilled cheese sandwiches (although he does have a preference for them...).  Rather, he truly enjoys Korean BBQ.  Great, expensive tastes since Korean food can be pretty pricey.  That was essentially the case time around as we hit up Toe Dam located near H-Mart and amongst many other Korean restaurants.  It was funny how the kids kept thinking it was called "toe jam".

Anyways, everything hit the table at the same time and in the bustle, I didn't notice that we only received 4 small plates of Banchan including sprouts, seaweed, kimchi and potato.  I wished that there was more variety and more in portion size (but then again, we could've asked for more).  We liked the kimchi as it was crunchy and had a bright tart spiciness that wasn't heavy.  As for the BBQ, we started with the Pork Belly which sported a good meat-to-fat ratio.  After being crisped up on the grill as well as caramelization, these were predictably tasty where the kids gobbled them up.  For us, we did the ol' lettuce wrap with garlic and soy bean paste.

We also got an order of the marinated Short Ribs which were thick and succulent.  They were well-seasoned exhibiting the classic sweetness.  If you were wondering about the scissors, they were necessary to cut up the meat once we finished grilling it whole on the BBQ.  For the kiddies, we got an order of the always expensive Japchae (which baffles us as we prepare it at home at a fraction of the cost).  We liked it as it was very garlicky and not overly soft nor wet.  There was no shortage of ingredients including big pieces of tender shaved beef.  There was also a noticeable sesame oil essence which was appetizing.

Lastly, we had the Tofu Soup which was full of ingredients including silky tofu, shrimp, kimchi and raw egg.  This was very thick and somewhat spicy.  In reality, it was more of a stew (in general that is) than a soup as it was hearty with more ingredients than actual broth.  Overall, we enjoyed our meal at Toe Dam despite ringing up a bill over $80.00 for 2 adults and 2 young kids.  But that shouldn't be a surprise as eating at a Korean restaurant (in particular authentic ones) can be often a wallet-emptying experience.

The Good:
- Decent eats
- Okay service in relation to other Korean restaurants

The Bad:
- Pricey
- Service was okay, but hurried as expected

P2B Restaurant & Bar

There I went again, buying up another online coupon.  What the heck?  Am I becoming more like my parents?  I am really channeling my inner-Chinese ain't I?  What's next, hording the straws and napkins from McD's?  OMG, I have some of that in my car!!!  Aiya!  I'd better stop nagging the kids then, or I'll totally morph!  Anyways, this time around, I bought my coupon from Travelzoo, rather than Groupon, Living Social or Social Living.  Considering my past experiences, Travelzoo seems to offer better quality restaurants than the rest and my experiences have been consistently better (no, I wasn't paid to say that).

So this time was P2B Bistro & Bar in the Renaissance Hotel in Downtown.  As part of the deal, we got to order an appie each.  I opted for the Lasqueti Island Honey Mussels with chorizo sausage, honey ale, tomato and artisan baguette. We found the mussels to be plump and naturally sweet.  There was definitely a white wine essence which was accented by the ample and spicy chorizo.  The only minor issue was the significant salt content.  Viv went for the Grilled Asparagus Salad with Dungeness crab, arugula, frisée and warm bacon pepper vinaigrette.  Yes, this was a salad, but it fairly entertaining to the palate. With a mildly acidic vinaigrette aided by the slight saltiness of the bacon, it didn't overwhelm the rest of the ingredients.  The veggies remained crispy while the crab could've been fluffier.

My parents ended up with the Dungeness Crab Cakes with chili lime aioli and the Black Tiger Prawn Fitters with kaffir lime, lemon grass and nuoc mam dipping sauce.  Smallish in size, the crab cakes were soft and actually a bit wet.  On the other hand, the exterior was lightly crisp and nicely browned.  There was very little filler as most of the filling was crab, hence the flavours were sweet with enough seasoning.  The spicy aioli was a nice compliment to the sweetness.  We universally didn't like the fritters as they were truly a fried mess of things.  Hence, the prawns got completely lost.  When we did find a pieces it was good though with a meaty snap.  The fritters were crunchy, but once past the exterior, the whole thing was just too doughy.  Even the impactful sweet and spicy dip couldn't do anything to lighten things up.

Onto our mains, my dad had the Seared Arctic Char atop a potato & chorizo hash, romesco sauce and with a Dungeness crab and avocado salad.  We found the char to be mostly moist (except for the belly portion because it is thinner, which is understandable) with a beautifully crisp skin.  The flavours were indeed mild, however, that was the responsibility of the salty hash and romesco.  Much like the crab cake, the crab in the salad was a bit wet, but it was pleasant enough with the smooth avocado.  For Viv, she also went for fish with the Pan-Fried Sable Fish with potato & chorizo hash, salsa verde, mussels and romesco sauce.  Other than the addition of salsa verde and mussels, the flavours were very similar to the previous dish.  As for the fattier fish, it was flaky and buttery with crisp skin.

For myself and my mom, we didn't even look at the fish entrees and went straight for the meat.  I chose the Rib Eye Steak with blistered tomatoes, fries, herb garlic butter and watercress salad.  I asked for medium-rare and it was closer to rare, which I had no issue with.  It was sufficiently tender for a rib-eye where the natural meat flavour was amped by the impactful herb butter.  The side of Parmesan fries were pretty tasty, but texturally, I would've liked the fresh-cut variety more.  Tart and refreshing, the salad and tomatoes helped lighten the dish.  My mom went for the usual in the Roasted Rack of Lamb with whipped goat cheese & yukon potato, cauliflower puree, chimichurri and crispy Brussels sprouts.  The lamb was as moist and succulent as it appeared where most of the flavour was thanks to the sticky demi-glace and herbaceous chimichurri.  My mom really liked the cauliflower puree as it was smooth and lightly seasoned.

For the kiddies, my son had the Cheeseburger and fries.  Despite his love for burgers, he was not happy with this one.  From the dense and hard bread to the completely obliterated half beef patty, this was a fail, even for a kid's meal.  Other than the vibrant lettuce and tomato, the burger itself was hard to bite into and chew.  The side of generic fries didn't help either.  They were quite crispy though.  On the other hand, my daughter's Buttery Linguine with grilled ciabatta was good.  These noodles were still al dente and tossed enough so that they were not clumpy.  Of course the ample butter didn't hurt while the amount of salt was just right.  She gobbled this up quickly in all its entirety.  Normally, she struggles to finish a whole dish, but she didn't have a problem here (in addition to poaching some of Viv's fish and dessert).

On the topic of dessert, we shared a couple including the Chocolate X Three consisting of fresh cherry chocolate mouse, chocolate berry cup and blueberry chocolate bark.  As simple as this dessert appeared, it was decent with airy semi-sweet mousse and slightly bitter and sweet bark that had a firm snap and melted in a fairly silky manner. The second dessert was the House-Baked White Chocolate Cheesecake with blueberry compote and bourbon caramel sauce.  We found the cheesecake to be smooth and rich with a firm Oreo crust.  it wasn't too sweet while the bourbon was not overwhelming.  Interestingly, we originally went into the dinner with low expectations since it was a relatively low-key hotel restaurant. Other than a few duds, the meal as a whole was decent complete with exceptional service.

The Good:
- Above average eats
- Exceptional service
- Nice, low-key dining space

The Bad:
- Despite above-average eats, there are many restaurants in Downtown offering great food at the same price point or lower

Dine Out Vancouver Festival 2015 Media Preview

Another year and yes another Dine Out Vancouver.  Say what you want about the event, there is no denying its popularity among many diners.  For the longest time, I had my doubts and certain beliefs about it, but in recent years, they have tried to change it up with a variety of participants, special events and collaboration with associated businesses.  Again, one's experience is highly dependent on the restaurant and menus offered.  Much like last year, I was invited to attend the media preview where we would be shuttled to 3 different restaurants to check out their DOV offerings.

We all met up at Chambar where we were divided into our selected groups and headed to our first destination - Shirakawa in Gastown. Here, we were treated to 3 of their dishes that are included in their 5-course Dine Out menu for $38.00.  First up was the Spicy Albacore Tuna Sashimi served with toast.  Although predominantly sweet, there was enough discernible impact from the other flavours to make this a good dish.  It was mildly spicy with a sesame essence.  The tuna itself was buttery soft which meant the not-crispy-enough toast would've been better off being crostinis.  Next up, we sampled the Shirakawa Maki consisting of Snake River Wagyu beef atop sushi rice with a truffle onsen tamago.  Beautifully plated, this dish was more eye-candy than being practical to eat.  Nothing wrong with the well-marbled melt-in-our-mouths beef nor was the sushi rice out-of-sorts.  It was when we tried to dip it into the egg when things went awry - things just fell apart.

Lastly, we tried the Salmon Nanban (Tempura-battered wild Sockeye salmon with house tartar sauce on a bed of aonori roasted potatoes).  This was a pleasing dish where the salmon was moist and flaky while encased in a lightly crispy shell.  Once again, on the sweeter side, the tartar was creamy with a touch of je ne sais quoi quality to it.  Crispy, light and fluffy, the little nuggets of potato were also satisfying.  From Gastown, we hastily made our way to Diva at the Met.  As we were being seated, we noticed the long table with all the little tags for the options offered in their Dine Out menu.  After we took pictures of the full-sized dishes, we got to sample all of them including the fantastic Roasted Parsnip & Vanilla Bean Soup with apple compote, raisin croutons and crispy pork belly.  This was rich, smooth, yet not heavy.  The aromatic soup was nicely accented by the sweetness of the compote and croutons as well as the crunch from the pork belly.

Next up, we tried the Caramelized Beets & Goat Cheese Salad with candied hazelnuts and pomegranate & guava dressing.  There really isn't much to say about the greens other than they were fresh and vibrant.  As for the beets, they were tender while still firm.  I did like the crunch of the hazelnuts as it provided the necessary texture.  What brought it all together was the dressing as it was sweet, aromatic and acidic.  Hiding underneath a bed of baby arugula, the AAA hand-cut Angus Beef Carpaccio (with truffle vinaigrette, capers and shaved grana padano cheese) was meaty while completely tender despite being rather thickly sliced.  Flavourwise, it was strangely super-salty which made it hard to eat more than a few bites.  As a result, the rest of the ingredients didn't have much of an impact.

Moving onto the mains, the Prosciutto Wrapped Halibut looked promising with tomato lemon caper relish, ricotta gnocchi, wilted spinach and basil oil.  Ultimately, the fish was overdone where it was dry and a bit hard to eat.  However, the tomato relish was very nice being bright, acidic and fresh.  It helped add some life into the dish as the gnocchi was pretty dense and heavy as well.  Moving onto the Grilled Cornish Game Hen, I found the meat to be moist and succulent.  However, it was partly because I chose the dark meat.  Someone else remarked that the white meat was a little dry. It was served with red rice, pearl barley, harissa, honey glazed heirloom carrots and blood orange reduction.  With a spice rub, I liked that the hen had enough savoury spice to stand on its own.  However, the harissa added another layer of smoky spiciness (mild though).  The red rice with barley was quite nice as it had an al dente bite which was accented nicely by the ample harissa.

The vegetarian option for the menu was the Wild Mushroom & Ricotta Cannelloni with mushroom consumme.  At first, I wasn't overly anxious in trying it (due to my love of meat).  However, it turned out to be probably my favourite of the 3 entrees.  Encased in al dente fresh pasta, the mushroom/ricotta mixture was moist and woodsy.  That was further amped up in terms of Earthiness by the wonderful consomme that featured a "meatiness" from the concentrated mushroom flavour.  For dessert, I tried the Stilton Cheesecake first.  It was plated along with berries as well as a rhubarb compote and port sauce.  Fluffy and firmly cheesy, the cheesecake was not as sharp-tasting as I thought it would be.  However, it did still taste really cheesy while easy on the sugar.  I liked the port sauce as it brought the sweetness level down another notch with a tartness.

The cheesecake was good, but the next dessert was a real crowd-pleaser. Interestingly plated, the Tiramisu with star anise anglais featured soaked lady fingers totally encased in a light marscapone cream.  If there was a perfect texture and flavour combination, this was as close as I've seen it.  It was purposefully sweet (as in, not very sweet) with only enough essence of coffee.  With this firmly stuck in our minds, we moved onto our 3rd restaurant which was a complete departure from Diva at the Met.  Traveling all the way down to the South end of The Drive, we ended up at Cafe Kathmandu.  There, we were immediately served a Nepali Appetizer Set consisting of turmeric infused potato salad, roasted soy beans, dry rolled rice and salad. The star of the place was the crunchy soy beans as they were spiked with a salty garlicky spiciness.  Also crispy and strangely addictive, the dry rolled rice could easily be a snack on its own.

Onto more appetizers, we sampled the Sea Momo in both pork and vegetarian versions.  These XLB-looking dumplings were served in a soup of tomato, sesame, cilantro, lemon and mild spices. I found the soup (more like a sauce) was effective in offering up big hits of cilantro and the necessary acidity.  As for the dumplings, the skin was thin and toothsome.  Inside, the pork filling was loose and crumbly, yet moist at the same time.  Flavours were mild with ginger, onion and coriander being easily recognized.  Appearing like a work of art, the Chatamari (single side pan baked rice and lentil bread, topped with egg, onion, bell peppers, cilantro, ginger garlic and mild spices) benefited from the 3 sauces on the side.  With a firm crust topped with a runny egg, there wasn't a whole lot of flavours going on other than the toppings.  But with a dash of the hot sauce, the whole thing came alive with a spiciness that didn't overwhelm.

For entrees, we were served 3 including the Goat Curry (pictured), Peas & Potato and Cauliflower Chicken.  I particularly enjoyed the goat curry with daikon due to the developed rich flavours from the fat.  The meat itself was tender and moist while only a bit gamy.  I didn't find the curry particularly spicy, but it did have depth.   Finally, our 2 desserts consisted of Noodle Pudding (thin noodle slow cooked in milk and brown sugar) and Saffron Almond Phirni (granulated rice cooked in almond milk and brown sugar with touch of saffron).  Both were mildly sweet with a touch of aromatics, especially from the saffron.  Texturally, I thought the rice version was a bit thicker.  As you can see, we were treated to a diverse array of eats from 3 very different restaurants representing different price points.  There are many more to choose from starting on January 16th until February 1st.

*All food and gratuities were complimentary*

Bogart's Bar & Restaurant

*Restaurant is now closed*

As of late, I've been addicted to buying online coupons for restaurants.  Normally, most of the deals are with less-than-desirable places, so I tend to ignore them.  Blame it on the deal-hunter in me as the "extra" year-end discounts lured me into buying one-after-another.  With average-to-below-average experiences at The Brasserie Bistro and Big River Brewing, I was about to give up.  But we decided to keep on soldiering on with our latest adventure at Bogart's Bar & Restaurant in the Downtown Hampton Inn.

For our starter, Viv and I chose the Steamed Mussels with shallots, garlic, herbs, white wine and butter served with grilled ciabatta.  We found the mussels to be plump and on point in terms of doneness.  The broth was flavourful without being salty with definite hits from the ample garlic and shallots.  We didn't detect a whole lot of white wine though, but at the very least, it was cooked down properly.  My parents decided on the Pan Seared Scallops with pancetta chips, cauliflower and goat cheese purée and French lentil ragout.  Although a bit past done, the scallops sported an attractive sear which translated into a nice caramelization of flavours including the "just enough" seasoning.  Underneath, the lentils were more than an afterthought as they were still toothsome and mildly seasoned.  

For my main, I went for the Beef Burger with bacon, aged cheddar, house roasted tomato relish, dijonaise and crispy onions on ciabatta.  This was a solid offering where the large beef patty was still moist while exhibiting a smoky char.  What made this burger was the ample amount of sweet and tart tomato relish.  It provided a burst of flavour as well as extra moisture.  As soft as the ciabatta was, it managed to hold everything together without becoming soggy.  Viv ended up with the Arctic Char (with parsnip puree, root vegetables and brussels sprouts hash) not because she wanted it, but because my daughter wanted to eat it in addition to her own dish...  We found that skin to be nicely crisped up but the fish itself was a touch overcooked.  It was devoid of seasoning as well.  However, the rest of the ingredients were seasoned enough including the smooth parsnip puree and toothsome veggies.

For her main, my mom had the Steak Frites consisting of a perfectly medium-rare flat iron steak with house cut fries and demi glace.  As such, the steak was tender and moist.  The slightly thick, yet silky, demi-glace exhibited a noticeable red wine essence while being a bit on the saltier side.  The large mound of fresh-cut fries were really good.  They were lightly crispy on the outside while soft and potatoey on the inside.  I liked them so much, I dug into these after I finished my own portion.  Trying to eat healthier, my dad had the Bogart's Salad consisting of chicken, crispy bacon, goat cheese, avocado, hard boiled egg and roasted cherry tomatoes with house dressing.  Honestly, I would never order a salad myself, but this one was pretty typical yet good in its own right due to the fresh and vibrant veggies as well as the moist chicken breast.

For the kiddies, my son was eying only one item on the menu and it happened to be the Mac n' Cheese made with with bacon, aged cheddar, Gruyère and Parmesan.  Well, he ate this up pretty quickly due to the wealth of cheesiness from the sharpness of the cheddar as well as the saltiness of the Parm.  We didn't notice any bacon in it though.  He also enjoyed the crispy topping which added some texture to the al dente noodles.  In addition to eating half of Viv's arctic char, my daughter had half of her Pizza Margherita.  If we were to compare this to a real Neapolitan-style pizza, it would rate pretty low.  But if we look at it as a thin crust pizza with cheese and sauce (and basil), it was okay.  The crust was slightly crisp while the ample fresh basil did add good aromatics.  It could've used more tomato sauce though as it was lacking some zip.
 
For dessert, Viv and I shared the Chocolate Molten Cake with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream.  We thought the cake should've been more intact before being served, yet that didn't make or break the dish.  In fact, the kids hijacked it from us and ate most of it.  For the small piece I did try, it was indeed moist and sweet.  It was not bad, but a bit too wet for my liking.  My parents opted for the Bailey's Crème Brulée with with orange almond biscotti. I sampled some and it definitely tasted like they added enough Bailey's.  As for the texture, it was a bit too fluffy rather than custardy.  It was not overly sweet though, which was a good thing since there was a significant hard sugar topping.  If we ignore the fact we used 2 coupons for this meal for a moment, the regular prices at Bogart's are shockingly low especially for Downtown.  In that case, we felt the food was more than acceptable given nothing was over $20.00

The Good:
- Decent eats, especially for the price
- Okay portions, especially for the price
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- Food came out real slow
- Naturally, there is better food in Downtown, but it will cost more