Farmer's Apprentice

Named one of Canada's best new restaurants by EnRoute Magazine over 2 years ago, Farmer's Apprentice has been on my bucket list since.  However, each time we planned to go, it was during their annual vacation.  This time around, we persevered and booked a time right after they got back.  However, their once simple farm-to-table menu became even simpler with a set $55.00 dinner consisting of 7 tasting courses.  With fairly high expectations, we all decided on the Omnivore menu.

Being a bit anti-climatic, our favourite dish of the meal was the first being the Fermented Tomato Dashi.  As simple as it appeared, the flavours practically exploded with hits of aromatic tartness from last year's heirloom tomatoes.  Also, the use of kombu added an umaminess that was further heightened by the oregano oil.  Either I was super hungry or I was off my game since I decided to start eating my Warm Kale Salad before I took a photo of it.  We had to reconstruct one (messily I might add) for that purpose.  The slightly wilted kale was complimented by pickled coronation grapes, toasted buckwheat and cashew cream.  This was pretty tasty as the vinaigrette was impactfully acidic and slightly sweet.  I thought the ingredients were well-thought out and harmonized with each other including the smooth and aromatic cashew cream.

We then moved onto the first of two proteins with the Albacore Tuna with cabbage and carrot jus. High quality and buttery soft, the tuna was naturally sweet and emanated a taste of the sea.  There was a very mild sweetness from the jus which let the tuna shine, but could've used a bit more punch.  After this dish, the wait for the Mangalitsa Pork with poached pear was nearly 40 minutes long. Not sure what the problem was, but that is not good pacing in our opinion.  Even though the pork was on point in its preparation being tender with a touch of pink, the dish as a whole was underwhelming.  We found that the mustard and pork jus was far too low-key (albeit pleasantly sweet).  The pork itself didn't have enough inherent flavour to stand on its own.

Next, we were served a visually stunning and whimsical dish sporting a slice of Celery Root topped with prosciutto and egg yolk.  Served on the side were Red Fife Parker Rolls accompanied by onion butter.  Unlike the rest of the table (their reception was lukewarm), I liked individual components of the dish.  The egg yolk was perfectly runny where I soaked it up with the warm rolls that benefited from the sweet and aromatic whipped onion butter.  Although the prosciutto added the necessary saltiness, I was indifferent with the starchy root.  For dessert, we were served grated Frozen Gala Apples with elderflower sherbert and meringue.  We were universally unimpressed with this as there were whole clumps of frozen and bland apples.  As much as the tart sherbert saved the dish from being flavourless, it wasn't enough to change our minds.

Arriving with the final bill, we were treated to little bites consisting of Corn Bread with whey cream.  These little bites were almost crunchy and a pleasant end to a decent, yet not particularly memorable tasting meal.  Over the next week I thought about it the meal some more to see if our expectations were too high.  However, despite the reasonable-pricing ($55.00) for the tasting menu, there wasn't enough there to make us return.  Strangely, Viv and I much preferred our visit to their sister restaurant (Grapes & Soda). To be fair, the meal was still good execution-wise while the service was solid.

The Good:
- Meal as a whole was executed properly
- Attentive service
- Ingredients were fresh and good quality

The Bad:
- Flavours were not impactful (as if something was missing)
- With only 2 menus available per month, there are limited options   

Hastings Warehouse

Sometimes, I wonder if McD's can actually qualify as cheap eats any longer (especially when there are no coupons involved).  I've spent nearly $30.00 to feed myself, Viv and the kids at McD's on many occasions.  However, it donned on me that I can spend roughly the same amount at a real restaurant such as The Warehouse in Downtown Vancouver.  So when I was in the neighbourhood of the Hastings Warehouse, we stopped by for some cheap eats (with realistic expectations).

Having already visited the original location as well the one in Whistler Village, I was well aware of what to expect.  For me, I like to compare The Warehouse to Allegiant Air since there is an advertised low price, but all the extras will quickly add up.  To begin, Smiles went for 2 dishes (and that's what usually happens when things are only $4.95) including the Bacon Poutine and Chicken Caesar Wrap.  Featuring crunchy fries topped with cheese curds, salty gravy and a decent amount of bacon, this was a serviceable version of poutine.  I would've liked to see more cheese, but I guess we couldn't expect much for the price.  Her wrap was pretty standard stuff, yet did contain a good amount of not overly dry breast meat.  It wasn't overdressed, so it ate cleanly.

I got 2 orders of Chicken Wings for the table including the honey garlic and salt and pepper.  These were actually pretty good where the meat was not dried out, even with the crispy exterior.  I enjoyed the simple salt and pepper wings more as the honey garlic was more sweet than garlicky.  For my main, I went for the Braised Beef Spaghetti that arrived as a modest portion (again, for the price...).  Not gourmet by any stretch of the imagination, it was decent nonetheless.  The pasta was decently al dente while there was enough meat for every bite.  I wouldn't say the meat was dry, but it wasn't overly moist either.  I found that the minimal amount of "sauce" enabled the pasta to stay chewy.  In terms of taste, there was a noticeable tartness to go with a background meatiness.

Swim also had beef in the Braised Beef Quesadilla served with guacamole and salsa.  Although not impressive to look at, the dish ate well with lots of beef in a slightly crispy shell.  Not aggressively seasoned, the decently tender meat was natural-tasting.  Again, the portion size reflected the menu pricing.  Loud Mouth decided on the Nachos as his lunch (not sure why...) and although it looked alright, there wasn't really much food on the plate.  Considering that a burger could be had for the same price, this was too small even for the low cost.  There was not much to about it as they were nacho chips with the usual stuff on top.

Of course the best values, IMO, at the Warehouse are their burgers.  Vape had the BBQ Burger featuring the usual produce with cheese and bbq sauce on a brioche bun.  Although the meat was far from moist, the rest of the burger was fine, especially the soft bun.  The side of peppered fries were like the ones in the poutine being crispy and light.  Worth $4.95 in our opinion.  However, not everything is worth even that low price (specifically the nachos).  Yes, the place is reasonable, but the food is generally reflective of that and as mentioned, the cost can quickly climb when adding extras, beverages and refills.

The Good:
- Menu price is cheap
- Serviceable eats

The Bad:
- Food generally reflects the price
- Price can rise quickly if you don't watch it   

La Meza Grill

When I first caught wind that Pinpin was opening up another location along Scott Road, I was pretty excited in eating something other than Indian food for once.  Hey, as I've said all along, I absolutely love Punjabi cuisine, but it gets rather monotonous day after day.  Besides, I'm Chinese and even I can't eat Cantonese food every day either!  But when I finally got to dine at Pinpin, it fell a bit short, being even more mediocre than its Vancouver location.  Then out of the blue, I stumbled upon La Meza Grill where I hoped I could find acceptable Filipino eats.

I decided to go for 2 items beginning with the "small" Crispy Pata.  Yes, what you see on the large plate was a significant amount of gelatinous meat that was fairly moist and tender.  Naturally, there were some pieces that had been completely fried and crispy (and a bit tough).  But the best part was the crackling as it was not overly hard while still crunchy and aromatic.  The accompanying dip was well-balanced between sweet, tangy and salty.  Moving on from that filling "appie", I went for the classic Pancit Bihon which was also well-portioned.  This was mildly-seasoned (and it generally is most of the time) featuring chewy noodles mixed with plenty of ingredients.  The noodles in my opinion were just right being soft while retaining a bite.

On another visit with Chill, I also went for 2 items including the Sigsig.  I explained to Chill it was sizzling pork face, to which he gave me a strange face (ironic?).  It arrived sizzling hot where the fatty meat crisped up and caramelized right in front of our faces (sorry for the lame joke).  I enjoyed the fatty and gelatinous textures mixed in with the crispy meat.  It was nicely aromatic and somewhat silky from the egg.  A squeeze of lemon helped light and liven things up.  For my next item, I had the Seafood Palabok.  Saucy and sporting a background sweetness, the noodles were a tad too soft (although they are usually this texture).  In terms of flavour, I would've liked to see a bit more "seafoodiness".

Chill decided to go for the Curry Chicken with a side of Garlic Rice.  Smooth, creamy and coconutty, the curry was actually rather spicy.  As for the chicken, it was mostly dark meat being tender and almost succulent.  The garlic rice was chewy, nutty and of course aromatically garlicky.  So from these 2 visits, the food at La Meza was superior compared to Pinpin down the street.  Although not without faults, La Meza combines enough positives for future visits.

The Good:
- Nice people
- Comfy and clean dining space
- Decent eats

The Bad:
- Other than the curry, seasoning was a bit weak    

Doolami

*Place is now closed*

When it comes to desserts, my eating prowess declines faster than the Loonie.  However, there are times that I do enjoy some sweets after dinner, especially the fruity variety.  Since we were still on the search for the best Mango Sago in town for the Chinese Restaurant Awards, Emily and I stopped by Doolami after "snacking" on tapas at Bodega on Main.  Yes, that meant trekking across town, but really, we were never going to be in the Marpole area anytime soon.

Well, we got right down to it with the Mango Sago which arrived in a fairly deep bowl topped with plenty of fresh mangos and grapegruit.  The "soup" was served ice cold (while not icy) and was creamy and airy.  There was definitely a noted mango essence without the addition of too much sugar.  Since mangos aren't in season, these were from Australia being firm with flavours more on the tart side.  Overall, this was a satisfying and good mango sago.  We continued with the same theme with the Mango Ice with fresh mango slices.  The fluffy ice was airy and super light.  It was lightly sweet with a natural flavour.  The accompanying mango was similar to the chunks found in the sago.  In actuality, I preferred the firmer and tarter flavour as it was refreshing.

From there, we decided to try some of their famous freshly-made ice cream.  Although Durian can often clear a room faster than an exotic sports car with an "N" in Richmond, this one was more subtle and aromatic.  Again, the sweetness was mild while the ice cream was light and creamy while maintaining a richness.  Interestingly, it remained stable without much melting to the last spoonful.  Despite my passive aggressive protests, Emily ordered the Blueberry Lavender Ice Cream as well.  The initial first few bites were definitely floral, but as we continued, it was less pronounced.  Again, there was only a marginal sweetness which let the blueberry come through, yet ever-so-marginally.  Texturally, it was on point like the Durian.

Emily was so smitten with the desserts we tried, she made me trek out again, but this time from Burnaby! Man, the things I do for food... Anyways, we started with the Lychee Snow with freshly-peeled lychees.  I found the ice even fluffier than last time where it sported a naturally sweet lychee taste.  We loved the snow so much, we ended up eating most of it before we tackled the lychees.

Of course we had to try more items including the Earl Grey Ice Cream (not served in a waffle bowl because they were about to close).  As clearly evidenced when compared to the previous 2, this one was more soft and melty.  However, that didn't compromise the creamy and airiness.  There was a considerable amount of real vanilla bean that initially overshadowed the earl grey, but it did come through at the end and actually lingered.  We also had the Chocolate Ice Cream which was silky and creamy.  It was slightly sweeter, but not too much so.  There was a definite chocolate hit that had a subtle bitter finish.  This one melted even faster than the earl grey.  From these 2 visits, it was pretty clear to us that we found some solid desserts at Doolami.  I guess we're making the long drive out again?

The Good:
- Carefully-crafted desserts and ice cream
- Not overly reliant on sugar
- Decent service

The Bad:
- Can get pricey
- Not a whole lot of seats
- Inconsistency with the ice cream?  

Golden Lake

Although Golden Lake is fairly accessible in terms of distance from my house, I seem to travel farther for Dim Sum.  Unlike my recent re-visit to Yan's Palace, there was also not much motivation to stop in at Golden Lake, until now.  Apparently, they have changed ownership (hence the new awning) and have revamped some of the menu.  They have added some "Chef Tony-esque"-type of offerings to their Dim Sum service.  With that in mind, we had an impromptu visit one Sunday morning.

Getting right to the "new" items, we tried their Siu Mai with Surf Clam (pork and shrimp dumplings).  As much as the surf clam added a new twist on presentation, it did little to enhance the dumpling. In fact, since it was steamed for the same amount of time as the pork and shrimp, it became rubbery.  The dumpling itself was good though with more whole shrimp (meaty snap texture) than pork (more as a binding agent being bouncy and mousse-like).  We found the taste to be rather bland though with only a bit of sweetness.  The same could be said for the Haw Gow (shrimp dumplings) as there was little seasoning for the whole shrimp (also exhibiting a meaty and firm snap).  A touch floury and lacking elasticity, the dumpling skin was also a bit thick.

Moving onto more standard items, we had the unappealing-to-look-at Phoenix Talons (chicken feet).  With unattached skin and generally disheveled appearance, it didn't look all that appetizing.  Although it ate better than it looked, the skin was too soft while the cartilage and tendon underneath were somewhat melted.  Furthermore, other than some garlic notes, the dish was underseaoned.  Continuing with the underseasoned trend, the Steamed Spareribs with taro lacked punch.  Again, there was some garlickiness, but other than that, we could really taste the pork.  Texturally, it was on point with nice rebound and easy on the fat and cartilage.  They could've eased up on the starch though as it was goopy.

Served in a broth and topped with 2 pea shoots, the Beef Meatballs featured barely any green onion.  As such, the flavour profile was a natural tasting beefiness.  In fact, other than a modest rebound from the meatball, there was a certain amount of real beef texture.  Once again, they were pretty conservative with the salt as we really needed the accompanying Worcestershire sauce.  Okay, we were pretty much expecting the Xiao Long Bao to be average at best (since Cantonese Dim Sum rarely yields a good version), however, these were below average.  Featuring a thick and doughy skin, the rest of the dumpling was subpar.  There was no soup to be seen and the meat filling was inexplicably spiked with dried orange peel. 

Back to the more interesting dishes, we had the Fried Fish Rice Noodle Roll sporting a shade of pinkish-red.  Inside, it consisted of a considerable amount of fried basa.  Hence, it ate more heavy than the usual shrimp or pork version.  With that being said, the fish was still flaky and soft while the rice noodle was thin and sported the right elasticity.  The most interesting item we had was the whimsical Steamed Mushroom Buns shaped like large shiitakes.  Inside the soft and fluffy buns, there was an array of impactful and woodsy mushrooms.  We loved the creativity and presentation of this dish even though the filling could've used some more salt.

Of course my son reminded us that we had to order the Shrimp Spring Rolls, but to his chagrin, they also included a layer of seaweed.  We reminded him that he has had this before on a prior visit and he ended up eating it anyways (phew...).  Similar to the haw gow, the spring rolls were filled with whole shrimp sporting the same meaty snap.  We liked how they were crunchy while easy on the grease.  We were not sure why we ordered the Pan-Fried Daikon Pudding Cake because we never finish it (and the kids are indifferent with the dish).  Well, we didn't finish it despite being a nice soft and smooth texture.  On the other hand, this was woefully bland and could've used a more aggressive sear.

We ended things off with the Steamed Thousand-Layer Cake featuring salted duck egg yolk custard.  Although a bit wet, the sponge cake portion was soft and fluffy while easy on the sugar.  The duck egg yolk custard was sweet and aromatic which helped balance the cake in terms of flavour and texture.  So this revisit to Golden Lake reiterated what I've said before about the place - decent albeit a bit pricey.  We did like their attempts to offer something a bit different than the regular with varying degrees of success.

The Good:
- Decent eats
- Acceptable service
- Some interesting dishes

The Bad:
- Not a very big dining room, our table was very cramped
- A bit hit and miss
- Not cheap