Omakase @ Kimura

Probably the first place that comes to mind when most people think of Omakase is Tojo's. Naturally, for those who have ventured to other Japanese restaurants, Tojo's would not really be their first choice. After all, you can't really get out of there without spending at least $100.00 each for his Omakase. And if you sit at the bar and give him the reigns, just make sure you bring along 5 brown notes. Yes, the last time I had the Omakase there, it cost nearly $500.00 for 2 people. I must admit some of the offerings were really good; but it didn't feel like I was getting my money's worth. But then again, as I have stated, people don't go to Tojo's for value. Much like purchasing a Bentley, there is no thought put into: "Am I getting a good deal?". It's the type of place where you have been there and done that. It is also a place where you'd find people with too much money. For me, the Omakase at Octopus' Garden was better in value and overall eating experience. Now, it was about time to see what Kimura had to offer with their reasonably-priced $50.00 Omakase.

We started with an Arugula and Baby Spinach Salad with fresh Parmesan. This was a pretty typical salad with a light vinaigrette that I personally found a tad greasy. I did like the liberal use of pepper and ample amount of Parm on top. It added the necessary saltiness. Next up was a platter of many different items consisting of 2 Oysters on the half-shell, Marinated Smelt, Sea Snail & Spinach Gomae, Akimono with berry jam, Squash & Lotus Root and in the centre, an Oyster and Quail's Egg Shooter. I found the oysters to be fresh and the light ponzu was just enough to enhance the natural sweetness. The marinated smelt was really sweet with a touch of tartness. This was okay for me, I wish it was less sweet. As for the Gomae, I found that the spinach itself was missing the roasted sesame seeds because all of it was on the sea snail. The texture of the spinach itself was perfect though. I love the snails, they were chewy in an abalone kind of way and once again, they were very sweet. I really love Akimono (Monkfish Liver); however, it was topped with an inordinate amount of house made berry jam. I found it too sweet and it overwhelmed the liver. With just a little bit, it was excellent as an accent. The piece of lotus root and squash were simply prepared, which highlighted their textures and natural flavour.

Our next course was Sashimi consisting of Tako, Amberjack, Red Tuna, Hamachi, Ebi/Uni and Fried Prawn Head. Although everything on the plate was fresh and ultimately tasty, my favourite was the red tuna. I loved the meaty texture and natural sweetness. Of course the fried shrimp head was a crunchy treat. Our first "cooked" course consisted of Roasted Quail and Pork Rib. The rib was pretty good. The meat was hardly moist; but it wasn't dry either. The meat fell off the bone and had a nice sweet and savouriness to it. I really liked the quail. It had good colour and the skin had been cooked perfectly. The meat was still moist and a bit chewy (but that is normal). Roasted potatoes and a shishito pepper completed the dish.

Our next dish consisted of Pan Seared Salmon and Scallop. Of the five people at the table, 2 were cooked all the way through while the others were slightly rare. Unfortunately, Mijune and I were the ones who had the slightly overcooked portions. For me, this was a very "meh" offering. Nothing terrible about it; but it was uninteresting. The salmon was slightly dry and the scallop had no caramelization. The only flavouring was a splash of sweet soy. Arriving shortly after and steaming hot was the Clam Miso. As you can clearly see, these were big, fat clams. Normally, miso soup has all the appeal of plain green salad. However, the one here was not your typical "Japanese-wannabe" version. Rather, it was not salty at all. Instead, it had depth and a certain "hearty" quality to it. I normally am indifferent when it comes to miso soup; but I did like this one.

The meat portion of our meal consisted of the Kobe Beef. Rather than being prepared as a whole "steak" and then sliced, this one was pan seared in pieces. This way, they were cooked all the way through (which is fine for Kobe beef) and uniformly seasoned. However, I personally was not a big fan of this preparation. The Kobe-ness of the beef seemed to be lost here. If this wasn't enough food by now, we were also given a choice of Nigiri. The ones we settled on were Toro, Uni, Amberjack and Amaebi. On separate plates were Unagi and Tamago. Just like last time, I was happy with the sushi rice; but it's still a bit gummy for me. Maybe it's personal preference? Others have liked it very much... Whatever the case, the fish, ebi and uni were fresh and appealing despite a poor cutting job on the toro. Interestingly enough, I liked the toro the most due to its texture and taste. Once again, we were served the prawn heads fried on a separate dish. Gosh, I really love these. I really like them alot. The fried taste of prawn shells with the sweet innards there for the chewing or sucking. Guess what Mijune did with the head? And I do have a picture of it (it's not posted here due to an R-rating)!

Lastly, we were offered the choice of Ice Cream - sesame, mango or green tea. Seeing how she wanted to try every flavour, Mijune created her own "Asian" spumoni. She claimed it was good and well, I suppose. I stuck with a straight sesame ice cream and it was pretty smooth; yet not too strong in the black sesame flavour. Whatever the case, we all felt that the $50.00 for this omakase was well worth the price. Sure, not everything was perfect; but really what is? Most of the dishes were made with expensive ingredients and some were very well-executed. However, I still prefer the omakase from Octopus' garden over the one here. But I don't think you can go wrong with either. At the very least, it further illustrates how overpriced Tojo's is (quality and execution withstanding).

The Good:
- Good value
- Friendly staff
- Quality ingredients

The Bad:
- Not as refined as some other omakases

True Confections (Broadway)

After a less-than-filling meal at Migz, Mijune and I decided to get some dessert. It didn't take much convincing really. It is no secret that Mijune loves desserts. I think I had her at "cream pie"... Er... Anyways, since we were relatively near True Confections, it was as good as anytime to pay the place a visit. Wow. I haven't been here in literally 15 years. This used to be a late night option when I was in University. Strangely, at the time I was at SFU, so I'm not sure why I was out all the way near UBC. No wonder my car had some many kms! There are other locations though; but this one is more parking friendly. And you know me and parking! One of the reasons I haven't been back since then is the "average-ness" of their desserts. I guess we'll have to see if anything has changed...

For myself, I only had one thing on my mind after watching the Food Network earlier in the day - it was the Boston Cream Pie throw down. Yes, with the Canucks playing the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final, I guess I should call this a Vancouver Cream Pie? Wait. That didn't sound right. No wonder Mijune was giving me a dirty look all night after I asked if she wanted cream pie... She did eventually relent and had some cream pie... LOL... Okay, enough of that. I found the chocolate on the outside too thick and dense. It actually detracted from the overall dessert. The cake itself was a little dry while still airy. I found the custard to be acceptably sweet and there was plenty of it. A pretty average cream pie. We also shared a Banana Split Cheesecake. It sounded good on paper; but for me at least, it was not that good. In terms of the cheesecake itself, there was nothing wrong with it. It was your typical baked New York style. The problem was with the banana. It almost made the cheesecake even more heavier and dense. Then the aroma of banana didn't seem to have the right impact either. Maybe I'm used to something tart such as mango, lime, lemon or strawberries? There was pineapple in the cake, so at the very least, when I got a chunk, it broke up the heaviness.

Not to be outdone, we also had the Devil's Food Cake. A play on angel's food cake, this consisted of chocolate cake with chocolate cream and marshmallow frosting. I actually didn't mind this cake. It wasn't too sweet despite its appearance. The cake itself was fluffy and light while the frosting and cream were not heavy at all. Lastly, we got Mijune's favourite in the Diplomat Cake. Looking like a cross between a vanilla cake and a Napoleon, this consisted of cake, custard, cream and puff pastry. Since I'm not a huge fan of Napoleons, I only had a passing interest in this cake. It didn't have the textural contrast I was looking for and honestly, I found the cake to be boring. I didn't get any flavour from it. However, the cake itself was light and fluffy. Meh. Nothing has changed. The desserts here are passable if there were no options open late at night. Seeing how Vancouver is not really a dessert city, there are not a whole lot of dessert only stores around, particularly open late. That's probably why True Confections continues to exist. For me at least, I'd much rather hit up a nice restaurant after dinner service and only order dessert. But then again, I'm not a huge dessert person, so I'd probably eat another dinner instead...

The Good:
- Lots of options
- Open late

The Bad:
- It's pretty average
- It's not cheap

Migz BBQ

BBQ. That could mean many different things in Vancouver. It can range from Chinese BBQ shops to Korean tabletop BBQ dinners. In fact, those would come to mind first over what we normally associate with BBQ in North America. You see, American BBQ, whether it be Texan, St. Louis or Kansas City, is not exactly that prevalent here on the Wet Coast. It is quite possible due the large distance away from the source could be a reason. Maybe it could be the demographics as well. It would explain the plethora of Asian restaurants, which completely dominate the culinary landscape of our city. Whatever the case, this is all we got and we can only do a locational comparison. Comparing to authentic joints in the South would be just plain ludicrous. So Mijune and I went on another eating escapade - this time at Migz BBQ.

Of all the offerings in the menu, we only had our eye on one - The Pig Out Platter. With a choice of 3 meats and 2 sides, it looked like a good way to sample what they got. We settled on the Baby Back Ribs, Pulled Pork and Duck. When the food arrived, we were pretty underwhelmed at the portion size. For me, this surely didn't seem like enough to feed 3 people. Moreover, the Pulled Pork looked more like chopped meat. My question is - how hard is it to hand pull the meat? It is pulled pork... Now with that being said, the pork itself was fork tender while just a shade dry. But again, how hard is it to slather it in sauce? With such a meager amount of BBQ sauce, it looked more like boiled meat. To be fair, once we asked for more sauce, the pulled pork was not bad. I would've liked to see a bit less liquid smoke and some more sweetness.

Now, by eye-balling the Baby Back Ribs, I knew there would be issues. You see, rather than being served as an intact rack of ribs, they were cut up into individual ribs. This practically guarantees that the meat would be dry and all the edges would be hard. I had a total of 4 ribs and the first wasn't too bad; but the rest were very dry and hard. To be fair, as dry and hard as it was, all the meat was still edible. So for those who like their meat this way... For me at least, I found the Duck to be the highlight (it's all relative though...). It was a cross between a Chinese BBQ duck and a smoked duck. The meat was chewy and slightly difficult to break down. However, it was "juicier" than the ribs and it had a nice smokey aroma. I had to pick the skin off though, it was too thick and chewy. Other than the duck, the other item that I didn't mind was the Coleslaw. It was crunchy, fresh and full of flavour. I found the dressing to have a nice tang; but it was too heavy on the pepper - maybe that's why it had flavour... Although the dressing was creamy, they should've not put so much into the slaw because it became almost soup-like and ultimately watery. It looked like cream soup at the end. As for the Corn Bread, it was presented in a way that it resembled pound cake. When I picked up the crumbly "cake", it really did feel like I was eating pound cake. It had a wet, dense texture to it and was extremely buttery. I liked how it wasn't too sweet; but there was a noticeable absence of cornmeal. Hence, it didn't have a crunch to it. Not terrible, not good either.

Now, if one was to look at all the comments about the BBQ at Migz, it would appear the food is inedible. Honestly, I wouldn't go as far to declare that. I will say that the BBQ at the Hog Shack, Memphis Blues and even Montana's to be superior. If I had to draw a parallel, the BBQ here most closely resembles BBQues in Yaletown. We didn't get to try any of the other items on the menu, so the jury is still out on that. As for the BBQ items we did try, it is true that there is better elsewhere. I guess with the increasing choices of many different types of food in Vancouver (that is not Asian), restaurants have to up their game in order to compete. Merely serving something that is average will not cut it for most anymore.

The Good:
- Pretty comfortable surroundings, quite spacious actually
- The service we got was good, although the place wasn't busy
- Give them kudos for offering duck

The Bad:
- In terms of the BBQ, we didn't think the portions were inline with the regular prices
- BBQ is pretty average to below average

Café Régalade

*Restaurant is now closed*

With the closures of Corner Suite Bistro Deluxe, Lumiere and DB Bistro (among others), it has become crystal clear that fine dining has taken a hit. Blame it on the economy, HST, the new liquor laws, inflation or anything else you can think of. Hence, the more affordable near fine dining establishments such as Les Faux Bourgeois, Pied-a-Terre, Twisted Fork and Salade de Fruits continue to thrive. A few years ago, we saw an explosion of these types of restaurants and it has slowed down somewhat until now. We saw the opening of Cafeteria last year and Campagnolo Roma just a few months ago. Almost seemingly at the same time, Café Régalade opened in Kits. The "Mini-me" of the larger La Régalade in West Van, it attempts to offer French food at sub $20.00 prices.

Originally, it was my intention on suggesting it to my softball team after a Monday night game; but ah zut! The place is closed on Mondays! Well, there goes that idea. And most certainly I'm not going to visit the place all-by-myself! I can only eat so much... Since we missed the past Monday game due to game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals, I thought it would be a great idea to "make-up" that canceled dinner. Actually, I was only able to round up one current member on my softball team being Milhouse. Emilicious, who plays on another team and TS, who used to play on my team, joined us as well. We milled around the idea of what to order when Emilicious piped up we should all share. Well, she had me at "share". After consultation with the every so fashionably late TS, we started with the Vitello Tonnato “en fleur” or roast veal slices and cauliflower salad. Now, I've never actually had this dish before; but upon further research, the one here deviates from the classic version a bit. Usually, the mayonnaise dressing includes tuna; but the one here resembles more of a potato salad except with cauliflower. I found this appetizer to be quite good. The thin slices of veal were still slightly rare and well-seasoned. Yet, it wasn't seasoned to the point where it hid the natural meat flavour.

Next we had the Caquelon of Snails, in Garlic Butter. Honestly, the snails were really an afterthought since the garlic butter with parsley, basil and lemon went really well with the baguette. The snails were only there as texture; but since they weren't really that big, it was easily lost in the bread dipping. At first, I didn't find it too salty; but as I put more of it on the baguette, it was powerful stuff. From a flavour explosion to something much more subtle was the Quinoa Salad with Mango and Basil. There was not much in the way of seasoning in this, rather the flavour relied on the sweet mango combined with the fresh basil and toasted pine nuts. The quinoa added another layer of texture. I didn't mind this salad; but it didn't have much impact and I got bored of it after awhile.
For our entrees, we started with the special of the day which was Le Cassoulet de La Regalade. This particular version not only had the requisite duck leg, it added lamb, sausage and ham. Boy, this was a massive amount of food. Granted, most of it consisted of beans; yet it would be a challenge for anyone to actually finish it. We really liked the crispy top finished off with bacon. Crispy and smoky, very good. We found the duck to be dry in parts while the sausage had a nice bounce texture. The lamb was really tender while not falling apart. It still had some meatiness to it. In terms of flavour, we found it was seasoned just enough. From one heavy dish to an even heavier one was the Braised Short Ribs in Pepper Sauce. The portion size was nothing to be scared of; rather it was the richness that made it a "eat only a little bit" dish. The boneless short rib was melt-in-our-mouths tender. There was barely any need for chewing. The pepper sauce was super creamy and sinful. It was not that peppery. Instead, it was smooth and relatively mild. Incredibly, served on the side was Gratin Dauphinois (scalloped potatoes). Boy, was this ever rich with heavy cream. Sinfully good; but too heavy for one person to finish.

Finally, at our 3rd entree, it was all about the flavours rather than size or heaviness. The Duck Breast a L'Orange was modest in size; yet not in flavour. The orange sauce was very well-balanced between being sweet, tart and a bit savoury. It was strong enough to flavour the duck while not overwhelming it. Now the duck had a nice seared taste; but I found it to be on the chewier side. It was by no means hard to eat; I just wished it was more moist. Finishing the plate was sauteed leeks which existed; yet were hardly memorable. Our final dish was the Steak Frites. I was actually disappointed with this dish. First, the frites were just like the ones from La Régalade - not crispy and kinda soggy. There must be some people who like it this way. I'm just not one of them. As for the steak itself, it was very thin - reminiscent of a minute steak. Moreover, it was a bit on the chewier side too. I realize that for $16.00, I shouldn't expect too much; but I've had better for the same price (specifically the hanger steak at Les Faux Bourgeois). They did offer it to be served with a red wine or peppercorn sauce; however, we already had a pepper sauce from the short ribs.

Even though Mijune wasn't present, somehow we ended up with dessert even though we were stuffed. And just like last time at La Régalade, we had the Lemon Tart. Wait, lemme rephrase that - I had the lemon tart again because none of them were with me last time! Unlike the one at La Régalade, the one here was a slice of a much larger tart. I actually like this version more since I'm not a huge fan of crust. I'd much rather have more filling. And the filling was really good here. It was silky, tart and not too sweet. Very well-balanced and I appreciated how the filling didn't run all over the plate (like some others I've had in the past). Of course a visit to either Café Régalade or La Régalade is not complete without the Floating Island or île Flottante. It consists of a large meringue with caramel and almonds atop crème anglais. Despite its size, the dessert is actually quite light. For some odd reason, this time around, I could only do a few spoonfuls. After that, I was not wanting anymore. Don't get me wrong, I like the dessert. Maybe it get a bit monotonous after awhile?

Lastly we had one of the daily desserts being the Monaco Torte. I'm not exactly sure what was in it since my note-taking kind of faded around the end of the entrees. I remember some crumbly chocolate on the inside with a layer of cream. It was actually quite sweet if one was to take a large chunk of it. Somewhat in sync with La Régalade; yet with smaller portions, Café Régalade serves up classic French food in a small little bistro in Kits. With nothing over $20.00, it is affordable near fine-dining. No pretentiousness here. Now, for me at least, I still think Les Faux Bourgeois leads the pack when it comes to French bistros; but considering the location, Café Régalade offers up decent French fare at reasonable prices.

The Good:
- Well-priced
- Nice location
- Generally good food

The Bad:
- As with most bistros, the seating is tight
- Some dishes are much more impressive than others (normal for most restaurants though)

Hot Millions Cafe

There was a time when places like Panago were inexpensive. Back when it was known as Panagopoulos, we could get 2-for-1 pizzas on the cheap. Remember Pizza 222? Same idea. However, it is increasingly clear that pizzas ordered from the big chains are no longer a cheap meal idea (assuming we're not looking at specials and/or coupons). Well, there is Little Ceaser's and their hot 'n ready pizzas at $5.00; but there is more cheese found in a bag of Cheetos, so it doesn't qualify as pizza. And let's not even get into Pizza Hut... With all the independent pizza joints around, we really do not have to rely on the pizza chains. Personally, I don't want to pay almost $20.00 for a pizza, unless if it is something special (like Steveston Pizza). So when a place like Hot Millions offers any size, any 5 toppings for $8.95, it helps keep the money in my wallet (until I spend it on other food). Now you'd think that for $8.95, they would start short-changing you on the toppings and the cheese much like Little Caesar's. Think again.

Looking at the first slice of pizza, being the the Tandoori Chicken, there is no shortage of spiced chicken, green peppers and cheese. Considering its location, this is a pretty typical pizza. Hey, I love this personally since I love Indian food! I've had butter chicken pizza at another nearby pizza joint as well. Something different from the usual. The crust is somewhere between a deep dish and something like Domino's regular crust. Nothing to write home about; but fine nonetheless. We also got a Hawaiian and since we basically had a choice of 5 toppings, we just got more ham and some salami as well. Made for a meaty pizza with once again plenty of cheese. It is worth noting that the pizza wasn't particularly oily as well. Not sure if they used skim milk mozzarella or not; but it sure seemed like it. Lastly, we finally got all 5 toppings with the Deluxe and as you can clearly see, they are consistent with their generous amount of toppings. No other chain pizza joint can touch this considering the combination of price, amount of toppings, cheese and quality of pizza. If you live nearby, Hot Millions is a good bet for an inexpensive meal.

The Good:
- Cheap
- Lots of cheese
- Lots of toppings

The Bad:
- Crust is on the thicker side (but if you like that, nevermind)

EAT! Vancouver 2011

Saying that I'm busy as of late would be somewhat of an understatement. When I got an invite to attend EAT! Vancouver this year, I initially hesitated. That particular weekend looked totally booked up. Trying to figure out how to possibly fit it in, I found a small amount of time on the opening day. Problem being was that it was also the night of the Canucks game and I actually had a game myself. I tried to get out of it; but in the end, we had no other goalie for the league game. So crammed in between getting off work and my own hockey game, I made my way into Downtown. Yah, that was somewhat of an adventure since everyone was heading Downtown to watch the game. I briefly thought of Skytraining it in; but with the large mass of people I bit the bullet and paid the $14.00 to park at the new Convention Centre.

I quickly took a look at the many displays and there were so many, I didn't have enough time to see them all. Hence, I went straight for the Bite of Vancouver. There were much more participants this year. Moreover, it was nice to see a good diversity too. I remember 2 years ago, there were like 4 Indian restaurants (I love Indian food, but that's too many). I immediately headed over to a familiar face in chef Dan Craig of EBO Restaurant. It is no secret that I love their Tuna, so it was easily my first choice. And like everytime I've had it, the tuna was perfectly rare in the middle with a crunchy panko crust. Saltiness from the Serrano ham, a fresh crispness from the asparagus and smooth avocado puree make it a multi-dimensional dish. Then over to another favourite of mine, Crave and their Chunky Halibut, Shrimp and Corn Chowder. I didn't find it a chowder in terms of the broth. It was creamy while not being thick. However, it was certainly chunky with good sized pieces of halibut. The chowder was predominantly sweet due to the seafood and corn.

From that, it was onto something much more substantial in the Gramercy Grill and their Blue Cheese Macaroni plus Meatball. The macaroni was very creamy. There was a good amount of blue cheese; but I didn't get a whole lot of sharpness. That is probably due to them holding back since blue cheese is quite strong and pungent. I don't blame them, they must appeal to the masses. The meatball was large and substantial. It was very meaty with not a whole lot of filler. The meat was moist in the middle while still holding together throughout. The accompanying tomato sauce was light and only served to help keep the meatball moist. It wasn't particularly tart, sweet nor savoury. It was fresh tasting though. This was however one of the better deals since it was so substantial and filling.

From the heaviness of that mac n cheese plus meatball, I went back to Tuna from Fishworks from North Van. Somewhat similar to EBO, the Tuna Tataki featured rare Albacore tuna with mango puree, avocado puree and yuzu. As evidenced from the picture, the tuna was cooked up pretty much perfectly. It rested on a bed of mango puree and avocado puree. The key here was the mango. It added a necessary level of sweetness and a bit of tang. A very refreshing dish before I went for the heaviest of all from another one of my favourites - Mochikas. And this heavy item was the Chicharron Sandwich consisting of a crispy mini bun with layers of deep fried sweet potatoes, slices of chicharron, Salsa Criolla, and Mochikas hot sauce. What makes this sandwich is the beautifully roasted pork belly. It wass totally sinful where it practically melts in your mouth. The fat combined with the sweet potatoes and crunchy onions make it a "wow" item.

By now, I really needed to leave. On my way out, I stopped in my tracks because Tourist Office of Spain was featuring Jamon Serrano (as corrected by a wonderful Anonymous "perfect" commenter with wonderful sarcasm...) . Sliced from the leg itself, this was quite neat. Too bad I was so rushed; but it was nice to see a show dedicated to food. I missed the cooking competition, celebrity chefs, seminars and the beer garden. One really needs to be there many hours to experience it all. Maybe next year I can take my time.