Shrimp Two-Way

Fresh shrimps!! They were still jumping even after we cleaned and trimmed them. Since we didn't want to waste the roes some of the shrimps had, we did a Shrimp Two-Way:

First, pan-fried. Can you see how much roes they have?



Second, sashimi! Yummmmmm~

Chambar

Managed to find a last-minute drop-out at Chambar for a Saturday! I figured it'd be busy on a Saturday, but never imagined that the Monster Jam Monster Truck Racing would be at the BC Place on the same day! Parking was crazy in that evening! Drove around but couldn't find anything, and we're running late. In the end, we parked really far, let's just say it's really far, and speed-walked to the restaurant.

The food was not bad. I ordered the soup, the mussel stew and waffle/ice cream as the dessert. I actually didn't like the waffle very much and made a swap for the sorbet. Presentation of the food was certainly nice. Went to Chambar's website and checked - it'd cost about $35 if we were to order these dishes from the regular menu. By the way, the two desserts are not a regular item at the restaurant.

Squash and apple soup - that piece of fried apple looked like a thumb!

The mussel stew - we couldn't figure out what the secret ingredient is - and the presentation is not really on par with the rest.

The dessert - the ice cream melted so quickily!

The pictures didn't turn out so well. I guess it had to do with the fact that I was sitting too close to the food/table - well, it's a height problem...

Chambar
Food: 8.5
Presentation: 9
Environment: 8
View: 7.5 (well, depends on which side of the restaurant you're facing. ours was okay)
Service: 8
Overall: 8.2

Urban Rush Top 10 Vancouver Restaurants

Urban Rush Top 10 Vancouver Restaurants

1. West
2. Wild Rice
3. Chambar
4. Rare One
5. Feenie's
6. Sanafir
7. Phnom Penh (a Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown, go figure)
8. Octopus Garden
9. Salt Tasting Room
10. Vij's

Stonegrill

Went to Stonegrill for my first Dine Out this year. Interesting experience. Each entree is served on a 400C stone, so when the entree arrived, it's raw. Yes, literally raw. But it's really cool because it gets cooked right in front of your eyes. The waitress had to show us how to eat the entree just so everything is well-cooked: we had to cut the meat into bite-size and cook each side of the pieces. Luckily I ordered a seafood dish so it wasn't too bad. The girl at the next table ordered the stuffed chicken, o boy did she have a hard time cutting up her chicken in pieces just to make sure she wouldn't get sick afterwards?! On top of the promoted $25 menu, they also offer a $35 menu which was what I ordered:

Trio Fish with Scallops

Can you see that the fish pieces were raw when they first arrived? The three kinds of fish include salmon, ahi tuna and sea bass. I totally utilized my multitasking skill when I was tackling this plate. I had to cut the fish into pieces, while at the same time to keep them from getting over-cooked. The waitress advised us to move the meat onto the side if we're not eating fast enough. So yes, I was cutting the fish, flipping them to cook all sides of the pieces, and moving the cooked ones to the side. The question is - how do you tell if it's fully-cooked?

It's definitely not meant for people who don't cook! I can't imagine myself eating that stuffed chicken!

But the process was pretty fun.

On the down side, the service wasn't that great. We waited over 30 minutes to get the table. Why? Because the turnover wasn't fast enough. When we sat down, we saw a bunch of dirty tables around. The waitors/waitresses just couldn't do the clean-up quickly to relieve the long line-up at the door. Even with a reservation, you still need to wait for quite some time...

...and the portion is not that big...

Overall, not bad to try it for the experience, and you can just order from the $25 menu (during Dine Out that is). On the regular menu each entree alone costs at least $20+ I believe, and you can make it a set dinner by paying an extra $10 or so. For me, I'm like "been there, done that", and probably won't return in the next while...

Warming my hands over the hot stone

Stonegrill
Food: 6.5
Presentation: 7.5
Environment: 7
View: 8.5 (looking at the False Creek and Granville Island sure is nice)
Service: 6
Overall: 7.1

Mooncake - Pooh edition

My uncle bought them at Maxim's in HK. Isn't that cute?

Fine - it's a bit childish and they probably taste just like any other mooncakes - at least it got this metal case which I can now use as my lunch box. hahaha j/k.



In the box, there're 4 Pooh-shaped mooncakes. Unfortunately it only comes with the Pooh head, there's no sign of Tigger, Eeyore or Piglet (except on the metal box). Wouldn't it be even cuter if the 4 mooncakes are made of the four characters?

They also had two Mickey-Minnie themed mooncakes as well.