Vancouver food carts [2012]

During the spring and summer months of this year, W and I visited various food carts that were dispersed throughout the downtown core. Since my work place wasn't very close to the majority of the food carts in terms of walking distance, often times I wasn't able to go try them out on my regular lunch hour. I had to take vacation time from work in order to conduct most of these visits!! Now that's dedication! 

 

We went to Mom's Grilled Cheese cart on a blustery cool spring day. This cart was located on Howe St. and Robson St. near the Vancouver Art Gallery. Browsing through the 70's diner-themed menu, we decided to go with the classic grilled cheese sandwich and a hot cup of tomato soup. What could go wrong with this classic combo?

Grilled cheddar cheese on white bread with pickle on the side

Roasted Tomato Soup topped with Basil Mascarpone

 

The grilled cheese was everything that you'd expect. The bread was grilled perfectly with butter on the outside (so it was quite greasy handling it) while the cheddar cheese was melted and gooey on the inside. It came with a side of chips and a slice of pickle. The pickle was a nice addition to help cut the richness of the sandwich.

 

The tomato soup was a good partner with the grilled cheese as the tangy and sweet tomato also helped offset the oiliness of the sandwich. The greenish cream you see floating is actually the basil mascarpone. Originally, it looked like a dollop of cream but eventually it melted into the soup providing an herby creaminess. On that cool windy day, the cup of soup also acted as a handwarmer while I was waiting for my grilled cheese.

 





Brass Chicken Sandwich

Beer brined rotisserie chicken in gravy, on a buttermilk bun, topped with crispy onions and dijon mustard

Next, we headed to La Brasserie Street at the corner of West Georgia and Granville St. As lunch hour was nearing the end, luckily we did not have to wait in line. Their sandwiches were pretty huge! All those fried onions poofed up the sandwich so it was actually a little difficult to eat without them spilling out. The bun was great in that it was a bit chewy but not tough which held up the fillings well.The chicken was moist but it seemed a little lost amidst the onions. Once we've squished the sandwich down, everything shined through in each bite.

On a sunny summer day midweek, a coworker and I headed out to Waterfront for lunch as she wanted to try Fresh Local Wild, on the corner of Burrard and West Hastings St. I, on the other hand, wanted to check out Ze Bite which was just a block away on Burrard and West Cordova St.

 

Oyster Po'Boy (left)

Sawmill Bay jumbos, trailer made tartar, sesame seed bun

My coworker, K, loves oysters so she ordered their Oyster Po'Boy. I took a bite and the meaty oysters were very crispy on the outside but still retained its creaminess inside despite its small-ish size. I found it pricey (around $11) for just the sandwich. If it came with a side of chips to make it look more like a meal, it would have been better.

Beef Bourguinon (right)

Slow cooked beef with red wine, vegetables and herbs

I wanted something hearty so I opted for a bowl of Ze Bite's stew. Well...I was quite disappointed with their beef bourguinon. Firstly, the beef was not stewed long enough so it wasn't tender yet. The tuber veggies (potato and carrots) did not have enough time to absorb the juices in the stew as well so they were not soft and lacked flavour, especially the potatos. At $11 a bowl, it didn't seem to be worth its value for the small size and flavour of the stew.

On another day in which I have taken the afternoon off, W and I headed over to Holy Perogy (used to be located on Homer St., beside the Public Library). As indicated in their name, they specialized in perogies!

W and I decided to go with the classic cheese and potato perogy with sauteed onions and sour cream on top. The cheese they used was white cheddar, and with the sour cream and onions that were sauteed until just translucent, the whole package looked very pale and bland. I don't really remember but I believe their perogies were not pan fried either...I think they were just boiled. The cheese was not very pronounced so it lacked quite a bit of flavour. There were at least 6 to 7 good sized dumplings in there so it would make a filling lunch. I'd suggest trying their other zesty flavours rather than this one.

The last food cart visit was on another warm and sunny day. I was amped to go visit a couple more places before summer was over! As W and I were walking along Alberni St. we saw a crowd hovering around Le Tigre, a new food cart that popped up in downtown recently. Apparently, the Food Network show Eat Street was filming at Le Tigre that day!! So cool that we got to catch some of the filming and customer interviews! However, Le Tigre was not on my list of carts to try so after watching for a few minutes, we headed off to....

The Kaboom Box II on West Georgia (between Burrard and Thurlow)! I was soooo looking forward to trying their Oyster Po'Boy but they did not have it on their menu that day!! BUMMER!!!

Crab Cake Po'Boy

Canadian rock crab, deep fried and served with organic greens and house-made lemon-garlic aioli. 

Well, without our 1st choice, we went with a similar #2 choice: the crab cake po'boy. The guys manning the cart were nice enough to cut the sandwich in half as W and I were sharing! The crab cake was still really good though, despite my disappointment with the oyster po'boy. It had a light, crispy crust while the cake was filled with lots of crab meat. Though I couldn't really detect much lemon-garlicy flavour in the aioli, it did help keep the sandwich moist. The bun was soft and chewy which complimented the crab cake. I liked how it wasn't very messy to eat, except for a few stray greens falling out.

Reading an article from The Vancouver Sun, I found out that there was a new player in the food cart scene: Mogu! This cart specialized in Japanese-inspired fast food featuring 3 different sandwiches and chicken karaage (marinated fried chicken). I had to go check it out! After walking a couple blocks, we arrived at the corner of Howe St. and Dunsmuir St. I absolutely loved the artwork on their food truck! It had Godzilla chasing after a crowd of people holding Mogu sandwiches!

Pork Miso Katsu Sandwich

Breaded deep fried pork cutlet, house made red miso sauce, Asian hot mustard coleslaw

This was the sandwich that I wanted to try. The description screamed UMAMI (translation: a pleasant savoury taste) to me already! We noticed the sandwich was pretty big (good value)! The fried pork cutlet was smothered in the red miso sauce then topped with a small amount of coleslaw that was laced with wasabi (the hot mustard). There's no lacking in flavour here! Each bite was filled with the miso sauce, almost to the point where I thought it was bordering salty. I would have liked to have more coleslaw in there to break up the rich sauce and to give the sandwich more crunchiness. Aside from the tender pork, the bun was like a soft and slightly sweet brioche bread so a better heaping of coleslaw would have helped give the whole sandwich more texture. By the last few bites, the sandwich became a soggy mess due to the soft bun soaking up all the sauce.

Well, those are all the food carts I have visited this year. In a month or so, most of the food carts will go into hibernation over the winter or move to other parts of the city to continue their business. We will have to wait until the spring time for the carts to come alive again on the downtown streets. Until then, I will just have to stare at my photos and try to reminisce all those umami flavours!

Cache Bistro - Brunch #2

1269 Hamilton Street
Vancouver, BC

My sister organized a bridal shower for her good friend and the afternoon's activities were relaxing mani and pedi's at a spa in Yaletown. So, we decided to have brunch first at Cache since my previous brunch experience there was pretty good.

Perusing through the menu, I didn’t know whether to order a breakfast item or a brunch/lunch item. Decisions decisions! My sister was gracious and agreed to share our plates so I could sample 2 dishes.

House smoked wild Coho salmon and gruyere sandwich

Open faced with onion jam cream cheese, onion, fried caper, hand cut pomme frites, soup or organic green

I selected the open-faced sandwich as it sounded appealing. For my side, I opted for the lobster bisque. Visually, everything looked really fresh and tasty. In reality, it was just so-so, except for the bisque. The bisque was A++!! There was no lacking in flavour and richness in this soup and it was yummy to the last drop. The sandwich, on the hand, needed a bit of work. Essentially, it was the baguette that was the problem. It was cold, hard, and the crust was super chewy. Even the steak knife that I requested to cut it did not help at all. While I was trying to saw the open-faced sandwich into bite-sized pieces, all the toppings came tumbling down onto the plate. In the end, I took bites of each element individually rather than eating them all in one well-mannered bite. I think it would have helped if they toasted the baguette so the crust would be crisp and easier to cut through. Either that or they should have used fresh baguette. Bread was not good at all.

Double Cheese French Omlette

Swiss cheese, cream cheese, black forest ham, chives, choice of white, whole wheat or multigrain toasts

My sister decided on the omelet and I requested for the yam hash rather than regular potato hash. A few minutes after we put in our order, the waitress came back informing us that they ran out of yam hash!!!!! NO YAM HASH!?!?!?! I was so looking forward to their yam hash!!! I was greatly disappointed and I seriously had half a mind to just walk out and go somewhere else to eat. She advised that the chef could give us yam fries instead. Well, with no other choice (I was very adamant on having yam) we reluctantly went with yam fries. I have never paired yam fries with an omelet.

The omelet was not bad but not spectacular either. The cheese inside the omelet was not ooey-gooey but there were ample amounts of cheese and ham inside. The yam fries were good in that they were crisp on the outside and soft in the inside but it just wasn’t my yam hash. They also apparently forgot the toast that was supposed to arrive with the omelet. My sister did not realize this until the next day. I was too distraught about no yam hash that I did not realize this either. Another disappointment.

Dessert Sampler

(L-R) Blueberry tart, Chocolate pot de creme, Ginger creme brulee

Between 9 girls, we ordered 2 dessert samplers to share amongst us. Their desserts of the day sounded attractive when the waitress recited it for us. When I heard “ginger crème brulee” that did me in and I convinced the other girls to order the sampler.

What a big fat disappointment. As a crème brulee, it was quite good. It was creamy, thick, rich with vanilla and had a nice “not-too-thin, not too-thick” crunchy torched topping. As a GINGER crème brulee, it was absolutely blah. There was no ginger flavour at all. I’m not sure if they were trying to be considerate so as not to overwhelm people with ginger but seriously, if they called it ginger crème brulee, I expect at least a tinge of ginger aroma or flavour. There was nothing here.

The blueberry tart was your regular blueberry tart. Nothing special there with a seemingly store-bought frozen tart crust, fresh blueberries and a dollop of whipped cream. Totally something that I could re-create at home.

The chocolate pot de crème was the best out of the 3. The dark chocolate was dense, smooth, and just slightly sweet so the dark chocolate shined through. But still, only 1 out of the 3 desserts met my expectations. I felt so guilty too because I convinced the whole table to order the desserts but they fell short of expectations.

Side note: When we were ordering, some of the girls asked me for recommendations. I suggested the crab cake benedict as I quite liked it when I had it last time. The girls wanted their eggs poached to medium and it was noted by the waitress. However, when their food came, their poached eggs were fully cooked! The yolk was hard throughout! When I saw that, I immediately wanted to tell the waitress but the girls didn’t want to make a big deal out of it so they just ate it as is. I felt so guilty (again) because I recommended it to them but it did not come out as expected. I was so enraged too!! I know the chef is usually not like this so I am thinking that this is an extremely off day for him. But if the chef is a professional and has expectations of himself, I think the chef has a right to know…

I was majorly disappointed in my second brunch at Cache. After this visit, I talked to W about it and he said that one of the sous chefs had left the restaurant not so long ago so he’s guessing that the head chef was still trying to handle the kitchen without a helping hand. Hopefully, this was just a one-off situation and that he’s gotten a better hold now. Because the chef and the owner of the restaurant are friends with W, I really hope that Cache will succeed. I do think that this place is a gem in the Yaletown neighbourhood.

*Sorry for the long-winded post; I really wanted to air out my disappointments from this meal.

Adesso Bistro

1906 Haro Street
Vancouver, BC

It was late August and the summer heat of the sun started to wane. To send off the last of the summer days in August I decided to drag W along and dine alfresco. I’ve read many great reviews of Adesso’s food and they also had a lovely patio so we headed there on a late Friday afternoon to catch a good table outside.
 

 

Even though it was located on a side street near the hustle and bustle of Denman street, it was fairly quiet and serene. Save for some footsteps of the residents of the area and the “clop clops” of the RCMP horses trotting by, the high hedges fencing the patio provided a barrier to the outside world.

Warm Foccacia bread

With olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Despite their small menu, we took a long time deciding what to order because they all sounded delicious! After we made our order, they brought over a complimentary plate of focaccia bread with a side of olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping. The bread was warm and the top was lightly seasoned with rosemary and sea salt. Excellent! I could eat many plates of this!

Asparagi

Roasted asparagus salad, truffle vinaigrette, Gratta Mangia

To start, W and I shared a warm asparagus salad. Beneath the spears of tender roasted asparagus were arugula leaves drizzled with a pungent truffle vinaigrette and topped with grated Gratta Mangia, a type of cheese with a similar texture as parmesan. There was just the right amount of truffle oil and the natural sweetness of the asparagus helped offset the slight bitterness of the arugula. The whole plate was very green though (but green is good for our eyes!)

Pollo

Roasted hen breast and leg, porcini sauce, gnocchi and cavolo nero

I wanted to try both a pasta dish and a meat entrée. Lucky for me, W agreed. I chose the entrée while he selected the pasta. The roasted hen sounded hearty and satisfying so I opted for that. When the plate came, I was surprised by how much meat there was! Or maybe I didn’t know exactly how big a hen is supposed to be. Anyway, the skin was crispy, golden brown, and perfectly salted while the meat, even the breast part, was not too dry. The skin was the best part haha! The porcini sauce added some more moisture to the white meat which was good but I thought it wasn’t salty enough when eaten with the gnocchi. The little rounds of gnocchi were not very flavourful so it was heavily dependent on the sauce (which wasn't very savoury in the first place). I also found them too soft for my liking. To balance out the protein and carbs there were clumps of cavolo nero, which is a type of deep green leafy vegetable, similar to kale. It some parts of the world, it is also known as black cabbage. The cavolo nero was a little bitter and reminded me of the leafy portion of Gai Lan (Chinese broccoli/kale).

Linguine alle Vongole

Clams, garlic, white wine and herbs

For our pasta dish, W decided on the linguine with clams. Such a simple pasta but such intense flavour!! This was the best dish of the night. The pasta was completely infused with garlicky white wine and strong essence of clam. There was no shortage of clam meat either; large and baby clams dotted throughout the al dente linguine. Hands down, one of the best pasta I’ve had to date.

Limone

Lemon and pistachio semifreddo, raspberry pate, fresh berries

The sky was still light and I wanted to linger some more in their patio so I convinced W to stay a while longer for dessert. There were 6 choices (if you include the cheese plate as a dessert…) and we narrowed down to 2. Finally, we decided to try the semifreddo as W has never heard of it before! With the texture between a mousse and ice-cream, it was light and lemony with crushed pistachio on top. However, we thought that the pistachio wasn’t crunchy enough (either not roasted or the semifreddo softened them) and didn’t pair that well with the semifreddo. The deep burgundy rectangle was the raspberry pate. It tasted like raspberry gummy candy as it was soft, chewy and coated with sugar. The raspberry seeds were a chore to eat though…and there were plenty of seeds in the pate =_= 

The whole meal came to about $70-ish dollars but I thought it was worth every penny. From the ambiance to the service to the food, everything was high quality. Of course, some parts of the roasted hen could have been better for me but that is just a slight criticism. For a fancier, romantic atmosphere, the indoor dining room would be a good place. For a casual air but with fine dining-quality food, Adesso’s patio cannot be beat.

Hakkasan

110 - 2188 No. 5 Road

Richmond, BC

 

I saw a Groupon that advertised a 4-course pre-fixe menu for two at Hakkasan for $48 so I asked W to purchase it for our dinner. I made reservations and when we arrived at 6:30pm, the place was quiet but there were a few tables of customers enjoying their meals already.

 

Kobe beef meat ball lollipops (left)

Slow cooked in tomato sauce

Jumbo tiger prawns (centre)

House cocktail sauce

Organic mixed salad (right)

Fresh greens with house dressing

For our starters, we chose the 2 items that interested us the most. The soft meatballs were bathed in a savoury tomato sauce and there were about 6 of them in the bowl. Though they were tasty, we found them a bit ordinary...nothing really special about meatballs in tomato sauce. And we thought that grinding the Kobe beef was sacrilege because the texture and flavour of the prized beef was lost (unless it wasn't Kobe beef at all).

We were a bit surprised (and not in a good way) with the tiger prawns. The flesh of the prawn was nicely cooked as it had a "bounce" to the bite but when we see the word cocktail sauce, we envisioned the red kind. Their house cocktail sauce was creamy and pale and it resembled a ranch dressing more than a tangy, zippy, refreshing dipping sauce.

The salad greens were just generic spring mix with the addition of some fresh strawberries and cherry tomatoes and drizzled with a simple balsamic vinaigrette. 

Fraser Valley Duck

Lathered with a sweet harvest plum glaze

Seasonal greens and Jasmine rice

We chose 2 mains to share between the two of us. First was the Fraser Valley duck. The meat was not bad; it wasn't mushy and there was not too much fat underneath the skin. I half expected the skin to be crispy, kind of like the Chinese style BBQ duck. This one was soft but it was still good. The plum sauce was sweet, as expected, and it went well with the white rice we had. Overall, the duck didn't wow me because it kept reminding me of the take-out BBQ duck and plum sauce that I often eat at home.

The seasonal veggies in the background tasted bland and plain. They seemed like they were either steamed or boiled since the texture of the broccoli and cauliflower was way too soft for my liking. I like my veggies to still have a slight crunch with the actual vegetable taste still intact. W, on the other hand, likes his veggies soft and mushy so they were fine for him.

Crispy Berkshire Pork Loin

Served with tonkatsu sauce

I liked the second main much much more. The pork cutlet was perfectly fried so the meat was still juicy and the exterior was crispy and dry. The tonkatsu sauce tasted like it was home-made. It wasn't as tangy as the ones that come from a bottle and it was on the sweeter side as well. I give them props if they did make their own tonkatsu sauce.

Chef's Daily Sweet

Mango pudding

We had no choice for our dessert. They offered mango pudding to us to end our meal. Of course, if you fork over an extra $5, they will upgrade the dessert for you (a chocolate lava cake, I believe). The pudding was simple with a few chunks of real mango on top. The texture was on the watery side (not stiff and creamy-like) so it was actually kind of refreshing and acted as a palate cleanser.

If we didn't have the Groupon, I don't think our meal would have been worth the original price. Even though the food was tasty and was well prepared (except for the soft and bland veggies), the selections in this menu seemed so ordinary. It's like comfort food but made with higher end ingredients.

Kitanoya Guu Otokomae ~ Photolog

375 Water Street
Vancouver, BC

 

After our happy hour at Cork and Fin, the second part of my post-birthday celebration dinner was at Kitanoya Guu Otokomae, located a few blocks away in Gastown. After this meal, I have finally visited all the Guu restaurants in Metro Vancouver! Yay!



 

Seaweed and Daikon Stick Salad (left)

Daikon sticks on seaweed salad dressed with seaweed mayo, topped with dried seaweed

Spinach and Sesame (right)

Blanched spinach dressed with black sesame sauce

 



The dressing for the salad seemed like watered down mayo and the whole salad was quite wet. Not one of my favourites. The gomae was not bad with the strong nuttiness from the black sesame.

 

Corn Croquette (?)

From the fresh sheet

Nikujaga Croquette

Deep-fried panko-breaded mashed potatoes with stewed beef, carrots, onions, served with tonkatsu sauce

This was creamy but thick and dense inside. It really needed the tonkatsu sauce to help make it less dry.

Salmon with 7 Friends

Diced wild sockeye salmon with otokomae's miso and garlic sauce, natto (fermented soy bean), pickled cucumber, pickled daikon, garlic chips, crispy wonton, green onions, diced cucumber, and fresh egg yolk; served with roasted seaweed

 

Just mix together and wrap in the provided seaweed like a soft taco!

Okonomiyaki

Deep-fried Japanese style cabbage and squid pan cake dressed with tonkatsu sauce, wasabi mayo, topped with dried bonito flakes and dried seaweed

Grilled Black Cod

Grilled cod with white wine saikyo miso sauce

The fish was soft and flaky but I would have loved to see some grill/char marks to give the fish a more savoury and smoky flavour...

Beef tataki

Seared beef topped with shredded daikon and green onions with a tangy ponzu sauce

Tender (but a little chewy) beef, tangy sauce, and crunchy radish makes for a refreshing palate pleaser!

Spicy Ika Calamari

Deep-fried squid with spicy garlic-tomato sauce

I wasn't too fond of the calamari as the sauce tasted a little like a hot sauce akin to kimchi.

Overall, the lively and spacious atmosphere was nice and the food was mostly excellent as per Guu's usual standards. It's just the patio chairs we sat on were quite uncomfortable. That actually made me want to hurry up and eat and leave. I think the original Guu and Guu with Garlic are the best out of all the Guu restaurants in Metro Van.

Cork & Fin

221 Carrall Street

Vancouver, BC

 

To post-celebrate my birthday, my co-worker, K, and her girlfriend treated me to oysters!! She took me to Cork & Fin in Gastown for happy hour oysters.

 

It was a warm and sunny late afternoon so the small patio out front was already filled with patrons while the inside of the restaurant was empty. The front window was wide open though so it let in a nice cool breeze and brightened up the dining area.

I'm so sorry, I have completely forgotten which types of oysters I sampled here. I believe the larger, meatiers ones (half a dozen) were Royal Miyagi? They tasted creamier and heavier while the other half a dozen were a smaller sized oyster but it tasted crisper and had a clean ocean-y saltiness to it.

We also ordered the oyster motoyaki from the happy hour menu. Not my favourite way to eat oysters because I don't like the goop of mayo on top. The oyster underneath was baked to just the right doneness though.

I liked the smaller oysters from the first round, so we ordered this type exclusively for our second round of oysters. This time, the platter came with a dish of grated horseradish. I'm not educated in oysters and I don't have much intention on learning but eating freshly shucked oysters was still fun!