Honey Salt

39 Smithe Street
Vancouver, BC

Due to a mix-up with their on-site parking, the JW Marriott management graciously offered us a $30 hotel credit as compensation. Since we had no plans on checking out their spa, W and I decided to use it on our breakfast the next morning. That gave us the perfect opportunity to try out Honey Salt!

The restaurant inside the hotel served farm-to-table cuisine in a relaxed and sophisticated atmosphere.

It was bright and airy with lots of natural light shining in. I especially love the green colour of the cushions contrasting with the various wood tones throughout the room!

We made our way down to the restaurant before we checked out of our room so we ordered from their small breakfast menu. Had I known that their brunch/lunch menu was more extensive and captivating I would have came 1 hour later ~__~

Illy drip coffee ($3)

Honey Salt also served coffee by Illy, same as the coffee offered in the hotel rooms.

 Potato Latkes ($10) - apple sauce and double thick sour cream

I had a hard time deciding what to eat despite the small breakfast menu. I ended up with an order of the potato latkes. The plate came with 3 crispy potato cakes, each the size of a plum. I liked the apple sauce and potato pairing! There's just something about that sweet and savoury combo!

 English Breakfast ($21) - eggs any style, bangers, bacon, baked beans, potatoes, tomato & toast

W went for "the works", that being the English Breakfast. Everything was cooked well and yummy. The potato fritter-like cake was similar to my potato latkes except it had grated carrots mixed in with the crispy potato shreds.

Not pictured was a single lonely piece of multi-grain toast that came with the English Breakfast. I found it funny that there was just 1 measly piece of bread yet it was served with an ample portion of fruit preserves and whipped butter!

Overall, the atmosphere, the presentation of their dishes and the food itself were executed quite well. Honey Salt is a nice place to relax and enjoy and lazy weekend with family and friends.

JW Marriott @ Parq Vancouver

39 Smithe Street
Vancouver, BC

With incredible luck, I scored free tickets to see a Canucks game and during that game both W and I won gift certificates to stay at one of the new hotels located at Parq Vancouver!! How awesome was that?!

Because we were able to book 2 rooms, W and I shared one room while I offered the other complimentary stay to my sister. We both booked rooms at the JW Marriott, a luxury hotel with 329 guest rooms, a spa and fitness studio, with views of False Creek and BC Place.

This was our room with 1 king bed and "view" of BC Place LOL... Yes, we were quite literally face-to-face with the side of stadium!

There was a large flat screen TV, a trendy round mirror, and a combination desk-dresser facing the bed.

A nicely presented refreshment area with an Illy espresso machine, assorted teas, bottled water, as well as snacks, chilled drinks and liquor for purchase.

We were quite impressed with all the finishes in the room. The closet had built-in lighting inside while a sliding barn door led to the entrance to the bathroom to minimize its impact to the space.

W and I were surprised that there was just a walk-in shower and no bathtub! We didn't mind since we never soak in the tub. The toilet was located next the shower and also enclosed with frosted glass walls and door.

We were highly impressed with the walk-in shower LOL! There was a rain-head shower AND a shower wand! Fancy~~ haha... The toiletries were high quality too, provided by UK's Molton Brown.

The room that my sister got was upgraded from a king bedroom to a 2 queen bed room on a higher floor so they were treated to a much nicer view looking over False Creek.

Though their room didn't have a lounge sofa like ours, the chairs were still comfy enough to sit and enjoy the pretty view!

From the hallway outside, large picture windows allowed us to see the top of BC Place Stadium! Now this was a view you don't see everyday! We're really lucky to enjoy a complimentary stay at the JW Marriott inside Parq Vancouver! It's indeed a very luxurious and comfortable hotel!

Saku

1773 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC

After much prodding, W finally took me to Saku for their Japanese deep fried pork cutlet sets! :D Ever since our trip to Tokyo and having an authentic tonkatsu meal, I've been hankering for something similar back home.

Finally, a sit-down tonkatsu specialty store had opened up in downtown Vancouver!

Rosu Katsu Set ($17) - Deep Fried Bread Pork Loin

I ordered the Rosu Katsu set which consisted of 2 pork loin pieces. The set came with a bowl of rice, miso shiru (miso soup with daikon, carrots and pork pieces), tsukemono (pickles), a mortar and pestle with toasted sesame seeds, a dish of sea salt, tonkatsu sauce, and UNLIMITED SHREDDED CABBAGE!! LOL... yes I am excited about UNLIMITED cabbage!!

 Hire Katsu Set ($18) - Deep Fried Bread Pork Fillet

W's Hire Katsu set had the exact same side dishes. The pork fillet only came in 1 piece and not 2 like mine.

On each table, there were 2 bottles of sauce for the shredded cabbage; one is a ponzu sauce and the other is a creamy sesame sauce. I preferred the ponzu with my cabbage as it was savoury and tangy. It seemed more refreshing and helped cleanse the palate from the breaded pork and rice. I found the sesame sauce a bit sweet which stripped the natural sweetness from the cabbage.

Both W and I enjoyed our tonkatsu meal at Saku. So happy that there's a place here in the city to eat Japanese style pork cutlet with all the traditional fixings! We will definitely come back again to try their tonkatsu curry udon and bukkake udon too!

Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba

551 Seymour Street
Vancouver, BC

Off from work and not wanting to cook, W and I took a brisk walk to Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba to try this "new" take on noodles.

The restaurant describes mazesoba as something that's not quite ramen and not quite udon. Using thicker house-made wheat noodles, it is served with lots of different toppings and mixed together with their own special sauce.

 Niku Mazesoba ($15.49) - Slow-braised pork chashu, spicy minced pork, raw egg yolk, minced garlic, green onion, seaweed flakes, ground saba fish powder, chives, multi-grain noodles made in-house

Their selling-point is the raw egg yolk that is mixed in with the noodles and sauce before eating. W tried the Niku Mazesoba that has both minced pork and pork belly with the other toppings. The sauce for this one was stronger and a bit spicy which matched well with the thick noodles.

 Shio Mazesoba (13.99) - Slow-braised pork chashu, bamboo shoots, green onion, spinach, seaweed flakes, minced garlic, ground saba fish powder, multi-grain noodles made in-house

I didn't want any spiciness so I opted for the Shio (salt) Mazesoba. Comparatively, the sauce in my bowl did not have as much impact on my tastebuds as W's noodles so it seemed kind of weak. I had to put a few drops of vinegar with my noodles to liven up the flavours.

There was a sign on our table that taught you how to eat their mazesoba. You first break the egg yolk (if you have one) and mix with the noodles, eat the noodles with the original sauce, then add in a bit of kombu-infused vinegar (available table-side) to brighten up the palate.

Hokkaido Crème Cup ($4.49) - Organic milk soft serve ice cream made by their Japanese Nissei machine

I'm not gonna lie... The main reason that I wanted to go to Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba was to have their ice cream! I saw that they sold creamy soft serve ice cream in a chat-de-langue cookie cone, very similar to the one I had in Japan!!! Too bad all their cones were sold out that day. I chose to have the ice cream in a cup instead. I still wanted to compare and see if their soft serve ice cream was yummy or not.

Welp, sad to say I was disappointed with their ice cream :(  Even though the presentation was simple and cute (the swirl reminded me of Dairy Queen's ice cream and the shovel spoon was super fun to eat from!) the texture of the ice cream was off. I think they used milk powder to make their base but the powder hadn't dissolved properly yet. When they made the ice cream, the powder granules were still apparent and didn't make a smooth and creamy finish. The flavour was not bad though. It had a distinct milky/dairy taste and it wasn't very sweet. Just too bad the mouth-feel was not up to par...

Hopefully this was just a one-off thing! I would want to go back and see if their ice cream improves next time and try their cone too!

As it's located right next to the BCIT downtown campus, expect line-ups during rush hour!

The Victor

39 Smithe Street
Vancouver, BC

Once upon a time, the Dine Out Vancouver event was a much anticipated foodie festival for cash-strapped diners after the winter holiday season. However, from a price point of $15, $25, and $35 for a 3-course meal, it has now become $20, $30 and $40.

A couple years ago, before the prices became what they are now, I visited 3 or 4 different restaurants during the festival! Now, I've reduced to one restaurant. If it wasn't due to the inclusion of some hot new restaurants, I don't think I would have attended any DOV restaurants this year!

The lone DOV restaurant that I visited for 2018 was The Victor. Located on Parq's 6th floor roof top terrace, this new kid on the block features a contemporary menu inspired by West Coast seasonal ingredients like fresh seafood and specialty steaks.

Complimentary bread with creamed butter

Armed with my dining partners, W and K-chan, we ordered off the DOV menu with the intention to share. We were first presented with a complimentary platter of freshly baked bread with creamy butter.

 Belgian and Red Endive - apples, medjool dates, marcona almonds, goat cheese, sherry-tarragon vinaigrette

Even though I'm allergic to apples, I wanted to try the salad as one of our starters. Aside from the sliced apples, which I did not eat, everything else was really good! I especially liked the medjool dates because they were sweet and sticky, contrasting well with the crisp and slightly bitter endive greens.

 Lobster and Crab Bisque - crab salad, gruyere toast

W and K-chan both opted for the soup for the first course. It was presented to our table with a bit of flair and also a bit of disappointment. Why? Well, the 2 soup bowls were placed on the table empty, save for a few pieces of lobster and crab meat. The server then came by with 1 small glass pitcher filled with the hot bisque (think the size of a small 8 oz. wine carafe). We thought that 1 tiny pitcher would be for 1 bowl....turns out, that 1 pitcher was split between the 2 bowls!!! I think our mouths kind of gaped open when the server finished pouring LOL... Don't get me wrong, the bisque was silky smooth and rich, one of the best seafood bisques I've sipped on. We would have loved the serving size to be a tad more substantial?

Saffron Risotto - arborio rice, foraged mushrooms, truffle oil, parmesan reggiano, pickled vegetables

The saffron risotto was one of the three entrees we ordered. Thick, creamy, savoury, fragrant, al dente...these were the words that popped into my head as I spooned the rice into my mouth. Once in a while, the pieces of pickled carrots would brighten my palate and refresh my taste buds, readying my mouth for another spoonful of the delectable rice!! So so good!

West Coast Salmon - jamon iberico crust, roasted cipollini onions, kale, peruvian aji amarillo chili sauce

 

Our second entree was the salmon crusted with iberico ham "crumbs". Salmon can be pretty difficult to cook well since the meatier side of the fillet can be cooked just right while the thinner side is over cooked. This was the case here but the salty and crispy crust made up for its shortcomings.

Sirloin Cap - mashed potatoes, peppercorn sauce

Last entree of the night - the sirloin cap steak. I think this was my least favourite dish as I thought the meat was not as tender as I thought it would be. However, overall, the pungent peppercorn sauce, the creamy mashed potatoes and the sweet roasted root veggies rounded out the plate nicely.

 Eton Mess - raspberry, banana, vanilla, custard, sponge cake, cream & meringue

 

Taking one for the team, I ordered the Eton (written as "Eaten" on their menu) Mess for some variety on the dessert front. Both W and K-chan were not interested in this option. Since it's named "mess", it really was a jumble of ingredients in the bowl. The "mess" came across as a bit dry (perhaps not enough custard for my liking) and light in flavour so I wasn't very fond of this dessert.

 Chocolate Mousse - dark chocolate cake crumble

The chocolate mousse, on the other hand, was rich, thick and creamy. While K-chan thought the mousse was great, I found the chocolatey-ness of the mousse kind of monotonous. The bottom of the cup had some dark chocolate brownie-like cake to provide some textural respite from the abundant mousse. However, it was just the same flavour profile again. There needed to be something to contrast all that chocolate!

For $40, the quality of food and service at The Victor was pretty worth it. Even though prices have gone up over the years, I still like taking the opportunity to try restaurants that I normally would not consider. At this location, we even got to take in the views from the awesome roof top terrace and experience the new Parq casino! A good end to the night!

Rockcreek Seafood & Spirits, Seattle

4300 Fremont Avenue North
Seattle, WA

Ever since our dinner at Rockcreek more than a year ago in Seattle, I had been longing to go back! When I found out that they served brunch, I told W that we must try it on our next visit to the city!

Another lovely day in Seattle! We arrived late morning and got a table in their quieter, mezzanine area.

Since W and I already had our morning coffee at the hotel, our beverage of choice was orange juice. 

Bacon and Oyster Benedict ($17) - brioche, poached eggs, lemon-dijon hollandaise

I have a habit of looking at the menu online (if restaurants have theirs posted online) prior to visiting the restaurant. So, when we sat down I immediately knew what I was going to order XD

Their bacon and oyster eggs benedict sounded like an interesting combo on the menu. When it arrived, it looked amazing and indulgent! There were 3 pieces crispy fried oysters, 2 soft poached eggs, 2 long strips of smoked bacon, all on top of 2 thick pieces of brioche toast!! Of course, can't forget about the hollandaise sauce! The star of the plate were the oysters. The batter was perfectly crunchy while the oyster itself was cooked just so (*kisses finger tips Italian-style*) in that the flesh remained soft and creamy. This was yummy to the last bite!!

The Tar Pit ($16) - buttermilk biscuits, ham, poached eggs, lemon-dijon hollandaise, country gravy

W perused the menu for a bit before deciding on The Tar Pit. It also had 2 soft poached eggs on top of ham and biscuits before being slathered with country gravy and hollandaise sauce. I thought this was equally indulgent and filling. Definitely not for the faint of heart and the health nuts!

Here's another look at my Bacon and Oyster Benedict XD This was truly indulgent and coma-inducing but I wouldn't swap it for anything else!