Dine Out Vancouver - MARKET by Jean-Georges

3rd Floor, 1128 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC

On the first night of the Dine Out Vancouver event, W and I had the opportunity to go to MARKET by Jean-Georges located in the Shangri La Hotel in downtown Vancouver. I wanted to try this place for last year's DOV but all the bookings were taken so I was pretty estatic to get reservations this year.

Upon entering the restaurant, the hostess opened the door for us, warmly greeted us in and checked my coat for me. First impression so far was excellent. They took us in to one of the smaller private dining rooms and we were seated at a table in the corner beside the window. It was very cozy and romantic with the soft banquette and pillows on my side.

W and I took a quick look at the menu but we already knew what to order: 1 of each from the dine out menu! LOL! It's the best way to sample everything!

After we placed our orders, the server arrived with complimentary dinner rolls and butter. They were good but a little ordinary. I would have liked them more if they were warm.

Left: Tuna Tartare Avocado, Spicy Radish Ginger Dressing
Right: Steamed Shrimp Salad Tender Greens, Avocado Champagne Dressing

The salad was quite nice. The shrimp lent some warmness to the cool crunchy greens while the shrimp itself was cooked just right, with that "snap" when bitten. However, if the menu didn't say steamed, I would have thought they were cooked in butter because somehow I tasted a rather strong presence of butter. It reminded me of buttered popcorn! The tuna tartare was fun to eat. Mixing together the dressing with chopped tuna and avocado, it was cool and smooth, some tartness with a bit of heat in the first bite. The spiciness mysteriously disappeared after that though. I ended up mopping up the rest of the dressing with dinner rolls! It was that yummy!

Roasted Lingcod
Malaysian Chili Sauce, Thai Basil

For the entree, we shared the lingcod and the short rib. The lingcod wasn't too bad. It was flavourful and I liked the crispy top, but the chili sauce was too spicy for me to handle on its own. I'm not very tolerant with spiciness so I thought it was a bit too much. Thankfully, the server brought a bowl of rice to accompany both of our entrees so the rice helped "dilute" some of the heat. Regardless, the sauce was very tasty and it went well with the rice and fish.

I forgot to mention that W and I ordered a drink to share. We had the Jasmine Lemonade Soda and I absolutely loved it! It had such a strong jasmine essence that W was left wondering how they extracted such a concentrated jasmine flavour! The soda was very light and refreshing...YUM-O!

Soy Glazed Short Ribs

Apple-Jalapeno Puree, Rosemary Crumbs

On the other hand, the short ribs were more forgiving on my palate. It was a combination of sweet and savouriness. The rich, concentrated flavours of the sauce also needed rice to go with it. The short rib was tender albeit a little dry. I thought the apple-jalapeno puree was a little strange, but it's probably because the taste was something new to me. Along with the rosemary crumbs, I liked the different textures of this dish. By the way, I read somewhere that crumbs are the new foam in culinary science. Haha!

Ovaltine Kulfi

Carmelized Banana and Spiced Milk Chocolate Sauce

Ok, I admit it, I wanted to come here because of this dessert. It's Ovaltine! I've never heard of Ovaltine being used in desserts before! While it was unique, I felt a bit underwhelmed. Eating the Ovaltine kulfi was sort of like eating a chewy chocolately fudge. The carmelized banana was good though; warm and soft with a sweet crunchy top.

Buttermilk Panna Cotta
Madeira Poached Seckel Pear, Elderflower Cordial

The panna cotta was slightly tangy due to the buttermilk but it had a fragrant vanilla flavour. I could see the specks of real vanilla beans in the panna cotta. I wasn't too fond of the panna cotta because it was a little too soft. It didn't hold up too well when I spooned into it. I loved the poached pears though!

Overall, it was a lovely experience. Both W and I thought the entrees were heavily Asian-influenced so nothing exceptionally "wow-ed" me. However, the service made up for the food. The servers were wonderful and we never felt rushed at all despite it being a DOV meal.