Mother's Bistro & Bar [Portland, OR]

212 Southwest Stark Street
Portland, OR

This is what happens when you've taken photos of food and you forget what they are when you finally have time to post them! I apologize in advance; there are 2 dishes below that my family has ordered but I've forgotten what they are now! Well, I can make out what they are but I've forgotten their actual names. I knew I should have taken a photo of the special's menu!

Anyway, continuing on with our trip in Portland... For our last night, we headed to Mother's Bistro for dinner. Urbanspoon had pretty good ratings and I've read a food blog that mentioned this place as well so we decided to give this restaurant a try.

There was a short wait when we arrived, then we were led to our table situated in a quiet corner. It was quite dark inside, the room only lit by the chandeliers and candles on the table. The restaurant had large picture windows though so I think it will be much brighter inside during the day.

I had a hard time deciding what to eat! There were a couple of entrees that I wanted to have so W, being the wonderful boyfriend he is, ordered my #2 choice (meatloaf) so I could sample some of it while I ordered my #1 choice.

Mom's Meatloaf & Gravy

Ground beef and sauteed aromatic vegetables, served with gravy, smashed red potatoes and seasonal vegetables

Being a restaurant that is dedicated to serving homestyle comfort food, I wanted to try the meatloaf. From the bites that I had, the meatloaf was moist and flavourful. The side of zucchini was really good. It was well seasoned and the middle was soft while the edges were still crisp.

Chicken & Dumplings

Slow-stewed chicken with herbed dumplings

The only dumplings I've ever had in my life were of the Chinese or Japanese variety so this was something completely new to me. This was a very hearty and homey dish. It reminded me of Chinese congee (rice porridge)because of the thick consistency. The chicken came in large chunks but they were stewed until they were soft so it pulled apart with ease. This was a very filling dish due to the ample amount of chicken and the doughy dumplings. Unfortunately, I did not really like the dumplings because they were kind of bland and quite heavy/doughy. In the end, I had to doggy-bag half of it to go. It made good leftovers though!

Grilled Flank Steak

With roasted red potatoes and seasonal vegetables

My dad had the one of the specials of the night which was the grilled flank steak. This was also one of the dishes I've forgotten the name of. I tried a piece of the steak and it was tender and not dry at all.

Roasted Free-range Chicken

Half a natural chicken served with pan juices, smashed red potatoes and seasonal vegetables

My mom tried the roast chicken meal. The meat was still quite juicy and I could tell my mom liked it because she was spending a lot of time picking the meat off the bones.

Smoked Salmon Linguine

My sister had one of the entrees on the special's menu as well. This was a creamy fettucini pasta with smoked salmon as the protein.

Jambalay Risotto 

Slow cooked arborio rice with andouille sausage, prawns, onions, roasted red peppers and cilantro

My brother-in-law went the exotic route and tried the Jambalay risotto. He commented that it was quite spicy but he still polished off the whole plate!

Complimentary cookies

Chocolate chip, raisin, walnut

We were all too full at the end to order any desserts but we still received a complimentary plate of cookies to end the meal.

Our server was very patient and nice but when he came to take away our paid bill, he kind of stood there looking at us like he was expecting more tips.... That made me feel a bit uncomfortable. Our server was good but we paid the amount that we felt was adequate for the service we received in this environment. Aside from that awkwardness, the evening at Mother's Bistro was enjoyable.

St. Honore Boulangerie [Portland, OR]

2335 NW Thurman Street
Portland, OR

For the Easter long weekend, my family and I headed down to Oregon, more specifically, to Portland and Woodburn, for some shopping and eating :D

My sister did some research online days prior to our road trip and she found this French cafe where we could have breakfast. St. Honore Boulangerie is a neighbourhood cafe and bakery, but it's definitely a gem of a place; very popular amongst locals. On their website, it says they "feature handcrafted French breads and pastries, as well as sandwiches, quiches and savory entrees, salads and soups and premium coffee drinks."

Right when you walk in, you could see their assortment of freshly baked breads ranging from baguettes to brioche to whole grain loaves.

There was also a chilled display case showcasing their cakes and desserts of the day.

And next to it was a countertop full of fresh pastries!! It was stocked with caneles, chouquettes, tarts, and different kinds of croissants.

At the cafe, customers order and pay at the counter, find a table to sit and then the staff will bring the food to your table.

I started with a cafe au lait with a Normandy Apple Toast (A pain perdu of brioche and pastries baked in a custard flavored with vanilla and pommeau apple wine, topped with fresh apples).

On the menu, I was enticed by the Brioche Cocotte!! It's part of the 'Petit Dejeuner' (small lunch) section of the menu. It is a small, rounded brioche loaf, hollowed out and replaced with a poached egg inside, chive creme fraiche and two bacon strips on top. It also came with a salad on the side.

Omigawdthiswassoamazing!! Not to sound exaggerated but this was definitely one of those moments where you close your eyes, slowly chew and savour the bite. The egg was perfect, cooked to the consistency right between a soft and medium poached egg. Once I cut open the bread to get the egg, the yolk oozed out and mingled with the creme fraiche and the brioche was there to soak it all up! The bacon was more meaty and chewy than crisp because it was thick-cut bacon. I would've liked it more if it were more crispy. 

After our first visit to St. Honore, we liked it so much that we came back the next morning for breakfast again!!

This time, I had a cafe au lait again to go with the Croque Madame. It is a Croque Monsieur (brioche sliced with Emmental cheese bechamel sauce, Dijon mustard, and black forest ham) with a poached egg on top. Or basically, a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with a poached egg on top...but that description doesn't do it justice. It is WAY more than just a grilled ham and cheese sandwich.

This sandwich was just as equally amazing as the Brioche Cocotte. The bread was toasted crispy yet the middle was still soft and buttery. The cheese and bechamel sauce was gooey and delicious and, again, the perfectly poached egg with the soft yolk tied everything together. Foodgasm!

I was so enthralled by my sandwich that I completely forgot what W had ordered....oops! I believe he had the Rillette et Roti de Porc (Rustic roll with oven braised pork shoulder with fennel, cranberries, and honey Dijon glazed pork roast topped with apple slaw consisting of Golden Delicious, radicchio, fennel and red onions, with a bacon dressing).

We also sampled a few of their pastries like the Strawberry Millefeuille, almond croissants, and chouquette (puffed pastry balls sprinkled with rock sugar). The chouquette were like mini cream puffs minus the custard cream and they were highly addictive! We bought many bags to eat in the car and to take home!

Everything we ate at St. Honore was incredible and I wish there was a bakery/cafe like this at home. The place that I can think of that is most similar to St. Honore is Faubourg in Kerrisdale. Faubourg has a bakery (their selection of pastries and breads are comparable to St. Honore) as well as a bistro section, but their lunch items doesn't seem as attractive as the ones from St. Honore.

St. Honore is a small, cozy, warm and bright cafe and it's one of those places where you can sit down, linger on a cup of coffee and enjoy a pastry with a friend while the sun bathes on you through the large picture windows (when it's warm outside, the large window even slides open completely so theres no wall between the inside and the outdoor patio!) If it weren't for the 6 hour drive, I would want to go to St. Honore every week!!

SakuraB Bento (Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival 2012)

In March, I saw advertisements running all over transit about the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival. Of course, the thing that stood out to me was the food part advertising the SakuraB Bento boxes. These lunch boxes featured different items made by chefs from popular or famous Japanese restaurants in Metro Vancouver.

I pre-ordered my bento box (they were only sold in advance online through the Festival's website) and picked them up at the Festival. As noted on the bento box lid, this was a "limited edition culinary treat to make your celebration even more memorable!"

The featured items included (see below photo):

Tojo's Restaurant - Assortment of Temari Sushi (top right corner)
Sushi rice wrapped with smoked salmon, smoked sablefish, Tuna tataki, and Shiitake mushroom

Zen Japanese Restaurant - Ebi Crisp (centre)
Crisp cucumber cup filled with Japanese plum-infused-amaebi (sweet shrimp), topped with crunchy lobster, crisp Fuji apples and masago

Shuraku Sake Bar & Bistro - Fraser Valley Pork Kakuni (top left corner)
Barley-fed Fraser Valley park braised tamari ginger soy sauce with kombu umami

Toshi Japanese Restaurant - Braised Stuffed Chicken (bottom right corner)
Stuffed with minced chicken, green beans and imitation crab

Zest Japanese Restaurant - Scallop Kiwi Carpaccio & Kamaboko (bottom left corner)
Slice of Japanese scallops and kiwi served with soy mustard dressing; also with smoked salmon and edamame fish cake

Miku - Sakura Oshi (centre, to the left, with a pink blob)
Ebi and hotate pressed and dressed with house made ume sauce

If I had to pick out my favourite, it would have to be the smoked sablefish temari sushi. The rice had little flecks of shiso leaves and the fish was still moist yet it still held up while wrapped around the rice ball.

For $20 a box, I'm not sure if it's exactly bang for your buck but it was indeed unique and delicious.

Cache Bistro - Brunch

1269 Hamilton Street
Vancouver, BC

See? Told'ya I'd be back again haha... This time, W and I, along with 2 other friends went to sample Cache's brunch menu on a Saturday morning (Brunch is only served on weekends and holidays).

Originally, we all wanted to order an eggs benedict each but we all had a hard time deciding which one to choose. Kinson, the owner (who stopped by with his adorable baby daughter!), came by and suggested that we order one of each of the eggs benny and an order of their waffle to share between the 4 of us. That was a good idea and thank goodness we did so because the eggs benny were quite rich so, with a little bit here and a little bit there, it was more than enough to fill our tummies!

Caché signature foie gras benedict

Foie Gras terrine, truffle hollandaise, croissant

The ingredients in this one speak for itself on why this is their priciest item on the menu. The foie gras was creamy and rich but it could have benefited from a quick sear on the pan to give it more texture. I think the star of this dish has got to be the truffle hollandaise sauce. The aroma and the earthiness of the truffles just oozes from the pale golden sauce! Everyone was clamoring to wipe the sauce, spilled onto the plate, with the yam hash! The yam hash was equally delicious, although it may be because I love yam fries and this was quite similar.

Crab cake benedict

Grilled portobello mushroom, spinach, hollandaise

With the same sides as the above, this eggs benny did not come with a croissant though. The medium poached eggs sat on top of a large meaty crab cake. I thought the house-made ketchup went nicely with the crab cake to give it some zing.

Smoked salmon benedict

Salmon gravlax, dill hollandaise croissant

Belgian waffle

Canadian maple syrup

Our final eggs benny featured smoked salmon. I thought this was the most ordinary eggs benny out of the 3 but it was still delicious nonetheless.

In the background was the Belgian waffle with maple syrup and a sliced strawberry for garnish. We left the waffle to eat at the end and perhaps due to this, the waffle was not warm and fluffy anymore. It seemed a bit small but it acted as a nice closing dessert for our brunch.

As I'm writing this, I am craving for eggs benny now! Also, Cache now serves lunch on weekdays in addition to brunch on the weekends/holidays. I guess visit #3 is in order haha...

Cache Bistro - Dine In Vancouver 2012

1269 Hamilton Street
Vancouver, BC

Cache Bistro and Lounge was not one of the participants of the Dine Out Vancouver program but they did devise their own "Dine In" menu during the same time period to attract diners. Along with some of W's friends, we paid Cache a visit to try their $35 3-course pre-fixe dinner.

Squid "pasta" on sea urchin soup

This was an interesting but tasty combination.I thought the meat of uni (sea urchin) would be blended in with the soup so I was surprised that there was a decent-sized piece of uni (sea urchin) lain on top of the soup! Aside from the actual piece of uni, the soup tasted like a blend of lobster bisque with uni as well. There were also some celery, seaweed, and onions to give it some sweetness. The squid "pasta" was actually calamari rings.

 Smoked soft boiled egg with black truffle and caviar (salmon roe) 

This was W's appetizer. I couldn't really detect the black truffle flavour despite its appearance on the egg. I liked how the salmon roe pops in my mouth giving some saltiness to the creamy soft egg. I love soft boiled eggs!

Broiled half lobster

with mushroom cream sauce and lobster sticky rice

I chose the lobster for my main. The sticky rice was very fragrant...I think some of the lobster "guts" were mixed in with the rice. The lobster itself was alright. The green beans were crisp and the roasted tomatoes on the side were soft with a crispy and spicy topping. I wasn't really wowed by this dish to be honest but it was still tasty nonetheless.

Veal tenderloin steak with pomme frites 

Truffle butter, chipotle mayo and house made ketchup

W had the steak for his main. The pomme frites, as you can see, were actually lotus chips. Unconventional but very addictive!!

 Tofu panna cotta with black sesame ice cream 

This was my dessert! The panna cotta tasted like sweetened soya milk in pudding form haha (not to be mixed up with tofu pudding 豆腐花)... I wonder if the ice cream was house-made...the hit of black sesame was really strong. It's like two Chinese desserts (tofu pudding and black sesame soup) reformed into a French/Western style dessert.

Vanilla ice cream with lava cake

The cake was supposed to be accompanied with mint ice cream but no one liked mint ice cream... It was alright...didn't seem very special.

Overall, there were some hits and there were some "meh" parts of the dishes. No doubt about it, the chefs were kicking their fusion creativity into high gear. Their effort is commended and their reward is that I'll be coming back to try their other creations :)