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!

Cacao 70 Sweet House

143 Chadwick Court
North Vancouver, BC

With the prominence of social media and "viral posts", it is no wonder that my picks in eateries would be influenced by the online world! After seeing amazing, drool-worthy photos of waffles from Cacao 70, I convinced W that we needed to try it out!

From Cacao 70's website, I saw that the North Vancouver location served brunch as well, so W and I went there early afternoon for a savoury and sweet meal. Located on the grounds of Lonsdale Quay, the eatery was situated near the water and had a nice view of the Burrard Inlet. The inside had a quaint 1940's diner decor but it seems that due to lack of staff, the inside was kind of messy with un-bussed tables and chairs strewn about.

Hangover Omelette ($13.75) - An omelette with bacon, roasted red peppers, green onions, mild white cheddar cheese and basil pesto. Served with toast, salad, and a fruit plate with a small chocolate fondue

The savoury brunch item we chose was the Hangover Omelette. It was not bad but it didn't look as amazing as I expected. Definitely felt like something that we could make at home. The menu stated that it would be served with potato wedges but toast was given instead. I was kind of disappointed about that.

The omelette also came with a fruit plate served with dipping chocolate. It is best to eat this first because when the chocolate became cooler, it hardened up like ganache so it was not suitable for dipping. I liked that it was dark chocolate which went nicely with the sweet fruit though.

 The Coffee High ($12.95) - Cacao 70 waffle and mini scoop of soft-serve vanilla ice cream, dipped with coffee chocolate, whipped cream, banana, java cake, caramel sauce and coffee beans

For the sweet half of our brunch, we went for The Coffee High waffle. Now THIS certainly looked impressive and decadent! There were a lot of things going on but I thought that was what caused its downfall. All of those things were sweet and combined together, it became immensely sugary and overbearing. We thought the ice cream was the best part of this combo. If we came back again, I think I would just order one of their dipped ice cream cones.

Welp, their waffles were indeed very photogenic, but otherwise I was, unfortunately, quite underwhelmed by the experience :(

Momiji, Seattle

1522 12th Avenue

Seattle, WA

 

Late in the summer last year, W and I headed down to Seattle to attend a baby celebration thrown by one of W's friend. It was gorgeous outside but extremely hot that weekend! The heat really tired us out so we decided to have an early dinner before retiring back to the hotel.

 

A quick search on Google maps brought us to Momiji, a Japanese restaurant that combines the stylish with the traditional, both in terms of decor and food.

We got lucky and scored a table in their beautiful Japanese-style courtyard during happy hour!

 Lychee Lemonade ($4)

On that warm evening, I started with a refreshing lychee lemonade.

Albacore Poke ($8)

We ordered exclusively off the happy hour menu so W and I sampled 5 different small plates for our meal. First came the Albacore Poke which had cubes of Albacore tuna, cucumber, and onion slivers dressed in a spicy soya sauce. I didn't expect it to be THAT spicy so W ended up finishing this bowl.

 Sushi Set B ($8) - Yellowtail, salmon, tuna, albacore tuna

Then, the 4 piece nigiri sushi set arrived. These were well prepared with the fish being fresh and rice seasoned just right. My favourite was the Albacore tuna because it is rarely available in sushi joints back home, and for $2 to boot!

 Unagi Roll ($6)

Continuing with sushi, we ordered the simple but yummy Unagi roll.  It had avocado, cucumber and a thin piece of the bbq-ed eel.

 Crispy Calamari ($6)

Another item from the happy hour menu was the deep fried calamari. It had a nice, light, crispy batter and was delish on its own, without the dipping sauce, too. The side salad helped keep things fresh and bright.

 Grilled Garlic Short Ribs ($7)

Lastly, we had the grilled beef short ribs. They were marinated in a sweet and savoury soya sauce, similar to a Korean BBQ sauce. They were tasty but W and I thought it could have been cooked a bit longer. It was also something that we could easily make on our own barbecue grill haha.... 

Nonetheless, we were very pleased with the sushi and the cooked dishes at Momiji. We loved the decor and ambiance, while the service was attentive and polite. The prices from happy hour was definitely the cherry on top though!

Raisu

2340 W 4th Avenue
Vancouver, BC


I tend to gravitate towards eye-catching food (who doesn't?!). Some time ago, I noticed a lot of people posting photos of The Ocean's Offering sushi plate from Raisu. Social media, once again, has done its job and successfully drew me in to try the sister restaurant of Kingyo and Suika.

I chose there to have my birthday dinner with some friends. As it was a nice summer day, we sat out on their enclosed patio. It was nice and bright, and I loved the deep wood, earth tones of the dining area.

Raisu Punch - Calpico, kiwi, pineapple, aloe juice, soda

I started off with one of their non-alcoholic drinks (mocktail, if you will). Refreshing and sweet!

The Ocean's Offering ($24) - Cured with salt and vinegar, varieties of visually appealing daily pressed seafood sushi will awaken your senses.

We had to call in and reserve this special dish in advance. There are only a limited number of them made each day!

Presented in a cute, jigsaw puzzle like pattern, there were a few different toppings on the pressed sushi rice like tuna tataki, salmon with salmon roe and tamago (sweet egg omelet). Not only is it photogenic, it is pleasing to the palate as well!

Seafood "Donabe Takikomi" ($24) - Sea urchin and snow crab on top of Raisu’s original broth rice in a 'Donabe' (a Japanese clay pot), topped with Shiso herb, salmon caviar, and crab miso butter

This claypot rice with sea urchin and snow crab was also an item that must be ordered in advance. When the toppings and the rice were mixed together, it produced a fragrant and creamy rice dish that felt luxurious in your mouth and warm and homey in your tummy haha... Definitely a must-try!

Ocean Green Salad ($9) - Fresh aromatic Japanese greens, mizuna leaves, radish sprouts, shredded cabbage, and thinly sliced onions balanced with Shio Konbu kelp, dried shrimp and sardines

Our obligatory "healthy" dish came in the form of the Ocean Green Salad.  It was fresh and light which balanced the remaining heavy dishes of the night hehe...

Minced Meat Cutlet Teishoku (single) - Breaded minced meat cutlet made with 100% premium wagyu beef and house special dressing on the side

Next up we tried the deep fried minced beef cutlet. Raisu actually specializes in "teishoku" (set meal in Japanese) but since we already ordered the clay pot rice as our starch, we opted out of the set meal and ordered it as a singular dish. 

Another beautifully executed dish! The panko crust was golden brown and crispy while the minced beef patty was hot and juicy.

Grilled Fish Teishoku (single $16) - served with in-house "tsukemono" pickled vegetables

Also on the teishoku menu, we chose the grilled fish without the set meal combo. I don't know what kind of fish it was though, but just like the cutlet, the meat was cooked just right. The meat flaked off with a nudge but it was not dry at all. The umami soya sauce on the side held up to the lightly smokey fish.

Wagyu Beef Hamburg Teishoku (single $23) - 100% Premium Wagyu Beef patty drizzled with a dense, rich Hatcho Miso Demi-glace sauce, served with oven roasted potatoes and seasonal vegetables

Lastly, to REALLY fill up our bellies, we ordered the Wagyu Hamburger patty bathed in a seriously hearty and delicious gravy. The Wagyu beef patty was juicy and amazing as expected but the sauce was definitely a surprise star in this dish! This time, we wished we had some rice to soak up all the rich and meaty sauce :( 

Although not cheap eats, these homestyle dishes at Raisu made a wonderful and memorable birthday dinner!

Portland Lunch Eats 2017

After our time in Lincoln City, we travelled back to Portland before making our way up North. After driving hours from the coast back inland, we were famished for lunch! We stopped by the store location of Nong's Khao Man Gai to get our fix of chicken and rice!

Nong's Khao Man Gai

609 SE Ankeny Street, Suite C

Chicken and Rice (Big size, mixed dark and white meat $14.75)- Poached, organic kosher raise chickens with jasmine rice simmered in chicken stock and Thai herbs, served with sauce of fermented soybeans, ginger, garlic, thai chilies, vinegar, house made syrup and soy sauce. Garnished with cucumbers and cilantro, and accompanied by a light soup

W and I shared the large size chicken and rice and it came with an ample amount of rice and de-boned meat. At no extra cost, I asked for a side of the chicken livers too XD I am A-ok with eating offal so it was a cool accompaniment to the rice. It was yummy dipped in their special house-made sauce!

Just like their food cart, the store was a no-frills, no gimmicks kind of place. Their dishes and utensils evoked an era from the past which lends itself to a kind of authenticity. For a more comfortable place to sit down and eat khao man gai, the store location is the place to be.

 Spam Musubi ($3) - Seared marinated spam over rice, wrapped in nori (seaweed)

The next day, we stopped by the downtown food trucks for lunch. While W and I browsed all the selections, we bought a spam musubi from 808 Grinds. They pan fry the spam and hand-wrap the musubi after ordering so you know it's freshly made every time!

After walking many rounds and lots of hemming and hawing, we ended up with an order of mac and cheese from the aptly-named Mac & Cheese Bar.

 Mac & Trees ($8) - Classic mac 'n cheese with broccoli, parmesan and breadcrumbs

Lemon Shake-up ($2.50)- Fresh pressed lemonade

I chose the Mac & Trees which had their classic mac and cheese added with some broccoli florets. It made the decadent pasta a little less guilty haha... I also got their freshly-squeezed lemonade to wash down the gooey and heavy pasta.

W chose to try the buttermilk fried chicken from Just Chicken.

2 piece buttermilk fried chicken with 2 sides ($9) - wing and drum stick, kale salad, and a bag of potato chips

This combo came with a drumstick and a wing, as well as 2 sides of our choice. W left the choosing to me again so I went with the kale salad, for a bit of healthy punch, and a bag of chips (which totally negates the benefits of the salad LOL...). The chicken was pretty good. The skin was nice and crunchy while the meat was still soft and juicy. Not bad for a simple lunch.

The Portland food scene is always something that attracts us to go back time and time again. Can't wait to head back there again!

Mo's Annex Newport - Mo's Seafood & Chowder

657 SW Bay Blvd.
Newport, OR

My family's annual road trip destination for 2017 was the Oregon Coast. We rented a beautiful ocean-front home in Lincoln City for a couple days and spent one of those days driving and sight-seeing along the coast.

We stopped by Newport for lunch and decided to try out Mo's Annex. There was actually another Mo's diagonally across the street, the Original Mo's at Newport! But seeing that the menu at Original Mo's consisted of mostly deep fried seafood, we leaned towards the seafood served at Mo's Annex more.

Mo’s Clam Chowder (Family size $16.95) - New England Style with Bacon

We started off with the family-sized clam chowder. It was a pretty large portion, being able to fill up around 6 bowls of soup. The chowder was thick and creamy with lots of meaty clam pieces. This was delicious and perfect for a cool, windy day by the sea!

Hot Crab & Shrimp Artichoke Dip ($14.95) - Served with sour dough bread

In order to try the most amount of food as possible, we ordered a few items for sharing between all of us. After the chowder, the crab, shrimp and artichoke dip came next. There were pieces of sour dough bread to slather the creamy dip on.

 Steamer Clams ($10.95) - Pound of steamer clams sautéed in garlic butter and

white wine served with melted butter

Toasted sour dough bread also accompanied the bowl of steamer clams. It was a joy to soak up the briny and savoury clam broth with the bread! The clams were yummy too but some of them still had a bit of sand in the meat.

Best Of The Bay ($15.95) - Shrimp skewers, oyster shooter, shrimp cocktail and steamed clams. Serves 2-4

This appetizer platter originally came with a couple raw oyster shooters but the server told us that they ran out of fresh oysters that day >___<  An extra skewer of shrimp replaced the oysters but we were still disappointed. The steamed clams were the same as the Steamer Clams and the shrimp cocktail was a dish of tiny bay shrimps topped with cocktail sauce. Overall, this platter was just ok.

Seafood Cioppino ($17.95) - Yaquina Bay Oysters, Pink Shrimp, Wild Alaskan Salmon, Alaskan Cod and Steamer Clams and Crab Legs simmered in a rich italian sauce topped with parmesan cheese and served with garlic cheese bread

Our last shared dish was the Seafood Cioppino. With 6 different kinds of seafood bathing in a tangy and cheesy tomato sauce, we thought this was the best deal of the meal! 

With this seafood lunch costing just over $100 for the 9 of us, Mo's Annex was one of the highlights of this trip! No wonder it's popular amongst the locals and tourists!

Bruxie, Las Vegas

3782 South Las Vegas Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV

The land between New York New York hotel and Monte Carlo hotel has been revamped due to the addition of the T-Mobile Arena. This pedestrian-friendly outdoor space (named The Park) is lined with new restaurants. One of them is Bruxie, a California-based eatery from which they claim the chicken and waffle sandwich originated ("The Original Fried Chicken and Waffle Sandwich").

W and I came here for a lunch visit. We chose one savoury and one sweet sandwich to share.

Backyard BBQ Chicken Waffle Sandwich - Double-dipped fried chicken, Carolina BBQ sauce, cheddar, crispy onion straws, cider slaw

The Backyard BBQ Chicken Waffle Sandwich was their featured special that day. When it came to the table, we could barely see the waffle underneath! This was jam-packed with pieces of fried chicken that had been tossed in a tangy BBQ sauce, then stopped with cheese, slaw, and the super yummy crispy onions...mmm yum!

The waffle wasn't what we expected though. The waffles at Bruxie were thinner and more crispy than the usual buttermilk or Liege waffles. However, it held up to the filling and didn't become soggy from all that sauce. Still, the chicken and waffle sandwich was pretty messy to eat!

Creme Brulee Waffle Sandwich - with seasonal fruit

My absolute favourite was the Creme Brulee Waffle! My mouth just salivates thinking about it! The waffle has been slathered with a vanilla custard, sprinkled with sugar and torched until brown and crunchy. Then, fresh strawberries were placed in the middle before closing up the sandwich. Oh my goodness, the soft but crispy waffle + the bruleed custard + fresh strawberries = best combination EVERRR!! 

Green Eggs and Ham - grilled ham, melted cheddar, two large eggs, mayo, arugula pesto

Before our flight back home, we stopped by Bruxie for breakfast. The whimsical name caught my attention so I chose the Green Eggs and Ham waffle sandwich as our savoury item and, of course, I couldn't resist ordering the Creme Brulee waffle sandwich again. 

The flavours of the breakfast waffle was pretty typical. I was surprised that the arugula pesto was not as pungent as I thought it'd be. Overall, the sandwich was tasty but we were not "wow-ed" by it.

Obviously, the creme brulee waffle was, once again, a superstar in my books!! It was made with strawberries again so I'm not sure what other seasonal fruit would be used during other times. They should just stick with the strawberries forever LOL...

Aside from In 'n Out, Bruxie is now one of our must go-to places when visiting Vegas!