Pallas Athena Greek Kouzina

#22 - 2565 Barnet Highway

Coquitlam, BC

 

I get all these different cravings from time to time! Some time ago, I was suddenly craving for Greek salad! I really wanted to have some fresh, juicy tomatoes and cool crisp cucumbers with the soft salty tang of feta cheese! I was too lazy to buy all the ingredients and make it myself so I just dragged W and we hit up a Greek restaurant!

 

With the help of Urbanspoon, I decided to try Pallas Athena Greek Kouzina, located on Barnet Highway, next to Sushi Mori. I was happy to find it bright and nicely decorated inside.

 

There was a Greek statue standing in the middle of the restaurant and unfortunately, where we sat, the statue mooned at us the whole time =P

All the entrees and platters at Pallas included Greek salad and pita bread with tzaziki dip so we just ordered 2 entrees to share between the 2 of us.

Pita bread and Tzaziki dip (top) - thick cool tzatziki made with greek yogurt, cucumbers and garlic

Greek salad (bottom) - fresh cut tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, red onions, olives, feta and oregano with authentic kalamata extra virgin olive oil

W, the super ultra picky eater, did not like to eat tomatoes, cucumbers AND green peppers so he picked and ate the feta cheese and onion pieces and left the veggies for me to have. Ah well, since I was craving Greek salad, I was quite happy about that LOL... The salad was cool and fresh, exactly what I wanted.

The pita bread came warm with a crisp crust and soft pillowy centre. I could've eaten the whole basket alone with the salad!

Arni Psito ($17.50) - Pallas specialty; seasoned, slow roasted piece of New Zealand lamb shoulder with lemon roasted potato, rice pilaf and sauteed vegetables

 

W left the ordering to me so I chose the arni psito to try. The lamb shoulder was roasted really beautifully! It was quite a large piece but the meat was incredibly tender, falling off the bone with just a slight prod of the fork! The meat was juicy and seasoned well. It was gamier than I expected but still acceptable. Some people who don't like that smell and taste will probably be put off by the strong gamey flavour.

 

The lemon roasted potato was alright. I would have liked it to be more tart to help cut the gamey lamb flavour. The green beans were slightly crisp and vibrant in colour while the rice was seasoned nicely and was nice and fluffy as well.  

 

Chicken Souvlaki ($15.50) - two skewers marinated and charbroiled, served with lemon roasted potato, rice pilaf and sauteed vegetables

The 2nd entree was the chicken souvlaki. This dish tasted pretty good but the chicken was dry and a little tough to eat. Again, the sides were not bad. Green beans were also on W's list of disliked food so he ended up having very little veggies at this dinner. Doh!

These 2 entrees were pretty large! We ate about half of each one and had the rest packed up to go.

W actually had a coupon from his entertainment book but the restaurant didn't accept it because it was a holiday. Argh! Should have read the fine print! Anyway, we will probably go back again because it's a lovely and comfortable place to get some Greek eats :) And because we still have a coupon to use haha!

Penang Delight Cafe

Fine Malaysian Cuisine
3885 Rupert Street
Vancouver, BC

I've known about this tiny Malaysian restaurant for a few years already through some local food blogs but for some reason I've never went to try it. Since we were out in the area and my mom loves roti canai, we went to go check it out once and for all!

It is indeed a small restaurant, mostly filled with small tables of 4. There is a small room at the back that may be able to accommodate larger parties, although I think the max for that room is probably 8-10 people. The place was nicely decorated with some old photographs of Penang, Kuala Lampur and the Petronas Twin Towers.

Grass Jelly Soya Bean (left), Teh Tarik (Malaysian milk tea; right)

 

It was a warm spring day so I wanted to have a cold drink. I opted for a grass jelly in iced soya bean milk. W and my mom both had the Malaysian milk tea. I tried a sip and it was really good! A little like HK style milk tea but the tea was more creamy and less "bitter" (I don't really know how to describe it...it's a taste of tea leaves being brewed too long producing a sort of bitter aftertaste and leaving a film in the mouth). I really liked it and I half wished I had ordered the milk tea rather than my soya bean milk. My drink wasn't as good in comparison since it was rather plain.

 

Penang Shrimp Roll - Deep fried marinated pork and shrimp in beancurd sheet wrap

For starters, my mom chose the Penang shrimp roll and, of course, the Roti canai. The shrimp rolls were actually more like little fritters or deep fried meat balls. Inside the crispy beancurd wrappers were a mixture of minced pork and minced shrimp meat. It also came with a sweet and sour-ish dipping sauce. Though they were tasty, my mom complained that there was more pork than shrimp inside.

Roti Canai - Crispy Indian style pancake served with curry dipping sauce (2 pieces)

The Roti canai, on the other hand, was hot, flakey, chewy and delicious! The dish had 4 pieces (2 large pancakes cut into halves) and served with a mild curry dipping sauce. We all had different ways of eating it haha. My mom liked to eat it plain without any sauce. My dad and W dipped theirs in the curry sauce. And me? I drenched mine in the Penang Asam laksa broth!

Penang Asam Laksa - Laksa noodles with sardine, cucumber, pineapple, onion, mint leaves in hot and sour broth

Deviating away from the usual laksa that comes in a curry-coconut broth, we tried the Penang Asam laksa which had sardines, slivers of cucumber, pineapple, onions, mint leaves, and slippery, thick rice noodles sitting in a hot and sour soup. It was way spicier than I could handle but the flavours were so fantastic that I couldn't stop eating it! It was spicy, savoury, sweet from the pineapple, and a little herby from the mint. The roti was a very good agent in soaking up the broth from my bowl! If they could dial down the heat, I would definitely eat this whole of bowl of laksa!

Hainanese Chicken Rice - Hainanese steamed chicken with chicken broth rice

We also shared an order of the Hainanese chicken rice (there is a bowl of rice on the side). The chicken was not bad. It was flavourful and tender. The sweet soy sauce and bean sprouts below the chicken helped keep the meat moist as well. W said he liked the Hainanese chicken rice at Cafe D'lite (inside the Aberdeen Centre food court) the most though.

K.L. Hokkian Mee - Famous K.L. Hokkian Mee stir fried with thick egg noodle, shrimp, squid, pork, fish cakes and vegetables in Malaysian dark soy sauce

Lastly, we split a plate of noodles to round out the meal. These stir fried noodles reminded me of the Shanghai-style stir fried thick noodles as they were both similar in appearances. There were ample ingredients along with the noodles but I found the noodles to be too soft and the whole plate very oily. At least the greens (choi sum vegetables) provided some colour and a healthy factor to this dish!

Overall, Penang Delight is a quaint little restaurant serving up delectable Malaysian eats. I want to come back again and have their milk tea for myself and brave their deliciously spicy Asam laksa!!

McDonald's Fish McBites ~ photo-log

McDonald's

Bellis Fair food court

Bellingham, WA

 

While heading down to Bellingham for some cross-border shopping, I noticed a large banner hanging outside a McDonald's restaurant advertising a new product of theirs. Similar to their Chicken McBites, the Fish McBites were small, crispy, golden nuggets of Alaskan Pollock.



 

When W and I stopped at the Bellis Fair's food court for a mid-afternoon snack, we decided to give the Fish McBite's a try! I don't think these are available in Canada, or in BC (yet?).

I liked how the lid flap doubled as the condiment holder! So convenient!

The tiny fish nuggets were similar in size to popcorn chicken and yielded a soft and somewhat flakey morsel of fish meat. It's like eating a bite sized filet o'fish patty. It made for a nice small snack. We polished them off in no time so don't get these if you're hungry!

Cache Bistro ~ Photo-log

1269 Hamilton Street
Vancouver, BC

A gathering organized by W's colleagues was held at Cache one night. W and I dropped by for a quick bite and a little socializing as we had other plans later. Since a shipment of fresh lobster had just arrived, our tastebuds were treated to 2 different preparations of lobster!

Poached lobster salad

A simple salad with poached lobster on the side. This was the easiest and non-messy way to eat lobster!

Baked lobster with cheese

W opted for the baked lobster. He had to dig into the shell to get the bouncy morsels of flesh out. I thought that my lobster meat was more rubbery than his... W's lobster was prepared better but I still liked the simplicity of my salad.

Calamari ($8) - Five spice, chickpea flour, sake soy glaze

We also tried the calamari from Cache's lounge menu. Crispy batter with tender squid rings...pretty good! The dipping sauce reminded me of The Keg's calamari dipping sauce but I liked The Keg's savoury and sweet sauce more....just my personal preference.

Too bad we couldn't stay for the actual dinner...I was quite interested in that week's Menu 35... Pork done 3 ways? Blue cheese cheesecake? Hmmm! Oh well, next time!

Itadakimasu Restaurant & Sake Bar

4148 Main Street
Vancouver, BC

Way back when, it seemed like Japanese izakaya style restaurants were located exclusively in the downtown area. Now, there are more and more izakayas popping up outside the downtown core! Itadakimasu was on my radar for a while but I didn't have much reason to venture to Main Street so I never visited this place. On a Friday night, W and I were hanging out at Oakridge Centre so I decided, "Hey, we're sorta close, let's go there for dinner!" LOL...  Oh, and my apologies for the crappy photo quality...


When we arrived, the place was packed and we were relegated to sit at the bar. The bar stools had no backrests so by the end of the meal, my back was stiff and sore... They need to get more comfortable bar stools.
Anyway, after looking through their regular menu and their fresh sheet, we decided to order 6 items to share.

Daikon Salad ($6) - radish salad topped with deep fried potato sticks with plum sauce

From the fresh sheet, this salad was a cool and healthy way to start the meal. Ok...maybe not that healthy due to the deep fried potato sticks. They were so good though! Crunchy and lightly salted, it went well with the sweet and tart plum sauce dressing. Hiding underneath the greens were also slices of daikon (white radish), cucumbers and cherry tomatoes.

PARI PARI Ebi mayo ($7) - crispy prawns with sweet chili mayo

This was on their regular menu. It wasn't on the description but the prawns were actually coated with rice crispies! I was worried that the chili mayo sauce would be too spicy for me and was actually kind of skeptical when W wanted to order it. I'm just a worrywart haha.. The sauce just had a little zingy kick to it and it was delicious!

 Daily Cute Temari sushi box ($10) - 10 assorted flavours of "ball shaped" sushi

Oh, the power of facebook! I saw a friend post a photo of Itadakimasu's temari sushi box and I immediately squealed at how cute it looked! I vowed to try it if I ever went to the restuarant. Lo and behold, I have ordered it! The appearance was certainly cute but the taste was mediocre. The sushi rice was really bland, like it hadn't been seasoned or mixed with any vinegar at all. The sashimi was kind of dry too. A little disappointed, yes, but I'm still glad I tried it.

 Pacific Roll ($11) - salmon teriyaki, cucumber topped with tuna, rice pearls and ponzu jelly

Also from their fresh sheet, I chose the Pacific Roll to see how their specialty rolls fared. Aside from the bland sushi rice, everything else was great! I especially loved the burst of tart citrus flavour from the yuzu jelly on top of the tuna.

Tsukune ($2.50 each, min. 2 orders) - skewered chicken meat ball with salt, teriyaki or sour plum & Japanese basil

These minced chicken "sausages" on bamboo skewers were pretty good too. The inside was still juicy while the exterior had a bit of char from the grill. The one glazed with sour plum sauce was my favourite because I liked the liberal sprinkle of shiso leaves (Japanese basil). It was sweet, tart and a little minty-herby. The flavour of the teriyaki (on the left) skewer was predictable (sweet and savoury) but it was still tasty.

Gindara Saikyou Miso ($9.50) - grilled miso black cod

The last dish that came was the grilled black cod. The fish was quite small in size but the sweet, salty, umami flavours were huge in impact! Nicely grilled with some char marks, the dark crispy skin contrasted with the smooth, soft and flakey white flesh. Overall, this was a fish well done. Just wished the piece was bigger to warrant that price...

With a more subdued atmosphere (no loud music or yelling by the servers like Guu), I thought it made for a more pleasing and relaxed meal. Of course, if it was the rambunctious and energetic atmosphere you're looking for, perhaps heading to downtown would be a better choice. If I was ever back in the area and was craving for izakaya appies (no sushi!), I would definitely head to Itadakimasu.

Cache Bistro - Dinner #2

1269 Hamilton Street
Vancouver, BC

W invited a badminton buddy of his to have dinner one weekend. They decided to make it a double-date so his friend, Griffin, brought his wife along while W brought me! Since Griffin and his wife rarely head out to have nice leisurely dinners due to child-rearing duties, W thought that bringing them to Cache would be a nice outing for them.

We arrived at 6 in the evening and it was pretty empty inside. I know it’s not exactly good for business but I liked how we could chat without a lot of noise disrupting us. It got a bit busier as the night went on though.

I saw that Cache hung a new chalkboard menu by their open kitchen which detailed the daily items available for their newly added charcuterie platter. I think I might want to try it one day. Cache seems like an unintimidating place to be introduced to the world of cheese and cured meats. Anyway! Back to the dinner!

Half Moon Ice Tea ($6) - green tea, fresh lemon, mint, soda

I started with a drink while perusing the menu. The ice tea was cold and refreshing! It wasn't very sweet, which would be nice for some, but I would have liked it more if a little more green tea syrup was added.

W had a hard time choosing what to eat so he went and asked Chef Alex for recommendations. Chef Alex said that the pork belly on their Menu 35 3-course dinner was really good so, putting all his trust in Alex, he went with the Menu 35 meal!

Boutique AAA Tenderloins - Black pepper crust, bacon wrapped AAA tenderloin, celeriac purée, port glazed pearl onions

For W’s choice of appetizer on Menu 35, he opted for the beef tenderloin - tiny bite-sized cubes of beef wrapped with bacon. The dish seemed small but it was really tasty. Despite the size, the meat was well cooked, not tough to chew at all, while the bacon provided a pleasing salty hit. The other appy option was the seafood crepe (lobster, mussels, squid, and salmon, veloute de poisson).

*Please note that I did not take any photos of Griffin and his wife’s food… I just met them and I didn’t want to scare them off by halting them of any eating and shoving my camera phone in front of their dishes ~_~

Pork Belly - Braised pork belly, pomme dauphine, baby carrot

This was the chef recommended pork belly! It was braised until the meat was fork-tender. The fat practically melted in my mouth! The pork belly was seasoned well but the flavour was kind of one-dimensional. The pomme dauphine were actually the fried round mashed potato balls! These potato balls reminded me of Japanese croquette because of the crispy exterior shell, the soft and creamy potato interior, and it also had a little bit of meaty demi-glace sauce in the middle.

When a server passed by our table holding the other entrée option for Menu 35, I thought that one looked quite delicious too! It was a wild sockeye salmon marinated with miso, accompanied with fennel, and had basa noodle.

Beet Salad ($11) - Roasted golden, candy & red beets, roasted carrot, crispy goat cheese

Upon reading the description for the Menu 35 meal, I wasn’t too interested with the choices so I decided to order from the a la carte menu. I went with the beet salad to start as I wanted something light to whet my appetite. I’m starting to like beets more and more, especially the roasted variety! They were so sweet and tender! The carrots were sweet and delicious too! The little crispy goat cheese nuggets were soft in the inside and had a golden coloured panko crust on the outside. Really good textural contrast to the soft beets!

Duck Breast ($24) - Seared Fraser Valley duck breast, roasted fingerling potato, honey carrot flan, blueberry demi

I was actually a little disappointed with my entrée. By all means, it was still tasty but somehow it didn’t really meet my expectations. The meat of the duck breast was moist yet a little chewy but I thought the fat under the duck skin was not rendered enough so I felt it was not as melty-soft as I liked it to be. With the description of “honey carrot flan”, I expected this orange-coloured soufflé to taste light and sweet. However, my palate detected a very savoury and cheesy tang from this circular side dish. Totally not what I expected it to be! The taste was interesting and the texture was light and fluffy (hence why I called it a soufflé) but…where were the honey carrots?! Also, colour-wise, the whole dish seemed too "earth-tone" (brown, yellow, orange...). A nice, bright pop of colour somewhere would have been more eye-pleasing. =P

I think the best duck breast I’ve eaten was actually at the now-closed Hong Kong style café called Seventh Heaven Cafe, which was located in Aberdeen Centre at Richmond. Same with Cache, it was seared with a crispy skin and paired with a blueberry sauce but I thought it was cooked to a doneness that was just right for the meat to be slightly chewy and the fat to be melty-soft. /end digression/

Dessert sampler

Red velvet cake (cupcake), dark chocolate crème caramel, vodka and dark chocolate zabaglione

Menu 35 came with a dessert sampler to round out the meal. Cache’s dessert sampler changes daily so this night it included a red velvet cupcake, a dark chocolate crème caramel pudding, and a vodka and dark chocolate zabaglione. The red velvet cake was ok, nothing incredible about it. It was just like a normal cupcake but it was deep red in colour. The crème caramel was more interesting. Though the caramel sauce drenched over the pudding was quite sweet, the dark chocolate eggy pudding balanced the flavour out with its bitter cocoa notes. Pretty good!

The last of the trio of desserts was the zabaglione. I have never heard of this word before so I had to Google it up! Apparently, it is an Italian dessert, also known as Zabaione or sabayon. Typically, it is made with egg yolks, sugar and a sweet wine. In Cache’s case, it was made with vodka and chocolate. The consistency of this dessert was like a drinking chocolate. It was smooth and thick. You could eat it with a spoon but you could also sip it from the little cup! If I had to pick, though, I would say I liked the crème caramel the best.

Crepes Suzette ($9) – warm crepes, vanilla ice cream, orange marmalade sauce

Don’t expect the chef to come out and prepare this dessert tableside; though, I know it’s pretty hard to find a place that will serve this dessert with the traditional flair. Aside from that, the crepes were a pretty substantial dish! Easily shareable between 2 people! The crepes were warm with slightly crisp edges and stuffed with 2 huge scoops of vanilla ice cream!! The sauce that accompanied the crepes tasted like warm orange marmalade. Not that it wasn’t good; it just seemed like it belonged on a home-made dessert rather than on one found in this fine restaurant. I would love to try Crepes Suzette prepared tableside the traditional and fancy way though.

Overall, another good dinner at Cache Bistro. There were some hits and minor misses but the changing seasonal menus and friendly staff will keep bringing me back! :)