Wildebeest


This restaurant has been on my list for a while, it's in an odd area of town that I rarely hang around, being old and decrepit and all.

One thing to note, this is a very meat centric menu, if your a vegetarian then this restaurant is not for you!

If you do like meat, continue on!

We all decided to share everything that we ordered beginning with appetizers. We started with the Roasted Bone Marrow with buttered leeks and Oyster mushrooms.

Wow this is a fatty dish! Insanely fatty, but oh so good. It looks small, but its too much for one person, but great as a shared appetizer for a group. The marrow is very rich and buttery.

Lamb Sweetbreads, with apple and sorrel puree and charred Onion petals

This is the first time I've tried Sweetbreads... and I think it will be the last time also. It is like super strong flavoured lamb paste. I didn't like it, my sister didn't like it, even my dad who is a huge fan of sweetbreads didn't like it. He normally has beef sweetbreads. So I would skip this, and order something else. I guess my palette isn't ready for this.

Roasted Game Hen, Roasted breast and stuffed leg, purple potatoes and ricotta.

Normally I don't order poultry at a fancy restaurant. But wow! This was great! The chicken is very juicy with good (for lack of a better description) natural chicken flavour. My whole family was surprised how tasty chicken can be. I assume this was made via Sous Vide technique, but isn't stated on the menu. I would order this again in an instant!

Roasted Lamb shank with Mint & pea Risotto

The lamb shank has a nice roasted finished to it, and very tender, but nothing out of the ordinary. The Risotto was delicious, cooked perfectly and very creamy. My mom hates lamb, and was initially reluctant to even try the risotto due to its proximity to the lamb, but changed her mind quickly afterwards, as we were all quickly scooping up the risotto. The mint risotto has a nice clean finish without being too "minty". A great dish overall, but get it more for the risotto than the lamb.


Handmade Parpadelle, Quail ragu, smashed chestnuts, shaved Parmesan cheese

Wow & wow! Best dish of the night! Fresh cut pasta with a light cream sauce, covered in cheese. What's not to like? It might sound like a simple dish, but it had some very rich and deep flavours. The only fault is there isn't much quail in the dish at all. We all loved this dish and would happily order this again.

The Ribeye, Fois Gras & Bone marrow jus

The Ribeye? How pretentious... It's a properly grilled 24 ounce ribeye that tastes great. The beef is beautiful, simply done and tastes great. But there are two issues with this dish. There is supposedly foie gras & bone marrow jus, and I see a little dribble of jus, but what you see on the plate is all there is, not much at all. The other problem is price. This item is $93, a bit steep even for a 24 ounce steak. It's good, but not worth the price. You can get a great steak elsewhere, order more pasta and game hen instead!

Great restaurant, especially for us carnivores out there! Just avoid the sweetbreads... I just don't get it :-)

Portland

A few weeks ago (before the dollar tanked) we went on a mini vacation to Portland Oregon. Someone at the gym recommended a place for us to try, said it was one of the best meals he'd ever had. As I haven't been to Portland in almost 15 years, I figured I'd give it a try

The Ox

Argentinian inspired BBQ, all wood fired. Prepare yourself for an epic meal
Apologies for the poor photo's, my phone is old and the camera seems to be crapping out.

First thing I noticed upon arriving at the restaurant, that there are outdoor tables and a separate bar right next to the restaurant. I initially thought it was outdoor seating, but in fact it is the waiting area for the restaurant! The place gets so busy that a bar opened up next door just to feed and drink all the guests waiting to get into this place! This is a good sign :-)

Luckily we were the 2nd people in line, so no waiting for us.

We are lucky enough to get the chef's table, a bar area that overlooks the wood fired grill, we get to enjoy the action!

The place surprises us with a creamy butternut squash soup with caramelized apples.

 Wow! What a great way to start off the meal! The shot of soup is rich, and very flavourful, the apples add a nice cool touch to the soup.

Fresh bread with Chimichurri & salted butter

 Crisp warn fresh bread, the chimichurri is great and goes with everything including the bread.

Grilled corn, poblano & cheese empanada

One of the best empanada's I've ever had, perfectly fried with a very creamy filling, the peppers add a nice kick! Just look at  that tasty filling! Yum!

 

Did I mention yum?

Baked ricotta with confit mushrooms served with toast

Bland. Seriously disappointing, the cheese is flavourless, as are the mushrooms. The toast is burnt too. Best to avoid, not worth the price.

Sautéed Mushrooms, Foie Gras, Wilted Spinach, Spring Onion

This is the small size version of this dish... Wow! Look at the size of this thing! The Foie gras is properly served rare (there's quite a bit of it too!) with fresh mushrooms. My idea of a salad!

The main course, Grilled house Chorizo & Grilled Skirt steak

The sausage has a very meaty flavour with a nice spicy kick, Debbie really enjoyed it. The Skirt steak was amazing! It was so buttery and flavourful! Melt in your mouth good! I eat a lot of steak, but this was incredible!

Without a doubt this was a fantastic meal, worthy of the trip. The next time we're in Portland (not for a while due to the weak dollar) we will be hitting this restaurant again!

The McLobster!

Hooo Boy...

Lobster at Mcdonalds...

It is real lobster, and yes that is real lettuce too! I'd say at least 50% lettuce!

It's watery, overly vinegary, and doesn't taste of anything.

In the end, lets never speak of this again.

Ok it's been a while...


Out of the blue I passed by a random coworker of mine (whom I don't know), and she suddenly asks.. "Are you the Hungry Emperor??"... In my shock I said yes! LOL!

She shamed me for my lack of attention to this blog.

I'm sorry!

Anyways I'll try my best and update again....

So for my triumphant return to this blog I will review a Vegetarian/Vegan restaurant!

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..

...

I'm serious...


No really!


Here are the pics to prove it!

Debbie always wanted to try this place, so I finally gave in.


We started with the Artichoke.

Well the official full title of the dish is Artichoke + Cashew Paté, Wild Leek + Pine Nut Pesto, Sherry Gel, Mountain Sweet Cicely, Radish, Olive Salted Taro Crisps... Sound Hipster enough for yah?

Basically it's Taro chips (free refills!) served with cashew butter & pesto, But I'll admit it was a very clean tasting dish, the pesto is especially tasty with a very rich flavour and the chips are nicely fried. As for the Sherry Gel? Needless and makes the dish sound fancy. But overall a great start!

 Debbie's main dish, A Wild mushroom Orecchiette in a light cheese sauce.

Very rich mushroom flavour, in a light but strongly flavoured cheese sauce, a little on the small side but quite filling. Another good dish... Will wonders ever cease?

My Main, Beer Battered Halloumi, Zucchini + Potato Pancake, Smashed Peas, Mint Yogurt, Acorn Garden Lemon Balm

Fried cheese, yum! Ok so this dish isn't exactly healthy, but it is vegetarian! This dish is the restaurant's take on fish & chips. It nails it completely. The cheese is rich and tasty, but the biggest surprise is the peas and the potato cake, the peas are very fresh and sweet, while the potato cake is crisp and not greasy. The yoghurt is a dead ringer for tarter sauce but much lighter and healthier tasting. This meal is great so far! EEP!

Onto dessert! Maple-Pecan Crumble, Banana, Date Caramel, Coconut-Vanilla Cream, Zimt Dark Chocolate, Chrysanthemum Sauce

A nice way to end the meal, banana custard with coconut vanilla cream, a very rich dessert. The chocolate is kinda grainy though, but everything else about this dessert is great!

Another bonus is the restaurant serves you unlimited carbonated water! So overall, I gotta admit this is a great restaurant, even for a carnivore like me! There are a lot of hipsters though... :-)

Random Items from Random Restaurants

Hello Folks! I haven't been to many interesting restaurants lately, so I'd figure I'll show off some of the interesting items I've eaten so far this month from a random assortment of restaurants.

So instead of one interesting restaurant review, you'll get four of them!

Let's get started!

PappaRoti

Here is the iconic PappaRoti coffee bun, it comes from Malaysia and is a popular throughout Asia and parts of the Middle east.

Good but not great. It is a a simple sweet bready bun with a crisp light caramel topping, inside is a semi-melted cube of salted butter. You can also order it with sides of Nutella, Whipped cream, Cream cheese, etc, but I think the butter inside is good enough. Think of it as a sort of Chinese Pineapple bun. It's a nice late night dessert that's not too rich (the place is pretty busy).


Chinese Lobster with Noodles

If your idea of a Chinese meal is Sweet and sour pork, with Chicken Chow Mein & Fried rice. Please move on. This article isn't for you. What you see here is something special. This is Chinese Lobster with noodles, I happened to be a Western Lake Chinese Seafood restaurant at the time, but you can order this from most decent Chinese restaurants.

It is Sauteed Lobster in a Soy/Ginger sauce which is them poured onto a crispy noodle base. This is a dish to die for, and one of my favourite Chinese dishes out there. If you are ever at  decent restaurant with some friends this is a dish to order and share!


Best Pizza in Vancouver?

Feel free to argue with me. But everyone who knows me, knows that my favourite Pizza in the world is the Wild Mushroom & Truffle cheese pizza from Serious Pie in Seattle. But it's a bit far to drive from Vancouver, so here's the closest competitor in town, Famoso Neapolitan Pizza.

This is their Roasted Mushroom, Parmesan crema, Caramelized Onion pizza, and all I can say is that its damned good! Crispy crust, sweet onions and tasty cheese! What else could you ask for? It's no Serious Pie, but it's a pretty good alternative!


Waffles Anyone?

I'm normally not a fan of waffles, I find them chewy, heavy, and I'm just not that impressed with them.

OK. You have my attention now. Nero Waffles, this is their Bresilienne waffle, it's a crispy waffle (not chewy) topped with Ice cream, whipped cream, caramel, roasted hazelnut crumble, a perfect dessert to share (especially since it's probably about 5000 calories!), one warning though, the place is tiny and very busy. I strongly recommend getting one of there outside tables.

Anyways folks, enjoy the rest of summer!

My Shanti

You'd think living in Surrey there would be a plethora of tasty and wonderful Indian cuisine.

Sadly no.

There definitely is a plethora of Indian restaurants, but would I consider them all tasty... No.
I like to consider all the Indian restaurants around me to be the equivalent of all those cheap Chinese restaurants that serve exactly the same thing. Sweet & Sour Pork, Chicken fried rice, and Chicken chow mein. Perfectly fine, but nothing to differentiate it from each other. All the Indian restaurants seem to serve the exact same thing.

Then I found out that Vikram Vij has opened up a new restaurant in Surrey! This really excites me as we love going to Vij's, and find his Indian food to be the best in town. Time for a happy dance!

Now I understand that Vij's food isn't traditional Indian cuisine, but boy is it tasty!

First thing we get once we sit down is some free deep fried things...

I'm going to assume these are chick pea flour chips, they look like prawn chips, but less tasty. But there free!

Onto the appetizer!

We ordered the Udiapuri Chaat

This is a salad consisting of fried eggplant, sweet potato, spinach, and many sauces. It's also vegan. Guess what? We loved this dish! This mix of flavours is amazing. We can't wait to order this again. Did I mention it's VEGAN!?!?!

Debbie ordered the Chicken Biryani

I like to think of Biryani as a Indian version of a casserole, filled with Rice, Chicken & sauce. Yum! The dish is very rich, and comes with an amazing Cashew cream sauce, the only issue I had is that it's just chicken breast in this dish, we need to move past boneless, skinless chicken breast.

I ordered the Calicut Beef Shortribs

What more can I ask for, Braised Shortribs in a Saffron, Coconut cream sauce. First and foremost they used proper shortrib cut, not the cheaper chuck cuts that they use at other restaurants, the sauce is rich and creamy with great flavour. Amazing!

An Indian dinner isn't complete without a nice piece of Naan bread

Just look at that bread! Perfect piece of Naan bread! The only issue here is that at Vij's the rice and naan are free with your meal and unlimited. Here the rice and naan are completely separate and costs extra. I'm not sure if they are unlimited, but probably not :-(

Here are some of the condiments that came with our meal. The cashew cream sauce, pickled veg, and a yogurt sauce

Almond Pistachio fudge in Coconut cream

Swing and a miss! This was just some coconut fudge in a bland sauce... Really underwhelming, bland, and not worth the $8!! it cost. Save your cash and get something else!

Overall this was another wonderful meal we've had at one of Vij's restaurant. The prices are slightly cheaper than Vij's, but once you add the rice and naan it will be about the same price, in fact probably a little more expensive! But the meal is totally worth it. As with his restaurants there are no reservations taken or accepted and it is on a first come, first serve basis. The place is very busy, so get there early!

Blue Water Cafe + Raw Bar


These days my family wants to try all sorts of high end restaurants. Funny thing is when I was a kid all we ate was Chinese food at Chinese restaurants, now they want to try everything! Of course I'm the one paying now... My poor wallet.

On with the food!

Bread!

Well, try not to focus on the bread (which was fresh and warm!), but focus on the condiments. The bread was served with Nori (roasted seaweed) butter, and a Carrot puree hummus (we loved this!). Both were amazing with the bread. I think we ended up eating more bread than we should of as I noticed a table next to us was forced to eat toast squares instead of these warm buns.

Kurobota Pork cheeks with Cauliflower couscous & lemon caper butter

It looks like fried schnitzels, but wow it was tasty, it was a braised pork cheek that is then deep fried. My wife doesn't normally crave fried food, but she loved it, the pork was very tender and flavourful and she gobbled up the cauliflower. In fact my whole family enjoyed sampling this. A real winner!

From the Raw bar I ordered a Crab (with real crab! Not that shredded fish paste you get in a cheap California roll), smoked salmon, and roasted Unagi roll. Called the "Stamina Roll", with a single piece of Toro Nigiri.

The roll was tasty and loaded with fresh crab meat and a sweet soy dizzle, but was a little too pricey for my liking. The roll was $19 alone and the single Toro Nigiri piece was $5.50. Very tasty but not worth the price.


Sablefish with a Miso glaze, Edamame, Quinoa, Shiitake mushrooms, and a dashi broth

Perfectly cooked piece of fish, with a lovely broth. It was amazing. The only issue for me is that I wish restaurants wouldn't always serve this in an Asian method. Everywhere I go Sablefish is always served with a miso glaze! I wish it was cooked another way. Tasty, but always seems to be cooked the same way.


Scallops with a Wild rice cake, caramelized endive and a citrus butter sauce

Look at these giant scallops! Cooked to a lovely medium rare and amazing! But the rest of the dish is ho hum at best. The wild rice cake was dry and boring, no real flavour. Just starchy rice flavour, Yay... I don't eat endive very often (if at all) and it didn't have any discernable flavour at all. So overall I'd say you should actually just order grilled scallops on the side (available as an extra with all dishes). Stick with that instead

Dessert

We ordered a Chocolate lava cake (yum but available everywhere), and a Chocolate Creme brule with Cinnamon chocolate ice cream and flambé banana's (super yum!) , they also gave us some complementary Walnut financiers (a nice way to finish the meal).


We've been to this restaurant several times and have always enjoyed ourselves. It is a serious splurge restaurant for special occasions only. A Happy Birthday for my mum!