The Dirty Apron


This will be an unusual review. The Dirty Apron is actually a cooking school & delicatessen (owned by Chambar & Medina), Debbie gave me a gift card for a cooking class there a while back and finally had a chance to use it!

So this post will actually be me posting a review on my own cooking skills!

EEP!

You book the class online, and choose your menu, I chose the Ultimate Seafood class.

The first thing I noticed when I arrived here is how amazing the kitchen is. Every person who takes a class here is given their own professional gas stove, prep area, & sink. The Chef instructor has his own area where he will demonstrate each dish in front of us. A very impressive setup.

After cooking your dish you take it to the communal dining table where you're given complimentry wine, bread, & dips, and you get to enjoy your meal with the other guests.


We started out with Citrus Olive oil poached Spot prawns, with pan roasted Halibut cheeks and Saffron aioli.

Not too shabby huh? The prawns were nicely poached and I learned a bit more on cooking the cheeks better with a white wine sauce. The Grape Must drizzle added a nice bit of sweetness to the dish. The Emperor is happy!

Soy & sesame Tuna tartar with roasted shiitake mushrooms on pressed avocado, topped with a yuzu foam.

The easiest dish of the night, but very tasty (if a bit too salty, need to cut back on the soy and add more mirin). This dish makes me more confident on handling raw tuna. We all received what I thought was a very small piece of tuna, but when cut up and mixed with the diced mushrooms it makes a shockingly large amount of food! I also learned a new trick with the avocado I'd never seen before!

Pan seared Arctic Char, with a Vegetable Nage
A simple dish, but it's easy to mess up! I learned a few tricks to ensure the fish stays nice a medium rare, and the vegetable nage was simple and easy to do (a little butter always does the trick!)

Overall I find this place to be wonderful special treat as a gift for yourself or to someone special, because it isn't cheap. Not even close. A class here costs $150 per person!!! So this isn't an everyday experience. I strongly recommend this for anyone who enjoys cooking, and would like to learn new skills.

Sushi & Roll


Wow. Am I the only one who thinks that's a dumb name for a restaurant?

A few months ago, Surrey got a new Sushi restaurant, not a bad looking place, very similar to other Korean owned Sushi restaurants like Sushi Garden (though I believe they most likely serve Escolar instead of Tuna).

This will be a quickie.

I ordered a bunch of takeout rolls, both fusion and regular maki, and none of it really stood out. They tasted fine, but didn't stand out in any way. Some of the rolls (like the BC roll) was filled with a lot of filler (cucumber) and very little of the main ingredient (salmon skin)!

I didn't even bother to take a photo.

Until...

I saw something on their menu I hadn't seen before. A true diamond in the rough.

The Seared Salmon Nigiri.

This was amazing! A simple Nigiri with fatty salmon belly topped with a little mayo and seared with a torch. So simple yet so incredibly tasty! The top is nicely seared while the bottom is still nice and rare. I would come back to this restaurant any day for this!

Would I recommend this restaurant? Sorta*

* Again the food is decent, but nothing special. But if you do come here, you must order the Seared Salmon Nigiri! It is worth it. Otherwise the place is comparable to a Sushi Garden.

Tex Mex in Bellingham...

First things first. I'm not a fan of Tex Mex food, I do enjoy freshly made tacos when I can get them but this isn't that type of place.

In Bellingham they only seem to have Tex Mex places, and to me at least, are all the same! I don't even remember the name of this place, it's one of the three Tex Mex restaurants near Bellis Fair mall.

So take my review with a grain of salt, this isn't my favourite cuisine.

On with the show!

Here is what Debbie ordered a Grilled fish (not sure what type) with a creamy pepper sauce with Rice, Beans, & Salad. Fish was very salty but was cooked well. Huge serving though.

I ordered the Chicken & mushroom crema, basically some pan fried chicken pieces with a creamy pepper sauce with Rice, Beans, & Salad. Not much to write home about here, was boring and just tasted of cream and pepper, kinda like an Alfredo sauce with some chillies mixed in. Huge serving though. American sized!

Again I'll say that Tex mex is not my preferred cuisine, so if you like it I'm sure you'll enjoy these places. If you like a massive amount of food, I think you'll enjoy this place.

Kingyo Izakaya


I love Izakaya's, they all have great and varied menu's, and we love to stop by some of them whenever we get the chance.

If only Surrey had one....

Nope.

Anyways back to Kingyo! A great Japanese owned & run Izakaya on Denman St.

I've been here a few times, and this was Debbie's first time here so we decided to stop for lunch.

Here are some lovely Fried prawns with Spicy mayo. Nothing unsusual, but I love fried prawns and these are nice and tasty!

Debbie ordered the Negitoro & Avocado bowl. It comes with an amazing spicy garlic sauce and sesame seeds on the side (you crush them yourself!). Great dish, and Debbie would order again. I am also pretty sure they use real tuna and not that Escolar fish I've been hearing about!

I ordered the Braised pork Belly on rice with a fried egg. A very simple dish, but so yum! The Braised pork was cooked perfectly with a lovely sauce, the runny egg compliments the dish. Very fatty but so yummy!

I love coming here and they really put some effort into these dishes. Did I mention that each dish was only $8.88 each!!! An amazing deal and cheaper than most foodcourt lunches! Go have a meal there, I strongly recommend it!

Transylvania bakery


Just finished my company picnic and on my way back home I decided to stop by one of my favourite dessert places in town, It is a small Romanian bakery on Davie St with some very good dessert options.

As I have been here many times, I just purchased my two favourite things there.

Here is the Kurtos Kalacs, also known as a Chimney cake. It is sweet dough wrapped around a round wooden block and cooked rotisserie style on an open fire, finished with caramel & walnuts. It is amazing when served hot and fresh!

I know... Not the best photo. But here a link to their website and how it's made.
http://transylvaniantraditions.com/KurtosKalacs.html

I also got the Savarina, a simple crumb cake dipped in rum syrup, then filled with whipped cream and crushed strawberries. Simply amazing!

Sorry for the late post folks, I'm currently on vacation!

The Vault


Another casual restaurant near Cloverdale, very popular with the locals. The interior looks like a bar, but there s an actual vault at the back of the restaurant! Makes me think this place was an actual bank before!

The dishes remind me of former dishes from other places. Read on.

We started out with a Roasted potato & Duck confit poutine. Not bad, but you can't call this poutine. Very few "fries", but the gravy is good and I always enjoy duck, though I get the feeling the duck was leftover and nuked with the order. Still fries + cheese + gravy = Happy Doug

Debbie ordered the Chicken and Mushroom farfale. It tasted familiar, if your memory goes back a ways you might remember the "Rainforest Cafe" at Metrotown about 10+ years ago. This tasted like the Rasta Pasta! That is a good thing.

I ordered the Seafood Penne, this is a version of the penne dish the from Earl's a while ago, with chunks of fish in a tomato cream sauce. They didn't skimp on the seafood, and it tasted good, but I have fonder memories of the dish from Earl's. Still I'd order this again.

Overall a decent meal, but nothing to rave about. I suddenly wish Rainforest Cafe was still around...

Bistro 72

Bistro 72


After about 10 hours of cleaning, dissasembling an old bedframe, and re-assembling a new bedframe, we both needed a treat.

So we decided to try a place we haven't been before, Bistro 72. It is under the Old Surrey Inn restaurant on Scott rd & 72nd. Bistro 72 is their casual dining place while the Old Surrey Inn is their fine dining restaurant.

Anyways onto the food!

First comes the free appetizer! Everyone receives a lovely bowl of fresh fried chips. A little overdone but a nice treat.

Debbie ordered a grilled Caesar salad. A nice change from your typical Caesar salad.

I ordered their Tempura prawns with a side salad. Not bad but nothing special. A pass.

Onto the mains!

Debbie orders the grilled salmon with potato fritters and sauteed vegetables. The Salmon was cooked perfectly, all this for $17!

I ordered a Chicken Fettuccine with a Marsala cream sauce. I know you... The most boring item on the menu, but I was in a pasta mood! It was good too! Not the biggest dish, but very rich.

Bistro 72 is a nice, and something different from all the Curry, Bubble Tea, fried chicken places in Surrey. Give it a try!