Goldfish Pacific Kitchen | Yaletown, Vancouver

As part of a blogger marketing campaign, Marcelo and I recently had dinner at Goldfish Pacific Kitchen, a spacious, alive and sexy restaurant in Yaletown. From the time we walked in right up until we left, the service was fantastic - the hostesses, servers, kitchen and bussing staff were all attentive, friendly and efficient.

Most important is the food, which focuses on seafood fusion. We ordered the prawn and chicken gyoza with ginger red vinegar ($9) to start. They were very tender, so much so that they tended to fall apart when you picked them up. Nevertheless, they were quite delicious and I'd order them again.

Marcelo is usually on the hunt for a restaurant that can cook a good ribeye steak. Goldfish's came with a brandy peppercorn sauce and mushroom risotto spring rolls ($35) - risotto spring rolls? That one sounded strange. I ordered the pan-roasted halibut with prawn meringue and baby bok choy served in a lemongrass broth ($26).

We have noticed that quite a few restaurants in the city underplay how large the portions are and always suggest ordering a "side dish". The servers often say the main doesn't come with much more than a tiny "garnish". We should have known better, but went ahead and ordered the pan-roasted corn with green chilies and cilantro ($8) and the hand-cut fries with lemongrass-scented ginger aioli ($6).

It turned out that both mains were quite substantial. Underneath my tasty piece of halibut was a healthy amount of bok choy - enough to complete the meal. The first few sips of the lemongrass broth were quite spicy (and I love spicy), but I felt it sort of overpowered the fish. Overall, the fish was cooked well and the dish had nice flavors.

Marcelo's medium-rare ribeye steak was a delicious cut of meat that was cooked perfectly. We both did not like the two risotto-stuffed spring rolls that accompanied it though. While we appreciate fusion cuisine, we thought this one was taken way too far. In our opinion, spring rolls and risotto just aren't meant to be friends. It seems wrong. (I bet the eyeballs of a certain Italian I know would pop out of his head if he reads this.) The risotto was mushy and competed with the flavor from the oil in the wrapper. I always admire the restaurant that keeps their menu simple and is able to nail each component. We both would have preferred a small side of perfectly-cooked risotto to dig our forks into.

The presentation for each plate was quite nice but the disappointing part was there was just too much food. We are not light eaters?but the additional sides were not necessary as the mains were generous enough. However, we both loved both the fries and the spicy pan-roasted corn. The sad part is that there was absolutely no room for dessert.

Overall, dinner at Goldfish was very pleasant. We'll visit Goldfish again, but will make a mental note to order less. Try it out for yourself.

Tagged as: [ culinary restaurants review vancouver ]

Salsa & Agave Mexican Grill | Vancouver, BC

With new restaurants springing up nearly every day in Vancouver, competition ought to be fierce. You'd think restaurant owners would strive to keep customers coming in. Not always so. Last week, Marcelo and I stopped at an unnamed oceanside bar/restaurant for a drink and a light snack. It was a seat-yourself environment so we sat down on the patio and waited?and waited?and waited.

The servers were too busy entertaining their friends at the bar inside to realize other customers were trying to get their attention. Noticing the frustration on their faces, it didn't take us long to figure out we needed to move on. It's not like this establishment had no competition either - with packed restaurants on either side of it, this one was barely a quarter full.

I'm thankful it happened because after we left, we discovered Salsa and Agave, a marvelous little Mexican restaurant that opened just over 3 weeks ago. Now this is what a restaurant should be like - warm and hospitable. Family-owned and operated, I knew the moment I walked in and heard "mama from Mexico" was cooking, it was going to be great. When you eat food like this, it's obvious it comes from someone who loves to cook and wants to share it with you.

Salsa and Agave's service is super friendly and attentive; the food is fresh and tasty. I ordered the pozole soup (available only on weekends), which was based on a flavorful pork stock, containing corn grains. It was served with crunchy corn tortillas, fresh lime, and lettuce, which you sprinkled into the bowl. Our server was kind enough to bring by some oregano because she thought it gave the dish an extra touch, and it did. Marcelo had the plate of 3 rolled tacos - shredded chicken, shredded beef, and potato. All were scrumptious.

We were back again this evening and tried the Azteca soup - a tortilla soup containing chipotle pepper, freshly diced avocados, cheese, and sour cream. I can't decide which soup I like more because they were both fantastic. The chicken enchiladas were authentic, spicy, and satisfying.

This has quickly become one of my favorite places for a casual dinner out. I feel happy when I leave and am glad they offer take-out. The restaurant is already packed and should brace for lineups. I have no hesitation to give this kind of establishment my business.

Salsa and Agave is situated in the heart of Yaletown and is open from 11:00am to 9:30pm. It's sadly closed on Mondays, but mama needs to rest too!

Tagged as: [ mexican restaurants review vancouver ]

Where to Find Pastry and Chocolate-Making Supplies

Aside from actually making mouth-watering masterpieces, shopping for the required pastry and chocolate equipment is half the fun. I have compiled a list of interesting shops where you can purchase handy tools and specialty ingredients/items. Most places deliver to Canada; in fact, some are located right here in greater Vancouver. Many companies offer online shopping but that can be dangerous for two reasons (well, there are probably more reasons than that). Hours can be wasted away browsing at must-have products, and you will probably wind up spending far too much money. Proceed with caution!

Pastry and Chocolate-Making Supplies / Kitchenware

Chef Rubber Las Vegas, Nevada (USA)
Chefs Catalog Colorado Springs, Colorado (USA)
Chocolat Chocolat Inc. Montréal, Quebec (Canada)
Cutlery and More Elk Grove Village, Illinois (USA)
Design & Realisation Inc. Montréal, Quebec (Canada)
Dominique Jarry Sugar Art Steveston, British Columbia (Canada)
Golda's Kitchen Mississauga, Ontario (Canada)
Mol d'Art (Belgium)
Pastry Chef Central Boca Raton, Florida (USA)
Pastry Items Bel Air, Maryland (USA)
P.C.B. Creation Benfeld (France)

Specialty Food Supplies

Lentia Enterprises Ltd. Surrey, British Columbia (Canada)
Snow Cap Enterprises Ltd. Burnaby, British Columbia (Canada)

Packaging

Mayers Packaging Ltd. Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada)

If you have a favorite place you like to shop, please let us know by leaving a comment.

Update: I found it! I knew I had another list somewhere! Here are some more shops that I learned about when I took classes at L'Academie de Cuisine in Maryland.

Albert Uster Imports Gaithersburg, Maryland (USA)
Beryl's Cake Decorating and Pastry Supplies North Springfield, Virginia (USA)
Bridge Kitchenware New York, New York (USA)
E. Dehillerin Paris (France)
JB Prince New York, New York (USA)
Tomric Systems Buffalo, New York (USA)

Tagged as: [ chocolate equipment pastry ]

Jules - Casual French Bistro | Gastown, Vancouver, BC

We recently had dinner at a lovely little French bistro. Jules is another wonderful addition to Gastown, which is an area that is on its way to being one of Vancouver's hottest spots. Development is booming and I'm glad to see care being taken to retain the character of existing old buildings.

The dining room at Jules is comfortable and airy with its high ceilings and many windows. I can hardly wait to also sit on their patio in summer. We all wound up ordering some form of beef for our entrées, so I can't comment on the rest of the menu yet, but everyone was very pleased with their dish. The sauces were delicious and the frites were hot and crunchy. Our waitress was helpful, offered wine suggestions, and the service, overall, was great.

If you opt for the fixed menu, you will receive fantastic value for only $21.00. Marcelo enjoyed a fresh bistro salad, AAA rib-eye steak with frites, and a chocolate terrine dessert. We are already anticipating our next visit and will make sure to try Jules out for lunch too.

Tagged as: [ cuisine french restaurants review ]

Authentic Spanish Ingredients | La Tienda, Williamsburg, VA

Spain is absolutely gorgeous. The food, wine, and desserts are extraordinary. La Tienda, a unique grocer in Williamsburg, VA, was highlighted in the food section of the Washington Post yesterday. The products they are able to import from Spain is fabulous. Visit their site to see a list of goods and recipes and hooray, they also ship to Canada. Mmmmmmm...I'm feeling the urge to make some tapas.


Click here for more wonderful photos of our trip to Spain.

If anyone knows of a hidden gem similar to this in Vancouver or Canada, please let me know!

Tagged as: [ food import spain tienda virginia williamsburg ]

Sumptuous Places | Tosi & Co. - A Rich Part of Vancouver's Italian History

When we first visited Vancouver's Chinatown, we were excited and intrigued to see a storefront that appeared to be an Italian deli. We tried to enter but it remained a mystery since the doors were closed and we never saw people enter or exit. Had we looked closer, we would have seen a sign indicating that you need to ring a doorbell.  It wasn't until a friend of ours pointed that out to us and we tried again. Why the bell? The area can be a bit shady and unfortunately dangerous for storeowners.

After ringing the bell of Tosi & Co. and waiting for a few brief moments, we saw an adorable older man appear, wave at us, and buzz us in. I felt as though I stepped into one of my grandfather’s garages back on the farm. Everything in his garage had meaning and its own place – even if it looked a little out of sorts. Spread over 6000 sq. ft. and oozing with history, you will find a combination of food and antique items.


We were warmly welcomed and quickly struck up a conversation with the owner, Angelo Tosi. He told us his store is 101 years old and was passed down to him from his father, Peter Tosi. He went on to explain that a long time ago, Little Italy used to exist in the area and Chinatown only spanned one block on Pender Street. He reminisced about the past, telling us the area used to be full of Italian shops and businesses. His mother would sometimes sit in a chair outside the shop and converse with customers. Between 1930-1960 the Portuguese and Chinese arrived and bought most of the houses in the area. Many Italians rebuilt better homes and moved over to Commercial Drive. Today he tells us more Italian shops are located around Nanaimo Street on East Hastings. As Chinatown began to grow, he remembers it being extraordinarily beautiful, and recalls such things as people smoking water pipes amongst all of the fresh produce they were selling.

My grandfather was born in 1906 and I remember listening to stories about all of the changes he witnessed over time. People like him and Angelo have incredibly rich information and stories to share. Angelo started working with his father at the age of 5 and points out the cash register that sits amongst the goods can only ring up a maximum of $9.90. Back in those days, it was extremely rare to ever sell somebody that many groceries. People would normally walk out with 2-3 bags full of groceries for under $2.00. Items cost pennies. The occasional time that they would exceed $9.90 in sales, he would yell out “Holy mackerel, $9.95! That breaks the cash register!”


Angelo still caters to many of his loyal Italian customers and hopes to keep his store alive by passing it down in his family. A lot of his goods come directly from Italy, including Sagra olive oil and the delicious organic Parmesan cheese ($2.35/100g) that he imports from his cousin, north of Parma in Salsomaggiore. He continues to sell the same pasta his father sold decades ago – why change it if you have a good thing?

When I ask Angelo what his favorite dishes are, he tells me you can’t beat a good plate of pasta and offers a few pointers on how to prepare a simple dish with tomatoes, onion, and garlic. He advises to eat lots of vegetables and fruits and only one small plate of pasta. He says he used to eat two plates of pasta but when he cut back he lost 23 pounds. He enjoys eating polenta and risotto and was telling us how his wife will be preparing a dish that evening which included parsnips and rapini. “Eat wholesome food and enjoy a glass of wine”, he tells us.

So we ask, how have things changed? Angelo thinks that Vancouver is missing out on a lot of great Italian products but due to the Canadian Food Inspection requirements of having nutritional facts and languages printed on packages, many Italian producers are not willing to spend the additional money for packaging. The demand in our area wouldn’t be great enough for it to make sense. Also, orders are now placed by Angelo on-line or by fax. The quality of some goods that producers offer have declined as it is more about making money nowadays. The mentality is what can you buy for cheap to show the best profit. We all have witnessed that. Angelo continues to service restaurants but stresses only on a cash basis. He smartly says that if you go into business, you should have your own capital to start it up.

Some things haven’t changed though. Angelo has kept the store the same way that his father arranged it and likes it so much he won’t change a thing. He has pictures of his family members behind the counter.

As we waited to have our groceries packaged to dash home and make a pasta dish, the conversation shifts to the Internet and searching for stock quotes through various search engines like Google and Yahoo Finance. We were both impressed at Angelo’s knowledge of hard drives and Gigabytes, desktops and laptops. Aside from learning a bit of history and more about food, this smart businessman gives us a little bit of financial advice too, which is: never keep cash – always convert it into something that will appreciate.


It was nice to see other customers ringing the bell as we chatted. Tosi & Co. is located on 624 Main Street between Keefer and Georgia.


Click here for more pictures. If you're in the area, ring the bell and pay Angelo a visit.

Tagged as: [ canada chinatown deli italian tosi vancouver ]

Sumptuous Places | Ganache Patisserie

When the sun peeks out from behind the gray rain clouds during Vancouver's winter season, one cannot help but want to spend every moment outdoors. Yesterday I walked around Vancouver for most of the day and after burning off all of those calories, I couldn't think of a better way to reward myself than to indulge in an exquisite dessert.

My friend Jenn and her cute baby Jacob strolled to Ganache Patisserie in Yaletown, which is a gorgeous boutique patisserie. We must introduce little Jacob to the fine pastries in life right off the bat! Marcelo and I had visited Ganache last year and drooled over everything in the showcase, uncertain of which delicacy to try out first. Jenn and I faced the same dilemma and struggled to make our final decision. Jenn chose the Menthe et Chocolat cake and I settled for the Chocolat-Banane.


Both were very satisfying and what made the visit even more special was to see a former pastry classmate at work doing her practicum. Check out Charmaine's blog as she enters the industry after pastry school. It is great to see and hear what other graduates are up to. As usual, Charmaine didn't have a spot on her uniform as she works extremely clean and professional. She is getting invaluable experience and happily making all sorts of entremets, even though the work is physically demanding (as she notes in her blog).

A little bird told me that Ganache will be celebrating its third anniversary on February 3rd. Make sure to drop by and taste one of these fairly priced, Parisian-style desserts!

Tagged as: [ ganache pastry patisserie vancouver yaletown ]

Dine Out Vancouver | Gastropod Review

Following a good tip from a past culinary classmate, we decided to try out Gastropod during Dine Out Vancouver.

We had visited restaurants during a similar event in DC but found that either the portions were far too big for a 3-course meal or the restaurant was too pretentious and annoyed at the fact that they were participating in the affair.

Gastropod turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Having been open only 7 weeks, everything was spot on. Not surprising, given Chef Angus An's impressive experience! 

In the $25.00 prix fixe dinner, we each had beef brisket stew braised in espresso with croutons. It was piping hot and seasoned very well.

Marcelo's entree consisted of a very moist pan roasted chicken breast that was served with warm Israeli couscous, tossed with chorizo, capers, spinach and parmesan cheese. I had the roasted wild mushroom risotto with garlic foam. It was decadently rich and full of flavor.

Dessert was tasty. I chose the coffee brownie with vanilla crème fraîche and caramel ice cream. Marcelo had the creamy vanilla rice pudding with pine nuts, nutmeg syrup, and crushed nutmeg tuiles.

The ambiance was warm and the service was fantastic – attentive (but not overly), helpful, and refreshingly unpretentious. We both thought the portion sizes were perfect and the time between each course was well spaced out. We will definitely visit this restaurant again.

Tagged as: [ culinary dine gastropod review vancouver ]

Sumptuous Shops | Cupcakes

The best cupcake to date, in my opinion, is from a wonderful bakery in New York City called Magnolia. People line up for these delights and can only buy a maximum of 6 at a time (larger orders need to be placed in advance). The vanilla ones are light, fluffy, and full of flavor. The sweetness of the icing is just right and they have cute little sprinkles on the surface. Every time Marcelo and I are in NYC, we pay Magnolia a visit (or two or three).

Today I checked out Cupcakes on Denman Street. Although the name of the shop is a little boring, the cupcakes from this place were pretty good. I tried a chocolate cupcake


with caramel inside and caramel icing. It exceeded my expectations and I will probably go there again...but Magnolia's in NYC has stolen my heart for good. If you want to try out their recipe, you can find it in the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook or here at 52 Cupcakes.

Tagged as: [ bakery cupcakes magnolia pastry ]

Sumptuous Shops | La Grotta Del Formaggio

Being new to the city, we're always asking where the tastiest places are located to eat and shop. I created another category of the places that we're visiting to serve as a future reference for friends, family, and anyone interested to check out.

I'm sure this is a well-known spot for the locals of Vancouver but anyone who visits and is strolling down Commercial Drive has to try out La Grotta Del Formaggio. We went in to buy some quality Italian ingredients and could not leave without ordering one of their made-to-order sandwiches. We split (thank goodness) a large hot capicolo and spicy salami sandwich which was stacked with provolone, pickled eggplant, roasted red peppers, marinated artichokes, hot banana peppers, green olives, lettuce, tomato, basil pesto mayo, dijon mustard, and balsamic and olive oil. I was shocked at how many toppings and how much meat was put on this sandwich - all for the bargain price of $6.50! The picture below shows only 1/2 the sandwich.



We sat outside at one of the few tables there and savored every single bite of this monster. There are even larger-sized sandwiches on focaccia but be warned, two of us shared a large one.




This will definitely be a regular spot that we visit.

Tagged as: [ commercial deli italian sandwiches vancouver ]

Grill Wizard

It's BBQ season! By far, one of the best tools that I have for the grill is the Grill Wizard. I learned about this product through one of the episodes of America's Test Kitchen. This long-handled brush is extremely effective in cleaning the grill and the best part is that the head is replaceable! No more throwing away brushes once they have reached their prime! Just slip the old brush off and stick the new one on. It definitely gets the 'thumbs up' in our house!

Tagged as: [ gadgets grilling ]

Sumptuous Shops | Edible BC

We met the people who run Edible BC, a company that provides culinary tours in Vancouver and the surrounding areas. The tours are small (they will accomodate up to eight people) and they visit places such as Chinatown, Commercial Drive, Granville Market, and the Richmond Night Market. Cecilia Yong, one of the partners, explained that the tours are focused on what is unique to the specific area, providing lots of information on where to shop, and what ingredients to buy but most importantly what to do with them! Sampling different foods also takes place during the tour and if that isn't enough for some, they can tack on a meal afterwards.

Their retail store has just opened up in the Granville Market and after meeting and talking with them we are eager to try out a tour ourselves. We live close to Chinatown and shop for some fruits and vegetables there. There is a large selection of produce to choose from but, unfortunately, we don't know what a lot of it is or how to prepare it. I am only mentioning the produce but there is an incredible amount of dried goods, teas, bakeries, and restaurants to experience also.  Without the help of a professional it would be difficult to learn about all of the hidden treasures out there.

So if you live in Vancouver or are planning to visit it soon, here is one more interesting thing to experience.

Tagged as: [ culinary granville market tours vancouver ]