Cache Bistro and Lounge in Yaletown hosted a media tasting dinner held last week and i got to check it out with fellow bloggers Sherman of Sherman’s food Adventures and Ange Leung.  The menu is a mix of French technique with an Asian influence and Chef/Owner Alex Mok brought us some of his favorite dishes.

We were all served some champagne with hibiscus in it.  The champagne was crisp and it was a great way to start the meal.

As we toasted to the chef a bread board with a trio of house made flavored butters was brought to the table.  There was a cranberry butter, a satay butter in the middle and a white truffle butter on the end.  The bread was nice and warm with a semi crunchy crust and a soft inside.  The flavor of the butters was nice, the satay was one that stumped us all, it was a nice spiced butter, the cranberry butter was subtle and at first I thought it was a beet butter and lastly the truffle butter was big on the truffle oil, the truffle aroma really came out when I was spreading it on my piece of bread.  I think a black truffle butter would be a better choice.

Our opening dish was a Foie Gras creme brulee with flying fish caviar on a bed of frisee salad and white truffle vinaigrette.  This was a rich and decadent 1st course.  There was a nice chunk of foie in my egg and the flavors were all pretty mellow.  The flying fish caviar added a nice texture contrast and the greens served underneath were nicely dressed with the truffle vinaigrette.  The final verdict for me on this one is it’s worth the $10 it’s on the menu for.

With each of the dishes we had wine pairings.  For the foie course we had a nice  crisp white and for the duck we had a full bodied Merlot.

Next up was the black tea smoked duck breast salad with arugula. The salad was dressed with a lemon vinaigrette, onion jam and white wine soaked raisins and candied walnuts made up the rest of the plate.  The duck had a light smoke and I personally couldn’t pick up the tea smoke flavor.  The duck was tender and a pleasure to eat.  The arugula was a perfect choice greens wise for this salad and balanced out the duck well.  The onion jam for me was perfect and it went well with the duck.

Bacon Wrapped Semi-De boned Quail stuffed with marinated dried cranberries with a side of grilled vegetables was our main of the night.  For me this was a bit of a miss, the bacon could have been cooked a bit more and I ended up butchering my quail trying to cut it in half.  By the end of trying to cut it me and Sherman put the knives and forks down and picked up the legs with our hands and dug in!

Wine pairings for the quail and the mushroom were a unoaked Pinot Noir and a French Rose.

Stuffed Portobello with spinach and cream cheese, served with a spinach salad and balsamic reduction.  This was a winner for me, the cream cheese tasted like a homemade Boursin.  The mushroom was the perfect vehicle to get that cheesy goodness in your mouth.  The salad and balsamic reduction were the perfect side to this to cut the richness of the stuffed mushroom.

Pavlova with fresh strawberry’s and a hibiscus cream was the dessert of the night.  I appreciated the concept and flavors but my meringue was really gummy texture wise.  the hibiscus cream was flavored nicely and the green garnish was basil so it was a bit of a surprise when were 1st tasted it at the table.

The dishes we had were all pretty good and it was a great way to check out some of Cache’s finest dishes.  Caché Bistro & Lounge is pleased to announce their grand opening on April 26, 2012 and it’s open to the public.

**Disclosure~I was an invited guest and was not charged for my meal or drinks, my opinions are completely my own and I was not expected to write a review.**