WE. Coffee

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Sean

A couple of weeks back myself, @MaryInVancity and her hubby @JakeSheridan attended the Tasting Plates event put on by Vancouver Foodster and one of the places that was on the list was WE. Coffee on Robson St in the West End. On the night we visited they had a selection of 3 of their most popular dessert items to choose from so seeing that we had 3 people in out group we went with the idea of trying one of each dessert.

WE. is known for there take on traditional North American desserts and inventive coffee and tea drinks and I’ve passed by it a ton of times~it’s right next door to Ramen Santouka and is a popular place for a quick dessert.

The first item that was brought to the table was a plate of waffles and ice cream, the waffles are made fresh in-house which is a nice touch, the ice cream had the taste and texture (mouth feel) of store-bought ice cream and it was topped with crushed Oreo cookies and drizzled with chocolate sauce. This was a simple dessert and really would have shone if they used homemade ice cream or a premium store-bought brand and I must say that the star of the plate was the waffle~the batter wasn’t overly sweet and the outside was crisp and the inside was tender.

Our next dessert was the Strawberry Trifle. It was a mix of vanilla custard, fresh strawberries, whipped cream and plain pound cake that was cubed up. This was more of a winner out of the desserts we had, the cake was a necessary item to give this some texture, I wouldn’t quite call this a trifle because there were no repeat layers and it was more of a parfait than a trifle but it was an enjoyable treat.

This is where I would be talking about our 3rd and final dessert here but the restaurant got slammed with people and we waited for about 20 minutes and because of the time frame that we all were working with we had to leave and head to some other venues that we all wanted to check out. If you’re looking for a something a little different from the traditional cake and pie for dessert I’d check out WE. Coffee for something out of the ordinary.

Soirette Macarons and Tea

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Sean

Soirette Macarons and Tea has opened its door’s in Vancouver and Pastry Chef and Owner Shobna Kannusamy is putting out some of the best macarons that I have ever had!

I made sure I visited in the early afternoon when there would be a good selection of flavors still available~because of the labor intensive process and the fact it takes a couple of days to make a macaron properly so once the flavor is gone that day its gone. I was greeted warmly by a server and the owner herself is in the shop on a daily basis in the back making great creations.

The temperature controlled case is like a kaleidoscope of color!. The toughest decisions that you will have to make are A) how many do you wanna get and B) what flavors might you indulge in~the quality isn’t something you have to worry about so you can focus really on your favorite or interesting flavor that might catch your fancy. Some of the more exotic flavors are based on whats in season and what inspires the owner~the mandarin orange is an example of that and inspired by the Chinese New Year and Shobna is soon coning up with a blood orange macaron to fill the place of the mandarin orange.

I went with a dozen for $22 and decided to eat 6 in store and had a Americano to wash them down with. For my eat-in choices I went with the rocher, pistachio, cappuccino, mandarin orange and 2 caramel fleur de sel.

Like a good macaron should it was like cracking an egg shell when biting in and the inside was soft and airy~a definite pleasure to eat. The stand out flavors that I had in-house were the mandarin orange and the caramel fleur de sel which had a chocolate ganache outside with a caramel in the middle and I got the salt hit when I first bit into it and then it quickly dissipated and the caramel flavor came through.

The packaging here is first class, the box keeps your precious little treats safe from bouncing around and breaking. The flavors I took home with me were raspberry, malibu, chocolat chocolat, pink peppercorn, passion fruit and matcha.

Pink Peppercorn, with a chocolate ganache filling the pink peppercorn isn’t that strong and works well with the filling, I haven’t had many chocolate/pepper combinations before so I was intrigued by this one.

Malibu, it’s like being on the beach!, the top is sprinkled with coconut and has a white chocolate ganache, the coconut flavor for me came at the end and wasn’t too strong.

Matcha with a white chocolate matcha ganache filling, this was a bit subtle in flavor for me and could have used a bit more matcha in the filling.

Passion Fruit, this one has an intense tart chocolate ganache filling, I’d say it was the strongest flavor out of all I tried~it was really good!

Raspberry, with a butter cream filling this was a slightly tart and creamy combination.

Chocolat Chocolat, with a chocolate outside and a chocolate ganache filling this is appropriately named, it’s a must try for any chocoholic.

I loved my first visit to Soirette and I’m going to definitely make it a usual spot for me seeing it’s close by and has the best macarons I’ve had so far in the city.

The person that turned me on to macarons is Follow Me Foodie, she takes her macarons seriously and has even gone to the trouble of making these herself~it’s a 2 day process so the price that is charged for these baby’s is worth it when you take labor cost in to account, you can read Mijune’s post here about Soirette and if your new to macarons and would like to know what to look for or would just like a great read please check out Mijune’s post “The Perfect Parisian Macarons” please click here.

Acacia Fillo Bar-A Hidden Gem In A Foodies Paradise

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Sean

Hidden away in Denman Street between Delaney’s Coffee Shop and Fatburger is Acacia Fillo Bar. I’ve walked by here a million times not knowing the hidden gem that was right beneath my eyes.

Opened in 2005 by Vera and Ziggy, Vera is bringing traditional Bulgarian baking and comes from a family in the restaurant business and she a owned a successful restaurant and catering company in her home country before coming to Canada.

The service here is warm and friendly, the staff are ready to answer any questions you might have, it’s a comfortable, relaxing place to enjoy breakfast and read the paper with your coffee and a lot of the locals seem to believe that we well-it was constantly busy on both of my visits and pretty much everyone I saw eat the compliment the chef of how good everything was and I totally agree with them!

The signature dish here is the Banitza, it’s like a layered phyllo pie but the layers are end to end instead of on top of each other~it’s totally delicious and a must try for your 1st visit.

This is the spinach and feta banitza, all of the banitza’s have eggs in them but you state the other fillings more than the egg, the feta used here is from Bulgaria and all the phyllo here is made from scratch, what really got me was this~from a photographers point of view

the individual compartments of flavor and layers of phyllo and how they translate in a picture~OK now back to the food!, I loved this dish!

It was served with a small spinach salad with balsamic dressing and a side of plain yogurt with pepper~both the salad dressing and yoghurt help cut the richness of the banitza, for $8.50 it was a great meal and a solid value.

Next up is the leek, feta and egg banitza, just like the spinach but leek this time, the flavor on this one was more savory because of the leek and the feta stood out more on this one as well~again another delicious dish and the same price as the spinach and feta banitza.

Lastly I tried something else on the menu~a filled Phyllo, this one was mushrooms and spinach

This was made fresh because they were out at the time, the filling was simple~just spinach and sautéed mushrooms, it was ok but I enjoyed the other items I had more, there were also 2 different sides with this main

a simple salad like with my other meals

and roasted potatoes and yams, these I really liked, the yams were nicely seasoned and so were the potatoes. This meal was a bit more than what I had before-$16 and change including a can of pop.

At the end of the day I enjoyed my visits here and am definitely going to make it a regular breakfast spot, if you find yourself in the area and want to try something a little different check Acacia Fillo Bar out, they are also open for dinner and have a selection desserts made in-house as well as catering services available.

The Red Umbrella Cafe

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Sean

The Red Umbrella cafe is one of those neighborhood greasy spoons that specialize in all day breakfasts and it just so happens that the Red Umbrella is that place in my neighborhood.

I can remember it being packed with weekend bruncher’s in the late 90′s till right before I moved down to the neighborhood in 2006, then it changed ownership but kept the name still but that’s about it. I say this because back then the owners had some awesome cooks and the new owners tried to keep up that same menu but it hasn’t quite worked out that way. The menu consists now of a full list of specialty coffees, a sheet of your typical greasy spoon breakfast plates and omelets, some burgers and a sandwich sheet as well as some pastas~I’ve tried the pasta when they were launching it and lets just say that pasta isn’t their strong suit, other than that its a solid choice if you’re looking for no frills and good quality eats.

The room is bright and very homey, there some outdoor seating available on nice days and in the summer everyday. Just off to the left in this picture is a sofa if you want to relax with a coffee and your food and they also have one of those artificial fireplaces to throw some nice heat on those cold rainy Vancouver days.

The coffee is good and they are attentive on free refills, it’s also cheap at under $2.

As for the egg dishes I went with one of their omelets, they call this one the works. It had ham, cheddar cheese, mixed veggies including eggplant, mushrooms, peppers and onions, also it comes with your choice of toast~rye in my case and for $10 it’s an OK deal. I will say that my eggs were well come and kind of tough but they were well seasoned, the veggie mix I think was a frozen mix (Mediterranean type) that I’ve bought before for pasta sauce~it’s a quality product but I’d prefer fresh veggies.

I’ve had this here since the first time I came here, the quality of the bread has changed~they used to have homemade whole grain bread before but the amount of nice turkey made up for this.

For $10 it’s a moderately priced sandwich for just coming by its self, some fires would have been nice but I don’t think they have a deep fryer here and only offer pan fries for $2.50 extra and the some of the day is only one choice so your outta luck if you don’t like it. At the end of the day it was a solid turkey club and the bacon was cooked perfectly crisp without being cremated.

The Red Umbrella is a decent choice for food in the area if you’re looking for a basic no frills meal, They are open 6 days a week till roughly 5pm and are closed on Mondays.

Milano Coffee and To Die For Banana Bread

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Sean

Gastown is becoming a dining, drinking and now a destination for tea and coffee lovers. With the addition of Après mid tea and the amazing Revolver Coffee, Milano Coffee has opened up shop with the addition of one really great item to have with your cup of Joe-Erin Ireland’s to die for premium banana bread.

The inside is large with high ceilings, exposed brick and modern furnishings and the coffee bar features 2 big espresso machines and an individual drip brew system for your premium cup of Joe. There all about choice here and the menu is descriptive and informative and all this greatness is coming from a Vancouver owned and operated company.

I went with the La Futura blend for my Americano, the blend was described as a avant-garde super blend with luscious body, toffee, spice, floral notes and a full spectrum finish. It was a good blend of espresso that did have lots of flavor notes but I enjoyed that Revolver selections a bit better.

This was the star of the show I must say tho, I’ve heard of this fabulous banana bread in the past and it was featured at the PNE this year. It’s hand-made by our Vancouver home girl Erin Ireland who is also the food reporter for Vancouver’s daily publication Metro. She started making it for the public about a year ago after all her friends and family raving about it and it’s taken off like a rocket, Milano Gastown is the only location but a couple other restaurants in the Vancouver area have it~like Commune Cafe in the downtown core. This isn’t the banana bread that your mom made-It’s banana bread taken to the next level with macadamia nuts and Callebaut chocolate in it. It’s definitely really good banana bread and should not be missed so now you have 2 better reasons to visit Gaston and Milano Boutique Coffee Roasters-killer coffee and the best banana bread in Vancouver.

Revolver Coffee

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Sean

Revolver Coffee has opened it’s doors and these boy’s are bringing an interesting take on your cup of joe. It’s owned by the Gianniakos family who also owns the Crema in West Vancouver. The new Gastown cafe is actually operated by the four brothers and Vancouver designer Craig Stanghetta, the man behind the design of Meat and Bread, Pizzeriafarina, Stackhouse Burger Bar and L’Abbattoir is responsible for the look of the place.

Revolver is what premium tea houses are to tea lovers but in coffee form, the deal here is the coffees are all specifically prepared depending on the type of beans and roast the customer chooses, you also only have one choice in size~12oz so it really is all about the specific coffee, they employ a very cool brewing processes including steel filter, clever, aeropress, siphon or French press for a nominal extra charge.

You really do get a hand crafted cup of coffee just for you and that really comes thru here. The brothers really love coffee and have a passion for doing it right. Besides coffee and espresso you also can munch on cookies and other fresh baked pastries~the croissants are killer.

For $3.50 for a hand crafted cup of coffee what more can you ask for ??, Revolver Coffee is a welcome addition to the neighborhood and Vancouver food scene.

Ramen Sanpachi Robson Street

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Sean

In my ramen tours downtown Ramen Sanpachi just off Robson st on Bute is a place that I’ve walked past many times, it’s a place that always has customers in it or it pretty much full but I figured that it must just be “just another ramen joint”, I was wrong I think because I was introduced to something that I’ll eat for the rest of my life!.

They offer a few different types of ramen that I’ll be talking about in future posts but for now this is what I’ve had so far:

Pork Gyoza $3.75, standard gyoza with a well-balanced pork filling, if you like gyoza’s you’ll like these.

Miso Cha~Shu $8.95, I think they use MSG in the ramen because I was full before then end of my bowl of noodles, the broth was not salty yet not bland and the pork was nicely marbled as you can see, one thing I didn’t like to much was the fact my noodles were chewy, I thought they were just under cooked but I think it’s just the way they do noodles here~not a deal breaker but just a pet peeve.

Mini Cha~Shu Bowl $3.95, I really like this bowl, the mayo used has an added a great creaminess to the rice and pork, the meat was diced up and really tender, It’s actually a large bowl~there’s alot of rice and is great value for $, I cleaned my bowl.

Tan Tan Men $9.95, this was the stand out dish that I will try if I see it on other menu’s, the sauce is spicy peanut and sesame~like a thinned out satay sauce, ground fried pork, spinach and leeks with ramen noodles, it was freaking amazing!!, the sauce had that addictive “it’s damn hot and I should stop eating but I can’t” quality.

At the end of the day I’m coming back here for the Tan Tan Men and the Cha-Shu bowl and I’m going to have my miso ramen where I know there’s no MSG.

La Bretagne Creperie-Take A Break And Savor The Crepe’s

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Sean

Some places are really hiding right in front of your eye’s I’m happy I stumbled upon this quaint hide creperie. La Bretagne does a wide selection of savory and sweet crepe’s along with what I can describe as baked crepes~crepes and a couple of fillings with béchamel sauce and Swiss cheese and then baked golden brown~one of the gentlemen was eating one of these dishes and it caught my eye as well as delicious looking french onion soup.

Here’s what I have tried so far:

Cafe latte $2.95, they make a decent latte here and it stayed piping hot for a while~they heat the cups nicely with the espresso machine I think~nice touch.

Americano $1.95, a standard americano, nice crema on the espresso.

The Black Forest Ham, Mushroom and Béchamel sauce crepe with Swiss Cheese $8.75 + $2.95 for the Swiss

I really enjoyed this, the sauce had a nice amount of nutmeg in it and the ham was not to thin so you for a nice amount of it.

the crepe was nice and thin and crisp on the outside and the sauteed mushrooms added a nice earthy note to this rich crepe. I could have licked my plate it was that good.

Normally I’d be finished up and would leave but I had to have another crepe so asked what the server would recommend and this is what I was presented with

Apple, Swiss cheese and cinnamon crepe $6.95

I was a happy camper with this bad boy!, she said most people get it for breakfast with sausage and eat it with maple syrup or light syrup they offer

I passed on the sausage and loved every bite, the apple filling is fresh and there’s nice big chunks of apple that’s buttery soft~it’s like apple pie without all the crust and the Swiss didn’t stand out actually.

Baked Crepes with Ham, Asparagus and Leek Fondue with Swiss cheese $10.75 + $2.95 for the leek fondue, I’ve never had baked crepes before and I really love them it turns out!. They have a thing called leek fondue~sliced leeks cook down with cream and butter~magic!, the crepes are layered with blanched asparagus, béchamel sauce, leek fondue and ham topped with Swiss cheese and baked till bubbly and golden brown, again this is on my list of favorite items and is a must try if you come here.

Volcano Sushi and Grill

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Sean

In the Hastings Sunrise area diverse types of great food and restaurants are everywhere and Volcano Sushi and Grill has become a favorite with the residents in the area who love great Japanese sushi classics and the chef’s special rolls that Vancouver has become famous for.

I’ve timed my visits well avoiding the lunch rush with all the businesses in the area it’s quite the popular place. They have a diverse menu with all the things you would expect from a sushi place and also grilled items like yakatori and short ribs. The prices are really good and you get a good-sized portion for you buck, I’ve had the lunch special for $6.50~for that you get to choose 2 different items and choice of soup~wonton or miso, I’ve also tried a couple other items from the menu.

Miso soup $1.25, the miso here is really good compared to others I’ve had and you get a good amount of tofu.

Wonton Soup $2.25, this is a side I got with one of my lunch specials, the price quoted if from the menu and I’d expect a bigger size. The broth here is nice and rich but not on the fishy side like with other wonton soup I’ve had, it almost had a meaty tone to it while being light. The wontons filling is nice and tender without being over cooked.

Chicken Yakitori $3.95 for 2 skewers, this is one of the daily specials I tried, the chicken was nice and juicy and in between the pieces of chicken were spring onions that added a nice flavor to the chicken, the skewers were glazed with a teriyaki type sauce I think. I’d definitely order these again when there on the daily specials board.

Pork Gyoza (also available with vegetable filling) $4.50 for 6 nice big dumplings, the gyoza wrapper was nice and tender and the browning was really nice.

There was a nice amount of meat to veg ratio with these gyoza and the filling had texture and a nice porky taste while the vegetable was still toothsome.

Dynamite Roll $3.95, again this is one of the sides I chose with my lunch combo, the shrimp tempura was nice and crunchy without the shrimp being like rubber. One thing I wasn’t sure of is if there was soy already on top or if it was another sauce but it made the roll unnecessarily wet.

Spicy Tuna Maki $3.75, really good spicy tuna here, the sauce on top added a nice bite and the filling wasn’t overly dressed so it ended up being nice and light. The rice on this roll was also nicely cooked and wasn’t wet because of the sauce on top.

Beef Teriyaki with Rice, standard beef teriyaki, the sauce is nice and not overly sweet, the veggies were nice and fresh.

Chicken Teriyaki with Rice, again another standard Japanese classic, the chicken was nice and crispy on top and juicy in the middle and not doused in overly sweet sauce.

I’m enjoying eating my way through the menu here and it’s nice treat when I’m in the area, I’ll update my blog with the other menu offerings I try from this solid sushi joint.

Après-midi Premium Teahouse~A New Gastown Tradition

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Sean

Après-midi Teahouse has opened there doors in the completely renovated Gaoler’s Mews corner (in the courtyard area behind L’Abbatoir), it’s fits right in to it’s newly renovated building yet the bones are that of one of the oldest in Gastown.

I was first made aware of Après-midi when they were a vendor at Bake for The Quake Japan disaster relief fundraiser that I volunteered at and I eagerly awaited their premium tea house to open ever since. I had the opportunity to finally meet fellow bloggers and cool people @maryinvancity and @br_webb I think it was the perfect place to come~they’ve created a space where you can come in and comfortably relax and get away from the hustle and bustle of busy Vancouver outside and catch up with good friends.

There are lots of comfy high back chairs to nestle back into and chat with friends, read a great book or surf the net on you laptop other iDevice and there is a large sectional area for larger groups.

The great thing about this place is they have a sniffing gallery of 70+ loose leaf tea’s that you can experience to get an idea of what kind of tea you want as well as being able to custom blend you own perfect cup or pot.

After you pick your tea you then get to watch it get brewed and steeped before your eyes on the ChaiWallah

it’s a unique product made to use with premium tea brewers and works with many on the market~when your tea is done steeping it pours thru the bottom of the BrewT brewer they sell on site and in my eyes is the perfect way to make tea and directly into your tea-pot or in this case over ice for an ice tea treat. They have a promo running right now~like them on Facebook and you can have a free tea of your choice, this is Mary’s and myself’s tea being steeped~I didn’t get any pics because it’s so darn good~I drank 1/2 of mine before I got to the table to sit down~its that darn good and refreshing~it was the lemon sorbet fruit tea~completely made of dried fruit and herbs. What I really was after is there $13 cream tea set that was already sold out for the day~that cream they have is pretty darn good so this post is going to be done over 2 days so I can get to experience the creme tea set for you guy’s.

So it’s the next day and I’m in need so some relaxation and some food, this time I went with a hot tea called Exotic Paradise, it’s a scented white tea that is pictured above in the big jar.

It’s a nice light tea that hit the spot for me, there is caffeine in this so don’t go drinking a ton of this stuff at once!. It has light floral notes and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a light refreshing cup of tea.

Next up in the cream tea set is the selection of scones~cheese and cranberry~not together!

they fresh bake these when you order your cream tea set so there piping hot for you to enjoy, with the clotted cream and jam there a perfect combo~its my 1st time having clotted cream and I absolutely love it but my waist doesn’t!

this is the other star of the show, the fresh clotted cream and fruit preserves and honey, when you combine this with the scones you get this perfect bite:

So at the end of the day I think I had the most relaxing hour of my life here at Après-midi and am looking forward to many more!, I think cream tea set is the way to go here if you have some time to spend, for $13 you get a pot of tea of your choice, scones, jam, honey and the most sinful clotted cream and as a total bonus you get 50 grams of loose leaf tea of your choice!

in my case I went with the tea I had today and that was a $7 value right there!. If you would like to read what other people think of Après-midi check out what @maryinvancity has to say on her blog here