This time the guys at VANEATS.ca have teamed up to bring us Kamei Kiss. The $19, 4 item dining pass features signature dishes from Kamei Royale’s menu:

-Healthy Agedashi Tofu

-Crab Salad

-Oda Roll

-Ice Cream Tempura

The Healthy Agedashi Tofu. It was a nice mix of lightly fried tofu topped with okura mushrooms, edamame beans and lotus root.  Agedashi tofu is new to me, I enjoyed this dish even though the tofu isn’t the star of the plate and all the flavor is coming from the other ingredients. The broth or sauce served with it had a smokey flavor to it. The fried tofu was silky and soft on the inside but I would have loved a bit less of the sauce-it made the outside soggy.

Crab Salad. A sweet salad containing a mix of real crab mixed with avocado, mango, mayonnaise and tobiko. Light and refreshing is how I would describe this salad. The crab was super fresh and sweet. The dressing was also on the light side and it complimented the crab. This was overall a winning dish.

Oda Roll. A different and unique roll with mango, avocado, cucumber and salmon. The tempura fresh water eel and cream cheese are torched before your eyes. A feast for the eyes and senses is how I would describe this roll.  The aroma that hits you right away is from the torching of the cream cheese, I’ve seen it before with fish being torched.  The eel was the next flavor I when eating this and the mango added a great fresh element.   The salmon wasn’t a big flavor in the roll I found.  Lastly they put a lot of fresh avocado in this roll that made me very happy and added a nice creamy texture with the cream cheese.

Ice Cream Tempura. Vanilla ice cream deep-fried in tempura batter, drizzled with chocolate and topped off with powdered sugar and a cherry.  Lastly we have dessert.  I really wanted to like this but the tempura was soggy on the bottom and the batter was really thick.  I ended up eating the vanilla ice cream and leaving the tempura behind.

I think the Kamei Kiss is a great deal for $19.  The oda roll alone is $15 and change alone on the menu.  I ate most of this myself and also got some of their tiger mayo.  It was a very filling meal so I’d recommend this for 1 person or to share between 2 people with a couple other items from the menu.

The Kamei Kiss  4 course dining package goes is priced at $19 and sales start May 30,2012 at 7am and will be available in batches till September 30,2012.  You can get yours by clicking here.

**Disclosure-I did not pay for my dining pass but did order some other things from the menu at my cost, my opinions are completely my own.**

Mink Chocolates has been on my list for a while now ever since hearing about them in the Hot Chocolate Festival.  I was lucky enough to finally get to visit the Downtown location a couple of times in a week and I think I had the BEST chocolate drinks ever!

Originally founded by Gustav Von Mink when the family relocated to Edmonton, Alberta. Their son Philip Mink carried on the tradition and love of making fine chocolate’s.  Now with the third generation of Mink’s running the business it’s definitely what a family business is all about.

They have a Frozen Dark Hot Chocolate.  Made with 72% chocolate, it had smooth but rich chocolate flavor.  When I was sitting there savoring this and trying to not gulp it down I realized that I should have gotten the large size and how this drink puts all the other blended, frozen chocolate drinks I’ve had and that are available everywhere really just don’t compare to this bad boy.

With every drink you get the same kind of chocolate used in the beverage to munch on.  After taking my bite I like to just let it melt on its own,,, then the other side of my brain kicks in and I eat it!

Dark Hot Chocolate.  This is what I had on my 1st visit.  Again the chocolate flavor was big but really smooth, this was definitely one easy to drink hot chocolate.  It really was a great hot version of the frozen version I had and you can really tell the chocolate is top quality.  Both drinks were just under $6 each.

I can’t wait to go back to Mink and try there Fondue and some of the house made chocolate bars.  If you’re in the mood for some unique chocolate combinations they have a location on West Hastings and one in South Surrey.

We hit them up on a Sunday afternoon, the place was packed and we were seated pretty quick~when we were seated we were given both brunch and lunch menus and a lot of the items on the lunch menu looked great but our server informed us that the brunch menu was the only one available.

On the weekend they serve mini donuts and our table of 5 were brought out a plate of these. The donuts were soft on the inside and not to greasy, there served with a side of cinnamon sugar as well as a raspberry jam to dip your donuts into. I personally would have liked a couple more on the plate so we all got an equal number to eat but there free so I can’t complain much.

Stuffed french toast was one of the items ordered at our table. It consisted of your choice of sourdough or multigrain bread stuffed with marscapone cheese and mango pineapple compote, sugar dusted, served with maple syrup, hash browns, and house fruit salad. It looked yummy and was gobbled up quickly.

Another item ordered at our table was the traditional breakfast~two eggs (any style), two strips of bacon, two slices of back bacon, or breakfast sausage, hash browns, your choice of sourdough or multigrain toast and seasonal fruit. This is a pretty standard breakfast and “does the job” pretty much.

This was a shared item we ordered. Their tuna bites consisted of togarashi crusted, seared rare Ahi tuna tossed in soy ginger, pea shoot salad with miso lime dressing, julienned crispy taro chips, sesame ginger aioli. From a taste perspective these were really good, the tuna was flavorful. The one downside I had with these was how some of the tuna was unevenly cut so we got some really over cooked bites but the rare ones were awesome.

Sherman had the Carolina pulled pork eggs benny. Served with rum and Coke BBQ sauce, apple fennel slaw. This was Sherman’s choice and there was high hopes~free hand poached eggs and a nice combination ingredients but it didn’t end up a winner. I tasted the pulled pork and it was definitely more sweet than savory and compared to other pulled pork I’ve had this was very average.

I was primed and ready to snap a runny yolk picture and as you can see it was a complete egg fail, these eggs ended up getting cooked to the soft boil stage.

I had the Five Point Burger. House beef patty, Guinness cheddar, double hickory smoked boar bacon, smoked red pepper aioli, on a brioche bun. This is what I had as my choice. The burger was really good, the patty was nice and juicy and the bun was buttery and soft. The burger is served with fries made with Kennebec potatoes, for my taste they needed to be cooked longer and seasoned more.

Lastly we have the Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwich. Smoked pork shoulder, apple fennel slaw, house BBQ sauce, smoked red pepper aioli, on a brioche bun. For some reason this wasn’t punched in to the computer when we all ordered our meals. It was the same pork that was on Sherman’s eggs benny and the same fries that I had with my burger, again they could have been cooked more.

At the end of the day we were all kinda left with an indifferent feeling and when compared to the other bar they own~The Charlatan, where Sherman has eaten before and had a great meal, it’s safe to say that because I don’t get up in the area much I won’t be going back soon.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk cookies. With that perfect mix of peanut butter and chocolate this would satisfy any cookie lover. The chocolate chunks were oozy and gooey and the center of the cookie was nice and soft.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies. With a mix of milk and dark chocolate chunks these were what a chocolate chunk cookie should be. With a crisp outer and soft and chewy inside this was just what I love in a cookie.

I think Cookies Of Course is perfect for a mid afternoon cookie break, they make a perfect cookie if you’re a soft and chewy cookie lover.  For my 3 cookies the total came to just over $3 so I could see how these sweet treats could get expensive if you were buying by the dozen.

The other night I had a couple of deadlines to meet so going out wasn’t an option so I decided to give Foodster’s a try and order up some food from Novo Pizzeria and Wine Bar, as a bonus they give a 10% discount on take out and delivery orders.

Novo’s signature meat balls. Filled with pine nuts and currents these meatballs were something different. The sauce that Novo makes has a nice bright tomato flavor with a nice fresh basil flavor.

You can see the abundance of filling in the meatballs

The margherita pizza, one size only and it’s $13.

The pizza had great leoparding and the crust had great flavor and just the right amount of chew.

They use Fiore di Latte mozzarella and I loved the creaminess of it.  Over all this was a great pizza and Novo has solidified their place in the Neapolitan Pizza market.

The panna cotta with the berry compote was totally delicious. The panna cotta semi sweet and rich without being heavy, the compote complimented the cool and creamy panna cotta.

Overall, I was very impressed with Novo and the Foodsters delivery service. If you’re a fan of Neapolitan style pizza and rustic Italian dishes, then you’re going to want to check out Novo Pizzeria & Wine Bar and if you can’t make it in get Foodsters to deliver some goodness right to your door.  To learn more about their services, visit www.Foodsters.ca.

You can also reach Foodsters at:
Foodsters Restaurant Delivery
(604) 781-7883
info@foodsters.ca

What makes BC Spot Prawns so special is the face the season only runs for 8 weeks (May-June) and the fishery for them is completely sustainable so the fish stocks aren’t being affected at all.  They are also ethically raised and sourced.  Until 2005 most of the Spot Prawns were exported to Japan and we used to miss out since the fishery has been set up we now get our fair share of these beauty’s.

Here they come!

You can view the video of the harvest (The guy in the picture shot if for the Vancouver Sun) by clicking here.

We all were served some tasty bites while we waited for the prawns to be cooked up and brought out.

The first set of bites we were served were BC poached Spot Prawns with a yuzu jelly, Quail’s Egg topped with truffle aioli and crispy bacon and watermelon with a crispy basil garnish.  All of these were really good.  The eggs were perfectly cooked and of course the bacon was a perfect complement to the egg.  BC Spot Prawns and yuzu jelly were a natural pairing of sweet seafood and the citrus from the yuzu.

Lastly the watermelon and crispy basil was a nice clean, refreshing bite.  There was also smoked salmon bites with goats cheese that I had when I came here for Dine Out 2012.

Golden, pink and red beets topped with creme frache and thyme were also passed around the deck.  Beets are one of my favorite items and I really liked these.  I tend to like the red beets more because they are sweeter than the golden beets I find.

Seared tuna bites with a ponzu were cooked perfectly.  The inside was beautifully rare and just seared on the outside enough to add some firm texture, the sauce was a nice touch and added a bright salty hit to the bite.

These were the star of the event.

The whole BC Spot Prawns served whole in a pool of garlic butter.  Saying these are hands on are an understatement.  You get in there with your hands and twist the head off and strip the tail of shell and such.  The heads could be sucked like a crawfish head if you like to get the pure essence of the Spot Prawn-it’s not my thing but i made sure my head didn’t go to waste.  The meat is sweet and tender and reminded me of a little lobster tail!

The event was alot of fun and I enjoyed the delicious treats and drinks.  Get out there and enjoy some of there completely unique to BC treats before there all gone.

Serving up Mediterranean influenced food, the Street Meet truck has hit the streets and is feeding hungry diners their take of Mediterranean  and Italian comfort food.  The truck is headed up by Chef’s Mike Carter and Alessandro Vianello.  I’ve had the pleasure of eating Alessandro’s food when he was Head Chef at Prestons so I knew the cooking would be solid and they would be putting out a great selection of items.

The truck’s location has been changed around since they 1st hit the streets, you can now find them at the corner of Burrard and Pender St in front of Joey’s Bentall.  There serving up lunch Monday-Friday from 11:30am-3pm(ish) and there open on some Saturdays-I’d advise following them on Twitter for daily updates.

A signature item they have are there Pork Belly Bites with an Italian Agro Dolce Sauce, $7.00.  The pork belly was a perfect balance of sweet and sour with a melt in your mouth texture.  I gobbled these baby’s up real quick.

This is what I call pig candy.  Mixed in with the pork belly-potato chips to my surprise.  They added some more great texture to the bites.

The Risotto Balls stuffed with braised pork and topped with a truffle aioli, $5.00.  I was waiting to try these bad boys for a while.  I have a deep love for risotto and risotto balls are included in that love.  These are filled with tender braised pork and the risotto is cooked with tomatoes.  The risotto itself was still nice and creamy while the outside was crunchy and drizzled with truffle aioli.  Again I’d say these are a must try item and so worth $5!

The Beef and Guinness Pie.  This savory pocket pie was filled with tender Guinness beef, pearl onions and other yummy vegetables.  The pastry was the traditional pot pie crust, not to greasy and it didn’t break apart when eating the pie with my hands.  For $6 it’s a great snack to eat on the go.

Tiramisu Cannoli’s filled with a rich mascarpone cream, $3.00 for 2 mini cannoli’s.  These were absolutely amazing.  The filling was rich and creamy because they use mascarpone and it was whipped well so there was a great fluffy mouth feel to it.  The flavor was just like a tiramisu and went well with the cannoli shell.

So far I’ve been very happy with everything I’ve had from the Street Meet truck and I’d recommend them to anyone looking for something in the comfort food department.

I opted for 2 scoops in a dish.  This is the Banana Bread Gelato that uses Erin Ireland’s It’s To Die For banana Bread.  It was rich and creamy, the banana bread flavor came through beautifully and I loved how I would get a frozen chunk of banana every now and then when I was this flavor.

My other flavor I went with was the salted caramel gelato.  I really got to experience how smooth and velvety Bella Gelato really is with this flavor.  It was so smooth and unlike any gelato I’ve ever had.  The salted caramel flavor was not over powering and it actually went well with the banana bread gelato I had in the same dish.

This was my 1st visit to Bella and it surely won’t be my last.  There located by the new Trade and Convention Center, the store front operation is kind of small so you might want to take your gelato and head down to the sea wall a block away.

Their slogan on the side of the brightly wrapped van couldn’t be more correct.  I had a achin’ for bacon and the Pig On The Street Food Truck will fill your bacon loving needs.

The Pig On The Street is one of the new food cart additions that is serving up thick cut, bacon sandwiches in homemade flat bread and they even offer a vegetarian option as well!  When I made my visit they were on the Hornby side of the Vancouver Art gallery but they are usually on the Howe Street side, also you can find them at local farmers markets and festivals.  All there bacon is from Gelderman Farms and they proudly say that on the van so you know you getting a quality product.

I placed my order for a Pig LT, instead of giving you a number while you wait you get a pink pig and they all have unique names-a funny touch.

My Pig LT was full of double smoke and thick cut bacon, fresh arugula, avocado, tomato, farmhouse cheddar and a bacon and maple mayo.  All there sandwiches are $8.95 tax included.  I loved everything about this, I’m a personal fan of bacon and avocado sandwiches-there a perfect pairing.  The bacon was nice and meaty, cooked perfectly.  The arugula it added another flavor dimension that helped cut the richness of the sandwich.  I will say that it was a bit messy to eat but I managed to get most of it in my hungry tummy.

I’m definitely heading back to the Pig On The Street to try the rest of their delicious bacon filled sandwiches.