Shu Raku, Vancouver

On Saturday evening in Vancouver we were in the mood for seafood.  We randomly chose a restaurant, and ended up at Shu Raku.  The lighting was terrible for food photography (I don't use flash), but I took a few shots.

To drink we had sake, of course.  It was the best sake I have ever had - very smooth, and made in Vancouver.

We shared two appetizers, including tempura:

And, one of the best things I've ever eaten, salmon tartar.

The tartar was served with seaweed "chips" which had tempura batter on one side.  The crispiness of the chips with the softness of the tartar was incredible.  Christopher's main course was sashimi five ways, and mine was ramen noodles with pork.

We assumed that the shrimp heads were just for decoration, but the server came by and asked Christopher if he was going to eat them, and offered to deep fry them.  Once deep fried they were similar to chips.  I tried a leg, and Christopher ate the rest, but couldn't eat their little faces/eyes.

Would you have eaten the eyes?  What is the "weirdest" thing you've eaten?  How was your weekend?  What did you do?

Meat & Bread, Vancouver

On Saturday in Vancouver we walked to a restaurant recommended to us, which has also been featured on the Food Network, called Meat & Bread.  This place was FANTASTIC, and we tried to go back again the next day, but it was closed (Sunday) :-(

It is a simple sandwich shop, that served up one of the most delicious sandwiches I've ever had.  We shared the daily special, which was smoked ham hock with poutine on it!  

I loved the presentation, and was very impressed with the juiciness of the meat - wow!

The decor was really cool as well ...

And we had to try the chocolate bar after reading the description:

We loved it.

Meat & Bread is a "must-visit" if you are ever in Vancouver, and you like meat and bread.  We'll definitely be back.

Vij's Vancouver

On Friday evening, our first evening in Vancouver, we got dressed up and headed out to Vij's.  I've been wanting to visit this restaurant for years, as it's widely regarded as the best Indian restaurant in North America.  There is a line up outside of this place each night before the restaurant even opens.

We arrived 30 minutes before opening time and ended up getting a table (although barely!).  The best part about this place was that they brought little samples of the food out to the people in line, and once we were seated, they continued to bring samples around.

We ordered 2 appetizers - local pork belly with apple mint jelly, and lamb/beef samosas.

The appetizers were excellent!

Unfortunately neither of us were blown away by our entrees.  Christopher had a curry, and I had the lamb popsicles.  

We agreed that the lamb was perfectly cooked, but both of our entrees were lacking the depth of flavour that we've come to appreciate at our favourite Indian restaurant, Bombay.

The rice wasn't great, but the naan bread was superb, as was the service. 

All in all, from this first experience at Vij's, I don't think it's worth the hype, or the hefty bill.  

Is there a restaurant that you've been wanting to try for a long time?

Thursday Things

1)  Our little trip to Vancouver over the long-weekend was quick, but a lot of fun.  We did a lot of walking and a lot of eating (more about the food to come).

2)  My birthday was on Tuesday, and Christopher's is today (Thursday).  We went out for dinner a couple times this week to celebrate.  And there was bubbly too ...

3)  When we came home from Vancouver we didn't have much for groceries, but we did have a couple steaks in the freezer, and two sweet potatoes.  Bam, supper. 

We very, very rarely cook steak, but Christopher still managed to cook it PERFECTLY.

4)  We've been going to the public library on Wednesday evenings to see movies in the film theater.  Yesterday we saw "Taste the Blood of Dracula".  We're looking forward to a couple more coming up next week.

5)  Spoon Me has the worst frozen yogurt ever.  They shouldn't even call it frozen yogurt; it's frozen ice crystals.  Disgusting.

6)  We went to a fundraiser chicken/rib night the other day to help raise money for a friend's brother.  The food was good, especially the Caesar salad.

What are your Thursday things?  How's your week going so far?

Japadog

After being in Vancouver for under two hours, we found a Japadog (recommended to us by Alaina - thanks Alaina) just down from out hotel.  There is a permanent store, as well as several hotdog carts around the city.  This place has been featured on the Food Network, etc., and is known for Japanese-inspired hotdog creations.  If Anthony Bordain gave it a thumbs up, I figured it must be good.

We shared the kurobuta terimayo.

We both loved the toasted bun, how the hotdog was cut to allow more toppings, how juicy it was, and the salty seaweed on top.

We were planning on hitting Japadog once more before leaving Vancouver, but there were just too many other places to eat.

Until next time Japadog ...

I think we'll be trying to recreate this hotdog at home.  

Would you eat seaweed on a hotdog?  

Have you ever eaten at Japadog?

Vancouver Getaway

On Friday morning we were up around 3:30 a.m. to head to the airport for a little, extended weekend getaway.  We flew to Calgary first, sleeping for the hour flight.  We had a very short layover in Calgary, and we shared a breakfast bagel while we waited to board our flight to Vancouver.

I had a pumpkin spice flavoured coffee, mmmmm!

We were in Vancouver by about 10:30 a.m..  After dropping our stuff off at the hotel, we headed straight to my favourite coffee shop, Cafe Artigiano. 

By the time we were done our coffees, we were hunnngry! 

The first thing we snacked on was a fish burrito.  We normally won't eat at chain restaurants when away from home, however we no longer have Taco del Mar at home, and Christopher had to show me the fish burrito that he loved, that inspired our fish burrito recipe.

We shared a small fish burrito, just for a taste, but our homemade ones are better.  We ate more delicious things on this first day - posts to come!

The hotel we stayed in was L'Hermitage, downtown.  On Trip Advisor it was voted #1 hotel in Canada for the past two years, and #25 in the world!  It was pretty nice, but the best part was the excellent service, and the fact that when we paid for the room it was HALF as much as what we had initially booked for - nice!  We payed just over $400 for 3 nights.  Not bad!

Have you been to Vancouver?  How was your weekend?

Ugly Food

Some dishes just aren't photogenic ...

Exhibit A:  Warmed up cabbage rolls (p.s. cabbage rolls are GREAT dipped in sour cream)

Exhibit B:  Tuna casserole (made 2 last week and froze one for an easy dinner this week)

Stay tuned for some much better looking food after this Thanksgiving long weekend.  Talk to you all on Monday!  Have a happy thanksgiving Canadian friends!

What do you have planned for Thanksgiving?

What are you up to this weekend?