It is also a Hong Kong-style restaurant, and the menu was more or less the same, except they had more choices. We wanted to give it a go and compare it with the horrendous service we got at Copa.
We were immediately greeted as we entered. A waitress said we could sit anywhere as it was only 5pm and the restaurant was no where near packed. We picked a booth and settled into our seats.
The restaurant had a very open layout, with wide paths for walking and a central counter where orders are taken. The layout really resembles Tang's Noodle House (which is another story for another day), and the soft lighting makes it very cosy. The choice of music was instrumental pop hits, very gentle and romantic.
I was pleasantly surprised that we had fork and spoons as utensils given it was a Chinese restaurant. Usually we prefer forks and spoons (being from Southeast Asia) over traditional chopsticks.
The waitresses were VERY attentive. They asked us three times before we could decide on what to get. They were also patient in answering our questions about the level of spiciness. Once we asked how spicy a dish was, she said "Would you like it more spicy or less spicy? We can make it either way you like it." Very thoughtful and intelligent on her part.
J.S. decided on a Szechuan seafood platter and the portion size was very healthy! We requested for less spicy and it was just right, the way my taste buds can handle!
There were squid, cod fish, large scallops and shrimp. Quite a generous portion of seafood for a dish that was $14.99. The complementing vegetables were snow peas, celery, Chinese mushrooms and black fungus. Everything was very well cooked and succulent. I especially enjoyed the scallops as they were juicy and had the slightest sweet taste just enough to balance the flavour.
I ordered Portuguese chicken rice AGAIN! Just for comparison to the other one at Copa. It was slightly more expensive at $10.99, but the portion size was equally huge and the exterior looked pretty much the same.
The potatoes looked very appealing, golden brown and encrusted with coconut shavings. I could hardly wait to dig into it!
The rice was moist with some egg fried into it (simple egg fried rice). The sauce reached the rice nicely, so the rice was not dry and tasteless. The chicken was in very large pieces and there was a lot of skin (which I discarded). Most importantly, the taste of the chicken was sour -- definitely not something you would expect in a savoury dish like this.
I can't imagine what would make the chicken taste sour. It was kind of like citrus-sour, not rotting-sour. At least it was edible, but the sour taste became more prominent after each bite. Again, we got half of it packed up. The bill came to $26.68 including taxes, which was a little on the expensive side.
Over all, service was excellent and the food was so-so, almost disappointing. What a totally opposite experience compared with Copa. Copa had AMAZING food but super unfriendly service. Gloucester has top-notch service but mediocre food.
Where should you go? It's a tough decision. Go try them for yourselves and let me know!
Cafe Gloucester is located at 3338 Cambie Street, Vancouver, B.C.
♥ Nikki
the sour-taste may be from lemongrass :) lovely blog!
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