Transylvania Flavour on West Broadway/Arbutus St

A couple months ago, I got a Groupon for Transylvania Flavour. I have never heard of this restaurant although it's conveniently located on West Broadway and Arbutus Street. We must have passed by this a dozen times because we always see B.C. Sushi yet never noticed the tiny place with European fare.



The almost invisible sign is so hard to notice and the entrance is actually at the "open" sign right next to the huge B.C. Sushi sign. Here's a picture of the entrance.



When we went in, we were cheerfully greeted by a lady who showed us to our table. We made reservations for 6:30 p.m. and the restaurant was filling up fast, with many customers also holding on to their Groupons.



After observing the restaurant for a couple minutes, it's easy to tell this is a family-run restaurant. A man (whom I assumed to be the owner) named Nick and (presumably) his wife take care of all the customers personally and they do not have any other waiters or waitresses! They bring menus, serve water, take orders, dish up the food, bring the bill for every single table, all with a cheery smile on their faces.



We ordered the Knight's platter, which came with eight different dishes meant for sharing between two people. They comprised several appetizers on the menu.



I don't have pictures for all of them because it was so awkward to keep taking pictures every few bites! People need to know that there are food bloggers out there trying to do their work! :P Next time, we should just request to sit in a secluded corner so we won't disturb other patrons trying to enjoy their food. But rest assured, I have photos to accompany the best-tasting treats!

1. Caesar salad

Lovely crisp lettuce with creamy, homemade Caesar dressing, topped with a generous helping of shredded Parmesan cheese. My only complaint? They served the lettuce "head" part, which I don't think should even be served to the customer.

2. Perogies



European-style "dumplings" as I call them, these thick pasty dough pockets are filled with mashed yam and Friulano cheese. I didn't know they were filled with yam, but guessed it was the sweet taste of pumpkin. They were topped with roasted red pepper sauce (I could identify the very distinctive taste), sour cream, bacon and spring onions. I would prefer this to be pan-fried and not deep-fried as the flour in the dough was heavy enough.

3. Cabbage Rolls

The juicy, tender meat loaf wrapped with cabbage surprised me. Cabbage rolls are infamous for being soggy and lumpy but this held its shape well and the cabbage was not overdone. They were topped with sour cream, spring onions and bacon bits.



*Here's another picture of the platter as I do not have pictures of each individual dish.

4. Meatballs

These meatballs looked like mini slider burger patties, and a little too dry to me. But they were moist and tasted quite special, unlike other meatballs you usually have. The tomato sauce on the top was a nice touch to the little patties. I'm sure these would go great as sliders for a fun twist.

5. Schnitzel



I couldn't tell if it was chicken or pork (I'm thinking it's chicken) schnitzel. Schnitzel is a traditional European dish where a piece of meat is pounded thinly, lightly covered with bread crumbs and pan-fried till golden brown. This schnitzel was dry and did not have very exciting flavours to it; it was nothing more than a chicken cutlet to me. I'd prefer a Japanese tonkatsu any day.

6. Paprika-dusted fresh-cut fries

Boring ol' fries. No hint of paprika whatsoever. I think mashed potatoes would make a better side dish to balance out some of the heavier items in the platter.

7. Mititei (Romanrian-style sausages)



I thought these were going to be regular grilled sausages, but they were certainly out of ordinary! First of all, they were skinless; none of the tough, rubbery exterior to interfere with the intricate flavours of the meat. These sausages had strong spices in them and it gave my tastebuds a kick. The special characteristic of these sausages was their texture -- they had a little bounce to them when you bite into them, since they contained gelatin. I would have enjoyed these a lot more if they weren't charcoal burned to a black, bitter layer on the outside.

I'm saving the best item for last -- the one thing that stood out among the rest in the entire platter. The winner of the platter goes to....



POLENTA AND CHEESE CROQUETTES!

I've never had polenta ever, and this sure made my first polenta experience an unforgettable one! Polenta is a thick pudding made from cornmeal and it tastes creamy and rich on its own. I loved how they mixed it with cheese and deep-fried it into pretty little rounds! Sure makes it easy to eat and good to look at.



The cheese in the croquettes held the polenta together nicely and gave it a richness that not many ingredients could. The crusty outer layer of the croquettes gives it a great crunch. These come drizzled with sour cream and their signature roasted red pepper sauce.

If there is one thing you have to try from Transylvania Flavour's menu, that has got to be the polenta croquettes!

We concluded the meal with complimentary chocolates which they brought when our bill came.



I was rather impressed with the restaurant's service, especially there was only the two owners of the business serving the customers. When we were finished with our food, the restaurant got quite busy and the cooks from the kitchen personally dished up the food to the customers. I like how they tried to keep to the family-run restaurant by not having any other waiters or waitresses. Yet the owners still had time to come around the tables and ask us how we were doing and refill our water glasses.

Definitely a good place to visit with a bunch of friends as their serving sizes are quite generous and good for sharing! It would be fun sharing a few appetizers with a couple of drinks while catching up with friends. Great for people who love deep-fried food (I personally thought it was a little too heavy). Excellent service is a plus! Do make reservations as it can get quite packed during dinner hours.

Transylvania Flavour is located at 2120 W Broadway St., Vancouver, B.C.

♥ Nikki

Cooking Japanese Curry!

Yesterday, I made Japanese curry! Easiest thing ever, especially if you are using curry roux cubes from a box!



Seriously, I don't usually like to use instant food packages, but in my opinion, there's no simple combination of everyday ingredients that can produce the intricate sweet yet savoury flavour of Japanese curry, hence I am FOR THE BOX this time!

(No pictures of the box because it was from a long time ago. The most well-known brand is Glico Curry, which comes in a variety of levels of spiciness -- mild, medium and hot. But I can assure you even the HOT variety is NOT spicy at all! There are of course other brands but I think Glico produces the most authentic-tasting curry.)

Ingredients you will need are shown in the picture.



I used pork, two onions, two or three carrots, two sticks of celery and two potatoes (lettuce was for a side dish). You can easily use whatever meat you fancy or omit it altogether for a vegetarian dish. Of course, not forgetting the curry packages! I had the mild and the hot ones.

Now let's start making this delicious curry!



1. Start by sauteing the onions in olive oil until slightly brown.



2. Add in the pork and fry till slightly cooked.



3. At this point, you can season with some salt and pepper.



4. Add in the carrots and about three or four cups of water (depending how thick you like your curry to be). Simmer on low heat until it starts to bubble.



5. When it is just coming to a boil, add in the celery and the potatoes. Here I used leftover roasted potatoes, but if you are using raw potatoes, I would advise to add them together with the carrots. Simmer with the lid on for another 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender (but not overcooked!)



6. When everything is pretty much cooked, it's time for the curry magic! It will look like a pot of vegetable soup, but when you add in the curry cubes, it slowly thickens to a sauce depending how much you add. I chopped up the curry cubes to smaller pieces so they would melt more easily.



I added two of the mild curry cubes and one of the hot one, so three altogether for this big pot of curry! I didn't add much more seasoning as the curry roux is already very flavourful by itself. Taste and add the cubes until you have reached the desired taste. If there is too much water, keep adding more cubes until you have a thick, glistening golden sauce.



8. Serve with white rice and your choice of vegetable sides, and enjoy! I love lots of curry sauce to eat with my rice so my plate is loaded with sauce! I may have simmered my vegetables on too high heat, resulting in my pork becoming a little tough; so make sure to simmer on low heat!



Here's a secret tip: Use previously roasted/fried potatoes for the most amazing potato texture in your curry! I had leftover roasted potatoes from a couple of days ago, so I threw them in and it worked out great! The crispy, golden brown taste coated with the thick creamy curry sauce is just out of this world! Beats regular potato any day!



I hope you enjoy this recipe! Try it out and let me know how it goes!

♥ Nikki