CNY Dinner at The Jade Seafood Restaurant

Happy Chinese New Year to all! It's the year of the ferocious yet magnificent dragon, the year I was born but I am not a dragon.. Such a complicated matter... Whatever it is, I wish everyone a prosperous and fulfilling new year ahead!

It is traditional to have a "reunion dinner" with all the family members on the eve of the lunar new year, and J.S.'s friends here in Vancouver decided to do just that. Sunday (Jan. 22) is the actual eve of the new year, but since all the restaurants would be fully booked and everyone had school on Monday, it was most sensible to have the dinner on Friday (Jan. 20) instead.

A large group of us (30 people) headed to The Jade Seafood Restaurant in Richmond. It was a rainy evening and the place was quite a few blocks from the Landsdowne Skytrain station. It was a long walk in the rain and we got there around 7 p.m.



The place was packed, full of people having their own reunion dinners and scurrying waiters. The atmosphere was like a very busy market, with staff dashing madly back and forth between tables with gigantic platters of food and tableware.

A Chinese reunion dinner is very similar to a Chinese banquet dinner you would have at a wedding, J.S. told me. Almost everyone must have had the chance to attend any sort of wedding dinner of relatives/friends, but I have never had the luxury of attending any wedding dinners except when I was less than a year old (I remember only because there were pictures!). J.S. told me it is very common to have a 10-course meal with luxurious dishes just like at a wedding banquet.

As I sat down at the table, taking in all this chaotic atmosphere, the feeling of fear overcame me. This familiar chaos of a Chinese restaurant was intimidating to me; all my memories of having dinner with relatives in Hong Kong came flooding back. I feel like I had not experienced such an atmosphere for such a long time, and I am so used to the Western dining culture that the Chinese way of dining is becoming so foreign to me.

We waited a good 20 minutes for our food, and when they came, they ALL came within minutes of each other. The organizer of this dinner had picked 10 main dishes for a table of 10 people (our party had three tables in all) and, my golly, an organized chaos is the only way to describe it! I'll elaborate more later after showing you all the pictures of the food!



Dish #1: Crab and fish maw soup

Fish maw is a chewy, spongy part of the fish that has a unique texture and somewhat crunchy to the bite. There was a generous amount of fish maw in the soup, along with pieces of juicy, fresh crab meat and egg white swirls. This soup is delicious and somewhat imitates shark's fin soup, the most popular Chinese soup.



It is common to have the waiter bringing the entire serving of soup and serving them into individual soup bowls prepared on the turntable. The amount of soup in the big bowl is usually determined to precisely match the number of guests at the table. Swift, skilled movements by the waiter had the soup served up in no time.



Dish #2: Braised pig trotters with lettuce and black moss

This was my favourite dish of the night. Pig trotters are an acquired taste and not everyone likes them, but I love that chewy, tendon-like texture that melts in your mouth yet has a slight resistance to the bite. Black moss is "fatt choy," which literally means "hair vegetable." It may sound a little off-putting to be eating something that resembles hair, but in Chinese, the sound of the words are similar to mean "fortune," so it is good luck to eat that so you will have good fortune in the new year.



Dish #3: The Jade Empress Chicken

Another popular Chinese New Year dish, this is a whole chicken cooked with a salty, "bouncy" skin. This dish is typically served cold and I just love the taste of cold chicken, and the skin added an amazing texture and saltiness to the moist meat.



The chicken is usually dipped into this concoction of oil, shredded ginger,  green onions and salt. I don't usually like ginger but this sauce wins me over every time. It is a little on the salty side, which could get a little oversalted when combined with the salty chicken (you know I have slight salt phobia!).



Dish #4:  Braised Dried Oyster with Sea Moss

I did not know what was the chewy, meaty thing rolled with the Chinese mushooms until I asked our dinner organizer what it was. It turned out to be oysters. I have never had oysters this way and they tasted rather interesting. Rolled up with beancurd sheets and served alongside choy sum (Chinese cabbage), it was a rather new taste for me. I could not fully judge the overall taste as there were only nine pieces for 10 people and J.S. and I just shared one.



Dish #5: Fried Rice with Egg White & Dried Scallops

With all the hearty meats served, it was about time to have some carbs to balance it off. The fried rice was fragrant with a very unique taste of onion. It did not occur to me it was only fried with egg whites until I saw the menu. I think this fried rice would taste a lot better with less rich dishes such as simple steamed vegetables, so that the full flavour can take the centre stage instead of merely complementing the main dishes.



Dish #6: Crispy Fried Squab

I learned a new word -- squab -- which is pigeon meat. The texture of the meat was extremely similar to that of duck meat, a sandy grind against your tastebuds. I'm not so huge on duck and eating pigeon sounded a little sad, but the way they fried this made the skin so tasty it was impossible not to eat it! However, it was full of blood inside as I guess the meat and bones cannot be fully cooked with just a short time in the fryer. The crispy skin was my favourite part of the squab. The fried shallots brought back memories of Singapore where it was a common topping for porridge, noodles and all sorts of dishes.



Dish #7: Buddha's delight (luo han zhai)

A popular vegetarian dish, this is a platter of various vegetables and vegetarian ingredients. The Jade Restaurant's version had Shanghai bak choy as the vegetable and came with an assortment of black fungus ('wood ear'), white fungus ('snow ear'), straw mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms and fish maw. I enjoyed the texture of the black fungus more than that of the white fungus as it was more crisp and hardy. The Shanghai bak choy was lightly cooked and had a juicy, fresh crunch to it, a very refreshing lightness in the middle of such a heavy meal. This is a lighter dish in the midst of the assorted luxurious meats which I found to clean the palate well.



Dish #8: Braised Pork Belly Served with Pickled Vegetables

The pork belly is one of the most decadent parts of the animal that one can enjoy. The creamy fatty part melts in your mouth while the braised meat falls apart in concert. The pickled vegetables give a nice punch to the already flavourful meat and this makes a winning taste combination. Served in a claypot, the braised pork belly has a unique warmth to it, along with baby bok choy for the vegetable component. Not an ideal dish for the skinny girls watching their weight; but it is good to have it in small amounts.



Dish #9: Black Cod Hot Pot with Green Onion & Ginger

Another dish served in a claypot, this fish had a very addicting taste to it. It was fried but not crunchy, soft but not soggy. There were very strong flavours of soy sauce along with the green onions and ginger. I loved the taste of the fish, but my only complaint was the gigantic pieces of fish bones that were in it. I personally think this would be a perfect dish if they fried the fillet part of the fish instead of the bony parts.



We started with a bowl of warmth, we also ended the meal with a bowl of warmth.



Dish #10: Pumpkin soup with sea coconut (complimentary dessert)

Dessert was on the house with dinner, and the typical meal-ending bowl of soup that I NEVER look forward to was always red bean soup. Some restaurants have great red bean soup, others not so much. I was dreading the all-too-familiar red bean soup when the huge bowl of yellow soup arrived and surprised me. I asked the waiter what it was and he said it's pumpkin soup with sea coconut.

I was apprehensive at first, but the smooth, creamy soup gave me a pleasant surprise. The chewy sea coconut tasted like the longan fruit. I may have had some terrible experiences with sea coconut but I actually liked this one. The soup tasted nothing like pumpkin and more of sweet coconut milk, which I did not mind. Maybe it was better that I could not taste the pumpkin!

***

The food was delicious, the amount of meat was equivalent to what I would have consumed in one week, I was not too bloated even though I had 10 different courses of food. It was a good dinner. But remember how I said it was a harrowing experience?

I found that the speed of Chinese dining greatly exceeded that of Western dining. Waiters would come by every five minutes or after a course was served, bringing fresh clean plates with a loud clatter. I was trying hard to savour every dish carefully but almost had my food taken away by mistake because I was so slow! Efficient waiters, you might say, but it was not what I was looking for in a dining experience. The timing of all the courses were also rushed because all of them came in humongous plates, which mean the table could only fit so many plates at one time. They constantly hurry us to finish up the remaining one piece of the meat or transfer the last few pieces onto smaller plates, thereby creating more bustle and stress to the meal.

Yes, I felt the meal was stressful. The speed that I had to eat at to keep up with everyone else was not the pace I am used to eating. That is also partially the reason why the photos in this post were not too great. Everyone at the table was hungry and ready to dive into the food, while the photographers at the table (three of us, including me) all had to take our shots before everyone dug in. I would prefer a more relaxed and calm setting where I was free to eat and take pictures as I like.

But this is the Chinese culture, more particularly, I think it is the Hong Kong culture that is so fast-paced, just like how people walk in the bustling city of Hong Kong. I may have been born in Hong Kong but the culture shock is just too much for me to absorb. I have grown to enjoy the slower pace of life in this Western country, taking in everything around me, one breath at a time.

Note to self: Do not host a stressful 10-course meal for my guests at my event of a lifetime!

The Jade Restaurant is located at 8511 Alexandra Road (between No. 3 Road and Garden City Road), Richmond, B.C.

♥ Nikki

The Oakwood on 4th Ave/Macdonald St

Last Wednesday, I had the opportunity to visit The Oakwood Canadian Bistro for our office's Christmas party. You must be thinking, Christmas is NOT in January! Well, it seemed like nobody got around to planning the event until just before Christmas so it ended up in January.



The Oakwood is a small little restaurant on West 4th Ave. and Macdonald Street. It appears to be a relatively new place since Google's street view did not show the updated sign yet. The exterior was dark and very easy to miss.



The interior was dark but quite spacious if you look closely. An assortment of booths and tables with high bar stools. We had a little reservation confusion for a moment but quickly sat down at the row of sofa seats at the left side of the restaurant.



Our party organizer knew the owner of the place and the owner had very kindly prepared a prix fixe menu just for us. We had a party of about 10 people and people trickled in slowly over 40 minutes. After almost everyone arrived, we were still waiting for one more person. By this time, the waitress was getting impatient and asked us multiple times if we were ready to order. Finally the last person arrived and we placed our orders for all three courses.



We were also given three drink tickets each, and I got a beer and gave my other two tickets away. Their drinks menu did not have any eye-catching cocktails that appealed to me and they did not have Granville Island Honey Lager on tap so I just went with Molson Canadian.

***

Our food arrived after about 10 minutes, not a very long wait at all. Here are the assortment of appetizers our table ordered.



Appetizer #1: Green salad with balsamic pickled shallot and poppyseed vinaigrette. Karen had this and she found the dressing too sweet and she could not finish it. I tried a little and it was indeed sweet and tasted like raspberry. I'm not such a big fan of salads so I don't have any opinions about it.



Appetizer #2: Beet salad with roast beets and goat cheese. A couple people had this and I did not taste it because they were sitting too far away and I'm not such a big fan of beets either. It turned out fancier looking than I had expected.



Appetizer #3: Maple pork belly with apple puree, pork crackling and jicama salad. Erika had this and I tried a bite. The pork belly was moist and tender, the pork crackling was sinfully crunchy with the taste of lard (if you are a fan of meat). I did not get to try any of the salad. Personally, I found it strange to serve such a large slab of meat as an appetizer.



Appetizer #4: All-Canadian poutine with house brisket, cheese curds and gravy. A couple of us (including myself) had this because, who doesn't like fries? This was a generous helping of fries topped with an equally generous mountain of shaved beef brisket. I took five bites and saved the rest so I could have room for the rest of the meal.

I loved how they served it in a mini skillet even though the serving is about the size of fries that you would get with a main course. It was a pity that the gravy was concentrated at the bottom of the dish, otherwise the brisket would have been more moist and flavourful. The cheese curds were stringy and the whole fries/cheese/gravy combination was amazing. My only complaint was the gravy was too salty. Vanessa did not think so; she liked her salt.

I guess their appetizers are meant for sharing and that could be fun if you're going with a couple of friends.



Too bad the lighting of the restaurant was too dark for me to see what I was eating. At some point later in the evening, someone turned up the lights a little so it was much better.

***

Now, let's move on to the main courses!



Main course #1: Mussels in white wine garlic broth with grilled crostini and frites. Vanessa had this and there were about 30 to 40 mussels which came in an enormous bowl! I had a taste of the mussels and they tasted quite fresh and mild; the broth was not overpowering. The crostini had a strange herb taste to it which did not roll off my tongue very well. The frites were, well, just FRIES. When she served our food, the waitress said she forgot to mention this main course came with fries, since Vanessa already had the poutine as an appetizer.



Of course, I just LOVE how they served the fries in the miniature fryer basket. A little too much fries if you ask me, but I was SO tempted to take that cute little basket home!



Main course #2: Striploin steak with dijon hollandaise sauce and hash. Karen and a few others got this, and I was privileged to have a bite. When the dish arrived, I was absolutely taken aback by the size and the presentation. Beautifully sliced pieces of medium-rare steak laid on a bed of potatoes topped with bright hollandaise sauce. 10 points for the presentation!

The medium-rare steak was tender and juicy and the sauce had some sort of salty miso taste to it. I could not tell what it was. The hash was just a cubed up version of the fries we had earlier with the poutine. Karen was very satisfied with her steak, except it was so huge she had trouble finishing it.



Main course #3: Burger with a beef patty, fried onion, smoked cheddar and sprouts on a sesame bun. This was one of the more popular main courses and about half our table had that. So much to say about this amazing burger!

Firstly, you could tell them how you like your beef patty just as if you were having a steak. I had mine medium-well since I do not like any pink in my meat. The bottom of the bun had sweet relish, the fried onion and perhaps some mozzarella. At the top of the beef patty was a perfectly melted slice of cheddar and topped with alfalfa sprouts. I used to always be afraid of those little stringy sprouts but I have now gotten over my fear! They tasted really creamy with the heat of the meat and cheese.

The sesame bun was very fresh and had a homemade, rustic taste that was hearty and warm. That was my favourite part of the whole burger. Chewy and soft bread mmm... I had a little less than half of the burger -- there must have been about half a pound of beef in there.

They served a homemade "ketchup" which had the taste of raspeberries and apples and the consistency of apple sauce. It was a bright red colour and honestly, when I tasted it, I was confused if it was supposed to be a fruit puree or ketchup. Vanessa did not like it but Dianne loved it. Oh well, to each his (her?) own!

***

At this point, we were all just REALLY stuffed to the brim, but who can pass on dessert?



Dessert #1: Beet and carrot cake with blue cheese cream and candied walnuts. Dave was brave to try this beet cake while most of us scrunched up our faces at the words "beet" and "cake" placed next to each other. It looked better than I expected and Dave liked it. I love how all their dishes are so intricately presented.



Dessert #2: Nanaimo bar custard -- vanilla custard with chocolate ganache, coconut and pecans. I had this because I LOVE chocolate. However, I did not anticipate this to appear in a jar like baby food. I was thinking of more like an actual Nanaimo bar but this surprised me. The chilled chocolate was smooth but had little chunks of coconut and pecans which gave it a nice crunch. The vanilla custard took me by surprise. I don't really like custard by itself but this one won me over. It was not overly rich but velvety enough that it kept me digging my spoon in for more.



Dessert #3: Baked apple dumpling with vanilla ice cream in a shot glass. What can I say? This has got to be the winner of the night. Apple pie done up in a different way:  apple filling wrapped up in crust like a little parcel, baked to perfection and topped with cinnamon sugar. Can it get any better? And we all know stone-cold vanilla ice cream is the perfect companion to fresh, warm apple pie.

I was jealous of those who got this for dessert and almost sent back my Nanaimo bar custard in exchange for this apple pie goodness. Thankfully, Karen and Vanessa were stuffed and kindly offered me some of their pies. The flaky crust was buttery and crisp, the apple filling was not too sweet and it was all just a wonderful medley in my mouth.

***

It was a great dinner with fellow colleagues over drinks and good food. The food portions were generous, but the service fell a little short. I felt rushed the whole time whenever we had food on the table.

The waitress came by every 10 minutes and asked if we were done with our food. In a setting like this, I thought she could have been more considerate and let us savour and enjoy our food while chatting. I believe we would have been able to finish more of the food if she had let us take our time. Sadly, a lot of food was wasted that night simply due to the large portions and lack of time.

I would definitely come back again to The Oakwood for their poutine and apple dumpling! Definitely my top two favourites for the night!

The Oakwood Canadian Bistro is located at 2741 West 4th Ave., Vancouver, B.C.

♥ Nikki

Penang Delight Cafe at Rupert St

Happy New Year! I wonder if there are any remaining readers here.. I apologize that this space has gotten a little dusty, but that was because I was tied up with my course exams! Now that is finally done with, I am determined to get this back up and running!

To kick off 2012, J.S. and I were invited to have dinner at Penang Delight Cafe, a little restaurant in East Vancouver that serves Malaysian cuisine. Being from Southeast Asia ourselves (him from Malaysia, and me from Singapore), we looked forward to trying Malaysian food in Vancouver. We have tried Banana Leaf, but that's another story...

We went a little earlier than his large group of friends so we would not have to wait too long for the food. We arrived a little after 7 p.m. and we got ushered to a small table close to the back. The restaurant is not very big, but there were a fair number of tables.



We sat in this little "corridor" at first. Our waitress served us tea, and we requested for water. She cheerily replied in a Malaysian accent, "I change for you?" She also asked if we want hot water or warm water, very considerate of her. After we had placed our orders, J.S.'s friends arrived and we asked if there was room to sit with them. It was a little chaotic at first but we made do, and ended up sitting beside the counter of the restaurant.



There were many decorations and photos on the wall, and the place got more bustling as the night went on. I felt relieved that our food arrived in about 20 minutes, since our friend who had been there had to wait for an hour for his food last time!



I ordered the Kari Ayam with rice which, simply put, translates into curry chicken with rice. Sorry, a little out of focus here, but there were three large pieces of chicken with a few cubes of potato, all served on a piece of lettuce, and a serving of rice.

You may think, it is just a curry dish, how special can it get? I must admit, I was not sure what I was in for. Will it be too spicy? Will it taste like Indian curry? Does it taste as good as it looks? All these questions were running through my head. I took a small taste, and boy, I was surprised!



The curry tasted exactly like what I've had in Singapore, and it was the kind that was not too spicy, nor did it taste like any other kinds of curry. It was flavourful, savoury with just enough spicy to define curry. When I tasted it, I thought, "This is the correct taste!" -- a feeling of home came back to me.

Sounds like I'm exaggerating, but it was genuinely tasty! The rice was perfectly cooked and  went hand in hand with the curry sauce that I am so used to having on my rice. One downside to this dish -- J.S. and I both agreed they should have served more sauce, since we Singaporeans/Malaysians LOOOOVE to drench our rice with sauce (or maybe it's just us...). Nevertheless, it was good curry, perhaps even better than the ones I've had in Singapore! I would say it was regularly priced at $7.95 for a not-so-big serving of rice.



This was the dish J.S. picked -- Cantonese Chow Fun (Cantonese fried noodles). When I saw that on the menu, I thought, "Why would anyone order Cantonese food in a Malaysian restaurant?" But we did not regret trying this dish at all.

It had two different kind of rice noodles in it -- crispy, thin white vermicelli and brown, soft  'hor fun' (flat noodles). The crispy vermicelli was soaked in the glossy sauce, which made it soft and chewy, giving it a nice texture on the teeth. The brown hor fun was smooth and fun to slurp up. Having two noodles in one dish was a very exciting adventure for my tastebuds!

The sauce tasted also just like the kind we have at home; it was thick with some egg swirls in it. There was a generous assortment of toppings on the noodles -- thin slices of pork, thin slices of fishcake, large pieces of squid which were tough to chew (just like the ones in Malaysia, according to J.S.), fat juicy fresh shelled prawns, Chinese cabbage (choy sum) and I can't remember if there were black mushrooms... Everything went very well together and the portion size was definitely worth the price of $8.95 for this noodle dish!



For dessert, we had Kuih Dadar -- crepes rolled up in the shape of a spring roll with shredded coconut and 'gula melaka' (brown palm sugar syrup) inside. I had never tried this before. We initially decided to try other desserts but this was the only one they had that day. It took 20 minutes to come and we were almost about to cancel it, but they served it after we reminded them about our order.

I thought the presentation was good, since it was drizzled with the brown sugar syrup and shredded coconut, reflecting what was in the roll. However, J.S. was disappointed and thinks they could have done better displaying the dessert like the picture on the wall.



I wished I had taken a better shot of the inside, but this is all I have. The coconut was chewy and very sweet with the syrup, and the crepe was spongy and tender, which soaked up the syrup nicely. We both enjoyed this dish, but decided the price was too exorbitant since it was $4.95 for only two pieces.

Over all, it was nice to have food from our home countries and it left me with a good impression of the place. Our waitress was extremely helpful, courteous and went all out to cater to our table, especially when we were waiting for our dessert, she offered to bring us fresh napkins. The boss also walked around chatting with customers and frequently asked if we needed anything.

On the other hand, this place did get pretty busy past 8 p.m. and service levels dropped after that. No surprises, but if you want your food quick and your service good, go there before 7 p.m., when it is not too crowded!

I might or might not visit this place again, since it is quite far away from my neighbourhood of comfort. At least, the place is easily assessible by bus but the journey is still long. If I ever visit this place again, I'll look forward to trying other dishes on the menu!

Penang Delight is located at 3885 Rupert St., Vancouver, B.C.

♥ Nikki

Q4 Ristorante on West 4th Ave

A couple of months ago at the beginning of June (how time flies!), a Groupon for Q4 Ristorante caught our eyes. It was a $30 Groupon for a $60 value three-course Italian dinner. J.S. suggested we get that and so we did, and finally we found the occasion to visit this fancy place -- our one and a half years together.

We decided to go on Saturday since it would be more relaxing without work the next day. We made reservations for 6 p.m. and dressed up nicely, in anticipation for a more elegant atmosphere. When we got there, a simple patio with three banners greeted us.

 

We went in and was very pleasantly greeted by a waiter who asked if we had reservations. We got shown to a table right in the middle of the dining area, overlooking the entire restaurant with the other side of the dining area in full view, with a lovely centrepiece vase of flowers at the entrance.



Our waiter came very quickly to ask if we would like regular water or sparkling water. We also received our menus. Not long after that, someone brought us a basket of sliced baguettes and a dish of olive oil with balsamic vinegar.



The bread was not piping hot from the oven, but it was soft and easy to tear apart for dipping. The olive oil was fresh and light, perfectly accentuating the tangy balsamic vinegar. The balsamic vinegar was not too overpowering and I really enjoyed it, for a non-vinegar fan like me.



Our waiter took our orders and asked if we would like any wine. J.S. asked for a glass of red wine that was light. The wine came and J.S. liked it. I asked the waiter what was the name, and he told us it was Valle Reale, even offering to bring the bottle over to show us. He did that and explained a little about it, but I did not remember much, it might have been Vigne Nuove. But we really appreciated him bringing over the bottle.



While we munched on the bread on small plates, a waiter brought us each a larger plate for the appetizer later. We dropped bread crumbs on the larger plate without realizing it, and 10 minutes later, the same waiter came by and took away those (clean) plates and replaced them with even cleaner plates. We felt utterly embarrassed with ourselves, at the same time very amazed with their immaculate service.

The waiting time was a little longer than expected; it took about 15 minutes before the appetizer came. We decided to try the seared albacore tuna appetizer. It was plated really nicely with four pieces of tuna, seared on the outside and raw on the inside, served on top of sliced avocado, topped with diced mango and served with a small salad on the side.

[caption id="attachment_306" align="alignnone" width="512" caption="Pink peppercorn and rock salt crusted albacore tuna, finished with a mango salsa, fresh avocado and lime"][/caption]

I had seen chefs on TV sear tuna on the outside and keeping it pink on the inside, but this was my first time tasting it. It was very unique, a salty crust on the outside and a cool, smooth finish on the inside. The peppercorn was extremely fresh, and the buttery avocado really complemented the velvety feel of the tuna nicely. Over all, it was a dish well done.

They took away our plates and cutlery, replacing with more clean ones. It was about another 10-minute wait before the main course came. Besides the Groupon entree of pasta, we also ordered a separate pizza. They were served at the same time, on gigantic platters.

[caption id="attachment_307" align="alignnone" width="512" caption="Fettuccine with wild mushrooms in a porcini cream, finished with shaved parmigiano reggiano and truffle essence"][/caption]

This was the entree we chose with the Groupon menu, fettucine tartufate. Large, juicy chunks of wild mushrooms in fresh fettucine pasta, topped with shaved parmigiano reggiano. Our waiter also offered us more cheese right after he served us, and we gladly accepted. He sprinkled more grated parmesan cheese elegantly around the entire dish.

My favourite part of this dish was the mushrooms. There was a nice bite to them, very meaty and almost makes up for the lack of meat. The sauce was incredibly creamy and if I may say so, a little too greasy. I felt like it was excellent buttery cream sauce ruined by a gigantic splash of olive oil. The pasta was freshly made but it was not cooked very well. It was a little too al dente, too undercooked. I found myself chewing it for a long time before I could swallow it. The parmigiano reggiano was lovely, complementing the creaminess of the entire dish. It was pretty heavy and filling, and the portion size was fairly decent.

[caption id="attachment_308" align="alignnone" width="512" caption="Italiano thin crust pizza -- Parma prosciutto, local arugula and shaved parmigiano reggiano"][/caption]

We also picked a pizza to go with our meal so that we were not entirely sharing the entire Groupon meal. This seemed like the best choice out of the four available varieties they had. The tomato sauce was not too sour, went nicely with the salty proscuitto. The parmigiano reggiano was generously shaved over and melted beautifully. The baby arugula provided a nice sharp kick with the hint of bitterness, rounding out all the flavours of the pizza. The crust was perfectly cooked, crispy yet not too tough. It was a nice combination of ingredients very well thought out.

Our waiter did not come by with more clean plates after the appetizer because he didn't assume we were sharing the entrees. For five minutes, we were eating from our tiny bread plates until he finally noticed we were sharing and he offered us bigger plates, and also tongs to serve the pasta. The pasta was really big and by the time we finished it, we could not finish the pizza if we wanted to save room for dessert. So we got the pizza to go and the waiter was trying to inject some humour while asking if we wanted to take the pizza away. Then he returned with a really big paper bag, enclosing a really big tin foil box for just three tiny slices of pizza. I felt slightly wasteful for that.

And finally, it's time for dessert! The waiter brought us two spoons this time, even trying to joke if I needed it because I said I was so full from the pasta!

[caption id="attachment_309" align="alignnone" width="512" caption="Semi-frozen chocolate and strawberry mousse"][/caption]

Chocolate and strawberry semifreddo! The sauce at the bottom was vanilla custard and strawberry sauce, with a lovely dome of semi-frozen mousse, topped with an orange cherry sort of thing. That orange cherry tasted really odd, a little too strong for me. I still have no idea what it is called.

We dug into the strawberry mousse and it tasted like really good sorbetto (ice cream). Really fresh strawberry taste and the semi-frozen state was a very interesting texture! The bottom chocolate layer was ABSOLUTELY heavenly! Just the perfect level of dark chocolate that I love. If I didn't know better, I would think it was just really really good gelato (ice cream)!

Every part of the meal was perfect, especially the exceptional level of customer service that I wish more places had. The food was up to standard, truly Italian feel. The restaurant had a warm ambience to it, playing Josh Groban and bossa nova, very casual and easygoing for a date (albeit too loud at times). The waiters fill your water glass every time they notice, and they answered our questions with their best efforts.

I was asking what percentage of dark chocolate did they use for the mousse, and the waiter did not know but he said he would find out for me. He did and said the chef uses pure dark chocolate but added some milk, sugar and eggs to it. That was a really good mousse, I'll say.

Next time, we are trying their $10 pasta nights on Monday/Tuesday!

One of the best restaurants I've been to in Vancouver, wouldn't mind going again just for the great service! We left them a generous tip, leaving happy and full. Q4 is a nice place for a casual or formal date, give it a try!

Q4 Ristorante is located at 2611 West 4th Ave, Vancouver, B.C. (also Q4 al Centro in downtown Vancouver).

♥ Nikki

Ji Sushi on West Broadway & Cambie St

I just realized I am about two months behind in my posts... I have two months of yummy food to share with everyone but no, it's not happening yet because it has been so busy! I was studying hard for my exam which was in June, and then proceeded to plan for our two-week vacation in Singapore and Malaysia. In July, I took two weeks off work for the actual vacation part and it's been pretty chaotic since I got back.. So much to do, and still got to keep on top of my books!

*Posts are slowly being updated and backdated to appropriate dates.*

I'll try to do as best as I can, but I can't say for sure when I can clear my backlog.. Here's a quick post for you guys...

Last week, before J.S. got his wisdom teeth out, we decided to have a celebratory meal before his gums take a week to recover. We opted for Ji Sushi, a newly opened sushi restaurant on Cambie and Broadway.

We had seen it with a special banner for its opening, advertising $10.95 all-you-can-eat sushi. By the time we went there last week, the banner was gone and all-you-can-eat sushi is now $13.95. We went in anyway and had to wait as a manager-looking man took his time to show us to our table.

It was a fairly small restaurant, and we got a booth seat toward the inside of the restaurant. We told the waiter we wanted all-you-can-eat and he gave us two menus. A quick look at the menu told us something was not right -- the price said $18.95. We quickly flagged him down and verified with him.

It turned out that there were two variations of all-you-can-eat. The more expensive option was with sashimi and the other one was just the rest of the regular menu items. We opted for the non-sashimi one since we are not that big of sashimi fans.



We were given a slip of paper with the menu items on it, but no actual menu to look at what the items look like. Never mind that; we are pretty familiar with most of the things on these AYCE menus.



We got some appetizers and sushi to start, and had to wave for five minutes before our order slip was whisked away by an unfriendly waiter. Meanwhile, we heard other waiters explain at the other tables about the two AYCE menus available, much to my disappointment that we did not get any of that.

Our food took almost 20 minutes to come as we see the waitress haphazardly placing dishes on the other tables. We concluded that they filled each order slip as they come in, and not having a certain person prepare a certain group of dishes etc. (ie. specialization).

Don't you think that's an inefficient way to fill orders? I mean, how much work and effort does it take to serve a bowl of miso soup? We ordered one but it never came. And even dishing out a portion of salad would take mere seconds, but it all came at the same time as the other dishes that took some time to make or cook. But yet the orders were not perfect, as we handed in two more order slips and they missed a dish here and there every now and then.



The food was alright for such a low-cost all-you-can eat. The sushi was good if you are looking for quantity and not quality. I was surprised by their generosity with the salmon in the first hand cone we ordered, but got disappointed when I ordered a second one. Inconsistency indeed.



We also ordered some grilled items like pork and saba fish. I was in utter disbelief that the grilled fish was not deboned! I had a lot of trouble eating it and J.S. ate most of it...

Over all, it was a surprising experience. The food was decent, but the service could be better. It is a convenient location and the price is reasonable. Lack of pictures because we ordered too many different small dishes and it was difficult to snap every single dish AND remember what it was :P

*As of January, 2012, we have been there about two more times and we learned our lesson and dared not order anymore fish lest there were bones in them. We found the sushi to be worth it if we ate a lot.*

Ji Sushi is located at 457 West Broadway, Vancouver, B.C.

♥ Nikki