Yam, Zucchini and Chickpea Salad

After many meals of homemade Chinese food this week, I was determined to make something Western style for a change. I had zucchini, yams and tomatoes in the kitchen, so I went on Google and typed in "yam, zucchini." Don't ask why I didn't type in tomatoes.

There were quite a few results for "Yam Zucchini and Chickpea Salad." That was interesting! I clicked into it and after skimming over a few pages, I thought, "Hey, I can actually make this!"

The only thing I didn't have on hand was lemon, so I called J.S. (who was on the way home) to get me a lemon. He came home with a huge lemon from Safeway which was an atrocious 99 cents! He told me, "The display sign said 69 cents!" Oh well, to make things even worse,  when I cut the lemon in half, I was dismayed to see that the skin was about 1 cm thick!

Note to self: Stock up with lemons next time.

Moving on, time to show you how I made the salad!



Ingredients you will need:

• 2 zucchini


• 2 yams


• 1 can of chickpeas


• 1/2 onion


• 4 cloves garlic


• Juice from 1/2 a lemon


• 1 teaspoon sesame oil


• Salt and pepper to taste


• Olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F.


2. Dice the yams and zucchini into half-inch cubes.


3. Line baking pans with parchment paper and distribute the yam cubes in an even layer in two pans. Spray some cooking oil and season generously with salt and pepper.


4. Bake the yam cubes for about 30 minutes until they are just starting to brown.


5. In the same pans, without taking out the yams, throw in the zucchini cubes into the pans and stir them around to mix well.


6. Return the pans to the oven to bake for another 15 minutes, turning up the temperature to 450°F.


7. While the yams and zucchini are baking, drain and rinse the chickpeas.


8. Chop garlic finely and dice the onion into small pieces.


9. Saute the garlic and onion until golden brown in some olive oil, and throw in the chickpeas and stir them around for about five minutes.


10. To make the dressing, in a small bowl, mix two tablespoons of olive oil, one teaspoon of sesame oil and the juice of half a lemon. Season with salt and pepper to taste.


11. Combine the baked zucchini and yam cubes, the warm chickpeas, and the dressing in a large bowl and toss lightly.

Here are some pictures of the process... Not that many because I didn't expect this to be a big cooking project. 

And that is done! It tasted delicious and light! Even J.S., who was skeptical about it at first, enjoyed it! It also makes a good side dish for rice or porridge. Some like it for lunch the next day, but I found that the zucchini got soggy and didn't taste as fresh as the day I made it.



The final product!

And the tomatoes? I thought of adding them to the salad but I didn't want to overdo it and ruin everything. Maybe I will try to make some couscous/tomato salad next! It will be nice and cool for summer picnics on a hot day!

♥ Nikki

Dae Bak Bon Ga on West 4th Ave

For a nice relaxing Saturday lunch, Dianne and I decided to go for Korean food because 1) it is always good and 2) she hasn't had any since she came back from her trip. We decided on Dae Bak Bon Ga as it was in the neighbourhood and convenient for both of us that day.



We went in around noon to an empty restaurant. It was much larger than I expected. Even though it was a weekend, I suppose the rain kept people indoors, or all of them are having Western-style eggs/bacon brunch (we saw a popular brunch place with a huge lineup nearby).



We were shown to a table in the middle of the restaurant, and I sat facing the entrance, which had an interesting shelf display of assorted bottles. You can see that almost every table has some sort of exhaust pipe/fan above it; this is for when you're having their table BBQ. I tried it once at the Robson location and it was a pretty interesting experience and quite worth it!



After looking at the menu and lunch specials, we decided to share a box and a lunch combo. As we were probably the first customers, they took a little while to start up in the kitchen. But since we were the only ones in the entire restaurant, it was nice and quiet for us to have a chat while waiting.



For the lunch combo, it was a huge portion of rice with spicy pork, as well as side dishes of salad and braised potatoes.



The spicy pork was spicy to a level I could handle, and it was very tasty with large pieces of green onions, slices of onions and carrot strips! The rice was fresh and perfectly cooked. The braised potato was sweet and tender, unlike some other ones I've tried elsewhere. This place is really good for their side dishes! And the salad? It's just so unique; no other places serve anything like this. It's like a coleslaw with shredded cabbage, and the dressing is this unique blend of mayonnaise, kiwi and black sesame seeds. It's sweet and tangy, goes great with a savoury dish such as the spicy pork.



The only thing that could be improved was the amount of oil they put in. I think this was just a little too greasy for my liking; my lips were coated with oil after every bite. I'm not exaggerating -- just look at the little puddles of oil left behind on the plate when we had finished the rice (which also soaked up a little of the excess oil).

Next up was our box combo! I was particularly excited because I had seen pictures and there was such so much more variety than usual box combos I've had.



I shall proceed to describe every item in this box (except maybe the orange slices!), so hold your horses!



This steaming hot bowl of noodles is so good! The noodles resembled and may even actually be angel hair pasta, but coated with sesame oil and soy sauce instead.

The toppings include green onions, fresh mushrooms, carrot strips, onion slices and sesame seeds. Everything went well together, and instead of the usual glass noodles, the pasta made it all the more richer and decadent.

Again, I think they overdid the sesame oil on the whole dish as it was too greasy for me. Other than that, this was perfect noodles with a kick of fresh black pepper.



This is simple rice topped with sesame seed for the main entree. Don't underestimate this rice! It is so perfect that each grain is chewy and not dry like rice that has been sitting for too long. Great rice, as simple as it sounds, is not available everywhere! Some places cook the worst rice -- too moist like cotton wood, too dry like wood shavings, clumpy and bland. Korean rice -- WIN!



For the entree, we chose chicken cutlet! Sitting primly on top of the same coleslaw salad as mentioned previously, the chicken cutlet was fresh and crispy! The meat was not too dry and the outside crust has such a nice crunch yet does not overpower the taste of the meat. The special dressing drizzled on top also gives it a nice punch to the cutlet. It was amazing with rice!



Lastly, there were two deep-fried gyozas and two deep-fried shrimps. It was not tempura shrimps but a nice bread-crumb coating which was also perfectly fried. The gyoza would have tasted better if it was pan-fried, I think. There was also a dipping sauce for the gyozas.



This sums up just about all the items of the box. It also came with the same braised potatoes and orange slices as the lunch combo. One odd thing: Dianne noticed there was no kimchi served with either lunch combo. Don't you agree that's a little peculiar given this is such a good Korean food restaurant? Must. Have. Kimchi!



There was so much food in these two items that both of us were stuffed and could not finish the food! So we got it to go and I took it home for dinner the next day. Yum!



This is a nice place to go to whether you are in a small or large group. It would be fun to have a table BBQ with a group of friends or even just ordering a few dishes to share! I'm not sure how much busier it will be in the evenings, but they do have pretty good deals for lunch, so I wouldn't mind going there for lunch again! It's the place to go if you're looking for quality Korean food; much better than all those food-court places.

Dae Bak Bon Ga is located at 1947 W 4th Ave., Vancouver, B.C. (there is also a branch at 1323 Robson St., Vancouver, B.C.).

♥ Nikki

Sushi Showdown @ Alma St & 4th Ave

I used to live on Alma Street and 4th Avenue, and during that couple of months, I would walk by Ikebana Sushi every day. I have visited it a few times and always got the sushi special combo. I've never taken pictures of the exterior but it's a small corner restaurant and it does not look very impressive on first sight.

Just round the corner along 4th Avenue, there was an empty store which was leased during the time I was living in the area. Months of renovations went by and soon, posters appeared on the windows stating that a new sushi restaurant was opening.

Finally, around May, Irori Sushi opened its doors. It was glamourously decorated with modern, dark-coloured furniture, a floor-to-ceiling bamboo display and beautifully crafted light fixtures.





There were not many customers as it was still early. We were ushered to a table by the window. This is the leather-covered menu.



When I opened it, I was quite taken aback by the prices. Definitely not what I would expect in a small sushi restaurant in this neighbourhood. I was not pleased and want to leave right away, but J.S. convinced me to stay and try something. We settled on a sushi combo with California roll and assorted nigiri to share.

The miso soup that came with it was too regular, I even suspected they used a microwave to reheat it, since I heard some microwave noises.



When asked what we would like to drink, I asked for water and J.S. asked for tea. This is what we got each. Great service indeed (no sarcasm here!).



Here's our full table before our food even got here. She even got us plates for sharing the combo. I'm quite amused.



The food took longer to get here than I expected, and when it came, I was appalled.



This was it! Four pieces of nigiri and eight pieces of California roll. I had expected portion sizes to be bigger but I guess this place is not where one should expect quantity. Quantity aside, we ventured to taste how much quality there was.



The nigiri were not impressive; the tuna was tasteless and the salmon was nothing like what I usually have. I've had rich, creamy fatty salmon that melts in my mouth; this salmon appeared to be smoked but had neither flavour nor texture. However, the shrimp was juicy.



The California rolls were not much better, the imitation crab meat was salty and the seaweed was tough. I could not wait to get out of here.

This terrible combo cost us $8.95 plus taxes and tips!

With our bellies half full, we set off next door to Ikebana Sushi for more sushi!

We got the Special Combo A to share and we got the nice waitress. She served us hot tea and the food came in a long while (because many people were getting takeout).



Look at this! Six pieces of fresh tuna roll, eight pieces of California roll and eight pieces of yam tempura roll! I'm quite sure this is enough food to feed a small army.

One thing I like about Ikebana's sushi is that they are very generous with the fillings. The filling takes up 3/4 of the sushi and rice makes up the other 1/4.

The tuna was definitely a lot fresher and didn't disintegrate once it entered my mouth. The yam tempura was fresh from the fryer and still slightly warm, which was an interesting mix of hot and cold flavours.

There is also a generous portion of pickled ginger and wasabi if you are a fan of them! Last time, I got this combo and had half of it to go. They even gave me a small container of the ginger and wasabi to go! That's excellent service, but it really depends on the waitress on shift that day.

To top all of this off, guess how much was this platter of sushi? $5.95 + taxes. If you get it to go, you won't even have to pay tips! That's slightly over $6 for a takeout that can easily feed me for two meals!

If you are ever in the Kitsilano area, try these two sushi restaurants for yourself!

Irori Sushi is located at 3692 W 4th Ave., Vancouver, B.C.
Ikebana Sushi is located at 2090 Alma St. Vancouver, B.C.

♥ Nikki

Eat! Vancouver @ BC Place

This year, we visited the Eat! Vancouver, the annual food and cooking festival that takes place over a weekend. Last year, we went to the festival and got tons of freebies and samples!

We decided to go again this year, but they didn't give as many freebies as before! But we still got to sample lots of yummy and interesting food, many of which are so-called "health foods." We ate so many samples over the afternoon and evening we didn't really have to eat lunch or dinner, but we did get some food with paid tickets just to try it out!

I won't bore you with words, but I will leave you with pictures of all the different stalls and booths we visited!

[slideshow]

We also saw celebrity chefs Rob Feenie and David Rocco perform some cooking demonstrations, and even our favourite radio station JRFM 93.7, which gave us a Cobs Bread gift card! We will finally get to try some Cobs Bread -- there is one right across from our place!



Also got a little stuffed panda from a tourism booth.. The lip balm from the radio station makes a nice baseball bat for the little panda!

♥ Nikki

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