Dine Out Vancouver - Restaurant 6 - Global Grill and Satay Bar

This is one of my favourite place for lunch. They have a daily Global Express 45 lunch menu that is very reasonable.

Restaurant - Global Grill and Satay Bar
Sitting - Early - 6:00pm
Price $35
Ambiance - Chic, Modern and Comfortable; they provide lap blankets and heat lamps if you want to sit outside
Service - Very friendly
Food we had - Crusty bread with soft centre served with Hummus, Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar, and Herbed Butter

Appy: Duo of Gravlax and BC Dungeness Crab Cake avocado and tomato relish, sweet mustard sauce [Very nicely presented appetizer; bite sized]

Entree: This was in addition to the online menu from the Dine Out site; Surf and Turf - Nice Beef Medallion with herb butter cook to order stacked on top of smooth lump free mashed potatoe and two Giant finger size grilled Prawns [Beautifully plated and the prawns were the largest we had in a long time; the meat was palm size and nicely cooked, everything tasted great]

Dessert - Bittersweet Chocolate Hazelnut Torte; crème chantilly with vanilla bean on Raspberry Coulis [this was surprisingly good since I am not a big fan of bitter chocolate; every bite in the torte has a hazelnut]

Additional Comments - we both ordered the same thing so we didn't try any other items; the food is well prepared and plated and the waiter was very friendly. They were good at informing us that there will be a $2 Hot Water Charge so we weren't surprised at the end when the bill came as we were at Hermitage.

The owners also own Sanafir so the follow up customer service was excellent.

Dine Out Vancouver - Restaurant 5 - Gyu Japanese Teppanaki

The address for this restaurant says Burrard, but the actual entrance is on Alberni Street.

Restaurant - Gyu Japanese Teppanaki Restaurant
Seating - 7:00pm
Price - $25
Ambiance - Nicely separated rooms with flat Teppanaki Grill in front of 6 - 8 people
Service - friendly Teppanaki Chef and efficient wait staff
Food we had -
Appy: Seasonal Greens with Dressing & Lobster Miso Soup [typical fare at most Japanese Restaurant; no lobster in the soup; might have been stewed in Lobster Shells since it smells like lobster]

Entree: Half Live Crab, Shrimp, Squid, Scallop, Filet of Chicken, Thinly Sliced Alberta Ribeye, Assorted Vegetables & Steamed Rice [the chef cooked everything in front of you; he paced it while cooking for others that share the cooktop so that you are not rushed]

Dessert: Green Tea Ice Cream

Additional Comments - the chef makes the meal and ours was quite entertaining. The thinly sliced Alberta Ribeye was cooked to our specification (rare) and wrapped with green onion and toasted garlic chips. The chef also gave us some XO Sauce (spicy hot sauce with heated dried scallop); and introduce us to the various sauce to dip our meat (Ponzu Citrus Sauce, Apple Sesame Sauce, and Tomato Sauce) The value of the meal was very reasonable. The party that was sharing our table and chef opted to choose the regular menu (Dinner Menu A) and it was about 5 dollars more and they had no crab but have some small steak pieces.

Downside - since you are sitting right up to the stove where the chef is cooking, even though the vent was going, you still smell like you have been cooking in an industrial kitchen and you smell oily.

Meet expectation: Yes, good value for food.

Dine Out Vancouver - Restaurant 4 - Westward Ho at UBC Golf Club

We had dinner here on Wednesday and we are still raving about it.

Restaurant - Westward Ho! Bar and Grill at the University Golf Club
Seating - 7:30pm
Price $20 (they had a $15 Menu posted on the Dine Out site but the $20 was just too good to pass up)
Ambiance - Typical Sports Bar, Club House; lots of TV with Sports Chanel on
Service - Friendly wait staff and efficient
Food we had -
Appy: Bowl of various breads in basket [not warmed]

• Dungeness Crab Bisque with a Droplet of Devonshire Cream, chives and Crab Claw [Very Rich and Fresh]
• Sauteed Scallops on a Potato Garfrette and Wilted Greens Drizzled with Basil Red Chili Oil [3 nice size scallops and slightly spicy oil but great start on a cold night]

Entrees:

• Grilled AAA Alberta Beef Tenderloin with Prosciutto Ham and BC Morel Mushroom Sauce; Served with Sauteed Baby Carots and Thyme Roasted Potatoes [Cooked to perfection per order - medium rare; very rich mushroom sauce; might be to salty and strong for some but perfect for me]
• Roasted Rack of Lamb brushed with BBQ Sauce and rolled in Crushed Pecans. Served with garlic green beans and turned potatoes; finished with mint au jus [5 ribs of french cut lamb was served; the meat was cook to perfection and very tender and flavorful; quite a big order]

Dessert:
We both chose the Hazelnut/Chocolate Praline Vanilla Ice Cream with Jim Beam Flavored Creme Fraiche [Nice light finish after such an excellent meal]

Additional Comments -
This was a great value for the price we paid. The ambiance is a sports bar so if you are looking for atmosphere, go to Sanafir. For great food at a great price, this was exceptional. They have extended the $15 and $20 menu to February 17, 2007. We took a look at the regular menu, besides the usual burgers, and pub fare, the dinner menu was quite ambitious and price is not too expensive.

Meet Expectation - Absolutely, we will go back again.

Dine Out Vancouver - Restaurant 3 - Provence Marinaside

We went to this restaurant on a rainy Monday.

Restaurant - Provence Marinaside
Seating - Early - 6pm
Price $25 each
Ambiance - Cozy, Stonework with water feature, great view of the water
Service - efficient but not overly friendly
Food we had - Black Olive Tapenade and Crostini [too salty for my taste]
Appy: One Choice of 20 of their Antipasto

• - Grilled Calimari [tasty and flavorful, not too chewy at all]
• - Grilled Lamb [served in kabobs with roasted peppers]

Entree: We both chose the same thing

• - MAHI MAHI AND PRAWNS DUO roasted roma tomato, basmati rice with sauté of zucchini [very tasty and light; Mahi Mahi was slightly undercook but not dry]
• - DAUBE D'AGNEAU white wine lamb stew, winter vegetables [The table next to us both had the lamb stew and it smelled phenomenal and they said it tasted great especially on a cold rainy night.]

Dessert: Choice from the menu
- Creme Brulee with raspberry [typical in most higher end restaurant; it was a safe choice]
- Double Chocolate Kahlua Cake with Raspberry Coulis [very rich and decadent]

Additional Comments -
It was good value for the price and the place was hopping with lots of big tables.

Downside - The sound volume was loud and echo-y and it was hard to carry a conversation for two people without yelling.

Meet Expectation - Yes, good place to go.

Dine Out Vancouver - Restaurant 2 - Hermitage

What a difference a day makes...

We visited this restaurant on Saturday - one day after Sanafir...

Restaurant - Hermitage
Seating - Early - 5:30pm
Price $35 each
Ambiance - Oak Furniture and dated family style restaurant
Service - average; twice the waiter almost dropped my plate on my lap
Food we had -
Appy:

• Fisherman's Soup with Spicy Rouille Croutons [Red colour broth with no sign of seafood other than that it smells fishy and no taste with small dry french baquette slices with dollaps of mustard]
• Duck Rillettes (Country Pate of Duck with Gherkins) [looks like a small can of tuna with mayo serve with dry white baquette slices with tiny pickles on 2 small piece of butter lettuce]

Entree:

• Fillet of Red Snapper stuffed with Shrimp Mousse, Dill Butter Sauce [bland and the dill butter neither taste buttery nor dill; very runny white sauce]
• Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Honey and Rosemary Caramelized Apples, Madeira Sauce [palatable; sauce was very subtle]

Dessert:

Creme Caramel flavoured with Orange [tasty; typical dessert from most french restaurant]
Souffle Glace Praline with Cappuccino Sauce [tastes like Baci ice cream; very tasty]

Additional Comments - This was supposed to be one of the best?? French restaurants in town?? Its the second time I see a Zaget rated restaurant so misleading. See my review on here for the other; look for the review under sarlye. We were disappointed with the food and service, the decor is nothing special. We thought they were not use to a smaller menu but when we left, we noticed that they listed a 3 course dinner they do regularly for $36; so there is no excuse for what we had.

Have you ever wonder who uses those fancy Bopla Plates; wonder no more. This place does; which does not match with the traditional decor. The charger plate and the appys were served with Bopla and the main and dessert on regular plates.

I was very disappointed that this restaurant charged for hot water ($1.95). Plain hot water in a fancy Bopla cup and saucer. I guess that is how they recover their costs.

The whole dinner lasted 50 minutes, from the moment we set down to when we leave the door, it was not busy and it felt like we went to a drive thru.

If you are looking for good French food, go to Le Crocodile. I have gone there since the early 90's and they were always good. Hermitage, unfortunately is what would turn you off going to Dine Out events in future years.

Dine Out Vancouver - Restaurant 1 - Sanafir

After several year's absence, we decided to book some restaurants for the Dine Out Vancouver Event this Year.

I try to keep to the same format with comments in [] and at the end. Please share your reviews of your experiences.

Restaurant - Sanafir
Seating - Early - 5:30pm
Price $25 each
Ambiance - Chic; Sexy; Cozy with 20ft ceiling; Decadent
Service - Friendly; helpful; really want us to have a good experience
Food we had -

Appy:

• Traditional Toasted Bread Salad -Toasted Nann Bread (3-4 small pieces) Mixed with organic greens and vinagarette. [Typical Salad; nothing too fancy]
• Moroccan Lentil Soup [Very Tasty Soup with fantastic herbs like Cumin and Curry]
• Wine Pairing - Mission Hill Chardonnay [Great, Crisp and perfect with the spices from the soup]

Entree:

• Fish Trio - Salmon Tartar/Sear Big Eye Tuna/Tempura Prawn Sushi Roll
• [Salmon and Tuna, we have had it at other restaurant before, so its comparable. But the Tempura Prawn Sushi Roll was EXCELLENT; this is not your typical Tempura Roll; You have to try it]
• Meat Trio - Beef Oxtail Cappelletti with White Truffle Cream/Crispy Pork Pakora/Chicken Marabella
• [The Beef which is like a giant wonton with very flavorful cream sauce and actual truffle shavings was Exquisite, Chicken was next but its just chicken, the Pork is flavorful - if we were directed to eat the trio from lighter flavors to heavier; maybe we can appreciate the chicken more]
• Wine Pairing - Sandhill Merlot [not to our taste; doesn't go with either well]
  

Dessert:

• Poached Pear with Stewed Fig and Honey Sauce and Mascapone Black Pepper Mousse
• Wine Pairing - Tinhorn Creek Kerner Ice Wine [Excellent Compliment]
• [This was not too sweet at all; with each bite of the dessert follow by a sip of the ice wine, the flavor of the ice wine changes (i.e. the pepper from the Mascapone Mousse was very light but once you sip the ice wine, you can taste the bite from the spice along with the wine.)]

Additional Comments -
For an addition $15 per person; we had the wine pairing with the meal, it was 2 oz (1/2 glass of wine) and 1 oz of Ice Wine. This is perfect if you are not a big drinker and want to try out some wine.

We also ordered the Toasted Nann Bread with Hummus, Roasted Garlic and Olives. This was tasty also.

This is a Tapas type menu but for 3 out of 4 of us, we felt full. The other guy is a big guy so he wanted more to eat.

The richness of the various sauces in the dishes was well done. It reminds us of the Iron Chef menus where they serve several courses and each person try a few bites of each course.

The owner was very attentive and wanted to ensure that all our questions were answered and we had a good dining experience. The next day, we got a call from the restaurant to see if we enjoy the meal. Rarely do you hear from restaurant with a follow up call. Very refreshing.

Check out the upstairs, there are the beds that you can be served on a tray and filmy silk canopy provides privacy .

Downside?

• The utensils were regular size and the dishes are small size; if you have to cut items, very hard to do so. Best to bring a set of smaller knife and fork or your own chopsticks.
• As mentioned above, the server or owner while introducing the dishes we are eating, should suggest which to eat first so that the lighter flavor item doesn't get lost if we ate a heavier sauce item first.

Meet Expectation - Yes, very fun place. Great Food!

Not your typical Vietnamese Food

My friends and I love to eat.. yesterday, we went to a Vietnamese restaurant that I normally would over look if she didn't take me there.

The usual items I ordered were Pho (soup noodles) or Chicken Hot Pot Rice, Vietnamese Spring Rolls and Vietnamese Coffee. Today, we tried something completely different.

The restaurant's name is Thanh Thao; it is located on 1707 Kingsway in Vancouver BC. It is located in a little strip mall by Welwyn and Kingsway beside a car repair shop.

The items we ordered were as follows:
#57 - Bauh Xeo Rau Song
Fried Crepe with Shrimp, Pork, Bean Sprouts and various veggies
This is the thinnest savory crepe I have ever eaten; you have a choice to eat it plain or put it inside a lettuce leaf. Tasty and crunchy and not too oily. You can eat the whole thing as a meal.

#67 - Banh Hoi Nem Nuong Chao Tom Rau Song
Shrimp with Sugar Cane, Grilled Minced Pork Meatballs in skewers, Tiny Vermicelli Patties served with a large platter of lettuce, Thai Basil, Mint, Cucumber, Pickled Radish and Carrots and some other herbs I couldn't name.

So how you eat #67 is take a lettuce leaf, put in the meatball or part of the shrimp meat from the sugar cane skewer, tiny vermicelli, whichever herb you want to try, add pickles if you wish and fold it together and eat it. I sometimes put in the fish sauce provided but it was good with and without.

We finished with Vietnamese Coffee for me and my friend had an Avocado Milkshake. The Avocado milkshake was very smooth and it tasted like whipped avocado lightly sweetened to taste.

This place also serve the traditional Pho and it tastes ok according to my friend but try the above, you will enjoy it.

Learning to use Picasa and Scary Movie under the Sea

This is from the Siam Sea World in Bangkok. They build a tunnel inside the aquarium so that it feels like you are walking with the fishes around you and you don't need any Scuba gear.

This is my favorite as I was looking up from the glass tunnel. Guess what this is! Send me your answers by posting in the comments

Making a Connection and Pursuit of Happiness

No this is not for a dating site but I do have some single friends that I am keeping my eyes open for ;)

During the many personal growth seminars and from chats with various friends; I have come to the conclusion that we ALL Want to be HAPPY!!! Do you actually know someone that do not want that?? It makes me happy that I can help someone; I am not looking for the thank yous but if I can help in any small part even if it does not work out, at least I try.

Today, after lunch, I dropped into the Choices Supermarket with a friend. I stopped at a counter where someone is promoting a product. Initially I stopped because there was no one there and I felt bad for the guy. (I have done what he did at one of my many assignments several life times ago so I know how he feels when people avoid eye contact and walk away.)

I am glad I stopped, it was an interesting product, he was giving out good samples (rice crispy bar and nicely packaged Salba Shots) and it was an interesting story. Check out their site www.sourcesalba.com . Turns out he is one of the owners and the staff he hired quit after he set up all the product promotion so he decided to man the booth himself. Initially, I thought of my friend who is in Adventure Racing that might benefit from the use of the product. As I was asking more questions, turns out that he did not have a West Coast publicist for his product promotion, and it just happens that I work with a publicist. How cool was that? Now a connection is made.

I enjoyed that a lot, matching things up. It doesn't matter if things work out or not, at least I make an effort to connect them. It makes me happy.

I am working on some other things that make me happy like spending time with baby A and let her mom have a rest and breather.. maybe next week when all our schedule gel together.

What makes you happy? It doesn't have to be big things, just small gestures that makes you smile. I still remember my cousin's little son's rendition of 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas'. When he got to '..and a happy new year!' His Happy is HAP-PEEEEEEE, Hap-peeeeee, HAP-PEEEEEEEEE New Year! Every time I think of that when I am low or just want a good thought, it makes me smile and that makes me HAPP-PPEEEE!

After your holidays... declutter continues

If you stayed at a hotel when you have been away on holidays, did you pick up the complimentary soaps and shampoos and bring them home?

I have done so many times and I am sure most of you have also. What have you done with those small neat, cute little bottles that you were going to use when you get home? For me, I have been saving them in a few drawers for my next trip; of course, I never take them on my trips and they are still in the drawers.

I came across an email from my friend's Choir and they asked for donation of small soaps, etc. for the Lookout Shelter. Eureka! I can now finally unload all my collection to a good cause and also declutter my drawers. This was before my Christmas trip to Las Vegas, so when I was there, I asked the maid service (wth a daily $5 tip) to give me some extra sets of shampoos, soaps, etc and I carted them all home.

Go through your medicine cabinet, small drawers in your bathrooms, do you have any samples of soap from the store, small hotel shampoos, lotions, etc. ? If they have been used, just top up the bottle with what you have at home.

Gather them all up and bring them to the shelter, I am sure they will appreciate it.

Here's a list of items they will take. Click on the link below.
http://www.lookoutsociety.bc.ca/Donate-In-Kind.html

Weather and Small Talk

Were you ever in a situation that you are standing in front of a complete stranger and you need to chit chat to 1) keep the line moving? 2) wait till your friend comes back? 3) stuck on a blind date?

Usually I always fall back on the weather, especially with the ever changing ones we have been having for the past few months. I actually receive mocking emails from friends back east. Partly is my fault though, I usually send them sunny picture postcards from our balmy November when they have reported snow storms. Or 'we are still wearing shorts' email, bad for me - I know; but it was fun.

Back to the Small World Theory.. what goes around, comes around. If I hadn't been so callus and mocking, would we still have bad weather? That is usually how I try to incorporate in my small talk of the Weather.

I like talking about the weather, its the most basic knowledge everyone have an experience with and have a knowledge of. And further down the conversation, they will say something like..'back when I was in Alberta, Hong Kong, Bangalore... the weather was ...' That just leads to more topics to chat about.

Next time if you are at a loss of topics, give weather a try.

Impatient and Efficiency

A good friend recently pointed out that I am very efficient in all the things I do. In the next breath, he said that I have to control my impatient nature; otherwise I might overlook something.

Personally, I believe I am a very efficient person with a very detailed obsession. But his point was that when it comes to work, I am great with that. But in life, have I taken the time to appreciate all that I have or just rush through to the next thing.

Reflecting on his statement, it is true. I am very impatient when it comes to people not doing things efficiently or I notice someone might take 3 trips to get something that can be done in one trip. But this is my problem, I get impatient. Not their problem!

Being raised in an environment where Time is Money! then the more time you waste, the more money you lose. Where do you draw the balance in a very competitive world?

Some people sees that if you are slow, then you are lazy. If you are hardworking, then you are fast. Being fast does not mean everything gets done correctly; then you become inefficient since you need to have someone go back and correct all the mistakes.

I need to work on my patience. It finally clicked this morning when I was doing some weight training at the gym. I noticed 2 persons in front of me with their trainer, they were both working on their biceps curls. One was lifting very fast and counted off and continue on the next arm and the other took his time and slowly raised his arms for the curls. The trainer was telling them that there are times that need to go fast and your muscle will just contract but to best train the muscle, you have to go slow and work every nuance in the muscle.

I need to work on my patient muscle - I think in time of stress, it will give me time to think before I incur the 'foot in mouth' disease or other ailments that might be associated with impatience. I realize that when I am impatient, it is very easy for people to take advantage of it and I might make Rash decisions. (Like jumping off a plane on a dare, or enter myself in a beauty contest - luckily both turned out ok)

It took me a long time to recognize this and decide to change, I would appreciate any inputs as to how I can be re-trained to be more patient.

Happy 2007 !

So 2006 had just flown by, did you follow through on the projects you set out to do last year? This is the time of year when most people reflect and set new goals and resolutions.

A few friends of mine get together and set our individual goals every year and usually at the end of the year, we have accomplished most of it. We try to meet every month to give each other support and accountability for the goals we set. We find this way really helps in keeping each of us focus.

What have you decided to do for 2007?

2006 was a BLUR?? and you made it. Maybe for 2007, you can try to write down and set some goals for yourself and do the same for the family. Once things are written down, it magically gets done. Talk is cheap. Action - writing it down and doing it, speaks louder.

In case you think your New Year's Resolution is too vague. Following are some guidelines my friends and I put together and it works for us. Here are some categories to get you started. Each category can be one line or one paragraph, its up to you if you want to be specific. For a business major, I set mine up like a small contract to myself; set it up to the way that suits you.

***********************************************************************************************
For 2007; I (insert Name), will do and improve on the following:

1. Personal Goals - i.e. what you want to work on for yourself, personal growth or any interest you want to explore;
2. Physical Goals - i.e. what kind of exercise I will do per day/week/month to maintain physical health;
3. Financial Goals - i.e.save to purchase a new ??/ Save at least $$/month; use money to purchase rental property?? pay down your debt?
4. Business Goals / School Achievement Goals - i.e. research on business opportunity / job to move to? get at least B in whatever subjects in school;
5. Project Goals - i.e. this is where home improvement, cleanup, maintenance schedules are set;
6. Fun Goals - i.e. research on a place you want to go to - Paris? or Disneyland, etc., Plan for the activity or travel. Make time for FUN per week?!
7. Relationship Goals / Communication Goals - i.e. what you hope to achieve in the coming year, the level of commitment and communication you are willing to commit to the people around you; less screaming and more hugging? talk about solutions and not on the symptoms;
8. Spiritual Goals - i.e. for traditional faiths, i.e. pray more per day - you sending a message from God / read a passage from the bible and reflect on what God is trying to tell me - we are catholics but insert your own here..
   

Sign and Date your goals.

After you have sign and date your goals, you can share it with others (keeps you accountable to your goals) or keep it to yourself. Look at it once in a while to remind you.

On September 1, or whatever date you decide, we use Sep 1 so you still have 3 months to get things done. You will be surprise how much you have accomplished.

Most importantly, DO IT NOW!! don't wait for a nice day, don't wait for better mood, don't wait for anything, the more you wait, the more you procrastinate.

Have a surprising and fantastic 2007 and I look forward to hearing about your adventures.