#fancy eats

PFFT!! Looks like Detox Morty was about to destroy another phone!

We are getting married! We have decided to have the reception at Shaughnessy Restaurant due to its close proximity to our wedding ceremony within Van Dusen Garden.  So why not try it out on our own to ensure the food is good especially since C has never been into the restaurant. We've been close to the restaurant before, having had high tea at Truffles Fine Tea by the entrance of Van Dusen Garden and having once attended the Festival of Lights. I don't think either of us has actually entered the botanical garden though! The restaurant is dim - it's got that nice cozy ambience.  The furniture is a little dated but still comfortable and serves its purpose.  It has lots of glass windows and in the day time, it has a beautiful view of the garden. That's one of the reasons I chose this restaurant! (C: I feel like it's a common thing for 'higher-end' restaurants to all build mood through dim lighting. Although I couldn't really see out, I agree that the view during the day would be fantastic!) [caption id="attachment_4500" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Nice and spacious ambient[/caption] There isn't a lot of selection on the menu but I feel that it is a well designed one. I rather have a few things the restaurant does well instead of a vast selection of mediocre food. [caption id="attachment_4499" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Menu[/caption] After we have ordered, warmed bread and cold, solid butter arrived.  What really irks me is that restaurant serves cold, solid butter that's impossible to spread unless the bread is steaming hot.  (C: I love hot bread. I love butter that's soft too but too bad it isn't). I am sure we all have that experience of cold bread and cold butter.  That's just my little rant.  The bread was warmed so it wasn't that impossible to spread the butter but it did take a little more effort and mess to accomplish a simple task. [caption id="attachment_4501" align="aligncenter" width="717"] Warm bread[/caption] I wasn't terribly hungry so I decided to get an appetizer.  I was contemplating between the Mac and Cheese or Steamed West Coast Mussels. I always let C do the ordering so last min, he ordered both for me thinking I would not have enough to eat! (C: Can't say I don't feed her well).  The server kindly asked if we want to do the Mac and cheese first then have both the entrees (I was like huh?).  I later found out why.  But let's talk about this Mac and Cheese ($9) first. This dish is made with aged cheddar and smoked bacon bits.  Don't let the picture fool you, it is a HUGE appetizer!  It is as big as that bread basket.  The macaroni is al dente and is super delicious mixed with that sharp, aged cheddar.  When I got a bit of bacon, it is so crispy and tasty but too bad the bacon bits are sparse.  After sharing this cheesy and heavy dish, C and I were both pretty full at that point. (C: Yep, made the mistake of assuming the Mac and Cheese was going to be just a small bowl. In most restaurants, this would probably be an entree size. Aged cheddar and plenty of bacon makes this a clear winner. But then again, what kind of restaurant screws up Mac and Cheese?).  [caption id="attachment_4502" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Mac and Cheese[/caption] Shortly after our Mac and Cheese, our "entrees" arrived.  I ordered the Steamed West Coast Mussels ($18) with pomme frits ($5).  The portion is huge! (C: I thought the price was just because it was Shaughnessy, but it seems that the price reflects the size too... another appetizer that is really large!). It is equivalent size of what I would order as an entree at Salade de Fruits!  The steamed mussels are made with sautee leek, lemongrass and garlic cream.  Very delicious!  All the mussles were big and plump.  The pomme frits on the other hand is a total flop.  They are not crispy, just oily.  It is exactly how it would taste biting into a baked potato.  Dipping the fries into the delicious garlic cream could not revive the otherwise tasteless fries.  It is not worth the $5 at all.  Don't get the fries! (C: Plenty of steamed mussels and plenty of sauce. Mussels were perfect! The sauce was really good, albeit a tad on the rich side. As Q mentioned, the fries sucked - I wish we had more bread to soak up the sauce instead). [caption id="attachment_4504" align="aligncenter" width="717"] Steamed West Coast Mussels[/caption] I was too busy working on my own dish.  I have no recollection of how this steelhead taste at all.  I'll let C introduce this one! C: By the time I started digging into this one, I was already 2/3 of the way stuffed. The Organic Steelhead and Seared Scallops were served with deliciously roasted cauliflower (I love roasted cauliflower. If you've never had it, check out Nuba and Guu), a huge portion of tomato and pinenut quinoa, and lemon and basil buerre blanc sauce.  I'm sad to say that I was not able to finish all the quinoa. Mixed with the buerre blanc sauce and the essence of steelhead, the quinoa was a fantastic side. The steelhead itself was tender, well seasoned and tasted quite fresh. In my opinion, the scallops were the star of the show - cooked perfectly with a delicious sear, well seasoned, and that buerre blanc sauce just makes it sing.   [caption id="attachment_4503" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Organic Steelhead and Seared Scallops ($28)[/caption] We went in on a Friday night.  The restaurant was not filled nor was it busy at all.  The patrons inside were either seniors or young families.  The food is good.  I heard the wine selection is great from our wine-sommelier friend.  Service is friendly and laid back.  I think with a little revamping of the dated furniture and interior, this is a good place to come to dine and attract more of the younger crowd.  Oh, parking is also free which is a bonus! We look forward to having our wedding here esp with all the decoration and rearrangement of furniture!  

It's rare for Q and I to go out eating at higher end restaurants, as we are often really casual and prefer to look for quick, cheap, and delicious eats. Gotham Steakhouse is my most recent fine dining experience, and it was pretty eye-opening. A good friend of mine raved about Five Sails a while back, and so I decided to take Q here for our 5th anniversary (Q:we've came a long way)! Five Sails is located in the Pan Pacific Hotel by the Coal Harbour area (Q: meaning expensive and hard to find parking!). It doesn't look very large from the outside, but there's quite a bit of seating space. They also have a private dining room for events. [caption id="attachment_4271" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Inside Five Sails - image from their website.[/caption] Beyond great food, a major selling point for Five Sails is their magnificent view of the water and mountains. Q and I had our reservations around 5:30 for a slightly earlier dinner - it worked great to see the sun set, but if you can I would recommend a later dinner. The night view is, in my opinion, even more beautiful!  (Q: the view is spectacular regardless the time of the day/night, but time is obviously more romantic!) Being a bit of a special night, Q and I ordered a glass of champagne to celebrate! [caption id="attachment_4261" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Champagne[/caption] Unfortunately, neither of us took a photo of the wine menu so we don't really remember which champagne this was - I know that it was delicious (Q: it is worth the $20/glass delicious)! After we ordered, our fantastic server brought out an appetizer - spiced squash soup and sliced salmon. Squash soup is solid  (Q: except mine didn't come in a cup with handle so it was a bit hard to drink when the cup is hot!), but the first bite into the sliced salmon was really great. Really fresh, and the added texture of the fried taro slices was delicious  (Q: made me anticipate what's more to come when these 2 things are so tasty!). [caption id="attachment_4262" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Complimentary appetizer - squash soup and tuna.[/caption] Seafood is what Five Sails is said to excel at, so I focused on seafood dishes. I wanted to try more than a main, so Q let me pick an appetizer ;). The Ahi Tuna Tartar caught my eye.  (Q: that caught my eye to!  Good thing he chose it ;)) [caption id="attachment_4263" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Ahi Tuna Tartar ($18)[/caption] It is a beautiful tower of crispy wonton, avocado, ginger infused sesame oil dressing, and, of course, tuna tartar. It looks really simple, but man this tuna tartar was made using fresh ingredients. The ginger sesame oil dressing was quite light, which was prefect to accompany the wonton crisps and tuna.  (Q: the mix of avocado made the dish more creamy with the tuna!  The crunch from the wonton wrapper is very welcomed given everything is rich and creamy!) For our mains, I ordered the Crispy Sea Bass with Citrus and Q ordered the Soy Glazed Marinated Sable Fish. [caption id="attachment_4264" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Crispy Sea Bass with Citrus ($40)[/caption] Five Sails' Sea Bass dish included crispy basil, taro root & leeks, citrus butter sauce and seasonal vegetables. I don't frequently order sea food when I eat out, so take this when a grain of salt when I say that this is the best sea bass I've ever had.  (Q: I think Le Crocodile does it better.)  The texture is perfect - crispy top and bottom and a tenderness in the meat that hits the sweet spot of having a good bite to it without being rubbery. Carrots and leeks are solid, but it's the citrus butter sauce that ties it all together. If you're a fan of sea bass, try this!  (Q: not much comment from me as I was busy enjoying my own dish and didn't find his sea bass that amazing!) [caption id="attachment_4265" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Soy Glazed Marinated Sable Fish ($38)[/caption]   While the sea bass was good, I found that the Soy Glazed Sable Fish was even better! On the surface, it looks really simple - sable fish with truffle sauce & sautéed shimeji mushrooms, and some bak choi, but the sable fish was outstanding! Perfect texture and flavour. Best seafood dish I've had so far. I highly recommend ordering the sable fish if you're planning on checking out Five Sails.  (Q: the truffle sauce mixed with the earthy taste of mushroom is out of the world.  It is simple but complement the soy glazed sable fish.   I did not find this dish to be salty at all!!  All that flavor subtlety from each single ingredients harmonize so well as a whole! I can't stop singing its praise!) [caption id="attachment_4267" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Luxe Lemon Mille-feuilles ($12)[/caption] A meal for us isn't totally complete without dessert. We ordered the Luxe Lemon Mille-feuilles, which consisted delicate layers of crisp phyllo pastry, chilled lemon cream & lemon parfait, fresh berry purée, and topped with pearls of orange “caviar”. If you like lemon tarts, you'll like this dessert! Great tangy lemon flavour, and the phyllo pastry is fantastic.  (Q: strong lemon taste cleared the palate quite well!  It is a refreshing dish to end a heavy meal!) Overall, Five Sails is a great place to try if you want something higher end. Everything we had was delicious, and the service was also amazing!       [gmap width="400" address="five sails"]

One of the biggest challenges at my work place is finding a time where our entire department can make it out for something as simple as dinner. We couldn't make it happen in Q2, so we made sure to plan months in advance for Q3. Even that was a challenge, as one of our team members still didn't make it! Someone had suggested Gotham Steakhouse, and I, having never had a true restaurant steak (i.e. not from a place like Cactus Club), was very excited! I've walked by Gotham Steak House plenty of times while working and studying in downtown. It always looked small to me, but it's pretty huge inside. [caption id="attachment_4284" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Inside Gotham[/caption] There's also a nice patio, but it is probably pretty noisy considering how close to the street it is. Gotham is also known for their cocktails, so we each ordered a couple. [caption id="attachment_4285" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Solid cocktails[/caption] I don't quite remember which cocktail this was, but it was alright. Their Old Fashioned, on the other hand, was very solid. I recommend that one if you're into stronger drinks. [caption id="attachment_4286" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Fantastic Cheesebread[/caption] Our meal started off with some awesome cheesebread. We also ordered a number of appetizers to share (no photos though, sitting at a table of non-foodies!). We had the Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail ($18.95), Sauteed Garlic Shrimp ($18.95), Fried Calimari ($15.95), Steak Tartare ($19.95), and Black and Blue Ahi Tuna ($17.95). All the appetizers were good, but the Ahi Tuna and Shrimp Cocktail stood out as the best for me. Steak Tartare was very similar to a Japanese salmon tartare. [caption id="attachment_4287" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Porterhouse Steak $(69.95)[/caption] Onwards, to the steaks! Plenty of choices so I just went with a Porterhouse Steak. We were nutty enough to order sides too. We left the choice up to our server (who was great, but gave off a slight presumptuous attitude). He presented us with Baked Idaho, Mashed ($7.95), Creamed Corn ($9.95), Creamed Spinach ($10.95), Sauteed Baby Beets ($8.95), and Spiced Sauteed Mushrooms ($10.95). [caption id="attachment_4288" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Steak loaded up with all our sides[/caption] The steak was amazing. I've never had such a delicious steak and I'd recommend trying it at least once if you've never splurged on a pricey piece of meat. The sides were also really good, considering how plain they all sound. The creamed spinach and baby beets were top notch! Highly recommend those two sides. Overall, Gotham Steakhouse is a fantastic venue. The food is expensive, but almost justifiably so. Service, in my opinion, was a bit meh though. The simplest items seem to taste the best. Gotham also has an amazing wine list. If you're looking to impress someone, bring them here.     [gmap width="400" address="gotham steak"]

[caption id="attachment_2225" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Each piece was different and delicious.[/caption] BOY OH BOY!  Each piece is so beautifully paired and presented!  What a joy and privilege to taste something like this.  We brought up the movie, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, on how the chef's pursue of sushi perfection.  How would a 3-star Michelin restaurant sushi taste like? ANYWAYS... I love all the sushi except the mackerel...I am just not a fan of that fish!  All of the fish/seafood were so fresh and sweet.  I am giving it a very high praise.  I think this dish is like a constant firework of flavour happening in my mouth.  It is quite a pricey dish but given the top notch and freshness of the ingredients and such prefect pairing/execution, it is worth the price tag. (C: I agree, worth the price! Fantastic dish and presentation).   [caption id="attachment_2214" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Aburi Saba Oshi Sushi ($15)[/caption] Our friends also ordered the Saba...and they enjoyed it. [caption id="attachment_2216" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Sable Fish ($29)[/caption] A couple ordered the sable fish which had sake dashi braised, mussels, clams, shrimp, scallop, yuzu-kosho, kaiso-seaweed, shiso-leaf, preserved meyer lemon, heirloom cherry tomatoes, fennel, kale, baby potatoes.  I sat too far away to hear what they had to say about this dish so no comment here. (C: I asked my friend about the sable fish a few days later - unfortunately they didn't have praise for it like the sushi rolls. A little too plain and simple). [caption id="attachment_2226" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Green Tea Opera ($11)[/caption] If I am at a good restaurant, I have to sample the dessert!  It makes the meal complete! Took a while for me to narrow to the Green Tea Opera.  It is green tea génoise infused with espresso and frangelico liqueur, dark chocolate ganache, azuki bean purée, green tea ice cream. It brings a smile to my face thinking about this dish.  I love the pairing of this dessert.  The passion fruit and raspberry fruit puree sauce went so well with the green tea cake and the ice cream.  The génoise has such great balance of espresso, chocolate and matcha.   I don't remember tasting azuki bean puree though.  I know matcha usually pairs with azuki beans but I don't think the azuki beans was being missed at all in this dessert. (C: Yummy little dessert here! The matcha was surprisingly bitter, which means they were using some nice matcha powder. My favourite part of it was the green tea génoise! It's like a super epic green tea chocolate napoleon. The fruit purees were also really good!) I haven't enjoyed and felt satisfied at the same time in an up-scale restaurant for a while.  For the appetizer, 2 rolls, a sushi platter and a dessert, C paid $109 including the tax and 18% gratitude.  It is quite a pricey meal overall.  I think it would be worthwhile to take a date or a small family there for special occasion.  The food and service are great and not pretentious.  I am already planning on taking my mom there when there is a special celebration! (C: At first I was a bit apprehensive because of the price, but I can say with confidence that Miku is worth it. It certainly reminds me of the meticulous detail that restaurants in Japan put into their food. If you're looking for something special for the holidays, Miku is also putting out a holiday group menu. Check out all the Christmas dinner special menus here!)

{Anjin | Costa Mesa} Overview: Rarely do I go and splurge on dinner but I decided to treat myself tonight. Jeff was my food buddy for this foodventure and he and I both agreed that we have good synergy. The wait was about 45 minutes and Jeff and I had a pre dinner snack at Hashigo. What I ate: Prime short rib, prime outside skirt, marbled rib eye, marbled short rib, beef tataki Sides: Hot stone rice, pickled cucumbers Thoughts: We started off with the beef tataki and were so disappointed. It was bland and we also regretted our side choices. However, the rest of the premium cuts of meat redeemed our rookie mistakes. All the beef was quality and I highly recommend the marbled options. At the end of our meal, I wasn't uncomfortably full. I dropped about $50 (tip included) that night but it was quite worth it.

Technically, this was my first time having tapas with friends. Our waitress had a shirt that said “KALE” on it and I just laughed. There was three of us; we each ordered a plate to share. Tapas ranged from about $9-23 and we tried the albondigas, patatas bravas (pictured above), and enfrijoladas. They ran out of their popular mac ‘n cheese so a waiter gave us some beef empanadas on the house. My favorite tapas were the patatas bravas mostly because fried potatoes and garlic aioli win me over every time. The enfrijoladas were smothered with black beans and had moist chicken inside. I want to come back to try their mac ‘n cheese and steak tapas! 

I finally got to try Oreo pancake balls and gnocchi with three cheese sauce at Grits! Everything amounted to $30ish which was fine because the flavors were so different and tasty! Initially, I was nervous the pancake balls would be too sweet but Chef Cody found a good balance of sweetness and still stayed true to the pancake name. After trying gnocchi for the first time, I decided I wasn’t a fan of these potato meets pasta dumplings but the sauce was “lick your plate” worthy. Grits does brunch the right way.