DINE OUT - CARDERO'S RESTAURANT - COAL HARBOUR VANCOUVER

It's Dine Out Vancouver again!

Remember in my past years, I am not particularly a fan of the Dine Out events, I think the gimmick is valued more than the quality of food. BUT whatever motivates my friends and I to go out and enjoy fine dining...

I'm in.

I was able to visit a Cardero's on the first day of Dine Out. I have been to Cardero's for the regular lunch and dinner menu before - all visits, so I had an idea of what to expect.

AMBIANCE | Unfortunately, the ambiance was disappointing  I have never been to Cardero's on a full-house Friday night, and I probably will never again. Situated close to the center back of the restaurant, I found Cardero's acoustics dreadful. I was literally yelling at the person next to me to be able to converse, I simply could not hear the person at the end of my table. According to the engineer majors within my friends, the low roof combined with solid wood walls cause sound to bounce back and forth, literally amplifying and echoing everything, creating a mayhem.
I also found it very stuffy and warm inside. I had my coat on the back of my chair, and when I got home, my mother instantly said "you smell like frying oil, you better dry clean that coat!" To save costs, my coat is currently being aired out in the garage haha.

Overall, the interior of Cardero's is very similar to Sandbar (Granville Island) - both consisting of wooden themes and a half open kitchen (I suppose thats why I smelled of oil...) The wood and anchor/nautical details certainly suit the seafood cuisine. Above all, I did thoroughly take pleasure in the casual and fun mood of Cardero's, it is the perfect restaurant for having laughs and drinks, all while enjoying fine dining. Plus, I should not complain about anything that was an amazing waterview. 

Food ordered (Party of 6):

Appetizers:

Tomato Bocconcini Salad vine ripened tomatoes, Fior de latte, balsamic reduction and fresh basil

Manhattan Style Clam Chowder finished with dark rum

Wok Squid garlic, chilies and cilantro

Entrees:

Braised Lamb Shank mashed potatoes, market vegetables and red wine demi-glace

Grilled Steelhead Salmon roasted vegetable succotash, brown butter sauce

Dessert:
 Cardero's Chocolate Mousse Cake raspberry coulis, fresh berries 

FOOD | Cardero's again, specializes in seafood. This time however, I wanted to try their kitchen and order some land animals. I ordered the Bocconcini Salad, which was average and small (as with most Dine Out menus). I heard the Chowder was decent, though many said that European white clam chowder would've been preferred. Still I regret not ordering the Wok Squids. The squid portion looked small but in my opinion would've been a better deal over a few slices of tomato and vinegar.

Between Lamb, Salmon and Chicken breast, I ordered the lamb. A word of caution, the lamb is very game. The portion looks big, but the lamb shank had a huge bone in the middle, so in reality, the meat portion is very small. Oh, I really enjoyed the mashed potatos (I suppose you cannot really go wrong with mashed potatos...). I tried a touch of the salmon - it was quite juicy, far better than I had expected. Going with the rule of thumb, choose salmon for a light taste, lamb for the meat hearties. That said, if it is your first time to Cardero's, salmon would be the recommended choice since seafood is their specialty.

I almost never enjoy Dine Out desserts. To me, they are almost always a generic, overly sweet cake of some sort. Cardero's surprised me. The seemingly common chocolate mousse cake was perfectly flavoured - not too sweet and not too heavy. I finished my plate in a jiffy!

1583 Coal Harbour Quay 
604-669-7666

DINE FINE - MINAMI - YALETOWN VANCOUVER

 am not a fan of fusion Japanese food. To me, I feel like Miku, and its new sister, Minami focuses far too much on the art and presentation, that it lacks what Japanese food was initally all about - the flavour. 

AMBIANCE | I had a great time at Minami I must admit. The ambiance is amazing, the old Goldfish has transformed itself into a Zen and exotic restaurant. It is a very upscale place for dates and girls night outs. I shall let the pictures speak for themselves. Overall, I find the restaurant very self-explanatory, nothing too far from the norm. 

What we ordered (Party of 4): 

Hamachi Carpaccio - citrus avocado sauce
Aburi Tenderloin Nigiri - soy glazed foie gras, negisho x 2
Toro Nigiji x 4

Saikyo Miso Baked Sablefish - eggplant, spinach, shrimp-crab dumpling, wasabi-dashi broth, yuzu miso foam

Aburi Saba Oshi Sushi - pressed mackerel, miku miso sauce

Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi - pressed local salmon, jalapeno, miku sauce

Dessert - Green Tea Opera - Green tea sponge infused with espresso and Frangelico liqeur, green tea butter cream, dark chocolate ganache, azuki bean cream, green tea ice cream, green tea sauce

Passionfruit Sorbet

FOOD |  I believe Minami's presentation of the dishes sells the food more than the flavour. The sushi pieces were rather mediocre. Pricing is rather expensive for the quality I received. 

Aburi Tenderloin Nigiri - Intrigued by a tenderloin and foie gras nigiri, we decided to order two pieces of this ridiculous $6 nigiri. The sushi in general was not very surprising, the flavour of the tenderloin did not mix too well with the over all piece, and the foie gras was pea-sized. It sounds more like a gimmick then it was a well-crafted dish. 

We were told the Toro was sold out for the night, but after the waitress checked she said she can provide us with the last four. Excited as we were, we were thoroughly dissapointed. All four of us have eaten around Japan and Vancouver, we are able to spot out toro and "close to" toro. We all agreed that the waitress should have insisted on the Toro being sold out, rather than give us a subpar piece.

The Sablefish was $26, which at a Japanese restaurant, is rather expensive. Thinking we could not get full from small pieces of sushi, we decided to order an entree. But the fish piece was rather small and in my opinion, it was rather random. There was a random dumpling, and foam, which I thought did nothing to enhance the dish. I really rather received just a larger piece of fish without the fuss. The fish was good. 

The Aburi Sushi, what both Miku and Minami claim to introduce to Vancouver were decent. I find the texture of the rice very plain, and the ratio between such a large piece of rice and small piece of fish confused me. I remember when I went to Miku during their opening month, the Aburi sushi literally melted in my mouth, I find this amazing factor to be lost in the presentation

Overall, I was not very satisfied with Minami. Everyone has been hyping about the restaurant, claiming it was the new "it spot", but I found this restaurant to be full of propaganda and gimmick rather than top quality food. The food was definitely not worth it for its price, but I suppose the ambiance and presentation make up for it. 

1118 Mainland St.

Vancouver BC

V6B 5P2

604-685-8080

Lunch Munch: GUU GARDEN - DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER

I used to love Guu. Guu gastown was my favourite, Guu Garlic on Denman was a close second. Guu Richmond and Guu Thurlow didnt cut the chase for me. 

As I grew older (uhh like in the past 2 years), I started getting very annoyed with loud and crammed restaurants.  The first time in Guu I loved the authenticity of servers yelling warm Japanes greetings around the restaurants, but by the tenth time I walk in, the excitement is gone, and I really rather not wait in line in a stuffy and crowded atmosphere. While Guu izakaya snacks are so unique - each plate being full of surprises, I chose other restaurants such as Aki over Guu. Well, until Guu Garden.

AMBIANCE | Guu Garden is located in the office area of Vancouver. Located upstairs Gyu-Kaku, Guu Garden is much more ventilated, much more open, and much more comfortable. There are floor to ceiling windows that outlook a Japanese garden shaping a simple and earthy environment. Splashed with colourful, but pastel pillow seats, and decorated with simple wooden tables, Guu Garden actually feels like a garden. A simple rural garden, not extravagant, not luxurious, but simple, easy and calm.

We ordered:

Garden Bento 1

Tonosama Bento: Deep friend breaded shrimp & veggies, grilled or stewed fish of the day, four kinds of sashimi, kobachi, rice and miso soup

Garden Bento 2

Businessman Bento: Saikyo miso black cod, three kinds of sashimi, salmon and saba sushi, kobachi and miso soup

Dessert: Sake pulp and Sea Salt Ice cream

Menu found here

FOOD | For lunch, they offered bento boxes ranging from $9-15.80. We ordered two of the $15.80 "Garden" boxes, and while the size looks small, it was actually really filling! Having just returned from Japan, in terms of presentation,Guu Garden is legitimately a restaurant that is plucked from Japan and placed in Vancouver. The placement of the foods are delicate and detailed (even a small umbrella for the grapes) and I would even call the bento box "cute" and "comfortable". The food is also finely made. Each tempura is freshly fried, each sushi is delicately made. 

My favourite of the meal was definitely the dessert. I have been to gelato places with numerous of strange and interesting flavours, but "sake pulp and sea salt" flavour is by far the most interesting and appetizing I have ever seen. The ice cream is based off a vanilla icecream with subtle hints of sake and salt. I absolutely loved it, and would recommend it to everyone. 

M101-888 Nelson Street 
Vancouver, BC V6Z2R9
604-899-0855