Capstone Tea & Fondue

I've never gone out for tea or fondue, so this was a great way to experience both for the first time.  Except for the fact that they didn't serve us our ice cream truffles (which were suppose to be included), it was a memorable experience with lots of yumminess to satisfy my sweet tooth.

 My friend and I walked in and were seated at a table for two right away. I handed over my SocialShopper deal which included 2 orders of High Tea Lite, 2 orders of Chocolate Fondue Sampler, Ice Cream Truffles & 2 Drinks for $29. The waitress asked us to order any drink per person, which I thought was pretty nice because everyone has different preferences on different days on what kind of drink they'd like to have. They had lattes, frappes, and teas of different types; including iced, flavoured, herbal, and fresh fruit teas. I ordered a latte which was a huge mug of rich and creamy goodness, and pretty soon afterward our dessert feast arrived.

The High Tea Lite set (per person) was a small tower made of 2 tiers. The bottom tier had a fresh cheese, mayo and spinach sandwich cut up into 4 pieces. It was simple but it was so good! (We had to request this to be made vegetarian because it usually is made with ham). Between the pieces were 4 individual-sized pastries including a danish, turnover, jam-filled croissant and a chocolate croissant, which were mediocre and to me tasted like average grocery store fare. The top tier had two macarons, a rasberry tart and a yummy chocolatey square. I'm not a fan of rasberry so that tart was blah to me, but the macarons and chocolate square were very good.

Our Fondue Sampler included, (also per person) a warm pot of rich belgian chocolate fondue (heated with a candle underneath) and a plate of treats to dip into the chocolate. Half of this plate was made of fruits: strawberry pineapple, grapes and apple; the other half was made of bite sized cakes and cookies. This items on this plate were nothing special and the cakes were not that good, but when dipped in the chocolate, they tranformed into yummy delights. (But this was obviously due to the chocolate).

 

 

Although everything was small, there was just so much food that by the end my tummy was near-bursting, and my friend had to take the rest of his home.

The food definitely deserves a 3.5 out of 5.

The service was mediocre, and given that they forgot to include our ice cream truffles, I would give it a 2.5 out of 5.

Ambiance was nice, but it felt more like an bubble tea cafe than a high tea and fondue place. I think a dark, romantic setting would have been more suitable. But it still was a nice place, and the presentation of the "meal" was very well done, so I will give them a 3.5 out of 5.

This joint only gets a 3.2 out of 5 overall, but I will definitely be back because I love the concept of an eatery dedicated to tea, fondue and different kinds of drinks. It's so different from my usual eats, and different is good. So you can expect expect an adddition to this review.

http://www.capstonetea.com/

Dinner at The Naam

How shall I describe my delectable adventure at this hippie joint. This a vegetarian's dream come true. So many yummy-looking dishes, it was a bit hard for me to choose. The menu had different kinds of burritos and enchiladas from Mexico, pasta and pizza from Italy, chappati from India, noodles and stir fries from Thailand, Hawaiian and Indonesian-themed burgers.  It's like they picked adishes from around the world, mixed them up and added their own touch to give you the best of all the good stuff. Just from looking at the menu, I knew I would be coming back for more very soon.


So I was ready to order a Chili Burrito but I don't know what I was thinking and accidentally ordered a Veggie Burrito. (It was a long day at work...sigh). Anyways the large burrito came alongside the Naam Salad - hands down, best salad I've ever tasted. I'm not a fan of salads but this was so good. It had cucumbers, sprouts, beets, carrots, and sunflower seeds put together beautifully with the Naam dressing which is best dressing I've ever had. (I realize I've used best quite a few times, but it is the truth)!

I wasn't quite satisfied with my dish because I really wanted the Chili flavour in my burrito and the Veggie filling just wasn't my thing. However the melted cheese sitting atop my burrito did add some goodness.

My friend ordered the Chilaquiles Enchiladas, and not only did it look  delectable but it tasted that much Gnommier. And no this is not a case of "the grass being greener on the other side." Perhaps it's because the Chilaquiles had the filling that I had wanted - chilli filling, but I was envious and had to steal some of my friend's filling to satisfy my appetite. Oh, and them Miso-Sesame Fries were pretty good too.

So I will definitely be back to have a full plate of the Chilaquiles Enchiladas, and then back again to try the Naam Burger, Tempeh Burger, Maui-Maui Burger, Sante Fe Enchiladas, Mexi Dragon Bowl, Gold Dragon Bowl,  Naam Steak Plattter, Thai Gado, Tofu Dog, Stuffed Chapati, and perhaps the Crying Tiger Thai Stir-Fry (just for the name).

As for dessert, that was the first thing I noticed since they had them displayed by the service desk, and we were hoping to try the Shakti Cake, after dinner.

The desserts sounded so wholesome and interesting but we were bursting at our seams by the end so decided to rest our curiosity until next time.

The ambiance has room for improvement because the chairs were not comfy, the tables were small and it was a bit cold. I felt like this place would be more inviting if it was made to look and feel more cozy. Service was friendly, but my water was not refilled, but I can understand as this was a busy night. However, food is what matters most to me, so that alone will bring me back here for more.

Pepitas Restaurant

Cold Rainy Day. Hungry. Craving Mexican.

We arrived to an empty place, but perhaps it was because we were having a late dinner. The waitress was friendly and served us some fresh corn chips with salsa while we decided what to order. I ordered the Fajita Roll with vegetarian filling, which was a large flour tortilla filled with green pepper, mushrooms, potatoes and onions. It was served alongside some tomato rice, refried beans and a side salad made of lettuce, tomatoes and plenty of dressing all in generous portions. I found that the fajitas were bland, so I added hot sauce to spice things up. The vegetables just tasted like salted baked vegetables without any flavouring. I have made much better fajitas at home, and was expecting better here.

Fajita Roll

Enchiladas

 

 

My friend ordered the Enchiladas (above), one with chicken filling and the other with chicken filling. He really enjoyed it, so although I wasn't completely satisfied with my dinner, I might come back just to try out the Enchiladas which looked quite YUM!

(images from google)

Wings

Went here on a Saturday night for dinner not expecting much because this place is known for its chicken wings and meat dishes. However I have come to learn how to make do in even the meatiest joints. This place wasn't too bad because they had three vegetarian options on the menu. I had the Mediterranean Flatbread from their Appetizers menu because it looked to be the only option that would satisfy as a main.

When it arrived, I thought it was overloaded with veggies which I don't usually like. But with the first bite into the crispy, yet soft, and flavourful crust topped with a whole lot of mediterranean goodness I was really into it. Wow, it really was one of the best flatbreads/pizzas I've had in a restaurant. Totally not what I expected!
Everyone else that I went with, shared four pounds of 4 different flavours of chicken wings which is what they came for. Unfortunately, they found, as per G, that "our wings were soggy, cold, and not as good as before." I thought this was kind of sad and ironic, because I went expecting a substandard dinner and left super-satisfied, and they were expecting to really enjoy their beloved wings yet left feeling utterly disappointed. In fact, a couple of them decided to eat somewhere else after to make up for the lack of satisfaction.

It's good to know that these meat-centric joints have some good vegetarian fare. It's true that they didn't have many items, but here is a good example of how quality beats quantity.

Highlight: The crust. I have to mention it again because it was really very good. I need to figure out how they made this flavourful crust. Great Bite.

Stats:
Cost for this dish: $9.48 + TAX
Address:
6879 Kingsway
Burnaby,
British Columbia V5E 1E4
Hours: Mon - Thu: 7AM - 1AM, Fri - Sat: 7AM - 2AM, Sun: 7AM - 1AM

(images from google)

Dark Table

Okay food, but otherworldly experience that made this new spot totally worth my Sunday night dinner!

Dark Table is one of the new blind dining eateries, where patrons dine in complete darkness. This means, once you walk in, it is pitch black inside and you can't even see what is around you, where you are sitting or what you are eating. A very intimate surrounding, because you can only touch or hear your dining buddies, which makes you that much more attentive.

Once we arrived, my boyfriend and I were greeted at the door and handed our menus from which we can choose one of 5 entrees and choose either dessert, appetizer or both dessert and appetizer, (2 or 3 course meal). There is even a surprise dish that you can choose as your main so you will have to figure what you are eating, and that's what I chose in Vegetarian. The appetizer and dessert are also a surprise by default.

Once we chose our meals, we were guided to our seats by a waitress who informed us on where to sit and what is in front of us on our table. While the waitress went to get our bread, we tried to get a sense of our surroundings and enjoyed the intimacy of the situation. We couldn't see each other or anyone around us, so we held hands just to feel grounded (?). We also noticed how everyone was talking loudly because no one can see who is saying what.

Before anymore discoveries, we were served our bread and butter which was crispy on the outside with a nice wholesome texture, yum! Now this is where it gets more interesting. So I tried spreading the butter on the bread with the butter knife, but the chunk of butter fell onto my plate. So I had to search for it with my fingers, place it on my bread and spread it again. Weird? I know...but no one was watching! Our main dish took a bit longer to arrive, and I still don't know what I had. It had some sweet pureed vegetable with roasted potatoes, which were alright, and cabbage which was pretty bad. I was quite disappointed with my main but I still enjoyed the experience of trying to find everything on my plate and trying to guess what I was eating.

Here is a picture of my dinner (credits to G):

Dessert came along, it was good but nothing special, but here, in the darkness, it was a whole new affair. First we tried to find out what our dessert was by touching it with our fingers, then tasted it and discovered we were having a decadent brownie with vanilla ice cream.

I definitely enjoyed this dinner, not because of the food, but because of the new intimate sensory experience. This night reminds me of this song:

"A whole new world,
 A new fantastic point of view..." - Tim Rice

Definitely a place to go for a romantic night out as well as for an adventure!

Stats:

Cost for this dish: $33 + TAX (as of September 30, 2012)

Address:
 
2611, West 4th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V6K 1P8
Canada
 

Cost of my meal: $33 + TAX (for entree and dessert only)

Reservations are highly recommended

Tel : 604-739-3275(DARK)

SUN-THU : 5.15PM-10PM
FRI AND SAT : 1st service @ 5:45 PM
                         2nd service @ 8:45PM

Death by Chocolate

My friend and I came here after having dinner at another restaurant. We ordered a Peanut Butter Cheesecake to share and coffee for my friend. My friend liked his big mug of coffee, but I thought it was too bitter. The cheesecake was good though. However I felt it was overpriced at 6.95 per slice for cake that wasn't super delicious. It was still pretty good but it was pretty much like the ones I can get at Safeway. I feel like this place has good potential, if it focuses more on the desserts. Perhaps it was because we went near closing that there weren't that many options on display. But I really liked the service; very attentive and friendly although we only ordered coffee and dessert. I also liked the ambiance; it was a nice place to sit and relax after a night out.

 

 

(image from google)

Return to The Reef

So I went back to The Reef to finally give the Mo-Ca Burger with Jerk Tofu a shot, and boy was it worth it. I was a little hesitant to try a tofu burger because although I'm a vegetarian, I have never tried a satisfying tofu dish. The Reef's Jerk Tofu Mo-Ca Burger was an exceptional burger and I can't believe it was made of tofu.

 

The tofu itself was marinated in jerk seasoning and topped with cheddar cheese, a grilled pineapple, jerk mayo and salsa and a side of plaintain chips.

The Burger: The cheese and pineapple takes the tofu burger to a tantalizing new level. It was sweet, cheezy and had a light spice. I myself preferred this burger with a little bit of their special hot sauce that you can ask for.

The Plaintain Chips: These are no ordinary chips, they are thick jerk-spiced chips. I wouldn't call them wonderful, because I thought they were softer and not as crispy as they were the last time I came, but they were a compatible pairing to my Mo-Ca Burger. They got this combo just right, with the not-too filling and flavourful chips.

And of course the Johnny Cakes which they serve right before every meal. This time I went they were way better than the last time. Gosh, I just can't get enough of them Johnny Cakes!!!

The Reef really has the Caribbean-Western fusion down right. And it's so exciting to come here because every one of their dishes is an exciting new experience.

The next time I go, I'd like to try their appetizer called "Doubles" which is basically a chana sandwich...interesting! Hoping for the best!

Stats:

Rating:

Food = 4.5/5

Service = 3/5

Value = 4.5/5

Ambiance = 3.5/5

Overall: 4/5

Cost of my meal: $14 + TAX

4172 Main Street,
Vancouver, BC, V5V 3P7

Contact:

Tel: 604-874-JERK (5375)

Price: $$ ($15 - $30)

Hours: Mon - Fri: 11AM - 1AM, Sat - Sun: 10AM - 1AM