through the eyes of the a70

My friend found this bakery on Commercial Drive the other day called Fratelli Bakery and we went to check it out. They’re famous for their Saint Honore cakes.

Couldn’t resist getting some cupcakes and pastries to go, and after getting home, they were too cute not to take some photos, so here’s a random food post!

LIFT Bar Grill View Restaurant – 333 Menchions Mews, Vancouver – February 4, 7:30pm
Price per person: $38

They sure know how to surprise guests and “enhance” the experience. Once we were seated, the waiter handed each of us an iPad. That’s right, an iPad for each one of us with an interactive menu pre-loaded. Even though you can’t really order directly to the kitchen, and still have to read off each of the items to the waiter, I guess it’s something that you will remember them by. Anyways, enough about the menu. The tempura California roll wasn’t the first time I’ve had it, but it was a pretty safe selection for the appetizer along with the crab cakes. For the entree, unfortunately they didn’t have the cured & smoked salmon like mentioned in the menu, so the pasta was missing a bit of a kick. The spaghetti was pretty regular as well, but the cornmeal crusted trout was pretty good with a crispy skin. For dessert, the chocolate torte with ice cream was really good – excellent way to finish off the meal.

Personally I thought the menu should’ve been $28 for its value, then again you might get a good view during the daytime instead of being dark and foggy that night.

Below is my selection:
Appetizer: Crab Duo – mini crab cakes & tempura California roll
Entrée: – Seafood Cappellini – baby shrimps, capers, lemon cream & tobiko
Dessert: – Warm Chocolate Torte with ice cream

Overall I give it a 7.5.

Chambar Belgian Restaurant – 562 Beatty St, Vancouver – January 29, 5:00pm
Price per person: $38

I’ve been to Chambar once during Dine Out a couple years back as well as once during regular dinner time, and remember both being excellent experiences. This time was no exception, their reservations are always booked solid, so we had to settle for a 5pm reservation. Right off the bat, the venison carpaccio appetizer dish that I had ordered was much larger than I had imagined – there were at least 15 thin beef slices with soba to go with it. Tasted great. Next up I had the white wine based mussel dish (the other one was tomato sauce based). Their mussels were huge and plentiful as usual, with lots more hiding in the soup. I had a bit of the arctic char and braised shortrib as well, and they were nicely cooked. For dessert, I chose the “chocolate caramel bar,” which I thought was alright with salty sweet taste, but some people may not like it because of the caramel stickiness. The lemon meringue leaves a nice taste after the dinner.

Service was excellent – the waiter came by to wipe the tables after the entrees were taken away, and even folded my friend’s dinner napkin while he went away to the washroom.

Below is my selection:
Appetizer: Carpaccio de Chevreuil – Charred venison carpaccio, garlic chips, radishes, white soy & red wine reduction, soba noodle salad.
Entrée: Moules-Frites Coquotte & Congolaise – Mussels, white wine, cream, smoked bacon lardons, spring onions.
Dessert: Le Chocolat – Salted chocolate caramel bar, vanilla ice cream.

Everything was flawless except maybe if they had still offered the Belgian Waffle or a less sticky dessert. Overall I give it a 9.5!

Carmichael’s Restaurant in Hilton Vancouver Airport Hotel – 5911 Minoru Blvd, Richmond – January 28, 7:30pm
Price per person: $28

I haven’t heard of this restaurant before – actually, I don’t think I’ve ever had a dine out in Richmond before, but my friend had booked it for his birthday, as it had quite a number of selections for its courses. For appetizer I had the crab cake with salsa & chipole sauce. It was rather delicious and the portion was quite big – nicely decorated was a plus! The soup of the day was Mushroom Soup, which I heard was quite good as well. We each tried a different entree, and this time my steak was cooked just right, medium-rare, leaving it quite juicy inside. The chicken dish was tender as well. I was already really full from dinner already, so I only had half the chocolate, and packed the other half to go. It was extra chocolaty and rich, with a tangy sour raspberry sauce to complement!

Most of the time a hotel’s not really known for its restaurant, but I was surprised by the dining experience that I would come back again.

Below is my selection:
Appetizer: Crab Cake – Local crab with corn-smoked tomato salsa & chipotle aioli
Entrée: Filet Mignon – Certified Angus beef topped with woodland mushroom sauce, creamy garlic Yukon gold mashed and asparagus
Dessert: Double Chocolate Cake – Dark chocolate cake with ganache icing served with raspberry sauce and seasonal berry

Overall I give it a 8.5!

Sandbar Seafood Restaurant – 1535 Johnston St, Vancouver – January 25, 6:45pm
Price per person: $28

Second dine out experience of this year goes to Sandbar on Granville Island. It’s part of the Sequoia Company which includes other restaurants like Teahouse in Stanley Park and Seasons in the Park. Apparently if you dine at all 4 of the participating Dine Out locations this year, you get a chance to win a prize pack (though I doubt if many people will do that…)

As for the food itself, I really liked the braised short ribs appetizer (in fact, I thought it was the best course of the night). Apparently the California Roll was pretty good – not sure how it compares to Japanese restaurants in town. As for the entree, I would say it was quite disappointing. I had asked for it to be cooked medium-rare as usual, but it was more like a medium well-done or even more, so the steak wasn’t that tender. The shrimps could’ve had more flavour or sauce to complement. As a whole, the dish didn’t stay hot for very long (I swear it wasn’t because I took photos in the beginning!) I had the apple strudel for dessert, which was quite typical, and I heard the pumpkin cake was just ok. If I ever come here next time, I would probably get a seafood main course.

It’s too bad that they have really good reviews online, but only a sub-par experience for Dine Out.

Below is my selection:
Appetizer: Lemongrass Braised Short Ribs; 5 spice crushed peanuts, chili scallion relish
Entrée: 4oz Chateau Rib Steak & Grilled Tiger Prawns; caramelized onion marmalade, creamed peppercorn demi-glace
Dessert: Apple Strudel; hint of star anise

Overall I give it a 6.