All India Sweets & Restaurant

In Vancouver, my friend Gill took me to the All India Sweets & Restaurant, a place where she used to eat with a big group at least once a week way back in 2002, when our mutual friend Kimme Gibbler was also living there. That's over 52 times a year. (Wow!) Afterwards, they would go back to someone's place and watch a couple of people who had eaten too much roll around on the floor in mock pain.

I could see the attraction right away. The place is totally unpretentious, friendly and all about the mountains of Indian desserts and good food for very little money. For $10.95, you can eat unlimited Indian food daily from their vegetarian buffet. Gill gave me the inside scoop: the sag paneer is to die for. I tried it. It is. We both died and went to heaven that lunch hour! And I got to catch up with one of my nearest and dearest friends. Thanks Gill!

All India Sweets & Restaurant
6507 Main Street 

(49th & Main)
Vancouver, B.C.
604.327.0891

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Ebisu on Robson

I was in Vancouver this week, where there are delicious Japanese restaurants galore! A friend introduced me to a trendy Japanese place on Robson called Ebisu that is now on my "To Visit" list the next time I return to this fair city.

I loved it! Ebisu is among a growing number of restaurants that is infusing a new vibrancy into Japanese food. It's taking traditional dishes and marketing them as tapas plates with a twist. Hapa Izakaya, where S and I ate two years ago, is another good example of this new kind of Japanese restaurant that draws a younger crowd because of its unique interpretations.

Some of the dishes were a fusion of cuisines — we ordered salmon carpaccio (an Italian term for thin shavings of raw meat), which came drizzled in a citrus white-wine mayo. It was a fresh take on the traditional tataki (which longtime readers of beFOODled will know I also adore) that consists of thinly sliced raw or lightly cooked beef in a citrus vinaigrette.

We ordered five dishes — saba (mackerel) flame, saba inferno, salmon carpaccio and the B.C. and mega dynamite rolls — and a pitcher of delicious sangria to wash it all down. Five dishes might not seem like a lot for two people, but we were full!

My favourite was the saba flame. This dish is also a great example of what I mean by how these restaurants are funkifying the traditional. Saba flame is mackerel sashimi but the server lights it on fire with a hand-held blow torch at your table. She did the same thing with the saba inferno, searing the mackerel skin. It gave it a truly mouthwatering, coal-fired flavour.

The food is fresh and has so much flavour. I would recommend Ebisu if you happen to be on Robson Street looking for great Japanese food.

Ebisu on Robson
827 Bute Street
Vancouver, B.C.
Canada
604.689.8266 (reservations are recommended)


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Kintaro in Vancouver

Kintaro is a ramen noodle house in Vancouver where I have made a yearly pilgrimmage for two summers now. S took me and again we have to thank BJ for enlightening us to its modest yet majical flavours. I always get the medium miso broth, and this summer I also chose the fatty pork. (I live large!) Medium refers to the fat content in the broth. Fatty pork means there is a fat strip around the pork medallion. This probably lends a good flavour to the broth, but next time I will get lean pork as I filled up fast on this ramen and couldn't finish it.

Kintaro seems to get mixed reviews. Some people say it's better than places in Tokyo, others are quickly turned off for many reasons. Personally I like it - the ramen is good and cheap, and I have a nostalgic attraction to hole-in-the-wall restaurants because my parents took me to these kinds of places I was young.

On the downside, there is always a lineup at Kintaro, and once you get in, the decor is non-existant and there is no air conditioning. You must eat in a cramped, very steamy and uncomfortably hot place, often next to people you don't know. There are other quirks, too, like the two very insistent signs outside that say "no public washroom," and yet once inside one can't help noticing that every customer disappears into rooms in the back that obviously are washrooms. I found out that if you wait too long for the women's line, they even usher you into the men's (and presumably vice versa). If you're bothered by these kinds of contradictions, Kintaro is not the place for you and you should stay tuned for my next ramen blog on location in Calgary :).

But Kintaro is always busy and I can see why. I still like you, Kintaro, and I'll be back for another medium lean soon ...

Kintaro
788 Denman St., corner Robson
Vancouver, BC
604.682.7568

Hapa Izakaya in Vancouver

In this photo, from left to right, we have a sashimi plate, a teriyaki-glazed calamari, funkily-wrapped gyozas and a lovely beef tataki in a red sauce. Yes, we went to yet another trendy Japanese restaurant in Vancouver (gotta love this city). DW took us to Hapa Izakaya for some modern Japanese tapas (thanks D!). The ambiance here is great - everything is sleek, there's a lot of black in the decor and there are thick hardwood tables everywhere. It was also packed full with young, hip customers and a really hot wait staff.

But on to the food ... the menu here is really innovative. I think that Japanese food is hard to improve on, but there were some great dishes here and the menu was smart enough to leave most of those alone that are already perfect. Agedashi tofu (not pictured here) and beef tataki are always my litmus tests for a good Japanese restaurant - I'm happy to report that Hapa Izakaya passed on these two little appies.

The gyoza (second from the right in the back) were served in a crustless-sandwich-style wrap instead of the traditional dumpling. I thought they were good, but S wasn't keen on them. We also tried a paella-style rice dish that was very spicy and tasted good at first, but then I found it hard to finish as there were many intense flavours vying for centre-stage. It also took us a while to get the bill, but it was a busy night. All said, I would definately come back here because the ambiance was nice, the food was really good, and I love the tapas style of eating.

Hapa Izakaya
1479 Robson St.
Vancouver, B.C.
604.689.4272

Quattro in Vancouver

Oh my godfathers! In Vancouver, we went to one of the best Italian restaurants I have ever been to. It's called Quattro, and I have to thank S's friends BJ and WL for recommending it. You can see the pasta that I shared with my friend AG in the photo. Five different kinds! It was called Pasta Pazza a Pezzi and cost $20.95 per person, for a minimum of two people. It was a combination of five pastas: Spaghetti Primavera, Fettuccine Ghiottone, Fusilli Arrabiata, Linguine Pesto and Rotolo Farcito. Both S and DW had the Ravioli Piemontesi for $23.95. It's a ravioli filled with wild mushrooms, mascarpone cheese and tons of white truffle oil, in a light porcini cream. You only get seven raviolis, but they are very very rich.

Quattro seemed expensive when we first walked in because it is a very elegant place, but the bill came to about $40 each between the four of us, so that wasn't bad in the end. Anyways, it was worth it! I must give this restaurant a good review for service, too. I think the waiter knew that we weren't big spenders, and yet he still took the time to talk with us, tell us about the history of certain foods and drinks, and share a great sense of humour. I recommend Quattro to anyone who loves Italian and has the good fortune to visit Vancouver!

Quattro
2611 West Fourth Ave.
Vancouver, B.C.
604.734.4444