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Yaletown

Slider Quest – Episode 5 – 100 days and counting…then they’re gone

“If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.” – Chinese Proverb

At One Hundred Days, you get to experience not only a moment of bliss, but a hundred days of ecstasy … each and every time you visit the place. With a unique creative mix between local graffiti artist Vince Dumoulin and the gifted chefs of the resto, a one of a kind experience is awaits you with the perfect melange of artistic and gastronomic masterpieces.

You can download the this week’s edition in PDF format HERE (or grab the full newspaper HERE) or just keep reading (the unrated version) below.

Episode 5 – 100 days and counting… then they’re gone!

Image cutline: At 100 days, they call them the Kick Ass Sliders and there really isn’t any other way to describe them.

Raj and Angelina continue their slider quest winding up in a place that looks to have been recently vandalized. Is the graffiti on the wall going to stay? According to the staff nothing lasts forever including this place. 100 days, they say. But who’s counting….

Raj: We seem to be in the right place. I feel like a freaking celebrity here.

Angelina: We’re in the restaurant at the OPUS Hotel, 350 Davie Street. Creativity, passion, and hospitality just percolates from the staff here, I feel like I’ve been inspired. They’re overjoyed that we’ve asked for the sliders we also got sides and Champagne. What a glorious idea! Or Raj, was that your idea?

R: Am I dead? Did I go to heaven? Are these people angels? The sliders truly are knockout, delicious. Ground CAB strip loin steak, the pride of Canada, cooked medium rare, a smoky BBQ sauce made with peaty Ardbeg Scotch, caramelized onions, a sesame seeded bun…

Angelina: And the sides were just as remarkable! The best Truffle oil Macaroni and Cheese I’ve ever had, Burrata Caprese Salad, Home-cut fries with Parmesan and more Truffle oil! Absolute bliss.

R: (taps Angelina’s shoulder)… are you, uh… real…?

A: (slaps Raj in the face)… Get it together buddy! Go for the Sliders, stay for brunch. 100 days’ brunch is the talk of the town.

R: Maybe I’ll see you dressed up for their special 80’s themed Halloween Brunch…

A: In the raddest costume, EVER!

Editor: You heard right, 100 days is hosting an 80’s Halloween Costume brunch on the 31^st. Now, let’s not forget the poor Chinese Pork Bun that got singled out at Goldfish Pacific Kitchen. Help save it! Tweet at @GoldFishKitchen and use the hashtag #savetheporkbun.

Raj Taneja is part technologist, entrepreneur, social media juggernaut and foodie. He runs urbanmixer.com and publishes a miscellany of musings at raj.jp and on twitter @tinhead

aside 25 Oct

Slider Quest – Episode 2 – Chinese Pork Buns on the Executioner’s Block

This is another case of East meets West. The Chinese pork buns of the East is come together with the American slider of the West and the outcome is a delectable dish worthy of praise and admiration . . . and mouth-watering too.

You can download the this week’s edition in PDF format HERE or just keep reading (the unrated version) below…

Episode 2 – Chinese Pork Buns on the Executioner’s Block

Image cutline: Goldfish in Yaletown serves up three types of sliders, the Short Rib Slider, the Kurobata Pork Slider and the Crispy Fish Slider.

Rangelina have slid into a parallel dimension known affectionately as Goldfish in search of the ultimate slider. What awaits them? Read on to find out.

Raj: I’m truly impressed! From the moment we entered Goldfish Pacific Kitchen on Mainland Street in Yaletown and uttered ‘take me to your leader, we want sliders,’ the whole place went into action.

Angelina: We didn’t get to meet their Beloved Leader, Bud Kanke, but his General and Maitre d’, Albert Chee, took care of our every wish and command.

R: Under the watchful eyes of General Chee, my glass of champagne was never empty. When it came close to being empty, he promptly clapped his hands and the subservient bartender immediately went into action and poured some more. It was amazing to see such orchestration.

A: On the General’s recommendation, we ordered all three types of sliders that they had – the Short Rib Slider with Hoisin Mayo, the Crispy Fish Slider with Classic Tartar Sauce and the Kurobata Pork Slider with Sweet Soy, affectionately known as the Chinese Pork Buns.

R: What we got was an army of sliders! They sent out four types of sliders, three of each we ordered, doubling up the quantities of the Kurobata Pork Sliders, one type with regular buns and one type with steamed Chinese buns – all of which were amazing. All 16, that is!

A: Yes but the sad part is they want to do away with the Chinese Pork Buns, they seem to have fallen into disrepute with the Beloved Leader. We have to save them!

R: All the sliders were really special, the flavours were really memorable but the Chinese Pork Buns, with their snow white exterior, are close to our hearts; let’s take to the streets and let them know!

A: United we can appeal to them via Twitter @GoldfishKitchen and use the hashtag #savetheporkbun to spread the word!

R: Power to the people!

Editor: Only you, the reader, can save the Chinese Pork Buns. Connect with @GoldfishKitchen and vote with the hashtag #savetheporkbun. The results will be announced at the end of the six-week quest.

Raj Taneja is part technologist, entrepreneur, social media juggernaut and foodie. He runs urbanmixer.com and publishes a miscellany of musings at raj.jp and on twitter @tinhead

aside 8 Aug

Meatball Quest – Episode 6 – Surprise Taste on the Finale of Meatball Quest

“Life is a paradox” – Nancy Cartwright

A paradox is something that reveals a seemingly opposing nature and Sweeney’s has an item in their menu that is a paradox of sorts – a vegetarian “meatball.” This fitting finale on the meatball quest will definitely give vegans and health-conscious food junkies alike something to look forward to when they grab a bite to eat at this “slow-fast food” place along Hamilton Street in Yaletown.

You can download the this week’s edition in PDF format HERE (or grab the full newspaper HERE,) or just keep reading (the unrated version) below.

Episode 6 – Surprise Taste on the Finale of Meatball Quest

Image cutline: When it comes to good karma, Raj and Fury believe the balls at Sweeney’s of Yaletown have it nailed.

Can’t really put our finger on it…

There’s something amiss about a humble sandwich shop that opens in the city’s swankiest culinary district. Right next door, Blue Water Cafe features champagnes such as Salon’s Blanc des Blancs at $1000 a pop.

Raj: If you check under the hood, Sweeney’s of Yaletown is by no means average.

Fury: What confounds me is that their menu is Ocean Wise, local, and organic. Even their containers are bio-degradable but there are no signs boasting of it. No stickers, no symbols, no hint of it on the menu.

Raj: I’d have to say that they’re believers in good karma. They make good, honest food, use quality ingredients, and hope the universe is benevolent enough to send some customers their way.

Fury: Perhaps it’s the universe that has guided us here for the final chapter in our quest. The thought of conquering their meatball sub has held me captive ever since I found out about it on twitter.

Raj: It’s a good start that they serve these meatballs on a torpedo bun. To enhance the flavour, they add a bit of homemade tomato sauce and Provelone cheese, just like what they use in Philadelphia.

Fury: The meatballs were soft, kinda gummy, and I definitely tasted mushroom and thyme. Even under the tangy sauce, I still sensed a little je ne sais quoi.

Raj: I couldn’t put my finger on it either –

Editor: You guys know that those were vegetarian meatballs, right?

Raj: There you have it, good karma! No animals were harmed in the creation of these meatballs and they were pretty darn good.

Fury: Considering all the meat we’ve consumed on our six-part meatball quest, I’m just thankful that we found a meat-free alternative that doesn’t suck.

—

Raj Taneja is part technologist, entrepreneur, social media juggernaut and foodie. He runs urbanmixer.com and publishes a miscellany of musings at raj.jp and on twitter @tinhead. Melody Fury is the founder of Vancouver Food Tour. Follow this YVR lifestyle ambassador on twitter @GourmetFury.

aside 16 Jun

Meatball Quest – Episode 1 – Three meatballs … and a secret one too

“Nothing spoils lunch any quicker than a rogue meatball rampaging through your spaghetti” – Jim Davis

Glowbal’s meatballs are neither rogue nor served with spaghetti, they’re served in style.

Various cultures all throughout the world have their own versions of the meatball, either as a part of a dish or simply served as a dish itself. The unassuming meatball is made up of ground meat and other ingredients such as breadcrumbs, minced onions, and spices, which would then be rolled up into a ball before being fried, steamed, baked, or braised with a bit of sauce. The Austrian call it the fleischaibchen, the Belgians have their ballekes, to the Greeks it is known as the keftedes, and its called the polpette to the Italians. Whichever way you call it, it’s still a meatball – plain and simple . . . well, probably not so plain and simple in the case of the Glowbal Restaurant Group, which has transformed a simple everyday meal into a dish worthy of praise.

You can download the this week’s PDF format HERE (or grab the full newspaper HERE,) or just keep reading (the unrated version) below.

Episode 1 – Three meatballs … and a secret one too

Image cutline: Traittoria serves up the ever elusive lamb-based secret meatball only to those in the know. You didn’t hear about it from us, ok?

The slow start to the sunny season has me turned upside down and I’m craving comfort food. A plateful of meatballs, slathered in a tangy tomato sauce seems fitting for the occasion. This craving brings on a new quest – to investigate Vancouver’s meatball scene. No, I’m not talking about the municipal government and the new bike lanes, in this case the term meatball actually refers to the food we’ll be eating on this quest and not some politicians. With this notable task at hand, it only made sense to bring on Melody Fury, my co-conspirator to give me insight on the finer points of said meatballs.

R: Glowbal Restaurant in Yaletown is known as a destination for meatballs in Vancouver. They have five sister restaurants, four of which offer their own variety of meatball; we had no option but to make this the starting point.

M: We were straight ballin’ out of control. Raj and I chased five types of meatballs each with double the glasses of champagne in one afternoon.

R: No matter which Glowbal Restaurant we went to, balls were everywhere.

M: What was once just rustic fare made with meat scraps and day-old bread, the Glowbal Restaurant Group has revamped the meatball into their lux, signature dish.

I was initially skeptical of whether Wagyu beef was overkill for the humble meatball. After trying their over-the-top rendition (which they automatically serve to every rockstar, VIP and supermodel that rolls through) I instinctively paired the balls with an extravagant sparkling wine.

R: If there’s any place to start a meatball quest, it’s gotta be Glowbal with Italian Kitchen, Society, and Trattoria in tow.

While only selected properties serve meatballs at this time of year, serious ball-lovers should seek out the secret spicy lamb meatball at one of their sister restaurants.

—

Raj Taneja is part technologist, entrepreneur, social media juggernaut and foodie. He runs urbanmixer.com and publishes a miscellany of musings at raj.jp and on twitter @tinhead. Melody Fury is the founder of Vancouver Food Tour and a freelance food writer by day, cocktail ninja by night. Follow this YVR lifestyle ambassador on twitter @GourmetFury .

Trattoria serves up the ever elusive lamb-based secret meatball only to those in the know. You didn’t hear about it from us, ok?

aside 28 Nov

Brulee Quest – Episode 2 – Even goes good with Bacon

Bacon. It’s the greatest food in the world and after this episode of my quest, I’d say it’s one of the most versatile, too! So what the heck do bacon and creme brulee have to do with each other? Well, in Brulee Quest, we’re searching for Vancouver’s undiscovered crème brulée. It’s published every Friday in Vancouver’s 24hrs newspaper and this week features a Maple Bacon Creme Brulee that Amanda Goats of Society created for me.

You can download this week’s version in PDF format HERE (or grab the full newspaper HERE,) or just keep reading (the unrated version) below.

Episode 2 – Even goes good with Bacon

It’s rumoured that the custard which is essential to the creation of crème brulée has its origin in the fining of red wines.

Winemakers, wanting to clarify their wares, used egg whites to complete their task – what was left over was egg yolks a plenty which, with the addition of some cream, sugar and heated ever so slightly, produced the sweet yellow custard that you’d find in the base of any conventional brulée.

So what happens when brilliant young minds go to work? Bacon, the world’s greatest food, gets added into the mix and the result is no ordinary crème brulée!

Amanda Goats, Pastry Chef at Society, Yaletown’s newest hotspot, felt that the best of Canadian flavours was sufficient muse in the creation of her Maple Bacon Crème Brulée.

What I tried one fateful Saturday morning was dyn-o-mite – the custard reminiscent of scrambled eggs in texture, lightly sweetened with the flavour of maple and containing delicious bits of the finest bacon was suitable for any meal of the day, whether it’s just dessert, just breakfast or something more.

—

Raj Taneja is part technologist, part entrepreneur, part social media thought leader and part foodie. He runs urbanmixer.com, publishes a miscellany of his musings at raj.jp and can be found on twitter with the username ‘tinhead.’

aside 21 Nov

Brulee Quest – Episode 1 – Sugar on top, party underneath

A new week, a new quest – this time we’re searching for Vancouver’s undiscovered crème brulée and it’s published every Friday in Vancouver’s 24hrs newspaper. You can download this week’s version in PDF format HERE (or grab the full newspaper HERE,) or just keep reading (the unrated version) below.

Brulée Quest – the search for Vancouver’s undiscovered Crème Brulée.

Episode 1 – Sugar on top, party underneath

This week, as we transition from one celebrated food to another, you can’t deny the global appeal of Crème Brulée – one of the world’s most popular and versatile dessert dishes. So popular, that throughout Vancouver’s restaurant scene, you can find a myriad of flavours ranging from brulées filled with mundane vanilla custard to magnificent chocolates, green teas and even lavender.

A crème brulée can be more than just custard sitting in a bowl topped with a layer of hard caramelized sugar. Ideally, the sugary top has to have just been caramelized – so it’s warm to the touch, and it can’t be too thick otherwise you can’t break it with your spoon. It is gratifying to simply chip away and consume the crust but really, the prize is still what’s beyond the wall. Think back twenty years ago to when you saw the Berlin Wall fall. Some of you were probably thinking to yourself, man that’s a wild party. Well, in the same bent, what’s beyond the sugar wall is almost always a party.

Take Glowbal Restaurant’s rendition of crème brulée or the Crème Brulée Shooter as they call it: hand-crafted in small batches by Glowbal’s skilled kitchen staff, the Crème Brulée Shooter possesses all the characteristics of a great brulée – a freshly-toasted caramelized sugar cover hides something similar to a china white shooter. Crack the sugary top and what’s underneath is a great start to the Crème Brulée Quest.

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aside 7 Nov

Bacon Quest – Episode 6 – The Final Bacon

Snif! That’s it. This is the last of the Bacon Quest. It’s been a good six weeks writing this piece for 24hrs news. A great opportunity to talk about something I love. You can download the published version in PDF format HERE (or grab the full newspaper HERE,) or just keep reading (the unrated version) below. Stay tuned for a new subject, next week

Bacon Quest – the search for Vancouver’s undiscovered bacon.

Episode 6 – The Final Bacon

My journey to discover new and exciting bacon isn’t just the six week stint you’ve read in this newspaper, but a lifelong journey. Like anything, it has its ups and it has its downs.

I recall in 2007, there used to be a place in Yaletown called Lucky Diner. Lucky was the place for breakfast if you were in the area as, at the time, it was owned and operated by the experienced restaurateur, Sean Heather of the Irish Heather, and if there’s anything the Irish know, it’s breakfast. Well, that and potatoes but we’ll save that for another quest.

So, as the story goes, I’m experiencing Lucky Diner for the first time and I order breakfast from Mr. Heather’s sister, Roisin. Breakfast includes bacon or as they called it on the menu, ‘belly bacon,’ which is really why I ordered it in the first place. So breakfast finally arrived, I look down and am greeted with two strips of bacon.

Two freaking strips, I think to myself. What? They couldn’t spring for the third?

Then I started to analyze the situation a bit – I’m thinking to myself, do these people not like me?

Is Ms. Heather still angry with me for finding out the secret location of Salt before they launched? Am I going to taste bitter almonds next and wind up in an Eastside dumpster?

I bit my tongue and didn’t say a thing and am glad that I did. When I finally did try the belly bacon, it became immediately clear that this is bacon unlike any other – the bacon of the gods, tiny but so rich and salty that eating more than two strips would indubitably be a sin.

I found it, the holy grail of bacon, and I lived to tell about it.

Today when I spoke to Exec Chef Lee Humphries at the Irish Heather, he informs me that they still have access to such a treat. I’ll be there soon, I’m sure.

—

Raj Taneja is part technologist, part entrepreneur, part social media thought leader and part foodie. He runs urbanmixer.com, publishes a miscellany of his musings at raj.jp.

aside 19 Nov

SHOCKING! OPUS Rooftop Patio – Overturned!

It appears that the decline of Yaletown as foretold in a previous blog post (HERE) is slowly starting to take shape. Pretty soon the neighbourhood may resemble that of Columbia Station in New Westminster.

You know, where the drug dealers and prositutes hang out.

Why, you ask? Well, Yaletown has been on a decline for some time – it’s gone from being an elite entertainment and food district to something mediocre. Poor service is pervasive amongst a number of the establishments and now, the OPUS Hotel has lost in its bid to establish a rooftop patio.

The ‘coalition of residents’ whined loud enough to be heard yet again by council. Do you remember the last time this happened? When we lost the Molson Indy? You can read more about it on the Condo Hype blog, HERE.

Yaletown

Slider Quest – Episode 5 – 100 days and counting…then they’re gone

Slider Quest – Episode 2 – Chinese Pork Buns on the Executioner’s Block

Meatball Quest – Episode 6 – Surprise Taste on the Finale of Meatball Quest

Meatball Quest – Episode 1 – Three meatballs … and a secret one too

Brulee Quest – Episode 2 – Even goes good with Bacon

Brulee Quest – Episode 1 – Sugar on top, party underneath

Bacon Quest – Episode 6 – The Final Bacon

SHOCKING! OPUS Rooftop Patio – Overturned!

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