Trafalgar's Bistro - Dessert Review

Mango Coconut Roulade

Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake


Restaurant: Trafalgar's Bistro - Dessert Review

Cuisine: French/Eclectic/Desserts/Bakery
Last visited: October 22, 09
Area: Vancouver, BC (Kitsilano)
2603 W 16th Ave
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 2.5 (for the 2 desserts we tried)
Service: 3.5
Ambiance: 4.5

Overall: 4
Additional comments:

• Cozy French bistro
• Casual fine dining, pretentious atmosphere
• Eclectic/International influences
• Parent restaurant of Sweet Obsession bakery next door
• Serves same desserts, but more expensive at the bistro
• Attracts 40+
• Well lit/comfortable/intimate
  

** Recommendation: n/a

I've been meaning to try this place for ages and finally made it. The atmosphere was a bit pretentious so next time if I'm going just for dessert I'd probably just have it at Sweet Obsessions next door rather than at the bistro. They offer all the same desserts at both. Sweet Obsessions is for younger people and the bistro is for older. Everything is a couple dollars more at the bistro because you pay for the plating, ambiance and service, which is reasonable and expected.

We were here just for dessert so this review is only based on the 2 items we had. One dessert was a hit and the other a miss. I did like the portions of their dessert though, not overwhelming, but just enough. I haven't tried enough to make a fair judgment, but this is my review on what we ordered. I'll still go again to try other things.

On the table:

• Mango Coconut Roulade 1.5/6
• This was basically a mango mousse rolled in a sheet of coconut cake served with raspberry coulis $8.50
  

• They covered the whole thing with what looked like meringue, but it was "buttercream". The buttercream on this was awful and tasted like icing sugar and shortening. I didn't eat any of it. It must have been there for decorative purposes because it didn't taste good at all. It was too thick and it created this hard exterior shell that just fell apart as you were cutting into it with your fork. It wasn't soft or icing like at all. It would have tasted better if they used butter instead of shortening.
  
• 
• After removing the layer of inedible buttercream I was left with a very small piece of actual cake. The cake was moist, but mostly because the buttercream shell kept air out and it created condensation inside. The cake was almost wet so I knew it was sitting in a fridge for a while.
• There was also hardly any mango mousse or mango flavour, and I couldn't taste the coconut at all. There were no real bits of mango and they should have included some dried shredded coconut to absorb the moisture. It was too wet and mushy overall and the flavour was nothing special.
  
• I prefer the mango mousse at St. Germain's or any other Asian bakery any day.
• Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake 4/6
  
• This was their special for the day. I'm not a fan of cheesecake and I really liked this one...but maybe it's because it didn't taste like a cheesecake $8.50
  
• It wasn't a heavy cheesecake, but more like a melt in your mouth maple pumpkin mousse. They did a great job!
  
• It was creamy, light and fluffy in texture especially for a cheesecake, and also rich in flavour. It wasn't too sweet and the pumpkin and maple really stood out. It was served with a pumpkin puree sauce which had a strong maple syrup flavour.

• 
• The reason why I gave it a 4 is because there was no crust! A cheesecake should always have a crust and this one didn't have one, or at least they should have warned us. It did have a walnut rim around the edge but it needed more texture and a crust would have been a great contrast to this mousse-like cheesecake.

The Hide Out Cafe

Tahi Chicken wrap, Tukey Bacon wrap, Black Bean Baja wrap, Mango Chicken wrap


Restaurant: The Hide Out Cafe
Cuisine: Eclectic/American/Breakfast/Brunch/Lunch

Last visited: August 30, 09

Area: New Westminster, BC

716 Carnarvon Street

Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very Good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5

Service: 3

Ambiance: 3

Overall: 4

Additional comments:

• GREAT quality and tasting wraps in Vancouver/lower mainland
• Homemade sauces.dressings and soups, but pre-made wraps
• Baked goods come from bakery (not homemade)
• Lunch combos available
• Hidden location
• Breakfast all day Saturdays
• Relaxed/Casual/Self-service
• Menu changes frequently, call ahead to confirm menu
• Some vegan soups
• Really need to fix their website - links are expired
• Catering available
• Eat in/Take-out
• Closed at 6pm
• Closed Sundays

**Recommendation: Soups (changes daily/weekly), Mango Chicken wrap, Thai Chicken wrap - call ahead to confirm menu.

Talk about local gem in New Westminster! I'm rarely in this area, but if I am - I'm going to The Hide Out Cafe. I may not trek out here just for this wrap, but I do crave it and am very tempted to make the drive out. The wraps are THAT good - fresh and simple ingredients and they're just made so well. The soups are also really fresh and also made in house. The location is quite hidden and you wouldn't even notice it unless you were referred to it or are familiar with that area. It's not even on the main downtown strip - it's across from the law courts.

It attracta people working nearby and it gets busy at lunch time. It seems like a place suitable for students and it's self-service - order and pay at cashier type eatery. The baked goods are almost all imported from another bakery - so I wish they did sell some homemade stuff because it looks like a place that should. Freshly baked pies are on their menu - but they NEVER have any and very rarely make them. They'll admit that too. Everything I've ordered has always been good. They also sometimes serve nachos; the menu changes whenever they want so you never know what you're going to get.

They have an upcoming Thanksgiving wrap so I'm looking forward to trying that.

My only complain about their wraps is the way they stuff them. They don't mix all the ingredients together so that the veggies stay crunchy; and they are pre-made and put in the display case so they need to ensure they don't get soggy from the sauce and dressings. You have to eat it from left to right or right to left. The wraps are rectangular and they grill them off before serving them. In order to get a bite of everything you need to take a couple bites until you complete the row, otherwise you'll get only the chicken, or only the veggies. You need to get a combination of everything. If they weren't pre-made they could mix all the ingredients together.

On the table:

• **Mango Chicken Wrap 5/6
  
• White chicken breast, feta, mango, red and green pepper, spinach, mango dressing and sweet chili sauce.

• This is awesome! It's sweet, savoury and very mildly spicy. They use fresh mango but I couldn't really tell because it was overpowered by the feta. I wish there was a little more mango in the wrap. The mango dressing is almost like a mango chutney mixed with sweet Thai chili sauce. The wraps are served warm so the feta melts and becomes creamy as it mixes into the sweet sauce. Really fresh ingredients. Not too much stuffing so that they fall apart, but they're the perfect size. They hold really well and they're not soggy, the tortilla is grilled which adds this perfect nuttiness and soft but also crunchy baked/grilled texture.
• **Thai Chicken Wrap 6/6
  
• White chicken breast, purple and green cabbage, green and red bell peppers, cilantro, onions, carrots, rice, sesame oil and peanut sauce.

• Ok this is one of my favourite wraps...ever. I've taken a few people here and this is everyone's' favourite. Better than the Mango Chicken wrap. HOWEVER it's one of their summer features so they have replaced it with the "Lamb Souvlaki Wrap"...they said that they will bring the Thai Chicken wrap back, but they like to switch things up. AND if it's requested enough they will bring it back earlier.
• This wrap is so good because of the combination of ingredients as well as the sauce. The peanut sauce is more of a vinaigrette than a peanut satay sauce. It's a bit thinner and more acidic and the sesame oil really comes through. It's tangy and savoury at the same time. They balance all the ingredients really well. The cabbage slaw stays crunchy even after it's grilled. That's what I love. It's a warm wrap but the veggies are not overcooked at all.
• The rice is just plain rice and it's seasoned with the sauce. The rice is more of that long grain white rice than Chinese style rice. It's cooked perfectly and gives the wrap another dimension of texture. Try this - you won't be disappointed.
• **Smoked Tomato with Corn Soup 5/6
  
• Homemade, and so creamy and flavourful. For me it was more of a chowder than a soup. It was hearty and filling and quite rich. There was celery, carrots, onions, tomato, corn and potatoes. I wish there was more corn though, they skimped out on that.

• It had a smokey taste and it tastes like they put cream cheese or sour cream in the soup as well. It was really really good. It had that sour cream/cream cheese taste and texture to it.
• Red Lentil (Vegan) 4/6
• Homemade again. also quite tasty. It tasted a little Indian - Indian for Westerners if I can say. There were onions, celery, carrots, and lentils and other spices and herbs. The lentils were really cooked so that it was almost a puree and broke down in the soup.

• This was very good and they really give you the flavour of the ingredients rather than watered down soup. It was very heavily lentil based, which is expected, but I would have appreciated a bit more of the other ingredients.

For your benefit as the menu isn't on the website, here are some additional wraps they offer but I haven't tried.

• Turkey Bacon Wrap
  
• smoked turkey, bacon, provolone, avocado, roasted red pepper, spinach, and sun-dried tomato pesto aioli
• Black Ban Baja Wrap
  
• rice, black beans, corn, cilantro, lime, tomato, assorted spices, chipotle sour cream, spinach, red and green peppers, mixed herbs and a four cheese blend
  

Alpha Global Sushi & Bar

Restaurant: Alpha Global Sushi & Bar
Cuisine: Japanese/Izakaya/Tapas/Fusion
Last visited: August 22, 09

Area: Vancouver, BC
1099 Richards Street
Price Range: $20-30 (average bill per person)

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4.5
Service: 5
Ambiance: 2
Overall: 4.5
Additional comments:

• Izakaya dishes - small plates meant to be shared
• Japanese chefs/cooks
• Weak in decor for this type of restaurant
• Food is not bad, a bit expensive
  
• Not as good as Kingyo/Yuji's/Hapa Izakaya - almost the same price too
  
• Some creative dishes, some authentic Japanese, some Westernized Japanese
• Weekly specials
• Menu shows last week's most popular dishes
• Large selection of cocktails
• Not as busy as other Izakaya places downtown
• Dinner service only

**Recommendation: Tuna Garlic Pepper Sashimi, Mentaiko Udon (I'd come back just for these)

This restaurant has been here for four years now. I never see it really busy and after talking to the staff you know that business is slow. I'm a fan of Izakaya places so I decided to give this place a shot. The food is actually pretty good, it's not the best Izakaya place in Vancouver, but the chefs and staff are really trying. I think because it's located in Yaletown/downtown people expect a lot, but it falls short when compared to the other Izakaya places in downtown eg: Kingyo and Hapas Izakaya (especially when they're charging almost the same price). It's more refined tha Guu, but Guu on the whole tastes better and is cheaper in price.

For the price Alpha charges and the clientele they're hoping for, they should really invest in decor. It just feels kind of dead because it's a bit dark inside and it doesn't have that high energy or eclectic feel you expect from an Izakaya place. I would go again for the dishes I recommended or if someone wanted to try it, but it wouldn't be my first choice for Izakaya.

On the table:

• **Tuna Garlic Pepper Sashimi 6/6
• Black pepper and garlic flavoured seared albacore tuna with ponzu sauce

• Wow! This is really good! They recommend it and it's an Alpha original. The chef seared it perfectly. You can see and taste the freshness - a simple recipe and quality ingredients. This dish should not be missed. I could eat 2 plates to myself no problem. It comes with a bed of radish salad underneath which is also great.
• You don't need to use soy sauce, maybe just a little wasabi to bring out the freshness.
• Pumpkin Croquette 4/6
• Deep fried kobacha squash and mashed potato croquette with "fruity vegetable sauce" for dipping (I call it a Japanese BBQ sauce)

• This is nicely done, nice and crispy. Really strong squash flavour as well, they went heavier on the squash than mashed potato which I appreciate. The texture is really smooth and the "fruity vegetable sauce" is that BBQ/mustard tasting sauce (see description in my review for Ping's Cafe) http://tinyurl.com/nb8gvq
• The pumpkin croquette here is stronger in squash flavour than Ping's...Ping's is more homemade - feels like someone's mom made it.
• Vegetable 2/6
• Mango, beets, cucumber, leaf lettuce and avocado

• I was actually pretty disappointed by this. The beets enticed me because I've never heard of beets in a sushi roll. But when it came you could barely see the beets, they were there to add colour. They julienne them and you get very little, so you really couldn't taste them at all. Too much cucumber, not enough beets...they need to balance out the ingredients in this roll. The mango shined through, but that's about it. I would pass on this.
• Spicy Tuna & Avocado Roll 5/6
• This was the best roll we ordered out of the three. It's only available as a weekly special though. It's done with an Alpha twist so it's a bit unique. It comes with that Japanese bbq mustard sauce that comes with the pumpkin croquettes. I dipped it in this with a little wasabi and that was enough. The put these things on top that taste like rice krispies - it's some kind of deep fried flour/starch...I liked it though. I haven't really seen it done anywhere else. I mean they're kind of flavourless, but they add a texture that makes this roll different than the others.
• Mango Vancouver Roll - 4/6
• Mango, avocado, mayo, crab meant wrapped in wild smoked salmon and tobiko with plum wine mustard mayo sauce.

• Not bad, but sounds better than it was. Try it once with the original sauce it comes with and then try it with your soy and wasabi. I found that it needed a little soy and wasabi because the original sauce couldn't stand by itself. They could have added something crunchy because it's a little bit on the mushy side, but still tasty. At $9 it's overpriced for what it is becuase I feel like I could get something similar somewhere else.
• Miso Teriyaki Beef - 2/6
• These miso grilled short ribs are one of there specialties, but I don't know why. I couldn't taste the miso flavour and it actually kind of felt like the stuff you get at Korean BBQ. They should have used a better quality beef becuase it wasn't that tender or anything...it was a bit tough. I actually enjoy the Korean BBQ short ribs more.
• **Mentaiko Udon - 6/6
• Udon (Japanese thick noodle) with spicy cod roe and shredded seaweed on top.

• Oh my gosh...this was sooo good. One of the best udons I've had. This is an authentic Japanese dish too! I don't know why it's not an "Alpha original"...I would come back just for this dish. I can't even explain how delicious it is. Really soft noodles and the spicy cod roe gives it this unique texture. It is slimy and it's supposed to be, it doesn't matter to me becuase I expected it. This is really really good, and I haven't seen it available at other Japanese places.
• Alpha's Taco Rice - 5/6
• Taco spice seasoned pork served on Japanese rice, cheese and lettuce with their original spicy tomato sauce.

• This is a bang for your buck! You get a huge bowl for $7.75 and it's worth a try. I mean you could probably reinvent something similar at home - but it's still good. A unique idea that tastes great. It tastes just like the description. Mix it all before you eat it though because the ingredients are served in layers with the rice o the bottom and freshly shredded lettuce at the top. I could order this again.
• Unagi Rice Gratin Age 3/6
  
• Baked unagi (eel) with creamy white sauce, seasoned rice and cheese.

• This is rich!! Don't order it unless you feel like something really greasy and heavy - or unless you're with 4 or more people. It's an Alpha original and it seemed like it would be really good...cause it's so fatty. It was pretty good, but you can't eat a lot cause it's really rich and heavy on the cheese and sauce. For $12 its a bit expensive, but you get quite a bit of eel so I can understand. The eel is completely covered by the cream sauce and cheese though...there's A LOT of cheese! When you order a gratin you better expect it though. They could have added bread crumbs to the cheese to give it a crispiness...it was more casserole than gratin.
• The best part of this dish is the baked edges around the bowl...the rice is so crispy and extra chewy because it's Japanese rice. Best part!

Dessert

• Matcha Cake with Green Tea Ice Cream 3/6
  
• Made in house. I appreciated this becuase I could really taste the matcha....they didn't skimp on the powder. It was a strong matcha taste which is what I want if I'm ordering a "Matcha Cake". It come with red beans, which were way too sweet...I don't like red bean, but even the people I was with that do like it thought it was too sweet. It was almost syrupy.
  
• Tiramisu
• I didn't order this, but was tempted too. It's made in house, will try it if I go back.
  

The Bohemian Bagel

Restaurant: The Bohemian Bagel - Brunch review
Cuisine: Eclectic/American/Breakfast/Brunch/Lunch
Last visited: August 14, 09

Area: Kelowna, BC
524 Bernard Ave
Price Range: $10-20

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4
Service: 3
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 4
Additional comments:

• Open Wednesday - Sunday
• Serves breakfast and lunches
• Lighter than pub food, not gourmet, but home cooked style
  
• Cafe and catering
• Focus on homemade sausage, bacon, dressings, soups
• Freshly baked goods
• Each table has this homemade fruit jam, a great added touch!
  
• Healthy & tasty options
• Homestyle, casual/laid back feel
• Attracts all ages/families
• Popular to locals, quite busy
  
• Daily specials
  

**Recommendation: Blueberry oatmeal pancakes, homemade sausage/bacon, apparently the Huevos Rancheros is good (although I didn't try this)

So we got this recommendation from the front desk at the hotel. He's a self-acclaimed foodie and seemed trustworthy. It was a great recommendation, although he did warn us that the hollandaise sauce was not homemade...which I beleive, otherwise they would advertise it like they do with everything else that is homemade. The bread was baked in house, but I prefer the bread from across the street at The Bread Company. It was a young staff, with laid-back service. We had 4 servers for brunch so it was a bit disorganized, but not hectic - just sllooww.

On the table:

• **Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes 5/6
• One of their most popular items! Topped with icing sugar, lots of warm blueberries and served with maple syrup.

• I really enjoyed these! They were delicious. It's served in 4 mini pancakes - the oatmeal is ground into the pancake batter so it's a smooth texture and not gritty or anything. Nice and moist, not really fluffy though. They're not your thick and hearty style pancakes though. They're thinner and quite moist becuase of that; completely different than the giant pancake I had from The Grizzly Manor in LA - I like both styles of pancakes though. The blueberries are fresh and added a natural sweetness to the pancakes. Nice, simple, and very enjoyable. $11.50, so a bit more expensive than usual, but worth it for the quality.
• **BOH Combo (Select 4 favs) 5/6
  
• 2 eggs, hashbrowns, homemade sausage, homemade back bacon

• Must try the homemade sausage and bacon - the back bacon and bacon strip are all made in house in the back. It's very fresh and not the cured bacon most people serve. This is gourmet bacon. The sausage and bacon were were both quite lean and not oily, both were very flavourful and juicy. Quality meat, so there's no need to add anything to enjoy them.
• Classic Eggs Benedict 2/6
  
• With the homemade back bacon and English muffin (don't think the English muffin is made in house though)

• This was good, but also just a standard eggs benedict. I came in biased to this item because I knew that the hollandaise sauce was from a powder and not homemade. Therefore it tastes like a benny you've probably had before. This is actually one of their popular items, but that doesn't surprise me because most people are used to that packaged hollandaise sauce rather than the real deal. You can even order the hollandaise as a side people like it so much - I wonder what brand they're using...
• Spinach and Fresh Cherry Salad 4/6
  
• Quite creative. Spinach, fresh Okanagan (local) cherries, Goat's feta, tomato, and carrots with you choice of dressing. We had the mustard-soy dressing which is made in house and tastes great! Really nice dressing, more like a vinaigrette, it would go well with any salad.
  
• This salad was on their specials board, so it's seasonal due to the fact that there's fresh cherries in it.
• Pineapple Peach Cornmeal Muffin $2.50 3/6
  
• Another creative item on their specials board! I love how they take advantage of the seasonal fruit that is so abundant throughout the Okanagan. Fresh local peaches and pineapple (not sure if the pineapple was fresh though) go into this cornmeal muffin. I tasted more cornmeal in the muffin than the fruits though - I think the cornmeal overpowered the fruit flavour. You can actually bite into and see the pieces of fruit, but I found the flavours lost in the cornmeal. I could taste the fruit in the first couple bites and then I couldn't taste it after that.
  
• Remember to ask them to warm up the muffins - it tastes better. Also try their muffins or homemade breads with the homemade fruit preserves served at every table. Really bold and fruity in flavour.
• Mandarin-Apple Streusel Muffin $2.50 4/6
• This was a slightly better muffin, but it tasted like a coffee cake with the nutty brown sugar topping. It's hard to compete with a muffin that has a crunchy streusel topping. It sounds like a really creative and unique muffin, but again you couldn't really taste the mandarin or apple. If anything the apple flavour came out more than the mandarin flavour.
• Nice and moist on the inside, this is a good muffin - it's just that it doesn't taste like what it was supposed to be. Again remember to ask them to warm up the muffins - it tastes better.
• Soups 1/6
  
• All the soups are made in house and change daily.
  
• We tried the gazpacho and the corn chowder.
• Just because it's made in house doesn't always mean it's good. Yes, it's fresh and homemade, but that doesn't mean the recipe is good. The recipes for the soup were unfortunately not good. We happened to try both becuase the original order the gazpacho was so disappointing. It tasted like canned tomato sauce that was watered down with veggies in it. So the waitress traded it and gave us the corn chowder - which was also disappointing. It was better than the gazpacho, but still had that watered down taste and texture. The corn was definitely from the cob, but it didn't matter becuase the soup base itself just wasn't good. Rarely do I ever ask the server to take something back, but in this case it was necessary because it really was that bad.
• Homemade preserves available at each table - full of real fruit flavour