Chambar Restaurant

Restaurant: Chambar Restaurant

Cuisine: Belgian/French
Last visited: February 12, 2010
Area: Vancouver, BC (Gastown/Downtown)
562 Beatty Street
Price Range: $30-50 (Closer to $50)

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

Food: 6
Service: 5.5

Ambiance: 4.5

Overall: 6

Additional comments:

• Specializes in Belgium/French food - fusion
• Innovative/exotic/creative menu
  
• Going on 6th year
  
• Casual fine dining
• Lively atmosphere
• Busy on weekends/late nights
• Husband and wife owners
• Chef Nico Schuermans and his wife Karri
• Parent to Cafe Medina next door
• Just opened Dirty Apron Cooking school (couple stores down)
• Fixed menu available
• Event nights
  
• Extensive wine list
• Great for drinks/cocktails/appetizers
  
• 18% gratuity for groups of 8+
• Ocean Wise
• Open 5-12am daily
• Reservations recommended
  

**Recommendation: Mushroom Soup, Mussels & Frites, Le Canard aux Epices, if you can order Stilton croquettes as a side - do it! Vanilla Pear Cake

Chambar has always been one of my favourite restaurants...and it still is one of my favourites. I rarely ever say I have a “favourite restaurant” but this one has yet to disappointment me. I usually have certain dishes I like and that’s what I will recommend rather than the restaurant itself…however everything here is more or less amazing.

It is a Belgian restaurant, but the food is more contemporary with slight French and West Coast influences. It is more or less a fusion restaurant.

A bit steep in terms of price, but in the category of casual fine dining. The portions are reasonable although they look smaller until you start eating them.

They really let the ingredients speak for themselves here and they don’t go overboard by trying to enhance every single item with seasonings and spices. It’s simple, but tastes so complex. That’s the magic of Chambar.

My dessert review for Chambar Restaurant.

On the table:

Mushroom Soup

• It's not on the online menu but it was called "mushroom soup". It was basically 3 kinds of mushrooms showcased in 3 different way with 3 different cooking methods. There was a mushroom soup, sauteed oyster mushrooms, and deep fried trumpet mushrooms. $17
  
• Sautéed Oyster Mushrooms 6/6
• These are wonderful! The stems were meaty, juicy, big, and plump. It was sautéed in lots of butter and some garlic and it was almost the texture of meat. That is all I tried from this plate, however there were no complaints coming from the person who did order it. (That's why I can't rate the entire appetizer)
• I did love the concept of this appetizer overall – however the soup portion of it was looking a little small. Even the sautéed oyster mushrooms were a bigger portion. If “soup” is in the title of the dish then it should be showcased the most and it wasn’t. Nonetheless I would still order this again just based on the sauteed oyster mushrooms I tried.
  

Le Carpaccio de Thon Grillee - (Ahi Tuna) 4.5/6

• Charred yellowfin tuna carpaccio, celery, daikon & citrus brunoix. Pomegranate molasses, red shiso $17
  

• The slices were actually really nice and big and also cut quite thin and I’m surprised. I will usually only order sashimi items at Japanese restaurants…purely for the fact that it’s usually done better.
• I did miss the citrus note to this dish ever though there was still a tang to it from the pomegranate. The tang is just milder than the tang you usually get from Japanese tuna carpaccio. I also missed a little bit of heat – but maybe I’m too used to tuna carpaccio’s with wasabi. This one has mustard seeds though which was nice, but a bit masked even though there were a lot of them.
  

• This carpaccio carried a fruity flavour and the fish was very fresh. The diced ingredients were very subtle in all aspects and the combination of flavours were quite soft.
• There was some grapefruit which gave it a slight citrus tang, a little bitterness as well as some sweetness. It was a very fresh dish, but also a bit mellow in flavour although still delicious.

Dual Bison 5/6

• They don't have this on their online menu but it was basically bison done two ways. The first was a bison Prosciutto and the second was a bison shepherd's pie. $18 (I think?)
  

• Bison Prosciutto
  
• The bison prosciutto was very similar to regular prosciutto but much more rich. It was more like duck prosciutto, but more lean and less buttery and creamy.
• The slices are a bit thicker and the taste is almost a bit sweeter and it’s definitely not as salty as typical prosciutto.
  

• Shepherd’s Pie
• The bottom meat layer of the pie was braised bison which came off as almost like “pulled pork”. It was very shredded and actually quite dry. The flavour was very simple, but it was dry because it was a lean meat not because they overcooked/baked it.
• The pulled bison was best with the gravy they served along side. It was an intense, thick and syrupy sauce. It tasted like barbeque sauce with lots of Worcestershire sauce. There was quite a kick!
• The potato topping was a very simple but good mashed potato with lots of butter. It was nothing fancy, but just simple and good.
  

Mussels & Frites - Vin Blanc 3.5/6

• White wine butter cooked mussels, braised celery and leeks. Coarse black pepper. Served with frites. $22
  

• I could definitely taste the white wine. It wasn’t cooked out as much as I thought it would be. The wine is actually really obvious and I found it a tad distracting. It was my least favourite of the 3 although still tasty.
• It’s definitely a nice qhite wine they’re using and it’s something that I could easily drink, but it was a just a bit overpowering.
  

Mussels & Frites - Congolaise 6/6

• Mussels cooked with a tomato coconut cream. Smoked chili and lime. Fresh cilantro. Served with frites. $22
  

• If you like a more exotic mussel then this is for you. This was very Indian inspired with a very aromatic broth.
• The broth was stewed with fresh tomato chunks. Big coarsely ground black peppercorns, fresh basil leaves, cardamom, cumin and coriander.
• The broth didn't taste or look creamy, although there was coconut milk in it. I found it quite light and tangy with more of tomato based soup then a coconut cream based one.
• I wouldn’t say it was spicy, but there was a little heat.
• I could have drank the broth as a soup on its own.
  

Mussels & Frites - Coquotte 5.5/6

• Mussels cooked in a white wine cream. Smoked bacon lardons, spring onions. Served with frites. $22

• If you just want a simple, good, and more traditional mussel then this is for you.
• This was just good. It’s nothing adventurous and it’s one of those gourmet dishes that appeals to the masses.
• There’s bacon…and what more do I need to say? People love bacon!
• There’s also shallots and some green onions and onions.
• If you like bacon, butter, cream and onions – then you’ll like this. It’s not that creamy, but it is still very rich – it was almost like a bacon chowder broth.
  

Frites 4/6

• Served with a house made garlic aioli.
• The frites were very fried – they weren’t dark brown but they were fried until they were almost dry. I think they triple fry these. They're very crispy and reminded my of a thicker version of the skinny fries I had at The Irish Heather.
• They are cut into 1 inch sticks which allows more surface area for them to fry up very crisp. They weren’t fluffy and not too salty too.
• The garlic aioli is wonderful! It’s very thick – almost the texture of full fat yogurt.

There's a piece of ahi tuna carpaccio on the top right hand corner - that's not how it's served though...that's just my bite :)

It would normally look like this.

Chevreuil aux Raisins 5/6

• Cassis & juniper venison loin, stilton croquettes, braised belgium endive, coronation grape & aged sherry sauce. $30

• Venison tastes like a very tender and lean steak. The meat is a bit sweeter and it’s not as rough. It came with 5 pieces of venison and it was a bit overcooked for me. I could have had it a bit rarer although venison is still very tender even when cooked to medium.
• It was seared with simple salt and pepper and it was very little.
• All the little details were quite random and I didn’t think they complimented each other although they were good individually.
• The sauce could have been a bit more reduced. It wasn’t thick and sticky and it came off as a gravy thickened with corn starch.
  

• The Belgium endive leave was braised with maple syrup. The bitterness it naturally has was almost completely gone so I didn’t feel like it was endive. I didn’t find that it complimented the venison – I actually thought it took it over. Not that it tasted better, but the flavour was so strong I was distracted. There was a very strong clove taste and there was a bit of cardamom in it – however I though the combo of these spices was cinnamon.
• The brussel sprouts were dressed in tangy vinaigrette made with good quality olive oil you can taste.
  

• The stilton croquettes were amazing! They looked just like the croquettes in Spain. They were very fresh and the Stilton was used perfectly. A little goes a long way and they used the perfect amount. Stilton is very similar to Blue Cheese so it can be quite overpowering – this one was evident but not overpowering one bit.
  

• It was nice and crispy with a light breading and very creamy and soft inside.
• It was served on a bed of “dip” which tasted like sour cream mixed with chives. I could have eaten 4 of these as an appetizer. Yes….not a plate – but 4. Although they were good you don’t want to overdo these because they still are very rich.
  

Le Canard aux Epices 6/6

• Spice rubbed duck breast, butternut squash puree, red delicious caramelized apples, whipped goats cheese & tamarind gastrique. $29

• The duck skin was very crispy and almost came off as bacon! It was nicely seasoned and there was actually very little fat yet it was still moist.
  

• The pieces were a bit small and I found this entrée to be the “stingiest”.
  

• The goat’s cheese was good, but again a bit overpowering with the duck. I think I would have liked it if they mixed the goat’s cheese with a ricotta to make it a bit lighter in flavour. I wanted to showcase the natural sweetness of the duck a bit more.
  
• The tamarind sauce was tangy and that suited the cheese well becuase it was almost like balsamic vinegar with goat's cheese which is a great combination.
  

• I didn't like how they used a Red Delciious Apply. It was too powdery in texture especially after it was cooked. It was almost like an old apple texture.
  

• The apples were “glued” onto the plate with a nice caramel sauce. It was a very cooked caramel so the flavour was very intense and rich and it hardens – more like a candied hard caramel than nougat caramel .
• The butternut squash puree was one of my favourites of the nite! DELISH! Seriously. I had to pass compliments to the chef because it was so good.
• It was very thick and creamy and hard to swallow and had the texture of butternut squash whipped with marscarpone cheese…although there was no marscarpone cheese or any cheese for that matter.
• The texture is beautiful and it was slightly sweet with lots of butter and subtle seasonings. The flavour was pure butternut squash, but it was so smooth and creamy you think there is a whole complex production to it – but there isn’t.

Don't miss out on the Chambar Restaurant dessert post tomorrow - there was a lot :)

Guu Japanese Izakaya - Aberdeen Restaurant

Restaurant: Guu Japanese Izakaya Restaurant - Aberdeen
Cuisine: Japanese/Izakaya/Fusion
Last dined: November 26, 09

Area: Multiple - Richmond (Yaletown/Downtown)
4151 Hazelbridge Way – Inside Aberdeen mall
Price Range: $10-20 (Closer to $20)

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

Food: 4.5
Service: 6 (The waitress I had was fantastic!)
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 4.5
Additional comments:

• Few locations in Vancouver
• Japanese chefs/cook/staff
• Specializes in creative Japanese izakaya/tapas
• Features typical Japanese items and creative tapas
• Special tapas change frequently
• Seasonal menu
• Fresh sheet available
• The most reasonably priced Izakaya place in Vancouver
• Sells out of popular items early (by 8pm)
• Some imported sashimi
• Busy at peak hours
• Mon-Sun lunch 11:30am-2pm
• Sun-Thurs. dinner 5pm-11pm
• Fri-Sat. dinner 5pm-12am

**Recommendation: Deep-fried Japanese sweet potato and cheese croquette, seared beef tenderloin (Tataki Salad), beef tenderloin with mushrooms, grilled mackerel, Guu creation, All Stars: beef tongue (done 3 ways), pan-fried ahi-tuna steak (sold out when I got there),

I’ve been to Guu on several occasions and I’ve never been disappointed. It started off with one humble location and now it’s expanded to about 4 restaurants in Vancouver and the lower mainland. The next location is actually opening in Toronto. I’m quite surprised that the quality hasn’t changed because I worry when places go from independently owned to a “chain” or franchise.

I have a thing for Japanese izakaya so I’ve tried a decent amount in Vancouver. So far my top choices are Kingyo, Yuji’s and Hapa Izakaya – this is also “gourmet izakaya” so it is pricier than Guu. Therefore I won’t compare them too much. The quality and food at Guu is good and for the price you’re paying you are getting value and an experience – it’s always lively in there. More so in the downtown locations, but the Richmond location is nice and spacious. It ended up being around $60 without tax and tip for 2, but we ordered A LOT and over-eat as usual.

This review covers a lot of food – we made quite a dent in the menu and this was only between 2 people. Mind you we were full about half way through so it’s not that the portions were that small either. They were actually a decent size. We tried enough dishes that the good ones out-weight the not so good ones. We finished every last bite, which is always a good sign. The only negative part of this experience was the 3 of their most popular items: ahi tuna steak, seared beef sashimi & miso mayo black cod were sold out and it was only 8pm. It ended up

On the table:

• Pumpkin Croquette 2/6
• Pumpkin paste croquette with a boiled egg inside $3.60
• The pumpkin is actually the Japanese Kaboocha squash. It’s more or less a Japanese comfort food. It’s the size of s softball and it’s a pretty hearty appetizer.
  
• They serve it with a dressing that tastes exactly like Thousand Island dressing mixed with maybe a little ketchup. I really wish they used a different sauce, like a Tonkatsu sauce. Thousand Island is so old fashioned and it made it to rich, creamy, and filling. It’s kind of neat that they use the dressing to write “Guu” though. Nicely presented.
• I like this dish because I like pumpkin and I like hard-boiled egg, but it’s actually nothing special. They also pre-make a whole bunch of them and just heat it up upon order. So it’s not very crispy and it’s kind of room temperature.
• **Deep-fried Japanese Sweet Potato & Cheese Croquette 4/6
• 3 pieces for $5.80
• I ended up ordering these croquettes as well because I wanted to see the difference and make a better recommendation. They should replace the pumpkin coquette, they were way better. They are pretty rich and filling though, so best shared with 3 people.
• These were fresh and actually served hot. It had a crispy panko bread crumb batter and inside was the creamy soft mashed sweet potatoes. You couldn’t see or taste the cheese and I’m pretty sure they mixed it right into the potato so it blended and melted right in. The sauce was the same Thousand Island dressing, which again I wish they would change. However I liked it better with this dish than the pumpkin croquette.
• **Seared beef tenderloin (Tataki Salad) with Garlic Ponzu sauce 4/6
• It's served with garlic chips, daikon and sprouts $7.80
• They gave lots of pieces of seared beef tenderloin. It was more rare beef than it was a salad. The salad was more of a garnish.
• 
• It was very lightly seared and almost rare, but I like rare, so I was happy. It wasn’t heavy on the spices and it really showcased the quality of the meat. The picture may not look good, but it tasted great! I think it would have been better if they cut thinner slices because it would have been able to better absorb and marinate in the garlic ponzu vinaigrette.
• Tropical Roll 1.5/6
• Cooked tuna, boiled chicken and cucumber wrapped with a paper thin omelet and served with mango chili sauce $3.80
• I think this was the worst of everything we ordered. It didn’t taste bad, but it was just a poor job and it sounded so much better on the menu.
• I couldn’t taste the chicken at all and I could barely taste the tuna. It was just a whole lot of rice and they used the rice to make the roll look bigger. I HATE when they do that. I hope their other rolls aren’t like this.
• The chicken or tuna tasted like smoked salmon mousse, I couldn’t even tell what was what…I can’t even tell looking back at the picture…can you?
• The mango chili sauce was made of mango puree - I’m not sure if it was fresh or not, but you definitely taste mango. That part was good.
• **Beef tenderloin 6/6
• Seared beef tenderloin with mixed mushrooms and garlic mushroom sauce $8.80
• This is it! The 6/6. This was amazing. We ate it so fast. I think there was about 10 pieces of beef tenderloin. 10 pieces for $8.80? That’s insane. It was cooked to a perfect medium rare. The meat was so soft. I already thought the beef in the beef tataki salad was good…until I tried this…this one is goooood or “guu’d”.
• It’s cooked with button and shiitake mushrooms and the gravy is the juice from these mushrooms, the meat, and some garlic and soy sauce. I wish the sauce was a bit more reduced, but it’s not a steakhouse so I didn’t care.
• The beef tenderloin was so buttery, tender and juicy. It was just as good as any beef I’ve had a steakhouse. No joke.
• **Guu Creation 4/6
• Yellow tail, tuna and salmon belly sushi. 3 pieces. $6.80
• They recommend you not to eat any with soy sauce or wasabi because they are each served with a specialty sauce already.
• Yellow tail 4/6: This was a yellow fin hamachi. It was topped with minced garlic in a little vinaigrette and some sliced raw onions.
• Tuna 3/6: Instead of tuna, we actually got chopped salmon sashimi. It was served on sushi rice and wrapped in a sheet of nori. It tasted almost like spicy tuna sushi, but better. It starts off sweet before it gets spicy. It was one of the better spicy marinades I’ve had. This one didn’t taste like it was only Tabasco, it was very well-rounded. They also had tiny slices of avocado to balance out the spiciness.
• Salmon belly 5/6: This was the best of the 3. It was lightly seared salmon belly topped with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper. It was so simple and so flavourful. It was smoky and hickory tasting served on sushi rice with a little wasabi underneath.
• Chopped salmon & Avocado with Garlic Teriyaki Sauce 3.5/6
• $6.80
• This was basically salmon tartar marinated in garlic Teriyaki sauce with chives and a raw quail’s egg on top. There are also pine nuts in it – that was a great touch! It’s served with prawn chips.
• It was like a Japanese version of ceviche – which is I guess “tartare”.
• To eat: break the egg yolk and mix everything together until combined. Then you take a spoonful and fill the shrimp cracker cups. After mixing it, it becomes very creamy and a little slimy in texture from the raw egg and sashimi combo. The pine nuts helped to break up the mushy/slimy texture.
• It was really big pieces of salmon and the quality of it wasn’t that good either. I found a couple chewy pieces and it was almost like chewing into tendons. I had a few pieces like that. I also wish they had something else besides prawn crackers to serve them with.
• **Grilled Mackerel 5.5/6
• With garlic ponzu $6.80
• This was a huge fish and well worth the price. It’s pretty much half a mackerel served with garlic chips, sesame seeds and green onions.
• It tasted more pan-fried than grilled to me and it had a great crispy skin. It was nutty with sesame seeds and tangy and salty from the ponzu vinaigrette. It was very fresh and juicy, a firm fish that tasted almost like salmon.
• The garlic chips are always good and the waitress actually brought us an extra side of them without us asking for them. She just knows people like them.

Dessert

• Guu’d Sundae 4/6
• Scoop of black sesame ice cream, scoop of green tea ice cream, cornflakes, whipped cream, and 2 chocolate Pocky sticks $5.50
• It’s a pretty big sundae and I enjoyed it as simple as it was. It’s such an easy concept you could easily put together at home. It was almost like eating deep-fried ice cream with the cornflakes in there.
• 
  
• If you like all these ingredients you’ll like this sundae. For me, I’m just ok on black sesame ice cream. I’ll eat it, but wouldn’t order it if there’s something else. In this case the black sesame ice cream actually had black sesame seeds in it. I’ve never seen it like this before because usually it’s finely ground black sesame seeds. I actually didn’t mind this one…I wonder who their ice cream supplier is.

Shabusen Yakiniku House Cont'd

Restaurant: Shubusen Yakiniku House Cont'd
Cuisine: Japanese/Sushi/Korean BBQ/Buffet

Last visited: October 19, 09
Area: Vancouver, BC - Downtown (2 locations in Vancouver)

755 Burrard Street

Price Range: $20-30 ($23 dinner buffet price)

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

Food: 2.5

Service: 2

Ambiance: 2

Overall: 2.5

Additional comments:

• Offers Korean BBQ and popular Japanese items/sashimi
  
• Owned and operated by Chinese
• Not authentic Japanese sushi
• Typical all-you-can-eat/buffet standards
• Busy/crowded/line-ups
• Good for large groups
• Reservations recommended
• Lunch buffet $13 11-2:30pm
• Dinner buffet $23 5-10:30pm
• Open everyday

**Recommendation: n/a

This is the part 2 of my review which focuses just on the deep fried items. It was too much to put under one review so I split them up.

See the 1st part of my review for Shabusen

On the table:

• Agedashi Tofu 1.5/6
• It was a heavy coating of batter and it was too soggy.
• Zucchini Tempura
• Batter was too thick again. It was chewy, soggy, doughy and just not good.
  
• I do appreciate the fact that I could specifically order a zucchini tempura though. Most places don't allow you to select your veggie.
• Corn Cake 2.5/6
• The corn cake was almost like a corn croquette. It had a really creamy filling that was perhaps thickened with condensed milk and mayo mix. It was sweet and I would have preferred a bit more savoury. It was a bit flavourless. The sauce wasn't as good as bechemel sauce.
• This one was breaded rather than battered. It was much better.
• Tonkatsu 4/6
• The Tonkatsu was perhaps the most enjoyable.
  
• It was really good and crispy and they gave you a big piece of it. It had a perfectly browned panko crust and the pork was very lean. They served it hot and fresh, however as it cooled the meat tasted really dry. Which made me think that the "moistness" was due to the deep-frying.
• The sauce was pretty good too. It's almost like a Japanese BBQ sauce.
• 
• Herring Tempura 1/6
  
• Again the batter came right off because it was too thick. The herring is a little salty and there's tiny tiny caviar in the belly. It's not really crunchy like masago or even as salty, but it's very soft and fishy tasting.
• They make it better version at Chinese restaurants.

Dessert

• Jello

• It was a coffee jello with evaporated milk.
• The presentation was horrible and it looked like it was separating.
  
• The jello tastes like a strong pot of coffee and they skimped out on the condensed milk so it looked really bad.
  
• They had no mango pudding either.
  
• To eat: you mix it all up.