Tangthai Cuisine of Thailand

Restaurant: Tangthai Cuisine of Thailand

Cuisine: Thai
Last visited: January 20, 2010
Area: Vancouver, BC (Robson Street/West End/Downtown)
1779 Robson Street
Price Range: $10-20 (closer to $20)

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

Food: 4
Service: n/a (due to circumstances)

Ambiance: 4

Overall: 4

Additional comments:

• 2^nd location – original location on West Broadway
• Family owned
• Experienced and trained Thai chefs/cooks
• Authentic Thai with some modern influences
• Some creative dishes I’ve never seen at other Thai restaurants
• Can chose level of spiciness
• Home made/ home cooked
• Curry sauces made from scratch
• Beautiful décor
• 2 levels, private room available
• Slightly more expensive
• Attracts Westerners/locals in neighborhood
• Lunch and dinner
• Lunch specials 11:30-4pm
• Vegetarian options
• Open 7 days, open late

**Recommendation: Prawn skirt, Tom Kha Kai, Pla Muek Pad Keaw Wan (Stuffed squid), Nua Pad Takhai

The nature of this visit was not under normal conditions. I was invited by Chow Times on behalf of Tangthai for this special tasting session especially for Vancouver food bloggers. I was joined with Sherman’s Food Adventures, My Secret Eden, 604Foodtography and of course Chow Times. Therefore the food was complimentary, however we accepted on the condition that we had the freedom to write and express our true opinions. The owner, Dhitichaya Ruengsamarnwong (yes, very long name) was 100% receptive to the conditions and wanted the food to speak for itself. There was no expectation from the Tangthai.

We were thus served a proper sit down dinner having food served the way they usually would on a regular night. However it wasn’t quite “regular” as there were dishes that they are planning to introduce that are not yet on the menu and we were lucky enough to try them first. The owners are genuinely nice people and treated us with the utmost respect. I honestly think their service would transfer over to diners on a regular night.

The food on the whole was pretty good, with some dishes better than others. I’m not Thai so it’s hard for me to speak of ‘authenticity’ however some dishes I felt were more authentic Thai than others…to the point of it not tasting good to a Westerner since we’re commonly given “watered down Thai food”. I did my own research on Thai cuisine before attending and was educated about Thai cuisine during dinner as well so I think I have a pretty good idea of what’s going on. We got everything served the “authentic Thai way” which means pretty damn spicy – but you can request for something more mild…I wouldn’t.

On the table:

**Prawn Skirt 5/6

• Egg wrapping stuffed with minced pork, crab meat, and water chestnut. 4 for $8.95
• Prawn skirt or prawn spring rolls? I would have totally looked passed these if I saw them on the menu. It just sounds so typical. I’m actually really glad I got to try them though because they were good!
• They were very crispy and crunchy and fried perfectly. Lots of filling and tightly wrapped. The shrimp is only at the end. They’re savoury, but also spicy and spicier with the sweet Thai chili dipping sauce. I enjoyed it though!
• My only complaint is that they used artificial crab stick meat. I was looking for the texture of flaked crabmeat, but I guess for the price it’s understandable.

Satay Chicken and Beef 1.5/6

• Chicken or beef satay served with peanut sauce and cucumber 4 for $6.95 or 8 for $13.95
• I could pass on these. I tried both the chicken and the beef and found the beef a bit dry. The chicken was ok, but it was a bit tendon-y for my liking. It did have a grilled and crispy outside, just a fatty texture.
• They marinated the meat in a yellow curry spice rub which was unusual to me for Thai cuisine. I found it made for a drier texture and didn’t do much in terms of flavour.
• Peanut sauce: I had major issues with this sauce. It tasted like smooth jarred peanut butter with minced garlic and ginger. I like real ground peanuts in my peanut sauce. But apparently the authentic Thai way is actually to have smooth peanut butter and it’s more Malaysian to expect a crunchy peanut paste. I still like the Malaysian one better. This one really tasted like plain store bought peanut butter, a fresh one would have been nice and not hard to make.

**Tom Kha Kai 5/6

• Spicy coconut soup with chicken, tomatoes, mushrooms, galangal, lime leaves, lemongrass and cilantro $3.95
• I’ve never really had tom kha kai like this before. This one was very rich, creamy, velvety and smooth. It was almost like the texture of lobster bisque. The soup seemed very westernized to me, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.
• It’s a very aromatic soup that’s actually quite sweet in the beginning so there was quite a bit of palm sugar. The spiciness isn’t in the beginning but catches up with you after and lingers. There’s a strong lemongrass and coconut taste and I found it more sweet overall.
• They used 3 different bell peppers and the yellow bell pepper is the sweetest. It was also the most cooked so I think they used the natural sugars from the yellow pepper to enhance the sweetness.
• There was about 3 pieces of chicken filet, but no mushrooms in mine.
• The broth was excellent, but I could have used more fresh herbs and ingredients. The portion was a bit small too because of the size and shape of the bowl.

Cashew Chicken 3/6

• Chicken breast fried with cashew nuts, onions, crispy chilies, carrots, bell peppers, mushrooms, green onions, and snap peas $12.95
• This was good, but it was also at the end of the meal when we were all stuffed and our taste buds were dead. So it was not spicy at all, which is common of cashew chicken – it never really is.
• It looks really spicy, but its not. It’s more sweet and savoury. It was almost like tamarind sauce with sweet chili sauce and maybe some chili oil.
• It was a bit too oily for my liking, but the veggies were fresh and crunchy and there was a good amount of chicken and cashews.

Herb Chicken Barbeque 2.5/6 (special, not on official menu)

• Half chicken $16.95
• I didn’t really care much for this dish. It was good and the chicken wasn’t dry, but I wouldn’t order it again. It was a Thai version of barbeque chicken. I couldn't really taste any of the marinade even though I could see some herbs and lemon grass. It was very regular to me.
• What makes this dish different is the sauce. The sauce was very tangy and very salty! It was made of fish sauce so it was quite potent and there was also some lime. It was spicy again and infused with some cilantro. The sprinkle toasted rice on this sauce so there was a really delicate nutty crunch which I liked. The sauce is super strong though, which makes up for the blander chicken. Alone you probably won’t like it, but with the chicken it works.
• I really think they should remove the tin foil before serving this chicken. It was really weird and ruined he presentation.

**Nua Pad Takhai 5/6

• Beef fried with lemongrass, onions, chilies, bell peppers and cilantro $13.95
• This was a really simple dish and almost tasted like a Chinese beef stir-fry. As simple as it was, I thought it was done really well and it tasted good which is the important part.
• Since the beef slices were quite thin thy soaked up all the flavours really well.
• Besides beef the main ingredient is lemongrass, and that was the dominant flavour. It was very minced and not hard so it wasn’t distracting. They used it in the sauce and it absorbed into everything. It was quite spicy because of the chilies, but the lemongrass still stood out.

**Pla Muek Pad Keaw Wan 6/6 (special, not on official menu)

• Ground chicken breast and vermicelli stuffed squid with figs in spicy green curry sauce (Possibly $16.95? – they may consider offering it as an appy)
• I have never seen this dish before at any Thai restaurant in Vancouver. I was really excited! I love trying new things.
• The 6/6 is partly because it’s different, but in terms of flavour and overall I would give it a 5/6. There were like a million different flavours going on in my mouth. No joke. I couldn’t pick anything out because every flavour lasted only a second before I tasted something else. I felt like Violet eating that chewing gum from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
• This was the spiciest dish. The sauce was a green coconut curry sauce and it had quite the kick! It was sweet from the coconut milk and palm sugar, spicy from fresh whole black peppercorns, salty from fish sauce, tangy from a bit of lime and aromatic with galangal, fresh bay leaf and basil leaf. Every single herb and spice listed was fresh, not dried. Very rare to come across.
• The noodles made for a very soft and tender chicken stuffing. It was almost like eating an ultra soft chicken meatball or a meatloaf. It almost tasted milky. I could compare the texture and even flavour to white bread soaked in milk – not really flavourful, but very interesting. I don’t even know if it was good as much as it was new to me.
• The squid was actually the last thing that “wow’d” me…I was so distracted by everything else going on with this dish. The squid itself had no seasonings and it was a bit crunchy to me and I would have preferred it more tender and chewy.
• I was trying to guess everything in this dish. The green wedges were actually figs! That was a nice surprise. They weren’t sweet, but had the texture of a firmer zucchini or eggplant. It was a firm and had a squeaky crunch. I liked them but they were kind of flavorless. What gave them flavour was the sauce.
• The things that look like giant peas are actually baby figs. I ate 4 of them trying to figure out what they were and they weren’t good. They were very bitter and popped in your mouth…they popped out a seedy pulp almost like a cherry tomato would.
• I actually recommended the owners to offer this dish as an appetizer. Since the clientele is predominantly ‘white’ and the dish is rather new to the Thai scene I think it would be appropriate to offer it as an appetizer so people could try it.

Pla Rad Prik 4.5/6

• Fried crispy Tilapia topped with bell peppers, onions and a spicy sweet and sour sauce $15.95
• I could be the only one that actually enjoyed this dish. This is an authentic Thai dish that Thai people order. I’ve had something very similar; the Pla Sarm Rod at Khai Thai with my Thai friends before so I knew what to expect…otherwise you won’t like it and think it’s overcooked and dry. The thing is – it’s supposed to be.
• The tilapia is deep fried to the point were the fish becomes almost jerky like and dry. It’s extremely crispy and the goal is to get it to the point where it’s so crispy you can chew right through the bones and eat them! And I could!
• I’m not sure if you can tell by the picture but they slice the body of the fish to open up the surface and get it even crispier. It’s really good, but maybe only to me.
• The sauce is amazing. It’s reminiscent of that Pan-fried Prawn with Basil sauce I had at Rainflower. I love this sauce! It’s like honey garlic spare ribs sauce, but spicy. There’s tons of freshly cracked black pepper and it’s wonderfully aromatic, sweet and tangy too. It’s a tamarind based sweet and sour sauce and not a Westernized tomato based one. It was almost like a black pepper, spicy and tangy caramel sauce.
• The only thing missing is deep fried basil leaves. For me it’s more than a garnish and a must to this dish. The one at Khai Thai has deep fried basil leaves.

Chucheepla 3.5/6 (special, not on official menu)

• Deep fried Panko crusted eggplant (bottom layer) and deep fried basa fillets (top layer) served with curry sauce (Possibly $15.95?)
• It’s not on the menu, but they want to bring it on. This will fly easy with Western flavours and the Vancouver scene. For me it didn't seem traditional Thai (even though it is) and the flavour seemed more Thai-Japanese fusion.
• Almost anyone would like this dish, unless you don’t like deep-fried food.
• The dish isn't authentically served with eggplant but I enjoyed it more than the fish. The fish was too battered and it was just a regular flour batter.
• The thin slices worked well for the eggplant because the eggplant had the Panko batter which made it very crispy especially if you had them right away.
• It was topped with a curry sauce, which I thought was a peanut sauce. I could have used the sauce on the side because it ended up getting soggy.
• The sauce to me tasted like a peanut garlic ginger sauce, but it was really a curry sauce. I thought it was a Japanese curry sauce, but it wasn't. It still tasted very nutty to me and they did try to make it their own. This one wasn't spicy to me, but at this point my taste buds were overwhelmed.

Pad Thai Krung Tep 3/6

• Classic rice noodle dish with eggs, chicken, shrimps, sliced tofu, preserved radish, chives, bean sprouts, and traditional Pad Thai sauce, served with a side of ground peanuts and lime $12.95
• It was good and there was nothing wrong with it, but it was also very whatever. It wasn’t greasy and the noodles weren’t clumpy or overcooked. It’s just everything else was so flavourful that this one came across as ok even though it was pretty good.
• This was a Thai style Pad Thai so it’s tamarind based and not tomato based. The tomato based is the Western version. Therefore this one is almost soy based, but a bit tangier. I really needed the squeeze of lime juice; otherwise it was a bit plain.
• I don’t remember many shrimps being in it and I could have used more ground peanuts. I actually wanted more of a dried shrimp flavour to it.

Desserts

Thai Pudding 3/6

• Home made Thai milky iced tea pudding. Served cold $5.95
• This was simple, but good. It was more like jello than it was pudding, it’s not as creamy. It wasn’t too sweet and the sweetness wasn’t sugar, but actually sugar cane. The tea flavour really came out and I liked it.
• I didn’t like the piece of cake that was served on top. It was a bought angel food cake and it was really dry and chewy…almost stale. I would disregard this aspect because they don’t always do that.
• I’d pay $3.95 for it, but $5.95 I think is too expensive.

Tapioca with Jackfruit & Mango 1/6

• Tapioca pearls served with coconut milk, jackfruit, and mangoes. Served warm. $3.95
• No thank you. I really love the Chinese Coconut Tapioca Pudding which is similar to this Thai version. For me the best is still at Kirin so far.
• I think they should serve it cold.
• It was very salty! It was sweet too, but the saltiness was first. If you’re Thai then this is authentic and suits your taste buds, but if your not (like me), it’s very salty and almost tastes like it’s spoiled especially since it’s served warm.
• The owner did say the saltiness is for Thai taste buds and also her own taste buds, so I think she’s going to pull back on that.
• Not commenting on the flavour now, the tapioca still wasn’t good because it was clumpy.
• The only part I like was the use of fresh coconut meat, that made it a bit gourmet, but the taste was just not for me.

RauDZ Regional Table

Restaurant: RauDZ Regional Table
Cuisine: Contemporary/West coast/Seafood
Last visited: August 14, 09

Area: Kelowna, BC
1560 Water Street
Price Range: $20-30

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

Food: 5
Service: 3
Ambiance: 5, mainly b/c of history and concept
Overall: 5
Additional comments:

• To locals and tourists it's one of the best restaurant in Kelowna
• Reincarnation of a 4 diamond, award-winning fine dining restaurant - still same owner/chef
• All time favourites from Fresco are still on the menu
  
• Focus on organic, fresh, natural, all regional food
• Everything is from local bakeries/farms etc. in Kelowna
• Homemade sauces/condiments/dressings
• Very unique flavours and chef creations - but everything was missing a little salt and came across as a tad bland - yes, fresh ingredients, but when it all came together it was missing that punch
• Simple ingredients, but unique recipes and combination of flavours
  
• Excellent presentation with really decent portions - not huge, and not small
  
• Very reasonable prices for what you are getting - a gourmet bargain, however overall experience impressed me more than the food
• They offer a sample menu, but they don't advertise it and you need to ask your server
  
• They don't take reservations and open 5pm daily
• Drink specialties: Fresh fruit martinis
• Complimentary gourmet housemade lollipops when you get your bill eg: Tangerine & Thyme lollipop

**Recommendation: Crab Cappuccino, BLT, Arctic Char, Signature dessert, fresh fruit martinis

How I discovered this restaurant was completely by chance, luck was on my side...so I'm glad I fell upon it. If I were in Kelowna again I would go back to this restaurant to try other things are their menu.

I walked by the restaurant at around 5pm and stopped to take a look at their menu posted outside. There was a couple from Seattle waiting outside the restaurant for it to open and they strongly recommended us to try this restaurant. They said it was their favourite and that they dine here everytime they are in Kelowna. They said they come especially for their Crab Cappuccino which enticed my immediately. I took a quick look over their menu and saw the most creative dishes eg: hot dog with lavender mustard - right then and there I knew I had found my dinner spot for the night.

I went in to put my name down for a reservation but the hostess said it was so busy that reservations were not accepted...as if I wasn't convinced enough; now I knew I had to check out what the hype was all about. We basically ordered everything that was recommended on their menu, but I'll discuss the best out of those.

Overall, the experience was better than the food, although the food was by no means disappointing. It's comparable to great restaurants in Vancouver.

On the table:

• **Crab Cappuccino 4/6
• Dungeness crab, milk froth

• One of the most popular items on the menu. It actually originates from the old Fresco menu, the restaurant that came before RauDz...it's such a favourite it had to stay on.
• The presentation was lovely. It was good, but lacked a little bit of saltiness, it wasn't sweet either though...it was just a bit bland. The texture is not thick and creamy, it's the texture of a cappuccino made with whole milk, so it's not heavy or filling.
• It came with 2 larger pieces of dungeness crab which is a bit disappointing because I expected more. The dungeness crab flavour wasn't brewed into the cappuccino broth...it was more just 2 pieces of crab found in the broth. I found they should have chopped it up a bit more rather than just putting in 2 big chunks. I understand that they did this because it's called a "cappuccino" not a "soup"...but still.
• A nice subtle hint of cappuccino flavour and I think I tasted a little saffron which was great. It came with a nice frothy foam on top, and it's actually good as an appetizer or even order it for the end of your meal.
• It is a must try because it's unique and you can't find it anywhere, but I wouldn't need to order it again or anything. For $12 I found it on the expensive side, but because everyone orders it they can afford to keep it there.
• Calamari 4/6
• Another favourite item from the Fresco menu.
• Fresh calamari stuffed with sundried olive stuffing on a bed of roasted cauliflower salad.

• This calamari was very fresh and not the deep fried kind that you typically get served when you order a Calamari. You could really taste the freshness of these beautiful squids. Eat these little guys in one bite otherwise the stuffing oozes out and your ratio of calamari to stuffing is off. The stuffing is fabulous! Nice and salty, a great texture where you can taste the olives and the hint of sundried tomatoes. The squids don't taste salted, you get the saltiness from the olive stuffing. The olive stuffing was almost a spread - I would love to eat it with crostini or warm baguette.
• The cauliflower salad was very nice. Small pieces of roasted cauliflower, I think it could have used some capers in there because again it was a tad bland.
• ** BLT 5/6
• Grilled salmon, pancetta, fig anise toast, baked fries

• The fig anise toast made this sandwich! They order this fig & anise bread from the local bakery in Kelowna called The Bread Company - see my review on this bread and on this cafe because we tried it the next morning.
• Nice piece of fresh and moist salmon, you get a bit of saltiness from the pancetta and the sweetness of the figs. The taste is in the quality of ingredients.
• Fries - the fries they use made of Yukon Gold potatoes, and they aren't cut in house but they do bake them in house with their special infrared oven - these fries are really good and taste deep-fried...but they're not!
• I liked the little dish of salad it came with - that was actually not bland
  
• Fish & Chips 3/6
• Baked chickpea batter pacific rockfish, fennel spiced chips, cucumber tartar
• The picture for this was too blurry, so I didn't realize it at the time...so I apologize for having no picture.

• Nothing too spectacular, big pieces of fish and the fennel spiced chips are fries
  
• I'll repeat my fry message above - it's made of Yukon Gold potatoes and they're baked and are genuinely as good as deep fried ones.
• **Arctic Char 6/6
  
• Oat crusted, maple butter, potato, bacon & spinach sautee

• This was my favourite entree of the bunch. Another signature entree form the Fresco menu.
• For me the feature of your entree also known as the protein should be the stand out of your entree, for this dish - it was! The oat crust was amazing - I would order this again for sure.
• Halibut 4/6
• Raudz spice rub, grilled potato, and walla walla onion salad, blueberry and nectarine salsa

• Very good, but not excellent. What made this dish was the blueberry and nectarine salsa - I wish it was the halibut...but it wasn't. The Arctic char was better. The halibut was on the dry side for me and because it was such a thick piece and it was coated in this dry rub it became even more dry. I had to enjoy every bite with the salsa, and I think you should be able to enjoy your protein with or without condiments if it's done really well.
• Blueberry and nectarine salsa was excellent! Fresh local fruit, very well composed and great texture. You can see the quality and freshness. Could have used a squeeze of lime or maybe some lime zest to really bring out that fruity flavour. I'd ask for lime and do it myself next time. But I may not order this again, I would rather try something else.
• Best presentation out of all the entrees
• Lamb 5/6
• Bbq double chop and tenderloin, homemade gnocchi, oyster mushroom and arugula saute, tomato and molasses BBQ sauce

• This was better than the halibut, but not as good as the arctic char. Really decent sized portion and the lamb was very tender.
• The stand out of this dish was the homemade gnocchi, you could really taste the potato in it - best part of the dish, and one of the best gnocchi I've tried. It's easy to get the oyster mushrooms confused with the gnocchi though because they look the same and are same in size. The BBQ sauce was more tomato based, and it did have a unique homemade flavour - can really tell they put care into their sauces and the texture was perfect! - Not too runny and not too thick and bold enough to stand up to lamb, but subtle enough to not overpower the main ingredient.

Dessert

• **Signature 6/6
  
• Double chocolate mashed potato brioche, raspberry sorbet, warm chocolate sauce

• Holy crap...this was soooo good! We literally consumed it in under 45 seconds. This is a dessert I would dream about and what to go back for. This is SO their signature dessert and SHOULD NOT BE MISSED.
  
• It was $10 and I'd pay more for it.
  
• This potato brioche is amazing, it's so moist and decadent. The raspberry sorbet is made in house and was the perfect accompaniment to this dish.
• Blueberry Tart 4/6
  
• Apricot salad and sour cream ice cream

• This was good, but not the best tart I've had. The apricot salad was 2 apricots cut in half and I think they should have really chopped it up into smaller pieces. It would have been better and the apricots would have been more tender. The blueberries and apricots were all from local farmers and were fresh - so I think they wanted to let them stand out on their own...but they didn't. If I order it as a dessert I would prefer them to be used more creatively and then have them fresh as a garnish.
• Sour cream ice cream - homemade...and a great choice to match with this tart. This was my favourite part, you could tell that it was sour cream ice cream but it wasn't too sour or too pungent. Quality ice cream that was a perfect match for fruit.
• Hands down the Signature dessert was better

Drinks

• Must try their fresh fruit martinis - they have an extensive drink/wine menu, but their specials are their fresh fruit martinis.
  
• We tried their Blackberry martini made with a fresh blackberry puree and aloe - great texture and you can taste the aloe - brilliant ingredient to use with fresh fruit I have now discovered

The Bread Company - Bread review

Fig & Anise Bread - Loaf
Cranberry & Pumpkin Seed - Mini bun

Restaurant: The Bread Company - Bread review
Cuisine: Bakery/Breads
Last visited: August 15, 09

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

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

Additional comments:

• All breads made on site daily
  
• No refined sugars added
  
• Vegetable/Olive oil only
• Made with filtered water
  
• Breads are aged 16-24 hours before baking
• Hearth baking
• Organic bread available
  
• Each day features a new bread
• Weekly/Daily menu for breads found on website
• Sturdy/chewy breads - not the fluffy buttery type
  

**Recommendation: Fig and Anise Bread, Multigrain, all breads are better toasted

I have dedicated a separate blog just to talk about the different types of breads I tried.

On the table:

• **Fig & Anise Bread 6/6
  
• Flour, rye, whole wheat flour, water, sea salt, toasted walnuts, raisins, figs, anise

• My favourite! You MUST try it! I discovered it at Raudz, one of the best restaurants in Kelowna. They used this bread for their BLT and let me tell you it set the tone for the whole sandwich. I didn't know the bread was from The Bread Company until I went here for lunch the next day...then of course I had to take a loaf home.
• This bread has generous amounts of figs throughout the bread. A lot of figs! Every bite has some figs or some raisins. It was more figs than raisins and figs are more expensive. I didn't taste or see any walnuts though....I don't think they were in there. I couldn't really taste the anise either...but it doesn't matter, this is a great bread! Keep in mind it is bread though - not pastry bread, so don't let the figs fool you into thinking this is a sweeter pastry bread.
• It's best eaten toasted - no need for butter, but you can if you want. The figs just plump up wihen you toast it and the flavour is so much better.
• A bit expensive for almost $5, but the ingredients are high in quality so it works.

• Tasty Twist Ideas:
• Toast it and spread a layer of maple walnut ice cream on top...to die for! Makes a nice dessert.
• Toast it and drizzle with balsamic glaze. Delicious!..if you like goat's cheese, melt a thin slice on the bread before the balsamic glaze.
  
• **Multi Grain Bread 5/6
  
• My next favourite after the Fig & Anise bread

• Flour, whole wheat flour, rye, water, sea salt, flax seed, sunflower seed, oats
• Organic
  
• Great toasted with butter.
  
• Very nice crust and you can bite into and see all the seeds, oats and flax - great texture! You can really taste the ingredients and the quality of this bread.
• Better than Good Hearth
  
• Walnut Raisin - mini bun 2/6
  
• Flour, whole wheat flour, rye flour, water, salt, levain, walnuts, raisins

• I had this in a mini bun form and it was better toasted.
  
• It was actually more salty than sweet in flavour which is unexpected. A nice amount of raisins, but not enough walnuts. Not my favourite, and not spectacular, but still good.
  
• Cranberry Pumpkin Seed - mini bun 1/6
  
• Flour, whole wheat flour, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, water, salt, yeast

• I had this in mini bun form and I was really dissappointed. I wouldn't order it again. I expected it to be bursting with cranberries like the figs, but it wasn't. It hardly had any cranberries or pumpkin seeds - just look at the picture.
• I thought this would be more tart, but it was actually sweeter than the walnut raisin. I think they could have purposely added less cranberries to make it not as tart. But I think if you're ordering this, you like the tartness cranberries add and thus they should have been liberal with them. It's still not a sweet bread, but it was sweeter than expected.
• I also tried Good Hearth (Multi Grain is better) and the Sourdough, but it was nothing really special or different than what I could find at other bakeries.

• All their breads are chewy with a tougher crust, all taste the best toasted...brings out the flavour of the ingredients.
  

The Bread Company

Restaurant: The Bread Company
Cuisine: Bakery/Breakfast/Brunch/Lunch/American
Last visited: August 15, 09

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

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

Food: 5
Service: 3
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 5
Additional comments:

• Serves breakfast and light lunches
• Order and pay at cashier, food brought to your table
  
• Cafe and catering
• Casual cafe, but more gourmet than The Bohemian Bagel across the street
  
• Focus on freshly baked breads and pastries
• Artisan breads
• No refined sugars in breads
• Only vegetable/olive oil used in breads
• Loaves to go
• Familiar to locals, line-ups, busy
  
• Toonie Tuesday Lattes

**Recommendation: Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, Fig & Anise Loaf, stuffed French toast is popular too, but I didn't try it.

So I tried this restaurant for brunch the next day. It's across the street from The Bohemian Bagel, and it's casual but not as laid back. The baked breads are definitely more artisan breads and better than the homemade bread baked at The Bohemian Bagel. You don't get as much of that "home cooked" feel as you do at The Bohemian Bagel, but I thought overall their food was a bit better. The Bohemian Bagel offers food lighter than pub food, but heartier than The Bread Company. The breads at The Bread Company look amazing and they taste great! I wish you could sample them before buying them though. All baked goods are in the display cases so you can seen everything and order/pay at the cashier. For hot food, they give you a number after you pay and serve you at your table.

On the table:

• **Lemon Ricotta Pancakes 6/6
  
• One of their signature items! Signature pancakes made with lemon and ricotta cheese, served with fresh blueberry compote and maple syrup.

• These were so good! I enjoyed them a bit more than the oatmeal blueberry pancakes I had at The Bohemian Bagel. They were the same style pancakes though, 3 mini pancakes that are nice and moist - not the thick traditional kind. The ricotta cheese is very light in the pancake batter and it adds more in terms of texture than it does in flavour.
  
• Adding ricotta to pancakes makes them really tender and delicious! This pancake has a nice weight and is not heavy - the lemon and lemon zest added a great dimension of flavour and lightened up the whole dish. You can really taste the subtle hint of lemon zest, it brightened everything up. The blueberry compote was also great! Naturally sweet and thick - a good amount was served on top of the pancakes. Not too much, and not too little - just enough to not make your pancakes soggy and just enough to balance out all the flavours so that nothing was overpowering.
• Banana Walnut Pancakes 2/6
  
• Signature pancakes made with banana and walnuts served with banana compote (more like mashed bananas) and maple syrup.

• The ricotta lemon pancakes were better. The banana compote served on top was a little like baby food to me. It was mushed up bananas served on top, which means it turned brown in colour and ruined the presentation. You could tell it was fresh and nothing was added, but it just didn't look that appetizing. The bananas were really ripe too, so the whole dish was a bit sweet. The pancakes have a really subtle banana flavour - not like banana bread or anything - good pieces of walnuts in them too, which it really needed otherwise everything just tasted too mushy and you get sick of it quickly.
• *Honey-Cured Ham & Havarti Frittata 4/6
  
• eggs, ham, Havarti, sauteed apples, sage and leeks, served with hashbrowns or "home fries" and buttered toast

• This was good but they should call it an omelette rather than a frittata. It tasted like an omelette. It was heavy on the honey ham and Havarti. The Harvarti was just slices melted all over the top instead of incorporated in - so yes it was good becuase you can see how much you're getting, but I think it would have been better if it was incorporated into the eggs, as well as a little on top for presentation sake.
  
• I couldn't taste the apples at all. I wish I did though because it would have added a sweet note that would really make this "fritatta" a stand out! The leeks were really nice and I actually even bit into some zucchini (found in their Feta & roasted vegetable frittata), which is weird because zucchini isn't meant to be an ingredient for this frittata. I still liked it though. If I went in knowing it would be an omelette and if I could have tasted the apples which would have enhanced the leek and sage flavour more this would make it as one of my recommendations...too bad it didn't...so I gave it one star.
• The "home fries" were just fried up diced potatoes - so a fancy hashbrown.
• We had this with multi-grain toast - their multi-grain is great! You can really taste the grains and it has this amazing crust. Nice and chewy with great texture! Can eat this on its own - doesn't need anything else on it.
• Pumpkin & Pecan soup 5/6
  
• A gourmet soup that is delicious! Nice pieces of pecans in it, I'm surprised they didn't sink to the bottom - small enough to float and big enough to see. Great flavour and homemade...WAY better than the soups offered at The Bohemian Bagel.
  
• **Fig & Anise Bread 6/6
  
• I won't say much about it here because it's so good I'm giving it its own review. I even bought a loaf home at around $5. But it is worth it because you can taste the quality.