Ocean Wise Turns 5 Media Dine-Around

Event: Ocean Wise Turns 5 Media Dine-Around
Date of event: January 23, 2010

The 1^st Ocean Wise event I attended was the Seafood Chowder ChowDown last November. That was a great event, and this one was even better! This time I was invited to attend the Ocean Wise Turns 5 Media Dine-Around. It was a fully-hosted evening of culinary adventure and yes, I was quite jealous of myself!

First, I want to congratulate the success of Ocean Wise and wish them a happy 5^th birthday.

Ocean Wise is Canada’s leading sustainable seafood program. In 2009 Ocean Wise welcomed over 120 partners and in April they brought the program national. Most likely you have seen the Ocean Wise symbol on your menu at one point or another. I could go on listing facts about the organization, but I won’t…that’s the point of having my media source being a blog…I have the freedom to write ;) (Yes, I know I have a little blog, but I like to think I have a bigger voice :D)

No, I’m not going to bash Ocean Wise because I do support what they’re doing. I respect that they don’t solicit restaurants to participate in their program. Instead they allow restaurants to approach Ocean Wise willingly. I think this is the way to advocate social change, give clients the freedom of choice. That being said, the other side of the argument is: is it fair when a restaurant only offers Ocean Wise to their diners and thus the diners are ‘forced’ to pay the extra dollars? Don’t the diners have a choice since they’re the ones that are paying?

Again, I do support Ocean Wise, but I just want to stir up some discussion. A reason why I support it is because Ocean Wise is promoting positive social change. In my definition “inappropriate fishing” shouldn’t even exist. Bottom line: if the method isn’t sustainable – change it. Ocean Wise is the long term solution and when all the fish is gone from over fishing everyone will really be paying more than the extra couple dollars.

Personally I think a lot lies in education. I think diners should want to choose Ocean Wise and not have to choose it because it’s the only option. Therefore I think there needs to be more initiatives on educating the public about the harms of overfishing, bycatch, and habitat destruction. Buying Ocean Wise is one thing, and knowing why you’re buying it is another.

Anyways, I am Follow Me Foodie, so let’s get back to the event and the food.

The event was a fully hosted evening that kicked off with a champagne reception at the Aquarium. From there we made a toast to 5^th year anniversary for Ocean Wise and many of their achievements in 2009. This includes being the winner of the 2009 Pinnacle Award for Supplier of the Year!

We were all separated into groups and taken on a bus provided complimentary from Landsea Tours (sustainable transportation). The two restaurants we were going to be surprised with were 2 of Vancouver’s newest Ocean Wise restaurant partners. Can’t you feel my excitement?! The following list is Vancouver’s newest Ocean Wise Restaurant partners. The ones in bold were the restaurants I got to visit.

MEDIA DINE-AROUND Restaurants:

Aria Restaurant and Lounge - Westin Downtown, Vancouver BC

Burrard Bridge Marine Bar and Grill, Vancouver BC

The District, North Vancouver BC

The Edge Bistro, North Vancouver BC

Fraiche , West Vancouver BC

Griffins – The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, Vancouver BC

Revel Room, Vancouver BC

Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company, North Vancouver BC

Tapenade Bistro, Steveston BC

Zen Japanese Restaurant, West Vancouver BC

After my dinner at The District and The Revel room we ended the night at C Restaurant. C Restaurant is the founding partner of Ocean Wise so it was the perfect spot to end the evening.

On the table:

The following is just a teaser, please keep checking back for reviews and details of the food.

Restaurant 1 – THE DISTRICT

Location: 13 Lonsdale Ave North Vancouver, BC

Chef: Executive Chef Paul Mon-Kau

Smoked Salmon Caesar

• Wine pairing: Pentage Pinot Gris or Van Westen Viognier
• Ocean Wise salmon: Wild BC/AK salmon – Chinook or sockeye (as per our Seasonal Wild Pacific Salmon Recommendations)

  

  

The District Mussels

• Wine pairing: Triple Karmeliet Ale or Road 13 Honest John's Red
• Ocean Wise Mussels: Mussels (sustainably farmed; off-bottom culture – minimal to no habitat damage; no feed necessary; no pollution from farm)

Red Wine Cassis & Cardamom Poached Pears with Vanilla Gelato

Restaurant 2 – REVEL ROOM

Location: 238 Abbott Street

Chef: Executive chef Tyrell Brandvold & Chef Joel Silva

Pecan Crusted Pacific Sablefish

• Braised kale, bacon, and charred tomato vinaigrette
• Sablefish (Sustainably caught: Alaskan by bottom longlines, BC by traps; minimal bycatch & habitat damage; strong management; resilient species & abundant)

West Coast Jambalaya

• Salt Spring Island mussels, Manila clams, spot prawns, chorizo, rice
• Mussels (sustainably farmed; off-bottom culture – minimal to no habitat damage; no feed necessary; no pollution from farm)
• Manila clams (sustainably farmed; on-bottom culture with hand harvest; minimal habitat damage; no feed necessary; no pollution from farm)
• BC spot prawns (sustainably fished with traps; minimal bycatch & habitat damage; strong management; resilient species & abundant)

Restaurant 3 – C RESTAURANT

Location: 2-1600 Howe Street

Smoked Baynes Sound Scallop

• Denman island herring “escabeche”, peashoots in multiple textures, compressed cucumbers, shallot vinaigrette

Selback-Oster, Riesling, Zeltinger Sonnenuhr

• Spatlese, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Gemany (Sustainable) 1998

Salt Spring Island Goat Cheese and Vanilla Mousse

• Sapo bravo stone fruits, spiced liquid marshmallow

Forbidden Fruit Winery

• Iced Apple Dessert Wine
• Similkameen Valley, BC (Sustainable) 2007

  

Vista d’oro Winery

• Fortified port style wine with Walnut brandy
• Langley, BC (Sustainable) 2007

Additional note: Due to the fact that this was an event exclusive to media, everything from transportation to food was complimentary. However there are no expectations from Ocean Wise or the restaurants and everything written is 100% of my personal thoughts and experience.

My Holiday Dinners and Feasts

Happy New Year!

So due to sleeping in and it being a holiday I didn't really update the blog this morning. I didn't know what to post and I wanted it to be a little different. So if you've been following my tweets I've had 8 or 9 Christmas dinners this year. Unfortunately I didn't get pics of all of them, but I did get a few. Just wanted to show you what I've been eating.

Some of the holiday meals were home cooked and some were dine outs. I don't review anything that is homemade by friends or family...because I still want to be invited for dinners! =p But to satisfy your curiosity everything was delicious and I'm so lucky to have friends and family who can cook.

Vancouver Food Blogger dinner at The Irish Heather...review posted tomorrow!
Duck leg with Mushroom & Foie Gras Jus

Christmas dinner with my best friend. We love cooking, we love eating, we love food! The dips we made for our crab cakes. 1) Pesto Cream sauce 2) Sweet Thai Chili with Edamame 3) Curry Pineapple Chutney with Coconut

The crab cakes we made. The only ingredient we prepared was crab meat...everything else was rummage around my kitchen and work with what we have.

1) Crab cake 1: Tropical East! Coconut Curry crab cake crusted with cashews, coconut, and coconut rice crackers. Served with curry pineapple chutney.

2) Crab cake 2: Asian style! Sweet Thai Chili crab cake crusted with peanuts and honey glazed sesame cashews. Topped with Sweet Thai Chili edamame beans.

3) Crab cake 3: Mediterranean style! Pesto and caper crab cakes with Pesto cream sauce.



Dessert after crab cakes was Egg Nog Cupcakes!...and Mochis! You can eat those whenever!


Christmas Eve dinner at Kirin - Peking Duck.
My appetizer. My own creation: Christmas all wrapped up! It was shredded turkey, stuffing, cranberries, mushrooms, purple potatoes wrapped up in filo. Served on home made cranberry sauce.

My friend's drunken risotto made with 2 bottles of Merlot! It also had Italian sausage, onions and spinach. Yum!

Sweet potato mash with toasted marshmallow bake..this was out "vegetable" dish.

Christmas dinner potluck with 6 friends. Sweet potato mash with toasted marshmallow bake, mac n' cheese 1, mac n' cheese with bacon 2, drunken risotto, and honey Dijon glazed ham.

Dessert from Kreation Artisan Cake Bakery

My New Year's Eve 2009 dinner at The Marriott hotel in Vancouver. Charred asparagus with papaya vinaigrette, steamed veggies, roast beef, roast chicken breast, wild mushroom and pearl onion ragout, ravioli with olives, artichokes, baby shrimp and radicchio, roast potatoes etc. etc.

CinCin Ristorante & Bar – Dessert Review

Restaurant: CinCin Ristorante & Bar – Review on dessert only

Cuisine: Italian/Mediterranean/Fine dining
Last visited: November 24, 09
Area: Vancouver, BC (Robson Street/West End/Downtown)
1154 Robson Street

Price Range: $50+

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

Dessert: 5.5
Service: n/a
Ambiance: 6
Overall: n/a (just came for desserts)
Additional comments:

• Fine dining in Vancouver
• Restaurant + Bar: 5pm-midnight
• Late menu: 11pm-midnight
• Extensive wine bar
• Gourmet dessert menu: Chef Thierry Busset from France
• Beautiful Mediterranean/Italian décor and feel
• Brightly lit, great lighting
• View of Robson Street
• Coat check service
• Open kitchen
• Will soon open bakery near Coast on Alberni & Burrard

**Recommendation: n/a – didn’t try enough of the menu

CinCin Ristorante & Bar is one of Vancouver’s fine dining Italian restaurants. It attracts locals and celebrities and often hosts parties for high profile events like Vancouver International Film Festival.

I only came for the dessert and it was under special circumstances, so I don’t feel it would be fair to rate the service and overall experience I received. As usual I will focus on the food, specifically the dessert. I will mention that I did get to talk to the pastry chef, so that’s why I can give an even more detailed review that I usually do…and you thought it was impossible! ;)

The pastry chef Thierry Busset is from France and his experience and training comes from working in places such as France and London. His desserts were made with care, and a few of the ingredients were imported to guarantee a gourmet experience. The execution and style of the desserts is very European - but also much more French than it was Italian. From ingredients to presentation it is well worth it to come again...for dessert at least.

Now I'll let you in on a secret - CinCin is actually planning to open a bakery near Alberni & Burrard where the new COAST Restaurant is located. I can't wait until that happens.

On the table:

• Caramelized Apple Tart 5.5/6
• Tahitian Vanilla Gelato and Caramel Sauce $14.50
• Dessert wine pairing: Chateau Dereszla Tokaji Aszu 2000 $18.00

• I had it with the wine pairing (for those who ‘know’ me I rarely drink), but in this case I’m glad I had the pairing because it really made a difference. It really brought out the caramel taste in the tart. It was amazing.
• This tart reminded me exactly of the ones I had in Paris from gourmet/best bakeries (such as Poilane) or even the apple strudels I had in Vienna. It was light, flaky and very delicate. It was a pretty big tart, which I wasn’t expecting especially for a fine dining restaurant. The presentation was clean and simple and it was served warm or even a bit room temperature. The caramel was warm though.

• The apples were baked until they were so soft and tender. I was wondering how they got so soft, but the secret was in the apple used (Elstar apple), the paper thin slices he used (hand cut), and the way it was layered (one even layer). Everything was baked really evenly.
• The apples are sliced into very thin wedges and he actually hand slices the apples, which blew me away…because I was almost 98% sure it was done with a mandolin. Talk about handle with care.The apple slice was almost as thin as the phyllo pastry.
• The caramel sauce was the freshest caramel I think I’ll ever try. It was warm and actually not thick. It was more syrupy and tasted like melted soft caramel chew candies. It had a real roasted sugar texture and flavour and it’s quite sweet. You used it to pour over the tart. I’m not even a big fan of caramel, but this one went hand in hand with the tart.
• The vanilla gelato is the best vanilla gelato I’ve had to date. It’s unlike any gelato you’ve ever tried before. It was really ice and very intense with vanilla flavour.
• In American apple desserts we’re always used to the Granny Smith apple because it’s tart. However the apple the chef used was an Elstar apple from the Okanagan. It actually originates in The Netherlands though. It’s in the same family as the Golden Delicious apple, which totally makes sense because it has a similar flavour. The chef actually brought one out for me to see. It actually tastes like an old apple, it’s a bit soft and powdery in texture. It's crunchy on the outside and soft inside, it' not crunchy-crispy and refreshing though. I was really caught off guard. It’s not that juicy or tart, but more sweet and honey-like. I think he uses it more for the texture it brings rather than the flavour…because for me it definitely made a difference in the texture of the tart.
• The reason why I didn’t give this a 6/6 is because I wanted a bit more contrast in this dish. The phyllo pastry was light, flaky and crispy, but it was so light and the apples were so soft I couldn’t really taste the difference between them. It tasted like layers of melt in your mouth ingredients and I think I just wanted a little bit more of a difference in texture. I felt as though the phyllo and apples blended together a little too well. I wanted another component, even if it was something crunchy on the side.
  
• 

• Amarena Cherry Creme Brulee 5.5/6
• Chocolate Gelato $12
• Dessert wine pairing: Chateau Partarrieu, Sauternes 2006 $16.00

• I had this one with the dessert wine as well and again it made everything taste like caramel. It was a great match.

• 

• This is probably going to make some readers/foodies mad, but I’m actually not a big fan of crème brulee either. I wouldn’t go as far to order it, but I’ll always try it and still eat it if it’s there. It’s slowly growing on me. Even for me not liking crème brulee that much, this one still ranked a 5/6.
• He used about 4 Amarena cherries, a couple whole and a couple cut in half. (They’re quite expensive)
• The custard was actually more jelly like than expected. It was still creamy, but the custard was firmer than I though it would be. It had a jelly like start and then turned creamy in your mouth. It’s served cold, but not out of the fridge cold.
• The toasted brown sugar topping was great, and I think this is the party I usually don’t like about cream brulee. This one was great though. It was a light layer and toasted until it was caramelized and not burnt.
• I loved the Amarena cherries they used in it. The cherries are imported from Italy – they’re not fresh but come in a syrup. I was lucky enough to sample these alone as well. They’re very sour and yet very sweet at the same time. Definitely a cherry made for desserts...actually it could make a good reduction for a thick steak or lamb as well. When you bite into these plump cherries the juice stimulates your saliva glands immediately. It was the texture of an olive or a rehydrated prune.
• It came with a tiny donut which I can best describe as an Amarena cherry and marzipan fritter. (Marzipan is almond paste). It’s an Amarena cherry rolled in a layer of marzipan and then crusted with an almond donut batter. This was a 6/6!
• It was crunchy from the almonds and then chewy from the marzipan and juicy from the cherry. It was rich, decadent, sweet and tart. I started off with the dry donut texture and then you got the juicy bite of cherry. Great textures.
• It was served with a rich chocolate gelato that wasn’t as amazing as the vanilla gelato, but it was still really good. After the vanilla gelato though, no other gelato can compete.