LE GAVROCHE
http://www.legavroche.ca (Hehe, Judy, I was at your page and then I was like hmmmm that looks familiar... OH!!! Le Gavroche  !!!) 
Man, this dinner was almost a month ago, so I don't quite remember everything. Nevertheless, I hope you guys enjoy the photos haha... sorry they are a little dark. The amuse bouche was a taro chip with some sort of shrimp salad on it, topped with an avocado. (I was in the washroom when the server came by to explain it.) It was good, but nothing memorable. I can't comment on the olives since I'm not a fan of them... 
This really was too long ago haha... I can't even remember what I thought of the bread or what kind it was either...  . I do remember the dinner date saved me the last piece of white bread though . 
I had the daily special appetizer - White Asparagus with Tiger Shrimp, served with a Red Pepper Hollandaise Sauce. This dish was a lot prettier than it tasted, but it wasn't bad. It just wasn't great. The prawns were very overcooked, making them dry and tough, which was disapointing. It came with a lot of asparagus, which is always good hehe. The sauce was nothing special really... it didn't make my taste buds jump for joy. 
The dinner date had the Wild Smoked Salmon - Blinis, Salmon Caviar, Marinated Dill Creme Fraiche. It was very very tasty, but again, nothing out of the ordinary. 
Lemon sorbet to cleanse the palatte for the next dish... 
I had the Duck Magret Confit, White Peach Reduction. The breast was absolutely delicious!!! Yum!!! The leg, however, was quite disapointing. It was a bit dry, and just didn't hold a candle to the breast. Overall though, it was nice to be offered both parts of the duck (when usually you just get the breast or the leg). 
The dinner date had the Beef Tenderloin, Seared Fois Gras, Merlot which (from the one bite I had hehe) was very delicious and extremely tender. The prawns on this dish were much much much better than the ones on my appetizer - these were cooked to a tee, nice and juicy. 
We both opted for the same dessert, which was a trio - Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee, Lychee Sorbet, and Chocolate Terrine Cake. Oh boy oh boy this dessert made me the happiest girl on the planet... I got my cake and ate it too! Haha... usually, I would order the creme brulee, and then that'd be it... and I'd still be left with this craving for chocolate and ice cream. This dessert covered all three bases! The sorbet was sooooo tasty, it was just BURSTING with flavour. The cake was average, but satisfied me, and the creme brulee was not bad. Using my Entertainment card, the meals came out to $35/person. Le Gavroche offers a $45 prix-fixe, which includes any one appetizer, entree, and dessert off their menu (no restrictions). Using that, you're still allowed to get $20 off using your Entertainment card, so it's quite a good deal! RELISH RESTAURANT AND LOUNGE
http://www.relishtherestaurant.com 
I came to Relish for DOV, but because I saw a couple eating nachos as we were taken to our table, I insisted on ordering an extra appetizer haha. So here are the nachos - nothing special, except maybe the zesty cheese fondue. This dish was $11 which is a huge ass rip off if you ask me. I regretted ordering it. It also ruined my appetite for the rest of the meal (probably because of the grease from the chips...). 
If you are observant, you would have noticed that I'm missing a picture of the bread. Well, that's because we were never given any bread . I would have asked, except I wasn't sure that they provided bread, until later in the evening when I went to the washroom and realized that all other tables had bread except for ours  . I guess ordering the nachos made the waiter think we didn't want bread to start... anyways... I'm digressing. Above, you will find the Pan Seared Diver Scallops on Warm Bannock Bread with a Mushroom Cream Sauce. This was the most excellent dish I had in all of my DOVs. It made me want to scream with joy! Scallops were perfectly cooked, and the firmness of the bread made sligtly soft by the sauce went perfectly with it. It was also served on spinach. I wish there were more than two of these things... sharing with the dinner date left me with one... 
The other appetizer was the Pulled Short Ribs Wrapped in Phyllo with Garlic Mash Potatoes, Red Wine Jus, and Sweet Pea Puree. I have to say, the appetizers stole the night at Relish. This dish was also quite good, with the potatoes being heavenly. I also loved the pea puree which I thought was a nice accompaniment to the potatoes. I can't comment too much on the short ribs because there were onions in it... and I can't fully enjoy something with onions. 
For my entree I had the Duck Leg Confit with Honey-Dill Carrots and Sweet Potato Hash. Okay... this dish was nothing but sweetness!!! Everything tasted like honey, it made me sick after eating just a quarter of the dish. The duck was also a bit dry... 
The dinner date at the Orange Rum Glazed Sockeye Salmon with Savory Crepe Mashed Potatoes and Seasonal Vegetables. The salmon was very very dry... the crepe thing was excellent though, filled with mashed potatoes. I think they should maybe offer that as an appetizer... yumm... 
For dessert I had the Chocolate Mousse Profiteroles which were about the size of a quarter... no joke. They were tasty, but the size was very disapointing. It wasn't nearly enough to satisfy me. 
(Yes, I obviously realize the picture is sideways, but I'm just too lazy haha.) The dinner date had some sort of ice cream with blackcurrant biscotti. I don't usually eat biscotti, but this one was very tasty. (I love blackcurrant.) The ice cream was also very very tasty, with hazelnut or some other sort of nut in it. This dish came out much better than I expected. It was better than the profiteroles. In summary... the scallops stole the show. SUSHIYAMA This was my first time at Sushiyama, and I had high expectations considering all the great reviews it has gotten from Vancouverites. They exceeded those expectations  . It's a bit of a hole-in-the-wall just because of the size of the place - probably only six tables or so in total. 
We ordered the Alaska Roll (bottom right), the Monkey Tear (see next picture for a better view), and some sort of roll covered in yams (both orange and yellow ones). Everything was very very good - the rice was good, the ingredients were fresh, and the portions were decent. The rolls didn't fall apart like they often do at the Korean joints these days... The yam roll thing was pretty much a dynamite roll covered with yams. 
Look! It looks like a monkey !!! That's cream cheese at the top, with asparagus tempura for the eyes, smoked salmon for the nose, fresh salmon for the cheeks, and crab of course. It's been awhile, so I forget what that brown stuff at the bottom was... this is probably the yummiest roll I've had in a lonnnnng time. (I think it was about $6-7 though, so it's nothing "cheap".) 
We also ordered the Caterpillar Roll which is basically an unagi roll covered in avocado, with two fish roe for the eyes. This was so sooo sooooo beautiful, I didn't want to wreck it!!! The avocado was sliced very thinly as you can see, which is really quite amazing. THE WILLIAM TELL RESTAURANT
http://www.thewilliamtellrestuarant.com I came here for DOV. It was a little funny because everyone in the room was Asian hahaha. Anyways... on to the food haha. 
The amuse bouche was a tiger prawn on a toast with white chocolate cream cheese, topped with tomato and red pepper relish. The white chocolate cream cheese, although it sounds a little strange, was delicious!!! I wanted more!!! 
The appetizer was Lobster Bisque. There wasn't any choice for the DOV menu. This came with an empty bowl with just the lobster meat in the middle; then, the soup came in a separate canteen and was poured into your bowl. As I watched people around the restaurant with this dish, it was quite funny because people would eat the lobster before the soup came, thinking that was the entire dish hehehe. I think there should have been better communication from the servers. I'm not a big fan of soups in general, so I probably can't judge this too fairly. I thought it was just okay... the dinner date thought it was good. 
Yes, the bread arrived after the soup... I was about to cry again because I thought I was going to get shafted like I did at Relish hahaha. There was one ball of white bread, one ball of brown bread, and one ball of white poppyseed bread. All were not bad, although I really don't like brown bread... As you can see from the size of the butter plate, that's WAY too much butter for just those three little balls of bread... when I asked for more bread, the waiter also gave us a whole new dish of butter  . What a waste. We probably didn't even use up a tenth of the bowl. 
The dinner date had the Zurcher Geschnetzeltes - Thinly sliced veal and mushrooms in a white cream sauce wiht rosti potatoes and seasonal vegetables. I was thinking about ordering this dish, but I'm really glad I didn't. (I only chose not to because the potato cake thing had onions in it.) The veal was very very dry. 
I had the Herb Crusted West Coast Sablefish with a Tomato, Caper and Garlic Sauce, served with lentil du Puy and seasonal vegetables. Yummm, the fish was excellent! And its softness went extremely well with the firmer lentils. This is the best fish dish I've had at any restaurant, but still it was nothing unique. (I obviously don't order fish very often  .) 
For dessert, again there was no choice, not that I really cared because I would have ordered this anyway - Mini Toberlone Chocolate Fondue served with fresh fruit and a Vanilla Ice Cream Filled Profiterole. The profiterole was a nice touch, just to add something a little extra to this dish. However, after having that, the fruits didn't have any flavour anymore... the chocolate was very tasty, with the little bits of whatever it is they threw in there making the dish special. Overall, a nice meal, but not a place you would go to have a memorable dining experience. It's just your typical fancy hotel restaurant. THE OCEAN CLUB RESTAURANT & LOUNGE
http://www.theoceanclub.ca In terms of food, this was the best DOV I went to this year. The service, however, sucks... so don't say I didn't warn you haha. It's also kind of a place where the rich, West Van cougars go to hang out on Saturday nights, so beware! I felt a little out of place, demographically age-wise that is. From their website, you would think it's a trendy place where all the rich, young, West Vanners hang out... 
To start I had the Roast Fraser Valley Duck Breast with Herb Risotto, maple sherry vinegar. The duck was a bit cold (well, room temperature), but I thought it was a very "worth it" appetizer. The risotto was also quite tasty. 
Kristie and Vincent also ordered the Seared Tiger Prawn with Yukon Gold Cream & White Bean Cassoulet. The beans were... well beans... like the kind you get in a can... 
I ordered the Cinnamon Yam Fries on the side as well ($6). These were tasty, but I do have to admit that I like my fries cut thinner... not in wedges. Otherwise, these were good. 
We all had the Mac & Cheese with Molasses-Braised Beef Short Ribs for the entree. The Mac & Cheese was soooooo rich, yum! It was made with Brie cheese! The beef short ribs were also good, although that's not the meat cut of my choice... I would have been happier with a sirloin hahaha... but I guess I can't argue at that price ($25 for three courses). 
 The dessert I originally wanted was sold out, so I was a bit upset... until this Chocolate Dome with Passionfruit Centre arrived. Oh it was good!!! Best chocolate dessert ever!!! The passionfruit in the middle was very interesting, and refreshing as Kristie put it. Yumm... I'm salivating... Anywhoos... that's the end of my foodie adventures for the month of January and early February. There were a few others, but they weren't worth documenting or I forgot my camera... and with that, this is the Grand Opening of my new Xanga site hehehe . | 
