Supping in Vancouver: Plus Alpha Global Sushi and Bar
+Alpha Global Sushi and Bar1099 Richards St.
Vancouver
Ph: 604-633-0355
At the corner of Richards and Helmcken stands a small Japanese restaurant with an unusual name, + Alpha. As they point out, the term means "something extra" in terms of food and service and certainly whenever I walk in there for a bite, the place is buzzing with activity, the food consistently good and the service is always efficient and friendly.
As + Alpha is on our route home after class at Robson Square (see Gillian's Kitchen: bebida y comida), my friend and I have taken to dropping in for a late supper. Last Friday we tried the sinfully delicious ebi mayo Japon, deep fried nobashi prawns in breaded batter with tartar mayo sauce, and their mango Vancouver roll.
This week we were both feeling famished. I had not had time to eat before walking up to Robson Square for the 6:15 class. We had to wait a short time for a table and our appetites increased as we sipped our green tea and studied the menu. So we ended up ordering a dynamite roll, spicy tuna roll and a repeat of the mango Vancouver roll which we liked last week. Although I had no intention of imbing any alcohol, when the "would you like anything to drink?" question was posed it took both of us less than a second to put down our cups of green tea and order a beer and a glass of wine respectively.
Well it was a long and busy week - and a mentally demanding class. We left feeling sated and comfortably mellow with our diet consciences clear.
Supping in Vancouver: Fuel Restaurant
Fuel Restaurant1944 West 4th Avenue
Vancouver
Ph: 604-288-7905
Living in downtown Vancouver, within walking distance of so many excellent restaurants, I tend to venture further out to eat in other neighbourhoods mainly in conjunction with other activities such as a play, film, exhibition or lecture. For my latest pre-theatre dining experience I decided to try Fuel Restaurant on West 4th between Cypress and Maple. Great choice.
Opened in January 2007 by Executive chef Robert Belcham and Sommelier Tom Doughty, this intimate 42 seat space has a warm and welcoming ambience, enhanced by the saffron-gold table cloths. I liked the structure of the chandelier with delicate silvery filaments reminding me of spun candy. We arrived early so we would not need to rush off to the theatre. Only one table was occupied but the place filled up rapidly over the next half hour.I was interested to note that in this current wine listing as well as the general white wine list, Sommellier Tom devoted a whole section to Rieslings - one of my two favorite varietals. As I needed to be able to concentrate later on, I reluctantly restricted myself to one glass of the 2006 Selbach-Oster Halbtrocken from the Mosel region of Germany.
Gillian's Kitchen: Garlic and ginger
When I moved into my apartment, downsizing as they say, I got rid of many of the small appliances I had accumulated over the years. I was determined to manage life simply and not re-accumulate "stuff." Toaster - trying to eat low carb so who needs a toaster or a pannini machine? No baking so out went the mix master. Eat fruits not juices - out went the juicer. You can envisage the rest. My pantry area looked great - lots of empty shelves - very tidy. But of course this did not last long.
A couple of months into the year, my brother and sister in law were coming for a visit. They were not on low carb diets! I acquired a toaster. Later as winter approached, daylight got shorter and the work day seemed longer. That's when I bought the Rival Slow- cooker.
On Sunday I would do the prep work and put the ingredients back in the fridge overnight. Early Monday morning I would assemble the casserole and get ready for work. Just before leaving the apartment and driving to work in the dark, I would turn the cooker on to the 10 hour cycle. And later that afternoon when I returned from work, again in the dark, my apartment would welcome me home - garlic, onions, ginger, sherry and lamb - or chicken or beef. I was an equal opportunity carnivore.
[Re]View From The House: By Some Divine Mistake
By Some Divine Mistake Written and directed by Joan Bryans
Vital SparkTheatre
Jericho Arts Centre
Oct 10 to Nov 1, 2008
Paul Toolan as Rattenbury, Vanessa Parent as Alma and Kevin Kraussler as Stoner in By Some Divine Mistake. Photo Sandy McKellar
Vancouver, BC: As the subject for her new play, Vancouver writer and director, Joan Bryans has chosen to focus on a femme fatale with an early 20th century British Columbia connection. The story certainly offers great potential for a play, as indeed Terence Rattigan found, in 1977 writing his final play, Cause Celebre, about the Rattenbury murder trial.
Alma Pakenham Rattenbury married Francis Rattenbury, designer, among other buildings, of Victoria's B.C. Legislature and the venerable Empress hotel. Although his first marriage was wrecked long before he met Alma, the divorce and the thirty year difference in their ages was a great source for gossip. After their marriage they moved to Bournemouth. Alma began an affair with George Stoner, a 17 year old boy hired as handyman and chauffeur. When Rattenbury was murdered, Alma and Stoner were tried for the murder. Stoner was found guilty.
Supping in Vancouver: Imperial Chinese Seafood Restaurant
Imperial Chinese Seafood Restaurant
355 Burrard St.,
Vancouver
Ph: (604) 688-8191
The Imperial Chinese Seafood Restaurant in the Marine Building near the north end of Burrard is one of the favorite Cantonese style restaurants of my friend, Susan, so in the past month I have been there in a small group for dim sum and a slightly larger group for an a la carte lunch. On both occasions I have been impressed by the unobtrusively efficient service and the mouth watering food.
Some of the favorite selections from our visit for dim sum were the shrimp and chives dumpling, the deep fried shrimp wonton and deep fried banana shrimp rolls (can't believe I indulged in deep fried food - so counter to my approach to healthy eating - but they were both delicious). Had a mouthful of the sticky rice- also very tasty but I can't get my head around filling up on rice. I satisfied my vegetable conscience with gai lan greens and by the time the calamari came around we were too full to try it. My companions drooled over the steam buns with lotus paste - well they didn't really drool but made little happy sounds of satisfaction.
So my summary: I enjoyed the tastes, the ambiences and service. However my very full tummy bulged a little more than usual after the dim sum. Have to learn control when those enticing odours from the bamboo containers waft in front of my nose.
Supping in Vancouver: Hurricane Grill
The Hurricane Grill
1137 Marinaside Crescent
Ph: 604-488-0555
On Sundays after cycling around Vancouver, members of our cycle group often supplemented by a few non-cyclists, get together around 1 pm for a light lunch. On this occasion we decided to check out The Hurricane Grill that had opened a couple of months ago in a space previously occupied by at least three other restaurants. But this particular place is apparently a sibling restaurant of the Hurricane Grill on the North Shore, so presumably the owners should have figured out all the kinks in the system already.
Let me say up front that when our food finally arrived it was tasty, and good value for the price. However overall our experience did not exactly get off to a good start. There were 6 of us, not an excessively large party, and we did arrive at a relatively busy time, but a casual dining restaurant should be able to handle this more smoothly. Our waitress was pleasant and obliging but it took ages before she actually arrived to take our order and then again a seemingly interminable time for the food to come. Mellowed by beer and grapefruit cider, my dining companions were reasonably relaxed. I stuck to water - probably a bad idea as I got increasingly irritated as the time ticked by and other parties seated after us seemed to be getting fed!
The carnivores among us enjoyed a steak salad with grilled vegetables which was substantial, flavourful and well priced. The rolls were not as well received - somewhat bland.
Supping in Vancouver: Red Door Pan Asian Grill
Red Door Pan Asian Grill:
2996 Granville St, Vancouver
Ph: 604-733-5699 or Reserve Online
A Taste of the South Okanagan
A Taste of the South Okanagan
September 2008
Honey and apricot, citrus and rose
Grey clouds heavy with rain loomed over Vancouver as we settled into the car but the weather forecast for the South Okanagan promised sunny skies and temperatures of 24 to 26 degrees Celsius. We were headed for the Sandy Beach Resort and Lodge in Naramata, to meet up with friends from Calgary and Thetis Island for a couple of days of winery visits.
All passionate about food and wine, especially wine, the 12 members of our group have travelled together in different combinations on several cooking trips to Italy and elsewhere. I missed the Vancouver Island tour as I was in France, and the last Sicily trip as I was travelling later to Cape Town. So the last time I was together with the gang was over New Year 2006/2007 in Parksville, where "the gals" trounced "the guys" in bocce. Well, maybe not trounced but beaten them by a point or two!
