Anni Adventures

If any of you follow Masterchef Canada, you will know that the winner of season two was David Jorge from my very own Surrey, BC. I was rooting for him the entire season, and he was very deserving of this win. Since then, I've been waiting for the moment he'd open up his own restaurant. That moment happened late last month. David partnered with Joseph Richard Group to open S+L They had a lot of social media advertising in prep for this and when they released the menu, my wallet cried a little. The price tier for S+L is on the high end to say the least. It definitely isn't somewhere I'd be able to go often. However, they did have buck-a-shuck happy hours Monday - Friday 2 - 5 pm. Because the beau usually works M-F, we took the opportunity on Family Day, this past Monday to go try it out.

He claims to have the best sandwiches in North America. Everyone calls him the sandwich Nazi, and to be honest I don't doubt these claims. La Charcuterie, the name of the deli, is CASH only and cellphones are forbidden. I recommend you not tempt fate on this one. I visited on a Saturday afternoon because the deli's hours are spontaneous and if he runs out of bread, he'll close up for the day.

As you enter, you'll notice the ambiance as something different. I didn't know quite what to expect. He was going on about prostitutes and other vulgar topics, I wasn't sure if I would make it through the experience. The deli has a menu, although its quite useless because he just adds to the sandwich what he feels like, and there really isn't saying no to him. He makes 6-8 sandwiches all at once and while doing so he carries on random conversations.

We bought two sandwiches, and the whole process took about half an hour with the lineup as long as it was. It came out to $20, ($8 each for the sandwich, drink and tip). Considering how much food it is, I'd say that was cheap. If you're a light eater like me, this could equal 4 meals or more.

I took a picture of the sandwich after getting home and opening it up. as you can see, its the size of my fist. you can't even wrap your mouth around it.

The experience was crazy, I'd definitely go back, although I'd personally prefer to add more dressing as mustard was all that was added.

I'm starting to get into a routine with school and what not. Although it isn't easy. Because a couple of my classes start at 6:30, I don't get off until 9:30. I always think that I can last and make it home to eat, but by break time, I'm always starving. So the other night, after class ended, my dad picked me up in Burnaby on my way home from class. Gotta love him <3. We went to Estea. Estea as my family likes to refer to it as our second kitchen. We don't actually cook there. no. However, we eat there so often, that it has essentially become our kitchen. The owner is a nice lady that gives us a permanent 10% discount. Come to think of it, I don't think I've eaten at home in a long time due to classes and church and time spent with niu.

In the olden days, we'd come every Friday night and order our staple food of marinaJimited platter, siu mai, and thick toast with peanut butter. Tonight, because I was really starved, so we ordered a braised beef noodle soup, a thick toast with peanut butter (for my daddy) and a milk tea.

It was actually my first time trying the noodle soup there, and I was actually surprised it was quite good. The soup is light but rich in flavor. The noodles are al dente just like it should be. Had they been more generous with the beef portions and the beef flavor, it would have been perfect. But when you're as hungry as I was, you aren't going to complain and will eat anything :)


I actually have to say for me though, the milk tea isn't the greatest. But that is a personal preference. It has too much of a tea flavor and not enough of the milky flavor. This isn't to say its bad. It just isn't my preferred taste.

It's Dine Out Vancouver season in Vancouver! The event runs from January 16 - February 1. For those of you who don't know what it is, I don't think there is anyone who doesn't, BUT, it's an event in Vancouver where participating restaurants prepare a three course menu at tiered pricing. There is an $18 tier, $28 tier, and $38 tier. There are lots of restaurants that participate and you really get to try places they you wouldn't normally eat at because normal prices are usually a lot more.


My coworkers and I decided to try one out after work yesterday, we had omitted all Asian cuisines and anywhere that was too inconvenient to reach. In the end, we opted for Cork and Fin. Which Dine Out Vancouver had categorized as a seafood cuisine restaurant. The restaurant is situated just on the edge of gastown in downtown Vancouver. We made a reservation for 5:15 and arrived shortly after. The restaurant had a nice exterior look to it and the interior was elegant in its own nature. Definitely towards the finer dining class. There was only one other table seated then. We were told that we were originally reserved to seat upstairs but he had us down by the window on the first floor. It provided us with a nice view of the outside.


The restaurant had a $28 menu for the Dine Out Vancouver event. but instead of a appetizer, an entree and a dessert, they had what looks to be more like two appetizers followed by an entree. For the first course there were three options to choose from. 3 pieces of fresh oysters, or half a dozen or more at an added cost, arugula and Parmesan salad and lobster bisque.



One of my co-workers had the salad while the other co-work and I had the lobster bisque. The portions were very small. The salad came on a full plate but they only filled half the plate. Presentation-wise, they could have done it on a smaller plate to make it look fuller. The bisque was the same. It was a very small portion. My co-worker and I both found the soup to be extremely salty while the lobster itself was actually quite good. When the waiter came to ask us how the food was, we explained that it was too salty and my co-worker had explained she couldn't finish it (it was that salty), with more than half the bowl still remaining. The waiter asked me as well and I agreed. No alternatives were offered. For me I was okay with that because as bad as it was, I finished mine.

For the second course, the choices were Pate Breton, Octopus and Chorizo, and Smoked Ricotta Croquette. Again, one co-worker opted for the Octopus and Chorizo and the other co-worker and myself had the smoked ricotta croquette. The Octopus and Chorizo looked great and was definitely of better taste, according to my friend. I wish I could have said the same for the smoke ricotta croquette. It was very bland. No taste to it. the croquette was cooked well though, and had good texture, but it really lacked flavor. I had to keep applying what miniscule sauce there was on the plate to the croquette to make it taste better.

The final course, the main course had a selection of Wild Mushroom Cavatelli, Sous Vide Flank Steak, and an Arctic Char with Gnocchi. We opted for the Wild Mushroom Cavatelli and the arctic char. The arctic char was cooked well and had a nice crisp to the skin, unfortunately not what I ordered. I had the cavatelli. I was severely disappointed. The cream sauce was nice, but there wasn't enough mushrooms. maybe two or three pieces tops. The cavatelli itself was far from perfect. Like the chef didn't even try it. It tasted like it was really under-cooked and the more I ate of it, the harder it became. I didn't end up finishing the plate and didn't even want to bother with taking the rest home.

Our disappointment was complete. While service wasn't horrible, the food really failed to impress. For the money, it really wasn't worth it. We didn't even want to stay around for dessert. After we'd paid for the meal, we set off to Organic Tree which was a few blocks away and well know for their cheesecakes. We all had a cheesecake. Which we all thought was more worth the money than dinner was.


Lesson of the day: Read up on yelp the reviews of any restaurant before you go.

Cork and Fin
221 Carrall Street
Vancouver BC

I met up with a dear friend of mine yesterday for dinner. We hadn't decided on a place beforehand so when she got in the car, we sat there for a good 5 to 10 minutes contemplating where to eat. After searching on yelp, we decided on Ramengers. 3 guesses what kind of food that is!

The place is located on Kingsway not too far from Joyce Street (address down below). It really isn't a huge restaurant. By the counter seats about 5 to 6 people whereas the table settings allow for 14 people, 16 tops. But they have the cutest menus I've EVER seen. They don't have much of a selection. There are about 4 or 5 different types of ramen to choose from and you can add additional toppings to it if you like. You can also add onigiris, which are triangular rice balls or mini donburis to the order. That was it. nothing else on the menu.

Actually I lied, they do have a pork bone ramen, but its only available Wednesdays and Thursdays  and I believe they limit it to 15 servings per day! Kinda odd don't you think?

I ended up with the shio ramen which is the salt based soup. My friend ordered the mini donburi which accompanied my ramen because she wasn't all that hungry.

I thought the overall taste of the ramen was good. The broth was nothing special. The chashu (pork) could have more fat to it, but they had a good grilled taste to it. The egg, which is my favorite part of ramen, was slightly overcooked, but otherwise perfect.

I would say this restaurant is good for if you're in the area, but it isn't somewhere you should go out of your way to try.

Ramengers
3520 Kingsway
Vancouver, BC
604.419.4400