Looking for Sophistication and Refinement?

Perhaps you have had too many sloppy burgers lately, or you've been going to restaurants with toddlers flinging crayons and wait staff singing manic birthday songs. Are you craving a very civilized dining experience? I had afternoon tea at the Lobby Lounge at the Shangri-La Hotel (1128 West Georgia, at Thurlowe) recently. Service was perfect. The food was tasty (though perhaps not as remarkable as the pastries and sandwiches at The Secret Garden Tea Company in Kerrisdale, which remains my favourite high tea spot). And the room and china was beautiful. It is about $36/person, and reservations are required. The high tea is offered between 1-5 pm.

I have also had lunch upstairs at Market by Jean-Georges as well. Their sable fish with a miso based glaze is so wonderfully tasty.

They have a selection of $35 prix fixe lunches with two dishes and a dessert. I had the below a while ago, but I do remember it being very tasty. There is beef rendang in the picture below. There are lots of Asian influences, and it all works fairly well. And you're going to get the amazing service you expect with a fine hotel. Treat yourself (and your dining companions) to some serenity.

The School "Cafeteria" Has Good Food?!?

It does if you are an international ESL student and your school cafeteria/restaurant/bar is Eh! Restaurant, on the second floor, on Alberni St. just off of Thurlowe St. It's staffed by the international students, and the food is fantastic and great value. I've eaten there several times, and love their deals too. Steak Fridays give you steak and prawns for $10.50. There's Tuesday movie and dinner for $14.95, where you can have a very nice mixed grill with grilled lamb chop, beef tenderloin and garlic prawns, complete with veggies and potato, plus a movie certificate good for a year! I've had their onion rings, and they were fantastic.

The drinks are great value too. There are cheap and delicious drinks like a freshly muddled mojito for $4.25 or daily drink specials (under $5!) like Caipirinha - even better when mine was mixed up strong and authentic by a Brazilian. The taste is on par or better than any restaurant in town, and imagining the trendy socialites buying their drinks at 2 -4 times the price next door at Coast restaurant makes me giddy.

The room is comfortable, casual, and even has free wifi (when I was there last).

The down side? As of writing this post, they are only open until 7 pm Monday to Friday, and closed on weekends and civic holidays. However, they are open early, so if you are looking for some bacon and eggs in that area, or a great huevos rancheros platter, you're in luck.

It's No Secret

Had a delicious afternoon tea at the Secret Garden Tea Company (Kerrisdale, Blvd, off of 41st Ave). Every tiny bite, from the little roasted vegetable sandwiches on wee little perfect cheese scones to the lemon tart, was delicious. And of course the tea itself was grand. I had their vanilla almond black tea. Service was perfect and atmosphere very relaxing. It's a place I recommend often, but don't make a point to go myself often enough.

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Wimaan Thai Restaurant

So much flavour packed into the red curry with pork that I ordered! It was so good. I also had a really good padd thai. I was going to stop there, but I was tempted by the server telling me that the fried banana was really good. It was fantastic. Nice and crispy, served with vanilla ice cream. The place was very relaxing, but I'm not sure why they weren't busy when their food is so good. I'm definitely going back to Wimaan. It's on Broadway, just west of Oak St.

Olympia

With a late night at work, I was so hungry, I thought I was going to finish my entire roast lamb platter at Olympia on Denman. I almost did, but still had a little left to take home. It was a very satisfying comfort food meal.

Best Thing I've Eaten in Weeks - Irashai's sushi

I had this delicious sushi roll at Irashai Grill on Pender St., just off of Broughton St. (1368 West Pender, 604-688-8697) in the Coal Harbour area. It was called the Black Eel Roll ($11.95), and had mango, avocado and cucumber in the middle, with a magical tempura eel (unagi) on top. The tempura was perfectly crispy, with a super thin batter, still hot, with all the other ingredients complimenting rather than confusing matters.

Irashai is laid back, stylish, and has killer cocktails, along with their amazing sushi and hot dishes. The simple things are done very well too, like the perfect texture of their noodles in the beef yaki udon ($7.25) that I had. Their vinagrettes tend to be a bit on the subtle side for me and are more French-inspired, than Japanese (I like a bit more acid), but still tasty - served on the side for their sashimi salad (about $12).

It's tucked away in Coal Harbour, and does feel a bit like a neighbourhood locals hangout, which in this neighbourhood means it's not cheap and everything feels very "VIP" as they say on their website, but I think the prices are fair and worth it based on the food quality alone. It's easy for me to get carried away, but they have some really nice set dinners for about $17 too.

But it's comfy too. There are swanky red suede-like upholstered semi-circle booths, but several flatscreens around the room too, so it manages to look expensive without being formal. It looks like a good date restaurant if you're looking for something classy that will impress your date yet still has interesting food. They've managed to combine that lux North American casual fine dining comfort (big cushy chairs, big everything) with good quality Japanese cuisine.

Chau

Just a short note to say that I approve of Chau Kitchen and Bar (604-682-8020, 1500 Robson St. at Nicola St.), a Vietnamese Restaurant on Robson that's gotten some good press. Fitting for its location, it's a little pricier than what I'm used to for a typical pho spot, and the decor is a lot prettier. They are going for a modern take on the Vietnmese Restaurant, and now you can have your pho in trendy surroundings with ambient electronica in the background, a cute flower on your table, and friendly service. On a quiet late afternoon for lunch, I had my choice of the "brick side or the pink side." I ate a decent rice noodle bowl with lemon grass chicken, and a nice deep fried taro roll (with the crisp texture of those roll dips that I like so much). I also had a salad roll with prawns, and they put a little crunch in the middle and have a subtler sour sauce, rather than a sweet gooey peanut sauce to dip it in. I appreciated the difference, but I have to admit that I like those thick gooey peanut sauces. I ended up with a Vietnamese coffee. I would definitely go back. All the veggies were fresh and crunchy, and everything was beautiful, and if you get a window seat or a spot on the patio, it's great for people watching. A part of me wishes I could have one those dirt cheap places nearby too as an option in the West End, but if dirt cheap means that the place feels a bit dirty, then Chau is a welcome and refreshing move away from that.