Another Natto Adventure - Shiru-Bay Chopstick Café

Natto ice cream. That's right. I ordered it, I ate it...and, I loved it! Some of you may have read about my first experience with natto, the Japanese fermented (read rotting) soy bean product that oozes long sticky, mucous-like threads. I survived, but I didn't really take to it. But when you put it in some vanilla ice cream, add dark molasses and corn flakes, and mush the lot together? You wind up with a truly inspired dessert. This was the ending to a great dinner with Nori Boy at the Yaletown restaurant, Shiru-Bay Chopstick Café (1193 Hamilton St., at Davie St., 604-408-9315). The fuzzy photo below shows the dessert, after the extremely thorough mixing at the table by the server at Shiru-Bay. Unfortunately, I didn't capture the dessert when it was presented at the table. Also, the photo doesn't really show off the sticky consistency of the natto that is retained even in the vanilla ice cream, and accompaniments, but trust me it's still there. Check out the photo on the restaurant's website (in fact, all of their dishes are beautifully photographed and displayed there). The strong molasses flavour actually masks the fermented flavour of the natto, but there is something so appealing about the texture of the soft little beans amidst the gooey ice cream, as well as a bit of crunch every so often from the cornflakes. It was a huge portion at only $4. Actually, it was enough to share between two people, and I managed to talk Nori Boy into having a spoonful, but he wasn't a fan of it, like I was. He had considerable previous experience with natto and has never really liked it anyhow, but I think it had to do more with him not being a fan of dessert immediately after dinner. Kudos to him for being adventurous enough to try it anyway. In any case, this is a warning that although I liked this dessert, it is probably not for everyone. Funny thing is, I'm not even a fan of Chinese desserts that have red beans in them. For that matter, I'm not really that into beans in general. But I think that I liked this dish because the red beans in desserts are grainy and heavy feeling, whereas the soybeans are smooth and so tender. They just have such a great "mouth-feel" for me.


Natto Ice Cream, post table-side mixing

A few notes about the rest of the restaurant. Despite its Yaletown location, I found the food reasonably priced, and the atmosphere very warm and inviting. Heh, I might have to stop dismissing Yaletown so much - there are now several restaurants that I enjoy there (Amarcord, the smoked meat sandwiches at Phat, Hamilton Street Grill, Elixir in the Opus Hotel, the nearby Kolachy shop, and now Shiru-Bay Chopstick Café). I admit to being a bit of a Japan-ophile, and really enjoy the izakaya format, so perhaps I'm predisposed to enjoying this restaurant. Shiru-Bay is a chain of twenty izakaya restaurants (along with the Raku restaurants) in Tokyo, Japan. The Uno family opened the first 30 years ago, and this Vancouver restaurant is their first outside of Japan. On the Saturday night, it was busy, everyone was young and fairly casually dressed, and there was a nice upbeat energy in the air, yet we were still able to relax and hear each other talk easily in this room.

Nori Boy and I ordered the popular Chili Ebi Mayo ($9.80), and it was fantastic - big, plump prawns decadently drenched in spicy mayonnaise, served with almonds and (decorative) wonton skin chips. I loved the look of the dramatic slash of chili sauce across the plate too.


Chili Ebi Mayo

We also had the seasonal sashimi salad ($9.80) which was very nice, big, and well-dressed (yes, I'm still talking about the salad), and the tako wasa ($4.50), wasabi marinated raw octopus. This was served with small sheets of nori, and I ate it, and it was fine, but it wasn't to my taste. I would probably not order this one again, but that is purely personal preference. I am sure that it's a very competent rendition of that dish. We also enjoyed their drink special for that night of the week, a pitcher of sangria. We chose their white sangria, which is a nice cocktail for my sweet-tooth, with little tiny cubes of strawberries and other fruit floating in the white wine mixture. Our server was delightful to talk to, and service was great throughout the evening, including even our departure, where a staff person was ready at the door, offering us a chocolate Hershey Hug before we stepped outside. I've only had one visit so far, but I'd love to go back. Too bad tonight is the last night of "Taste of Yaletown" but I think this place is great even without any special deals. You'll still spend a little more money than at a Guu restaurant, but it's great to add another nice izakaya to the list of options around town. I would say that because of the large size of the place and the lack of server shrieking, it's a nice pick for a pleasant, casual date with an adventurous eater. Well, really, why would you want to date an unadventurous eater anyway?

Name That Vancouver Restaurant No. 6

Here's a quick round of everyone's favourite Nancyland game, "Name That Vancouver Restaurant." This small Japanese restaurant quietly turns out some amazingly creative and tasty food, and sits at the foot of a bridge to Richmond. The chef has submitted a recipe to the fun little cookbook, Vancouver Cooks, which has dishes from chefs all over town. I browsed through a copy of the book in the restaurant, while waiting for my "Eggplant Volcano" and now I want to pick up a copy. I definitely think this place deserves more attention. Name that Vancouver Restaurant!

Nancylanders Unite!

I wrote a while back about a possible meet for next weekend. Sorry for the late notice, due mainly to indecision. If anyone is still interested, I propose Le Piazza Dario Ristorante at the Italian Cultural Centre 6 pm [EDIT: NOW CHANGED TO 5:45 pm - this was the closest time I could get for the reservation], Saturday, Oct 14th. Lots of room, cozy atmosphere, simple food, lots of parking, skytrain accessible, and tiramisu. What more do we need? It's in East Van, on Grandview Highway (at Slocan St.). If interested, please comment here, and email me at nancyland-vancouver_foodie_fun@hotmail.com, and I will make a reservation for you. We'll split the bill, so it would be a good idea to bring cash. It will likely be a very small group, but this restaurant can handle larger ones too.

Pleasure and Pain - Elixir in the Opus Hotel, Yaletown

I had this amazing meal at Elixir Restaurant in the Opus Hotel in Yaletown...delicious, beautiful, interesting, deeply flavoured, perfectly served...a real pleasure. But a real pain came later...intense abdominal pain, fevers, chills, and the urge to poop within two hours of the meal. I did let the restaurant know, through email, and got a follow up reply asking me to call. I called and left a message, and then hadn't heard from them again. Oddly enough, I'm not holding a grudge...the meal was that good. Maybe it was because I was dining with Instant Noodle Girl, and her Cordon Bleu graduate hubby, who are great fun to overanalyze a meal with, but all the flavours and presentation really seemed to pop that night. Instant Noodle Girl and I even checked out the much talked about washrooms together at one point. They have a transparent wall disguised somewhat with a beaded curtain separating the men's and women's washroom, so presumably, you could give the hottie washing their hands on the other side of the wall a wink while you're washing yours. Unfortunately, there weren't any men to be silly with on the other side on our visits to the washroom. And yes, one of the urinals is visible from the women's side, if you're wondering. The mirrored wall above the sink featured cool blue lights, and mini monitors embedded at eye level so that you can check out the action in the Opus Hotel Lobby.

As trendy and pretentious as Yaletown has a reputation to be, this little modern French bistro was warm, cosy and welcoming. There are three rooms to choose from, one of which has dramatic red velvet banquettes, another is more of a summery, feminine patio, and the one we dined in is the main area, includes the bar, and has that French bistro feel, with leather banquettes, and brass bars.

Service was outstanding, with the manager making us feel like he was really taking care of us. I'm just guessing that he was the manager, with my clue being that he wasn't dressed in some ultra chic all black outfit as the other servers were. It IS a bit intimidating to see the servers better dressed than you are, but again, I felt only warmth, instead of pretension that evening. With this being a quiet night due to the fireworks, and this place being a fine dining restaurant, the service was really perfect, as it really should be at this level of dining. This is the kind of place that you will return to a neatly folded napkin, if you make a trip to the washroom. They were enthusiastic about the food, and the timing was great. Probably the only thing that could be improved was just checking on our water a little more frequently. They had the bottle of bubbly Vos water that we ordered in an ice bucket out of reach, which meant that we were dependent on the servers to repour. On the subject of drinks, I had the Serendipity cocktail, which was heavy on the sparkling wine, and lighter than I expected on the flavours from the Calvados, apple juice, and fresh mint. But let's talk about the food!


Amuse Bouche of Chilled Organic Tomato Soup

I really enjoyed this shot of chilled soup to start. It was sweet and tasty, and we tried to guess what went into it. I think we decided there must have been some garlic in it, but whatever it was, we all enjoyed it.


White Walla Walla Onion Soup

I couldn't stop saying "Walla Walla" all night long. This soup was a seasonal special. And we found out that Walla Walla's are sweet onions from Washington's Walla Walla Valley. They are available mid-June to September. Quite a nice soup, and very different from a traditional "French onion soup."


Tuna Tartare Special

I didn't order this one, but I had a bite and it was tasty. There were some really nicely balanced Asian flavours here that I can't remember exactly, like miso, and maybe sesame.


Tomato Tarte Tatin with Avocado Sorbet ($12)

This is the starter that I ordered, off of the Petit Plats menu. It was very sweet, and caramelly, just like a regular apple tart tatin. Definitely the first tomato tarte tatin I've ever had, and the avocado sorbet with it was light and lovely. It was still a bit like starting dinner with a dessert, but that's kind of fun. Not an appetizer for someone who doesn't like sweets, but for me, it was great. Really interesting, and different, yet familiar at the same time since it's based on a very traditional French bistro dish.


Pan Seared Wild Salmon with Sweet Corn and Green Onion Risotto and Tomato-clam Vinaigrette ($29.95)

Doesn't this dish look inviting? Beautifully cooked salmon - moist, and tender, not overcooked at all, but still with a great crispy skin.


Ahi Tuna with Coriander and Fennel Crust with Blackberry Ginger Gastrique, Roasted Cippolini Onions and Sauteed Collards ($30.95)


Assiette of Duck - Confit, Breast and Ravioli, with Armagnac Jus ($30.95)

This was my dish, and I loved it! I also suspect this might have been where the food poisoning occurred, because my dining companions didn't have any of this one, and they were fine. The armagnac jus with the duck breast was delicious (cooked medium rare, which the servers made a point of checking with me about), and I loved the creamy sauce under the confit leg too. And the duck ravioli was delicious, with a wonderful chewy pasta wrapping. And I loved the baby veggies too.


Lemon Curd Cheesecake with Blackcurrent Sorbet ($9)

I really enjoyed the bite I had of this lemon curd cheesecake.


Warm Chocolate Cake with Caramel Cardomom Ice Cream ($10)

My warm chocolate cake, with a gooey centre and a very nice cardomom ice cream was the perfect end to a very decadent meal. They made me a nice Americano when I asked for coffee. Their teas are loose leaf. All the little nice details add up to a wonderful place to have a substantial dinner. It won't be cheap, but I feel like it's worth it. I've only had one visit so far, but I'd definitely like to return. I can't imagine that I would get sick again, but I'll let you know if I do. Perhaps I just need to work on my fat tolerance? It was a very rich meal, but the fat and sugar is what makes it taste so good! Go ahead, splurge a little, calorically and monetarily.

Best Donut Joint Ever!

Okay, first of all, apologies for the lack of posting lately, and really this particular post might not be what Nancyland foodies are looking for, but there's some food porn on it's way soon, I promise. But in the meantime, I just wanted to say that I went to the coolest donut store ever last week - the Duffin's Donuts on 41st and Knight. That place has an amazing number of food options for a donut store. It has great cheap torta subs (Mexican sandwiches), pho (Vietnamese noodle soup), bahn mi (Vietnamese sandwiches), an array of fast food type Chinese food, AND donuts. And the place is open 24 hours! I had a bbq beef torta, that had a beef steak drenched in barbecue sauce, on a wonderful roll, with avocado and onion in it, along with lettuce and tomato (I think), and it was a whopping $3.50. I loved it. That was a good sandwich. I also had this incredibly sugary "buttermilk" donut (85 cents) that is quartered and stuffed with (in my case) custard cream. Yah, I gobbled that thing up, but I had to do it in two sittings. All fast food places should be like this place. There is a smaller Duffins on Main St. too. Please do not confuse this with "Nuffy's" and their nuppets. Possibly the worse donut store I ever went to, back when there was one at the westerly end of Robson St. That place was 24 hours, and I swear they had 3 nuppets and a donut there one night at about 9 pm. "When are you getting more donuts?" "Oh, probably not until the morning." But...you're a DONUT STORE, I almost said. Okay, I admit it, the real reason I like telling that story is because I like saying the word "nuppets." Can you blame me?

Upcoming Birthday Festivities - Nancyland Meet, Anyone?

My birthday is coming up at the end of October, and I have traditionally (well, it's a new tradition, only a few years old) held a big dessert buffet extravaganza at my place, potluck style, complete with secret ballot voting for the grandmaster champion of desserts. There's fanfare, prizes, and adulation for that champion, and there's a dizzying array of sweets for everyone involved to indulge in. You can get one hell of a massive sugar high, and the ensuing sugar hangover, but I think it's worth it! I'm still thinking of throwing another one of those, but as much as I'd like to, I just can't invite the whole world safely into my home (though I imagine some of you Nancylanders could bring some pretty fabulous treats with you). So, I'd like to see if there's any interest in an October Nancyland meet at a public place. Please use the comments section to express interest, and to throw out ideas for a venue. Keep in mind, it should be hassle free - each person can show up and pay for themselves directly to the lounge/bar/restaurant. I would likely have it on a weekend, so perhaps the evenings of Friday October 13th or Saturday October 14th. Or perhaps on a weekday.



Last Year's Nancy's Dessert Buffet Winner - Bak'n Girl's Amazing Apple Frangipane Tart (a.k.a. That Apple Pie Thing)

Sometimes You Just Need a Little Mac' and Cheese

Nancy's Macaroni and Cheese

In this particular mac' and cheese, I used cheddar, Monterey Jack, Danish blue, Parmesan, and Asiago. Plus I threw in some spinach that I had around. Baking makes it so pretty, but I think next time I might just eat that creamy wonderful sauce on the macaroni right away. The sauce turned granier after baking. Watch out if you make one, though. These things are dangerous, and I don't mean just calorically. You just don't know what kind of trouble you'll lure in with a decadent mac' and cheese. Have fun!