Jan-chan’s Tidbits

Mango Cupcake from Bon Gateau

I’ve been waiting for over a month to attend Vancouver’s 1st Cupcake Challenge since I first heard about it from @followmefoodie. I was excited to see what kind of cupcakes would be at the competition so last Sunday (June 20), I made my way down to Roundhouse Community Center with Al to see what’s in store for us.

When we arrived I was quite surprised to see a room full of people trying to sample cupcakes from the competitors. I heard there was over 1,100 attended the event and I spotted quite a few males there sampling cupcakes so I guess guys do have a sweet tooth after all. After assessing the situation and where we should start our sampling adventure, we dove right in to the crowd and follow the line to each competitor’s table for yummy cupcakes.

There were probably over 15-20 varieties of cupcakes and some I have already forgotten or has a flavor that I didn’t find too special. I do remember what I liked best which were the Neapolitan cupcakes by Frosting Cupcakery and the Mango Cupcake by Bon Gateau. The Neapolitan cupcake tasted just like the ice cream! I was so surprised that I almost dropped the other half of the cupcake that I was going to share with Al (wish I didn’t thought, would’ve loved to eat it all by myself). The fact that they’ve made the frosting look like a scoop of ice cream just makes it so much more enjoyable to eat. My only complaint is that Frosting Cupcakery is located in Langley! A little far to drive to from East Van but if I ever crave for ice cream and cupcake I’d make my way there and buy a couple dozen just to make the trip worth it.

Here’s a picture of the winning cupcake. You can find more photos on my Flickr account.

Naopolitan Cupcake from Frosting Cupcakery

PS: Frosting Cupcakery is giving out a free cupcake to all attendees of the Cupcake Challenge! I’m planning to get a couple of Neapolitan cupcakes with Allan :]

I remember we used to visit the Buddhist Temple on Steveston Highway every year on Chinese New Year’s Eve. We haven’t been doing that due to the huge crowd that seems to grow bigger every year. While Daniel was here, I decided to take him to the temple to look at the interesting architectures. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside but I did managed to take one in the garden just outside the main temple.

If you haven’t been to the temple for a while, you should drop by for a visit because a lot have changed. They added some new structures and some are being renovated.

We headed towards Steveston for some fish and chips at Pajo’s after our visit at the temple. I think it took the guys about 15 mins to line up for the order and another 15 mins before the food were ready. We ordered all three kinds of fish to try and I found halibut to be the best and salmon doesn’t taste quite right. It needs some seasoning to bring out the flavor. While the fish were pretty good over all the chips were a bit disappointing. I love fries but I just couldn’t eat the ones from Pajo’s. It’s soft and way too greasy, like someone took them out of the fryer too early. I prefer fries that have some crunch to them.

Fish & Chips from Pajo's.

After our lunch I took the guys in search for waffles for dessert. Al and I went to the Baker’s Market in April and found this place called Damien’s Waffles which is located in Steveston. Their waffles are eggs free and have no preservatives. I also like the fact that they heat up the waffles for you so it’s nice and warm when you eat it. Sorry I was in such a hurry to eat the waffles that I forgot to get photos of them first. I found out they also sell them in bulk. Too bad my wedding favor boxes are too small or I’d use waffles as favors (would probably have to order three times as much since I’d also be snacking on them while I assemble the boxes).

We were all pretty full after lunch and dessert and decided to take a walk around Steveston. The sun was out and lots of people came out to enjoy it. There were some people practicing kite boarding (I think that’s what it’s called) and some were flying kites. I used to come here to fly kites with my family as well when we were younger.

After the trip to Steveston, we headed home and came back to Richmond for the Summer Night Market. More about that in the next post.

Our friend Daniel came up to visit us from San Diego. I know that he’s got a sweet tooth due to all the ice cream stories I heard from him (most of them about the ice cream melting due to the freezing not being cold enough), I tried to plan a lot of dessert trips during his stay in Vancouver.

The dessert trip we went to is for cakes and teas at Berry Good Cake Cafe in Richmond. This little gem located in the Excel Center on McKim Way, Richmond, serves what I call Asian cakes and pastries with a variety of teas and blended drinks. Asian cakes and pastries are generally lighter and less sweet than their original, “Western” form.

The cakes at Berry Good changes daily. You can check our their daily selections of cakes from their display (fridge) by the counter. Here’s what we got that night:

Petite Formage (kind of like a cheese cake, very soft and creaming inside)

Berry Pie - the bottom is actually a cake layer

Strawberry Tea - with real strawberries

The strawberry tea was very good. I looked inside once we were done and found real strawberry bits.

Our second dessert stop (not in the same day of course, thought if would a bit of sugar over dose if it was) is La Casa Gelato on Venables Street, Vancouver. They have over 200 flavors now. The best thing about having ice cream at La Casa is that you can try before you buy. Out of curiosity, I asked about the Spicy Mango flavor and whether or not it’s really spicy. The guy behind the counter said “ya”, but I didn’t quite believe him since I figured, ice cream are cold, that’d take some spiciness away. Plus it just looked orange, no sign of any spices to add the heat. I guess my skeptical look gave me away as he then proceed to hand me a little spoonful of the Spicy Mango ice cream. The first few seconds after I had the spoonful in my mouth, I can only taste the mango. Then the spicy kicks in and it’s REALLY spicy. The worse part (well worse is because I’m not a spicy food person) is that the spiciness lingers in your mouth for a VERY LONG time. I tried a couple different ice cream after hoping it’d wash away the spiciness. I didn’t work.

After like 20 minutes trying to decide on what flavors to have, we’ve finally come to a decision on our ice cream. I wasn’t able to take photos because I was too busy trying to dig my little shovel (or spoon) into Daniel and Al’s ice cream to have a taste, but I did managed to get a picture of the Akbar Mashty ice cream in Al’s cup. It’s made with a Persian spice and I think mango? It has a very flowery taste.

Akbar Mashty (yellow one on the bottom) - taste like flowers

Rows of ice cream from La Casa Gelato - check out the colours

We also bought 1L of durian ice cream home, which is one of their top 5 best sellers! Next time I’ll try the Death by Mango to see just how “mango-y” it is.

Tripel Karmeliet - Blonde, robust, and smooth with a fruity finish.

Chambar has been one of my favourite restaurant since I’ve discovered it through Food Network Canada. Since June is the month of our anniversary and Daniel had decided to visit us from San Diego, I decided to take the guys to there for dinner & beer.

Petrus Gouden - Tripel - Hazy golden straw colour. Pears & lychees on the nose.

The Drinks

The list of Belgian beer from Chambar has something for everyone, even if they are not beer drinkers. Ken got the Tripel Karmeliet. It was very smooth and fruity, but not too sweet. Al got the Petrus Gouden – Tripel which is also a little bit sweet. I believe Daniel got the Gulden Carolus Classic – a bold dark ale, malty with a touch of bitter chocolate. As for myself, I got “The Grape Within” cocktail – Hennessy vs. pineau des charentes, fresh grape juice & citrus, topped with lustau sherry. It was very refreshing and it went very well with my main course – spot prawns!

The Food

Seared scallops & Kurobuta Pork Cheeks

Grilled Ostrich & Sweet Balsamic Onions

We decided to share 2 appetizers between the four of us: 1) Les coquilles st. jacques – Seared scallops, smoked kurobuta pork cheek, pickled green beans & horseradish vinaigrette; and 2) La brochette d’autruche – Grilled ostrich, sweet balsamic onions, marinated prunes, five herb pesto, crisp potato chips, vin cotto. The seared scallops were as expected, cooked just right. I didn’t get a chance to try the kurobuta pork cheeks but I did try the picked green beans which were quite interesting. The grilled ostrich on the other hand looked a bit too charred, however it wasn’t over cooked. The sweet balsamic onions were superb and I like nibbling on the crisp potato chips made with fingerling potatos (I’m guessing from the shape).

Canard à l’orange (duck breast)

For main course, both Al and Ken got the duck breast and goat cheese spring rolls (or Canard à l’orange as they named it on the menu). The meat looked really tender (I didn’t get a chance to try it). Daniel decided to get Chambar’s signature dish, the braised lamb shank with honey, figs, cinnamon and cilantro (Tajine d’aziz à l’agneau). This is also my dad’s favourite dish. It smells amazing and the meat falls off the bone so all you really need is a fork (sorry, I didn’t get a chance to take pictures).

Les Scampis de Colombie Britanique - Spot Prawn Taster

I got the spot prawn taster as the main course. I love seafood and this dish just screams “pick me” from the menu. There prawns are cooked 4 different ways. Sorry the picture didn’t turn out very good. I was trying to take it quickly so I can dig in and failed to notice my hand appearing on the side of the photo. Here are some close ups of each prawn taster:

Curry & Beer Battered

Citrus Poached

Prawn & Halibut Cake

Sautéed in Absinthe Butter

All of them were really delicious. My favourite would have to be a tie between the curry & beer battered prawn and the prawn sauteed in absinthe butter. The curry & beer battered has a very interesting flavor. The hint of curry is just right. The absinthe butter brings out the sweetness in the prawns which is also why it was one of my favourites.

The Desserts

The wonderful thing about dining out with a group of friends is that you’d get to try more desserts than if you were going out with just yourself and one other. Here are our dessert picks: Daniel got the Le Bavarois Sale – Salted hazelnut praline bavarois with Caramel, sour apple, fig compote & Calvados ice cream. I love this ice cream. The salted hazelnut praline was good but the ice cream stole the show for me.

Le Bavarois Sale

Ken got the espresso cheesecake with belgian chocolate mousse. It has a very rich espresso flavor. Since I’m not a big fan of coffee, I didn’t particularly like this dessert. However, it is very smooth and I’m sure coffee lovers would really enjoy it.

Le Café Belge - Espresso cheesecake with belgian chocolate mousse

Since it was to celebrate our anniversary, Al and I shared the dessert trio – L’Abeille et son the, which has honey ice crea, chamomile creme caramel & lemon meringue puff. I couldn’t taste the honey in the ice cream but again it was very smooth. The hint of flower in the creme caramel made it very interesting and refreshing. I wish the lemon meringue puff were bigger because I love meringue.

Lemon Meringue Puff

Chamomile Creme Caramel

Honey Ice Cream

I can’t wait for the next chance to dine at Chambar. The have a chef’s selection tasting platter for dessert which I would love to try.

PS: If you haven’t noticed I’ve been using the iPhone camera to take pictures. Thus the quality can be a bit poor at times. For photos with special filters/effects (the square ones) I’ve also been using Hipstamatic.

I wanted to eat those prawns so bad.

I’ve been going to Eat! Vancouver for three years now. Every year there are new exhibitors showcasing their products, whether it’s local or across the nation, I’d always find something new. This year, while we were at the exhibition, Al and I also visited the culinary exhibition where they showcased dishes prepared by culinary students as well as ones for other competition. While we were there, we followed the herd of students around to listen to thoughts and advices from master chefs. It was a very educating experience as the chefs were not judging on taste, it was only on presentation and selection of ingredients for the plates.

I took a lot of pictures (and missed a lot too since I was too busy sampling)! But I only have my iPhone camera so some turned out a bit fuzzy. Enjoy the photos (click to enlarge). For more yummy photos visit my Flickr account. There were too many to post here so I’ve uploaded them to Flickr. They’ll make you hungry and probably want to attend Eat!Vancouver with me next year.

PS: Some of the hand “modeled” in the pictures is not mine. In case you’re wondering why it’s so bony and wrinkly.

Switzerland Cheese

Bonchaz. Must visit one day.

Strawberry & Basil Ice Cream

Culinary Exhibition

Sausage & Meatballs...Yum.

Flower Tea