
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.