Burnaby Mountain Clubhouse Tees Off at Dine Out Vancouver

Burnaby Mountain Clubhouse (Image courtesy dineoutvancouver.com)

This is the first year that the Burnaby Mountain Clubhouse participated in Dine Out Vancouver.  It’s sister restaurant at the Riverway Clubhouse in south Burnaby has participated the past two years plus this year, and I’ve had excellent meals there, so I was looking forward to my Dine Out meal on Burnaby Mountain.  It was a great value at $18 and had the following menu:

Appetizer

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP Cajun crispy chickpea & basil cream

BC VQA Wine Pairing: Red Rooster Chardonnay

or

LOUISIANA FRIED CHICKEN freshly made waffle, tomato & jalapeno chutney, sour cream

BC VQA Wine Pairing: Tinhorn Creek Gewürztraminer

or

ONSEN EGG CARBONARA guinness cheddar, bacon, edamame, linguine

BC VQA Wine Pairing: Tinhorn Creek Gewürztraminer

Entree

8 OZ. CERTIFIED ANGUS NEW YORK STEAK Yukon Gold roasted garlic mash, market vegetables, green peppercorn sauce

BC VQA Wine Pairing: Red Rooster Merlot

or

CHAR BROILED MAHI MAHI southern rice pilaf, market vegetables, fresh pineapple salsa

BC VQA Wine Pairing: Red Rooster Pinot Gris

or

SWEET CORN & CREAM CHEESE STUFFED PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM herb cornbread, market vegetables, barbeque sauce

BC VQA Wine Pairing: Tinhorn Creek Gewürztraminer

Dessert

DARK CHOCOLATE MOUSSE IN JAR oreo cookies, shaved chocolate

BC VQA Wine Pairing: Red Rooster Merlot

or

STRAWBERRY SUNDAE IN JAR vanilla ice-cream, strawberry coulis, chocolate & coconut brownie

BC VQA Wine Pairing: Summerhill Cipes Sparkling

or

APPLE CRUMBLE IN JAR granny smith apple, vanilla ice-cream

BC VQA Wine Pairing: Tinhorn Creek Oldfield Series Kerner Icewine $10

My Review

I was very happy to see that they had a BC VQA wine pairing suggestion for each food item served.  My wine was the Red Rooster Chardonnay, which I sipped through the appetizer and entree, and was a nice match.  My dining partner and I picked different items so that we could double up on our food samples, and were happy with both sets of appetizers and entrees.  The only thing that was not quite up to par was the desserts, which were a bit too sweet and not at the same level of quality as the appetizers and entrees.  But dessert is probably the least important aspect of your meal, so I would say to savour the rest of the meal with wine, and then to finish with a coffee, ice wine, or liquor.

I loved the Louisiana Fried chicken with waffle appetizer.  The chicken was not overly spicy so anyone could enjoy it, plus the waffle and a bit of sweetness from the Chutney to go with the savoury chicken is a nice combination.  This dish could be turned into an entree easily.  Also the butternut squash soup with Cajun crispy chickpeas and basil cream was very good.  Again not too spicy.  The drips of basil cream and crunchy chickpeas added bursts of extra flavour and texture to the soup.

Louisiana Fried Chicken on a waffle

Butternut squash soup with cajun crispy chickpea and basil cream

I had the Angus New York steak with Yukon Gold roasted garlic mashed potatoes, market vegetables and green peppercorn sauce.  The steak was done Medium Well as I had ordered.  I loved the nice char on the steak, and the flavour from the green peppercorns.  I paired the steak with the Red Rooster Chardonnay.  The pairing worked as the Chardonnay as it was quite full bodied thanks to the Sur Lie aging.  The garlic potatoes were really buttery and added to the feel of a decadent main course.  The char broiled Mahi Mahi was quite flavourful, paired with the pineapple salsa, but was a tad over cooked.  Still very tasty.

Angus New York steak with Yukon gold roasted garlic mashed potatoes, market vegetables, and green peppercorn sauce

Char broiled Mahi Mahi with southern rice pilaf, market vegetables, and fresh pineapple salsa

The dark chocolate mousse with oreo cookies and shaved chocolate was a bit too much sweetness and chocolate in one spoon.  I do love dark chocolate, but maybe this could have been lightened up a bit.  The apple crumble was not quite as sweet but I found the oat flakes a bit hard to chew.

Dark Chocolate Mousse in a jar with oreo cookies and shaved chocolate

Apple Crumble in a jar with Granny Smith apple and vanilla ice-cream

Overall a wonderful meal, and I would try the Clubhouse again, especially on a sunny day in the summer, sitting on their patio.

 

Cooking with Pulo Cuisines Coconut Adobo Sauce

I’m sure if I asked, you would probably be able to tell me about your favourite Indian or Thai curry, Chinese noodles, or Vietnamese grilled meat dish. But if I asked you for your favourite Philippine dish, I’d get a blank stare.  The Philippines is one of of South East Asian neighbours, and probably the third largest immigrant population in Vancouver, but you may not know.  Their cuisine takes bits and pieces from Malay cuisine, China, and Spain, and combines it with their fresh seafood and love of grilling, and vinegar-based sauces to give you a completely different Asian flavour.  Instead of big spicey flavours, you get more vinegar and garlic, sweet bbq, and mild coconut milk flavours.  A cuisine that I think you should try, just for the fusion from all these different countries. Pulo by the way is the Filipino word for “island”, and there are more than 7000 islands that comprise the Philippines.

One way you can try Filipino cuisine, other than hunting around for the Filipino restaurants in East Vancouver or Richmond, can be by trying the new Pulo Philippine Cuisine sauces that are made and marketed right here in Vancouver.  They have 5 different sauces for you to try:

• Guimaras Island Mango Chili Marinade
• Samal Island Pineapple Tamarind Marinade
• Cebu Island Lemongrass Atsuete Marinade
• Tinaga Island Coconut Adobo Cooking Sauce
• Luzon Island Kare Kare Toasted Peanut Cooking Sauce

All these sauces are vegan friendly.  I recently received all but the Kare Kare Toasted Peanut Cooking Sauce to try.  This article is about my experience with the Tinaga Island Cocconut Adobo Cooking Sauce.

Pulo Philippine Cuisine range of sauces

Cooking Chicken with Tinaga Island Coconut Adobo Cooking Sauce

What is coconut adobo sauce?  Well there are two main components.  One is coconut milk, which adds rich creaminess to this dish.  The other half “adobo” is a traditional Philippine dish that is made by slow cooking meats or vegetables in vinegar, garlic, and black pepper.  This dish combines the two, so is not 100% traditional, but it is very flavourful.  If you like a mild curry, you may want to try this cooking sauce.  It has light pepperiness, garlic, sourness from vinegar, and the creaminess from the coconut milk.

Tinaga Island is part of the Bicol region (Central Philippines), an area renowned for hot chili and coconut milk dishes.  It is one of the few areas that adds chili spice to their food in the Philippines.  Cooking with this sauce was relatively easy.  They recommend cubing 4 chicken breasts (or the equivalent for pork or beef) and chopping 4 cups of vegetables for this dish.  I used chicken drumsticks which I had on hand.  Start off with frying the chicken in oil, add the vegetables, and sauce and them simmer till done.  Serve with rice.  For vegetables I used onions, green beans, green pepper, and carrots.  I would recommend to cube one potato and add it to the mix because I enjoy squishing the potato in the sauce on my plate and getting every last drop of flavour.  I enjoyed the flavours of this dish, and I think that it is worthwhile to try out on your own, with your family and friends.

Coconut adobo chicken simmering

 

Wine Pairing and Where to Buy these Sauces?

If you would like to drink some wine with this dish, I would recommend a Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley in France or from South Africa,  or a dry Riesling from BC, Washington, or Australia.  Both have enough body and acidity to cut through the richness of the coconut milk, and both grapes are known for being very good food pairing wines.

In time I will try out the different dishes and give you an update here on my blog.  I have found these sauces for sale at Choices Market, but you may want to check other grocery stores, in their Asian aisle.

In Search of Paella in Spain – Part 1

You probably knew that paella was invented in Spain, but did you know that it originates from the city of Valencia?  Also did you know that sausage, chorizo, is not an ingredient in traditional paella?  Did you know that there are many different styles of paella; with some using seafood, rabbit, rice or noodles?

Come along and read about my experience with paella freshly made today for me, and others, at a conference I am attending in Castellon de la Plana, just a short train ride from Valencia.

Two paellas were made today; one vegetarian, and the other a mixture of two types of meat.  The meat one I was told is traditionally / commonly made with chicken and rabbit.  A very large paella pan was heated over a wood fire.  Vegetables and the meat were cooked in the pan, and spices added.  After a while rice was added followed by broth, then the whole dish simmered until the liquid was absorbed by the rice.  I did not get to see all the spices that were added, but saffron is always one of the ingredients to the best of my knowledge.  Before this trip I had never eaten rabbit, but now I will have had rabbit in two different dishes.  It does taste like chicken, but has a finer texture than chicken.

I sat with a lady from Valencia who told me that this paella was quite good.  I am not too sure I agree.  I think it needed a bit more flavour for me, so in Part 2, I will hunt for the ultimate paella when I am in Valencia.  In the meantime, check out the pictures of the cooking process for this paella, and think about relaxing in Spain with a glass of Tempranillo from Rioja.  Enjoy.

Paella – cooking the rabbit and chicken

Paella – the veggie version getting stirred

 

Paella – ready to add the rice and broth

Paella – finished cooking

Paella – enroute to my stomach

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Best Chicken Wing Challenge – Taste and Vote

Best chicken wings challenge

Chicken wings are a staple for many parties, bbqs and sporting events.  It’s also fun to eat with friends on an evening out.  Richard Wolak, aka vanfoodster, has announced his latest challenge, the “Best Chicken Wing Challenge” here in the Vancouver area.  Check out his press release below and further links to the challenge.

Don’t forget to try them with wine or beer!

~~~

Vancouver, BC – Everyone loves Chicken Wings and they are a popular dish at local eateries and beyond. I chose Chicken Wings for my next challenge said Richard Wolak, this challenge features 13 participating restaurants and pubs in Vancouver, Coquitlam, and Richmond that runs from May 14 – June 9, 2013.

Participating restaurants are either showcasing Chicken Wings Creations that were specially created just for this challenge or already on their menu and all will be offered in all of these restaurants from May 14- June 9, 2013. The public is invited to visit any of the participating establishments and order the Chicken Wings creations and then decide on which ones they think are worthy of winning the challenge.

These are just some of the unique Chicken Wings creations in this challenge:

• The Morrissey Pub has created Moe’s Spicy Peanut Chicken Wings
• Rogue Kitchen & Wet Bar has created Kimchi Chicken Wings
• Malone’s Bar and Grill has created Salted Caramel Waffle Wings with Zing

The full list with details including the participating restaurants and their Chicken Wings creations can be found here
http://vancouverfoodster.com/2013/05/14/vancouver-chicken-wings-challenge/ starting today!

Voting: The public is invited to try these chicken wings creations at the participating restaurants, and pubs keeping in mind this criteria – originality, creativity, uniqueness, traditional, non-traditional, price, value and most importantly taste. They are then encouraged to VOTE for their favourite Chicken wings creations between June 7-11, 2013 at
http://vancouverfoodster.com/chicken-wings-challenge/

We will announce the winning restaurants and their chicken wings dishes on June 12, 2013.

Wine for Easter

Easter is a big holiday for many of us, where we get together with family and enjoy a big Easter dinner. Easter is also leading us into spring. Flowers are already blooming here in Vancouver, and I’m sure it will come soon in the rest of Canada.

Ham, roast chicken or turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes and vegetables are traditional dishes for many people’s Easter dinner. But maybe you are wondering what wine(s) to serve? Before starting dinner you may want to consider something sparkling? An easy to sip wine would be an Italian prosecco or a Moscato. These wines tend to be quite reasonably priced. Mionetto Prosecco Frizzante, Emotivo Prosecco, or Batasiolo Moscato D’Asti are three Italian wines you may want to consider.

For the main course, a roasted ham, if you are a red wine person, you could try a Pinot Noir or a Gamay (the most famous being Beaujolais). Serve slightly chilled. Here in North America, you could go with a Pinot Noir from British Columbia, such as the Quails Gate Okanagan Valley Pinot Noir. A Gamay such as Georges Duboeuf Brouilly, France would also be nice. The Gamay would also work with turkey.

Spierhead Chardonnay

What if you prefer white wine? Then I would suggest a riesling. The Kettle Valley Winery Riesling 2008 (BC) has a bit of residual sugar with some apple, flower and citrus aromas, and apple with a bit of petrol flavours, or on the organic side, Kalala Organic Estate Winery Riesling 2008 also from BC. If you prefer a drier riesling, how about the Plantagenet Great Southern Riesling 2008 from Australia? Quite minerally. Light green and petrol aromas. Apple and citrus flavours.

For roast chicken or turkey, there is Pinot Noir, as mentioned earlier. A lightly oaked Chardonnay would also work well. The oakiness and butteriness from some secondary malolactic ferementation would make the Chardonnay nice and round in your mouth to complement the richness of your roast chicken or turkey. If you would like to support Chilean wineries, after the earthquake, you may want to try the Carmen Nativa Vineyards Chardonnay (organic) or the Vina Errazuriz Wild Ferment Chardonnay from Chile. The Errazuriz Wild Ferment Chardonnay is always a winner for me. From my last tasting notes, I noted 100% barrel fermented in French oak for 9-10 months. 1/3 of wine goes through malolactic fermentation to add some extra body and butteriness. Full lemony colour. Lots of vanilla, caramel and tropical fruit on the nose. Very aromatic. Medium-full body, with tropical fruit and vanilla flavour. Has some acidity and slight spiciness to balance the creaminess. An excellent wine.  A BC selection would be Spierhead Winery Chardonnay 2010. Their chardonnay is creamy with lots of vanilla and tropical fruit aromas and flavours.  Enjoy juicy fruit flavours in your mouth with medium acidity to keep it refreshing.

I hope some of these wines give you ideas for what to serve with your Easter family meal. Enjoy!