Went to the Chill Winston bar/restaurant in Gastown last night with Benny. Originally we had a reservation at the Figmint Restaurant but when we got there they were closing so had to look for another place to have some chomps on.

The place was quite nice, spacious and good ambiance - perfect for a nice night out with girls. There wasn’t too many people so it was really relaxing. Most of the items on the menu were tapas, with a couple entrees and sides. We ordered the Beef Tartar for appetizer, which was some raw grounded beef mixed with seasoning and onions…etc topped with a quail egg, served with some crispy French bread. The chef made the beef into a “heart” shape, it was really awkward since it was just two of us guys but anyway the taste was good even though I wasn’t really used to eating raw beef… I ordered a tasty drink called The Devil’s Fruit, which was some Kahlua mixed with espresso vodka and topped with coffee beans - interesting and tasty. For the entree I got the Sablefish (black cod). It wasn’t bad but wasn’t good either. The skin of the fish was a little crispy which I liked, but the texture of the meat wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be (I had better ones elsewhere, like at 14981) but anyway it was totally acceptable. I think Benny had a duck breast, which IMO was just so so since it was almost fully cooked and tasted a bit plain and the meat was a bit dry; it was acceptable though, strangely. Also ordered a pizza called “Surf”, made with lemon cream sauce, smoked salmon, clams and spinach and feta cheese. This one was a yummy surprise! It’s not greasy, crust was thin and crispy, taste of the smoked salmon was great and the clams were tender (surprisingly).

Overall I think it was a good eat. The service was awesome (very attentive while not being too buggy) and the price was right. It wasn’t top-of-the-line but I would definitely come back again for the above average food and the great ambiance/location.

Got a pack of black cod steak from T&T supermarket, was wondering if it’s the same kind of black cod that Benny had brought over from his restaurant. So I got it, pretty pricey ($10.x) but it’s got 3 pieces of steak cuts. Defrosted one of the pieces, made some sauces with soya sauce, minced garlic, sugar, some Japanese mirin (tastes sweet), and some white wine. Placed the fish on the pan (it’s harder than I thought), seared both sides, and started frying the skin. Cooked a bit with the sauce added in, and it’s ready~

Well the final product looks a bit… darkened, but it actually tasted great , plus I got the crispy skin that I always wanted! Finally some fish for me, after 2 months of fish cravings.

*Note: Pictures do not always resemble the actual product.*

Went to Benny’s restaurant “14981” with Edison, my co-worker at Graphically Speaking. Benny prepared an awesome menu for us, so at last I got to taste the great food he cooked at my place during the last couple parties, at his restaurant. I knew it’s going to taste way better and turned out it really was.

The mussels and black cod were tenderer than the ones he cooked at my place, the caesar salad was great (I’d prefer less bacon on top), and the lamb rack was amazing (liked the “balsamic glaze” sauce a LOT, got to ask him where I can get it from.) I generally dislike lambs due to its “unique” flavor, but I can’t deny the fact that this one was really delicious. Edison liked it a lot too, especially the fish.

We went to Aberdeen Centre in Richmond to get these popular cream puffs from Beard Papa (an extremely popular Japanese bakery that makes delicious cream puffs). Edison wanted to get some for his girlfriend. I had their puffs couple years ago in Hong Kong and it was so tasty that I never forget, so I was stoked comming to know that they have just opened their first Canadian store, and it’s in Richmond! It was a huge lineup, around 30 people, and we had to wait for an hour and half.. well, the wait turned out to be well worth though as the puffs were sooooooooooo good. I bought six (limited a dozen for each person), I think I still have one left in the fridge and it’ll likely be gone tonight

Well after trying Benny’s tasty black cod he made at the last party, I couldn’t wait to make my own and there I went to Save On Foods to get this $4.5 piece of fresh cod fillet. I knew that it was not the same or even close to the quality of the black cod, but anyway I decided to give it a shot and to try out the difference. The sauce was prepared with the Chicken Marinade sauce from Lee Kam Kee, and added minced garlic to it. The sauce already tasted pretty sweet so I didn’t even put sugar into it. I seared both sides of the fish for 20 seconds, simmered the sauce for a bit, then cooked it with the sauce for another minute. It was certainly tasty, but still no where near the quality of the black cod. The black cod just taste better, more tender…it’s hard to describe, but it has the taste that would just make you craving for more.

As we were having so much fun last week hosting the dining party, we decided to do it again. Yesterday night Benny brought over some fresh Sinku oysters he got from his supplier, cheap but still very tasty (well it’d still cost you $3+/ea. when you eat them in any restaurant). As an oyster non-eater for many years, I was actually quite stoked when I saw the 2.5 dozen of oysters lying neatly on the plate.. I think I started liking them but still I need to eat them with a few drops of tabasco and lime juice even though Benny recommended eating them without. I find the smaller ones more tasty and have more flavor in them. Oh yes I also learned opening oysters with the help of this proprietary oyster opener (it’s harder than you think). Janet and I were practicing hard and I think I should be able to handle all of them on my own next time.

Followed was the Wentzel duck breast. Benny made it perfectly this time as I think he overcooked it last time. Then we had this delicious, tender black cod, curry mussels, and some naan bread with curry dips. They were all superb, paring with some refreshing Pinot Gris wine. After some chats, we had these dessert cake that Janet brought over, and some espresso to complement.

It really feels great, when you can enjoy all kinds of delicious high end food from the comfort of home