Blue Water Cafe

I procrastinated for way too long on this post. Blue Water Cafe became part of my top 10 after leaving the restaurant that night. What I remember liking most was the service. Once you have been seated at your table, they cater to your every need. Blue Water is a must-try in Yaletown, Vancouver.

Oysters are a must if they are are on the menu. We ordered 2 orders of the 6 featured oyster types: Beach Angel, Kusshi, Glacier, Reed Island, Satori, Sawmill Bay.

BC Tasting for 2 $16.50 per person. Dungeness crab salad, scallop ceviche, albacore tuna tartare, smoked sockeye salmon terrine. All amazingly prepared but my favourite was the salmon terrine. (Excuse my horrible camera skills, my screen was half broken that night)

Halibut and Prawns $30. This was a special for the week. What can I say, I have absolutely nothing bad to critique about this. You know they put a lot of tlc into preparing everything on the menu.

Qualicum Bay Scallops $33.50. Ill probably remember this for the rest of my blogging life. The best and biggest portion of scallops I have ever ordered. However, it comes with a wild rice griddle cake which I didn't really find appetizing.

Kalamansi Cheesecake $11. We were never into citrusy cheesecakes but I really wanted cheesecake that night. I ended up setting myself up for disappointment. Don't get me wrong this was amazing (if you like citrus flavour in your cheesecake).

Warm Dark Cuban Chocolate Cake $12.5. Can you really go wrong with a brandy truffle melted inside of a light, crispy cake? I think not.

This was NOT big enough to share.



Website: bluewatercafe.net
Address:
1095 Hamilton Street
Vancouver, BC

Society

I had heard so many bad reviews about this place but, as a food blogger, decided to try it out anyways. All my friends that have already been to Society told me that the place was nice, girly and loungy. This was true. They also told me that the food here sucks. Also true.

I called this a good start to a bad night.. Buffalo Jumbo Prawns. They have taken this off the menu.. too bad because they were very good and fresh! The chef probably doesn't like to have tasty things on the menu.

Hawaiian Pizza for one. I did not like this at all. I'd pick Pizza Hut over this any day. The dough was undercooked and burnt at the same time. The crust was dry and hard, and there wasn't enough sauce.

Spaghetti and Kobe Meatballs. I don't understand how Italian Kitchen and Society are the both part of Glowbal, but can have completely opposite Kobe meatballs. How hard is it to make Kobe meatballs!? Let me tell you how these tasted: like over processed ground beef. The pasta was well over done, the goat cheese was watery and the bread was inedible.

All in all, this is more of a drinking after a real dinner place, NOT a place to have a good meal. I do not recommend Society for their food what so ever. However, I am willing to give it another shot so look out for my second post on this restaurant


Address:
1257 Hamilton Street
Vancouver, BC
Website: http://www.glowbalgroup.com/society

Ouisi Bistro: First Time Trying Gator Meat!

"The Ouisi Bistro is a New Orleans style restaurant, which incorporates two styles of cooking; Creole and Cajun."

First of all, excuse the horrible photography in this one. It was extremely dark and I had to use the flash on my iPhone. I should really invest in a real camera but I like having all my pictures in one place! My boyfriend brought me here, just for the gator meat. He had been here once and loved it, so we made our way down to Granville Street. I wish it wasn't so dark because I couldn't get a good picture of the restaurant. My first impression was that it felt very welcoming and homey, a place you can go to, grab a beer and relax with your buddies for the night. Somewhere you can find real soul food. It is a bistro, but they serve brunch (weekends), lunch and dinner. There are so many other restaurants in this area that I would like to try to look out for those posts soon.

Gator Bites $14.50. This was the only thing on our minds as we sat down. We ordered this before we even got our water, then looked at the menu for more. It came out minutes later and I almost forgot to take the picture. As you can tell, it looks delicious and nothing like alligator meat at all. I really cannot describe the texture of alligator meat, it is something else. My first thought, was that it tastes something between chicken and fish, a cod perhaps. Anyway, it was good, and what made this even better was how amazing they seasoned this dish. You've really got to try it for yourself, I am NOT joking.

Cajun Style Crab Cakes $11. Although this was seasoned well, with many Cajun flavours, I thought it was very very doughy and did not have anywhere near enough crab. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I want CRAB in my CRAB CAKES!

Fresh P.E.I. Mussels Lafayette $15. Aside from that amazing plate of Gator Bites, this was my favorite. I devoured these mussels. The white wine and cream was amazing, and the mussels were very large.

The Dinner Belle $20. This was my least favorite, as you can probably tell already. The description the the menu, read "crab stuffed chicken breasts with a citrus-beurre blanc and roasted new potatoes" and now, thinking back when eating this, all I remember was the potatoes, NOT the crab. Once again, crab from the menu disappoints and I am left with a crabless chicken and potatoes. The potatoes were awesome, by the way. Nicely cooked and spiced. I thought their chicken tasted very frozen as if it was one of those from a frozen dinner box you buy at the grocery store. At least it wasn't dry. At this point, I am really appreciating the makers of this menu. I'm realizing that everything I have ordered did not lack in flavor, and they did not have to be spicy to do so!

Sauteed Gulf Prawns $18. I don't have much to say about this order, other than the "prawns" were tiny, and the dish was a little boring in appearance. Otherwise, they tasted very good.

Before I get to dessert, I want to mention their delicious corn bread, which I forgot to take a photo of. I never knew how much I love corn bread until I tried their home made ones. It comes, complimentary with your dinner and oh, is it good. I'll be taking some home next time.

Blueberry Cheesecake. I'd have to say this is one of the BEST cheesecakes I have ever consumed in my life. They have a special every day, with a different fruit, baked inside in the cheesecake. This tasted extremely wholesome, home made, and rich. Just how I like my cheesecake to be.

I had a great experience here and I will be coming back to try other things on the menu. Highly recommend this restaurant, although the service was HORRIBLE. Just for the food, and the gator bites, I will be back!

Address: 3014 Granville St.
Vancouver, BC
Website: http://www.ouisibistro.com

Ora: Great appies, not-so-great mains.

This place had a very "Joey's/Cactus Club" feel to it. Very modern, loungy and a place where a lot of youngsters would go to. I was here for St. Patrick's day, sitting next to a VERY loud group of teenagers which ruined the mood a little but we didn't mind. Not as much as the couple beside us who asked to move tables.. I felt bad for them..

We had a very nice server, who was a ditzy blonde girl.. the cute kind. She suggested the Gyozas $10, which were the best I've ever had at a non-asian restaurant. Many times, I get the kind where the outside of the dumplings are hard and chewy (from being frozen) but these tasted very fresh and light. I would order this again!

Poached Pear and Prosciutto Salad $16. The only thing I didn't like about this was the candied pecans.. Probably cause I don't like any extra crunch in my salads.. The greens are enough for me. But anywho, any salad with prosciutto is good to me!

I wish the 2 delicious appetizers weren't so good because they very much hyped me up for the mains which I was obviously expecting to be good. Both were just below mediocre and were left unfinished. This is the Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms $17. I did however like that it came with 2 instead of 1 and they were overly stuffed with meat and such. The bad thing about this was it was extremely bland.

Kahlua BBQ Ribs $24. This definitely NOT worth $24. Sure, the rack was big and the potatoes were good but they were dry and didn't come with enough sauce to balance it out. Other than that, ribs are ribs.

I was NOT prepared for this Triple Layer Chocolate Cake $7. I know it doesn't look big in the picture but it was bigger than the size of my hand. And my hand is pretty big to begin with. That little scoop of ice cream was not enough to even out the sweetness and dryness of this cake. I didn't like it at all, even if it was smaller.

New York Colossal Cheesecake $7. This one reminded me of the Earls cheesecake (which is discontinued by the way) with the blueberry compote (a lot of it). This was also very big, hence "colossal" but good. It
was a cheesecake.

Overall, I liked this place and would come back for JUST appies and a couple drinks. I'd love to try what their other appies have to offer!

Late Nights at BP

Another late night at the Boston Pizza! You guys don't know how many times this place has saved me from starvation after a long night of drinking! We arrived at 1am and the servers were still happy and energetic.

What a good deal! I'll be back for this..

Chicken Thai Bites $10. I really don't like sweet chilli flavours. I prefer a dry rub but this was pretty good! It was a little spicy so I didn't have much. The little crunchy "noodles" they are garnished with are pretty addicting too.

Address:

• 15125 100th Avenue
• Surrey, BC

• Sun - Sat: 11:00 AM - 2:00 AM
• Website:
• www.bostonpizza.com

Homemade Spinach Dip

So the secret to homemade spinach dip is powdered vegetable soup! I use the Knorr brand. Just mix together sour cream, mayonnaise frozen chopped spinach (thawed, with water drained) and the powder! Red bell peppers and cream cheese are an option if you want more flavour. I usually add cream cheese if I'm going to serve the dip warm.

I always buy this bread from Wal-mart Supercenter. It's labeled "Crusty Bread" and is perfect for dipping! The outside is crisp and the inside is nice and soft. I like to lightly toast this before serving.

Moxies: Quick bite and dessert!

Mosaic Dip. "A base of fresh tomatoes, garlic and sweet red onions topped with a layer of creamy diced mushrooms and finished with a seasoned Quebec goat cheese, served with naan bread." MMM doesn't that sound good? Well it was! This dip really reminds me of Pâté. The naan had some hard and some soft pieces. I ate all the soft ones and left the hard ones for the bf. =)

Crab and Scallop Cakes. I was very iffy about ordering this cause they tend to come out too salty. Sadly, it was. I completely hated this one. Aside from the saltyness, there was too much "filling", meaning a lot of extra bread and not enough crab. Also, didn't taste ANY scallop.

Bite of Brownie. This is the mini version of the White Chocolate Brownie. In case you're wondering, its about a fourth of the bigger one. This is just perfect for me. Its the only reason why I come to Moxies. 

Callebaut Chocolate Cake. This one was WAY too chocolatey. We had to order extra ice cream. Its basically a lava cake with the "lava" around it, a HUGE chunk of dark chocolate, strawberry and ice cream. I wouldn't recommend this if you're not a big fan of chocolate. You'll be disappointed.




Address:
10608 151A St, Surrey, BC V3R
Website:
moxies.ca

Boston Pizza: Appies!

This is pretty much the place to go in Surrey where you can eat, drink, and is open till 2am everyday. I used to come here almost every week for late night snacks.

 Oven Roasted Chipotle BBQ Wings $11. Im getting hungry just posting up these pics! BP serves HUGE wings. Nothing compared to Wings. I think that is why they are basically a dollar a wing!

 Southwest Potato Skins $10. This is always a must. Im addicted to their creamy garlic dressing.

Goat Cheese Spinach Dip $10. MMMMM.. This was good. I prefer my spinach dip warm and this one came straight out of the oven. I love anything with goat cheese so this one gets a big thumbs up. The bread is basically their Pizza Bread with parmigiana instead of mozzarella cheese.

• Address: 
• 15125 100th Avenue
• Surrey, BC

• Sun - Sat: 11:00 AM - 2:00 AM
• Website:
• www.bostonpizza.com