Burnaby Riverway Clubhouse

It's that time year again friends, Vancouver Dine out! Michael and I both think we have a love-hate relationship with Dine Out. We love it because we get to discover other restaurants in the city we didn't know existed. But we sometimes feel that not all the restaurants are giving the "great deal" as they make it seem. Some people automatically go for the $38 menu and don't give the little unknown guy a chance, because they instantly feel their getting a bargain deal with the name brands. But I hate to break it to those people, you're not necessarily getting great food for the money you're paying.

Michael and I are doing two $18 menu and our first stop was Burnaby River Clubhouse. I love going to Burnaby other than just going to Metrotown, it reminds me of the good old days when I use to hang out at my fabulous wonderful aunt's apartment. The restaurant was at a golf course and when we first arrived we weren't sure what to do because no one came to greet us. When we finally sat down at our table, their menu was a little confusing at first because there was a three course meal with individual prices but the bottom said $18 for the tasting menu. Seemed strange it wasn't a completely separate Dine Out menu.

The dining area was pretty big with a gorgeous chandelier hanging in the middle room. There were big windows that you could see the golf field, or so I think since we there in the night time. But I am sure it would have been a nice view to dine to. They were also playing black and white movies which I loved.

Braised short rib poutine

For starters I had the root beer braised short rib poutine with white cheddar curds and beef gravy. My first bite in the french fries was fantastic. The fries were seasoned with salt and pepper and topped with a coat of light gravy to help everything go down smoothly. The cheddar was of course cheesy but I have to say I don't think there was enough of those bad boys. As for the short rib, at least one of us liked it,  I gave everything to Michael, I felt there was too much of a strong taste of the beef and I just couldn't handle it. Michael thought the short rib tasted like a pot roast and it was very juicy and tender. He thought the flavours were strong but it wasn't too overpowering.

Watermelon carpaccio with crispy chicken

For Michael's appetizer, he got the watermelon carpaccio with crispy chicken, sesame seed, with a sweet and sour chilli glaze. Michael thought the chicken was reminded him of Taiwanese style fried chicken but tasted better and a lot less greasy than the chicken we usually order at bubble tea cafes in Richmond. It was definitely done professionally.

Arctic char

For entrees I got the Pan seared arctic char with roasted red peppers risotto cake, served with spinach on the side and a citrus infused honey and cilantro coulis for a little pizzaz on the plate decor. I thought the Arctic char may have been left on the stove for a little too long. I thought the fish was on the rather dry side. But I did manage to get in a few juicy parts of the fish but not too much. The risotto cakes were roasted alright, it was rather chewy and hard than soft and I didn't taste any peppers despite the red colour of the entire cake.

Filet mignon

Michael had the bacon wrapped filet mignon with pan seared polenta, I had a taste of Michael's polenta and I thought it was very chewy and not crispy at all, like as if it was had been sitting out for awhile. But Michael thought his filet mignon was perfectly cooked. Every bite was delicious and he said he felt that he got a lot of value with this restaurant. On the menu it said the regular price for the filet mignon was only $16. It comes with two pieces and a small serving of veggies. The meat was perfectly cooked, he enjoyed every bite.

Marshmallow bread pudding

Last but not least we had dessert. I had the marshmallow bread pudding served with a hazelnut chocolate sauce and vanilla gelato, I have actually never had bread pudding, and it tasted exactly like what I thought it would be. Tasted like sweet clumpy bread. I'm not sure if that is what bread pudding should taste like but I didn't like it but I didn't hate it. I thought the sweet factor was just right. It went really nice together with the ice cream because it balanced out with hot and cold and the vanilla added some creamy texture to the bread.

White chocolate panna cotta

Michael had the white chocolate panna cotta, it was his first time eating a panna cotta as well, I for one isn't a fan of panna cotta. Michael thought the panna cotta was a little too sweet for his liking with the white chocolate but the portion was perfect.

I would love to come back to the Riverway clubhouse, it seems like its a casual chic place to dine out, the environment is very laid back. Michael and I really enjoyed ourselves when we were there. I am excited to do take 2 with Michael and see what the other restaurant has to offer. But a part from Michael, I am going with a fellow gal pal of mine at a restaurant that Michael and I visited awhile back thats tucked in Stanley park.

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The Fish Shack

Since Dine Out 2013 is creeping up on us, Michael and I thought it would be fun to head out to Vancouver for the night. I came across The Fish Shack when I was browsing around for Dine Out inspiration, surprisingly Fish Shack's regular menu seemed more tasty than their Dine Out, and I was keen on trying it. I also knew Michael would be up for any restaurant that focuses on seafood.

Michael and I usually avoid franchise restaurants, and The Fish Shack is owned by the Glowbal group, but I feel that the people at Glowbal have their fair share of hit restaurants. Also since the Glowbal group is such a well recognized company in Vancouver, I arrived with high expectations.

Fish Shack is located in the tip of Vancouver's party strip at 1026 Granville Street. For those scratching their heads wondering, "Didn't that place use to be an Indian restaurant?" Yes. It used to be Sanafir, also owned by the Glowbal group, but in my opinion was a major "miss." I felt it was over priced and served unappetizing "Indian fusion" food and the restaurant made me feel like I was in Moulin Rouge.

The restaurant is bright and inviting

Now it has become The Fish Shack. The place seems to be fun place to eat, kick back, shuck some oysters and have have an ice cold beer. The restaurant is laid out exactly how Sanafir was with the outside patio and upstairs dining room as well. The walls were decorated with warehouse pallets, I thought it was such a clever way of decoration, but Michael on the other hand thought it was rather "low budget" looking. I loved how the bar area, the lights were hung with ropes, it looked like it should have been part of a boat by the harbour.

On an unrelated note of the restaurant, I just have to say their restrooms are an individual room suitable for the ladies and gents. It was very uncomfortable going to the washroom and having a urinal two centimeters away from me, and another thing that bothered me was that the restroom was insanely dark.

Their menu is laid out in a newspaper headline style

But let's talk food. The Shack's menu served many traditional west coast seafood delicacies, fish and chips, oysters, clams, lobster, you name it they got it. I had mentioned from a post while back, that ever since Michael and I dined at Crab Pot in Seattle, Michael has been on the hunt for the same concept as Crab Pot, getting a hammer and just whacking the heck out of his food. For myself, I feel like I did it in Seattle, I don't need to do it here and I'm only along for the ride.

Does anyone else think the spikes on the hammer are a bit unnecessary?

I was curious to see what their oyster burger tasted like and I saw many diners get their fish and chips which looked really tasty and also their steamed mussels looked divine. But I knew Michael wanted his crab pot experience again. At the shack they have the same concept with the hammer. They offer two choices one is the small catch ($20 per person) which offers dungeness crab, mussels, snow crab, prawns, calamari, cray fish, corn, potatoes, and chorizo. With the big catch it has everything and add an extra lobster ($30 per person). Of course the portion was not as big as Crab Pot but the idea and all was there.

A small portion - but cheaper - compared to Crab Pot

I do think the crabs and calamari tasted really good, it was full of meat and tasted very fresh. Dipping the food in liquified butter was just heaven on earth, my entire dinner went in there. As for cray fish, I have never tasted it before it looked like a mini version of a lobster, I'm not sure if cray fish is the same as crawfish but I would think crawfish would taste similar. I thought the cray fish tasted very fishy and I couldn't handle more than one. Michael thought there was a good amount of crab and especially liked how the server left a jar of spices for us to sprinkle. The seafood broth was a nice touch too. He thought there could have been more clams and corn though.

We still haven't found a restaurant that exceeds the expectations set by Crab Pot. This small catch meal for me was a mediocre and I think it's a little "meh." Michael thinks it was worth it for the cheaper price, it's still the same type of experience. But I think the other selections on the menu would be fantastic and wonderful and I am determined to taste their other dishes.

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Flying Beaver

I know some of my friends like coming to the Flying Beaver to grab a beer at night and relax by the lovely view of the water. The pub is located off of the Vancouver International airport at 4760 Inglis Drive. You can check in for your seaplane to the island and have a meal at the bar before you leave. Michael and I often go to Flying Beaver when we don't know where else to go.

It's a typical bar but their menu is rather more fancy than what most would be used to. I love the interior of the bar because it is all wooden and has snowshoes and various other Canadian pride items displayed, which I think is a little witty and fun.

Caesar salad and garlic bread

I was originally going to get a sandwich today but I quickly changed my mind when our waitress told us about the specials. How could I  resist their specials menu's mac and cheese? The dish arrived served with little steak bites with caesar salad and garlic bread on the side ($13.95).

Mac & cheese

The mac and cheese was actually rather light even though it was oozing with cheese everywhere, maybe because the cheese sauce was runny instead of thick and heavy. The steak wasn't too tough but was a little chewy. I would say it was pretty good. The caesar salad tasted classic with Parmesan shavings on top, but the garlic bread didn't taste very garlicy. I did enjoy dipping my bread in the mac and cheese sauce though.

Prime rib with scalloped potatoes and asparagus

Michael had the prime rib with scalloped potatoes and asparagus. He thought the meat was a little tough, but for its low ($15.95) price, it had a ton of flavour and was worth every penny. Michael especially liked the scalloped potatoes, he said they were cooked with just enough crunch and were sliced thin enough to make every bite delicious.

Flying Beaver is fun place to eat at and we think that its a great place for casual dinners for the days where you have no clue where to go for dinner.

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