Dine Out Vancouver Festival 2017 - The Boathouse

Wow, a record five restaurants during the Dine Out Vancouver Festival period this year! I took my family out to The Boathouse because I received a promotional email and I got sucked in by the dessert on their $30 menu. I guess advertising does work! A $40 menu is also available but I didn't like the options as much. We braved the snow last night and after driving at a snail's pace for an hour, we all feasted on delicious seafood.

We started with a sourdough bread basket.

West coast seafood chowder. This really hit the spot after being in the cold!

Coconut Pacific cod with quinoa.

Mocha ice cream pie. The whole reason we came to eat here!

I thought the food was delicious! I've also decided I am not that big a fan of cod, which seemed to be the fish that most restaurants were serving this year. The Vancouver Dine Out Festival ends this weekend, so make your reservations now!

Dine Out Vancouver Festival 2017 - C Prime

It was girl's night again with some other friends and we decided to try C Prime, located inside the Century Plaza Hotel downtown. The menu was a tad different than what was posted on the Dine Out Vancouver website, but the choices were delicious still!

We started with some delicious garlic bread and olives.

Grilled clamari steak on a bed of arugula.  

Mediterranean octopus with heirloom tomatoes and fingerling potatoes.

Arctic char with chickpeas and chorizo.

Gnocchi, wild BC mushrooms and porcini truffle cream sauce.

Lemon tart and Italian meringue. This was a little odd, since the filling was super runny and just poured into the tart shell. I'm not sure if it wasn't finished setting yet.

Spiced pumpkin bread pudding with salted caramel gelato.

I really enjoyed this meal! This is the last weekend of the Dine Out Vancouver Festival so make sure to book soon!

Dine Out Vancouver Festival 2017 - WildTale Coastal Grill

It was girl's night last week at WildTale Coastal Grill in Yaletown. The Dine Out Festival menu sounded delicious for $30, so we all went with that. We tried to order one of each dish on the menu so we could try it all.

Organic beets and watercress with toasted almonds, crisp apples, horseradish crème fraîche.

Albacore tuna carpaccio with baby gem citrus salad.

WildTale seafood chowder corn and crab fritter.

7-hour braised Alberta beef short rib celeriac pomme puree, roasted bone marrow jus.

Herb-Crusted wild coho salmon on bay scallop risotto, brown butter caper sauce.

Bittersweet chocolate mousse - no biscotti?

We sat near the kitchen so were able to watch the chefs prepare the food, which was really cool. The food was delicious! The chocolate mousse was suppose to come with a housemade biscotti but we didn't get one and it seemed like none of the desserts coming out of the kitchen had it. Maybe they ran out :( We looked at the regular menu and the dishes sounded yummy, so we all might go back another day!

The Dine Out Vancouver Festival is on for another week, so make sure to make your reservations soon!

Dine Out Vancouver Festival 2017 - Stages Bistro & Lounge

I took my family out for our second Dine Out 2017 Festival meal at Stages Bistro and Lounge, located at the Holiday Inn. This was one of the places with a $20 menu that looked pretty good.

Roasted beet salad with goat cheese.

Fire roasted tomato basil soup.

Pork tenderloin with a wild mushroom demi.

Cod loin pan seared and topped with a pineapple salsa.

Mango mousse cake and raspberry cheesecake.

I had the soup (a tad salty), the cod (a bit bland, but the pineapple salsa helped add flavour) and the mango mousse (yum!). The food was decent for the price and what you'd expect for $20. Dine Out Vancouver is happening until February 5, 2017.

Dine Out Vancouver Festival 2017 - Oceans 999

Dine Out Vancouver has started this weekend and my family went to our first one tonight. We went to Oceans 999 at the Pan Pacific, which serves Pacific Northwest cuisine using fresh local ingredients. Every Saturday night, they have a buffet with Italian cuisine as well as singers serenading you with popular songs from operas, so we had a glimpse of that while we were there as well!

Crispy pork belly with green papaya salad, fish sauce caramel, micro coriander.

Herb crusted line caught ling-cod with Pemberton purple potatoes, baby bok choy, yellow lemongrass coconut curry, coriander chimichurri.

Star anise braised short rib with pickled 5 spice carrot puree, and king oyster mushroom, roasted cashew chili gremolata.

Exotic chocolate extravaganza: Chocolate chiboust crème, Passion fruit mango mousse, coconut crisp, Asian sponge, Kumquat compote.

Dine Out Vancouver is happening now until February 5, 2017. Make your reservations now to ensure you get a seating at your favourite restaurant!

Dine Out Vancouver Festival 2015 - The Butcher and Bollock

The Butcher and Bollock was my last restaurant during the festival, and I went with my coworkers. Located downtown on Pender St, they offered an $18 menu that was definitely worth every penny!

Scotch egg - organic egg with pork sausage.

Braised pork belly with sour cream mashed potatoes, spinach and apple cider jus.

Banana and caramel strudel with walnuts and vanilla bean ice cream. They forgot the caramel on mine :(

We had a rather large party and it was definitely a fun place to go for drinks, games and good food. Everyone was so full from the pork belly (all that fat, mmm) that we had trouble finishing the dessert!

Dine Out Vancouver Festival 2015 - Reflect Social Dining

J and I took the family to Reflect at the Hilton in Burnaby. I wasn't even aware that this dining lounge existed, but the $28 menu looked pretty tasty so I thought I would try it out!

A bread basket to start, with flatbread and baguette.

Brome lake duck confit with baby frisee, pickled radish, fingerling potato salad and pommery mustard vinaigrette.

Squash bisque with coconut kaffir lime creme.

Trio of seafood paupiette. It came wrapped up in parchment paper...

And opened to this: tiger prawn, ling cod, salmon with root vegetables

Red deer elk osso bucco with andouille sasauge, atomic baby glazed carrots, wilted kale and cranberry confiture.

White chocolate mango mousse cake with a medley of seasonal pearls.

Peanut butter chocolate crunch with Nutella and raspberry coulis.

This menu was definitely worth the $28 and my whole family thoroughly enjoyed it! (I thought dessert was the best part). Definitely check out Reflect if you're looking for some West Coast fare!

Dine Out Vancouver Festival 2015 - Cork and Fin

With the end of the Dine Out Vancouver Festival coming to an end, I thought I'd share some photos from the restaurants I went to! There was definitely some good food to be had, and I'll be looking for the 2016 festival!

The first restaurant I went to was Cork and Fin. Located in the heart of Gastown just outside the entrance of Blood Alley, this restaurant offers fresh seafood and a quaint little place to dine. For the Dine Out Festival, they offered a 3-courses of savoury dishes, for $28.

Lobster bisque - brandied apples, charred scallions.

Smoked ricotta croquette with spiced tomtato jam, leeks, potato.

Octopus and chorizo, with salsa roja, toasted brioche.

Arctic char with gnocchi and edamame.

Flank steak with confit potato, braised purple cabbage (+$3).

I thought the food was good, though some was a bit burnt. The service was a bit slow, and my friend wasn't satisfied with the portion size so we ended up going to another (two) restaurants for more food and dessert. Cork and Fin might be a good place to go for oysters during their happy hour, where they offer 2-for-1 oysters!