P2B Bistro and Lounge - [Dine Out Vancouver 2016]

J and I took out the family last night at another Dine Out Vancouver restaurant. We headed downtown to P2B Bistro and Lounge. We've been here before and really enjoyed the food. We decided to order a couple of extra appetizers to add on to the $30 Dine Out menu.

Lasqueti Island honey mussels with chorizo sausage, honey ale, tomato, artisan baguette. These mussels were huge!

BBQ duck spring rolls with spicy dipping sauce. These were delicious, hot and crispy.

Albacore tuna tataki with seasame ponzu vinaigrette, radish and papaya slaw. The tuna was delicious but the vinaigrette was a bit salty.

Panzanella salad with wilted grape tomatoes, kalamata olives, bread shards, bocconcini cheese and arugula.

Grilled Pemberton Meadows flat iron steak with salt spring island goat cheese, yukon smash, asparagus, forest mushroom and onion confit. The mushrooms were so yummy. The Dine Out menu had brocollini but I guess they ran out! The steak was a bit chewy but was cooked to a nice medium rare!

Cioppino - prawns, honey mussels, halibut, sockeye salmon and bread. The tomato sauce this was cooked in was really good and the bread was great for soaking it up.

Chocolate gianduja pate with sour cherry coulis, almond tuile and toffee brittle. This was a very rich dessert and almost tasted like Hedgehog chocolates. Definitely pick this if you are a chocolate lover!

White chocolate creme brulee. This was very liquidly so I'm not sure if the dessert was ready.

It was great meal and the service was great as well. Check out the menu at P2B here. Tonight is the last day of the Dine Out Vancouver Festival this year.

Boiling Point Hot Pot

When the weather gets hot, where do you go to eat? Hot pot! ChineseBites invited a group last week to try out Boiling Point, a place serving personal sized Taiwanese style hot pot. Boiling Point originated in California and have opened in Washington and now have two locations in Canada - Burnaby and Richmond.

Their hot soups are made with the freshest ingredients and there are 11 flavours to choose from. You are able to customize the level of spiciness, from none to flaming. Because each hot pot bowl has different ingredients, they each have a distinct flavour, which makes it different than most cook-it-yourself hot pot places.

#1 House Special - Napa, Fermented Tofu, Sliced Pork, Enoki Mushroom, Kamaboko, Meat Ball, Clam, Quail Egg, Pork Blood, Pork Intesetine, Nira, Preserved Vegetables, Tomato, Cilantro.

#2 Seafood and Tofu - Taiwanese Bok Choy, Shrimp, Sliced Pork, Enoki Mushroom, Frozen Tofu, Baby Octopus, Clam, Cuttlefish Ring, Fish Fillet, Fuzhou Fish Ball, Vermicelli, Egg, Green Onion.

#3 Korean Kimchi - Napa, Vermicelli, Sliced Pork, Enoki Mushroom, Egg, Kamaboko, Meat Ball (Pork) Tempura, Clam, Fuzhou Fish Ball, Kichi, Firm Tofu, Fried Tofu Skin, Imitation Crab Stick, Green Onion.

#4 Beef - Napa, Vermicelli, Sliced Angus Beef, Enoki Mushroom, Tomato, Firm Tofu, Tempura, Corn, Meat Ball (Pork), Kamaboko, Fried Tofu Skin, Imitation Crab Stick, Green Onion, Cilantro.

#5 Lamb - Napa, Vermicelli, Sliced Lamb, Enoki Mushroom, Imitation Crab Stick, Kamanoko, Pork Blood Rice Cake, Organic Maitake Mushroom, Clam, Pickled Mustard Greens, Firm Tofu, Tempura, Fried Tofu Skin, Egg, Green Onion, Cilantro.

#6 Curry Fish Balls - Napa, Vermicelli, Slice Pork, Enoki Mushroom, Imitation Crab Stick, Fish Ball, Fried Tofu Skin, Corn, Tempura, Mountain Yam, Chinese String Bean, Egg, Green Onion.

#7 Tomato Veggie - Napa, Vermicelli, Slice Pork, Enoki Mushroom, Firm Tofu, Corn, Lotus Root, Bean Curd, Chinese String Bean, King Oyster Mushroom, Taiwanese Bok Choy.

#8 Taiwanese Spicy - Cabbage, Instant Noodle, Sliced Angus Beef, Tempura, Enoki Mushroom, Clam, Fuzhou Fish Ball, Cuttlefish Ring, Pork Intestine, Pork Blood Rice Cake, Fried Tofu Skin, Maitake Mushroom, Frozen Tofu, Green Onion, Cilantro.

#9 Japanese Miso - Cabbage, Udon, Sliced Pork, Enoki Mushroom, Clam, Fuzhou Fish Ball, Fish Fillet, Organic Maitake Mushroom, Crab, Fried Tofu Skin, Soft Tofu, Egg, Green Onion.

#10 - Thai Flavour - Cabbage, Taro Stem, Sliced Pork, Enoki Mushroom, Cuttlefish Ring, Fuzhou Fish Ball, Clam, Crab, Baby Octopus, Organic Maitake Mushroom, Shrimp, Cilantro.

#11 Organic Tofu - a new item on their menu with sliced pork, organic tofu, lobster ball.

We also tried some noodles: original and spinach wok. They are sort of like instant noodles, but chewier. They come packaged like instant noodles and is a good addition to your hot pot soup!

For those with an adventurous taste bud, try the spicy fermented tofu! Also known as stinky tofu, this Taiwanese dish is either a hit or miss for people. The smell is pretty strong and the taste lingers on your tongue after you have swallowed. It's definitely an acquired taste!

To end the meal, we had snow cubes - frozen blocks that were like a mix of ice cream and popscicles. There are six different flavours to choose from: black sesame, taro, strawberry, chocolate, green tea and Hokkaido milk tea. I tried most of them and they were all delicious - very unique flavours! It was definitely a good, cold palette cleanser after the hot soups!

Disclaimer: The meal mentioned above was provided free of charge by ChineseBites and Boiling Point. The opinions expressed in this post are those of Savvy Shopping, Deals and Reviews and have not been influenced in any other way.