http://www.vancouverdine.com/seasons0experience.aspx

Overall: $28 menu + , $38 menu –

Favourite App: Smoked Oyster & Salmon Chowder and Baby Gem Tomato & Cherry Bocconcini Salad were solid.
Favourite Entree: with reservations, Moroccan Spiced Lamb Shank
Favourite Dessert: Sunburned Lemon Pie

The service was great and the food came out timely. The problem though were none of the dishes were great. The Cod and Seafood Bouilabaisse were bland, and the steak came in well done instead of the medium rare that was ordered. The steak was taken back right away but a miss is still a miss.
The Double Belgian Chocolate Truffle & Fudge Cake was definitely smaller than last year. Last year, we had twice the size and it melted as the fork cut into it. This year, the fudge cake was hard and flakes off, what a huge difference from last year.

I would say the $28 menu was priced about right, though the food isn’t all that great, but the $38 menu was definitely not worth it.

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Overall: –

Favourite App: with reservation: the ’sloping hills’ pork rillette
Favourite Entree: with reservation: ‘miracle springs’ pesto trout
Favourite Dessert: with reservation: chocolate trio

Everything on paper seem right for Salmon House; however, none of the dishes every came together. Majority of the dishes, only the main ingredient ie the trout or salmon or steak, were done excellent but none of the sides or sauces compliment it at all.
Some of the biggest offenders were:
The caraway crusted albacore tuna’s tuna was almost completely cooked and accompanied with very bland and cold slices of vegetables.
The alder-grilled pink salmon had a consistency issue with their gnocchi. My gnocchi was done about right; however I sampled some from other plates and found them undercooked. The gnocchi was a very important element of the dish and have that completely fail created a disaster.
The ginger roasted apple napoleon’s apple was still crunchy; I’d expect it to be mushy similar to apple pie.

I’ve asked a fellow friend, whom been to Salmon House several times, regarding her experience during that night and she indicated that Salmon House tends to do better and that evening they definitely under performed. The Dine Out experience might have proven too hectic for the cooking staff but Salmon House should step back and reconsider their menu for next year. I rather have a simple and enjoyable meal instead of a meal that sounds good on paper but completely fall apart when it arrives.

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Overall: +/-

Favourite App: the boerewos kobab and the grilled vegetables was solid. Great flavourful kobab and the grilled peppers and veges really sealed the deal. The Pakora wasn’t bad though, just not as memorable.
Favourite Entree: All the entrees were solid. The lamb was great; though some of the rice was a bit dry. The prawns with its wonderful puri puri sauce was delicious. and the Ingudi watt and spinach stew was solid. HUGE portion and delicious!
Favourite Dessert: Honestly probably the weakest. The Baklava was a touch too sweet, the cheesecake a touch too soft and mushy; though the mango sauce was good. The Pecan brandy tart tasted great the first few bites though it lost its appeal soon after.

Note: This meal did take 3 hours to complete so please go in with patience. Perhaps the party of 7 might have been too much to handle at a time so I might suggest a smaller party, probably ideal 6 so it would not overwhelm the kitchen.

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Overall: + and 1/2
Favourite App: Both the tart and Cauliflower soup were excellent, though the grandpa country pork was definitely the weakest among the three.
Favourite Entree: Each entree was excellent. The Rock Hen’s drumstick was definitely quite salty so it might not appeal to everyone. The Grilled Swordfish had such an Asian taste coming from a “french” style restaurant that threw us off. The gnocchi or its wine pairing is pretty weak by itself; however, when the gnocchi is accompanied with all the sauces and with the wine together, the dish is then truly complete and excellent.
Favourite Dessert: All the desserts were excellent. The Lemon tart and Rhubarb sundae were light and refreshing while the bittersweet chocolate was melt in the mouth rich yet not heavy.

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Overall: +
Favourite App: Tuna Tataki
Favourite Entree: Ginger & soy marinated Cod (barely) All the entrees had their strengths and weakness
Favourite Dessert: Calvados Panna Cotta (By committee, but I liked the bread pudding.)

The meal was satisfying until the dessert, which blew the mind of my friend Christine, blogger of http://bumblelog.blogspot.com/
Everyone on the table were so happy with the Panna Cotta that they even dabbed at the idea of ordering more for take out.

For an indepth review of this restaurant, head to Christine’s Blog, Bumble’s Bodacious Buffet

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Overall: +
Favourite App: Fried Chicken
Favourite Entree: Duck Confit
Favourite Dessert: Passion Fruit Flam

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That day they had a cherry blossom festival promotion
So they had a cherry yuzu soda along with our tea

Sandwiches included
West coast smoked salmon, dill aioli
Free range egg, baby croissant
Poached Chicken Breast, sour cherry compote

Canapes
West coast smoked salmon roll
Dungeness crab and chives, cherry gastrique
Cherry tomato, pistachio pesto and baby boccocini

Scones & Sweets
Sundried cherry scones
Cherry devonshire cream
Whipped sweet cherry butter
Assorted squares and tarts
Sour cherry and chocolate cups
Fresh berry Mousse

The tower of deliciousness.

Overall: +
I had to say I really enjoyed the high tea. The food were top quality and the size deceived me because at the end I was stuffed. We did get a second order of the sandwiches since they were free but I honestly could have gone without it and still be really satisfied. This was a great experience and I think I’ll have to try out different high teas around town.

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I visited Seattle during Easter Long weekend for Sakura-Con: an anime convention. While I was in the downtown core of Seattle, I figure I should go and do something touristy as well. Heeding an suggestion a friend to me, I headed to The Crab Pot.

The Crab Pot is a seafood restaurant and is located by the piers. The unique point of this restaurant is; instead of getting your standard plates with knives and forks, they give you a bib, a plank of wood and a mallet to smash your food with.

Sounds interesting doesn’t it?

The Pacific Clambake was the choice for the meal.

My friends and I getting bibbed up and ready for our meal.

Then our meal arrived and boy were we surprised. They poured a bucket full of seafood right on our table and it was an enormous pile.

I’ll have to say, the food was delicious. The crab was incredibly delicious; its meat still tasty not like frozen crab meat. The pile was packed with mussels and clams which were both good. Corn and potato were helpful to fill our stomachs up. Everyone got a skewer of salmon and halibut which were cooked just right, not dry at all.

We eventually finished the pile. We were left with a great smile on our faces.

Overall:+
This was a great experience. I would definitely recommend trying out to others not just for the experience, but the freshness of the seafood.
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Mazazu Crepe Counter at the Aberdeen Center’s food court

A wonderful shelf filled with fake crepes showing all the wonderful combination you can get in your crepe.

A helpful guide to their delicious crepe

Mmm.

Overall:
There isn’t much to say about this. The crepe was of the right thickness. There was a lot of filling in the crepe. It was delicious. I’ll always be down for more Mazazu crepe.

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