Those of us who were in attendance last year have fond memories of the previous A Taste of Yaletown event held at the Tequila Kitchen, which is unfortunately not open anymore. This year’s event was a bit different in that we would be on a short walking tour of several restaurants in the Yaletown area rather than crowding into a single venue where all of them would come and show us what they’re serving this year. Stephen Fung was busy being a good student and Leo Chiang was off somewhere shooting a movie where he’ll probably die…usually from random gunfire. That left John Chow and I to attend this year’s A Taste of Yaletown. We would get a appetizer at one restaurant before heading to another for an entree and another for our dessert.
Of course, John shot a video to go along with our coverage.
We started at Glowbal, a restaurant I’ve been to several times in the past. We were handed a cocktail of Red Bull, sparkling wine and triple-sec. Not bad but not something I would order on a night out. Generally, anything bright orange with bits of fruit in it is not really my thing.
Our appetizer consisted of a cup of pumpkin bisque companied by a beef carpacio. The beef was rich and flavorful and the soup was creamy with great bits of crunchy roasted pumpkin seed. Glowbal is also one of the best designed places in Yaletown, with a great modern lounge feeling and comfortable at the same time.
Next was a short walk to Goldfish. I’ve never been to Goldfish before but almost immediately I was thoroughly impressed. The room had great ambiance and the staff was very attentive and friendly. The space is also very inviting with great warm lighting.
Our entree was a combination of several entrees served this year during A Taste of Yaletown. Up front is a fire-roasted surf & turf and a center cut beef tenderloin. In the little dish behind it is a over-roasted sablefish. The sablefish was the standout here so if you’ve got reservations at Goldfish, that’s my recommendation. It was melt-in-your-mouth tender and perfectly cooked with a bit of black bean, showing a bit of Asian cuisine influence. The tenderloin was done to a perfect medium rare, just the way I like my steak. Same with the surf & turf but everyone at the table agreed that the sablefish was amazing.
For dessert, we headed to the Yaletown Brewing Company for a stout ice cream. I don’t know why no one has ever thought of making an ice cream with beer but it’s about damn time. The ice cream was fantastic tasting although I prefer a slightly more solid ice cream rather than soft serve. It went great with the chocolate covered espresso beans and sour cherries. I’m not a big fan of stout beers either but a glass of it went great with dessert. Usually beers like this such as Guinness are too thick and heavy tasting but this one was surprisingly light despite appearances.
After dessert, we met up with Stephen, who as always, was hungry so we dropped by Cactus Club for a snack. Stephen polished off a sirloin, John had some butternut squash ravioli and I went for some tuna tataki.
A Taste of Yaletown begins tonight (the 15th) and goes til the end of the month. Three course tasting menus are available for $25, $35 and $45 and part of the proceeds go towards The Greater Vancouver Food Bank. You can make reservations with Open Table for any of the restaurants in the area.
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You know what? I haven’t died in a while.
what a ” simple ” food . but i look delicous…also great place to spend week end