Tasting Journey X - World's Weirdest Pop-Up Restaurant

The World's Weirdest Pop-Up Restaurant is an event hosted by Bob Blumer as a pre-ramp to his new TV show on the Food Network, World's Weirdest Restaurant.  The show, airing on April 4th 2012, is a 13-episode series where Bob goes around the world trying out unique restaurants.
This event took place in Waldorf Hotel, located in East Vancouver on E. Hastings (near Clark Ave.).  You get the picture.  I have never been to the Waldorf Hotel.  It looks fairly run down, and is a place where I would probably equate a backpacker hotel to.  I'm not sure why this hotel was selected for the event, however, Asmin did mention that a lot of the youngsters come here to drink on weekends.  Maybe this place offers cheap drinks?

 

The World's Weirdest Pop-Up Restaurant event offered a 4-course meal where these individual dishes relate somewhat to Bob's top four restaurants during his filming.  Prior to serving the dish, we were given a 5min sneak preview of the restaurant and an explanation of how the dish relates to it...

First Course - Monkey See, Monkey Do
This dish was inspired by an izakaya in northern Japan where all servers were real monkeys!  The monkeys were trained to serve, to respond to customers such as requests for beer, towel...etc, and to also hand over the bill.  The dish consisted of chicken karaage's that were crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.  And to further tie the dish to this restaurant, Bob also dressed himself in a monkey suit, ha!  I'm not too sure what the hygiene restrictions in Japan is, but I'm sure this monkey play will not meet our health & hygiene requirement for restaurants in Vancouver.

Second Course - Blind Feeding the Blind
This dish was inspired by a restaurant in New York where everyone ate in darkness!  The owner of the restaurant was a visual artist/dancer and was very much into relating to senses of hearing and feeling.  All customers at that restaurant must be blind-folded prior to entering.  A server would then guide them to their seat, and everyone would then complete the full meal in blind fold.  No explanation of the dishes were given.  At the end of the night, when all the food has been consumed, the chief then comes out and declares the ingredients that went into each of the dish.  It was very interesting to see how people's perception of taste changes when visually impaired.  So to tie-in the concept of this restaurant, we were all blind-folded as well.  The dish consisted of a slice of baguette, some type of cream soup, and 2 fried balls made of mayo and seafood.  I don't recall exactly what they were, but I just remembered that I was not able to tell what they were.  They were tasty though.

Third Course - Ling Cod a la John
This dish was actually inspired by a restaurant located in Taipei. Though never been, nor tried, I do recall seeing forwarded emails advertising this restaurant a few years back.  The restaurant is called Modern Toilet, and basically served all dishes in bowls shaped as a toilet.  The most popular dish was curry rice.  Just image what it resembled in a toilet bowl! haha...  Rather than serving a curry dish, we had a cod steak served with a tomato-based sauce.  Since Bob is not able to bring back individual toilet bowls for this event, he actually served the tomato-sauce in a life-size porcelain toilet bowl. ha!

Dessert Course - Glazed and Confused
This dish originated from a restaurant in Portland called the Voodoo Doughnut.  This Doughnut shop served all different shapes and sizes of doughnut, with all different types of toppings.  Their signature and most famous is a maple syrup glazed donut served with 2 strips of bacon.  I guess this is the western version of sweet & salty dish? To relate to this restaurant, we were served mouth-size donuts glazed with maple syrup and drizzled with bacon bits.  Not too bad.

Throughout the entire event, filming also took place.  I wonder if I'll be on TV someday?  One of my favourite moment of the night was when Bob explained about the restaurant in Taipei (third course).  Bob Blumer gave a quick explanation about Taiwan being his favourite country to visit.  He said that Taiwan is a small island located just off China;  It is a country, and its relationship with China is kinda like Canada to US.  Well put Bob!! You may have just risked getting yourself on the wrong side with the Chinese, but you probably have just won the heart of all Taiwanese, haha.  Another favourite moment was when he walked to our table and asked Asmin & I what we thought of the karaage's.  It was when I got a good look of his feature and realized that he's actually much older than he appears on TV. I guess that's the miracle of makeup.

The evening was fun and full of laughs. I fully enjoyed it, but it came with a price.  The ticket itself was $45, and we were asked to pay a gratuity, plus tax on gratuity which I found weird.  The evening ended up costing us $55/person.  Though the food was excellent, and the night was fun, it was still expensive.  An expensive price for the experience.  If I do end up getting famous on TV, then maybe it is worth it. ^^

Tasting Journey #26 - Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie

Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie
163 Keefer Street,
Vancouver, BC
604-688-0876
www.bao-bei.ca


Bao Bei, a Chinese restaurant with a French twist.  Located right in Chinatown, I was surprised how busy this place is, and how well the business is doing, given the price and dishes offered. Did I mention that the chiefs are not Asian either?

Andrea, Asmin and I arrived at the restaurant close to 6pm on a Friday night.  Parking in Vancouver's expensive, but not as crazily expensive as the parking lot next to the restaurant.  It was asking for an insanely $17 to park there! With three minds, and 3 pairs of scissor legs, we found street parking: Asmin kept guard on an empty street meter parking; Andrea ran back to direct me to the spot; and I hit the gas pedal as quickly as I could. After much success, we walked into the restaurant.  The restaurant was already busy, and full.  95% of the customers were all non-Asian.  Interesting.  People traffic in Chinatown has been going downhill for the last 10years.  Once a bustling place to do grocery shopping, the streets are now quiet and dead.  I cannot imagine how attractive this restaurant must be to capture such an audience to Chinatown at such odd hours.

We were asked to wait and sit down at a long table (made of old wooden door with the hinge still on it).  We ordered our drinks and stared across the table at the people sitting across from us sitting one-door away ^^.   We really didn't mean to stare, but we were hungry and the food looked and smelled delicious. It was calling at us.^^

I was also fascinated by the interior where the theme some how split into two:  the front - brushed white wall with some kind of Chinese printing press art piece.  There was also a open bar, and a Chinese sign hung on the wall next to it.  The back - wooden silverware cabinet, floral wall paper with dried flowers hanging off vases hung from the wall.  On all of the tables were traditional square plastic chopsticks (the ones you see in noodle houses), and white with red floral plates (the ones my family also used maybe 30yrs ago).

We started our meal with some drinks while waiting for a table to free up.  The drink selection sounded all very interesting: jinzi (what Asmin ordered), to Dan Dan flip, to Kai Yuen Sour.  They all had interesting ingredients such as egg white, shochu, szechuan spiced rum, ginginer...etc.  I went with the Kai Yuen Sour, which did not end up sour at all.  It was strong because it had Bourbon, which we later found out, was actually American whiskey - a taste that reminded me the latter part of my life in Asia, ha.  By 7pm, the wait for a table was long. I'm glad we arrived early.

Andrea can only eat gluten-free dishes.  So to make it easier for us, she ordered her own while Asmin & I shared.  We ended up ordering 4 dishes: mantou (which to me tasted more like 刈包, Taiwanese Hamburger), pea tips (Asmin's favourite), beef tatare, and Octapus salad.  All the dishes were very well-made, but only one really jumped out at me: the beef tatare.  It was so delicious that I almost swallowed my tongue.  The raw beef was so tender that it tasted more like puree shrimp.  The meat was well marinated and rich in flavouring that it was a perfect combination with the fried taro chip.  I would order it again any other day!

The meal was pleasant, and the food was wonderful.  Given that the portion was small and that we ended up spending $44/person, it is indeed quite pricey (just an affirmation to comments about bringing enough cash). Is it worth the wait? hm...considering all variables, though the food was delicate, I would probably save it for special occasion.

Tasting Journey #25 - Sushi Bella

Sushi Bella
2059 W. 4th Ave.
Vancouver, BC
604-734-4990
www.sushibella.com


WOHOOO~~~~~~ This marks the completion of my restaurant goal!!!!!!! Yay!


West 4th has changed so much in the last few years.  So many new restaurants and chic shops have opened up recently that it is impossible to keep track and try them all.  Among them is Sushi Bella, a new fusion Japanese restaurant located in the heart of Kitsilano.

I first heard about Sushi Bella from Asmin, a colleague of mine who oftentimes buys lunch from the neighbourhood.  The sushi looked delicious, but in a city abundant in Japanese restaurants, the sushi could very well be just another ordinary roll of rice and seafood.  Then, one day, as a committed subscriber to group deals (Groupon, Living Social, Indulge Living...etc. You name it and I've got it), I saw that Sushi Bella was offering a $30 deal for the price of $15.  Considering that it is located in my vicinity, and also still trying to reach my restaurant goal at the time, I bought one.  The next day, I told Aldin about the deal, and he said that since it's so close to work, we might as well get one to share for lunch sometime.  Good idea. That "sometime" was this past Friday.

Sushi Bella from the outside, looked like a western-style restaurant;  door and walls painted in green, no bold advertisement, and only a small window that showed a dimly lit interior.  From the inside, the deco was classic and clean.  Bamboo deco's served as dividers for sectioning, and brown furniture portrayed a very zen, calming style.  Like most local Japanese bistro's, there's an open bar that displayed fresh seafood.

With $30 to spend, we ordered Chicken Katsu, BC roll, Bella roll, and their special roll of the day.  Though I didn't really fancy fried chicken, and though I don't really fish skin of any sort (for those that don't live in BC, BC roll is pretty much grilled salmon skin wrapped in rice & seaweed), I didn't mind it since there were 2 other rolls to indulge myself on.  Given that we are at Bella Sushi, it only makes the most logical sense to try their Bella Roll - real crab meat, red beets, topped with tuna and salmon.  It was awesome.  The special roll of the day was also delicious.  I don't remember the exact content, but it had some sort of tuna tataki on the top, and shrimp tempura on the inside.  The dishes were all beautifully arranged...something that seems to portray a part of Japanese culture where presentation is equally, if not more, important.  And to further cater to a western audience, they also provided the option to serve sushi with brown rice.

I've only had one encountering with sushi in brown rice.  It was not pleasant.  Brown rice tend to stay solitude giving it a grainy texture to the bite, let alone the stiffness.  Though a healthier selection, if I were to eat something, I'd rather enjoy it.  Given that Aldin is all about being healthy ^^, as a compromise, we proceeded with the Special on brown, and the other two on white.  To my pleasant surprise, the brown rice offered at Sushi Bella tasted quite similar to the white.  Though it was still fairly grainy, it was not stiff.  Though I still prefer the sweetness offered with white rice, I didn't mind it.

Comparing to all the other fancy restaurants on W. 4th, I wouldn't rank it as a notable one in the neighbourhood.  However, given that there are not many good Japanese sushi on W. 4th, it undoubtedly is one of the better sushi places that offered quality and atmosphere.  If you have a craving for Japanese, and do not want to go somewhere far, I would sure recommend Sushi Bella.

Tasting Journey #24 - Hell's Kitchen

The Soprano

Hell's Kitchen
2041 W. 4th Vancouver, BC
604-736-HELL
http://www.hells-kitchen.ca/hk/index.html


I have always wanted to try out Hell's Kitchen.  Reason being that it is always listed as one of the restaurants participating in the Dine Out Vancouver event.  This annual event is one of Canada's largest restaurant festival, and most of the participating restaurants I've tried have all left quite a good impression of the food, the service, and the atmosphere.

Staten Island Chicken

Hell's Kitchen is known for its pizza, so after asking the server for recommendation, we decided to share its most popular pizza, The Soprano, and 2 appetizers to share.  The interior of the restaurant resembles a sport pub.  Dim lit atmosphere, huge flat screen TV's in every possible angle you face, bar tables with tall chairs...etc.  Judy & I arrived at the restaurant around 6pm (had to wait for Lucas to wake up from his afternoon nap), and the restaurant was packed with people in Canucks jerseys, and people with beer in their hands.  I guess there's a hockey game tonight.  Since the tables were almost all occupied in the main space, the waitress asked if we were OK to sit in the small room off to the side.  It was perfect since we had a 1-yr child with us, and it fenced us off from all the beer drinker.  It was like having our own VIP room and also allowed Lucas to play as freely as he wants without been stared at, haha.

Crab Dip

The 2 appetizers were the Crab Dip, and also the Staten Island Chicken Strips.  Frankly speaking, both were quite disappointing.  The crab dip was a dish with bread and nachos that wasn't something out of the ordinary.  The cheesey dip quickly chunked up as it cooled making it difficult to "dip".  The chicken strip was coated in a Moroccan sauce that had a strong taste, a taste full of East Indian spice...and being not a fan of spice, it didn't not win some drooling from my end.  The pizza was OK.  Topping included spicy capicolla, prosciutto ham, provolone cheese, basil, and chorizo.  It was a bit too salty to my liking.  I do like the crust though, thin and crispy.

Overall, I left the restaurant feeling unsatisfied.  I think Judy also felt the same way, as we only managed finished to eat half of the pizza.  The service wasn't great either given that no one came to refill our water (which we quickly drank due to the high sodium level of the pizza).  Not the most ideal place to chat and talk, nor a suitable place to bring a toddler.  My bad.  Better selection of restaurant next time.  Maybe the only good thing is that I can log it as part of my restaurant goal, but having been there now, I don't think I will go back anymore.

Tasting Journey - Special Edition X

What's Special Edition X? Well, today I attended a dessert making class. It's not exactly trying out new restaurants, but I wanted to blog about it anyway because it still involved tasting food, and to make it even more advanced, learning how to make it!

Today, along with 9 other dessert addicts, we learned to make 4 amazing desserts: tiramisu, panna cotta, flourless chocolate torte, New York cheesecake.  To throw in a bonus, we were also taught how to macerate strawberries into a quick dessert dish.

The instructor, apparently, was an ex-chief of an Italian restaurant located in the Vancouver downtown West-end.  According to the event host, this restaurant makes A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. tiramisu.  Just this dish alone is worth attending the class. The other 3 dishes were all considered added bonus.

As this is not a "formal" cooking class (FYI - rentals for a commercial kitchen classroom costs $600-$800/hr), we were in an old building equipped with ovens and utensils that are probably near my parent's age.  I guess as long as we pack down the techniques, it doesn't really matter how crappy and old the equipment is.  As long as we are able to replicate the dish... as long as...

The class was essentially a demonstration class where the instructor showed us the creation of these dishes step-by-step.  In this short 4-hour session, I continually felt a 懐かしい (click the link if you don't understand Japanese) vibe; a nostalgic reminder of my university days where we spent hours in the laboratory carrying out experiments...It was like being a student all over again, watching the TA demonstrating what to do, and how to properly execute it.

tiramisu

maceration dessert

Being someone who tends to like to improvise (which doesn't usually work in the world of baking), I noted down as much information as my pencil could write.  It has been a long time since I had had to take notes like a student, so I can't really say that my notes were with quality nor whether it included all the necessary details to create the dish.  I guess we will never know until the day, the judgment day, when it comes for me to replicate this dish...

Panna Cotta with topping

flourless chocolate torte

In general, I would say that the 4 dishes all seemed quite straight forward, and has a wide tolerance to variation.  This is merely my analogy from the instructor not calling out exactly how much he added, but rather "more or less", an attitude that I usually carry when I bake (and hence the frequent failure in baking, haha...).  With the magic touch of a chief, the four dishes all turned out quite well.  The only thing was that since most of these required time to set, they did not aesthetically appear presentable.  Nonetheless, the tastes were there, and techniques were learned.

Tasting Journey #23 - Chewie

Chewie
2201 West 1st Ave.
Vancouver, BC
www.chewies.ca


Located in the heart of Kitsilano community, Chewie is a sheek restaurant that serves fresh local seafood.  As it is located only a few blocks from work, Asmin & I had originally planned to make it a lunch stopover.  Who knew that they are only open for dinner on weeknights?  Highly praised for its oyster bar, we attempted to dine here a 2nd time.  Tonight is it. We arrived shortly after work (5:45pm), and the place was already bustling with people...a weeknight.  The crowd varied from parents carrying a newborn, to young couples, and to middle aged friends looking for a fun evening out.  Doing a quick scan of the food on the tables, I instantly picked up a pattern - oyster, beer, oyster, beer, oyester.  I guess this is THE routine, as a preamp to dinner.


Chewie has a contemporary interior decor, an open-kitchen, and white walls with paintings hung in a simple clean row.  Modernity.  Immediately as you enter the restaurant, you notice people chatting cheerfully and swagging in rhythm with the upbeat background music.  It was like walking into a Jamaican festival.  The vibe of the party and jive of the music instantly make you fall in sync with mood, and the day's crappiness disappears. 

As soon as we sat down, the waiter came by, dropped off the menu and explained to us that "blah blah blah" and "bleh bleh bleh" were $1.50 each today, during the 5-7pm Happy Hour.  Giving us a few minutes to look over the menu, we quickly glimpsed through the wine and beer selection.  We did not see the blah and bleh.  No idea what they were.  When he returned again for the order, it was then we realized that the "blah and bleh's" were not beer, but fresh oysters. HAHA. This tells you how much I know about oysters.  It's all good and fun.  I asked him which one's better, and he explained that as an amateur in oyster-tasting, I would not be able to tell the difference.  So I guess I just had to try them both ^^.  He's right.  The difference between blah and bleh is just a small alphabet difference.  For the entree, we decided to go with the waiter's recommendation of: Gumbo, Southern Fried Chicken, and fried Okra.  According to their website, Chewie showcases "fresh and local seafood inspired by the delicious taste of New Orleans".  I thought it looked more Mexican, hm.  Now come to think of it, maybe New Orleans has some Mexican influence?  Anyways, the food was awesome, irrespective where it was inspired from.  The Southern Fried Chicken is the most popular (yes, we did see that almost 90% of the tables ordered this dish), and Gumbo was the next best choice.  Perfect.

fresh oyster

Fried Okra

The serving speed was quite fast.  The fried chicken was juicy, well-fried (quite similar to Church's Chicken maybe?) and is served on some buttery creamy mash potato.  The Gumbo was sinfully tasty.  It was spicy and full of rich flavouring.  Sausage & prawns & fried chicken all blended in a spicy BBQ sauce that made eating a large bowl of rice feel like only a spoon full of of rice.  The deep fried okra was interesting.  Coated in thick, crispy batter, this "cheese-stick" dish came with a dipping sauce that tasted like thousand island salad dressing.

Southern Fried Chicken

Gumbo

I fully enjoyed the meal.  The food was well-prepared, the service was welcoming, and the music was great. What more can you ask for?  This meal ended up costing ~$60. Pricey but well-earned.   I will definitely come back.  Well, maybe once in a while. ^^

Tasting Journey #22 - Deutsches Haus

Deutsches Haus
4875 Victoria Dr.
Vancouver, BC
http://www.vancouveralpenclub.ca/restaurant.html


Deutsches Haus is a German restaurant located in the German club house in East Vancouver.  I've passed by this place quite a few times and have never even noticed that there is a restaurant in this community centre.  From Victoria Drive, you wouldn't even know such a place existed (no signs) unless you walked down a long steep flight of stairs towards the back of the building.  The entrance to the restaurant is in the back, from the parking lot. 

The restaurant itself is quite interestingly built;  All wood, sort of an old pub/lounge type of feel to it, and fully carpeted.  The waitress were all dressed in dirndl, traditional German dresses - a dress, an apron, and a low-cut ruffly white blouse.

The guests were quite of a mixed crowd.  It wasn't busy, but again, it could be because it was a weeknight.  There were people in their 70's, and there were people in their 20's.  I even saw a table of 4 seniors whom ended up playing maybe some sort of poker game there.  The guests to me looked like people who lives in the neighbourhood, and are there to relax.  I guess since this is more like a diner in a community centre, people felt comfortable and so at ease that it only seemed too normal to be doing activities as if you were in your own home. 

Jägerschnitzel

Everything on the menu looked like alien words to me.  Having not too many experiences in trying out German cuisine, I did not know what to order.  Deutsches Haus is known for their schnitzel, a pounded thin sheet of pork/chicken, all breaded and deep fried.  I asked the waitress for her recommendation on food, and ended up going for the dish - "Jägerschnitzel" - schnitzel with mushroom gravy, red cabbage and spaetzle.  To me, the schnitzel was well marinated and juicy, but it wasn't extraodinaire, as it tasted like a thin version of the tonkatsu - a common food in Japanese cuisine.  The red cabbage was chopped and pickled so that it tasted sour and sweet.  I thought it would've gone really well together with mash potato.  My favourite on the dish was the spaetzle.  Though made of egg, it tasted very cheesy.  If I did not know that it was a type of noodle, I thought it was a probably mozarella cheese made into long skinny udon sized noodle.  Chewy and flavourful.  As for drinks, I did not get a chance to try their beer, but I did notice that many of the other guests had dark beer (or could be because it was the special of the day). 

Overall, I would say that this place is cozy...maybe a place worth trying out.  Do I have the urge to go back? Not really.  but do I dislike the place? Not really either.  It is a so-so place I guess...

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Tasting Journey #21 - iNCENDiO

iNCENDiO
103 Columbia St.
Vancouver, BC
604-688-8694
www.incendio.ca


iNCENDiO, a restaurant highly recommended for its delicious pizza by someone whose favourite food is pizza.  Can't get any better credential than that.  This restaurant serves mainly Italian soul food - pizza and pasta.

Friday night dinners with Zofia have always been very lovely;  random chats about work, about how our week's been, and about what we plan to do over the weekend.  It is a nice way to end the last working day of the week.  Today, we talked about an even more exciting topic - HER book. Zofia's goal by the end of this year is to write a 300 page novel.  Zofia is a beautiful writer.  Her blogs are always an easy read and her writing flows so naturally.  Ever since little, I've always find writing difficult.  I am so used to writing lab reports and technical essays that "point form" seems to be MY way of expressing what I think and how I feel.  Every time I update this blog, I always wonder how Zofia comes up with words that sing vs. how I constantly ponder over what I can say and what there is to say.

Calamari  w Capers & Olives

I've been thinking more and more often lately, as I approach the completion of my goal, about what I will do with this blog once that this challenge is finished.  Will I continue to blog or will I shut this down?  I do enjoy the experience of trying out new restaurants, but the task (yes, it indeed is a task) of recording it is mundane.  I am challenged with words, with expressions, with how to realistically portray what I had experienced and how I really felt.  If I were writing a lab report, all I simply had to do was to document what I had eaten. A mere stating of facts.  I do not have to share my thoughts about what the food taste like, and how it made me feel.  This is a challenge.  An opportunity to practice expressing myself.  A push for me to be outside my normal comfort zone.  Whatever I decide to do, we'll soon find out.  We'll soon see.  I still have the time of 4 more restaurants to ponder over with...

Rare Sesame Tuna

Oven-roasted Potato

iNCENDiO is a restaurant that provided a comfortable setting for conversations like this.  An atmosphere that allowed Zofia & I to exchange our thoughts.  We had arrived before the actual dinner crowd, so the restaurant was quiet.  We sat next to the window and were able to see the day go dark.  A perfect place to converse while sipping on wine and indulging in food.

Volcana Pizza

We ordered 3 appetizers & a pizza to share: oven roasted potato, pan-fried calamari, rare sesame tuna, and a pizza loaded with bursts of spicy chili sauce.  The oven roasted potato was served with a sweet mayonnaise sauce blended with rosemary, lime and garlic.  The potato was well roasted, fries-like, crunchy on the outside and quite dense on the inside.  The rosemary flavoured mayo really complimented the potato.  I usually try to eat less carbs for dinner, but this dish was so tasty that I had to make an exception tonight ^^.  The calamari was stir-fried with capers & olives.  I love capers & olives, but found the calamari a bit rubbery.  It was an OK dish.  The black sesame crusted tuna was beautifully seared and was served with wasabi mayo.  This was a dish very well prepared with the quality of what you would see in a fusion Japanese restaurant.  I was pleasantly surprised to see this at an Italian restaurant that served pasta & pizza as its main entree.  Pizza was great.  The spicy chili sauce was volcanic.  As soon as you bit down, the burst of spiciness explodes in your mouth.   I think the red wine might have helped with simmering down the flames slightly, but though a bit too spicy for me, I still fully enjoyed it.

Overall, I would say that my favourite dish would be the roasted potato.  Oftentimes, it is the simplicity that creates the perfect balance.  A definite thumbs up to this place.

Tasting Journey #20 - The BiBo Italian Restaurant

The BiBo Italian Restaurant
1835 W. 4th Ave.
Vancouver, BC
604-568-6177
www.thebibo.com


As many of you know, I pretty much don't do anything after work.  My daily routine after work is typically heading straight home, eating dinner, surfing the net, and stalking people on FB, ha.  Boring.  And being so close to finishing my restaurant goal, I decided to accept the invitation to tag along a dinner date with Catherine and her friend from school.


The BiBo Italian restaurant is highly recommended from Catherine.  According to her, not only did her school teacher of Italian ethnicity gave this place a stamp of approval, she also commented that the tastes offered here is the closest match to what she had experienced in Italy (but then, there's also gotta be diversity in Italy as well right?).  I've never been to Italy before, so I guess I have to give her the benefit of the doubt here.



The atmosphere of the restaurant is quite contemporary - silver table top, sleek furniture, and a wall lined with wine bottles.  Guest turnout is at 80% capacity tonight.  This is quite a crowd considering that today is only Tuesday. 

As soon as we sat down, we were offered bread & olives.  The olives were molto delizioso - a mouth full of rich aromatic and buttery taste.  I have to say that it is the 2nd best olives I've ever had (the buttery olives from Granville Island is still my favourite).  The menu selection at BiBo is either pizza or pasta.  The maximize our tasting experience,  three of us decided to order the dishes to share: chicken salad, BiBo Matteo, a Margherita pizza...and to complete the Italian fine dining experience, there's gotta be a Tiramisu for dessert.

BiBo Matteo

Chicken Salad

The chicken salad is nothing extraodinary, but you can't really go wrong with a salad as long as the greens are fresh. On the contrary, the BiBo Matteo, fresh-made pasta paired with porcini mushroom sauce, was extraodinary.  Unlike most other mushroom-based sauce where they all taste like a creation from a can of Campbell Cream of Mushroom, this one tastes rather like a mushroom puree, a highly concentrated dose of flavouring  - perfect for mushroom lovers like myself. The margherita pizza was unique as well.  It literally is a melt in your mouth pizza!  The thin crust is crispy on the outside yet chewy on the inside.  The molten cheese is so gooey that it can easily flow and roll off your pizza dough.  Just pure tasting pleasure from A-Z.  Lastly, tiramisu perfectly completed the meal.  A failed tiramisu tastes like a wet sponge cake.  This one rather, offered tastes of heavenly blended cream & cocoa.

Tiramisu

Margherita Pizza

 
Overall, I have to say that my taste buds were well satisfied though the portion was conservative, and that the service was a mere so-so.  But as all fine dining comes with a price - 3 dishes plus a dessert came out to a total of $64 (excluding tips).  Would I come back? Definitely a yes.