Tag Archives: fine dining

Oru

Oru on UrbanspoonSheepie had been talking about this place for some time. So to celebrate my birthday, we went to Oru in the Fairmont Pacific Rim. From the outside, you can see people dining in luxurious setting and atmosphere. There is valet parking in front where you see shiny new expensive cars.

The first floor is the bar and lounge where there is a nice cosy fireplace and a live band that plays throughout the evening. The restaurant is upstairs on the 2nd floor. We had a reservation for 7pm on a Friday evening. The hostess took my jacket and gave me a number in order to pick up my coat when I leave. She then took us to a table. It was too bad that we didn’t get a window table, but it was still very nice.

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The restaurant was quite spacious with lots of space between the tables giving us more privacy. Definitely a romantic restaurant to take your sweethearts to – as we saw many couples dining.
The complimentary bread was different. It had two types; sourdough and olives. Both were sour, but it went well with the butter, and got a bit addicting…lol. The utensils and unique wine glass were all from Germany representing quality and aesthetics.

idearabbit-oru6Qualicum Beach Scallop [gluten free] $18 idearabbit-oru7For appetizers, I ordered the Qualicum Beach Scallop [gluten free] $18. I ordered it without the chestnut, but had the rest with sunchoke veloute, pickled sunchoke and preserved lemon. Sheepie ordered the Smoked Sablefish & Dungeness Crab Croquettes $16 with house made bacon & salt cod brandade, fresh avocado, espelette aoli.

My scallops was a small dish. But it was really good. A bit too salty, but well done. Sheepie had more to eat with his croquettes. It was nicely presented, crispy on the outside and hot inside.

idearabbit-oru8 idearabbit-oru9Haida Gwaii Sablefish [gluten free] $34

For my main, I had the Haida Gwaii Sablefish [gluten free] $34 with salt cod brandade, roasted sunchoke, melted leeks, fennel, chorizo, tomato-mirin broth. It was excellent. Again, a bit too salty. Sheepie had Wild Line-caught Salmon and Uni [gluten free] $32 with shimeji and oyster mushrooms, sweet potato velouté, mushroom dashi, fresh uni – which was so small…

The service and food was great. However, I feel some of the dishes are a bit overpriced. Would return, but only for special occasions, or DineOut Fest.

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Sorry, I had to take some pics of the lovely restroom…lolidearabbit-oru12 idearabbit-oru11

 Taste: carrotcarrotcarrot    Price for Value: carrotcarrot

Atmosphere:  carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot   Service:  carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot
Location: carrotcarrotcarrot

Seasons in the Park – Dine Out 2013

Seasons in the Park on UrbanspoonDine Out 2013 $28

(yes…a little late in posting :P )

Appetizer (choose one)
Caesar Salad {grana padano, capers}
Truffled Mushroom Soup {truffle oil}
Seared Albacore Tuna {arugula salad, sesame soy vinaigrette}

Entree (choose one)
6 oz New York Striploin {roasted garlic and peppercorn saucee, local potatoes, market vegetables}
Seafood Bouillabaisse {salmon, cod, scallops, mussels, clams and crab, fennel tomato broth}
Penne Arrabbiata {roasted eggplant, spicy tomato sauce, crumbled goat cheese}

Dessert (choose one)
Chocolate Cake {chocolate truffle, raspberry coulis}
Raspberry Cheesecake {fruit coulis}
Vanilla Creme Bruelee {vanilla bean, biscotti}

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For our third Dine Out for 2013 (check out the first at Sala Thai and second at The Refinery) Sheepie and I went to Seasons in the Park. I had never been to the restaurant, so I was pretty excited.

The restaurant was packed. It had a lovely interior and we were seated at a table by the window directly facing downtown, so we had a really good view of the city’s night skyline.

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I ordered the Seared Albacore Tuna. Yes I love salads, vinegar sour stuff and fish. I’m glad I ordered that one cuz Sheepie ordered the Caesar and he was kind of disappointed in how uninteresting and plain his salad was. Mine was served on a bigger triangle dish. Nicely presented with use of carrots to add colour. It was delicious. So healthy tasting. Mmmm.

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For main, we ended up ordering the same thing. I was quite surprised that Sheepie didn’t order the Striploin. I was for sure he was going to order that one. But we both had the Seafood Bouillabaisse. It was loaded with a lot of seafood. The tomato sauce went well.

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For dessert, I ordered the Creme Bruelee. Yah! I love Creme Bruelee. Nice touch of fruits on top, though I was expecting a little bit more on presentation. However, iIt was delicious.

Overall, it was a good dining experience. The regular prices may be a bit pricey, but I think for special occasions, it would be a lovely place to dine – or brunch. I wonder what it’s like during the cherry blossom season.

 Taste: carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot     Price for Value: carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot (for Dine Out)

Atmosphere:  carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot    Service:  carrotcarrotcarrot
Location: carrotcarrotcarrot

Yew Seafood Bar

YEW seafood + bar on UrbanspoonA very slick and modern bar + lounge. As you walk down the corridor to the entrance, you will pass by wooden fish carvings that look like they are swimming across. Very nice touch. The bar/lounge is quite spacious with high ceilings. It has dining areas, lounge with low tables and seats, or high tables with high chairs so you have several options to meet your needs or preference. The place is dimly lit, giving a nice relaxing atmosphere. It would a romantic place to enjoy your evening with your loved one.

Since they were busy, they said that only the lounge area was available. Since we were only going to have dessert, we took up on the offer. Our server had interesting gold glasses that seemed to almost be based on the first kind of glasses that were made way back in the olden days. My friend kept staring at it in awe to the point she wasn’t sure what she was discussing with the server lol.

Service overall was pretty slow. We had to try and get attention from several staff so that we could order or ask questions. My friend was ignored twice by passing staff. However, when we did get our attention, they were very friendly and helpful.

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I ordered the Vanilla Rooibos tea in a pot (not on the menu) with the Bite Size desserts. One banoffee pie and tiramisu $3.75 each. Since the name was ‘Bite Size’ I was literally expecting something much smaller, so I was pleasantly surprised to see a small glass cup with each of the desserts. Both were pretty good. Caramel-ly, creamy and yummy. The portion is just right.

Overall, the ambiance and atmosphere was really nice. We all enjoyed our desserts, and I didn’t think it was outrageously priced for the quality and environment. Next time, I’d love to go back to try some main dishes.

Friend’s Dinner

Sheepie’s friend got 2 Groupon vouchers, each for $59 for a $95 Ned Bell’s Signature Seafood Tower for four people which serves chilled and raw oysters, crab salad, humpback shrimp, albacore tuna and scallops. Unfortunately, that week I was suffering from a bad stomach flu and had been on a rice, banana, soup diet and wasn’t ready to eat raw seafood. So I ordered Chicken $29 and hot water with lemon.

idearabbit-yew2 idearabbit-yew20 idearabbit-yew21 idearabbit-yew22 idearabbit-yew23 idearabbit-yew24 idearabbit-yew25$95 Ned Bell’s Signature Seafood Tower for four people idearabbit-yew26 idearabbit-yew27Chicken $29

We had a party of 9 people sitting around a really huge table. I couldn’t really hear the people across from me as the table was wide, and everyone sat with too much space. The table was a thick wooden table and was likely very expensive, but for communicating with other guests in an atmosphere where sound traveled, it was fancy but not ideal. Our server was good, but the busser was an unemotional, almost unresponsive staff which didn’t really fit in with the high-end ambiance.

The chicken dish was a good portion. Uniquely served on a black plate, the chicken was cooked perfectly and hot. I don’t like the skin, but it was crispy and really well done, that I actually liked it. Eating the chicken with the yellow polenta (white cheddar & corn boiled into porridge) and the ground up and pasty arugula. The bitterness of the salad also went well with the chicken and it was very nice to eat something well prepared and had a refreshing taste.

The food was good, nice overall ambiance, and service for the most part. I wouldn’t mind returning again.

 Taste: carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot    Price for Value: carrotcarrotcarrot

Atmosphere:  carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot     Service:  carrotcarrotcarrot
Location: carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot