East is East

Went to East is East with some friends to celebrate a birthday. Before we arrived, we got a call saying they discourage bringing your own cake because there'll be a $10-$20 surcharge and there's also a $2 surcharge per person for entertainment. That was not a good way to start a dinner.

BUT

We had a great time. We ordered the Mango Prawns, Tibetan Mantu, Lamb Kebab, double vegetarian roti rolls (Ghandara Blues & Ghandi's Breakfast), and double non vegetarian roti rolls (Persia's Favourite & one other)- displayed below in order.

The Mango Prawns were pretty good. Prawns were sweet and the rice were well seasoned.

The Tibetan Mantu was also good, but a little too rich.

The lamb kebabs were the best dish of the night. The sauce was really good, but I found the dried fruit in the rice a little too sweet.

The lamb kebabs came with a side of naan and vegetables. There's also enough naan for all five of us.

The vegetarian rotis were better than the non vegetarian ones because they're not as dry.

The lamb in the Persia's Favourite was a little dry.

They also gave us soy milk chai to sample when we first arrived. I liked it so much I ordered one.

Overall, the food was "good," but like my friends said, it's okay to eat just once a year - just a little too rich, I think.

BierCraft Wesbrook

Locations do make a difference. While we thought BierCraft on Cambie was overrated and too "hipster", BierCraft Wesbrook was a pleasant surprise. We went as part of an office Christmas lunch.

I ordered the Muffaletta Pannini, which came with two sides for only $12. I chose the Belgian Frites and the Seasonal Squash Soup. I also ordered the Bomber Seasonal (Cinder Block).

The pannini was a little on the salty side, probably from the prosciutto, but also probably because everything in the pannini (aside from the provolone cheese) tended to be salty. It probably would've been a bit less salty if they had more sauce. I also would've appreciated it if the cheese was melted.

The soup was fantastic. It had the right balance of saltiness, sweetness, and spiciness. All the flavours at once stood out and blended together very well.

Frites were frites. I liked the aioli dip.

My companions ordered chicken wings, Marinier mussels, Orleans mussels, and Caesar Salad with chicken. They said that the risk about ordering mussels is that sometimes the mussels are really small and you get really disappointed. That did not happen. They were very happy with the size and taste of their mussels.

Overall, good experience. Portion size were a little big, I only ate the soup and half the pannini, didn't finish my beer, and was stuffed full. I'm so glad I have a standing desk.

Our server was sweet and fun. Really accommodating and down to earth. We had a really great time. Service was not slow at all - probably because all the students have gone home for Christmas and the place was only half full.

Would recommend and probably return if I were EVER in the Wesbrook area.

Exile Bistro

We just spent 2.5 hours at Exile Bistro on a Sunday night.

This place sits about 14 people at tables and about 6 at the bar. When it was full, the server told us this was the "busiest" it's been. I'm not sure if I believe her, especially since it's a Sunday night.

We ordered the Duck Liver and the Dry Rub Elk. The server told us service will be slow because they're SO busy. We just didn't know it would take an HOUR to get our food.

This is the elk, it came before the liver.

The meat was tender and well cooked. Well seasoned. The potatoes were also cooked well. Nice addition of pumpkin. Everything was "good," I'm just not sure if it was $21 good.

This is the liver.

I'm usually a big fan of liver. This one was just lacking. There was just something off about the taste and texture. When you tell me something is pan seared, I expect a crispy exterior. This wasn't. I also expected the liver to be creamier. It was served with the same kale salad as the elk.

Two of our friends ordered the bison short ribs, beet salad, and gnocchi. I think we actually finished both our dishes before any of their dishes came. In what place does a salad take longer to make than pan seared duck liver? It doesn't even need to cook! At the end, they actually had to wait 1.5 hours before bison came.

Another two ordered the game fondue. That came last, about an hour and 45 minutes after we sat down. The pot did not come boiling so the temperature of the broth stayed at "warm" at best. It sounded a lot better on paper. NOTHING was cooked in this dish, so we must ask, why didn't it come sooner?

In truth, this place just sounds good on paper. A for concept, F for executation. The plates are meant to be "shared," but they weren't really presented that way. It was presented in a way you would expect a single dish to be presented. Not recommending or returning.