Dine Out Vancouver Roundup

Hearty braised lamb shank at Shaughnessy Restaurant 

Tomorrow is the last day of Dine Out Vancouver. This year some 300 restaurants participated, as it helps drum up business after Christmas, when people are less inclined to go out. It didn't help that the first two days were challenged by the massive snowstorm...

I tried four restaurants this year, and overall the quality was pretty good, very good value, but it was sad to see some had hardly any diners when we went, while others were bustling.

Shaughnessy Restaurant at VanDusen was very quiet. When we arrived, the waiter knew right away about our reservation as they only had a handful of diners. This is disappointing, as it makes the atmosphere dull, and the food and service can only do so much.

Value for money cioppino at Seasons in the Park

For my main I had a generous portion of a Moroccan-inspired braised lamb shank with baked chickpeas. The meat fell off the bone and had a good amount of vegetables too. 

Thankfully I had a light dessert of strawberry sorbet, but it was more of a strawberry ice than sorbet. Perhaps it was because there were so few diners it was in the deep freezer.

In a complete contrast, Seasons in the Park was packed to the gills on a Sunday night. We had a 5.45pm reservation and when we sat down, a table next to us was being served dessert. This restaurant is very consistent and efficient, thanks to the vegetable sides being exactly the same on every item in the menu.

The cioppino was very good value for a set meal, the tomato-based broth was very flavourful with sweetness from the seafood including mussels, shrimp and fish. The duck confit was hearty and thankfully not dried out. However, the chocolate brownie dessert was too dense and rich -- even my sweet-tooth dad couldn't finish it!

A restaurant we hadn't tried before is Fable Diner on East Broadway and Main Street. It's a hipster diner where they play an 80s soundtrack that I enjoyed bopping to, though it was a bit quiet. Nevertheless, the creamy tomato soup didn't have cream, which made it even more delicious, while the salmon was slightly overcooked, but a nice portion that was just right. 

Memorable three-berry sorbet at Fable Diner

Here the three-berry sorbet was amazing -- shades of pink, soft and a taste of summer. The Oreo Mason jar cheesecake was deceivingly light and not too sweet either. 

Finally Dockside Restaurant in the Granville Island Hotel wasn't as busy as we thought, probably overlooked, but it's easily accessible and parking is not hard to find after 6pm. As I had a big lunch earlier in the day, I opted for a vegetarian main of grilled maitake mushrooms with kabocha squash puree and asparagus.

I also had the crab and fish cake as a starter that was sizeable. For dessert, the key lime cheesecake sounded fun, though when it arrived it has a layer of neon green that almost glowed in the dark. Nevertheless the cheesecake had a hint of lime and not heavy at all.

Dockside's Grilled maitake mushrooms

So there's my roundup for the year and glad to have participated. Dine Out Vancouver is a great initiative that encourages people to support restaurants, and at the same time gives these establishments an opportunity to have customers who haven't tried them before, and challenges chefs to think of new economical dishes that are also delicious.

Illuminating the Garden with Festival of Lights

Lovely reflections make for great photos

With a friend visiting Vancouver for the first time, it was apt to take him to an annual Vancouver tradition -- the Festival of Lights at VanDusen Botanical Garden to get into the Christmas spirit. 

It's a clever way to get people to visit the garden during the winter months by decorating it with hundreds of thousands of lights which makes it a stunner for pictures. Many families go with senior members to the littlest ones for family photos, or young couples take selfies. 

After dark the lights make the garden stunning

The previous years I've gone the low temperatures meant we had to really bundle up -- including wearing long underwear to keep warm. But this year it's a very mild 8 degrees and we were very comfortable walking around without the need of gloves or a hat.

Every year the garden is decorated slightly differently to keep it interesting for visitors who come annually. Other years have featured well known cartoon characters like the Grinch and Olaf from Frozen, but this year it was Frosty the Snowman and his family, as there were two other snow people that were slightly smaller. 

Upon entering the garden a security guard made sure people didn't bring in food or drinks because they wanted visitors to shell out at the various food kiosks scattered around the garden. Strangely there were Japadogs, banh mi, arancini risotto balls, and popcorn, as well as hot chocolate and mulled wine. Oh don't forget the mini donuts, made right before your eyes by an automated machine!

We arrived as the sun was setting, so it wasn't until it was darker did the illuminated garden really shine. The pond was particularly amazing with the reflection in the water, and the periodic flashing of lights to the music.

Festival of Lights is an annual Christmas tradition

Also the weather held up and didn't rain which was a big plus.