Intimate Dining Experience at Montreal's Beba

The intimate space offers wines with fantastic bites of food

Wine bars that happen to offer fantastic food seem to be a trend in Montreal, as that's how Mon Lapin started and last year was ranked No. 2 in the inaugural North America's 50 Best Restaurants (this year No. 5). 

After our massive late lunch at McKiernan and sampled a smoked meat sandwich at Atwater Market, we were still quite full when we arrived at Beba, a very small wine bar. We got to sit in a booth across from the small open kitchen and watch two chefs pump out food.

Lovely mackerel that is a must-have at Beba

Because the wine bar is tiny in terms of real estate, Beba has the ability to take risks and make some interesting food on the menu.

When I made a reservation in late March or early April, the menu featured off cuts that I was keen to try, but when we arrived in late May, the menu had changed.

Nevertheless, we really enjoyed the starter of montadito, or a small open-faced sandwich featuring two thick slices of mackerel with shaved crunchy greens, sesame and horseradish. This appetiser has been on the Beba menu since the beginning, as well as the humble potato knish made bougie with 10g of Oscetra caviar on top.

We were intrigued by lamb ham -- why not make ham out of lamb? And it was absolutely delicious, thinly sliced and garnished with bagna cauda like celery, cauliflower, olives and pickled peppers, along with half jammy eggs topped with salsa verde. Amazing.

Involtini are like dolmades, and instead of rice the grape leaf packages were filled with zucchini and Swiss chard, topped with a generous dollop of yoghurt, pine nuts and pickled vegetables. 

Intriguing lamb as ham with bagna cauda, eggs

By now we were really full, but curious about dessert. We tried the pistachio semifreddo, with olive oil drizzled on top sprinkled with whole pistachios. So simple yet so chic.

What a lovely, laid-back space, people dressed casually, some on dates, others for a regular get-together.

It's a shame we were so full otherwise we would have ordered more!

Beba

3900 Rue Ethel

Montreal

514 750 7087

First Taste of Yemeni Cuisine

Traditional fava bean stew called ful with Yemeni flatbread

There used to be Vancouver's first Yemeni restaurant in Chinatown that was strangely closed during the day. We wondered if it had any business because we never saw it open.

But then a friend did go to Saba Foods around 6pm one evening and he said it was very quiet, but two hours later the place was hopping with diners. He did rave about the food, adding one needed to bring a football team along to be able to eat the large portions of food.

The bar hasn't changed from its West days

Then in January 2024 it closed and I heard it moved to South Granville which was a surprise -- that area would have relatively high rent and would the neighbourhood welcome a restaurant like this?

Apparently so, and its loyal customers followed Saba Foods to its new location. The restaurant was started by Alwaleed Ogbah and his Chinese wife Brenda Seng, when he missed eating Yemeni food in Vancouver.

He started Saba by doing pop-ups back in 2017 and then cooked out of a commissary kitchen, and a food truck, and eventually opened the Chinatown location in 2021. 

A friend who has been there a few times took me to the latest location for lunch today, and it is where the west coast restaurant West used to be.

When I walked in, the West decor had not changed, the bar with its numerous square slots for wine bottles were there, as well as the same tables and chairs, and the felt embroidered design on the south wall.

Okra, potato and lamb stew with basmati rice

As we perused through the menu, my friend remarked the food offerings had expanded, with brunch and lunch dishes, like steak and eggs, omelettes, and chargrilled beef.

Other typical items are hummus, lamb soup, falafel, roast chicken, and kunafa for dessert, a phyllo pastry layered with cheese and soaked with a syrup.

We decided to stick to some traditional dishes, like ful, a stew of fava beans served with Yemeni flatbread, and okra and potato stew with braised lamb and basmati rice, along with some fresh lime juice.

I've had lime soda, but lime juice was a first. It arrived in a lovely shade of (lime) green, and while it was on the sweet side, it was very refreshing and had a tart finish.

The dishes arrived very quickly, but not piping hot. Both dishes were flavourful. We spooned the ful on our plates and ate it with the large, round and soft flatbread with bubbled charred marks on it. 

Meanwhile the okra had practically disintegrated into the stew with potato, with some chunks of braised lamb, accompanied with saffron rice.

Dubai chocolate with pistachio and phyllo

Owner Ogbah came by to say hi to my friend, and gave us a complimentary dessert of Dubai chocolate, a small bar made from Belgian chocolate filled with pistachio paste and delicate phyllo. It went well with small cups of Yemeni coffee that was beige in colour and had a cardamon taste.

As we were finishing lunch, Muslims began trickling into the restaurant, around 2.30pm so by the time we left an hour later it was bustling with a second round of guests. It was fascinating to see the range of diners, and that the halal food is what brought many people here.

My friend has suggested we have to come back again for the lamb haneeth or slow roasted lamb shoulder that is marinated with spices. We'll have to recruit a football team of eaters to come with us next time.

Saba Foods

2881 Granville Street

Vancouver, BC

604 358 0566

Army of Cooks Feeding Cruise Ship Passengers

Showing off some cool knife skills

We ate all our meals on the Ruby Princess this past week and I can attest as a cruiser that the novelty fades quickly; the breakfast buffet looks pretty much the same everyday, and in the fine dining restaurant, ingredients are used in different ways. It's best to eat something fresh on the menu -- and asking your waiter for tips on what's good that day.

Nevertheless we have to say running the food outlets on a cruise ship is no easy task. Executive chef Russell Clarke explained that half the staff are related to food and beverage, either cooks or waiters from some 50 different countries.

Pastry chefs busy making cakes for the day

During a culinary presentation in the theatre, Clarke quipped that he spoke Australian, not English, while all the other cooks and waiters spoke at least two or three different languages.

On stage, Clarke quickly made three dishes for the audience of passengers: shrimp cocktail with mango salsa, lamb chops, and pavlova with berries and coulis.

However, we weren't invited to try the dishes -- the pavlova looked rock hard and dense -- but to go to the galley kitchens to take a look. Apparently this is a popular tour and some people raced to the kitchens! In the end there wasn't much to see, except lots of empty work spaces, stainless steel everywhere and only a handful of chefs working at 11am.

Perhaps the cooks were shy, or Clarke wanted the area cleared out, we could only look at a distance though some areas were decorated with creative carvings of vegetables and fruits. Some were constructed to look like mice and birds, but the flowers carved out of the side of a watermelon were most impressive.

A hearty slice of prime rib with potato, beans

We were given a fact sheet on how much food is produced on the ship, and it involves ordering 110-115 tons of food delivered on a single cruise.

Three butchers clean and cut 1,700 fish into portions daily, while five butchers, three assistants and helpers prepare beef and poultry. On a cruise, 1,400lbs of poultry, 1,700lbs of beef, 1,400lbs of pork and pork products (like sausages); 300lbs of veal, and 200lbs of lamb are cooked daily.

While I had a large slice of prime rib that was pretty good on the last night, the lamb rack I had was overcooked. Interestingly the cream of whatever vegetable soup like cauliflower, or lentil, and the Alaska seafood soup were really good. These are made by 13 staff, preparing 550 gallons per day.

Some 1,600lbs of salad are served daily along with 400lbs of shrimp, 13 gallons of mayonnaise, and 1,500 sandwiches. The Caesar salad was consistently good and what I ate the most.

The bread served on board is made fresh daily by 10 bakers, including the bread rolls we ate everyday that had a light crunchy exterior and fluffy interior along with whipped butter. I did not try the pizza nor the croissants. The bakers use some 1,500lbs of flour daily! I saw some dough being proofed when we went through the kitchens.

Breads are made daily on the ship

And there are 13 people working in pastry making desserts, ice creams, cakes and pies. Around 6,000 pieces of pastries are made everyday, along with 100 gallons of ice cream, and 300 cakes and pies. The blueberry crumble with vanilla ice cream was a favourite at our table. The souffle on the first day was more like a steamed cake, but there was baked Alaska (a giant one sliced up, to individual ones that were sloppy). The safest bet was peach melba or ice cream with fresh fruit sauce like pineapple or strawberry.

Every morning I ate fruits -- honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon and pineapple. Sometimes there was papaya. Towards the end of the trip there was more canned fruit like apricot, peach and pineapple. I ate those anyway, and once had canned figs. Around 6,000lbs of fresh fruit is served daily, while 400lbs of butter are used everyday!

For those who drink coffee, 470 gallons are consumed, 62 gallons of coffee cream, and 400lbs of sugar for the coffee.

After consuming all that food, someone has to clean the dishes. Fifty-seven people wash china, glasses, silver, and pots and pans. Everyday 70,000 dishes are washed, while 21,500 glasses are washed. 

And that's just the passengers. There are also 1,1000 crew who need to eat too!

Review: Blue Smoke in Singapore

Crispy Iberico pork belly

A restaurant in Singapore I was introduced to is called Blue Smoke, run by chef/owner Ivan Yeo. It's located along Joo Chiat Road, on the east coast of the Lion City. Before dinner my friend and I wandered along the street checking out the various boutiques and shops. 

There were vintage shops selling clothes from the 1980s to antique brooches and jewellery, a biodynamic wine shop where the wines had no sulfites in them, and clothes made by young designers. 

Succulent miso shiitake brioche buns

At the appointed time we reached Blue Smoke, and it's a casual place with an open kitchen at the back. Yeo was there with a bandana on his forehead, as I can imagine it gets pretty hot there as he cooks with open flames and grills.

He's a maverick in that he did not come up through the ranks in the restaurant world -- instead he was in advertising, got jaded, then switched to music, and that was where he saw how restaurants and bars were run from the back-of-house point of view that interested him. Yeo had also had a taste of the restaurant business as his grandparents had opened eateries and he helped out as a kid.

Then he has an uncle who made his own beers and Yeo and his brother were interested in pairing food with these beers, hence Blue Smoke. The concept is that everything on the menu is smoked, but not in the American way of marinating for ages and then smoking it for over 12 hours. Yeo prefers to experiment with various ingredients by grilling them, throwing them on open flames and then seeing what happens.

Hands-down favourite grilled cauliflower

We tried some of his dishes and for the most part they were pretty good. We started with the miso shiitake buns, where brioche buns are cut open and brown butter spread on the insides with smoked shiitake mushrooms. They were a delicious combination.

Next came the crispy pork belly, reminiscent of the Cantonese roast pork. Here they used Iberico pork smoked over lychee wood and then roasted over charcoal, then served with wasabi sour cream to add a subtle kick and attempt to cut the oil. This was a bit too fatty for me but the skin was crispy.

The grilled cauliflower steak was arguably the best dish. It was grilled with miso butter and served over a bed of yuzu sauce and crumbled pistachios sprinkled over it for a bit of a crunch. We all raved about this humble vegetable that tasted so good.

Grilled lamb marinated with a Sichuan spice rub

Another meat we tried was the grilled lamb shoulder that arrived beautifully presented before we attacked it. The lamb was marinated in a mild spicy Sichuan-style spice rub before it was grilled over both wood and charcoal before being served with a side of wasabi sour cream. 

The wood smoked stingray steak was another winner. The fish was marinated with traditional Filipino shrimp paste, homemade sambal belachan (chillis) and then smoked over lychee wood. For me it was at the high end of my spice tolerance, but it was so good that it was addictive and I kept eating it.

Finally the highly anticipated wood-smoked beef brisket... fell flat. Perhaps we were expecting something similar to American smoked meat, but this one arrived at our table looking pale and tasted bland even though it was marinated with garam masala and smoked for 20 hours. 

The smoked beef brisket was bland and flat

Nevertheless the dessert of deep-fried Del Monte banana tempura style with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream helped us have a nice finish. The outer layer of the banana slightly crunchy, warm and combined with cold ice cream was just what we wanted.

In terms of Chinese medicine, Blue Smoke is very heaty! We talked to Yeo after who told us they cook Teochew or Chiu Chow off-menu dishes! He described their fish porridge which made us all salivate, but we were too full and the kitchen was closed for the evening.

This is how Yeo entices customers to come back again and now we know!

Blue Smoke

261 Joo Chiat Road

Singapore

  

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.

Trying to Revive the Restaurant Industry

The revamped Temple Street market attracted massive crowds

The Hong Kong government is doing its part to save the restaurant industry by giving away HK$20 million (US$2.6 million) in HK$100 vouchers to the public, but one industry leader says this is but a "small Christmas gift" for the sector.

The first batch of coupons will roll out on Wednesday, with the second batch on January 10. 

But Simon Wong Kit-lung, a lawmaker and chairman of the Quality Tourism Services Association says the vouchers are hardly useful for both the diner and the restaurant.

Anyone want a HK$100 dining voucher?

"I do not think residents would make special arrangements to go out and dine solely because they want to use the vouchers, or change their travel plans and stay in Hong Kong for Christmas," he said.

A HK$100 voucher ain't much, considering how much it costs to eat out these days, it really isn't much of a motivation.

Instead, Wong said the government should do more to attract more residents from Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area to visit Hong Kong as the city has become more "quiet".

He suggested reviving the multiple-entry permit, but it was suspended in 2015 when Hongkongers complained about parallel traders taking advantage of this permit and making numerous crossings daily to buy goods in Hong Kong to sell across the border.

Fish balls to Turkish coffee at Temple Street

Meanwhile nowadays Hongkongers are going up north to Shenzhen to spend their money to eat because it is much cheaper, there's more variety and lots to do and see.

Or maybe the government should take a page out of the recent Temple Street revamp which saw a massive crowd of people on the first night on Friday.

There are 32 food stalls, selling items from fish balls to imitation shark fin soup, and even French-style rack of lamb. 

People will check it out for the first few weeks, but if there aren't other new things to try, then it won't be sustainable for long...

Review: Creative Flavour Profiles at One-Star AnnaLena

Kaw's Michelin statue with the star at AnnaLena

My quest to visit (almost) all the Michelin-starred restaurants in Vancouver is close to completion.

Earlier this week I managed to score a table at AnnaLena in Kitsilano and the one-starred Michelin restaurant had just changed its menu too.

It's located on a quiet street with other casual restaurants, cafes and an ice cream bar shop. If I wasn't so full I would have wanted to check it out!

Fingerling potato with parmesan foam

Inside AnnaLena diners are greeted with a small statue of irreverent artist Kaws' version of the Michelin man and the coveted one star. The place is minimalist, contemporary, with bar seating by the open kitchen, but we opted for seats at a table. 

As I waited for my dining companion, I sipped on a non-alcoholic drink called "Plannin' on stackin'", which was a refreshing berry concoction of zero-proof "gin", with raspberry and lemon at the quite steep price of C$13.

When my foodie friend arrived, our server introduced the menu, and interestingly the restaurant tries to upsell the set menu with add-ons. For example, the second course could have shrimp for an extra price, while the lamb rack could be substituted with Japanese wagyu beef for a big chunk of change.

We said we'd have the menu as the chef intended...

Rich, oily bread course with leek and ramp

Two snacks appeared to whet our appetites. The first was a fingerling potato topped with a raspberry and beet savoury sauce a billowy creamy parmesan cheese foam that was quite delightful.

Another snack were miniature burgers with foie gras mousse in the middle with finely julienne carrots and cilantro leaves. So far so good.

The first course was turnip and radish crudite, the small plump root vegetables were quartered at the bottom of the bowl, covered in the crudite sauce, followed by a burrata creme fraiche, black garlic and a "crouton" -- a thin slice of roasted bread covered in charcoal.

Next came a bread course. It looked like a toasted iceberg sitting in a green pond decorated with vegetables. We were encouraged to break off the bread pieces with our hands and dip it in the leek and ramp veloute, that included meaty king oyster mushrooms and green garlic.

Lamb rack, lamb belly and asparagus

The bread was very oily and I would have appreciated a wet towel to wipe my hands after. It was also quite a filling dish. The sauce was delicious but quite rich, while the bread quickly filled the stomach.

Another plate of carbs followed in the form of cacio e pepe spaghettini, a small enough portion with smoked squid and XO sauce. What?! Had they appropriated Chinese XO sauce? But the slight spicy kick worked well and worth considering putting XO sauce on all pastas in the future.

The main course of lamb rack was actually two small portions of lamb, one piece deboned, the other fried lamb belly in a croquette. The lamb was very tender and juicy, the lamb belly tasted decadent.

By now we were quite full, but curious about the green apple dessert. It turns out to be a creative deconstruction of apple pie and we felt this was the strongest dish in terms of the melding of flavours seamlessly.

Deconstructed apple pie with miso ice cream

At the bottom were the subtly cinnamon-seasoned diced green apple, an almond financier, maple caramel and the whole thing topped with a giant dollop of miso ice cream. It was dreamy to eat this dessert, soft, slightly crunchy, room temperature, cold, tangy and sweet.

If that wasn't enough, AnnaLena makes sure you are super full with petit fours -- served on the sole of a Nike Air sneaker! Actually it's a plaster mould of the sole and it really takes you for a loop! On it were mini foie gras rice krispie squares, and they do have a subtle hint of that umami flavour, while the berry jelly was lightly dusted with milk powder.

At C$98 per person it's high-end dining for sure. Despite my criticisms the dining experience was enjoyable and more refined than say, Barbara. 

The last two Michelin-starred restaurants on my list are Masayoshi, which has an eye-watering C$200 charge per person! And iDen & Quanjude Beijing Duck House that charges and arm and a leg for roast duck...

Petit fours served on the sole of a Nike sneaker

AnnaLena

1809 West 1st Avenue

Vancouver, BC

778 379 4052

Delectable Persian Food in North Vancouver

Ground beef and chicken kebabs with crispy Persian rice

Today we went on a culinary adventure -- not only crossing the bridge to North Vancouver, but also trying some Persian food.

A friend's classmate is married to an Iranian and his mother-in-law suggested we go to Khaghan Restaurant in Capilano Mall.

There were four of us -- two visiting from Hong Kong who were eager to try the food, as it's not something you'd find there, and they had fond memories of eating it several years ago in another restaurant in North Vancouver.

Braised lamb shank with dill rice

I wanted to try some authentic food and had no idea where to eat it. We were told that Persian restaurants are not common, as people feel most comfortable eating their food at home, but these dishes do take a lot of work and time to prepare.

When we arrived, we were the only Chinese people in the restaurant, which was not very busy for a Friday for lunch. Nevertheless, we peaked the interest of our waitress who was surprised and then delighted that our tour guide (the friend's classmate) knew several of the dishes and the ingredients. 

I just had an apple for breakfast, but was soon filled up with lots of delicious food, mostly lamb.

We started with some bread with an eggplant dish called mirza ghasemi, like baba ghanoush, but more yellow in colour thanks to the addition of tumeric. We also had a small bowl of olives that were seasoned with sweet and savoury herbs and spices, and two similarly sized bowls of yoghurt, one with ground cucumber, the other with shallots.

For drinks we had a jug of Persian yoghurt called doogh. It was not too thick, and wasn't just salty like a lassi. Instead it had various dried spices in it, including mint and just a touch of salt. It was a great way to clean the palate.

Vegetable stew and lentils on crispy rice

Soon after our main dishes arrived and they were served on large platters!

One was called mix tahdig, featuring yellow lentils on one half of the dish and herb and vegetable stew with kidney beans on the other, and underneath both is tahdig. It's a Persian crispy rice made from basmati rice, flavoured with saffron and is carefully fried on the stove so that the bottom is crispy, almost like a thick cracker. And it's great for this dish, as the toppings are soft, while the bottom gives a crunch. It still held up a few hours later as leftovers.

We were here to try the dizi with lamb, a traditional lamb stew with chickpeas. It is served in a small tin pot. We were given clamps to tip the hot soup out, and then used a metal pestle called goosht koob to mush the lamb shank along with the ingredients it was cooked with -- potatoes, tomatoes, chickpeas, beans, onions, dried lemons, cinnamon and tumeric.

The soup is then portioned out, everyone gets a spoonful of the mushed meat mixture, and then they help themselves to the bread called noon sangak that is ripped into small pieces into the bowl.

Dizi with lamb and bread

It immediately reminded me of the yang rou pao mo I ate in Xian many years ago. It is also a kind of steaming hot lamb soup, and you take naan bread (it's round and stiff) and break it into small pieces to put in the soup.

As Xian was part of the Silk Road, it's not surprising a version of dizi with lamb ended up in the Chinese city, which also has a Muslim quarter.

The dizi here was hearty, flavourful and the meaty mush was so delicious, we began thinking of other ways to eat it, from mixing it with pasta to putting it on toast.

We also ordered braised lamb shank with dill rice, though the braised lamb neck was even better, but it came with a plain tahdig. The dill rice is also delicious, mixed with broad beans. The lamb in both dishes were braised to the point where the meat fell off the bone so easily, and there was even marrow to extract from the neck bone.

One more dish we had was vaziri, featuring a skewer each of chicken and seasoned ground beef, also served with tahdig and a roasted tomato. The ground beef was heavily flavoured with spices, and both meats were tender and hardly dry even though they were cooked over open flames. We speculated they may have been marinated in a salt solution beforehand.

Braised lamb neck with crispy Persian rice

Needless to say we were extremely full afterwards and didn't finish everything -- we got several takeaway boxes and packed everything up. My friend took the most back, filling four boxes and giant sheets of the bread!

Khaghan Restaurant

Unit 66 - 935 Marine Drive

North Vancouver

(778) 340 9065