October 2017 - West Coast Food
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Brunch

A Homey Bakery in the Heart of Richmond’s Steveston Village

By Winnie Tam When Steveston Bakery opened in 1989, the road wasn’t yet paved and there were barely any other businesses nearby. Today, Steveston is one of Richmond’s most beloved and bustling neighbourhoods, with lots to see and eat for locals and tourists alike. And while the surroundings of Steveston Bakery have changed dramatically, husband-and-wife owners Hemant and Bimla Rao’s commitment to quality in their food and baked goods hasn’t budged one bit. The lineups that appear daily in their bakery are the best proof. The shop is the kind of friendly neighbourhood place that every town dreams of. Since moving from Fiji to Canada in the early 80s, the couple has established a regular fan base for their bakery; in fact, some patrons have been visiting nearly every day since it opened (yes, it’s open seven days a week). Hemant jokes that some people call his bakery Steveston’s “second…

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Recipes

Recipe: Gaoler’s Mews Cocktail

By Katie Ingram, head bartender, L’Abattoir Vancouver’s L’Abattoir restaurant is housed in a 19th–century heritage building where the city’s first jail once stood. Head bartender Katie Ingram pays homage to the location’s haunted past with a cocktail inspired by a time when whisky followed freely. The bourbon-based drink offers savoury tasting notes that evoke elements of a prisoner’s last meal. Black tea and vermouth add a gamey quality to drink, while the Nightshade cordial bring weight and texture to create a full-bodied libation perfect for slow-sipping in dark corners.  INGREDIENTS Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Bourbon (45 mL or 1.5 oz.) Fermented black tea-infused vermouth (20 mL or 0.75 oz.) Nightshade cordial (10 mL or 0.25 oz.) Bittered Sling French Quarter Bitters (2 dashes) DIRECTIONS 1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass and stir with ice.

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Recipes

Recipe: Tales of Suspense #52 Cocktail

By Marc Slingsby-Jones, bar manager, Café Medina “Initially, I wanted to name this cocktail the ‘Black Widow.’ It turns out that’s a fairly popular name for a cocktail, so I channeled my inner nerd and the spirit of Halloween and came up with ‘Tales of Suspense #52’ — the comic in which the Black Widow superhero first makes her appearance.” INGREDIENTS Vodka (1.5 oz) Grand Marnier (1/2 oz) Fresh lime juice (1/2 oz) Charcoal syrup (30ml water, 30ml sugar, 1 pinch of activated charcoal) Egg white (from 1 egg) Mulled cranberry syrup (1 oz) *see below for recipe DIRECTIONS 1. Add egg white, vodka, Grand Marnier, lime juice, and cranberry syrup to shaker. 2. Give the mixture a good hard, dry shake (no ice). 3. Fill shaker with ice and shake a second time. 4. Double strain mixture into a coupe glass. 5. Wait for foam to form on top…

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Filipino

Kulinarya Filipino Eatery’s Rose Samaniego Took a Bold Leap

By Catherine Dunwoody “I used to work for an investment firm for 15-plus years,” says Rose Samaniego, co-owner of Coquitlam’s Kulinarya Filipino Eatery. She decided to take the leap and open Kulinarya while still also working her full-time job. Fast forward from 2009 to today, and Rose clearly feels she made the right decision to leave her day job and focus on this busy restaurant, including plans to open a second location on Commercial Drive in Vancouver. Rose is passionate about bringing authentic Filipino cuisine to BC, and guides her chef Joemel Gracilla to keep it real when it comes to the dishes served. So much so, that Kulinarya was given honourable mention for Best Southeast Asian restaurant in the 2013 Vancouver Magazine awards. For those not familiar with Filipino food, think Asian with a strong Spanish influence. Signature dishes? Kaldereta (beef and potato in a spicy tomato sauce), crispy pata…

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Wineries

A Full Day of Feasting in Langley Part 3: Dinner at Chaberton Estate Winery

Photos by Michele Mateus Words by Alexis Baran Go to Part 1: Breakfast at Milsean Go to Part 2: Lunch at JD Farms A day spent trekking around farms and adding soil to your treads deserves a meal that takes all of what you’ve seen and wraps it into a smooth and elegant finish. And by that of course, I mean that wine pairings are imperative. At the Chaberton Estate Winery you can explore the vineyards and then head to the Bacchus Bistro for selections of wine made right there, alongside rich French cuisine using local ingredients. And then this is where the magic happens: Chaberton’s corks are also refined right next to the where the grapes grow. Once you’ve seen all the work that goes into the bottle, it’s time to work on getting it out of the bottle at Bacchus Bistro. The menu has a diverse selection of…

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Chinese

Richmond Hot Pot: To Hot vs. Yuan’s Chuan Chaun Xiang

By Tara Lee Hot pot takes on many different forms within China and across Asia, including countries like Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam. In the past year, Richmond has seen the opening of many new restaurants that offer a spicy kick. Chongqing and Chengdu are styles of hot put and cities in southwestern China that share cultural roots in Sichuan cooking. Chongqing is known as the birthplace of hot pot and a visit to either city necessitates a hot pot eating experience. If you’re looking to get a taste of this southwestern Chinese style of hot pot, Richmond has much to offer you. Two establishments worth visiting are To Hot (130-8171 Ackroyd Road) and Yuan’s Chuang Chuang Xiang (Aberdeen Centre, 4151 Hazelbridge Way). They’re both innovative in their own ways, modern in their décor, and definitely lip-smacking in flavour profiles. Armed with an open palate – and an empty stomach, I decided to pay a…

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Chef Stories

Chicha’s Chef Shelome Bouvette Tells All

By Catherine Dunwoody Even though it’s 2017, it’s hard to believe that women in the restaurant business are not as commonplace as we would like to think. Chef Shelome Bouvette, co-executive chef and co-owner of Chicha shares her story: Can you tell me about how you started your career as a chef? I attended VCC Culinary School and after graduation worked at Delilah’s, Allegro, and Lolita’s but learned the most under Chef Tina Fineza at Bin 942 who was a huge influence. You’ve been at Chicha for how long now? We feel honoured and blessed to have been in business for almost five years, in a city where competition is very tough. I am entirely responsible for the concept and menu, always a challenge, but hard work pays off. How was it cracking the world of male chefs as a female? You know in hindsight I recognize the scarcity of…

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sweepstakes

The Coast is Calling Contest

Win a trip for two with transportation, accommodation, and a private tour. Bring a friend for a foodie experience that spans multiple cities and communities, for a taste of what lies beyond Vancouver’s cityscape. Make the Coast Coal Harbour by APA your urban oasis for two nights, with floor-to-ceiling windows just steps from the seaside tree canopy of Stanley Park. Then choose your own foodie adventure from the choices below: Choose From These Itineraries Bikes, Brews & Bollywood | New Westminster & Surrey Start the day with breakfast at Angelina’s Dutch Corner in historic New Westminster Hop on a bike for an easy community ride tour on the Queensborough Loop and enjoy amazing views of the Fraser River and the city. After you’ve worked up an appetite, stop at El Santo for a lunch of modern, Mexican cuisine. Travel over the Patullo Bridge for a tour and tasting at…

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Craft Beer

Seasonal Pumpkin and Kiwi Brews at North Vancouver’s Bridge Brewing

By Kristi Alexandra Upon stepping into North Vancouver’s Bridge Brewing Company, just a shot up Mountain Highway, light streams through the windows, illuminating a quaint tasting room and bottles of amber liquid housed in the cooler. Craft beer culture in the lower mainland has always lauded locality, but head brewer Kerry Dyson’s newest creations take on a whole new light in this hyper-local haunt, whose tasting room is adjacent to a garage-style brewery. His latest seasonal offerings are the Quaywi Sour–a collaboration beer with Tap and Barrel–the Pear Cardamom Milkshake IPA, and the seasonably apt Pumpkin Porter–all of which use locally-sourced ingredients to perfect their taste. “If we can, we’ll try to source it as locally as possible,” Dyson tell WestcoastFood of his brewery’s zero-waste, local, and sustainable ethos. “We get our hops from Chilliwack hops farms out in the valley… it depends on what we’re looking for. We just…

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Farms

A Full Day of Feasting in Langley Part 2: Lunch at JD Farms

Photos by Michele Mateus Words by Alexis Baran Go to Part 1: Breakfast at Milsean After a morning spent checking out Langley along the Circle Farm Tour or perhaps following a round of golf, the stomach starts to call for lunch, and we’ve got the answer. JD Farms raises specialty turkey, and from their farm comes everything from full roast-ready turkeys to sausages, broth, ready-made entrees, salami and pepperoni (even raw pet foods for your furry family) – and of course, there’s a bistro for when you’re hungry right now. The JD Farms Bistro serves up turkey in nearly endless forms. But their most popular item is their smoked turkey legs. These have become so well-known that busses full of people from around the world have been known to make a dedicated stop, just to give the handheld specialty a try. Also popular is their hot and fresh turkey pot pies,…

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Recipes

Recipe: Pumpkin Pie with Chantilly Cream

By Dan Olson, chef/owner, Railtown Catering  DOUGH INGREDIENTS Flour (1 ½ cups) Salt (pinch) Sugar (pinch) Butter (½ cup) Water (30 mL) DOUGH INSTRUCTIONS  1. Sift flour, add salt and sugar, then cut butter into small pieces. 2. Pinch butter into flour until broken down into pea-sized pieces. 3. Add water and start to bring together. Cover dough and rest in the fridge for an hour. 4. Roll out and place in pie pan (9”) PUMPKIN FILLING INGREDIENTS  Whipping cream (116 mL or 4oz) Whole milk (116 mL or 4oz) Brown sugar (½ cup) Flour (1 ¼ tbsp.) Cinnamon (1 tsp) Ground ginger (½ tsp) Ground clove (½ tsp) Ground nutmeg (½ tsp) Whole eggs (2 ½) Pumpkin purée (333g or 1 cup) PUMPKIN FILLING INSTRUCTIONS  1. Whisk all ingredients together and pour into shell. 2. Bake at 350°F for 30-40 minutes until the middle is firm and a knife…

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Recipes

Recipe: Dried Apricot, Chestnut & Brioche Bread Stuffing

By Dan Olson, chef/owner, Railtown Catering INGREDIENTS Brioche bread (2 loaves, diced into cubes) Celery (4 stalks, diced) Small yellow onion (1, diced) Garlic (4 cloves, chopped) Fresh sage (½ bunch, chopped) Fresh thyme (¼ bunch, chopped) Dried apricots (1 small handful, diced) Roasted chestnuts (1 cup, chopped) Toasted pine nuts (¼ cup) Butter (½ pound) Reserved turkey fat/drippings Turkey stock (3 cups) Whole eggs (4 , whisked together) Old bay seasoning spice (1 tbsp) Juice from one orange Salt and cracked black pepper to taste INSTRUCTIONS  1. In an oven preheated to 350°F, toast the brioche cubes into golden brown croutons with garlic oil and salt. Set aside. 2. Sauté the onion, celery, garlic, thyme, sage and seasonings together in the reserved turkey dripping and butter. 3. In a large mixing bowl, add the croutons, chestnuts, pine nuts, sautéed vegetables, orange juice, turkey stock and eggs. Season with salt…

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Craft Beer

Coquitlam Enters the Craft Brewery Scene with Newcomer Mariner Brewing

By Brittany Tiplady It’s risky to open a craft brewery in such a saturated local market. With tasting rooms lining the streets of Vancouver, and Port Moody’s beloved Brewery Row, how does one launch a new craft brewery that we haven’t already seen, and sipped, so many times before? Mariner Brewing found the recipe to do just that. 26-year-old Byron Vallis brought his love of craft beer to his hometown of Coquitlam, just a few blocks from his childhood home. The vision he and his team shared was to bring a unique element to the craft beer scene in the untapped market of Coquitlam, so that folks like him (and girlfriend Lauren Ang, Chief Consumption Officer of Mariner Brewing,) could enjoy doing what they love most, right at home. Mariner Brewing opened their chic and nautical-themed tasting room on August 30th 2017 with four brews on tap, and has been…

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Brunch

A Full Day of Feasting in Langley Part 1: Breakfast at Milsean

Photos by Michele Mateus Words by Alexis Baran The lush fields accented by mountain views in Langley, BC have nestled within them several days worth of exploring. Just a short drive from Vancouver there are farms, vineyards, meaderies, friendly animals, and more. Langley’s Circle Farm Tour has plenty of places to snack and treat yourself along the drive, and we’ve chosen a few favorites to get you started on a full day of getting to know the area’s hidden gems. For breakfast, Milsean’s Tea Shoppe is the place to get your morning tea (or coffee) and get the day off to a sweet start. Prefer something savoury or to-go? Although the waffles come highly recommended, there’s lots more to try. The sunny atrium is a cozy place to have your morning bite. Be sure to take home some of their addictive butter crunch! You’d be missing out in a big…

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Recipes

Recipe: Iced Tea Sangria

by Angie Quaale, Well Seasoned Gourmet Food Store Garnish this refreshingly simple patio sipper with your favorite seasonal berries and fresh mint leaves. INGREDIENTS Prepared iced tea (2 liters) Evolve Cellars Rosé (1 bottle, chilled) William Paquito strawberry syrup  (½ cup) INSTRUCTIONS 1. In a large pitcher, combine tea, wine, and syrup. 2. Chill and serve over ice with fresh fruit garnish. Read more about Well Seasoned Gourmet Food Store here!

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