Que Rico

Cobre Nuevo Latino

Latin Fusion Cuisine

52 Powell St.

Vancouver, BC

V6A 1E7 Canada

Ph: (604) 669-2396

I always make a mental note to keep my ears open for fresh, new restaurants that are creating a buzz in the area and somewhere, I'm not sure exactly where, I have heard about Cobre Nuevo Latino. Mostly, hyped up restaurants have a lot to live up to but stepping into this modern Latin-fusion restaurant already made me a little less skeptical.

Cobre Nuevo Latino is actually almost a year old situated in the now trendy Gastown where new restaurants are mushrooming in every nook and cranny of its cobblestone alleyways. Their space is small but it was stylish as it was cozy. The brick wall in the restaurant gives a "warm blanket" feel while the sleek wooden tables give a modern touch to the setting. It was a very nice mix of hipness and comfort.

Upon ascending the stairway, we were warmly greeted, seated and our server came immediately. We were waiting for a couple more friends and ordered the corn bread with the spicy butter and I had a glass of Rose wine. The corn bread had an interesting flavour and the butter was good but I like my spicy with a nice kick and it was lacking a little of that. We were enjoying the bread when my friends finally came as well as a bunch of other people as we were noticing the place filling up very quickly. The restaurant was already getting busy but our server still took his time giving us a run through of the menu and gave us suggestions and an introduction to the more popular dishes. After some debating, we opted for the scallop ceviche, goat cheese empanada with eggplant, wild prawns with corn arepas, duck taquitos and the flat iron steak.

It was either the interesting conversation we were having or the quick service which made it seem like minutes when our scallop ceviche arrived. It was nicely presented although the quantity was very small. The flavours were very light, it was good ceviche but it had no "wow" factor. Our next dish though made us forget everything about our scallop ceviche. The goat cheese empanada came right after the first dish, and it was one of the best empanadas I ever had. The crust was thin but it gave a nice crunch to the very tasty goat-cheese-eggplant medley and the red pepper salsa contributed a nice tang to the flavours as well a good contrast on my tongue, it was warm-empanada-meet-cold-salsa combination.

I was still raving about how good it was was when our second dish came, once again with perfect timing. The prawns alone were already good but adding the corn arepas with the creamy, cheesy centre was a knock-out. The combination was amazing. I had a different idea though what an arepa was since my Venezuelan coworker made us batches of fresh arepas a few times and it was a bit different, less bread-like and but I have to say, I really liked Cobre's. When the next dish came, I was a bit hesitant, I am not a duck fan. Duck is like lamb for me, it's a hit-or-miss. If you have a bad duck dish, you're stuck with an aftertaste so intense that will linger in your mouth until the next day but I have to say, Cobre converted me with their duck taquitos. Maybe it was the cilantro that gave it a fresh taste but there was definitely no bad aftertaste, instead there was that duck flavour that was prominent but not over-whelming, ask your server for a slice of lemon and you'll love it even more.

My taste buds were already satisfied that I wasn't even thinking about our last dish, the flat iron steak which came with a heaping serving of crisp sweet potato chips drenched in chipotle sauce. The steak was tender and the sauce to match it had that perfect smoky chipotle flavour and together, it was phenomenal and adding a genenerous amount of sweet crunchy chips just made this dish beyond phenomenal.

We didn't end our little rendezous with Cobre with the steak. Although full, we had to see their dessert menu and we had to give in to their dark chocolate souffle and dulce de leche. Forget the calories, you should indulge yourself once in awhile and these desserts will make you say "Oh my god!" on the first bite. The souffle had a side of warm, crunchy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside churros which was perfect for dunking in that rich chocolatey souffle centre. This dessert is great especially if you don't like anything too sweet. The dulce de leche on the other hand was an experience on its own. It was light and creamy and just a dulce as it should be. The berries were a good touch and it meshed well with every dulce de leche bite. Every bit was just perfection.

You'll know if you've found a gem of a place when you tell your friends, coworkers, random people about it and we did find ourselves spreading our love for this restaurant and are shamelessly getting into that Cobre hype. We are definitely going back for more and maybe try that albacore tuna ceviche I have heard about and hoping that our next experience will be as good as the first, hopefully even better.

*picture stolen from Vancouver Courier News / dinning

In Curry Heaven

Vij's Restaurant
Indian Cuisine
1480 11th Avenue West
Vancouver, BC
V6H 1L1 Canada
(604) 736-6664

I always believe that Indian cuisine is for the more adventurous palate. It's not as daring as eating blood porridge or cow's tongue in mushroom sauce but I have seen people being hesitant in taking morsels of palak paneer in their mouth. I think it's more of the "journey to the unknown" is what scares people the most. My mom and my sister on the other hand claims that the overwhelming scent of the spices turn them off and for this reason they can't even set foot in an Indian restaurant. I tried to convince them though to take that first bite because I know that if they do, it would completely change their mind. As for me, I have immersed myself in the wonderful world of Indian cuisine. I am a big fan of the spices and anything that would take my senses to that world of exoticism. I am looking for that experience and Vij's world renowned dishes has that reputation.

Vij's had taken the crown as the best Indian restaurant in Vancouver but I have been told that it is also the best in North America. There's only one tiny glitch: the horrendous line-ups. Oh well, there is no perfect world. Also, to try the best, you also have to pay good money but that didn't stop us and a hundred of other regular customers or first-timers like me to head down to South Granville to confirm this claim.

For my first Vij's experience, we came prepared, enough cash to blow and a time schedule. Unfortunately, due to the untimely snow fall, we had to sit through traffic and lost precious minutes and sure enough there was a line-up when we got to the restaurant. Vij himself greeted us at the door but we weren't lucky enough to make the early bird cut and had to wait for an hour and 30 minutes. Being first on the list, my friend and I just shrugged it off and made our way to the lounge.

The lounge was very cozy and well-decorated, like the rest of the restaurant. It is modern and yet there is that feeling of ethnicity. As soon as we sat down, the server immediately offered us appetizers. Having to wait for hours, the appetizers surely made it less torcherous to be surrounded with mouth-watering aroma. An added bonus, you also get to mingle with the rest of the anxious customers and hear their stories of why they were there squished in the lounge with you. The appetizers were unforgettable and the fresh taste of the cracker with the mung bean salad topping took the cake for me. We had this spiced mango and rum cocktail called Dark Army, it was an interesting mix although the spice overshadowed the taste of the mango which I was actually looking for when I took my first sip. The servers at the lounge served us well, we had an abundant supply of appetizers which I had to refuse after a few rounds. I didn't want to get too full for the main course.

After an hour of wait, we were eventually seated and the sever took care of us right away. We knew what we wanted: the paneer appetizer, ling cod in tomato curry sauce and the ever famous lamb popsicle. I couldn't help but notice the classy but ethnic kitchen ware, which added a special touch to to the dining experience. The owner also came by our table a few times to check up on us which made our Vij's experience more intimate.

It felt like 5 minutes when our paneer appetizer came and my friend and I attacked it like we haven't eaten in months. Very flavourful. The tamarind curry sauce complimented the paneer and eggplant and there is a nice spicy kick to it, not too hot but enough to savour the dish. The lamb popsicle arrived with a bowl of basmati rice and a new batch of naan. First bite and it is confirmed. Vij's does derserve to be the best Indian Restaurant. This dish had every right to be famous. The lamb was very tender and the creamy sauce was so decadently delicious. Our ling cod arrived very shortly and it was delicious as well, the cod melts in your mouth and the smoky taste of the grilled green beans was just to die for. I was too caught up with the creamy sauce though that I was just mixing it with the cod dish. I was in curry heaven. We polished every dish and did it with a smile and though we barely had room for dessert, I convinced my friend that we should try the mango kulfi. It was a perfect end to a perfect meal. The kulfi was light and delicately sweet, just enough to make the curry aftertaste disappear. I have to admit that receiving our bill did make our smiles fade a little but it was well worth it. It wasn't the price that made me feel a bit of a pang of guilty pleasure but it was the guilt of eating too much that lingered in me a little.

*picture stolen from viewauckland.co/nz