Where to shop for the food lovers? Grandville Island is the place to be!

Cherries, fresh cherries. but they are so expensive , I will wait till July, when this red ruby kind of fruit fills up the stands of fruit vender
Bell pepper always reminds me of the opening scene of the "Iron Chef" show, where the Japanese Host bite it as it's the most delicious and juicy food on the planet.

Want something smoking? Try our smoking salmon bits.

Oh~~~ Meat!

Oh~~~ Spicy pepperoni HOT!!!

Strawberry corns? Are they eatable? (?_?)

Dine-out Vancouver: Aurora Bistro

Dine Out Vancouver 2007

Aurora Bistro
2420 Main St., Vancouver

To Begin:
Sablefish Brandade with tomato chutney and daikon, friseé salad

Bison Carpaccio with pickled beets, Parmesan and smoked paprika aioli

Entres:
Vermouth Braised Veal Cheeks, mustard herb spätzle and onion fondant.
wine paring, Mission Hill S.L.C. 2003 Merlot

Roasted White Spring Salmon with lentil and root vegetable ragout, brown butter sabayon and blood orange gastrique

Deserts:
Spiced Blood Orange Crème Brulee with a sesame shortbread


Chocolate Hazelnut Torte with pumpkin chipotle purée


About this meal,

1, the serving portion was quite small, so none of us was full after the meal. I guess the Dine Out menu is really just a teaser to attract people to come back for the full menu. I am generally quite happy with what is served with this $25, although my stomach was crying for more food.

2, I like the appetizers the most, both of them are nicely done, quite refreshing. But I was not sure if I tasted the sable fish (black cod) in the Brandade. They used quite a lot of different kinds of yams and potatoes, and peas. I am not sure if they cheap out because of the budget. The veal was very smooth, and tender, melted in my mouth. The white salmon was less greasy then regular Atlantic salmon, it was finely sealed and caramelized. The deserts were fine, but nothing surprising.

Overall I will give 7.5/10 for this experience. If only they can increase the portion for just a little bit. =P
But I will go back to Aurora Bistro again.

Home Alone Cooking

Day 1: Sweet corn soup with crab meat; organic baby greens with balsamic vinaigrette dressing; pan sealed shark fillet with grilled sliced shitaki mushroom, seasoned with sea salt and black pepper; spinach noodle with peanut butter and soy sauce dressing.

The shark fillet has a rougher texture compare to other fish, I think it's good to slice it and make a soup out of it, just like the traditional way of cooking shark in my hometown. The shark fillet will be sliced and dipped in to a seasoned potato starch coating, then will be thrown into boiling water. The fish slice will be so perfectly cooked that reserves the tenderness of the freshness of the fish. It's one of my favorite dish from my hometown.

Day 2: Sweet and sour potato sauce on snapper fillet saute with diced red bell pepper and Shitaki mushroom

Day 3: slow simmered big-head fish, with rice wine and soy sauce, garlic and star anise.

My sweet tooth fantasy: This is the Copenhagen from the Granville Island. It's my favorite, very moist topping with a crunchy pastry bottom. The one showing in this picture is with Dark Belgian Chocolate filling.

My sweet confection

"Chocolate Dipolmat Cake"

Layers of dark chocolate cake, chocolate custard, puff pastry (puff pastry?! yes!!) and Belgian dark chocolate buttercream.

From Vancouver's best dessert restaurant, True Confections

I just simply LOVE it, so good. I was not sure if puff pastry could go well with the creamy cake, but it turned out to be a teaser of texture. It is a seasonal special for this winter holiday. I will recommend everyone to try it. Especially chocolate and puff pastry lover, you know who you are. ^_^


My Sweet Heaven


Coffee, or tea, or me?

What's the 4-years of study worth?

What does my 4 years' study @ UBC worth of? A picture of my bubbly smiling face on the wall of Buch Tower, among my fellow schoolmates. Yet I've missed out the time to take my graduation photo, thus nobody will know how Lili Mei looked like at the end of her study at UBC. THIS SUCKS!

I am surprised how upset I am feeling right now. Yes, I do know that it is the knowledge I've learned counts the most, but I want my smily face on the wall...... =(