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Thursday, June 26, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
| Mini mini review - La Buca |
Posted by Roland AtRolandTanglao.com Tanglao on 3/25/08; 10:29:40 PM
From the Restaurants dept.
Since we haven't been doing so great at writing restaurant reviews, I'm going to start writing even briefer reviews. La Buca (4025 MacDonald Street, 604.730.6988) is a simply decorated but smart looking restaurant in the middle of nowhere (OK it's in Dunbar but there ain't much there). Compact (I always wonder how they make money with such a small room) enough that they can't fit an espresso machine but expansive in flavours. It's well priced Italian menu full of classics. e.g. a very large portion of spaghetti vongole for $17.50 and and Coniglio in umido (rabbit, porcini, etc) for $24.50. We usually share an appetizer, one of their big pastas and a main between two and come away with a happy tummy and a reasonable load on our bank balance. And it's even decently kid friendly. We've seen parents with their kids when they open at 5p.m. so we're thinking of bringing our four year old the next time! Make a reservation or show up at opening time, they are always busy! Highly recommended.
Link: # | Discuss | | 
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Wednesday, January 16, 2008
| The Great Food Challenge |
Posted by Barb Wong on 1/16/08; 2:38:37 PM
From the Features dept.
I love a good food challenge. Not that food should be challenging. I just like to push myself a bit, think out of the box and try out new ingredients, cooking methods and flavours.
We have been thrown the ultimate challenge. The Kid has undergone some preliminary allergy testing and we have to put him on a 2 week food elimination trial:
-no shellfish
-no wheat
-no rice
-no eggs
No shellfish, no problem. We're not huge shellfish eaters.
No wheat. OK...
No eggs. Fine.
No rice. What?! He's Asian! What's he going to eat?!
Actually, after some initial research, there are plenty of grains he can eat. Luckily we have a varied diet and the Kid is receptive to trying new things. It's all a matter of being creative and open to experiment.
Hopefully the Kid won't be bored and won't feel deprived. I'm sure we'll have some interesting items to post as we undertake this challenge.
Link: # | Discuss | |
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Monday, December 3, 2007
| Baking Bread |
Posted by Barb Wong on 12/3/07; 6:29:07 PM
From the Recipes dept.
I can't remember the last time I bought a loaf of "regular" bread. "Regular" bread meaning a loaf of whole wheat or multigrain sandwich bread. Over the last few months I've been experimenting with different whole wheat bread recipes and have come up with one that I'm happy with.
This loaf is pretty basic: whole wheat and unbleached flours, yeast, butter, honey, water, salt. The variations are limitless: vary the proportion of whole wheat to unbleached flours, throw in other flour or grains, seeds or nuts.
I've found that yeast is very forgiving. If I'm proofing the dough and don't have time to shape it, I'll quickly punch it down and come back to it later. I love the idea that the bread making process fits into our household rhythm.
Link: # | Discuss | |
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| Tableland - a film about Sustainable Food |
Posted by Roland AtRolandTanglao.com Tanglao on 12/3/07; 1:37:53 AM
From the Features dept.
 Michael Ableman, Michael Stadtlaender, Heidi Noble, Brent Petkau aka The Oysterman, Sinclair Philip: These are just a few of the people and personalities across North America who are building sustainable food systems and sustainable food is what Tableland (a film by Craig Noble featuring these people) is all about. I was lucky enough to see the screening on Sunday at The Ridge and was able to record the dialogue and Q&A with Chef Jeff Van Geest (9:16 5MB MP3 file for your iPod or MP3 player) of Aurora Bistro (one of the first restaurants in Vancouver that uses primarily sustainable food) and with Craig Noble (20:39 11MB MP3 file). The film is a gentle, convincing case for sustainable food and leaves you hungry and wanting more. Hungry for more sustainable food, more food with great taste and more knowledge about how we can all move to this in the future because of course a move to a world where everyone eats sustainably will take many years just as it has taken decades to invent and globalize industrial food production. Highly recommended! A perfect Christmas gift for everyone interested in food. The DVDs will be on sale for $20 at Edible BC at Granville Island and other locations.
Link: # | Discuss | |
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Saturday, November 3, 2007
| Progressive Dinner November 2007 |
Posted by Barb Wong on 11/3/07; 9:39:24 PM
From the Features dept.
Roland and I live in a townhouse community with some great food lovers. A few years ago we started having progressive dinners. Tonight's theme was small plates.
Heather and Andrew's (Spanish tapas):
-sauteed prawns and scallops with roasted pumpkin puree and spicy sauce
-Spanish beet salad
-olive bread with balsamic vinegar and olive oil for dipping
Barb and Roland's (local, seasonal):
-roasted kabocha and pear soup with homemade cracker sticks
-a "deconstructed" streudel filled with wild mushroom and duck confit ragout accompanied with salad of pea shoots and celeriac in truffle honey vinaigrette
-homemade focaccia
Sharon and Alex's (desserts galore):
-tiramisu
-gingerbread biscotti
-brie with pistachio honey drizzle
Of course our meal was accompanied by lots of great wine, sherry and dessert wine.
Link: # | Discuss | |
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Friday, November 2, 2007
| Circle Farm Tour |
Posted by Barb Wong on 11/2/07; 2:05:01 PM
From the Shopping dept.
In the Lower Mainland we are fortunate to be surrounded by rich agricultural land that produces food for our area as well as across Canada. Circle Farm Tours highlight some of the great food producers in the Fraser River area. The tours are self-guided and focus on a small region such as Abbotsford, Langley, Mission.
This past weekend I checked out the Agassiz-Harrison Mills Circle Farm Tour and made a few stops.
The Back Porch: Pottery meets freshly roasted coffee. The coffee is roasted in small batches in a 1919 Flame Roaster. I picked up some dark roast Columbian coffee. The barn houses some fabulous (and reasonably priced) antiques. Also picked up some tulip bulbs produced by A&B Tulips of the Valley.
The Farm House Natural Cheeses: handmade artisan cheeses made from their own dairy cow and goat milk. The range of different cheese "styles" and types is impressive for a small cheese producer. I picked up a luscious round of Florette goat cheese (bloomy rind that is slightly gooey yet firm in the centre) and a piece of their Alpine Gold, a washed rind cheese similar to Oka.
Limbert Mountain Farm: idyllic farm that specializes in organic herbs and herb products. They offer light lunches, delightful baked goods and afternoon tea. Definitely a spot to revisit in the summer for a guided herb walk and lunch.
On the way to Agassiz, I also popped into the Fort Winery in Fort Langley and picked up a bottle of fruit wine. Their line of unique fruit wines capture the best of locally produced fruit.
Link: # | Discuss | |
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Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
| Ken's Chinese Restaurant - First Visit |
Posted by Roland AtRolandTanglao.com Tanglao on 10/28/07; 8:33:55 PM
From the Restaurants dept.
 Ken's Chinese Restaurant (1097 Kingsway, 604 873-6338) is a bright, cozy Hong Kong style eatery which means among many other yummy things Hong Kong-style Milk Tea and Hong Kong versions of "western food" (which I don't care for but the Hong Kongers seem to love; to each his own!) and lots of families of Hong Kong Chinese heritage enjoying cheap, cheerful and tasty meals. Last Saturday for dinner, took advantage of their $25 special: 1/4 HaineseHainese-like chicken (or roast duck, Jr. likes chicken so we didn't try the duck), slow simmered soup, two dishes (we picked pork with Taro and mushrooms with Chinese mustard greens (the kid is obsessed with mushrooms)) and one of my favourites red bean soup for dessert, enough to feed two adults and a kid for two meals! The verdict was three thumbs up; the kid loves Chinese restaurants and we loved the fatty pork with the taro. We only erred in ordering two dishes with same kind of sauce. This restaurant is very close to where we live, so we'll be back! Check out some photos of what we had below: Mushrooms with Mustard Greens  Pork with Taro  Hainese-like Chicken  Hong Kong-style Milk Tea with Ice aka Dong Lai Cha 
Link: # | Discuss | |
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Friday, October 19, 2007
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