Taste of Ukraine in Central

Cabbage rolls filled with rice and minced meat

About a month ago a colleague told me that Ivan the Kozak was shut down on Cochrane Street. Apparently it had been around for many years so it was a surprise to hear it had been closed down, but then again it was probably a victim of jacked up rents.

Our braised ox tongue with pastry on top!

However, about a week ago when my relatives wanted to have a birthday dinner there, I was surprised to find Ivan the Kozak had re-opened on Wyndham Street and I was keen to try out the food.

I didn't visit the place before so it's hard for me to compare, but the restaurant has a cozy atmosphere, with needlepoint cushions, wooden tables and chairs, cabinets filled with glasses and crockery, and an idyllic panoramic picture to transport diners to the Eastern European country.

For starters we had two salads, one with beetroot, herring, potato and carrot topped with salmon roe that was refreshing and light, followed by the Russian salad, finely diced vegetables mixed in mayonnaise.

Next came "darlings" or cabbage rolls filled with rice and minced meat with tomato sauce and sour cream on top. We really enjoyed this dish that was quite filling, though more tomato sauce would have made it better. We're wondering if we can replicate this at home...

Here's another hearty bowl with beef, carrots and potatoes

Another was a small bowl that was covered with pastry that was baked. When the cover was removed, inside was braised ox tongue with melted cheese. This dish was a highlight, as the ox tongue was flavourful, cooked in a clear broth, and the layer of cheese wasn't too heavy. We ate the pastry on its own, though one could have ripped a piece off and put a piece of ox tongue on top before eating it.

We also have a slightly bigger bowl with the pastry on top again, and inside revealed a hearty combination of chunks of braised beef with carrots and potatoes. We also ordered lamb shank that came in a black stone bowl that was bubbling madly when it arrived at the table.

Steam bubbling from the lamb shank dish obscured my camera!

In it was a leg of lamb with most of the meat on the bone, though it came off easily, cooked in a soupy concoction that included big chunks of potatoes and carrots. Eventually the soup evaporated into a delicious sauce.

One more must-have is the dumplings, and the ones we ordered had potatoes and mushrooms in them, accompanied with some sour cream. This also had nice flavours, though the dumplings weren't stuffed to the gills as one would do for Chinese ones.

While we arrived at 7pm, the restaurant was pretty quiet until about an hour later when people streamed in, either with reservations or walked in. It's pretty impressive the restaurant did quite well tonight, considering its new location.

Dumplings with potatoes and mushrooms, and sour cream

Service is nice if you can get their attention.

I hope to try the borscht next time and perhaps the pancakes too!

Ivan the Kozak

1/F, Parehk House

63 Wyndham Street

Central
2851 1193

Hearty Northern Italian Cuisine

The highlight -- 24-hour slow cooked veal shank that was very tender

I'd heard a lot about La Quercia, a northern Italian restaurant on 4th and Alma in Vancouver.

Meat mixed with bone marrow with asparagus

My parents had raved about it and we managed to snag a reservation with a few other friends. The restaurant is best known for its set dinners, as the chef likes to create new menus every day using the freshest ingredients. For the large set menus, large groups can enjoy a meal family style.

Also the dinner times are pretty much set in stone -- 5.30pm or 8pm. We chose the latter and after I watched part of the Gastown Grand Prix, I caught a cab on West Hastings before Victory Square where the Cenotaph is, and managed to get to the restaurant in 15 minutes.

It's a small cozy place that seats 34 people, though it can get quite noisy in there. We picked a fruity red wine with a dry finish to start and settled into the late dinner that was CAD$80 a head.

We started with the veal tonnato, a thin slice of veal that was light pink, with tuna, capers and a grissini. This was followed by bone marrow mixed with meat and then placed back in the bone cut lengthwise.

Ravioli with beetroot and ricotta, poppy seed butter sauce

The meaty mixture was very smooth and easily spread on the toast. It wasn't like any other bone marrow that I'd had before, and was accompanied with some pickled asparagus to cut the richness.

Next came a salad of charred greens with radish slices in a subtle anchovy dressing garnished with Italian parsley leaves that was light and fresh.

We all loved the two pasta dishes that followed. The first featured small delicate ravioli filled with beetroot and ricotta, and had a poppy seed butter sauce. Together the bite-sized combination of textures and flavours was scrumptious.

Next came small and thin sheets of pasta mixed with Parmesan, potato, beans, and pine nuts that was hearty and rustic. Another winner we could have eaten a whole plate of and been sated.

Pasta with beans, potato, pine nuts and Parmesan

Finally our main course arrived -- the place was full and it took time for the kitchen to prepare our dishes -- but this was worth the wait. It was a big hunk of veal shank that was slow cooked for 24 hours and in a mushroom and red wine jus.

As the server cut into it tableside, the meat effortlessly fell off the bone and the tenderness of the meat together with the full flavours made this dish a highlight. It was accompanied with roasted fennel bulbs.

To completely contrast the heavy meat dish, dessert was wonderfully refreshing and creative. It was pineapple and orange "carpaccio" -- thinly sliced in a fruit juice sauce and a small scoop of sorbet on top. Heavenly.

Pineapple and orange "carpaccio" with sorbet to finish

Definitely a memorable meal with good company too! However, it was quite a long wait between courses that tried our patience, but we were most impressed with the pasta and meat courses.

La Quercia

3689 West 4th Avenue

Vancouver, BC
(604) 676 1007

laquercia.ca

French Fine Dining in Vancouver

Delicious beet salad with buffalo mozzarella on a bed of arugula

Fine dining in Hong Kong is an expensive affair: the surroundings are sophisticated, the ingredients are gourmet, but after being a few thousand Hong Kong dollars emptier in the wallet, you wonder, what did I just eat?

And more importantly, was it worth it?

Classic Alsatian style onion tart was quite filling as a starter

That's why eating out in Vancouver is such a treat and compared to Hong Kong, hardly breaking the bank for fresh, local ingredients in not so haute couture plating, but who cares? It will be eaten anyway.

One solid dining establishment is Le Crocodile, a French restaurant opened by chef Michel Jacob 22 years ago and continues to be a favourite among Vancouver foodies.

It's not hard to see why the place has flourished this long -- efficient courteous service, quality ingredients cooked pretty consistently and I have yet to hear anyone have a bad meal here.

Tomato and avocado salad with Dungeness crab

After returning to Vancouver a few days ago, I took my parents to Le Crocodile for dinner and it was nice to be back in this restaurant. With the Christmas season in full swing, the restaurant was packed to the gills -- there were even diners being seated at 10pm.

The menu is extensive and combined with the daily specials, it can be hard to choose what to eat.

What's also nice is the price range, but you're here to splurge so why not? To start I had the classic Alsatian style onion tart (CAD$11.50) that was more like a giant slice of pie. It was choc full of onion and bacon, and accompanied with curly endive in a mustard dressing.

Alaskan black cod on saffron tagliolini and lobster tempura

If my parents weren't there to help me, I would have been practically full already and we'd just started! The beet salad with buffalo mozzarella with honey and mustard dressing (CAD$19.50) was a lighter and refreshing option, along with the tomato and avocado salad with Dungeness crabmeat (CAD$16.50).

My main was one of the specials -- Alaskan black cod on a bed of tagliolini in saffron sauce, topped with lobster tempura (CAD$45.95). The black cod was perfectly cooked, smooth and silky in texture, and the saffron sauce was slightly tart, soaked up by the pasta. The only fault was the lobster tempura that had a thick batter and was overcooked.

A rich fresh pasta with tiger prawns and lobster meat

Meanwhile, the fresh fettucine with lobster meat and grilled tiger prawns (CAD$29.99) had a heavy, rich sauce that took a while to finish, though the grilled tiger prawns and sea scallops served over angel hair pasta and fresh mussel "veloute" (CAD$29.50) was a lighter choice.

We made room for dessert, and the grand marnier souffle (CAD$10.50) was so light and fluffy it was definitely like eating puffs of flavoured clouds. We also enjoyed the selection of five sorbet scoops: lime, mango, passion fruit, coconut and mixed berries. Coconut had the most intense flavour of the bunch.

Sorbets: Coconut, lime, mango, mixed berries, passion fruit

If that's not enough, we were sent on our way with the signature chocolate crocodiles for our petit fours -- in this case petite trois.

The bill including tips? Just over CAD$200 (HK$1,114) for three, no alcohol. For the same price, perhaps only one diner could get similar quality of food and service. Mind you, chef Michel is not about avant garde presentations -- he does not use specially designed plates nor fancy forks and knives. At most there's doilies to decorate the plate.

Vanilla sauce poured into the souffle

That's fine because the rest of the dining experience is solid and as we said before, consistent. What else do you need when it's fantastic value for money, particularly now with the Canadian dollar falling...!

Le Crocodile

100-909 Burrard Street (at Smithe)

Vancouver

Tel: (604) 669 4298