Posts Tagged ‘Vancouver’

Memorable meal at Blue Water Cafe in Vancouver

Seafood Tasting for Two at Blue Water Cafe

Seafood Tasting for Two at Blue Water Cafe

One of the better meals I had in Vancouver was at Blue Water Cafe, one of the preeminent seafood restaurants in the city. Located in the industrial-turned-hip Yaletown neighborhood, Blue Water Cafe is housed in a beautifully converted warehouse space that also includes a patio, perfect for summer al fresco dining. The menu includes touches of Asian inspiration, which makes sense, given Vancouver’s large Asian population.

Surprise favorite

My mom and I dined here back in August. We started with the Seafood Tasting for Two, which includes four dishes: dungeness crab and baby shrimp salad served with daikon, scallop ceviche, albacore tuna tartare served on tempura nori, and smoked sockeye salmon terrine served with sides of creme fraiche and hazelnuts. My absolute favorite of the four (and of the entire meal) was the smoked salmon terrine, which surprised me since I’m not a huge fan of smoked salmon in general. But the layers of cream cheese tempered the smoked salmon for me, making this a plate I still think about!

Smoked salmon terrine at Blue Water Cafe

Smoked salmon terrine at Blue Water Cafe

The main event

I had the scallops for my main, and mom ordered a fish special. The scallops were cooked nicely, but I didn’t like the endive that came with the dish. I’d chalk this up to personal preference rather than any deficiency with the cooking, though. Mom liked her fish, but neither main dish was outstanding.

Scallops at Blue Water Cafe

Scallops at Blue Water Cafe

“Cheesecake”

For dessert, we had the Cassis + Yuzu Cheesecake, which is a deconstructed “cheesecake” made with black currant macaron, poached strawberries, and chantilly with nougatine. It wasn’t what we were expecting, but it tasted wonderfully light while also being satisfying. I would order this again.

Cassis + Yuzu Cheesecake at Blue Water Cafe

Cassis + Yuzu Cheesecake at Blue Water Cafe

Overall, I enjoyed my meal here. Some memorable dishes and good service left me with a favorable feeling for Blue Water Cafe. But if I were to return, I’d probably stick to the appetizers and desserts and skip the mains.

16

04 2018

Seeing Canada on a Rocky Mountaineer train

When my mom approached me with the idea of taking a train ride through Canada, I was skeptical. I suffer from motion sickness pretty badly, and the idea of being on a moving vehicle for multiple days in a row made me weary.

But my fears were quickly put to rest as soon as we boarded the Rocky Mountaineer train in Vancouver, British Columbia, where the company has its own fancy train depot. After being welcomed by a live bagpiper, we boarded the train bound for Jasper in Alberta, with an overnight stop in Kamloops.

rocky mountaineer

The view from inside the Rocky Mountaineer

Mom treated us to GoldLeaf service, which meant we had seats on the upper level of the train car with a see-through dome, perfect for viewing all the beauty Canada has to offer, as well as allowing me to see the horizon so I wouldn’t get ill. There was a ton of leg room, and the ride was super smooth — no sudden stops and starts like on the Metro Expo Line at home in Los Angeles.

A post shared by Maya Meinert (@shopeatsleep) on

A post shared by Maya Meinert (@shopeatsleep) on

What about the food?

You get two meals on the train, breakfast and lunch, as well as drinks (there’s a full bar on board that includes local beer and wine) and snacks throughout the day — and it’s all included in the price of the journey. You will definitely not leave hungry! Because this was a two-day trip and the downstairs dining room isn’t big enough to seat everyone at once, you eat in shifts. But if you’re eating in the second seating (this switches from day to day, so it’s fair), you get even more snacks to tide you over. The scone with butter and strawberry jam is especially delicious.

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I enjoyed all the food on board — lunch comes with wine, too! — but dessert was a bit lacking in execution (dry cake, hard crumble topping). My favorite dishes were the egg souffle for breakfast served with potatoes and sausage, and the salmon for lunch served with risotto (not really, but still tasty) vegetables and a mustard vinaigrette.

Would I do this again?

Mom and I took a Rocky Mountaineer train twice on this trip: once from Vancouver to Jasper, then back from Banff to Vancouver (with some sightseeing by coach in the middle). The first and last legs of these trips were exactly the same, so I’m not sure I would want to do that again, but we bookended our trip with stays in Vancouver, so it made sense this time. We saw so many beautiful things — lakes, rivers, waterfalls, mountains, wildlife — even though the air wasn’t clear due to wildfires in British Columbia (this was in August earlier this year).

I would recommend this trip to anyone wanting to see western Canada while taking it easy in the lap of luxury. Mom was very pleased. In fact, there were a lot of older people on these trips, for exactly this reason, I suspect. But I’d say we younger folks could use a luxurious relaxing experience like this, too.

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11 2017