Chambar Restaurant (DOVF Stop #3)

Looks like my life only consists of school and food these days, I'm either at school, out eating, or studying at cafes.... Since Dine out is over, I'm sort of on a mini diet, so I won't be visiting a lot of restaurants, only occasionally with my parents or healthy ones. Meanwhile, I can start writing all those reviews that I haven't had time to work on.

On the second last day (Saturday too .__.) of this year's dine out fest, my friend and I called at least 10 restaurants but we failed to make any reservations... damn, It's true that every story starts with a reservation! or else you would have a hard time getting a table during dine out season... I've learned my lesson.. Fortunately, We eventually got a spot at Chambar, but tables are only available after 9:00pm. Oh well, better than nothing! We studied untill 8:40pm and headed straight to Chambar.

When we arrived, my friend and I immediately regretted not going home and change to a some what formal attire. I think people were giving us the awkward look since we were carrying heavy backpacks with textbooks...We both felt out of place.. Haha, this should give you an idea of the restaurant vibe. The atmosphere was lively and busy. Not the elegant type of fine dining, but more of a pub-like environment.

Since it was past 9pm when we seated. we decided to share one menu. ($38)

This Year's Dine Out Menu

I started off with a Lavendar Fizz (Mocktail $5.00 4.5/5)
Very refreshing from the sweet and sour taste with a hint of lavender flavour. Although the serving was kind of small, it was still a nice drink to start off with.

For appetizer, we got the COQUILLES ST. JACQUES A LA ‘BOB’ (5/5)
-Pan seared scallops, mint pea puree, tandoori papadum, pickled grapes.

Completely shocked by how tender the scallops were (not rubbery at all), perfectly cooked and paired nicely with the side ingredients, I could alone eat at least 10 of them.

For entree, we went for the CURRY D’OMBLE DE L’ARCTIQUE (4.5/5)
-Roasted arctic char, parsnip & miso curry, kale, sorrel, fresh pomegranate, pine nuts.

If you follow my blogposts or Instagram, you would know that I'm not a big fan of seafood, I was originally going to order the trio de porc, but my friend really wanted to try this dish, so I agreed.
The surface was crispy. and the Arctic char was once again, prepared and cooked perfectly. The miso curry was light but unique, combined well with the char. The nuts and pomegranates added an interesting taste to it, however I didn't like the veggies.

Lastly, dessert!

We were actually sick of cheesecake, and the other selection was cheese and crackers, so LA BARRE DE CHOCOLATE (3.5/5) was our only choice.

-Hazelnut praline chocolate mousse bar, sherry vinegar, burnt cinnamon milk foam. 

The chocolate was not overly sweet, but it didn't taste special to me. It was just a normal chocolate bar stuffed with some sourly fruity mousse and sided with whip cream. Good, but not good enough for a $38 menu dessert. 

Overall Experience:

My favourite type of fine dining, I don't need to be overly cautious with what I do. Very Satisfied, although the portions were minimal, but their appetizers and entrees blew my mind. Even if they are famous for mussels, their other dishes are still phenomenal. Everyone that visited also got a $10 coupon to use before 3pm everyday. I'm definitely going back to get some eggs benny and waffles. Sunday Brunch anyone?

The Old Spaghetti Factory Gastown (DOVF Stop #2)

TGIF! Sorry for being fashionably late! As I mentioned on my Instagram, it's midterm season and grade 12s are extremely sensitive during this period of the time with countless exams and university applications to complete. But thank goodness for these occasional food therapies to destress the pain!(by the way, the dates that I scheduled here are the actual dates of me visiting the restaurants not the dates that my reviews are posted!)

Well Well Well, The Old Spag; A classic, "home style" Italian chain restaurant in Canada. Known for it's pasta of course. When I first visited around 6 years ago, I was honestly not impressed by the quality of their food, and after that I didn't revisit until this new years eve. Since it was the second dinner of the night for my family and I, we didn't order a lot, but I enjoyed every dish. Not to mention the price of their food!  >>> Fast forward to Dine out 2015, I know that the Old Spag participates in DOVF every year, but I normally don't go to restaurants that carry $18 menus, but after Nando's I was quite satisfied! Always have faith in $18 menus, sometimes they even top $38 menus.

On a Thursday night studying at Starbucks, I bumped into my best friend and one of her peers, we instantly agreed to get dinner together. (I seriously love random food trips)  We all needed fuel so we can stress more! (lmao, uni students are probably thinking why high schoolers are so stressed) Anyways, long story short! we all wanted (more like needed) to pig out and the Old Spag was in the the area and it was dine out season so BINGO. We went to hunt down some good pastas!
(and we got to sit in the train! How cute!!! damn, girls are easily amused...)

We ordered 2 sets to share among 3 girls , and we were planning to order a flatbread as an addition, but little did we know, we were too full to even finish the desserts...

This year's Dine Out Menu

Yay for complimentary bread! I'm not a big fan of sourdough, but their garlic butter never disappoints!

For Appetizers we shared the good old caesar salad (4/5) and sweet potato (Yam) fries with chipotle mayo sauce (3.5/5). First of all! round of applause for the size of their portion! The caesar salad was really creamy and cheesy, if you like strong flavoured salads then you'd like this one! but again, there's nothing much to say about caesar, it's just a basic S (get it? it's like basic B but with S? okay I know It's 3 am in the morning, I'm not making sense...) Yam fries were nice and crispy,  I prefer thick yam fries, but for $18, It was good enough.

Okay, now on to dee pastas!

Pesto Linguine (3.5/5)
- homemade pesto sauce with fresh basil and pine nuts is mixed with a touch of cream and served over linguine noodles.

This one was too starchy, instead of smooth and creamy. I thought the noodle was going to be soaked in pesto sauce, but it was rather dry. However my bff really liked this one. Opinions do differ!

Penne with Chicken (5/5)
Tender pieces of chicken breast, penne noodles, mushrooms, peppers and fresh tomatoes tossed in a rich basil cream sauce.

Oh my, I don't even know where to start! The fact that I can still remember its flavours from a week ago as I'm writing this definitely means that this one's a keeper! The basil sauce was so rich and creamy, spices were strong but they hit my tastebuds in a very tender way. (did I just create a paradox?) My friend said this dish reminded her of bacon, and the chicken pieces apparently tasted like bacon as well?! haha, I guess they kinda did! Smoky, smooth, rich, creamy, tender,pasta cooked al dante, etc etc!! Too many good things were going on under its simple name!

Finally, every girl's favourite part of the meal! Dessert timeeee!

We were actually SO full when the dessert came,  and had to pack half of each slices home!

Ultimate Cheesecake (4/5)
 - New York Style Cheesecake, subtle vanilla flavours.

A very basic New York cheesecake, but it was still a cheesecake, so it had to be good!

Choca-block Torte (5/5) (LOL my friend had a hard time pronouncing the name, it was hilarious)
- A moist chocolate cake layer cradles milk chocolate ganache covered with a dense dark chocolate mousse.

This one was more unique than the cheesecake, It had a layer of sponge cake, a layer of mousse and a layer of brownie/ganache. I loved the difference of the densities, It was also very rich, but not too sweet. Some may argue that It is but I thought it was just right.

Overall Experience:

Very satisfied! I repeat! We shared 2 dine out menus among 3 people, so it was around $15 per person and we were stuffed!!! Their menu was SO worth, and it's still relatively cheap if you visit during the rest of the year. The service was great, the restaurant vibe was calm and warm. A great come back for a girl who used to dislike the restaurant!

Nando's Chicken On Davie (DOVF Stop #1)

DINE OUT VANCOUVER FINALLY STARTED! but...I've been insanely busy with school since midterms are coming up... ugh, why can't dine out be in March or April instead of exam season?
Anyways, I'm lucky enough to go on the second day of the festival after my miniEnterprize conference on Saturday, and my friend really wanted to go to Nando's. I agreed because I've never had Nando's, (what kind of foodie am I.. ) and I heard all positive things about them, so why not? (plus they were rated the best $18 menu last year or the year before.)

This year's Dine Out Menu

Hungry and Tired, 4 girls bused from UBC all the way to Davie, and ran in the pouring rain with heels and business formal attire... just to get Nando's? yeah we are crazy like that, but hey! Their menu did not disappoint.

For appetizer, I went with the good old Caesar Salad with garlic bread. There isn't much to say about this basic dish, Everyone can make it at home.

Entree, I chose the Flame-Grilled Half Chicken with rice, garlic mashed potato and peri fries.
Their portions are huge (I was actually half full after a full plate of salad). The side dishes were on point, except for its rice, It had no flavour at all. But if you add some Nando's special sauce then it should be fine. Chicken was no doubt, juicy and tender, very well done. I asked for medium spicy. If you are a big fan of spicy food, go ahead and order extra hot!

Everything was great until my dessert came, all my friend ordered the candy shell gelato but for some reason, I wanted to try the Portuguese nato tart, I imagined it to be ... well not a simple egg tart,  but when the server came with an egg tart I was thinking: what is this??! I can totally get better and cheaper ones at T&T or just make it myself.
Lesson of the story.. DO NOT ORDER THE TART! unless you really like egg tarts... I had a bite of the gelatos, they were amazing, binded perfectly with the candy shell... *SIGH* so much regrets.

Overall Experience:
I'd give its menu a 4/5. Appetizers could have been better, possibly a soup and salad combo. Dessert would've been fine if I ordered the gelato with everyone else. However, their entree was nearly perfect! It was a pretty good deal for $18 and I will definitely revisit to try its non dine out items.