One Hundred Days – DOV 2011

January 30, Sunday

D and I were invited to this DOV dinner with my coworkers and ex-workers. One Hundred Days was at the Opus Hotel in Yaletown occupying what previous was Elixir. Very convenience location, just a few steps from the Yaletown Roundhouse station.

I had read a few reviews before we headed there but we were both shock at how dark the place was. We could barely find our way to the table (i.e. painted picnic table and benches). Well, I didn’t really like the paintings and the decorative items except the cloth hanger light fixture in the middle of our dining area. Don’t get me wrong. I like pop arts and graffiti works in general. At that time the server was just bringing in the tea light candles. We had to share the candles in order to see our menu. I finally gave up and used my iPhone flash light app.

Bistro 101 at Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts – DOV 2011

January 24, Monday – Rainy

This year, I only went to three restaurants for the Dine Out Vancouver menu. The first one was  Bistro 101 at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts outside of Granville Island. Their DOV 3 course dinner menu is $18 which I saw as a value meal to try out.  Parking wasn’t easy and we ended up with street meter parking.

When we entered the restaurant, we were surprised how well they made it look with minimal decoration, simple black tables and chairs with tea lights. Most tables had a view of the river or Granville Island.

Dai Jang Kum

February 6, Saturday – rainy

We needed a quick dinner in Richmond. I went to Dai Jang Kum with my coworkers once for lunch, and it was not bad. So I decided to try it out for dinner.

We ordered the BBQ beef short rib with special fruit marinate, Bibimbap and Potato and pork bone soup. Since this was a quick dinner, I won’t describe each dish in detail.

The BBQ beef short ribs were not bad. The waitress actually helped us to put it on the grill and cut them into smaller pieces. The marinate was sweet and savory.

Big Lou’s Butcher Shop

February 6, Sunday – rainy

I visited a new butcher shop, Big Lou’s Butcher Shop, in Chinatown/Gastown area on my way to the Barking Mad event held in West Vancouver back in February. Parking was easy with not too pricy meter right next to the shop. It’s actually right across from the Sunrise market on Powell Street.

I needed some ground beef to make chili for dinner that night. So I asked for 2 lb of their AAA ground beef. I think the price is pretty good $7.70 for 2 lb. I ended up only using a little over 1 lb for the chili and I made Chinese steam beef patty with pickled vegetable with the rest for another meat.

I got some ground beef to make chili at home. It's way better than those I got from regular supermarket and I think the price is reasonable