Saturday, September 25, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
Shuraku Sake Bar and Bistro
Went to Shuraku (833 Granville Street) to meet up with a friend from university that I hadn't seen in a while. I've been to this restaurant before but never had the opportunity to take pictures of the food.
The sushi kitchen can be a bit slow to get food out when the restaurant is busy, but despite this I still really like the restaurant, due to it's creative selection of maki rolls. Having been there a few times, I was able to quickly select my two favourites.
The Godfather Roll - Italian flavours in a sushi roll. Cream cheese, avocado, mango and cucumber wrapped in rice, topped with proscuitto and a caper. Served with a balsamic glaze.
The Roulette Roll - spicy scallop, avocado, and cucumber, topped with crispy lotus chips, served with a seaweed sauce.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
New iPhone HDR Photo Feature
As part of iOS 4.1 releases today, the camera app is now able to process pictures in High Dynamic Range (HDR) mode. The iPhone takes 3 pictures in rapid succession with different exposures, and uses the combined set of information to fill in parts of the picture that are too dark or too light.
If desired, the camera saves both the pre and post processing pictures. I've posted one of the more impressive before and after pictures.
Before:
After:
I was pretty surprised (and very pleased) at how big the improvement was. Definitely a plus for using the iPhone as a stand-in for a DSLR when photo blogging.
If desired, the camera saves both the pre and post processing pictures. I've posted one of the more impressive before and after pictures.
Before:
After:
I was pretty surprised (and very pleased) at how big the improvement was. Definitely a plus for using the iPhone as a stand-in for a DSLR when photo blogging.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Wings on Granville
Went to Wings on Granville with a group of friends. Wings has become a sortoff regular spot for us to hang out, and quite well deserved - they offer a wide selection of wings, and are among the best I can recall having in Vancouver. Occasionally, the service leaves something to be desired, but for the most part, we've been treated well.
To our pleasant surprise, they've added some new flavours. We tried them all.
Jakarta Heat. These wings had a pretty good Asian chili kick, if you could get past the "my-mouth-is-on-fire" sensation.
Malaysian Orange Ginger, Mesquite Bear BBQ, and Bombay Tandoori. The Orange Ginger is the wet wing in the picture, and was a surprising pleaser - not a huge fan of orange ginger chicken dishes in Chinese restaurants, but despite this, the flavour was amazingly enhanced with the fried goodness of a hot wing. The Mesquite and the Tandoori were also delicious, and have become new favourites of mine on the Wings line-up. Both are dry wings, one with a slightly sweet flavour, and the other slightly spicy.
To our pleasant surprise, they've added some new flavours. We tried them all.
Jakarta Heat. These wings had a pretty good Asian chili kick, if you could get past the "my-mouth-is-on-fire" sensation.
Malaysian Orange Ginger, Mesquite Bear BBQ, and Bombay Tandoori. The Orange Ginger is the wet wing in the picture, and was a surprising pleaser - not a huge fan of orange ginger chicken dishes in Chinese restaurants, but despite this, the flavour was amazingly enhanced with the fried goodness of a hot wing. The Mesquite and the Tandoori were also delicious, and have become new favourites of mine on the Wings line-up. Both are dry wings, one with a slightly sweet flavour, and the other slightly spicy.
Buses are back on Granville...
After a 4 year Olympic hiatus, buses returned to Granville Street, which for some reason, struck a chord with me...
...Especially weird after seeing the streets packed during Taiwanfest...
... hopefully I remember to stop jaywalking across Granville on coffee-less mornings...
Ragazzi Pizza Co.
Decided to try another new street food option with Beginning Fresh. This time, it was Ragazzi Pizza Co. at 400 Burrard Street.
As well as offering 4 options in slice form (Capriciossa, Primavera, Prosciutto e funghi and Hawaiian), they also make full size pizzas to order.
I ordered the Hawaiian, and my friend ordered the Prosciutto e funghi. I have to admit, I was a bit underwhelmed. Don't get me wrong - the pizza was delicious - The slice could have used a tad more sauce in my opinion, but the thin crust, however, was spot-on. Definitely a step up over the regular fare that you'll find on Granville Street.
However, the options seemed mundane (though rather impressive sounding in Italian), and not unlike those very easily available in the downtown core. For example, the prosciutto e funghi slice could have done with something a bit more adventurous than white mushrooms.
I think my expectations were set a bit high by the level of creativity and quality delivered by my still-favourite street food option, The Re-Up BBQ. For example, Ragazzi have hit it out of the park by offering more adventurous slice options with fresh ingredients like salmon or boccacini (e.g. the similarly priced pizza lunch options offered by Italian Kitchen)
In retrospect, I think its a bit unfair for me to require a vendor that seeks to be "traditional" to be a bit more out-of-the-box, but because of how commonly available pizza is as a fast food item, I think this joint needs to be much more of a pioneer in order to be succesful.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
@Taiwanfest
Taiwanfest was taking place a few blocks from my apartment, so I decided to check it out. Apparently, a lot of other people had the same idea - I've rarely seen Granville quite this crowded.
For me, the main appeal was the infamous Taiwanese street food.
Ok, so I know that Stinky Tofu is a popular dish in Taiwan, and I have no right to judge... but I might have considered trying it if it had a more appealing name..
Further up the line - grilled squid. Another delicacy that I was happy to skip over...
Oyster "Omelette"... ok, this dish seemed to have some promise on the onset, I'd been told that this was a favourite among the non-Chinese. Unfortunately, I had a very different experience - the choi was bitter, the egg part was goopy, and worst of all the dish was already cold by the time it was served to me. All in all I found the entire dish mostly inedible. Even by street food standards, it was pretty awful.
I will caveat that it may have just been the plate I was served - I noticed omelettes from other food stands were steaming hot and visibly much more aesthetically pleasing than mine.
Taiwanese Hot Dog - I definitely was pleasantly surprised by this. The "bun" was actually made of sticky rice, and was of the same texture and consistency that you'll find at a dim sum restaurant, and the pork sausage paralleled the barbecued pork chunks that you might find in the sticky rice. Delicious.
Cross section of the Taiwanese Hot Dog
After finally finding something satisfying to eat, I walked over to the Main Stage area in the plaza of the Vancouver Art Gallery. I wasn't really expecting to get much from the experience since I'm not really familiar with the Taiwanese music scene. But the costumes were pretty... interesting.
From what I gathered, the main singer of this group is from an aboriginal tribe in Taiwan call the Amis. His outfit is similar to one worn during the Harvest festival, even though I'm sure his is significantly more colourful than you'll find in Taiwan.
For me, the main appeal was the infamous Taiwanese street food.
Ok, so I know that Stinky Tofu is a popular dish in Taiwan, and I have no right to judge... but I might have considered trying it if it had a more appealing name..
Further up the line - grilled squid. Another delicacy that I was happy to skip over...
Oyster "Omelette"... ok, this dish seemed to have some promise on the onset, I'd been told that this was a favourite among the non-Chinese. Unfortunately, I had a very different experience - the choi was bitter, the egg part was goopy, and worst of all the dish was already cold by the time it was served to me. All in all I found the entire dish mostly inedible. Even by street food standards, it was pretty awful.
I will caveat that it may have just been the plate I was served - I noticed omelettes from other food stands were steaming hot and visibly much more aesthetically pleasing than mine.
Taiwanese Hot Dog - I definitely was pleasantly surprised by this. The "bun" was actually made of sticky rice, and was of the same texture and consistency that you'll find at a dim sum restaurant, and the pork sausage paralleled the barbecued pork chunks that you might find in the sticky rice. Delicious.
Cross section of the Taiwanese Hot Dog
After finally finding something satisfying to eat, I walked over to the Main Stage area in the plaza of the Vancouver Art Gallery. I wasn't really expecting to get much from the experience since I'm not really familiar with the Taiwanese music scene. But the costumes were pretty... interesting.
From what I gathered, the main singer of this group is from an aboriginal tribe in Taiwan call the Amis. His outfit is similar to one worn during the Harvest festival, even though I'm sure his is significantly more colourful than you'll find in Taiwan.
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