Yes, this turned out a perfect Biryani and anyone interested in the recipe, drop me an email.
The secret is in the Ghee. Over half this jar of Pure Desi Ghee was used in the dish.
The chicken was cooked in Ghee; the rice was fried in Ghee.
No wonder guests were raving about it.
It also had tomatoes in it, which was novel to me, but sure did the trick.
The spicing was simple - lots of cardamom and saffron.
A secret I learnt about cooking a perfect Biryani is cooking it slow, but make sure you add liquid throughout.
Email somervillekitchenwindow@gmail.com for recipe.
Pesto
Trim leaves of 2 large bunches of kale, blanch, drain and chop.
Food process with 1 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes, 4 garlic cloves, 1 cup olive oil, 0.75 cup grated Parmesan cheese and 0.75 toasted walnuts.
Pasta
Chop 3 large Portobello mushrooms and grill in 1 tsp olive oil.
Cook 450g penne. When ready, add mushrooms, 1.5 cups pesto, mix, serve, sprinkle with grated Parmesan, eat.
The Pesto will freeze well. Enjoy.
This is the table I got at Pier 7 Restaurant - a good first impression.
This is the $7 marinated olive platter; expensive, but they give you the leftovers to go.
And this is the Smoked Albacore Tuna Nicoise; good fresh ingredients, not enough as a meal though.
This is the best part of the experience - a beautiful view of Vancouver.
Pier 7 Restaurant
25 Wallace Mews
North Vancouver, BC
A beautiful breakfast buffet welcomes you when you walk into La Pentola della Quercia for breakfast.
"But that's too much food" my fat tummy whispers. Instead, I admire an appetizing egg plate on another table.
"But eggs and butter are very high in cholesterol" my heart veins scream. So I choose the healthiest option on the menu - steel cut oats with creme fraiche.
Well, half a cup of creme fraiche that looks like butter is not my idea of healthy. It did not even melt, given how thick this creme was.
Somewhere else I had a healthy tasty breakfast.... but that is for another day.
La Pentola
350 Davie Street
Vancouver, BC
The first time I tried a JOEY Restaurant was exactly two years ago (Read JOEY Bentall One).
I have been to different JOEY restaurants many times since then. But this is the first I have time to take pictures and blog about the visit.
In short, exceptional food as always. Fun atmosphere. Not too loud, yet very.
The Japanese Gyoza with hot mustard is a must.
The Lettuce Wraps are also exceptional.
A twist on what you find in Chinese restaurants with toasted peanuts, crispy noodles and cilantro.
Too bad I was not in the mood for meat - they have great steaks.
Instead, I indulged on a perfect Sashimi Tuna - Fresh and tasty with mango and avocado, excellent choice I must say.
Thank you JOEY - I am yet to taste your Butter Chicken; next time.
JOEY
1424 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC
Did I tell the story of my regal Catsess before?
She and her 3 past brothers were rescued off Prince Rupert's streets. With lack of shelter capacities, the amazing VOKRA flew them to Vancouver. A VOKRA angel who met them at the airport once told me how beautiful they looked when she picked them up.
So I couldn't be more grateful for a client business sending me to Prince Rupert to visit the land of Catsess.
Such a wild country - so thankful for VOKRA rescuing Catsess from a horrible death in the northern woods.
Getting to Prince Rupert is an adventure. A 2.5 hours flight lands you on an island. An airport bus carries you on the ferry to Prince Rupert, which is also an island.
Prince Rupert is the home of less than 12,000 people and you can tell by how condensed the downtown is.
There were several Vietnamese Canadian restaurants which I wish I had a chance to try. What is the connection between Vietnamese and Prince Rupert is a mystery I need to solve one day.
The Casino restaurant was a real turn off. The Waterfront Restaurant was alright. I ordered the Butter Chicken Poutine to make a perfect blog story. But I was served the butter chicken bowl instead, and accused that this is what I ordered.
So I tried their bread pudding and took off roaming the downtown.
Walmart and Target were skipped, but the cutest pet store was discovered and Catsess got herself a glow in the dark mouse toy.
Glad to have seen Catsess birthplace - it is definitely a beautiful part of the province.
Kaya Malay Bistro took me by surprise.
Not only have I not heard of it before, I did not expect it to taste so home made.
Feels like family owned, very welcoming set up and servers and the food is pretty good.
The Roti comes in regular or whole wheat. The menu claims it is hand rolled and it does taste fresher with richer texture than many other Rotis I tried before.
It comes with a curry sauce for dipping - a perfect first impression.
Too many options to choose from so I went with the chicken skewers - beautifully presented.
Next visit I am going for the 8 course tasting menu for two at $30/person.
And the best surprise was an on-the-house dessert, the Kulh Daddar - I guess they noticed I was taking lots of pictures (I tell you this is a good place).
Kaya Malay Bistro
1063 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC
