Each time we visit a city, we will try to plan for a sumptuous meal in one of the highly rated dining places from either Michelin guide or World’s Best Restaurant listing. As Vancouver wasn’t rated by Michelin, we selected the place from internet reviews.
Based on our preference to visit an eatery which serves great seafood, we selected Blue Water Cafe + Raw Bar, little did I know that they are managed by the Top Table Group which runs Araxi as well.
We didn’t make prior reservations for dinner at Blue Water Cafe due to some uncertainties in our schedule. What a regrettable move! We ended up waiting for slightly more than 1.5 hours (from 8+pm) to get a seating. But all’s worth it after we were so impressed by the food!!!
We were lucky enough to get a table near the open-kitchen where we can observe how the chefs work together seamlessly to deliver the food.
Now for the menu. From the Raw Bar, they serve a huge variety of oysters…from east coast, west coast, pacific etc…They all seemed so foreign to me since I’m not expert in oysters… hence we went for a Shellfish Plateau instead. It has a single tier with oysters, prawns, mussels, clams, jellyfish and scallop ceviche.
Compared to Araxi, the plateau here was much fresher!!! I loved the scallop ceviche, the sweet & sour taste seasoning was heavenly! How I wish I could concoct the same dressing myself… =( The seasoned jellyfish had a well-balanced crunchy yet chewy texture.
For sushi, we ordered a Nigiri Platter with additional piece of Unagi and Kizami Hotate (Chopped Scallop). The sushi rice was perfect! It did not fall apart easily while holding them on the chopsticks and yet spread in the mouth easily.
Another delightful dish was the Dungeness Crab Salad – with wakame seaweed and thinly sliced cucumber. Other than the freshest ever crab meat tasted, I was yet again blown away by the unique dressing used for the salad~! A refreshing taste that brought out the sweetness of the dungeness crab meat. What an inventive dish…
For principal plates, we had a Beef Tenderloin – fingerling potatoes with rosemary and fleur de sel, french beans, romesco sauce with pine nuts, red wine reduction and Qualicum Bay Scallops – caramelized belgian endives, wild rice griddle cake, candied ginger and citrus sauce. Both the dishes were well executed using very fresh ingredients.
I must say Blue Water Cafe deserves more applauds and accolades than their more famous sister restaurant – Araxi (which gained attention cos of Hell’s Kitchen).
Highly recommended to all foodies who visit Vancouver! Make time for it!
Other related post:
YummyDelight 