2012-02-01 DOV @ Five Sails Restaurant

999 Canada Place, Vancouver, BC

604-844-2855

Unlike Black + Blue, the only option available at Five Sails during the DOV was the set menu.  My wife wasn't too impressed, we should have called beforehand to check if they're also offering a-la-carte.

On top of the usual bread and butter, we were also offered an amuse each.  The Ginger & Carrot Soup, served in an espresso cup, had a light hint of ginger with a subtle carrot sweetness.  The soup was smooth, no fibre of any sorts.  MomJ, Buddha Girl and I all enjoyed this.

To start, MomJ had the Lobster bisque "cappuccino" with fresh Atlantic lobster.  This soup was rich in flavor, but not heavy.  Simple yet smooth and flavorful, very nicely done.

I started with a salad...yes, the salad, the only option left after my mom and my wife declared their choices of appetizers.  The salad consisted of vine ripened tomato & grilled vegetable stacked with feta cheese & fresh basil puree, organic watercress, winter greens and extra virgin olive oil dressing.  This salad was simple and fresh, I'd recommend to others, but with me being mainly a carnivore, it's really hard to be enthusiastic.

Buddha Girl had the Creamy wild mushroom risotto, shaved parmigiano reggiano, with added prawns.  The risotto was quite inconsistent, some grains were al-dente while others were overcooked.  We even detected undercooked grains.  The wild mushroom fragrance did not overpower or contrast the dish.  Buddha Girl thought this dish was not bad, not the greatest, but still enjoyable.  Personally, I thought it didn't seem to be moist enough.

For entree, MomJ went with the Grilled "Prime" New York Steak silky Madeira sauce, crisp Walla Walla onion rings and vegetables in season, with added foie gras.  The beef was cooked perfectly as MomJ requested.  The mashed potato was creamy and buttery but the onion rings were cold and limp.  What surprised us was the foie gras, which was a fairly large piece for the price.  The liver was done well and we all enjoyed it. 

I had the Duo of butter poached 1/2 fres Atlantic lobster, orange & tangerine scented butter emulsion,  Crisp Kurobuta Berkshire pork belly, berry gastrique, roasted squash puree & shitake mushrooms.  This wasn't really that big of a dish, especially after having a salad as my appetizer.  The pork belly was small, but it was just the right size for me, any size larger would be too rich for my liking.  The pork was tender and sweet, with no crispy skin.  The lobster was a bit overcooked.  Other than the execution, this dish was just so-so.

Buddha Girl had A napoleon of black truffle infused homemade pasta, sauteed vegetables in season, herb butter emulsion, with added crab meat.  The ravioli came in small square sheets of pasta, sandwiched amongst sauteed mushrooms.  What failed was the "truffle infused" part, we couldn't detect any, either by taste or smell.  My wife was disappointed, and so was I.

For dessert, MomJ and I each had a Crisp phyllo pastry with lemon cream, salted caramel sauce, roasted pear & fig, warm sour cherries (left).  Unfortunately, this was too sweet for us.  Buddha Girl went with the Pavlova with fresh seasonal & exotic fruits, fruit coulis & silky creme Anglaise (right).  Again, way too sweet and no one enjoyed it, we're just simply not fans of meringue.

To end our meal, we were given three squares of dark chocolate truffles.  Overall, our visit was decent but nothing wow'd us.  We wanted some unique food experiences but left unsatisfied.  We understand that the point of DOV is to expose people to the food at reasonable prices, but even with the additions of prawns, crab and foie gras, the food was still "meh".  As we're leaving, we noticed that 80% of the diners were Asians, we felt like we're in a Richmond dim sum joint!