For Mom's Day, I headed to Vancouver for a "Girls Only" weekend. Erin graciously opened her home to me for our weekend of girliness. The first night there we were invited to a university chum's birthday. Unfortunately... the evening was a bust. If you live (or are planning to visit) Vancouver do NOT go to Mona's Lebanese Restaurant. Unless you like over priced hummus and pita bread. Or like to wait at least an hour of your drink. Or are no longer interested in hearing. This place has a large dining room which makes is great for parties, right? Wrong. Because after about 8pm the music starts blaring (and is Middle Eastern rock, for a lack of a better word). So even though you have invited all of your friends, you can't actually talk to them. Then next day we had tix to a local production of Les Miserables. I'll admit I wasn't holding out for anything too spectacular. But both Erin and I were pleasantly surprised! Jean Val Jean was an amazing singer and the comic relief (who knew there was anything funny in Les Mis?), Thenardier was most excellent.
We were planning to go out for a nice dinner that night, but after drinks & apps on a sunny patio we weren't all tat hungry. We headed for a light dinner at one of my fallbacks, Legendary Noodle. This place is a tiny hole-in-the-wall with maybe 8 tables? But it is so interesting because you can watch the chefs shave, stretch and throw the noodles. My favorite dish is the pork and green beans with fat noodles. Sweet, salty and slippery goodness! (The other dish we shared isn't worth mentioning.)
On Mom's Day we went and did many of the things I love. First we went mountain bike riding at SFU (E's and my alma mater for undergrad). I was a little concerned since I haven't really been riding in about two years. I like to think I held my own. I even had a pretty spectacular dirt-kiss, and I'm still enjoying the bruises!
Up, up, up we went and then, down! Logs, stumps, bridges, stairs and switchbacks. Thanks to Rose for letting me borrow "Old Nellie". Wheeeeee!
The secret to mountain biking is pretty simple. The slower you go the more likely it is you'll crash. ~Julie Furtado
After getting sweaty and dirty, we cleaned ourselves up and went for pedis and manis. Now I have lovely toes colored with "Wine Me and Dine Me". Seemed appropriate.
We shared a bottle of wine with our friend and Erin's neighbour, Dawn before heading out to Bin. This restaurant was ranked one of Vancouver's Best Places for Tapas. It totally deserved it. We stared the evening with a sun-dried tomato and goat cheese spread on flatbread. Tangy and tomato-y!
Next, on to anchiote pepper rubbed bison flank. This was amazing. Period. The pepper crust had a nice crunch on the thinly sliced steak. I think it's a good test of the kitchen on how well they prepare one of these types of steaks; flank, skirt and hanger can all be tough and leathery if not prepared well. But Bin excelled; medium rare, juicy, and delicious.
We enjoyed a lovely French blend as we waited for our third plate, risotto with black truffle cream. Oh. My. God. We knew it would be arriving before we saw it. The pungency of the truffles was almost overwhelming. Almost. The rice was al dente and smothered in the rich, creamy sauce. I certainly wanted to swoon. It would have been better had we had a few friends to share these dishes, if for no other reason that we'd have been able to try more on the menu.
We ended our meal with another truffle, this time warm chocolate truffle cake with sundried cherries. On the side was a shot glass of dulce de leche espresso creme. Damn. the creme was gorgeous with the cake. I really wanted to lick the glass clean.
Too quickly the weekend was over and I was back on the road. Thanks for a good weekend, E!
And Happy Mother's Day to me and all of the other Yummy Mummies around.
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