604 Foodtography

This is going to be one lengthy post. I’m not sure if I can even make it for the deadline of Tuesday since I’ll have ultimate till late.. I’ll probably be the last to post about it amongst the other bloggers. Oh well, it’ll even out the fact that I arrived at the restaurant earlier, even earlier than the organizer Sherman. =P

Actually, since it’s Tuesday, I’ll post it first and the rest of you can link me! Edit: I got beat by Sherman and LaPetiteVancouver.. boo!

It’s very obvious that the food blogosphere in Vancouver has exploded as of late, and it’s getting a little crowded.  No problem, that just means there are more like minded people to meet and dine with!  Sherman organized this foodie dinner meet and KimHo suggested the restaurant.

A list of the bloggers who attended..total 13 people, including myself! That’s a big group of people to eat together.

Ho Yummy – post is up, here.
Yum-O-Rama
ShermansFoodAdventures – post is up, here.
La Petite Vancouver – post is up, here.
I’m Only Here For The Food – post is up, here.
[eatingclub] vancouver
Doesn’t TaZte Like Chicken
The Best Damn Food Blog There Is™ – post is up, here.

While we were missing some notables (to me at least) such as Chowtimes, Foodosophy, Eat ‘n About, EatSnapRepeat, (who are all other bloggers I would like to meet), I had a good time at the dinner. I’ll be honest though, I really noticed the age difference. I felt as if I could have been someones kid!

The napkins said Xiang Cuisine, but the restaurants name is Alvin Garden.  I think they should switch back, Alvin Garden just doesn’t seem like a proper name for a Chinese restaurant.

With 13 people total, we decided everyone would pick a dish, with couples picking one dish..or something like that. We actually ended up with 12 things total, with two buckets of rice. When the food started to arrive, it was amusing. Four DSLRS in a row trained on the cameras, and then the Point&Shoots as it went around. No one was allowed to touch it till it made a full circle! I wonder what the other patrons of the restaurant though, but at least I didn’t feel awkward as I wasn’t the only one taking pictures.  That and I was reallllly hungry and having to wait for the food was a little taste of our own medicine, as Sherman said.

First dish, Hunan Style Red-Braised Pork. This was good, very plain and simple, and my mom makes something similar at home too.

Duck Braised with Beer. I couldn’t taste any beer, nor did I really expect to with all that sauce it was swimming in. This was a little spicy, but there was not enough meat! It was so bony.

Dongting Broiled Fish in Chili Soup.  I didn’t touch this till most of it was gone, and so I got bony parts of the fish. Oh well! Such is the problem when there are so many dishes at once, and especially when you have to make sure to get a picture of all of them before you can eat it.

Pan Fried Spicy Chicken. Look at the ridiculous amount of chili peppers there are in the dish. The chicken was fried, absolutely delicious. KimHo ate three of them..or more..he was sweating while eating. Amusing to say the least! He even brought a small face towel to wipe down, haha.

After all the chicken was picked out, all that’s left. I wonder what happens to these? I wonder if someones actually finished all the peppers.

My order/choice, Mapo Tofu. I love Mapo Tofu, it’s so simple but delicious. We ordered it mild, but I would have liked a spicier version.

With all the dishes, I suggested to Sherman we order a soup and so we did. This is what it was called on the menu, Daily Soup Boiled in Crock. There was corn, vegetables, some meat inside.

A dish that is popular in Szechuan cuisine, Pan Fried Green Beans with Minced Pork.

Double Cooked Pork with Garlic and Chili. Abundance of vegetables, and the pork was crispy, which I guess is because of the way it was cooked.

A little break from the food as it came at a very constant rate.  I switched lenses and got a wide shot of the food on the table so far.

More food! Pumpkin cakes. I didn’t get to try this, so I have nothing to say about it.

Steamed Egg with Minced Pork. This was bland to me, but not to say it’s bad.  Just that everything else was spicy and this was bland in comparison. Perhaps if this had came first, then I wouldn’t say that.

Steamed Ling Cod Head with Hunan Chili. The chilis weren’t too spicy here, but I’m not a fan of eating fish head cause there’s very little reward for all the hard work.

Corn Cakes. The only bad point of the dinner. These tasted like steamed cornbread, but with a strange heavy denseness to it. Are these supposed to be good, what’s the point of these?

The bill. For 13 people, we paid $16 each. Not bad!  The dishes all start at about $10 each, but they’re all relatively big and meant for sharing. A lot of families came in during the hour and half we were there, and they were constantly busy.  I would return again, but with family only. It’s not something I would go to with friends as it’s not really stuff they or I would normally eat.

Thanks Sherman for organizing, and everyone else it was nice to meet you all.  I know I was quiet and continued to eat after the rest of you finished..sorry, I eat a lot. =)