604 Foodtography

Where? Vij’s Restaurant on 11th Ave just off of Granville St.

Why? A special 21st birthday dinner for YuWing. Congratulations, you are now legal worldwide!

While we were looking for parking, Kels and Yuwing were there already lining up. The restaurant is open 7 days a week and the doors open at 530pm sharp. Lineups start way before, but don’t fret because the turnover rate is quite quick.

The 6 of us sat at a small table right beside the entrance, which gave us a great view of the rest of the restaurant, and I was hoping for some light from the outdoors, but that quickly faded. It gets dark so early during the fall, I feel I should only eat out for lunch!

While we looked over the menu and decided what to order, some of us wanting identical items but not willing to share, we were supplied with complimentary appetizers such as mini potato puris (below), cassava fries and pakoras. We were also given chai, and the people waiting outside were also given chai to keep them warm while they waited for seats to free up inside.

Vikram, the famous owner and chef of Vij’s himself, came over to take our order. He briefly explained what how the restaurant worked, and how best to enjoy the food that they served. He recommended a couple different mains around the table to share so we could all experience the different tastes. So we all placed our orders, and he also managed to persuade YuWing and Tina started off with some heart attacks. Sounds like a great way to start dinner, right? I’ve no idea how they tasted though..should have tried one!

Punjabi Heart Attack (spicy cashews, raw sugar, paneer and ghee) chased with quinoa salad in lemon dressing – $3.50/per spoon

What I really wanted was this, but I was thwarted. Or saved. There was 3 of these coming to our table already, so I negotiated a trade with Tina that she could have half of what I ordered if I got to have half of her lamb.

Wine marinated lamb popsicles in fenugreek cream curry on turmeric and spinach potatoes – $2y

Vikram Vij’s #1 famous dish, I don’t think I can praise this dish anymore than countless other patrons have done so before me, but dang.. the sauce, the meat, the presentation and the aroma. Everything about it just makes you go yuuuum. Seeing as there were 3 bowls of this around the table, and I’m usually the last one still eating, I completely finished all the sauce from one bowl. I thought about combining the last two bowls of sauce together to take home so I could enjoy it for another meal, but thought better of it.. and as you can probably guess, I regretted it.

Jeff ordered this and to be honest..I don’t really remember much about it. Neither does he….haha. The presence of the lamb popsicles on the table probably took away from what probably is a very good dish by itself, but it just couldn’t compare against such stiff competition. That and I likely only had one bite, I just couldn’t tear myself away from my dish and the lamb popsicles.

Grilled pork tenderloin and baby back ribs (naturally raised) with pistachio and glazed orange on split pea and spinach mash – $27.50

Finally, this is what I ordered. Swimming in a slightly creamy tomato sauce, the meat was so tender, it literally fell apart when prodded with a fork!

Beef shortribs braised in yogurt, fenugreek and cumin curry – $27

Throughout the night, we were given a steady supply of fresh naan and basmati rice. The naan was…mm, satisfactory. I was expecting pillowy but what we received was flat and normal. It did its job though. I lost count of how many times we had to get both items refilled.

The high price point may be a deterrent for frequent visits, but it’s nice to treat yourself sometimes. Really, when you look at how generous the portions are, the price is justifiable as you can easily split it into 2 or even 3 meals. The total length of our visit was 1 hour and 30 minutes and not a minute of it felt rushed despite the lineup and the business that was going on around us.