Salmon House on the Hill

My friend is back to work! No more lounging around the house all day playing video games, you! I was really excited for him, mostly because he will be working at a fairly prestigious Vancouver restaurant, preparing amazing food. And I will have to come surprise drop in on him at some point and make him sweat.

Anyways, to celebrate his last Friday free (Pretty much ever. Hullo unlife of a chef.), we visited The Salmon House on the Hill!. He had an old friend there that recommended it, so we decided, why not?

The restaurant is really quite pretty. Tastefully adorned with Native artwork here and there, and a great area to look out from. Unfortunately, from our seat, it was a little too low to see the water.. But still quite tranquil!

We ended up talking with my friend's friend for a little while, and therefore our waiter had a little bit of difficulty serving us (Hate that. So much. I feel for the guy). Still, he did an excellent job, and when we were finally looking at the menu, he promptly stopped by to ensure we got our drinks and knew what was recommended on the menu.

I don't know if this is a temporary special, but they have a 3 course menu for $50 promotion at the moment. And by a 3 course menu, what it really is, is there regular menu. Doesn't matter what you order on it, you can get 3 dishes for $50. It's a good deal, no? Unlike those set course menus, which usually feature something you're not completely keen on.

My friend had the Gewurztraminer, 2008, Red Rooster. Now, my experience with wine is limited. And when I have had some, it's usually been overly sour/rancid in taste.. This however, I thought was excellent. Not too tart, drier but lightly fruity. ...Do I even know what I'm talking about?
Um. (My once over lesson with wine has my pride saying yes, but....)
We'll just say I liked it.

Friend also mentioned something about the amount of saliva you produce directly correlates with how dry or sweet you like your wine. The less saliva you produce, the more sensitive you are to the sourness or sweetness of wine. I may be misquoting, but interesting, hm?

The complimentary bread was served warm (You can throw your authentic "the-french-serve-it-cold" snubbing away, warm bread still tastes better), and instead of butter, was served with a white bean with lemon puree, alongside some olive oil. I try to keep my hands away from the breadbasket, so I can have more room for the ordered dishes, but I loved the dip. Light, creamy, makes me feel better because it wasn't butter~.... (and probably with just as much fat content... if not more; haha)

We were started off with a small amuse bouche. Shrimp served with a small wonton wrapper(?), cilantro, and a puree (of sorts.. I really wish I paid more attention to what the waiter said. He explained it all nice and well, but I was busy looking at how cute the dish was). Refreshing and light in taste. Great way to start off.

Friend's starter was the Salmon House Sampler -- Alder-Grilled BC Salmon, Tomato Ginger Chutney, Candied Salmon Spring Roll, Hoisin Aioli, Smoked Salmon Terrine, Caper Emulsion ($16) .
My friend and I have a little competition going on. Once we order our individual dishes, we have to decide who ordered the better dish in each category... frivolous fun~
But anyways, he won. Hands down. The grilled salmon was light and sweet. The spring roll too was very sweet with a nice crunch to the spring roll. His favourite was the salmon terrine, which, with its creamcheese was more savoury (not warm.. just savoury.. um. umami?). Great flavour pairings, jerk gets 1-0, haha.

My appetizer was the Braised 'BC' Rabbit & Pheasant Tortellini -- B.C. Morel's, Fresh Fava Bean, Truffle Accent, Poached Quail Egg, 'House-Pickled Pearl Onion & Carrot ($15). Friend's friend in the kitchen had told us they were making the tortellini right as we were talking, so I really needed to give it a try. I didn't read the menu closely enough, so I initially thought the quail egg was creme fresh! Imagine my surprise;;

The flavour pairings and overall dish were excellent. The waiter was very courteous in explaining that each element of the dish should be eaten together in each bite to get the most out of the dish. He was very right. The saltiness of the sauce, paired great with the subtlety of the ground rabbit and pheasant (No, not gamey like you would think;), and the meatiness of the mushrooms. A very warm dish, without being overwhelming.

Unfortunately, execution wise, the tortellini shells were quite hard and thick around the edges. I think I may accredit that to the fact they were just making them, and the floor was already bustling with tables. May have been in a rush. It's too bad; And the poached quail egg was done until the centre was no longer liquid at all;; A shame, those small little things that affect a dish. Still, it didn't take too much away, and I licked this up.

With the appetizers neatly tucked away, it was time for the mains. This was my friends dish, the Grilled 'Kettle Ridge' Beef Tenderloin -- Honey Braised Apple & Yukon Gold Potato Ragout, Wild Mushroom, Pearl Onion, Foie Gras Butter ($35). I only had a small bite of this, so while I thought it was pretty decent, I didn't get to really take it in. He said he enjoyed it though.

Technically I guess it was done very well. Perfectly medium rare, nice crisp chips, well done veggies. But it personally didn't wow me. Not to say it was bad in any way. What probably happened was that I was completely overwhelmed by...:

This! Pan Seared 'Queen Charlotte' Halibut -- 'Twice Cooked' Potato Medallions, Braised Baby Beets, Braised Leek & Truffle Butter, Preserved Meyer Lemon  ($32). 
Wow. Just wow. Again the waiter was professional and explained how the dish's flavour pairings worked as a whole, indicating that the lemons, while not too sour, held a sweetness and acidity that should be eaten with every bite of the halibut/ And this -definitely- is a must.must.must. The way the flavours came together was perfect. While the halibut itself (being a lean fish), was a tad dry, once you combined it with the other elements of the dish, it definitely was perfection. Light halibut, sweet lemon, rich braised leeks (the leeks! The leeks! My gosh. I didn't know they were done in truffle butter until putting this post together now, but while I was eating I just couldn't get over how wonderfully rich and creamy they were while still being true to their natural flavour). The beets and potato medallions were standard, but well cooked (and we all know I appreciate a well cooked veg). Outstanding.
For those keeping count, that's 1-1 now. My dish won.

Finally, stuffed full with our mains, it was time to whip out the second stomach. The Fraser Valleys' Straberry and Rhubarb Tart -- elderflower and lemon sorbet, crystallized mint, clear caramel ($10) was my friends dessert. While the tart shell was far too tough on it's own, it lended it's part to the overall dish. The custard and fruit was fresh, light, tart, and paired nicely with the very well done lemon sorbet. The touch of crystallized mint really made a huge difference.

To finish off the night's sweet note, he also paired it with the recommended Pentage Estate, 'Late Harvest'. The recommendation was perfect. It went with the dessert very well.
And as a sidenote, I apologies for the blurry picture. I was too much in a rush to get to my dessert....

The Chocolate Duo -- chocolate pecan tart, expresso(?) gelato, served with a coconut mousse. ($10)! While the sides of my tart were rather dry and crusted (not pleasant), the inside was moist, and worked really well with the gelato. The touch of floral sweetness in the drizzled sauce was a nice extra touch. Along with the coconut mousse, this was absolutely decadent.

To pair it off, I went with the Salmon House Coffee -- frangelico and kahlua ($6). Sugar rim. Yummy. And I'm a fan of any coffee flavoured drink so I was a very happy girl.
Now, we hit a sort of dilemma at this point. Hands down my drink was better, and marginally my dessert was as well. However, if we're considering the drink and dessert as a pairing, we would have to say he won by a margin. My drink and dessert just didn't compliment each other (and that was my fault, because no one ever said they did. We just assumed chocolate and coffee. You can't really go wrong).
So. Final score? 1.5-1.5. And I'm sticking to it D

Great night. Attentive, informative, pleasant and professional service. Good food. Great view. Whats not to like? Sure, it comes out on the pricier side of things, but you're not doing this every night are you?
Thank you so much for the great dinner : ).