Photo Credit: Fabulously Innovative Marketing
Located on the foot of Granville Island is the Whet Kitchen + Bar which has been in existence for a year and a half but on the whole, remains relatively unknown unless you’re a frequent visitor to Granville Island. I’ve noticed it but haven’t had an opportunity to try it so when VANEATS.ca asked me to preview the #WHETurAppetite, it was “Hello seafood, I’m in”.
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“Coconut Scallop Ceviche” – hand peeled shrimp, citrus juices, ginger, jalapeño, corn chips, tobiko & ikura
Is eating something this pretty against the laws of foodies? Well, it should be. I loved the presentation and flavours as it the coconut flavours made this ceviche seem so tropical and worked hand-in-hand with the ginger, jalapeno and lime, but it appeared to be more of a soup as there seemed to be more liquid than seafood. The roe is a nice touch on top, but I wished there was more scallops and shrimps as what I did taste was enough to tease my palate.
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“Prawn, Shrimp, & Wild Mushrooms Salad” – pan seared prawns and wild local mushrooms, hand peeled shrimp, arugula, grapefruit, taro root crisps, lemon-hazelnut vinaigrette
This dish was an absolute winner if you adore mushrooms as there are oodles of them in this salad. Because the lemon-hazelnut vinaigrette is non-creamy, it just seemed to go with the prawn and shrimp which were perfectly cooked. I also liked the taro chips and wished there were more.
Because I came with Cassandra Anderton (@Goodlifevan), we tried one of everything but in the package which is designed for one, you get your choice of either the Crispy Duck Leg or the Red Honey-Curry Coho”, wild BC Coho.
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“Crispy Duck Leg”, confit of Fraser Valley duck leg, sweet chilli ginger sauce, yam & plantain chips, sesame seeds, grilled plums.
Because I’ve had Duck Confit at Cru and Mistral Bistral, I have to admit I had rather high expectations for this dish as it’s usually succulent, tender with the duck meat being cooked in duck breast fat and marinated for days on end. So colour me surprised, as I found this version dry and could barely taste the sweet chilli ginger sauce which could have added so much to the duck meat and would have been a great contrast to the flavour of the grilled plums.
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Red Honey-Curry Coho”, wild BC Coho, saffron yoghurt, hot pickled lime puree, candied almonds, cinnamon market vegetable
There was a lot of spices competing with each other in this dish rather than acting in unison and somehow the fenugreek seemed to win. What I did like though was the pickled lime puree and thought perhaps this should have been the main ingredient for the rub for the fish as it was spicy and flavourful and demonstrated Chef Peter Gray’s adventurous culinary efforts.
This package does come with “2 Sleeves of Angry Scotch Ale”, Russell Brewing Company’s strong, dark ale with dominant malt accent that originated in Edinburgh. Made with Scottish specialty malts including Peated Malt imparting a slight smoky character to the beer.
Chef Peter Gray has an extensive experience having worked in the kitchens of Seasons In the Park, Havana, Caderos and Sakura. I applaud his efforts in trying new flavours and textures and in utilizing local sustainable products and expect that with a little fine tuning that these dishes could be extraordinary.
This 4 Item #WHETurAppetite Dining Pass with WHET Kitchen + Bar is available from VANEATS.ca for $30 and can be used between October 17th, 2012 – January 17th, 2013.
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