Cuchillo Vancouver is a new new Latin-themed restaurant in the fringes of Gastown and Downtown Eastside, landmarked by a skull  neon awning. Barely opened a month and there’s a crowd forming already and protesters outside, green with envy, for city revival and booming business. Oh, what credit does that give them. But I digress. Service is friendly, food is top shelf – perhaps this is what they call ‘high end’.

Inside exposed brick and wooden communal high top tables fill the center; skull themed tiles surround the kitchen and the smell of delectable warms the space.

Mojito: one damn fine drink with all the essential aesthetics.

White Sangria: Pears, pineapples, grapes, apples.

Ceviche – Mixto Traditionale: octopus tiradito, side stripe prawn, rockfish, mussels y calms, sweet potato puree. I felt like I was a at seaside market in Spain filled with colorful flavors.

Ceviche – Local Albacore Tuna Y Pipian Rojo: warm Peruvian double smoked bacon causa. Light delicate flavors highlighting the buttery tuna with bursts of bright smoked bacon. The potato stack at the bottom was unexpectedly distinctive with seasoning.

Taqueria – Mole Lamb: albondigas sardo parmesan browned garlic popcorn. We appreciated the gameyness from the lamb meatball which was only elevated with the toasted garlic. The use of the popcorn was clever and at times I almost thought it to be cracklin skin softed by sauce.

Taqueria – pulled duck y cracklin’ roasted garlic, blackberry habanero jam. The duck shallows in comparison to the lamb tacos. The flavors are subtle and not as pungent. The best would be to have the duck first followed by the lamb.

Pork Belly Confit: maple chipotle,  tamarind glaze, chicaron, patacones, minced onion y jalapeno. Tender soft pork belly in a sweet-spicy sauce. The sweet yam patty is slightly crispy with stickiness. And contrasted with fried pork rinds. The sauce however was  too overdressed, overpowering the natural flavor of the pork… Like arriving to a beach picnic in full prom attire.

There was only so much we could sample in one sitting. We must make a feast out of this sometime and try the other dishes. For now, I’ll have to just reminiscence and drool over the photos.

Cuchillo Vancouver
URL: http://www.cuchillo.ca/
Cuisine: Modern Pan-Latin, Latin American, Mexican
Hours:
Mon 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Tue 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Wed 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Thu 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Fri 5:00 pm – 12:00 am
Sat 5:00 pm – 12:00 am
Sun 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm

261 Powell St, Vancouver, BC V6A 2Z1
(604) 559-7585

6:45: we just arrived at Pok Pok Portland, I asked Nancy if it was jam action PACKED with people waiting for a table, what should we do? She answered, we’ll wait… It better be good…

6:50: I’m in a pretty good mood, there’s a bit of a wait… 1.5-2 hours. Should be sooner than expected. At least they have a bar (Whiskey Soda Lounge Portland) across the street, which serves the same Ike Vietnamese Chicken Wings as Pok Pok. Looking forward to it.

7:15: Ordered viet coffee, it’s weaksauce but that’s ok… There was more ice than actual coffee. Not the best caffine if you need to stay awake! They are probably better with cocktails. The “drinking vinegars“ was pretty good… I guess… If you like lychee syrup. Please stir vigorously to mix the saturated sugar.

Plaa Lek Thawt Krob 3: Deep fried dried anchovies with sri racha sauce. I wasn’t expecting much of these little fishies. I wasn’t even expecting them to be small. But seriously, TINY is an understatement. I can easily buy a pound bag of these in Chinatown for less.

Ike’s Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings (regular or spicy) 12.50: Same wings as the infamous chicken wings across the street at Pok Pok. We ordered spicy. So what is the big deal or the hype anyways? Basically some wings marinated in fish sauce, heavy soy, very salty that is charred and even slightly dry. I can’t believe we waited for 2 hours to try this. FML

8:15: We tried to inquire about the status of our table. Our server was rude and told us, “it says 1.5-2 hours, just wait!” We drove for all this way from Vancouver for 6 hours, reading reviews it was good, waited for this long… we debated whether we should call it quits and leave. Alas, we stayed till the bitter end.

8:30: Servers came by repeatedly asking if we were still working on the wings and want to kick us out. It’s windy and cold and the place wasn’t packed. Clearly I am not in the position to wait outside for my table across the street to clear up.

8:50: it is 2 hours, we were about to leave. Grab pho or McDonald’s for all I cared. Another server came by and told us our table was ready. Our wait was not 1.5 – 2 hours. Please gauge using the longest time on the slip!

Kudos, for Pok Pok Portland to utilize a bar location across the street to lock in customers. Once you’re in so deep, you do wonder if it’s worth it to leave or just to tough it out. I’ve learnt my lesson, to move on… Sometimes it’s simply not worth it.

Whiskey Soda Lounge was alright on its own. Not the best, but I suppose it’s a swanky place for the area it is in. Havana (Commercial Drive) or The Union Bar (Chinatown Strathcona) in Vancouver beats this any day!!

Now let’s see if Pok Pok Portland PDX lives up to its name. We heard this restaurant Pok Pok is one of the best in town. (Actually there’s another in NYC too)

We are waiting for a table and it’ll take 2 hours… We are tired, starving but we Nancy is dedicated to try. If Pok Pok disappointed, I’m going to be so chocked, I might flip the table.

3131 SE Division St
Portland, OR 97202
(503) 232-0102
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Sometimes little things makes me really happy. Take for example my discovery of Seok Gi Si Dae Korean BBQ Restaurant 석기시대 in Coquitlam. I’m excited because it closely resembles joints I’ve been to in South Korea.

Seok Gi Si Dae Korean BBQ Restaurant 석기시대. This authentic Korean restaurant is located on Clark Road (North Road)/ Como Lake beside KFC. It is not glamorous nor trendy but it offers really authentic Korean cuisine. You will find Lee Hyori (KPOP FINKL member if you’re wondering! Beauty!) plastered on the walls and water bottles! Their menu is limited and doesn’t offer you the moon but their specialty BBQ meats are pork belly $15.95 and boneless beef short ribs $20.97 / person and comes with miso soup, rice, and lettuce to wrap your meat in. If your favourite Korean BBQ restaurant does not offer you lettuce or greens, you should ask for it. No place should save a few cents and discount you this experience.

Step to eat Korean BBQ

1. Rip the lettuce in half along the stem
2. Place a small piece of cooked meat
3. Add some kimchi, bean sprouts, garlic or other garnish in
4. Add some bean paste or chili paste
5. Wrap
6. Eat!

The overall experience is explosive but the lettuce lightens the greasiness of it all.

There are two separate seating areas – the Westernized table settings and the traditional Korean table settings where you are sitting cross-legged on the floor on cushions. I hope you are flexible or have been going to Yoga for Stiff Bodies because what I found amusing was Dave and a lot of my guy friends had issues sitting over long periods. They ended up standing and walking around. The walls are decorated with Korean lettering which KPOP bops in the background.

Seok Gi Si Dae is a family owned mom and pop restaurant and their son helps out doing the heavy lifting – transported the yummy goodness to your table and the BBQ stoves. Service can get slow if it is really busy, but they are super friendly and attentive is hard to knock them on that. You have to understand. Good food requires patience!

Korean Egg Soup

Korean Miso Soup

Kimchi Tofu Soup

Seafood Pancake

Kimchi Fried Rice

Fry it till the rice starts to char a little. Crispy and a lil spciy. Nom!

Hite Korean Beer tastes quite similar to a Kokanee. The mark turns blue at optimal tasting temperature!
Stir Fried Chicken Gizzards

Anyone want to teach me Korean? I’ve always wanted to learn!! I’m serious!

Calpis Yogurt drinks are served with the bill! Love it!

Seok Gi Si Dae Korean BBQ Restaurant 석기시대
URL: n/a
Cuisine: Korean, BBQ

Hours:
late night

602 Clarke Rd, Coquitlam, BC V3J
(604) 937-0330