Fairmont Hotel Vancouver

EVENT | Little Black Dress Gala at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver by Jenn Chan

Little Black Dress Gala

 

The Little Black Dress Gala is held annually to support the Help Change My City Alliance.  Their focus is providing mentorships to troubled and underprivileged youth within Vancouver.  Additionally, HCMC and LBD Gala award bursaries to those seeking higher education and help youth find employment.  Some scholarship recipients and beneficiaries of the Gala were in attendance.  Stories of community involvement were told by five incredibly talented and intelligent young women.  LBDGala used this as an engaging opportunity to bridge the gap between charitable event and the cause it supports.

 

The Gala is held on the beautiful conference level of the Vancouver Fairmont Hotel.  It seems that no detail was spared, you ascend the grand staircase and are greeted by an artist live painting a canvas for silent auction, there is a photo wall for some professional and IG pics to be snapped.  We opted to grab a glass of wine from the lounge and explore the silent auction items before the fashion show started.  There were some more unique items up for bid, such as a hand-crafted leather purse, unique jewelry and various gift bags.  There was a wide variety of art up for grabs by local artists, it really made me wish I had more wall space (and a better understanding of good art), but honestly, they we’re pretty and I was happy to appreciate them at the Gala before settling into the fashion show.

 

 

Little Black Dress Gala
Little Black Dress Gala
Little Black Dress Gala
Little Black Dress Gala
Little Black Dress Gala

 

Fashion shows with alternating designers are kind of like a grab bag (which I love), you’re going to like some things, you’re going to love others, and there’s the potential that you’ll get something that confuses you (but you’ll likely end up wanting in 6 months, because along with art, I also don’t really understand fashion or fashion trends).  Most importantly there is something there for everyone.  For the most part the designs hung out heavily in the love/like arena, combined with the killer music and personality of the models it was a lot of fun and a great way to start the night, bubbly in hand.  I have to comment on the variety of women and body types showcased at the event.  It was true to the causes mission to empower real women and a refreshing take on beauty.  A++ for model selection and the message it sends to young women. 

 

The fashion show ends and we ventured through the grand hall taking a chance for a few more photo ops.  We made sure to stop at the paper flower wall where everyone was helping each other get the perfect group or selfie shot.  After photos it was time for drinks and dancing.  Selection of beverages were fair and nice to see BC wineries such as Mission Hill on the docket.  Unlike some gala’s I’ve been to this one was straight up fun!!!  Whoever hired the DJ deserves a solid pat on the back.  There is nothing better than a night out with friends where solid throwbacks come on.  By the end of the night we were tired, a little tipsy and ready to get home to our beds but we we’re dragged back to dance song after song.  I can’t remember the last time I got home after 1 am and on Saturday morning I was unlocking my front door at 3:30 am.  A very, very good sign.

 

Little Black Dress Gala Fashion Show
Little Black Dress Gala Fashion Show
Little Black Dress Gala Fashion Show
Little Black Dress Gala Fashion Show
Little Black Dress Gala Fashion Show
Little Black Dress Gala Fashion Show
Little Black Dress Gala Fashion Show
Little Black Dress Gala Fashion Show

 

The LBDGala supports local youth, and under privileged members of the community through philanthropic and innovative methods.  They put on a great event for those just getting into the world of Galas, it’s entertaining, fun, and welcoming.

 

Little Black Dress Gala After Party
Little Black Dress Gala After Party
Little Black Dress Gala

 

For more information on next years event check out their website http://littleblackdressgala.ca/

 

 

 
Words: Amanda Scott
Photos: Jenn Chan
 

Valentine's Day Menu: Notch8 at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver by Jenn Chan

Notch8 Valentine's Day Menu

Notch8 Valentine's Day Menu

 

Our server Kristina was a gem! Colloquial, but with a sophisticated edge and endless kindness. She suggested a couple of cocktails for us. JC had the Bubbles and Berries: Finlandia Vodka, fresh raspberries, fresh lemon, Sumac Ridge Sparkling White Wine. Champagne based cocktails are a crap shoot. Generally they'll mask the offensiveness of the $5 bottle of champagne with fruits and syrups and what-have-you, but Notch8 does things right and the result was a delicious, well balanced concoction. I had the Lilloet Daisy Zubrówka: fresh lemon, blueberry syrup and elderflower liqueur served in a tiki mug. It was sweet and absolutely delicious, elderflower is my bae!

 

Bubbles & Berries Cocktail

Bubbles & Berries Cocktail

The Lillooet Daisy Cocktail

The Lillooet Daisy Cocktail

 

The long weekend is owing to BC's newest statutory holiday, Family Day which, to my mind, will be Premier Christy Clark's only positive legacy. You'd be hard pressed to find anything else nice to say about her tenure. From being the only BC Premier to lose her own riding to her trying to sell the rights to mine our natural gas resources to foreign interests... you get the idea, I'm not a fan, but for letting us turn up on a Sunday we salute you. I guess.

 

The first course was called Roses by the Sea and for good reason. Rose poached shellfish, caviar, rose petal creme fraîche, green apples, rosewater mist. I had to stop Jenn a few times to alert her to the deliciousness of the bite I'd just had. Crab meat with caviar, shrimp with green apple or scallop with rose petal crème fraîche... that wasn't even all the incredible combinations in this one dish!? Amuse bouche... This was only the amuse bouche!? Right then I knew we were in for a good night! It was paired, quite elegantly, with a Kanazawa Sakura rosé. Strawberry notes dominate, but in a good way, not in a 14 year-old's first $5 strawberry wine kind of way.

 

Roses by the Sea + Kanazawa Sakura Rosé

Roses by the Sea + Kanazawa Sakura Rosé

Roses by the Sea - rosé poached shellfish, caviar, rose petal crème fraîche, green apples, rosewater mist

Roses by the Sea - rosé poached shellfish, caviar, rose petal crème fraîche, green apples, rosewater mist

 

 

Stop it Chef Will! Just stop. We came to Notch8 a few weeks ago to highlight their Dine Out Vancouver 2017 menu and Chef Will wowed us with his presentation; a frozen pond inspired oyster dish. Today he came out again, thanked us profusely for our previous post, and presented us with a 62 degree egg, beef tartare, uni and sea buck thorn gelee all served in a glass, smoked-filled globe. Stop it Will! It came with nori chips, they themselves would have been absolutely incredible in their own, and the tartare was hands down, no question, the best I've ever had! The egg, once pierced, oozed into the raw beef and formed a cacophony of savoury flavours. I mouthgasmed.


Chef Will Special

Chef Will Special

Chef Will Special
Chef Will Special
Chef Will Special

 

 

Reeling from first two dishes Chef Will brought out Notch's Savory Tart: foie gras, duck confit, sous vide quail egg, candied hazelnut and brandy apricot compote. This is not the slimy, bitter liver I was forced to sit at the table, as a young boy, until I ate it all. This is foie gras, fat liver. I know that translation isn't going to inspire a ton of food lust, but paired with a Meyer Family Pinot the two combined perfectly not unlike the Sedin twins or peanut butter and jelly or oxygen and human life. I would gladly choose to eat nothing else for the rest of my life regardless of the nutritional value. That's all I have to say, go get some!

 

Savoury Tart + Meyer Family Pinot

Savoury Tart + Meyer Family Pinot

Savoury Tart - foie gras, duck confit, sous vide quail egg, candied hazelnut, brandy apricot compote

Savoury Tart - foie gras, duck confit, sous vide quail egg, candied hazelnut, brandy apricot compote

 

To Share and to Savor: dry aged beef strip loin, cognac jus, black truffle, gold leaf butter and marrow roasted potatoes. Jenn called it the "best steak I've ever had". An inch thick, aged striploin bloody as can be and as delicious as any striploin I've ever had! I'll acquiesce to the fact that the mashed potatoes were definitely top five of my life. Bone marrow anything is delicious and this was the first time that flavour had been infused into mashed potatoes and it was triumphant!! This platter itself would have been enough for 3-4 people. The fact that it's just one of many dishes on this Valentine's Day menu at Notch8 shows the caliber of cuisine they're determined to push out. As previously mentioned we attended Notch for Dine Out. Unequivocally it was our favourite of the Dine Out festival and it will be a go-to for the rest of our lives. It's simply that good!

 

To Share and to Savour - dry aged beef striploin, cognac jus, black truffle, gold leaf, butter, marrow roasted roots

To Share and to Savour - dry aged beef striploin, cognac jus, black truffle, gold leaf, butter, marrow roasted roots

To Share and to Savour

 

And now to discuss the Chocolate Cave. About halfway into the grand ballroom that is Notch8 you smell it... it's not what the Rock is cooking it's chocolate. Maybe someone ordered something at a table nearby I thought. NO. It's an entire room at the back of the restaurant where the walls and every offering is chocolate. CHOCOLATE! I had to waddle down the steps due to over consumption, but there was still room for a chocolate chip cookie, red velvet cake, banana flambé, chocolate peanut brittle and truffles... omg you get it, they rolled us home! Luckily we live a 2 minute walk and no dogs had desecrated  the sidewalk so we arrived at our condo clean and satisfied. When I lay in my bed I'm blessed to enjoy a beautiful view of Hotel Vancouver's stunning architecture and knowing Notch is contained within those walls makes me smile. And hungry, it also makes me hungry! Do yourself a favour and pay them a visit!

 

The Chocolate Cave

The Chocolate Cave

The Chocolate Cave
The Chocolate Cave
The Chocolate Cave
The Chocolate Cave