Seafood — Blog — Jenn Chan Photography

Spot Prawn Series: Hapa Izakaya Coal Harbour / May 30, 2016 by Jenn Chan

65% of the 2,450 metric tonnes of Spot Prawns harvested annually in BC come from the waters between Vancouver Island and the Vancouver. How lucky are we to live in this great land! Seriously. Just take a moment to appreciate our cultural bounty!

Hapa Izakaya in Coal Harbour does an incredible Spot Prawn! Their Spot Prawn menu is straight to the point; a sashimi appetizer and a Spot Prawn Mushiyaki entrée. If you like Spot Prawns and you like sashimi then you can't help but appreciate their incredibly fresh prawns served on ice with lemons and limes accompanied by their heads, deep fried! The prawns were pulled from the water that day and were incredibly sweet. The heads, which I generally disregard, were very tasty in their light tempura batter and deep fried perfectly.

Spot Prawn Sashimi with Deep Fried Heads

Before our entrée arrived our feast was brought out for our inspection. Lively and wriggling their freshness was verified by eyewitness account. They are cooked in the traditional Japanese Mushiyaki style, translates to 'steaming cooking' in English and came out cooked perfectly. The mixture of soy, garlic and butter was the perfect compliment and the dish, with, or perhaps in spite of its simplicity, was near perfect.

Spot Prawn Mushiyaki in Clear Cooking Film to be steamed

The restaurant is lovely, the location is excellent, a mere stone's throw to the Burrard Inlet and the cruise ship terminal, the wait staff were polite and genuine and the food and drink is reasonably priced and the selection well varied; something for everyone! Do yourself a favour and head down there Rumour has it their Happy Hour, sorry Hapa Hour, is incredible. Could be a good way to dip your toe in the pool!

Words: Scott Allan
Photos: Jenn Chan

Top Patios in Vancouver Series: Bridges / May 21, 2016 by Jenn Chan

Bridges is that big, yellow building you see down below as you cross the Granville Street Bridge. "That look neat", you say to yourself, "I should definitely go there sometime!" Days turn into weeks, weeks into months, yet every time you cross that bridge the giant, yellow restaurant beckons like a seductive siren on the high seas. "Granville Island is so touristy, too many people", you tell yourself when the guilt of not following through creeps in, "maybe when summer's over and things quiet down."

Did you know that, in the area in and around David Lam Park, you can park your car for free, forever? A quick $3 trip across False Creek on the water taxi, a pleasure in itself, and you're in the hustle and bustle, you're part of the scene, you see why people travel the globe to visit our great city! Do yourself a favour and visit the Island tomorrow! Did you know people in Sweden dream of one day doing so? That Russians, in a far-off, smoke-filled bar, are discussing all the art studios and farm to table restaurants?

The first thing you notice about Bridges when you walk through its grand entryway are the smiling faces. The hostesses are happy, the waitresses are happy and the people behind the small ice cream counter, the Sugar Bay, serving Bridges house made gelato, are happy. And you'll be happy too, trust me :)

We took our seats on the patio, overlooking posh marinas and the iconic Burrard and Granville Bridges, and ordered a couple of cocktails: a Strawberry Crush and an Italian Spritz. The former consisting of Vodka, Peach Schnapps, muddled cucumber and strawberry and the latter Aperol, Prosecco and soda; refreshing and delicious!

Much to our delight the Spot Prawn season had started that very day! The fishing vessels dock 100 metres from where we sat in the warm, afternoon sun and, we were proudly informed, the Spot Prawns in the appetizer we were about to enjoy were pulled from the water 3 hours earlier. Set mouths to drool! Lightly poached and served with a few minimalistic lemons and nothing else. Nothing else was needed! If you haven't had Spot Prawns sprint to Bridges first thing tomorrow and give them a Google right now!

Our entrées consisted of Smoked Salmon Pizza with Onions and Capers (hold the onions) and the Baked Lobster with fresh green beans and house made Focaccia. The pizza was incredible, the crust light, crisp and fresh and the salmon delicious! The lobster, all 1 1/4 LBs of it, was delicious! Fresh, plump and perfectly baked. The craftsmen at Bridges even took the time to pre-crack the delicious crustacean so as to make my complete, inelegant inhalation of them much easier! A perfect 10/10!

For dessert we indulged in the decadent, house made Pavlova and their famous Turtle Pie. Pavlova is a culinary delight! A house made meringue with a scoop of similarly Bridges made vanilla ice cream, covered in fudge and surrounded by fresh strawberries. It is an 13/10, worth a 2 hour drive, no, a 10 hour drive, in a blizzard, under gunfire. The Turtle Pie, woefully neglected until the Pavlova was completely gone, is a delightful caramel, chocolate and pecan pie. Itself a lovely dessert and well worth an order!

In all because of the surroundings, the top notch service, the incredible food and the masterfully concocted drinks Bridges is a must go!

Words: Scott Allan
Photos: Jenn Chan