Oru - Fairmont Hotel Pacific Rim

(Picture taken from the VancouverSun.com)

My parents and I went to Oru Restaurant a couple of days ago, wanting to check out the new Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel. The design of the hotel and the restaurant was simplistic/minimalistic, but still quite comfortable. To the people who doesn't like the more modern designs, like my mom, the restaurant looks cold, and in her words, "a well designed canteen." I don't know if I agree entirely, but the place is definitely nothing romantic or formal by any standards. So don't try to bring your girlfriend there on a romantic date or anything, but it's a nice environment for a buddies/girls' night out.

Unfortunately, I'll have to report that the food was disappointingly average. The restaurant serves Pan Asian cuisine using local ingredients. Not a very interesting concept if you ask me. Although not with local ingredients, there are too many good Asian restaurants in town to compare to. Although, David Wong, the executive chef of the hotel and restaurant have won many awards in the past, the menu was disappointingly boring. Nothing really stood out screaming, "Order Me!!!"

My mom ordered Lettuce and Pineapple Salad with apple-miso vinaigrette, which was ok, to start and a Lobster Tom Kha Talay with coconut broth. Nothing special about the broth except it's like a mild version of the Tom Kha Gai with a lobster tail dumped in it. My dad had Palm and Grapefruit Salad with coconut vinaigrette, which tasted a little weird, and Nasi Goreng, Indonesian Fried Rice, with Shrimps, that tasted an average-I-can-get-better-elsewhere. I had a little better luck with the Pork Belly Gyoza and Roasted Duck Breast. Both were a little above average, but nothing special to talk about.

I haven't studied their wine list, but it looks decent from the quick glance, and many tables ordered wine, so I'm guessing if you're a drinker, Oru might be a nice place to go to. But then right down the grand staircase, which is going to be oh-so-perfect for weddings, is a very comfy looking lobby lounge. So if drinks is what I'm going for, I'd rather go there than the restaurant.

So all-in-all, I don't recommend going to the Oru Restaurant in the Fairmont Pacific Rim, but would definitely try out the lobby lounge. And if anyone is getting married and wants a grand staircase, this new Fairmont is where to go, because the Four Seasons got rid of theirs after the renovation a couple years ago. Shame on them... But I think the Yew Restaurant in the Four Seasons is much better though. The lobby lounge is also very comfy...

Speaking of the lobby lounge... no wonder I thought the one in the new Fairmont looks familiar. It has that fireplace closely resembling the one in the Four Seasons!!! Sneaky sneaky~~

Oru Restaurant Fairmont Pacific Rim 1038 Canada Place Vancouver, B.C. Tel: 604.695.5500

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Cafe D'Lite

As much as I do not appreciate the hot hot heat in Malaysia and Singapore when I travel there, I've always appreciated their food. Unfortunately, imo, there's no "one-stop-restaurant" in Vancouver where you can get all the best Malaysian and Singaporean food in one restaurant. Fortunately though, there are different restaurants that does a wonderful job in different dishes. And Cafe D'Lite happens to make some very delicious Hainanese Chicken Rice and Singaporean Laksa.

Their Hainanese Chicken Rice is not only the best in the city, but also the best even when compared to many other cities around the world (yes, even in some Asian towns/cities). All their Hainanese Chicken are de-boned, which is very smart, because it make much less mess at a service point of view. If you order the Hainanese Chicken Rice dish, about $9, it comes also with the rice, which is yellowish in color and super flavorful. If you'd like more food, you also have the choice of ordering half a chicken or a full chicken, and however many bowls of rice you'd like.

Their Singaporean Laksa is also excellent. Made with a curry-based soup, it is full of fish balls, fish sticks, tofu puffs, shrimps and, of course, vermicelli. For some reason though, the Laksa almost always taste better when eating in the restaurant than when bought as a takeout item. So I would suggest that if you're going to order Laksa, eat it there. There is no difference for the Hainanese Chicken Rice, however.

My only problem with Cafe D'Lite is their opening hours. It is opened Monday to Thursday at 11AM to 8PM and on Friday to Saturday from 11AM to 9PM. So if you'd like to have dinner there on the weekdays, you'd have to go early. There has been quite a couple of times when we were turned away because we got their after there last order time, which is about 15 to 30 minutes prior to closing. Other than that, it is definitely a great restaurant to go to.

Cafe D'Lite 3144 W. Broadway Vancouver,B.C. Tel: 604.733.8882

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Azia

Somehow my dad heard about the Azia Restaurant in Downtown, and he's been wanting to go ever since. I never expected it to be very good, and it wasn't. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't worth going back to. I mean, what can you ask for when a restaurant serves Chinese, Japanese, Malaysian and Thai cuisine all at once? If a business is just everywhere trying to do everything at the same time, it's just impossible to be good at it.

We ordered a variety of items including sushi, Peking Duck Spring Rolls, Satay, Ebi Mayo, Velvet Cream of Corn Soup, and Hokkien Mee (stir fried noodles). The only dish that was relatively good was the Ebi Mayo, but still, it was nothing compared to the ones you can get in Japanese izakaya restaurants. The spring rolls were super oily, evident of the oil not being hot enough, and they didn't try to get rid of the oil after cooking it. The soup was ok, but it's easy to get the same result with instant soup. The Hokkien Mee was nothing like it's supposed to be, and tasted simply like stir fried noodles with soya sauce, plus some seafood.

Portions are small considering the quality and the pricing. Appetizers are anywhere from $3.95 - $9.95, curry dishes averages at about $13, rice and noodle dishes at about $12, and seafood dishes are even higher.

I won't recommend this restaurant unless your party can't decide on what to eat and would like to have a variety of different things on the menu. As much as the ambiance was good, and the service was average, the food and price really didn't make up for it. I know I certainly won't be going back.

Azia Restaurant 990 Smithe St. Vancouver, B.C. Tel: 604.682.8622

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