See Us Eat: Pilgrimmage to Vij's, Vancouver, BC

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Pilgrimmage to Vij's, Vancouver, BC

Although we went to Vancouver to visit my sister, going to Vij's was a definite part of the plan from the beginning. We've been hearing about Vij's from my family for a few years now and last Christmas I received the Vij's cookbook, from which we have made and adapted many delicious meals. We've been holding Vij's on this pedestal for a year now and we were very happy that it was everything we had hoped it would be. It was casual, yet elegant. The service was very good--as we were perusing the menu, servers came around offering small tasty treats. And the food. The food was really, really good.

Small Fried Bread with Cumin (gratuit)
A tasty bite of fried goodness that served only to whet our appetites.

Yucca Fries (gratuit)
Another tasty, fried treat.

Lamb, Beef and Paneer Samosas $12.75
These were, quite frankly, the very best samosas we've ever had. Ever. They were packed with meat and paneer, yet somehow tasted light. The pastry was doughy and flaky at the same time. And these samosas were served with a fresh coconut chutney that was interesting and a great complement to the rich samosas.

Spot Prawns and Kale in Coconut Curry $13
This was also very tasty. The spot prawns were sweet and perfectly cooked. We sopped up all of the sauce with the endless supply of fresh naan.

Naan (gratuit)
Soft, doughy and refilled as soon as we finished a basket of it.

Duck with Spicy Mango Sauce $26
The duck was plentiful and had a nice charred taste. It was cooked perfectly and the acidity of the mango nicely complemented the richness of the duck.

Lamb Popsicles with Fenugreek Cream Curry and Turmeric Potatoes and Spinach $26.50
I've made these many, many times from Vij's cookbook and so we had to try the original. Oddly, after I've been tweaking the recipe, I think I actually like my version a little better. My sauce is a little thicker and not quite as salty. Still these were delicious.

Saag Paneer with Punjabi Lentils $22
This was a simple dish, the highlight of which was the housemade paneer. Both dishes were a nice vegetarian contrast to the other dishes that we ordered.