Please note that I was invited by Mosaic to try the new Spring menu and that my meal was paid for, however all opinions expressed are my own.
Rather than having a Chef’s Menu, the menu has been revitalized for the Spring with fresh items that epitomize the new season.
We started off with the Pemberton Beef Tartar served with pickled fire roasted spring onions, watercress and sesame tuile ($16). It’s also got a beautiful 64 degree egg sitting a top of it. This was Brian’s appetizer and I think I enjoyed it more than he did, not too sure why but I did like the hint of mustard that gave it a bit of a pop in flavour.
We tried the Market Greens ($10) which I’m going to be honest, I would have never ordered on my own but probably will again when I visit. It’s served with earth apple farms lettuce, pickled rhubarb, kale, salt spring island chèvre in a strawberry vinaigrette. I’ve never been a big fan of fruits in salads, but this salad made me a believer. It’s crispy, slightly sweet (but not too sweet) and so bright, I loved it.
The next dish is the BC Gooseneck Barnacles ($14), which I never knew you could eat up until now. Chef Jo explained to us that these are a bit of a delicacy as Spain likes to import them from us! The barnacles is served in a sherry cream sauce, green garlic and foraged ramps. While the bread on the side was great – I forgot about them because I was enjoying the barnacles and ramps so much. What do these taste like? Like lobster. Really small lobsters, but lobster nonetheless.
My second appetizer is the Papayas ($16) – white spot shrimp, cucumber, papaya puree with cilantro lime fluid gel. Another beautifully plated dish, I loved the bright tastes from the cucumber and papaya. And I am a huge fan of papaya in cooking, so this was definitely a winner to me. The shrimp is cooked to perfection – neither rubbery or too chewy. Brian found the papaya a little overwhelming, but once mixed with the cucumber and cilantro lime fluid gel cleansed his palate.
We also tried the White Asparagus Bisque ($9) served with truffle goat cheese gougeres. I loved the bisque was nice and filling without being too heavy and thick.
While it’s tasty on it’s own, the truffle goat cheese gougeres elevated the taste.
Now onto our main courses – what? Yeah…it was another one of those nights where the food wouldn’t stop coming!
My main dish was the Long Line caught BC Ling Cod ($18), served with artichoke confit, stinging nettles and drizzled in lobster sauce. The cod was juicy and tender and paired well with the bits of lobster on the top.
Brian had the Pemberton Meadows Beef ($24) served with wild foraged mushrooms, creamed kale in a chive bernaise sauce. The beef was tender and melted in our mouths, pair it with a bit of the creamed kale in the bernaise sauce and it’s perfection. Brian absolutely loved the mushrooms – which is not a surprise, but what was most surprising is that he ate a lot of vegetables during this meal. So BRAVO for that!
We finished off our evening with something sweet. Brian had the Strawberry Rhubarb Pavlova served in strawberry jus. It was lovely and sweet and incorporated my favourite fruit. I definitely enjoyed this dessert more out of the two we had.
The second dessert was the Blueberry Goat Cheese Creme Brûlée. Now before you get put off by it (as I slightly was), know that the goat cheese flavour is so subtle, it was actually very enjoyable.
The blueberries really cleaned up the taste and gave it a slight sweetness. I would definitely order this again.
The Spring Menu will be available now until Summer – so you have a little more time than a typical Chef Menu, but don’t wait too long to try these great items out!
