Tour De Feast | Casual Contemporary Delight
There are a lot of awesome places to check out in the North Shore area, but because it's fairly far from where Q and I live we very rarely head out there. A couple of weeks ago we were invited to check out Savour at the Lonsdale Quay and it was amazing to try out the food vendors there. Coincidentally, North Shore Tourism invited us shortly after to explore the eating scene in the area peripheral to Lonsdale Quay - we happily obliged! A friend of mine had tried Tour De Feast before and raved about it, so we were very excited to try it out too. When Q and I got to Tour De Feast, we were immediately struck by how homey it looked from the outside and inside (Q: I think I would use the word intimate instead of homey). [caption id="attachment_4407" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Inside Tour de Feast[/caption] The space isn't very large and the space is unassuming - it reminded me of a cozy cafe (which is kind of what they go for during the lunch hour). [caption id="attachment_4410" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Feels like a cafe, but ambience of a cozy restaurant[/caption] With the lights dim and some mellow background tunes, the ambience was both casual and elegant at the same time (great date location!). (Q: I definitely agree on it being a great date plaec! It is not so dim that you cannot read the menu nor was the music too loud that you can't have a proper conversation). I'd say the feel is like a more casual version of Pied a Terre on Cambie. Because it was a very stormy night (Q: more like monsoon down pour...) , it was a bit quieter than usual. We were told that the restaurant is typically packed (Q: Although, a friend mentioned that when he was here for lunch, he was the only customer during lunch hour); today, we were able to take up a 4-person table and make good use of the space. [caption id="attachment_4406" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Dinner Menu[/caption] Tour De Feast recently revamped their menu a bit. They've added some dishes that were traditionally only offered on their daily specials and also incorporated more game meat into their repertoire - for example their Wild Duo includes Venison and Bison. You can check out their dinner menu here! Making everything from scratch, Tour De Feast's main philosophy behind the food is the combination of traditional French cooking techniques with contemporary ideas. The menu gives you a great sense of that, and the dish I ordered (more on that in a bit!) is a prime example. [caption id="attachment_4408" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Drinks Menu[/caption] As much as I would have loved to enjoy a glass of red with my meal, the crazy pouring rain made me reconsider. Driving in this stormy weather is pretty tough! Next time, though, I will definitely explore some of Tour De Feast's drink menu too. [caption id="attachment_4409" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Daily Special[/caption] Our server at Tour De Feast pointed out the special written on the black board. They rotate out their specials daily, as these are major experiments that are dependent on what fresh ingredients they source on the day. Just reading that special (which is what I ordered by the way) it sounded quite experimental! A basket of bread is good, but having a basket of warm bread is essential (I really hate cold bread). Few restaurants seem to do the balsamic vinegar/olive oil combination to go with bread and instead opt for butter - it's a shame because I feel that the vinegar/oil combo opens up my appetite more than slathering on butter. (Q: of that note, this olive oil has a bitter after taste, unlike the super tasty olive oil I tried at Hawksworth. Otherwise, the bread was so lovely to dip in! It was very nice it came immediately after we ordered! The warm bread certainly perked my appetite! ) [caption id="attachment_4411" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Bread Basket[/caption] After we devoured the bread (Q: like inhaled them in 5 min), our appetizer arrived. We ordered the Octopus 2 Ways. (Q: I wonder if our server was watching us eat. Really as soon as the last bit of crumbs were gone, this came!) [caption id="attachment_4412" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Octopus 2 Ways ($14)[/caption] Octopus 2 Ways is a beautiful amalgamation of deep fried octopus rillette, braised octopus, squid ink creme fraiche, proscuitto crisps with zatar spice. What immediately caught my eye was the presentation. The dish is incredibly attractive! [caption id="attachment_4413" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Visually beautiful dish, and a large appetizer![/caption] My first bite in the braised octopus tentacles had me going for more right away. It's very different from the kind of chewy and fishy octopus that I'm used to (Q: he is used to the Chinese dim sum or night market kind). The braised octopus was very tender and surprisingly very balanced in taste. My palate isn't sophisticated to taste the squid ink, but it seemed to be the piece that evened out the "octopus taste" and lime juice. (Q: I am not a fan of octopus so I tasted minimal of this dish. I have to say, the octopus is very tender and I don't have to give my teeth a good work out before eating it) In contrast to the super soft and tender braised octopus, the deep fried octopus rillette provided a completely different texture and taste. It was akin to a crab cake, but made using octopus. I found the rillette to be much brighter in taste, as it seemed to incorporate more lemon juice (Q: C and I were wondering what was that acidity. I thought it was more of the Japanese rice vinegar. We had to ask the server what it was in the end). Unlike crab cakes, I found the rillette to be lighter. Overall, amazing dish - highly recommend ordering this one just for the wow factor! Oh and by the way, the prosciutto crisps were probably the crispiest I've ever had. (Q: it was awesome! That was the first item I immediately went for!) I was a bit torn between the Confit Duck Cassoulet and the Special (Braised Red Wine Lamb Shank). Our server suggested I go with the special if I wanted to try something different and it was easily the best decision I made all night. [caption id="attachment_4415" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Braised Red Wine Lamb Shank ($30 Special)[/caption] The bar was set high with the Octopus 2 Ways, but already the presentation of the Lamb Shank suggested that I was in for a treat. Tour De Feast's Braised Red Wine Lamb Shank was served with an impressive arrangement of saffron quinoa, paella, Dungeness crab, coho salmon marsels, mussel and clam (Q: it was just A LOT OF FOOD). This was my first time ever having lamb with seafood - such a strange idea! Well you know what? It works, and it works really really well. Let's start with the lamb. The braised lamb shank was impressively meaty and incredibly rich in flavour. What I found quite different from braised lamb that I've had in the past is the Tour De Feast's braised lamb was not fall-off-the-bone tender; rather, it retained some buoyancy and bite to it. For me, that worked wonderfully with the already fairly formless quinoa and crab - I wanted to bite into that meat! The other impressive feat was somehow preparing the lamb such that it had nearly no gaminess to it at all! (Q: I generally hate lamb because of the gaminess. I tried a bite and was super surprised that it doesn't have that! I even went in with my fork for a few more bites! It's pretty amazing I ate lamb. It is flavorful and tender!) [caption id="attachment_4416" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Large lamb shank with salmon, crab, mussels, and quinoa[/caption] Tour De Feast did not skimp on the amount of seafood, at at $30 this is a ridiculous good value. The crab was fresh (Q: and plentiful!), and the paella flavour was absorbed into the the fluffy bed of quinoa that managed to retain a hint of saffron. Mussels, clams, and salmon completed this dish - the only thing I was missing was a glass of red wine (Q: next time when it isn't raining cats and dogs)! Q made her decision surprisingly quickly - she had the Hen and Gnocci which was half a cornish hen with housemade gnocchi, wild mushrooms, carrot puree and prawns. [caption id="attachment_4417" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Hen & Gnocchi ($24)[/caption] Just like my lamb dish, Q's dish was fairly large and incorporated both land meat and seafood. I found the gnocci incredibly delicate, and packed with some interesting spices which gave it an interesting spiciness. (Q: I just found the gnocci incredibly mushy...but flavor is there! The texture isn't what I like). The Hen meat was very tender, and its skin was crispy - it seemed as if it were roasted (Q: crispy skin is always a bonus to me! The tenderness and moisture of the meat on the hen varies but it is not extremely noticeable). Wild mushrooms packed a lot of rich flavours (Q: a lot of assorted mushrooms, they even threw in some shrimps and a bouqet de garni.). [caption id="attachment_4418" align="aligncenter" width="625"] They don't skimp on the shrimp![/caption] Another solid choice! (Q: flavored with strong spices such as cinnamon, bay leaves and coumin) Part way through our meal, our server brought out an additional side - butternut squash chips. Fantastic crisps! (Q: OMG SO GOOD! I wish they give us more....) [caption id="attachment_4419" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Butternut Squash Crisps[/caption] We took our time with the entrees, as both dishes were so full of complex flavours and so large in portions. Somehow, we managed to make room to fit in a dessert too! (Q: we debated a long time over getting dessert or not as it was almost painful to finish our entrees!) Q has recently developed a super craving for all-desserts lemony, so the Lemon Tart was a natural choice. (Q: after all that rich food, something sour and resfreshing always seems like a good idea to cut down the grease!) [caption id="attachment_4420" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Lemon Tart ($8.50)[/caption] Consistent with the rest of their dishes, Tour De Feast makes a beautifully presented decadent traditional Lemon Tart with a twist. Their Lemon Tart has a fantastically tangy lemon custard topped with a brulee style layer of hard caramel (Q: I was so happy when he said brulee style!!!!!!!). (Q: the top pieces is like a churro flavored pita chip. It is crispy and light with cinnamon and powdered sugar. C had a bite and I think I finished the rest because it was so tasty! The lemon curd was tangy and not overly sweet. It is not one of those artificial canned lemon stuff. The brulee top added a crispy texture component to the whole tart. On the sides of the dishes are raspberry sauce and honey, both delightful and fresh. C and I just ate the sauce on their own. The only thing that could be work on is the tart itself. It was too dense and moist. It didn't taste like a tart shelf nor was it more like a short bread either.) If you can level up lemon tart like this, I can only dream of what their other desserts look and taste like... Overall, Tour De Feast is what I would consider a hidden gem. Their food is amazing and high quality, the portions are excellent, the ambience is chic, the service is attentive, and the price is very reasonable. It ticks all the boxes for me, and I would consider Tour De Feast one of the best restaurants I've eaten at all year! Go and check them out! (Q: service was slightly slow simply because there were only 2 people at the front of the house and one of them constantly helping out in the back. We were well looked after, water was never empty. I think they are still working out a few minor kinks but nothing to criticize or worth complaining about. For C, we like the fact that they grind the coffee beans on the spot when people order coffee. Nothing is more important to C than good quality coffee! I would come back to try out other dishes but maybe when it isn't downpouring next time ;) ) Disclaimer - our meal was sponsored but we didn't know that until we were about to pay, so everything we ordered we had intended to order expecting to pay for the meal!