Over the winter break, I was fortunate to go to the world famous Whistler, Canada for skiing. Ah Whistler. The blacks, the blues and the greens. The blacks for me, the blues for my sister and the greens for my dad. Also the beautiful sights, the beautiful skiing, the beautiful snow, and oh don’t forget, the kindest people on earth. Even though Whistler in many people’s opinions, is a place to ski in the winter. I think it’s the place not just to ski but also to dine. When I mean dine, I mean eat healthy and eat good food day and night. This also applies to the restaurants on the mountain as they are typically not known for their amazing food. Out of the 11 meals, my favorite one was the Trattoria de Umberto.
At the Trattoria, my favorite dish was a modified version of the Frutti di Mare (a seafood medley). This time it was Pasta, not broth in the Tagliolini. The main seafoods in the dish were the rock prawns, clams, mussels and mini scallops. The rock prawns were not rock hard like the name suggests but chewy. The prawns were also unique because it absorbed the saffron sauce more than any other seafood. This made the prawns more juicy than normal. Beyond prawns, the clams and mussels were very tender with a hint of salt from seawater. I’m usually not a clams and mussels kind of a guy but because of the various flavours present, I felt like it gave a new dimension to the dish. Finally the mini scallops. It makes my mouth water just to think about it. The mini scallops absorb the sauce like the prawns but not as much. This allowed the scallops to retain their flavor and add a saffron flavor to it. Oh before I forget it, the al dente pasta. This was my favorite part of the dish and one of the best al dente pasta I have ever tasted. The chewiness, with flavor of the saffron combined to make a delectable combination. In the end, when all the flavors came together, it was like a Hamilton song where everybody was in harmony.
The dish aside, Steve ensured the service was great. Also, it was a great experience meeting the executive chef and general manager, Ricardo, who is the man behind the food.
P.S.
Next time you go to Trattoria de Umberto, ask for Steve, I assure you’ll have a delightful time.
2nd round of food. Alta Bistro. The creativity is way ahead of other restaurants. Here’s the best example, Elks leg with an Oxtail sauce. I know what your thinking right now, ew and ew. Think again, this was one of the tastiest meats I have had. The elks leg was chewy in the outside and tender on the inside represented by a beautiful shade of red. Oh, and the oxtail ragout. The oxtail meat in the ragout, unlike the elk, was so tender. With the oxtail, there was also a rich gravy style sauce that contained an extra dose of oxtail flavor. This ragout added a new texture profile to a dish that was mainly chewy. To top it all of, literally top it all of was the crispy wontons. It added a salty flavor along with a crunchy texture that was like a sidekick to every bite of elk you had.
P.S: I met the chef Nick at Alta Bistro, we took some pictures together and he was a very nice person. If you ever go to Alta Bistro, stop by and talk to Nick.
Round 3, you guess it. Its………….. Pizzaaaaaaa. I know everybody is cheering now, but what you will read will blow your mind away. At the end, you will realize this is no ordinary pizza. It’s a CREEKBREAD PIZZA. What I mean by that is that this is no ordinary pizza. It’s a beetroot pizza. Boo Boo Boo. OK, you can stop the booing. It’s a lot better than what you think. To start off, the Beetroot pizza is a thin crust pizza made with handmade dough. On your pizza, you can even choose not to have tomato sauce. Which by the way, I did not do. Also, all the beets on the pizza are fresh and from local farms. This gave the beets a crunchy and sweet texture that you wouldn’t otherwise find from imported beets. Next, the basil was flash fried so it gave a thin crunchy texture that fell apart in your mouth.
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