Seasons In the Park - Revisited

Haha, this is my second attempt to get back in the saddle of food blogging.  After a fairly long hiatus, I think I'm ready to go again.  I was on a training course for my part-time job that ate up most of my weekends, and this was on top of my regular day job, so I was quite busy.  I was still taking pictures of just about everything I ate, but no time to organize the pictures and write up reviews.  Some of these pictures are probably going to date back to the end of last year...for example, these ones.

On my birthday, I took my parents out to Seasons in The Park, a place that's a bit fancier than our usual Mui Garden or Happy Date.  My last experience here was less than stellar, but the view was outstanding so I told my parents ahead of time not to expect too much from the food or service , but just to enjoy the view.  We were pleasantly surprised.

Warm bread is a great way to start of a meal, and the bread here was pretty good.  Some places serve it cold, but it was a cold day, so the warmed bread was a welcome touch.

I wasn't picky about the butter this time around because I expected it...and I was hungry too.

The Mushroom Caps weren't overly salty this time.  Last time I was here, it seemed as thought they were over-seasoned, but this day, they were perfect.  I don't know if they lunch staff are different than the evening staff, but what a difference.  They were rich, creamy, and baked to perfection and my parents absolutely loved them.  I think this may have been the first time they had it.

We ordered a Crab Cake as well, and the verdict at the end of it was we should have ordered a few more.  I'm no expert, but the presentation looked pretty nice as well.  If I'm not mistaken, that might have been a squirt of Kewpie Mayonaise on the side there. 

I told my parents to steer clear of the Carrot Ginger soup, as well as the Truffled Mushroom soup, but besides that, they love clam chowders so they ordered the New England Clam Chowder.  We ordered one bowl, but since the server knew that they'd be sharing, they split them up into two seperate bowls for them.  Is that normal?  Because it was nice and unexpected.  Suffice it to say, my parents loved Season's Clam Chowder.  They said it was a step above whatever they've ever had, and liked it as much, if not more than the Boston Clam Chowder they had at Salmon House.  My parents can sometimes be hard to please, especially when it comes to going out and trying new places.  After three different appies, they were still smiles all around, and this made me happy.  Although I didn't prepare the food myself, it made me happy that I could help provide them with an experience, and the look on their faces was more than any present I could ask for.

Another shot of the Crab Cakes.

My dad loves sirloin (I'm partial to prime rib myself, but didn't order it as I didn't have a good experience with it last time) and used to eat a lot of steaks when he was younger, but he cut back on red meat a lot, but once every few years, he'll treat himself and today was one of those occasions.  He ordered the 7 Oz CAB Sirloin Steak, which was cooked marvelously, and perfectly seasoned.  The peppercorn demi-glas wasn't overwhelming and the veg and potatos were nice and tender.  On first bite, he announced that he had a really good steak, which really doesn't happen very often.  I was surprised to see it was cooked medium, exactly as he ordered it.  In my mind, Seasons was redeeming itself by leaps and bounds compared to my first visit.

My mom wasn't all that hungry, and she had just gone to the dentist not long ago, so her teeth were a bit sensitive.  She ordered something a bit easier to chew and she ended up with the Omlet.  My mom seemed to really enjoy it, but for me it tasted good, but it wasn't spectacular.  Guess I was in full-on steak mode and couldn't be bothered with an omlette, haha!

With this one picture, you should practically be able to see the smile on my face.  I ordered my steak fat and bloody, as usual it came blue, just the way I asked.  I was a pig in sugar.  My parents were pleased with the food, the service, the view, and I had a steak cooked exactly the way I wanted.  Would I go back?  Definitely after this experience!  I'm still a bit skeptical about dinner though, and wonder if anyone else experienced this variation in quality and service?  Maybe my next visit will also be in the afternoon!

Seasons In the Park

Well, it's that time of year when my buddy Eric is in town, and whenever he comes back here, I always find myself in a place of fine dining.  He first introduced me to places like The Teahouse, and Le Crocodile when I was just out of highschool.  After all the years we've known each other, I look at him like the big brother I never had, and the other night was probably the first time I had a chance to pay him back for all the times he took me out.  I wanted to go to Le Crocodile, but it was closed for some reason....disturbing.....

Anyway, Seasons in The Park is a pretty nice place, and though I've walked past it so many times, I never thought about what it would be like to eat there.

When I stepped into this place, I was blown away by the view.  You can see the entire Vancouver skyline from there.  I had no idea there was that kind of vew from Q.E. Park.  If you want to take your lady someplace breathtaking, this place does it. 

The special of the night was Prime Rib....I was happier than a pig in $*#! but the menu was as far as I got.  By the time we ordered, it was sold out.  It was only 7pm and it was sold out already.  I was a little perturbed.

I even got my Chivas Regal to go with the prime rib that would never materialize.

The comp bread was good, freshly heated, but it came with some cheap pats of butter, unlike the whipped variety seen at some other places. 

I ordered the Truffle Mushroom soup ($7).  It was a bit bland, and I would have preferred a creamier soup.  This one was essentially a mushroom puree, which didn't even appear to have been run through a strainer.  The carrot soup at Le Crocodile is way better, even though it's two completely different soups.

The Carrot Ginger Soup ($7) was pretty much in the same boat as my Truffle Mushroom.  The ginger was a little overwhelimg and to me, not a good combo with carrots in a soup.  And again, it could have used a touch of cream....tasted like liquified carrots and ginger.

I also tried the Stuffed Mushrooms ($12).  These were rich and creamy, but a bit saltier than the ones at The Teahouse,  I was racing for a glass of water when I was done these.

.

The Seafood Linguine Carbonara ($20) tasted good for a few bites, but got really salty after a while as well.  I only sampled a little bit and I found myself thirsty afterwards.

Since the prime rib was sold out, I ordered the 12 Oz Rib Eye that isn't on their current online menu (and the the Filet Mignon Netpune is no longer an option).  I ordered it the usual way I like it - fat and bloody which in my mind translates to Blue Rare to Rare.  Here's where my disappointment really set in.  It came medium to medium well.  And it was overseasoned. 

The tomato caps were ok, but the string beans barely saw any heat and were pretty raw.

Eric ordered his steak medium but it was practically well-done. 

I don't know why, but we ordered the Little Brownie Mountain ($8).  I thought the brownie would have been heated up and cold ice cream dumped on top, but it was all cold, and remineded me of Uncle Willy's.  The brownie was way too sweet, so ordering a cup of tea really helped.

I've heard a lot of good things about Seasons in the Park, and the view is fantastic.  The service was okay, but anything the servers said seemed very canned and prepared.  The food was definitely a miss this night, and made the experience a little dissappointing.  Food and service-wise, I think I'd rather go to The Teahouse....but the view.....Seasons has that one hands down.