On this 28th edition of Cornucopia we enjoyed the final weekend with a good spread of events including a wine seminar, cocktail courses, and this live cooking show where we could try everything they made on stage.
This is Cornucopia’s Culinary Stage: Executive Chef Quang Dang – Taste of Vietnam.
Our chef of the hour “began his culinary career at Joe Fortes Seafood and Chophouse and further apprenticed at the Metropolitan Hotel before moving to West Restaurant, where he worked as junior sous chef. West won the Vancouver magazine ‘Restaurant of the Year’ in 2004 and 2005 during his tenure. After three years at the renowned seafood-centric C restaurant, where he worked with Chef Rob Clark, O.C., Quang became executive chef at the Metropolitan Hotel’s Diva Restaurant. He returned to West as executive chef for seven years, was executive chef at Whistler’s Araxi Restaurant, then became corporate executive chef for their parent company, Top Table Group. More recently, he has been executive chef at D.I.C.E.D., a culinary social enterprise organization.” As taken from the event page.
On the stage he was showcasing his Vietnamese heritage, joking that he preferred its cuisine to that of his Scottish side.
Course by course he walked the seated audience through four plates, each accompanied by a wine pairing curated by Cornucopia’s sommelier and a former colleague of Quang at Araxi Restaurant.
Guests were given their glasses of wine first to sip and savour, as we watched and learned. We scored front row seats, so got a direct view of all the action. For those seated at the back there were also television screens broadcasting close ups and overviews.
We started with Robert Mondavi’s 2022 Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley. This was done in a classic style, it had a tangy aroma that paired with with the shrimp and sauce. The bright acidity of the wine handled the pickled vegetable well, offering its own mild orchard fruit into the mix. It washes clean, offering a neutral flavour to balance.
This was paired with our first course of Vietnamese Salad Roll with hand-peeled shrimp and sunchokes. Served with a sweet chilli and lime sauce dip. Quang called these Asian burritos with rice paper being so versatile. I found it a little vegetable heavy and thought it could have used more shrimp for my taste. I did like the sauce and learned that you can add agar agar to make it more firm, a tip that I will apply to my future sauces.
The second course was Manila Clams braised in Coconut Caramel with cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, and crunchy bread. A very bold broth this was a little much for me as is, the bread was needed as a base, but there was not enough of it to go around. This was all so tasty that I didn’t want to waste a drop. Some rice or noodle as a starch would have been nice.
This was paired with Black Stallion Estate Winery’s North Coast Chardonnay 2023 from Napa Valley. A buttery wine, its oaky flavour and higher acidity was used to temper the richness of the spicy seafood and coconut broth. A fresh squeeze of lime helped as well. For my tastes I would have preferred a red pairing.
I got my request with course number three. A peppery big red, My Favourite Neighbour’s 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon. Its spicy cassis fruit complimented the beef well.
Two Rivers Beef “Shaking Style” with Pemberton onions, soy and fancy fish sauce, braised local kales, and nutrient rich watercress. You could smell the richness of the finishing liquid. The flavours were kept simple to make out the quality of the beef, accented by fragrant fried onion. The pepperiness of the greens matched the green pepper notes in our red wine as well.
And for dessert Quang made us the traditional Vietnamese dessert, Che Ba Mau. “Three Bean Drink” with only two beans. Slow cooked mung beans, Pandan Jelly, and fresh coconut milk. We were familiar with it at our shared table, whereas it was news to everyone else.
Served in layers that you need to stir up. This is s definitely an acquired taste as the green jelly didn’t really have any flavour to it, the beans adds a chalkiness to the mix, and this wasn’t as sweet as any of your typical desserts. I actually could have used more sugar myself. Not my favourite rendition of it.
They didn’t have a dessert style wine to pair with this, so instead offered us another good Cabernet Sauvignon from California. A 2022 from Caymus Vineyard. A hearty red with lots of ripe fruit that was able to handle the bean. And as a reach, the win/ oak aging also flowed with the dessert’s coconut characteristics.
In short, this was a one of a kind way to enjoy a 4 course dinner and my favourite event of this Cornucopia.
