Gone, but not out. Hiatus for Shangri-La

Where the hell have I been? I know you all MISS this benevolent voice of mine, guiding you to great eats and haunts of Vancouver. Well, I've been enjoying this city. Yes, you've heard me right. This bland, boring, intensely mundane place has been keeping me quite preoccupied, excited and intrigued.

So why the big wait you say? Must be something special. Must be something immensely invigorating. Must be something deeply soul satisfying. Did I find the ONE place that I could define my culinary experience? No ... and Yes! Nothing can quite satisfy my epicurean taste buds. But, a dining experience can effect my outlook on eating for an indefinite time of time. Having a good companion to enjoy the experience is also a kicker.

Have you heard of the story of Shangri-La? Shangri-La is a mystical harmonious forgotten land enclosed by the western end of the Kunlun Mountains. Its a fictional place created by the British story teller James Hilton in his novel, Lost Horizons. It is something searched for. It is something to be found. Its comparisons are on elevated levels - the Grail, El Dorado, Fount of Youth, Pilum that pierced Christ. It is the one place that a man searches for all his life. Why this hocus pocus you say? It really isn't all that magical in the end. What it is, is the search for the one place that you can feel utter satisfaction! AND I'VE FOUND IT!

Zakkushi. Say it with me. Zak-Ku-Shi. Sounds quite similar to Shangri-La no? Probably not, but Zakkushi is my Shangri-La. This place has escaped my grasp for too many times over. I've been to the place 4 times and each time I just could not do the 45-60 minute wait. But, I've finally done it! I've eaten there. I've hyped myself up and it did not disappoint! I know this sounds incredulous, but it really is that good. Zakkushi is a tight little restaurant on Denman with another location at W.4th and Burrard, and plans to open on Main St. The highlight of the place is skewer style Charcoal grilled eats, but also serve the more usual Izakaya fare like ebi mayo and fresh tuna sashimi.

A famous chef once said that Eating is about the senses. A dining experience should not fall to taste alone, but a combination of sounds, smells, touch/texture, taste, sight brings a harmonious crescendo to every tasty morsel you consume. The first thing I was hit by is the smell and sounds of the place. The smokey charcoal smell fills your nose. The sounds of the Japanese servers greeting you and announcing your presence to the house is warming and appetizing. I was actually immediately seated this time as there were two perfect seats at the bar just welcoming us to snug in. Here's a little trick to ordering at a place like this. Don't think. Just randomly select anything that sounds familiar or completely out of this world to you. When a place specializes in something like this, you know that everythign they have on the menu is there for a reason and nothing could possibly go wrong. So I ordered a wack load of skewers. We had: the p-toro(Pork belly), the quail egg wrapped with bacon, the Chicken with mayo and nori, the chicken with pickled radish, and the sticky ricecake wrapped with pork. I had ordered the marinated tuna sashimi to start and the fried chicken knees for kicks. Every skewer I had was amazing, but the p-toro won high marks from me and my girl. The quail egg was by far our favourite for originality. The chicken ones were standard but ooooh so tasty. Each skewer was matched with sauces and garnishes that balanced and enhanced flavours creating a mystical harmony. Not so far fetched with the Shangri-La concept anymore is it? The marinated tuna sashimi was amazing. The sweetness matched with a bit of tartness and only the exterior protein slightly cooked. It melted in my mouth. I was ravishing this meal. At the end of all the skewers I was begging for more so I ordered their version of Chicken Teriyaki. The Chicken Yakitori on rice. It was nicely seasoned and the sauce was not sickly sweet as most places do with their Chicken Teriyaki. They topped it off with an egg while the chicken and rice were still piping hot and the white quickly sealed the yolk together. Perfection. I also ordered their banana wontons with ice cream - a simple dish. A perfect way to end a exciting culinary experience.


Vancouver can be a place of opportunity if you know where to look. I have a knack for finding opportunities. A part of why I've been preoccupied is that I've been helping good friends establish business relationships in what I only hope can further their cause. I have never been a person about getting what I want because everything I do for others have fulfilled my goals. It's my belief that one day I will benefit enough from every good relationship I establish. I recently affiliated with a few friends' new promoting company. I have been actively searching sponsors for them and seem to have hit a chord. I only hope the best of the sponsors I've helped them find. So for now I will shamelessly promote their events as I have shamelessly promoted many numerous restaurants without fee already. I never feign to look back at what kind of money I could be making by doing all this free promotion, BUT that is not what I am set out to do. So here it is:


TRIST NIGHT PROMOTIONS

UPCOMING EVENTS

July 18th Trist Promotions and Backdrop Promotions Present “Moulin Rouge”
Ladies dressed in lingerie gets in FREE before 11:00pm
Maxine's Hideaway (formerly Balthazar)1215 Bidwell Street, Vancouver BC
Doors Open at 10:00pm – 2:00am
2 Rooms 2 Vibes Main Room: Top40, R&B, Hip Hop, ALL the classic party anthems
DJs Relik, DJ Eversince Every Friday DJ Pluskratch and DJ K-Rec On Rotation.
Small room: Funk, Soul, Breaks, Old School
DJs Bles-sed and special guests
Tickets: $15 more at the door

July 25th Trist Promotions and Nocturnal Lifestyles Present “Summer Wonderland”
The First Indoor Snow Party of The Summer – The Best of Summer Meet The Best of Winter
Maxine's Hideaway (formerly Balthazar)1215 Bidwell Street, Vancouver BC
Doors Open at 10:00pm – 2:00am
2 Rooms 2 Vibes Main Room: Top40, R&B, Hip Hop, ALL the classic party anthems
DJs Relik, DJ Eversince Every Friday DJ Pluskratch and DJ K-Rec On Rotation.
Small room: Funk, Soul, Breaks, Old School
DJs Bles-sed and special guestsTickets: $15 more at the door


Another event I proudly present is brought to you by a Charitable foundation I've been helping create.

Hands Around the World Mission Society
TLC (Tender Loving Care) Dinner

Come and enjoy some great All-you-can-eat Sukiyaki Hotpot at Posh Restaurant's new location in Burnaby! This charity dinner is the first event hosted by Hands Around the World (HAW).

Hands Around the World consists of a group of students who immediately decided to come together to form a charitable society that would lend a hand around the world in hopes of alleviating the destruction and pain caused by sudden disasters.

We would love to have you spend the evening with us and support our mission of continually supporting areas in crises. This is our first event and we would love to invite you to participate in our global efforts. Tickets are $25 each, with proceeds going to the Red Cross. During the night we will be holding draws for raffle prizes and 50/50.

We have also invited a representative from Red Cross as a speaker for the night. Among all this we will be sharing with you the effects of the earthquake in Sichuan and many stories that come straight from the survivors of the area.

If you are interested in attending please email hawmissionssociety@gmail.com.
Leave us your phone number and how many people you plan on coming with.
If you are interested in donating prizes, please email the HAW gmail account and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you for your compassion and donation in advance.


Well I know, this isn't much of an opinionated post. But do come out to support my events. I will dearly be indebted to you till I leave Vancouver so better collect soon. Also I will be featured in an online magazine www.themodline.com which will be hosting its wrap party on Aug.1st at Maxine's hideaway. Stay tuned online as I review Aphrodite Cafe (an organic eatery). I know how utterly awkward. I expect a non-exciting vegetarian dinner, but Vancouver has surprised me as of late and I hope I will too as my writing gets published. Journalistic qualities I may lack, but remember this, it's about where you write from, not who you are writing to. Thanks for the support everyone! A month and a half as I lift off and relocate.