Glowbal Group

Last week my friends Nicole, Cynthia, and I decided to go out for brunch because we haven’t seen each other in a while. Taste of Yaletown was happening at the same time and I told them I’d like to go out and try it, since 1. I love Yaletown and 2. I love dining at Yaletown. It was a great chance to catch up while trying something new.

They had asked me where I wanted to dine so I looked at the list of restaurants that participated and ended up selecting Brix Restaurant. However, upon arrival we found out that they only served dinner. So at the last minute, we decided to go to Glowbal Group.

Seeing that this was such a posh and modern restaurant, I thought that the servers and the people were going to be snooty and stuck up. I could not have been more wrong. From the initial greeting, to being seated, to our server and all the way to when we were exiting, everyone was so pleasant and courteous. I was really pleased with the level of service we received.

As soon as we were seated, we were served complimentary bite sized donuts. To be honest, virtually anything that’s free tastes good 🙂

I seriously wasn’t expecting this. Maybe this only occurs during Sunday brunch? Maybe they serve this at any time of the day? I don’t know. But these powdered goodies were light with a crispy outside and a soft puffy inside.

I was quite happy with one round of complimentary delights. What I wasn’t expecting was to get something else for free: Strawberry Vanilla Milkshakes.

Served in a shot glass, this strawberry vanilla milkshake had chunks of strawberry with a mild vanilla taste. It wasn’t too thick and it was a nice small portion. I definitely think this is great idea because sampling is the best kind of marketing.

After trying to read the menu several times (it was so difficult because we were so busy catching up and there were so many dishes to choose from), we finally decided to get Glowbal Mimosas, Mushroom and Short Rib Satays, the Lobster Benny, the Chorizo Benny (that day’s special), the Crème brûlée trio and the Frosted Beignets + Apple Fritters.

Orange juice with sparkling wine, finished with cassis.

This might have been the right kind of mix for mimosas. I had one in Vegas before and that was much stronger than what Glowbal serves. Mind you, it is Vegas, they probably expect people to want stronger liquor concentrations in their drinks. Anyway, I found this refreshing. It wasn’t too strong and it had a good amount of fizz.

This dish had several components:

• Mushroom Satay, tempura battered and finished with sea salt
• Short Rib Satay, paired with truffle aioli
• Thai Slaw, with daikon and mint. Probs a palate cleanser.

I feel like the Satays are a little on the pricier side; it would have been nice to get another short rib or another mushroom with it. But having said that, the taste and texture does deliver. It makes up for the price factor. The mushroom was hearty and the short rib was very tender. And that aioli… Hot damn that aioli. Made the short rib much more rich and decadent. It was a nice touch.

Although I got two dipping sauces (Ginger White Soya and a Hot Chinese Mustard), I only dipped into the soya sauce. I did try a taste of the mustard so I could taste it get a feel of the taste. The heat got the better of me.

The Thai Slaw is a nice palate cleanser; the sweetness, tartness crunchiness of the apple, mint, daikon and the lemon/lime vinaigrette is a nice compliment to the soft and chewy texture of the short rib and the mushroom.

Lobster Benedict with Atlantic Lobster chunks, Poached Eggs,  Lobster Hollandaise, Crispy Pancetta and Cheddar Biscuit.

I wasn’t blown away by the entire dish, but I still thought it was deelish! The lobster.. oh man.. the lobster. I’m the type of person who always wants more of the specialty dish. If it’s a lobster dish, I want it to be swimming in lobster chunks. But alas, we only got a few chunks. The lobster was moist and tender. It had a flakiness and chewy factor that just melts in mah mouth. Those eggs were nicely poached, and the hollandaise was drizzled all over. It wasn’t an overpowering hollandaise, not too acidic but not too creamy with just the right consistency. I absolutely loved the pancetta; it was the crisp to the chewy textures of the dish. The biscuit seemed a little grainy, but it wasn’t a huge deal. Overall, I loved this dish.

image courtesy of Nicole Kan

This Chorizo Benny was that day’s special. It had Toasted Hash, Fried Chorizo, Poached Eggs covered in Hollandaise.

Again, I don’t think there’s anything special with this dish. But I still think it was good. There was a good amount of both chorizo and hash, and they were in huge filling portions. The runniness of the egg works well with the crunch of the toast, but I wish there was more hollandaise.

We were so full after these but I convinced them to have desserts. I knew they wanted to anyway!

Crème brûlée trio with Vanilla, Hazelnut, and White Chocolate (from L to R) topped with fruit.

The 2 out of 3 crème brûlées I tried were silky and light, not heavy at all. Although, I could barely taste the vanilla and the hazelnut in each. The biscotti was a great addition to the hazelnut brûlée. I absolutely love the combination of the fruit, crispy torched sugar and velvety brûlée.

Frosted Beignets and Apple Fritters

I personally loved this dish because these two desserts had just the right amount of sweetness. The apple fritters were fluffy and I adore the small apple chunks inside. That was a nice surprise! The beignets weren’t to die for, but again just had the right amount of sweetness which I liked. The fruits add an interesting layer of flavor to it too; I highly recommend this dessert.

Overall, my dining experience was lovely. Great service, great food and great atmosphere. Would I come back? Definitely. I know I had said I wanted to try Taste of Yaletown, but we ended up with a more elaborate menu so we ended up with more than just a taste 🙂

Thanks again to my fabulous friends who joined me that day!

Cynthia and Nicole, all smiles on a sunny Sunday