{"id":9046,"date":"2016-10-31T14:53:16","date_gmt":"2016-10-31T22:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/?p=9046"},"modified":"2017-01-29T22:41:38","modified_gmt":"2017-01-30T06:41:38","slug":"newly-opened-kitsilano-chi-modern-vietnaese-kitchen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/newly-opened-kitsilano-chi-modern-vietnaese-kitchen\/","title":{"rendered":"Newly Opened in Kitsilano – Chi Modern Vietnaese Kitchen"},"content":{"rendered":"

So I have been contributing a article every month to Vancouver Foodie Pulse<\/a> on newly opened restaurants in that month in the city, and I found out about Chi<\/a> Modern Vietnamese Kitchen<\/strong> in Kitsilano, which I covered in my August post<\/a>. The story of chef and owner Chi Le, a runner-up of\u00a0Master Chef Vietnam,\u00a0<\/strong>does sound like quite inspiring. \u00a0And it’s been quite interesting to see\u00a0\u00a0the new wave of high end Vietnamese restaurants in the city, showing that Vietnamese food is so much more than just pho, bahn mi and iced coffee. Having\u00a0become quite a fan of House Special<\/a> and Ahn & Chi<\/a>, I was eager to find out if Chi<\/strong>\u00a0 is at the same level with those trendy Vietnamese eateries. \u00a0So I decided to visit\u00a0Chi with my mom for\u00a0my birthday week.<\/p>\n

The interiors here are in the same\u00a0league with the other new fancy Vietnamese restaurants, with a tastefully designed open space with fine details on decors and furnishing, the place definitely lives up to the name ‘modern kitchen’.<\/p>\n

Still waiting for an approved liquor license, they could only \u00a0serve virgin cocktails on their menu at the time. I tried the Ginger Beer<\/strong> ($6), mixed\u00a0with fresh ginger syrup and soda, and garnish with candied ginger. It was spicy and refreshing. But I would like a bit more of sweetness for a nice\u00a0balance.<\/p>\n

\""ginger<\/a>
“ginger beer”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the starter, we had the Crispy Fresh Duck Rolls<\/strong>\u00a0(cha gio vit, $9). Although tasting fresh,\u00a0there was very little duck meat in the rolls, not quite the satisfying sensation of mixing juicy meat and crunchy vegetables that I was expecting. And there was some dry crumbs or residue of some sort remained in my mouth after I swallowed, which was\u00a0strange.<\/p>\n

\"cha<\/a>
cha gio vit – Crispy fresh duck rolls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I just didn’t find the Vietnamese Calamari<\/strong> (muc rang muoi, $15) any better than the version served at Cactus Club or something. The Sriracha in the aioli dip was kind of weak. \u00a0And a couple more\u00a0issues: the squid pieces were\u00a0very small, and there was no succulent texture that’s usually expected from deep fried squid; there was too much bell pepper, leaving too much moist and turning\u00a0the breaded squid soggy rather\u00a0quickly.<\/p>\n

\"imagemuc<\/a>
muc rang muoi – vietnamese Calamari<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For our main course, the waitress recommend her favourite the Black Cod on Vermicelli Bowl<\/strong> (cha ca la vong, $26), telling us that it\u00a0is one of the most famous Northern Vietnamese dishes, and everyone must try it before they die. It\u00a0was actually pretty good. The black cod in bite-size pieces was marinated in turmeric and galangal, \u00a0perfectly cooked, and gave us\u00a0some beautiful\u00a0flavours. I liked the\u00a0fried onion, garlic, and\u00a0crushed roasted peanuts on top to add the extra crunch.\u00a0\u00a0The vermicelli and herb salad were quite light and refreshing as the complement. The only downside\u00a0I could think of is the price, it was not a lot of food for $26.<\/p>\n

\"cha<\/a>
cha ca la vong – black cod on vermicelli<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The waitress thought there should be enough food because we already 2 small dishes and one larger noodle dish. Chef Chi actually came over\u00a0providing additional assistance to\u00a0 our\u00a0decision on what to get. She\u00a0recommended the Chargrilled\u00a0Eggplant<\/strong> (ca nuong, $13) and a bowl of jasmine rice. But later on it seemed the\u00a0amount of food would be perfect without those 2 items. \u00a0 And the chargrilled eggplant was somewhat disappointing – it was too smoky and it was lacking\u00a0of the seasoning of salt and pepper. \u00a0The smokiness was so aggressive that, \u00a0it reminded me of the smell of forest fire\u00a0when I was in Kelowna last summer. \u00a0 I did fine\u00a0the soft texture interesting, \u00a0but it was too\u00a0bland, and also a little bit cold. \u00a0We ended up sending the eggplant back to kitchen to warm it\u00a0up a little bit.<\/p>\n

\"ca<\/a>
ca nuong-chargrilled eggplant<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although the main dish, the Marinated Black Cod on Vermicelli was tasty, \u00a0showing \u00a0some passion from the chef, \u00a0the rest of the dinner was somewhat disappointing. Our appetizers, the Fresh Duck Roll and the Calamari were underwhelming. The idea of the Chargrilled Eggplant seemed interesting, but it was a tricky dish to execute, and it ended up having too much smokiness and lacking of flavours. And the food here is not cheap \u2013 we paid over $80 for 2 of us, and we didn\u2019t even have any alcohol. I’m hoping the chef will focus on her strength and her specialties a little more on her menu.<\/p>\n

\"Chi<\/a>
Chi Modern Vietnamese Kitchen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Chi<\/a>
Chi Modern Vietnamese Kitchen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Chi<\/a>
Chi Modern Vietnamese Kitchen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Website and menu:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.chirestaurantbar.com\/<\/a>
\nMore reviews:<\/p>\n

\"Chi<\/a><\/p>\n

Location:<\/p>\n