Stage - really sets the stage for tapa-style food!

Home Page of Stage Restaurant

Having not had tapa-style cuisine in a long time Mrs. Violet and Mr. Blue scowered the internet in search of a tapa style restaurant in town outside of the usual tapa bar and veneto tapas. We were recommended to the restaurant named "Stage" by a couple friends of ours. Stage restaurant, being situated in the old theatre district of Fernwood is a place we do not regularly visit. It is a beautiful place with a lot of history behind it. Buildings are over 100 years old and are laid with brick. Stage restaurant brings this to a whole other level by modernizing some of the interior within yet keeping a balance with architectures of previous. The atmosphere is buzzing so do not think of bringing a date here for a nice 'quiet' dinner. It is a very social atmosphere that is always packed to the doors on weekends (even in the cold winter weather).

Pho Ever - not bad for being close by

While in a rush to get to a concert Mr. Blue and Ms. Violet had just enough time to stop in for some quick Vietnamese cuisine at a close by restaurant called Pho Ever (4 ever ever?). Pho Ever is a restaurant owned by Koreans that serve both Korean and Vietnamese cuisines. Hungry as we were we decided against fast food restaurants and wanted to dig in to some hearty soupy noodles or some spring roll action.

Upon arrival we were greeted warmly by the servers and seated immediately. As the server was handing us menus we promptly decided to have a vegetable spring roll to share, a dry vermicelli dish for Ms. Violet, and a seafood noodle soup for Mr. Blue. We were also in a rush so we told the server this and they were able to accomodate the request. The food came out lightning fast and straight to our table within 5-7 minutes.

Sushi Harbor - Wish There Was Moor

 Coming home from The Potholes, we decided to stop in Langford for a bite and came across a new Japanese restaurant by the name of Sushi Harbor. The plaza and the dining area were pretty deserted when we arrived. Considering that we were in Langford getting sushi, I didn't think much of it. In hindsight, there may have been just cause.

The interior of Sushi Harbor was small, but pleasant. When we entered we were greeted with a “sit wherever you like” opposed to “hello”. That should have been another indication of how the service was to play out. Once seated, we had our menus plopped in front of us and had a chance to peruse their wide assortment of sushi. They seemed to dabble with typical sushi items, as well as fusion-type rolls, such as baked rolls, or rolls with cream cheese. The prices were a little steep, but four of us decided to share five rolls. We decided on: a Langford roll, a Duncan roll, a Hawaii Volcano Roll, a Maple Bay roll, and a Kamikaze roll.

"Kuma Japanese Noodle" Revisted

Having decided on trying something a little different, I ventured out to Kuma Japanese Noodle for the second time. The atmosphere and service was as pleasant as I remembered it, but the people working this time were not quite as fluent at English - not that I'm complaining, just an observation.

Last time I was at Kuma, I tried the miso bbq pork ramen and left feeling a little hungry. This time, I decided to try their katsu don (fried pork cutlet with egg on rice) and their gyoza appetizer. It should be noted that last time, I commented that the prices weren't the best, but I did not take into consideration that HST is included on the menu price. That said, the value is comparable to pho or different types of noodle places, which really isn't bad at all.


I have tried katsu don at a few Japanese restaurants in town, but this one was awesome. The fried pork had a nice crunch on the outside, while maintaining a tender and moist texture inside. The scrambled/poached egg on the rice was well seasoned with tempura or ponzu sauce, sweet corn and sauteed onions. The portion size was decent, but I definitely needed something on the side for it to be a satisfying meal.

This leads me to the gyoza side dish, which comes with 6 dumpings for $3.50. Not bad at all! I didn't get a chance to ask if they made them in house, but I suspect that these gyoza were purchased frozen from somewhere else. The gyoza had a nice sear to them, and were juicy on the inside; something reminiscent of steamed "su lung bao" for those of you that have tried Shanghainese dumplings.

The person I went with tried Kuma's noodle and rice combination, which was a little disappointing. The additional cost for the combo is their soy noodle soup with a bowl of white rice on the side. The soy noodle soup isn't as flavourful as their miso ramen, and didn't have a whole lot going on compared to the katsu don I ordered.

As I've had the opportunity to try a few more of their items, I can safely say that Kuma is not just a "noodle shop". Their katsu don and gyoza are relatively inexpensive and really hit the spot. Considering that their prices include HST, their menu is competitively priced for what you're getting. Again, if you can really pack away the food, you may even want to consider ordering an additional side, but I'll leave that call to you!


Happy dining!
- Mr. Pink

One Fish, Two Fish - Check out "Red Fish Blue Fish!"

Pick-up Counter.

  I've had the opportunity to dine at Red Fish Blue Fish before, but a recent Groupon served as a reminder to take a stroll down to Wharf St. Located right on the pier, Red Fish Blue Fish operates out of a modified cargo container, and is open 7 days a week, 11:30-5pm (or 3:00pm in poor weather).

  

Pacific Rim Chowder.

  They have a delicious menu featuring fresh Ocean Wise seafood, ranging from classic fish and chips, to scallop tacones (seasonal scallops in tacos rolled into cones). They also serve sandwiches, chowder, salads and sides with their unique twist on them. During my last visit, I decided on the seafood chowder and the "cod dog" - a pretty hearty meal for $12.

Pig revisited for pulled pork poutine

Well, it's definitely not our first time to Pig restaurant for their pulled pork, nor will it be our last. The pulled pork at Pig sets the bar of competition for all pulled porks in Victoria... so why not pulled pork poutine while we're at it! Pulled pork -- good; poutine -- good; pulled pork + poutine must = good x 2?

So what did we think of it?

Well, the pulled pork as always is incredibly moist and full of homemade flavour. The pork itself falls apart on itself and is easy to shred. Soaked in its own gravy and lathered on top of mozzarella cheese curds and freshly fried fries (say that 3 times fast) and you've got yourselves a decadent pulled pork poutine! The juices flow from the pork and completely cover the french fries, however, not to the point where they are overly soggy unless you happen to leave it untouched for too long. However, as one might expect, putting a salty topping on top of salty fries will lead to extra saltiness. In our case, it did come out a bit much on the salty side hence why we decided to counter-balance our taste buds with a cold refrigerated old-fashioned cream soda. Ahhh, that hit the spot. Anyhow, even though the filling snack was a bit saltier as expected, we finished it all in rapid order and were fully warmed up on a brisk, cold evening. We'd do it again, but make sure you're ready for the sodium chloride.

-- Mr. Blue

-- Ms. Violet

The Office - dine around Victoria because that's what she said

The Office Lounge site

For our final destination of our Dine Around Chronicles, Mr. Blue, Ms. Violet and I got together to check out The Office. This has been an eagerly anticipated visit as our hopes to go last year for Dine Around were thwarted for some forgotten reason. Stepping into the restaurant, the ambience did not disappoint.

Greeted at the front by the hostess and a gentlemen reminiscent of Gordon Gekko, we were led to a large round table with high back chairs. The chairs are perfect to sit back in and lounge around in over a few drinks, but also suitable for dinner, not forcing diners to sit on the edge of the chairs just to reach the table.

Looking at the menu, we all decided on the $20 Dine Around options (listed below) and on a few drinks. Beer and cocktail prices were quite reasonable, featuring local and imported beers on tap ($4.75-$7.25) per sleeve, and cocktails around $8.50. Between the three of us, we had: the Wild Mushroom Risotto, the Grilled Chicken Mediterranean Penne, the Office Mac and Cheese, the Grilled NY Strip Sandwich, and the Warm Chocolate Chunk Brownie.

Dine Around Chronicles cont'd... Pizzeria Prima Strada (Bridge Street location)

Pizzeria Prima Strada website

Continuing on with our Dine Around Chronicles, we set out for Pizzeria Prima Strada on Bridge St. to check out their $20 three-course menu. At first, I didn’t even realize where the restaurant was in the plaza, as there are two garage doors on the side of the building; however, once entering, you are faced with the cashier countertop and a direct view into their open kitchen. I couldn’t help but be impressed with their wood-burning pizza oven, with actual piles of wood stocked along the walls at the ready. The feel of the restaurant was sort of a blend between garage and classy family restaurant – strange, but it works!

Once seated in our rickety, wicker chairs we all decided on the Dine Around menu. I decided on the Melanzane & Tonno (local tuna served on cubed roasted eggplant and other veggies), Salsiccia Piccante pizza (housemade fennel sausage, tomato, mozzarella, and roasted red peppers) and for dessert, a scoop of hazelnut ice cream with a vanilla ice cream centre, rolled in coco powder.

Aura - Taking Advantage of Dine Around

Aura website

Double Smoked Pork Belly Risotto

Taking advantage of Dine Around & Stay in Town, some friends and I decided to check out Aura restaurant located at the Laurel Point Inn. Arriving there, parking was a bit of an issue; we ended up parking a few hundred meters away on Montreal St. The atmosphere was elegant and refined - not something a BC Connoisseur would typically go for to hang out with friends, but it was something different. Greeted by the hostess, I was soon seated at a large round table, with comfortable chairs and a harbour-side view.
The restaurants Dine Around menu only had the $30 option which is as follows:

Kuma Noodle - Kind of Cool

Kuma Noodle Location

I happened to stumble on Kuma when I was meeting some friends for wing night at 1550s (still pretty good there, by the way). It's a fairly small Japanese noodle shop located on Cedar Hill X, right next to Brannigans family restaurant. It's funny, I was just thinking how Victoria didn't have any good Japanese noodle restaurants after the one downtown closed.

They operate Monday through Saturday from 11:00am-9:30pm. They did a great job renovating it from the printer ink store, showcasing a huge stainless steel cooking area behind the counter, some booth seating to the left, and a few smaller tables to the right of the entrance. They also have a pachinko machine if anyone knows how to play!

The menu is fairly basic with a selection of various ramen noodle dishes. They have soy flavoured ramen, salt flavoured ramen, miso ramen, miso bbq pork ramen, and vegetable ramen. There are also a few rice dishes such as: curry rice, pork cutlet don, chicken and egg don, steak don and bbq don. Side dishes included gyoza, rice, kimchi and fried rice. Drinks are pretty standard with soft drinks and green tea.

Bon Sushi 2 - Thumbs up!

Bon Sushi 2 (Royal Oak - Saanich)

Bon Sushi in Oak Bay has recently opened up another restaurant in the Royal Oak district in Saanich. Of course, after having such a great meal at the original Bon Sushi in Oak Bay it only made sense for us to try the new location afterwards. The menu is exactly the same, however, we don't have to drive nearly as far to get to it. There's also more available free parking, and well, it's new!

Empress Dining - Thumbs Up (if you've got money)

The Fairmont Empress Homepage

It's not everyday you get the chance to make a moment to dine in luxury... unless you're ridiculously rich or something! Mr. Blue and Miss Violet decided to make a night out of it and headed to The Empress for a fine dining dinner. The Empress is a landmark hotel and restaurant in Victoria, BC and has always upheld a high standard for its high tea, fine dining, ballroom events, and hotel service. The decor is of old English or British style and the building itself is located in the heart of the harbour area. A very beautiful setting, with every detail left in place or fully restored. The furniture themselves are kept in great condition and only further enhances the effect of traveling back in time.