Chop (Richmond)
I remember hearing from a friend that Chop is a pretty good place for steak, so when KH suggested dinner there, I readily agreed. The decor is simple and elegant with a touch of romantic ambiance. We were warmly greeted at the entrance and led to a booth seat. We got complimentary bread to start, and I was wondering why there was only one bread in the basket.
Then I took the bread out and realized it was a lot bigger than it looked.
I decided to splurge and have a self-created 3-course dinner. Since I was planning on having steak for my entree, I wanted a light appetizer like the fresh ahi tuna pillars ($12.75). The tuna was wrapped in ginger butter phyllo pastry with sesame noodles. I was a bit disappointed since I couldn't taste ginger, butter or sesame. The tuna was really bland with no seasoning at all. The phyllo pastry and noodles weren't very flavourful either, but they were just strong enough to cover the taste of tuna which was a waste of the fish in my opinion.
KH wanted the coconut lime mussels ($13), but I wasn't too enthusiastic since I've eaten a lot of mussels recently (at Gramercy, Hart House, Mondo to name a few). I tried a couple anyway and they were decent. They weren't the juiciest or tastiest mussels I've had, but they were not bad.
I was debating between the regular 8 oz filet mignon ($35) and the petite 6 oz version ($29), but decided on the petite since I had to leave room for dessert. I ordered rare and the meat did in fact look rare with a red centre, but the texture was not tender enough and tasted more like medium rare. The filet was crusted with salt, pepper and other spices, and served with a red wine reduction. The seasoning was over-the-top, and made the steak very salty. The filet came with seasonal veggies (pumpkin and some kind of long bean), and I chose the seven grain wild rice pilaf as my side. The rice and pumpkin were both quite good and went well with the salty steak.
KH ordered a medium prime rib ($27.50) with scalloped potatoes. I didn't try it, but he claims it melted in his mouth. The scalloped potatoes looked more like a block of mashed potatoes though. I didn't see any layers when KH was poking into it with his fork.
The most impressive part of the meal was the white chocolate raspberry creme brulee ($8). It was really creamy with actual raspberry puree inside. It also came with a strawberry and a biscotti, but the biscotti was really dry and didn't taste that good.
The bill came to over $120 after tax and tips, which was a bit too much for a not-too-impressive meal.
Then I took the bread out and realized it was a lot bigger than it looked.
I decided to splurge and have a self-created 3-course dinner. Since I was planning on having steak for my entree, I wanted a light appetizer like the fresh ahi tuna pillars ($12.75). The tuna was wrapped in ginger butter phyllo pastry with sesame noodles. I was a bit disappointed since I couldn't taste ginger, butter or sesame. The tuna was really bland with no seasoning at all. The phyllo pastry and noodles weren't very flavourful either, but they were just strong enough to cover the taste of tuna which was a waste of the fish in my opinion.
KH wanted the coconut lime mussels ($13), but I wasn't too enthusiastic since I've eaten a lot of mussels recently (at Gramercy, Hart House, Mondo to name a few). I tried a couple anyway and they were decent. They weren't the juiciest or tastiest mussels I've had, but they were not bad.
I was debating between the regular 8 oz filet mignon ($35) and the petite 6 oz version ($29), but decided on the petite since I had to leave room for dessert. I ordered rare and the meat did in fact look rare with a red centre, but the texture was not tender enough and tasted more like medium rare. The filet was crusted with salt, pepper and other spices, and served with a red wine reduction. The seasoning was over-the-top, and made the steak very salty. The filet came with seasonal veggies (pumpkin and some kind of long bean), and I chose the seven grain wild rice pilaf as my side. The rice and pumpkin were both quite good and went well with the salty steak.
KH ordered a medium prime rib ($27.50) with scalloped potatoes. I didn't try it, but he claims it melted in his mouth. The scalloped potatoes looked more like a block of mashed potatoes though. I didn't see any layers when KH was poking into it with his fork.
The most impressive part of the meal was the white chocolate raspberry creme brulee ($8). It was really creamy with actual raspberry puree inside. It also came with a strawberry and a biscotti, but the biscotti was really dry and didn't taste that good.
The bill came to over $120 after tax and tips, which was a bit too much for a not-too-impressive meal.
Yeah I agree with the tuna pillars! I always thought it was bland...
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