Dinner at Glowbal Satay and Grills - an make up valentine dinner :)

Being our 8th valentines day spent together, Jordan and I (more like my sole decision since Jordan was only notified last minute aka night of 13th) have decided not to mingle with the rest of the couples on the day of Valentine's because, well, first of all, it is going to be very crowded (and I cannot emphasize enough how much I hate crowd) and second, it is just not that cost efficient.  As you might have already noticed, the places that offer valentine "specials" are usually at premium prices.  Hey, I am willing to spend money when it comes to tasty food; but I am not willing to pay for "the occasion" (okay, most of the times, of course)  Much like the Xmas eve dinner or the New Year's eve dinners served at restaurants, Valentine's day dinner special is another meal special that I'd like to avoid at all cost.

Since I have been craving for a really good piece of steak, I chose Glowbal satay and Grills for our Valentine's destination.  Okay, I know I know... I am NOT out of my mind and I am well aware of the ratings of Glowbal group.  But I really didn't want to settle with somewhere safe like Gotham's!  It would be so much more exciting to have a nice meal at a place that carries a mixed, bipolar reviews than a place with a lot of hype and a lot of mediocre to positive reviews, right?  I even thought about trying black+blue.... just because they carry some really nice meats but eventually got scared off by their really, REALLY negative reviews on urbanspoon.. but anyway

Satay appitizers from front - lamb shish kebob, kobe meatballs, and braised short rib, served with thai slaw and two sauces (ginger white soy and chinese mustard) - sorry for the blurry picture

Another photo of the appetizer plate without the flash - I am so sorry for the photo quality as the place was quite dark

We didn't order much appetizers because we knew from the beginning that it was going to be a heavier meal (lots of good tasty protein + fat!) so we started with their famous kobe beef meatballs with tomato fondue, a lamb shish kebab and braised beef short rib with truffle aioli. Of course the latter two were simply because I like lamb and beef short ribs :D

First thing on the appetizers - I should have ordered 2 orders each of the shish kebobs and short ribs because they were really tiny!  I basically had a bite of each of the lamb shish kebob and short ribs so I cannot guarantee the accuracy of my reviews but here is how I thought abut them:

 lamb shish kebob: very nicely seasoned with a hint of cumin.  The yogurt sauce on the top was quite nice not only being the factor that holds all the flavours together but also cut through some of the greasiness from the lamb.  The kebob was not gamy at all and the meat was fairly tender although leaning towards "dry".  I liked the charring a lot and my only complaint is that it was a little too small.... I am sure it would have tasted way better with the sauces provided (chinese mustard!)

Kobe beef meatballs with tomato fondue - Okay, you can't exactly call it a fondue if the cheese base is not exactly carefully blended with different types of cheeses and wines... just like you can't call a hotpot a "hotpot" if all they use for the soup base is water!  That was the case here - what you call a tomato fondue, it was merely a tomato sauce topped with some firm cheese (Asiago or parmesan? I am so sorry I can't seem to recall....)  The meatballs were excellent!  One of the juiciest and meatiest I have ever tasted in Van :)  It was nicely flavored too, just enough salt to taste the natural sweetness from the meats.  The tomato + cheese sauce didn't overwhelm the flavour of the meatballs but rather, added another layer of depth (perhaps from the cheese?) to the meatball.  Jordan particularly enjoyed this dish and he even mentioned that he'd come back for it and order 10 of the meatballs instead of a steak.... I guess it is a better deal at $32.50 for 10 meatballs than an 8oz tenderloin steak... haha,,, :P

The braised short ribs - they were just average braised short ribs.  I couldn't detect much truffle in the aioli (which, btw I should have picked up since truffles should be pungent.)  The meat was a bit stringy but, what can I expect at the size of that short ribs?

 My drink - Whistler honey lager - also arrived together with the appetizers.  I liked it!!  I think I am falling in love with the BC honey lager brew!! although i was never a big fan of beer but... these two has gotten me hooked!!

24oz porter house!! - $49.95

10oz Tenderloin - $36.95

I wanted something tender and juicy so I asked our waiter what his recommendations were and how he'd recommend to cook the meat but he simply recommended the tenderloin at medium rare.  I don't know.  Call me nit picking.  I didn't like how he recommended something so, "safe" and "predictable".  I felt bad turning down his recommendation so I ordered as he recommended and wondered if rare was or was not an option.... anyway... Both of our steaks came out on a piece of wooden chopping board, I really liked the presentation especially with our large chunks of meats!  It added that primitive feel to an otherwise elegant dining ambiance.  What can I say?  I am a sucker for gaps!!  I got exactly what I was expecting (medium rare) and it was surely tender and juicy!  So juicy that in fact, a lot of the juice leaked through my cutting board on to the paper table cloth underneath (wait, does that mean my meat wasn't actually rested well enough? anyone?)

However, picking tenderloin means sacrificing the meat flavour to trade for tenderness and that was exactly the case with my steak.  After I had a bite of Jordan's porterhouse cut - it became evident that his steak was a lot more flavourful than mine!  If you are a fan of the huge beefy flavour (slight sweetness and creeminess from the fat and that tiny bit of gaminess distinctive to beef) and you don't mind a bit of chewing then I'd totally recommend the striploin or T-bone or porterhouse over tenderloin or filet mignon!  

 Because my steak was not very flavourful, I really got to test out the sauces.  I was very surprised with hollandaise sauce as I am more accustomed to see hollandaise on eggsbenny... breakfast items or just on eggs!!  So imagine my surprise when I found out that the two actually worked together!  The creamy and buttery hollandaise sauce was perfect for a piece of tenderloin that lacks fat.  Loved it!  As for my second favourite, it was the chimichurri sauce.  I didn't even bother trying the bbq sauce but now I am regretting!! The horseradish sauce was my least favourite as it really just overpowered my tender and delicate tasting tenderloin.

Jordan's porterhouse was really flavvourful and when he asked for rare, well, only the strip loin side was rare... the tenderloin was (as expected) a bit overdone at medium rare. Both sides tho however were very flavourful and even his tenderloin tasted better than mine!! (I guess mine must have been the filet mignon cut or somewhere close to that, anyway)  He noted that he really enjoyed his steak.  But when I tried his, I came across a huge chunk of connective tissue that was really tough.  I am sorry to ruin everyone's appetite here but I had to spit out the chunk because it was just impossible to chew.  Otherwise it was a flavourful piece of steak that we both enjoyed :)

The sides:

poutine + 4 sauces for the steaks - chimichurri sauce, hollandaise sauce, bbq sauce and a horseradish sauce

brussel sprouts - $6.50 - capers, lemon, parmasan

The two sides we ordered were really delicious!  I really enjoyed the brussel sprouts as that nuttiness from brussel sprouts and the burnt flavour really worked together!  The crispy texture worked perfectly with the creamy, tart, and nutty flavour along with the bitterness that came from the burnt pieces.  I somehow had a feeling that this dish came from an accidental failure dish where the chef was maybe preparing for a roasted brussel sprouts and ended up over roasting it but realized that the burnt brussel sprouts actually tasted fantastic with the burnt and decided to keep it!! hmm my overly imaginative imaginations... lol :P

Our second side dish was a simple poutine.  I really liked it because first of all, they kept their promise and used the real cheese curds; and second, the gravy (I believe it was chicken gravy?) was highly enjoyable with a prominent umami and a bit of sweetness coming from chicken fat.  The gravy was so good that I don't even remember how the fries actually tasted like... I am pretty sure they were nicely fried with a bit of crunch and wasn't too soggy although dumped in gravy!

Over all, Jordan and I enjoyed our meal here and being a carnivor as Jordan is, he had absolutely no complaint with the meal other than that huge vein found in his steak and, although I didn't have much problem with my steak, I just hoped that my waiter could have been a little more knowledgeable and informative.  I just wanted a good piece of steak that's been cooked perfectly!!! anyone with any suggestions.. please leave a msg and let me know! your help is much appreciated!!!!

another photo of porter house - huge!!!! and really flavourful :))

Food - 3.5/5

service - 4/5 - (excellent service from the managers of the restaurant, weird how the servers were only carrying out dishes but minimal services :$)

ambiance - 4/5 - I booked my reservation on opentable with a special request for the maitre D' asking for a quiet table and we were seated at one of the most quiet tables in the restaunrat!  Very impressed with their attention to details and will definitely return for other special occasions!   Maybe next time to their brunch menus as those are what seem to be more popular so far!