作為一個有承擔的作者（？），當然是有做資料搜集的。

Dandelion and Burdock （蒲公英和牛蒡）是源自英國的傳統飲品。古法的材料中確實是有發酵了的蒲公英和牛蒡的根。但現在大部分在超市找到的 dandelion and burdock 汽水都是用一般汽水的成份，並不含有蒲公英和牛蒡。

Dandelion and burdock – Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandelion_and_burdock

在這網站有賣（據稱）是天然的 Danelion and Burdock：

http://tinyurl.com/589xmk

這網誌發表了在家自己調的方法：

http://tinyurl.com/429tos

1. Feenie’s

I booked the table on the morning of January 3rd, and it may be a good decision. The place was pretty busy and we had to wait for 15 minutes (or more?) to get the table. The table arrangement is kind of tight, which gave some kind of “Hong Kong-style restaurant” feel. I guess that is because of the dine out. Otherwise the ambiance and service is decent.

What I had:
Appetizer: Red and golden beet salad with pistachios, orange segments and horseradish dressing
Entree: Chick pea fritters with a ragout of mushrooms and baby vegetables mushroom froth
Dessert: Chocolate cherry bread pudding with kirsch chantilly cream

It was good that we had three people in total, so that we all ordered different dishes and tried each of them out. I kind of liked the taste of the beet salad. Don’t remember much about the entree, except that it was pretty good. :p The bread puddling is so-so. Overall, the menu is original and it’s refreshing to have something other than your typical West Coast style food.

2. Aqua Riva

Parking wasn’t hard to find (for a Saturday evening in Downtown), but expensive as expected. Kind of confused as to where the place was because its address is 200 Granville, but the entrance is actually at the 200 block of Howe. The view was pretty nice since the building is built right out to the water.

What I had:
Appetizer: BABY FIELD GREEN SALAD with apple & mint goat cheese croustade and balsamic herb viniagrette
Entree: Some mushroom dish that wasn’t advertised on the online menu
Dessert: APPLE AND RAISIN BREAD PUDDING with rum caramel sauce

Kind of disappointed with the salad, and I should’ve got the hot pot instead. Apart from the big mushrooms (which I forgot the name), the entree also features some potato cake. I chose the apple bread pudding because I don’t like mint and didn’t want the mint chocolate cheesecake. Overall so-so (in line with popular opinion?), and can be filed under “yet another West Coast style restaurant with a view.”

3. Nu

Nu is a French restaurant below the Granville Bridge in the southern part of Yale Town. The building is two stories, with Stone Grill on the upper floor and Nu on the lower floor. The style of the seats somehow reminds me of some clubhouse lounge. The view is okay (didn’t get window seat).

What I had:
Appetizer: Roasted Cepes Mushroom Soup bacon, thyme, croutons
Entree: Prawn Ravioli black olive, peppers, leeks, cream
Dessert: Vanilla Creme Brulee (unadvertised on web site)

The bacon and croutons for the soup are pretty well done. The prawn ravioli dish leaned towards the small side, but the prawn is fresh and tastes “sweet.” The creme brulee is very good, but it can be because I liked creme brulee in the first place, haha. Overall pretty good.

So, in terms of food, I would rank Feenie’s > Nu > Aqua Riva.

I am just not very good at writing restaurant reviews (to me, taste is a binary value, it either tastes good or tastes bad…). Therefore, this is more like a “record to self” kind of thing. :p