There's no shortage of restaurants with happy hour in Gastown and tonight we visited The Flying Pig. They offer happy hour 4-6pm with appetizers $5-6 each and specified drinks at $4.

We arrived around 5:15pm before the rush. The bar and its surrounding floor tables were full by 5:30pm. I had heard great things about The Flying Pig and this inaugural meal confirmed those reviews!

We ordered five appetizers to share and they were all delicious.

Truffle Mac n' Cheese ($5): This Mac n' Cheese was a great blend of buttery, cheesey goodness. It was the most filling appie on the menu that night. Each shell was thoroughly coated and fragrant.

Truffle Mac n' Cheese

Short Rib Croquettes ($5): These deep fried croquettes oozed a warm blend of potato and fine short ribs. The meat was so finely shredded that you probably won't notice it much. If you're looking for meat this probably won't satisfy you but if you want to eat some serious, deep fried comfort food then give it a go!

Short Rib Croquettes

Steamed Clams ($6): Clams are perfect for sharing. They lay in a pool of broth that was too salty for drinking but contained all the seafood-fresh taste of the clams. Piled on top are fried potato sticks (think Hickory Sticks!) The sticks themselves were delicious and seasoned heavily with salt.

Steamed Clams

Beef Carpaccio ($6): I've tried beef carpaccio from Ebisu, Hapa Izakaya, Phnom Penh, and Joe Fortes. The Flying Pig one is my favourite so far. Thinly sliced raw beef were topped with arugula, crispy capers, parmesan cheese, and dressing. The toppings didn't overwhelm the freshness of the beef which was very tender. I especially liked the contrast of the crispy capers to the tenderness of the beef.

Beef Carpaccio

Smoked Salmon Salad ($5): Greens and cucumber slices tossed in olive oil were topped with slices and chunks of smoked salmon. A large dollop of sour cream added extra creaminess. This salad is not a must order but if you'd like some greens during happy hour then it's not a bad option.

Smoked Salmon Salad

The Flying Pig interior

Overall I had a great meal at The Flying Pig. Service was on point from the time we entered the door. Food came relatively quickly, our water was constantly filled and seating was comfortable. I'm looking forward to trying their main courses another time.

Coast offers happy hour or as they call it "Cocktail Hour" from 3-6pm daily. Appetizers are 50% off , some oysters for $1, and selected drinks are $5.

This promotion drew quite a crowd on the weekday evening I went and we were told we had to return the table within 1 hour and 45 minutes.

While waiting for our server to take our order, we were given a complementary dish to try which was like a fried dough ball with some shrimp paste inside. 

Complementary dish

The oysters were pretty fresh though I did feel some bits of shell in some of mine. There were no shell bits in the raw oysters I tried at Joe Fortes or Chewies. The sauce variety was lacking and weren't flavourful.

Raw oysters

The dungeness crab cake served with fennel salad had shredded crab meat and wasn't deep fried which I enjoyed. It was a bit delicate and broke apart easily under the fork but wasn't too salty like some crab cakes I've tried.

Dungeness crab cake

The garlic fried calamari with fresno chillies, cilantro and lime aioli reminded me of squid I'd eat at Chinese restaurants. The chillies added a hint of flavour without making the calamari spicy at all. Each piece was thoroughly battered and fried to crispiness. It's great for sharing!

Calamari

The bill came to $40 before gratuity and the seafood was pretty fresh. The dining atmosphere during Cocktail Hour was very rushed with our server forgetting to collect our menu after taking our order and having the oysters arrive last after the hot food. Overall I may visit again for the raw oysters and its convenient location.

I've been craving for raw oysters since I ate it last year at Joe Fortes. Surely more than a year wait is too long! Chewies Steam and Oyster Bar has daily buck-a-shuck (aka $1 per oyster) from 3 to 6pm. We went around 4pm on a Friday and there were only a few tables. Online I read that the service can be spotty during happy hour but our server was very attentive and we didn't have any problems.

The oysters for a buck that day were from Vancouver Island though I forgot the name. It came with horse radish and four house-made sauces that ranged in spiciness. Even the spiciest one wasn't that spicy to me though I enjoyed all the sauces with some made with red wine and others more vinegar based. The oysters were very fresh and well cleaned.

Raw oysters ($1 each)

During happy hour the appetizers, called first bites, are half-priced so we tried two. An appetizer name that stood out to us was Chicken Fried Gator and Hush Puppies. After asking the server, he confirmed that it was alligator meat deep fried like chicken and hush puppies are fried corn bread. The alligator meat was like a cross between fish and chicken, it was chewy but more moist than chicken. It came with jalapeno jelly to dip which wasn't that spicy.

Chicken fried gator and hush puppies ($13.5)

The other appetizer we got was the Pork Belly Cracklin' which reminded me of Chinese BBQ pork but thoroughly deep fried. The skin was crispy and the layers of fat and meat melted in the mouth. Though some pieces were tough because it was overly fried. I liked the Cajun sweet and sour apple sauce that came with it because the sourness made the pork belly a little less filling.

Pork Belly Cracklin' ($10.5)

Overall it was a great small meal at Chewies. Correction, small but very filling since it was mostly fried food. They're building an outdoor patio which I'm not sure will be finished by the end of this summer. If not I'd surely go visit it next summer.

We went to Hapa Izakaya on Robson during their Hapa Hour (5:30-6:30pm) and had such yummy food with great service! All the items on the Hapa Hour menu were under $5 including $1.5 each fresh raw oysters.

Beef Tataki: Lightly seared AAA beef, sesame chili sauce

This was like a Japanese version of beef carpaccio and tasted good in its own way. The sesame chili sauce was flavourful and mixed well with the fried onion pieces and raw beef. There is no cheese like in beef carpaccio.

Beef tataki

Ebi Mayo: tempura prawn, spicy mayo sauce

There were 6 prawns fried to crunchiness and generously covered in mayo sauce that wasn't that spicy. Very yummy appetizer to share with friends.

Ebi Mayo

Hanabi Roll: Spicy tuna, cucumber, wasabi tobiko, spicy miso

The Hanabi roll was one of the most fun dishes on the Hapa Hour menu because when it came, the server took a torch and blasted fire at our sushi dish! It didn't make the sushi hot like I thought it would but just added some crunch to the top pieces.

Hanabi Roll

Joyce Point Raw Oyster: Cortes Island BC - mild, sweet, briny finish

There were three dipping sauces that came with the oysters - sweet, slightly spicy and savoury. The oysters were plump, cleaned well and tasted refreshing!

Joyce Point Raw Oysters

Spicy Pork Ishi-Yaki: Rice, minced pork, flower, chives, egg, tomato,lettuce, spicy miso, served in a hot stone bowl

When this stone bowl came, it reminded me of Korean bibimbap but didn't taste like it at all. Our server mixed all the contents of the bowl thoroughly for us then told us to wait for a minute to let the rice harden on the edges of the bowl which will taste crunchy later. It was a hearty bowl of rice that was quite wet with the sauces and ingredients.

Spicy Pork Ishi-Yaki

Overall, I'm glad that I found out about Hapa Hour here and ate all this good food during dinner time for the price of a lunch meal. Will come again!

Ebisu on Broadway is a little hard to find since the front door is not on the sidewalk but it is only a short walk from the Canada Line and even closer to the 99 bus stop.

I went on a weekend evening with a large group at around 8pm and the service was slow. The server was not rude but everyone was inattentive and I had to ask twice before I got my cup of tea. The food also took more than 50 minutes to come. With the slow and inattentive service, I wasn't expecting great food from Ebisu but fortunately it turned out good.

Happy Hour menu is 7 days a week starting at 8:30pm. I wanted to try the raw oysters but they were out. We ordered three things from the Happy Hour menu: gyutan saikyo, dynamite roll and spicy tuna.

Gyutan Saikyo (not pictured): This dish was thinly sliced grilled ox tongue and it was only $4.95! Although the best ox tongue I've tried in Vancouver is still Maruchu, the one at Ebisu is a good deal and tasted pretty good. The meat was chewy and the sauce was buttery.

Dynamite Roll (not pictured): I think every restaurant makes dynamite rolls differently. At Ebisu, it was rice and seaweed wrapped around tempura shrimp and thin cucumber slices. The presentation was nice. I guess that's why the food took so long to come because the chefs were backed up on making the food look presentable.

Spicy Tuna: The tuna was chopped into small pieces and mixed with chunky spicy sauce over lettuce and julienned radish. It's a refreshing appetizer.

Spicy Tuna

Beef Carpaccio: Thin sliced beef Tataki and mixed spring greens, wonton skins, fresh mango, tomatoes served with carpaccio sauce

We ordered the Beef Carpaccio off the regular dinner menu because it looked so good when I saw it on a counter in the restaurant. The yellow heap on top are fried wonton strips, underneath is a pile of spinach and the raw beef surrounded it all. I enjoyed this dish with the raw beef texture, crunchiness of the wonton and freshness of the spinach all soaking up the carpaccio sauce.

Beef Carpaccio

Overall, I might visit Ebisu again on a weekday but definitely not during its busy hours where I will have to wait an hour for my food.

I've been curious about Joe Fortes since I saw it on the Dine Out Vancouver website so I did not hesitate to take advantage of their lunch special for the month of March. This post compiles photos from two visits: lunch and happy hour.

There was complimentary baguette with lobster oil and sweetened vinegar. My friends and I all agreed that the lobster oil reminded us of XO sauce!

Complimentary bread

The Salmon Cakes was a carb loaded dish with its buttery mashed potatoes and squash plus all the buttery oils in the cakes themselves. Unhealthiness aside, this was a great dish! Each bite was smooth and effortless comfort food.

Salmon Cakes

I believe last summer was the first time I've tried fish tacos and now every time I go to a restaurant and see it on the menu, it is my immediate choice. The freshly deep fried tempura style fish strips smelled so good as the dish was placed in front of me. I also appreciated how there was plenty of chipotle aioli, guacamole, sour cream, and pico de gallo because some restaurants only give a very small amount of sauce for their dishes. Don't forget the tortillas in the top left corner to wrap it all together! The dish made four tacos and I was happily full after the second one.

Fish Tacos

The Ling Cod and Chips was made with the same crispy, light batter and served with tartar sauce, ketchup, and coleslaw. The size of the piece of fish definitely outcompetes any fish and chips I've seen before!

Ling Cod and Chips

Now onto the Happy Hour menu items. These are just appetizers that you can order during restaurant hours but during Happy Hour (4-6PM) they are 50% off. Our server for lunch was very friendly but our server for Happy Hour was more dismissive. I couldn't help but think that it was because our bill total was lower with the discount so that was why the service was inconsistent.

Anyways, onto the food. This is the first time I've had raw beef and I'm happy to say that it was a delicious experience. The Beef Carpaccio included grainy mustard, roasted garlic, grana padano and crispy capers. The beef slices were very tender with absolutely no tough veins and a great match with the spinach and cheese.

Beef Carpaccio

I didn't catch the name of the raw oysters but they sure were fresh. I've had raw oysters before at an oyster farm where the fisherman opened it in front of us almost directly from the sea. Those were very salty from the sea water.

Raw oysters

The Tempura Prawns were fried as nicely as the fish tacos and ling cod above. There was an excessive amount of togarashi mayo on the side considering that there were only three prawns.

Jumbo Tempura Prawns

Overall, the food at Joe Fortes is definitely worth the hype and even better with their promotions. Since I use social media often, I like that Joe Fortes engages in good social media use to answer customer questions and release news. For example, I learned about their lunch special on Twitter.

We went to Society Dining Lounge to celebrate a friend's birthday. There were many big parties of 10+ at the restaurant.

Dinner menu

The drinks here are pretty fun with cotton candy on top. I think that's why the ladies prefer Society because there were three simultaneous bachelorette parties next to our table.

I ordered the Smoked Pulled Pork which had grilled cornbread, apple-cabbage slaw, chipotle dip, and chips. The cornbread was actually my favourite part of the dish because it was soft, sweet and crumbly. You can't pick up the cornbread to eat it like an open-faced sandwich, it tastes more like cake than bread because of the sweetness. The pulled pork was very tender but I couldn't taste the smoked part. The apple slaw was refreshing and different than typical coleslaw. Chips were a bit burnt but otherwise light, salty, and crispy. 

Smoked Pulled Pork ($18.13 with tax & 18% gratuity for parties)

Below are pictures of what some friends ordered.

The burger patty came pretty burnt and my friend was given a new one. Guess they were too busy to expo before they sent the food out.

Society Burger: ground beef, tomato, signature sauce

Rigatoni Pomodoro: tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, ricotta cheese

Baked Mac & Cheese

Overall, there are many types of comfort food on the menu accompanied by very loud music. Usually at restaurants as the dinner goes on your ears get used to the volume and the music seems to be less loud but at Society the volume kept cranking up making it very difficult to talk to even the person beside you.