Goldfish Pacific Kitchen (web site, map, 1118 Mainland Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604 689-8318) is an upscale restaurant in Vancouver’s downtown Yaletown neighborhood, that offers fine dining in a trendy, lively atmosphere.

In a previous dinner time visit, I enjoyed their ling cod ($22). Since then I’ve been back three times for lunch. Goldfish offers daily lunch specials which are $10 plus tax and tip. These specials really showcase the talents of executive chef William Tse.

Flat Iron Steak (on Thursdays) is served with mushrooms, snow pear, and mustard green salad. On Fridays, their special is the seafood fricassée (pictured below), with mussels, fresh fish, thai basil, coconut, and fresh chiles.

The flavors in the fricassée were fantastic, expertly crafted into bringing out the freshness of the seafood, with a rich broth that went with the rice perfectly. The fresh chiles were extremely spicy but our helpful server warned us about them, and thankfully they were served on the side. Another popular lunch choice from our table was the Shanghai Noodles, which can be ordered with beef short rib or chicken.

Many food fanatics (or “foodies” as they are affectionately known) love Vancouver because of the remarkable East-meets-West fusion that happens in the kitchens of our many talented, daring, and masterful chefs. As a port city we are fortunate to have some of the freshest ingredients arriving in our markets from Asia and the Pacific Northwest. Chefs like William Tse and restaurants like Goldfish are setting the stage for Vancouver as a world-class food city.

Please visit the Gold fish restaurant’s web site if you’d like to browse their menu or see some photos of the room’s cool decor.

Seafood Fricasse from Goldfish Pacific Kitchen restaurant in Yaletown, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Amuse bouche, a little complimentary appetizer created by their chef.

I had lunch at Cactus Club Cafe (web site, map, 855 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone 604-682-0933) and enjoyed their Westcoast Pocket ($4.00) and the Prawn and Scallop Spaghettini ($20).

The Westcoast Pocket (shown in video below) is made with wild smoked salmon, avocado, seasoned rice, pea shoots, tofu and tobiko, and is one of my favorite appetizers that Cactus Club serves. For another photo of the Westcoast pocket please view my review of their Yaletown location.

The prawn and scallop spaghettini is a specialty of Cactus Club’s celebrity chef and Iron Chef USA winner, Rob Feenie, and is made with pan seared prawns and scallops, roasted tomato sauce, garlic and parmesan crostini. I was really impressed by the size and taste of the scallops, which were generous in number and hidden throughout the pasta.

I made a little video of the dishes, which you can view by clicking here, or use the player below.

Westcoast Pocket from Cactus Club

Milestone’s Grill and Bar (map, web site, 2966 W. 4th Ave., Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-734-8616) is a popular casual/trendy Canadian restaurant chain with several locations in Vancouver.

Milestones is known for their steaks, rotisserie, and pasta dishes, but they also have a great brunch menu, which is available on weekends. I ordered their Grilled Shrimp California Benedict ($12.99, pictured below) which was a creative variation on the classic Eggs Benedict, served with “spicy house-made avocado salsa, double-smoked bacon, [and] large grilled shrimp.” I was really impressed by the presentation of this dish and it tasted great - the bacon, eggs, shrimp and hollandaise sauce were a nice combination.

antoni81, a revewer on Dinehere.ca (click here to read review) writes:

I always leave happy. Tonight I came by with 2 friends. I had a double hamburger and fettucini. My other friend had the Portobella chicken, and I think my other friend had a hamburger. The food here has always tasted good…

Visit Part 6 for another photo and more information about a different location (Yaletown, downtown).

California Eggs Benedict with Shrimp ($12.99) from Milestones Restaurant in Vancouver.