Dine Out Vancouver starts treating us to fantastic food starting this Friday, January 16 till February 1st. There are so many choices from the $18-$28-$38 fixed price meals. New restaurants are always coming into our food scene, so there are always wonderful surprises each year. This year, one of our new restaurants is Morocco West located at Jervis and Robson.
They invited me to drop by their restaurant today to have a preview of the menu, which I can tell you about. I have eaten at Morocco West a few times before and have loved all the dishes. Today was no exception. All the food was done very well, but as everyone has their own preferences, there were a few dishes that I liked a bit more.
Below are pictures of all the dishes that will be served at Morocco West for Dine Out and a few comments by me. Enjoy their excellent food. Get your reservation soon as I am sure they will be 100% booked shortly.
Appetizers
Morocco West Trio: Hummus, zaalouk and lentil salad with house-made bread– I had never tried zaalouk, an eggplant based dish that was nicely spiced with cumin, but is now a favourite appetizer for me. The hummus was also very good, with a nice garlic edge.
Wild Salmon Cake, Pineapple salsa, pomegranate vinaigrette and balsamic reduction – really tasty. The salmon was nicely flaked so you had texture in your mouth, not pureed salmon. To that the pineapple salsa was outstanding. The pineapple flavour and sweetness was toned down by the light chili peppers and spices.
Either dish was tasty for me.
Main Courses
Moroccan Cauli-Taktouka Cauliflower, tomatoes, sweet peppers, chickpeas, olives and herbed-gnocchi – I didn’t think a vegetarian dish would captivate my taste buds the way that it did, but it did. This dish has 24 different spices, although not one spice overpowered the others. They all worked together in harmony. The vegetables were soft, and the gnocchi has some nice crispness on the outside. Recommended.
Roasted Chermoula Chicken, Saffron couscous, red wine braised cabbage, carrots, squash and raisin jus – For this dish, I enjoyed the flavours of the red wine braised cabbage, squash, and couscous infused with the raisin jus. The chicken although done well needed a bit more flavour, but I am told the chef is working on bumping it up.
Ras-el-hanout Braised Lamb Shank, Tomato rice stuffed roasted pepper, edamame puree and sauce chasseur – My other favourite main course. The lamb shank was done so well; falling off the bone, with full, deep savoury flavour. To that you had the inter-play with the sourness of the edamame puree and the charred flavour of the roasted pepper. Good to the last bite.
Dessert
Sweet Rice Bastilla Cinnamon, raisins, almonds, and rosewater creme anglais – A tasty treat with the rice and chopped almonds wrapped in a thin filo pastry dough, giving you texture and crunch, and together with that the rosewater syrup and cinnamon adding sweetness and sweet spice. Very good.
Persimmon Crumble With home made ice cream, and mulled wine syrup – the home-made ice cream was missing today, but I think would have added a cold vs hot component to this dessert to make it more enjoyable. Accompanying the crumble is a mulled wine syrup and rosewater syrup, with strawberries on the side. Please swirl the strawberries in the sauces and taste them just like that. It will mesmerize your tastebuds.
My Wine Pairing
To the appetizers and main courses I paired a single wine; the Mission Hill 5 Vineyards Pinot Noir. It was light enough, had nice acidity, and perfumy flavours and aromas, that worked well with all the dishes.
I hope you enjoyed the write up and would consider going to Morocco West. I have no hesitation in recommending this restaurant for Dine Out Vancouver.