Updated 14th Jan 2011: This restaurant had closed according to Urbanspoon.com.

I had always enjoyed a nice drink and dinner after work … more so on a weekday than on a weekend. Work had been hectic as always. After a solid 8 hours at the office, I would always jump at a chance to go out for a drink and after work dinner.

About a month or two ago, there was a Prix Fixe event in selected restaurants in Vancouver sponsored by San Pellegrino. Suanne and I love these type of events and had always wanted to invite another couple to join us. We could think of only one couple who we were pretty sure would enjoy doing this — Viv and Ole.

Suanne and I arranged to meet up with Viv and Ole (and their beautiful baby) for dinner during one such weekday. Viv and Ole selected the date and time and left the choice of the restaurant to us. We chose the restaurant with the best waterfront view … the Watermark on Kits Beach.

I remembered this restaurant well. A few years back there was some controversy around the building of this restaurant. This place used to be a beach front concession. When the idea to redevelop the concession, there were quite a bit of protest that this restaurant will mar the beauty of the beach.

The project turned out quite OK. Now it has not only a first class full-service restaurant, it is also functioning as a beach-level concession, changing rooms, and a lifeguard station. The Watermark is on the elevated second floor which gives a sweeping view of the English Bay.

Suanne and I went a bit earlier. We wanted to spend sometime walking around the Kits Beach and take some pictures. During the warm summer months, this popular beach would have been packed with people. Not so that day we were there. As a matter of fact, it was very cold and chilly.

I believe Watermark has the best view of the Kits Beach and English Bay. We had an option to either take the much warmer indoor tables but choose the tables out by the patio.

At first we were a bit apprehensive of sitting out at the patio. It was not too bad. For one, the patio is heated and they have thoughtfully provided blankets to keep the legs warm if needed.

It was great watching the sun set from where we sat. I can’t complain … life had been good.

For drinks, I had the Mohito with mango flavour (should it not have been spelt as Mojito?). It is rum with fresh lime, and fresh mint. As hard as I tried, I can’t taste any hint of mango at all … it was overwhelmingly minty. I felt they overdid the mint thing.

Since this event was sponsored by San Pellegrino, we were given complimentary bottled water. There was a choice of S.Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water and Acqua Panna Natural Spring Water.

S.Pellegrino is a carbonated mineral water bottled near Milan, Italy. The water originates from a layer of rock 400m below the surface, where it is mineralized from contact with limestone and volcanic rocks.

The bread was a disappointment. They only gave us a small serving of a french loaf. I am not sure why they gave us so little. Maybe it’s because it supposed to come with one of our meals only. *shrugs*

One of the appys we had was the Rock Salt Chilli Prawns with Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce. It sure looked good. Deep fried prawns is always good. It’s so good we didn’t even touch the dipping sauce.

The Seafood Chowder plating does not look exciting at all. Made from ocean fish and shellfish, it was really creamy.

For the mains, we had what is called the Braised AAA Short Ribs served with garlic mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables and Hoi Sin demi glaze. This is a typical west coast dish with an Asian flair. The meat was really tender — the way we always liked it. My only complain? There are so little meat in short ribs!

The Grilled B.C. Salmon was the other main we ordered. It is served with lobster risotto, seasonal vegetables and lemon butter sauce. The salmon was OK but what I liked was the rich creaminess of the rice starches.

The dessert we had was Oven-roasted Pear and Gingerbread Crumble mulled with red wine reduction. The thin slice of oven-roasted pear was somewhat unique, I would say.

The simpler desserts is always the best. The Dark Chocolate Pot De Creme is served with almond biscotti and scented with lemon and cardamon.

We only took pictures of what Suanne and I had. Well, I thought it was kind of intrusive to reach across the table to take pictures of their food!

So, Viv and Ole … I want to let you know that both Suanne and I had a great time. Thanks for coming and especially for paying!! You certainly did not have to but we appreciate that a lot. I hope you have a safe trip back home to Norway (OK, OK, I remember now … Norway, not Denmark!). Keep in touch, OK?