Updated: 11th Oct 2010: this restaurant is closed according to Urbanspoon.

This is a complementary meal from Circa Restaurant and Lounge.

You have no idea how rough a week it had been for me.  There is simply too much work but yet so little time.  Thank goodness that there are some wins along the way … and thank goodness there are Fridays!

Suanne and I were back at Circa Restaurant and Lounge yesterday.  We were actually in Circa’s a couple of weeks ago for their official launch (we blogged about that event here).  The event was not exactly conducive for a tasting.  So, we made a return visit to Circa just for that — to really savour their food.

Ever since we blogged about Circa, we were rather surprised by the number of hits from Google searches.  It seems that quite a lot of people were aware of this newest restaurant and lounge already.  With Circa located right smack in the middle of the Granville Entertainment District in Downtown Vancouver, Circa could very well be a major congregation point on this area.  Who knows with the revitalization of Granville to its former glory, this street could be as big as Robson today.

After all, with almost 200-seat dining room, Circa is the largest restaurant on Granville.  It is perhaps even the largest restaurant of its style in Vancouver.  The restaurant is build from the ground up.  One would have thought that Circa is built on an existing building but no, it was built out from an old parking lot.  This allows the restaurant to have an unrestricted free hand in the design of a restaurant that allows them to redefine the dining experience.

Spread over the main and mezzanine floors, there are seven distinctly different sections and able to accommodate comfortably after work socials, intimate dining and large group functions.  We were drawn to the high ceiling, and walls dominated by white columns, gold leaf edges and elaborate woodwork.  In short it was a perfect place to wind down a tough week at work in an intimate environment.

Service was excellent and timing was perfect.  We like it when the wait staff came by at the right moment when we are ready.  You know sometimes how awkward it is when you need more time to peruse the menu and they came by again and again asking if we are ready.  LOL!

Their 2 oz premium cocktails ranges from $8 to $14 (including taxes!). Circa’s cocktails seems to be dominated by fruit juice and puree which were prepared daily.  I ordered the Life and Lavender which has Grey Goose La Poire, Giffard Pear, Lavender Honey, Pear Puree and Lemon Juice.  Knowing that I light up bright red on strong alcohol, I asked that they half the shots.

Suanne surprised me.  She went for a cocktail too (not virgin mind you!).  LOL!  Her choice was the very lemony juice cocktail called the Lemon Tree.  This is Grey Goose, Cointreau and Lemon Juice.  She likes it.

Circa’s cocktail are based on classic drinks but made with an unique twist.

We started off with the Pulled Qualicum Pork Poutine ($7).  This is the most unique poutine we ever had.  Instead of cheese curd and brown gravy, ours had slow cooked shoulder and aged cheddar over hand-cut fries.  It was really good and was certainly a fries with a twist.  They managed to redefine a very simple Canadian comfort food to something that every could equally love.

What we enjoyed most was this Greek Salad.  Simple name but redefined into something more interesting and unique.

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This is a complementary meal from Brix Restaurant and Wine Bar.

Oh boy! This was exactly what I needed.

I tell you … taking a week off work is not necessarily a good thing. I took a week off work to clear off my accumulated vacation days because HR sent a note that says “use it or lose it”. So, I took a week off and decided not to get on the VPN … and as expected when I got to the office on Monday morning last week, over a thousand emails greeted my return to work — many of them with a red exclamation mark shouting “urgent”.

So, the past week had been spent on catching up on work and dealing with issues. I must have spent 50 hours at work that week. With great weather at the end of week, I sure was glad it was all over. Suanne and I decided to just go downtown for dinner to cap off the week.

We decided to go to Brix because we were curious about the new First Seating Dinner Menu that we found on our email. Brix is located on 1138 Homer in Yaletown. As you all well know, parking in Yaletown is a challenge. Added to that it was a Friday afternoon and also the Canucks playoff game happening that night.

Brix does offer valet parking ($8) but the good thing a car was just pulling out from one of the many street parking bays.

You really should check out Brix’s quiet courtyard sanctuary which tucked away from street noise while opened right to the street. It was absolutely charming with high glass covered roof. We wanted so much to eat out at the courtyard but it was still quite chilly that day. The courtyard has heating but it was a bit too cold for Suanne.

So we decided to take the table in the inside of the restaurant which presents a whole different setting with rustic brick works and high ceiling. Since we were early, we get to choose our tables … and choose the one by the window which is on a raised platform. It was a great table. We got to see the world go by and at the same time have a commanding view of the dining area. We figured later that the platform could be used as an altar for a wedding reception.

This is one place where a nice table is as important as the meal itself.

Service was exquisite. Suanne and I really wanted a quiet dinner to put the week behind us. The wait staff who waited on us can read us quite well. She briefly explained the menus (they have a few of it) and brought us the bread. There were three types of bread and we were informed that they are all made in-house by the pastry chef. We like the soft bread with herbs the best.

The bread came with butter, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Nice! We liked it so much that we actually had two refills of the bread throughout the dinner. This is how bread should be served … made fresh and with choices for the customer.

We opted for the $29 First Seating Dinner Menu, which is paired with wine as an extra if you so choose. With two options for the 3-courses available, choosing was an easy “one-of-each”.

You know what impressed us a lot? When we said we wanted one-of-each, they asked to confirm we meant to share. We said yes and they actually set us up to share with extra plates — extra warm plates. Brix sure is attentive.

One of the starters we had was the springrolls. The slim and long springrolls were made to be easily handled as finger food. They are filled with julienne vegetable and tofu and sprinkled with salt on the outside. It was crunchy to the bite especially with the thin hard wrapper.

The best part? The sauces! They served this with three type of sauces. There is the aioli, papaya sambal sauce and shitake hoisin — absolutely marvelous. The shitake hoisin has a little saltiness in it which brings out the best in the springrolls. What we like best was the papaya sambal sauce which is spicy. I had never quite had anything like this before and I think you will like it too.

The other starter was the Spinach greens tossed in orange balsamic vinaigrette. There was a generous amount of wild mushroom underneath the greens which is topped with goat cheese. This is simply some of the better salad I had.

On to the main course. It is called the Seven Spiced Grilled Alberta AAA Beef Tenderloin. Made medium rare, it came with a liberal amount of light Soya Demi Glace. The demi glace made the already juicy steak a lot more moist. The steak is one part of the story …

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