27 - Wednesday, April 19, 1989 - North Shore News e ie Live piano music add S| to Vietnamese eatery VINA VIETNAMESE CUISINE, 2508 MARINE DRIVE, WEST VAN- COUVER, 926-6001. VISA, MASTERCARD, ANSERICAN EXPRESS. WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE. OPEN DAILY FROM 4:30 P.M. TO 11 A eae THE (OTIC veil that once shrouded Vina and its food has become a touch tattered since the last time | visited the perennially popular West Vancouver restaurant. And though it still delivers a wide variety of Vietnam's interest- ing Franco-Oriental cuisine, some of the original culinary polish seems to have been lost. But Vina still provides the adventurous diner with something more challenging than ordinary orientai food tailored for North American tastes and overly Pretentious food parading as haute French, The restaurant, like some eccen- tric oriental nightspot frequented by Humphrey Bogart or Peter Lorre, is one of the only restau- rants on the North Shore with nightly live piano rausic, which is so much move engaging than the regulation brand of restaurant muzak. It also adds that all too elusive ingredient of romance to a dining night out. On a recent Vina visit, Table Hopping personne! settled into a bamboo and wrought-iron- screened booth in a dark and secluded corner of the restaurant. Our mission: to test the renowned drunken lobster special being of- fered during February. Why the dish conjures visions of dear old dad on summer vacations past, I don’t know, but what I do know is that the sea creature in its inebriated condition is well worth sampling. : Preliminaries to the lobster luau were chosen from Vina’s appetizer selection, which is largely a study in deep-frying. But the rest of the menu ranges far and wide from the high-brow kitchens of France (brochettes: TIMOTHY . RENSHAW table hopping beef, chicken, pork, lamb and prawns, $7 to $12.90) to the hot and steamy kitchens of the Orient (curries, $7 to $10,) and on to the combined haute and hot kitchens of Vietnam (Vietnamese Steamed Crepes, $5.50 and Chicken Grande-Mere Farcie, $8.95). As with most restaurants that of- fer Far Eastern food, Vina also provides some good vegetarian selections for those who think meatless. : I tried an order of Frog’s Legs Au Beurre ($6.25). The dish was biiled as being marinated, seasoned, then grilled in butter. But the legs tasted deep-fried to me. A side dish of Vina’s red pepper sauce for dipping added some snap to what was a largely bland selection. For those used to eating more familiar limbs such as GO BC PROGRAM Artists get support THE B.C. government wiil use the lotiery-funded GC &C program to help pay for the commissionin or purchase of B.C. artists’ wor for display in public facilities, Bill Reid, Minister of Tourism and Provincial Secretary, anncunced recentiy. A special allowance of one per cent of a facility’s capital budget can be established to a maximum of $59,000. Tke GO BC program your way to HAWAII Play Satettite Showdown Trivia Tuescay nights from S:30pm. Highest points accumulated for the month wins you two return air tickets lo Hawaii, Play Couridown Trivia Mondiys, “ays and Fridays from 6: 6:30pm for other great prizes. will provide 50 per cent of that fowance if the amount is mat- ched by the applicant for GO BC capital funds. “The art will be selected by the local community, a process we feel will broaden the under- standing of the rele art can play in all our lives, Reid said. “This is a very worthwhile GO chicken wings, the bone structure |. of frog’s legs will be odd; strange: . bones will materialize in-unex: pected areas..." fo Also tested wa. a recommended plate of Calamari Julienne ($4.50). The Greek squid specialty arriv- ed thin-sliced and with the same chili and rice vinegar dip that ac- companied and enlivened the frog’s legs. It made for a good Greco-Oriental combination. Taking a momentary leap out of the deep-fry vat, we tried Char- broiled Clams Citron ($5.50). — They arrived half cooked and with no evidence of citron sauce. We sent them packing to the kitchen where they were rescor- ched and redelivered, but they remained unattractive and largely uneaten, Fortunately, the Drunken Lobster ($12.95 per pound) was excellent. Prior to its arrival we were all outfitted with traditional finger- bowls and red lobster smocks, both reliable signs of heavy dining ahead. . The lobsters, bright red, were delivered aboard massive white plates, lying prostrate, heads down, dead drunk in Vina’s pat- ented spiced wine and covered in a rich garlic, lemon-butter sauce. The latter is garlic-heavy, so if you have any post-dining socializ- ing planned, make sure it’s long distance or with a fellow lobster gobbler. A large bow! of rice noodles provided the party with Viet- namese-style starch to go with the rich lobster meat and to absorb the excellent sauce. Lobster meat is sweet and juicy. It is denser than crab meat, and BC initiative which will not only provide a great boost to B.C.’s ar- tistic community but also improve the look of our public facilities.’’ GO 8C is a capital funding program which uses the proceeds from lotteries operated by the B.C. Lottery Corporation to sup- port a wide variety of community initiatives. SHI ORIGIF AN OCEAN OF ORIGIHAL AND CLASSIC SUSHIS LOVINGLY PREPARED — Ity csr raiabow rol — a delicioasly colourtel roll of sea-cel, cucamber salvos, seapper aad egg and spinac’, or mushroom sushi with jiahe muishrooss. shitake y OPEN TUESDAY CLOSED MONDAY | TAKE-OUT and 1 CATERING AVAILABLE ¥ 1980-1510 180 east 2nd, North Van. nnanatinmeneense et REWS photo Kell Lucente PIANIST Fran Jare {left), Vina manager Sam Chan and Vina drunken lobster are three prime ingredients of the West Vancouver restaurant’s unique and popular persona. Vina is a favorite North Shore lucation for Vietnam’s interesting and sophisticated cuisine. hard on the arteries but easy on the tastebuds. Vina is still a geod bet for more exotic and imaginative oriental cuisine and is a good destination for families and large partics, but the West Vancouver branch ap- pears to have temporarily lost some of its original kitchen dex- terity and fiair. mercifully does not require that diners hold a degree in marine bi- ology in order to remove it from within complex shell configura- tions. All orders were devoured with enthusiasm. For dessert? The old indulgent standby: deep-fried bananas ($2.25) and vanilla ice cream — Ambleside Mondays — Saturdays 5:30 — 9:00 pm — Ee @