Mosaic on Burrard

The Mosaic Grille is located on the second floor of the Hyatt Regency Vancouver. The tasteful, modern interior lends itself to a relaxing dining experience with great views.

Vaneats package at Mosaic on Burrard Mosaic on Burrard Mosaic on Burrard view

The prime downtown location is perfect for unwinding after a long day behind the desk, or indulging in a fantastic package currently being offered by VanEatsca. Entitled Art of Taste, a three course menu (with two options for each course) is available for $22, a steal considering the quality of ingredients and attention to detail in the dishes you’re being presented with to enjoy.

Mosaic on Burrard Executive Chef Thomas Heinrich

Native Australian Executive Chef Thomas Heinrich has enjoyed a successful career cooking in several Sydney restaurants before heading to New York City to work as sous chef at the former Fifty Seven Fifty Seven at the Four Seasons Hotel. He’s all about locally-sourced, seasonal ingredients that marry in taste and texture.

My friend Kelly and I indulged in the Art of Taste menu this week:

Appetizer
– Local seasonal spring salad, fava beans, house made sheep milk ricotta, citrus/mustard dressing
– Warm à la Minute smoked Skuna Bay salmon, avocado terrine, maple-matured sherry bourbon oak vinegar

Entrée
– Eight-hour braised Spring Creek short ribs, roasted root vegetables, garlic, tarragon jus
– Grilled long line-caught BC Ling cod, baby bok choy, shiitake mushroom, dashi broth

Dessert
– Mosaic signature triple layer chocolate cake
– Banana split, with caramelized banana, vanilla ice cream, almond brittle, chocolate sauce

Local spring salad, fava beans, house-made sheep milk ricotta, citrus mustard dressing
[Local spring salad, fava beans, house-made sheep milk ricotta, citrus mustard dressing]

The spring salad is so pretty, almost too much so to eat. Everything about the salad rang fresh. And that house-made ricotta was just sublime next to the citrus mustard flavour combination. Tiny edible flowers grace the plate as well as that of the Skuna Bay salmon, also very artfully designed on the plate.

A soft avocado and sour cream terrine sits next to the salmon and the maple/oak/sherry bourbon flavour of the fluid gel is enhanced by the ingredients spending time in a maple-bourbon oak barrel. Chef Heinrich uses local/sustainable sturgeon caviar by Northern Divine.

Smoked Skuna bay salmon, maple matured sherry bourbon oak vinegar, avocado terrine
[Smoked Skuna bay salmon, maple matured sherry bourbon oak vinegar, avocado terrine]

As well, the dish is brought out served with a glass dome, as an additional finishing to the Sous-vide process it starts out with. I tried a similar version prepared by the chef and his team at the 2013 Healthy Chef Competition Dinner and Awards.

Eight-hour braised short rib, foraged spring onions, morel mushrooms, cooked in shallot and garlic
[Eight-hour braised short rib, foraged spring onions, morel mushrooms, cooked in shallot & garlic]

The braised short ribs are densely flavoured and enhanced by the morels cooked in shallot and garlic. The kitchen uses foraged spring onions from Mikuni Wild Harvest as well as Vidalias from the Southern US, aka the sweetest onion around. The sweetness is derived from the onions being grown in soil containing very little sulfur.

Ocean Wise Long Line BC Gray Cod, baby bok choy, shitake mushrooms, dashi broth
[Ocean Wise Long Line BC Gray Cod, baby bok choy, shitake mushrooms, dashi broth]

Chef Heinrich brought a small pot of hot dashi broth to grace the ling cod, adding immediate aromatic pleasure to a dish already adorned with baby bok choy, shitake mushrooms, tiny purple edible flowers and strands of red chili. Divine and subtle, the dish was immersed with an array of flavour. The line-caught Ocean Wise BC fish is only touched by two sets of hands: that of the fisherman and that of the cook.

Mini Mosaic signature chocolate cake with fresh fruit and chocolate drizzle
[Mosaic signature chocolate cake with fresh fruit and chocolate drizzle]

The desserts were both wonderfully sweet and decadent, though the hands-down winner at our table was the triple-layer chocolate cake. Rich, adorned with fresh fruit and several drizzles of white and dark chocolate, it’s a chocoholics dream.

Banana split with caramelized banana, vanilla ice cream, almond brittle, chocolate sauce
[Banana split with caramelized banana, vanilla ice cream, almond brittle, chocolate sauce]

The banana split is dressed up here with strawberries and blueberries, vanilla ice cream, almond brittle and streaks of both white and dark chocolate. A lot of flavour and good finish to a fine meal.

Gelderman Farms grilled pork, pickled radish, snow peas, crispy lotus root
[Gelderman Farms grilled pork, pickled radish, snow peas, crispy lotus root]

We also enjoyed two dishes on the regular menu: Grilled Gelderman Farms marinated pork with pickled radish, snow peas, crispy lotus root ($13), and Spring Creek beef carpaccio topped with a 68 degree egg yolk, fried capers, chives, and Castillo de Canena smoked Arbequina Extra Virgin olive oil ($14). The slight saltiness of the beef was perfectly combined with the soft egg and crispy capers and chives. I loved the combination of textures in this dish.

Spring Creek beef carpaccio, fried capers and watercress, 68 degree egg yolk, smoked olive oil
[Spring Creek beef carpaccio, fried capers, chives, 68-degree egg yolk, smoked extra virgin olive oil]

The marinated pork dish is just lovely, with the snappy peas and thin crisp of the beautifully presented lotus root chips. It’s even more delicious than pork belly (and more refined, too).

The Art of Taste package is only available at VANEATS.ca between March 13 and July 13.

VanEats is also running a Twitter contest for a chance to win a pass. Follow @vaneatsca and retweet the following:

“#RT2EAT 1 of 3 #ArtOfTaste at Mosaic dining passes from @VANEATSca @HyattVancouver Chef @thomasheinric10 http://ow.ly/iPtTT”

Mosaic on Burrard

Mosaic Grille is located at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver on 655 Burrard Street. They’re open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a side bar open until 11 pm daily.

My meal was compliments of Van Eats and Mosaic Grille at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver for the purpose of previewing the Art of Taste package.

2 Comments

  • Comment by @KellyJean247 — March 19, 2013 @ 10:47 am

    Loooove that picture of Chef Thomas Heinrich – such an adorable grin.

  • Comment by arianec — March 19, 2013 @ 1:46 pm

    He was pretty camera shy, but this was by far the most successful of the few I took 🙂

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