Update: This restaurant is closed.
ORU at the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel was the last stop for Dine Out Vancouver 2014. It coincided with Pretty Sis’ visit so it worked out perfectly as a venue for some much-needed and long overdue sister-talk.
I’d never been to ORU before and I was very, very pleasantly surprised and impressed by the decor. It was very modern and looked very expensive. So it’s no surprise that their dine out menu was of the $38 variety.
Complimentary bread consisted of olive bread and sour dough bread. Both were soft and fluffy but the olive bread was clearly the star…it was mighty tasty!
For the starter we both picked the Pork Belly with lotus root poi, baby bok choy, crispy sage, and pineapple-maple and mustard glaze.
This dish is a little on the sweet side and Pretty Sis commented it was like eating dessert first, but not in a bad way. It was dry and rich as expected. The poi was mild and a little dry, likely due to it being prepared prior and placed under a heat lamp. Quite enjoyed the crispy sage leaf though, albeit more for the texture than the taste (or lack thereof).
We decided to get one of each non-vegetarian entree and share them. The Angus Reserved Short Rib came with guajillo spiced mashed potato, black bean, corn, and zucchini succotash, in a mole sauce.
This was quite the heavy dish. I personally found the meat a tad bit dry, but it was still very fork tender and a knife really wasn’t necessary. The portion was also pretty big.
The Cape Breton Lobster was a whole broiled lobster with paprika lime butter, warm brussel sprout and house-made chorizo salad.
The butter sauce had a sort of coconut to aroma to it. The lobster had the big claw already deshelled for us. It was a smaller lobster than we’re used to having (at Chinese restaurants), more like a big crayfish?? However it lead to tender tasting meat which soaked up all the sauce.
I was also a big fan of the charred brussel sprouts, but the chorizo bits were too salty.
My pick for dessert was the Malted Peanut Butter and Beer Nut Bar. It had peanut butter mousse sandwiched between chocolate ganache, topped with salted caramel peanuts and served with a side of malted milk ice cream.
Very rich, very yummy, extremely satiating. The peanut butter mousse was just slightly sweetened which was offset by the very sweet chocolate ganache. The crunchy salted caramel peanuts added a different texture, but the best part was the malted ice cream.
The Strawberry Shortcake Millefeuille (strawberry compote, sweet puff pastry, diplomat cream and lemon curd) was definitely the lighter counterpart. Everything about this was light – the diplomat cream, the puff pastry, the sweetness…still the strawberry scent permeated through the entire dessert. It was just the perfect end.
Both Pretty Sis and I were very impressed with ORU Cuisine. Service was excellent, decor was impressionable, and food was great. Trying ORU at The Fairmont for Dine Out Vancouver Fest was definitely a smart choice.
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