Family Matters Episode V
Popular Kitsilano coffee shop Kahve recently held a late night, limited seat dinner called Family Matters Episode V (Sorry if you missed Episodes I-IV, so did we!). With food from local chef Mark Singson and beer pairings by local brewery Steel and Oak Brewing it was always going to be a special meal, but to say we were blown away by the end result would be a massive understatement. It. Was. INCREDIBLE.
Welcome!
As soon as we walked in we were welcomed by Justine and John, the owners of Kahve. It’s no secret that we think that they’re some of the nicest people we’ve met in the Vancouver coffee scene and they were absolutely on form this night with the charm and warmth you always get on a visit to their coffee shop. We were sat at our table and the feast commenced!
Course 1: Home made Sourdough with Garlic Oil
Perfectly soft sourdough bread and deliciously flavoured oil. It set us up nicely for the rest of the meal.
Course 2: 3 Snacks
Beer Pairing: Royal City Ale
The Cheese and Brocolli might have actually been my favorite thing on the menu at this event. The Eggs on Toast were nicely offset by the pickles and the salmon and cucumber had a wonderful smoked taste to it. The beer pairing was a fruity ale.
Course 3: Sunchoke X Sunflower X Amaranth
Beer Pairing: Dry Hopped ESB
The first bite of this was a highlight of the meal. Not because of the flavours (which by the way were amazing) but the massive variation on the textures. Crunchy cabbage, soft sunflower butter and a grainy addition from the Amaranth. It was tremendous fun to eat! The hoppy bear matched perfectly with the sunflower butter especially.
Course 4: Tuna X Red Cabbage X Apple X Nori
Beer Pairing: Red Pilsner
Tender tuna and little explosions of compressed apple with the nori giving it a subtle savory flavour. The bitterness of the beer really offset the apple.
Course 5: Chicken X Cauliflower X Coffee X Mushroom
Beer Pairing: Dopplebock
The entree for the meal was an absolute masterpiece. The charred cauliflower, sous-vide chicken and crispy chicken skins were all amazing on their own, but when you combined them together with the coffee jus you got the most incredibly delicious marring of all the flavours to create a divine combination in your mouth.
The Doppelbock beer was probably my favorite of the night – a nice honey sweetness with just a hint of smoke to it.
Course 5: Whipped Pumpkin Cheesecake
Beer Pairing: Dark Lager
The deconstructed design of this cheesecake made it easy to build the perfect level of sweetness with each bite, along with the dark, rich beer to compliment.
Conclusion
This was honestly one of the best meals we’ve had in 2016. The team at Kahve and Steel and Oak were incredible and the culinary talents of Mark Singson are truly incredible. We cannot wait to try his food again. Amazing work guys and girls, thank you, we had a fantastic evening.
To find out when Mark’s next night is, check out the Instagram hashtag #familymattersyvr or follow the event on Instagram.
