Maenam. The Book  with Angus An. Vanessa Vineyards with Howard Soon & The  Amazing Row 14 at Klippers.

 

THE SHOW

 Chef Angus An has been a cutting edge  fixture in West Coast dining for many years now.

His profile in Vancouver started with Gastropod on Fourth Ave in Kitsilano.

It was 2006. Angus was 26.

Even though Gastropod was his  dream restaurant and it won countless awards and rave reviews it couldn’t survive  the downturn in the Worlds economy and closed in  2009.

He rebranded as Maenam. A new approach to Thai food with freshness, innovation, new flavours and balance featuring seasonal local ingredients.  It was a combination of Thai family style dining and street food. Maenam became so popular it was named best Restaurant in Vancouver by Van Mag in 2016. Also best Thai in Vancouver many years running.

Angus and his wife and partner Kate now run a mini empire on the West Coast.

Their brands include

* Maenam.

* Longtail Kitchen, South East Asian Street Food Concept.

* Fat Mao Noodles, Thai-Chinese Noodle Bar in Chinatown Vancouver!

* Freebird Chicken Shack, in Chinatown Vancouver!

* Sen Pad Thai, on Granville Island!

* Popina Canteen – Granville Island

Maenam is a  beautiful book..like the food it celebrates – bright, fresh, colourful.

I went looking for two elements.. What wines to pair with a family style dinner..which may have as many as 5-6 dishes..each with its own spices and flavours. Happily Angus asked Kurtis Kolt to handle that chapter and Kurtis pulled it off.

The other feature I wanted to see was the “how to” suggestion list.

How to prepare a crab or lobster , work with delicate  spot prawns  and oysters.

And the spices..which ones and where do I find them?

Same thing with “ingredients”..its all handled well here.

Angus took me through his seasonal  menus  &  cooking in the book..so you get to hear about Fall and Winter menus.

NOTE*  My trusty field recorder decided to stop working just as we got started. I pulled out my iphone and hit record … Angus picked up right where we had left off and saved the day.  Apologies for the audio.

One last suggestion – Think about birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas down the road.  This book is a perfect gift for chefs and foodies. Or yourself!!

Maenam: A fresh approach to Thai Cooking comes in hardcover and EBook.

www.maenam.ca

Vanessa Vineyards  – Howard Soon Winemaster (Similkameen)

The combination of Similkameen farmland  that’s  recommended by vineyard developers Richard Cleave and Robert Goltz  is the first hint that you’re on to something very special.

Both of those Okanagan legends are farmers and winegrowers of the highest order.

The second hint is that the winemaker working  the vineyards and fruit is none other than Howard Soon. He’s in the middle of his 41st harvest… the longest such streak in Canada, the man who created Sandhill Wines and was awarded the Order of Canada for his devotion to  and leadership in  Canadian Wine.

 

With his partnership at Vanessa, Howard has come full circle as over the years he sourced many of his wines from this very vineyard.  Even though its been expanded and new plantings are set in the hard soil, they still will only produce 3,000 cases of wine.

Just what Howard loves. Small lots. Very well made.

This time around we taste

2019 Rose

2016 Syrah

2019 Viognier

And then we had a great discussion about the Vanessa Right Bank. Check out the blend

* Merlot Clone 181 Bordeaux, France

* Cabernet Franc Clone 331 Pyrénées-Atlanliques, France

* Cabernet Sauvignon Clone 169 Bordeaux, France

Lots to like here..from the outstanding wines, the  leadership,