the lobby lounge - fairmont pacific rim

my experience with omakase in vancouver has been limited. i’ve tried matsuzushi in port moody (famous for their $30 omakase!), and sushi bar maumi in the downtown west end. i’ve heard many good things about the omakase experience at the lobby lounge rawbar inside the fairmontpacificrim, so i decided to give it a try to see if it lives up to all the recommendations.

i visited the lobby lounge at the fairmontpacificrim again shortly after my previous afternoon tea experience. this time i came for the carvery luncheon with my socialshopper voucher offering a set meal for 2 people at the low price of $19.50, which is essentially a buy-one-get-one deal. i browsed through the drink menu, looking for a non-alcoholic drink, and came across several options that seemed interesting.

back in december, i took s out for her birthday at the raw bar at the lobby lounge located inside the fairmontpacificrim. in the winter months, they had a five-course cocktail brunch for $42 per person with the cocktail pairing for an additional $28. for the first course, there are two selections, so of course we got one of each. i chose the torched wagyu beef salad which comes with red onion, sake-beet puree, scallion-ginger emulsion, nori chips and miso creme fraiche. the wagyu beef was tender and melted in my mouth! the only complaint was that the beef was served cold, but i guess since it is a salad, the rest of the ingredients are cold.

this month, fairmontpacificrim celebrates japan: unlayered, an exhibition that celebrates contemporary japanese architecture, design and culture. japan unlayered is designed to be a sensory experience that invites one to experience japanese culture through touch, taste, sight, sound and smell. i got the opportunity to taste some wine and food that is from this theme at the rawbar.

my friend and i decided to do afternoon tea as a celebration. we decided to give the afternoon tea at the fairmontpacificrim a visit, as the asian inspired items intrigued us. the tea menu came with a box of tea leaves which you could sniff, which makes the process of choosing tea a lot more simpler. my friend and i always choose one tea each and share both of them. at first we choose the mad hatter’s tea and the mountain berry tea however, they were out of the man hatter’s tea unfortunately. there were not as many choices as we would have liked so we ended up choosing the vanilla rooibos.

i love random date nights, especially on a monday, like it's nobody's business. fairmontpacificrim got one of my favourite ultimate chic tables, it's located right in the back, very private away from the live band if that's something you're after. some days i like to be closer to the music, some nights i rather lounge here with a few drinks and not be disturbed.

the fairmontpacificrim is my favourite hotel in vancouver. it is stunning and the service is impeccable. it holds many memories for me as we started our honeymoon here. they accommodate your every need, get to know you, and make you feel special. even the air in this hotel is different. i have noticed it has floral notes to it. i cannot say enough good things about this special place.

like the urban tea merchant, afternoon tea at the lobby lounge is another place where you should probably dress up for. for those who don’t know, the fairmontpacificrim is one of the fancier hotels in the downtown area which is only a stroll away from the view at waterfront. for $35/person, you can get:

grant sceney from fairmontpacificrim's "kentucky float" (right) with maker's mark bourbon and maple ice cream was a great adult twist on a root beer float.

the lobby lounge at the fairmontpacificrim may be one of the swankiest spots in vancouver. it’s so happening that it’s hard to believe that it actually is in vancouver. the décor is elegant, with sparkling chandeliers, a long glass double-sided fireplace, and a white fazioli piano. there’s live music nightly, and the layout alongside the hotel’s lobby allows for great people watching – it’s clearly a place to see and be seen. but of course, i’m there for the food. and perhaps the cocktails. and okay, the live music too… overall, i highly recommend the lobby lounge. it’s especially great for a celebratory drink – definitely somewhere to check out at least once.

another interesting drink was the kentucky float by grant sceney of the lobby lounge bar at fairmontpacificrim -- a simple drink with maker's mark, root beer spice syrup, and maker's mark maple ice cream.

verbal abuse at fairmontpacificrim. they served old chewy sushi at afternoon tea!

they told us we could not take pictures of the afternoon tea service let alone ourselves having it, so we got dressed up for the "posh experience" for nothing.

and they were extremely rude in telling us. that kind of language is simply unacceptable by people in the hopitality industry.

you are paying an awful lot for dry scones and cupcakes, especially when you are getting yelled at for wanting some mementos of your experience in what is considered a public area.

we decided to use the carvery lunch social shopper coupon that the bff had bought a few weeks ago. with bff's little one in tow, we set off for lunch at the lobby lounge at the fairmontpacificrim . since he couldn't partake in the carvery lunch, we ordered spaghetti with tomato sauce for him...although this was a kid's portion, i still found it quite generous. love the melted parmesan on top, along with the basil leaves as a garnish. i like how they don't dumb down the food just because it's for a child. i really like that. so here's what you get for the carvery lunch, regularly $19.95, we got it at 2-for-1 due to the social shopping coupon. the plate was so big it was hard to fit two on the table, along with the spaghetti & tomato sauce. we both started with the caesar salad, your usual blen of romaine, parmesan, cherry tomatoes, garlic and croutons. we both got the dressing on the side, and were glad we did, since the greens themselves were refreshing enough. the anchovy-caper dres

i bought a social shopper coupon for a carvery luncheon at the lobby lounge at the fairmontpacificrim. the deal is good for $20 for 2 carvery lunch sets ($40 value). the lobby lounge is located on the first floor of the fairmontpacificrim. as you can tell by the name, it is located near the lobby. it is an open space and has lots of comfy chairs…very comfy chairs. it's a great place to have a few drinks, appies and have a good chat or a meeting. for a drink, i was feeling like a non-alcoholic drink, so i ordered the flower pot ($8). it's not a tea or anything, it's just a soda. it was really good and refreshing, but $8 was quite steep ..but it is the fairmont, so its expected. the carvery meats used in the sandwich is cut in the dining room, if you sit close enough, you can see them cutting the prime rib and doing their thing. the carvery luncheon ($20) comes with choice of soup or salad, fries, prime rib burger and condiments on the side. we could choose from a tomato and garden

we bought a social shopper coupon for afternoon tea for two at the fairmontpacificrim for $35 and decided to use it one weekend. the coupon was a good deal as it would normally cost $70 for two people. after reading that they serve "sushi-style" sandwiches for tea, i wanted to try it! this certainly didn't sound like typical afternoon tea with the egg salad sandwiches, pastries and scones. the tea atpacificrim is served in their lobby of the hotel. it's a spacious area with cozy chairs, a fireplace and a fazioli piano! that piano was gorgeous! i loved the design that is etched on the inside portion of the cover. apparently, that piano cost $225 000! if i had that kind of money, i would buy a piano that looked like that! after we were seated, we were given a small box with the different tea selections. the tea leaves were in a small glass bottle where you can open up and take a whiff before deciding which tea to have. all the teas smelled really nice, but i decided to have the vanil