ORU Cuisine

Located on the westcoast seashore, Vancouver has been long well known for its fresh and diverse selection of seafood. Restaurateurs have skillfully played with local ingredients and created some of the finest dishes I’ve ever tasted. One of them is ORU, Fairmont Pacific Rim's local concept restaurant. 

ORU uses locally-sourced ingredients inspired by the flavors of the Pacific Rim, taking a play on traditional modern American restaurant with a twist by changing to Pacific Northeast cuisine. Open kitchens, modern furnitures and casual servers all contribute to creating a lounge-like environment to the guests.

 When we sat down, the server brought us an iPad instead of the menu, which defied the paper menu concept but also added a sense of modern-ness to our experience. Detailed descriptions were included with every food and beverage item, which was very helpful to us. 

Zen Garden $9

ORU had a wonderful selection of mocktails: not those that simply consists of flavored syrups and soda, but natural ingredients only. I ordered the "Zen Garden", made of lychee water, fresh pineapple and lime juice with a hint of cucumber. This was a great palate cleanser with its light blend of sweet and sour ingredients.

Haida Gwaii Sablefish

 For entreés, we ordered the Haida Gwaii Sablefish. I have always been fond of sablefish (Even by the name of it), of its soft texture and crispy crust when cooked to the appropriate texture. The fish was topped on a mixed stuffing of roasted sunchoke, fennel, melted leeks and a light broth on the bottom of the plate. This was a very nice sense of texture since the stuffings absorbed the flavor of the broth, while keeping the fish crispy on the outside maintaining its flavor. 

8 oz. Char-broiled steaks "a la carte"

Dad ordered the 8 oz. steak, medium, paired with steamed brocoli and radish slices. Colorful, juiciness and flavor -well done on taste and appearance. 

Now comes my favorite part of a meal (and subjectively how I sometimes judge a full-service restaurant) - Dessert! Though the names listed on the menu sounded overly simple, the products exceeded my expectations. 

The Dessert Menu

White Chocolate Blondie

 Usually, blondies resonates with an image of a pan of moist, brownie-like product that could probably be made by anyone who knows how to use a whisk. This was not your typical blondie. Soaked in white chocolate syrup and brushed with passionfruit curd on the bottom, this blondie tasted more like a carefully prepared pound cake soaked syrup with a hint of sweet strawberry rhubarb and sour passionfruit. 

Ginger Cheesecake

My parents decided to order this one because of their favouritism toward ginger. As an ingredient often found in Chinese staples, I wondered how ORU will play with it in desserts? The ginger taste was not extremely evident, as covered by the vanilla and chocolate ice cream, but just at the right amount. 

Though ORU is only one of the many modern local seafood restaurants, I enjoyed all three courses and the view of beautiful coal harbour sunset outside. Though fairly new from its opening, ORU will definitely be a hitting sensation in the upcoming years.