July 13: Azure ★

$25 Lunch

Azure restaurant with its high ceilings and greenhouse windows appears lofty but the tackiness sets in with the azure-coloured water glasses. Funnily enough, the completely mediocre EPIC restaurant from yesterday employed the same style of drink-ware. I smell collusion. The captive market that is the hotel restaurant is showing itself to be a glorified room service operation with exorbitant prices. The smoked salmon epitomizes this lazy hotel operation, stuffed with the usual capers and cream cheese. It was so salty yet so forgettable. The olive bread was the saving grace: crunchy and a little sweet. The short ribs were essentially more generously sliced Korean Kalbi, as you may expect to find at a $10 buffet. There was nothing fine about the sticky tendons, the coverings of fat and misplaced vegetables too crunchy to be al-dente. And finally, the warm chocolate cake was served prior to the main, the poor ice cream melting from neglect. I had asked for the courses to arrive simultaneously, but the hotel should refer to Jump for the proper treatment of such a request.

Smoked Canadian Salmon Rillete
Baby greens, Crisp Capers, Olive bread, orange vinaigrette

Oven Roasted Canadian Short rib
Root beer braised Au jus, Summer Vegetables

Warm Chocolate cake
Praline crisp, salty caramel ice cream