4433 Main Street, Vancouver

Tel: 604-879-2020

Web: http://www.eastiseast.ca/

Twitter: hopefully one day.

Advice: Reservations suggested. Request to be seated at one of the tables with benches rather than the tree stump chairs.

As a fan of their former location a few doors down the street, I had always enjoyed their nutty shakes, wraps and such. Recently they expanded into a much larger space on the same block, with an expanded menu a larger stage to showcase the nightly entertainment. From the moment you walk through the doors it is as if you walked right into the Middle East, landing in Morocco. My friend Kenneth Cho joined me for dinner a few weeks ago and we both decided the Silk Route Feast ($25 per person) is what we were going to indulge in for our meal as that had the best value where we could try a multitude of dishes. It is almost like an all you can eat buffet, without the buffet, it is a smarter way to go, the kitchen cooks the food to order for customers to enjoy.

With the feast you can choose a soup and salad from a few different choices on the menu, I had the Squash Soup which I loved and the Green Salad and Kenneth had the Mystic Soup with the Beet Salad.

We then each ordered two of the dishes off the extensive selection in the feast, we both decided to share them all so that we could taste many of the dishes on offer. In the first round, we had the Afghan Eggplant, Mango Butternut Squash, Wild Salmon and the Minced Beef Kabob. My favourites from this selection was the delicious Afghan Eggplant and Mango Butternut Squash which was heavenly.

For the second round of dishes we had the Sea Bass Fish Curry, Okra, Spinach Paneer, and the Peas and Cauliflower, I loved all of these dishes, the flavours and aromas of each of these were divine.

With the feast they also serve an assortment of Boulani and Roti along with Afghan and Basmati Rice throughout the meal, I loved the Boulani as well as the Afghan rice.

Desserts are not included with the feast, we ordered two of them to share, my favourite of the two was the Eastern Ecstasy, a delish concoction of rice pudding, ice cream, a warm galub jamun sprinkled with rosewater, pistachios and cardamom over the Vegan Chocolate Pudding which was dense in texture topped with too many sweetened cherries.

In addition to the feast option, they also serve a variety of a la carte dishes, wraps, soups and more. Each evening they feature entertainment that ranges from Flamenco which we enjoyed the night of our visit to Sitar and other instruments and dancers.

Review by: Richard Wolak

Vancouver, BC V5V 2M4, Canada