Vancouver restaurants featuring exotic citrus fruits

On the Coast food columnist Anya Levykh says winter menus are bringing diners dishes full of exotic citrus.

She's noticing hints of exotic fruits likepomelo, yuzu, blood orange, calamansi and preserved lemons.

"There's a dearth of freshness and brightness, if you will, in a lot of winter dishes," said Levykh. "I think chefs realize that and have adjusted their menus accordingly to add in a bit of both."

Pomelo is similar to a grapefruit, but a bit drier and slightly more subtle in taste. Levykh says it works great with fish or chicken in salads, or lightly stewed or grilled, like pineapple.

Calamansi is a type of lime from the Phillipines. It's sweeter than a traditional lime, but also more pungent.

"Most of these citrus fruits are considerably more pungent, meaning they also add aromatics to a dish, rather than just taste," said Levykh.

6 citrus-forward menu items suggestions

Maenam

Smoked salmon and pomelo salad

Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar

Calamansi tart with custard, frozen pineapple meringue and Breton shortcrust

Wildebeest

Scallops with pomelo, smoked octopus, avocado and fennel

Pidgin

Mushrooms and snap peas in a soy-yuzu brown butter

Wolf in the Fog (Tofino)

Whole duck with blood orange

Farmer's Apprentice

Mackerel with beetroot and blood orange, they also use preserved lemons in their dishes

To listen to the full interview, click on the audio labelled: Citrus-forward menus