December 24, 2009
Juicy deets among friends
By SARAH ROWLAND

"What's the longest you have waited to have sex in a relationship?"

"Who was your best lover and what made them so special?"

"How do you feel about having sex on the first date?"

There are certain things you can only tell your best friend (lord knows, family, boyfriends and co-workers don't want to know those kind of intimate deets - the term "too much information" comes to mind).

But when you've been friends for as long as Steph and I have, there's really nothing off limits (except maybe the super personal 411 on current relationships). That's why we had such a good time when we played a few rounds of Girls Night, a Q&A card game for chicks (which you can pick up at Beautymark in Yaletown, or order online: www.theboxgirls.com).

Of course, before we busted out the pretty pink box of salacious questions, we warmed up with a couple of pretty pink champagne cocktails. The venue? Goldfish Pacific Kitchen (1118 Mainland St.). Since it was the last Girls Night Out of the year, we figured why not make it the best. And the Goldfish crew did not disappoint.

In between sharing new insights and reliving blasts from the past, we indulged in several appies, including Hokkaido scallops, fresh oysters and BBQ duck spring rolls, my personal favourite. Then we went to town on some bigger plates, which we washed down with a bottle of smooth-as-silk sake. Speaking of, Steph's fav was the hoisin sake sable fish. Meanwhile, I was all about the pan roasted Arctic char. But it was the side dish that really won us over. We just couldn't get enough of the bacon-fried rice. In fact, I think it ruined me for all other rice dishes.

Between the food and probing questions, we didn't have a whole lot of time left for mingling. So we just did a quick walk-through to scope out the scene, and from what we could tell, people were enjoying a sit-down dinner (as opposed to mixing in the lounge). Which was just as well - we still had dessert to get to. Four words for you: warm banana spring rolls. Don't leave there without trying this sweet delight - you'll regret it.

By the end of the evening, we were full of seafood, sake and shared secrets. In other words, we were more than ready to call it a night and say goodbye to Girls Night Out 2009. Our 2010 adventures await.

CANOE.CA