A buddy of mine and I had to make a run up the Fraser Canyon Friday evening so we seized the opportunity to stop in and eat at Chef Hiro Takeda’s place, 293 Wallace St in Hope.
As usual, I went to the more “edgy” side of his menu while my travel companion played things a little more conservative.
My buddy had the surf and turf. A nice 7 ounce steak cooked to medium rare. The surf component was made up of three good sized prawns. The generous potion of garlic smashed potatoes were very tasty. A safe choice. A good choice.
I took our server’s choice and went for the grilled pork shoulder on a bed of short grain rice with Japanese mayonnaise and pickled pine mushrooms, tempura broccoli, and a soft boiled egg.
The egg was cooked to a perfect soft boiled. Absolute perfection.
The pork was sliced thin and marinated in lemongrass. The grilling gave it a deep and smoky, almost bacon like flavour. Outstanding.
For dessert I asked Chef Takeda to take me to the edge of the menu and make sure there were ants involved. 
I asked for ants to be involved because earlier in the week I saw on Chef’s Facebook page (yes, I follow Chef Takeda on Facebook) that he had collected his first ants of the season!
The ants on my ultra creamy vanilla cheesecake added a burst of citrus flavour to each mouthful. Awesome.
The blackberry compote preserves were a throwback to the glories of last summer’s heat and a hint of the soon to arrive to the Fraser Canyon spring.
This was our first stop to see Chef Takeda at 293 Wallace St in Hope BC. It was great to see he is still doing his magical stuff in the kitchen.