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December 2013

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It’s been 3 years since I first visited Twisted Fork. Times have certainly changed and they now have an electronic system to handle people waiting in line. You put your name and number down and they will text you when you are 2nd on the list. Very handy if you don’t want to spend time waiting outside the door. If you want to cancel, you just text them a number and you’ll be removed for the list.

MedicalGiraffe and I waited for a table for over an hour. Saturdays are definitely busy and there were over 10 tables in front of us! We went to a nearby Starbucks to wait it out. An hour wait is quite crazy, but we were crazy enough to wait.

Twisted Fork Bistro

We got seated in a booth and it was definitely roomy. We think it was intended to seat 4 or 5 people.

Twisted Fork Bistro

We had a good view of their kitchen. Their staff are definitely working hard to pump out all those dishes for hungry customers. Our stomaches were growling too, so we promptly ordered. We avoided the eggs benny since I had that last time. Might as well explore their other options on their menu.

Twisted Fork Bistro

Well Done Gruyere Baked Eggs ($13.50) with sourdough bread, bacon, tomato, rosti and instead of baked beans we substituted for sauteed spinach.  The eggs were definitely well-done and a bit tough. MedicalGiraffe thought the dish was ok, but wasn’t worth the 1 hour wait.

Twisted Fork Bistro

Honey Lager Sausage Frittata ($13.50) is filled with stewed tomatoes, roasted squash, caramelized onions, brie and fresh basil. It is also served with sweet corn relish and fresh greens.

This visit was definitely average. If you want a good brunch, definitely stick with the eggs benny. Also, come early to put your name down and then come back a bit later.

We rate Twisted Fork Bistro: 

Address:
1147 Granville St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
 http://www.twistedforkbistro.ca/

Twisted Fork Bistro on Urbanspoon

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HI GENKI

M and I came here a few years ago and loved their food, so we are back and ready to chow down on more food here.

Hi Genki is inside the Nikkei Home near Middlegate Mall on Kingsway. It’s an assisted living home for seniors. Of all places, I would not have expected a Japanese restaurant would be inside here. Hi Genki is owned by Fujiya and operated within the Nikkei Home. They sell traditional Japanese food to the public as well as their senior residences.

We arrived at 6:15pm right when they open and there was already a line up forming.

Hi Genki

Soon after, this place was packed and there was a line up. There were tons of families here with their kids.

Hi Genki

Deluxe Genki Box ($12.50) has 5 pieces of salmon sashimi, assorted tempura, chicken teriyaki, rice and miso soup. It had a little bit of everything on the menu. Thats why I chose this item. I ordered this last time too and it’s still quite decent. It is a good dinner size, so you will get full.

Hi Genki

Pork Katsu Curry ($9.50) has a bed of rice, deep fried pork katsu topped with the delicious curry sauce. There is also egg and salad on the side. The curry had a lot of potatoes, onions and carrots in it. The portion was quite large too.

Overall the price was fair and the food was good. They give you large portions, so you don’t be disappointed.

We Rate Hi Genki: 

Address:
6680 Southoaks Cres
Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.fujiya.ca/aboutFujiya/hiGenkiRestaurant.asp

Hi Genki on Urbanspoon

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Finding good dessert in Burnaby is tough! A few months ago, I came here and I was hooked! Good waffles and dessert is in Burnaby. We drove from Coquitlam just to get some yummy waffles. They are open quite late, so it a perfect place to chat with friends or study.

Tealips Bubble Tea & Coffee is located in South Burnaby behind Highgate Mall. There is parking out front, but if it’s a busy time, it would be best to park at Highgate and then walk a short distance up.

Tealips Bubble Tea & Coffee

Double Brussels Waffles Combo comes with two crispy brussels waffles, fresh strawberries, banana, kiwi, powdered sugar, syrup, and whipped cream. Scarface added a side of condensed milk, but they don’t give you very much.

Tealips Bubble Tea & Coffee

Double Liege Combo comes with 2 liege waffle with different toppings. It looks good and tastes good too.

Tealips Bubble Tea & Coffee

Matcha Shaved Ice has fresh fruit, red beans, ice cream, mochi, condensed milk, and nuts.

Tealips Bubble Tea & Coffee

It’s really big, so you definitely want to share with a friend or two. Its good to ask for a hot beverage to do with this drink or else you will be very cold. I tried eating this all by myself and I failed. I only finished about 1/3 of it.

Tealips is now my go to place when I want dessert that is close to home.

We Rate Tealips

Address:
7139 Arcola Way
Burnaby, BC

Tealips Bubble Tea & Coffee on Urbanspoon

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Charcoal Sushi & BBQ Restaurant

Charcoal Sushi & BBQ Restaurant is on No. 3 Road and Westminster Hwy. My coworker and I stopped by for lunch on the way back to Vancouver. The place looked pretty good and there was a lot of people during noon.

Charcoal Sushi & BBQ Restaurant

The tables inside have built-in grills, but no one was using it. Perhaps it’s more popular at night.

Charcoal Sushi & BBQ Restaurant

Their lunch combo is $9.75 and you choose one item from the A menu and another from the B menu.

Charcoal Sushi & BBQ Restaurant

If you look carefully, you can find some good items and not just rolls.

Charcoal Sushi & BBQ Restaurant

Miso soup comes with the combos. Nothing special, just the usual stuff.

Charcoal Sushi & BBQ Restaurant

Assorted Maki Combo ($7.50) has Salmon and Tuna Maki with California Rolls. Definitely filling and they didn’t skimp on the salmon and tuna in the maki rolls.

Charcoal Sushi & BBQ Restaurant

For my combo, I ordered the Mini Charashi Don. It wasn’t bad considering the original price of this dish is around the same price as the combo. Pretty decent size too.

Charcoal Sushi & BBQ Restaurant

Deep Fried Gyoza was the second part of the combo. Comes with 4 pieces.

Overall, the price during lunch is pretty good and the quality was good. I would definitely come back again. Service was quick and the servers seemed nice.

We Rate Charcoal Sushi & BBQ Restaurant :

Address:
250-7997 Westminster Highway
Richmond, BC

Website:
http://www.charcoalrestaurant.ca/

Charcoal Sushi & BBQ Restaurant on Urbanspoon

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Memphis Blues Barbeque House

Where do you go where you can eat enormous amount of meat like you just don’t care? Memphis Blues of course! After a heartbreaking meeting, the 11 of us decided to drown our sorrows in meat.

I went Memphis Blue’s other location on Commercial drive about 5 years ago and I remember it was pretty good. This time around, we went to their newest location on Robson Street.

Memphis Blues Barbeque House

The space isn’t that large, but can accommodate large groups if you make a reservation ahead of time. The staff was nice and was able to split the bills without hassle.

Memphis Blues Barbeque House

Anchor Steam Beer is light refreshing beer with a sweet finish. I’ve never ordered this before, but I liked it.

Memphis Blues Barbeque House

They also do a lot of different cocktails.

Memphis Blues Barbeque House

Elvis Platter was massive and around $70. It’s a good size for 5 – 7 people. I shared it with 5 women, and we devoured the ribs and rib ends, but we still had a lot of the other things left. We filled up 2 take out containers.

It comes with:

  • Smoked Chicken
  • Pulled Pork
  • Sliced Beef Brisket
  • Smoked Sausage
  • Rib Ends
  • Corn Bread
  • Potato salad
  • Coleslaw
  • Fries
  • BBQ Sauce
  • BBQ Pit Beans

The Elvis platter was fun to eat, but a lot of the meat was dry. We had to smother the meat with BBQ sauce and vinegar to give it more moisture. Memphis Blues is great for group meals since the platter is very convenient and comes with most of the stuff on the menu.

We Rate Memphis Blues

Address:
430 Robson St.
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.memphisbluesbbq.com/

Memphis Blues Barbeque House on Urbanspoon

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rumpus
Photo Credit: Rumpus Room

My coworkers wanted a place to grab a drink and enjoy some nibbles. We settled on the Rumpus Room as it was close by the office and seemed like a great after work place to chill. The space is a bit small, but it makes up for it if you were a 80s kid. The menu is in a duotang and theres some cool memorabilia on the walls. Plus, in the Summer their patio is open and there’s a bunch of plastic pink flamingos.

As it was a Monday, we were surprised to hear they had a special! I love specials! A burger and beer for $10. A pretty awesome deal considering the price of a burger is $7 to $15.

Rumpus Room

Red Racer IPA is a local beer brewed right in BC at Central CIty Brewing. It has a strong taste of hops that lingers till the after taste. It’s not my type of beer because I don’t really like the hops flavour.

Rumpus Room

Peanut Butter Burger is made with a hormone-free 6oz beef burger patty, bacon, cheddar, lettuce, apple cranberry chutney, tomato, and creamy peanut butter on a brioche bun. I found that the ingredients went well together, but the beef patty was a bit overcooked so it because quite dry.

You also get a side to choose from. The options are fries, yam fries, veggie chili, soup, coleslaw, salad, side wedge salad, mashed potatoes, a waffle or ants on a long. I went with the salad. It was pretty decent as it had beets and sunflower seeds.

Overall, the price of the food is great for large portions. The quality of the food is alright but not too impressive. The servers are nice, but with only 2 people serving, they can tend to forget things…like… our bill. We had to ask twice for our bill, but we weren’t in a rush so we didn’t really bug them.

We Rate Rumpus Room:  

Address:
2689 Main Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.rumpusroom.ca/

Rumpus Room on Urbanspoon

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Juice Cleanse

A few weeks ago, M and I tried doing The Juice Cleanse. This came about because of a bet since neither of us have willpower against eating food. We placed our order online on their website and within the next day (I live in Burnaby), it was delivered to our house. We went with the 3 day cleanse for $195.

For beginners, the stressed-out or those who suffer from chronic inflammation or digestive upset. The Three-Day Cleanse is a gentle flush of your system. It normalizes digestion and helps regulate hormones, remove impurities from your colon and supports your liver. You will feel refreshed and revitalized.

The Juice Cleanse is  created by the guys behind The Juice Truck in Vancouver. The 3 day cleanse comes with 7 beverages a day, which totals to 21 bottles. It comes to a little under $9.29 a bottle. It seems expensive, but it’s about the same price you would pay for cold pressed juice in Vancouver for something similar. I would normally never pay this much for a short-term diet, but I wanted to try it.

Juice Cleanse

M and I have never tried a cleanse before, but we do drink a lot of Jugo Juice. We didn’t really prep before we started the juice cleanse, which was a bad idea. We ate a lot of BBQ and drank a lot the night before.  On their website, it even had a guide on how to prep for the cleanse. You spend 2 days prior to the cleanse by eliminating certain foods from your diet like candy, greasy foods, meat, etc.

I didn’t really have a goal to lose weight, but I felt like I needed to clean up my system because I eat an obscenely gross amount of food outside rather than eating cleanly at home. What can I say, I really love food in Vancouver.

Juice Cleanse

The first day was definitely tough. I was very low on energy, had a headache and spent most of the time laying on a couch flipping through Netflix.

  • The Digestive: Cucumber, apple, spinach, celery, parsley and lemon. It tasted alright, not bad as a first drink. The cucumber is definitely the dominant flavour, but the apple and lemon help balance out the flavours.
  • The Base: Kale, cucumber, celery, pear, lemon and ginger. Wow, did I hate this drink. The cucumber is very strong and the ginger is prominent in the aftertaste.
  • The Energizer:  E3Live, coconut water, pineapple, mint, and ginger. You also add in a pouch of chia seeds to the drink. This was always my “treat” because it would be somewhat sweet from the pineapple. It still isn’t very sweet, but it will do.
  • Refresh Tonic: Fennel, cabbage, cucumber, pear, aloe vera, and ginger. This was much better than The Base, but it still had the spicy ginger aftertaste.
  • The Base: ICK! You have to have it twice a day, but you just need to chug it down.
  • Protein Milk: Hemp seed, walnut, date, cinnamon, vanilla, and filtered water. This drink is thick and creamy. Definitely very filling. Every time I had this drink, I would feel very queasy afterwards. I’m not sure why, but I really wanted to throw up.
  • Sleep Tonic: Pear, romaine, and mint. Tasted like liquified toothpaste. Clearly the mint is potent in this one.

By the night-time, I was developing a slight fever and was lethargic. Apparently it’s a normal symptom and its due to the toxins being released from the body.

Juice Cleanse

The second day followed the same series of drinks, but you can feel the effects of the cleanse. I peed a lot! If you also would like to be grossed out, instead of pooping, I peed everything out like diarrhea.

The day was much better, but it was still a challenge. I had to avoid going out with friend and had no social life or else I would be lugging the juice bottles around.

Some people say they gain a lot of energy from the cleanse, but I just didn’t have any. It was probably due to the fact, I’m not a regular healthy eater nor do I go to the gym on a regular basis.

Juice Cleanse

The third and last day arrived and they introduced one new drink to the mix. The days schedule was:

  • The Digestive
  • Skin Deep: Strawberry, kiwi, apple, and lemon. It is by far the best one, but very sour. It’s very sweet too.
  • The Energizer
  • Refresh Tonic
  • The Base
  • Protein Milk
  • Sleep Tonic

By the end of the day, I was so happy that it was over.

There are definitely many different kinda of juices and cleanses on the market, but it does have a hefty price tag. What I liked about the cleanse is that all the drinks are prepared and you have a schedule to follow… too bad they weren’t very easy to drink. The only extra things that I snuck into the cleanse was a few fruits and veggies.

If your sole intention is to lose weight, you will definitely lose weight, but you’ll probably gain it all back if you keep on eating what you ate before the cleanse. The 3 day juice cleanse was a nice reset and I was down 6 pounds, but I soon found that I started gaining it all back. I blame it from all the sweets treats from the holidays and my inability to go the gym because it’s too cold outside. There’s no one to blame but myself.

Website: http://www.thejuicecleanse.ca/

Mangal Kiss Mid East BBQ

Mangal Kiss has set up their second food cart right outside Main Street Skytrain Station. My coworkers are all raving about their amazing sandwiches, soups and wraps. We usually don’t have too many food options in the area, but when something good comes to the area, the word spreads throughout the building.

A few years ago, I first tried their amazing wraps near the Art Gallery and I was hooked to their fresh and flavourful food.  As it’s steps outside my work, I have no excuse not to go for lunch here.

Mangal Kiss Mid East BBQ

Full Sandwich with soup and dessert ($12) was what I ordered for lunch. It was a lot of food, but good food! They ran out of dessert but I got an orange instead.

Mangal Kiss Mid East BBQ

BBQ Braised Short Rib has shaved cabbage, Moroccan spiced carrots, daikon, and pickles. It also has Mangal Kiss bbq sauce and tahini. The vegetables and pickles really make this sandwich emanate with flavour.

Mangal Kiss Mid East BBQ

Lentil Soup was surprisingly really good. It had a nice depth of flavour. Filling too.

Mangal Kiss Mid East BBQ

Chicken Shawarma ($7) was very large and packed full of vegetables. It’s still good, but it isn’t as great as the Shishliks wraps they used to make when they were near the Art Gallery.

What I like about their food is that the portions a large, price is good and its full of vegetables and amazing sauce. If you ever see them, check them out.

We Rate Mangal Kiss: 

Location:
Main Street Skytrain Station

Mangal Kiss Mid East BBQ on Urbanspoon

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24 train express noodle house

There is a new Vietnamese/Cambodian restaurant in Yaletown. KoreanGirl, Mandu and I came here for lunch to devour bowls of pho. There’s no other Vietnamese restaurant in the area, so it’s nice to have something different around this area.

24 train express noodle house

24 Train Express Noodle House is located in the previous locations of Sunset Burgers and Ace Burger Bar.

There’s outdoor seating, but it was a cold day so no one was there.

24 train express noodle house

It’s packed during lunch, but the turnover of the table are quite quick.

GT-menu

Their menus have a different restaurant name on their menus. Perhaps they are part of the Gold Train Express chain of pho restaurants. They have one near UBC.

24 train express noodle house

Spring Rolls ($5.80) comes with 2 pieces. It’s not uniformly shaped like other places, but it was decent and crunchy.

24 train express noodle house

#14 Pho Tai Nam, Gan, Sach (Small – $6.50, Large – $7.50, XL – $8.75) has rare steak, tendon, tripe, brisket and noodle in soup.

24 train express noodle house

#10 Pho Tai, Sach (Small – $6.50, Large – $7.50, XL – $8.75) has Rare steak, tripe and noodles in soup.

The different types of pho was decent. Nothing really special about it but it’s a easy quick lunch. Mandu said the broth was not as flavourful as other places, but was quite light.

24 train express noodle house

The pho comes with lemons, bean sprouts, and basil. We asked for the bean sprouts to be cooked and they were nice enough to do so.

24 train express noodle house

Overall, the food is decent with large portions and the prices are pretty good for this area.

We Rate 24 Train Express Noodle House:

Address:
550 Nelson Street
Vancouver, BC

24 train express noodle house on Urbanspoon

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Deluxe Spicy Pepperoni pizza

Panago Pizza recently introduced their new Deluxe Spicy Pepperoni Pizza. As Panago pizza is very close to our place, M decided to order some for lunch. Best lazy meal ever. We both love spicy food, so we really wanted to see if it would really set our taste buds on fire. The basic pepperoni pizza is awesome and you can’t go wrong. When you add a bit of spice into the picture, it should taste good.

Deluxe Spicy Pepperoni pizza

We ordered a Large Deluxe Spicy Pepperoni Pizza for $15. It is made of Italian tomato sauce, spicy pepperoni, and mozzarella. There’s so much pepperoni that you can’t even see the pepperoni slices underneath.

It wasn’t very spicy and had a bit of a spicy tingle. If you want some extra spice to it, add some tabasco sauce or Franks Red Hots sauce.

CHICKEN GARDEN SALAD

To balance out the greasy pizza, I ordered the Chicken Garden Salad that comes with grilled chicken, romaine lettuce, green peppers, grape tomatoes, and red onions. It comes with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. The salad was alright. The chicken pieces tasted ok, but it wasn’t great.

Overall, the Deluxe Spicy Pepperoni Pizza is a good item to order when people are over.

Website: http://panago.com/

Panago Pizza on Urbanspoon

Tableau Bar Bistro

Tableau Bar Bistro has been on my to-eat list for a long time. This year, the girls and I decided to have our Christmas dinner here. It was close to TaiwaneseGirl’s place and the menu looked great. They serve up French-inspired cuisine to pair with our beautiful West Coast seafood and ingredients.

We made reservations online just in case the place was packed for the holiday season. Sure enough, all the tables were filled up.

Tableau Bar Bistro

The bistro is quite cute and even our waiter had a French accent. For tables are a bit cramped together and seating is tight. For our party of 7, it was a bit hard to wriggle around.

Tableau Bar Bistro

Complimentary Bread and butter arrives at the table. We didn’t get enough for everyone at the table, so we asked our server for more bread.

Tableau Bar Bistro

Steak Tartare ($14) is topped with a quail egg and has a side of pomme gaufrette. Wow, this appetizer was full of flavour and just awesome. Highly recommended. This makes me want to never be a vegetarian.

Tableau Bar Bistro

Mushrooms on Toast ($12) has creamy mushrooms on top of brioche. Another amazing appetizer! The crispiness of the brioche bread paired with the mushrooms.

Tableau Bar Bistro

Roasted Duck Breast ($25) has orrechiette pasta & duck confit ragout on top.

Tableau Bar Bistro

Moules Frites ($20) was ok. The Tomato creamy sauce with tomatoes and onions was a tad salty but it didn’t have a good depth of flavour to it. The fries were not very crispy and was more soft that I would have liked it.

I would still prefer going to Chambar for mussels and fries.

Tableau Bar Bistro

Braised short ribs ($22) is their Saturday special and it comes with seasonal vegetables. It was really good. The meat was tender, flavourful and definitely enjoyable.

Tableau Bar Bistro

Scallops ($22) has leek and  herb risotto. It was good but a bit small in size. It seemed like more of an appetizer portion.

Tableau Bar Bistro

Steelhead trout ($18) comes with a bed of quinoa & almond and a lemon brown butter sauce. The skin is very crispy and the quinoa was a nice touch.

Overall, the appetizers we chose blew our minds! The prices are fair for the type of food and its located Downtown. It’s a cute place and has pretty good seafood.

We Rate Tableau Bistro Bar

Address:
1181 Melville St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://tableaubarbistro.com/

Tableau Bar Bistro on Urbanspoon

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Boiling Point

Boiling Point is a US chain of Taiwanese personal size hotpots. You can find them mostly in California, Seattle and Vancouver. It was a cold day in Vancouver and we wanted something warm and comforting. What better way to warm up by consuming some hot pot.

What I liked about Boiling Point, is that each hot pot is personalized so you aren’t spreading germs.

Boiling Point

There’s a lot of seats, but it can get a bit cramped if you are sitting in the booth area.

Boiling Point

10 different types of hot pots and you can choose you degree of spiciness.

Boiling Point

Beef Hot Soup ($11.99) has nappa, vermicelli, beef slices, enoki mushroom, tomato, firm tofu, tempura, corn, meatball, kamaboko, tofu skin, and imitation crabstick.

Boiling Point

Korean Kimchi Hot Soup ($11.99) has nappa, vermicelli, pork slices, enoki mushroom, kamaboko, meatball, tempura, clam, fishball, kimchi, firm tofu, tofu skin, and imitation crabstick.

Boiling Point

Lamb Hot Soup ($11.99) has nappa, vermicelli, lamb, enoki mushroom, imitation crabstick, kamaboko, pork blood, tofu skin, mushroom, clam, sour mustard, and firm tofu.

Boiling Point

Taiwanese Spicy Hot Soup ($15.99) has taiwanese cabbage, instant noodle, beef, mushroom, tempera, clam, fishball, cuttlefish ring, pork blood, pork intestine, tofu skin, and frozen tofu. This hot is extremely hot and the size is much larger than the other ones.

You really need to be able to handle your spice if you want to order this.

Boiling Point

It comes with rice too.

Boiling Point

I love frozen tofu, so I ordered it on the side for a dollar and a bit more.

Overall, the hot pot was ok, but its too bad everything came already cooked. There’s no way to control the temperature of your hot pot as there is just a fire under the pot. It turns off when the fuel runs out. It lasts for a long time, so your soup will be boiling hot.

We Rate Boiling Point

Address:
5276 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.bpgroupusa.com/home.php

Boiling Point (Kingsway) 沸點臭臭鍋 on Urbanspoon

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Beta 5

Beta 5 is one of North America’s Top 10 Chocolatiers. Their store is hidden in Strathcona near a bunch of warehouses, but you can find their chocolates at a bunch of retailers around town. Its best to take the skytrain to Main St/Science World and then walk a few minutes. When you get to this area, you’ll find a bunch of food trucks “sleeping”. A lot of the food trucks come to this area to prep.

Beta 5 has delectable chocolates, cream puff and some pastries. As it was my coworkers birthday, so I had to get something special for my the team. Cream puff were on my mind. I kept seeing it on their Facebook page and it has been on my mind for a  long time.

Their hours are 10:30am – 5pm on Tuesday – Friday and 10am – 5pm on the weekends.

Beta 5

When you go into the shop, you can see their whole operation behind the glass. It’s fun to see them work.

Beta 5

Their shop isn’t very elaborate, but you will find a few products that catch your attention. Their Polygon Bars are pretty good! They put a lot of love and thought into all their chocolates.

Beta 5

Their specialty chocolates are really works of art! They are all beautifully put together. I spent more time starting at them than devouring them. A few of my favourites are salted caramel, imperial stout and fisherman friends. Very unique flavours that they develop here. The fisherman friends just blew my mind since I would have never thought the combination would be good.

Beta 5

85% Dark Chocolate and Caramel Cream Puff

Beta 5

Milk Chocolate Praline Cream Puff

Beta 5

Milk Chocolate S’More Cream Puff

Beta 5

Salted Caramel Cream Puff

All the cream puffs were pretty darn good. The flavours were great, not too sweet and it was a perfect dessert. They are $4.50 each, $16 (box of 4) or  $35 (box of 9 pieces). Some of the flavours do get sold out, so its best to go earlier in the day.

I’m a big fan of all their treats, but it can get quite expensive. Definitely worth it.

We Rate Beta 5 Chocolates

Address:
413 Industrial Ave
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.beta-5.com/

BETA5 Chocolates on Urbanspoon

 

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Le Marché St. George

Le Marche St. George is a little neighbourhood grocery store and cafe in Vancouver right smack in a residential area. It’s really a hidden gem and tucked away from all major streets and businesses. MedicalGiraffe and I came for a drink and discovered this place is the community hub and hangout for people in the neighbourhood. People know each other and it has such a cool vibe.

Le Marché St. George

Can you guess the street that it’s located on? St. George of course!

Le Marché St. George

On a Saturday afternoon, this place was packed! All the seats were occupied and there were long lines. This isn’t a bad thing as it’s a compliment to their success.

Le Marché St. George

Their grocery part of the store isn’t too large, but there’s a lot of things to look at.

Le Marché St. George

If you take a look at their shelves, you’ll find some pretty cool products that you won’t find at usual grocery stores. Instead of asking your neighbour for some cream or sugar, you can just walk a short distance to Le Marche St. George to stock up on something you don’t have.

Le Marché St. George

Milk, eggs, cheese, etc.

Le Marché St. George

There’s even fruits and vegetables.

Le Marché St. George

Their menu has a bunch of coffee, tea, pastry items, snacks, and ice cream.

Le Marché St. George

London Fog (12oz – $3.90)

Latte (12 oz – $3.90) was really good. Nice and strong! Just what I need to keep me awake.

Overall, this place is very cute and is very different than any cafe or grocery store you’ve been to. Definitely a great hangout place on the weekend.

We Rate Le Marche St. George

Address:
4393 St. George Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.marchestgeorge.com/

Le Marché St. George on Urbanspoon

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Mancakes Bakery

I was strolling around Downtown with MedicalGiraffe and stumbled upon this cute place. ManCakes Bakery Cafe opened up on Robson near Cambie. It’s the cutest cupcake shop that is catered towards men.

No worries, women buy cupcakes here too. Not just for men. The owners came up with ManCakes since they were sick of all the frilly over iced cupcakes. I’ve tried their ManCakes at an event a while ago before they had this location. They are definitely changing up the cupcake game with their unique concept.

Mancakes Bakery

You won’t find the regular flavours of cupcakes here. I was definitely drawn by the sign. Whiskey and lime?

Mancakes Bakery

Inside the store is a loungey area to enjoy some cupcakes and coffee.

Mancakes Bakery

The cupcakes look really cute and the flavours are like food and drinks that you can find at a pub.

Mancakes Bakery

There were 11 different types of cupcakes and it was very hard to figure out which one to get. The cupcakes don’t only sound good but they

Mancakes Bakery

Tool Box ($20) comes with a dozen mini cupcakes. It’s a great way to try all their cupcakes. It makes for great gifts for the office.

The tool box contains:

  • Apple Brie
  • Tequila Pineapple
  • Whiskey Lime
  • Buffalo Wing
  • King Kong
  • Bacon Chili Chocolate
  • Chocolate Red Wine
  • Pink Peppercorn Grapefruit
  • Rum & Coke
  • Breakfast
  • Chicago Popcorn

The flavours that stood out are chocolate red wine, Chicago popcorn, whiskey lime, king kong, rum and coke, and tequila pineapple. One flavour that we thought would be good but wasn’t was the Buffalo Wing. M and I didn’t like the sweet and savoury taste of it. Personal preferences.

You can eat the mini cupcakes in 2 bites.

Mancakes Bakery

Overall, the cupcakes were moist and had a great balance of flavour and quite innovative. A fun cupcake to give to any man or woman.

We Rate ManCakes

 Address:
288 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://mancakesbakery.com/

ManCakes Bakery on Urbanspoon

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Taco Time

On Tuesdays, lines at the Taco Time in Pacific Centre gets quite long.

People want a quick and cheap lunch. I was doing some shopping at noon and needed a very very quick lunch before heading back to work. As I spent a large amount of money on clothes…I felt guilty, so a cheap lunch option was good to balance out my shopping.

Taco Time

Taco Tuesday! 99 cents for a soft or hard shelled taco. Tempting even though it’s not very good compared to all the other places Downtown.

Taco Time

I ordered 2 soft shell tacos and 2 hard shell tacos. It didn’t seem like a lot of food at the time, but after I ate all of this,  I was crazy full.

Taco Time

 Hard shell Taco has cheddar cheese, lettuce, and ground beef in the shell. I find they add a lot of salt and spices to the meat, so you will get thirsty.

Taco Time

Soft shell Taco has cheddar cheese, lettuce, and ground beef in the soft shell.

Both tacos are essentially the same, but I do prefer the hard taco for the added crunch.

Taco Time

Don’t forget the sauce! Mild sauce and then the spicy green one.

Taco Time

Don’t forget the Mexifries! Deep-fried tater tots! My childhood favourite.

Overall, nothing fancy and does the trick of filling up your empty stomach. For 99 cents, you can’t go wrong.

Website: http://www.tacotimecanada.com/

Taco Time on Urbanspoon

Bon Crepe

It was a cold night in Vancouver, -5 degrees to be accurate. We were having dinner at Tableau and didn’t want to walk very far for something sweet. Some may say we are lazy, but women just don’t do well in the cold. Even when we are indoors, we complain that it’s cold. We are always cold.

We decided to pop into Konbinya to see what Bon Crepe has to offer. Perhaps we wanted a crepe of some sort or an ice cream.

Bon Crepe

When we went inside of the Konbinya entrance, we discovered they had parfait for a little under $7. This sparked our interest since we had parfait on our minds but didn’t want to walk to Chicco.

Bon Crepe

Green Tea Parfait ($6.62) has a piece of sponge cake, corn flakes, vanilla ice cream, tapioca pearls, green tea soft serve, green tea cake, green tea ice cream, green tea syrup, red bean, green tea powder, whipped cream and a wafer.

Green tea overload but it was great for our sweet tooths. It’s large, so I wasn’t able to finish it all since I ate too much at dinner.

Bon Crepe

Pudding Parfait ($6.62) has sponge cake, corn flakes, tapioca pearls, vanilla ice cream, custard pudding, vanilla soft serve ice cream, whipped cream, caramel sauce, strawberries, and a wafer.

Bon Crepe

The parfait is good but not as good at Chicco a few block down the street. The toppings are slightly different, but it’s really up to personal preference.

Bon Crepe

While you’re there, you should check out all the Japanese snacks at Konbinya. There’s always sales and you can find some cool drinks and candy.

We rate Bon Crepe: 

Address:
1238 Robson St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.bonboncrepe.com/en_index.html

Bon Crepe on Urbanspoon

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Pomodoro

Our last night in Seoul, we headed to the Insadong area to have some pasta at Pomodoro. M’s sister recommended that we come have some delicious pasta here. She came here a few years ago and recall that it was good.

Pomodoro

The space inside is small, so there isn’t a large amount of seats.

Below is their full menu. There’s English, so you won’t have a hard time ordering at all.

Pomodoro

Pomodoro

Pomodoro

Pomodoro

Complimentary Pickles and Jalapeños arrive at the table before the meal. It’s customary in Korean meals to have side dishes free of charge. These items were nothing special, but it’s something you can munch on while waiting for your meal.

Pomodoro

Insalta mista di stagione (6,500 won) was a strange salad. It had sprouts at the top, greens, cherry tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and corn.

Pomodoro

 Spaghetti alla carbonara (14,500 won) has bacon and cream sauce.

Pomodoro

Penne alla Fiesolana e Melanzane (13,000 won) has mozzarella cheese, eggplant and a tomato basil sauce.

뽀모도로

Risotto alla Funghi (15,500 won) is Italian style rice with mushrooms and cream sauce. This dish was quite large and very very rich. I had a hard time eating it as it was quite salty.

Pomodoro

Spaghetti ca carni capuliata (15,500 won) has chicken and vegetables in a tomato sauce.

Overall, all the pastas were ok. The food here was pretty expensive and you can get a lot better Korean food with that money. Perhaps something changed over the years because M’s sister also said it wasn’t as good as before.

We Rate Pomodoro

 Address:
6 Gwanhun-dong (28-1 Insadong-gil)
Jongno-gu, Seoul
South Korea

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