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February 2014

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on-the-grind-bike

Close to my office is a mobile coffee cafe called On The Grind Cafe. It moves around town on a customized bike. I’ve seen it near Science World and Strathcona. It moves around day to day, so it’s never at a consistent location each day.

It’s an eco-friendly cafe as it is powered by solar and pedal power. Plus all their cups are compostable too.

on-the-grind-logo

They get their beans from Matchstick Coffee Roasters, which is a local company with an emphasis on hand-crafted preparation and delivery of single-origin coffees.

on-the-grind-menu

Their prices are quite fair and in my opinion worth the price. It’s so much better than Starbucks! He can also make customized drinks too, so its not limited to just this list.

on-the-grind-square

Best of all, they take credit cards!!

on-the-grind-making

Brett is the man behind On The Grind Cafe. He has a huge passion for coffee and great guy to chat with while waiting for coffee.

on-the-grind-cappucino

Cappuccino ($3.50) tasted great! Plus, I got great view of Science World and False Creek.

They are near Science World Tuesdays and Thursdays for now. And the other days, they are all around town, so it s good to follow them on Facebook or Twitter to see where they are at before you make a trip to get coffee.

We Rate On The Grind Cafe

Location:
varies

Website:
http://onthegrindcafe.com/

On The Grind Cafe on Urbanspoon

Something-Healthy-outer

Finding something healthy near the office is quite tough. Near our office, we have McDonalds, Tim Hortons, and Starbucks. That’s not a very good selection of restaurants to go for lunch. Traveling a skytrain station away, we found Something Healthy.

Magz and I had a large morning snack, so when it came to be lunch time, we just wanted something small and healthy. When we saw Something Healthy, we knew it would  be a great place to have a light lunch.

Something-Healthy-inner

We didn’t see a lot of people in here later in the lunch hour. The places has a good amount of seats and has green every where.

Something-Healthy-packed

If you are really in a hurry, they have pre-packed wraps, fruits, veggies and salads.

Something-Healthy-take-out

Raw Green (16oz – $5.25) has spinach, apple, pineapple & fresh orange juice. The juice was sweet due to the amount of fruits. It was good if you enjoy sweeter juices similar to Jugo Juice.

Tropic Delight (16oz – $6.25) has orange, mango & pineapple. Magz was so funny and asked them for their sweetest juice. They helped her choose a good drink.

Fresh Salad ($6.35) has romaine lettuce, bell peppers, corn, cucumber, red onions, & craisins. You can choose your protein either chicken breast, salmon, or tofu. Then you can also choose your dressing – sesame pear, teriyaki, terragon, or sesame vinaigrette.

Overall, there are a good amount of choices, but their salad options are quite limited. Before I walked in, I thought they would have a salad bar, but they didn’t. The prices are quite fair but they definitely need more variety for salads.

We Rate Something Healthy

Address:
660 Abbott Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.somethinghealthy.com/

Something Healthy Wholesome Meals & Juice Bar on Urbanspoon

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=660+Abbott+St&sll=49.2790873,-123.1076036&sspn=0.0053754,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=660+Abbott+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6B&z=16 “]

aki-outer

Aki Japanese Restaurant is located on Pender Street near Coal Harbour. They have relocated from their previous location on Thurlow. They are one of the oldest and authentic Japanese restaurant in Vancouver.

I came here with M and CoffeeLover for dinner after work. We haven’t been here in a while and thought it was good to take another revisit.

aki-bar

The interior is very modern and sleek compared to their previous location. New and shiny. Their sushi bar looks pretty awesome.

aki-inner

The restaurant has very high ceiling to give it a very open feel. They take reservation for small to large groups too.

aki-beer

Orion Beer ($10) is Japan’s 5th largest brewery and originated from Okinawa prefecture. Similar to Asahi and Sapporo as it is light and crisp. Pairs well with Japanese cuisine.

aki-burdock

Kinpira ($3.50) is sauteed julienned burdock root. It’ s a small appetizer.

aki-yakitori

Yakitori ($4.50) comes with 2 skewers and you can choose to have it topped with teriyaki sauce or seasalt. We went with teriyaki and it was pretty good. Simple and straight forward.

aki-skin

Chicken Skin ($3.50) comes with 2 skewers as well. We had it topped with seasalt. The skin is crispy but it wasn’t amazing or anything. I thought it would be more flavourful, but it just tasted like burnt food. I wouldn’t order this again.

aki-sashimi

Salmon and tuna sashimi ($15) was quite expensive for 10 pieces. It tasted good, but the quality seemed standard among Japanese restaurants in Vancouver.

aki-nigiri

Toro nigiri ($3 each) wasn’t very fatty and it didn’t melt in our mouths. Unagi nigiri ($3.75 each) was flavourful and delicious.  Tamago nigiri ($1.80 each) was ok.

aki-rolls

Spicy Chopped Scallop Roll ($5.50),  Negitoro roll ($4.95), and Unakyu Maki ($4.95) was nothing fancy. Pretty average.

aki-assorted

 Assorted Sushi ($15.95) is quite pricey but you do try a variety of nigiri and tuna rolls.

Overall, the food is pricey compared to other places in town. I feel like I’ve been spoiled by so many other Japanese restaurants in town that this place just seems average. Our entire meal was over $100 and it sure hurt our wallet.

We Rate Aki Japanese restaurant:

Address:
1368 W Pender St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://akirestaurant.ca/

Aki Japanese Restaurant on Urbanspoon

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=1368+W+Pender+St&sll=49.2893783,-123.1267792&sspn=0.0053743,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=1368+W+Pender+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6G+3E3&z=16 “]

Grand-Palace-sign

Grand Palace Restaurant (富豪酒家) is located in Henderson Mall across from Coquitlam Centre. The mall has been here for a very long time and it gives me a vibe of like the asian mall similar to Tinsel Town. They are owned by the same development company, so that’s why the vibe is similar.

The restaurant and food court are probably the most busiest parts of the mall.

Grand-Palace-line

We came around 11 and there was already a line up outside with people eagerly awaiting a table.

Grand-Palace-fish

My sister and  I stared at the tanks looking at the lobsters barnacles.

Grand-Palace-inner

After about 15 minutes of waiting, we got our table! The dining room was packed!

Grand-Palace-tea

Tea arrives at the table when you begin ordering. You get one pot of the tea and another pot of hot water.

Grand-Palace-taro

Fried Taro Dumpling (wu gok) is my sister’s favourite. It is deep-fried to create the extra crispy exterior. On the inside is a savoury taro mixture.

Grand-Palace-sui-mai

Pork Dumpling (Sui Mai) is always an item ordered in dim sum. The ones here are pretty large and does not contain too much fat.

Grand-Palace-meatball

Minced Beef Meatballs were very bland. The added water chestnuts did not add any extra crunchy texture that its supposed to.

Grand-Palace-beef-roll

Steamed Beef Rice Rolls was ok as well. The beef mixture reminded me of the minced beef meatballs.

Grand-Palace-buns

Steamed Pork Buns comes with 3 buns and was quite decent.

Grand-Palace-chive-shrimp-dumpling

Shrimp and vegetable dumping has 3 pieces in an order. The dumpling mixture inside wasn’t mixed together well, so you get the veggies on the bottom and the shrimp on the top.

Grand-Palace-congee

Seafood Congee was alright. It had lots of seafood hidden at the bottom.

Grand-Palace-eggplant-shrimp

Stuffed Eggplant has 3 oddly shaped pieces. It has the shrimp mixture on top with the eggplant on the bottom. I usually like this dish but this was a bit bland.

Grand-Palace-ribs

Pork Spareribs were yummy. The meat was tender and the sauce paired well nicely.

Grand-Palace-shrimp-dumpling

Shrimp Dumplings (har gow) is a dim sum classic. It has shrimp inside the rice skin. It’s a two-bite dumpling and it was not bad here.

Grand-Palace-tofu

Deep Fried Tofu was horrible. The skin was thick and tasteless and the crumbly topping was very salty. We all agreed that this was a horrible dish and we would not order it again.

Overall, it is a decent dim sum restaurant. There are good dishes here, but if you venture into one of the horrible dishes, it’s gonna taste bad. As long as you stick to the classic dim sum items, you can’t go wrong.

We Rate Grand Palace Restaurant

Address:
2001 – 1163 Pinetree Way
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
http://www.grandpalacerestaurant.ca/

Grand Palace Restaurant 富豪酒家 on Urbanspoon

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=1163+Pinetree+Way&t=m&hnear=1163+Pinetree+Way,+Coquitlam,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V3B+8A9&z=15 “]

starbucks-egg-roll-tin

During Chinese New Year, our family friend brought over Assorted Egg Rolls from Starbucks. I was so amazed because I’ve never seen Starbucks have these on sale before. It’s a huge container that has 9 different flavours of egg rolls. It’s a perfect gift!

She bought these in Vancouver from T&T.

starbucks-eggrolls

The 9 flavours were:

  • Regular
  • Green Tea
  • Black tea
  • Chocolate
  • Cheese
  • Honey
  • Wheat
  • Coffee
  • Mocha

All the flavours are pretty damn good and wasn’t disappointed. Goes well with coffee or tea.

Website: http://www.starbucks.ca/

sweet-step-outer

When we were in Pohang, M’s mom showed us a cute coffee shop called Sweet Step. They serve up artisan coffee and bake their own pastries. Whats great about this place is that they even roast their own beans.

A lot of locals love this place because its different that all the other coffee chains out there.

sweet-step-inner

The inside is quite huge! There’s patio seating and 2 floors of seating too.

sweet-step-macarons

Lots of macarons.

sweet-step-doremon

Doremon bread!

sweet-step-drip

They have a siphon coffee maker on display. Looks pretty darn cool

sweet-step-pots

They also sell various coffee gadgets too.

sweet-step-counter

The counters menu has some english, so you will be able to make your order easily with no problems.

sweet-step-macaron

Coffee Macaron (2,000 won = $2CDN) was a cool treat to pair with coffee. I looked pretty.

sweet-step-huge

It was also humongous. I’ve never seen a macaron this big. Unfortunately, the macaroon was not very good. It was hard and chewy. A good macaron should have a smooth, crisp shell and a moist, chewy interior.

sweet-step-affogato

Affogato is what M ordered. It comes with a scoop of vanilla Haagan Daaz ice cream and a shot of espresso. You pour the espresso on top of the ice cream and its so delicious! A very Italian treat.

sweet-step-caramel-mchiato

Iced Caramel Macchiato is what Ms mom ordered. Looked very pretty and she said it tasted very good.

sweet-step-custom

Americano Misto is what I tried to order, but I don’t think they understood what I wanted. I think this drink got lost in translation. I think next time I will stick with a latte or cappuccino.

Overall, we did enjoy the cafe. It’s a perfect place to chill in the afternoon over some coffee and treats. Ambiance was perfect and there are tons of seats.

We Rate Sweet Step

Address:
남구 대이로143번길 21, Pohang 790-320

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/SweetStepCoffee

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=21+Daei-ro+143beon-gil,+Nam-gu,+Pohang,+Gyeongsangbuk-do+790-320,+South+Korea+(657+I-dong)&hl=en&ll=36.027202,129.338007&spn=0.020443,0.042272&t=m&geocode=FUe7JQIdmoq1Bw&hnear=21+Daei-ro+143beon-gil,+Nam-gu,+Pohang,+Gyeongsangbuk-do,+South+Korea+(657+I-dong)&z=15″]

imperial-outer

Imperial Court ( 王府井京川粵名菜) is located in Richmond and they serve up Beijing and Szechuan cuisine. My mom found this place in the newspaper and heard it was a good place for peking duck. M really wanted some good peking duck. We made reservations and headed down here for dinner.

imperial-inner

This place has lots of large round tables perfect for large groups. It’s a popular place for King Crab but it wasn’t the peak King Crab season yet, so we opted for a 10 person set menu for the 8 of us.

imperial-cold-dish

The first item that arrived are the cold appetizers. It has bean curd, jelly fish, cucumbers, tomato, and pork.

imperial-pour

The next dish that arrived is the fish maw and egg soup. The big bowl of soup is poured into individual bowls.

imperial-soup

I thought the soup was good. M didn’t know what the soup was until we told him that fish maw was actually fish stomach. He was quite afraid to eat it. Mind over matter right? I thought the fish maw was quite tasteless and it’s the broth of the soup that brings out the flavour.

imperial-duck

Peking duck arrived with and the slices were quite think with not a lot of meat. The wrappers that came with it was tasteless and thick.  The duck is supposed to feed 10 people, but we felt it was very small. My parents tried requesting to take the duck bones home but they said we were not allowed to. Some people actually request it to bring it back home to make soup. We thought it was a bit weird how they said no.

There are shrimp chips underneath.

imperial-lettuce-wrap

Duck lettuce wrap is what they made with the remainder of the duck. The duck and vegetable stir fry sits on top of the fried noodles.

imperial-chicken

Hainanese chicken was the next dish. The skin has its classic yellow shade. It tasted ok, but the meat was a bit dry and the skin was gummy. It was alright, but not very impressed.

imperial-fish

Steamed flat fish was the next dish and it was very moist and delicious. The bones came off easily and wasn’t too hard to pick out.

imperial-lobster

2 Lobsters arrived on the plate but they were also quite small. It was cut up into bite size pieces and cooked in a white sauce. The meat was quite tough and surprisingly hard to get out of the shells.

imperial-rice

Fried rice came in a huge plate and was not bad. Not too oily.

imperial-mushroom

Vegetables and mushrooms was a good compliment to the set meal. Very delicious.

imperial-redbean

Red Bean Soup was the last item to arrive. It’s quite common for Chinese restaurants to have this at the end. It wasn’t as thick as other restaurants, it was very watery.

imperial-kitty

Hello Kitty Mango Pudding was a very cute item to order, but it lacked in the mango flavour. It was more like jello.

Overall, this place was below average and there are so many other Chinese restaurants in the area that are better. None of use were really impressed by any of their dishes. Felt very climactic as the dinner went on.

We Rate Imperial Court Beijing Cuisine: 

Address:
6360 #3 Rd
Richmond, BC

Imperial Court Beijing Cuisine 王府井京川粵名菜 on Urbanspoon

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=6360+No+3+Rd&sll=49.1671258,-123.1363797&sspn=0.0053876,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=6360+No+3+Rd,+Richmond,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6Y+2B3&z=16 “]

cheesecake-factory-menu

Can you believe it? I’ve NEVER been to a Cheesecake Factory till now. It’s taken me 25 years to make a visit and taste their cheesecake. I’ve never seen the allure of huge slices of cheese cake and horribly prepared food. I’ve always just had that impression in my mind.

On our recent trip to Seattle, we stopped by Cheesecake factory for an early dinner. It was really early…it was so early, they still had their lunch menu. What can I say? We had a schedule to keep if we wanted to go shopping.

cheesecake-factory-inner

The place was huge, but there always seem to be a line up near the door. It’s super packed during lunch and dinner.

cheesecake-factory-bread

Complimentary bread arrives and you have brown and white. We actually didn’t touch the bread since we had to save our tummies for our meal and dessert. No need to waste space for plain bread.

cheesecake-factory-coke

M ordered himself a coke. Free refills!

cheesecake-factory-lemonade

Koreangirl got herself a lemonade. Free refills too!

cheesecake-factory-pizza

Tomato, basil and cheese pizza ($11.95) from their lunch menu is pretty crappy. There’s no tomato sauce, so it’s just the 3 basic ingredients over the pizza dough. I will not order the pizza again.

cheesecake-factory-salad

The pizza did come with a salad. The salad was pretty good. No complaints. It had a balsamic vinegar dressing. I definitely enjoyed the salad a lot more than the pizza.

cheesecake-factory-meatloaf

Famous Factory Meatloaf ($11.95) comes with 2 sides. M chose corn and mashed potatoes with gravy. The lunch size was still huge but the dinner size is even larger. M likes the portion for lunch as he could actually finish it.

cheesecake-factory-sandwich

Renee’s Special ($10.95) comes with half a turkey sandwich, a cup of soup and a green salad. You definitely get a little bit of everything. The portion is large for lunch and its very filling.

cheesecake-factory-pasta

Fettuccini with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes ($11.95) was ordered by Scarface and looked good.

cheesecake-factory-cheesecake

30th Anniversary Chocolate Cake Cheesecake has layers of their original cheesecake, fudge cake and chocolate truffle cream. M gets this every time he comes here.

cheesecake-factory-choco

Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake ($6.95)  has chocolate cheesecake with a layer of Belgian chocolate mousse and whipped cream.

cheesecake-factory-strawberry

Fresh Strawberry ($6.95) has the original cheese cake topped with glazed strawberries and whipped cream. It’s been their top seller for 30 years. The strawberries were huge and fresh. I really liked it and its a good cake to share. The classics are always the best.

Overall, cheesecake factory is ok. It’s a good price for their huge portions. I wouldn’t come back for the food but cheesecake is worth it.

We Rate The Cheesecake Factory

Address:
700 Pike St
Seattle, WA

Website:
http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/

The Cheesecake Factory on Urbanspoon

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=700+Pike+St&sll=47.6116985,-122.3333375&sspn=0.0055549,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=700+Pike+St,+Seattle,+King+County,+Washington+98109,+United+States&z=16 “]

yvr-foodcourt

After checking in and going through security at the Vancouver International Airport (YVR), M and I were pretty hungry. There’s not a lot of choices before boarding international flights.

We had to choose from:

  • Milestones
  • Starbucks
  • Tim Hortons
  • Euro Cafe
  • A&W
  • Burger King
  • Subway
  • Hanami Express

It’s all fast food and it’s definitely hard to choose what your last meal before the plane will be.

yvr-aw

I actually quite like A&W for the burgers and you can really notice their fresh ingredients. It doesn’t come close to McDonalds. All their beef is 100% pure and contains no hormones or steroids. Also no additives or preservatives.

Their quality has gotten a lot better over the years and I prefer it over the other fast food options.

yvr-aw-meal

We got 2 teen burger meals, onion rings, yam fries and cokes.

My favourite sides are the onion rings. The batter is fried till its crispy and the onion is large. I wasn’t a fan of the yam fries, but I never liked yam fries in the first place. M did enjoy the yam fries.

yvr-aw-teen

Teen Burger is my favourite and it has lettuce, tomato, bacon, cheese, ketchup, onion, pickles and the burger patty between the two buns. Even looking at the burger, the ingredients look fresh. I ate it all and enjoyed it! Yum.

All the other burger at A&W are pretty good, but you can’t beat the teen burger.

Website: www.aw.ca

A&W on Urbanspoon

fanpack-box

McDonalds created the Fan Pack to have people share the moment during the 2014 Olympic games in Sochi. It costs $13.99 and it contains:

  • 20 McNuggets
  • 2 Medium Fries
  • 2 Medium Drinks
  • 2 Cookies
  • 2 limited edition Coca Cola pins

You can find this at most McDonalds in Canada. It a great item to bring friends if you are all watching the game together. Unfortunately, M and I don’t have cable, so we bought this box and watched some Netflix. It’s a quick meal for 2 very lazy people on a weekend.

fanpack-contents

The inside of the box houses all the food.

fanpack-coke

Coke! Not the most healthiest drink, but its nice to feel the bubbles fizzle down your throat.

fanpack-cookie

Two of their soft baked cookies come in a little bag, they taste ok for cookies. Nothing amazing.

fanpack-boxes

The best part are the nuggets. They are split up into 2 boxes of 10 and you can ask them for whatever sauce you want. Our choices were hot mustard and sweet and sour sauce.

fanpack-nuggets

nom nom nom nom. All them nuggets.

fanpack-pins

The best part of the Fan pack is really about collecting the pins. We only got 2 pins and we are missing 2 more. I’m not sure if we will get another fan pack, but we really want to have the other 2 to complete the collection.

Have you had the Fan Pack yet?

Website: http://www.mcdonalds.ca/

McDonald's on Urbanspoon

rosemaryrocksalt-inner

Rosemary Rocksalt is the sister restaurant of Seigel’s Bagels. They have one location in North Vancouver and recently opened a new location on Main Street in Vancouver.

They serve up Montreal-style bagels and boy are they delicious! You’ll never buy bagels from Safeway or Superstore again.

rosemaryrocksalt-counter

All their bagels are freshly made in the store and it’s all displayed in the counter as you walk into the store. There are 10 types to choose from.

rosemaryrocksalt-menu

The menu is slightly more expensive than Siegels. But if you take into account location and demographics, it makes sense.

rosemaryrocksalt-breakfast

Morning Bagel ($6.50) has Montreal Smoked meat, cheddar and egg. Magz chose to have it on a rosemary rocksalt bagel. She loved it! Breakfast for lunch is always the best.

rosemaryrocksalt-jalapenomelt

Jalapeno melt ($8) has smoked meat, melted cheddar, jalapeno peppers, lettuce, tomato and mustard. I ordered it with the multigrain bagel. I’m really loving this type of bagel. It’s nice and crisp on the outside and chewy in the middle.

rosemaryrocksalt-meat

It was hard to hold together while eating it, but it tasted great. The best part is really the smoked meat.

We came here for lunch and we were not disappointed. It tasted great but it was a tad expensive.

We Rate Rosemary Rocksalt

Address:
2515 Main St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.rosemaryrocksalt.com

Rosemary Rocksalt on Urbanspoon

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=2515+Main+St&sll=49.2625553,-123.1009902&sspn=0.0053772,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=2515+Main+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5T&z=16 “]

SiegelsBagels-kits

Siegel’s Bagels sells authentic Montreal-style bagels in Kitsilano. After coming back from a trip, we decided to stop here for a quick lunch. I’ve heard much about this place, but I’ve actually never been here. I wanted to see if it was true that it’s like a Montreal Bagel.

SiegelsBagels-inner

The Kitsilano location is open 24 hours and have lot of sandwiches to choose from. They even have Montreal smoked meat.

SiegelsBagels-bagel

Lot of bagels to choose from. They make it all in-house and are fresh.

SiegelsBagels-club

Club Bagel ($8.50) has Montreal smoked meat, golden turkey breast, tomato, lettuce, cheddar, mustard and mayo.

SiegelsBagels-cross

Their Montreal smoked meat is pretty awesome. It has a great combination of ingredients.

SiegelsBagels-salmon

Lox and Cream ($8.95) has smoked sockeye salmon, cream cheese, onions, and capers. It’s quite pricey for what you get, but the combination of the cream cheese, salmon and capers is sure yummy. I got it on a multigrain bagel because I love the texture of the grains on the outside.

Overall, great bagels and its great they are made fresh. Don’t forget to buy a few for home! They also have their sister restaurant – Rosemary Rocksalt open in North Vancouver and Main Street.

We Rate Siegel’s Bagels

Address:
1883 Cornwall Ave
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.siegelsbagels.com/

Siegel's Bagels on Urbanspoon

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=1883+Cornwall+Ave&sll=49.2724816,-123.1477055&sspn=0.0053761,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=1883+Cornwall+Ave,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6J&z=16 “]

Janny-Crepe-House-street

We spent the afternoon in Busan roaming the Gwangbokro Culture and Fashion street in Busan. We just finished lunch at some relatives house and wandered off here to do some shopping and looking for a sweet treat.

Janny-Crepe-House-outer

M’s mom wanted to show us some amazing organic milk soft serve Ice cream with honeycomb, so we wandered and wandered until we found a good place. We stumbled upon Janny Crepe House. At first glance, you won’t be able to notice as you just assume they only have  crepes.

Janny-Crepe-House-comb

As you look closer, you will see their display case filled with delicious honeycomb.

Janny-Crepe-House-making

It’s a small shop with a lot of people waiting, so there’s not a lot of seats available. Best to have it to go and wander the streets to do more shopping. This is also very random, but they sell dolls as well.

Janny-Crepe-House-honey

Organic milk soft serve Ice cream with honeycomb (4,500 won = $4.50) was just beautiful. You have the soft serve on the bottom and then it is topped with a piece of honeycomb.

Janny-Crepe-House-sweet

The way the honeycomb glistens beautifully. Everyone else loved the ice cream and honeycomb, but I personally felt it was a bit sweet. I just prefer less sweet treats. The texture of the honeycomb was crunchy kinda like a wafer. A cool treat to try out if you’re ever in South Korea.

It’s a unique treat and I’ve never seen this in Vancouver yet.

dintaifung-mascot

The first time I tried Din Tai Fung was in Hong Kong about a year and a half ago. The menus are similar but there are a lot of things that are missing. We arrived right at 10:30am on Saturday and we just beat the rush. By the time it was 11:30, this place was packed and had a long line up. People in Seattle sure love their Xiao Long Bao.

I’m still waiting for Din Tai Fung to open up in Vancouver, but they might. Nonetheless, we do have some good alternatives like Dinesty in Richmond and Downtown Vancouver.

dintaifung-inner

The interior is quite large, so it can fit a lot of people.

dintaifung-friedrice

Shrimp Fried Rice is always my favourite! Lot of shrimp piled on top with the savoury fried rice on the bottom. The downside is that it is a bit oily.

dintaifung-xlb

Juicy Pork Dumplings comes with 10 pieces. They are not all uniformly shaped compared to the ones in Hong Kong. It’s still good! The skin is thin but won’t break easily. This is probably the most ordered item on the menu.

dintaifung-sauce

You dip the dumplings in vinegar and ginger.

dintaifung-shrimp

Shrimp & Pork Shao Mai comes with 10 pieces. It was ok, but I didn’t like the overcooked shrimp.

dintaifung-vegpork

Vegetable & Pork Dumplings came with 10 pieces and really reminded me of Korean dumplings (mandu).

dintaifung-meatbun

Pork Buns come with 2 per order, but we ordered a total of 4.

dintaifung-spicy

Shrimp & Pork Wonton with Spicy Sauce was good. A good level of spice and we ate it quickly.

I feel like I’ve been spoiled by all the great Taiwanese food in Vancouver. It was good, but I still find Dinesty in Vancouver is a good alternative without travelling so far. The prices at Din Tai Fung are a bit high, so each dumpling dish is around $10.

You’ll definitely experience higher quality at the Din Tai Fung locations in Asia, but I found this locations to be subpar.

We Rate Din Tai Fung

Address:
700 Bellevue Way NE Ste 280
Bellevue, WA

Website:
http://www.dintaifungusa.com/

Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐 on Urbanspoon

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mosaic-view

Chef Thomas Heinrich is back at it again with more Chef Tasting Menus. This time, he focuses around Taiwanese cuisine after his recent adventures in Taiwan for Taste Taiwan Culinary Contest.

His menu isn’t trying to imitate Taiwanese cuisine, but take the flavour characteristics and put a West Coast twist to his dishes. I was a bit nervous and curious in trying the menu because I had no idea what to expect.

mosaic-menu

From January 17th till February 13th, you can indulge in the 4 course Taiwanese Tasting Menu for $45.

  • Fish ball with scallion and pork dust
  • Hakka tea crusted line caught ling cod
  • 5 spiced braised pork belly
  • Pineapple cake

For an extra $20, you can have the wine pairing that go with each course.

mosaic-wine

The wines included are:

  • Gray Monk Riesling
  • Cedar Creek Chardonnay
  • Rosemount Estate Shiraz
  • Hester Creek Pinot Blank

When I think about Taiwanese cuisine and alcohol, the first thing that comes to my mind is beer. Taiwanese beer is pretty damn awesome. Having wine is a nice twist and definitely sets the mood especially with their amazing view of Burrard street. Makes it more romantic.

mosaic-bread

Complimentary bread arrived at the table and there were rolls and multigrain bread.

mosaic-fish

Fish Ball Soup with Scallion and pork dust was quite a surprise. The broth is made of ground pork and ginger. Very aromatic and full of flavour. Pretty good broth.

mosaic-fishball

The fish balls were made of ling cod and scallop. Once you taste these, it will blow your mind. Normal fish balls from the grocery store don’t compare to these fish balls. The texture was light and fluffy and absorbed the broth well.

mosaic-cod

Hakka tea crusted line caught ling cod is beautifully presented. This dish also has ginger, green onion, lemon vinegar fluid gel and the peanut mochi balls. The cod was cooked perfectly and the tea was not overpowering. It added a nice subtle flavour to the fish.

My favourite part of the dish was actually the peanut mochi balls. Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.

mosaic-porkbelly

5 Spiced Braised Pork Belly was the ultimate test of mastering the Taiwanese flavour. It has licorice root, garlic, nutmeg, cinnamon, fennel seed and baby leeks. The pork belly was a very large portion! Once you slice some and put it in your mouth, it just melts in your mouth. The pork belly they used a good cut! The marbled layers are just beautiful.

mosaic-pineapplecake

Pineapple Cake has a kiwi sauce, black sesame ice cream and a starfruit chip.

mosaic-pineapplecakes

Once you cut into the pineapple cake, the beautiful filling inside is revealed. My favourite part of this dish was the sesame ice cream, oh man, thats good stuff.

Overall, I was very impressed by the tasting menu. The way he fuses the use of fresh and local ingredients with the Taiwanese flavour profile really was a winner. M and I left really full and happy.

We Rate Mosaic

Address:
655 Burrard St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://vancouver.hyatt.com/

Mosaic Bar & Grille on Urbanspoon

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Rachel’s Ginger Beer is the newest place in Pike Place in Seattle.  We were wandering around the area after lunch and needed something fizzy to settle our stomachs after eating at Pike Place Chowder.

They started selling their signature Ginger Beer at Seattle’s Farmers Market and with great success, they opened up their shop in Pike Place during the summer of 2013.

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When you walk inside, you’ll be mesmerized by all their drinks. These are the larger jugs that are to go.

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Don’t be fooled by their name, they have more than just soda. They have boozy cocktails and ice cream. Some of the drinks can be made warm too instead of cold.

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When you order a cup of the ginger beer, it comes right from the tap. I think it’s a really cute touch even though it is non-alcoholic.

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Mango Tangerine ($5) , Pink Guava ($5) , Original ($4), and  Blueberry ($5) were ordered and it has a very distinctive aftertaste of ginger. You can feel the drink slide down your throat and heating up your body. It can really shock the sickness out of you if you aren’t feeling too well. Good combination is all the soda’s but I liked the original to stay true to ginger beer.

It’s not a drink for everyone. If you don’t like ginger, you probably won’t have a keen liking to the drinks.

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We were glad we stumbled upon this cute little shop. I would have never expected a ginger beer shop to exist.

We Rate Rachel’s Ginger Beer:

Address:
1530 Post Alley
Seattle, WA

Website:
http://rachelsgingerbeer.com/pages/pike-place-market

Rachel's Ginger Beer on Urbanspoon

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ORU-upper

The last Dine Out I did this year was at Oru at the Fairmont Pacific Rim in Downtown Vancouver. They were offering a $38 3-course meal. It seemed reasonable and their menu had lobster. When I was looking for a place for my family, I had my eye on a place with great ambiance and West Coast food. Oru seemed perfect and the menu sounded yummy.

I would not normally come here unless it was a special occasion as it is quite pricey on a regular night.

ORU-dining

The interior was beautiful and if you get seated in a nice spot, you might even get a good view of the Convention Centre or the Olympic Cauldron.

ORU-kitchens

We were seated near the kitchen, so we could watch their every move.

ORU-kitchen

I would stare and see when our dishes would be coming. They put a lot of effort into those dishes and its fun to see them be prepared and plated.

ORU-bread

Complimentary bread arrives at the table with butter. We had olive bread and I think whole wheat. Both were very light and airy, so it was enjoyable.

ORU-ipad

While we waited for our food, we saw that the drink menus were on an iPad. Pretty cool because you can see what drinks they have and what they look like.

ORU-drinks

Strawberry Rhubarb Soda (right) has elderflower, strawberry purée, yuzu, and rhubarb bitters. My little sister loved it. It was bubbly and refreshing. This drink was the best out of all of them.

Raspberry Iced Tea (left) hasvearl grey tea, homemade raspberry syrup, and lemon juice.

Shirley Temple (centre) is made with ginger ale and grenadine syrup.

All mocktails were $8.50. Quite pricey and more expensive than beer.

ORU-salad

Oru Winter Salad has kale, roasted squash, lime, pumpkin seeds with a chipotle caesar dressing. It tasted great and not overpowered by the dressing. A filling item for the first course.

ORU-porkbelly

Pork Belly dish has lotus root poi, baby bok choy, crispy sage, pineapple-maple and mustard glaze. The pork belly was crispy on the outside which made it extra enjoyable. It’s a small appetizer, but bacon lovers will enjoy this dish.

ORU-soup

Roasted Sunchoke “Mocha” has a sunchoke veloute, truffled milk foam and a morel cocoa powder. It was a good portion side and filled my sister up. The texture was very smooth and great for the cold weather.

ORU-lobster

Cape Breton Lobster has a paprika lime butter sauce with a bed of warm brussel sprouts and chorizo salad. This dish was amazing! Every last bite of this dish was enjoyed. The brussel sprouts were highly addictive and everyone at the table just had to have a bite. The lobster wasn’t very large, but it was cooked perfectly and the flavour of the sauce really enhanced it.

ORU-shortrib

Angus Reserve Short Rib is topped with a mole sauce and has a bed of guajilo spiced mashed potato, black bean, corn, and zucchini succotash. The meat is tender and fell apart nicely.

ORU-bar

Malted Peanut Butter and Beer Nut Bar consists of chocolate ganache, peanut butter mousse, salted caramel peanuts, and a malted milk ice cream. The bar was very rich and sweet. We couldn’t finish the whole thing.

ORU-cheeseplate  

Local cheeses is what my little sister ordered. It has natural Pastures aged farmhouse cheddar, black pepper verdelait, Golden Ears Cheeseworks brie. You also get crisps and quince mostarda on the plate. It’s great for cheese lovers and a nice way to taste unique cheeses.

ORU-shortcake 

Strawberry Shortcake ‘Millefeuille’ has strawberry compote, sweet puff pastry, diplomat cream and lemon curd. Good contrast of flavours that blend together nicely.

ORU-music

When you leave, take a stop by the Lobby Lounge if there is a live Orchestra. The music is really amazing!

The dineout was well worth $38 per person for the 3 courses. My family enjoyed the food, ambiance and service. In the future, definitely check out the menu to see whats on it. If you spot a protein that you will enjoy, you won’t be disappointed. We were eyeing the lobster and it was so worth it.

We Rate Oru

Address:
1038 Canada Pl
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.orucuisine.com/

Oru at Fairmont Pacific Rim on Urbanspoon

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kishimoto-platter

Coming with the girls on the weekend for lunch drew us to Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen. I haven’t been back in 3 years, so I just had to come back and try more items off their menu. Also, they serve Salmon Oshi Sushi similar to Miku’s Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi. It looks very similar, but  was curious how it compared.

The restaurant quickly filled up and got much busier as it approached 12:30pm. The 3 of us got seated quickly but we were put in a very small table and it was uncomfortable and cramped. They do not take reservations, so you just need to take your chances.

kishimoto-tea

Complimentary tea arrived at the table. It was piping hot and enjoyable as we waited for our order.

kishimoto-salmin

Salmon Oshisushi ($11.75) has a salmon creamy sauce with freshly cracked black pepper, then seared with a torch and an added jalapeño on top. It looks like Miku, but the flavour is just not the same. Once you have Miku, you can’t go anywhere else for these types of sushi.

It comes with 7 pieces and it’s still good.

kishimoto-eel

Unagi Oshisushi ($11.75) has unagi, creamy sauce, freshly cracked black pepper, then it’s torched. A slice of cucumber is on top. It’s good, but not as good as their salmon version.

kishimoto-garnish

The presentation of all their dishes are really cute. All the little details make the experience more enjoyable.

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Tuna and Salmon ($10.25) come with 3 pieces of salmon and 3 pieces of tuna. It is served on top of a block of ice and daikon. The sashi tasted very fresh and was enjoyable.

kishimoto-chicken

Chicken Karaage ($6.75) is very good. Nice crispy skin with a slightly sweet sauce.

kishimoto-nigiri

Masago Nigiri ($1.50) has a lot of masago. Yummy.

kishimoto-roll

Dragon Roll ($10.95) has 2 pieces of prawn tempura, tobiko, unagi sauce, sliced avocado and unagi on top. It comes with 8 pieces.

kishimoto-scallop

Scallop Roll ($3.95) has scallops, cucumber, masago and mayo. It came with 6 pieces.

kishimoto-toro

Toro Nigiri (3 pieces – $10.50) just melts in your mouth because its so fatty. nom nom nom. It’s quite expensive for 3 pieces.

kishimoto-udon

Nabeyaki Udon ($13.95) has 3 pieces of tempura on the side. Inside the bowl is mushrooms, chicken, soft boiled egg, kamaboko, and green onion all in a bowling hot stone bowl. It was pretty yummy.

kishimoto-okonomiyaki

Pork Okonomiyaki ($10.95) was the last item to arrive at the table and it took over an hour to arrive. A lot of tables ordered it too and they were also mad it took a long time. Mandu thought it was a bit bland, so we asked them for more sauce on the side. Granted, it is quite large and is delicious with more sauce.

Overall, the presentation of the food was beautiful. The service was decent and the food was pretty good. The prices are a bit high and we spent close to $100 on lunch for 3 people.

We Rate Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen: 
Address:
2054 Commercial Drive
Vancouver, BC

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/pages/Kishimoto…

Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen on Urbanspoon

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