May 2014

In Dessert

Wanda’s Belgian Waffles: Dessert on Younge Street

May 15, 2014

Who likes waffles? I like waffles. When I was in Toronto for vacation, I was looking for some dessert after dinner. Something kinda walkable from Eaton’s Centre. There were lots of options but a lot of them closed early. Wanda’s Belgian Waffles popped up on my Urbanspoon app, as well as the Yelp app. Reviews were decent and how can you go wrong with waffles?

The pictures looked decent and we thought it would be a nice place to hang out.

When we arrived, we ordered from the window. The man was a bit rude and pushy when it came down to ordering. It wasn’t a very good first impression. We watched the man grab a ball of dough and stick it onto the waffle iron. It was pretty sad to watch the grumpy man make our waffles.

When we got our order, we didn’t know there was another counter inside to order. We would rather order from the inner counter rather from the window as we were dining in.

Ice cream special ($4.79) has the liege waffle topped with ice cream, caramel drizzle and powdered sugar. The liege waffle was very doughy and you could tell there was a lot of sugar in it. I kept biting small sugar crystals.

Strawberry Special ($7.49) has the liege waffle with fresh strawberries, whipped cream and chocolate drizzle. This one was the better one out of the two waffles we got. Lot of strawberries and whipped cream covering the liege waffle. The liege waffle was also quite doughy and dense.

This place was ok, but nothing impressive here. After trying Nero Belgian Waffle Bar in Vancouver, nothing else can compare. Sometimes I hate being a tourist because I can never make good food decisions in a city I am not familiar with.

We Rate Wanda’s Belgian Waffles:

Address:
361 Yonge St Toronto, ON

Website:
http://www.wandaswaffles.com

In American

KFC Select: First in Canada

May 14, 2014

KFC Select is a new concept restaurant to attract younger customers. This location close to Younge and Bloor is the first location to pop up in Canada. They are still sticking with what they do best … making chicken. Except, you won’t find any big buckets of chicken here.

The location opened last December and the exterior is mostly black to give it a modern look.

You can even find images of Colonel Sanders inside.

The interior reminds me of Chipotle. It’s very very similar.

They have 5 main items:

Chicken Burgers
Burritos
Bowls
Salads
Chicken Strips

Then you can choose to make it a combo or add any extra desserts. Interesting desserts – Kream Ball and Strawberry Cheesecake. I would have thought they would have chosen something more healthy.

You order like an assembly line, similarly to Chipotle.

Double Decker ($4.99) has two hand-breaded crispy chicken fillets with their special sauce and pickles between toasted sesame seed bun. Double crunchiness and M did enjoy it. Who can say no to fried chicken? I sure can’t.

Fresh Deluxe ($4.99) has one hand-breaded crispy chicken fillet with cilantro mayo, salsa roja, mild cheddar and crisp lettuce, freshly stacked on a toasted sesame seed bun. It is the same price as the double decker sandwich, but this one just has a single fillet.

To make it a combo, just add $3. You get a drink and a side. The sides you can choose from are:

Waffle Fries
Coleslaw
Side salad

Waffles fries was the side we got and it was pretty darn good. So addictive too. I like it crunchy.

California Chicken Bowl ($5.99) you get grilled chicken over cilantro rice topped with Guacamole, cilantro mayo, sour cream, and pico de gallo.

The bowl was ok, but it just contained so much sauce. It didn’t have a very healthy look to it.

They have a pretty awesome beverage fountain. I haven’t seen this in Vancouver yet, but it’s SO cool.

The pop dispenses through a touch pad. You will find all different Pepsi products like 7 Up, Brisk , Mountain Dew, Dr Pepper and Dole.

When you select pepsi, you can have regular, cherry, lime, vanilla, lime or strawberry. M really loved this machine!

Overall, KFC Select is great because they know they need to evolve to suit their consumers tastes. Unfortunately, there were so many ways of making their food healthier, but I just didn’t see it. It seemed like a weird mishmash of KFC and Chipotle. I would have loved to see some grilled chicken in their burgers rather than the crispy fried ones.

We Rate KFC Select:

Address:
730 Yonge St
Toronto ON

Website:
http://www.kfcselect.ca/

In Kid Friendly

The Keg Steakhouse: Filet Mignon and Prime Rib

May 13, 2014

M and I have a ritual of going The Keg on our anniversary. It started a few years ago when we opted to go to The Keg rather than Gothams. The Burnaby location is our favourite as it is closest to our house, but driving there is always a pain because you can only get there by going northbound on Willingdon.

Complimentary bread arrived and they have a different type of bread now. It used to be more round and soft. Now it’s a bit harder and square in shape. Still tastes good with the whipped butter.

Filet Mignon (7oz – $32 | 10oz – $37) has the tenderloin wrapped in applewood smoked bacon. You get your choice to a side and he chose roasted vegetables. It is very tender! M got his medium rare and it was spot on.

He always gets this now because it’s really flavourful and the perfect cut of meat for a man.

Prime Rib (10oz – $25) is aged for extra flavour and tenderness, rubbed with our unique blend of spices and slow roasted. Hand-carved and served with horseradish and red wine herb au jus. For my side, I ordered roasted vegetables as well.

Overall, it’s a pretty solid place to go for steaks without breaking the bank. The quality is consistent.

We Rate the Keg Steakhouse:

Address:
4510 Still Creek Ave
Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.kegsteakhouse.com/en/locations/BC/burnaby/burnaby-keg/

In Dessert

Rain or Shine Ice Cream: Scoop after Scoop

May 12, 2014

Who says ice cream is only for sunny days. With 365 days of the year, it mostly rains in Vancouver but ice cream is so delicious, you can have it any time of the year. There’s a new shop called Rain or Shine Ice Cream close to West 4th and Burrard.

A lot of people compare this place to Earnest Ice Cream.

They try to use the best ingredients possible in their menu. Fresh, natural and sustainable ingredients are used and you can see it being reflected on their menu.

The Keepers sections are flavours that are kept year round. Seasonal flings are the ones with ingredients that are currently in season.

The Keepers:

Chocolate
Vanilla
Salted Caramel
Coffee Toffee
London Fog
Honey Lavendar
Blueberry Balsamic
Peanut Butter
Coconut Chocolate Chunk
Cracked Mint

Seasonal Flings:

Spiced Honey Hazelnut
BrownButter Snickerdoodle
Oatmeal praline Rum Rasin
Ginger Coconut
Power St White IPA

On Tuesday, they sell ice cream tacos. It looks pretty awesome. But, since it was a weekend when we visited, it wasn’t available. They also have sundaes and shakes.

There’s not a lot of seats inside, but you might get lucky. When we came around noon, it wasn’t busy at all. Which is perfect for us cause we then occupied all the seats.

After sampling a few flavours, I really had a clear favourite.

Peanut Butter (1 scoop- $4.50) was so good. I really like peanut butter. The ice cream was smooth but I did find a few ice crystals inside of it.

Overall, the nice place to grab some ice cream on a day that is either rainy or sunny.

We Rate Rain or Shine Ice Cream:

Address:
1926 W 4th Ave #102
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://rainorshineicecream.com/

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Kishimoto: I Got Cravings

May 11, 2014

Right after work, M and I were deciding if we wanted to go home to cook dinner or just to go out for dinner. After pondering in the car for a while, I thought about Kishimoto and we ditched our cooking plans to chow down at Kishimoto. Seriously, it’s a good place, but the wait is nuts. It was a little before 6pm and there was already a line forming.

All the tables were full.

Luckly, the bar was open, so we sat there without hesitation. Plus, I really like looking at the chefs doing their thing. I was amazed because the staff didn’t say much but they had a very good rhythm of execution.

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. This is one of their signature items. A lot of people compare it to Miku, but it’s still good here too.

The time around there is more scorched top and it tasted heavenly. The charcoal makes a huge difference.

Tuna and Salmon ($10.25) comes with 3 pieces of salmon and 3 pieces of tuna. Good quality of sashimi! Plus a nice presentation.

Chicken Karaage ($6.75) is very good. Nice crispy skin with a slightly sweet sauce. The sweet sauce is what makes it different that the usual chicken karaage.

Toro Nigiri just melts in your mouth because it’s so fatty. So good! Don’t put it all in your mouth at once, eat it in 2 or 3 bites to really enjoy it.

Unagi Nigiri was good and full of flavour.

Tamago Nigiri was good as well.

Overall, we had a great dinner. It is always a bit pricier than most places, but the quality is there. The downside is the wait. Some people waited 45 minutes for a table.

We Rate Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen:
Address:
2054 Commercial Drive
Vancouver, BC
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/pages/Kishimoto…

In Four Beakers

Kingyo Izakaya: Lunch Time

May 10, 2014

We came to Kingyo Izakaya during lunch on a weekday and it was packed! My coworkers wanted sometime really really good, so i suggested we come here. Sadly, I am directionally challenged, so I didn’t realize how far it was from our office.

We wanted to get the Kingyo Bento Box set that is limited to 10 a day, but sadly it was sold out by 11:30am. So, we opted for their regular lunch menu.

AAA+ Beef Fillet Steak Bowl ($14.80) has beef fillet steak with balsamic vinegar, wasabi, butter soy based sauce, served with a poached egg and seaweed on top of rice. It also has miso soup.

Chicken Karaage Wasabi Oroshi Bowl ($9.80) has deep-fried chicken garnished with wasabi and daikon served with mayo and lettuce on top of rice. It has miso soup too.

Fresh Seafood Chirashi-Zushi was the April special on their menu. The chef special changes every month. The dish comes with miso soup.

It has a bed of hot rice topped with a lot of seafood, ikura eggs, sprouts, tobiko and egg. Really good and filling for lunch. Looks really pretty too. I enjoyed it.

Porkloin cutlet/Tonkatsu combo ($13.80) has the deep-fried pork cutlet covered in panko bread crumbs and deep fried. It comes with cabbage salad, miso soup and rice. It was an impressive dish and very fun to eat. The cutlet was also thick and tender with the crunchy exterior crust.

Overall, we had a great time at Kingyo for lunch. It is a tad pricier that some other places for lunch, but it is really good.

We Rate Kingyo:

Address:
871 Denman St
Vancouver, BC V6G

Website:
http://www.kingyo-izakaya.ca

In Japanese

Kinton Ramen: Ramen in Korea Town

May 9, 2014

Located in Toronto’s Korea Town (near Christie Station), Kinton Ramen is easy to spot. There are two floors at this location — ground floor is for dining and the above floor is an Izakaya (Japanese pub/bar).

The place was quite full when Huhu and I arrive but we got seats at the high table in less than 2 minutes. (If you’re willing to wait, I would try to get a lower table at the back because I had a hard time settling into the high chair).

I love eating out at Japanese places since I’ve found a liking towards draft Sapporo. Huhu and I cheered on a better week ahead (it was Sunday night). The pint of Sapporo ($5.80) tasted good as usual. I just wished there was a thin layer of foam at the top.

The menu was designed so you work from top to bottom.

pick broth base (pork or chicken)
pick flavour
pick noodle
pick meat
pick additional/optional toppings.

I had pork base shoyu ramen with thin noodles and pork belly. I found the meat more fattening than I would have liked (I preferred the meat from Santoukou near Younge x Dundas Square). Because of the fat from the meat, my broth had lots of pork fat floating around. If you discount the floating fat, the broth itself had clean taste to it. To be honest, there wasn’t anything special. Just a normal bowl of ramen. The portion was big — I couldn’t finish it all.

Huhu had pork base spicy garlic ramen with thin noodles and pork belly. As the name suggests, this bowl is very very garlic-y and spicy. If you’re on a date, try to get something else!

It was difficult to have a conversation with my friend there because the music was so loud. But at least I liked their playlist.

We Rate Kinton Ramen:

Address:
668 Bloor Street West
Toronto, ON, Canada M6G 1L2

Website:
http://kintonramen.com/

In Cafe

Moii Cafe: Crepe and Teas in Vancouver

May 8, 2014

Right under the Vancity Credit Union on Cambie and Broadway is Moii Cafe. They have actually been around for a few years. It’s a popular spot among university students as it has the perfect atmosphere to study, plus the right type of food to keep the brain fueled. Ok, not really, but who doesn’t like crepes.

The interior is quite cozy and homey. There’s a good amount of space to study alone of with friends. As for me and Magz, we came here for a quick bite of lunch and to chit-chat about work and life.

They offer a variety of savoury and sweet crepes. The menu is a little bit misleading because a few items aren’t available due to seasonality.

There’s also a large wall of different drinks. There’s hot drink and cold drinks available.

Cold Honey Green Tea ($3.75) is pretty standard drink, i felt this was a tad sweet, but it’s a good pairing with a savoury crepe to balance it out.

Cold Lychee Green Tea ($3.75) has a very distinct lychee taste. Very good if you like the taste of sweet lychee.

Terimayo Crepe ($9.50) has chicken, bonito takes, cheese, okonomi sauce, pepper, mayo and wasabi. It’s not spicy at all. It’s a pretty good crepe. We enjoyed it.

Cheesecake crepe ($8.50) comes with ice cream on the side. The crepe has a slice of cheesecake inside wrapped in the crepe and topped with honey and powdered sugar. The cheese cake isn’t consistent inside as it is cut up into slices. It tasted ok, but we prefer the savoury crepe.

Overall, it’s a nice spot to hangout during the day with friends. They have wifi available too.

We rate Moii Cafe:

Address:
2559 Cambie Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://moiicafe.com/category/cambie/cambie-menu

In Brunch

Coming Home Cafe: Kickass Bennies and Kick Ass Coffee

May 7, 2014

I’ve been growing tired of going to the same ol’ places for brunch in Burnaby, so I looked into New Westminster if they had anything interesting. After much Googling, I stumbled upon Coming Home Cafe. It looked like a cute place and was rated quite highly. How have I not heard of this place? Their website even has a web cam so people can see if it’s busy or not.

I decided to take a chance and bring M and Scarface with me.

Their menu is on the chalk board and everything is under $10. The interior really isn’t impressive at all, it’s more like an old diner where nothing matches or is from a thrift store. It really has that homey vibe because as a kid, I remember a lot of our cups and plates didn’t match.

Kicking Horse Coffee ($2.75) and its self serve. You grab the mug from their shelves and begin pouring the coffee and mixing in your milk and sugar. Just like home.

You also get a maximum of 2 refills, but usually people don’t need more than 3.

The Uptown ($8.50) comes with 2 egg, toast, choice of meat and hashbrowns. I got rye bread, sausage, sunny side up eggs, and the Hashbrowns. It was simple and good just like a traditional breakfast.

Kick Ass Benny with side of hashbrowns ($9+ $3) has black forest ham, poached eggs and fresh Hollandaise sauce on top of a cheese scone. There’s no english muffin here, it’s the cheese scone that rocks it.

Overall, the place is very homey and the owners are very nice. You get good traditional breakfast foods.

We Rate Coming Home Cafe:

Address:
753 6th St.
New Westminster, BC

Website:
http://www.cominghomecafe.com/

In Delivery

India Gate: Delivered to the Office by Just-Eat.ca

May 6, 2014

Sometimes my coworkers and I never leave the office. We eat at our desks and its a horrible habit, but the truth is, it gets busy.

Just-Eat.ca is a Vancouver food delivery service , where you can order online with their website or their mobile app. They invited me to try their service and save me a $50 voucher to use. I totally didn’t mind since I’ve used their service a bunch of times before.

I did a quick search of which restaurants would deliver during lunch time close to the office and there were a good handful of options for Downtown Vancouver. The most common places were Indian, Chinese, Sushi, Pizza, and Thai.

Once you have your order in and pay, the usual wait time is anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 hour. We went with Indian Gate as it was one of the few places open at 11:30am that would deliver.

The expected delivery time was 12:35pm, but somehow it arrived right at noon! The delivery guy was really nice and friendly too.

The food arrived and it was time to dig in with my coworkers in the boardroom.

We ordered:

Vegetable Pakora
Vegetable Samosa
Naan
Sheekh Kabob
Palak Paneer
Butter Chicken

All of this plus $6 delivery fee, tips and tax came out to be $56.70. This fed 5 of us for lunch.

Butter Chicken ($15) has the option of choosing the level of spiciness, so we chose medium to add a little bit of a kick into the meal. It contains boneless chicken marinated and cooked with fresh tomatoes and cream. It also comes with rice and papadum.

Palak Paneer ($15) is a vegetarian dish and it’s basically spinach and indian cheese. It also comes with rice and papadum.

Papadum is a thin, crispy, and delicious seasoned dough. I couldn’t stop eating this for some reason. It was addictive.

Rice is pretty standard and has some peas. As it comes with the saucy dishes, you don’t need to order any additional rice.

Naan ($2) we ordered to go with the dishes. It was ok and nothing unique.

Sheekh Kabob ($6.50) were ok, but we didn’t expect the dish to look like this. I imagined skewers or something.

Vegetable Pakora ($5) is always my favourite. It’s pretty decent.

Vegetable Samosa ($4.50) was unimpressive. Tasted ok.

Overall, the food was pretty average. It was decent for a delivered lunch. Delivery was a nice option to go get Indian food while still staying in the office.

We Rate Indian Gate:

Address:
616 Robson St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.indiagatefood.com/

In Korean

Miss Korea: Eat and Drink like a Korean

May 5, 2014

Miss Korea is a Korean bar/restaurant that sells lunch, dinner, and drinks. It is located near Yonge x Bloor Streets in Toronto, which is not too far from the 2 universities (U of T and Ryerson). The interior has a hybrid look of old and modern feel. It’s clean and good for a small group of friends to hang out (you can also host a bigger party upstairs). I’ve noticed university students and young professionals frequent this place often.

After window shopping and walking around the Yorkville area on a nice Sunday evening, Bunny-Bunny and I (Fabo) went to Miss Korea to grab a bite and a couple of drinks.

When we were there, it was only about 6-7pm so the place was quite empty. At one point we were the only customers there, which I liked. Miss Korea is usually more crowded around 9pm and onwards as it’s a good place to drink beer/soju/rice wine and eat snacks with your friends.

After looking through their menu, we decided to get something from their combo menu plus a main to satisfy our Korean food cravings. We ordered 4 bottles of beer and oden soup from their combo menu. Oden soup was tasty, but perhaps because of MSG. We depleted the soup before eating all the fish cakes.

Don’t have a picture, but we got 2 bottles of Coors Light and 2 bottles of Keith. There also were imported beers on the menu, but those weren’t part of the combo menu (I wanted Sapporo, but oh wells).

We also ordered bulgogi dolsot to share. It comes with a separate spicy sauce (gochoojang) to mix with.

It was my first time visiting Miss Korea during dinner time as I usually went for drinks. Going there during dinner time was actually not bad because you can enjoy a quiet conversation with your friends. If you are too lazy to travel all the way to Christie or North York for a Korean food, and if you want a casual place to meet up with friends, I would recommend you to give this place a try.

We Rate Miss Korea:

Address:
687 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON

Website:
www.misskorea.ca

In All You Can Eat

Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot: New Location on Broadway

May 5, 2014

Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot has a new location on Broadway and Burrard. My coworkers and I decided to come here as it was semi close to our office. Plus, I always had a good time at their other locations in Richmond and Burnaby.

This location is a little bit different as they do not offer plum juice. They said it’s because they don’t have room for the equipment to prepare it. it made me sad because I do enjoy plum juice with hot pot. Some people do hate it.

It costs about $20 per person for hot pot plus soup base and any other specialty items.

We came at around 5:45pm on a weekday and it wasn’t packed yet. By the time it was 7pm, almost all the tables were full.

The broth we had was a mix of spicy and original broth. It’s a good option to get if you have a group of friends who can’t decide which broth to get. I generally find that spicy is great for cooking meat and the original is great for vegetables.

Remember to load up on the meat! The only downside of little sheep is that you are limited to 2 orders of each meat per round.

We ordered a lot of beef slices.

Lamb, beef and shrimp balls.

Spam, pork skin and quail eggs.

Cuttlefish and octopus

Sweet potato, bean curds, tofu puffs and frozen tofu.

Udon

More mushrooms and vegetables.

Overall, my coworkers thought it was a great place to go and enjoyed the food. The menu isn’t as vast compared to some other hot pot places, but they still have a decent selection. I just wish they didn’t have meat limits per order.

The service was decent but when it gets busy, it’s harder to flag down a server.

We Rate Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot:

Address:
101-1788 W. Broadway Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.littlesheephotpot.com/

In Four Beakers

Bar Isabel: Canada’s Best New Restaurant

May 4, 2014

My most recent trip to Toronto to visit a few friends over the long weekend was a blast. I got to catch up with old friends and chill. Flo recommended we hit up Bar Isabel as it is one of the hottest restaurants in town. I am not familiar with any restaurants in Toronto, so she made reservations a few weeks in advanced and we got a spot. This experience in Toronto was created in partnership with momondo.

It is highly recommended you have reservations before you come dine here or else you might be out of luck. The open everyday from 6pm – 2am.

They serve up spanish tapas and are best known for their grilled octopus. They have been named Canada’s Best New Restaurant 2013 by Air Canada’s enRoute magazine. Also, they have been named one of Toronto’s top restaurants in 2014 by Huffington Post.

The interior is pretty cool. It’s a bit dark inside and really red. It was really hard to take photos in here. To have a good time, groups of 2 or 4 are best.

Hopeless Mermaid ($16) has Elyx vodka, St.Germain elderflower liquor, fresh lime and grapefruit juice, rich ginger syrup, Angostura bitters, and grapefruit zest.

We Choose Yer Own Adventure ($15 – $20) is great for indecisive people. The server will have a chat with you to see if you like refreshing/light or bold/sturdy drinks. Then, they will choose something for you.

Roundhouse ($16) has Auchentoshan 12yr scotch, Jameson Irish whiskey, Los Arcos amontillado sherry, bad azz orgeat, fresh lime juice, Angostura bitters, and lemon oils.

All the drinks were pretty good! Pricey…but the quality was really good.

Cured Meat Plate ($16) has some pickled vegetables and you can choose 3 types of cured meats from the menu. We chose chorizo, beef carpaccio and coppa.

Bread ($4) was soft in the centre and has the crunchy crust.

Spicy Fried Squid ($8) has crispy tongue and kale on top. The squid is very soft and tender. I found that the tongue and the kale didn’t add anything special to the squid to accentuate the flavours.

Smoked Sweetbreads ($18), has raw tuna, spicy pickled green tomato, and brown butter. If you don’t know what sweetbreads are, it’s not what you think. It’s really glands from an animal. This dish tasted pretty good and the sweetbreads had a chewy spongy texture to them.

Albacore Tuna Tiradito ($14) has asian pear, celery, jalapeño and fried rosemary. It had a good assortment of ingredients that pairs nicely with the tuna.

Whole Sea Bream Ceviche ($26) was pretty awesome! It even comes with the deep-fried fish carcass and on top of that is the ceviche. Very delicious!

1/2 Grilled Octopus ($34) was my favourite part of the meal. The half-size was plenty enough for the 4 of us. Wow, this octopus was tender. When you bite into the tentacles, the suction cups just fall apart in your mouth. Hands down best octopus I’ve ever eaten. It has great flavours! I still think about this dish a few times a week. MmmMmmmm so good!

Leche Frita & Salted Dulce de Leche ($6) this was my favourite dessert. It was really delicious and the sweetness and flavours were nicely put together. It was like a churro.

Salted Dark Chocolate Ensaimada ($7) was ok, not as good as their other 2 desserts. The star here is the salted chocolate ice cream. The ensaimada didn’t add much to the dish.

Basque Cake ($8.50) has Sherry Cream all over it. The cake was moist and the sherry cream was perfect with it. So simple but so good. My other friends thought this was the best dessert.

Overall, the four of us had a good time at Bar Isabel. The food was good and I would definitely come back.

We Rate Bar Isabel:

Address:
797 College St
Toronto ON

Website:
http://barisabel.com/

In East Village

Laksa King: Laksa and Roti

May 3, 2014

M and I were craving some laksa and we were passing by Laksa King restaurant. The last time I came here was in 2011, which it was called Bo Laksa King, but Bo has left and now it’s just called Laksa King. With new owners, comes with new interior look with booths and a new mural painting.

The mural looks like a diner with some classic cars in the front. I thought this was a bit odd since this is a Burmese restaurant.

The menu more or less has stayed the same.

Nasi Goreng ($9.25) has stir fry rice with egg, shrimp, beef, shrimp paste, chilli and shredded lettuce. It tasted ok, but it all tasted quite bland and dry.

Laksa ($8.75) has your choice of vermicelli or yellow noodles served with tiger prawns, fish ball, tofu buff, hard boiled egg, chicken and a coconut curry broth. It was a tad spicy, but it is full of deep flavours.

Roti Canai (large – $6.99) has 2 pieces with the curry dip in the centre. The roti was beautifully crispy on the outside and it went really well with the dip. I could eat this all day.

Overall, the food was ok. It was a bit weird dining here since we were the only table dining here. Plus, even though we were the only ones here, the service was cold and not nice.

We rate Laksa King:

Address:
2546 E Hastings St
Vancouver, BC V5K

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

In Las Vegas

M&M’s World Las Vegas

May 2, 2014

M&M’s World in Las Vegas in another cool place on The Strip to do some quick shopping for souvenirs or browsing. It’s free to enter and there’s 4 floor of chocolatey goodness. It is located close to the Coca Cola store too.

The rainbow wall on the second floor features 22 different M&M’s! It’s cool to look at. There are also candy dispensers and shirts on this floor too.

The fourth and final floor, you get an up-close look at an M&M’s sponsored Toyota Camry race car and a bunch of NASCAR-themed M&M products like model cars.

Look at that car. Lot of people can be seen taking pictures of it.

We came out of here only getting a pack of multi-colored M&Ms. I wanted to get a candy dispenser but I didn’t like any of the ones they were selling.

Website: http://www.mmsworld.com/

Address:
3785 S Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas

In Cafe

Starbucks: Oprah Chai Tea Latte

May 1, 2014

Oprah Chai Tea latte was just introduced at Starbucks for a limited time. When I first heard about this, I was very confused why there was a drink named after Oprah.

The drink was created in partnership with Oprah Winfrey and Teavana teaologists to create the distinctive chai blend. Each beverage purchased, $0.25 is donated back to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation to help benefit youth education.

As there was a Starbucks right below the office, I might as well wander downstairs to try it out.

Here are the prices at Main and Terminal location in Vancouver.

Tall – $3.85
Grande – $4.55
Venti – $4.95

They are the same prices for Oprah Chai Tea Latte and Ice Oprah Chair Tea Latte.

Oprah Chai Tea Latte (Tall – $3.65) has a spicy chai blend of cinnamon, black tea and rooibos, lightly sweetened and finished with steamed milk.

I’m not a usual Chai tea drinker but I thought it tasted fine. Nothing too special.

Website: http://www.oprah.com/app/steep-your-soul.html

In Hotel Review

Aria Resort and Casino: Hotel on The Strip

May 1, 2014

When we were in Vegas, we spent 5 days staying at Aria. We got a good package via Allegiant Air and we heard it was a nice family friendly hotel. It’s crazy big and has about 4,000 guest suites, 16 restaurants, 10 bars/nigh clubs and a big gambling space. As a guest, you have access to the pool space and facilities. Currently, they are hosting Zarkana by Cirque du Soleil.

It is located right near the middle of the strip and is super convenient to get around either by taxi or walking.

They have these huge statues out front. It probably has some symbolic meaning.

You check in on the right side of the lobby. It takes a bit of time to check-in if there’s a long line.

Checking Out is much easier! You can check out by texting or emailing. Once done, you can just drop off your electronic keys in the boxes by the exit. It literally takes seconds to check out. I was really impressed how much they would make the process as painless as possible.

Getting to the room was a maze because of the shape of the hotel. It twists and turns but just follow the signs and you will find your way.

Our room was a Deluxe Room with 2 queen-sized beds with an adjacent room connected by a door. Perfect for a family of 5.

The room was all controlled by a tablet beside the bed. It controls the TV, temperature, lights, blinds, etc.

It was a nice space, but do be aware, if you move anything from the mini fridge, you get charged $50. Pretty steep, but I think it’s because they don’t want you to use it to cool your other beverages if you have any.

The washroom is nice, but the frosted glass may be a bit scary for some. No one really wants to kind see you do your business. Just make sure you close the main door to the washroom.

The shower and the tub are in the same glassed area. You can take a bath and a shower at the same time.

The Monte Carlo and New York New York and be seen from the lobby area. Taxi’s come quickly and isn’t a problem at all. But then again, taxi’s are everywhere on the strip.

When you check out, you can leave your luggage at the hotel until it’s time to go. Our flight was in the afternoon, so we wanted to spend some time getting lunch and picking up a few souvenirs.

Overall, I enjoyed our stay and would definitely consider Aria again.

Website: http://www.aria.com/