April 2015

In Brunch

41 West Restaurant: Brunch is Kerrisdale

April 26, 2015

I love exploring the brunch scene in Vancouver and I thought the best way to try new places would be to buy a Social Shopper deal. 4 people brunch for $36 fine dining brunch didn’t sound too bad.

41 West serves up modern French cuisine, but the interior didn’t really match the description of “fine dining”.

At first glance, we were really not impressed. There was a bowl of an unknown substance that looked dirty. Also, the table was lined with 4 cloth napkins instead of a proper table cloth.

Coffee arrived lukewarm and it wasn’t very warm after putting in milk and sugar.

Also, our iced water came with a tiny fleshy bit of lemon. It looked pretty disgusting and we wish they just didn’t add the lemon. At this point, all of us were not impressed and didn’t have much hope that it would get turned around.

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict ($13) has 2 poached eggs, smoked salmon, hash browns, with your choice of ham or sausage. My friend ordered it with sausages, but ham came instead. She didn’t mind and we were not going to fuss over this mistake. The dish was pretty meh.

Croissant Croque Monsieur ($12) has a croissant baked with ham and cheese and topped with béchamel sauce, with a green salad. The dish was ok, but the flavours felt flat.

Steak and eggs ($15) has grilled tenderloin with eggs, hash brown and toast. M asked for soft poached eggs but it turned out medium hard instead. The steak was small and looked a bit weird. M was unimpressed with the quality and flavours.

Dark Chocolate Espresso Mousse ($7.95) is light and airy, with a strong chocolate and coffee flavour combination. The redeeming factor of the meal were the desserts. The mousse was really good and it had a good flavour balance of espresso and chocolate.

Warm Butterscotch Croissant Bread Pudding ($7.95) has a croissant baked with custard and butterscotch, topped with a warm dark chocolate sauce.

Overall, this brunch wasn’t very good and could use considerable amounts of improvement. Our group consensus was that we would all not return again. Service was poor and food was subpar. The only good part about the meal was dessert, but people usually don’t order dessert for brunch. I’m glad it came with the Social Shopper or else we would be very sad diners.

We rate 41 West Restaurant:

Address:
2279 West 41st Avenue
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://41westrestaurant.com/

In Downtown

Mosaic Grille & Bar: #SpringFling Vaneats Dining Package

April 23, 2015

From April 12 – June 12, 2015, you can purchase a #SpringFling Dining Package from Vaneats to Mosaic Grille & Bar in the Hyatt Regency in Downtown Vancouver. It is $27 each and you get a choice of appetizer, entrée, and dessert. Chef Jo Ong has crafted these delectable dishes with the freshest ingredients that are in season.

Your choice of appetizer:

Earth Apple Farms Mixed Kale
White Asparagus Bisque

Your choice of entree:

Braised Maple Ridge Farm Veal Cheeks with Stinging Nettle Pasta
BC Bouillabaisse with Spring Salmon
Green Garlic Quinoa Risotto

Your choice of dessert:

Maple Espresso Creme Brulee
MOSAIC’s Signature Triple Layer Cake

Cheddar and Chive biscuits arrived with butter. A good little thing to chew on before the meal begins.

Earth Apple Farms Mixed Kale salad comes with radishes and a garlic scape dressing. I preferred this appetizer as I love a fresh salad with a light and delicious dressing.

White Asparagus Bisque comes with a parmesan lavash. It was a good soup, but I felt like it was missing something. The parmesan lavash is delicious and I love the salty taste.

Braised Maple Ridge Farm Veal Cheeks with Stinging Nettle Pasta also has asparagus tips with a morel cream sauce. I really enjoyed this dish! The veal cheeks were really tender and flavourful.

Green Garlic Quinoa Risotto has fiddlehead ferns, fava beans, green peas, and watercress. It’s an interesting twist to the traditional risotto. This is their vegetarian dish option in the dining package.

BC Bouillabaisse with Spring Salmon also has salt spring mussels, manila clams, sugar snap pea, charred scallion, fennel, and new potatoes.

This was my favourite dish because it really brings together some amazing local produce. The salmon was cooked perfectly and I couldn’t get enough.

Maple Espresso Creme Brulee comes with dark chocolate bark. The espresso flavour is subtle and not over powering.

MOSAIC’s Signature Triple Layer Cake is served with fresh berries. It’s their classic dessert and it’s pretty big. People usually take it home since they can’t finish it.

Overall, the dinner was great and there’s a good variety in this dining pass. Don’t forget to grab the #SpringFling Dining Package from Vaneats for $27 until June 12, 2015.

We Rate Mosaic:

Address:
655 Burrard St
Vancouver, BC

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

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=655+Burrard+St&sll=49.2852009,-123.1200369&sspn=0.0053748,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=655+Burrard+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6C+2R7&z=16″]

In Cafe

Tractor Foods: Everyday Healthy Foods

April 21, 2015

Tractor Foods has their original location in Kitsilano, but they recently opened up their second location in the Marine Building on Burrard Street. They mostly sell a variety of salads, soup, and sandwiches. They are quite popular with the weekday work crowd. I find that it’s a nice alternative in the area.

It’s a good place to eat out if you have a few food restrictions. They cater to people with nut allergies, vegan, gluten free or dairy free.

When you line up, it’s kinda like an assembly line where you pick and choose item that you want. The staff are nice and friendly too.

Don’t order too much or else it will get a bit pricey.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts salad ($3.25) has toasted hazelnuts, radicchio, italian parsley, double smoked bacon, apricot mustard vinaigrette. It is dairy free and gluten free. I enjoyed the whole hazelnuts as it added a lot of texture to the salad.

Pork Sandwich (Half – $5) has roast pork, wild arugula, tomato, roasted garlic aioli, and provolone cheese on a sourdough bread. Pretty decent sandwich and its grilled nicely too.

Kimchi salad ($3.25) has green cabbage, pickled carrots, clantro, mint, green onions, and sesame. It is nut-free, vegan, dairy free and gluten free.

Albacore tuna steak with grilled lemon $5 (2 oz) is a nice addition to any salad as it’s full of flavour and lightly seared on each side.

Overall, it’s an awesome cafeteria-style restaurant, plus great for the Downtown lunch crowd. If I had days where I feel like a little bit health conscious, I’ll definitely be back.

We Rate Tractor Foods:

Address:
335 Burrard St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://tractorfoods.com/

In Cafe

Chicco: Japanese Coffee Dessert Bar

April 18, 2015

Chicco is a Japanese dessert cafe on Robson Street. I came here a lot when I was a bit younger, but recently I’ve noticed they have undergone a renovation to make better use of the space.

They have a display case to show all their yummy treats to go. Great for gifts.

Strawberry Shortcake has layers of the cake with whipped cream and strawberries. A good fluffy and light dessert.

Green Tea Parfait is an awesome dessert or yourself or to share with another friend. You will find red bean, rice cake, green tea ice cream, whipped cream, melon, grass jelly, frosted corn flakes, green tea mousse, sponge cake and a green tea stick.

I really liked the addition of the melon since it helps balance all the whipped cream. There was a lot of whipped cream, perhaps a bit too much.

How can you say no to this? A good combination of ingredients all in one cup.

They also have a canister of water to have with your dessert. It’s good when eating all the sweet treats here.

Overall, it’s a good place for dessert. There’s not a lot of seating, but the parfait are portable and you can take them to a park or beach to eat.

We Rate Chicco:

Address:
1504 Robson St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.chiccocafe.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1504+Robson+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=1504+Robson+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6G+1C3&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In American

Burger King Canada: HP Ultimate Bacon Cheeseburger

April 17, 2015

Burger King Canada has a new burger called the HP Ultimate Bacon Cheeseburger. M loves to try new items at Burger King since he’s a huge fan of their Whoppers. He loves the taste of the smokey patties.

We were having a super lazy day, so we decided to grab a quick bite at Burger King.

Inside the HP Ultimate Bacon Cheeseburger, you will find two ¼ pound beef patties, melted cheese, bacon, sliced white onions, and HP sauce served on a toasted bun.

When the burger arrived, it was actually pretty small. The HP sauce really shines in the burger, but all the other ingredients in the burger was quite tasteless. The bacon wasn’t very crisp either and was limpy. The burger was missing that signature charbroiled taste.

The onion rings are a funny thing, you can’t find any onions inside of it. It really makes you wonder what you’re eating.

M would prefer to have the Whopper as the patties are much larger. HP Ultimate Bacon Cheeseburger was an interesting invention, but it can’t beat the Whopper.

Website: http://burgerking.ca/content/hp-ultimate-bacon-cheeseburger

In Cafe

Linh Cafe: French Cuisine with a Twist of Vietnamese

April 16, 2015

Linh Cafe is located on West 4th in Kitsilano. I’ve heard very good things about this café, so when I saw a deal on Groupon for $49 to get 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts, I thought it was a steal. An entree is around $25, so getting the Groupon was awesome! What can I say? I like a good deal!

The other half of the restaurant by the front entrance looks for like a café.

Their menu is quite unique as it serves French Cuisine with a Vietnamese twist. Owner and Chef Tai Nguyen merges his two loves of French food and family.

Mussel ($16.50) comes with a wine and fresh herbs cream sauce. It is served with 4 pieces of bread on top.

The mussels were nice and plump! Very delicious and the sauce was great. We dipped a lot of the bread into the sauce.

Nem Cha Gio Spring Roll ($10.50) is packed with shrimp, pork, wood-ear mushroom, and glass noodles.

I loved how crisp the outside was. One of the best spring rolls I’ve had.

Cassoulet ($23.90) has duck confit, house made sausage, pork confit, and white beans in a hot skillet. This was really good! How can you not love all this meat in a pan?

It also came with frites. Very crispy on the outside.

Gigot ($27.50) has 12 hour braised lamb legs in red wine and mirepoix. It is also served with bread.

I found the meat to be a tad dry and the portion is a bit on the small side.

Don’t forget to dunk it into the stew.

By this point, M and I were quite full from the meal, so we had to take the dessert home.

Apple Chausson ($4.50) are French Apple Turnovers. I popped it into the oven until the pastry crisps up a bit more. It’s pretty good, but I wish I had some vanilla ice cream to eat it with.

Three Chocolate Mousse ($6.95) M loved it. He was very satisfied with the dessert.

Overall, the entire meal was very delicious and I loved the combination of French and Vietnamese. You really get the best of both worlds. Our entire meal would have been over $90, but with the Groupon, it was around $50. Not bad at all. You know it’s a good meal when M can’t stop raving about the restaurant.

We Rate Linh Cafe:

Address:
2836 W 4th Ave
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.linhcafe.com/

In Cafe

Cafe de l’Orangerie: Amazing Japanese Pasta

April 13, 2015

Cafe de L’Orangerie is now located in Marpole, a few minutes away from the Vancouver International Airport. They are a Japanese-style cafe serving up their interpretation of Western food.

After coming here, I really wish they had more locations. I love this type of food. You will find on their menu – pasta, curry, hamburg steak, beef stew, and teriyaki. Sounds pretty boring, but once you eat it, you won’t regret it.

I came here with the lovely ladies of Gastrofork – Dee and Nat to film a short interview … and eat of course!

London Fog ($4.55) is a black tea latte with vanilla and steamed milk. Mmmm my favourite! Seriously, I’m going on a long streak of ordering london fogs. It’s essentially my coffee alternative.

Campari Lemon ($6.50) is an alcoholic beverage with the bitter taste of Campari and limonata lemon juice cocktail. Nat and her early morning cocktails. She even got ID’d.

Matcha Green Tea Latte ($4.55) was what Dee ordered. Looks very vibrant and green due to the matcha. You can’t go wrong with this drink.

Curry with Pork Cutlet ($11.95) looks delicious and has a generous portion of curry to rice ratio.

Spaghetti Carbonara ($9.80) has bacon, mushroom, garlic, egg, cheese, and cream. OMG so good! I ate all o fit and didn’t even leave a single noodle on the plate. SO GOOD!

Zunda Dango Parfait ($6.95) is a dessert made with rice balls, sweet edamame bean paste, red bean, ice cream and black sugar sauce.

I would definitely come back! It’s the type of food that M and I love. Love the Japanese twist to Western food.

We Rate Cafe de L’orangerie:

Address:
1320 W 73rd Ave
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://cafedelorangerie.ca/

In Cafe

The BBT Shop: Bubble Waffles and Tea

April 12, 2015

The BBT Shop is located under Superstore in Richmond on No. 3 Road. I kept seeing beautiful pictures on Instagram and I knew I had to check out this place with a few friends. Their signature items are Bubble Tea and Bubble Waffles.

Inside the store, the menus are up on 3 TV screens and there are also a bunch of display cases where you can purchase some toys and figurines.

When you order the bubble waffles, the wait is a bit long.

Matcha Frappe with Grass jelly ($5.25 + $0.50) topped off with whipped cream.

London Fog ($3.99) was what I ordered. I know it’s pretty strange not to get a bubble tea, but I’ve been having an addiction to london fogs for the past few months.

Strawberry and Cream Bubble Waffle ($6.75) is very crispy with a good amount of strawberries and whipping cream on top. The one thing I felt was lacking was the waffle itself. It is quite hallow, so I really miss the bouncy texture that lies inside. Because the waffle is hallow inside ( or at least ours was), you don’t get full from it.

Everything looks beautiful but we didn’t like the texture of the waffle.

We Rate the BBT Shop:

Address:
#105 4651 No.3 Road
Richmond, BC

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

In Contest

[Giveaway] Win a $100 Gift Card to Riverhouse Group

April 11, 2015

RiverHouse Restaurant & Pub in Delta is proud to be a family-friendly and family-owned establishment since 1997. They have a rich history and relationship with the community of Delta and hold multiple events throughout the year. Combining fine-dining-quality food with a friendly, casual atmosphere, they aim to make your RiverHouse experience in Delta as memorable as possible.

Whether you’re hungry for some brunch, in the mood for some afternoon tapas, or ready for dinner and a lovely evening, RiverHouse is likely to have something for everyone at your table. They also have a Kids menu.

Head Chef Jamie Smail is the creative soul who crafts uniquely delectable dishes for RiverHouse guests. His creative kitchen team can create a variety of sumptuous meals that will whet any appetite. They use the freshest ingredients and take great care in making every dish a work of art. We’re also a full-service marina with annual, semi-annual, and seasonal moorage, dock your boat and grab a bite to eat!

Want to win a $100 Gift Card to Riverhouse Group?

Only open to residents of British Columbia.

Enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

In Downtown

Argan Bistro: Moroccan Cuisine in Vancouver

April 8, 2015

Argan Bistro, formerly known as Moroccan West serves up delicious Moroccan food on Jervis and Robson Street. Executive Chef Nourdine Majdoubi brings rich flavours of Moroccan cuisine to life from his experiences around the world and from his childhood growing up in Agadir, a southern Morocco’s coastal tourist town.

There’s lots of tables inside and can seat groups of 2 – 4 comfortably. I’m sure they can go larger groups too.

They serve lunch, brunch and dinner.

Every good dinner starts with alcohol right? I tried Parallel 49 Gypsy Tears Ruby Ale.

Merguez Sausage Samosa ($9) is served with smoked tomato chutney. This was one of my favourite items. It reminded me of a cross between a spring roll and a samosa. It’s flavourful and I wanted to keep on eating these forever.

Truffle Parmesan Fries ($8) is seasoned with truffle oil and parmesan cheese. It is also served in a ceramic fry dish. It’s pretty cute. There’s a lot of parmesan cheese but it’s not a bad things because you get a lot of flavour.
This is one of their more popular appetizers and I can see why. It’s not Moroccan at all, but it makes for great finger food.

Zaalouk ($6) is an eggplant spread with house-made bread. Now this is a Moroccan appetizer. Very yummy and the bread paired well too.

Award-winning Lamb Couscous ($14) has Ras-el-hanout, root vegetables, chickpeas, raisins, and Moroccan jus on top of a bed of couscous. Delicious tender lamb and good portion size.

Meatball Marrakesh ($12) is baked in Moroccan tomato sauce. It’s was a surprise to have the eggs inside too. M loved the combination since it has 2 of his favourite items – eggs and meatballs.

Vegetable Taktouka ($11) has tomatoes, sweet peppers, chickpeas, olives and topped with cauliflower. Great amount of flavour!

Moroccan Salade a l’orange ($5) has orange blossom, rosewater, honey, cinnamon, and mint. Its a light and refreshing dessert which I liked after the heavy entrees.

Cinnamon Churros ($6) is stacked like jenga and served with a chocolate orange blossom dip. There’s also berries on the plate. The churros were ok, but because they were thin, it didn’t have that nice fluffy interior.

Chocolate Mousse ($8) is made of couverture chocolate and topped with fresh fruit. M liked it even thought it’s not a traditional Moroccan dessert.

Overall, the food was pretty good and the traditional dishes on their menu are really delicious. A good change to the other food in the area. Moroccan food has an interesting flavour profile. Full of spices but never spicy.

We Rate Argan Bistro:

Address:
795 Jervis St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://arganbistro.com/

In Downtown

Pizza Fabrika: Pizza for the People

April 6, 2015

Pizza Fabrika is located on Denman Street close to the West End. To go with their artisan pizza, they serve a variety of craft beers. I came here for a Zomato MeetUp event to enjoy some delicious food and meet some foodies.

The inside has 2 long tables, which are great for groups. They have smaller tables for 2 -4 people.

Beer Bison Meatballs ($8) is served with tomato sauce, gremolata & Grana Padano. There’s about 25% pork and 75% bison meat in the meatballs to give it the firm and unique taste.

Mac and Cheese was cheesy and full of flavour. It is topped with gremolata.

Beet Salad ($6) has herb ricotta and walnuts on top. It was a pretty good salad. Good for before the meal of pizza that we were about to devour.

Arugula Salad ($6) is topped with toasted pine nuts, yellow tomato dressing, and shaved Grana Padano. A simple and light salad.

Lamb Sausage Pizza topped with arugula.

Margherita Fabrika Pizza has tomatoes, fior di latte, and fresh basil. I had high hopes for this pizza, but the topping just fell off the pizza and didn’t hold together well.

Pesto Pizza with yellow pepper, tomato, and goat cheese. It’s a vegetarian option, but I just loved the pesto! Who doesn’t love pesto.

Dark Matter Pizza is their featured pizza and it has sausage made with Dark Matter Ale beer, braised short ribs, and sautéed mushrooms. Yummy flavour!

Overall, the topping had a great flavour, but some of the pizza’s were quite soft in the centre and didn’t hold well together. Sometimes we needed a knife and fork to eat it.

We Rate Pizza Fabrika:

Address:
1680 Robson St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.pizzafabrika.ca/

In British Columbia

[Giveaway] Hurricane Grill: $100 Gift Card

April 4, 2015

In early 2003, Hurricane Grill opened its doors for the first time on the corner of Marine and Mackay in North Vancouver. They pride themselves by offering a great international menu, fun relaxing atmosphere and amazing staff.

Into their fifth year of operation in North Vancouver, owner Ash Ranjbar, accompanied by head chef Lino Vargas, decided to take on another challenge in its own, Marinaside Crescent in Yaletown.

On August 1st 2008, Hurricane Grill opened its doors in Yaletown with the same concept in mind: Food, Service and Atmosphere. The goal was to offer a fun, trendy restaurant where you would be welcomed with great food and friendly staff in a relaxed environment unlike anywhere else in the area.

Located on the breathtaking False Creek Marina, Hurricane Grill in Yaletown has quickly become a popular destination for locals and restaurant enthusiasts from all areas of the lower mainland. Hurricane Grill has three heated sun drenched patios at the North Vancouver location and a waterfront patio with a one of a kind view of False Creek Marina in Yaletown. Both locations are now a hot spot to watch any sporting event and with the NHL Center Ice Package, the best place to catch the Vancouver Canucks.

Whether you’re looking for a fun place to take the family, somewhere to watch the game, or to tantalize your taste buds with our internationally inspired menu and cocktail list, the Hurricane Grill has something for everyone.

Want to win a $100 Gift Card to Hurricane Grill (Yaletown)?

Only open to residents of British Columbia.

Enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

In Dessert

Styo: Frozen Yogurt with Style

April 2, 2015

Styo is a new dessert shop on Denman Street that specializes in smoothies, frozen yogurt and waffles. With my SocialShopper voucher in hand, I took KoreanGirl and Mandu here to share 2 Savoury Waffles and 2 frozen yogurts. Everything is freshly made to order, so you can see them making your dessert right in front of you.

There is a decent amount of seating inside. It’s a bit hard to have group seating but I’m sure you can be creative and rearrange some chairs.

Green Tea Twist ($3.95) has a nice subtle flavour, not too sweet.

Mango Frozen Yogurt ($4) is their original frozen yogurt with mango sauce drizzled around it.

Savoury waffles are different than the batter they use for their sweet waffles. It’s great because their savoury waffles are pretty awesome. I find that they taste like croissants and have the consistency of croissants too.

Turkey Mozzarella Savoury Waffle ($7.50) was our favourite! It was like eating a turkey and mozzarella croissant that got smushed in a waffle iron.

Ham and Cheese Savoury Waffle ($6.50) was similar to the Turkey and Mozzarella Waffle. Yummy as well.

Overall Styo, is a pretty good dessert shop for waffles and frozen yogurt. A good surprise to pop up in the West End. I haven’t tried the sweet waffles. We tried attempting to get a sweet and savoury waffle, but with the SocialShopper Voucher we could not choose a sweet option even though it is cheaper according to their menu. It was a bummer, but we were not sad about it because the savoury waffles were pretty addictive. I can imagine this a a great place to take kids.

We rate Styo:

Address:
907 Denman St
Vancouver, BC

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

In Cafe

Prado Cafe: New Location in Gastown

April 1, 2015

Prado Cafe has finally opened their second location in Gastown. Their first location is on Commercial Drive and it’s a loved cafe in the neighbourhood. They really focus on crafting the perfect brew and creating a great atmosphere.

They use Parallel Forty Nine coffee in their brews, plus they have quality baked goods, sandwiches, light snacks and sweets.

I came before work to grab a coffee and a pastry before the work day begins. It’s always important to be caffeinated.