September 2015

In Kelowna

Quails’ Gate Winery: Vineyard + Tasting in Kelowna

September 30, 2015

Quails’ Gate in West Kelowna was our first stop on our BC road trip across the Okanagan. It was highly recommended by friends as they have beautiful views, complimentary tastings and their Old Vines Restaurant.

It is located minutes away from Mission Hill Winery, so make sure you add this to your stops if you are ever in Kelowna.

Once you park in the lot, their Wine Shop is the main centrepiece of the public vineyard. It was built in 2007 and looks modern and beautiful. They have a patio on the second floor, so you can see the stunning views of the Okanagan Lake and their vineyards.

How can you not love this beautiful view? So awesome.

Inside the Wine shop, there are tons of things to buy, but most people gravitate to the tasting bar at the back by the windows.

Complimentary tastings are available everyday. They have one white and one red. When I was here, they offered:

2014 Chasselas – Pinot Blanc – Pinot Gris
2012 Old Vines Foch

2014 Chasselas – Pinot Blanc – Pinot Gris is their most popular white wine. I quite enjoyed it, its fresh and fruity. Great for the summer.

2012 Old Vines Foch has black ripe cherry, milk chocolate with notes of toasty vanilla. I’m not a red wine drinker, but M did enjoy it.

If you want to keep on trying more wines, they have Tasting flights, 3 choices for $5. But, it’s waived if you buy 2 or more bottles of wine.

You can choose from:

2014 Dry Riesling
2014 Chenin Blanc
2014 Gewurztraminer
2014 The Bench Pinot Gris
2013 Quails’ Gate Chardonnay
2013 Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay
2014 Rose
2013 Quails’ Gate Pinot Noir
2013 Stewart Family Reserve Pinot Noir
2013 Quails’ Gate Merlot
2013 Stewart Family Reserve Old Vines Foch

All the wines they have for the tastings are available to purchase. I bought 2 bottles and got the tasting fee waived.

They also do private winery tours for at least 10 people. Since it was just M and I. We just wandered around their vineyard and looked around.

Grapes! It was cool to see them on their vines.

There is also have a picnic area if you brought your own lunch. The view is great too.

Overall, it was a great stop along the Winery Trail in Kelowna. There’s lots of vineyards to see, so make sure you pace yourself and not get too drunk.

Address:
3303 Boucherie Rd,
Central Okanagan, BC

Website:
http://quailsgate.com/

In Kelowna

Old Vines Restaurant: Dining at Quails’ Gate Winery

September 29, 2015

Quails’ Gate Winery is located in West Kelowna and is a beautiful vineyard right by Okanagan Lake. Their wine ship is the centrepiece at the estate, which houses their tasting bar and gift shop. Complimentary tastings are available daily, year round. They also do additional flight tastings and tours.

Old Vines Restaurant is just located on the left side of the Wine Shop. Their menu highlights the abundant resources of the Okanagan Valley.

M and I were quite hungry driving from Vancouver, so we made this our first meal on our Kelowna adventure.

We came at the end of September, so sitting outside was a tad chilly around noon. This didn’t stop other groups from soaking in the sun and the beautiful view.

Sitting inside is equally as beautiful. Just ask for a seat by the window.

Their wines are available on their menu. If you aren’t too familiar with them, maybe you should do the wine tasting in their wine shop prior before dining here.

2014 Dry Riesling (5oz -$8) has a crispy and zesty taste. You can notice the subtle notes of honeysuckle, lime cordial, and orchard fruits. I mainly got this since it pairs well with the crab cakes appetizer.

Sparkling Lemonade is non-alcoholic and made by Boylan Soda. M said it was good.

Dungeness Crab Cakes ($19) has shaved fennel & apple slaw and a buttermilk “rémoulade” dressing.

This crab cake is packed with crab and no filler. Very good! It is quite pricey for an appetizer, but when on vacation, you gotta indulge.

Farm Crest Chicken ($24) is served with pattypan squash, creamy polenta, and chicken jus. They suggest pairing it with the 2013 Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay. The chicken was juicy and had a nice char on the outside.

Cache Creek Natural Dry Aged Beef Burger ($24) has a Tiger Blue dressing, Spanish onion, Brassica aioli, and bacon. It is served with fries. They suggest a pairing with their 2013 Merlot. The burger patty was cooked to a medium rare. Good tasting burger, but it was pricey for a burger.

Overall, the food was good, but pricey. It is expected since it is a restaurant on a vineyard. We wanted to dine here as a treat to ourselves. The view from the restaurant is beautiful.

We rate Old Vines Restaurant:

Address:
3303 Boucherie Rd,
Central Okanagan, BC

Website:
http://quailsgate.com/restaurant/

In British Columbia

A&W Canada: Maple Chipotle Burger

September 28, 2015

A&W Canada just released their Maple Chipotle Burger available as a Papa Burger, Mama Burger and Grandpa Burger. It is made of pure beef patties, sesame seed bun, processed cheddar cheese, A&W seasoning, bacon, chipotle mayonnaise, maple barbeque sauce, pickles, crispy onions, and raw onions.

Maple Chipotle Mama Burger is what I got as it has a single patty. I really loved the taste of maple that comes through the sauce and it wasn’t very sweet at all which worked for the burger. I really enjoyed it and I would order it again.

Maple Chipotle Papa Burger was what M ordered since he wanted a little extra meat in his meal. He also echoed similar comments about the sauce.

Overall, the flavours really work together! Love it.

Website: http://www.aw.ca/

In Granville Island

The Sandbar Seafood Restaurant: Dining on Granville Island

September 27, 2015

The Sandbar Seafood Restaurant is located on Granville Island right by the public market. They are best known for their selection of fresh Oceanwise seafood, which is sustainable and ethically caught.

They can seat up to 300 people in their space and you can see the Granville Street Bridge and False Creek.

Zomato hosted an intimate meetup in their private room for a few of their foodies and bloggers that use their site. It was a good chance to meet new foodies and of course enjoy some delicious eats.

Everyone else had a nice looking cocktail but I was a rebel and asked for a beer. I quite enjoyed the beer with the different arrays of seafood and fried items.

Raw Oysters were the first to arrive. It came with a vinaigrette sauce, horseradish, hot sauce and lemons. The oysters were shucked well so there were so bits of debris in it. They also do testing on their oysters to make sure they are free from any illness.

Ahi Poke has scallions, sesame seeds, sesame oil, soy, and a garlic chili sauce. This dish was quite heavy on the sesame oil and was quite salty from the soy sauce.

Seafood Croquette comes with a chili lime aoili sauce. There’s a lot of seafood packed inside and it was cooked well so the outside is super crunchy.

Wok Squid has garlic, chilis, onions, cilantro and ginger. It was ok, but could have used a but more chili.

California Roll and Special Scallop Roll both had very fresh ingredients but taste ok as well. It was odd how it was served with ginger and wasabi but no soy sauce. Maybe they forgot to bring it.

Sandbar Tower has jumbo prawns, oysters, clams, mussels, crab, lobster, with housemade cocktail sauce. It’s a delicious tower with plenty of seafood. A real west coast feast.

Dragonboat Platter has bbq ribs, fried oysters, spicy green beans, and wok squid.

Chocolate truffle cake, white chocolate cheesecake, lemon pie, Belgian chocolate pudding, and creme brulee.

It was all pretty darn awesome! We loved every bite of the dessert platter. My favourites were the Chocolate truffle cake and the Belgian Chocolate Pudding.

Assorted Cheese Plate 4 different types of cheese to end the meal.

Overall, the food was delicious and fresh. For the dishes that had more asian influences, those dishes fell a bit flat and needed some more refinement to them. My favourite part was the seafood tower and the Belgian chocolate pudding.

We Rate Sandbar Seafood Restaurant:

Address:
1535 Johnston St, Creekhouse #102
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.vancouverdine.com/sandbar

In product

Lay’s Taiwan: Roasted Garlic Chips Review

September 26, 2015

When my parents went to Taiwan this year, they brought me back a bunch of Lay’s chips that we didn’t have here in Canada. It’s pretty funny how this Summer I got the most amount of chips from friends and family going away on vacation. I guess the best present for a foodie is foreign snacks. I don’t mind at all.

One of the bags were Lay’s Roasted Garlic.

Lay’s Roasted Garlic was quite an usual flavour. It did not taste like garlic at all. It was more like a cheesy onion if that makes sense. They could have done a better job perfecting the flavour.

I’m pretty sure I won’t be getting this chip in the future.

The Thai Spicy Crab chips were so much better.

In Contest

[Giveaway] $100 Presidents Choice Gift Card

September 25, 2015

To celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival on Sunday September 27th, we will be giving away a $100 Presidents Choice Gift Card. You can use that to buy stretchy pants from Joe Fresh after eating ALL the mooncakes or groceries to cook up a delicious meal for your family.

The $100 Presidents Choice gift card can be used at:

Contest open to all residents of Canada.

To enter, let me know in the comments below what’s your favourite snack. For additional entries, take a look at the list below in the widget.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

In British Columbia

Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival with Mooncakes

September 24, 2015

It’s that time of year again – Mid-Autumn Festival, but in my case, it’s an excuse to eat a lot of food especially mooncakes. For those unfamiliar with the Mid-Autumn Festival, it’s a traditional harvest festival celebrated annually by Chinese people around the world, similar to Thanksgiving in Western cultures.

The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth moon of the Chinese lunar calendar, which would make it Sunday, September 27th, 2015.

It’s a time to gather with families and have fun. I remember when we were kids, we would go to our friends house and light a bunch of paper lanterns up at the park. Everyone would try their best not to set their lantern on fire or accidentally drop it. There was an art to holding a wooden chopstick with a lantern dangling from it. Seemed very safe at the time, but it was awesome. Now, they have electronic lanterns available that play music but it’s really not as cool as the paper lanterns with real burning candles inside.

Like most Chinese celebrations, there’s always food. Whether it be a big feast with at least one animal from the ocean, land and sky. Each family does it a bit differently these days. You can go out for a meal or have a more intimate dinner at home.

There’s one treat that can’t be missed.

Mooncakes

Mooncakes are made of ground lotus and bean paste and housing a precious salty egg yolk, these traditional sweets are enjoyed to commemorate the legend for which they are named.

During the 14th century, China was ruled by the Mongolian people. The people were not happy being subject to foreign rule and decided to rebel. Leaders of the rebellion, knowing that the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival was drawing near, ordered the making of special cakes. Embedded in each cake was a message outlining the attack. On the night of the Festival, the rebels successfully overthrew the government. What followed was the establishment of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644).

You eat the mooncake in small wedges rather than the whole thing.

There are so many versions of it that it makes my head spin. I went to T&T Supermarket to find some and I was so overwhelmed which to pick. Instead of the lotus paste, some have red bean paste. You even have options to choose 0,1 or 2 yolks inside. There are others with mixed nuts inside. I even saw some that were low sugar options too. If you love durian, they also have durian mooncake too.

With so many choices, I always just stick with the lotus seed paste with one yolk. Classic.

Say what?! Frozen mooncakes?! Seriously, where were these when I was a kid? This year I was surprised that there were so many. I bought a box just for fun and they tasted pretty good. There are also some versions that have mochi and ice cream. Crazy good.

Along with those mooncakes, I am sure you will find your house somehow filled with lots of cookies and other sweets.

The Day After

Lets be real here, who doesn’t love a good sale on decorations and mooncakes? The next day, all the mooncakes go on sale and there are always a bunch of people who act like it’s Boxing Day…but for mooncakes.

Make sure you hit up T&T Supermarket or Superstore as they will have a large selection of mooncakes.

In product

Lay’s Taiwan: Thai Spicy Crab Chips Review

September 23, 2015

When my parents went to Taiwan this year, they brought me back a bunch of Lay’s chips that we didn’t have here in Canada. It’s pretty funny how this Summer I got the most amount of chips from friends and family going away on vacation. I guess the best present for a foodie is foreign snacks. I don’t mind at all.

Lay’s Thai Spicy Crab flavour is on their original chip. When you open the bag, you will get a predominant crab flavour. Once you begin munching away, it’s mostly crab with very little heat.

I quite like this flavour actually. Very good and if you are ever in Taiwan, do pick up this bag of chips.

lays.com.tw

In American

reLiSH Gourmet Burgers on Commercial Drive

September 22, 2015

reLiSH Gourmet Burgers on Commercial Drive opened in the Summer serving the community with yummy burgers. The restaurant comes from the East Coast of Canada – New Brunswick. They also have another location on Davie street and will soon open another in North Vancouver.

M suggested we eat burgers for dinner since it was National Cheeseburger Day. Since I didn’t want to make dinner, I happily agreed.

The Great One ($8.96) has cheddar cheese, bacon, and roasted garlic mayonnaise in the sesame and poppyseed bun. I got it with the angus beef patty and it was pretty delicious. I love the char on the patty.

Beefeater Onion Rings ($4) didn’t come with very many on the side, but they were surprisingly delicious. It was the right amount of batter on the onion rings. Very crispy texture on the outside.

The Italian Stallion ($9.95) has tomato basil marinara sauce, Italian sausage, and mozzarella. M chose the angus beef patty to go with this. The Italian sausage was cut quite thinly, so it was really hard to get a balance of it with the patty. Still, nonetheless, M loved the burger. The burger was put together nicely and I was surprised it wasn’t too messy to eat.

reLiSH Green Peppercorn Poutine ($6.45) the poutine comes as a side and it was also a bit small for the price. The fries were nice and crisp, but it could have used more gravy and cheese.

Overall, the burgers were pretty tasty, but when you add the side to it, it can get pricey. The sides could be a little bit bigger too.

We Rate reLiSH Gourmet Burgers:

Address:
2290 Commerical Drive, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.relishlife.com/

In Chinese

Kirin Starlight: Dim Sum near New Westminster

September 21, 2015

Kirin Starlight is our families go to place for Dim Sum. Since we live in Burnaby, it’s convenient for us to drive to on the weekend. They have several other locations throughout the Lower Mainland.

It gets pretty packed around noon, so make sure you have a reservation or else you might be waiting around 30 mins – 1 hour for a table.

When you get seated, they ask you what type of tea you would like. I usually get Jasmine tea or oolong tea.

Golden Sand Tofu is one of my favourite dishes. It is soft and silky on the inside with crispy exterior and sprinkled with salty bits on top. M always asks for this item at Dim Sum since it’s the one of the few items he can say in Chinese.

Shimp Dumplings (Har Gow) is a must order item. It comes in 4 pieces in the bamboo steamer.

Pork and Shrimp Sui Mai is another must. It also comes in 4 pieces and is a mixture of pork, shrimp and mushrooms.

Make sure you use the XO sauce for the dumplings. It’s pure magic and quite addictive.

Beef Rice Noodle Roll has minced beef in the centre and wrapped with the rice roll. You can pour soy sauce all over to bring it out some more flavour. They also have this in a shrimp version too.

Congee is a great item to order. Its like a soupy rice dish with different protein inside. There’s a lot of different versions too.

Zhaliang is a Chinese donut wrapped in rice noodle. Similarly to the beef rice roll. above. It is topped with pork floss and green onions. You get 2 sauce to dip it into – hoisin sauce or sesame paste.

Spare Ribs with black bean sauce comes in a bamboo steamer. It’s another popular item to order at dim sum. It does have bones in it

Sticky Rice (Lo Mai Gai) wrapped in lotus leaf comes with 3 piece. It’s really good and inside you have things like chicken, shitake mushrooms, preserved Chinese sausage, scallions, and dried shrimp.

Custard buns are a treat at the end of the meal. The filling is a sweet yolk filling inside. It’s super hot, so make sure you don’t bite into it right away. Sometimes these sell out, so if you are dining here later in the afternoon, you may be out of luck.

Most of the food was good, but its is slightly more expensive than other Dim Sum restaurants in Vancouver.

We Rate Kirin:

Address:
Starlight Casino, 350 Gifford Street, Metro Vancouver

Website:
www.kirinrestaurants.com/index.php5?page=starlight

In Bubble Tea

Chatime: Best Bubble Tea in Richmond

September 20, 2015

Chatime is a bubble tea cafe located all over the world. I remember seeing it in Asia when I was travelling a few years ago. They differentiate themselves from competition by using fresh tea. They don’t use pre-made teas or powdered flavourings.

I came with a few friends to their Richmond location near Blundell Road.

The space is quite large compared to their downtown location. There are more tables and chairs.

Roasted Milk Tea with Grass Jelly is my favourite drink here. I get it with less ice and slight sugar. I’ve never had a bubble tea that I went this crazy for. It has a unique flavour that isn’t like your typical milk tea.

Brown Rice Green Milk Tea is my second favourite item. It has a very subtle flavour of rice. It reminds me of those Korean rice drinks. I also got less ice and slight sugar.

Thai Milk Tea is a new flavour they introduced at the beginning of September. It has a unique flavour and I also got it less sweet since it’s made with condensed milk, which is sweeter.

They also have a Thai Coffee Milk Tea, which is highly recommended with their coffee jelly.

Overall, if I had to have their roasted milk tea and brown rice green tea everyday of the week, I’ll be one happy lady. It’s been a long time since I’ve found a place that I just adore.

We Rate Chatime Richmond:

Address:
9100 Blundell Road, Richmond

Facebook:
http://www.ichatime.com/

In Upcoming Events

Riverfest: Inspired by the Fraser

September 19, 2015

Celebrating BC and World Rivers Day

The 13th annual RiverFest will deck out the boardwalk with art; historical, environmental and conservation exhibits; engaging activities in the Westminster Savings Credit Union Family Fun Zone; tours of the Fraser River aboard the MV Native; the famous Lucille Johnstone Workboat Parade; and live music on the YVR Riverside Stage overlooking the beautiful Fraser River.

Presented by Port Metro Vancouver, RiverFest is a FREE family-friendly festival, and a great way to enjoy a beautiful fall day along the mighty Fraser River.

September 24 – September 26, 2015
New Westminster Boardwalk

Website: http://www.fraserriverdiscovery.org/riverfest

In irish

Dubh Linn Gate: Irish Pub in Vancouver

September 19, 2015

Dubh Linn Gate is an Irish pub that recently opened in Vancouver close on Main and Terminal. They also have their original location in Whistler.

I was pretty excited when it opened because it’s only a few minutes from my office. This area around False Creek is definitely growing with new restaurants and breweries popping up.

The interior is quite cozy. There are long tables, booths, a bar. Even with their high ceilings, they were able create a nice vibe here.

The decor is nice and there so many little trinkets that will make you bring you back to Ireland.

The menu is the same for lunch and dinner.

Beermosa is on special between 3pm – 6pm for $4.75. I quite like this as its light and easy to drink.

Also for their daily happy hour, they have the House Lager for $4.75

Chip n Dips (Large – $7) comes with a bowl of fries and your choice of garlic mayo, sour cream and chive dip. The fries are quite addictive and to munch on, plus the dips are tasty too.

Banger and Mash ($16.50) has Two Rivers produced custom Guinness infused pork banger, served with creamy mash, pale ale onion gravy and topped with a crispy sage leaf.

Guinness Burger ($16.50) has 6oz St. Helen’s beef burger on a brioche bun with Guinness cheddar, roast garlic mayo, stout bbq sauce, lettuce, pickled red onions and tomato. The burger was delicious and the beef patty had a very nice flavour to it. Fries were great too.

Steak and Guinness Pie ($16) has AAA Alberta beef cooked tender in rich Guinness gravy with spuds and carrots, baked bubbly with a flaky golden pastry top. This comes out piping hot, so make sure you don’t bite into it right away. It stay hot for a long time.

I find the drinks and food great, but the value you pay is a bit on the higher side for a pub. An entree is around $16 – $25, which is a bit much even for lunch. They don’t have any daily specials except for drinks. $14 for wings as an appetizer makes me sad.

We Rate Dubh Linn Gate Irish Pub:

Address:
1601 Main Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://vancouver.dubhlinngate.com/

In North Vancouver

Zeitoon: Persian Cuisine in Vancouver

September 18, 2015

Zeitoon is a Persian restaurant located in North Vancouver on Lonsdale Ave across the street from Loblaws City Market. They also have another location in Downtown Vancouver. When I got the invitation to dine here with M, I got quite excited since it’s been over 10 years since I’ve had Persian food.

Where the restaurant is located, it is in the heart of the Persian community. There are several Persian restaurants close by. To differentiate themselves, they made sure they have high quality ingredients used in their dishes and provide a nice atmosphere inside the restaurant.

They have an English menu and a Persian menu.

A pictorial menu is at the table too. It helped to get a sense of what the food looks like.

As we waited for our food to arrive, there is complimentary pita bread, butter and onion.

Tahdig Crispy Rice is topped with either gheimeh or ghormeh sabzi stew. We had it with the ghormeh sabzi stew, which is like a Persian herb stew. Gheimeh on the other hand has meat, tomatoes, split peas, onions.

The crispy rice comes from the bottom of the pot of cooked rice. I loved the crispy texture of the rice paired with the savoury herb stew. I had some leftovers the next day and it still stayed pretty crispy.

Vaziri Kabob Entree has roasted seasonal veggies, basmati rice, boneless chickens skewer and koobideh ground beef skewer. The skewers are very moist and tender. It comes without the metal stick and its easy to cut off individual pieces. We really liked this dish.

Soltani Kabob Entree has steak grade AAA top sirloin skewer and the koobideh ground beef with the rice and seasonal vegetables. This dish was also quite good! M loved all the tender beef.

Lamb Shank is slowly cooked in house sauce, served with Baghali Polo, which is a combination of basmati rice, dill weed, and lima beans. There was definitely a lot of rice pled on top over the lamb. I enjoyed the sauce that came on the side of the dish. It would have been nicer if the lamb shank had more meat on it.

Overall, the meal was pretty good and we were impressed by the kabobs.

We Rate Zeitoon:

Address:
1615 Lonsdale Ave.,
North Vancouver

Website:
http://zeitoonrestaurant.ca/

In Upcoming Events

Wesbrook Village Festival 2015

September 18, 2015

The 5th annual Wesbrook Village Festival is a day full of fun for everyone – from students to seniors and residents to visitors.

Saturday, September 19, 2015

11:00am – 4:00pm

Wesbrook Village (3378 Wesbrook Mall, UBC, Vancouver)

Cost: Free!

There will be:

Free BBQ
Live Music
Rock Climbing Wall
Kid’s Zone

Website: http://www.wesbrookvillage.com/

In travel

BC Ferries Offers 50% Discount this Fall

September 18, 2015

Planning to take the ferry during the next few weeks? Don’t forget to take advantage of BC Ferries ‘50% Off The Coast’ promotion. This is very beneficial to those who walk on the ferry instead of driving. I usually drive out of convenience when going to Victoria, BC but it’s too bad this promotion isn’t applied to the vehicle fee, which makes traveling on BC Ferries quite expensive. They are looking to maybe offer a vehicle discount promotions later, but for now, the deal is for regular passenger fares only.

The regular price per adult passenger to travel from Tsawwassen (Vancouver) to Swartz Bay (Victoria) is $16.90. During the 50% off regular passenger fare promotional sailings, the fare will be $8.45.

Major & Minor Routes:
September 8 to October 15, 2015
Monday to Thursday, and Saturday routes
(Metro Vancouver; Vancouver Island; Sunshine Coast; Southern Gulf Islands; Northern Gulf Islands)

Northern Routes:
October 1 to October 31, 2015
All sailings
( Inside Passage; Haida Gwaii; Discovery Coast Connector; Skidegate / Alliford Bay)

Details:
http://www.bcferries.com/promotions/50-percent-off-the-coast
http://www.bcferries.com/promotions/fall-promo-details.html

In Upcoming Events

Fresh St. Market Grilled Cheese Competition

September 17, 2015

Make your weekend “grater” with The Annual Grilled Cheese Competition at Fresh St. Market. Five chefs will be competing for your vote for the best grilled cheese sandwich.

A $5 ticket will include a drink and pass to taste and vote for your cheesy favourite.
All proceeds benefit the JGL Foundation for Cerebral Palsy.

Saturday, September 19, 2015
11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Fresh St. Market, 1650 Marine Drive, West Vancouver.

and

Sunday, September 20, 2015
11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Fresh St. Market, 15930 Fraser Hwy, Surrey

Website: www.freshstmarket.com

In Coquitlam

Hearthstone Pizza: Build Your Own Pizza with Unlimited Toppings

September 17, 2015

Hearthstone Pizza is located in Port Coquitlam close to Michaels. They serve up thin crust pizza where you have the choice to build your own with unlimited amounts of toppings for a flat rate.

There are lots of seats in the shop, but all the magic happens up at the front counter.

You get to choose between 2 sizes – small ( 9 inch – $6.95) or regular (11 inch – $8.95). The ones pictured above are smalls. After you select your dough, you can choose any of their sauces, cheeses, meat and vegetables.

Sauce:
red sauce, white sauce, olive oil

Cheeses:
mozzarella, low-fat mozzarella, feta, ricotta, parmesan, blue cheese

Meats:
pepperoni, spicy pepperoni, grilled chicken, ham, meatballs, anchovies, italian sausage, bacon bits

Veggies:
mushrooms, pineapples, spinach, garlic, red onions, green onion, black olives, tomatoes, banana peppers, red peppers, green peppers, basil, jalapeno, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, zucchini, onions, capers, cilantro

Post-bake sauces:
pesto, hot sauce, EVOO, roasted red peppers, black pepper, BBQ sauce

They evenly distribute the toppings so each slice will have a taste of each topping. We piled on a lot of toppings, but they did a good job making sure it would still be enjoyable without a mound of toppings.

Once its all put together, you get to sit back, relax, and watch your pizza bake in the 600 degree open hearth wood stone oven. It takes about 4 minutes to bake.

Once it comes out of the oven, the crust is crispy with a slight char. You can ask them to have less char, but we asked them to keep it in longer so it can get really crispy. I love a good crispy crust.

Meat Lover pizza has pepperoni, meatballs, mozzarella and red sauce. It could have used a bit more meat, but if you overload it with toppings, the centre will go limp and soggy.

I like their signature pizza selection since you don’t have to build it yourself. I am indecisive sometimes, so it stresses me out building a pizza since I don’t really know what would go together.

Margherita Pizza has tomatoes, garlic, basil, mozzarella, and red sauce. We chose this as it is always a good baseline of how a pizza tastes. Of course it isn’t an authentic margherita pizza, but it was ok. I wasn’t a fan of the tomato slices.

This pizza was made by Sherman, he went with white sauce, mozzarella, blue cheese, chicken, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, artichokes, basil, bacon bits, and pesto. This combination was a lot better than what I built, I think because of the white sauce.

I went with the red sauce, ricotta, mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, Italian sausage, mushrooms, pesto, meatballs and olive oil.

Overall, I enjoyed the pizza. I’m a sucker for thin crispy pizza. It’s not authentic Neapolitan pizza, but they aren’t trying to be like that. I enjoyed the experience and it was good. I can imagine it would be fun bringing kids here so they can build their own meal with all the silly topping combinations that they can come up with.

We Rate Hearthstone Pizza:

Address:
2755 Lougheed Highway, Port Coquitlam

Website:
http://hearthstonepizza.com/