October 2015

In Canmore

Grande Rockies: Hotel in Canmore, Alberta

October 31, 2015

After passing the Banff Lake Louise area, we made a stop for the day at Canmore, Alberta before continuing our trip to Calgary. We stayed at the Grande Rockies Resort located right by the Bow Valley of the Canadian Rockies.

We checked-in with the front desk. The desk is hidden behind the waterfall in the lobby. We parked our car in their underground gated parking.

We stayed in a one bedroom condo style suite, which fits 4 people. They have fully functioning kitchens in there too.

When we got into our room, we found chocolate dipped fruits and a bottle of white wine from the resort to celebrate our honeymoon.

The living room has 2 couches, dining table, fireplace and a flatscreen TV. One of the couches has a pull out bed.

The kitchen has a fridge, oven, stove, microwave, coffee maker, and a dishwasher.

The kitchen seemed like it had all the tools. We didn’t use the kitchen at all since we ate out. I can see this suite being useful to people who are staying for more than a few days.

Out on the patio, there is a grill you can use too.

Out on the patio, you can view The Three Sisters, a trio of peaks in Canmore.

The bedroom is further down the hall and it has a king-sized bed.

There is a small TV and a desk. Too bad they didn’t attach a bigger TV on the wall to maximize space. Either way, it was good enough.

There is a washer and dryer with an ironing board and iron. This comes in handy if you’ve travelled for a while and need to wash your clothes.

The washroom has a sink and a shower.

The shower can be a bit complicated to start but once you start pushing the buttons on the control panel, you will figure it out easily.

There is a heated indoor swimming pool, hot tub and kids pool with waterslide that is accessible for all guests. There is also a fitness room as well.

Inside the resort, they have their award winning Habitat Restaurant and Bar. They have won the 2015 diners choice from OpenTable as well as Awards of Excellence from Trip Advisor from 2011 to 2015.

Their breakfast buffet starts daily from 7am to 11am. Sadly when we were here, their restaurant wasn’t open.

They serve casual Canadian cuisine & cocktails. Their dinner menu has a good amount of gluten-free options. A majority of the items sound super good.

Overall, it was a good stay. The only thing that annoyed me was that our keycard didn’t work, so we had to run back and forth several times back to the front desk to get someone to open the door. Apparently this happened to a few other guests too.

Address:
901 Mountain St, Canmore, Alberta

Websites:
http://www.granderockies.com/

In Cafe

Mamalee Malaysian Delight: Hainanese Chicken in Vancouver

October 30, 2015

Mamalee Malaysia Delight was Cafe D’Lite but underwent rebranding in 2013 as a tribute to the owner – Betty for her spirit and heritage. It represents Betty’s continuing commitment to an authentic Malaysian dining experience that is second to none.

I have been looking for the best Hainanese Chicken in Vancouver and a lot of people recommended Mamalee. Since I was in the area, M and I came here to have a quick dinner.

By 6pm, this place was packed! We were fortunate to get the last table so we didn’t have to wait in line. Looking at the other tables, it seems like almost everyone orders the same few items.

Can you guess their specialty? Of course! Hainanaese Chicken. It can come on rice, or in soup with noodles. So manu choices.

To order, you fill this out and return it back to the server.

Roti Canai ($5.95) comes with laksa sauce for dipping. The roti was flakey on the outside and was very delicious.

Regular Hainanese Chicken Rice ($9.95) you get yummy rice with a lot of Hainanese chicken. I gobbled this right up. All the chicken is boneless and so addictive.

It also comes with soup, which is a nice bonus.

Large Hainanese Chicken Rice ($12.50) is definitely larger! M had this and he just loved it too.

Overall, the food is delicious and the prices are pretty good as well. Hainanese Chicken all the way! A majority of the people who come here order their Hainanese Chicken. So far, this place is on the top of my list to get Hainanese Chicken. Great potion size too. I would definitely come back.

We Rate Mamalee Malaysian Delight:

Address:
3144 West Broadway, Vancouver

Website:
http://mamalee.ca/

In All You Can Eat

Gaucho Brazilian Barbecue: Dining in Canmore, AB

October 29, 2015

Gaucho Brazilian Barbecue is located in Downtown Canmore and they serve up an all you can eat Rodizio dinner for $42 per person. You get access to their sides and salad bar. The servers will come to your table with racks of meat and serve you at your table.

Rodizio & Plates service included the following types of meat:

Top Sirloin – Alcatra
Rump Steak – Picanha
Pork Loin – Lombinho
Sausage – Linguiça
Chicken Wings – Asa de Frango
Parmesan Beef – Beef Parmegiano
Beef Ribs – Costela de Boi
Chicken Wrapped with Bacon – Frango com Bacon
Chicken Hearts – Coração de Frango
Lamb – Carneiro

Since I’ve never experience a Brazilian meal before, I thought it would be good to try it especially in Alberta since they have amazing quality of beef.

The interior is warm and modern. You can sit inside the dining room or in their enclosed patio.

The patio is much brighter and it is heated, so you won’t get cold.

Tropical Mango Juice ($4) is what M started off with.

We went straight to their salad and side bar where they had a good amount of items to choose from. I tried a bit of everything and nothing disappointed.

All the ingredients tasted fresh and I enjoyed it all. A good start before all the meat started arriving at the table.

Beef Ribs were my favourite meat item of the night. Since they cut it right at your table. It stays hot, tender and juicy.

It looks so good too.

They also give you some hot sauce and a vinaigrette to put on the meats. I went without the sauces since I enjoyed the meat on its own.

Since the servers do come often with meat, you are given a card to show if you want more meat or not. Most of the time ours was ‘Sim Por Favor, since we wanted to try all their meats they had to offer.

It’s best to flip it to ‘Nao, Obrigado’, even if you want to take a break for all the meat. If you want a particular meat item, you can just ask them for it.

At first it was pretty awkward having someone serve you at the table

They keep all their meat warm in their contraption.

They place the meat on your side plate

For our first Brazilian restaurant experience, it was great. Trying all the different varieties was fun and perfect for our honeymoon vacation. The food is pricey, but for an experience its worth it. If I had to go again, I probably wouldn’t return since I already know the cuts of meat I really enjoyed. I would rather want a meal with just beef ribs, pork loin and rump steak.

We Rate Gaucho Brazilian Barbecue:

Address:
629 Main St, Canmore, AB

Website:
http://www.brazilianbbq.ca/

In Canadian

Truffle Pigs Bistro: Dining in Field, BC

October 28, 2015

Field, BC is a small town of about 169 people. M and I decided to stop in this town to go to Truffle Pig Bistro right after exploring Yoho National Park.

Truffle Pigs Bistro and Lodge uses fresh local and regional ingredients in all their dishes where possible. It was highly recommended by locals who frequent this area.

When you look at the interior, you will find a lot of pig decorations. We came right at the opening of lunch at 11am, so it was pretty empty for a weekday.

Meat-Head Truffle Pig Flat Bread ($18) has a 6oz Wagyu beef meat ball wrapped in a flat bread with tomato garlic sauce, parmesan and topped with a kale green salad. They use a lemon garlic vinaigrette on top.

I looked nice, but the wagyu beef meat ball was severely overcooked, so it was touch and dense. It was a pitty since it really ruined the beef.

Roasted, Toasted and Fried Salad ($13) has Jen’s organic toasted millet salad, tossed with roasted walnuts and pumpkin seeds, sun-dried tomatoes, kale and lemon garlic olive oil vinaigrette. This healthy blend is served on a bed of hydroponic butter leaf lettuce and topped with fried chick peas and goat cheese.

This was a very hearty salad! I really enjoyed the flavour combinations.

Overall, it was neat to see such a restaurant in this small town of field. We really loved the salad but the flat bread wasn’t executed well.

We Rate Truffle Pigs Bistro:

Address:
100 Center St, Field, BC V0A1G0

Website:
http://www.trufflepigs.com/

In Four Beakers

The Ramenman: New Ramen Shop in Vancouver

October 27, 2015

The Ramenman is the newest Japanese ramen joint to open up on the West End of Downtown Vancouver. After seeing Sean’s beautiful pictures on instagram of The Ramenman, I had to check it out. Surprisingly, when I came here to have dinner with a CanuckGirl, guess who was there? Sean. Always good to bump into another foodie friend.

The restaurant is small, so there is one large communal table and 2 tables in the back. I think this place can fit about 20ish people comfortably.

They are still in their Soft Opening phase, so I’m not sure how much their menu is going to transform once they are done their soft opening. The menu has 3 type of ramen, a few appetizers, and drinks. Pretty cool to see beer on tap in a ramen restaurant.

The 3 ramen they offer are:

Chicken x Clam
chicken x Stew
Chicken x Regular

Appetizer Plate ($5.50) has your choice of charsui (chicken or pork), ramen egg, Japanese Leek, Bamboo Shoots, Spinach, green onion and chili pepper. There are more like items that you can dump into your ramen.

I got this with 2 slices of pork. The pork looks like ham, but it’s not. It’s tender and seemed more like sous vide pork. It’s a French cooking method that is cooked at a lower temperature for longer periods of time to get the inside is pork cooked without overcooking the outside, and retain more moisture.

Chicken x Clam ($11.50) has your choice of charsui (pork, chicken or both), clams, green onions, red onion, parsley, garlic, black pepper, green onion oil and truffle oil.

I got mine with both pork and chicken charsui to taste the difference. It was both very good. The chicken probably has the same cooking method ask the pork. The broth was nice and not too salty.

Chicken x Regular ($9.50) has your choice of charsui (pork, chicken or both), ramen egg, bamboo shoots, Japanese leek, green onion, garlic, black pepper, green onion oil and truffle oil.

The spoon is pretty big. Think of it as like a mini bowl with a handle.

Overall, it’s good to have another chicken ramen base alternative. Marutama also has chicken ramen, but what I like about the Ramenman is the good balance between all the ingredients in the bowl. Service is great and the interior is quite comfortable. I do enjoy chicken broths, but not everyone will agree.

We Rate Ramenman:

Address:
841 Bidwell Street, Vancouver

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/The-Ramenman-172684076409030/

In Contest

[Giveaway] $100 Surprise with Edo Japan #Reach4It Moments

October 26, 2015

Edo Japan recently launched its Reach For It campaign to encourage customers not only to reach for Edo, but also to reach out to their friends, families, neighbours and even strangers in an effort to create simply better moments. How do you do it? It can be catching up with an old friends you haven’t seen in a while or a random act of kindness for a stranger.

How I reach out to my community is to donate my creative services to small businesses with big hearts. Outside of having a full-time job and running Foodology, I always make time to volunteer for non-profit organizations. I definitely keep myself very busy. My most recent project was with Wuchild, a local Vancouver business which creates beautiful crafts and apparel for stylin’ kids and moms. They want to drive social impact by igniting the untapped talent — and empowering creative identity — of new mothers. The duo – Yvette and Bernice had an amazing vision for Wuchild, so I agreed to help design a few ads and shirts.

This is one of the many ways I reach out into my community.

Foodology and Edo Japan would like to make your Reach For It Moments come true. The winner will receive a surprise worth $100.

Tell us below in the comments what is your Reach For It moment.

[attention]Contest ends Saturday October 31, 2015 at 11:59pm PST[/attention]

In Contest

[Giveaway] 12 boxes of Catelli Gluten Free Lasagne

October 25, 2015

Catelli Gluten Free Lasagne was the latest addition to their gluten-free line up of dry pastas. My little sister is celiac and any gluten she eats, her face will get itchy and she will feel very tired. She’s eaten a bunch of gluten-free alternatives, but some things just don’t taste the same.

When Catelli contacted me about the giveaway, I couldn’t say no since I knew my sister would want to try it. They create the pasta with their 4 natural grain blend made with white and brown rice, corn and quinoa.

To enter, let me know in the comments below what you would make if you won 12 boxes of Catelli Gluten Free Lasagne. For additional entries, take a look at the list below in the widget.

Open to Canadian residents only, except for Quebec.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The pasta sheets are surprisingly flat. Usually they have the wavy ridges on the side.

It’s like holding big tarot cards or something like that. We used the lasagna to create a recipe from Lynn Crawford at Home – Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna. We modified the recipe to use gluten-free flour instead of regular flour.

Layer by layer, we slowly made the lasagna. A mixture of béchamel sauce, mushrooms, mozzarella, and spinach.

After an hour of baking, its’ complete.

Taking the first few bites, we didn’t notice anything different about the pasta texture. You can fool anyone with it.

In Downtown

Sanuki Udon: Udon Bar on Robson Street

October 24, 2015

Sanuki Udon is another new udon bar to pop up in Vancouver. Located right on Robson street in Downtown Vancouver, they serve up fresh handmade udon with different broths and toppings. No MSG or preservatives are used.

The restaurant is quite small and has a few seats. The space is set up like a cafeteria where you just go down station by station to craft your udon meal.

When you’re lining up to order, you can see their 5 steps to dining here.

Take a tray and select one of 6 udon options and size
Select tempura and onigiri to compliment the udon
Enjoy additional complimentary condiments
Slurp and enjoy
Return tray

They have 6 kinds of udon bowls:

Kitsune Udon
Niku Udon
Pork Kimchi Udon
Curry Udon
Kaku Udon
Zaru Udon

They all come in 2 sizes, regular and large.

The noodles are heated up in the vat of water before putting it into the bowl.

In goes the broth.

They grab meat from a big container and put it into the bowl.

Once you get your bowl of udon ready, you can sprinkle on green onions and tempura bits free of charge.

Closer to the cashier, you will see woven baskets filled with different types of tempura. There weren’t a lot of tempura in the basket making it seem like the leftover bits.

Curry Udon seemed watery and lacked the depth of taste. After a while, the tempura bits I put on top got soggy and melded together to form a clumpy mass. I felt like I could make a better version at home.

The tempura was still crisp. I got the sweet potato tempura, yam tempura, and chikuwa tempura. Decent taste, but it was pretty average.

It’s an interesting concept for an udon bar, but the broth and tempura weren’t enticing enough. It felt like cafeteria udon where it’s slapped together for efficiency. I still prefer ramen over udon.

I wasn’t impressed with the taste and the other people I was dining with felt that it was lacking as well. Definitely room for improvement.

We Rate Sanuki Udon:

Address:
1226 Robson Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://sanukiudon.ca/

In Kid Friendly

Sekai Udon Bar: Udon at Metrotown

October 23, 2015

Sekai Udon Bar is located near The Bay at Metropolis at Metrotown. It opened last year, so it is still fairly new. Sui Sha Ya, an all you can eat Japanese restaurant used to be in this spot. It’s good that there is a new restaurants in its place serving freshly made udon.

The interior is quite large so it can fit up to 100 people here.

Looking through the menu, the best choice was their Eraberu lunch special that they have on the weekend from 11am – 3pm. All you need to do is choose your rice dish, udon dish, and if you want miso soup or salad.

M ordered the Yaki Udon, Curry Croquette Don, Salad, and their chef special side dishes were a slice of orange and potato salad.

Yaki Udon has nice fresh udon noodles but the taste was pretty average. Nothing special.

Curry Croquette Don was ok too. Maybe it needed a bit more sauce to go with the rice.

I got my lunch set with Tonkotsu Udon, Chashu Don, salad and chef special side dishes.

Tonkotsu Udon has the pork bone soup broth with veggies, bean sprouts and a slab of pork. It wasn’t bad at all. I love the big thick slice of pork. It was like a bowl of ramen but with udon noodles.

Chashu Don was decent too. Good amount of pork to rice ratio.

Onsen Tamago ($1.80) is a Japanese style slow-cooked egg. It looked great but it was cold. The temperature threw me off as I assumed it would be warm.

Overall, for $10.50 for the lunch sets, it’s decent. Good, quick and filling. None of the dishes blew our minds, but it was good enough.

We Rate Sekai Udon Bar:

Address:
Metropolis at Metrotown Food Court
236-4820 Kingsway, Burnaby

Website:
http://sekaiudonbar.com/

In Lake Louise

Moraine Lake: Most Photographed Location in Canada

October 22, 2015

Moraine Lake is about 14 kms away from the Town of Lake Louise. During busy times it’s a bit hard to find parking here. It’s a great spot to go hiking and some even say it has better views than Lake Louise. It is about half the size, but the view is spectacular. It is also a glacier-fed lake.

Depending on the time of year you make a visit to the area, the one road that takes you to Lake Moraine may be closed.

It was a cloudy day, so the lake didn’t shine as much today.

You’ll notice a rock pile at the beginning of the lake and it’s an actual moraine, which is an accumulation of glacial debris. A lot of people like to climb it as the view from the top is one of the most photographed location in Canada.

We noticed a lot of people were up there. It is about a half a kilometre stroll up there. Besides hiking, you can rent a canoe to go on the lake, go horseback riding, or relax at the Moraine Lake Lodge.

In Coquitlam

IKEA Canada: Twist Cone

October 21, 2015

For the longest time, IKEA only sold vanilla frozen yogurt for $1 in their cafe past the checkout. Recently, I saw on Instagram that some people were able to get twist cones. So, on the weekend I was in IKEA browsing for furniture, I had to grab a twist cone.

They don’t advertise it anywhere, but the cashier will ask if you want vanilla or chocolate. You can ask them for a twist.

So exciting. I’m not exactly sure if the other IKEA locations have twist cones, but the one in Coquitlam has it for sure. It was good and I sure enjoyed it.

Address:

1000 Lougheed Highway, Coquitlam

Website:
http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/

In Lake Louise

Lake Louise: Glaciers, Trails and Teahouses

October 20, 2015

Lake Louise is located in Alberta’s Banff National Park. The emerald green colour of the water comes from rock flour carried into the lake by melt-water from the glaciers that overlook the lake.

It’s very easy to drive to and theres lots of parking space.

It’s stunning and this is the view that draws thousands of tourists a day. You can’t pass by Banff National Park without making a stop here.

During the Summer, you can rent a canoe to paddle around the lake when it’s warm. During the winter, it becomes a skating rink.

The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is recognized globally for their progressive environmental stewardship and responsible tourism. It is the only building located right by the lake. No other hotels are around.

There’s lots to do like hiking to Lake Agnes to visit the Teahouse and mirror lake. It is a shorter hike than going to the Plain of Six Glaciers Teahouse. These places are only accessible by hiking.

M and I attempted hiking to the Lake Agnes Teahouse, but according to Google Maps, it would take just under an hour, so we gave up. We didn’t realize it was slightly uphill.

Since we were on a time crunch, we headed back.

If you was a short walk with a nice view of the lake, walk around the Lake Louise Lakeshore Trail. You can see the beautiful emerald waters.

Of course, take lots of pictures. There are a lot of tourists around, but there is a lot of space to take scenic shots or selfies.

Website:
http://www.banfflakelouise.com/

In British Columbia

24th Annual Port and Chocolate Vancouver: Recap

October 19, 2015

The 24th annual Port and Chocolate Tasting in Vancouver hosted by Liberty Wine Merchants at Vancouver Rowing Club featured an array of ports and local chocolatiers from Vancouver. Tickets cost $29.99 and all proceeds went to the Vancouver Rowing Club to benefit amateur sports.

I was invited by Liberty Wine Merchants to enjoy the delicious port and chocolates they had to offer. I thought it would be fun to try all the different varieties of port since I just came back from the Okanagan.

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Featured Ports from:

Gonzales Byaas
Backyard Vineyards
Elephant Island Orchard Wines
Hester Creek
Rollingdale Winery
Gambrinus Elisir
The View Winery
Niepoort Vinhos
Heitz Cellar
Chateau Aydie
Dacalada Clemente
Smith Woodhouse LBV
Quinta

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Decadent Chocolates by:

Koko Monk
Zimt
ChocolaTas
Euro-Excellence
Eat It Up

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Representation by:

Andrew Peller Imports
Appelation Wine Marketing
Bacchus Group
Liberty Wine Imports
Lifford Wine & Spirits
Pacific Wine & Spirits
Mark Anthony
Peacock and Martin
Rollingdale Winery
Vino Allegro
and Vintage Corks LTD

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Port Wine is typically a sweet red wine served as a dessert wine, though it also comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties. In a sense it’s kinda like ice wine but originating from the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. Of course it doesn’t need to come from Portugal since more and more countries are producing it like Canada, Australia, and other places.

I found the event was a great way to taste the different kinds of ports plus meet those who are producing the wine.

The taste varied from booth to booth, but I found for myself that I enjoyed the white varieties a lot more. Rollingdale Winery from BC, had 5 different ice wines and a Rollingdale Port.

To go with all the Port, chocolate seemed fitting and they brought together some cool chocolatiers like Chocolatas with their samples of salted caramels.

Their chocolates are quite pretty too.

There was a lot more Port booths than chocolate booths, but that was a good balance as you only can have so many sweet things after dinner.

There was even Hot Masala and Pink Pepper chocolates. Pretty cool varieties.

There was definitely no shortage of alcohol here. One of my favourites was the Quails Gate Optima for a dessert wine.

Koko Monk Chocolates had a lot of beautiful chocolates and the owners did a taste test by giving attendees a mysterious ganche and made us guess the flavours. I thought this was interesting since you are making your taste buds do all the work.

Overall, it was a good night for trying different ports and chocolates. I’m a newbie when it comes to wine, so this was a good chance to try a variety of them in one place. I went with my sister who really appreciates wine and she was so busy making sure they were available at the nearby liquor stores.

Website:
http://libertywinemerchants.com/

In Lake Louise

Lake Louise Gondola: Scenery in the Canadian Rockies

October 18, 2015

Lake Louise Gondola is located at the Lake Louise Ski Resort in Banff National Park. It is a 5 minute drive off Highway 1. It was a beautiful day in September, so we came here to get a good view of all the surrounding mountains.

I pre-purchased a Travelzoo Voucher for $29.95 to ride the gondola for 2 people. I brought my printout to the front desk and they redeemed it for 2 physical tickets.

The lodge is quite nice with the mountains in the background. Once you’re in the ledge make your way to the gondola.

It’s a short walk, just follow the path down.

The ride lasts for fourteen minutes, in an open chair or a fully enclosed gondola. For those who are afraid of highs, a closed gondola might be for you. M and I took a closed on up the mountain and then an open chair lift on the way down. You can’t go wrong with either, but the open chair lift is easier to take photos assuming you don’t drop anything.

6,850 feet above ground, the viewing platform gives a great view of the Banff National Park. Once you’re up here, you can do guided hikes, eat a buffet lunch at their restaurant or visit their interpretation centre.

Other than that, there’s not too much to do up here. When we were here, the upper chairlift wasn’t operational, so we couldn’t go up any higher.

The views are the best part, so make sure you have your camera with you.

At a distance, you can see Lake Louise and the Fairmont building.

If you have a telephoto lens, you can take a super far away shot of the lake in all it’s glory.

Take note of the beautiful glaciers too! They are enormous!

On the way down, you must take an open chair lift and the view is just spectacular. M swallowed his fears and held on to dear life. The ride can get a bit bumpy sometimes. Below you, you might be able to spot bears.

For regular price, it’s pretty expensive to pay $30 per person. If you can try to find a deal, do it! If it wasn’t for the Travelzoo deal, I probably wouldn’t have come here.

Address:
1 Whitehorn Rd, Lake Louise, AB

Website:
www.lakelouisegondola.com/

In British Columbia

McDonalds Canada: Build Your Own Burger

October 17, 2015

McDonalds Canada is doing a soft launch of their new restaurant concept to evolve into a more casual dining experience. Their restaurants have slowly been shifting in the last few years by introducing the McCafe concept. Now, more changes are coming.

In Metro Vancouver, there are currently 3 locations – Langley (20037 84th Ave.), Surrey (8586 120th St.), and Burnaby (7360 Market Crossing) where customers can build their own burger from 30 different options through a touch-screen kiosk and have it delivered to their table.

The different options include:

3 buns: Black + White Sesame Seed Brioche-Style Bun, Artisan Style Bakery Roll, or Lettuce Wrap
5 cheeses: McDonald Classic Cheese, Monterey Jack Jalapeño, Natural Cheddar, Swiss, or Crumbled Blue Cheese
12 toppings: Tomato, Lettuce, Guacamole, Sundried Tomato Pesto, Caramelized Onions, Crispy Onions, Sliced Jalapeños, Long Sliced Pickles, Grilled Mushrooms, or Red Onion Rings
9 sauces: Ketchup, Garlic Aioli, Mustard, Smokey BBQ, Big Mac Sauce, Chipotle Aioli, Grainy Mustard, Mayo, or Sriracha Sauce

All these choices are super tough to make if you are indecisive. They have a few pre-built combinations like the Homestyle and Aioli Angus Burger, the Angus True Blue and Guac, as well as the Angus Sriracha The Bold.

At the kiosk, you can order your regular meal, or do the “Create Your Taste” option. By the end of 2017, they will have these kiosks rolled out to 1,000 locations across Canada. Currently, other countries like US, UK, and Australia have introduced these kiosks as well.

Right now you can only customize with angus beef patties. There is no option to add fish patties or chicken patties. This is where I got a bit disappointed since I wanted to build something super crazy like the Land Sea Air burger on the ‘secret menu’, but never wanted to ask staff about it.

After your customize you burger, you can add any sides you want like salad, fries or poutine. I went with the salad since I needed to balance out my 3 patty burger.

The customization starts at $6.99, but the more protein you add to your burger like patties and bacon, the cost will go up. In my case, I added 4 bacon strips and 3 patties….then added a coke, salad and brownie.

After you confirm your order and pay, you are given a tracking number. When your order is ready, the meal will be delivered to your table.

While you’re waiting, the kitchen is busy putting your handcrafted burger together. They start by buttering and toasting your buns. This is their cool butter roller that spreads a thin layer of butter over your bun before it goes for a toasting.

Then all the toppings get stacked on top.

Oh hello there.

Amy the Food Queen was there as well and she created a 2 angus beef patty, with various toppings in between the sesame bun. The fries come in a super cute basket similar to A&W.

On the other hand, I went a tad crazy and built this monster. 3 Angus Beef Patties, 4 strips of crisp bacon and kept the veggies to a minimum.

I went with the sesame buns as well. Pretty good bun compared to the other options.

I probably would only recommend up to 2 patties as 3 was a bit much. Anyways, the bacon at this location was very crispy compared to some other locations.

You can grab your custom burger to go. They have a special boxes for it.

McDonald’s McCafe option has been doing quite well in Canada, so they have expanded their bakery options beyond muffins and cookies to go with morning coffee.

They have a large display for all their pastries.

There’s butter croissants, chocolate brownies, danishes, lemon loaf, and chocolate croissants.

Overall, it’s a neat idea, but I wish there were a few more customizable options when it comes to the patty.

Address:
20037 84 Ave, Langley, BC V2Y 2B9

In Field

Yoho National Park: Emerald Lake

October 16, 2015

When going through Yoho National Park right before Banff National Park, make sure you stop at Emerald Lake. Once you get there, you will be mesmerized by the vivid emerald-coloured waters.

It’s very easy to drive here from the highway and there’s a good amount of parking.

The drive was quite stunning. Lots of trees to your left and right with a beautiful mountain in front and behind you.

Then, it got foggy and I was super scared since I wanted a clear view of the lake. We were here quite early around 10am, so the fog does tend to linger in the morning.

Once we got there, the fog really started to blow away revealing the Emerald Lake beneath it.

The fog was a blessing since it made my pictures super awesome a spooky. There’s the Emerald Lake Lodge to the left.

You can rent canoes out onto the lake to paddle around. There’s trails around so you can do some hiking. Plus, if you are a photographer, theres wildlife all around the lake.

Here’s the bridge moments later where you will find a majority of the tourists.

Walk further down away from that bridge and you will find an even better view of the lake. Just stunning.

It’s a stop in the Rockies that you can’t miss. Beautiful lake and my photos really don’t do it justice. You have to see it with your own 2 eyes.

Website:
http://www.field.ca/yohonationalpark/emeraldlake/

In Field

Yoho National Park: The Natural Bridge

October 15, 2015

The first stop at Yoho National Park on the way to Emerald Lake is the Natural Bridge. It’s an easy drive here and with lots of parking.

The Natural Bridge is a natural rock formation that spans the flow of the Kicking Horse River west of Field, BC. It is sculpted by the strong erosive forces of rushing water over what had once been a waterfall.

Visitors are given the opportunity to view the natural bridge from a variety of different vantage points.

You can get to the tallest point that over looks the bridge by a man-made bridge. It’s a very short walk.

Just standing on the man-made bridge, you can see the other side of the fall with much more calming water.

You can even get pretty close to the natural bridge. The Natural Bridge is a powerful reminder of how much influence water has in shaping the landscape around it.

Here is the view from the backside. The water gets pretty strong right at the peak, so do be careful and don’t fall in.

Overall, it’s a quick place to stop by to take some pictures and enjoy natures wonders.

Website:
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/bc/yoho/index.aspx

In Golden

Kicking Horse Lodging: Glacier Mountaineer Lodge Review

October 14, 2015

Glacier Mountaineer Lodge was where we stayed in Golden, BC. It’s located in the heart of the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort alpine village – at the base of the Golden Eagle Express Gondola. The mountain is around 10 minutes away from the downtown area of Golden, BC.

It’s a good location to stop at if you are enjoying the snow in the winter or heading up the Gondola to hike or sightsee in the Summer.

We pulled up to the front of the building, walked through the lobby to check in. It definitely has a rustic mountain-feel to it.

Since it was low-season and we were checking in past 6pm, they left our envelopes at the front with our keys and other information.

We stayed in their one bedroom suite and it was quite spacious for the two of us. You will find their fully furnished living rooms with satellite TV, gas fireplace, and private balconies. It was clean and reminded us of home away from home.

There is also a fully furnished kitchen with fridge, microwave, oven and coffee maker.

The bedroom had an old CRT TV with cable, views of the mountains and a closet. We spent more time in the living room since it was more comfortable watching TV there with the flatscreen TV.

The tables has 3 chairs and a bench. I quite liked the bench feature. Makes me want to get one for my own place.

There’s lots of sitting space if you were to entertain guests. Very cozy.

The entrance to the balcony/patio gave us a great sight of the slopes. There’s not much to see during the Fall, but it was cool to see the changing colours of the trees and the snowboarding trails. In the Winter, it will be more beautiful.

There’s lots of hooks and space to hang any winter gear you have.

The washroom has a tub, a shower, toilet and sink. Nothing fancy, but it does the job.

They also have a fitness centre, hot tub, and a steam room to enjoy at the lodge.

The view of the other mountain peaks are just amazing even in the Fall. Its so nice to see the snow right on the peaks of those large mountains.

Overall, it was a pleasant stay and I love the surrounding nature. Mountains on all sides with some beautiful Fall foliage. The only bad thing about coming here during low-season is that there’s nothing open up here, so you will need to head to the town to get lunch or dinner. The lodge has vending machines, so you can get pop, water or snacks. When it’s their normal season, it won’t be a problem at all. M and I didn’t mind since we were carry a lot of snacks and drinks with us since we were on our roadtrip.

The best part about going to Kicking Horse Lodging is this crazy bridge you have to drive across. Only one car can pass at a time. I’ve never seen anything like this, so I was super excited.

Address:
549 Kicking Horse Trail, Golden, BC

Website:
http://www.kickinghorselodging.com/glacier-mountaineer-lodge/