December 2015

In Osoyoos

Nk’Mip Cellars: Winery in Osoyoos

December 31, 2015

Np’Mip Cellars is located on 1,200 acres of band land located in Osoyoos, BC. This southern Okanagan area is home to Canada’s only pocket desert. With some of the most spectacular views in the Okanagan, this region is well known for its long, hot summer days and cool nights, mild winters and minimum rainfall. All of these factors contribute to this fabulous grape-growing region.

Their wine shop and tasting room open seven days a week from 9:00 am until 6:00 pm. We were staying at Spirit Ridge Resort just next door and we had to come here to grab a tasting.

The 18,000 square foot winery has the capacity to produce 18,000 cases or 162,000 litres. It’s equipped to handle approximately 60% red grapes and 40% white.

The varietals currently produced are Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Riesling Icewine and several red blends including the ultra premium Mer’r’iym Meritage blend. These grapes come from the Band’s own Inkameep Vineyard as well as the vineyard that surrounds the winery.

You get 2 complimentary tastings and if you want to do 4 more, it’s $3. I went and paid the $3 to try six different wines.

2014 DreamCatcher has orchard fruit on the nose followed by a sensual palette interwoven with honeydew and meyer lemon. This was my favourite white, but sadly they sold out of all their bottles. I wanted to get a few bottles too but I would have to go to another liquor store in Vancouver to pick some up.

2012 Mer’r’iym has an aroma of blueberries, black currant, smoke and tobacco with with flavours of dark fruit and cherry leading into a lengthy structured finish.

Overall, I was happy with the tasting. I found 2 wines I enjoyed.

Address:
1400 Rancher Creek Rd, Osoyoos, BC

Website:
http://www.nkmipcellars.com/

In Summerland

Sumac Ridge Estate Winery: Wine Shop and Tastings

December 30, 2015

Founded in 1979, Sumac Ridge is the oldest operating estate winery in British Columbia and has been dedicated to producing 100% British Columbia grown wines.

Grapes grown in their vineyards include Gewürztraminer, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

The winery is nestled in the heart of the Okanagan Valley near the scenic town of Summerland. Its celebrated Black Sage Vineyard is located in the Southern Okanagan, near the town of Oliver.

Sumac Ridge Estate Winery offers a full range of quality VQA wines under the names: Sumac Ridge; Black Sage Vineyard and Steller’s Jay Sparkling. At first when I came here I was quite confused why there were so many different brands.

I visited around the Okanagan Wine Festival and their Black Sage Winery Vineyard wines won a few medals.

The crowd of people who come to have a tasting comes in waves so sometimes it will be quite busy. When I arrived there was a little bit of a wait.

For the tasting, I started off with the sparkling wine, white wine, rose wine and then ended with the red wines. They have a good amount to choose from.

I paid only a few dollar to do the tasting but not take part of the tour.

In addition to the wine tastings, you can do a tour or devour their cheese and charcuterie platters.

They have a good selection of wine and you can also purchase some wine or food related items here like cookbooks.

Address:
17403 British Columbia 97, Summerland, BC

Website:
http://www.sumacridge.com/

In British Columbia

Tim Hortons: Steak and Cheese Panini

December 29, 2015

There’s a Tim Hortons near my work and I haven’t been here in a long time. I used to go to here all the time in my University days, but I soon learned fast that the food was pretty mediocre compared to other fast food restaurants.

Looking at the menu, one item that caught my eye was the Steak and Cheese Panini using certified Canadian beef. Since we are in Canada, why wouldn’t they be using Canadian beef?

There is 100% Canadian beef steak piled on a grilled white homestyle bun, top it with red onions, and melted cheese.

The beef is very dry and overcooked and has a lot of processed white cheese.

I really hated the processed white cheese since it sticks to everything in your mouth. It was a pretty bad panini. I wouldn’t order it again. Nothing about it was good.

In Chinatown

Crackle Creme: Creme Brulee, Waffles, and Macarons

December 28, 2015

Crackle Crème is a small, craft-style dessert cafe serving up artisan crème brûlée and authentic Belgian liège waffles in small batches. They are located right in Chinatown close to the Gerogia Viaduct. I came here with a few friends after work to indulge in some sweet sweet desserts.

The little shop has a few counter seats. Not idea for large groups, but since it was quiet, no one was here. It got busier later in the evening.

Their menu is up on the board but its only a small selection of what they have. Specialty items like their macaroons and different flavours aren’t up there.

You can even look into the kitchen to see where all the magic happens.

I ordered the trio creme brûlée, which comes with an assortment of 3 mini brulees. The flavours on this day was matcha, salted caramel and white chocolate rose. I like how the owner torches them up right in front of you.

We got the trio as it was a good way to try everything without getting too full.

Digging in, we love breaking the caramelized sugar on top so you can hear the delicious crack. The flavours were ok, but the texture was a bit off as it felt more goopy.

We all agreed that we liked it a tad more firm in texture.

I bought a set of 6 of their totoro themed macarons to go. They looked amazing and it really brought out my inner child. How can you not love Totoro.

The flavours are – Rose, matcha, jasmine, lavender, and black sesame.

My two favourites were the matcha and sesame. Other than that, the other flavours kinda tasted like soap.

The macarons were definitely cute but the taste didn’t shine through. These were definitely fun to take picture of for instagram, but I probably wouldn’t order them again.

Overall, I love the concept and the aesthetics, but the flavours and consistency of the creme brulee weren’t there.

We Rate Creme Brulee:

Address:
245 Union Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.cracklecreme.com/

In Oliver

Desert Hill Winery: Award Winning, Boutique Estate Winery

December 27, 2015

Desert Hill Winery is a family owned, boutique winery located in the Okanagan outside of Oliver, BC.

The estate sits on 24 acres of vineyards and they are an award winning winery.

The vineyard is in full production with planting of cabernet sauvignon, syrah, gamay, malbec, merlot and pinot gris grapes.

The Toor brothers run the winery and even do the tastings with guests. The tastings are by donation and are used to build and maintain a sports stadium in India.

They had reds, whites and roses to try out.

Some of my favourites were the:

2014 Gewurztraminer

Floral, lychee, spicy flavours with a rose petal nose, smooth on the mid palate and a crisp, long finish. Pairs well with Asian dishes, white meats or great on its own.

2010 Mirage

Rich black currant, black cherry and plum aromas lead to flavours of spice and dark chocolate, with a beautifully long finish.

It was a good tasting and it was great to try a wine brand that I haven’t encountered before. Definitely make a stop here if you are close by. Burrowing Owl Winery is just a few minutes away.

Address:
4078 Black Sage Rd, Oliver, BC

Website:
https://deserthills.ca

In Chinese

Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot: Amazing in the Winter

December 26, 2015

It’s winter time and when the temperature drops, my friends and I get a craving for Hot Pot. Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot was the closest to our neighbourhood, so we decided to come after work during a weekday.

They have 3 locations in Burnaby, Vancouver and Richmond. We went to this one in Burnaby right across from Metrotown.

It is $20.98 per adult plus the price of broth ($9.99 per table). Drinks and premium items are extra.

There are a lot of tables and not too busy on a weekday. On the weekends, this place is busy.

While you are waiting for you order, make sure you go create your own dipping sauce.

All the sauce for the hot pot is available in the middle of the restaurant. It’s on top of a cart and you’re free to grab as much as your like.

The different sauces are:

Soy sauce
Vinegar
Peanut Sauce
Chili paste
Chili oil
Satay sauce

The peanut sauce and satay sauce are most popular.

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.

We ordered an assortment of items for the hot pot. Mostly yam noodles, udon, frozen tofu, tofu curds, tofu puffs, and lotus roots.

We piled on almost every kind of meat. We made sure to keep the vegetables to one basket.

All the food was great and the spicy side of the hot pot wasn’t too hot at all. A good balance.

Overall, a good hot pot option in South Burnaby. I hate coming when its busy, but a week day night is great.

The service here was pretty good as well, which was surprising. When we needed water, tea or coke refilled, they were very prompt and even took the initiative to ask us. In a Chinese restaurant, thats pretty crazy.

We Rate Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot:

Website:
http://littlesheephotpot.com/

Address:
#200 – 4755 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

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

In Buffet

Country Meadows Golf Course: Holiday Buffet

December 25, 2015

Country Meadows Golf Course in Richmond on No. 6 Road offers a Christmas Lunch Buffet during the holidays for $19.99, which also includes tea or coffee.

My mom heard about it on the radio and thought the whole family should give it a try. I tried looking on their website for more information, but there is no information about it. I had to give them a call to confirm that they had holiday lunch buffet.

The interior was beautifully decorated with a lot of Christmas items. There’s a huge tree right in the lobby.

The main dining area wasvery nice as it has floor to ceiling windows so a lot of natural light can come inside. It looks like it would be a very nice wedding venue too.

The buffet area wasn’t that large, so at peak times, there would be a bit of a wait.

There is bread, an assortment of salads, noodles, salmon, chicken, turkey, vegetables, pasta, mashed potatoes, and dessert. Not a large selection but it was ok for lunch.

My first plate had a little bit of everything on it. Most items were subpar and I left like a majority of the proteins were overcooked.

Don’t forget to grab seconds. Get your moneys worth.

The dessert table consisted of 5 items – chocolate cake, egg nog cheese cake, fruit, brownies, and nanaimo bars.

Of course we tried a bit of everything. Their cheesecakes were very good

Can’t go wrong with all the fruits.

I ended the lunch with hot green tea. They serve Tazo teas here.

Overall, it was definitely a cheaper buffet lunch in the Metro Vancouver area. You will get full, but the quality is definitely lacking. Since all the food is cooked in big batches, that tends to happen when its a buffet. They also have their regular menu available.

We Rate Country Meadows Golf Course:

Address:
8400 Number 6 Road, Richmond

Website:
http://www.countrymeadowsgolfcourse.ca/

In product

Willards: Cheese Curls and Flings

December 25, 2015

I love trying snacks from around the world. My manager at work bought me 2 bags of Willards snacks from South Africa – Cheese Curls and Flings. I’ve only had Cheetos Puffs when I was a kid or other variations that are available in Canada.

I never really thought about the different types of snacks from other countries.

Willard’s Cheese Curls are your standard cheese puffs. The name is quite fitting as they do have a curl to their shape. These are baked and not fried.

At first I was skeptical to see how different they would be but the ‘cheese’ flavour was pretty good. It kinda reminded me of Trader Joes.

Willard’s Flings has a stronger corn taste to it. I can’t really put my finger on what it reminds me of. It’s like the Cheese Curls but no cheese flavouring.

You don’t need to fly all the way to South Africa to get your hands on these snacks or other addictive South African products. African Breese sells these at their North Vancouver and Kitsilano locations.

Address:
3654 W 4th Ave, Vancouver
1054 Marine Dr, North Vancouver

Website: http://www.africanbreese.com/

In product

SodaStream Power: Review

December 24, 2015

The SodaStream Power is an automatic sparkling water maker featuring a one-touch activation providing a choice of three carbonation levels. Unlike their other models, you only have to tap the one button and it will determine how many pumps of carbon to add to your water. With the past models, I hated how it was hard to figure out how many times to push the machine to get it super fizzy. This is also the only model that requires a source of power.

SodaStream has a few different models out in the market ranging from $50 – $180.
Here is my past review about the SodaStream Source.

Power Starter Kit includes:

Power Automatic Sparkling Water Maker with anodised aluminum finish
1L reusable BPA-free stainless-steel accented carbonating bottle
1 power adapter
1 reusable SodaStream CO2 cylinder that makes up to 60L of sparkling water

Putting the parts together is pretty simple. the CO2 canister screws into the back of the machine. Then, put the panel back in and plug in the power cord.

The design of the machine is quite sleek and easy to operate.

You fill the bottle up with cold tap or filtered water up to the line on the bottle to ensure it can trap the carbon in the water.

The carbonating bottle easily locks into place with a single-push motion. Since it is powered electrically, it makes sparkling water in seconds.

I just wanted a simple drink, so I cut some lemons and cucumber to add with the sparkling water.

I like my sparkling water extra fizzy, so I chose level 3 amount of carbonation. One tap was all it needed. I love this machine more than the other ones because I’ve always been second guessing how many pumps to add.

I’ve never had an instance where it was under-carbonated. When I poured the water into the lemon and cucumber, there were so many bubbles! I was very impressed.

Overall, the SodaStream Power is my favourite machine from their whole lineup, but of course it is the most expensive at $180. I ended up giving this to my parents since they drink sparkling water a lot more. One thing my family said about this machine is that its a lot easier to use, plus the bottle locking system prevents any excess water from spilling out. With our older model – SodaStream Genesis, we had some issues with it leaking.

I would highly recommend this product if you love sparkling water.

Pros:

Easy to use and set up
Stylish design that suits any modern kitchen
3 fizzy settings
Snap-lock mechanism

Cons:

Requires power
Bottle isn’t dishwasher safe
Only comes with 1 bottle in the starter pack
Need to refill CO2 canister at select stores

Website: http://www.sodastream.ca/

In product

Prana: Dry Roasted Coconut Chips

December 23, 2015

Prana recently launched their line of organic dry roasted coconut chips. They offer a unique and exotic taste, and are also 100% organic, gluten-free, with no cholesterol, and offer an excellent source of fibre. They sell in 100g bags for $5.99.

The coconut chips come in four savoury flavours: Spicy Chilli, BBQ, Salt & Pepper, and Original.

We tried Jive, their spicy chili flavour. It went well with the coconut but it wasn’t the best tasting. Still, it was more tolerable than their other flavours. I took these coconut chips to my coworkers and a majority of them agreed that this was the best flavour. The spiciness balances the sweet/savoury taste well.

The classic flavour was definitely a miss. I felt that it was so bland that it was painful eating them. I think I needed a bit more sweetness in them. This might be good if you were incorporating them into your morning granola or cereal, but not good eating on their own.

Hula is their sea salt and pepper flavour. This tasted pretty bad too.

Charleston is the BBQ flavour and was the worst out of the 4 flavours. They just don’t belong together.

Overall, this was a product that was definitely a miss. The saltiness in the 4 flavours made it quite unbearable to eat. I did enjoy the texture since it was very crunchy, but really needed a dash of sweetness. I much prefer the Hippie Snacks Coconut chips.

Website: https://www.prana.bio

Disclaimer: I was provided these by Prana to try. Although these were complimentary, the views and opinions expressed are entirely our own.

In British Columbia

McDonalds Canada: Jolly Burger and Chicken Celebration Burger

December 22, 2015

McDonalds Canada has come up with some strange sounding burgers for the holiday season – Jolly Burger and Chicken Celebration. In addition to the Holiday Warmers lineup, they have peppermint mocha, peppermint hot chocolate and ginger cookies. I received a gift card from McDonalds, so it was the perfect chance to try these limited time burgers.

Chicken Celebration has breaded chicken patty topped with melted processed white cheddar cheese, leaf lettuce, bacon, and a creamy rotisserie seasoned sauce. M gave this burger a try and he thought it tasted like a McChicken with a nicer bun. He thought the flavours were pretty unimpressive. The sauce and cheese could have been a bit better.

Jolly Burger has a quarter pound of 100% Canadian Beef Patty with creamy peppercorn sauce, melted process white cheddar cheese, grilled onions and leaf lettuce. Reminded me of a quarter pounder with a lot of onions. The peppercorn sauce was ok, but didn’t transform the burger since the grilled onions dominated.

Both burgers use a toasted, cross-split premium bun topped with rolled what flakes, thus giving the appearance of ‘snow’ on top of the bun. Overall, both were ok, but I wouldn’t go out to get these burgers specifically. You can’t beat good ol’ McNuggets or a Big Mac.

Website:
http://www.mcdonalds.ca/ca/en/promotions/holidaywarmers.html

In British Columbia

Starbucks: Holiday Spice Flat White

December 21, 2015

Starbucks Canada just introduced the Holiday Spice Flat White for the holiday season. A few friends and I were so curious, so we decided to give it a try.

The Holiday Spice Flat White combines 2 shots of their Christmas Blend Espresso Roast with steamed whole milk infused with cinnamon, ginger and cloves.

The first few sips were good but then it really got nasty closer to the bottom of the cup. It was a mass sludge of spice. I personally didn’t like it. I think I would have preferred just a regular flat white. They didn’t execute the flat white very well either. There should be a small white dot on top. Execution of the drink seemed quite poor at this location.

Website:
http://www.starbucks.ca/

In British Columbia

Presidents Choice Insiders Collection: Favourite Items

December 20, 2015

Presidents Choice recently launched the PC Insiders Collection, which comprises of over 70 of their delicious and innovative products created specially for the holiday season. I have alway been a fan of Presidents Choice and they really are coming up with some yummy products.

They provided me a few items to try, but since they had a few more items in the collection, I purchased a few more on my own. I’m a regular shopper at Superstore, so it was easy picking up a few extra items for this review. When you’re in Superstore, you won’t be able to miss the signs about the Insiders Collection…it’s everywhere.

PC Speculoos Cookie Butter Crushed Cookie Spread is pretty amazing. It rivals Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter, but the consistency is more goopy. The spread was inspired by the traditional spiced cookie from Belgium and Netherlands. The spread contains a good amount of crushed cookies.

Butter Chicken Poutine Kit was an interesting concept and I thought it would be odd. Item to try, but when do I say no to trying something? The flavours were nice too but the fries were only as good as what oven fries can taste like. If you have a deep fryer, I think it would be a lot better.

PC Scottish Shortbread was ok and tasted like any other shortbread. What I liked about this was the beautiful tin. It’s nice and colorful to just have it under the tree. A lot better packaging that other cookie tins. You can just remove the cardboard bit with the description.

Pulled Beef Poutine Pie was an odd item at first. After cooking it, I found that the pulled beef flavour was delicious. The fries on top were a bit weak since its only baked in an oven. You would have to find a way to make them crisp. Majority of them were limp except the one right at the top.

PC Giant Corn Nuts are made with Peruvian Cusco corn so thats why the kernels are so large. It’s a pretty good snack and I like the crunchy texture.

PC Chocolate Caramel Sea Salt Popcorn was delicious and my entire office went crazy after trying this. It is popcorn covered in crunchy caramel coating and lightly sprinkled with sea salt. Each piece is fully enrobed in either dark or milk chocolate. If you see this, definitely grab a box. When I shared a few with my coworkers, they immediately went to Superstore and Loblaws City Market to get some, but they were low on stock already. After scouring town, it looks like theres a lot at Shoppers locations.

Loads of Mango Fruit Bars isn’t officially on the PC Insiders Collection but I thought I would still add it in here. This popsicle is like frozen mango puree and lots of mango chunks. Pretty awesome. You gotta try this. Im pretty addicted to this.

Milk Chocolate Caramel Thins also isn’t in the PC Insiders Collection, which doesn’t make sense since it has the same packaging as the popcorn. They remind me of After8 mint thins, but inside, its gooey caramel.

Toffee and Sea Salt Chocolate Squares is awesome too or I just have a sweet tooth for chocolate and salt. It’s a big box, but there’s not too many pieces inside compared to the Caramel Thins.

Some items in the PC Insiders Collection don’t make sense like potatoes, flatbread and eggs. Also, on the store shelves, it’s hard to differentiate whats part of the collection or not. I thought I had a few items that were but apparently they aren’t. Even when you go to the store, it looks like everything is part of the collection since signs are everywhere.

Either way, check out some of these cool PC items.

Website:
http://www.presidentschoice.ca/en_CA/insiders-campaign.html

In Kid Friendly

Man Ri Sung is Back at Aberdeen Mall

December 19, 2015

Man Ri Sung Korean Restaurant is now located on the 3rd floor of Aberdeen Mall in Richmond. Back in January 2011, I went to their original location in Coquitlam, where I went with my family to devour their delicious BBQ Duck and other Korean dishes. Soon after they closed their doors due to the construction of the planned Evergreen Line. Then they opened again on Westminster Hwy near the Richmond Public Market. A few years later, they closed again. NOW, they are back again at Aberdeen Mall! I fell like I’ve been stalking them for the past few years.

What really captivated me was their passion for creating great food that blended Chinese and Korean cuisine together. When I was invited by ChineseBites for a dinner at Man Ri Sung, there was no way I could say no, so I dropped all my plans and came here.

If you are lucky, Chef Sang Myung Lee comes out to care the Peaking Duck in front of your table. He doesn’t speak much English but he loves to interact with his customers.

Oh man, it’s a beauty. Eating out is always a fun experience when you can see your food being prepared.

The wings and legs are cut up first. These are very crispy and its music to your ears. The meat is dry for these arts, but SOOO crispy. I love to eat them for that amazing crunchy sound.

While you wait for the rest of the dishes to be prepared, banchan – Korean side dishes arrive so you can pick at them before the meal begins. There are marinated bean sprouts, kimchi, potatoes, and pickled radish.

Once the duck is cut, you can wrap it together with some green onions, cucumber, sauce and kimchi. You gotta add the kimchi to give it a nice spicy kick.

Wrap it all up and enjoy. At first, the duck was moist, but as you wait longer and longer, it starts to get a tad dryer. Best to eat it right away when it arrives at the table.

Korean BBQ LA Ribs were flavourful but I felt it was missing something but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

Seafood Pancake is an awesome item to have with your meal. It’s crispy on the outside and is loaded with lots of veggies and seafood. A delicious savoury dish.

Soondae is Korean blood sausage with vermicelli. It may seem weird, but the taste is quite mild. You dip it into a salt mixture. If you can get past it’s odd look, I don’t think you will have a problem with the taste.

Spicy Stir Fried Chicken comes of a hot electric skillet. The chef will cook it right in front of you. It has boneless chicken with spicy paste, yam, carrot, onion, rice cake, and cabbage.

It’s actually quite spicy once it’s done cooking. So, if you don’t do well with spice, you may not like this.

Hot Chicken Pot with Ginseng and Sweet Rice comes in a small bowl with a whole chicken. There wasn’t much ginseng flavour in the dish.

Lemon Chicken was deep fried so it had a nice crust to it. The sauce was sweet and lemony.

Chicken Chow Mein was very good as well. I’m a sucker for handmade noodles. It really tastes different than dried noodles. You can also have this dish made to different variations of spiciness. We had non-spicy but it can go as high as hot spicy.

Sour Cabbage with Pork Hot Pot has pork, spam, with sour cabbage and pork blood sausage. I really liked this dish. Having the pork belly and the spam in a hot pot is pretty damn awesome.

Pan Fried Squid was mild spicy, but you can choose from non-spicy, mild spicy, spicy or hot spicy. Good spice options for those who have different spice tolerance. I like the texture of squid. Soft, bouncy and not hard at all.

Duck Hot Pot with Cut Noodles was by far the most loved dish of the evening. They use the rest of the duck carcass. The hand cut noodles were delicious in the hot pot.

Overall, certain dishes were better than others. I loved the hand cut noodle dishes, hot pot, the duck and the seafood pancake. Their menu is great for large groups and its not too expensive when you think about the cost per person.

We Rate Man Ri Sung:

Address:
Aberdeen Centre, Unit 3600, 4151 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond, BC

Website:
http://www.manrisung.ca/

In Cafe

Pearl House Restaurant: Taiwanese Food in South Burnaby

December 18, 2015

Pearl House Restaurant in South Burnaby in the Edmonds area specializing in casual Taiwanese food. I came here with a few friends for a quick lunch before going to the mall. I haven’t heard too much about this place, but I always love trying new places.

The interior is bright and has tables configured for groups of 2’s and 4’s. There is one larger table near the back for big groups.

Deep Fried Boneless Chicken Leg on Rice comes with 3 side dishes on the plate – marinated cucumbers, tofu and seaweed. A good portion for the price.

When digging in, I realized they gave me the one with bone, but I let that slide since the service was already bad here. If I sent it back, it would take sometime for them to correct the dish. I was hungry in the morning, so I didn’t want not eat. The skin was very crispy and tasted good.

We also ordered the marinated pork ear slice and Wontons in chili sauce as appetizers, but it felt a bit below average. I forgot to take pictures, but the pork ear slice just had way too much green onion in it. The wontons in chili sauce tasted quite bland and not very spicy either.

My other friends ordered a noodle dish and another rice dish, but this place doesn’t compare to other Taiwanese cafes.

Overall, the food we had was all below average. There wasn’t any dish that would make us come back to have more. The service was poor and our waiter was a bit unhygienic when touching our plates and cups.

We Rate Pearl House Restaurant:

Address:
7152 Sperling, Burnaby

In Brunch

La Mezcaleria: Weekend Brunch

December 17, 2015

La Mezcaleria has been on Commercial Drive now for quite a few years as a Mexican Cantina. For brunch they infuse traditional Mexican flavours with West Coast influence. When I think of La Mezcaleria, I never thought they had brunch. It was surprising, so M and I decided to check it out.

We were on our way next door to go to the wine store, but could help gravitate in here to grab a bite.

Horchata is a traditional non-alcoholic drink made out of almonds, sesame seeds, rice and barley. M always orders horchata at Mexican restaurants and just loves it.

Huevos Rancheros has two corn tortillas served with two sunny side up free-range eggs topped with refried black beans, quesofresco, pico de gallo, salsa ranchera, calabacitas, beans and crema. Definitely very saucy but with a lot of delicious flavours. Plus, a good amount of bacon if you add it.

Almon Con Tequila has toasted english muffin topped with tequila and citrus cured salmon, two poached eggs and chipotle hollandaise. Served with seasonal greens and hashbrowns. The hashbrowns were amazing and super crisp! The salmon is also Oceanwise. The whole dish was delicious and well balanced. The poached egg was perfectly soft.

They also gave a us a few sauces with our meal.

Overall, the brunch was great and I would highly recommend it. I’m glad we stopped here for brunch since it was totally unplanned.

We rate La Mezcaleria:

Address:
1622 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.lamezcaleria.ca/

In Canadian

Char 631: Steakhouse in Coquitlam

December 16, 2015

Char631 is located in the Ramada on Lougheed Hwy in Coquitlam. I came here with a Socialshopper deal for a dinner which included an appetizer, 2 entrees and 1 dessert for $39. M and I came right after work, so it wasn’t too busy here.

There is ample space for your car in the parking lot. It seemed like a few people who were dining here were already staying in the hotel.

The interior has an Italian feel to the place due to the red and white checkered napkins. There’s a lounge on the right side and then there is the main dining area. I liked the look of the chalk board menu.

Calamari has a smoked lemon tartar sauce. There is a grilled lemon that your can squeeze all over the calamari. The squid was tender and had a nice crust around it.

8oz USDA Prime Striploin Steak with potatoes, roasted vegetables and a mushroom gravy. M thought this was ok, good presentation, but the quality of the steak wasn’t very good.

It was cooked to medium rare, but the quality really wasn’t there.

Seared Wild Salmon with vegetable risotto and a citrus beurre sauce. At first glance, it looks delicious, but the salmon was overcooked, so it was hard and not very moist. The vegetable risotto was good.

Chocolate Cake is served with a berry compote and whipped cream. The presentation was pretty bad and the taste wasn’t as appealing either.

Overall, it was quiet when we arrived and remained throughout the dinner. The service was mediocre and there seemed to be some issues with the kitchen. We overheard other tables getting their steak overcooked when it should have been medium. For us, they got us the wrong dessert, but quickly fixed the mistake. Even with the deal, I wouldn’t return. I just felt like the food was missing the extra punch of flavour. Especially when you’re eating out, it should taste better than what you can cook at home.

Disclaimer: I was provided a SocialShopper voucher to dine here. Although the meal was complimentary, the views and opinions expressed are entirely our own.

We rate Char 631:

Address:
631 Lougheed Highway, Coquitlam

Website:
http://www.dellacasarestaurants.com/char631.html

In Cafe

Catfe: Cat Cafe in Vancouver

December 15, 2015

Catfe is a Vancouver Cat Cafe, which just opened this week. It’s on the 2nd floor of Tinseltown just above Starbucks. The best way to get here is to take the skytrain to Stadium Station and walk a little bit.

As a cat lover, I was very excited because it really took the owners a long time to sort out the City bylaws in order to get the cafe open. Kudos for them on making it happen.

You can make reservations at Catfe on their website, but all December 2015 and some January 2016 spots are already gone. Don’t fret, they do have spots for people standing by because some people never make it to their reservations. I came on the first day at 5pm and they had 4 spots open for people who are standing by. Once you make your reservation, you can stay for increments of 1 hour. Most people I observed didn’t stay the full hour.

They only let 16 people in the cat lounge at one time, so it’s nice that its not too crowded.

Cat cafes are very popular in Asia because not everyone can have the space to own a pet. If you’re curious about other Cat Cafes around the world, check out the ones I went to in Asia:

There are 2 steps to enter.

Pay admission in the cafe and get your food to go.
$8 admission or $5 with food purchase.
Show your receipt at count counter to check in.
Review cat rules and wash hands.

The cafe and cat lounge are separated by a large glass wall. You must go to the cafe side first.

The cafe area is open to everyone.

They don’t have much to eat here besides a few snacks like cat cookies, pretzels and pastries. They also have coffee and tea. Lets be real, most people are here for the cats.

Once you pay your admission, you go to the cat lounge to check in, sign a waiver, go over rules and wash your hands.

There is a small sink to wash your hands before you enter.

Once you’re in, you can go straight to playing with the cats or just enjoying the lounge.

Any cat that moves, there are always cameras around. They only had 5 cats when I was here, so it was hard to find them since most of them were quite sleepy.

Some just don’t want to be bothered.

I tried bugging the cats and gave up, so I just sat and enjoyed my tea.

I also got 2 small cookies in the shape of cats. Nothing special about the cookies. They just look cute.

This cat played so hard that it fell asleep on the rug. So many toys to play with.

Some cats are hiding on the shelves sleeping to avoid the humans.

All the cats are available to be adopted through BC SPCA. It’s a great way to get cats socialized rather being cooped up in cages waiting to be adopted.

I adopted my cats from the Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue, which is another amazing alternative.

Since 4 of the cats were black and white, I really had no idea which cat was which. Either way, they looked cute.

They also sell a bunch of cat merchandise, which is a great place to stop for getting presents for those cat lovers.

I really like their logo. They have shirts and thermoses with their logo.

Overall, it’s great that they are open to provide this unique experience for their visitors. Great for those who want to destress by playing and petting cats.

With zero reservations left for the year, it’s pretty darn popular. Try to get on the standby list if you don’t want to wait till 2016 to come for a visit.

We Rate Catcafe: