March 2016

In Car

2016 Acura MDX Elite SUV: Review

March 31, 2016

We got a chance to drive the new Acura 2016 MDX Elite SUV for a whole week. What began with criticism, ultimately led to a love of a luxury SUV.

The MDX Elite is the highest equipped of the MDX SUV line by Acura and it sure feels like it.

The exterior is very simplistic looking, no harsh lines and a handsome metal plate adorning the Acura logo. The LED headlights is the real star of the show.

The interior is a nice blend of the soft touch material from all of Honda’s and Acura’s cars, high quality leather, real wood, and metal.

I did miss the digital speedometer that is in my Civic, but I did appreciate the tactile feedback from the touch screen.

There are 2 seats in the third row that could easily fit a couple of kids, or with some adjustment 2 adults!

This does sacrifice some trunk space though.

Once you go Push Start, you can never go back to having a key ignition start.

The MDX also sports a really cool non-stick gearbox. The flappy pedal gearchanges on the steering wheel does make the SUV feel more sporty too. Even if the stickless gearbox was neat, I was disappointed by the super stock feel and inclusion of the parking brake. I expected a button for the parking brake found in other luxury SUVs, but the MDX Elite has the same parking brake as my in-law’s CRV.

You have the standard auto climate control, but I was pleasantly surprised with the cooling front seats! They were divine! In mornings, I loved the heated steering wheel as well!

The coolest feature by far in the MDX Elite, is the 360 camera. Parking is a breeze with both collision detection and the superb 360 camera view. I marveled as I parked with robotic precision in every stall.

The feature that was the most finnicky to deal with was the Auto Idle Engine Stopper. There is a convenient button on the Gearbox that turns this feature off or on. However, after my first drive of the car, it never reactivated itself, regardless of me turning the mode on or off. Looking online, there seems to be others who are confused as well. I also wasn’t too impressed with the Adaptive Cruise Control, as it made the auto gear shifting uncomfortable and made the drive feel less refined.

The most important buying decision of a car is how it drives. Honda and Acura just nails the complicated balance of tension and give for both the suspension and steering assist. The IDS (Integrated Dynamic System) lets you select different driving profiles that affect the steering assist, suspension, and automatic gear shifts. Sport Mode tightens up the suspension and greatly decreases steering assist, so you can feel every curve. Of course, going into Sport mode also increases the revs you get from gear shifts. Make sure to tap the D/S button on the gear box to fully go into Sport mode.

My favourite mode and the mode I was on the most in my week driving the car, was Comfort. Oh man, do I already miss the loose and easy steering assist and the pillow soft suspension. You can make the MDX feel like a muscle car by activating Comfort Mode and putting the drive on Sport. When I first picked up the MDX, the average fuel consumption was 17.1L/100KM, but when I returned the car, I brought that number down to 13L/100KM. Yep, I’m awesome. Driving the MDX Elite was a joy day to day.

Website: http://www.acura.ca/mdx

Disclaimer: We were provided the Acura MDX to borrow for a week to Tofino and all thoughts are my own.

In Kid Friendly

Dinesty Restaurant: Steamed Pork Dumplings on Robson St

March 30, 2016

Dinesty Restaurant is one of my go to places for Xiao Long Bao. My friends and I were looking for a place to have dinner and we realized we haven’t been here for some time. Something about hot soupy pork dumplings made us start to drool. It’s my secret comfort food.

Since it was a busy Friday, we waited in line for about 20 minutes for a table of 5. People do finish up quickly, so you won’t ever have to wait an unbearable amount of time. You can also call ahead to make a reservation if you hate waiting.

They now have 5 locations across the Lower Mainland serving up delicious Shanghainese cuisine. The Xiao Long Bao/ Steamed Pork Dumplings are #1 on everyone’s list. It’s basically on every table in the restaurant.

Xiao Long Bao/ Steamed Pork Dumplings came piping hot right out of the steamer. Don’t wait too long since you don’t want it to cool down too much.

The skin of the dumplings are thin and full of soup. You want to pick it up near the tip to avoid piercing the skin. The soup has gotta stay inside so you can enjoy it all. We loved it as usual.

Chinese Spinach and Bean Curd is an item that I really enjoy. Always very surprising since it’s just so simple. It has a nice sesame oil taste to it. If you haven’t had it before, give it a try.

Spicy Pig Ears looks pretty gross to some people, but it has a nice texture. We found that is wasn’t spicy at all. More oily than spicy. It definitely could have been better.

Marinated beef with soy sauce wrapped in pancake was ok. It looks nice, but we felt that it was missing hoisin sauce.

Fried Rice with Shrimp was pretty bland. It needed a bit more salt to it. We mixed some of the spinach and bean curd dish with this and it made it so much better.

Pan Fried Pork Pot Stickers comes with 6 pieces are were also ok. It doesn’t compare with the XLB dumplings.

Fried Bun with Condensed Milk is always a favourite to end the meal. Condensed milk is so addictive.

Some items are a hit and miss, but if you order the Xiao Long Bao, you’ll be very happy.

We Rate Dinesty:

Address:
1719 Robson St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://dinesty.ca/

In Cafe

On Yogurt: Ice Fried Yogurt Gelato

March 29, 2016

On Yogurt is located in Yaletown near BC Place. They are the first in Canada to produce Ice Fried Yogurt Gelato. They got their inspiration from Thailand, which is popular to have ice fried ice cream. They decided to bring the technique to Canada and change it to a healthier choice – yogurt. I was close by, so I decided to pop by with a friend.

The interior is cute and has a good amount of seating. When I came in the evening, it wasn’t too busy.

All of their yogurt selection is organic and gluten-free, sourced from local organic farms in BC. They have the yogurt flavours in a pitcher and when you order, they potion it out and begin preparing it.

Check out this timelapse of how it’s all put together. The plate is -35 degrees, so it cools down the yogurt mixture quite quickly to turn it into a cold dessert.

There are over 50 toppings to choose from, so you can be very creative in putting your dessert together.

Matcha Ice Fried Yogurt with Oreos is folded into the yogurt, so its integrated into the yogurt. They also top it off with more oreo bits and 2 chocolate rolled wafers.

Earl Grey Ice Fried Yogurt with Candied Almonds. I thought it would be crushed almonds and they would fold it into the yogurt, but it was just the whole candied almonds on top. Then they added the 2 chocolate rolled wafers.

I found that the ice fried yogurt was super fun to watch them make it. As for the taste of the earl grey yogurt it was really rich and the flavour didn’t really wow me as much.

Overall, it tasted ok, but it didn’t impress me enough for a revisit in the near future. I love the process of them making it, but I feel like if I want dessert, I want to go all out and want full fat. But, thats just me.

For those who want to have healthy dessert options, you can give it a try.

We Rate On Yogurt:

Address:
95 Smithe Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.onyogurt.com/

In Chinatown

The Tuck Shoppe: Soup, Sandwiches, Salads and Beer

March 28, 2016

The Tuck Shoppe is located in Chinatown and they serve up sandwiches, soups, salads, snacks and craft beer. All items are made from scratch and use local ingredients. I came here a few times with my coworkers during lunch as it seemed like a new addition to the neighbourhood.

All items on the menu are all under $11. The menu doesn’t change between lunch and dinner.

I love the look of the shop and they have super awesome retro accents here.

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There are Hudson’s Bay inspired pillows.

They have a bunch of Pez for sale, as well as little toys like frisbees, paddle ball and airplanes.

All the utensils and napkins are on the centre table and there is cucumber water.

Everything is made in the same space, so you can see them at work.

When you put in your order, your order number is on a wooden spoon. Very cute.

Celery Root Soup has their shoppe veg stock, celery root, fennel, and pork belly lardon. Mags commented saying it tasted great but there is only so much they could do to make it look pretty.

Wedge Salad has 2 slices of iceberg lettuce, grape tomatoes, pork belly lardon, blue cheese, IPA ranch, and a balsamic glaze. It was a good sounding, but I felt the dressing was a bit heavy. If they eased up a little bit, that would be a lot better.

Tuck Salad has mixed greens, dates, pea shoots, shoppe croutons, white balsamic and tomatoes. Good simple and fresh salad.

Pork Belly Cubano has mojo pork belly, ham, swiss, shoppe pickles and mustard. It is served with a shoppe pickle and a handful of Hardbite chip.

Tuna Katsu has panko crusted rare albacore tuna, wasabi, daikon, and soy ginger. It is also served with a shoppe pickle and a handful of Hardbite chips. Unique flavours and its nice that there is the kick of wasabi.
Overall, the food is pretty good for lunch. Simple menu and very casual dining experience which I enjoyed.

We Rate The Tuck Shoppe:

Address:
237 Union Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.thetuckshoppe.com/

In product

Smartfood Popcorn Review

March 25, 2016

Smartfood Popcorn has their classic flavours – White Cheddar Cheese, Movie Theater Butter Flavoured and Creamy Dill. They also recently released their new Jalapeño Cheddar flavour.

I was sent one of each flavour, so I tried them all with my coworkers.

The popcorn packaging also underwent a facelift. They moved from a colourful packaging to more of a matte black with half the colour it used to. Despite the new look, it’s the same good ol’ popcorn inside.

White Cheddar is my favourite flavour of all time. It is gone so fast! We had 2 bags in the office and it got snatched up so quickly.

As innocent as it looks, it is coated with white cheddar flavouring. I get excited when I score that one popcorn kernel that has a ton of white cheddar.

Movie Night Butter Popcorn is great for that classic popcorn taste with an even coating of butter.

Good for accompanying your weekend of movies or binge watching a Netflix series.

Creamy Dill still came in it’s orginal packaging, but I’m sure in stores, it should be the new one soon.

This flavour was ok, but reminded me of dill and cheese. Would be interesting if they tried a dill pickle flavoured popcorn.

Jalapeno and Cheddar is the newest flavour they introduced into their line of popcorn.

It has a strong taste of cheddar and then a nice kick of jalapeno. Very good.

Of all the flavours, White Cheddar still reigns supreme. It’s usually gone very quickly as people grab massive handfuls of it. To hid it from people I usually hide it in the pantry, but there’s always that one person that finds it and finishes off the bag. There’s really nowhere else to hide it but in your tummy.

Website: http://pepsico.ca/en/brands/frito-lay-canada.html

In British Columbia

Whole Foods: Chef Prepared Easter Meal

March 24, 2016

Whole Foods Market opened their newest location 10 minutes away from my house. I love looking at all the beautiful and fresh produce. I cook once in a while, but on busy days, it’s pretty hard to prep a meal right after getting home from work. I always find a quick way to get food on the table with little effort.

Since I usually eat out, there are days where I just want to be at home and not be eating at a restaurant.

For the upcoming Easter holiday, Whole Foods has Chef prepared meals ready to go for Easter dinner or any dinner party that you have. You can work with the staff to put together the perfect meal for you and your guests without cooking up a storm in the kitchen.

Spiral Cut Honey Glazed Ham dinner for 6

Currently, they are offering their Spiral Cut Honey Glazed Ham dinner for 6 for $119.99. It’s a bit pricey, but the ham is raised with no animal by products in the feed, no antibiotics or added growth hormones and made with no synthetic nitrites.

The dinner comes with spring veggies like grilled asparagus, Rosemary Roasted Potatoes and Orange Glazed Tri-Coloured Carrots.

I find that prepared meals actually make really good gifts for those who are preoccupied with other things in their personal life, that the last thing you want them to worry about is cooking food.

It stacks nicely in the fridge and all you need to do is heat it up before serving. I was sent a smaller portion to review their Easter dinner.

I placed it all nicely on the place before sending it off into the microwave to heat up. 60 seconds to 90 seconds should be a good amount of time.

Easiest meal I’ve prepared so far and looks good. The meals are convenient but there are drawbacks in terms of flavour and quality. I noticed more from the asparagus that it was more wilted and dry. I personally would have cooked it a different way.

Now you don’t have an excuses to avoid hosting an Easter meal at your place. Spend more time with family rather than prepping all the ingredients for dinner.

Of course it isn’t for everybody, some people do have the time to roast the ham and vegetables enjoy the process of making the meal end to end.

Whole Foods tries to make preparing for a last minute Easter dinner easy with no fuss. If you are looking for a prepared meal that just needs to be heated up and healthy for you, check it out.

Don’t forget to pick up some Easter dessert as well. They have a lot of cute cookies and tons of chocolates to accompany your meal.

Website: https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/

Foodology Disclaimer: I was sent a sample of Whole Foods Market’s Chef prepped Easter meal to review. All thoughts are my own.

In British Columbia

A&W: Marine Gateway

March 23, 2016

A&W is a short walk from Marine Drive Canada Line Skytrain Station. It’s right outside the entrance to Marine Gateway. We were here for a movie and needed a quick bite before it started. Of all the fast food restaurants, A&eW is a lot better than some of the rest.

You can order from their staff or there is also a self serve machine to put in your order and pay for it. Not as sleep as McDonalds new self serve kiosks, but it works.

We got our root beer in the frosted mugs and realized they have super cute mini mugs. So, if you’re not a huge soda drinker, you can opt for the smaller size. You only get them if you eat here. I have the larger mugs at home but I was pretty tempted to take the smaller mug.

After the drinks arrived, all the food came on one tray.

Teen Burger with Russet Thick Cut Fries was my sisters order. The fries came in a cute little basket. The teen burger has a beef patty, cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, ketchup,pickles, onions and their secret teen sauce.

Poutine has their Russet Thick Cut Fries topped with lots of gravy and cheese curds. It’s decent for what it is. The fries were a bit limp but at least it had lots of gravy and cheese.

Peppered Bacon Papa Burger has a beef patty, cheese, A&W seasoning, peppered bacon, roasted garlic and chili aioli, grilled onions and a sesame bun.

I wasn’t very hungry so I grabbed a basket of onion rings and a small root beer. You can’t go wrong with their onion rings. Beautifully battered, salty and ha a good chunk of onion.

At the end of the meal, you can separate all the trash.

I’m starting to notice that there are A&Ws close to a lot of the Skytrains. Super convenient and it’s better than the other fast food options.

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

Address:
468 S.W. Marine Drive
Vancouver BC

In British Columbia

Cineplex VIP Cinemas: Open in Vancouver at Marine Gateway

March 22, 2016

Cineplex Entertainment opens their newest theatre in Vancouver’s Marine Gateway neighbourhood. It’s easily accessible by Skytrain and has a few interesting shops around it like Winners and T&T.

It’s great to have a new theatre in this area as most people have to travel Richmond or Coquitlam for VIP options.

In the Marine Gateway complex is underground paid parking. If you are looking for free parking, there is some on Marine Drive in the evening. We ended up parking underground for the convenience and its pretty confusing as it was our first time here. It’s too bad that there is paid parking because other Cineplex locations has free parking. It makes sense since they don’t want people parking here and then hopping on the skytrain to go elsewhere.

The entire theatre has over 1,900 seats and 11 screens. The theatre is built over two storeys, the first floor features seven traditional auditoriums and an UltraAVX auditorium. The second level is home to the theatre’s three VIP Cinema auditoriums and licensed lounge.

I went for the UltraAVX option to watch Zootopia. We were able to reserve seats online and have the awesome Tuesday deal for $9.45 after taxes.

Since we got the tickets online, we printed the tickets before heading over.

After the food and arcade area, they check your tickets before you head to your designated theatre.

You won’t be able to miss the theatre since it is labeled UltraAVX and the corresponding movie poster is displayed.

The theatre’s UltraAVX auditorium features comfy high-back rocker seats that can be reserved in advanced as well as two rows of D-BOX Motion Seating, which move in concert with the action on screen.

Before you sit down, make sure you are in the right seats, right theatre and visiting on the right date. A few times we’ve encountered people claiming our seats were theres since they made a mistake. Always better to be safe than sorry.

Website: http://www.cineplex.com/

In Cafe

Snowy Village Dessert Cafe: Korean Bingsoo and Croissant Taiyaki

March 21, 2016

Snowy Village Dessert Cafe is the hottest…or should I say coolest dessert shop in Richmond at the moment. Line ups are long every evening and if you come in a group of 4 or more, you are going to be waiting for a while during peak times. They are best known for their Korean style shaved ice with milky ice instead of the pure ice shavings.

The group of 5 of us waited close to an hour on a Sunday around 7pm. You put your name down on the wait list and linger around till your name gets called. For us, it was a pretty bad experience since the server almost skipped us on the list and told us to wait outside in the pouring rain and gusty winds.

Apparently there was an option to leave your phone number and they will call you back when its closer to your groups turn. It would have been nice if they gave us this option.

All seats were occupied and there was also a line up to get take out.

If you don’t have patience, take out might be your best option.

The prices are higher for take out, but it comes in the regular size.

The price difference is due to the fact they add ice packs and have an insulated bag to keep it cool on the way home. We did see quite a bit of people ordering take out.

Once you go to the counter to order, they give you a ticket with your order number. Once the order is ready, they will call it out.

If you don’t know what to order, they have all their items on display.

All the ones in the display case is a large, so if you are getting a regular sized bingsoo, it will be a bit smaller.

Taiyaki is a fish-shaped cake with different types of fillings inside. They have 2 grills to cook them. The whole restaurant smells of the sweet taiyaki.

You can have it filled with either:

Red Bean
Ingeolmi Redbean
Custard Cream
Sweet Potato
Nutella

We got ours with Nutella and Custard Cream. The custard cream reminded me of vanilla pudding snacks from childhood. Not very good at all.

The Nutella was a bit better but it was slightly sweet.

Mango Bingsoo came with lots of fresh mango and whipped cream over the milk bingoo. I like the airy milky ice. A lot better than the traditional non-flavoured ice.

Green Tea Bingsoo with Korean rice cakes, red bean, green tea cake, and almonds.

Under all those toppings, the milky ice is hidden underneath.

Strawberry Bingsoo has strawberry bits, strawberry sauce and whipped cream.

Overall, I liked the fruit bingsoo a lot more. I prefer fresh fruits over the other types of toppings. I did enjoy it but the line ups were too long to come again.

We Rate Snowy Village:

Address:
8571 Alexandra Drive, Richmond

In Downtown

Ramen Gojiro: Gatsuri-Style Ramen in Vancouver

March 20, 2016

Ramen Gojiro is a new ramen shop in Downtown Vancouver and it is part of the Menya Kouji group that also owns Ramen Butcher and Taishoken.

They specialize in jiro-style/gatsuri-style ramen that has lots of noodles and toppings. They are trying something new that differentiates themselves from the other ramen shops.

It was a rainy day in Vancouver, no surprise right? My friend and I came here before heading off to work.

They are still very new, so there were grand opening flowers out front.

We came at 12:30pm on a Sunday, but there wasn’t a line up until about 1pm. We were pretty lucky to get a table as I’ve only heard people lining up outside during peak hours.

The interior is nice and simple with wood and cement textures. There’s even a painting of Godzilla.

The staff in the kitchen were wearing t-shirts from Ramen Butcher.

The menu is simple and you have the choice between 2 size, 2 toppings and 2 broths.

Beer, fried rice and tsukemen aren’t available just yet, but at some point, it will be.

After putting in our order, the server asked if we wanted an apron. Seemed like a good idea at the time. The paper napkin helps prevent any noodle slurping splatter from hitting your clothes or bags. As we put on our aprons, we realized NO ONE else in the restaurant had one on. We didn’t hear them offering these to other tables.

Regardless of how ugly it was, we kept it on and it really did help with the splatter.

Basic Chashu has their signature broth with pork and chicken. Noodles are made in-house.

The thickness of the noodles were in between udon and ramen. There is also lots of bean sprouts. My friend said the chashu was fatty and delicious, but the broth was meh.

Basic Bakamori with karaage is a mountain of food. It has the same broth but with more topping, more noodles, and more meat. If you are a big eater, you will want this option.

I wasn’t thrilled with the broth either. It was rich but lacked much depth to it and it was salty.

The chicken karaage was crispy and full of flavour, but I didn’t like the noodles. The option garlic on top was pungent as well.

Ramen Gojiro has its high points and low points, but I don’t think I would return. It’s just didn’t appeal to my tastebuds.

We Rate Ramen Gojiro:

Address:
501 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://ramengojiro.com/

In Kid Friendly

Haroo: Korean Cuisine in Richmond

March 19, 2016

Haroo Restaurant is located on Alexandra Road as is one of the top Korean restaurants in Richmond. Everyone seems to come here. I met up with a few foodie friends to check it out. I love Korean food and I still haven’t been here. I’ve eaten at a majority of the restaurants around K Town in Coquitlam and thought it was time to visit.

There is parking on the main level and the 2nd floor but it is very busy, so hunting for a spot might be tough.

The restaurant isn’t very large, but has mostly booth seating. You definitely want to make reservations before coming here. One the night we came here, it was so busy that they had to turn people away who did not have reservations.

Complimentary Korean Congee arrived at the table. One small bowl for each person at the table. Good start to the meal.

Kimchi Fried Rice was surprisingly small for $12.50. The flavour was nice and I loved the egg on top.

They also give you 5 complimentary side dishes for the whole table.

Soybean Sprouts is a standard side dish that Korean restaurants serve. One of my favourites as it is coated with a bit of sesame oil.

Green Salad had a carrot shaped like a star. Very colourful and simple.

Kimchi is a fermented side dish made of cabbage and other vegetables that tastes sour and a bit spicy.

Marinated Potatoes is another favourite of the table. Soft texture and slightly sweet.

Sweetened fish cake was good as well. There were stands of onions in this too.

Gamjatang Hot Pot is a pork back bone and potato hot pot. Is is already pre-cooked, so you just need to bring it up to a hotter temperature.

It was a good hearty hot pot and it came with 2 small bowls of rice. It was pretty expensive at around $30.

Seafood Pancake came out super crispy and is unique compared to other Korean restaurants. It seems like it was deep-fried as every inch of it was crisp. This is highly recommended.

Cheese Tteokbbokki has rice, pasta, meat, and vegetables in a spicy sauce then topped off with cheese. This was surprisingly really good. You can’t go wrong with anything covered in cheese.

Overall, it was a nice restaurant to go to in Richmond if you are craving Korean food, but it is price is a bit higher. Parking can be a nightmare in this area.

We Rate Haroo:

Address:
Venezia Place
2000-8580 Alexandra Road, Richmond

In Downtown

One Under: Urban Golf Club Review

March 16, 2016

One Under is Vancouver’s first underground urban golf club. Located right in the heart of downtown in the financial district, they have golf simulators, drinks and food. I was invited by BiteBC to try out the One Under experience.

Finding it can be a bit tough if you aren’t paying attention. Find the sign and walk down the stairs.

Golf Simulators

Make sure you have a reservation to insure your slot at one of their golf simulators. They have 6 booths in total. They also have a private room if you want more privacy.

Executive Simulators are $50/hr
1911 Private Room is $75/hr

Sundays & Mondays are 1/2 price on all golf simulator reservations, which is a pretty awesome deal.

You definitely don’t have to be an expert to play. The group of us had troubles playing as we are all beginners. The simulator has different types of games, so instead of playing on iconic golf courses, you can do a driving contest to see how far you can hit the ball.

There are extra balls and pegs around if you happen to lose a few. Since it is an indoor simulator, you shouldn’t be losing any balls.

The golf clubs are pretty nice too.

Drinks

If you’re here, you might as well get a drink.

Beer Flight is what I ordered. I told the staff to pick anything for me as long as it was light and had a slightly fruity finish. All very good beers but I really enjoyed the Phillips Blue Buck Ale.

If you’re a bit fancier, they have a good selection of cocktails on the menu.

Food

Burrata Cheese Plate has creamy burrata cheese, fresh bruschetta, arugula salad, and 18 month aged san daniele prosciutto served with balsamic crema and toasted crostini. I thought the burrata cheese was a bit small to split because it was so addictive. I wanted more.

Pulled Pork Sliders comes with soft brioche buns, bbq pulled pork, chipotle aioli, pickled jalapeño, fresh slaw & gherkin pickles. Good bite-sized sliders to share with a group. The pulled pork was very flavourful and juicy. I would order this again.

Spicy Sausage + Soppressata pizza has tomato, provolone, arugula, and fresh oregano.

The pizza was thin, had a good combination of toppings. The crust is a bit charred but it wasn’t as crispy in the centre.

Prosciutto, Mushroom + Olives pizza has caramelized onions and provolone cheese. It was ok, but I preferred the taste of the previous pizza.

Italian Sausage + Fennel Pizza has tomato sauce, beer braised onions, and fresh mozza. A good taste but the sausage could have been dispersed a bit more evenly around the pizza.

Hot Italian pizza has chorizo, sopresatta, mushrooms, banana peppers, sweet & smokey tomato sauce, and provolone cheese. I wasn’t a fan of this either.

The pizza’s were good but its pretty hard to eat pizza and golf at the same time. Wouldn’t you get mad at your friends if they got your golf clubs greasy?

If your group isn’t into golfing, you can still come here to have food and drinks.

One Under is a unique place to go Downtown with a large group to bond over golf and drinks.

If you are a BiteBC member, you get 2 for 1 meals from Monday to Thursday with a purchase of a beverage.

We Rate One Under:

Address:
476 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://oneunder.ca/

In British Columbia

East Side Beer Fest: Recap

March 15, 2016

East Side Beer Fest was put on by Liberty Merchant Company at the WISE Hall. All proceeds from ticket sales and draw prizes went directly to support the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society. It was a crazy wind and rain storm in Vancouver, but lots of people still showed up to taste a wide variety of beer.

The following breweries and agencies were present:

Bomber brewing
Bridge Brewing Co
Copper & Theory
Craft Beer Imports
Dageraad brewing
Driftwood brewery
Four Winds Brewing Co
Moody Ales
Off the Rail Brewing Co
Parallel 49 Brewing Co
Powell Street Craft Brewery
Steel & Oak Brewing Co
Strange Fellows Brewing
Trucraft Beverages
Untapped Craft Imports
Westbier Imports

As a beer drinker, I loved the event. It’s a great way to try a few different beers all in one place. Plus, you can drink as much as you want. For $25 a ticket, it wasn’t bad at all.

When I go out to restaurants, I always get the same types of beers. Usually light and fruity. It was a good chance to try some new beers to see if I would like them.

Strange Fellows was there serving up their Talisman West Coast Pale Ale, Nocturnum Dark IPA, Jongleur Belgian Wit and Bayard Farmhouse Saison.

Of those, my favourites were the Jongleur Belgian Wit and Bayard Farmhouse Saison.

Moody Ales all the way from Port Moody in Coquitlam was sampling their Affable IPA, Hardy Brown Ales, and Smouldering Smoked Porter.

The Smouldering Smoked Porter was a pretty unique beer in my mind. It tastes dark with hints of smokiness. It would definitely pair well with steaks or meat pies.

Dageraad Brewing has their Blonde Ale, Sri Lanka Belgian Strong Ale with Treacle and Tamarind, and 10 Degrees quadruple.

A good array of beers, but I still like their Blonde Ale the most. The fruity and citrus aroma is what won me over.

Parallel 49 Brewing has so many varieties of beer to try – Craft Lager, Jerkface 9000 Northwest Wheat Ale, Salty Scot Caramel Scotch Ale, 187 On An Undercover Hop Imperial IPA, Bodhisattva Dry Hopped Sour, and Russian Imperial Stout.

What I lover about Parallel 49 is hoe they name their beers and have such cool illustrations.

What caught my eye was their Jerkface 9000 Northwest Wheat Ale. I found it was light with citrus and floral notes.

Bomber Brewing sampled their Pilsner, IPA and Russian Imperial Stout.

I’m still not a fan of darker beers with a strong hop taste, so I gravitated more towards the Pilsner.

Four Winds Brewing Co. sampled their Juxtapose Wild IPA, Nectarous Dry Hopped Sour, Pale Ale and IPA.

I didn’t try them all, but the Nectarous Dry Hopped Sour. It was fruity, sour, and bubbly. Very unique and I would purchase this.

Glutenberg creates gluten-free beers. It’s definitely a good option since more and more people can’t have gluten. The Glutenberg Lapsang d’Automne Gluten Free Beer was pretty strong but I thought it was cool since it was made of tea. Tasted ok, but not for me.

Bridge Brewing Co from North Vancouver had their Bourbon Blood Orange Wheat Ale, North Shore Pale Ale, and Wunderbar Kolsh for tasting.

All of them were pretty good. Definitely hard to choose a favourite, but if I went to a restaurant to grab a beer, I would be happy with any of the 3 I tried.

Powell Street Craft Brewery sampled their Hopdemonium IPA, Ode to Citra Pale Ale and the Dive Bomber Porter.

By the end of the night, beer was flowing and everyone could try something familiar or something completely new.

A very good event for beer drinkers and those who are new to the craft. The East Side Beer Fest was in it’s 4th year and hopefully more years to come. If you missed it this year, keep an eye open for it next year.

Website: http://libertywinemerchants.com/pages/wine-tasting-events.php

In lunch

Bao Down: Poke Bowls, Bao, and Fries

March 14, 2016

Bao Down has a new location in Olympic Village and it’s their Gastropub and Raw Bar. Their menu is slightly different than the one in Gastown and offers more than just bao.

I came with my coworkers the first time and had horrible service as we were not informed about an automatic service charge for groups of 6 or more. Also at the end of the meal, they didn’t show us the itemized bill before paying. So, we tipped about 15% on top of 18%. As one of my coworkers thought the meal was oddly expensive, she requested the itemized bill before leaving to go back to the office. We later found out there was the service charge.

After a few of us posted our frustration on Instagram, they invited us back for lunch on them. It was a nice gesture and they were able to change their service charge policy from 6 people to 8 people. Plus, they reassured us they have trained their staff a bit more so there is no more confusion for future customers.

The restaurant seats about 65 people and they do lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. I love the art piece on the left wall.

They have a wide variety of alcohol, but since it was a daytime lunch, we had to skip the alcohol.

The lunch time menu has poke bowls, salad, bao, curry, soup, and fries. Their menu seems to have been changing after hearing feedback from customers.

When they first opened, they didn’t have bao, which was shocking.

Poke Bowls comes with either ahi tuna, albacore tuna or tofu. You can choose the below sauces to go with it:

Sweet shoyu-sesame
Gochujang miso-mayo
Calamansabi

Of the 3 sauces, the table liked the sweet shoyu-sesame as well as the gochujang miso-mayo. You can also choose from brown rice or white rice.

It’s a pretty good portion for lunch. In the bowl is also a lot of vegetables. Definitely very healthy lunch option.

The second time we went, we noticed they added pineapples to it and had less fried noodles on top.

Consistency of what goes into the bowls did change, but they are probably trying to test the dishes to find a good combination or perhaps they were trying to use fresher ingredients.

Bao Chicka Bao Bao has garlic, lemongrass fried chicken, daikon, crisp garlic, fish sauce glaze, carrot and garlic scape mayo. A lot of people seem to order this one. My coworkers liked it.

Phrench Dip comes with a pho broth dip so you can dunk the whole bao into it. It is an interesting concept but it was quite pricey. It was almost double the price of their other baos.

YVR Bao has sesame seared albacore tuna, pea shoots, double smoked bacon, avocado, wasabi mayo and sweet soy.

Japayoki Fries has fried chicken, curry cheese sauce, seaweed, jalapeño, bean sprouts, pea shoots, white and black sesame, sweet soy, scallions, and togarashi. We ordered the small to share and it was pretty good.

Kimchi Fries has kennebec potato fries, crispy pork belly, sweet soy, crispy garlic, bean sprouts, garlic scape mayo and scallions.

Another good combination. With both fries, I wish the fries were more crispy, but I can see how it would be difficult since there are a lot of sauce and toppings that go on top.

Overall, the food was good for a lunch stop. You have the classic baos and fries that you would find at their Gastown location. The dinner and brunch menus do vary, so you might not find these items at other times.

I personally find the baos ok, but I would prefer getting their poke bowls.

We Rate Bao Down:

Address:
115 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver

Website:
http://baodown.net/

In Chinese

Doolami Dessert: Ice Cream, Shaved Ice and Sago Desserts

March 13, 2016

Doolami Dessert is located in the Marpole area serving up delicious Chinese desserts. They pride themselves with using the best ingredients possible in their desserts. Everything is made in-house and they do not use any concentrates, preservatives, or sweeteners.

I came here with some awesome foodies and we ate through the menu. I’ve been to Doolami before and enjoyed their desserts, so it was good to have a revisit to see whats new.

Glutinous rice balls with peanuts and sesame seeds is a warm dessert and can be messy to eat. You may end up with a few crumbs on your shirt. It was ok, but the other desserts on their menu are a lot better.

Hot House Special Grass Jelly has handmade taro ball, yam ball, matcha ball, red bean, lotus seed, and peanut. They grass jelly is pretty good and you can taste more of it in the hot version.

Cold House Special Grass Jelly is a lot larger than the hot version. The grass jelly is cut up into cubes with the rest of the toppings surrounding it. I think I prefer the cold version over the hot. I usually prefer cold desserts over hot.

Purple Yam and Taro Paste has a very vibrant colour of bright purple. It may look artificial, but it’s not. It’s the true purple colour of the yam.

The taste of the paste is very deep in flavour without being too sweet. Definitely very unique. I’m not a fan of warm desserts, so I wouldn’t normally order this, but I’m definitely more open to it now.

Durian Sago Cream is an interesting item to order. It’s pungent in taste and smell for those who are unfamiliar with durian. M hates me eating this since my burps end up smelling like onions. The rule is that I can eat it when he’s not around.

Black Sesame and Walnut Paste had a really good black sesame taste. Warm desserts are good for the winter months.

Chilled mango sago cream with pomelo is one of the most popular items here. If you don’t order this, someone at your table will order it. It’s not too sweet and is so addictive.

One of their most expensive items on the menu is the Golden Dragon Fruit Snow Ice. The reason why it’s so expensive because the dragon fruit is imported from Ecuador.

I love the milky shaved ice and the dragon fruit tastes sweet and yummy. A lot better than the ones from the store. it’s not a super popular item since it is around $20 for this dessert. Great taste, but it is very expensive.

Fresh Strawberries with strawberry shaved ice is topped with strawberry juicy balls. If you love strawberries, you’ll enjoy this strawberry explosion.

Australian Mango and Mango Shaved Ice is good as well. Another favourite.

They use a lot of mango too, not just a few pieces on the side. Of course, you get what you pay for, so you are getting quality, but it is more expensive than other shaved ice places.

Papaya with milk shaved ice is another version that they have. I really liked the milk shaved ice, but with papaya added into the mix, its pretty good.

Durian Ice Cream in a waffle bowl isn’t for everyone. It’s a popular flavour, but it can be a hit and miss depending on your taste buds. To me, it tastes like onion ice cream. I can tolerate it, but others will fall head over heals in love with this flavour.

Vanilla Earl Grey Ice Cream is one of their newer flavours. They use real Tahitian Vanilla beans, so it really takes a lot of effort to extract the paste from inside.

Blueberry and Lavender Ice Cream is a unique flavour, but it’s not my favourite choice. Every time I think of lavender, it reminds me of soap or some cleaning product.

Green Tea Ice Cream in a waffle bowl. It’s creamy and smooth like the other flavours but has a strong matcha taste. It’s not too sweet and has a slight bitter taste to it. I actually like it this way.

If you don’t want to eat the ice cream in the store, they have their Take Home Pints for $11.99. They also do free delivery across the Lower Mainland.

If you’re ever craving their dessert, you can order it without jumping in the car or bus to grab some. I was pretty impressed by this service.

Fresh Young Coconut is cracked open and its one of my favourite drinks. I find that most of the coconut waters out there can’t even compare. When you’re done drinking, you can grab a spoon and start scooping the coconut meat out.

Overall, I did enjoy Doolami and it’s a very popular place to go at night. Their prices are higher than most dessert places but they work really hard to ensure the quality is there. The desserts are catered towards an Asian palette, so its not too sweet. I would recommend the sago desserts and the shaved ice. If you can’t wait in line to get a seat, grab a pint to go as an alternative.

We rate Doolami:

Address:
8030 Granville Street, Vancouver

In British Columbia

Starbucks: Citrus Green Tea Latte Review

March 12, 2016

I had reached a dozen stars and I could get a free drink. I was going to get my usual order of a cappuccino, but the Citrus Green Tea Latte caught my eye. I like green tea lattes, so I was curious about how the citrus would play a role in this drink.

Apparently they can make it into a frappuccino too. It was a cold day in Vancouver, so I went with the hot drink instead of the frap.

The made the Citrus Green Tea Latte and poured a lot of citrus flavouring on top, so you can see a bit of it on top with a yellowish colour.

At first, the drink tasted very off as I couldn’t put my finger on it. After taking a few more sips, it reminded me of liquified lemon cough drops in a green tea latte. I literally felt a cough coming on since I take cough drops when I have a sore throat. I hated it and wouldn’t order this again. I couldn’t finish the whole cup either.

I’ve heard a few people like this drink, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around how it tastes like lemon cough drops.

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

In Cafe

Choco Coo Cafe: Dessert Shop in Coquitlam

March 11, 2016

Choco Coo is a Belgium chocolate and French dessert shop in Coquitlam right by Sushi California. I came here earlier in the afternoon to grab a drink but it was completely filled by people studying. Everyone looked pretty cozy, so it would have been a 1 hour+ wait for a table to open up. Also, the parking in the little plaza is crazy.

So, I returned later in the evening at around 9pm. It was about a 20 minute wait till a table opened up, but that was ok because I was determined to come here.

The space is very nice and hip. Lovely textures of wood and greenery.

Also, of course a chalkboard. They even have a happy hour special if you come between 1 – 4pm. A dessert and hot chocolate/ice teas are $8.95. Also 2 dessert and 2 hot chocolate/iced teas are $16.95.

You save a few bucks which is nice.

There are lots of cakes to choose from.

I started with an iced milk tea. I find that a good indicator of a café is if they can master a decent milk tea.The first few sips, I felt that it was lacking much flavour like it had too much milk or water.

I do like that it’s served in a double walled Bodum cup, so it stays cold for longer.

They have a bunch of hot or iced teas on their menu. Most of their teas are from TWG Tea.

Fresh Strawberry Cake looks beautiful with the layers of whipped cream, strawberries, and sponge cake. We thought the cake was ok as the sponge cake was a tad dry.

Mont Blanc looks like a person waving its arms around. It has pureed, sweetened chestnuts topped with powdered sugar and hazelnuts. In the centre, there is a piece of cake inside. The dessert was ok.

Overall, it’s nice to have this new cafe in the area as there aren’t too many hip cafes in the area. Plus, Koreans love cafes and coffee. With the teas and cake we ordered, we didn’t really enjoy it as much.

It’s pretty busy here and turnover isn’t very high. So, there may be a wait.

We Rate Choco Coo Cafe:

Address:
501 North Road, Metro Vancouver, Coquitlam

Website:
http://www.chococoo.ca/

In British Columbia

Lay’s Canada: Bacon Mac & Cheese and Wasabi Ginger Chips Review

March 9, 2016

Lay’s Canada introduced 2 new flavours on store shelves to promote this year’s Lay’s Do Us A Flavour Contest – Wasabi Ginger and Bacon Mac & Cheese.

I love grabbing up a few unique flavours to bring to the office for my coworkers. It’s so funny to see the faces of disgust to joy.

Bacon Mac & Cheese was a flavour introduced in 2014 for the American Do Us A Flavour Contest, but didn’t win.

It is on their regular chip and just tastes like cheddar with a smoked flavour. In a sense, close but not close enough to the bacon mac and cheese flavour.

Wasabi Ginger on kettle cooked chips was the winner of the 2014 American Lay’s Do Us a Flavour contest. I remember grabbing this bag from Seattle and getting so excited because it is a weird flavour.

You definitely get a strong taste of ginger then a bit of ginger that hits the nose. I did like the Kettle chips as it is a bit thicker than normal chips, so it adds an extra crunch. Interesting, but not my favourite.

If you want more unique flavours to try, get voting to see what will get made next.

This year’s potential flavours are inspired by well-loved recipes from across the globe. Instead of fan-submitted entries, Lay’s is showcasing 12 flavours from three categories that they have preselected:

Iconic Ingredients: Magic Masala, Pico de Gallo, Paprika and Thai Sweet Chili
Home Cooked Classics: Cheese & Onion Chicken & Waffles , Picanha Steak and Spicy Hot Pot
Street Food: Bacon Poutine, Chicken Kebab, Fries with Joppiesaus and Ribs on the Bar-B

Since they can’t produce all 12 flavours, they need help choosing the best 3, 1 from each category.

The winning flavour from each category will be added to store shelves in Fall 2016.

Website: https://dousaflavour.ca/en/