June 2016 - Foodology

In British Columbia

Make It Vancouver: Handmade Revolution

June 30, 2016

Make It! is a Handmade Market located in Vancouver, St. Albert and Edmonton. It is the largest event of its kind in Western Canada. It gives shoppers the opportunity to buy directly from local top artists, crafters and designers.

I came here with a few friends to check out the local artisans and to find something unique to decorate my living room with.

The next Make It Vancouver will be on December 8 – 11, 2016, so make sure you don’t miss it.

Right outside were a few food trucks to discover like C’est Si Bon, Community Pizzeria, Disco Cheetah, Melt City grilled cheese, Porky’s Foods Inc, The Reef Runner, Varinicey Pakoras.

A few of the vendors have online stores or sell mostly at local craft fairs. I love going to these things since I’m able to see some original and creative artwork from some of the vendors here.

Blue Trimble had some unique gemstone jewellery. They draw inspiration for their pieces from the natural beauty of the raw crystals, thus making each piece is as strong, unique and modern as the person wearing it.

Retro Repurposed takes used pallet would and turns them into homemade art and furniture. It give a nice rustic look to your home or office. I was considering getting one of these but I couldn’t decide which one I liked, but since they have an etsy store, I can ponder for a little while longer.

Reclaimed Print Co. has some coasters and wall art. They print their beautiful designs onto wood. Alternatively, you can also provide them with your own photos and they can print it onto wood for you.

Since I’m so indecisive, I decided to go home to see if I had any photos in my collection that I would get enlarged and printed on wood. Seeing that I mostly have food photos, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to have food hanging in my living room. Nonetheless, it’s good to know there are some cool alternatives to print photos that aren’t on canvas or paper.

I’ll Know It When I See It has some very cheeky cards for all occasions. I’ve gotten a few of these from a friend and I just love them.

Emerson apparel creates unique, stylish and well-made clothing for free-spirited child who just loves to play and have fun. They use high quality materials that are mommy approved.

Thirsty Whale Elixirs are naturally concentrated raw syrups made with organic apple cider vinegar, fruit and cane sugar. They’re pretty good especially when you mix them with sparkling water.

Living Lotus creates plant-based desserts that are free from gluten, dairy, refined sugar and soy.

C Yarn Hut makes a lot of hand knitted accessories, amigurumi dolls, and other things.

Ebony and Sparrow creates cool wooden pendants that are minimalist and super pretty.

Coconama Chocolate is always a crowd favourite at any craft fair or food show. You can also find them at specialty stores around town or visit their shop in North Vancouver. They opened the first ganache chocolate shop in Vancouver.

Their chocolates are similar to the Japanese chocolate – Melty Kiss, but a lot better.

Art + Soul Creative Co also sells neat cards. Full of awesome puns and a cool artistic and fun look to them all.

Vancouver Candle Co has a series of premium soy-based candles names after popular Vancouver neighbourhoods like Mount Pleasant, Gastown and Kitsilano. All of the candles are made in small batches by hand. Soy candles tend to last longer too.

My friends at Craft’ed Van sells super cute bookmarks, magnets and cards. The dynamic duo – Erica and Diana started this company back in 2012 and have captivated many by their cute cartoon designs. Plus, their cards are full of awesome puns.

Of course there are so many more booths that didn’t cover, but everyone of them had something unique about them that you can’t just get at a big box store. Each vendor really showed their passion for what they were doing and creating.

If you haven’t been to a huge craft fair like this, you should at least check it out once in your life. I didn’t buy a lot of things from Make It, but I know what artists I like for the future when I’m ready to purchase.

Website: http://makeitproductions.com/vancouver/

In Animal Kingdom

Finding Dole Whip in Disney World

June 29, 2016

There are 4 places to find the beloved Dole Whip in Disney World. Dole Whip is a non-dairy soft serve. You can get it in a cup or as a Pineapple float. It’s very popular and has a cult-like following. It was created by Dole back in 1986. You can find it at many dessert shops across North America, but when you’re at the Disney Parks, you have to go get one.

Magic Kingdom – Aloha Isle Refreshments

To access Aloha Isle, you need to be inside the Magic Kingdom park. It is tucked away in Adentureland near The Magic Carpets of Aladdin.

Their menu is limiting and only have:

Pineapple Dole Whip in a cup
Pineapple Float
Fresh-cut pineapple spears
Pineapple juice

We went with the Dole Whip in a cup since I remember in Disney Land’s Tiki Juice Bar that the float was way too sweet.

Polynesian Resort – Pineapple Lanai

Pineapple Lanai is in the Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort and it’s the only resort that will have Dole Whip on premise.

The menu has:

Dole Whip Soft-serve pineapple or vanilla or twist
Pineapple Float with Vanilla, Pineapple or twist

You can get these with the souvenir tiki bowls or the Tiki Sippers but we didn’t get them since it won’t do us good when we take it back home.

What I like about their menu is that they have the vanilla and pineapple swirl. It works really well in the floats as it cuts the overly sweet and sourness from the pineapple with the pineapple juice.

When you’re here, you have to do the twist.

Animal Kingdom – Tamu Tamu Refreshments

They are located inside Animal Kingdom in the Harambe Village. Their Dole Whip is pretty different. On the menu, they have:

Dole Whip soft-serve with coconut rum
Pineapple Dole Whip Cup with Dark Rum
Pineapple Dole Whip Cup

Rum and dole whip seem like a weird combination, but give it a try if you are curious.

Blizzard Beach Water Park – Frostbite Freddy’s Frozen Freshments

They have:

Dole Whip Soft-serve Cone in Orange or Vanilla
Dole Whip Soft-serve Cone with Orange swirled with Vanilla

You won’t find the Pineapple dole whip here, but they do have orange and vanilla, which is quite interesting too.

In Japanese

Ramen Koika: Ramen on Davie Street

June 28, 2016

Ramen Koika is located on Davie Street opened by Caleb Lee. He traveled to Japan to learn how to make ramen in Chiba, Tokyo and Osaka. Did you know he also was a banker before getting into the restaurant industry? Vancouver Sun has a pretty good article talking about it how they began their journey into creating Ramen Koika.

We were invited to try a few items off their menu. I was pretty excited since I haven’t been here yet.

The restaurant is a good size for small and large groups. You can see right into the kitchen to see the staff cooking up a storm.

Snacks

Tako Wasabi is fresh octopus marinated in wasabi. The portion size was very good and had a nice subtle kick of wasabi.

Chashu Wrap is grilled in a panini press before serving. A nice snack if you are coming here and want something small.

Gyoza comes with 5 pieces in either veggie or pork. Nice crisp bottom and savoury filling.

Chashu panini has cream cheese, cajun honey chashu, lettuce, and wasabi mayo. Not a usual item you would find in a ramen shop, but the option is there.

Kakuni is pork belly stewed in a secret Koika soy sauce and topped with a marsala wine sauce. Delicious!

Tornado Potato Stick starts out as a potato that is sliced in a spiral shape and then deep fried. It wasn’t as crispy as other places that have it in town. It might be because of the potatoes they chose to use.

Ramen

Sapporo Miso Ramen has bamboo shoots, ground pork, bean sprouts, green onion and corn. It had a goo balance of flavours and if you usually like miso, you’ll enjoy this.

Kara Miso Ramen is the spicy version of the Sapporo Miso Ramen and it has the same toppings inside like bamboo shoots, ground pork, bean sprouts, green onion and corn. It has a decent amount of spice but it isn’t too spicy.

Chiba Black Ramen has bamboo shoots, roasted seaweed, soft boiled egg, chashu, black tree fungus, green onion, garlic chip, black garlic oil. You can choose the chashu to be lean or fatty.

The egg was cooked perfectly. Look at that egg. Yum. The ramen tasted good and a lot of people enjoyed this dish, but I always find it comes down to personal preference. I still prefer the Black Garlic Ramen from Jinya.

Kings Ramen uses their Wok Smoky Cuisine-Chicken Broth and can be mild or spicy. It also has carrot, cabbage, mushroom, green onion, bean sprouts, shredded pork, seaweed, bamboo shoot, and the soft boiled ramen egg. There’s definitely a lot of flavours going on in this dish.

Okinawa Umi Ramen has fresh mussels, garlic, green pepper, red pepper, green ramen and ramen in the veggie and seafood broth. A very unique ramen dish but the amount of pepper inside was quite strong.

Kimchi Ramen has shredded pork, kimchi, mushroom, spring onion, onion, cabbage, and green onions. There was a good amount of kimchi taste with subtle sour notes.

Nagasaki Champon Ramen is topped with Black tree fungus, bok choy, onion, cabbage, red pepper, green pepper, Thai chili, prawns, scallop, mussel, squid, and bean sprouts. There’s so many ingredients in there that took away from the noodles and the broth.

They also serve beer here, which is great if you want a drink with your ramen.

I find that with some of the ramen, it has a lot of toppings that didn’t add too much flavour to the ramen. Perhaps it’s just a style that wasn’t what I liked at Ramen Koika. My personal preference for ramen is very rich and fatty with less amount of toppings.

It’s good that they offer more options than just ramen, so if you are with friends that don’t want ramen, they can find other types of items on their menu.

We rate Ramen Koika:

Address:
1231 Davie Street, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.ramenkoika.com/

In Dessert

Snowy Village: Open on Robson Street

June 27, 2016

Snowy Village has their second location on Robson Street right beside Ramen Santouka. When they first opened in Richmond, people were lining up like mad trying to get a taste of their milky shaved ice and the croissant taiyaki.

You will see a line up outside the store, but it’s for Ramen Santouka. After being here twice, it’s not too busy compared to the Richmond location.

Ordering

We put in our order and started to wait for a table to open up. We noticed there were a lot of people getting bingsoo or the taiyaki for takeout. It’s pretty easy to get it to go and eat it at English Bay or Coal Harbour.

They also do cash, credit or debt.

Sizes

One major difference in what they serve is the size of the bingsoo. Even if you are eating the dessert in the store, they don’t use their nice metal bowls. It looks smaller, but because of the shape difference, I can’t be certain if the volume of shaved ice is different.

Bingsoo

Mango Bingoo is the most popular item that customers order, There is layers of mango chunks, mango puree and the milky shaved ice.

I like the fruity bingsoo as it is more refreshing.

Oreo Bingoo has the layer of oreo then the milky shaved ice. I like it but I always fear of smiling after since the oreo bits would hide between my teeth.

Injeolmi Bingsoo has red bean with it too. Injeolmi is a Korean rice cake snack. This smaller size also has the layers, but I found that as we kept digging into it, we wanted more of the injeolmi.

Green Tea Bingsoo has a sprinkling of green tea, red bean and some spongey cake. There definitely need to have more green tea in it.

Croissant Taiyaki

Each Croissant Taiyaki is made to order. You can watch the guy make it at the front of the store and smell the delicious aroma of the taiyaki.

They come in 5 flavours:

red bean
injeolmi red bean
custard cream
sweet potato
nutella

It did take a little while for them to be cook it, so the bingsoo came out before these.

We bought 3 for $10 and of all the flavours, I still prefer the nutella taiyaki.

Each order, we also got a wet nap to clean our hands. A nice touch, but we weren’t that messy.

Overall, it’s still good bingsoo and there’s no other shop to get it in the area of Robson. It would be nice if they had more fruit options on their menu. During peak hours it can be hard to get a table, but I find the turnover to be quite quick.

We Rate Snowy Village:

Address:
1696 Robson Street, Vancouver

In Dessert

Kul Cup: Soft Serve Ice Cream in Mount Pleasant

June 26, 2016

Kul Cup is a new organic soft serve shop in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood. When you’re on Main and 12th, you’ll see their bright blue awning from the intersection.

They use Avalon dairy in their soft serve and try to source their other ingredients locally where possible.

All of the organic soft serve ice cream have the same base, but it is dressed up with a variety of different toppings.

Matcha Slim has organic ice cream with organic premium match powder, condensed milk and raisins. It was ok, but those raisins didn’t make much sense to us.

Swiss Bliss has organic ice cream, swiss chocolate milk, chocolate sauce, and a crispy wafer stick.

Honey Comb has organic ice cream with natural honeycomb, liquid honey and corn flakes. A good classic combination that you will see at other soft serve ice cream places around the world.

Magic Cookies has organic ice cream, crunchy oreos, and chocolate sauce. Good for those chocolate lovers.

Fancy Macarons has organic ice cream with macaron, toasted almonds and chocolate sauce. The macaron is cute and it’s made by French Made Baking a few blocks away.

Summer Love has organic ice cream with pistachios, macadamia nuts, cashews and caramel sauce. All the nuts for ground up into small pieces.

Caramel Popcorn has organic ice cream, Kernels Popcorn and caramel sauce. One of the favourites among the group as the flavours pair really well.

Raspberry has organic ice cream, fresh raspberries, organic quinoa granola, and a raspberry sauce.

Tropical Dream has organic ice cream, fresh pineapple, mango, organic aloha granola and either strawberry or raspberry sauce.

Avocado has organic ice cream, fresh avocado, toasted coconut and condense milk. It was a surprising favourite of the group as all our mind were blown that avocado would go well with ice cream.

Green Island has the organic ice cream with almonds, caramel sauce and served in a cantaloupe. An interesting combination, but could have been presented a little bit different.

Out of all the items we tried, they all kinda seemed similar after a while since the base flavour is the same. The ones that I really liked were Avocado and their Caramel Popcorn.

We Rate Kul Cup:

Address:
2751 Main Street, Vancouver BC

In Chinese

Golden Eats Seafood Restaurant: Chinese Restaurant on Kingsway

June 25, 2016

Golden Eats Seafood Restaurant is located on Kingsway close to Victoria Drive. They have been around for 2 years and I was surprised it was so clean and modern.

ChineseBites took us here to try a few of the signature items on their menu.

We started off the meal with their daily special soup with some veggies and meat. Once it arrived at the table, they helped us scoop it into each individual bowl.

A good way to start off the meal with refreshing soup.

XO Salted Egg Yolk Crab was so good! One of the better ones out there. The contrast between the XO sauce and the Salted Egg Yolk coating was addictive. I would definitely order this again.

Lobster with Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf came in a big container and it was all really good too. The lobster was cooked very well and the rice really soaked up the delicious lobster flavours.

Peking Duck has thin crisp slices of duck skin over lobster chips. Put in the hoisin sauce, scallions, and duck in the pancakes and just enjoy.

Lettuce Wrap has the diced duck meat stir fried mixture. They try to utilize the entire duck, so the rest of the meat goes in here.

You scoop some into the lettuce and eat away.

Pan Fried Black Cod with Soy Sauce has crisp skin on the outside and delicious fatty cod. All the dishes so far were pretty good. but this dish has some bones in it, so be careful.

Dark Vinegar Spareribs wasn’t that good in my opinion. It was really sticky and overly sweet. The meat was a bit tough too.

Soft Tofu Topped with Diced Seafood goes well with rice and is very soft in texture.

House Special Spicy Clams had a good amount of spice and the clams are still delicious.

Oxtail in red wine was ok, but it mostly tasted like sweet carrots.

Eel Hot Pot was pretty good as well. It has a good amount of chunky eel in it. What’s tough about the eel are the tiny bones inside.

Lamb Hot Pot was ok too. Good to have with rice.

Chicken with Sticky Rice is their signature dish here at Golden Eats and it needs to be ordered ahead of time. It has a nice crisp skin with delicious rice inside. The presentation of the dish didn’t look that great, but when you put it in your mouth, its really good.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by Golden Eats Seafood Restaurant, I would come back here again. I wasn’t too into the hot pots or the spareribs, but everything else was really good.

We Rate Golden Eats Seafood Restaurant:

Address: 2141 Kingsway, Vancouver, BC

In Noodles

Pink Elephant Thai: 5 Year Annivesary

June 24, 2016

Pink Elephant Thai has been on Alberni Street for 5 years. To celebrate, they are having a 5 year anniversary special where you get 5 dishes for $55. You get 2 appetizers, 2 bowls of rice and 3 entrees to choose from. The 5 dishes are good enough for 3 -4 people.

We were invited to come here to try all of the items on their special menu.

The interior is pink and looks very modern.

Appetizers

There are 10 appetizers you can choose from:

Spring Rolls
Chicken Satay
Thai Fish Cakes
Thai Shrimp Cake
Thai Style Pork Cheek
Crispy Tofu
Som Yum Papaya Salad
Larb Gai
Yum Neau
Tom Yum Gai

Spring rolls were average. There’s only so much you can really do to transform a spring roll. Our portion size was a lot larger since we had 10 people. You can have this with minced pork or vegetarian.

Thai Fish Cakes was an enjoyable dish especially with the accompanying sauce.

Chicken Satay was dry and I didn’t like the texture of it. The flavour of it was good, but texture played a bit part in enjoying the dish.

Crispy Tofu was a delight. It was very crispy on the outside and inside, there was the soft silky tofu. It comes with a sweet chili sauce.

Thai Style Pork Cheek were tender and full of flavour. 5 pieces to the order and each bite was really good.

Larb Gai is a spicy thai ground chicken salad with fresh lime juice, roasted rice, nam-pla and Thai spices. Surprisingly it had a good amount of heat. I love the heat since I usually find most spicy dishes, weak in spice.

Thai Shrimp Cakes is another deep fried dish and had a good amount of filling inside. Definitely a good dish to get.

Yum Neau is a Thai beef salad and was quite spicy. It has sliced grilled New York beef mixed with fresh lime juice, nam-pla and Thai chili.

Tom Yum Gai is a hot and sour soup with mushrooms, tomato, lemongrass and Thai spices. You can choose it with chicken or tofu.

Entrees

There are 10 entrees and you can choose if you want chicken, beef or vegetarian

Yellow Curry
Red Curry
Green Curry
Thai Basil Stir-fried
Thai Black bean sauce
Cashew Nut Stir-fried
Pad Thai Noodles
Pad Kee Mao
Chilli Pepper Fried Rice
Mixed Seasonal Vegetables with oyster sauce

Pad Thai Noodles is a classic dish. It has tamarind sauce, tofu, ground peanuts, egg, green onions, and bean sprouts. Pretty good item.

Red curry has coconut milk, bamboo shoots, bell peppers and fresh basil. Grab the bowl of rice and slather this curry all over it.

Yellow curry has coconut milk, diced fresh pineapple and bell peppers.

Green Curry has coconut milk, eggplant, snap peas, bell peppers and fresh basil. One of my favourite curries of the evening.

Cashew Nut Stir-fried with onions, bell peppers and roasted chili. I liked the added texture from the cashews.

Thai Basil Stir-fried with beef, Thai chili, bell peppers, green beans and fresh basil.

Mixed Seasonal Vegetables with oyster sauce was a good dish. If you love veggies, this would be a good dish to get.

Pad Kee Mao has stir-fried rice noodles with Thai chili, bell peppers, onions, green beans and fresh basil.

Chili Pepper Fried Rice with vietnamese chili, egg and diced vegetables. A filling dish with good flavour, but can be very spicy for some.

Overall, I found some dishes at Pink Elephant Thai to be a hit or miss. Chicken is a popular protein to get, but we found that it was more on the dry side. A few items I enjoyed were the Green Curry, Pad Thai, Thai shrimp cakes, larb gai, crispy tofu and the Thai fish cakes.

One thing we like about this location is the balance of flavours in the dish and the use of spiciness in certain dishes.

We Rate Pink Elephant Thai:

Address:
1152 Alberni Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://thaihouse.com/pink-elephant-thai/

In South Burnaby

Victory Seafood Restaurant: All Day Dim Sum

June 23, 2016

Victory Seafood Restaurant is located on the 2nd level of Crystal Mall close to the food court. They serve dim sum into the late afternoon.

What I love about dim sum is that the dishes can range from very tame like shrimp dumplings to chicken feet and braised stomach.

I came here with ChineseBites to try 37 items off their menu to see what they offer. I’ve been to Crystal Mall a lot but I’ve never stopped here before.

They have a private room available if you are in huge groups.

They have all the classic dim sum items. Of course we had too many items, but if you wonder how many dishes to order, the rule of thumb is 2-3 dishes per person.

Steamed Rice Rolls

Plain rice roll was too plain for me after eating all the other steamed rice roll dishes. So, grab some soy sauce and XO sauce.

Steamed rice roll with Chinese donut and pork floss is another classic item. Paired with soy sauce and then sesame sauce and hoisin sauce on the side. Another classic dim sum dish.

Steamed rice roll with deep fried fish paste is another item similar to above, but it has the different filling inside.

Steamed rice rolls with mushrooms is a great item too. You can’t go wrong with any of these steamed rice roll dishes.

Steamed Shrimp rice roll another good one is the shrimp version. As a shrimp lover, I always try to get this dish at dim sum.

Steamed rice roll with beef, needle mushrooms, and parsley. Another good items and I like the added texture from the other ingredients.

Steamed Red Rice Roll with Shrimp looks pretty crazy. The red rice roll really tasted like nothing. The shrimp inside is deep-fried was similar to the other shrimp dishes.

Steamed baskets galore

One of the essential items of dim sum is seeing the steamed bamboo baskets overflowing the table. We had so many that they had to be stacked on top of each other.

Steamed pork ribs with black beans, taro and garlic.

Steamed chicken feet in black bean sauce was ok, but I don’t normally order this item if I’m with M since he’s so squeamish about seating odd parts of animals.

Steamed Pork Buns or Xiao Long Bao were mediocre. It wasn’t very juicy inside and the skin was a bit thick.

Steamed Pork Buns come in 3 pieces in a basket and easily split among more people.

Steamed beef tendon and tripe in Chu Hau sauce is another dish that isn’t for everyone. To me, tendon is more like jelly.

Steamed Shrimp, Mushroom, & Mixed Vegetable Dumpling comes with 3 pieces to a basket. I like the mix of veggies in this.

Steamed sticky rice bun was really filling. I didn’t like it.

Steamed Bean Curd Wraps with Mushroom in Abalone Sauce is pretty good. Can’t go wrong with it.

Siu Mai or steamed pork and shrimp dumplings is an item that you need to order. Most tables will order this. The shrimp and meat mixture is wrapped in a wheat flour wrapper than then topped with tobiko.

Steamed Sticky Rice or lo mai gai has 3 pieces with the stick rice inside with a savoury filling.

Meatball are served over tofu skin. It is paired with a Worcestershire sauce. These ones tasted ok, but the colour looked a bit off.

Steamed pork stomach and preserved vegetables in black bean sauce. Not a dish for everyone. The taste I thought was surprisingly good and tender.

Other Dim Sum items

BBQ Pork Pastry comes with 3 pieces to an order. The exterior is somewhat crisp and butter with the pork filling inside.

Baked Pineapple Buns with BBQ Pork is an amazing invention. The best of both worlds.

Deep fried shrimp spring rolls was pretty good. It comes out crispy, but if you leave it too long it goes a bit limp. When going to dim sum, I love all the shrimp items.

Deep Fried Shrimp gyoza was kinda similar to the deep fried spring roll, but in a wonton wrapper.

Panfried Chinese pancake with leeks was ok, but i didn’t really take a liking to it.

Deep fried glutinous rice dumpling with pork and dried shrimp in the centre.

Pan Fried Radish & Taro Cake was pretty plain on its own. You can ask for soy sauce or their XO sauce to use with it.

Smoked Salmon with fruit salad tart with mayo was pretty bad. I always found this flvour combination pretty weird. Some restaurants have pulled it off pretty well, but Victory Seafood doesn’t make it tasty. Best to avoid this dish.

Taro Dumplings also know as wu gok has a crispy and wispy exterior of deep fried taro and inside is a savoury pork filling. Definitely a favourite item when eating dim sum.

Deep fried lotus root cakes wasn’t very exiting.

Pan Fried Shanghai Dumplings were ok, but a bit dry.

Claypot items

Rice with chicken and black fungus was good but the rice was pretty dry. I would just eat the items on top.

Rice with Spare Ribs and Chicken Feet gave me a similar feeling with the dish above. The rice was dry.

Mixed Meat and Shrimp Dumplings in Cordyceps Flower Broth was pretty good.

Essential Egg Tarts

Egg Tarts is a good way to finish the meal. Flakey exterior and sweet egg mixture in the middle.

I always have to make sure I have a can of coke to drink to wash down some of the grease for some dishes.

With all the dishes we tried, there’s only a handful of dishes I would order. The quality is ok, but there are so many other options close by.

We rate Victory Seafood Restaurant:

Address: Crystal Mall, 4500 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC

Website: http://victoryseafoodrestaurant.com/

In Magic Kingdom

Jungle Cruise in Magic Kingdom: Review

June 22, 2016

The Jungle Cruise is a short scenic boat tour inside Magic Kingdom’s Adventureland. You get to explore the rivers of Asia, Africa and South America all in under 10 minutes.

FastPass+ is offered here, but we didn’t end up getting it as we had other rides in mind for it. The line up was about 20 minutes, so we decided to just wait as we did have sometime to kill before heading to Big Thunder and Splash Mountain.

At first, I wasn’t quite sure about this ride, but I found that they Disney cast member did a fantastic job at keeping us entertained. I kept cracking up because of their jokes filled with puns.

It’s not a fast moving ride at all, but I love the small little details they put in each area. If you’re paying attention, you might just notice them.

Since you are on a boat in the water, you might get a bit wet, but the chances are pretty slim.

M and I enjoyed the Jungle Cruise ride and I would come back again to hear those corny jokes. I’m pretty sure they staff are scripted to some degree, but it’s all about the delivery right?

Website: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/magic-kingdom/jungle-cruise/

In Italian

Grotto: Italian Cuisine near English Bay

June 21, 2016

Grotto is an Italian restaurant near English Bay in Vancouver. It’s a bit easy to miss when on Davie Street since it’s not on ground level. It’s a bit under ground level kinda like a basement.

I bought their Groupon deal months ago and like usual, I wait till the last day to redeem it. It was $59 for $100 value for four people. I made reservations ahead of time and same with a few of our friends.

Walking into the space, it was dark and has an intimate feel. They have pretty good daily specials. It was Sunday, so a lot of people were here later in the evening for their beer and pizza special.

Antipasti

Pork Belly has white balsamic, orange syrup, frisee, pickled mustard seed and crispy artichoke. Nice, fatty and crisp on the outside.

Humboldt squid also has housemade sausage, roasted eggplant, olives, tomatoes, lemon and parsley. I found that the grilling method made the squid a bit bitter.

Pizza

Funghi Pizza has a white sauce, mushrooms, roasted garlic and topped with arugula. The texture of the pizza was quite interesting. It is thin crust but very crisp and delicate. The crust reminded me of pita chips. Definitely unique as I’ve haven’t encountered another pizza place with such a crisp pizza base.

Prosciutto Pizza has mozzarella and figs with the similar crisp pizza base. It was good as well, but the funghi had a lot more flavours that I enjoyed.

Mains

Pappardelle has braised beef, red wine jus, confit cipolli onion, green peas, bone marrow, and focaccia. I love the large piece of bone marrow on top. A nice touch.

Gnocchi has smoked chicken, pork belly, mushroom ragout, and crispy celery root. The pork belly was the same as the pork belly antipasti. The gnocchi was nice and fluffy.

Overall, the food here was good and filling.

We Rate Grotto:

Address: 1725 Davie St., Vancouver, BC

Website: http://grottoitalian.ca/

In British Columbia

Top 10 Brunch Spots in Vancouver

June 20, 2016

I love a good brunch especially in Vancouver, we have access to some of the best ingredients in the world since we are a port city. Brunch is one of my favourite meals of the week since it’s a great time to catch up with girlfriends and indulge over eggs benny and mimosas.

In collaboration with Expedia.ca, we present to you my top 10 restaurants you must visit for brunch in Vancouver. Whether you are visiting Vancouver from out of town or a longtime Vancouverite, the city boasts brunch spots sure to please anyone. After being to 2,500+ restaurant visits over the past 6 years of food blogging, I can confidently share my top 10 list with you all.

ORU: Signature Weekend Brunch Buffet

One of my favourite places for brunch is ORU at the Fairmont Pacific Rim, they offer a weekend brunch buffet, which includes house-made bacon, pork and turkey sausages, ham, sandwiches, special chef items, build-your-own omelette and benny bar, potato hash, fruit, cheese, charcuterie, and fresh made pastries. Their service is exceptional and there is all-you-can-drink fresh squeezed juices. I usually come here for a special occasion like birthdays.

Useful tips:

If they don’t have something in particular, you can ask the chef to create it for you. One time, I special requested a grilled cheese sandwich.
Let them know ahead of time if you’re celebrating something in particular. I asked them on Twitter to see if they could prepare something special for my husband’s birthday and they made him an assorted chocolate dessert plate.

You will want to make reservations ahead of time to make sure you have a seat. They have tons of space, so it’s great for larger groups.

Address: 1038 Canada Place, Vancouver
Phone: 604-695-5500

La Brasserie

La Brasserie on Davie Street in the heart of the West End. They serve Franco-German food and their brunch menu is pretty damn delicious. They have an open concept kitchen, so if you sit at the bar, you can see the chefs put together your meal right in front of your eyes.

Must order:

La Brasserie Burger
Chicken Mornay Crepes
Suckling Pig and Eggs

Address: 1091 Davie Street, Vancouver
Phone: 778-379-5400

Nice Cafe

Nice Cafe is one of my favourite hidden gems for cheap brunch in Vancouver. Tucked away on 8th Ave and Main St along the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood, you will find the delicious smells of their bacon sizzling away.

Must order:

Side of Grilled Mushrooms
Spinach & Feta Omelette
Blackstone Benny

Address: 154 E 8th Ave, Vancouver, BC
Phone: 604-874-4024

L’Abattoir

In historic Gastown, you will find L’Abattoir right by the famous Gassy Jack Statue right by Blood Alley and Carrall Street. Their brunch items are fantastic and the chefs put a good twist on brunch classics.

Must order:

Full breakfast
Poached eggs with smoked pork belly
Blueberry danish

Address: 217 Carrall Street
Phone: 604-568-1701

The Oakwood Canadian Bistro

Oakwood has been a neighbourhood favourite in Kitsilano since 2011. Their brunch menu has mouth watering items like crispy pork belly, confit tuna and their open-faced smoked brisket sandwich. Their seafood is Ocean Wise certified and they pick local and fresh ingredients that are GMO free and organic where possible. Brunch Chef Michael Love puts a lot of care into the dishes he serves.

Must order:

Confit Tuna
Braised beef shank

Address: 2741 West 4th Avenue
Phone: 604.558.1965

Yolks

Yolk’s started as a food truck years ago and now has 2 permanent locations. Their food truck still runs on weekdays on Burrard Street outside Bentall Centre 1. What make them unique is there delicious soft poached eggs on their breakfast items. You’ll need napkins ready just incase any of the golden egg yolks drips on your clothing. I love how the staff always warn you just in case you eat it.

Must order:

Double smoked bacon english muffin with hollandaise
Truffle-lemon hash browns
Chicken and Waffles
Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

Locations:

1298 East Hastings St.
546 West Broadway
500 Burrard St

Fable

Fable Kitchen is owned by Canada’s Top Chef contestant Trevor Bird. The idea of the restaurant came about from the episode ‘Restaurant Wars’, where Trevor named his farm to table concept – Fable. When returning from the show, he began working on bringing the vision to life. They work with amazing local farms to make sure they have the best ingredients to use in their meals. The brunch here tastes really good.

Must order:

Pulled Pork Johnny Cakes
Benedicts
Farmers Muffin

Address: 1944 West 4th Ave.
Phone: 604.732-1322

Cafe Medina

One of the most popular brunch spots in Vancouver is Cafe Medina since 2008. You will always find a line up here for customers to get a taste of their Mediterranean inspired cuisine. Of course, you can’t leave without their signature Belgian waffles. Did you know, Cafe Medina was our first review on Foodology back in August of 2010?

Must order:

Fricassee
Paella
Lavendar Latte
Saumon Fume
Liege-style waffles

Address: 780 Richards St.
Phone: 604.879.3114

Bandidas Taqueria

Since 2009, Bandidas Taqueria has been serving the Commercial Drive community Vegetarian/Vegan Mexican brunch. This 24 hour restaurant serves brunch 9am till 3pm everyday. You won’t find any meat here.

Must order:

Baked Breakfast Burrito
Baked Morgan Taylor with added sauce and cheese
Becky’s Omelette
English Muffins
Lemmy
Horchata

Address: 2781 Commercial Drive
Phone: 604.568.8224

La Mezcaleria

La Mezcaleria serves up their version of Mexican brunch filled with a lot of nice bold flavours. They are also a few blocks away from Bandidas Taqueria, but their food is very different.

Must order:

Huevos Rancheros
Almon Con Tequila
Hashbrowns
Horchata

Address: 1622 Commercial Dr
Phone: 604.559.8226

That concludes my top 10 restaurants for brunch in Vancouver.There is definitely no shortage of restaurants offering brunch. Make reservations where possible and enjoy your eats. If you have any other awesome places to add to the list, share it in the comments below.

In Magic Kingdom

It’s a Small World in Magic Kingdom: Review

June 19, 2016

It’s a Small World is a classic Disney ride at all Disney Parks around the world. This is one of the longer rides lasting 12 – 15 minutes, where you are on a boat traveling around the world. There are over 300 animatronic dolls in this one ride.

There is FastPass+ offered here, but this lines were not very long. We waited for about 10 minutes, which was pretty good. I would skip it and save the Fastpass+ for another ride.

If you’ve never been here, you will most likely heard of the song – it’s a small world.

The boat ride takes you from country to country with a collection of robotic children around the world singing their version of it’s a small world. It’s pretty amazing how this song can easily translate to a wide range of languages.

You will go to places like:

Scandinavia
The British Isles
Western Europe
Eastern Europe
The Middle East
Asia
Africa
Antarctica
South America
Australia and the South Pacific Islands

With all these places, no wonder the ride is so long. On the plus side, it’s air conditioned, so it’s a great ride to relax before going back out in the hot Summer Florida sun.

Overall, it is a classic and you can’t go wrong with it. If it’s your first time going to this ride, don’t miss it.

Plus, when you end the ride, they know who you are! So crazy how they know its you in that particular boat. I was mind-blown. These little touches are what makes the Disney experience magical.

Website: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/magic-kingdom/its-a-small-world/

In Magic Kingdom

Peter Pan’s Flight in Magic Kingdom Park: Review

June 18, 2016

Peter Pan’s Flight is one of the rides that most people are getting FastPass+ for. After looking at some sites, I decided to get a FastPass+ before coming here. The wait was 65 minutes and it seemed pretty crazy for a ride especially if you have children with you.

I felt bad for those waiting in line since 65 minutes is a long time.

The ride takes you through a dark journey through London where you view Peter Pan’s journey and seeing familiar faces along the way. If you are a fan of Peter Pan, you will find a lot of nostalgic scenes here.

It was just M and I going on this ride, so it was mind-blowing to see how long people were willing to wait. It kinda reminded me of Ariel’s Under the Sea Journey where it took you through the movie start to finish. Definitely a ride for all ages and isn’t scary at all. M and I felt like we could have skipped this ride and used the FastPass+ for other more thrilling rides.

This ride is great for kids and those who are a huge fan of Peter Pan. You will want to use a FastPass+ to skip the long line.

Website: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/magic-kingdom/peter-pan-flight/

In Epcot

Mission: SPACE at Epcot with Intense Training

June 17, 2016

Inside EPCOT, there’s not a lot of rides compared to the other Disney World Parks, but one of the interesting rides we went on was Mission: SPACE. Seems pretty fun and FastPass+ is offered.

When you walk in, there are 2 levels of training for the cadets. You can be part of the Green Team, which is less intense and only a motion simulator ride. Or you can be part of the orange team with more intensity and uses a centrifuge to simulate speed and G forces.

I went with Team Orange for the more intense training as I don’t get motion sickness. They give you a corresponding launch ticket so the staff know where to guide you.

You and 3 others are part of a cadet crew heading to your mission to Mars in a space shuttle. Each person in your crew has a specific role to complete as a navigator, pilot, commander or engineer.

They have barf bags inside the simulator and I thought it was just one of the silly props in the simulator. Lets just say in the end of the ride, M and I felt pretty sick.

We didn’t throw up, but we did feel like we needed a break from the Summer heat and just grab a cold drink and sit for a while. For a ride that only lasts just under 4 minutes, that G-Force really hits you.

If you are prone to motion sickness or not feeling 100%, you will want to join the Green Team. Of course, I shouldn’t be scaring you out of the Orange Team. It’s fun but you might have a slight chance of motion sickness.

Website: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/epcot/mission-space/

In American

Funnel Cake Cart: Disney World

June 16, 2016

There are a few places in Disney World to get Funnel Cakes:

Funnel Cakes are a popular snack at carnival and theme parks in America. You really can’t leave without getting one. I went to the one in Epcot in the American Pavilion.

All they serve are funnel cakes with different toppings.

Funnel Cake with Sugar is the classic choice, plus you can use your dining plan to get this as your daily snack. They dust the top with powdered sugar.

This came right out of the fryer, so it was really hot. Parts of it was light and crisp, then other parts were a little more limp.

Overall, a good snack to share, but nothing that I would go out of my way to find.

Address:
Near American Pavilion in Epcot

Website:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/epcot/funnel-cake/menus/

In Brewery

Beer Selection in Epcot Japan Pavilion

June 15, 2016

Right in the centre of the Japan Pavilion in Epcot World Showcase, you can get some Japanese beer on tap, also the infamous Frozen Kirin Beer. I’ve had this before in Vancouver, but I really didn’t enjoy frozen beer. Anything ice cold on draft was good enough for me.

Their 2 choices were Sapporo and Kirin Ichiban. They also have other drinks on the menu, but I just wanted a nice cold beer.

Sapporo on draft and it golden in colour. It is light and crisp without a hoppy aftertaste. For a hot summers day, I definitely prefer light beers.

We grabbed our beers and listened to the taiko drumming performance – Matsuriza that happens a few times daily.

Location:
Japan, Epcot World Showcase

In Epcot

Weinkellar: German Wine Tasting in Epcot

June 14, 2016

What did we do in the German pavilion in Epcot? Instead of having German beer, we did a wine tasting at Weinkellar. Blasphemy right? This space was heavily air-conditioned, which perhaps contributed us to staying inside a bit more.

M loves his red wines, so it was something he wanted to try. We have a lot of good Canadian wine in Vancouver, but we have never tried a German wine before.

Each flight has 3 samples and its 2 oz in each cup.

Graf Neipperg Lemberger
light ruby-red greets the noise with aromas of cherry, plum, slight spice with harmoniously balanced tannins

Hex Vom Dasenstein Pinot Noir

has an earthy and mineral qualities balanced with classic notes of dark cherry, plum and robust tannins

Villa Wolf Pinot Noir Rose

light with aromas of fresh strawberries along with hints of grapefruit and melon with a clean zippy finish.

The Hex vom Dasenstein Pinot Noir is $23.95 /bottle. Not a bad price. Tasted pretty good and the art on the bottle is really nice.

Who would have thought there would be wine tastings in Epcot? What’s awesome about Epcot is that everyone is drinking and having a beer. This is definitely a place for adults to unwind.

Location:
German Pavilion, Epcot

In American

Churros and Mickey Pretzels at Magic Kingdom

June 13, 2016

Walking around Magic Kingdom in Frontierland, we stopped by this cart for a quick snack. Since we had the Disney dining plan, we were entitled to one snack each per day. I was originally looking for a cart with Turkey legs, but turns out they don’t offer it as a snack item as it is $11.75. Since I didn’t want to spend extra money, we had to settle for Mickey-shaped pretzels and churros.

Mickey Pretzel looks super cute but they didn’t have anymore cheese sauce. When we ate this, it was pretty hard to eat this without any additional flavour. That cheese sauce would have come in handy.

Churro was what I’ve been waiting for. It’s super long, fresh and crisp. Tons of sugar was packed on but I didn’t care. More calories, no problem.

Everyday, we would walk a lot around each park, so I didn’t mind eating a lot.

Location:
Frontierland, Magic Kingdom