October 2016

JapaDog has a location at McArthur Glen Designer Outlet in Richmond just a few stops away from YVR Airport. For those who have a short layover at YVR but want a little taste of Vancouver, this is a good option if you’re around.

They are best known for their Japanese street style hot dog that has taken the world by storm. I remember my relatives would want us to take them here when they visit.

Drinks

They have draft beer, bottled beer and cocktails. I went with a Sapporo to go with our meal of JapaDogs and shake fries. Sapporo just pairs so well with fries and hot dogs. A combination that is perfect.

Cocktails are exclusive to this location only. There are 4 different ones to choose from.

Shake Fries

There are a few flavours of shake fries to choose from:

Regular
Black pepper
Ume katsuo
Aonori
Butter & Shoyu
Shichimi & Garlic

The most popular of them all is butter & shoyu. Shichimi & garli, and aonori are most other favourites too. The size of the fry reminds me of McDonalds but it’s a bit more limp that crisp.

JapaDogs

Avocado JapaDog has a beef hot dog topped with cream cheese, Japanese mayo, and avocado. Surprisingly good if you love avocado.

Ebi-Tempura Japadog has the crunchy shrimp tempura on top of rice and seaweed.

Love Meat JapaDog has Arabiki pork sausage, cheese, and a Japanese meat sauce made of beef. It is saucy, but great for meat lovers.

Okonomi has kurobuta pork sausage, Japanese traditional sauce, Japanese mayo, fried cabbage and topped with bonito flakes. It’s okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) in hot dog form.

Kurobuta Terimayo JapaDog is the most popular item. It has Kurobuta pork sausage, teriyaki sauce, Japanese mayo, fried onions and topped with lots of seaweed.

Oroshi JapaDog has pork bratwurst with radish/daikon, green onions and their special soy sauce. One of my favourites cine I love radish.

Final Thoughts

Since I live in Vancouver, getting a JapaDog is not a regular occurrence. I have it once in a while but it’s very accessible in Downtown Vancouver as there are various locations. They have expanded a lot but the quality is still there.

It’s definitely a good food option at McArthur Glen Designer Outlet if you want a quick bite.

We Rate JapaDog:

Address:
1064 Templeton Station Road, Richmond

Website: http://www.japadog.com/

Shop The Neighbourhood by Yellow Pages celebrates small businesses all year round, and reminds Canadians how shopping locally makes a difference in our lives and directly impacts the local economy. Small businesses are our economic backbone: they create jobs, funnel funds back into the community, keep decision-making power localized, and generally contribute to building healthy, thriving neighbourhoods.

In partnership with Yellow Pages, I wanted to highlight my favourite small business – French Made Baking located in Mount Pleasant.

French Made Baking

Mount Pleasant is a vibrant neighbourhood known for its unique stores, heritage buildings, artistic residents, and fun community festivals. The area is popular with urban professionals and young families. What better place than a French patisserie shop to appear. The Mount Pleasant Business Improvement Area has worked with them over the years to help promote their business at local events and on social media.

David and Catherine Introligator

French-from-France couple, David and Catherine Introligator produce authentic and tasty French pastries. They are dedicated to their craft and have been around since 2011. I remember meeting them at various bakers markets and special events before they had their storefront.

Yummy Treats

They have croissants, madeleines, caneles, and other items but their most popular items are their macarons.

Their macarons are fabulous! The texture and the flavours have always been spot on. I don’t think I’ve found one I didn’t like yet.

My usual order at French Made Baking is a canelé and a pack of macarons.

Canelé is a classic French pastry made from eggs, milk, flour, and sugar. It is a small pastry with a balance of sweet and savoury flavours. What I love most is the crunchy caramelized crust.

Macaron is another classic French treat characterized by 2 pieces of meringue cookie sandwiched with filling like ganache, buttercream or jam. It is generally made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar and ground almond.

They have rotating flavours, but a few of my favourites are:

L’Anglais: Earl Grey tea infused milk chocolate ganache
L’Oriental: rose & litchi white chocolate ganache
Le Provençal: lavender & honey white chocolate ganache
Le Praliné: hazelnut & almond praliné buttercream
Pistache: roasted pistachio white chocolate ganache

Sometimes they make limited edition macarons for special events. I remember one when they made totoro macarons.

They also have larger macaron cakes.

They also sell 11 kinds of Kusmi Tea, a tea company which has been around for 140 years. Delicious high quality tea.

Classes

What to learn how to make macarons, croissants, or choux pastry? They offer hands-on classes with David at their “Atelier” kitchen on Kent Avenue.

A fun way to learn how to make French pastries the correct way while having fun with friends or coworkers.

Go for a visit

French Made Baking is one of many amazing local businesses in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood. When you come for a visit, say “hello” or “bonjour” to their amazing staff as they serve their customers in both English and French.

Local businesses are neighbourhood-oriented. Business owners and staff share the community’s interests, and are personally invested in the welfare and future of the neighbourhood.
If you want to learn more about Shop The Neighbourhood, follow Yellow Pages on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Address:
81 Kingsway, Vancouver

Website:
http://frenchmadebaking.com/