December 2016

In product

Starbucks Gingerbread House: Review

December 6, 2016

Starbucks is selling their Gingerbread Cafe Kit in stores for the holiday and it looks so cute, so a few foodies got together to build it. It retails for $29.95 and it’s definitely not cheap at all compared to other gingerbread houses out there. If you are a Starbucks Coffee fan, it’s pretty fun to build you own cafe. Dee was able to get us a nice discount on the kit, so we just had to get together and build it.

Watch the video that Dee/Gastrofork shot as we made the Gingerbread house. It’s pretty funny, but there is some language not suitable for children or work.

The kit comes with:

2 oz Red Gumdrops
8 oz White Icing
1 oz Red, White & Green Candy Beads
0.5 oz Candy Cane Candies
0.5 oz Red Holiday Cup Candies
6 Peppermint Sticks
1 Starbucks Logo Sign Set

Building it wasn’t too difficult, but it was hilarious seeing everyone else try to build it together while drunk.

Once we got all the walls up and the decorating began, we had trouble figuring out what to do with all the candy canes and red cups. The Starbucks logos were pretty flimsy and I thought it would have been better if it’s a harder sugar cookie.

The final product looked pretty decent, we even built a drive through on the side.

The excess red cups and candy canes lined the back of the store because we had no idea what else to do with them

Overall, it was really fun to build for the holidays with friends but I think we were lacking some artistic ability to make it awesome.

Website: http://store.starbucks.ca/starbucks-gingerbread-house/011066002,en_CA,pd.html

In British Columbia

Naked Snacks: Healthy Snacks in the Mail

December 5, 2016

Naked Snacks is a Vancouver-based company offering wholesome, high-quality snack box subscriptions. They have over 30 different types of healthy snacks to choose from.

With their snacks, they follow the 80/20 rule of snacking: 80% whole grown goodness and 20% reward for making smart decisions. Healthy snacking options you can trust, with no compromise on taste.

They sent me a box of their different snacks to try to see what a normal subscription box would look and taste like. I hate making decisions, so I got them to surprise me with 5 different snacks.

Each box has 5 large bags of snacks and each bag has 4 portions. Thus, in a whole order, you get 20 portions.

Tuscan Road Trip

Even if you’re not going on a road trip, I really love the blend of ingredients in this snack. It’s packed full of goodness from the super-berries, mighty nuts, and delicious dark chocolate. I like how it’s not salted and you can really taste the pure taste of each item in this pouch.

Sriracha Cashews

You’ll only find 4 ingredients in this snack – Cashews, sriracha flavour, garlic powder, and kosher salt. No hidden ingredients you can’t pronounce. The Sriracha is nice and light so it’s more mild than the actual sauce itself. The flavours worked really well with the cashews.

Hearty Tamari

This was my personal favourite of the snacks. Sesame sticks and spicy pretzels mix with almonds and cashews, all slow roasted in delicious Tamari. It’s kinda like soy sauce but less salty. I was so addicted to those sesame sticks. I ate all 4 portions in one sitting, but I really enjoyed it.

Wasabi-me

This snack is a little spicy, salty, and crunchy. I found the pumpkin seeds matched really well with the wasabi peas. I also loved those wild rice sticks.

Goji Granola

This was definitely more hearty than the other snacks. There’s so many ways to eat this goji granola. Straight up with milk, sprinkle it on yogurt, or dive into the bag and eat it by the handful as a snack. My favourite was eating it with yogurt so the bag lasts longer. If you gave me the whole bag, I would try to finish the whole bag in a day.

Overall, I was really impressed by the snacks that I’m almost done all of them within a week. I’m usually not a big snacker, but I wasn’t disappointed in any of their snacks. Each subscription box is about $30, but it’s not bad at all since they use quality ingredients. You can switch up your delivery frequency to 2 times a month, each month or every other month. Or if you’re not quite sure if you want to commit to a subscription, you can get a single box only without the fear of automatic renewal.

If you want to give Naked Snacks a try, use the promo code “foodology” to get $10 off your first order.

Website: https://www.nakedsnacks.ca

In Farm to Table

Ritual: Farm to Table Restaurant in Vancouver

December 4, 2016

Ritual is a Farm to Table restaurant in Downtown Vancouver. They are inspired by an array of cultures that drives an eclectic and ever changing menu. Chef Nevada Cope put together a special menu that gave us a sneak peek into what they offer for their weekend dinner from Friday to Sunday. Ritual is both a full service restaurant and a multi-concept space.

Their menus are ever evolving and based on weekly availability of produce and ingredients through their suppliers.

Interior

The space is pretty nice with a chalk wall in the back, a TV with a cute cat in front of a fireplace and these cool murals of animals on the walls.

The seating is cute and simple.

They have such a huge love for coffee that they have developed a coffee program that brings amazing locally roasted coffee to the West End. They use Pallet Coffee Roasters to craft all sorts of delicious concoctions like Espresso, Havana Style Iced Coffee, and Lavender Lattes.

During the day, you can can come here for delicious pastries and coffee.

Drinks

They have lots of lovely cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks. I went with a ginger green tea and it was ok, but the ginger syrup didn’t have a good kick to it. It was mostly just sweet.

Starters + Sides

Bread Service includes a few pieces of the warmed herb focaccia bread with maldon salt butter.

Charred Cauliflower and Tahini has baba ganoush, parsley and lemon gremolata, and a black sesame tahini. This was a really delicious dish and i would definitely order this again.

Roasted Organic Carrots with seaweed butter makes a great side with some of their other main items. Everything tastes better with butter.

Autumn Squash Gratin is layered and baked to order. It is topped with parmesan and parsley. It comes out bubbling hot and hits the spot the accompany the meal. Surprisingly really delicious too.

Grilled Beet Salad is served with warm feta, oregano, sliced oranges, and a smoked bacon vinaigrette. I love a good beet salad and the goat cheese paired so well.

Fully Loaded Vegan Baked Potato is topped with cashew cheese, broccoli, scallions, spicy sprouted organic tofu, mushrooms and tomatoes. One of the least liked items on the menu, not because it was Vegan, it lacked something to really bring this potato together. It felt a bit bland.

Butter Seared Honey Cornbread Slice is a nice addition to the meal too if you aren’t into their herb focaccia bread.

Mains

Hot Fried Chicken it is not too spicy and its lightly dipped in unpasteurized honey, and served with crimini mushroom country gravy, scallion mash, veggies, and butter seared honey cornbread.

It was a really good dish. I liked how moist the meat was and the skin was nice and crisp.

Duck Leg Confit comes served with einkorn risotto, almonds, cranberries, and buttered dinosaur kale. The duck is delicious.

The Yam of Your Dreams has a super cute name. It has a double baked yam stuffed with pulled pork, bbq sauce, salsa fresca, pineapple, habanero mango hot sauce. Surprisingly, the pulled pork worked well with the yam.

Francesinha Sandwich is meant to be eaten with a knife and fork. It has milk bread, smoked ham, andouille sausage, roast pork loin, melted havarti cheese, and a rich tomato beer sauce.

Dessert

Eggnog Tart has gingerbread pate brisee, baked eggnog custard, and a black cherry coulis. Really cute and has a neat deconstructed look to it.

Pan Roasted Pineapple has a ginger and sage cookie crumble and topped with a house french vanilla ice cream. I enjoyed this dessert the most as there was the fresh fruit and the creamy ice cream.

Almond Orange Poppyseed Cake has six layers of cake with cream cheese frosting and toasted almonds on the outer edge of the cake. I thought this was ok.

Overall, a pretty good spread for the weekend dinner menu. I was impressed by their creative twist on classic dishes. I love the concept of this restaurant, but that can make their hours a bit confusing to customers.

We Rate Ritual:

Address:
774 Denman Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.ritualvancouver.com/

In American

Original Joe’s: Burgers and Drinks

December 3, 2016

Original Joe’s is a Restaurant and Bar located on Robson Street in Downtown Vancouver. We came here to try a few of the new menu items that have some out this fall.

I’ve seen Original Joe’s around but haven’t made a visit till now.

Interior

The interior is just like a bar with screens all over to watch the game. It was dimly lit, but it set the mood. We did notice this place was super clean. The space is still pretty new as it hasn’t been at this location too long.

Drinks

Guilt & Honey has buffalo trace boubon, amaro, honey syrup, lemon juice and lemon bitters.

Original Joe’s Blonde Lager is a nice light beer that is well balanced. Not too hoppy.

El Diabla is a mix of jalapeno, tequila and other ingredients.

Appetizers

Dynamite Tempura Shrimp is topped with a spicy chili aioli, unagi sauce & togarashi. I really enjoyed this dish. It has a good amount of shrimp and the batter is just the right thickness, so it has a nice crunch.

Bacon Jalapeno Mac & Cheese has chopped bacon, jalapenos & a blend of cheeses; topped with parmesan panko bread crumb. This was ok, but I wish it was more cheesey.

Burgers

A.C.E Cheese Burger has two thinly pressed beef patties, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle & house made burger sauce. I liked how the patties are griddled and not grilled to retain more moisture. The sandwich also comes with 2 choice of sides, so we went with the mixed green salad and homecut fries with dill sauce.

I’m really surprised that it came with 2 sides as it adds variety to the meal.

It was pretty good for a classic cheese burger.The 2 thin patties that sandwiched the cheese was so good.

The Grilled Cheese Burger has garlic grilled french bread, cheddar, swiss & provolone cheese; with peppered bacon, shredded lettuce, tomato & a stack of crisp fried onions. You also get 2 sides too. We went with the poutine and caesar salad. Good, but we all still preferred the A.C.E Burger.

Overall, you can’t go wrong with a beer or cocktail with their A.C.E Burger.

We Rate Original Joe’s:

Address:
294 Robson Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.originaljoes.ca/

In Contest

[Giveaway] Kenmore Pro Blender by Sears Canada

December 2, 2016

In a collaboration with Sears Canada, we are giving away one Kenmore Pro Blender, which retails for $149.97. It’s a perfect addition to the kitchen to create smoothies, soups, and sauces.

Contest open to Canadian residents. Contest ends December 11, 2016 11:59pm PST.

Comment below with what you would make with the Kenmore Pro Blender.
For additional entries, check out the widget below for more ways to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This highly versatile Kenmore blender features eleven speeds for great processing every time. It’s easy to pour and easy to clean, helping take the stress out of meal prep.

Check out my review for the Kenmore Pro Blender: https://foodology.ca/kenmore-pro-blender-review/

In Chinese

Golden Sichuan Restaurant: Spicy Dishes + Dumpling Trail

December 1, 2016

Golden Szechuan Restaurant in Richmond is known for their spicy food. I came here with Sherman, Dee and Amy to try a few of their dishes as well as try some dumplings as part of the Dumpling Trail.

Interior

The interior has tall ceilings and there are a lot of large round tables which is great for large groups.

Dumpling Trail

Boiled Pork and Cabbage Dumplings were pretty good. The filling was moist and it had a good ration between the pork and cabbage.

Spicy Wontons had a nice thin skin and had a good amount of sauce. It wasn’t too spicy at all.

Other Dishes

Spicy Pork Slices on bamboo comes beautifully presented like as if it was drying laundry. The boiled pork and cucumber sits on top, so you grab a piece and dip it in the sauce below. Very good, but you need to have that sauce dunked to the pork or else it’s just boiled pork belly slices and cucumber.

Dan Dan Noodles was decent.

Braised Beef Noodles was ok, but I didn’t like how it was a tad sweet.

Mouth-Watering Chicken was a good dosh as well. Good meaty pieces of chicken with a slightly spicy sauce. I was surprised it wasn’t more spicy. The peppercorns added a nice kick to the dish.

Boiling Beef should have set my mouth on fire, which I was looking for, but the spiciness didn’t last very long. Not sure why this visit, the spice level was more tolerable.

Twice-Cooked Pork was one of my favourite dishes. The pork was delicious and the garlic scapes were so addictive.

Overall, it was a pretty good spread of food that we ordered for dinner. A few of the outstanding items were the twice-cooked pork, dumplings, and mouth-watering chicken.

We Rate Golden Sichuan Restaurant: