Foodology, Author at Foodology

In Cafe

Crack Coffee Roasters: Coffee in Vancouver

February 13, 2019

Crack Coffee Roasters is a new addition to the Renfrew-Collingwood neighbourhood near Joyce and Kingsway. They recently just opened in January 2019 and they are a micro roastery producing some top notch espresso for their coffees. My friends and I were having lunch a few shops away and I made sure to make a stop here for a coffee.

Interior

The space is quite nice and the owner’s dog – Celine will be there ready to greet you at the door. Very friendly dog and she really wants you to shake her paw and give her cuddles.

It’s very cozy, so whether you are studying or chilling with friends, you’ll feel comfortable in this space. Or even just people watching.

Coffee Options

There are a variety of brewing options for your coffee if you want to get fancy – siphon, pour over, drip, espresso, Americano, or a latte. You can also do iced versions too.

There are quite a few bean options too with different flavour profiles. I am not a bean expert but I just let them do the choosing for me. They do have a few diagrams on how the different beans taste like. Very helpful to know those tasting notes.

They also have cakes on the menu too.

Latte

My friends ordered lattes as it was a cold day outside and they loved the latte. Good execution of the drinks and great taste of the espresso used. Nice latte art too.

Iced Latte with Coffee Jelly

I went with an Iced Latte with Coffee Jelly as it was one of the beautiful drinks I saw on their Instagram account. I like how they separate the layers so its coffee jelly, milk and then espresso.

I mixed it together to incorporate all the items. It was really good and the coffee jelly gives it a nice texture too. One of my favourite iced lattes in town.

Final Thoughts

We spent a few hours here drinking coffee and enjoying each others company while playing with Celine. If you love coffee, dogs and a cute cafe setting, definitely check out Crack Coffee Roasters.

Address:
3377 Kingsway #1, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://crackspecialtycoffee.com

In Cafe

Cacao 70: Valentine’s Day Raspberry Waffles and Hot Chocolate

February 12, 2019

Cacao 70: Sweet House on Granville Street serves up sweet treats to customers who come in. They currently offer a Valentine’s Day special menu until February 17th, 2018.

The regular items in the shop focus on waffles, brunch, dips and drinks.

Interior

The space is very narrow but you can find some seats along the left side of the shop, but not a lot of large tables for big groups.

Raspberry Waffle

This has strawberries, raspberries, whip cream and chocolate drizzle on top of the waffles. We were pleasantly surprised it wasn’t as sweet as it looked. A good balance!

The portion size was good as it has 2 layers of waffles, so share-ability is great for two people.

Raspberry Hot Chocolate

We enjoyed this too as the raspberry flavouring was more authentic to the real fruit rather than artificial. It balances the waffles well as it is sweet because it is a hot chocolate.

Berry Romantic Combo

There is also the Berry Romantic Combo for $33.50, which has a raspberry waggle, single fondue platter and 2 raspberry hot chocolates. Perfect for 2 people to share and enjoy each other’s company.

Address:
738 Granville St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://cacao70.com

In Cafe

Ganache Patisserie: Saint Valentin 2019 for Valentine’s Day

February 11, 2019

Ganache Pâtisserie is always crafting up something new for each holiday season. For Valentine’s Day, they have launched their Saint Valentin Cassis Hojicha Chocolat 2019.

The cake is inspired by their current Fall/Winter collection and continues with the fragrant hojicha theme.

Saint Valentin 2019

There is a combination with layers of fragrant hojicha chocolate cake, a fruity cassis mousseline filling, a hojicha créme brûlée, a lavender-cassis guimauve and fresh blackberries. The entire cake is finished in a pink and grey marbled buttercream with a dripping chocolate glaze that is adorned with white chocolate fans, pink rose macarons, gold-dusted blackberries, Valentine’s chocolate decor, crispearls and gold flakes.

The cake was delicious and not too sweet at all. The layers were moist and almost brownie-like. The hojicha makes its presence known and works with all the other ingredients in the cake to really balance out the fruit.

The cake is designed to be shared generously with that special someone, though able to feed 4-6 people. It is available starting Friday, February 8th for $39.95 and pre-orders are highly recommended for pick ups on Valentine’s day.

Bonbon aux The Chocolat

If you’re looking for something else Valentine’s Day themed, they have their Bonbon aux The Chocolat, which has 3 different bonbons in a box – Earl Grey milk chocolate, matcha dark chocolate, and hojicha milk chocolate. It makes for a great gift for those who love tea infused in their chocolate. You can’t go wrong with any of those flavours.

Final Thoughts

Of course, they still have their regular menu with an assortment of cakes and other sweets, but definitely check them out for some of the best cakes and sweets in town for your special somebody.

Address:
1262 Homer St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.ganacheyaletown.com/

In Dessert

Dessert Collection by Fumiko Moreton at The Trump Champagne Lounge

February 10, 2019

The Trump Champagne Lounge is launching their Dessert Collection by head pastry chef, Fumiko Moreton. It is available exclusively in the evenings to make the nights more decadent and interactive.

Their 4 new dessert treats capture love, romance and spring. These treats are meant to be shared with someone special or friends.

Chocolate Fondue for Two

The chocolate fondue has a base of Valrhona manjari grand cru single origin 64% chocolate. It is served with home-made churros, fruits, marshmallows, financier, and potato chips. This costs $60.

There is a good assortment of items to dip into the fondue. I enjoyed the frut fo course but the financier was great too.

Love you to pieces!

This heart shaped chocolate comes with a mallet where you use it to smash the heart into many many pieces to reveal the sweet goodies inside. A fun interactive dessert for $30.

Inside, there are an assortment of gummies and chocolates with different flavours too that might even surprise you. There were these gummies with skulls that have a nice spicy kick to it.

Chocolate Charcuterie Board

There is a rich chocolate salami served with cookies, crisps and fruit. You can get this to satisfy your sweet tooth for $20. I did enjoy this board to pair with drinks to nibble on.

Trump Sundae for Four

This crazy dessert is meant for four but you can share this with more people for sure. It has 24 scoops of vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate ice cream. Then it is paired with cereal, whipped cream, fruits, candies, sprinkles, cotton candy, doughnuts, cookies, marshmallows, and a chocolate drizzle.

You will need to wait 30 minutes for them to prepare this as it is massive. It doesn’t come cheap and will run you $120.

There is definitely a lot to this dessert and might be a challenge for a few people to finish.

Final Thoughts

These desserts aren’t for everyone as they are more on the high end, but if you’re looking to impress someone special, this might just be the place for some sweets in the evening with champagne.

Address:
1161 W Georgia St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.trumphotels.com/vancouver/the-trump-champagne-lounge

In Cafe

[Sneak Peek] Dalina on Broadway and Oak

February 9, 2019

DALINA has opened their second location and it’s slated to officially open on Monday, February 11, 2019 just a short distance from Vancouver General Hospital if you’re looking for a grab-and-go meal during the day. We were invited for a sneak peek of the space and items on the menu.

As the space is smaller, there aren’t a lot of grocery items at this location. It’s pretty sparse and mostly has to-go meals and drinks.

Interior

At 900 square feet, they sit 35 people in this space. It is very beautiful and has textures of white tile, white oak, concrete, stainless steel and marble textures. Insta-worthy interior.

Grab-and-go meals

Looking at their fridges, there are dozens of freshly prepared meals including salads, sandwiches, wraps, and pastries. In addition to the artisanal coffee DALINA has become famous for, featured drink additions will include Superfood Smoothies and Hoochy Booch Kombucha on tap.

All dishes are being created by DALINA executive chef Simona Bonelli, who brings her blend of healthy, innovative, and authentic fare to this new take-away menu. Aside from the baked goods, drinks, and coffees, most menu items will run between $10 to $15 and will come in compostable packaging.

There is wifi in the space if you need to connect to the internet. They also have still and sparkling water on tap, which I absolutely love. A nice little touch.

Lattes

I’ve always been a fan of their lattes and hot chocolates on the menu. It’s just acozy spot to just catch up with friends in the beautiful space. Glad there is another location to do that in.

Local Sweets

They work with a lot of local bakeries to fill their pastry area like Dipped Doughnut Co, To Die For, and Flour Girl Baking. They make some amazing vegan treats and they really do taste good. My favourite was the Banana Cream doughnut.

Final Thought

It’s a great addition to the area and I can’t wait for them to open their doors. Perfect for those who work in the area for a quick meal, coffee, or a drink.

Address:
992 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.dalina.ca/

In Fast Food

Arby’s is back in Metro Vancouver near Tsawwassen Mills

February 8, 2019

When Arby’s started closing down their last location in Coquitlam, BC my heart was broken since I love Arby’s curly fries and the beef n’ cheddar burger. All my friends were so devastated. When they announced that they are making a come back with the first location in Tsawwassen, we had to go there to check it out. Having a taste of their addictive fries and burger is what we’ve wanted for some time now.

There are other locations in Cranbrook, Kelowna and Kamloops in BC as well.

Get Saucy

Instead of individual packets of Arby Sauce and Horsey sauce, there are now dispensers. Since we are so used to the food court set up for Arby’s, we’ve never been in a sit down Arby’s to see this.

Classic Roast Beef Sandwich

We loaded up on Arby’s Sauce and Horsey Sauce to go with the curly fries and half pound of the classic roast beef sandwich.

It his the spot! All that thinly sliced roast beef on their toasted sesame seed bun and then paired with the 2 sauces. So damn good. We’ll definitely be back for more.

Ringing the Bell of Disappointment

There is a bell in the dining area, which you would think makes some noise. I dare you to ring it and as a spoiler, you will be disappointed.

Final Thoughts

We are so glad there is one Arby’s somewhat close by within an hour’s drive from our home. No word if there will be more locations added but we hope there is more since we do love it so much.

Address:
4890 Canoe Pass Way, Tsawwassen, BC

Website:
https://arbys.com

In Cafe

Iktsuarpok Coffee Stand: Order at the Window

February 6, 2019

Iktsuarpok Coffee Stand is the cutest little coffee shop in Gastown. There are no seats and you just order your drink at the window. Rika and Kento are behind Iktsuarpok Coffee Stand and while we were in line waiting, it was nice to see them chit chatting with us once our order was ready.

We saw them on Instagram and read a few articles online and knew we had to make a visit as their concept was unique.

White

This is a latte made with Moving Coffee beans, which is from Vancouver too. Milk and espresso never tasted so good. It really hit the spot and the latte art looks great too. Highly recommended.

Green

If you want a matcha latte, they have that too. It’s been pretty popular, so sometimes they run out of it. Be sure to check Instagram to see if it’s available. We initially planned to come here weeks ago but then we noticed they ran out of matcha, so we waited till it was back in stock.

You can ask them to adjust the sweetness or have none at all. The matcha tasted like it was high quality and you can taste it.

Final Thoughts

A lot of people who come here know that its there. Some people miss it completely as it is an obscure location where you have to look at the window to order. They have gained quite a following since they’ve opened. The quality of the drinks show and it’s a unique experience to order your drinks like a drive-thru…or in this case – walk-thru.

They are open on weekdays 8:30am to 4:30pm. On Saturdays, they are open 10am to 4pm.

Address:
30-425 Carrall St Vancouver, BC

In East Village

Tamam: Fine Palestinian Cuisine Review

February 5, 2019

Tamam serves up Palestinian cuisine in Vancouver close to Hastings and Nanaimo. This family run restaurant has a lot of heart and soul to craft up delicious dishes that are unique to the Vancouver food scene. You’ll notice it’s a mix of influences from neighbouring countries. We definitely noticed the Greek and Mediterranean influences.

When I saw this place pop up on my Instagram feed, I knew I had to check it out with a few friends as we love to discover new cuisines.

Interior

There are 2 seating areas in the restaurant, one is inside and the other one is like a sun room.

Halloumi Eggplant

We started off with some appetizers to share among the table. The Halloumi eggplant has grilled halloumi cheese on a bed of grilled eggplant slices, and topped with their special sauce. It was an ok dish, but I didn’t feel like the special sauce brought the eggplant and the halloumi together.

Mutabbal

This is an eggplant dip made with roasted eggplants, tahini, garlic, olive oil, and sumac. It also comes with pita bread, olives and a spicy sauce on the side. I really liked this dish as it has the creaminess of the eggplant and a good amount of garlic.

Fattoush

This salad has tomato, cucumber, parsley, lettuce, onion, toasted wholewheat bread, olive oil, lemon, and sumac. I really liked this salad as the crispy bread really added texture to the salad. Good flavours as well that brought all the ingredients together and was very enjoyable.

Lamb Shanks with Freekeh

This was one of our favourite dishes of the night. The Lamb shank was tender and fell apart nicely off the bone. We got it with a side of Freekeh, which is a cereal food made from green durum wheat. It has a nice texture and a nice bite to it. The Lamb Shank sauce that accompanied it was delicious. Highly recommended.

Chicken kebab with Humus and Pita Bread

This dish has boneless, skinless, halal chicken, marinated and grilled to perfection. With a side of delicious humus and salad. Very good too.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I really enjoyed the dishes we ordered. Prices were very fair and our friends had fun here chit chatting away. During the weekend, they have specials available, which I heard were also very good. As we came on a weekday, there were no specials, so we indulged more in the regular menu. If you haven’t checked out Tamam, you should definitely do so.

Address:
2616 E Hastings St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.tamam.ca

In Japanese

Ajisai Sushi Bar in Kerrisdale: Review

February 4, 2019

Ajisai Sushi Bar is a very popular Japanese restaurant in Kerrisdale and popular among the locals and visitors. I haven’t been here before and my aunt was in town, so we all went to go give it a try.

For a weekday, it was pretty busy with a line up even at 7pm. There were plenty of large groups. Looks like everyone else was craving sushi too. We waited about 20 minutes for a bar seating for 4 people.

There is free underground parking at London Drugs,

Interior

The space is not very large, so it’s hard to fit very large groups here. Best to call ahead to see if there are line ups as they don’t take reservations.

Drinks

They have a few different sake options on the menu that go well with sushi. Beer and wine is on the menu too. If you’re not into alcoholic drinks, they have pop or you can stick with water and tea.

Seafood Salad

At first, this looked like a super weird salad with corn flakes on top. This has assorted greens, tako, ebi, salmon and tuna as the seafood. It is dressed in a light ponzu sauce I think. The corn flakes added a nice crunchy texture surprisingly.

Gomae

This has spinach marinated with sesame paste. A small portion that you cna pick at before the rest of the dishes arrive.

Uni Nigiri

Uni is sea urchin and it’s in season. You can have it as sashimi or nigiri but we option with nigiri. As it is in season, it is very fresh and has a natural sweetness to it. Highly recommended.

Bluefin Tuna Nigiri

We saw this on their Chef Recommendation so we had to get it. It was melt in your mouth fatty. Very good!

Hotate Nigiri

Hotate is scallop and they had this fresh on the menu.

Tako Nigiri and Ebi Nigiri

These were on the regular menu and it was pretty solid. Tender and not chewy at all.

Ika Shiso Rolls

This roll has squid and shiso leaf. Shiso is used in Japanese cuisine and it has an interesting taste that is herbal-like.

Unagi Avocado Roll

It comes with 8 pieces as an inside out roll with the rice on the exterior and seaweed inside. It was good as the creaminess of the avocado and meatiness of the eel pair well.

BBQ Unagi

They have a small amount of BBQ items on the menu but the eel was very delicious with a sweet glaze on top. It comes with 2 pieces but isn’t too large.

BBQ Gindara

The BBQ black cod had a slight char on the edge of the cod but very fatty and falls apart. Do watch out for little bones.

Assorted Sashimi

This has tuna, salmon, hokki, octopus, and white fish. It’s not the large but the quality of the cuts were good.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the sushi here is good but expensive compared to some other places around town. The staff are very diligent about refilling tea which is good

Address:
2081 W 42nd Ave, Vancouver, BC

In Chinese

Alvin Garden: Szechuan Cuisine in Burnaby

February 3, 2019

Alvin Garden is located in South Burnaby just behind Metropolis at Metrotown. They have been around for many years specializing in Szechuan cuisine. They have been recipients of the Chinese Restaurant Awards and Vancouver Magazine restaurant Awards for many years and is quite reputable. It’s actually located close to our home but we never came here until now. I wanted to take my family somewhere we havn’t been before so this was a perfect opportunity.

Scroll to the bottom of the article for the whole menu. (All 23 pages hahaha).

Interior

The interior isn’t that special but the space did fill up quite quickly, so I was glad I made reservations ahead of time. If you’re coming in on a weekend, doesn’t hurt to have a reservation.

Soup

We started with a large soup containing lettuce and taro. Surprisingly very flavourful and delicious. A large size for 7 of us was perfect so everyone can try it and get seconds if they like it.

Stir Fried Beef and Onion

This was also a very flavourful dish. Remember to get a bucket of rice on the side to soak up the juices. Very good portions too.

Mouth Watering Chicken

This is a must order dish and highly recommend. It is delicious and tender cooked chicken with chili oil and peppers. Even though it looks spicy, it has a good amount of fragrant peppers that isn’t mouth numbingly spicy. Those who can’t tolerate too much spice also enjoyed this dish.

Tea Smoked Duck

You can get this as a half duck or a whole duck. For the 7 of us, we opted for the half as we had quite a few dishes ordered. It was a good size as there are a lot of pieces.

Good flavour of the tea and smokey flavours penetrating the meat. Very enjoyable.

Stir-fried Garlic Bolt with Hunan Smoked Pork

Another popular dish on the menu, I love the garlic bolts as its like a mild green onion and garlic combination. Pairs well with the pork slices very nicely.

Cumin Lamb

This is a very popular dish and I love the cumin spices with lamb. So good! It also has red peppers and green onions. The lamb is tender too.

Dongting Broiled Fish in Chili Soup

Even though you see all the chili oil and red peppers, it’s not too spicy at all. Very good amount of fragrant spice that won’t numb or sting your mouth badly. Highly recommended as the dish is very moist and tasty.

Cauliflower with Hunan Chili and Pork

This was the last dish to arrive and it looked like most tables ordered this too. It has cauliflower, thin slices of pork belly in their Hunan Chili oil.

Final Thoughts

We really enjoyed Alvin Garden for their Szechuan cuisine. The prices are very fair and the food is well executed. All the dishes were a hit and none of them were disappointing. Even with all the peppers, its still a good place to have spice and non-spicy eaters all at one table.

Address:
4850 Imperial St, Burnaby, BC

Jollibee: Filipino Fast Food Review

February 2, 2019

Jolibee is a popular Filipino fast food chain all around the world. I haven’t been yet, so when we were in California, we went here multiple times for breakfast and lunch. We really couldn’t stop devouring the great tastes of Filipino dishes. There are over 30 locations across the US.

We went crazy just ordering a bit of everything for the 2 of us. It needed to be done since there isn’t a Jollibee in Western Canada where we are from. We stuffed ourselves with Jollibee and we did not regret it at all.

Breakfast Joys

Breakfast Joys are only available until 11am and there are 5 types to choose from – Breakfast Chickenjoy, Pork Sausage, Beef Tenders, Corned Beef, and Sweet Pork. Each comes with garlic rice and an egg.

Corned Beef Breakfast Joys

This was surprisingly good. A good portion of corned beef, rice and egg. We also got free coffee that comes with this too, which was interesting. This was my favourite of the 2 breakfast items we ordered.

Pork Sausage Breakfast Joys

The Pork Sausage comes with 2 pieces with the egg and garlic rice. The sausage was devoured quickly and had a slight sweet flavour to it.

Buko Pandan Pearl Cooler with boba

One of their dessert items is their buko pandan pearl cooler with some sweet pearls on the bottom. It was good but on the sweet side.

Chickenjoy

This is their 2 pieces chickenjoy meal with adobo rice and a cup of gravy. The skin is very crispy and when you dunk it onto the gravy, it’s so heavenly. Plus, the adobo rice is so savoury and good.

Chickenjoy and Jolly Spaghetti Combo

Best of both worlds to get a combo so you can taste more. You can mix up the spaghetti so all the sauce is incorporated. For fast food Filipino spaghetti, it wasn’t bad at all. It’s meaty, savoury with a touch of sweetness. Also, having the chickenjoy of the side was awesome.

Chickenjoy and Palabok Fiesta Combo

I was so excited to try this dish. A classic item with bohon noodles topped with secret Jollibee palabok sauce, eggs, shrimp, and other meats. Delicious.

Pineapple Juice

Included in meals is the pineapple juice. Instead of getting the regular fountain drinks, why not have pineapple juice to shake things up. A lot of people prefer this, but I did find it a bit sweet.

Peach Mango Pie

One of their warm desserts on the menu is peach mango pie, deep-fried to a golden perfection. The crunchy exterior was nice and the filling was surprisingly not too sweet. It does have a tinge of artificial peachy mango taste.

Tuna Pie

Yes, you heard that right…tuna pie. This is one of their items on the menu that is available for a limited time. It also has a tasty flaky crust with a creamy tuna mixture inside with strong notes of pepper.

Final Thoughts

We devoured quite a few items during our trips to Jollibee, but we still have many items to go through still. For Filipino fast food, it’s a great option. It’s like if KFC and McDonads had a baby. There were no line ups at the locations around San Francisco, so it was great.

Website:
http://www.jollibeeusa.com/

In Brunch

PIVA Modern Italian: Brunch in New Westminster

February 1, 2019

PIVA Modern Italian is a stylish contemporary Italian restaurant in New Westminster in the Anvil Centre. It is in a great location right in the heart of Downtown New Westminster.

I was browsing where to go for brunch with my family and saw that their brunch items looked pretty darn good. I made reservations online a day before and it wasn’t too busy at all.

Interior

The interior is very nice with a lot of natural light and ornate fixtures. The high ceilings make this place very spacious. It’s great to celebrate a variety of occasions here.

Brunch Menu

Drinks

There are lots of alcoholic and non-alcoholic options on the menu for brunch depending on what you feel like. Most of the family went with coffee or water.

Mushroom Pizza

This pizza has wild mushrooms, cauliflower purée, fontina, fried sage, and aromatic truffle oil. It was a pretty well made pizza and very fragrant. Tasted good too. The fried sage was crisp and added a nice flavour.

Eggs Benedict

The classic egg benedict is served with 2 eggs, prosciutto, hollandaise and arugula over focaccia. It also has ketchup and crisp potatoes on the side. Highly recommend this with soft poached eggs.

Eggplant Sandwich

This hefty sandwich has fried eggplant, spinach, artichoke, tomato, caramelized onion, capers, aioli, and gorgonzola. My mom got fries on the side. If you want to be healthier, you can get salad. Surprisingly the sandwich is pretty good even though its meatless.

For Nonno Pasta

The pasta comes in half sizes or full sizes, which is a nice option depending on how hungry you are. We went with half size and it was good for brunch time. The For Nonno pasta has lots of spice, garlic, chicken, Italian parsley, tomato, black bean, olive oil, and spaghetti.

Yogurt

This beautiful yogurt has unsweetened yogurt, honey, house-made granola, and seasonal fruit like black berries, raspberries and gooseberry. I was pretty impressed with this brunch item as it is elegantly presented and very filling.

Fried Chicken & Waffles

The fried chicken is coated in Italian spices as served with chili aioli, house-made waffles, maple syrup and waffles.

A good size for brunch and it was delicious. Moist chicken and good texture for the waffles.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I love this new addition to New Westminster for brunch. Not too many options in the area, but it’s great there is a new one. Highly recommended!

Address:
787 Columbia St, New Westminster, BC

Website:
https://pivarestaurant.ca

In product

KitKat Chinese New Year Assorted Gift Box: Review

January 31, 2019

I love holidays as that means limited edition chocolates come out. As Chinese New Year is nearing soon, I saw these at my local grocery store so I bought a box to share. It’s not very large as it only has 8 bars inside.

In previous years, they had larger bars of the Orange bars and White & Milk bars with special packaging.

What’s Inside

This limited edition box for the Year of the Pig contains 4 Matcha Green Tea Bars, 2 White & Milk Bars, and 2 Orange Bars. It roughly retails for $4.99 CDN.

Each bar has 2 KitKat fingers inside so you can share it with a friend if you can resist eating it all.

KitKat Matcha Green Tea Bars

They launched this flavour in Canada back in 2018 but I noticed there was a difference with this version in the box. From the exterior, you can tell there is matcha specks added to it. Pretty good in my opinion as it is stronger but it is balanced with sweetness.

KitKat Orange Bars

This has their crisp wafer inside with milk chocolate and an orange citrus essence. You can definitely tell its orange.

KitKat White & Milk Bars

Half of it is white chocolate and the other half is milk chocolate. With the milk chocolate, it makes it a bit sweeter than normal.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it makes for a great gift if you are looking for something inexpensive to give to a friend or relatives.

If you miss out on this limited edition box and want to try the different flavours, you can still find them individually in stores.

Website:
https://www.madewithnestle.ca/kit-kat

In British Columbia

McDonalds is turning up the Heat with Jalapeno, Habenero, and Ghost Pepper McChicken Sandwiches

January 29, 2019

McDonalds Canada is turning up the heat with their Spicy McChicken Sandwiches. We love spicy food, so this immediately got our attention.

Every two weeks, increasing levels of heat will be introduced to the Spicy McChicken sandwich, each highlighting a different chili pepper:

Jalapeño McChicken: January 29 – March 11
Habanero McChicken: February 12 – March 11
Ghost Pepper McChicken: February 26 – March 11

3 new sauces were created for these sandwiches using the 3 different peppers. This is the first time in recent history that McDonald’s Canada has changed the iconic McChicken sandwich but it’s just the sauce that is different.

The spiciness of the peppers is measured worldwide by the Scoville scale in units – the more units, the spicier it is:

The Jalapeño Pepper ranks 2500 – 8000 SHU on the Scoville scale
The Habanero Pepper ranks 100,000 – 350,000 SHU on the Scoville scale
And, the Ghost Pepper ranks highest on the Scoville scale, with more than 1M SHU

It is yet to been tasted if the sauces live up to the expected Scoville units. We will update this article with our review of each sandwich once each sandwich becomes available.

Spicy Jalapeño McChicken

Inside the burger is breaded seasoned chicken, shredded lettuce, topped with creamy Jalapenõ sauce, on a toasted sesame bun.

We had to order this burger twice because the first burger had very little sauce, so when eaten all together, you can barely taste the sauce because of the season chicken patty overpowered the sauce.

The second time I went, I paid extra to have extra sauce in the burger as well as the jalapeno sauce on the side to dip the fries and to truly taste the sauce.

The sauce has a slight hint of spice but very palatable. A good start to the 3 levels of spiciness as I’m sure most people can handle the creamy Jalapeno sauce.

Spicier Habanero McChicken

Inside the burger is breaded seasoned chicken, shredded lettuce, topped with creamy Habanero sauce, on a toasted sesame bun. Exactly the same as the other burger but with a different sauce.

We ordered this with extra sauce and there was more so we can taste it along with the seasoned McChicken patty. We found the similar thing as the Jalapeno McChicken where you need to have the extra sauce to really appreciate the added kick of the Habanero.

The colour of the sauce is more yellow/orange unlike the green hue of the Jalapeno.

It is spicier but isn’t too powerful to cause a sweat. We ordered this through the UberEats app, so we could customize with extra sauce but no option to have extra sauce on the side for fries.

Between Jalapeno and Habanero, we would definitely prefer Habanero as it has a little bit more of a kick.

Spiciest Ghost Pepper McChicken

The last Spicy McChicken is finally here until March 11. This is what everyone has been waiting for with their signature Ghost Pepper sauce. It has the most orange looking sauce out of the 3 Spicy McChicken options. Yet again, we ordered it with extra sauce, but this time they wouldn’t let us have extra sauce on the side for our fries for some reason. Either way, there was still ample sauce in the McChicken to really taste the sauce.

It is a stronger spice that lingers in the mouth, but it really depends on your own spice tolerance. We love spicy, so if you put it on a the “Hot Ones” scale, it is more like a 4/10. It’s definitely not for everyone and some will find it very spicy and some not at all. We thought it had a good kick of spice that coated our mouths but that might be because we ordered it with extra sauce.

In product

Aussie Bao: Premium Canned Abalone in Hong Kong

January 29, 2019

With Chinese New Year coming up soon, there will be lots of delicious meals cooked at home. One seafood that is bound to make an appearance is abalone. Abalone (Bau Yu) is a prized sea snail, which is a delicacy and symbolizes wealth. It doesn’t come cheap especially if you want a quality product.

Aussie Bao

A new product on the market is Aussie Bao, which produces high quality canned abalone free of preservatives, contaminants, MSG, and is caught wild.

The Shuangzui factory where Aussie Bao is produced is the only one in Queensland, Australia and has been around for over 20 years. They catch the abalone from the southernmost part of Australia – Tasmania. The water is clean pollution-free, so the abalone is high quality. After the abalone is captured, it is transported to the factory for processing. At the factory, it
gets processed, cleaned, weighted, and sorted.

What’s inside?

Inside the can are large ready to eat abalone. In our can, there were 3 very plump pieces of abalone with the abalone sauce made up of abalone, chicken and sand fish bones. Surprisingly delicious and can be reused in other dishes as part of your meal.

All you need to do is reheat and serve.

What’s cooking?

We sauteed some pea shoots with garlic and warmed up the sliced abalone on top. We were surprised that with the 3 large abalone, we were able to get so many slices on the dish. The flavour of the abalone was great too and you can really tell the quality of it.

Final Thoughts

Aussie Bao is definitely a premium product, so it is not cheap at all. Makes for great gifts over the Chinese Lunar New Year too.

You can find Aussie Bao online through their website or you can purchase it at select locations in Hong Kong.

Website:
https://www.aussiebao.com/

In Fusion

Showshaa: Taproom & Indian Fusion Restaurant in Surrey

January 28, 2019

Showshaa is a Tap room which serves up modern Indian fusion cuisine. They are located in South Surrey, so it is quite a drive depending on where you live. My friend’s friend told us about this place and when I saw a picture I knew I had to go check it out for lunch. On the weekday, it was pretty quiet but on the weekends, I am sure it picks up during lunch as more people are off work.

Either way, we were excited to devour their modern Indian cuisine that is actually modern for once.

Interior

There are large windows surrounding the restaurant, but the focal point is really the bar and the TV screens. There are some high top seating, bar seating, booths, and standard seating.

If you have a big group especially in the evening, its best to make reservations.

Gol Gappa Shots

These come with 6 pieces per order on the cutest little cart. It’s a popular Indian street food with crispy shells stuffed with potato and other ingredients. It sits on top of a mixture of tamarind and mint water. You can pour the shot into the crispy shells or take it as a shot. Either way works.

The tamarind and mint mixture has an interesting taste. You get the pungency of the spices but it isn’t hot spicy.

Alternatively, you can pay a bit more to spike your Gol Gappa with vodka.

Sesame Paneer Fingers

Another signature dish at Showshaa and it has marinated paneer coasted with sesame and then fried. It is served in a glass with a sweet chili sauce.

This dish has a hint of spice and it’s delicious. There are 6 pieces to an order.

Cocktail Samosas

Another appetizer that comes on a cute cart too. There are small cute bite-sized vegetarian samosas that are crispy and stuffed with assorted fillings. It is served with 2 different types of sauces.

Spiced Mumbai Shrimp

Mumbai Spiced Prawns is marinated in kashmiri red chili powder, lemon juice, and roasted cumin. Then it is deep-fried to a crispy perfection. Another signature dish and it was really good too. A good hint of spices, crisp exterior and very plump prawns.

Tikka Salad

Since we had so many appetizers for lunch, we needed to balance out the meal with some vegetables, so we ordered the Tikka Salad.

You have your choice of chicken or paneer tikka. We went with chicken. It also comes with boiled egg, greens, walnuts, crasins, feta cheese, and a tangy mango dressing. A pretty solid salad if you’re looking for something a bit healthier on the menu. The chicken tikka was seasoned well, but was a tad on the dry side.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we were really impressed by the items on their small bites menu. Very modern and innovative for a tap room serving up Indian fusion cuisine. The flavours were definitely there with a good amount of heat. None of the dishes disappointed and we’ll definitely be back in the future. Their lunch specials looked really good too like thier unlimited Royal Lunch Thali for $15.

Address:
3020 152 St #101, Surrey, BC

Website:
http://showshaa.ca

In product

Lunar New Year Gifts: Sugarfina

January 27, 2019

Lunar New Year is almost upon us on February 5th, 2019 and my family is sure to celebrate The Year of the Pig in a big way. If you’re visiting friends, family, or relatives, make sure to have a gift in hand as its a way to show respect and gratitude.

Common gifts can include lucky red envelopes with money, fruits, tea, Chinese herbs, snacks and even chocolate to name a few.

S ugarfina is a boutique candy store specializing in gourmet luxury candies for any occasion. They have crafted a selection of their classic candy flavours and new flavours for Lunar New Year.

The packaging at first glance is very elegant and is sure to spark conversation and then probably be devoured quite quickly.

Lunar New Year 8 Piece Candy Bento Box

This limited-edition red and gold foil gift box comes with a luxe collection of eight gourmet candies:

Golden Chocolate Pearls
Peach Bellini
Chocolate Kumquats
Blood Orange Fruttini
Sparkle Pops
Champagne Bears
Golden Truffle Eggs
Lucky Pigs

A great assortment of sweets with those who are gummy lovers or chocolate lovers. A little bit of something for everyone.

Our favourite flavours in the box are the lucky pigs, sparkle pops, champagne bears, and the peach bellini.

Golden Chocolate Pearls

Peach Bellini

Chocolate Kumquats

Blood Orange Fruttini

Sparkle Pops

Champagne Bears

Golden Truffle Eggs

Lucky Pigs

Lunar New Year Lantern Gift Box

If you want to go for a smaller gift, you can get their individual candy boxes and then package them in the Lunar New Year Lantern Gift Box to give it an extra look.

Red Envelopes

These porky red envelopes come in a pack of 5 with the gold foil-stamped pigs perfect for holding lucky money as a gift. You can pair this up with their Lunar New Year Gummy Pigs and Gold Pearls Candy Cubes.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it makes a great gift if you go with the big 8 piece bento box or the smaller ones. Grab them online or in-stores soon at your local Sugarfina store before they sell out.

Website:
https://www.sugarfina.com

In Japanese

Ramen Koika: Prime Rib Ramen in Vancouver

January 26, 2019

Ramen Koika has launched their limited time-only Prime Rib Ramen as their special for the next few months. They are anticipating this will stay on the menu for another 2-3 months as it’s been quite popular.

We were invited to try the prime rib ramen out for dinner.

Prime Rib Ramen

The prime rib ramen is $15.95 and it comes with a piece of AAA Prime Rib, onion, cabbage, wood ear mushroom, bean sprouts, and tonkotsu soup base with triple black garlic oil.

You can get the broth non-spicy, mild, or spicy. If you want more meat, you can add another piece of prime rib for $4.95.

I went with spicy tonkotsu broth for mine and you can definitely tell its spicy with all those red peppers. Spicy has a good amount of spice for me but it does build up over time.

My husband got mild and it also had a hint of spice which wasn’t bad at all either.

They give you a plastic glove to handle your prime rib if you want to use your hands to devour this big bone. The meat is very tender and full of flavour. Definitely the best part of the meal.

If you love meat and have a big appetite, I would suggest getting 2 ribs instead of 1.

We both got our noodles to be cooked more firm so it has more texture and chew.

Final Thoughts

The prime rib ramen isn’t a traditional ramen but it is Koika’s twist on ramen. It has more of a Korean taste profile to the ramen rather than Japanese especially with the spices used. Good to see some diversity in Vancouver’s ramen scene.

Address:
1479 Robson St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.ramenkoika.com/