Foodology
Author

Foodology

Browsing
In burger

A&W Canada: Mushroom Mozzarella Cheese and Egger Review

For a limited time only, A&W Canada is releasing their Mushroom mozzarella cheese and egger available all day as well as the mushroom mozzarella burger. It’s just the addition of the sauteed crimini mushrooms and slice of real mozzarella cheese, but who doesn’t love cheese and mushrooms together?

For mine, I also added a sausage patty to it too. The breakfast sandwich tasted good and not overly greasy or salty, which is a nice change. A solid item for breakfast if you’re hungry. It’s good that they use quality ingredients and is continually improving.

A&W has released similar versions in the past – Mushroom Mozza Burger. They have similar burgers back on the menu for a limited time too. This is similar to the breakfast sandwich but in a burger format with grilled onions.

Website:
http://www.aw.ca

 

by
Read More
In Noodles

White Lotus Cafe: Vietnamese Cuisine in North Burnaby

White Lotus Cafe just opened up in North Burnaby in a plaza with Buy Low Foods. A few people told me to check this place out as people in the neighbourhood seem to enjoy it. They serve up a variety of Vietnamese cuisine.

Interior

The space is small inside and there are only about 4 tables. At peak times, it’ll be hard to get a table, so come early or even do take out. They seem to do a good amount of take out and delivery.

Menu

Vietnamese Coffee

An essential item to order at a Vietnamese restaurant is their coffee. It has condensed milk and freshly brewed coffee. It’s a bit strong for some but so good with the condensed milk. Make sure to mix it well.

The White Lotus Platter

You get 2 pieces of each item – BBQ pork skewers, meat patties, spring rolls, and sugar cane shrimp. It also comes with a variety of vegetables, vermicelli noodles, and fish sauce.

It’s a good item to share with the table with the variety of items that comes with this platter.

Com Rice Platter

This dish has broken rice with vegetables and a side of fish sauce and soup. You can choose between lemongrass chicken, lemongrass pork chop, or meat patty. M chose his with lemongrass chicken and added a fried egg on top.

The chicken had a lot of good flavour of lemongrass and was a solid meal.

Bun Bo Hue

This has vermicelli noodles in a spicy beef broth with slices of beef shank, pork meat, and Vietnamese ham. It is then topped with cilantro, coriander, and green onions. You can choose from mild, medium, or hot spiciness level too.

I went with medium and it was quite spicy and I can handle a good amount of spice. Other than that, the broth was clear and clean tasting, which was nice. There is also a good amount of meat in there too.

BBQ Pork Banh Mi Sandwich

We got take out for their banh mi sandwiches to get a good sense of the menu. Their buttered baguette is stuffed with mayo, pate, cilantro, cucumbers, jalapenos, pickled daikon, carrots and BBQ Pork. M added extra meat and fried egg into his.

Cold Cut Banh Mi Sandwich

This has their buttered baguette with mayo, pate, cilantro, cucumbers, jalapenos, pickled daikon, carrots and cold cuts. This is their regular size and it’s still a great size for $5. The bread was crisp on the exterior and fluffy inside. The pickled veggies were a bit sweet for my personal taste, but I still liked the amount of meat.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s a great addition to the neighbourhood with decent Vietnamese cuisine. You can dine in or do take out and the prices are reasonable for the area.

Address:
 5901 Broadway, Burnaby, BC 

Website:
http://www.whitelotuscafe.ca/

by
Read More
In Canadian

The Mackenzie Room: We Couldn’t Get It All

The Mackenzie Room is located in East Vancouver by Oppenheimer Park. The neighbourhood has seen better days, but there are some great restaurants located within a few blocks of each other. Make sure to book reservations as it can get quite busy, even on a weekday.

I wanted to come here for my Birthday because the menu looked great and I wanted the “I Want It All” Tasting Menu for $65 per person. But, more on that later.

Interior

The dining room is all set prior to guests arrival. We made our reservations at 5:30pm when they open and it was quiet, until more around 6:30pm when most people booked their table.

The space is cozy and I love the old rustic look.

Menu

I was so excited to try the menu of 12 items, but unfortunately, you can only have it all if you have a minimum of 4 people. As we came here with a party of 2, we could only do half of it. The chef chooses what those 6 items will be, so it is completely a surprise. If I knew ahead of time, we would have came with more people. Its not written anywhere that you need 4 people to truly have it all.

Pinot Noir

We started with the Pinot Noir from Carson, Okanagan Falls with a 2015 vintage. Full-bodied and very delicious with hints of stone fruit.

Veggies From the Garden

The first dish to arrive are the Veggies From the Garden featuring locally grown veggies with a ‘Bagna Cauda’ of anchovies, garlic and other ingredients. It is then topped with a gremolata.

Simple but very delicious and a good way to start the meal. Even my carrot looks like it has 2 legs. Love these perfectly imperfect veggies.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Leek

This dish has squash, sous vide egg, frisée, pesto, mutsu, apples, and blue cheese. An interesting combination of ingredients but it worked out pretty well with the pungent blue cheese balanced with the pesto, and sweet apples.

Chicken of the Sea

This dish has sea urchin paté, ink brioche bread, pickled pears and hazelnuts. This was definitely a rich dish and may not be for everyone. My husband didn’t like paté in general, so this was all mine.

The ink brioche was pretty awesome but the slab of paté is pretty generous.

Sicilian Octopus

This dish has pepperonata, fennel, chickpeas, meyer lemon, and some local greens. The octopus was tender and matched well with the crispy chickpeas and the sauce.

Boar’n Ultimatum

This slab of bone-in boar is topped with soubise, Nduja, quince, and fermented turnip. It was a good size and the taste of boar really reminds us of pork.

Movie Night

This final dish was awesome. It has torta caprese, puffed sorghum, and popcorn ice cream. A fun way to end the night and I liked the different textures.

Final Thoughts

We were disappointed that we couldn’t have it all. The six dishes we had were unique but there were some items that we both didn’t like. Our favourites were the Veggies From the Garden, Sicilian Octopus, Boar’n Ultimatum and the Movie Night.

Address:
415 Powell St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.themackenzieroom.com/

by
Read More
In Japanese

Ramen Gaoh: New Ramen Shop in North Burnaby

Ramen Gaoh is a new ramen shop in North Burnaby on Hastings and Willingdon. They are the newest concept from the Menya Kouji Group, which also has Ramen Gojiro and The Ramen Butcher.

What is unique about Ramen Gaoh is that they specialize in miso ramen. Since they have been open for a few days, there have been large line ups due to a great $6 special, but that is now over. As menu prices are back to normal, there was still a line up during peak hours on weekends. Hopefully this dies down as weeks pass by.

Interior

The space isn’t too large but fits groups of 2s and 4s well. Any larger and it’ll be hard to fit.

There is indoor seating as well as heated patio seats.

Menu

Green Tea

They give everyone cold water, but I wanted some green tea, so they change for hot green tea. Pretty standard green tea and nothing exciting.  You can always ask them to refill it with hot water.

Karaage

We got the original karaage and it came with 4 large pieces and a wedge of lemon. They have other versions with tartar sauce or teriyaki sauce too.

The exterior was crunchy, moist inside, and full of flavour. Highly recommended and great for sharing.

Okonomiyaki Gyoza

Each comes with 5 pieces with okonomiyaki sauce, mayo, bonito flakes and green onions. They use their original pork gyoza made in-house.

They have different gyoza topping like miso mayo, spicy and trufffle too.

Shiro Miso

This uses white soy bean paste. Generally, it is more mellow and sweet for a lighter miso flavour in the broth. My friend added an ajitama egg and butter to her ramen.

Scorpion Ramen

This is their signature spicy ramen and the broth is made from chicken and pork with their secret miso blend. You can get it in 3 levels of spiciness as well as numbing.  At level 2 spiciness and level 1 numbing, it still packs a punch.

Misotarian Ramen

This is the miso ramen for vegetarians. It has a creamy miso and soy milk broth topped with assorted vegetables and a portobello mushroom. I added the spicy garlic sauce as well as some chashu. Not so vegetarian anymore.

It was decent if you like miso-based broths. I wished there was more of the spicy garlic sauce since it didn’t seem as fragrant. The portobello was a big size and gave the dish a nice meaty texture without the meat.

Final Thoughts

Ramen Gaoh is a great addition to the neighbourhood giving people a taste of miso based ramen. Is it my favourite ramen joint? Definitely not, but that’s only because I’m not a big fan of miso ramen. If you are, then this might be the place for you.

Address:
4518 E Hastings St, Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.ramengaoh.com/

by
Read More
In British Columbia

Starbucks Canada: New and Returning Holiday Menu Items for 2018

As Halloween comes to an end, the holidays are just beginning. As the weather cools and the holiday music starts playing in malls, it’s classic to have in hand a Starbucks holiday beverage. This year they are releasing a few new items and well as welcoming back holiday classics like the Peppermint Mocha.

Here is a sneak peek of what’s new and what’s returning on Starbucks Menu across Canada.

New Items on the menu

Holiday Cups

Starbucks is launching 4 new holiday cup designs available in Canada and the U.S. beginning November 2nd, 2018. Everyone goes crazy over those classic red cups. The holiday cups feature a suite of patterns developed from Starbucks Christmas blend coffee packaging.  Each cup gets inspiration from blending traditions and styles with the common goal of bringing people together.

Reusable Red Cups

A new, limited edition iconic Reusable Red Cup launches on November 2nd and Starbucks is giving away a FREE reusable red holiday cup to customers who purchase a handcrafted holiday beverage while supplies last.

Then, between November 2nd and January 7th, anyone who purchases a handcrafted holiday beverage using their reusable red Holiday cup after 2 p.m. will receive $0.50 off their drink order. Always good to be sustainable anyway you can be.

Juniper Latte

Holiday memories are often tied to the senses – the smell of freshly cut trees, a cold breath of winter air, the sound of footsteps, crunching on snow. The new Juniper Latte conjures up these
delightful holiday moments with its evergreen aroma combined with tingly sage. Inspired by the Seattle Roastery, the Juniper Latte is a woodsy beverage that’s handcrafted to be a lighter, but elegantly flavourful wintery beverage.

Chocolate Swirl Brioche

This has layers of dark chocolate filling and a hint of cinnamon, lightly glazed with honey syrup.

Pistachio Honey Croissant

A croissant with layers of ground pistachios and sweet honey icing.

Returning Holiday Items

Chestnut Praline Latte

Inspired by the time-honoured holiday tradition of warm roasted chestnuts, this cozy beverage features Starbucks® signature espresso combined with freshly steamed milk and flavours of caramelized chestnuts and spices. The drink is then finished with whipped cream and spiced praline crumbs for crunch.

Peppermint Mocha

Experience holiday flavour in full effect with the Peppermint Mocha, a combination of espresso, steamed milk, mocha sauce and peppermint flavoured syrup. Topped with a fluffy cloud of whipped cream and dark chocolate curls, this festive beverage is just too good to resist.

My personal favourite when it’s half sweet.

Caramel Brûlée Latte

Celebrate the season with this holiday showstopper featuring a combination of espresso, steamed milk and rich caramel brûlée flavoured sauce, topped with whipped cream and caramelized crunchy caramel brûlée topping.

Gingerbread Latte

Enjoy the flavours of freshly baked gingerbread combined with espresso and steamed milk. This holiday beverage is now topped with spice-infused whipped cream prepared with cinnamon, cloves and ginger and finished with a real molasses drizzle. The Gingerbread Latte is sure to take you on a trip down memory lane to holidays past.

Eggnog Latte

Savour Starbucks wildly popular interpretation of holiday eggnog. It features a combination of espresso and rich steamed eggnog, topped with a sprinkle of ground nutmeg, this is a perfect choice for a crisp winter morning or cozy afternoon.

Holiday Turkey & Stuffing Panini

This has sliced turkey breast topped with cranberry-herb stuffing, savoury herbs and turkey gravy, served on warm and toasty focaccia bread.

Carved Ham & Swiss Breakfast Sandwich

This sandwich has maple ham, Swiss cheese and scrambled eggs on their signature croissant.

Cranberry Bliss Bar

A blondie cake base topped with sweet cream icing, tart dried cranberries and white orange drizzle.

Nanaimo Bar

A Canadian exclusive – soft vanilla custard filling layered on top of a chocolate and coconut graham base topped with a layer of rich chocolate.

With all the holiday spirit coming to a Starbucks near you, there’s a lot of choices you can make when grabbing a holiday beverage. All items are also highly customizable too. Whether you can it less sweet, more whipped cream, use milk alternatives, or turned into a frappuccino.

by
Read More
In Chinese

Old Xian’s Food: Now Open on Robson Street

Old Xian’s Food finally opened another location in Metro Vancouver. There are other locations in Richmond, Burnaby and Vancouver on Kingsway. Best known for their biang biang noodles that are soooo long and thick that you can’t help but take a photo of it. Besides that pork sandwiches and cold noodles are classic items.

I came here after work with M as it was only a few blocks away from his work and I was also craving noodles.

Interior

The space is a decent size and is best for groups of 4s. As it hasn’t been open for very long, the place wasn’t too busy around dinner time.

Menu

Xian Cold Noodle

The Xian cold noodles are a classic and one of the most popular dishes from that region. It is served cold with vinegar, chili oil, noodles, cucumbers and gluten. You give this dish a good mix so you get some of their delicious sauce coating the noodles. You can get this in a variety of spice levels, but I went with medium spiciness.

It wasn’t too spicy at all and barely registered any spiciness at all. There was a stronger vinegar taste to the sauce instead.

Brasied Beef with Biang Biang Noodles

Biang Biang Noodles are wide and very long. We went with braised beef and there was a good amount of beef and cabbage to the dish. It was delicious and a hearty meal.

Stewed Pork Burger

The stewed pork burger could have used some more work. It seems like when the added in the stewed pork, there was a lot of sauce, so half of the bun was soaked and hard to handle. There was pickled veggies missing too.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the noodles were the star of Old Xian’s Food. The spice level isn’t very spice, so you don’t have to sweat it. Most prices are $10 and under, which is nice for the area.

Address:
1517 Robson St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://oldxiansfood.ca/

by
Read More
In European

Cinara: Carte Blanche Tasting Menu in Vancouver

Cinara is the sister restaurant of Autostrada Osteria and is known for their Italian dishes like pasta. Cinara is closing down by the end of 2018 and will be rebranded as Autostrada. When talking to the staff, they assured us that only minor tweaks would be made, so it’s not a full facelift.

For our monthly foodie blogger dinner, we decided to come have dinner here as we heard good things about the menu. I’ve missed the last few meet ups since Summer has been busy, but I was able to make it this time to see my blogging friends again as well as celebrating my birthday.

We opted to do the Carte Blanche – 6 Course Tasting Menu for $75 as it seemed like it would give us a good taste of the menu.

Interior

The space is quaint and set the mood for an intimate dinner. Reservations are best to ensure your group has a seat as you never know if it will be super busy or not.

Menu

House Sourdough Bread and Whipped Butter

To start off the tasting, we had a slice of baked sourdough for each person at the table with whipped butter. The bread was nice and rustic but we felt there was definitely excess flour on the outside that made the crust harder and more flakey.

Chicken Live Paté

This was the amuse bouche for the evening. It is a chicken liver paté on a crisp flatbread with fermented cornichon, which are pickles. You first take your knife and spread it all over so it is evenly spread out and enjoy. It was delicious.

Burrata Cheese

The next dish is their creamy burrata cheese served with a dollop of preserved and fresh plum purée, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and cracked pepper. It didn’t pair very well with the plum and took away from the burrata as the star of the dish.

Beef Tartare

This isn’t your typical beef tartare. It has house ground strip-loin beef tartare with pickled pear, radish, local greens and creme fraiche. It’s not as densely packed as other beef tartares out there and was missing more of an acidic element to this dish.

Pacific Halibut Cartuccio

This dish has halibut wrapped up in parchment then baked in the oven. It is accompanied with potato, carrot, and escarole underneath. Then it is poached in plenty of butter. This was the worst dish of the evening. It was incredibly overcooked and dense.

Tortelloni

This is a larger version of tortellini. It was very delicious and one of our favourite dishes of the evening. We wished there were most pasta dishes as part of this tasting menu as they specialize in pasta.

Pork Collar

This is served with cipollini onion, cannelloni beans, apples, chanterelle, and brussel sprouts. It was tender and delicious, but a tad on the salty side. I wished this portion was a bit larger but as it was on the tasting menu, it looked like the pork collar was chopped in half, which made it less appealing.

Salted Caramel Tart

The salted caramel tart has crushed pine nuts and a dollop of apple purée on the side. It was a great way to end the meal. I wished this slice was bigger as it was very good.

Final Thoughts

The 6 course tasting menu for $75 wasn’t as I had imagined. There were more misses on it that hits. The portions were smaller and looked like it was sawed in half. We would have preferred to order the regular items from the menu and probably saved some money that way. We tried it, so you don’t have to. Just stick with the pasta dishes and you can’t go wrong.

Address:
350 W Pender St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://cinara.ca/

by
Read More
In Downtown

Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba: Japanese Noodles in Downtown Vancouver

Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba opened up in Downtown Vancouver right under BCIT Downtown Campus on Seymour Street. Japanese Chef Takuma Ishikawa created KOKORO mazesoba in Tokyo Japan in 2013 and soon expanded quickly around Japan. Ever since they opened in Vancouver, its sent the city in a frenzy over their mazesoba.

Mazesoba is literally translated as mixed noodle – a soupless ramen.

Interior

There are a good amount of seats, but I usually avoid the rush. If you want to get a seat around lunch, come at 12 or before then. For dinner, early is best around 5:30pm.

If you just want ice cream to go, you can order it at the counter and bypass the lineup. This would be great for the Summer.

Menu

Nika Mazesoba

This is their best seller mazesoba on the menu. It has slow-brased chashu, spicy minced park, raw egg yolk, minced garlic, green onion, seaweed flakes, saba fish, chives, and their multi-grain noodles which is made in house.

Zenbu Mazesoba

Zenbu Mazesoba is their chef’s special and it has a bit of everything. It has slow-braised pork chashu, spicy minced pork, raw egg yolk, seaweed, soft boiled egg, bamboo shoot, seaweed flakes, chives, green onion, minced garlic, saba fish, and their multi-grain noodles.

Don’t forget to get the free scoop of rice afterwards to soak up all the extra sauce.

Mentaiko Cream Mazesoba

There is mentaiko, slow-braised pork chashu, raw egg yolk, seaweed flakes, spinach, green onion, minced garlic, Japanese cream sauce, saba fish, and the multi-grain noodles. It was very delicious and there is plenty of sauce on the noodles and you’ll want the extra ball of rice to soak it all up.

Chicken Karaage

The pork gyozas are crisp and have a nice subtle ginger taste. A good side dish to go with your meal.

Pork Gyoza

The pork gyozas are crisp on the bottom. Very delicious and has a good mixture of pork and veggie.

Kokoro Yogurt Refresher

You can get this in passionfruit or peach flavours, but it is a very sweet drink.

Tokyo Iced Milk Tea

They also have milk tea which is brewed with 100% organic black tea.

Hokkaido Creme Cone

This sells in limited quantities as they can only make so many cones per day. It is made with organic milk soft serve ice cream made by their Japanese Nissei machine. It is delicious and the cookie cone is addictive. The only problem with it is that it melts fast and will start leaking out the bottom, so be careful when eating.

Fuji Cheese Cup Cake

The spoons are so cute as it’s shaped like a shovel. There is cheesecake, which is rich and delicious. On the bottom, there is a chocolate cookie crumb on the bottom to break up the taste.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the hype is real and their mazesoba is the start of the show. Drinks are mediocre, but the desserts and side dishes are good accompaniments. I didn’t have the ramen this time, but since Mazesoba is their specialty, you’ll want to go get that.

Address:
551 Seymour St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://menyakokoro.com/

by
Read More
In British Columbia

Starbucks Canada: Witch’s Brew Frappuccino Review

While Starbucks customers have been busy sipping on their PSLs, Starbucks has been secretly mixing up a special potion to help get them in the Halloween spirit. Starting today, customers at Starbucks Canada can taste the perfect blend of “toad’s breath,” “bat warts,” and “lizard scales” in the new Witch’s Brew Frappuccino.

The Witch’s Brew Frappuccino

The Witch’s Brew Frappuccino starts with a purple blend of “toad’s breath” which tastes like swirl orange crème Frappuccino. You can see a swirl of green “bat warts” is added in the form of chia seeds. Finally, the potion is topped with vanilla whipped cream and a dusting of green “lizard scale” powder.

At first glance, it is very pretty like Krusty the Clown. A lot of people wondered what this new drink is and curious about the taste. As we took the first few sips, it definitely wasn’t desirable anymore. The orange creme is faint and was most sweet and artificial tasting. The chia seeds were a nice addition as it added texture to the drink.

You can get this drink for the Instagrammable factor, but I don’t know if you will actually like it. Our office had a clear consensus that it wasn’t good.

The Witch’s Brew Frappuccino is available at participating Starbucks stores in the Canada starting today, Oct. 25, for a limited time while supplies last, along with the Mummy Cake Pop.

Website:
https://www.starbucks.ca/

by
Read More
In British Columbia

EAT! Vancouver 2018 Events are starting November 5th

The 16th annual EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival is back for another year and we’re counting down with just two weeks to go. Events will run throughout the city between November 5 and 10. Attracting top culinary talent from around the world, this year’s event includes:

Charity Partner: Project CHEF Education Society

EAT! Vancouver has partnered up with Project CHEF Education Society, which is a not-for-profit society that offers experiential programs to teach children and families about healthy cooking and eating. With a purchase of a ticket to any EAT! Vancouver event, you are supporting Project CHEF. In 2017, $25,000 was donated to Project Chef through EAT! Vancouver enabling the charity to reach 556 children and 350 parent volunteers. This is important as times have changed and in our fast-paced lives knowledge of healthy eating and the associated skills are often not being transferred to the younger generation. Meals consisting of nutritionally lacking, highly processed foods are eaten on the run and rarely around a dinner table.

by
Read More
In Cafe

Hui Lau Shan: Now Open in Downtown Vancouver

It was late at night and my friends and I stumbled upon Hui Lau Shan open on Denman Street close to Robson Street. I have been anticipating their opening for a while as the first location in Kerrisdale is a bit far for me to get to.

Hui Lau Shan is a Hong Kong dessert maker that specializes in Mango desserts. If you’ve been to Hong Kong, it’s the place to cool off during the hot Summer with their mango drinks. They look like they are slowly expanding in Metro Vancouver with the next location inside the T&T Supermarket in Richmond.

Interior

The space is a decent size with a few tables for groups of 4ish. There seemed to be some people doing take out and some staying inside to eat and chit chat. My friends decided to stay a bit and enjoy the desserts while chit chatting.

After you put in your order, you get an electronic device that will signal you when your order is ready.

Menu 

Mango Romance

This is a popular item as it’s essentially a taster of 3 different dishes – mango pomelo sago, mango mochi and mango chewy ball. It’s full of mango goodness.

Mango Pomelo Sago

A classic item with mango puree, tapioca, mango pieces, and pomelo. You can devour this all yourself or share with a friend.

Final Thoughts

We got the 2 most popular items on the menu and it really took us back to Hong Kong. The mangoes were perfectly ripe with the right amount of tartness and sweetness. The size of the overall desserts could be a bit bigger for what you pay for but given the rising costs in Vancouver like rent, labour, and food costs, I can see why they charge higher prices in comparison to places in Asia.

The taste itself was good, but presentation could be a bit better as the mango chunks were hastily cut. It took then a while to create the desserts but given that it was their first day, they have some kinks to work out before they have their grand opening.

Nonetheless, they are in Vancouver and gives us more dessert options in Downtown Vancouver.

Address:
907 Denman St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.hlsvancouver.com/

by
Read More
In Event

Taste of Yaletown 2018 Preview: The Greek by Anatoli

Taste of Yaletown is back for their 14th year, where you have the opportunity to select special tasting menus from participating restaurants, each at $25, $35, or $45 price points.  This starts October 18 to the 28th and you can celebrate and savour Vancouver’s best dining district sure to tempt the most adventurous foodie.

The Greek by Anatoli

We got a sneak peek of The Greek by Anatoli and their $35 and $45 Taste of Yaletown menu consisting of  your choice of an appetizer, entree, and dessert. It’s good that they have more than one menu to give you a wider range of options.

$35 Taste of Yaletown Menu

Appetizer:
Homous
Taramasolata
Calamari

Entree:
Vegan Moussaka
Souvlaki Platter with choice of chicken or pork
Pastitio
Kreotopita

Dessert:
Emek
Chocolate Mousse

$45 Taste of Yaletown Menu

Appetizer:
Dip Trio
Spanakopita (1 piece)
Keftedes
Calamari
Greek Salad (Small)

Entree:
Vegan or Meat Moussaka
1/2 Roast Chicken Platter
Country Lamb Platter

Dessert:
Emek
Chocolate Mousse

We tried a few items off the menus to get a taste of what they offer their guests.

Dip Trio

Greek Salad

Homous and Pita Bread

Calamari

Keftedes

Spanakopita

Pastitio

1/2 Roast Chicken Platter

Souvlaki Platter

Country Lamb Platter

Final Thoughts

The 2 menus for Taste of Yaletown is great as it gives you variety to try items off their menu. The atmosphere is always lively in the evenings and the staff works hard to make sure you’re have a great time. We even ended our night with a shot. The food is delicious and you can’t go wrong with any of the platters or the classic Greek dishes.

Address:
1043 Mainland st, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://thegreekbyanatoli.com/

by
Read More
In Event

Taste of Yaletown 2018 Preview: House Special

Taste of Yaletown is back for their 14th year, where you have the opportunity to select special tasting menus from participating restaurants, each at $25, $35, or $45 price points.  This starts October 18 to the 28th and you can savour Vancouver’s best dining district. It’s sure to tempt the most adventurous foodie.

House Special

We got a sneak peek of House Special and their $35 Taste of Yaletown menu consisting on an appetizer, entree, and dessert. You will need a minimum of 2 people as items are shared family-style. If you are vegetarian, there is another menu as well.

House Special is a modern Vietnamese restaurant located in Yaletown. They have been dazzling locals and visitors for years with their delicious creations and tempting cocktails.

Xiu Mai Sliders

These are traditional Xiu Mai pork meatballs on a jalapeño herb biscuit. The biscuit holds well together and the meatballs were so flavourful and delicious especially when paired with the other items on the side.

Banh Hoi Platter

This interactive dish has a grilled meat platter with fresh greens & herbs. It is served with rice paper for wrapping. You can create your own lettuce wraps or salad rolls with:

  • Lemongrass beef tenderloin brochette,
  • Sugarcane minced pork,
  • Betel-wrapped Beef,
  • Crispy wonton-wrapped shrimp,
  • Marinated pork jowl, and
  • Vietnamese seafood coral.

It’s such an interactive meal and we all enjoyed it very much. If it’s your first time here, they will help guide you through how to make a wrap.

Mix a little bit of everything in your wrap and you can’t go wrong.

Dessert Three Ways

You get an assortment of traditional Vietnamese Che desserts all on one plate for the table. There is sweet rice and mango, their modern version of che, and sticky rice red bean item on a spoon.

Vegetarian Menu

There is also a vegetarian menu for those who can’t have any meat in their diet. It’s great that they offer this option.

Mushroom & Egg Slider

There is mushroom and egg on a jalapeño basil biscuit

Vegetarian Banh Hoi & Banh Xeo Platter

This version has a platter of angel hair vermicelli, fresh herbs and traditional veggies for wrapping. Also served with:

  • Banh Xeo
    (Crispy turmeric crepe with jicama, mushroom, beansprouts, and pickled vegetables)
  • Vietnamese Coral
    (Taro, sweet potato, carrot, mung bean fritter)
  • Vegan Spring Rolls
  • Salted Radish & Green Onion Omelet

Dessert Three Ways

Final Thoughts

It’s a great menu for any special occasion or a good night out. Be sure to make reservations ahead of time or else you may be disappointed as House Special is a very popular restaurant in the neighbourhood. For $35 per person, the menu is well crafted and gives you a taste of modern Vietnamese cuisine.

Address:
1269 Hamilton St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.housespecial.ca/

by
Read More
In Harrison Mills

A day at Rowena’s Inn inside the Sandpiper Resort

Sandpiper Resort is home to their Sandpiper golf course, Rowena’s Inn on the River and the Clubhouse Restaurant. It’s a great place to get away from the city and disconnect. There are views of Harrison River and the mountains surrounding the area. Popular for weddings too as it has a rustic vibe and if you luck out with the weather, pictures are going to be amazing.

Sand Piper Golf Course

Their award winning golf course has 18 holes and they have weekly specials if you are looking for some good deals throughout the week. You can essentially spend all day out there on the green.

Rowena’s Inn on the River

Rowena’s Inn on the River is home to 4 luxury cabins that transports you back to the cottage. The space is very restful and relaxing and has a unique charm to it.

You are surrounded by nature. You, your family or friends can really disconnect from your busy lives and slow down a bit. Each cottage is named after the Pretty Family– Fenn, Nelson, Phyllis, and Carol Anne’s, which are the original owners.

We stayed in the Carol Anne Cottage and this room has garden views and a huge king-sized bed with clean and durable linens.

The windows surrounding the cabin give in a lot of natural light in additional to the lighting inside.

Depending on the time of year, you you might be able to turn the fireplace on. As we went during a fire-ban due to the wild forest fires, we were not permitted to use the fireplace. Unfortunate, but if you come during Winter and Spring, it won’t be an issue at all.The fireplace really makes this place shine and feel extra cozy. There isn’t a TV in the space, but the really forces you to talk to each other and spend more quality time together.

The cabins feature heated-slatted floors, deep-soaker jacuzzi tubs for two, glassed-in showers and woodburning handcrafted river rock fireplaces.

A relaxing time inside and outside of this cottage.

Dinner at Clubhouse Restaurant

There is one restaurant on the property – The Clubhouse which serves up West Coast fare using local ingredients. They are open 364 days a year, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.

There is plenty of seating inside and outside on their patio.

Drinks

On the menu, they have alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. I went with the ginger beer and my friend had the Sandi Piper cocktail, which has vodka, ginger ale, cranberry and a hint of lime.

Wings

You can get a pound of wings in hot, whiskey bbq, honey garlic, mango habanero, or salt and pepper. We went with the salt and pepper as it’s classic. It comes with some veggies and dip on the side.

Baja Salmon Salad

The baja salmon salad comes in 2 sizes – half or full size. We went with the full sized version for dinner. It has a seared cajun Harrison Select Sockeye Salmon fillet, mixed greens, house spicy dressing, tomato, spanish onion, red peppers, tomato, cucumber, jalapeños, and fresh tortilla chips. It was an interesting salad, but we felt the dressing was a bit heavy handed.

Salmon Wellington

One of the popular items on the menu is the salmon wellington. It has wild Sockeye Salmon wrapped in puff pastry and paired with spinach artichoke farce lemon dill cream, and seasonal vegetables. Very delicious.

Complimentary Breakfast

For every guest’s stay, you get vouchers for complimentary breakfast, which is a nice touch before you check out for the day.

We came early in the morning and it comes with a beverage and one dish. We started off with some hot tea to get our appetites going.

Bagel and Lox

There is smoked salmon lox, cream cheese, pickled onion, and a toasted sesame bagel. A fun item to eat any way you want. Either on its own or you can stick all the lox into the bagel.

Eggs Benedict

You can get your egg benny with either traditional back bacon or veggie with tomato and spinach. I went with the traditional back bacon and it has two poached eggs on a toasted english muffin, hollandaise, and hash browns. I asked for the egg to be poached soft and they did a good job making sure when I cut into it, that all that delicious egg yolk oozed out.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was a quick stay at Rowena’s Inn on the River at Sandpiper Resort. We enjoyed the nice scenery and quiet time together as the day went on. Very restful and relaxing.

Address:
14282 Morris Valley Rd, Harrison Mills, BC

Website:
https://rowenasinnontheriver.com/

by
Read More
In product

Oh Henry’s 4:25 Bar: Review

Oh Henry! launched their 4:25 bar earlier this Summer but it was a bit hard to find on grocery store shelves. As the government of Canada is legalizing cannabis on October 17, 2018, it makes sense that the 4:25 Bar is back on store shelves. When I saw it, I decided to buy a few to review.

From the colours of the packaging and name, the idea of creating this chocolate bar was to associate it with cannabis culture.

This bar has crunchy peanuts wrapped around chewy caramel and supposedly looking to satisfy your munchies 5 minutes after 4:20. It is just made out of peanuts and caramel, so there isn’t any cannabis in it.

Whether you are for or against cannabis culture, I’m really just interested in how this 4:35 bar tastes like. There are a lot of peanuts covering the caramel and surprisingly the caramel didn’t stick too much to my teeth. The texture was what I enjoyed the most. I thought I would miss the chocolate like in the original Oh Henry! bar but I didn’t mind it at all.

It’s only available for a limited time, so I’m not sure how long it will be on store shelves for, but get it before it’s gone.

by
Read More
In Brunch

Sweetery Café + Dessert: Brunch on the Weekends

The Sweetery Café + Dessert is located in Vancouver near the Cambie and Olympic Village area on W 2nd Avenue. They have been around serving up delicious breakfasts and lunches in the neighbourhood for some time now. A favourite local spot for brunch and to indulge in egg bennies and chicken and waffles. They are now open on the weekends for brunch.

Interior

There is a lot of seating inside and you can put in your order up at the counter and pay. Then you can find a seat in the seating area.

Menu

Belgium Waffles

They make fresh Belgium Waffles to order and you can choose them with different toppings like bacon, sausage, or fresh fruit and whipped cream.

Depending on if you like savoury or sweet, you have the choice to decide what suits your taste buds.

Chicken and Waffles

The classic chicken and waffles on their menu has their Belgium waffles, Sweetery-style fried chicken, chilli maple butter, bacon, hash, and maple syrup.

This is one of their most popular items on the menu.

Crab Cake Benny

The Crab Cake Benny has poached eggs, chili cream cheese, hollandaise, mixed greens, and hash.

The egg was beautifully poached and oozed as it was cut.

Smoked Turkey Benny

They have specials on their menu and while we were here, it was near Thanksgiving, so they created the Smoked Turkey Benny with poached eggs, turkey, peppercorn gravy, cranberry, and chutney. It is served with smash potatoes and fresh fruit on the side.

Jersey City Burger

They have partnered up with Relish Gourmet Burgers to add some of their burger items to the menu. The Jersey City burger has fried field mushrooms, pickled peppers, pancetta bacon, and provolone cheese. We had the side of sweet potato fries, which are $4.25 extra.

The burger was ok, but it could have a bit more charbroiled taste to it.

Honey Dijon Beef Baguette

There are sandwiches on the menu too if you aren’t too into brunch items. This item is panini grilled, so you get a hot toasty sandwich with a crisp exterior.

Homemade Baked Goods

There are a lot of home made baked goods, so if you want a sweet snack with a drink, they have that too.

Berry Chia Pudding

Got some dietary restrictions? They have gluten-free and vegan options on the menu and one of them is their chia seed puddings.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

As it is October, it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and you can purchase a pink ribbon with a $2 donations. Also, every pink item sold, they will be donating $1.

Final Thoughts

They have an extensive list of menu items, which everything is made in-house. From pastries to burgers, the taste of the items we tried were decent. Nothing really stood out, but there are a lot of items to choose from.

Address:
340 W 2nd Ave, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.sweeterycafe.com/

by
Read More
In product

M&M’s Chocolate Bars Launches in North America

M&M’s is launching their new line of chocolate bars as of October 4th and will be widely available across Canada in 2019.

These are available in 5 different varieties:

  • Peanut
  • Milk Chocolate
  • Crispy
  • Almond
  • Crispy Mint

The M&M’s Chocolate Bars consist of smooth milk chocolate with whole M&M Minis visible throughout a large, molded and sharable bar format.

Each piece has an ideal ratio of creamy milk chocolate and M&M minis. There is a crunch in every bite.

Peanut

Inside the milk chocolate bar, there are the Mini’s as well as peanuts. This was my favourite of the bunch as the texture from the Mini’s and peanuts go so well together.

Milk Chocolate

The classic milk chocolate bar with Mini’s. Uncomplicated and simple for the milk chocolate lover.

Crispy

Another delicious combination with Mini’s and crisp rice. Great for texture as you chimp down on each piece.

Almond

Another nutty variety with bits of almond and Mini’s. This was good too. The almond was subtle and not as strong as the peanuts.

Crispy Mint

When you open the package, the fragrance of mint will envelop your senses. Combined with the Mini’s and crisp rice, this might just be for you.

Final Thoughts

It’s interesting that they launched 5 varieties of the bar instead of just one to cater to those with different preferences. If you see them at your local store, definitely pick one up and share it with friends.

Website:
http://www.mms.com/

by
Read More
In Downtown

Wasabi Robson: Aburi, Sushi Rolls and Bento Boxes

Wasabi Robson is the newest sushi restaurant to open up in Downtown Vancouver at the Vancouver Public Library. I saw them on Instagram and wanted to make a visit as they make a few aburi-style sushi items on the menu as well as more affordable items like bento box sets, curry and udon. They seem to cater those who want a quick meal and those who want a bit more of an indulgence like aburi at lower prices.

Interior

They take reservations after 3pm, so I made one for my group of friends. The restaurant is half seating and half kitchen. The traffic fluctuated through the night but if you are in a larger group, reservations are best.

They are fairly new and have some kinks to work out. Service was very mediocre, so we were rarely given tea until we asked and also they didn’t clear the dishes or give us the bill. Also the abundance of fruit flies were very bothersome.

Menu

Crown Tart

The Crown Tart is made with scallop, wild salmon, tuna, avocado, sushi rice, and aburi sauce. Then topped with lemon slices and shrimp. It’s a good size and very delicious. You can have it by yourself or share with the table.

Wild Salmon Aburi Oshi

This comes with 6 pieces per order and it has flame-seared wild salmon sushi with their signature aburi sauce on top with a piece of jalapeño.

Saba Aburi Oshi

This has flame-seared mackerel sushi with their signature sauce on top. The saba is a salty mackerel that is always very delicious in aburi form. The sauce on top is different than the other aburi items.

Ebi Aburi Oshi

This has flame-seared shrimp sushi with their signature sauce on top. Another delicious item.

Gyoza

It comes with 5 pieces but we asked them to make it 6 pieces and added a dollar extra so it would be easier for the table to split as we were a party of 6. It was good but it would have been nice is there was some sauce or dip to go along with it like ponzu sauce.

Salmon Avocado Roll

This uses wild salmon and avocado rolled up in sushi rice. Perfectly ripe avocados and good quality wild salmon.

Final Thoughts

If you want a good inexpensive simple meal, the bento boxes are the way to go as they are just over $10. Good for a quick cheap lunch. For this visit, I went more the aburi items and they were good for the price.  The only things that bothered me were the service and cleanliness. Those are the two things they should really work on.

Their hours are limited as they aren’t open weekends and close early into the evenings on weekdays.

Address:
202-345 Robson St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.wasabirobson.com/

by
Read More
Load More