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In British Columbia

Going Across the Border with Modo

I have a corporate Modo account through my employer, but I recently got an individual account for personal trips in and out of town. I love how you can take their cars across the border and it’s a-ok. Their fleet insurance covers you to drive anywhere in Canada and the US. This definitely got my attention as I don’t like driving my own vehicle across the border because of wear and tear. When my foodie friends decided to go an impromptu trip to Seattle, Modo seemed like the perfect solution for our transportation. The pricing was very fair especially when insurance and gas (up to 200km) is covered.

Through the mobile app, I booked the 2015 Grey Nissan Vera Note, which is a 4-door hatchback with audio capabilities through an auxiliary cord, bluetooth, or USB. The best part is the rear-view camera, which not all cars in their fleet have. That rear-view camera really helped in a pinch especially when parallel parking.

We had it for an entire day and had no troubles with the vehicle. We filled up gas twice and since there is a Modo credit card inside, we had no problem using it at gas stations in Vancouver or Seattle.

You don’t have a traditional key for unlocking the vehicle, but you have your own fob that you scan over an electronic device over the reader and all the doors unlock. You don’t want to lose this fob.

Travel Tips with Modo:

  • Give yourself a bit of extra time before your trip to inspect your booked vehicle—inside and out.
  • Remove any items that don’t belong to you or the Modo car.

Overall, it was a great choice for a mini roadtrip, we will definitely use Modo again when we travel cross the border.

Website: http://modo.coop/

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In Brunch

Rocko’s Diner: Archie Themed Milkshakes and Burgers

Rocko’s Diner is a 24 hours diner and is best know for bring in the pilot episode of Riverdale. Since we were passing by Mission, BC, we decided to make a stop for breakfast before heading to Castle Fun Park. They are one of the last free standing diners in BC. Still, they are family owned and operated and take a great sense of pride in being a successful independent restaurant.

Interior

Once you take a glance here, you know it looks like Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe with all the booth seating on both sides. The red neon sign up above at night makes this place look perfect. During the day, the sign doesn’t have a large effect.

Archie/Riverdale Inspired Menu Items

On the menu, you’ll find a few items that are inspired by the show/comic book series. You can go for their milkshakes or the J Jones Burger. Very fitting for the characters. We didn’t end up getting these items as we were all craving their breakfast items.

Coffee

Coffee is an excellent way to start the day. We always get coffee at a diner, plus refills are great.

Disco Fries

The Disco Fries has onion rings and fries covered with mozzarella and cheddar smothered in gravy. A great item to share among the table. Plus, onion rings and gravy work well together.

Eggs Bennie

This classic dish has poached eggs, smoked ham, Hollandaise served on a grilled English muffin and a side of hash browns.

Black Rock Bennie

This has Grilled English muffin topped with crispy bacon, grilled tomatoes and hollandaise sauce. It is served with hash browns on the side. This was ok, but not that great. A bit expensive for what you get.

Rockos Skillet

You have your choice of Rocko’s Corn Beef, kubasa, bacon, ham, or sausage. Everyone got it with their corn beef. It is served with sautéed mushrooms, onions, melted cheese, green onions, hash browns and topped with 2 eggs. There is also toast on the side too.

Garden Omelette

This omelette has mushrooms, tomatoes, green onions, white onions and cheese. It is served with toast and hashbrowns.

Final Thoughts

Cool diner to go to but the food is sub par and is a bit pricey for what you get. It was nice to come here for the nostalgia and being where the Riverdale cast shot on episode, but the food isn’t that great.

We Rate Rocko’s Diner: 

Address:
32786 Lougheed Hwy, Mission

Website:
http://www.rockosdiner.com/

Rocko's Family Diner Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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In Event

Richmond Night Market 2017: What We Ate

I went with a few of my foodie friends to the Richmond Night Market and we tried to find some of the most delicious items here. With over 100 food stalls, we only made a tiny dent in comparison to the 500+ food options here. We had grand ambitions, but failed miserably, we are only human. Here are all the stalls we went to.

Chef James Xin Jiang Man BBQ

A familiar stall for those who have been at the Richmond Night Market for several years. They specialize in grilled skewers – lamb, beef, chicken, honey garlic prawns, and a few more types. It’s our favourite place to get the best skewers at this years Richmond Night Market.

Your skewers are freshly prepared, but waiting is no problem as it’s really fun watching them work.

We even made him recreate his signature pose with all the delicious skewers. Spicy lamb, beef and chicken are my go-to favourites. Highly recommended.

Sippy Tea

Sippy tea is super cute as it’s served in a customized ziplock bag…or shall we call it siplock bag? Anyways, inside these bags are iced tea and coffee mix with different flavours your can choose from. It’s a popular drink to have in Hong Kong called Yuenyeung. We got the black tea, jasmine and raspberry-rose flavours. I am a purist, so the classic black tea and jasmine tea is a good choice.

Tabetai Tacos

If you know Cooking with Ben from Instagram, he has opened up 2 stalls at the Richmond Night Market – Ohana Poke and Tabetai Tacos. We went to Tabetai Tacos for their Kakuni (pork belly), Gyutan (beef tongue) and Soft Shell Crab tacos.

Gyutan (beef tongue) taco has a lot of the tender flavourful meat. Usually The taco is pretty hefty, so there are so great texture in here.

Kakuni (pork belly) Taco has sliced apples to balance out the fattiness from the pork belly.

Soft Shell Crab tacos was the hit of the 3 tacos. A healthy portion and love the meatiness of the crab and the crisp batter.

Mamak La

Mac and Cheese Roti with Bacon and Jalapeño comes with 4 pieces to an order. The mac and cheese reminded me of Kraft dinner, but it was amplified by the jalapeño and the put in between thin sheets of grilled roti.

Coco Bomb has Fresh Coco Shell Sorbet Ice Cream. I went with one scoop as I wanted to make sure I had room for all the other stalls. It is then topped with pineapple, corn flakes and chocolate syrup.

Mango Yummy

Sherman went with a classic mango sago pomelo drink. If you’ve been to past night markets or have been to their store, you know they have pretty awesome refreshing drinks.

Soft Serve with Golden Leaf

Turning something basic into a luxury ice cream is what Maggi was eyeing.

Teppan Bossam

Get a taste of Korean pork belly from Teppan Bossam. It is topped with more sauce, sesame seeds, green onions and served with kimchi on the side.

Hand Made Senbei

This famous Japanese street food is from Enoshima, Kamakura. They create this large cracker using high pressure to cook the seafood into this form. There is no oil and its not deep fried.

Bao Bar Sweets

EatwithMao got their favourite soy milk ice cream with chinese donut.

Rain Drop

The raindrop cake has 2 beautiful edible flowers embedded inside. It is  served with a sprinkling of soybean powder called kinako and a sweet syrup. There really isn’t a lot of taste to the raindrop cake as it’s just agar.

Final Thoughts

I love the night market in Richmond, but it is definitely crowded closer to 9pm. When we came here at 7pm, it wasn’t too too busy, but line ups to get inside were long. It’s the place to be this Summer, if you are a food lover. Of all the night markets in Vancouver, this one is the largest and most lively. Make sure to bring cash to avoid extra charges using their ATMs.

Address:
8351 River Rd, Richmond, BC

Website: http://richmondnightmarket.com/

Richmond Night Market Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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In Alaska

Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska

When we were making a port stop at Juneau, Alaska, we decided to go on a guided tour to go whale watching and view Mendenhall Glacier. Our travel agent was able to book us on 3 excursions for a good rate. We went with Dolphin Jet Boat Tours to enjoy the next few hours as they show us the beauty of Juneau.

Meeting

We left downtown Juneau from the tram area on a bus driven by a local tour guide on a scenic drive through Juneau out to Auke Bay for the jet boats. The ride is around 30 minutes long.

Whale Watching Adventure

Our captain and naturalist led the way on a search for whales in Favorite Channel, Stephens Passage, Lynn Canal and Saginaw Channel.

They have binoculars so you can better see the humpbacks, killer whales, Dall’s porpoise, harbor seals, Steller sea lions, bald eagles, and towering mountains. Most people ended up looking with their bare eyes or through their cameras.

With the growing abundance of whales in the area and their ease with the small boats, you are bound to see many.

The easiest way to spot wales is when they take a breath and spray water up in the air. We saw a handful of wales, and a ton of seals and sea lions.

The captain takes the time to help you get the best shots, he was able to get up close and personal with the wildlife within safe boundaries.

Included in the price of the tour are onboard refreshments including Coke products, bottled water, coffee and hot chocolate, and a small snack of locally-caught Alaskan salmon spread on a bagel.

The bagel was super hard and not enjoyable.

Mendenhall Glacier

Right after the whale watching, we were given another ride to the Mendenhall Glaciers, which is 1 of 38 glaciers flowing from the massive 1,500-square-mile ice field.

Besides seeing the glacier, you can either go to the Nugget Creek Falls or Photo Point Trail. We barely had enough time to complete the Nugget Creek Falls, so we ended up just going to Photo Point Trail and taking a lot of photos to make it back to the bus on time.

The whole area is beautiful and it’s worth a visit here. There’s wildlife around the area, so we had to be careful because there was a group of bears roaming around.

With the gradually rising temperatures, the glacier is receding, so it isn’t as lush and glorious as before.

Final Thoughts

Juneau is beautiful when you explore outside of their small downtown area. You’ll definitely want to spend some time catching the views. It’s so much better than staying in the city.

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In appetizer

Soy Stained Devilled Eggs and Dungeness Crab from Egg Farmers of Canada’s Chef Ambassador Trevor Bird

Egg Farmers of Canada invited me to an evening celebrating local eating. While food trends may come and go, eggs are always in style and in season. And, to celebrate the bounty of Canadian produce, Egg Farmers of Canada’s Chef Ambassadors have come together to create a sophisticated menu pairing eggs with regional ingredients from across the country. Chef Trevor Bird put together an Soy Stained Devilled Eggs and Dungeness Crab and it was amazing. Best devilled egg I’ve ever had. The success of this recipe also depends on what kind of eggs you use, I personally love Born 3 Eggs or Country Golden Yolk Free Range Eggs.

Soy Stained Devilled Eggs and Dungeness Crab

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Serves 8

Soy Stained Eggs:

  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup (250 mL) soy sauce
  • 1 cup (250 mL) rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp (30 mL) Sriracha sauce
  1. Boil water; place eggs in water and cook for 12 minutes. Remove and chill in ice bath.
  2. Peel eggs. Place eggs in soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and Sriracha sauce and let sit in refrigerator for 2 days. Remove and cut in half.

Dungeness Crab Filling:

  • 4 egg yolks (removed from soy stained eggs)
  • 4 green onions, grilled and sliced plus extra for garnish
  • 1 tsp (5 mL) sesame oil
  • 1 tsp (5 mL) rice wine vinegar
  • 4 tsp (20 mL) mayonnaise
  • 1 squeeze lime juice
  • 4 tsp (20mL) crab, picked
  • 1 pinch salt
  1. Mix all ingredients together and fill in the stained egg halves.
  2. Top with a slice of grilled green onion.

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In British Columbia

Sustainability at Ford Through Food By-Products

Food by-products, oversupply and other biomaterials are getting a second life in Ford vehicles. This is more important than ever as the world is changing and we only have one planet and scarce resources.

We were invited to see first hand how they are using soy beans, rice hulls, wheat straw, coconut and cellulose in their current Ford vehicles. What goes into a vehicle at the beginning of its lifecycle and what comes out of it at the end of production contributes greatly to its environmental friendliness.

Currently in Vehicles

Soybeans

As much as I love soy it surprised me that since 2011, all Ford vehicles built in North America have soy foam in their seat cushions and backs. This saves an estimated 2.3 million kilograms of petroleum per year.

Rice Hulls

Rice is a staple in many diets, but what do you do with the fibrous rice hull after? In 2014, Ford introduced a new composite plastic material reinforced with rice hulls in the wire harness of the Ford F-150.

Wheat Straw

Wheat straw-reinforced plastic is used in the storage bins of the Ford Flex – the world’s first application of this material. The use of wheat straw-reinforced plastics in the Flex reduces our petroleum usage by
some 9,000 kilograms and our CO2 emissions by about 13,600 kilograms annually.

Coconut

Coconut coir, made from coconut husks, is used in the trunk mats of some vehicles, including the Ford Focus Electric.

Cellulose

This material is being used to replace fibreglass reinforcement in the centre console. The material reduces weight by approximately 6%. It also has a smaller carbon footprint than the glass-fibre-reinforced plastic it replaces, in part because it takes less time and energy to mold cellulose- reinforced parts than traditional glass-fibre-reinforced plastics.

Being Tested

Sugar Cane

Sugar cane–based plastic has been made into interior fabrics and is being tested for durability and performance.

Tomatoes

Ford is collaborating with the H.J. Heinz Company to explore using tomato fibre, a byproduct of ketchup production, to develop a more sustainable bio-plastic material in vehicles. Ford researchers are
testing the material’s durability for potential use in vehicle wiring brackets and storage bins.

Corn

Agricultural corn by-product can be processed into plastic parts, fabrics, fibres or films. Ford is currently testing the product for potential uses in carpeting, upholstery and interior trim.

Bamboo

Bamboo is a fast-growing grass—up to 4 cm per hour—that is being researched for potential uses in veneers and as filler material.

Algae

Algae is a promising sustainable material being researched by Ford. It grows very quickly, replicating up to four times per hour, and has a high per acre yield when compared to other crops.

Final Thoughts

It’s pretty awesome to see Ford using all these food by-products to incorporate into different parts of their vehicles. It’s innovative to hear and see it all being put into action. It keeps these food items from being wasted even though they are mighty tasty. Hopefully other car companies follow suit too.

More info: http://blog.ford.ca/take-closer-look-whats-ford-vehicle/

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In Downtown

Yui Japanese Bistro: Chefs Reg and Ping introduces new menu

Yui Japanese Bistro is launching new items on their menu this month and we were invited to give these items a try. I love dining here as its like a secret hidden gem in Downtown. They hide inside a business building on West Georgia Street and Bute Street. Chefs Reg and Ping are the faces behind these awesome creations and they put their own creative twist to each dish.

Yui Tart

The Yui Tart is made with layers of tuna with garlic dill sauce, salmon flakes, chef special sauce, tempura bites, imitation crab meat, cucumber, flying fish roe, and of course it’s torched on top. The dill stands out in this dish but it matches well with the salmon and tuna. Plus, anything with the torched sauce it magical.

Tai Oshi

This has tai, sesame leaf, crispy shiitake, red pepper thread, and the Chef special spicy sauce. I really enjoyed it as it has just enough to slightly tingle the tongue, not that spicy at all. The ingredients meld amazingly.

Smoke salmon delight

This roll has tuna, chopped jalapeño, avocado, smoke salmon, wasabi mayo, mango salsa, and alfalfa sprout. The jalapeño and the mango salsa counteract and essentially cancel each other out. It was a decent roll, but I felt like it was a bit basic compared to the flavour profile of the other dishes here.

Aburi tuna nigiri

They start off by searing the tuna on a super hot grill. Then they slice it up super thin, then top it off with wasabi and pickle sweet onion on top. A good combination of the ingredients, simple but really helps the tuna shine.

Aburi tai

This nigiri has tai and then topped with a strawberry salsa on top. I thought it was ok as I didn’t like the sweetness from the strawberry. I don’t really like savoury food with any sweetness.

Salmon Oshi

This is a staple item on the menu and it’s a must order item. Highly recommended as the salmon, special sauce, pepper and jalapeño melt in your mouth. Best thing ever.

Final Thoughts

Their menu is expanding and it’s great to see that. The food is great and I love the cozy atmosphere. It reminds me of dining in Japan as they have great hidden restaurants in random parts of the city.

We Rate Yui Japanese Bistro: 

Address:
1185 W Georgia St, Unit 102, Vancouver

Website:
http://eatatyui.com/

Yui Japanese Bistro Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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In Brewery

Main Street Brewing: Craft Beer in Mount Pleasant

Main Street Brewing is a bit off Main Street on E 7th Ave. You can fill up your growlers or enjoy an array of their beers. I’ve been here a few times and it’s a nice popular place to hang out over food and drinks. This was our last stop of the night, so we made the most of it.

Beer Flights

For my flight, I chose – Fruit Bomb (kettle sour), Saison 7, Nurse Night, and Main Street Pilsner. All 4 were great, I did like the selection as I am more into the less hoppy beers as usual.

Food

They have a good amount of food here from their kitchen and at the bar. They have 3 different types of pepperoni sticks, chips, sandwiches, wraps, salads, wings, nachos, charcuterie, pretzels, and various dips. The prices definitely vary, but they have a good selection.

Spicy Pepperoni was what I had first. I love getting pepperoni sticks at breweries. It has a good amount of spice to pair with the beers.

Hummus Dip Plate is made fresh with garlic confit, jalapeño garlic, roasted red pepper and fresh lemon, Served with naan bread. There was a good ratio of bread to dip.

Final Thoughts

Overall, a good brewery to check out if you’re in the area and you need a place to chill at over beer and some nibbles.

We Rate Main Street Brewing Company: 

Address:
261 E 7th Ave, Vancouver

Website:
http://mainstreetbrewingcompany.com/

Main Street Brewing Company Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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In Brewery

R&B Brewing: Craft Beer in Mount Pleasant

R&B Brewing is located in Mount Pleasant and has been around since 1997. I came here with a few friends to try out their beer and enjoy the afternoon. Vancouver has a great craft brewery scene and R&B Brewing is one of many near Main Street.

Interior

There are lots of seats indoors, but there is a little patio out front.

There is a large line up of beers on tap. All 12 to be exact.

To pair off with the beer, they have a few snack options as well as pizza.  We weren’t hungry to have pizza, so we snacked.

Kettle Chips and Dip

I got a basket of kettle chips with dip to go with all our flights of beer. Something to munch on so we could continue to drink beer. It was perfect as we needed something salty and crunchy.

Beer Flights

My flight consisted of Tod Creek Cider, Howe Sound Lager, Belgian Table beer and a Hefeweizen. They also poured me an extra Belgian Amber Ale. A normal flight comes with 4. All of them were ok, but nothing really stood out from the menu. I chose beers that were more on the light end and less hoppy. Thats usually the type of beers that I enjoy so, they are low in IBU.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was a good place to chill in between other breweries for the afternoon. A good range of beer options but the food options here could be a bit better.

We Rate R&B Brewing: 

Address:
54 East 4th Avenue, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.randbbrewing.com/

R&B Brewing Co. Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Kin Kao Thai Kitchen: Thai Iced Tea on Commercial Drive

Kin Kao Thai Kitchen is located on Commercial Drive. It’s been a very popular spot since it opened for authentic Thai cuisine. My friends and I were craving Thai Iced Tea, so we decided to meet up and have lunch here on the weekend. We went around 1pm and it wasn’t too busy. I had to take my Thai friend as she could tell me how ‘Authentic’ it is to food in Thailand.

Interior

There is bar seating and a few other tables around the restaurant, but it’ll be hard to accommodate large groups unless you go early. It’s easier going in groups of 2 – 4 people.

Thai Iced Tea

Thai Iced Tea is made with black Thai tea, sweetener and topped off with half and half cream. You mix it around to incorporate the tea and the cream. It was absolutely delicious but I personally would have wanted it a bit less sweet.

Complimentary Soup

Before our order arrived, we got a nice complimentary soup for each person at the table. It was a clean garlicky broth and we really enjoyed it. My Thai friend said it really reminded her of home.

Chicken Satay

The chicken tender strips are marinated with coriander, cumin seeds, kosher salt, lemongrass, turmeric, galangal and coconut milk. It was really delicious and tender. The cumin, lemongrass and turmeric stand out in the flavour profile. It comes with 3 pieces.

Chicken Wings

These deep fried chicken wings marinated with fish sauce, garlic and white pepper tossed in garlic, red jalapeño, vinegar, sugar, salt and corn starch. The saucy wings has a sweet finish to them, but the crunchiness was definitely lost because of it. The size of the wings and drumettes were on the smaller side.

Papaya Salad

It has shredded green papaya, tomatoes and long beans with their spicy dressing – thai chili, fresh lime juice, fish sauce, tamarind, garlic, palm sugar and peanuts. Whey they mean spicy, they do mean spicy. Very fresh tasting papaya salad, but those thai chilis pack a punch.

Stir Fry with Thai Basil

This has garlic, long beans, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, thai chili, onions and thai holy basil. We got this with pork. There is also rice and salad on the side. We ordered this as a medium spice but it was sweet instead. We could have gotten this as hot as it didn’t register on the spicy scale.

Green Curry

It has coconut milk, chili, garlic, ginger, thai eggplants, lime leaves, bamboo shoots, palm sugar, fish sauce and thai basil. We got this with chicken. This was also medium spice, but it only had a tiny tiny amount of spice.

Candy

When we got the bill, it came with Amira candy for everyone. Amira is a tamarind candy.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the spice level of the dishes were strangely balanced. Everything was medium spice but the papaya salad was a ton spicier than our 2 main dishes. In terms of authenticity, it fell a bit short as it seems to be catered towards the clientele of the neighbourhood.

We Rate Kin Kao Thai Kitchen: 

Address:
903 Commercial Drive, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.kinkao.ca/

Kin Kao Thai Kitchen Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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In British Columbia

Curbside Fresh Market Provides Access to Affordable, Fresh Produce in Vancouver

Vancouver Food Bank’s social enterprise – Curbside Fresh Market  is now in its fourth season. The mobile market delivers affordable, fresh, local produce to low-income, high-density communities throughout Vancouver. These locations are set up in food deserts, a term that identifies areas that have limited access to affordable fresh fruits and vegetables, throughout the growing season.

Access and affordability are the top two barriers to a healthier diet that includes regular servings of fresh fruits and vegetables. Rising rates of diet-related illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity are drawing new attention to the importance of fresh, unprocessed foods as part of a healthy diet. Markets such as Curbside Fresh is one way to increase access to nutritious food at affordable prices.

The Curbside Fresh Market is also a wonderful collaboration with local growers. Through its relationships with local growers, the Greater Vancouver Food Bank already distributes over 860,000 lbs of fresh produce to its members during the growing season.

Locations

The Greater Vancouver Food Bank is committed to new initiatives like the Curbside Fresh Market that help realize its vision of accessible, healthy and sustainable food for all. Look for the Curbside Fresh Market in the following communities starting mid-June:

  • Tuesdays: Gordon Neighbourhood House from 3pm to 6pm
  • Wednesdays: South Granville Seniors Centre from 11am to 2pm
  • Wednesdays: Mt Pleasant Neighbourhood House from 3pm to 6pm
  • Thursdays: Collingwood Neighbourhood House from 3pm to 6pm
  • Fridays:  City Heights from 11am – 1:30pm
  • Fridays:  Mt Pleasant Community Centre from 3pm to 6pm

My Haul

I stopped by the Mt. Pleasant Community Centre after work before heading home and grabbed a few items for our dinner. From the selection of in-season, locally-sourced fruits and veggies, I grabbed some cherries, zucchini and black kale. The prices were low and the produce was definitely fresh.

Personally, I find it great that the Vancouver Food Bank is finding ways to reduce barriers since sometimes we do forget access to fruits and vegetables can be tough for those on a lower income. It helps draws attention to the importance of unprocessed foods as part of a healthy diet.

Website: https://www.facebook.com/curbsidefresh/

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In Downtown

Pokerrito is open on Hornby Street: Review

Pokerrito has opened their second location on Hornby and Nelson. They serve up Hawaiian poké with a Japanese twist in burritos, bowls, and salads. I was watching Wonder Woman with friends and we needed quick bite to eat before the show. We love eating on this street since so many other restaurants have popped up in this area.

Interior

The space is larger than their original Dunsmuir location. It has a similar look as well. All that matters is the food right? As long as both locations are consistent.

Menu

I think most things are the same here, but I did notice the addition of Soft Peaks ice cream, which is interesting. Their signature combinations were slightly different with 2 new ones – Hawaiian Classic and Secret Beach. I love how they have sustainable seafood that is Ocean Wise certified.

Poké Bowls

Hawaiian Classic has marinated ahi tuna green onion, romaine lettuce, lemon, seaweed salad, and sesame seeds. It was supposed to have edible flowers in it, but I guess they ran out of them. Instead, they put sprouts on top. I got it as a bowl with a salad base. I really prefer this combination without all the other toppings as you can really appreciate the marinated ahi tuna without other strong conflicting flavours. When I usually customize my poké bowls in the past, I would load it with anything that would make bowl worth it.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s good to see they are expanding, but there is another poké shop located right next door, so it should be interesting competition. All my other friends ordered poke bowls with a mix of rice and salad as the base. Then, they added their favourite toppings. Love how it’s highly customizable for all taste buds.

We Rate Pokerrito: 

Website:
http://www.pokerrito.ca/

Address:
991 Hornby Street, Vancouver

Website: http://www.pokerrito.ca/

Pokerrito Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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In British Columbia

6 Reasons to go to a Vancouver Canadians Baseball Game

The Vancouver Canadians is a minor league baseball team, which is the Northwest League affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Every time I go to a game, there is always something special happening at each game. It’s fun and affordable starting at $14 to watching the game with friends and family. There are games during the day and evening.

Here are six reasons you should check out a Vancouver Canadians game at Nat Bailey Stadium this summer.

Beer

Enjoying an ice cold beer with friends, the game and the amazing atmosphere, it’s very relaxing. Great for the adults. They have a lot of mix of beers from domestic to international. For example, Whistler Brewing, Howe Sound Brewing, Asahi, Big Rock Brewery, to name a few.

Entertainment Between Innings

To break up the different innings, they have some short of entertainment on the field to engage fans. Sometimes they throw shirts into the audience, get everyone to do a dance, or have the sushi mascots have a running competition around the field.

The Crowds

The crowds are amazing no matter which team you cheer on, it’s fun cheering along with everyone and also doing the wave.

Giveaways

During select games, they have limited edition items to give away to guests like bobble heads, shirts, bags, etc. Some people line up for hours to get some of their unique items.

3 Foot Long Hot Dogs

Beside peanuts and Cracker Jacks, they have 3 foot long hot dogs if you want to consume a ridiculously long hot dog. Great for sharing, but I have seen people eat this all to themselves.

Fireworks

At select games, there is a post-game fireworks show that is pretty impressive. At around 10pm, they turn off all the lights and set a bunch of fireworks up in the sky. This picture doesn’t do it justice, but it’s a lot better seeing in it real life. Be sure to check the schedule to see when they have it.

Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed my 6 reasons to attend a Vancouver Canadians game at Nat Bailey stadium. If you have some other reasons, leave it down in the comment below.

Website: http://www.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t435

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In Bakery

Nemesis Coffee: Toast in Gastown

Nemesis Coffee is located on Hastings Street right under the new SFU building. I heard they have avocado toast, so cL, Nosh & Nibble and I decided to meet up over lunch. I love meeting up with foodies and trying new places in town as we end up going auto pilot talking about the amazing food scene in Vancouver. The hardest question of them all is “what is your favourite place”. Those who ask me that question know I hesitate to answer. For good reason too, you can ask me IRL one day.

Coffee

The interior of Nemesis Coffee is visually stunning with the light wood, white and some greenery. The aroma of coffee really envelops the room and its so good. They take pride in their coffee and hands down, they make a good cup of coffee. They even have vials of coffee beans.

I got a cappuccino and there was some latte art on top of a heart and perhaps some wings. It was really good coffee and strong, which I really enjoy.

Classic Chocolate cashew sea salt cookie and cold nitro brew was what Hanson had for his snack.

Toast

Bangin’ beans toast with heirloom beans, legumes with romesco sauce.

Avocado Toast with smashed avocado, ricotta, and cilantro. You can also add a poached egg to this if you want. This was ok but it didn’t impress me too much. It looks pretty but it was missing something. Maybe that egg. Either way, it was a good accompaniment to coffee for lunch.

Overall, I love the coffee here, but the food just too way too long to arrive. The service is also lacklustre and inconsistent. Some of our drinks were put on the counter for pick up and the other was delivered to the table. There was a really big time gap between the coffee and toast.

We Rate Nemesis Coffee: 

Address:
302 W Hastings Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.nemesis.coffee/

Nemesis Coffee Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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In Alaska

Lower Promenade Staterooms at Holland America Volendam

We went on a 7 day cruise from Vancouver to Alaska with Holland America Volendam. Our Staterooms were located on the 3rd floor of Holland America Volendam. The ship was built in 1999, so there is some age to the ship and you can tell from the interior too. The room is pretty standard and not fancy at all. We didn’t spend that much time here as we were walking around the ship or in town.

Features:

  • Daily housekeeping & turndown service
  • Power outlets for 110v (North American) and 220v (Continental Europe)
  • Hair dryer
  • Elemis Aromapure bath amenities
  • Safe

Complimentary:

  • DVD library of 1,000 titles
  • Fresh fruit on request
  • 24 hour in-room dining
  • Shoeshine service
  • Ice service

The staff are all very nice and if something isn’t satisfactory, feel free to speak up without feeling ashamed. Our bed was configured as a queen bed but if you want to, they can split the bed up into 2 twin-sized beds. The night are a hit and miss if you’re a light sleeper. Some days, the boat is very rocky, other nights, the engine is loud.

Every night, they fold our towels into cute animal shapes and give us next days itinerary and 2 pieces of chocolates.

They tidy up our room twice a day, which we found a bit excessive as we are pretty clean to begin with.  Either way, they staff work really hard to make sure we are comfortable.

They also deliver you chocolates and itinerary every night.

Final Thoughts

It was my first cruise so it’s hard for me to compare to other cruises out there. I was still able to get plenty of sleep each night and I really only need the basics.

Website: https://www.hollandamerica.com/

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In Alaska

Le Cirque at Holland America Vollendam

Once per cruise, the Pinnacle Grill is transformed into the legendary Le Cirque of New York City. Ranked among the best restaurants in the world by food experts, and famous for its celebrity clientele, Le Cirque brings its French Continental Cuisine to Holland America Line. It’s a way to taste Sirio Maccioniis world famous dishes at a much cheaper price of $49 per person. It is the most expensive meal enhancement of the boat, but it is something you should consider trying if you’re tired of Lido Market or The Dining Room.

We made a reservation at 6:30pm for 10 people and it wasn’t busy at all. Which isn’t a bad thing since their staff aren’t stressed getting everything done. They were attentive and had lots of time to chat with us.

Amuse Bouche

The chef brought us an amuse bouche to get our taste buds ready. This was whipped foie gras with a rhubarb chutney.

Beer and Drinks

We ordered some beers that were extra, but having a beer during dinner with grandpa with mandatory.

Appetizers

Lobster Salad Le Cirque has poached lobster with haricots vert and citrus. The half lobster tail was beautiful and was cooked perfectly. There was a bit of bounce and freshness to it.

Wild Burgundy Escargot with gruyere gnocchi, pickled enoki and bottarga. A big difference in quality compared to the escargot that we got in the Dining Room. It had a better balance of flavours. The escargot itself is chewy and flavourless, but they were able to enchance it a bit more.

Soups

Garden Pea soup is served warm with cheese dumplings and idiazabal crisp. It was really good and definitely the winner out of the 2 different soup options.

Chilled yogurt and melon soup with shrimp. This was an interesting dish as it is served cold. It was refreshing but didn’t hit the spot compared to the garden pea soup.

Mains

Seabass with peaches, capers, bourbon vanilla and chicken oysters.

Rack of Colorado Lamb with goat cheese panisse, artichokes and arugula. Everyone got this medium rare but it seemed crazy tender but it had a bit of tough connective tissue inside. A bit hard to cut through.

Chateaubrian is a beef dish and everyone at the table didn’t realize this. It comes with horseradish flan and sweet and sour baby beets. It is wheeled out in a cart and they carve it infront of you before they serve you. A little nice bit of show before you dig in. This was definitely the winning dish of the night.

Spaghetti Primavera with cream, garlic and parmesan is the meatless dish.

Dessert

They brought us a tower of sweets before all the regular dessert arrived. We had so much food already but it kept coming.

Chocolate soufflé with traditional chocolate soufflé with vanilla gelato. This was good and I really enjoyed it. One thing I didn’t like was how the vanilla gelato was pre-scooped and then went back in the freezer. I’m sure this wasn’t up to their standards.

Crème Brulee Le Crique looked similar to the crème brulee served in the Dining Room. This wasn’t as exquisite since there wasn’t much difference to it.

 

Strawberry Pavlova with earl grey Chantilly, strawberry consume, and basil.

Pineapple with Malibu rum, coconut and bourbon vanilla. A delicious sweet

Final Thought

Overall, the food quality is much better than The Dining Room. When we compared the lobster tail to the one we had at Gala Night, this was exceptionally better quality. There was a few hit and misses compared to our lunch at Pinnacle Grill. Is it worth the $49 extra? I would say yes.

When we got back to the room, a box of truffles were waiting for us. A nice touch.

We Rate Le Cirque: 

Location:
Holland America Cruise

Website: https://www.hollandamerica.com/

 

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In Alaska

Holland America Vollendam: Pinnacle Grill

Pinnacle Grill is a refined and luxurious dining experience aboard the Holland America Volendam 7 days to Alaska. It is open for lunch and dinner, but we opted for lunch as it is only $10 extra. It has a condensed version of the dinner menu compared to $35 per person. They are best known for their steak and seafood.

We were able to order 2 appetizers if we wanted. No limits at all.

Crab Cakes

It comes with 2 pieces and has spiral shaved cucumber and a sweet chili-mustard sauce.

Spinach Arugula Salad

It has avocado, orange, organic seeds, creamy lemon dressing, gorgonzola and air dried apples.

Beef Carpaccio

The quality and quantity is a lot better than at the Dining Room. Really delicious and worth it to get.

Roasted Jidori Chicken with Porcini Mushrooms

It has a cider vinegar jus with quinoa-forbidden rice cake, mache salad, and toasted nuts.

Broiled Alaskan King Salmon

This piece of salmon is huge and you need to order this if you love salmon. It has a lemon garlic herb splash to balance out the taste. Highly recommended.

West Coast-Style Seafood Cioppino

It has clams, mussels, shrimp, Alaskan crab, halibut and a tomato broth. Recommended too, but you might want another entree if you want to really indulge.

Beef Tenderloin with Oregon Blue Cheese

It comes with grilled asparagus and scalloped potatoes.We got this done to medium rare and it was spot on.

Fresh Berries with Sabayon Sauce

A nice break from the heavier dessert. Refreshing and sweet with the sabayon sauce on the bottom.

Coconut Trifle

It is topped with lime and pistachio to finish this off.

Ice Cream

There are premium ice creams on the menu that are better than the other options around the cruise.

Warm Fudge Brownie

The decadent brownie has coffee gelato, popcorn crunch and a piece of chocolate.

Strawberry Pavlova

This also have strawberry consommé and some basil to accompany all the fresh strawberries.

Happy Anniversary Celebration

After all that food, we got a huge slab of cake to celebrate my aunt and uncle’s wedding anniversary. If you are celebrating something special, make sure you tell the staff when you make reservations.

Final Thoughts

The meal also comes with french press coffee, espresso beverages and tea. Overall, it was a good price for $10 extra for lunch. We saw a huge improvement in quality of each dish. Highly recommended restaurant to visit on the Holland America cruise.

We Rate Pinnacle Grill: 

Location:
Holland America Cruise

Website: https://www.hollandamerica.com/

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In Chinatown

Rhinofish: Taiwanese Beef Noodles in Chinatown

Rhinofish is a Taiwanese Beef Noodle shop in Chinatown. It recently opened and I was excited because it’s hard to find good Taiwanese Beef Noodle in the area. Before they opened, they gave a few of us a sneak peek to see what to expect.

Niu Rou Mian

Taiwanese beef noodle with braised soup, tomato, baby bok choy, carrot, potato and asian sauerkraut. I had high hopes for this dish as it’s their specialty, but it fell short of expectations. The beef was very dry and did not melt in my mouth. The broth was deep in flavour but tasted more like Chinese medicine. The noodles themselves were good.

Hua Diao Ji Mian

Hua diao rice wine chicken broth, sous vide chicken breast, baby bok choy, cherry tomatoes, and tea infused egg. I preferred this a little bit more, but the broth flavour is very very subtle. It was a clean homey flavour to it. Some others commented saying it was bland. I added some mustard greens and some chili oil to transform the flavour.

Guo Bao

Taiwanese steamed bun with pork belly was ok but it needed something a bit more to bind the two things together. Maybe more sauce to moisten the bun slightly.

Xiao Huang Gua

Pickled Japanese cucumber with garlic and chili is a nice item to start with, but for $5, it’s a bit much for what you end up getting.

Mu Er

Wood ear mushroom with sesame soy dressing and plum salt in this dish. Another starter dish to share.

Yansuji with Nanjing sauce

A classic Taiwanese dish of crispy chicken nuggets topped with fried basil. the nanjing sauce is on the side. The chicken is good on it’s own, so the added sauce doesn’t add much difference. The chicken was moist on the inside and the outer fried are was crisp.

Yansuji with Parmesan and truffle oil

Very similar to the dish above with the different toppings and a bit of lemon.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the food was ok but the menu prices are a bit high for what you get. We ended up giving the chef some feedback about the dishes but we’re not sure if he ever made changes before they opened. They tried to be innovative with their dishes but in the end it fell flat as they tried to reinvent the wheel as basic Taiwanese beef noodle is a classic dish. No one was impressed.

We Rate Rhinofish: 

Address:
550 Main St, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.rhinofishnoodlebar.com/

Rhinofish Noodle Bar Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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