British Columbia Archives - Page 116 of 138

In Cafe

Accord Food House: Amazing Taiwanese Noodles + Desserts

November 11, 2011

M and I were at Metrotown and we wanted to eat something delicious during the cold cold night. I really wanted noodles since the weather calls for it. My sister kept telling me to go to Accord since they have really good taiwanese food. We decided to take a visit. We almost walked past it since it really did not look nice from the outside.

If you have the same feeling too, just go inside since you will discover some delicious food.

The interior is quite small and homey. The interior is so-so, but at least it’s much better looking on the inside. Most tables are in 4’s, so best to come in 4’s.

Their menu is written on 2 large chalk boards. Left board is drinks and desserts and on the right it’s their food.

Italian Soda ($4.95) is something to set your eyes upon. I don’t know whats in it, but it tasted really good! Definitely worth a try!

Royal Milk Tea ($4.25) was super hot. Since it’s in a double-walled cup, it doesn’t get cold easily. The milk tea had a good taste, but it burned the heck out of my tongue. So, make sure it cools down before you drink it….or you can always get the cold version.

Tomato Beef Noodle ($8.95) has the most tender beef, with fresh veggies, tomatoes and a super yummy broth! One of the BEST Beef Noodles I have ever had!! Highly recommended!

My Grandpa Chinese Pasta ($7.95) has fresh vegetables, tomatoes with a yummy meat sauce. M thought it was alright.

Dark Chocolate Custard ($5.95) is topped off with berries, currants and oranges. I found that the fruit took away from the dessert. The chocolate custard tasted good, but it seemed a bit small for the price.

Parfait ($7.95) was pretty epic. It had loads of fruit, whipped cream, ice cream and wafers. It’s a super fun dessert to share! I got my hands kinda sticky from picking at all the fruit.

Overall, really good assortment of items that they offer. We noticed that it can be easy to spend a little….but in our case we did end up spending a lot trying everything.

Words of Wisdom:

Super ugly exterior, but don’t be afraid to go inside
Italian Soda, Parfait, Tomato Beef Noodle are highly recommended
Best to come in 4’s
Pay parking on street

We Rate Accord Food House:

Address:

4611 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC V5H

Vancouver

In 24 hours

Lucy Eastside Diner: Crazy Unique Eats at a 24 hrs Diner

November 10, 2011

It was another EatUp with the #YVRBreakfast club, but there was a twist this time…We were having breakfast in our Pajamas at night! I’ve always passed by Lucy’s Eastside Diner, but never went there till now. They are open 24 hours and serves breakfast and dinner all the time… no matter what time it is.

I’ve also heard it’s a great place to go eat after a late night.

The interior is quite small, so there is a lot of bar seating and very limited booths. It’s probably best to go in 2’s and 3’s ….but in this case we went with 10 people. It was quite cozy indeed.

They also have the menu up on a lit up board. Lots to choose from.

They also have a paper menu too with more description of the items they serve.

Whats nuts is that they also have an eating challange! It’s called ‘Uncle Grants Eating Challenge’. It must have been a new thing since only 5 people have attempted this.

We asked the server what was in the eating challenge. It was such a mouthful that we had to get him to write it down for us. If you can’t finish the challenge, it costs about $40. We were not in the mood for this, but perhaps one day in the future.

Dad’s Root Beer ($3.75)

Three Little Pigs ($10) has 3 egg bennies with hashbrowns. The bennies that come with it are chorizo, bacon and ham bennies. The hollandaise sauce has a bit of garlic taste to it. They could have worked on their consistency of their eggs a bit better since some people who ordered this dish expected the eggs to be a bit runny. The hash browns were very crispy!

Montecristo ($8) has chicken, ham, and cheese sandwich dunked in egg and grilled. It also come with side of fries and their ‘fry sauce’. M thought the Montecristo was a bit disappointing. It’s not the original Montecristo that he was looking for.

Meatloaf and Mac & Cheese ($9) is served in a hoagie bun filled with meatloaf and topped with mac & cheese. There is also fries and fry sauce on the side.

Mac & Cheese with Pulled Pork ($9) comes in a hoagie bun filled with mac & cheese and topped with pulled pork! Crazy combination but its what makes Lucy’s so unique. The Mac & Cheese tasted a little bit bland, but it matched with the bold taste of the pulled pork. This won’t be the most delicious meal you have ever had, but it’s different than other places. The fries are so good and addictive

Overall, the food is pretty so-so. We weren’t able to order their famous milkshakes since their machine was broken.

Words of Wisdom:

Limited seating, not good for large groups
Uncle Grants Eating Challenge
So-so Food
Amazing fries and hash browns….SUPER CRISPY!
Open 24 hours

We Rate Lucy Eastside Diner:

Address:

2708 Main Street
Vancouver, BC V5T

Website:
lucyseastsidediner.com

Vancouver

In Downtown

Tacofino Blue Food Truck: It’s all about the Burrito

November 9, 2011

I saw that there was another Tacofino truck near Burrard, but it had a different name “Tacofino Blue”. When I got there I just laughed because it was actually blue. I spent the whole morning trying to figure out how this one would be different than their other location. There is a big big difference between the two trucks – BURRITOS!

They still have a few tacos at this location, but you never know when they will be there or not. They don’t specialize in tacos here.

Their main menu has mostly Burritos. If you are feeling like Burritos, come here instead of their orange truck.

The burrito at first may seem a bit on the small side for about $10, but it has quite a bit of weight to it.

Chicken Burrito ($10) has slow cooked chicken with refried black beans, seasoned basmati rice, sour cream, chipotle mayo, salsa fresca and shredded cabbage rolled in a warm 12” flour tortilla. I really loved all the sauces and the flavours mixed together in this burrito. I was stuffed, so the $10 price tag was worth it.

Words of Wisdom:

Burrito are really filling
Tuna Ta Taco + Pork Gringa + Jarritos = Best meal!!
Really busy during lunch
Can get messy
Closest Skytrain: Burrard

We Rate Tacofino Blue:

Location: Burrard x Dunsmiur

Website: www.tacofino.com

Twitter: @TacoFinoCantina

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/TacoFino-Vancouver/157314964322202

In Japanese

Yamato Sushi: 24 pieces of sushi for $5.95 is a steal!

November 7, 2011

Back to Yamato Sushi on Davies since it’s cheap and you get your moneys worth. $5.95 for a combo is definitely worth it! CanuckGirl and I love going here after yoga since it’s close and open late.

I had the Sushi Special E ($5.95), which has Kappa Maki, tuna maki, salmon maki, and avocado maki with salad and miso soup.

The salad was good as usual. Lettuce with the citrus sauce like most places. If you do take out, it won’t be included in the meal.

Miso soup accompanies the combos as well. There is nothing special about it since it’s similar to most other Japanese Restaurants.

This combo comes with 24 pieces of sushi, which isn’t bad at all. The maki rolls were well made and had good variety. You will get full from this.

Overall, the prices are great and the food is decent. You get what you pay for, so don’t expect this to be the best sushi you have ever had.

Words of Wisdom:

$5.95 sushi special combos are worth the price!
Decent food, nothing super amazing
Not authentic Japanese Food
Best to get sushi rolls

We Rate Yamato Sushi:
Address:
616 Davie St
Vancouver

In Downtown

Viet Sub Vietnamese Cuisine: Amazing Viet Subs

November 6, 2011

Viet Sub is a very popular place on Robson to grab some lunch. The sandwiches can be under $4 and the pho is about $6. There were lineups out the door, but most people were just doing takeout. The interior is very very small, so it’s not a place to take a group of people here. Best to just take out and sit outside the art gallery to enjoy some sun.

The reason why people keep going back is because it’s cheap and worth the price!

Chicken with French Bread ($4.20) was a good price for what you get! The chicken is nicely shredded on the bottom and has a good amount of pickled vegetables and cucumber in a milky bun. I really really like the buns they use. I kinda hate bread, but I could probably eat it all day.

Special Noodle Soup ($6.45) is decent but its not as good as the other Pho places. It’s good for the Downtown core if you are in the area.

Overall, I had a good experience just walking around the street eating it. Quick and easy.

Words of Wisdom:

Under $10
Small interior, best to takeout
Viet subs and the noodle soups are good!

We Rate Viet Sub:
Address:
520 Robson St
Vancouver, BC

In Brunch

Little Nest: Unique Breakfast for You…and Your Kids

November 5, 2011

It was another #YVRBreakfastClub, we came early at 9am since they don’t take reservations. It’s a nice kid friendly cafe. There are a lot of parents who take their little kids to dine here, so if you have a kid, it won’t be awkward to eat.

The inside has lots of space and even a little play area. There are also chalk boards, so as you wait for your food, you can doodle.

They even have cool unique high chairs. Since the people of #YVRbreakfastClub don’t have children, we just had a good time staring at all the kids. Not in a pedo kinda way or anything.

Since early mornings are always in need of coffee, I got the medium latte. Cute little latte art!

Spicy eggs special of the day ($12) came with 4 slices of the scrambled egg things with a spicy sauce, some greens and toasted baguette.

The baguette was nicely toasted. I can’t remember what type of baguette it was, but it might have been like a cranberry lemon type. When you order their meals, you can choose from a variety of breads.

The eggs tasted really good! I don’t know how to explain it, but it was layered with different ingredients. I really have no idea what was in this since I think I was way too hungry. hahaha.

Overall, decent food and overpriced. The breakfast is quite unique and different than the usual brunch places. There are lots of kids here, so if you don’t like the crying and screaming of kids, this isn’t your place to dine at.

Words of Wisdom:

Overpriced
Small portions
Kid friendly
Hard to find parking

We Rate Little Nest:

Address:

1716 Charles St
Vancouver, BC

Website:

www.littlenest.ca

In Coquitlam

Paros Taverna: Music, Belly Dancers and Food

November 3, 2011

M took me to Paros Taverna, a Greek restaurant on North Road in Coquitlam. M had no idea what to expect since we just went there randomly. A year ago, I remember staring at their windows and I was so creeped out. I was sitting at the McDonalds across the street and I saw 2 men at a table getting charmed by a belly dancer. I was very confused.

The interior is pretty dark and it gets darker as the evening continues. At one point of the evening the lights go super dim and the music gets pretty loud…. then this man and this belly dancer dances around the restaurant to entertains all their diners. You can even tip the belly dancer to give you an extra personal dance. It was really awkward to watch. A lot of people seemed to enjoy it though.

Saganaki ($9) is Kefalotyri cheese pan fried, served hot with half lemon & pita.

This is my favorite item to get at any Greek restaurant. Who doesn’t love fried cheese? You need to squeeze the lemon on top of the cheese to taste good. The clothe surrounding it just catches all the seeds and pulp. Then you cut a piece off and put it on the pita bread and enjoy.

I really liked it because you get the nutty ooey gooey cheese with a hint of the sourness from the lemon.

Paros Platter for 2 ($31) comes with chicken souvlaki, prawn souvlaki, kalamaria,dolmades, pita bread, greek salad, rice, potatoes & spanakopita. We thought it was one of the items that had decent pricing

Chicken souvlaki was a tad on the dry side, but you do get a lot on a skewer.

Prawn souvlaki was alright, but it seemed like it was frozen ahead of time and then cooked. Maybe I’m wrong, but it did have a bit of a tough texture.

Kalamaria is piled up in the middle of the dish. It was decent, but it wasn’t mind blowing.

Dolmades is rice and other vegetables stuffed in edible leaves. It tasted good!

Spanakopita is phyllo pastry stuffed with spinach and feta cheese. It comes with 2 triangular pieces. The outside was quite crispy and delicious inside.

The pita is the same that comes with saganaki.

The potatoes and the rice will surely fill 2 people up! This is the hefty starch portion of the platter. Good flavour and it’s always better with more lemon!

The greek salad was decent too. Since there was also a lemon with this too, it seems fitting to use that too. hahaha.

Overall, the experience was very interesting. The platter is a good choice to get a feel of a wide range of items from this place.

Words of Wisdom:

Platter is pretty goof choice
Dinner experience may contain belly dancers
Lots of Parking

We Rate Paros Taverna:

Address:

526 Clarke Rd
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
parostaverna.com

In Downtown

Pita Wrap Cafe: Come Here, Eat Cheap, Be Full.

November 2, 2011

Pita Wrap Cafe is super popular for international students for their cheap lunch deals. You can probably get really full for about $7. They have about 2 daily specials, which are usually the most popular. Since I wanted to explore more of the unknown restaurants, I came here with Flo for lunch. We really had no idea what to expect.

The interior has a few seats and you just order up at the corner. It gets pretty packed here around noon, so it’s best to go earlier before noon or past 1pm.

The most popular items for lunch are usually on the middle menu section. Most regular menu items are under $8, but if they happen to be the daily special, it can be about $5 – $6.

Chicken Shawarma wrap ($5.25) has fresh lettuce, tomatoes, chicken, tzatziki and tahini. Not as good as other places, but it was decent.

Flo had a Lentil Soup ($2.75) to go with her wrap.

Beef Kabob Plate ($7.45) has rice, greek salad, roasted potatoes, tzatziki, pita bread and the beef kabob.

The 2 beef kabobs tasted alright but could have had more flavour. The rice and potatoes were decent as well.

Just like the rest of the meal, it was alright. you get what you pay for. You will get pretty full from this dish, but it won’t be the most exciting beef kabob you have ever had. You probably want to come here to eat cheap to be full.

Words of Wisdom:

Good variety of dishes
Pretty average dishes
Daily Specials everyday
Under $10
Closest Skytrain: Granville

We Rate Pita Wrap Cafe:

Address:
565 Dunsmuir St
Vancouver, BC

In Coquitlam

Sushi Elephant: New Sushi Restaurant on North Road

October 30, 2011

I always visit the North Road area, so when I saw this huge blue sushi restaurant and I thought I should check it out. Their interior had a very strange layout. When you walk in, you are greeted by someone at a counter and you see 2 couches and thats it. The main dining area is hidden behind that wall. It kinda reminds me of a sketchy massage parlour if you know what I mean.

Nonetheless, it’s just a restaurant and I’m a bit delusional. M and I decided to just do takeout since it looked pretty dead inside and M didn’t want to dine-in. He’s weird like that. Sushi Elephant specializes in Japanese food, but I think they are Korean owned.

Spicy tuna combo ($10) has the spicy tuna roll and 5 pcs of nigiri. The price was decent, but a tad on the expensive side.

The nigiri was really good! It came with 2 salmon, 2 tuna and 1 ebi. Quality of the raw fish was really good!

Spicy tuna had a lot of filling which M and I really liked! It had a good amount of spiciness to it and it was again really good!

Miso soup comes with all combos. Like most restaurants, its quite average and there isn’t anything special to it.

We then got the Elephant Combo ($16), which has the sexy dynamite roll and elephant roll. You save $2 and get a miso soup.

Sexy Dynamite Roll is battered on the outside and then deep fried. It has crab meat, ebi and avocados. It was really well made and I was quite surprised.

Elephant Roll has salmon, ebi, avocados, crab and a spicy sauce on top. It was also very good and the sauce just added the little bit of spiciness it needed.

Overall, we were both amazed by the quality and taste of the rolls, but certain items can get quite expensive.

Words of Wisdom:

Very good rolls
Lots of parking
Slightly expensive
Closest Skytrain: Lougheed Town Centre

We Rate Sushi Elephant:

Address:
403 North Rd
Coquitlam, BC

In Japanese

Aki Japanese: Oldest & Most Authentic Japanese Restaurant

October 29, 2011

A bunch of the SFU Food Bloggers – FoodQueen, ImBusyEating and GoodEat decided to get together and have dinner at Aki Japanese Restaurant. It’s one of the oldest and most authentic Japanese restaurant in Vancouver. Since none of the other bloggers have visited here, I thought it would be a great place to go.

There’s lots of space inside the restaurant, but it usually gets packed during peak hours. It’s definitely more busy during lunch on the weekdays.

Steamed clams in sake sauce ($8.50). It has a very nice broth and it does not taste alcoholic at all.

Assorted sashimi (3 kinds – $13.50). It has snapper, tuna and salmon. They tasted really fresh, but I found that it was quite expensive for just 9 pieces.

Chicken Karrage ($8.95) is Japanese fried chicken. It is nicely battered and has a nice crunch when you bite into it. The chicken was also quite moist.

Black Cod ($11.50) was alright. I didn’t find it as “melt in your mouth deliciousness” compared to other places I’ve been too. There were also bones, which kinda confused me a bit.

Yakitori ($4.25) was really good! delicious!

Spicy Tuna ($4.50) has minced tuna with a good amount of spice.

Yakisoba was not on the menu, which I found super strange since it’s one of those items that are usually on the menu. It was good, but not as good as Guu.

Overall, we really enjoyed our experience! I still find that going here at lunch is still a better bang for your buck.

Words of Wisdom:

Closest Skytrain: Burrard
Decent pricing
Good quality
Reservations are recommended since it can get busy
Lunch Boxes best for lunch

We Rate Aki Japanese Restaurant:

Address:

745 Thurlow St
Vancouver, BC

In Japanese

Ebisu: Cheers Ebisu Dining Package

October 28, 2011

Foodology Disclaimer: VANEATS.ca approached me to try out their “Cheers Ebisu” dining package and write a review about it. I got a complementary dining package for myself and I brought along 2 of my friends to keep the review as unbiased as I could. This review does not guarantee 100% similar service you might normally get from this restaurant.

Ebisu is a great place for drinks and tapas. I remember going here a lot before when people would hold birthday parties here. It’s actually a very popular place for people to dine at before they head off to the club.

There is lots of room in the restaurant. Good for large groups or small groups. The weekdays are not that busy, but when it’s Friday and Saturday, it does get busy, so best to make reservations.

When you arrive at the table you are given the hot towels to wipe your hands. Great idea since it’s cold and flu season!

For the Cheers Ebisu dining package ($25) from VANEATS.ca , you get:

4 pcs of Chikuwa Cheese
2 Cajun Tuna Tacos
2 pcs of Tiger Mayo
2 Kansai Steak Sliders
5 pcs of Chicken Karaage
Thunder Fries
1 pitcher of Sapporo

Pitcher of Sapporo

It’s really good to drink beer with the whole meal since there is quite a bit of fried foods with the meal. In the pitcher, you can get about 4 glasses from the pitcher.

Thunder Fries, fresh house-cut fried sweet potato sticks served with our popular house cajun dip

We were quite impressed by the thunder fries since they seemed like fries with steroids. They were really big and thick and had a good taste of the sweet potato. The cajun dip went well with this nicely!

Chikuwa Cheese, deep fried fish cake stuffed with melted mozzarella cheese

I’ve never had anything like this fish cake with cheese?! It had a chewy texture and then the ooey gooeyness. Yum.

Chicken Karaage, deep fried boneless chicken

I also liked the chicken karaage, there are no bones, so you don’t need to get your hands dirty. It was moist and had a good flavour.

Kansai Steak Sliders, sauteed sliced beef marinated in yakiniku sauce sandwiched with avocado, onions, mushrooms & mayo

I didn’t really like the sliders since they were on the salty side. There could have been a bit more avocado to cut through the saltiness. M had no problems with it, but maybe thats because he’s a man. I don’t know, probably a thing of personal preference.

Tiger Mayo, deep fried Black Tiger prawns complete with our chefs sweet chili mayonnaise dip

The tiger mayo did not have very much flavour on it’s own. I also think we didn’t get the sweet chili mayo dip, so we just dipped it the thunder fries sauce.

Cajun Tuna Tacos, seared fresh tuna & shredded mixed salad dressed with our tantalizing house ginger sauce

The tuna taco was good, but it was very hard to eat without the shell breaking. I’ve had this years ago and it’s still tasty, but make sure you have a plate in front of you to catch everything when it breaks.

Take sake ($9.50) comes in a cool bamboo container. M didn’t want any of the beer since it makes him full, so he decided to get himself the sake. He dubbed this sake, the sake that kept on giving because it seemed pretty endless. Until…well it ended after many many shots. He liked the crisp taste too.

Jalapeno Shrimp ($6.95) is shrimp seasoned with jalapeno flakes, battered and fries. It sits on a bed of fries too. We thought it would have been spicier, but it’s not too bad. everything was nice and crispy.

They also give you ketchup and hot sauce so it went well with the Jalapeno shrimp.

Overall, we found the the dining package was worth the $25 since a pitcher of beer can come to $15. There is quite a bit of fried foods, but the beer will cut right through all of that. I grabbed 2 other friends to eat this with me and it filled us up. This package is supposed to feed 2 people, but I think it can be feed 3 if you add an extra dish to it.

You can purchase the Cheers Ebisu Dining Package at VANEATS.ca for $25, there’s only 150 available, so get it fast! Starts November 1st and is redeemable till the end of the month!

Words of Wisdom:

Pay parking in the rear end
Reservations highly recommended!

We Rate Ebisu:

Address:

827 Bute St.
Vancouver, BC

In Downtown

Osa Tako Hero Takoyaki Food Cart: Best Takoyaki Ever

October 27, 2011

A new food cart has popped up at the other end of Pacific Center! I was just walking by and I just had to stop dead in my tracks to try this place out.

Osa Tako Hero specilizes in authentic Takoyaki. Their whole cart is theme like an cartoon RPG game. I was actually quite surprise and confused at the same time.

Their takoyaki is made of octopus (tako), a secret batter, green tea, cabbage, carrot, onion and seaweed. All their ingredients are fresh.

I took me a long time to figure out how to read the menu since the RPG theme made it so confusing. All you need to do is read the “hero magic scroll” and follow the steps!

Choose how many balls you want (5,7 or 10)
Choose your sauce ( takoyaki sauce +mayo or spicy takoyaki +mayo)
Choose your toppings ( Curry powder, shredded cheese, seaweed, maple syrup, or bonito flakes

Spicy takoyaki sauce + Curry Powder (10 – $5.99) I really had no idea what I was thinking when I made these 2 flavour combination. It didn’t taste bad, but I think it would have just been better with the traditional mayo and the bonito flakes instead.

I love how they make the takoyaki!!!!! It was nice and soft on the inside with a large piece of octopus on the inside. The octopus tastes really fresh!! It literally blew my mind! SO much better than the ones at the Richmond Night Market. If you are a takoyaki fan, you must try this food cart out!!

Overall, very impressed by the taste and quality. Best I’ve ever had!

Words of Wisdom:

Very well made!
Good Price! Under $10
A large selection of toppings!
stick with the normal teriyaki and mayo sauces with bonito flakes
Best takoyaki I’ve ever had!

We Rate Osa Tako Hero:
Location:
Howe & W. Pender – in front of Pacific Center Mall entrance

Website:
http://www.osatakohero.com/

View Larger Map

Vancouver

In Downtown

Mangal Kiss Mid East BBQ Truck: It’s like Nuba on A Truck

October 26, 2011

Since so many Food Carts are continually popping up Downtown, I thought it would be a great idea to check out more of them! Since there are so many near my work place that are new, I needed to go try them before the Vancouver rain ruins the beautiful sunny days.

Mangal Kiss has some delicious middle eastern food. When I looked at their menu, I had no idea what it was, but I keep hearing its good.

Perhaps I have bad eyes, but it took me a while to figure out how to read the menu. They sell shishliks, which is like a wrap. Then you choose what Salatim or sauces you want inside. I just let them put anything into my shishliks.

I got the Chicken Shishlik ($7) which has hummus, tahini, purple cabbage, beets, pickled turnips, pickles, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, radish and tabbouleh wrapped in Taftoon, an iranian flat bread. It is packed full of vegetables and a skewer of chicken.

The flavours went together so well and it reminded me of the flavours of Nuba, but in a wrap. I do love vegetable, so I didn’t mind that it has so many vegetables. The chicken was quite small compared to the size of the wrap, but I think it worked well overall since you get a lot of taste from the vegetables and sauces.

This wrap isn’t small either. It’s pretty large!

Mediterranean Tomato Basil Soup (With shishliks it’s extra $4). One of those good things to have on a nice cold chilly Fall day. It tasted good but it was not as good as Mom’s Grilled Cheese Truck’s soup.

Overall, pretty good food here. You will get full. I was stuffed! If you like exotic eats, go check them out! With the OccupyVancouver happening at the Art Gallery, they have had a 70% drop in business. Don’t let those protesters get in the way of experiencing yummy yummy food. Support local businesses and give Mangal Kiss BBQ Truck a try!

Words of Wisdom:

Amazing flavours
Under $10
Close to City Center, Burrard or Granville Skytrain

We Rate Mangal Kiss Mideast BBQ Truck:

Location:

Behind Vancouver Art Gallery

Twitter:

@mangalkiss

In Downtown

Mom’s Grilled Cheese Food Truck: Nom Nom Nom Omigosh!

October 25, 2011

Mom’s Grilled Cheese Truck has been catching A LOT of buzz since it just opened a week or so ago! They specialize in GRILLED CHEESE! Nothing gets more delicious than that. Remember when you were a kid, grilled cheese was that ooey gooey snack that you craved so much?

When I arrived a little past noon, the line up was HUGE! It spread at least to that lamp post! Even it was a cold day, the people faced the cold to get grilled cheese! We actually waited 30 mins before we got our food. It was ok considering there were SO many people in front of us. Best to come with a friend to wait out the line. OR just go early or late to avoid the long line ups.

Then menu has a few specialities, build-it-yourself type of options, dessert, sides and drinks. Their desserts looks so good as well! The Fat Elvis has peanut butter and banana on grilled white bread. Even though the specialties are limited, you have endless combinations with the sandwich you want to build.

Sometimes they even have daily specials on their Facebook and twitter, so best to like and follow them.

Pop Shoppe Pop ($1.75) looks super retro, but I’ve heard it tastes amazing.

Roasted Tomato Soup (Cup $3.50) is the best tomato soup I have ever had. No joke about that! It’s worth it! I usually don’t like tomato soup, but this soup changed my whole perception of tomato soup. It is also topped with basil mascarpone, which is a yummy addition!

Karen’s Killer Chili ($5.50) is topped with cheddar, sour cream, and cilantro. My coworker had this as a “super deluxe add-on” to her sandwich, but I think they just gave her the full size. I don’t think she minded the mix up since she got way more than what she paid for.

As you wait for your sandwiches, you can sip on your hot soup or chili and watch “mom” hard at work grilling those sandwiches!

The Jackson 3 ($8.50) has triple cheese, triple decker grilled cheese…three pieces of sourdough surrounded by melted, Brie, Boursin and Gruyere! This was huge! When I was reading the menu, I missed the part where it said it was 3 pieces of bread. Look how big it is!

Look at that, isn’t that so pretty? The Brie, Boursin and Gruyere are melted inside so nicely with the nice crunchy sourdough bread. If you have a big stomach, totally get this!! Look how small my hand is compared to the sandwich!

If you like an extra kick to your sandwich, they have a bunch of hot sauces that you can add to your sandwich.

Your meal doesn’t just come with the sandwich! It comes with a wedge of pickle and chips! It’s was a nice surprise to see that since I originally thought I wouldn’t get full from just a sandwich. The chips were very good as well. I got super full and had foodcoma.

My other coworkers decided to build their own. Looks pretty good right? (P.s. does not come with iPhone 4s)

The sandwiches are very to vegans too! They have a special Daiya vegan cheese for an additional $.75!

Overall, I wasn’t disappointed in anything they made! It’s pretty popular right now, so you may end up waiting a bit in line.

Words of Wisdom:

Roasted Tomato Soup is a MUST!!!
Love the sourdough bread!
Under $10
Surprise addition of the chips and pickle!
Not something that you can have everyday…so cheesy and oily.

We Rate Mom’s Grilled Cheese Food Truck:
Address:
800 W Georgia St
Vancouver, BC
Website:
momsgrilledcheesetruck.com

Facebook:
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Vancouver

In lunch

Club Ilia: I Go Gaga Over Tuna

October 24, 2011

I met up with fellow SFU Food Blogger – The Food Queen! We were chatting on Twitter and decided to just meet up since it’s fun to eat with others. Since she was on her hunt to try out all the food places at SFU, I thought Club Ilia would be a great place to meet up. It’s not the best place for a quick lunch for one since it’s best with 2 since they have tables. It’s a good place for meetings or more formal-ish lunches.

Club Ilia is an eatery/ lounge that opened up at SFU a few years ago to add to the dining scene. They have a good selection of items.

Sesame crusted tuna sandwich ($13) was something I had to get when I saw it on their daily special menu! I have a weird obsession to find the best ahi tuna burger since Havana’s no longer has their ahi tuna burger. 🙁

It took them a while to get the sandwich ready since they had to defrost the tuna before serving. It’s a funny thing because it was on their daily special, they probably should have been more prepared ahead of time.

It’s got mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, onions and the sesame encrusted seared tuna. I thought it was alright, I thought the cut of tuna could have been a bit thicker since the bun was quite thick compared to the ingredients.

You can also choose your side of salad! I got the salad and it wasn’t bad at all! The greens were fresh and had HUGE cuts of tomatoes. Since they didn’t have balsamic vinegar, I got a raspberry vinaigrette.

Or you can get fries! Food Queen totally had to go with the fries. They do look good. Check out FoodQueen’s review on Club Ilia here!

Overall, it’s not a bad place to dine on campus. SO much better than the other quick stops at Cornerstone or the cafeteria.

Words of Wisdom:

Variety of Beer on tap
Decent prices for lunch but dinner can get a bit pricey

We Rate Club Ilia:

Address:

8902 University High St
Burnaby, BC V5A

Website:
clubilia.com

In Bakery

Manzano European Bakery: All About The Cookie

October 23, 2011

Manzano European Bakery relocated at Metrotown closer to The Bay. They have bee in Metrotown for a long long time. They have lots of baked goods, cakes, and sandwiches. What is good about this bakery is that they have gluten-free items as well!

Chocolate Croissant was not very crispy on the outside, it was pretty limp and doughy. I left the croissant in the bag for a while, so the chocolate drizzle on the top broke off. When I was biting into it, the chocolate drizzle kept cracking off, so it would end up all over my shirt.

The inside has a decent amount of chocolate. Some places but in one chocolate stick, but they have two! Overall, I thought it was alright, but nothing mind-blowing.

Chocolate Chip Cookie ($1.49) is the best thing to get here! At least in my opinion because I’ve been buying these cookies since I was a little kid. It was always a treat to get these since it’s so huge and the chocolate center is always the last thing I eat. Theres lots of chocolate chips in the whole cookie and then the huge one in the middle.

Words of Wisdom:

Just get the cookie…
Lots of parking at Metrotown!

We Rate Manzano:

Address:

4820 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC V5H

In Kerrisdale

The Mac Shack: McDonalds is better

October 22, 2011

The Mac Shack is a brand new restaurant that opened up in Kerrisdale. They specialize in none other than Mac & Cheese! I love comfort food, so I got my friends to drive 40 mins from Coquitlam to try this place. Crazy, but sometimes its needed. I heard great stuff and I needed to see for myself if it is really good.

After a long drive, M, Scarface and BusanGirl were ready for the mass amounts of Mac & Cheese!

I loved the interior, very nice and modern. When we arrived, this place was packed for a Friday night. All the tables were taken up, and we were super lucky to grab a seat since a group was just leaving.

If you know what you want, you can totally build your own! They also have soup and grilled cheese.

They have a few signature items that you can choose from too. There are 3 different sizes to choose from – Regular, Ultimate and Jumbo.

They also have healthier alternatives and desserts too.

After we ordered, we were given a number and just waited at the table.

Tabasco, salt and pepper are waiting at your table.

Green Tea ($1) it was the mighty leaf tea. Not bad. Since the line up was so long, it was hard to get a refill of water since I didn’t want to butt in.

Pop ($1.50) and Water ($1)

We then spent 35 minutes waiting for our orders to arrive. It was a busy night so it was understandable! As time kept going by, we noticed people that were behind us in line already got their food and was finishing up. We tried ignoring it and watched every dish go to other tables. As the restaurant started to empty out, we were wondering where our order was. We asked the waitress where our order was and it seemed like they just started on our dishes.

Creamy Pesto Chicken Mac (Regular – $7) has mozzarella, provalone, chicken, and basil pesto sauce. Since I had the coupon for following them a while back, I gave it to BusanGirl to redeem since it’s only usable on regular sizes. She thought this dish was ok and nothing amazing.

She’s not a picky eater, but we all agreed it was not Mac and Cheese material. The cheese was just on top of the mac and cheese and none was integrated between the pasta. Even by looking at the image, it doesn’t look remotely what ooey gooey should be similar to. The chicken was dry even though there wasn’t a lot of it in the dish. Seemed more like a badly executed pasta dish.

The Ultimate (Ultimate -$16) has bacon, bell peppers, brocolli, mushrooms, chicken, chorizo, shrimp with mozzarella and gruyere cheese.

Even though it looks huge, Scarface did not like this dish either, he said that there was more meat in a hotdog than there was in this dish. Similar with the previous dish, there needed to be more cheese integrated throughout the dish to call it mac and cheese. The cheese yet again was just on the top.

The Brooklyn (Ultimate -$13) has blue cheese, AAA shirloin steak, caramalized onions, mushrooms with balsamic. M was disappointed in the disproportion between his dish and Scarface’s dish. As you can tell, the Ultimate has more noodles coming out of the pan and this one is kinda missing a large chunk from the bottom left.

M usually likes most dishes when there is meat, but he was probably the most disappointed out of everyone. There was no strong taste of blue cheese, the AAA sirloin steak were 3 thin slices of tasteless meat and the caramelized onion was nowhere in the dish. There was no cheese integrated throughout the dish and there was only the layer of cheese on the top. It wasn’t even gooey either, it was cold and hard. At one point he found a vegetable in it too when there isn’t supposed to be greens.

Bacon Cheese Burger Mac (Ultimate – $12) it has cheddar, monterey cheese with beef and bacon. Out of the other 2 Ultimate sized dishes we ordered, it was the smallest of them all. The cheese on top was warm, but the cheese was hard. You can tell from the picture as well. I saw them broiling it, perhaps they lift it there too long?

Similar to all the other dishes we received, minimal cheese throughout the dish, minimal ingredients inside.

Overall, all four of us left the restaurant with unsatisfied stomachs. Since they are quite new, I do have faith that the consistency in their quality will improve over time. Looking at other people’s photos, they look so much yummier than my photos. I think I just went during a super super busy night and thats where everything went wrong. I love their concept of their restaurant and I love Mac & Cheese in general, but this visit wasn’t good.

Words of Wisdom:

Avoid peak hours
Free parking near the residential area
Price and quality don’t seem to match
Not very saucy mac & cheese
Wait few months till they have perfected their execution and consistency

We Rate The Mac Shack:
Address:
5395 West Boulevard
Vancouver, BC V6M

Website:

http://www.themacshack.ca/

In Bakery

Baker’s Market @ Moberly Arts & Cultural Centre : The Sweetest Event

October 20, 2011

It’s that time of the year again – Vancouver’s Bakers Market! This year, it is at the Moberly Arts & Cultural Center. It’s a bit of a drive for myself, but I always seem to enjoy this event. They gather bakers from all over the Lower Mainland with different products and skills. I took my time this year and tried to talk to all the vendors at the Oct 15th “Bake for a Cure” themed event in support of Breast Cancer.

There were a lot of treats that had a pink twist to it.

Even with their secluded location, there were lots of people around noon gobbling up treats. Some tables even were sold out by the end of the event. What I find the best about this event is that there is so much diversity in the vendors, from professionals to just plain baking enthusiasts selling their baked goods for fun.

J’adore les Macarons

Connie is the organizer of the Baker’s Market in Vancouver. She also owns J’adore les Macarons. Can you guess what she specializes in? Macarons of course! At her table, you will be able to purchase bread, croissants and macarons. What makes her macarons so good you may ask, it’s made with secrets from Paris. Ask her what this secret is and perhaps she’ll tell you.

Website: http://www.jadorelesmacarons.com/

Footo Delights

Brenda and her lovely assistant had a booth too! Footo Delights specialize in Fresh Out of The Oven croissants made with all natural ingredients! They have a store opened near Homer and Robson in Downtown. Her small stature may deceive you, but she makes good croissants. They have samples too, so don’t be shy. If you can’t make it to the Bakers Market, you can try her amazing goodies at her shop!

Website: http://www.footodelights.com/

Levni Chocolates

Paul, the owner of Levni Chocolates specializes in artisan chocolate. Even though he has an arts background, he uses that knowledge to bring it into the world of chocolate. He has some amazing combination of flavours such as blue cheese chocolate! Yes, BLUE CHEESE. I usually don’t like it, but it has quite a unique taste. My friend and I tried some and it was pretty good.

Website: http://levnichocolate.com/

Damien’s Belgian Waffles

They are back here at the Bakers Market again! They are best known for their amazing belgium waffles. Highly recommended! They have many flavours like Vanilla , Cinnamon, Maple, Matcha, Dark Milk or White Chocolate! All the waffles are made without preservatives or eggs. They also have a shop in Steveston near No 1 rd and Chatham st.

Website: http://www.damienswaffles.ca/

La Gourmand

Julie is currently in pastry school right now to achieve her dream of becoming a pastry chef. She will be at the Bakers Market every week and since she loves to experiment with many different recipes and techniques, her items will constantly changing from week to week. If you happen to stop at her booth, try the marshmallows!

La Chocolaterie

Taka is an amazing guy who had a dream of coming to Vancouver to open up a chocolate shop to share his love of chocolates with others. His dream did come true! La Chocolaterie serves up delicious ganache chocolate with mind blowing flavours. When will you ever have a chocolate that has sake, tomato, or wasabi flavours? Even though these are strange flavours, they taste so good! They also have more tame flavours like blueberry, mango and the usual milk chocolates. If you love Melty Kiss chocolates, you’ll love these!

Website: http://lachocolaterie-vancouver.com/

Hearth & Larder

Michele was showcasing her amazing products — Hearth & Larder. She specializes in preservatives (jams) and baked goods. Their hand-crafted artisan preserves are very flavourful are very unique and are out of the ordinary! I loved their Dandelion Jelly and the Blackberry-Lime Jam. Definitely stop by her booth and try some.

Website: http://hearthandlarder.blogspot.com/

Hyggelig

3 friends – Helen, Nicole and Ashley are students of the Arts Institute’s Baking & Pastry program and they want to be professional bakers. They started Hyggelig to start off their entrepreneurial plans to see where it leads. Just looking at their varied kinds of breads, they are something to drool over.

Website: http://www.hyggeligatbakersmarket.com/

French Made Baking

If you’ve been to Bake For the Quake, she was there serving up amazing goodies for a good cause. I missed out visiting her booth last time, but this time I had to have a Le canelé. It is SO good! Best thing I have eaten in a long time. Stop by the table say hi and grab a canelé and you won’t regret it! They will be opening up a store soon on 81 Kingsway near Broadway and Main.

Website: http://frenchmadebaking.com/en/

Seriously Cooking with Debbie and John Brett

Debbie was at the Bakers Market selling her amazing organic bread, power-breakfast kits, gluten free snacks, jams and her amazing squares, cookies, and treats. She’s always been interested in making healthy treats, so she’s spent many many years testing and perfecting her recipes.

Website: http://seriouslycooking.blogspot.com/

City Baked

City Baked is actually a food blog by Hannah in which she shares some amazing recipes with her followers. As a baking enthusiast, she’s at the Bakers Market to really do what she loves – bake! She doesn’t do this professionally, but you can tell she has passion of making delicious goods. Check out her site too because she has some very very delicious recipes.

Website: http://www.citybaked.net/

When Pigs Fly Pastries

Emily owns When Pigs Fly Pastries! She graduated top of her class at VCC’s Baking and Pastry Arts program. She makes some very gorgeous cakes as well as pig inspired cookies and goodies. Check out her table and you will be amazed by her eye for detail! Also take a look at her site for more photos!

Website: http://www.whenpigsflypastries.com/

The Pie Hole

The Pie Hole creates pies! They have their sweet pies available at the Bakers Market. What sets them apart from the other pie shops are that they can also do crazy savory pies such as Carbonara, Pulled Pork or anything that you can think of. They take special orders online, so get in contact with them to make your next party unique.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pie-Hole/228320433893394?sk=wall

Take a Fancy

Take a Fancy specializes in homemade fair trade organic chocolates from her home kitchen. She does everything from scratch and it all starts with the cocoa bean! Really amazing and great dedication! Her chocolates have good depth and flavour, so go check out her booth! She even has some special halloween treats!

Website: http://takeafancychocolates.blogspot.com/

Miz Belle’s Cajun Confections

Another amazing baking enthusiast! She’s taken a bit of time off work to bake and see where it goes. She is known as the go-to baker at work, so it has inspired her to take part in the Bakers Market. She has items from pies to cupcakes at her tables. Her recipes have a lot of history, so stop by her booth and ask her about it.

Yaletown Brownies Bakery

They make awesome brownies! FOR SURE! Nice thick dense chocolate brownies. Contrary to their name, they aren’t located at Yaletown, they have moved their shop near W. Broadway and MacDonald. Go grab some or else you are really missing out!

Website: http://www.yaletownbrownies.com/

Kawaii Eats

Another participant of the Bake for the Quake is at the Bakers Market! Her amazing Japanese inspired goods are definitely cute! She has things from cakes, cookies, and macarons. Her macarons are detailed with cherry blossoms and is a treat to sink your teeth into them!

Website: http://kawaii-eats.blogspot.com/

Cannele & Honeybun

Olivia is with Cannele & Honeybun! It’s a small company that started at the Bakers Market. She makes artisan cookies, canneles and other delicious treats! Everything is fresh and uses no preservatives. She has many treats at her table, so check it out.

Also, this event is kid friendly! It’s a great event and you are not just buying delicious baked goods, but you are supporting local bakers making their dreams come true.

Not all the booths will be there every single week, but do check out this event!