lunch Archives - Page 3 of 10

In Four Beakers

Peaked Pies: Aussie Meat Pies in Whistler

September 18, 2016

Peaked Pies in Whistler Village is a popular place to have a good ol’ Aussie Meat Pie. What makes them so popular is their beautiful looking ‘peaked pies’ topped with mashed potato, peas and gravy. I came with a few friends to indulge on their massive peaked pies.

The interior is pretty small and there aren’t a lot of seating. Most people ended up eating outside or getting it to go.

They have different pies available – traditional, chunky pepper steak, butter chicken, veggie, etc. Lots of pies to choose from.

Look at all those pies. On the outside, they all look the same.

They have an electronic ordering machine if you don’t want to line up at the counter. It’s super fast and easy to use.

Traditional Aussie Meat Pie which has ground beef, onions, and gravy. I also got it peaked for an extra $3.25, which adds mashed potato, mushy green peas and gravy on top. It’s so worth it. You can’t come here without getting it peaked.

All of us got it peaked. The savoury meaty mixture inside the flakey crust is made even better with the peas and mash. This is the ultimate comfort food.

We Rate Peaked Pies:

Address:
105-4369 Main Street, Whistler, BC

Website:
http://www.peakedpies.com/

In Cafe

PappaRoti: Coffee Buns in Vancouver

August 27, 2016

PappaRoti in Vancouver and they are a popular spot to grab a bun and drink, the chill with friends here. I’ve been here are a few times coming here to grab a coffee and kill time before meeting up with friends. It’s a quiet café where you can just pop open your laptop and work away.

I was invited to give a few of their signature and new items a try.

Coffee Buns

Their original coffee buns is crisp on the outside with their coffee caramel crust. On the inside is a soft, buttery and rich centre. You must have these when its fresh from the oven.

Bun Combos

Bun combos take the original coffee bun and dress it up with some toppings.

Crazy for Kaya has their classic coffee bun paired with kaya and honey. Kaya is a Malaysian coconut jam.

Strawberry Fields has strawberry and whipped cream.

The Classic has nutella and banana, which is a great combination. Who doesn’t like bananas and nutella?

PB & J has the peanut butter drizzle on top of the bun and the jam on the side.

The works is one of my favourites you can choose up to 4 toppings of your choice. This particular one has strawberries, banana, ice cream and whipped cream.

Pappa Rollie

Choco Banana Pappa Rollie is one of their new items on the menu. It is like a croissant, but it is stuffed with a chocolate filling and then topped with the coffee caramel crisp top.

Sandwiches and Wraps

It surprised me how many different sandwiches and wraps they had to offer. The sandwiches aren’t displayed as nicely as you see in the photos, but you can grab them all wrapped up and ready to go in their fridge.

Turkey and Brie was my favourite sandwich as it had a good ratio of the ingredients. Pair it with a tea or coffee and it would make for a nice light lunch.

Apple Chicken blue cheese sandwich was a decent sandwich.

Roast Beef sandwich was good as well since it has a few layer of the tender roast beef.

Salads

If you want something a bit more healthy, they have salads – Island Salad and Tuscan Salad.

Drinks

They have a large selection of coffee and a few of their own tea blends.

Iced Blooming Tea has a blend of Fujian silver needles, Gomphrena Globosa, yellow chrysanthemum, jasmine lily, marigold and carnations. It has a mellow fragrance and a slightly sweet aftertaste.

They also sell Revel Juice, so people can have fresh organic cold pressed juice and nut milks.

Overall

I find that most people just come here for coffee buns and drinks. The wraps, sandwiches and salads are a nice addition, but they don’t specialize in that. I find that most office works in the area will grab the sandwiches to go.

We rate PappaRoti:

Address:
1505 Robson Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.papparoti.ca/

In Kid Friendly

Tractor Foods: Healthy Options in Mount Pleasant

August 17, 2016

Tractor Foods is finally open in Mount Pleasant close on 2nd and Quebec. They serve up healthy food for everyday. I’ve been waiting for this location to open for a very long time.

I work close to this area and there aren’t too many healthy food options around. There a few other places, but fast food still dominate.

Interior

The interior isn’t too large. A decent amount of seats, but since it’s so popular, you will have a lard time finding a seat at noon.

I did see some people doing take out and going back to the office. I came here with a large group, so we got here at 11:30 and got a table for 8 people.

Ordering

The menu is the same as the other locations. You go up to the counter, put in your order, and pay for it at the other end.

It’s like a nicer cafeteria style line.

Food

Wild mushrooms, ditalini pasta, truffled ricotta cheese, and fresh herbs was a nice pasta salad. A good amount of mushrooms.

Grilled avocado is something you gotta add to your meal. Something about a grilled avocado with salt and pepper is so good.

Half Turkey Sandwich has turkey thigh, smoked gouda, alfalfa sprouts, arugula, pesto aioli, and house pickled cucumbers, on a sourdough bread. Nicely grilled on both sides and its a bit crunchy. A good sandwich.

Watermelon salad has cucumber, pumpkin seeds, and goat’s milk feta.

Arugula salad has grilled pears, candied walnuts, blue cheese, and a champagne vinaigrette.

Also, a Grilled Avocado!

Overall, the food is super healthy and has a good taste. I would come back for more salads and sandwiches during lunch.

We rate Tractor Foods:

Address:
1751 Quebec Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://tractorfoods.com

In Delivery

Crumb Sandwich Shop: Lunch near Main Street

August 16, 2016

Crumb Sandwich Shop is a small shop serving sandwiches, focaccia, soups, and salads during lunch or for large corporate orders.

You can order through Food.ee in Vancouver or straight from their website. Best to make the order ahead of time if you can.

I was invited by Crumb Sandwich Shop to give a few of their sandwiches a try.

They don’t have a branded storefront, so they are in a commissary kitchen near Beta 5 Chocolates. There’s a row of stores, so head down to the very last one to find Crumb Sandwich Shop. If you see Commissary Connect, you’re in the right place.

Curried Pork & Grape has roasted pork loin, black currant, pea tendrils, caramelized grape, fennel, curry aioli on the organic multigrain. What made this sandwich unique is that curry aioli, it was very nice and added a lot of flavour to the sandwich.

Fried Chicken has buttermilk fried chicken, pea sprouts, radicchio, apple, cilantro, lime, chili, and honey. Nice crunchy chicken with a good amount of breading.

Prosciutto & Pear has caramelized pear, prosciutto, onion jam, arugula, triple cream blue brie with a fig and walnut bread. Reminds me of another restaurant that has a similar sandwich. This is still a good sandwich, but the onion jam threw me off a little bit.

Chicken & Bacon has roasted chicken, avocado, double smoked bacon, butter lettuce, cherry tomatoes, onion jam, five spice aioli on the milk & honey bun. It was like a super good BLT, but with chicken and all the good stuff.

We also tried the Beef Brisket sandwich, but the Szechuan braised brisket tasted so strong of the Szechuan peppercorns, I really didn’t like it.

Overall, it’s a nice option for lunch in the Main/Terminal area as there really isn’t too many lunch options around. Majority of the sandwiches are good, but prices are a tad high. Sandwiches are around $12, but there isn’t any seating here.

We rate Crumb Sandwich Shop:

Address:
401 Industrial Ave, Vancouver BC

Website: http://www.crumbvancouver.com/

In Japanese

Koyuki Sapporo Ramen: New Ramen Shop near Robson

July 29, 2016

Koyuki Sapporo Ramen is the newest ramen joint to appear near Robson Street. With so many other ramen shops in the area, I was curious how it would compare.

I came here with Dee from Gastrofork to see if it would tickle our tastebuds.

We came during dinner time and they provided us with their lunch time menu. Apparently, the only difference is that the portion is larger. They didn’t have a dinner menu printed out, which I thought was strange.

Interior

The interior hasn’t changed too much as it still had the same structure of the previous restaurant that was here. There are lots of seats but it was very dead when we were here.

Ramen

Tonkotsu Ramen has a rich and creamy broth made from pork bones. it is topped with bean sprouts, cha-shu, green onion, seaweed, black garlic, and an aitsuke egg.

The egg was over cooked and didn’t have that gooey consistency like the other places in town. There was a lot of noodles, but it was chewy and bland. The cha-shu was really good.

Miso Ramen is their Sapporo style with miso flavour, bamboo shoots, green onions, bean sprouts, seaweed and cha-shu.

Gyoza

Gyozas come in 5 pieces and were pretty bad too. Even though it was pan fried, it was limp.

Overall, there wasn’t anything about this place that stood out except their cha-shu, but then again you can’t really go wrong with cha-shu. I didn’t like the texture of the noodles as it was chewy and soggy. The egg wasn’t done right. The service was also pretty awful too.

I’ve never been to Sapporo to have authentic Sapporo style ramen, but all I know is that Koyuki’s ramen was pretty meh.

They have a lot to improve on.

We Rate Koyuki Ramen:

Address:
795 Jervis Street, Vancouver

In Brunch

Cora: Breakfast and Lunch in Burnaby

July 15, 2016

Cora has finally opened up in South Burnaby, so now I can stop driving a long distance to have some delicious brunch here.

We came with a friend for a quick brunch and just indulge in all their fruit. I’ve been to various Cora locations through out Canada and it’s a place that people have to go at least once.

Interior

On the weekend it was packed but we only waiting about 10 minutes for a table of 3. The decorations in here is consistent with the other locations with the yellow walls.

Drinks

Kale-Mango Smoothie is what the server recommended. It is topped with a strawberry and has kale and grapes on the plate below. The grapes were a bit dirty, so we had to clean it more before we ate them.

We also got coffee, but I forgot to take a picture of it. Non stop refills too!

Breakfast items

Jo Construction has 3 eggs, 3 sausages and 3 strips of bacon served with roasted potatoes and your choice of toast. There’s a bit of fruit on the side too.

10 Star Omelette has bacon, ham, sausages, frankfurters, bologna, spinach, green onions, tomatoes, onions, red and green peppers, mushrooms and Cheddar cheese. Served with toast and your choice of fresh fruit or tomatoes. M got fruit for his side.

Buckwheat blessing is the one item I always get. It comes with 3 sausages and Cheddar cheese rolled in a blanket of buckwheat and sorghum crêpes and served with fresh fruit. I love the balance of the savoury sausages and the refreshing taste of the fruits.

For all the toast we got, there was also jam and peanut butter that came along with it.

Overall, Cora is a solid place to get brunch with friends or family. The food isn’t outstanding, but all that fruit is pretty fabulous.

We Rate Cora:

Address:
7155 Kingsway, Unit 142
Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.chezcora.com/

In Canadian

Smokehouse Sandwich Co: Charcoal Burger Bun

June 12, 2016

Smokehouse Sandwich Co has their newest location inside Cathedral Place in Downtown close to Burrard Station. I purchased the SocialShopper deal – 2 sandwiches and 2 sides/drinks for $12. A super good deal, but I didn’t realize the Downtown location has very limited hours. I was planning to visit after work, but they close at 3pm on weekdays and are closed on weekends. I ended up coming here with a few friends during lunch to check it out. If you wander around the first floor of Cathedral Place, you’ll be able to find it. It’s close to Bill Reid Gallery.

They have their first location in Richmond since 2014 and they serve original and fresh smoked meat sandwiches made from locally sourced ingredients. Their Richmond location is open till 8pm Monday – Saturday. If you don’t work in downtown, I would recommend you get the Richmond SocialShopper deal.

Seating

There are lots of seats but it reminds me of a food court. We came here around 11:45am and it wasn’t busy at all. By the time it was 12:30pm, it picked up as the office workers in the area headed here for lunch.

Sandwiches

Billie on the Charcoal Bun has salt cured pork belly, aioli sauce, salsa and lettuce. We got the regular portion of meat in the bun. How can you not go for the charcoal bun? It looks super cool. I enjoyed this sandwich and the pork belly had a good depth of flavour.

Sarah on high fibre bun has pulled tamarind Chicken with aioli, sesame ginger oil and asian slaw. I enjoyed the asian slaw with the sesame ginger oil. Definitely went well with the chicken.

Samson on a white bun has coffee-crusted strawberry-glazed beef brisket with aioli, red bell peppers and lettuce. Of all the sandwiches, we liked the flavour of the beef brisket the most.

Wilbur on white bun has cumin-spiced pulled pork with aioli and coleslaw. Of the 4 sandwiches we had, we didn’t really like the wilbur.

Sides

Mushroom Soup was their soup of the day when we were here. It was a pretty straight forward mushroom soup with a good amount of mushroom inside.

Crisps are yellow potatoes fried in olive oil. Really crispy and not overly salted. I liked it.

Asian slaw has shredded daikon radish and carrots pickled in rice vinegar and topped with mayo and crisps. I was surprised how much I liked it.

Drinks

On their menu, they have a few different beverages that are unique to Smokehouse Sandwich co – Honey Ginger Lemon, Strawberry Mint and Kombucha.

Strawberry and Mint can be made cold, hot or fizzy. At first it reminded me of liquified jam, but maybe it would have been better if it was fizzy.

Honey Ginger Lemon packed a punch and if you love ginger, you will enjoy it. I didn’t take a liking to it but a few of my friends really liked it and would return for it.

Overall, the food was good for a quick lunch in Downtown Vancouver. I wouldn’t go out of my way to come here, but if you work in the area, it’s a good option for a fast lunch. Of course there are a lot of other sandwich places in the area, so it will be tough competition.

Disclaimer: I was provided a complimentary SocialShopper voucher for Smokehouse Sandwich Co for this review and I also purchased an additional one so I could try more sandwiches. All thoughts are my own.

We Rate Smokehouse Sandwich Co:

Address:
The Cathedral Place, 925 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.smokehousesandwich.ca/

In Epcot

Tangierine Cafe: Morocco in Epcot’s World Showcase

June 11, 2016

Take a stroll into Tangierine Café, where it reminds me of Aladdin. It is located in the Morocco area of Epcot’s World Showcase. If you’re lucky, you might be able to spot Aladdin and Jasmine close by.

This quick service restaurant serves up shawarma, wraps, and different types of platters.

The meat on the large skewers look severely processed. Traditionally, you will be able to see the different layers of meat, but this just looks like it was ground up with filler and spices, then moulded into shape.

We got 2 platters and ate outside in the shade.

Shawarma Chicken and Lamb Platter has a side of hummus, tabouleh and couscous salad with Moroccan bread. Very flavourful items and I liked the platter as you don’t have to get messy eating a wrap.

Shawarma Lamb Platter has the same side as the other platter. The only difference is the meat.

They have a few different items for dessert, but we went with the baklava.

Baklava is a sweet pastry made of filo, chopped nuts and honey. It was very sweet and we only could have a few bites each.

To wash all that food down, coke and water had to do. We usually end up sharing the coke and saving the water for later when we need it. It’s a lot easier to carry it around the park or put it into our bag without spilling.

Overall, the food was good compared to some other quick service restaurants in Epcot. If you compare this to real authentic Moroccan cuisine, it doesn’t even come close.

We rate Tangierine Cafe:

Address:
1510 N Avenue of the Stars, Orlando, FL
Morocco – Epcot

Website:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/epcot/tangierine-cafe/menus/

In lunch

Carousel Bakery: Peameal Bacon at St Lawrence Market

June 4, 2016

Making a quick stop in Downtown Toronto during our long layover, we got off Union Station from the UP Express Train and then walked over to St. Lawrence Market.

Carousel Bakery is known as the home of the award-winning “World Famous Peameal Bacon Sandwich. Last time in Toronto, I wasn’t able to get this. They have been at the market for over 30 years and line ups can always be seen on weekends and the weekday lunch rush.

Slices of grilled peameal bacon slices are put inside a soft country bun. It was so good! The fatty pieces of bacon just melted in our mouth.

They also have an amazing selection of over 300 types of international breads, rolls, bagels (Montreal style), baguettes and pastries.

If you have a chance to stop by St Lawrence Market in Toronto, definitely give Carouse Bakery a try for their Peameal Bacon. Make sure you bring cash too since they are cash only.

We Rate Carousel Bakery:

Address:
St. Lawrence Market, Upper Level 42

Website:
http://www.stlawrencemarket.com/vendors/vendor_detail/56

In Dessert

SOBO: West Coast Cuisine in Tofino

May 10, 2016

SOBO is an award-winning restaurant in Tofino, BC. They serve food for all palates including vegan and gluten-free dishes. I first heard of SOBO when I saw Lynn Crawford was visiting for her show – The Great Canadian Cookbook. In 2003, they were named one of the top 10 Canadian restaurants in En Route magazine.

When we were paying a visit to Tofino, we knew we couldn’t miss eating here.

We came here for lunch and it was packed. We waited about 20 minutes for a table of 6.

Tofino Brewing Co Blonde Ale was really good! Light, refreshing and a sweet citrus finish. Just thinking about this beer makes me want to go back to visit the brewery.

Crispy Shrimp Cakes has west coast shrimp, sautéed onions, peppers, herbs, and sweet mustard sauce. It comes with 2 pieces. Crispy exterior wtih the sweet delicious shrimp inside.

Classic White Pizza has ricotta spinach nettle base, caramelized onions, roasted garlic, fresh mozzarella, toasted kale with parmigiano-reggiano and fresh arugula. Good flavours and the crisp kale was a nice touch.

Exotic Mushroom Pizza has a San Marzano tomato base, caramelized onions, shiitake, portobello, goat cheese, mozzarella, herbed pesto with parmigiano-reggiano and fresh arugula.

Tofu pocket has sushi rice, wasabi mayo, avocado, sprouts, sesame with smoked tuna. The taste was clean and simple. If you need a 2 bites appetizer, this is it.

Cup of Smoked wild fish chowder has spicy wild salmon and a cream dill broth. Very delicious and hearty, but it was very spicy.

Breakfast sandwich has smoked tuna bacon, cream biscuit, fried egg, aged white cheddar, avocado mayo, jalapeños, with a side of fresh fruit. It is a very filling item to eat.

Don’t forget about dessert! It’s very tempting especially late at night. Since the popular dessert places close early, we came back to SOBO on another day to have some ice cream sandwiches.

The ice cream sandwiches are located in their fridges by the main entrance.

We were all so excited to give it a try.

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Sandwich was so good. Just comforting since I would always have ice cream sandwiches as a treat when I was a kid.

Strawberry Chocolate Flake Ice Cream Sandwich has nice bits of strawberry embedded inside. The 2 chocolate cookies housing the ice cream were good too. We were really amazing that the cookies were still crisp.

Overall, SOBO has a good range of options for lunch and has some great desserts. Even though they have it to go, just grab it and eat it outside or on the beach.

We Rate SOBO:

Address:
311 Neill St, Tofino, BC

Website:
http://www.sobo.ca/

In Japanese

Carp: Sushi and Bento Boxes

April 18, 2016

Carp Sushi and Bento is a little Japanese take out restaurant located near Kingsgate Mall. A friend of ours highly recommended this place for their sashimi and rolls.

M and I decided to come here after work for a quick dinner, it would have been quicker, but I ended up wanting to try so many items off the menu. Sometimes I can be such a pig.

Once you walk inside this small space, you will see a few things for take out in the fridge, a counter, and 3 tables.

I think they can fit about 10 people in here. Maybe less?

We put in our order at the counter, paid and found a seat. They also have a kids combo too.

You can find other items on their chalk board.

They gave us hot tea as we waited for our meal to be prepared.

I couldn’t stop staring at this moo-cow creamer as their soy sauce dispenser. Super cute.

Salmon and Tuna Sashimi were very good quality. That tuna was so fatty, that it might as well just be toro. 10 pieces of $12 isn’t bad considering the quality of it.

Moo-cow creamer in action with the soy sauce coming out of its nose.

Tuna Tataki Salad has the tuna tataki on the bottom topped with greens and a light dressing.

Truffled Mashed Potato was surprisingly good. The truffle is subtle, but it works well together as a side item to your meal. It is served cold.

Mini Japanese Curry comes in a small bowl, think of it as a little taster.

Sea Eel Candied Salmon Roll comes with 8 pieces. avocado, cucumber and candied salmon on the inside topped with the eel.

OMG Roll has 8 pieces as well. It is topped with spicy salmon and these crunchy ball bits. Good rolls as well.

Inari is a tofu pocket with rice, seasoning and these tiny crunchy balls. Good and simple.

Cone trio comes with California cone, crunchy prawn cone and a spicy tuna cone. All three were tasty and put together well.

Sesame Ice Cream and Green Tea Ice Cream was a nice sweet treat to end the meal.

Overall, all the items were really good. If you want to try a bit of everything and not want to spend too much, the bento boxes are a great option for under $10.

I would come here again. Awesome hidden gem.

We Rate Carp Sushi +Bento:

Address:
2516 Prince Edward st
Vancouver, BC

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/carpsushibento/

In Fairview

Pepper Lunch Canada: Vancouver Location Open

April 9, 2016

Pepper Lunch has their newest location in Vancouver on Cambie Street a block away from City Hall. I’ve been a fan of this place since they first opening up their Richmond location. This Japanese ‘fast-steak’ casual restaurant is popular all over Asia. I went to one in a Hong Kong food court, but I found that it wasn’t as good as these 2 Canadian location. This is most likely due to the sourcing of their ingredients.

I was invited for a sneak peek of the Cambie location.

The restaurant has 2 levels, but only the bottom floor is open. The owners said they would open up the 2nd level for private parties and special events. Their kitchen is open concept, so you can see right into the kitchen and observe how your meal is put together.

Here is the view from the other side. There’s not too many seats, so I would assume during peak times, there may be a bit of a wait. They can fit about 40 people on the main floor.

The menu has the same items as Richmond, so they have:

Pepper Rice
Premium Steak dishes
Pepper Pasta
Chicken and Salmon steak dishes
Combos
Kids Meals
Dessert
Drinks

They also have brown rice options for their dishes!

Genmai Cha is brown rice green tea with matcha. It comes in a prepackaged pouch.

You’ll need to do a bit of work, but thats ok since the tea is good. Since I’m a tea guzzler, I had to ask them a few times to refill my cup with hot water.

Beef pepper rice with added cheese and egg.

The dish is their best seller and you can’t go wrong with the added egg and cheese. When you mix it all together, it’s the perfect combination. We got this with the brown rice option.

Mix it all up so all the ingredients are well incorporated. Since the pan is piping hot, leave it in there to crispy up.

Kobe Burger with Egg was so good. Well spiced and had a good amount of cracked pepper.

Spread that brown butter on top and it’s ready to eat. It’s mostly cooked when it gets to the table, so you don’t have to cook it for a long time unless you want it really well done.

Scallop and Prawn Pepper Pasta was an item I haven’t tried yet. The pasta is topped with pepper, cheese, mushrooms and the seafood. The cream sauce is separate, so you have all the fun of pouring it into the skillet.

Look at that cream sizzle up when it hits the plate. Stir it up so the cream sauce coats all your noodles.

I found this dish ok, but I felt like it could have been more creamy or the noodles weren’t cook long enough.

Rib Eye Steak is 100% Canadian Certified Angus Beef, so you are getting the good stuff. We also got egg, corn and mashed potatoes added on. You will want to spread the butter on top and then cook both sides of the steak until its medium rare.

Once you are finished a bit of the dish, add the rice on the skillet to soak up the delicious sauce.

Steak is always best served medium rare. Or at least, that’s my preference.

Mushroom and Tofu Pepper Rice is the vegetarian option. You would mix up this dish as well just like the other ones. Since I’ve had the other pepper rice options, those who get this are really missing out on the beef, pork, chicken and salmon. It’s just not as good.

Salmon Pepper Rice is actually my favourite dish. The salmon they use is sashimi-grade, so you’ll be able to taste the difference. The corn is awesome too.

Make sure you don’t let the salmon overcook. We mixed it up quite quickly after it arrived on the table.

Mmmm Mmmmmm so good! I’ll always order this item.

I never realized they have Mochi Ice Cream for desserts. This was a surprise.

The flavours they have are:

Vanilla
Green Tea
Black Sesame
Mango
Strawberry
Red Bean
Chocolate

We tried all but the chocolate flavour. I enjoyed the vanilla and black sesame ice cream mochi. The fruity flavours felt a bit artificial. Green tea was a bit mute. The skin of the mochi was thin and not too thick. The ice cream that lies inside was really a nice treat to end the meal. Great item for those who just need a small bite of something sweet after a meal.

Overall, its great to finally have a Vancouver location so close to Downtown. For those who haven’t been here before, you must try the Beef Pepper Rice or the Kobe Style Burger. Don’t forget to add an egg. The addition of the egg really pulls the dishes together.

We Rate Pepper Lunch:

Address:
2323 Cambie St. Vancouver

Website:
http://www.pepperlunchcanada.com/

In Chinatown

The Tuck Shoppe: Soup, Sandwiches, Salads and Beer

March 28, 2016

The Tuck Shoppe is located in Chinatown and they serve up sandwiches, soups, salads, snacks and craft beer. All items are made from scratch and use local ingredients. I came here a few times with my coworkers during lunch as it seemed like a new addition to the neighbourhood.

All items on the menu are all under $11. The menu doesn’t change between lunch and dinner.

I love the look of the shop and they have super awesome retro accents here.

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There are Hudson’s Bay inspired pillows.

They have a bunch of Pez for sale, as well as little toys like frisbees, paddle ball and airplanes.

All the utensils and napkins are on the centre table and there is cucumber water.

Everything is made in the same space, so you can see them at work.

When you put in your order, your order number is on a wooden spoon. Very cute.

Celery Root Soup has their shoppe veg stock, celery root, fennel, and pork belly lardon. Mags commented saying it tasted great but there is only so much they could do to make it look pretty.

Wedge Salad has 2 slices of iceberg lettuce, grape tomatoes, pork belly lardon, blue cheese, IPA ranch, and a balsamic glaze. It was a good sounding, but I felt the dressing was a bit heavy. If they eased up a little bit, that would be a lot better.

Tuck Salad has mixed greens, dates, pea shoots, shoppe croutons, white balsamic and tomatoes. Good simple and fresh salad.

Pork Belly Cubano has mojo pork belly, ham, swiss, shoppe pickles and mustard. It is served with a shoppe pickle and a handful of Hardbite chip.

Tuna Katsu has panko crusted rare albacore tuna, wasabi, daikon, and soy ginger. It is also served with a shoppe pickle and a handful of Hardbite chips. Unique flavours and its nice that there is the kick of wasabi.
Overall, the food is pretty good for lunch. Simple menu and very casual dining experience which I enjoyed.

We Rate The Tuck Shoppe:

Address:
237 Union Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.thetuckshoppe.com/

In Downtown

Ramen Gojiro: Gatsuri-Style Ramen in Vancouver

March 20, 2016

Ramen Gojiro is a new ramen shop in Downtown Vancouver and it is part of the Menya Kouji group that also owns Ramen Butcher and Taishoken.

They specialize in jiro-style/gatsuri-style ramen that has lots of noodles and toppings. They are trying something new that differentiates themselves from the other ramen shops.

It was a rainy day in Vancouver, no surprise right? My friend and I came here before heading off to work.

They are still very new, so there were grand opening flowers out front.

We came at 12:30pm on a Sunday, but there wasn’t a line up until about 1pm. We were pretty lucky to get a table as I’ve only heard people lining up outside during peak hours.

The interior is nice and simple with wood and cement textures. There’s even a painting of Godzilla.

The staff in the kitchen were wearing t-shirts from Ramen Butcher.

The menu is simple and you have the choice between 2 size, 2 toppings and 2 broths.

Beer, fried rice and tsukemen aren’t available just yet, but at some point, it will be.

After putting in our order, the server asked if we wanted an apron. Seemed like a good idea at the time. The paper napkin helps prevent any noodle slurping splatter from hitting your clothes or bags. As we put on our aprons, we realized NO ONE else in the restaurant had one on. We didn’t hear them offering these to other tables.

Regardless of how ugly it was, we kept it on and it really did help with the splatter.

Basic Chashu has their signature broth with pork and chicken. Noodles are made in-house.

The thickness of the noodles were in between udon and ramen. There is also lots of bean sprouts. My friend said the chashu was fatty and delicious, but the broth was meh.

Basic Bakamori with karaage is a mountain of food. It has the same broth but with more topping, more noodles, and more meat. If you are a big eater, you will want this option.

I wasn’t thrilled with the broth either. It was rich but lacked much depth to it and it was salty.

The chicken karaage was crispy and full of flavour, but I didn’t like the noodles. The option garlic on top was pungent as well.

Ramen Gojiro has its high points and low points, but I don’t think I would return. It’s just didn’t appeal to my tastebuds.

We Rate Ramen Gojiro:

Address:
501 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://ramengojiro.com/

In lunch

Bao Down: Poke Bowls, Bao, and Fries

March 14, 2016

Bao Down has a new location in Olympic Village and it’s their Gastropub and Raw Bar. Their menu is slightly different than the one in Gastown and offers more than just bao.

I came with my coworkers the first time and had horrible service as we were not informed about an automatic service charge for groups of 6 or more. Also at the end of the meal, they didn’t show us the itemized bill before paying. So, we tipped about 15% on top of 18%. As one of my coworkers thought the meal was oddly expensive, she requested the itemized bill before leaving to go back to the office. We later found out there was the service charge.

After a few of us posted our frustration on Instagram, they invited us back for lunch on them. It was a nice gesture and they were able to change their service charge policy from 6 people to 8 people. Plus, they reassured us they have trained their staff a bit more so there is no more confusion for future customers.

The restaurant seats about 65 people and they do lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. I love the art piece on the left wall.

They have a wide variety of alcohol, but since it was a daytime lunch, we had to skip the alcohol.

The lunch time menu has poke bowls, salad, bao, curry, soup, and fries. Their menu seems to have been changing after hearing feedback from customers.

When they first opened, they didn’t have bao, which was shocking.

Poke Bowls comes with either ahi tuna, albacore tuna or tofu. You can choose the below sauces to go with it:

Sweet shoyu-sesame
Gochujang miso-mayo
Calamansabi

Of the 3 sauces, the table liked the sweet shoyu-sesame as well as the gochujang miso-mayo. You can also choose from brown rice or white rice.

It’s a pretty good portion for lunch. In the bowl is also a lot of vegetables. Definitely very healthy lunch option.

The second time we went, we noticed they added pineapples to it and had less fried noodles on top.

Consistency of what goes into the bowls did change, but they are probably trying to test the dishes to find a good combination or perhaps they were trying to use fresher ingredients.

Bao Chicka Bao Bao has garlic, lemongrass fried chicken, daikon, crisp garlic, fish sauce glaze, carrot and garlic scape mayo. A lot of people seem to order this one. My coworkers liked it.

Phrench Dip comes with a pho broth dip so you can dunk the whole bao into it. It is an interesting concept but it was quite pricey. It was almost double the price of their other baos.

YVR Bao has sesame seared albacore tuna, pea shoots, double smoked bacon, avocado, wasabi mayo and sweet soy.

Japayoki Fries has fried chicken, curry cheese sauce, seaweed, jalapeño, bean sprouts, pea shoots, white and black sesame, sweet soy, scallions, and togarashi. We ordered the small to share and it was pretty good.

Kimchi Fries has kennebec potato fries, crispy pork belly, sweet soy, crispy garlic, bean sprouts, garlic scape mayo and scallions.

Another good combination. With both fries, I wish the fries were more crispy, but I can see how it would be difficult since there are a lot of sauce and toppings that go on top.

Overall, the food was good for a lunch stop. You have the classic baos and fries that you would find at their Gastown location. The dinner and brunch menus do vary, so you might not find these items at other times.

I personally find the baos ok, but I would prefer getting their poke bowls.

We Rate Bao Down:

Address:
115 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver

Website:
http://baodown.net/

In Dessert

Waffle Frenzy: Sweet and Savoury Waffles

March 6, 2016

Waffle Frenzy is a new sweet and savoury waffle restaurant in Downtown Vancouver close to SFU Harbour Centre. Bite BC invited a few of us to try a few items off their menu to promote their 50% discount for their members.

They took over the location of a pizza shop and have a cleaner look inside. Mostly white with simple IKEA furniture.

Chicken and Waffles Sandwich has buttermilk fried chicken with chipotle BBQ sauce, lettuce and tomato between 2 waffles.

In each order, you get 2 sandwiches loaded with a big piece of chicken.

Waffle Fries comes with chipotle mayo dip. Nothing spectacular about these fries and could have been a touch crisper. It’s a good item to munch on as a snack.

Oreo Cookie Crumble with Whipped Cream In my picture, its only half and order, but a normal order would come with 4 pieces. I found this to be quite boring as a topping. It needs something a but more than smashed oreos and whipped cream.

The waffles weren’t as crisp as I would have imagined either.

Berry Explosion Waffle has blueberry, strawberry, and kiwi. This was ok as well. For my personal taste preferences, fruit toppings is my go to. The variety I found was pretty meh. The golden kiwi was good, but it would have been nice to have blackberries or raspberries.

Nutella and Banana dessert waffles is a good combination and you can’t go wrong with nutella. The waffle itself was a bit limp.

2 Tier Waffle Cake sells for about $10. This particular one had maple walnut ice cream between the waffle. Then topped with kiwi, green tea ice cream, blueberry and strawberries.

I liked it a bit more than the other waffles as it had more toppings and textures to it. They made these last waffles a tad more crisp, but still wasn’t quite there yet.

Overall, the waffles were ok. Nothing too special as there are other waffles places in Downtown Vancouver but closer to the West End. In the immediate area, there’s no other competition close by. If you had to come here, the savoury sandwiches are a nice choice.

We Rate Waffle Frenzy:

Address:
420 Richards Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.wafflefrenzy.com/

In Gastown

Tacofino: Taco Bar in Gastown

February 9, 2016

Tucked away in Gastown is Tacofino’s Taco Bar near Army and Navy. The area around it is still slightly sketchy, but has gotten a lot better over the years. With this new location, people who work in the area don’t need to go so far to hunt down their food truck near Burrard.

I was in Gastown with a few coworkers, so we decided to stop for a bite here. The inside was really nice. They also have a Burrito bar but its take out only. It works out fine since most people want to go take out and go back to their offices.

Our group decided to sit down inside to eat as there were seats left and no wait. We had to give up the burrito, but at least we would be satisfied with tacos.

Fish Taco ($6 each) is made with pacific cod, salsa fresca, and a chipotle mayo. The fish is nicely battered and crispy.

Chicken Taco ($6) has pickled vegetables, epazote chimichurri, and a buttermilk chili crema. Imagine chicken karaage in a taco.

Pork Al Pastor ($6) has pineapple, pickled onion, and cilantro.

Lamb Birria ($6) has an herb salad, arbol chili, pickled nopales, and preserved lemon zest.

Not Caesar Kale Salad ($9) has seasonal & kale greens, cotija, pickled okra, pomegranate, and hazelnut croutons. It was a good salad and I did enjoy it. I just didn’t like how hard the croutons were.

Overall, a good quick lunch but I wished they offered the burrito during lunch when eating in.

We Rate Tacofino:

Address:
15 Blood Alley, Vancouver

Website:
http://tacofino.com/

In Bakery

Sweetery Cafe + Dessert: Open on Saturdays

February 4, 2016

Sweetery Cafe + Dessert finally opens up on Saturdays. Even thought I work close by, it was always just out of reach. Seeing all their mouth water photos on Instagram, made me go a little bit nuts. I came with a friend to indulge on some coffee and waffles during brunch.

It’s located on 2nd close to the Granville St Bridge. There’s free parking out front for 1 hour.

There is a good amount of seating inside. We got here at around 10:30am and stayed here for both their breakfast and lunch menu.

We put in our order and waited patiently for the wonderful food to arrive.

Cappuccino was what I needed this morning. Nice and frothy.

Eggs Benedict on Waffles comes with potatoes on the side. You have the option to have it on waffles or english muffins. Highly recommended item!

We chose to have our eggs soft and they did deliver! Once I cut inside, it was so delicious and gooey.

I love the option of having it on a waffle.

Chicken and Waffles is what I was craving. We had to wait till 11am till they started taking orders for their lunch menu. It comes with maple syrup and hot sauce.

The chicken was tender on the inside, but the exterior could have been more crisp. On the other hand, the waffle was very delicious and crisp. I guess it kinda makes up for it.