Type Archives - Page 57 of 125

In Calgary

Charcut Roast House: Steak in Calgary

November 12, 2015

Charcut Roast House is located in the heart of Downtown Calgary. I first heard about Charcut on Top Chef Canada when Chef Connie Desousa was a final contestant. M and I wanted to go get some steak while we were in Calgary, so we came here as it was highly recommended.

Grapefruit Soda from The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company was refreshing. I thought it was pretty awesome that they support local businesses by carrying their sodas. The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company is from Canmore, Alberta.

Charred Octopus has sausage, stewed tomatoes, giganate beans, and chili oil. It comes with 2 pieces of bread on the side. The octopus was delicious and tender.

Bison Brisket also has beech mushrooms, boar bacon and sour cream.

Side of Poutine was recommended by their staff as an extra addition to the meal. It was good but it would have been better if the fried were double fried so they remain crisp as the meal goes on.

Butcher steak is topped with chimichurri and has a wild arugula salad on the side. Deliciously cooked to a medium rare.

Overall, it was good, but it didn’t wow us. Perhaps it was all the hype I kept hearing about it.

We rate Charcut:

Address:
899 Centre Street SW #101, Calgary, AB

Website:
http://www.charcut.com/

In Farm to Table

Burdock & Co: Farm to Table on Main Street

November 11, 2015

Burdock & Co is located in the heart of Mount Pleasant. They are best known for their family-style dining crafted from organic ingredients. I was invited to dine here with a few other bloggers and media to learn more about Burdock & Co.

Chef Andrea Carlson and her team uses local suppliers ranging from B.C. farms to local urban gardens and highlights their offerings in new and eclectic dishes.

The space includes communal dining experiences where neighbouring patrons can converse over approachable dishes, naturalist wines, craft beers, and bespoke cocktails.

Pioneering the locavore movement, the menu adapts according to local seasonal supply, providing interesting and ever-changing culinary experiences.

Alongside Burdock & Co.’s vision of sustainable dining comes a celebrated collection of naturalist wines, expertly chosen by Wine Director, Matthew Sherlock.

Agassiz Rice Congee with Halibut also has white soy sauce, fried onion, and cured yolk. As an Asian person, at first I wasn’t quite sure about this dish since I would normally see this in a Chinese restaurant. It’s not a very classy dish. More like Asian comfort food.

Tagliatelle Pasta is slathered with basil butter sauce, Fermiere cheese, and forest mushrooms. I loved the sauce! Very good!

Scallop and Green Onion Dumplings comes with a rose hip vinegar dip. It was ok, but nothing transformational.

Brioche and Smoked Marrow Pull-Apart Buns with an onion cream and sardine hash. This was a fun spin on cinnamon buns, but with a savoury touch.

Rosemary Smoked Clam with Potato Cream has pickled mussels and chanterelles. The clams and mussels were fresh.

To end off the meal, you gotta have dessert. No meal is ever complete without something sweet. They’ve got a dark chocolate pudding and then a crisp fruit tart.

Overall, the meal was delicious and they really took different types of cuisines and put a spin to it. The portions are a bit small, so it’s definitely good to come as a group and order family-style so you can try a bit of everything.

We Rate Burdock & Co:

Address:
2702 Main Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.burdockandco.com/

In Cafe

Phil & Sebastian: Coffee in Calgary

November 10, 2015

Phil & Sebastian offers delicious coffee and espresso based drinks in Calgary. They currently have 6 locations. My friend told me to check out this coffee shop if I came across it on my trip to Calgary. While I was going some tax free shopping, I had to make a stop here to get caffeinated.

The space is pretty neat. By the mall entrance, you will first see the counter to put in your order and pay.

By the other entrance, you will be greeted with this beautiful space. I just love the bold blue ampersand.

Iced Latte was what I ordered. It was a pretty hot say in September, so I needed a cold drink to perk me up.

You can also purchase their beans at the store too or online.

Overall, I loved the interior and its pretty hip. I wasn’t able to make it to their larger location, but this location in the mall was pretty good.

We Rate Phil & Sebastian:

Address:
Chinook Mall, 6455 Macleod Trail Southwest, Calgary

Website:
https://www.philsebastian.com/

In Brunch

OEB Breakfast Co: in Calgary

November 9, 2015

The first thing to do when M and I arrived in Calgary was to get breakfast. A few friends suggested we go to OEB Breakfast Co, so that’s where we headed. There is pay parking on the right side of the building.

Chef Mauro Martina created OEB in 2009 and has since won many awards like Best Brunch by Where Magazine, Brunch for 2013/14 by the Calgary Herald reader’s choice awards, and Award of Excellence by Trip Advisor. OEB stands for Over Easy Breakfast.

The restaurants seats 36 people and the menu changes bi-annually. The interior is fun and colourful, a perfect way to perk up your morning.

On the weekend, there are usually long waits, but I love how they have the chalk writings on the ceilings. If there is a wait, you can use the NoWait App to put your name on the waiting list without being present. It will also give you the amount of people ahead of you as well as the wait of the line. It’s pretty good if you won’t want to be wasting time waiting in line.

Freshly Squeeze Organic Orange Juice ($5.75) is very fresh and the perfect pairing with breakfast.

Mango Dream Real Fruit Smoothie ($5) has mango, strawberry and mango nectar.

Croque Madame @ OEB ($15) has rosemary ham, sourdough rye, fior de latte mozzarella, summer truffles, cherry tomatoes, crispy potatoes, 2 eggs sunny side up, and brown butter hollandaise.

It was really good. The eggs were cooked perfectly. I just found the only problem is that it had so much carbs inside. I could have gone without the potatoes in it.

Porchetta Benny ($15.50) has roast pork, porcini and white truffle ragu with the brown butter hollandaise. It is served on an english muffin. There are twice fried duck fat herb potatoes and fresh fruit. M thought it was ok.

Overall, it is a unique and hip restaurant serving brunch.

We Rate OEB Breakfast Co:

Address:
824 Edmonton Trl NE, Calgary, AB

Website:
http://eatoeb.com/

In Brunch

Galaxie Diner: Old School Diner in Calgary

November 7, 2015

Galaxie Diner in the Beltline area of Calgary is an old school diner. This diner was recommended by a friend, so we went. Surprisingly, it was a block away from our hotel, which was awesome.

Galaxie diner opened in 1996 serving delicious meals at fair prices.

The diner is small, so it doesn’t fit too many people at once. We came here on a weekday just before the lunch time rush and we had to wait a little bit for a table of 2.

We ended up with 2 seats on the counter but we didn’t mind since this is where the action happens.

Their grill is working non-stop to serve the lunch rush. Their chef was cooking so many dishes at once but I noticed how he kept his station quite tidy as he churned out each dish.

Breakfast Burrito (1 piece – $11.75) has scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, beef sausage, sauteed mushrooms, onions, banana peppers, and green peppers all rolled inside a tortilla. Salsa, sour cream, and hash browns are on the side.

It was really good. The salsa and sour cream really hit the spot.

Calgary Sandwich ($15) is loaded with eggs, cheese, sauteed mushrooms, onions, green onions, tomatoes, banana peppers, green peppers, bacon, beef sausage, and mayonnaise on grilled brown bread.
Served with hash browns on the side.

This sandwich put a smile on M’s face. Good food, huge portions and super casual atmosphere.

At the end of the meal, they give you some dubble bubble. Oh man, I haven’t had this in a long time. I hate dubble bubble, but the memories just flood back. The best part was really the comics inside.

We Rate Galaxie Diner:

Address:
1413 11 St SW, Calgary, AB

Website:
http://www.galaxiediner.ca/

In Calgary

Village Ice Cream: Late Night in Calgary

November 6, 2015

M and I were hunting for a good dessert place to go to after dinner when we were in Calgary. A lot of people suggested Village Ice Cream. They have 2 locations, but we ended up at the Victoria Park location.

Village Ice Cream is handcrafted in Calgary and made in small artisan batches to maintain their quality. They use local and seasonal ingredients where possible.

Lots of choices!

M ordered the Chocolate Fudge Brownie in a cup, which was their special for September. M thought it was pretty average tasting.

Toasted Coconut in a waffle cone came in a huge scoop. It was initially good but then it tasted quite rich, so it got harder to eat. The cone was super good and crisp.

Overall, I wasn’t too impressed by the flavours. I know a lot of people will probably disagree with me and thats ok. What I like about Village Ice Cream is their large scoops.

We Rate Village Ice Cream:

Address:
431 10 Ave SE, Calgary, AB

Website:
http://villageicecream.com/

In Canadian

Dunn’s Famous: Smoke Meat Deli in Vancouver

November 3, 2015

Dunn’s Famous has undergone a facelift in their Downtown Vancouver location. The old restaurant looked like more of a sports bar rather than a Montreal smoked meat deli. They really wanted to give customers the experience of being in Montreal when the restaurant was founded in 1927. You will see original pictures from that day on their walls.

I came with a few food blogger friends – Sherman, Food Queen and VanFoodies to check out the space as we were invited by the owners.

Once you walk in, you will find their new deli counter right by the front door. You can see all the staff preparing your meal right in front of your eyes. The menu is still the same with a few additions like the Wholy Cow Sandwich.

Pepsi is the ultimate pairing with a smoked meat sandwich. The classic cups really bring you back.

Latkes ($7) are potato and onion pancakes with sour cream. It comes with 4 pieces per order. They are fried till golden brown and its quite good with the sour cream. I love sour cream.

Fried Pickles ($5) has dill pickles that are beer-battered and served with a red pepper mayo. The batter was a tad thick and I wish they used something a bit different with more crunch to the texture.

Matzoh Ball Soup ($6) has 2 hand-rolled matzoh balls in chicken broth with a sprig of dill. The matzoh balls were pretty large and went with the broth quite nicely.

Dunns Poutine ($13) has a bed of fresh hand cut Kennebec fries with BBQ beef gravy and chopped smoked meat piled on top. The fries were really good and crisp. They make the fries in-house, so the fries were deliciously enjoyed by all at the table. No matter which poutine you get, you will enjoy it.

Smoked Meat Grilled Cheese ($9) has cheddar cheese on white bread with smoked meat. The smoked meat had medium fat, which was good but pretty average I would say. Perhaps it needed more cheddar so it could ooze all over the place.

4oz Monteal Smoked Meat Sandwich ($11) is hand-sliced to order, served traditionally on light rye bread with yellow mustard. You can choose the different cuts of smoked meat and mustard if you want to customize it a little bit.

12 oz Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich is what we specifically asked for. On the menu it goes up to 8oz, but we knew it couldn’t hurt to ask. We got it with yellow mustard and a fat cut of smoked meat so it is extra juicy and delicious. Oh man, was it ever good! Since you are eating out, you must get the fat cut.

Yummy!

Reuben ($16) has smoked meat double stacked on dark rye bread with sauerkraut, swiss cheese and thousand island dressing. It was delicious and the sauerkraut paired really well.

Dunns Famous Cheesecake ($9) uses their original Montreal recipe, baked in house with fresh strawberries & strawberry coulis. It has a unique taste that is quite different that other cheesecakes.

Overall, same great food with a new look. Definitely more casual dining that makes all customers enjoy the atmosphere.

We Rate Dunns Famous:

Address:
827 Seymour Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.dunnsfamousbc.com/

In Dessert

720 Sweets: Steamy Ice Cream in Kitsilano

November 1, 2015

720 Sweets is an ice cream store that seeks to explore revolutionary flavours on their menu. If you are from Vancouver and have Instagram, I’m sure you have seen their steamy treats.

The shop is in the Kitsilano area on West Broadway.

The shop is quite small and doesn’t fit a lot of people, but most people just do take out and walk around the neighbourhood. There’s so many restaurants nearby, so it’s great to have dinner else where and then make a stop here for some late night treats. That’s what M and I did. We had dinner a block away at Mamalee Malaysian Delight and came here after.

They have 5 types of Ice cream:

The Classic – crushed graham crackers, sweetened condensed milk, and a freshly baked butter cookie
Honey720 – Rich honey drizzle and golden honeycomb
S’Mores Please – chocolate corn flakes, dark chocolate drizzle, crunchy almond stick and a toasted marshmallow
The Milky Way – crushed walnuts, light caramel drizzle, espresso grass jelly, and a crunchy almond cookie
Cloud Nine – crunchy almond stick, cotton candy popcorn, and a dreamy fluffy cotton candy.

All of the are $5.95, which is a pretty good price.

M and I got the S’mores Please and the The Milky Way. The steam coming up from the bottom of the cup is a mixture of dry ice and hot water that creates the beautiful steam. The ice cream sits on top of a separate cup, so they never touch each other.

Both ice creams were put together so beautifully. You really need to take some pictures before you dig in.

S’more Please has a good strong chocolate taste in the ice cream. Probably one of the best I’ve had. Lots of chocolatey good toppings.

The Milky Way was my favourite. The combination of the strong milk tea flavour and the texture of the grass jelly is every asian’s dream. I loved it! I am not a big sweets fan, but I couldn’t stop eating this. Highly recommended.

M and I both agreed that the Milky Way was our favourites.

Overall, the flavours were great and so much fun taking pictures of these beautiful ice cream creations. It’s not just the flavour but the experience of eating these. I’ll be back for sure.

We Rate 720 Sweets:

Address:
3278 West Broadway, Vancouver

Website:
http://720sweets.com/

In Canmore

Grande Rockies: Hotel in Canmore, Alberta

October 31, 2015

After passing the Banff Lake Louise area, we made a stop for the day at Canmore, Alberta before continuing our trip to Calgary. We stayed at the Grande Rockies Resort located right by the Bow Valley of the Canadian Rockies.

We checked-in with the front desk. The desk is hidden behind the waterfall in the lobby. We parked our car in their underground gated parking.

We stayed in a one bedroom condo style suite, which fits 4 people. They have fully functioning kitchens in there too.

When we got into our room, we found chocolate dipped fruits and a bottle of white wine from the resort to celebrate our honeymoon.

The living room has 2 couches, dining table, fireplace and a flatscreen TV. One of the couches has a pull out bed.

The kitchen has a fridge, oven, stove, microwave, coffee maker, and a dishwasher.

The kitchen seemed like it had all the tools. We didn’t use the kitchen at all since we ate out. I can see this suite being useful to people who are staying for more than a few days.

Out on the patio, there is a grill you can use too.

Out on the patio, you can view The Three Sisters, a trio of peaks in Canmore.

The bedroom is further down the hall and it has a king-sized bed.

There is a small TV and a desk. Too bad they didn’t attach a bigger TV on the wall to maximize space. Either way, it was good enough.

There is a washer and dryer with an ironing board and iron. This comes in handy if you’ve travelled for a while and need to wash your clothes.

The washroom has a sink and a shower.

The shower can be a bit complicated to start but once you start pushing the buttons on the control panel, you will figure it out easily.

There is a heated indoor swimming pool, hot tub and kids pool with waterslide that is accessible for all guests. There is also a fitness room as well.

Inside the resort, they have their award winning Habitat Restaurant and Bar. They have won the 2015 diners choice from OpenTable as well as Awards of Excellence from Trip Advisor from 2011 to 2015.

Their breakfast buffet starts daily from 7am to 11am. Sadly when we were here, their restaurant wasn’t open.

They serve casual Canadian cuisine & cocktails. Their dinner menu has a good amount of gluten-free options. A majority of the items sound super good.

Overall, it was a good stay. The only thing that annoyed me was that our keycard didn’t work, so we had to run back and forth several times back to the front desk to get someone to open the door. Apparently this happened to a few other guests too.

Address:
901 Mountain St, Canmore, Alberta

Websites:
http://www.granderockies.com/

In Cafe

Mamalee Malaysian Delight: Hainanese Chicken in Vancouver

October 30, 2015

Mamalee Malaysia Delight was Cafe D’Lite but underwent rebranding in 2013 as a tribute to the owner – Betty for her spirit and heritage. It represents Betty’s continuing commitment to an authentic Malaysian dining experience that is second to none.

I have been looking for the best Hainanese Chicken in Vancouver and a lot of people recommended Mamalee. Since I was in the area, M and I came here to have a quick dinner.

By 6pm, this place was packed! We were fortunate to get the last table so we didn’t have to wait in line. Looking at the other tables, it seems like almost everyone orders the same few items.

Can you guess their specialty? Of course! Hainanaese Chicken. It can come on rice, or in soup with noodles. So manu choices.

To order, you fill this out and return it back to the server.

Roti Canai ($5.95) comes with laksa sauce for dipping. The roti was flakey on the outside and was very delicious.

Regular Hainanese Chicken Rice ($9.95) you get yummy rice with a lot of Hainanese chicken. I gobbled this right up. All the chicken is boneless and so addictive.

It also comes with soup, which is a nice bonus.

Large Hainanese Chicken Rice ($12.50) is definitely larger! M had this and he just loved it too.

Overall, the food is delicious and the prices are pretty good as well. Hainanese Chicken all the way! A majority of the people who come here order their Hainanese Chicken. So far, this place is on the top of my list to get Hainanese Chicken. Great potion size too. I would definitely come back.

We Rate Mamalee Malaysian Delight:

Address:
3144 West Broadway, Vancouver

Website:
http://mamalee.ca/

In All You Can Eat

Gaucho Brazilian Barbecue: Dining in Canmore, AB

October 29, 2015

Gaucho Brazilian Barbecue is located in Downtown Canmore and they serve up an all you can eat Rodizio dinner for $42 per person. You get access to their sides and salad bar. The servers will come to your table with racks of meat and serve you at your table.

Rodizio & Plates service included the following types of meat:

Top Sirloin – Alcatra
Rump Steak – Picanha
Pork Loin – Lombinho
Sausage – Linguiça
Chicken Wings – Asa de Frango
Parmesan Beef – Beef Parmegiano
Beef Ribs – Costela de Boi
Chicken Wrapped with Bacon – Frango com Bacon
Chicken Hearts – Coração de Frango
Lamb – Carneiro

Since I’ve never experience a Brazilian meal before, I thought it would be good to try it especially in Alberta since they have amazing quality of beef.

The interior is warm and modern. You can sit inside the dining room or in their enclosed patio.

The patio is much brighter and it is heated, so you won’t get cold.

Tropical Mango Juice ($4) is what M started off with.

We went straight to their salad and side bar where they had a good amount of items to choose from. I tried a bit of everything and nothing disappointed.

All the ingredients tasted fresh and I enjoyed it all. A good start before all the meat started arriving at the table.

Beef Ribs were my favourite meat item of the night. Since they cut it right at your table. It stays hot, tender and juicy.

It looks so good too.

They also give you some hot sauce and a vinaigrette to put on the meats. I went without the sauces since I enjoyed the meat on its own.

Since the servers do come often with meat, you are given a card to show if you want more meat or not. Most of the time ours was ‘Sim Por Favor, since we wanted to try all their meats they had to offer.

It’s best to flip it to ‘Nao, Obrigado’, even if you want to take a break for all the meat. If you want a particular meat item, you can just ask them for it.

At first it was pretty awkward having someone serve you at the table

They keep all their meat warm in their contraption.

They place the meat on your side plate

For our first Brazilian restaurant experience, it was great. Trying all the different varieties was fun and perfect for our honeymoon vacation. The food is pricey, but for an experience its worth it. If I had to go again, I probably wouldn’t return since I already know the cuts of meat I really enjoyed. I would rather want a meal with just beef ribs, pork loin and rump steak.

We Rate Gaucho Brazilian Barbecue:

Address:
629 Main St, Canmore, AB

Website:
http://www.brazilianbbq.ca/

In Canadian

Truffle Pigs Bistro: Dining in Field, BC

October 28, 2015

Field, BC is a small town of about 169 people. M and I decided to stop in this town to go to Truffle Pig Bistro right after exploring Yoho National Park.

Truffle Pigs Bistro and Lodge uses fresh local and regional ingredients in all their dishes where possible. It was highly recommended by locals who frequent this area.

When you look at the interior, you will find a lot of pig decorations. We came right at the opening of lunch at 11am, so it was pretty empty for a weekday.

Meat-Head Truffle Pig Flat Bread ($18) has a 6oz Wagyu beef meat ball wrapped in a flat bread with tomato garlic sauce, parmesan and topped with a kale green salad. They use a lemon garlic vinaigrette on top.

I looked nice, but the wagyu beef meat ball was severely overcooked, so it was touch and dense. It was a pitty since it really ruined the beef.

Roasted, Toasted and Fried Salad ($13) has Jen’s organic toasted millet salad, tossed with roasted walnuts and pumpkin seeds, sun-dried tomatoes, kale and lemon garlic olive oil vinaigrette. This healthy blend is served on a bed of hydroponic butter leaf lettuce and topped with fried chick peas and goat cheese.

This was a very hearty salad! I really enjoyed the flavour combinations.

Overall, it was neat to see such a restaurant in this small town of field. We really loved the salad but the flat bread wasn’t executed well.

We Rate Truffle Pigs Bistro:

Address:
100 Center St, Field, BC V0A1G0

Website:
http://www.trufflepigs.com/

In Four Beakers

The Ramenman: New Ramen Shop in Vancouver

October 27, 2015

The Ramenman is the newest Japanese ramen joint to open up on the West End of Downtown Vancouver. After seeing Sean’s beautiful pictures on instagram of The Ramenman, I had to check it out. Surprisingly, when I came here to have dinner with a CanuckGirl, guess who was there? Sean. Always good to bump into another foodie friend.

The restaurant is small, so there is one large communal table and 2 tables in the back. I think this place can fit about 20ish people comfortably.

They are still in their Soft Opening phase, so I’m not sure how much their menu is going to transform once they are done their soft opening. The menu has 3 type of ramen, a few appetizers, and drinks. Pretty cool to see beer on tap in a ramen restaurant.

The 3 ramen they offer are:

Chicken x Clam
chicken x Stew
Chicken x Regular

Appetizer Plate ($5.50) has your choice of charsui (chicken or pork), ramen egg, Japanese Leek, Bamboo Shoots, Spinach, green onion and chili pepper. There are more like items that you can dump into your ramen.

I got this with 2 slices of pork. The pork looks like ham, but it’s not. It’s tender and seemed more like sous vide pork. It’s a French cooking method that is cooked at a lower temperature for longer periods of time to get the inside is pork cooked without overcooking the outside, and retain more moisture.

Chicken x Clam ($11.50) has your choice of charsui (pork, chicken or both), clams, green onions, red onion, parsley, garlic, black pepper, green onion oil and truffle oil.

I got mine with both pork and chicken charsui to taste the difference. It was both very good. The chicken probably has the same cooking method ask the pork. The broth was nice and not too salty.

Chicken x Regular ($9.50) has your choice of charsui (pork, chicken or both), ramen egg, bamboo shoots, Japanese leek, green onion, garlic, black pepper, green onion oil and truffle oil.

The spoon is pretty big. Think of it as like a mini bowl with a handle.

Overall, it’s good to have another chicken ramen base alternative. Marutama also has chicken ramen, but what I like about the Ramenman is the good balance between all the ingredients in the bowl. Service is great and the interior is quite comfortable. I do enjoy chicken broths, but not everyone will agree.

We Rate Ramenman:

Address:
841 Bidwell Street, Vancouver

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/The-Ramenman-172684076409030/

In Downtown

Sanuki Udon: Udon Bar on Robson Street

October 24, 2015

Sanuki Udon is another new udon bar to pop up in Vancouver. Located right on Robson street in Downtown Vancouver, they serve up fresh handmade udon with different broths and toppings. No MSG or preservatives are used.

The restaurant is quite small and has a few seats. The space is set up like a cafeteria where you just go down station by station to craft your udon meal.

When you’re lining up to order, you can see their 5 steps to dining here.

Take a tray and select one of 6 udon options and size
Select tempura and onigiri to compliment the udon
Enjoy additional complimentary condiments
Slurp and enjoy
Return tray

They have 6 kinds of udon bowls:

Kitsune Udon
Niku Udon
Pork Kimchi Udon
Curry Udon
Kaku Udon
Zaru Udon

They all come in 2 sizes, regular and large.

The noodles are heated up in the vat of water before putting it into the bowl.

In goes the broth.

They grab meat from a big container and put it into the bowl.

Once you get your bowl of udon ready, you can sprinkle on green onions and tempura bits free of charge.

Closer to the cashier, you will see woven baskets filled with different types of tempura. There weren’t a lot of tempura in the basket making it seem like the leftover bits.

Curry Udon seemed watery and lacked the depth of taste. After a while, the tempura bits I put on top got soggy and melded together to form a clumpy mass. I felt like I could make a better version at home.

The tempura was still crisp. I got the sweet potato tempura, yam tempura, and chikuwa tempura. Decent taste, but it was pretty average.

It’s an interesting concept for an udon bar, but the broth and tempura weren’t enticing enough. It felt like cafeteria udon where it’s slapped together for efficiency. I still prefer ramen over udon.

I wasn’t impressed with the taste and the other people I was dining with felt that it was lacking as well. Definitely room for improvement.

We Rate Sanuki Udon:

Address:
1226 Robson Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://sanukiudon.ca/

In Kid Friendly

Sekai Udon Bar: Udon at Metrotown

October 23, 2015

Sekai Udon Bar is located near The Bay at Metropolis at Metrotown. It opened last year, so it is still fairly new. Sui Sha Ya, an all you can eat Japanese restaurant used to be in this spot. It’s good that there is a new restaurants in its place serving freshly made udon.

The interior is quite large so it can fit up to 100 people here.

Looking through the menu, the best choice was their Eraberu lunch special that they have on the weekend from 11am – 3pm. All you need to do is choose your rice dish, udon dish, and if you want miso soup or salad.

M ordered the Yaki Udon, Curry Croquette Don, Salad, and their chef special side dishes were a slice of orange and potato salad.

Yaki Udon has nice fresh udon noodles but the taste was pretty average. Nothing special.

Curry Croquette Don was ok too. Maybe it needed a bit more sauce to go with the rice.

I got my lunch set with Tonkotsu Udon, Chashu Don, salad and chef special side dishes.

Tonkotsu Udon has the pork bone soup broth with veggies, bean sprouts and a slab of pork. It wasn’t bad at all. I love the big thick slice of pork. It was like a bowl of ramen but with udon noodles.

Chashu Don was decent too. Good amount of pork to rice ratio.

Onsen Tamago ($1.80) is a Japanese style slow-cooked egg. It looked great but it was cold. The temperature threw me off as I assumed it would be warm.

Overall, for $10.50 for the lunch sets, it’s decent. Good, quick and filling. None of the dishes blew our minds, but it was good enough.

We Rate Sekai Udon Bar:

Address:
Metropolis at Metrotown Food Court
236-4820 Kingsway, Burnaby

Website:
http://sekaiudonbar.com/

In Coquitlam

IKEA Canada: Twist Cone

October 21, 2015

For the longest time, IKEA only sold vanilla frozen yogurt for $1 in their cafe past the checkout. Recently, I saw on Instagram that some people were able to get twist cones. So, on the weekend I was in IKEA browsing for furniture, I had to grab a twist cone.

They don’t advertise it anywhere, but the cashier will ask if you want vanilla or chocolate. You can ask them for a twist.

So exciting. I’m not exactly sure if the other IKEA locations have twist cones, but the one in Coquitlam has it for sure. It was good and I sure enjoyed it.

Address:

1000 Lougheed Highway, Coquitlam

Website:
http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/

In British Columbia

McDonalds Canada: Build Your Own Burger

October 17, 2015

McDonalds Canada is doing a soft launch of their new restaurant concept to evolve into a more casual dining experience. Their restaurants have slowly been shifting in the last few years by introducing the McCafe concept. Now, more changes are coming.

In Metro Vancouver, there are currently 3 locations – Langley (20037 84th Ave.), Surrey (8586 120th St.), and Burnaby (7360 Market Crossing) where customers can build their own burger from 30 different options through a touch-screen kiosk and have it delivered to their table.

The different options include:

3 buns: Black + White Sesame Seed Brioche-Style Bun, Artisan Style Bakery Roll, or Lettuce Wrap
5 cheeses: McDonald Classic Cheese, Monterey Jack Jalapeño, Natural Cheddar, Swiss, or Crumbled Blue Cheese
12 toppings: Tomato, Lettuce, Guacamole, Sundried Tomato Pesto, Caramelized Onions, Crispy Onions, Sliced Jalapeños, Long Sliced Pickles, Grilled Mushrooms, or Red Onion Rings
9 sauces: Ketchup, Garlic Aioli, Mustard, Smokey BBQ, Big Mac Sauce, Chipotle Aioli, Grainy Mustard, Mayo, or Sriracha Sauce

All these choices are super tough to make if you are indecisive. They have a few pre-built combinations like the Homestyle and Aioli Angus Burger, the Angus True Blue and Guac, as well as the Angus Sriracha The Bold.

At the kiosk, you can order your regular meal, or do the “Create Your Taste” option. By the end of 2017, they will have these kiosks rolled out to 1,000 locations across Canada. Currently, other countries like US, UK, and Australia have introduced these kiosks as well.

Right now you can only customize with angus beef patties. There is no option to add fish patties or chicken patties. This is where I got a bit disappointed since I wanted to build something super crazy like the Land Sea Air burger on the ‘secret menu’, but never wanted to ask staff about it.

After your customize you burger, you can add any sides you want like salad, fries or poutine. I went with the salad since I needed to balance out my 3 patty burger.

The customization starts at $6.99, but the more protein you add to your burger like patties and bacon, the cost will go up. In my case, I added 4 bacon strips and 3 patties….then added a coke, salad and brownie.

After you confirm your order and pay, you are given a tracking number. When your order is ready, the meal will be delivered to your table.

While you’re waiting, the kitchen is busy putting your handcrafted burger together. They start by buttering and toasting your buns. This is their cool butter roller that spreads a thin layer of butter over your bun before it goes for a toasting.

Then all the toppings get stacked on top.

Oh hello there.

Amy the Food Queen was there as well and she created a 2 angus beef patty, with various toppings in between the sesame bun. The fries come in a super cute basket similar to A&W.

On the other hand, I went a tad crazy and built this monster. 3 Angus Beef Patties, 4 strips of crisp bacon and kept the veggies to a minimum.

I went with the sesame buns as well. Pretty good bun compared to the other options.

I probably would only recommend up to 2 patties as 3 was a bit much. Anyways, the bacon at this location was very crispy compared to some other locations.

You can grab your custom burger to go. They have a special boxes for it.

McDonald’s McCafe option has been doing quite well in Canada, so they have expanded their bakery options beyond muffins and cookies to go with morning coffee.

They have a large display for all their pastries.

There’s butter croissants, chocolate brownies, danishes, lemon loaf, and chocolate croissants.

Overall, it’s a neat idea, but I wish there were a few more customizable options when it comes to the patty.

Address:
20037 84 Ave, Langley, BC V2Y 2B9

In Golden

Kicking Horse Lodging: Glacier Mountaineer Lodge Review

October 14, 2015

Glacier Mountaineer Lodge was where we stayed in Golden, BC. It’s located in the heart of the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort alpine village – at the base of the Golden Eagle Express Gondola. The mountain is around 10 minutes away from the downtown area of Golden, BC.

It’s a good location to stop at if you are enjoying the snow in the winter or heading up the Gondola to hike or sightsee in the Summer.

We pulled up to the front of the building, walked through the lobby to check in. It definitely has a rustic mountain-feel to it.

Since it was low-season and we were checking in past 6pm, they left our envelopes at the front with our keys and other information.

We stayed in their one bedroom suite and it was quite spacious for the two of us. You will find their fully furnished living rooms with satellite TV, gas fireplace, and private balconies. It was clean and reminded us of home away from home.

There is also a fully furnished kitchen with fridge, microwave, oven and coffee maker.

The bedroom had an old CRT TV with cable, views of the mountains and a closet. We spent more time in the living room since it was more comfortable watching TV there with the flatscreen TV.

The tables has 3 chairs and a bench. I quite liked the bench feature. Makes me want to get one for my own place.

There’s lots of sitting space if you were to entertain guests. Very cozy.

The entrance to the balcony/patio gave us a great sight of the slopes. There’s not much to see during the Fall, but it was cool to see the changing colours of the trees and the snowboarding trails. In the Winter, it will be more beautiful.

There’s lots of hooks and space to hang any winter gear you have.

The washroom has a tub, a shower, toilet and sink. Nothing fancy, but it does the job.

They also have a fitness centre, hot tub, and a steam room to enjoy at the lodge.

The view of the other mountain peaks are just amazing even in the Fall. Its so nice to see the snow right on the peaks of those large mountains.

Overall, it was a pleasant stay and I love the surrounding nature. Mountains on all sides with some beautiful Fall foliage. The only bad thing about coming here during low-season is that there’s nothing open up here, so you will need to head to the town to get lunch or dinner. The lodge has vending machines, so you can get pop, water or snacks. When it’s their normal season, it won’t be a problem at all. M and I didn’t mind since we were carry a lot of snacks and drinks with us since we were on our roadtrip.

The best part about going to Kicking Horse Lodging is this crazy bridge you have to drive across. Only one car can pass at a time. I’ve never seen anything like this, so I was super excited.

Address:
549 Kicking Horse Trail, Golden, BC

Website:
http://www.kickinghorselodging.com/glacier-mountaineer-lodge/