Type Archives - Page 79 of 125

In Bakery

Sweet Step: Coffee and Bread in Pohang, South Korea

February 23, 2014

When we were in Pohang, M’s mom showed us a cute coffee shop called Sweet Step. They serve up artisan coffee and bake their own pastries. Whats great about this place is that they even roast their own beans.

A lot of locals love this place because its different that all the other coffee chains out there.

The inside is quite huge! There’s patio seating and 2 floors of seating too.

Lots of macarons.

Doremon bread!

They have a siphon coffee maker on display. Looks pretty darn cool

They also sell various coffee gadgets too.

The counters menu has some english, so you will be able to make your order easily with no problems.

Coffee Macaron (2,000 won = $2CDN) was a cool treat to pair with coffee. I looked pretty.

It was also humongous. I’ve never seen a macaron this big. Unfortunately, the macaroon was not very good. It was hard and chewy. A good macaron should have a smooth, crisp shell and a moist, chewy interior.

Affogato is what M ordered. It comes with a scoop of vanilla Haagan Daaz ice cream and a shot of espresso. You pour the espresso on top of the ice cream and its so delicious! A very Italian treat.

Iced Caramel Macchiato is what Ms mom ordered. Looked very pretty and she said it tasted very good.

Americano Misto is what I tried to order, but I don’t think they understood what I wanted. I think this drink got lost in translation. I think next time I will stick with a latte or cappuccino.

Overall, we did enjoy the cafe. It’s a perfect place to chill in the afternoon over some coffee and treats. Ambiance was perfect and there are tons of seats.

We Rate Sweet Step:

Address:
남구 대이로143번길 21, Pohang 790-320

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

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=21+Daei-ro+143beon-gil,+Nam-gu,+Pohang,+Gyeongsangbuk-do+790-320,+South+Korea+(657+I-dong)&hl=en&ll=36.027202,129.338007&spn=0.020443,0.042272&t=m&geocode=FUe7JQIdmoq1Bw&hnear=21+Daei-ro+143beon-gil,+Nam-gu,+Pohang,+Gyeongsangbuk-do,+South+Korea+(657+I-dong)&z=15″]

In Chinese

Imperial Court Beijing Cuisine: Dinner in Richmond

February 22, 2014

Imperial Court ( 王府井京川粵名菜) is located in Richmond and they serve up Beijing and Szechuan cuisine. My mom found this place in the newspaper and heard it was a good place for peking duck. M really wanted some good peking duck. We made reservations and headed down here for dinner.

This place has lots of large round tables perfect for large groups. It’s a popular place for King Crab but it wasn’t the peak King Crab season yet, so we opted for a 10 person set menu for the 8 of us.

The first item that arrived are the cold appetizers. It has bean curd, jelly fish, cucumbers, tomato, and pork.

The next dish that arrived is the fish maw and egg soup. The big bowl of soup is poured into individual bowls.

I thought the soup was good. M didn’t know what the soup was until we told him that fish maw was actually fish stomach. He was quite afraid to eat it. Mind over matter right? I thought the fish maw was quite tasteless and it’s the broth of the soup that brings out the flavour.

Peking duck arrived with and the slices were quite think with not a lot of meat. The wrappers that came with it was tasteless and thick. The duck is supposed to feed 10 people, but we felt it was very small. My parents tried requesting to take the duck bones home but they said we were not allowed to. Some people actually request it to bring it back home to make soup. We thought it was a bit weird how they said no.

There are shrimp chips underneath.

Duck lettuce wrap is what they made with the remainder of the duck. The duck and vegetable stir fry sits on top of the fried noodles.

Hainanese chicken was the next dish. The skin has its classic yellow shade. It tasted ok, but the meat was a bit dry and the skin was gummy. It was alright, but not very impressed.

Steamed flat fish was the next dish and it was very moist and delicious. The bones came off easily and wasn’t too hard to pick out.

2 Lobsters arrived on the plate but they were also quite small. It was cut up into bite size pieces and cooked in a white sauce. The meat was quite tough and surprisingly hard to get out of the shells.

Fried rice came in a huge plate and was not bad. Not too oily.

Vegetables and mushrooms was a good compliment to the set meal. Very delicious.

Red Bean Soup was the last item to arrive. It’s quite common for Chinese restaurants to have this at the end. It wasn’t as thick as other restaurants, it was very watery.

Hello Kitty Mango Pudding was a very cute item to order, but it lacked in the mango flavour. It was more like jello.

Overall, this place was below average and there are so many other Chinese restaurants in the area that are better. None of use were really impressed by any of their dishes. Felt very climactic as the dinner went on.

We Rate Imperial Court Beijing Cuisine:

Address:
6360 #3 Rd
Richmond, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=6360+No+3+Rd&sll=49.1671258,-123.1363797&sspn=0.0053876,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=6360+No+3+Rd,+Richmond,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6Y+2B3&z=16 “]

In American

Cheesecake Factory: Chowing Down in Seattle

February 20, 2014

Can you believe it? I’ve NEVER been to a Cheesecake Factory till now. It’s taken me 25 years to make a visit and taste their cheesecake. I’ve never seen the allure of huge slices of cheese cake and horribly prepared food. I’ve always just had that impression in my mind.

On our recent trip to Seattle, we stopped by Cheesecake factory for an early dinner. It was really early…it was so early, they still had their lunch menu. What can I say? We had a schedule to keep if we wanted to go shopping.

The place was huge, but there always seem to be a line up near the door. It’s super packed during lunch and dinner.

Complimentary bread arrives and you have brown and white. We actually didn’t touch the bread since we had to save our tummies for our meal and dessert. No need to waste space for plain bread.

M ordered himself a coke. Free refills!

Koreangirl got herself a lemonade. Free refills too!

Tomato, basil and cheese pizza ($11.95) from their lunch menu is pretty crappy. There’s no tomato sauce, so it’s just the 3 basic ingredients over the pizza dough. I will not order the pizza again.

The pizza did come with a salad. The salad was pretty good. No complaints. It had a balsamic vinegar dressing. I definitely enjoyed the salad a lot more than the pizza.

Famous Factory Meatloaf ($11.95) comes with 2 sides. M chose corn and mashed potatoes with gravy. The lunch size was still huge but the dinner size is even larger. M likes the portion for lunch as he could actually finish it.

Renee’s Special ($10.95) comes with half a turkey sandwich, a cup of soup and a green salad. You definitely get a little bit of everything. The portion is large for lunch and its very filling.

Fettuccini with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes ($11.95) was ordered by Scarface and looked good.

30th Anniversary Chocolate Cake Cheesecake has layers of their original cheesecake, fudge cake and chocolate truffle cream. M gets this every time he comes here.

Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake ($6.95) has chocolate cheesecake with a layer of Belgian chocolate mousse and whipped cream.

Fresh Strawberry ($6.95) has the original cheese cake topped with glazed strawberries and whipped cream. It’s been their top seller for 30 years. The strawberries were huge and fresh. I really liked it and its a good cake to share. The classics are always the best.

Overall, cheesecake factory is ok. It’s a good price for their huge portions. I wouldn’t come back for the food but cheesecake is worth it.

We Rate The Cheesecake Factory:

Address:
700 Pike St
Seattle, WA

Website:
http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=700+Pike+St&sll=47.6116985,-122.3333375&sspn=0.0055549,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=700+Pike+St,+Seattle,+King+County,+Washington+98109,+United+States&z=16 “]

In American

A&W: Teen Burger at YVR Airport

February 19, 2014

After checking in and going through security at the Vancouver International Airport (YVR), M and I were pretty hungry. There’s not a lot of choices before boarding international flights.

We had to choose from:

Milestones
Starbucks
Tim Hortons
Euro Cafe
A&W
Burger King
Subway
Hanami Express

It’s all fast food and it’s definitely hard to choose what your last meal before the plane will be.

I actually quite like A&W for the burgers and you can really notice their fresh ingredients. It doesn’t come close to McDonalds. All their beef is 100% pure and contains no hormones or steroids. Also no additives or preservatives.

Their quality has gotten a lot better over the years and I prefer it over the other fast food options.

We got 2 teen burger meals, onion rings, yam fries and cokes.

My favourite sides are the onion rings. The batter is fried till its crispy and the onion is large. I wasn’t a fan of the yam fries, but I never liked yam fries in the first place. M did enjoy the yam fries.

Teen Burger is my favourite and it has lettuce, tomato, bacon, cheese, ketchup, onion, pickles and the burger patty between the two buns. Even looking at the burger, the ingredients look fresh. I ate it all and enjoyed it! Yum.

All the other burger at A&W are pretty good, but you can’t beat the teen burger.

Website: www.aw.ca

In British Columbia

McDonalds Canada: 20-Piece Chicken McNuggets Fan Pack

February 18, 2014

McDonalds created the Fan Pack to have people share the moment during the 2014 Olympic games in Sochi. It costs $13.99 and it contains:

20 McNuggets
2 Medium Fries
2 Medium Drinks
2 Cookies
2 limited edition Coca Cola pins

You can find this at most McDonalds in Canada. It a great item to bring friends if you are all watching the game together. Unfortunately, M and I don’t have cable, so we bought this box and watched some Netflix. It’s a quick meal for 2 very lazy people on a weekend.

The inside of the box houses all the food.

Coke! Not the most healthiest drink, but its nice to feel the bubbles fizzle down your throat.

Two of their soft baked cookies come in a little bag, they taste ok for cookies. Nothing amazing.

The best part are the nuggets. They are split up into 2 boxes of 10 and you can ask them for whatever sauce you want. Our choices were hot mustard and sweet and sour sauce.

nom nom nom nom. All them nuggets.

The best part of the Fan pack is really about collecting the pins. We only got 2 pins and we are missing 2 more. I’m not sure if we will get another fan pack, but we really want to have the other 2 to complete the collection.

Have you had the Fan Pack yet?

Website: http://www.mcdonalds.ca/

In Bakery

Rosemary Rocksalt: Open on Main Street

February 17, 2014

Rosemary Rocksalt is the sister restaurant of Seigel’s Bagels. They have one location in North Vancouver and recently opened a new location on Main Street in Vancouver.

They serve up Montreal-style bagels and boy are they delicious! You’ll never buy bagels from Safeway or Superstore again.

All their bagels are freshly made in the store and it’s all displayed in the counter as you walk into the store. There are 10 types to choose from.

The menu is slightly more expensive than Siegels. But if you take into account location and demographics, it makes sense.

Morning Bagel ($6.50) has Montreal Smoked meat, cheddar and egg. Magz chose to have it on a rosemary rocksalt bagel. She loved it! Breakfast for lunch is always the best.

Jalapeno melt ($8) has smoked meat, melted cheddar, jalapeno peppers, lettuce, tomato and mustard. I ordered it with the multigrain bagel. I’m really loving this type of bagel. It’s nice and crisp on the outside and chewy in the middle.

It was hard to hold together while eating it, but it tasted great. The best part is really the smoked meat.

We came here for lunch and we were not disappointed. It tasted great but it was a tad expensive.

We Rate Rosemary Rocksalt:

Address:
2515 Main St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.rosemaryrocksalt.com

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=2515+Main+St&sll=49.2625553,-123.1009902&sspn=0.0053772,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=2515+Main+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5T&z=16 “]

In 24 hours

Siegel’s Bagels: Montreal-style bagels in Vancouver

February 16, 2014

Siegel’s Bagels sells authentic Montreal-style bagels in Kitsilano. After coming back from a trip, we decided to stop here for a quick lunch. I’ve heard much about this place, but I’ve actually never been here. I wanted to see if it was true that it’s like a Montreal Bagel.

The Kitsilano location is open 24 hours and have lot of sandwiches to choose from. They even have Montreal smoked meat.

Lot of bagels to choose from. They make it all in-house and are fresh.

Club Bagel ($8.50) has Montreal smoked meat, golden turkey breast, tomato, lettuce, cheddar, mustard and mayo.

Their Montreal smoked meat is pretty awesome. It has a great combination of ingredients.

Lox and Cream ($8.95) has smoked sockeye salmon, cream cheese, onions, and capers. It’s quite pricey for what you get, but the combination of the cream cheese, salmon and capers is sure yummy. I got it on a multigrain bagel because I love the texture of the grains on the outside.

Overall, great bagels and its great they are made fresh. Don’t forget to buy a few for home! They also have their sister restaurant – Rosemary Rocksalt open in North Vancouver and Main Street.

We Rate Siegel’s Bagels:

Address:
1883 Cornwall Ave
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.siegelsbagels.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=1883+Cornwall+Ave&sll=49.2724816,-123.1477055&sspn=0.0053761,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=1883+Cornwall+Ave,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6J&z=16 “]

In Busan

Janny Crepe House: Organic Soft serve Milk Ice Cream with Honeycomb

February 13, 2014

We spent the afternoon in Busan roaming the Gwangbokro Culture and Fashion street in Busan. We just finished lunch at some relatives house and wandered off here to do some shopping and looking for a sweet treat.

M’s mom wanted to show us some amazing organic milk soft serve Ice cream with honeycomb, so we wandered and wandered until we found a good place. We stumbled upon Janny Crepe House. At first glance, you won’t be able to notice as you just assume they only have crepes.

As you look closer, you will see their display case filled with delicious honeycomb.

It’s a small shop with a lot of people waiting, so there’s not a lot of seats available. Best to have it to go and wander the streets to do more shopping. This is also very random, but they sell dolls as well.

Organic milk soft serve Ice cream with honeycomb (4,500 won = $4.50) was just beautiful. You have the soft serve on the bottom and then it is topped with a piece of honeycomb.

The way the honeycomb glistens beautifully. Everyone else loved the ice cream and honeycomb, but I personally felt it was a bit sweet. I just prefer less sweet treats. The texture of the honeycomb was crunchy kinda like a wafer. A cool treat to try out if you’re ever in South Korea.

It’s a unique treat and I’ve never seen this in Vancouver yet.

In American

Rachel’s Ginger Beer: A Treat at Pike Place

February 9, 2014

Rachel’s Ginger Beer is the newest place in Pike Place in Seattle. We were wandering around the area after lunch and needed something fizzy to settle our stomachs after eating at Pike Place Chowder.

They started selling their signature Ginger Beer at Seattle’s Farmers Market and with great success, they opened up their shop in Pike Place during the summer of 2013.

When you walk inside, you’ll be mesmerized by all their drinks. These are the larger jugs that are to go.

Don’t be fooled by their name, they have more than just soda. They have boozy cocktails and ice cream. Some of the drinks can be made warm too instead of cold.

When you order a cup of the ginger beer, it comes right from the tap. I think it’s a really cute touch even though it is non-alcoholic.

Mango Tangerine ($5) , Pink Guava ($5) , Original ($4), and Blueberry ($5) were ordered and it has a very distinctive aftertaste of ginger. You can feel the drink slide down your throat and heating up your body. It can really shock the sickness out of you if you aren’t feeling too well. Good combination is all the soda’s but I liked the original to stay true to ginger beer.

It’s not a drink for everyone. If you don’t like ginger, you probably won’t have a keen liking to the drinks.

We were glad we stumbled upon this cute little shop. I would have never expected a ginger beer shop to exist.

We Rate Rachel’s Ginger Beer:

Address:
1530 Post Alley
Seattle, WA

Website:
http://rachelsgingerbeer.com/pages/pike-place-market

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=1530+Post+Alley&sll=47.6093656,-122.3410995&sspn=0.0055551,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=1530+Post+Alley,+Seattle,+Washington+98101,+United+States&z=16 “]

In Dineout

Dine Out Vancouver: Oru at Fairmont Pacific Rim

February 8, 2014

The last Dine Out I did this year was at Oru at the Fairmont Pacific Rim in Downtown Vancouver. They were offering a $38 3-course meal. It seemed reasonable and their menu had lobster. When I was looking for a place for my family, I had my eye on a place with great ambiance and West Coast food. Oru seemed perfect and the menu sounded yummy.

I would not normally come here unless it was a special occasion as it is quite pricey on a regular night.

The interior was beautiful and if you get seated in a nice spot, you might even get a good view of the Convention Centre or the Olympic Cauldron.

We were seated near the kitchen, so we could watch their every move.

I would stare and see when our dishes would be coming. They put a lot of effort into those dishes and its fun to see them be prepared and plated.

Complimentary bread arrives at the table with butter. We had olive bread and I think whole wheat. Both were very light and airy, so it was enjoyable.

While we waited for our food, we saw that the drink menus were on an iPad. Pretty cool because you can see what drinks they have and what they look like.

Strawberry Rhubarb Soda (right) has elderflower, strawberry purée, yuzu, and rhubarb bitters. My little sister loved it. It was bubbly and refreshing. This drink was the best out of all of them.

Raspberry Iced Tea (left) hasvearl grey tea, homemade raspberry syrup, and lemon juice.

Shirley Temple (centre) is made with ginger ale and grenadine syrup.

All mocktails were $8.50. Quite pricey and more expensive than beer.

Oru Winter Salad has kale, roasted squash, lime, pumpkin seeds with a chipotle caesar dressing. It tasted great and not overpowered by the dressing. A filling item for the first course.

Pork Belly dish has lotus root poi, baby bok choy, crispy sage, pineapple-maple and mustard glaze. The pork belly was crispy on the outside which made it extra enjoyable. It’s a small appetizer, but bacon lovers will enjoy this dish.

Roasted Sunchoke “Mocha” has a sunchoke veloute, truffled milk foam and a morel cocoa powder. It was a good portion side and filled my sister up. The texture was very smooth and great for the cold weather.

Cape Breton Lobster has a paprika lime butter sauce with a bed of warm brussel sprouts and chorizo salad. This dish was amazing! Every last bite of this dish was enjoyed. The brussel sprouts were highly addictive and everyone at the table just had to have a bite. The lobster wasn’t very large, but it was cooked perfectly and the flavour of the sauce really enhanced it.

Angus Reserve Short Rib is topped with a mole sauce and has a bed of guajilo spiced mashed potato, black bean, corn, and zucchini succotash. The meat is tender and fell apart nicely.

Malted Peanut Butter and Beer Nut Bar consists of chocolate ganache, peanut butter mousse, salted caramel peanuts, and a malted milk ice cream. The bar was very rich and sweet. We couldn’t finish the whole thing.

Local cheeses is what my little sister ordered. It has natural Pastures aged farmhouse cheddar, black pepper verdelait, Golden Ears Cheeseworks brie. You also get crisps and quince mostarda on the plate. It’s great for cheese lovers and a nice way to taste unique cheeses.

Strawberry Shortcake ‘Millefeuille’ has strawberry compote, sweet puff pastry, diplomat cream and lemon curd. Good contrast of flavours that blend together nicely.

When you leave, take a stop by the Lobby Lounge if there is a live Orchestra. The music is really amazing!

The dineout was well worth $38 per person for the 3 courses. My family enjoyed the food, ambiance and service. In the future, definitely check out the menu to see whats on it. If you spot a protein that you will enjoy, you won’t be disappointed. We were eyeing the lobster and it was so worth it.

We Rate Oru:

Address:
1038 Canada Pl
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.orucuisine.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=1038+Canada+Pl&sll=49.2884512,-123.1167542&sspn=0.0053744,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=1038+Canada+Pl,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6C&z=16″]

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Kishimoto: Beautiful Sushi Rolls on Commercial Drive

February 2, 2014

Coming with the girls on the weekend for lunch drew us to Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen. I haven’t been back in 3 years, so I just had to come back and try more items off their menu. Also, they serve Salmon Oshi Sushi similar to Miku’s Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi. It looks very similar, but was curious how it compared.

The restaurant quickly filled up and got much busier as it approached 12:30pm. The 3 of us got seated quickly but we were put in a very small table and it was uncomfortable and cramped. They do not take reservations, so you just need to take your chances.

Complimentary tea arrived at the table. It was piping hot and enjoyable as we waited for our order.

Salmon Oshisushi ($11.75) has a salmon creamy sauce with freshly cracked black pepper, then seared with a torch and an added jalapeño on top. It looks like Miku, but the flavour is just not the same. Once you have Miku, you can’t go anywhere else for these types of sushi.

It comes with 7 pieces and it’s still good.

Unagi Oshisushi ($11.75) has unagi, creamy sauce, freshly cracked black pepper, then it’s torched. A slice of cucumber is on top. It’s good, but not as good as their salmon version.

The presentation of all their dishes are really cute. All the little details make the experience more enjoyable.

Tuna and Salmon ($10.25) come with 3 pieces of salmon and 3 pieces of tuna. It is served on top of a block of ice and daikon. The sashi tasted very fresh and was enjoyable.

Chicken Karaage ($6.75) is very good. Nice crispy skin with a slightly sweet sauce.

Masago Nigiri ($1.50) has a lot of masago. Yummy.

Dragon Roll ($10.95) has 2 pieces of prawn tempura, tobiko, unagi sauce, sliced avocado and unagi on top. It comes with 8 pieces.

Scallop Roll ($3.95) has scallops, cucumber, masago and mayo. It came with 6 pieces.

Toro Nigiri (3 pieces – $10.50) just melts in your mouth because its so fatty. nom nom nom. It’s quite expensive for 3 pieces.

Nabeyaki Udon ($13.95) has 3 pieces of tempura on the side. Inside the bowl is mushrooms, chicken, soft boiled egg, kamaboko, and green onion all in a bowling hot stone bowl. It was pretty yummy.

Pork Okonomiyaki ($10.95) was the last item to arrive at the table and it took over an hour to arrive. A lot of tables ordered it too and they were also mad it took a long time. Mandu thought it was a bit bland, so we asked them for more sauce on the side. Granted, it is quite large and is delicious with more sauce.

Overall, the presentation of the food was beautiful. The service was decent and the food was pretty good. The prices are a bit high and we spent close to $100 on lunch for 3 people.

We Rate Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen:

Address:
2054 Commercial Drive
Vancouver, BC

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/pages/Kishimoto…

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=2054+Commercial+Drive+Vancouver,+BC&sll=49.2662161,-123.0696757&sspn=0.0053768,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=2054+Commercial+Dr,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5N&z=16 “]

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

La Mezcaleria: Mezcal, Tacos and Enchiladas

January 31, 2014

La Mezcaleria was created by the same people as La Taqueria. They are the first mexican restaurant offering the finest small batch mezcal, tequila and cocktails from different regions of Mexico. You will find it as a good drinking place with some Mexican cuisine.

It definitely has a different atmosphere than La Taqueria. It gets darker at night and louder. Not a bad thing as its more of a fun atmosphere at night.

Espadin Mezcal Flight ($26) They have their customized flights served with sangrita and lime. These are strong drinks! The flight I got had Fidencio Unico, Scorpion Silver and Rey Zapoteco mezcal. You’re supposed to be sipping these drinks throughout your meal and chase it down with the sangrita and lime.

Horchata is a traditional non-alcoholic drink made out of almonds, sesame seeds, rice and barley. It’s white, so it totally looks like milk. Tasted great!

Queso Fundido ($16 + Chorizo $2.50) is Mezcaleria’s molten cheese fondue served in a volcanic rock molcajete. You have your choice of either salsa verde or Mexican chorizo.

The dish is very rich and oily. You scoop this onto a corn tortilla and enjoy. I found that it didn’t hold very well in the tortilla because the oil would just be dripping out. The best part of the dish is the cheese on the sides of the bowl. It’s crispy!!

Guacamole ($7) is made to order with fresh avocado, cilantro, lime, onion, jalapeño and tomato. This is a staple dish to have at any Mexican restaurant. Good as an appetizer to nibble on with some drinks.

Enchiladas Clasicas ($14) is filled with spicy chicken, cheese or beans. Topped with green tomatillo or red tomato salsa, onion, cream and Mexican cheese. M went with the green tomatillo sauce. It was a bit spicy but he loved the sauce and the complex flavours.

Tostadas De Pato has Fraser Valley duck confit, guava, fruit mole sauce (manchamanteles), chayote squash and radish. The tortilla on the bottom is fried, so its hard to eat with your hands. I liked eating it with a fork and knife.

They have other taco selections too similar to La Taqueria. They’re all pretty darn good!

You have 4 sauces to choose from at the table – Chipotle, salsa verde, chile de arbol and habanero. My favourite is always the salsa verde.

Overall, if you are familiar with La Taqueria’s tacos and that’s all you want, you are best to probably stick with La Taqueria. The prices are a bit higher but you do have more variety of dishes. I know I keep comparing it to La Taqueria, but that’s what a lot of people are familiar with. People like coming here for the drinks and ambiance.

We Rate La Mezcaleria:

Address:
1622 Commercial Dr
Vancouver, BC

Website: http://www.lamezcaleria.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=1622+Commercial+Dr+Vancouver,+BC&sll=49.2700892,-123.0694994&sspn=0.0053764,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=1622+Commercial+Dr,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5L+3Y4&z=16 “]

In Canadian

Tap and Barrel Coal Harbour: Burger and Beer

January 30, 2014

Tap and Barrel has a new location in Coal Harbour. After an event, Foodobyte, Eating with Kirby, Gastrofork, FoodQueen and I headed over to grab some dinner. It was close by and there is always room food some beer and burgers.

They have lots of local craft beer on tap and comfort food.

It was a very busy night for them, so we got seated in their cafe rather than their main dining room. It’s not connected to the restaurant, so all the food is made in their other area and brought over. You even have to go outside to their main area to find the washroom.

Beer Sampler you can choose from any 3 beers from the menu. I asked the waitress for 3 of the lightest beers of the menu because I don’t trust myself in picking my own beer unless its asian beer.

PB&J Burger ($15) is their signature burger with chipotle peanut butter and bacon jam. It is topped with a deep fried pickle and side of fries.

Chicken Clubhouse ($15) has blackened breast of chicken, pulled pork belly, and fresh avocado. It has the fried pickle on top with the fries on the side.

Tap Greens with added albacore tuna ($9 + $6) is topped with hazelnuts, dried blueberries, crumbled goat cheese, and red wine maple vinaigrette. It was an ok salad. I added the tuna since I needed some more protein in the dish. It’s a good alternative to burgers on the menu.

The Original Cobb ($17) has blackened Fraser Valley chicken breast, bacon, fresh sliced avocado, tomato, egg, blue claire cheese, creamy draught craft beer dressing.

The food was decent and the price was fair for this area. It is still pricey but at least you have a great view of the Olympic Cauldron and the Burrard inlet. The downside is that when we were dining here, the service took a very long time. Even getting beer took a while. We were all hungry and antsy to eat, but it’s not quick here.

We Rate Tap and Barrel:

Address:
1055 Canada Place
Vancouver, BC

Website: http://www.tapandbarrel.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=1055+Canada+Pl,+Vancouver,+BC&sll=49.290199,-123.1172135&sspn=0.0053742,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=1055+Canada+Pl,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia&z=16″]

In Bakery

Hot Chocolate Festival: Terra Breads

January 29, 2014

Terra breads is participating in the 4th Annual Hot Chocolate Festival put on by City Food Magazine. From January 18th till February 14th. The event is a fundraiser that supports the Downtown Eastside Women’s Job Training Centre program of PHS Community Service Society and East Van Roasters. It’s really a great cause and I would highly encourage people to go out there and grab some hot chocolate.

There are many more restaurants and shops participating:

Beaucoup Bakery
Bel Cafe
Bella Gelateria
Blenz
Chocolate Arts
Chocolaterie De La Nouvelle
Cocoa Nymph
East Van Roasters
French Made Baking
Gem Chocolates
KoKo Monk Chocolates
Last Crumb Cafe
Leonidas
Mink Chocolates and Cafe
Schokolade Artisan Chocolate
Soirette Macarons and Tea
Terra Breads
Thierry Chocolaterie Patisserie Cafe
Thomas Haas
UVA Wine Bar

I went to grab a hot chocolate from Terra Breads as it is a few minutes from my work.

‘Call me a Cab’ Hot Chocolate ($4.95) has cacao barry extra brute hot chocolate with cabernet, cinnamon and pear.

I liked the combination of flavours and didn’t really taste alcoholic at all.

It is served with a pear crisp and a cocoa sugar cookie. Very nice touch! Terra Breads always creates some awesome variation of hot chocolate. Last year, they had the Stand Up and Stout, which was hot chocolate and beer.

Address:
1605 Manitoba Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.terrabreads.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=1605+Manitoba+Street+Vancouver,+BC&sll=49.2715469,-123.106828&sspn=0.0053762,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=1605+Manitoba+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5Y+3B7&z=16″]

In Canadian

Dine Out Vancouver: Bistro 101

January 26, 2014

My second dine out of the year was at Bistro 101 at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. I tried making reservations last year, but I lucked out as the reservations fill up very quickly! I woke up and put in my reservation on Open Table before going to work on the day they started accepting reservations . It’s one of the best $18 3 course menu option and you won’t be disappointed.

Their 3 course meals are usually $24, which is still a great deal. At $18 for Dine Out Vancouver, its pretty good.

Bistro 101 was created to provide a real-world training experience for the school’s professional Culinary and Baking & Pastry Arts students. I think it’s a great idea to give student a well-rounded experience with dealing with the back of the house and front of the house.

From inside the dining room, you can see them hard at work. It’s really cool to see all the work that goes into your meal.

Complimentary bread arrives at the table. It’s unlimited, so you can always ask for more. I find that they give you a lot initially, so you don’t really need a refill unless you really load up on the bread early. There’s a lot of varieties.

Peroni beer ($6) comes from Italy and is a popular beer there. I liked its light and sweet flavour profile.

An amuse bouche arrived before the appetizers. A nice little treat to start off the meal. I think it was cheese, bell peppers, pesto on little crispy bread.

White Onion Velouté topped with crisp cauliflower and lime yoghurt. It is a soup and M said it was really good. The crispy vegetables on the side added great texture.

Winter Squash Tortellini comes with 3 pieces in a smoked tomato broth. A different concept of a pasta dish.

Dungeness Crab Salad has shaved fennel & lemon foam. The lemon foam compliments the creamy crab.

Organic Ocean Wise Roasted Halibut sits on top of spinach risotto and lemongrass emulsion. The halibut was cooked perfectly. It was moist and really full of flavour.

Lamb Navarin has grilled polenta, braised Shallots and dates. There is also grilled peppers and asparagus.

Fraser Pork is like a pork sampler. It has roast loin, crisp belly, shoulder sausage and chive pomme puree. M really liked it and was music to his palate. Men love their meat.

Cheesecake Mousse has a raspberry sauce and pineapple sorbet. Cheesecake was simple and not overly complicated. Good as well.

Hazelnut Tart has blood orange, chocolate and sorbet on the plate. This was my favourite because I am very fond of hazelnuts.

Overall, I was very impressed by their menu and their affordable price. There is a trade off and the students are still learning how to serve, so the service may be less smooth than what you would normally receive. It was a fun experience for us and we will definitely be back. I love the concept of Bistro 101 and they did a great job when we dined here.

We Rate Bistro 101:

Address:
1505 W 2nd Ave
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.bistro101.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=1505+W+2nd+Ave,+Vancouver,+BC+V6J+1H2&sll=49.2697268,-123.1384388&sspn=0.0053764,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=1505+W+2nd+Ave,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6J+1H2&z=16 “]

In Dineout

Dine Out Vancouver: Chicha

January 24, 2014

Chicha is a fun and casual restaurant serving up Peruvian inspired cuisine. They opened up in May 2013 and located on Broadway near Main.

My coworkers have said amazing things about this eatery and I was very excited to come here for Dine Out Vancouver, Their menu is $28 and you get to choose, 1 entree, 2 mains, and a desserts. I love the tapa style dishes and great for sharing. It gives you an opportunity to try more dishes.

Their menu had lots of options and to be honest, I was very overwhelmed because I didn’t know what to order. Plus, a lot of the names of the dishes sounded very unfamiliar. These are times I wish I had one of those menus with pictures.

Chicha Morada ($3.50) is a traditional Peruvian beverage made of purple corn, spices, pineapple, and citrus. It’s a non-alcoholic drink and its very delicious. It comes with a cute paper straw and beautifully decorated with lime and pineapple.

Fresh Local Seafood Chowder has aji amarillo chili pepper, red nugget, sweet potatoes, corn and cilantro oil. Magz and FierceFeathers both got this as their appetizer and adored the unique combination of flavours.

Palitas de Yuca has cassava root and a huancaina sauce. The yuca was very crunchy and quite different from your usual fries. It’s a good dish but it really doesn’t compare to the seafood chowder.

Rocoto Braised Lamb and Wine Cured Chorizo Fettuccini has black olives, tomato and parmesan cheese, and cilantro oil.

Pollo anticuchos has aji chili marinated chicken breast skewers with brown butter fingerling potato, choclo corn, and trio of aji chili sauces. The chicken was moist and have great flavours that balanced out the aji trio sauces.

Yarrow Meadows Duck Spring Rolls has wild mushroom, five spice duck confit spring rolls served with a peashoot and pickled daikon salad and ginger and Japanese plum wine sauce. There’s a good amount of duck in the spring roll.

Lomo Saltado has flat iron steak, kennebec fries, red onion, peppers, tomato wok fried with soy sauce, garlic, and aji amarillo chili. Image it as like a Peruvian poutine. I actually imagined this dish quite differently. It tasted like an asian stir-fry with fries. We didn’t like this dish.

Spiced Aji Chili Dark Chocolate Bread Pudding with Peruvian dulce de leche, and pisco raspberry sauce.

Lucuma, white chocolate, and lime frozen torte with passion fruit and raspberry sauce. This was a very unique dessert and it really cleanses your palate.

We definitely felt there were dishes that were a hit and some a miss. You really have to read all the ingredients carefully or ask how the dish is presented. The food was ok, but I wasn’t very impressed by the choices of the dishes I chose.

We Rate Chicha:

Address:
136 East Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Website: http://www.chicharestaurant.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=136+East+Broadway+Vancouver,+BC&sll=49.2628222,-123.1020456&sspn=0.0053772,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=136+Broadway+E,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5T+1A1&z=16″]

In British Columbia

Dine Out Vancouver: Street Food City III

January 23, 2014

Street Food City is back for the third time brings together a plethora of Vancouver Food truck in one convenient location. It’s been very successful in the past years and keep coming back. I remember my first time here in 2012 when I got some Hot Chocolate from the Juice Truck.

The event is completely free and they feature a bunch of food trucks from January 22 to 26, 2014 outside the Art Gallery.

11:00am – 3:00pm Wednesday through Friday
11:00am – 5:00pm Saturday and Sunday

The food trucks participating include:

JJ’s Trucketeria
Roaming Dragon
Feastro
Holy Perogy
Dougie Dog
REEL Mac
Aussie Pie
Reef Runner
Vij’s Railway Express
Roaming Dragon
Guanaco
Le Tigre
Tacofino
Mom’s Grilled Cheese
Soho Road
Mangal Kiss
Yolks
Eli Serious
Mogu
Chili Tank
Taser
Kaboom Box
The Juice Truck.

It’s a great selection of food trucks and you will definitely find something you like. I came around 1pm, so the lines were manageable. The popular food trucks definitely have longer lines.

Lots of the tables were occupied, so you definitely need to stalk your way to find a seat. It sucks if you are with a bunch of people because you may not get a seat. Perhaps bring it back to the office to eat or eat somewhere else close by.

My pick was JJ’s Trucketeria because of their menu. The prices range from $5 to $8 and will be guaranteed full. Plus, Filipino food is pretty damn good.

Garlic Fried Rice Big Plate ($8) has a bed of garlic fried rice, a fried egg, Filipino BBQ Pork and a vinegar sauce. It smell so good and it made everyone want to line up just to get it. It’s a filling meal and worth the $8.

I only had one stomach, so I could only make one stop while I was here. My other coworker went to Le Tigre to get a soup and sandwich.

I did enjoying stopping by Street Food City for lunch. You have lots of options and can’t disappoint. Its a little bit chilly outside, but it’s much better than sitting inside a food court. Expect long lines during peak lunch hour.

Website: http://www.dineoutvancouver.com/events/street-food-city/

In Cafe

Waves: $2 Lattes for January

January 22, 2014

Waves $2 latte deal is back! Now I don’t need to have a Starbucks Treat receipt to wait for a coffee after 2pm. The deal is pretty good and its a medium sized latte. I always drink lattes, so as you can see, it hurts my wallet if I always buy it at regular price.

My girlfriends and I came on the weekend to just chat and chill over the $2 lattes.

Waves on Commercial Drive was packed on the weekend. Lot of people studying and hanging out.

The latte was pretty good and is a great size. It is an espresso based drink that is bold and balanced. The steamed milk that sits on top makes the drink sweeter. Some people add sugar, but I just like it as is. The latte art is definitely a plus.

Go grab one before January ends.

Website:
https://wavescoffee.com/