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In Canadian

Craft Beer Market: Open in Vancouver

November 3, 2013

My coworkers and I have been keeping an eye on the Craft Beer Market opening up in the Olympic Village near Science World. What I love about this area is it’s amazing views and how this neighbourhood is transforming. It was supposed to be open during the Summer of 2013, but due to some delays, it is going to officially open on November 7th, 2013.

Word has spread around the office that they are currently having a soft opening and are open for business. We were bidding a coworker goodbye, so it seemed like the perfect place to have an office lunch.

This place is HUGE! There are even 2 elevated private seating areas. Also, the beautiful bar in the centre with so many different types of Craft Beer.

Wall of beer kegs.

More beer!

Below are images of their food and drink menus.

Fast Food Sushi?! Red Racer IPA Infused Taquitos?!

Their menus are labeled with healthy, vegetarian, ocean-wise and gluten-free options. It really help taking the guess work if you have dietary restrictions. Nice touch!

Dark beer braised beef brisket?! Phillips Beer Can Chicken?!

20 Napkin Burger?! Earnest Ice Cream!!

Looks like there are some amazing sounding items on the menu.

SO much beer!

Too many to choose from.

Hawaiian Ahi Poke ($14) has chopped sashimi-grade tuna, cucumber, fresh ginger, garlic, and a sesame soy vinaigrette with crispy wonton skins. Magz said it tasted alright, but is lacking a few ingredients. Perhaps avocados.

Craft House Soup (Bowl – $8) has cheddar, jalapeno, and their Village House Ale.

Wings ($13) 1lb of crispy Rossdown Farms chicken wings tossed in Canadian sauce (bacon and maple syrup). The Canadian flavour was surprisingly good. It was subtle, but it just worked so well. For some reason we imagined it to be a thick sauce, but we were glad it wasn’t like that.

Fast Food Sushi ($12) cheeseburger and fries wrapped in bacon. It is dressed with jalapeño cream cheese and BBQ sauce. This was a very interesting item on the menu that JP just had to order. It was sinfully delicious and would be a great combination with some beer.

Thai Lettuce Wraps ($12 + Chicken $5) has crispy noodles and veggies sautéed with sweet ginger and lemongrass served with julienne vegetables, rice and a trio of house made sauces. It’s a great interactive dish where you can build your lettuce wraps yourself. One thing my coworkers said was that they wished the lettuce would be larger so it could hold more of the filling.

Waldorf chicken salad ($16) has parmesan and walnut crusted Rossdown Farms chicken, sun-dried cranberries, mixed greens, grapes, blue cheese, celery, and honey mustard vinaigrette. It was a big salad with a lot of ingredients.

Brewmaster’s Chicken Sandwich ($15) has Rossdown Farms chicken breast, avocado, bacon, aged cheddar, tomato lettuce, and red onion in a ciabatta bun. You have your choice of either Kennebec fries, mixed greens, caesar salad, spinach salad or soup. My coworker went with the spinach salad.

Craft Mac & Cheese ($16) has a blend of cheddar, gouda, mozzarella and fontina cheese tossed with bacon and poblano peppers topped with parsley and garlic breadcrumbs. It is also served with grilled garlic bread. The portion was huge, but I really wish the mac and cheese was a bit more gooier.

Overall, the food was pretty good, but there are a few kinks to work out. Prices are a tad high, but its ok considering the area that it’s located in. Their menu is large and you can always find something to eat and plus, their beverage menu is massive. I can see it as a great place to come after work to chill with coworkers or friends. It’s a great addition to the Olympic Village area and definitely adds some competition in the area.

We Rate Craft Beer Market:

Address:
85 West 1st Ave
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://vancouver.craftbeermarket.ca/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/CRAFT-Beer-Market-Vancouver/306941952714764

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=85+West+1st+Ave+Vancouver,+BC&t=m&hnear=85+W+1st+Ave,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5Y+3K8&z=16″]

In Airplane Meals

Air Canada: Flight from Vancouver to Korea

October 22, 2013

M and I headed to Seoul, South Korea from Vancouver via Air Canada. It was the cheapest option that required no stopovers. As long as I get to my destination without any issues, I am fine with flying Air Canada. A lot of people think Air Canada is pretty crappy, but I’ve never had any issues.

This plane model had a 2-3-2 configuration, so sitting on the sides was great because we didn’t have to bother a stranger when going to the washroom.

Our seats also had a USB port on the left and an outlet on the right. Not all seats will have the outlet, so when choosing your seat, refer to their plane layout.

About an hour after takeoff, we were given out first meal with 2 options – chicken and potatoes or beef on rice. It also comes with a salad, brownie, bread, water and another drink of your choice. A popular option was ordering wine or beer. Since it comes free, might as well booze it up.

Chicken and Potatoes

Beef on Rice.

Then they dimmed the lights and created an artificial “night time”. I didn’t mind it since it helps to combat that time difference.

After this, they gave us our next meal! Japchae aka Korean sweet potato noodles with pork. I guess they customized the meals since we are flying to Korea. There is also fruit, bread, and a drink of your choice.

Japchae

We took another naptime and then about an hour before we land, they gave us an option of having cup noodles. It was chicken flavour and the stewardesses were calling it chicken noodle soup. I thought it was funny.

Chicken Flavoured Cup Noodles

All the food was decent and the stewardesses were nice. It was an ok flight and we survived those 10 hours without any hassles. Other airlines have better food, but I don’t want to pay more just for the food. A lot of people told me to take Cathay Pacific or Korean Air, but it wasn’t an option because it was way more expensive during the time we wanted to travel.

In Brunch

Milestone’s: Brunch at YVR Airport

October 21, 2013

On our way to Seoul, Korea at the YVR Airport, we saw they had a Milstone’s restaurant in the international terminal. We were looking for a place to go for breakfast and thought Milestone’s was a good option since they had eggs benedict on the menu.

Not the most delicious place at the airport, but it will have to do. Still better than Burger King.

There’s a bar if you need to grab a drink to settle the nerves before taking off.

The brunch menu is below.

Pineapple Juice came in a big cup and was needed to go with brunch.

Eggs Benedict ($10.99) is served on an english muffin with smoked ham, poached egg and hollandaise sauce. Roasted potatoes and some fruit on the side. Very simple but decent. Nothing very special either.

Overall, the food was ok, but the service was quite horrible. The servers were not very attentive and a lot of others were trying to stare one down to order or get the bill.

We Rate Milestones YVR:

Location:
YVR Airport beside the “aquarium”

Website:
http://www.milestonesrestaurants.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=3211+Grant+McConachie+Way+Richmond,+BC&t=m&hnear=3211+Grant+McConachie+Way,+Richmond,+British+Columbia+V7B+1Y7&z=16 “]

In Cafe

Tealips Bubble Tea & Coffee: Waffles in South Burnaby

October 20, 2013

Tealips Bubble Tea & Coffee is located in South Burnaby behind Highgate Mall. It took me a while to find the place. There is parking out front, but if it’s a busy time, it would be best to park at Highgate and then walk a short distance up.

Jewels took me here a few days before I left for Vacation in Korea to catch up and of course nom on some delicious waffles. I’ve also gotten several comments and emails from people to come check out their waffles as they are darn good.

Besides waffles, they have a large selection of drinks like teas, coffees, and smoothies. Lots of hot and cold options too.

The waffle menu is on the cashier counter and there are a few different choices and they all looked great. When you order, they give you an electronic device to let you know when your order is ready.

Double Liege Combo comes with 2 liege waffle with different toppings. It looked way too pretty to dig in, so it took us a while to get started.

Overall, it’s a great place to hang out with a group of friends late at night for a waffle and a beverage. You’ll definitely see a few couples romantically sharing a waffle or a group of friends gossiping. And also the oddball that is studying alone.

We Rate Tealips:

Address:
7139 Arcola Way
Burnaby, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=7139+Arcola+Way+Burnaby,+BC&t=m&hnear=Arcola+Way,+Burnaby,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5E+2V1&z=17 “]

In Downtown

Ramen Jinya: Ramen and Green Tea

October 18, 2013

Ramen Jinya is a chain ramen joint from Los Angeles. It was pretty packed during peak hours and it’s not a surprise since people want to escape the mucky weather outside to enjoy a nice big bowl of ramen. Seeing it is the only ramen restaurant on Robson street (close to BC Place),

A bunch of us came here for dinner for a table of 5 and it took a little while. There were at least 3 or 4 other groups ahead of us. We waited since we really wanted their Jinya Tonkotsu Black Ramen.

JINYA Tonkotsu Black ($11.25) is made from their pork broth with pork belly char-siu, kikurage, bamboo shoots, green onions, flavoured boiled egg, seaweed, black garlic oil, and garlic chips. This is their top selling ramen and the broth is rich and full of flavour. Highly recommended.

Tonkotsu Spicy Ramen ($10.25) you can choose from mild, spicy or hot. I went with spicy because why order the spicy as a mild if you don’t want the extra kick to your ramen. This ramen also has pork belly char-siu, kikurage, spicy bean sprouts, green onion, and japanese leek. Very nice broth and enjoyable. I’ve ordered this a few times and its pretty good.

You can also turn your ramen into a combo with a drink and a side item of your choice for an additional $3.75.

All of us went with the Cold Green Tea. It’s unlimited and can either be sweetened or unsweetened. I went with the unsweetened and everyone else ordered sweetened. Either way, it’s pretty good.

Curry Bowl comes in a small size and M thought it was awesome.

Chicken Karrage was what I ordered and it was pretty good as well. The batter is a bit different that other places, but it was super juicy and flavourful.

Takoyaki comes with 4 pieces with sauce. It’s pretty average and nothing spectacular.

Overall, it’s great to see they added a few more items to their menu and the combos are pretty great if you are a large eater. The prices are fair and you don’t have to travel to the other side of Robson Street for ramen.

We Rate Ramen Jinya:

Address:
270 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC V6B

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=270+Robson+Street+Vancouver,+BC+V6B&t=m&hnear=270+Robson+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6B+0E7&z=16″]

In Brunch

Grain Tasting Bar: Brunch in Downtown Vancouver

October 17, 2013

Grain Tasting Bar is located inside the Hyatt Hotel in Downtown Vancouver. It is literally a few steps away from the Burrard Skytrain and right above Staples.

It was a Sunday morning and my girlfriends all wanted some eggs benedict. Seeing that Chef Thomas Heinrich recently started a brunch menu at Grain, it really made my mouth salivate. We’ve been to Cafe Medina, Twisted Fork and Catch 122 for brunch and wanted something new, so we headed here for some yummy brunch.

The interior is really nice and has a very masculine-feel to it. A great mood to be drinking some cocktails after work.

What I like most about the interior is their sliding windows. On a hot day, they can open them all up to let the breeze in… or if it’s super cold, you’ll never notice that windows can open like that.

You can even be people-watching from above. No one will ever know, unless they look up.

Pineapple Juice ($5.50) was a bit steep for juice, but you can’t really go wrong with a big cup of juice for brunch.

Oyama Benedict ($15) is what everyone ordered. The description of it just caught our eyes since we saw prosciutto and we all craved meat.

The Oyama Benedict features Oyama meat products and trust me its’ good stuff. The benedict also has pamplona chorizo, red wine prosciutto, arugula, soft poached egg, and a hollandaise sauce. There are also roasted potatoes served on the side.

It looked simple, but it tasted great. I wish I had more after eating this.

Spring Creek Prime Rib Sandwich ($14) also has iceberg lettuce, crispy onions, and horseradish aioli. We chose to have potato chips on the side. The thick slab of prime rib was delicious.

Overall, not a bad place for brunch and it’s also a great place for after work drink and bites. The prices can be a bit high for some items, but seeing that it’s in Downtown, it’s acceptable. They do have daily specials for drinks and food, so you can always pick a day where there is something that matches your tastebuds.

We Rate Grain Tasting Bar:

Address:
655 Burrard St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.grainvbc.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=655+Burrard+St+Vancouver,+BC&t=m&hnear=655+Burrard+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6C+2R7&z=16″]

In BBQ

O Grill Yakiniku: Setting Fire to the Grill

October 16, 2013

O Grill Yakiniku is located on Newton Street close to Kingsway. It’s a bit hidden, so you definitely need to rely on Google Maps to get here. They serve Taiwanese and Japanese food.

I came here with the lovely Chinesebites crew to check out what O Grill Yakiniku has to offer.

There are lots of booth seating but even with the vents it can still get a bit smokey inside. When we went, it was really cold and the heat of the grill didn’t help us keep warm either.

Chicken Karrage with fried basil. It was pretty good but did remind me more of Salt and Peppery Chicken.

Deep Fried Squid was good too. A bit oily, but still good. I’d still choose his over the salt and peppery chicken because of the texture of the squid.

Sweet Potato Balls with condensed milk and crushed nuts. Surprisingly a great item to order if you want to munch on something. It was like eating fried mochi balls.

Asparagus Salad was a strange thing to see here drizzled with a creamy sauce kinda like Thousand Island. I think it would have been better if it was just raw asparagus, so you can grill it.

Ground Pork on Rice was average, but could have used a touch of more sauce

Pork Jowl was severely frozen and didn’t look appetizing.

When the pork jowl hit the grill and started thawing, you can tell there was lot of fat content in these little babies. The sight was so beautiful. Sizzling on the grill and creating a lot of fire and smoke. It was quite fun.

When you have a grill right in front of your table, you know you need to get some meat on the grill and hear the sizzle.

They have 2 house sauces, so you can dunk your meat into them to have more flavour.

Premium Short Ribs looked so delicious and we couldn’t wait to get cooking.

The sight of deliciousness.

Beef Tongue was also quite frozen from the look of it. The tongue after it’s cooked is still a tad tough and bland.

Rib steak came in small cubes and it’s also frozen.

Garlic Prawns were deveined and tasted good after being grilled.

Spicy and Basil Chicken was good with the marinade, it certainly added flavour to it. Since it is chicken, you have cook it all the way or else you might get sick.

Mixed Mushrooms come hot to the table, so you don’t need to stick it on the grill. I love mushrooms, so I slurped up this dish.

Round 2 of more delicious meat!

Corn needed a bit of roasting before sinking your teeth into these kernels.

Pork Belly was a bit thin and cut into smaller pieces. This is essentially bacon.

Beef Toro is like the bacon of the cow.

Beef Finger is what is was called on the menu. We didn’t think cows really had fingers but it’s actually the meat between the ribs.

All the meat tasted fine, but since most of them didn’t have sauce that marinated it, it was a bit bland. So, you can dunk it in their house sauces or put on some salt and pepper to bring out the flavour.

One thing that sucked about the grills is that all the heat would be mainly in the centre, so it cooked the meat very unevenly. They recommended us to only cook a few pieces at a time, leaving us a little bit impatient since there was lot of meat to cook.

I much prefer the grills at places like Gyu Kaku.

Green Tea Ice Cream was the normal stuff.

Caramel ice cream with a caramel drizzle and some choco sticks.

Milky Pudding comes with your choice of red bean or strawberry sauce.

Egg Pudding was really good and satisfying at the end of the meal. Probably my favourite out of all the desserts.

Overall, I probably would not revisit this place again. A majority of the meat was frozen and the grill was very weak. Not very impressive at all. I might as well grill my meat at home and feel more comfortable.

They should really just thaw their meats and add more more marinade to bring out the flavours of the meat.

We Rate O Grill:

Address:
4992 Newton St
Burnaby, BC

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

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=4992+Newton+St+Burnaby,+BC&t=m&hnear=4992+Newton+St,+Burnaby,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5H&z=16″]

In Hastings-Sunrise

Pho Don: New Vietnamese Restaurant on Hastings

October 15, 2013

M dragged me to a new Vietnamese Restaurant he found near the PNE. There’s so many Vietnamese restaurants on this block that there are so many options. We usually go to Bao Chau and their spring rolls are addictive.

Pho Don is a family run business and you can see the owners children helping out at the restaurant. It’s quite cute.

The interior is clean compared to the other Vietnamese restaurants in town. There are lots of seats if you want to come in a group. As its new, it’s not too busy, so great place to go during the day or night. They are also open till 2am!

Ice Vietnamese Coffee is a must. M and I always seem to order this to keep us awake.

Complimentary Spring Rolls came with the order of meals. It’s one of their current promotions. We were delightfully surprised since we were going to order them anyways. They were good but I had a feeling they might be frozen beforehand. It was crispy but a bit soft.

Rare beef and beef brisket slices was good but by the time it got to the table, most of the meat was cooked. Not a big problem, but I hate when its not like the pictures on the menu.

The broth was great and tasted super clean and full of flavour.

Bean Sprouts, Bail, lime and jalapeno on the side. I added it all to the pho and it was gooood.

Lemongrass Chicken on Vermicelli Noodles is what M ordered. He thought it was ok but would rather go to Bao Chau to order this.

They definitely have great pho and is open for long hours. There is also free parking in front and lots of buses close by.

We rate Pho Don:

Address:
2838 East Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=2838+East+Hastings+Street+Vancouver,+BC&t=m&hnear=2838+E+Hastings+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5K+1Z9&z=16″]

In Canadian

EXP Restaurant + Bar: Video Game Inspired

October 14, 2013

Exp Restaurant and Bar is located in Gastown and serves up food and drinks with a video game twist. I came here with my food blogging buddies – Dee and Amy since we are all video game nerds.

You will find video memorabilia on the walls and will definitely bring you back to your childhood days.

Mana + Health ($7.50) is a mixture of Red Sour Puss, Bols Melon, Blue Curacao, and Soda. It is meant to be drank like a drop shot. If you play games like Diablo, you’ll find these two colors familiar. The drink itself is quite sweet.

Thunder ($5.50) is made of Absolut Mandarin, Blue Curacao, Lime. Rimmed with Pop Rocks.

Arrow to the Knee ($5.50) has cake vodka, and baileys cream liqueur. If you play Skyrim, you’ll understand this reference.

Ultra Deep Fried Pickles ($7) has fresh pickles and fries with blackened jalapeño dip. It was a good bar dish. Something to nibble on. It’s not for everyone, but I have a secret love of pickles.

Raging Demon Spicy Chicken Sandwich ($13) has grilled cajun chicken breast, jalapeño jack cheese, fried jalapeño and garlic with fresh avocado. The chicken breast was quite dry and there wasn’t anything too special about this burger. It was a bit spicy, but it could have used more of a kick.

Chocobo Chicken Burger ($12) has crunchy garlic chicken breast, honey mustard, mayo, & lettuce. Dee ordered it and just fell in love with the title of this burger because of the reference to Final Fantasy.

Master Chief Burger ($13) has an 6 oz beef patty topped with baby greens, house red onion relish, roasted garlic aioli, finished with crunchy ‘Halo’ onion rings.

Doughnut-Shielded Cheesecake ($4) has a Piece of Rich Cheesecake Encased in Doughnut Batter and Deep-Fried to Perfection. You can choose from chocolate, oreo icing or cinnamon sugar. We went with the cinnamon sugar.

Smore-Tal Kombat ($5) has a huge house-made marshmallow, dark chocolate and caramel sauce, brutally squeezed between two honey graham Crackers. FINISH IT!

I love their description on their menu. It can get a bit distracting trying to figure what the dish really is. We spent way more time oggling at the name of the items rather than finding something we really liked.
We Rate Exp Bar:

Address:
309 W Pender St
Vancouver, BC

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

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=309+W+Pender+St+Vancouver,+BC&t=m&hnear=309+W+Pender+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6B+1T3&z=16 “]

In Canadian

MoMA Contemporary Bistro: New Restaurant in Richmond

October 13, 2013

My mom scouted out a restaurant before my radar was on it. Where does my mother get this information? Apparently the Chinese radio station.

We decided to dine at MoMa Contemporary Bistro with the family. It’s on Cambie road close to Garden City Road. When I first heard the name of this restaurant, I immediately thought about the Moma in New York. It’s really just a combination of the Chef’s names – Chef Henry Mok and Chef Xin Mao.

The interior is very clean and modern compared to all the other restaurants in Richmond.

It has a bit of a hipster-feel with the mason jar candles.

Complimentary Bread arrives at the table with a curried chickpea dip.

Steamed Clams ($14) comes in a sake-miso broth with wakame. The clams were plump and juicy, plus the broth was pretty delicious. We used the bread and dipped it in the remaining sauce.

Prawn Fritter ($13) is enrobed in a sake butter with togorashi aioli sauce. The seaweed bits on top made it extra yummy.

Albacore Tuna Flatbread ($14) has nori, radish, and a house-made scallion flatbread. This dish was ok, but I felt the first 2 appetizer dishes were better.

10oz Grilled Angus Rib Eye ($33) has potato fondant, chimichurri sauce, and a black pepper jelly. My sister loved the tender medium rare of the rib eye, but felt the black pepper sauce to be a bit overpowering and salty.

Crispy Pork Belly ($22) has a base of the taro root puree, mostarda, soy beans and a natural jus. This dish was a bit heavy, but the pork belly just melts in your mouth.

24 hours braised lamb pappardelle ($21) has peas, ricotta cheese, and shredded mint.

Rainbow Trout

Maple and Mascapone Cheesecake ($8) has a kumquat coulis and compressed fruit. SO good! Highly recommended!

Overall, it’s nice to see a contemporary bistro in Richmond. It’s unique in the area and offer some tasty eats. Some of the dishes need a bit of tweaking, but overall a pretty good place to go to if you’re tired of all the restaurants in Richmond.

We Rate MoMa Contemporary Bistro:

Address:
8580 Cambie Rd
Richmond, BC

Website:
http://www.momabistro.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=8580+Cambie+Rd+Richmond,+BC&t=m&hnear=8580+Cambie+Rd,+Richmond,+British+Columbia+V6X+4J8&z=16″]

In Downtown

Mosaic: 5 Course French Tasting Menu

October 9, 2013

When you think of French cuisine, what do you think of? I just think of escargot since I’ve never really had true French cuisine. I knew I missed something when I went to Paris. Too many crepes and visits to cafes. Clearly I did something wrong. I wasn’t too into food back then when I was younger.

Good thing in Vancouver you can find anything to eat.
Now until October 18th, you can indulge on a 5 course French Tasting Menu at Mosaic for $55, which includes:

Fois Gras Parfait
Escargot
Lobster Thermidor
Duck L’Orange
Mille-Feuille

You don’t need to be in France to enjoy French cuisine. Head over to Mosaic to try Chef Thomas Heinrich’s take on French cuisine.

Complimentary biscuits are cute and has a delicious smokey flavour.

Fois Gras Parfait is made with rougie quebec fois gras. There is also apple, calvados and marcona almonds on the mirrored plate. There was a nice contrast of flavours on the plate and the fois gras mousse tasted like butter.

Escargot is made with burgundy snails, garnished with shallots, roasted garlic and parsley. There is also pumpernickel crumbs on the side. The smell of this dish was fragrant from the shallots and garlic. Yum. It was really good. If you’ve never had snails before, it’s not scary. It kinda chewy.

Lobster Thermidor is made of Atlantic lobster tail, lobster roe pomme puree and garnished with kale nori. That lobster was so tender that it oozed buttery goodness. You’ll love this dish.

Duck L’Orange is made of duck breast from Thiessen Farms and garnished with orange fruit leather, terragon and celery root. Another great dish too. Succulent meat.

Mille-Feuille is like a Napoleon. Layers of puff pastry, lemon cream, and vanilla salted caramel. There was a mini pear on the side too. I felt like an awesome giant eating this cute dessert.

You definitely get a taste of everything, but if you are a very hungry man, you will probably have room for an extra dish.

We Rate Mosaic:

Address:
655 Burrard St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://vancouver.hyatt.com/

In Canadian

Earls Kitchen + Bar: Lets Get Cracking

September 30, 2013

The Lobster Event is back at Earls on October 3, 4, and 5th, 2013. It’s a celebration of all things East Coast and apparently the birthday of Alexander Keith (Yes, that beer brand). They fly in 15,000 Nova Scotia lobsters for the 3 day event. It’s been going on for the past 11 years.

For $25, you get a whole steamed 1½ pound Atlantic lobster served up with prawns, grilled corn cob, fingerling potatoes, a brioche bun and chardonnay butter for dipping.

For an additional $5, you get a huge ice cold pint of Alexander Keith Hop Series Ale.

The best part about eating lobster is really the bib. Come on, every adult likes to reminisce about their childhood and get messy. Take all your rings off and get messy. Especially if you are certified in hand to claw combat, you can tackle this meal.

This is my favourite tool! You’ll need it to help you crack those big claws. The chef pre cracks the tail and the claws but there is still some work that needs to be done to get the flesh out. I wish I took more photos of the meal, but my hands were covered in butter and meat.

Throw all the shells away! This saying is quite true.

Sometimes you really need a wet nap at the end of the meal or run off to the washroom to wash your hands.

The meal was delicious and the amount was just right. You definitely want to make reservations ahead of time since they have limited quantities at all their locations. Happy cracking.

Address:
1095 Mainland St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.earls.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=1095+Mainland+St+Vancouver,+BC&t=m&hnear=1095+Mainland+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6B+1A9&z=16 “]

In Canadian

Crave on Main: Goodbye My Favourite Burger

September 29, 2013

Crave on Main is coming to a close today – September 29th, 2013 after 7.5 years in operation. When M and I found out, we were quite sad because we were convinced they had the best burger in town.

We came here 2 years ago and fell in love with this restaurant. With all the great items on the menu, we always end up getting the same burger. Something about it was so magical.

Organic Beef Crave Burger with back bacon, truffle mayo and blue cheese ($12 + $1 +$1 +$1 = $15)

It comes with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, an organic beef patty on the soft focaccia bread. The additional toppings of the blue cheese, truffle mayo and back bacon.

Everyone at the table ordered this and it was just like music in our mouths. The patty was very moist and flavourful, the blue cheese just oozed everywhere and the back bacon was so good. We haven’t been able to find anything else in town that compares.

Mushroom soup (+$1.50) was needed as an upgrade since we didn’t want fries. I have a weird addiction to mushrooms, so I just had to have it.

Overall, after all these years, they have kept up the consistency of their food. I hope the owners decide to open another restaurant, but no word on it yet. I’ll be crossing my fingers to see this burger be back someday.

Instead of a restaurant, it will be replaced by housing. Boo.

We Rate Crave on Main:

Address:
3941 Main St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.craveonmain.com

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=3941+Main+St+Vancouver,+BC&t=m&hnear=3941+Main+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5V+3P5&z=16″]

In Coquitlam

Church’s Chicken: Korean Style Chicken

September 29, 2013

I have been feeling quite junky lately by having a lot of fast food. Perhaps it’s because of the really crappy weather lately. It makes me just want to stay home and watch Breaking Bad. Last episode tonight! I’m just really excited to see how it all ends. But I digress.

I’ve always had a soft spot of Church’s Chicken because of their crunchy chicken skin and moist meat.

What we recently noticed is their introduction of their Korean Style Chicken. It is their fried drumstick doused in sweet and spicy sauce. This particular Church’s Chicken is located near “Korean Town”, so it was interesting to see how close they could make it taste like real Korean Chicken.

The original name used to be “Gangnam Style Chicken” to feed off the popularity of Psy’s song – Gangnam Style. Unfortunately, they changed it due to legal issues.

You order up at the counter and nothing is very interesting here. Nothing special either, but you can see how they cook their chicken. Smells good too!

Korean Style Chicken (5 Pieces – $7) it’s all drunk sticks. M found it more sweet than spicy. Its doused in sauce and if you are doing take out, the sauce seeps out of the box…so be careful. M didn’t particularly like it.

With the abundance of Korean chicken in this area, we prefer to go to Ajuker.

Spicy Fried Chicken 3 Piece Meal ($10.08) it comes with a regular soda, small fries and 3 pieces of fried chicken. You can have original or spicy flavours but I like it spicy. This is one of the only thing I order.

I really like it and much better than KFC.

We Rate Church’s Chicken:

Address:
555 North Rd
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
http://www.churchschickenbc.ca/

In Bakery

Swiss Bakery: Pretzel Croissant

September 25, 2013

Swiss Bakery is at it again with combining different pastries together. First it was the frissant (fritter + croissant), but now it’s the Pretzel Croissant. The bakery is a few blocks away from Main Street/Science World Skytrain station.

As October is coming up, they created the Pretzel Croissant to celebrate Oktoberfest. They make limited amounts daily, but if you follow them on Twitter, you can scope out when they have some available. I had to go twice to acquire this creation. Good thing I work close by so I could run back. I wouldn’t call it desperation, it was more like…going to get exercise. hahaha

Pretzel Croissant ($2.15) has a soft fluffy centre with a crispy buttery exterior it was quite good. It’s kinda like a croissant but with the harder exterior. Definitely have some with beer!

I couldn’t just get one, so I got a few to spread the love. The best way to enjoy it would be popping it back into the oven for a few minutes to firm up the exterior to give it an extra crunch.

Address:
143 E 3rd Ave
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.swissbakery.ca/

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/swissbakery

In All You Can Eat

Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot: Hot Pot in Burnaby

September 22, 2013

Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot has several locations around the world in the United States, China, Japan, and Canada. In the Vancouver area, there is one in Richmond and most recently their Burnaby location just opened.

They have all you can eat Hot Pot for $19.95 (Adult) and $14.98 (Children), you then have to add $9.99 for the soup base. The price is pretty decent.

I came here with the ChineseBites crew for dinner to see how it compares to the other hot pot places in town.

The interior is quite large and can fit a lot of people. They even have outdoor patio seating too.

All the sauce for the hot pot is available in the middle of the restaurant. It’s on top of a cart and you’re free to grab as much as your like.

The different sauces are:

Soy sauce
Vinegar
Peanut Sauce
Chili paste
Chili oil
Satay sauce

The peanut sauce and satay sauce are most popular.

Once you have your sauce, you are ready to start cooking!

The broth we had was a mix of spicy and original broth. It’s a good option to get if you have a group of friends who can’t decide which broth to get. I generally find that spicy is great for cooking meat and the original is great for vegetables.

Lamb and Beef Meatballs.

Cuttlefish and shrimp meatballs.

Beef slices

Lamb Slices

Seafood

Garlic Beef

Oyster Mushroom and Enoki Mushroom

Frozen Tofu and Fresh Tofu

Pork Liver, Beef Tendon, Bible Tripe, Honeycomb Tripe and Pork Blood.

Dumplings

Overall the All You Can Eat Hot Pot items are pretty solid and I wasn’t disappointed. Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot is still one of my favourite hot pot places in town. The only downside is that the service here is pretty poor. If you want another order, you really gotta track them down.

Additional Items off the Hot Pot Menu

Plum Juice ($2 with free refills) is a must, but for anyone new to this drink, you may not like it.

Chinese Donut wouldn’t be an item I would order at a hot pot restaurant. Perhaps if it was closer to noon.

Seasme Bun was quite dense, so it can fill you up before you you even begin hot pot.

Lamb Skewers has a strong taste of cumin and was quite delicious.

Spicy Beef Skewers were quite good and full of flavour.

Overall, I think I would just stick with the all you can eat menu. It’s pretty good.

We Rate Mongolian Little Sheep Hot Pot:

Address:
#200 – 4755 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.littlesheephotpot.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=4755+Kingsway+%23200,+Burnaby,+BC+V5H+2C3&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&hnear=4755+Kingsway+%23200,+Burnaby,+British+Columbia+V5H+2C3&z=16″]

In British Columbia

Lays Canada: Do Us A Flavour

September 20, 2013

Lay’s Canada has joined in on the fun to introduce a new chip flavour into the Canadian market. This came right after when Lays America intoduced the Do Us a Flavor contest where they had to choose the next flavour of chips to be sold in retail stores. Their finalists – Chicken and Waffles, Sriracha and Cheesy Garlic Bread were sold on store shelves and people had to vote for their top flavour. All very odd flavours but Cheesy Garlic Bread was the winner of $1 million.

Lay’s Canada now has the ‘Do Us A Flavour’ Campaign too and received over 600,000 submissions. They were able to narrow it to the top 4 flavours – Creamy Garlic Caesar, Grilled Cheese & Ketchup, Maple Moose, and Perogy Platter. All unique flavours and differed from the American flavours. They really wanted a flavour that represented Canada.

Creamy Garlic Caesar was created by Jill Munro of Vancouver, BC. Woop! Woop! Thats where I’m from!

When I first saw this flavour, I was curious how they could get the essence from a salad into a potato chip format. When I tasted this, it reminded me of a sour cream and onion with hints of garlic. Not bad flavour at all.

If you’re thinking of having a salad, you might as well eat a salad, it would be healthier for you.

Grilled Cheese & Ketchup was created by Angela Batley from Ottawa, Ontario.

When I opened the bag, I could instantly pick out the notes of ketchup in the smell. When I bit into the chip, I tasted cheese but a tad smokey. It was really interesting and a bit strange. I brought it to the office and a lot of people had mixed reactions. Some could really taste the yummy grilled cheese and some others couldn’t stand the cheesy aftertaste.

Maple Moose was created by Tyler LeFrense of Isle aux Morts, Newfoundland.

I initially thought it would be sweet, but it tasted more like a strange rancid Barbecue flavour. It was not my favourite. It wasn’t even sweet, so I’m not sure why there is a bottle of syrup there. I’m sure it also doesn’t have moose, so not sure why that’s there.

Perogy Platter was created by Lucas Crawford of Edmonton, Alberta.

The taste was like a subtle smokey bacon taste with hints of sour cream and onion.

Overall, none of the flavours were very addicting and kept me wanting more. I’ll have to stick with ketchup as being my favourite chips. If I had to choose from these favours, I would go with either Creamy Garlic Caesar or Perogy Platter. It’s really a tough choice.

Voting has begun and they need Canadians to decide the next flavour. You can vote daily at www.lays.ca/flavour or text “VOTE” to 101010 by October 16, 2013. The winning flavour will get $50,000 in cash and 1% of future sales of that flavour.

In lunch

Leafy Box: Fresh Salad, Juice and Smoothies

September 19, 2013

Leafy Box serves up healthy salads and juices in Yaletown. If you’re into the cleansing thing, it’s a good option to go to if you don’t have lunch and you’re in the area.

I came here with KoreanGirl during lunch since we wanted to be a healthy. We had too much fried chicken and beer the past weekend for our own good.

The inside was quite large and there are distinct areas to go grocery shopping, make a salad at the salad bar, and a hot food section. All the produce looks really fresh.

The salad bar has its separate fruit and veggie section. For some weird reason, there was even jello as one of the options.

Of course there is a juice and smoothie bar. With all the fresh produce, the juice is mighty enticing.

For my lunch, I grabbed a salad and a bottle of their cold pressed raw juice.

Salad from the salad bar (~$5) I threw in a lot of random ingredients, but you must get avocados because those are mighty yummy.

Essential Greens Juice ($7) has kale, spinach, celery, apple, parsley, cucumber, lemon and ginger. Lots of good stuff bottled up inside. It’s made from 4 pounds of produce in each bottle. The juice was good, but the only ingredient that threw me off a bit was the cucumber, it’s probably because I don’t like cucumber.

Overall, I do like the concept of the store and I would come again for juice. It is a bit expensive, but if you’re lazy to make your own juice, definitely check this place out.

We Rate Leafy Box:

Address:
1155 Pacific Boulevard
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.leafybox.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=1155+Pacific+Blvd,+Vancouver,+BC&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&dg=opt&hnear=1155+Pacific+Blvd,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia&z=16 “]