Foodology
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Four Beakers

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In Four Beakers

Original’s Café Mexicano: Authentic Mexican Cuisine in Port Moody

My friend Hilda told me about Original’s Café Mexicano on Clarke Street in Port Moody in this heritage house. I had no idea it was in such a cute place. We came here after work on a weekday and it was busy here later in the evening. They also take reservations, so if you have a large group to secure your table, definitely do that.

Interior

The space is literally in a house, so it has a very cozy friendly feel just like entering someone’s home.

Menu

Guacamole and Chips

We started the meal with guacamole and chips. The tortilla chips are made fresh and fried to a beautiful golden brown. The guacamole is is so damn good. There is a good amount of acidity and I like how it is topped with some diced tomatoes. Really good flavour.

Prawn Ceviche

This was their feature ceviche when we went. It changes, so ask them what kind it is as it may be different.  The prawns are cured in lime and served with guacamole, onions, cilantro, tomatoes, and avocado. It was really fresh.

Enchiladas de Mole

Their special mole has nuts, chocolate, a bunch of different dried peppers and spices. We chose to have chicken on the inside, but you can ask for different proteins or veggies too. The mole has depth of flavour and it was very tasty.

Los Tacos

They have tacos on the menu and we can’t say no to tacos. We ordered the:

  • Baja Style Taco: breaded white basa with chipotle mayo, lettuce and avocado.
  • Carnitas: slow cooked fried pork with hints of cinnamon and orange.
  • Chilorio: Slow cooked pulled porl in ancho and huajillo pepper.

On the table, there are also different kinds of hot sauce you can add.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was a great find in Port Moody. The food is great and there is nice atmosphere in the heritage house, makes you feel right at home. As the weather is getting hotter, there is some outdoor patio seating too.

We Rate Original’s Café Mexicano: 

Website:
http://www.originalsmexicano.com/

Address:
1-2231 Clarke St, Port Moody, BC

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In BBQ

Helena’s Hawaiian Food: Must Visit in Hawaii

Helena’s Hawaiian Foods in Honolulu is a must for locals and visitors since 1946. In 2000, the James Beard Foundation awarded Helena’s Hawaiian Food the Regional Classic Award, which is awesome. Everyone told me to come here, so we made it a mission to visit when we were here. They aren’t open Saturday, Sunday, or Monday, so you have to be aware of that before visiting.

We visited on a Friday morning and there were no line ups. We were seated promptly and given menus and water. The atmosphere is very casual and has the Hawaiian hospitality.

Menu

Kalua Pig

The kalua pig was shredded and it was deliciously smoked and had a lot of moisture as it is served with the drippings.

Poi

Poi is the stem of taro and a Polynesian staple. It is crushed and then left to ferment. We heard that most people don’t like the taste, but we had to try it for ourselves. The initial taste was good and earthy but then the sour taste from the fermentation lingered for a little bit. It was like eating kombucha.

Short Ribs Pipikaula Style

At first we didn’t order, but they insisted we order it as its one of the most popular items on the menu and we were glad we did. it was deliciously marinated and tender. So much flavour.

Fried Butterfish Collar

This was another must! Moist in the centre and super crisp. So damn addictive. I would highly recommend this too.

Haupia

Haupia is a traditional coconut milk-based Hawaiian dessert made, essentially a coconut pudding. It came served with raw onions. I tried it together but was a weird combination for myself. If you stick with just the haupia, you’ll be ok.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed Helena’s as the prices are good, food is tasty, and I liked the casual friendly vibe. My favourite items were the fried butterfish collar, short ribs, and kalua pig. If you’re in Honolulu, you need to make a stop here. Just remember to bring cash as it’s cash only.

We Rate Helena’s Hawaiian Cuisine: 

Address:
1240 N School St, Honolulu, HI

Website:
https://www.helenashawaiianfood.com/index.html

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In Food Carts

Fumi’s Kahuku Shimp: Butter Garlic Shrimp in Hawaii

Fumi’s Kahuku Shrimp serves up freshly cooked shrimp adjacent to their farm. A lot of people frequent this stretch of highway for the variety of Kahuku shrimp sold by a lot of different food trucks. Giovanni’s is definitely the most popular option. Our tour guide took us to Fumi’s instead.

Seating Area

The seating area has rows of picnic tables to handle large amount of visitors.

Butter Garlic Shrimp

There are about 8 pieces of Kahuku Shimp, rice drench in the garlic butter sauce, pineapple and salad.

Spicy Garlic Shrimp

This is similar to the butter garlic shrimp, but with their spicy sauce. I loved it as it has a spicy kick and has loads of delicious garlic. The shrimp aren’t really large, but they were fresh and sweet.

Final Thoughts

The meals were filling and if you come from a place that doesn’t have fresh shrimp available, you’ll love Kahuku shrimp from the source.

We rate Fumi’s Kahuku Shrimp: 

Address:
56-777 Kamehameha Hwy, Kahuku, HI

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In Cafe

Musubi Cafe Iyasume in Waikiki: Spam Musubi, Poke and Rice Bowls

Musubi Cafe Iyasume is one of the top restaurants to eat in Waikiki. Located under the Aqua Pacific Monarch Hotel is this little cafe serving up musubi, a popular snack and lunch food in Hawaii. It is made up of a slice of Spam on top of rice, wrapped with seaweed. It is inexpensive and tastes great. It’s hard to find good musubi in North America, so when visiting Hawaii, this is a must have.

Interior

The cafe is narrow. One side is the area to order and the other half is seating. There isn’t too many seats but it looked like most people were taking to go. We came here twice on our trip and the first time we ate in the shop and then the last one was back at the hotel. Both times it wasn’t too busy here are we came in the evening around dinner time.

Menu

The menu is large but you will find poke, onigiri, musubi, rice bowls, and bento boxes. Everything is under $10 which is great.

Ordering

When you put in your order, you get an electronic device that buzzes when your order is ready. Then you know when your food is ready.

Spam Musubi

The classic spam musubi has spam with a teriyaki glaze with rice and seaweed. Even with the big mound of rice, the saltiness of the spam and teriyaki sauce work well with all that rice. The texture and heat of the rice was spot on.

Eel, egg, shiso leaf and spam musubi

This is one of the more deluxe musubi was delectable toppings. I loved the eel as it had a great flavour and melts in your mouth.

Bacon, egg, avocado, and spam musubi

Mmmmm bacon. The avocado adds a creamy texture to the musubi, but this makes for a great breakfast.

If you’re out and about, you can grab them to go as it’s all wrapped up in plastic wrap.

Ahi Poke Bowl

The Ahi Poke Bowl is made of tuna, sesame oil, soy sauce, onion and a bed of rice. I thought it was pretty good and not overly marinated. It is a tad salty, so you’ll need to eat it with a bite of rice.

Mini Eel Bowl

The mini bowls are a good size. It has rice, sauce, two pieces of eel, and one piece of tamago. I really enjoyed it.

Final Thoughts

You’ll definitely want to come here for the musubi, but don’t forget about their other items on the menu. If you want something small as well, try their mini bowls. The eel bowls, curry bowls, and poke are good too.

We Rate Musubi Cafe: 

Address:
2427 Kuhio Ave, Honolulu, HI

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

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In Cafe

Kai Coffee Hawaii: Artisan Hawaiian coffee in Waikiki

Kai Coffee Hawaii has locations in Oahu – Downtown and Waikiki. We came here as it was recommended for good local coffee. We went to the Waikiki location inside the Hyatt Regency Hotel. We were up early and needed a kick of caffeine before starting the day.

In the morning there was a constant line but didn’t take too long. There are a few seats in the shop and then a few more tables outside.

What I like about this location is that there is an indoor waterfall which makes the atmosphere serene.

Piccolo

Piccolo is a latte popular in Sydney Australia, which is an espresso shot topped with steamed milk. This is essentially a mini latte. It was strong but delicious.

Kona Extra Fancy Pour Over

My friend got their Kona Extra Fancy as a pour over. It takes a little longer to make, but it is worth it to make the fruit and chocolate aromas shine. I tried a bit and I usually don’t like black coffee, but it the acidity is very well balanced so it goes down smooth.

They sell the beans in stores too, but since it is 100% pure Kona coffee beans, it is a bit pricey. Then again, it is locally grown, harvested and roasted so you are paying more for those qualities.

Final Thoughts

Kai Coffee is a great stop in the morning and I liked the variety of coffees they offer rather than just the handful of typical drinks. I loved hearing the sounds of the artificial waterfall hitting water as we enjoyed our coffees.

We rate Kai Coffee Hawaii: 

Address:
2424 Kalakaua Ave #129, Honolulu, HI

Website:
https://kaicoffeehawaii.com/

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In Cafe

Bibble & Sip: Coffee and Creampuffs in New York

We were looking for a cafe to grab some coffee and we stumbled upon Bibble and Sip Bakery Cafe.  They make all of their items in-house from pastries to the syrups used to sweeten our drinks.

They are trained in French Confectionery and inspired by Asian flavours, even their savoury treats bring you the best of the East and West. They are best known for their big cream puffs and they sell out quickly. When we came here, all the the cream puffs were ready to be served. Noon is a pretty good time to come here.

Interior

The space is a decent size with a few chairs and tables. Most people grab items to go.

Matcha Cream Puff

The cream puffs are the best. It has a nice crispy exterior and inside there is lots of matcha cream. If you come here, you must get a cream puff. Highly recommended. You will not regret it.

Latte

A latte was my drink of choice as I needed some caffeine. It was pretty standard and no complaints here. It kept me awake for the morning of going around New York.

Melon Pan

The Melon pan is  filled with melon milk cream and has a crisp crust on the exterior. When biting into it, the bread was pretty dense and dry. It took away the delicate flavours of the melon. I wouldn’t get this again.

Final Thoughts

Come here for Coffee and the cream puffs when you are around the Times Square area. Even if you’re not in the area, it’s a good spot to visit for the ultimate cream puff.

We Rate Bibble & Sip: 

Address:
253 W 51st St, New York, NY

Website:
https://www.bibbleandsip.com

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In Four Beakers

Restaurant Yugo: French and Japanese Fusion on Main Street

Restaurant Yugo just opened up on Main Street serving up a fusion of Japanese and French cuisine. If you’re a fan of their sister restaurant – Kitchen by Yugo on Denman Street, you’ll enjoy this too. I came after work with a few friends for dinner to chat over food and drinks.

Interior

The space is beautiful and seats small to large groups. They have a portion of the restaurant for reservations and some saved for walk-ins. We loved the atmosphere and the service from their staff.

Menu

Drinks

We had to start off the weekend with some drinks, so I got an Asahi Super Dry beer. I enjoy refreshing beer to go with this type of cuisine. My friends went with their Osamanthus cocktail which has tangerine peel infused gin, honey, osmanthus and lemon juice. They loved this cocktail and would highly recommend it.

Spicy Fish Tartar

This appetizer has crispy cheese sushi rice cake on the bottom, topped with avocado, spicy fish tartar, tobiko and green onions. On the plate is also quail egg and unagi sauce. You take the quail egg and drape the egg yolk all over the tartar. A fun appetizer to share and start off this dinner.

Gindara

This dish has a beautifully grilled black cod marinated in maple syrup and soy sauce. It is then served with fried soba noodles, kale and yuzu foam. The black cod has delicate and well balanced with the salty soy sauce and sweet maple.

Scallops Risotto

This dish has Hokkaido scallops, black truffle, mushrooms, ikura honey ricotta, bonito flakes and fried leeks. This is one of the most popular dishes to get here and it lives up to that reputation. So good and so comforting.

Sakura Cheese Cake

This 4 layer cake is perfect for the spring as the cherry blossoms are blooming around town. There is cherry blossom jam and green tea cookie crumbs. It is sweet and subtle sakura flavour.

Matcha Mille Crepes

Layers of paper-thin matcha crepes with red beans in the middle. It is then topped with more matcha powder on top. I really liked this dessert as crepes are awesome and when you turn that into a cake with whipped cream, its a good thing.

Homemade Ice Cream

Two scoops of ice cream all dressed up. If you’re looking for something simple, this is an option.

 Final Thoughts

Overall, we were all pleasantly surprised with the combination of Japanese and French flavours. It’s a great addition to the area where there isn’t this style of food. Dinner is slightly more expensive, but they are also open for lunch too with cheaper options.

We Rate Restaurant Yugo: 

Address:
4265 Main St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://restaurantyugo.com/

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In Four Beakers

Fresh Ideas Start Here: Sustainable Poké Bar

Fresh Ideas Start Here is a great local store to get fresh sustainable seafood in Burnaby and Kitsilano. They recently launched their sustainable poké bar with 6 different poke bowls or your can build your own. There isn’t space to eat in here, so it is all for take-out. I bought mine and headed home and has it for lunch.

The prices are higher, but you definitely get quality items in your bowl. All the fish is Oceanwise certified, which is really nice. I preferred to build my own bowl since I like to keep my poke as simple as possible.

Step 1: Pick your base
Japanese White Rice, Brown Rice, or Salad Mix

Step 2: Pick your fish
Wild BC Sockeye Salmon
Cooked West Coat Octopus
Pacific Yellowfin Tuna
Pacific Yellowfin Negitoro

Step 3: Pick your toppings
Salsa, cucumbers, seaweed salad, pickled red onion, Oshinko (pickled radish), kimchi, pickled ginger, imitation crab meat, sweet inari, masago, edamame, or Squid Salad.

Sauces:
Classic, spicy mayo, Korean Chili, or Thai style

Step 4: Pick your finish
Green onion, Furikake, fried onion or toasted sesame seeds.

All the ingredients looked really fresh and I couldn’t wait to dig in at home. I got a regular bowl and then a snack sized bowl.

Pacific Yellowfin Tuna

For the snack-sized bowl, it comes with one type of fish, 2 toppings and a finisher. I got the Pacific Yellowfin Tuna, seaweed salad, cucumber, furikake and the classic sauce on mixed greens.

Wild BC Sockeye Salmon and Pacific Yellowtail Negitoro

A regular bowl gets you 2 types of fish, 3 toppings and a finisher. I got the  Wild BC Sockeye Salmon, Pacific Yellowtail Negitoro, edamame, seaweed salad, tobiko, toasted sesame, brown rice and the classic sauce.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed the poké bowls and the toppings are simple and complimented the fish well so it still stands out. The best part about coming here for poké bowls is that you can also go shopping for good other seafood items if you want to make dinner.

We Rate FISH: 

Address:
#180 -7515 Market Crossing, Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.eatfish.ca/

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In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Via Tevere: Neopolitan Pizza and Italian Cuisine in Vancouver

Via Tevere is a Neopolitan Pizzeria in Vancouver close to Commercial Drive. I’ve heard they have some good pizza and it’s taken us a long time to come here for dinner. If you ask Vancouverites where is the place to have the best pizza in Vancouver, this place is probably on that list. We came here for Valentines Day unplanned as our original plan was to cook dinner…but both of us didn’t feel like cooking. As we passed by Via Tevere, we couldn’t help but park and see if we could get a seat. There are no reservations, so it is walk-in only. Luckily for us, it was still early and there were a few spots left.

Interior

There are a good amount of seats and a bar in the dining area. The pizza oven is in the back and there are a few seats there so you can see them make all the pizza.

Menu

Drinks

They have a bunch of ciders, beer, wine and spirits on the menu, but we had some Apple Cider to go with our meal.

Polpette della Nonna

These homemade meatballs in tomato sauce are delicious. You order it by piece but I would highly recommend it. It is so moist and the tomato sauce is so addictive.

Pasta del Giorno

Their pasta dish changes daily, so you’ll have to ask the serve what is on the menu. The day we were here, it had mushrooms and it tasted great.

Margherita Al Pomodoro

We went with the classic Margherita pizza as its a good way to see if they can make this delicious and they sure did. The pizza was thin and had a crispy crust with spots of char from the oven.

Tris di Dolci

This is the trio of their 3 dessserts, which is great to share between us. Since I love to try a bit of everything, we had to get this.

Graffe con Nutella 

This is handmade Neapolitan fritters dusted with sugar and cinnamon and lastly drizzled with Nutella. Essentially, it was like a Nutella donut.

Tiramisu

This Italian Classic has layers of coffee drenched lady fingers with Mascarpone cream It is then topped with cocoa powder. It has 2 layers of lady fingers and 2 more layers of cream.

Torta Caprese

This rich chocolate cake is made with roasted almonds and walnuts with a hint of orange. This is flourless and gluten free if you have dietary restrictions. It was pretty good and it also reminded me of nutella because of the nuts.

Baci Chocolates are given at the end of the meal and these Italian chocolates are made with hazelnuts, chocolate and sealed with a love note. A good ending to the meal.

Final Thoughts

The meal was great and we left happy with our stomaches full. We’ll definitely be back. You must order the meatballs as well as the pizza here.

We Rate Via Tevere: 

Address:
1190 Victoria Dr, Vancouver

Website:
http://viateverepizzeria.com/

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In Chelsea

Morimoto New York: Lunch and Sushi Sets

During my 2nd trip to New York City, I had to come back again to eat from their lunch menu. I had an awesome time a few years ago, so I had to bring my friends. I’ve been to Morimoto Asia in Orlando, but it was more like Americanized Asian food.

Morimoto New York is my favourite so far, thus why I’m coming back again.

Interior

The interior is very nice and luxurious like you’re dining in a white tent because of the drapery.

The focal point of the dining room is their glass display in the middle of the room all lit up.

It’s so shiny and mesmerizing that you have to touch it.

Lunch menu

The lunch sets are a really good deal compared to their regular menu. You get pretty full off each box. I was eying the other table to see what they ordered before making my choice.

Uni Don

The uni don is an absolute stunner. It has grilled freshwater eel over a bed of sushi rice with cucumbers and green onions. It comes with a variety of pickles, green salad, and miso soup.

A very complete meal and I enjoyed every single bite. One of my favourite meals on this New York trip.

Angry Chicken

The angry chicken lunch set has shiso-cucumber pickles, citrus yogurt, and a roasted chili-miso sauce. It also comes with a variety of pickles, green salad, rice and miso soup.

The Washroom

Go to their washroom, it’s so beautiful like a piece of art. Very high tech and cleans your butt too.

We Rate Morimoto New York:  

Address:
88 10th Ave, New York

Website:
http://www.morimotonyc.com/

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In Dessert

Junior’s Cheesecake in New York City

Junior’s Cheesecake was founded in Brooklyn back in 1950 and is best known for their delicious New York Style Cheesecakes. If you’re visiting New York, you don’t have to travel to Brooklyn to their original location. Right by Times Square is this location with lots and lots of cheesecake. We stopped by after a Broadway show for a little bit of a sweet treat but their dining area was packed full of customers and plenty of other people waiting in line.

They have a take-out section where you can take a slice of cheesecake or a whole one to go.

We ended up getting 2 pieces for takeout and share it with our friends too.

Strawberry Cheesecake

This beautiful slice of cheesecake has the  original cheesecake topped with fresh strawberry pie filling and baked into a graham crust with our macaroon crunch. Loved the texture of the crust, the soft velvety texture of the cheesecake and the big pieces of strawberry.

Original New York Plain Cheesecake

Of course we had to go with this classic. This is really creamy but not heavy at all. When you take your first bite, it won’t crumble at all. The rich flavour is so addictive that you want more. It was rated “Best Overall” by the Wall Street Journal.

Final Thoughts

If you’re in the area and never had Junior’s before, best to go grab a slice at the restaurant or grab it to go.

We Rate Juniors Cheesecake: 

Address:
1515 Broadway, New York, NY

Website:
https://www.juniorscheesecake.com/

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In Bakery

Corvus Coffee Roasters in Denver: Review

Corvus Coffee Roasters is a roastery and cafe in Denver, Colorado crafting up delicious cups of coffee each day.

They work directly at origin with dozens of farmers to give customers access to a variety of the finest coffees in the world. The beans are roasted by hand in small batches to highlight sweetness and vibrance in single origins and bring balance to blends.

I am with my family in the morning to grab a few pastries and coffee before meeting up with the rest of our family.

Latte

We both ordered lattes and it was delicious and at a good temperature. Very enjoyable.

Pastries

Croissants look really good here. Nice and flakey with a lot of layers.

Cold Brew

They sell a bunch of their cold brews to grab to go or to give as gifts.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the coffee was great for a morning snack to give us an extra step to our day. A croissant and a latte was our perfect pairing.

We Rate Corvus Coffee: 

Address:
1740 S Broadway, Denver

Website:
https://www.corvuscoffee.com/

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In Bubble Tea

Sweet Memory Desserts: Taiwanese Desserts in Richmond

Sweet Memory Desserts is located in Richmond on Leslie Road. It was opened by the people behind Memory Corner, which is also in Richmond. We were eating dinner close by and decided to grab some dessert.

Interior

The interior transports you back in time and it’s very cute with all the lanterns and ornate decoration all over the walls.

The space is pretty cramped when it’s busy, so there isn’t much space if you are carrying a big jacket and bag.

The brick walls, wooden furniture and the decor give the space so much character.

Sweetened Tea

As we got seated, they have a pot of sweetened tea for the table.

Passion fruit Shaved Ice

The passionfruit syrup and seeds drench the milk shaved ice underneath.

Soy Tofu Pudding with Three Coloured Taro and Yam Balls

This was pretty good and comes in large portions. I wasn’t expecting it to be this size. The taro and yam balls were hiding under all the tofu. Very good quality and I enjoyed it.

Tofu Pudding with Pearls

The cold tofu is in ginger syrup and has the pearls hiding underneath until you mix it up a little bit.

Grass Jelly

This is a popular dessert and grass jelly is made from the leaves and stalks of the mesona chineensis plant. It has a mild slightly bitter taste.

Bubble Tea

They have a few different milk teas on the menu.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the desserts were really good, interior was beautiful, but the table space is pretty small.

We Rate Sweet Memory Desserts: 

Address:
130-8080 Leslie Rd, Richmond, BC

Website:
http://www.memorycorner8.com/

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In Cafe

812 Cake and Dessert: Korean Cake in Burnaby

812 Cake and Dessert denotes their 8 signature cakes and desserts, crafted from a 12 step baking process. They specialize in cakes and desserts all handcrafted. All items here are inspired by local, seasonal ingredients and prepared daily. They are located close to Gilmore skytrain in Burnaby and there are parking spots out front.

Cakes

When we arrived, they have most of the cakes available but one of them was sold out.

Tiramisu

I got a slice of the tiramisu and it has layers of mascarpone cream and espresso chantilly. The slices are a good size and delicious.

Sweet Potato

This has sweet potato mousse made with freshly cooked sweet potato and diplomat cream. One of my favourite sweet potato cake I’ve had. Highly recommended.

Salted Caramel

This cake has salted caramel chantilly made with house made salted caramel sauce and fresh whipping cream. I personally wasn’t a fan of this cake.

Strawberry Cheese Tart

Strawberry Cake

There are layers of Mascarpone chantilly with fresh strawberries.

Blueberry

There are layers of Mascarpone chantilly with house made blueberry compote.

Blueberry Cheese

This cake is different as it has cheese mousse with house made blueberry compote.

Iced Tea

They also have different teas and coffees on the menu to go with the cakes. We had the Basic Black Iced Tea and the Berry Herbal Tisane.

Final Thoughts

There are some really good cakes here at this cafe.

We Rate 812 Cake and Dessert: 

Address:
4208 Dawson St, Burnaby, BC

Website:
https://812cake.com/

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In Cafe

Coffee Project NY: Deconstructed Latte

Experimenting with coffee has never been more fun. Coffee Project NY is a small cafe in the East Village is making customers get out of their morning routine and try coffee in a different way.

When I was in New York, I had to give it a try as we were in the area and needed a good cup of coffee.

Menu

On the menu, they have the classic coffee items like most cafe’s. The two unique items is the deconstructed latte and the Nitro Flight.

Deconstructed Latte

The Deconstructed Latte was amazing. It starts off with a shot of espresso, a shot of creamy raw milk from Salem, NY, then the latte with a small bite of waffle. Then some sparkling water to cleanse the palate.

To drink this, you slowly sip a small amount of the espresso first like you’re drinking wine. Then move on to the raw milk. Last, sip the latte, which features both ingredients combined. It’s more than just coffee, it was a fun experience.

Highly recommended if you’re ever in New York City to check out this cafe.

We Rate Coffee Project NY: 

Address:
 239 E 5th St, New York

Website:
http://www.coffeeprojectny.com/

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In BBQ

Happy Tree BBQ: Now Open in Burnaby

We were originally in Richmond wanting to go to Happy Tree BBQ there but the wait was an hour long, so we drove to their Burnaby location as the line as shorter. When we got there, we were seated right away as the space is larger. They specialize in skewered street food especially cumin lamb skewers. I’ve heard lots about this place and it’s always packed.

Make sure you bring cash if you are spending less than $50. I just came with one friend and we spent $49, but they were wanting us to pay in cash. Since there were no signs, they eventually eased up and let us pay by Credit Card.

Cucumber

For $4.95, this is a lot of cucumber in a spicy sauce. So delicious and it was a great item to pair with all the lamb skewers.

Lamb Kebob (Original)

Of all the skewers, this is the most popular and most delicious. Covered in delicious spices like cumin. There is a minimum order of 5 skewers, but for 2 people to devour it, it wasn’t a problem at all. You must order this.

Lamb Kebob (Special)

This lamb kebob is served on a metal skewer and also has a minimum 5 pieces per order. A good sprinkling of spices, but the original still wins out by a hair.

Angus beef Kabob

This also have a 5 piece minimum order with the angus beef. It has similar spices as the lamb but the texture of the beef was a bit tougher.

Chicken Wings

Unlike the other skewers, there is a minimum order of 2 skewers of the chicken wings. Delicious exterior and moist mean on the inside.

Steamed Buns

On each skewer, there are 2 pieces of the steamed buns which are them grilled. This could have used a bit longer on the grill as it cooked a bit unevenly. Not as delicious at the other meaty skewers, but it was go to try out.

Coconut Juice

Beer is a no-brainer with this type of food, but they have juices and non-alcoholic beverages on the menu. When I was looking at other people, I had to get it as its a good coconut drink.

Final Thought

Overall, the skewers were delicious and a great place to go to with a large group. The spices on the skewers were delightful. I would come back again.

We Rate Happy Tree BBQ: 

Address:
3502 Kingsway St, Vancouver, BC

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In Dessert

The Pie Hole: Now Open in Burnaby

The Pie Hole opened their new location in Burnaby this weekend. Their first location is on Fraser Street and since it was a hit, they opened this one in Burnaby. Great for me since I live in Burnaby. Jenell Parsons is the owner of The Pie Hole. She spends countless hours in the kitchen baking, creating new recipes and delivering pie delicious pies to those in the Lower Mainland. I remember way back in 2011 when they first started out at the Baker’s Market in Vancouver. They have come a long way in 7 years.

Interior

The space in the Burnaby location is pretty large. There are 3 large refrigerators that have ready to cook pies and ice cream. Pie and ice cream go great together.

Near the counter are the pies that you can buy by slice or the whole pie. You can find sweet and savoury varieties.

You never know what pies they will have, so you might want to order the pies that you want online and then pick it up. We wanted some banana cream pie, but it wasn’t ready when we were there.

Hand Pies

Since it was early on in the day, we picked up some savoury hand pies to enjoy for lunch. We took them home and reheated them at 350F for 10 minutes.

Chicken Carbonara

Chicken Carbonara pie sounded pretty unique and is made with chicken, cream, parmesan cheese, bacon, flour, butter, peas, onions, mozzarella, garlic, sugar, vinegar, salt, pepper, water, and free run eggs. Delicious flakey exterior and meaty pieces of chicken inside.

Bacon Cheeseburger

Bacon Cheeseburger pie is made with ground beef, cheddar cheese, milk, flour, butter, mozzarella, bacon, pickles, mustard, onions, salt, sugar, pepper, water, sesame seeds, vinegar, and free run eggs. One of the popular flavours and it was moist with good flavour.

Mini Pies

They were giving way 100 mini pies to their first 100 customer when the store opened, so, the hubby and made sure we were the fist people to get there. I got the Butter Pecan and he got the Buttermilk Apple Crumble.

Buttermilk Apple Crumble

In this delicious mix are Granny Smith apples and Gala apples mixed with that butter brown sugar crumble. Nice flaky crust with the crunch of the crumble.

Butter Pecan

This is my ultimate weakness. Ooey gooey and  has a good amount of pecans. My favourite kind of pie.

Chocolate Cream Pie

This slice was beautiful as it has dark chocolate ganache, chocolate silky layer, fresh whipped cream and a chocolate drizzle.

Final Thoughts

About time for a pie shop to open in Burnaby. I enjoyed their sweet pies over their savoury pies but maybe thats because I have a little sweet tooth. Either way, it’s good to have more pie options in the subburbs.

We Rate the Pie Hole: 

Address:
7832 6th St, Burnaby

Website:
https://www.thepiehole.com/

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Beijiang Restaurant: Halal Uyghur Cuisine in Richmond

Beijiang Restaurant opened in 2009 as the first Halal restaurant in Vancouver serving Uyghur dishes like Dapanji and Cumin Lamb. They recently moved to Leslie Road in Richmond, which now has their own parking lot. I was invited to check out the restaurant since I haven’t been here before. I don’t normally eat Uyghur dishes but I absolutely love the flavour profiles of chilis and cumin.

Interior

There are lots of large round tables for small to larger groups in the restaurant. Everything has been renovated, so you get a lot of decor that reflects the Beijiang region. They also have a bookable private room with a minimum spend if you ever need privacy with your group.

DaPanJi 大盘鸡

This Xianjiang dish is like a chicken stew with potatoes, veggies, and chicken with bones. It is cooked with a delightful sauce and you can adjust the level of spice. Some of us at the table liked spicy and some are ok with a little bit of spice, so the staff were able to choose the right amount.

Handmade noodles come with the dish too, so you can add them to it after so it can be coated in all that sauce.

Lauan Twigs Lamb Kebob 红柳枝羊肉串

The skewers are pretty meaty and covered in a good amount of spices like cumin. It does have a spicy kick to it which I enjoyed. I’ve never had lamb skewers on a sharpened stick, so it was fun to eat. One of my favourite dishes of the night. You can order this piece by piece.

Stir Fried Slice of Lamb with Steamed Buns

This is a fun dish to eat as you get to assemble your bun with the lamb and peppers. A good dish to share if you have a lot of people around the table.

We found this dish to be more on the oily side, so tea or Coca Cola pairs well.

Xianjiang-style Lamb Leg Shanks 新疆风味羊拐

Each order comes with one, so for our table of 4, we had 2 in total. It’s best to cut up the shanks to share among the table.

Some pieces were moist but then some pieces were more tough.

Baked Puff Pastry with Lamb 烤包子

Inside has a lamb filling wrapped in puff pastry. It was crisp on the outside, but I wanted a bit more seasoning in the filling.

 Lamb Scorpion Hot Pot 羊蝎子

This was my absolutely favourite dish of the evening. They call it lamb scorpion hot pot is because the bones looks like the shape of a scorpion. The bubbling hot pot comes with boney pieces of lamb that you can eat with your hands. They provide you gloves so you each nibble away at each piece.

Once you get through most of the bones, you can add in freshly made noodles to the pot. It’s fun to see it being unwound. As it cooks in the broth, the flavour really soaks into the noodles.

Sweet Corn Pancake

The sweet corn pancake reminded me of a pizza. It was interesting to see this as one of their desserts, but surprisingly the corn went well with the sugar. Definitely unique but not for everyone.

Drinks

They have non-alcoholic drinks, beer, wine and tea at this restaurant. As some dishes are on the oily side, I found that tea and Coca-cola were great to go with the meal.

Final Thoughts

A great new space for Beijiang Restaurant gives them more space to do what they love. You will also find a good balance of Cantonese-style dishes on the menu too. I enjoyed their Halal Uyghur dishes and I’ll definitely be back.My favourites were the Lamb Scorpion Hot Pot, Lauan Twigs Lamb Kebob, and the Stir Fried Slice of Lamb with Steamed Buns.

We Rate Beijiang Restaurant: 

Address:
8111 Leslie Rd, Richmond, BC

Website:
https://www.beijiangrestaurant.ca/

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