A&W Canada is back at it again expanding their Beyond Meat menu. Back in July 2018, they introduced the Beyond Meat Burger and it was a hit among meat eaters and non-meat eaters. It was so successful that they even ran out of stock.
Now, they have introduced the Beyond Meat Sausage and Egger onto the breakfast menu. But then again, breakfast is served all day so you can get it any time of the day.
Beyond Meat Sausage and Egger
I went to my local A&W to grab the burger and there was signage all over the restaurant on the first day they were debuting the Beyond Meat Sausage and Egger. Of course having it with cheese and egg isn’t vegetarian at all, but it’s still an option to help meat eaters reduce the amount of meat in their diet, which is great.
The Beyond Meat sausage patty is made from plants, topped with real cheddar cheese and a freshly cracked egg from hens fed a vegetarian diet, served on a toasted English muffin.
After eating the Beyond Meat Sausage and Egger, we were pretty impressed. The right seasoning is in the sausage patty so it emulates a regular sausage patty well and it’s less salty and juicy in my opinion. The texture was good as well with a good bite. Overall, not bad at all and I would order this again.
HiFive is a 24 hour shop serving up baked and fried chicken 24 hours a day. Imagine a Church’s Chicken but different. Everyone has their personal preference of what makes their chicken perfect and for me it’s – spice, crispiness, and moisture. Since our last visit back in 2017, they have added a few new items on the menu.
We were invited to give it a try to see what else they offer their customers.
Interior
The interior has a big counter where you can order you meal for take out or eat in. If you just want chicken but not make a visit, they also have delivery options too.
Menu
Coupons and In-Store Specials
Don’t forget to grab coupons on their website to save a few dollars as they are always available. Also, look at their signs inside the store as there are many in-store promotions for larger meals, which is perfect for parties and potlucks.
Chicken Options
There are many ways to have your chicken – baked, fried, spicy, regular, drumstick, thighs, or even in a sandwich format. As long as you’re aware of what your options are, you can craft your meal however you like. I don’t see a lot of places with baked options, but it’s a nice touch if you want something slightly healthier.
Baked Original Chicken Thigh
This was our favourite as it’s healthier, seasoned, and just as juicy as their fried chicken option. Good that its moist but not too oily.
Baked Spicy Chicken Thigh
If you like a kick of heat to your meal, spicy is nice but it won’t set your mouth in an inferno.
Baked Spicy Chicken Drumstick
Some people hate thighs since it’s hard to deconstruct the meat, but with a drumstick, you just need to eat around the bone. They also have a variation of sauces if you want to dip your chicken into it for extra flavour.
Crispy Fried Chicken
The most popular item of all is their fried chicken as it’s crispy and who can deny fried chicken?
10+ Pieces of Chicken
For larger parties, there are options for big boxes of chicken like their 10 or 15 piece meals for their in-store specials. Chicken is always a big hit and you really can’t go wrong.
Have it baked, fried, original or spicy anytime of the day. Even if you are having 2am food cravings.
Fried Chicken Strips
For Chicken Strips, they are sure shaped funny and resembles calamari but it isn’t. The pieces are large, juicy and fried to a good texture so the batter is dry and not oily to the touch.
Fried Mac and Cheese
You can dip this in their honey mustard sauce and it’s a fun little mac and cheese shaped into triangles. It’s a good options for kids too.
Potato Salad
The potato salad is hearty and has a good amount of potatoes and sauce surrounding each piece.
Coleslaw
These are sides you can to your meal. The coleslaw has a nice crunch, not too soggy or saucy either. We usually don’t like coleslaw, but this is pretty decent.
Chicken Wrap and Garden Veggie Wrap
If you are looking for a smaller meal to order off the menu, they have wraps with either chicken or all veggie.
Potato Wedges
A classic item to add to the side of your chicken, burger or wraps. Good and seasoned well with a cajun spice.
Onion Rings and Cheddar Cheese Munchers
Some other sides offered are onion rings and munchers. Onion rings are decent and the munchers are vegetarian packed with veggie and cheese.
Sauces
Don’t forget the sauces if you need it with whatever you ordered. Hot sauce, ketchup, chipotle mayo, hi5 sauce, peri peri sauce, vinegar, mayo, sweet chili, etc. It’s best if you had them with any of the sides to dunk them into.
Hi 5 Baked Chicken Sandwich
They have sandwiches too if you want something more individual-sized for lunch or dinner. This hand-held sandwich has their moist baked chicken with lettuce and tomato inside their bun. It’s good that they use their chicken that actually resembles chicken instead of other fast food places out there.
Hi 5 Spicy Chicken Sandwich
This chicken is covered in their signature spice to give you a hint of kick for those spicy lovers.
Hi 5 Fried Chicken Sandwich
Hi 5 Fried Chicken Sandwich has their signature chicken inside with cheese, lettuce and tomato on a nice bun. Since the chicken is good, it makes this sandwich tasty too.
Garden Veggie Burger
There are veggie burgers if for some reason you walk into High5 specializing in chicken and felt like a veggie burger for yourself or your friends. It’s an option but not very popular among the other items.
Final Thoughts
As it’s set up like a fast food place, most people order to-go or get chicken delivered via SkiptheDishes. The most popular items are the baked and fried chicken of course, but there are options for those who want something a bit different, have dietary restrictions or other preferences.
They use chicken that is local and delivered fresh, they don’t freeze anything, no msg, and they are Canadian owned.
Currently, they have 2 stores in Burnaby and Vancouver with more to come. It’s a good option for chicken 24 hours a day if there as there are no other similar places in the proximity.
Chick-fil-A has tons of controversy surrounding this American fast food chain. The companies values are influenced by religious values of it’s founder and do close on Sundays. With over 2,200 locations in the US and Canada, they are still expanding and there’s tons of controversy that has popped up. I respect everyone’s differentiating options and values, but I just like to each chicken.
Menu
Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich
This classic sandwich has a boneless seasoned breast of chicken that is hand-breaded and cooked in peanut oil, then served in a buttered bun with 2 dill pickles. Good and simple.
Chick-fil-A Deluxe Sandwich
If you get your sandwich a deluxe, they add green leaf lettuce, tomato and American Cheese. I prefer it with the extra veggies for a pop of colour and some vegetables.
Spicy Chicken Sandwich
They also have a spicy chicken sandwich with added blend of peppers to the hand-breaded mixture. I was surprised it packed a punch. If you like spicy, you’ll really enjoy this.
Waffle Potato Fries
How can you not love these? They are so fun to eat. When it’s fresh, its crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. If you wait too long, they go soggy.
Chick-n-Strips
The chicken strips are from the breast meat, marinated, seasoned, hand-breaded and then pressure cooked in peanut oil. When it comes out, its ok. Not that crispy but it is meaty and tender. Don’t forget the dipping sauces because there are so many kinds to choose from.
Chick-fil-A Nuggets
These are essentially like the chicken strips but in smaller bite-size pieces.
Sauces
There are 7 sauces to choose from and it’s like an adventure wanting to try them all in one visit.
Chick-fil-A Sauce
Polynesian Sauce
Honey Mustard Sauce
Garlic and Herb Ranch Sauce
Zesty Buffalo Sauce
BBQ Sauce
Sweet and Spicy Sriracha Sauce
Of all of them, my husband and I really like the original Chick-fil-A sauce. He also liked the sweet Polynesian sauce and I liked the zesty buffalo sauce for an extra kick of heat.
Cookies and Cream Milkshake
This has cookies and cream hand spun the old fashioned way with ice cream. Then it is topped with whipped cream and a cherry. At 610 calories, milkshakes really pack a punch and definitely not for those on a diet.
Final Thoughts
That’s all the items my husband and I shared during one trip to Chick-fil-A. We made a good dent in the menu and were bursting from the seams. They make a solid chicken sandwich and you must get it with the waffle fries.
Popeyes is back in Metro Vancouver after a long hiatus. It’s funny how some fast food chains disappear and then reappear. Ever since opening, they have been slammed for the lunch and dinner rush even though it is all the way in Port Coquitlam.
Later in 2019, additional Popeyes will be coming to Surrey, Kamloops and Pentiction in British Columbia. That’s a great thing as there will be more convenient locations for some. Too bad there aren’t any ones closer to Downtown Vancouver.
Interior
There is a counter at the back to order your meal and some seating. Best to come early and avoid the rush as this area can fill up with people waiting in line.
Menu
2 Piece Chicken Combo
This comes with a leg and thigh with a biscuit, a drink and your choice of side. There’s a few options but we went with the cajun fries. The cajun fries were very very good.
The chicken reminded us of Church’s Chicken – crisp exterior and moist meat inside. The biscuit was so good that our friend got an extra biscuit to the order.
Cajun Chicken Sandwich Platter
The platter option comes with 2 sides and a large drink. We went with red beans & rice as well as the Macaroni and Cheese. You can’t get a biscuit with the sandwich combos or platters.
The ciabatta bread was very soft but the chicken patty itself was a bit on the small size. The red bean & rice was ok but it did have more flavour than the mac n cheese. The mac n cheese was not good at all.
3 Piece Tenders Combo
The 3 tenders were very fresh, light crisp breading, and a good size. We got blackened ranch to go with it and it worked well.
With the combo, there was another biscuit and we got onion rings. The biscuit was great but the onion ring batter was soft and not as crisp.
Popcorn Shrimp Combo
Nothing special and not as good as the tenders. The combo comes with a side and a medium drink. Went with the cajun fries with this combo.
Final Thoughts
It’s weird how you can’t get some items ala carte and it must be a combo or a platter. Sometimes you don’t really need the sides but the menus make you order more food, which is super weird.
For the next visit, we would get tenders or chicken with cajun fries and a biscuit. Can’t go wrong with that combination.
Address: 2170 Hawkins Street Unit 110, Port Coquitlam, BC
When Arby’s started closing down their last location in Coquitlam, BC my heart was broken since I love Arby’s curly fries and the beef n’ cheddar burger. All my friends were so devastated. When they announced that they are making a come back with the first location in Tsawwassen, we had to go there to check it out. Having a taste of their addictive fries and burger is what we’ve wanted for some time now.
There are other locations in Cranbrook, Kelowna and Kamloops in BC as well.
Menu
The menu has the classic roast beef sandwiches and a few new items which I don’t really remember seeing like their long sub sandwiches, turkey or chicken burgers.
There is also mint chocolate shakes, fish burgers, oreo bites, sliders and loaded curly fries. Have I been blind all this time?
Get Saucy
Instead of individual packets of Arby Sauce and Horsey sauce, there are now dispensers. Since we are so used to the food court set up for Arby’s, we’ve never been in a sit down Arby’s to see this.
Classic Roast Beef Sandwich
We loaded up on Arby’s Sauce and Horsey Sauce to go with the curly fries and half pound of the classic roast beef sandwich.
It his the spot! All that thinly sliced roast beef on their toasted sesame seed bun and then paired with the 2 sauces. So damn good. We’ll definitely be back for more.
Ringing the Bell of Disappointment
There is a bell in the dining area, which you would think makes some noise. I dare you to ring it and as a spoiler, you will be disappointed.
Final Thoughts
We are so glad there is one Arby’s somewhat close by within an hour’s drive from our home. No word if there will be more locations added but we hope there is more since we do love it so much.
Donnellan’s Chipper opened just over a month ago. Many Irish expats already know about them because it’s the only place in Vancouver that serves McDonnells Irish curry sauce over fries. Strategically located on Granville Street by the late night clubs, Donnellan’s offers the perfect after-party drunk food.
Interior
The interior is well-lit and open. The front half of the space have bar height stools and tables, whereas the back half have wall booth seating. There is a bar setup in anticipation for their liquor license, which they expect to receive soon.
Orders are placed by the bar, then food is picked-up by the kitchen and passed-through.
Menu
The menu is a collection of everything you
want after a night or day of drinking. Donnellan’s is also a favourite during
work hours with nearby office workers and construction crews.
The most popular items on their menu are their specialty fries. They take pride in their fries which are made in-house using Kennebec potatoes that are cut with a custom made chipper to ensure the correct thickness. Once cut, it’s soaked overnight to draw out the starches to achieve the fluffy texture, then cooked until golden brown
Here’s what we tried:
Curry cheese fries
This is their most popular
menu item and is a favourite amongst expats. Donnellan’s Chipper imports
McDonnell’s curry from Ireland. It’s a curry that’s not spicy, in fact it’s a
bit sweet, and compliments their fries really well.
Garlic cheese fries
Another favourite by the regulars is the garlic
cheese fries. The garlic sauce is concentrated and is very tasty. This was my
personal favourite.
Battered burger and battered
sausage
The battered burger and sausage are their
signature items. It’s a simple and effective snack; it’s a burger or sausage
that is battered, deep fried, then served wrapped in paper for portability…or
simply held on one hand while downing a beer with the other.
Chicken Fillet Burger and sides
The Chicken Fillet burger was great! It was
the only meat item we had that wasn’t deep fried. To be honest, I don’t have a
picture because I ate it too fast. It’s grilled chicken breast with mayo and
lettuce between two burger buns. Yes, it’s very similar to McDonald’s
McChicken, but Donnellan’s version is juicy and satisfying.
Donnellan’s is very proud of their fries and the way they make it. We ordered a side of regular fries and I’m glad to say that they can stand on their own. We were told our meal wouldn’t be complete without a side of mashed peas, so we tried it and we liked it too.
Final thoughts
Donnellan’s Chipper offers a great selection
of unabashed deep fried, guilt-free tasty food. Their items are great for
sharing with a group of friends.
If you are drunk from a night of partying or just need to load up on carbs, give them a try. I can see myself nibbling on a battered burger while waiting for a cab along Granville Street.
Jolibee is a popular Filipino fast food chain all around the world. I haven’t been yet, so when we were in California, we went here multiple times for breakfast and lunch. We really couldn’t stop devouring the great tastes of Filipino dishes. There are over 30 locations across the US.
We went crazy just ordering a bit of everything for the 2 of us. It needed to be done since there isn’t a Jollibee in Western Canada where we are from. We stuffed ourselves with Jollibee and we did not regret it at all.
Menu
The menu can vary from location to location.
Breakfast Joys
Breakfast Joys are only available until 11am and there are 5 types to choose from – Breakfast Chickenjoy, Pork Sausage, Beef Tenders, Corned Beef, and Sweet Pork. Each comes with garlic rice and an egg.
Corned Beef Breakfast Joys
This was surprisingly good. A good portion of corned beef, rice and egg. We also got free coffee that comes with this too, which was interesting. This was my favourite of the 2 breakfast items we ordered.
Pork Sausage Breakfast Joys
The Pork Sausage comes with 2 pieces with the egg and garlic rice. The sausage was devoured quickly and had a slight sweet flavour to it.
Buko Pandan Pearl Cooler with boba
One of their dessert items is their buko pandan pearl cooler with some sweet pearls on the bottom. It was good but on the sweet side.
Chickenjoy
This is their 2 pieces chickenjoy meal with adobo rice and a cup of gravy. The skin is very crispy and when you dunk it onto the gravy, it’s so heavenly. Plus, the adobo rice is so savoury and good.
Chickenjoy and Jolly Spaghetti Combo
Best of both worlds to get a combo so you can taste more. You can mix up the spaghetti so all the sauce is incorporated. For fast food Filipino spaghetti, it wasn’t bad at all. It’s meaty, savoury with a touch of sweetness. Also, having the chickenjoy of the side was awesome.
Chickenjoy and Palabok Fiesta Combo
I was so excited to try this dish. A classic item with bohon noodles topped with secret Jollibee palabok sauce, eggs, shrimp, and other meats. Delicious.
Pineapple Juice
Included in meals is the pineapple juice. Instead of getting the regular fountain drinks, why not have pineapple juice to shake things up. A lot of people prefer this, but I did find it a bit sweet.
Peach Mango Pie
One of their warm desserts on the menu is peach mango pie, deep-fried to a golden perfection. The crunchy exterior was nice and the filling was surprisingly not too sweet. It does have a tinge of artificial peachy mango taste.
Tuna Pie
Yes, you heard that right…tuna pie. This is one of their items on the menu that is available for a limited time. It also has a tasty flaky crust with a creamy tuna mixture inside with strong notes of pepper.
Final Thoughts
We devoured quite a few items during our trips to Jollibee, but we still have many items to go through still. For Filipino fast food, it’s a great option. It’s like if KFC and McDonads had a baby. There were no line ups at the locations around San Francisco, so it was great.
Every two weeks, increasing levels of heat will be introduced to the Spicy McChicken sandwich, each highlighting a different chili pepper:
Jalapeño McChicken: January 29 – March 11
Habanero McChicken: February 12 – March 11
Ghost Pepper McChicken: February 26 – March 11
3 new sauces were created for these sandwiches using the 3 different peppers. This is the first time in recent history that McDonald’s Canada has changed the iconic McChicken sandwich but it’s just the sauce that is different.
The spiciness of the peppers is measured worldwide by the Scoville scale in units – the more units, the spicier it is:
The Jalapeño Pepper ranks 2500 – 8000 SHU on the Scoville scale
The Habanero Pepper ranks 100,000 – 350,000 SHU on the Scoville scale
And, the Ghost Pepper ranks highest on the Scoville scale, with more than 1M SHU
It is yet to been tasted if the sauces live up to the expected Scoville units. We will update this article with our review of each sandwich once each sandwich becomes available.
Spicy Jalapeño McChicken
Inside the burger is breaded seasoned chicken, shredded lettuce, topped with creamy Jalapenõ sauce, on a toasted sesame bun.
We had to order this burger twice because the first burger had very little sauce, so when eaten all together, you can barely taste the sauce because of the season chicken patty overpowered the sauce.
The second time I went, I paid extra to have extra sauce in the burger as well as the jalapeno sauce on the side to dip the fries and to truly taste the sauce.
The sauce has a slight hint of spice but very palatable. A good start to the 3 levels of spiciness as I’m sure most people can handle the creamy Jalapeno sauce.
Spicier Habanero McChicken
Inside the burger is breaded seasoned chicken, shredded lettuce, topped with creamy Habanero sauce, on a toasted sesame bun. Exactly the same as the other burger but with a different sauce.
We ordered this with extra sauce and there was more so we can taste it along with the seasoned McChicken patty. We found the similar thing as the Jalapeno McChicken where you need to have the extra sauce to really appreciate the added kick of the Habanero.
The colour of the sauce is more yellow/orange unlike the green hue of the Jalapeno.
It is spicier but isn’t too powerful to cause a sweat. We ordered this through the UberEats app, so we could customize with extra sauce but no option to have extra sauce on the side for fries.
Between Jalapeno and Habanero, we would definitely prefer Habanero as it has a little bit more of a kick.
Spiciest Ghost Pepper McChicken
The last Spicy McChicken is finally here until March 11. This is what everyone has been waiting for with their signature Ghost Pepper sauce. It has the most orange looking sauce out of the 3 Spicy McChicken options. Yet again, we ordered it with extra sauce, but this time they wouldn’t let us have extra sauce on the side for our fries for some reason. Either way, there was still ample sauce in the McChicken to really taste the sauce.
It is a stronger spice that lingers in the mouth, but it really depends on your own spice tolerance. We love spicy, so if you put it on a the “Hot Ones” scale, it is more like a 4/10. It’s definitely not for everyone and some will find it very spicy and some not at all. We thought it had a good kick of spice that coated our mouths but that might be because we ordered it with extra sauce.
Taco Bell Canada introduced the new Triple Double Crunchwrap with double the amount of seasoned beef. It comes in original and spicy versions. Looks pretty darn good from the posters and how can you go wrong with more meat and cheese? The original crunchwrap is a treat to eat, so how can this go wrong at all?
Menu
Looking at the menu, you can get it as a combo or a big box. If you aren’t up for all that food, you can get it a la carte. They also have coupons on their website too if you want to save some money.
There are two layers of seasoned beef, warm nacho cheese sauce, and crispy tostada shells. Wrapped up and grilled in a flour tortilla with crisp lettuce, diced tomatoes and sour cream.
In reality, the crunch wrap is more flat in nature compared to the advertisement. I went with the original version and added their hot sauce to it as I ate it. You’ll want to eat it right away at the restaurant to enjoy the crunchiness of the tostada shells. I waited till I got home and it go slightly limp. They layers of beef are quite thin, so you don’t really get a lot of it as you can see. There also could have been more nacho cheese sauce too.
The advertising made it seem like it was overflowing with beef and cheese, but that isn’t the case. If you are already a crunchwrap fan, you can give it a try but don’t expect anything too different.
Tim Hortons Canada has just launched their Timmies Minis Packs. The Timmies Minis menu lets parents and kids build their own meals as they select one of three entrées, one of four sides and one of five drinks to suit their tastes. Instead of a toy, the box comes with a fun activity book that will change monthly, as well as crayons. 10 cents from every pack purchased supports sending local youths from low income homes to camp.
If you’re looking for a snack, adults can order this too even if you don’t have a child with you.
[one_half last=”no”]
Main:
Mini Chicken Wrap
seasoned grilled chicken tucked in a soft tortilla with lettuce and cream cheese
Mini Melt
a grilled cheese sandwich made with cheddar cheese nestled between slices of soft white bread and topped with a blend of melted mozzarella and Monterey Jack cheeses
Chicken Strips (2 pieces)
two tender pieces of seasoned, breaded chicken breast served with sweet and sour sauce.
[/one_half]
[one_half last=”yes”]
Side:
Apple Slices
Mini Potato Wedges
SunRype Fun Bites
Black Diamond Cheesestrings
Drink:
White Milk
Chocolate Milk
Orange Juice
Apple Juice
Water
[/one_half]
The location that I went to only had 2 entrées and 4 drink options but it might be because of the location I went to has a limited menu. The price did vary based off entrées choices or location too.
I went with the chicken strips, apple slices and apple juice for my order. It is what you would expect as fast food quality.
I can see kids loving this as there’s so much in the box to discover. It’s good that you can customize the food items so its slightly better than other options. If you order this more than once a month, the activity book will be the same.
Quiznos has brought back their Classic Gyro options to their menu for a limited time. The core of the gyro sandwiches have seasoned, slow-roasted beef and lamb and you can get it in either a classic sammie or classic sub.
When we were ordering this, we kept switching from “jai-ro” and”gee-ro” since we really have no idea how to actually pronounce it.
Quiznos found in a recent national, Twitter-based poll of 3,471 Canadians that the most popular pronunciation of Gyro is “jai-ro,” as indicated by 48 per cent of respondents. “Yeer-oh” ranked second in the poll at 25 per cent, while 17 per cent say “gee-ro” and nine per cent use “hee-ro.”
Gyro Flatbread Sammie
This starts with seasoned beef & lamb gyro, crumbled feta, banana peppers, crisp lettuce, tomatoes, red onions and topped with tzatziki sauce. You can get one at $3.99 or two for $7.
Gyro Sub Sandwich
The ingredients in the gyro sub are the same but you can choose which bread you want it on as well as 6″ ($6.99), 9″ ($8.49), or 12″ ($9.99) sub.
No matter which way you have it, the beef & lamb gyro work well with the tzatziki sauce and red onions. If you are not a fan of banana peppers, you can customize these too. Perhaps swapping them with cucumbers.
Tim Hortons in Canada has just released their Belgian Waffle Breakfast Sandwich with your choice of bacon or sausage and its available all day long. Of course its available for a limited time only.
Since Tim Hortons is so close to my office, I had to go downstairs to try one out for myself. Anytime there are limited time only items, it looks pretty interesting, but taste can be a hit or miss.
It is made with two Belgian Waffles, sausage patty, egg omelette, and processed cheese. You can alternatively get this with bacon too.
The waffle itself was sweet and the savoury ingredients felt muted because of it. I’ve never really been a fan of the sweet and salty combination, but it was definitely more waffle than savoury.
I can see why some people may like this for that combination, but others on the internet are divided too.
For a limited time only, A&W Canada is releasing their Mushroom mozzarella cheese and egger available all day as well as the mushroom mozzarella burger. It’s just the addition of the sauteed crimini mushrooms and slice of real mozzarella cheese, but who doesn’t love cheese and mushrooms together?
For mine, I also added a sausage patty to it too. The breakfast sandwich tasted good and not overly greasy or salty, which is a nice change. A solid item for breakfast if you’re hungry. It’s good that they use quality ingredients and is continually improving.
A&W has released similar versions in the past – Mushroom Mozza Burger. They have similar burgers back on the menu for a limited time too. This is similar to the breakfast sandwich but in a burger format with grilled onions.
Brownies Chicken and Seafood in Maple Ridge is one of the last franchises in Canada. Brownies was popular back in the 70’s and 80’s with multiple locations. Original owner and operators – Gary and Janice revamped Brownies and made sure the food is top quality that customers will remember.
I sure don’t remember since I wasn’t born yet but those who remember Brownies gravitate towards their fried chicken.
Interior
There aren’t many seat inside, it is mostly for take out from what we observed. We saw a few chairs and a counter if you wanted to eat inside. Since it was a hot sunny day, the space was very hot, so we decided to eat outside as they have 2 tables out there.
Menu
Six Pack
We got the six pack of chicken that comes with fries and a choice of gravy or salad. Without hesitation we chose gravy.
They source their chicken from Rossdown Farms, which is close by. You can get your chicken done in 2 ways – regular and cajun. We asked for half and half as we wanted to try both tastes. The chicken was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside depending on the piece. Thighs are generally the best as dark meat is delicious. I like how it’s not too salty either.
Of the original and cajun flavours, it was really hard to tell which was which, but I think the original one has more pepper, which I liked.
The medium fries with cajun spice was delicious an crispy. After a while some went limp but eat them while its fresh and dunk them into the gravy.
The fries are from Cavendish Farms
Popcorn Shrimp
The popcorn shrimp has cajun spice as well because why not? Each piece has a small piece of shrimp battered and fried till golden brown. This dish was ok, but at least it’s Ocean Wise certified, so it’s caught in a sustainable way.
Cod and Onion Rings
We also tried a piece of cod and swapped the fries with onion rings. It comes with tartar sauce as well. They use Alaskan Cod and it was ok, a little flat and dense. If you eat it with the tartar sauce, it is better.
The onion rings were crisp and delicious.
Final Thoughts
I’m glad I had friend who love fried chicken that they knew about this gem that has been forgotten by future generations like me, plus I live closer to the city, so Maple Ridge is a little bit far. I’m still thrilled to be able to see another outstanding chicken restaurant. The chicken, fries and gravy were the best parts.
The last item to launch on the McDonalds World Taste Tour menu has arrived and it is the Aussie BBQ & Egg Burger. It’s pretty awesome and it’s available now till July 29th.
Aussie BBQ & Egg Burger
This is only available in the afternoon and not a breakfast item despite the inclusion of an egg. So you will have to come here at 11am and after. This is made with a beef patty, egg, crispy beet chips, cheese, lettuce, and BBQ sauce in a brioche style bun.
They’ve never had an egg added to a burger and it’s great they finally did that. The addition of the beef chips added a good texture too with a crunch. I wished there was a it more BBQ sauce.
With the added egg, its easy to get very full from this burger. I could barely finish my fries this time.
This was definitely one of my favourites of all the items they launched for the World Taste Tour.
Don’t forget, this isn’t the only new International inspired menu at McDonalds over the month as they take customers on a World Taste Tour.
One of the biggest things to launch from A&W Canada this year is their Beyond Meat Burger. It has meat lovers and veggie lovers going crazy over this burger patty. As a meat eater, I had to see how these burgers taste.
You can substitute it into any burger on their menu or have it as their regular Beyond Meat Burger.
Whats inside?
The burger patty is made from 100% plant-based protein. It is made of items like beets, coconut oil, yellow peas, pomegranates, mung beans, rice, potatoes and apples. In addition to that, they use A&W seasoning, dill pickles, tomato, lettuce, red onion, ketchup, mustard and mayo inside the sesame seed bun.
I was prompted from the staff if I wanted cheese to be added and I said yes for an extra charge.
Highly Customizable
To make the burger vegan, just say no to cheese and mayo. If you don’t want the bun, you can also get it lettuce wrapped for no extra charge at all. You can make it however you want.
How it’s cooked
A&W is very transparent on how they cook the burgers in their kitchen. They cook all burger patties on the same grill as the Beyond Meat patties. If you don’t like that type of cross-contamination, you may not be so keen.
How does it taste?
After taking a few bites, I was very surprised that it wasn’t like any other veggie patty out there. The look and texture was just like a meat patty. The taste of it was hard to differentiate because of the A&W seasoning as well as the mayo, mustard, and ketchup added to it. Nonetheless, it still tasted good overall. It does miss a bit of umami and saltiness from a regular beef patty, but it works as a good substitute.
If you’re curious about it, you can try it for yourself. There are a few coupon books floating around that offers the Beyond Meat Burger for 50% off. My husband got a coupon book in his takeout bag from another burger he got earlier in the day.
I really like this partnership between Beyond Meat and A&W Canada as it gives customers a better option made with plant-based protein if they choose to try it.
McDonalds is coming up with so many sandwiches this month. With their World Taste Tour launching from June 18 till July 29 with 5 new items.
Italian Pesto Chicken Sandwich
The Italian Pesto Chicken Sandwich is available for a limited time only from July 2nd to July 15th. This is their 4th product to launch for their World Taste Tour. This sandwich has fresh arugula, pesto aioli sauce, slice of tomato, shaved parmesan, and a chicken patty inside a toasted focaccia bun, sprinkled with rosemary.
It’s a good size for a chicken burger as the focaccia bun is pretty big. The star of the show is the pesto aioli sauce as it is very tasty and pairs with the chicken. The shaved parmesan was ok, but it didn’t add much to it. Certain parts of the sandwich was a bit dry if the sauce isn’t spread evenly. It was ok to try once. It just reminded me of a dressed up Mc Chicken.
Don’t forget, this isn’t the only new International inspired menu at McDonalds over the next month as they take customers on a World Taste Tour.
Breakfast is awesome at McDonalds as my go to is usually Sausage McMuffin with a hashbrown. When there are new menu items, it’s pretty darn exciting.
Mexican Bacon Queso More-ning McWrap
The third item we review from McDonalds Canada’s Word Taste Tour menu is the Mexican Bacon Queso More-ning McWrap.You can find this on the menu from June 18th to July 29th. This is only available in the morning and won’t be found on the menu in the afternoon. I thought it was on the menu, but I accidentally ordered a Thai Chili Chicken Wrap instead, which isn’t part of the World Taste Tour.
If you order from their machines, it will give you options if you want to customize it with more sauce or bacon or whatever else you want.
Inside the wrap is crispy bacon, spicy queso sauce, egg, lettuce and tomatoes. With McWraps, I find that all the ingredients are trapped near the bottom due to gravity. The queso sauce wasn’t as prominent but perhaps they didn’t add much to it. The eggs an bacon are classic for any breakfast. The overall experience was ok but didn’t really stand out too much as being Mexican. Perhaps it needed some salsa like their breakfast burritos.
Don’t forget, this isn’t the only new International inspired menu at McDonalds over the next month as they take customers on a World Taste Tour.
