Type Archives - Page 71 of 125

In American

Holy Chuck: Best Burger in Toronto

August 17, 2014

During my visit to Toronto, there was one place I was dying to try out – Holy Chuck Burgers. I tried going on my trip to Toronto earlier in the year but it was closed due to the long weekend.

This time, I made it a mission to come here and I am glad I did. They opened in 2011 and have been serving quality burgers ever since. They hand roll their patties every hour, which are made of aged high quality steak. Their most popular burger – Holy Chuck burger was named the best burger in Toronto by a few celebrity chefs. Plus, have been rated one of the Top 100 restaurants in Toronto for 2014.

Looking at the menu, there are a lot of choices and everything looks pretty good. You’ll be staring at this board for a while trying to figure out what to get.

Holy Chuck Burger ($9.99) is a double cheese burger with bacon and caramelized onions. Everyone at the table ordered this and you can get it cooked to any wellness level. Fabo got her burger patty done to Medium.

Everyone loved this burger and you can tell the patties were so juicy and full of flavour!

Mmmm everyone was so addicted to this burger. Yum! I would highly recommend this. It’s quite a simple burger with a few ingredients, but it all works together really well.

Grind n’ Shine Burger ($10.99) with hand cut crispy fries ($3.49).

The Grind n’ Shine Burger is a double cheeseburger with bacon, caramelized onions, topped with crispy potato chips and a fried egg. Oh boy, was this delicious!

The fries were ok, but it wasn’t all the crispy. Some were limp and some were crispy.

Just take a look, it look amazzzzing! The differing textures works well, especially the egg, potato ships and the onions.

Overall, this place does have delicious burgers and oh man, the patties are juicy and dripping with flavour! I’ll definitely be back for more.

We Rate Holy Chuck Burgers:

Address:
1450 Yonge St,
Toronto, ON

Website:
http://holychuckburgers.com/

In American

Tap and Barrel: Burgers in Olympic Village

August 16, 2014

Tap and Barrel has their first location in the Olympic Village. The second one is near Coal Harbour. I met M and the relatives for lunch at Tap and Barrel. It was a nice day, so we sat outside on the patio enjoying the sun and the view.

They are known for their selection of beer on tap and their pub-style food.

PB&J Burger ($15.45) has a 7oz 100% CAB chuck burger patty, chipotle peanut butter, bacon jam, mayo, lettuce and tomato. M also substituted with Yam Fries for an extra $1.75.

It’s a strange combination with the PB&J, but it’s not bad at all! Yam fries were a good upgrade!

Roasted Portobello Sandwich ($13.95) with sea salted fries. The sandwich has goat cheese, sprouts, avocado, lettuce, tomato, hummus, and red onion. The sandwich was ok, but it wasn’t amazing. It was like bitting into a garden. There could have been more portobello mushroom in it.

The sea salt fries were not crispy and pretty limp.

Overall, it’s pretty average when it comes to food. With CRAFT Beer Market down the street,

We Rate Tap and Barrel:

Address:
1 Athletes Way
Vancouver BC

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

In British Columbia

White Spot Canada: Pirate Pak Hack

August 15, 2014

The Pirate Pak is a legendary favourite that has been enjoyed by millions. It was first created by Nat Bailey in 1968 to provide an exclusive dining experience for kids under 10 years old. It includes a meal served in a pirate ship with a drink, entree, dessert, and even comes with a chocolate coin.

Unfortunately, it is only for kids under 10 years old or you will have to wait till Pirate Pak Day but that happens once a year. Sometimes we can’t wait for one day out of the year for a Pirate Pak. Plus, its a hassle with the long line ups. Magz told me the ultimate way to hack a pirate pak at White Spot.

DID YOU KNOW WHITE SPOT HAS ONLINE TAKE OUT ORDERING?!

It’s pretty awesome since you can order Pirate Paks online, then pick it up and pay in-store. The best thing is that they won’t question you if you are an adult ordering it because it could be for your child at home. They don’t know if its for your kid or not.

You can choose from 6 Pirate Pak versions for $5.99 each:

Pirate Pak Hamburger
Pirate Pak Pals (Chicken breast)
Pirate Pak Flatbread (Pizza)
Pirate Pak Grilled Cheese
Pirate Pak Macaroni and Cheese
Pirate Pak Spaghetti and Meatballs

All the Pirate Paks come with your choice of milk/pop, ice cream and fries/salad.

What gets even better is that you can further customize your order by choosing more sides, toppings, drinks and dessert. There’s good upgrades if you want a milk shake or alternative sides and drinks.

The options are:

Side options: Fries, rice, mashed potatoes and gravy, caesar salad, spot salad, grapes, veggies, broccoli, and sweet potato fries.

Extra toppings (with extra charge): crispy bacon, sautéed mushrooms, cheddar cheese, monterey jack cheese, or american cheese.

Extra toppings (free): sautéed onions, raw onions, lettuce, tomatoes, side of mayo, or side of Triple O Sauce.

Drinks: Pop, milk, iced tea, Vanilla Milk Shake (+$1.99), Chocolate Milk Shake, Strawberry milkshake, Blueberry Milkshake, or butterscotch milkshake.

Dessert: Vanilla Ice cream, chocolate ice cream, strawberry ice cream, or mixed fruit.

Now, you don’t need to be a kid to have a pirate pak any day of the year, plus it’s cheaper! Give this a try and it will work! The only thing you will be missing out on is the ambiance of the restaurant.

What do you think of the Pirate Pak Hack?

Website:
https://www.whitespot.ca/

In Gluten Free Options

Graze: Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurant in Vancouver

August 14, 2014

Graze is a vegan restaurant in Vancouver that has an all plant-based menu, which includes their beverages as well. They make sure all their ingredients are organic and locally-sourced when possible.

Chef Karen McAthy is the culinary genius behind the food. The concept is for people of all eating preferences to be able to find something that they can fall in love with. From strict vegetarians to flexitarians, There’s bound to be something on the menu to tickle your taste buds.

I came here with VeggieGirl after work. I needed someone that loves vegetables to have a fair review since it would be very hard for me to give up steak and pork belly. I do appreciate vegetables and could eat carrots and tomatoes all day long.

The interior is quite beautiful. We came here at 5:30pm for an early dinner and it wasn’t very busy. It started picking up around 7pm.

Graze Organic Ginger Beer ($5) is non-alcoholic and comes with a wedge of lime. Good balance of flavour and it was very good.

Dark and Stormy ($9) has Flor de Cana Rum, ginger beer, lime and ginger. VeggieGirl did enjoy it and the alcohol wasn’t too potent, but she did find there was a bit too much lime for her liking.

Vegetable Menage a Trois ($10) comes with 3 featured veggies. When we were here, there were carrots, dragon tongue beans, and squash. It also came with a phenomenal pesto sauce. The veggies were lightly grilled to It makes for good finger food. That pesto sauce was frickin fantastic!

Portobello Filets ($9) is gluten free and the coating is made with pepita, spices and corn flour, then panned until crisp. It is paired with a pink peppercorn aioli. I love portobello mushrooms, so naturally I was addicted. The crust was delicious and crispy and went well with the aioli.

One of their featured small plates for the night was the fermented collard leaf wrapped ‘chorizo’ with turnip puree, patty pan tempura, chili oil, and tomatoes from their garden.

The dish definitely tried to emulate the texture of chorizo, but it has no meat at all. It had a spongey texture but still delicious.

Macaroni ($14) has brown rice pasta in a smoky coconut cheddar sauce, crispy eggplant & toasted nut crumble over a potato pavé, seasonal vegetables. You can add their house-smoked tofu & fresh tomato for $3.

Those seasonal veggies are mighty pretty.

Paella ($15) has spicy bomba rice, asparagus, red pepper, green garbanzo beans, kalamata olives, spring fava beans and saffron. It was a filling dish.

Cheesecake ($7) dessert is their Blueberry & lavender cultured cashew cheesecake. It is topped with edible flowers and fresh cherries. The top had more of a mousse texture and the crust was so yummy and nutty.

Overall, we had a great time at Graze. You definitely need to appreciate vegetables to love this place. If you want to try a bit of everything, I would suggest getting their Prix Fixe set for $30, which includes their featured small plate, entree and dessert. Also check out their weekly specials as there are some good deals. Thursdays is date night, so you can get the 2 of the Prix Fixe courses for $50. Awesome deal!

We Rate Graze:

Address:
3980 Fraser Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://grazerestaurant.ca/

In Cafe

Timbertrain Coffee Roaster: Awesome Coffee in Gastown

August 13, 2014

Timbertrain Coffee Roasters is located in the heart of historical Gastown in Vancouver, BC. They are committed to the science of brewing a perfect coffee every time. CoffeeGuy introduced us to Timbertrain and he swears their coffee is amazing and unique.

The space is quite unique as it has the coffee bar on one side and then seating on the other side. The seats are pretty cool and has a crazy design. to fit a lot of people in a weird configuration.

They sell coffee and pastries, but one item that is quite unique is the Cold Brewed Coffee on Tap.

What coffee comes from a tap? It’s pretty awesome and I haven’t seen any other place do this yet. You get a foamy coffee head just like beer. The Cold Brew is strong and smooth. You will sure be 100% caffeinated after this.

Latte is what you can get if you love milky foam and yummy espresso.

Affogato has a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a shot of espresso. It’s the perfect summer treat. The espresso and vanilla ice cream combo was great but I felt like their ice cream could have used a little bit of work.

They also have some cool contraptions to brew their coffee. At the very end, they is a tap that dispenses still water and sparkling water. It’s pretty damn awesome.

We all had a great time here with the family on a weekend. Great coffee, great atmosphere, and great company.

We Rate Timbertrain Coffee Roasters:

Address:
311 W Cordova St
Vancouver BC

Website:
http://timbertraincoffeeroasters.com/

In American

The Keg: Steakhouse in Vancouver

August 12, 2014

When I’m not cooking steak at home, we head out to The Keg Steakhouse and Bar. There are multiple locations throughout Canada. We went to the Burnaby location as always as it is the closest one to our home.

They of course have a variety of meat and seafood to choose from, plus they do have salads for vegetarians. The prices are fair and they always have consistent service and food quality.

Since we had a large group, we decided to make a reservation a few days ahead of time so we don’t have to wait in line.

Filet Mignon (7oz – $32) is the cut I recommended to my in-laws. Since it is their first time in Canada, they really need to try how tender and delicious our Canadian beef really is. This dish has the tenderloin wrapped in applewood smoked bacon and served with some veggies and a side of your choice.

They chose roasted garlic mashed potatoes.

Blue Cheese Filet (7oz – $33) is their filet mignon wrapped in applewood smoked bacon, covered
with a blue cheese crust, and finished with roasted garlic cloves. I got roasted vegetables on the side.

It is best to choose it done medium rare and you can really taste the flavours of it.

New York striploin (12oz – $31) is what M ordered. It is tender and full of flavour too. He only gets his steaks done medium rare.

Overall, everything tasted great! No complaints at all.

We Rate the Keg Steakhouse:

Address:
4510 Still Creek Ave
Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.kegsteakhouse.com/en/locations/BC/burnaby/burnaby-keg/

In Downtown

Miku: Great Place to Take Tourists in Vancouver

August 11, 2014

Behind these beautiful doors are the famous aburi sushi dishes from Miku. Aburi Sushi was inspired by the innovative idea of sear-flaming sushi, which they are best known for. You can’t come here without having a taste of their Aburi Sushi. They also have a sister restaurant called Minami and Gyoza Bar (opening soon).

Miku is a spot where I want to take new people to Vancouver if I want to impress them. It is a bit pricey and will probably hurt your wallet, but it’s a place you need to experience once in your life. M’s relatives were in town, so I had to give them a taste of their delicious Salmon Oishi Sushi that everyone crazy over.

The interior is beautiful and you can get a good view of the Waterfront area if you are sitting near the window.

Nutrigreens Farm Tofu Salad ($10) is a vegetarian dish that has nutrigreen farm organic baby greens, crumbled miso tofu, pickled daikon and carrot, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, crispy wonton and a umami soy vinaigrette. It was really good! Highly recommended!

Aburi Tuna ($16) has the lightly flame seared albacore tuna with masatake sauce. The tuna is very fresh and flavourful.

Aburi Chirashi Tart ($21) comes with miso soup and is part of their lunch special. The tart has layers of spicy tuna, avocado, aburi salmon, prawn, scallop, flying fish roe, ikura and miku sauce. It’s a pretty good lunch item if it’s for 1 person.

Since there was 6 of us for lunch, we all shared a bit of everything.

Garden Roll ($13) has asparagus, avocado, shiso leaf, ginger, wasabi miso sauce wrapped in a pickled watermelon radish and yellow pepper.

Crunchy Surf and Turf Roll ($15) comes with 8 pieces and it has wasabi marinated jumbo prawns, cucumber, lettuce, wrapped in aburi short rib, jalapeño garlic ponzu and topped with aonori tempura bits.

Salmon Oshi Sushi ($16) has pressed BC wild sockeye salmon, jalapeno, miku sauce and then it is flame-seared with its signature sauce.

Saba Oishi Sushi ($16) has pressed house-cured mackerel and miso sauce. Then it is also flame-seared.

Overall, some items can be a hit or miss, but if you order the Aburi items, it will sure be a hit with your friends that are new in town. Nothing really beats the freshness of the seafood on the West Coast!

We Rate Miku:

Address:
70-200 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.mikurestaurant.com/

In Cafe

Creekside Coffee Factory: Independent Coffee Shop in Coquitlam

August 10, 2014

Creekside Coffee Factory is located in Coquitlam in a small plaza area. They are proud to be serving the freshest coffee possible. They even roast the beans in-house. CoffeeGuy introduced me to this place and told me there was a cafe with a happy Korean man roasting beans, while playing the guitar. I love independent coffee shops because you can really feel their passion for what they do and putting a smile on customers faces.

Since M’s relatives from Korea love coffee, it just seemed fitting to take them to a Korean owned cafe.

You can even watch them roasting the beans. Unfortunately, when we took a visit, nothing was happening here. I wanted to see this machine in action.

You can buy the beans too. Once you purchase it, they are prepared right after to maintain optimal freshness.

The interior is quite nice and cozy. It’s a good place to sit and chat with friends. Or even just do some homework.

There’s even free wifi and extra plugs for your devices.

There are a few snacks a well. We came later in the afternoon, so I think the morning rush bought all the food.

Cappuccino came in a huge cup. I ordered a small, but I think a Large came. It tasted great and has lots of delicious foam.

Iced Dew Drip Coffee is one of their specialty drinks and is quite popular. It is made fresh on site every day and has some great flavour and low acidity. M drank his black and it’s a lot better than regular drip coffee.

Soy Latte and Americano were what the relatives ordered. They were both pleasantly surprised by the strong taste of their drink and totally put a good start to their day. It’s funny how they can’t function without their coffee.

Overall, Creekside Coffee Factory is a good place to get coffee if you are in the area.

We Rate Creekside Coffee Factory:

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

Address:
2773 Barnet Hwy
Coquitlam, BC

In American

Taco Bell Canada: Doritos Locos Tacos

August 9, 2014

Taco Bell Canada finally introduces the Doritos Locos Tacos permanently on their menus. When my relatives were here, they really wanted to go to Taco Bell. I was surprised that they wanted Taco Bell, but it was on their list of places they really wanted to eat at. So I agreed to go.

When we were there, we saw they had two Doritos Locos Taco meals they were offering:

Doritos Locos Tacos Big Box ($8.99)
Doritos Locos Tacos Crunch Combo ($6.99)

With these combo’s you can choose if you want the Nacho Cheese or Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco flavours.

M and I like to try everything so we got each of the combos.

Just as a note, I’m not exactly sure what happened here, but it seems that the described combo and what came out for our order were inaccurate. I didn’t realize this till after our visit. The person that took our order barely knew how to use their POS system and seemed super confused about everything. SO, our order was all jumbled up.

It all came and clearly we have a lot to eat among 4 people. hahaha.

Doritos Locos Tacos Big Box ($8.99) came with 2 Doritos Locos Taco Supreme, 1 beef burrito, 1 Doritos Nacho Supreme and a soda. There’s a lot of food in this box.

Somehow M managed to finish everything.

Instead of the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos for the Nacho Supreme, M got the Nacho Cheese Doritos shells for it. Not a bad combination. The Nacho cheese of the Doritos definitely enhanced the taste a bit.

Doritos Locos Tacos Crunch Combo ($6.99) comes with a Doritos Locos Taco Supreme, fries, a cheesey gordita crunch and a drink.

Even though me tacos were labeled the Nacho cheese Doritos shells, it was actually the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco.
Also, I never got my cheesy gordita crunch, but I got the two tacos instead. This was kinda annoying.

The taco is the same as their usual tacos but the shell just taste like Doritos Nachos.

We somehow got this too and it didn’t come with my combo since it was supposed to be regular fries, but I didn’t mind. It’s basically the Fries Supreme with the meat, sour cream, cheese, tomato and chives on top. It definitely tastes better than regular fries.

All the food is pretty standard for a Fast Food restaurant. The Doritos Locos Taco and Taco Bell teaming up together to spice up their taco shells was pretty neat, but it didn’t really add any alluring taste to the food.

Of the two flavours – Nacho Cheese and Cool Ranch, the Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Taco was far more tastier. The Cool Ranch taste was too subtle. The only thing different about these tacos is just the shell. All the ingredients are the same.

Address:
2991 Lougheed Hwy Coquitlam, BC

Website:
http://www.tacobell.ca/

In Chinese

Richmond Night Market: What to Eat?

August 7, 2014

The Richmond Night Market is a summer attraction in Vancouver. I’ve come here for many years and I always gravitate towards the food stalls. The smell of grilling skewers, the slurping sounds of people drinking Bubble Tea and the sight of all the people speeding past you. Entrance is now $2.75 per person. Alternatively, you can purchase a Zoom pass for $20 to get up to 15 visits. It is transferrable and you get to go in the VIP line up rather than the regular line up. It’s good if you are planning to make multiple visits to the night market, have lots of friends, or just hate waiting in line.

I only come to Richmond Night Market once a year, so I paid $2.75 and went in the regular line up. Even though the lineup does look SUPER LONG. It does go by quickly. Their staff is pretty efficient.

There are many options to get to the Richmond Night Market – Driving, Canada Line Skytrain, or you could walk if you really wanted to.

We opted to just drive since we live in Burnaby as they do not charge for parking. So, we thought we could beat the 7pm rush and get here at 6:40pm. To our surprise, there was still a line up for parking.

They made us park a fair distance away from the Night Market entrance. Turns out, their closer parking lot isn’t open until AFTER 7pm.

So, we began our walk to the entrance.

Then we kept walking…and walking until we got to the closer parking lot.

We did eventually get to the Night Market. We just didn’t like the fact that we got “punished” for arriving early and have to park so far.

We headed straight towards the food section! I always get overwhelmed by all the different vendors, so I walk around the booths to see if there are a few booths that make my mouth water. You will find a plethora of different items here like German Pork Hocks, Skewers, crepes, grilled squid, donuts, curry, dim sum, takoyaki, etc.

Shaka Shaka Squid is an awesome new booth this year that serves up Deep Fried Squid. I much prefer deep fried squid over the grilled ones.

There are 3 flavours to choose from:

Shaka (Original Salt and Pepper)
Sweet Seaweed
Spicy Shaka

Small sizes are $7 and Large sizes are $11.

Shaka Deep Fried Squid (Large – $11) is what M, CCK and myself started with. The batter is definitely super crunchy and full of flavour. The squid was not chewy at all and cooked perfectly. The mayo on top went well with it. The Shaka flavour was by far our favourite. I would highly recommend this place.

It was so good, we went back and bought 2 more to try the rest of the flavours

Spicy Shaka Deep Fried Squid (Large $11) is quite spicy after you eat a few of them. It’s good if you love spicy. The amount of batter and crispiness was consistent.

Sweet Seaweed Deep Fried Squid (Large $11) was still good, but it wasn’t our favourite. I think I just really love salt and pepper.

No matter what flavour you get, i’m sure you’ll like it. The batter is what makes it so addictive. M, CCK and I were so addicted to these.

Another new booth this year is Tenryu Hashimaki which sell Japanese savoury crepes on chopsticks.

They have 5 main flavours:

Curry
Cheese
Ramen
Crab
Shrimp

It’s $6 each or 2 for $10.

They even have a diagram to show people how to eat it.

Crab Hashimaki ($6) has the crepe wrapped around the chopstick and topped with the crab, seaweed, and a generous handful of dried bonito flakes. You definitely need two hands to eat this or else it will get messy with just one. I felt the crab didn’t add much flavour to the crepe.

Ramen Hashimaki ($6) was quite similar but it has the crispy ramen noodles, mayo, seaweed, and bonito on top. The ramen added nice texture to the hashimaki.

It definitely reminded me of an Okonomiyaki on a stick or a takoyaki in a different form.

A visit to the Richmond Night Market isn’t complete until I take a visit to Chef James to buy a few of his skewers.

You can choose from:

AAA Steak Beef
Chicken
Lamb
Honey Prawn Garlic
Crispy Green Onion Bun
Lamb Kidney

The skewers are 3 for $7.25 or 5 for $11.50.

We chose an assortment of skewers – Lamb, Chicken, and 3 beef skewers. Delicious as usual.

M started getting thirsty from all the salty food, so he made a visit to Sugar Cane Juice for some Young Thai Coconut.

Young Thai Coconut ($4) M really enjoyed it. Thirst quenching and delicious as always. We prefer these ones over the brown-looking coconuts. These are much sweeter and the coconut meat tastes good. Too bad we didn’t have a spoon to eat it.

For my beverage/dessert, I took a trip to my favourite booth – Icy Bar. I love these items and remind me of my childhood. Plus, I also love mangoes.

They also have a permanent location inside Crystal Mall in Burnaby.

Mango Tapioca Icy ($5) has fresh mango, small tapioca pearls, coconut milk, shaved ice, and condensed milk all layered in a large clear cup. Tastes delicious and looks delicious.

Overall, despite our failed attempt at arriving early to the Richmond Night Market to get a close parking spot and beating the crowds, the food is undeniably delicious and is quite a unique experience.

There’s definitely more food options than what I covered, but you will find something you will like.

On Friday and Saturday, they are open from 7pm till 12am. Sunday and statutory holidays, they are open 7pm till 11pm. It is open this season till October 13, 2014, so you have plenty of time left to visit.

Website: http://www.richmondnightmarket.com/

Address:
8351 River Rd
Richmond BC

In British Columbia

BC Ferries: Coastal Cafe Breakfast

August 6, 2014

Going to Victoria Island on the weekend in the morning is a bit of a pain. Our Ferry from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal has a Cafe on board called Coastal Cafe. As we got up pretty early, we didn’t make a stop for breakfast, so we decided to have breakfast on board.

For the morning menu, they have:

Waffles
Oatmeal
Cereal with Milk
Eggs (scrambled & fried)
Hashbrowns
Sausage
Bacon
Ham
Toast
Fruit Salad
Baked Goods

For their afternoon menu, they have select WhiteSpot items, salad, sandwiches, sushi and other items. You can even get Pirate Paks here.

All Aboard Breakfast ($10.99) has scrambled egg, hash browns, bacon and sausages.

It also came with toast.

Bon Voyage Breakfast ($9.75) comes with scrambled eggs, french toast and 3 sausages.

The breakfast is pretty bland and boring, but that’s expected. The eggs tasted very bland and you need some ketchup smothered on top. You can’t go wrong with the bacon or sausages.

We Rate Coastal Cafe:

Location:
BC Ferries

Website:
http://www.bcferries.com/onboard-experiences/amenities/coastalcafe.html

In Brunch

Jimmys Place Restaurant: Breakfast in Coquitlam

August 4, 2014

Jimmys Place Restaurant is my go-to place for breakfast in Coquitlam. They have an assortment of Eggs Bennies, Sandwiches, Burgers and other breakfast items. M and I have been coming here for years and it’s owned by a Korean family. You wouldn’t expect it when you first look at the place.

It’s pretty damn good food. Simple but very delicious.

The diner has an old school-feel with booths and aging furniture. Some of the seats are in need of repair, but it’s not too bad.

B.E.L.T. Sandwich has bacon, eggs, lettuce, and tomatoes between two slices of multigrain bread.

It was a pretty good sandwich and good ratio between the protein and the veggies. The bacon is a bit hard to see, but it’s there are it was nice and crispy.

Black Stone Benedict is M’s Favorite item from Jimmy’s Place. This is all he will ever order. The eggs are nicely poached with lots of hollandaise sauce on top with bacon, green onions and tomatoes. The hash browns are also super crispy on the outside. I usually get this dish too, but I just had to try something different.

Overall, decent place to go on the weekend, but they are not open on Sundays.

We Rate Jimmys Place Restaurant:

Address:
435 North Road
Coquitlam, BC

In Cafe

Sweetie Pink Dessert: Chinese Dessert in Richmond

August 3, 2014

100% Healthy Dessert has now changed to Sweetie Pink Dessert. It is located in Richmond and they serve up asian desserts like Mango Pomelo Sago and Tong Sui. A group of us came here late at night for some good ol dessert..asian style. hahaha. There really isn’t too many places in town to get good ol asian dessert.

The entire restaurant is pink and is quite fitting to their name. The space isn’t too big but it is comfortable for groups if you come early.

Even water comes in pink ceramic cups.

Mango Pomelo Sago with Black Pearl Barley is served chilled and is one of the more popular desserts ordered. Quite refreshing for the hot summer nights.

Mango Pomelo Sago with Mini Rice Balls is another good option if you like the little tapioca balls for added texture.

Cold Tofu Flakes with Taro, Red Bean & Rice Ball has lots of toppings to add taste the tofu pudding.

Traditional Cold Tofu Flakes with Ginger Sugar was what I ordered. It came in a cute little container with the syrup in the pourer.

It is a simple dessert and I kinda have an addiction for tofu dessert.

Chocolate Lava Deep-fried Ice cream was quite sweet obviously. It has pocky, waffle, and the deep fried ice cream in the centre. M thought it was ok, but not the best.

Overall, it’s one of a few places in town where you can get asian desserts. It’s pretty good but the only thing that bothered me was the poor service. It’s to be expected.

We Rate Sweetie Pink Dessert:

Website: http://www.sweetiepinkdessert.com/

Address:
150 – 8291 Westminster Hwy
Richmond BC

In Canadian

The Flying Pig: Gastown Appy Hour

August 2, 2014

Where in Vancouver can you get some good happy hour food after work? One of my go-to locations is The Flying Pig. They have a special chalk board menu with what is available for Appy Hour. It runs daily from 4 – 6pm. They also have another location in Yaletown.

When we were there, you can choose from:

Salmon Sampler
Beef and Bresaola Salad
Short Rib Croquettes
Truffle Mac and Cheese
Steamed Clams
Artisan Cured Meats
Halibut Poppers
Beef Carpaccio

All these items are either $5 or $6. The menu does change once in a while, but there is always something good on the menu.

Do note that your whole party has to arrive or else they will not be able to seat you. It’s a bit annoying since there is always bound to be someone in your party that is late.

A bunch of us come here after work for a few bites and drinks.

Beef Carpaccio ($6) is topped with an aioli sauce, arugula, cheese, crostini, capers and garlic. It was ok, but it was missing something acidic to bring the flavours together.

Halibut Poppers ($6) were yummy. It was tender and flavourful on the inside and the outside was nice and fried.

Truffle mac and Cheese ($5) is extra gooey and sinfully delicious! You can’t go wrong with cheese.

Pinot Gris ($7.75) comes from Calona Vineyards from the Okanagan Valley in BC. A nice choice of wine for a hot summers day to go with appetizers.

Overall, we had a great time after work. All the finger food was perfect.

We Rate Flying Pig Gastown:

Address:
102 Water St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://theflyingpigvan.com/

In Cafe

Serious Coffee: Caffeinated in Victoria

August 1, 2014

Serious Coffee is a local coffee chain on Victoria Island. Serious Coffee opened in 1994 in Duncan, BC and has now grown to 25 locations on the island. 20 years has passed since they first opened, but they are still as serious about good coffee since day 1.

I was in the Mayfair location needing to grab a quick coffee before work. Unfortunately for me, everyone else decided to grab a coffee at the same time, so there was a long lineup. The line moved quickly though.

The interior is cozy, but slightly dated. It definitely does have a nice charm to this place. It’s like home.

Small Cappuccino ($3.39) was good! No complaints here. Delicious beans were used and it was nice and strong.

Steak and Egg Breakfast Wrap came with a side of salsa. The wrap was grilled in a panini press and had nice grill marks.

The wrap held together quite nicely and it tasted alright. Nothing revolutionary, but it was a good solid breakfast wrap. You can’t go wrong with this.

Overall, a good alternative coffee shop if you love supporting local businesses.

We Rate Serious Coffee:

Address:
Unit D – 3075 Douglas St.
Victoria, BC

Website:
http://www.seriouscoffee.com/

In Canadian

Ulla Restaurant: Best Restaurant in Victoria

July 29, 2014

Ulla Restaurant in Victoria has some pretty amazing food. Mags and I came here after visiting the Victoria Chinatown Night Market. The market wasn’t impressive as it was their first week opening, but at the end of the night market, we decided to go to Ulla since it looked like a pretty good place and the menu sounded yummy.

They have won several awards – 2011 enroute Canada’s Best New Restaurants, Van Mags Best of Victoria 2013, and several more.

The interior is beautiful and has a night bright and simple decor.

Plus, the light fixtures are pretty cute.

They have fresh local ingredients, with delicious classic flavours and has great techniques in preparing their food. They have a strong commitment to use local organic products whenever possible and aim to serve only ethically raised proteins.

It’s even on the back of their menus. You can see where their produce comes from on their map.

Each dish is balanced, well thought out and will leave you feeling perfectly satisfied. The menu truly offers something for everyone; from lighter seafood dishes to hearty and flavourful meats to exciting vegetarian dishes. Everything is stunningly presented and offers great value.

Complimentary Bread arrives with some olive oil. The bread was fresh and was quite delicious.

They have a good selection of virgin drinks here along with alcoholic drinks.

Kombucha is a fermented drink of tea. Some people claim there are health benefits by drinking it, but who knows if it does. Kombucha tastes like vinegar basically.

Whipped tuna belly, sriracha, squid ink crisp, charred onion relish ($6) was an interesting dish and we didn’t really know how it would be presented on the dish. These bite size treats were very delicious!!!!

Qualicum scallop mousse sausage, carrots, confit potato, pumpkin seeds, nasturtium ($15) was pretty awesome. The scallops had a texture similar to tofu. The flavours were really great. Magz and I really enjoyed it.

The dish I don’t remember what it was called or what was in it. But it was a pork filled dish with crackling, puffed pork rind and a croquette-like item with pork belly inside.

Island Beef, potato roesti & puree, mushrooms, cipollini, creamed chard, cubeb pepper sauce ($27) was delicious as well! The beef was tender and cooked right till medium rare. So good!

Chocolate Cake, cherry, chocolate soil, aerated chocolate, vanilla ice cream ($9) was a nice end to the meal. It’s best to share this dessert as it is quite rich and sweet.

Overall, all the dishes were pretty good and we were quite happy and glad we dined here for our last dinner in Victoria. I would definitely come here again!

We Rate Ulla Restaurant:

Address:
509 Fisgard St
Victoria BC

Website:
http://ulla.ca/

In Four Beakers

Red Fish, Blue Fish: Amazing Fish and Chips

July 27, 2014

Red Fish, Blue Fish is an outdoor waterfront eatery in an up-cycled cargo container on a wooden pier in Victoria’s Inner Harbour. It’s a unique, fresh, and sustainable approach to a fish ‘n’ chip shop. It’s probably the most popular eatery in Victoria.

Before it opened on a Saturday, there was already about 20 people waiting in line. You definitely want to get here before 11:20am. We got here at 11:10am and we were the 5th people in line.

Once they opened at 11:30am, people were excited!

Once you put in your order, you can wait at the other window for the order to come out. They will call your name if you want to grab a seat first. It does take a bit of time for the order to come out.

San Pellegrino Aranciata was what we ordered to drink to go with our fish & chips and tacones.

1 piece salmon and 1 piece halibut fish and chips has a crispy tempura-batter and its served with tartar sauce, slaw and Kennebec chips. When it arrives, you know you are getting a quality product. All the fish is locally sourced and OceanWise certified.

When I cut through the fish and chips, there is a lot of meat in here. This is hands down my favourite fish and chips! Highly recommended. Halibut was M’s favourite.

Tacones are hand-rolled tacos. It has grilled flour tortilla with slaw, pea shoots, and lemon-pickled onions.

There are 7 flavours of tacones, but I just got 2 or else I would be crazy full.

Grill-Seared Albacore Tuna ($6) has a spicy Spot Prawn mayo with the grilled medium-rare tuna.

Grilled Fanny Bay Oyster ($6) has a Million Island Dressing.

I really loved the grilled fanny bay oysters, lots of great flavour from the oyster and the grill. The Grilled-Seared Tuna was ok, but the cooked parts were a bit dry.

Overall, we really enjoyed our meal, but the only downside is the price. You definitely get quality and their food does taste amazing. I would definitely come back again!

We Rate Red Fish, Blue Fish:

Address:
1006 Wharf St Victoria BC

Website:
http://www.redfish-bluefish.com/

In Late Night

Ferris Oyster Bar: Oysters in Victoria, BC

July 25, 2014

Ferris’ Oyster Bar is located in Victoria, BC. When I was here for a work trip, I wanted to check it out as it was one of the most talked about places in town, plus very high reviews. It is more upscale compared to the Ferris’ Oyster Grill on the first floor. Mags and I came here once we wrapped up work.

The interior is nice and cozy with cool art on the walls.

Baked Oysters (one of each $18) has 6 different flavours you can choose from. Since Mags and I wanted to them all, we opted to try them all.

The flavours were:

Cornelius – corn flakes, butter, fresh thyme
Bottecelli – pecorino romano, cracked pepper, lemon and breadcrumbs
Original Rockefeller – spinach, green onion, butter and Pernod
La Truffe – Creamed Leaks, crispy prosciutto, truffle oil
Sea horse – horseradish, butter, lemon
Catalan – romesco, bread crumb, olive oil

When it arrived to our table, I thought it was strange it wasn’t baked in the shell. The only flavor we enjoyed was the Botticelli, but everything else was quite strange.

Virgin Seafood Caesar ($6.50) has freshly shucked oyster, chilled mussel and tomato juice with spicy picked green beans, piparras and fresh horseradish. It was a beautiful presentation and tasted great!

Chicken Liver Pate ($9) is served in a mason jar and topped with a pedro ximenez gelée and served with crostini. We did not like this dish because we like to keep our pâté separated from the jam. It really was drowning in the jam and masked a lot of the pâté taste. I would never order this again.

Ceviche ($12) was served with local seafood, aji amarillo, and spicy leche de tigre. This dish was also very disappointing because it did not contain any acidic notes in the sauce. It tasted more like mango juice with tuna sitting inside.

Overall, Mags and I were not very impressed with Ferris’ Oyster Bar. Nothing tasted right and the service was atrocious. Our server dropped some of our crostini on the table, while she was placing it down. She just said ooopps and put it back onto our plate with her bare hands. The only thing good was the Virgin Seafood Caesar. There’s a lot of other Oyster bars that are better than Ferris.

We Rate Ferris Oyster Bar:

Address:
536 Yates St
Victoria BC

Website:
http://www.ferrisoysterbar.com/