Type Archives - Page 73 of 125

In Late Night

Maji Restaurant: Taiwanese Restaurant in Richmond

June 28, 2014

Maji Restaurant is located in Richmond on Alexander Road with all the other delicious restaurants on that strip. I came here for dinner with a few friends and I was excited to try this place. Maji serves Taiwanese food and are only open for dinner till late.

There is parking in the back, but during peak hours, it’s really hard to find a spot. You may find yourself having to park further away.

The interior is unique and the bricks on the walls look quite neat. It is a bit dark inside, but it sets the mood for late night snack and drinks.

If you know Taiwanese Beer, this beer is pretty delicious! I haven’t been able to find it at any other restaurant till now. It’s very light and has a crisp taste.

Stir Fried Gai Lan ($6.25) was delicious! It is stir fried with garlic. The downside is that it’s a bit oily.

Taro Chicken ($8.99) is once of the dishes our friends suggested. It has a good amount of chicken and taro. Some of the chicken had bits of bone, but the sauce was very good. I would get this again.

Rice was ordered so we could eat it with the dishes we ordered. Since I don’t eat a lot of rice.

Overall, the food was pretty good. M and I shared these items and we still had to take some of it to go. The portions are perfect and price is great.

We rate Maji Restaurant:

Address:
1180 – 8391 Alexandra Rd
Richmond BC

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

In Bubble Tea

Shang Noodle House 尚麵館: Snack and Ramen

June 27, 2014

Shang Noodle House is a restaurant of the Kirin Group. We actually wanted to go to Kirin in the Starlight Casino location, but sadly their last call ended for Dim Sum, so our only option was to try Shang Noodle House. They share the same kitchen as Kirin, so you will find similar quality in food. I find the food items a strange mix of Hong Kong Style Cafe and Japanese Ramen Shop.

The interior is nice and has a lot of seating. As it was around 2pm, this place was pretty empty.

Mango Calpis ($3.50) was what a few of us ordered and it comes in the big bubble tea cups.

Steamed Shanghai Pork Dumplings ($4.58) comes with 4 pieces. The quality was ok, but still isn’t as addictive as Dinesty or Din Tai Fung.

Deep Fried Crispy Tofu ($4.28) has a lot of pieces for the order. Great for sharing.

Slider of Sliced Braised Beef Shank with Pan Fried Onion ($4.28) comes with the 2 sliders. It’s deliciously crispy on the outside.

Sliced Braised Beef Shank ($6.88) has 12 pieces and another great dish to share.

Roasted Pork Belly ($6.88) is yummy! The skin is very crispy and it’s dripping with flavour.

Malaysian-style Traditional Ramen with Chicken, Prawn and Squid in Spicy Laksa Soup ($9.88) was a huge bowl, but the overall taste was nothing like ramen or laksa.

Deep Fried Chicken Fillet Japanese Ramen in Pork Broth ($9.88) was what M ordered and it was good that all the fried items came on a separate dish so it does not get soggy in the ramen.

M had similar comments with the ramen not even close to being Japanese style. It was a still a big decent bowl of noodles.

Traditional Ramen with Spicy Meat Sauce ($7.88) had large portions too.

We found all the snacks to be great value and tasted really good. When we had the noodles, it was pretty unimpressive. I would stay away from the noodles and share a bunch of snacks…kinda like dim sum style.

We Rate Shang Noodle House:

Address:
350 Gifford Street
New Westminster BC

Website:
http://www.shangnoodlehouse.com/

In Brewery

Main Street Brewing Company: Beer and Snacks

June 26, 2014

Main Street Brewing Company is located on 7th and Scotia street, just off Main Street. It’s close to the residential areas and it’s a pretty awesome place to hangout after work. I came with a bunch of my coworkers to just chill after a long week.

There is a tasting room, so you can buy a few pints of beer or even try a tasting flight. You can also purchase growler sized beer too.

The building is of a 1913 Heritage building, so you can see the unique charm of this space.

If you look further on the right side of the tasting lounge, you will see all their equipment used to brew the beer.

When I was here, they had their 3 staple beers – Main Street Pilsner, Seasonal IPA, and the Brown Ale. They also had 3 casks available. It’s a good selection of beer.

They do sell food to munch on. All of them are perfect pairings with beer. Pepperoni sticks! Beef Jerky! Meat and Cheese Plate! Etc.

When you order food, you get a big empty beer bottle, a wooden spoon with a number.

BC pork liver pate board ($12) with fig jam, pickled, and bread. Mags thought it was pretty average, but not the best pate she’s had.

I ordered the Tasting Flight and asked them to choose the 4 lightest beers for me.

Main Street Pilsner
Seasonal IPA
Brown Ale
Belgian Hybrid Ale

My favourite was the Main Street Pilsner. I liked the flight because it was a nice way to try all their beers.

Overall, it was a great place to go to with good beer. We still couldn’t figure out why they had these holes in all the tables.

We Rate Main Street Brewing Company:

Address:
261 E 7th Ave
Vancouver BC

Website:
http://mainstreetbrewingcompany.com/

In Japanese

Manna Sushi: New Sushi Restaurant near Olympic Village

June 25, 2014

Working near Science World means very limited food choices. There are some great choices near the Olympic Village, but my coworkers and I have been to all of them. When we heard Manna Sushi opened on 2nd and Ontario Street, we just had to check it out. I’ve seen so many of my coworkers flocking to Manna Sushi for lunch. With the abundance of Japanese restaurants in town, I wanted to see how this really compared. Mags and I look our lunch break here in search of some good food.

The interior had lots of seating with very simple decor.

Chicken Teriyaki Bento ($9.95) is only for dine-in customers only. I chose this item because it was more affordable that some of the items on the menu. It was either this or one roll of specialty sushi. Of course I chose this. It has a few pieces of tempura, chicken teriyaki over rice, a salad, California roll, 2 deep fried gyozas and a miso soup. The bento box was average and nothing special.

Mags got the Pork Katsu Don ($9.95), which I forgot to take a picture of because it took so long to arrive. Other people got their orders before she did. It turns out, they thought she wanted it for takeout…which was weird because she would be watching me eat. I really wish I took a photo of the don because it look super disappointing. The katsu was heavily breaded, so there was really thin pork inside. She felt cheated because she really wasn’t getting her moneys worth. It’s a fairly simple dish too, but the rice was flavourless and didn’t have enough sauce.

Overall, it’s subpar food. Manna Sushi is quite new, so they are probably working out the kinks and looking for feedback. In the meantime, I don’t think I will be coming here anytime soon.

We Rate Manna Sushi:

Address:
6 E 2nd Ave
Vancouver BC

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

In Downtown

Bellaggio Cafe: Happy Hour

June 24, 2014

My coworkers and I came to Bellaggio Cafe in the Convention Centre for a few drinks and snacks after work. I’ve always walked past this place when I’m near the convention centre, but I never really noticed this place.

When we arrived, we found out that there were 25% off appetizers until 6pm. Seeing that we arrived at 5:50pm, we had to get our order in right away. It sounded like a great deal! It was a nice day, so we sat outside on the patio.

A few of my coworkers shared a pitcher of Sangria and it was perfect for 4 people. There were a good amount of berries inside to add some sweetness.

Crispy Calamari ($13.95) has the crispy fried calamari with tzatziki sauce and a lemon wedge. It’s a great size for sharing and the pieces were large.

Smoked Salmon Flatbread ($14.95) has cream cheese, crispy capers and onions on top of the house made flatbread. The flatbread wasn’t exactly flat as it was quite puffy. It was expensive for what you get.

With the 25% off on the appetizers, the prices were not too bad. The service though was not very good at all. It was hard to a server out on the patio in a timely manner since most of them were indoors. Grabbing the bill was quite painful.

We Rate Bellaggio Cafe:

Address:
26 – 1055 Canada Place
Vancouver BC

Website:
http://www.bellaggiocafe.com/convention/con-index.html

In Italian

Novo Pizzeria and Wine Bar: Burrata and Creme Brulee

June 23, 2014

Novo Pizzeria is located in Kitsilano near Burrard and West 5th Avenue. There is street parking and underground parking as well. Novo Pizzeria serves up Neapolitan pizza created in their wood burning oven. Owner Carmine Paradiso opened Novo in 2011 because he loves Neapolitan pizza and couldn’t find any authentic ones in Vancouver.

M and I decided to give Novo a try after work one day. We have been to a bunch of other pizza places in town and wanted to see what people were talking about.

The interior has a comfortable and relaxed setting. You ca see the open kitchen at the back of the restaurant. It’s pretty fun to see them making pizza and preparing all the other dishes.

Burrata ($14) is served with arugula, oven-dried tomatoes, and house made bread. Oh boy, was this delicious! It had a soft texture, so, when you put it on the bread, it just oozes all over it. Highly recommended.

Sicilian Meatballs ($10) also is packed with currants, pine nuts then topped with reggiano and marinara sauce. The meatball were a nice size, but M thought it was just an average meatball. Nothing is noticeably different.

Ravioli ($19) has roasted pecans, gorgonzola pear balsamic cream sauce, and prosciutto.

I wasn’t a fan of the dish because it was rich and had a sweet taste. When you take a bite with prosciutto, it helps cut away the sweetness.

Novo DOP Margherita Pizza ($20) is made with DOP (denominazione di Origine Protetta) marked ingredients. These items have been made it it’s traditional ways to set a high quality of standards of produce in Europe.

This pizza is made with imported DOP San Marzano tomatoes, DOP Bufalo mozzarella from the Campania region of Italy, basil, Frantori Cutrera DOP, cold extracted olive oil, DOP parmigiano reggiano, and pesto.

Clearly, there is a lot of love and passion for quality ingredients that went into this pizza. You can really taste the freshness of the ingredients.

Tartufo ($21) has fior di latte, truffled mushrooms, fennel sausage, and truffled oil. This pizza was ok and I was surprised it didn’t have a strong truffle taste.

You can ask for chili oil for your pizza. It’s not spicy, but it adds a bit more flavour to the pizza.

Toasted Hazelnut Creme Brulee ($9) has Frangelico ganache under the creme brulee, rosemary and pinenut cookies, and a orange granita. Best creme brulee that I’ve ever had! The flavours were great and I could eat this over and over again.

Cappuccino was ordered at the end of the meal to finish off the evening.

Overall, there were items that were a hit and a miss. I didn’t find their staple items – pizza or pasta exciting. But, this is based off the few items I tried. My most favourite items are the burrata and the toasted hazelnut Creme Brulee!

We Rate Novo Pizzeria:

Address:
2118 Burrard Street
Vancouver

Website:
http://www.novopizzeria.com/

In Italian

Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria: Pizzetta Lunch Special

June 22, 2014

I never take many trips to South Surrey, but while I was in the area, my coworker took us to Famoso Neopolitan Pizzeria in Morgan Crossing for lunch. I’ve been to the Commercial Drive location a few years ago and I remember the pizzas being pretty decent.

Once you are seated, there are menus at the table. You will find pencils and note pads on the table to write down your order. It helps you remember you are ordering when you go up to the counter.

I always thought this was a weird concept that you would have to go up to the counter to take your order and pay. Why can’t they just come and take your order? It’s part of their service-style across all their locations. I personally find that it just cheapens the experience.

Pizzetta is their lunch special and you can choose from a small pizza, which is half the size of their regular pizzas with an optional side.

I chose the Don Andreas pizza and the Napoli Salad ($12).

Don Andreas pizza is recently new on their spring and summer menu. It has creme fraiche, fior-di-latte, roasted chicken, corn and chipotle salsa, avocado, chopped cilantro, lime wedge, and served with a side of Valentina hot sauce.

Napoli Salad has field greens, ripe cherry tomatoes, diced red onions, carrots, chickpeas, and a balsamic vinaigrette.

Having the salad and the pizzetta was a good size for lunch. The quality of the food was pretty average.

We Rate Famoso Neopolitan Pizzeria:

Address:
15865 Croydon Dr Surrey BC

Website:
http://www.famoso.ca/

In Cafe

Turk’s Coffee Bar: Iced Americano and Banana Bread

June 21, 2014

Turk’s Coffee Bar is located to Commercial Drive and has been serving coffee since 1997. They serve Milano coffee since that is their parent company. It’s not a bad things since they have good tasting espresso beans. Milano Coffee has won several international awards for their espressos. I came here with Mandu to get a taste of their coffee.

The interior is quite and during peak hours, this place is packed with people. A lot of people have mixed feelings because of the poor service.

After I ordered my drink, a few items came out but everyone was confused who’s drink was who’s as they looked similar. Because the staff were so busy making drinks, no one noticed the customers trying to ask them questions.

Iced Americano is what they had instead of generic iced coffee. I just added some milk and sugar for taste. It tasted great and perfect for the hot weather.

Erin Ireland’s To Die For Banana Bread was being sold here. It took me so long to finally try this. It has a top crust of macadamia nuts and chocolate chunks. It is quite moist and flavourful. You can taste the prominent banana and the nuts and chocolate add great texture.

Overall, good coffee and snacks on The Drive. Too bad the service wasn’t as friendly as I would have liked.

We Rate Turk’s Coffee Bar:

Address:
1276 Commercial Dr
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.milanocoffee.ca

In Cafe

Dolce Amore Gelateria: Artisan Gelato on The Drive

June 20, 2014

The Drive has a lot of amazing shops and most importantly delicious treats. Dolce Amore Gelateria is a family run business and is now run by the fourth generation of the Grippo family. They also sell pies, sorbetto and cakes.

I was on Commercial Drive for a special event for work, so I decided to stop in here for some gelato with a few friends. Best decision ever. The summer sun is best paired with a few scoops of gelato.

The shop isn’t very large and does have limited seating, but since it’s a nice day in the Summer, you’ll probably want to be out in the sun on The Drive. There’s a good amount of flavours and treats to purchase in the shop.

Peanut Butter Gelato in a waffle cone was really good. The peanut butter taste is strong and the fragrant peanut butter really shined through. Also, there were little bits of peanuts in it. The quality is definitely there.

If you are on The Drive, stop by Dolce Amore Gelateria for some cold treats.

We Rate Dolce Amore Gelateria:

Address:
1590 Commercial Dr
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://gelateriadolceamore.com/

In Filipino

Fliptop Filipino Fusion Food Truck: Flippin Fantastic

June 17, 2014

Mags and I were finding a place on Main street to eat lunch and then we stumbled upon Fliptop Filipino Fusion Food Truck. It’s one of the newer food trucks to hit the town and we just had to try it. They are usually on Main street on Saturdays, but it may change, So check out their schedule before going to the location.

Their menu has a good amount of items and everything sounds delicious. I personally love Filipino food, so I was very excited.

The aroma coming from this truck smelled amazing.

Flippin Adobo ‘Fili’ Cheesesteak ($12) has shaved prime ribs sauteed in Adobo sauce, melted provolone cheese, smoked chipotle aioli and crispy leeks served on a hoagie bun.

This was so good and there was plenty of meat. It was very tender and full of flavour. Highly recommended.

Long Silog Rice Bowl ($12) has cured pork sausage, fried egg, slaw, crispy leeks, garlic fried rice and a sriracha aioli. It was a good portion size and Mags enjoyed it so much, she bought a second box for her boyfriend.

Calamansi ($3) is what we washed our meal down with. Mmmmmm goood!

Overall, it was great. The wait wasn’t too long and the food tasted SO GOOD. I would highly recommend this food truck. If you see it, so grab some food!!

We Rate Fliptop Filipino Fusion Food Truck:

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

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/FliptopTruck

In Canadian

Odd Society Spirits: Tasting and Tours

June 15, 2014

After work, my amazing coworker took us on an adventure in the East Village. We stopped at Odd Society Spirits for a few drinks and a tour of their distillery. On a Friday evening, this place was lively with people socializing and having a few drinks.

Odd Society is a small-batch craft distillery on Powell Street and they are dedicated in combining Old World distilling traditions with New World ingredients to create their signature whiskey, vodka and gin.

You can try some of their creations on their menu. It’s not a large list, but you have a good amount of items to choose from so you can get a taste of what they produce.

Razzle basil (Pitcher- $24) is made with East Van Vodka, cassis, lime, basil and soda. This was sweet and refreshing! A great item to order in the summer.

East Side Sunrise ($9) is made with East Van Vodka, an orange infusion, eastern spice, orgeat, lemon, egg white and blood orange soda. Some say this taste like a creamsicle, but I have to disagree. The eastern spice threw me off.

Some people really love it but it wasn’t for me.

Once we had a few drinks, we decided to take a tour of the distillery. It’s not a large space, so they can only do it in groups of 10. It was definitely cool to see the process of how it all comes together.

Tours begin Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 4pm and there are no reservations needed. It’s also free. Just ask them kindly and you’ll be able to see the distillery and get a tour.

Canadian Single Malt Casks can be seen on a bunch of shelves and it will age at the distillery for 3 years until it’s ready to be bottled. It’s 30 litres and costs about $1,350. As 3 years is a long time, they give you the opportunity to follow the aging process and taste the product periodically during tasting events.

Their signature East Van Vodka looks pretty cool. It is made from 100% malted barley from Prince George and malted in Armstrong. Then, it’s sent here to be distilled twice in small batches. It is lightly fragrant, sweet smelling and tastes smooth.

When you are looking through the distillery, you will see their beautiful 350-litre copper pots used in the distilling process.

There are a lot of crazy contraptions. If they ever make you taste the liquid going into the bucket, it’s like 90% alcohol. It’s crazy strong!!!! We dipped our finger into it to taste it. Some of us thought they were making their own moonshine.

Overall, it was a great place to go with friends for a drink. It’s definitely unique and not the typical place to go to.

We Rate Odd Society Spirits:

Address:
1725 Powell St Vancouver BC

Website:
http://www.oddsocietyspirits.com/

In Brunch

Calabash Bistro: Brunch Bash with Booze

June 13, 2014

Did you know Calabash Caribbean Bistro serves brunch? Every Saturday and Sunday, you can get a taste of their brunch menu from 10am – 3pm.

I was invited to a preview of their new brunch menu to see what they were offering up. Since I am still on the hunt for the best brunches in town, I couldn’t pass up this opportunity.

Calabash Bistro is well know in the community for their deep roots in the local music and art scene. They always have events in their downstairs area.

The main dining room is upstairs but all the events happen downstairs in their basement. It’s a pretty cool space.

Pistachio Lassi ($7) is a traditional Indian drink made with yogurt, fresh fruit & spices. I’ve never had pistachio lassi before since I usually get a mango lassi. It also contains mint, rosewater, honey, cardamom, and pistachio. It was really good and I would definitely get this again.

You can really taste the depth of flavours and it works really well together.

Coconut dumplings can be found in their menu and it’s really good. They remind me of donuts but not too sweet.

The exterior is crunchy and the inside is warm and soft.

Your choice of mango or guava butter is served with it. Both the butters were really good and tastes so much better than regular butter. hahaha.

Escovitch Fish ($14) is a traditional Caribbean breakfast with pan-seared fish, tangy Escovitch sauce, fried plantain, fresh cucumber and rice & peas. The fish was nicely cooked and the tangy sauce complimented nicely, unfortunately, the rice wasn’t very good.

Passion Fruit & Guava Mimosa ($7) has Pares Balta organic sparkling wine, passion fruit juice, and guava. It was paired with the Escovitch Fish dish. It was nice to have a different type of mimosa than the regular.

Oxtail Stew Brunch Bowl ($13) has two poached free-range eggs, rice and peas, fried plantains, and a coconut rundown hollandaise. The oxtail stew is full of flavour and it is a bit spicy. It doesn’t look spicy, but it is. The combination of the runny egg with the stew is yummy but I still didn’t like the rice in this dish.

Calabash Dark & Stormy ($10) is their most popular drink and a lot of people say this is their favourite drink. It has ginger-infused Goslings rum, house-made ginger beer, Angostura bitters, and ginger syrup.

Salara French Toast ($12) has fresh-baked salara, fresh-cut fruit, house-made banana cream & spiced mango maple syrup. It’s a sweet brunch item and is very different than the traditional french toast.

Coconut Jumby ($11) contains El Dorado 3 year old rum shaken with coconut water, agave syrup, muddled lemongrass, mint, and lime zest.

All their drinks were pretty strong and definitely worth the price. It was definitely a boozy brunch. Overall, the food was ok, but wasn’t for my tastebuds. It’s all a personal preference since I do find it weird having rice for breakfast.

We Rate Calabash Bistro:

Address:
428 Carrall Street
Vancouver BC

Website:
http://calabashbistro.com/

In Bakery

SweetSalt: German Apple Custard Pie

June 11, 2014

I was at Urban Fare and I picked up a German Apple Custard Pie from Sweet Salt Bakery. Of all the samples I tried, I really took a liking to this pie. It was different and I’ve never had this type of pie before.

The look of the custard and the apple doesn’t look very appealing as it is pulling away from the apples. I’m not quite sure if that’s normal or not, but I was more fixated on the taste of the pie.

M enjoyed the pie as it is different from a regular pie. The crust was good and crunchy. A good pie always has a great crust. I found the apples to be delicious but I didn’t like the custard in the combination as it didn’t add much to the overall taste.

SweetSalt has a bakery on Fraser street, so they have a lot more treats besides German Apple Custard Pie.

Website: http://sweetsalt.ca/

In Fast Food

Tim Hortons: Kettle Chips

June 10, 2014

Tim Hortons recently released Kettle Chips. I found that it’s not a bad combination with their sandwiches. Sometimes you want that extra crunch in your meal. When I ordered it, it came out warm, which was a nice touch.

A small bag is $0.99 and a large one is $1.89.

They are probably not cooked on-site as they need to keep standards consistent through all their locations.

The kettle chips were alright but after a while, I thought their chips were a bit too salty. It’s probably a personal preference. I love chips and I always tend to finish the bag if it’s Miss Vickie’s or any other crunchy type of chips.

Nice addition to the menu if you like chips, but it’s not revolutionary different that what you see in the grocery stores.

Website: http://www.timhortons.com/ca/en/menu/menu-products.html

In All You Can Eat

ORU: Breakfast Buffet with Benny Bar

June 9, 2014

Oru has a benny bar! Seeing that my friends and I have been on the hunt for the best Eggs Benny around Vancouver, we needed to make a stop here. When coming to Oru for breakfast/brunch, you have the option of ordering off the menu or partaking in the breakfast buffet.

Since the crab benny alone is $27 and the breakfast buffet is $33….we thought we might as well go for the buffet to get our moneys worth since drinks are also included.

The buffet includes house-made bacon, sausage, ham, breakfast wraps, sandwiches, build-your-own omelette, benny bar, potato hash, fruit, cheese, charcuterie, fresh pastries, parfait, cereals and a lot more.

It is only available on Saturday & Sunday from 11:30am – 2:00pm. There is no time limit, so you can stay the entire time.

Oru’s dining are is beautiful and it’s perfect for any special occasion or just a nice hangout with friends.

Each table had a beautiful rose and it really was a delight to see them using real flowers.

The benny bar, you can request eggs any way you like, build an omelette and of course choose your own eggs benny.

Crab Benny was a must since we wanted to get our money’s worth at the buffet. The english muffin is toasted and topped with crab meat, poached egg and hollandaise sauce.

You can order any amount of bennies you want. So, if you don’t want 2, you can just go for a singular one.

Crispy pork benny was my favourite. The pork belly was oozing with flavour and its delicious fat. Mmmm so good!

You can fill up on bread, lots of bread.

Many types of bread.

You have a large selection of cooked dishes.

There is french toast and waffles.

Bacon and sausages!

There is also smoked salmon cream cheese bagels. Beside it was also a pile of smoked salmon if you don’t want the carbs.

We grabbed a lot of protein on our plates.

Lots of meat!

Yummy.

Assorted cereals and toppings.

You have a fruit, cheese and meat section.

This was my favourite item from the fruit section, berries with chantilly cream. There’s blueberries. blackberries. strawberries and raspberries.

You can also order tea, coffee and juice. Their juices are freshly squeezed and really delicious. You can choose from apple, orange, grapefruit. and cranberry.

The service is really great and accommodating. They gave us little bottles of tabasco sauce and ketchup.

Many little pastries.

Croissants!

Sugar Buns!

I went for the almond croissant, chocolate croissant and some more smoked salmon.

Overall, we had a great experience at Oru. The food can be a hit or a miss, but you have a good selection. What made it a great experience was the service! Our server made sure we had everything and if there was something we were craving and they didn’t have it in the buffet, we would be able to make special requests to the kitchen. How amazing is that? My friend wanted plain donuts and they only had cinnamon powdered donuts, so the kitchen was able to make her a batch of plain donuts. When we thought only a few pieces would arrive at our table, we got 2 bowls of donuts! They were nice enough to let us pack it to go. I’m sure if you wanted a grilled cheese, you can ask them to make it.

We Rate Oru:

Address:
1038 Canada Pl
Vancouver, BC

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

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In Bakery

Basho Cafe: Lunch Times with Family

June 8, 2014

I came with my family to indulge in Basho’s delicious sweet treats. Previously, I came here with friends and it has always been a positive experience. The wait for a table was quite a while for a group of 5, but if you are able to endure a little bit of a wait or some here early, you’ll love this cozy cafe.

Sitting here with matcha lattes ($3.75) and a few treats that range from $1 to $3.

It’s a bit bitter without sugar, so you can add some to sweeten it up for taste.

Sesame brownie, red bean mochi, nut mochi, chocolate mochi are some treats they offer.

Earl Grey Tea ($2.85) and sesame brownie is what my sister ordered. The tea comes already steeped so you don’t have the bag sitting in it getting stronger and stronger.

Smoked Cheddar and Chive Scone was an item on the counter and it was SO good and addictive. I would highly recommend getting this.

Teri Pulled Pork with lunch set ($8 +$3) the pulled pork is delicious and tender and it comes over rice with a few veggies. Alternatively, you can get it as a salad. With the lunch set addition, you get soup, mini sweets, and a coup of tea. It was really good.

Tuna Tataki with lunch set ($9.5 +$3) is my favourite. It’s a light meal, healthy, and the perfect amount for a meal. The 3 treats are worth it too.

Overall, all the baked treats were good and none of them disappointed. It’s a cute cafe to just chill and catch up with friends over drinks and nibbles. Highly recommend this cafe!

We Rate Basho Cafe:

Address:
2007 E Hastings St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://bashocafe.com/

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In Bakery

PappaRotti: Coffee Buns

June 7, 2014

PappaRoti has made its way to Vancouver as the first location in Canada. The first store opened up in Malaysia in 2003 selling their signature roti buns. It was a hit and now they have over 400 locations around the world.

Their signature item is the roti bun, which has a sweet caramelized coffee cream on top. It is best paired with tea or coffee.

KoreanGirl and I have been on search for Coffee Buns in Vancouver. Before coming to PappaRoti, we had some at Coffee Bun and Cafe Joie.

PappaRoti was quite busy during the night at 7pm. It got increasingly busy as the night went on. A lot of people were eating catching up with friends, having a meeting or doing homework.

Their menu has coffee, tea, frappes, and smoothies.

Original Bun ($3.65) is twice baked and coated with their caramel coffee cream topping. The top was crispy and the inside was light and fluffy. Eat it right when it comes out of the oven because that is the best.

Dry Cappuccino ($3.50) is my favourite type of cappuccino as it has more foam. I don’t like it with too much milk. The coffee they use is created by JJ Bean, which I was surprised as PappaRotti is a chain. I thought it would be pretty standardized.

KoreanGirl ordered a Milk Tea, but whatever tea they used made it taste a bit weird.

They don’t have a large variety for food, but people mostly come here for the coffee, tea and coffee buns.

Overall, it’s a nice place to chill. There is lots of seating and the coffee is good.

We Rate PappaRotti:

Address:
1505 Robson St
Vancouver BC

Website:
http://papparoti.ca/

In Four Beakers

Ask For Luigi: Dining on Mothers Day

June 6, 2014

Ask For Luigi is located in Gastown and has pretty awesome fresh pasta. My sisters and I came here for Mothers Day and we were fortunate enough to get a reservation. We made the reservation a few weeks prior just to avoid disappointment. This is my second visit as I really enjoyed my first visit.

When we got there at 5:30pm, there was a large line up. A handful of people didn’t have reservations, so some of them were lucky to get a seat and other had to come back later in the evening.

I would try to get a reservation, if not, put your name down and just head to a close lounge/bar for a drink. A good option is the Alibi Room.

Beef Carpaccio ($14) was the special for the night and it had garlic chips, capers, and a few other ingredients. Sprinkle some lemon on top and its quite delicious.

Anchovies & Eggs ($9) comes with 4 slices of bread, and the eggs with anchovies.

It’s a pretty neat dish and strangely visually appealing. The egg with the soft creamy yolk, anchovies, and roe. Eggs on Egg!

Luigi’s Meatballs ($14) comes with 3 pieces and toasted bread. These were a good size and perfect for sharing around the table.

Risotto ($17) has asparagus and topped with a piece of smoked sablefish. I think this is the most beautiful risotto I have ever eaten. This was really good!

Pappardelle and Duck Ragu ($19) is always a hit. It’s not too salty and is also quite addictive. You must order this.

Gluten-Free Pasta with pancetta, chilies & tomato sauce was what my little sister ordered. She’s celiac, so we were glad they had the option on the menu. It was ok, but not as exciting as the other pasta dishes.

Tagliatelle, fennel sausage & rapin ($18) was another pasta we had and it was good too!

Olive Oil Cake ($8) has slices of candied oranges on the bottom and topped with ricotta cheese, basil and a drizzle of olive oil. It was delicious!

Overall, the whole family was very happy with all the dishes and they could not stop eating. For the best experience, I would suggest making reservations at 5:30pm for their first seating as the service is fast and won’t disappoint.

We Rate Ask for Luigi:

Address:
305 Alexander Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.askforluigi.com/

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