McDonalds in Taiwan is featuring their Taro Pie. This isn’t on the regular menu, but just for a limited time only. I’ve had Sweet Taro Pie in Hawaii and it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! When I saw it on the Taiwan menu, I needed to get it.
I wasn’t planning on getting it, but I was intrigued if it would be the same as the one in Hawaii. When it arrives, it comes in a generic ‘flavoured pie’ packaging as they always have rotating flavours along with the staple – Apple pie.
Taro Pie Review
The taro pie comes in one piece and its deep-fried till a golden brown on the outside. When I cut the pie in half, the inside reveals white pieces of taro with a clear off-white filling. Unlike the one in Hawaii, the colour is different and has a lot less taro.
As we took a few bites, the taro was very sweet and most of the pie was the clear off-white filling with subtle tastes of taro. Perhaps it’s a different type of taro they have. Nonetheless, it was fun to try, but I wouldn’t get it again.
It just wasn’t reminiscent of what taro is like and way too sweet. I did enjoy the deep-fried pastry as it was very crisp and delicate compared to the ones in North America.
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.
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.
When in Hawaii, taking a trip to McDonalds to see new items that aren’t available in Canada is what I find so much fun. I saw that they had Kona Iced Coffee and Taro Pie for a limited time only, so we made a visit.
There are a few McDonalds located in Waikiki and Honolulu, so we went to the closest one to our hotel.
The Taro Pie has chunks of purple taro on the inside, which was slightly sweet. All the filling was encased inside their pie dough deep-fried to a golden brown. I was surprised that the exterior was different than the ones in North America. Maybe I haven’t had a pie in a long time but it felt more flakey.
Upon first bite, I was hooked on the pie. I shared it with my friend but I secretly wanted a few to myself. It was great to try and I would highly recommend this.
The Kona Iced Coffee is a good pairing as it is ice cold for the hot Hawaii weather. Great taste with a little bit of milk and sugar to pair with the taro pie.
Burger King has just launched the Flamin’ Hot Mac n’ Cheetos at locations across the United States. Since I was in New York, I had to go grab some because I’m a huge huge fan of Cheetos.
This portable snack of creamy mac n’ cheese is coated and dusted with Flaming Hot Cheetos. 5 come in each pack and they are pretty large in size, like a super-sized Cheetos puff.
When we took a bite, the exterior was crisp and we could instantly taste all the creamy mac and cheese. The spiciness of the Flaming Hot Cheetos hot afterwards and it had a nice kick. It was fun to give it a try, but I’m not so keep on having more since the bright red colour it a bit scary.
Banh Shop is located in the US Departures area of Vancouver International Airport (YVR). As it’s fairly new, I thought I would give it a try before my flight. They also have this at Pearson International Airport in Toront, DFW International Airport in Texas, and soon Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
I just missed breakfast, so I ordered off the lunch menu at 10am.
It comes all wrapped up if you need it to grab and go to make your flight. I did have a bit of time, so I ate it at the tables.
Grilled Pork Meatball
This banh mi has minced pork marinated with black pepper, Vietnamese caramel glaze and scallions; with a cucumber-cilantro aioli. The sandwich was ok, but you can tell it’s Americanized. It bread was doughy and hard on the outside. The meatballs itself was decent.
It’s a good alternative to the different fast food options in the area, but it’s won’t rock your tastebuds.
We rate Banh Shop:
Address:
Vancouver International Airport
Level 3, Gate E84
When I was in the United States the other week, I saw they has their new Buttermilk Crispy Tenders and it’s not available in Canada. When I travel, I love finding new fast food items. Even though crispy tenders isn’t a new concept, I was at the airport and there weren’t any good options around.
The Buttermilk Crispy Tenders caoe in 4 options – 4 pieces, 6 pieces and 10 pieces.
6 Piece Buttermilk Crispy Tenders
The box is pretty interesting and has 2 slots for the sauces.
You will find the boneless chicken breast strips that are seasoned, battered, breaded, and then deep-fried until golden brown and crispy.
They have a lot of new sauces, but they weren’t good at showing what they were , so I defaulted to honey mustard.
As for the taste, they were ok. for fast food chicken tenders. The breading was somewhat crisp and has a good amount of seasoning in the breading. It’s a good option beyond chicken nuggets if you want something more substantial.
Fast food in the United States always fascinates me, so when I see a place I never heard of, I have to check it out even if it means eating more when I’m already full. While at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, I had a bite at Bojangles, which is a southeastern regional fast food joint, know for their mild cajun seasoning, fried chicken, and buttermilk biscuits. I lined up for a little bit to get a taste of their fried chicken to see how it compares.
I got the one piece chicken breast combo which comes with a drink, biscuit and a side of your choice.
The chicken breast was really crispy on the inside and the mild cajun spice was pretty delicious. Usually breast meat is very tough, but this was juicy. It reminded me of Church’s Chicken in Vancouver but with more seasoning.
The green beans were pretty disappointing like mush. It’s fast food vegetables, so I didn’t expect much from it.
The biscuit was meh, pretty dry in my opinion.
Final Thoughts
For fast food fried chicken, it’s pretty solid. I wish I could have tried a thigh or a drumstick but they ran out and only had breast left. The best part about eating this meal was really the spork. The second greatest utensil besides the chopstick.
When I saw that KFC Canada was opening its doors and let customers behind the counter with the world’s first KFC Cooking School, I signed up right away and paid my “tuition fee” of $5. The downside was that it was all the way in Abbotsford, about a 1 hour drive from Vancouver. Either way, I am a huge fast food fan and I had to see how they create their chicken from start to finish.
Although KFC franchises around the world have allowed customers and fans behind the scenes in the past, letting the public cook their own meals is a KFC world-first. Everything was revealed except their 11 herbs and spices.
Not only is the chicken served at KFC restaurants 100% real, Canadian farm-raised chicken, but every single piece is hand-breaded and cooked with pride by real KFC cooks.
They even have a picture in their dining room with the spices and herbs, but its still a secret and locked up in a vault. Crazy, but it’s their signature flavour.
We started by suiting up in apron and hair nets. Not the most flattering, but food safety is #1 priority to keep customers and staff safe.
We were introduced to their packing area where the put all the meals together. It was cool to be up close to such industrial machines at a fast food restaurant.
In the past six months, every KFC cook went through recommitment training to ensure that they continue to take the care to hand-bread every piece of chicken, just the way KFC founder Colonel Sanders did in 1952.
They first take the pre-portioned chicken from the fridge and begin inspecting them before dunking it into the cold water.
It goes into the cold water to help coat each piece of chicken. They make sure there are no more air bubble in the batch.
Next, they dredge it in their flavour and 11 herb and spice blend, then then place it on the frying rack in a strategic way so each piece cooks perfectly.
The chicken goes into the pressure cooker, which is a fryer. All the computers are preprogrammed to make sure each batch is perfect and golden brown.
Once it is ready, it comes out nice and golden brown, just like what you’re use to.
They let is rest before putting into the another machine to keep until it’s ready to be served.
The holding machine makes sure the chicken is in the optimal environment before serving. They can let it sit for up to 90 minutes before discarding.
The fruits of our labour was a delicious box of KFC chicken, fries and gravy.
Look at that, from start to finish, they weren’t hiding anything in their original recipe chicken, just like how the Colonel would have liked it.
It was a fun hour going into the kitchen, looking around, and getting our hands dirty.
Luckily, Canadians can still enjoy it for a limited time. The closest Taco Bell to Vancouver is one in Coquitlam, so it is a fair ways away from the city.
The Naked Chicken Chalupa has deep-fried chicken breaded and tossed with seasoning as the shell. Inside, there is shredded lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese and sauce. It has a nice spicy kick to it, which I enjoyed.
Every bite was very enjoyable. M couldn’t part with the naked chicken chalupa, so he decided to get another one. If you do pass by a Taco Bell, I would highly recommend the Naked Chicken Chalupa.
Whopperrito is Burger King’s new menu item turning a Whopper into a burrito. Whenever I go to the United States, I get super excited to try exclusive menu items like this. We don’t have this in Canada.
The Whopperrito is made with their signature savoury flame-grilled 100% beef patty. It is also stuffed with a creamy Queso, pickles, diced onions, juicy tomatoes, and crisp lettuce all wrapped in a warm flour tortilla.
When I picked this up, it had a good amount of weight to it. The creamy Queso made this burrito a bit too salty for my taste. It’s definitely and interesting concept, but I think I will stick with a regular Whopper.
A&W had their Smoky BBQ Teen Burgers released last month. One day during lunch, a few of us decided to go to A&W across the street to grab lunch and head back to the office.
The Smoky BBQ Teen Burger has peppered bacon, grainy Dijon aioli, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, jalapeno cheese, and smoky BBQ sauce.
They’ve been able to take the classic teen burger and spice it up a bit.
I usually like to go to A&W for their limited time burgers since they always seem to nail the sauces they add to it.
The Great Canadian Taste Adventure is back at McDonalds this year and one of the new sandwiches is the True North BLT McMuffin to represent Canada as a whole.
The Western BBQ Burger and Chocolate Nanaimo Sundae are returning items.
The True North BLT McMuffin is available only in the morning. It has a freshly cracked Canada Grade A egg, topped with crispy bacon, lettuce and tomato and a slice of processed cheddar cheese served on a toasted English muffin.
Taking the first few bites, it was ok, but I really prefer the sausage egg McMuffin over this as it has more flavour and spices. I found that the lettuce and tomato really mask the bacon.
The Great Canadian Taste Adventure is back this year and one of the new sandwiches is the Summer Country Chicken Burger to represent Ontario by McDonalds.
The Western BBQ Burger and Chocolate Nanaimo Sundae are returning items.
The Summer Chicken Country Chicken Burger has a braided-style glazed bun and inside the sandwich, there is a creamy tomato and herb sauce, Ontario farm-raised crispy chicken, tomato, leaf lettuce and processed cheddar cheese.
Surprisingly, it was a good tasting burger. The chicken patty was crisp and the creamy tomato and herb sauce went well with it. I would get this again.
Subway Canada has introduced their new Butter Chicken Sandwich for a limited time. Canadian’s have been asking for more unique flavours in their neighbourhoods, so they are starting to roll out limited edition flavours. In the West Coast, I don’t think diverse flavours are a problem here, but perhaps more in the smaller communities across Canada.
I used to eat at Subway a lot in my early teens, but as I got older, I rarely make visits here. M comes here if he needs something quick and convenient.
The Butter Chicken Sandwich features all white meat chicken tossed in a butter chicken glaze that is infused with a fragrant mix of ginger, cardamom, coriander and cinnamon. The sandwich is free from artificial colours, flavours and preservatives.
All the butter chicken is portioned out ahead of time.
The person asked us what veggies and sauce we wanted on top. Apparently there isn’t any additional butter chicken sauce to add the the sandwich. It was had to pick a sauce that didn’t clash with the butter chicken sauce coating the chicken. You wouldn’t add BBQ sauce to it or honey mustard.
You can get it as a 6″ sub or a footlong.
Foot Long Butter Chicken Sandwich with Italian bread, lettuce, tomatoes, olives and mayonnaise. Mayonnaise was a good sauce to balance out the butter chicken and not over power it. The flavour did come through and was oddly satisfying.
6″ Butter Chicken with flatbread, the works, and sandwich sauce. I hate making decisions so I added everything into it. The sandwich sauce masked the butter chicken sauce a bit, so it wasn’t a good idea. Also the banana peppers overpowered the spice of the butter chicken. What you choose to add into it can really change the experience.
Overall, the butter chicken sandwich is a nice option if you come here a lot for lunch. It’s convenient and quick.
Of course, it’s not for everyone especially with all the controversy surrounding Subway in the last little while.
As a Canadian, one of my goals in life was to have a taste of In-N-Out Burger. I know, it’s a really sad goal but I love trying different fast food restaurants out. Vacations are a good reason to pig out.
In-N-Out Burger is located mostly in the South Western States. When we were in Hollywood, we decided to come here for a snack. The line ups were quite long.
Their menu is quite limited with only 3 types of burgers – hamburger, cheeseburger and the double double. There are a few hidden item on their menu like the Flying Dutchman, 3×3, 4×4, grilled cheese, protein-style and animal style.
Double Double with Animal Fries.
Double Double has 2 patties, 2 slices of cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, secret spread on a toasted bun. Animal-style fries come with two slices of melted cheese, spread, and grilled onions on top.
Protein Style Cheese Burger is their regular burger wrapped a lettuce. Great for those who hate carbs. Cheese Burger has lettuce, tomatoes, onion, a patty, and secret sauce in a grilled bun.
You can grab some ketchup and hot peppers.
My first few bites of In-N-Out Burgers and they were good for Fast Food Burgers, but not the best out there. It was a good experience, but I still prefer A&W in Canada.
We Rate In-N-Out Burger:
Address:
7009 West Sunset Boulevard,
Hollywood, CA 90028, United States
I love going to food courts and having a quick meal. I love it even more when a fast food joint is offering up limited time offer menu items. When I was at TacoTime, I saw they were selling the Mexi-Fries Poutine. I love their classic Mexi-Fries with their signature hot sauce, but I wasn’t quite sure how it would taste with cheese and gravy.
Mexi-Fries Poutine ($3.99) is basically mexi-fries, cheese curds and gravy. At first inspection, the mexi-fries look very crunchy like as if they were double fried. I got a forkful of the poutine and the mexi-fries were stale. It wasn’t fresh at all.
If I wasn’t focused on the mexi-fries, the cheese curds and gravy were decent. It is a fast food poutine, so it kinda reminded me of the McDonalds Poutines but with larger cheese chunks.
Would I order it again? I would be open to it, but I will avoid the Lougheed Mall location.
One new item landing on the McDonalds Canada menu is their Baked Butter Tart Pie and ginger cookies with a few of the holiday drinks. I was curious to try it since I love butter tarts for the holidays. I could eat them all day especially if they have pecans.
It looks like any of their usual McDonalds pies. The crunchy exterior houses their butter tart filling.
You will notice they put raisins to add a bit of texture to the tart, but it doesn’t really do much as they are squishy. Taking a few bites, it was ok, but it was not great. It’s really lacking the essence of what a butter tart tastes like. It tasted more like caramel pie.
