tourism Archives - Foodology

In Cheung Chau

Welcome Food Court 時來食坊: Snack at Cheung Chau Island

October 3, 2012

We decided to take a day trip to Cheung Chau. Cheung Chau is a small island eat of Hong Kong Island. They attract visitors for their beaches and the Cheung Chau Bun Festival. It has a population of about 23,000. Their roadways are very narrow compared to other part of Hong Kong. Since the island is so small, people get around by walking or biking.

We went strolling around the beaches to pick up rocks, shells and even old pieces of china dishes from the ocean. Broken plates and tea cups that have eroded into shapes of rocks can be seen all over.

There are bikes everywhere! Try not to get run over by them!

You can see lots of people go on dates too. I found a guy riding a bike with training wheels. hehehe.

There were cats all over the island just chilling.

As it was over 30 degrees, we spotted Welcome Food Court for some cold snack. There were lots of people crowded around the stand, so we thought it might be something good.

Apparently some celebrities have been there too. I have no idea what that sign says…but it was on TV.

People were going crazy for their giant curry fishballs. They did look good, but I didn’t feel like hot food.

They have a few frozen item available.

Frozen Fruit Stick was long, but it really wasn’t anything special. I was also expensive too for a few small pieces of fruit. It was also hard to eat as it melted quite fast. I probably wouldn’t get this again

Address:
G/F, 150 San Hing Back Street, Cheung Chau

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=150+San+Hing+Back+Street,+Cheung+Chau&hnear=San+Hing+Back+St,+Hong+Kong&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Jung-Gu

Changing of Royal Guards at Deoksugung Palace and BiBimBap in Seoul

August 9, 2012

I made it a goal to try to explore a lot of the cultural sites in Seoul. I went to Deoksugung Palace to have a tour at 10:30am, but there was no tour, so I assumed their schedule changed.. or I had an incorrect time. Fortunately, at 11am, 2pm and 3:30pm, they have the changing of guards ceremony in front of Daehanmun Gate at the Palace.

The ceremony lasts for about 30 minutes and is the same. The ceremony is a tradition similar to the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace in London and gives you the opportunity to experience the past.

Around the corner from the palace was a restaurant called Sanookeeya. It serves traditional Korean food and I was drawn to eat lunch here because of their display of bibimbap (stone rice). It wasn’t empty and I did see police officers eating inside, so I thought it can’t be too bad if local police officers were eating here.

I ordered the bibimbap and it came in a hot stone bowl with rice, pickled vegetables, kimchi, seaweed, and fish roe. I was disappointed because they bowl wasn’t hot enough to make the rice crispy, plus they didn’t give me hot sauce to make it spicier.

In addition to the bibimbap, they also provided a few side dishes.

Soup or some kind of broth came with the meal. It has a bit of green onions on top.

Cabbage with mayo is something I kept encountering but I can never seem to like it. I strongly believe mayo shouldn’t belong in a salad, but maybe that’s because I dislike mayo.

Kimchi and pickled daikon came as well. I love anything pickled, so this was delicious.

Overall, the food at Sanookeeya was ok, but not as yummy as I expected. I definitely enjoyed the changing of the guards way more than the food nearby. I took it as a lesson to never eat near super touristy locations

We Rate Sanookeeya:

Location: To the left of the Deoksugung Palace

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In Chinese

Chi Lin Vegetarian: Great Eats at Nan Lian Garden Hong Kong

July 28, 2012

We took the day to visit Nan Lian Garden, Chi Lin Nunnery and Hollywood Plaza. Its easily accessible though the Diamond Hill MTR station. The Garden and Nunnery are quite breathtaking and makes for very epic photos. This was my favorite site for far in my trip! You can’t forget the golden temple in the middle of the garden surrounded by modern apartment buildings that go up to 80 floors high (or more).

Sometimes looking for Vegetarian cuisine is quite hard if you are on vacation. Good thing I like to eat anything and everything. It was a good change from not scarfing down tons of pork and beef. I actually really like vegetarian cuisine.

At the eat end of the Garden, there is a restaurant called Chi Lin Vegetarian. It’s very popular for locals and tourists who visit this garden. It is located behind a waterfall and server very good vegetarian food with lots of vegetables, tofu and mushrooms.

Patrons can sit and admire the waterfall at the windows as they dine. This place can get quite busy.

Tea! You also have 2 chopstick of differing colors. One is your communal chopstick where you grab your food without sharing your germs with others. The other one is for eating. It’s a good way to not spread germs, but it’s easily to forget which one is which.

A little side dish arrived at the table. We all couldn’t figure out what this was and was torn between a mushroom or tofu. Nonetheless, it was delicious.

Small Five Fortune Appetizer Platter comes with green beans, beet salad, tofu, mushrooms and cucumber salad. It was really well done and you can see and taste the variety of vegetarian cuisine. My favorite was the mushrooms and the tofu. Just simply delicious!

Small Braised Supreme Assorted Vegetables is also another delicious dish. It has a large amount of mushrooms! I love mushrooms, so it was a delight for me to dig into it. This was probably my favorite dish.

Mixed vegetables with mushroom and Beans has a beautiful presentation with the vegetables on the outside and the mushroom and beans on the inside. It was a good dish, but I think I liked the previous dish better.

Fried Rice with Pinenuts was my sisters favorite dish. She usually doesn’t eat much, but she ate almost all of it and it’s not a small dish either. It was a very good fried rice with good amount of ingredients inside.

Sweet and Sour Bean Curd with Pineapples had a very interesting texture. It was a bit crispy and soaked up a lot of the pineapple sauce since it’s quite porous. I am not a fan of sweet and sour things, so I did not particularly enjoy it.

Overall, the food was pretty well executed and great for everyone. The menu is also in English, so it won’t be challenging for tourists to order. I would definitely go again.

After your lunch, don’t forget to check out Chi Lin Nunnery! It’s very beautiful and not very far away. It’s connected to Nan Lian Garden, so it won’t take too much effort to get there.

Words of Wisdom:

Large variety of vegetarian dishes
Diamond Hill MTR Exit C2

We Rate Chi Lin Vegetarian:

Address:
Long Men Lou, Nan Lian Garden, 60 Fung Tak Road,
Diamond Hill, Hong Kong

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In Food for Thought

FAO Schwarz: Legendary Toy Company in New York

July 14, 2012

F.A.O Schwarz has been around for 150 years and is the oldest toy store/retailer in the US. At the time, it was the worlds largest toy dealer. Now, it has been acquired by Toys R Us and still making kids smile.

CanuckGirl brought me here and I was so amazed by the size and the amount of toys in this shop. It’s also conveniently located near the Apple store too.

Half of the lower level and the entire 2nd floor contains toys of all sorts! Theres also a big lego area upstairs!!

The other half of the first floor is filled with candy!! FAO Schweetz! They have bulk candy, packaged candy, and basically all candy you can think of. There are a lot of tourists and kids here.

The lollipops are elegantly displayed! Very colorful!

They even have the world’s largest jawbreaker. It’s the size of a baseball and I have no idea how anyone would be able to eat it.

There is a section for big candy. Huge gummy bears, gummy worms, nerds, etc.

One thing that blew my mind was this HUGE Rice Krispies marshmallow square. Thats my hand..and thats the size of it! HUGE! It’s also quite expensive! You could probably buy a few boxes of cereal for that price.

Their selection is quite large and they do have candy from around the world. Since it is very popular and in New York, the prices are very expensive. I bought a few Angry Bird gummies for $3.99 and when I came back home to Vancouver, I found them at London Drugs for half the price. Clearly I felt cheated! Nonetheless, it was still fun running around the store looking at all the stuff they have.

Address:
767 5th Avenue
New York, NY

Website:
http://www.fao.com/

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In Midtown East

The Original Soup Man: No Soup For You in New York

June 24, 2012

If you watched Seinfeld many years ago, you will know about the Soup Nazi. This is the place where the character Soup Nazi is based from. They are known to have some really good soup. They have locations all around North America and are looking into selling their soups at grocery stores off the shelf. This place has definitely expanded.

There are a few rules that Al has in order to be served.

Al’s Rules:

Pick the soup you want
Have your money ready
Move to the extreme left after ordering

Al wasn’t there and the line up was not long, so if you didn’t follow the rules, you would still get soup.

The place has a takeout counter, so there is no place to sit and eat. People usual take it back to their house, office, or eat near the park. They do have a few varieties of soup.

I grabbed my soup to a nearby benched area to enjoy the soup. It’s put into a paper bag.

Small Clam Chowder ($7) was very thick and hearty. There is a good amount of clams and it tasted good. It wasn’t mind-blowing, but it was decent.

You also get some crackers, Lindt chocolate, spoon and napkin with your meal. They are definitely prepared so their customers get everything they need for their meal.

You also get an orange too. It was a bit random, but it was a nice thought. I didn’t eat it since I wanted to save it for later. I left it in my suitcase and well…when I got home it looked super bruised. haha.

Overall, it was a good experience and make for a nice snack. If you aren’t a fan of Seinfeld, you won’t find this place super cool.

Words of Wisdom:

Follow Al’s Rules
Under $10
Lots of extras that come with your soup

We Rate the Original Soup Man:

Address:
259 West 55th Street
New York, NY

Website:
http://originalsoupman.com/

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In Chinese

Richmond Night Market 2012: Bakudanyaki, Le Tigre, Icy Bar + More

June 15, 2012

The Richmond Night Market is back! You may be confused why there are 2 night markets in Richmond, I am also confused but I heard there was a feud of some sort. After a four-year hiatus, Raymond Cheung, the founder of the original Richmond Night Market brings it back to a new location close to the Canada Line. There are 250 booths sellingitems such as Korean socks, colored contact lenses, stuffed animals, iPhone accessories, and other cool gadgets. There are also 80 vendors serving up the oh-so-delicious food that definitely attracts the whole city to come here.

Unfortunately, there is a fee of $1.50 to enter the night market, but the parking is complementary and very close! Imagine the admission is the cost of parking…much better than getting a parking ticket right?

By 7pm (the start of the night market), there were already lines into the parking lot of the night market. There is only one entrance and one exit out of this huge parking lot, so be expected to wait. You can also alternatively park at a different skytrain and just take transit down here.

Most people come here just for the food. There is always a crowd near the food area. It’s best to come early before huge lines begin to develop.

There are also a few table that you can sit down and eat your food. Don’t be afraid to eat with strangers if you desperately need to sit down to eat. Near this area are washrooms too.

Whatever you do…don’t buy the drinks from the Coca-Cola staff, they are severely over-priced! Might as well spend your money on something more delicious.

Daikichi Bakudanyak

Bakudanyaki was originally a food truck near the River Rock Casino a few years ago and they are back!! They were the originators of the huge takoyaki balls.

Cost: $5 per huge takoyaki balls
Flavours: Original, Chili, Wasabi, Curry, plus one special feature
Filling contains: Squid, cabbage, corn red ginger, shrimp, rice cake, quail egg and green onions
Website: http://www.bakudanyaki.com/

They cram an enormous amount of filling inside.

Wasabi Huge Takoyaki ($5) is the size of a baseball. All the huge takoyaki’s have the same fillings, the only thing that differs is the sauce they put on top. I chose wasabi since I wanted to be adventurous. The taste of wasabi is quite mild, so it won’t be super spicy. I really enjoyed it and the filling inside the takoyaki is very hearty. You must try this!

Le Tigre – Modern Chinese Cuisine

Le Tigre is one of the new Food Trucks that will be hitting the streets of Vancouver this Summer. They have a stall at the Richmond Night Market, so we had to have a taste of their skewers. What we noticed was the skewers were cheaper than some other stalls, plus they had some very enticing skewers. You definitely need to check out this place!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeTigreCuisine
Twitter: @leTigre_Cuisine

These are way cooler than all the skewer stands at the Richmond Night Market. It’s not just a skewer of meat, they dress them up with sauces and other cool ingredients.

Wouldn’t you want men in hipster hello kitty glasses serve you? We thought it was quite cute.

FoodQueen ordered:

Kickass Rice -$3.50
Pork Belly Skewer – $2.50

FoodPunk ordered:

Mochi Skewer
Pork Belly Skewer
Beef Skewer
3 skewers for $6.50

I ordered:

Beef Skewer
Chicken Skewer
Pork Belly Skewer
3 for $6.50

BBQ Squid

If I could read Chinese, I would let you know what the sign says. Sadly, I dropped out of Chinese school very early so I am no help at all. I really wanted to find some BBQ squid since I kept seeing people’s tweets about them. I didn’t know which ones were good, so I just went to the stall with the longest line up.

You pay at the right and then you line up again and pick up at the left side.

They don’t give you a piece of paper or anything…so I think they trust their customers to be honest. When you get to the man grilling all the squid, he will ask you if you want it regular or spicy.

Spicy Grilled Squid ($6) was spicy. I thought I had a high tolerance for spicy food, but I guess I was wrong. The squid was a bit chewy, but the flavour was good. If you can’t handle your spice, just get the regular one.

Cherry Fruit Juice & Icy Bar

I’ve fallen in love with this stall many years ago. It’s my go-to place for anything mango related. I’ve also been to their location in Crystal Mall a few times for their shaved ice and it’s never disappointed. I would highly recommend this place too.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cherryicybar
Additional Locations: Crystal Mall, Parker Place

Mango Tapioca Icy ($5) was definitely needed after all the salty and spicy food. Plus it was a hot day too. It has layers of mango, icy, tapioca and milk. I loved it!

Red Bean Ice Cream Mochi Icy ($5.50) was what FoodPunk ordered. It was big, but she said it wasn’t as thirst quenching as the mango icy.

QQ Egg Puff

QQ Egg Pugg is a bubble waffle stand at the night market. They have some very unique flavours of bubble waffles. I think they use the Bubble Tea powder in the bubble waffle to give them the color and taste. There are a lot of bubble waffle stands in the Richmond Night Market, so you have tons of options. FoodQueen and FoodPunk chose this because their banner was very cute.

Original, Chocolate or Strawberry – $3.50
Coconut, taro, mango, red bean, cheese or matcha – $4

Coconut Bubble Waffle ($4) looks like the original bubble waffle, but don’t be fooled. It did have a very subtle taste of coconut. it tasted ok, but the waffles looked pretty squished and deformed.

Taro Bubble Waffle ($4) is bright and purple inside due to the taro powder. It was very sweet and tasted like artificial taro.

Rotato

Rotato serves up the hurricane potatoes. The line up was quite long and was about a 30 minute wait. It seems to be the only stall that served these. We didn’t line up, but they do have this really cool illustration about what you can do with your Rotato.

Care For Life Foundation – Wishing Tree

At the Richmond Night Market, the Care For Life Foundation set up a series of artificial trees for people to make a wish. We browsed around and looked at a few wishes. We found a lot of wishes about relationships and how people want their relationship to last till the end of time. Very cute!

Some on the other hand … were not as sweet. I don’t really know what to say about this one…

A good amount of wishes were very sexual in nature as well. On it was a 604 number, but I’m sure no one wants to contact this person.

Address:
8351 River Rd
Richmond, BC

Website:
richmondnightmarket.com

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In Beacon Hill

Cheers Pub: The Two Pubs in Boston, MA

June 13, 2012

When visiting Boston, I knew I had to check out the Cheers Pub that was made popular by the TV show Cheers. I knew it was the ultimate tourist trap, so we decided not to get any food or drinks here. For all the die-hard fans out there, you know they didn’t film the show here. Nonetheless, they have 2 locations – one in Beacon Hill and another at Faneuil Hall.

Cheers Pub @ Beacon Hill

This location was formerly known as the Bull and Finch Pub, which opened in 1969. This location is most famous because the Cheers show used the exterior shots for the show. In 2002, it was renamed Cheers Beacon Hill.

The interior does have a replica bar. If you are a huge fan, I would recommend having a drink. If you are not a Cheers fan, just go to a normal bar for beer. They also have a gift shop and a few areas for some photo ops here. The interior was never used for filming.

Address:
84 Beacon St
Boston, MA

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Cheers Pub @ Faneuil Hall

In 2001, the Cheers in Faneuil Hall was created to capitalize on its popularity. It’s exterior is quite different from the first location and does have patio seating.

Since it’s in a tourist area, you know that there would be tourists here too. They also have a gift shop here too!

Address:
Faneuil Hall Marketplace
Boston, MA

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In Four Beakers

Schwartz’s Deli: Montreal Smoked Meat At It’s Finest

June 10, 2012

Schwartz’s Deli is an iconic restaurant in Montreal and is known to have huge lines! As I was in Montreal, I knew I had to have a taste of their smoked meat. People around the world have been raving about this place, so I had to see for myself if it lives up to all that hype. PLUS, Celine Dion and her husband own a portion of this restaurant.

As I left CanuckGirl to hike up Mount Royal by herself, I headed over to Schwartz’s. Exercising is good and all, but I can exercise in Vancouver too. I know, I’m horrible…I just love food.

There was a huge line outside and it would probably take 30 mins to an hour to get a seat. I decided to bypass the line by ordering takeout. If you do get takeout, you just walk through the door and no one in the line should bother you.

The restaurant is very narrow so no wonder they can’t fit too many people here. For takeout, just walk up to the right of the restaurant and order, then pay on the left side of the restaurant near the door.

I got my sandwich and found a park to eat at, I was sad that the sandwich was so small. FYI, when eating at a park, you will probably attract a few birds and squirrels….so guard your sandwich.

Mmm… look at that meat.

The meat was very thickly cut, fatty and very tender! The cross-section of the sandwich does look quite amazing, but it’s still not that large of a sandwich. Since it was only $6.15, it was a decent price. I have never seen any other restaurant have such thickly cut smoked meat. Any smoked meat needs mustard, but it sucks how it had to be the usual yellow mustard.

Overall, I loved it and I would go again just for their meat. If you have no patience for lining up and just want that sandwich fast, do takeout and you will save yourself lots of time.

Words of Wisdom:

A must-go spot for tourists
Under $10
Long lines
Must get the smoked meat

We Rate Schwartz’s Deli:

Address:
3895 Boulevard St-Laurent
Montreal, QC

Website:
http://www.schwartzsdeli.com/

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In BBQ

Rotisserie Romados: Top 50 Restaurants in Canada

June 7, 2012

Rotisserie Romados is located in Quebec near the Plateau Mont-Royal area. It was recently named one of Canadas Top 50 restaurants. When looking at the list, it was the only one that was under $10. I just had to check this little place out since I was in town for a few days with CanuckGirl. They are best known for their chicken rotisserie!

During peak hours the lines can get quite long. Nonetheless, don’t let any lines discourage you because it is quite quick to get to the front. At the back of the restaurant is where you order the chicken and on the right is where they have pastries and baked goods.

The menu is in all french, but you can use your iPhone is translate what is says. Majority of items are under $10, which is awesome. If you don’t know french, they speak english too.

1/4 Chicken Breast with Fries and Salad ($7.09) is basically a mound of salt and peppered fries. I asked my chicken to be spicy. It also comes with a large bun.

The fries tasted good and the chicken was succulent. The only let down was the salad because some of the leaves were not fresh and a bit wilted and turning black.

1/4 Chicken Leg with Salad and Fries ($6.29) CanuckGirl said she enjoyed it.

The bread that comes with it is good, but it’s gonna make you super full. CanuckGirl and I couldn’t finish ours with our meals, so we just took it back to the hotel room for later.

Overall, it was a very filling meal for cheap! It’s not the most healthiest meal, but it’s worth the price. Definitely check it out!

Words of Wisdom:

Limited amount of seating, most people do takeout
Under $10
Friendly staff
Must get the chicken!!

We Rate Rotisserie Romados:

Address:
115 Rue Rachel Est.
Montréal, QC

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In Specialty Shop

Jean Talon Market: Fresh Produce in Montreal, QC

June 2, 2012

Jean-Talon Market is located in Villeray near Jean-Talon Station. It is a market full of fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and plants. The local farmers come here to sell their goods. They open daily at 7am! CanuckGirl and I headed over here one day as we heard this place is pretty cool to walk around and try some produce.

On one end of the market, it’s a bunch of shops selling food and there are a few tables to sit down.

A majority of the market is outdoors under a roof and many tents. It’s a great stroll in rain or shine.

There are rows after rows of amazing smelling produce. I honestly think this place is so much better than a grocery store. $1 for a box of strawberries!!

What I love most about the market is how you are able to sample the produce before purchasing. Even if you don’t intent to buy that product…you may be tempted to after tasting how sweet and fresh the items are.

Overall, it’s a great place for locals and tourist to shop. There is a ton of produce and makes for a good stroll.

Address:

355 Rue Jean-Talon E
Montréal, QC

Website:

http://www.marchespublics-mtl.com/English/Jean-Talon/

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In Food for Thought

Hershey Store: Best Cupcake Ever at Niagara Falls

May 27, 2012

Hershey has a store in Niagara Falls. I was surprised, but I just had to go inside. I’m such a candy lover. Clearly I was really excited because I loved Hershey’s as a kid. Plus most people like chocolate.

They have tons of items branded with their signature candies such as Reeses. It’s a tourist attraction, but hey…there’s really nothing else to see around Niagara Falls besides the Maid of the Mist.

Instead of merchandise, they sell unique snacks too, such as this Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Cookie. They also have good milkshakes too.

I on the other hand decided to get this Cookie Monster Cupcake for about $3. It’s so cute! I just had to get it. It was not too sweet, but the cupcake portion of it was just a vanilla cake.

Overall, super cute store to browse around and has some yummy desserts and snacks to purchase.

Address:
5701 Falls Ave
Niagara Falls, ON

Website:
http://www.hersheycanada.com/en/discover/niagarafalls.asp

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In Food Tour

Vancouver Foodie Tours: Guilty Pleasures Gourmet Tour

May 24, 2012

Foodology Disclaimer: I was invited to attend the Guilty Pleasures Gourmet Tour, but wasn’t pressured to write about it. I thought it would be informative for tourists and locals to try these food tours for a change.

Vancouver Foodie Tours was founded by Michelle Ng three years ago. They are currently offering a new tour called “Guilty Pleasures Gourmet Tour”. Where foodies embark on a 3 hour journey through 5 courses, 12 tastings, and 8 unique stories. As a local, I really was not sure what new experiences I would get from the tour, but I did learn to appreciate Vancouver a bit more. Since I was born in Vancouver and eat out quite often, I tend to forget how amazing our city truly is.

Our meeting place and our first location was at Kirin Restaurant on Alberni Street. The decor is very beautiful and the service was really good. We were seated at a table and shared a few items. We tasted:

Steamed Prawn and Pork Dumpling (Sui Mai)
Sticky Rice with Pork and Dried Scallop wrapped in lotus leaf (lo mai fan)
Jasmine Tea

The sui mai tasted alright, but I liked the lo mai fan because it was packed with so much filling, thus making it nice and savory.

Our second location is the Sutton Place Wine Merchant on Burrard Street. We were given a tasting of:

Domaine de Chamberton Bacchus

It was paired with some crackers and spicy jam. The white wine paired quite well with the jam and completely changed the flavour of the wine when they were eaten together. I am glad it was white wine since I really dislike red. The wine was sweet and very enjoyable. I may actually go back to purchase that bottle of wine too since it was good.

Our third location is Ensemble Tap, which is owned by Top Chef Canada Winner- Dale MacKay. They have some good ol’ comfort food with a large variety of beer. As we arrived, everything was already laid out for us. We sat at the bar and began snacking way on:

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich
Red Truck Ale

If you never watched Top Chef Canada, the BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich made Dale MacKay win one of the challenges in the show. The pairing of the beer was good as well. I wasn’t a fan of the pulled pork sandwich, perhaps it was because of all the hype I kept hearing about it. What made this portion of the tour super cool is that they showed us around to the kitchen! Unfortunately, Dale wasn’t there but it’s still awesome seeing where all the magic happens.

We then went to Shuraku Sake Bar and Bistro, which was only a few minutes walk. I’ve only been here for lunch, but it’s always nice to try other items on their menu that I would not usually order. We were given tastings of:

Artisan Sake Maker’s Osake Junmai Nama
Agedashi Tofu
Spicy Wild Salmon Tartar

The cup of sake was quite large, I had a hard time drinking it because I just never liked sake. If you love sake, you’ll love this portion of the tour since they pour a lot of it! I was in love with the tofu and the tartar because of their great tastes! Out of all the restaurants on this tour, it was my favorite. What can I say, I just love Japanese food!

Our last stop was Bella Gelateria on Hastings Street. We were given a few samples of different gelato and then James gave us a rundown on their processes and a bit about what they do. It was so informative that even a little boy was “adopted” into our tour. He clearly had as much fun as we did. We also got a tour of their “laboratory”, where they create the gelato. After that tour, we were given a cup of:

Salted caramel gelato
Meyer Lemon Sorbetto

I’ve never had these flavours before and after this experience. I can never stop having lemon or hazelnut flavoured gelato. True story, sometimes I wake up and start thinking about it. It sounds super weird, but i’m not kidding. I wasn’t a fan of the salted caramel since I found it too sweet. The other people on the tour loved it, so it really comes down to personal preferences.

Overall, it’s a pretty good tour if you are new in town and want a taste of a few cool places with a bunch of other strangers. They keep the numbers low to keep a nice intimate vibe. We even got to see a few hidden sites on the tour too. Food tours aren’t for everyone and can get expensive depending on which ones you do. $69 for the tour is a bit steep and I would rather use that all up for one awesome meal. I did learn a lot from the tour, but as I have lived in Vancouver all my life, I would not normally think about doing a food tour. These types of tours are good if you love food, but have limited time to eat at all the amazing places in Vancouver…and are probably from out of town.

Michelle was a fantastic tour guide and made sure everyone was happy and enjoying themselves. She is very knowledgable about Vancouver food and has been running these tours for the past three years.

Check out Vancouver Foodie Tours here for more information– http://foodietours.ca/

In Dessert

Loblaws Maple Leaf Gardens: Gelato Time

May 22, 2012

The newest Loblaws in Toronto is located in the old Maple Leaf Gardens near Ryerson University. It is very very large, but has everything you ever wanted from a grocery store. It has a very large selection of ready to eat food and deli section. I was so amazed by the sheer size and modern interior.

As we were waiting in line for Guu Izakaya a few blocks down, we decided to just roam around Loblaws and check it out.

They have a gelato section with 16 different flavours. BaguetteGirl and I were enticed by their flavours and decided to spoil our stomach before dinner.

Lemon Gelato ($2.99) was very tart tasting. The consistency was like a harder sorbet. It’s not the best gelato in town, but it was good considering it came from a grocery store.

Hazelnut Gelato ($2.99) was very fragrant and tasted really good.

Overall, it’s a strange place to go eat gelato, but we were not the only ones. A bunch of others were getting it to-go or sitting in their cafe area. What I like about the design of the store is that they still have left remnants of the old stadium and incorporated them into the design.

Words of Wisdom:

Large Selection of groceries with very modern look
Find ‘Center Ice’ in the Canned Meat section
Decent and Quick deli section and food

We Rate Loblaws Maple Leaf Gardens:

Address:
60 Carlton Street
Toronto, ON

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In Four Beakers

Beecher’s Handmade Cheese: “World’s Best” Mac & Cheese

September 16, 2011

I came here a while ago with a few of my friends. I’ve been to Pike Place in Seattle before, but I never knew it was home to the “World’s Best” Mac & Cheese. The next time I visited, I knew this had to be on my list of places to go. I found out through Follow Me Foodie’s post about Beecher’s Handmade Cheese.

When we arrived in the afternoon, this place was packed! Line ups out the doors and people were everywhere. All these cheese are made in house and used in all their products.

They have a large open room, so while you wait, you can watch their staff in action making all the cheese. There’s so much cheese!!

Here’s a very bad view of their menu! I couldn’t move around to find a good spot to take a photo.

I know this is the place for Mac & Cheese, but we really couldn’t leave without some grilled cheese. With a row of their panini presses, you can’t resist!

Ham & Flagship ($7.27 USD) has ham, their all natural Flagship cheese and tomato on a rustic artisan bread. Imagine your classic ham and cheese, but so much better! The outside in perfectly grilled, so when you bite into it, you get an amazing “CRUNCH”. The inside is savory and deliciously gooey!

Grilled Cheese ($5.91 USD) is made with the Flagship cheese in the rustic artisan bread. Nicely toasted and it’s so good! Good choice of bread and quality of cheese just make this sandwich amazing!

‘World’s Best’ Mac & Cheese (5oz- $5 USD) is very very very very good! It is made with penne pasta with a good amount of their Flagship cheese. The whole dish is very savory and is very rich. I’ve never had anything as good as this.

Mariachi Mac & Cheese (5oz- $5 USD) is a Mexican twist to the traditional Mac & Cheese. It contains roasted chilies, vegetables, their Flagship cheese with penne. We all shared this and it was not our favorite. It does have an added kick, but the ‘World’s Best’ Mac & Cheese is still our favorite.

Overall, very amazing eat here if you are a cheese lover. They take a lot of pride in their flagship cheese and the quality really shows when you grab food here.

Words of Wisdom:

Recommended items: ‘World’s Best’ Mac & Cheese + Grilled Cheese
Packed during peak hours.. or long weekends
Decent prices
Under $10
AMAZING Delicious food!

We Rate Beecher’s Handmade Cheese:

Address:

1600 Pike Pl
Seattle, WA

Website:
www.beechershandmadecheese.com

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/beecherscheese

Twitter:

@BeechersSeattle

In Four Beakers

Pike Place Chowder: Award Winning Chowder

April 26, 2011

As we were around Pike Place, there was one place I had to check out – Pike Place Chowder. Nicolb highly recommended this place, so we were basically anticipating their Clam Chowder all day.

Pike Place Chowder is in Post Alley – perpendicular to Pike St. On a nice sunny Friday, this place was packed for lunch. All the tables were taken up and there was a long line up. Pike Place Chowder was voted to have the best Clam Chowder in Seattle, so there really wasn’t any surprise.

They sell more than just Chowder. They also sell sandwiches and salads. Since it is called Pike Place Chowder, can you guess which item is most popular? Of course, Chowders! Since it was their specialty, we all ordered their famous chowders.

You can have their chowder in a cup or add $3 to have it served in a sourdough bowl.

Since the area where they sell their chowder is quite small, they make their chowder elsewhere. If you walk a few more steps into the building, you can find their kitchen. You can see them in action making their delicious chowder.

M ordered the Clam Chowder ($10). He got it in the Sourdough bowl. The Clam Chowder was very delicious and the only words that came out of M’s mouth was “Epic”. Thats how he would describe this soup. There was lots of clams in this! The sour dough bread definitely accentuated the deliciousness of the creamy chowder. M loved dipping the top bread and when there was only a bit of soup left, M made a Chowder mini sandwich.

I ordered the Seafood Bisque ($7). I also got it in a bowl since you really can’t enjoy this without the bowl. It had a lot of shrimp, cod and salmon. The soup is made up of their creamy tomato basil broth. It was very good and flavourful! One of the best I have ever had! I even devoured most of the bowl since it worked really well together. If you ate the bread by itself, it really would not be as good. The combination of the sourdough and the chowder makes this dish amazing. I highly recommend getting the bread bowl with this dish!

Words of Wisdom: