Brownie In Vancouver

Kiisu

2013-05-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

We've walked by Kiisu tons of times but never thought to try it as we had our favourite Japanese places - Hamaei, Hachi Hana and Bene. Kiisu is a small, cosy place and gets pretty crowded so best to go early. Chopped Scallop Roll We started with the chopped scallop roll which was very fresh. Then we had the toro stack - I think it was super healthy with black brown rice. There was

Alta Bistro - Whistler

2013-05-13T09:00:00.001-07:00

Another late post, we were up in Whistler with my cousins last last December. We started off with a couple of cocktails which we enjoyed immensely. They infuse their own syrups and alcohol so you'll find that they were all very unique. We enjoyed the starters more than the mains but all in all a very enjoyable meal. Make sure you make reservations as this place gets packed. I also like that

Crepe Montagne

2013-05-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hot Chocolate Another of my Whistler favorites is Crepe Montagne. Great place to have brunch or dessert or a quick snack after a day of skiing or snowboarding. It is a very small space and they utilize every bit of space so be prepared to get cosy. To start, hot chocolate - great way to warm up in winter. They have a spiked version too if you so choose :) Chocolate Crepe I've

Bearfoot Bistro - Whistler

2013-05-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

When my mom came last spring, we took her to Whistler for a couple of days and went to Bearfoot Bistro to try their lobster fest special menu. A simple, well executed menu that she enjoyed. Wild Mushroom Soup Salad with Goat Cheese and Beets Lobster Trio of Sorbet Cheesecake Bearfoot Bistro 4121 Village GreenWhistler, BC V0N1B4 (604) 932 3433

No mess baked bacon

2013-05-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

Craving bacon but hate the mess it makes in your kitchen after frying up a batch? Look no further, after trying microwaving and baking it at various temperatures, I finally found a recipe that I like and it comes from Alton Brown :) It is easy and not too involved, just leave it in the oven and walk away - it'll be hard as you will soon start to smell bacon and will be so tempted to peek.

Blueacre Seafood - Seattle

2013-05-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

After a long day traipising around Seattle, we decided to go for a quick meal near our hotel. D picked out Blueacre from a website review and we were not disappointed with the food. The place is quite large, family style and casual. To start, we ordered a crabcake and mussels to share. Both were very fresh and flavourful. Jumbo Lump Crabcake Mussels For the main, for some

Pazzo - Portland

2013-04-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

This restaurant holds fond memories for D & I. Needless to say, the food is very good. When my brother and sis-in-law came to visit last summer, we did a roadtrip down to Seattle and Portland and had to revisit Pazzo. They loved it so much that we ended up having dinner there 2 nights in a row. To start we had the wonderful bread and a carpaccio to share. We also had a

Suika

2013-01-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

I've heard of this place for quite awhile and finally got to try it after a Christmas concert that our friends invited us too. The place was bustling and the portions were well, snack sized. It was just nice to share for 4 people and 2 young kids - everyone had a bit of each dish, like a tasting menu. Since we had kids around, we avoided the raw stuff and focused on the cooked items.

Cilantro Lime Rice

2013-01-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

ok so you must be sick of me obssessing over Chipotle already but here I go again. One of the options you can choose at Chipotle is the cilantro lime rice, the first time that I tried it, I was hooked. I'm not a fan of cilantro at all, in fact, if I could pick it out of the food, I would. However I think I'm beginning to warm up to Cilantro especially since my Mexican food craze. I find the

Corn Salsa

2013-01-02T20:41:00.002-08:00

Happy New Year! Here's wishing you a great year ahead! Am still obssessed with Mexican food - One more topping for carnitas :) Corn Salsa 12oz can of corn 2 medium on the vine tomatoes or roma tomatoes 2 tbsp chopped red onion 1 tbsp chopped cilantro 1 chopped serrano pepper deseeded 3 tbsp lime juice pinch of salt Mix well 2 -4hrs ahead. You can also make it a day ahead. This is a

Salsa Recipe

2012-12-24T12:41:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!! In my quest to recreate a Carnitas plate at home from scratch, I had to make salsa from scratch too. It is easy to do and healthy too! We tried the Fresh is Best Salsa which was pretty tasty but store bought just doesn't cut it anymore. Anyone know if I should add chopped garlic too? All you need to make salsa Salsa recipe 3 medium sized on the

Canitas Recipe

2012-12-20T17:15:00.003-08:00

We just got back from a week of Mexican food and Carnitas at every available opportunity - what do I do? We not only head to Chipotle, which just opened in Vancouver, I crave it so much that I cook up a batch of Carnitas :) Mexican is my new favourite food. It's tasty, healthy and easy to cook. We lost weight eating Mexican on our trip and it definitely wasn't from eating light - never before

Chipotle Mexican Grill - Vancouver

2012-12-14T18:02:00.000-08:00

My first taste of Chipotle was in Seattle mid this year and I was hooked! I dream of it... Fast food Mexican style - it's healthy too if you skip the sour cream, chips and cheese. Anyways, when I heard that it was coming to Vancouver mid this year, I was over the moon and was disappointed when they postponed their opening ... but finally now they are open!!! Even though we just got back

Crispy Salted Dark Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookie

2012-11-17T14:44:00.003-08:00

Crispy Salted Dark Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookie ....Now that's a real mouthful. A really yummy mouthful. After I took the first bite, I knew this recipe was a keeper! Crisp, chocolatey and buttery with a hint of salt....cookie heaven. However if you like your oatmeal cookies chewy, this is definitely NOT the recipe for you. Adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Cook's Illustrated 1

Ramen Jinya

2012-10-22T18:03:00.001-07:00

After months of gorgeous weather, the rainy season is upon us again. Nothing better than a hot bowl of steamy noodles and soup for lunch. If you're working right by the library on Robson, Ramen Jinya is a good place to check out. It is a pretty small place so get there early to avoid a queue. It ain't as good as Hokkaido Santouka Ramen but it's pretty good, nearby and it's comfort food for

Meat and Bread

2012-10-15T14:04:00.003-07:00

Sorry I've been MIA for awhile. I've been busy setting up my online jewellery store, Brownie Sparkles (www.browniesparkles.com). I must be one of the last few people to try Meat and Bread. I heard of it awhile back but only made the trip down to Gas Town after an espisode on Triple D where Guy Fieri chowed down on a yummy porchetta sandwich. Fitting interiors and communal tables

Edible Canada

2012-08-31T17:01:00.000-07:00

D and I had gone for brunch on the weekend at Edible Canada previously and loved the food there so when we I took my mum to Granville Island, we decided to have a mid afternoon snack there. I was super disappointed with the food and the only thing that was good was the fries. The seafood in the soup wasn't fresh and the salmon fish and chips was soggy. My poor mum, she was looking forward

Harmony Arts Fest 2012 - Feastro & Dunn's

2012-08-11T16:06:00.000-07:00

Harmony Arts Festival is back again running from Aug 3 - Aug 12. We went last year and thouroughly enjoyed ourselves so this year we went to check it out again. They have 2 stages with live music and lots of talented jewllery designers and artists showing their work. I'm also happy to say that they have added more food vendors this year so that there is a bit more variety :) Most of the

Butchart Gardens - Victoria

2012-08-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

If you're based in Vancouver, Butchart Gardens can be a day trip to Victoria or if you'd like you can spend a day or 2 longer to wander around Victoria. For my mum and I, we took off to Tsawwassen and caught the 11am ferry to Swartz Bay. Check BC Ferries for more details. Not much line up as it was a weekday :) Mum usuallly gets seasick but the ferry was so stable she didn't need the seasick

VanDusen Gardens - Spring

2012-08-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

I actually think VanDusen Garden in Vancouver rivals Butchart Gardens and you don't have to take that expensive ferry ride over to Victoria...but hey Butchart Gardens is definitely a sight to behold especially in full bloom. What do you think? Van Dusen Botanical Gardens

Queen Elizabeth Park and Seasons In the Park

2012-07-27T00:15:00.006-07:00

My mum loves flowers and since she was here in spring - I planned to take her to QE Park, Van Dusen and Butchart gardens. It was a great time for rhododendruns which were in full bloom. After a nice leisurely walk around Queen Elizabeth Park and taking many many photos with my mum, of my mum and a lot of the flowers, we headed to Seasons in the Park for some lunch. We worked up quite an

Sala Thai

2012-06-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

My parents visited Vancouver almost 20 years ago and they've always raved about this little Thai place owned by a nice Thai couple which they found downtown that served the best Pad Thai in the world. Of course when my mum finally came to visit recently, we went in search of the little Thai place. All we had to go on was that it was near the Vancouver Hotel and that it was uphill once you came

Bene & Chef Hung dessert

2012-06-11T12:32:00.000-07:00

Bene is now my new favourite Japanese place just for a quick fix of some sashimi and rolls. In the 3 weeks that my mum visited, we had dinner there 3 times. They have a very wide menu but we stuck to what we liked - their rolls! The must try for me was the Lions Gate roll especially since I like tempura prawns, chopped scallop, asparagus and crab meat all combined into 1 roll. I also liked

Sushi Bella

2012-06-04T14:23:00.000-07:00

It was a rainy Saturday night and I'm glad that I made a booking as Sushi Bella was full and there was a short queue at the door. We ordered the usual suspects - toro sashimi and a couple of rolls. The sashimi was very fresh and the rolls were well executed. I especially liked the crunchy gogo roll which had tempura prawns and tempura yams with extra bits of crunchies to top it all off. All

Daikichi Sushi

2012-06-01T14:16:00.000-07:00

This used to be my go to place when I was craving a quick japanese meal as the food is quite decent but poor service drove me to try out Bene instead and now that is where I go when I crave japanese food and it's a hop and a skip away from Chef Hung which serves the most delicious shaved ice dessert (green tea and red bean) - a perfect way to end the meal. Agedashi Tofu Karaage Chicken