tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60088818482849664952020-02-28T13:55:20.940-08:00The Frugal FoodieI have always had a keen interest in food - trying new restaurants, recipes, ingredients and types of cuisine. Since graduating from college this past year, I have been living on a budget while still trying to enjoy my favorite things in life - food and wine! I will never sacrifice quality for cost.
Follow me on my culinary journey where I will find great local restaurants, great deals on wine and affordable local ingredients. All on a budget.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008881848284966495.post-15620062621566653172014-03-19T11:13:00.004-07:002014-03-19T11:15:38.749-07:00TravelZoo Deal Alert: Edible Canada<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I just came across a killer deal from <a href="http://www.travelzoo.com/ca/local-deals/Vancouver/Restaurant/106204/Edible-Canada" target="_blank">Travelzoo, for Edible Canada at Granville Island</a>. The deal is $59 and includes 2 starters, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts (and they can be ANYTHING from the menu!). I recently visited <a href="http://www.ediblecanada.com/" target="_blank">Edible Canada</a> and had some out of this world food including their Arctic Char, and the Maple Bacon Sundae, which after eating I remember saying that it changed my life. A typical dinner at Edible Canada, for two, is upwards of $100 so you should take advantage of this deal while they are still offering it! <br /><br />As a side note, they offer Merridale Cider on tap - it is delicious and reasonable!<br /><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/ediblecanada" target="_blank">Follow Edible Canada on Twitter</a> as they sometimes offer some cool promotions. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.travelzoo.com/ca/local-deals/Vancouver/Restaurant/106204/Edible-Canada" target="_blank"><img alt=" Buy one today!" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0-jevJWvV4Q/UyneKG_I45I/AAAAAAAADgg/egxYSNcCIvE/s1600/TZEC.jpg" height="521" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.com1Granville Island, Vancouver, BC, Canada49.271156700000013 -123.133993149.265976200000011 -123.1440781 49.276337200000015 -123.1239081tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008881848284966495.post-68500381121762910212013-01-02T19:24:00.000-08:002013-01-02T19:57:13.250-08:00Guest Post: Merchant's Oyster Bar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><i><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks so much to my friends <a href="http://vancitydatebook.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Chris Cordova</a> and Nicole for joining me at <a href="https://twitter.com/MerchantsVan" target="_blank">Merchant's Oyster Bar</a> last week, and Chris, for graciously volunteering to write for my blog.</span></i></span></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tbl4nx6-UUc/UOT4Kp1eHSI/AAAAAAAABk0/B5pQSU84zTs/s1600/Chris&Nicole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tbl4nx6-UUc/UOT4Kp1eHSI/AAAAAAAABk0/B5pQSU84zTs/s640/Chris&Nicole.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">Located on Commercial Drive one block </span></span></span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">north of 1st Ave., <a href="http://www.merchantsoysterbar.ca/" target="_blank">Merchant's Oyster Bar</a> </span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">sits, tucked away. It has a bit of a bistro </span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">setting with large windows, so people-watching is a must</span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">. The staff were extremely friendly, knowledgeable and it seemed as </span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">if every staff member working there made a visit to our table at least once </span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">during the evening. The staff knew their food and </span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">recommended their favourites, which I apparently happened to choose throughout </span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">the night. </span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">We arrived a little after opening on a Friday night. We were the only ones </span><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">there when we arrived, but it picked up within the next hour. We also went </span><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">on the days between Christmas and New Years and that may have had an affect </span><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">on the numbers there at the time.</span></span></span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">I started with a drink from the bar. I had a Dark and Stormy which </span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">contained housemade ginger syrup, dark rum, lime juice, and soda. I was a </span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">bit hesitant to order it at first since I am not a big fan of ginger. </span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">However, the ginger was not overpowering at all. The drink was sweet, and the </span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">ginger added a subtle kick. A must-try!</span><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><br style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">The real reason that we went was for the oysters, of course and boy, they did not disappoint! Everyday from </span><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">5 - 6:30pm, and then from 9 pm til close, Merchant's has Buck-a-Shuck oysters. </span><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">The choices that day were Kumamoto, Chefs Creek, Joyce Point, and Gorge </span><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">Inlet. </span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2hGEKMEM-Zg/UOTykpGoa_I/AAAAAAAABjk/GxojYe63Q8o/s1600/round1oysters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="Merchant's Oyster Bar - Buck a Shuck Oysters" border="0" height="271" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2hGEKMEM-Zg/UOTykpGoa_I/AAAAAAAABjk/GxojYe63Q8o/s400/round1oysters.jpg" title="Merchant's Oyster Bar - Buck a Shuck Oysters" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">We tried one of each and then decided to order more of the Kumamoto </span><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">and Chefs Creek. Although on the smaller side, I favoured </span><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">the Kumamoto as they was meaty and slightly on the sweet side. The Chefs </span><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">Creek was a medium size with a mild taste and a hint of saltiness. The Joyce </span><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">Point oysters were definitely a hefty oyster, and I found them to be </span><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">slightly salty, while the Gorge Inlet oysters appeared to have a bit more of an </span><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">ocean aftertaste. All the oysters came with topping options of Tabasco or </span><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">Louisiana Hot Sauce, lemon, freshly grated horseradish, and a red wine </span><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">vinegar mignonette.</span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L03Rfub3GxE/UOT1NgYL1PI/AAAAAAAABkM/7XEOm0YL0bQ/s1600/oystertower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L03Rfub3GxE/UOT1NgYL1PI/AAAAAAAABkM/7XEOm0YL0bQ/s320/oystertower.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">Our table also shared the Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes as an appetizer. These </span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">cream smothered potatoes were soft enough to almost melt in your mouth, yet </span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">firm enough around the edges to hold the potatoes together. The baked </span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">parmesan on top added a hidden bite of texture and saltiness. A hint of onion </span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">added a</span><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;"> sweet surprise.</span><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L1-YOUCnFbI/UOT3nhtffrI/AAAAAAAABks/bt1hn7j_KoY/s1600/scallopedpots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="306" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L1-YOUCnFbI/UOT3nhtffrI/AAAAAAAABks/bt1hn7j_KoY/s320/scallopedpots.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">For my main course, I had the House Pappardelle which consisted of long, </span><span style="color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">wide flat noodles and oyster mushrooms, coated with the perfect amount of </span><span style="color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">cream sauce. When presented, it comes with a single egg yolk sitting in the </span><span style="color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">middle of the dish which you break and blend into your pasta before eating.</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-azzpR_6OLbI/UOT19_A-MFI/AAAAAAAABkY/gQT-zk8D2dA/s1600/pasta1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="230" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-azzpR_6OLbI/UOT19_A-MFI/AAAAAAAABkY/gQT-zk8D2dA/s320/pasta1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span><br /><div style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: black; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">Nicole had the Beet Salad which consisted of golden and red beets drizzled in </span><span style="background-color: black; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">dill oil and served goat cheese. It was a good marriage of flavours with the </span><span style="background-color: black; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">sweetness of the beets complementing the saltiness of the cheese, and some </span><span style="background-color: black; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">spiciness in the greens.</span><br style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><br /><span style="background-color: black; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">Most of the entrée items on the dinner menu are in the $10-15 range. </span><span style="background-color: black; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">With that in mind, the proportions aren't huge, but they are filled with </span><span style="background-color: black; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">flavour. The restaurant also has a Brunch Menu and I'm </span><span style="background-color: black; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">already planning my next visit to try the Lobster Benedict.</span></span><br /><div><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Frugal Foodie Tip: Check-In on <a href="http://www.yelp.com/" target="_blank">Yelp!</a>, and they are currently offering 3 Free Oysters!</span></span></div></div><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/1685523/restaurant/Commercial-Drive-Grandview/Merchants-Oyster-Bar-Vancouver"><img alt="Merchant's Oyster Bar on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1685523/minilink.gif" style="border: none; height: 36px; padding: 0px; width: 130px;" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.com01590 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC V5L 3Y2, Canada49.2706139 -123.0694856000000149.2498914 -123.10999760000001 49.2913364 -123.0289736tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008881848284966495.post-50360016352225720672012-09-21T18:16:00.000-07:002012-09-21T18:16:24.025-07:00Frankies Restaurant in the Georgian Court Hotel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I just found a great deal that I had to share. On Travelzoo for a limited time is $13 for breakfast or lunch at <a href="http://www.frankiesitaliankitchen.ca/" target="_blank">Frankies Italian Kitchen</a> in the Georgian Court Hotel. <br /><br />If you have never visited Frankies, the food (especially their Eggs Benedict) is amazing! This is a great deal, as it is virtually buy one get one free. The restaurant is located on Beatty Street, conveniently close to Rogers Arena and across the street from BC Place.<br /><br />I highly recommend that you take advantage of this great <a href="http://www.travelzoo.ca/" target="_blank">Travelzoo deal</a>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d5LR-_2A_04/UF0QsqC9y3I/AAAAAAAABis/_SFA4q9gVyI/s1600/Frankies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="350" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d5LR-_2A_04/UF0QsqC9y3I/AAAAAAAABis/_SFA4q9gVyI/s400/Frankies.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.com0765 Beatty St, Trenton, NJ 08611, USA40.202288 -74.750311940.200772 -74.7527794 40.203804000000005 -74.7478444tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008881848284966495.post-56974897714101394082012-08-11T15:52:00.000-07:002012-08-11T15:52:56.748-07:00Mi Mexico (Bellingham, WA)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I recently visited one of my favourite places in Bellingham, Washington - Mi Mexico. If my boyfriend, who happens to be from Mexico, likes the food, it must be good and authentic! <br /><br />Here are the best things about this place:<br /><div style="text-align: left;"></div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>It is really easily accessible. Two blocks from Bellis Fair, one block off the I-5, right across the street from Marshalls and Ross, plus - it has lots of parking!</li><li>It is always very quick, you can be in and out within 30 minutes.</li><li>The food is always tasty.</li><li>The portions are MASSIVE!</li></ol><div>I try to order something different each time I visit. Recently I had one of the best dishes I've had at Mi Mexico and I wanted to share. </div><div><br /></div><div>As soon as you are seated fresh tortilla chips and homemade salsa are delivered. They are not stingy on these at all. Unfortunately, the chips and salsa are so delicious that I usually fill up on them before my meal arrives.</div><div><br /></div><div>Juan started with the Tortilla Soup, which is made with a chicken broth base, and comes packed with tortilla strips, chicken, avocado, cheese and sour cream (just to name a few ingredients). I would highly recommend having this dish. We eat it quiet often and it has never been off.</div><div><br /></div><div>For my main, I had a dish that you may know by another name, the Chicken Flautas (also know as a Taquito). They were piping hot, deliciously crispy, the chicken inside was seasoned perfectly and the side dishes at Mi Mexico never disappoint. The chorizo at Mi Mexico is to die for, and I usually opt for it as my filling. However, the chicken in the flautas was unexpectedly awesome. And for less than $11, this meal was an absolute steal (especially since I was not able to even finish half of it, so the doggie bag doubled as the next days lunch).</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mAWQ7w8W9V4/UCbgIxnFAxI/AAAAAAAABiM/nm8hnAUX4PA/s1600/flatuas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mAWQ7w8W9V4/UCbgIxnFAxI/AAAAAAAABiM/nm8hnAUX4PA/s640/flatuas.jpg" width="382" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Most dishes here are served with rice, refried beans and coleslaw (and sour cream and guacamole). I am not a huge fan of the coleslaw, but both the rice and the beans are usually spot-on. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hJsv5pKu_kA/UCbgfb8UmmI/AAAAAAAABiU/xGFuHeJ1mqY/s1600/plate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="354" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hJsv5pKu_kA/UCbgfb8UmmI/AAAAAAAABiU/xGFuHeJ1mqY/s640/plate.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><br />I would recommend asking what the daily special is at Mi Mexico, it is usually a great deal and they pick their most popular dishes. Other personal favourites at Mi Mexico include; the Shrimp Carnitas, their Margaritas and their Chile Relleno. <br /><br />Next time you are over the border shopping, check out Mi Mexico and let me know what you think.<br /><br /><b>Tip: </b>For lunch, check out their Small or Large Combos. They provide lots of variety, are frugal and are great for sharing!<br /><br /><br /></div><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/88/816249/restaurant/Mi-Mexico-Bellingham"><img alt="Mi Mexico on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/816249/minilink.gif" style="border: none; height: 36px; padding: 0px; width: 130px;" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.com0241 Telegraph Rd, Bellingham, WA 98226, USA48.7840289 -122.48383948.781413400000005 -122.4887745 48.7866444 -122.4789035tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008881848284966495.post-47234432295271145802012-06-16T20:36:00.001-07:002012-06-17T15:18:03.716-07:00Shu Shi Ya Coquitlam<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I recently visited Shu Shi Ya in Coquitlam. I am always hesitant to eat here as the quality is extremely inconsistent, but my new found love, Koi, does not serve all you can eat at lunch *<i>take note Koi, you are losing business</i>*! Shu Shi Ya is very cheap for lunch, at only $12.95 for adults, and if you eat the right things, this place is definitely worth the money. <br /><br />Be forewarned, this place has really bad service. However, they are always very quick to clear your dirty dishes. <b>Remember, you are here for all you can eat sushi, not the service. </b><br /><br /><b>Here is a run down of the good:</b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pyK86wtRLlM/T91KdxC1Q9I/AAAAAAAABfw/EHAw4SM2ldI/s1600/gyoza.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="528" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pyK86wtRLlM/T91KdxC1Q9I/AAAAAAAABfw/EHAw4SM2ldI/s640/gyoza.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Deep fried gyozas here are absolutely delish (<i>as most things deep fried are, aren't they?</i>)! They are always crispy, have a good ratio of filling to wrapper and the sauce is great.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OZDKNJHsGRA/T91KdUv3wLI/AAAAAAAABfo/VwuHBP0GSJU/s1600/agedashi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="467" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OZDKNJHsGRA/T91KdUv3wLI/AAAAAAAABfo/VwuHBP0GSJU/s640/agedashi.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Spicy agedashi tofu (on the menu as spicy tofu). Shu Shi Ya has the most amazing spicy sauce which make these deep fried delights even better. I had more than my fair share of these and would rate these as some of the best agedashi I have had! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y_LZNg7ZpKg/T91KeUr1SXI/AAAAAAAABf4/YzWI9I_dmHE/s1600/salmon+nigiri.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y_LZNg7ZpKg/T91KeUr1SXI/AAAAAAAABf4/YzWI9I_dmHE/s640/salmon+nigiri.jpg" width="380" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The salmon (sake) nigiri today, as always, was great. I am not a huge fan of the tuna at Shu Shi Ya, I find that it is usually cold to the point of being frozen or mushy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dqyk6inDWkA/T91Ke6m_c2I/AAAAAAAABgA/6cbin0t6vRk/s1600/springrolls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="380" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dqyk6inDWkA/T91Ke6m_c2I/AAAAAAAABgA/6cbin0t6vRk/s640/springrolls.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">No matter who I visit Shu Shi Ya with, they always order an obscene amount of spring rolls here. Today was no exception as my brother, Kevin, and our friend Shawn were just loving these deep fried delights. Make sure you save your spicy sauce from the agedashi tofu to dip these *<i>yum</i>*.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>And now, the bad:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cYaBbGG5m-c/T91KfkULLtI/AAAAAAAABgQ/-RkPPPMaSjM/s1600/yakisoba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cYaBbGG5m-c/T91KfkULLtI/AAAAAAAABgQ/-RkPPPMaSjM/s640/yakisoba.jpg" width="450" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>Yakisoba. Dry, dry, dry. And maybe worse - tasteless and cold. Not even the spicy sauce could save this dish. It was a bad attempt at one of my usual faves.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LXHE8FMCViA/T91OMKNcpiI/AAAAAAAABgc/DfGs3BSr8tc/s1600/ehitempuraroll.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="331" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LXHE8FMCViA/T91OMKNcpiI/AAAAAAAABgc/DfGs3BSr8tc/s400/ehitempuraroll.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Ebi tempura roll. They should just rename this one the roll with no ebi tempura. We ordered quite a few of these, because as the name hints at, it should be good! However, more than half of these had no ebi in them. Such a disappointment. The rice to filling ratio on this one was also pathetic.<br /><br />The ebi sunomono was also a bit of a disaster today, wasn't even on the table long enough to be photographed. As my brother said, "it was missing the ingredient that makes it good". <br /><br />Overall, my lunch today was decent. The good were really good, and the bad were really bad. If you stick with these recommendations, you will come out okay! <br /><br /><b>Note: </b> The jello for dessert at Shu Shi Ya is my absolute favourite. I honestly believe that they have the most perfect jello ever. And better yet, it is ALWAYS consistent! Save some room. <br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EB9TPq5Tfi4/T91QBVT4AMI/AAAAAAAABgk/7zVJDmPmqVk/s1600/jello.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EB9TPq5Tfi4/T91QBVT4AMI/AAAAAAAABgk/7zVJDmPmqVk/s640/jello.jpg" width="452" /></a></div><br /><br /><b>A note about lunch time</b>: It gets REALLY busy around 11:45. Get their early, or be prepared to wait.<br /><br /></div><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/1347271/restaurant/Vancouver/Sui-Sha-Ya-Coquitlam-Coquitlam"><img alt="Sui Sha Ya 水車屋日本料理 (Coquitlam) on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1347271/minilink.gif" style="border: none; height: 36px; padding: 0px; width: 130px;" /></a></div><hr /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008881848284966495.post-52019898230818454492012-05-05T18:03:00.001-07:002012-05-05T18:11:19.257-07:00Koi Sushi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">If you didn't know it was there, you would probably miss it. Right in the heart of Downtown Port Coquitlam is a hidden All You Can Eat sushi gem, located right on <a href="http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&safe=off&ion=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1454&bih=704&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=koi+sushi+port+coquitlam+all+you+can+eat+menu&fb=1&gl=ca&hq=koi+sushi+port+coquitlam+all+you+can+eat&cid=0,0,3168899047556873530&ei=Gc-lT8_TGMvKiQLgy8yaAg&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&resnum=5&ved=0CAwQ_BIwBA" target="_blank">Shaughnessy</a>. Just a word of caution - they only offer all you can eat dining after 5 pm, which is a tad disappointing. For a stellar $17.99, Koi's all you can eat menu is a great deal.<br /><br />Juan and I arrived quite late (around 8pm) and they restaurant had only one other table. Our server was extremely prompt and attentive. I was immediately impressed with the selection on the All You Can Eat menu which had some of my favourites, that aren't always found on AYCE menus such as <b>ebi nigiri</b> and <b>toro sashimi</b>. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GxiDCh1Mz_I/T6XHf207dlI/AAAAAAAABdA/VjH-z_-2bSU/s1600/Ebi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GxiDCh1Mz_I/T6XHf207dlI/AAAAAAAABdA/VjH-z_-2bSU/s400/Ebi.jpg" width="350" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The food was very quick to arrive (now they may have been because of the time of day that we were there, and the lack of customers) and I was surprised how tasty everything looked. I guess I have had some bad all you can eat sushi experiences in the past at some of the other places in the TriCities, like <a href="http://dinehere.ca/coquitlam/sui-sha-ya-japanese-restaurant-lougheed" target="_blank">Shu Shi Ya</a> (yuck), where it is all about quantity and not at all about quality. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We tried a lot of the options that were available on the all you can eat menu, but here are some of the best. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Make sure that you try the <b>spicy agedashi</b> tofu when you visit Koi - it is some of the best I've had at ANY Japanese restaurant in recent memory.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YyweVOYgsd4/T6XJRyRjhRI/AAAAAAAABdI/8vBZtJM1weA/s1600/agedashi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="spicy agedashi tofu, koi sushi port coquitlam" border="0" height="377" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YyweVOYgsd4/T6XJRyRjhRI/AAAAAAAABdI/8vBZtJM1weA/s640/agedashi.jpg" title="agedashi tofu - koi sushi japanese" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br />The <b>beef and chicken teriyaki </b>were both excellent and came out sizzling instead of of just on a plate and half cold!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dZEJiKM-s6w/T6XKtZWtJWI/AAAAAAAABdQ/HtxusN6fsnE/s1600/teryaki.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="340" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dZEJiKM-s6w/T6XKtZWtJWI/AAAAAAAABdQ/HtxusN6fsnE/s640/teryaki.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />The most amazing maki roll on the menu without a doubt is the <b>Kamikaze roll</b>. Oh em gee is it good! This roll has prawn tempura, spicy tuna, radish sprouts and asparagus. My recommendation: order LOTS!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lld0WOM0T2c/T6XLV6L-l_I/AAAAAAAABdY/T69LyeFjiUk/s1600/sushi1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="380" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lld0WOM0T2c/T6XLV6L-l_I/AAAAAAAABdY/T69LyeFjiUk/s640/sushi1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Spicy salmon</b>, <b>spicy tuna</b> and <b>avocado rolls</b> were all awesome.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LrphciJIjbc/T6XM9G0Lj9I/AAAAAAAABdg/7w99KE0PaDY/s1600/sushi2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="340" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LrphciJIjbc/T6XM9G0Lj9I/AAAAAAAABdg/7w99KE0PaDY/s640/sushi2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />I cannot wait to go back to Koi Sushi (actually, I am going there tonight!). I highly recommend going. Check out their takeout menus here: <a href="http://www.mainmenus.ca/ClientData/Image/Menus/MenuImage/0447b204-fe7b-4c43-81ba-23f372995c62.pdf" target="_blank">1</a> <a href="http://www.mainmenus.ca/ClientData/Image/Menus/MenuImage/c392723f-6612-4e83-9e28-60232c02a36e.pdf" target="_blank">2</a> <a href="http://www.mainmenus.ca/ClientData/Image/Menus/MenuImage/425fb604-8c64-408c-903a-1cf8064de6f4.pdf" target="_blank">3</a> <a href="http://www.mainmenus.ca/ClientData/Image/Menus/MenuImage/c644a335-05d7-416a-b49e-e26dc5fb0ef3.pdf" target="_blank">4</a>.<br /><br /><b>Tip: </b>There is free parking on the Shaughnessy street, as well as many of the side streets.<br /><br /><br /></div><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/1413358/restaurant/Vancouver/Koi-Japanese-Restaurant-Port-Coquitlam"><img alt="Koi Japanese Restaurant on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1413358/minilink.gif" style="border: none; height: 36px; padding: 0px; width: 130px;" /></a><br /><hr /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.com12573 Shaughnessy St, Port Coquitlam, BC V3C 3B8, Canada49.262147558682628 -122.7816581726074249.256994558682628 -122.79152867260743 49.267300558682628 -122.77178767260742tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008881848284966495.post-29038907061155207522012-04-12T11:30:00.000-07:002012-04-12T11:30:42.493-07:00Cazba<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In Vancouver, we are so lucky to have so many choices when it comes to food. One that I hadn't experienced until recently is Persian. We visited <a href="http://www.cazbarestaurant.ca/" target="_blank">Cazba</a> Restaurant, located just off Lonsdale Ave. in North Vancouver - a recommendation from my friend, Bahaar. We arrived and I could not believe how busy it was. </span></span><br /><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">To start, we ordered Kashk-e Bademjan and Mast-o Khiar. The Kashk-e Bademjan is a deep fried eggplant dish that is served with what I would compare to c<em style="font-style: normal; line-height: 16px;">rème fraîche, served with pita. Unfortunately, I was late to arrive, so I didn't get a picture. With that being said, it wasn't the most attractive dish either, so maybe the no photograph is for the best. Please, take my word and try this. I could have eaten just this for dinner! It was totally new flavours for me, and just to die for. And get this - $4.95 for a massive plate, with pita. The Mast-o Khiar is just like a tzatziki, and also served with pita. They also have Mast-o Moosir, which is made with shallots instead of cucumber. This dish was also a steal at only $2.95.</em></span></span><br /><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em style="background-color: black; font-style: normal; line-height: 16px;"><br /></em></span><br /><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em style="background-color: black; font-style: normal; line-height: 16px;">For our mains, my group of 4 shared 2 dishes. Our first plate was Chelo Kabab Bakhtiari which is one skewer of Joojeh, one skewer of Barg, served with basmati rice and a grilled tomato. Joojeh is a chicken kebab that is marinated in oil, saffron, red pepper, onion and salt and pepper. Barg is similar to joojeh but ours was beef. Barg is also marinated in the oil/saffron mix. </em></span><br /><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em style="background-color: black; font-style: normal; line-height: 16px;"><br /></em></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HzBHjayRkBA/T4DbOX5sJOI/AAAAAAAABYs/4uG8az0YQyE/s1600/joojeh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HzBHjayRkBA/T4DbOX5sJOI/AAAAAAAABYs/4uG8az0YQyE/s400/joojeh.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em style="background-color: black; font-style: normal; line-height: 16px;">Our second main was the Chelo Kabab Soltani. This plate comes with basmati rice, a grilled tomato, 1 skewer of Barg and 1 skewer of Koobideh. The Koobideh was my favorite. I would compare it to a delicious grilled meatloaf. Koobideh is an Iranian minced meat kebab, ours was beef, mixed with parsley and onions. The flavour and juiciness of this dish was amazing. I cannot wait to go have it again. </em></span><br /><em style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></em><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RK0BlGTmAuo/T4DbNl8fGGI/AAAAAAAABYk/NVRvddkt2Yg/s1600/barg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RK0BlGTmAuo/T4DbNl8fGGI/AAAAAAAABYk/NVRvddkt2Yg/s400/barg.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em style="background-color: black; font-style: normal; line-height: 16px;"><br /></em></span><br /><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I think the most amazing thing about my whole dining experience was just what good value it was. Because of the size of the dishes, we all left full and everything we ate was tasty. I am sure that it did help that we had someone with us that knew what to order, but every dish that I saw coming out of the kitchen looked equally as tasty. And our bill, including doogh (an Iranian yogurt drink), a couple of pops and tax was under $43. </span></span><br /><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><b>Tip: </b>Right across the street is Rex Bakery. I suggest going and getting a piece of Vanilla or Mocha Rollet. I had a piece, and ended up buying a whole cake as it was so good. </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; line-height: 16px;"><br /></em></span><br /> </div><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/1516344/restaurant/Vancouver/Cazba-North-Vancouver"><img alt="Cazba on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1516344/minilink.gif" style="border: currentColor; height: 36px; width: 130px;" /></a><br /><hr /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.com0134 W 16 St, North Vancouver, BC V7M 2J5, Canada49.3231461 -123.074295149.320572600000006 -123.0792306 49.3257196 -123.0693596tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008881848284966495.post-86789480848042956542012-04-07T15:56:00.002-07:002012-04-07T15:57:01.311-07:00Show Case at the Marriott<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BqNlA46kiu4/T4C9vd78A6I/AAAAAAAABXs/p39f8Pg1gNI/s1600/kimcrawford.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BqNlA46kiu4/T4C9vd78A6I/AAAAAAAABXs/p39f8Pg1gNI/s400/kimcrawford.jpg" width="178" /></a>I recently redeemed my Show Case at the Marriott, <a href="http://www.travelzoo.ca/" target="_blank">Travelzoo</a> local dining deal voucher. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, as it was such a fantastic deal. I was so pleasantly surprised by this meal, I would highly recommend both Show Case and Travelzoo deals to everyone!<br /><br />I went with one of my girlfriends, Kate, and it was both of our first times at Show Case. The location is a bit out of the way, located on the corner of W. Hastings and Thurlow in Vancouver, really in the heart of where the hotels are. <br /><br />The service was prompt and we started with a bottle of Kim Crawford Pinot Noir - there was NOTHING frugal about this bottle of wine, at $50. However, it was absolutely delicious. <i>WINE NOTE</i>: There are no bottles of wine on their limited wine list that are under $45. A little disappointing.<br /><br />The nice thing about the Travelzoo vouchers versus other group dining deals is that you can have anything that you want off the menu. This one in particular included any 2 appetizers, any 2 entrees and any 2 desserts. I started with scallops and Kate had lobster tail risotto. The scallops were perfectly cooked and extremely favourful with pancetta (I am such a sucker for bacon). There had been so many different appys to choose from, and I was happy with my selection. Kate's lobster risotto was amazing! The lobster tail was cooked well, and the risotto had great flavour. When visiting Show Case, treat yourself to either of these appys, you will not be disappointed!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5wfVEtJJiog/T4C-4SWSu1I/AAAAAAAABX0/0LxDnS6d35I/s1600/losterrisotto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="387" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5wfVEtJJiog/T4C-4SWSu1I/AAAAAAAABX0/0LxDnS6d35I/s400/losterrisotto.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Lobster Risotto</i> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4Ciisq_K1Eo/T4C-5FxztII/AAAAAAAABX8/Zr0XLo4ybyo/s1600/scallops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4Ciisq_K1Eo/T4C-5FxztII/AAAAAAAABX8/Zr0XLo4ybyo/s400/scallops.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Seared Scallops</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">Kate is a <a href="http://vegetarian.about.com/od/glossary/g/Pescatarian.htm" target="_blank">pescatarian</a>, so sometimes she is very limited to what she can eat on a menu. We were pleasantly surprised to find that over half of the entree menu items were fish or vegetarian dishes! She had the Wild Salmon. It came on a bed of dry soba noodles, which gave it a nice crunch, and edamame beans. The salmon was cooked very nicely and had very distinct Asian flavours, served with microgreens on top. I would order this dish again in a second!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4w3c1QRP5L4/T4DA76kA3aI/AAAAAAAABYE/EiqKWIieIZI/s1600/wildsalmon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="345" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4w3c1QRP5L4/T4DA76kA3aI/AAAAAAAABYE/EiqKWIieIZI/s400/wildsalmon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Wild Salmon</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">For my main, I chose the Beef Tenderloin (done two ways). The presentation of my beef dish was awesome, and I could immediately smell the delicious aroma. I could not differentiate between the beef done 'two ways', but one of the 'ways' was much better than the other - one had too much of a char on it for me. The potatoes were smooth and well-seasoned, mushrooms were pretty standard but good and crispy, fried onions - Yum! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oj5ZzsU9riQ/T4DBKBIZwII/AAAAAAAABYM/fb5phwufeLo/s1600/tenderloin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oj5ZzsU9riQ/T4DBKBIZwII/AAAAAAAABYM/fb5phwufeLo/s400/tenderloin.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Beef Tenderloin</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>And on to my favourite course of every meal - dessert. I was very impressed by their extensive dessert list, it was very hard to choose just one. However, choice made easier when your dinner partner orders the other option you would choose (and is great at sharing!). Our choices were the homemade churros served with a Mexican chocolate sauce, and the red velvet cheesecake. Words cannot express how delicious both plates were. I could not get over the size of the sugar-coated churros, and the delicate spiciness of the Mexican chocolate sauce - a perfect match. My red velvet cheesecake was so creamy and red-velvety (for lack of a better word) and came served with a strawberry coulis and strawberry rhubarb sorbet.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4dTg-nf3xJ0/T4DEegz3JuI/AAAAAAAABYc/leDm2URd3S4/s1600/velvetcheesecake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4dTg-nf3xJ0/T4DEegz3JuI/AAAAAAAABYc/leDm2URd3S4/s400/velvetcheesecake.jpg" width="271" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yz9zXLDvNak/T4DEd2SgkRI/AAAAAAAABYU/H2fTC3Vm1NY/s1600/churro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yz9zXLDvNak/T4DEd2SgkRI/AAAAAAAABYU/H2fTC3Vm1NY/s400/churro.jpg" width="290" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><br />This was a great meal, that was made better by the great deal we got on the Travelzoo voucher. Our server mentioned to us that they were on Travelzoo last summer, so this could be something to look forward to upcoming. <br /><br /><b>Tip:</b> Parking in the area is very expensive. My frugal recommendation is to take the Skytrain all the way to Burrard - the restaurant is only about a 5 minute walk away from the station. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/181647/restaurant/Downtown/Show-Case-Vancouver"><img alt="Show Case on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/181647/minilink.gif" style="border: none; height: 36px; width: 130px;" /></a></div><hr /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.com1946 W Hastings Ave, Amarillo, TX 79108, USA35.2508675 -101.848656835.244419 -101.8585273 35.257315999999996 -101.8387863tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008881848284966495.post-7625543119197453552012-03-18T20:28:00.000-07:002012-03-19T11:50:36.042-07:00Pioneer House Restaurant<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I recently took a trip to Vancouver Island (namely Tofino and Ucluelet) and on my drive from Victoria to Tofino noticed <a href="http://www.pioneerhouserestaurant.com/" target="_blank">Pioneer House Restaurant </a>on the side of the road, right before Duncan, British Columbia. Juan and I were starving, so we stopped for breakfast.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Pioneer House is log cabin style, and located right on the Trans Canada Highway at a cute artisan area called <a href="http://www.explorevancouverisland.com/Whippletree_Junction_Vancouver_Island_BC.htm" target="_blank">Whippletree Junction</a>. Heading north on the highway, the restaurant is on the right hand side of the road. I have to admit that I was drawn in by the sign outside that offered a full benny menu (I am a sucker for a good Hollandaise sauce), but once inside and saw their specials menu, my decision was made - $5.99 bacon, eggs, toast and hashbrowns (okay, so I also splurged and got a side of Hollandaise to dip). It did not disappoint.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aA8B4wOIGuo/T2QO9ukIDnI/AAAAAAAABVA/FcVbvaCUS1Q/s1600/Pioneer+House.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="560" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aA8B4wOIGuo/T2QO9ukIDnI/AAAAAAAABVA/FcVbvaCUS1Q/s640/Pioneer+House.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>As simple of a breakfast as this is, it was delicious!!! Everything from the eggs to the sourdough toast tasted fresh and was served piping hot. And, to top it off they have the most delicious hollandaise that I have ever tasted (I am not exaggerating either). </div><div><br /></div><div>When visiting this area, I suggest that you make a pit stop to try a house special at Pioneer House.<br /><br />Tip: Pioneer House offers a wine flight of 4 tasters for $8.00. All of the tasters were of local, Vancouver Island wines. The restaurant is located in the heart of the <a href="http://www.winesofcanada.com/bc_island.html" target="_blank">Island wine valley</a>, so if you find one you like, you are most likely within a short distance of being able to visit the winery and purchase a bottle or two!<br /><br /></div></div><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/317/1428007/restaurant/Victoria/Pioneer-House-Restaurant-Cowichan-Valley"><img alt="Pioneer House Restaurant on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1428007/minilink.gif" style="border: currentColor; height: 36px; width: 130px;" /></a> <br /><hr /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.com2Pioneer House48.2208031 -78.716562348.218172599999995 -78.7214763 48.2234336 -78.711648300000007tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008881848284966495.post-57010932114812271072012-03-16T20:54:00.001-07:002012-03-16T20:54:19.362-07:00Shang Noodle House 尚麵館<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-21jHfU9JBSo/T2QJ89awHQI/AAAAAAAABU4/TdqFA93iep4/s1600/lighting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-21jHfU9JBSo/T2QJ89awHQI/AAAAAAAABU4/TdqFA93iep4/s200/lighting.jpg" width="190" /></a>Last night I stumbled upon a hidden gem in New Westminster, right by the Starlight Casino. Shang Noodle Ho<span style="background-color: black;">use <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">尚麵館</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span> is</span> located right outside the front doors of the casino, between Shanks Sports Bar and a Kirin restaurant. I was drawn immediately to the restaurant because it looks immaculate and clean inside - plus, had quite a large crowd inside for that time of evening. Shang is owned by the same group as Kirin restaurants, where I have enjoyed some awesome meals, so I was excited to try a much cheaper menu by them.<br /><br />The first thing I noticed after being seated (besides the awesome light fixtures, pictured to the right) is that they had a really cool conveyor belt that they refer to as "Randomize Me". Basically, the concept is that chefs creation dishes are made throughout the day and placed on there for you to go up and choose from. From what I saw, they were all excellent sized snack portions. And in true dim sum fashion, only $2.68 each! I assure you, that with those portion sizes, it would take 2 or 3 to become full! <br /><br />Shang also had a great combo menu that both my mom and I ordered off of. My mom had Combo A that for $9.50 included Grilled Pork Jowl Meat Ramen with Pork Broth, 2 piece Prawn Dumplings and a Lychee juice. After adding some much needed chili oil (it was quite bland without), my mom became a fan of the ramen. The prawn dumplings were pretty standard but delicious, and she swapped the lychee juice for passionfruit - yum! She also noted that all of the items that she was served were not too salty, which was nice because she usually finds this type of cuisine a tad too salty.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bmJc91I_21Q/T2QHza49fnI/AAAAAAAABUQ/EmRTyiwDoXw/s1600/comboa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bmJc91I_21Q/T2QHza49fnI/AAAAAAAABUQ/EmRTyiwDoXw/s400/comboa.jpg" width="310" /></a></div><br /><br />I ordered combo D that included Stirfried Ramen with Black Peppered Beef, Chilled Pudding and soy milk. I opted to pay the $1.50 upgrade to the drink and get a bubble tea (no charge for pearls, which is nice) bringing the total of my meal to $13.00. I could not get over the portion size of the fried ramen when it arrived - could feed 2 people, no question. And, the beef was extremely flavourful and tender. So often I find that beef in these sorts of dishes is quite chewy and that was definitely not the case. The strawberry milk tea and pearls were good, nothing out of the ordinary but very good! And the chilled pudding was mango with dried coconut and delicious. I had so much food that I took half of it home. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zXXCXAwrsAM/T2QIGKoZ1BI/AAAAAAAABUg/jIgn2A-fty8/s1600/combo+d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zXXCXAwrsAM/T2QIGKoZ1BI/AAAAAAAABUg/jIgn2A-fty8/s400/combo+d.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b5S4X_aqghQ/T2QIFq6MD4I/AAAAAAAABUY/pY-md4O_F7M/s1600/combo+d+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b5S4X_aqghQ/T2QIFq6MD4I/AAAAAAAABUY/pY-md4O_F7M/s400/combo+d+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div>And, I saved the best dish for last. I cannot recommend the Deep Fried Squid in Spicy Peppery Salt enough. It was amazing! The squid was cooked nicely, and oh so tender. But what really made this dish pop was the peppery salt they put on it. The spice and heat was perfect. I will be returning for this dish, no question. It was a steal at $5.28 - especially since it was enough for 2 people to share as an appetizer.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-siozlSecog4/T2QIboAUxmI/AAAAAAAABUw/bntds0lyTAQ/s1600/spicy+squid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-siozlSecog4/T2QIboAUxmI/AAAAAAAABUw/bntds0lyTAQ/s400/spicy+squid.jpg" width="340" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Another note: Our server was very friendly, and the food arrived fast. This is an ideal place, when in the area, to go for a quick, cheap lunch off their 15 item Dim Sum menu.</div><br /><br /> </div><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/1434200/restaurant/Vancouver/Shang-Noodle-House-New-Westminster"><img alt="Shang Noodle House 尚麵館 on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1434200/minilink.gif" style="border: none; height: 36px; width: 130px;" /></a><br /><hr /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.com0NS Gifford St, New Westminster, BC V3M, Canada49.185595 -122.95558549.1830145 -122.960499 49.1881755 -122.950671tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008881848284966495.post-64587130414617448862012-03-06T17:21:00.000-08:002012-03-06T17:21:36.114-08:00Port Moody Farmers Market (Part 2)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The <a href="http://makebakegrow.com/" target="_blank">Port Moody Farmers Market </a>was full of great products. Another reason that I enjoy going to these is because it really does feel great to buy local products and know that your money is staying in your community. <br /><br /><a href="http://garyskettlecorn.com/" target="_blank">Gary's Kettle Corn</a> is a fixture at local farmers markets, and is a great local business that has an excellent product. The difference is in the quality of popcorn that they use to make their famous kettle corn. All of the kernels come out in perfect rounds. I have to say that this is the best kettle corn I have ever tried. I literally could not stop eating it. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nt2LQcP8I3A/T1RzxujdqSI/AAAAAAAABTI/vvpDtCVxHrQ/s1600/garyscorn2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nt2LQcP8I3A/T1RzxujdqSI/AAAAAAAABTI/vvpDtCVxHrQ/s320/garyscorn2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The sweet aroma of Gary's Kettle Corn can be smelled throughout the farmers market, and was positioned in a prime location, at the entrance/exit. If you weren't tempted when you came in, you sure as heck were going to buy some on your way out. At $2.50 for a small bag, this kettle corn is a bargain.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kt4uvhE6ITc/T1R0RSMKzaI/AAAAAAAABTQ/CuI2Bo8sFzk/s1600/garyscorn3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="364" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kt4uvhE6ITc/T1R0RSMKzaI/AAAAAAAABTQ/CuI2Bo8sFzk/s400/garyscorn3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am always a sucker for a great (strong) cup of coffee, and when I noticed <a href="http://www.handworkscoffeestudio.com/" target="_blank">Handworks Coffee Studio's</a> sign saying they use 2-3 times more coffee beans than regular coffee, I just had to try one. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hxwA-WxWQpA/T1R2ftbfXyI/AAAAAAAABTg/ikMiGlGwFdU/s1600/handworks2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hxwA-WxWQpA/T1R2ftbfXyI/AAAAAAAABTg/ikMiGlGwFdU/s320/handworks2.jpg" width="218" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IVv3SNxa_-0/T1R2fDN1v_I/AAAAAAAABTY/aEJ375n2V4Y/s1600/handworks1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IVv3SNxa_-0/T1R2fDN1v_I/AAAAAAAABTY/aEJ375n2V4Y/s320/handworks1.jpg" width="204" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>This cuppa java did not disappoint. So much so that after I finished it, I immediately wanted a second cup. This was one of the smoothest cups of coffee I have ever had. I really liked everything about this booth; from the organic kids cookies (made with raw, organic sugar, flax and vegan margarine) to the rice noodle stir-sticks, not to mention the Handworks Coffee Studio business cards, made on torn recycled paper - some of the best I have seen in a while (I am also a sucker for a good, unique business card).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OQaXHl5fYVw/T1R3TcD7WEI/AAAAAAAABTw/HbPuWiCZGEo/s1600/handworks3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="323" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OQaXHl5fYVw/T1R3TcD7WEI/AAAAAAAABTw/HbPuWiCZGEo/s400/handworks3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />When I got home I checked their website to see if I could get this coffee anywhere else (I was hoping for a Handworks Coffee Studio cafe), but alas, still only at farmers markets. I am sure that it is only a matter of time before a they have a location or two, and when that time comes, I will be a regular. <br /><br />Another notable vendor was <a href="http://www.jjscountrycookin.com/" target="_blank">JJ's Diabetic Foods</a>. JJ's is worth a stop for a laugh alone, as JJ has a great sense of humor. All of the jams, spreads and marmalade's that he sells are organic and sugar free, opting to use stevia instead. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rvyRpP0YZ8E/T1R4wDzGm1I/AAAAAAAABT4/pS7tMDO9kbE/s1600/jjs1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rvyRpP0YZ8E/T1R4wDzGm1I/AAAAAAAABT4/pS7tMDO9kbE/s400/jjs1.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><br /><br />He graciously let us sample off of his flavours and after much deliberation, I selected the blueberry. I would also highly recommend the rhubarb and the strawberry rhubarb, both had great flavour and were just the right amount of tangy and sweet.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QjZfiDIIR4A/T1R5W2cX3GI/AAAAAAAABUA/KRjilGmfKlU/s1600/jjs2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QjZfiDIIR4A/T1R5W2cX3GI/AAAAAAAABUA/KRjilGmfKlU/s400/jjs2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The rest of my favorites are coming tomorrow. Stay tuned!</div><br /><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.com0Port Moody Recreation Centre, 300 Ioco Rd, Port Moody, BC V3H 2V7, Canada49.283092 -122.831502249.280516500000004 -122.8364162 49.2856675 -122.8265882tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008881848284966495.post-16094639890471711942012-03-04T23:35:00.001-08:002012-03-05T00:38:32.407-08:00Port Moody Farmers Market<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Today I visited the <a href="http://makebakegrow.com/" target="_blank">Port Moody Winter Farmers Market</a>, which runs every other Sunday through April 29th, 2012 at the <a href="http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENCA359&q=port+moody+rec+centre&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl" target="_blank">Port Moody Rec Centre</a> from 10am - 2pm. I was immediately surprised with the amount of vendor booths - both inside and outside of the Rec Centre. Because there was so much to eat and see, I am going to break this up into three posts of my 10 favorite vendors. <br /><br />I think that Farmers Markets are an extremely frugal way to shop, and just a frugal activity in general! There are very few other activities where you can sample, socialize, snack and get fresh air, all at the same time - and without having to spend a dime! These markets are also a great way to discover local services and products that you would be unlikely to hear about otherwise. These markets also are great because you have the opportunity to sample virtually all of the products before you buy - ensuring that you are going to enjoy them.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8CPYhVFXLXU/T1QyMQ4cuEI/AAAAAAAABRw/M-NFqXy0E70/s1600/maple4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8CPYhVFXLXU/T1QyMQ4cuEI/AAAAAAAABRw/M-NFqXy0E70/s400/maple4.jpg" width="233" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>The first vendor that I visited was <a href="http://www.maplessugarshack.com/" target="_blank">Maples' Sugar Shack</a>, a maple syrup and maple related treats company from Squamish, British Columbia. I was drawn to this stand because of the amazingly creative display of maple taffy, placed on snow (not to mention a friendly vendor!). The next time you are at a famers market and see Maples's Sugar Shack, I highly recommend trying these. They were delicious! Cold, sweet and delicious maple flavour - a very Canadian treat! Their website is still in development, but they do have a contact us page that is functional, so you can contact them to find out about their farmers market locations!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-af85hzefeNo/T1QyLKlCeEI/AAAAAAAABRY/Ct6n1xEYeCM/s1600/maple1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-af85hzefeNo/T1QyLKlCeEI/AAAAAAAABRY/Ct6n1xEYeCM/s640/maple1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />I also purchased these amazing maple candies, shown below. They are a harder candy than the taffy, but absolutely delicious. The guy that was running the booth mentioned that they carry maple coated cashews (but they had already sold out by the time I had arrived). He was telling me about a dish he cooks that uses the cashews - he crushes the nets and coats chicken breasts in them and <span style="background-color: black;">then cooked them for about 30 minutes and then stuffed them from brie and wrapped them in <span style="font-family: inherit;">p<em style="font-style: normal; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">rosciutto and baked them further. I cannot wait to purchase some maple cashews to try out this amazing sounding chicken!</em></span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sgn6EFBml-U/T1QyLzNEsbI/AAAAAAAABRo/ukCWHzRYSSs/s1600/maple3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sgn6EFBml-U/T1QyLzNEsbI/AAAAAAAABRo/ukCWHzRYSSs/s640/maple3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The next vendor that I visited was <a href="http://www.delishglutenfree.com/" target="_blank">Delish Gluten Free</a> to try out some of their amazing baked goods. With a major increase in celaic disease, gluten free products are becoming increasingly popular (and important). This small business is based out of Coquitlam, British Columbia. Though they do not yet have a store front, I am positive with their local following that a store must be not far away.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QR30hvkft1A/T1RoTz-e6pI/AAAAAAAABSw/iDMATP3uv_Y/s1600/gf1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QR30hvkft1A/T1RoTz-e6pI/AAAAAAAABSw/iDMATP3uv_Y/s400/gf1.jpg" width="250" /></a></div><br /><br />I tried a sample of their carrot muffin with creamy icing and could not believe that there was no gluten or wheat! They were even better than ones made with wheat. I purchased both a carrot muffin and some chocolate cake pops. I was going to share this once I got home, but literally could not stop eating it once I started.<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LSVayiolWG4/T1QyHwgMwuI/AAAAAAAABQg/WNeb2l0YzYY/s1600/gf3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LSVayiolWG4/T1QyHwgMwuI/AAAAAAAABQg/WNeb2l0YzYY/s320/gf3.jpg" width="270" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eZfEmejazYc/T1QyIa3PKrI/AAAAAAAABQo/nll86BZQEFU/s1600/gf4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eZfEmejazYc/T1QyIa3PKrI/AAAAAAAABQo/nll86BZQEFU/s320/gf4.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="" style="clear: both;">Follow <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/delishGF" target="_blank">Delish Gluten Free on Twitter</a> to find out which farmers market locations they will be attending.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Another product that I fell in love with today is <a href="http://ajigourmetproducts.com/default.aspx" target="_blank">Aji</a>. After a quick demo from the business owner, Dyana, I could not believe what a genius product this was! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rKuWO994Slw/T1Rp9j_6yfI/AAAAAAAABS4/sbb2IJBhmBM/s1600/aji1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rKuWO994Slw/T1Rp9j_6yfI/AAAAAAAABS4/sbb2IJBhmBM/s400/aji1.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Aji is basically a condiment that originated in Latin American, that can be combined with so many different ingredients to create other tasty sauces. For example, she showed us that if you combine the aji with avocado, you get an amazing guacamole or if you mix it with ketchup it it becomes a tangy cocktail sauce. My favorite was when mixed with honey the aji became a sweet Thai chili sauce. This product, to me, is the definition of frugal - one product, so many options! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f2ShU8jO5Go/T1RqMEl0ASI/AAAAAAAABTA/IP1slB8odRo/s1600/aji2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="340" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f2ShU8jO5Go/T1RqMEl0ASI/AAAAAAAABTA/IP1slB8odRo/s640/aji2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I also tried the Burn Hot Sauce, and could not get over the amazing flavour. I am a huge hot sauce fan, but this one in particular was spicy but yet you could still taste the flavours with the spice not overpowering everything. Once I got home I mixed the original Aji with tomato paste, and it made an incredible salsa. This product is definitely a winner! Dyana sells it at farmers markets but the aji also <a href="http://ajigourmetproducts.com/Stores.aspx" target="_blank">available in many stores</a> including Choices, Nestors and Whole Foods. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Stay tuned for my my next Farmers Market Favorites blog post, coming in the next couple of days! </div></div><hr />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.com0Port Moody Recreation Centre, 300 Ioco Rd, Port Moody, BC V3H 2V7, Canada49.283092 -122.831502249.280516500000004 -122.8364162 49.2856675 -122.8265882tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008881848284966495.post-16673535206712397332012-02-27T00:38:00.000-08:002012-03-05T00:39:19.626-08:00Italian Wine Night<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I visited my local liquor store in hopes of finding some good value wines. A couple of friends were coming over for a games night, as I am a big board games person, and we decided to combine it with a wine evening. Our games of choice for the evening were <a href="http://www.boardgameratings.com/game/3409/" target="_blank">Say Anything</a> and <a href="http://www.boardgames.ca/telepathsboardgame1.aspx" target="_blank">Telepaths</a> - both pair quite well with wine!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o1iojDp8WrY/T0s8HnLEUDI/AAAAAAAABOk/MBQXohuQH90/s1600/winemagnets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o1iojDp8WrY/T0s8HnLEUDI/AAAAAAAABOk/MBQXohuQH90/s320/winemagnets.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />I noticed in the liquor store had a Smart Buys section, located at the end of each of the isles. I was excited to see what amazing deals they had featured here. I highly recommend that the next time you visit a British Columbia liquor store, you ask a sales representative if they have this kind of section. If they do, ask for a recommendation! I did, and not only did the sales rep suggestion multiple bottles, she also gave suggestions for pairing and decanting tips. I generally find that the staff in the <a href="http://www.bcliquorstores.com/" target="_blank">BCLDB </a>stores are extremely knowledgeable and full of great suggestions.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8si8DQXQbFQ/T0szJhQimsI/AAAAAAAABOM/-tdb6jyMnMA/s1600/sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8si8DQXQbFQ/T0szJhQimsI/AAAAAAAABOM/-tdb6jyMnMA/s320/sign.jpg" width="316" /></a></div>Based on the selection available, an Italian theme was selected. I purchased 2 that were good values; a 2005 D'Alessandro Syrah for $16.79 (regular $23.99) and a 2010 Mandrarossa Fiano for $10.99 (regular $14.99). <br /><br />I was a little hesitant about buying a 7-year old bottle of red from a liquor store, that was deeply discounted, but after speaking with the sales rep I felt confident that as long as the wine was decanted properly, this wine would be good. Fiano was a somewhat unfamiliar variety but after a short lesson, I learned that it is an Italian grape that is known for intense flavour - I was intrigued. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bwL6hxeGTtc/T0s3YnDs8sI/AAAAAAAABOc/TMEiBkveFQI/s1600/MandraRossa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bwL6hxeGTtc/T0s3YnDs8sI/AAAAAAAABOc/TMEiBkveFQI/s320/MandraRossa.jpg" width="165" /></a></div><br /><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Immediately after opening this bottle I was blown away with the bouquet. It was extremely fragrant, with major hints of pineapple. The colour was an intense golden one, much darker then wine I am used to drinking. After the first couple of sips I was very unsure if I was a fan of this wine, however, the more I had, the more I really started to enjoy it. Not only did it have the intense smell of pineapple, but the Fiano really tasted like it. This wine would be great served with sushi, a salad or even chocolate cake. I would rate this wine a 7/10.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eg_5EImNO_0/T0s3XUTT5JI/AAAAAAAABOU/klF0AdiaLwc/s1600/dalessandrored.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eg_5EImNO_0/T0s3XUTT5JI/AAAAAAAABOU/klF0AdiaLwc/s320/dalessandrored.jpg" width="243" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The next wine that we tried was the 2005 D'Alessandro Syrah. I let this wine decant for close to 30 minutes before trying it, at which point we decided it tasted quite medicinal. However, I swirled it for a couple of minutes, allowing it to breath and tried it again. It tasted much better, so I used 2 decanters and poured the wine from one to the other, allowing more air to get into the wine. Once we did this a few times it tasted much better. This red was very full bodied and really lingered in my mouth. I could taste hints of chocolate and berries. However, it did have a bit of a bitter finish. I am not sure if I would drink this wine again. I would rate this wine a 4/10.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Tip</b>: Invest in a decanter or a good wine aerator for when you drink red wine. It really is amazing what a difference it makes when you allow the wine to breath. I own a very inexpensive aerator that works great! There are many available at reasonable prices at Winners and Homesense, or even on ebay.</div></div><hr /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008881848284966495.post-50616450128977216332012-02-25T23:09:00.002-08:002012-02-25T23:15:38.489-08:00Tony's Fish & Oyster Cafe<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nE376898nXc/T0nFZrqRZoI/AAAAAAAABNk/Hhr6_0LQRbk/s1600/sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nE376898nXc/T0nFZrqRZoI/AAAAAAAABNk/Hhr6_0LQRbk/s320/sign.jpg" width="247" /></a>Today I visited <a href="http://www.granvilleisland.com/" target="_blank">Granville Island </a> for the annual Winterruption festival. Granville Island is one of the gems of the city, in my opinion. It is a great place to walk around, get some fresh air and see what local vendors, artisans and famer's have to offer. Granville Island is also a great place to spend a day, full of activities for very little money. I have noticed a tiny restaurant, <a href="http://www.tonysfish-granvilleisland.com/default.html?s=y" target="_blank">Tony's Fish & Oyster Cafe</a>, in previous visits to Granville Island, and today decided to try it! This restaurant is located right at the entrance to the island, right across from the <a href="http://www.kidsmarket.ca/" target="_blank">Kids Market</a> and the <a href="http://gib.ca/" target="_blank">Granville Island Brewery</a>. </div><br />Tony's is a very tiny place, only about 24 people can fit in the restaurant at once, so we had to wait a few minutes outside. I noticed that they were advertising a great deal - $10.99 for a cup of clam chowder, coleslaw, 1 piece of cod and chips. I knew immediately what I was having. <br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rESVhM33MMc/T0naATR7cgI/AAAAAAAABOE/neG4v6tkRN8/s1600/lunchspecial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rESVhM33MMc/T0naATR7cgI/AAAAAAAABOE/neG4v6tkRN8/s320/lunchspecial.jpg" width="266" /></a>As the restaurant was so small, the tables were very close together, meaning that you could meet your table neighbours. We sat next to a lovely couple from Dublin, Ireland - Leslie and Allen, who had visited Tony's on a previous visit to Vancouver, about 5 years ago. They enjoyed the fish and chips so much that they made a point to return. Our server was quite amazing - she was able to handle the entire restaurant, and do it in a very friendly and attentive fashion. I was impressed.<br /><br /><br />My mom and I both ordered the $10.99 lunch special and our chowder arrived promptly. It was a great temperature, very thick, full of clams and had amazing flavour. A lot of the time, I find that clam chowders are very salty, but this was definitely not the case.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xyqrHS1eiEA/T0nRMNk4eTI/AAAAAAAABNs/LOwBWMjj3Tk/s1600/clamchowder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xyqrHS1eiEA/T0nRMNk4eTI/AAAAAAAABNs/LOwBWMjj3Tk/s320/clamchowder.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Our fish arrived almost right as I was finishing my soup and looked delicious. I tried the chips first. Hot, crispy and no oily taste. I added a little bit of malt vinegar and they were excellent. The fish and tartar sauce were also great - our new Irish friends were right! By the end of the meal I was stuffed. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lGMoLkvuY5E/T0nUJ6ndu2I/AAAAAAAABN8/rpD1SLRoEzg/s1600/fishy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lGMoLkvuY5E/T0nUJ6ndu2I/AAAAAAAABN8/rpD1SLRoEzg/s320/fishy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Overall, I was extremely impressed with this meal. It really was a fantastic deal for $10.99. I will be back to Tony's Fish & Oyster Cafe. I have visited other restaurants on Granville Island for fish and chips recently, and though they may have a nice view, I find that they are generally very overpriced and not worth the money. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Tip</b>: Tony's opens at 11:30am, I would arrive early to make sure you get a seat. Their lunch special (the $10.99 one I tried) is available until 2pm daily. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Tip: </b>A fun and cheap activity to do while in the area is the <a href="http://gib.ca/about/tours-tastings/" target="_blank">Granville Island Brewery tour</a>. For under $10 per person, you get a tour and 4 x 3oz samples of your choice of beer in the taproom. Unfortunately, the brewery is undergoing a renovation and tours do not resume until April 1st. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Parking</b>: There is a lot of parking on Granville Island. Some of it pay parking and some free. There is free parking located north of the restaurant - by the Keg. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/181846/restaurant/Granville-Island/Tonys-Fish-Oyster-Cafe-Vancouver"><img alt="Tony's Fish & Oyster Cafe on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/181846/minilink.gif" style="border: none; height: 36px; width: 130px;" /></a><br /><hr /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.com01511 Anderson St, Vancouver, BC V6H 3S2, Canada49.2706851 -123.136321549.268109100000004 -123.1412355 49.2732611 -123.1314075tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008881848284966495.post-9497161400142789642012-02-20T19:34:00.000-08:002012-03-05T10:36:34.327-08:00Franciscan Red Wine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><b><i>"I am looking for a really, really cheap but good wine". </i></b>I recently visited my local <a href="http://www.bcliquorstores.com/" target="_blank">British Columbia liquor store</a> with this request. I live in Coquitlam, and am lucky that my local store is absolutely massive and equipped with a stellar selection of wine. <br /><br />I must note that I almost always <b>only</b> drink British Columbia wine. I truly believe that we have some of the best wines in the world. However, today was different. I was on a <b>frugal mission,</b> looking the cheapest wine I could find, that was still good. The man that I spoke to in the store asked me what I meant by cheap and I replied with around $10. He laughed and said, how does $6.99 sound. <br /><br /><b>I thought he was joking. Don't wines of that price only exist south of the border?</b><br /><br /><a href="http://www.bcliquorstores.com/product/241778" target="_blank">Franciscan</a> California Red Wine (yes, just red wine - no grape varietals found here!), was the wine that I was led too. I was skeptical, to say the least. How good could a $7 bottle of wine really be?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AYftQ9yZb-4/Tz47vuTa74I/AAAAAAAABNE/kN1Mg6T2SSY/s1600/Franciscan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AYftQ9yZb-4/Tz47vuTa74I/AAAAAAAABNE/kN1Mg6T2SSY/s400/Franciscan.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I opened the bottle and used by trusty aerator to pour a glass. Yes, you read that right, I aerated a $7 bottle of wine. I studied the glass of wine - a nice ruby red colour and smelled fruity, with berry hints. I took a sip, and then another and was shocked with how good it tasted. It was extremely light wine, with hints of cherry and blackberry, and I liked it! I shared my bottle and shockingly enough, those who tried it, liked it. It even paired really nicely with my roast beef dinner.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you are on a tight budget, but still like to have a glass of wine with dinner, I recommend that you try Franciscan California wine. Let me know what you think. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>I am looking for good value wine suggestions, especially ones from British Columbia! If you know of a great wine, that you think is a great value - leave a comment on this post! I would love to try and review it.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Cheers!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Tip</b>: This would be an awesome choice to make a sangria with. My favorite is as follows:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>1 bottle of Franciscan California red wine (any red will do)</li><li>1 lemon, cut into slices</li><li>1 lime, cut into slices</li><li>1 orange, cut into slices</li><li>1 apple, cut into slices</li><li>2 tbsp sugar</li><li>Splash of orange juice</li><li>2 oz of gin or triple sec (optional)</li><li>3 cups of sprite or ginger ale</li><li>Seasonal berries, to taste</li></ul><div>Mix all ingredients together, chill over night, if possible and serve over ice. </div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008881848284966495.post-34565577554269977622012-02-18T20:13:00.000-08:002012-02-18T20:39:02.370-08:00Pho Toan Thang<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Tonight I visited Pho Toan Thang, <span id="goog_1703107964"></span><a href="http://ow.ly/99GUj" target="_blank">located in Port Coquitlam</a> (at 1125 Nicola Ave, behind the Costco), for some Vietnamese food. This restaurant is new to the area, opening within the past couple of months. I did not have a specific 'deal' on this meal but I am a firm believer that pho is always a good value, as it is reasonably priced and always fills me up! I am recovering from 2 weeks of sickness, and a nice bowl of soup is just what the doctor ordered.<br /><br />My boyfriend, Juan, had visited Pho Toan Thang a couple of times in the last week or so, and has been telling me that it was better than our usual pho 'go-to', so I needed to see (or taste) for myself. <br /><br />I was immediately impressed with the decor and service upon entering the restaurant. So many times in pho restaurants the service is terrible, the decor is mediocre and the looks make you question the cleanliness. This was not the case here, as the owners and colours were both warm and inviting. <br /><br />I stuck with my usual - rare steak pho, a fried spring roll and a strawberry smoothie. Juan also had the steak pho, but opted for a Vietnamese coffee, his new favorite coffee beverage. However, I did read over the menu in its entirety. There were some impressive options including beef stews, egg noodle options, a large selection of 'grill' items (vermicelli and rice plates) and a great kids meal, that includes brisket and beef ball pho and juice for only $4.15. <br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G5_931UjeGY/Tz4sW6qPiVI/AAAAAAAABMk/MiYPdtGH4HI/s1600/soup1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G5_931UjeGY/Tz4sW6qPiVI/AAAAAAAABMk/MiYPdtGH4HI/s320/soup1.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a>Our food arrived very quickly, as it usually does with pho. My soup looked as steak pho usually does, however, it tasted much better than usual! The broth was to die for and the portion of steak was hearty (which was nice, because I had every intention of ordering the $2 extra meat, but forgot to tell my server). My only gripe is that there were an absolute ton of green onions and cilantro, I am a fan of both only in moderation. The other thing that I was impressed with was the nicely presented and vast selection of sauces. Sauces on the table are very standard in pho restaurants. Usually a bottle of <a href="http://www.huyfong.com/no_frames/sriracha.htm" target="_blank">sriracha</a>, some hoisin sauce and another chili sauce. I was pleased that I didn't have to wipe the gunk off my hands after touching the sauce bottles! This soup was a great deal at only $6.00 for the small (which filled me up so much that I actually couldn't finish the whole thing!), or $7.00 for the large size.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-baelSdigWCw/Tz4u7kD779I/AAAAAAAABMs/DxPZjIAQrvA/s1600/smoothie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-baelSdigWCw/Tz4u7kD779I/AAAAAAAABMs/DxPZjIAQrvA/s200/smoothie.jpg" width="117" /></a><br /><br /><br />My smoothie arrived right after my pho did, which was nice because that is not always the case. I really liked the flavour, the creaminess of the smoothie, and the fact that there were no lumps of ice left. The only thing that was missing from this was some tapioca 'pearls'! I would order this again, and was a great deal at only $3.50. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GhjcrFN9vqo/Tz4xH6mUoXI/AAAAAAAABM0/SvR64yhbHu8/s1600/fryroll.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GhjcrFN9vqo/Tz4xH6mUoXI/AAAAAAAABM0/SvR64yhbHu8/s320/fryroll.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />The other item that I ordered was a fried spring roll. Fry rolls are always served with<span style="background-color: black;"> <span style="line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C6%B0%E1%BB%9Bc_ch%E1%BA%A5m" target="_blank">Nước mắm</a></span></span> </span>or fish sauce, which has become a favorite 'dip' of mine. The fry roll that I was served was delicious - crispy, great flavour and perfect temperature. So often with spring rolls they have hints of an unpleasant pork taste, but this was not the case. And my favorite part, the fish sauce, was just the way that I like it - tangy and salty.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EMf-HlwTDzE/Tz4y90Z7hKI/AAAAAAAABM8/AtwD8WXBp-0/s1600/vietcoffee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EMf-HlwTDzE/Tz4y90Z7hKI/AAAAAAAABM8/AtwD8WXBp-0/s200/vietcoffee.jpg" width="118" /></a><br /><br />Juan let me try his Vietnamese coffee, which came in a very cool looking brewer. I was unfamiliar with Vietnamese coffee until recently and had not tried it until tonight. I was pleasantly surprised by it! It was sweet, bold and creamy. Just make sure that you mix the condensed milk, seen here at the bottom, very well or you might be in for a very sweet surprise near the end of the drink. This coffee drink was $3.50, which may seem like a lot, but I actually think that this holds up against a few Starbucks flavoured coffee drinks, which are of the same price, if not more. Plus, it gets served in this awesome brewer - can't beat that!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I look forward to making Pho Toan Thang my go-to pho hangout. Not only was the food excellent, but I appreciated the excellent service that we received. If you are looking for a reasonably priced, filling and delicious meal I would highly recommend visiting!<br /><br /><br /></div><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/1641279/restaurant/Vancouver/Pho-Toan-Thang-Port-Coquitlam"><img alt="Pho Toan Thang on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1641279/minilink.gif" style="border: none; height: 36px; width: 130px;" /></a><br /><hr /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.com02348-2370 Ottawa St, Port Coquitlam, BC V3B 8A4, Canada49.257060613049617 -122.7461403608322149.25673861304962 -122.74675436083221 49.257382613049614 -122.74552636083222tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008881848284966495.post-61958022098888098122012-02-11T23:25:00.000-08:002012-02-13T14:10:34.130-08:00Cork & Fin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">For my last Dine Out Vancouver 2012 meal I went to <a href="http://www.corkandfin.ca/" target="_blank">Cork & Fin</a> with one of my girlfriends, Colette. I was really excited to try their menu because they did something a little bit different by having 3 savory courses, as opposed to 2 savory and 1 sweet. I do love my desserts, but I am, and always will be, a sucker for meat. <br /><br />Cork & Fin is located in one of my favorites areas of Vancouver - <a href="http://www.gastown.org/" target="_blank">Gastown</a>. Gastown is always alive, no matter the time of day, and is home to some amazing restaurants, night clubs and shopping. At night music, laughter and the sweet smells of delicious food fill the streets. <br /><br />Upon arriving at the restaurant, I was immediately impressed with the decor and layout - especially the loft. Colette and I talked about how would be a perfect space for a party! We were sat at a table right by the front windows. This was nice because there was a large, boisterous group seated near the middle of the restaurant. Our server was extremely prompt, friendly and full of recommendations - not something that you always find during Dine Out. I never take pictures of menus, but I made an exception for these unique manila folder ones that I fell in love with.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KSW8hBFiT2Y/TzdbVXavKPI/AAAAAAAABLk/rh7WMGorlso/s1600/menu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KSW8hBFiT2Y/TzdbVXavKPI/AAAAAAAABLk/rh7WMGorlso/s320/menu.jpg" width="223" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For my first course I had fresh shucked oysters. Let me start off by saying that I went into this meal not sure if I was an oyster fan or not. I can now confirm, without hesitation, that I like oysters - so much so that I ordered the $4.50 supplement of 3 additional oysters. They arrived at the table presented beautifully on a bed of ice, with horseradish, lemon, lime and a champagne and cracked black pepper mignonette. The oysters were sweet with a hint of salt. I will definitely be returning for their oyster happy hour!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zgvokzf40Tw/TzdexH7LUWI/AAAAAAAABLs/DlbuL853dNI/s1600/oysters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zgvokzf40Tw/TzdexH7LUWI/AAAAAAAABLs/DlbuL853dNI/s320/oysters.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Both Colette and I had the salmon ceviche for our second course. This course was so refreshing, with the perfect hint of saltiness and sour. I had decided to do the Dine Out menu with their British Columbia wine flight, and the surprising highlight of this course was the amazing balance that the <a href="http://www.tinhorn.com/" target="_blank">Tinhorn Creek</a> Pinot Gris had with the salmon ceviche.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hjFmC0hdNuk/Tzdih5zMq1I/AAAAAAAABL0/YRU1JXwJh-s/s1600/Civiche.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hjFmC0hdNuk/Tzdih5zMq1I/AAAAAAAABL0/YRU1JXwJh-s/s320/Civiche.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For my final course, I had the slow braised beef short ribs that was served with a celeriac and potato puree, and an amazing reduction. What I first noticed was the portion size of the beef short ribs, as it was very impressive. The ribs were perfectly cooked, tender and really lived up to my expectations of what an excellent short rib should taste like. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yOb8GNzrbUM/TzdjCesjSvI/AAAAAAAABL8/38pturkLdvk/s1600/ribs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yOb8GNzrbUM/TzdjCesjSvI/AAAAAAAABL8/38pturkLdvk/s320/ribs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Colette does not eat red meat, so she opted for the red snapper that was served with a carrot and ginger puree and watercress. She said that the flavour was great and that snapper was cooked perfectly. When our server brought our wine pairings for the third course, I was quite jealous because her snapper was served with my favorite wine - <a href="http://www.thornhaven.com/" target="_blank">Thornhaven Pinot Noir</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--G8EByMR5Ok/TzdkrxT1ZBI/AAAAAAAABME/MWqdjr7BjaA/s1600/snapper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--G8EByMR5Ok/TzdkrxT1ZBI/AAAAAAAABME/MWqdjr7BjaA/s320/snapper.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Usually this is where my meal reviews end, however, we were having such a good time (and getting such great service) at Cork & Fin, that we decided to split a couple of desserts. We were actually quite full after our meals, but we had seen a few desserts go by and they all looked delicious. We opted to try a soft cheesecake served with brandied apricots and honey, and chocolate mousse. Both desserts were excellent. However, the cheesecake really stood out for both of us as the clear winner. It was the perfect consistency, had just the right amount of sweet and the apricots on top were to die for! We noticed the woman at the table next to us eyeing our dessert, so we offered her some of our dessert and she fell in love too.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9MsCbJ0tMTg/Tzdlj6Q197I/AAAAAAAABMM/01VQ3H5tYHo/s1600/cheesecake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9MsCbJ0tMTg/Tzdlj6Q197I/AAAAAAAABMM/01VQ3H5tYHo/s400/cheesecake.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I will, without question, be back to Cork & Fin. I have absolutely nothing bad to say - the service, food and ambiance were all spot on. I was really happy with the end to my Dine Out Vancouver season on such a high note. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Tip</b>: Cork & Fin advertises on their website that they have Oyster Happy Hour everyday from 5pm to 6:30pm. This is a great way for those who are unsure, like I was, to try different types of oysters.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Also note</b>: Cork & Fin has a couple of specially priced menus on their website right now. They have a <a href="http://corkandfin.ca/?page_id=415" target="_blank">Valentines Day Menu</a>, a 5 course tasting menu, for $75 or paired with wines for an additional $35. They also have the same <a href="http://corkandfin.ca/?page_id=278" target="_blank">Prix Fixe Menu</a> that I just reviewed, on their website, now priced at $32. I would highly recommend visiting them for it. </div></div><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/1506227/restaurant/Gastown/Cork-Fin-Vancouver"><img alt="Cork & Fin on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1506227/minilink.gif" style="border:none;width:130px;height:36px" /></a><hr />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008881848284966495.post-61254769732802196032012-02-11T18:50:00.000-08:002012-02-13T01:15:29.515-08:00Vaneats.ca Dining Deals<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">A great site that frugal foodies in Vancouver should get familiar with is <a href="http://vaneats.ca/">vaneats.ca</a>. This is an amazing site for trying restaurants at a fraction of the cost. The premise of these dining pass deals is the same as a lot of the other group deal sites, however, the main difference is the quality of the restaurants, the thoughtfulness and options of the set menu, and most importantly, the price. Whats even better, is that a lot of the dining passes are for 2 people. </span><br /><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.vaneats.ca/" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" height="356" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3XRf98NvfAI/Tzcn0U3XaII/AAAAAAAABLc/Rc7QqZQcOJw/s640/homepage.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Today, vaneats.ca is featuring dining passes for 3 different restaurants in Vancouver including; <a href="http://www.ebisu.ca/robson/" target="_blank">Ebisu on Robson</a>, <a href="http://www.suika-snackbar.com/" target="_blank">Suika Snackbar on Broadway</a> (just marked my calendar, as this one goes on sale at 3pm on February 15) and <a href="http://kinrestobar.com/" target="_blank">Kin Resto Bar on Robson</a>. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">I have just bought the Ebisu dining pass for an unbelievable $20, and I cannot wait to try it! The menu is as follows:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><strong style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Aigamo Duck Salad</strong><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">, roasted duck and sauteed button mushrooms served on a garden of fresh spring greens and peppers in a citrus infused ginger dressing</span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><strong style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Salmon Carpaccio</strong><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">, Atlantic salmon marinated in soy based olive oil topped with citrus white wine mayo & flavoured garlic chips</span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><strong style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Tiger Mayo</strong><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">, deep fried Black Tiger prawns complete with the chef's sweet chilli mayonnaise dip</span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><strong style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Crunch & Munch Roll</strong><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">, prawn tempura, cucumber, tobiko wrapped with unagi & avocado. Served with unagi & wasabi cream sauce</span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><strong style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Mars Attack</strong><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">, featuring smooth nougat and creamy caramel coated in milk chocolate then deep fried served with 2 scoops of polar vanilla ice cream on flakes</span></span></li></ul><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><i style="background-color: black;">Pictures and review of the meal will come in the following days! </i></span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">I read last night that vaneats.ca will be offering a dining pass for <a href="http://www.veracepizzeria.com/" target="_blank">Verace Pizzeria</a>. Verace has some amazing food, especially their Funghi pizza - which is actually part of the dining pass menu! I cannot wait. </span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><b>Tip: </b><a href="http://vaneats.ca/">vaneats.ca</a> is extremely active on social media. They often offer contests to win free dining passes, and they always announce their newest deals via Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/VANEATSca" target="_blank">@vaneatsca</a>. </span></div></div></div> <hr />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008881848284966495.post-92044392520132398862012-02-10T12:38:00.000-08:002012-02-13T00:56:41.198-08:00Travelzoo Meal Deals<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://www.travelzoo.com/ca/local-deals/Vancouver/deals" target="_blank">Travelzoo local deals</a> are a great place to get fantastic deals on high-end restaurants. In the past they have featured <a href="http://www.panpacific.com/en/Vancouver/Dining/CafePacifica.html" target="_blank">Cafe Pacifica</a> at the Pan Pacific Hotel, <a href="http://www.yewrestaurant.com/" target="_blank">Yew</a> at the Four Seasons Vancouver and <a href="http://www.fourseasons.com/whistler/dining/restaurants/sidecut/" target="_blank">Sidecut</a> at the Four Seasons in Whistler, usually at about 50% off! <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.travelzoo.com/ca/local-deals/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-25ugPZQx__A/TzV9peYa94I/AAAAAAAABK0/qgxrnsOyQik/s640/travelzoo1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />I bought the dinner for 2 from Show Case at the Marriott Pinnacle for $49, regularly valued at up to $110. This deal includes 2 appetizers, 2 entrees and 2 desserts and is really great because you get to chose all of your own options! <br /><br /><b>Tip: </b>To be the first to know about Travelzoo's local deals, make sure to sign up for their deal alerts newsletter. I have never seen one of their deals that hasn't sold out in Vancouver. <br /><br /><b>Also note</b>: Travelzoo is also a great place to find out about affordable trip packages, hotels and flights. I find that the vacation offerings in their newsletters are a lot better than other deal sites, and their <a href="http://www.travelzoo.com/ca/top20/" target="_blank">weekly 'Top 20'</a> email always has some amazing values in it! <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><br /><b><br /></b></div> <hr />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008881848284966495.post-2107188174725423622012-02-10T00:17:00.000-08:002012-02-17T03:17:34.481-08:00Beyond at the Century Plaza<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I recently visited Beyond at the <a href="http://www.century-plaza.com/" target="_blank">Century Plaza Hotel</a> for their $28 Dine Out menu. Their regular menu is quite expensive, so to get 3 courses for this price was awesome! I was not very familiar with this restaurant, so I did a little research after a friend invited me for her birthday dinner. Their reviews on <a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/" target="_blank">Urbanspoon</a> and <a href="http://www.yelp.ca/" target="_blank">Yelp</a> were not that stellar, so I did not go in with high expectations.<br /><br />To begin, I was very impressed with their wine list, which was extremely extensive. The server was attentive but not overbearing. But, upon review of their dine out menu, I was disappointed - 2 choices for appetizer (one of which was a very simple salad), 3 entrees, and only 1 option for dessert. Seems like a massive copout to only have 1 dessert option.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w7dMrw8m9X8/TzTKsvbfD6I/AAAAAAAABKU/-2WZ8nl2xjo/s1600/wine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w7dMrw8m9X8/TzTKsvbfD6I/AAAAAAAABKU/-2WZ8nl2xjo/s400/wine.jpg" width="237" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I started with a Canadian lobster bisque, that was apparently served with tomato chili oil, creme fraiche and chives. Maybe if the dish had included the chili oil or the chives it would have had better flavour. It was extremely bland and worse, very salty. I actually couldn't finish it. However, the presentation of the dish was appealing and clean.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K85imvCUd-U/TzTLkfJozAI/AAAAAAAABKc/PShVmk34mro/s1600/lobster+bisque.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="378" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K85imvCUd-U/TzTLkfJozAI/AAAAAAAABKc/PShVmk34mro/s400/lobster+bisque.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For my main course I decided to go with the Alberta AAA braised beef short rib, served with mashed potatoes, caramelized onions, blue cheese gratin and a red wine reduction. After my short rib at ORU, this dish had a lot to live up too. Unfortunately, it fell flat. Again, the presentation of this dish was beautiful and it was served at a great temperature. However, the blue cheese gratin made the already salty short rib, even saltier. On a positive note, Beyond's mashed potatoes and red wine reduction were absolutely delicious and the green beans were cooked just to my liking!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eP9-btSKDDM/TzTM18KjBnI/AAAAAAAABKk/uiXmYtsvsvI/s1600/ribs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eP9-btSKDDM/TzTM18KjBnI/AAAAAAAABKk/uiXmYtsvsvI/s400/ribs.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>As I said before, I think that only giving 1 option for a dessert course is a major copout. With that being said, the chocolate decadence cake that was described in the menu as a "trio of Lindt chocolate mousse, extra brut cocoa, chiffon sponge and raspberry coulis", without a doubt lived up to this description. However, it tasted like it was right out of a package. It actually reminded me of the chocolate cake from Costco. After a quick review of <a href="http://beyondrestaurant.com/index.php/desserts/" target="_blank">Beyond's regular dessert menu</a>, I really do not think that this cake showcased the best dessert option available.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p6fv4dKHgUY/TzTQHqHYYsI/AAAAAAAABKs/9jOwwJ5Dc28/s1600/cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p6fv4dKHgUY/TzTQHqHYYsI/AAAAAAAABKs/9jOwwJ5Dc28/s400/cake.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">To wrap-up, I am not sure if I will return to Beyond for a meal. The food really needed to be a lot less salty for me to enjoy a meal. However, I think that Beyond would be a great location to go to for a drink. Centrally located in Vancouver on Burrard street, which is just a short walk from <a href="http://robsonstreet.ca/" target="_blank">Robson</a> or <a href="http://www.granvillestreet.com/" target="_blank">Granville</a> streets, this restaurant is not quite as busy as some other hotspots. The drink menu, especially the wine, were outstanding. Friends who I was dining with sampled many different drink options and all received excellent feedback. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Comedy Packages</b>: Located in the Century Plaza hotel is <a href="http://www.thecomedymix.com/" target="_blank">The Comedy Mix</a>, which attracts some pretty funny comedians. I noticed that Beyond offers a <a href="http://beyondrestaurant.com/index.php/menus/the-comedy-mix-package-menu/" target="_blank">Comedy Mix dinner package for $39</a>. This would make for a great night out! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div></div><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/180167/restaurant/Downtown/Beyond-Restaurant-Lounge-Vancouver"><img alt="Beyond Restaurant & Lounge on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/180167/minilink.gif" style="border: none; height: 36px; width: 130px;" /></a> <br /><hr /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008881848284966495.post-8660551496959212482012-02-03T15:54:00.000-08:002012-02-13T14:08:44.113-08:00ORU at the Fairmont Pacific Rim<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">This week I booked a <a href="http://www.tourismvancouver.com/dine/dine-out-vancouver-2012/" target="_blank">Dine Out Vancouver</a> at ORU at the <a href="http://www.fairmont.com/pacificrim/" target="_blank">Fairmont Pacific Rim</a>. Dine Out Vancouver is a great way to experience the menus of restaurants that you usually wouldn't visit (or be able to afford to visit). This was a $28 menu, which is a little more than my last one, but a great value for this location. ORU's menu is a Pan-Asian, fusion style and I've always heard good things, so I was really excited to try.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dQHK7JRv1VI/TyxzG5E4ulI/AAAAAAAABGg/-GZTqFO6yLE/s1600/oru.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dQHK7JRv1VI/TyxzG5E4ulI/AAAAAAAABGg/-GZTqFO6yLE/s320/oru.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />After being seated promptly, our server proceeded to try and interest us in, what we later found, was one of the most expensive bottles of wine on the wine list. I was even more surprised when I learned that the wine she was promoting was not even a <a href="http://www.winebc.com/thebasics.php" target="_blank">British Columbian wine</a>. Disappointing that servers in high-end hotel restaurants in our city do not promote a local product, and instead promote a Napa Valley wine.<br /><br />I started with the Albacore tune karaage, served with a sesame spinach and bonito brother. It was startling how quickly our tables (there were 4 of us) first course was served. It seemed to me like they had a production line going in the kitchen and that the food was not cooked to order. The tuna was okay - lukewarm, had okay flavour, and was cooked perfectly. But the problem? There were 2 very small pieces. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Aw_2Oq3W2Fc/TyxtB79b7MI/AAAAAAAABGA/QPGjuft69-g/s1600/tuna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Aw_2Oq3W2Fc/TyxtB79b7MI/AAAAAAAABGA/QPGjuft69-g/s320/tuna.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We were lucky enough to be served an extra course, an asparagus and grilled radicchio risotto. Absolutely delicious flavour, good temperature and a great sized portion. A nice contrast to the small, somewhat cold tuna. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1660Lnf9xgk/Tyxtlb6FkLI/AAAAAAAABGI/rj76xXCxOPI/s1600/risotto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1660Lnf9xgk/Tyxtlb6FkLI/AAAAAAAABGI/rj76xXCxOPI/s320/risotto.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For my main I, without a doubt, made the right decision by ordering the beef short-ribs, served with a chimmichuri mashed potato and roasted root vegetables. Definitely the best plate of food I had while at ORU. The meat was so juicy and tender, you could cut it with a fork. The chimmichuri mashed potatoes were a really nice side for this, the flavour of the meat and the potatoes was really complementary. This dish is the one I would return to ORU for. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aNM_SvQS8yw/TyxuzMzeYBI/AAAAAAAABGQ/Gavn7Ie7jgs/s1600/shortrib.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aNM_SvQS8yw/TyxuzMzeYBI/AAAAAAAABGQ/Gavn7Ie7jgs/s320/shortrib.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Dessert was lacking - we had a selection of all of the offered desserts at our table, and I was able to try all of them. Mine was the worst. I had the coconut and citrus pavlova served with lemon curd, meringue and coconut foam. It tasted like it was straight out of a package. Nothing original about this dish at all, and not much to it. The only saving grace of this plate was the killer lemon curd. If you visit ORU in the future, I would highly suggest the caramel praline parfait for dessert. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dZk8Nj918YY/TyxvgkwX2RI/AAAAAAAABGY/gZ8w6N6jjSg/s1600/dessert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="291" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dZk8Nj918YY/TyxvgkwX2RI/AAAAAAAABGY/gZ8w6N6jjSg/s320/dessert.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am not sure if I will return. It was very obvious that they have made a special Dine Out Vancouver menu, which should be a great opportunity to showcase their best dishes. They have obviously gone another direction which is unfortunate. As for the small portions - thank goodness for our extra course, or I would have left hungry. All of our courses came extremely quickly, not just the tuna. This just further proved my not cooked to order theory.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Just a couple other notes about our evening:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Our service sucked</b>. There is no other way to say it. She started off as extremely attentive, but then was sat a group of about 40. We had courses that did not even have a quality check. I had ordered wine with my meal that did not materialize until the person filling water glasses asked if I was done with my wine glass. They did end up comping my wine, but I had my first sip of it with my last bite of dinner. Not ideal. </li></ul><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Parking.</b> If you visit ORU, park in the Fairmont Pacific Rim lot and bring your parking stub, they will validate it so that you pay only $6. That is an absolute steal of a deal for parking in this area. It would have been nice to know about this before arriving at the restaurant. They could simply send it out with their OpenTable email confirmation. Or even better, when the hostess calls you the day of, to confirm your reservation, they could simply mention it. </li></ul></div><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/1491713/restaurant/Downtown/Oru-at-Fairmont-Pacific-Rim-Vancouver"><img alt="Oru at Fairmont Pacific Rim on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1491713/minilink.gif" style="border:none;width:130px;height:36px" /></a> <hr />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.com0W Waterfront Rd, Vancouver, BC V6C 3R9, Canada49.288175548582885 -123.1163549423217849.287528048582885 -123.11758894232177 49.288823048582884 -123.11512094232178tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008881848284966495.post-4518276996345927362012-01-29T23:29:00.000-08:002012-02-13T14:07:13.159-08:00Bistro 101 at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Last week I was lucky enough to get a <a href="http://bit.ly/xfN2WS" target="_blank">Dine Out Vancouver</a> reservation at <a href="http://bit.ly/yW3yJG" target="_blank">Bistro 101</a> at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts (PICA). I actually had the day that Dine Out Vancouver started taking reservations marked into my schedule so that I could make a reservation at Bistro 101 after trying to make one with no success for the past 2 years. In 2010 they won Diner's Choice for Dine Out, I could not wait to try their menu - especially since they are an incredibly reasonable $18 per person, for a 3 course meal!<br /><br />The location is fantastic, located right at the entrance to Granville Island and the restaurant itself has obviously been renovated recently. The service upon arrival was very prompt, and whats even better is that all of the servers are actually enrolled in the Culinary Arts program at PICA. This made their food knowledge and recommendations that much better.<br /><br />After ordering our meals we were presented with an amazing bread basket. I have never seen anything quite like it. The basket was brought by a pastry chef, and each type of bread was explained. There were no less than 6 different types of bread and buns, not to mention the homemade flatbread and crackers. I would go back to Bistro 101 for the bread alone. PICA actually has a <a href="http://bit.ly/ySXDoN" target="_blank">bakery</a> that features different items daily. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TS37hT2mJ04/TyZERP7wn8I/AAAAAAAABEQ/kFByIuTcixQ/s1600/Wine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TS37hT2mJ04/TyZERP7wn8I/AAAAAAAABEQ/kFByIuTcixQ/s320/Wine.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />My first course was an Organic Ocean Albacore Tuna with preserved beet and goat cheese salad (pictured below), that can only be described in one word - outstanding. The flavours were so well balanced, the tuna was perfectly seared and the difference in textures made for an amazing plate. I chose to try one of the <a href="http://bit.ly/wGVv8q" target="_blank">British Columbia VQA</a> wine flights. I highly recommend you do the same when visiting Bistro 101. The Sandhill Winery Sauvignon Blanc paired with my appetizer perfectly!<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fhKwDCVY2Ac/TyZDg6wD2fI/AAAAAAAABEI/a-ebyiFUiwA/s1600/tune.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fhKwDCVY2Ac/TyZDg6wD2fI/AAAAAAAABEI/a-ebyiFUiwA/s320/tune.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />My entree was a Lemon Oil seared Steelhead with black fragrant rice and pestled aromatics. The Steelhead was cooked to perfection and was seasoned perfectly. It was nice to have a light side that included lightly sauteed spinach and asparagus.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DhQtdOIZM3o/TyZFLnkDiAI/AAAAAAAABEY/Suy6-Ei2_wU/s1600/steelhead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DhQtdOIZM3o/TyZFLnkDiAI/AAAAAAAABEY/Suy6-Ei2_wU/s320/steelhead.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />For dessert I chose the 'Deep Freeze' option, that was presented beautifully. The dessert was good had great flavour and a nice mix between creamy and crunchy. But my boyfriend had the Chocolate Trio - a dark chocolate lava cake, with a creamy white chocolate filling served with a milk chocolate ice cream. Take my advice and have the Chocolate Trio! Amazing.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NKKGD7Qj0HE/TyZFpvivD5I/AAAAAAAABEg/zFwfLOMENVI/s1600/profiteroles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NKKGD7Qj0HE/TyZFpvivD5I/AAAAAAAABEg/zFwfLOMENVI/s320/profiteroles.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Overall, I was extremely impressed with our meal. Not only were the meals an amazing value, so were the wine flights, at a bargain $9. The quality of the food can not be beat at that price (or at any other!).<br /><br />Bistro 101 is sold out for the remainder of Dine Out Vancouver. However, during non-Dine Out times, they offer a very affordable 3 course dinner, Monday through Thursday, for $24 and on Friday nights they offer a buffet for $30. Bistro 101 also offers a lunch menu during the week. </div><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/181344/restaurant/Fairview/Bistro-101-Pacific-Institute-of-Culinary-Arts-Vancouver"><img alt="Bistro 101 (Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts) on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/181344/minilink.gif" style="border:none;width:130px;height:36px" /></a> <hr />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503706399757280875noreply@blogger.com1