Roaming Dragon

I've wanted to try Roaming Dragon since I saw them featured on Eat St.  A friend from work and I have been talking about going to visit their truck up at Robson and Burrard for the last few weeks, but they've been off the street so much that we hadn't had the chance until now.  Luckily, she agreed to take the pictures, as I only had my iPhone with me. 

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Joey - Burnaby

Hungry after an evening of skating at Killarney ice rink with some friends, we all decided to go out for dinner.  No one was really in the mood for Asian food, so we headed over to Joey's on Lougheed.  I haven't been to Joey's in awhile, as I typically prefer Milestones, so I was looking forward to giving it another shot.  When we arrived we were told there would be a 45 minute wait, which I wasn't too surprised about as it was Saturday night and there were 7 of us.  However I guess some party wasn't using one of the tables allocated to them so we actually were seated within 5 minutes of arrival.  The decor was very modern, but very typical of these types of restaurants.

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The Lynn Canyon Cafe

A friend of mine from out of town was visiting and wanted to go hike around Lynn Canyon to see what that was all about.  When we arrived, we decided to indulge in a pre-hike lunch to supply us with hiking fuel.  There appeared to be only one option there, the Lynn Canyon Cafe, so we went with that. The menu was a bit expensive, but we didn't really have much of a choice.  The menu they have posted on their site is different from what we  had available to us.  I ordered the organic cheeseburger which didn't come with fries or anything.  This was actually pretty good.  The beef had a nice flavour to it and the toppings seemed fresh.  The cheese wasn't melted on top, but I kind of like my cheeseburgers better that way for some reason.  My friend ordered a piece of fried cod which she thought was ok, and we split some onion rings which weren't great - in fact they tasted like they'd been frozen.

Overall Impressions: As there are no other options, you're kind of stuck with the food here, and while it's a bit expensive, it's at least edible, and in the case of the burger, actually pretty decent.

The Lynn Canyon Cafe 

3690A Park Rd.

North Vancouver, BC

604.984.9311

http://www.lynnvalleycentre.ca/LynnCanyonCafe.htm

Nu Greek

Having already had a great dinner at Nu, I decided to check out their take out store on robson.  I went for their Chicken Souvlaki wrap and was disappointed when I got it, as for $6.25 there's not much in there.

  

The meat to bread ratio is way off, and they're very skimpy with the toppings (tomatoes, onions, tzatziki).  That being said, what was there tasted quite good.  The chicken was juicy and flavourful, and the pita had a great texture to it, slightly crispy on the outside and warm and chewy on the inside.  Overall, while pretty tasty, Nu is not very good value at all.  If this were priced more reasonably at, say $4 then it might be worth it, but as it stands I will not be returning.

Nu Greek

542 Robson St

Vancouver, BC

La Brasserie Street

Having enjoyed brunch at La Brasserie, I was excited to see what their food truck incarnation had to offer.  Turns out, they only offer one item, the Brass Chicken Sandwich.  

 

It has beer-brined rotisserie chicken in gravy on a buttermilk bun with crispy onions.  The sandwich tasted great.  The gravy made it quite messy but that's not necessarily a bad thing.  The crispy onions didn't have a lot of texture by the time I got back to the office, but I imagine if you ate it right away they would add a nice crunch.  The chicken and gravy together tasted like an amazing roast chicken, and the bun was nice and soft.  For $6.25, it's a pretty good deal, I just wish they offered a couple of sides to go with it.  Overall, a good option for lunch if you're not too hungry.

La Brasserie Street

Corner of West Georgia and Granville

Vancouver, BC

http://www.labrasserievancouver.com/street-food.html

Suika - Lunch

Suika ("Watermelon" in English) is the sister restaurant to Kingyo. I've always been a fan of Kingyo and couldn't wait to try Suika. The restaurant is located on West Broadway and Fir and is open for both lunch and dinner. For lunch, they have a variety of lunch sets and for dinner, the dishes are more izakaya-like, small tapas dishes that people can share. I have been here for both lunch and dinner and I prefer the lunch over the dinner.

My co-workers and I really like this place and we frequently come here for lunch when we are craving Japanese food. Reservations are recommended for lunch and dinner as this restaurant fills up quite quickly. Without a reservation, you'll be waiting for about 20 minutes or so for a table for 4 people. The prices here are about average for lunch and a bit more for dinner. The food is great and you get a lot of it at lunch. All the dishes at lunch come with a miso soup, a small side dish and rice. For dinner, the plates are definitely smaller, but there is a lot more variety of things to try.

Fresh Ginger Ale

This is my favourite drink here and I always order it! It's refreshing, made from fresh ginger and not overly sweet.

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Milestones Grill and Bar

Out of all of the chain restaurants at this level (Earls, Cactus Club, Moxies, etc.) Milestones is probably my favourite.  Their burgers are exceptional and far better than the competition, and they actually serve a really decent prime rib.  In this case, Flowerbunny and I went to the Yaletown location for dinner after work on a Friday night.  She started with a belini.  Milestones makes great belinis, they're super fruity and delicious.

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Peckinpah

I've been introducing friends to Peckinpah for the last year, ever since it was first introduced to me, so I figured we should finally get a review of the place up here.  Peckinpah is a small restaurant in Gastown that serves Carolina style BBQ.  They have a huge selection of bourbons, along with a good selection of beers and other adult beverages.  But for me, the main reason to come is the food.  I've been here so many times for lunch, that I've tried pretty much everything on their menu.  Their sandwiches, which range from $8.50 to $11.50 come with one side and are a pretty good value, as it's a ton of food. 

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The Mac Shack

When we saw the signs saying that a mac and cheese restaurant was opening, we were instantly excited, as mac and cheese is one of our favourite comfort foods.  Last Saturday, we decided to check out the newly opened Mac Shack with a few of our friends.  Their menu sounded decent, as they have lots of different toppings to choose from, whether you decide to build your own mac and cheese, or get one of their creations.  The space is small, but we were able to snag a table, which had a good view of the TV with the Canucks game on, so that was good.

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Mui Garden

We've been wanting to check out Mui Garden for a little while now as it's pretty close to where we live, so when we found ourselves with nothing to eat for dinner last week, we finally made the trek over to see what they had to offer.  The decor is very reminiscent of, for lack of a better term, an American-style country restaurant.  Which is kind of odd for a Chinese restaurant.  While it felt old, it was pretty clean, which is not always a guarantee at this type of establishment, so that was good.

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La Régalade

Anytime a friend has a birthday, it seems like we all go out for dinner.  Which is fine by me!  This time we all went to a french restaurant in West Vancouver called La Régalade.  The interior is dark and everything is cozy with the wood surfaces giving it a rustic feel, a very casual French bistro kind of vibe.  Along with their regular menu, they have these giant chalk boards with their specials written on them that they bring over to your table.

 

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Pajo's

Having never tried Pajo's, but wanting to compare it to the always excellent Go Fish, Flowerbunny and I headed down to the Steveston Wharf with a couple of friends to check it out.  When we got there, they had a huge lineup that ran along the entire restaurant and almost to the gang plank that lead down to it.  It took awhile to get to the front of the line, but once we ordered, we had our food fairly quickly.

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Tokyo Joe Ramen Okawari

While looking for lunch in Richmond, we noticed that a new ramen restaurant had opened where a sushi restaurant used to be.  We love ramen, but as everyone in the lower mainland knows, all of the best ramen places are at Denman and Robson, quite a trek from Richmond.  We decided to try this new one to see if it measures up.

 

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ABC Country Restaurant

While we were in North Burnaby, we found ourselves needing something to eat for lunch.  As we had just eaten some cheesecake at Pappagallo's , we decided to go somewhere close for something quick.  That place ended up being ABC Country Restaurant.

I had their Bacon Cheddar Burger with a caesar salad instead of fries.  The burger was pretty much tasteless, but the caesar salad tasted like I remembered it.

Flowerbunny had the B.L.T. with wedge fries.  She didn't really like it either, but the fries weren't bad.  In addition to the food not being very good, the service was slow and the wait staff was dressed rather sloppily. 

Overall Impressions: Unless you're going for dessert, this isn't really the place to go for good food.  I'm honestly not sure how it's still in business, other than the fact that there are no restaurants serving similar cuisine in the immediate area.

ABC Country Restaurant

6500 Hastings St.

Burnaby, BC

http://www.abccountry.ca/

Il Pappagallo Caffe

We don't find ourselves out in North Burnaby very often, but we were out with an old friend touring the neighborhood where she and I grew up, and decided to grab some cheesecake at our old favourite place.  Pappagallo's is now located on the corner of Sperling and Hastings.  They've changed owners since I'd been their last, but apparently they'd kept the cheesecake recipe which is all that we were there for anyway.

Flowerbunny and I split the peanut butter chocolate cheesecake.  Pappagallo's does a mousse-y style cheesecake, like Cheesecake Etc.  This one is a bit thicker, probably because of the peanut butter, but has a nice chocolate-y peanut-y flavour.  All their cheesecakes have a graham cracker crust which I absolutely love.  For me, this is what puts it over the top of cheesecake etc. as being my favourite in town.  It's actually quite a thick crust, and Flowerbunny thought it was too much, but having grown up with it, I absolutely love it.

Our friend got their Strawberry Cheesecake which we both tried as well.  This one is lighter and smooth, and the strawberry topping is delicious.  Again, the graham cracker crust brings it all together. 

Overall Impressions: I can't speak to their other menu items, but their cheesecake is probably my favourite in the lower mainland.  If you're in the area, definitely give it a shot.

Il Pappagallo Caffe

6696 Hastings St.

Burnaby, BC

604.294.2766

Kaboom Box

Vancouver's burgeoning food truck scene has given us some fresh, interesting lunch options.  Flowerbunny had yet to try Kaboom Box (formerly Fresh, Local, Wild), and as it was close to where we work, we decided to go.  I have been here a few times, and when it changed from Fresh, Local, Wild to Kaboom box, I didn't really notice a drop off in quality which is good.  Their poutine isn't quite as tasty as before, but the sandwiches are still spot on.

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COAST Restaurant

A friend had a gift card for COAST and wanted to use it up on her birthday, and we were happy to join them, as we've been to COAST several times and it's always been good.  COAST is part of the Glowbal group, and like all their restaurants, the interiors are superbly designed.  We had reservations, and were seated close to the open kitchen with a good view of the high ceilings and raw bar.

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Ensemble

I've always wanted to try Ensemble when I heard that Chef Dale Mackay, Top Chef winner and Lumiere chef, will be opening up this restaurant after Lumiere closed. I had a week where I didn't have to work overtime so I Love Hotdogs surprised me one night and took me there for dinner. Ensemble is a contemporary French restaurant that serves mostly tapas. Most of the dishes are smaller and meant for sharing. They recommend 3 - 4 dishes per person. We ordered 6 appetizer/main dishes and 2 desserts between the two of us.

Menu

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Feastro The Rolling Bistro

After seeing an episode on Eat St. about Feastro the Rolling Bistro (and finding out that their new location is here in Vancouver ^__^), I wanted to try it! The truck is located on Thurlow and West Cordova and is quite easy to spot the big purple truck. They have a wide range of items on their menu that you can choose from: crab cakes, a variety of tacos, ceviche, prawns, oysters, anything seafood, they probably have. And everything they use are fresh and local ingredients.On Eat St., they featured the crab and shrimp cake and it was one of the items I really wanted to try.

Feastro the Rolling Bistro Truck

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Gotham Steakhouse

Flowerbunny also took me out to Gotham Steakhouse for dinner my birthday!  Joe Fortes and Gotham in one day?  I am pretty lucky :)  

We were greeted and seated immediately.  The decor felt classic but not out-dated, with high ceilings adding to the overall opulence.  While Gotham has been a Vancouver mainstay for many years, this was my first time going, and I was very excited to try the food.

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Joe Fortes - Brunch

Flowerbunny decided to take me out to Joe Fortes for brunch on my birthday, which was definitely a welcome surprise.  Joe Fortes has been a Vancouver staple for awhile now, with great high ceilings and the wooden decor gives it a very warm feel. 

When we arrived, we were greeted and taken to a table immediately.  However, the table they chose had the sun shining right in my eyes, so after a request, they moved us without hassle.  

We started off with a couple of drinks.  Flowerbunny had a coffee, and I had a mixture of (I think) orange juice, ginger ale, and mango juice.  I can't remember exactly.  But it was really nice and refreshing.

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Gramercy Grill

We had another groupon-like deal that was about to expire, so we decided to use it up by heading over to the Gramercy Grill.  With appetizers priced in the $10-15 range, and entrees mostly in the $20-30 range, we were expecting something fairly modern and upscale. However, the reality was something else entirely.

As you can see from the picture, the decor is very old and outdated, especially the carpet.  The overall feel is like that of a department store restaurant, with a decidedly older crowd occupying most of the tables.

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Aphrodite's Café & Pie Shop

Looking to wash the taste of Migz out of our mouths, we decided to walk over to Aphrodite's Cafe for some pie, as it was relatively close by.

Aphrodite's is a quaint little cafe on West 4th, with great home-y decor style and feel. It was a bit warm inside, but we were seated next to a window with a nice breeze. 

The entrees that people around us were being served looked delicious, but we were there for dessert.  Their menu is completely organic and has vegan and vegetarian and gluten-free options.

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Au Petit Chavignol

My friend loves cheese and for her birthday we all decided to go to Au Petit Chavignol to gorge ourselves full of cheese! When we arrived we were greeted and seated right away. The restaurant is a small restaurant with booths and tables on one side and a long bar on the other side. It had a bit of a home-y feel to it.

We looked through the menu and decided that it was fitting to order some wine to go with the cheese. We wanted a white wine, but we weren't sure which one to get so our waitress brought us 3 samples to taste. She was really helpful and provided a lot of information on each of the wine samples she brought us. We finally decided on a Rose - 2009 L'Orangeraie.

2009 L'Orangeraie Rose

After deciding on the wine, we also ordered our food. We decided to all share the Grand Tasting Plate of Cheese & Charcuterie, 2 Fondues (The fondues were on special! Every Sunday, it's $19 fondues), Butter Lettuce Salad, Short Rib Poutine, and Four Cheese Macaroni.

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Migz BBQ

Realizing that our last coupon from the now defunct goodnews.com was about to expire, we decided to finally use it up.  Migz has some pretty bad reviews on urbanspoon, but the coupon was very cheap so we'd decided to risk it.

 The menu, it lies!

We got there on the early side, around 5:30, and the restaurant was nearly empty.

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Threasa's

A friend of mine works down at a little restaurant on Commercial called Theresa's and recommended I come by for breakfast.  It's a great little place that has vegan and vegetarian friendly options and the people who work there all own a part of it.  The food they serve is all fair trade and organic, so you can feel good about eating there.

MangaBunny had The Gravely:

The Gravely - Eggs, Avocado, Tomatoes,

Potatoes, and Toast

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Mis Trucos

We had bought a coupon online for a six course tasting menu at Mis Trucos, and, as tends to happen with these things, forgot about it until about a week before it was due to expire.  After we realized this, we quickly made reservations for a Wednesday night, and headed over. 

The restaurant was quite small with very limited seating, and while there were only a few people there when we arrived, it filled up quickly.  The decor is nice and homey - so much so that it almost feels like you're dining in someone's living room.

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Secret Garden - Afternoon Tea

One weekend, my friends and I decided to spend the afternoon drinking tea, eating pastries and doing some catching up. We all decided to go to the Secret Garden which is a little tea shop located in Kerrisdale. This tea shop can be easily missed if you're not paying attention!

For afternoon tea/high tea, it is recommended that you make reservations because they do fill up relatively quick. If you walk in, you may get turned away if you don't have a reservation. Reservations can be made for 12pm, 2:15pm, and 4:30pm everyday and cost $26.95 per person.

I was one of the first to arrive and was greeted and seated at a table set with shiny white china! The little tea shop was cozy, warm and home-y. It had a country-side feeling to it. Wooden cabinets filled with china and comfy chairs and wood tables.

While waiting for the rest of my friends arrived, I took at the teas they have. They have over 40 different types of tea that you can choose from. For afternoon tea, you choose the tea and they will bring out a three tier tray of pastries, desserts and sandwiches.

Tea Shop Decor

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Michael's Wilton Cake Decorating Classes -> Lesson 3 and 4

Work has gotten soooo busy and it's been a while since I've blogged! >____<

I've just finished the first course (Decorating Basics) of the Wilton Cake Decorating Classes that are offered at Michael's craft stores. I must say that I've learned a lot and enjoyed the class a lot. This class is a good introductory class for those who are interested in cake decorating.

For the 3rd lesson, we learned how to make drop flowers, rosettes, shell boarders, pom flowers, leaves and how to ice and fill cupcakes. I had to bring 6 cupcakes to the class and decided to make some vanilla cupcakes and fill it with strawberry jam. I realized that I should have mixed my icing colours before class... it actually takes some time to get the right colour!

Cupcakes!

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Anton's Pasta Bar

Hungry after a long day of picking up furniture, we decided to go to Anton's in Burnaby with a friend of mine to sate our hunger.  We went on the early side, around 5:30, and there was a small line up as usual, but we were seated quickly anyway and given some complimentary rolls and butter.

Anton's is known for their huge portions, so we didn't order any appetizers.  Instead, we each got a different pasta dish.  

Flowerbunny got the Penne All'Emiliana (Italian sausage, bacon, fresh tomatoes, basil, black olives & feta cheese in a light extra virgin olive oil).  She got it without the olives as she doesn't liked them.  It was pretty good, and the feta was a nice touch.  I think the olives would've added a lot though!

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Michael's Wilton Cake Decorating Classes

I love to bake, but always wanted to learn how to decorate my cakes and cupcakes! I've always wanted to take a cake decorating class and finally looked into some options for this year. I saw a course at Vancouver Community College in their Continuing Education Paper and contemplated about taking the class since it would have cost me $300. By the time I decided, the classes were already full!

I chatted with a friend and she suggested that I take the Wilton Cake Decorating Classes offered at Michael's. She took all the classes and she said she learned a lot. One Saturday afternoon, while walking down Broadway, I saw an ad at Michael's for 50% off their cake decorating classes! I walked right in and registered for the class. $18 for the class is a pretty good deal! For $18, you get 4 classes, each running 2 hours long. But the $18 only covers the classes and not the materials. When you register for the class, they will give you a barcode which you can use to get 10% off the supplies. All supplies you will need to buy yourself. The cost does add up, but it seemed to be cheaper than the VCC option. The great thing about buying supplies at Michael's is that they always have a 40% off coupon. I bought a cake decorating caddy with most of the tools, some piping tips, cake caddy, cake turner and a can of the Wilton frosting.


I already went to 2 classes and have learned quite a bit. The first class covered all the basics of how to fill the pastry bag, how to make icing, the different icing consistencies and how to bake, torte and ice a cake. I didn't know that there were different icing consistencies that should be used when decorating! Thin for icing cakes, medium for everything else and stiff for roses. In this class, we had to bring in 6 cookies where we used for piping practice.

6 Cookies Decorated with the Star Tip

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Northern Delicacy

My friends and I always have some trouble deciding where to go for dinner. There's always some back and forth and some "I don't know... what do you feel like?" and some "I'm good with anywhere. Just pick a place". After some discussion, we decided to go to Northern Delicacy which is located right inside Aberdeen Mall.

When we arrived, the restaurant wasn't very busy and we were seated right away. The interior of the restaurant was simple and modern. But the booths there looked uncomfortable to sit in...It looked like solid wood and there were no cushioning visible.

After looking through the menus, we decided to order 6 dishes. And xiao long bao (soup dumplings) is of course one of them!

Xiao Long Bao

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Golden Spring Szechuan Restaurant

Flowerbunny wanted to go back to this Szechuan place that she'd been to before, as she was in the mood for something spicy.  I'd never been, so we invited a couple of friends, and off we went!

The restaurant wasn't too busy when we got there, so we were seated immediately.

We perused the menu for a bit, and then made our order.  As you can see, on their menu they rate each dish according to the level of spiciness.  We only ordered one 'three chili pepper' dish, the fish hotpot.  They asked us how hot we like things, and we went with mild, so I guess they also adjust the spice factor relative to that request.

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Well Tea

In the mood for some cheap eats, we decided to head to the Well Tea's downtown location as it was close by.  After being seated we noticed they had these buttons on the table to call over the waitress when you wanted something.  Options included a call for beverage refill, asking for the bill, or just a general call.  I thought this was a pretty efficient way of getting around the usually lousy service that you get at most Chinese places.

 

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Motomachi Shokudo Ramen

We love ramen.  There's nothing better on a cold day than I nice hot bowl of noodles, soup, and pork.  Typically we alternate between our favourites, Santouka and Kintaro.  But last week we decided to hit up a ramen joint we hadn't been to in awhile (and hadn't blogged about yet), Motomachi.  Owned by the same people as Kintaro, Motomachi uses chicken broth instead of pork broth for their noodles which makes them quite unique.  It also makes their bowls a bit lighter than a normal ramen place.

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