Brightside

By in Eateries

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A friend from work gave me a couple free beverage tickets for Brightside.  Chris and I were headed to do errands in the area and thought we would stop in for some caffeine fuel first.

The cafe was easy to spot, with their big yellow logo on the window.  The decor inside was super cute.  They have these 3 large umbrellas set up over the tables and yellow and white picnic style tablecloths.

The staff was beyond nice!  Everyone was kindness and smiles.

When we got there, we learned that the cafe closes at 4 to turn it around to re-open it at 8 pm for dinner.  We got there a bit after 3 so there were barely any pastries or cakes left.  Definitely a good sign.  They had a couple pieces of chocolate torte and a couple cookies left.  We ordered the following:

  • Chocolate Torte – this was really delicious.  Chris and I both enjoyed it.
  • Chai Latte – this is my go to drink when I go to cafes.  This chai was next level good.  Really delicious!
  • Coffee – Chris said he liked his coffee.  He doesn’t really get it with any bells or whistles and it was really good.

We saw a woman at the next table finishing off her brunch and it looked yummy.  Chris was intrigued and wanted to look at the brunch menu, but as it was getting closer to closing time and we still had errands to run, we decided against it.

We were there for a very short time, but it was a good experience.  I would love to go back and try them out for dinner and cocktails.

https://www.drinkbrightside.ca/

Tacofino Kitsilano

By in Eateries Tags: , , ,

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Chris and I have been in this phase of getting Tacofino Kitsilano on Uber Eats for lunch quite often lately.  Well today, we were in Kits and thought to stop in to dine.  We ordered our usuals:

Soft and Crunchy Beef Barbacoa Tacos – this is my favorite taco.  I’ve tried many of their offerings when we Uber, but this is by far my fave.  It’s a soft taco wrapped hard taco with barbacoa beef, cheese, chipotle mayo, cilantro and jalapenos.  I think this is yummy when we Uber it, but wow, it was actually even more delicious.  The cheese is melty, the barbacoa piping hot, the crunch even crunchier as it’s fresh.  The soft and crunchy is like their version of a crunch wrap.  Amazing!

Beef Barbacoa Burrito – this is Chris’ go to.  It has spiced rice, savoury beans, jalapeno slaw, crispy shallots, salsa verde. cilantro.  He adds guacamole.  He likes it because the flavours are great together, the burrito is big and heavy.

Today we added chips and guac.  Chips were warm (very fresh) and seasoned and the guac was fantastic.  We added a couple jarritos to drink also.

Tacofino never disappoints.  We’ve been to several different locations now and it’s always a winner.  I especially like the vibes in the Kits location (and I think they may be the only one currently with my soft and crunch barbacoa tacos.)  I highly recommend.

https://www.tacofino.com/

Paul’s Bakery

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My love and I took advantage of Paul’s Bakery February Brunch Special – Two hot beverages, two main brunch items (some exclusions), and two pastries for $50.  We walk by Paul’s so many times and there’s always a line-up outside, so I’ve been quite eager to try it.

I was thankful that we made reservations before.  We were able to bypass the line-up outside and get seated in the back of the restaurant.

The decor in here is lovely.  It gives me Parisian bistro – with its beautiful artwork, a large orchid on the backwall and elegant light fixtures.

We ordered:

  • Chai Latte
  • Cappuccino
  • Smoked Salmon Benedict
  • Chicken Burger and Fries
  • Chocolate Croissant
  • Rhubarb Flan

The food here was fine.  It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t overly memorable.  We ate it all, but I’ve had better bennys, croissants, etc.  I thought the brioche bread used in my benny was soft and delicious.  I enjoyed that.  Chris commented that he also liked the bun that was used for his burger.  It was also super soft and was covered in different seeds.

Overall, I’m glad we tried this spot out.

https://www.paul-bc.com/

 

Noodle Arts

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I had read that Noodle Arts is one of Chef Hawksworth’s favorite restaurants.  It’s nice and close to home, so we definitely had to go check it out.

We went on New Years Day.  I had called about a half an hour before to make reservations and I’m so glad we did.  When we arrived it was pretty busy.

We were instantly seated.  The restaurant is small and clean with traditional artwork on the wall and a fish tank at the entrance.  There’s a large window so you can see the Chef making the hand pulled noodles and it’s quite a treat to watch.

We ordered:

  • Lanzhou Niu Rou Mian – This is the traditional beef noodle soup and what they are known most for.  The hubby and I both ordered this.  They allow you to choose what size noodles you would like and I went with the thin while Chris went with the thick.  He also went with the combo version that came with an egg and a cold dish (potatoes).  He enjoyed the sides.  I loved the noodles and beef in the dish, I found the broth to be good, but I love my soup spicy so I ended up adding quite a lot of chili oil to have it to my liking.  It’s the perfect bowl of comfort food.
  • Fried Chicken Rice – The fried rice was fine.  I didn’t find it mind blowing, but it also wasn’t bad.

The service was great.  We wanted tea, but when we arrived there were no teacups as they were all being used.  The waitress was very apologetic and when the cups were available half way through our meal they remembered without us bringing it up again and brought us out some tea.  The were great with answering our questions and explaining the menu and overall, I just found them to be sweet and kind.

This place is great.  The Lanzhou beef noodle soup is the star here and I will come back again and again for it on rainy days.

 

 

Jervis Joint

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I met a friend for lunch on New Years Eve.  The Jervis Joint was in the mid way point between the two of us, so we decided to go check it out.  I was so happy we did!

The restaurant itself is pub vibes with a bar, TV screens and wooden tables.  It’s very light and bright with windows all around, bright red seating cushions and light wood.  As it was still the holiday season, they had a Christmas tree and twinkle lights up too.

They have this awesome Saturday deal on, you can get a burger and fries with a beer for $20.  You can choose from House Pilsner, Phillip Tilt Lager or Vizzy Vodka Seltzer.  My friend and I both went with this deal for lunch.

The burger may be one of the best burgers I’ve ever had.  Delish!  It was the real deal.  Smash burger patty between a soft bun, melted cheese, lettuce and their super flavorful burger sauce.  The fries were crinkle fries, which are all kinds of nostalgic for my best friend and I.  We used to frequent a cafe as teens that served them.  Jervis Joint takes them and elevates them with their seasoning.  They serve it all with a giant pickle wedge.

I loved this place and could see it as a local hangout for us, but my one gripe with it was that once our food came out, no one came to check on us the whole time we were there.  It was disappointing.  I wanted water, napkins and my friend and I talked about getting more drinks, but we didn’t as no one came our way.

I still want to go back with the hubby because I’ve been going on and on about how good the burger was.  Hopefully, we’ll have a better experience with the service next time also.

https://jervisjoint.com/

Milk Bar

By in Eateries, Specialty Stores and Items Tags: , , , ,

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I was so excited to learn that Milk Bar was opening a location in downtown Vancouver this winter.  To those of you who don’t know, this is the spot of famous baker Christina Tosi.  You may know her as a past Master Chef judge or as the creator of the “Naked Cake”.

I gathered up a group of my co-workers during lunch one day and we all walked over to check it out.  To be honest, it was completely different from what I was expecting.  That’s not a bad thing, but I think in my head I thought it was going to be like a little bakery where you could grab a slice of cake and sit and eat and socialize with friends.  It’s more like a retail store.  It’s a small section at the back of Nordstrom’s at Pacific Centre.  You can buy cake, individually wrapped cookies, pie, cake truffles and soft serve.

I bought the swirl soft serve (cereal milk and chocolate cereal milk) with cornflake crunch topping.  It was creamy, sweet and delicious.  The cornflake crunch topping was amazing!  The ice cream cups are a bit on the small side, but maybe that was also for the best because I could see anything larger being too sweet.

We purchased a few different items within our group – different flavors of the soft serve, cake truffles and cookies.  Everyone enjoyed what they bought.

Since then my hubby and I visited once more to try some cookies.  I have to say the flavors they have are quite creative.  My hubby got the cornflake chocolate chip marshmallow cookie and I of course bought the confetti cookie (had to get sprinkled!).  We thought the cookies were good, but they were not really mind blowing or anything.  They were just good.

I will definitely stop by again next time I want ice cream and I’ll be back sometime to try the cake.

https://milkbarstore.com/collections

 

 

Davie Village Bakery

By in Eateries Tags: , ,

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I saw online that a new bakery opened close to home and I was so excited!  I’ve seen them post on social media and I’ve shared some of their offerings in my stories as they always looked great.  Chris and I walked over to check it out and I am sad to report that I was a bit disappointed with my experience.

Firstly, they do offer a variety of baked goods from cinnamon buns to cakes, donuts, brownies and loafs, etc.  It gives me the “mom and pop shop vibe” which I’m always happy to support.

However, when we arrived, the woman behind the counter seemed unenthusiastic and impatient.  It was felt by both my husband and myself.  I felt like it kind of took a bit of the wind out of my sails because I was excited and taking photos and discussing options with my hubby.  The bakery was empty other than us so we weren’t holding up a line-up or anything.

After taking a browse, the hubby and I landed on the apple fritter and a large cinnamon bun.  When my hubby was paying I noticed the fridge.  I asked about the cupcakes which the woman answered.  The hubby turned to see what I was looking at, discussing if I wanted to add more to my order.  Before I had an opportunity to answer my hubby was prompted to finish his payment.  Maybe she was just having a bad day, who knows.

The apple fritter and cinnamon roll were both good.  Not the best I’ve ever had, but they were good.  My husband enjoyed them more than me.  He liked the cinnamon bun, but I wonder if my experience skewed my taste.

https://linktr.ee/dvbakery

Riley’s Fish & Steak – Lunch

By in Eateries Tags: , , , ,

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Riley’s Fish and Steak is a fabulous new restaurant in downtown Vancouver that I was so excited to check out for lunch last month.

From the front entrance to the interior decor with all of its greenery, patterned seating, wine walls and beautiful light fixtures, we were in awe.  It is a beautiful restaurant, and with it being the holiday season, they also had elegant Christmas trees in every room that added to the warmth.

We were seated on the heated outside patio.  Our server, Samiksha, mentioned that it was her first time working that time slot, but she was great.  She was friendly and attentive.

We had:

  • Lobster Roll – Atlantic lobster, herb olive oil, avocado, dill slaw, served with fries.  We asked for this to be cut in half so we could share it, but I am coming back to get this dish all on my own.  It was absolute perfection.   The bun was soft, the lobster pieces were thick.  Lobster rolls are not traditionally paired with avocado, but Riley’s version is and it seems like such a no brainer.  Yum!  Also, I’m not someone who ever finishes fries, but these were quite possibly some of the best fries I’ve had in my life.  At a certain point while we were heavily getting into our glorious other dish, my husband reminded himself out loud to “not sleep on the fries”, because they were that good.  Great dish!
  • The Grand Seafood Tower – fresh shucked east and west coast oysters, poached tiger prawns, snow crab legs, marinated mussels and clams, tuna tartare.  The tower was a spectacular showstopper.  The seafood was fresh and delicious.  The accompanying sauces were divine.  However, we did notice after when we were looking at photographs that although listed on the menu, we didn’t receive any clams.  Either way, we enjoyed it so much that we won’t hold it against them.

Riley’s also had live music that added to our atmosphere.

Although this wasn’t a boozy lunch for us, judging from the enormous wine walls in two of their rooms, Riley’s offers a huge selection of wine.

We had a great experience.  This classic restaurant is perfect for dates, business meetings and special occasions.  It also looks like they may have private rooms where you can also host parties.  I would definitely recommend it.

https://rileysrestaurant.ca/

Tokyo Mithaiwala

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I wanted to do something special with my mom over the holidays.  I saw online that there was a place in Surrey, not far from where she lives, that offers their own spin on high tea – Tokyo Mithaiwala.

My mom and I are a bit like high tea connnoisseurs.  It’s been our thing for well over a decade.  We used to hop from hotel to hotel, teahouse to teahouse to try them all.  We are also of a fijian indian background.  Seeing that Tokyo Mithaiwala offered a high tea with an indian spin with dishes like samosa rolls or coconut chutney sandwiches caught our interest.  Also, since it’s the week between Christmas and New Years, it was nice to have something with a holiday twist – their christmas high tea.

Okay, so let’s talk the good, the bad, the ugly.  The restaurant itself is charming.  It looks clean and inviting.  I loved the sign on the back wall and the elegant Christmas tree under it.  There’s plenty of seating and a counter where you can purchase Indian sweets that are laid out perfectly on display behind glass.

We were seated at a small table in the corner.  We knew we were going to get the high tea, but we decided to try some other options from their a la carte menu as well.  I asked the waitress a question about the chilli cheese and what it comes with to dip.  She answered that it was the gouda.  I had trouble wrapping my head around this because dipping cheese into cheese sauce wasn’t registering – that, and also I could have sworn that I saw the chilli cheese being offered with other dipping options on Instagram.  I asked her a couple times what we were dipping into the cheese before it registered.  It wasn’t until I got home that I looked at their social media and I saw that they were offering the chilli cheese with pakoras.  I wonder why that wasn’t brought to my attention at the time when I kept asking what they had to dip into the cheese.  I would have definitely preferred to try that out.  Either way, we were feeling adventurous, so we went with an order of the chilli cheese and aloo matar baked kulcha.

  • christmas afternoon tea – this was presented beautifully!  It was brought out in a three tier birdcage tray.  So pretty!  The items on it were roasted pepper and smoked gouda sandwich, tomato and coconut chutney sandwich, paneer sausage roll, ajwain scone, whipped schischimi butter, cranberry ginger chutney, samosa roll, veg bullet, red velvet cupcake, double chocolate brownie, strawberry cheesecake, with a choice of tea, coffee, hot chocolate or mulled wine.  For us, the items in the high tea were hit and miss.  Things that stood out to me were the samosa roll and veg bullet.  They were great.  My mom enjoyed the ajwain scone and the smoked gouda sandwich.  The desserts were not bad.  I found the other savoury items to be a bit underwhelming.  I had their masala chai for my beverage and it was so, so, so good!  I could have drank a gallon of it.
  • chilli cheese fondue with smoked gouda, togarashi, lentil dippers – I thought the chilli cheese fondue was delicious.  The dippers looked to be a mix of the gouda and other listed ingredients deep fried.  I did not like the dipper and as I mention above, I wasn’t a fan of the idea of dipping cheese into more cheese.  I think the pakoras with that cheese sauce was probably really good.
  • aloo matar baked kulcha – indian flatbread stuffed with peas and potatoes.  So I’ve never tried kulcha before, so i had to google it before we ordered.  It’s very much like naan, but the centre is a bit fluffier.  They stuffed it and serve it with a side of curried peas.  Oh my goodness, this was the clear winner of the afternoon for us.  I would come back again to have some more and they have other variations (stuffed with other things) on the menu.  I want to try them all.  Order this!  You won’t be sorry.

Some great things to mention about Tokyo Mithaiwala are that the menu is fully vegetarian.  So if you’re a vegetarian, there are tons of options on the menu for you.  The price points are great – bang for your buck.  To give you an idea, the baked kulcha was pretty big and it was $9.99.

The service was okay.  Our server was really friendly and pleasant.  I liked her.  She had one great moment that really stood out for me.  After our dishes came out, we had very little room on our table.  A larger table next to us opened up and she moved us without us asking so we’d have more room.  I loved that!  However, our chai came out last, when traditionally you should get your tea first, and we needed to remind her that we hadn’t gotten them yet.  We also went for a long period without being checked on.  Both of our waters were empty for majority of our seating and we wanted more chai and more sugar, but we never got a chance to ask because no one came around.  By the time they did, we were full and pretty much done, so we opted to get our bills instead.

Overall, we had fun.  The place gives me more cafe vibes than restaurant vibes.  I would happily come back for more chai and to try some of the other kulcha varieties.  I also wished I had taken some of the sweets that were on display to go, but we were pretty stuffed when we left so I will definitely do that next time.

https://tokyomithaiwala.ca/

The Pawn Shop – Santa’s Workshop

By in Eateries

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My friend and I went over to check out the Pawn Shop earlier this week.  They have transformed the whole restaurant for Christmas time and it is everything and more!  Every single inch of the restaurant is covered in twinkling lights and festive holiday decor.  It’s pretty cool.

They also have fun Christmas cocktails.  We tried:

  • Elf Punch – belle de brillet pear spirit, creme de cacoa, lemon juice, guava juice.  This drink came in a fun holiday cup.  I liked it!  My friend tried a bit and thought it was good too.  I thought the creme de cacoa taste was prominent in the best way!
  • Pawn Shop Mulled Wine – st. remy, sweetened red wine, cinnamon sticks, clove, star anise, all spice berries, orange slices.  My friend was really looking forward to having the mulled wine, but unfortunately, she wasn’t a fan of their version.  I had a sip as well and it was different from mulled wine I’d had in the past.  It had a strong black licorice taste.

All the drinks on the menu sound so fun.  They also had some hot cocktail options that I’d like to try next time.

Their Christmas food menu items are all so unique.  We had:

  • Christmas Leftover Dinner – pulled turkey, stuffing, crispy brussels sprouts, candied yams, gravy, cranberry aioli and a liege waffle.  This was soo, sooo good.  The presentation was impressive and I loved everything on my plate.  The pulled turkey and brussels were perfection.  The gravy was super flavorful.  It tasted like maybe they fried the stuffing and omg it was amazing.  I liked that they did the candied yams with the melted marshmallow on top. And how often do you order something for dinner at a restaurant and it comes with your dessert?  I saved my cinnamon waffle for my sweetness at the end of my meal – yum!

Santa’s Jefe Tacos.  My friend had these and she loved them.  There was a bit of confusion because although the menu says “your choice of 2 tacos” after a conversation with the waitress about if the tacos are filling, only one was brought out to her.  She ordered a second one separately.  Either way, once we got passed the confusion, she was happy.  The wonderfully weird flavor combinations just work.

  • Candied Yam Taco – maple roasted yams, torched marshmallow fluff, stuffing, crispy brussels sprouts and cranberry aioli
  • Roasted Turkey Taco – roasted turkey, stuffing, crispy brussels sprouts, cranberry aioli

We had such a great time.  It’s just good vibes and will get you hyped for the holiday season.  Make those resos though because when we checked it out it was a packed house.  You’re gonna love it!

 

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