I don’t know if we have this in Canada, but when I saw it in the States, I decided to try it! It’s the McDonald’s McCafe Strawberry Lemonade. It looks really pretty, but I found it a little too tart for my taste. Really refreshing on a hot day though. Probably not something I want to drink right now though! It’s freezing here!!
Cranberry Cooler
Fried Mac N Cheese
California Club – Applewood smoked bacon, chicken and Mozzarella hearth-baked then topped with tomatoes, avocado and chilled lettuce tossed in mayonnaise
Trip to Seattle means having some good food again! Went to California Pizza Kitchen at Northgate Mall. It’s a place great for the family, similar to The Cheesecake Factory, with decent service. Big portions for the price as well! The California Club Pizza tasted basically like a Caesar Salad, so you don’t really need to order another salad on the side. I have to say, it’s quite a healthy choice for a pizza. The Fried Mac and Cheese was not the best though. I felt like it wasn’t very fresh, as it was kind of hard. It almost seemed as though it was made ahead of time and heated back up. Overall, the food is pretty good and worth a try!
Mini Afternoon Tea
I love the feeling of going to high tea. It’s like going back to childhood memories where you dressed up and had tea parties! Afternoon tea is a great choice to get together with your bestie or a few girls to catch up and indulge in some tasty mini sweets and savouries, while taking a sip from your favourite tea. I’ve gone to both the Urban Tea Merchant and Secret Garden, but Adonia is the place where you will feel as though you are in a fairytale. Their decor is beyond exquisite and the chinaware are gorgeous with floral prints. Oh so girly! For just $17 a person, you can enjoy a Mini Afternoon Tea, which includes 7 pieces of mini sweets and savories accompanied by your choice of tea. If you want a larger assortment, then you can go for their Afternoon Tea f or $27 a person. Both are priced at a reasonable price, and the food is delicious!
Given some complementary white wine!
Margarita Pizza with Fresh Tomatoes, young Bocconcini & Fresh Basil
Beef Tartar with Capers & Shallots served on Toast Points with a Quail Egg
Potato Ravioli filled with Chicken & Sage
Crispy Calamari with Tomato Caper Sauce
Local BC. Halibut Cakes Served with Spicy Aioli
Chocolate Panna Cotta
My birthday was a while ago, and one of my gifts was a cooking class at Cookshop! Located at West 12th, it’s a cookstore with a large variety of cooking and baking ware, but also a cookschool at the back where you can learn a variety of different cuisines. My friend knew I was interested in Indian food, and had originally paid for the Indian Favourites lesson, but with conflicting times, we ended up switching to the Summer Tapas workshop. It was however quite different from what I had imagined. I imagined the workshop to be like high school foods class, where we each had a unit with our individual ovens and such, but we were only given a few tables with cutting boards in front of us. A large demo table was in the front with a mirror above so we could see. The chef had prepared most of the items and we were divided into 3 groups to work on different parts of recipes. So some people minced meat, others kneaded dough, and also battered dough. But I guess it makes sense that we weren’t given a whole lot, since the whole workshop was only 3 hours. Quite impossible to make 6 different dishes! Classes are around $79 if you choose ones where you can participate. They are slightly cheaper if they are classes where you just watch the chef cook and enjoy the meal afterwards. There is also a decent amount of food you get at the end, so it’s quite filling. Looked around for a lot of different cooking lessons, but Cookshop is probably one of the few around Vancouver, where you aren’t attending “culinary school”.
Check out their cooking classes at: www.cookshop.ca/
I Love Meat & Terimayo
Shake Fries
Another trip downtown means getting some Japadogs! This time, I tried the I Love Meat, and it was real cheesy. I still prefer the Terimayo though. Most original! And also grabbed some shake fries. I forgot what the name of these were though, but much better than the butter-shoyu I had last time. I found that one too salty and soggy. This one was dry with some sort of flavouring powder. Delicious!
Cocktails
Risotto Sample
Linguine Carbonara – pancetta, scallions, free range egg, parmesan
Penne Arrabbiata – crispy pancetta, peperoncino, basil, tomatoes
Went to Italian Kitchen in Downtown Vancouver for a girl’s night out dinner. Somehow, we ended up there really late, almost at 9, but the place was still packed and luckily, they were still serving dinner. Atmosphere is very nice and modern and a perfect place to get a little dressy. We were also given a sample of risotto for free and it was very creamy and delicious! Lots of pastas to choose from, and I had the linguini carbonara and it was very good. Service was also wonderful. Great place for a night out!
Vermicelli in Fish Soup with Fish Tofu and Beef
Black Pepper Spaghetti
Wandered around Aberdeen to decide what to eat, and ended up ABC Cafe again. This is my second time and it was a lot more empty than during their grand opening. I decided to try their “Make your own noodle soup” menu and was quite surprised that the portion was quite large. Overall, it was pretty good, with quick service and decent food.
Chicken Shawarama
This is kind of a late post, but during August, I went to English Bay to have a beach day with friends. Walking towards the beach, I was attracted by many different restaurants and snack shops along the way. And since I’m always hungry for food, I was craving some wraps and ended up in Falafel and Friends. The owner, I’m guessing, was really friendly and a little weird I would have to say, but he was pretty funny in a way. I got the Chicken Shawarama, and requested to have no tomatoes and parsley, and he started making fun of me. Weird. When my friend was paying for her wrap, she was digging for some change, and he said it was fine. Kind of weird in my opinion, but the food was quite good. Large portions as well!
Every Day is a Food Day 