Smokehouse Sandwich Co.

November 9, 2014November 8, 2014Leave a comment

It’s almost a ritual for N and I to take each other out for our birthdays and this year N suggested we try Smokehouse Sandwich Co. I’ve briefly heard about this spot, but I honestly had no idea where it was. Driving down Westminster Highway, I still could not picture where it was. Between No. 1 and No. 2, there is tiny little plaza and there hides these sandwich company. Such a hidden gem. We arrived early for lunch, but soon after, the place was absolutely packed!

They have a fairly simple menu board with sandwiches, sides, and drinks. I love how each sandwich has a name to it. You order at the front and they call you when it’s ready. You can then choose a seat to enjoy your meal.

The interior is rustic and cozy. Tall chairs against wooden tables, with sofas, books, brick walls and rugs. It almost feels like you’re at someones home.

Iced Honey Ginger Lemon Tea, Iced Strawberry and Mint Tea

We decided to try their only two drinks. Both drinks come as hot versions as well. They are definitely following the current Mason jar trends here. Most of the ingredients have sunk to the bottom, so we were told to shake it well before drinking.

Iced Honey Ginger Lemon Tea, Iced Strawberry and Mint Tea

N got the Iced Honey Ginger Lemon Tea, which was surprisingly full of ginger flavour. Almost a little too spicy for me! I can imagine the hot version to be perfect if you have a cold. For myself, I had the Iced Strawberry and Mint Tea. Mine was more bland than N’s, but still had a good amount of strawberry flavour. Very refreshing!

Samson

N got the Samson, which came with coffee crusted strawberry glazed beef brisket, butter leaf lettuce, red bell peppers, and aioli. She said it was delicious! It definitely looked really good! Tons of beef brisket for sure.

Billie

For myself, I went for the Billie. First, the bun itself is toasted perfectly! It’s crispy on the outside, and soft in the inside. I also liked how none of the ingerdients made the sandwich soggy. Inside the Billie, it was filled with salt-cured pork belly, butter leaf lettuce, tomato salsa and aioli. Something about that tomato salsa and aioli made this sandwich absolutely delicious! The flavours just worked so well together. A little spicy, but not overwhelming. The pork belly also had a good ratio of fat and meat. A must try!

Crisps

We decided to share a side of Crisps, which are basically like potato chips. They are thin cut potatoes fried in olive oil, so I guess it’s more healthy? The potatoes are so thinly cut! It’s so airy and light. They are already lightly salted, but we were told to try it with their two hot sauces if we like a bit of spice. The red one is made with chilis, smoked garlic, onions, red peppers, and vinegars. I don’t remember what was in the green sauce, but it was definitely much more spicy! Super addicting!

Overall, we were extremely satisfied with the sandwiches we had. The service was also extremely friendly. I loved how the lady asked us what we thought afterwards. It’s always a good sign when restaurants value customer opinions. A hidden gem!

Elephant’s Delicatessen – Portland

October 22, 2014October 22, 2014Leave a comment

Elephant’s Delicatessen is a local favourite and dates back to 1979. We decided to go grab breakfast on our last day before heading back to Vancouver.

We thought it would be like a typical deli, but the inside is huge! With different sections and food, like soups, sandwiches, pizzas, and more. They open at 7:00 but many of the hot food sections weren’t open until closer to lunch time. They prize themselves for making all their food from scratch every day so it’s fresh.

What’s cool is that throughout the store, there are a variety of take home goods too. From specialty seasonings to chocolates and wine, there is just tons of stuff to see! It’s definitely a gourmet deli and similar to Whole Foods but even better! They also have a bar area, so they have happy hour deals.

Crab Cakes

There’s a cold food area but filled with typically hot food like fried chicken and more. We decided to get the Crab Cakes, but surprisingly, they didn’t heat up the food. They just placed it on the plate with the dip, so I’m guessing you’re supposed to eat it like how it is. The crab cakes were good – filled with tons of flaky crab, herbs and seasoning, but it just wasn’t the same since it was served cold. I’m sort of confused why this is. Perhaps you’re supposed to purchase these to take home and bake?

Mama Leone’s Soup

I got the Mama Leone’s Soup, which is their famous soup here. They describe it as a creamy Italian chicken soup with tomato, spinach & herbs. It was extremely flavourful and one of the best soups I’ve had. A good medium consistency, but you could really taste the chicken and vegetables. Not those cheap canned soup for sure. Definitely a recommended item!

Overall, Elephant’s Delicatessen is a really cool place to check out for a quick and inexpensive meal. They have seating inside as well, although the rest is self serve. I think it’s worth checking out if you enjoy any gourmet foods as well, since they have many goodies that you probably can’t find in most stores.

Bella Gelateria (Yaletown)

September 29, 2014September 28, 2014Leave a comment

Bella Gelateria is my all time favourite for gelato, and I was excited when they opened their second location in Yaletown. It’s right by the water, so it’s quite nice on a summer evening. K and I decided to go there on the first day it opened, but ended up going pretty late. We were shocked to see a huge line up, but later realized the line was for gelato only. Phew! So we quickly got seated outside and our server was beyond knowledgeable. She was able to explain the menu thoroughly and gave us her personal favourite suggestions.

The indoors is brightly lit with white decor. At the back, you can see the pizza chefs making the Neapolitan pizzas – which are one of their main features. Apparently, it only takes 90 seconds to bake the pizzas since the oven is very hot.

They also have a showcase of desserts. There are ice cream sandwiches that another company sells here, some ice cream macarons, and the famous gelatinis! A very pretty display! There are also baked good in the morning for the brunch menu.

Margherita – San Marzano (D.O.P.*) tomatoes, fior di latte, parmigiano-reggiano, EVOO, & fresh basil

The menu is quite pricey at Bella Gelateria, with our Margherita pizza being $12. It’s extremely thin, so one person could easily finish it. They use San Marzano Tomatoes (Protected Designation of Origin) which are plum tomatoes. The menu claims they are considered to be the best paste tomatoes in the world. I could definitely taste the acidity and freshness of the tomatoes. The parmigiano is aged for 36 months, rather than the typical 12 months and EVOO stands for Italian extra virgin olive oil. They definitely use the top ingredients. However, we were slightly disappointed that our pizzas didn’t come sizzling hot. When we told our server, she explained that they are made to order, so shouldn’t be. Not sure why ours was sort of cold, but she said she would let management know.

Matcha Smash Gelatini

We couldn’t come to opening night without giving their gelatini a try. The Gelatini is something owner, James, invented, which is martini + gelato. Our server described it as sort of like an island, with the gelato being the island, and the martini being the ocean. We went for the Matcha Smash, which combined matcha powder with vodka and a tcouh of herbal Chartreuse. It was topped with a bit of lemon juice and a slice of lemon peel. Honestly, I thought it was really boozy! And our server said there was one that was way stronger. The vodka was almost too strong for me. I had to take a scoop of gelato before drinking the liquid to balance it off.

The Wonka Coppetta

We also wanted to try their other desserts, so we got The Wonka Coppetta. Coppetta really just means a cup in Italian. The Wonka had Tahitan vanilla gelato, and was topped with a blueberry orange compote and a chocolate drizzle. I liked the balance of sweet and sourt from the blueberries. However, it’s quite pricey – coming at a price of $8. Would I get it again? Probably not. It reminded me of a sundae with fruits and chocolate sauce.

If you go into the restaurant, you can see the kitchen where they make the gelatos. James is here as well!

I love how they incorporated the famous gelato truck inside. If you want gelato after your dinner, you can simply skip the line and order your gelato. I like how they’ve made the line begin outside the restaurant, so it doesn’t disturb the diners. Therefore, the line may look longer than it really is. To be honest, the lines at their original location are even longer since they start inside! Overall, I thought the pizza was mediocre. The gelatinis are interesting, but a little too boozy for myself personally. I’d love to give some of their other desserts a try. Still my favourite spot for gelato though! Now I have another location to visit if I want some of Bella’s gelato!

Forty Ninth Parallel Café & Lucky’s Doughnuts (Main St.)

September 28, 2014September 28, 2014Leave a comment

Since Shishinori closed pretty early, and we wanted to get some sort of desserts so we could continue our conversations, we ended up driving a few blocks down to 49th Parallel Cafe & Lucky’s Doughnuts on Main St. I believe they have a second location, but this one opens later. Free parking down in the residential areas so that’s always a plus!

The cafe is actually quite big, and there are tons of people studying or on their laptops here. There is also a patio outside, which is great for the summer. Good choice of seating as well, from communal tables to two seaters.

The cafe is famous for their coffee, but they also launched Lucky’s Doughnuts, because I mean, coffee and doughnuts do sound like a good pairing right? Since we came pretty late, we were disappointed to see that most of the unique doughnuts were all sold out. The lady said they wouldn’t be baking any new ones soon, so we had to just settle with what there was. The doughnuts are supposed to be made fresh everyday throughout the day. S said that if you come here in the morning, you can get the freshest and best choice of doughnuts!

Coconut Bismark

The only more unique doughnut left was the Coconut Bismark, which had a coconut cream filled inside and vanilla glaze on top. It was then topped off with a Swiss meringue and some toasted coconut flakes. It was very creamy and sweet. Very strong in coconut flavour for sure.

Sugar and Spice

Sugar and Spice was more like a cake-based doughnut. It was dusted with sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom, so it tasted quite like your typical mini doughnuts at the fair but not as soft.

Since I’m not a coffee drinker, I went for the teas instead. I chose the Organic Fujian Bohea Black Tea, which had a fruity and honey aroma. I love how you get your own teacup and their signature mug.

Overall, Forty Ninth Parallel Café & Lucky’s Doughnuts is a great place to have late night conversations, or to even study. I wish there was a closer one to Richmond, so we have more choices other than the typical chain stores.

Tom N Toms Coffee – Busan

August 20, 20141 Comment

Tom N Toms Coffee is a South Korean coffee shop with multiple franchises. We saw plenty in Seoul, but we always ended up eating something else. We decided to get breakfast here since it was next to the metro station where we lived in Busan. We got take out so we could bring it on our train back to Seoul. Other than coffee and other beverages and snacks you would find at a coffee shop, they are also famous for their pretzels. Their pretzels are freshly made to order and you can see here the lady is rolling out our pretzels. Since it is freshly made, it does take around 10-15 minutes, so don’t get it if you’re in a hurry. We were almost late for our train!

This is their menu for pretzels. There are definitely a lot of variety. From sweet to savory, there is something for everyone. You can also make it into a set, which comes with a drink.

Parmesan Pretzel

K and I decided to share two pretzels. First, we got the Parmesan Pretzel, which we found to be our least favourite out of the two. The pretzel wasn’t a whole, and instead, was cut up into little bites. Tons of Parmesan cheese on it, so the flavour was really good. However, we found the texture wasn’t as soft as the other pretzel. We felt like it was a bit of a rip off compared to the other pretzels, since it was quite plain. Something you could get at a pizza shop too.

Corn Pretzel

The Corn Pretzel was really good! A pretzel baked with mayo, sweet corn and cheddar cheese. The dough was super soft, and the stringy cheese along with the sweet flavour of the corn was a great match. I would definitely recommend this one! All in all, a great place to visit if you want some coffee and pretzels. A great change from the typical Starbucks menu. The pretzels aren’t cheap though, as they price around CAD$5-$7 each. You could definitely get a bowl of noodles at a Korean restaurant at this price. I guess anything that speaks American or European food in South Korea is pricier. Until next time Busan! Next up, back to Seoul!

Yolk’s Breakfast Restaurant and Commissary

June 26, 2014Leave a comment

Manmosa – P49 HayFever Saison, fresh squeezed orange juice

After exams ended, I met up with my Barca buddies K and U for brunch. I suggested we go try Yolk’s Breakfast Restaurant and Commissary. They have a food truck, but they also recently opened a restaurant near Knight and East Hastings. It was a far drive for me, but definitely worth it! We waited roughly 10 minutes and were given a seat. The restaurant is actually fairly large compared to many other breakfast spots. They don’t take reservations, like many of the popular breakfast restaurants. Our server was friendly and checked up on us once in a while. We first started off with some drinks. I went for the Manmosa, which came with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and a bottle of beer. I was a bit skeptical of mixing beer and orange juice together, but it turned out great! It’s supposed to be the manly version of a manmosa, but I could care less! A bit of alcohol to start our day off!

Mimosa – sparkling wine, freshly squeezed orange juice

U got the girly version and chose the Mimosa. It comes in a skinnier glass and is already premixed with sparkling wine and orange juice. She said it was pretty good!

Yolk’s Caesar – Bacon infused East Van Vodka, Clamato juice, freshly grated horseradish, Worcestershire, Tabasco, lime, celery shrub

K got the Yolk’s Caesar. Very typical and nothing too fancy with the play on ingredients.

Hand Carved Honey Ham on truffle-lemon hashbrowns and English Bangers

For food, Yolk’s is famous for their Poached Free-Range Egg Sandwiches. Their menu has a cute design for this item, and it guides you through the options for this dish. You can choose the topping, whether you want two eggs or one, english muffin, hashbrowns or gluten-free buns, a sauce or cheese, and any additional sides. K got the Hand Carved Honey Ham, which came with fresh spinach & Yolk’s made Dijon. He also got two eggs and double everything. He chose the truffle-lemon hashbrowns instead which cost an additional $1.50. He had the double smoked bacon last time which he said he preferred. Other than the eggs, he also got the English Bangers which were perfectly grilled sausages. He said they were delicious!

Chicken & Waffles – organic fried chicken, Belgian waffles, chicken gravy & pure Canadian maple syrup

U didn’t go for the eggs, but rather their Chicken & Waffles. Yolk’s has a fairly simple menu, hence probably why they can execute good dishes. The chicken & waffles is also one of their famous dishes and it consists of organic fried chicken between two Belgian waffles. It also comes with a chicken gravy, but we all agreed it didn’t taste like gravy and was very bland. U said that the chicken and waffles, however, were very delicious! The chicken was moist and flavourful.

Poached Free-Range Egg Sandwiches – Portobello Mushroom on truffle-lemon hashbrowns

For myself, I also went for the Poached Free-Range Egg Sandwiches. I chose the third option which is Portobello Mushroom. It came with an aioli sauce and fresh arugula. Just like K, I chose two eggs and double everything and had my eggs on truffle-lemon hashbrowns by adding $1.50. I also chose the real hollandaise as my sauce. Cutting into the eggs, they were perfectly poached with the yolks running out. It doesn’t look like too much on the plate, but I was beyond full by the end of the meal. There’s plenty of hash and they were seasoned well! The option for two eggs and double everything comes to around $10.75. Since we substituted for hashbrowns instead of the English muffin, the total cost was $12.25.

Overall, I highly recommend Yolk’s for a breakfast spot. I know some people wait an hour for this, which I probably wouldn’t, but since I only waited 10-15 minutes, I really didn’t find it too bad. Plus, they have great drinks and the portion sizes of food are just right. A pretty reasonable priced breakfast. Only downside is how far it is for me!

Cafe Sacher – Vienna

May 9, 2014May 4, 2014Leave a comment

When in Vienna, you’re told to visit Cafe Sacher at the Hotel Sacher. Hotel Sacher is a 5 star hotel and is next to the Vienna State Opera. Luckily, it’s also open on Christmas Day, so a perfect place to visit since basically nothing is open that day. The hotel was founded in 1876 and is known to be one of the best hotels in the world, especially known to be the place where the upper class stayed.

The inside of the cafe makes you feel like royalty, with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, comfy couches, and paintings hung all around. Red velvet is everywhere in the room. Your servers are also dressed in maid outfits, so you can really believe that you’re a royalty at that moment.

So what’s so special about Cafe Sacher, other than the royal decor? The Sachertorte! It’s a type of chocolate cake that was invented by Franz Sacher for the Prince. Cafe Sacher is famous because this Sachertorte was first served here. It’s known to be the Original Sacher Torte. This cake has basically become a significant icon in culinary for Vienna. You’ll find various variations of this sacher torte at many other places in Vienna. The menu also has other items, including actual entrees, but obviously people come here for the cake! I thought it was funny how the menu came on this little handle too.

We were here basically for breakfast, so we got some hot drinks to begin. Yes, we eat dessert for breakfast! K had the Cappuccino, while I chose the Hot Chocolate with Whipped Cream. K said her Cappuccino was very good, but not amazing or the best she’s had. For myself, I found the Hot Chocolate to be too milky. It wasn’t strong in chocolate, and instead had an almond milk flavour to it. It was okay, but I probably wouldn’t pay that price for it. What’s interesting is that your drinks will also come with a small glass of water. I guess you’re supposed to cleanse your mouth and such? I have no idea…

And then came the famous Original Sacher Torte. You will see the chocolate seal stating it’s from Hotel Sacher on your cake. I should have gotten a side view of the cake, but it’s essentially a chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam. The top is coated with dark chocolate icing and is served with a portion of unsweetened whipped cream. To be brutally honest, I think this cake is way overrated. It was good, but I don’t think it was amazing and it wouldn’t be something I would crave to eat. I agree it was pretty moist, but I’ve had chocolate cakes that are much more moist. I found it rather dense, and there was a strange chocolate taste to it. Perhaps it was the apricot filling, but I didn’t really enjoy that taste. The icing is also sort of hard, which I didn’t like. I honestly think that it’s just too expensive for what is is. I can now say I’ve tried the original recipe for the Sacher Torte, but I doubt I would visit again.

We also tried the Viennese Apple Strudel, because Vienna is also famous for their apple strudels! Man… I really wanted to take that apple strudel class for kids at the Schonnbrun Palace… Anyways, this was again just average. It wasn’t bad, but for what I paid for, I could be having some really good strudel. It had an abundant of apples, but the whip cream cost extra. Seriously… it’s just whip cream.

And here was my breakfast. Definitely an expensive breakfast. To add on, you have to pay I believe 1 euro for your coat check, and they sort of FORCE you to coat check. They set the temperature really high in the room, and advise you it’ll be warm inside. And obviously, when you dine at these fancy places, you’re pretty much obligated to pay a decent tip. But seriously, the maids here who serve give the worst attitude ever. If you don’t want to serve people, why do you even work here? Perhaps we didn’t dress like aristocrats, hence the poor service, but I don’t believe there should ever be a reason like that. People here need to be trained about what good customer service is.

Cafe Granja Viader – Barcelona

February 20, 2014Leave a comment

Cafe Granja Viader was recommended by my Spanish professor. This cafe has so much history! The family business began in the 1870s and started as a farm. They are also among the first to start the dairy industry in Spain, and they invented Cacaolat, which you will see all over Spain. Cacaolat is basically the Spanish version of our Milk2Go. The cafe is actually located just inside the streets off of La Rambla, so extremely accessible. You’ll find locals eating here with their children, but tourists have also discovered this cafe and has been a popular destination.

The cafe still has such a vintage feel to it! Very basic furniture with the waiters dressed professionally.

Painters are hung around the wall. We came just when the second opening time began, and hence we got a seat right away. The cafe closes from around 2-5, abiding to the siesta. Therefore, many of my friends have found it difficult to visit here, or when it’s open, there are usually huge crowds.

Swiss Hot Chocolate

N had came to visit me in Barcelona, and I decided to take her here after she got off her flight. Another friend had suggested items to order, so I followed. First, we got a Swiss Hot Chocolate. This was basically the Spanish Hot Chocolate, but topped with a huge lump of whipped cream. The whipped cream was actually light and didn’t have that heavy milk taste that cheap processed whipped cream had. You need to realize that the hot chocolate in Spain is literally melted chocolate. It’s so thick! I don’t think they put any milk in it… The whipped cream really helped lighten the hot chocolate and give it a more milky texture.

Spanish Hot Chocolate

My friend suggested we order just a Spanish Hot Chocolate, and because the Swiss one had so much whipped cream, you could just scoop over half of it onto the one without the cream. This worked out perfectly. When we tried the Spanish Hot Chocolate by itself, we felt it was too heavy. They use dark chocolate, and hence it’s not too sweet. But still, imagine yourself drinking a cup of just melted chocolate… It’s quite something. We both agreed that we wouldn’t be drinking hot chocolate in a while… Extremely rich and smooth though!

Churros

We also got an order of Churros. The plate came with around 4 looped churros and there was one that was a bit different. It had a lot more sugar on it and had a slight cinnamon taste to it! The churros were fresh and surprisingly not too sweet. I did find that the churros were a little hard for my liking, so I ended up dipping it in the hot chocolate. It was the best way to eat it, especially since it got a little boring just drinking the thick hot chocolate.

Overall, I was quite satisfied with Granja Viader! It’s a nice place to sip on some hot chocolate and grab a snack. I really felt like I had went back in time and was experiencing the true Catalan way of enjoying tea time.

To finish off with some Barcelona attractions, I attended the El Clasico 2013! For those who aren’t football fans, like myself, El Clasico is a football match between the Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. The two teams are among the richest and best teams in the world, and Barcelona and Madrid themselves have always been rivalries in football. Also because of other political issues, like independence, the two cities are always heated when they compete. My friends luckily convinced me to attend, and it was the best decision! I’ve never been to any sports game in my life, let alone football being of any interest for me. However, it was so much fun, and the crowds were full of spirit. Never felt so excited watching a game! Camp Nou, the stadium is also the largest football stadium in Europe! It was fully filled and although our seats were almost the last rows, we still had clear vision of the game. And of course, Barcelona won!

Every Day is a Food Day

Category: Breakfast/ Brunch