Bits and Pieces of Milan

January 22, 2014January 22, 2014Leave a comment

Blogging while traveling proved to be a huge challenge. It’s even harder to remember what the name of the restaurant was 4 months later. I didn’t do my work as a food blogger to take down the names of the places I ate at, but there’s some worthy meals I had that I think should be recognized! I hope anyone reading this and planning to travel to Milan can hopefully find the places! So here are some of the random meals I had while in Milan:

Mignon! Yes I believe this is what these cute mini pizzas are called. I call them pizzas since they are really a squished down bun filled with ingredients on the top. This one was ham and cheese, except sometimes they surprise you with an olive right in the middle. This place was near my hotel, which is near the Lambrate metro station. It’s called Pizzeria Mundial and after doing a quick search, I realized that it’s actually quite popular! They are known for their warm and soft dough and they offer a variety of other products, including pizzas. This place is very busy most of the day, especially in the mornings, so you need to be quick before what you see is sold out!

For dinner one of the nights, we were tired and strolled around the luxury shopping area to look for food. Of course that’s a bad idea because everything is expensive in that area! We wandered into this mini square which had a few cafes and bars that looked more affordable. We saw the sign saying Free Wi-Fi and we immediately fell for it since we were desperate for some Internet. Not sure what the place is called, but it is a cafe. We sat outside and ordered a few dishes to share. This is the Caprese Salad which is very typical in Italy. However, this one came on bread! It is essentially fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese with tomatoes, basil and olive oil. The cheese isn’t strong and it has a rubbery texture to it which I really like. I’m not a fan of tomatoes, but this whole dish really goes well if you eat everything together!

We also got a Ravioli with Ham. When in Italy, you eat pasta. But honestly, I don’t think this place was great for pasta. Their pastas are not handmade nor fresh, so it was quite a disappointment. Price-wise, yes – they are definitely cheaper, hence what we get.

We also shared a Carbonara, which again was just alright. If you have the chance, be sure to try some good carbonara though, as it is famous in Italy, especially in Rome. It is an egg based pasta dish and can be quite filling.

Pretty much when we have nothing to do and are thirsty, we end up going to a gelato shop. They are everywhere and these were mostly around the Duomo area. On our first day, we literally went to three gelato shops in the day. One time, it was one after another. Literally gelato shop hopping… Anyways, I think the coolest thing about some of the shops I saw in Milan were that their gelato are filled with fruits or the actual product of the flavour itself. For instance, I was addicted to their melon gelato, because you would actually get bits of melon in it and it was a thirst quencher on a hot day. If you really prefer creamier gelatos, then those will also have ingredients in it such as the bueno chocolate wafers.

I got the Melon and Tiramisu I believe. If the shop has banana, you should also give it a try! It’s pretty good! I became addicted to trying a bunch of fruit gelatos as they are much more light.

One morning, we wanted to go to Luini again, but it was unfortunately closed. We settled at a cafe where we saw Italians taking espresso shots in their tiny Illy cups! They would literally stand at the bar, take their coffee and head off to work. My sister wanted to try that, so we headed in, but after looking around to figure out how the system really worked, the server told us to just take a seat. I guess we looked too touristy to know what we were doing. I guess standing to take an espresso in Italy remains on her checklist now. Anyways, we tried to figure out the menu, and they had some sort of special about a coffee and croissant for a set price. Keep in mind this is all in Italian and we don’t know any other than “cafe”. So we each got a cafe with a croissant. I chose a cappuccino, and I don’t normally even drink any type of coffee. The closest thing is a Starbucks white chocolate mocha, but that’s about it. But heck, I was in Italy, so why not. Illy is known for their high quality of coffee, and seriously, after this coffee, I have begun to enjoy my cappuccinos. Not sure if that’s a good thing since I’m afraid of being caffeine-addicted, but that was seriously some good cafe! As for the croissant, it was more than a typical plain croissant. They had a sticky jam in the middle which made it ten times better. It was so flaky! Absolutely one of my favourite croissants I’ve had in Europe. Sad news was our Italian had failed on us. Our bill ended up being twice what we had imagined. We didn’t bother questioning since we didn’t want to cause a fuss and we probably wouldn’t have understood what they said. However, now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure the deal was for people who stand at the bar only. It’s kind of a weird system in Europe, but most places charge you less if you take your coffee standing at a bar. If you require a seat, then the item becomes double the price. Kind of silly, but I guess Europeans who usually sit down will literally just order a coffee and sit there for half a day. Turnover is then very low and hence they charge you more. I guess it only makes sense in Europe!

Last but not least, another gelato! This was lemon and mango. Extremely refreshing! We literally ate gelato everyday in Milan! Now off to the next city…”city of water”… can you guess where?

McCafe Macarons – Valencia

November 2, 2013December 10, 2014Leave a comment

Before coming to Spain, I was told that the McCafes in Barcelona sold macarons! Pretty cool since macarons are seen as more of a luxury dessert, and who would think of McDonald’s when it comes to something like that! However, we quickly found that Valencia was also selling them! S and I decided we needed to try these out. They are around .75 euros each and come in flavours such as chocolate, caramel, strawberry, lemon, pistachio, and vanilla.

We gave the Pistachio and Chocolate a try. I would say that it is a bit more chewy than usual, but they still have the edges done nicely. The cream inside is also not as luxurious as the ones you usually find, but it is decent for the price of them! Worth trying once, but I would probably stick to paying a little more for some good quality ones. I love how the McCafes all have different items depending on which city you are in. I wish they had them in Canada since our McCafe does not have all these amazing desserts like tiramisu and such. Usually just the boring old muffins and coffee.

Anyways, we also went to Paris and saw these macarons, but they were around 1 euro each! So prices actually vary depending on which city you’re in. I guess Spain has them cheapest!

Empire Seafood Restaurant

August 18, 2013Leave a comment

A while back, Empire Seafood Restaurant took over the old Milestone’s located next to London Drugs in Richmond. I had literally just gone here to eat the week before, but had failed to get some pictures since I arrived late. Since I’m leaving for Europe soon, my parents decided that I would miss Chinese food so much, that they basically took me out to have dim sum every weekend. Since they enjoyed it so much last week, they said we should go again… Yea, they don’t get sick of eating at the same place every week…

Deep Fried Eggplant w/ Prawn Paste

First up were the Deep Fried Eggplants w/ Prawn Paste. I don’t like eggplants, so I just ate the Prawn Paste. It’s very good especially when you dip it in the spicy vinegar sauce.

Steamed Phoenix Claws

And here came my favourite Steamed Phoenix Claws. They were flavourful, but at the same time, not too salty.

Steamed Rice Roll w/ Crispy Pork Roll

I’m not sure why they call it the Steamed Rice Roll w/ Crispy Pork Roll, but it is basically the typical steamed rice roll with Chinese donut and pork fluff inside. These were decent, and the rice roll was smooth.

Taro Root & Duck Pastry

These are always oily and fatty no matter where you go. They had a lot of filling in it, and the outer pastry was extremely flaky.

Beef Congee w/ Preserved Egg

The Beef Congee w/ Preserved Eggs were one of their specials. I think it was around $4, and is definitely a steal for the amount you get. It’s a size of a small bowl, but probably enough to go around for 4 people.

Steamed Layer Egg Custard Cake

I liked how these were different from typical sponge cake, where in this case, you can actually see the different layers. Still has the texture of a sponge cake, but it wasn’t as dry.

Pan Fried Chive & Pork Buns in Stone Pot

We were surprised to see the Pan Fried Chive & Pork Buns actually come in a Stone Pot. It was sizzling when it arrived with chives layered at the bottom for added flavour. They were quite delicious with a decent amount of filling and I especially appreciated the fried bottoms so you get a bit of crunch.

Pan Fried Turnip Cake

Last but not least were the Pan Fried Turnip Cakes, which were one of my favourite dishes. This was a large dish and great to share with lots of people. They were cut into cubes and lightly pan fried, and they definitely had some heat to them! Not the typical XO sauce, but a spicier sauce. Really good though!

Like many other Dim Sum restaurants, they also offer early bird specials. If you place your order between 9:00 am and 11:00 am, you get 20% off your order. Great for those early risers!

The Red Wagon

August 10, 20131 Comment

After watching countless Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives after midnight and having cravings of those greasy dishes, I’ve finally made my way to one of the featured diners. I’ve heard people raving about The Red Wagon, but it’s not exactly located in an area I would often go by. To be exact, I didn’t even know where it was. Located in the East side, this is definitely an area I never visit. It wasn’t too bad to get there though. A Canada Line skytrain to Waterfront, and then a short bus ride takes you one block away from this diner. As you can see, people were lining up, and it was around 1pm on a weekday.

But then J and I just walked in, since we weren’t sure if we should leave our name first, and the waitress told us to grab a seat right away. I guess the group outside was quite large and needed to wait for a large table. So if you’re looking for a table for two, it’s definitely easy! Literally no wait at all! So awesome, since we had imagined ourselves lining up.

This picture reminds me of the scene I saw on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives! But yea, as you can tell, the place is quite small. The kitchen area is extremely small as well.

Iced Lemonade, Iced Coffee

On a hot, sunny day, we needed some refreshers. I chose the Iced Lemonade, even though I was afraid it would be too tart. Surprisingly, it was quite sweet! They must’ve put some sweetener in or something. The colour was also extremely yellow…almost golden yellow. Not exactly the colour of lemonade I see when it’s freshly squeezed. But hey, it tasted great! J said his Iced Coffee was quite strong, but good. They also gave him an agave sweetener syrup, since he told us that sugar wouldn’t melt nicely in the iced drink. How thoughtful!

Crispy Pork Belly Sandwich – pickled veg, jalapeno, cilantro, mayo, baguette, chips

Onto our food! OMG. This was like delicious. We sort of chose the Crispy Pork Belly Sandwich, since the daily special was sold out, but am I glad I decided to try it out. It comes with a side of chips, which I believe are freshly baked, and extremely crispy. They are also ever so lightly seasoned with salt and are absolutely delicious. I wish they sold these to go. For $12, it’s a decent price for the amount of food you get, because you will actually get full by the end. I mean, you pay that price for a burger at many Western restaurant chains, but this is way better.

Onto the sandwich itself. I was not expecting so much pork belly in it, but it was filled with it! They were quite large pieces, but the pork belly was so soft, that it wasn’t a mess to eat. Other than the grease that was just pouring out. Yup, by the time I finished devouring this sandwich, my plate was filled with oil and grease. The pork belly had a good balance between the amount of fat and meat. This is definitely not something you should be eating everyday, but this is worth having a cheat day. I’m not a big fan of cilantro or even veggies in my sandwich, but for some reason, all these ingredients just added so much flavour and worked so well. I didn’t even pick out any cilantro, like I would usually. The baguette was also soft to bite on the inside, and crispy on the outside. I have to say, I enjoyed this sandwich more than the one at meat and bread, even though the two aren’t exactly the same.

Pulled Pork Pancakes – 3 buttermilk pancakes layered with pulled pork, JD-spiked maple syrup

And of course, we had to get their infamous Pulled Pork Pancakes. Pancakes aren’t my usual go-to item for breakfast, but these ones were amazing. The buttermilk pancakes were extremely fluffy. One thing I usually hate about pancakes are how dense they are made, and it makes you feel like you are eating a bunch of cake. This one was exactly the opposite. Fluffy and light. And who knew pulled pork would go with pancakes? I sort of questioned that at first, but once you try it, it will change your mind completely.

There is so much pulled pork in between each layer of pancake, and the flavouring is perfect. They also have their signature Jack Daniel’s syrup. I actually didn’t really taste any alcohol, but the flavour was definitely a bit different from normal maple syrup. This is a must try and well worth your $13!

By the end of the meal, we were completely full. We both shared each of the plates, and we couldn’t end up finishing all the pancakes. It’s a good idea to also take a walk after…since you will feel very guilty for eating all that oily food. I wouldn’t suggest coming here every week for breakfast, but it is definitely a must try! Oh, and when your bill comes, you get some coca cola gummies. I don’t know why, but it gives me a retro feel to it. Service was also quite pleasant. Our food did take quite a while to arrive though. At least 20 minutes. Other than that, I was extremely pleased with my food at The Red Wagon! PS. You could say this is heart attack food…so beware 🙂

The Coffee Bun

June 27, 2013Leave a comment

J told me that The Coffee Bun has some really good…well coffee buns, of course. They currently only have two stores in Greater Vancouver. One in Coquitlam and the original store is in Lower Lonsdale in North Vancouver. The shop definitely grabs your attention with such a large coffee bun sign.

They’re famous for their original coffee bun, but they also have variations of the bun. Some have cream inside, and even ice cream! They also offer honey bread, waffles, and an assortment of beverages, including coffee and tea.

I couldn’t help but take a few snapshots of their cake displays. I’m guessing they do special orders for the cupcakes and wedding cakes. Not sure how well they taste, but they sure look good!

Look at those cupcakes with faces on them! Extremely cute!

And these Santa Claus cupcakes are so adorable. They would make the cutest Christmas desserts to bring to a party.

Ice Cream Coffee Bun

This is the Ice Cream Coffee Bun. It is essentially a bun with an aroma of coffee cut in half and a scoop of ice cream is placed inside. The buns remind me of Chinese buns in terms of texture and taste. Definitely has the egg and butter taste to it, but it’s also got a slight hint of coffee flavour. The outer edges are also crispy which is a plus. The bun is warm and begins to melt the ice cream, so you need to eat this quickly before it all melts!

Blue Lemonade

On a second occasion, we went back to get coffee buns again. This time, J also got the Blue Lemonade. It reminded me of Mountain Dew with lemons. I thought it was a bit sour for my liking, but then again, it’s lemonade.

Ice Cream Coffee Buns

And of course, we got the Ice Cream Coffee Buns again. Maybe I should try some of their other variations next time. They also have shaved ice, which looks really good. I love how the place is a great hangout place to chat with friends. It’s similar to a coffee shop setting, but with these awesome buns!

Jethro’s Fine Grub

June 12, 2013June 22, 2013Leave a comment

I’m extrermely behind on positing up my blog pieces these days, and let’s just blame that on school and exams. Anyways, probably around three weeks ago, my friends and I decided to go grab some early brunch on Victoria Day. Yea, Jethro’s Fine Grub is definitely not the place to go on a holiday or weekend unless you’re willing to wait an hour or get there at 8 a.m. We arrived at around 10:30 a.m. and were told that we would need to wait around 1.5 hours to get a seat, and that would mean two separate tables as well since we had a group of around 8. After a while of being indecisive, we finally agreed to grab take out and go to Kits Beach to eat. Our food was ready in around 30 minutes.

Smoked Salmon Benedict – Grilled English muffin topped with wild smoked salmon, poached eggs and hollandaise. Served with hashbrowns.

I’m always craving the eggs benny for brunch, so I opted for the Smoked Salmon Benedict. Sadly, by the time I started eating, my food had cooled down, so my review here is not going to be the same as someone who ate it fresh in the restaurant. My hollandaise sauce had cooled down, so the consistency was a little too thick.

I loved how the yolk was still runny in the middle and the smoked salmon along with the capers gave the eggs Benedict added flavour. However, the hashbrowns were quite disappointing. They were burnt and also soggy (which may be due to the lid being closed for too long).

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Alligator Nuggets – Battered and flash fried ‘gator over basmati rice with blonde barbeque sauce and a tossed salad

S got the Alligator Nuggets. I tried a piece of these nuggets and I must say the batter is quite unlike any others I’ve tried. The batter was extremely light and they had a distinct flavour to it. However, we both agreed, that it wasn’t the best nuggets we’ve had and it seems to be over praised for.

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The Cobb – Roast turkey, bacon, tomato, avocado, scallions and crumbled blue cheese. Served with hashbrowns and toast

M got The Cobb, which included an omelet filled with a variety of vegetables, roast turkey and blue cheese. This was served with hashbrowns and toast and made it a very filling meal. Because the food had cooled down, the blue cheese wasn’t as stringy as M would’ve liked it.

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Breakfast Burrito – Scrambled eggs, chorizo, 2 salsas, jack cheese, avocado and hashbrowns wrapped in a warm tortilla

T got the Breakfast Burrito, and I managed to snap a picture of the huge burrito! It’s definitely a huge burrito that could be easily shared between two people.

Overall, my review cannot be justified since most of our food cooled down by the time we ate it. I would imagine that the food is much better warm, as it was still alright with it being cold. Plus, there must be something special about Jethro’s with those huge line ups.

BG Urban Cafe

April 2, 2013April 27, 2013Leave a comment

Santa Fe Smoked Turkey Wrap

I’ve actually never ate at BG Urban Cafe but this chain cafe is everywhere. I didn’t know what was good so decided to grab a wrap. I got the Santa Fe Smoked Turkey Wrap which they grilled for me. I found that it was way too soggy after a bit though, and the sauce which was watery kept dripping everywhere. I’ve never had so much difficult eating a wrap! The flavour was a little bland which I was fine with since the sour cream helped it a bit.

The Jade Seafood Restaurant 玉庭軒海鮮酒家

March 12, 2013April 28, 20131 Comment

Located on Alexander Rd, Jade Seafood Restaurant is always packed with people. They essentially have their own parkade, which is a big lot, but the place is still impossible to find spots.

If you place an order before 11 a.m., you can also get a discount for your dim sum. I believe it was 20% off.

Salted Chicken Congee

Instead of ordering the typical dim sum, we chose to get a dim sum set lunch that would feed 4 diners. It was only $39.99 so it was extremely affordable and filling. First, we had the Salted Chicken Congee which came with salted Chinese donuts and salted peanuts on the side. The congee was flavourful because there were pieces of salted chicken in it. However, I disliked how the chicken still had bones, so it was a little difficult to eat.

Vegetable in Fish Soup

The second dish was Vegetables in Fish Soup. It was topped with bean curd. The vegetables dipped in the fish soup made it tasty and healthy.

Chicken and Vegetable Chow Mein

The third dish was Chicken and Vegetable Chow Mein. I found that the noodles were way too oily but lacked flavour. This was just alright.

Assorted Dim Sum Platter – BBQ Pork Steamed Buns, Shrimp Dumplings, Seafood Spring Rolls, Siu Mai

The last item was the Assorted Dim Sum Platter. It included 4 of each items since it is designed for 4 people. The items were all decent but I wouldn’t say they were anything amazing. I found it odd that they put a steamed shrimp on top of the shrimp dumplings though. Only one…How odd…

Beef with Chinese Parsley Rice Roll

Since we had 5 people eating, we decided to add some extra dishes although we were comfortably full already. I didn’t try the Beef with Chinese Parsley Rice Roll, but I was told it was quite smooth.

Steamed Phoenix Claws

Lastly, we also got the Steamed Phoenix Claws, which is one of my favourite items for dim sum. This one was marinated nicely with a little heat.

Overall, Jade Seafood Restaurant has decent dim sum food. It’s not a place to expect spectacular food, but it isn’t bad. Service was also a hit and miss. Our first server was extremely efficient, but when we asked another server, it took us around 10 tries to get his attention. He stared at our direction, but I’m not sure where his eyes were looking because he either just zoned out or had terrible observation skills.