Dinner at The Manchester Pub Eatery

After Mass tonight, we had dinner at The Manchester Pub Eatery. It has multiple TVs all in TSN, a dart area, and a pool table.

Night Sight made this photo so much brighter than it really is.

The food is alright. We picked items from the "Classic" section of the menu, which only includes FIsh & Chips and Mac & Cheese. Is this Manchester classic food?

I ordered the Fish & Chips. Please avoid it. The batter wasn't crispy, and the fish was not fresh.

Fish and Chips
Menu Description: Ginger beer-battered Pacific cod on a bed of Kennebec fries. Served with a side of slaw. Add a second piece

Hubby got the Mac & Cheese and added pulled pork. The pulled pork is the best part of the meal.

Mac & Cheese
Menu Description: Baked in a three-cheese beer sauce made from Ridge Brewing Wind & Sea pale ale. Added pulled pork.

I kinda regret not adding pulled pork to the poutine. This is still better than the Fish & Chips, but I can't appreciate the green onions on top of the poutine.

Poutine
Menu Description: Kennebec fries, gravy, locally sourced cheese curds from Golden Ears Cheesecrafters.

Since it's a pub, maybe we should have ordered the nachos. Will I come back again? Not anytime soon, unless there's a compelling reason to do so.

Black Friday Shopping Dinner at Assembli

We went to Best Buy for Black Friday Shopping! I wouldn't call it shopping really because hubby and I purchased two things. The charger for his laptop, which he needs and a phone tripod which I want.

After that, we went to Assembli to have dinner. It's our first time here! I picked the Cauli Curry Spin, and it was delicious. It smelled and tasted like curry in a pizza.

Definitely worth a try. You can also build your own if you know what flavours you want.

Cauli Curry Spin
Menu Description: Roasted cauliflower, mozzarella, chopped spinach, green onion, cilantro, curry tomato sauce, yogurt drizzle

When we head out, we noticed this sign outside.

Happy US Thanksgiving dinner at Denny's

Today is Thanksgiving in the United States. Hubby and I thought we should have dinner somewhere that serves turkey. I checked Foursquare for "turkey," and one of the viable suggestions is Romer's Burger Bar and Denny's. We did a toss coin, and Denny's won.

They have a Festive Holiday Feast menu, which includes turkey. We also found that they have a pot roast, and I think both items are something my aunties in the US cooks during this time of year.

Hubby had the Turkey and Dressing Dinner while I have the Slow-Cooked Pot Roast.

Slow-Cooked Pot Roast
Menu Description: Slow-cooked pot roast, sautéed mushrooms and caramelized onions covered in rich gravy. Served with Fresh Sautéed Zucchini & Squash and Sweet Petite Corn

Turkey & Dressing Dinner
Menu Description: Tender carved turkey breast, savoury stuffing, turkey gravy and cranberry sauce. Served with Garlic red-skinned mashed potatoes and wavy-cut fries

For dessert, we ordered the Pecan Pie from the Festive Holiday Feast menu.

Pecan Pie

After dinner, we walked home. It's a bright, cold, beautiful night, and we discussed things we're grateful for.

Top 3 Breakfast Spots in Fairview

I'm a morning person, and I love breakfast, brunch, and breakfast-for-dinner. Perfect eggs benedict, chicken and waffles, stuffed omelette, fluffy pancakes are some of my favourite morning food.

When I say "Fairview" in this post, I really mean between Hemlock Street and Granville Avenue and north of 10th Avenue.

The Breakfast Table

This place will close soon (based on the announced plans for the new Skytrain station), so be sure to try their breakfast offerings.

Update: They moved to Granville Street (between 14th and 15th Avenue). Complete address is 3014 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC V6H 3J8

 A personal favourite is the Fried Chicken Omelette. I'll go back just for those fried chicken, and I think it will perfectly go well with half a waffle for a Chicken & Waffle meal.

Fried Chicken Omelette

Paul's Place Omelettery Restaurant

I'd like to think of Paul's like a breakfast institution in South Granville. This is what I envision a traditional breakfast spot is. Though, their menu is really extensive going beyond breakfast. Of course, when you're in an omelette restaurant, you get an omelette.

Veggie Omelette

Slickity Jim's Chat & Choux

Why is Slickity only third? Because they open as late as 9 AM (I know, the horror!) while Paul's is already serving omelette at 7 in the morning while The Breakfast Table opens at 8 AM. What I love about this spot is how it feels like home. The servers are super friendly, and the food is yummy.

Update: The Slickity Jim's Chat & Choux in Fairview (7th and Hemlock) closed last November 2020. They still have a branch in Main Street, though.

Avocado, Roasted Red Pepper, and Goat Feta Eggs Benedict with roasted potatoes.

McDonald's

If you need a quick and relatively cheap breakfast, there's a McDonald's between Hemlock and Granville along West Broadway.

Company Holiday Dinner at West Restaurant

Tonight our small team of eleven people went to West Restaurant to celebrate the holidays. I know it's earlier than most companies, but this is the only night where all remote team members are also in Vancouver.

Why West Restaurant?

West Restaurant is closing by the end of the year. I want to support the business before that happens.

Great food from West Restaurant!

Ambiance and Service

The place was beautiful and 90s upscale, which I like. Thankfully, almost everyone in the team dressed up for the occasion, and we didn't look like we belong don't in such a place. The service was excellent, from the time we sat down until we leave, everyone was friendly, and we were taken care of.

The Food

We had a healthy budget per person, so this is what I had.

Appetizer

After we placed our orders, they provided this one-bite hummus thing (I hate that I can't remember what it's called). It was delicious, and it set the tone for the meal for the whole evening. Instead of ordering from the appetizer section of the menu, I picked the "wild and foraged mushrooms" from for the table section.

The Hummus Thing

wild and foraged mushrooms

It's not the best mushrooms I've tried (I thought the Seasons of the Park mushroom is still the best), but it's a close second.

Main Course

I knew from looking at the menu that I'm getting the salmon, and I loved it! The Keg had my favourite salmon meal from any restaurant, but this meal just dethroned that.

BC Salmon, olive oil pomme puree, leek, broccolini, and chorizo sofrito

The skin is crispy and crunchy. The salmon was perfectly cooked and fresh. Lastly, chorizo sofrito was a pleasant surprise.

Dessert

The most important part of the meal is dessert. I decided to pick the banoffee over chocolate souffle, and my colleagues are puzzled with what a banoffee is. It was a great banoffee just not presented the way I thought it would be.

Banoffee
Menu Description: Banana Curd, Graham Cracker, Cinnamon Milk Jam

Drink

I had a non-alcoholic Coliah (I think that's what its called). It was not as sweet as I thought it will be, and I love it. It has coconut milk and hibiscus.

Will I come back?

Definitely! I know they are closing before the end of the year, so I plan to have a dinner date with hubby to West before they close and try that souffle two of my colleagues were raving about.

Dinner at Vina Vietnamese

Mall food court is a challenge or an adventure, depending on your take on it. It's a love or dislike kind of situation.

I don't love eating at a food court, but when I do, I make sure to try each location from "start to end" (with multiple visits). As such, we have tried all the food stalls at the CF Pacific Centre Urban Eatery (food court).

After watching Frozen II at Scotiabank Theatre and playing more Pokemon GO, we went to Urban Eatery and decided to have dinner at Vina Vietnamese. It seems to be only available at food courts.

I love the beef stew because it's so tender and flavourful. It pairs quite nicely with the crunchy spring roll that comes with the meal.

#13 Beef Stew

Hubby had the lemongrass chicken.

#11 Lemongrass Chicken

If you don't want a meal, the spring roll is pretty decent, too, for a Vietnamese spot in a food court.

Ferrero Rocher Cheesecake from Trees Organic Coffee

I saw this Tweet from Trees Organic Coffee account and asked hubby that we go to the nearby branch after we're done with errands to try a slice of their  Ferrero Rocher Cheesecake.

Side view

Front view

Top view

Far view

Dinner at Royal Seoul House

We had desserts first and was thinking about where to have dinner. I used my trusted Foursquare, which showed that two blocks from where we are is a Banana Leaf (Malaysian Restaurant) and a Johnny Rockets, either sounds exciting dining options.

We started walking in that direction when I saw the Royal Seoul House across the street. We've wanted to eat there, but I find the food items on the menu expensive. I realized that all Korean restaurant in Vancouver is costly (comparing to the Philippines).

Haemul Pajeon (Seafood Pancake)
Menu Description: Flour pancake with green onion and assorted seafood

We still decided to have dinner there. The design from outside looks excellent already, and what's inside doesn't disappoint. We were asked if we had a reservation, we said. The host asked if we will be having a BBQ because a table with a grill will be a long wait. We said no, we're not grilling tonight.

We ordered the Man Du (because Korean dumplings are my favourite!), Seafood Pancake, and Japchae.

Japchae
Menu Description: Stir-fried Potato Noodle with Assorted Vegetables and Beef

Honestly, the food we ordered could have been better. I prefer the Seafood Pancake from Dai Jang Kum in Richmond, BC. The Japchae is the blandest I have tried while the Man Du is unexpected - it's tiny. The reason I love Korean dumplings so much is I am used to them to be bigger compared to the Japanese and Chinese dumplings.

Kalbi Mandu

This is the Mandu I love (photo was taken in 2014 when I went to Korea with friends)

Though, the highlight (life-changing) event of the evening is when I had the kimchi. I remember disliking kimchi. It was too sour for my liking (at least the one I tried years ago). For some reason, I tried the one they served and loved it! I added the kimchi to the seafood pancake and japchae, and everything tasted so much better.

Soufflé Pancakes for Dessert at Fufú Café

It's Friday night! Hubby and I are walking around the neighbourhood looking for Pokemon Go Team Rocket Grunts to battle while discussing where to have dinner. I told hubby that we should go to that relatively new place we saw.

We arrived at Fufú Café.

Soufflé Pancakes

First, we didn't expect that it will all be sweet pancakes. Now, do we have desserts first before dinner or just come back after? Of course, we stayed and have desserts first! :) #LifePriorities

Fufú Café

Before I continue with my experience, let's research and answer:

What's a Soufflé Pancake?

The ingredients for Souffle Pancakes are similar to regular pancakes. Souffle Pancakes are all about the eggs. Egg yolks and egg whites are separated, and the whites are beaten to make the meringue.  Just like how you would make savory/sweet souffles or chiffon cakes.  The egg whites are beaten until stiff peaks form, and then are folded gently and carefully into the rest of the batter.  The souffle pancakes are extra fluffy because the air bubbles hold their shape inside the pancake batter.  As a result, the pancakes are super airy, like souffle. - JustOneCookBook.com

Based on this description, let's continue with Fufú Café.

From the list of pancake choices, we picked Matcha Mochi Soufflé Pancakes. True to the description, it's airy and fluffy, like soufflé. I told hubby, it tasted like an egg, so I think the egg is the key to create this, and I was right. The perfect bite is a slice of pancakes, a mochi, some ice cream, and white chocolate covered with the matcha whipped cream.

Top-view of Matcha Mochi Soufflé Pancakes

Side-view of Matcha Mochi Soufflé Pancakes
Menu Description: Two stacked soufflé pancakes, shiratamako mochis, house-made matcha sauce, matcha whipped cream, double chocolate raspberry ice cream, white chocolate flakes, and matcha powder.

We finished the whole thing in less than 10 minutes, and we waited for 20 minutes to get it.

Colourful aftermath

I'll definitely come back with my siblings. My brother and youngest sister will enjoy this.

Dinner at Chachi's

I was in Downtown Vancouver after office hours to go shopping. Well, I need a couple things from The Body Shop and decided it's time to buy a new top for the upcoming work holiday dinner.

After running errands, we decided to grab dinner at the Urban Eatery inside the Pacific Center. We have tried all the places inside, and the last on our list is Chachi's.

Mac and Cheese and Clubbin' Sandwiches

The Clubbin' Sandwich has double-smoked bacon, roast turkey breast, cheddar, garlic aioli, spicy mayo, lettuce, and tomato.

Thoughts: Don't get the plain Mac and Cheese. The sandwich was excellent, and I can't wait to try the other type they have.

Sunday Brunch at Denny's

Hubby and I woke up later than usual today. Sundays mean Tim Hortons breakfast at 8 in the morning and attend the 9 AM Mass.

Today, we had brunch at Denny's at 10:00 AM and attended the 11:00 AM Mass.

It's nice to wake up a little later than usual and enjoy a break from our routine.

For today, I had Prime Rib Denny's Bennies. Despite the charred onion, the rib itself was tender. The egg was perfectly poached, and the hollandaise sauce was excellent.

Denny's Bennies Prime Rib
Menu Description: Two poached eggs and tender pieces of prime rib on a toasted English muffin covered in our horseradish Hollandaise sauce and topped with fire-roasted bell peppers and onions. Served with seasoned red-skinned potatoes.

Saturday Brunch at Tap & Barrel

We were at Olympic Village for Pokemon GO Community Day and decided to have brunch at Tap & Barrel.

I got Chicken & Waffles while hubby got the Tap Burger replacing fries with poutine. For desserts, we had Milk Chocolate Brownie.

Chicken & Waffles

I found the chicken too salty, which is why you really need to use the syrup. With it, the crunchy fried chicken and waffle tasted great.

Lunch at Menya Raizo

It used to be my fave Ramen place in Vancouver, but a year ago, they changed ownership, and the Tan Tan Men is not as great.

After a year, we decided to come back and try it again. Menya RAIZO removed my fave ramen, so I decided to get the Spicy Miso Ramen, which was surprisingly good. I recommend skipping the gyoza and takoyaki. However, if you like spicy ramen for rainy days, this place hits the spot.

Spicy Miso Ramen

Best Cheesecake in Vancouver

It's my birthday long weekend celebration and after a lovely lunch with the family, we went to Trees Organic Coffee for coffee and lovely cheesecake,

Chocolate Cheesecake

Best Poutine from Edible Canada

I'm celebrating my birthday with the family today. I invited my parents and siblings for lunch at one of the best places in Granville Island, Edible Canada.

I love their Duck Poutine, but today I decided to try Seafood Chowder and Buttermilk Fried Chicken. My recommendation skip the chowder but definitely get the poutine and fried chicken. I actually think the Buttermilk Fried Chicken will go well with waffles on their brunch menu. Just a thought.

If you're a tourist in Granville Island and have decided to eat at Edible Canada, definitely go for the Duck Poutine.

Duck Poutine

Seafood Chowder

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Birthday Lunch Date at Suika

I am celebrating my birthday this long weekend. For today, we had lunch at Suika. My birthday weekend won't be complete without a taste of my favourite, Katsu Curry.

Stewed Beef Tendon Katsu Curry

Menti Katsu Set

Birthday Breakfast at Starbucks

It's my birthday! One of my requests to hubby is to let me not cook anything just for this one day. He agreed, so for breakfast, instead of me cooking something, we ended up at Starbucks (yay for free drinks).

Breakfast Sandwich + Drink

8" Sacher cake from Blue Hat Bakery

I am celebrating my special day with colleagues by buying an 8" Sacher cake from Blue Hat Bakery. This cake is delicious as expected with all the pastries and cake from Blue Hat Bakery.

Birthday dinner at Carlos O'Bryan's

My new food "discovery" is the existence of a Yorkshire pudding, I tried it first at The Wicklow, then at a Dublin Crossing Irish Pub so for my birthday dinner, I told hubby that we should go to the nearby Carlos O'Bryan's, in search for the dish.

I found the dish under Appetizers.

Prime Rib Yorkies

Honestly, the only good thing about this is the prime rib. The gravy is way too sweet, and I love my delicious savoury dishes, but this was unexpectedly sweet.

Meanwhile, the Chicken Lips 'N' is excellent. But it's hard to get chicken fingers wrong.

Chicken Lips 'N' ... and Pachos

I'll probably come back for those Pachos and Long Island Iced Tea.

Dinner at Döner Kebab

Döner Kebab has the best falafel I have tried so far.

Mix Plate with chicken and falafel

Best Xiao Long Bao in Vancouver

My family loves dumplings (I mean, who doesn't?), and I'll say the best Xiao Long Bao we've tried are from Lin Chinese Cuisine and Tea House along West Broadway (between Granville and Fir).

Moreover, they have such a great lunch deal. You get to choose a dish, and its served with a cup of rice and your choice of soup only for $10.99! The dish serving is good for sharing too.

Xiao Long Bao, Szechuan Chicken, and Sesame Chicken (both chicken dish is part of the lunch combo deal)

Beef with green bean in black bean sauce

House special chow mein

From Hemlock to Fir along West Broadway, there are three Chinese restaurants: Broadway Restaurant (along Hemlock), Fortune Garden Restaurant, and Lin Chinese Cuisine. The cheapest is the Broadway Restaurant, but the quality of food is not close to the other two. I think Fortune serves good food, but too expensive. It's geared towards big family events. Then, Lin provides excellent food at a great price.