Blenz Coffee's Holiday Drinks and Breakfast Sandwiches

Happy blessed Sunday morning to you! We changed our Sunday routine today. Instead of grabbing breakfast before the 9:00 AM Mass, we did it afterwards. Instead of Tim Hortons, we went to a quiet Blenz location.

It's the last weekend of their holiday drinks and I am having instant regret. Hubby ordered the Cranberry Dark Hot Chocolate while I went for the Matcha White Hot Chocolate.

Breakfast at Blenz Coffee

The Cranberry Dark Hot Chocolate tasted like cranberries. It hits you right on the face. It's so unique! On the other hand, the Matcha White Hot Chocolate is as usual. Matcha flavour overpowered by the sweetness of white chocolate.

For our sandwiches, we shared a Bacon English Muffin and Breakfast Bagel.

The best part of the Bacon English Muffin is the perfectly salted egg on top of soft English muffins. It seems like hubby ate all the bacon because I didn't find any. 😂

Bacon English Muffin from Blenz Coffee

Meanwhile, the Breakfast Bagel has a generous serving of ham. I wish the bagel was slightly toasted but it's good quality sesame bagel. It's soft and feels freshly baked.

Breakfast Bagel from Blenz Coffee

We're hanging out at Blenz until our lunch reservation nearby.

Tex-Mex Beef Bowls from HelloFresh Canada

Happy Saturday evening! After a long day running errands and eating at fast foods (Tim Hortons, McDonald's, and Starbucks), we cooked the Tex-Mex Beef Bowls with Guacamole and Feta from our HelloFresh box.

Tex-Mex Beef Bowls with Guacamole and Feta from HelloFresh Canada

This meal arrived messy. A hole in the tomato salsa pouch made all vegetables and other food containers sticky.

Tex-Mex Beef Bowls with Guacamole and Feta from HelloFresh Canada

Besides the messy start, the meal was a breeze to prepare, and the food tasted well.

The basmati rice was well-seasoned, the peppers crunchy, and the green onions provided a subtle oniony flavour. Meanwhile, I added too much sugar to the beef, it's sweeter than I think it should be, but the juicy tarty tomato helped balance things out. Finally, the guacamole was bland but provided creaminess to the dish.

Tex-Mex Beef Bowls with Guacamole and Feta from HelloFresh Canada

Below is the HelloFresh description for this meal.

Tex-Mex Beef Bowls with Guacamole and Feta

HelloFresh Description:

Tonight, tuck into this bowl of punchy Mexican-inspired flavours! Beef gets boosted by salsa and our Enchilada Spice Blend, while rice gets sautéed with bell peppers to give it a subtle sweetness. A dollop of ready-to-eat guac brings loads of flavour with little effort in the kitchen.

Tex-Mex Beef Bowls with Guacamole and Feta from HelloFresh Canada

Preparation Time: 25 minutes

Calories: 770 calories per serving

Do you need an oven to prepare this meal? No

Do you want a discounted box? Then, click my referral link and get a HelloFresh box.

Heart Sugar Cookie from Starbucks | Valentine's Day

Celebrating the love month early, Starbucks sells Heart Sugar Cookies and Valentine's Cake Pop. So naturally, I opted for the cookies.

Heart Sugar Cookie from Starbucks Canada

It's surprisingly soft with a slight sweetness. The icing on top is not as thick as the Snowman Cookie last Christmas, so it has a better cookie-icing ratio. I like it!

I took a bite of the Heart Sugar Cookie from Starbucks.

If you need a simple emergency gift for someone special, get them a Starbucks Heart Sugar Cookie.

One of the best ways to someone's heart is through their stomach.

It's also available with white icing instead of pink.

HOT! Ghost Pepper Dip for Spicy Chicken McNuggets and Waffle Fries from McDonald's

After hubby's errand, we had lunch at McDonald's to try their Spicy McNuggets, Waffle Fries, Ghost Pepper Dip, and Ranch Dip. All items are available for a limited time only and at participating McDonald's locations in Canada.

Spicy Chicken McNuggets and Waffle Fries from McDonald's Canada

SPICY! McDonald's did something right with that Ghost Pepper Dip. It's borderline sweltering! My husband is more sensitive to spicy food than I am, and his reaction is my barometer in determining how spicy a food is and that Ghost Pepper Dip is sweat-inducing spicy. It's so hot that my tummy still feels warm an hour later, which is perfect on this rainy Saturday.

10-piece Spicy Chicken McNuggets from McDonald's Canada

The Spicy Chicken McNuggets are the usual McNuggets with little to no heat. If you can't handle any amount of heat, you can use the new Ranch Dip. It's your typical ranch dip. Nothing special.

Spicy Chicken McNuggets covered in the Ghost Pepper Sauce for a painfully delicious bite.

Lastly, the Waffle Fries are also unremarkable. It's your usual salted McDonald's fries in a different shape.

Waffle Fries and Ranch Sauce from McDonald's

Tim Hortons Canadian Bacon Breakfast Sandwiches now available!

Happy New Year! Tim Hortons features the Canadian Bacon Breakfast Sandwich with naturally-smoked Canadian bacon. The menu and the app offer two main sandwich options: the Canadian Bacon & Egg Breakfast Sandwich and the Canadian Bacon BELT.

Tim Hortons Canadian Bacon and Egg Breakfast Sandwich from Tim Hortons

This is separate from the Maple Bacon Sandwiches which they announced last year. The Canadian Bacon sandwiches were first introduced in 2019 (source: Chewboom.com).

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Happy Saturday morning! My husband has errands in Downtown Vancouver, so we visited a Tims location nearby to try the new Canadian Bacon breakfast sandwiches.

Tim Hortons Canadian Bacon and Egg Breakfast Sandwich from Tim Hortons

I ordered the Canadian Bacon and Egg Breakfast Sandwich with the recommended English muffin. On my first bite, it was saltier and more flavourful than their usual bacon. The egg was creamy and muffin soft.

Canadian Bacon BELT from Tim Hortons

Meanwhile, the Canadian Bacon BELT (bagel, egg, lettuce, and tomatoes) didn't work as well. It's hard to taste Canadian Bacon because other things are going on.

Canadian Bacon BELT from Tim Hortons

The Everything Bagel was toasted, and the edges were slightly bitter burnt. Meanwhile, the lettuce was crunchy, the tomatoes were juicy, and the egg yolk was creamy. It was a good sandwich, but the Canadian Bacon wasn't the star.

Old Fashioned Sugar Donut from Tim Hortons

This Tim's location offers donut variants not available in other branches. I ordered the Old Fashioned Sugar Donut. It's dry. Reminding me that Tims still has sucky Classic donuts.

La Win Supermarket with Bakery is now open!

La Win Supermarket is a newly opened Asian grocery located at West Broadway corner Pine Street. It's a cause of celebration that we now have an Asian market within walking distance of our place! Imagine all the frozen dumplings, instant noodles, fresh produce, and meat.

We visited this evening on our way to Shoppers for our weekly grocery run. They're still at the soft opening stages since some aisle is still empty, and we can still see boxes that need to be unpacked.

With that said, we checked out their Bakery section for bread. Unfortunately, it's after work, so only a handful is left, and we got three salt bread.

Salt Bread from La Win Supermarket

We enjoyed Plain Salt Bread, Garlic Salt Bread, and Black Truffle Salt Bread with hot chocolate for dinner this evening. It started raining on our walk home, so a mug of warm cocoa was what we needed.

Plain Salt Bread

The plain one reminds me of pandesal but with a more buttery exterior.

My favourite would be garlic. It has a strong garlic flavour and is so buttery that you can feel your fingers feel slippery.

Garlic Salt Bread

My least favourite is the black truffle because I'm unsure what to expect. It smells like truffle, but I can't justify that it costs more than the other two.

Black Truffle Salt Bread

On our walk home, we discussed trying the different loaves of bread they have. There are matcha, chocolate, raisins, and other variants, and they're only half a loaf. The one thing stopping me from hoarding bread is calories. There needs to be nutritional information on the bread, which is not ideal for a dieting foodie like me.

Middle Eastern-Inspired Beef Bowls from HelloFresh Canada

Happy Thursday! We cooked the Middle Eastern-Inspired Beef Bowls with Hummus and Spiced Rice from our HelloFresh box for dinner.

Middle Eastern-Inspired Beef Bowls from HelloFresh Canada

The rice smells so lovely and has a beautiful colour because of the onion and shawarma spice blend. But, unfortunately, it is bland. The same goes for the beef.

The hummus is the best thing in this dish. The marinated tomatoes with fresh parsley provided tartness and freshness to the beef bowl. Mix everything together in the bowl so that the hummus and marinated tomatoes can cover everything.

Below is the HelloFresh description for this meal.

Middle Eastern-Inspired Beef Bowls with Hummus and Spiced Rice

HelloFresh Description:

Creamy, spicy, tart, savoury – this delicious Middle Eastern-inspired dish has it all! Speedy shawarma-spiced rice is jewelled with roasted peppers and onions, then topped with fragrant beef, hummus and marinated tomatoes.

Middle Eastern-Inspired Beef Bowls from HelloFresh Canada

Preparation Time: 25 minutes

Calories: 1080 calories per serving

Do you need an oven to prepare this meal? No

Do you want a discounted box? Then, click my referral link and get a HelloFresh box.

Carb Smart Cheeseburger Soup from HelloFresh Canada

Happy Wednesday! For dinner tonight, hubby and I cooked the Carb Smart Cheeseburger Soup with Cheddar and Veggies from our HelloFresh box.

Carb Smart Cheeseburger Soup with Cheddar and Veggies from HelloFresh

Earlier today, we had healthy oatmeal for breakfast and the delicious Spanish Chorizo and Chickpea Stew for lunch.

HelloFresh meals with "Carb Smart" means fewer carbs based on a per-serving calculation of the recipe's carbohydrate amount. Suitable for New Year's resolution diet.

Carb Smart Cheeseburger Soup with Cheddar and Veggies from HelloFresh

The Carb Smart Cheeseburger soup does not have "buns" or even croutons to provide crunch. However, the peppers have a different texture than soft carrots and zucchini. My favourite part of the meal is the sweet onions. Its flavours stand out compared to the creamy tomato base. Lastly, the green onion topping provides a hint of freshness to the dish.

Below is the HelloFresh description for this meal.

Carb Smart Cheeseburger Soup with Cheddar and Veggies

HelloFresh Description:

Packed with ground beef, creamy cheese and veggies, this dish transforms drive-through deliciousness into a cozy bowl of soup! This one-pot wonder is sure to hit the spot! Carb Smart is based on a per serving calculation of the recipe's carbohydrate amount.

Carb Smart Cheeseburger Soup with Cheddar and Veggies from HelloFresh

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Calories: 590 calories per serving

Do you need an oven to prepare this meal? No

Do you want a discounted box? Then, click my referral link and get a HelloFresh box.

Chicken Tikka Masala from HelloFresh Canada

Happy Tuesday! Hubby and I cooked the Chicken Tikka Masala with Peppers and Garlic Rice from our HelloFresh box for dinner.

Chicken Tikka Masala with Peppers and Garlic Rice from HelloFresh Canada

It's the first workday of 2023, and I had oatmeal for breakfast between customer calls. I finally had a breather at around 1:00 PM when I had time to reheat the Kofta-Inspired Beef Bowls with Chopped Salad and Lemony Yogurt for lunch.

The Chicken Tikka Masala was easy to prepare and did not have a lot of ingredients which I appreciate. The chicken was tender and moist, while the peppers provided crunch. The sauce is savoury and creamy, perfect over garlicky rice.

Chicken Tikka Masala with Peppers and Garlic Rice from HelloFresh Canada

There's a subtle heat, but overall a satisfying dinner, especially if you crave South Asian flavours.

Below is the HelloFresh description for this meal.

Chicken Tikka Masala with Peppers and Garlic Rice

HelloFresh Description:

Bold tikka masala and cream coat tender chicken and sweet peppers in this quick and easy curry! The aromas will make you want to dig in before this hits the table.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Calories: 740 calories per serving

Do you need an oven to prepare this meal? No

Do you want a discounted box? Then, click my referral link and get a HelloFresh box.

Spanish Chorizo and Chickpea Stew from HelloFresh Canada

It's the second day of the new year and we slept in. We woke up at 11:00 AM and went straight to cooking the Spanish Chorizo and Chickpea Stew with Peppers and Spiced Croutons from our HelloFresh Canada.

Spanish Chorizo and Chickpea Stew with Peppers and Spiced Croutons from HelloFresh Canada

The stew has heat without hurting you. It was a satisfying meal filled with chickpeas, spinach, carrots, and peppers.

Spanish Chorizo and Chickpea Stew with Peppers and Spiced Croutons

HelloFresh Description:

This satisfying stew packs lots of protein with smoky chorizo sausage and filling chickpeas. It's a fiesta of flavour!

Spanish Chorizo and Chickpea Stew with Peppers and Spiced Croutons from HelloFresh Canada

Preparation Time: 25 minutes

Calories: 790 calories per serving

Do you need an oven to prepare this meal? Yes for the ciabbata bread.

Do you want a discounted box? Then, click my referral link and get a HelloFresh box.

Maple Walnut Cheesecake from Trees Cheesecake & Organic Coffee

After our New Year's day lunch at Earls, we crossed the street to Trees. I ordered the seasonal Ferrero Rocher cheesecake while hubby had the Maple Walnut Cheesecake.

Maple Walnut Cheesecake from Trees

If you want sweet, instead of tarty cheesecake, go for the maple walnut cheesecake. It has a prominent maple flavour, and the walnuts on top add crunchiness to the creamy, delicate cheesecake.

List of Seasonal Cheesecake from Trees Cheesecake + Organic Coffee

Below is a list of the seasonal cheesecakes we have tried from Trees arranged alphabetically.

Almond Marzipan Cheesecake Apple Crisp Cheesecake Banana Cream Cheesecake Banoffee Cheesecake Coconut Cream Cheesecake

Ferrero Rocher Cheesecake Irish Cream Cheesecake Mango Cheesecake Matcha Cheesecake

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pumpkin Cheesecake Strawberry Cheesecake Taro Cheesecake

List of Cheesecake from Trees Cheesecake + Organic Coffee

Below is a list of cheesecakes from Trees that are always available.

Blueberry Cheesecake Chocoholic Cheesecake Key Lime Cheesecake Maple Walnut Cheesecake

New York Cheesecake Oreo Cheesecake Raspberry White Chocolate Cheesecake Tiramisu Cheesecake

NEW Truffle Tortellini at Earls

Happy Sunday! It's the first day of 2023, and we had breakfast at Tim Hortons. After Mass, we had lunch at Earls.

Earls is a go-to destination for those looking for delicious, upscale dining options. With a menu that caters to a wide range of palates, Earls is known for its exceptional food and inviting atmosphere.

One of the new dishes on the menu is the Truffle Tortellini, a mouth-watering looking dish. In this post, we'll explore everything you need to know about this decadent dish and what I thought.

First lunch date of 2023 at Earls

What is Truffle Tortellini?

Earls' Truffle Tortellini is a dish that features tender, cheese-filled tortellini, smothered in a creamy truffle sauce. The dish is topped with parmesan cheese and fresh parsley, and it's served hot and steaming.

The tortellini are perfectly cooked, with tender, melt-in-your mouth texture. Unfortunately, the rich and creamy sauce was too salty for my liking.

Truffle Tortellini
Truffle cream, ricotta, spinach, seasonal vegetables, and Grana Padano.
+ Sauteed prawns and artisan garlic bread

Hubby ordered a medium rare Filet Mignon. It was cooked unevenly. One side is medium rare tender, while the other side is medium and tougher. I like the bitter char on the grilled vegetable, and the mashed potatoes were creamy.

Filet Mignon from Earls
6 oz Filet Mignon, garlic mashed potatoes, and seasonal vegetables.

This side of the filet mignon is medium, and the other half is medium rare.

The food could have been better, but the ambiance and service were impeccable. Thank God for a new year!

New Year's Eve dinner at St. Augustine's Church

Finding a community in Canada is a challenge for any immigrant or foreign worker. You left your family and friends back in your home country and wonder if you'll ever find friends or a community in your new home.

I found friends at my first work, and I call that full-time job and my colleagues turned friends a miracle because I am so grateful to God for them.

When hubby and I moved to Vancouver from Richmond in 2017, we decided to attend Mass at St. Augustine's Church. Father Andrew, the volunteers, staff, and parishioners were all so welcoming. In addition, Ms. Jane and Father Andrew helped us with our Catholic wedding in the Philippines.

Happy New Year!

For the past years, hubby and I have celebrated New Year's just the two of us. To welcome 2023, we joined the New Year's Eve dinner organized by the Knights of Columbus and The Catholic Women's League in the parish.

A glass of red wine.

We picked an empty table and were joined by a Filipino Artist, a Filipino-Chinese couple, a Polish woman, and a Filipino couple. There were a lot of stories about faith, life, family, and travel over wine, fried chicken, roast beef, potato wedges, salad, roasted vegetables, and desserts.

Fried chicken, potato wedges, salad, roasted vegetables, and roast beef for a food coma dinner tonight.

Everything was delicious. The fried chicken was so juicy inside, and it reminded me of Max's chicken - I was so tempted to take it home to eat with rice and Mang Tomas. Meanwhile, the potato wedges were lightly seasoned with salt. The outside was crispy, while the inside was still soft. The roasted mixed vegetables were still snappy and not overcooked. I received a thick slab of roast beef and its cooked medium.

The Fil-Chi couple said that dinner was prepared by a professional chef member of the Knights of Columbus, which is why everything is restaurant-quality.

A slice of tiramisu cake.

Thank God for the blessed 2022 and for allowing us to welcome 2023 with Mass and be surrounded by our parish community.

Nanaimo Bar and Sticky Toffee Pudding at Waves Coffee House

After a food coma buffet lunch at New India Buffet Bar & Restaurant, we walked to our favourite coffee shop to hang out: Waves Coffee House. We had tea, a Nanaimo Bar, and Sticky Toffee Pudding. 

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Nanaimo Bar

I love both desserts and of course just sitting here with my husband.

Lunch at New India Buffet Bar & Restaurant

Happy last day of 2022. I made a deal with my husband that if I reached 170 lbs, my reward would be a buffet. 🤣 I achieved it last November, but I gained 3 lbs back in December. It might not be much for some, but I was more than 200 lbs at my heaviest weight!

For lunch today, we went to New India Buffet Bar and Restaurant.

The beautiful interior of New India Buffet Bar & Restaurant in Vancouver, BC.

Anyway, I tried a small amount of everything in the buffet except for the salad bar and appetizers section.

Below are my thoughts on each savoury dish.

Plate number 1

My first plate of food includes basmati rice, naan bread, chicken curry, tandoori chicken, lamb curry, and butter chicken. The first section of the buffet offers more popular dishes in North America.

The butter chicken is sweet (too sweet?) compared to the delicious and hotter chicken curry. The lamb curry pieces are fatty, while the tandoori chicken is surprisingly tender and juicy. A tremendous first plate. If you're here, I recommend the tandoori chicken and chicken curry. If you can't handle any amount of spiciness, go for the butter chicken.

Plate number 2

My second plate of food came from this section. I forgot to take a photo of my actual plate. #facepalm

Anyway, the Beef Keema was too salty. Skip it. The Fish Curry was creamy and so soft, and tender. Meanwhile, Veg Pilau is essentially fried rice. It's alright, but I recommend sticking to the basmati rice. The last thing on this plate is the Oven Baked Veg; it's not spicy and very creamy - delicious!

Plate number 3

My third plate of food includes rice and naan again. This time I tried Egg Curry, Chicken Manchurian (Indo-Chinese style), Corn Mushroom, and Aloo Gobhi (cauliflower & potato). The egg curry has a similar flavour profile as butter chicken but with a hardboiled egg. Meanwhile, the aloo gobhi is tarty, and the chicken Manchurian is unfamiliar. I'm still determining what to compare it to and if I like it. Finally, the corn mushroom is a good palate cleanser with no heat.

Plate number 4

The last two plates are all vegetarian dishes. Plate four includes Mix Daal Lentils, Veg Curry, Chana Masala, and Veg Makhani. I'm not a fan of the makhani; it's too sour for my liking. The veg curry is alright, but the better of the vegetarian dishes is the mix daal lentils and chana masala.

Plate number 5

On the last plate, we have the mutter paneer (cheese & peas), saag spinach paneer, Indian yogurt curry, and baby eggplant masala. I love the saag spinach paneer, everything else you can skip. The yogurt curry is sour, the baby eggplant has a mushy texture, and I am not a fan of green peas on curry - if you want a peas-like texture, go for the chana masala.

Losing weight has shrunk my stomach and appetite. My past self would be disappointed that I didn't go for two additional plates of things I liked - tandoori chicken, chicken curry, saag spinach paneer, rice, and naan. However, my past self would be shocked that I lost as much weight as I did and have been keeping it off. Slow and steady seems to have worked for me.

Thai-Style Sweet Chili Chicken from HelloFresh Canada

Happy Friday evening! We cooked the Thai-Style Sweet Chili Chicken with Cilantro-Lime Rice from our HelloFresh Box for dinner tonight.

Thai-Style Sweet Chili Chicken with Cilantro-Lime Rice from HelloFresh Canada

It's tangy and a bit spicy. A good dish but nothing to be raving about. The new bowl and placemat are Christmas gifts from my mom. Thanks, Ma!

Below is the HelloFresh description for this meal.

Thai-Style Sweet Chili Chicken with Cilantro-Lime Rice

HelloFresh Description:

Dinner tonight features chicken coated in a tangy sweet chili sauce coupled with zucchini and carrots. Don't forget our cilantro-lime rice, which infuses every bite with brightness!

Thai-Style Sweet Chili Chicken with Cilantro-Lime Rice from HelloFresh Canada

Preparation Time: 25 minutes

Calories: 650 calories per serving

Do you need an oven to prepare this meal? No

Do you want a discounted box? Then, click my referral link and get a HelloFresh box.