Lunch delivery from Domino's Pizza

In my last post about Olive Garden, I mentioned that I like Domino's carbonara, so I thought of ordering it for lunch the day after eating the one from Olive Garden to do a comparison.

Domino's Pasta

Chicken Carbonara

Compared to the carbonara from Olive Garden, the one from Domino's is not as heavy and creamy. It's a bit watered down. I do love the bacon, grilled chicken, and mushroom better so topping wise Domino's got it right. For $7.50, it's a satisfying dish.

Chicken Carbonara
Grilled 100% all-white meat chicken, bacon, onions and mushrooms mixed with penne pasta and baked to perfection with creamy sauce.

Italian Sausage Marinara

I thought of ordering the Chicken Alfredo for hubby so he can compare it from the one in Olive Garden, but he said he wants something different, so I got him the tomato-based Italian Sausage Marinara, instead.

Italian Sausage Marinara
Penne pasta baked in a zesty marinara sauce with Italian sausage, a blend of Italian seasonings and Provolone cheese.

Domino's Side: Chicken

I ordered the Boneless Chicken with BBQ sauce.

Boneless Chicken
Boneless chicken is lightly breaded with savoury herbs, made with 100% white breast meat. Comes with our signature BBQ sauce for dipping.

Domino's Side: Bread

I also got us Parmesan Bites. My only regret is not ordering a Marinara Sauce Cup with it.

Parmesan Bites
Oven-baked bread bites handmade from the buttery-tasting dough and seasoned with garlic and Parmesan. 

Where is your favourite place in Vancouver to get Carbonara?

Buko Pie and Egg Pie from Ruby

I was craving buko (coconut) pie that I miss from the Philippines. I decided to ask the Facebook Food group I'm part of for recommendation, and the first person to send me a message and picture is Ruby Dacanay.

Buko Pie in Vancouver from Ruby

The buko pie is delicious! It's more buko than sugary filling, which I love. The crust is flaky, and it just crumbles.

Buko Pie

I sliced the buko pie. My skills need some work.

Look at the layers of coconut.

Egg Pie in Vancouver

The egg pie is not overly sweet, creamy, and delicious.

Egg Pie

Egg Pie

Egg Pie slice

I can't wait to bring this to Richmond tomorrow. Be sure to send Ruby Dacanay a message on Facebook to order a buko and egg pie.

Filipino Food from Tasty Pinoy BBQ Skewers at iba pa

 It's the last day of the month, which means we can pigout. Today, we ordered lunch from Tasty Pinoy Skewers. As expected, we got too much food (is there such a thing?), which means we have food for the whole week (or at least, most of the week).

What to order from Tasty Pinoy BBQ Skewers?

Feast from Tasty Pinoy Skewers

Kwek-Kwek

I haven't had Kwek-Kwek ever since I was in the Philippines last February 2019, so I was really looking forward to eating Kwek-Kwek. And this one is delicious. I even sent a photo to my sister, who loves and misses this dish.

Kwek-Kwek

Pork BBQ

Saucy is the best word to describe their pork BBQ. It's delicious and hoped I ordered more.

Filipino-style Pork BBQ

Crispy Dinuguan

This is the surprise of all the things I ordered today. The Diniguan (pork blood stew) is good, but the bagnet on top made it excellent. I highly recommend this dish.

Crispy Dinuguan

Creamy Kare-Kare

You can never go wrong with kare-kare (peanut butter stew) with bagoong (shrimp paste). It's delicious and creamy (as the name suggested). I can't wait to reheat and eat it with rice.

Creamy Kare-Kare

This delivery just made Monday 100x better. Thanks, Tasty Pinoy Skewers, for the food delivery. Check out their Facebook page for the menu, prices, and send them a message to place an order.

Filipino Food from Big Boy's Pagkain

It's the weekend which means we can eat "takeout" food. :) For this week, I'm supporting a fellow Filipino in Metro Vancouver - Big Boy's Pagkain. Their business model is different and amusing, check their website to learn more.

I purchased three dishes from their Party Trays menu this week: Spring Rolls, Tofu Sisig, and Caldereta.

The serving size is enormous! I didn't expect it to be that big, which is impressive. Big Boy's Pagkain is value for money for sure. We will have enough food for a week.

I wish the caldereta is a bit spicier, but I think that's just my preference. However, the beef is tender which I like.

Beef Caldereta

The tofu sisig is delicious after it has been reheated. Although I think I would prefer the tofu chopped smaller just so it would have the same texture and feel as pork sisig. Maybe I'll slice the tofu before reheating it next time.

Tofu Sisig

My favourite among the three is the spring roll. I think it just tied or slightly exceeded my previous number 1 from Little Ongpin.

We received two trays of Spring Rolls!

Be sure to try food from Big Boy's Pagkain. Below is their menu for the week we ordered:

Ilocos Norte Empanada and Longganisa in Vancouver

Food and writing have become my escape and a happy place. I decided to join a Facebook Group "Filipino Food Vancouver" to discover more vendors of Filipino cuisine and support kababayan here in Metro Vancouver.

If you check my last few posts, it's mostly Filipino cuisine in Vancouver. It's like an obsession to support fellow Filipino during a pandemic.

For this week, I discovered that a Facebook Page is selling Ilocos Norte Empanada and Longganisa in Vancouver. After a week of figuring out the schedule and logistics, here we are enjoying our Empanada.

Ilocos Norte Empanada

Inside Ilocos Norte Empanada are shredded green papaya, munggo beans, egg, and the key ingredient is their homemade Ilocos Longganisa.

I have been craving this for a really long time. The timing is also perfect. My friend who planned our trip to Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur recently passed away. I'll always remember her when eating this dish.

It arrived still hot. The exterior is crispy and crunchy, as expected it's oily as well, but that's when the spicy vinegar sauce comes in. Be sure to put some of the sauce inside your Empanada, and the flavours are 10x better. You'll just keep on eating until you realize it's gone. We ate two in one seating. Crazy!

Ilocos Longganisa

We also ordered two dozen longganisa for breakfast this week. I can't wait to cook them.

Pastry Puff Empanaditas

Aside from Ilocos Norte Empanada and Longganisa, I ordered one dozen of their Pastry Puff Empanaditas filled with shredded chicken, raisins, potatoes, green peas, and carrots.

A dozen of Pastry Puff Empanaditas

It's delicious as well. We just put a couple in the microwave, and it tasted better hot.

Kain tayo!

August 16 Update: I cooked the Ilocos Norte Longganisa for breakfast this morning, It was garlicky, fatty, and delicious. I served it with sunnyside up egg and brown rice.

Ilocos Norte Longganisa for breakfast in Metro Vancouver

Kutsinta, Spanish Bread, etc. from SM Delights

I discovered another Filipino entrepreneur in Facebook ads which is exciting.

Facebook ad of SM Delights

SM Delights

SM Delights serves three items as of this post: Kutsinta (Filipino steamed rice cake), Spanish bread (soft bread with sweet, buttery paste), and Ensaymada (Filipino soft, sweet dough pastry covered with butter and sugar then topped with lots of grated cheese).

I ordered last Wednesday for delivery today (Saturday) and it arrived warm and fresh. We can't wait to dig in.

Kutsinta in Metro Vancouver

I love the caramel dip and of course, kutsinta won't be complete with grated coconut.

Kutsinta with Grated Coconut and Yema Dip

Ensaymada

I'm not a fan of Ensaymada, in general, but I gave it a try and it's like pillow-soft. It's sweet, soft, and delicious.

Ensaymada

Cheesy, Sweet Ensaymada

Enjoying this Ensaymada

Spanish Bread

I'll buy more of this again in the future! My siblings will love Spanish Bread. It arrived warm and freshly baked just like when I was a kid buying it directly from the bakery in the afternoon after school. Nostalgic.

Warm Spanish Bread

Spanish Bread

Order from SM Delights

Be sure to send SM Delights a message on Facebook to place an order.

Lunch from Cooking Ng Ina (putaheng Pinoy) | Best Kare-Kare in Metro Vancouver

Update: The wonderful people behind Cooking Ng Ina has opened a restaurant in Surrey, BC! Check out EATS 23 Bistro.

I wrote yesterday that I have a Facebook Ad discovery, and today the food arrived for us to enjoy for lunch.

The food is as advertised enough to feed four people! Because it's just hubby and me, we have leftover to enjoy tomorrow.

Food from Cooking Ng Ina (Putaheng Pinoy)

They offer Filipino dishes for everyone to enjoy. We ordered Kare-Kare, Siomai, and Sisig.

Filipino Feast from Cooking Ng Ina (Putaheng Pinoy)

Kare-Kare

It's the best Kare-Kare in Metro Vancouver that I've tried so far. I'm comparing this with the ones from Max's Restaurant along Kingsway and Little Ongpin in Richmond.

The Kare-Kare from Max's is too runny (too much broth and not enough peanut butter), while the one from Little Ongpin is the opposite. It's too thick.

Kare-Kare

This one is just the right consistency and has excellent flavour. Cooking Ng Ina served it with spicy shrimp paste (bagoong). Yummy! This is the reason why I cooked extra brown rice this morning to smother it with delicious Kare-Kare sauce.

Sisig

In Metro Vancouver, this is the second time I have tried sisig. The first time is from Pin-Pin. They're both alright. We haven't discovered a sisig that would make us want to order it again. The flavour is excellent, but it's not crunchy the way we like it.

Sisig

Siomai

This one brings me back to my childhood of going home from school and buying Siomai from the street vendors. It's so delicious! They even provide you with soy sauce and chilli oil to dip it in. Amazing.

20 pieces Siomai

Will I order from Cooking Ng Ina (Putaheng Pinoy) again?

Absolutely! I'm already thinking of when I can order it for my mom. Kare-Kare is one of her favourite dishes.

Be sure to send Cooking Ng Ina (Putaheng Pinoy) a message on Facebook to place your order.

Yummy, Fluffy Ensaymada from Kaye Bakes

Last month, I ordered Ube Cake from Kaye Bakes. It was so delicious! I was telling my dad about it, who arrived nearly a month ago from the Philippines (yes, he completed his 14-day quarantine period, and he's healthy as can be which makes all of us happy).

He said, "Baka si Kaye from Winnipeg ang binilhan mo." (Maybe you purchased from Kaye who we knew from Winnipeg). Apparently, they have a Couple's for Christ mentee in their two years in Winnipeg, who also moved to BC after 4 years.

Ensaymada

I contacted Kaye Bakes to ask if they have Cassava Cake because my mom is requesting for it. I also awkwardly ask if they lived in Winnipeg because my parents new a Kaye that loves to bake from there who moved to BC. She said, yes we lived in Winnipeg. I told her my parents' name, and yes, she's the friend my dad is referring to—such a small world.

Ensaymada from Kaye Bakes

I didn't know they knew each other when I ordered Ube Cake last month! I was just looking to support Filipino entrepreneurs and enjoy Ube cake.

My dad is celebrating his birthday tomorrow, so Kaye decided to surprise him with Ensaymada. It's too bad that I can't visit them right now to enjoy the fluffy pastry.

My mom called me, telling me how delicious the Ensaymada is. Thank God for using me to help reconnect my parents with their friends.

Where to get Ensaymada in Metro Vancouver?

Be sure to send Kaye Bakes a message to inquire about their Filipino pastries. I'm still looking forward to my birthday, so I can have a mocha cake.

Call Kaye Bakes: 778-697-8143
Email Kaye Bakes: kayebakes.ca@gmail.com

Ube Cake from Kaye Bakes

I continue my support of Filipino businesses and entrepreneurs by ordering Ube (purple yam) cake from Kaye Bakes.

Kaye Bakes for Celebration

Today we're celebrating three things: my mom's birthday, my youngest sister's high school graduation, and father's day. It only fits to order some cake, and I thought a cake we can't buy from Costco would be fitting.

How I ordered from Kaye Bakes?

I reached out on their Facebook page Tuesday to ask if they can do a Saturday delivery or if it's too late. I also asked for prices and if they can deliver.

They were able to deliver on a Saturday at Richmond. I paid via Interac-E Transfer.

Ube Cake

Purple yam is famous in the Philippines. The colour is unique, and it's delicious! We love Ube cake in the Philippines, and I didn't think we would be able to enjoy some here in Canada.

Ube Cake from Kaye Bakes

Ube Cake from Kaye Bakes

You should hear the glee from my younger sister. She loves Ube cake the most among all of us and I'm glad she enjoyed what I ordered. 

Contact Kaye Bakes

Do you want Filipino cakes delivered in Metro Vancouver? Contact Kaye Bakes on Facebook or call them at 778-697-8143.

Contact Kaye Bakes

I'll definitely order again for my birthday - mocha cake!

Triple Treat Pizza Hut delivery

Saturday means we can eat take out food. I have been craving for pizza and I really want Pizza Hut stuffed crust. Meanwhile, hubby wants dessert so we decided to get a Triple Treat box (I kept reading it as Triple Threat LOL).

What's inside our Triple Treat box?

Cheese Lover's® - 12" Medium with 5 Cheese Stuffed Crust

Meat Lover's® - 12" Medium with 5 Cheese Bacon Stuffed Crust

8-piece Salt & Pepper Boneless Bites, Breadsticks with Cheese, Ultimate Hershey's Chipits Cookie, Cheddar Jalapeno Dip, and Creamy Garlic Dip

For lunch today, we had 1 slice of Meat Lover's and Cheese Lover's each. For dinner, we're going to eat the Breadsticks and Boneless Bites. I'd imagine tomorrow breakfast will be Filipino Chicken Curry which I cooked last Thursday and lunch will be pizza. Dinner will probably be PB&J sandwich since our bread is going to expire on May 5.

Happy weekend!

Lunch from Sushivan Japanese Restaurant

There's an ongoing campaign on Twitter to make every Wednesday of the week starting April 15, #TakeOutDay in Canada to support restaurants. Instead of using delivery apps that eat up most of a restaurant's margin, give them a call to place your order, and when possible, pick them up.

Right now, there's only a handful of restaurants open in our neighbourhood, so supporting small, local restaurants at this time are crucial to ensure they survive the effects of COVID-19.

For lunch and dinner today, I ordered food from Sushivan Japanese Restaurant. This morning I had difficulty deciding whether to order from Sushivan or from MASA. I checked their online pages and saw the news that someone broke inside Sushivan and stole all their credit card machines. It's sad for them to experience such loss, so I decided to give them a call and place my order for what I planned to be lunch, but way too much so we'll eat it for dinner too.

The thief came last night. He stole all the credit card machines. So you can pay with your credit card number. Please provide your credit card number when making delivery or takeout orders. We do not require a tip or delivery charge, but please let us know if you would like to pay for the tip if you wish. Thank you.
Posted by Sushivan Japanese restaurant on Monday, April 13, 2020

What did we get from Sushivan?

We ordered the following items.

Soy Chicken Karaage (Large)

It was crispy and delicious when it arrived. I still think it's best enjoyed with a cup of rice, but that might just be the Filipino in me talking.

Soy Chicken Karaage (Large)

Chicken Katsu

We had this the last time we were there, and it was as delicious. More rice, please?

Chicken Katsu

Awesome Special Roll

This is the highlight of the meal. I've been going down the list of Sushivan's special rolls, and this is amazing.

Awesome Special Roll

Korean Style Ramen (with Beef)

This is the first time I'm ordering the ramen with beef instead of my usual chicken. I prefer chicken. Regretting it, but hubby and I split the ramen and ate it with the Awesome Special Roll for lunch, so it's all good.

Korean Style Ramen

Tomorrow or Friday, I need to go out for grocery, so I can cook Chicken Afritada. Hopefully, our local supermarket has all the ingredients I need.