Lunch at Lin Chinese Cuisine

My parents dropped off groceries from Costco at our place and we decided to have lunch at Lin's Chinese Cuisine.

Xiao Long Bao (Shanghai juicy pork dumplings)

Tan Tan noodle soup with minced meat

Beef with green bean in black bean sauce

Shanghai-style Chow Mein

Yay for Chinese food. Best Xiao Long Bao in Vancouver!

Dinner at Suika

After Mass, we decided to have dinner at our favourite restaurant in all of Vancouver, Suika. As you know, I'm getting my usual Katsu Curry, while hubby is willing to try new items from the menu.

Wagyu Beef Tataki Capraccio
(Perfectly seared Wagyu beef with Yuzu Kochujan dressing)

The Wagyu Beef is tender and melts in your mouth. I kinda wish there's more of it.

Kanimiso (Crab Butter) Fries
French fries with homemade Kanimiso (crab butter) dipping sauce

French fries are amazing. It's such a great appetizer while planning the future with hubby.

Signature Beef Curry (Suika's original stewed beef tendon curry) topped with Tonkatsu (pork loin cutlet)

The curry is not on the menu, but I asked if it's available, and they made it for me. I'm so happy!

Velvety Almond Tofu
Super smooth almond tofu with fruit sauce

The first bite was sour, but after that, it became smooth and sweet.

Breakfast at Eggspectation

We had a business meeting today at Eggspectation.

Drinks

Any good breakfast/brunch meal starts with a cup coffee, but for non-coffee drinkers like me, I tried their Green Light, while hubby had the hot chocolate.

Green Light
Spinach, apple, fresh ginger and mint. Go ahead, its green and you are sure to run with this!

Hot Chocolate

Breakfast

For food, I ordered a benny while hubby had an omelette.

Smoked Salmon Benny
Two perfectly poached eggs on multigrain toast, with smoked wild sockeye salmon and Philadelphia™ cream cheese, topped with our famous hollandaise sauce, and a sprinkle of red onions and capers. Served with our Lyonnaise-style potatoes

Eggspectation Omelette
Where it all began! Three free run eggs mixed with mushrooms, onions, green and red peppers, bacon, sausage, smoked ham, cheddar cheese and our Lyonnaise-style potatoes.

The benny is not perfectly poached, which is unfortunate from a place that specializes in breakfast.

Dinner at Bridges Restaurant

We're celebrating our first Catholic wedding anniversary on Monday. Today, we decided to attend Mass then we made a reservation for dinner at Bridges Restaurant.

Beautiful Weather for Patio by the Water

I prayed last night to have a beautiful, sunny weather today which would make seating outside the Bridges by the water more enjoyable. I'm so glad God answered my prayer.

Our view during dinner

What to get from the Bridges Restaurant?

Being near the water, we decided to order seafood items from the menu.

For the appetizer, we had calamari. For our main course, I had the seafood penne while hubby had the grilled salmon. To end the lovely meal, we had chocolate cake.

We stayed there for 1.5 hours.

Calamari (lemon pepper, fresh dill, tzatziki)

Seafood Penne with prawns, salmon, and halibut in lemon basil cream sauce

Grilled Wild Sockeye Salmon with saffron cream, citrus-tahini charred broccolini, and mashed potatoes

Chocolate Cake

What I like about the Bridges Restaurant?

I like love the view. It's really the best reason to come and eat here. Enjoy the view, breathe the fresh air, and melt all your worries away (at least for 2 hours). I like the service. The waitress and hostess are super friendly and they don't hurry you into leaving which gives you enough time to enjoy your meal and relax. The food is good, not the best in Granville Island by any means, but it's the best one by the water.

Dinner at Suika (dine in during COVID-19)

Phase 2 in BC has started mid-May, and since then, restaurants have slowly been opening up for dining service with limited seating. We decided to wait until today before risking going out to enjoy a delicious meal at Suika.

Read my post on things I'd do first when things get better in BC. Check out what's second on the list.

First Time to Dine In

How's the experience? I want to say the same, but not really. Suika is a popular Japanese restaurant along West Broadway near Fir Street. They're usually jam-packed with people for both their lunch and dinner service.

Today, only a maximum of 40 people is allowed in the restaurant. The layout can be divided into three sections, and based on my observation, only 2-3 tables per section has a customer. Specifically, in the location we're in where there are four tables, only two are being used. 

There's sanitizer by the entrance which we used, and we maintained a reasonable distance to the host who walked us to our table. He gave us the menu that is printed on paper, which he didn't take back after we placed our order.

The only time someone came in less than 6 feet is when a server wearing a mask would place our food in the table.

The Food

Suika has the best katsu curry in Metro Vancouver. If you love Japanese curry, please give the one at Suika a try.

Signature Beef Curry (Suika's original stewed beef tendon curry) topped with Tonkatsu (pork loin cutlet)

The food is still fantastic. I thought it's even better than I remember, but it could just be the anticipation and excitement of eating here again after a long time. We had it delivered in April, but it's just not the same as eating here fresh from the kitchen.

Hubby had his usual double tonkatsu. We also had an appetizer for sharing and desserts.

Yuzu Tuna Tataki (lightly seared albacore tuna seasoned with Yuzu, topped with ponzu jelly and crispy garlic chips)

I think this is the first dish from Suika that I didn't enjoy. 

Double Tonkatsu Set (2 pieces of fried pork loin cutlet using special fresh panko served with two kinds of dipping sauce, rice, and miso soup)

Frozen Matcha Brulee (Frozen matcha creme brulee served with whipped cream and red bean sauce)

Is it worth it?

Yes. Everyone is observing physical distancing, which helped put my mind at ease. More importantly, I get to eat the great food Suika serves again and then can continue to provide employment.

Dinner at RedBeef Noodle Kitchen

After celebrating Pi Day and attending Mass, we decided to have dinner at Redbeef Noodle Kitchen. I want fried chicken.

Crispy Spicy Chicken with Rice

Sliced Garlic Pork with Rice

Salt & Pepper Popcorn Chicken

Pi Day 2020 at La Ruota and The Pie Hole

We love Pi day! We celebrated it last year and the year before as well.

For 2020, Pi day is on a Saturday, so we had more time to explore and visit places.

We walked around 4th Avenue between Maple and Burrard Avenue to eat pie and pizza slices.

"I only have pies for you."

La Ruota

Authentic Neopolitan Pizza

This is a relatively new place in this neighbourhood. We grabbed a couple of pizza slices each and found it surprising! I'm also surprised how quickly the area filled up after we sat down.

Pizza slice for Pi day

Pizza slices for Pi day

The Pie Hole

The perfect place to celebrate the pi day is in a restaurant dedicated to pie. There was a line up to the door! I completely forgot that they were doing a $3.14 for a 4" pie promo. By the time we're in front, they announced that the 4" pies are sold out. It was crazy! As with our tradition, we got our "usual" apple pie, pecan pie (in this case it was pecan tart), and chicken pot pie.

Apple Pie and Pecan Tart

Every year, I am amazed at how much better the pies we try are. By far, pies from The Pie Hole are the best.

Chicken Pot Pie

Look at how flakey that chicken pot pie is - I want more!

While enjoying our pies, hubby noticed the Guy Fieri neon sign on the wall. I didn't even know that this place appeared in Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Go check it out Season 29 Episode 19.

I love pies and Pi day! I love Vancouver. Happy Pi day!

Lunch at 1931 Gallery Bistro

It's Friday the 13th! I was planning to file my resignation today, but the universe has other plans. We did a tour of potential office space with my current work at the HSBC building. Afterwards, we decide to have lunch inside the Art Gallery building.

Coastal BC Salmon Fillet
Golden beets, roasted parsnips, carrots, purple potatoes, fennel, pumpkin seed pesto, citrus cauliflower sauce

The food was delicious, and the service was excellent. I can't wait to come back.

Dinner at Caffe Barneys

I ended my previous post with our plans to resign was delayed because of an event. Well, at around three in the afternoon, we all received an email from HR that we will all be working from home for a month.

After sorting things out at the office, hubby and I decided to have dinner outside.

Barney's Nachos

Barney's Nachos is terrific. It has tied the nachos from The Mexican in Downtown Vancouver. The primary difference is this one does not skimp on the toppings. It's overloaded for sure. The one at The Mexican is a winner as well because of the homemade chips.

Moscow Mule

Classic Poutine with pork belly

Dessert of the Week!

Let's see how I'll survive this month-long work from home.

Lunch at Go Fish

It's been an exhausting day at work, and we went to grab lunch at Go Fish. I had my usual 2-pc salmon and fries. It was a beautiful cold day in Vancouver. The skies were clear, which is perfect for eating outside.

2-pc salmon and fries

One of my colleagues said this is like the last supper for us, eh? We were planning to resign on Friday the 13th (i.e. tomorrow), but events later on the day will change our plans.

Early dinner at Menya Raizo

It's a beautiful day in Vancouver. The sun is out, the skies are clear, and the mountain views are amazing. Hubby decided to do his weekly run while I walked around the seawall.

After taking a walk, we decided to have early dinner at Menya Raizo. We started our meal with Takoyaki and Cheese Mentai Mayo Gyoza.

Deep-fried octopus ball

Cheese Mentai Mayo Gyoza

Gyokai Shoyu Ramen with pork cha-shu
Bean sprouts, green onion, radish sprouts, onion, nori seaweed, and seasoned half-boiled egg

Umami Shoyu Ramen with half chicken and half pork cha-shu
Green onion, thin sliced Japanese leek, radish sprouts, half seasoned soft boiled egg and onion

Kuromitsu Kinako Ice Cream
Vanilla Ice Cream with Black Sweet Sauce and Roasted Soybean Powder

I love this place.

Stress Eating Dinner at Hot Star

I had a final interview in a nearby coffee shop. I am scared and stressed so I decided to have dinner here with hubby.

Salt and Pepper Chicken Popcorn 

Large Fried Chicken with BBQ Specialty Sauce

Breakfast at Blue Hat Cafe

Tuna Sandwich from Blue Hat Cafe of Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts.

Tuna Sandwich

Breakfast at A&W

Breakfast at A&W before the oath-taking of mother and sister.

A&W

Coffee at KIOSK

I had an interview at the Guinness Building. I was 1-hour early for it and have decided to enjoy a cup of drink to calm the nerves.

Coffee from KIOSK

Leap Day dinner with Vancouver Whitecaps FC from Lionsgate Burger Grill in BC Place

We watched the first game of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC for the Major League Soccer season. They lost, but I had a great time with my brother and my hubby.

There are so many food places inside BC Places, and for today, we decided to grab burgers from Lionsgate Burger Grill.

Burger with fries and souvenir cup

The patty was dry, but the mayonnaise sauce they used is delicious. I know it's a stadium, and I shouldn't be expecting high-quality burgers, but if the patty is cooked a few minutes less, I think it'll be so much better.

Dinner at Noodlebox

Spicy Peanut Noodlebox with Tofu
Rich & creamy Indonesian peanut sauce with coconut milk, simmered with ribbon noodles, garlic, onions, broccoli, Asian greens, sprouts, peppers & cilantro. Topped with roasted peanuts.

Bombay Mac & Cheese Box
A cheesy coconut vindaloo sauce, simmered with cavatappi noodles, spinach, fresh tomatoes, peppers, onions & garlic. Topped with cilantro.