Tim Hortons introduces Vanilla Coconut Latte

Tim Hortons introduced a new Vanilla Coconut drinks line, including Vanilla Coconut Latte, Vanilla Coconut Cappuccino, and Vanilla Coconut Cold Brew with Espresso-Infused Foam.

Today, we tried the Vanilla Coconut Latte, and it has the expected light vanilla taste and is smooth with a subtle hint of coconut aftertaste.

Vanilla Coconut Latte from Tim Hortons

Hey Tims, my dad is requesting a coconut-flavoured (infused) donut. I suggest trying a Filipino bread pan de coco for flavours that inspire you. It's his favourite bread.

NEW Chicken Marsala Fettucine and Ravioli Carbonara from Olive Garden

Our first meal for lunch today is at Olive Garden, and we're trying two new items: Chicken Marsala Fettuccine, Ravioli Carbonara, and Meatballs Parmigiana.

My parents are celebrating their 34th wedding anniversary. Their youngest daughter and offspring suggested we take the more than 40 km (24 miles) drive to the only Olive Garden location in British Columbia, Canada.

Of course, we're here for unlimited breadsticks and soup.

Pasta e Fagioli

Pasta e Fagioli is the last soup that I have not tried at Olive Garden, so it's what I ordered today.

It's sour because of the tomatoes and hearty because of the beans. There's also a bit of heat that feels like from black pepper.

Pasta e Fagioli

My favourite is still the hearty and filling Zuppa Toscana, which hubby ordered.

Zuppa Tuscana

NEW: Chicken Marsala Fettucine at Olive Garden

The chicken was crispy, but the sauce was surprisingly sweet, while the mushrooms provided an earthy flavour. Unfortunately, after a while, the pasta is too heavy, and I am food coma.

Chicken Marsala Fettucine

NEW: Ravioli Carbonara at Olive Garden

The sauce was creamy. It's also salty, thanks to the bacon and cheese, while the ravioli filling is heavy. The serving is smaller - only around ten or so ravioli. Adding shrimp or some sort of protein might be a good idea for this dish.

Ravioli Carbonara

NEW: Meatballs Parmigiana at Olive Garden

The order came with five meatballs covered with melted cheese and tomato sauce. The meatballs are juicy, tender, and flavourful.

Meatballs Parmigiana

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It was a fun lunch and drive with the family. We're food coma.

Knights of Columbus Pancake Breakfast at St. Augustine's Church Parish Hall

Happy Sunday morning! My husband and I are joining our parish community at St. Augustine for pancake breakfast organized by Knights of Columbus after the 9:00 AM Mass.

We enjoy pancakes, scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage, sliced turkey, and waffle fries. It's a filling, delicious lunch. The pancakes were perfect with the syrup, while the eggs were soft and salted. The breakfast sausage still has that snap. Lastly, the sliced turkey was moist and savoury.

Pancake Breakfast organized by Knights of Columbus.

The Knights of Columbus has a couple chef members. That's why we will try to attend whatever feast they prepare moving forward.

We were seated with four retired senior citizen ladies. It's so fascinating to hear their stories. They ask each other about their schedule and activities. For example, they pray the rosary together every Wednesday, then, on some days, they take walks around the neighbourhood or have a nice meal or coffee somewhere nearby. Then, there are evenings they would play cards (no gambling, I hope!) for entertainment. They were also discussing printing and computer troubles. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by these ladies. They remind me that life can be full of joy even at an older age. If God grants us a long life here on earth, we should consciously live it to the fullest and bless others.

Bacon Portabella Mushroom Melt is back in Wendy's Canada

Wendy's Canada welcomes 2023 by introducing the Homestyle French Toast Sticks and welcoming the Bacon Portabella Mushroom Melt back.

We arrived at the closest Wendy's location at 10:00 AM. They're just about to transition from breakfast to the lunch menu. I ordered the Bacon Portabella Mushroom Melt burger and baked potato.

Bacon Portabella Mushroom Melt from Wendy's

The Bacon Portabella Mushroom Melt features a fresh, quarter-pound beef patty, applewood-smoked and rich portabellas in a melty cheddar sauce, all sandwiched between a warm toasted bun.

You get all that earthy, musky mushroom flavour with the first bite. Then, you get that juicy beef patty and crunchy bacon. It's delicious! No wonder it's a fan-favourite at Wendy's.

The same bacon, mushroom, and cheddar sauce can also be ordered on top of soft baked potatoes. It's good but needs more cheddar sauce.

Bacon Portabella Mushroom Melt Baked Potatoes from Wendy's

Overall, a good and unusual brunch at Wendy's.

Wendy's introduces Homestyle French Toast Sticks

This week (January 9), Wendy's Canada made the NEW Homestyle French Toast Sticks available. After offering a competitive breakfast menu, the Homestyle French Toast Sticks is the first sweet breakfast item offered at Wendy's.

NEW Homestyle French Toast Sticks from Wendy's Canada

Because they released it on a Monday (and I work a regular day job), I can only go to Wendy's today for breakfast. We arrived at the closest Wendy's location at 10:00 AM and ordered the Homestyle French Toast Sticks. We waited 30 minutes until the lunch menu became available to finally try their Bacon Portabella Mushroom Melt.

NEW Homestyle French Toast Sticks fr Wendy's Canada

Soft inside and crunchy edges. The golden brown colour is impressive. Though, there are not a lot of flavours. I was expecting sweet, but I'm not getting that. There's a subtle taste of egg, but that's about it. Great texture, only a little flavour.

Unless you're highly challenged in the kitchen, you can make this better at home. So that's my short review of the NEW Homestyle French Toast Sticks from Wendy's Canada.

Lunch Date at Bombay Kitchen + Bar

We arrived at Bombay Kitchen + Bar at 11:30 AM when they opened. It's a beautifully designed restaurant. I love the fountain and fireplace; the wall decorations and lighting are exquisite.

The beautiful interior of Bombay Kitchen + Bar at 11th Avenue.

We were seated and given the menu. After five minutes, our waiter returned to inform us that the chef had just arrived and it'll be a few minutes before they could take our order and asked if we could wait. Thankfully, we're not famished and just had breakfast at Blenz Coffee.

At noon, the server returned and took our order of Honey Chilli Fries, Butter Chicken, Karahi Paneer, Garlic Naan, and Mix Biryani.

Honey Chilli Fries

The first to arrive at our table is the Honey Chilli Fries. It was sweet and a bit spicy, and the fries were soggy because of the sauce. However, the portion was surprisingly generous and perfect for sharing between 2-3 people.

Honey Chilli Fries from Bombay Kitchen + Bar
Sweet & spicy fries tossed in a special chef's sauce.

Butter Chicken

The Butter Chicken arrived next, and we ordered it with a medium spice level. It was sweet. I don't know what's wrong with me because I never knew butter chicken was sweet until I tried some at New India Buffet. I can only taste the savoury sweetness (I'm not sure if that made sense as a flavour). I expected it to be creamy and savoury with minimal to no sweetness. It's so amusing. I blame my love for Vindaloo, which is tarty and spicy, so maybe that's why butter chicken tastes sweet.

January 12 Update: We had butter chicken leftovers and it still has a lot of sweet flavours but there's a more subtle heat going on. Eating it with plain rice seems to be the way to go to appreciate the full flavour.

Butter Chicken
Chicken breast cooked with light cream and tomato with fenugreek.

Karahi Paneer

It's our first time trying karahi paneer. It has a subtle sour flavour because of the tomatoes, while the onions provided sweetness, and the paneer was creamy.

Karahi Paneer
Homemade cheese pieces are served in thick gravy with big chunky pieces of onion, capsicum, and tomatoes.

Mix Biryani and Garlic Naan

We ordered the Mix Biryani and Garlic Naan because those two were my favourite things when we had food from Bombay Kitchen + Bar in 2021. The naan has a nice char and is slightly bitter, especially on the edges. There is crushed garlic on top, providing so much garlicky flavour to the naan.

Garlic Naan
White leavened bread flavoured with garlic.

Meanwhile, the Biryani is perfectly spicy and seasoned. The chicken and lamb are tender, and the prawns are perfectly cooked. I love it!

Mix Biryani
A rich combination of veggies, chicken, lamb, & prawn spices & basmati rice.

Gajar Ka Halwa

I wanted Kheer, but it's unavailable. So we tried the Gajar Ka Halwa for the first time. It's made with fresh carrots. It's not overly sweet. The bowl and dessert were warm and had a lot of coconut flavour.

Gajar Ka Halwa
Indian pudding made with fresh carrots, milk, sugar, ghee, & nuts.

We stayed here until 1:30 PM and enjoyed our meal over gossip. We discussed the latest in Philippine news and chismis and our dreams and goals. Weekly dates with my husband are always a heart-fluttering experience.

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.

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.

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!

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.

Lumberjack Slam and Southwestern Benny from Denny's Canada

Happy Christmas! My first meal of the day is my dad's Arroz Caldo. It's chicken ginger porridge, and it was excellent. My love for food came from my dad. I seriously think they should open a restaurant.

After enjoying a bowl (who am I kidding? I had 3 bowls!) of my dad's porridge, we left their home to attend Christmas Day Mass at our local church.

On our walk there, as expected, all restaurants were closed except for the Denny's between our home and church.

After Mass, we had brunch at Denny's.

Lumberjack Slam from Denny's Canada
Buttermilk pancakes (we upgraded to get the Hearty 9-Grain Pancake), grilled ham, bacon strips, sausage links, eggs, hash browns, and bread.

Hubby ordered the Lumberjack Slam, which came with pancakes, grilled ham, bacon strips, sausage links, hash browns, eggs, and bread. My favourite is the savoury ham slice. The sausage was on the sweeter side, while the bacon strips were expectedly salty.

We upgraded to get the Hearty 9-Grain Pancake and prefer this version because it's chewier and has more bite to it. Fun!

Hearty 9-Grain Pancake from Denny's
Two multigrain wheat pancakes made with flaxseeds, cinnamon, and brown sugar.

I ordered the Southwestern Benny. The topping is a bit spicy, like a mild chilli. I got it with red-skinned potatoes, which are better and less oily than the hash.

Southwestern Benny from Denny's Canada
Poached eggs on an English muffin with chorizo and Hollandaise sauce, drizzled with five-pepper sauce, all topped with pico de Gallo. Served with seasoned red-skinned potatoes (or hash browns>

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas Day celebration filled with love, hope, peace, and joy.

Oreo Cheesecake at Trees Cheesecake + Organic Coffee

After a satisfying lunch at Suika, we went to Trees. We tried the special Ferrero Rochet cheesecake last year, so we opted for the Oreo Cheesecake.

Oreo Cheesecake at Trees Cheesecake + Organic Coffee

Oreo Cheesecake from Trees Cheesecake + Organic Coffee

Oreo Cheesecake from Trees Cheesecake + Organic Coffee

There are crushed Oreos on top of the cheesecake, but it has become soft. I kinda want to eat this with milk which is probably an unusual thought.

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 Dream 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