Guest Post: House Special Soup (Phở Dặc Biệt) for lunch at Little Saigon Yaletown

This post is written by my husband.

Yesterday, I met my manager for lunch. It is an extension of our 1-on-1 meeting. We went to Little Saigon in Yaletown and I ordered the House Special Soup (Phở Dặc Biệt).

House Special Soup (Phở Dặc Biệt)
Rare beef, brisket, meatballs & tripe

It has a little bit of everything and is perfect for a cold winter day.

Guest Post: Lunch at Cactus Club Coal Harbour

This post is written by my husband.

I met up with a high school friend and batchmate today in Downtown Vancouver. He's now based in Winnipeg, Manitoba and is on his way to pick up his family at the YVR Airport and he's got a few hours to spare. Plus, he asked if I can sign a copy of my book that he had bought.

We agreed to meet up at the Waterfront Station to make it easier for him to travel. It's his first time in Vancouver, so we walked to Canada Place then to the seawall to the Jack Poole Plaza. We ended up at the Cactus Club for lunch.

There was a line for walk-ins but we can see there are available tables inside and outside. The host still asked for my name and number to add to their waitlist app, then the app sent me a text message. There was no need to wait though as she referred us to another person who walked us to our table. I don't know what's the need for asking the name and number. This process was unnecessary and adding more time before guests can be seated. It's why there's a line outside, even after as we were going out, despite the number of available and clean tables.

I ordered the Four Mushroom steak for lunch. It was good but I think I would prefer their other steak options.

Four Mushroom Steak
8oz certified angus beef® sirloin, shiitake, portobello, button and crimini mushroom demi-glace, buttered mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus

For dessert, I ordered the Five Layer Coconut Cake (which is "New" according to the menu). It wasn't served vertically as the one on the menu so my enjoyment of it was decreased. They also labeled it as "made to share" but it was just the regular slice (which isn't even enough for me). It was good but I think the other desserts were better.

Five Layer Coconut Cake
cream cheese frosting, passion fruit mango purée, hand whipped cream

After lunch, we walked a bit to the Gastown Steam Clock and Vancouver Art Gallery before he went back to the Waterfront Station to return to the airport.

Guest Post: Chef's Playground

 This post is written by my brother.

A friend and I decided to meet up for brunch just to catch up. We decided to meet at Steveston to change the usual areas where we go out. We ended up eating at Chef's Playground.

There were only three tables available, luckily we were able to grab the last one. The inside is small and you need to order as soon as you enter. 

My friend decided to get the Canadian Back Bacon Benny (Free range eggs, citrus hollandaise, honey thyme glazed back bacon, House-made focaccia bread, hand-cut hash-brown).

Canadian Back Bacon Benny

I decided to grab the classic, the CPE breakfast (Sunnyside up eggs, bacon, honey thyme sausage, toast, house-made jam, hand-cut hash-brown). It was my first time going to this restaurant, so I always order the safe option for my first time.

The CPE breakfast

My friend was really hungry that day so he asked me if I wanted to share a Garlic Parmesan Onion Rings and That Style Fried Chicken, and so we did.

Garlic Parmesan Onion Rings and That Style Fried Chicken

The food was really good. I can only talk about the CPE breakfast as that was my order. The bacon was crispy and not too salty. Their homemade jam spread on the bread fit really well with the entire meal. And the hashbrowns and sausage were a good combination that balances each other out. 

The ambiance of the place was perfect for brunch and fit right in with the overall aesthetic of Steveston as a neighbourhood. I would recommend this place for people who wants to have a chill hang out with a friend.

Guest Post: Coffee at Liberty Bakery + Cafe

This post is written by my brother.

After our lunch at The Arbor, my friend and I decided to go to a cafe to continue our chat and we went to Liberty Bakery + Cafe. I got a hot mocha and she got a macchiato. We decided to get a Totoro cookie as well. I have not watched this anime yet but I thought the design was cute and suggested it.

                                                                 Totoro cookie and Mocha

Guest Post: Lunch at The Arbor

This post is written by my brother.

Decided to meet up with a friend that I haven't seen since the pandemic started. I suggested we go to the vegetarian restaurant, The Arbor. I suggested this place because my friend is vegetarian and she would always have limited options whenever we eat out.

I decided to go with the Kimchi burger with Togarashi fries because I thought it seemed interesting while my friend decided to get the Arburger. 

                                                                        Kimchi Burger

                                                                       Togarashi Fries

                                                                          Arburger

We cut our burgers in half and gave the other half to each other so that we can taste them both. My friend was really skeptical about the Kimchi burger but when she tried it, she really liked it. She especially complimented that the kimchi was well made, compared to other non Korean restaurants that made them. This is big praise coming from her as she is Korean. I would agree as well, the Kimchi burger was unique and tasteful. 

                                                                Kimchi burger (cut in half)

The Arburger tasted like a real good normal burger. Since this is a vegetarian restaurant, the patty isn't made of beef but you could have fooled me. The patty was delicious and well done. The Togarashi fries were good as well and a perfect compliment to our meal. 

Guest Post: Lunch at Pearl Castle Cafe

This is another post written by my brother.

I have not gone out for a while and decided to meet a friend after work. We decided to have dinner at Pearl Castle Cafe as it's close to both of us. We first ordered Milk Tea, she ordered Matcha Milk Tea while I had Red Bean Milk Tea.

Red Bean Milk Tea

We each ordered an appetizer for us to share, I ordered a Taiwanese Sausage and she ordered a Fried Tofu.

Fried Tofu

Taiwanese Sausage

For our main course, we both ordered fried rice. She ordered Pineapple Shrimp Fried Rice while I ordered the Chicken Teriyaki Fried Rice.

Pineapple Shrimp Fried Rice

Chicken Teriyaki Fried Rice

Guest Post: Lunch delivery from Ikura Sushi

This blog post is written by my only brother.

Lunchtime and we wanted to eat something different than our usual meals. Mom wanted to have Beef Teriyaki and my sister handled the online ordering and she found Ikura Sushi.

Our mom wanted to have Bento Beef Teriyaki and it didn't really matter to me what I got so I just ordered the same thing.

Beef Teriyaki Bento

My sister ordered Chicken Teriyaki bowl for herself.

Chicken Teriyaki

Have you tried Ikura Sushi? What do you think?

Guest Post: Pokey Okey

My brother wrote this post about his lunch for today. More importantly, I am impressed that he takes better pictures than me! LOL. I love the contrast between the black and white placemat and the colourful poke bowl.

I have been craving poke for a while now and decided to order delivery for one today.

What's in a Poke Bowl?

I ordered from Pokey Okey and got The Red Bowl (spicy tuna, spicy salmon, flying fish roe, seaweed salad, kimchi, carrots, radish, purple cabbage, bacon bits, seaweed flakes and spicy sesame sauce). You also have an option of three bases, brown rice, spring mix and white rice and decided to get all three. I also added ahi tuna and avocado to the order. 

The Red Bowl from Pokey Okey

Pokey Okey Review

As you can tell, there are lots of ingredients in this meal so it's a little hard to describe the taste of all of them. The avocado was a great addition as it helped balance out the spice from everything else. I made a mistake by picking all three bases as the spring mix definitely felt out of place with the rice. The fish was tasty and just as I expected so I was glad. Overall, it was a positive experience and I can see myself ordering from them again.

Guest Post: JJ's Trucketeria

My only brother wrote this post about his experience eating food from JJ's Trucketeria.

Hello, it is me again, the brother. Last time I posted here, I shared my experience at the Breakfast Table with my friend. On the same day (after the Breakfast Table), we went for Linner/Dunch (a combination of Lunch and Dinner, hehe) at the JJ's Trucketeria food truck at Terminal Avenue in front of Columbia College.

You get an option of which meat will go with your order, the choices are between Filipino BBQ Pork, Lemongrass Chicken and Korean Chicken. I decided to go with JJ's Rice Packers with Filipino BBQ Pork.

JJ's Rice Packers with Filipino BBQ Pork

My friend got a Big Plate with the Lemongrass Chicken, he originally wanted a Filipino BBQ Pork as well but to try two meat, he decided to go with a different option.

The Big Plate with the Lemongrass Chicken

We both tried each other's orders, and both chicken and pork were tasty and creamy, and the garlic rice balances the entire meal well.

Guest Post: Brunch at The Breakfast Table

This food experience is shared by my only brother. Yay! :) I love The Breakfast Table, too, and I'm glad to see him enjoy their food as well.

It was my first time going out since the COVID-19 pandemic has begun. I met up with a friend for brunch at the Breakfast Table.

I decided to get the Beef Bulgogi Hash with poached eggs.

(two poached eggs, kimchi, sauteed mushroom, spinach, green onion, sweet chilli sauce)

While my friend wanted to have the Coffee Crusted Pork Belly Benedict, but it was not available at the time, and so he decided to have the Hipster Benedict instead.

(two poached eggs, housemade peppered bacon, tomato, avocado, English muffin, bearnaise)