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.

Lunch from Win Win Chick-N

I love fried chicken and I'm trying to decide for myself which one is the best in Metro Vancouver.

Today, I finally had a chance to try Win Win Chick-N from their branch in Steveston, Richmond BC.

Juicy and Crispy Fried Chicken from Win Win Chick-N

Look at all the black pepper in the chicken skin.

10-pc Fried Chicken from Win-Win Chick-N

We took it home to enjoy for snacks and dinner. The chicken was perfectly spiced and crispy. The breading is not as thick as Church's Chicken or KFC. It's delicious.

Win Win Chick-N Storefront

My number one favourite chicken is still LA Chicken, then Hi-Five Chicken. I'm still debating whether I like Win Win more than Juke. Hmmm.

What's your favourite source of fried chicken in Metro Vancouver?

Sweets from Outpost Mini Donut Company

Yay! A fantastic place to get mini donuts in Metro Vancouver is in Steveston, Richmond BC. It's freshly baked, soft, and delicious.

Assorted Mini Donuts from Outpost Mini Donut Company

Cute Donut Counter

Where do you get your mini donuts to fix?

Lunch from Pajo's at Garry Point Park

It's a long weekend! We're sleeping over at my parents, and we decided to spend a couple hours eating in Steveston.

We started our food trip to Steveston with fish and chips at the famous Pajo's.

One of Each Fish (Pacific Wild Cod, Pacific Wild Salmon, and Alaskan Wild Halibut) & Fries $26

Pacific Wild Salmon

Order Counter

It's such a beautiful day to be here!

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?

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.

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.

Birthday lunch delivery from Mui Garden Restaurant

It's my dad's birthday! He requested for Chinese cuisine and my siblings obliged. The images below are taken by my brother.

Shrimp and BBQ Pork Fried Rice

Chinese Broccoli with Salted Fish

Honey Garlic Spareribs

Sweet and Sour Fish

Yay for food!

Lunch from Little Ongpin Restaurant

Last June 12, I wrote a post about ten Filipino-owned businesses in Metro Vancouver to support because it's Filipino Heritage Month.

Today, on top of ordering from LA Chicken, I called Little Ongpin Restaurant yesterday to place an order for pick-up at 11:30 AM this morning. Yes, we're having a feast at home!

What to get from Little Ongpin Restaurant?

I absolutely love their Lumpiang shanghai and pork barbecue. My brother and sister enjoyed their Chami noodles, while my mom likes the kare-kare.

Lumpiang Shanghai

Kare-Kare

Chami

I have tried a few Filipino restaurants in Metro Vancouver, like Pin-Pin, Aling Mary, Josephine's, and Bahay Kubo all the way in Surrey. But my favourite Filipino restaurant is still Little Ongpin Restaurant in Richmond, BC. 

Lunch from LA Chicken

LA Chicken has the best-fried chicken in Metro Vancouver. It's flavourful, crispy, and crunchy just how fried chicken should be. With that said, there's a long line of people to get inside the small shop today, and that makes me happy.

I'm so proud of folks at Richmond, supporting their local restaurants to help keep them open. I ordered 12 pcs of fried chicken (thighs and leg), half original and half spicy.

Spicy Fried Chicken from LA Chicken

Original Fried Chicken from LA Chicken

LA Chicken

Line in front of us

Inside LA Chicken

How to order from LA Chicken?

There's a long line outside because only two people at a time are allowed inside. The person at the counter takes your order, makes you pay, then he goes to the back to pack your order. He then leaves it at the table on the left side of the cash register, and you'll be on your way. Then, he can help the next customer.

The process is quick, and I saw a couple more men at the back, cooking the chicken as fast as they could to serve the hungry line outside.

Let's continue supporting small, local, and family-owned restaurants.

Lunch from Canadian 2-for-1 Pizza

My youngest sister insisted we order pizza from Canadian 2-for-1 pizza. I said, sure, we can try it. I'm pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it.

Canadian 2-for-1 Pizza Mediterranean

Canadian 2-for-1 Pizza Mediterranean

Canadian 2-for-1 Pizza Four Cheese Pleaser

Canadian 2-for-1 pizza

We were discussing why this pizza is so good, and we've come up with the following reasons:

1. The dough is chewy and tastes delicious.
2. The topping is superb.
3. Finally, the sauce, dough, topping ratio is perfect.

We don't like the dough of Domino's Pizza. Meanwhile, Pizza Hut can be a bit too oily and heavy. And my sister pointed at that both chains have too much sauce for the dough and topping.

Be sure to try Canadian 2-for-1 Pizza if it's available in your area.

Birthday lunch delivery from Eggspectation

We're celebrating the birthday of our youngest sister. For lunch, she wants food from Eggspectation.

What to get from Eggspectation?

I ordered Chicken & Waffles. When it's available that's my breakfast staple. Meanwhile, hubby ordered Montreal Benny. My mom ordered Eggspectation Burger which is a surprise since she's not a big burger fan. On the other hand, my brother surprisingly ordered Lobster Omelette. Lastly, the birthday girl ordered Eggsuberant.

Lobster Omelette

My brother learned today that lobster and egg are delicious on their own, but does not have an impact together.

Chicken and Waffle

Chicken is delicious - I mean you can never go wrong with chicken strips. The waffle is surprisingly good.

Eggspection Burger

Montreal Benny

The Montreal Benny which hubby shared with me is amazing. Perfectly poached egg and delicious hollandaise sauce, yum!

Grateful Surprise

With our food came a note of gratitude from the restaurant, it reads:

Thankyou for your order & supporting your local business! Please enjoy this Cookies & Cream Cake on us! We open our doors for dine in this Friday at 7 am. We hope to be of service to you again! - Eggspectation Richmond

Free Cookies & Cream Cake

Thank you for the surprise Eggspectation! My sister enjoyed the cake.

Dinner delivery from The Canadian Brewhouse

To celebrate my sister's birthday, we ordered food from The Canadian Brewhouse for delivery at home. The food was surprisingly delicious. I can't wait for restaurants to be open again so we can come here and try the food.

Little Italy Chicken Parmesan

Brisket Shepherd's Pie

Caramel Chocolate Dessert Poutine

IKEA Chinese New Year 2020 Combo Meal for lunch

With my parents, hubby and I went to Ikea in Richmond to try out their Chinese New Year 2020 Combo Meal.

This is the display for the Chinese New Year.

Lining up to get food.

Here's our table filled with the combo.

Dimsum Combo includes a BBQ Pork Bun, Sui Mai (pork dumpling), Vegetarian Spring Rolls, and Sticky Rice. It came with Daim Cake and Pear Cider.

Here's another photo with the sticky rice open.

Honestly, I would like more of the shumai and pork bun, instead of the cider and cake.

This is the Braised Beef Stew Combo. It also came with Daim Cake and Pear Cider.

The beef is not as tender as I'd like, and I kinda wish they placed it in a bowl with the rice sitting at the bottom and soaking up all those sauce.

Is it worth it?

Not really. I won't be coming back for it. I kinda wish I ordered the meatballs instead. My mom did get a red envelope since she's an Ikea family member. It contains a coupon for a free yogurt. I'm not sure what else they gave out, but if you know, please comment below!