Hot Stone Pho and Rice Noodle Beef Stew from Delicious Pho

The restaurant at 255 Robson Street has always been a pho spot, but it seems like they've changed names from Vietnamese Noodle House to Delicious Pho. Today, hubby and I met with my parents, and we had lunch at Delicious Pho because dad wanted it.

Hot Stone Pho from Delicious Pho

Hubby ordered the interesting and quite impressive Hot Stone Pho. I bet this will be perfect in winter so that your pho doesn't get too cold quickly. The array of meat and the chewy noodle is perfect. We shared and finished this one.

Beef Stew from Delicious Pho

I got the beef stew because I thought it would come with a bowl of rice. Instead, what I got is like a beef stew noodle soup. I'm not complaining because it's delicious, but I truly miss rice when it's covered by saucy beef stew.

It's always such a blessing to take the day off (I'm on annual leave today!) and spend time with my parents.

Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich from Costco food court

Happy Thursday! After work, hubby and I went to do our usual Costco grocery run. Before that, we decided to indulge and try their Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich.

Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich from Costco food court

I love the Reuben sandwich, and when available, I try to get it. Costco's Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich has similar tender meat between a bun and for $7.99, I think this is such a great deal!

Breakfast Platter from Nablus Shawarma & Grill

Happy Thursday! I love our company-paid team lunch, especially the chosen theme for each week. It's a great excuse to try new nearby restaurants and cuisine. This week, the competition winner chose Middle Eastern food, and our office in Vancouver ran with that decision and decided to try the relatively newly opened Nablus Shawarma & Grill.

The evening before, I sent Gemini a copy of their menu and asked which dish I should order (i.e., the best one from the region). Nablus is a Palestinian restaurant (according to their website), and I haven't been to one before.

Gemini said to order the Nablus Breakfast Platter (Foul, Hummus, Falafel) for a well-rounded and authentic Palestinian breakfast/brunch experience. I followed AI and ordered it.

Nablus Breakfast Platter from Nablus Shawarma & Grill
A hearty combination of foul (fava bean stew), hummus, 4 pieces of falafel, served with fresh pita bread, pickles, and olive oil

I absolutely love their falafel. It's crispy and extremely flavourful; I dare say it's the best one in Downtown Vancouver. My previous favourite was the one from Döner Kebab in Kitsilano.

The hummus and foul (fava bean stew) were generously covered with olive oil, which felt greasy, but I can never say no to a creamy hummus. The fava bean stew is new to me, and since I have zero idea what it should taste like, I can't say if it's any good. I'm not a fan of it, though.

I usually don't order drinks from restaurants but needed to try Laban Ayran, which is a yogurt-based drink. It was tart and, well, it tastes like yogurt. I'm unsure what else they added to it, but it's great as a palate cleanser.

Will I come back to Nablus? Yes, and I'll try their Saj next time!

Spinach and Egg sandwich from lovelarte

Happy Thursday! For breakfast today, I'm having a 1:1 with my colleague. Before that meeting, we grabbed breakfast from Lovelarte. I chose the Spinach and Egg sandwich inside an English Muffin.

Spinach and Egg sandwich from lovelarte

It's delicious warmed up with the English muffin being slightly toasted. It's the perfect healthy breakfast, albeit slightly more expensive than my usual Thursday Tims.

Too Good To Go: Doughlightful Bag from Tim Hortons

Happy Sunday! It's our first time using the Too Good To Go app, and we decided to buy from Tim Hortons at 10:18 AM to see what the Doughlightful Bag contained. It cost $4.99.

The bag contained:

• 1x Blueberry muffin - $2.19
• 1x Chocolate chip muffin - $2.19
• 1x Chocolate chip cookie - $1.69
• 1x Chocolate croissant - $2.49
• 1x Cheese croissant - $2.49
• 1x Honey cruller donut - $1.69
• 4x Honey Glazed Timbits - $0.39 x 4 = $1.56

Doughlightful Bag from Tim Hortons

The value is worth it, and I don't think these items are from yesterday because I saw the employee get them from the display case. I'm a happy camper and will order again near closing time to see if I'll get more.

Meat Lovers Plate from Jerusalem Shawarma

Thursday is the ultimate cheat day. For dinner today, hubby and I went to Jerusalem Shawarma and it was packed! We ordered and shared the meat lovers plate.

It's too much food for one person! It came with so many things it's honestly overwhelming. It has rice and garlic potatoes for carbohydrates, salad topped with pita crackers to make you feel healthy, creamy hummus for extra flavor, and protein in the form of beef donair, chicken shawarma, and beef shawarma. All flavorful and delicious.

Meat Lovers Plate from Jerusalem Shawarma
Chicken shawarma, beef shawarma, and beef donair laid on a bed of rice and garlic potatoes alongside salad and hummus

Below is a list of platters I have tried from here and will continue to update this list.

• Meat Lovers Plate
• Vegetarian Plate

Marble Cake from Bahar Bakery & Cafe

After Thursday's team lunch, it's become a habit for us to grab sweets from Bahar. Since our favorite Pistachio Rolls were already sold out, I opted for the marble cake and enjoyed it with iced French vanilla in the office.

Marble Cake from Bahar Bakery & Cafe

The marble cake had a hint of pistachio, probably because it was sitting next to other pistachio treats. It wasn't overly sweet and was perfectly moist. I enjoyed it.

Below is a list of treats I've tried from there that I've blogged about. I've tried more, but I always forget to take photos for blogging.

• Double Chocolate Croissant
• Marble Cake
• Pistachio Croissant

Traditional Brazilian Rice and Beans Plate from Brazilliant Café

Happy Thursday! For team lunch today, the theme is Brazilian cuisine. Luckily, Braziliant Café is nearby! We ordered online at around 10:00 AM for pickup at 1:00 PM, and when we arrived at the restaurant, it was packed! Don't get me wrong, it's a tiny spot, but we're still pleasantly surprised at how many people were there.

I ordered the Traditional Brazilian Rice and Beans Plate with top sirloin cap beef because Gemini recommended it when I asked which one to try. The beef was perfectly seasoned and worked so well with the rice, beans, and vinagrete (tomato, onion, and parsley). I also used all the toasted farofa (cassava flour) for crunch. It was perfect.

Traditional Brazilian Rice and Beans Plate (small)
Rice, beans, fries, farofa (cassave flour), vinagrete (tomato, onions, and parsleys), and beef (top sirloin cap)

We enjoyed our lunch in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery under the summer heat.

Below is a list of dishes I have tried from Braziliant:

• Brigadeiros (chocolate, coconut, coffee, and dulce de leche)
• Codfish Croquette (bolinho de bacalhau)
• Pão de queijo with ham and cheese
• Traditional Brazilian Rice and Beans Plate

Curry Beef and Beef Teriyaki from Teriyaki Express food truck

Happy Wednesday! We're at English Bay Beach to enjoy the fireworks display during the Celebration of Lights from Team Quebec. For dinner, I chose the Teriyaki Express food truck because we haven't tried it yet. I chose the beef curry while hubby wanted beef teriyaki, both on rice. 

The beef curry came with ground beef, which was surprising, but the curry sauce had that deep flavor that I expect from a beef-based sauce.

Curry Beef from Teriyaki Express food truck

Hubby's beef teriyaki was disappointing. The beef pieces were tough and there was barely any sauce. I should have convinced him to choose the tempura teriyaki.

Beef Teriyaki from Teriyaki Express food truck

There are plenty of food trucks at the Celebration of Lights, and choosing one is always challenge.

Vegan Kare-Kare Kulinarya Filipino Eatery

Sarap! After Mass today, we took a walk. In my head, I wanted to go to Surrey for the Filipino Fiesta Extravaganza for Filipino food. When we reached Commercial Drive (after walking from Maple Street along West Broadway), we did a quick Google search just to confirm if it was still in the same location. To my horror, hubby found out that it had been postponed.

Since I still wanted Filipino food, we walked north from Broadway to Kulinarya Filipino Eatery to get my Filipino food fix. Since it was lunch time, we were able to order from the available rice combo meals.

I went for vegan kare-kare. It's a peanut sauce-based stew that's creamy, rich, and goes exceptionally well with rice. Since it's vegan, it came with bok choy, eggplant, and green beans. The usual version comes with beef, but I have always preferred the meatless version. I asked for bagoong (fermented fish or shrimp paste) for an additional umami bomb. It's perfect. I daresay that this is the best kare-kare I've had in Vancouver.

Vegan Kare-Kare Rice Combo Meal from Kulinarya Filipino Eatery
Bok choy, eggplant, and green beans in a rich savoury peanut sauce with jasmine rice

We have had food from Kulinarya before, but it's always been delivered, so it's truly hard to assess how good the food is until enjoyed in the restaurant.

Hubby went for the lechon kawali (fried pork belly) combo with rice, liver sauce (sarsa), and pickled papaya (atchara). In general, I don't eat anything too fatty so while I appreciate the piece he shared, I hate the feeling of fat in my mouth. I did enjoy the atchara though. 

Lechon Kawali Rice Combo Meal from Kulinarya Filipino Eatery
Fried pork belly, served with sweetened liver sauce with jasmine rice, house pickled papaya, and fried egg

For sharing, we got spring rolls (lumpiang shanghai). It's perfectly crispy outside and stuffed with pork inside. I enjoy the sweet dipping sauce it came with. However, the best lumpia in Metro Vancouver is still from Little Ongpin.

Spring Rolls from Kulinarya Filipino Eatery
Hand-rolled ground pork and vegetables, with sweet chili dip

To end our already wonderful meal, we shared a classic Halo-Halo, which is perfect to beat the summer heat.

Halo-Halo from Kulinarya Filipino Eatery
Shaved ice cream with green jelly, sweet beans, tapioca, pearls, coconut jelly topped with ube ice cream, purple yam, leche flan, and pinipig 

Below is a list of the dishes we have tried from Kulinarya so far:

• Batil Patong Noodles (not in the menu)
• Beef Kaldereta
• Canton Pancit Bihon
• Cassava Cake
• Chicken Adobo
• Daing na Bangus
• Halo-Halo
• Kare-Kare
• Laing (not in menu)
• Lechon Kawali
• Spring Rolls
• Ube Brownie
• Turon (not in menu)
• Vegan Kare-Kare

Masala Magic from Ignite Pizzeria

Happy Thursday! Today's team lunch theme is pizza, and we decided to try something new by walking to Ignite Pizzeria at their Yaletown location. I went for the 10-inch (personal size) Masala Magic.

Masala Magic from Ignite Pizzeria
Tandoori sauce, mozzarella, spinach, red onion, garlic, and mixed mushroom

The tandoori sauce had a subtle flavor that played so well with the earthy mushroom and sharp onion. I really enjoyed it, but I'm excited to work my way through their pizza menu to find my favorite.

Masala Magic from Ignite Pizzeria
Tandoori sauce, mozzarella, spinach, red onion, garlic, and mixed forest mushrooms

After we'd devoured our pizza, I couldn't resist getting their tiramisu, which was heavenly and the perfect ending to a busy day (I ate it at home after dinner with my husband).

Vegan Cheeseburger and Crush Fries from Burger Crush

It's a scorching hot and sunny Tuesday. Instead of cooking at home, I asked my hubby if we could have dinner outside. He agreed, so I made him a little list of restaurants I tried as part of my company-paid team lunch that he has not yet tried. One of those places is Burger Crush.

Cheeseburger from Burger Crush
Hand-pressed beef patty

Hubby went for a single cheeseburger, which was absolutely mouthwatering. The juicy tender beef between the soft bun was covered in melty cheese. Then, you get those fresh tomatoes and lettuce. It's a classic delicious burger.

Vegan Cheeseburger from Burger Crush
House-made vegan patty served with vegan cheeseon a vegan bun

Meanwhile, I went for the Vegan Cheeseburger. It has the same fresh tomatoes and lettuce as the beef cheeseburger. However, the soft buns and melted cheese are all vegan. Thankfully, their vegan patty is not Beyond Meat or similar; they made their own, which is better. Since I'm not vegan, I'll get the cheeseburger next time since it was perfect.

Crush Fries from Burger Crush
Topped with fried onions, cheese and original Crush Sauce

We also had Crush Fries! I have been wanting to try this when I was here last time, so I'm glad to share one with my love. Their fries are almost shoestring in thickness and so crispy. The fries, onions, cheese, and sauce make it worthwhile.

Will we be back? Absolutely!

Pistachio Croissant and Double Chocolate Croissant from Bahar Bakery & Cafe

Happy Tuesday! There's a scheduled power outage at our home, so hubby is with me in Downtown Vancouver. For breakfast, we grabbed our usual Tims, but the star is really stopping by and enjoying pastries from Bahar Bakery & Cafe. They have become my favorite source for treats.

Pistachio Croissant from Bahar Bakery & Cafe

Hubby insisted that I take a picture and blog about them. I highly recommend their Pistachio Roll. It's the best. I have tried many of their baked goods, and I always go back to it. For today, we went for their croissants: pistachio and double chocolate.

Double Chocolate Croissant from Bahar Bakery & Cafe

They're both good, but I'll always go back to the pistachio roll.

Dutch Chocolate Ice Cream from Purdys Chocolatier

I've been craving ice cream in a waffle cone since yesterday. So, after having lunch at home and taking a little rest, we stepped out to grab some ice cream from the Purdys Chocolatier nearby.

Dutch Chocolate Ice Cream from Purdys Chocolatier

I opted for a scoop of the Dutch Chocolate, while hubby went for cookies and cream. Oops, we forgot to take a photo(!) which means we can try again next time. 

I absolutely love their waffle cone dipped in dark chocolate covered in nuts. Here's a list of ice cream flavors we've tried from Purdys:

• Dutch Chocolate
• Espresso Flake
• French Vanilla
• Maple Walnut

Camp Day Donut from Tim Hortons

Happy Sunday! This morning, as part of our breakfast routine, we indulged in a Camp Day Donut. While I'd like to think I'm being kind and altruistic by supporting the fundraiser, the truth is, I'll try any new donut from Tim Hortons.

Camp Day Donut from Tim Hortons

Spaghetti & Meatballs and Coconut Cream Ravioli from Basil Pasta Bar

Happy Thursday! For dinner, we stopped by Basil Pasta Bar. It's our first time eating in the restaurant since we always have their food delivered.

Spaghetti & Meatballs from Basil Pasta Bar
Spicy rose sauce with 6 meatballs, mushrooms, tomatoes, red onions & spinach. Garnished with mozzarella cheese.

Spaghetti & Meatballs from Basil Pasta Bar
Spicy rose sauce with 6 meatballs, mushrooms, tomatoes, red onions & spinach. Garnished with mozzarella cheese.

I went for the Spaghetti & Meatballs while hubby chose the Coconut Cream Ravioli.

Coconut Cream Ravioli from Basil Pasta Bar
Coconut cream sauce with chicken, mushrooms, asparagus, red onions & peas. Garnished with coconut flakes & fresh basil

Coconut Cream Ravioli from Basil Pasta Bar
Coconut cream sauce with chicken, mushrooms, asparagus, red onions & peas. Garnished with coconut flakes & fresh basil

Below is a list of House Special Pastas we have tried so far from Basil Pasta Bar:

• Pesto Shrimo Linguine
• Maple Bacon Conchiolie
• Coconut Cream Ravioli
• Spaghetti Carbonara
• BC Smoked Salmon Fettuccine
• Spaghetti & Meatballs
• Lemon Chicken Fettuccine

Crispy Tofu with Mix Vegetables over rice from Dingding Restaurant

Happy Thursday! Today's team lunch theme is Chinese food, and we decided to try out the nearby Dingding Restaurant. In an effort to make healthier choices, I opted for the lunch special: Crispy Tofu with Mixed Vegetables over rice.

Crispy Tofu with Mix Vegetables over rice from Dingding Restaurant

Double Bacon Benny and Smashed Avocado Benny at Tap and Barrel Bridges

Happy Sunday! Today, we continued our annual tradition of celebrating one of our many relationship milestones with a delicious brunch at Tap and Barrel Bridges.

As usual, we started our meal with an order of nachos to share.

Nachos from Tap and Barrel Bridges
Cumin-dusted tortilla chips, cheddar, feta, smoked mozzarella, pickled jalapeños, black olives, pico de gallo, green onion, cilantro, and sour cream

My hubby indulged in the Double Bacon Benny, which was absolutely delicious. Even though I'm not usually a big fan of bacon, I have to admit that this dish was something I'd definitely order again.

Double Bacon Benny from Tap and Barrel Bridges
Bacon, Bacon jam, poached aggs, Cajun spice, hollandaise, English muffin, garlic mayo, and micro greens with crispy potatoes

On the other hand, I opted for the healthier Smashed Avocado Benny, which is a great vegetarian option. However, I have to say that it wasn't quite as flavorful as the bacon Benny.

Smashed Avocado Benny from Tap and Barrel Bridges
Avocado, tomato, poached eggs, cajun spice, hollandaise, english muffin, garlic mayo, and micro greens with crispy potatoes

For future reference, here's a list of all the dishes we've tried from Tap and Barrel Bridges so far:

Weekend and Holiday Brunch

• Double Bacon Benny
• Smashed Avocado Benny
• Hearty Hash Bowl with southern fried chicken
• Pesto Prawn Benny (no longer in the menu)

Start and Share

• Fresh Guac & Chips
• Nachos
• Nachos with beef barbacoa

Mains

• Fried Chicken Mac & Cheese
• Creole Sirloin
• Pesto Chicken Linguine with add-on of Creole Ocean Wise Prawns (no longer in the menu)

Hand-Stretched Pizza

• Pesto Prawn Pizza (no longer in the menu)

Dessert

• Sticky Toffee Pudding

Coffee Toffee and Vegan Chocolate Peanut Crunch from Rain or Shine Ice Cream

It was a beautiful, hot summer day when we grabbed ice cream from Rain or Shine before walking home from Khatsahlano.

My favorite, coffee toffee, was a delightful treat as always.

Coffee Toffee from Rain or Shine Ice Cream

Meanwhile, hubby tried the vegan chocolate peanut crunch, which had a strong coconut flavor, likely due to the coconut milk used instead of milk.

Vegan Chocolate Peanut Crunch from Rain or Shine Ice Cream

Although it was still good, my coffee ice cream in a waffle cone was absolutely amazing. Below is a list of Rain or Shine ice cream flavors we have tried so far.

The Keepers

• Coffee Toffee
• Salted Caramel
• Vegan Chocolate Peanut Crunch

Seasonal Flavours

• Hot Honey Crunch
• Key Lime Pie

Beef Rendang and Chicken Satay from Kampong Taste of Malaysia food truck | Khatsahlano 2025

Happy beautiful Saturday! My day started off slow with breakfast and lunch at home, and then we strolled over to the Khatsahlano Street Party. For dinner, I was craving something comforting and decided on a rice meal. I couldn't resist grabbing some food from the Kampong Taste of Malaysia food truck.

We ordered the beef rendang stew with coconut rice and salad. It was exactly what I needed to satisfy my rice craving. The salad added a refreshing crunch, and the rice was coated in a delicious sauce. And let's not forget about the tender beef!

Stew Beef Rendang on Coconut Rice and Salad from Kampong Taste of Malaysia food truck

To share, we ordered chicken satay with peanut sauce. I'm a huge fan of peanut sauce, and this one was perfect. I was in food heaven!

Chicken Satay with peanut sauce and salad from Kampong Taste of Malaysia food truck

We had an amazing time walking around the streets of Kits and soaking up the summer vibes.