My First HelloFresh Box for 2022

I skipped the first two weeks of the year and didn't order HelloFresh.

I was planning to order a HelloFresh box last week, but we had to do our twice-a-year Costco run, which means my small fridge can't fit all the frozen items from Costco and a HelloFresh box.

My five HelloFresh meals.

I look forward to relatively healthy eating from my HelloFresh box this week.

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Carb Smart Chipotle Beef Chili with Poblano Peppers and Cheddar Cheese

We also ordered this dish last year, primarily because it's only 580 calories which I split into two, so each meal is only 290 calories! I added all the chipotle spice, and there's heat on the chilli - I love it!

Carb Smart Chipotle Beef Chilli with Poblano Peppers and Cheddar Cheese

HelloFresh Description: This nourishing low-carb chilli replaces beans with lots of wholesome veggies! We added extra deliciousness with spicy chipotle and melty cheddar cheese! Carb Smart is based on a per-serving calculation of the recipe's carbohydrate amount.

Thai-Style Sweet Chili Chicken with Cilantro Lime Rice

I am uncertain what makes this Thai style because when I think of Thai cuisine, I think of heat and peanut sauce. I enjoyed the zucchini, though.

Thai-Style Sweet Chili Chicken with Cilantro Lime Rice

HelloFresh Description: Chicken pieces are coated in a tangy sweet chilli sauce, then coupled with zucchini and burst tomatoes. The cilantro-lime rice infuses every bite with brightness.

Smoky Falafel Bowls with Tahini Drizzle

I only ordered one Falafel dish last year, and they completely forgot to pack the falafel. Fortunately, they remembered it this time. I love the tahini, and I wish there was more falafel.

Smoky Falafel Bowls with Tahini Drizzle

HelloFresh Description: Hearty falafels are perked up with a spicy, garlicky tahini drizzle in this delicious and nutritious rice bowl.

Mexican-Style Red Bean Stew with Cheesy Quesadillas

I like the heat from the stew, and the quesadillas are truly perfect for dipping.

Mexican-Style Red Bean Stew with Cheesy Quesadillas

HelloFresh Description: This Mexican-style stew is veggie- and flavour-packed! The cheesy quesadillas are easy to make, melt-in-your-mouth delicious and made even better by dipping into the stew - a perfect dinner for any night of the week.

Kale and Black Bean Quesadillas with Fresh Tomato Salsa and Crema

I ordered the same dish last year and absolutely loved it. However, somehow it felt lacking this year. Maybe I didn't add enough salt. Also, the tortilla they sent seems lower quality and much smaller, so the filling is spilling all over the pan.

Kale and Black Bean Quesadillas with Fresh Tomato Salsa and Crema

HelloFresh Description: Forget all meaty Tex-Mex quesadillas of the past! This veggie beauty is jam-packed with hearty kale and filling beans. The secret to this memorable Tex-Mex feast is the refreshing salsa with tomatoes, cilantro, and lime. Simple, yet so satisfying!

I am skipping HelloFresh next week because we're going to Real Canadian Superstore and plan to buy things in bulk, and our small fridge can only fit so much food.

Dine Out Vancouver Festival 2022 Map of Restaurants

Dine Out Vancouver Festival is celebrating its 20th year of Culinary Celebration. Because I enjoy visualizing restaurants in a map, I thought of adding all restaurants that's part of Dine Out Vancouver in a map. This way you can find the closest one to you.

You can also view the map here.

Lunch at Pho 37

After our Costco run, I told my parents that we wanted Filipino groceries and should head to the closest Superstore. However, my mom suggested that we go to Dollar Smart instead. Grocery shopping for Filipino goodies is such a relaxing and happy moment for me. Choosing a piece of my childhood home in my new home country is so satisfying.

Anyway, after Dollar Smart, we had lunch at Pho 37.

1. Spring Rolls

I love Vietnamese spring roll, and I think it's my favourite one outside of Lumpiang Shanghai (Filipino spring roll).

37. Tuan's Special Beef Noodle Soup
A unique flavourful beef noodle soup with a poached egg (Pho Tuan)

I think at this point, I can recommend the MUST-TRY item from Pho 37: Tuan's Special Beef Noodle Soup (It's the 37th item on the menu). It's so delicious. Item 11 (Special Beef Noodle Soup) was already impressive, and I can't believe 37 is even better.

12. Medium Rare Beef Noodle Soup (Pho Tai)

I chose number 12 just to continue down their pho list. Pho 37 is my parent's favourite pho place in Richmond, and my dad has been (apparently) slowly trying others like Pho Japolo and still regards Pho 37 as the best one. I think we now know where the foodie gene came from (Is there such a thing? Foodie gene LOL).

Breakfast at Denny's

Happy Saturday! After 14 days, we're seeing my parents again. Then, hubby and I need to do our twice-a-year Costco grocery run. Before heading to Costco, we had breakfast at Denny's.

Classic Benny
Poached eggs and stacked shaven ham on a toasted English muffin topped with Hollandaise sauce. Served with seasoned red-skinned potatoes.

The Classic Benny is as classic as you're going to get. However, the Prime Rib Benny was better. I can't wait to try the other benny on their menu.

Ultimate Omelette
Crumbled sausage, bacon, fire-roasted bell peppers & onions, sauteed mushrooms, tomatoes and Cheddar cheese, served with hash browns and multi-grain toast.

Hubby ordered the Ultimate Omelette, and it's another classic. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the hash brown.

I am glad that we're able to enjoy the food from Denny's after two years.

Lunch from Chef Hung Taiwanese Beef Noodle

Happy Sunday! It's the last day of the long weekend, and I am back at work tomorrow (still working from home).

We watched The Fiery Priest, which made me crave rice, so we ordered Chef Hung Taiwanese Beef Noodles, our usual favourite Taiwanese dishes.

Taiwanese-Style Deep Fried Chicken Cutlet on Rice

The chicken was juicy inside, and the batter was crunchy, but it was a bit salty for my liking.

Deep-Fried Chicken Nuggets

Same with chicken cutlet, it's good and juicy but a bit salty.

Green Tea Shaved Ice

The Green Tea Shaved Ice arrived in one piece and surprisingly still solid. I guess it did help that the temperature outside is close to 0 degrees Celsius.

Deep-Fried Taiwanese Sausage on Rice

Hubby chose the Taiwanese Sausage, and it's the best thing we ordered today. The sweetness from the Sausage works well with the white rice drizzled with a soy sauce-based sauce.

After trying Chef Hung, my favourite restaurant for Taiwanese dishes is still Redbeef Noodle Kitchen. Do you have a favourite Taiwanese restaurant in Vancouver? Comment below, and I can't wait to try them.

Lunch from Pizza Garden

Our first delivery of the year is from Pizza Garden. 🍕

Do you want a slice?

I ordered two Half and Half Pizza which means we could enjoy four different Neapolitan pizzas. I just picked the first four flavours on the list alphabetically in the option. Apparently, I chose four veggie pizzas and one meat pizza.

Top: Calabria (Tomato sauce, mozzarella, fior di latte, granada padno, capicolla, fennel sausage, hot soppressata)
Bottom: Bianco (Extra virgin olive oil, mozzarella, fior di latte, grana Padano, fresh basil, ricotta cheese, roasted garlic, grape tomatoes (no base sauce))

I enjoyed the Soppressata in the Calabria pizza. However, Bianco was kind of bland. I wish there were more fresh basil.

Top: Amante Spinaci (Tomato sauce, mozzarella, fior di latte, grana padano, spinach, kalamata olives, ricotta cheese, and pesto drizzle)
Bottom: Aglio Arrostito (Pesto sauce, mozzarella, fior di latte, grana padano, roasted garlic, and grape tomatoes)

My favourite is the Amante Spinaci. I realized I absolutely love olives in pizza. However, I am biased for pesto sauce, a winner in the Aglio Arrostito pizza.

As expected, we didn't finish the pizza and have leftovers for the coming days. 

Thank you, Lord, for all the blessings.

New Year's Eve Dinner at Home

Growing up, one of the practices or superstitions we always hear is having round fruits at the table to welcome the New Year. I remember we will always have grapes, oranges, apples, among others, at our table alongside the usual Media Noche (New Year's Eve Dinner).

Hubby said we should continue the tradition by having round or circular things at our table. It doesn't have to be fruits that we might not eat and might just throw by the end of the week.

Christmas Eve dinner is my family's "big" celebration, so I always struggle to prepare to welcome the New Year. Below is a quick summary of what we did since getting married:

• To greet 2018, we just ordered Domino's Pizza and Timbits
• To ring in 2019, we stayed in Pan Pacific Hotel in Downtown Vancouver and watched the fireworks.
• To start 2020, we did nothing.
• To welcome 2021, we ordered savoury pies, donuts, and Filipino round snacks.

Hubby and I searched for circular or round food the last couple of days and decided to do "breakfast for dinner." So we went to the grocery yesterday and got pancake mix, frozen waffles, bagels, bananas, among other round things that we can find, including chicken balls.

Our menu for tonight includes:

• Blueberry Bagel
• Chicken balls and Waffles
• Pancake with sliced bananas and Nutella

Breakfast for New Year's Eve Dinner

I love the Chicken Balls. Good job, President's Choice.

Happy New Year! May 2022 be a kinder and more blessed year for all of us. Cheers to more food adventures and hopefully travel. Stay kind, healthy, and safe.

Where to get the Best Filipino Food in Metro Vancouver?

I am a Filipina based in Vancouver and I love to eat. In this year-end blog post, I will make a list of famous Filipino dishes and food and where I recommend you get it.

Send me a message in Facebook or Instagram if you have a recommended restaurant that I should try or a specific dish you're looking for.

Best Pandesal: Aling Mary's

📍Aling Mary's Filipino Store & Bakery at 2656 Main St, Vancouver, BC V5T 3E7

Half-dozen Pandesal from Aling Mary's

Best Taho: O! Taho

📍O! Taho at 4223 Fraser St, Vancouver, BC V5V 4G2

Taho from O! Taho

Best Siopao: Bao Bakery

📍Bao Bakery at 5115 Joyce St, Vancouver, BC V5R 4G8

Half dozen of Chicken Deluxe (Bola-Bola) Steamed Buns

Best Filipino-style Spaghetti: Shameless Buns

📍 Shameless Buns at 5772 Fraser St, Vancouver, BC V5W 2Z5

Filipino Spaghetti from Shameless Buns

Best Ensaimada: Ensaimada Moments

📱 Ensaimada Moments on Instagram

Two Boxes of Assorted Ensaimada from Ensaimada Moment

Best Mamon: KayeBakes.ca

📱 KayeBakes on Facebook and Instagram

Assorted Mamon Box from KayeBakes.ca

Best Ginataang Bilo-Bilo: Ilocos Fride

📱Ilocos Fride on Facebook and Instagram

Ginataang Bilo-Bilo
Ilocos Fride Description: A dessert or snack made with glutinous rice balls, plantain bananas, sweet potatoes, and tapioca pearls cooked in coconut milk.

Best Lumpiang Shanghai: Little Ongpin

📍 Little Ongpin Restaurant at 4093 No 5 Rd, Richmond, BC V6X 2T9

Lumpiang Shanghai

Best Filipino-style Pork BBQ: Klasik Inasal and Noodle Express

📍 Klasik Inasal and Noodle Express at 650 E Broadway, Vancouver, BC V5T 1X6

Pork BBQ

Send me a message in Facebook or Instagram if you have a recommended restaurant that I should try or a specific dish you're looking for.

Lunch from Lin Chinese Cuisine

We were deciding where to order food for today. We need meals that can last us until the end of the week. I thought of having pizza, but I am just not feeling it. So we end up ordering Chinese food from our favourite Chinese restaurant: Lin Chinese Cuisine.

Lunch from Lin Chinese Cuisine

Pan-Fried Pork Buns

Xiao Long Bao (Shanghai Juicy Pork Dumplings)

Hunan-Style Braised Pork

The Hunan-Style Braised Pork reminds me of the Filipino dish Humba because of the fattiness and general consistency of the sauce. It was unexpectedly delicious and I usually stay away from anything fatty.

Spicy Ma-Po Tofu

I wish the Spicy Ma-Po Tofu has more flavour.

The end of 2021 is almost here, and the whole year felt like a blur.

Dinner from Ramen Gojiro

Happy Sunday! We didn't do any Boxing Day shopping today, which is a first. Instead, we had errands to run, went to Trees for cheesecake, did window shopping at nearby Indigo, and went straight home.

I told hubby I wanted ramen for dinner because it's below freezing outside. So I ordered from one of my favourite restaurants Ramen Gojiro.

I ordered two Original Karaage because it's my absolute favourite and dipping it in the Spicy Ramen broth is fantastic.

Dinner delivery from Ramen Gojiro

Ramen Spicy Chashu

Yuzu Shio Ramen

The Yuzu Shio Ramen is hubby's order, and it's a clear, smooth broth. It's pretty enjoyable.

Because I was feeling greedy, I ordered Pork Katsu Curry Don.

Pork Katsu Curry Don

We ate some of it, but most became leftovers with Chicken Karaage. Perfect for breakfast tomorrow!

Ferrero Rocher Cheesecake from Trees Cheesecake + Organic Coffee

This year, I have tried more than a handful of the seasonal cheesecake from Trees Cheesecake + Organic Coffee.

• Matcha Cheesecake last June 6
• Taro Cheesecake last June 26
• Mango Cheesecake last July 18
• Peanut Butter Cheesecake last September 11
• Pumpkin Cheesecake last October 10
• Banoffee Cheesecake last November 28 (no blog post)
• Ferrero Rocher Cheesecake today

My previous favourite was the Matcha Cheesecake. It's so good, but the Ferrero Rocher Cheesecake and all the nuts inside is just to die for.

Ferrero Rocher Cheesecake

The Best 2020 Seasonal Cheesecake from Trees Cheesecake + Organic Coffee

We didn't do any Boxing Day shopping today, but we went to Trees to enjoy the seasonal cheesecake and have our annual planning meeting.

Christmas Eve Dinner from H-Mart at Home

Every year my sister picks a place on what we'll have for Christmas Eve dinner. This year we had Korean cuisine, specifically Korean BBQ, at home. We purchased a grill, marinated meat, and side dishes.

Christmas Eve Dinner

Below is a list of our past "cuisines":

• 2020 - Chinese Food
• 2019 - French Food
• 2018 - Spanish Food
• 2017 - Japanese Food
• 2016 and 2015 - "Italian" Food (really it's Pizza and my mom's Spaghetti)

After dinner, we played some games then did Karaoke while waiting for midnight. Finally, at midnight, we had our annual tradition of exchanging gifts. It's so much fun to be with everybody. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Lunch from Japadog Drive-Through

Happy Friday and almost Christmas! 🎄 Today my parents picked us up from our place. We're going to celebrate Christmas at their place. Before heading there, we went grocery shopping at H-Mart in Richmond. Our theme for Christmas dinner is Korean cuisine.

After grocery shopping, we dropped by Lansdowne because my sister had to buy a tripod, and since my mom was already starving, we grabbed lunch from the Japadog.

My mom thought we should eat at the food court inside Lansdowne, but I am still paranoid about COVID, so buying a food truck and bringing it home seems the best idea.

Left: Kurobuta Terimayo and Kurobuta Okonomi
Right: Karaage and Wagyu Beef Terimayo

The Kurobuta Terimayo and Kuronuta Okonomi are for my parents, while hubby and I ordered Karaage and Wagyu Beef Terimayo. Surprisingly, I didn't enjoy the Karaage, and I think that's the first Japadog I didn't order.

We also ordered four different Shaked Fries flavours: Butter & Shoyu, Shichimi & Garlic, Aonori, and Black Pepper. I think the Butter & Shoyu is still the best. However, if you want something spicy, the Shichimi & Garlic is a delicious option.

For future me, here's a list of Japadog based on the menu in the McArthurGlen location with a link to which ones you've tried.

1. Kurobuta Terimayo
2. Kurobuta Okonomi
3. Kurobuta Oroshi
4. Kurobuta Love Meat
5. Spicy Cheese Terimayo
6. Yakisoba
7. Ebi Tempura
8. Tonkatsu
9. Hot Spicy
10. Yakiniku Rice
11. Croquiette
12. Karaage (today)
13. Wagyu Beef Terimayo (today)
14. Avocado
15. Cilantro

• Goma Miso Turkey Hotdog (not in the McArthurGlen menu)
• Kobe Beef Terimayo (not in the McArthur Glen menu)

Black Forest Filled Ring Dream Donut from Tim Hortons

Happy Thursday! I had to pick up a package at the nearby FedEx location and decided to order any new dream donut at Tim Hortons.

Black Forest Filled Ring Dream Donut

I am glad that the donut itself is not dry. The inside is filled with what I presume to be cherry, and the other half is chocolate-filled. Is it something I'll order again? Not really.

Dinner from Tim Hortons

We also ordered dinner of large chilli with whole wheat homestyle bun, grilled cheese melt, and Old Fashioned Plain Donut. The Old Fashioned Donut from Lee's Donuts is so much better, but they don't sell it anymore.

Today is the last workday for the week for me and the last workday for the year for hubby.

For references, below are the previous dream donuts we've tried.

• Dulce de Leche Dream Donut from early 2020
• Chocolate Hazelnut Éclair Dream
• Sea Salted Caramel Dream
• New York Cheesecake Dream Donut
• Strawberry Shortcake Filled Ring
• Vanilla Cream Puff Filled Ring
• Apple Pie Dream Donut
• Penguin Dream Donut