McDonald's Canada Spicy McCrispy Bacon Deluxe

Happy Boxing Day! Before heading to Millenium Karaoke for a family singing night, we grabbed dinner from McDonald's Canada and specifically ordered the Spicy McCrispy Bacon Deluxe.

The McDonald's website described the sandwich as follows:

The Spicy Bacon Deluxe McCrispy is big on everything, including heat. With our southern-style fried chicken patty on a soft potato bun, topped with shredded lettuce, hickory-smoked bacon, tomato and our spicy Habanero sauce, this sandwich kicks crispy, juicy and tender up to the next level.

Spicy McCrispy Bacon Deluxe from McDonald's Canada

The good news is the chicken was genuinely crispy and freshly made. It was hot when it arrived. Unfortunately, it was not spicy and did not have enough sauce.

Spicy McCrispy Bacon Deluxe Sandwich from McDonald's Canada

The tomato provided some juiciness, while the lettuce provided a different crunch. Lastly, the bacon is just there, but the taste could have been more pronounced. The flavourful crispy chicken was the dominant component both in size and flavour. I just wished there was more sauce!

Fiery Hunanese-Style Pork from HelloFresh Canada

Our HelloFresh box arrived Saturday morning on the day of Christmas Eve. We cooked our first meal from this box for dinner on Christmas Day. We prepared the Fiery Hunanese-Style Pork with Green Onion-Ginger Rice.

Fiery Hunanese-Style Pork with Green Onion-Ginger Rice from HelloFresh Canada

SALTY! I didn't add any salt, and it was salty. The ginger has a nice flavour, and there's still a hint of the white cooking wine, but overall it was a salty dish.

Below is the HelloFresh description for this meal.

Fiery Hunanese-Style Pork with Green Onion-Ginger Rice

HelloFresh Description:

Hunanese cuisine is known for its spice and lots of it! We've toned things down a little in our take on a classic Hunanese dish, but packed in plenty of flavour with chili garlic sauce, ginger, soy and oyster sauce.

Fiery Hunanese-Style Pork with Green Onion-Ginger Rice from HelloFresh Canada

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Calories: 840 calories per serving

Do you need an oven to prepare this meal? No

Do you want a discounted box? Then, click my referral link and get a HelloFresh box.

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.

Christmas Eve Dinner from Ukrainian Village

It's our family tradition to have Christmas Eve dinner (Noche Buena), and my younger sister usually picks a country where we should try the food.

In the past years, we've had the following:

• 2021 - Korean Food from H-Mart
• 2020 - Chinese Food from Lin Chinese Cuisine and Tea House
• 2019 - French food cooked by my sister
• 2018 - Spanish Food
• 2017 - Japanese Food
• 2016 and 2015 - Domino's Pizza and my mom's Filipino-style spaghetti

This year she chose Ukrainian food to support a Ukrainian business in Vancouver. It's our family's first time trying Ukrainian / Eastern European food. There are only a few Ukrainian restaurants in Vancouver, and we ordered from Ukrainian Village on Denman Street.

Our menu tonight includes the following:

Borsch Cabbage Roll Ukrainian Sausage Meatloaf

Kiev Cutlet Lamb Shanks Roasted Duck Beef Stroganoff

Schnitzel Chicken Schnitzel Pork Potato & Cheddar Cheese Perogies Potato & Fried Onion Perogies

Christmas Eve dinner from Ukrainian Village

The food was delicious. I love the kiev cutlet, beef stroganoff, both schnitzels, and cabbage rolls. I overate and was severely food coma during game night. 😅 It's nice to spend time with the family and sleep over at my parents' place.

Tim Hortons Strawberry Fill Powdered Sugar Donut

There was a day a couple of months ago when I did an online search and inventory of Tim Hortons donuts in Canada and internationally. My research led me to believe that the Strawberry Fill donut from Tims has been discontinued. My source is this Reddit thread, so I was pleasantly surprised when it was available in the Tims near us for delivery.

Strawberry Fill Powdered Sugar Donut from Tim Hortons

It was filled halfway and has a good strawberry flavour. The donut itself is dry, which is typical of Tim's donut.

Strawberry Fill Powdered Sugar Donut from Tim Hortons

Chicken Wrap for lunch from Tim Hortons | Day Before Christmas

Happy rainy Saturday, Vancouver! We planned to visit the Vancouver Christmas Market today but with the pouring rain and remaining snow on the ground, staying cozy at home before going to my parent's place seems to be what we need.

I ordered Slow Cooked Spicy Buffalo Chicken Wrap and Crispy Chicken Bacon Ranch Wrap from Tim Hortons delivery for lunch.

Slow-Cooked Spicy Buffalo Chicken Wrap

The Slow Cooked Spicy Buffalo Chicken Wrap from Tims was not spicy, but a bit tangy; the shredded slow-cooked chicken was surprisingly juicy and soft.

Slow-Cooked Spicy Buffalo Chicken Wrap from Tim Hortons

Crispy Chicken Bacon Ranch Wrap

The Crispy Chicken Bacon Ranch Wrap was good. The crispy chicken was a bit stale and dry but smothered in sauce, which helped. There are a couple strips of bacon, and the texture reminds me of bacon cooked in a microwave. The lettuce and tomato were the best part of this wrap.

Crispy Chicken Bacon Ranch Wrap from Tim Hortons