Beef Polish Smokies and All Beef Smokies from Holy Smokes

Happy Friday! I survived my second week at my new job. It's a hot Friday, so we decided to go outside for dinner and hang out at a nearby coffee shop. Before heading to Blenz, we thought of dropping by VSB Park for TGIF (Thank Granville It's Food Trucks), but the event ends at 3:00 PM. We still managed to buy from a food truck: Holy Smokes. If you pass by the corner of Granville and West Broadway, you're most likely familiar with it.

Holy Smokes! Food Stand

For dinner, we ordered one Beef Polish Smokies and an All Beef Smokies with all the extra paid topping of mayonnaise, cheese, and caramelized onions.

All Beef Smokies from Holy Smokes

Let's first discuss how much I love the perfectly toasted buns. The exterior is slightly crispy, while the interior is still soft. Directly on the bun are caramelized onions bringing a touch of sweetness, which is an excellent contrast to the savoury sausage. Lastly, the shredded cheese is melted all over everything. Top the sandwich with creamy mayonnaise and slightly tangy ketchup, and you get a perfect bite.

Beef Polish Smokies from Holy Smokes

Focusing my attention on the two smokies - all beef is moist and juicy with a snappy exterior. Of course, it tastes beefier than the beef polish smokie,   which has a more complex taste. I can't pinpoint what spice improved it, but both are enjoyable.

I hope you're having a fantastic Friday.

Hot Pero-Peri Chicken Bowl from Nando's

It's my second team lunch, and one of my colleagues in Melbourne, Australia, picked Nando's which happened to be available in all three global offices! I think I need to explain things further. I started a new job two weeks ago, and my new work has three offices: HQ in Melbourne and an office here (Vancouver) and Cork, Ireland. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that Nando's is available in all three cities.

PERi-PERi Chicken Bowl and Naughty Natas from Nandos's

I ordered the Peri-Peri Chicken Bowl (Hot), and boy, was it spicy! Thank God I didn't pick the Extra Hot. It's the perfect bowl of spicy, juicy chicken, savoury rice, soft roasted red peppers, bitter arugula, sweet corn, and creamy hummus. It has all the flavours and balancing textures.

PERi-PERi Chicken Bowl from Nandos's
Portuguese rice topped with PERi-PERi chicken, arugula, roasted red peppers, corn, and hummus.

We ordered our lunch via UberEats, and they're having a promo of buy 1 take 1 on Naughty Natas, so we got to enjoy one each. It's the fantastic ending to a delicious lunch. It's sweet, flaky, and creamy. I want more.

Naughty Natas from Nando's
Traditional Portuguese custard tart

Thank God for the many blessings. We enjoyed our lunch on the rooftop of our office building.

I love Nando's delivery bags.

For my amusement, below is a list of our team lunch so far:

• Brazil: Boteco Brasil
• Portugal / South Africa: Nando's

Brunch menu at Boston Pizza includes Breakfast Pizza

Happy, blessed Sunday! My husband and I attended the 9:00 AM Sunday mass. Afterwards, we walked to the Boston Pizza closest to our home, which had a big sign "Brunch now available at 10:00 AM." We're their first customers for the day.

It's a small brunch menu and uses ingredients they already have. Sorry, there are no pancakes or waffles here. You will find breakfast pizza and omelettes.

Hubby picked the first two items on their brunch menu: Breakfast Pizza and Southwest Breakfast Bowl.

Breakfast Pizza from Boston Pizza

Boston Pizza's dough was surprisingly light. The breakfast pizza is like eggs benedict, but instead of the usual English muffin, it's on top of pizza dough, and instead of poached egg, you get it scrambled. The Hollandaise sauce is used instead of the usual tomato-based pizza sauce.

Breakfast Pizza (Individual 8") from Boston Pizza
Signature pizza dough topped with Hollandaise sauce, pizza mozzarella, scrambled eggs, smoky bacon, green and red peppers, tomatoes, and cheddar cheese.

You also get bacon, green and red peppers, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and pizza mozzarella. It's good pizza.

Southwest Breakfast Bowl from Boston Pizza

The chipotle sauce brings the heat. It's essentially hashbrowns with scrambled eggs, bacon, cheddar cheese, mozzarella, tomatoes, a scoop of guacamole, and lots of green onions. I didn't taste a Hollandaise, but the chipotle sauce is terrific. It's a unique breakfast bowl.

Southwest Breakfast Bowl from Boston Pizza
Scrambled eggs served over lightly fried hash browns with bacon, cheddar cheese, pizza mozzarella, tomatoes, guacamole and green onions. Finished with Hollandaise sauce and a drizzle of our Ancho Chipotle sauce.

Cactus Cut Potatoes from Boston Pizza

We ordered one Cactus Cut Potatoes because we kept seeing a promotion for it during the Toronto Blue Jays game last Thursday. I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I love it. It's crispy and has chip-like thinness, while the cactus dip is slightly spicy yet creamy.

Cactus Cut Potatoes
Spicy and thinly sliced fried potatoes served with our signature cactus dip.

Cactus Cut Potatoes
Spicy and thinly sliced fried potatoes served with our signature cactus dip.

Today's brunch put me in a food coma, so our next meal is brinner (breakfast for dinner). I have pancakes in the pantry and sausage rounds in the fridge.

Boston Pizza Brunch Menu

Below is the brunch menu of Boston Pizza on West Broadway, Vancouver, BC.

Boston Pizza (Individual 8") - $13.49 Signature pizza dough, topped with Hollandaise sauce, pizza mozzarella, scrambled eggs, smoky bacon, green and red peppers, tomatoes, and cheddar cheese. Southwest Breakfast Bowl - $14.99 Scrambled eggs served over lightly fried hash browns with bacon, cheddar cheese, pizza mozzarella, tomatoes, guacamole, and green onions. Finished with Hollandaise sauce and a drizzle of our Ancho Chipotle sauce. Brunch Burrito - $13.99 Grilled tortilla filled with roasted red peppers, roasted red onions, bacon, cheddar cheese, and scrambled eggs. Served with a side of hash browns, salsa, and sour cream.

Bacon Cheddar Omelette - $13.99 Egg omelette with smoky bacon, cheddar cheese, pizza mozzarella, roasted red peppers and green onions. Served with hash browns and garnished with marinated tomatoes. Florentine Sunrise Omelette - $13.49 Egg omelette with baby spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, pizza mozzarella and feta cheese. Served with hash browns and garnished with marinated tomatoes. Kids Breakfast - $8.99 Two scrambled eggs served with hash browns and two bacon strips. Choice of milk, chocolate milk, apple juice, or orange juice.

They must improve their menu to include coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. I had to look for it on their main menu close to desserts.

Coffee Toffee and Salted Caramel Rain or Shine Ice Cream | Khatsahlano Street Party

To end our afternoon at Khatsahlano Street Party, we lined up at the Rain or Shine Ice Cream food truck.

Salted Caramel from Rain or Shine Ice Cream food truck

I'll go on record in saying that Rain or Shine has the best ice cream in Vancouver, in my opinion. Best gelato goes to Uno Gelato.

Coffee Toffee from Rain or Shine Ice Cream

Both flavours are delicious. My coffee toffee was slightly bitter and sweet. It's perfect for this hot afternoon.

Gimme Coxinhas at Khatsahlano Street Party

Coxinhas is a famous Brazilian snack. It consists of a dough made from wheat flour, butter, and broth, which is then filled and typically shaped into a teardrop.

Gimme Coxinhas

The chicken coxinhas was made with a flavorful filling of shredded chicken. It was mixed with cream cheese, creating a creamy and savoury filling. The exterior is crusty and crispy.

Cheese Coxinhas from Gimme Coxinhas

Meanwhile, the cheese coxinhas is filled with gooey and melted cheese. It had a lovely cheese pull.

Cheese Coxinhas from Gimmer Coxinhas

Lastly, the dulce de leche churros have a crispy and slightly crunchy exterior with the luscious and sweet dulce de leche filling. It is a heavenly dessert with a perfect balance of textures and caramel flavours.

Dulce de Leche Churros from Gimme Coxinhas

It was such a delicious snack while waiting in line for ice cream.

Polish Platter from Nina's Pierogi | Khatsahlano Street Party

I'm not a Polish cuisine expert, so when I saw Nina's Pierogi selling a Polish Platter at Khatsahlano Street Party, I had to try it.

The Polish Platter includes a 2-piece cabbage roll, 1-piece Polish kielbasa (pork sausage), 4 pieces of cheddar cheese & potato pierogies, and a pickle. I also said yes to all toppings: bacon, onion, and sour cream.

When I took a bite of the cabbage roll, the first thing I got was the cabbage. Then, the soft and delicate pork inside was moist and succulent. It's perfect.

I'm trying Polish kielbasa for the first time. It tastes like pork sausage. I wonder if there will be an international sausage restaurant that only sells a sampling of different sausages.

Polish Platter from Nina's Pierogi
Cabbage roll, Polish kielbasa (pork sausage), cheddar cheese & potato pierogies, & pickle topped with bacon, onion, and sour cream.

Now, let's discuss the pierogi. I've had frozen pierogies before, and it's not as good as this. Nina's pierogi is soft and chewy, but the inside is creamy.

The pierogies are topped with bacon, onion, and sour cream. The crispy bacon provides a satisfying crunch, contrasting the softness of the dumplings. The sautéed onions add a slightly caramelized and tender texture and a pleasant mouthfeel. A dollop of sour cream brings a creamy and smooth consistency, creating a luscious coating over the pierogi.

Chicken Satay from Peranakan Kitchen | Khatsahlano Street Party

It's our second year visiting the largest free music and arts festival in Vancouver: Khatsahlano Street Party. We walked from Burrard to MacDonald along the stretch of West 4th Avenue, filled with vendors and food trucks.

The first food we noticed was a sign, "Indonesian Street Food," and multiple Indonesian food vendors were under the tent. Of course, we went for the Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce which is catered by Peranakan Kitchen, an Indonesian Restaurant in New Westminster.

Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce from Peranakan Kitchen

This is a delicious first bite at Khatsahlano. The chicken satay is skewered and grilled, creating a savoury and sweet flavour with the exterior caramelized. It is covered in creamy and nutty peanut sauce. I just realized I love peanuts in savoury dishes and sweet desserts. Yum! It was served with soft white rice and acar, a pickled vegetable providing crispiness and tanginess.