Lunch at Peaceful Restaurant

As you can see from my posts, I'm a creature of habit and delicious food. We ate at Peaceful Restaurant less than two weeks ago and I had a craving for the Dan Dan noodles. After shopping and finding amazing deals at Canadian Tire, we had lunch at Peaceful and ordered the same things.

Dan Dan Noodle

Dan Dan Noodle after mixing up the ingredients

Xiao Long Bao (because you can rarely go wrong with getting these)

Beef Roll is a must-try at Peaceful Restaurant

Cheers to more food!

Chocolate Swiss Roll from Tim Hortons

Every month it seems like Tim Hortons has a new or limited donut, pastry, or whatever. From the glass display, the Chocolate Swiss Roll looked delicious, so I thought of grabbing one today with our usual Sunday breakfast.

Tim Hortons Chocolate Swiss Roll

Chocolate Swiss Roll from Tim Hortons

Verdict: The outside is dry from sitting in the glass case for who knows how long. The inner part is a bit moister. However, in general, it was just a very dense too sweet of a "cake."

Domino's Pizza Delivery

Before I got married and moved out of my parent's place, my youngest sister and I used to have Domino's pizza delivered every Friday. We call it pizza Friday to celebrate thriving through the week and to kick off the weekend. We usually eat while watching a movie or Food Network (i.e a marathon of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives).

I moved out and I can't remember the last time I had Domino's at home. It could be the new year of 2018. Anyway, last December 16, I received an email from them about getting enough points to redeem for a free pizza. Yay for free pizza. We used it tonight for dinner.

And because I missed Domino's food so much, I got the free pizza, Chicken Carbonara, 8-pc Boneless Chicken with Ranch Sauce, and 8-pc Domino's Pizza Cheesy Bread with Marinara Sauce.

Free Pizza

Chicken Carbonara ( Alfredo Sauce, Bacon, Chicken, Mushrooms, Onions)

Boneless Chicken and Pizza Cheesy Bread

I can't wait for my next pizza from Domino's!

Dinner at Hot Star

We did Christmas shopping and decided to eat at Hor Star again. Yes, this is how much we loved the food here. Or we could just be missing Asia terribly.

Tonight we had Hot Cheese Fried Chicken and Korean Large Fried Chicken. They are both insanely delicious. We also got fries, vegetarian spring rolls, and green apple yogurt.

Hot Cheese Fried Chicken - yum!

Hot Cheese Fried Chicken waiting to be opened

Ready take my nth bite of the Hot CHeese Fried Chicken

Korean Large Fried Chicken is essentially sesame sauce

Spring Rolls - you don't need to get it. LOL

I can't wait for our third visit to try the rest of the chicken.

Reunion Dinner at The Wicklow

It was a long day at work, but thank God we had planned a reunion with current and former colleagues. It's really great to see everybody again and catch up. Tonight, I had my favourite Yorkshire Pudding Bowl, two glasses of "Pick Me Up" (such a perfect drink for the kind of day I'm having), and Sesame Crusted Tuna Saku.

Sesame Crusted Tuna Saku

Yorkshire Pudding Bowl

Big Fried Chicken from Hot Star

It's finally open in Downtown Vancouver! Last September, we had Taiwanese fried chicken from Big G, and today we had lunch at Hot Star.

Hubby got the Original Large Fried Chicken (salt & pepper), which was the best! The outside is crispy, and the inside was juicy. I kinda regret not getting this.

Original Large Fried Chicken (salt & pepper)

Inside the Original Large Fried Chicken (salt & pepper)

I had Crispy Large Fried Chicken (spicy medium). The chicken inside is delicious; however, the spicy flavour kinda ruined it for me. I should have picked original (no spice); apparently, it's an option.

Crispy Large Fried Chicken (medium spicy)

Juicy inside! How is this possible?

After a giant chicken, I'm still hungry, so I decided to buy Chicken Popcorn (original salt & pepper) with drink and fries. I love the Green Apple Yogurt drink!

Chicken Popcorn (original salt & pepper) with fries and Green Apple Yogurt

I love Hot Star. I wish there's a source of fried chicken close to home (like walking distance close).

Freybe Brat Haus inside the Vancouver Christmas Market

Bratwurst! Sausage! How can you go wrong? Answer: you can't. Personally, I love the sauerkrat!

Das Brat: THE Brat is seasoned with marjoram and caraway and served on an artisan bun with warm sauerkrat.

Das Gulasch Haus inside the Vancouver Christmas Market

We really weren't planning on ordering here, but it's chilly, and the person selling was really trying hard, so we end up enjoying a tender beef in a bread bowl gulasch.

Tender beef stew inside a bowl of bread

Das Gulasch House

On their menu, they have a short description, which I will quote below.

Gulasch is a delicious warming stew found primarily in Austria and Hungary, where it had its origin as shepherds dish in the 9th century. In the 19th century Vienna, the center of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a special type of Gulasch developed with more meat and fine Hungarian paprika."

Das Karoffel Haus inside the Vancouver Christmas Market

Kartoffelpuffer is basically German potato pancakes. Based on the description, it's like hashbrown or potato patties (depending on how you call it) but in a circular shape.

Kartoffelpuffer served with apple sauce and sour cream.

Kartoffelpuffer

I'll transcribe below what's in the signboard included in the second picture.

"A quintessential German treat beloved across every region of Germany, Kartoffelpuffer are not only a favorite dish to serve at home but are also a popular street food found at local events like the Christmas market.

Kartoffelpuffer are made from potatoes that are grated raw and grated finely. The shredded potatoes, finely grated onion and salt are then fried to light golden. The end result is a crispy exterior and soft interior.

Kartoffelpuffer can be served sweet or savory. Most commonly, they're served with applesauce, sugar, and sour cream. Sometimes they are served with salmon and/or brie as a part of a meal.

In a word, they're simply DELICIOUS!"

Mr. Pretzels inside the Vancouver Christmas Market

This is the best pretzels I have tried EVER! Where can I get these all year round?

Salted Pretzels

They have a Fun Fact poster that you can read while waiting in line. It says, "The first pretzels were baked as a soft squshy bread, like the soft pretzels of today. Pretzels may have been originall called bracellae, the Latin term for little arms, which later turned into the German bretzel. Pretzels were used in some cultures' wedding ceremonies, which may be where the term tying the knot originates from. Despite the ancient origins of the pretzel, the Mr. Pretzels you are about to consume was probably baked less than 15 minutes ago."

Staying Dry in Starbucks

Today, hubby and I decided to go to the Vancouver Christmas Market. Unfortunately, it started raining. We decided to hang out at the Starbucks across the street to wait for the rain to pass.

Bagel and Salted Caramel Mocha

Lunch at Peaceful Restaurant

We first heard of Peaceful Restaurant at Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. It's one of the places Guy Fieri visited in Vancouver, so we tried it once, and we keep coming back.

For today's lunch, hubby and I ate with my mom. Peaceful is known for their hand-pulled noodles, so we ordered all noodle dishes. For us, we ordered our usual (when it's available) food.

We ordered the same dishes from Lin's Chinese Restaurant and Fortune Garden Restaurant. We got Xiao Long Bao (at Fortune, we got the dumpling they have available), Dan-Dan Noodles, and Shanghai Stir-fried Noodles.

Xiao-Long Bao Steamed Buns
Filled with minced pork, ginger and a savoury a sauce

Shanghai Stir-fried Noodles
Shredded pork, cabbage & light soy sauce

Dan-Dan Noodles
Spicy, tangy peanut sauce, minced pork & spinach

We also ordered something we love only from Peaceful Restaurant: Beef Rolls!

Peaceful Beef Rolls
Five-spiced beef rolled in a crispy green onion flat-bread & sweet hoisin sauce

I'm so glad we now how "default" order at Chinese Restaurants. We have the same "default" set of dishes from Japanese restaurants, depending on what they offer.

New Bagels at Tim Hortons

As expected of our Sunday routine, hubby and I had breakfast at Tim Hortons. We usually try new items they have on the menu.

Today, they have Spinach & Mozzarella Bagel and Jalapeno & Cheddar Bagel. We got both as a breakfast sandwich.

I had the Jalapeno & Cheddar Bagel with sausage while hubby had Spinach & Mozzarella Bagel with bacon. I'll try both bagels next week toasted with cream cheese.

Tim Hortons Breakfast

Coffee Date at Waves Coffee House

It's our first time going to this coffee shop. The location along West Broadway (at Spruce Street) is spacious, with natural light coming in from the west and south side.

Hubby and I had our "annual review and planning meeting." We usually do this during December to discuss what we're grateful for this 2019 and what our goals are for next year. It's also an excellent time to look back on all the memories we have created and what we want to accomplish next year.

We had our discussion while enjoying our Italian Calzone, Eggnog Latte, and Salted Caramel Eggnog Latte.

Italian Calzone

Salted Caramel Eggnog Latte

I wish this coffee shop is much closer to our apartment. The Starbucks and Blenz near us are much smaller and not as well-lit as this Waves Coffee House.

Dinner at Marquis Grill

It's our neighbourhood bar. It's a block away from our place, and yet tonight is our first time here. There are so many exciting options, and I want to try them all! After a lengthy discussion about what to get, we ordered the following.

The Truffle Fries smells fantastic with the truffle, but the parmesan cheese is what made is stand out. This is a great start to dinner.

Truffle Fries
Fried sage, truffle oil, and parmesan

I love pesto, and when I saw the Pesto Tagliatelle, I knew I had to get it. It was delicious. I wish there were a garlic bread that came with it.

Pesto Tagliatelle
basil pesto, blistered tomato, spinach, and shaved parmesan

My colleagues and I were just discussing fried chickens from Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. When I showed him a photo of the giant Taiwanese fried chicken from Big G, he mentioned about it looking like a schnitzel. In the menu of Marquis, there just so happened to be schnitzel.

Chicken Schnitzel
Panko-crusted chicken, green onion mash, braised cabbage, mushroom gravy

The only downside of the schnitzel is the burned Brussel sprouts. Otherwise, it was terrific.

Lunch at Ebi Ten

We went to the Santa Claus Parade! Seating on the same spot for 2.5 hours on 2 degree Celsius weather with a forecast of snow wasn't fun. I couldn't feel my legs afterwards. It was worth it, though, and we had fun.

We picked a spot close to Burrard street so I can grab breakfast at Tim Hortons, which we ate near our spot at the side of Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. After the parade, we walked going to the library to warm up a bit. After an hour or so, we went on Robson street for a place to grab late lunch. We were initially hoping to grab lunch at Russet Shack, but it was already closed. We walked going west to see which restaurant has available spots since we have our foldable chairs. We found Ebi Ten!

Ebi Ten in Robson Street

It's a fast-food chain of Japanese food. I had the Katsu Curry while hubby had Yakiniku.

Food from Ebi Ten

The Yakiniku was good if you're into sweet, savoury beef.

Yakiniku Beef (stir-fried 100% Canadian beef and onion with steamed medium grain rice)

You know that I love Katsu Curry, so I try it every chance I get, the curry sauce was delicious while the katsu was not as tender as I'd like.

Katsu Curry (deep-fried pork cutlet in Japanese curry with steamed medium grain rice)

I didn't know they had snacks until after I checked in the Swarm App and was reading through the tips! I went back to the counter and found the snacks menu on the side. They have takoyaki, kara-age, and gyoza.

We ordered both Gyoza and Kara-age. I didn't like gyoza, and I don't recommend it. However, the kara-age is my fave part of the meal. The batter was crispy and light. The chicken was juicy. I'm willing to come back just for that fried chicken.

Gyoza (deep-fried dough filled with ground pork and vegetable)
Kara-age (Japanese style, crispy, and tender deep-fried chicken)

There are a lot of food choices in Downtown Vancouver, so I'm not sure if I'll be coming back here any time soon, but when I do, I'll order that fried chicken again!