Lunch from Bombay Kitchen and Bar

शुभ बुधवार Happy Wednesday!

Because my arm was still sore from getting the COVID-19 vaccine, we ordered enough food to last for the week from nearby Bombay Kitchen and Bar at 11th Avenue and Granville Street.

Food from Bombay Kitchen and Bar

This is our first time ordering from them, even though they are located a block away from our apartment. It's crazy! We didn't even go to Vij's when it occupied this space.

We ordered seven dishes, and I'll share my review of each one.

Bombay Mix Platter

I love appetizers, and when any restaurant has a platter of sorts, I almost always get it because it allows me to try many different things.

Bombay Mix Platter
Veggie Samosa, Veggie Pakora, Chicken Pakora, and Fish Pakora.

Based on the menu description, I couldn't find my favourite. However, I enjoyed what I think is fried tofu with spinach in the middle. It's so creamy and good.

Tandoor Chicken

I don't eat Indian cuisine as often as I can, so I have only tried Tandoori Chicken once from Tandoori Kona Restaurant in Richmond.

The chicken was moist, but I missed the seasonings or was just overwhelmed by the heat from the Vindaloo and Biryani, so I couldn't appreciate this dish. I can't wait to reheat it tomorrow and try it again to see if it'll improve.

Tandoori Chicken
Chicken marinated with authentic Indian spices and grilled to perfection in the tandoor.

Chicken Vindaloo

I have loved vindaloo ever since trying it on Granville Island. It's hot and delicious. Now, whenever we go to an Indian restaurant, I get the Chicken Vindaloo. I like the Chicken Vindaloo, and the menu description perfectly described it as "A symphony of fire."

Chicken Vindaloo
Zesty curry cooked in a tangy sauce with vinegar, coconut, and potatoes

Palak Paneer

I only have one regret about our Palak Paneer. I picked "Not Spicy" - now, compared to the other dishes, it tasted bland. It's my fault. I should have gone with Mild. Hopefully, with plain rice tomorrow, I can taste the Palak Paneer goodness I love.

Palak Paneer
Homemade cheese cooked with spinach and garlic.

Mix Biryani

This is actually my first time trying Biryani, and I am kicking myself in the butt for waiting this long to try it. However, this is the best dish from Bombay Kitchen and Bar today. I will gladly order this again and again and again. Now, I am excited to try other Indian restaurants and get their Biryani just to compare.

Mix Biryani
A rich combination of vegetables, chicken, lamb, prawn, spices, and basmati rice

Did I tell you that we eat Basmati Brown Rice at least three times a week? I can't wait to reheat the dishes we ordered today and enjoy them for the rest of the week!

Ice Cream from Rocky Mountain Chocolates

Ice cream! Ice cream! Ice cream!

As mentioned in my previous post, I am rewarding myself for getting vaccinated with dinner and desserts. It was a hot day in Vancouver (26 degrees Celsius) so getting ice cream is needed.

Dark Chocolate: Salted Caramel Ice Cream with Himalayan Salt

I love both ice cream so much, but they're so messy to eat. I guess it's part of the fun.

Dark Chocolate: Vanilla Ice Cream with Almonds

Funny prints! Now remove all evidence of how much you enjoyed that ice cream!

This is such a great way to start June 2021! Getting vaccinated and enjoying ice cream.

Dinner from La Taqueria

Feliz Martes! Happy Tuesday!

I got vaccinated today. As a reward for getting vaccinated (background: I hate the thought of needles poking/stabbing me), we decided to have dinner and desserts.

We have no idea where to have dinner, so we just kept walking from Canada Place going south. We end up near the Vancouver Art Gallery and saw the La Taqueria food truck. There's also a filming nearby.

La Taqueria Food Truck

We ordered a couple burritos. I got the Seafood Burrito while hubby ordered Cochinita Burrito. My burrito was sweet, but the prawns were amazing, while hubby's choice was spicy. Halfway through our burrito, we exchanged meals because hubby knows I love spicy food and would enjoy it. 🤣 We also wanted churros. However, they just ran out. The film crew ordered all of it.

Seafood Burrito
Battered white wild seasonal fish or prawns, chipotle and poblano mayo, ancho miel, salsa cruda, rice, and creamy coleslaw

Cochinita
Mayan slow-roasted pork, rice, refried beans, pico, caramelized onions, avocado salsa verde

It's such a happy, beautiful day! We enjoyed our order at the nearby picnic tables.

Filming in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery, more importantly, awesome picnic tables for outdoor dinner

Lunch from Siegel's Bagels

Happy Saturday! It's a beautiful sunny day in Vancouver, and hubby and I planned to go to Hadden Park. Before heading there, we decided to grab lunch from Siegel's Bagels. This place is popular! There's a long line of people placing their orders in person and more people waiting for orders at the pick-up window.  

They also have an option to place your order using an awesome app. That's what we did. Hubby got the Reuben while I ordered Lox and Cream Cheese.

For the Reuben, we picked Double Toasted Everything Bagel

Reuben
A layer of smoked meat, sauerkraut and melted swiss with mustard.

Lox & Cream Cheese
Wild Sockeye salmon and cream cheese with red onion + capers.

I enjoyed both bagel sandwiches. The bagel is freshly made and the toppings are great. Though, I tried their Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich at Granville Island a couple years ago and thought that was still the best. 

Although, a week ago I tried Atlantic Salmon Lox Bagel sandwich from Mon Pitou and that's just better. The tomatoes and cucumber added freshness that the Lox & Cream Cheese sandwich from Siegel's didn't have.

I can't wait to come back and try their other sandwiches. More importantly, get their Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich so that hubby can try it.

We enjoyed our meal at Hadden Park, specifically at Elsje Point. We spent two hours there. Then, on our walk home, we stayed for another hour at the VSB Park.

View from our picnic spot at Elsje Point

View from our bench at VSB Park

I love Vancouver! I still feel like a tourist in the city now I call home.

Croissants from Beaucoup Bakery

Bon Dimanche! Happy Sunday!

It's a cloudy day in Vancouver today, but we decided to take a walk around the neighbourhood. I enjoyed the croissants from Mon Pitou yesterday, and I thought of getting more, but I changed my mind and got a couple from Beaucoup Bakery instead.

Thankfully, they're still open, and the line wasn't long.

Butter Croissants and Almond Croissants

I ordered a couple butter croissants, two almond croissants, and hot chocolates. We thought about enjoying it at a nearby park, but there are no available tables. Instead, we end up walking home to enjoy our croissants there.

Butter Croissant

The butter croissant is saltier and not as flaky compared to the one from Mon Pitou. Or it's possible that because I ate Atlantic Salmon Lox Bagel with capers yesterday that I didn't taste the salt from the croissants from Mon Pitou. I don't know; it just tasted like Beaucoup used salted butter in their croissants.

That said, the almond croissant is so much better. It's sweet, flakey, but the middle part is chewy and dense because that portion has most of the almond on top. I love it!

Almond Croissant

Tower of Almond Croissants

Beaucoup Bakery

Beaucoup Bakery box, paper bag, and coffee cups

Beaucoup Bakery Paper Bug and Hot Chocolate Cup

Walking home with a cup of hot chocolates

Support local business in your neighbourhood, and happy long weekend!

Breakfast from Mon Pitou

Joyeux Samedi! Happy Saturday!

We're meeting a former colleague near our old office. They're closing down the office to save on rent. My former teammates will now have to work from home permanently. This means giving away, selling, and donating old office furniture and equipment. I got a free office chair, and we picked it up today.

We're scheduled to meet at 10 in the morning, and for extra motivation (as if a free office chair is not sufficient motivation), hubby and I planned on having breakfast at Mon Pitou. Originally, I planned on grabbing breakfast from Paul's Omelettery Restaurant. However, hubby mentioned that we should try the newly opened Mon Pitou. They opened this year at the former location of Slickity Jim at 7th Avenue and Hemlock.

I can finally use this photo I took last February when Mon Pitou is only a week old.

We planned on ordering from their brunch menu. However, we're too early. They will only start serving their brunch at 10:00 AM. We were there at 9:00 AM. Instead, we had to quickly decide which items to get from the "Grab and Go" menu.

Atlantic Salmon Lox Bagel

I went for the Atlantic Salmon Lox Bagel. It was delicious. The bagel is hard and chewy, the cream cheese was well creamy, the Atlantic salmon is melt in your mouth, the capers on top provide a surprising bite of saltiness and the cucumber and tomatoes give the freshness that it needs. Overall, it's an amazing dish.

Atlantic Salmon Lox Bagel inside the bag

Hubby ordered the Chicken Salad, and I like the bread they use. It has some berries, which is sweet amongst the creamy salad—another good dish. I'm willing to order both again. BUT when we come back, I am looking forward to trying more dishes, especially from their brunch menu.

Chicken Salad

Lastly, I ordered a couple butter croissants. My favourite croissant is from Beaucoup Bakery and Cafe, located a couple blocks away at Fir (between 5th and 6th Ave). The croissants from Mon Pitou is flakier and lighter than the one from Beaucoup. However, it's not as buttery.

Croissant

A couple croissants inside the bag

We enjoyed our food at nearby Granville Loop Park under the shade of the tree. Mon Pitou is such a great addition to South Granville / Fairview food scene, and I can't wait to come back.

Lunner from Poké Bar in Davie Village

Hauʻoli Pōʻaono! Happy Saturday!

We decided to take a walk going to Downtown Vancouver today across the Burrard Bridge. On the other side of False Creek, hubby and I met my sister, who recently moved to West End, specifically near Davie Village.

After hanging out for an hour at English Bay Beach, our only brother arrived. We stayed for an hour more and were having a great time just sharing stories and travel plans. I am so grateful to God for giving me, such wonderful siblings! We're missing our youngest sister, but in time I'm sure she'll be able to join us when she's more responsible and independent.

When we've had enough vitamin sea, we grabbed lunner (late lunch / early dinner) from Poké Bar. Our brother loves poké ever since his trip to Hawaii a couple years ago. The closest poké place to my sister's apartment is Poké Bar.

Poké Bar Aloha Curry
Brown rice base, chicken karaage, almond milk, curry powder, green onion, and onion chips.

If you know me by now, I love curry, so when I saw Aloha Curry on the menu, I know I will get it. Hubby and brother Aburi Poké. They both thought of getting the Poké Bowl, but the thought of mixing their own seems too much work.

Aburi Poké
Our chosen protein (salmon, spicy salmon, ahi tuna, and shrimp), crab meat, spicy crunch garlic chips, cucumber salad, spring mix, onion chips, green onion, corn, and sauce (teriyaki, spicy mayo, and rayu - Japanese Chili Oil).

I enjoyed the food more than I thought I would. The Alola Curry is delicious. I enjoyed the green onion and onion chips on top. It provides the needed crunch to the bowl. The chicken was surprisingly juicy. Meanwhile, I took a couple bites of hubby's Aburi Poké, and I like it. This poké experience is so much better than the first one.

I honestly can't wait for my next Poké bowl! Here are a couple of my favourite pictures from today.

I love big trees and the shade they provide.

View from Burrard Bridge at around 6:00 PM.

Beautiful Vancouver!

New York Cheesecake Dream Donut from Tim Hortons

Happy Thursday! Hubby and I did our 30-minute walk around the neighbourhood, and right before going home, we bought Salted Caramel Iced Capp. It's the one drink I look forward to from Tim Hortons every summer.

Two of my favourite things from Tim Hortons: Potato Wedges and Salted Caramel Iced Capp

I also secretly love their potato wedges and got those as well. 

New York Cheesecake Dream Donut from Tim Hortons

Hubby loves sweets, and whenever we're at Tims, he usually asks for whatever new or limited-time donut they offer. Today, we got to try their New York Cheesecake Dream Donut. It's alright. I still prefer the Sea Salted Caramel Dream and Chocolate Hazelnut Éclair Dream from earlier this year.

What's your favourite Tim Hortons Dream Donut?