Breakfast at Q At The Empress

It's my mom's 60th birthday, and it's Father's Day weekend; that's why my siblings and I planned a long weekend (3 days, 2 nights) trip to Victoria, BC. It's our parents' first time travelling outside of Metro Vancouver since migrating to Canada, so this is an important trip for them. It's also my first time in Victoria, BC, so yay!

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It's our second day in Victoria, BC. Hubby and I are staying at the historic Fairmont The Empress. I chose a room with a harbour view, and I love it. For breakfast today, we decided to enjoy a meal at Q At The Empress.

Q represents Queen - essentially, it's saying Queen at The Empress. We went down to the restaurant shortly after 7:30 in the morning, and there are a couple of occupied tables already. 

I honestly miss what I will call the "hotel life." Once upon a time in the year 2014, I would travel for work and would stay at hotels for a week at a time in some places a couple weeks even, and I miss having someone else clean the room and serve me breakfast.

Anyway, we ordered three items from the Favourites section of their Breakfast Menu.

Free Run Farm Fresh Eggs

Hubby ordered the Free Run Farm Fresh Eggs with a choice of bacon and whole wheat toast.

Free Run Farm Fresh Eggs
Bacon, crispy potatoes, roasted tomatoes, and Portofino toast

Classic Eggs Benedict

I thought of getting their PNW Benedict, but it doesn't have salmon, and I am a sucker for salmon benny.

Classic Eggs Benedict
Back bacon, poached eggs, hollandaise, and crispy potatoes

Runny egg yolks mixing with the hollandaise

Buttermilk Pancakes

The pancake was thin and so soft. I think this specific pancake converted me. In the forever duel between Pancakes VS Waffles - my younger sister and I are Team Waffles, while our only brother and youngest sister are Team Pancakes. The Pancakes from Q At The Empress changes my preference. It's making me Team Pancakes.

Buttermilk Pancakes
3 pieces buttermilk pancakes served with Canadian maple syrup, fresh berries, and butter

It's also my first time trying Blueberry Compote, and it's so good. How am I missing this all my life? I keep hearing compote from watching Food Network, but trying it with the pancakes here is such an amazing experience. I will dare to say I prefer it over syrup.

We also ordered drinks. Hubby had their Latte while I had Homemade Hot Chocolate.

Is breakfast worth it at Q At The Empress?

It's definitely pricey, and I have learned from my younger sister that Victoria, BC is a brunch city, so there are A LOT of places with great breakfast/brunch menus. It's worth a try at least once, but it's not something I would go back to over and over again - except maybe for those pancakes.

Trip to Victoria, BC: Dinner at Barb's Fish and Chips

It's my mom's 60th birthday, and it's Father's Day weekend; that's why my siblings and I planned a long weekend (3 days, 2 nights) trip to Victoria, BC. It's our parents' first time travelling outside of Metro Vancouver since migrating to Canada, so this is an important trip for them. It's also my first time in Victoria, BC, so yay!

Best Fish and Chips in Victoria, BC

We boarded the 1:00 PM, BC Ferry today and arrived in Downtown Victoria at 4:00 PM. It was exhausting, but I am just eager to travel that after 30 minutes of unpacking, hubby and I started walking the Inner Harbour towards Fisherman's Wharf. It was a good 20-minute walk of sightseeing and taking pictures.

When we got to Fisherman's Wharf, it reminded me of Steveston in Richmond, BC. There are a handful of food places here - there's pizza, seafood, Mexican cuisine, ice cream, mini donuts, and of course, fish and chips.

I did my "food research" on the best fish and chips in Victoria, BC and one of the results is Barb's Fish and Chips. Unfortunately, there's a long line, and we had to wait 10 minutes before our dinner is ready.

2-piece Wild Pacific Sockeye Salmon and 2-piece Pacific Halibut & Onion Rings with the usual tartar sauce and coleslaw and Seafood Chowder Bowl

I ordered a lot (as expected), but I am delighted with the salmon and halibut. They're both fresh and perfectly cooked. But more importantly, their chowder is one of the best I've had. It's second on my list of favourite seafood chowders (number one is at Whistler). I will actually go back just for the chowder, and, unfortunately, I didn't take a photo of it.

2-piece Wild Pacific Sockeye Salmon and Chips (Fries)

2-piece Pacific Halibut and Onion Rings

Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake

We enjoyed our picnic-style meal. My parents brought the foldable chairs and picnic mats, and we placed them at nearby Fisherman's Wharf Park.

My parents and siblings ordered from The Flying Otter because they serve Seafood Paella, our mom's favourite dish.

Happy tummy first day in Victoria, BC!

Trip to Victoria, BC: Lunch from Triple O

It's my mom's 60th birthday, and it's Father's Day weekend; that's why my siblings and I planned a long weekend (3 days, 2 nights) trip to Victoria, BC. It's our parents' first time travelling outside of Metro Vancouver since migrating to Canada, so this is an important trip for them. It's also my first time at Victoria, BC, so yay!

We boarded Spirit of Vancouver Island from Vancouver (Tsawwassen) at 1:00 PM. After exploring the ferry (since it's our first time), we grabbed lunch from the café area. I'm pleasantly surprised that their menu is mostly Triple O's and White Spot food items. I am a fan of both chains, and since they're BC brands I am happy to see them available on the ferry.

Hubby and I ordered a West Coast Salmon Burger from the White Spot menu and exchanged the French fries with Sweet Potato Fries and got the delicious Triple O Chipotle Mayo dip.

West Coast Salmon Burger
Wild Pacific Sockeye salmon fillet with pickled onions, tartar sauce, arugula, tomatoes & mayo

This burger made me realize that I love Wild Pacific Sockeye salmon. It's nice to have it documented so that given a choice, it's the one I will pick in the future.

Sweet Potato Fries
Cajun seasoned and oh so crispy. Our sweet potato fries go perfectly with our signature Chipotle mayo.

I love the signature Chipotle mayo the Sweet Potato Fries comes with a bit of heat. It's delicious.

Can't wait to see what food adventures we'll have in Victoria!

Dos Amigos Tex-Mex at Thank Granville It's Food trucks (TGIF) | June 12, 2021

Feliz Sábado! Happy Saturday!

The South Granville Business Improvement Association (SGBIA) organized Thank Granville It's Food Trucks (TGIF). Every Friday and Saturday from 11 in the morning until 8 in the evening from June through Labour Day, there will be a rotating lineup of food trucks located along West 10th Avenue at Fir Street in front of the Vancouver School Board building.

Dos Amigos Tex-Mex

Do you know one of the reasons I enjoy food trucks? They don't have long menus, which means I can try all their dishes in 2-3 visits. Dos Amigos Tex-Mex serves three items: burrito, tacos, and a chicken sandwich. For today, we tried their California Burrito and churros.

California Burrito
Menu Description: 12" tortilla wrapped in cheese, fries, black bean, corns, pico de gayo, and homemade chipotle sauce

The California Burrito is truly 12-inches! They slice it right in the middle, so it's perfect for sharing. I enjoy the mild heat from the chipotle sauce. I honestly can't wait to try more of their dishes.

Churros from Dos Amigos Tex-Mex

The chocolate dip the Churros comes with is so delicious. I'll definitely order this again when we come back.

Dos Amigos Tex-Mex food truck menu

Here is a link to my other post about Dos Amigos Tex-Mex.

Mom's Grilled Cheese Truck at Thank Granville It's Food Trucks (TGIF)

Happy Cheesy Saturday! 🧀

The South Granville Business Improvement Association (SGBIA) organized Thank Granville It's Food Trucks (TGIF). Every Friday and Saturday from 11 in the morning until 8 in the evening from June through Labour Day, there will be a rotating lineup of food trucks located along West 10th Avenue at Fir Street in front of the Vancouver School Board building.

The Hot Angie from Mom's Grilled Cheese Truck
Menu Description: Oh she's hot! Hot cappicolo, spicy red pepper aioli, mozzarella, and Havarti on crusty French bread

Mom's Grilled Cheese Truck

I am not a fan of menus that make me create my own thing, so when ordering at Mom's Grilled Cheese Truck, we opted for their special today: The Hot Angie and Real Cherry Lemonade.

It was definitely cheesy, and I'm waiting for some heat, but it's not spicy at all. I think the mozzarella and Havarti mellowed that the heat from the cappicolo and red pepper aioli.

The Hot Angie

Real Cherry Lemonade

Mom's Grilled Cheese Truck at TGIF

For more information on which products will be at South Granville per week, please check this post.

Tornado Potato at Thank Granville It's Food Trucks (TGIF)

Happy Potato Friday! 

The South Granville Business Improvement Association (SGBIA) organized Thank Granville It's Food Trucks (TGIF). Every Friday and Saturday from 11 in the morning until 8 in the evening from June through Labour Day, there will be a rotating lineup of food trucks located along West 10th Avenue at Fir Street in front of the Vancouver School Board building.

Tornado Potato

Tornado Potato

Here's my tip to you when you're at an event with a lot of food trucks. 

Order from a food truck that will have a wait time just because of the number of people ordering and cook time, then go to Tornado Potato and order a stick of fried potatoes that looks like a tornado. Enjoy it while you wait for your order from the other food truck.

Parmesan and Garlic Tornado Potato

It's the perfect "waiting for other order" snack. Be sure to enjoy it while it's still hot. It rained today, so our fried potatoes got soggy real quick. When we arrived home, I put it in the air fryer for a couple minutes just to heat it up, and it was awesome!

Tornado Potato Food Truck at Thank Granville It's Food trucks (TGIF) event

Do you want to know the schedule and list of food trucks that are part of TGIF? Read here.