Random thoughts of restaurants and food in Vancouver, BC!
From the monthly archives:
It is almost end of the year and, for a change, I wanted to blog something… Different but, at the same time, food related and in the spirit of the holidays. Then, I remembered a small event I went to last year…
Well, gingerbread is still technically food! I hope you enjoy this photo essay…
Read more…!
Vera’s Buger Shack
Several locations in Vancouver
1181 Denman St – Location visited
Vancouver, BC
As far as I know, blogging does not have a code of ethics like, say, news reporters. However, that does not mean we can’t set ourselves with such code. In my case, for food blogging, I think we should try a restaurant without any bias, provide some background information with that cuisine/ restaurant and provide details as to why you like/don’t like it. However, there are some places were I simply don’t want to visit (as a result, can’t blog) for several reasons. One of these places is Vera’s Burger Shack…
Posh
#105 – 6462 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC
Whenever groups of friends meet, there is somebody left in charge of organizing the event. Guess who was the lucky one? With all different likes and don’t likes (specially the later), this ain’t an easy task but, alas, somebody has to do it! Since nobody had a suggestion, in the end, in a tyrannical-like decision process, I chose Posh.
Spices
3346 Cambie St
Vancouver, BC
Just as mentioned in a couple of post ago, with the current coldsnap, what better than a bowl of soup – or, again, in this case, pho? This time; however, instead of going to the usual places, I chose to go to Cambie – after all, I also wanted to check what has happened after the construction of the Canada Line… And here is where I ended up:
Froyo Swirl
820 Homer Street
Vancouver, BC
The first time I had a soft-serve like dessert outside of DQ was at a shop called “La Casa del Helado” (literally, The House of Ice Cream). Although it was not as creamy as DQ’s soft-serve, I really liked it because they had several flavours – easily over 10, plus the swirl versions. Years later, I was introduced to “frozen yoghurt” but I never learned to appreciate it. I mean, it was not different to DQ’s serving (again, less creamy) but it might have been a marketing scheme to differentiate itself from the “fattening” ice cream. That was 15+ years ago. I have grown and so my palate. When I was walking around Vancouver Library and noticed Froyo Swirl, I thought I would like to give it a try…
The first thing I noticed from the menu was the yoghurt parfait. My concept of parfait is a dessert similar to the one from DQ. At $3.75, I thought it was going to be a bargain so that’s what I ordered and here is what I got:
Before you can say… “What?!”, that was the same reaction I got. It was granola at the bottom, vanilla yoghurt and fruit toppings. However, I must admit it was my own fault for not asking. Also, there was supposed to be more granola but I chose to pass. I will admit it, it was not that bad; however, it was not that different from me going to any grocery store and buy a small container of vanilla yoghurt. Hmmmm…. OK, it might now have been fair so I chose to go there again another night. And here is what I got:
Does it look better? You betcha! Normally, the frozen yoghurt alone would have been $2.75 but the fruit topping (mango, in this case) was an additional loonie. And how about the taste? I am not sure if it was because of the acidity of the mango but I could swear it had a similar acidity to that of plain yoghurt. And I like it! Would I come back again? Well, if I am in mood for this dessert, it sounds like an option!
Pho Thai Hoa
1625 Kingsway
Vancouver, BC
On these cold days, what better than a hot bowl of soup. Now, of course, being Chinese, that would usually be either something on the lines of congee or noodles. But, instead of Chinese style noodles, I went for pho. That begs a question of its own: in Vancouver, with so many Vietnamese restaurants, which one to go? Having heard so many things about Pho Thai Hoa, the decision was easy.
Wang Ga Ma (@ H-Mart)
590 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC
Following my trip to Matoi Sushi, I wanted to try the other food stands in the same area. So, a couple of nights later, I dropped by to try Wang Ga Ma…
