After we went back to the Legislature and then to West Edmonton Mall (no, it was only one visit to WEM, I am narrating things slightly out of sequence), some of Trinh’s friends were having dinner and they were very gracious to let me join them. The real kicker/interesting part? The person cooking (“L”) is a food blogger who drove from Calgary to cook the dinner! (No, he wasn’t there cooking for me but for their friends. I just happened to be there at the right time… Lucky? 
). Here are the dishes “L” cooked.
OK, actually, this is a drink prepared for me…
(Warning, this post is a photo-essay of sorts. It contains a lot of pictures and, as a result, I have broken it in part 1 and this part 2).
Read more…!
Tagged as:
Edmonton,
Photo Essay
About a month ago, I wrote about an out of town guest whom I called TNG (and, from here on, after given authorization to use her real name, I will refer her as such: Trinh). Truth is Trinh is from Edmonton and has been in Vancouver a couple of times. As for myself, living in Vancouver for 8+ years, I have seldom been around town other than usual places. So, when my task was to showcase some “other locations”, well, I had to resort to the help of others. And I believe it actually worked, as Trinh seemed to enjoy the places we went, not to mention the dinner we had at City Temple of Shanghai in the end (not necessarily the food but, at least, the company). So, a couple of weeks prior to BC Day, somehow the idea pops out: Would I consider visit Edmonton, given I haven never been there? (Just in case, they celebrate Heritage Day on that same long weekend). At first, I was hesitant but, in the end, why not! So I checked with Trinh and that seemed to be a good idea. So, I booked myself a ticket to the place a lot of us diss (and sometimes even themselves) as “Deadmonton”.
(Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the airport or some major sign saying “Edmonton”. However, given the high price of gas in BC, I think this works quite well…)
(Warning, this post is a photo-essay of sorts. It contains a lot of pictures and, as a result, I have broken it in part 1 and part 2).
Read more…!
Tagged as:
Edmonton,
Photo Essay
Bob’s BBQ Pit
911 S 11th Street
Tacoma, WA
If you look around the different restaurants I have been, you will notice that I tend to visit out of the way places that most people won’t. In a way, let’s just say, I have a soft spot for such type of restaurants, not to mention that, while I could go to the most popular one, for the most part my fellow bloggers are already taken care of it plus, in the case of some large chains, they have their share of hype and blaggers. It won’t be that different for me when one day I wanted meat, as in BBQ. Now, this is the Pacific Northwest, a part that is not necessarily known for their BBQ (for BBQ in places like, say Texas, check these two posts from Mijune); however, I was hoping for BBQ nevertheless (otherwise, I might have ended up in a place like Asado). So, browsing through Urbanspoon again, I was able to locate two nearby places: B&B BBQ and Bob’s BBQ Pit. For the first one, the day I managed to get there… Let’s just say I wasn’t sure if they were in business or not, as it was “open” but nobody was there. As a result, I turned around and went for my second option. Did I mention I tend to go to out of way places and visually looks like a dive?
Read more…!
Tagged as:
BBQ,
Southern,
Tacoma
Minoas Greek Taverna
3823 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC
I interrupt my Tacoma post for Minoas Taverna!
For the most part, most food blogger gatherings have been done by Sherman and myself, though, for the last one, it was Jenny who organized it. Out of the blue, Elaine drops some of us an email for an impromptu mini-gathering of sorts. The place? Minoas Greek Taverna, a restaurant in Kingsway where I have seen countless amount of times (mainly because I take Skytrain) which has made me wonder for the longest: how the restaurant manage to survive in such odd location? Is it because they serve something good? One way to find out! In this round, it was Chris and Elaine, Sherman, Jessica and M, and me. Others were also invited but due to external circumstances, they couldn’t make it. Oh, well, I guess it should be still enough people to sample several dishes, hehehehe.
Read more…!
Tagged as:
Burnaby,
Greek,
Lamb
Southern Kitchen
1716 6th Ave
Tacoma, WA
In yesterday’s post, I made reference to a wish to visit a Southern restaurant. Why? Well, in Vancouver, we make a lot of emphasis in multi-culturalism but, even then, there are cuisines missing. As a result, whenever I visit to the US, I try some of those cuisines missing here. While browsing through Urbanspoon for possible good eats, one of them was Southern Kitchen. But, alas, on night #2, I was a bit too late but made note of the time they would close (8:00 p.m.). The following day I made sure I would be there in a timely manner and, fortunately, I was able to make it… And a lot of time to sit and enjoy a meal.
Read more…!
Tagged as:
Chicken,
Southern,
Tacoma
Asado Cucina Argentina
2810 6th Ave
Tacoma, WA
If you got to almost any steak house in North America, if you order your meat well done and people will look at you with a certain degree of disapproval. However, if you choose to go to certain parts of the world, namely South America, specially Argentina, if you order a medium rare, probably they will look at you funny. In my case, I go with the overall general acceptance, except when it is a theme restaurant. And, similar to when I went to Che Pibe, a small Argentinian restaurant in a strip mall in Miramar, Fl, I had a good idea of what to expect. So, when you call yourself Asado Cucina Argentina, I had similar expectations: a good well done steak.
Read more…!
Tagged as:
Latin America,
Steak,
Tacoma
The Swiss
1904 Jefferson Ave
Tacoma, WA
Unlike a lot of you, I seldom travel for pleasure. It is not that I don’t like it; rather, I need that extra push to do so. In fact, I recently went to one thanks for that “small” push… More details when the post goes up! 
But, back to the topic of travelling: More often than not, when I travel, I do so for business purposes and, given most of my clients are in the US, that means having to deal with border crossing and US Customs. I am sure all of you have had your share of experience. I am just going to summarize mine to almost six hours from Vancouver to Tacoma (border crossing included) on a trip that normally shouldn’t have taken more than 4 (even doable in 3. Just in case, Tacoma is ~30 minutes further south from Seattle in I-5). In my case, because it took me so long, by the time I arrived at the hotel it was already past 9:30 p.m. and, in my hurry just to get to Tacoma, I didn’t make any stop to eat something. Given my share of crappy experiences, by now, I should have learned by now that I should fill up my tank rather than rely on what I can find at the hotel… Anyway, “damage” by done and by ~10:00 p.m., I was looking for something to eat. Guess what? Nothing open nearby. Should I be surprised? “Fortunately”, still at a short walking distance from the hotel, I noticed The Swiss, a nearby pub was still open. Hungry? Tired? Hey, that works for me! (After all, that’s literally how I ended up going to Hooters!).
Read more…!
Tagged as:
European,
pub,
Tacoma
