Random thoughts of restaurants and food in Vancouver, BC!
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Calabria Bakery
5036 Victoria Drive
Vancouver, BC
This is a case of me blaming somebody else for a post. In this case, I am blaming Jessica! Long time ago, she had a quest for the ultimate cannoli which, in a way, I took over but also dropped since I don’t have desserts that often. But, looking across the street of Lam Hoa Quan, there was Calabria Bakery…
Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts – Bakery 101
1505 West 2nd Avenue
Vancouver, BC
OK, despite its odd name, no, I wasn’t in a class. Rather, this is a bakery located in the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, a local culinary school near Granville Island. So, how come I went considering I am not crazy about sweets, not to mention this one in particular, considering all the bakeries found in Vancouver? Well… Blame Yen of OMNOMics on this one, as she recently wrote a blog post about it!
OK, I can see people thinking, WTH?! No restaurant post today, instead that of a McDonald’s?! Sky is falling!!!!
Nah, similar to why I wrote the McDonald’s s’mores pie post, I was with Mijune (of Follow Me Foodie, her post on this “dessert”, to be up soon!) in the Downtown area and knowing she loves sweets, I suggested we try this new concoction: the crème brûlée McFlurry. After all, what are the chances I will finish one of these? (Answer: none). But, here is the interesting detail to all this (something I found out afterwards): it seems this, along with the s’mores pie and some dipping sauces for the McNuggets (spicy Szechwan and zesty mango), they are part of the featured Winter Olympic Games menu. So, in a way, it is a Canada only item right now (or as far as I know)! So, without further ado, the Creme Brulee McFlurry.
Kreation Artisan Cake
3357 Cambie Street
Vancouver, BC
In yesterday’s post of Pho Tan, I made specific mention that I did not order the large sized bowl of pho and went for the small one instead. Truth is I was planning to go somewhere else after that meal and, while I am considered to be big for a Chinese born, which translates to a medium-large person on this side of the world, I can only eat that much – something that has changed since I have grown older. (Hey, I am not in my 20′s any more! 
). Besides, I don’t have a black hole like Mijune (of Follow Me Foodie) and/or her friend Nicole (of Le Mode du Jour) whom tweeted (sp???) a couple of days ago, saying between the two of them, they ate “enough to feed a family of 4…or 2 full grown men + a baby.” Did I mention they are two petite, slim women? I feel ashamed… Anyway, so, why did I go for the small bowl of pho? Because I wanted to try Kreation Artisan Cake, a bakery/pastry shop in Cambie Street.
Ninja update: How much did Mijune and Nicole eat? Check here!
Boulangerie Cho Pain
1165 Davie Street
Vancouver, BC
Days after my dinner with Mijune, I was on my usual search of places I have not been in Vancouver’s West End area. Despite I have been food blogging for over a year already, I am amazed that there are still a lot of places in this area I haven’t been yet. But, then again, I don’t blog every day on places in this area. That day was particularly “bad” weather-wise, which, in Vancouver, translates to a “rain” (which really means a drizzle…) and wanted something different. Poncho’s? Nope. Knight and Day? Nope. (But, despite Sherman’s thoughts about this place, I might as well do it soon “just because”). That reminded me of a bakery that Mijune said was in Davie Street which I had to go: Boulangerie Cho Pain. After that lengthy conversation I had that night, I was sure I wasn’t going to be disappointed…
I am not a fan of dogs (or pets in general); in this case I couldn’t help it. It was darn difficult to get a “clear” shot of the store…
Trafalgars Bistro
2603 W 16th Ave
Vancouver, BC
Before settling the bill in Baru Latino (as mentioned in yesterday’s post), Mijune (of Follow Me Foodie) and I were deciding if we should get dessert. In the case of Baru Latino, they had some offerings but, as mentioned in that post, it was so dark, I might as well wonder what we were actually eating. Instead, we chose to go somewhere else. Two options popped out: True Confections which was just across the street and Trafalgars Bistro. You can pretty much guess where we ended up by the title of this post, hehehehe.
Saddle Ranch Chop House
4 Locations in California and Arizona
4321 North Scottsdale Road (Location visited)
Scottsdale, AZ
Near the Scottsdale Old Town area I was staying in, one thing was quite evident. The architecture had sort-of a cowboy motif built-in. Could it be I am stereotyping? May be, may be not; it does not help the city’s seal and logo has a cowboy in it. With such environment, it can’t be helped to say I had to visit one of such restaurants and the one I ended up going was Saddle Ranch Chop House.
