I have mentioned it previously and will say it again: I hate the word “foodie” with a passion. Until now, the only instances I sort of don’t care much is when some local food bloggers use it (Mijune of Follow Me Foodie or Joyce of VanFoodies). Why I hate it? Please, don’t let me go there… In fact, aside from the cases already mentioned, the only instance where I would agree to use the word “foodie” is to construct the word foochebag. Feel free to guess where it comes.

However, when this last Wednesday, I will actually let is slip completely. Why the sudden change of heart? Because of an event called Vancouver’s Foodie Feast, organized by James of Bella Gelateria along with fellow bloggers Sherman (of Sherman’s Food Adventures) and Mijune. Wait, am I not the person who hate participating events and bash those bloggers who are in for the $$$ (aka, PR and blaggers)? Yup, that is still true; however, in this case, this event was for a good cause. In addition to getting us together, it was also a fund raiser for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society (something that I have previously blogged). With such reason, why should I NOT participate?

Those who know me, know that I am a bit “anti-social”, in the sense that I might not necessarily be the person going out to meet others. However, in this case, food bloggers in Vancouver sort of know who is who. Even then, given the popularity of late of food blogging, I didn’t know several of the bloggers attending the event (specially “new” ones) nor I was particularly interested in meet and greet. Of course, there were exceptions: Mimi of Cute Pig, whom I asked for restaurant recommendations while in Edmonton. So, in a way, I am still “unknown” to a lot. Do I care? Not really! Now, I did notice something quite odd: While I missed some of the more familiar bloggers (Elaine of Parker Pages or Darina of Gratinee), most of the bloggers who went, were the more “independent” ones! I.e., those blaggers I mentioned above were MIA! Makes me wonder… Could it be they are so used to free food that they couldn’t spare the admission fee (did I mention for a good cause)? I am digressing here so back to the event itself…

I will apologize for one thing: I didn’t take pictures of the venue. Instead, I spent most of the time taking pictures of what matter more: Food! Oh, c’mon, given my blog name, what do you expect??? OK, I took some other pictures here and there but, for the most part, it was food only. Also, I won’t comment much on the food. After all, it is really unfair to give a negative comment, considering the restaurants wanted to contribute for the event, not for me to bash them. Furthermore, this was more on the lines of sampling dishes, not necessarily representative of what you would get in the actual restaurant, so any thoughts would be unfair and unrepresentative. I must also mention some of the restaurants have been on my radar for some time, so, in a way, it would be a matter of time.

Here are the links and addresses to the different restaurants participating in the event:

• El Barrio – 2270 E Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC
• One Planet Catering
• EBO Restaurant – 4331 Dominion Street, Burnaby, BC
• Falconetti’s – 1812 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC
• La Belle Auberge – 4856 48 Ave, Delta, BC
• Hapa Izakaya – Various locations
• Mochikas – 1696 West 5th Avenue, Vancouver, BC
• Red Star Seafood – 2200 – 8181 Cambie Road, Richmond, BC
• Bella Gelateria – 1001 W Cordova Street, Vancouver, BC
• Kitchening with Carly
• Mancakes

Now, notice something interesting from this list? Probably with the exception of Bella Gelateria and Hapa Izakaya, the remaining restaurants are somewhat low profile? I.e., they are not necessarily ones that have a huge PR department to attract customers. As a result, I will have to give kudos to Sherman and Mijune for the selection. It would have been quite easy to select some high profile restaurants and let it run. Not here. The selection was varied and the food served was good, despite the setting. What else could you ask for?

I must also mention different organization involved by either promoting or providing support:

• Urbanspoon – which I am an active collaborator. Special thanks to Kate and the Urbanspoon t-shirt!
• Justin Lam of Three Sixty Photo – who was the official photographer. Pictures of the event can be found here and here (Facebook links!)
• Steve Tan – who took videos from the event, including Mijune’s video

Overall, this was a really enjoyable evening. What’s more important is the fact that with the success of this event, there is the seed for further events like this have been planted – something I look forward in the future.

Welcome San Francisco!

Last weekend, I participated in a food bloggers festival organized by Foodbuzz. I can’t deny that I certainly enjoyed having them as sponsors and participating in this festival was interesting in its own ways. I wanted to attend last year’s festival; however, due to work scheduling conflict (which resulted me in going to New Jersey), I couldn’t attend. It certainly didn’t help when Sherman “bragged” about it. *Shakes fist!!!* So, for this year, as soon as I received the email confirming the days of the event, I booked those days off. I won’t be denied this time! There were a lot of events and I ended up attending a couple of them; however, the ones that probably might entice more to people are the Street Food event, the topic of today’s post, and the dinner gala, which will be the topic of next week Sunday! Of course, I was there for the weekend and I can guarantee your there will be other posts, hehehehe. So, without further ado…!

The event was setup at an undisclosed location (yeah, right… ). OK, it was in a warehouse which created some real challenges: namely, I won’t be able to effectively use a flash. >_< Not so good illumination and not being able to effectively use the flash = not so good pictures… Moving on…

Where we were greeted at the entrance by some porchetta! Hmmmmm…. Pork…!

Given the majority of participants were female, you bet there will be lots of cupcakes…

At the tables, this center piece. I didn’t try any of these.

There was a gift exchange and, in my case, I got this bag of mud (?) salt courtesy of No Recipes. In my case, I gave away a bottle of BC VQA wine.

After speeches and what not, it was time to hit the carts! If you know me by now, you should know that I would certainly hit this first!

Porchetta sandwich from Roli Roti. To put it bluntly, this puts Meat and Bread to shame. Sorry guys, Meat and Bread is good for what it is in Vancouver but this is even better. Some (namely, Mijune who was with us there) might argue the bread was too thick but I thought it was good for this type of sandwich. The potatoes were OK, since it soaked the drippings from the pork but, c’mon, porchetta all the way!

Real Korean tacos from Namu. Unlike the ones served here, these use no tortilla flour; instead, it relies on the seaweed to hold the “filling”. It was interesting in its own ways but, otherwise, there seemed to be something *missing*. Also, the fact the seaweed was a bit chewy didn’t help (though, it could be also because they didn’t want it to be toasted and too brittle so it couldn’t hold the filling).

Tacos (pork and beef) from Tacolicious. If I were to put things in perspective, it had a lot more meat “filling” than the ones I am used to; however, the pork ones was slightly dry (which I thought it was odd). The beef one (short rib) was better but, otherwise, it was OK. Probably my bias against Mexican food?

“Mind your Tongue” (?) food “truck” (it was more of a large bus). In this case, Viking gumbo and vegetarian paella. Of course, we were wondering if vikings actually had gumbo or how well you could make a paella into a vegetarian dish. Anyway, in both cases, if we stuck with original intent/description of the dish, it was OK; however, for what was served, I thought was good in its own ways. I know this sounds contradicting so let me put it this way: no okra, the rice was mixed in and so on. However, as a rice dish, the gumbo had nice ratio of meat (sausage, seafood) and well seasoned so kudos for that.

Pizza from Pizza Politana, which included a wood burning oven! I will have to admit the pizza had really good qualities of its own (thin, crispy, good ingredients); however… It was just pizza? They brought two versions, a vegetarian and a meat version by adding some really thin sliced prosciutto (?). Sorry, despite it was good, it wish there was something more.

Fried pork served on a brioche-like bun from 4505 Meats. The individual ingredients were fine; however, together as a sandwich it was a fail. The brioche-like bun was extremely soft to the point it didn’t really hold the pork loin. The pork loin was good by itself; with the other components, it lost a bit of their taste. I could keep on going but… Nah… >_<

Top down, braised lamb cheek sandwich, escargot puff lollipop and New England lobster cappuccino, all from Spencer on the Go (or its flagship restaurant Chez Spencer). If there was a food cart that sort of failed, it would have been this one. The reason is that all the food felt short. The sandwich was the best of the three but felt short compared to the others. The escargot lollipop was overwhelmed by the puff pastry and the sauce didn’t really help. Finally, the lobster cappuccino was a bit bland and thin. OK, it is not a bisque but, regardless, it felt short.

Indian style wraps from Curry Up Now. I had mixed feelings about this: I guess piggybacking on the Mexican hype, they provided the “burritos” with some Indian flare but using spices meats and/or paneer. The result was a spicy feeling but, otherwise, it didn’t feel too exciting.

There were a couple of more food stands – an ice cream and a beer one but pictures didn’t turn out well and wasn’t in mood for booze. Overall, most of the food cart concepts were interesting, just that the execution was mixed. Then again, I must keep in mind this is a catered event so it might still not provide a true representation of their potential. Overall, I had fun with the event so I don’t think I should be complaining too much!

To close this post, I will be changing the next couple of weeks post schedule to Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday – all of these from San Francisco. These posts will include San Francisco fare ranging from burgers, a “well known” local dish, dim sum (in a dive out of all places), through the Tenderloin and a visit to a celebrity chef restaurant! So, so you on these days!

Oh, here is Mijune’s post, as well as Sherman’s post!

Friday Night Supper
Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral
154 East 10th Avenue
Vancouver, BC

A lot of times we go to restaurants but, at times, you want something “different” yet keeping the same concept (i.e. food served to you). With that into consideration, for today’s post is a bit of a deviation of “normal” restaurant dining fare. Instead, it is about an event that usually takes place on the first Friday of every month: The Friday Night Supper at the Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral. Why I chose to drop there? Well, as the name suggests, there is food and it seems it is seldom blogged. So, why not!

As mentioned in their site, the Friday Night Supper is a fundraiser for the cathedral. A lot seems to going behind scenes as, on the day I went, even an hour and a half after I arrived, the lines were slow moving! But, you know what? While I do not like to queue up, for a good cause, I am willing to be more patient. The layout is quite simple: Wait in the appropriate line for eat in or to go. In the case of eat in, wait until you are guided to a table and fill up a small form with what you want: one sheet per order! Line up, pay and wait for baba to serve the food!

Of course, that brings the question, what is in the menu? Actually, I had the same question the day I was there. Despite the menu is available on-line, one thing is to read it, another would be to observe what ends up on a plate. So, while queueing up, I notice this on a table…

Matching it to the description on the forms, this would most likely be a mini-dinner, i.e., 4 perogy, 1 cabbage roll, sausage and coffee. No salad was listed but it was served here. Well, it looks decent but not sure if that’s enough food for me, though. As the line started moving, I decided to try as much as possible and ended up getting…

Borscht

Regular dinner part 1 – 6 perogy and 2 cabbage roll (with a rice filling)

Regular dinner part 2 – sauerkraut and Ukrainian sausage (the only meat component in the meals)

To finish, some carrot cake

As for the food itself, it would be a bit difficult for me to assess given my own unique like/dislike and the fact that I have only had that much Ukrainian/East European food. Instead, I will make reference to what the other customers at my table said: “this would be something that my baba would make”. Well, similar to my bias towards my mom’s cooking, I guess with an argument like that, I would rather not argue at all! In the end, it is about the fun you can have, plus food made with baba’s TLC. And the fact that you have contributed to their fundraiser…

Yesterday, I wrote about my trip to Edmonton, Alberta for BC Day (here in BC) or Heritage Day (in Alberta) long weekend. For today’s post, one of the showcase events during that weekend: Heritage Festival. Don’t we have festivals here in Vancouver, like Caribbean Days, Greek Day or Summerfest, Powell Street Festival? Yup, we do. However, how about a festival that takes a full park and tents of over 60 countries participate? As I have been saying about Edmonton ever since I came back: Sure, Vancouver has a lot of great “features”; however, we take them for granted. On the other hand, Edmonton does not have similar features but they make the most out of what they have. So, for a long weekend in summer, that’s what they have been doing for the last 35 years… So, my visit to this event in Edmonton, Alberta… Enjoy this photo essay!

Yup, blue sky the whole time!

Considering the festival starts at 10:00 a.m., Trinh and I arrived relatively early (by 11:00 a.m.). Even then, a lot of tents weren’t ready yet, not to mention a lot of people had arrived yet. However, that quickly changed…

We were walking around for a while and, eventually, different perfomers started appearing in the different areas around the William Hawrelak Park (where the festival takes place). Latin American? You got it. South Eastern Asia? Yup, that as well. European? Yup. Again, given there were 60+ countries, most general areas were covered!

OK, OK, food time!

And here is what we ended up getting:

Satay, from the Malay/Singaporean stand. We got it because it was suggested by “L”.

Maple Sno Cone from the Canadian stand.

BBQ Sardines from Portugal

Kvass from Russia.

Anticuchos (beef heart) from Peru.

Yuca (cassava) from El Salvador (though, other stands, particularly Latin American and African) had cassava as well).

Waffles from the Dutch stand.

Bannock from the Aboriginal stand.

Mango’s Loco Mango on a stick rolled in lime juice and spices

Prior to Trinh leaving early (she had a prior commitment, I stayed in the park, enjoying the day), we walked past the Peruvian stand and notice a dish they had for sale and which she commented it looks “dirty and phallic”. Let’s just say I spent some time trying to take a picture of that dish. So, after she left, I trield several times that dish and eventually gave up…. Nope, that’s not the end of the story… As a result of my fail, I said to myself “hey, I still have some tickets!”. So, I just got it. What is that dish? Just keep on reading/scroll down!

Yup, I will have to agree, it does look phallic! As for how it, well, taste, it caught me somewhat off guard.

The banana was frozen prior to dipping it into some melted chocolate. Because I didn’t know about that part, when I bit into it, the fact it was frozen caught me completely off guard. It was almost like a popsicle with a chocolate coating. Alas, as interesting as it sounds, the fact the banana was frozen didn’t work for me. However, people seemed to really like it (there was always a line).

So, there you go. Given our claims of multi-culturality here in Vancouver, how come we haven’t organized an event like this? Until you find an answer to that question, I hope you enjoyed this photo essay!

Greek Day
3230 West Broadway Street
Vancouver, BC

Greek Summer Festival
4641 Boundary Road
Vancouver, BC

Last year, around this time, I went to several festival (for eample, the Scandinavian Mid Summer Fest, Latin Summer Fest, Powell Street Festival and so on). One that I couldn’t make it was the Greek Day, as it conflicted with another personal matters (as mentioned in my Scandinavian Mid Summer Fest post above). Despite I went to Greek Summer Festival, in-lieu of the Greek Day, well, it isn’t necessarily the same. So, this year, I made sure I went to that festivity, despite the weather was un-summer like. But, hey, weather hasn’t stopped me before! So, without further ado, a small photo essay of this event.

The event took place in Vancouver West Side in West Broadway between McDonald and Bleinheim Street

Greek goodies…

More goodies…

Did I say goodies?

You got to have a stage, right?

I guess there ought to be some people in costumes…

Did I say food??? However, most of the same stands were selling the same dishes…

Preparing gyros

My gyro… Not from the stand mentioned above. It was a fail because it was more in lines of ground meat rather than that sliced version.

I didn’t order this; instead, I took it from somebody else… Without her noticing! Shame? What shame?

I also ordered a pork souvlaki…

I also ordered a chicken souvlaki from a different stand. It was better prepared than the one from the pork soulvalki.

At least Greeks are better than Chinese, from the dessert’s perspective…

Ended up ordering a galaktoboureko, custard sandwich between phyllo with a hint of orange. Yumm!

Now, as the subject of this post suggests, I also went to the Greek Summer Festival. This event will be up until July 11th so you still have a week to go! Now, I went twice already and there are chances I will go again so the pictures below are based on what I have ordered so far. Since I don’t expect things to be that different from last year to this, things like lamb will be… Oh, well, almost the same as last year! But, as for what I have ordered so far this year…

Pork souvlaki dinner, with salad, bread, tzatziki and rice – $14

Greek yoghurt with honey. Disappointed it was scooped out from a commercial container… And charge $3 for it!

Spanakopita (appetizer), served with tzatziki – $4

For today’s posts on my visit to different houses, pavilions and exhibits of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games, LiveCity Downtown, where the Canada Pavilion is located. I must mention there is some controversy behind the Canada Pavilion, specifically, the costs to build it was CDN $10 million and the end result is… Well, keep on reading this post!

But, before that, here is once again, all my other posts this topic:

• Alberta House
• Robson Street
• Maison du Québec
• Saskatchewan Pavilion
• Saxony House
• Northern House

(Once again, click on the picture to open a larger version of it in a new window).





One of the major issues in this pavilion was long lines. It took me ~20 minutes from queueing up and go past the security check. If it wasn’t because of my experience with airport security checks, I might have taken an additional couple of minutes while I empty my pockets and make sure there wasn’t anything metallic hanging around. >_<



One oddity was that the Manitoba pavilion. Prior to my visit to LiveCity Downtown, I couldn’t find their pavilion/house. I guess this explains it. While not as fancy as the other ones (the only one pending right now to visit Ontario and Atlantic Canada), it was quite entertaining in its own ways. They had some music shows and dances in front of the house on the day I was there. Sorry, no pictures of that, as I was checking the rest of the venues and, by the time I was done, the dances were done as well.







Did I mention queues? Yes, this is the line for the Canada Pavilion. It took me ~40 minutes from queueing up to be able to walk in! OK, at this point, I thought that is something should be expecting, given all the visitors in Vancouver.



In that note, here is the LiveCity area, where you have lots of TVs (including a giant screen), stage and some food in the back. I did not stay there for the food, as I thought it was too generic and expensive. Instead, I went later to Saskatchewan Pavilion and end up having a bison burger. >_<

Anyway, here is what you will find in the Canada Pavilion…




Evolution of hockey gear.




Some interactive games. In this case, ski jump. Yup, that was my score!


I guess some might be interested in dressing their characters…




More interactive games, in this case, shooting pucks.


Or snowboarding.


And, a Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games torch on display. There was also one where you could actually hold it so you can take pictures with it.



Overall, I must say I am disappointed with what was displayed. Now, the pavilion is interesting; however, for a “Canada Pavilion”, I thought it would try to showcase what means to be Canadian. OK, that is extremely difficult to explain and understand but, it is the fact it is called “Canada Pavilion”. Had it been called “Winter Sports Pavilion”, it would had been fitting. But it is not…

Vancouver’s Bakers Market
118 – 408 East Kent Avenue South
Vancouver, BC
Saturday only event – check website for hours/days

Note: Today, I have a two-post “special”. The second post – Uprising Bread Bakery, can be found here.

Although Vancouver is nowhere near the largest cities in the world, at least we have lots of eateries and food related events. Where to go? What to eat? While I am sure a lot of us food bloggers have filled that niche to a certain extent, there is still the question: where do *we* look for events/places to eat? We look at each other, of course! Fellow blogger Mijune of Follow Me Foodie wrote about a bakers market not long ago and, while I have overgrown that mad desire for sweets and not fond in any way of cupcakes, I thought “hey, why not!”. So, ready with some insulin along, I went to the local Vancouver’s Bakers Market.

Note #1, this is located almost in the middle of nowhere! If it wasn’t for some pink signs in South East Marine Drive, most people won’t even know the market is taking place. To add to the problem, it is located in an industrial area and, again, there is nothing that would tell you “we are here”! And, finally, a caveat emptor for guys: if you do go with your significant other, be wary you might have to go through a wedding decoration shop before you get to the market!

But, once you arrive to the market, another thing will hit you right away: “market” might be stretching it a little bit. The area is less than 30 square metre (6 metres by 5 metres, around ~20 feet by ~17 feet). So, at times, it felt extremely crowded. One final note that might detract some people is the warning that the goodies prepared here might not be prepared in inspected kitchens. Now, that does not mean there is anything shady about it; rather, it might mean it was prepared in a regular oven in somebody’s home. Heck, I might trust them more than some industrial made products! And, now, the goodies…

I don’t remember the name of the person who prepared this but she seems to be related to the owner of the shop. That is because she was telling people on the back “to prepare lunch using a panini in the back”. And, I will tell you, the sandwich they made looked really good! As for this stand, I bought a sour-dough which I found had a quite chewy crust. It might be both good or bad, depending on how you like your bread. I must also mention there was a stand next to this one and I never figured out if it was part of the same stand or a different one. As a result, I did not “drop” by to check their goodies.

These pastries are from Homestead Specialty Baking. In addition to these, they also had brownies which ended up being more on the lines of chocolate cakes.

If my memory serves me right, these are from Desserts & More (contact information available upon request). I did not try them simply because, again, no love for cupcakes.

These were made by Ms Ranjit (contact information available upon request). Just in case, I did ask if they had Clyde, as well! To those are too young or do not understand the joke, the four ghost in Pac-Man are Inky (cyan), Pinky (pink!), Blinky (red) and Clyde (orange). These are sold in set of three but, then again, my no-love-for-cupcakes…

Some chocolate goodies from My Chocolate Tree. Interestingly, the person in charge of this stand have Moo cards. In the case you were wondering, yes, some of us have Moo presentation cards – in my case, I have them personalised from pictures of food I have taken!

Cupcakes from Picture Perfect Cakes. Although I have no love for cupcakes, that does not mean they can’t be used as a subject. In this case, to play with the lens aperture to “capture” the cupcakes in the background. I would have taken out my mini tripod but, aside of the people there, it would be really odd looking for the owner of the table to allow me to do that. (On that note, I asked permission from all tables before I took any picture).

Choux pastries from Wendy Boys Chocolates. They also had some chocolate sauces and brownies, which happened to be raspberry (?) brownies. I bought one of them and found them a bit strange. While moist, it wasn’t extremely bitter (chocolate-wise) and the seeds of the berries were a bit distracting. I guess other people would enjoy it more than me.

Desserts & More stand (contact information available upon request). If you need a stand that yells “baked by grandma”, it would have been this one. Had I been here before Thanksgiving, I might have purchased a pie!

Cupcakes from Something Yummy. Again… Cupcakes… Oh, BTW, I apologize for the second picture – a customer was purchasing the cupcake when I was snapping the picture!

And, finally, some real cakes.

Overall, this is an interesting event; however, I have a limit on how much sweets I am willing to eat so it is unlikely I will drop by in the near future. And, did I mention I don’t like cupcakes? But, for people who do like sweets, this might be a place to be in a Saturday noon. Just make sure you are between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., as they are open only during those hours! Mijune, thanks for letting us know about this event!

Side note: Why I don’t like cupcakes? While I can eat them without any issues, given options, cupcakes would be nowhere near in my list. Among the “issues” I have include it being extremely sweet and, as might easily guess, I find it overrated. For something that size, I would rather have a petit four. Funny, I should mention I have no issues with muffins, but then again, muffins are quickbreads.

A landmark in Vancouver is the PNE – the Pacific National Exhibition. However, during the last couple of weeks before Labour Day long weekend, The Fair opens… And, based on my experience last year, I chose to go there again this year! Here is a photo essay of my visit (thought the pictures are not necessarily in sequential order, hehehehe).

Before you continue, I must mention that some of the pictures are below par for several reasons: lots of people moving around, zoom (and crop) to take snapshot of other’s dishes and so on. I apologize for that! Also, while there will be a lot of comments, there are also 50+ images (around 15MB total). If you are on a slow connection, please, be patient!

Several of the buskers/street performers. In the first case, kids, don’t try this at home!

The Food Bank area. Here, a “statue” of Wall-E build using cans.

And some “games” in the area. Scrabble anybody?

K.C., the Kettle Creek Bear, the Pacific National Exhibition’s mascot.

Dal Richards and his band in the main (?) theatre. Other shows were running through the day.

“The Green Scene” showcasing alternative (read: electric) cars. I won’t mind driving one of those old cars!

Sand sculpture exhibit. Unfortunately, it wasn’t ready yet the day I went…

How about some lumberjack competition?

In another of the theatres, more presentations.

Right next to the square, there were some sunflowers and lots of bees and wasps. No, unlike us, they don’t take a day off… After taking this picture, I went to the Marketplace.

Yes, the Marketplace, where people who watch infomercials would be behaving like a small kid… And, rather than relying on gimmicks like this, just get into a meal plan and exercise, OK?

But, if you need a tool as an incentive to exercise, by all means…

If it wasn’t because I live in a rented unit, I would love to have a hammock… ^_^

Some cooking tools presentations + ingredients.

When I saw this, the first thing that came to my head was Margaritaville. Don’t ask!

Just like last year, out of all displays in the Marketplace, this is the one I “loved” the most: for $2 you get a 5 minutes massage on this massage chair (or $5 for 15 minutes). The best $5 spent on this visit! ^_^;;;

One of the biggest attractions is the PNE Prize Home. This year, the house will be built in the Okanagan.

It does not matter if you don’t like gambling, if you don’t buy a ticket, your chances of winning are null. In this case, I bought the 15/$50 “package”. But… I would only buy them if she would pose for this picture!

There was also a small parade for a presentation later that afternoon. Here, the toon rock (?)

At this point, the question is: where is the food???? OK, OK! I mentioned initially that these might not be necessarily in sequence. So, here are some of the pictures of the food stands around noon when people haven’t arrived yet. And, of course some of the goodies, hehehehe….

Deep fried Mars bar?! Well, it is a fair…

O_o

You can’t only have *one*… You have to have a bucket!!!!

Another “classic”, here corn dogs.

Burgers and hot dogs!

Onion rings and fried chicken.

Foot long hot dogs and fish and chips!

Thin (cheese pizza).

Indian food. Well, this is Vancouver, multi-culturalism is expected!

Pulled pork sandwich. I will have to say that yellow colour was a bit… Distracting.

This seemed to be a fad this year: A potato sliced thin and then fried.

Later in the afternoon, there were a LOT of people. Oh, in the background Playland.

Finally, as to what I had, I went to the Ukranian stand and had a platter, which had some sausage, cabbage roll, perogies (pan fried). It was just OK, I think I would have been able to do better…

However, whereas in the US, funnel cake is “king”, here are the mini-donuts.

The last picture was taken from Playland. Yes, I did go to Playland but did not go to any of the rides. Did spend a couple of toonies in some of the games though but that was about it. And, yes, there was also a monster truck for you to ride! (Caveat: ride, not drive…)

While some of the things you might be doing will be on the expensive side (read: rides on Playland), overall, if you plan wisely, it could be a cheap day of entertainment. For $15 per person ($12 if you go to a a 7-11 to buy it in advance or on-line), there is a lot to do. In my case, there were even some activities I did not even go (like the farm or the home-reno area) and I was there already for almost 6 hours! As for the food, let’s face it, is is expensive (I spent over $6 on two non-alcoholic drinks), it might not be good for your health (deep fried Mars bars?!), might not even be good food but, hey, it is one of those days you are there just to have fun and not think too much about it. As a once a year activity, it is fine. Next year, I guess?

In the last month or so, I have been blogging the different festivals in Vancouver and more often than not, I post about it on Sunday. However, this one is slightly different. In previous posts, the festivals were two day (or more) festivities and I usually attend the first day. However, Latin Summer Fest, which is the celebration of the Latin American countries, always take place on a Sunday – this year, August 16. So, in a way, this post is a week late… ^_^;;;

Now, unlike my previous visits to festivals, I asked Ms. H to join me and along was also Drea of TBDFBTI. While waiting for them (I arrived “early”), I went around Trout Lake (the festivities take place in the parking lot of the community centre there) and looked around. So, enjoy this photo essay of the Latin Summer Fest 2009!

Edit: Kevin of 604 Foodtography also blogged about this event! Check it here.

I swear this exactly the same banner used last year, except they “changed” the date.

As in most festivals, you have your usual tents with merchandise.

That poster on the bottom left is NOT of Nacho Libre but Vancouver Latin American Film Festival

In the main stage, there were several presentations, here, a band. Sorry, did not remember the name of the band playing…

And in this case, a one women show….

Which included some tango.

And talking about dances, in between, they played some music and encouraged spectators to join them in the dancing “floor”.

More or less about this time, Ms. H and Drea arrived and, time for food! However, some queues were really long… And what goodies were available?

How about some churros? I took this picture from the very beginning but, unfortunately, by the time we wanted to get some, they were all gone!

One of the stands selling Mexican food. My bias against most Mexican food is well known so I won’t add anything else here, other than the fact the queue was mid size.

This is from the Portuguese stand. Yes, Portuguese as in Portugal rather than Brazilian. Don’t ask… The goodies here is called malasada, which resemble a frybread but sweet instead of savoury. The one at the bottom looked like a brûlée

Patties from the Jamaican stand. The Jamaican stand also had wraps and some slushies/drinks. Ms. H and Drea got some drinks here.

The making of the most popular item sold during the festivities: pupusas. In fact, the long lines from the picture above is from the two stands selling these!

Grilled chicken from the Cuban stand. I wanted to order these but there were other items I was interested in…

Yuca con encurtido, a pickled-like coleslaw. Now, there is an epic fail associated with this dish…

This is the first “dish” we got: pupusas revuletas (?), i.e., pupusas with beans/cheese filling.

I also ordered platanos, i.e., fried plantain chips. Here is where the epic fail occurred: The menu had it listed as platanos y yuca con chicharrón: $5. However, they meant these were different dishes, whereas I interpreted it as one. So, I only got the plantain, not the yuca and chicharrón. Argh!

Meat empanada from the Chilean stand – Empanada Hut, anyboyd?.

As well as some cheese empanadas from the same stand.

We got some other stuff, like the malasada mentioned above and some popsicles. Afterwards, we walked around the “beach” area of the lake and enjoy the sun. Ms. H, Drea, thanks for coming. As usual, good company make things better!

Oh, to finish this post, some pictures I took around Trout Lake before I went to the festival. Enjoy!

Brave Bull’s House of Steaks
1298 E Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC

After our visit to Alvin Garden, I “volunteered” to organize the next food bloggers outing. But, I will say it right away: boy, I really messed up this time. I mean, who suggests an outing in the middle of summer? Add a last minute communication snafu and failure was only steps away (*). But, thankfully, Jenny (My Secret Eden), Jessica (Yumorama) and Frank (Vanfoodies) were able to make it… And the place for this gathering? Brave Bull’s House of Steaks.

Edit: Jessica’s post is up! Check it here!
Edit: Jenny’s post is up! Check it here!

(*) OK, Drea, feel free to blame me for all the epic fails we have had so far…

Now, this is not my first time here. I blogged about it late last year. I mentioned that, despite food wasn’t spectacular, you get more than what you paid for and it was a lesson of humility. Why choose this place as a location for a food bloggers meeting? Well, we don’t always have to go to the fanciest, most popular, places, should we? With that said…

It is obvious the restaurant has seen better years. As Linda, our host, told us, they have been there for since 1985 and prices have not changed since 1991 (!!!). But, let’s face it, this restaurant is not located in the fanciest of the neighbourhoods in Vancouver: technically part of the infamous Vancouver Downtown East Side, it is a long walking distance from both Commercial Drive and Main Street. And, nearby, well, there is not much nearby after 6:00 p.m., as it is mostly an industrial area. (Actually, there is an Ethiopian restaurant across the street but…).

Since I called ahead of time, a table in a separate section of the restaurant was set up for us. It was quite different from the area I had my meal last time: In a way, it was more private. And, decorating the walls, were different cuts from different articles and awards, some of them over 10 years ago. But, despite these were old, let me assure you, what was written still holds true…

In total, it was six of us and Linda told us in advance they were quite busy that night, as there were customers on the other side of the restaurant as well. I couldn’t see how many walked in during our 2+ hour stay, but I think there were at least three other tables when I walked in. Now, you might say, how it is possible you call it busy? Well, you must keep in mind this is not The Keg, Morton’s or any steak house where you have a large front house staff plus a dozen or so cooks in the back. This operation is really small, with Linda in the front house and her grandson helping that night plus the cook (probably a single cook) in the back. But, it was the fact we were told in advance. And, then, there was the really good company… Eventually, our dishes started to arrive.

Chowder

Beef barley

Pan fried oyster. Normally an order would be four pieces but, given our “patience”, the cook gave us the half dozen.

Some garlic bread. I wished it was more garlic-y but otherwise, it was OK.

T-bone steak (13~14 oz), ordered by three of us.

Sirloin steak

Pork chops

Veal

I myself did not try the oyster; however, though the general consensus was the exterior being slightly chewy, everybody seemed to enjoy it. As for the different dishes, I will only comment on mine, hehehehe. In my case, while the meat was not melt-in-your-mouth or the most tender piece of beef I ever had, it was quite enjoyable. Aside from the pieces next to the bones, it was plump and juicy. Again, while not the most tender piece of beef, the knife did not have to work overtime either. But, let’s face it, you are not paying a premium for the steak – it was just $15… In fact, the aside from the T-Bone steaks, the other dishes were under $10. Did I mention the soups and the bread, along with the small side of veggies and the baked potato are included?

After we finished, Linda stopped by and entertained us a little bit. She told us about the history of the place, how things have changed and, interestingly, printouts collected by her grandson of other blogger visits (check here and here). Hey, she even posed with us for some pictures! Overall, a really gracious, charming host. And the meal? Everybody agreed it was a good meal. As for myself, I think there is more I wish to say but I simply can’t. It is one of those cases it is better for the reader to experience it by visiting the restaurant. No, I am not setting you up, instead, it is an experience on its own.