I don’t actually have a hankering for chestnuts but many people I know do. I recently tried my hand at roasting them myself and have completely given up the self torture, especially when I was introduced to this easy-peasy snack. They’re much smaller than Italian ones but have so much flavor and sweetness. Plus did I say how easy it was to peel? No more burnt hands!
There were 4 packs within the larger package and 6 chestnuts were in each. You can buy them at T&T.
Wear clothing that you don’t mind washing. It was spicy and flavorful. Would like to try the Laksa next time. Small amount of seating.
2546 E Hastings St, Vancouver, BC V5K 1Z3
(604) 568-4593
started off with tea leaf salad (deep fried nuts and seeds), soup, roti (wonderful sauce)
pineapple fried frice (similar to other places), pad thai (on par), eggplant (really creamy), beef (was ok)
The New Zealand Spring Lamb is more tender than some beef I’ve had – not gamey at all. Buying it frozen is perfect for those times you’ve run out of fresh raw meat for dinner. The one pictured here is pre-marinated in Rosemary and Garlic, but plain with your marinade of salt, pepper, and mustard is great too.
Supreme Meat Supplies Ltd.
1725 MacDonald Ave, Burnaby, BC
604-299-0541
Celebrated our 12th anniversary at Bishop‘s where everything they serve is organic and locally supplied. Amuse bouche of tomato soup was first served. Surprising packed flavor in such a small cup of soup! Look how clear the liquied is. The local butter still isn’t the same as European butter.
Web site does not list menu option for the corn soup, but can you just make out the mini mushrooms? They were roasted along with corn and other veggies as the corn soup was poured into the dish. Very deep in flavor again.
The two slices of procuitto did not have much meat on it at all – just two strips of fat basically, but the flavor!
Shaved Proscuitto Bianco Orrechiette: fava beans, sapo bravo zucchini, roasted hazelnuts, montana cheese
The elk was extremely tender and not gamey, but I preferred the familiar taste of beef. Hubby liked his dish though. It was hard to pause and take a quick shot of the sliced potato that was roasted and seared till the edge was crispy. Can we say “butter”?
Roasted Rangelands Elk: wild rice and new zealand spinach, baby leeks and beets, black currant jus
My scallops were cooked perfectly, but I didn’t taste the sweetness of scallops I’ve had from other places – good though. AND how many years have I wanted to have ricotta cheese stuffed zucchini blossom? It was tender, airy, yet rich. Deelish! I couldn’t taste the eggplant in the puree. The ratatouille was good but not what I’ve had at other places, which is more stew-like. This is more like roasted to perfection? It had a good bite yet was cooked gently.
Seared Baynes Sound Scallops: rataouille and ricotta tartlet, epazote scented eggplant puree, crispy squash blossom, cascade tomato reduction
Their website menu needs to be updated. Sour cherry pie (more like a tart pastry rather than flaky version) was paired with caramel gelato (not my fave, but hubby loved it). My blueberry sorbet went well with custard and hazelnut cakes. What a nice finish!
Sapo Bravo Cherry Galette: with basil scented caramel, sour cream gelato
Lynden Chocolate makes the best caramel popcorn I’ve ever had. Not as sweet as everything else I’ve tried, and what I love most is how it completely crunches away – no residual squished kernel for you to suck out from between your teeth. Can you see how generous they are with the nuts? Again, not overly sweet – they are fresh and meaty, unlike some where I can’t even taste the nuts anymore. Sigh, Lynden is so far from I5 though.
“Easy as pie.” Who said that? I’d like to shoot them!
Gas oven experiment #2 – we used “Easy Convect” feature which decreased time (-5 min) and temperature (-25˚). The top has a deceptively attractive color and crisp, but the bottom is so uncooked, the berries sank practically through the dough. I was tempted to throw it onto the stove top and let the gas flames burn the soggy ass bottom! Although we left it in for another 15 min, the berries were just barely bubbling – you could still see powdered flour through the slits – but the top was getting too dark by then.
I’ve now read online that some have tried to place the pie right on the floor of the oven. I find it ironic that my first pies with electric stove did not have these kinds of problems. Sigh, hubby ate it this morning for breakfast and said yum yum – he truly loves me.
Very happy to have tried a new place. Quality over quantity when compared to Sushi Garden. Above is their Sockeye Salmon Roll.
The Alaska Roll (left, front) has a sauce dribbled over it that is reminiscent of tempura bits. Spicy tuna roll (left, back) with two kinds of sesame seeds. Party Tray A on the right has a wonderful selection.
Gyoza here is deep fried and filling is standard. Toro (tuna) sashimi melted; so fresh it had a hint of sweetness.
I enjoy Yugoslavian garlic because the cloves are large and the skin is easy to peel. The taste may not be as “hot” as the kind grown in China, but it is still very flavorful to me. The purple you see will fade as the skin dries completely. Have to admit that my dad did a much better job growing them than I ever did.
Always a crowd pleaser (they love the moist cake, I love how fast and easy it is), I thought this recipe deserved a photo – especially since it’s blueberry season. Thanks to Janie for showing it to me… um, when is the next one coming?
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter / margerine
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups blueberries
Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 tsp cinnamon (or more depending on taste)
Steps
1) Cream butter and sugar, then add eggs. Add sour cream.
2) Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
3) Fold into above with vanilla. Fold blueberries in gently.
4) Pour into 9″x13″ tray. Sprinkle topping mix evenly on top of cake.
5) Bake at 350˚F for 40 minutes.
Have enjoyed JMJ when it was in the Biltmore Hotel on Kingsway, then when it moved to Burnaby, but it started to pale compared to Meok Ja Gol, so it’s been quite some time since we’ve returned. Memories of their thin-skin pot stickers have kept me coming back though, and now I’m so glad they did. My usual favorites are definitely improved in flavor and texture. It was the busiest we’ve seen it on a Friday night yet the service was great – something we’ve just come to have lower expectations of.
First, the pot stickers are usually pan fried (still my preference), not deep fried, the way they are now, but it didn’t detract from the taste.
Bee Bim Bap Dol Sot means fried rice in a clay pot, which keeps it warm throughout your meal. It comes as separate ingredients and you mix it up yourself.
Who can resist their deeply marinated ribs? Look at the crispy browning of the seafood pancake; it was not as tasty or crispy during our last visit and this extra ooph makes the dish.
I don’t know how I managed to miss shooting the chicken noodle soup (too busy stuffing my mouth? this is hard work you know). Here was the biggest improvement of all. It has always been a more bland soup, mildly flavored but in the subtle healthy ways of momma-soup-minus-msg. This time, it was as if someone dialed up more flavor – definitely a wonderful way to round out our meal.
Scary? Don’t let the eyes fool you. There’s a lot of meat under these heads. I always love coming here for their grilled salmon. My hand is almost sore after the meal of patience, but worth every savory bite. This is the first time I’ve been served the heads – must be salmon season.
The Miso Salmon is cut from the body, and therefore drier and less fat = less taste. Spicy calamari was deelish.
Spicy karaage and curry on pork chop are always consistently good.
We’ve moved into a house that has a gas stove/oven, which I’ve never used before. The first thing I tried to bake in the convection gas oven were 10 minute partially boiled new potatoes. Imagine my shock when it told me to “Put food in” after the preheating was done. Then my amazement continued as I saw this texture develop on our taters. A whole other skin had roasted itself into being. And yes, it tasted as good as it looks.
Seduced by photos on Yelp. Sorry, at $5, this was overrated. I think a better deal can be found at Wiggly Chips at the PNE.
Yes, I’ve shown this before but how can I resist reliving the savoring? Chicken wings, roasted chicken, pork skewers, green papaya salad, all as good as I remember, but my new hot day fave – fresh squeezed limeade, Thai style.
What is it with Porland and incredible chicken wings? What is it with Vancouver and a lack of them? See that honey and sour sauce? So coated in it. Different from PokPok’s but just as satisfying.
Green papaya salad was perfect. Sub was text book. Spices authentic.
Chicken noodle (made fresh) was on par with my mother-in-law’s. The grilled eggplant melted like none other I’ve tried. The deep fried fish – juicy with substantial bite on the inside, nice fried skin on the outside.
One of the owners was a pastry chef in Paris – so happy some people have found their calling.
I put our new hood fan to the test by broiling frozen Black Cod with Miso in our toaster oven sitting next to our stove. When hubby came home late, I asked him to stay by the front door and take a dep breath – he couldn’t smell it! I accidentally charred the skin trying to achieve a crispiness (hence the artsy close up shot), but didn’t smell it either. The cod was tender and so full of flavor, so you can enjoy restaurant quality food right at home.
Angel Seafoods: 1345 Grant St, Vancouver, BC V5L 2X7 (604) 254-2824 www.angelseafoods.com
Kitchen Hoods: PS13-30″ Under cabinet Range hood for $659 and worth every penny because the 900 cfm ensured I wouldn’t be smelling fish in my closet upstairs too. What I like beyond the power is a 3 minute self timer so it shuts itself off by the time we settle down to eat.
Organic, wheat-free, gluten-free, tastes great – that’s what the packaging says. Got it at Costco while searching for healthy grazing snacks. Not too salty but bland in an ate-too-many-rice-crackers-in-one-sitting kind of way. Very crunch – almost too much, as there are some bits I’m convinced are not even nuts/seeds anymore. Won’t buy it again.
First day at the Tri-Cities Baker’s Community Market yesterday in Coquitlam was a success! Hearth & Larder blogs about it along with some great photos showcasing all the fantastic baked goodies. The market will be on again this Saturday 10am – 2pm so don’t miss it and get there early as things start to sell out quickly. Don’t forget to try the free samples from every vendor. Fresh scones, gourmet marshmallows, cupcakes, even French Canelés de Bordeaux!
Just a sample of the amazing baked goods from local artisan bakers!
This Saturday is the beginning of the Tri-Cities Baker’s Community Market. Bakers from the Tri-Cities and Vancouver area are under one roof to satisfy your sweet tooth. Join us for 5 Saturdays this summer to support local bakers and buy food made with heart.
Hearth & Larder will be one of the featured vendors offering artisan preserves and freshly baked scones. Orange Marmalade which is thick, sweet and orangey, Mixed Citrus Marmalade with an intense grapefruit flavor with a hint of lime, Dandelion Jelly which tastes like jellified honey, and a new flavor – Pineapple Jam (think Pineapple upside-down cake). And to compliment these sumptious spreadables are three types of scones – Lemon-Blueberry, Orange-Pecan and Lime-Cardamom. Free samples, too!
And for this week only, visit Hearth & Larder’s Facebook page and click the “like” button to receive $2 off a jar of preserves when you come to the market this Saturday! The “likes” will be confirmed with an email.
Kimberley Mulla of Kimberley’s Kitchen is also a featured vendor and the creator of this event. She’s a master marshmallow maker and will be selling her gourmet mallows along with other baked goodies.Other featured vendors are Em’s Gems – treats for tea and more, French Made Baking, Something Sweet For You and iBakery.
So, If you haven’t already, you might want to start hittin’ the gym or take a few hills on your bike because you won’t want to miss this sweet event. The market will be held (indoors) at The Evergreen Cultural Centre in Coquitlam (event parking is free). It is absolutely beautiful and just a block away is the Pinetree Village a huge shopping mall. Make a day of it and come visit us at the market!
Location: The Evergreen Cultural Centre in central Coquitlam – MAP
Dates: May 28, June 4th, July 9th, July 23rd and Aug 6th
Time: 10am to 2pm
Parking: FREE
To learn more about the market please visit – The Tri-Cities Baker’s Community Market blog.
Empire Seafood Restaurant
Unit 200 London Plaza, 7997 Westminster Hwy, Richmond, BC | Tel: 604.249.0080
King Crab season is here and Empire was packed with fans. Ordered a 6-person combo, so the crab cost $10.99/lb – it came out to about $30/adult with some leftovers:
… Just in time for Valentine’s Day!
Sometimes I get a craving for those Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups. Now I figured out how to make them at home! At first, I wasn’t overly impressed, but after eating another one the next day, I was hooked. At least when I make these homemade ones, I know I’m not getting too many weird ingredients.
Ingredients
1 cup bulk melting milk chocolate bits (Save-on-Foods) (you could probably experiment w dark chocolate or white chocolate)
1 cup organic peanut butter (peanut butter only, no other addititives)
1/2 cup icing sugar (optional)
1 tbsp canola oil for greasing muffin tins
Directions
1. Put the milk chocolate bits into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high in 30 second intervals and keep checking until they are melted. I only had to nuke my chocolate for 45 seconds.
2. Use canola oil and grease muffin tins, just at the bottom and up sides about half way.
3. Use tablespoon to smear melted chocolate into greased muffin tin. I only needed one heaping tablespoon of melted chocolate. Use spoon to draw the melted chocolate up the sides about one third of the way.
4. Wait for chocolate to solidify. My apartment was cold so it only took 5 minutes to solidify.
5. Mix icing sugar with peanut butter. Put 1.5 tablespoons of peanut butter into the solidified base of chocolate muffin tin.
6. Spoon on enough melted chocolate on top of the peanut butter to completely cover. Spread the chocolate around, being careful not to mix into the peanut butter too much.
7. Put in fridge. Wait 2 hours to completely solidify.
8. After completely solidified, the peanut butter cups will easily pop out of the muffin tins!
Enjoy and try not to eat them all at once ;p
Can be stored in the fridge. Keep at room temperature until ready to eat — I couldn’t wait that long…
Saw this easy recipe on public television and it was… easy as muffins? Well it was easy because hubby made it! Extremely airy texture, not mushy or dense – we dived in immediately, but as they cooled, the tops became crispier, which made for a great combo. Normally I can’t even finish one store bought muffin because it’s just too sweet for my liking – I had no problem finishing off two!
Just assemble two bowls of wet and dry ingredients, then combine. Bake at 375˚ F for 20 minutes. Makes 7 to 8 muffins.
1 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
2 tbsp Green Tea powder
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
2/3 cup whole milk (we used 1%)
1/3 cup canola oil
A fusion of Chinese and Indian cuisine (Chindian), Green Lettuce was a surprising mix of East Asian dishes. Their deep fryer really knows how to handle batter. Everyone at the table had their faves and ours was the fried rice, which was very flavorful. The lamb was extremely tender had no hint of gamey-ness, but at the same time I couldn’t quite tell it was lamb either.
Vegetable Pakora, Sweet & Sour Prawns
Hawaiian Fried Rice, Pilli Beef, Lamb
Honey Lemon Chicken, Deep Fried Banana and Pineapple
Light and fluffy meringue sits on a bed of cheesecake, lovingly handmade by Michele of Hearth & Larder. It’s much lighter than a New York cheesecake – kind of like cheesecake meets mousse – all the taste, but half the density. A hint of lemon balances the sweet, which is not cloying like some store bought versions. The crust was the perfect base, strongly supportive so each wedge makes it to the plate in one piece (pun intended), yet fork-tender enough for breaking into bite size chunks.
Pearl House Restaurant, 7152 Sperling Ave., Burnaby 604-522-3177
Pronounced “cheek-o”, this take out box of desserts is a decadent finish to any meal – both visually and pallete-ly. Starting from the top and going clockwise: Strawberry Shortcake, Mont Blanc (chestnut), Japanese Soft Cheese Cake (it’s like cheese flavored cake, not baked style), and Greentea Moscarpone with red bean.
Here’s their site: http://www.chiccocafe.com/index.html
His reputation precedes him so these are just photos to remember the mouthwatering double baked almond croissant and pear tart and chocolate mocha – which barely got captured before it was gone.
Thees are like training wheels for chopsticks, found at Ming Wo for just $1.49 – perfect stocking stuffers for little ones just learning this tricky coordination.
Crisp skin thickly coated with a sweet, finger-licking gooey sauce, these wings are the stuff of cravings – named one of the Top Ten Restaurant Dishes in America 2007 by Food & Wine Magazine.
We found Pok Pok in a house, car port, and lawn, set in a residential area. Highly suggest reservations. A little odd to eat our noodles with a fork, but other than that, it’s the real deal.
Aree Thai, 1150 Kingsway, Vancouver East, 604-709-9229
Doesn’t this one photo of chili sauce breathe “authentic”?
Take a good look at these chicken skewers. They are plump, full fingers, not the cut up trimmed and slim portions from a single breast. Next is a fish cake, Tom Yum soup, yellow curry, spinach w peanut sauce, and finally! – a Pad Thai with noodles that have texture. Every dish is so robust in flavor, a rice bowl per person is needed. They make their own ice cream and although the menu only lists banana, coconut, and mango, the one to ask for is the Thai Iced Tea Ice Cream. The tea kicks in as an flooding aftertaste fills the mouth.
New translation of the day – how to say “very delicious” is “arroy-d” (pronounced alloy-d).
Another successful bake-fest – this year’s new fave flave is coffee and milk choc chips. The way it’s mixed is key though. Marbling tastes better when the coffee flavor is mixed into half the dough, then marbled together with regular by hand. It results in a more defined marble and stronger taste. Someone suggested using coffee grounds – ah next year.
A friend visited Menya and shot this spoon, thinking of me and my fascination with cool tools – I love being loved! It was a perfect scooper of bits and pieces at the bottom of her soup bowl. If anyone knows where to find one, I know she’d love to know – thanks 
My good friend Michele is starting up her baking biz and I’d like to post about it here in case anyone has need of her services, as baking is certainly an art! Michele bakes, gardens, creates like Martha Stewart but from the other twin universe – the good one. No matter whether I’m ogling her twist ties around skewer sticks marking her newly planted seedlings or gaping at the effort of rendering her own lard for making Mexican pulled pork, it’s all ready for a photo shoot, and seems completely effortless for her.
I’ve had the utmost pleasure of tasting her apricot tart and the honor of receiving her precious bottles of garlic chilli salt – everything she does is magic and I’m very excited for her new biz.
I haven’t eaten a Ya Li (Asian) pear in years, not only because I’ve been slowly boycotting anything edible from China, but also because they just have no flavor anymore. Red Apple Market’s fruit stand caught my eye because I still yearn for my beloved Asian pears, and this green was more like a Bartlett hue rather than the typical soft yellow. Twist the wrist and a USA sticker had me jump in anticipation. Juicy, sweet, crisp, flavorful – everything I remembered it should be, including peace of mind.
Red Apple Market, 4170 Hastings Street, Burnaby, BC (604) 299-6544
$5.80 Okonomi-yaki (Japanese pizza): much better ratio of ingredients and taste than the one served at Modern House.
$4.20 Calamari: batter is thin, no doughy, perfectly fried
$5.80 Aigamo-Salad (Duck Salad): dressing was light to balance all the fried items, can’t get enough garlic chips, but they’re not paper thin like they used to be.
$6.80 Saba-Grill (mackeral): you get half the mackeral, but no bones, crispy skin, buttery fat, on a bed of lemon slices and onions (sorry no photo).
$4.00 Korokke (croquette): fried mashed potato, corn
$5.20 Unagi-Meshi (eel on rice): need something substantial when eating tapas, so this rice filled some holes, but the sweet sauce could have been a little less.
$7.80 Ebi Mayo (deep fried prawns): doused with mayo and spice, you could taste the freshness of plump prawns
$7.80 Oden-mori (stew): An assortment of six pieces of Oden, definitely needed to cut the grease after those deep fried items (sorry no photo).
Serious comfort food! Here’s the recipe with some modifications – bacon instead of ham, added green peas, mixed some bread crumbs with cheese and sprinkle on top to broil in the oven to give it a crunchy texture. Oh and I didn’t add lemon juice.
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/quick_macaroni_and_cheese/
Kettle Brand Baked Potato Chips in Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper flavor.
Okay. I know I should eat better so thus I bought my first bag of Kettle Brand Baked potato chips today. And you know what? It taste like regular potato chips! It is very crunchy and the chips even looks deep fried! And the best thing, it doesn’t feel as greasy as the same brand’s deep fried types. Per serving (40g) it has 170mg or 7% of your daily sodium intake. Not too bad considering it’s junk food! It’s VERY peppery, might not be suitable to people who don’t like spicy food. But I’m gonna buy this from now on. At East West Market on Main and King Edward in Vancouver, they are selling this for $2.99 CDN, a bit more expensive then your regular deep fried ones since this is a smaller bag too (113g). But I don’t mind. I’d just eat less. Not a bad thing sometimes.
I’ve recently been seeing Nitrate/Nitrite-free meats around. There is research suggesting a link to it and cancer. No harm in trying to avoid it, but that means no more sausages, bacon or lunch meat. It’s always been my quest to find nitrite/nitrate-free sausages and bacon. Well, luckily there’s Whole Foods! Their meat dept makes nitrite/nitrate-free sausages and bacon.
I recently tried the Maple Sugared Breakfast Sausages. Made by Whole Foods in-house. No nitrites, no nitrates. I am sad to announce that it was SUPER salty. I have read that often salt gets substituted for lack of nitrites/nitrates. But it had a strong maple, sugary aroma, which was nice.
$3.90 for 6 sausage links (not too small, but not super large either).
The Bulk Dry Rub Bacon Smoked was NICE! I’d buy that again. There is also talk that the saturated fat is worse for you than the nitrites/nitrates, but all in moderation, I guess. It wasn’t cheap, six strips of bacon for $4.52 CDN. But it’s a treat and would make me eat less. Nice, thick cut too! Would make fantastic bacon bits 
Posted by Mar.
1001 West Cordova Street, Vancouver, BC V6C 0B7
Tel: 604-569-1010
My better half heard about this place on the news a few weeks back. We went to check it out the next day. OMG! This is the BEST gelato place EVER!
They use only the freshest ingredients. James, the owner, is one of the top gelato maker masters in the world. We are very lucky to have him in Vancouver.
Our favorite is Sicilian Pistachio. He roasted the nuts at home, none of that fake paste some gelato shops have reduce into using. This is even better then Mum’s gelato of the 90′s! Heck! It’s even better then the one I had when I was in Florence!
Follow them on Facebook or Twitter to get their latest flavor.
YOU MUST GO! Who cares it’s raining outside. When did that ever stop people from enjoying a good ice cream cone in Vancouver?!
A little doughy, it’s similar to their Chicken Bake which is no longer available in Canada, but made with pork and Mexican flavors. Not bad but consensus agrees the Chicken Bake is better. For less than $4 bucks, it’s a much more satisfying meal than the outlet malls have to offer. The churro was dry and bland.
Comfort food to some, earthquake preparedness kit for others – I was surprised to see a Turkey version while US shopping and just had to try it wrapped with rice and seaweed, as I’ve seen in Hawaii. A layer of egg fried with sauteed onions rounds out the flavors – not a meal I would have more than once a year, but it was fun to be a kid again.
Good news is this was the most authentic tasting shrimp I’ve ever had in a cracker – not the weak, artificially colored, and dubiously flavored puffs of cardboard I’ve had before. Bad news is it’s from Japan. BUT that’s why I blog about food like this – so I can say “I don’t know what it’s called but it looks like this and if you have room in your luggage…” You can’t doubt a cracker that even has it’s own moisture wicking pouch in each package.
Cee
wousie
cyclechick
portbelly
Michele
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