Dim Sum at Victoria

Today, a good chunk of my office headed out for Dim Sum at Victoria in Royal Centre.  I know you must be thinking that we're crazy to go for such a big meal after a weekend which was essentially an eating marathon.  The truth is, we had an alterior motive: meeting our co-workers new boyfriend.  Mwah ha ha ha!

 

All joking aside, he was lovely, we were nice to him, they make a very cute couple, AND the food was yummy in our tummies.

 

Things to note: (1) Victoria takes reservations.  Take advantage of this because it tends to get busy at lunchtime.  (2) This is not the cheapest dim sum meal that you'll ever eat, but it is good.  To give you an idea, we had nine people and the cost of the food below was $20/person, tax and tip in. 

 

Enjoy!

 

BBQ pork pie ("1" on the card is equal to 3 "pies" that are then cut in half).

 

Shrimp dumplings (each basket is "1" on the card).

Glutinous rice in lotus leaf ("1" on the card is equal to three packets).

 

Pan fried cannelloni (the dish is equal to "1" on the card). 

 

Pork and shrimp dumplings (each basket is "1" on the card).

 

Crispy spring rolls ("1" on the card is equal to four spring rolls that are then cut in half).

 

Pan fried pork dumplings ("1" on the card is equal to four dumplings).

 

Steamed spinach and sliced beef (the bowl is "1" serving).

Steamed minced beef cannelloni (each plate is "1" on the card).

 

Missing photo: Chicken and seafood chow mein on crispy noodles. (Yummy!)

Thanksgiving

It's always nice to go out to a restaurant and try new food but, for me, the ultimate eating experience will always be a big family meal over the holidays, especially when my Mom is cooking (which is most of the time).  All of the scrumptious dishes from my childhood, a yummy glass of wine, the family you hold near and dear to your heart around one table, all topped off with lots of laughter.  It just can't be beat!  This year, my Mom outdid herself, as always.  I'm going to let the pictures do the talking from here on in.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The bird ready to be carved!  She was as yummy as she looks.

My sister perfecting the gravy.  She makes one mean gravy!

The turkey...ready for our bellies.

Stuffing!  My Mom still does it in the turkey and boy is it good.

Mashed potatoes care of moi.  Just look at that smooth, creamy, goodness.

Although, I would be lying if I said my potatoes weren't better with my sister's gravy on them.

Shrimp salad.  Hands down one of my favourite family dishes.  I'm not going to lie.  I make the mashed potatoes, but I don't eat them so I have more room for shrimp salad.  It's all about strategy when eating a Thanksgiving meal people!

Carrots with green grapes.  I've never seen this anywhere except for on my Mom's table and I love it.  Makes the carrots that extra bit special.

Sesame broccoli with a soya sauce dressing.  I LOVE this dish.  If it was possible to marry a food dish, this dish would be my husband.

Ambrosia salad.  This dish made a reappearance at this year's Thanksgiving.  I hadn't seen it in a few years, but it was just as yummy as the last time I had it.  This was always one of my favourites as a kid.  Marshmallows for dinner, how couldn't it be a favourite?

Apple salad.  This is a family staple.  I don't think I have ever been to dinner at my Grandma's house without there being apple salad on the table.  It's my all-time favourite and my sister, cousin and I most definitely fight over the leftovers.

No special family meal is complete without a dish of olives and pickles.  Yet another dish where my sister and I try to ensure that it strategically lands next to us.

Cranberry sauce in the turkey dish!  How awesome is that?  This dish has been around forever and never ceases to make me smile.

My scrumpdidliumtious dinner!  A little bit of everything all on one plate.  See, the strategy paid off.

Dessert: my Mom's unbelievably smooth pumpkin pie and vanilla ice cream.  Apologies for the half eaten photo.  I was so excited for pumpkin pie that I forgot to take a picture until I came up for air!

Urban Fare

Today I headed out to lunch with a lovely colleague and a wonderful former colleague.  I was craving some warm you up food and was hoping to eat inside because I'd been a bit chilled all morning.  We didn't want to have to sit in a food court dungeon, so we decided to go to the Urban Fare beside Shangri La. 

I had no idea that the Alberni Urban Fare had an area to sit down and eat until about a year ago.  For those of you who haven't been there, it's a hidden gem!  There is a great deli area where you can buy a pre-made sandwich or have one made to your liking.  (Word to the wise, if you order the chicken sandwich, you literally get a whole breast of chicken!)  They also have a hot and cold buffet, a deli section with pre-made salads and such, and a hot food section with chicken, mashed potatoes and veggies.  Plus, word on the street is that if you buy their packaged meals near the hot food section, they'll warm them up for you so you can eat them there.  How awesome is that?

The best part?  Their seating area.  Nothing fancy, but it's at street level with tonnes of natural light!  Such a nice switch from the rest of the food courts downtown.  Plus, they have jugs of ice water and plastic cups.  So you can save that toonie you'd spend on a bottled water for another day.

The long and the short of it?  The food isn't out of this world mind blowing, but it's good, reasonably priced, and the seating area is bright and sunny.  Definitely a nice place to grab lunch if you didn't have time to make anything.

My cajun chicken, mashed potatoes and veggies.  Delicious!  It was just what the doctor ordered and came to about $9.50 tax in.

A hot and cold buffet special for about $8, tax in.

A salmon, chicken, green bean and fry meal for my wonderful colleague who doesn't eat anything with four legs or a tail!

http://www.urbanfare.com/restaurant-menu

Le Tigre - Social Shopper Deal!

Exciting news today ladies and gents.  If you were hoping to try Le Tigre between October 12th and April 12th, you can now do it for half the price!!

Social Shopper has a coupon on today: $20 worth of food and drinks at Le Tigre for $10.  Le Tigre specializes in modern Asian cuisine and is located at Alberni and Bute, Thursday through Friday; Cambie and 8th on Tuesdays; and Railtown on Wednesdays.

To figure out whether this Social Shopper Deal is the one for you, check out the links below.

http://www.letigrecuisine.ca/

 

http://www.socialshopper.com/vancouver_2253 

 

No better way to start a Friday than to get a screaming deal on food! 

Vij's Railway Express

Have you ever had one of those friends where sometimes even you're confused about how you became friends?  That perfectly describes my lunch date today.  Having someone as amazing as her in my life makes me truly appreciate the need for randomness.

My random friend was craving some curry so we decided to try out Vij's Railway Express as neither of us had been.  I'm not going to lie.  When I first heard about this truck, I was super excited to try it but I quickly heard a lot of "it's good but not great" experiences and it started to drop down my list of "must try asap!"

However, I was pleasantly surprised.  I was toying between the Dhaal and the Butter Chicken Schnitzel and ended up opting for the Schnitzel.  It was very good and flavourful.  Definitely packed a punch, but very yummy.  I didn't think the chicken being in schnitzel form really added anything to the dish, but it also didn't take anything away from it.  My only comment is that the portion is good for a regular hunger day, but would probably be a bit small for a super hungry day.  Now for the highlight: my yummy in my tummy chai.  I haven't had proper chai in a long time and it was heavenly!!  I may have even resorted to scooping out the almond and pistachio slivers at the bottom to get every last bit of yumminess!

My random friend opted for the Dhaal as it was lactose-intolerant friendly and she thoroughly enjoyed it.  I believe she excitingly described it as spicy, aromatic and delicious!  I was lucky enough to steal a bite and thoroughly agree that it was scrumptious.  As for her apple cider, when I asked if it was pretty much just a normal apple cider, her "No, it's delicious!" was instantaneous.  Definitely mulled apple cider, not a packaged version, and definitely a great warm-you-up on a cold day.

Thanks for the great lunch random friend!

Things to note: (1) This is one of the more expensive food trucks I've come across.  Menu items range from $7.50 to $11.50 and drinks from $3.50 to $4.25.  (2) HST is not included.  (3) Plastic is accepted.  (4) They sell Vij's signed cookbooks and spices at the truck as well.  (5) The line-ups seem to have died down now that the weather is starting to cool off, but still a good bet to get there early, just in case. 

The truck on the North side of Georgia between Burrard and Thurlow.

The menu.

Punjabi Dhaal served with Rice and Naan, and a hot apple cider.

Butter Chicken Schnitzel served with Rice and Naan, and a Kashmiri Chai with Almond and Pistachio slivers.

The yummy goodness of my quickly disappearing chai.

 

http://vijsrailwayexpress.com/

Mangal Kiss...yet again!

Today I grabbed lunch with two amazing ladies who I feel very luck to call friends.  Neither of them had been to Mangal Kiss, so to Mangal Kiss we went! 

Friend #1 ordered the lamb feature, I ordered the Chicken wrap, and Friend #2 ordered the Beef Wrap.  We all concluded that they were scrumpdidliumptious!  Lamb feature friend went so far as to say that it was very refreshing with all of the veggies and herbs, that she thoroughly enjoyed the daikon, and that, overall, she gave it two lamb chops up!  Friend #3 also ordered the Limonana (Israel Mint Lemonade), which she thoroughly enjoyed.

Another interesting fact is that Mangal Kiss serves soup.  I'm not sure if this is a new Fall addition, or if I just didn't notice it in the summer but it looked yummy.  It seemed like you would get a regular, deli-size container for $4 on its own, or $3 if added to a wrap to make a combo.

Lamb feature.

 

Chicken wrap. 

Beef wrap.

Limonana. 

Dessert!  I am absolutely loving the sunny Fall we've been having, but the wind did bring an extra chill to our outside lunch today.  So, we opted to grab a Starbucks dessert to warm us up.  I went for a Vanilla Rooibos latte.  Just what the doctor ordered! 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mangal-Kiss-mideast-bbq/204776769580837

 

http://www.starbucks.ca/

Spaghetti Squash

Tonight I tried a scrumptious new Baked Spaghette Squash recipe from the Whitewater Cooks at Home recipe book.  I'm normally a fan of spaghetti squash, but this took it to a whole other level. 

To replicate this yumminess, bake the spaghetti squash by cutting it in half lengthwise, remove the seeds, place it skin side up in a baking dish, pour about a cup of water over the squash, and cover the dish with tinfoil.  It will probably take around 45 minutes to bake at 350F.  Once cooked, scoop the spaghetti squash into a bowl (be careful you don't burn yourself!), and mix with about a quarter cup of butter, the juice of one lemon, 1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, a big handful of parsley chopped, and 3 to 4 dashes of nutmeg.  It was out of this world!  I served it as a side to one of my all-time favourite recipes, lemon chicken pasta, and I liked the squash so much that the lemon-chicken pasta took the back seat in terms of eating order!  In my opinion you could also swap the butter for olive oil and the parmesan cheese for whatever type of cheese you have in the fridge (e.g. cheddar) quite easily.

If you haven't heard of, or don't have, the Whitewater Cooks cookbooks, I highly recommend them.  They are definitely worth the investment.  Plus, if you buy them online at Chapters, you will save approximately 40% off the in-store list price and get free shipping if you spend over $25 before tax. 

Baked Spaghetti Squash care of Whitewater Cooks at Home

Dinner!  Apologies for not including the Lemon Chicken Pasta recipe.  It was given to me by a friend and it was her Grandma's recipe.  I may be willing to divulge my family's cooking secrets, but I didn't feel it was right to divulge another family's cooking secrets without permission.

 

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/home/search/?keywords=whitewater+cooks&pageSize=12