Dosanko is a newly opened restaurant in the heart of Vancouver’s Japanese community. Blocks away from a Japanese language school, this restaurant attracts after-school Japanese students, and the area’s industrial lunchtime breakers.
The cooking style is considered yōshoku, a “Japanized” interpretation of Western cooking- per their website. The married-couple owners share their story of the first dish Akiyo cooked for Nathan, and how they decided to share food with the world together.
Edible Canada on Granville Island hosts one-of-a-kind special event dinners such as themed Whisky-paired dinners, or guest chef dinners. I had the opportunity to experience a whisky dinner with chef Tobias Grignon and whisky consultant/educator Andrew Starritt on October 18th- and it was an experience like none other.
In the process of undergoing a site makeover, I lost all of my posts from most of 2016 and all from 2017 🙁 wahhh wah wah. Live and learn! Backup, backup, backup and when migrating site hosts, make sure all of your info has exported!
Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve blogged. Whoops! I have to admit that I’ve been really horrible with posting full restaurant reviews and I blame the ease of Instagram posting and fully take responsible for my laziness…but I’m back! And hopefully I will figure out a posting routine for my busy schedule.
If you didn’t know, I’ll be going to Bali for 9 days for a dear friend’s bachelorette, and from there I will be heading to Taiwan and Japan (sidenote: please give me your activities and food recommendations if you’ve been to any of those places!). Bali = being in a bikini all day, errday and my body is not bikini ready...which is why I’m really trying to focus on eating healthy food and working out. My biggest struggle is (clearly) the eating heathy part, which is why I’m thankful for places like The Chopped Leaf that serve up health conscious food that still tastes good.
www.choppedleaf.ca
488 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC
Coupon for 50% off wraps at end of this post.
Spicy creamy tomato soup. It mildly spicy, so if you’re sensitive to spice, you can probably handle this!
The Southwest salad- romaine, grape tomatoes, black bean corn salsa, peppers, cheddar & pita chips with chipotle lime citrus, added grilled chicken.
Overall I had a great experience at The Chopped Leaf. The food was fresh, it satisfied my cravings and I felt good about what I was eating. I’m always conscious about calories and with the abundance of fresh fruits and veggies throughout the menu, I felt a little more at ease about the caloric intake. This will be my new go-to spot for healthy food!
If you’re interested in trying their wraps, they currently have a 50% off coupon available to use until April 21/17. Note that it is only valid at the Robson Street location.
Fairmont Pacific Rim’s Boozy Brunch is available every Saturday, Sunday and holiday Monday’s in the RawBar in the Lobby Lounge. Served from 11:00am to 2:00pm, reservations are recommended– call 604-695-5300 or email vpr.dining@fairmont.com.
Priced at $42 with an optional $28 cocktail pairing, this five-course brunch is served proudly in Vancouver’s only 100% Ocean Wise Japanese restaurant. This brunch is a combination of everyone’s breakfast and sushi favourites.
5003 Victoria Dr, Vancouver, BC
This Vietnamese restaurant flies under the radar when it comes to well-known Vietnamese go-to’s in Vancouver. Sometimes there’s a bit of a wait, but I’ve never had to wait longer than 10 minutes.
The food is fresh, simple and not oily. It’s also a very clean restaurant which is always a bonus!
The pho broth is clean and the noodles are cooked well. This restaurant has good reviews for their bun bo hue and I agree that it’s one of the better bun bo hue’s I have had.
The chicken on rice is good- decent amount of meat and the flavours are good.
One of my favourite dishes to have here is the banh bot loc tran– boiled pork and shrimp tapioca dumplings served with fish sauce. The chewy texture contrasts with the flavourful fillings and toppings and makes for a great bite of something unexpected.
http://www.choppedleaf.ca
531 Sixth Street, New Westminster BC
I was contacted by The Chopped Leaf and was asked to come check out their food! I was mailed a $50 gift card to use at any location, so I went to the New West location as it was the easiest for me to go get to.
I was able to use the $50 for two visits for two people as the prices are pretty affordable.
Here are some of the photos I took:
The space
Spicy Chicken Sandwich on multigrain chicken, chipotle aioll, mushrooms, onions, cheddar & romaine
Southwest Chili
Southwest Salad romaine, grape tomatoes, black bean corn salsa, peppers, cheddar & pita chips with chipotle lime citrus. Added grilled chicken.
Prawn Salad Rolls (served with evil peanut) carrots, lettuce, green onions & cilantro
Salads to go!
Sunshine chopped mix, cucumbers, mozzarella, avocado & apples with goddess. Added grilled chicken.
Popeye spinach, oranges, apples, sun-dried cranberries, roasted pecans & feta with fruit vinaigrette. Added prawns.
You can choose the salads/wraps from the menu or you can fully customize or build your own. I didn’t have high expectations of the food, and it ended up exceeding my expectations. Everything was fresh, satisfying and the service was great.
I have a constant battle with trying to find healthy, delicious, satisfying food. I do try my best to watch my caloric intake and find it very difficult to satisfy my hunger and cravings when I make my own food at home. I think The Chopped Leaf is a great option for someone like me who wants healthy options that still taste great, and are easily accessible!
This meal was complimentary, but the review, photos and opinions are all my own.
Faubourg Bakery
769 Hornby St, Vancouver, BC
www.faubourg.com
On Sunday, March 20, 2016 (Macaron Day), Faubourg offered its Parisian-style macarons for $1 each and matched every dollar of macaron sales, donating the proceeds to benefit the BC Cancer Foundation. www.bccancerfoundation.com
To celebrate the success, Faubourg held a celebration at their Hornby St. location to announce the final donation amount: $20,000! Many congratulations to Faubourg and their team for their hard work and efforts in raising and donating such a large donation to a great foundation!
Below are some of the photos I took at the celebration. Thank you, Faubourg for the invitation to celebrate the occasion!
Thank you Faubourg for inviting me, and congratulations on your great achievement!
15138 100 Ave, Surrey, BC |
Chinese Bites held another tasting event, this time at Boiling Point in Surrey. We were generously given whatever drinks were wanted, numerous appetizers and different soups to try and we ended with their unique dessert. All of the soups are customizable in spice level (none, mild, medium, very, flaming).
Garlic Pork Belly- very garlicky and tender. The Kimchi tofu in the background was very smooth!
Pomello soup. No one else seemed to like this except me! It is very sour, and I love sour things.
The Hokkaido milk tea (left) is so good! Highly recommended!
Korean Bean Paste Hot Pot
Beef Hot Pot. Lots of meat!
Thai Hot Pot- sour and a little spicy.
Lamb Hot Pot. We asked for it to be mild.
Spicy Taiwanese– very spicy!!
Snow cubes for dessert! Flavours are strawberry, taro, pudding and matcha. A light, refreshing dessert!
We tried even more flavours of the hot pots- Curry Fishball and the Japanese Miso. If you like flavoured hot pot and like having individual pots, Boiling Point is a great place for you. Each pot is a decent sized portion for an individual. I would probably be very full from eating one to myself.
Food: 7.5/10
Service: 9/10
Ambiance: 8.5/10
Would I Return? Yes
Overall Boiling Point has some great soup bases and is a great option for those who dine with others who like different soup bases or different spice levels. The Hokkaido milk tea was one of my favourite things at the restaurant, and although the group didn’t like the pomello soup base, I would order it! It was sour and unique!
Thank you Ray of Chinese Bites and Boiling Point Surrey!
This meal was complimentary, but the review, photos and opinions are all my own.
592 E Broadway, Vancouver, BC |
I had been wanting to visit Sushi Loku for a long time but somehow kept forgetting about it. After seeing a great post on my Mimi’s (Indulge with Mimi) feed, I told my boyfriend we had to go the next chance we got!
As a lover of all things aburi, I decided to try as many of the aburi items as possible!
Nigiri Sushi
Aburi Salmon Oshisushi– salmon, jalapeno, avocado sauce. This was nothing close to Minami/Miku’s oshisushi but was still tasty.
Killer Tuna Tacos- crunch taco shell, tuna, avocado salsa. I loved the crunchy taco shell, and the tuna and avocado salsa was fresh! I would order this again.
Aburi beef (AA) nigiri. The beef wasn’t as tender as I had hoped it would be- perhaps it would have been a little more tender if it wasn’t cooked quite as much. It had good flavour and seasoning but the chewiness was disappointing.
Loku’s Aburi Nigiri Collection– Tuna, salmon, hamachi, wild salmon, toro, beef, chopped scallop, tako. I liked the salmon, toro and chopped scallop the best! If you like aburi nigiri, you should get this!
Food: 7.5/10
Service: 8/10
Ambiance: 7/10
Would I Return? Yes.
Overall, I enjoyed the food and aburi but was hoping the salmon oshisushi would be similar to Minami’s. I would return knowing that I would get decent quality sushi, but probably wouldn’t bother ordering the oshisushi. I would recommend the regular aburi nigiri!
