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Posts Tagged ‘Macarons’

Cakes n Sweets Bakery – Hidden Gem for Afternoon Tea

Posted in Afternoon tea, Baked Goods, Bakery, Cafe, Coquitlam, Dessert, Joyce, Neighbourhood Gem, Restaurants, Tea, Tea House, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 6, 2016| Leave a Comment »

A couple of weeks ago I managed to steal a couple hours of free time from CC, so we went for afternoon tea at Cakes n Sweets. It’s a small bakery tucked in the corner of a strip mall in Coquitlam. It’s my second time for afternoon tea there; first time, I took Mama Lam and we quite enjoyed it.

Cakes n Sweets

Food

For $19.95 each person receives a selection of sandwiches, sweets, scones and a pot of tea.

High Tea at Cakes n Sweets

The Buttermilk Scones were freshly baked. The scones were flaky, slightly crumbly. They were still hot to the touch, so the devonshire cream kind of melted as I spread it on. (more…)

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My Shanti – A Taste of Vikram Vij in the Suburbs

Posted in Dessert, Dinner, Indian, Joyce, Meat, Oysters, Restaurants, Surrey, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 23, 2015| 2 Comments »

Believe it or not, to this day I still haven’t been to Vij’s. Yes, I know. The closest thing was Vij’s Railway Express, the food truck. So when My Shanti was opened last year in South Surrey, it presented the perfect opportunity for me to get one step closer to Vij’s. We invited WK and MS to join us on a double date.

Dinner at My Shanti

Food

Going to an Indian restaurant, it’s hard for Mr. to not order a Mango Lassi. So he did. It’s relatively light for a mango lassi, not overwhelmingly thick. There were lots of acidity from the yogurt but just a hint of sweetness from the mango puree. It tasted natural and Mr. liked it.

Mango Lassi

I ordered the Shaam Masti, a very fruit-forward cocktail. It reminded me of a mojito, refreshing but a bit more tart from the use of citrus juice and blueberry jam. I quite enjoyed it.

Shaam Masti

We shared a couple of appetizers to start. First, Chhatra Sagar’s Wild Boar Kebabs were nicely charred, well seasoned with a good mix of herbs and spices. To WK and MS it was a bit dry, but knowing that wild boar is leaner than pork I thought they were tasty with just the right amount of juiciness. The accompanying chutney offered some sweetness and tartness that worked well with the sausage-like kebabs.

Chhatra Sagar’s wild boar kebabs

We’ve had pakoras before, but never oyster ones. Here the Goan Oyster Pakoras were an excellent deal!
(more…)

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Brunch Crawl Kitsilano [Dine Out Vancouver 2015]

Posted in Asian, Brunch, Cafe, Coffee, Culinary Events, Dine Out Vancouver, Italian, Joyce, Juice Bar, Neighbourhood Gem, Pizza, Pub, Vancouver, Vietnamese, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 20, 2015| Leave a Comment »

During Dine Out time, there are a number of culinary events happening in the same two-week period, including the Brunch Crawl series put on by Vancouver Foodster. It’s similar to his series of Tasting Plates, except it happens on a weekend morning, perfect timing for brunch.

We were invited to check out the Kitsilano edition this past weekend. In 4 hours, we visited 6 restaurants in the neighbourhood:

  • Darby’s Public House
  • Krokodile Pear
  • Linh Cafe
  • Momento Coffee
  • Novo Pizzeria
  • Rain or Shine Ice Cream

Food

The event started at Novo Pizzeria where we were served a trio including Arugula and Blood Orange Salad, Novo Breakfast Pizza & a Sicilian Canoli. Pizzas at Novo have always been great – this one was no exception, especially with the use of a sous vide quail egg on each slice. The canoli was light and flaky, with nutty flavour from the pistachios and citrus fragrant note from the orange blossom water and citrus essence.

Novo Breakfast Pizza, Arugula & Blood Orange Salad and Canoli

Next, we beat the football fans and made our way to Darby’s Public House, a popular pub in the neighbourhood. They served a generous portion of their brunch items: Half an Eggs Benedict, Hangover Hash and Mini Huevos Rancheros. The poached eggs were perfectly cooked, with runny yolks bringing everything together. Although I’m not particularly interested in Mexican food, I found myself enjoying the Huevos Rancheros with the subtle heat in the jalapeno ginger sauce. A fried egg would have worked well but poached egg was just fine.

Eggs Benedict, Hangover Hash & Huevos Rancheros

Then, a coffee stop at Momento Coffee. (more…)

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Faubourg Bakery

Posted in Cafe, Chocolate, Dessert, Joyce, Restaurants, Vancouver, tagged , , , , , , , on June 24, 2013| 1 Comment »

Given that I live in the suburb, honestly Kerrisdale is just a bit too far for me. But a few weeks ago, I was invited to swing by Faubourg for a tour – that’s a great reason to bring me to the neighbourhood!

Faubourg Kerrisdale

Faubourg Kerrisdale

The Kerrisdale location is quite nice. Not only there is space for your coffee date, there’s also a bistro section for a more substantial breakfast, brunch/lunch, or afternoon tea. Unlike most afternoon tea places where they only serve one menu, Faubourg actually offers two menus with the cheaper option at only $17.90 per person.

Bistro @ Faubourg

Bistro @ Faubourg

The kitchen was only steps away from the bistro, and it’s amazing how much can be produced out of this tiny space. There’s almost always someone working in the kitchen, since they bake fresh bread throughout the day to make sure customers are not getting stale bread at 6:30pm in the evening. Then they would take advantage of the evening to make other items such as cakes and macarons – very efficient use of time and space.

Kitchen @ Faubourg

Kitchen @ Faubourg

Food

Of course, I wouldn’t leave Faubourg without trying its goodies. (more…)

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Mother’s Day Brunch at Hawksworth Restaurant

Posted in Brunch, Fine dining, Joyce, Lunch, Restaurants, Special Occasion, Vancouver, West Coast, tagged , , , , , , , on May 14, 2012| 2 Comments »

For Mother’s Day, my plan was to take Mama Lam out for brunch. After much hinting, I made reservations at Hawksworth Restaurant at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia. Winner of many restaurant awards since its opening, we have been wanting to try the restaurant for a few times so finally we made it happen.

Brunch at Hawksworth Restaurant

Brunch at Hawksworth Restaurant

Food

Walk-in wine cellar

Walk-in wine cellar

Hawksworth didn’t offer a special brunch menu for Mother’s Day. We simply ordered from its regular menu. Despite two lobster dishes were featured, Mama Lam opted for the Dungeness Crab Benedict, which comes with hash browns and tomato jam. Compared to the Crab Benedict I had at the Wildflower Grill, this one was a bit underwhelming. It was pretty good for a traditional benny, with eggs poached just right and a good amount of crab meat – just not in a pile like it did in Lincoln City nor was it on a crispy thick toast (Gee I missed the little town already). Mama Lam actually picked out a big piece of cartilage out of the claw meat, which is hard to avoid since they wanted to keep the entire claw intact. The hash browns were okay, crispy skin with sea salt sprinkled on the outside. The tomato jam was not bad but I wish there was more, and more tart. Hash browns are still better with ketchup.

Dungeness Crab Benedict

Dungeness Crab Benedict – arugula, hollandaise sauce, hash browns and tomato jam

I surprised myself by ordering a sweet item. As you know I’m a sucker for brioche so my eyes just set on the Brioche French Toast as I scanned the menu. (more…)

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