11.29.2015

Patisserie Fur Elise

Hey everyone!

The other day, my friend and I were planning to go high tea at the Shangrila Hotel but it was all fully booked so our next option was Patisserie Fur Elise. We were lucky enough that a table was cancelled last minute so we were able to get a table during that time slot. We were shocked how these high tea places get booked up so fast, so I highly recommend booking in advance before going. We parked our cars at the Pacific Centre Mall and skytrained down to Yaletown. From the Yaletown Skytrain station it took us around 8-10 mins to walk to Patisserie Fur Elise. It was a gorgeous day, so walking was not an issue. BUT after high teaing, we've noticed skytraining to Yaletown was actually not necessary and it would probably be faster if you walk from PC to here.

When we arrived, we thought the exterior was extremely cute. There were 4 of these "houses" in a row, none of them were used for residential purposes. All of them were commercial spaces and I thought it was just the cutest place for high tea.

When you first step in, on the right hand side is where you can buy their pastries/macarons for take out. They had such a cute display, I just wanted to buy everything there. On the left hand side were the stairs that led up to the second floor, which is where the high tea actually took place. They don't have much table, hence booking in advance is highly recommended.




These were the cutest pillows EVER! :)



11.25.2015

Earnest Ice Cream

Hey everyone,

So I know Winter is here and talking about Ice cream might be out of season right now but who cares what season it is, everyone eats ice cream almost ALL the time throughout the year. My first time eating Earnest Ice Cream was at Granville Island, when I stepped foot in to Edible Canada and bought myself my very own salted caramel pint. When i had my first bite then, I already knew it was absolutely my fave ice cream ever. I've tried multiple places in the flavor of salted caramel, but I've narrowed it down and Earnest Ice Cream is still my favorite. 

During the Summer, Phil & I actually visited Earnest Ice Creams store along Quebec Street. I've been so caught up in "stuff" that blogging about this place totally slipped out of my mind until... now ;P If you know me personally, you would know my absolutely favorite finishes/materials for interior/exteriors are brick, wood, marble. I love how this place has almost ALL of that. The whole exterior is made out of brick and I love how their signage and doors are a much more modern style and I actually really like the mixture of modern with vintage personality. 



11.22.2015

Ramen Jinya

Hey Everyone,

My buddy told me about this place when we drove by before, so we finally got around to trying it. With tons of ramen choices in downtown, this one is actually away from the main group of ramen restaurants at Robson and Denman. The wait outside didn't look too bad either for a Saturday afternoon, so we put our name down and waited. You write your own name on the waitlist right outside their door. 

After a not so long wait, we were seated inside by the centre oval "bar".





11.21.2015

Tojo's

Hey everyone,

If you guys read my blog on a frequent basis, you will know that I love sushi. I've heard many good things about Tojo's but the one thing that stopped me from going was the price. It's probably the most expensive sushi place I've dined at.  Every year, either my birthday or my bffs birthday, we will always treat each other out for some good food. This year around, I didn't want to bring her to the usual steak houses, therefore i decided to bring her to Tojos. Both of us have never been to Tojos before, so we were really stoked to see how good this place was. The restaurant is located on Broadway & Spruce. Majority is pay parking around the area, so I suggest car pooling to share meter parking.

The interior was very simple and clean. They have really high ceilings and it was very spacious. The seatings were all padded and covered in this nice royal blue exterior and it was very comfortable to sit on. When we got there, the place was pretty busy with most of the tables filled up, but the noise volume of the restaurant maintained on a quieter note. You really feel like your sitting in a high class restaurant. Me, being the only person holding on to a DSLR camera with the shutter constantly making sounds when I click to take a photo, majority of the tables turned around just to see what I'm doing... But that didn't stop me from taking some amazing photos during this dinner. The main chef, Hidekasu Tojo thought I worked for the media or something.. very funny man and he suggested next time around go sit at the bar so he can show us more and talk to us more about the food!

Cool fact: Apparently he's the man who created the California roll!



11.18.2015

Five Guys Burgers & Fries - Park Royal (Ambleside)

Hey Everyone,

So we've been to Five Guys several times already now, and we've been to the downtown location already in Vancouver, but that was a disappointment so we were hoping the Park Royal location would redeem the franchise with their Canadian locations.



11.15.2015

Gami Sushi

Hey everyone!

The other day when I went to work, one of my co-workers were raving about this sushi place located in Richmond called Gami Sushi. My co-worker is within the older range of age but still rather picky so I decided to trust his opinion and go try this place out. This sushi restaurant is located on No.3 & Williams and it's part of this huge plaza filled with other vendors, so finding a parking spot is not an issue. 

When I first stepped in, I was pretty impressed with the decor. Their interior design incorporated darker brick, wooden tables and really nice wall paneling with a good visual of the television too! By the time I got there, my bros already sat down, so I didn't have to wait or anything. 

I actually went a second time with Phil the other day during dinner hours and they require you to write down your name on this white board which is located on the left hand side when you first enter in to the restaurant. So if you are walking in, please don't forget to jot down your name, otherwise you might not be seated for a long time. This restaurant is small but they can still manage to sit approximately 40 people within the restaurant. They have 3-4 booth seating along the right hand side of the wall and the rest are just regular table seating. Also, during dinner hours they do get pretty busy so if you don't want to wait, you can always order take out. They offer a 10% discount if you order take out too!




11.11.2015

Claypot Hotpot & BBQ Restaurant

Hey everyone!

I went to Claypot yesterday with my family and it reminded me that I still didn't blog about my previous experience yet. I went to Claypot for the first time a few weeks ago and i LOVED it.

First off, I recommend booking a table before going because this place gets packed extremely fast, especially during cold Vancity days.

For parking, I recommend car pooling and drive a small vehicle. The parking lot is very small and the spots are very tight.

This place is an all you can eat hot pot restaurant and everyone over 12 years old costs $20.95, children 4-11 years old costs $14.95. They also have a 2 hour limit for the all you can eat. Below, I've included the order menu, so you guys have a clearer idea of what food they offer.





For drinks, they have three options: plum juice, coca cola, and sprite for $1.50 and it is all you can drink. I prefer drinking plum juice during hot pot because it doesn't have any fizz to bloat up my belly. But the rest of my fam ordered the sodas.


I really like this place because their hot pot is a three tiered tower. the top tier is for steaming (recommend steaming some siu mah, if you like the ones from night market), second tier is to bbq and the bottom is of course for the actual hot pot. The bottom tier has a two way split, so you can have two different soup bases.



11.08.2015

Dragon View Restaurant

Happy Sunday everyone!

On sundays, we like to go either dim sum or out for brunch and today I'm going to talk about one dim sum place that I like. I've only been to Dragon View once with my family, which was a few weeks back. My dad heard many good things about this place therefore I decided to go check it out with my family. We usually go to Fishermen Terrace, Golden Harvest...and a few more from here and there but those two is our usual places.

Dragon View Restaurant is located on the second floor in the continental plaza in Richmond. I've been here for dinner a long time ago with my previous work company but I never came here for dim sum before. They have an elevator and stairs to go to the second floor. Most people just walk up because it just ends up faster than using the elevator. I recommend calling in before you go because this place gets packed super fast. Make sure you have reservations before going, otherwise you may have to wait for a long ass time.

At the "bar/cashier" desk near the front was fully decorated with hello kitty decor. Seems like the boss lady has a major obsession with hello kitty.








11.06.2015

Food Court Corner - Sun Century Cafe

Hey Everyone,

Jess and I went to Yaohan recently to have dinner, and while walking through the food court, one particular stall caught our eye, and it was Sun Century Cafe.






11.03.2015

Food Court Corner - OPA! - Richmond Centre

Hey Everyone,

My colleagues and I frequent food courts often when lunching during the week, so I thought I'd do some posts about the places we usually go. 

So one of the places at Richmond Centre that I order from often is OPA! I enjoy Greek food from time to time, and even though it's food court food, I like OPA!'s food. I usually order their pita wrap, but I have recently been getting the OPA! Platter $9.79.


11.02.2015

Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co.

Hey everyone!

Last week, Phil & I went to Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co. for the first time. We heard many great things about their handmade fresh pizzas and we were delighted that we finally had the chance to go try it out! They have two locations in Vancouver, one located in Kits and the one we went to is located on Main Street.  Their exterior front was decorated in halloween decor and their exterior front just gave off a sense of coziness to the place. Definitely a great place to hang out and enjoy a freshly made pizza on a cold, rainy day.

The waitress told us they host holiday parties, so if you were ever thinking of having a party and want to make your own pizza, this is the place. They allow you to make your own pizza hands on. It's fun, interactive and it's also a very cool experience!

The interior has warm, orangey walls, wooden tables & chairs & their light fixtures give off a warm lighting that makes you feel extremely warm and cozy.