vegetarian/vegan Archives - Page 2 of 5

Earnest Ice Cream – Revisit

March 1, 2019 Leave a Comment

In Vancouver, it seems like the two most popular ice cream places are Earnest, and Rain or Shine. Both are great choices and worth the hype. It’s been almost 4 years since my last post on Earnest Ice Cream, so I thought I would write a revisit post!

Although it was a cold February night, that did not stop the boyfriend and I from getting our ice cream fix. We were thinking of checking out Roosters but they were closed already, so we drove up Fraser and came to Earnest a few minutes later.

There is free street parking in this area but you may have to drive around the block a few times to find it.

We were surprised to see that the store was relatively full for a cold evening and 15 minutes before closing! I guess you can’t stop Vancouverites from getting their Earnest fix.

Here were the flavours of the night, they rotate daily. I was happy to see that they offered more than 1 vegan option – they had a whopping five! The vegan chocolate is a staple, but I haven’t seen the other flavours during my past visits.

Cookies and cream: The boyfriend went with a single scoop in a cup. It was delicious, creamy, and full of dairy goodness. He loved how it was loaded with cookie chunks too!

Vegan peanut butter chocolate pretzel: I’m not a crazy peanut butter lover, I’ll have some if it’s around… which was surprising that I purposely picked a peanut butter flavour! Who am I?? But it was just that good.

It reminded me of the filling inside a Reese peanut butter cup. There was also generous chunks of dark chocolate chips, and soft pretzels. The pretzels were a bit mushy inside, but I did enjoy biting into the dark chocolate. It kept the cone exciting and there was so many chunks!

I was happy to hear that the waffle cone was vegan/dairy free, so I jumped at the chance to have it. No regrets, the waffle cone was delicious as well.

We both left very satisfied with our ice cream craving. If you asked me, I would pick Earnest over Rain or Shine. Even before when I was able to have dairy, I still preferred Earnest (the salted caramel is so good!).

Location wise, I like the Earnest by Olympic Village/Main Street more because it is more spacious but the ice cream and service is the same so it’s not that big of a deal.

Pho 99 Noodle House (Renfrew location)

February 26, 2019 Leave a Comment

Our chiropractor is located at the Broadway Tech Center, right next to Pho 99. After a chiropractor session, the boyfriend and I decided to go check out Pho 99 next door for dinner, which is a chain restaurant with a few other locations around Vancouver.

This was one of the rare times where we didn’t look up reviews prior to visiting… I’m kind of glad we didn’t though because it was a measly 2 stars on Yelp! I was a bit surprised, but then again, the pho was not that good (the other dish was good).

Walking in, the restaurant was quite spacious and modern! I was quite surprised, but I guess I shouldn’t be since they cater to business people at Broadway Tech.

I would imagine that it gets quite busy here during the weekday lunch rush, because there aren’t many restaurants in this area! When we came in the evening, it was nice and quiet, only a few tables were occupied.

The booth seating along the wall also offers chargers for laptops. I assume that is because they are located in a big office complex, so it is probably a convenient and thoughtful touch for their customers.

A nicely designed menu! They also have a few vegan dishes too.

Pho, build your own: I went with the build your own pho! You choose the broth (beef, chicken, seafood, or spicy/sour), noodles (rice or egg), and 3 toppings (steak, flank, brisket, chicken, beef ball, tripe, tendon, veggies) – I bolded what I picked.

When the bowl first came to my table, I was a bit disappointed because it looked small. However, it was jam packed with noodles – it probably could have used a bigger bowl!

Taste-wise, it was alright, slightly bland. It seemed oily but I didn’t get a stomachache afterwards. There was a good amount of steak and tripe, but 3 half cut beef balls (making it 1.5 of a whole beef ball).

Noodles, build your own: The boyfriend took advantage of the DIY set too! It’s not often that Vietnamese places offer this! You choose the starch (vermicelli noodles or rice), and 2 toppings (chicken, beef, pork, prawn, or 2 spring rolls).

He went with the beef and spring rolls! The beef was super good, and probably the highlight of our meal. Instead of the usual lemongrass beef, it tasted like beef luc lac – the perfect amount of savoury and sweet, with a hint of lemongrass at the end.

The portion was also pretty big, which was a plus for me because I kept eating the beef!

The vermicelli also came with the usual fish sauce and side salad. The salad seems like it would contain lettuce, etc but the bottom is actually just beansprouts.

Anyways, we were quite surprised at how much we enjoyed our visit. We came in here with average expectations, but the beef was really good. I also found out as we were paying, that they have bubble tea!

The place was also very clean and modern. Service was friendly and quick too. It wouldn’t be my first choice but if I was in the area or wanted some quick food after my chiropractor appointment next door, I would come back. I would also recommend the stir-fry beef instead of their pho.

Baker and Table Cafe

February 23, 2019 Leave a Comment

Baker and Table Cafe has been on my radar ever since it opened two years ago. I always make a mental note to try it when we are in the Fraser St. area, but the restaurants we usually go to (Deer Garden or Angel) are sooo filling that I end up forgetting about going.

It’s no secret that the boyfriend and I love Japanese food and culture. Despite going to Tokyo only 3 months ago, we miss Japan a lot and can’t wait to go back! To get our Japanese grocery fix, we go to Fujiya often.

On one of our grocery trips, I noticed Fujiya carried some mochi melonpan from Baker and Table (weekends only)! I took my chance and bought all 4 buns that they offered. My stomach was not happy with me but sometimes I want to try new things.

A melonpan is a type of Japanese bun. There isn’t any melon in it per se, the name originated from how the bun looks like a melon. Pan is the Japanese word for bread.

These are the four melonpans that we bought! The flavours that day were matcha white chocolate, black sesame, London smog chocolate, and matcha red bean.

Matcha white chocolate melonpan: The matcha flavour was pure, strong and earthy. It reminded me of matcha treats in Japan, because they do not sweeten their matcha as heavily as in North America (I’m looking at you, Starbucks).

After a few bites, we were greeted with the chewy mochi! It was delicious. Although there wasn’t much white chocolate taste, it was still a delicious bun.

Black sesame melonpan: Next up was the black sesame! The first few bites didn’t have much sesame flavour, but once we got to the center of the bun, there was a lot of black sesame paste.

As with all of them, the texture was fluffy and soft. So delicious!

Matcha red bean melonpan: Compared to the matcha white chocolate melonpan above, the red bean one was a lot neater to eat. I let him eat all of this because of my digestive issues.

This is one of the boyfriend’s favourite combinations, and he quite enjoyed it.

London smog chocolate melonpan: Last but not least! I also let the boyfriend eat all of this because of my stomach problems. I was surprised that he enjoyed this one the most, I thought surely he would have loved the red bean matcha most!

The reason why he liked this one the most was because it was the sweetest. This is probably the most ‘Western’ one of them all because of how sweet it is!

All in all, we enjoyed all the melonpan that we bought that day. I didn’t eat as much as I would have wanted due to my digestive issues, but I did enjoy the bites I had (and surely suffered after lol).

Time to go check out their actual cafe and try more things! They also offer lunch and dinner things too. Another cool thing about Baker and Table is that they are a peanut free facility, for those with peanut allergies.

Now, they just need to add some non-dairy versions so I can enjoy more of their pastries! They have a vegan waffle which I would love to try!

Food: Nuba – Mount Pleasant Location

December 3, 2017 Leave a Comment

It was Avocado’s birthday, so I told her to pick a restaurant to go to! She suggested Nuba, which sounded good to me! I came here once before three years ago, but to the Gastown location. This visit, we went to the Olympic Village location because it was easier to find parking in this area.

Although I did say above that this was their Olympic Village location, I guess I should clarify and correct myself because this Nuba location isn’t actually in Olympic Village. It is located on the outskirts of Olympic Village, a block away from Earnest and by Main Street.

Walking in, the decor at this location was very geometric, colourful and had sort of a 70s but modern twist to it. I quite enjoyed the decor here and the restaurant was pretty comfortable. Towards the end of our dinner when the sun had set, they dimmed the lights and gave each table a candle!
Garden falafel,$9: The falafel was a blend of chickpeas, fava beans, veggies, and spices. It was quite delicious, flavourful and savoury. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve tried falafel before but I was certainly impressed with this one.

It also came with a refreshing side of hummus, which we put inside the complementary pita bread. The green sauce on the side was also tasty and spicy.
Chicken tawook with hummus, $12: Oh man, this was absolutely delicious! The chicken was incredibly juicy, fragrant and bursting with flavour. There was a nice grilled taste to it as well. Adding the vegan tzatziki sauce on the side and hummus, I would order this again in a heartbeat!

Also, we didn’t even know that the tzatziki sauce was vegan until the waitress told us… we definitely thought it was made out of yogurt or sour cream. How amazing!!!
Chocolate quinoa cake with Earnest cardamom ice cream, $8: I suggested walking over to Earnest Ice Cream afterwards, but Avocado was not feeling it. But, we decided on trying the chocolate quinoa cake which came with a side of cardamom ice cream from Earnest! So, I did get my Earnest fix after all.

The cardamom ice cream was unlike any flavour of ice cream I’ve tried before. It was very unique but I really enjoyed it, and would get a scoop of this next time I go to Earnest! It has a subtle, nutty flavour to it. So yummy.

The chocolate quinoa cake was a bit too dry and crumbly for my liking. It wasn’t moist enough and since the texture was different due to the quinoa.

Overall, we enjoyed our visit and the food was delicious! The only bad thing is that portions are a bit small, which I remembered from last time. So don’t come completely starving!

Yay!

(Also, if you’re wondering/shocked why I had dairy *gasp*, I’ve been trying to incorporate a small amount into my diet to hopefully be able to eat it full on again. For those who are new here and wondering why this is shocking, it’s because I basically cut out all dairy two years ago due to stomach and digestive problems.)

Indigo Age Cafe – High Tea

July 22, 2017 3 Comments

Sangria found a Groupon for vegan high tea!

I’ve only had high tea once at Neverland Tea Salon, back when I was free to eat all the dairy I pleased. I enjoyed it and I see why high tea is appealing, as it is a cute, fun, and social activity. However, I don’t think I would personally pay more than $30 per person for high tea… which means I won’t get to try the other upscale high tea places. That’s fine with me though, because I don’t have much of a sweet tooth anyways! I much prefer savoury items.

Indigo Age Cafe is a small and hidden cafe in downtown. If you aren’t deliberately looking for the place, chances are that you would have missed it.

It was a hot day that afternoon, so the cafe was a bit stuffy. However, it felt very cozy and welcoming with a woodsy/nature theme inside. We were greeted right away and told that they would prepare our high tea. It took quite awhile to prepare and we were getting impatient … maybe like 35-40 minutes since we sat down?

Anyways, we were very happy when the food finally arrived. We were told what each food item was, but I didn’t bother writing it down because it changes constantly depending on the day.

Instead, feast your eyes on the pictures!

Now the most important part… was it delicious? Yes! After going to Eternal Abundance a couple weeks before, I did not have high hopes for Indigo Age Cafe… but it was actually really good. Each item was carefully made with little details. We could see why we waited that long for our food.

There were some items that had an eclectic mix of different food but they actually went really well together!

All the veggies were fresh and crunchy too! I really liked the cucumber cup and would love to recreate it at home or for a picnic!

The stuffed mushroom with avocado paste was so good! Same with the stuffed tomato cup!

Last but not least, a close-up of the vegan desserts!

I would highly recommend the high tea with a Groupon. It is a nice place to go if you want to try something new and exciting.

Apart from high tea, they also serve vegan Ukranian dishes. Talk about unique!