healthy eating Archives - Page 2 of 3

Chez Meme Baguette Bistro, N. Burnaby

April 24, 2014

I have came here a few times already, but haven’t had the chance to blog about it since I only started my site three months ago! Chez Meme is a cute little locally owned French cafe along Hastings Street.

Once in awhile, they will open on weekends, which you can check on their menu board in store but otherwise, they are only open weekday morning & afternoons.
We got there at 11am, where there were still a few seats open. I figured that because it was a rainy day, it wasn’t as busy as I expected it to be, but I’m glad that we made the reservation anyways.

After 15 minutes, a line started to form, so now I know what time is the best to go if I want to avoid the line up. As you can tell, the place is pretty small but it is also owned by a husband and wife team.

Here is one side of the menu, with all their delicious baguettes! They are well known for the baguettes, so it was obvious what my choice was. Being a French cafe, they also have an extensive wine and espresso drink menu which is posted on their wall.
After coming here many times, I had my heart set on the nordique baquette! The nordique baguette consisted of smoked salmon, cream cheese, dill, and onion. It was the perfect combination.

Their baguettes were light and chewy, which complimented the heaviness of the cream cheese. Even then, there was a perfect amount of cream cheese to go with the smoked salmon. The dill and onion accentuated the flavours of the salmon and cream cheese, making everything in the baguette flourish.

For my choice of sides, I chose their soup because they always have really good soup. Today was the zucchini and basil soup, which tasted really flavourful. It had a puree texture to it. I enjoyed my dish very much, and have no complaints about it.
The boyfriend chose the cordon bleu baguette, which consisted of black forest ham, chicken, emmenthal (type of cheese), and a dijon mustard sauce for dipping. The chicken was wrapped inside the ham, which was slightly grilled making some parts of the ham crispy and delicious. We both agreed that the dijon mustard was very overpowering. It almost tasted like wasabi!

There was a generous amount of fries, but they didn’t taste that great and were really oily. He regretted not ordering the soup, because mine was delicious. We both agreed that we are getting soup as a side next time we come here.

The only thing disappointing was the fries but that is easily overlooked when you take into account their other items. Even though there was only one server (the co-owner), she was very attentive and friendly.

She also speaks to you in French at times, which adds to the overall experience of a French bistro. Looking over at other table’s dishes also looked very delicious as well, I would love to try another item on their menu when I come back here!

-Carmen

Tractor Foods

April 14, 2014

My friend and I noticed Tractor Foods while shopping along West 4th one afternoon, and seeing we both felt like having a light meal, we decided to try it out.

As you can tell, their design is very simplistic. We didn’t even realize that Tractor was a restaurant until we crossed the street and took a closer look. When we first walked in, we were overwhelmed with how modern and nice everything looked. (Picture from 604now.com)
You will first see the salads, and other sides, like soup, that they offer. Tractor makes their food in small portions, so that everything is as fresh as possible.

All their salads looked really appetizing, and we both had a hard time choosing which one to get! I love my dark green veggies, and there was such a plethora of them here that I had to select from! Once you pick the side you want, you will then proceed to the sandwich/main course of your choice.
Since we only wanted a light meal, my friend and I settled on getting half a sandwich, with a choice of side. I ordered their grilled chicken sandwich, which came with tomato, basil, and provolone on cranberry bread.

For my salad, I ordered one of their kale salads, which came with potatoes. I absolutely loved my meal, everything was perfect about it. Everything tasted so fresh, from the crunchy kale to the cranberry bread. It was also very light and refreshing too, which was exactly what I wanted on a nice, sunny day.

The portion was perfect and I left feeling satisfied.
My friend ordered their vegetable sandwich, with an addition of grilled chicken like mine. Her side was the tomato salad with basil and bocconcini.

The bocconcini had an elastic texture to it, and had a light taste which complemented the stronger tasting, and more acidic tomatoes. The tomatoes were also very juicy as you can see in this picture! She enjoyed her dish as well!

Overall, Tractor is a great place to go for a light meal if you’re in the neighbourhood. I noticed on their site that they changed parts of the menu since the last time I went (they have different salads now) so I will come here again when I’m in the neighbourhood!

-Carmen

Trees Organic Coffee House

April 8, 2014

While walking through Gastown one sunny afternoon after class, my classmates and I noticed this cute little coffee shop in one of the heritage, brick Gastown buildings.

We decided to pop in to talk about our class project. Originally, I wasn’t planning on getting any pastries, but I was sold after seeing their pastry case. We ended up sitting at a table near the window, where the window shelves were made into a seat, filled with pillows!

Here is the till, there was also self serve lemon water on the side. The workers were also really friendly and attentive, gladly answering questions that I had about their pastries.
The selection of sugary, fattening, and indulgent goodness. From what I saw in the case, I would assume that their specialty is the cheesecake.

They also had some small paninis and lunch items on the top two shelves. Curious to see which pastry I got?! Well, after debating for a bit.. I decided on getting…
The vegan banana oat power bar $3! Okay, to some of you, that might sound really gross since it’s so healthy. But I was really curious to try it because I didn’t feel like indulging in a cheesecake or brownie that day, and I love bananas!

I asked for them to warm it up, which they put in the microwave. This bar was decent- there were a LOT of seeds in it. The worker told me that this bar was made out of banana puree, seeds, nuts, and oats. At one point, I started feeling like a bird because it was so seedy. Apart from the seedie-ness, I enjoyed the taste of the bar. It was very filling and guilt-free.
Apart from the bird-seed loaf (Haha, just kidding it was actually pretty good), I ordered an americano. I forgot the price but it was around $3? The espresso was smooth, and not that bitter.

All in all, I enjoyed my quick visit to Trees. The only negative thing would be the sketchy washroom which was located in the basement. You had to walk through this sketchy hallway to the elevator, and once you arrived, it was very quiet and dingy. The washroom was shared by other merchants in that building. There was a funky smell to it as well. Apart from the washrooms, I would definitely come here again if I was studying in this area (but who wants to study in Gastown when there are so many local clothing stores?!).

-Carmen

Trilussa Pizza & Pane

March 1, 2014

While browsing on Urbanspoon, I came across Trilussa Pizza & Pane. I knew I had to visit this place due to it’s 97% rating and 271 (and counting!) votes! And boy, am I glad I discovered this place!

Their pizza dough is made fresh everyday with quality ingredients. Luckily enough, I made a reservation just in case it would be busy. To our shock, when we arrived, they were completelyout of pizza dough and actually saved us the last two pieces of dough! I’m pretty sure they only stayed open to serve us, or they could have just used their dough and close early, but nope, they actually waited for us!

Talk about great service. Although it was our first time here, the workers made us feel right at home and made conversation with us while we enjoyed their fresh, and authentic Roman pizza. I felt as if we were regulars here and had a really great experience.

The exterior of the restaurant doesn’t really stand out from the rest of the numerous restaurants along Main Street. Half my childhood was spent around the Little Riley/Main Street area and I was really shocked I’ve never noticed this place until I came in. Right away, we noticed a cute little handwritten sign that apologized to customers that there was no more dough. When we walked in, they knew my name right away and said, “Carmennnn! Hey!” like I was a old pal.

The interior of Trilussa is very cozy and warm. On one end they have the pizza bar, espresso machine, and till, and the other side consists of the booths. There were little coat hangers on each booth which was a nice and convenient detail to this place. Trilussa is pretty small, but very comfortable.
You can see the oven in the back that is used to cook each order individually, which adds to the freshness. Normally, the area with the glass pane would be lined up with pizza waiting to be cooked (if they had dough left!).

We patiently sat, with our tummies rumbling while the oven brought the anticipated pizza to life. Overall, it took about 8 minutes for our pizzas to be done cooking. They only have two ovens, so I wonder how they manage when it gets busy! I would imagine that there are really long wait times during peak.
Behold! Our pizza! It came on a pretty long wooden paddle, I wonder how many unfortunate people have had their pizzas knocked off the table by other customers. We ordered the Milano (prosciutto cotto & mozzarella) and Garbatella (sausage & mozzarella).

I fell in love at first bite. The crust was thin and very crunchy on the outside, but soft and chewy inside. The mozzarella was very stringy and rich. The pizza had a bit of oil on it which didn’t really bother me, because I knew from their sign (scroll up) that it was extra virgin olive oil. This was enough for two people and we left extremely full and happy.
Here is the closeup of the Milano. You could have more toppings but we opted for mushrooms only. I wished that there was a bit more proscuitto, but the freshness and quality of their ingredients make up for it (quality over quantity!). I preferred this dish over the Garbetella because it had more meat on it.
Here is the Garbetella. Again, I wished that this had more sausage pieces on it. However, you can see the generous portion of stringy, melted cheese.

After doing some background research, I found out that the owner of Trilussa was born and raised in Rome, Italy which explains why the pizza tastes as lovely and authentic as it does. Normally, I would that really bloated and gross feeling after eating pizza, but due to the freshness of their ingredients, I felt great! I would love to come back to Trilussa, so glad I discovered this little gem.

-Carmen

Suika – Japanese izakaya & tapa bar

February 26, 2014

Hi everyone!

Hands down, Suika is my absolute favourite place to go in this city for Japanese tapas. I love that Suika is super authentic, has amazing quality & preparation, great service, and a lovely atmosphere. I have a positive dining experience every time I come here, and this time was no different.

Back in December, Suika was offering a 10 course (plus dessert, so eleven) set meal for $25 a person. When I saw this offer, I immediately jumped on it and asked three other friends to come with me, since they suggested a party of four.

Without the set course menu, we calculated that each person would have had to pay at least $50 each, so it was definitely an amazing opportunity to enjoy some authentic Japanese food without breaking the bank.

Each plate of food comes with inclusions that complement each other really well, I don’t know how they come up with these recipes but I am truly in awe with how everything is perfectly prepared here.
I love this sake bottle chandelier! It looms above the restaurant, making this restaurant so unique.Little details like this go noticed and appreciated.
3 kinds of appetizer – I believe it was taro, kimchi tofu, and vegetables. At first, we all thought the tomato was salmon which was disappointing, but oh well! Can’t really complain when you’re already getting a good deal. I enjoyed the taro root dish most, it was really flavourful and crunchy.
Beef tataki- super fresh, and well seasoned! The veggies on top, lemon, and horseradish really brought out the flavours and sauces of the dish.
Sashimi salad- This was SO GOOD. Everything was mixed perfectly and complemented each other so well. There were also some tobiko in it, to add some flair and crunch. We cleaned off every piece of green on this plate, that was how delicious it was.
Chicken karaage- This dish was too oily for me, so I avoided it. My friends thought that this dish was pretty oily too, so they used a napkin to dab some oil off. It came with a small bowl of dipping salt. (Pic taken by my friend)
This was some sort of salad, I can’t remember exactly the name of it. I just remember it was very delicious. (Pic taken by my friend)Ebi mayo- delicious! The mayo wasn’t too rich, from what I remember it was also a bit sweet. Lightly fried and well seasoned. We wished there was more because it was sooo good!
Salmon battera- Essentially their take on a regular salmon roll. From what I remember, the salmon was lightly flamed, giving it a smoky flavour. Salmon was also very juicy, the rice was soft, and the vegetables complemented the flavours perfectly.
Kimchi yaki udon – The noodles were cooked very well- very soft and chewy. Although I’m not a big fan of kimchi, I really enjoyed this dish due to the sauce they add on the noodles, plus the fresh onion they add on top.
Beef short rib- THIS WAS SO GOOD. It was marinated in some kind of BBQ sauce. Heaven in every bite. It was extremely soft, tender, and juicy. I’m pretty sure we had a hard time trying to share this dish as we all wanted it to ourselves 🙂
Kakuni bibimbap. We forgot to take a picture of this, so I got it off their website. We really enjoyed this rice dish cooked in a stone bowl, there was a lot of tender and juicy meat inside. There was a really rich and aromatic flavour to this.
Matcha creme brulee for dessert! Hands down, my favourite dessert ever. This even beats out cheesecake. It is a slice of matcha ice cream, but frozen enough so that you have to kind of cut into it with your spoon. The crunchy part is caramelized sugar, with a side of fresh whip and a slice of strawberry. (Pic taken by my friend)

Needless to say, we all left very full and satisfied, I was left with an extremely joyous feeling in my tummy. If you’re planning on coming to Suika on a weekend, you should make a reservation or you’re going to be waiting awhile. I’ve tried coming here without one, and they usually ask you to be done within a certain time because they need to prepare for a reservation.

Service here is really friendly and accommodating, servers are really knowledgeable about the dishes. I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it! Suika, if you’re reading this, sponsor me!!! (Joking… maybe #whynot )

Thanks for reading!