Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

The latest free sample I received from SocialNature is Enerex Greens (Mixed Berries version) . Enerex has many products  with many different objectives; for their Greens, it is labelled as "For Increased Energy, Stamina & Vitality". There are two types of their "Greens" formula, and the one with Mixed Berries has some sweetness (using superfoods and Monk Fruit / Luo Han Guo ), probably to help make it more palatable since most people are not good with foods that are not either clearly sweet or savoury. Enerex has a video (embedded below) that summarizes what this product is, and how it differs from the competition. The product is considered gluten free at less than 20 parts per million gluten (see fine print on the bottom back of the package). Lots of (wasted) residue in the packet. The look and aroma is very much like Udo's Choice Beyond Greens , except there's a fruitiness to the smell and taste. The recommended 250 mL of wate...

With just ONE vegetarian main, it's hard to go veggie at Hoi An Cafe. Fortunately, the one dish you can order is pretty decent. It's a simple, bright place. The layout means it's hard to put a really big group of 10+ together at the same table without a lot of advance warning, so if you really have that big a group AND you insist they all sit together, request it specifically ahead of time. Overall, price for portion is good, good enough to be worth bonus points. Food presentation is also quite nice and taste is decent. I insisted on going veggie, so mine is not a typical food experience at Hoi An Cafe. #24 Hu tieu chay kho ($9.50) Combination vegetables (tofu and beansprouts) with thin rice noodle in soup or homemade special sauce. Pretty boring, EXCEPT that they have that wonderfully tasty fried garlic sprinkled all over it. Presentation also quite nice. Two options: Soup, or tossed in sauce. I got the latter. Be sure to mix it properly before eating as all ...

So today, a "funny" thing happened at White Spot (Park and Tilford) where I was supposed to meet a new friend for lunch at 11 AM. I was starting from Metrotown, and by transit it takes almost 1 hour according to Google . Here's how things went down: So this is why for a long time I didn't want a cellphone: If I didn't have one, I could have cut things off right at 11:15 AM (after giving 15 minutes grace for the typical Vancouver lateness) and did my thing (lunch) and left. Instead I get harassed by lame requests (to wait an hour!) and lame excuses and justifications. Plus, not even an apology. Of course I unfriended the loser.

White Spot's offerings for vegetarians are slim, but what they do have is actually really decent. It's a bit pricier than fast food burgers, but if you compare them, the extra bucks are well worth the extra quality. Plus all those free fries you get are very filling. I'd stumbled into trying various portobello burgers (at Meet in Gastown and a really nice one at Caliburger so far) so I was glad the veggie burger option at White Spot was also a portobello. Pot of "Premium" Tea ($3.25) Instead of asking what I wanted they suggested one. Not sure if this is the new trend as I experienced the same at a Starbucks recently. Sriracha Portobello Veggie Burger ($13.99) Our chargrilled veggie burger with Sriracha goat cheese, sauteed Portobello mushrooms, pickled onions, tomatoes, lettuce & mayo. Comes with Endless Fries and choice of Cesar Salad, The Spot's Salad, or Creamy Coleslaw) I do not remember being asked which side I wanted. Just came with t...

Got this in the mail today: The Muses Dinner Series Celebrate Picasso & His Muses Join us for  The Muses Dinner,  a series of tasting menus inspired by the six women who were all major influences in Picasso's personal life and art.  The Muses Dinner series is available during the course of  Picasso: The Artist and His Muses  exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery, from now until October 2. Each menu focusing on one muse and her influence on that period of Picasso’s work: 11 June to 29 June | Fernande Olivier | From the Rose Period to Cubism 30 June to 20 July | Olga Khokhlova | Neoclassisicm and Maternité 21 July to 10 August | Marie-Thérèse Walter | A Surrealist Affair 11 August to 31 August | Dora Maar | Love and War 1 September to 21 September | Françoise Gilot | Woman-Flower 22 September to 2 October | Jacqueline Roque | From Villa Californie to Mougins View The Muses Dinner menu for Fernande O...

Went veggie on Taco Tuesday at La Catrina ! I didn't look too hard at which options were vegan, but it is likely they would just remove the cheese for the most part. The Taco Tuesday offer is five (5) tacos plus choice of pop for $10 if all-veggie tacos, $11 if you have some meat tacos in there. Normally tacos are $3 each and sodas are also $3, so you're getting your meal for almost half price. Of their four regular veggie tacos, the only one that was curiously interesting and somewhat tasty was Papas Mexicanas (Mexican potatoes with drizzled cream and parsley). Everything else was so boring I needed hot sauce or pickles to liven them up. Overall taste was OK, especially considering I deliberately went veggie here, but vegetarians who aren't there for a deal on their meal should definitely consider eating elsewhere. That said, tacos everywhere do give you good bang for your buck with lots of fillings and it's no different here. In fact, if you are careful, you...

From the e-mail I got from Park Royal this morning: EVENTS & PROMOTIONS Win the Ultimate Dining Experience for Six at Milestones Park Royal ! Jun 21 - Jun 28 Milestones at Park Royal has now re-opened with one of the most unique  patios on the North Shore! To celebrate they want to host a three course dinner party for YOU and FIVE friends! You'll get to sample their amazing new menu accompanied by three bottles of select BC Wine. All you have to do is follow [Park Royal] on Instagram or Facebook and tell us who you would invite to your ultimate dinner party, living or non living, for a chance to win an epic summer get together at Park Royal. Who would we invite? Michael Jackson, Oprah, Justin Trudeau, Drake, and Emily Carr! TIP: Milestones restaurants award you SCENE points to redeem for free movie tickets !

I'd been to Ethiopian restaurants before, so what really intrigued me about  Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant  was the Buna Bejebena, or Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony . Cost is $25, and makes about 7-8 small cups of coffee. You can read from the wiki about the coffee ceremony, and in the restaurant there is a picture of the ceremony. The ceremony as done in Lalibela is, however, rather boring. They do bring a smoking pan of beans around the table, but really can't linger because of the smoke it generates. They aren't allowed to bring it out too long and in any case it might set off smoke detectors or just plain choke you in the confined space. Then the coffee is brewed in the traditional apparatus and poured into little cups. Concentrated black coffee taken straight (but if you need sugar they will provide). And that's it. The end. You can see the pictures I took and decide if the novelty is enough for you to spend about $3 per coffee shooter. We were a p...

The Pita Pit next to Uncle Fatih's at Commercial Drive Skytrain Station always looks empty when I'm going by, but not this past Wednesday evening before the Improv Against Humanity show at the Rio Theatre. That always made me hesitant to try it, but I was glad I did. Nice clean space inside, and a clean but "hidden" washroom -- ask the staff where it is. They probably keep it incognito to avoid a steady stream of non-paying customers coming to use it. The menu makes it really easy to get vegetarian and vegan options here. And if you think more veggies = healthy, then this place is a winner. TIP: Our order also came with a free $1-off coupon. It has two sizes: $1 off a smoothie, and $1 off a pita, and you can use both sides at the same time. This means I could repeat my order for a less-than-$10 lunch! Or, you can wait for your friend to order first and use their coupon... Spicy Black Bean Famous Pita ($6.99 Petita size, $8.49 Regular size) Vegan Choice o...