Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

My friend surprised me by taking me out for lunch and he randomly picked Lunch Lady -- apparently a place with quite the interesting story of being discovered by TV in Vietnam. We were in there about half an hour after it opened and it was pretty packed. Parking isn't that easy to find either. I'm supposed to avoid shellfish, so I missed out on the daily special soup noodles and went with a server recommendation for a no-shellfish lunch. I could have gone with a vegan option but it seemed every other word was tofu so I went with their version of ham-and-eggs. Even though it had beef and I'm supposed to avoid red meat too... Extra fries for $4? Extra bread for $3? This place is not cheap. BÒ NÉ ($18) Marinated filet of beef, 2 fried free range eggs, sautéed onions, house-made pâté, laughing cow cheese, french fries on a sizzling skillet, bánh mì. Extra Bánh mì +$3, extra Fries +$4 Basic and satisfying. Nothing too fancy here but things don't have to be fancy to be de...

Due to Covid I hadn't gone out at all, until my friend invited me to try Disco Cheetah -- her treat too since it was for my birthday, which was a lovely surprise! Which also means I didn't pay for the food but then neither did the restaurant so I guess it's all good. We were curious about the various things so ended up getting the "Disco Cheetah Sampler" which sounds like it has a lot of stuff, but really it's two things -- deep fried chicken and falafel. The rest is filler text. I'm really tempted to fail them outright because they tried to advertise "scallion" as a significant component of the sampler plate. And no, it wasn't a significant component of the sampler plate. Disco Cheetah Sampler ($29.99) fried chicken bites x5 pieces, whole chicken wings x3 pieces, falafel bites x5 pieces, fries, dipping sauces Also comes with a selection if dipping sauces and some pickled red radish. I'll allow a mention of the dipping sauces since th...

Unfortunately this will be another "what not to order" type review -- which of course comes with the caveat that every restaurant will probably have a flop and you should not consider it indicative of the rest of the menu. Just be wary of ordering this particular thing. Sriracha Lime Chicken Wrap ($10 on lunch specials menu; comes with simple salad or fries, or salad upgrade) First of all sriracha to me means spicy. The "spiciness" here is a very faint buzz in the mouth. Where's my lime? Didn't really detect anything lime-flavoured. Maybe it was in the sauce (?) which was suspiciously like some kind of creamy salad dressing you can get in the supermarket. Ranch maybe? Chopped up chicken -- not technically bad, but it does make it hard to estimate just how much chicken you are getting. I did open up one half the wrap so you can look at the picture and decide for yourself. We specifically asked that the fries be crispy, and they delivered. Really, really, ...

Yelp organized a take-out tasting for Lee's Donuts at the Granville Island Market, and I was lucky to be chosen. We got two donuts free, and I purchased two additional ones. At $2.50 you are basically going to Lee's Donuts for a treat or if you care about having a superior donut experience. If you're on a budget, that $2.50 is worth five or more large bagels from Superstore or Walmart. Plus a coffee and you're looking at a $5 "breakfast" which won't even be all that filling. From the four I got, there are two types of donuts that I'm gonna call Breadlike and Cakelike to help you remember the difference. The Breadlike ones are yeast donuts . Very delicate on the outside, and just being grabbed to put in a take out doggy bag will probably crush the exterior (which totally happened to mine). If you need a bunch of donuts that have to be halfway presentable, don't get these. They are very light and airy, and if you dip them in coffee they taste li...