Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

When this food truck is open for business their sign is obscured so you may not know they are the  San Juan Family Farm Food Truck . I would have just walked by them at the  Shipyards Night Market  in my search for vegan eats if I hadn't seen their intriguing sign advertising a Bolivian masala. It's not like you see Bolivian food that often. Anyway, no idea if its "authentic" Bolivian food, but it turned out pretty tasty. Organic Bolivian Coconut Masala Plate ($10 for veggie vegan)  comes with coconut rice, red quinoa, red pepper, corn, peas, spinach, red cabbage, garden herbs Sign says $10 but when I paid for VISA it was $10.25. Hmm... $10 seemed a bit steep for quantity, BUT the price point was generally high at all the food trucks, so can't complain much here. Quantity in comparison with other rice dishes available seemed fair. Bonus points for pretty presentation. Bonus points for composition! Very nicely thought out with rice spread out evenly ...

Turns out looking for vegan eats at the Shipyards Night Market is pretty easy, with many vendors offering at least one such itemon their menu. Johnny's Pops caught my eye because of it, and because the popsicle I tried had intriguing ingredients. The strawberry basil balsamic popsicle ($3.50 or 3 for $10) has intense real strawberry flavour (like eating real strawberries, including a slightly slimy real-pulp texture, but quite sour) with noticeable hints of basil and balsamic to make the flavour less predictable and more intriguing. Overall, interesting to try but for me (personal preference) the sourness was somewhat off-putting. I do normally like sour desserts to end dinner on a lighter note but in a citrusy way.

Went to Church's Chicken at their new 24-hour location in Burnaby, at 6591 Kingsway. If you're driving, it's pretty easy to just zoom by because it's recessed from the main street and at a gas station. Watch for the sidewalk banners. Really the only reason I went was the coupons that came in the mail, which included buy-one-get-one for their Spicy Chicken Burger, and a $2 deal on their new Salsa Fries. TIP: Senior's Day on Tuesdays! 20% off select order types. Spicy Thigh  Burger ($5.76) OK for a fast food burger. Looks horrid, of course if you look inside. Looks like they tried to toast the bun. Spicy thigh really does have a spicy kick. Not much, but enough to whet your appetite. Using thigh (dark meat) results in a tenderer, juicier "patty" than if they tried to use white meat. Use a BOGO coupon if you can. One burger is barely a meal and for similar money, you can probably get a better deal buying their fried chicken. Salsa F...

Just got an interesting e-mail from The Secret Garden today. In addition to announcing Secret Garden's new drinks and treats and the June High Tea menu , they are buying fine china: Do you have any fine china tea ware that you don't use? We are always on the lookout for high quality china teacups, teapots, and tea sets. Contact us to learn more !

Last Friday I got the chance to sit down with Clement Wong and Shaun Wong, the developers behind Nomii . If you've read the VanCityBuzz interview article on Nomii , you'll already know what Nomii is about: Ever see a plate of food photo on Yelp or Zomato and wonder “What the heck is this dish?” See an awesome restaurant or dish on Instagram you want to try only to forget about it later? Don’t trust reviews and 5 star ratings anymore? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you’ll understand the three problems we’re solving: Deciding where and what to eat Having to sift through reviews, ratings, and comments to find the best dishes Keeping track of restaurants and dishes you like or want to try I thought about my own situation and the possible barriers to wanting to use Nomii. Right now, I'm on Zomato and Yelp, and basically have too much of a life to also try to engage my online presence as a food blogger on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. There's ...

Dropped in at Secret Location on Friday for a Q&A and app demo by the newest food app developed in Vancouver, Nomii . I asked for a mocktail that was "weird" or simply very different and unlike anything I'd had before -- I didn't want to be disappointed by something so similar to something that I'd think I had "just another lemonade" or something like that. And voila! For a mere $6... I got this composed-on-the-spot drink by a bartender who wasn't even fazed by my request.

Lucky lucky! I got a chance to participate in Yelp's CaliBurger preview , a mere day before they officially open on Friday, June 3rd, 11 AM. CaliBurger  is  an American chain just starting their world conquest, with franchises in even exotic locations like Sweden, Malaysia, and Kuwait . IMPORTANT grand opening event: The first 100 people in line will be entered to win 1 free meal a week for 1 year! The space is just off busy Robson and roughly opposite Red Robin. It's a diner style setup, clean and bright, and with some super-cool features that really emphasize the modern smartphone culture: At each table there is a power outlet underneath. Use your own charger or borrow one from the restaurant. There are marked locations on the tabletop where you can wirelessly charge your phone if it has that capability. There is (of course) guest WiFi, at this time password protected. Or you can actually try getting a signal from the nearby Banana Republic! From outside the fron...