Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

For budget eats, I have found that the baked-in-store bagels from Superstore are the biggest compared to other supermarkets. The prepackaged 6-packs are basically always $3.50 IF you buy TWO at a time. The other types of bagels at Superstore -- also priced the same -- seem a bit smaller or less dense. So if you are squeezing the maximum bang for your buck in terms of a quick, filling, meal I recommend the Always Everything Bagels. Superstore versus Walmart This works out to 60 cents per bagel, and you can certainly get even cheaper bagels at Walmart, coming in at 50 cents per bagel. However, I found Superstore bagels to be fresher and look bigger -- and the biggest-of-the-big seem to be their "Always Everything" bagels topped with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and roasted onion. That said, we actually weighed a 6-pack of bagels from SuperStore versus a 4-pack of bagels from Walmart and the average weight per "Always Everything" bagel was basically the same. It's no...

I bought a second-hand Alienware laptop off Facebook Marketplace. It looked in near-new condition and the seller reset the laptop and along with it, the Windows 10 installation. But when I got it home, the Windows 10 automatic update got stuck several times, eventually stuck on “Your Device is Missing Important Security and Quality Fixes” and error 0x800f984 with retries failing. I searched for a solution and found this page  . I tried the initial solutions including trying to fix corrupted files, but after hours, it seemed the best and most straightforward solution was to just bypass the automated installer and go straight to Microsoft to download Windows 10 updates . It did take a while to download (on my slow internet connection) but I didn't need to use the command line to try speculative fixes, or any even more complicated solutions that might result in a worse situation if done incorrectly. Afterwards, it had a few more updates but they went through fine. That page also has a...

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...

Small bright space open for lunch and dinner with a bit of a break in between. Get ready before you go in: Menu is accessed from a QR code available at each table. If you don't have data, you can probably connect to the free Wifi provided by the City of Vancouver. Pay attention to the menu! It tells you about the complimentary tea (it smells a bit like coffee but it's made from beans) and the bowl (it's not as deep as it looks). Premium Bowl ($18.95 + $5 for cold tofu) Conger Eel, Shrimp, Kakiage (mixed seafood tempura), Soft Boiled Egg, Seaweed, Green Bean For $5 even though it's got fancy stuff on it I'd pass on the cold tofu next time. Nothing really special there. Tempura came hot but it's not going to stay hot. Neither will the rice, special bowl or not. Tempura wasn't particularly crispy probably because of not just the rice which was probably more than room temperature at some point, but also because they pre-drizzle their special sauce on the te...