A food blog from a bunch of friends who love to wine and dine in Victoria BC – find restaurant reviews, kitchen gadgets, interesting food posts and more!
Banana Leaf has several locations but we went to the one by Broadway and Laurel. I’ve never been before but I’ve had several friends telling me before that they did not enjoy it too much. I must be fair so I went in and left their opinions outside the door. I went here with five other friends for dinner and the menu was very unfamiliar to us. We didn’t really know what to order but one of our friends was Singaporean so he knew what to order. He did all the ordering and we just sat back and waited for the food. The food portions were extremely small and the food came out very slow. There wasn’t enough to share and I had to maintain my table manners so I didn’t fight for the food. I didn’t have my camera with me so I’m unable to provide photos of the meal. When the bill came, I was somewhat surprised. $160 and none of us were full! We didn’t even order alcoholic drinks either. We didn’t have that many people but somehow they automatically added gratuity to the total.
Banana Leaf has won some awards and I have to admit some of the dishes were tasty but definitely no value if that’s what you’re looking for. Maybe if two people went for a date then they wouldn’t leave hungry. Unfortunately the plate portions were too small for sharing. From this visit I would have to rate this restaurant 3/10 stars.
When Peter Fong opened up Ganache Patisserie in 2003, he accomplished more than his dream. He offered possibly the best desserts any Vancouverite has ever tasted. Hidden in Yaletown, the store is not big but that’s exactly how I like dessert shops to be. It’s best if it’s small and cozy. When you enter, presentation already receives full marks. The pastries all look so beautiful and enticing that it takes a while to decide which one to try. I’ve tried the majority of the selections and I have to say I haven’t found one that I disliked yet. My top pick would be chocolat velouté but this time I decided to indulge in the fôret noir(black forest) while my friend chose the framboise et pêche(raspberry & peach). My fôret noir was heaven! Peter takes ordinary cakes like black forest, tiramisu, and cheesecakes and puts his own magical spin on them turning them into something elegant and to die for. It had layers of moist moist chocolate cake, kirsch syrup, vanilla chantilly cream, griottine cherries, chocolate chantilly cream. MMMMM!!! That chantilly cream is nice and rich but not rich enough to make you feel sick after eating it all. Their cakes are all just the perfect sweetness and they have artisan loose leaf teas that go perfectly with the desserts.
My only complain is that they don’t have a real espresso machine so if you order something espresso based, you will be disappointed for sure. I believe it is a cost they shouldn’t skimp on. Other than the fact that I’m a coffee geek, the perfect cup of coffee can really make a huge difference in the whole experience. Prices range from $5.50-$5.75 which I think is very reasonable for something so heavenly delicious. I give Ganache 8.5/10 stars. I wish I could give them full marks but the fact is that people need that perfect cup of coffee to complement their dessert. They are open from Tues-Sun and close fairly early except for Friday & Saturday nights when people need their dessert fix. It is in Yaletown so be prepared to spend some time looking for parking if you go on a Friday or Saturday night.
For any clubbers out there that frequent around the Davie street area in Vancouver, youto try out Fritz.
I was pretty buzzed at that point when I stumbled in with my cousin after a night out, but I remember that they had DELICIOUS poutine there. We both ended up getting a small chicken poutine.
The fries were yumtastically greasy, some soft and soggy, some nice and crispy – but that’s okay, variety is great! The cheese curds were nice and gooey, and actually had some good cheese taste unlike some places I have been to *** cough cough, New York Fries ***. The chicken was actually not dry and gross as well!
However, after a night of drinking, partying and sweating, I’m not too sure how I feel about the salty MSG ladened gravy. It was tasty, but definitely a bit too heavy on the salty side.
Disclaimer – this stuff is HOT. If you are plastered out of your mind, make sure to let it cool down… unless you want another crazy drunk story to tell to your friends.
I still highly recommend it! Better than cheap gross tasting pizza.
Tucked away in a little corner atthe very end of a street in North Vancouver is Thomas Haas, one of the popular fine chocolatiers in Vancouver. His chocolates are sold at fine gourmet markets such as Urban Fare and Granville Island. His main store in North Vancouver is right across from Bodwell School Academy so you will often find the store filled with students in school uniforms. The interior design is pretty and the outdoor patio is extremely relaxing. The downside is that parking is limited as well as seating. The store gets full very fast. » Read more: Thomas Haas Patisserie Review – North Vancouver
In the heart of Davie Street, this has probably got to be one of the most popular Greek restaurants in Vancouver. Lineups start before the restaurant opens and last until it closes. They only take reservations if there’s a minimum of 6 people and everyone must show up within 15 mins of the reservation time. Because it is so insanely busy, service will definitely be slow and lacking at times. However, the food is damn delicious and the quantity is amazing. I ordered a chicken souvlaki which came with half a plate of rice pilaf, roasted potato, chicken skewer, greek salad, and pita bread. You’ll be guaranteed to leave full or overstuffed. It was only $7.95 too! Because it was super super dark in there, I wasn’t able to take any photos but it is definitely worth waiting in line for if you have to wait. I give this restaurant 8/10. Service was the only lacking factor. Otherwise, it’s excellent!!!
Richmond is home to many Hong Kong style cafes such as Kingspark. They are known for good cheap eats under $10. I frequent Kingspark since the menu selection, quality and value are excellent. Most menu items include a hot/cold drink as well at no extra charge! Most Hong Kong style cafes charge $1 extra for cold drinks. The parking may be a problem on the weekends but once you go in, it’s all good from there on. Most of the time you are seated and given hot tea right away. You will need a general idea of what you’d want to eat so that you can look for those options on the menu. Servers will then check back quickly to take your order so you can get your food quickly. Service can be prompt but also can be a little slow at times. I ordered preserved salted fish fried rice, my mom ordered thai style fried rice which is my top pick to share with my grandma, and my brother ordered a taiwanese style beef noodle. If you order baked stuff, be prepared to wait a little longer.
The fried rice is excellent value. It is enough to feed 2 people and it’s only $6.45! Don’t forget, that price includes a drink too! The fried rice was tasty and not greasy at all. My brother’s beef was tender and had good flavour. I would give this restaurant 8/10 stars. Quality and value is definitely there. As for service, like all HK style cafes, you’d have to demand it sometimes.
Surprisingly Vancouver is extremely limited when it comes to going out for dessert. Something that I’m hoping will change quickly. Who can say no to desserts? I was given the difficult task of choosing a place for dessert. After some lengthy thinking, I was unsuccessful. I spent too much time pondering on cakes and ice cream. I totally forgot about chinese dessert! We went for one of my most favourite food items: TOFU!
Now if you haven’t tried it before, you may think it’s a pretty gross idea to have tofu for dessert but it’s completely not. We went to Excellent Tofu & Snacks Ltd. in Richmond. The moment you walk in, you will see that decor is not a priority but it’s not ugly enough to make you run. If you’ve been to Hong Kong, this place sort of has a Hong Kong feel. Their point is to not serve you decor but yummy treats. They have many choices of toppings that you can have on the tofu plus you can choose to have it hot or cold. I prefer the plain one hot then load it with brown sugar and ginger syrup which is exactly what I ordered. When you think of tofu, you might think of eating a huge block of tofu but that’s not how it is. They have a huge pot of velvety soft smooth tofu and when you order, they use their specially designed scoop to “slice” thin layers of tofu into a bowl for you. On the days where you have a little extra room for dessert after dinner, definitely think of this as an option. Each generously sized bowl is only $2.75! That’s cheaper than going for cake or ice cream if you’re on a budget! I give this place 7/10 stars. Service is prompt but not over the top, and the quality and value is excellent.
Under the Glowbal Group, Trattoria and Italian Kitchen offer the same type of cuisine(Italian) in a hip and trendy setting but Trattoria is much more affordable. It has the open kitchen concept where we can see exactly what the chefs are doing and see our food as it is being prepared. We were greeted and seated promptly and within 10 minutes after ordering we got our food which was extremely fast for a restaurant like this. I was very hungry so I can’t complain I got my food too soon but it is a fine dining restaurant. I thought the food is supposed to come slowly so we have time to chat and enjoy the comfortable ambiance of the restaurant? I ordered a spaghetti with Kobe meatballs and my friend ordered a linguine with jumbo tiger prawns. The food was brought to our table by a very young individual. He forgot to offer us freshly grated Parmesan cheese. After we started enjoying our pasta, our server came over and asked if we wanted freshly grated Parmesan. A little too late, isn’t it? But at least he knew and he apologized for offering it a little late. » Read more: Trattoria Italian Kitchen Review – Vancouver
Lam Chu Kee is similar to the cuisine offered at Spicy Szechuan Restaurant which is family style Cantonese food. The decor isn’t the best but it’s not horrid either. I don’t have much memory of the first time I ate at this restaurant but I’m about to refresh my memory. We were running a little late so my brother and his wife took charge of ordering. We had sweet & sour pork, ginger & green onion chicken, fish & tofu claypot, mini plate of veggies(豆苗), mini plate of squid & veggie stir-fry, and dessert was on the house again. The sweet & sour pork tasted average to me. The chicken was tender but had a weird boiled aftertaste and they used too much starch for the sauce which coagulated quickly. I only ate two pieces of chicken due to the aftertaste. The fish & tofu claypot was good though. The fish was very smooth and tender. It had a good amount of fish, tofu, veggies, bbq pork. The squid was tender as well. I expected it to be rubbery. I think my favourite of the night was the mini plate of veggies. I didn’t really liked the dessert. It was some sort of chinese dessert soup which had tapioca and egg swirls in there. I love tapiocaand eggs but I didn’t enjoy the flavour of it too much. It was the yolk flavour to be exact. I may be wrong but most of the time when I have them, it’s just the egg white and not the yolk in there.
The bill came to approximately $70. The food was just okay, service was prompt and they even added more tea leaves to our teapot of weakened tea. Although we had 5 dishes, 2 of them were mini sized so I didn’t think $70 was a good value for the dinner. I would give this restaurant 5/10 stars.
