back to business

Several external factors out of my control have prevented me from getting back into my usual blogging routine, so for a while, the posts will be sporadic until I can find a better solution. Here's a quick update of what's happened since Vegas:

• Went to Montreal for 4 days and became slightly addicted to poutine, escargots and crepes.
• Had my first smoked meat sandwich in Montreal. It was a lot of meat. 
• Canucks made it to the Stanley Cup finals! They're playing against the Boston Bruins.

And now, I'll leave you with this little gem:

hat's off... to vintage cars

Summer weather, vintage cars, great food, balloons, freebies and a parade, what more could you want on a Saturday morning? Happy Hat's Off Day!

Found a Canucks fan taking a stroll and checking out the vintage cars. He's from Africa, loves the Canucks and must have been training for a marathon 'cuz he was FAST.

After working up an appetite playing badminton, stopped by White Spot for a light lunch. I ordered the grilled vegetable sandwich with fries and shared a BBQ chicken flatbread with a friend. 

The grilled vegetable sandwich was really good and I would totally re-order it, and I'm not a vegetarian. Generally, I find vegetarian dishes to be kind of bland, but this was very tasty. The BBQ chicken flatbread was a little on the dry side and didn't have enough BBQ sauce. But it does look good in the picture ☺

it's not all about hockey

Canucks fever has sweeped the city but we do have another sports team, the Vancouver Whitecaps. I got to see them in action, playing against the New York Red Bulls in scorching hot weather, which was great for watching the game, but not so great for me since I wasn't wearing sunscreen and ended up getting burned.

And let the game begin!

GOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLL! Unfortunately, the NY Red Bull scored a goal and the game was tied 1-1.

Afterwards, we were deciding on a place for a late lunch and while the call of Chronic Tacos was strong, we went to the Jagerhof Schnitzel House in North Vancouver.

Escargots in herb butter served with bread to start the meal.

I ordered the Hawaiian Schnitzel: schnizel stuffed with cheese, ham and pineapples, served with red cabbage and potatoes.

cheap tricks & good eats

Friday after work, needed a little pick-me-up, so off to the Chinatown Night Market for cheap buys and dinner at Bao Bei, which seems to be the new place for hipsters to congregate. I saw a lot of boys with no asses wearing skinny jeans and girls wearing the large black spectacles milling around the front.

A Hello Kitty bubble-blowing machine. It doesn't do much, but it's cute, lights up and plays music.

Orchids are more expensive than money trees?!

Octopus don't have balls. But, these are still good.

Hmmm... spongey bubble waffles.

Pig skin, anyone? Anyone?

Mandarin orange and ginger cocktail for me.

Mantou: Steamed buns with pork belly, bean sprouts, preserved turnip and sugared peanuts was absolutely deliciously. We ordered this the first time we came to Bao Bei and couldn't resist ordering this again.

Vegetable potstickers are always good.

Steamed prawn and chive dumplings in soup is like the Asian version of chicken soup on a cold rainy day.

Crispy Pork Belly: sautee of soybeans, Asian cucumber, chili and garlic, pickled red onion, tamarind, star anise tomato sauce. So good and so fattening but that doesn't matter, right?