New Town Bakery & Restaurant – Vancouver, British Columbia

We were hanging out in Vancouver for a few days while our friend had a conference here. We tagged along on their trip and while he was in a course, we took his wife to breakfast at New Town Bakery & Restaurant in Vancouver Chinatown. While it was only street parking, we went early enough on a weekday where we were able to find parking pretty much right outside the restaurant.

We all knew we wanted Chinese food and I knew I was ordering my favourite Chinese breakfast, as weird as it may sound, it’s the Pickled vegetables and sliced pork rice vermicelli noodle soup. There’s a lot of names for it but I decided to do the direct translation of it today. I eat this preserved/pickled vegetables with everything as it’s awesome to me, and not even from my region. It’s great on everything! Anyway, this was a huge bowl of noodles and it was really tasty! The flavours were excellent!

My noodle came in a combo, with a drink where I got their Milk Tea and to me it’s a staple drink for any Chinese bakery/restaurant. A good one is when it’s thick and can coat your tongue, like a rich coffee. I always order this with sweetened condensed milk anywhere I go! It’s not bad here, it’s pretty standard and decent.

I was ordering a bunch of sides as it’s what I wanted. I failed to take pictures of anyone elses food as the waitress was busy yelling at me. Well, not yelling at me, but she wasn’t friendly towards me. So, I just sat there like a bad kid. I ordered a Pineapple Bun with Butter as it’s another thing that I always order. The cookie top always lets you know if they’re good at their bun baking. Then, they heat it up and put in a slab of butter. There’s nothing more satisfying than this bun with a milk tea if you’re looking for a “small” breakfast. The bun was soft and delicate, the topping was crispy, and the butter melted perfectly. It was amazing!

This last dish isn’t even mine. I think I just claimed it from the table. It’s the Radish Cake that I lie to make at Chinese New Years. My hubby likes to compare others with my recipe. I don’t even have a family recipe or anything as no one makes it… but, I’ve made it into my own which has become my tradition. I make a delicious lo bak goh and if you’re a lucky person, I’d give you some or even one! If I give you one… please do not try to give it away right in front of me. At least do it when I’m not here. Someone I thought that liked me did that to me and it seriously broke my heart. Anyway, this radish cake was more cake than anything, but it was freshly steamed so it was super soft.

Overall experience here was great! The food was good, the service could be better and the price for these breakfast combos are always awesome, no matter where you go! You always get a lot of food for a decent price. Parking costs money, where we parked on the street anyway. I’m not sure if they got their own lot or not.

New Town Bakery and Restaurant

148 E Pender Street,
Vancouver, BC
604-681-1828

New Town Bakery & Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Wolf in the Fog – Tofino, British Columbia

We went to the Island for a week for my friends wedding ceremony to celebrate them getting married earlier in the year. We found ourselves in Tofino, because we were trying to go to Pacific Rim and found this restaurant as I wanted to eat seafood!

We had to wait a bit for a table, this place was very popular and everyone was enjoying themselves in this town. It definitely wasn’t a city pace place which was awesome and I wasn’t hungry enough to be hangry so it was just right! The wait staff did tell us to look at the menu as we were waiting in line an to put the order in as soon as we can once we got our table, so we took their advice. I ended ordering the Sweet Tuna, albacore tuna with coconut, chili, herbs and it’s served with iceberg lettuce!! I don’t usually eat “salads” but this one was intriguing. The best thing about this is the lettuce was a giant wedge next to the tuna, so I didn’t have to eat it! It was perfect!

We also ordered their Fishermans Lunch was a delicious pot or deep skillet of fresh seafood in tomato broth, with some perfectly grilled bread to soak up all the broth with seafood goodness. This was definitely the highlight of the meal and we really ordered it as a lot of other guests were enjoying it and we didn’t want to be left out!

The overall experience here was divine! It was a beautiful afternoon here at Tofino where we ended up spending the day at Pacific Rim.

Wolf in the Fog

150 4th St,
Tofino, BC
250-725-9653
Wolf in the Fog Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Green Leaf Bistro – Victoria, British Columbia

We went to Victoria for Canada Day, and if you know my boss, he was there during this time as well and we said we’d try to meet up in front of the Empress for fireworks if it all works out. So, I had to spend the day in this city even though I was actually staying in Parksville. So, for lunch we wandered off to Green Leaf Bistro for a quick soupy lunch.

I know I didn’t want or need this, but since it was on the table, I eat it! It was Barbecued Quail. I do eat quail and I love it deep fried, but like chicken wings, I’m not always in the mood for them. This was actually really good and I’m glad it was ordered. It was something quite different, so it’s always good to give new things a shot.

I ordered a bowl of Spicy Beef Noodle Soup as I needed something to get me going again. It’s already been a long day and somehow i needed to last until midnight. The bowl of noodle soup was pretty big and not as spicy as I had originally prepared myself for by looking at it. It was very spicy, don’t get me wrong, but I thought it would be constant choking and sweating and running nose. I’m not sure why I thought that would be enjoyable, but I can’t question myself as I never make sense. This was a pretty big portion and generous amount of meat on top.

We ordered something “normal” just in case my order was too spicy for me to handle. We had their Brisket Noodle Soup and this was pretty good. The soup was definitely a different broth and it was good!

Overall, we left here very full and satisfied. Now that I’m blogging this and looking back.. I was not very smart at all getting a spicy soup. “what if” I had a stomach ache from the spice!? LOL! Everything worked out well though, as usual!

Green Leaf Bistro

832 Goldstream Ave,
Victoria, BC
250-590-8302

Green Leaf Bistro Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Helna’s Strube – Radium, British Columbia

we took a day trip to Radium, BC as I wanted to go on a road trip to anywhere but staying in our city. I forgot this city closed early and by the time we got here, it was dinner time and a lot of places were closed. We were able to get a table on the patio of Helna’s Strube and it was perfect!

Once we ordered, on this chilly autumn’s evening they brought out a beautiful and warm Bread Basket which was perfect. I’m not sure if it was as warm as I think the bread was as my fingers were kind of frozen already.. and if you know me, more often than not my fingers are cold! So, this was already amazing as is!

I just ordered right off the menu as my hubby ordered their special, which was an awesome deal! He ended up getting a salad and dessert with his meal for just a bit more. Of course, I ate the dessert as I always claim I need the sweets to keep me sweet. Anyway, I ordered their Trout “Müllerin“, a generous sized trout pan-fried in a lemon parsley butter, served with rice. The skin was super amazing, thin and crispy and the trout was perfectly cooked, not fishy at all.

As mentioned, my better half ordered the special and it came with Baby Green Salad which is something that looked beautiful and not overdressed of a salad.

His main meal was their Mushroom Schntzel or the “Jaeger Schnitzel” which is breaded pork loin in a white wine mushroom cream sauce, served with spätzle. This was an amazing special and just because it was one, the portion size was still enormous!

Then, just when you think you’re done… the dessert course! Always make room for dessert after a great meal! This one was their Coupe Strawberry, a simple, easy and delicious dessert!

Overall, this was a fantastic and casual place to be. The food was stunning and tasty, the service was perfect. We definitely enjoyed ourselves at Helna’s and as everything was perfect, we’d recommend spending an evening here!

Helna’s Stube

7547 Main St W
Radium Hot Springs, BC

Mount Burgess Dining Room – Emerald Lake, British Columbia

I’ve first heard about this place as a hidden gem from my coworkers. They rave about this lake and resort so we decided to come here for an anniversary. It’s beautiful, absolutely gorgeous. When we got there, our room wasn’t ready so we decided to hang out in the Kicking Horse Lounge and it was a day where there were 2 weddings going on. It was fun to watch the wedding party and guests get ready for a night to remember!

This dining room is just off the lobby. To the left is their lounge (which we did enjoy) and to the right is their dining room. It’s a beautiful property, so the ambiance is fantastic for anything really! I love ordering seafood from my mountain cities so it was no exception here. I ordered their Salmon and the Skuna Bay Salmon skin was thin and crispy. The fish was delicate and perfectly cooked, and was accompanied with beets, parsnip, and a carrot slaw.

We also ordered their Ribeye Steak, it was fun as it said it was Alberta Beef! This tender piece of ribeye had potatoes with it and everything was mouth-watering and met up to our expectations.

We don’t always order dessert, and our rule of thumb is if the dinner was tasty enough, and we left room – then we will consider dessert. This day, we ordered dessert and had their White Chocolate Cheesecake which was small, delicate, light and absolutely amazing!

Overall, the ambience and food was amazing. The food was so tasty and with that is the higher price tag. I do think it’s worth it as it was food that needs to be brought in and made to perfection.