y.v.r - day two to day four

days two to four were kept nice and simple. agenda for the day was literally just to kick back and enjoy the company of family and friends.

after a busy morning visiting save-on foods, safeway and are chinese fresh market, (this girl loves and i mean loves supermarket shopping!) auntie pat and i sat ourselves down at what i would think would be one of those run of the mill, nothing spectacular kinda vietnamese joints. the menu was the first hint that my hunch was wrong. traditional pho with beef, tribe, beef balls, tendon and brisket and mind you this is in any permutation and combination, with the choice of small and large portions. there is also the dry version! so the choices literally quadruple, as there is also the option for chicken and seafood with the dry pho! i stuck with the traditional which was cooked in quite a kick ass beef broth, and topped with tender slices of beef, melt in your mouth brisket and fresh mint and bean sprouts. mental note to myself though, after looking and tasting auntie pat's dry pho...a definite must try! a myriad of flavours....a little tangy, a little spicy, with a hint of barbecue spices. if anyone knows of a good vietnamese joint here in singapore, do drop me a note...just typing this makes me wanna have the dry pho!

pho 99 vietnamese noodle house
#302-402 north road
coquitlam
(604) 939 2288

catch up with my old time friend elaine and new hubby mark was at la casa gelato. when they first asked me if i was okay with ice cream, i envisioned a small dessert cafe place along main street. instead, this place was not only located in an industrial part of the area, it was by no means a cafe. stepping in reminded me of those classic gelatarias in italy....the shop was lined with fifteen to twenty freezer cases and all filled with every flavour of gelato imaginable. from black sesame to chocolate peanut butter, wasabi to lavendar, there truly is something for everyone. the last count had la casa gelato prou d of a grand total of 218 flavours and growing! okay...i admit i did rave about the gelato i had at pure gelato in ottawa, but this place wins hands down. not only are your spoilt for choice (this girl spent a good fifteen minutes, tasting every flavour that she thought was good before deciding), the ice cream is authentically italian, creamy, rich and true to the description of the flavour. with freezers flown in from italy and the big boss fluently switching between italian and english, one would really have not belived that such a place existed outside of italy. highly recommended for ice cream fanatics as well as skeptics for i am sure la case will and can convert just about anyone!

la case gelato
1033 venables street
vancouver
(604) 251 3211

the last time i met my cousin john was way back in 1998. yup, a good decade ago...and thinking back, he and his brother david somehow always seems to be fixed in my head to be young boys *grin* it was hence great to catch up with john....and to finally meet his fiance grace (congrats you guys!). after the must visit trip to the mega mall metrotown, john and grace drove me down to chinatown for a cambodian experience. aptly named ' phnom penh', i was honestly not too sure what cambodian food entailed and was quite pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. think the best bits of singaporean s pices, tanginess of thai cuisine and the exquisite quality of the vietnamese style, phnom penh served up quite a mean version of the singapore ko lo mee. the same egg noodles (i had the rice noodle version) was mixed with soya sauce, chilli, fish oil, topped with fresh slices of pork, pink prawns and scalded liver, and garnished with fresh fried onions and coriander. very good in my book so much so that i can quite understand why john says he heads over here everyone once in a while for a quick cravings fix! we also had the cambodian fried chicken which was fried in a light batter and seasoned with salt and pepper. dipping it in the fish oil cum sesame oil cum lime juice made this fried chicken different from all other fried chicken that i have had. its sweet, sour yet slightly salty flavour really sets this apart!

phnom penh restaurant
244 east georgia street
vancouver
(604) 682 5777

the best was really left for the last as no trip to vancouver would be complete without a japanese dinner. with the all so familiar takumi moved to the western part of vancouver, uncle tony has scouted out several worthy alternatives..and ajisai is now one of his favourites. sitting by the counter, one can almost immediately understand why ajisai is good. the three japanese chefs work non-stop, cutting and designing plate after plate of beautiful sashimi, sushi and rolls. we had (don't drool now!) uni, toro, sockeye, hamachi, geo duck and unagi for course ichi. possibly the freshest fish and the most diverse types of fish i have ever had, so much so that after coming home, having raw fish at any japanese joint has been a little disappointing! the salads and rolls were also different with the chefs maximizing on the seasons freshest catch. course ni was hence made up of spot prawn salads, aji, the bc roll and the salmon three roll. the salads were freshing and the rolls were truly innovative. washed down with ice cold sake...this truly was the gastronomic highlight of the trip!

ajisai sushi bar
2081 west 42nd
vancouver
(604) 266 1428

thanks to uncle tony, auntie pat, mike & maggie, john & grace, and elaine and mark for the amazing hospitality. i will definitely be heading up to beautiful bc soon!

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y.v.r - day one

the best thing about visiting another country and place is the fact that one can kick back and for that short period of time, just be one of the locals. no rushing around, guide book in hand, doing the touristy thing...more driving around, checking out new cafes, new hole in the walls, shopping at the local super mart and well...just being one of them. that is why this girl really likes heading to places where family and friend are just because it makes the time there literally a change and getaway from the usual same old.

the week in vancouver was hence quite perfect. with the last time being there was way back in 1999, this girl was kinda stoked to have the chance to extend her time in beautiful british columbia. with all the touristy things checked off when i visited eons ago with family, this trip was perfect for mojitos and madness in that every meal could be thoroughly enjoyed. having an uncle and cousin who know how to enjoy a good meal definitely helped too!

straight off the plane from ottawa, this girl was whisked off for some shanghainese yum cha. having been used (even spoilt!) to the likes of crystal jade, this girl wasn't honestly expecting very much from the lunch....one taste of the chinese wine chicken (read drunken chicken), xiao long bao and the chong you bing however, had this girl quite blown away. each dish was prepared with exception care, with beautiful refinement. the xiao long bao was pretty close to crystal jade's standard bit the chicken beat crystal jade's version hands down. not fatty, and thoroughly infused with just the right amount of wine, each piece had a refreshing yet earthy kick. my favourite? the chong you bing. crispy, fluffy and extremely fragrant with the simple spring onion, this girl doesn't know how they did it but the pancake was good. not the least bit greasy, this girl happily devoured her half of the plate! perfect start to the holiday if you ask me!

dinesty
8111 ackroyd road
160 richmond
(604) 3037 772

the first day in vancouver was concluded with a prix fixe at one of vancouver's best resturants. nestled in a little corner, the long narrow room was already busy despite being quite early for dinner. renowned for their small plates, this girl contemplated for a good ten minutes whether to have the small plate or indulge in the prix fixe. thankfully the maitre d made the decision for me just by highly recommending the seasonal spot prawn salad appetizer. apparently only available this time of year and only in the bc region, the spot prawns turned out to be everything they were made out to be. extremely fresh, very sweet and adding a nice crunch and spray of red against the bed of summer greens. the halibut was equally fresh and cooked very well. fish, to me, is the ultimate test that makes a good restaurant great, as it is very hard to get precisely and prefectly done. grilled with a touch of lemon zest, the halibut was a good size and cooked in its natural oils. omega 3s checked! only thing left to do that evening was for the sin of dessert to be committed. crand cru chocolate truffle with white chocolate espresso mousse was this girl's chosen sin and long story short, no regrets was documented. made of truly high quality chocolate, the truffle was smooth, bittersweet and truly hit the spot. thanks to mike and maggie for a wonderful meal (and evening at the theatre!)

cru
1459 west broadway
vancouver
british columbia
(604) 6774 111
www.cru.ca

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y.o.w

this girl's back and finally sat down to organize her pictures and get the groove going again with mojitos and other madness!

this installment is for the two days i spent in the beautiful canadian capital ottawa...just in case anyone's wondering, y.o.w is the airport code for ottawa. saw it at a print your own tee shirt shop and thought it was pretty cool so shamelessly copying the idea here!

anyway, ottawa was a great change from banff....with the sun shining and temperatures a good 15 degrees higher, this girl was happy to have at least one evening out and about. with a strong french influence, ottawa had a nice subtle parisian vibe to the place. modern yet with a slight victorian architecture feel to its buildings and waterways throughout the city, the city was a lot nicer than i expected! i guess being there at the beginning of summer helps....the winters are harsh, apparently with 30 feet of snow this past winter!

admittedly, this girl was a little disappointed that she only had 2 days and little opportunity to venture into the little shops, cafes, patiseries, and stalls at the market. with so little time, i cut to the chase and headed straight for a recommended gelato place. just so that i would have a good post to add! ranked the best gelato in ottawa, pure gelato served up quite a mean treat. sharing the shop space with a candy store (think willy wonka's chocolate factory!), it was quite tough to decide how to satisfy that sugar craving...candy or gelato...candy! no...gelato! ah...decisions decisions! gelato won it for me.....just by the authentic flavors up for tasting! really reminded me of my trip to italy where i willingly gave up eating anything else and happily lived on gelato!

classic niccolo and tiramisu were my final decision...and it was like a trip back to italy! smooth hazelnut in the niccolo and even pieces of sponge fingers in the tiramisu! a truly perfect ending to my evening and stay in ottawa and a fantastic start to the week's holiday!

installment y.v.r (read vancouver) coming up! so click back soon!

pure gelato
71 william st
ottawa
(613) 562 4111

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has it been forty-three days?

time really flies...and for those who have been periodically checking back at this site to see if new posts have been up, this girl is truly truly sorry. its been a bit crazy, what with work and the move back to one six b (yay!)....the folders archiving all the good meals and potential posts have been cluterring my desktop that i am not really sure if i will ever catch up!

in any case, i'm dropping this note all the way from the sunny canadian capital of ottawa, after a very big indulgent breakfast of granola, yoghurt and d-i-y waffles! in any case, the next few days will probably be quite a food extravaganza, with a 4-day visit to vancouver, so this girl will definitely try to get back to posting...

till then...thanks to faithful regulars to this site! i promise i'll bring it out of hibernation really soon!

brekkie thanks to marrior residence inn
downtown ottawa!

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