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!