La Casita Tacos

A long day of walking around downtown really helps to build up some appetite. With two days until Christmas, a few Fat Rats went to enjoy some of the Christmas festivities in Vancouver. Stops included the German Christmas Market (a quick review: on weekdays, entry is $3, which is acceptable. But anymore than that I would not recommend going because it's really small, everything is super overpriced, and overall the market is not exciting at all), Gingerbread Lane at the Hyatt hotel, and Bright Lights at Stanley Park. The later two events were much more worth our time. 

When the Bright Lights started getting really crowded (as it gets darker and darker), we rode the bus back out to Denman Street and walked a few blocks to La Casita Tacos. The little restaurant seems to be newly opened, but they have an older sister restaurant in Gastown that is more sit-down style. I saw plenty of praising reviews for La Casita and it seemed to be the perfect place for me to curb my craving for fish tacos, one I have had since Palm Springs.

Counter Service

At 5:30pm on a Monday evening, the restaurant was empty except for a couple finishing up their meal by the window. We were unsure whether or not to take a seat first and expect table service, or to walk up to the counter and place our order. It's kind of a mix of both; order at the cashier first, then the food will be brought to the table. The woman at the front is very warm and welcoming to us Mexican-food-newbies. We all ordered 4 tacos for $10. I really appreciate being able to try multiple types of tacos with just one order. Since one can customize according to their preferences, it makes it easy to dine with a group of friends who may have different taste buds.

Top: Veracruz Fish; Bottom: Egg & Green Bean, Baja Fish

The Fish Shack

The Fish Shack in Downtown Vancouver

It's been too long since I've had a proper brunch; time to drag my family out to Downtown for some runny poached egg goodness!

Lunch and Brunch menus + fresh sheet

After an immense amount of time spent looking through essentially every single brunch menu in the Downtown-y side of Greater Vancouver, I settled on The Fish Shack. It's cheap, the menu items are unique, and it just so happens to be a walkable distance from where all my relatives live (I got to visit my cousin's new baby boy!! Gaahhhh~~~) I actually called the restaurant about an hour or two before my visit to make a reservation, but that wasn't necessary. Even on a Saturday at noon, the restaurant was only about, say, a quarter full? Enough people to convince me that it's a safe place to eat, but with no wait. 

Interior of The Fish Shack facing Granville Street

To begin, I really like the interior of this restaurant. It's casual, chill, yet still put together. There is half a second level that I think would be an awesome place to hang out with some friends. The decor has a very suitable fisherman-esque theme. There is a tiny area for outdoor seating where there are heaters for the chiller days, like when I visited. There wasn't any loud, annoying music blaring through the restaurant. It's a very family friendly spot too. So far, so good.

Water in mason jars

We were seated promptly and provided with menus and water in mason jars. My parents giggled at the fact their water cups resembled mini versions of the cups at Hong Kong-style cafes. The menus can be viewed on their website; I really appreciate it when restaurants have their full menu (with prices and updated items) online.

The waiters and waitresses here are very casual, like the joking type. Our waiter was very efficient and provided us with good advice on the menu and delivered swiftly. The only small complaint I have about the service here is when I called in, the girl that answered the phone spoke too casually. Instead of politely being asked to repeat my phone number, all I got was a rude "What?" So I was taken aback by the sudden harsh tone.

Fish & Chips lunch box with Manhattan (top) and New England (bottom) Clam Chowder

On to the food. My dad and brother ordered a fish and chips lunch box each. It comes with one large piece of fish (probably cod), some fries, coleslaw, and their choice of chowder. The red chowder is Manhattan and the white chowder is New England. The Manhattan was too watery and not flavourful. The New England was creamier but still not as thick as we prefer our chowders. However, there was a good amount of whole clams in the soup. The fries were soft and almost soggy; my dad did not finish his. The coleslaw is typical and tastes good. The fish is fried very crispy and golden, but I would rather the piece of fish be thicker but shorter in length. That way each bite is more meaty instead of just tasting fried batter. For a restaurant that pride's itself in their fish, this fish and chips dish was not phenomenal enough to blow me away. It was rather...average.

Fish and Chips Benedict

My mom got the fish and chips benny from the brunch menu. Their benedicts are really unconventional, and I like 'em! The fish pieces were fried beautifully and the eggs poached soft and runny. The potatoes on the side are AMAZING; crispy on the outside, soft and mushy on the inside. Perfectly seasoned. Gotta bring my best friend here just for the potatoes. The side of fruit is a nice touch and a clean way to end a heavy meal. The benedicts are probably the best items on the brunch menu. Can't go wrong.

Corn Bread Hash

Sorry about the blurry photo, evidently I was too hungry at this point to have any more patience.

I ordered the Corn Bread Hash, which sounded very different and I was attracted to the corn bread part, because I have a love for corn bread, specially Sweet Tomatoes'. When this came, no joke, my jaw just dropped to the floor. It was massive. Served in a medium sauce pan (yeah, not even a small sauce pan), this was pure carbohydrate overload. There were cut up pieces of prawn (not those measly baby shrimp) and slices of sausage mixed in with the cubes of corn bread. Chopped tomato was present too, except I don't think it did much to the dish besides release all its water and make everything soggy. Not visible in the photo, but the same roasted potatoes that accompanied the benedict lines the entire bottom of this cast iron pot. As if there wasn't already cups and cups and cups of corn bread to fill me up. The two small eggs were poached soft, although slightly on the more well done side of runny. When served, the corn bread still had some crunch to it, but by the end of my devouring, everything had begun to get soft and mushy. This was a fun dish, but I don't think I'll be ordering it again anytime soon as it was just way too much food and it wasn't super "WOW".

Time to dig into brunch!

The brunch items at The Fish Shack are a really good deal. For under $10 a entree, the food is prepared well, creatively planned, and taste is good. I would come for brunch again and order the benedicts. Thumbs up for brunch! 

For Twitter users, tweet #hookitandcookit plus your table number (which to be honest, I couldn't find) and see what surprise you get! I didn't have data service on my phone so I couldn't test this out... boohoo!

Why I don't have a boyfriend

Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

French Market

French Market in Disneyland Anaheim

After visiting a few too many restaurants to look at their lunch menus, we finally settled down at French Market in New Orleans Square. A counter-service style restaurant that serves Southern classics with French influences.

Jambalaya ($12.99)

This was a dish recommended on the internet as being large enough to fill two people to the top. It was a spicy stew with chicken, sausage and vegetables over a bed of dirty rice. I didn't remember there was supposed to be shrimp until I stumbled upon one lonely shrimp. And that was the only shrimp in the whole dish; a bit disappointing. The dish must have downsized because it was probably enough to fully feed one person. Overall, the Jambalaya was flavourful yet not too salty, and the jalapeno corn bread that comes with most of the entrees is very good too (although not as moist as Sweet Tomatoes/Souplantation's). It's not the best dish in the park but it isn't a bad choice.

Corn Chowder ($9.29)

The Corn Chowder came in a massive bread bowl and could be considered an entree for one. However, the person hollowing out the bread didn't do a thorough enough of a job so there was not quite enough room for adequate soup. Meaning the soup to bread ratio was rather off. The chunky chowder was packed with tons of corn and was a pleasure to eat.

Na Awlins Salad ($10.99)

Needing some vegetables with our lunch, we chose to order one Na Awlin Salad. The salad is prepared upon ordering and came with soooo many candied roasted pecans!! Delicious! The slaw makes for a great dressing. Other toppings include plump Crasins and some mysterious black bean looking things. This salad also comes with cornbread. A good salad that could also be an entree for one.

Three dishes was the perfect amount to feed my family of four people. We just drank water with our meal, which is provided free of charge. However, French Market is known for their mint julep, so if that is of interest, I would suggest trying one! Oh, and the Mickey beignets.
 
On our way out of the restaurant after lunch, my dad took a peak at the dinner menu. He was immediately drawn to the red snapper entree and said he wanted to come back for dinner. So, here we are at French Market for the second meal in the park.

Chicken Caesar Salad ($10.99)

The salad choices didn't change so we tried the Chicken Caesar Salad. It was a typical caesar salad except it had black eyed beans! There was a plenty of shaved Parmesan cheese and croutons (my brother's favourite salad topping). The chicken was thin and rather lacking in portion. This salad comes with cornbread too. Does the trick for adding some vegetables but romaine lettuce does not hold much nutritional value. I liked the Na Awlins Salad more than this caesar one.

Panko-Crusted Red Snapper ($14.99)

And finally, we come to the goal of the night, Panko Crusted Red Snapper. We had two of this entree. The fish was borderline dry but still moist enough to enjoy. (Snapper is naturally not very oily) A tomato-y, creamy sauce (not as neon as the photo depicts) dressed this fish and the flavour is very strong, but tasty. It was something I hadn't tried before and I quite enjoyed the pairing. The frozen carrots on the side are bland and has that 'previously frozen' texture that isn't pleasant. Perhaps those that are used to eating frozen vegetables will not find a problem here. The charred corn niblets are good as well as the nicely roasted potatoes, though the potatoes could have been cooked for longer to be more soft. This entree came with a potato bun, but it didn't taste very fresh. We just used this as a vehicle to mop up some sauce. For $15, this is a very affordable dinner entree and provides a balanced meal.

The seating is all outdoors but is covered and very cool. My parents really appreciated the live band playing as we enjoyed our lunch and dinner. If you are able to snag a table by the railing, it's a great place to do some people watching as well. After dinner, we were able to find a great seat on the ground for the viewing of Fantasmic, a nighttime show at the Rivers of America, which is directly across from French Market.

Nothing was overly salty, the service is quick and friendly, and the location is beautiful. If you're looking for a reasonably priced, affordable, yet still tasty meal in Disneyland Anaheim, French Market is a great choice! 

Reviews on Yelp

Anaheim on Dwellable

Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Fisherman's Market & Grill

Since having sea bass on a cruise 2 years ago, my dad has been craving that buttery, melt-in-your-mouth fish. It's not commonly found in Vancouver so when I saw it on menus in California, I took the chance to bring my parents in hopes of finding good sea bass. Sorry to ruin the ending for you, but we didn't find what we were looking for.

Where to order or purchase seafood

Fresh seafood can be purchased on the left side and ordering cooked food is right beside. Hence market + grill. Reminiscent of the seafood markets in Hawaii where I also bought poke, yummm~
 
There are several Fisherman's Market & Grill locations in the Palm Springs area, one of which was across the bridge from where we were staying. Funny fact of the day: this bridge crosses a river. But I'm almost 100% sure that river has been dry for, like, ever. We came for a lunch on a very hot August day. There is outdoor seating which would be a wonderful place to enjoy some casual seafood, but the heat was just too much to bear. If the mist-sprays had been turned on earlier, it would've been okay to sit outside.

Fisherman's Market & Grill Menu

When we arrived, we didn't quite know what to do. It isn't table service, and it isn't counter service either. A waiter asked us if it was our first time at Fisherman's and we replied yes. He handed us a few paper menus and informed us that we placed our orders at the cashier, then he will find us a seat indoors. The paper menus he handed us were rather useless, as the whole regular menu is written on a massive blackboard and included the prices (with the paper version did not). 

I can't say the waiter was super courteous while treating us unfamiliar customers. The tone of his voice was a bit stern and frustrated. I get that we starred at the menu for a really long time, and began sitting at an open table supposedly meant for another group, but we're new and should be aware of that. 

We got into a bit of an ordering mishap as the cashier charged us for the wrong fish tacos. On Tuesdays, they have a $5 fish taco special (taco Tuesdays!). There is also a lunch special of the same dish that is $7.99, but happens everyday. And then there's the regular fish tacos written on the blackboard which costs $8.95. Keep in mind all of these are exactly the same dish. My mom didn't notice the mistake on the receipt until we were seated at a table. Thankfully our server fixed that for us and brought us back change. Lesson of this post: make sure the cashier punches in the right order before you pay!

While we were waiting for our food, I went to fill up our water cups with cold water from the soda machine and also added some lemon or lime from the condiments section. There is a variety of salad dresses, sauces (like tartar sauce), and salsa available to go with the food. 

Sea Bass Sandwich ($12.95)

Our orders swiftly arrived and we anticipated the sea bass burger the most. It was a disappointment and resembled nothing like the buttery Chilean sea bass we had long ago. This is because it isn't the same species of sea bass. I mean for under $15, we shouldn't have expected it to be Chilean. The Barramundi sea bass is the more common type found during my visit in California, and is probably what this was. The fish was cooked all the way through and the texture was flaky like a 'normal' white fish. It wasn't exciting at all and the burger was crumbly and fell apart easily. I would not recommend the sea bass burger sandwich. The coleslaw and rice pilaf sides were rather good though.

3 for $5 Fish Tacos

Here we have the Tuesday tacos! (Or just the Baja fish tacos in other words) On the poster advertising taco Tuesday next to the cashier, I noticed some famous food network stars came and voted this as the 'best fish tacos'. Now, I've never had a fish taco before, but I can definitely conclude that these were amaze-balls. Every element of this dish was fanta-bulous. Absolutely enlightening. To begin, the fish was fried to perfection, and I usually don't fancy fried foods at all. It was crispy yet not greasy and the fish was meaty and moist. Next, the corn tortillas were charred and thoroughly heated up on the grill, making it bendy and more flavourful. I have no idea how the tortillas didn't start breaking halfway through, but it was wonderful. The slaw looked plain, but was very lightly dressed, adding the necessary flavour but not over powering the fish and corn tortilla. A little squeeze of lime (okay, I put a lot...) and maybe a spoonful of salsa from the condiment bar made this dish the ultimate meal deal. Did I mention that these three tacos were each huge?! These tacos are must. get. Tuesday or not. I'm estimating that 25% of the customers at the restaurant were munching on these tacos. (My family ordered two) The table next to us, the table behind us, everyone was aware of the amazing taco deal on Tuesdays. I loved this so much, I am inspired to re-create it at home. So far, no luck, but I'll continue to dream about these fish tacos~

Ahi Tuna Sandwich ($12.95)

The dish I chose to order was the Ahi tuna sandwich. I had some pretty darn amazing Ahi in Hawaii and wanted to make a comparison. This wasn't bad; the fish was grilled to a perfect rare. The flavours in the sandwich were not overwhelming, but it was a good balance of fresh vegetables, creamy sauce, and bounce-y fish. I chose coleslaw and potato wedges as my sides. The potato wedges are reaaaally good too! Crispy on the outside and well seasoned; had to prevent myself from gobbling them all up. It was a good sandwich (I swear it looks like a burger!), but it's nothing I'd purposely go back for.

There aren't too many restaurant choices in Palm Dessert/La Quinta, so Fisherman's Market & Grill is a great place to go for lunch. Take a look at the $7.99 lunch specials on their website; there are some great deals there too like clam chowder and salad. If you're near a Fisherman's location on a Tuesday, pop in for some super delicious fish tacos that are easy on the bank account and an indulgence for the taste buds. Life changing. 

Reviews on Yelp

Palm Springs on Dwellable

Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Eating on Oahu: Other Tidbits

Click below to read about where I found afternoon snacks, bought an excessive amount of macadamia nuts, and my favourite stops on Oahu.

Liliha Bakery

Liliha Bakery's famous Coco Puffs

A funny story that goes with my experience with Liliha is that on my first visit, I arrived to a locked door. They are open 24/7, but just closed on Mondays. And of course, with my type of luck, I happened to pay a visit on a Monday. Fail for my foodie homework. 

Thankfully, the Island of Oahu is not very large, so a second trip to Liliha is only a short car ride away from Waikiki. Liliha Bakery sells very homestyle-looking baked goods, and they have a lot of it too. Their products  are relatively cheap here, so you can afford to try a few things. My family purchased coco puffs (or cream puffs), coconut danish, and a lemon coconut bar. But out of those three goods, I would only recommend the puffs. Specifically the original coco puff (coco custard centre with a different type of cream on top. Chantilly?) or the green tea one. The others would not be worth mentioning. Make a trip to Liliha purely for their coco puffs, because their puff exploding with custard is delicious.