Twisted Fork Bistro

Twisted Fork Bistro on Granville Street

While vising my aunt in Downtown Vancouver, she took us on a private walking tour around Burrard and Davie street. As it was almost noon, it made sense to also find some place to eat lunch. Twisted Fork Bistro was a lot closer than I thought so I suggested to try their brunch. It's been on my wishlist for a looong time!
 
Currently, Twisted Fork Bistro serves brunch every day of the week instead of lunch. I have no complaints as breakfast is the best meal of the day. Since the restaurant doesn't take reservations and I hear there are often long line ups, I prepared my mind to wait a for food. However, there was no line up trailing out the door and we were seated within five minutes. I guess because it's a Monday and many business people are at work. The man that greeted us was very enthusiastic, smile-y, and chatty; I love it when people's personalities lightens the atmosphere. 

Brunch Menu

After being handed the menu and the waitress serving us drinks, we decided to share three dishes among four people. At first I wasn't sure if the servings were that large but let's just say I'm so glad we only ordered three. The menu isn't extremely vast but everything sounds really good! Most look like a very balanced meal with lots of wholesome foods like eggs and vegetables. The 'twisted fork' that decorates the clipboard is really cute too~ 

Seating and Wall of Canned Goods

If you're looking for a quick lunch, this is not the place to go. The food took a really long time to come. I didn't time exactly how long but even while chatting with my family and examining the interior, it felt like a long time. This isn't too big of a bad thing for me since I do appreciate having some time to really enjoy being at the restaurant.

We were seated at the very last table. There are roughly ten or so tables in the entire restaurant, which, in addition with the long wait for food, creates long wait times (if there is one). The restaurant has dim lighting, it was only bright when we were there due to the natural sunlight coming in from the opposite side of the restaurant. During dinner the dark lighting probably creates a 'expensive French restaurant' type feel.

The wall of canned goods is right outside the bathroom near our table. Some of the jams are sold for $8 a jar while others were labeled for restaurant use such as "for cheese platter" or "for scallops". It's very neat that they can their own ingredients!

Bacon Fritatta

When the food finally arrived, it arrived all at once. Heated plates of large portions.

Nero Belgian Waffle Bar

Nero Belgian Waffle Bar

When the mid-afternoon low blood sugar level hit as we strolled around Downtown Vancouver, my best friend's mom suggested we find something sweet for a snack. Walking along the streets until the afternoon sun made us crave ice cream so we headed towards Bella Gelateria. But from two blocks away, we saw the line up curving around the corner and went for plan B, waffles. Since Cafe Medina just closed at 4pm, I recommended we try Nero Belgian Waffle Bar as it has been on my wish list for a while now.

Those four blocks we walked felt like the largest four blocks that existed in downtown. Located at 1703 Robson Street, Nero Belgian Waffle Bar is a small restaurant that could easily be missed if one wasn't paying attention. The three tables outside were all full with customers enjoying their sugary treat. With a bit of tree shade and a light breeze, it is an impeccable environment to relax and chat with a friend over a plate of waffles. Being a dessertatarian, my eyes sparkled with excitement. My fancy waffle experience was about to begin!

Nero Belgian Waffle Bar's Summer Specials Menu

Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh Restaurant

Finally, it is my turn to try this famous restaurant in Chinatown. It's probably in every Vancouver tourist recommendation book, popular to both locals and tourists. I rarely ever venture into that area as it's rather sketchy to do so without some guardians. I followed my best friend and her mom Downtown after a morning church service and we needed to find lunch somewhere on the way. Phnom Penh is located very close to Main street so it was convenient for us to pop by. My best friend has been hailed the Queen of Chicken Wings, so it was a must to bring her here.

Phnom Penh's awards

We arrived at noon on a Sunday and were told to wait 20 minutes for a table. Good thing we arrived a tad bit earlier than the lunch crowd; by five minutes later people were told to wait half hour to 45 minutes for a table. Just by seeing all the proudly framed awards covering the wall and stickers on their entrance door, and the long line up of hungry customers, one would be curious to find out why they have been famous for so long. But is worth waiting to have a taste of their raved-about chicken wings? To put it simply, YES.

Cactus Club Cafe at Coal Harbour

Cactus Club Cafe at Coal Harbour

Cactus Club Cafe opened it's newest location sitting on the edge of Coal Harbour at the beginning of 2013. The spanking new interior and fancy design create fantastic ambiance. 

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Torch

I usually have quite the bad impression on chain restaurants, but since my aunt was in town and spontaneously invited us to have lunch with her in Downtown, a foodie can't say no. 

'Indoor patio' with windows that completely open to Coal Harbour

This particular Cactus Club is situated right beside Vancouver's Olympic torch at the Vancouver Convention Centre, making it a great tourist magnet. The restaurant is extremely large with outdoor seating lining the exterior and tons of tables inside. We arrived at noon on a summer Saturday and were seated promptly. At first, we wanted to grab a seat under their signature yellow umbrellas outdoors, but I'm so glad they were all full. We ended up sitting at the section facing Coal Harbour. There were huge windows on one side and the roof above, allowing tons of the warm summer sunlight to shine on us. What awed me the most is how the windows could open. The entire side facing the water was now completely open, creating an 'indoor patio'. The seabreeze freely blew in; it really felt like you were outside. If you have the chance to be seated in this area, it is just like the outdoor seating but even better because it has a view! Just the seating alone is worth the visit. The open-air windows was the best part of my experience here.

Cactus Club Menu

Now, I didn't have high hopes for the food, despite what others have said. I've always viewed these 'higher class' chain restaurants like Earl's and The Boathouse as over priced for what you get. Items from fancy sablefish to simple spaghetti and casual tacos can be found on the menu. While examining their menu, I found a lot of dishes to be Asian inspired. Which usually turn out really good or really bad. Since I was dining with my grandparents, we didn't try any of the Asian-esque food. Also, there seems to be some special dishes by Rob Feenie from Food Network Canada which sounds exciting. Do remember that these dishes are not made by the celebrity chef's own hands but mass produced. It makes all the difference.

The Burger

Getting on to what we did eat, both my brother and aunt ordered The Burger. It comes with Sea Salted Fries but you can substitute that with a salad or yam fries for an extra cost. By the way, the yam fries are really good! Fried till crunchy on the outside but still soft and meaty on the inside, yum~ This is probably worth order on the menu as my brother finished this in five minutes flat and my aunt continuously commented on what a great burger it was. When I was chatting with my dad at home, he said when he went to another Cactus Club, he remembers it being really good too. The beef patty is what makes this burger so good. It's juicy and tender. The numerous toppings also make this burger much more exciting. Every traditional burger topping is added, cheese, bacon, sauteed mushrooms, pickles, tomato, lettuce... Which is why this burger is called The Burger. The with a capital T. As a side note, I would avoid ordering the mini burgers because the patty may not be as juicy as the full size.

Raincoast Greens Salad

Mosaic Bar and Grill 3

Yes, we crumpets have been to Mosaic Bar and Grill three times now! Things are looking good for Mosaic Bar and Grill! As my family haven't used up one Vaneats coupon from last time (see Mosaic Bar and Grill 1), and the expiry date was emerging, we made a reservation to go to the restaurant for another delicious meal at the Hyatt Regency.

We actually went on the second last day of the expiry date, and it turns out that they have a new summer/mid-summer menu! I was thrilled, as I love eating seasonally and what's better than summer produce? No surprise, the service and ambiance were both great and we were given ice water and some complimentary sea salt scones to nibble on upon ordering our dishes. See our previous blog post for the scones' review.

To my surprise, Chef Heinrich really wanted to make use of the fresh ahi tuna and we each were brought complimentary mini appetizer! I can't speak for the ahi tuna, but my company both gobbled it up! Along with the tuna was a little side of pickled radish and corn salsa. I loved the freshness and tangyness of the radish. It really helps kickstart your appetite!

I love how they put the dish in a dainty sardine can, so adorable!

There's not much to say about the Vaneats menu, as I have already reviewed it. However this time, the portion of the A La Minute Salmon was so much smaller! I decided it was because Vaneats was almost over and they are running out?! I'm not really sure, but as least the presentation and taste remained the same.

See the size difference from the first post? Ah, well that's okay; it's not too much of a big deal. (I'm not the one eating this anyway) ;)

Let's move on to the new menu. 

Kimbap Cheonguk 김밥천국 - with photos!

Dad: Where are we going for lunch?
Mom: Let's go to that little Korean restaurant on North Road.
Dad: You mean the 'four colour words' one?
Mom: Yes, see you there!

So, my family is back at this 'four colour words' restaurant for some cheap and tasty Korean eats. The logo of Kimbap Cheonguk has each Korean character placed in a red, green, yellow, and blue box, respectively. My parents can't read Korean so that's the little nickname they've given this restaurant. It has quickly become one of our favourite places to grab a quick and cheap lunch besides going for local dimsum. Although the menu is small, there are quite a few amazing dishes to be found. Please read my first post for additional details of some of the other dishes we've tried on previous occasions.

Regular Kimbap ($2.99)

The restaurant is called 'Kimbap Heaven', and thankfully the kimbap here certainly does live up to its name. I usually order the Regular Kimbap which is filled with egg, pickled radish, picked cabbage, carrots, and fishcake. But, it is the crispy seaweed that sets this simple dish apart from other similar rolls. It is also the cheapest kimbap around, only $3 for the regular roll! Definitely a winner in Coconut Crumpet's book, I come back just to have their crispy-seaweed rolled kimbap~ However, after my recent discovery of the super stuffed kimbap from Miga Korean Food, Kimbap Cheonguk's isn't 100% perfect. The crispy seaweed is perfect, but Miga's kimbap has better stuffing ingredients. Each has their own strong points and both are worth trying. 

Ddukbokki ($5.99)

My brother really wanted spicy rice cakes, so we got a ddukbokki just for filler. Ddukbokki is a common street food in Korea, also a comfort food. Sticks of chewy rice cakes are simmered in a red hot and slightly sweet sauce. Some fishcake, cabbage, and onions are thrown in this dish here. It gets pretty spicy as you eat more and more of it, probably not the best option for those that can't take the heat too well. The dish is okay, but not the best I've eaten. Therefore, I don't think it's worth $6. 

Al Bap ($7.99)

This, THIS, is the best item on the entire menu. I present to you, the Al Bap.

Saint Germain Bakery 新之美餅店

Cakes from Saint Germain Bakery

My mom finally went to redeem her tattered wedding gift certificate for a few pieces of cake at Saint Germain Bakery's Metrotown location. When I think of Chinese-style bakeries, things like sponge cakes, 'Mexican' buns, coconut tarts, wife cakes, and 'pineapple' buns come to mind. All of which are part of my childhood memories~ So deep, yes I know.

The gift certificate was good for $12 worth of goodies, and we decided it would be best used if we purchased special items we couldn't normally buy. We got six pieces of dessert for just over $13.

Desserts from Saint Germain Bakery

Let us get on with reviewing each dessert! I'll be going from left to right following the photo above.