Jarn? Jamjar? - Commercial Drive

I'm starting to think this industrial look doesn't spell out unique anymore. Every new hip place I go in Vancouver must use the same interior designing company. Anywho Ryan and I were on the Drive and noticed this new Lebanese restaurant. Pardon us for our ignorance, but we were both huh? Lebanese? And so us Lebanese food virgins decided it to give it a try. And it was really cold outside that particular night. 

The place was packed and the host asked us if we are okay with communal table - which was a-okay for us. We ordered their "dine out" menu as our server recommended it having variety of food items on a shard plate. 

Photowalk: Fort Langley

Fort Langley is one of my favorite places to go; it has fun shops, trendy cafes, huge antique stores, and a beautiful trail. 

Today was an unusually warm (and not rainy!) winter day in Vancouver so Ryan and I decided to go photowalking in Fort Langley. Most of the pictures are taken by Ryan. Hope you enjoy his work! 

xoxo

Ryan & Vivian

Coffee Monster Coquitlam Review

Lougheed area was always missing something major - a local coffee shop. You can only find Starbucks inside the Lougheed Mall which is always crowded with mall visitors... and that was it! Coffee Monster only opened late December of 2014 (or so I think...) and it's become super popular right away meeting the needs of Coquitlam residents and other visitors. In fact, when I went to check out the recent craze, there were no seats for us. It was again quite busy upon my first actual visit today.

Although I totally missed out on taking photos of their interior - I can tell the new owner has put in lots of time/effort in creating the atmosphere with industrial look. They also specialize in cold brewed coffees (similar to that of Revolver...I presume) but I'll save trying it until a hot summer day. 

  

Coffee Monster does have quite a selection for coffee/tea/dessert menus. Ryan and I both had Affogato and Vivian & her Ryan had two different teas: Herbal fruit & Earl Grey. I thought it was quite sensible they had an hourglass to for tea's brewing time. I am not an avid coffee drinker and do drink very rarely but I could tell their espresso was very smooth. I noticed their Italian sodas are flavoured with real fruits instead of artificial syrups and is creatively rimmed with pop rock candy. I shall try it next time!

Langley Foodie: Fat Cow & Oyster Bar

As a newbie to Langley, I still haven't discovered a lot of restaurants that I would like to visit regularly. It's especially hard to find a place to go for when I crave fresh oysters and seafood. Langley has all the franchise restaurants such as Cactus Club, Olive Garden, Moxies, etc but it's difficult to spot a local hot spot and most of the places in Fort Langley closes early:( So when I first found out about The Fat Cow and Oyster Bar, I couldn't wait to try out! 

Their main dishes seem to be seafood related but they also have wide selection if steaks and burgers. They also serve fresh oysters which I love but unfortunately I am not allowed to have them due to pregnancy. Oh well, just another 7 more months to go and I can have as many as I want! 

Vancity Foodie: Coast Review (...where we are not going back?)

As a former Torontonian, I am a Dine Outs craze (= summerlicious or winterlicious for Torontonians by the way), where I get to pamper myself with pretentious small portion food at Fixed Price menus offered by big brand named high end restaurants. My girlfriends and I got together (including Vivian & Alexa) for this opportunity. We set a date for an evening all three of us were available and made a reservation with Coast.

It was last Thursday, January 15th that we all got together. Walked into the restaurant wet and cold, and asked our lovely waiter Alex for a dine-outs menu. Alex looked positively flustered why he has forgotten to bring dine-outs menu and revealed the fact that it does not start until tomorrow! ....which we all knew it starts on 16th! So there we were. :-)

We had 3 main plates with deep-fried oysters on the side and couple desserts to satisfy all of our tastebuds. 

Vivian had White Miso Glazed Sablefish ($38.95) found under signature dish & was beautifully cooked! You can never go wrong with the soft texture of sablefish - however as much as I love the dish, I found it rather salty. It is definitely flavourful and we had no problem finishing the dish as it was the best one of the three.

Vancity Foodie: Vera's Burger Shack

If you think about it, a burger is actually a pretty well-balanced meal unlike its "junk food" image. You get carbs, vitamins, protein, fibre, etc from bread, patty, and veggies like onion, tamato, and lettuce.  What makes a burger is how and what you eat it with; soda, heavily salted french fries, and hormone-full meat patty are the criminals that makes it unhealthy and high calorie/sodium food. 

Well, that is just my thought. I might be just justifying my cravings for a hamburger :P

Ryan and I occasionally go to Vera's Burger Shack which we think provides decent burgers compared to McDonald's. 

Festival of Lights - VanDusen Botanical Garden (Video)

Gorgeous sparkles and twinkles decorating the winter garden! This really is a magical walk in the park when you make a visit to VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver every Holiday season. To be honest, I was not expecting MUCH and did not even bring my camera. On top of that, my phone decided to die after a few minutes entering the Festival of Lights at VanDusen Garden.

Ryan thinks it is a blessing when I don't have a camera/phone on me though - so that we can truly enjoy the scenery and carry on the appreciative thoughts. Anywho, I only have few photos to share but please consider them a preview! The virtual experience is nowhere comparable to the actual visit with hot cocoa in your hands and the cold wind tickling your cheeks! :-P

Miracle Belgian Waffle

It seems like the old fashioned waffle is back on its game or has it never been out of the game? Lately I have been noticing many waffle cafes opening in Vancouver and Ryan and I tried out one of the newest near Coquitlam Centre.

Miracle Belgian Waffle is a small cafe which opened in October. They open from 10am till 11pm so I think it is a great place to have a coffee break or a late night snack with friends. 

Brioche Gastown Review

I am back with the delicious posting today! Working retail hours, I get a random weekday off every now and then - which means I get to be the odd touristy patron at a restaurant full of business attires. Many Vancouverites may disagree - or we all may be pretending, just to carry on a conversation - but I actually love a rainy weather in Vancouver. Especially around this time of the year, I feel romance in the air and the streetlights on the other side of my windshield.  

Brioche is a small Italian cafe located in Gastown, on the north side of Downtown. My friend David - aka unofficial foodie - recommended Brioche for their Seafood Hot Pot (Cioppino Pescatore). 

As a non-driver for the day, I could not pass on their red wine Sangria! Full of fresh fruit <3 

Vancouver Lights Festival - Trinity Street

The great ode to joy of Trinity St Lights Festival started in 1999. There had been 2 residents that suffered unfortunate events in the neighbourhood, and the residents wanted to take ownership of the safe street. Hence the friendly neighbourhood light competition was started to celebrate the holiday joy, and now for good cause too! Visitors of the neighbourhood can participate in voting for best decorated house for the blocks. 

The blocks participating are from 2400 to 2900 of Trinity Street (Exit 25 on Mcgill near Renfrew). It was kind of an adventure for us to venture out on a weekday night. I realize how interesting we sound - but it was hard to find an evening that had a clear non-rainy sky. It was great and refreshing to take a walk after dinner with lattes in our hands. 

Vivian's version of Christmas tree

I bought this 7.5 feet pre-lit Christmas tree at a clearance store last year for $25 dollars. It was our first ever Christmas tree and I was so excited to try it out this year.

When it was time to light up the tree, I was so excited about the fact that my year long wait is over now. However...

Da da da dan... Da da da dan... 

(Symphony No. 5, Beethoven)

The tree wouldn't light up, perhaps there is an issue with the cords.

Natalie told me it looks like a tree from The Grinch. 

Ouch! 

Jang Mo Jib Burnaby Review

Opened their doors in 1995, Jang Mo Jib is a franchised traditional Korean cuisine restaurant you can find in different cities of lower mainland. I prefer to visit the Burnaby location although I always expect it be crazy busy.

The name Jang Mo Jib means "Mother-in-law's house."  In South Korea, there is a saying that the Son-in-law is any Mom's favorite person. Visiting Mother-in-law's house is an exciting event for the husband as he can be spoiled and feasted with variety of Korean dishes. You will also find their servings quite large and will sufficiently fatten their diners up. 

Joey's Tomatoes Coquitlam

Joey's Tomatoes Coquitlam is a special place to my husband and I because it is where we first met! I don't know if it was the lighting, but he looked extremely handsome. LOL (I told Nat first time we met for tea about how I thought Ryan looked like a famous actor in Korea and her politeness vanished in that instant. Tee hee!)

For that reason, whenever we have a special occasion, such as our anniversary or birthdays, we go to Joey's to remember the first dinner we had together. We also enjoy this place because as a casual dinning restaurant, the price is not too expensive for the quality and amount of food, and of course the service is pretty good too. 

Their menu. They also have a wine list and cocktails. 

Christmas Tree

It is December now - so I think I'm allowed to bring out my tree and other decorations. Condos don't provide much opportunities to decorate nor do we have a front yard for lit up rain deer, which I'm more relieved with anyways.