Thursday, September 27, 2012

Sales and Baru Latino

A dear coworker of mine shared with me some good news the other day. There's a sale!! Not just any sale, it was a sale over at West Point Cycles. What a perfect way to feed my new hobby even more!! It was a one day only thing, and it was from 6pm-9pm. We headed over there after work, expecting there to be a huge line up. 

When we arrived there, we were the first ones there and early. Regardless, the rep still let us start shopping and what good deals I scored!!! I bought two new Gore Bike Wear jerseys and a pair of knee warmers for under $140!! For those who know the sport, Gore does not come cheap, I left feeling like I got the best deal of my life! They had Shimano cycling shoes for $50/pair! Even though those were a steal, I don't need two pairs so I had to put them down... the thought did cross my mind!

Prior coming down to the store, I googled what restaurants were around. We decided to give Baru Latino (2535 Alma) a try. Most of the time when I think Latin, the only things I could think of are tacos. But after browsing through their menu. I figured it would be worth a try. I started the dinner off with a Sangria, it goes good with everything. The only suggestion I would have to make this even better is to add a bit more fruits. The flavour was great, but more fruits would have helped the presentation.  


The first tapas to arrive was the Baru Ceviche. This was made with shrimp and halibut, with fresh lemon juice, avocado, tomatoes, onions and cilantro. It came with some sort of plantain fritata that was crispy, that along with some of the ceviche on top was fabulous. This dish was a good combination of texture and taste. You can taste the freshness of the ingredients. Freshness is important when it comes to ceviche. No one wants to eat bad fish.

Up next was the Baru Tacos (3 spicy halibut tacos with a mango chipotle salsa). Seems like everyone lately likes to put mango with their fish tacos. 

I don't blame them, the sweetness of mangoes compliments spicy flavours very well. I enjoy the crispy texture of the fish with the freshness of the salsa. I'm not a big fan of cilantro either, but in this combination, it worked very well.

The last dish we had was the Chuletillas de Cordero, which is essentially Australian lamb chops served with mashed potatoes, guava mojo and caramelized onions. As mentioned before, mine and Will's view on lamb are on different spectrum. He loves it and I could do without it. But I have to let him pick something that he likes to so that is what we ended with. The jus was savoury yet sweet, it masked the gamey taste of the lamb very well. The meat was very tender and it fell off the bones quite easily. Presentation was great, I like that when they come french tipped, it makes it more visually pleasing and easier to eat. The mashed potatoes were a bit too soft for me, nonetheless, you can't really screw up mashed potatoes. Overall, the meal was pretty good, it gave me a new view on Latin cuisine, I can definitely come back again.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

What's Not Meant To Be and The Tomahawk

It seems like most Sunday's we go out and do something bike related. We woke up early this morning and brought Will's bike into Cove Bikes for a tune up. Prior heading out, we have been talking about Dr. Fine, he's this bike that I fell in love with the last time we there. I know I already have a road bike, but a hybrid would be nice, so I can go on trails. He would have been perfect for it. So light and so fine! But when we we arrived, and after looking through the store, I didn't see him park in his usual spot. He has been sold!! Definitely felt some sadness and that feeling of my heart sinking to my stomach. I hope who ever bought him treats him right, rides him regularly and gives him a good home.. Oh, Dr. Fine!

Being in the area, we went to have a second go at The Tomahawk. Our friends joined us as well, and it was their first time there. Will had the Mixed Grill, that included 9 pieces of bacon, sausages, eggs, cheese, burger patty, hashbrowns and toast. His plate was gigantic! Don't worry, he didn't finish it all, but he did conquer about half his plate. He needed to save space for his pie. 

I had the Yukon, this had 2 eggs, back bacon, served on toast and a bed of hashbrowns. The last time I was there, I saw this kid get a side of hollandaise sauce with the exact same meal. I thought it was a good idea and I did the same thing. The hollandaise helps makes the texture less dry, and obviously it adds flavour. I really enjoy back bacon, way more than I do the regular kind! My portion was pretty big as well, I saved some to be added to the box of leftovers we'd bring home.All of the portions on the menu are pretty large. A lot of the times, I feel that there's a correlation between quantity and quality. When there is more quantity,  often quality is lacking, and when you get a meal that looks small in quantity, the quality is usually better. At Tomahawk, the quality does not suffer even though their plates are of quantity. So go hungry and leave happy. Let me warn you though, go early or there is going to be a wait. There is always a wait!

We had originally plan to ride Stanley Park afterwards, but with the much needed digestion and avoiding the possibility of cramps, that plan fell through. We did end up walking around downtown and visiting some bike shops though. There's always something new to see. Before we knew it, it was getting rather late. We still wanted to get a ride in, so we just headed back in to Steveston.

Our favorite spot never fails us. Seeing that it was dinner time and our previous meal lacked vegetables. We had a few beers and shared the Mediterranean Salad. It had jumbo prawns, greens, onions, cucumber and a bit of feta and goat cheese. It's pretty safe to say that there is nothing bad on their menu, but I am looking forward to the menu change in October.

Fall is upon us! It was not long ago the sun used to set long after 7. But tonight, the sun was definitely down a lot more earlier than we were used to. My first time riding home after sun down. Time to get on those reflective night gear and tail lights.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Challenge Success and Fleuri At The Sutton Hotel

Friday marked the last day of my 10 Day Riding Challenge. As anticipated, success is mine!! It was our first ride where the sun wasn't out. The weather is certainly starting to change. Long pants and long jersey season has begun.
Seems like each ride we do tops the previous one. We rode about 32km last night! We knew we were going to ride towards the airport, but we had no concrete plan. Off we went and we took these loopy trails by the Arthur Lang bridge past the airport then all the way to the end of Iona Beach. That drive out there always seems so short, but that road from the airport alone to the beach was 5.5km! The wind was defintely blowing last night. My legs got a work out.

It was a quick stop at our destination and it was time to head back. We had dinner plans, so it would be ideal to be showered and clean before we go. This picture is of the poo pipe, you can ride out on that (on a mountain bike) or you can walk it, it's about 4.5km. For those of you who always complain about there is nothing to do in Vancouver, go get yourself a bike and explore your city! It's a new adventure everytime and you sure do see where you live in a different perspective. And the best part, you are taking care of your body and being healthy!!

Dinner was at Fleuri at the Sutton Hotel (845 Burrard St). We came across this awesome coupon from Travelzoo! It was $65 for a 5 course lobster and steak dinner and chocolate buffet for two. It's really good value for what you get, the chocolate buffet itself is usually $28pp!! The first course that came was the Amuse Bouche - Melon and a dollop of fresh cream goat cheese. I never really thought these two combinations would be good together, but it was surprisingly good to my taste buds. I liked the freshness of the melon and the mildness of the goat cheese. (I do apologize for the quality of pictures though, the lighting in there wasn't exactly optimal for iphone pictures)
The second course was Orange Marinated Lobster cocktail, with cucumber and vanilla bean salad, horse radish mousse and trout caviar. The presentation of this course was done very well and the taste of it wasn't bad either. While it says the lobster is orange marinated, I didn't taste much of the orange. The lobster tail was meaty and sat atop a bed of microcreens. There was a bit of goat cheese on the side as well. If you took a bite of the tail with the mousse, a bit of the micro greens and the goat cheese, it will be and explosion of flavour in your mouth. Who can't appreciate a good lobster tail?

Third course was the Pancetta Truffle Risotto with sable fish, corn foam, and tarragon broth. I love risotto and this is probably one of hte better ones I've ever had. While the portion visually seemed on the small side, it packed a huge punch of deliciousness! I would assume lots of butter was used in the making of this, I would almost describe this dish as divine. The little bit of sable fish was a nice touch. Foam anything is very popular these days, this is the third restaurant in the last few months we have been to that served flavoured foam.

Beef Tenderloin and Mushroom Confit was the last of the savoury courses. It was served Israeli cous cous and the meat itself was toped with a red pepper cheese fondue. This course was just as good as all the ones before it, but I would have to put emphasis on the TENDERloin part, it was so buttery and cooked just right. The meat was pinky red in the middle, just how I like it!

The last part of the meal was what Will had been anticipating all day and night, the chocolate buffet. We went up for our first round, on this plate, I got the White Chocolate Bavoise (in the bow), chocolate cupcake, chocolate truffle cake, and some layered baked good. The bavoise tasted like a marshmellow, the texture was very fluffy and light. The cupcake was okay, I found it to be too dense. The cake was absolutely decadent with robust chocolate flavours.

I grabbed this cup of chocolate mousse too. As the Chinese saying goes, my eyes were definitely greedier and wider than what my stomach could hold. I had to forfeit this and hand it over to Will. I really didn't have much space left in my stomach, but he was already waiting for round 2 of the chocolate buffet.

Will had been eyeing the crepe maker the moment we walked in to the restaurant. Surely, there's no way he was going to leave without having one of her creations. She was very skilled at what she does. It was entertaining just watching her make it.
Being the greedy guy that he is, he topped it with everything possible. He had ice cream, chocolate shavings, syrup, sprinkles, the whole works!
I ended my meal off with a chocolate ice cream. I was hesitant when she first offered me a scoop, but it's hard to turn down ice cream. The dinner was really good. I should make mention that I had a wine pairing as well to go with my meal. It was a very agreeable price!! $20 for a flight of three, and these weren't small pours either! What a satisfying way to end the week with a long ride and a good dinner to top it off!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Day 9 Down! Bridges an The Ugly Duckling

Today was probably one of the longest rides I've been on. Will told me today we were going to conquer a bridge and that we did! We rode out from home, towards the Canada Line Bridge, into Vancouver and back. Every time there is an incline, it just seems never ending, but luckily the ride today was still much easier than the one from Gibsons into Robert's Creek.


As you can see, I used the app, MapMyRIDE. It really is awesome that it tracks your distance, riding time, climb and etc. As much as I hate climbing hills, when you do conquer them, you get a sense of accomplishment. May be I'll find them to be more enjoyable when I am stronger and when I have those muscles developed. Lol, Will was already at the end of Canada Line Bridge when I was slowly pedaling up.

It's Wings Wednesday, so on the way home from Vancouver, we rode to the Flying Beaver (4760 Inglis Drive). We didn't get the the regular Wednesday beer special, rather we got the Ephemere, its an apple wheat beer. It had the slightest hint of apple and a refreshing flavor (as it should because it is a summer beer). Along with our bevies, we had some wings! Every Wednesday their wings are $0.45 each and you have to order a minimum of ten per order. I like them dry and I get the sauce on the side, which would usually be blue cheese. Will gets the same but he likes his with BBQ sauce. He was greedy today so he got honey garlic as well.

Time to hit the road before it gets dark. Outside the Beaver, we saw the funniest thing. A White swan/goose with a bunch of Canada Geese. Since animals don't have mirrors, this funny guy probably didn't know he was not with is kind. We had to snap a picture.  Made me think of the story, The Ugly Duckling.


Monday, September 17, 2012

After Sunday Comes... Monday

Sunday funday!! You should always make the most of this day before having to go back to work. Usually, Sundays are meant for running errands and getting groceries, but if you wake up early enough you can fit in other activities. Will woke up super early to ride with his buddies. He rode with the big boys, can you tell which one is his?

They started off in Kitsilano, toured around Stanley Park, then over the Lion's Gate Bridge to Whyte Cliff then Horeshoe Bay and back. That's much too long of a ride for me and I'm not ready to conquer those steep hills.He was definitely exhausted after the ride.

As for I, it was a lone ride. I had planned to ride down in to Steveston from the dyke, then back down Finn Slough over the Massey tunnel and back. Can't leave home without a hearty breakfast before the ride, so I made myself an egg and crispy chicken sandwich with cheese. 

But when I geared up for my ride, I had forgotten that Will had taken my water bottle and cage. So on that note, it was just in to Steveston and back. Plugged in my iPod, set the MapMyRide app and off I went. Short ride due to dehydration, and I have to admit the few drinks I had the night before didn't help much either.
The both of us drove in to Steveston to enjoy the sunshine for a bit before heading off to dinner. We stopped at Timothy's yogurt, I really wanted my banana flavour and for the fourth  consecutive visit there, they have been out! FAIL!! I was so sad. I swear, I should just bring my own frozen banana there. Will got real hungry not too long after that snack and we couldn't decide where to eat. We wanted something some Asian cheap eats. I surprised him by taking him to Han Ju Tofu Hot Pot (8328 Capstan Way). I usually put up quite the resistance every time he brings up that place, but I wanted Korean and didn't feel like having to spend a lot. We got the seaweed strings to start. Apologies for the picture, he was hungry and forgot to take a picture before we started, so don't be fooled, the portion is larger than what is shown above. This appetizer is only $1.75!! It has got the regular seaweed flavor, but its more to the saltier, fishier, slimy side. You need chopstick skills if you don't want it slipping and sliding. 

I ordered Set #2, Kimchi Hot Pot, its $6.95 and it comes with egg, mussel, pork slices, squid, green bean noodles in a soup. You can choose your degree of spiciness. It also comes with a small bowl of rice. I like my medium spicy. It's just enough to make you break a small sweat without burning your tongue.

Here's a closer look. There's quite a lot of soup so you can't really see clearly what's in it. I would have a picture of Will's Bibimbap, but like all the other times we don't have picture for his food is because he ate it before he remembered to take a picture.The total cost of the meal along with my Apple Sidra drink was only $18 something. Very affordable!

MONDAY

I absolutely hate Mondays at work. It's always the busiest day of the week and also the day I have the least patience. The only thing I like about Mondays is the bike ride after work. However, little did I know, when I got home, there were goodies waiting for me!!

My cycling shoes arrived!! So exciting!! But I'm not sure when I'm going to start using them yet. I need to be more confident and know where my pedals are. I've seen Will almost bail a few times. Definitely not wanting any road rashes or disfigurement! Some of my cold gear came as well, just waiting for my pretty gold jacket now!

Off on our ride, we rode down No. 3 road towards the dyke, and in to Steveston to met up with our friend. He came for a very short cruise in town and we had some Starbucks. Black Shaken Sweetened Ice Tea is the best value for your buck. Even if you get the venti, its still cheaper than anything else on their menu. On the way there, we stopped at Phoenix Pond.

Look closer on the log! There are so many birds perched on there! We did the reverse route of Crabapple lane then down No 1 road and headed home. This is the second time we went out for a ride and didn't stop for food! Ahahah so proud of us. When we arrived home, Will had already cut up all the veggies as I asked him while I was at work.

Dinner tonight was a mushroom medley with brown rice and pesto sauce. We were supposed to have portabello mushroom quesadilla, but we didn't get any tortillas. This is a very simple dinner! Anyone can make it. It only consists of, 9 regular button mushrooms, 2 portabello mushrooms, 2 onions and 2 ripened tomatoes. Throw that all in a pan with a bit of olive oil and cook it up. I like to throw in a bit of Italian herbs and seasoning for flavor. The pesto is homemade too, but you can google that, its so easy!

And on that note, I'm done day 8 out of my bike challenge! I anticipate that I will have my next two rides on Wednesday and Friday.. then I shall be DONE!!



Sunday, September 16, 2012

N Drivers and Birthday Celebrations

Yesterday was the first Saturday in a long time where Will didn't have to work his normal day job and we could actually go and open the gym together! We rode in, trying to maximize the sunny days before they are completely gone. The sun is still here, but the chill in the air is quite apparent. Upon arriving to the gym, we realized there no were classes in session due to the grappling tournament.
Congratulations are in order to our good friend Sina on his achievement and medals! Apparently, he's won himself a spot for the Canada Vs Russia 70kg division. How exciting is that? Not only will he be representing our gym but our country as well!

Since we taken up biking as a hobby, we have been frequenting MEC almost every weekend! The store on Broadway is gigantic! There are so many goodies to see and buy. It's so hard to walk out of there without buying anything. But this visit had it's own purpose. We were there to return things. Will bought a jacket and realized it's something that he didn't really wanted. He wanted something with better waterproof ability and warmth. And I needed to return this pair of  cheap cycling shorts. Now, I say that they are cheap not only because of the  price ($29), but also because of the quality. I thought I just needed something to get me by. However, the padding was so thin, I might as well not have worn them at all! They had to be returned!! The return process was a piece of cake!! No questions, no hassles!! I was quite shocked. The card that I made my purchases on was recently compromised so that account is not longer active, most retailers only would make refunds on the original card only!! Not a problem there! I was so relieved! Guys, if you love the outdoors, or you just love shopping, come to MEC! The variety of items they have are abundant and their return polices are AWESOME! You have up to ONE YEAR!! So if you shop here, you will never have to experience buyer's remorse again!!
There are a lot of bike shops along Broadway, and La Bicicletta is another store we like to browse through. Most of their stuff is Italian made, and their prices are pretty high. It doesn't hurt to look right?! And if you are a single lady looking for a baller, get in to biking and hang out here!  There are always good looking men coming through, and if you know they shop here there bank account is not small. La Bicicletta carry this line that Will has fallen in love with, Rapha. I do have to admit they have really stylish bike wear. On a whim, he ended up buying a pair of Rapha bib shorts that have a thermal lining inside, he convince me that he needed it, and I convinced him that I needed to have this cute cycling hat to keep my helmet hair at bay. Wooo! Our first purchases from this store. Oh, I saw something funny too. I swear I saw the regular price for this particular bike was $2600, then I saw a "sale" tag on the bike handles, the sale price said $2599! Wow!!! A total saving of ONE DOLLA! (LOL).


We had a little bit of time before we were supposed to attend a friend's birthday party. Feeling a bit hungry and thirsty, we couldn't wait any longer to get something into our stomach, so we stopped by Martini's. As we sat there enjoying our drinks, we were joined by our two friends, Russ and Danielle who were going to the same party. They some how spotted us from across the street (and we didn't even check in on Facebook)! The four of us witnessed something horrendously awkward and some what funny while we sat on the patio. There was a new driver trying to park in front of the restaurant. I'm not sure how she passed her first driving exam, and I'm not sure if she was smart enough to know that her truck was much bigger than the space she was trying to get in to. After a few austin power moves, a loud BANG followed. She backed right into this Audi. When that happened, the whole restaurant gasped and we're all wondering who the car belonged to. Shortly after, a young girl came out of the driver's side to assess the damage. I'm pretty sure there was a moment there she thought about driving away, there was a pause that followed after the crash. She had a palm to face moment and the owner of the Audi came out. Then we all saw her get back into her truck and try to re-park again. Watching her continuously fail and almost hitting the car again, the word awkward would have been an understatement. The girl's friend made the same attempt, success was not to be had. The owner of the Audi finally got in to her truck and tried to parallel park too. He realized the spot was too small and drove off to find parking elsewhere. I decided to put the above video up on parallel parking, everyone could use some tips. But the lesson here is, if your car is too big for the spot.. FIGURE IT OUT!
When we arrived to Mr. Brownstone (2904 Main St), our tables were still not ready. Considering we were already late for our reservation, I wasn't really impressed. Finally after having our seating arrangements get shuffled around we got situated and ordered some drinks to start with. Their food menu is quite small, only one page long with typical pub fare. But when it came to their beverages, that till fill up three pages. The boys ordered a Heineken, Danielle had a margarita and since I'm a beer snob, I had the Erdinger Weissbier (German Hefe-Weizen). Hefeweizens are usually drunken during the summer season, its a white wheat beer that is very refreshing often served with a lemon or orange wedge. It's more on the light side, suiting the summer time perfectly. The size of my beer seemed much bigger in size than the Heinekens, which made Will a bit jealous and he once again regretted his choice. 
We ordered the Special Mushroom Flatbread to share.  When it arrived, the mushrooms did not look that special, they were just ordinary button mushrooms and I was disappointed by the lack of ingredients. As you can see, this flat bread has only been topped with three things, cheese, mushrooms and cilantro. Taste wise, I would say it would be mediocre at best. I couldn't get over how little ingredients there was. and the flat bread wasn't very crispy, it was more on the soggy side.
Redemption was found in the Chicken Tacos. The orders came in threes. The soft shells were densely packed with tender and moist chicken, slaw and cilantro. Simple and good, this dish could have reached excellency if they were more innovative with their salsa. They had a live band playing in the back ground, I didn't pay too much attention as I was enjoying the company that I was with. 

Cake arrived, Steph was so thoughtful that she got Nick this awesome cake. He loves his jeep and they go off roading quite a bit. He also has mad love for Metalica. This was the perfect cake for him. Now, usually fondant cakes aren't that tastey, but this caught me by surprise. The fondant had just enough sweetness, and the cake was moist. Very rarely do you get a good looking cake that actually tastes good! Good job Steph and happy birthday Nick! I hope you had an good time at your celebrations =)

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Date Night at Kitanoya Guu

Once a week, we try to go out on a date to spend quality time with each other. Most of our dates usually include food since that is our passion. This week, I was really craving Peking Duck, but Will didn't feel like stuffing his face with grease nor did he want "white food". On that note, we decided we'd get sushi or something Japanese, since that is usually lighter fare. Since Nanchuu changed their menu, there's not a lot of places to go on a weekend night that has a bumpin' atmosphere. So Guu it is. We went to the Richmond location inside Aberdeen since it's convenient and we don't have to cross any bridges. If you are looking for a quieter setting, this would not be the place to go. There's a lot of yelling in the restaurant. Every time a customer enters or exits they are greeted and every time you place an order in, your server yells it towards the kitchen.
Beef tongue was the first dish that came. I know the TONGUE part doesn't sound very appetizing. In fact, it took me a little bit to get over it. Will loves all his intestines, innerds and other animal body parts and he really wanted this so I agreed. I can't control every that the he eats (LOL)! Took my bite into the first piece, it was surprisingly tender. If you can get over the fact it's a cow tongue, it is actually quite tastey. There is a bit of chopped green onion, mustard and chilli powder that you can use as you can see on the side of the plate.

Baked scallops and potatoes with cheese was next. This is a fairly simple dish. I guess because scallops are more on the expensive side, adding the potatoes this dish more substantial in size. I think there was just enough scallops and potatoes together where neither of the items dominated the other. You could definitely still taste the scallops amidst the potatoes. And who doesn't like cheese? Cheese makes everything good in this world!

I like the raw stuff when we go for Japanese food. On the fresh sheet last night, there was this special called the "Deluxe Tuna Box." It came with six different items and it looked like it was a good value. This box included two pieces of tuna sushi (one red and one white), two pieces of tuna sashimi, one piece of fried tuna, tuna yukke (the red portion on the top right), crazy tuna, and albacore tuna. The crazy tuna was a salad and the texture was very interesting, it reminded me of jerky, it had a certain toughness to it. I love yukke anything!! I think yukke just means they serve it with a bit of chopped onions and some type of vinegar. The albacore tuna was lightly seared. I like albacore tuna because it always tastes so meaty! The sashimi and sushi were nothing out of the ordinary, but I do appreciate the freshness of it.

Trio of fish were up next. This was another one of my choices. The special's last night was a piece of Spanish Mackerel, Striped Jack and Yellowtail negiri sushi for $7.50. Not the oh so ordinary kind of fishes on the menu, which is nice. While salmon, tuna and etc are good, its nice to have choices There's plenty of fish in the sea right?! These variety of fish to me had a similar texture to tuna, a bit more on the fatty side but the flavour is more delicate. As good as these were, I would have liked it more had they been a bit more cooler in temperature. I don't know if it was the handling or the fridge, but they tasted a little bit towards the warm side.

We each picked three pieces of sushi. From the left side in the picture are Will's two uni sushi, and large roe eggs. I had the chopped scallop, tuna and tobiko. I'm not really a huge fan of uni. I can't get over the texture as mentioned in the kiriri post. Will loves them, loves them enough that he had to have at least two. He calls them his "brains." When he had the large roe this time around, I think he found it to be too fishy, but there is nothing that he doesn't like so no complaints there. My choices of sushi were good. I really like how they top it off with a quail egg, it adds something different to it.

Kimchi udon was our filler course. The noodles are first cooked in hot water then fried up in a wok that goes up in flames with mentaiko sauce, then its topped up with some kimchi and nori. I wish I could have taken a picture of the wok up in flames, but there were too many things in the way. Nori (aka seaweed) tastes good on top of anything! It adds flavour and texture. The kimchi was alright, but it was more on the sour side for me, I could have done without it.

Gindara (grilled black cod) was the last item at dinner. This dish is usually on the more expensive end, and we usually have it grilled and dip it into Japanese mayo. They make it a little different here at Guu. It was marinated in soy sauce then topped with garlic chips. The fish still had that nice soft texture with the buttery after taste, but the marinade might have made it too salty. In comparision,  I still like the one at Tora Renbo better.

On a side note, I am half way through my bike challenge! After work and before going out to dinner, we did a small loop around Richmond. We went down the dyke towards the tunnel then back up around on Westminster. I'm doing better with my gear changing, gaining better confidence and am improving on my speed. Yay!!