Celebrate the Year of the Sheep at the LunarFest

In celebration of the year of the sheep, hundreds of sheep was surrounding the Vancouver Art Gallery earlier in the month. It makes for a very cool display. There are also individual sheep that have been decorated by various artists.

Can you spot the black sheep?

Broken Rice Vietnamese Restaurant

Broken Rice is located in the heart of Burnaby Heights and offers delicious Vietnamese cuisine. My family went for a small lunch (snack?) since we were in the neighbourhood. The restaurant is small and decorated with some cool Asian decor. The dishes we ordered were signature Vietnamese plates so it was hard to go wrong. I might go back to try their pho! 

 

Green Papaya Salad

Spring Rolls

Pork & Shrimp Salad Rolls

Glenburn Soda Fountain & Confectionary - A Perfect Old Time Soda Shop!

Glenburn Soda Fountain and Confectionery is the cutest old time soda shop located in South Burnaby. They offer ice cream sundaes, milkshakes and sodas. I took my family to try it out because really, who is going to say no to ice cream? 

There are so many things to choose from the menu!

Mum got a classic coffee ice cream cone.

I opted for a Glenburn special - Black Out. It has chocolate ice cream, hot fudge, chocolate chips and topped with chocolate whipped cream, dark chocolate sprinkles and crowned with a chocolate wafer cookie. Is that too much chocolate? I think not.

Glenburn was also participating in the Hot Chocolate Festival. You got a mini cone with your drink.

Glenburn also offered bottled pop in cute old time-y designs.

I really like the designs on these sodas!

They don't open until the afternoon and then they become extremely busy, so be patient while you wait in line (a good time to peruse what other merchandise they have for sale!). I'm definitely going back because I want to try to everything on the menu! Glenburn Soda the perfect place to satisfy your sweet tooth and maybe soak in a little nostalgic memories.

Aotoya Blue Door Japanese Restaurant

Blue Door, a little hole in the wall in my neighbourhood, was recommend by my coworker for authentic Japanese food. They offer teishoku and donburi combos with a main dish and several side dishes that change daily (according to what is available in the market).

Agedashi tofu.

Sushi combo - one of the only non-authentic dishes offered.

Spicy chicken.

Simmered mackerel teishoku.

Unagi donburi.

Ebi fry teishoku.

Green tea pudding.

Black sesame mochi with red bean.

A free dessert is offered when you spend $20. They also offer a 20% discount on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays. Blue Door is definitely a great place to try - my family has been back three more times since our first visit.

LEGO February Promos

With a new month comes new promotions at LEGO. This month, spend $35 or more and receive a free City Demolition Driller polybag. A great addition to your city scene!

 
As well, don't forget to use your February coupon from the calendar you might have gotten in November and December. You will receive a Han Solo Hoth minifigure polybag. This polybag was given out during Star Wars Day in a previous year but it is still great for collectors!

Itadakimasu Izakaya

J took me to Itadakimasu last week, a Japanese Izakaya place in her neighborhood. The place was small, but busy as it got near the dinner hour. While there was nothing too special, they did have a lot of great looking dishes that I saw coming out for other tables. I got a bit of food envy! I think I will go back to try some different things soon.

Tuna tataki with ponzu jelly.

Takoyaki.

Cute temari sushi box - round balls of sushi with different toppings.

Sashimi salad. Not really worth it since there were only a few pieces of fish. The salad is served on top of a deep fried rice cake.

Dine Out Vancouver Festival 2015 - The Butcher and Bollock

The Butcher and Bollock was my last restaurant during the festival, and I went with my coworkers. Located downtown on Pender St, they offered an $18 menu that was definitely worth every penny!

Scotch egg - organic egg with pork sausage.

Braised pork belly with sour cream mashed potatoes, spinach and apple cider jus.

Banana and caramel strudel with walnuts and vanilla bean ice cream. They forgot the caramel on mine :(

We had a rather large party and it was definitely a fun place to go for drinks, games and good food. Everyone was so full from the pork belly (all that fat, mmm) that we had trouble finishing the dessert!

Dine Out Vancouver Festival 2015 - Reflect Social Dining

J and I took the family to Reflect at the Hilton in Burnaby. I wasn't even aware that this dining lounge existed, but the $28 menu looked pretty tasty so I thought I would try it out!

A bread basket to start, with flatbread and baguette.

Brome lake duck confit with baby frisee, pickled radish, fingerling potato salad and pommery mustard vinaigrette.

Squash bisque with coconut kaffir lime creme.

Trio of seafood paupiette. It came wrapped up in parchment paper...

And opened to this: tiger prawn, ling cod, salmon with root vegetables

Red deer elk osso bucco with andouille sasauge, atomic baby glazed carrots, wilted kale and cranberry confiture.

White chocolate mango mousse cake with a medley of seasonal pearls.

Peanut butter chocolate crunch with Nutella and raspberry coulis.

This menu was definitely worth the $28 and my whole family thoroughly enjoyed it! (I thought dessert was the best part). Definitely check out Reflect if you're looking for some West Coast fare!

Dine Out Vancouver Festival 2015 - Cork and Fin

With the end of the Dine Out Vancouver Festival coming to an end, I thought I'd share some photos from the restaurants I went to! There was definitely some good food to be had, and I'll be looking for the 2016 festival!

The first restaurant I went to was Cork and Fin. Located in the heart of Gastown just outside the entrance of Blood Alley, this restaurant offers fresh seafood and a quaint little place to dine. For the Dine Out Festival, they offered a 3-courses of savoury dishes, for $28.

Lobster bisque - brandied apples, charred scallions.

Smoked ricotta croquette with spiced tomtato jam, leeks, potato.

Octopus and chorizo, with salsa roja, toasted brioche.

Arctic char with gnocchi and edamame.

Flank steak with confit potato, braised purple cabbage (+$3).

I thought the food was good, though some was a bit burnt. The service was a bit slow, and my friend wasn't satisfied with the portion size so we ended up going to another (two) restaurants for more food and dessert. Cork and Fin might be a good place to go for oysters during their happy hour, where they offer 2-for-1 oysters!