North American Groceries

Once, S and I were talking about groceries in North America. He told me that he loved shopping there because the shelves were endless! Imagine an entire lane of just cereal, or pet food, or ice cream! So one of the places I wanted to hit in Vancouver just had to be the grocery. And Save On Foods was the first one we went to.

See these apples? They’re called Grapples. And, just what, are grapples, you ask? They’re apple (imagine small fuji apples) that taste like grapes. YES they do!!! I brought home a pack of 4 and my kids loved it! (Wish they had them here!)

 Look at this — bread. So much variety!!

And they have a place where you can buy bulk-anything!

I think this is the nuts portion

Dried fruits –

Jellybeans till you’re tired of them!

More candy!

Even spices!

Our favorite…Ms Vickie’s!

I thought this was cool — a surprise in the bag!

And ooooh, the ice cream!

The brands of just one product are so much! So many things to choose from! And I didn’t even take pictures of detergent, or floor cleaner…it was so fun in the grocery!

Vancouver, The Food Series (Day 2)

The first Chinese restaurant that my BFF took me to is called Golden Swan Restaurant. It was a beautiful clear day!

Conflicting reviews online here, but this was the first thing I saw when I entered the restaurant —

We had Yum Cha, and these were what we got from the carts that passed us —

First was taro puff…how could we say no???

Then ham sui kok 

And hofan — rice rolls — one of my “musts” when having Chinese dimsum!

This was new for me — like tiny octopus or something. (This isn’t endangered, is it??)

Oh, the standard siomai –

And something with shrimps …

And we always round up our meals with veggies. In this case…beans!

YUM! That lunch was filling! And that was a LOT! I tried very hard to eat enough…and not filled to the brim. Was too scared to gain weight!

We spent the rest of the day just around — we went to her office as she needed to get a few things done, then did the grocery (worth another post!!) and visited Aling Mary’s Store. Her pandesal is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Imagine a dinner roll and pandesal rolled into one! YUM! Buttery and creamy (and fatty) so we only got a few. Hahahaha!

Some stuff on Aling Mary’s shelf –

And while they didn’t have Lapid’s Chicha there, they had this!

Oh, about the pandesal, I’m leaving you with a picture, but I tell you, until you try them, you will never know how gooooooood Aling Mary’s pandesal is.

In the evening, BFF’s folks took me out to dinner! Special thanks goes to Auntie L and Uncle S!! My second chinese restaurant…South Ocean Seafood Restaurant.

This was the dish they were raving about — lobster with butter and cheese. Killer but gooooood!

This is a scallop and tofu dish. The tofu was fried perfectly and the seafood was so fresh!

This was our meat dish which was so tender and tasty! This is the kind of dish you want with rice!

And our “token” veggie dish. But this is good….and shouldn’t be considered just a token dish. I can’t get over how fresh everything is in Canada!

For dessert, they served us warm bowls of mung bean soup. It was not very sweet, just a hint of and it was sooo good. So good that I had two bowls. HAHAHA! 

And unbelieveable almond cookies. What a way to end the night!!

Thanks to my wonderful hosts, Aunty L and Uncle S!

Vancouver, The Food Series (Day 1)

I was lucky enough to (finally) visit my BFF in Vancouver a few months ago. I couldn’t believe it when she said that we wouldn’t repeat a restaurant twice in my entire two week stay.

Here is restaurant number 1 – BC Sushi.

It was eat-all-you-can, and for someone who’s traveled for so long more than 14 hours, I didn’t mind at all. (I slept on the plane!)

It was CAD10.95 per head for Menu A (mostly tapas-like food) and CAD14.95 for Menu B (which is Menu A + some more food — mostly heavier food orders).

This was our first go at the food. Chicken teriyaki, calamares, ebi sushi, tempura root crop, lol I cannot remember what was inside, maybe sweet potatoes.

This is oyster mayo (baaaad kind of gooood, if you know what I mean) and chicken wings.

Some hand rolled sushi…the salmon was just AMAZING. So fresh!

Beef ribs…yum!

Surely had enough for the night!