Happy Canada Day!

I'm far from being patriotic, but I do love to make cakes and every excuse is good to make one!

The Red Velvet Cake is a traditional American cake and it's famous for its 'redness'. Add to that the snow white frosting, and it's the perfect combination for the occasion! I tried recreating the iconic maple leaf with strawberries, but it does need some imagination to picture it! hahaha

Vancouver (2)

We had planned to visit Whistler on our 3rd day, but because I was sick and was afraid my condition would worsen spending a day on the windy hills, we had no choice but to change our itinerary.

After sleeping for 12 hours the previous night, I was feeling much better and even my appetite was back. To start off the day then, we went for dim sum in Richmond at Sun Sui Wah. The food there isn't as good as its downtown location, but to see all that food on the table was quite impressive!



After that, we went to visit the lighthouse in West Vancouver and then Granville Island. The market was a very interesting place I've never been to before, and I have to thank Panda for her great suggestion!



At tea time, we had a Japadog near Robson street. They serve fusion hot-dogs and the lineup is quite impressive!



For dinner, we went all the way to Coquitlam to savour a Korean duck meal. We had so much food and all for only $50 for 5 people! The chef was quite busy preparing the ducks for customers since every single table had at least an order of it!



The next morning, for our last meal in Vancouver, we went to try out Kirin's dim sum and my oh my, it was d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s!!! Two thumbs up for the quality of the food and we'll certainly be back!

萬里城
609 Clarke Road
Coquitlam

麒麟

7900 Westminster Highway
Richmond, BC

Beautiful Victoria

For many years, I've heard about the beauty of Victoria, but even though I've visited nearby Vancouver a few times, I never had the chance to make a trip to the capital city of British Columbia.

On this occasion, I suggested we make a day trip there and thus we started the day early by taking the 9AM ferry over to the island. Maybe because it was a Saturday, there were many cars and lots of people. We ate breakfast on the ferry, then went onto the deck to take pictures of the scenery, and the 1.5 hours trip was soon over.



It was definitely unwise to go on the deck of the ferry because the strong wind ended up worsening my already weak health and a fever had started by the time we reached our first destination at The Butchart Gardens. Still, because I had to make up for the $2x entrance fee to the garden, I persevered and took many pictures. We had feared not enough flowers would be in bloom at that time, but it was not something to worry about. There is enough variety of plants and flowers for the gardens to be beautiful no matter the season.




After walking the gardens for more than 2 hours, we set off to visit the city's other main attractions. However, I was too sick to do much except sleep and sit in the car for the remaining of our journey....

Vancouver (1)

Even though I've been to Vancouver a couple of times, it was always as a passive tourist, following the lead of others. Therefore, I can't say I'm too familiar with that city. Still, as half a Canadian, it was my duty to show my friends around, especially since it was their first visit to Canada.

Leaving Seattle, we drove about 3 hours and arrived to Vancouver. It was a surprisingly beautiful day (blue sky and fluffy clouds), perfect for a stroll through Stanley Park. We also visited other main attractions such as Robson Street, Chinatown, and Richmond.



Even before we started the trip, Panda already did lots of research to plan where to find good Chinese food to eat. And on our first day, we had Shanghai food for lunch and went to Mui Garden for dinner. However, because I was starting to become sick, my taste buds could not be trusted to tell if the food was any good...



客滿庭
2788-4151 Hazelbridge Way
Alberdeen Ctr, Richmond BC

梅苑
5797 Victoria Drive
Vancouver, BC

Seattle (2): eats

We certainly had no great expectations for food in Seattle. Actually, we were simply saving our tummy space for the upcoming eats in Vancouver!

For our first meal in the city (breakfast at McDonald's doesn't count, right?), we went for ramen at a little eatery that, according to Yelp, is famous for its noodles. As we got there after the lunch rush, the place was pretty quiet and we got to eat in peace, enjoying our hot treat. The bowls of ramen were not bad, but nothing exceptional... the noodles were chewy but the broth quite salty.



Dinner at The Crab Pot was something we all looked forward to with anticipation... but in the end, we were hugely disappointed... what a shame. The restaurant came under my radar when I watched a show about it on the Travel Channel... they serve a seafood fest right onto the table, and there are no utensils except for a little hammer to break the crab shells, talk about rustic!



We ordered "The Pacific Clambake" for 2, as well as a plate of chicken breast for Mr. Panda, who's not a seafood fan. The bread was sourdough... which already sums up our feelings for it. We started with crab cakes, but were not too amazed... hmmm but we still had high hopes for what was to follow, until........



the food came and was dumped onto our table. We were looking at all the crabs, clams, oysters, mussels, corns, with bright eyes.... but as we started eating, we found out the food was cold, overcooked, and tasteless.



Surprisingly, our best meal in Seattle was breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Since we had a $20 voucher per room, it was quite a reasonable meal with huge portions.