freakzspeaks

freakzspeaks

Saturday 24 August 2013

Afternoon Tea @ The Dining Room, Buchart Gardens, Victoria, Vancouver Island

A visit to Victoria is never complete without visiting their top tourist attraction, Buchart Gardens located in Saanich. One can either go on the many bus tours available to the gardens, drive or take a public transit. Check out more in my Victoria post!
    When you are there, do not miss the chance to enjoy the splendour of a traditional afternoon tea at The Dining Room, a fine dining restaurant which was the original Buchart family residence. You have the option to dine in the room or outside the terrace with spectacular views of the private garden, Italian garden and Tod Inlet. 
     Since, Victoria is pretty famous with traditional English Afternoon Teas, I chose to have mine at the Buchart Garden ( tea with a purpose you would say). We were at the garden since 11am, started exploring till about 1pm before heading to The Dining Room for Afternoon Tea. Reservation is required to prevent long waits ! Apart from afternoon teas, they have menus for lunches/dinners/high-tea (for winter season) as well. They do looked pretty presentable and nice ( peeked neighbouring tables ;P).


View of the Dining Room from afar!
Their outside and inside seating. Both totally good !
A private garden-Looks like they meant to reserve this for the Queen!
Entrance to Dining Room Restaurant
After a couple of minutes wait, we were brought to our table facing the Italian garden and the Rose garden ! Amazing view ! Waitress was really friendly and attentive and we were almost immediately attended to.
We got a table with a garden view ! Felt soo English-sy!
First up was the selection of loose teas. Mum went with their exclusive loose tea Bachelor Button which was Chinese black tea and sencha tea flavored with bergamot, rhubarb and blue cornflowers while being not a tea lover, I decided not to be too adventurous and took their Mixed green tea. Both came in separate pots ( large pots !) and I suddenly felt so English @_@.
A choice of loose tea for each person !
For starters, we had their Berry Trifle which was layers of sponge cake with mixed berries and topped with fresh chantily cream. It was heavenly delicious! Probably from the walking and late lunchtime, but it was so good and refreshing!
Starters : Their very own Berry trifle ! Superb but beware that this can fill you up before you even start!
The much anticipated three-tier afternoon tea set came thereafter. The waitress did a good job in explaining so detailed on the items on each tier. We were even recommended to start with the hot (savoury) item followed by the fresh scones and jam and finally the sweet treats. 
Loving the traditional Afternoon tea set !
We started of with the hot items which we think was the best among all the items. I personally like the maple glazed smoked ham salad on cheddar scone (Photo below : Top far left). It was unique and flavourful. My mum liked the chicken salad with curry and cashews ; which had the most 'Asian' taste among all the items. The curry taste was actually good I thought. Sausage rolls were slight salty but ( its sausage @__@) the pastry was really good. The most bland item was the cucumber sandwiches with cream cheese ; most likely because its the simplest item. But it was really good blend of heavy and simple items; just to make sure you would still have space for the rest !
Hot (Savoury) Items : A variety of salmon, ham, sausage, chicken curry, cucumber, egg rolls, quiche and sandwiches! 
I then tried their freshly-baked gingery scones which came with Buchart's Strawberry jam and Devon-style cream. While my mum thought it was nothing special, I though the combination (especially the jam) was really good. I ended up eating half of her portion as well! 

Scone, strawberry jam and cream
And finally, with our stomach pretty full, we started the sweet tier! I like the French Meringue (macaron) and the chocolate brandy Napoleon. The standards were really close to those you can find in proper bakeries/pattiseries. The poppy sead and orange load was nothing to shout about ( taste like plain sponge cake) while the Marzipan-wrapped Battenberg cake would be good for those liking marzipan ( not me and my mum though !). Their house-made truffle came in a cute box and I do personally like the truffle as it was rich, sweet with a touch of Baileys and crunchiness.
For the sweet tooth
Buchart Gardens' chocolate baileys irish cream truffle ! 

The Afternoon Tea is priced at $29.95 (plus tax) / person. For the experience, food and view, I though it was rather acceptable. I have seen reviews on the more-talked about Fairmont Empress Afternoon Tea with much higher prices and not-so-good menu items. So, step in for a feel of a Queen's tea if you ever visit Victoria !

Address : The Dining Room, Buchart Gardens, 800 Benvenuto Ave, Brentwood Bay, BC, V8M 1J8
Website / Menu : The Dining Room
Note : Reservation is recommended online via *OpenTable. Admission to Gardens is required. 


The Dining Room at Butchart Gardens on Urbanspoon

Wednesday 21 August 2013

A Chinese Affair @ New Town Bakery and Restaurant, Chinatown, Vancouver


Look at the big bun tray on top of the shop front!

One would not miss this bakery cum restaurant on East Pender St, Chinatown, Vancouver. Basically, its the only shop along the street that has throngs of people in and out carrying big yellow plastic bags. Having seen reviews prior to my visit, it was a must-visit place for my mum and I. First word. Impressive. From the shop exterior to interior to menu. They even have a numbering system to allow for easy ordering. We ate here a couple of times; dine-in and take-out ( because after a few tries in other shops around that area which was most disappointing, this was definitely the best we've tried!
Acclamation by CNN Travel!
Number system and the varieties of buns and biscuits !
I do agree on this !
Most popular Items : Sesame balls, coconut bun,  egg tart, apple tart, BBQ pork bun
Their dine-in menu located at front door
So, there are two ways to buy; take-out, in which you will need to take a number ( just like the bank system) and wait till they call or you can go further in and request for dine-in. Surprisingly, their shop was always quite full during the few times we visited. We dined-in and take-out twice each! Honestly, their dine-in dishes may not be the best ( I still felt Malaysia Chinese food suit my tastebud better) , they do have quite a variety of dishes from stir-fry, rice menu, noodles, appetizers and their dim sum items as well! Also, they win hands down on the variety of buns and fancy Chinese bakery items compared to the rest of the bakeries I've visited in Vancouver and Richmond. 
Pau (Chinese steamed buns) - Red bean paste and lotus paste with salted yolk
Pau were a bit of a letdown; considering they were selling like hotcakes. The pau dough was thick and not the best I've eaten ( probably less preservative ; which is a good thing ;P). Their red bean paste and lotus paste however were quite alright; not too oily nor too sweet.
Pau (chinese steamed bun) - BBQ Pork
The BBQ Pork bun was not too bad ( Mum didnt like it as she find it too porky). I on the contrary thought that its quite ok; very generous with the feeling and it has the good BBQ Pork taste...if only the pau dough was not so thick and hard. 
Yong Chow Fried Rice
We also ordered the Yong Chow Fried Rice during our dine-in. It was such a huge portion that we had difficulty trying to finish it ( are we small-eaters or what? lols ). Taste wise was quite nice ; rice consistency was good and would have been better it had more 'wok-hei' to it. One thing good is that it's not too oily (unlike the many fried rice you can find in Malaysian Chinese shops). 

Stir-fry mixed vege
Stir-fry vege was surprisingly good and also came in a huge portion. This had enough of the 'wok-hei' and taste to it.
From our table, the busy front for bakeries take-out!
Steamed shrimp dumpling (Har Kau)
Clockwise From Top Left : Coconut Bun, Har Kau, Steamed radish cake, Steamed brown sugar cake
Other items we tried were their har-kau (shrimp dumpling) which was really good especially when dipped in their bottle of chilli oil! We got so addicted to the chilli oil that we started dipping our steamed radish cake as well which was superbly delicious. The radish cake ( both steam and fried) were really good. The black sauce ( we are still not sure; probably is Kikkomon soy sauce) that came with it and when dipped with chilli oil was superbly delicious! We came back for the fried version a few days later.
Another item worth mentioning was their coconut bun which was THE BEST I've ever tasted! It apparently is quite a thing over here in Canada. Tried a few different ones before but this was definitely the best that I ended up tapao-ing as well! The freshly-baked buns were aromatic and with juicy buttery coconut fillings. Super good! 
Mum after a tiring but fun day :) Her favourite place during her stay!
This place is a definitely must-visit place if you are at Chinatown !

Address : New Town Bakery and Restaurant, 158 E Pender St, Vancouver BC
Website : New Town

New Town Bakery & Restaurant 新城餅家餐室 on Urbanspoon

Friday 16 August 2013

Malaysian food @ Aberdeen Centre, Richmond BC



As I did not ask anyone or deliberately search for Malaysian food, I didn't expect to get any of it during my BC trip. Suprisingly, of all places, found this stall (yayy!) at the food court in Aberdeen Centre, Richmond. Aberdeen Centre is located within the Golden Triangle of Richmond which basically consists of 3 major Asian shopping malls; Aberdeen Centre, President Plaza and Yaohan Centre.  They have quite a variety of Malaysian/Singaporean food so I'm sure they are form either of these place. Anyways, the Singapore Laksa (craving like since ..forever) attracted me while my mum was so tempted to try the Hainanese Chicken Rice. 
     Singapore laksa ( or seafood laksa) came in a super huge bowl comprising of rice noodles, yellow noodles (hardly can be found in Canada I think) , lots of bean sprouts, fishballs and tau foo pok ( bean curd). Soup was super good and spicy eventhough it looked so watery and though it did not have 'si-ham' (cockles), they managed to maintain the taste ( MSG or ready made paste or freshly made ? not sure ;P). Still, it was really good but did not manage to finish the whole bowl :(

Singapore (seafood) laksa ( spicy curry coconut milk)
The chicken rice was really good too (for Canadian standard) and since this can hardly be found over here. So, they were pretty smart to be selling this as apparently, it is the best seller among the Asians over here in Aberdeen Centre. The rice had good consistency, garlic and gingery taste, chilli was really good (according to my mum) and chicken was generous and fresh. So good !
Hainanese Chicken Rice with Soup
Overall, price was acceptable for food court standard ( cheaper than eating in restaurants) and I loved it! If I had these two dishes in Saskatoon, its good enough! LOLs

Address : Cafe D'Lite Express, Food Court Aberdeen Centre, Richmond BC

Cafe D'Lite Express 椰樹林 on Urbanspoon

Wednesday 14 August 2013

Lunch @ Sandbar Seafood Restaurant, Granville Island, BC

One of our stops on Big Bus was Granville Island, another must-visit destination in Vancouver. We were there for a short while in the afternoon; so we went hunting for food as we were super hungry after spending almost 4 hours at Stanley Park and Vancouver Aquarium. This restaurant even though a little hidden, stood out as it has a queer entrance ( and we were looking for somewhere with air-conditioned. :O). Entrance on ground floor, up the stairs to the main floor where the lounge, dining and bar is. 

They have a boat right outside the window from our seats !
View from our seats
Nice bar and restaurant especially to cool off in the afternoon! 
Since it was a late lunch and were especially hungry, we ordered something heavier. We had the Sandbar Noodle Bowl ($15) which came with super fresh prawns, squid, scallops, chicken, mixed vege and chow mein noodles. It was really good and tasty ( surprisingly had the 'wok hei' eventhough its more of a Canadian instead of a Chinese restaurant). Portion was small though but for us, it was good for sharing since we wanted to try a little bit of everything. 
Sandbar Noodle Bowl
We wanted some dungenese crab dishes but apparently they ran out of crab ( too bad :(). So, we had the most basic thing, fries. They were pretty special though; truffle oil, Parmesan and Parsley with fries ($6). It was really good and addictive. Felt unhealthy with all the oil and fats but who cares ?!!...
Truffle Parmesan Fries
They had some tempting looking dessert based on their menu, so we ordered the Belgian chocolate pudding ($8.50) for sharing. The Belgian chocolate pudding was topped with toffee cream and pistachio praline. Really good but so heavy that we almost could not finish it after just having the fries! Share it instead of having it by yourself !
Belgian chocolate pudding

I loved this place ! Food, ambience, location, price were all quite acceptable for me. Try it and I'm sure you wont regret it !

Address : 1535 Johnston Street, Creekhouse #102, Granville Island, Vancouver BC
Website : Sandbar Restaurant, Granville Island

The Sandbar Seafood Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Chow Mein & Won Ton soup @ Jade Dynasty Restaurant, Vancouver

One of our mission in Vancouver was to try out as many Chinese dishes as possible ( eventhough we are Malaysian Chinese, dishes cooked might be different !). Many of the Chinese restaurants in Chinatown are not really inviting to be honest, mostly boasted same type of items on the menus. We had our dinner at Jade Dynasty during our stay as it had the most attractive restaurant front on the streets of Chinatown. We had their fried spring roll and won ton soup as appetizers. 
     Fried spring rolls ( house special ) was freshly fried but tad bit oily came in twos and apparently quite a famous item among patrons. Taste and ingredients were pretty good especially with the dipping sauce. The pork won ton soup came in a bowl of soup ( slightly herbal-ish) and with some vegetables. The won ton I thought was slightly on the crude side ( huge like a dumpling ?) but the pork meat inside was acceptable ( if you like big chunks of meat). While my mum was not in favor of the soup, I thought it was pretty good. 
Pork Won Ton Soup 
House Special Fried Spring Rolls
We ordered the house special seafood chow mein ( many table ordered this as well). They were pretty generous with the prawns and squids. However, the noodles seemed to have a burn taste ( probably from the wok-frying) and the sauce being quite bland that we ended up using lots of soy sauce. 

House special seafood chow mien
Jade Dynasty on E Pender St
Overall, the restaurant may not be the best but location and price-wise, its acceptable. We many have not ordered their best item to suit our taste buds but they have quite an extensive menu so you  might find something you like :)

Address : Jade Dynasty Restaurant, Pender St E, Vancouver BC, V6A 1T6

Jade Dynasty 玉龍軒海鮮酒家 on Urbanspoon

Friday 9 August 2013

Italian lunch @ Al Porto Ristorante, Vancouver, BC

Al Porto Ristorante is located at the historic Gastown in Vancouver. It specializes in seafood and traditional Italian with a rustic Tuscan ambience.  After our Big Bus Hop-On Hop-Off tour of Stanley Park, my mum and I had lunch here. This restaurant is easily located on Water St, just a couple of steps away from the Big Bus Welcome Centre on Water St.
The usual bread and butter as starter while we browsed the lunch menu. Mum had the lovely Grower's Peach Cider ( $5.95) while I had Lemonade ($3.25). 


For starters, we had their specialty salad, Insalata Nicoise ($15.95) with a choice of chicken, prawn, smoked salmon or tuna. The portion was just nice as a starter, with fresh vegetables and well-grilled tasty chicken.
Insalata Nicoise:potato, green beans, egg, tomatos, olives with lemon-oil dressing
For entrees, I had the Linguine Vongole ($13.95) which came with a very generous portion of fresh clams. The brodo ( liquid/broth) tasted just right, not too salty nor bland but felt that I like it better with lots of parmesan cheese, cracked pepper and table pepper! Mum had the seafood risotto ($13.95) but since she wasnt a fan of sea shells, she requested for just the prawns and scallops. The portion was really huge and as expected, she was not able to finish the whole serving by herself! The prawns and scallops were super huge, fresh and well-prepared! Totally epic ! However, we felt that the risotto was a little bit uncooked on the inside; not all but probably some of them.
Linguine Vongole : clams, white wine, brodo, butter
Seafood risotto : Prawns and scallops only upon request 






Seafood risotto : Huge scallops and prawns !
Loved my Linguine Vongole !
Too bad we did not have room for dessert; having had an ice cream each during our tour earlier and a hearty Italian meal. I would have loved to try their tiramisu! Overall, this restaurant is worth a visit. Service was quite fast and waiters were really attentive! For the ambience ( we had a table by the window) and food quality, the price was acceptable for me considering its at such a tourist-y spot as well!

Address : Al Porto Ristorante, 321 Water St, Vancouver BC, V6B 1B8
* Reservations are welcomed and handled by OpenTable. Totally convenient as cancellation and changes can be made online !


Al Porto Ristorante on Urbanspoon