I heart In’N'Out.

Posted on September 8, 2010

Those who have read this blog for a while will know that I have an addiction to burgers. I’ve been on a relentless hunt to find the perfect burger for years now, and it was all because of this: In’N'Out’s double double with onion.

And after three years of sampling burgers wherever I went, I can say that none surpass those from In’N'Out.

Everything is made fresh when the order is placed (apparently they don’t use refrigerators either). I was giddy with excitement while waiting for my order.

This is making me crave one right now!

Canada #6: Phnom Penh Restaurant

Posted on August 25, 2010

Headed into Chinatown to sample some of Vancouver’s Asian food. It turned out to be an interesting night as the cab we were in was pulled over after almost side-swiping a patrol car. The cops didn’t let us out of the taxi and the meter kept ticking over while the officer wrote out a ticket. Not a good start.

Here’s the view from the top of the hill of the night markets.

There was a stage where some Chinese folk were crooning away into the microphone. One dude - who was the age of my dad - was busting out some moves, including grabbing his crotch. Not exactly what I wanted to see before eating dinner.

Waiting outside the Phnom Penh restaurant. The line was pretty crazy and it took half an hour to get a table. Apparently this place has won a heap of awards and is famous for being on Anthony Bourdain’s (I love that guy) No Reservations show.

Green papaya salad.

Crispy golden fish. Reminded me of the kind of food you get at Superbowl here in Sydney.

This was their marinated butter beef, which comprises of paper-thin slices of rare beef (which are almost stuck to the plate) topped with a soy-based sauce and plenty of coriander.

Ordered the spicy garlic spareribs, but the chef forgot the spicy part. Regardless, Phnom Penh in Vancouver is a decent Vietnamese and Cambodian restaurant. It wasn’t the best - I think you can find better places in the streets of Cabramatta - but it’s definitely worth a visit.

Canada #5: food in Vancouver

Posted on August 23, 2010

Here’s some of the food I sampled while in Vancouver. As I didn’t have a shortlist of eateries I wanted to try, this is more of a review of the random places I stopped at while exploring the city. Overall I’d say Vancouver has some great places to eat! This was Cactus Club’s BBQ duck clubhouse. I was hesitant as it was served on pecan fruit bread (two things I hate because mains are meant to be savoury!) but this is, without doubt, the greatest sandwich I’ve had. Ever. I’m not exaggerating either.

Korean style DIY pork wraps. I usually steer clear of Western style Asian dishes, but this was also great. I ate this at Yaletown; I’m not sure if it’s available at their other restaurants.

Looking at this pic is making me hungry!

Here’s Cactus Club’s tuna tataki and mini burgers that I had on Robson St.

Burger from Red Robin. Cool outdoor area, but I had to wait 20 minutes for the burger to arrive (I think the waitress had forgotten me).

Terrible club sandwich from room service.

There were quite a few Mexican restaurants but I opted to try Don Guacamole’s as it was crowded, which is always a good sign. Loved all of their chilli dips, although some blew my head clean off.

Torta ahogada. It may look like crap but it was delicious.

Their burrito was decent; maybe a 6 out of 10.

Several people told me to try Urban Burger, which was meant to be similar to In-N-Out. Not even close. The meat pattie was probably the lowest grade meat suitable for human consumption. Very disappointed.

Headed to Ramen Santouka as I had cravings for Japanese. Here’s their gyoza.

This is one of their specialties, a spicy ramen with pork’s cheek. The meat was stunning!

Over the weekend I had brunch with Rod from Speedhunters and Will Roegge. I can’t remember the name of the diner, but Rod said it was one of his usual haunts.

Shot of Rod that Will took when he was playing around with my GF1.

Here’s another he took.

Recommended: a Japadog review

Posted on August 19, 2010

Japadog is a mobile hot dog vendor that was just outside the hotel I stayed at for my first couple of nights in Vancouver (corner of Burrard and Smithe).

Look weird? There are a dozen different types of hot dog available - each a Japanese interpretation with bratwurst sausages - with various ingredients such as seaweed, edamame and okonomiyaki. I opted for the Kurobuta Terimayo which was claimed to be the Rolls-Royce of pork hot dogs. It was strange having seaweek on a hot dog, but it was definitely great. The bread is toasted while you wait and the sausage had a perfectly snappy bite to it. An easy 7 out of 10.

Canada #3: Stanley Park & Granville Island

Posted on August 16, 2010

Hopefully no one is still using a 56k internet connection as this front page is getting a bit image heavy. If you are, then apologies! The weekend involved a hell of a lot of walking (which sadly doesn’t seem to be making any difference to my belly, which is getting quite round from all the eating I’ve been doing). First up was Stanley Park, the massive park located downtown.

Leaving the condos and skyscrapers behind.

Stanley Park is stunning. You quickly forget how close it is to the city as you get lost in the park or take in the waterfront views.

Totem poles.

Check out how tall the trees are!

Here’s the view from the bridge as I headed out to Granville Island for a late Sunday lunch. If you ever go to the markets at Granville Island, keep in mind that it’s located beneath the bridge. I spent a good 15 minutes walking around lost.

There’s nothing like the stench of urine in alleyways to tell you that you’re no longer on the well-trodden tourist path. Eventually I found the right place!

View from Granville Island.

Sydney’s equivalent would be a cross between the Fish Markets and Darling Harbour. While Granville Island was packed with people, there was none of the pushing and shoving you get back home on a Sunday afternoon. And it was quite easy to find a spot to sit down too.

Granville Island’s main attraction is the Public Market.

British Columbia has vibrant coloured fruits. I picked up a bag full of these cherries and they tasted as great as they looked.

Countless rows of bagels. By this stage I was getting pretty hungry!

Bought some wild boar prosciutto and Belgian truffle pate for 8 bucks, which will make for a nice midnight snack instead of the expensive - and crap - hotel room service.

Obviously the focus of the Public Market is on organically grown fruit and vegetables.

Stuart’s bakery make their bread on site.

Bought some bread to accompany the pate too.

Never seen donut peaches before.

There was a big line of customers at the Kaisereck Deli, so I thought it would be a good choice for lunch.

Quick service thanks to half a dozen staff behind the counter.

Here’s the jalepeno hot dog topped with onions and sauerkraut. It was nowhere near as good as the Japadog I had the day before (more on that in a later post).

Turkey and bacon bagel was a much better choice.

Canada #2: Robson Street

Posted on August 15, 2010

Although it’s summer in Vancouver, it’s nowhere near as brutal as it gets in Sydney. Today was apparently one of the hotter days at 32 degrees C, but there’s a nice breeze and low humidity which makes it like Sydney’s spring.

Here’s the bottom of Robson Street, near Stanley Park.

Something I wasn’t expecting was the number of heroin junkies there are downtown. But compared to LA they aren’t aggressive and tend to leave everyone in peace.

Here’s an interesting shopfront for a shoe store.

Have to try one of these chocolate-covered toffee apples before I leave.

Many thanks to Rasna for putting me up in the Sutton Place hotel for a couple of nights. This has to be the tallest bed I’ve ever seen; it was waist-high!

Apples and oranges

Posted on July 21, 2010

Eating apples like this is so much better!

Not another one…

Posted on July 19, 2010

Here’s yet another addition to the growing energy drink market. I really like Boca Lupo, which is an Italian energy drink, as it doesn’t taste like you’re downing half a can of sugar.

2010 Good Food & Wine Show

Posted on July 18, 2010

Diageo gave us some tickets to the 2010 Good Food and Wine show, which was held over the past three days at Darling Harbour. I hadn’t been before so I was keen to go!

This pic shows how busy it was. The crowds were crazy; and I’m sure the Australian series of Masterchef played its part in converting so many people into foodies. At one point there was a queue 100m long outside the entry because there simply was no more room inside the exhibition halls.

Because I had to head to work later in the day I couldn’t sample any of the wines, which was pretty disappointing considering how many wineries were present. On the food front I only bought a couple of things, as most of the stands were flogging frozen foods you can pick up at any supermarket. And you know how I feel about that particular aisle of the supermarket.

Forget Tabasco…

Posted on July 5, 2010

Those who’ve eaten at Guzman Y Gomez have probably seen this ugly green bottle on the table. While its contents might not look particularly appealing (especially after I posted Zi gagging on that sardine drink), Byron Bay Chilli Co.’s Green Jalapeno sauce is so damn good. So much so that I bought a bottle to take home. Check it out here.

Best B&E roll ever?

Posted on June 30, 2010

When it comes to the perfect bacon and egg roll, this baby has to be a contender. It’s from a tiny, unassuming cafe called Crave (238 Oxford St, Bondi Junction), which I now visit religiously every weekend. Technically I’m not sure if this falls into the eggs benedict category (it has a poached egg and hollandaise sauce), but whatever it is, you have to give it a try. And they offer the only decent coffee in the area too!

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