It was a couple hours to fly from London to Barcelona,  and had decided to grab some tapas before heading to our hotel.

Sangria & churros!!  Better known as a Spanish doughnut, it was freshly fried, and tasted Much different (much Better!) than the ones at your local Seven-Eleven.  A bit of history- the churro was adapted from China in the Ming Dynastry, from a pastry known as the “youzagwei.”  However, the Portuguese did not learn the skills of how to “pull” the dough, hence they pushed it through a star-shaped cutter, thereby creating the ridged edges.  Voila- new product!

Meant to be dipped in hot chcolate for breakfast, the churro is now a commonly served savory snack.  One of my personal favourites.

After satisfying our appetites, we settled in our hotel and then went sightseeing.  The Spanish tend to have dinner later at night, in the form of small dishes of tapas.  We decided to dine @ Taller de Tapas:

There was quite the wait for a table so we decided to have some drinks at the bar.  There quite a few friends staring back at us from the display case:

Kinda felt like I was in the butcher shop! Guess they wanted to showcase the freshness of their seafood.

We shared a bottle and shortly after, were lead to a table on the patio. We proceeded to order assorted appies to share:

Calamari, potato wedges, and fried fish balls.  The dishes were quite oily, and I was actually slightly disappointed with their quality.

Prosciutto with melon- can’t go wrong!

Pa amb tomaquet- a Catalan specialty.  Sliced bread with tomato scratched over and seasoned with olive oil and salt  Actually a very odd flavour, not something North Americans are accustomed to having.

The tastiest dish- fish with potatoes. I apologize for the simplified descriptions as it has been almost a year since this vacation.  The fish was very tender and flaky, with a delicious seasoning.

And last but not least, dessert! Creme brulee, vanille ice cream and chocolate mousse. All extremely delicious.

Coffee on the go! :]

Unbelievable amount of food to eat and shopping to be done.  Apparently Sunday is the busiest day @ the market and it was a challenge to push through the crowds and get to the food.

We are actually inside, but looks like it’s outside.

Fresh wraps…

Did somebody say fudge…. 0__0

Delicious donuts! We had some before lunch… couldn’t help it

More choices.

… I keep getting distracted by the desserts! Cheesecake lollies on the right-beside the macarons.

Lots of stalls advertised health benefits, which reminded me of Vancouver.

What I ended up ordering for lunch. A tad on the spicy side but very flavourful and filling.

Buns with tomatoes, cheese and assorted toppings.  Everything looked so appetizing to me…

Enjoying our lunch outside on the benches, facing the market.

The building opposite the market.

Our friends decided to take us to Funky Buddha (http://www.fbmayfair.co.uk/main.html),  a cool club in Mayfair that played top 40s/ R&B.  Since we were a large group we decided to get table service!

We started with a fruit platter & some Belvedere.  Smoothness.

Our table changed colour!

And… that’s all I’ll say about that night. :] Good times were had by all.

It’s quite a casual place, where one orders from the counter, pays and then the food gets delivered to the table.

Ta-da!  They definitely do not skimp out on the meat. I thought it was cute how they incorporated that small bit of coleslaw as decor veggies.

More ribs.  The seasoning was sweet, the meat was very tender and came off the bone easily.

Pulled pork sandwich.  Didn’t try it but was told it was tasty. I don’t doubt it.

Clam chowder.  Very flavourful with chunks of clam.

The first place my friend took us to in London was Picadilly Circus.  And the first place we went to eat was @ Snog (http://www.ifancyasnog.com/):

I couldn’t get over how cute the building was and how much my friend Maine would’ve loved it.  Turns out that Snog is a frozen yogurt store.  Although it wasn’t a warm day we decided to go for it.

Seems like their target market is the health conscious.

Pictures don’t really do these lights justice, it’s very pretty inside.

This place is Pink!  What I appreciate about stores in big cities like NYC, London & HK is that they go All Out with their decor.  More examples to follow in later posts….

Here you get an idea of prices and how to order these babies.  First you pick your yogurt (natural, green tea or chocolate), then add toppings.

One word- Yum.

http://rohvan.com/

dress code: casual, trendy

+ :  fresh oysters; nice ambiance and decor; attentive servers
- : small tables

One of the more chill places to dine in Yaletown, Rodney’s Oyster House offers a wide menu besides the obvious.  We came on a Thursday night and was surprised that there was a half hour wait.  However after grabbing a drink down the street at the The Hub, we came back and were seated immediately.

For appies we ordered the Haida Gwai candy:

A nice start to our meal, it was basically lightly sweetened, peppered smoked salmon.  Tastes good, but I know I won’t be ordering it again.  Must save space for food that tastes better than good!

Our oysters followed the salmon:

I honestly cannot remember the name of the 3 different kinds that we got but I can attest to their rich flavour, fresh-from-the-sea juicyness.  What made eating these especially fun was the condiments:

There were 5 different types of spices, ranging from mild to super hot (from left to right).  In the back were tabasco, Worcestershire and jalapeno  sauce. Right smack in the middle was a vodka based sauce, which I’d guess was a house made concoction.  Needless to say, the mild didn’t taste like it had any spices, while the hottest spice almost made me lose some tastebuds.  Like I said, lots of fun to mix and match.

After, we decided to order some scallops and crab cakes:

The scallops were lightly encrusted in a fried potato batter which was crispy and flavoured, complementing the fresh scallops very well.  I would definitely order this again.  The crab cakes were also delectable- they were composed entirely of real crab shreds. Most crab cakes at other restaurants have batter-fillers or have much smaller proportions, but not here. I was very impressed.

To end our meal I ordered the Belgium chocolate mousse:

Very creamy yet not too sweet, topped with whipped cream and 2 shards of chocolate. Will definitely order this again.

Our server was friendly and attentive, made recommendations and came to check on us often.  Rodney’s is worth checking out for sure, just don’t forget to RSVP!

Open Mon-Sat 11:30am-9:30pm; Sun 11:30am-9pm

dress code: none

+:  convenient location, tasty noodles
- : mediocre cleanliness, at best

Sha Lin noodle house is primarily known for their 4 different types of noodles, although they also offer other rice dishes, snacks and dumplings.   Cutting, dragging, pushing noodles are a few of the different types they offer, differentiated by the way the chef prepares the noodle; this gives each type of noodle a different mouthfeel, even though it’s the same flour. However, I wasn’t in the mood for noodles and decided on a few snacks instead.

The first item I ordered was the fried bun with sweetened condensed milk ($2.50):

This is actually a childhood favourite of mine- the steamed version without being fried.  Made properly, this bun can be dissected along it’s length and shreds can be pulled and eaten.  However, only kids eat it that way and most adults just eat it like a normal bun.  The skin was nice and crispy, the bread soft and chewy.  When the bun is fried it only tastes good the first time around, so don’t think about packing it up for leftovers.

Next we ordered some pork and veggie dumplings ($8.95)

Dipped in red vinegar, the dumpling was generous in proportion and size.   However I found it to be too doughy (too heavy on the flour) and I would’ve preferred smaller dumplings.  I believe this may be a difference between authentic dumplings made in China (ie. these ones) vs. the hybrids (smaller dumpling, thinner skin, various fillings) that are now made. Historically dumplings were consumed to satisfy one’s appetite as a meal, so having more flour would satisfy that purpose.

The third item we ordered turned out to be a hybrid of the two above, though we didn’t know it at the time.  This was the pan-fried dumpling:

Though it looks interesting, it was not what we expected. For one thing, it was obviously panfried altogether (not each individual one) and then flipped to give this crispy texture on top.  Each of these ‘dumplings’ were actually a bun with the same pork and veggie filling as above.   Suffice to say this was a very filling meal, with lots of carbs.

So yes you should order these items, but probably not all at once.  And definitely try the fried cutting noodles, they are a bit oily but very tasty and chewy.

Here we go:

My favourite drink at The Reef, a Caribbean restaurant- the ABC mango cocktail ($6.50), which has amber rum, blue curacao, lime and mango slush. Very refreshing and sweet.  The other item I always order is their plaintain chips with jerk mayo ($6)- absolutely fantastic.  My friends and I stumbled upon their $18 dineout menu, which was a good and bad thing, as we had a two hour wait for a table.  However they did give us two complimentary pitchers of their  daily special so that was nice.  They also ran out of the desserts featured on their dineout menu and had to subsitute with fried bananas and mango ice cream, an alternative I was happy with.

Next place- Global, for brunch:

Lobster benedict- Atlantic lobster, poached egg, lobster hollandaise, potato hash and baby greens ($16).  The lobster was fresh and the pototoes were very well marinated.  I would definitely give credit to Global for having a “fun” brunch menu.  One example would be the Belgian waffle- wildflower honey caramelized bananas with white chocolate mousse ($10).  Yes it’s a waffle but it’s definitely not paired like your typical waffle, with strawberries and whip cream.  Or how about a mango smoothie ($5)- mango puree, orange, fresh orange juice, milk, and the choice to spike it with Alize gold for $2?!  Come have brunch here, you will be pleasantly surprised.

The next place is not in Canada but well worth mentioning- The Crab Pot!

Located in Pike Place, Seattle, The Crab Pot is quite legendary for it’s seafood platters.  Between my friends and I we decided to order  2 servings of the Alaskan:

And of Course you would want to know what it looks like….

I kid you not, they give you a little wooden hammer!   So we eat with our hands, Barbarian style, equipped with bibs and a mallot.  I loved the Alaskan king crab,but everything else was just alright.  It was my first time dining here and I would say that most people would be attracted by the novelty of being able to eat so savagely in public.  However, at two servings = $70 US, one could likely find a better deal elsewhere.

And lastly…

This 7lb live lobster that my parents bought while grocery shopping! At $7/lb, this bad boy costs $49, which is a pretty good price.  He ended up in a boiling pot shortly after this photo shoot and the meat was sooooooo fresh and tasty. Home cooked food is still the best.

And last but not least…

My caramel candy apple with mini M&Ms from Rocky Mountain (~$4)!!  It was a delicious, crunchy Granny Smith Coated with Caramel and M&Ms.  There is absolutely nothing that can go wrong with it.  The lady offered to cut it up for us for ease of munching, and I’m sure a Lot of people wish they were me while I was devouring this treat on a sunny Vancouver day on Robson.

Dress code: none
note: cash only

This casual restaurant has an extensive menu for Asian desserts.  Although it is called “100% Healthy Desserts”, the desserts are not particularly healthy, nor do they only serve dessert.  In fact, they have a mish mash of items on the menu besides sweets, from toast to chicken wings, bubble tea to curry fish balls.  Personally I wouldn’t order those, just because it’s not their specialty [but by all means, you can and lemme know how it tastes!].  The prices for dessert are quite reasonable, starting from $3.50- $6, however their service is lacking-  expect to do a lot of waving around to get the server’s attention.  I had the fresh mango ice with aloe and those seeds [which I don't know the proper word for in english]:

For $4.95 I thought it was a great, the mango fresh and mostly sweet (maybe 10% sour), and the aloe and ice made the dessert more refreshing. The seeds providing a ‘chewing factor’, and overall I was quite satisfied.  This place is good for chatting with friends over dessert, but don’t expect anything in the service department.  Also, be forewarned that their photos show some desserts to be very colourful and generous in proportion, which is not necessarily the case.

www.globalgrill.com

dress code: dressy casual.

Great for: dinners, drinks

Global had always been a favourite restaurant for my friend and I.  Since we hadn’t been there since they renovated in January, we decided to have dinner there.  We sat outside since they have heat lamps, but there were issues with their tarp and rain was getting in.  The server was very apologetic and it wasn’t too bad so we stayed outside.  Their service has always been one of the best features about this restaurant- the servers are attentive to ensure that all your questions are answered and issues addressed.  The menu had changed since their renos, they seem to have stepped it down a bit from before- their lobster poutine to just a regular poutine, as an example.  Both of us ordered the lamb shank and decided to  share an order of onion rings [no photos].  Though the quality of meat was great, we both thought that it used to be even better in terms of flavouring and taste.  The best part of the meal was dessert- bread pudding with white chocolate anglaise, Baileys and graham crackers:

Absolutely delicious!  Bread pudding was nice and moist, cut into even squares with just the right amount of chocolate and Baileys.   Highly recommended if you come here.

The Global Collection of restaurants includes Global, Coast, Italian Kitchen, Sannafir, and most recently, Society.  We think that they may be turning it down a notch for Global and stepping it up for Society.  Final comment?  It’s great, but not as great as before.