Canada 2024

[VANCOUVER, CANADA] For our last meal in Canada, we wanted to end it off with a bang and I'm glad that we had it at JOEY. The food, the ambience and service were all superb.

We got a large rib-eye ($61.75) to share, and they really can do their steaks well. Although the meat was slightly chewy, it was meaty and they cooked it to perfect medium rare. The crust was smoky, and the meat was well seasoned and even richer with the herb butter on top. I was savouring this piece all the way till the end!

The Oven Roasted Cod ($28.50) was also a delight to enjoy. The cod itself was very fresh and meaty, with a slight smokiness on its edges and it had a natural sweetness. The curry poured around it was surprisingly rich without the usual spiciness. This is a good combination and we mopped the whole plate!

The Ravioli Bianco ($34.50) had just the right amount of creaminess and was savoury with the bacon bits. The prawns themselves were fresh and crisp and the ravioli had a good al dente texture with a creamy potato filling.

The Truffle Parmesan Fries ($14) was addictive and a great sharing dish! Fries were crisp, fluffy and irresistible with the generous parmesan shavings.

With good food and wine bottles at 50% off on certain days, you are bound to have a good time here! Definitely one of the top choices here in Vancouver.

[VANCOUVER, CANADA] I wanted to try some good western bbq, and I saw that this place has some huge platters and wanted to try!

We got a platter for 4 ($112) and I must say it came pretty generous with the smoked meats such as beef briskets, smoked sausage, smoked bbq ribs as well as pulled pork. The smoked beef brisket was tender and meaty and you can taste the smoke around its edges! But I do find it abit too saucy as I mostly tasted the bbq sauce in the end. The smoked sausage was decent, with a meaty texture. Pulled pork was soft but there was abit of the pork odour within. The ribs were decent, though I wished that they could be more tender. Chicken wings were really small and perhaps over fried as most of it was hard 🥲

As for the sides, perhaps the mashed potato was the most memorable, as it was creamy and had a good natural potato flavour. The rest were nothing worth mentioning.

This platter was decent at best. Perhaps they are known more for their beers!

[VANCOUVER, CANADA] If you are here in Vancouver, Granville Market is one place you should spend a few hours at. From multiple food stalls to handicraft shops, there is alot to see and eat. Here are some food items that we have tried:

Siegie's Bagels (~$7) - the bagels here are freshly made and their cream cheese was amazing! I've had the Rosemary Sea Salt Bagel with Garlic Cream Cheese and I loved how they were very generous with the cream cheese, although the bagel turned a little too hard due to the cold weather.

Pot Pie from A La Mode (~$16) - everyone seems to be eating this, but I didn't find this particularly good. The pastry was normal and the clam chowder soup within was rather weak. Perhaps I was expecting the soup to be creamier and thicker.

The Fish and Chips from Celine's (~$20) was an unexpected find and we felt like it was the best thing we've had! The batter was not too thick, the meat within was so thick and fresh, and the chips were very addictive.

Do bring your food items out to the dining area outside for good river views 😍 the vibe is just so different and chill!

[VANCOUVER, CANADA] If you love your seafood, this place is a MUST go. Loved by Canadians themselves, this bar offers a wide variety of seafood dishes and they are especially known for their variety of fresh oysters. Do remember to call in to book beforehand!

We had a variety of their oysters, but the most memorable one is the Eagle Point ($40 a dozen). They were so incredibly big, fleshy, juicy and super clean tasting. In fact, all of the varieties we've had were so fresh that they did not have any foul odour at all! Definitely a must have here.

The Dungeness Crab (market price, was $38 per ounce) was also a treat. The meat was extremely fleshy and I was surprised that it did not have much of the savoury flavour from seawater, and hence only the sweetness of the natural crab flavour remained. It was cooked in a garlic butter sauce, which gave additional good umami flavour to the crab and vegetable ingredients below!

The Lobster Poutine ($25) was very creamy, with loads of cheese and lobster meat forming a blanket on top of fluffy fries below. This was very addictive, but can get surfeiting towards the end. Definitely for sharing!

The Mixed Mussels and Clams ($25 with added $3 sourdough) was a delight to enjoy. The shellfish meats were bouncy and fresh, well flavoured with the garlic white wine butter sauce it's been cooked in. The sauce was so good that I had to mop them up with the sourdough!

Finally, to wrap up the whole seafood experience, do get their Sauvignon Blanc ($62/bot). It was sweet, crisp and very smooth. Really one of the best white wines I've had.

Indeed a MUST go when you are here!

[VANCOUVER, CANADA] Gave Japadog, a Vancouver fast food, a try and was pretty impressed albeit it being rather pricey.

The Beef Bacon Cheese Hotdog ($21.35 with lemonade and fries) was pretty delicious, with a smoky aroma coming from the torching of mayo on the top. This is one meaty hot dog, with the rather thick sausage and bacon pieces that were on top.

I got seaweed shaker fries, which were really decent as it was crispy on the outside and fluffy inside. Definitely better than McDonald's rendition!

This is a pretty decent fast food meal, though we did find it rather expensive. Not bad of a try though!

[VANCOUVER, CANADA] Poutine and Montreal Smoked Meat are 2 unique food dishes in Canada, and this place is one good place to have them both.

We had the 8oz Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich ($17.75) and we were so impressed with how thick the sandwich was! The smoked meat was similar to ham, with extra smokiness. I believe there was abit too much mustard though, as I felt like everything tasted like mustard nearer to the bread 😂

As for poutine, you will be spoilt for choice as there are over 20 variations of them here 😍 we picked the All Dressed ($13 for medium) and Meatball ($14 for medium), with all dressed being the nicer of the 2. It had a good mix of meat and vegetables on fries, which made it not so surfeiting. This shop gave much more cheese curds as compared to other places we've had, which was so satisfying! Definitely great for sharing!

Definitely recommend for everyone visiting Vancouver!

[VANCOUVER, CANADA] If you are looking for better quality coffee, Deville Coffee seems to be one of the options. I had the Iced Latte ($6) which had a good nutty fragrance, while being pretty strong. It would have been much better if I chose a small cup, as the medium cup contained too much milk.

I loved the interior of the cafe alot! It was bright and spacious, perfect for work or just a good chat with friends. Will be back next time 😍

[VANCOUVER, CANADA] One of the homegrown burger bars in Canada, they serve up huge portions of burgers and fries that were really delicious!

I like my burger simple, and out of the few burgers we have had, the Cheeseburger ($18.99) was the perfect description of that. With a thick meaty patty and rich savoury canadian cheese, the burger was satisfying, especially with their house sauce. I loved the crust of the patty as it was crispy and smoky. There was a right ratio of burger, patty and vegetables, making this satisfying yet not too surfeiting as well! The bottomless fries were delicious as well, due to their crispy exterior and creamy texture.

The Garlic Parmesan Brussels Sprouts ($9.99) is a good sharing dish as well, as it was crispy, savoury and yet not bitter at all!

To wash it all down, an Oreo Milkshake ($7.99) would be a recommended choice. It comes with another 3 cups worth of refills at the side, hence definitely shareable among 3-4 people.

It was a very filling yet fulfilling meal we've had! Definitely coming back here again 😍

[VANCOUVER, CANADA] Had a quick satisfying breakfast at Artigiano with pretty good coffee and pastries!

The Iced Latte ($5.55) was strong, smooth and rather aromatic, definitely one of the better cups around here. Ham and Cheese Crossiant ($6.35) was a delight to savour, as the pastry is finally warm and very crispy. The ham and cheese within was savoury and flavourful!

A cafe to consider for breakfast ✌️

[VANCOUVER, CANADA] this is actually the first time I've been to a proper steakhouse and I am glad to have tried the steaks at @chopsteakhouse , as they were splendid.

The Ribeye for 2 ($110) came relatively large, and it was definitely more than enough for 2 hungry guys. It came perfectly medium rare, with a beautiful crust. The steak slices were juicy, meaty and just perfect with salt and pepper. What is unique about their beef here is that they source them locally, and I can tell that the beef flavour is different, as it was slightly sweeter and less gamey. The crust on the steak is the best, as it was smoky, crunchy and really satisfying.

If you like your beef softer, the Prime Rib ($44 for large) is a good choice. It was noticeably softer, with more mellow beefy notes and went well with its sauce.

The sides were good as well, especially their mashed potatoes. It seemed to be very lightly seasoned, allowing the natural flavour of the potato to shine, which was delightful.

To get our fair share of fibre, we got a Caesar Salad ($14) to share, which was a hit too! There was a good enough amount of good cheese and house mayo, which made the lettuce decadent. The croutons had a baked layer of cheese too!

Absolutely splendid experience which is date night worthy. Do come here if you are willing to splurge a little!

[VANCOUVER, CANADA] Had such a delicious lunch at Chronic Tacos 😍 and I believe this is really almost as authentic as it gets!

I had Carnitas Quesadillas that came with chips and salsa and they were all really delicious 😍 the quesadillas were really huge and they were really generous with the cheese and pulled pork! The pulled pork was really tender and flavourful and paired well with the fresh onion and jalapeno within.

The salsa was very fresh and tangy, perfect with the quesadillas to make it less surfeiting. The chips were also nicely toasted! I ordered an extra Frozen Margherita ($7.50), which was also very refreshing. It came in a big cup and I could taste the pretty large amount of tequila within!

For dessert, getting their churros would be a great choice. They were so crispy and fluffy within and well seasoned such that they were very good on their own. Paid a total of about $25 for the quesadillas set! Wish Singapore had such good Mexican food 🥲

[VANCOUVER, CANADA] Decided to head to another cafe for breakfast, and the unfortunately Guffo Cafe that we have chosen had hits and misses 😥

Their Iced Latte was a pretty solid cup of coffee, considering how most the cafes make their Iced coffee with loads of water and milk. The beans used were aromatic, and much stronger than most places I've tried!

Their Regular Crossiant was really huge, but sadly it came cold 🥲 the server sadly did not heat it up, and it was really soft and not crispy at all. What a pity...