Restaurant Review: Spicy Vegetarian Cuisine

Last week my friend Jimmy and I ventured out to Richmond to see the Batman movie on the IMAX screen. Which by the way, I highly suggest. Movie was awesome! Screen was HUGE. We decided to meet a little early so we could have some eats. I checked out the Happy Cow website to see what the options were in Richmond. Even though eating vegetarian is quite easy if going for Asian cuisine, I figured there would be a vegan Chinese restaurant there and I was right.

We found Spicy Vegetarian Cuisine on No. 3 Road. Not a very creative name for a restaurant, lol but it gets its message across. It was a typical Chinese restaurant in terms of decor, but the food was pretty darn tasty. We originally wanted to go to a different spot but its closed on Mondays. FAIL.

Beef and Broccoli with Tofu Sheets in a pepper sauce

I really liked this dish the most. The sauce was yummy and flavourful. The 'beef' was tasty....I freaking love tofu sheets and broccoli is my fave vegetable. WIN! The sauce was so good that I was using the tofu sheets from the sweet and sour dish to soak up the sauce. And then the lady came to clear the plate, I got sad and wouldn't let her. HAHA

Sweet and Sour Tofu Sheets

I can't remember the last time I got a sweet and sour dish. Probs when I was in high school or something. But this one was delectable. Of course I'm a big lover of the tofu sheets and I'm pretty sure the sweet and sour sauce was homemade. And it had finely chopped veggies in it.

Wide Shanghai Noodles with mushrooms

This noodle dish was good. Not my fave, and not the best I've ever had. But it was nice. It had bean sprouts and mushrooms. I love these kind of noodles. Rice noodles in general are my fave. Whether they are wide or skinny, it don't matter. This was the only dish we couldn't finish. We're pigs. lol

Demolished

Dessert

We got some lovely watermelon for dessert with our meal, complimentary. I find that a lot of vegan Chinese restaurants do this. I think its a nice touch. Fruit is a great way to end a meal. Something about sweets after a meal make my digestion better. Not sure if there is some science to back me up but it feels right. 

I really enjoyed the meal here and would definitely go back. If you're in Richmond, check them out! I think they do pretty well. It got packed right after we got there. The service was average. Nothing good or bad to say. They were friendly enough but not much interaction. 

Peace

xoxo

K

Restaurant Review: Wild Rice

With every season change comes a menu change at Wild Rice. I'd have to say that this is my fave restaurant in Vancouver. The menu is not fully vegan but they have many dishes that are. They use local, sustainable and seasonal ingredients to create a fresh, inventive and visually pleasing menu to satisfy any palate.

I've been coming here since its opening in 2001. Since the menu changes every season, it never gets dull or boring. I've gone from a meat eater to a vegan and still been able to dine here. I love that! They keep the long time favorites on the menu such as the Kung Po and the Chinatown Sweep. Both of which can be done vegan. But then they transform the rest of the menu utilizing seasonal ingredients. I almost always get the Kung Po with the smoked tofu, but I wanted to try as many of the new dishes as possible. They did not disappoint!

Veggie Spring Rolls

 Delish, fresh and jam packed.

Grilled King Oyster Mushrooms

 Also served with polenta fries and a cashew ricotta. Which was to DIE for!!! Cashew ricotta is da bomb!! YUMMERS. This dish was my fave. I LOVE mushrooms and oyster mushrooms are so dericious.

Mapo Daofu

A deconstructed mapo daofu. At first we had no idea what to do. Andrew, the owner, just watched us looking at the dish. Asking each other how we think we should tackle it. Mix it all together or not. LOL We chose not. And just dished it out on our plates. It was very yummy. I'm not a fan of eggplant at all and neither is my friend Jimmy, but we both thoroughly enjoyed this dish. If was full of flavour and the presentation is obviously creative and eye pleasing.

Potato and Caramelized Onion Potstickers

Sorry!!! Bad lighting!! Not a good shot, but let me assure you they are not burnt. Just sauced up. I REALLY liked these. Anything with caramelized onions is A-OK in my books. Caramelizing really brings out the flavour of onions. Super tasty and a nice sorta perogy type spin on a potsticker.

SOOOO as you can tell, I really liked the menu change. I thought all the items we tried were pretty freaking phe-nom. We actually tried all the new vegan dishes. All that's left for me to try are the sides and one of the desserts. LOL  Can't wait for the fall season and see what Andrew and Chef Todd conjure up to please this palate. :)

Peace

xoxo

K

Vegan in Kelowna: restaurant review Lake Tai

This past weekend one of my girlfriends got married in Kelowna, so Kevin and I rented a car and went on a little road trip. The drive sure was beautiful and hot. :) Of course you already knew this, I posted my travel snacks and salad recipe already, but what you didn't get to see is the yummy vegan Chinese restaurant I found. Its called Lake Tai and is Taiwanese food. All vegan. 

 You can find it at 1958 Kiirschner Road. Its kinda off the beaten path, but many veggie restaurants are.

Pickled Cabbage

 She started us off with a little pickled cabbage appy. Light and yummy. No tricks here.

Beef and Broccoli

Essentially it was beef and broccoli. Can't remember what the menu called it. It came all in a bowl and then she dumped it into that scorching hot plate and it cooked a little further. Was pretty exciting. lol This was my fave dish. The beef looked so real and broccoli is my fave. The sauce was SO tasty. Rich and full of sensations. :)

Vermicelli noodles with veggies

Light tasting, nothing too strong. Went well with the broccoli dish. Yummy. I haven't had vermicelli noodles in a while so I was stoked.

Pan fried dumplings

I liked how these weren't closed on the ends. They didn't even spill out. Which would lead you to think there wasn't a lot of filling, but you would be wrong.

 A close up of the "beef". Looks pretty real hey?

Dessert

Sorta like a cream puff but pineapple flavour and no actual cream. It was vegan and delish. It was still warm. Mmmmm

Enjoying every last bite. 

So if you're from Kelowna, passing through, or hanging out, go find Lake Tai and eat your face off. Vegan or not you will leave satisfied. Its just good food.

Peace

xoxo

K

Restaurant Review: Panz Veggie

I had the pleasure of going to Panz Veggie twice this week. Lol I had some dinner plans out this week and neither of them had been so off we went. Obviously if you've read my blog you know that I'm a big fan of Panz Veggie and so is my Dad. Its fantastic. I'm not gonna go on and on about it because you can read my previous posts but I will show you the pics of the dishes we tried cuz I tried a couple new ones. Oh happy day! :)

Battered Yams

Cashew Veggies

Buddha's Feast

Apparently they have 2 dishes with the same name. This kinda annoyed me cuz we wanted noodles. And they didn't ask which dish we wanted and we didn't know there was 2 with the same name. I didn't complain or anything, I did ask about it. Kinda weird that they have the same name, that should change. But either way, the dish was tasty and had some cool unusual mushrooms that I don't normally eat. And I LOVE trying new foods! LOVE.

Hot and Sour Soup

YUM! Tasted more like a traditional hot and sour soup than Paradise Noodle House. But that one was Vietnamese style. This was yummy, the broth was tasty. I enjoyed this quite a lot.

3 Wise mushrooms with Chow Mein

Braised Tofu Sheets with Chinese mushrooms

I've had this one before as well as the 3 Wise Mushrooms. I gotta say that the braised tofu sheets dish is my all time FAVE. Those crispy tofu sheets are amazeballs. Like woah. And I really love Chinese mushrooms. They are really strong in flavour but no other mushrooms tastes like them. Just delish. 

If you wanna know more about Panz Veggie, check out their site. I linked it at the top. Or you can check out one of my reviews here 

Peace

xoxo

K

Restaurant Review: Panz Veggie

Another yummy meal at Panz Veggie. For those of you who don't know, Panz Veggie is a vegan Chinese restaurant in downtown Vancouver. Its a cute little place that is kind of tucked away from the busy part of downtown; its located on Hornby near Pacific. I love going there not only for the food, but also because its kind of relaxing. Its like they're in their own time warp or something. They never rush you and bring your bill right after your last bite. In fact you will have to ask for it. They will keep serving you tea long after you've finished, that way you can finish your convo's and digest a tad before venturing out again. The decor is nice and more often than not, I've eaten next to a monk. :)

I went with my friend Wes. He's never been and we both live relatively close. Plus he's down to try new foods. I love that. I find it annoying when people hear the word vegan and think it must just be lettuce, grass or just boring food. That could not be further from the truth, which I'm pretty sure I've demonstrated.......repeatedly. LOL Ok, now onto the food porn:

Spring rolls

Yummy veggie spring rolls with cabbage, carrots, onions, etc plus Chinese mushrooms. Mmmmm. I love chinese mushrooms but they have a very strong, pungent taste. Not like any other mushroom I've had. Most mushrooms are much milder in flavour, but give these a go! I buy them dried sometimes and add them to my stir frys.

Laughing Tiger

This dish I have never had. It was super yummy. It had carrots, potato, snap peas, Chinese mushroom, bamboo shoots and who knows what other yumminess. I quite enjoyed it.

Coconut greens

This one is my Dad's favorite. I love it too cuz I love coconut milk like a lot! It had sui choy, veggie ham, red and green peppers and a coconut sauce. Also yummy. It has a little saltiness going with the sweetness of the coconut milk. Love that.

Of course we had some rice with it as well. :)

So again, another awesome meal at one of my fave spots in Vancouver. I haven't quite yet tried all the dishes. But I will. The menus is quite big actually. The menu item names are hilarious and you have no idea whats in them until you ask. There are no descriptions. HA Love it. Mystery and intrigue! It gets yah talking to your server. Which sometimes is the owner. Sweet woman. :)

Peace

xoxo

k

Spicy Sweet and Sour Tofu Steaks

I had this crazy craving for pineapple the other day and whipped up this sweet and sour dish to satisfy my craving. I guess cuz the weather is getting a bit warmer so I'm just craving summer fruits. This was nice and easy to make and yummy. And spicy!

Sweet and Sour Tofu Steaks

Ingredients

1 package extra firm tofu

1/2 pineapple, chopped

7-8 mushrooms, sliced

1/2 onion, diced

2 garlic, minced

1 inch piece ginger, minced

3 Thai chili peppers, minced

1/4 cup veggie stock

1/2 tsp garlic powder

handful cilantro, chopped

1 lime, juiced

Directions:

Cut tofu into thick pieces, about 1-2 inches thick. Sprinkle with garlic powder and 1/2 lime juice. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Saute the onions, garlic, ginger and chili peppers in 1/4 cup water (or oil if you like) for 5 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients except for the cilantro and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the cilantro and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Serve on top of tofu steaks.

You can serve this dish with a side of brown rice and some leafy greens but I opted for some roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli. I tossed both in a little lemon juice, 1 tsp grapeseed oil and some lemon pepper seasoning. YUMMMMM. I baked them at 375 for 45 minutes.  I like my broccoli a little crispy so if you don't like it like that, steam it or take if out after 30 minutes. :)

I talked about a running injury a little while ago that I got from running 10km's in my Nike Free Run 2's. Well one of my girlfriends is a physiotherapist and offered to do a little tradesies. I cook, she fixes me. YES! I def got the better end of this deal. She worked on me for over an hour I think but who knows cuz it hurt so bad. No idea of time. I def owe her at LEAST one other dinner.

She turned my tiny apartment into a work station for her. She brought her table, pillows and everything. So awesome. But man did it ever hurt!! It took my breath away. But its all for a greater good. I went out the next day and it felt pretty damn good. She said the shoes really did a number on my feet. Everything was jammed up and just plain ole messed. I think every ones feet are different but I DO NOT recommend Nikes for running. Asics all the way. But go to an store like the Running Room so that they can find the right shoe for you.

Peace

xoxo

K

Restaurant Review: Panz Veggie

I'm alive!!!

Sorry I've been MIA lately but my birthday took me off the grid for a bit. I'm finally feeling like a normal person, ready to rejoin the world again. LOL My birthday was SO awesome!! I had a little party in my tiny bachelor apartment and then went off to the Waldorf to tear up that dance floor. I can't believe I was able to fit so many people in my place. I  think there was like 20ish. :) My friends are so great; made me feel so special. It was also really cool to have all 3 of my best friends in the same place at the same time.  Here's a little peak:

Kevin and I

Natasha, Dave and I

Leanne, Natasha and I plus some photo bombers. LOL

So fun! The only crappy part was that someone swiped my purse along the way and stole my phone. My new iphone. Sigh. I got my purse back with everything in it, money, ID, credit cards, everything except my phone. Pretty devastating.

The next day I had a slight hangover. :( but had to get my act together fora fam dinner. My dad and I REALLY love Panz Veggie. You can check out an old reviews here.

Won tons

String Beans

Unfortunately the other photo's didn't work for some reason. I took the pics with my dad's phone and emailed them to myself because I forgot my camera. I didn't know that some didn't work until now. So I'm sorry I don't have more pics. VERY sorry because the main dishes were phe-nom!!! The other dishes we had were the coconut greens (so yum) and the braised tofu sheets that came with veggies and chinese mushrooms. Those 2 dishes might be my fave, so I'm pretty sorry I don't have those pics! Grrrr. And now I'm hungry just thinking about it. Lol

Ok well its time to go get back on the grid and get my old blackberry hooked up again. Sigh. I'm grounded now. I'm grounding myself. Lol. But that'll mean lots of time to cook!



Peace

xoxo

K

Restaurant Review: 3G Vegetarian Restaurant

Last night I had a little birthday celebration with my aunt and uncle. I have created a little list of things I would like to do now that I'm having a milestone bday. Sigh. I'm cool with not being in my 20's anymore but it just makes you think about your life a lot. I've got so much that I want to achieve and do, but hey, 30 is the new 20 right? That's what everyone keeps telling me anyways.

So in regards to my birthday celebration last night and the list I created. Its got a few big ticket items on it, some fun silly ones, some naughty ones and some baddass ones. Like last night for example, I went to the shooting range! SO cool! Most friends I talked to were in these categories: LOVED it, REALLY wants to do it, or didn't like it at all. Actually the majority of my friends who haven't done it want to so bad. I HIGHLY recommend it. SUPER fun! My heart was pounding the entire time. It was SUCH an adrenaline rush. I got a little lesson from the gun marshal guy. He was great! Taught me a bit on gun safety and how to actually aim it.

I figured that I wouldn't even be able to get close to the bulls eye. That I would be waaaay off. Which I was at first, until he showed me how to line up the sights. Then it was on! I was actually not bad at all. I almost hit the bulls eye. Fo serious. Check it out:

Lookit me! I can't believe I shot a gun. Before this I'd never seen a gun let alone hold one. It was pretty scary. Those things are crazy powerful. I guess that's where the adrenaline rush comes from. If you're not a little nervous before shooting one of these then I think you got issues. And maybe you should just never have guns. LOL I shot a 22 handgun. I was going to shoot a 9M too but my uncle was a little greedy and shot off like 9 rounds (90 bullets)!!! Jeez. I did 5 rounds. Got to load a mag myself, pop it in the gun, all that ish. I can't wait to go again!

So there's one thing off the list! :)

After the shooting range we headed out for dinner. We originally planned to go to Wild Rice but We were running pretty late so we stopped in at 3G Vegetarian Restaurant on Cambie instead. I've only been once but I enjoy it a lot. Its non greasy Vegetarian Chinese food. Here's what we had:

Chicken wings!!!

These chicken wings were so good! I love how they made them to look like little drumettes. Totally did it for me. And the dipping sauce was all sorts of deliciousness. Get some!

Edamame, no salt

I liked how they don't coat the edamame in salt. Love it in fact. There's no need for it. Much better on their own.

Veggies and pork slices

I'd have to say that this dish is my fave one. The pork in it is fantastic. Fake meat can be hit or miss, but this is a def hit. It was every ones fave. The flavour too is amazing. And I love cabbage! The sauce was a little salty sweet. Love that combo.

Thai style rice noodles with mixed veggies

This dish was light but flavourful. I liked the little bit of sweetness to the dish. But it wasn't overpowering at all. I quite enjoyed it.

Tofu and mixed veggies

This was not my fave dish. But it was good. I really liked the style of tofu they used. It was like Japanese Atstuage, like agedashi tofu style. It also had a weird mushroom called Gandoderma. I looked up this mushroom and apparently it has quite a lot of healing properties and is kinda special. It boosts your immune system, neutralizes toxins in your body, reduces free radicals (yah, anti aging!), and helps circulation. Wow! All that from a mushroom? Love it. It was a pretty different mushroom than the other I've tried but I liked it. Its not a meaty one like portobello but yummy.

My birthday cupcake!

My Aunt ventured down to Karmavore and picked me up a vegan, gluten free cupcake! Yum! I totally ate it before dinner. Cuz I'm an ADULT!!! I can eat my dessert when I want to! lol

So my birthday month has started early, which is A-OK in my books. I love spreading it out as long as I can. I'm greedy like that. Lots of drinks, dinners, movies, and attention! Gimme more! Ha. I got just under 1 more week in my 20's and I'm gonna savour it. And then its onto my 30's. It only gets better from here. :)

Check out 3G Vegetarian Restaurant. Its good! It can be hard to find good Chinese food in Vancouver surprisingly. I hear they have good veggie dim sum too. PS its all VEGAN! Even when the menu says pork or chicken, its fake meat. I love it! I never have a full menu to choose from. :)

Peace

xoxo

K