Vancouver Restaurant - Cactus Club Coal Harbour

When you have guests in town or want to be a tourist in your own town, Coal Harbour downtown Vancouver has great views and scenery as well as good places to eat.  At Coal Harbour stands the Olympic Cauldron from the 2010 Olympic Games.  It is a beautiful structure and attraction for a photo shoot.  In addition, there are the views of the seaplanes, North Vancouver and the water.  

Cactus Club Coal Harbour is right there for an elegant dining experience for you and your guests.  I get invited there for business and it is always a memorable experience.  For groups you can reserve a private room and there is a set three course menu to choose from which includes steak, chicken, fish, or vegetarian options.  Of course, I always choose their Peppercorn Sirloin Steak.  The private room has large windows to see the boardwalk.  Our guests loved seeing an odd sighting which was a family of Canadian geese that were strutting along from the Cauldron to the water before flying off.  They were able to snap a few shots.



This was a great way to start a weekend with Pimm's Cup cocktail with Pimm's No1, ginger ale, strawberries, cucumber and mint.  I chose the Prawn Ravioli for the starter, Peppercorn Sirloin Steak, and then the Key Lime Pie for dessert.  The other dessert option was the Peanut Butter Bar.  The portions are generous and filling.  I loved the flavour in the ravioli appetizer.  Most importantly the out of town guests enjoyed their meal and had a good time. 

Cactus Club Coal Harbour Pimm's Cup

Cactus Club Coal Harbour Prawn Ravioli Appetizer

Cactus Club Coal Harbour Peppercorn Sirloin Steak

Cactus Club Coal Harbour Key Lime Pie

Cactus Club Coal Harbour Peanut Butter Bar

Subscription Box Sunday - Baker's Krate Dessert Box (March Unboxing)

Dear Vancity Girlfriends,

As promised on Subscription Box Sunday, I will unbox the March box for Baker's Krate Dessert Box.  This is a subscription box from Canada that contains 4-6 sweet treats that are handmade with love and shipped to your doorstep.  Now when we do our unboxing videos on YouTube, since we are unboxing the Baker's Krate subscription box for the first time on the spot, we are guessing what items might be when we are looking at them.  We are pretty honest with our unboxing.  (Not like some reality shows where you know that everything has been staged - it's all too good to be true).

Anyways, here's what was inside Baker's Krate March box.

1.  Bacon Butter Tart Pie in a Jar 
2.  Caramilk Chocolate Chip Cooke
3.  Chocolate Chunk Cookie
4.  Butterscotch Quickie
5.  Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich
6.  Crinkle Cookie

The butterscotch quickie in a sandwich bag was a little odd.  When I opened the box, I thought it was a topping for the cookie, but it's a separate dessert in itself.  The cookies were delicious and I'm saving the Bacon Butter Tart in  Jar for when I have some vanilla ice cream because then I can heat it up and put ice cream on top as they have suggested in the Baker's Krate menu.  

Now watch our Baker's Krate unboxing video to see the unboxing of each item.  

Out of the two Baker's Krate dessert boxes that I've received so far, the February Valentine's Day box is my favorite.  I do have one more Baker's Krate Box arriving for April so we will see if it can be better than the February Box.

Either way, none of the treats last long in my household.  Enjoy!  

Subscription Box Sunday - Baker's Krate Dessert Box

As the Canadian dollar is dropping in value against the US dollar I've been searching for subscription boxes that are from Canada so it is cheaper for me.  That's cheaper for shipping and total cost of the subscription box.  This is when I discovered that there are lots of new Canadian subscription boxes popping up and that subscription boxes are not dying off.  Even though there is turnover, and companies close, there are new ones ready to come abroad and subscription boxes are still popular in both Canada and the US.
  

Baker's Krate is a Canadian subscription box based from Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Carolyn though we'd have to do the baking but surprise!  It's a sweet treat box.  There are 6 or more desserts in each box.  I signed up for their mailing list so I could receive their newsletter and the discounts codes included in them.  I thought it was timely to order a Baker's Krate for February in time for Valentine's Day.  I had a 15% discount so I ordered a 3 month subscription.  It worked out to be about $25 per box including shipping in Canada.  

The treats are delicious and irresistable that we couldnt' wait and ate as we vlogged.  That means the photo only shows four out of the six desserts that we received.  Watch our upcoming Baker's Krate vlog to see our yummy unboxing. 

We'll be back for more Vancity Girlfriends Baker's Krate unboxing every month until April!   This box is one that doesn't last long!  Few days and it's all gone!

Vancouver Restaurant: Forage

Hello Vancity Girlfriends,

I was surprised on my birthday. I organized a few girlfriends and I at the last minute to go to Joeys in Burnaby and instead they treated me to Forage!  

The definition of "forage" is to hunt and search for food.  In this case it would be to forage for local and sustainable food.  I love this idea.  So after they forage the fresh ingredients, it's time to put together a dining menu.

Forage is a foodie's dream!  It is small plate and tapas style so you get to try a variety of different food plates and tastes.  It is amazing food at Forage!  There were 4 of us and we tried a whole lot of a little bit of everything on the menu.  Take a look at what we foraged to the table.

Roasted Pan Bread

Roasted Squash Perogies in Cheddar Fondue

Foraged and cultivated mushrooms with goat cheese

Rangeland game burger

Qualicum scallops

Alpine juniper confit chicken flatbread

I would absolutely recommend Forage with a small group so you enjoy so many different plates to feast from.  When you go to Forage from Sunday to Wednesday they have a Forage Meat Draw and everyone can enter their draw for a free meat package for 4.  Unfortunately I did not win this time even though all of my friends allowed me to put my name on every draw ticket.  Aww, I guess this means I have to return to try again.

Forage has a wonderful atmosphere to catch up with your Vancity Girlfriends and enjoy a drink from their wine list or try one of the craft beers.  The servers are friendly and even know tips about the calorie count in celery.  Now when you take a look at the dessert list, it is difficult to resist.  
 

Huckleberry and Hazelnut Financier

Mason Jar Pumpkin Pie

Forage is participating in Dine Out Vancouver so you can experience the local culinary delight as a three course meal.  However, I fully enjoyed my tapas style birthday meal.  What a way to start 2014!

Vancouver High Tea - Neverland Tea Salon

Dear Vancity Girlfriends,

I have to admit that I love girly things even though I would never say that to anyone.  Even though I love high tea, I normally save it for special occasions.  One of my friends at work mentioned Neverland Tea Salon to me a few months ago, but when she told me that it was located so far away in Kitsilano, I threw it out of my mind.

As you may start to know, I am always on the lookout of good deals and I'm a member of Open Table reservation system where you get points for making reservations online and when you have enough points Open Table nicely gives you a dining cheque.  

When I saw Neverland Tea Salon on Open Table, I immediately decided that the Christmas season is a special occasion and I texted my Vancity Girlfriend for an afternoon date of high tea at Neverland Tea Salon.

Teas brought to your table

Even though it was a rainy, grey day in Vancouver, it was bright and modern in Neverland Tea Salon.  When I walked in the door, my nosebuds were alerted with the scent of fresh baking on the premises.  WOW!  This was a first to actually have an on-site bakery and the aromas with wake up your nosebuds with delight.  The decor is cute and quaint just as though Alice from Alice in Wonderland decorated it with unique teacups and quaint tables and chairs.  Once seated they brought over a selection of teas for us to smell to our table.  This was a first.  Usually I have to walk over to the selection wall to smell the teas.  Now we had the teas at our fingertips.  

Since we were in Peter Pan's Neverland, I decided to try Peter Pan's green tea.  They also have a signature Neverland black tea.  The menu had a selection for lunch and of course high tea.  We ordered the high tea.  They brought out a nice selection of sandwiches, scones, and sweets.  The high tea was fresh and flavorful.  Then when it was time to refill our teapots, we were allowed to order a fresh tea from the selection.  Not only that but they had an even larger tea menu of 60 teas!  

WOW!  I was also given a new teacup for my second tea choice of a creamy earl grey.  Now as you can tell Neverland Tea Salon has impressed me but they did not end with that.  At the end, when it was time for the bill, it came with free tea samples.  WOW!  For all of that, I would definitely return to Neverland Tea Salon with friends so everyone can enjoy its wonders.  It makes it worth a trip!

Peter Pan Green Tea

Finger sandwiches

Fresh scones with jam and cream

Dessert

Neverland Tea Salon High Tea

Neverland Tea Sample

Do you love afternoon tea in Vancouver?  

Check out Vancouver Afternoon Tea Reviews.

Vancouver Cafe: The Last Crumb Bakery

Hi Vancity Girlfriends!

Have you explored a local neighbourhood lately?  Well, I did!  I went to Mount Pleasant which is the Main Street area of Vancouver that has a plethora of quaint restaurants, cafes, and bakery including  The Last Crumb Bakery and Cafe.

This is a modern and chic bakery cafe that looks fresh and newly pressed inside.  They have homemade hot chocolate and the baristas take care of your drinks.  I went the weekend of Remembrance Day and was pleasantly surprised to see a poppy on top of my peppermint hot chocolate.  Creatively unique!

How did we stumble upon The Last Crumb Bakery and Cafe?  This was recommended by a friend who lived in the area.  My British Vancity Girlfriend craved a scone with jam and cream and we were told that we could find this item at the Last Crumb.  While driving to the bakery, I had to call to ask if they had that particular item and distinctly the jam and cream.  Now they were too busy to answer the call as the cafe was packed when we arrived.  But neatly on the chalkboard menu, was written "scone with jam and cream".  Success!  
 

It was a great place to chat and enjoy homemade baked goods and drinks.  It truly is a winning combination of bakery and cafe all rolled in one.  I can't wait to return to try their breakfast or lunch meals.  Or perhaps just to order a table full of homemade goodies.