Category Archives: Reviews

Muffiniarnia– Wroclaw Sweets & Treats

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I officially found the cutest and most “pink” cupcake store ever. It’s located just on the outskirts of Rynek (Szewska 27) . It’s called Muffiniarnia—and they specialize in custom cakes, muffins, cupcakes , milkshakes & caffee lattes of all sorts. The interior decor screams Hello Kitty—it’s basically every girls dream dessert place.

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Their cupcakes aren’t of your ordinary expectance — they range from Kinder Beuno to Coconut Raefello. They are exactly what your cheat day is craving for.

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I haven’t had a chance to try their caffee lattes yet– but I can give you a confident thumbs up on their cupcakes, muffins, and milkshakes (I tried the Oreo one and it was amazing!).

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Just stop whatever you’re doing and go and get a cupcake. Indulge guiltlessly . You earned this ;) .

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Love r xxx

Pod Fredra–A Wroclaw Review

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I can’t believe that it’s almost been a month since I left Vancouver. I miss home endlessly but have found much happiness in making a new home here in Wroclaw. I sometimes look around and laugh at how my path led me here . It’s amazingly confusing.

One of the best things about Poland is that their currency hasn’t adopted the Euro yet–this makes the cost of living & food dirt cheap. Yes, and as most of you have expected– i’ve been extremely busy eating. One of my favorite Polish restaurants is located  right in the heart of Rynek and was actually recommended to me by my cousin Ola.  It goes by the name of Pod Fredra and it cooks up authentic Polish Cuisine.

The interior of Pod Fredra is very rustic. They have solid oak lodges, wooden tables and a plenty of “trinkets”. The service is great and the food comes faster than expected.

The pricing is fair but please do note that you must order the sides separately. All main courses come side-less. Ah, yes, there are some things that a Canadian must get accustomed with here.

 

What I recommend ordering:

Herb & Lemon Chicken (+24.70 z) with side order of Grilled Potatoes & Bacon (+7.90 z)

Chicken was lathered with fresh herbs and garlic. The potatoes were rich in bacon-y flavors and were the perfect compliment to the dish. All together this dish will cost you 33 zloty–which is roughly $10 Canadian.

 

2. White Sausages w/ Caramelized Onions 24.70 z ( roughly $8 Canadian)

Huge apology for the terrible quality photo!!! 

These sausages were bursting with flavorful juices. Each bite was better than the last. The server suggested that we add a side of bread to the dish but we found the bread to be too dense & heavy to properly accompany the sausages. Perhaps a salad of some sort would have been better.

 

If you’re in the mood for some authentic Polish food, then I would recommend this as a go to-joint.

 

Sending you many kisses from Poland,

R x

PS: i’m surviving medical school!

 

Fatty Cow Seafood Hot Pot

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Last week some of your favorite Vancouver food bloggers attended the Chinese Bites Signature Dishes Tour dinner at Fatty Cow Hot Pot. Voted as best Hot Pot from both Chinese Restaurant Awards and The Georgia Straight—we all went with high expectations.

 I’m pleased to say that none of us were disappointed.

We had two hot pot bases going at full force—one was a Spicy Soup Base and the other a Peanut Satay. Surprisingly, all of us preferred the spicy one—and to my luck, I was sitting right in front of it. Win!

There was a vast assortment of meat and seafood, all of which was incredibly fresh. From raw lobster to chicken hearts to fish balls—it was any hot pot lover’s dream come true.

I couldn’t stop thinking about the freshness of the seafood. I kept thinking—where on earth did they get these massive scallops and oysters!? Then I found out that Fatty Cow actually owns Jumbo Seafood just a few blocks down. It doesn’t get fresher than this folks.

please note that the raw lobster is not offered on the regular hot pot menu.

The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the beef chucks and the pork blood. Although the pork blood was due to personal taste, the beef chunks were tough and chewy—it was quite the mouth workout. The salmon was also filled with bones and I found it to be too much work and not enough reward.

The highlight of the night was the Scallops. My god, these were so incredibly sinful. When was the last time you saw scallops this size? It took me a whopping 3 bites to finish one off.

Fatty Cows got voted number one for a reason. Everything from the ambiance to the food was memorable. If you want good quality hot pot in Vancouver then this is your go-to joint. Although Fatty Cow offers a regular dinner menu—I would stick with the hot pot. They specialize in this and they do it exceptionally well.

P.s. This picture sums up beautifully what dinner with a table full of food bloggers is like. Meet my fellow dinner guests; Rick, Sherman, Alvin, Kevin, and the lovely Janice. 

We’re all very talented at eating.

Fatty Cow Seafood Hot Pot
5108 Victoria Drive
Vancouver, BC
(604) 568-6630
 

That’s all for today.

-R x

The Dime Roundhouse- Everything on Menu $4.95

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-The owner of The Famous Warehouse & The Factory have recently opened The Dime. It’s only 3 months old and everything on the menu is $4.95. Yes, everything.

-The Dime replaces the once ” Rocco” Italian Restaurant on the busy strip of Commercial st.

-Prime location but lots and lots of surrounding competition. Although, at $4.95, I doubt competition will be a problem.

p.s I apologize for the quality of the photos in this post! I didn’t have my SLR, so bare with my phone-quality photos.

Small Girl BIG Plate Scale:

1.Don’t waste your money  2.Mediocre  3. Good  4.Very good  5.Nobel Prize Worthy

Items up for Review:

Maple Bacon Gnocchi $4.95
3/5 (Good)


-       Loved the flavor combination, or should I say the “sounding “of the flavor combination. I couldn’t taste either Maple or Bacon. But the Gnocchi was nicely prepared and the sauce was creamy and stuffed with fresh herbs—making it easy for me to give this dish a 3/5.

-       What would have stepped this dish up to a 4/5 would have been a touch more of maple syrup and perhaps some sprinkled bacon salt.

Pulled Pork Sandwich $4.95
3/5 (Good)

- The bun was soft and the pork was well prepared (slowly cooked until melt-in-mouth tender). The pork was marinated in curry spices.

-This sandwich tasted quite similar to Ensemble Taps $10.00 Pulled Pork Sandwich. However, I can guarantee that Etaps  quality of food is incomparable to whatever The Dime uses.

-The sandwich apparently had an apple & papaya slaw, but I couldn’t taste it. It was overpowered by the BBQ sauce, and there wasn’t enough of it to provide that desirable ”crunch”.  Shame.

The Dime Burger ; Canadian Beef, Cheddar, Toasted Bun, Roasted Pepper Mayo, all the fixings and a side of Fries. $4.95

3.5/5 (Good -Very Good)

-The burger patty was extremely juice. No, seriously—extremely juicy.  It was very good. However, the beef patty was perfectly round (suspiciously round)–which most of the time means it’s not made fresh in house. This may be a given at $4.95 though.

-Most restaurants state the grade of beef used in their burger, well, if they are using a high grade that is. So, I think “Canadian Beef” is our que here.  But, we still need to take a moment and realize that this meal is cheaper than Mcdonalds (and so much better in all aspects) .

- I loved the fries that accompanied both sandwiches. They were crispy and well seasoned. I have respect for restaurants that don’t over-salt their fries.

Many of you asked me to compare The Famous Warehouse and The Dime, so as requested—here is my two cents:

-The quality of food is much, much better at The Dime. Also, the menu is a lot more interesting. It was evident that more thought was put into the food.  Ex. The Dime Burger had Red Pepper Mayo rather than just regular mayo.

-The ambiance of The Famous Warehouse and The Dime are near identical. I would call these joints “bars” rather than “restaurants”. Both have extremely dim lighting and laid-back vibes.

-Both spots have a$4.95 menus (The Factory has a $5.95 menu). Many of you asked me how this is so, and from what I’ve heard, both restaurants take losses on food and make them up through alcohol. This doesn’t surprise me– as the drinks were quite overpriced.

-The service is equally terrible at both. You need to hunt a server to get your water refilled. But bottom line is that you pay what you get for. I don’t go to the Dime or the Warehouse for superior service but rather for a tasty and affordable meal.

Love always,
R x

The Dime on Urbanspoon

CRAY Kitchen & Bar

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Cray Kitchen & Bar is a brand new restaurant that has opened its doors on the corner of Broadway & Main st. It’s the first to serve up Louisiana style seafood in Vancouver.

Small Girl BIG Plate Scale:

1.Don’t waste your money  2.Mediocre  3. Good  4.Very good  5.Nobel Prize Worthy

Items up for review:

1. Cod Nuggets $.9.99
4/5 ( Very Good )

-The server recommeneded this dish to  us and I can see why it would be the most popular appetizer.The cod was extremely tender and had the perfect deep fried crunch.

-Fries were also nice and crunchy. This dish came with ketchup & also a side of special-house mayo dip which was very tasty.

-What’s holding me back from giving this dish a 5/5 is the number of cod peices. I didn’t feel as though 5 cod nuggets were enough for $9.99.

2. Crawfish with Cray Mix  ( mixture of cajun +garlic butter + lemon pepper ) $13.99/lb
4/5(very good)

-The Crawfish are served in a plastic bag. There’s about 40 of these guys per bag and they were supsringly filling.

-They’re quite a bit of work to eat but are so unbelievably worth it. The meat is extremely tender. Sucking on the head also releases great flavors.

-Crawfish is the specialty at Cray Restaurant–it’s a must order, at least on your first visit. It’s hard to find Crawfish, especially ones that are shipped all the way from Louisana in Vancouver.

3. Atlantic Lobster with Garlic Butter (19.99/lb) **must order minimum of 2lb**
4.5/5 (Very Good- Noble Prize Worthy)

-The lobster was very fresh and the meat was extremely juicy . This dish was all around to-die-for.

-In fact, I preferred this dish over the Crawfish. However, I would still recommend that you order the Crawfish over the lobster because it’s unique to this restaurant and hard to find elsewhere.

-The garlic-butter was a good seasoning choice for the lobster. I felt as though the cray mix (which we ordered for the crawfish) would have overpowered the delicacy of the lobster meat.

-You must order at least 2 lb of the Lobster.

 4. Hot Fudge Chocolate Cake $5.99. 
 1/5 (Don’t waste your money)

-The cake was in no way moist and lacked both flavor and fudge. Sadly, the ice cream had freezer burn! This dish was not worth ordering to me.

Conclusion & Cray Restaurant Must-Knows

-Cray is just one week old but already has exceptional service and food in place.

-The ambiance is extremely laid back and cups & cutlery are all plastic. This is done for easier clean up. I could see many people bringing up environmental complaints in the future–however,  I felt as though the plastic was a good idea. Maybe there is a more eco-friendly route (1/2 plastic 1/2 another material) that Cray could consider using instead.

-Overall this restaurant offers a unique dining experience that is difficult to find anywhere else in Vancouver. It’s all hands on at Cray, you get down and dirty with your meal! My biggest recommendation: order the crawfish!

-R x

 

Cray Kitchen and Bar on Urbanspoon