Finch's Tea & Coffee House

Sandwich should be a foodgroup.
If there was any logic in that sentence, I misplaced it.

Say hello to Finch's Tea & Coffee House. A quaint, dated little nook. A proverbial ray of sunshine on the border of the dingy and chic parts of Gastown.

The Foundation

So this isn't the entrance sign to The Foundation, but I thought it was a more intriguing picture-- at least intriguing enough for me to forget taking a photo of the front;; so shoot me. It had been a long day, and I was hungry-- We were heading off to the nightmarket later that night, and I needed a little somethingsomething to hold me over before devouring redbean sweet treats.

The Greedy Pig

Who doesn't like great deals? Save money, have the satisfaction of receiving something you wanted for a lesser price.. it's a great thing I tell you.

Which is why I was so cheerful when I walked into The Greedy Pig the other day. Armed with a $25 coupon (I paid $12), I was very ready.

Let Me Cook for You? [UPDATED 01/09/2010]

Update01/09/2010: And the Baked Good Will Be:

We're making a Mille-feuille!
Oh Alex;;

What exactly do I need to make a mille-feuille that I don't already have in the house? I don't know. But I'll find a way to buy something (because that's difficult, eheh;;)
I will be purchasing cookware that can be used for the dessert, and practical for where I will be moving into in the Fall.

Thank you to everyone for the suggestions and for playing along with me : )
Alex, will be receiving some mille-feuille as soon as I fail creating it a couple of times, and get the recipe correct, and if he would so wish to have some (email.email.email).
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Hullo my small (and possibly non-existent...) audience! 

I have a proposition for you, it involves you dictating me on a post, would you like to listen in?

Now I realize that the majority of my posts are related to the restaurants in Vancouver (and it's surrounding cities), but as the toolbar on the right shows, I do occasionally post recipes (which you can conveniently sift away using the toolbar if you feel oh so inclined). 

So I was surprised when I was approached with an offer to receive and review cookware from Le Creuset!

Hello lovely looking colourful cookware~

In light of the fact that I will soon be moving to a new place this fall when the school semester begins again, I will be in need a few this and thats to be able to aid myself in the ongoing venture of not starving. 

So. The Important Part: I wanted this to still be related to the blog. I realize the majority of you are probably here to look at the restaurants instead of the occasional recipes (hence the "sift" option in the right hand toolbar) but shh, SO! If you are oh so interested in seeing something made and posted here, please comment. Pizza? Moaar pie? How about a layer cake? I will randomly draw a suggestion, and then proceed to gather up a recipe, and use+review the cookware these fine people will provide. 

So the decision is up to you! Comment below and let me know!

ps. - I'd actually like to bake something up.. and then give the tangible product to the individual who gets drawn (If they are in the Vancouver/GVRD area).. I don't know how much that would appeal to anyone though.. Yes?No? I swear there is no poison in my pantry;; If you would like?

pps/disclaimer - I do not profess to be an excellent cook/baker/anything. But I do want to do something for the individuals that come and stop by to take a look at what I'm eating from time to time. I appreciate it! I really do~

Browns Social House (Port Moody)

For my friends birthday, she wanted to go to somewhere that definitely would check her ID, be able to legally flaunt and drink her cocktail in the establishment, and have something absolutely girly.
Without leaving the tri-cities area, I couldn't think of very many options.
And I don't really know how anyone would really find those requirements appealing ... ("check my ID! CHECK MY ID DAMNIT I'M FINALLY LEGAL"), but hey. To each their own.

So without really much of an idea of where we were heading, we drove around until we spotted Browns Social House in Port Moody. I'm thinking.. 'Hey. It's a chain, which means they'll possible care enough to check ID, have a small selection of drinks to cover everyones palate, why not.' Knowing my friends fickleness when it comes to food and new experiences, I thought this would be a good bet. In we went.

Coconut Tarts

Yummy, flaky, light, creamy, coconut goodness. Lovely.

Coconut tarts. The result of not having tart pans, and wanting to make tarts. Used the pie crust recipe I used on the apple pie I had made, picked off a recipe at random for the coconut custard, and because I decided they looked too much like eggtarts, I threw on some coconut.

I had actually made three types of tarts before this (egg, strawberry, coconut), but this one was definitely the winner of the three. A little something something to impress (and show-off) to guests. And to horde for yourself;

I used a muffin pan for the tart shells (although I really do wish I had tart pans and what not..)
Anyways, without further ado!

Salmon House on the Hill

My friend is back to work! No more lounging around the house all day playing video games, you! I was really excited for him, mostly because he will be working at a fairly prestigious Vancouver restaurant, preparing amazing food. And I will have to come surprise drop in on him at some point and make him sweat.

Anyways, to celebrate his last Friday free (Pretty much ever. Hullo unlife of a chef.), we visited The Salmon House on the Hill!. He had an old friend there that recommended it, so we decided, why not?

Triple Chocolate Brownie Cookies

These cookies.
Make them. Eat them.
Don't have chocolate?
Go get some.

In fact. Make them in bulk. Freeze them. And always eat them freshly baked. These are the epitome of melted fudge chocolate goodness. Complete with a light crispy outer, with literally a molten centre.
Chocolate lava cakes? Do not even hold a candle to this delicacy.
AND THEY'RE RIDICULOUSLY EASY TO MAKE TOO.
Granted they're not the most visually appealing, but that's also the result of my inability to camera.
Yes, I just verb'd camera.
And verb.
wut.

O Rawbar Grill and Lounge

For the longest time now, this has been a ping pong match in my mind. Do I post. Do I not post? How exactly should I post? What kind of disclaimers in the post.. You see. O Rawbar Grill and Lounge and I have personal relations, although how specifically, I suppose is not the smartest thing to say.
Long story short, there's almost no way for me to give non-bias opinion on this restaurant. And vise-versa, if I were to try to serve up a heavy-handed opinion to make up for my bias, I may run into some troubles.

However, at the same time, my questions were something along the lines of, why shouldn't I blog about Oraw? It's a restaurant. I've been to this restaurant as a customer. And I'm here to post pictures about food from restaurants I frequent and remark if I liked eating there or not. Simple.

I haven't been asked to write anything. In fact, I feel like I will be getting in trouble by writing ._. I will keep my writing to a minimum and I won't comment on how I felt about the food to avoid any unnecessary biases, but if you still find issue in this post, simply do not click the read more button : ).

Golden Phoenix Chinese Restaurant

This bad photo streak really has to end. Really; I'm going to tell you guys right now, all these photos. Are terrible. I'm sorry for the eyesore. We arrived at this lunch late, and some dishes had already arrived when we came to visit the Golden Phoenix Seafood Restaurant. Not wanting to disturb the lunch too much, I snapped pictures as quick as I could;;
But enough about my failures, let's take a look at the restaurant, yus?