2012-01-25 Lunch @ DOV Street Food City

DOV2012 Street Food City was an outdoor event where participating street food merchants gathered at one convenient location.  The concept was similar to a food pod in Portland, except it's a lot smaller and was only on for three days.  I arrived at approximately quarter to noon and lineups were building up at Re-Up BBQ, La Brasserie Street, Tacofino Cantina and Mom's Grilled Cheese Truck.

MOM'S GRILLED CHEESE TRUCK

604-767-9768

I was mainly here for two places and the first was the grilled cheese sandwich.  I queued myself into the lineup, not bad, only four people ordering ahead of me.

I waited...waited...and waited, well, I wasn't the only one waiting.  Eventually, after thirty minutes, I finally got my order.  I had a Mom's Meatloaf Grilled Cheese Sandwich and added bacon to it.  Mom made an error in the execution and offered to give me back $10, or a free sandwich on my next visit.  I declined both, it wasn't necessary.

Because of the hiccup, it wasn't as nicely executed as others that went out.  But coming down to taste, it was pretty good.  The tender and moist meatloaf balanced well with the marinara.  The bacon, unfortunately, wasn't crisp nor noticeable, meaning, it wasn't smokey nor salty.  I like how the butter was nicely soaked into the bread.  Overall, a good sandwich, a tad on the pricier side, but worth going for again.

RE-UP BBQ FOODCART

604-724-0894

After downing my grilled cheese, I bumped into @dailyslif.  We caught up on what was going on in the foodie world and lined up at Re-Up BBQ.  We lined up at approximately 12:30pm and waited for a least forty minutes.  The line moved, but crawled like a snail.

The Bacon Explosion Sandwich was rolled pork with matted bacon, then smoked.  The bacon that matted the roll didn't shine at all.  The pork didn't have much smokiness and was quite bland.  The only compliment I had was that it was tender and moist, and that was pretty much it.

Prior to the experience, the name "Bacon Explosion" intrigued me and I expected some kind of 'wow' factor.  Unfortunately, one bite and I was immediately disappointed.  For $8, I wouldn't eat this again.

The city really needs to find ways to make our street food program work.  Perhaps consulting cities and countries that are big on street food and see how they control and maintain their success.

Overall, DOV2012 Street Food City was a good concept and in my opinion, a success.  I hope we can have more merchants next year.

2012-01-22 Lunar New Year Eve 除夕大年夜 @ Chez Buddha

Lunar new year is my favorite holiday of all time!!!  All the food, all the shopping, all the celebrations!!!  Downside, now that we're married...we gotta pass out the red-pockets 紅包.

Ever since I met Buddha Boy, we've been collecting these lunar zodiac animals every year.  But I must say, the qualities and designs worsen year after year.

MomM wanted me to pick up some peanuts for praying, I went a step more and bought a peanut-shaped candy holder from T&T Supermarket and put peanuts in these...hehehehe!

My collection of red-pocket envelopes this year...my ATF has always been those miniature pockets...easy to store, easy to give.

Time to say bye-bye to the rabbits and welcome the dragons!!!  I usually buy my lunar new year decorations and praying supplies from Bamboo Village 竹家莊 in Chinatown, across from New Town Bakery.

CW helped to put up the decorations and she stuck this to our bedroom door..."come babies come"!!!  Hahahahaha!

Of course, just like other major Chinese festivals, we must pay our respects to our Buddhas and ancestors.  For the lunar new year, we pray on the eve, the day, the second and the fifteenth day.

Okay, before you say anything about the table cloth...the story was...I realized, at the last minute,  I needed a red table cloth, but the only one I could find in the dollar store near us was the picnic design..hey, at least it's red (and white)...hahahaha!

Our wine for the night...well, more like MomJ and DadT's wine for the night...alcoholics...hahahaha!  Not sure who gave this to us...

Buddha Boy hogged the kitchen...hahaha!  He's the head chef tonight...fine...fine...

Me, the sous-chef...grabbed a couple of burners and cooked my dishes on the side.  :p

Our dinner for six (including Buddha Dog)...plus soup, rice and dessert.  Too much?  Never too much food at Chez Buddha...hahahaha!

MomJ, Buddha Boy and I each gave Buddha Dog a red-pocket..and yes, Buddha Dog was giving me an attitude because he hates cameras.

2012-01-21 Cupcakes @ ManCakes Bakery

Buddha Boy and I are bad influences...wahahaha!!!  Since CW never been to a Taboo Show before, we dragged her there to open her mind a little.  Of course, not much food at the show, but when ManCakes Bakery came into sight, it immediately caught our attentions.  Okay, the truth was, the cupcakes caught Buddha Boy's attention, CW and I were more attracted to the cute exhibitors...hehehehe!

The Buffalo Wing Cupcake (left) had a light hint of buffalo spiciness with a tangy and creamy filling (apparently it's cheesecake mousse, as stated on their website).  Honestly we couldn't tell it was crispy chicken sprinkled on top but the hot sauce buttercream was tasty!  Unfortunately, Buddha Boy and I couldn't quite taste all the "levels" of the Breakfast Cupcake (right).

Just wanted to share what CW and I saw at Metrotown prior to the Taboo Show...those of you from Taiwan would know exactly what this is...hahahaha!!!
電音太子爺..."保庇! 保庇! 保庇! 保庇! 保庇! 保庇! 保庇! 噢!"...LOL!!!