Upcoming event - Christmas on Cambie

For some reason, I always seem to be behind every other bloggers on the news front, so I am a bit afraid to bring something up to people's attention just because I think it has been covered in more depth and better by other bloggers (see just for a few examples, Rebecca on the Vancouver mascots, Paul on the non-usability of iMove and John on the challenges faced by Cambie merchants).

However, I think this time I may have some very fresh news for you loyal Vancouver and non-Vancouver readers. From the owners of Trixi's, one of the most fabulous crepe places this side of Paris, I got the following email:

Dear Trixi's Customers,

It's been a while that you have heard from us. We have some great news. As of Sunday, December the 2nd, the trench will be paved over and cross streets from 16th to 19th will be open again. In order to celebrate the progress of the Canadaline construction in the Village the Cambie Village Business Association together with Canadaline are inviting friends and neighbours to "Christmas on Cambie" on Sunday, December 9th from 12 pm to 5 pm.

For more info see http://www.cambievillage.com/.

We are very excited about this and hope you will come out to visit sometime soon.

We look forward to seeing many of our customers again and serving you one (or two) of our delicious crepes.

Ernst and Beatrix

I love going to Trixi's and have been a loyal customer for almost two years now. And I am also a strong supporter of businesses on Cambie, both promoting events and being a customer of Cambie businesses (even if it means having to navigate and negotiate street intersections, etc.) So I would strongly encourage you all to go on December 9th. Furthermore, since I will not be in Canada by then, would readers please go back to this post and leave a comment with your experience at the event? Thank you.

[Note] The link for Trixi's is actually a Canada Line link, but they are promoting Trixi's, for which I didn't find a website. But you can look at the Cambie Village Business Association website for more info.

Restaurant review - Sha Lin Noodle House

I went to Sha Lin Noodle House a couple of weeks back with A, because she was feeling not very well yet hungry, so we headed to Broadway and Cambie for lunch. Now, if it was up to me, I probably would have just made her chicken soup, but she likes this place.

Another strange quirk of mine: I dislike Chinese food, in general. I can do a couple of dishes here and there, but for the most part, I don't like it at all. Bad memories from living in residence. That being said, the gyozas and noodle soups here (they call them pulled noodle soup) are just unbelievable, and not expensive. I can see how A really likes this place, and she is not the only one. I found a review of Sha Lin Noodle House on Beyond Robson as well!

Restaurant review - Favorito Pasta Trattoria

I am known for my love of Italian food, and I jump at every opportunity that I get to either make it or go out for dinner and have it. With my Mom’s recent visit to Vancouver, B and C offered to take us out for dinner and we settled on Favorito Pasta Trattoria (552 Broadway, pretty much between Ash and Cambie). Favorito has pretty much every Italian dish you want, although I again settled for something a bit fusion – penne with curry. I know, oh the heresy!

With all the construction around the Canada Line, I have made a point of eating around Cambie more often (support local business is one of my mottos). So, I was pleased to go to Favorito (even if it isn’t technically located ON Cambie, it’s close enough). The food was excellent, and the service was impeccable. Of course, the best part was the company. C and B are married and they have always made me feel part of their family, and I am very grateful for having friends like them.

I would recommend Favorito, although I found that the music was a bit too loud for me. But I am sure they’d compromise if you asked them to turn the volume down, as the service was excellent and attentive. And the best part of it all? The food is not expensive. So, good food, great service and your wallet won’t have a hole… what else can you ask for?

PS – In addition to another friendly reminder to sponsor me and encourage you to donate for A Loving Spoonful (again, the money goes directly to the charity – Blogathon only keeps track of who has raised how much money) I would also like to encourage you to comment. Many people are awake already (I noticed comments on Miss604’s blog and other Blogathon-related blogs, so I decided to open up my comments and leave them non-moderated). Throw ideas, comment on the content, encourage us.

PPS – I hate that most corner stores will open until 9 or 10 am. Didn’t anybody tell them that I need breakfast food? I’m getting hungry! So now I’ll be forced to go to one of the 24 hours stores that charges a premium for the mere fact that they are open 24 hours (well, that’s the convenience right?).

Restaurant review - The Mongolie Grill (Broadway and Cambie)

One of my close friends (T) is leaving for Ottawa, so a bunch of us agreed to go out and have dinner with her before she left, and we settled for The Mongolie Grill. I can't recall the last time I ate there, but it seems like a popular location and I hadn't had Mongolian food in a long while so I thought "why the heck not". Furthermore, it was T's farewell so I am not one to complain about location choice when my friends are leaving town.

Anyway, the deal in this restaurant is that you choose your meats, veggies, noodles and sauces and then they weigh your place and stir-fry it. Quite simple. Surprisingly for me, all my friends (all of them female) knew the weight of their food, approximately. So did I, but I think it's because I cook too. I think that helps :-)

So we had the patio, our server was attentive (I wasn't shocked at the high level of service, but she was nice enough) although splitting the bill was a bit of a hard time. Nevertheless, if you think about the fact that it came to about 12-15 dollars per person, and they serve complimentary rice, it wasn't that bad. We weren't served the soup, though (now that I think about it - I did not even remember!) but I am sure we could have if we had remembered to ask.

The food is nice and the cook is a really nice guy, but I am not entirely sure people are satisfied with the level of service of this particular location (Broadway and Cambie). I read some pretty nasty reviews that are here and here.

I can't complain much because I got what I wanted: tasty food and the company of awesome friends, in a well ventilated space (we got the patio). But I suppose that there are good and bad elements to this restaurant. In my view, it's worth coming with lots of friends... there are discussions around "what are you having for dinner" all the time :)

Eating out and the construction of Canada Line on Cambie

If you've known me well enough, you'll know that I am all for promoting local business. I had a long conversation with S, B and H while my brother was in town (I won't give out details of the chat, but it was a really fun drive with them on the way uphill to Point Grey). But the thing is, since I am a Vancouverite now, I want local businesses to succeed.

Thus, every time I have a chance, I try to guide people to my blog where I've reviewed several places located along the Canada Line construction. It really makes me sad to read that many businesses have closed down. I won't enter the political debate because that's outside the realm of my blog (and although I have an opinion, I think it's best if I keep myself out of this discussion). But at any rate, I am keen to promote businesses along Cambie because I know that lack of customers is perhaps one of the factors that has been driving businesses to shut down operations.

So, I'll make a quick overview of the places I've been to (or suggest a few places that you can go to) that are directly on Cambie St.

Tomato (near 17th and Cambie)
Trixi's Crepes (the best crepes in town, near 17th and Cambie)
Thai Away Home (great Thai food, near 17th and Cambie)
FigMint (I wasn't pleased with their food but I've read other reviews and they seem to like it, so why not - check it out for yourselves, near 12th and Cambie)

If you have any other recommendations, I'd really welcome them. I have heard from the owners of several establishments along Cambie that they really need their business to pick up, so I'm doing my part to help.

Restaurant review: Trixi's

I have been neglecting to write Trixi’s restaurant review because I’ve been swamped with work commitments. But I can’t delay it anymore. Last Sunday, I went there with two of my best friends and we had crepes for dinner. Yessir, crepes. I admit it, I was shocked myself. I am usually a fan of Trixi’s for 3 pm crepe and tea on a sunny day (as I have done numerous times with one of my closest friends) but they wanted a savoury treat and I wasn’t about to say “oh I am sorry I’m a sweet crepe kind of guy”.

So, there I went with a herb-chicken and mushroom crepe (without cheese but with tomatoes). It was, as usual, fantastic! But I was more shocked about the fact that I had enjoyed a savoury crepe rather than a sweet one. Of course, I shared a sweet crepe for dessert. Prices are fantastic (with 6 bucks you can have crepe and ice-cream and for 10 bucks you got yourself dinner). The owners are sweet and adorable and they’ll come to your table to tell stories. So, kudos to Trixi’s. It is located right across from Tomato on Cambie and almost 17th Avenue. My favourite crepe restaurant (and yes I know Cafe Crepe, and I like their crepes too, but Trixi's has a homey flavour to it).