Hawksworth - Fancy Schmancy Brunch

If you are a regular follower of my blog, you know I'm pretty frugal when it comes to food. Quick, comfy, affordable restaurants are my go to's and expensive posh restos are usually reserved for my friend or family's birthdays. Nevertheless, I always dream of going to these restaurants and pretend I'm baller enough to make it rain. :P

On my birthday, my coworkers surprised me with a huge gift card for Hawksworth located inside the Rosewood Hotel Georgia. My team truly knows the key to my heart <3.

Meta Knight was the lucky chosen one to accompany me to this exciting award winning restaurant (2012 and 2013 Restaurant of the Year from Vancouver Magazine). Hawksworth emphasizes on contemporary Canadian cuisine with a focus on using local quality ingredients. With every bite of this Spaghetti De Nero ($26), I could taste the freshness of the sea, earthiness of the microgreens, and rawness of the house-made squid ink spaghetti.

Meta Knight opted for the Steak and Eggs ($27) which was accompanied by half an avocado, perfectly crispy rosti, beautiful mini salad, and jalapeno salsa verde.

Everything was on point and it was one of those meals where no one has to say a word but you both know you're experiencing something special. If I had to choose again I would get his steak and eggs over my spaghetti just because there was more variety on the plate and the portion was more substantial. Our lunch came up to $70 (cray!) for the both of us and luckily I still have quite a bit of money left over in the gift card to enjoy a nice dinner.

Hawksworth definitely lives up to it's name, location, and awards. Meta Knight and I were even smiling from ear to ear coming out of the restaurant, both lingering at the thoughts of our delicious food, while already planning our next trip back for dinner service!

Service Rating: 5/5
Food Rating: 5/5
Price: $$$$$+

Overall Rating: 5/5

Happy Eating!


                  the meal was... so good..

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Eggs 'n Things - Loco Moco and the Healthy Acai Bowl

As an avid egg lover, Meta Knight and I both knew we had to try the local Eggs 'n Things at least once while in Waikiki. This little local brunch spot is never seen without line ups which made us excited for what could be inside.

I did a little research prior to going and found out their specialties were in waffles, pancakes, and egg dishes (obvs). Their pancakes are elaborately decorated with a mountain of whipped cream, which looks really impressive, but will probably give you diabetes if you eat the whole thing.

Their menu is EXTENSIVE. Everything is in tourist pricing so while I wouldn't call it a 'tourist TRAP', expect to drop $10-15 USD per person.

At Eggs 'n Things you actually pay and order first before you sit down. Its different but I guess they have it this way to prevent dining and dashing?

Meta Knight and I shared the Hawaiian Loco Moco ($12.25) and Hawaiian Acai Bowl ($7.45).

The Acai Bowl was smaller than I thought but was quite packed with fresh pineapples, strawberries, blueberries, and bananas. With Hawaii being so hot (it was nearly 30 degrees when we were there), the bowl was really refreshing!

Hawaii is known for their 'loco moco' so we just had to try it when we saw it on the menu! The Hawaiian Loco Moco consisted of white rice, mushrooms, bacon, onions, gravy, and two sunny side up eggs. While we both thought it was only okay, this is like the best hangover food because it's got grease, eggs, and gravy. The rice soaked up the salty gravy real good and the egg yolk porn also rounded the dish out.

Service Rating: 3/5

Food Rating: 3/5

Price: $$

Overall Rating: 3/5

Happy Eating!

                                      Loco Moco!!

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Ono Seafood (Hawaii) - A MUST when Visiting Oahu

I came back from a fabulous trip to Hawaii just three days ago and I am so excited to share with you all my delicious eats and food suggestions for when you're planning your next trip to sunny Oahu! This is the first post but there are tons more to come.

One of the non-negotiable food items Meta Knight and I both said we HAD to try while in Hawaii was poke. Poke (pronounced poke-eh) is a Hawiian dish consisting of cubed raw fish tossed in a marinade of usually salt, soy sauce, green onion, and other ingredients. It's often eaten as a side dish or as an entree served over a bed of hot white/brown rice.

While there are a few places you can get poke in downtown Honolulu or Waikiki, if you venture out a little further (into the real streets of Hawaii), you'll find a hidden gem that is guaranteed to blow your mind.

If you don't have GPS while in Oahu, it's really easy to miss this little family run joint. It operates out of the back of a motel and is frequented by foodie tourists and locals alike. There are no seats inside (just a few outside near the door) so be prepared to eat in your car or standing if the tables are full.

They have eight varieties to choose from but the fan favourites include: Shoyu Ahi (Tuna), Shoyu Tako (Octopus), and Spicy Ahi (Tuna). A small bowl with rice and poke is $7, while a large is $9.

A little take out action for those wanting some side dishes like soy raw crab or seaweed.

Ta-da!!!! You have no idea how long I've dreamt about eating real poke in Hawaii. This was finally my chance. Meta Knight opted for the Spicy Ahi (right) on brown rice while I chose the Shoyu Ahi (left). 

One bite of this and Meta Knight was in love. The raw cubes of incredibly fresh tuna were chilled and marinated in the best type of spicy mayo you can think of. The combination of cold tuna over hot rice also didn't taste awkward at all. In fact it made it perfect for the sunny 30 degree weather.

My favourite part of the Shoyu Ahi was the little bits of crunchy seaweed that was tossed in the mixture. It was unlike any other seaweed I've tasted and certainly added the 'ocean' to the authentic Hawaiian poke. In comparison, this was definitely the lighter of the two.

One thing I failed to realize when we were there was the fact that you can choose to have two flavours in one bowl! If I did, I would have gotten half Shoyu Ahi, half Shoyu Tako. Instead, we went all out and got 1/3lb of the Shoyu Tako to share. I'm a lover of Octopus and they did a really good job here. Not tough or overly chewy.

Overall, Ono Seafood met my ridiculously high expectations going in and I would highly recommend this place to anyone staying in Honolulu or Waikiki.

Service Rating: 3/5

Food Rating: 5/5

Price: $

Overall Rating: 5/5

Happy Eating!

           When you finally eat poke for the first time

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Fresh Prep (Product Review) - Healthy Home-cooked Meal in Minutes

Fresh Prep is a local company that reached out to me to try their innovative, healthy product/ delivery service. They deliver perfectly prepped and portion controlled raw ingredients to your door so you can cook a healthy delicious meal in minutes. 

 You can choose from 12 recipes (10 are constant, and 2 are seasonal) on their website and one serving costs around $10-12. Not bad when you take into account the fact that they buy, prep, and deliver everything to your door.

Honestly, all of their recipes looked ridiculously delicious on their website so it took me forever to choose what I wanted. After much contemplation, I ended up choosing the Honey Dijon Chicken Thighs with Root Vegetable Hash.

With each delivery, they provide a physical recipe card with everything you need to know. Ingredients in the box, nutritional information, and even hashtag suggestions for when you Instagram your creations! :P

 This is what the back looks like. It was super simple for me to follow the instructions and I had the meal cooked and ready to go in about 25 minutes.

One of the reasons why I chose this recipe was the fact that it had a vegetable hash and I don't have to do any of the prep work. It came with perfectly diced red peppers, mushrooms, butternut squash, yukon gold potatoes, and onions/thyme. The raw pieces of chicken were wrapped in brown butcher paper tied with red and white yarn. How adorable does that look?!

They try to use locally grown ingredients whenever they can and I really appreciate that fact having watched food related documentaries like Forks over Knives, Food Inc., The Cove, and Fed Up. The reasons behind sourcing food locally and eating whole foods instead of processed ones don't hit close to home until you watch a documentary like Forks Over Knives or Food Inc. If you're at all interested, I highly recommend giving them a watch one night. It may change the way you eat for the rest of your life.

All I really had to do was dump all the vegetable ingredients in my pan and stir stir stir. :) So easy!

Ta-da!!! I don't know about you but I felt like a seasoned chef after creating this little masterpiece. This took the guessing out of what I was going to prepare, purchasing any of the ingredients, and cutting and chopping for an hour before actually getting to cook. I will definitely be ordering from them again, especially during those busy work days when I don't feel like going out, or cooking from scratch at home.

You have to order a minimum of 2 servings to purchase a meal so I cooked for both Meta Knight and I. He gobbled it up in no time and thought it was delicious. He didn't even mind the absence of rice or pasta. 

All in all, I think Fresh Prep is a wonderful delivery service that can benefit a lot of busy working professionals who don't have the time to always prepare a home cooked meal, but still want to lead a healthy lifestyle. 

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Happy Eating! 


                      Tasting my own creation is like

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Cafe Mai Mai - My Favourite Pho Restaurant. NO MSG!

Often many people ask me what my favourite food in the world is. It's a really hard question to answer, but when I answer I think of the one food item I cannot live without. It's also the one food item I think about whenever I come back from a long vacation eating food from another culture. For me, it's noodle soup. It can be ramen, pho, chicken noodle soup, or fish ball seaweed soup. Any type of noodle in any type of broth is my absolute FAVOURITE type of food. <3

My friend Queen B recommended a restaurant called Cafe Mai Mai not too far from my home and she said their pho is spectacular. She also said they use absolutely no MSG and that once you taste the broth, you will understand.

Since my first visit, I've been back maybe 7 times and I bring absolutely everyone I know to my now favourite pho restaurant. This is the #2 Small ($7.95) and it contains rare beef slices (which gets cooked in the hot broth), tendon, tripe, and beef balls. You'll notice the broth is a bit darker in colour than the traditional ones we're used to eating. It's darker because the owners need to use more beef meat and bones in their broth to make up for the lack of MSG. What you'll get is a richer, more flavourful, yet cleaner broth.

Your typical bean sprouts, basil leaf, and green pepper.

I can't explain how delicious the broth is (just like Queen B), you literally have to taste it for yourself to understand what I'm talking about.

Cafe Mai Mai also has a stamp card so if you eat 9 bowls, you get the 10th one free. What I love is that you also have the option of donating you 10th bowl back to them so they can donate the proceeds to the Canadian Cancer Society. I absolutely adore that idea and I think more local businesses should also adapt that. What an incredible way to promote giving back.

While I've tried their Vietnamese Coffee multiple times, I'm not a coffee connoisseur so I can't say whether this place has the best coffee or not.

For an amateur coffee drinker like myself, it tastes mighty delicious to me!

I also love eating the pho with their homemade chili sauce so I ended up buying one jar to take home for eight dollars. It's legit chili oil guys. So goooood.

Service Rating: 4/5
Food Rating: 5/5
Price: $-$$

Overall Rating: 5/5

Happy Eating!


                 Kirby eating noodles. How fitting!

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Blue Bottle Coffee and Bowl'd Acai (San Francisco) - Ah-sigh-EE Bowls and New Orleans Iced Coffee

It's hard to get your veggies in while on vacation, which was why Rae and I were so happy to stumble upon a vegan, gluten free smoothie food truck while in SOMA.

 They serve acai (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) bowls, smoothies, juices, and power up 'shots'.

By the way, I absolutely love how they serve gluten free granola. As a person with a recent wheat allergy, it's good knowing there are still healthy eat out options for me even though I can't eat flour/wheat.

Rae and I split a These Nuts Acai Bowl (reg $9.60 US) composed of a smoothie on the bottom that is blended with acai, strawberry, banana, and almond milk. The toppings include one planet gluten free granola, banana, hemp seed, bee pollen, honey, sliced almond, and peanut butter.

Oh my god it was sooooo good! It was totally a refreshing and healthy way to start our day. It was so delicious, we tried experimenting with our own version of acai bowls at home after our vacay.

Next to the Bowl'd Acai food truck was a Blue Bottle Coffee stand. The area was quite industrial and just a little side street but there was already a lineup forming in front of the stand. Most people got the New Orleans Iced Coffee ($4 US) which was what we got too. The coffee was drip so it took a little while, but it was definitely worth the wait. It was so smooth, so creamy. I want one now just thinking about it.

Blue Bottle Coffee also serves freshly made waffles. Rae and I got one to share and thought it was only okay. The batter was too cake-like and dense for the morning. Also it was a little greasy so it didn't stay well in our stomachs.

Blue Bottle Coffee: 
Food Rating: 4/5
Price: $
Overall Rating: 4/5

Bowl'd Acai:
Food Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $-$$
Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Happy Eating!

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