Collections of B's: Banana Leaf, Banzai Sushi, Basho Cafe...and Free Pancakes

These fatventures got lost somewhere...>__> but they're here now. :D

Some relatives and I revisited Banana Leaf for some good Malaysian food. Banana Leaf is always good for big groups. 

Roti canai is always a must; this was always a favorite, and everyone would fight over them, haha. They're actually really simple to make, and they come with curry.

I was browsing some vegetarian items that I haven't tried, and I came across these fried eggplant sticks. They were really good :D Even without the sweet and sour sauce, they taste crispy and juicy on their own.

I loved how they prepared the coconut rice; they put them in giant leaves. It's eye-pleasing and it keeps the rice hot and moist.

This is some tofu with vegetables and peanuts. I thought the sauce for this was delicious.

After a million years, Fatmine and I finally visited Basho Cafe. It's so far from UBC, but coming all the way here is totally worth it. Their menu is adorable, and the cookies are tiny and delicious. Matcha is everywhere :)

These are some of the cookies I got :P There's a matcha brownie, a matcha cookie, and an earl grey cookie.

Even the decor is adorable. I can't even.

This is Fatmine's matcha latte with her small cookies.

I got the hojicha and the vegetarian lunch bowl. I really loved it, and it's so colorful :) The portion is perfect, and provides a lot of variety. From a nutritional standpoint, that's really good; there's a higher chance that there are different daily essential nutrients from plates with a lot of variety.

I went with Mr. Pickle for some free pancakes on campus :P They tasted like baking soda, but can't complain too much when stuff is free.

I went all the way to Richmond with the Weener for some sushi :P It's super cheap, and I love the vegetarian combo. It's the only thing I can get, but I always end up taking it home because the sushi is too big to finish.

Even the sashimi is huge, it's concerning.

It's so big!!

JUST OPENED: Lik N2 Ice cream + Other Fatventures

This post is a little short, but I thought I should rave about Lik N2, which is located downtown across the Vancouver Public Library on Robson.

Although there's honestly nothing too special about ice cream made from nitrogen, I do have to say their ice cream is still quite delicious :P I got the cookie monster, which is in blue, and Fatmine got the Vietnamese coffee. Both come with syringes filled with chocolate ganache and condensed milk, respectively. What I love is that the cookie that came with mine was still warm and crispy! That homemade feeling <3 I definitely want to come back to try more flavors. They offer single simple flavors and different options of what you see below. They have mango sorbet, matcha, the "classic", strawberry etc. just check it out :)

I also went to Richmond to do a little shopping and meeting with friends. Landsdowne has Fair Bee Bubble Tea; I got the chocolate banana smoothie with mini boba :D The mini boba are so cute and easy to consume :P I also think it's hard to find a place that serves chocolate banana (or is that just me?). It's either they don't have it at all, or they don't have the ingredients available.

Olympia Pizza: Monday Dindin

My original plan was to go to Nuba, but I didn't realize that it'd be so busy at dinner time. I'm actually happy at how things turned out though, because I like Greek food too :D

My dad's friend said this place has always been here ever since his college years...so that's probably at least 30 years ago?? Crazy, right.

I ordered the Veggie Moussaka, which was really good :P The moussaka was a layer of potatoes (?) at the bottom, topped with spinach and feta and a thick chunk of fluffy...mystery, lol. I want to say cheese mixed with flour or something...I'm really not sure, lol, just try it. The rice wasn't too plain or dry, and the Greek salad was pretty standard. I couldn't finish, so I gladly took my food home so I could have it for lunch the next day.

Back in Vancouver

First place we stopped at was Dinesty :P Just tried some new things I was curious about, especially since Dinesty's menu is pretty much never ending.

This is lotus root stuffed with sticky rice and drizzled with honey. From the taste of it, it was steamed. It's a delightful appetizer :P Seems pretty simple to make too.

Vegetarian dumplings. I just loved how they're so full P:

I also got to try the over-hyped Popbar in Metrotown. I didn't hate it though, it was just overpriced. I ordered a matcha popsicle dipped in dark chocolate and pistachios. It was quite yummy, not too sweet, and surprisingly not that difficult to eat. However, I think this was almost $7 CAD? :/ Aiyah.

I also stopped by T&T and tried this mango yogurt desserts that were on sale. The little jar is just so adorable :3 The pudding also has real mango and gelatinous milk. It has more of a jello consistency than pudding. It was yummy :)

My professor has this place listed as one of the places he wants to try. It's kinda pricey, but the quality and the portions are there, in my opinion. At night, it can get really busy, so make sure to get a reservation. When we went here for lunch, which was around 11am - 12pm, there wasn't a wait, and the staff were much more attentive than when I visited around 7pm. Also, from the reviews I've read and my experience, the staff isn't so friendly when they're super busy. I tried to call for a reservation, and they didn't even pick up the phone .__.

But enough about that, let's talk about food :) When I saw this on the menu, I knew I had to get it. This is deep-fried seaweed and rice. It's super crunchy and satisfying :P The insides are still slightly chewy, which is a great contrast from the crispy outside. The seaweed taste keeps it from being too plain.

We also ordered a tofu soup, which came with clear noodles, spinach, and bamboo shoots. The tofu was my favorite; they dunked just-fried tofu, which soaks up the soup in a delightful way. It's soggy and sounds gross, but it reminds me of bread pudding. The only thing I didn't like was that the soup was way too oily :/

We also got this fried pumpkin dessert with red bean in the center. I was disappointed though, because the pumpkin was mixed with mochi. :/ I was expecting the texture of a croquette. Oh well, it was still pretty tasty.

Pizza Guy and I went to get some ice cream, after our initial plans were foiled for several weeks .__. I was so happy that I finally got ice cream :D Rain or Shine reminds me of Washington's Molly Moon's; they make their cones in the store (which is why the store smells so nice), their ice cream is homemade, and they both have really good seasonal and always flavors. Both are also vegan friendly, although I think Rain or Shine has a bit more options for vegans by providing sorbet. I ordered the ginger beer sorbet, which was vegan :D Tasted like ginger ale, but in sorbet form. Yumyum. Rain or Shine also has great winter flavors, so I definitely recommend coming here during any time of the year.

Vancouver -> Redmond P:

Black Rice was recommended by some of my dad's friends/coworkers/idk. Black Rice was soooo Japanese :P

They have adorable lunch combos :D I ordered the vegetarian one with grilled vegetables and cabbage. It comes with salad, fried tofu, miso soup, yam and avocado rolls, and some picked vegetables to cleanse your palate. I love izakayas because Japanese people portion everything so perfectly; you can have a little bit of everything.

I also went to Shizenya again, which is one of my favorite Japanese restaurants. They're vegetarian friendly, and they serve quality ingredients like real wasabi, brown rice, and fresh vegetables. I got the geisha rolls :) I love the avocado and the sauce that's drizzled on top; it's an indescribable combination.

Back in Bellevue, I got to try Shanghai Shanghai (I'm not sure why they decided a repetition was a great idea...) This is my dad's food, which comes with a marinated egg :P Those are my favorite.

We ordered some vegetarian dumplings, but I'm so spoiled by Din Tai Fung. Honestly, no one can beat their dumplings and vinegar; it's not too soggy, and it tastes fresh and crisp.

These are just some vegetarian noodles, nothing too special.

Here's my bento, which comes with fried tofu, picked cucumbers, salad, and one wonton (it was so good :P ) There was a lot of sauce on the tofu, and that really overdid it for me :/ At least I had rice to even out the ratio.

Fatmine and I reunited to try out the British Pantry...and then we kind of went ham and went to Downtown Seattle afterwards uummmm...well first, British Pantry. This is her blueberry puff, which is just absolutely adorable.

I ordered a blueberry tart, which is literally the same thing except mini-pie form :P

I also bought chocolate because I just couldn't resist...ginger and rose <3 they just sound like interesting flavors. I have yet to try them P:

Our twinning bluberry pastries, mmmmmm

I also got to go to Molly Moon's, which FINALLY opened in Redmond (God bless). Molly Moon's is hands down, the best ice cream I've ever had. Ever. The ice cream is sooo smooth, and the flavors are just wonderful. It also smells like waffle cones <3<3 because they make everything fresh. There's a Molly Moon's near the University of Washington in U-Village, and I used to go their frequently, even when it was raining. It's just that good.

Ice cream makes me sooo happy (although my stomach just can't bear the lactose, dangit).

Fatmine spotted a shaved ice place, and then for some reason my legs kind of ...took off without me realizing, ummmm...that's okay, one can't have too many desserts right...oh dear.

They actually served shaved ice with actual milk, mmmm (called snow ice). We ordered the thai tea ice with grass jelly, green tea mochi, and sweet bread. :D Don't worry, we shared...hahaha...ha. I do have to say this is one of the most unique shaved ices that I've tried, and it's quite cheap ($5 USD), but the snow ice was a bit diluted. I think what they did was serve regular ice and poured thai tea over it? It was still good though, I definitely recommend coming here.

I also got to try the birthday cake frappucino from Starbucks, holy moly. The whipped cream was strawberry-flavored, and I just love the taste of birthday cake...oh man. They also wrote "Happy", that's so cute. I mean, they could've written "HBD", or "B-Day", but you know what..."Happy" just makes me happy.

My prof has mentioned Dough Zone a few times after his friend recommended it to him :P I finally got to try it, and I thought it was just okay. Dinesty or Din Tai Fung is still better, sorry guys. But the dumplings weren't bad, the filling was quite enjoyable; I found it to be quite flavorful.

Here's some onion pancakes, a favorite.

Pork dumplings, which aren't the soup dumplings (if you're curious).

Vegetable potstickers :) I loved that fried goodness.

Vegetable dumplings (not sure why we ordered vegetarian potstickers and dumplings, because one is fried and the other is steamed, but the ingredients are the same >__> )

This is the xiao long bao, otherwise known as the pork soup dumplings. The soup, in a gelatinous form, is mixed with the pork before being stuffed into the dough wrappings, and then when they're steamed, the gelatin melts :P To eat these, you pick one up by the top to keep it from ripping, and then place it in your spoon. After poking a hole to let the soup out, you drink the soup, top it with vinegar and ginger if you'd like, and then eat it :P

Durian pancakes, with like...5% durian :( such sadness.

I had more bubble tea...I know, it's a problem. I ordered a peach green tea when I was with Fatmine, and then I went to Tapioca Express with my dad and ordered wintermelon tea with grass jelly.

I made my own smoothie with strawberry banana yogurt, two small bananas, grapes, a bit of acai juice, and some superfood powder (chia, flaxseed, hempseed).

My wonderful Taiwanese friend took me to a Taiwanese cafe called 12 Baskets Cafe. I also got these custard wheels, which were soooo adorable <3 One of them even has pearls with custard, oh my.

She ordered some really nice fruit tea. I think mango is the base, and then they have kiwi and apple pieces floating around.

She recommended the sizzling noodles, which has a long list of options. I ordered the black pepper vegetarian sizzling noodles, which were just...oh my, so good. I didn't know black pepper could taste so good. It really went well with everything else, especially since cooked carrots and broccoli don't have a strong flavor.

My dad took me to Bai Tong, which was a really nice Thai place. These appetizer was quite interesting; it's chicken wrapped in pandan leaves. The leaves are super crispy, which I love :) They taste like chips.

This is the yellow curry rice, which was pretty good. I thought the cucumber and tomato were a bit random though...was it to balance the heavy flavors? Aesthetics? Both? Not too sure.

This is another curry dish that my dad ordered. I found it really hard to finish both curries.

My dad and I also went to Oasis (hahaha....more bubble tea). The one in International District serves Durian smoothies, but they ran out :( That made me sad.

I went to Panera Bread, and they've really updated the menu. A lot of the items are completely unrecognizable to me. I got this Mediterranean vegetarian sandwich, which was flavorful and fresh-tasting.

Here's Sankiupo enjoying his sammich, yumyumyum.

I visisted another friend at the University of Washington, and he brought me to Delfino's Chicago Styled Pizza. Chicago is well known for their deep dish pizza, but I was not that hungry...so I ordered a small personalized pizza with roma tomatoes and artichoke hearts, and got it "thin crust". Their version of thin is almost like regular crust thickness, lol.

My parents and I went to Monga, which a Taiwanese place. The last time I went here, I could barely eat anything because there was meat in everything. They updated their menu and dedicated an entire section for vegans :D I think that's awesome. I ordered the vegetarian combo, which is noodles served with sesame sauce, cucumbers, bean sprouts, and carrots. It comes with fried tofu and seaweed as side dishes. My dad got a combo of soup with marinated egg and kimchi, and my mom ordered beef soup.

For dessert, I got some shaved ice :D They used a lot of condensed milk, which sweetened up the ice to perfection. It wasn't overly sweet, like a lot of syrups. I ordered their homemade flan (really good stuff, super smooth), grass jelly, and mango as the toppings.

I went to Panera again, but this time with another friend I wanted to catch up with. She ordered this gorgeous coffee cake :)

She had grilled cheese with a baguette and chicken soup (not pictured here, she got it later).

I got black bean soup with an apple and arugula, egg, and cheese flatbread. :D Much yum.

I'm not sure why, but I also got a venti soy caramel macchiato. I have no idea why. I think macchiatos are so mesmerizing though; it's cool to see the milk and coffee separate. After reading an article, I found out that macchiato literally means coffee over milk while latte means coffee mixed with milk. So apparently, you're not supposed to stir up macchiatos, but to enjoy the sweet milk before drinking the coffee. I think that's an interesting concept. I've also heard of hot and cold drinks in Singapore, where the top is cold and bottom is hot (I think, or it may have been the other way around :S). I want to try that temperature contrast sometime...Starbucks, please get on it, lol.