Bao Down: not your average Taiwanese pork buns

While we were still in Gastown, we went to another trendy place called Bao Down. It's basically a fusion between Taiwanese pork buns and other cuisines. Also, the water was fruit flavored :D The one of the left is orange and cucumber, and the one on the right is strawberry and dragonfruit.

 

We ordered the daily special, which came with kimchi fries. It comes with pork, bean sprouts, and mayo. In my opinion, those fries were a 5/10; NOT ENOUGH KIMCHI. There were probably only 5 small slices of kimchi...if they're called "Kimchi Fries", then I think they deserve more kimchi than bean sprouts. Just saying.

That being said, I have all the pork and bean sprouts to Fatmine.

 

12 Powell St, Vancouver BC

Soft Peaks: hecka good ice cream 🍨

If you don't know yet, Gastown is trendy and pricey because of their high-quality ingredients...(oh my wallet). But this ice cream is definitely something you should try once, even if you have to pay $6+ for that tiny cup. Trust me, it's pretty worth.

 

I decided not to spend a lot of money, so I ordered $2 milk. It was good milk *__* I never knew milk could taste so good.

 

Fatmine ordered the Himalayan salt ice cream, which comes with pink salt and a sauce of your choice. She chose caramel (caramel and salt; good combo). For my taste, I thought it was too salty xP but Fatmine liked it. I think this one was either recommended by the cashier or one of the popular choices; I can't remember. I think the Honeycomb ice cream was the popular one...hmm. You can go there and find out yourself, haha.

25 Alexander St, Vancouver BC V6A 1B2

Dessert at Whole Foods

Since Fatmine and I were tired and hungry, we went for...dessert >__> yes, because that solves all of our problems, hahah. I also wanted to shop for some vegan groceries that were on sale, so uh..why not have some dessert too.

 

I was quite impressed with the quality of these desserts (vegan chocolate pudding and crème brulee), which is a given when they're made of wholesome ingredients and made by good chefs/bakers. However, for my taste, I thought the chocolate pudding was waaaay too sweet; it just tasted like semi-sweet chocolate. If you ever get those, you might need to drink it with tea or coffee to give your tongue a break. It's also quite filling, since the other main ingredient of the pudding is tofu.

The creme brulee was pretty magnificent; I mean, it's custard 🍮 with burnt sugar. Hehehehe

Vegan Adventures: Tera V Burger

Not the cheapest place for a sandwich, but it's not expensive either. Plus, he gave me this cheeky discount card :D

 

I ordered a strawberry banana smoothie with a lentil Panini. The smoothie was good; not too much ice. The Panini was also tasty, but for my taste, I think it had too much sauce. I feel like that's pretty normal for burgers, but maybe some sandwich places should think about customized sauce portions? It's like how some people prefer extra salt or pepper on their food.

 

2961 W Broadway, Vancouver BC V6K 2G9

Home/Vegan Adventures: Daiya cheese and Tofu Dogs

Honestly, the last vegan cheese I got tasted better than this brand; however, I wouldn't say Daiya tastes bad or anything. In fact, if you melt it to the point when the cheese starts frying, it tastes like cheese puffs! Hahaha. It also melts quite well, like the last brand that I bought.

 

The tofu dogs were also very good. They smelled, tasted, and felt like an actual hot dog, except they were less oily. The texture was pretty much the same as well. It's about 60 calories for one dog; that's pretty crazy when you compare that to a real hot dog.

 

Fried cheese! My grandparents like to cut their bagels into thinner slices, which is a good way of saving bagels and distributing them well; eating an entire bagel isn't the healthiest idea.

Avocado with cheese and tomatoes.

My ugly breakfast!

Flipside: Avocado and Fries

When I read "avocado" on the menu, I didn't think they meant...fried avocado. Whoa.

This is my cheat meal of the week guys. Apparently, it's good to have at least one cheat meal a week (or a cheat day) to keep your leptin levels stable, which will maximize your workout by keeping your metabolism going. So indulge...once a week for me, hahah.

 

Flipside offers very good prices; the burgers are more expensive (~$6), and the side menu is about $1-2 less. To me, I think what I ordered was a lot of food for a side option.

 

The side item I ordered has fried avocado covered in green onions and chipotle mayo, and French fries.

The Loop Cafe @ UBC: Most Sustainable Cafe at UBC

I come here frequently because A) convenience B) Sustainable utensils and to-go boxes C) the rice bowls and strawberry lemonade are sooooo good. Since there wasn't any more vegetarian rice bowls (darn you students in CIRS), I had the wrap for the first time. I'm not really sure what she put in it, because she was in a hurry to serve the long line behind me...so I just said everything. I'm pretty sure there was tzatziki sauce, some potatoes, chickpeas...ah idk. But it's quite filling for such a good price. :I