Its so much easier to take one hour of your time during the week to prep all your veggies! In my case, I chopped up celery, bell peppers, mushroom, onions, asparagus, and I got some garlic that was minced already in a small bowl so its so much easier when I make shrimp scampi or garlic bread! And if you want an easy vegetable that doesn’t need much prepping, I would recommend spinach! Just wash and toss into the pan. Plus, it wilts within minutes.
I recently saw this product at Shoppers Drug Mart on sale for $4.50 so I was tempted to try it out. It is packaged in a very cool-looking tetrapak, and although I feel that it is pretty pricey for 1 Litre, it’s worthwhile to give it a shot! 
It tastes not as authentic as I hoped it would be. Almost like the coconut flavour faded away from all the processing? I’m not quite sure what it was that made it taste a bit off from the original. Anyways, I served it cold as it recommended and it was very refreshing and light, which I enjoyed. I saw that there were bits of white coconut pieces floating around. At least I hope they were coconut pieces. I think I would purchase this again when its on sale : )
So I searched up what the word locus meant on Google, and this is what came up:
Lo-cus
Noun: 1. A particular position, point or place OR 2. The effective or perceived location of something abstract
Interesting…perhaps the name suggests that it is THE place…sorry I mean, perhaps the name suggests that the true LOCUS of enjoyment and gastronomy IS the Locus Restaurant. HAHA, I don’t know…just a guess.
First of all, Locus is located at :
4121 Main Street, Vancouver, BC
V5V 3P6
Phone: (604) 708-4121
Ambiance: 4/5
Service:4/5
Price: $$$
Locus really gives a mysterious and romantic vibe when you enter the premise, and it was because it was extremely, extremely dark in there. All you can make out at the moment you go in, are the flickering flames from the candles placed on top of the wooden tables. I couldn’t see where I was going for several minutes until my eyes started to get use to the dimly lit restaurant. We were seated next to the fireplace, where I could see part of the bar that was located in the middle of the restaurant and I saw tree trunks that decorated the walls. At least, I think they were trees, the room was honestly very dark.
There was a great amount of dishes that were vegetarian and that’s great! Lots of places I went to only had 3 dishes max. that were suitable for our vegan/vegetarian friends.
The server and hostess were very friendly and attentive throughout our dinner and they refilled the waters frequently as well!
Okay now to the food….(sorry the pictures are so bad and blurry! I had to put the candle right next to the plate in order to the take the pictures because it was so dark in there)
We started out with the complimentary bread with spicy butter but I never got to take the picture because it was so good, we gobbled it up pretty quickly. The bread is made in the house as well so it was fresh and herby. My boyfriend said that the bread wasn’t as good as the ones at Boathouse, but I enjoyed it. The bread was soft and the butter had a nice pinkish colour. The spicy butter wasn’t actually spicy though, as the name suggests–it just had a hint of jalapeno and chilli pepper taste. It kind of reminds me of pepperjack cheese actually :p
My boyfriend ordered a martini called ‘Sweet Mango’ and it was pretty strong. I didn’t like the taste, neither did my boyfriend. It had a ‘cough syrup’ taste to it and I couldn’t make out the mango-ness either.
Our appetizer was a crab and shrimp cake served along with a pineapple slaw and dallops of chilli-lime aioli. MMM..these were great! I’d say this is the highlight of the dinner. We were going to try the ‘Boar poutine’; however, I wanted to order the wild boar pasta and I didn’t want to have boar twice for the night, so we decided (more like me forcing my boyfriend to agree) to order the crab cakes instead. My boyfriend didn’t want to order it at first because he had a bad experience ordering it at Carmichael’s (located in Hilton Richmond)…where the cake was too spicy. Anyways, the cakes were warm and crispy, and contained lots of crab. The pineapple slaw was refreshing and the aioli plus the chilli oil was getting addictive. All in all, GREAT appetizer.
I had the wild boar tagliatelle pasta for main course and that was not a good choice. The pasta had a very strong nutty taste, and the spinach didn’t make the starch taste anymore flavourful. The boar was pretty good though, and it was quite tender as well. The crispy leeks on top of the pasta gave the whole dish some texture and I don’t remember seeing any caramelized onions…but anyways, if I were to go here, I doubt I’d order this again. My boyfriend even commented that it tastes like the weird stews that his grandma makes.
My boyfriend had a Crispy Duck Leg Confit, and he didn’t like this. He said it was plain, and nothing outstanding or extraordinary. I thought it was pretty yummy, well it was for sure better than my pasta. The seasonal vegetables at the side tasted sweet as well. I wasn’t really fond of the cassoulet of beans that they served the duck with though. Yet, the duck was not dry and the skin was really crispy. The rosemary jus complimented the duck too.
My boyfriend then asked: “Would you like to order dessert?”. I swear, he spoils me too much, because obviously, I have to order dessert! I always order dessert! He then said: maybe I’ll give this restaurant one more chance…with the dessert. The dessert selection didn’t appeal to me but I tried the Toffee Hazelnut Chocolate Mousse Cake anyway.
I’m not sure if they make their own dessert but wow, the chocolate mousse was smooth, the truffle-y chocolate layer on top that rested on top of the mousse layer was so great and melty. MMM just a fabulous dessert.
The hazelnut part of the dessert was the cake crust and the toffee part went missing. But whatever, the chocolate part was definitely there and I love this. I’d order this again next time. Just pure decadence of chocolate and for ultimate chocolate lovers, this could be heaven.
Locus is trendy and gives off an almost ‘gothic’ atmosphere. Its a great place to hang but the food was average. The bill came to about 80 something including tax and tips. That’s fairly reasonable considering how much food we ordered. Would I return? YES… maybe in a year or two since I still have lots of restaurants I want to visit.
I was passing by and I saw UBC Farm selling their produce. : ) Thumbs up for local, fresh produce!
It was me and my boyfriend’s anniversary on September 5th so we decided to go to Burgoo for dinner to have a small celebration 
. My boyfriend doesn’t drive to Vancouver often but Burgoo was easy to get to as it was on Main street and not on some sketchy alley. Anyways, they don’t take reservations! When we arrived, we asked for a table of two and they answered, “Okay, you need to wait 30 minutes.” WOW. Are you guys serious, man. 30 minutes, I’ll be dead from starvation as we both didn’t eat anything during the few hours before we left the house. However, the hostess suggested, “If you don’t mind, you can eat at the bar.” And personally, I find eating at the bar better than at the table just because…..it felt like I was sitting closer to my boyfriend. So we did.
Location: 3096 Main Street, Vancouver, BC
Phone: (604) 873-1441
Ambiance: 4/5
Service: 3.5/5
Price:$$$
Burgoo feels very cozy and warm. The interior really reminds me of a rustic pub in the Maritimes. I don’t know why I felt that way. My boyfriend agreed and said it reminded him of a pub in the movie ‘Inglorious Bastards’. The furniture are all wooden and the place is generally pretty dim. The bartender was our server and she was attentive. Yet, I don’t find the service especially good, just normal.
Food: 4/5
We ordered a Brie Fondue for appetizer and it was overpriced in my opinion. It had melted brie (obviously), garlic and white wine, and this was served with toasted bread and pieces of gala apples I believe. The fondue came all bubbly and hot which was very nice. This was super filling of course, and although I enjoyed it, it was not worth the money I paid for. I don’t think I’ll get it again.
For entree, I ordered the sandwich/soup combo. I had the Vegeterranean, which was a Mediterranean veggie sandwich. It had leafy greens coated with balsamic vinegar, hummus, feta cheese, artichokes and grilled vegetables as well. For soup, I just had to order the Sunrise Chicken and Corn soup as I heard it was really good. And wow. It was better than I expected! The soup contained a lot of chunky chicken pieces and corn, with hints of chipotle. When it arrived, the soup looked like art! I totally believe the hype!
My boyfriend also ordered the sandwich/soup combo. He picked the BBQ pulled pork sandwich (which was served with bbq sauce that he thought was ketchup HAHA). For the soup, he picked the seafood potage. I think the soup wasn’t as good as I expected. It just tasted like some sort of watered-down clam chowder. Oh, and it had bacon, but even the bacon couldn’t save the soup. What a shame. However, his BBQ pulled pork sandwich was so good! It had coleslaw in it as well which he noted was a great pairing with the pork. I had a bite and I think the sandwich was really flimsy and soft but the coleslaw adds some texture. Next time, I’ll get the pulled pork.
And…oh my goodness, we were way too full to try their dessert! NOOOOOOO! I felt almost like my world ended because I was looking forward to trying their Chocolate Chili Pot (which I heard was like a chocolate pot de creme almost). And their desserts were cheap! Oh well, next time I’ll get it!
Their bill came in a nice bamboo, dim sum steamer! That was a nice touch.
Overall, I’d give them 4/5. Great, simple food. Their soups are a must try as well! Looking forward to coming back for their dessert!
The Creme Brulee Cheesecake at the bottom was pretty yummy : D
The antennae were still twitching when it arrived…
I finally got to go out for Girls Night with my besties a week ago and we went to Browns Socialhouse. There were several locations in Vancouver and the closest one was at Ironwood in Richmond.
Location: 11660 Steveston Highway #1020, Richmond
Phone: (604) 275-3322
Ambiance: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Price: $$$
I enjoyed the atmosphere there simply because its not too noisy and the lighting was just right (not too dark as to not be able to tell what you’re eating but not so bright as to ruin the mood). The waitresses and hostesses were nice as well. I might say the service is really prompt and the server brought us our food very quickly which was great as I was getting hungry. The decor is quite interesting; my friend noticed a lot of paintings/pictures of rhinos. She looked around and was like: “Why are there so many rhinos….”. The pictures doesn’t make me open up my appetite but whatever. Its their style I guess.
Food: 3.5/5
We started off with drinks. I had a friend who ordered the Social Soda and my other friend and I ordered the Social Palmer. Bleh. The Social Soda was really bad.
Social Soda: Smirnoff Orange Vodka, soda, bellini slush
Social Soda $4
The Social Soda reminded me awfully of cough syrup and medicine. It was just bitter.
Social Palmer $4.50 on Tuesdays, $5.50 regularly
Social Palmer: Smirnoff raspberry Vodka, ice tea, fresh raspberries, bellini slush
In my opinion, the Social Palmer was a lot better than the Social Soda and the Social Palmer has raspberries! I don’t think I’d order the Social Palmer again though.
I had the #28 Dragon Bowl and it was surprisingly good! I read a lot of reviews and people said that the Dragon Bowl was a must so I had to try it when I went and I was not disappointed. I had it with teriyaki chicken. You can choose tofu instead of chicken if you like.
#28 Dragon Bowl
Also, the spicy yoghurt wasn’t too spicy so that was good for me because I don’t prefer eating spicy food. However, the yoghurt sauce was super rich so I couldn’t tell if the coconut rice had a coconut taste or not. Other than that, everything was great. I like how they included a lot of vegetables as well. They topped the whole thing with braised red cabbage and green onions! Yum!
My friend had the Quesadilla and it was served with salsa, guacamole, and sour creme. There was yam fries and chipotle mayo as well. I loved the yam fries! They were better than the ones at White Spot I think.
Quesadilla
My other friend had tuna tataki healthy bowl. WOW. I think I’ll order that next time ’cause I tried the tuna and it was fab.
tuna tataki
It had a ginger soy sauce or something served with it, as well as salad and almond rice.
We concluded our night with a nice Key Lime Pie. It wasn’t that special–not good not bad I guess.
Lime Pie
My friend said that it was too sour so she decided that every bite she took had to be with a bit of whipped cream to neutralize the sour taste. I thought it wasn’t that sour so I had no complaints. The whole pie was covered in coconut flakes as well, which I’m not a big fan of but I think it didn’t disturb the taste nor compliment the pie.
OH TOTALLY FORGOT. The server knew we were sharing the dessert between three people so she was nice enough to split the lime pie into 3 in the receipt for us. We didn’t even have to ask. Most places don’t do that for us = =
I will definitely go back again next time!
