Fajitas - Vietnamese Style

I love Vietnamese food. But I'll be honest, it's focused for the most part around phô and banh mi. I've had the odd dish of lemongrass chicken, and the delicious Vietnamese coffee served with condensed milk ... but for me that's been more than enough to know I like this cuisine.

I'd been reading about something call "Bò 7 món" ... literally, beef 7 ways. It's a series of beef dishes served with the usual assortment of been sprouts, Thai basil and other sliced and julienned veggies. Curious, I called my friend (and personal Asian food expert) Lee to try this specialty out at Song Huong.

Song Huong is typical of most Vietnamese restaurants in Vancouver. Low on decor, high on freshness. Neither of us had enough time to tackle 7 dishes at lunch ... nor the time we'd need for the post-meal nap. So, we opted for the slightly less daunting "Bò 3 món." It's essentially the same dish, but without the raw beef or the soup course found in the 7.

Along with the veggies, herbs, pickles and sauces, you're also presented with a plate of vermicelli, rice paper wraps and a bowl of hot water. You dip the rice paper in the water to make it pliable, place some of the beef and vegetables on the paper and then wrap it up fajita style. Really excellent all round, and with all those veggies, it HAS to be healthy, right?

Regardless of the nutrition factor, this is a really outstanding dish. Everything was really fresh and served nice and hot. Think of it as a great first date meal, or even a night out with the kids. Nothing is too "out there" and the whole "make your own meal" thing is always a good idea in my book.


Whether you order the 3 or 7 course meal, it's a flat $24.95. It's enough for 3 normal people, or 2 if you happen to eat like me and Lee. To be honest, I took home 6 of the ground beef rolls and a mess of veggies & herbs. They made a terrific snack with a Pinto Gris the next night while watching the Canucks.

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Song Huong Restaurant
1613 Nanaimo Street
Vancouver, BC V5L 4T9

(604) 251-1151

Nothing Faux-ny Here

A morning espresso and a pain au chocolat. I'm not sure if I enjoy anything more to start my day. It's probably the first thing I eat when visiting Paris. And while there are many many establishments throughout Metro Vancouver that serve excellent coffee, very few have the ambiance you get in a French café. There's nothing inherently bad with that. After all, we're not Paris. But when you're looking for a relaxing way to start the day, the French have it figured out.

Truth be told, it really has little to do with the food itself. It's more about the routine. The familiar face behind the counter, your favorite table, the music wafting through the room as the world rushes by.

And when you find such a place, there's a bit of reluctance whetheror not to share it with anyone. You may have friends that would appreciate your discovery, but there's also the fear that your secret hideaway will become the new "in" spot, leaving no space, and no ambience for you.

Fortunately, I'm the sharing type.

And so I present to you the Café at Les Faux Bourgeois. The café is an addition to the recently opened Les Faux Bourgeois restaurant which sits on a strange little triangle of park, just off the intersection of Kingsway & Fraser.

It's very tiny, with table seating for 8 or so, and counter seating for 3. As you can see by the menu the offerings are limited, but what is offered is top notch. My pain au chocolat was devoured before I thought to photgraph it.

Now, if someone would put in a boules court in the little park across the street ...

Spring has Sprung - Part II

I think I've mentioned the weather here hasn't been great. In fact it's been downright frigid. This week however, things have improved, and we've actually seen signs that Spring is on the way. And if there's one thing you can learn about Vancouverites, it's that we SPRINT outdoors once the good weather arrives. And sprint we did.

Today is Good Friday ... which means a 4 day weekend for many folk in Canada. So J and I grabbed the dogs and headed off to Rocky Point Park in Port Moody. This is one of my favourite places in Metro Vancouver. It's right beside the ocean, there are lots of trails to stroll some animals, and there's a Pajo's Fish & Chips in the park.

We skipped Pajo's today (SOB!) and instead made a picnic lunch, using the bread my son made last weekend. We also brought along some olives and pepperoncini peppers (LOVE these things) to augment the sandwiches. Add a little smoked chicken and some liver pate and you have a perfect excuse to walk your dogs 6 km around Burrard Inlet.


My message for today: good food is as much about ingredients as it is about where you eat it. If you're inside reading this today, grab something out of your fridge and get yourself outside!

Spring has Sprung

It finally arrived. Spring that is. After weeks of unseasonably cold weather the sun finally made an appearance and in usual Vancouver style, the whole city went outside, including yours truly.

Stop #1 ... opening weekend for baseball season for my youngest son. Anybody who has kids in sports knows what this means; weekends of concession stand food. Twizzlers, doughnuts, Drumsticks and hot dogs. After one weekend I'm thinking I'll be picnicking from now on.

Which leads me to my eldest son and my second stop for the day.

My eldest is a student in the culinary programme at SRT high school in Maple Ridge and he's just landed a job in the bakery department at Safeway. After dropping of one son at his mother's house, I drop in on eldest son and a loaf of freshly baked bread (why does this blog seem to be taking on a baking theme?).

Doesn't the baker look happy to have his picture taken?

The loaf was warm and delicious and 1/3 of it didn't make it home. It also will fit nicely into my plan for this spring: I'll pick up fresh bread from one son and use it for sandwiches to eat while watching the other son's baseball games.

I love it when a plan comes together.