k. p. wee

Fast Food Review: McDonald’s Maple & Bacon Poutine

(This post originally appeared on my food blog, “Let’s Eat Out Once A Week.”)

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I stopped by at McDonald’s wanting to get a salad and hang out for a bit to use their free WiFi,… only to notice their display signs at the till and on their menu board that they were having this “new” Maple & Bacon Poutine.

I’m not sure anymore what’s “new” or what’s recycled at McDonald’s since I don’t keep up with their items, but I did get suckered into wanting to try this poutine. So, scrap the salad idea.

This maple & bacon poutine featured French fries with cheese curds and gravy, along with bacon pieces, maple BBQ sauce, and maple brown sugar. It cost C$4.59 plus tax.

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McDonald’s Maple & Bacon Poutine – C$4.59

The poutine was okay, with plenty of gravy. It was certainly better prepared and better tasting than one of their other ones that I had the previous summer. I think, for me, the thing that stuck out the most was the amount of gravy they put in there. And the price was all right too, less expensive than the specialty poutines that Triple O’s has (their Smokehouse poutine was six bucks plus tax). Oh, I also got a pop too, as McDonald’s was having its summer special with all soft drinks at a buck.

As for the all-important question of whether or not I would have this McDonald’s maple & bacon poutine again… I suppose I would, but the best thing would be to have more salad. That was the original purpose of this trip – until I got suckered in by the in-store advertising. These types of poutines can get addictive so it’s best to not even think about them.

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When: May 2015
What: Maple & Bacon Poutine; pop
Where: McDonald’s
How Much: C$4.59 + C$1.00 (total C$5.87 including tax)

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Food Review: Tacofino Taco Bar (Downtown Vancouver)

Apr 21

Posted by alifeofknuckleballs

(Originally posted on my food review site, “Let’s Eat Out Once a Week.”)

Lamb Birria and Fish Taco

It was time for another meetup with Valerie as part of our regular foodie get-together. This time, we picked Tacofino Taco Bar in Gastown on Saturday.

They open at 5 p.m. and when we got there, it was around that time and not busy yet. But soon enough, all of the tables were taken – Tacofino Taco Bar is THAT popular!

Both Valerie and I were impressed by the modern design in the interior. We really weren’t sure what to expect but we found the atmosphere nice and cozy.

We were served water and handed the menu right after we were seated. After having a few minutes to discuss our ordering strategy, we decided to share a Fish Taco, Lamb Birria, and Salmon Ceviche. Then it was time to sit back and chat as we waited for the food.

The Salmon Ceviche, according to Valerie, is prepared in a way that the salmon actually isn’t cooked but is marinated in lime juice and served with tortilla chips – and makes for a great appetizer. She was right, as I thought that it tasted delicious.

As for the tacos, we split them so that we could share them!

I really liked the lamb birria, as it was really juicy and dripping all over my hands! I wasn’t the only one with that problem, as Valerie also had the same thing happen to her! But she agreed that it was a great taco. As for the fish taco, boy, it was really nice and crunchy. It was served with pacific cod, salsa fresca, and chipotle mayo. I loved it!

Apparently, when Tacofino first opened, it was just a simple food stand in Tofino, BC, and then soon enough a restaurant-style establishment was opened here in Gastown. When you first walk in here at this Gastown location, you see the “Burrito Bar,” which has a different menu and is for takeout. Then you walk through the store – or the “blood alley square” as it’s called – you enter the Taco Bar where we ended up sitting. The “Burrito Bar” is open daily at 11 a.m., but the Taco Bar opens at 5 p.m. Like I said, at the Taco Bar it’s a nice and cozy place to have a conversation with your friends and enjoy some decent food. Valerie and I discussed quite a few interesting things on this evening – we both talked about how we like to be challenged with thought-provoking topics and we roll our eyes when people talk about juvenile pranks and “jokes.” Fun times for sure!

Oh, we then decided to try both items on the dessert menu, the Churros and Lime Curd Vaso. I had some familiarity with churros but not the lime curd vaso, which turned out to be a delicious cake-type dessert that had three layers, including lime at the bottom. It was great.

The churros, meanwhile, were these hot little cinnamon donut things that were hollow inside but they tasted nice. It wasn’t too spicy.

It was another great evening of good food, awesome conversation, and just fantastic to catch up. The service was good too – even though it got really packed by 5:30, I thought we got pretty good and attentive service. We didn’t have to wait long for anything. And as far as whether or not we would return again – always the big question when it comes to reviewing food places – both of us figured we would. Tacofino Taco Bar is a definite winner!

When: Saturday, April 11, 2015
What: Fish Taco (C$6), Lamb Birria (C$7), Salmon Ceviche (C$10), Churros (C$6), Lime Curd Vaso (C$4).
Where: Tacofino Taco Bar, Blood Alley Square, 15 West Cordova Street, Vancouver, BC, V6B 1C8
How Much: C$16.50 per person (before taxes and tips)

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April 4, 2015 episode of “This Week in BC Minor League Sports with KP Wee” on CJSF Radio

Apr 7

Posted by alifeofknuckleballs

Originally aired on Saturday, April 4, 2015, on CJSF 90.1 FM, this episode of “This Week in BC Minor League Sports” recaps the Vancouver NE Chiefs’ run in the 2014-2015 BC Major Midget League playoffs.

Yes, that’s me as the host (and also me making the silly mistake of not using my hockey graphic in the background):

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2015 BC Major Midget League coverage – Interviews with BCMML Champions Vancouver NE Chiefs

Mar 31

Posted by alifeofknuckleballs

Though I didn’t travel to Prince George, BC, to cover the 2015 BC Major Midget League finals, I did get an opportunity (as a member of the media with the website MidgetAAACanada.com) to speak with several members of the league champion Vancouver NE Chiefs when they returned home.

The Chiefs, by the way, went undefeated during the BC league playoffs, going 6-0 and becoming the first team in league history to accomplish the feat. They swept the first-place Cariboo Cougars in two straight games to win their first ever league title.

These interviews took place following a team practice on March 25, 2015.

First up, Chiefs forward #10 Parker Colley:

Next up, forward #4 Jeffrey Wong:

Now, here’s forward #15 Kyle Johnson, the club’s leading scorer (3 goals, 12 assists) in the playoffs:

Next, Chiefs forward #11 Caleb Fantillo:

Last but not least, forward #18 Matthew Davis:

Congratulations to the 2015 Vancouver NE Chiefs for their BCMML championship!

(Note: For more coverage of Major Midget Hockey in Canada, please visit MidgetAAACanada.com.)

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Food Review: Gurkha Himalayan Kitchen (Vancouver West End)

Mar 1

Posted by alifeofknuckleballs

(Originally posted on my food review site, “Let’s Eat Out Once a Week.”)

I’ve worked in several industries before, and have come across many different co-workers. One whom I’ve always respected is Valerie, someone I worked with several years back when I was her supervisor. Because we’d both moved on from that particular organization, we’d mainly kept in touch just online until recently, when we agreed to meet up once in a while as foodie buddies.

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And one Saturday evening recently, Valerie and I checked out Gurkha Himalayan Kitchen on Davie Street in downtown Vancouver. Neither of us had been to Gurkha, which, according to Valerie, has been around for about two years. You can’t actually look into the restaurant when passing by to see what it’s about because it’s not on ground level and you have to walk up a flight of stairs to get to it!

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It was just after 5:00 p.m. – Gurkha is open noon to 2:00 and then 5:00 to 10:00 – so it wasn’t busy yet. We were seated right away and provided with a glass of water each. The setting was nice; it was dimly-lit but bright enough to see the menu and each other. There was a candle on our table too, which is standard for restaurants. After going through the menu for a few moments, Valerie and I decided to order four appetizers to share. We chose the Taas (lamb sautéed in peppers, onions, and spices), the Lollypop Chicken, the Piro Shrimp, and Haku Momo (Tibetan-style steamed veggie dumplings). We were asked how spicy we wanted the food, and we went with “medium.”

During the wait, Valerie and I resumed our conversation. Because Gurkha is a small and cozy place, the table in front of us could probably hear what we were saying, but it was all good. It’s always fun talking to her and I was very happy to hear she’s in a wonderful career right now. These are the types of conversations I enjoy the most because we don’t engage in gossip and she talks about interesting topics (unlike certain other co-workers I’ve worked with, who know nothing except gossip and complaining and negativity). She mentioned learning something from me before that she’s applying in her current profession, which made me smile because I thought I’ve learned a lot from her too. She’s just a very upbeat, positive, and talented person that I like hanging out with. (Unfortunately, some that I’ve worked with have negative attitudes and don’t want to listen to your suggestions/feedback. Instead, they think you’re picking on them and they try to get you fired by making crazy stuff up and talking behind your back, rather than trying to communicate like responsible adults – like in a certain advertising/marketing company some time ago. But that’s another story for a different day…) And oh, we talked about how great the Eastern TV channels are and my love for The Young and the Restless. 🙂

The Taas was the first dish that was brought to our table, and it was delicious!

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Some pieces of the lamb were chewy, but it was still good. I found some of the lamb being crispy too. Valerie said the rice was puffy like Rice Krispies. Incredibly, this dish was spicy too! And we’d asked for “medium,” so we were curious how spicy it would’ve been had we gone with “hot.” 🙂 Anyway, you could say the Taas was spicy crispy!

The shrimp was next, and Valerie liked it, saying it was sweet. I couldn’t disagree. It wasn’t too spicy, which was different from the lamb.

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As for the Haku Momo – which are the veggie dumplings – they were another winner. They came with two authentic sauces and Valerie liked them both. I also found the dumplings to be spicy! There were five apiece for us.

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And finally, the Lollypop Chicken, which were marinated with ginger garlic and spices, and then pan-fried over their special house sauce… There were six pieces, so three apiece. This dish was another winner, with Valerie commenting that it was like great finger/street food. We also thought that the spiciness level was unique for each dish, which was fantastic.

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With the great food and wonderful conversation, we both agreed Gurkha was a terrific choice. By the end of our meal, the place was packed and there were people waiting to be seated. My, it’s definitely a popular place!

Valerie suggested getting soup if we were to return in the future – certainly something interesting to check out for sure.

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When: Saturday, February 28, 2015
What: 4 appetizers – Taas, Piro Shrimp, Lollypop Chicken, Haku Momo
Where: Gurkha Himalayan Kitchen, 1141 Davie Street, Vancouver, BC, V6E 1N2
How Much: C$9.00, C$9.00, C$8.00, C$12.00 (C$24.00 each after taxes and tips)
Final Thoughts: Wonderful place for dinner and conversation. They do take reservations, and on weekends are open 12:00-2:00 p.m. and 5:00-10:00 p.m. From Tuesdays through Fridays, the hours are 11:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m. and 5:00-10:00 p.m., and they’re closed on Mondays.

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