Batard Bakery

3958 Fraser Street
Vancouver, BC

Ever since we fell in love with St. Honore Boulangerie in Portland, we had always wanted to seek out similar places in Vancouver. One place that comes close is Batard Boulangerie. It states itself as a "Parisian eastide hangout spot" and a French bakery. W and I arrived late noon for lunch on a weekend.

Café Latte

To start our meal, we had a latte. No perfect marks for the latte art but A for effort on the attempt!

Tarte a l’Oignon ($7.95) - Alsatian Onion Tart with Gin & Bacon

W tried the onion tart which had little pieces of bacon inside. It came with a small side salad. We were both surprised that the tart arrived looking like a lasagna. We were expecting something maybe rounder or pie-shaped? Oh well, it still tasted good. The caramelized onions were soft and sweet and went well with the smokey bacon bits.

The Breakfast Sandwich ($6.95) - Abbotsford Free Range Egg, Rosemary

Ham, Aged Cheddar & Parmesan

I was also taken-aback by the breakfast sandwich that I chose. I didn't expect it to be an open-faced sandwich! The layers of ham, egg, and cheese were placed on top of a baguette slice, however, the crust of the baguette was kind of chewy and the type of dish they placed it in made it difficult to eat with a knife and fork. Isn't that how you eat an open-faced sandwich? Anyway, there's nothing amiss with the flavours but the way it was presented made me a little frustrated.

Tarte au Citron - A tart shell filled with a tangy and sweet mix of lemons, eggs, sugar, and  cream

To satisfy my sweet tooth, I opted for the lemon tart. The aesthetics of this tart was spot on! With a golden brown shell and a bright yellow custard, the tart looked like a little round sun!

Double Baked Almond Croissant -  laminated butter dough with a layered, flaky texture. This variant has almond cream baked in the centre and on top of the croissant during its second bake and is topped with almond slivers

W and I also shared an almond croissant. This one was flaky and buttery and not overly sweet from the almond cream.

Overall, Batard's baked goods were pretty good. The atmosphere and decor really evoked a charming and homey Parisian feeling. However, it was a little pricey so this probably won't be a go-to place for us to have this sort of lunch.

Seattle 2016 - Day 2

Serious Pie

1124 Pike Street

Seattle, WA

For all the times we've visited the Starbucks Reserve Roastery, we have never made time to try out Serious Pie, located right in the same building. This day, we got there a little early to have lunch before settling down for coffee tasting.

The space was industrial yet airy due to the high ceilings and tall large windows. Love the light fixtures that they installed!

I had a good view of their brick oven where they bake all their pizzas.

Mixed baby lettuces, radish, cucumbers, muscatel vinaigrette

Since it was lunch time and we knew we were going to be having coffee right after, we ordered a salad and pizza to share between the two of us. We started with a simple green salad dressed with a tangy vinaigrette.

Penn Cove clams, pancetta tesa, lemon thyme

Then came the very rustic, flatbread-like pizza. I chose this one, topped with clams, strips of pancetta, and sprinkles of thyme and lemon zest, because it had the most unusual combination of ingredients (to me at least!). The salty ham and briny clams paired nicely with the brightness of the lemon. The crust also had just the right chewiness and char. The only downside was that there was way too much crust and too little topping!!

After lunch, we walked just a few metres away to Starbucks Reserve Roastery. After making a few rounds surveying the area, we snagged a spot at the coffee bar. We still think the best spot to sit is right at the bar where you can watch the baristas and coffee masters work their magic.

I haven't gotten tired of looking at those beautiful coffee canisters yet!

Siphon Flight (choice of 2 coffee) - Nicaragua La Roca and Paradeisi Blend No. II

W and I chose the siphon flight as we would be able to try 2 different coffee beans. We didn't sit in front of the siphon bar this time so we were not able to watch our coffee being brewed. Still, it was a great place to linger and take in the sights and sounds while sipping on cups of coffee.

The Cheesecake Factory
401 Bellevue Way
Bellevue, WA

On the last day of our weekend trip, we could not leave without going to The Cheesecake Factory! Call us tourists, call us boring, we just love The Cheesecake Factory lol...

French Country Salad - mixed greens, grilled asparagus, fresh beets, goat cheese, candied pecans and vinaigrette

We were pretty full from all that coffee so just like lunch time, we shared a salad and an entree. I picked the French Country Salad which, to the dismay of W, had all the ingredients that I liked. The medley of sweet beets, salty goat cheese, crunchy pecans, and the tangy vinaigrette was just yummy!

 Pasta da Vinci - sauteed chicken, mushrooms and onions in a delicious Madeira wine sauce tossed with penne pasta and Parmesan

I let W pick our entree and he went for a pasta dish. I always find The Cheesecake Factory's pasta tasty so this one was no exception. However, the penne was a little too al dente for my liking. Nonetheless, it was sauced just right and the little mushrooms were like flavour bombs because they had soaked up all the sauce during cooking.

Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch Cheesecake - chocolate hazelnut cheesecake topped with hazelnut crunch and Nutella

During the time we went, the restaurant had just unveiled a new flavour of cheesecake: the Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch Cheesecake! The name sounded sooo tempting we decided to forego our usual Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake and went for this new one.

We were kind of disappointed with this new flavour. Although I liked the little bits of crunchy hazelnut nougat pieces inside, the overall cheesecake was too sweet for our liking. I guess we just gotta trust our gut and stick with our tried and true Godiva chocolate cheesecake!

Gosh, now that The Cheesecake Factory is going to open their first restaurant on Ontario, when are WE going to get one too!?!!

Seattle 2016 - Day 1

Essential Baking Company
1604 N 34th Avenue
Seattle, WA

Nearing the end of summer, I felt like I needed to get away for a weekend. W and I both worked for most of the summer without taking a break so we decided to slip away to Seattle for 2 days.

My sister recommended I visit The Essential Baking Company as some of her friends had went and found their bakery items delicious.

It's a simple, counter-order style place. They have whole loaves of bread for sale too.

The interior was a little rustic and industrial which matches the neighbourhood.

Turkey, Bacon & Havarti ($6.50 for half) - Roasted Turkey, bacon, havarti, tomatoes, arugula, pickles, caramelized onions, ranch served on our toasted ciabatta bread

For lunch, we shared the turkey, bacon and havarti sandwich made with their house-made ciabatta bread. The bread was soft yet sturdy enough to hold up the layers of meat. The super long pickled cucumber added a great crunch in between bites!

Tomato Bisque

Along with the sandwich, we ordered a bowl of tomato bisque. There were 2 sizes, being the cup and the bowl. We thought the larger sized bowl would be good for sharing and indeed it was. The bowl was bigger than we expected AND it came with a side of foccacia bread! It was a meal in itself! This was definitely good value. The soup itself was pleasantly zippy and creamy, but it could have been smoother in texture.

Lemon Meringue Tart

There weren't a lot of baked goods on display when we were there. Out of all the items, their lemon meringue tart caught my eye the most. That toasted meringue peak looked like a dollop of s'mores marshmallow!

Under the beautifully torched meringue was a smooth and tart lemon custard and a lovely shortbread-like crust. I was never a huge fan of lemon tarts but this one made me a follower!

Gas Works Park
2101 N Northlake Way
Seattle, WA

W and I found out about Gas Works Park while watching a TV program about America's most interesting parks. Luckily, this park was just 2 blocks away from The Essential Baking Company!

Located on the north side of Lake Union, this park used to be site of the former Seattle Gas Light Company gasification plant.

I liked how they still retained some of the structures that were used to manufacturer coal into gas. It shows the history of the area and the industrial upbringing of the neighbourhood while creating a family friendly green space.

There were lots of big open green spaces including this hill popular for kite-flying!

Even though the old machinery and gas plants are rusting away, they look very much like pieces of artwork amidst the green grass.

Another good thing about this park is the view! You can sit on the hill and enjoy panoramic views of Lake Union with the bustling downtown as the background. You can even see the Space Needle to the right!

Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture 

NE 45th St & 17th Ave NE

Seattle, WA

Later in the afternoon, we headed to the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. It's located within the grounds of the University of Washington. This is a small museum that not a lot of people would normally go visit. We went there because W found out that they were housing a recently excavated fossil of a head of a T-rex!

The display only showed the encased fossil protected by aluminum foil, plaster and wooden brackets to keep the bones in place. Although we didn't actually get to see the fossil itself, it was pretty cool to see how the fossils were documented and protected during transportation. After its temporary time inside Burke Museum, it would be taken to be analyzed and studied by paleontologists.

After our short visit to Burke Museum (we walked through all their exhibits but we probably stayed there for just an hour!), we headed off for dinner and planned our next day's itinerary!

The Cabin, Columbia Valley, Revelstoke

Welp, in a blink of an eye, our time at Edgewater has come to an end :( We all agreed that we will miss this lovely, cozy cabin that we called home for a week. I actually found this cabin through VRBO but booked it through the vacation rental company Cobblestone Creek. It was our first time renting a vacation home but the whole process with Cobblestone Creek was smooth and trouble-free. 

The cabin we stayed in was called the Iron Ring Log Chalet. It had 3 floors, 3 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms.

There's a large wrap-around deck with a nice dining area and barbecue grill at the back. Large double glass doors allowed access into the kitchen too.

At the front of the house, it featured tall vaulted ceilings in the living room. The back had the nice and roomy kitchen and a dining table that could sit 6-7 people.

Here's the view from above! With the added height, extra windows allowed so much more natural light in the space!

Once up the stairs, there was also a small loft area for reading or playing with the many stuffed bears hiding around the house! The upstairs also had 2 bedrooms and 1 of the bathrooms.

There was just enough space for us at the dining table. Perfect fit :) I quite liked the antler chandelier as it matched the rustic yet contemporary style of the home. Behind the dining table was the stairs to go down to the basement level. Downstairs had a family room with TV and gaming systems, as well as the 3rd bedroom and 2nd bathroom.

Although the vacation home was situated within a "vacation resort" (Valley's Edge Resort), the area was quiet and we felt like there was still enough seclusion and privacy.

It's so nice and quiet here that the deer come here to graze and relax too!

Edgewater is located along the Columbia Valley, a region in the Rocky Mountain trench that runs parallel to the Columbia River. While we were travelling from Edgewater to Radium Hot Springs and Invermere, we could see the meandering river and the low lying valley. Growing up in the city, I hardly ever saw such winding rivers and valleys. I just found that view so amazing and beautiful.

Leaving Edgewater, we made our way back to Revelstoke. One of our must-do activities was to ride the Pipe Mountain Coaster at Revelstoke Mountain Resort!

Luckily, the weather cooperated with us! We were afraid that we would have to ride in the rain or be whipped by the cold air while we zoomed down the mountain!

Another view of the Columbia River with Mt. MacPherson in the background.

Here it is! At the top of the mountain were the bright yellow carts of the Pipe Mountain Coaster!

I didn't have a Go-Pro camera and the staff did not allow me to hold my regular point-and-shoot camera while riding down but during the middle of my ride I took a risk and fished out my phone from my bag to get this action shot! Such a risky move now that I think about it LOL...but everything was fine at the end! What a fun ride!! It was like being on a roller coaster that was controlled by yourself, very cool.

Overall, this was not our typical "shop and eat" kind of road trip which was a breath of fresh air for me. I loved all the scenic destinations we went to, all the wildlife we saw, and the activities we all experienced together. It was definitely worth all that long drive!

The Black Forest Steak & Schnitzel House

540 Highway 93 & 95
Invermere, BC

On our last evening in Edgewater, we took a short drive to the nearby town of Invermere for a hearty German/Austrian dinner.

This charming, large house-like building is The Black Forest Restaurant. It was a quiet evening while we were there but we still had to wait for a table... The restaurant inside had a lot of character. There were lots of murals and taxidermy on the wall, a part of the ceiling was painted with all the constellations in the sky, and there was a section with a glass room filled with pet birds!

Erdinger Weiss Beer

We can't have German food without German beer!

Seafood Salad - Tiger prawns, crabmeat, baby shrimps on a bed of assorted lettuce and garnished with tomatoes, cucumbers, boiled egg and asparagus; served with homemade dill dressing

We ordered a bunch of dishes to be shared family-style. First up was the large plate of the seafood salad.

Schnitzel and Caesar Salad - Wiener Schnitzel with a generous portion of Caesar salad

To appease my niece, we also ordered her current fave Caesar Salad. This particular order came with a large piece of schnitzel.

Beef Roulade

The beef roulade was one of the specials in the menu at the time. It was topped with a hearty gravy and a side of spaetzle.

Schnitzel Champignon - Breaded and topped with fresh mushrooms, covered with Sauce Bearnaise

Larger than my face, the schnitzel was lightly breaded and topped with béarnaise sauce. On the side were purple-coloured sauerkraut and creamy mashed potatoes. 

Stuffed Breast of Chicken - Skinless, boneless breast of chicken stuffed with wild rice and apples with a white wine, cream sauce

My mom chose the stuffed chicken breast as another entrée option. With the addition of wild rice in the stuffing, it became a tad dry but the sauce helped moisten things up. Wish there was more sauce though since the spaetzle came relatively unseasoned.

Duck "A l'Orange" - Glazed with orange sauce

For more variety, we also ordered the pan-seared duck breast. The skin could have been rendered a bit more but the meat was cooked just right while the sauce was deliciously sweet and tangy.

Black Forest Cake

To end the night, we finished with their homemade Black Forest Cake. My mom was pleasantly surprised by the lightness of the cake! We were expecting it to be quite sweeet and dense (since a lot of Western cakes tend to be sweeter than Asian cakes), but we were all wowed by this chocolatey, cherry-filled cake!

There's little chance we'll visit The Black Forest a second time but I'm grateful for the experience and the memories!