Rockin Red Robin at Lunch

Vancouver - Today for lunch I met some coworkers for lunch at Red Robin (4640 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC). 

Our friends were already there, so there was no waiting for a table as they already had one.  We caught up socially for a little bit, so I didn't take the usual time to peruse the menu.   This being my first time to a Red Robin Restaurant I thought I would try what made them famous.  So like anyone should on their first time at a Swiss Chalet (Chicken), I ordered a Hamburger. 

The Order: Simply Grilled Beef Burger with unlimited fries and a Dr. Pepper. (Note: Others ordered other items but I can't remember what they ordered nor did I try them).

The waitress through the entire meal was very attentive to our needs.  Our drinks came fairly quickly and were refilled just before our glasses were drained.  I never did get to suck on an ice cube as the waitress was quick to fill up our glasses.

The food also came quickly.  The only downside was the amount of fries that came with it.  But in hindsight they were fat thick steak fries.  I easily devoured the delicious hamburger.  Then it was onto the french fries.  The fries were thick and potatoie.   The fries are very good with a little ketchup, but would also suffice by themselves. 

Overall I found the service and food were exquisite.  But this should be expected at a burger place.  The burger market is quite competitive with White Spot, Red Robin, McDonalds, Wendy's and Burger King.  Thus, Red Robin competes by providing quality food products and upping the ante when it comes to service and amount of food (i.e. unlimited fries and pop).

If your in the mood for a burger and find yourself in British Columbia or Alberta (the only two provinces with Red Robin unfortunately) try out Red Robin.

Ai Caramba!: A Mediocre Restaurant

Whistler - Today we visited Whistler, BC for a day trip into the mountains.  We arrived shortly after 1 P.M. Pacific Time (Vancouver Time) and started looking for a place to eat. 
We looked at one of the local tourist maps and chose Elephant & Castle.  However, when we arrived there we noticed the location was closed and wouldn't open until 3:00 P.M.  I double checked the map and it said the location served "Lunch & Dinner."  Um...if you serve "Lunch & Dinner" don't you need to be open for at least the noon hour through to eight o'clock?  Just askin. 

So we changed directions and started looking.  We stopped and eyed the Caramba Restaurante (4314 Main Street, Whistler, BC) menu and headed inside.    

We reviewed the menus and ordered our drinks (glasses of Whistler's finest wet water all round!) and then made our food order. 

The Order: 1 Margherita Pizza ($13.95) and Two Caramba! Club (Sandwich) with Salad($10.95) and a B.B.Q. Pork Sandwhich with Salad ($10.95).  

Our orders came within fifteen minutes of being ordered.  But this should be expected as we were one of two tables occupied.  The other table had nine young mothers discussing everything to do with babies and were already well into eating their meal when we were seated at the table next to them.  Besides us and the table of mothers, the rest of the restaurant was empty!  Just a question, why would you sit two tables so close together instead of spacing us out a little bit?

The Margherita Pizza was the size of a plate and the crust was very thin.  If it wasn't for the delicious tomato sauce, this pizza would have been a failure.  Besides for that price, I could have gone to Dominos, also nearby, and ordered a decent sized pizza and shared it with someone.  Thus, due to the size of the pizza and the taste I was left a little hungary. 

I tried some of the Caramba! Chicken Club Sandwich.  It tasted like any other chicken based club sandwhich except for the mayonaise.  WHERE WAS THE MAYO?   The side salad portion was a complete joke.   The portion was barely the size of my fist. 

The total bill came to over $50.00 including taxes.  We left the restaurant feeling slightly full (but not totally) and receiving very little value for our money.

We left the restaurant partially full onto our adventure at Whistler and Blackomb Villages (see other blog entry from today).

Oh the Mountains!

Vancouver / Whistler - Today we headed to Whistler, British Columbia for a little mountainous sightseeing.  The ride up the Sea to Sky Highway was amazing. There were mountains to our right, the ocean and rivers to the left and waterfalls here and there.   Most of all, great big gorgeous Douglas Fir Trees.  

Two hour drive later we pulled into Whistler Village, home of the Olympic Skiing and Sliding Venus for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.  The bright blue skies only exaggerated the imposing view of the surrounding mountains of Whistler and Blackomb.   We had lunch at Caramba Restaurante (I had a Margerhita Pizza) and headed out to villages of Whistler and Blackomb for a walk around to see what was going on.  The views of the buildings and trees being overlooked by the mountains were exquisite.  Overall it was a fun visit.

On the way home we stopped off at Tantalus Lookout which looked like this:



Overall it was a great day out of Vancouver.

Bicycling Stanley Park and Watching Planes take off

Vancouver - Today we slept in a little bit then headed off to Stanley Park.  We rented a Tandem Bicycle from Spokes and were off on two wheels to explore the Stanley Park Seawall.  Overall we cycled for about 1.5 hours.  Along the way there was faboulous views of North Vancouver, the Rocky Mountains, the Lions Gate Bridge and Downtown Vancouver.   All for about thirty dollars and change.  It was quite fun cycling along letting the wind blow threw my hair. 

After returning the bike we had lunch at White Spot and had a walk along Coal Harbour.  At Coal Harbour we hung out on a park bench watching the float planes take off and land in Vancouver Harbour. 




 
We then headed over to Robson Street walked along until the Vancouver Art Gallery.  The Gallery has a special on Tuesday's where admission is by donation from 5-9 P.M.  It took an hour to visit the Gallery from bottom to top.  It wasn't that impressive a collection, in fact, we thought it was quite small compared to the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa or the Gugenheim in New York City.  Thus, I was a little shocked to see the regular price of admission is $22.00 for an adult (then they have the audacity to ask for donations on the second floor).  Overall, your best bet is to visit the Vancouver Museum on Tuesdays 5-9 for a donation of max ten dollars. 

Overall, yet another good day in Vancouver.

North Vancouver & UBC

Vancouver - Today we headed off to the Seabus and the Lynn Canyon Park Suspension Bridge (Read: Why pay $30.95 per adult to walk over the Capilano when the Lynn Park is free...yup...butkiss, zero, zip nada...I rest my case).  

It was a faboulous trip over on the Seabus from Vancouver to the Lonsdale Quay and Lonsdale Quay Market.  We nosed around the Market for half an hour, looked up the bus schedule and were on our way up to the Lynn Canyon Park Suspension Bridge.    We spent an hour at the Lynn Canyon Park hiking and bouncing on the suspension bridge over the falls on Lynn Creek.  The view was spectacular. 

Following the Suspension Bridge we returned to the Lonsdale Quay Market for lunch at McDonald's (I was having a Big Mac Attack...nuff said).   After lunch we hopped on the Seabus to return to Vancouver.   From Waterfront Station we headed over to University of British Columbia (UBC) for walkabout of the campus.  We discovered a breathaking view of the mountains behind the Museum of Anthropology (we'll visit the museum later when we have more time). 

Here is a sample of that view:



Note:  I've started uploading more photos of my trip on the Vancouver page of the Scrapbook Section of My Website.

Karen & Erick Yuen's Wedding

Vancouver - Yesterday was my first Cantonese Chinese Wedding (Peter and Alice gave me my first taste of a Chinese Wedding).  I had a lot of fun. 

First we had an afternoon reception.  I got to meet my Wife's large extended family (you need a programme to keep track of them all) and then dinner later in the day at the Rainflower Restaurant in Richmond. 

It was a lot of fun being part of the Groom's family.  At one point, the Bride, Groom, Wedding Party and the entire immediate family travelled to each table and toasted.  Over twenty-five tables later my glass was empty. 

The food was delicious.  We had everything from fried pork, to fish, to shark fin soup.  I've really enjoyed the past couple of days enjoying true chinese food traditions including "Dim Sum," "Yum cha," and now a Wedding Banquet.  

A few videos from the banquet....

Hon of a Good Time at Hon's

Vancouver - This afternoon we stopped off at Hon's (1339 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC) for lunch while on a tour of Downtown Vancouver.

We were seated immediatly after walking in the front door by a smiling waitress who dropped off the menus and poured some tea.

We quickly reviewed the menus and ordered a couple of lunch specials.

The Order: Budha's feist with rice with corn soap and Wun-Tun soup and beef and vegetables with rice.

After ordering I quickly reviewed the decor. It is a simple "tile everywhere" decor with long tables to sit people at. Basically this location is to get you in the door, sit down, eat and leave. Good Service and decent food portions are the order of the day at Hon's. But a Ritz Carlton restaurant this is not.

The food was piping hot and very delicious. The rice and sauce with my beef provided a symbiotic relationship of taste (sauce) and texture (rice). The beef was great too! The only downfall was the delicious broccolli included.

Really the only issue at this place, if you come for lunch, is the fact that the portions are way to large. You definately will not go home hungry from Hon's.