Vancouver Adventure

When we went to Vancouver, we finally managed to have dinner at Vij's. Yeah, that Indian restaurant that converts practically every person that ever visited the place into a total fanatic. I didn't get a chance to take a photo of the samosas, lamb popsicles and the grilled pork ribs we had that evening because I was a completely disorganized schmuck and I forgot to bring batteries for my camera but I must say the food was simply divine. It would be very hard for me to eat at any other Indian restaurant after Vij's. Yeah, short and sweet, just like that. I hope they give discounts or free dinners to suck ups like me, lol!

Just as exactly as we were told, the line up does get really long, like long but people do not seem to mind at all which is super unusual for most people, myself included. We got there at about 5:15. I know, who eats dinner at 5:15 right? But there was a long line up already for the 6:00 p.m. opening so we waited for 45 minutes. They don't take reservations by the way. Fortunately, there was just the two of us so we were able to get one of the table for twos.

We don't normally venture out of downtown Vancouver so I was absolutely clueless about the distances and the logistics of things outside the shopping district. We got there at around 11:00 a.m. so by time we were able to check in and freshen up, half the day was gone and so I was kind of frantic to get started on my true agenda. Obviously, I didn't just drag Mr. Cat there to see Vermeer and Rembrandt, of course not. I was there to shop till I drop, preferably of course but fortunately I was feeling sensible this time so I didn't do that. I must say I was able to successfully not as in NOT max out my credit card limit so the credit card companies don't own my soul... yet.

We started out on Granville Island Public Market. I don't have a photo of the market itself but I have a gazzillion photos of all sorts of stuff from there. It is one of my absolute favourite stops in Vancouver. It is I guess my only destination when I venture out of the downtown area.

Just look at all the amazing variety of fruit.







And these gorgeous flowers.





Then the variety of fish for all imaginable fish recipes.



And this gorgeous meat and charcuterie.





Then there's the bread and desserts.







This fabulous array of ready made soups, stocks, broths and marinades.



And of course, my most favourite shop of all time, the South China Seas Trading Company with all of their wide selection of exotic herbs, marinades, spices and cookbooks from all over the world.







From the Granville Island Public Market, we headed out to 1740 West 2nd Avenue to go to Barbara-Jo's Books to Cooks. To a cookbook addict like me, this is cookbook heaven! When I walked in, I didn't know which section to check out first. It was amazing!









From Barbara-Jo's Books to Cooks, we headed out to Ming Wo Cookware on 2170 4th Avenue West to pick up my carbon steel wok. I am Asian through and through and though I've lived without it for 3 years, there's no way in hell that I will be able to live without a proper wok. I just have to have one and I don't care if I have to walk miles to get it, I just have to have one. Or so I thought until I was actually seasoning it myself and had to stand in front of the stove for 3 hours, yeah, as in 3 freaking hours seasoning my bloody wok. Mind you, I haven't done any proper stir frying on it yet, so it might just actually be worth it.

Then from there, we walked all the way to Vij's on 1480 West 11th Avenue only to find out that about a block before Vij's right on Granville Street there is a Ming Wo Cookware shop. I was so pissed off! Like we walked about 20 minutes from the Ming Wo branch on 2170 4th Ave lugging these guys all the way plus a bloody wok, duh! Mind you I only bought 3 cookbooks at Barbara Jo's (Bouchon, Mayan Cuisine and The Filipino-American Kitchen) but still, they were super heavy.



Anyway, we made it to the line up for a table at Vij's. I was roasting and sweating like a little piggy, I bet I also smelled like one. Gross! After all of that, the dinner at Vij's accompanied by a couple glasses of Perrin et Fils Côtes du Rhône Villages was just the perfect ending for that lovely but super hectic day. And by the way, there was still a long line up by the time we left the restaurant.