A taste of Victoria with Coast Hotels & Resorts
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Karen Hamilton
July 15, 2009
This article contains the first of several Early Bird Blogathon 2009 prize giveaways.
Valued at $200, you don’t want to miss your chance to win this Victoria loot bag nor miss an opportunity to support the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society. Read on or skip to the contest details.
Last month, Coast Hotels & Resorts invited me to a weekend media tour of one of my favourite BC destinations: Victoria. It had been ages since I was last there, with international travel and family holidays to Winnipeg getting priority, but Victoria will always hold a special place in my heart for being an affordable romantic getaway while my husband and I dated in university.
I’m admittedly unfamiliar with the food to be found in the city despite frequent discussions on the subject with work-week Victoria resident, Bruce Nguyen. This seemed like a great opportunity to take in long-forgotten sights and sample our host”s recommended eateries. So with my CA husband in the throes of the corporate tax crunch, I grabbed design partner Jason Lau and joined other Vancouver new media invitees for a 2-day spin of BC’s capital.
There are already so many retellings of this jaunt to the Island. Check out the accounts of the other bloggers on this tour:
Because of this, I’ll focus on the eating adventures that Jason and I had along the way.
Coffee stop at Tsawwassen Quay Market
Our travel set of 14 met groggily one Friday morning at the steps of the Coast Plaza Hotel & Suites by Denman and Comox. After being greeted by our hosts, Sherry and Danny, we boarded our chartered bus towards the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal.
Our arrival was deliberately early, giving us enough time to have our first communal caffeine intake at the Salt Spring Island Coffee booth in Tsawwassen Quay Market. I was personally excited to be at the Quay again. During last year’s excursion to Victoria, I had discovered its stretch of boutiques and eateries, becoming particularly enamored with the aesthetics of the Oh Gelato counter.
I was looking forward to a gelato treat before boarding our ferry, but with everyone else going for coffee and me still keen on hiding my pregnancy, the strange looks I was getting for wanting gelato this early made me nervous about indulging my cravings. Oh well – next time!
Pacific Buffet brunch with BC Ferries
We made a beeline for the stern once we boarded our ferry, where we had a brunch date with Pacific Buffet.
It was happy to see an endless flow of har gow and siu mai – two dim sum favourites that I didn’t expect to find in a West Coast buffet service. I happily took my fill of those, along with sides of spinach salad and fresh fruit to balance the meaty with the healthy. Despite the occasional trip-ups forced upon us by the boat’s rollicks, we all managed to eat several helpings before going deck-side for a photowalk.
Tipsy trials at Sea Cider
It was a good thing that we did stuff ourselves on the ferry, as our first Island-side stop consisted of a comprehensive tour and tasting of Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse. Arieanna and I, unable to partake in the cider tastings, sipped on our sparkling lavender water and green pear tea while witnessing the sure inebriation of the rest of our group. By all accounts, the ciders indeed impressed: 9 varieties ranging from dry to dessert, $12 – $25. Our table were big fans of the $17 Rumrunner and the best-selling $15 Pippins.
We toured the rest of the facility and observed cider-making in action with co-owner Kristen Jordan before returning to Victoria and checking into our hotel. Happily surprised that our in-room welcome package contained a bottle of Sea Cider’s Kings & Spies: an off-dry, Brittany-style cider made from heritage apples care of the Life Cycles fruit tree project.
Room service fun at Coast Victoria Harbourside Hotel
Checking into our room on the 9th floor of Coast Victoria Harbourside Hotel called for an immediate investigation of their room service menu. While Jason admired the view of the harbour from our balcony, I rang up for fries with double helpings of ketchup (yet another inexplicable craving I experienced throughout this trip).
Our room was well stocked with coffee, tea, and hot chocolate, but our mini-fridge was empty and the ice rooms were only on even floors. When room service arrived with my fries, I mentioned my reticence to travel a floor for ice for my tap water, and returned to the room later to find that turn-down service sent us bottles of water for our bedsides and a tin of Jelly Bellies to boot. I’d never turn down a chocolate on my pillow, but I must say that a tin of jellybeans that we could tote with us was an even nicer treat.
Scouring the booths of the BC Wine and Oyster Fest
We only had enough time to unpack and down said fries before heading out to the lobby floor for the 15th annual BC Wine and Oyster Fest – dubbed “Star Shuck” if you were to believe the accompanying tasting booklet.
The $50 admission was comped by Coast Hotels & Resorts – a good thing for me, as I was unable to eat or drink most of the offerings at hand. Jason, on the other hand, agreed to taste a selection of whites and rosés for me. With nearly 60 BC wineries represented, there was much to choose from. I suggested visits to some of my favourites: Road 13, Township 7, Thornhaven, Dirty Laundry, and Joie. Jason introduced me conceptually to the fruit wines of Elephant Island. We both discovered Vancouver Island wineries such as Dragonfly Hill and Averill Creek. No representation from my favourite Island vintner, Venturi-Schulze, but Saturday at Spinnakers made up for that.
Still, I cheated on my diet with as many oysters as my morning sickness could handle. A particularly disagreeable one of the BBQed variety also gave me an excuse to sip the funk away with a heavenly rinse of Joie’s Noble Blend. Beyond these indiscretions, I picked at the veggie platters and haunted the chocolate fountain until it was time to head out for a proper meal. (I heard that others were less excited about and/or capable of gallivanting outside the hotel after our cider afternoon and this wine fest – room service may have been pleased with our group’s patronage that evening!)
Asian fare at The Noodle Box
Some of our number made use of the hotel shuttle to head to The Noodle Box on Douglas Street, since the one in the more picturesque neighbourhood of Chinatown was jam packed. Even at the Douglas location, we were lucky to scoop up a table large enough for the 7 of us. The view was hard to beat: I snapped photos of the flames that shot out of the open kitchen’s woks as the rest ordered various stir-frys of the Asian persuasion.
Sorry – not many photos of the food were taken. I was too busy wolfing down my shanghai beef noodles and enjoying the dinner conversation. I do recall Elisa enjoying her enormous serving of Tom Kah Gai while Angela and Anny were underwhelmed by their choice of roti. Overall, it was serviceable enough for me to ponder a visit of The Noodle Box in Kitsilano.
Adventures at Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub
Day 2 started with a fruit-filled breakfast at the hotel and an amiable walk over to the Royal BC Museum. All that walking around got everyone hungry, so we jumped on the Victoria Harbour Ferry – the city’s Aquabus counterpart – to the local institution that is Spinnakers.
It was at Spinnakers that we got to know Tourism Victoria ambassador Kelsey Ewart, who treated us to a multi-course meal as we tasted Vancouver Island wines and Spinnakers’ homebrews. Arieanna and I were provided with pregnancy-friendly menu alternatives while the others ate through platters of mussels and clams, local raw cheeses, pork and mushroom risotto, and more. My envy peaked as the table downed several offerings from Venturi-Schulze; happily, we were given license to sample the house chocolates that came paired with the Spinnakers beer trio.
After a tour of the properties that Spinnakers had amassed over the years, I picked up one of each chocolate that Spinnakers made in-house for the Victoria loot bag that I’m giving away to one of you, plus extras for my husband that I thought he might enjoy: truffles infused with scotch, tequila, chili, lavender, and more.
Tea at the Empress
Afternoon tea at the Empress was the culinary highlight of my trip – worth every penny of the $65 plus tax and tip that I was originally reluctant to spare. I shall reserve further comment for a separate post as part of my High Tea Series. Watch out for that article at 4pm during Blogathon 2009 by next week, as I have a separate giveaway planned for it.
If you want to feel like a princess, this is one of the best ways to do it in Victoria.
Victoria Tweetup at Ogden Point Cafe
After sleeping off the coma induced by our food-filled afternoon, the visiting Vancouver Twitter folk went to Ogden Point Cafe to introduce ourselves to the Victoria Twitter scene. I mostly got to chat with @howlabit and @lacouvee as we took in the view of the harbouring cruise ships and shared a pint or coffee mug with our Island cronies.
A dark dinner at Sauce
On the recommendation of those that gathered at the Victoria Tweetup, 2 camps of diners headed over to Government to dine at Sauce. Think Milestones mediocrity in a space lit like a dungeon.
Well, that was what my table thought, at least. The other table, situated across the restaurant from us, seemed to enjoy their meal just fine. Personally, I regretted the decision to go with the crowd instead of eating at Red Fish, Blue Fish, a place that Vancouver Island correspondent Bruce so ardently admires.
Breakfast highlights at Blue Crab Bar & Grill
Sunday morning in Victoria was sad and brief, with just enough time to eat a hot breakfast at the hotel’s Blue Crab Bar & Grill.
The more adventurous of us took up Anny’s pre-breakfast amuse bouche: bacon and cheese crickets that she picked up as a souvenir from the Victoria Bug Zoo. My tasting notes? Like bacon bits, with legs.
Cravings and solace in Seawest Lounge
Our return to Vancouver didn’t include another Pacific Buffet brunch, but we did get to camp in the quiet of Seawest Lounge and select from its complimentary dailies and snacks. That wasn’t enough for my appetite, so I snuck over to the cafeteria and smuggled in a White Spot Legendary burger, a large helping of root beer, and a massive side of pickles (surprisingly, a dozen of these babies only cost me 99 cents).
Photo courtesy of Danny Dang
The allure of my fast food got to a few of the people around me, causing a mini-exodus to the same cafeteria for burgers of their own. I chuckled at the way we ended our gastronomic weekend with a burger and fries, and held a bigger smile still for the moments we all shared as Mainlanders in Victoria.
Let me give you a taste of Victoria!
Would you like a Victoria goodie bag to enjoy for your next journey to the Island? Take a look at this first of several Early Bird Blogathon giveaways:
- Swag and $50 gift card from our weekend host, Coast Hotels & Resorts
- 1 pass for the Royal BC Museum and the Imax Theatre
- Road, trail, and walking maps of Victoria and beyond
- Complete gamut of Spinnakers’ housemade chocolate truffles (12 varieties)
- Package of 10 two-cup tea bags of Empress Quality Tea Blend
- 1 bottle of Sea Cider’s Kings & Spies cider*
- Tin of Jelly Belly jellybeans
This prize is valued at approximately $200 and should give you another reason to head out to Victoria this summer to take in the sights.
How you can win
Anyone* that helps us give to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society for Blogathon 2009 has the opportunity to win this Victoria goodie bag. See full rules and eligibility below.
- By day’s end on July 24, 2009, every $10 that you donate towards Tiny Bites’ Blogathon drive for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society grants you 1 entry to the draw. If you donate $50, that equals 5 entries for you and $50 x 3 = $150 worth of food for the people that the Food Bank helps. Doesn’t that just give you the warm fuzzies?
- After you donate, book a stay with Coast Victoria Harbourside Hotel in Victoria’s Inner Harbour to earn 10 bonus entries to this draw. Try this special package for Tiny Bites readers or design a stay of your choosing – it’s up to you!
- Please contact us about your donation and/or bookings before July 25th so that we can make sure you get all the entries that you deserve.
- The winner will be announced at 1:30pm on July 25, 2009, while Bruce is on shift for Blogathon 2009.
* While we would be happy to ship this prize to anyone that is eligible (above), only those that can pick up their prize can be given the bottle of Sea Cider Kings & Spies. Canada Post is pretty stuffy about mailing alcohol about – sorry.
Categories: Beyond Vancouver, Canada, Events, Food, Food Purveyors, Restaurants, Travel, Vancouver Island, Victoria, Wine
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Articles by Karen Hamilton
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