Vancouver Island : Tiny Bites

LURED to breakfast

1 Comment Bruce NguyenJuly 25, 2009

While I generally shy away from hotel restaurants, LURE Restaurant and Bar at the Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort Hotel has a special place in my… stomach, I suppose.

Aside from a breathtakingly unhindered view of Victoria’s harbour, with accompanying float planes, boats, and friendly seals (otters?), I’ve only had great experiences with the wait staff here.

Breakfast had always been a meal to skip. Most mornings I’d be lucky to have a helping of cheerios before leaving for work.

This changed when I started staying routinely at the Delta Victoria. My mornings then consisted of the Garden Omlette (egg white omlette with roasted vegetables) with added goat cheese. Melissa, one of the lovely ladies who waits the morning shift, recommended that addition and I’m forever grateful.

Melissa also, unrequested, brought in special teas off-menu in those dark months when I was trying to rehabilitate myself from the hazards of espresso overindulgence. But that’s another story.

The moral of this story? It never hurts to make nice with the hotel staff.

LURE Seafood Restaurant + Bar
45 Songhees Road | Victoria
(250) 360-5873
lurevictoria.com

Categories: Beyond Vancouver, Blogging for Social Change, Food, Restaurants, Vancouver Island, Victoria

Victoria coffee lamentations

3 Comments Bruce NguyenJuly 25, 2009

I like Victoria. Honestly, I do.

Year round the weather holds better than Vancouver, and while we may not be 30 minutes away from a trio of ski slopes, with the relatively calm traffic you’re never 30 minutes away from anything.

Of course, being close to everything is all for naught when nothing is open past 5pm.

Not too long ago I was a caffeine fiend; the equivalent of a pack a day smoker by the amount of coffee and espresso my body was subjected to. As such, I was always on the lookout for a good coffee throughout the day, even though most of Victoria shuts down at 5pm.

The following is a photo log re-enactment of one such search.

Bruce’s coffee hunt

It was just after 6pm on a weekday. After grabbing a quick bite from the lounge of my hotel, I hit the streets looking for a quality espresso to accompany what was shaping up to be a very long work night.

During the odd weekend I spend in Victoria I can usually be found at Dolce Vita. It’s one of the few places where when asking for an espresso macchiato, you don’t receive what I’d call a dry cappuccino instead. What you get is a nice pull of espresso topped off with delicate microfoam and a chocolate wafer on the side.

Unfortunately, Dolce Vita was closed.

Known for their latte art, Caffe Artigiano was a regular haunt for a close friend and me back when we both worked in downtown Vancouver. Remembering that a location had recently opened up in Victoria inside the Bedford Hotel on Government street, I made my way over.

Unfortunately, Caffe Artigiano was closed.

So where to next? I loaded up my trusty GPS enabled smart phone searched the review sites. As it turned out, just down the street was Murchies, a coffee house that I had not yet been to but had good reviews.

Unfortunately, Murchies was closed.

I looked around and realised I was near a cafe called Macchiato, where I a very nice espresso not too long ago when some friends from the lower mainland visited on their way to a conference in Victoria.

Unfortunately… well, you know the drill by now.

Long story short, let’s just say it’s a good thing my body’s acclimated to just a single early morning coffee with possibly a second in the mid afternoon. Things are much simpler this way when you’re in Victoria.

If you know anywhere in Victoria where you can get a decent cup of coffee / espresso past 5pm, let me know in the comments.

Categories: Beyond Vancouver, Blogathon 2009, Blogging for Social Change, Coffee, Food, Restaurants, Vancouver Island, Victoria

Bon eats at Baan Thai

3 Comments Bruce NguyenJuly 25, 2009

Baan Thai: one of the first restaurants I dined at in Victoria three years ago and still amongst my favourites. It’s always able to satisfy my Asian flavoured cravings.

The Gra Tong Taung (golden cups) appetizer – crispy batter cups with a ground chicken and caramelized onion filling, topped with cilantro – is a perennial favourite to share. Try them with only the slightest drop of the house plum sauce.

The Guay Teow Kee Mao Gai (flash fried rice noodles with chicken, egg, onions, red and green peppers, chilis, and sweet basil leaves) is the main I recommend most of my dining companions to start with if they have trouble making up their minds. But I’m a sucker for anything Thai Basil.

Baan Thai also has dedicated vegetarian menu items.

It does get busy during dinner but they are usually able to seat a party of four in under 20 minutes.

Also beware of sitting up at the bar; the high chairs are so gargantuan and heavy that they will either make you feel like a king on a throne or will give you a whopping insecurity complex as you strain to adjust your seat.

Personally, I love sitting at the bar.