Posts Tagged ‘lunch’
- In: Travelling | Whistler
- 1 Comment
We travelled from Vancouver to Whistler on a beautiful day. We revelled in blue sky, marshmallow clouds and brilliant sunshine as we ascended. It was a blissful moment when I spotted the first snow-capped mountain.
We were famished so we dropped our baggage at the hotel and walked quickly to La Bocca for a late lunch.
Painted poppy throughout, La Bocca shared a kitchen with the Amsterdam pub next door. We removed our layers and settled into a cosy corner. The brunch menu had breakfast items, share plates, soups, salads, sandwiches, pastas and stir-fries.
Mr L ordered the Benedict trio. Anticlockwise from top: spicy Benedict with hot coppa and crispy onion ring, traditional Benedict with ham and BC Benedict with smoked sockeye salmon. All three were served on an English muffin topped with a soft poached egg and citrus Hollandaise sauce.
Mr S also selected a breakfast dish. The skillet of Montreal smoked meat hash had smoked meat, hash brown, sautéed onions and capsicum, signature sauce, and topped with poached eggs.
I craved a hearty meal in the cold weather and compromised on the chilli prawn wok. A generous amount of tiger prawns were sautéed in garlic butter and tossed with crisp vegetables and steamed noodles in a Thai sweet chilli sauce. I switched from chopsticks to a fork as the noodles were slippery! It was a little sweet and lacked ‘wok breath’ (鑊氣) but the ingredients were fresh and plentiful.
Warmed by a full stomach, we exited to explore Whistler Village.
- In: Fiji | Travelling
- Leave a Comment
Despite living in coastal cities all my life, I’m a really slow swimmer. The effort I exert thrashing my arms and kicking my legs yields little distance. My lack of aquatic skills are amplified in the ocean because I get motion sickness from bobbing up and down like a buoy. I prefer to be out of the water than in it on a tropical holiday! On a deckchair with a wide brim hat, oversized sunglasses, absorbing book, fruity cocktail – bliss.
After a morning of doing just that (minus fruity cocktail, plus Fiji Water), we were in need of sustenance for our afternoon nap (or kayaking and snorkelling). The menus were similar at all the restaurants and the only option for a light and cold meal was a club sandwich. I was sweating from watching Mr D eat a chicken curry for lunch!
A club sandwich is classic resort fare and the Shangri-La version was a large serving of double layered and quartered sandwiches, with sides of coleslaw, chips and salad. The portion was ideal for sharing in the hot and humid weather. Held together with knotted bamboo skewers, the club sandwich had chunks of chicken, strips of bacon, fried egg, slices of tomato and iceberg lettuce. It was a tasty combination, and unlike other meals, made quickly.
We munched on the generous bowls of chips and salad. The chips were consistently crunchy and not soggy or oily, and it was a simple salad of tomato, cucumber, carrot, onion and mixed leaves. The food was washed down with a mocktail. An icy blend of melons, pineapple and passionfruit, it was refreshing and soothing.
We moved the deckchairs into the shade for some reprieve from the blazing sun, and read and snoozed throughout the afternoon – our joie de vivre for the week in Fiji!
- In: Belltown | Eating | Seattle | USA | Washington
- Leave a Comment
We had a comical meal at The Lucky Diner. It wasn’t an open mic show and there was no improv competition, our waitress was the entertainment.
She was lovely and tried her best but she was clearly lost in the new Belltown eatery. There was much confusion when she realised her previous customers had left and we had taken their seats at the counter. Once our meals were served, she paced up and down behind the counter in desperate search for cutlery and alas, returned with a single brightly coloured plastic fork.
We had lured Mr L to NOBA, north of Battery Street, for a weekend lunch. After we ordered we discussed the concept of an American diner and Mr L was adamant that The Lucky Diner is a sanitised version of authentic places like the Hurricane Café, whereas I love that The Lucky Diner highlights classic elements such as the print of a neon caffeine sign, counter and booth seating and an extensive menu of comfort food, modernised with vegetarian and gluten free options.
The wait staff is in retro uniforms and from the counter you can peer into the long and narrow kitchen where the chefs are busily cooking for a crowd.
A selection of sauces was available as condiments and I lined them up for a photo while sipping on a rich chocolate milkshake. Made by hand, there were lumps of chocolate at the bottom that taunted me as it blocked up the straw.
In the big Buddha omelette were sausage, ham, bacon, sautéed peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes and white American cheese. Mr L lessened the calories slightly by ordering it with egg whites only and whole wheat toast.
Listed in the specialty subs section was the sexy beast. Sliced ham, slow braised pork and bacon were topped with house made cola barbecue sauce, cream cheese and grilled pineapple in a crusty roll. And you have a choice of French fries, sweet potato fries, mac salad, fruit cocktail, braised beans, Lucky beans, black beans, sticky rice or brown rice as a side!
It was a decadent combination, a little heavy with three meats. Mr S loved the cola barbecue sauce – smoky and sticky, it was a perfect accompaniment to the slow braised pork and grilled pineapple. He would have been happy with only these three ingredients!
My eyes widened at the bulging sandwich placed in front of me. Our waitress found steak knives and handed them over, sharp end pointed towards us. As I sawed the pork chop sandwich in half, another waitress walked by and exclaimed, ‘oh no, you have to eat it with your hands!’ I intended to and cutting it in half usually prevents the filling from sliding out.
The breaded pork chop was tender and tangy from the honey mustard and mayonnaise. Juicy and sweet, the thick slices of caramelised onions were my favourite part of the sandwich.
As we were leaving, I noticed bowls of Lucky Charms cereal being poured. The Lucky Diner is a welcome addition to the Belltown neighbourhood, both family friendly and opens until late.
