Banana Leaf Kitsilano (Vancouver, Canada)

I had never tried Malaysian food and have always wanted to try Banana Leaf- the one Malaysian restaurant in Vancouver that has been voted the best year after year. And now that I have finally been I can’t believe I’ve never been there before. Its been around forever and now has four separate locations including the newest addition on Davie St. On this occasion we went to the Kitsilano location. 

Malaysian food is a mixture of culinary tastes from India, China, Thailand and Indonesia. It combines the best of South East Asia, from India’s roti canai (seen below), Singapore’s laksa, to China’s Hainanese chicken rice. 

There is so much selection to choose from so don’t hesitate to ask your server for their favorites. The roti canai- a serving of flaky layered break with curry dip, was a must- so delicious and definitely set the tone for the rest of the meal. In fact I think I filled up quickly on just the roti itself.

Our meal was served very quickly and all of us cleaned our plates in less than minutes!!
Everything was so fresh- all the vegetables in the curry were fresh and crunchy including the okras (one of my favorite vegetables). I would really love to learn to make some of their dishes. In fact it would be great if they would offer some cooking classes. 

For our main dish we ordered the boneless chicken curry, the lamb curry and sole curry. Every single dish was more than amazing. Not that we had any room for dessert but given that our main dishes were so good we had to order dessert which was even better. You MUST try the coconut filled crepes and the deep fried banana. Both are really delicious. I haven’t been to the other locations yet but I will keep my readers posted if and when I do. 


Chicken coconut red curry served with okras, eggplants and yellow/red bell peppers

Coconut crepe crepes….amazing!
Deep Fried Banana served with ice-cream 

Banana Leaf (Kitsilano) on Urbanspoon
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Bel Cafe (Vancouver, Canada)

David Hawksworth’s Bel Cafe opened up last month offering a variety of pastries, sandwiches, macaroons and drinks.  A bit dangerous for me given that I pass by every morning before work and have been tempted   an embarrassing number of times in the mornings to treat myself to Mr. Hawksworth’s fabulous flaky and buttery pain au chocolate creation. Folks- there is nothing more amazing than this pain au chocolate in town!  If anyone disagrees I’d like to hear where they are getting their croissant fix! It is definitely made with butter and although its not so friendly on the calorie side it definitely tastes friendly! 

I’ve also been there for lunch where I had their vegetable soup and ham and cheese sandwich served with a side of cornichon. Again…delicious! We were also treated to their pate au fruis which was sooo good and something I would not have necessarily  selected before but have since purchased a few times.


Bel Cafe brings a touch of a modern Parisian bistro to the heart of downtown Vancouver.   

Ham and Cheese: French ham, emmenthal and dijon 

Photo courtesy of Bel Cafe.com

Bel Cafe on Urbanspoon
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Suika- Japanese Izakaya (Vancouver, Canada)

We are so spoiled in Vancouver…on many fronts but particularly on the food front. Thanks to the various immigrant groups that have made this city as colorful as it is today you can have any type of food your little heart desires any time of day and night. I’ve searched the world through and through (excluding Japan) and can hands down guarantee that we have some of the best Japanese Izakayas in the world. This confidence was bolstered by my last visit to a new Izakaya (its been around for 1 year now): Suika Izakaya.
This place was recommended by fellow bloggers. Wanting to try something outside of the downtown core we headed over the bridge (5 minutes over the bridge) to Suika- located on Broadway and Burrard.  It is a great Izakaya place: good food, great service and great ambiance. The decor is really well done. I especially loved the empty sake bottles hanging chandelier.

Tuna Tataki

Lotus Roots- Delicious

Duck

You all know by now that I love everything Japanese so its no surprise to hear that I loved this restaurant from the food, decor and our super sweet Japanese server. We will be back soon Suika (don’t let Guu know okay? It will be our little secret!)

Suika on Urbanspoon
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