Thankfully I have pool chairs and beaches to hang out on ?. 

Beach blankets: Zaful

Glad I finally got to have my first beach day of the year. It’s been sunny and warm in Vancouver for the past couple of weeks (BLESS) but I’ve either been busy with school, work, or going away to have had any time to spend at the beach. This past weekend I finally had a bright and sunny day off so Terri and I hit the beach! Kits beach was bumpin’ with beach-goers who all probably had the same day planned as we did. Thankfully we got lucky and found parking a block away which is SO rare especially on a day as nice as last sunday. 

I made it a goal last year to try to have more adventures. This year I’m making it a goal to gym and beach as often as I can this summer. If I’m not darker than I’ve ever been after this summer then I will have failed. 

If you were wondering, my deliciously adorable beach blankets are from Zaful. LOVE their swimwear selection and affordable prices. A lot of people ask me whether or not you can trust these sorts of websites and the products they offer. I’ve had nothing but good experiences with Zaful so far! As long as you do your research and read the reviews on the products, I think you really can’t go wrong!

What’s your favourite beach in Vancouver?

I’ve actually been working on a lookbook for you guys with one of my good friends, Thomas. But that project had to be paused because I’ve been a total nutjob running around with my head cut off trying to balance school, my internship, my part-time job, and (what’s left) of my social life. However, I’m done my internship this week and my last exam is next week so I promise I’ll finish up that project for you soon and get on with starting another!

Have definitely put the most thought and effort into this upcoming lookbook than any of my videos EVER so I really hope you like it! 

For now, click play below to watch my Update Vlog! I talk about where I get my lash extensions done in Vancouver, packing for my upcoming trip, and my new camera!

 

More soon, 

Since I’ve been given the opportunity to explore this area a little more, I thought I would start a bit on my blog about some cool discoveries in Vancouver. It’s about time I expanded past just eating at Phnom Penh in Chinatown!

Harvest Community Foods is just a couple doors down from my workplace and it is one of my go-tos for days I don’t pack lunch. It’s a small neighbourhood grocery store that also sells signature fresh veggie and meat noodles in homemade broths. Harvest opened in 2012 and started as a community project in a empty space. “This Space”, the name of the project, had a goal to start a small community business that met the locals’ needs. After much research conducted in the Chinatown and Strathcona area, it was decided that a small local food place/grocery store was exactly what was needed at 243 Union Street. 

Harvest carries a variety of different goodies on its grocery wall. From artisan olive oils, to Earnest ice cream, to milk and cream. They also have a small kitchen area that prepares fresh bowls of noodle soups. They’ve got ramen, udon, and Rice noodles with different soups and toppings. They often have daily specials as well if you want to try something that isn’t usually on their menu. 

From their static menu, I decided to try the Udon with Sake Kazu chicken, shiitake mushroom, and watercress. The shoyu based soup (soy-sauce based) was rich and flavourful, and soaked in the sweet and distinct flavour of the mushrooms. Udon is one of my favourite types of noodles and I thought it paired really well with the soup. The only bone that I have to pick with this dish was the watercress. I wasn’t too fond of the raw watercress added on top as when I soaked the veggies to soften it, it gave the soup a bitter after taste. 

This is definitely something I would order again for lunch, especially since it’s literally 3 doors down from where I work! I’ve had one of their weekly special ramens as well which I LOVED. As someone who probably eats noodles way too often, I thought Harvest did an amazing job with their menu by serving fresh ingredients and delicious soups. 

I’ve got a few more food reviews lined up to write so stay tuned for that!

Until next time, 

On a spontaneous thursday evening, my lovely friend Megan and I decided to grab dinner together since I was close by her place studying. We always eat in the Kitsilano neighbourhood, so we decided to urbanspoon a place in Kits that we haven’t tried. We found this place called the Oakwood Canadian Bistro.

I’ve actually heard about the Oakwood before from some other friends, but have never bothered to try it. I thought that it was great that the food was all made from fresh, local products. Anything from their “bread to the pastas, butchery to the sauces”, they are all locally sourced. Not to mention their service was great as well. Somebody was always ready to check on us and made sure we had everything we needed.

We decided to order 3 dishes to share so we could try a few items. The first dish we got was the rabbit rillette, truffle butter, shaved foie gras, caraway epi bread, and pickled veg. Interestingly, the dish was served in the jar.

Our server explained to us that this dish is placed in layers. The rabbit rillette sat at the bottom, the truffle butter in the middle, and the shaved foie gras on the top. We ripped the bread into pieces, and used the dish as a spread. Oh. My. Word. This was AMAZING. And although it looks like a small dish, it was actually pretty filling because of the bread and the rich flavours.

The next dish we ordered was the seared scallops, truffle sabayon (cooked and whipped yolks with seasoning), dijon spaetzle (small dumplings similar to pasta), bacon crumble, and black kale powder. Another perfect dish; Packed with creamy, delicious flavour and perfectly pan-fried scallops. I adore scallops so this was definitely right up my alley. Also usually I can’t eat too much truffle because of the intense richness, but with both this dish and the first one, they used just the right amount of truffle so that it wasn’t too overwhelming.

The last dish we ordered was the mussels in tomato coconut broth, house baguette and cilantro. We didn’t think that the dishes (that looked so small) would be so filling, so we got it with fries too.

Honestly, we could’ve gone without this dish and we would’ve left satisfied and full, but of course we under estimated these dishes, and ended up not being able to finish this dish. We did manage to put away quite a bit of it though. Enough for me to tell you that it was also absolutely amazing. The coconut tomato sauce was amazingly delicious, tasting a little bit like thai curry. Tasted amazing with the fries and bread as well.

Overall, I was extremely happy with my experience at the Oakwood. The food was good, the restaurant was beautifully decorated, and the service was good. It is definitely on the pricier side, but I think it was perfectly worth it. Between the two of us, the bill came out to around 60 dollars. I will leave the menu here so you can check out their other dishes, along with the prices.

I think I would give this place a high 9/10. If you’re ever to go for a little bit of a fancier meal, definitely go and check it out.

The Oakwood is located at 2741 West Fourth Avenue

 Their phone number is 604 558 1965

and their hours of operation are : 

Dinner: 5pm – Late (closed Mondays) – reservations excepted

Late Night Menu – 10:30 – Close
 
Brunch: 10:00am – 2:45 Saturday & Sundays – no reservations

Thanks for reading,

More soon.