• Archives
  • Jan23

    Tasting Plates logo

    My good friend and fellow food lover Richard Wolak (better known as Vancouver Foodster) is back with a great new foodie event coming up in mid-February! Tasting Plates Vancouver is a chance to discover a range of delicious edibles from Yaletown to the West End. Billed as a roving food tour, your ticket will allow tastings at over a dozen Vancouver eateries (with more to be added closer to event date).

    Each restaurant will serve up a Tasting Plate to enjoy. This unique event is a great way to dine with friends, meet the chefs behind Vancouver’s vibrant dining scene, and learn about what goes into their dishes.

    A few key event details:
    - Vegetarian options will be available at most of the participating restaurants.
    - Prize draws to be held at each participating restaurant throughout the course of the evening.
    - The first 300 people to purchase an advance ticket will receive Richard Wolak’s new book, “Vancouver Foodster’s Guide to Dining and Drinking in Vancouver” (a $21.95 value), out in February.
    - Visit participating restaurants by walking, transit, bike, or carpool.
    - $2 from each ticket purchase will help fund the Vancouver Food Bank.

    Participating restaurants include:
    Phat Deli Yaletown
    Notturno Paninoteca
    Cosca Restaurant
    Bonchaz
    Footo Delights
    W2 Media Café

    Participating food trucks include:
    Juice Truck
    Soho Road

    Tasting Plates Vancouver
    Date: Wednesday, February 15, 6 to 9 pm
    Tickets: $25 per person (excludes Eventbrite fee). Ticket price includes tasting plates at each of the participating restaurants throughout the evening.
    Note: No tickets will be sold on the day of the event. All ticket sales are final. No exchanges or refunds, however tickets are transferrable with printed proof of ticket. ALL tickets must be purchased online in advance.
    *Price does not include beverages. Wine, beer, cocktails and mocktails may be purchased separately at the restaurants.

  • Dec2

    Cento Notti

    Keeping things fresh, the third installment at the Opus Hotel is now Cento Notti, following previous popup restaurants 100 Days and One Hundred Nights.
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  • Aug24

    Charm interior

    Last week, I was fortunate to have been invited to a small dinner hosted by Charm Modern Thai in Yaletown. The dinner was a friendly affair that allowed us to sample new Executive Chef Samnan Kamonroek’s dishes. Chef Kamonroek has been with Charm since 2008, after he emigrated from Bangkok to join the restaurant as sous chef. His culinary experience includes 13 years as executive chef at five star Landmark Bangkok Hotel.
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  • Aug9

    Beerlesque Poster

    The Roundhouse Community Centre in partnership with Vancouver Craft Beer Week and CAMRA Vancouver present “BEERLESQUE!” an intimate evening of craft beer and burlesque performance on Friday, August 19.

    Helsinki Burlesque: Bad Girls Go Everywhere
    [Photo credit: HenriBlock, on Flickr]

    Vancouver’s top burlesque dancers will perform side by side with local alt-country-gypsy-circus band Blackberry Wood, a corseted fashion parade courtesy of Lace Embrace Atelier, belly dancers, a bearded lady, and Canada’s youngest sword swallower in a carnival for the senses for those 19 and over!

    Women and Beer II/VCBW

    To lubricate the evening, over 15 of BC’s top craft breweries such as Red Racer, Driftwood, Red Truck, Vancouver Island Brewery, Salt Spring Island Ales, Storm Brewing, Phillips Beer and Russell Brewing will be pouring their award-winning craft brews included in the admission price. As well, local food carts ReUp BBQ and Ursu Korean BBQ Tacos will be on hand to sell their delectable edibles.

    Tickets for this inaugural event are available by advance purchase only for $50 (includes a full evening of entertainment and drinks). All proceeds from this one of a kind fundraising event will help fund the Roundhouse’s community programming.

    To purchase tickets, visit the Roundhouse Community Centre website, call 604.713.1800 to charge by phone, or stop by the Roundhouse in person. Tickets are available at the front desk. 

    Venue: Roundhouse Community Centre
    Date: August 19
    Time: 7 pm – midnight

    The Roundhouse offers a range of free and low-cost programs to the public, including the Jazz Festival, Diwali, Art exhibitions, Sustenance Festival, Children’s concerts and much more. Fundraisers such as Beerlesque help to keep high quality programming available at little or no cost to the community. Come out and show your support!

  • Mar24

    Yaletown’s boutique Opus Hotel will switch off all its (non-essential) lights on March 26th at 8:30 pm, in honour of the 4th annual Earth Hour.

    Day 24: Candlelight
    [Photo courtesy of puremango, on Flickr]

    Bulbs will be replaced with candles. The entire property—from the front desk and lobby to One Hundred Nights—will be romantically lit by candlelight.
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  • Dec10

    *The following post is a contest entry for the YaletownBlog, who together with the Yaletown Business Improvement Association are working to raise awareness in Yaletown’s unique business and culture scene.

    Yaletown was intriguing to me right from the start. My husband and I emigrated to Canada from Western Europe in mid-2005. We’d settled into another fantastic neighbourhood, Kitsilano, however each time we headed over the Granville Bridge towards downtown, we couldn’t help but notice the collection of tall, sleek glass structures made famous by Douglas Coupland’s read, City of Glass.

    Nighttime, Yaletown
    [photo credit: Duane Storey]

    When we were finally settled into our digs, we ventured out one evening and discovered a cobble-stoned, cozy atmosphere reminiscent of many European cities. The restaurants had patios! The streets weren’t filled with two-way congestion-inducing traffic.

    We admired its well-dressed locals shopping with their well-dressed small dogs or sipping coffee at street corner cafés.

    Yaletown pooch

    My favourite Yaletown dining destination? There are many. It’s probably a toss-up between Goldfish Pacific Kitchen and the Blue Water Café, both worthy of either a special night out or of showing off to visitors. Growing up, my family would often vacation on Martha’s Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts. We grew to appreciate seafood there and when I think of Goldfish Pacific Kitchen’s seared Qualicum Bay scallops or the Blue Water Café’s infamous Seafood Tower, my mouth begins to water!

    Middle Tier
    [photo credit: Sifu Renka]

    It’s been a handful of years since then, and a wealth of events have taken place in this vibrant community.

    I particularly enjoyed the events that took place during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

    Yahoo sports reception

    husky dogs

    Deadmau5

    Flickr Tweetup during 2010 Winter Olympic Games

    Yaletown has also been host to a Best of Yaletown Burger competition on Canada Day,

    Yaletown burger competition-120

    a photo marathon,

    12x12 Photo Marathon event poster

    World Cup soccer events,

    Waiting to get inside Society

    and one of my husband’s favourite activities, road cycling races.

    Just a few of the many great reasons to ♥ Yaletown!

  • Aug28

    Opus Hotel 100 Days

    I was invited last night to the launch of Opus Hotel’s 100 Days pop-up restaurant, currently taking over the hotel’s former Elixir Bistro space until the end of 2010. It took only six days to renovate the eight year space that they occupied.
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  • Aug12

    Are you a closet shutterbug? Grab your analog SLR camera and register for the second annual 12×12 Photo Marathon, coming September 12th to Vancouver.

    One roll of 12 exposure 35 mm film, one theme to challenge your creative mind per hour, and off you go, interpreting each hour’s theme to your individual taste. No Photoshop allowed! I read about this event as it unfolded last year and got a ticket in time to partake in the creative brainstorming and socializing that will inevitably unfold during the event’s 12 hour duration.

    The brainchild of Morten Rand-Hendriksen, a team of six creative photographers have helped to shape the event and I’m sure it will get a lot of attention. The event has already caught the eye of Vancouver Sun’s Gillian Shaw, who’s posted a story on her weekly tech blog, Digital Life.

    Tickets will likely go fast are now sold out, as only 60 entrants are allowed to participate. Blenz Coffee on Helmcken will serve as base for the day. This is where the participants will meet up once an hour to get each new theme assignment.

  • Apr16

    This morning’s Likemind Vancouver was held at Starbucks in Yaletown. The turnout is always great and many industries are represented, although a healthy proportion are communication designers, web designers and developers. Mark Busse and Richard Band host the event, held around the world every third Friday of the month. The group meets from 8-9(ish) AM in a varying café location each month. The door is open to anyone with an interest in meeting and networking with other creative-minded folk.

    Likemind Vancouver April 2010
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