Claudia "Food Pervert" L.'s Profile

I know I've said I would drown myself in pools of many lovely liquids in previous Yelps but I revoke all those statements and would now like to officially declare:

I would drown myself in the white chocolate pistachio dip by Medina.

Literally.

I would break into their cafe, steal buckets of their dip, fill up my tub with it and devour the entire thing up. All the while, "I would die for you" by Garbage would be playing on repeat in the background.

Parked right next to Chambar, Medina is an elegant yet homey cafe and is famed for their waffles and sandwiches. I almost gave up after multiple attempts to show up before they close at 4pm ... or before they stop serving food before 3pm ... or before they run out of waffles (I know eh, so many restrictions). Medina's employees are strict on enforcing these time limitations and didn't hesitate to give us our bill at 3:59 pm although we've only been seated for 20 minutes - not impressed.

They have a full breakfast and lunch menu fit for the business district (i.e. a tad pricey) but I go for the waffles and tea. Their waffles are tiny little things that come at $3.15 + $1 per dip. The fig and orange marmalade is divine and I've also heard sinful things about the raspberry caramel dip.

...

So.

Does anybody have a super Jimmy that works on Medina's gigantic wooden door?

A suave wine bar at night and a modern lunch bistro during the day. Chic not cheap but definitely worth a peek.

It might have been a mistake taking my caffeine-sensitive friend here because she slurped up their latte like it was the golden river and was buzzing on a caffeine high for hours. Her latte must have been equally as delicious as my awesomely rich mocha. Well, I just love any hot drink in a big fat white ceramic cup :P

Uva has lunch until 2pm with classic lunch items such as panini, salad, soup and pasta. Although I only had the mocha and a mini croissant (that costs $3 -_-), the dishes looked articulated and delicious. They do have wifi and amazing service to accompany it. Our soup went cold from too much chatting and they even added some more broth to reheat it. Don't you just love it when they make sure your food tastes good as it feels?

This is a nice quiet place with great service for a quick business meeting.

--
Why (-1) star? I still need to try the food, dude :)

When I stepped in through the glass doors of Adonia, I felt like I was transported to the Victorian era of England where I imagine people to say phrases like "how splendid", call friends "darling" and always accompany their breathy, high pitched laughter with a head tilt and a hand flip. It's one of those places where you can imagine yourself sporting a pair of long, white silk gloves to hold your embroidered cloth umbrella that keeps you and your white poodle named Toto shady. Perhaps you'd wear a dress that makes your butt stick up with and tuck away a peppermint scented handkerchief under your corset.

How blooooooooody splendid :)

I met my best friend at Adonia for a long overdue catch up session and we could not have picked a better place to gossip, giggle and gobble some goodies. Although it's quite spendy, the service, quality and atmosphere is worth the treat.

A full tea set is $23 and includes
+ Your choice of tea from their wide signature tea collection (I got the Kalahari, which is a blend of Rooibos with citrus peel and lemongrass - "how spleeeeendid")
+ A three-tiered platter of tiny sandwiches and pastries (my favourite was the potato salad, cucumber sandwich and the richly dense scones - "aaaabsolutely delightful")

The full tea set is quite filling but they also have a mini version for $14 if you only wanna nibble. Their a la carte menu is a mix of East meets West items. You'll find Asian tea time goodies like shaved ice and European classics like pasta for dinner. The menu confirmed my Asian-owned hunch as high tea aka mid-afternoon tea [haa-mm-cha] is very popular in Hong Kong. And Adonia has done an exceptionally well job at creating a cozy, Victorian atmosphere with their heavy wooden round set tables, brown sugar crystals, delicate china and a Twinnings autographed poster in the bathroom.

We ended up chatting, sipping and nibbling for three hours and the waitress even offered to refilled our individual tea pots twice.

I think I have officially fallen in love with Adonia.

"Don't forget my darlings, to share this splendid place with your darlings and your darling's darlings as well! Oooooo. Also, park on the side street of East Boulevard (on the corner of McDonald's) for free. Keep that tip hush hush though. We wouldn't want people quarreling over free parking spots now, would we? Aaaa-hah-hah-hah. It's aaaaabsoluuuutely delightful! Ta ta for now darlings."

Foodie Frenzie at The Refinery

Well my friends, we certainly had a Yelptastic time *Carleton arm swing*

There is no better way to spend a Monday night than socializing over some awesome special cocktails and fresh appies from a lounge that prides itself on sustainability. I've passed by the Refinery many times and had it on the top of my "To Eat" list and along came the perfect Yelp Elite event.

I'm not usually a fan of cocktails but their bourbon-egg-white-other-delicious-stuff mixer was absolutely addictive. Dangerously so if I must say so myself. They even made a virgin version for me so I could keep on my toes while I mingled over foodie talk.

The door prizes were awesome, great staff and inspiring owner. They have a deep appreciation of food and drink here and it shines through in their menu and their customer service.

The Refinery is definitely on my list for a place to organize a party, a place to dine and a place to love. Can't wait to come back.

Roti Roti Roti
I think I love you
Roti Roti Roti
You make me smile, you do

Roti Roti Roti
I can eat you all day
Roti Roti Roti
You really make me say

Roti Roti Roti
I think I love you
Roti Roti Roti
You make me smile, you do

Roti Roti Roti
I can eat you all day
Roti Roti Roti
You really make me say

[repeat]

Christmas wish: please take a pile of Seri Malaysia's roti and line them up in rows, sew them together, put it in a nice box, decorate it with a gold ribbon on top and deliver it to my home.

Thank you to Marc D. and Raymond O.'s reviews, I have discovered a new love.

This hole-in-the-wall is a Muslim Malaysian restaurant that has a large menu with an all-day house special of curry with rice and drink for $7. Make sure you come here with stretchy pants because it'll definitely fill up your appetite.

The curry was very tasty and ingredients, fresh. But the roti was the star of the day - it was simply bliss: thin and crispy, served with a curry sauce for dipping and melt-in-your-mouth-deliciousness. I'm used to thick and chewy roti but after Seri Malaysia's roti, my heart is torn between the two kinds. I love them both and I can't help it!

At first, the restaurant seemed creepily quiet. No background music or loud sounds from the kitchen but he owner brought life to the restaurant with his friendly smiles and conversation. Highly recommended for a lunch or dinner. Vegetarian friendly.

Notes: Cash only and closes early for dinner on weeknights.

Tacos? Cash only mi amigo.

I'm that annoying person you'll see at stores that breaks out my Spanish (or the five words I know) wherever and whenever I get the chance :P

Gracias La Taqueria for feeding me these delicious, authentic tacos!

The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear "tacos" is hard, crunchy shells and that belligerent Taco Bell chihuahua. Such is the feeble food perspective of a Chinese-Canadian who has been exposed to nothing but fast food chains for "Mexican food". La Taqueria's take on tacos is the mini soft tortilla kind (with suggested serving of 4), which I found equally delicious and arguably more authentic. Instead of an annoying gangster miniature dog as their mascot, they have an artsy, bright and gotholic look, which I absolutely adore.

In the cramped corners of this narrow cafe style eatery, you will surprised to find locally sourced ingredients and lots of vegetarian options for a reasonable price. My personal favourites are the De Picadillo (tofu with special sauce - I just love anything with "special sauce") and Raja (corn with sour cream). Don't forget to visit the counter and top off your tacos with some of their squeezable spicy sauces and lots of pickled onions!!!

You gotta check this place out if you're downtown for lunch. They even have sangria in a friggin' bottle to go! If you don't love them for the tacos, you gotta love them for that.

Is it wrong to review Vera's if I ate the vegetarian burger and still semi-fell in love with this place? If I've offended burger connoisseurs (aka Marc D.) or any of my anti-franchising friends, please forgive me ahead of time.

As I walked into the place, I couldn't help but be disgusted by all the pictures of triple-layered patties (that needed to be held together by a stick no less), smooshed between buns with wide-mouthed humans hovering over them. I even gagged on my water a little when I watch my friend eat the three patty artery clog or heart attack or whatever fat congested disorder they named it. But at the same time, I can't resist but enjoy the hickish home town feel and the wall propaganda that showed Vera's commitment to the quality of her meat (although it would be nice if they told us where it comes from).

There is a reason Vera's continue to win the award for the best burger in town and keeps their customers coming back: their concept is simple and it's friggin' delicious. Maybe the fact that I went for a six-hour hike added to the nomness (nom nom nom) of my meal but after I took one bite of my burger (with "the works"), I knew I would back. Plus, I pretty much love any place that serves vinegar with freshly deep fried french fries :P

Veras, I love you and hate you. Please don't make me eat your burgers again.

P.S. Has anyone else been to their website (http://www.verasburger...) and raised their eyebrow slash slipped a giggle when you saw the intro? Branding tactics these days...I wonder if they sell that funny lookin' chef's hat made of cow skin, it would make a nice addition to my animal couture collection sponsored by Fendi.

It's all about the lasagna baby.

When you walk into Gigi's, you might feel like you've opened the doors to an old folk's soft porno audition with the weirdly dim lights and slow R&B playing in the background but before you judge the borderline creepy atmosphere or tacky, unorganized decorations, try the lasagna.

After spending the day with someone who was fasting for Yom Kippur [yowm-kee-poor], I was in charge of finding a big, delicious meal for a reasonable price (in downtown nonetheless). Of course, I thought of Stephos immediately but knew they had a line up so we decided to walk down Davie to see what we could find.

We passed by Gigi's and I remember ordering pizza delivery a while back from their Broadway location and it wasn't bad so in we went.

As we walked in, we noticed that most of the tables were empty and the filled ones were vegetated with a couple senior citizens - who knew that there was an old folk's home nearby. The R&B music forced this place to seem semi-formal and us (i.e. me) extremely uncomfortable. I wasn't sure if I would see the senior couples gazing into each other's eyes and make out over a plate of spaghetti *_*

The menu comprises of the mainstream Italian dishes: pizza, pasta, antipasto and entrees like chicken parmesan. After much discussion and glances around the room to see if any old people were making out, we decided to get the vegetarian lasagna, chicken and mushroom fettucini in cream sauce and steak platter.

The fettucini could have been good if it had more seasoning and the steak platter looked grey but the lasagna I must say, is one of the best I've had dining out (perhaps it was the pounds of cheese melted golden brown over top).

We also had quite the intriguing wait staff: our waitress was a Jew from Belgian and could speak Hebrew, French, Flemish and English - how cool is that?! My Jewish dining companions made quite the conversation with her. I, myself enjoyed watching the other waiter prance around the room soulfully mouthing the words the the Toni Braxton's tune playing in the background.

In the future, I'll come here on two conditions:

#1) If I'm craving lasagna, downtown.
#2) When I am 72 and decide that I finally wanna date/make out again.

Ginger 62, these are the 10 things I hate about you:

1) Your token Cinderella drunk who strikes at 12am
2) And is dragged through the crowd (in her stilettos, over my toes) out the door.
2) Your stupidly long line ups
3) That make me angry when I come early
4) And realize that nobody's inside.
5) The unusual amount of greasy men that you allow in
6) (When there are normal people waiting outside)
7) Who borderline harass drunken Cinderella over there
8) Which actually makes me feel semi-guilty/bad for her.
9) But mostly, I hate you because somehow you can still pull it off
10) Even when your music is .... meh.

I'm not a frequent clubber and if you're a Vancouver dweller, I'm sure you'll agree why. The crowd is an eclectic mix of Botox-pumped cougars, random internationals and people you'd find frequenting Moxie's or Cactus Club (no offense). But all hate aside, Ginger 62 does allow you to book long guest lists online and has reasonably priced drinks. Parking is crazy as expected since it's on the Granville strip but I usually find a street spot nearby on Howe.

The only thing I look forward to when going to Ginger 62 is eating poutine at Fritz's (around the block corner http://www.yelp.ca/biz...) and pointing and laughing at all the drunken Cinderellas who are in line with me.

One bowl of jungle pho please :)

My friends and I have nicknamed this restaurant "Jungle" and I have been a loyal customer here for the past 6 years. Not a complete hole-in-the-wall and a bit cleaner and spacier than usual pho houses.

I come here for the Pho Dac Biet (house special pho) and Bun Bo Hue (spicy noodle soup). The rice and vermicelli dishes are 3/5, come here for the noodles.