Vancouver Tasting Plates: Marpole Edition
Once a month, local food blogger Vancouver Foodster presents Tasting Plates, a chance for locals & foodies alike to try out the cuisine in a particular area of Vancouver, Canada. Sampling the cuisine of 4 to 5 restaurants in one night, Tasting Plates gives you the chance to step outside your comfort zone by dining in locations you might not otherwise go to. I take you through my recent experience of Tasting Plates: Marpole Edition.
4 restaurants, a 2 hour stint, my mother in tow (a foodie herself, who had been planning weeks in advance how we would chart our night of restaurant expedition) and a night of food! My recent jaunt to Marpole (which for a Maple Ridge resident like me, feels like the other side of the world) and my first experience with Tasting Plates did not let me down!
Bonjour Marketplace
Bonjour Marketplace was our first stop – a hybrid of health food store, cafe, and wellness center, I was greeted by an array of delicious vegetarian cuisine: Brown Rice Risotto, Enzyme Salad and Multi-nutrient fermented noodles (A refreshing change, lacking the heaviness or grease which often is present in regular pasta). The real star of the show was the Hearty Carrot Soup: chunks of veggies and warming broth all wrapped up in a cute mason jar. Throw in samples of their Honey Red Jade Tea & their Pine Oolong Tea, and my health kick for the night was set.
The Yard
Next we decided to venture to The Yard, a small dimly lit bar literally 5 steps up the sidewalk from Bonjour, which would be the site of our beer tasting. We settled outside on their small patio, a perfect spot for people watching and to get away from the noise of the bar. 4 glasses of beer were shortly thereafter presented before each of us: Granville Island Honey Lager, Granville Island ISA, Granville Island Pale Ale and Fuggles & Warlock. A fan of sweeter, lighter beers, my personal favourites were the Honey Lager, and the Pale Ale and although I don’t consume beer on a regular basis, it was a fantastic opportunity to try out some new bevvies and expand what knowledge I have of beer.
Gigi Blin
For our 3rd stop we headed to Gigi Blin, a small boutique coffee shop & supplier of the yummiest affogato I’ve ever had! A simple concoction of a shot of espresso poured over ice cream, Gigi Blin included a variety of baked goods as well as their house made pear soda (tart, sweet & refreshing!) in their Tasting Plates menu. We also had a chance to try out pasta sauce from Kids Can Cook Gourmet, a brother-sister duo whose appearance and success in pitching their delicious, yet healthy pasta sauce on the television show Dragon’s Den, has since skyrocketed the popularity of their little business.
Cafe Mai Mai
Our last stop of the night was Cafe Mai Mai, a small hole in the wall Vietnamese restaurant, where we were presented with a bowl of Beef Pho, and a pork and vegetable spring roll (which was much tastier than the spring rolls at my usual Pho joint). I felt the most welcomed at this small eatery, with the manager coming back often to make sure we had everything we needed and to explain that the chili sauce was made in house every morning.
Stomachs content, raving about our experience, we drove home already looking forward to the next Tasting Plates. Join Tasting Plates on April 13th when they take on the cuisine of Central Richmond.
