BC Dumpling Festival

For the 4th time in a month, we got ourselves out to a festival. Also, for the 2nd time in that month, we found ourselves at Town Centre Park (Lafarge Lake) in Coquitlam for one of those festivals, this time the first BC Dumpling Festival.

We have found that all of these festivals have been wildly popular and the crowds impressive. Presumably, this is because we were all going crazy after so many activities were curtailed during 2 years or so of pandemic. Whatever the reason, we were smart enough to show up as the festival started instead of mid-afternoon when the crowds (and lines) were at their peak. One more thing I might add to our festival strategy next time is to not only arrive early but to buy up as much food as we intend to eat as early as possible and then spend our time happily munching away as the masses lined up. 

So we arrived at 11am, hungry as always and decided to visit our friends at Shameless Buns. 

These days I am all in on the plant-based thing and so we ordered Jacked Up Coconut Fries which were both delicious and can be ordered vegan! The fries served at SB have just a bit of a crispy coating which gives them a wonderful texture. The topping was also tasty and meaty thanks to jackfruit. By not topping the plate with the garlic-calamansi aioli this vegetarian dish becomes vegan. I would just like to remind SB that vegan mayo is now pretty available and I kind of missed the aioli!

After getting our blood sugar up to an acceptable level, we looked around to see what else was available for the vegan. Sure enough, Momo Joy was serving plant-based dumplings. Those of us in line wryly commented that this was at least the shortest line at the festival, that being one of the greatest advantages of being vegan!

We ordered 2 plates of momos. One was plant-based meat, cabbage and onions, while the other was spinach and "cheese". As both plates looked the same, I will spare you the unnecessary 2nd photo. The dumplings were tasty enough and the sauce was good and even featured a bit of spice. These were obviously hand made but we found the wrapper to be either a little too thick or undercooked and overly chewy. It might just be that I don't know enough about momos and they are supposed to be on the chewy side. One thing for sure is that it was almost impossible for these folks (or any other vendors) to keep up with the hungry crowds so it is hard to judge their product in today's chaos. Momo Joy will be available from retailers, presumably soon.

Today, the main stage was not occupied by steel drums (as at the Caribbean Festival) but guqin and guzheng among other things. I am no expert in Chinese music but considered this pleasant and quite beautiful!

There were quite a few activities for the kids as well, in this case, thanks to TD bank.

We took one last dive into the food vendor row before leaving. We did expect this to be a hefty time investment. That's OK though as we were here knowing that we could not be in a big rush. This time, my carnivore wife (no judgement and she can eat and do what she wants) wanted chicken and rice so we tried the Mashik Korean Fusion Food Truck.

She seemed pretty content with the results. This was Fried Chicken Bibimpap and the chicken, egg and vegetables all rested on a bed of rice.

So the food was great, the entertainment was nice and even the weather cooperated. Well done to the organizers! We look forward to next year's festival!

Sprouted Oven

I guess that I need to pay more attention. I get coffee sometimes from a Starbucks in McCallum Junction (Cabela's) across from The Sprouted Oven and as it is "By Silver Hills Bakery", I had always just dismissed it as an overpriced bread store. It turns out that while the bread can be a little pricey, there is a lot more going on than meets the eye from the outside and it is all plant-based!.

We arrived Sunday just before noon and the lineup to order was significant but moved pretty quickly. Mharie sat at one of the few tables while I joined the lineup (more people seemed to order to go rather than sit down with their food so a table was not a problem). They have a few outside tables if you prefer.

Curiously, we started with dessert first. Baked goods await your choosing at the display counter which ends at the cash register where you can order from the kitchen Sounds a little confusing but it works. At any rate, we ordered a date bar and it was amazing! Mharie immediately went up and ordered another one to take home! It was sweet and loaded with dates. Delicious!

Now Sprouted Oven seems to love flax seeds inordinately and as my life is very much allergic to them, there was quite a limit to what we could order from the bakery. Fortunately, they have a binder with the ingredients for each item listed. They allowed us to borrow the binder and we figured out that the Cardamom Cinamon Buns were flax free. Not quite as impressive looking as their weekend cinnamon buns but very good just the same.

They offer 3 or 4 vegan pizzas at SO and we decided to try the Rosemary, Feta and Potato Pizza which was white sauce based and an oil and balsamic vinaigrette to finish. The crust was nicely chewy and just a little charred and crispy. I'm pretty sure that they don't have a wood-burning oven back there so I'm not sure how they got that done so well!

The soup of the day was Cream of Celery which was also very good if not startlingly Instagram-able!

Only a vegan could get this excited about a Grilled Cheese Sandwich! I'm not sure what their mix of PB cheeses is but no one would suspect that it was anything but dairy cheese. So rich and just nicely salty and perfect!

This is a lovely and bright room for casual dining. As mentioned, I notice that most folks seem to be getting their food to go. They have some hard-to-find items in their grocery area. I was a little excited to see Butler's Soy Curls which previously required a trip to White Rock to find. That being said, some of these grocery items are a touch on the pricey side. This is a great place for a plant-based lunch!

Food                  4 1/2 out of 5

Comfort             4 out of 5

Service              4 12 out of 5

Value                 4 out of 5

Lotus Seed Vegan

As our Plant Curious coupon book runs out at the end of August, and as I grow ever nearer to committing to a vegan diet for the long term, we decided to start visiting a few more places listed in the book. It has already paid for itself and frankly, it was never about the savings but more about discovering new plant-based eateries.

Located on Broadway between Heather and Willow, LSV is a warm and welcoming place leaning towards Vietnamese cuisine and the health food end of the plant-based spectrum (i.e. nothing is deep fried but that's OK). 

I was a little disappointed to learn that they no longer had their Om-melette available. This mung bean batter creation has become impractical due to the cost of importing some of the ingredients. That's where we live now. No use worrying about it. Anyway, we ordered a Mango Salad to share to start and we weren't sorry about that. The mango itself was bright and refreshing served on a bed of greens with cashews and a tamarind-based salad dressing that was served on the side.

They offer a vegan pho at LSV but we decided to try their Hanoi Noodle Soup instead. Based on a vegan stock with plenty of flavour and some pretty decent noodles, the greens on top were surprising but worked well as we folded them into the soup. As my wife is allergic to flax seeds, they served us a couple of little soft biscuits on the side that might have normally melted into the stock and added some richness.

The Pineapple Express Bowl was surprising and great! I expected a typical brown rice bowl with toppings but this came hot with Daiya shredded cheese richly melted over top! Additionally, the bowl features house-made Sunny Pate, a sunflower seed, soybean etc. pate that has a wonderful texture and savoury flavour. We loved this menu item.

LSV has a widely varied menu with a number of other things that we would love to try. Service was friendly and fairly quick but not so quick that we suspected that the food was not fresh! When I told our host about my wife's allergy, she was on it! This is a good go-to place for someone who is trying to eat plant-based full time.

Food              4 out of 5

Comfort         4 out of 5

Service          4 out of 5

Value             4 out of 5

 

Car Free Day New West

Just as a plant-based diet helps mitigate the effects of climate change in a huge way, so reducing the number of single-occupant vehicles on our roads can be a huge step forward in solving what has become a dire situation. This will affect our children and grandchildren in a devastating manner if we don't continue making changes. It's sad that science denial has become a political thing to a large extent but if you still believe that climate change is not a real thing then you need to get your head out of your ass and start reading some peer-reviewed scientific studies. Sorry! Let's get back to Car Free Day New West!

We were welcomed by the balloon arch as we got off Skytrain at Columbia station (how ironic would it have been to have driven here?) Just so you know, Mharie and I always drive to Scott Road Station and take transit from there. Mind you, we drive an electric car so we could in good conscience drive to most places but we would still be contributing to congestion.

One of the points of Car Free Day is to promote transit as an alternative to single-occupant vehicles and to that aim, there were transit buses past and present on display. If you have never been on a bus, these walk-through displays may have been quite interesting....mind you, if you have never been on a bus, then shame on you!

The exciting bus display was not the only thing available to attendees. There was a whole section for kids which included displays of prestidigitation and a bouncy house!

There were adult beverages available, presumably for those who had taken transit. It was not a blistering hot day (in fact there was a nice breeze) but a refreshing beverage is never a bad idea.

And there was entertainment from 4 stages! These young fellows are called Later Days. I immediately went to Apple Music and downloaded their EP! Very impressive!

Additionally, there were vendors of all kinds of clothing, crafts and so on. But you know that we really came for the food because the Columbia StrEat Food Truck Fest was also a part of this thing!

Choices at a food truck fest are always a little sparse if you are intending to eat animal product free unless an actual vegan food truck is present. Some research had revealed a couple of things and you can never go wrong with a banh mi.

Camion Cafe offered an All Vegan Bahn Mi which featured portabello mushrooms along with all the usual good stuff. My wife was very impressed with the bun which was nicely crunchy on the outside. This was probably the bargain of the festival at just over $10!

We also shared an all fruit popsicle from Rico n Lalo.

The watermelon bar was completely refreshing and even had little chuncks of fruit!

So, good food, good music, nice weather and a timely message. All of this added up to a decent way to spend some time on a Saturday afternoon. Nicely done Translink and The Downtown New West BIA!

Down 2 Earth Plant Parlour

I visited D2E in January of 2021. That would have been a Veganuary experience and I was discovering places that I did not know existed. That was also mid-pandemic so they were operating with a more limited menu although it was still impressive in what it offered

Things have changed a bit since then and we hope they continue but frankly, don't assume that we are completely free of this pandemic thing. My wife and I visited on the BC Day long weekend and were very impressed again with Down 2 Earth!

We started with their BBQ Flatbread. This featured Kula Kitchen's plant-based ribs. I have wanted to try K.K.'s products but so far have found the pick-up hours and locations challenging from an Aldergrove resident's point of view. These ribs on this flatbread contributed a meaty sweet bbq flavour. Along with roasted corn, pineapple, brussels sprouts and cashew cheese, this was an impressive dish.

I always like to try a house-made burger; It is called the Above and Beyond Burger and I almost allowed myself to assume it was a Beyond patty (and I can have that at home) but realized that no, it is above and beyond! This patty is house-made and starts with brown basmati rice. It wasn't the most cohesive but was still very tasty and comforting. Complete with some impressive condiments (chimichurri mayo and yam mustard) lettuce, tomato and onion and all on a top-notch bun, this was an excellent burger! We were also impressed by the earthy beet ketchup which was a little more savoury and a little less sweet than the regular stuff.

Also kicking some serious ass was the Carbonara. A little challenging to produce a plant-based version, it was nonetheless creamy and rich. Multiple plant-based cheeses and cashew cream hit all the typical Carbonara notes in the sauce while a pumpkin seed topped things off. An undefined plant bacon and peas rounded out the dish. Mharie commented that if she could eat like this always, she would definitely throw in with my vegan intentions!

D2E is a comfortable place and even has some tables outside weather permitting. Service was quick enough, friendly and enthusiastic about their plant-based philosophy. Do not fail to put this place on your list!

Food             4 1/2 out of 5

Comfort        4 1/2 out of 5

Service         4 1/2 out of 5

Value            4 1/2 out of 5  

                            

Powell Street Festival

And here is something else we haven't done in at least a couple of years....attend the Powell Street Festival! This event first happened in 1977 making it one of Canada's longest-running and now largest community arts festivals.

Japanese -Canadian music, crafts, martial arts and of course food are all highlighted at Oppenheimer Park and its environs, this year on July30 and 31 although the full festival takes place over a week in several locations. We enjoyed the music of  Kotojiro with Cosei on the main stage on Sunday afternoon. Of course, you know we came for the food and arrived starved.

Usually, we go looking for something that we have never tried before but our hunger situation overruled that approach in favour of looking for something that would happen quickly! We have eaten very good food from both Teriyaki Boys and Japadog and the lines happened to be short.

We enjoyed Ginger Eggplant with Tofu (vegan btw) which was a comforting concoction served over rice with their finely shaved cabbage and sesame dressing. We love this!

Somewhat less vegan was the Japanese Grilled Squid with what I assume was teriyaki sauce and Kewpie Mayo on the side. Nicely tender and flavourful (at least for squid). This was one of their daily specials for the festival.

And from next door at Japadog came the uncomplicated Chicken Karaage Dog. Everyone loves karaage chicken so why not put it on a bun? Very good! Having staved off collapse due to low blood sugar we began to explore (which mostly means finding other things to eat).

In addition to the food trucks, both sides of Alexander Street were filled with some amazing crafts such as locally made porcelain and clothing. Something for everyone.

For us, one important craft was the vegan ice cream made by Secret Ice Cream.

Mango Vanilla had been their most popular flavour this weekend and we understood why. The ice cream has a coconut base but it was barely detectable next to the mango flavour (not that we have a problem with coconut).

Between snacks, we were permitted to enjoy the beautiful tranquility afforded by the Vancouver Buddhist Temple. If we had time for meditation it would have been a complete experience.

Apparently, Spam is a thing in Japan. Possibly it migrated from the Philippines where the American military had a base for many years (and lived on the stuff).

One way that Spam shows up in Japan and in Japanese Canadian culture is as musubi. We have made this at home before from a recipe in Hormel's own cookbook. It can be tasty!

 

We enjoyed a demonstration by Katori Shinto Ryu Kenjutsu. I noticed that the precision sword work we saw was for self defense rather than attacking. I don't know enough about the art to say if that is primarily its purpose. These folks were clearly dedicated to learning their craft.

Of course, there were more than a few ways to quench your thirst here but why not with matcha from Ichiyo's Matcha Bar? I'm not crazy for matcha but nice and cold it worked for this hot day.

It was nice to see Oppenheimer Park dressed up and hosting the vibrant Japanese Canadian community. There was so much more than what we saw (and ate) with a full schedule of events on the 2 major stages and around the venue. We won't miss it next year and hope to stay longer.