Myca Farms Ltd.

I had no idea Myca Farms existed. I do know now and I'm pretty happy about that! I have had the Too Good To Go app on my phone for quite a while (the app is about giving restaurants and other food purveyors the chance to make food that otherwise might be wasted, available in surprise bags or other discounted arrangements). I have not used it because there has been little available in Aldergrove and I'm not going to drive 30 km to save a few vegetables (or whatever) Then last week, I opened it up to see Myca Farms was selling bags of gourmet mushrooms. 

Located at 6745 on 264th, they are actually close to the freeway for you Fraser Valley commuters and just a little hop north of Aldergrove! A gourmet mushroom farm! This is great! So I placed my order and went to pick up a bag of mushrooms. 

They were good enough to show me around! The boss/manager/owner is clearly quite excited about this venture (I checked before posting this picture as I didn't want to give away secrets) and probably gave me more mushrooms than he should have (there go the profits). So far, they have been mostly available at farmer's markets and such but they are also now supplying to Chickpea (one of our great vegan restaurants in Vancouver). This is a new farm and they have been cranking out mushrooms for only a few months so far.

As an indication of my lack of professionalism, I somehow bumped my camera off of the proper ratio so this is going to look odd but also delicious! What you are looking at is a pile of Oyster Mushrooms, as well as Lion's Mane Mushrooms and I'm not even sure what else.

When in doubt, deep fry but you can eat these raw or cooked or even dry them if you like.! The Lion's Mane are very meaty (and apparently full of proteins as well). I used a mostly dry batter and put together an Asian-style dipping sauce. I don't miss meat since I made the full switch to plant-based eating but if you do, you will find these amazing.

My wife has been trying plant-based versions of Filipino dishes that she has always made. This is Arroz Valenciana, typically made with chicken, miniature bananas, raisins and rice. In this version, she replaced the chicken with Oyster Mushrooms which she marinated in tomato and Filipino ketchup. It was delicious and again profited from the meaty mushrooms!

There is no limit to what you can do with mushrooms as vegans and omnivores are both aware.

Go to mycafarms.ca to learn more!

Freshii - Vegan Options

Having learned just enough about factory farming and how chickens have been bred into something that can barely stand up by the time they are ready for slaughter, I will choose a salad every time. Not only that, the pickle chips at Mary Browns are shite. Admittedly, they don't have any pickle chips at Freshii but they do have some options for the vegan in a hurry or even not in a hurry!

This one is located at McCallum Junction (Cabela's) in Abbotsford. To be honest, we came here to visit Sprouted Oven, the plant-based cafe and grocery but they are closed Saturday. Fortunately, Freshii turned out to be a pretty good backup plan. They are in the process of building a Freshii in Aldergrove so we will have another close-to-home fast food vegan option soon!

We tried this Spicy Lemongrass Soup and it was pretty decent....needed salt. The rice noodles provided some heft and a nice chew. There was a decent mix of veggies and aromatics.

We also tried the Buddha Satay Bowl with falafel (a weird choice on our part) as a protein. The spicy peanut sauce was nice but not really spicy. The falafel wasn't bad, especially considering that we had not set our sights high. A few decent veggies and noodles rounded this out.

I know they look the same because of the crispy wonton garnish but this is fully a salad. Honest to god though, I can't remember or figure out which one it was! All I know for sure was that we happily wolfed all of this down and were able to get on with our day!

I'm not sure why I didn't order one of those as a wrap as it is an option. They have burritos as well and tofu and falafel are your vegan protein choices. We weren't out of pocket much and didn't walk away feeling gross because we had just eaten an animal and needed to digest it. The place is bright and comfortable enough and the staff were friendly and helped us out with the vegan questions.

I look forward to visiting the Aldergrove branch when they open! 

Food                       3 out of 5

Vegan options        3 out of 5

Comfort                  3 out of 5

Service                   3 1/2 out of 5

Value                      3 1/2 out of 5

Chillibar - Vegan Options

We love a restaurant that not only offers some plant-based dishes but also makes them evident on their menus. Some places clearly don't care enough (and I understand that the vegan client base is not huge as far as their bottom line is concerned) or don't understand what vegan means (the line between vegan and vegetarian seems unnecessarily blurred at times ). If only for the sake of the future of the planet, it would be good to see every eatery at least make some small effort. It doesn't have to be every dish on the menu. Chilli Bar has enough plant-based offerings that we weren't able to sample them all on our first visit!

Located in south Langley at 192nd and 28th, Chilli Bar caters mainly to the workforce in this industrial area during the week. They have a lunch buffet (good for you omnivores) and do a lot of take-out but they are also open on Saturday from 4 to 8 when we managed to give them a try.  It is cafeteria-style (order at the counter and pick up your food when it's ready).

We started with the Mini Veggie Spring Rolls which were crispy and filled with julienned vegetables. They came with soy sauce and Wings plum sauce in little packets that made me harken back to my childhood early Cantonese food experiences. These were clearly straight out of the wok and pretty tasty!

They serve a few Szechuan-style dishes as well and the menu labels spicy dishes as well as vegan dishes (thankfully the gluten-free diet craze is ignored whether intentionally or not). The Kung Pao Vege Chop Suey was labelled as spicy but was not. It may be that the kitchen took into account my exceptionally pale skin and assumed that we would not want it spicy. The dish was nevertheless very good and we got our veggies for the day!

More perfectly wok-seared veggies were a part of the Tofu and Broccoli with Black Bean Sauce. Again, not spicy enough but a rich dish that we very much enjoyed.

Another throwback to my youth, the Vegetable Chow Mein was great. Is all about the noodles with this and they had just enough chew and a few veggies and it rounded out our meal. In reality, this was a dinner for 4 easily as we took a good half of everything home. 

Prices seem pretty reasonable considering the portion sizes and the dining area itself was comfortable enough. We talked a bit with the owner who started this business in 2019 (not great timing) but seems to be doing OK. This is not a deeply exotic menu but finding vegan comfort food that is not too far away is a win for us and we look forward to trying a few other menu items.

Food                    4  out of 5

Vegan options     4 out of 5

Comfort               3 1/2 out of 5

Service                4 out of 5

Value                   4 out of 5

Craffles - Vegan Options

So I thought that Craffles was a cross between waffles and croissants, but it turns out to be waffles and crepes, which makes a lot more sense. Still, I am intrigued by the idea of crossing a waffle with a croissant! Craffles serves tapioca flour crepes and acai bowls, making me think that there is really a Brazillian connection here but I was so busy stuffing my face that I didn't think to ask about that!

Mharie and I generally practice a sort of intermittent fasting meaning that we usually don't eat until noon but trying Craffles meant that we would have to adjust our schedule and so we did! Located on Davie near Richards, we showed up at the opening time and already were the third in line. The place got stupid busy even before we were finished, so plan accordingly.

What kind of people have a milkshake for breakfast? Of the monster milkshakes on their menu (presumably aimed at the lunchtime crowd) one was vegan and we had to try it to be able to comment!

And oh my God, I would eat this for breakfast every day! Plant-based vanilla ice cream and cocoa powder and all sorts of cookie crumbles and toasted marshmallows and an ice cream bar! A little pricey at $18.50 but well worth it and highly shareable!

We had OMG It's Vegan Croquette which was also pretty excellent! The cheese centres were melty (always the measure of vegan cheese) while the exterior was crispy and hot. It could have used some hot sauce or a dip but we wolfed them down before we could ask for something. We need to slow down!

This was Green Crispy Chick'n Tapioca. It doesn't look like much at first glance but the tapioca flour crepe had an interesting slightly crispy texture. Try it vegan or otherwise.

Once we busted it open we found the crepe was filled with good stuff. Spinach, Beyond Chicken and more wonderful melty vegan cheese.  I am not an expert but tapioca flour is apparently gluten-free although Craffles does not plug it as such. Gluten-free is nonsensical unless you are genuinely gluten sensitive or have celiac disease. The gluten-free fad diet is ridiculous and will someday be revealed as harmful so well done, Craffles (whether it is your intention or not)

OK, so this is a craffle. It needs some toppings and stuff but we wanted to at least sample the base element even if we had already stuffed ourselves. Just a waffle really....not amazing beyond the regular waffle but quite good! 

This is a bright, comfortable place with friendly, efficient staff. I utterly failed to get an interior photo because they distracted me at the front counter (yes, oh sure, it's their fault!). They seem to have a soft spot for vegans and the manager (just guessing) wanted my input and indicated that variations on the croquettes (waffles and croquettes?) were coming as well as more plant-based additions to the menu. I have since discovered more vegan options listed under the savoury section of the menu! We are not done with this place! An excellent place for plant-based and omnivorous eaters to meet!

Food                        4 1/2 out of 5

Vegan options         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

Moltaqua - Vegan Options

I first visited Moltaqua at a Vanfoodster Tasting Plates event a few years ago and my intention has been to return ever since. Happily, they seem to have a pretty good number of vegan options (as North African food often does) and so we set out to visit their newer Yaletown location on Mainland near Nelson. I apologize for my front of the restaurant photo. Not sure what happened with that! The actual restaurant sign is not quite so blurry!

I was embarrassed to show up at 5 but that is just how our day went and we were low blood sugar hungry so we just decided that nourishment trumped coolness (fucking Trump...oh, sorry). The staff greeted us warmly and non-judgmentally even though h we had a 6:30 reservation! We are so uncool that I always think about Seinfeld's Florida parents. Anyway...

We ordered the Vegetarian (vegan option) Sampler Platter For 2 People. It gave us a taste of many different dishes. Our server showed up first with 2 soups (2 small servings of each soup) which were rich and tasty. The Besara Soup was a bit of a split pea soup (probably fava bean) rich with olive oil which was amazing. Mharie did not care for the olive oil richness and pushed this one my way (not a problem). The Harirra Soup was more of a tomato soup with chickpeas and north African spice. Also amazing!

The bread flowed freely and this was some great pita. They brought us more than one basket and we wolfed it down.

The main part of the sampler platter came all at once. Every one of these dishes was amazing. I couldn't put my finger on what was so unique about the beet salad but it turned out to be orange! Three of the dishes were substantial bean or eggplant concoctions, 4 were more saladish and then there was the bell pepper spread.

One significant thing that was missing from the sampler was a pastilla. This was a crispy phyllo pastry dish. It was close to Filipino chow mein (fine noodles and vegetables) wrapped in phyllo but definitely had a uniquely North African spice taste beyond that!

Service at Moltaqua was exceptional. The staff look after tables by committee and so there is never a time when you are wondering where everyone is. Empty dishes disappeared as if by magic. They were very friendly and enthusiastic about what they served. Good for vegans but everyone else too.

Food                      4 out of 5

Vegan options       4 out of 5

Comfort                 4 out of 5

Service                  4 out of 5

Value                     4 out of 5  

The Eatery - Vegan Options

We started our Sunday morning out at UBC at the beautiful Nitobe Memorial Gardens, trying to meditate without thinking constantly about food. By the time noon rolled around though, thoughts of sushi gradually overwhelmed my concentration on my breathing and we gave up and moved on.

We had decided to try The Eatery on West Broadway near Alma, as they seemed to have quite a few vegan rolls and a few vegan adjacent dishes on their roughly Japanese menu. When we arrived at opening time (noon) there was no problem getting a table.

We started with the Just Yams Please Tempura which was pretty decent and substantial as well. I could have ordered the Veggie Tempura as I didn't realize that this meal would become so sweet potato centric by the time we were done.

The Veggie Gyoza were next and came with an appropriate dip. The filling was veggie obviously but a little non-descript and these were OK but not amazing.

The Inari Nigiri was a little sweet and tasty. A simple treat that we liked.

We ordered 2 rolls from the Funky Veggie Rolls menu, the Coconut Surprise and the Mango Paradise. Both of these were tasty enough with bright flavours.  The Coconut Surprise was a bit of an odd mix with sweet potato and asparagus  (and coconut) while the mango roll was rounded out with avocado.  They tended to fall apart a bit quicker than is convenient and at about $9 per roll they were a little pricy.

Finally, I ordered Japanayam Fries having mixed up the vegan and vegetarian symbols on the menu. We ended up with a big bowl of yam fries with Dragon Sauce on the side. Fortunately, our server was sharp enough to exclude the hollandaise and the rest of the non-vegan ingredients but the result was a little sparse. Pretty good fries but we were getting a little full of sweet potato at this point.

It would have made a little more sense for us to order a donburi and have them veganize it rather than do that with the fires, however...hindsight. This is a funky place with decor that is worth spending some time exploring. I am not sure if there is any kind of theme to the stuff hanging from the ceiling although I am leaning toward Marvel Comics or comics in general?

Our server was friendly and helpful but the menu is so long and a little confusing that there was little that she could do. Although there are enough vegan options on the menu, we were not blown away by any of them. Veganizing the vegetarian options is not a great idea either. I feel like this might be more of a place to hang with friends and have a few drinks with the eats as an afterthought or maybe just the general omnivorous menu makes people happier. We found what we had to be a little pricy and just not a great fit for us.

Food                          2 1/2 out of 5

Vegan options            2 1/2 out of 5

Comfort                      3 1/2 out of 5

Service                       4 out of 5

Value                          2 1/2 out of 5

 

 

Quesada - Vegan Options

I would say that the lack of vegan fast food options is a positive thing. Being no longer tempted to stop and grab a Popeyes Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwich on the way home will probably add years to my life. Once in a while though, the ability to stop and get something to eat without too much planning would be a bit of a relief and so when I saw that Quesada had vegan options on their menu, we decided to check it out.

There are lots of Quesadas but the nearest to us is in West Abbotsford just north of High Street on Mt Lehman Road. I had never paid attention and didn't know it was there! It was steady enough with customers but not crazy on Saturday at 1 ish. Line up and place your order and they will walk you through what you want on your burrito or tacos or whatever, just like at Subway.

We started with 3 hard shell tacos. Hard shell tacos always remind me of my first brush with what we called Mexican food at Taco Time in Bellingham 50 years ago. Our family drove there many times just for crispy and fairly lame tacos (and Mexi fries) but we thought it was great! Anyway, these were similar but the topping options were a little more impressive with the pickled onion, slaw and cilantro etc.

It was the Saucy Chipotle Tofu that sucked me in here and that Quesada is promoting at the moment, that was our choice of protein on these tacos. I have to be honest that this was pretty tasty and I would order it again. At $11.39 for 3 tacos, it's not a terrible deal considering that we are not in Tijuana.

Next up was a really big burrito and it was not even the largest size! I never order burritos because it is usually just a big flour tortilla with too much rice and beans. In this case that was the goal!

The proteins we chose were black and refried beans. Then we had the same choices of toppings (or fillings, I guess) as the tacos. It is not hard to end up with a nice spicy kick by choosing hot salsa and fresh jalapenos. This was another tasty healthy fast food type option that we enjoyed and will keep in mind!

Hey, this is not vegan but my wife loves churros. Unless I'm cooking or we're at a fully plant-based place, she is her own person. These were pretty good churros by all accounts except that the caramel sauce was a little too solid. That could have been solved with a little heat, I'm sure.

So under $30 including a soft drink, tax and tip and we even brought some leftovers home (please, never waste food!) The eating area was comfortable enough for a fast food joint and they even had an interesting pendant-type light fixture, which I appreciated. The staff were helpful. I told them at the outset that the order would be vegan and they helped me with options (including the rather tasty vegan sauce that I did not mention above). A vegan could do worse in a pinch!

Food                        3 out of 5

Vegan options          3 out of 5

Comdort                   3 out of 5

Service                     3 1/2 out of 5

Value                        3 out of 5