Fresh & Natural Food

Archive for the ‘Restaurants’ Category

Vancouver is the largest city in Western Canada, and third largest in Canada. Located at the southwestern corner of the coastal province of British Columbia. It is well known for its majestic natural beauty, as it is nestled between the coastal mountains and the Pacific ocean. It is frequently ranked as one of the “best cities to live in” and is certainly a beautiful destination to visit.

While Vancouver is a comparatively young city, at just over 100 years, its history begins long before. The indigenous peoples (First Nations) have lived in the area for thousands of years, and Vancouver’s namesake Captain George Vancouver sailed through the First Narrows in 1792. The first settlement on the downtown peninsula was Granville, located on the spot of today’s Gastown. In the year of Canada’s confederation a saloon was built on this site and gave birth to a small shantytown of bars and stores adjacent to the original mill on the south shore of what is now the city’s harbour. A seemingly endless supply of high quality lumber was logged and sold through the ports of Gastown and Moodyville, across the inlet. Some of trees were gigantic beams which were was shipped to China to construct Beijing’s Imperial Palace), and one account maintains that the world’s windjammer fleets could not have been built without the trees of Burrard Inlet. Vancouver proper was signed into existence in 1886. The first City Hall was little more than a hand painted sign nailed to a wooden tent post. The arrival of the transcontinental railway a few years later spurred growth even more and by 1892 the area had over 20,000 residents; eighteen years later this figure was over 100,000.

Factor in constant growth every year since (many in the double digits), and Greater Vancouver today is Canada’s largest metropolitan area west of Toronto with well over 2,000,000 residents, roughly half of British Columbia’s population as a whole. It is also the fastest growing part of Canada. Greater Vancouver is one of the most ethnically diverse metropolitan areas in the world and is home to the second largest Chinatown in the world.

The city truly arrived in 1986 when Vancouver “hosted the world” with the Expo 86 World Fair. Media attention from around the world was consistently positive, and many considered it the most successful World’s Fair to date. Vancouver has been awarded the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, and this event will no doubt cast Vancouver into the world spotlight once again. It will be the largest city ever to host the winter games, and interestingly, the only city at sea level to host them.

Vancouver is perhaps best known for its scenic beauty, and the opportunities afforded by its natural environment. Vancouver is one of those rare places where you can ski in the mountains, windsurf in the ocean, and play a round of golf all in the same day. Surrounded by water on three sides, and crowned by the North Shore mountains, Vancouver is a great destination in itself, as well a a great starting point for discovering the area’s many outdoor activities.

Vancouver is a major sea port on the Pacific Ocean, and a base for many Alaska Cruise Ships in the summer.

Landmarks/Points of Interest

Canada Place Venture over to the cruise boats ready to depart and you can converse with the lucky passengers about to embark on ‘inside passage’ tours through Alaska. CP has an IMAX theatre as well. CP is located adjacent to the Pan Pacific Hotel.

The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden is the first full-sized classical Chinese garden outside China. It is located in China town on the edge of downtown Vancouver.

International Buddhist Temple is the most authentic example of traditional palatial Chinese architecture in North America. It is an edifice straight out of the Chinese past, as it resembles any authentic temple that can be found along the banks of the Yangtze River, where one of the world’s oldest civilizations originated. Come explore traditional Chinese art, culture, and the Buddhist philosophy inside this magnificent place. Free admission.

University of British Columbia This Campus has streets lined with trees and stretching over an area encompassing a small city, the UBC campus offers much to see and much to do. You can attend free lectures, relax at clothes-optional Wreck Beach [18], or see a show at the Chan Centre for Performing Arts [19]. The UBC Libraries form the second largest library collection in all of Canada (second only to University of Toronto). A must for cash-strapped visitors: UBC often hosts free events, such as seminars, theatrical performances or student concerts.

Granville Island is Vancouver’s famous public market. Along with the large market there are also numorus local art galleries, restaurants and even a brewery.

Gastown is Vancouver’s historic district, there are many tourist shops, restaurants and pubs in this area. This is also where Storyeum is located.

Most of us eat at restaurants for a variety of reasons; time and convenience are the most common motives. Below is a prepared list of quick tips for eating out of your home.

If you eat healthy food or sensible portions, that you like, you can stick with eating healthy for life.

Your portions should be spaced out over the course of the day. Water should be a part of every meal.

After you eat, your stomach should be half full, or less, with food. For every two parts of food consumed, you should drink one part water. Leave your stomach at least one quarter empty for movement of air.

When eating at a restaurant, eat half a portion, maximum, and wait five or ten minutes. Restaurant portions are commonly two to four meals on a single or double plate.

This is way too much to consume at a single sitting and you may find out that, once you pause and sip your drink, you are already full.

In the Providence, RI area, there are some restaurants where the single portions could feed a family of four. No wonder a man of 200 lbs. is now considered thin. Do not make comparisons to other people. Eat to live and enjoy your food, but do not use someone else’s over indulgence as an excuse for your own.

Establish control over your appetite. Most of us feel guilty if we don’t finish a plate. This is usually conditioning from your childhood. Bury your guilty past and have the rest “wrapped to go.”

Always eat something for breakfast and never “skip it.” When you skip breakfast, you will over-consume for it, later in the day.

Eat slowly and thoroughly chew your food.

Make sure your last meal, or last “snack” of the day, is small and nutritionally dense. Examples: Cereal with fruit, vegetable salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, rice with vegetables, and light popcorn, without the extra butter and salt. For those who eat meat or fish: turkey, chicken, or salmon salad on top of fresh greens.

In the later part of your day, skip desserts, sugary cereals, bread, and second portions.

If you absolutely must have sugar: Eat fruit, strawberries with yogurt or low fat cottage cheese, fruit with rice, or almonds with yogurt.

If you must have coffee or alcohol, beware that these should be consumed in extreme moderation. Both substances will dehydrate your body, and you will have to drink extra water to make up for it. Wine is much better than hard alcohol, but one or two glasses a day is the limit.

On my current vacation in Khon Kaen, Thailand, I had the opportunity to visit one of my favorite restaurants.

I wanted to take my girlfriend’s mother out to dinner and was told lunch would be a better idea.  Not one to argue, I agreed.

My lady asked me where I wanted to take her mom for lunch and the choice was simple.  Having been to Khon Kaen a few months ago, I told my girl that I wanted to go to Bontonmairimnam Restaurant.

This is a small restaurant just outside the city limits and right on the bank of a river.  It is cool and peaceful and has small, individual eating areas in gazebo-like wooden structures.

There is usually a cool breeze running through this outdoor restaurant and today was no exception.  After ordering a couple of cokes, some water, and a cold beer, it was time to study the menu.

Fortunately for me, the menu is in Thai and English.  This is unusual for the area and especially for a restaurant so far away from the few English-speaking tourists that visit Khon Kaen.

After poring over the menu, decisions by all were made.  We placed out order to the very attentive young lady servers and chit-chatted while we waited for our lunch.

Within 5 minutes or so, the parade of food started to arrive.  Boiled eggs, spicy papaya salad, oyster salad, squid, vegetables, and steamed rice arrived.  I had to wait a couple of more minutes for my fried dishes.

Soon, my fried shrimp and onion rings and spring rolls arrived.  I had already started with the food that the ladies ordered, as all is shared.

Picking from eight different plates and complimenting them with the rice on my plate, the food just kept on coming.

Conversation and drinks continued to flow and we ate and ate and ate.  The pace was slow, the breeze lightly setting off the wind chime, and the river flowed behind me.

Continuing to eat, it was time to order another beer from one of the girls hovering near our table.  She got it in an instant, and poured me another cold one.

After dinner goodies were available, but none of us could eat another morsel.  From veggies to seafood, to salads and friend shrimp, it was all delicious.

A final bottle of water was ordered to wash it all down and some more relaxing conversation continued.

It was time to head back to the hotel so I called for the bill and since I had been here before, was not surprised.  The grand total was 860 Baht, or roughly, 27 US dollars for 8 dishes, 2 large beers, 2 cokes, and a bottle of water.  Adding a small, 40 baht tip and we had a feast for under 30 dollars.

One of the many reasons I love Thailand.