Day: August 12, 2015

This place in the heart of China Town in Vancouver is both a bakery and a restaurant. The restaurant is clearly very popular by the locals, so it is possible you’ll have to queue to get a table.

If you like no-nonsense Chinese food, this place is great. If you are looking for a romantic place for wining and dining, look elsewhere. It is very well possible you’ll be seated with unknowns at the same table.

The food is absolutely delicious. I ordered the noodle soup with fish balls and wonton. It really was excellent. The broth of the soup was very savory. My boyfriend had the beef with pepper accompanied by rice. I had a little taste and this dish was really perfectly balanced. We also ordered some shrimp dumplings. Those dumplings were absolutely great. One of the best shrimp dumplings I’ve had in my life.

I was really impressed by how fast we were served. This is a fast food joint, but with healthy options. And a cheap one too, I must add. Main courses are about 10 Canadian dollar.

Portions are huge, but that isn’t necessary a problem. Staff is used to scooping the unfinished portions of the meals in a doggy bag to take home. So you can enjoy the rest of your meal later on.

An excellent place for a quick lunch!

New Town Bakery & Restaurant, 148 Pender St E, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
http://www.newtownbakery.ca/
+1 604-682-3398

Visited July 2015. You can find my review about New Town Bakery & Restaurant also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 5/5, service 3/5, food 5/5.

We went here on al beautiful summer evening. There was no line whatsoever, so it look all of five minutes to enjoy the view. Spectacular view on Mount Baker.

Vancouver Lookout, 555 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 4N6, Canada
http://www.vancouverlookout.com/
+1 604-689-0421

Visited July 2015. You can find my review about Vancouver Lookout also on TripAdvisor.

We came here by accident, but were pleasantly surprised by this lovely park. It is not busy and you have a great view on the nearby harbour. Ideal for a leisurely stroll.

Harbour Green Park, 1199 Cordova St W, Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 0A1, Canada
http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/parks-gardens-and-beaches.aspx

Visited July 2015. You can find my review about Harbour Green Park also on TripAdvisor.

This hotel is up to the standards of Best Western. Our room was clean and equipped with everything we needed (bath products, hair dryer, water boiler, coffee maker..) We would have loved for the bed to be a bit bigger though. We both love some space while sleeping. Airco was very noisy. Free wifi was available.

The hotel is located at half an hour walking from the touristic center. Nearby are lots of good and reasonably priced restaurants.

Breakfast was continental. Nothing special, but enough for a good start of the day. Everyday there was an egg preparation and some meat, cereals, bread, some pastries, fresh fruit and yoghurt. There idea of scrambled eggs was a bit different than the norm, but it was fine. You also could make your own waffles. I found it strange that you had to trow away your plates and cutlery after the meal was finished. Too much of a hassle to clean the plates?

The breakfast room was small for such a big hotel, but it never got too crowded. We took our breakfast very early (at about 6.45u) so I don’t know if seating would be a problem when you eat later.

I found the staff at the reception to be a bit indifferent. Didn’t feel very welcome and when we had a question about bus tickets, the answer was rather short.

The biggest problem we had with this hotel was the noise of the many many pigeons. I guess some had built nests on the air conditioning shafts. The sounds they produced woke me up many times at night. At one moment I even thought a pigeon got into the room, because of the loud noise. We stayed in room 412. I don’t know if other rooms also have this problem.

Best Western Plus Uptown Hotel, 205 Kingsway, Vancouver, British Columbia V5T 3J5, Canada (Formerly BEST WESTERN PLUS Uptown Hotel)

Stayed July 2015. You can find my review about Best Western Plus Uptown Hotel also on TripAdvisor. My scores: location 3/5, rooms 3/5, service 3/5.