Savory Sunday - Viva Mexicana

After a year and a half we finally found a Mexican Restaurant that we like.  Ever since we arrived in Vernon, we had been trying different restaurants to see if we can find one that is acceptable to us.  Coming from San Jose, CA we were a bit spoiled when it comes to authentic Mexican food.  We have one special restaurant that is truly our favorite.  Everywhere we go we would always compare it to Casa Teresa.  Now that we are not in that area we really miss it.  So now we found a place we can go every time we are craving for some Mexican food.  Introducing VIVA MEXICANA.  It is located along Hwy 97 in the Lake Country, BC.  The place is small and cozy and the service is amazing.  When we sat down, the man behind the counter came and sat down with us and took our order.  He introduced himself as Rabbit.  That's right, that is his name.  Anyway, after a few minutes our food arrived.  Of course I took a photo of our meal so I can share.  The first mouthful was so good.

I knew right away that I will be enjoying my dinner.  At first I thought 3 enchiladas would be too much, not this dish, I ate everything.  So if you are craving for some good Mexican food, stop by and see Rabbit.  Their menu is not very big but it has the go to dishes like tacos, enchiladas and burritos as well as nachos and quesadillas.  Almost forgot, their margaritas is great with the meal.  By the way, I just added a couple of snacks we had at the Bowling Alley

in Kelowna which was our lunch. 

Garlic Fries

Pork Cracklins aka Chicharones but with maple bacon flavor.

Freezing Friday - But it was sunny

It was a very sunny day and the roads are clear.  What can we do today?  I don't know why I suggested to go on the road and check out the famous Silver Star Mountain Resort.  Everyone has been telling us to check it out since we arrived in Vernon.  Of course we couldn't find the time because we were very busy during the first three months here.  Now that the dust has settled (as they saying goes), we thought it was a perfect day to do it.  And it was, there was no traffic, the roads were clear to and from, and the sun was out all the time we were there.  The resort was so colorful since the different buildings (hotels/condo) were painted in bright colors.  It was busy that day but not so busy that you could not find a parking.  As we get out of the car, a skier was coming down the hill, actually Jeff says she came from the place she was staying and she takes a short cut down the hill to begin her route.  There were a few restaurants that were open and after walking in the cold temperature, we decided to stop in at one of the cafe/bistro.  The name "Bugaboos" bakery and cafe.  We ordered our lunch, I had the hungarian goulash soup and Jeff had the Mexican corn soup, plus we split and Italian panini.  In addition to that, we order our coffee to keep us warm and I couldn't resist ordering the Almond Croissant.  Cost $35.00 - what did you expect, it is a resort.  There was still time to check more stores before we head home.  After two stores, we knew we were not going to buy anything because, the prices were too high for my liking.  All in all it was a good trip.  Jeff will eventually try to get back to snowboarding.  One good information, they have shuttle bus from downtown Vernon to take you up there and back.  Although the schedule only runs during the weekend and some holidays.  Here's a few photo we took. The other photos are on the road going to the resort. Maybe someday you will get a chance to visit it too. 

Failure Friday - Bon Chon restaurant

Do you know what it feels like to crave for some particular food or get excited about a new restaurant only to find out they are not what you expected?  This one particular restaurant failed at every aspect of that.  I am talking about the new Bon Chon on Princeton Plaza located in San Jose, CA.  I got all excited when I found out they opened one near my MIL's house.  Jeff and I have been to the one in Sunnyvale and our experience were totally different.  The chicken wings were great as well as the service.  We didn't even know about this restaurant until my daughter told me to check it out.  So on Friday with my MIL, we decided to check it out.  There was no line up as it was after the lunch hour crowd.  We got there a little before one and got seated immediately.  It took a while before the waitress came to take our drink order which was just water.  Then it took a while to get her attention so we can order, still no water.  My MIL ordered the beef sliders with some korean beef but she wanted NO coleslaw.  On the menu the shrimp shu mai looked delicious and since I wanted something quick, I chose that.  I asked her how long it will take since both were appetizer items, she replied "15 minutes".  Our water did not arrive until after 10 minutes and the sliders arrive after 20 minutes with the coleslaw so it went back to the kitchen.  Then I asked about my order and she said, " did you want it fried or steamed", I almost said "cooked".

The sliders arrived after 5 minutes and still no lunch for me.  After another 10 minutes, there it was. Not exactly like the photo but I was hungry. It looks like the frozen kind you buy but I decided to eat it and after three, that was enough.  I decided to ask another waiter if it was frozen and he did not know the answer.  Our waitress came back and told me that they don't make it there but buy it from some other company.  OK basically they buy it at an Asian supermarket.  OMG, we were so disappointed for that whole experience.  It's good my MIL gave me one of her slider because she didn't want me to get hungry.  We paid and left no tip.

I am not a very picky person and can eat almost anything but this one was not just the food but the service as well.  If I wanted to eat frozen food, I could just do it at home.  This restaurant does not deserve any star.  I was thinking of submitting a review on Yelp but they are not even worth my time.  This post was enough and they have already wasted some of my precious time.

Very basic- meat, one cucumber and an onion ring.

The outside was squishy and the inside did not have any shrimp at all.

 
 

Summerside Saturday - My favorite B&B

The past month Jeff and I toured the Maritimes which includes Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.  For those of you who are unfamiliar, these are part of Canada's Atlantic provinces.  The only one we did not get a chance to visit is Newfoundland.  There are so many things I wanted to share about this particular trip and I would still do them but do different posts this month.  Today I would like to feature my new favorite Bed and Breakfast.  It is called the Summerside Inn, located on the corner of summer and winter.

I love how the streets are named and it's so fitting that it's called Summerside Inn.

The owners of this bed and breakfast is Ken and Jen.  They were the so helpful and so welcoming and it made us really feel at home.  We stayed here for a couple of nights and met some wonderful people.  Our breakfast which was included in our stay were so delicious and everything was home made.  Their recommendations were so amazing and perfect.  From what we should see and do in a very short time, or a place to eat with some entertainment. Their home was very clean and the place settings at their dining table were luxurious.

We stayed at their Summer Room.  The bed was so comfy and a little high for me but they provided a stool.

Their location was excellent as you can walk to their main downtown and other points of interest.  If you are planning a trip someday to Canada's Maritimes,  we highly recommend staying with Ken and Jen at the Summerside Inn in Summerside, Prince Edward Island.

Tapsilog Tuesday - Restaurant Review

TAPSILOG - is this even a word, yes in the Filipino language.  I am guessing it's their own acronym for: Tapa (beef) Si (fried rice) log (short for itlog meaning egg).  The neighbor of my MIL gave me a section of their newspaper featuring this new Filipino restaurant in Campbell area called Tapsilog Bistro.  After reading the review we thought we would mention it to my cousins who have not heard about this place.  It is very interesting that they did not know because they love checking out new and the not so new restaurants in the Bay area.  On Sunday we decided to check it out and it was actually busy that we had to wait for a table to be cleaned.  There was no big line up but there were other people also waiting.  The place looks more of a sports bar but they upgraded the decor and added some Filipino art work.

The employees were a mix of nationality but noticed that the Manager/owner is Filipino. The atmosphere is a bit loud because there was a couple of sports show (NFL and MLB.  Their waiters were friendly, attentive and knowledgeable.  The timing for ordering and actual arrival of food was good.  Unfortunately all of us (Jeff, me, MIL and my cousins) were not impressed with the taste. The portion of each entree was plenty, presentation is ok as well as the cost. Each meal had a mound of fried rice, two fried eggs and what ever meat you choose.  I did remember to take photos but we all agreed we are not coming  back.

The tocino (sweet port) is too dry.

Torta aka omelet needs more meat and eggplant.

Pancit Bihon aka Noodles with some chicken and hardly any vegetables.

Although the fried chicken was crispy, you can taste a lot of vinegar in their marinade.

 

Truthful Thursday - More reviews

When you don't go back to a restaurant that you've dined before, there's definitely a major issue, right?  So why did we go back to DAVE & BUSTERS?  One of Jeff's friend celebrated his birthday this past weekend and he chose D&B in Milpitas, CA.  We got there a little late and everyone had ordered their good.  Once their food started arriving, their waitress was able to take our order.  The people on our table started talking about some of the issues of their food.  One lady had ordered some type of salad with chicken.  Apparently it took them four times to get the order right.  Another guest complained about getting their sweet potato fries a bit late, it was already cold.  The next guy across  the table did not get his salad at all and they completely forgot it even after he reminded them.  He finished his dinner without the salad. The celebrant was disappointed about all these issue but it was not his fault.  To top it all, they brought him some sort of a birthday ice cream in a cup with a candle as oppose to a piece of cake.  There were at least 12 people on our table and the bill was over $500.  Can you believe that they charge the celebrant $2 for that two small scoop of ice cream.  They even had to call one of the Managers to come to our table to make his aware of what has been happening.  Jeff and I had been there some 10 years ago and now we know why we never went back after all those years.  I'm sure they don't really care about some of the customers because the place is actually busy specially the section where all the Games are located.  Maybe we are just too old for this type of place or their service is just unacceptable.

 

 

Follow up Friday - Restaurant Reviews

Why is it when you have a bad experience at a particular restaurant, people usually do a review on what ever media then can express their disappoint.  Well, today I am one of those people.  In fact I will be doing my vents on a couple of restaurants in the area that we have just been the past couple of days.  The first one is LeBoulanger on Santa Teresa.  I took my MIL there today because we've always had great lunch but today was different.  We both ordered the special half sandwich half salad but a little different with our choices.  She requested a Caesar salad with no cheese and dressing on the side.  When she got her place, there were cheese on it and of course dressing.  Our receipt shows exactly what she ordered but I guess the people making it does not understand their own code.  It said, Caesar salad,

No cheese on the first line and then On the side on the second line.  Pretty simple, right.  So she asked if they can make it right.  She waited for a bit and then her plate came with the salad drenched in dressing.  By this time she did not want to wait and sat at our table and just ate her sandwich. I thought I would inform their supervisor of the problem.  She apologized but did not offer to make it right but instead gave me a cookie.  Yeah!  As if my MIL will be happy because she got a cookie.  Just as side note - my MIL makes great cookies.  What I don't understand is when the person taking the order asks you all these choices and makes note of it but the end result is not what you expected.  I can understand making an error the first time, but the second time.  I am sure they don't care if they lose a couple of customers because they seem to get a good lunch crowd, but we are not coming back.  Well, I took all the space I can only talk about the second one briefly. 

 

The Firehouse on Murphy Street, Sunnyvale was our choice of venue for a little get together with Jeff's best friends and their better halves.  We got seated on the second floor where the sound was blaring from the speaker and the game wasn't even on.  Jeff asked the woman who seems to be the Supervisor, and she manage to turn it down a bit but still loud.  She also told Jeff that when the game starts that she will most likely turn the volume up.  By the time the rest of the group arrive, the game was on and it was very difficult to hear what people are saying.  The food is nothing to rave about, the pizza was soggy and the wings were had too much vinegar or Tabasco.  The service was not bad and our waitress was cute and very attentive.  One of Jeff's friend mentioned that it's either we are getting older as we can't stand very noisy places, or we will just have to pick a different place next time we meet so we call really talk and hear the stories that each one wants to share.  Sometimes I prefer to just invite them at our home because I know we can give better services and we actually can hear everyone without screaming.