Awesome Vietnamese Food at Joyeux Cafe

Im a huge fan of Vietnamese food, especially Pho which is a brothy, usually beef soup with rice noodles. Ever since moving downtown, my Pho consumption went on the decline lol...I suddenly stopped going to my old favorite spot called Pho Tam, in Surrey because it was too far.

Eventually after a few disappointing visits to other so called Vietnamase restaurants in the downtown area, I came across Joyeux Cafe. Well it's no wonder I've never been there for Viet food, the name sounds more like a French Cafe! The menu will truly surprise you with its eclectic range of choices. There's almost something for everyone. Western breakfasts are served along with fresh fruit juices blended right from their fruit bar. The long list of Vietnamese dishes is great. They've got different kinds of Pho, Vermicelli and Grilled Meat dishes, Spring Rolls, Salad Rolls and more. They also serve Spicy Crispy Wings and ones with Tamarin sauce as well as unexpected dishes like fish and chips! I haven't yet ventured into their non-Vietnamese foods yet. I'm sure I will be a regular there though since I'm so stoked to find a great Vietnamese Soup place. They come few and far between in the downtown core! I'm glad I don't have to commute to Kingsway to get a good bowl of Pho anymore.

I tried their Shrimp Wonton with Egg Noodle Soup. Delicious! Perfect for the cold May days, especially on the day I went. The broth is full of flavour and the wontons are wrapped with big pieces of shrimps. I also got their iced drip coffee with condensed milk which was very tasty.

Another dish of theirs that's really great is the Vermicelli with Grilled Lemon Grass Pork (see image below). It's super fresh and tastes amazing. The price range is good, coming in at about $8- $10 per dish. The service is also great, servers are polite and quick. I definitely recommend this place to the Vietnamese Food lover. Oh and by the way, they deliver! How dangerous...

551 Howe St, Vancouver BC
(604)-681-9168
www.joyeaux-cafe-restaurant.com

The Ultimate Asian Fried Rice

So I call this creation The Ultimate, the mother of all asian fried rice because it's seriously the best fried rice I've ever tasted. Now it may be a conflict of interest that I say this since I did make it LOL...but honestly I think I'm a damn good food critic and this rice wont dissapoint.

The reason why I call it The Ultimate Asian Fried Rice is because it borrows the influence of many different asian cuisines like Chinese, Thai and Cambodian etc.

So what you do is first cook the rice and have that ready. Then you begin making the sauce from scratch by grinding galangal which is a very aromatic root in the same family as ginger. Grind it finely with a clove of garlic, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves and red thai chilis. This gives you this delicious smelling blend of herbs.

The image above shows the galangal, lemon grass and red chilis I used for the blend, the store ran out of kaffir lime leaves so I used lime zest instead this time.

After, you take the blend of herbs and fry it in some peanut or canola oil (8 tablespoons or so), add a heaping tablespoon of paprika for color and smoke, also add some oyster sauce, a bit of sugar, pepper and soy sauce. Add the small pieces of prawns, diced white onion and snap peas in the mix and stir until its all cooked. Add the white rice in and stir. The rice will take the color of the paprika blend. If you like you can add diced BBQ pork for a full meal. I did that this time and it was really good.

At the end of your hard work and labour you get this amazing fresh tasting fried rice that you can't get anywhere. When you take every bite you taste the different ingredients pulled together to make this one tantalizing rice dish.

Fish and Chips @ Pivo Public House

The other day I was craving Fish and Chips and happened to have found it right near my place at a spot called Pivo. It's a cute little pub on Abbott St in Tinseltown, right in the heart of Canuck Nation. It gets busy when there's a hockey game and their food doesn't disappoint. Check out their version of Fish and Chips! It's so cute and creative. It's true when they say your eyes feast first and I definitely appreciate a well presented dish.

As you can see they serve the bite sized battered fish pieces on a stick. Its presented with their "Kennebec Fries" (they're good!) and roasted lemon.

Pivo Public House offers an array of other pub foods that you might expect to find but the great part is that they add a contemporary modern twist on all of them. The staff is friendly and the environment is cozy, almost like you're walking into a friend's house to watch the game and nosh on some good grub. Try it out, prices are decent too, between $8-$15.

www.pivopublichouse.com