Hello, glistening Chinese BBQ!

For your Chinese BBQ cravings, check out the specialty Chinese BBQ menu at Heritage Asian Eatery‘s Mount Pleasant location at 382 West Broadway in Vancouver.

Disclosure: I was hosted at Heritage Asian Eatery.

On the menu at Heritage Asian Eatery are Heritage chicken, Soy Chicken, BBQ duck and BBQ pork or premium-cut BBQ pork.

All of the Chinese BBQ menu items are available on rice or in half and whole portions for both dine-in and take-out service seven days a week, with a 10% discount for all take-out orders. Guests can also opt for a combination of any two or three BBQ items on rice.

You can also enjoy these dishes with savoury and sweet sides like chili wontons, wonton soup, dumplings in crispy shrimp and pork and veggie varieties, and Taiwanese potstickers, as well as sweet desserts like milk custard and brown sugar pearl milk custard.

As someone who normally does not go for Chinese BBQ, I was really impressed with the offerings at Heritage Asian Eatery. They were well-executed and delicious. I also enjoy the sides at my tasting, especially the Chili Wonton and Gai Lan. I would be interested to return to Heritage Asian Eatery for the Chinese BBQ and the sides.

For more information, visit eatheritage.ca.

Heritage Broadway
382 West Broadway, Vancouver BC
Hours: Daily 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
eatheritage.ca 

After enjoying some great food and drinks with good company, why not keep the good vibes going with an easy check out process.

Vancouver-based technology Ready allows diners to view and pay their check with their phone by scanning a nearby QR code. No wait, no app download or sign-up needed.

Tap & Barrel has implemented Ready at all their locations to provide a more seamless experience for guests.

I was invited to try Ready at Tap and Barrel and found the process quite straightforward. I enjoyed the fact that you don’t need to wait for your server to bring you the bill (which could be a bit of wait depending on how busy the restaurant is).

Check out my screencast in the second swipe of my Instagram post:

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After enjoying some great food and drinks with good company, why not keep the good vibes going with an easy check out process. Vancouver-based technology @ready.pay allows diners to view and pay their check with their phone by scanning a nearby QR code. No wait, no app download or sign-up needed. @tapandbarrel has implemented Ready at all their locations to provide a more seamless experience for guests. I was invited to try @ready.pay @tapandbarrel and found the process quite straightforward. Swipe to see my screencast 📹 I enjoyed the fact that you don’t need to wait for your server to bring you the bill (which could be a bit of wait depending on how busy the restaurant is). Furthermore, if you’re dining with a group of people, the split-check feature is really beneficial and saves you a lot of time from waiting for the check to be split or needing to do the math yourself. You can use Ready to pay with Apple Pay, Google Pay and all major credit cards. #media #thehappynow #finditliveit #planetdiscovery #stayandwander #seekthesimplicity #applepay #lifeandthyme #welltravelled #theglobewanderer #tastemade #foodandwine #buzzfeedtasty #eattheworld #forkyeah #f52grams #foodbeast #buzzfeast #feedfeed #yahoofood #eeeeeats #vancouver #vancityhype #mustbevancouver #pursuepretty#eattheworld #vancouverisawesome #ready

A post shared by Areta | Food & Travel Blogger (@foodgressing) on Sep 15, 2019 at 10:07pm PDT

Furthermore, if you’re dining with a group of people, the split-check feature is really beneficial and saves you a lot of time from waiting for the check to be split or needing to do the math yourself.

You can use Ready to pay with Apple Pay, Google Pay and all major credit cards.

For more information, visit readytopay.com

You Had Me at Aloha!

H2 Restaurant at the Westin Bayshore has extended their popular, colourful Sunday Luau Brunch featuring flavours from Hawaii, the Philippines and the West Coast until September 29.

Disclosure: I was hosted at H2 Restaurant.

The Sunday Luau Brunch has a rotating weekly menu so no two Sundays are the same.

Some items featured include Pineapple BBQ Ribs; Huli Huli Chicken with banana-leaf-garlic shrimp; ‘Loco Moco’ fried mahi mahi with sweet rice and wasabi mayo; whole pig; Kahlua pork eggs benedict; and vegan-friendly Beyond Meat ‘Waikiki’ meatballs with soy-ginger glaze.

Refreshing lighter fare includes prawn ceviche, a selection of creative salads, and a build-your-own Açai Bowl bar.

The Sunday brunch buffet also has brunch staples for those who prefer to stick with traditional Western options.

The brunch also has a colourful and delectable selection of cakes, tarts, and donuts.

On the menu are tiki-inspired cocktails, including the Punch Drunk cocktail (featuring three types of rum, peach schnapps, pomegranate syrup, and pineapple and orange juices), Painkiller (lamb’s navy rum, pineapple juice, coconut syrup, orange juice, and nutmeg) and Mai Tai (havana club rum, bacardi black, grand marnier, lime juice, orgeat syrup, and simple syrup).

Did you know the Westin Bayshore property had a Polynesian eatery back in the 1960s? The Luau Brunch pays homage to Trader Vic’s – a one of a kind restaurant in Vancouver which served Polynesian fare back in the day.

I enjoyed the Tiki-inspired decor which really put me in the island mood. Some over favourites were the Whole Roast Pig (yum!), the Pancit Noodles and the desserts.

The Sunday Luau Brunch runs from noon to 3pm. There is complimentary valet parking for guests. $39 for adults; $12.50 for children ages 6-12; free for children 5 and under. To book, visit h2restaurant.com or call 604.691.6966.

When you are drinking your favourite beer, have you thought about where that beer comes from? Hops are one of beer’s basic ingredients for flavour and aroma.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored in collaboration with Molson Canadian.

I recently had the opportunity to see how hops are grown and harvested at Sartori Hops Ranch – a local hops farms in the Fraser Valley that supplies high-quality hops to Molson Canadian.

Locally Grown Ingredients and Local Community Connections

Molson Canadian has a long-standing history of local community connections for locally grown and produced ingredients. This is still very important to the Molson family today.

In fact, the Molson family helped build the barley industry in 1786, and for decades they have been working with local hops farmers, like Sartori Farm, for their high-quality hops that are a special product from BC’s Fraser Valley.

High-Quality Hops

The Fraser Valley has proven to be an optimal growing region for hops due to its idealistic latitude and amazing climate (i.e. dry, warm summers). Only a handful of other regions meet these unique requirements that contribute to Molson Canadian’s signature taste. 

Located in Chilliwack’s Columbia Valley, Sartori Hops Ranch is a peaceful, idyllic hops farm that is family-owned and operated by Chris Sartori. They have been growing hops for the last 13 years.

While the environmental factors make the setting ideal for growing hops, it is also the attention to detail and tender loving care by Chris Sartori and his family that make their hops world-class quality.

When we arrived at Sartori Farm, we were in awe of the hops bines (not vine!) which spanned across the field.

Hops come in different varietals and Sartori Farm specializes in Cascade and Centennial varieties.

I also had the chance to split open fresh hops to uncover the lupulin – the yellow powder inside which contains the hop acids and oils. The strong, aromatic smell that emanated from the lupulin was wonderfully intoxicating.

The Sartori family then showed us how the hops are harvested and processed.

The first step is to cut down the hops bines. The bines are then processed to isolate the hops cones. These are dried, crushed into smaller pieces, and then further compressed into pellets to be sent to the Molson brewery for the actual beer-making process.

Molson Canadian Pairing Ideas

Our time at Sartori Ranch also featured a family-style longtable lunch. Molson Canadian Lager paired perfectly with the dishes which included Wild BC Salmon, local vegetables and fruit. 

For starters, we enjoyed cheddar + beer soup with sharp aged cheddar; Chilliwack roast corn salad served with pimento pepper chipotle; and BC Wild salmon medallions with shallot tarragon gluten-free crust served with wasabi dip.

Our main was a tender, melt-in-your-mouth braised beef short rib accompanied with a parsnip puree and local vegetables.

To finish off, a blueberry shortcake with creme patisserie.

Incorporating beer pairings in a menu is a great way to unlock new flavours, bringing out complementing notes/taste profiles in the dishes.

To see my full video recap, check out my IGTV:

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When you are drinking your favourite beer, have you thought about where that beer comes from? Hops are one of beer’s basic ingredients for flavour and aroma. I had the opportunity to see how hops are grown and harvested at a local hops farms right here in the Lower Mainland. – Molson Canadian @molsoncanadian has a long-standing history of local community connections and they have partnered with Sartori Hops Ranch @sartori_hops in Chilliwack, BC for local hops. As a family-owned and operated business led by Chris Satori, they have been growing hops for 13 years. While the environmental factors at Sartori make it an ideal setting to grow hops, it really is the attention to detail and tender loving care by Chris Sand his family that make their hops world-class quality. Check out my video to see how hops are harvested and what’s inside fresh hops! #molsoncanadian #sponsored #igvideo #video #vancouver #yvr #instagramvideo #videograms #vid #vancouverisawesome #vancity #videooftheday #igtv #foodgressing #vancouverfoodie #yvreats #chilliwack #hops #molson #beerlover #brew #brewery #ipa #beerstagram #instabeer #beergeek #fraservalley #beertography #igtvcreator #vancouvereats

A post shared by Areta | Food & Travel Blogger (@foodgressing) on Sep 6, 2019 at 11:29am PDT

New Molson Canadian Brewery in Chilliwack

Molson appreciates farmers, like the Sartori’s, who have shaped the hops industry and community in BC and continue to innovate for excellence. 

Molson Canadian is excited and proud to be opening their newest brewery in Chilliwack on September 17th to continue their commitment to the Fraser Valley community.

For more information, visit molsoncanadian.ca