West Coast Wanderings - Part II

Oh bloggies . . .

I have to apologize because I was noticeably absent from my beloved blogging last week. As you all know I headed up to Whistler for a week-long (!) conference at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler. I brought my laptop with me to blog but then the conference and a flu got in the way.

Our days at the conference were super long. The first several days were only for the new employees and everyone else joined us for Thursday and Friday. Honestly, by the time everyone else showed-up I was not only all conferenced-out but also all lawyered-out too! lol :oP

During my trip I was also fighting off a flu. I've been consistently dizzy since I first arrived in Vancouver over a week ago! I'm feeling better but the dizziness hasn't gone away. Here's hoping whatever I have is not of the H1N1 variety.

Anywho - point is I owe you some pictures. So let's get on to some of the highlights of my week away:


During my trip I took the opportunity to indulge in eats I can't get in my current home-town. One of these is fro-yo! I love me a good fro-yo so I was delighted to find a Froyo Swirl in my walk through Vancouver's Yaletown. Verdict? Not bad but it tasted too much like plain (somewhat sour) yogurt and not enough like ice cream! lol Yeah that's right, I want the caloric intake of fro-yo with the yummy factor of ice cream? Is that so wrong!?! :oP


Overall Review? I wouldn't eat at Froyo Swirl again. I'd look for another frozen yogurt place instead!

On my Sunday in Vancouver I met up with a bunch of my girls at Sun Sui Wah for our dim sum ritual. Dim Sum brunch is our default Van-city meet up and this time was no different. Sun Sui Wah is said to be Vancouver's best dim sum and from my limited experience I tend to agree.


I love how I get to indulge in yummy eats like the above pictured sticky rice in a lotus leaf. Totally heavenly! If you've never had sticky rice then you need to get yourself to a good nearby Chinese restaurant and give it a go. It's awesome!


Not to be forgotten (amongst the myriad of goodies on our table) is my FAVOURITE time of dim sum. Ha-gow (shrimp dumplings)!!! I LOVE these things! Love them like mad. In fact they're singularly responsible for my continued dim suming over the years! :o)

Overall Review of Sun Sui Wah? If you're going to eat dim sum in Vancouver - this is the place to do it!!! Highly recommended! :o)

After dim sum I ran around doing some wedding related errands (more on that in an upcoming post). Eventually I made my way up to Whistler and into my room:


Two lovely beds juste pour moi! All in all it was a pretty good hotel although I've been told Club Intrawest in Whistler is much better. On my way back home I spent one night at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver (no pictures) and although that one was also pretty good (and with a completely central location) I nonetheless have to say the Westin Bayshore is much better. Most of you will remember I stayed there on my last Van-city trip. It's close proximity to Stanley Park makes it a must for runners! :o)

By the time I arrived in Whistler it was really late and I hadn't eaten anything since brunch. I was mungry and so I turned to the only food option available. Room Service!

Want to see what a $26 falafel burger + $5 delivery charge + automatic 17% gratuity looks like?


I ordered my burger without mayo and with a side salad instead of French fries. The food looked lovely and although the salad was excellent I have to confess the falafel burger did not impress:


The falafel was rather thick (okay VERY thick) and kind of greasy tasting. Unlike any other falafel I've had in my life. Nonetheless I was happy to have something in my starving tummy. :o)

Since I was mostly surrounded by co-workers doing work things I didn't get a chance to get many food pics this week but I did take pics whenever possible. For example, during the highlight of my Whistler eats - the Mongolie Grill!!! :o)

I highly recommend this place - particularly if you're diet conscious or have food allergies or sensitivities. The concept is simple . . . you are given a metal bowl which you fill with your selection of protein, veggies, noddles, and sauces. You then hand it to a chef that grills it on a teppanyaki grill and hands it back to you. Seriously delicious!


Look at the selection!!!! Want to see more?


After you choose your eats, the grilling process looks like this:


The whole process doesn't take very long and you get to watch your food being cooked up by the chef! It's a show in and of itself and healthy to boot! :o)


My lovely dinner is the one just below the bowl being dumped on the grill. Review? I totally recommend the Mogolie Grill in Whistler!

On my second last day in Whistler I finally had a couple of hours of free time. Since I was finally feeling better I headed out with one of my conference peeps for a bit of a hike. I was surprised to see how much ice there is still on the trails up in Whistler. Particularly crazy given how warm it was!!!

Eventually we reached Lost Lake and were rewarded with an idyllic view:


Lovely, no? :o) I was very happy that I had a chance to get out and actually enjoy Whistler while I was there. I would love to head back later on during the summer. By then the Peak 2 Peak Gondola will be open and I can dine with ridonculously amazing views! Here's hoping . . .

As we made our way back to our hotel we passed some of the lovely resorts that are so typical of Whistler Village:


None too shabby, eh!? :o)

On Friday afternoon I made my way back to Vancouver. I was completely beat by this point and I didn't do much except for some light shopping and more wedding related errands.

I did however make to the Italian Kitchen for dinner with one of my best girls. She recommended the place and although it was kind of carb heavy it was still a very good meal!


We both started off with giant Kobe Beef Meatballs. Very yummy! :o)

This was then followed up with a pasta platter for two - which allowed us to sample the most highly regarded dishes of the Italian Kitchen:


My favourite by far? The one with the scampi in a creamy truffle sauce. It was TO DIE FOR. I could smell the lovely black fungi as soon as the platter hit our table.


Overall Review? I totally recommend the Italian Kitchen but be ready to carboload!

For my last significant meal in Vancouver I decided to indulge in a room service "Keep Fit" breakfast courtesy of the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver:


This lovely breakfast came with a fresh fruit/granola/yogurt parfait, a bowl full of more fresh fruit, and a totally yummy blueberry bran muffin. To drink I had an herbal tea with lemon and a glass of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice.

To my delight my cart came complete with a vase full of fresh flowers:


And that bloggies is all she ate! lol :o)

I'm happily back home now. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to returning to my routine, my regular eats (conference food was protein light and carb heavy), and my regular blogging!

It feels good to be back!!!!