2012 Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Yearblog
Follow Me Foodie Favourites, BEST of, Memories & Recap of 2012!
Happy New Year! Welcome to my Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Best of 2012! This is a recap and yearbook/yearblog of the BEST Follow Me Foodie Food/Moments in 2012.
What a fun year! I can’t stop smiling just thinking about it. There was more traveling involved this year compared to Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Best of 2010 and Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Best of 2011, and I can’t complain. The more I travel, the more I try, the more I read, the more I learn, and the more I think I’ll just never know everything about the thing I love most (with the exception of friends and family of course).
What started off as a passion has taken over my life and I’m so happy to share my delicious (and sometimes not so delicious) moments with you. Hopefully next year someone will invent some technology where you can reach into your monitor and pick the food from your screen. It would save me a lot of time from describing it, but who am I kidding? That’s the fun part. Yes, in the end it’s about whether or not it tasted good and whether or not you liked it, but for me it’s much more than that. It is my exploration and experience with food, culture, history and how it relates to me.
Anyway this is my annual “Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Best of” post to sum up the year. I seriously dislike saying anything is “the best” because “the best” doesn’t exist. “The best” is relative to only what I have tried, which is definitely not everything. I prefer calling it my “favourites” or most “memorable” experiences, but I’ll say “the best” just because I’m weak and want to align with every other “best of 2012″ list out there.
NOTE: IT’S NOT NECESSARILY “THE BEST“, BECAUSE FOOD IS PERSONAL AND I CAN ONLY DISCOVER SO MUCH IN A YEAR. THESE ARE JUST SOME WORTH MENTIONING IN MY BOOKS… OR BLOG? BLOG. IT’S MORE OF A 2012 RECAP/SUMMARY. ALL EXPERIENCES ARE FROM 2012 ONLY.
Top 15 Most Memorable/BEST Restaurant SAVOURY Dishes & Food in Vancouver/BC
I’ve always traveled in and outside of downtown Vancouver to find “the best” food, but this year I traveled a little more around BC. Follow Me Foodie to Victoria, Whistler, Kelowna, Sun Peaks, and Kamloops happened, and these are my top 15 favourite savoury dishes I found.
The list is limited to what I tried this year. Again, not necessarily “the best”, but very memorable.
Listed in no particular order. Based on the menu item, not the restaurant.
1. Le Parisien – Duck Confit Cassoulet, French Onion Fondue
2. Espana – Housemade Morcilla
3. Blue Smoke BBQ – Beef Brisket Sandwich
4. Fraîche Restaurant – Smoked BC Sturgeon
5. Diva at the Met – Foie Gras Walnut, Mussel Coal
6. La Brasserie – Braised Lamb Cheeks
7. Vij’s – Wine Marinated Lamb Popsicles, Beef Shortribs
8. La Belle Auberge – “Do-It-Yourself Spring Roll”
9. CinCin Ristorante + Bar – Agnolotti di Zucca
10. L’Abattoir – Pan Fried Veal Sweetbreads on Toast
11. Zeitoon – Kashke Bademjan, Koobideh Kabab
12. Alta Bistro – Alberta Elk Tartar & Duck Liver Parfait – Whistler, BC
13. Bearfoot Bistro – Whistler, BC
14. Sidecut Modern Steak – Steakhouse Sushi Roll – Whistler, BC
15. Lure Restaurant – Pan Seared Scallops & Vanilla-Cauliflower Puree – Victoria, BC
Top 15 Most Memorable/BEST ASIAN Restaurant Dishes & Food in Vancouver
Being in Vancouver, we’re spoiled by great Asian and Asian inspired cuisine, so I decided to make it a separate category. Some of these are easily better than the list above.
The list is limited to what I tried this year. Again, not necessarily “the best”, but very memorable.
Listed in no particular order. Based on the menu item, not the restaurant.
1. Minami – Minami Signature Rolls & Aburi Salmon & Saba Sushi
2. Continental Seafood Restaurant – Double Boiled Winter Melon Soup with Mixed Seafood
3. The Jade Seafood Restaurant – The Jade Smoked Grandpa Chicken
4. Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie – Shao Bing
5. Top Gun J & C Restaurant – Baked BBQ Pork Bun
6. Nan Chuu Japanese Izakaya – Salmon Nanban
7. EBO Restaurant – John’s Fresh Handmade Roti Canai
8. Pho Tan Vietnamese – Pho Bo Satay
9. Chad Thai – Tom Yum Noodle
10. Zakkushi Charcoal Grill – Uzura Maki
11. Take Sushi – BBQ Salmon Belly
12. Guu Izakaya – Three Kinds of Beef Tongue
13. Chinese Alaskan King Crab Dinners!
14. Szechuan Delicious Cuisine – Spicy Kung Po Chicken with Peanuts
15. Kingyo Izakaya – Braised Beef Short Rib
Top 10 Most Memorable/BEST DESSERTS in Vancouver/BC
The dessert scene is finally growing in Vancouver and there is still room. I’m not just saying that because I have a major sweet tooth, but there really is still room and I wouldn’t say we are known for out sweet scene yet.
The list is limited to what I tried this year. Again, not necessarily “the best”, but very memorable.
Listed in no particular order. Based on the menu item, not the restaurant.
1. Poor Italian – Sicilian Cannoli
2. CinCin Ristorante + Bar – Tiramisu
3. Secret Location – Elements of a Tart, Candy Cap Mushroom Ice Cream
4. Beaucoup Bakery – Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookie, Marcona Almond Bar
5. “Surrey’s Secret Sans Rival Guy” – Sans Rival
6. The Flying Gecko – Gluten Free Carrot Cake
7. Goldilocks – Pinipig Polvoron Cookies
8. Calabash Bistro – Brie & Guava Stuffed Coconut Dumplings
9. Bearfoot Bistro – Nectarine and Olive Oil
10. Ganache Patisserie – Chocolat-Banane Cake
Top 25 Most Memorable/BEST Dishes Internationally
Top left: Follow Me Foodie to Bali
Bottom left: Follow Me Foodie to Hong Kong
Top right: Follow Me Foodie to Chicago
Bottom right: Follow Me Foodie to New Orleans
This year I was grateful to take Follow Me Foodie to New Orleans, Texas, Chicago, Beijing, Hong Kong, Bali, Montreal, San Diego and Los Angeles. Here are some of my best international indulgences this year. Follow Me Foodie to some of my favourite foods and restaurants abroad with just one click!
The list is limited to what I tried this year. Again, not necessarily “the best”, but very memorable.
Listed in no particular order. Based on the menu item, not the restaurant.
1. Cochon – Wood-Fired Oyster Roast, Fried Alligator – Louisiana, New Orleans
2. La Petite Grocery – Baked Blue Crab, Local Shrimp & Grits, Butterscotch Pudding– Louisiana, New Orleans
3. Willie Mae’s Scotch House – Fried Chicken – Louisiana, New Orleans
4. Commander’s Palace – Lobster & Creole Cream Cheese Gnocchi, Creole Bread Pudding Soufflé – Louisiana, New Orleans
5. The Purple Pig – Pig’s Ear with Crispy Kale, Milk Braised Pork Shoulder – Chicago, Illinois
6. Sepia – Lamb Burger – Chicago, Illinois
7. Birrieria Zaragoza – Birria Tacos – Chicago, Illinois
8. Longman & Eagle – Pastrami Spiced Pig Head – Chicago, Illinois
9. Alinea – Chicago, Illinois
10. The Publican – Publican Bacon – Chicago, Illinois
11. Lung King Heen at The Four Seasons – Baked Conch Shell stuffed with Onion and Fresh Crab Meat – Hong Kong
12. Peking Duck – Beijing, China
13. Soy Milk and Chinese Doughnuts – Beijing, China
14. Aberdeen Fish Market – Hong Kong
15. One Dim Sum – Steam Rice Noodle with Dried Shrimp – Hong Kong
16. Ramen Kureha – Hong Kong
17. Olive et Gourmando – Chicken & Butternut Squash Soup, Truffle Mac & Cheese – Montreal, Quebec
18. Chez L’Épicier – Goat Cheese Black Olive Macarons – Montreal, Quebec
198. Ibu Oka – Babi Guling – Bali, Indonesia
20. Mozaic – Bali, Indonesia
21. Carnitas’ Snack Shack – Pork Sandwich – San Diego, CA
22. George’s at The Cove – Doughnuts & Dips, Carrot Cake – San Diego, CA
23. The Eveleigh – Los Angeles, CA
24. Dude, Sweet Chocolate – Fungus Amongus – Dallas, Texas
25. Momofuku Milk Bar – Banana Cake – Manhattan, New York
Top 12 Follow Me Foodie Adventures/Moments/Posts of 2012
Top left: Diner en Blanc in Vancouver
Bottom left: 10 Characteristics of a Hipster Restaurant
Top right: Joining the BC Chefs’ Association BOD
Bottom right: Alinea
Here are the Top 12 Follow Me Foodie event highlights and popular posts from 2012. I tried to make it a Top 10, but there were just too many fun things that happened this year.
2. 10 Characteristics of a Hipster Restaurant
4. Follow Me Foodie’s Sunday Night Dinner – Lamb 5 Ways
5. Follow Me Foodie’s Sunday Night Dinner – 50lbs of Alaskan King Crab
6. Diner en Blanc in Vancouver!
8. Chinese Hunger Games eer… Dim Sum Madness
9. Finding Stinky Tofu in Hong Kong
10. Les Dames d’Escoffier’s JULIA IN PARIS Gala Dinner (Julia Child’s 100th Birthday)
11. Taste of Talent Benefit Dinner Recap (By Canada’s Best Competition Chefs)
12. Joining the BC Chefs’ Association Board of Directors!
13. S*** Foodies Say (so I have 13… for 2013!)
