Category Archives: Uncategorized

Fruit Dealers: Healthy Fruit Delivery at SFU

May 2, 2012 – 23:21

One of the things that I love about going to school in New Westminster is the many good, unknown eats in the neighbourhood [Good Eat Cafe, Burger Heaven, Burger Burger and etc]. During my time at SFU, most of the food was located on the far end of the campus, highly inconvenient. So when Jeff told me about the Fruit Dealers and how they deliver fruit salad to SFU students and staff, I thought it was a great idea.

The Fruit Dealers feed SFU staff and students a healthy alternative. At VDL’s Extravaganza, Jeff had a couple of cups to hand out to some of the execs. (Note: Want to be a VDL exec? Recruitment beings this summer!)

Orders of 16oz ($4) are submitted online via their Facebook page and are prepared and delivered the morning of. Their fruits vary daily but the one I had included apples, oranges, grapes, dragon fruit, kiwi, and strawberries, topped off with some mint and a “secret sauce.” It is also important for them to be sustainable and local, sourcing from local markets and using recyclable cups.

No, not that kind of secret sauce, but some wonderful sweet citrusy sauce with a bit of kick to it. The sauce was sweet from the honey but it was complimented nicely by the mint. The pictures are a bit deceiving but this was a lot of fruit for one sitting.

It doesn’t appear that they’re taking single orders for the summer but they’ve recently begun catering events and meetings. If you’re interested, check them out on Facebook or on Twitter.

Taking a very special Fruit Dealer platter to @YWiBSFU‘s Academy Awards tonight! twitter.com/FruitDealers/s…

— Fruit Dealers (@FruitDealers) April 24, 2012

And for anyone playing in VDL’s weekly playoffs, they’ll be in attendance on May 5th/6th and May 12th/13th at David Thompson Secondary from 12:30-4. Come say hi to me or Jeff!

Permalink | Comment (0)

Pho Tam

May 12, 2011 – 17:27

Pho Tam is located in the infamous Whalley neighbourhood of Surrey, but don’t let that deter you from visiting this restaurant. There used to be a very broad and general consensus that Pho Tam had not only the best pho in Surrey, but all of Metro Vancouver. Their awning even touts proudly. “THE BEST NOODLE SOUP IN TOWN“. In my opinion, if the food is good, it’s always worth a little bit of risk and traveling for.

It’s easily accessible as it’s right beside the Surrey Central Skytrain station, but the parking lot leaves much to be desired. In a city known for its ridiculous amounts of space, the parking lot layout for this small plaza rivals those found in Richmond. Horrible. Once inside, the distinct smell of Pho lingering in the air and greasy floors combined with a very multi-cultural crowd confirmed that I was actually in Surrey.

Now I’m never in Surrey much, I just don’t have anything to do there, but since I was going to be at Xcalibur Bowling Center later, I stopped by for an early dinner. This was my first visit, and at the time of this post, I haven’t been back yet, but I’m eager to do so. You see, I just can’t forget the taste of their Bún bò Huế. Pictured below is a large order, $7.00.

The smell of lemongrass and spice wafted up to my nose, and I couldn’t wait to start slurping away, so I cautiously started with a spoonful of soup. Mildly spicy with a hint of sourness and saltiness. After that first spoonful, it was on. I found deliciously soft and chewy cubes of congealed pigs blood floating underneath the various layers of meat and there was even a pork knuckle waiting for me. The pork knuckle is probably the best indication that you’ve got a good bowl of Bún bò Huế in front of you.

Is it true, do they have the best pho in Surrey and even Metro Vancouver? I can’t accurately say, as I didn’t try out their Pho, but I do enjoy their version of Bún bò Huế very much. It would certainly put up a good fight to the Bun Bo Hue at Cafe Xu Hue, one of the cleanest, spiciest and flavourful broths that I’ve ever tried in Metro Vancouver.

If I’m ever out in Surrey again, I would make the side trip over to Pho Tam. They are cash only, so come prepared.

7 days a week
10am-10pm

Pho Tam
10302 135 Street
Surrey, BC
(604) 589-4223

Permalink | Comments (2)

Uncategorized

Vancouver Aquarium

May 2, 2010 – 08:00

After eating our fill at Shoryumen, Fumisen and Tenku Bakudanyaki, Garrick and John wanted to visit the Vancouver Aquarium.

This will be just a picture post. Enjoy =).

Tags vancouver aquarium | Permalink | Comment (1)

Uncategorized

604 Foodtography is 1 year old!

February 7, 2010 – 08:00

Today, 604 Foodtography turns a year old (yesterday). It’s hard to put down in words just how much I’ve been able to experience and learn in just one short year but I’ll try….

It all started when I would google restaurants to see if there was anything written about it on the internet. That’s how I came to read local Vancouver food blogs such as Chowtimes, Shermans, ImOnlyHereForTheFood, EatnAbout & many others. A full list of blogs that I currently read right now is available on the links page. Inspiration struck and I started taking pictures of food I made, food I ate. Uploading them to Facebook only generated 2am cravings from my friends, and some suggested I start writing about it.

From this humble little blog, I’ve been honored to attend exclusive foodie events.. gotten in touch with various public relations and media.

This is a pretty shoddy job for a one year anni post, but it’s all my overtime riddled mind can pump out right now.

Permalink | Comments (2)

Uncategorized

The Amazing Hunt – YouTube

December 10, 2009 – 08:00

The videos for The Amazing Hunt 2009 – Canada Line Edition is finally up. I’ve embedded a playlist of all 6 parts.

In Video 5, you can see the yummy pigs blood and pork intestines that I had to eat as a challenge. Tee hee, “challenge” ..

Both the Canada Line race and the 2009 Championship race were fun and challenging. The Championship race was more of a focus on answering questions and finding Heritage Landmarks, with less of an emphasis on actually running, but it was still tight as we just barely eeked out a win!

Tags canada line, pigs blood, pigs intestine, the amazing hunt, the amazing race, youtube | Permalink | Comments (3)

Uncategorized

Questions and Answers – Part 2

December 3, 2009 – 23:37

Okay, this is part 2 of the Q&A.. click here for Part 1.

How come there aren’t any answers so far????

I was busy over the weekend with dodgeball! Want proof? Here are pictures from VDL Season 8, Tuesday Playoffs and Wednesday Playoffs.

What you won’t eat and/or make you gag?

I haven’t tried anything that has made me gag.. but then again, I know I haven’t tried a lot. Durian is one for example. The smell of it instantly makes me think of garbage, but I’m sure it doesn’t TASTE like garbage..or does it?

Coke or Pepsi?

Coke. Cherry Coke is even better! I’ll settle for a Barqs or a Canada Dry though…oops, getting off topic.

What has been your worst experience in a restaurant after you produce your camera to take pictures?

My only bad experience has been lots of dirty stares.. from a woman when I was at Market by Jean-Georges at the Shangri-La. Never had a problem with anyone, they either give me a funny look, or will ask why I’m taking pictures. I’ll answer honestly as to what I’m taking the pictures for, as I see it as a chance to gain another reader!

Fork and knife, fork and spoon or chopsticks?

As embarrassing as this is, I would rather use a fork & spoon. I can’t hold chopsticks correctly, I hold it like a brush.

I know, shame on me, being Asian and all…

Trust me, these videos don’t help….

Tags answers, faq, questions | Permalink | Comment (1)

Uncategorized

Questions and Answers – Part 1

December 2, 2009 – 00:47

Hello, it’s been a while since I’ve touched this little blog and my open call for questions. It’s been a rough week.

All these questions were asked but I won’t reveal who asked what. I will tell you that I did not omit any questions though, so nothing hidden here.

Did you hug someone after taking that picture?

No, I probably did hug someone 5 minutes after though. No, it was not because of the drink in my hand.

It’s Friday and it’s late, you and your friends are hungry – what place do you think of automatically?

Flo Tea Room. I think this is only because I passed by the place today and so the thought of it is fresh in my mind. I think any of the HK Style Cafe‘s is what I would think of, mainly because they’re the ones still open late.

Do you cook?

Yes, as a matter of fact, I do cook. I have a cooking category for it, but I don’t usually take pictures of every meal. Not everything I cook is restaurant/picture presentable, it’s more just quick and dirty, get the food cooked and eat. Although eating out is a luxury, I consider cooking to be an even greater and more intimate experience. It takes time and love.

What’s your favorite dish or the dish you feel best serving to others?

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. MMMmmMmmm…!

What kind of camera are you using?

This WAS shown on my photography page before, but I had removed my list of gear because it’s not the equipment, it’s the human behind it that makes a good picture. If you’re really that curious and just need to know, it’s my cell phone.

…okay, I’m joking. Canon 30D & Canon SD780.

Do you have a process you go through while blogging about food? ie. what kind of items do you bring? a notebook? camera?

I would say I don’t really have a process, but I do notice a pattern. Given enough time, everything establishes itself into a pattern.
I will always bring a camera, be it my DSLR or my P&S. Both work fine, just whatever is more convenient for me to carry around..usually my P&S!
No notebook, I like to travel light. I would feel too much like a critic if I was to bring a notebook, even if it would make it a lot easier for me to remember what I had ordered or little notes about service. God bless my youthfulness for my good memory (at times) though.

1. Backstory or reason for visiting the restaurant.
2. Google Street View for the exterior. I usually eat dinner, so it’s hard to get a nice picture sometimes. That and it’s nice to have a map to interact with.
3. Description of restaurant, history, ambiance, etc.
4. Food pictures, description, thoughts, etc
* Relevant or other interesting posts may be linked to if I think they’re good reads.

What kind of things do you write down?

n/a..see above.

Do you have a scale that you use?

No scale, would it be more helpful if I was to implement one? It’s still all very subjective, my opinion and experience versus yours, may not be the same!

Who pays for your dinner outings? Mom?

Majority of the meals have been paid for by myself and the money I’ve saved up from jobs & etc. Usually if I go out for dinner with my mom, like it says in the post..then yea, she’ll pay.

If you had to pick, what is your favourite type of food to eat?

What a tough question! I would have to say..finger food like burgers or sandwiches.

Are you kickass at dodgeball???

I don’t know, how about you come to the last playoffs of the VDL season and judge that for yourself? =D
Sunday, December 6th, 1:00 – 4:30PM @ David Thompson Secondary

Okay, this is getting a bit long so I’m going to break it up into two parts…stay tuned.

Tags answers, dodgeball, questions, vancouver dodgeball league, vdl | Permalink | Comment (0)

Uncategorized

Ask me questions!

November 23, 2009 – 23:52

To go along with my recent makeover for the site, I want to put up a FAQ page for those burning questions you probably have. I know, my About page probably has somethin, but I’m sure there’s more questions that have yet to be answered.

Problem is.. I don’t know of anything that would be interesting. So that’s where you, the reader, will come into play.

Ask me a question (or two, or three!) and I will answer them all. Well, if they’re appropriate, of course….

After all, isn’t it comforting to know that the person who writes this blog is a real person?

From the About page.

Permalink | Comment (0)

Uncategorized

Here we go again…

November 12, 2009 – 04:27

EditX2: Not the original theme I was going for, but couldn’t figure out what was making the sidebars not show up. Something else even more simple, clean and white now.

Edit: not even 24 hours and I messed smth up. Side bars arent showing, and widgets aren’t enabled. Gonna leave up the old theme while I figure this out after I get some sleep.

Something is different…can’t put my finger on it..hm?

Yea, with the rest of this week off thanks to Remembrance Day, I decided to change things up. I was getting sick of the color and really wanted a clean look for my blog. I like this theme a lot, I got it from acosmin.com.

I’ve changed quite a bit to the code, but there’s still some little things I probably missed, so if you come across any or have any suggestions……leave a comment!

Anyways, I’ve decided to push myself further into this food blogging thing (it’s serious business…) and signed up for Foodgawker & Taste Spotting. I gotta say, every submission looks so damn good, it really forced myself to think “wow do I even have anything that is the same calibre?” ..turns out they think I do. Food gawker already approved my first submission! Coolios

Hope all has been well for everyone. Thanks for reading.

Permalink | Comment (1)

Uncategorized

The Amazing Hunt – Canada Line Edition (October 2009)

October 19, 2009 – 15:58

I usually avoid posting about my personal life, or at least if I do, it will be mainly centered around food, but I had such a great experience with Vancouver’s own version of The Amazing Race, called The Amazing Hunt…that I just have to post about it! The theme of this race on October 3rd, 2009 was centered around the newly completed Canada Line Skytrain.

Rules and etc about this race here.

The “Host” and the videographer at our first pit stop.

There is one little thread of relation to food that is note worthy, and that is…there was an eating challenge! Already when they hinted in the morning about the eating challenge, I was thinking it would be an Asian restaurant because the Canada Line goes to Richmond, one of its main features.

I was excited, as soon as I entered the restaurant and saw what was on the table, I didn’t even have to read the clue, but still had to for the cameras. I sat down and started eating, and even jokingly asked for some rice while Victor was outside waiting for me to finish. I was the first to arrive, and the first to finish. Deliiiiicious, I loved it. Although it was actually a lot of food after and I left really warm and full, which doesn’t bode well since we are on a race..we had such a big lead after this. No picture of it because it was a race, durh!

We ended up winning the race, and are racing again for the 2009 Championship title this Saturday 24th. If you see people running around town that day, don’t be alarmed! Below are pictures of the other clues we received. The video for this one isn’t up yet, but you can take a look at past races on their Youtube channel.