HILLTOP DINER CAFE

Literally between the Langley and Aldergrove border situates Hilltop Diner, a diner that has been around for over 60 years! Hilltop Diner was featured on You Gotta Eat Here! and filmed in popular movies such as The Butterfly Effect (which I recall enjoying and watched a few times!) and TV series, Supernatural.




We arrived after 11:00am so their speciality breakfast dishes were over, however the classic breakfast such as eggs, ham and sausage run all day.

OZ KOREAN CUISINE

Oz Korean Cuisine is one of the newer chimaek eateries in Coquitlam serving Korean fried chicken and food with alcohol. The restaurant offers a variety of dishes from fried chicken, rice cakes, soup and dumplings to barbecue meat and katsu don.

PRO TIP: Oz Korean offers free underground parking at the back of the restaurant and the password is 1171.

TRATTORIA BURNABY

One of the three Trattoria restaurants under the Glowbal Restaurant Group is located in Burnaby on Kingsway street in the same building with Element Vancouver and GoodLife Fitness, across from Crystal Mall. Trattoria Burnaby is know for their in house pasta, pizza, and a more casual family friendly atmosphere compared to sister restaurant Italian Kitchen.

Walking in, you cannot miss the circular bar at the center of the restaurant. There are both tables and booth seats surrounding the bar, patio tables outside, and more seating arrangements on the second floor. Pro Tip: $13 Tuesday pastas and happy hour runs from 2:00pm to 5:00pm and 9:00pm to closing every day, including weekends! Happy hour menu consists of $5 feature drinks, antipasto for $9.95 and pizza at $12.95.

FOODIES ON BOARD : ALL DAY BRUNCH

Next to Production Way skytrain station in Burnaby, Rod's Kitchen and Grill closed its doors and made room for another breakfast and lunch eatery. Foodies on Board is an unassuming all day brunch restaurant serving sous vide poached eggs, in house protein (bacon, ham and Italian sausage) and focuses on a healthier way of cooking.

THE ELLIS

Alongside many of the restaurants in the West End and within a walking distance from Kitsilano beach sits one of the newer gastropubs, The Ellis. What lead us to The Ellis was Vanfoodster's Burger Challenge and we figured why not go for a whole meal? This was a big deal for me because if it was not for the burger challenge, I most likely would not have given this restaurant a try since I am neither the type to head to a bar or gastropub for snacks or a meal.

When we walked in, I was impressed by the interior and atmosphere. The restaurant looked chic, bougie and literally what you would find if you Googled gastropub.

WATER ST. CAFE: HAPPY HOUR

Across the street from the famous Gastown Steam Clock (literally) and in the heart of Gastown, Downtown Vancouver situates a west coast cuisine restaurant Water St. Cafe. The restaurant has an Italian influence as well and offers pasta made from scratch. However, we were here to take advantage of their happy hour menu and to try as many plates as we could! Happy hour at Water St. Cafe runs 7 days a week (yes, including weekends!) from 3:00pm to 5:00pm.

The atmosphere at Water St. Cafe is very bright and inviting. Outdoor seating is available now that patio season has arrived and there are private rooms upstairs for larger parties.

GREEN LEAF CAFE : BURNABY LOCATION

For those of you who have never heard of Green Leaf Cafe, it is a very popular Japanese restaurant located in Kitsilano. The Japanese restaurant specializes in aburi sushi (flame seared pressed sushi), is known to be a cheaper alternative compared to Miku and Minami (creators of aburi sushi) and they recently opened a second location in Burnaby near Lougheed Mall.

The Burnaby location is a lot more spacious compared to the restaurant in the West End and has an inviting atmosphere. There are a few Japanese restaurants in this area and considering that Green Leaf is newly renovated, it is definitely the restaurant with the nicest decor as well as more modern dishes.

ORTO ARTISAN PASTA

Orto Artisan Pasta is a cute little Italian restaurant in North Vancouver offering pasta made from scratch. The restaurant is on the smaller side and reservations are only accepted for parties greater than six. However the parking lot is transformed into a patio for outdoor seating and you can sit in the garden. The garden where vegetables are grown for their kitchen!

Before arriving on a Sunday evening, I was advised through the phone that there will be no wait as long as we sit at the patio. Guaranteed. We ended up waiting 30 minutes though and it was disappointing to see that the same table which was available when we first arrived at the restaurant was the same table we were seated at. I get hangry way too easily...

GOODBOWL

My gym membership is located in Richmond and I dread looking for a post work out meal (especially when dining alone!) because the city offers a vast selection of Chinese, Shanghainese, Szechuan and Korean restaurants, AKA delicious food but not the best option health conscious/sodium wise. Most of the time after an early work out I feel like eating on the healthier side too and how much food can one order at an Asian restaurant? Although at the same time, I don't want something as healthy as Japanese food since I usually crave for beef and chicken rather than seafood after a work out. The life of a high maintenance diner is complicated isn't it?

So when Goodbowl reached out to me, I was excited to give them a try once I found out their eatery is all about fresh and high quality produce. We are talking about AAA Angus beef, free run and hormone free chicken, and Sukura pork!

Goodbowl is located in Richmond on Alderbridge Way and Garden City Road, in the same plaza with Walmart Supercentre. Their concept is you build your own bowl (Kid's $6.95, Regular $9.95 and Large $12.95) with your choice of rice (jasmine, harvest or wild rice) or noodles, select your vegetables, pick your protein, choose your sauce, and watch your food cook in front of you. It's very similar to Mongolian style cooking, but a ton healthier considering the quality, amount of vegetables, and their specialty sauces (which are actually healthy).

What I love about Goodbowl is that you get an UNLIMITED amount of vegetables, whatever fits in the bowl is yours. I love my vegetables and when I hear the word unlimited, I go crazy.

Their selection of protein includes AAA Certified Angus beef, free run/grain fed/ hormone free chicken, Sakura pork, and tofu. Adding a free run egg will cost $1.95, prawns $3.95, or extra meat $2.95 (regular bowl) and $3.95 (large bowl). The prices here are very reasonable.

Asides from fresh and high quality produce, Goodbowl stands out because their sauces are created by Chuck Currie. He is known for his work with Cactus Club, Earl's, Joeys and Whitespot.