Fresh Dates ($1.69 per pound)

There is still a pile of these fresh dates at the Osaka Supermarket (a.k.a T & T Supermarket) in Richmond today. I initially found these treats a few weeks ago at the Yaohan Centre location. I’m on my third bag in three weeks. Have you tried?

The season for fresh dates is short. I think it runs September to October for the Red Dates above; which are also known as Chinese Dates or Jujubes.

Hello again Kamloops. Yowza, there has been so many changes since I’ve been away. Some places have said farewell, while others have moved in to give it a go. Sunmei Taiwanese Cuisine is one of those places that moved in to give it a go. Sun Mei occupies the spot that used to house Warunee’s Thai. I saw A.L. was enjoying some lurofan a while back and had put Sun Mei on my places to check out when I rolled back into town.

I just finished running, coughing and wheezing around Vancouver. As my legs recover, I’ll tell you about a new restaurant in Nanaimo. It’s called 899 Kitchen. They opened a few weeks ago during the Marine Festival weekend. This Chinese restaurant is located in the old Wesley Street Café location, just in front of Bistro Taiyo in Nanaimo’s Old City Quarter.

I place my order and pay here. There is a touch screen terminal which allows me to peruse the small menu, make my choices and pay via cards. It will spit out a receipt, and I go sit down.

Wow.

This is the name of a road in Yale, BC.
It is on the north end of the town. You'll see this road sign if you are westbound on the Trans Canada Highway heading towards Yale's town centre or Hope.

Can you imagine living on this road and having to relay your address to others?
If I was the Fed Ex dude, I'd totally be judging.

Beijing Bina Cooking House is a Chinese restaurant that offers a bit more variety than the average Golden-Dragon-Lotus-Inn type place out here in the interior. Most notably, Bina’s focus is on Mandarin cuisine, with a sprinkling of Sichuan. However, if you’re still hankering for the Chop-Suey-Sweet-n’-Sours, Beijing Bina offers a westernized-Chinese take-out menu on the side too.

Gele/Gula Mountain Chili Chicken ($16.88)

I first went to Happy Valley about five or so years ago. I was driving out of Vancouver around midnight, and it happened to be open. DL spotted it while we whizzed by on East Broadway. When Happy Valley first opened, they had late-night hours and were open until 1 or 2 am. The next time we went for late night snacks, they had tweaked their hours to close at 11pm or midnight.

I am in Vancouver for several days attending a conference for work. I’m hankering for some Hainanese Chicken Rice. I also want some bubble tea when I’m done, so I set my sights on City 1 Café on the corner of Oak Street and King Ed. City 1 Café is conveniently kitty corner to Dragon Ball Tea House.

The last time I ate was 22 hours ago, and that was 6 cubes of honeydew and 4 cubes of cantaloupe. Needless to say, at this point I am willing to eat a leather shoe.

Congee Noodle House is a reliable spot to get cheap, fast eats. I haven’t been here in yonks, but it’s nice to know its still here. Congee Noodle House is one of the restaurants you can count on to be open late in the Broadway and Main area. So here we are. It’s late, and I’m a bit nibbly.

Soy Pork Hock with Noodle ($7.25)

*Dear Temptasian Restaurant,
Four images on your website are stolen images. They are the property of the Love of Eating food blog. You did not ask permission nor was permission given to Temptasian Restaurant for the use of these photos. Your theft is no mistake as evidence by your graphic designer taking the time to remove the Lvoe.ca watermarks. Kindly remove the images, or contact the www.lvoe.ca webmaster for permission regarding image use. It's not nice to steal.