Hello Foodies, I have bad news.

Last night, my roommate (Josh) and I waited for my other roommate (Eli) to arrive from work. We wanted to grab some buffalo chicken pizzas at Cassiano's Pizza. It was pouring rain when we went. We bought the pizzas and walked back home, but as I walked across the wet street with a box in my hands, I slipped was unable to catch myself.

My face smacked the hard cement leaving my chin seriously scraped and my front tooth painfully chipped off. It's pretty embarrassing and painful, but I wanted to share this with you guys. I'm OK if you guys were wondering. This just means that I can't and won't be able to really explore restaurants for a week or so.

"Then what are you going to eat, Norg?"

 "It hurts too much to chew? Oh no!" 

This was my solution: SOUP!

I recently discovered this amazing health/vegan/vegetarian place called Organic Avenue. They serve all kinds of vegan and gluten-free salads, soups, juices, shakes, baked goods, and even wraps.

This place is Vegan Heaven!

Since I'm like an old man who can't chew his food, I grabbed two soups and a vegetable juice.

For the soups, I got a Gazpacho Verde (purified alkaline water, organic cucumber, tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, green pepper, jalapeño, onion, spinach, olive oil, garlic, pink salt, mint, cumin, and black pepper).

It was really thick and spicy. You could really taste the jalapeño!

The other soup I got was Spicy Avocado (purified alkaline water, organic avocado, spinach, celery, cilantro, pink salt, garlic, jalapeño, lime, and cumin).

This one is much smoother than the other soup. I also personally really like the rich avocado taste. This too is REALLY spicy!

The vegetable drink that I got was Medicinal Green (Organic cucumber, organic swiss chard, spinach, collard greens, kale, lemon, garlic, turmeric, pink salt, cayenne pepper).

This one I didn't like so much. I'm all about the healthy lifestyle, but this was just too green and sour for my liking.

Overall, this is an awesome place to get delicious organic juices and food and for a great healthy, yet maybe slightly more expensive, alternative.

"My body will not be a tomb for other creatures"

-Leonardo Da Vinci

Walking around East Village as a foodie is like walking around a candy store as a child. This area has the most interesting food in NYC that I've explored. From little unique cafes to hole in a wall restaurants, the food spots here are limitless.

Exploring the area, I found Otafuku. It's a cute, clean, and authentic Japanese owned restaurant. 

239 E 9th St, New York, NY, 10003

This place is quite small and orders are made quickly (at least for the Takoyaki)

I ordered the Takoyaki. 

For those who don't know, takoyaki is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special takoyaki pan. It is typically filled with diced octopus, tempura scraps, pickled, ginger and onions. It is served with sauce that is similar to Worcestershire sauce and mayonnaise. Sometimes it comes with katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) which are flakes of dried fish.  

It was really hard to get a clear picture of the takoyaki because of all the delicious bonito flakes all over it.

Takoyaki - $7

I was really excited to have takoyaki in New York because for some reason, it's apparently hard to find good takoyaki in the city. It tasted amazing! It melted in your mouth and the seasoning was perfect. All the ingredients just mix perfectly together with the seaweed flakes, the bonito flakes, the sauces, and the takoyaki itself! Yum!

Finally, I all the bonito flakes. Here's a clearer picture of what's underneath.

Overall, this place was a great discovery. I've only tried the takoyaki here, but I definitely want to come back for more and try all their different food. This place does authentic Japanese food well.

"I buy soy sauce and flavor it five different ways: with sake, mirin, sugar, kombu and bonito flakes. I use them on lots of dishes at home."

-Masahara Morimoto

Five Words: Big Gay Ice Cream Shop.

With a shocking and bold name like this, how can you not get customers? Oh, I know, how bout serve delicious ice creams with a name like Salty Pimp?

125 E 7th St, New York, NY, 10009

Only in New York City will I find a place like this. I've walked by this ice cream parlor several times before I actually went to try it. This is just in East Village of Manhattan.

Inside, they sell Big Gay Ice Cream merchandise.

Oh did I mention that their mascot is a unicorn?

Beat Arthur - $5.50

My roommate, Josh, ordered a Bea Arthur. Vanilla ice cream, dulce de leche, and crushed 'nilla wafers. It has an interesting dusty texture that went really well with the smooth vanilla ice cream.

Salty Pimp - $6

I ordered the Salty Pimp. It's salted vanilla ice cream and dulce de leche dipped in chocolate. Oh man, this was delicious! I really liked the contrast of sweet and salty. I also liked how the chocolate itself was soft rather than crunchy.

You can't have ice cream alone!

Overall, this is a great ice cream shop to go to during these up and coming hot days. I recommend the Salty Pimp!

"Love is an ice cream sundae, with all the marvelous coverings. Sex is the cherry on top."

-Jimmy Dean

Having been away from my family for the last couple of weeks, I am forced to eat cafeteria food, take out, and the occasional noodle cup. And honestly, as much as I love living independent from my family, I truly miss my mother's cooking. For my first post about Mom's Cooking, I want to explain to you how we do thing at my house.

1. Everyone eats together

2. Every meal is a feast

3. If you don't eat fast, you don't eat at all

4. We're all carnivores

5. Eat vegetables (mom's rule)

This is usually how a dinner at my house would look like.

My mom started with a Kale Salad. Here's the eat vegetables rule. It's a mixed vegetables dish with a special, sweet Japanese dressing. We really like to use this Japanese dressing for a lot of our salads, especially our spring salads. Unfortunately, I don't exactly know what the name of dressing is, but I only know what the bottle looks like.

And for the main course, my mom made Sinigang Fried Chicken. 

Some of you, especially you non-filipino people, may be wondering what sinigang is? Basically, siningang is a filipino soup or stew characterized by its sour and savory flavor. This dish usually has pork and vegetables. It's a great dish for cold days.

So the twist with this dish is that it is fried chicken with the sour and savory flavor of sinigang. This is definitely the best homemade fried chicken I've ever had. One that is very unique too!

I mean, I could eat about 7 of these as if it was nothing! Yum yum yum!

"The best comfort food will always be greens, cornbread, and fried chicken."

-Maya Angelou

I was looking through my computer folders for the pictures of all the restaurants and food spots that I've visited and realized that I completely forgot to post about Park Royal's Taphouse.

Located in The Village in Park Royal (West Vancouver), the Taphouse is a pub that is home to 20 different cold brews on tap.

This is also the home of my girlfriend's new favorite Beef Dip.

Since I only had 9 days in Vancouver, most of it revolved around my mother's wedding. Because of this, I didn't have too much time to see my good friends.

I thought it would be a good idea to have a nice lunch at the Taphouse with Croft, Monet, Q, Olive, and Sydney since the pub grub here is great.

Beef Dip - $16

Sydney, Monet, and I ordered the Beef Dip. It was actually really good! It had crispy onions, cheese, and tender beef on a garlic baguette. In my opinion, anything garlic is amazing. The dip itself was really flavorful as well. This will definitely fill you up.

Bison Burger - $16.5

Olive and Q both ordered the Bison Burger. It's naturally raised BC bison, blueberry caramelized onions, crispy pancetta, and pecan goat cheese. This is more than the basic burger, and to add to that, it's more delicious!

Croft had a salad. I didn't take a picture of his food because in a big group, it's hard to do so.

Overall, it was a nice place to bring a group of friends. Hopefully by Summer time, I get to do this again!

"You don't need a pack of wild horses to learn how to make a sandwich."

-Phil McGraw

Hey foodies! Quick update here today!

I'm finally back in New York City. My flight here was delayed two hours so I wasn't able to get to my first class on time.

I actually had a field trip for my other class and visited the Mid-Town Public Library.

Since I'm not on vacation anymore, it'll be difficult to post daily compared to when I was in Vancouver. I plan to try out new restaurants or food spots around the city during the weekends. Also after having ALL those foods during Spring Break, I'm going to be hitting the gym more often.

New York Public Library via Instagram (@NothingButNorg)

FINALLY--

I want to introduce my new page called "MAPS"-- There, you can see a small map of every place I've mentioned on my blog. I've categorized Vancouver into sections like "North Vancouver" & "West Vancouver" to make it more specific of where you want to look at. But for NYC, I get confused with districts so I'm going to be making it a big food map!

 

Check it out now! Click here

I really hope this works out and improves my blog!

Thank you all for following! I've come so far from just 2 months ago!

"Practically everybody in New York has half the mind to write a book -- and does."

-Grouch Marx

Spring Break is over and last night was my final night in Vancouver. Since I was so busy with packing and preparing for my trip back to New York City, I didn't have the time to blog about this event. We celebrated with a bang. Since Vancouver is known for it's amazing and fresh sushi, we went to Miku Restaurant in downtown Vancouver.

The restaurant is found right in front of the ocean, hence, waterfront.

As soon as you enter, you feel the modern and hip ambiance that the restaurant offers.

We were sat at the sushi bar, which surprisingly had a of space.

I didn't really know what to expect. Usually, sushi is sushi. It's either fresh or not. Nothing more and nothing less.

But what surprised me the most was the way they prepared their sushi. This is the first time I've seen Aburi Sushi. Aburi is inspired by the idea of sear-flaming sushi. It really added a new dynamic for the Japanese dish. Typically, they add the sauce then sear-flame it on top of the sushi. Miku Restaurant is famous for being one of the few spots that serve this style of sushi.

Here's a little demonstration:

Our waiter also said that Miku Restaurant sushis don't require any soy sauce for dipping. Each sushi has its own special sauces that is already added within the sushi itself.

Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi - $16

The first thing we ordered was the Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi. It had BC Wild Sockeye Salmon, jalapeño, and miku sauce. What is interesting about this is its unorthodox presentation. Rather than the common round sushi, the sushi is square shaped. This was probably one of the freshest sushis I've ever had. The special miku sauce complemented the sushi perfectly and the fact it was sear-flamed made it taste even better.

Miku Roll - $18

The next thing we ordered was the Miku Roll. This was AMAZING! it had salmon, crab, cucumber, sea urchin, and it is rolled in flying fish roe. Also, it has the same sear-flamed miku sauce.Very delicious! It almost melts in your mouth! I thought that having all these ingredients would be overwhelming and confusing, but everything seem to have created a dynamic flavored sushi that held the name of the restaurant.

Pan Seared Scallops - $18

We also ordered the Pan Seared Scallops. It is market fresh orange, watercress, frisée, crème fraîche, and yuzu puttanesca. I don't even know what more than half of these ingredients are, but the scallops were perfectly cooked. It wasn't too chewy or too soft and it was seasoned well. The orange also added a nice tangy flavor that aided the taste of the scallops.

Premium Aburi - $26

Finally, we ordered the Premium Aburi. It is the chef's selection feature seafood, lightly flame seared aburi style, and each paired with a unique house made sauce. It is really difficult to explain all of these, but each one of these sushis had a very unique taste. All of these were also sear-flamed. The only problem was that for its price, I would've wanted more!

Overall, everything I ate was amazing. If it wasn't for its expensive price, I would go here everyday! This place is definitely a place I would go to to celebrate special events!

"Don't dunk your nigiri in the soy sauce. Don't mix your wasabi in the soy sauce. If the rice is good, complement your sushi chef on the rice."

-Anthony Bourdain

Quick update guys!

So recently, someone from the "The Province and The Vancouver Sun" newspaper (equivalent to NY Times) contacted via Instagram (@NothingButNorg) asking me to contact them if I was interested to have my foodie photos featured in their Gastropost column. After going back and forth with a few emails, I am now taking weekly "missions" from Gastropost that could potentially have my pictures featured in their newspaper!

Starting from nothing and now being featured in a local newspaper, this is VERY exciting for me!

You can find my picture second from the bottom left! It was an older photo I posted from Gusto Di Quattro.

Hopefully I can be featured more often in their weekly columns!

"Beware the hobby that eats"

-Benjamin Franklin

Congratulations to Winnie and Ken Lineham!

The newly wed couple, my mother and Ken, had a beautiful wedding yesterday afternoon in Stanley Park. My girlfriend, my uncle, and I coordinated the wedding at The Teahouse. We had around 54 guests, many of which are people I met for the very first time.

One of the people I met was Thomas, he was in charge of the decisions in the dessert buffet table and the cake. And since I was too busy running around and helping with the celebration, the only pictures I could take were the items on the dessert table.

There was a beautiful stack of rainbow colored macarons. I've always loved macarons growing up and it has been a long time since I've last had them. But after trying these different mixes, I've had cravings for more!

I didn't really try these cupcakes. I took a bit of the ones with the circular icing. It was a carrot cake cupcake! I'm not a fan of carrot cakes, but this was actually pretty good. Not too sweet, but not too bland!

These little bowls had tiramisu inside of them! It was really good! Now, tiramisu is one of my favorite and the cake was really moist and delicious.

Here is the Wedding Cake! It was red velvet. I thought that the only problem was that it was too filling! The icing was so thick and sweet. But personally, I think the best part about were the edible rose petals. Mmm... edible rose petals...

Again, CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BRIDE AND GROOM!

"In all of the wedding cakes, hope is the sweetest of plums"

-Anonymous

It's funny how you can find great places to eat when you actually get out of your house and walk around your neighborhood. Buddha-Full was one of those unique places that I just so happened to have stumbled upon.

This vegan-friendly place was the definition of hipster. First of all, the name itself was really creative and made me interested to see what it was.

106 1st St W #101, North Vancouver, BC

When you enter the store, you'll notice that everything had a raw feeling to it. The benches and shelves looked as if it were built by a local young carpenter.

Their menu was amazing. I really liked the chalk art and their menu was colorful and eye catching. It was the focal point of the store.

They also sold vegan and raw products. They even have gluten-free desserts and sandwiches! (AND COOL, 100% VEGAN LIP BALMS!)

This place makes you feel healthy as a whole.

The Lobo - $8.40

There were so many choices in their menu, but I ended up choosing The Lobo (Lonsdale Bohemian). It had hemp protein, dates, peanut butter, banana, and almond milk. This smoothie was so filling and smooth! The peanut butter was not too overwhelming but allowing the other flavors to be noticeable as well!

Overall, this place is great. It's a bit expensive because of its organic ingredients, but it was well worth my money. The store has a tranquil mood and its a great place to meet with friends (your yoga hippie friends, jkjk). It's actually quite funny because a few hours later, one of my gluten-free friends, Yannick, recommended me to check this place out. That just made me realize this place's popularity within the organic-lovers community.

"Let your food be your medicine, let your medicine be your food"

-Hippocrates

I've been so busy the last few days that it was almost impossible for me to find time to post. Now that I have time for myself, I can finally post about the dinner I had a couple days ago.

I went out with my siblings, my mother, and my soon-to-be-step-father to Burgoo Bistro. This place was unique for its filling comfort food. Its wooden interior was also relaxing and set a comforting mood. 

One thing that is really unique about this place is that they serve foods from many parts of the world. Not only that, but they also write the location of each item on the menu. For instance, Palak Pakoras, IND or Mussels Cocotte, FRA. I really enjoyed this interesting concept.

ANYWAYS...

Since I'm FINALLY LEGAL, we had appetizers and drinks at the bar.

Bloody Caesar - $6.50

I ordered a Caesar, CAN. I have yet to explore the world of alcoholic beverages so I can't differentiate between a good and a bad drink.

Nacho Fuego - $13

We started with the Nacho Fuego, MEX. This is probably the best nachos I've ever had and, by far, my personal favorite. It has chorizo, red pepper, chipotle, guacamole (optional), and melted cheese. The chips they used are amazing as well!

They also have quite the liquor collection.

Fonduemental - $15

When the table was ready, we were kindly led by our charming server to our booth. We ordered a Fonduemental, CHE. It's molten Gryere & Emmenthal, white wine and Kirsch. It's one of those basic fondues. It is also served with bread, apples, and grapes. It's quite good and kinda addicting to eat. The only problem is that it's such a small bowl of cheese!

"After School Special" (Gooey Grilled Cheese and any soup) - $16.50

My sister and my mother ordered Gooey Grilled Cheese, GBR (what does GBR even mean?!). The bread is so crunchy and buttery, and its cheese is really gooey. Everything about this sandwich is great! It also goes perfectly if you dip it in the sweet Straight Up Tomato, GBR. People go to Burgoo for the combination of the grilled cheese and the tomato soup!

Meatball Sub - $15

I ordered their Meatball Sub. It's REALLY filling, but I had one problem. I thought that the meatball itself wasn't very tasteful. It tasted like it had too much italian seasoning. I did like the tomato sauce and cheese that covered it though. Other than that, the sandwich didn't blow my mind.

Overall, this is a great restaurant. I've gone here 3 times this week with different people and it's really one of the best places to eat on the Lower Lonsdale area.

"The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."

-Willie Nelson

I had brunch today with my mom and her friends at Moodyville Café. This place is apparently the oldest restaurant on the Lower Lonsdale area. It was just a cute little cafe.

101 Lonsdale Ave, North Vancouver, BC

One with a sense of humor too.

It's also a popular little place for locals to visit.

I ordered the Traditional Eggs Benedict. I thought it was okay. The sauce they used was not only buttery but you could really taste the lemon. It was pretty good. The potatoes were alright, nothing special. Everything was really pretty average over anything else.

Honestly, although the food wasn't absolutely mind blowing, the ambiance and the mood of the place made it for me. I would definitely go back here with friends for brunch!

"Damn you, Eggs Benedict!"

-Charlie Harper (Two and a Half Men)

The past three nights, I've been accustomed to have dinner at Lonsdale Quay area. First Raglan's, then Burgoo, and now Gusto Di Quattro.

Gusto Di Quattro is my girlfriend's GO TO restaurant. Whether it's birthday or any day of the week, she would never pass up an offer to go to this place. I mean, she's also a little biased because her father has been the manager of Quattro in Whistler Village for as long as she remembers.

Since this is restaurant is between casual and fine dining, it can get a little pricey unless you go when they offer their great deals, which is one of the reasons we went on a Monday night. During these nights, appetizers are $5, pastas are $10, and house wines are $5! That's how you get customers!

We started with Cheesy Garlic Bread. It was definitely cheesy! The tomato sauce was like a marinara-type of sauce. The bread was well seasoned and the cheesy, was well, cheesy. Just a heads up, this appetizer is not a permanent feature on their menu, it is only available during on the Monday/Tuesday special menu with the 10$ pastas and 5$ appetizers/house wines. 

First of all, I just want to say that Italian food is not my forté when it comes to knowing what it's suppose to taste like. 

I ordered the Linguine Carrettiera. It has tuna, pancetta, mushrooms, and parmesan. It's a pretty simple recipe, but the combination of the few ingredients made for a tasteful Italian dish. 

My girlfriend ordered their famous Spaghetti Quattro. This is what she has to say about it:

"Antonio, the owner of Quattro Restaurants, created this dish years ago and now it's the pride and joy of the the four Quattro locations! A spicy dish made for the true Italians at heart, it has been my favorite item on their menu--as well as my absolute favorite food--for years!"

Again, I had the perfect company.

For dessert, we ordered something called the Resurrection. You guys know what a Lava Cake is? It's basically the same thing. It's a molten chocolate lava cake, vanilla bean gelato, and warm chocolate sauce. This was the second time I've had it and this time around, the inside was perfectly made. With just one scoop, the hot chocolate flowed out creating a a delicious pool of fudgy goodness! 

"Life is not worth if I cannot have pasta or bread again."

-Monica Seles