On February 11, 2014, I turned 19 years old. Unfortunately, I turned 19 (legal in Vancouver) when I was in New York, which the legal age is 21. So it was really difficult to truly celebrate my birthday drink.

ANYWAYS!

Today was my first day back to Vancouver for Spring Break! Woohoo! I spent it with my lovely girlfriend (Sydney) and my family. It was a a beautiful day out today so I spent most of it outside the house and in Lonsdale Quay area.

Straight to dinner: Sydney and I went to a local Tiki-Style bistro called Raglan's Bistro. And for the first time in my life, I ORDERED MY VERY FIRST ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE IN A PUBLIC RESTAURANT.

15 Lonsdale Ave, North Vancouver, BC

The whole place is really creatively designed. With tiki decorations all over the place, a little straw hut as a bar, and surfboards as tables, this place was definitely unique. Our server was really helpful and friendly too. The staff was very kind and showed great customer service.

I ordered a margarita to start. To be specific, a Strawberry Kamikaze. Mmm... girly drinks...

Kamikaze - $7.25

This wasn't our first time here, so we went straight to what I know Raglan's for: their poutine. For those who don't know, poutine is a Canadian dish from Québec that is made of french fries, gravy, and cheese curds. From the selection of poutines such as the classic poutine, cheeseburger poutine, and pulled pork poutine, my girlfriend wanted to try the Ancho Chicken Poutine.

Ancho Chicken Poutine - $13, Meaty Nachos - $18

Ancho Chicken Poutine was made of french fries, gravy, cheese curds, grilled chicken, bacon, mozzarella, crispy onions, and chipotle sour cream.

Two words: Absolutely Delicious!

We also order their Meaty Nachos, which had everything nachos had, but with grilled chicken, chorizo, and bacon.

This was good as well.

Overall, this place is a great place to go especially for the Summer time. They have burgers, sandwiches, margaritas, tacos, nachos, poutine, and many other foods that are perfect for those bright and sunny days. I wish we had been seated outside at their patio seating so we could've enjoyed the sun. But if you go to Raglan's Bistro, be sure to order ANY of the poutines. You won't regret it!

"If bacon ate, bacon would eat poutine"

-Chris Jones (Esquire Editor)

It's my roommate's (Josh) birthday weekend and its my mother's wedding in a week and a half. This created the conflict between choosing to go through an intense diet before the wedding or properly celebrating my friend's birthday. Clearly, as the foodie that I am, I chose the food route.

Josh found out, from word of ear, about a place that had Donut Ice Cream Sandwiches. That's right! DONUT ICE CREAM SANDWICHES! It sounded too amazing to pass up. Holey Cream was the place for this.

796 9th Ave, New York, NY (Between 51st and 52nd Streets)

 This place was just outside Time Square. We found this place in a quieter part of the neighborhood. This quirky little place would be an amazing place to go to during the Summer time.

The inside of the place was quite basic. A very typical ice cream shop.

Looking at the menu, we were searching for the Donut Ice Cream Sandwich sections, but it was no where in sight.

Still no where... Until one of the employers offered it to us.

So this is how it works:

1) Choose 3 different Ice Cream flavors

2) Choose either Vanilla, Chocolate, or Strawberry for the donut ice cream

3) Finally, Choose a topping

I chose Dulce de Leche, Peanut Butter Crunch, and Moose Tracks Ice Cream. Then I chose the vanilla icing and the classic sprinkles as a topping.

Everything they served was quite fresh. The donut was made right in front of us and the ice cream was delicious. Out of the three flavors of I chose, I thought the best one was Moose Tracks. The vanilla ice cream was smooth and the chocolate chunks were very complimenting. My least favorite ice cream was the Dulce De Leche, I just thought that its consistency was a little too sticky, although it was still delicious.

Overall, this sweet monster was well worth the $8 I spent. It was hard to eat like a sandwich so we approached it with a spoon. This place is definitely a MUST VISIT during Summer in New York City! Yum yum!

"I am having a love affair with this ice cream sandwich"

-George (Arrested Development)

What do you do for dinner after the night you just had ramen? Get more Ramen!

Last night my friend, May (WHO RECENTLY GOT CASTED IN "FLOWER DRUM SONG"), was really insisting me to go with her to grab some real, asian ramen after Footloose.

249 E 49 St, NY, New York, 10017

After hours of research of which Ramen shop stays open past midnight, we found Seo Japanese on 49th Street. This cute little Japanese store was quite traditionally decorated. When you enter that back room, you're given a beautiful view of a Japanese garden with bamboo and . The atmosphere inside this place made it feel like you weren't in New York anymore.

Edamame - $4

We ordered the classic Edamame. There's not much to review about this item. Most edamame are almost identical, so this one was good. 

Shio Ramen - $9.50

I ordered a Shio Ramen, which was a salt-based ramen. The broth was good, a little bit watery, but it was good. I was really craving a miso-based type ramen but the menu was literally so small, they only offered 3 types of ramen. Their drink menu was larger than their actual menu.

The noodles were similar to the ones in Hinata Ramen. There was a lot more than I expected. It was also not one of the softer kinds of noodles, which has been a pattern in New York ramen places so far.

The chasu was excellent but tiny! It was soooo fatty! The fattier the better (when it comes to chasu)! I like how the edges were slightly burnt and added a greater seasoned flavor.

My friend, May, ordered the Shoyu. To be honest, I was kind of jealous, her's tasted better. Other than the more flavorful broth, everything was basically the same.

Overall, Seo Japanese has great ramen for much cheaper than Hinata Ramen, but their choices were incredibly limited. Hinata had at least 6 ramens to choose from and Seo had only 3. Their appetizers weren't too appealing either. From choices from cold tofu to pork on rice, there wasn't really anything that caught my eye. Although this was their only flaw, the ramen was great.

"Although the food was good, the company could've been better."

-May Yoshioka

In almost every country in the world, you can find a McDonalds. In the Philippines, you can get a McChicken or a McSpaghetti. In Canada, there's McPoutine. But my all time favorite unique McDonalds country specialty is USA's Shamrock Shake.

Medium Shamrock Shake

I'm in love with milkshakes and this is one of my favorite. I don't care if it's McDonalds, I don't care if it's less than $4, this minty drink is amazing. This thing is so sweet that drinking it is like a dream. This vanilla based shake has a subtle mint syrup that gives it its green color. Topped with whip cream, this is a great, cheap reward for treating myself after a long night backstage.

The only flaw that I have with this is that it is seasonal. It usually comes out from February to March (WHICH IS NOT ENOUGH TIME!). But other than that... Mmm... minty vanilla shake.

"I drink your milkshake"

-Daniel Plainview

Recently in New York, the cold has been hitting the city hard. Walking around the city, I tried to figure out what the best kind of dish to have for a cold day like this. Then I remembered: RAMEN!

Ramen is probably the most comforting to eat during the winter. Delicious and warm, ramen is my family's go to comfort food. 

159 E 55th St, New York, NY, 10022

My roommates and I literally pass this hole-in-the-wall every time we walk to La Baguette (the place where they accept our dining dollars) and today was the first day we decided to try it. 

Hinata is actually only a block away from our dorm so it was good to know that good quality asian food can be found just minutes away.

Inside Hinata was actually really nice. It had a home-y atmosphere and it was very warm and comfortable. The waiters were great, helpful, and friendly. I really like how everything had a wooden theme to their furniture. It was pretty empty though when we went, so this place doesn't receive too much attention.

One thing about the place I really didn't like was their choice of music. It was kinda off. The theme of the place was very Japanese so I would've expected nice traditional Japanese music or at least something fitting. They were literally playing music like "Waterfall by TLC" and other hip hop and RnB music.

I also want to comment on how expensive this place was. I mean, for a college student, this place was quite pricey. $13+ per ramen and a good appetizer would cost you $7. This makes it a once in a blue kind of place to go to.

Capico - $3.50

For my drink I ordered something called Capico. It was a Japanese milk-based sweet soft drink. It had a very unique, lemon-like taste, but with a hint of milk. Although I was expecting something thicker, it was actually very refreshing and for those who doesn't like something too sweet, this would be good drink for you.

Ramune - $3.50

As for my roommate, Josh, he ordered a classic Ramune, which is basically a citrus soft drink with a cool gimmick to it. The coolest part about it is how you open it. You basically push a plastic top onto the opening to make the marble fall inside. Other than that, it's basically a better sprite.

Pork Bun - $7

This was an interesting way to do a pork bun. I was expecting the traditional one that looks like a big dumpling. This was actually really good. The bun itself was fluffy and sweet, which contrasted well with the savory and well seasoned meat.

I thought that the meat was the best part. I like that the chasu (the pork) they had was fatty. The lettuce also offered a crunch that accompanied the pork bun quite well.

My roommate, having tried this for the first time, thought that it reminded him of an asian burger saying that you can offer this to anyone and they would like it. It was a great transitional food if you are trying asian dishes for the first time.

Hinata Paitan Ramen - $12.5

Now for the main course. Firstly, the broth. I thought that the broth was surprisingly good. I didn't expect it to be as rich and creamy as I thought it would. It was a bit lighter than most of the miso based broths I've had, but I thought it was still delicious. Compared to most of the ramen I've had in NYC, this was among the top. It was one of the most flavorful.

Secondly, the noodles. I wasn't the biggest fan of the noodles. I've had better house made noodles than these. It was a little on the harder side. Usually, when I have ramen I'm used to the softer noodles that doesn't necessarily require too much chewing. I wouldn't say that it was terrible. I mean, it was good, but it's not my type.

Lastly, the chasu. Oh man, this was definitely the best part of this restaurant. It was fatty and delicious! I should've ordered extra chasu! It was well seasoned and it was something I had to save for last.

Overall, Hinata was a great place to eat. Although its menu is quite small, their food is delicious. It's not place I would go to everyday, but a place I would go to occasionally. For the amount you are paying, you will be full and warm. I really like this small and quiet place. This is somewhere I'd definitely bring someone for a nice asian meal that is close by.

"A bowl of ramen is a self-contained universe with life from the sea, the mountains, and the earth."

-Maezumi (The Ramen Girl)

Happy Friday everyone! It's time for Fantasy Friday!

Sometimes, I wish I had the power to just imagine food and for these foods to appear right in front of my eyes. Shake Shack Burger? Boom. Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream? Boom.

Doesn't this remind you of that epic food scene from Hook? You know, when Peter Pan finally learned how to imagine?

Never-Food is one of the fictional foods that I REALLY want to try! I mean, this creative meal could taste like anything! It could be sweet and pie-like or it could be savory like colorful mashed potatoes.

Another awesome aspect of this dish is that IT NEVER RUNS OUT!

It never runs out you say?!

Recently, I've been having insane craving for sweets but leaving my dorm to go out to the groceries for a candy bar is just too much effort on a lazy Friday afternoon like this, which is why Never-Food's convenience is as delicious as it looks.

Looking further into this food, I actually found a couple of real versions of Never-Food.

Its icing reminds me of ones from Canada's cupcake chain: Cupcakes. And by Cupcakes, I don't mean any random cupcakes, I mean this Cupcakes! (Cupcakes sounds weird now that I keep saying it).

Mmm... Now I want dessert!

"What's the deal? Where's the real food?" -Peter

"If you can't imagine yourself being Peter Pan, you won't *be* Peter Pan, so eat up." -Tinkerbell

It kills me to say this, but I had no time to at all to eat anything great. I've been so busy that I haven't been able to post for the longest time! Since now that I've found time between classes to make this post, I'm going to use it to tell you exactly what I've been so caught up with.

As some of you may know, I was given the opportunity to become part of the Wardrobe Run Crew in an off-stage production of Footloose. I've learned how to make things like scrunchies, bandanas, and THIS AWESOME BOW TIE THAT I GET TO KEEP!

The hours for this thing are crazy. I feel like I've been living at the school. I was literally working from 9AM-1120PM from last Saturday and 9AM-8PM yesterday. Then until March 10, I'll be at school from 6PM-11PM. All that, plus auditions, call backs, and hours of papers. Goodbye social life.

I have literally been living off of protein bars, hard boiled eggs, and a skimmed triple cappuccino. Not-so-foodie-friendly food. I just want an nice, juicy burger.

In other news, all these awesome things I've ordered from Amazon have finally arrived! Though I go home so late every night that the mail room is always closed when I try to grab my packages. Life is hard. Very hard.

Also, you guys should definitely follow my Twitter account! @VancFoodie -- There I post little things food-related in my life.

Anyways, I have 5-minutes till class starts so I'm going to sign out. Next time, hopefully I can show you some new, delicious food places, foodie!

"Busy is good because it shows you're alive"

-Alison G. Bailey