Brunch Life

I have been doing some home workouts since late summer of 2024. You know, I am at a stage where I have to watch my numbers...the ones that your family doctors check to evaluate your state of well-being...

But...I'd never stop dining out, it's my first way to celebrate, I have always been a food-oriented person      

♨(⋆‿⋆)♨

Before 2024 concluded, I celebrated my few hours of being child-free by treating myself to brunch at Cafe Medina. Known for its long lineups and liege waffles, this is one of the places I hope would survive the pandemic, thankfully they did. 

Les Boulletes - Lamb Meatballs 

My favourites are Les Boulletes, Liege waffle with lavender chocolate sauce, and Lavender Latte - the main reason for my visit.

Unfortunately that day, I could barely taste the lavender in their latte, but the chocolate-lavender dip for the liege waffle made up for the minor shortcoming.    

Waffle and Milk Chocolate Lavender Dip

Fast forward to January 2025, I had the opportunity to try the new brunch place near my home. Banette opened in mid-December 2024 in Uptown New Westminster, they offer a mix of brunch and baked goods. The first visit was with my dear daughter when we went out to do some errands, we just wanted a light meal so we split a Caesar salad and canelé, and I was so impressed with both of them that I decided to try to come back as soon as possible to try their other offers, 

Below is the photo of Avocado French Toast. I like how Banette uses a black plate and a touch of edible flowers to elevate their brunch presentation. I don't normally order French toast at brunch places but I miss having avocado as dessert which is something I rarely see in most brunch places here in Metro Vancouver where avocados are normally seen in smoothies, salads, guacamoles, and toasts with poached eggs.

Avocado French Toast from Banette

I have been thinking about food again...I guess it's time to do the home workouts to make space for the next round of brunching! 

(*´ڡ`●)

The Only 'Bill(s)' That Made Me Smile

Ricotta Hotcakes with fresh banana and honeycomb butter

Metro Vancouver has several names to boast of when it comes to a great brunch; I have been to several of them that my Instagram account has been a testament to my brunch adventures.

One morning, during our second trip to Tokyo, I suggested to my dear husband that we should check what Tokyo brunch scene has to offer; the baby inside seems to want to try a Tokyo brunch experience.

I seemed to noticed that fluffy pancakes are very popular in Japan, so I decided to try to find out what these fluffy pancakes are all about.

Based on my research, this place was dubbed "Best breakfast" by few write-ups on the web; good thing this Sydney-based restaurant chose Tokyo as one of the first cities outside Australia for Bill's international branch. We were planning to visit Reissue Cafe on that day and found out that Bills is just 5 minutes walk from it.

On the way to Bills

Located at the Seventh floor of Tokyu Tower, a short line up had already started to build up by the time we arrived. Not wanting to risk losing our spot, we decided to stay and 15 minutes later our table is ready. I checked the menu to see what else to try but my mind is made up. I came here for their ricotta hotcakes and ordered the herbed garlic mushroom for the side dish.

The pancakes look like flat yellow, pillowy marshmallows on top of the sliced banana. Can't help staring at them, it's nicely plated that I didn't want to eat it right away but my tummy is telling me otherwise. It would've been nice if I am enjoying my latte with a cool 3D design on it!

Pinch me! Pinch me!

Bills' airy interior is very inviting, it's busy without too much of the bustling energy. It would be nice to stay a little bit longer but there's so much exploring of Harajuku area to do, and the queue outside is getting longer. Time to let others have a taste of paradise ♡〜٩( ˃́▿˂̀ )۶〜♡

I finally found the 'Bill(s)' that makes me smile. Next destination...time to have my latte art.

Morning Wisdom From Jethro's

WARNING!!! Not safe for dieters!!! (NSFD)

My gastronomical Guru, Denny's taught me that "Anything can be solved over a stack of pancakes". Then Jethro's Fine Grub came along with a sign with bold statements that caught our eyes:

Jethro's Fine Grub sign (back)

Jethro's Fine Grub sign (front)

Not really in the mood for having bacon for breakfast, but it gave us an impression that they take their bacon seriously. That's a good sign.

It was a weekday so there was no long line up which regularly happens in several popular brunch places in the Vancouver area during the weekends.
We have a table ready and the service is fast; the attendant gave us a Mexican hot sauce right away which I really appreciated. I always ask for hot sauce when I go to brunch places. They also regularly check if we need our coffee refill.

Smoked Salmon Benedict vs. Apple Cobbler French Toast

There are a lot of great choices on their menu; it took me a while to choose between Smoked Salmon Benedict and Apple Cobbler French Toast I forgot to take a photo of their menu. I decided to order the Smoked Salmon Benedict instead of the other, and my 🐻 ordered The Gold Rush.
At that time we were not really in an adventurous mood (but would be ordering Crab Cake Benedict next time we visit)

While waiting for our order, I enjoyed the funny illustration on their wall. For sure it's an offensive joke for vegans and animal rights advocates, but I can see the humour in it.

Bacon is all that matters!

My dear 🐻's facial expression was priceless when he saw his order..it's huge! He was speechless for a few minutes. I gladly proceeded to enjoy my Benedicts and shared some of my hash browns with my dear 🐻. I am also having some bites of the yummy huge pancake.
I remembered messaging my sister about wishing she was with us, we need reinforcements 😂! I even saw the customer's order beside us, french toasts--- and the slices of each toast were thick!

Serving comparison

My order: Smoked Salmon Benedict

And his order...The Gold Rush

What's in The Gold Rush? A giant pancake stuffed with banana, pecans, streusel, and caramel. Topped with whipped butter and more caramel, pecans, and streusel!

We both enjoyed it (I actually loved it) but we couldn't finish it. One of the attendants provided us with a take-out box with instructions on how to reheat our generous leftovers.

Want to accept the challenge?

Jethro's Fine Grub has two locations: the Dunbar location and the Fraser St. location, so there are two battlefields to choose from:

Jethro's Fraser Street Location

Next time, we will be bringing an army to share the giant pancakes with. I guess from their sign it might sound like having too much of good things is great, but the real joy is sharing it with people who are special to us.

We need another empty tummy to help us...

Update: It's a great sadness to write this update...Jethro's Fine Grub has closed.(◞‸◟；)

"Anything Can Be Solved Over A Stack Of Pancakes."

Early morning meditation with Denny's wisdom.

"Anything can be solved over a stack of pancakes." --- I think I have a new mantra, thank you Denny's.

When we feel like going out for brunch but not in the mood for a non-chain brunch place; Denny's is usually the place to go for me and my 🐻.

For some reason I really love their pancakes, they are fluffier than one of their main competitor and I love their occasional featured flavor.

I had a birthday slam from Denny's last year, and that's the best slam ever!

Here's another photo of our brunch in the same Denny's branch, and there are times that I just didn't take photos of my Denny's meal at all, I know deep inside that meal would not be my last...

There are plenty of great brunch places here in Vancouver, but Denny's successfully managed to keep me coming back. I guess that's the power of their stack of pancakes...( ˘▽˘)っ♨