The Best Damn Viet Subs in Town

Out of all the Vietnamese subs I have ever had in my life, honestly, Tiem Banh Dong Khanh takes the cake! Nestled on Kingsway street just after Fraser, in Vancouver, this is the ultimate Phan Fave. It's a Vietnamese bakery that also freshly bakes their baguettes of course and has many different types to choose from! They load on the ingredients on the spot and are sandwiched in a foot long sub for only $3.50! Definitely a great meal to be had.

The garlic chicken sub. Moist, marinated and salt and peppered to every one's liking. Done deal for satisfaction.

The special sub featuring a few mystery meats. But who doesn't like themselves some mystery meat once in a while? It looks a bit funky but tastes delicious. I'm sure it's just made up of some pork, pork grind, fat, skin and everything delicious in a pig. Yummy.

The pork sausage sub. Imagine an Asian marinated pork hamburger but in kabob slices. Juicy and flavorful. Hits the spot every time. They also have a few more subs that I haven't tried before but please, I'm telling you - GIVE THIS PLACE A WHIRL!

Pizzeria Right in Your Own Home!

My friend GL makes a mean pizza - from scratch! However, he's just bad at emailing me the recipe which is why you'll have to take my word from the photo. GL is a one of a kind guy. He has a one track mind and has timely obsessions. In this case, and to my delight, it's FOOD! Not only does he only cook from scratch, he'll know the origin of every ingredient he uses and has an explanation for why he uses it! I've also tried his risotto and Korean chicken and it's to die for. I sure am glad he chose cooking as his passion this time around. In the above picture, GL kneaded some pizza dough, added fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, prosciutto and his secret touch - no pizza sauce! Yummy!

Dr. Oetker's Ristorante pizzas tastes just like delivery! No, better! Like homemade! My gal pals MR and JG introduced me to these amazing oven-baked pizzas not too long ago and I must admit, I always have one in the freezer. Pop it in the oven for 10 minutes and voila! The cheese is crusted to perfection at the edges, bubbling in the middle and ready to serve. The thin crust ones are the best! My Phan faves are: Quattro Formaggi, Mozzarella, Funghi, and Spinaci. So delicious and satisfying! Sometimes, they're even on sale, 2 for $10!

German Haus with a German Bombshell :)

For part 3 of our cultural culinary nights with my luvas, we trooped over to the German Haus for some good ol' hearty food. To start, RHM brought over some bacon wrapped dates oozing with blue cheese, oven baked to a crisp. They were so good, she brought them again to Part 4! (stay tuned for more details...)

For the entree, the German bombshell TS outdid herself. She made our tummies happy with some home-made-with-love rinder (beef) rouladen which is thinly pounded beef, slow cooked and wrapped with a pickle and bacon inside. Her delicious sides included sauerkraut (of course), simmered in thick gravy for 1.5 hours, rotkohl (red cabbage), and bratwurst simmered in a frying pan with the sauerkraut. Just the right amount of meat paired with savoury sides - that's how we luvas do it up!

Heidi, (oops, I mean TS), also served gurkensalat (cucumber salad) that was mixed with the strongest vinegar I've ever smelled in my life. We all took short far away whiffs and slammed our backs into the walls from the toxic smell and I'm sure our nose hairs were burned and numbed for the night too. Girls, back me up here! What an experience! :)

My Summer Fruit Obsessions

Golden kiwis straight from New Zealand. Please go out and get yourselves some! They are yellow in color and super sweet! Something refreshing to have in the middle of a hot summer day, or after work snack. Cut in half and serve with spoons - perfection I tell ya.

My friend MR also puts together an amazing fruit salad with yummy kiwis, strawberries, grapes, mangoes (a MUST) and topped off with coconut flakes. The best thing to have to cool you down for the evening.