Category Archives: Dining

05.07.25
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At Himalayan Flavours, Skip The Buffet and Try Dine-In Instead

Don at Himalayan Flavours3945 Quadra St
Victoria, BC

Phone: (778) 966-7755
Menu: himalayan-flavours.com

Hours: Tues to Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

DK: “Momos, as far as the eye can see!” Is what I’d be saying if Himalayan Flavours lived up to my food fantasies. Instead, we got primarily a parade of standard buffet items. Oh well, you wanna stick to the dance floor fillers I can deal with. But zero naan on the line? That’s insane, Jeremy.

ES: Although I had a sneaking suspicion a name change would not help this former Indian food restaurant any, when Don suggested this place for lunch, I was hoping. Ultimately, it would look for those dumplings. We’re already crying foul for misleading information. There wasn’t even a yak in sight.

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10.25.23
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10 Well Known Haunted Pubs and Restaurants in Victoria, BC, 2023 Edition

Scarey Victoria BCAlthough it hasn’t been ten years since my prior post about what are the most haunted restaurants in Victoria, BC, a lot has changed. Some have closed and for operations that have taken over the space, is it still haunted? The new managers aren’t saying, but I’m curious!

Most of the ghosts one may encounter aren’t malicious, but due to the nature of how we react when encountering something paranormal, to be fearful is a natural reaction! Also, there’s no such thing as real life ghostbusters and the best paranormal investigators can do is tell the wayward spirit that it’s best to move on and hope it does so. The stuff you see on television where folks are attacked are very rare, and in my opinion, mostly embellished. The stuff you see on the tube (or streaming) leans more on entertainment than anything else!

But for anyone looking for a supernatural experience, presented here is a list of operations reputed to have some kind of paranormal activity. To note, the operations located near Bastion Sqaure and Market Square perhaps has more ghosts per block than any other area! The 👻 rating is on the scale of out of ten for a chance of an encounter. The food review score is not included in this guide as they all offer fairly tasty delights, for any budget! Some I’ve reviewed before in this blog’s long history of being active. Links are provided where possible. Listed in no particular order are:

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05.17.23
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[Seattle, WA] How to Feast (or rather get Drunk) at Skål Beer Hall!

Ed and the Tree of Life5429 Ballard Ave NW
Seattle, Washington

Hours: Weds, Fri-Mon
from 12 PM to 11:00 PM
Phone: (206) 829-9615
Website: https://www.skalballard.com/

ES: The next time I return to Skål Beer Hall and have friends with me, we’re either tackling the Roast Pheasant or Chicken! Don and I were talking about visiting Seattle for a long time, and all I knew during our discussions is that this place was #1 on my list. Even though we didn’t fully feast like a Viking, to be a karl to an Jarl (Earl) is fine by me. For starters, what we were delighted about was enough to satisfy the appetites of youths.

Yes, I have to bring up How to Train Your Dragon for comparison (well the animated one versus the book), Don was Hiccup to me being like Fishlegs (being stouter), but were we able to make a dent at attacking the Njord Bord? What say you, Don?

DK: Now is where I insert a witty riposte to Ed’s characterization of me as Hiccup. But, having not seen the film or read the books, I’ll just assume Hiccup is a charming and intelligent sidekick.

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04.19.23
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Good Ovening. How Much KFC Can They Serve?

Donald Kennedy at Good Ovening799 Fort St,
Victoria, BC

Hours: 11am to 3pm, 5pm to 11pm Daily
Menu: goodovening.ca
Phone: (778) 440-4343

ES: It’s hard to come up with a joke to say how Good Ovening is. This operation serves Korean Fried Chicken and other crispy delights all baked up instead of greased up, and all I have to say is that it’s about time! It’s not so much about cutting the grease out of my comfort food, but to be more mindful as I get older and wanting to cut down on that. What this diner offers isn’t about fusion dishes, either. They got the ultimate churros! They are fried up, but you wouldn’t know it!

DK: As Ed alludes to in his intro, Good Ovening has been marketing itself as a “healthy” Korean Fried Chicken option. Healthy because it is baked, not deep-fried. I’ll resist the urge to get punchable pedantic over the persuasiveness of this campaign, and focus on flavour instead. 

We started off our meal with some great butter garlic prawns. Perhaps the best Ed and I have had since we enjoyed Four Spice’s tandoori prawns many months ago.

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10.21.22
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Vancouver, BC’s Dave Letford Has Big Plans for Devour! Food Film Fest and The Future of Food

Dave Letford is a chef based in Vancouver. British Columbia, who quite the name for himself in this city. Not only has he worked at some great places to earn his cred, namely Hawsworth where he started as a sous chef, but also is now working as a culinary instructor at Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. He’s proud to share his knowledge to the new generation of cooks.

Next week, he’ll be taking a lineup of his best talents to Devour! The Food Film Fest, which runs Oct 24-30 in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. They’ll be part of a culinary school event where they’ll be serving up some tasty foraged meals. He’ll be the facilitator.

Although not verified, his team is considering a faux pulled pork sandwich served on a black-eyed pea bun. They’ll also be contemplating another dish with oysters from a nearby bay, and as for what mushroom magic they’ll fashion hasn’t been approved. They thought about bringing the Pacific Northwest to the East Coast, but know better. Since the theme concerns the future of food, namely staying green, they plan on using what’s local to the region.

His role at this event goes beyond teaching the next group of culinary artists to innovate not only from their hometown but also anywhere else they get jobs at. Some stay, but others head off to other prestigious institutions to further their training. All the world is a garden. Instead of what Shakespeare wrote about an individual’s life from birth to death, we also consider the value of those successes, measure for measure.

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10.14.22
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The Port Angeles Crabfest Experience is Back!

20221009_123140With the world deciding it’s best to live with the pandemic, many annual events have resumed and of the various foodie experiences in my region, I decided to make the Crabfest in Port Angeles my return to form. This event takes traditionally takes place on the first weekend of October.

I’m sorry Victoria, but what I’ve seen and done here is still the same ol’ same ol’, and I craved something new.  Not even the recently announced Maritime Museum’s Crabtober in November, a one day show, can match this Stateside experience. The key difference is that it’s a limited seating event than taking place at a public space (it sold out on the day it was announced) and people can’t wander around to look at arts and crafts vendors. There’s no mention of food trucks, thus making it seem like a closed event than something truly public like Esquimalt’s Ribfest.

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