Category Archives: Reviews

Read along as we seek out the best of what the British Columbia coast (and beyond) has to offer.

04.16.15
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Rica Salsa or Rico Suave?

IMG_0082Rica Salsa
1109 McKenzie St. 
Cook Street Village
Victoria, BC 
(250) 360-1615

J: It was time for the THB to make their return to the little mall on McKenzie Street in the Cook Street Village. Our first and last review there was the Minato Sushi (which I was quite pleased with) but at the time there was still Rica Salsa, an Messob Ethiopian Cuisine and a coffee shop that was under construction. In time we’ll review them all but for now Rica Salsa was up to bat.

Can Mexican food hit a home run with Ed and I? Some years ago I was a wimp when it came to hot and spicy food but now I’m very durable. I can tell when spices enhance a dish I eat and when it does nothing but cover up the flavour. On what side of the fence will Rica be.

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04.15.15
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Tea Amongst White Heather’s Hoi Polloi

WhiteHeather1White Heather Tea Room
1885 Oak Bay Ave.
Oak Bay, BC
(250) 595-8020

J: Ed and I were returning to one of my favourite municipalities, Oak Bay, and in this municipality is one of the jewels of the many locally owned businesses, the White Heather Tea Room. I wanted Ed to experience their service, the food and the atmosphere of what had wowed me before. I stopped for tea with sandwiches and pastries last year. And though I didn’t review the place, I couldn’t say one bad thing against this establishment.

With Ed in tow, I thought it deserved scrutinizing under the eyes of the Two Hungry Blokes.

E: Quite often, I’d ask James, “So why don’t you move there?”

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04.14.15
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Camosun College’s Comics Arts Festival ’15

Originally published on Otaku No Culture by Ed Sum

CCAF2015PosterCamosun’s Comic Arts Festival (CCAF) is growing, and just what this event does is to put ownership back to the artists who decided to make the visual storytelling medium their career. It’s been used as old as time, since the caveman days, to tell a story on a surface. In Ancient Egypt, the paintings on the tombs can evoke a magic like quality to help the deceased continue on to the Afterlife. The immortality is not just with their souls’ journey but also with how their legacy upholds when their life is told in illustrative form.

Interestingly enough, one of the students, Raphaël Pirenne, takes inspiration from this land, and will be hoping he creates a comic out of it.

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04.09.15
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[Vancouver, BC] Oh My Gyoza!

IMG_20150403_210023692_HDR

Gyoza Bar + Ramen
622 W. Pender St.
Vancouver, BC
(604) 336-5563

In a random moment of letting the wind take me to wherever I could land in the business district of Vancouver, the Gyoza Bar and Ramen shop on West Pender certainly managed to captivate me. On a a slightly chilly day. I needed to bring my resistance up.

I really didn’t know where I wanted to eat while here during the long weekend for Fan Expo Vancouver. Not many operations are open during the holidays, and I wanted to hit someplace new than to revisit my favourite kangaroo spot. I could’ve but I might have been hopping after far too many drinks.

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04.07.15
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[Vancouver, BC] Just Relaxing at Moonpennies Coffee & Fine Foods

Moonpennies Coffee & Fine Foods
1102 W Pender St
Vancouver, BC
(604) 669-6092

Moonpennies deserves more credit for being open during holiday hours than any other operation in the business district of Vancouver. When I needed a break from Fan Expo Vancouver on a Saturday, this diner was not too far away to settle into for a relaxing time from the chaos that’s known as nerd fandom.

Although they were not open early enough for breakfest, I found them ready, willing and able for lunch! I’m sure everyone went to Subway or Starbucks instead, but if they only travelled a few blocks more, they would’ve found a more calm place to sit in.

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04.01.15
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[Seattle, WA] Follow Me, oh Follow Me… to Japonessa

Japonessa Sushi Restaurant
1400 1st Ave.
Seattle, WA
(206) 971-7979

Opening in 2016
at Bellevue
at Lincoln Square 2

I suspect that once R.E.M. hears about one of Seattle’s best restaurants featuring food inspired by the land of the rising sun, Japonessa, and the land down under, they will be regular visitors. The reason is simply that this restaurant has a sushi roll named The Orange Crush. Although the items from this part of the menu are pricey as heck, the expense is worth it. The two dishes I tried on my first visit was fabulous.

I tried the Crush along with a Barcelona Sunset and the flavours are just simply divine. The temperature and flavours emerging from the rice was just right. The cilantro and mango added to the first roll were not overpowering and it gave the rice a fruitiness that I throughly enjoyed. When the habañero allioli was gently used on the Sunset roll, all I could do was imagine myself watching a drifting sun cast its last breath of warmth upon my lips as I gently nibbled away.

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