Vinyard Terrace Restaurant (Kelowna, Canada)

We talked about lunch in the last vacation post. It was a classy lunch at the Cedar Creek Winery Estate. The restaurant is called Vineyard Terrace Restaurant (or some spots say Terrace Restaurant).

Cedar Creek Winery Estate is absolutely gorgeous. You can see the pictures on the day recap HERE. To sit on their outdoor terrace to look out at the vineyard with a little bit of breeze and eat a delicious meal was really a fantastic experience. Especially with great company.

Let’s check out the food! 🙂

Wines

We only had 3oz-6oz glasses, not the entire three bottles.

Appetizers

Wise Earth Carrot Salad

Can’t find this one’s name but I think something to do with heirloom tomatoes or something….

I’m not sure if you’ve ever had those nantes carrots variety but we love it at our place. We recently started eating the multicolor ones and they are so good. This one with a little bit of spices to aid the taste but not overpower the actual carrots’ natural deliciousness was awesome!

Main Dish

Wild Moon Organic Pork

Seared B.C. Albacore Tuna

Dessert

Maple Apple Tart

Callebaut Chocolate Mousse

Okanagan Fruit

Okay, I’m guessing you all can figure out that I got the Okanagan Fruit. I always complain about how the alternative for lactose-intolerance is either sorbet or fruits. I’ve never honestly enjoyed a fruit cup more than this one. Okanagan fruits are so good. The peaches and berries. This fruit cup was with sabayon which they described as a sweet hollandaise sauce. I only learned then that hollandaise sauce is just egg whites, same as sabayon, which is why I could have it and it is a really good balance.

Overall, this was a great restaurant experience. We all enjoyed the mains as well. The dessert was delicious as well as the appetizers. The wine was quite good as well. I had the 2014 Riesling. My cousin has the 2015 Senator’s White. My husband, my mom and my aunt shared a bottle of 2014 Gewurztraminer. I guess I should have mentioned it up with the wines.

Have you ever eaten at a winery restaurant? If so, where?

Vancouver + Kelowna: Trails, Winery & Family BBQ!

Kelowna is located in the Okanagan Valley area in Canada. It is beautiful and stunning and just absolutely breathtaking to explore. The day after my cousin’s wedding, we only had a late afternoon gathering at my cousin’s home for a barbecue with the family. We decided to head out for some hiking/walking trails to see capture some lovely scenery and get some exercise. We went out to a winery for lunch and then rounded up the day with the barbecue. That is the quick runthrough.

Kuiper’s Peak Mountain Park

Kuiper’s Peak Mountain Park is a short 5 to 10 minute trail. There are mountain bike trails as well. This park’s wildlife is still recovering after a forest fire in 2003.

Bertram Creek Regional Park

Bertram Creek Regional Park also suffered from the forest fire in 2003. It is a casual walking trail along the Okanagan Lake. There’s a beach and a little area to walk out to take pictures.

Cedar Creek Winery Estate

We went to Cedar Creek Winery Estate to have a quick lunch and then went out to walk around. Suffice to say, it was absolutely gorgeous. I’ll be talking about the lunch portion in a separate post.

Family Barbecue

The family gathering was fun and grand. My cousin’s home is beautiful. They had food catered there and they made burgers for everyone as well. There was this cool sparking wine or cider (local) called Bling. It tasted really good.

The view from my cousin’s place is absolutely breathtaking. It kind of makes its a life goal to try to move out to Kelowna eventually just to live in this quiet little city.

That’s it for Day 3!
Drop by again to check out the Cedar Creek Winery Estate Restaurant post later this week!

The Curious Café (Kelowna, Canada)

Nothing like a fantastic breakfast restaurant talk for a beautiful Saturday, right? I think so too!

Today’s is a breakfast place I visited with my cousins called The Curious Café in Kelowna. It was a cozy little spot with a lot of rustic decor. The menu was simple. So simple that I almost couldn’t find something to eat but rest assured, I did, of course!

The Curious Café

Menu 

Tea

The tea here is supposedly local. I can’t remember what brand it is anymore but it was amazing. On top of that, I was introduced to this cute contraption where its like a little bobble. You put the tea leaves in there and then you drop it in there to steep and it starts bubbling the first moment you put it in. It just stole my heart. So much that I ended up getting on at Teavana.

Our Meals (some of them)

This one was mine and it is called a Corn Beef Bowl. It has only a limited amount per day and guess what our table took the two available that morning. Sorry? But not really..but it was so delicious!

This one was my husband’s and it was the special meal of the day which is a quiche of some sort. I can’t remember exactly.

One of my cousin’s took this one. She sat across from me so I could take the picture easily. It was Avocado on Toast. I don’t remember the exact name of any of them. Her and her family are the locals from Kelowna so I’m guessing this is a pretty good pick.

I actually think the only meal that isn’t here is my nephews’ plate and they shared pancakes and bacon or something like that.

Overall, The Curious Café is really impressive. I enjoyed my meal quite a bit, plus it was great to sit together with my cousins and family and catch up! Great company almost always makes food better. Plus, I learned that Kelowna has some awesome free parking schedule. Coming from Montreal where parking is never free, not even on holidays or weekends, it really isn’t saying much. However, it did make us appreciate it a lot. The service was nice and the meals were presented lovely. It was all around a fun time and a perfect way to start our busy day ahead with tons of events for my cousin’s wedding! 🙂

Vancouver & Kelowna: Family Time at a Wedding!

Day 2 of vacation was all about getting ready for heading out to my cousin’s wedding. We are settled into Kelowna and I had some jetlag issues and woke up at 4am. Somehow it doesn’t bother me too much because weddings are always fun. Most of us just can’t get over Kelowna’s beauty and peaceful little town.

We ended up having a little habit with my husband who always woke up earlier than everyone to head out by ourselves for a little. This first morning in Kelowna was when we wanted to head out to get some refreshments for the day and little snacks and ended up getting a message from my cousin that lives in Kelowna to head out to breakfast with her and her family. You all know how much we love breakfasts so we just couldn’t refuse, especially when we were on our way to hunt for food also.

Breakfast was at Curious Café. Here’s the menu. A restaurant post will be up later this week.

By the time we got back, it was a little bit of preparation and dolling up for the wedding. For me, that just meant putting on nail polish. Regardless, that was done. The first event was the tea ceremony and it was mostly for the relatives involved in this. My cousin and I just showed up to take some pictures. For the purpose of respecting my family’s privacy, there will only be pictures of my husband and I and some of the set-up and food.

Tea Ceremony

Wedding Ceremony on the Rooftop Terrace (mostly the view)

Reception Hall & Meal

The wedding ceremony and reception and everything was at Hotel El Dorado in Kelowna. It had spectacular views. One of the things I loved about this venue was the meal service. They gave everyone a chance to reconsider what they wanted with the menu they now could see and what it was matched with. Due to my dairy allergy, I didn’t miss out on much and that was a pretty sweet feeling. Everyone had a creamy soup and I had a tomato bisque with some crackers. The meal was the beef option and it was on top of rice instead of mashed potatoes (I think). And for dessert, I had fruits (which is the usual alternative)

Sunset

Just look at this sunset by the balcony at the reception where the open bar was located. The second shot is my first try at using the panoramic function on my phone. You’ll see a ton of other shots using that function because it just captures the scene so nice!!!

Basil & Mint Restaurant and Bar (Kelowna, Canada)

After four hours of driving with a few stops and admiring some spectacular scenery along the way, we checked into the Airbnb place. I didn’t post any pictures for privacy purposes. I’m not sure how much people want to share. However, hit me up about the place I stayed at for Airbnb if you ever want because it was a lovely little place that fit all five of us perfectly despite it just being a basement. Regardless, we got in and my cousin searched up what restaurants looked appealing and found this one: Basil & Mint Restaurant and Bar. I believe she said one of the reviews said that it is a “hidden gem”. And you know, its all about hidden gems, right?

Off we went to Basil & Mint which was a mere 5 minutes drive out! Funnily, in complete coincidence, we also met other family members visiting that were going to the same restaurant. We sat separately but close enough to mingle. Now for the food!!

Basil & Mint Restaurant and Bar
3799 Lakeshore Rd
Kelowna, British Columbia
V1W 3G9

I can’t find the Table d’Hote menus on the website to review but I took a look at the main menu to get the actual names. The Table d’Hote is actually a pretty good deal at $35 which includes appetizer, main course and dessert. We all took it.

Appetizers

Beet Salad

Asparagus Soup

Caesar Salad

I ordered the Caesar Salad or the soup and gave it to my mom because I can’t have it. My aunt ordered the beet salad and I believe that she enjoyed it. However, a point to the restaurant if they do read this, if you have something like the soup above, your waiters should know to tell the customer that the dash of cream can be not added and they can have it. If you have no other alternatives, that is a fair one to have. Its just to respect the person like myself who has a very widely known lactose intolerance and doesn’t quite enjoy eating salad either. I’m used to it and doesn’t bother me much but its nice to feel respected by the restaurant that is serving you when they actually care about this. Especially when I made the point to ask them about the potatoes and told them about the food allergy.

Main Courses

Braised Beef (I think)

Roasted Chicken

Risotto

Seasonal Vegetables

Its funny how the vegetables are the most clear. A huge thanks to my cousin who turned on the light on her camera to create the light we needed to take a good picture. The vegetables are delicious. I’m personally a fan of these organic carrots. I buy them quite a bit actually and they are great even without a ton of fancy spices or whatnot. I took the beef dish and struggle to remember whether it was the boneless beef ribs or the braised beef. The meals are a decent portion. All the food tasted good.

Dessert

Spiced Apple Cider Sorbet

Creme Brulee

A compliment to the restaurant for having that lactose free choice of a rather unique flavor of sorbet. The best way to describe the spiced apple cider sorbet is frozen apple pie. Its a little too sweet but I’m a fan of apple pie so I liked it. My husband took the Creme Brulee and I remember him liking it too.

Although, at that point, he was about to pass out on the dinner table since we had a long day and with the time zone differences, our day was extended three hours more.

Enough of this sidetracking all the time, Basil & Mint is pretty good. It has pretty good food and a nice decor although for say families, maybe a little dim. I don’t see them targeting the family business more like a hang out with friends for a few drinks type of place. With that said, they have an outside terrace which we didn’t sit in but that is a plus. There are some cool stuff like they have a wooden stove, so the pizza must taste pretty good. However, none of us took it because not enough mouths to finish it. The service is a little underwhelming. They weren’t quite there all the time and I believe the service where they didn’t tend to my food allergies didn’t give such a better impression. They weren’t rude by any lengths and that is good. Just little things, like my other family’s table didn’t have the Table d’Hote menu for some reason and they only knew about it because we told them that we were having it. Organization and communication things going on there.

Regardless, it was a decent experience. The point of a restaurant is a whole experience but a huge portion is having good food and Basil & Mint might not be a hidden gem, although I didn’t eat at enough Kelown restaurants to offer an opinion on that, but it does have some good food.

Vancouver & Kelowna: The Drive to Kelowna!

Its the start of the vacation posts! This year’s vacation was Vancouver and Kelowna. It marks a few firsts and some pretty awesome experiences.

The first day of vacation was an early flight out of Montreal to Vancouver. This is memorable because its the first time I’ve taken a trip on a plane with my husband and the second flight he has ever taken. Thanks to our fantastic captain that flew the Air Canada flight to Vancouver, it was a smooth take off and landing. We landed in the morning at the airport, waited for quite some time for our luggage and then met up with my mom who left for Vancouver earlier than we did to spend some time with friends at the airport.

We arrived!!!

The next thing was picking up the car.

We originally had reserved a full-size car but after we talked to the guy at Avis, he suggested that we upgrade to an SUV to fit us, my mom and my aunt and cousin that we picked up shortly afterwards and accommodate everyone’s luggage and still feel comfortable. We ended up with the Ford Explorer. Its been a while that my husband drove such a huge vehicle and just look at all these buttons and controls. We had to take a moment to sit there and figure it all out.

After the car pick-up, it was time to meet up for lunch at Fortune Terrace Restaurant for dim sum. The restaurant review post will be up a little later this week! Chinese food in Vancouver is spectacular so its one to look out for!

With our bellies filled up and all the luggage packed in and everyone aboard, its time to drive out to Kelowna! For this part, I’m going to let my trusty Samsung Galaxy S6 camera do the trip justice (and it doesn’t because its just breathtaking) and look at all that amazing scenery!

With that, we’ve entered Kelowna! Crossing the Okanagan Lake on this bridge was just amazing! We checked into our first ever Airbnb experience and it was smooth and awesome!

That night we headed out to a restaurant called Basil and Mint which I’ll also do a short restaurant review about! The funny story is that without even expecting we ended up meeting up with our other family that also chose that restaurant and had a huge reunion before my cousin’s wedding the next day.

In the night we headed out with some of my cousins to this new(ish) bar/brewery in downtown Kelowna. I was a tad tired so only had a local apple cider drink. We called it a night pretty early after some good laughs and caught up a little.

That’s it for Day One! Nothing super eventful but it was full of great scenery! 🙂
Drop by soon to check out some restaurant reviews/recaps for the two restaurants mentioned and the next day(s) of the vacation!

Back from Vacation!!!

Hey my lovelies!!!

I went off on vacation last Saturday and didn’t really get a post up about an upcoming hiatus hoping that I’d be able to get all five posts done for last week. Turns out that I’m not superwoman and between packing, cleaning, and preparing the house for vacation along with writing and editing for Game Warp and Avenue of Daydreams, I managed three fun posts for last week. Its a little sad to come back from vacation and see the stats but at least you all are still dropping by and there was even a few comments. I had thought that I’d be able to write but between hanging out with family and having a huge reunion thing for my cousin’s wedding out in Kelowna, British Columbia and just having fun afterwards hiking and exploring Vancouver, British Columbia and the surrounding areas, I just wanted to recharge and relax.

 

Suffice to say, I had a ton of fun. I’m uploading pictures from the entire trip to the computer right now as I’m typing this up and I’ll be doing  a weekly segment on the vacation in the coming weeks. It’ll take a few days to get some posts up and ready but by Monday, things will be back to normal here!

Sorry for not giving a notice! I’m back and I’m ready to get right back on track with everything for the blog! I seriously missed writing and reading all of your lovely posts! I did have a few little things settled during the vacation time related to the blog and Game Warp so I’m pretty excited to get working on those little bits as well!

I’m telling you! Those vacation posts are going to be fantastic! I loved the vacation and have some pretty awesome stories to tell!

I just wanted to say that I missed all of you and writing and blogging and everything! I’m back! Thanks for sticking around while Tranquil Dreams was working at half capacity! 😉

Enough rambling! Gotta get the after vacation chores taken care of and spend some time with my cat.

Look out for the upcoming posts!