Ap Gu Jung 압구정

Ap Gu Jung is a Korean restaurant on Robson street. The restaurant is casual with 2 floors and my friends and I sat on the upper floor. The was literally one light above our table hanging down so it was quite dimmed, hence I apologize in advance for the pictures - I definitely need to work on my skills in dim places. 

I realized that whenever my friends and I go for Korean food, we order relatively fast. That's because we basically order the same thing each time! Seafood pancake has always been popular among my friends and I. It's basically batter mixed with a variety of seafood, most noticeably squid. One thing that makes me not want to eat seafood pancake is that it is very oily.

Jap chae (당면)

Jap chae is a stir-fried dish made of sweet potato noodles. I really like the noodles as they are unique and chewy. I actually tried making jap chae before at home and it is actually fairly easy.

Traditional Seafood Pancake ($15.95)

Spicy rice cakes (떡볶이)  ddukbokki

One of my favourite Korean dishes is ddukbokki (spicy rice cakes). I actually don't like spicy food very much, but I love these rice cakes - I love them because of their chewy texture. This dish came with fish cakes and glass noodles, which is very typical. Ddukbokki from Ap Gu Jung was actually not exactly the best I've had - not very chewy. In fact, I prefer ddukbokki from In the Cup more than this one.

Yogurt soju

Ap Gu Jung also has a great selection of soju and we shared a bottle of yogurt soju. The picture shows a cup of yogurt soju. (The size of the cups are actualy like shot glasses, it just looks big in the picture due to my poor skills!)

Ap Gu Jung also has a great selection of hot pot dishes and we got a beef stew dish, which was pretty good but I didn't get a picture of it. It can get pretty hot in the restaurant if you order a hot pot dish as the gas stove will be turned on and heat the hot pot dish continuously. Of course, like all Korean restaurants, we had a nice portion of their side dishes too. With all these dishes, our bill came to a total of ~$130 after tax.

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Italian Day 2012 on The Drive

Italian day - 1st Ave.

On June 10th 2012, the streets of Vancouver's Little Italy (Commercial Drive) were filled with people celebrating Italian Day. 1977 was the birth of Italian Day, but it was abandoned after 1982 due to large, uncontrollable crowds. However, this year marks the third consecutive year of having Italian Day as it was reintroduced in 2010. There was a lot going on that day and the cultural, heritage, and traditions of Italy were certainly displayed.

Italian Day 2012 on the Drive

One of the two stages on the Drive.
From fashion shows to eating contests.

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Europeans Breads Bakery

Europeans Breads Bakery has many retailers, but only 2 cafes and I visited the one on Fraser Street (4324 Fraser St.). This bakery values artisan baking and everything is made by hand. Upon entering the shop, I could sense the comfortable environment where people can sit down for some pastries and coffee. 

Napoleon cakes, poppy seed slice, light rye bread

I got a slice of poppy seed roll ($3), 2 napoleon cakes ($2 each), and light rye bread (~$5). The poppy seed roll was rich in poppy seeds, but overall, I found it too sweet. The cake was also quite heavy and not the usual soft angel cakes that I like. However, it may go great with tea if you are a fan of that type of cakes.

As this is an authentic European bakery, I had high expectations for the Napoleon. I love Napoleon cakes, but I've only tried them from Chinese bakeries. Unfortunately, the Napoleon cake from this bakery was a disappointment. It did not taste like the ones I've had before and it did not taste good. It really makes me wonder how Napoleons cakes from France would taste like.

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