Illuminate Yaletown 2011

February 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Yaletown relived the Winter Olympics through their Illuminate Yaletown street party. February 11-12, 2011.

The 2-night event transformed the heritage district into an interactive city of light. Talented artists from across Canada put on a show and projected a kaleidoscope of colors on the buildings.

There was a lot of people out on the street and a few merchants that set up shop. Even Vancouver’s very own Mayor Robertson dropped by!

Here are some of my photos during the event:

Kinetic Floating Pixels
By Shaun Mavronicolas & Miles Thorogood
Jigsaw Interaction Design Lab & Fruition Labs

Kinetic Floating Pixels

Revolv-a-lution
A group collaboration with general direction by Benjamin Feagin Jr.
Element Art Designs

Mini Cooper

Fiction Facades
By Nathan Whitford & Konstantinos Mavromichalis
Urban Visuals

Mainland Street Yaletown

Illuminati
By Peter Pierobon
Celia Duthie Gallery

Bill Curtis Square

Filed Under: Events, Vancouver, Yaletown Tagged With: ,

Dine Out Preview: Charm Modern Thai

January 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I was lucky enough to be included in Charm Modern Thai’s Dine Out 2011 menu preview last Tuesday.

The culinary adventure began with appetizer: Tiger prawn satay on spicy bread, garlic and pepper prawns, and Charm’s famous duck sticks.

For our entrée let’s just say I might have found a perfect marriage between my love for noodles and curry. The salmon linguine in green curry was sooo good. It had just the right balance of sweet and spicy.

Salmon Linguine

An hour later we polished off Thai tea ice cream, vanilla bean tapioca, and chili chocolate torte for dessert. I can’t make up my mind as to which one I like best. It’s a toss-up between the refreshing Thai tea ice cream (palate cleanser!) and warm vanilla bean tapioca. My advice? Get an extra order of both!

Dine Out Vancouver 2011
Photo Credit: Flickr/YBIA

Dine Out Vancouver 2011 will take place on January 24 – February 6. Click here for the complete Charm Dine Modern Thai menu.

Filed Under: Events, Food, Vancouver, Yaletown Tagged With: ,

Reese Witherspoon and Tom Hardy Film in Yaletown

November 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Walked to work and into the set of the movie This Means War yesterday morning.

Reese Witherspoon and Tom Hardy were filming a scene set in Yaletown’s bricked sidewalk. The scene seemed simple enough but the amount of equipment they had lying around was surprising.

This Means War Films in Yaletown

Ha. That tells you how much I know about filming – nothing.

This is the first live shoot I’ve seen and a Hollywood film no less. Not bad at all. I took out my trusty point-and-shoot and stood in a firing line with the pros and their telephoto lens.

This Means War Vancouver

Reese Witherspoon and Tom Hardy is seen walking  towards Marimekko and past Lee’s flower shop, which isn’t usually there. After the take they all migrated to the pub-turned-retail store at the end of the street.

I just have to say Tom Hardy is cute. None of the hard edge in the pictures I’ve seen from Inception.

This Means War will be released sometime in 2011.

Filed Under: News, People, Vancouver, Yaletown Tagged With: , ,

r.tl Yaletown

October 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I’ve attempted to go to r.tl in Yaletown twice for dinner but always found myself too late. Either the kitchen’s already closed or all the tables are taken. I took this as a good sign and before I failed in my 3rd attempt we made reservations beforehand.

r.tl was offering a $25 and $35 set menu for Taste of Yaletown, I went with the $25 menu. Both set menu gives you  2 or 3 dishes to choose from for your appetizer, entrée and dessert.

To start, I chose the organic quinoa salad mixed with avocados and corn. And for my entrée I decided on the braised beef. The beef was just okay, what did it for me was the potato cod mash on the side. The hint of saltiness from the cod was great.

For dessert I had the tart tartin which is an upside down apple pie with crème on the side. The tart tartin was really good as it had the right amount of sweetness. I could have certainly eaten another slice.

r.tl also has a nice wine selection for those looking to have a few drinks. I had the Carpano Punt e Mes vermouth on the rocks as an apéritif and finished the meal with Muscat wine.

Food was good over-all. Definitely keep r.tl in mind the next time you’re looking for a place to have dinner.

r.tl yaletown

Filed Under: Food, Vancouver, Yaletown Tagged With: ,

Bartending Competition and a Taste of Yaletown

October 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I had a preview of what Taste of Yaletown has to offer this year and it did not disappoint.

Taste of Yaletown
Photo Credit: Yaletown Facebook Page

The night started off with appetizer served at Section (3). When the last piece of Baked Brie was gone we headed to 100 Days, Yaletown’s newest pop-up restaurant. We sampled their Halibut and Smoked Salmon Hash and BBQ Duck Tacos for our entrée. I did not think I had room for more but Hurricane Grill’s Pumpkin Mousse with Ginger Bread Cookie was too good to resist. Hurricane Grill’s menu was a nice surprise and I must say I will definitely be coming back to this restaurant.

After dinner everyone congregated at Mini Yaletown to watch the bartending competition. Glowbal Grill, Brix, Capones, and r.TL’s crafty masters prepared drinks using Bombay Sapphire and tied it in to a movie which featured a Mini Cooper. At the end of the night Nicola Roland from r.TL was declared the winner with her Bombay Sapphire fruit purée mix topped with flambéd beet.

The night also held a big announcement from the Yaletown BIA – they are offering $10,000 worth of taxi vouchers to Taste of Yaletown diners. With the tightening of drinking and driving laws in Vancouver, it will give diners who want to enjoy themselves during Taste of Yaletown one less thing to worry about.

Taste of Yaletown begins today, October 13 and will run until October 31, 2010. For a list of participating restaurants and their menus visit the YBIA website.

Personally, I would love to check out Brix and r.TL because I’ve never eaten there… and Hapa Izakaya just because I love their food. Note: both the $25 and $35 menu sound delicious!

Filed Under: Events, Food, Vancouver, Yaletown Tagged With: ,
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