Breakfast at Beacon Drive-In
One morning while we were in Victoria we decided to go to Beacon Hill Park – a lovely seaside park basically in downtown Victoria. It’s a large park, and connects to other open areas for jogging, biking, walking, and dog-walking to enjoy lovely seaside sights on one side and glimpses into Victoria on the other. Read the rest of this entry »
Watermelon, feta & mint salad at the Argyle Attic in Victoria, BC
The Argyle Attic was around the corner from our hotel when we visited Victoria, BC – we were in a great area with lots of selection, but twice we visited, once for lunch (when our feet were far too sore to go anywhere else) and once for breakfast (when we wanted breakfast close to home the next morning). Read the rest of this entry »
Pouring tea through a strainer at the Butchart’s Afternoon Tea
Afternoon Tea at the Butchart Gardens – can you imagine anything more perfect to combine a bunch of my interests in one lovely afternoon?
We didn’t have reservations, and Afternoon Tea is only served from 12 noon – 3:00 p.m. April 1 – September 30. We only had a short wait though before a table became available – though the tearoom we were in was full, and it looked like the porch areas and other tearoom/dining room was also full.
(How much do you LOVE the little strainer above too? If it had been more affordable in their gift shop, I totally would have bought one…) Read the rest of this entry »
Roll and Ikura from Sushi Matsuri in Victoria, BC
Sushi Matsuri was one of the sushi places in Victoria that I really wanted to visit, based largely on reviews in Urbanspoon. It was just slightly out of the way – but ended up being right on the path after a nice long walk heading back to our hotel – perfect! (It would have only been more perfect if I had been more hungry!)
The menu at Sam’s Deli & Bistro in Victoria, BC.
For my next few photos I’m going to share some of the ups and downs of dining in Victoria, BC when I was there in August. (Sorry for the delay in posting!)
I was in the mood for sushi (when am I not!?) and my companion was in the mood for fried chicken, but we didn’t want to wander too far from our hotel for lunch one afternoon while we were in Victoria, BC – so we stopped at Sam’s Deli & Bistro which had been highly-rated by our hotel front desk staff as having great breakfast options, and really terrific sandwiches “piled high with really good meats and cheeses”. The location was great – right near the water – a super spot for people-watching (or cruise-boat tourist-watching as the case may be!) and the interior, although it has limited seating seemed clean and neat – but we were going to get our food for take-out to enjoy back at our hotel. (Maybe even the lovely courtyard with a fountain in our hotel!)
So.. a full ham sandwich is $7.50.. ok.. plus a dollar more for two slices of Havarti cheese = $8.50, plus another 75 cents for a “whole dill pickle” on the side of our order – that seems a bit pricy, but if these really are ‘famous’ ‘extraordinary’ sandwiches.. ok…
Summer Shangri-la tea from Silk Road Tea in Victoria, BC
One of the first teas I opened up from my trip to Victoria’s Silk Road was Summer Shangri-la tea – which is a black tea for “lazy summer days”. It includes black tea (the shop doesn’t indicate where from), calendula flowers, lavender blossoms, citrus peel, vanilla beans, and peach fruit ‘essence’.
Summer Shangri-la tea from Silk Road Tea in Victoria, BC
Dry, the tea reminds me a lot of a tea I loved from David’s Tea – Southern Belle, but with a slight smokier smell (with the addition of lavender) and less milky (without those yoghurt drops).
I steeped up three cups with one infuser of tea, and the flavour remained strong through the second cup, but decidedly weaker with the third. The taste is pretty close to the scent – peachy, fruity, with a slight smokey taste from the lavender. It definitely isn’t as “creamy” tasting as the variation from David’s Tea, but would probably be a better option for tea-lovers concerned about the added ingredients. I had mine with skim milk and sweetener – mostly because it was morning, and that’s how I usually have my morning black tea!
I think this is a great summertime tea – and as summertime fades, this will make fall a bit more tolerable. 🙂
Summer Shangri-la tea from Silk Road Tea in Victoria, BC
Tuna sashimi from Azuma Sushi
Well since I took a bit of a break from my Iceland posts to share the Taste of Calgary 2014 with you, I figured I’d postpone getting back to Iceland a bit longer, and bounce off to my August trip to Victoria, BC.
I’m not entirely sure how to rate Azuma Sushi – I’m not sure if I should give it a good rating (for food, price) or a poor one (due to one really rather serious problem…so let’s start off with the good…
take out from Shiki Sushi in Victoria, BC
Still in beautiful Victoria, BC, I thought I’d share with you some photos from my take-out dinner at Shiki Sushi.
Selection of teas at Silk Road in Victoria, BC
I’m going to take a little break from my Iceland posts to head back to Canada again – this time for my trip to Victoria, BC, and a must-visit Silk Road Tea shop.
Located in the Chinatown area of downtown, Silk Road is spa on one side, and tea on the other, and a young woman greeted all of the guests with a free sample of a freshly made iced tea to take off some of the heat of the August day when we visited.
my companion’s bento box from Itami Sushi in Victoria
Regular Happy Sushi Belly readers might remember I posted a while back about a trip to Victoria, BC. Of course, I had to get my west-coast sushi fix while I was there! One of the places I visited was Itami Sushi in downtown Victoria, very close to The Bay Centre – and our hotel!
There were some downsides to our experience at Itami – mostly relating to service. We went in just after the “lunch rush” and there weren’t many people in the restaurant eating – and also not very many staff. The hostess seemed to be doing double-duty, and we waited a while for her attention before being seated. Our server was also either forgetful or distracted, offering very poor service. We asked for a fork, which never came – instead we ended up going up to the counter to get one from the chef! Likewise she never came around to check how our meal was, nor offered to refill our water glasses which were empty near the end of our meal, and sitting on the edge of the table to catch her attention. Considering the number of other sushi places nearby, I’d find it hard to give a great review… except… Read the rest of this entry »
Happy Sushi Belly 