2013 Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Yearblog
Follow Me Foodie Favourites, BEST of, Memories & Recap of 2013!
Happy New Year! Hope everyone enjoyed their time with family, friends, and of course great food. I know I certainly did.
It was actually the first time since starting Follow Me Foodie in July 2009 that I’ve managed to ease up on the blog and not stress out about not working through the holidays. I used to feel really guilty about it and there is still a lot of self-pressure, but I don’t want to lose the enjoyment of blogging and life outside of it. The benefits of working for yourself is working on your own time, but that also just means working all the time. The idea of the 4 hour work week is still quite foreign to me especially since I’ve really blurred the lines between work, passion and pleasure. A bit taboo for many, but I can’t imagine it any other way.
Wow. 2013 flew by and the last quarter of it was intense with traveling. This year Follow Me Foodie included Follow Me Foodie to Toronto, Follow Me Foodie to Lummi Island (twice), Follow Me Foodie to San Francisco (twice), Follow Me Foodie to Tofino, Follow Me Foodie to Seattle, Follow Me Foodie to Whistler, Follow Me Foodie to Calgary, Follow Me Foodie to the Yukon Territories, Follow Me Foodie to Hong Kong (Round 3), Follow Me Foodie to Japan (Tokyo and Kyoto), and Follow Me Foodie to Mexico (Mexico City and Oaxaca) (Mexico posts will launch soon). I never anticipated any of this happening, but am very grateful of the opportunities to explore food internationally. Just like I said in Follow Me Foodie Favourites, BEST of, Memories & Recap of 2012, the more I travel, the more I try, the more I read, the more I learn, and the more I know I’ll never know everything about food.
This “Follow Me Foodie” adventure is addicting and often delicious, however it’s gone beyond finding the so-called “best dish” in every city, it’s the learning experience and journey getting there I’ve enjoyed most. Of course, there are still those epic moments when I come across a dish I can’t forget, and those deserve to be highlighted, so that’s what I’m doing.
Welcome to my Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Best of 2013! This is a recap and yearbook/yearblog of the BEST Follow Me Foodie Food/Moments in 2013.
NOTE: It’s not necessarily “THE BEST“ (read my rant on “the best” here). Food is personal and I can only discover so much in a year. “The best” is relative to what I have tried, which is definitely not everything. These are just some worth mentioning. It’s more of a 2013 recap/summary and all experiences are from 2013 only. I’ll say “the best” just because I’m weak and want to align with every other “best of 2013″ list out there.
Top 24 Most Memorable/BEST Restaurant Desserts & Baked Goods in Vancouver
I had to split up the sweet and savoury. I have a sweet tooth, so I do pretty well in this category. It’s funny because as a kid the only dessert I liked was ice cream, and then the older I got the more I craved sweets. Now I have to have at least a bite of something sweet almost after every meal.
The dessert scene in Vancouver is still young, but it has been growing over the last couple years. I’m hoping for more late night dessert bars in 2014.
Here are my top 24 favourite desserts and baked goods from this year. Again, not necessarily “the best”, but very memorable.
Listed in no particular order. Based on the menu item, not the restaurant.
1. Chez Christophe – Maple Pecan Tart (Douceur Canadienne)
2. Chez Christophe – Double Baked Croissant with Pecan Maple Syrup
3. Soirette Macarons & Tea – Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese and Pumpkin Mousse
4. Beaucoup Bakery – Pine Nut Croissant
5. Good Wolfe Kitchen & Bar – Warm Apple ‘Crumble’ – Croissant, chutney, vanilla ice cream, thyme
6. Thierry – Chestnut Tart – Almond paste, chestnut puree, candied chestnuts and candied maple pecans
7. Beta5 Chocolates – Candied Black Taggiasca Olive Candied Black Olive White Chocolate Polygon Bar
8. Beta5 Chocolates – Salted Caramel, Blueberry Yuzu, and Coconut & Passionfruit Cream Puffs
9. Secret Location – Vanilla bean panna cotta, hibiscus, pistachio micro sponge, buttermilk sorbet
10. Secret Location – Peanut Butter Ice Cream
11. Neptune Seafood – Durian and Cream Filled Mochi
12. Diva at the Met – Bagh-lava with Akbar Mashdi Ice Cream
13. Lucky’s Doughnuts – Traditional French Cruller
14. Bel Cafe – Holiday Spiced Whipped Shortbread
15. Johnny’s Pops – Avocado & Lime Popsicle, Apricot Salted Caramel Popsicle
16. La Pentola della Quercia – Ricotta mousse, smoked plums, plum sorbet, grappa gel, olive oil
17. Purebread Whistler – Vegan Coconut Banana Loaf
18. The Parker – Avocado Semifreddo, coconut yuzu broth, puffed rice brittle, tapioca
19. Market by Jean-Georges – Butterscotch Pudding, Sea Salt, Caramel, Whipped Cream
20. Fable Kitchen – Lemon Meringue Parfait
21. Giovane Cafe – Sugar Bun
22. Xi Shi Lounge – Scones
23. Chez Christophe – Fraise Pistache – pistachio cream, strawberry confit, pistachio daquoise
24. Diva at the Met – Meyer Lemon Mousse, Cardamom Lemon Compote, Chickpea Crumble
See my posts for:
Top 24 Most Memorable/BEST SAVOURY DISHES in Vancouver
Top 50 Most Memorable/BEST Dishes Internationally
Coming soon!
“The Best of” Follow Me Foodie Adventures/Moments/Posts of 2013
I notice you like crispy Macarons – try Pierre Herme in Paris or Fauchon. Fauchon has shiny crispy shells . TThey used to have a place on Park Ave in NYC but it’s closed . Try Fauchon next time u are in Paris- chocolates and other delicacies also good .
@Patti wan – Yes! Technically, the shells of a well made macaron should be crisp, but not crunchy and dried out. I tried Pierre Herme in Tokyo and they were crisp and excellent, but very sweet. I know macarons tend to be very sweet, but some pastry chefs have managed to make them not as sweet, which I like! Pierre Herme is the widely known “Ferrari of macarons”, so it’s a good benchmark! I need to try Fauchon!