Not quite how you want to start a long weekend, but I was, a little on the rough side. Lack of quality sleep was catching up to me and after finishing my day of work I was done. It was a chore to get out there to explore Vancouver, but with Nicole’s help we made our move. We were both very hungry, finally getting out for our first meal of the day in the early afternoon.

Episode 14: https://youtu.be/vlIrc5-dPBM

Nicole had eyed the restaurant at Nordstrom while shopping earlier in the week. It was a nice place, with good reviews and an interesting view over Robson Square down below. Exactly what we needed to start off our exploring on a chill note.

The food was really good and satisfied our hunger perfectly. We both got things going with a starter. I selected their chicken tacos and Nicole tried their calamari. Both were excellent, but I have to say I made the better choice for once. And for main plates I had their skirt steak. I don’t often see skirt on a menu. It’s my go to cut when making tacos or fajitas at home, and now after this experience also when I feel like a juicy tender piece of grilled steak. It was on point. It came with some nicely roasted mini potatoes, green beans and carrots.

While exploring we came across an art installation that drew us in. Out front they had these giant white statues of a little boy pointing up in the air. We played around with the statues, see our episode for what we got up to. Nicole then noticed that the building beside the little square had more versions of the statue inside and we ventured in to check them out.

Turns out that these statues had an important message. An artist from Hong Kong, Danny Yung, put this together to help bring awareness to the state of education in China and Hong Kong. He titled his movement, Tian Tian Xiang Shang, an old Chinese proverb which mean “Day after day, looking up”. It was a saying written over the gate of every primary school in China in the 1950s. Inside the exhibit continued with smaller versions of the statue individually painted by different artists from all over the world. It was an amazing sight to see, and also to think about. The logistics of getting these statues delivered all over he world and having other artists participate seemed like a nightmare. But he pulled it off, and we happened upon it in Vancouver.

To end our chill afternoon we decided on a sushi restaurant relatively close to home for dinner. Kadoya Japanese Restaurant would be our spot for the evening to crush some serious sushi cravings. It was a small place but with a good sized menu. We sat down and put in an order of soft shell crab, various sashimi and a few of their signature rolls. All the food was outstanding. The sushi game in Vancouver continued to wow us. The portions were always so generous compared to back in Toronto. We devoured dinner and headed home for an early night in preparation for our weekend plans which were hectic and ambitious.

Thanks for coming along on a rather chill afternoon and evening during our stay in Vancouver.

Locations

There were several locations featured in this episode

• Bistro Verde – Restaurant in Nordstrom with views down onto Robson Square. Great place to enjoy some food, people watch and ease into a long weekend.
• Tian Tian Installation – Really fun exhibit we came across randomly walking to dinner. Not sure if the exhibit is still there, but I’m glad we were able to capture it in our video.
• Kadoya Japanese Restaurant – Japanese restaurant pick for the night, Kadoya served some very delicious food.

Thanks for watching/reading!