Food Archives - Steven D Rowe

Ham in a Can

I remember eating “canned” type food, that were non-vegetables, in the 1960s, so I thought I would try current day canned Ham.

Background

Back in the day, pies in a can were very popular and in fact don’t recall fresh versions in the freezer or fridge sections in supermarkets. On the whole, my mother made fresh pies but now and again we had Fray Bentos. They are still around and appear to have extended their range. I wonder if people still buy them as part of their regular meals or just consumed by the curious to see what they are like, and maybe never buy them again. I recall my family buying tinned Corned Beef, not the US kind but UK version, I wasn’t a big fan of it, the fresh version was ok.

Swift Ham (In A Can)

The “canned Ham” I bought was by a company called Swift. I have never heard of them before but looking them up on their website they do a range of Deli type products that are designed for the refrigerator. In the “Quick Meals” section they have frozen pies, and they also produce sausages for Hot Dogs and Bacon (that is Streaky Bacon). I’ve not seen any of their products in the local stores here, just the canned Ham which was on sale at the time.

I’m not sure why we ended up with three, I thought we only bought two. However, we did open one up to our deep regret. A lot of water came out. The ham was like a blob of ungorgeousness that really didn’t smell or even look like ham. I decided to taste a little and it was like no ham I’ve ever had before, it was gross and sickly. To give it another chance, I cut a little off and decided to warm it up in the frying pan which didn’t improve it at all.

I decided to throw it away only having eaten a tiny piece of it. What do I do with the other two unopened cans? Should I give them away to a Food Bank? I’m not sure I would want to wish that on anyone but I will do that. Maybe there is someone out there that can make something of it.

Please don’t let my review put you off trying their products, what is not good for me might be okay for others. On the Walmart website, it receives good reviews, mostly.

Steven2023-09-13T23:30:22+00:0013 September 2023|Food|

Bubble World Surrey BC

For quite some time today was a gloomy cold day here in British Columbia, it was great to see some rain. As we were feeling cold we thought a visit to Jade Valley restaurant was in order as they are well known for their Hot and Sour Soup. However, they never opened on time so we decided to go to another favourite of ours, The Bubble World Restaurant.

For the first time, I had a warm drink in there, a milking coffee. I wasn’t expecting such a huge cup and it was warm and milking, really good. It was worth the price and I couldn’t believe I virtually finished it, I may not need a coffee for a few days.

I chose the Beef Brisket on Rice for my lunch. It came with Bok Choi, carrots, and tomato. It actually had a bit of a kick to it as well, which I wasn’t expecting. It was really good.

The hubby had fish, bacon and tofu dish, I didn’t try any but I have it on good authority that was pretty good too.

Thank goodness we took containers with us as there was enough to take home which we shall get another meal out of. It came to around about $38 excluding tip which is a pretty decent price these days, especially for the quality that we had.

I recommend this restaurant, give it a go if you are in the area. I give it a 5/5.

Steven2023-07-24T23:03:39+00:0024 July 2023|Food, Review|

Paul Bakery Cafe Restaurant

PAUL is a bakery restaurant that I am more familiar with from my visits to Paris, France. Eventually, it opened up in London then other locations where we lived such as Washington DC. Recently they opened up a branch in Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia along the popular Robson Street.

This week, we finally made it to the location here. We hadn’t been downtown since COVID broke out but felt like we needed to start going out and about in the city. This is my review of the restaurant.

Ambience

The Vancouver location of course had similar branding to the other stores although much larger than the ones we’ve been to in Europe. The branch in Washington DC appeared to be larger although more chaotic.

The Vancouver branch is separated into three sections. First the line up and buy bakery items and a drink which you can take out or have in the cafe area with the cafe. The informal cafe part had plenty of seating to bring your purchases to eat in comfort. The third area was the sit down menu based area where you are waited on by servers. That area has a large ceiling and ornate paintings on the walls.

No matter what section you sat in it was fairly noisy and there wasn’t a lot of people in there when we arrived. We acclimatized after a little while although a couple of times I couldn’t hear the staff’s questions. It seemed, due to the high ceilings maybe, there was a lot of echo.

There were three bathrooms; two unisex and one for special needs. They were clean and maintained very well.

Staff

The staff were friendly and attentive no matter what section you sat in.

See pictures above. I had the Salmon Eggs Benedict which was amazing, I have this dish often and this was one of the best. The Mocha I had was luscious; very naughty but nice. I almost ate everything, I didn’t feel too full up. The eggs were done as I ordered, soft. The brioche was light and fluffy, not too stodgy as I’ve recently in another restaurant. View the full menu on their website.

Pricing

It was expensive but I guess you pay for quality and we don’t come here that often so it’s all good.

Take Out

I took an almond croissant away to have another time. That was expensive too but it’s most likely the best you can get. I have bought more expensive ones and they haven’t turned out very well.

Conclusion

I would go back here again, it was a treat that we don’t have too often. If I worked near here I would have no salary left.

Steven2023-06-02T20:58:40+00:002 June 2023|Food, Review|

Swanson Beef Pie Review

In a moment of madness, I thought I would review a frozen Beef Pie from Swanson’s.

Tesco Steak Pie

In the UK I used to pick up a Tesco Steak Pie in Puff Pastry. It wasn’t frozen and was from the fridge department. It was very cheap, about 89p back then. There weren’t any vegetables in it but packed with meat and gravy. I loved it, 10/10 for their product. This is the pie I set my standards to.

Tesco Steak Pie

Swanson Beef Pie Review

So, where do I start with this? Sigh.

Swanson Beef Pie

After cooking the pie, it was stuck to the container it was cooked in. It took some effort to get it out and of course, it broke into a million pieces. Part of the base was stuck on there for good, like cement.

The pastry was something like a shortcrust but kind of dry and tasteless.

The pie contents were extremely small, one piece of meat was half the size of my thumbnail; 4 pieces of meat, 2 carrots and what looked like 1 pea. It certainly was not packed as per the picture on the box. There was some gravy but not a lot. Basically, all I had to eat was pastry in gravy. That is not a pie.

This is the worst pie I’ve ever had in my entire life. They could do much better than that. I would review this as 0/10, I feel bad there is nothing good I can say about this product. It’s currently on sale here at CAD$1.50, which is $1.49 more than anyone should pay for it.

Who is Swanson?

They are an American company owned by Campbells since 1955. I actually never buy anything Campbell makes, if I had known beforehand I wouldn’t have picked the pie up.

Should I Review More?

I was going to review a number of pies that I see in Canadian supermarkets to see if I can find a Tesco equivalent, however, the Swanson one has put me off doing that. I think we are safer making our own at home.

Steven2023-01-22T05:49:32+00:0022 January 2023|Food|

Aero Truffle Nanaimo Bar

Since I saw some positive reviews of this product I decided to give Aero Truffle Nanaimo Bar’s a try. I wish I hadn’t.

Aero Nanaimo Bar The product was on sale at the local supermarket so I picked up a bag rather than a bar, so more like a bag of miniatures. I can’t remember how much they cost but it wasn’t too much.

What is a Nanaimo Bar

The City of Nanaimo website best describes what the bar actually is, and there is a recipe available too. They did originate in the city and it’s a typical Canadian snack that you don’t really get to see much elsewhere. I have tried to make it but don’t have much success with it, not sure why, so I let the experts whip them up for me.

Review of Aero Nanaimo

It tastes nothing like a Nanaimo bar at all, far from it.

It is typical Aero, chocolate on the outside and light bubble type whatever on the inside.

I ate two and chucked the rest away, apart from taking a photo of them for this blog. They tasted of chemicals and after two bites I felt a bit queasy. They actually reminded me of flavoured KitKat bars which I can’t eat either. I checked the sell-by date on the back to ensure they hadn’t gone off and didn’t expire for 2+ months.

I guess Aero wants to expand its horizons, and keep making a profit and maybe this gives them more publicity even if people don’t like it. However, I don’t normally eat Aero anymore and this doesn’t encourage me to try any of the other bars in their “flavoured” collection. I do fancy a real Nanaimo bar now though although not sure where I can get them locally.

Steven2023-01-07T22:08:16+00:007 January 2023|Food|

Twix Caramel Centre Review

This is a review of Twix Caramel Centre biscuits I picked up at the local British store here in Vancouver.

About

My go-to chocolate bar from the supermarket or newsagent would always be a Twix. It started when I was 5 years old when my parents would take me swimming, I refused to get in the water unless they promised me a Twix afterwards. I don’t really eat them much anymore, just once or twice a year, but did pick the biscuits up as I thought they would be interesting to try. This is the first time I’ve seen or heard of them.

Actually, it’s quite difficult to find out any information about these biscuits. Mars, who owns the Twix brand, doesn’t have any information about them, or many other products, on their corporate website. Burtons Biscuits, whose name is on the packaging too, doesn’t have any information on them either, but there is a similar Mars Bar related product on their website.

Mars Soft Centres

I checked on Tesco and Sainsbury supermarket online stores and they don’t have the Twix product listed either. It’s quite mysterious because when I search online most British stores in Canada and the USA are selling them. Maybe they were limited edition, did their rounds in the UK, weren’t popular and decided to sell them at discount globally. Just a guess.

Review

I can’t remember how much these cost me here, about $4.00 I think.

So, here is a quick rundown of what I thought of them:

You get 8 biscuits in a packet which isn’t a lot for the money, but I don’t know how much they were in the UK so it could be reasonable at that cost.
They didn’t smell very pleasant.
They didn’t taste like Twix chocolate bars at all.
The biscuit on the outside was nice and crunchy.
There is a gooey caramel centre, I couldn’t taste it as the outside biscuit was too overpowering.
It wasn’t overly sweet which was great for me.
The biscuits had less of a caramel centre than advertised on the packet.
It left an aftertaste in my mouth which was unpleasant. A couple of hours later I am still shuddering from the aftertaste.
I could only eat one biscuit and I threw the rest away.

So, I wasn’t impressed. At least they weren’t that expensive.

Rating

I really didn’t like them so my rating is 1 out of 5. I wouldn’t buy them again. Sorry Twix makers, keep trying different things though.

Steven2022-08-10T21:55:13+00:0010 August 2022|Food, Review|

Neptune Palace Restaurant Review

Neptune Palace Restaurant is based here in Surrey, British Columbia, and is based inside the Surrey City Central Mall.

Neptune is a more high-class Chinese restaurant with inside decor to match. There are two parts to the restaurant, we’ve only been in the main section, the other one is a Wonton Noodle place.

The items on the menu are generally dishes you would not find in a day-to-day Chinese restaurant most people would go into. The prices are high but they do serve generous portions, enough for us for 3 more dinners. So, kind of value for money.

We had 3 dishes in all and my favourite was the Ho Fun, it’s always my go-to dish but I was interested in seeing what this one was like. It was exceptional. All dishes were good. Instead of an orange, they served us with a Mango Jelly dessert, it was refreshing.

At first, the customer service was a bit gruff. There was no one to greet us when we first arrived. There was only really one member of staff that was friendly to us. Also, the menu was on a tablet and it timed out, couldn’t access it as it was passworded, then the staff member wasn’t happy she had to re-enter the password for us.

I will give the restaurant 4 out of 5, marked down due to customer service rather than the food.

Steven2022-07-20T17:51:05+00:0020 July 2022|Food, Photo Gallery|

Lay’s Beer Flavored Crisps Review

Lays Beer Crisps This is a review of Beer Flavoured Crisps from Lays.

About

We bought these crisps from T&T Supermarket, a large chain selling mostly Asian goods, they cost about CAD$3.00

According to the Museum of Crisps, there are over 180 flavours in Lay’s portfolio. For more Lay’s crisps news view the Lay’s Around The World blog.

The Beer flavoured crisps we picked up are from China. Just looking through various websites online they are available from specialist stores and other Asian supermarkets. This is the first time I have seen Beer flavoured Lay’s, they did have a new selection of Lay’s Taro flavours, not a fan of Taro which is something I decided to avoid.

Review

The packet was the greatest thing about these crisps.

I opened the packet, put a whole crisp in my mouth and totally regretted it. Oh dear, it tasted awful. I just can’t compare it to anything else. It certainly didn’t taste like beer, just like some gone-off chemical.

I have noticed about Lay’s “flavoured” crisps that they all taste of chemicals. This is not just from Lay’s but also the KitKat range of products, apart from the original the ones I’ve tried aren’t that good.

I hastily threw away the rest of the crisps immediately. I had to eat something else, quickly, to take the taste away.

Can I give something minus marks? I don’t know, but it’s definitely 0 out of 5.

Summary

I don’t like giving things bad reviews but in this case, I had no choice. It was nasty.

Steven2022-07-07T17:46:22+00:007 July 2022|Food|

Heinz Sandwich Spread

Heinz Heinz Sandwich Spread has been around for as long as I can remember, way back into the 1960s, I thought I would try it again.

About

The ingredients are like a mix of salad cream and pickle relish. It’s difficult to describe the taste but it is very tangy. I won’t look too much in detail at the ingredients because I’m sure they would be bad for me.

It is most popular in the UK and The Netherlands, also in some other countries where ex-pats live. Here in Canada, it’s not available in general supermarkets but a general staple of many British stores.

I’m not sure about its history but I remember it from the early 1960s. In the UK it is quite cheap, more so than processed meat, so those on a low income might find this convenient for their budget. When I got my first home I had it for a while until I knew what my budget was going to be living in that property.

Other products that people would buy that are similar to this are Shipmans spread (or paste) range that they have. None of these products gets very good reviews as I think they are a product from yesteryear with a certain palette that goes along with them.

There is some more information on the product on the Heinz website. I have never seen the lower-calorie version they mention.

Serving Suggestion

Many people just put it in a sandwich as it is, but with some salad in between the slices of bread is better in my opinion. It is also good on some crackers like Ryvita. It doesn’t work on Ritz type crack for me. Keep in mind that it is a powerful and tangy flavour it can overpower other products. When putting Sandwich Spread on bread I don’t think you need butter on it, the flavour is hidden anyway.

Review

The price in Canada is over CAD $5.00 which doesn’t make it a cheap option to have on a regular basis. In the UK though a jar is about £1.50 which is very reasonable since one of them could last a week. Sandwich Spread might be intolerable if not serving it with a variety of items, like salad inside, so whether it’s cost-effective in the long term could be questionable.

As I said above, the flavour is strong and tangy. If used sparingly in a sandwich, or other healthier type of bread or cracker, the taste can be great, and a little crunchy too. In this case, the spread would last a long time.

I worry about some of the ingredients which makes me think I shouldn’t overuse them. Back in the 1960s we rarely thought of these factors but people have become more self-aware of what is in the products they buy and where they have come from.

I’m not sure if you can make the spread yourself, or at least a healthier version, by mixing salad cream with vegetables and relish. The video below, from Texas A&M University, seems quite a healthy alternative to Sandwich Spread.

Steven2021-11-05T22:56:49+00:005 November 2021|Food|

Tim Hortons Coffee Bar Review

Never heard that Tim Horton’s was producing a chocolate coffee bar before until I found some in the supermarket checkout aisle, so here is a review.

Who is Tim Hortons?

Tim Hortons was founded in 1964 by Canadian Hockey player of the same name, Tim Hortons, and Jim Charade. It has become Canada’s largest fast-food chain best known for its coffee and “Tim Bits” but also sells other bakery items plus sandwich type fare.

They were bought out by Burger King in 2014. Its majority own is Brazilian investment company 3G Capital. They now have outlets around the world including in China. The first Tim Horton’s I noticed in London UK was in Haymarket near Piccadilly Circus.

We don’t go in them too often, mainly when we are “on the road” travelling on vacation when we are desperate to use the toilet!

Chocolate Coffee Bar

Evidently Tim Hortons Coffee Bar has been in production since 2019, I discovered food blogs review the “Double Double” branded one since 2020. See Foodology. According to the site they are being produced in Miami, however, I did find one here in a supermarket in British Columbia. They might be available in their coffee shops; I haven’t been to any in 2+ years to find out.

Tim Hortons Coffee Bar

Review

Oh dear, it was bad.

I was hoping for better, but I didn’t enjoy it at all. It came with three large pieces, not very delicate looking at all with a coffee bean pattern on top. I think they could have been smaller break off chunks.

The alleged “coffee” flavour was completely overpowering I didn’t even notice the chocolate. The flavour tasted very bitter and a bit like chemicals. Then it left a sickening after taste in my mouth, I had to rush for something to mask it quickly. I’m not sure how they could have screwed this up so much.

The best coffee/chocolate combination I’ve had in Canada are the Milk Chocolate Coffee Creams in Purdy’s, fantastic combination of flavours, not overpowering, very mellow and creamy. They remind me of a Belgian coffee truffle from yesteryear. However, the Tim Hortons coffee bar was more like a cheap Hershey style chuck chemicals in it to make it last for years type product.

If anybody wants to try the Tim Horton’s product, they are available at Real Canadian Superstore for CAD1.88, maybe other locations too.

Steven2021-09-11T21:47:31+00:0011 September 2021|Food|

Food

Background

Swift Ham (In A Can)

Ambience

Staff

Menu

Pricing

Take Out

Conclusion

Tesco Steak Pie

Swanson Beef Pie Review

Who is Swanson?

Should I Review More?

What is a Nanaimo Bar

Review of Aero Nanaimo

About

Review

Rating

About

Review

Summary

About

Serving Suggestion

Review

Who is Tim Hortons?

Chocolate Coffee Bar

Review