Flight to Seattle
Today’s post is a little different than usual. There won’t be any recipe as my family and I just returned from a short trip to Seattle and Vancouver. The regular recipe and video tutorial post shall resume next week, I hope, after I tackled all the dirty laundries and house cleaning! Yeah, that’s the down side after a vacation. No wonder people get post-vacation-blues!
We started our trip with our flight to Seattle. I’m just glad that both of my my kids love reading. Therefore, it’s quite easy to keep them entertained for the short flight.
Uber Ride
Since we’re only staying in Seattle for couple of days, we didn’t rent a car but solely rely on the Uber service! I definitely love how convenience and economical it is, especially within a small city like Seattle.
charcuterie board: country pork terrine, salami cotto, house pickles
There are so many dining options and wonderful restaurants in Seattle, but we had very little time to spend in Seattle! I wish we had tried more restaurants, oh well, maybe next time.
soft eggs*, smoked prosciutto, local greens, pecorino sardo
Our first dinner was at Serious Pie! The Pizza crust here was simply amazing. Crispy, crunchy, and light! The pizza here was definitely one of the top three pizzas I’ve ever had! So if you happened to be in town, try it out for yourself and let me know what you think.
buffalo mozzarella, tomato sauce, fresh basil
Monorail to Space Needle
The next day, we took the monorail to visit the Space Needle. The Space Needle is one of the must-visit tourist attraction in Seattle.
Space Needle
It was quite a fun place to visit despite it’s be established for quite some time. After you purchase your tickets, you’ll be assigned a time to return to the line for a quick elevator ride up to the top/observatory level of the Space Needle. My kids had a great time up there, taking pictures and checking out the gorgeous view from above.
These are the views from the top of the Space Needle. Although Seattle is famous for their gloomy weather, we had quite a nice clear sky that morning!
Panoramic view from Space Needle
Another Panoramic view from Space Needle
Gum Wall
Next, we visited the Pike Place Market….but before that, we took the kids down the staircase for a quick look at the Gum Wall. If you have a weak stomach, I recommend that you skip this place!
I love this market, we took the kids to see the fish company.
There are many restaurants, cafes, and food stalls in this market and you can definitely spend a day here shopping and eating! We also stopped by the very first Starbucks. Unfortunately, the line was super long and we didn’t want to line up especially with young kids!
That evening, we had dinner at Blueacre Seafood. The seafood was fresh and services were wonderful at this place. But make sure you make a reservation ahead of time, otherwise, you might not be seated for over an hour if you just walked in during dinner hours.
KASU MARINATED NEAH BAY BLACK COD shiitake | stir fried vegetable | green papaya salad
PAN SEARED ALASKAN HALIBUT sienna rice pilaf | newuakum baby summer squash | lemon buerre blanc
King Street Amtrak Train Station
The next morning, we took a train ride from Seattle to Vancouver. The train was a little bit old, but considered rather clean.
Here’s one of the scene from the train ride. It takes about 4 hours to get to our destination. We all managed to get a little nap on the train.
China Town, Vancouver
After we arrived in Vancouver, a family member picked us up. I can’t believe Uber doesn't exist here! Luckily, the public transportation is quite convenience. Many places are within walking distance of the Sky Train. We passed by China Town in Vancouver and had lunch at a local Hong Kong style Cafe. Sorry that I didn’t take any pictures as we were too busy chatting and eating. But the food was great there.
View from inside the Sky Train
Seafood Tower
For dinner, we went to Yaletown, one of our favorite city in Vancouver. We love this part of town because the whole area is packed with nice restaurants, hotels, and shops! We tried the Seafood Tower from WildTale Coastal Grill and the kids ordered spaghetti. Most of the seafood on the seafood tower were fresh and delicious. Unfortunately, the grilled lobster was a bit overcooked. Good news is that the desserts made up for it!
Cream Brulee
Peanut Butter Cheesecake
The next day, we visited the Waterfront. You can observe Seaplanes take off and landing here. The fares varies depending on the length of the flight that you choose. Since it was a gloomy day, we skipped this attraction.
Steam Clock
We walked over to Gastown to check out the steam clock. You can read more here if you’re interested.
After all these walking, we stopped by Fairmont Hotel Vancouver for an afternoon tea….and kids went into a pillow fight while we were waiting for our seating! Thank goodness that we didn’t get kicked out of the hotel! Phew….
I had high expectation of this afternoon tea, especially given the price tag. The tea was wonderful, ambiance was great. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed with the overall food quality.
Picture above were cheese scones, blueberry scones, blueberry preserves, and devonshire cream. The scones were delicious.
Up next was maple panna cotta. This was one of my favorite treat from the whole afternoon tea, besides the tea itself.
On this plates were wagyu beef corn dogs, sliders for the kids, and duck confit tart. They were alright, but nothing special.
The next level down the plate tower were lobster rolls and smoked salmon tea sandwiches. I didn’t get to try the tea sandwich, but the lobster roll was just so-so. The bread to filling ratio wasn’t quite right and the bread was a bit dry for me. I would appreciate more if they serve half of the size of bread with the same amount of filling…and it would be better if the bread was buttered and toasted! Am I asking for too much? I think I need to make my own lobster rolls soon!
The bottom plate were smoked meat sandwiches and bacon slider. I’m already stuffed by the time I got to this level.
Lastly, the dessert plate. Unfortunately, the only item that I liked from this plate was the pecan tart. The rest were just okay. I have to mention though, the kids love the doughnuts especially when they can squeeze their own sauce on top! That night, we had dinner with family. Sorry we didn’t take pictures of the dishes. But they were definitely more delicious than the afternoon tea.
The next day, we visited the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Honestly, I’m not really a nature person nor do I like hiking at all. But we all had so much fun here. One recommendation is….wear comfortable shoes!!!
The suspension bridge was quite long and a bit swingy when you get to the middle. But the scenic views around and on the bridge simple takes my breath away.
This picture above was taken from the Cliff Walk looking back at the suspension bridge.
And here’s the view when you’re on the cliff walk.
Throughout the park, there were a few other smaller suspension bridges when you walk up the treetops. Can you spot us from the picture above?
The next day, we took a ferry ride (20 minutes) to Granville Island Public Market. It was a cute little town to visit if you have a few hours to spend.
Since this is a very short trip, we didn’t get to visit Victoria Island, another tourist destination. Most people recommended to stay overnight at the Victoria Island as it’ll be too rush for a day trip. Another popular attraction that we didn't get to visit is the Grouse Mountain. I guess we’ll just have to save it until we visit Vancouver again next time.
We had a safe flight back home from Vancouver! Nothing beat Home Sweet Home! Thank you so much for visiting and reading. Stay tuned for more fun recipe, where to eat and visit in the future blog posts! Until next time….
P.S. If you have any questions regarding transportation, restaurants, how to get around, where to go and what to do in Seattle and Vancouver, etc, please feel free to leave your questions and commend below. I'll try my best to answer them.
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