This weekend we had the Mazda 3 as our people and cargo mover. This is the brand’s classic sedan in a hatchback. Available in standard or automatic sport, we decided to pit one against one the other, on back to back weeks. First the automatic.
This is an economy-fuelled vehicle with modern touches. Push pump seat adjustment for the passenger, wireless charging mat, heated seat and wheel, discrete sunroof, and faux leather furnishings.
In terms of technology the 2025 Mazda 3 comes with Mazda’s Unlimited Mileage Warranty, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Advanced Blind Spot Monitoring system, Skyactiv Technology, and G-Vectoring Control Plus.
We felt the latter during turns as weight is added to the opposite wheel to help reduce some of the weight transferred to the rear wheels, thus making the car feel more stable and natural behind the wheel.
The Mazda 3 was excellent on gas with a 6litre plus tank that did not diminish after a week’s worth of commuting and a weekend‘s worth of activity and errands. We did not even break the halfway mark, and even then fuelling was under $70.
Unfortunately, I stayed out too late Friday night and exhausted my mental and physical well-being, to the point that I developed a sore throat during my second dinner. The result was I spent the weekend trying to fight off and an impending cold. Self-medicating with additional vitamins and a run to the pharmacy for over-the-counter Cold FX pills. Unfortunately I could not sway the inevitable, and as a result, majority of the weekend was spent indoors, keeping warm, healing, with very little physical activity.
However, we still had to eat so kept it within our vicinity. Everything within East Vancouver. My partner was craving dumplings and noodles so we went to Wang’s in the Collingwood-Joyce area. This is one of our most frequented restaurants.
However, each time we dine in, I wonder over their longevity given its small and cramped footprint, the fact that there isn’t even a washroom in the restaurant, and because the staff are quite curt. Today in particular. For whatever reason, they weren’t serving any of their fried food items, and mind you majority of their menu is fried Szechuan style cuisine.
We were expecting to enjoy our regular of pan fried soup buns and deep fried spring rolls, but this was off the list of options. However, pan fried noodles and a particular type of pan fried dumplings were (as we watched them being walked out of the kitchen and on to a customer’s table). I asked, who appear to be the manager, what we could order, to clarify what is considered “fried”. She very abruptly and rudely said “nothing deep-fried”, with an exasperated tone.
I further aggravated her when filming some literal fire footage. Action shots of the wok frying in the kitchen. We were seated right at the very back, at the busiest table with the most passer-by traffic. Busy from staff picking up orders and delivering them. The perk of being here is to have a clear view into the kitchen and watching the staff hand roll dumplings. However the manager was quick to asked me with attitude, “can you not do those things”. I obliged, however, if she was embarrassed by the kitchen, maybe she should have kept it and her staff presentable; especially if there is no door, and they are seating people right at its threshold. I was not trying to capture the staff, I was honestly only interested in the food.
In the end we managed to find three dishes we wanted and at least they still had their famous soup dumplings available. For the first time ever, we finished everything without having to pack the rest. Typically, we order all our favourites, which is more than enough food for two, which ultimately results in leftovers that we can take away to enjoy the next day.
Their Steam pork buns with their table side chilli garlic crunch is some of our favourites, and why we continue to return, despite the above. They are still as tasty as expected, even thought half of them were popped and without soup. I also liked them dipped into the peanut butter sauce below.
The Dan Dan noodles were listed as spicy, but we barely got any heat. If you like the sweet nuttiness of peanut butter, you will like this. You get freshness from the green onion and a crunch from crushed peanuts. It did become one toned towards the end, but we easily used their house made chilli to remedy this.
And another one of our go-to orders is the Shanghai style thick noodles. Mildly seasoned, you order this one for its uneven and chewy texture. Mostly noodles, there is not enough pork and I avoid the crispy cabbage, out of preference. This makes for a great base to the more meaty bites we normally get.
We ate our fill and left.
In the afternoon we tended Hopscotch. This was originally branded as a whiskey, scotch, and bourbon festival. However, over the years it has grown and now includes any spirit, including ready to drink canned cocktails, beers, soju, and even Chinese rice wine. Anything but actual grape wine.
I was granted industry entry, which is a more enjoyable experience if you want to engage in the vendors, learn more about the products, and not have to pay for your pours. There are so many booths to visit that we had to cherry pick, focussing on new and limited edition releases. The review of the festival is already posted in its own blog review.
In the evening, we stayed home watching movies and ordering some pizza for dinner. My partner was craving thin crust pizza from Via Tevere Pizzeria. We enjoyed our first experience at their second location on Main Street, this pas summer. We ordered a meat lovers and a full veggie option. I wish we had some hot honey for the former, and ended up using ranch dressing for both. Not traditional or authentic, but I do love my ranch.
The next day we visited Main Street brewing to check out their new food menu. They have always served small bites with their beers on tap, however, they have recently expanded this assortment with the help of Rosie’s smokehouse barbecue and catering.
For those unfamiliar, Rosie’s serves Southern style, smokehouse barbeque out of their big red truck, and are known for their pop-ups at community events and sporting functions. And now they have a more permanent space within Main Street Brewing. Don’t expect barbeque platters and the burgers that you typically find on their truck. Here, it is a specialty curated menu, designed exclusively for Main Street. With more snack items and sandwiches, easy casual bites to pair with beer.
We got to try majority of the menu, which I will be reviewed in its own post.
And for an earlier dinner, we kept it on theme, visiting Electric Brewing in the Mount Pleasant area for their in-house food truck menu. They too don’t have a full food menu per se, but have teamed up with local smashburger foodtruck Kapow! to offer them a permanent parking spot where they can make their burgers to be served within the brewery.
This is a collaboration with a whole lot of symmetry, where the colourful and exciting energy of both brands are interchangeable. And beer just goes so well with burgers.
Kapow! is currently celebrating their one year anniversary, and I brought my partner now to try more of their burgers. I fully enjoyed my first taste and have been recommending them since.
Seeing as this was his first time, we decided to keep it classic with their fried chicken burger and their basic smash burger. The great part about the latter is that you can opt to have it with additional patties. One, two, or three; which allows you to really get the flavour of its smoky char in every bite.
He especially enjoyed the burger bun of both, but between the two preferred the Snap! Burger with double smash patties, lettuce, jalapeño jack cheese, tomato, crispy bacon, diced onion and Carolina barbeque aïoli. We liked it a little spicy for an extra kick. This is the one I would recommend for a first time try.
The Crunch! is crispy chicken thigh, lettuce, pickles, and their own Kapow! Sauce. It breading is heavily seasoned with spices, leaving you barely tasting the chicken. For personal taste I could have used more pickles and some fresh tomato slices to cut into this. Otherwise, still a top notch spot for burgers.
And for the rest of the night we stayed at home playing video games and meal prepping with leftovers for the week to come. I made salmon biscuits from leftover tuna, salmon, and edamame; and fried rice from a mix of beef and tuna Tataki and leftover fried rice cubes.
