This Remembrance Day long weekend we had places to be and things to do, and the assistance of the 2025 Volvo XC60 PHEV Ultra to do them with.
We are already fairly familiar with Volvo’s mid side hybrid vehicle and have been singing its praises for years. With its greater fuel economy and driver assist, my partner has already declared that this would be his choice for a daily driver if given the option.
Volvo is known of their safety and you get plenty of the latest advancements here, coupled with their legacy of steadfast reliability. All in a hybrid-electric package to stay current with the times and the advancing needs of modern drivers.
The interior is posh with nude faux leather seats, complimentary dark wood grain accents across the dash, their trademark crystal gear shift, and upper tier Bowers and Wilkins stereo to give you studio quality sound within the noise resistant cabin. The built in air purifier is all well appreciated.
The XC60 allows for easy connection so you can sync up your phone and favourite apps. And the head up-display broadcasts important road information into your regular driving peripheral, so that you stay more aware of what is ahead.
There is discrete binning in the centre console with stylish spring back covers. The vehicle seats 5, but more comfortably 4 full-sized adults, with their own door side storage. Plus a surprisingly large trunk.
Our favourite feature was the duality of having the ability to charge and store battery life to save on your daily commute, coupled with a larger tank and great overall fuel economy for a weekend getaway into the wilderness. In truth we would be getting the larger Volvo XC90 the following week and would be doing just that. This week the more compact sedan was plenty for our around metro Vancouver adventures.
There was a miscommunication on time so our original, would-be Mexican lunch in Chinatown turned into plan B of steamed and baked buns at New Town Bakery.
Having been a long time fan I have seen changes in their recipes and selection, as well as the increase in price. Today my favourite “Dai” bao left me disappointed. There was less filling, with a 2:1 ratio of meat to bun. The small egg size nugget of mixed pork, ham, bbq pork, and salted egg was left rolling around at the centre of the doughy white bun. It still tasted the same, and I still enjoyed it, but there was definitely a lot less of it.
The steamed pork asado bun had a similar case of missing filling, where there was less than what we remembered. However, the baked buns with their sweet golden brown glaze seemed consistent. Curry and bbq pork with enough to flavour an otherwise plain bread. And we both enjoyed the wonderfully eggy centre meets flaky pastry of their egg tarts.
And as much as I grieved over the above, I do not see myself going anywhere else for their buns. They still taste the best in my opinion.
After, we went to Potters, the destination for all things holiday in metro Vancouver, as Western Canada’s largest Christmas store. They are a 20 year old holiday tradition for many, including myself. I only discovered them a few years back, but have been returning year after year as a way to mark the start of the winter season in my mind and heart.
They are a nursery every other day of the year, but from the first of November to the 24th of December they are opened daily and have 28,000-square-feet to immersive yourself in all things Christmas and gift giving.
As taken from the press release, “The Christmas Store at Potters is the ultimate holiday haven for exquisite decorations, unique giftware and specialty items. The store boasts a wide assortment of designer trees and collectibles, thousands of hand-picked ornaments, 50 styles of Christmas stockings, stocking stuffers and much more. An incredible selection of toys, jigsaw puzzles, games and gifts for those hard-to-buy-for adults on your list rounds out the inventory.”
It is still early in the season, so on this visit we decided to shop for ourselves, knowing full well that with each purchase you get 50% off coupons for future shopping on specific date. And this is a hack I now share with you. So visit earlier in the season when they first open shop. Purchase for yourself or buy generic things you want that add joy to your life, then come back later when the coupons suggests to see the entire collection and get discounts on your regularly priced Christmas decor.
Today we picked up those trendy and viral tiktok mini tumbler shot glasses with straws. They also come in mini mugs and mini martini glasses, in a variety of colours. We got a frosted purple for him and the candy apple green Stanley knock off for me. We would use these for shots by night and an espresso during the day.
My partner is a fan of those mind bending puzzles so we got an entire set from beginner to genius level. The goal is to remove rings or pieces from one another, and he solved them with relative ease, all within a day. Thankfully he will still have use for them, as he will be offering them as a way to keep entertained, when he has clients sitting in his barbering chair.
We also grabbed a set of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle socks that we can wear with our crocs and match.
And lastly a wreath for the front door as we began to set up some of our Christmas decorations from previous years.
On the way home we stopped by the hidden away bubble tea shop Blossom Tea, in my neighbourhood, for our caffeine fix. They are located on the ground floor of a townhouse complex and make for a convenient drink stop, but parking is by luck.
He grabbed their Mango QQ dessert with chunks of mango, sago, and tapioca pearls. It drank like soup once it melted. I had to try their new and limited edition “Osmanthus Fairy” beverage. Their fragrant osmanthus tea, topped with their fresh house-made cheese foam. It also included Osmanthus Jelly and to it I added tapioca pearls for more chew.
This we would enjoy in front of the television screen as we spent the rest of the afternoon playing our favourite couch co-op game on this wet and rainy day. We only came out for air during dinner.
In the evening we were craving Vietnamese cuisine, our typical go-to when we don’t know what we want to eat. Currently my partner’s obsession is Hoang Yuen Bun Cha Ca for their one of a kind crab noodle. Only recently we discovered that there is a location closer to us in Burnaby, so went there instead of the main one on Victoria Drive.
We got our desired Special Crab Soup with Vermicelli and it was as expected. In contrast we also ordered their classic beef pho soup with rare beef, well-done beef flank, tendon, and tripe with rice noodle in soup. Both satisfying and warming on a more dreary night. More about each soup noodle and our experience to come in its own post.
The next day we travelled to Richmond for the best Chinese donut I have ever had, turning my partner into a fan as well. A lengthly flash fried piece of dough, hooked for display on a one of a kind apparatus. This was the main reason why we visited, but while there we also tried a few of their other Hunan and Sichuan speciality dishes. Full review of that to come on its own post.
And in the afternoon my partner gifted me a makeover. He is a barber by profession, with experience in colouring, which he would put to good use today. In order to save money and repair my chemical damaged hair, I have decided to cease the bleaching. So in order to allow the colour to gracefully grow out, we toned it dark to match my black roots, and dyed it brown for a more natural gradient. One of the many perks of seeing my barber and hair stylist every weekend.
