I was invited to OEB's pre-opening event this Saturday. They called it an "OEB VIP Experience", where a few "VIP & Media guests" would get a taste of their award-winning brunches prior to their opening day on May 13. YES! I'm either VIP or Media, or... BOTH?

All kidding aside, I was very excited to be one of the first to dine at OEB, without having to wait in line or worry about the bill at the end. I had an appointment with Isabelle's Bridal right after brunch to pick up my wedding dress (more on this at the bottom of the post), and the budget will be tight for the next few months, so any little bit helps!

CP made an effort to join me on this Saturday morning, bright and early at 10AM, even though she does not eat eggs... What is the main ingredient on most brunch menus?!

I guess free mimosas was a good trade off for all the eggs that she would not eat! OEB generously served unlimited mimosas, and while they would prefer for us to order from their selected list of specials that were ready for guests to try out as they're still preparing and training for opening day, our server made it clear that if we wanted anything else from the main menu, we should ask for it and they'll check to see whether it's possible. We ended up just getting their suggestions (my brain was not ready to make decisions yet), including "The Soul in a Bowl", the Croque Madame, and the "French Toast Trifle".

While editing these photos after a large Mother's Day dinner last night, I could actually feel myself getting hungry because I was remembering how delicious everything tasted at OEB. I don't have a good photo of the Croque Madame, but looking at the other photos, you can believe that it looked perfect. The photo up above is of the poutine bowl, which consisted of poached eggs over a bed of arugula and herb potatoes, topped with bacon lardons and drenched in hollandaise sauce. It was the first time I had heard of bacon lardons, which are actually just thicker, flakier pieces of very flavorful bacon. A bit of a chewier texture, rather than the crispiness of the usual bacon. I secretly hoped that the eggs on top of both the poutine bowl and the Croque Madame would either be too hard or too medium for the poached medium eggs, but they did not disappoint, and we were treated to runny goodness (to the disgust of CP, haha).

We left the french toast for last, as dessert, and we might have kept it on the table for too long; it probably would have been better if we ate it fresh:

Remember how I didn't want to make any choices earlier on? Well, I also had difficulty paying attention to what the server was saying, because I was pretty distracted, thinking about the wedding dress later on, and I also did not read any of the menu descriptions. Basically, I had no idea what to expect. The meyer lemon curd on top of the toast came as a complete surprise, and I thought there was something wrong with it. I had never had citrus-y french toast before, and the first bite hit me hard.





Then, I had a second bite. Then, a 3rd. Then, I just couldn't stop.

The bread is from A Bread Affair, with berries and torched meringues daintily sitting placed on top of this #postitfortheaesthetic plate. Note that there is a sprinkling of icing sugar and green Sicilian pistachio powder around the plate. It's not mold.

OEB also shared with us a few of their values, and I never thought of a restaurant having core values or a mission statement, but I guess for a chain restaurant that is trying to grow, these aspects of a business would be key to success. One of their core values was GENUINE, which I think they were really successful with.

I'm a lucky human being, to be part of this beautiful area of the world, living in a community with authentic humans around us, and where working hard will pay off. Not that all businesses know how to treat their customers, but most of the institutions around the Metro Vancouver area are fair.

The folks at Isabelle's Bridal though, that's a different story... to be told in the next post.

Family Day long weekend was an opportunity to get the family together and go eat. I took my parents out to the Gray Olive Cafeteria to try out this new(ish) brunch spot in Burnaby:



Pictured here is the salmon eggs benny, hash browns, salad, chicken and waffles. Not pictured is the ham hock benny. Their eggs benedict sauce is smooth and creamy, one of the best. The salmon was very fresh, and perfectly done, paired very well with the medium poached eggs (I didn’t ask for it, it came medium). the hashbrowns were crispy and lightly seasoned so they weren’t too salty. The waffles though… H mentioned there might have been lemon zest in the batter, and the waffle just melts in your mouth! None of that doughey sticky texture that sometimes makes your mouth feel too dry.



Really, the only complaint was that the coffeee came in a paper cup. Their seating was very limited, so I can see why they wouldn’t want people to linger with a cup of coffee. Food was perfect.
Birds of a feather, flock together… All the foodies were at the Gray Olive that day, the line ups were about 10 minutes long.

At work, all the lazy people hang out together too. HA.

The one thing I've really learned is that you can't stay negative when something bad happens, because there will always be difficult times. Why not just get over it and do something about it instead?

I have a craving for a hearty brunch, must be the sleep deprivation. Red Wagon would really hit the spot right now.

I came here with my mother one day. I had the breakfast with the pancakes and potatoes and eggs and added some JD syrup on the side.

Mother had the special, with the eggs and I think benedict sauce, beets and other veggies on the bottom. I loved this because it’s so fresh. Service is alright, they’re so busy that the servers really gotta pay attention.

D and I hit up Murrin for the views today:

I’m ready to start flying. I got the DJI Spark.