I was in Vancouver for a week in mid June 2023. All I did was meet people and eat vegan food. I got a chance to visit a lot of the new vegan places. If you are new to my blog I used to live in Vancouver for almost my whole life and I moved to Ottawa a year ago. Ottawa has a lot of vegan businesses and if not fully vegan almost every place will have at least one vegan option. I find Vancouver is different in that there aren’t a lot of vegan businesses and many places don't have vegan options so when one opens everyone commutes to try it.
I Landed in YVR on Saturday evening and on the way out before baggage claim there is an Upmeals vending machine. I filtered it to Vegan to take the pictures. I didn’t buy anything because I still needed to get my luggage and I was planning to get the vegan breakfast sandwich from 7-11. I have yet to find the machine when I leave the airport would be great to get something for the plane ride.
Last time I was in Vancouver I was lucky enough to try the vegan breakfast sandwich from 7-11 that is in the airport. I was hoping I would be able to get it again but like every other vegan food item that is perfect they don’t have it anymore. I did find silk almond milk for my coffee in the hotel room that was good.
Vegan Shoku is a new fully vegan restaurant in Vancouver. I was lucky I got a chance to try it with a non vegan friend. The menu has a lot of choices. We both got combo boxes for the chance to try a variety of things they were all good. I had also ordered a spicy tuna roll thinking it would be too much but I live to far away to return. It ended up being cucumber not rice wrapped which was nice for the little room left in our bellies. My non vegan friend was surprised on how good everything was and I enjoyed it as well. If I get the chance to return I will definitely try one of their desserts. If you get a chance to go here it’s worth a try.
I had recently watched an episode of @vegantwosome on YouTube about Earl's vegan menu. I was meeting people at Earl’s and if I hadn’t watched that episode I would have never tried the vegan bowl as the description doesn’t seem like something I would like. It was amazing! Earl’s actually has a great vegan selection. We went to the one at Brentwood mall in Burnaby and it was packed at 5pm that tells you a place is good. It is a place that has something for everyone if you have to go somewhere with a group.
To Live For by Erin Ireland is the newest big vegan spot. There are not a lot of vegan bakeries in Vancouver but there are a lot in Ottawa. I’m glad I got a chance to try To Live For but I was with a non vegan person that just wanted to see a vegan bakery. It was a quick stop so I had to get things to go that I had to get heated and eat later. Erin was at the counter and gave me advice about heating the items. I got the breakfast sandwich which reminded me a lot of the Keepin it vegan one from Ottawa. The croissant was very good and the only reason I like the Keepin it vegan sandwich better is they have vegan bacon and tomato in it. They are both very good if you only have access to one try either one.
I had heard so many good things about Burger Crush. It is not a fully vegan restaurant but they do have vegan burgers and shakes. I think my experience was ruined a little because I was given a non vegan burger by accident luckily I was paying attention and noticed before eating it. The service was good they apologized and gave me the correct one. I thought the food was good but I wasn’t amazed by it. I think this is because I have access to so much vegan food in Ottawa that my standards are higher than when I lived in Vancouver. I can see why people in Vancouver enjoy this place.
One of the things I miss most after becoming vegan is drinking chai when I go out for Indian food. Having chai with my food is one of my favourite things and yes I am the wierdo that likes to have chai with my meal. Most places have chai mixed with dairy milk but Davie Dosa House has a full vegan menu including almond milk chai. The non vegans I was with loved the food. The special of the day was eggplant dosa which was vegan without substitutions. If you are looking for a good dosa place with lots of vegan options this is the place to go.
I have wanted to go to bonus bakery for a long time but their hours never matched with my schedule. I am glad I got to try it. Bonus bakery was as good as I expected and the cookies were a great plane snack. If you need some vegan baked goods and are in downtown it is a good place to go.
Foodiebuddy and I decided to go for vegan brunch at Nightshade. It is a fully plant based restaurant in Yaletown. It was the first time either of us have been there. We did make reservations they didn’t have them but it was not busy so no reservation needed. I was confused about this as I expected the place to be packed but it wasn’t. The food is good and compared to Ottawa prices reasonably priced. I do find that food in Ottawa is more expensive than it is in Vancouver so maybe it is high prices for Vancouver as it is upscale dining. The full cost of our meal 3 main dishes, 1 dessert, a virgin drink including tax was $75. I really don’t know why it isn’t busy for brunch. For our main dishes Foodiebuddy had the turnover and I had wild mushroom hash. The presentation is great at first I thought my food was too salty but it was good when mixed together. Foodybuddy wanted creme brûlée for dessert so I got asked if I wanted a waffle I said yes thinking it would be dessert size, it was a main. I’m glad I got to try it even if it was too much food. If I get a chance I will go and try lunch or dinner menu. Let me know if you have tried it.
I went to my best friend’s house to do my laundry. We ordered from cactus club and I love how they wrote vegan on the containers. The bowl was pretty good but the sushi was amazing my non vegan friend even liked it. We are opposites so when we agree on something you know it has to be good. If you are near a Cactus Club the new vegan options are worth a try. I also wish that you all have at least one good friend the kind that lets you go to their house to do laundry while you are on vacation.
There are so many vegan things at Granville Island. If you follow me on Instagram I have lots of posts about vegan food options since I used to work in the area. I usually stay at the Riverock hotel because of it's great location for getting around by transit but not a lot of vegan options on site. I like to stock up on vegan things when I am at Granville Island so I can have breakfast in my room. Chau Veggie express is inside Granville Island and 100% plant based so I like to get some things from there and this time I found Living Tree cream cheese at the bagel shop. This is one of my favourite vegan cream cheese brands but I used to buy it at the farmers market. I believe they might be in whole foods in BC now but not yet in Ottawa so I enjoyed it while in BC.
It is now the end of July over a month has passed since I was in Vancouver so I am going to end this post now even though I did have a lot more vegan food on this past trip.
My next post will be about flying business class on AirCanada where I will tell you about the vegan food in the lounge and on the flight. I hope you enjoyed reading this blog.
Thank you for reading. For more vegan food follow me on Instagram @LivingOttawaLocal and @VeganCanadianfinds
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