The Pointe Restaurant at the Wickaninnish Inn (Tofino, BC)

500 Osprey Lane
Tofino, BC
250.725.3100
website

For a nice treat, Trapezista and I headed to the Pointe Restaurant at the Wickaninnish Inn for breakfast. The restaurant offers a killer view of the ocean. We were able to enjoy breakfast while watching waves breaking and surfers braving the rain and cold.

The Pointe Restaurant Dining Room.

Instagramed view from the restaurant.

As we sat at our table, we were asked if we wanted juice. Why yes, please! Even for the steep price of $3.75, the juice was worth it. It was a mix of peach, lime and basil and tasted exquisite. With the peach preserves I'm planning to make, this is another recipe I want to try back home.

Peach juice.

If you've been reading this blog, you might notice that I order eggs and bacon 90% of the time for breakfast, and this time was no different. Both Trapezista and I ordered the Pointe Breakfast ($19), which included two eggs, housemade Cumberland sausages, a potato rosti and tomato jam. The potato rosti was an original touch, but I'm not sure if I like my potatoes whole for breakfast better. The sausages were very good, and not too fatty.

The Pointe Breakfast.

Prices are on the expensive side at The Pointe Restaurant, but you can't beat the view, the food was great and the service impeccable. I think it should be considered a special treat, and we all deserve special treats sometime!

Old Town Bakery (Ladysmith, BC)

510 1st Ave
Ladysmith, BC
(250) 245-2531
website

Trapezista and I headed up the coast to check out Ucluelet and Tofino. On our way there, we stopped at Old Town Bakery in Ladysmith. Trapezista had heard that their cinnamon buns were a must try.

Old Town Bakery.

Trapezista got the renown cinnamon bun with sliced almonds and cream cheese icing. I don't remember how much it was, but definitely under $3, which makes the giant bun a steal. She really enjoyed her bun. There were other flavours, such as a berry one and a peanut butter cream cheese one.

 

Cinnamon Bun.

I was a wimp and was overwhelmed by the ginormous cinnamon bun so I ordered the blueberry and white chocolate scone ($1.85) instead. It was quite good and still big. I did eye her bun and wondered if I should have stuck to the bakery's specialty.

Blueberry scone.

Old Town Bakery seemed to be busy on a weekday morning. Their other baked goods include large square shaped muffins, cookies and freshly baked breads. There was also a small lunch counter with salads.

Auntie Pesto's Cafe (Salt Spring Island, BC)

2104-115 Fulford Ganges RdSalt Spring Island, BC
250.537.4181
website

Trapezista, her friend C and I took the ferry to Salt Spring Island to go camping. In the morning, we went searching for breakfast in the town of Ganges and found Auntie Pesto's Cafe.

We picked Auntie Pesto's for their early bird special (from 8 to 9 am) of 2 eggs, bacon, potato, toast & coffee for $8.99. An old hippie patron (it seems there are a lot of hippies in Ganges) also came out while we were looking at the menu outside, encouraging us to come in. Had it been warmer, we would have happily sat outside and had breakfast by the water.



A nice warm cup of coffee was served. I was impressed by the quality of the foamy coffee that was included in the early bird special.

The early bird special was quite good. The 3 slices of bacon were crispy. The potatoes were well seasoned and cooked with slices of onion. I seemed to not have photographed my favourite part of the meal. The accompanying fresh peach preserves. It was quite delicious, with large chunks of peaches, and made me want to try my hand at preserves this year!

While waiting for breakfast, I got tempted by the scones sitting on the counter. We decided to share the walnut and chocolate chip one to end our meal on a sweet note. The scone was nicely warmed up and buttered for us.

Auntie Pesto's was a perfect stop for breakfast. They seem to offer a very ambitious dinner menu, not something one would necessarily expect in a small town.

Le Valois (Montréal, QC)

25 Simon Valois Place
Montréal, Québec
514.524.2292
website 

After my tennis match with MC on a Sunday morning, we grabbed breakfast at Le Valois in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhood. The HoMa neighbourhood had sparked my interest when I read about ArHoMa on Lake Jane. Le Valois also happened to be in Place Valois. We were nicely surprised that it offered a beautiful terrace so we could enjoy breakfast outside.

 Terrasse at Le Valois.

After our workout, we both enthusiastically ordered a fresh juice to hydrate ourselves. The Elixir ($4.95), a blend of mango, orange juice and strawberry juice was quite refreshing. We also noticed other patrons ordering sangria, maybe an idea for next time.

 The refreshing Elixir juice.

MC was intrigued by the croquette de chèvre, served with a beet sauce ($9.50). While she enjoyed the fried croquette of goat cheese, she was disappointed by the small portion. It would have been nice if it had come with a more filling salad, or a piece of bread.

 Croquette de chèvre.

I ordered the Spécial du Valois ($8.95), which consisted of 2 eggs, sausage, bacon, a baguette and potatoes. I had assumed correctly that “oeufs miroir” meant sunny side up. Good to know for next time as I don’t like my eggs that runny. The special was quite enough to fill me up, having both bacon and sausage on the dish. My favourite part was the pommes de terre rissolées; they were well cooked, well seasoned with a good amount of onion.

  Spécial du Valois.

Le Valois is a good place for breakfast, especially if you’re looking to sit on a terrace on a sunny morning. They also offer a late dinner special that would be nice to check out one day. Place Valois seems to have a lot offer when it comes to food. I’ll just have to come back to check out ArHoma another time (and fine sausages at William J. Walter).

P.S. this post is my first post using my i-phone and Instagram for pictures. This might be my preferred means of taking pics as it is much more convenient than carrying a camera all the time!

Sain Bol (Montréal, QC)

5095 rue Fabre
Montréal, Québec
514.524.2292

As mentioned previously, brunch seems like the quintessential weekend activity here in Montréal. The blog Montreal Breakfast Review even focuses on brunch and breakfast only in Montréal! This time, our friend E picked Sain Bol, in the east end of town, to meet up for brunch with Elle, Em and J.

Upon coming in, we were served complementary chai tea with almond milk. Not only was it a nice way to warm up to the rather still chilly spring air, the almond milk was a great compliment to the chai – I did not miss coffee at all. It was also nice that they refilled our mugs for free. We all thought the little crushed mugs too cute.

 

Sain Bol offers a small menu, that offers both savoury and sweet items. I ordered the combo ($14.95) that allowed me to taste nearly the whole menu (except for the grilled cheese) in small portions. While I appreciated that the gravlax was homemade, everyone who ordered the salmon thought it was too strong; it might have helped if the gravlax had been sliced a bit more thinly. I did really like the accompanying olive focaccia. I loved the yogurt parfait; it had pieces of honeycomb that added a nice sweetness against the tart yogurt. Finally, the goat cheese omelette with Portobello mushrooms was topped with fresh sprouts.

Combo: gravlax with olive focaccia, yogurt and omelette.

The French toast came in a perfectly sized small portion to end the brunch on a sweet note. It was topped with pineapple and plums.

French toast.

Everyone else got an item from the menu as individual portions: gravlax on focaccia ($12.95) and the French toast ($10.95).

Individual size gravlax with a side salad.

If you’re looking for a small local place for brunch, that is vegetarian and vegan friendly, Sain Bol is a great place to check out. Sain Bol is a small place, so call for a reservation if you want a table and note that they only accept cash.

Biztrot Crêperie & Gelateria (Brossard,QC)

6705 boulevard Chevrier, local 103
Brossard, Québec
450.443.6000
Facebook page

The last time I visited Montréal, my mom's husband H took us out to his friend's newly opened crêperie. It's hard to turn down a crêpe so we stopped there for lunch to try some out.



H ordered the ham and cheese panini ($7.50) and seemed to enjoy it. My mom ordered the chicken, mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes panini ($8.50). I had a bite - the large pieces of chicken were very well seasoned and there was a generous amount of sun-dried tomatoes, which made it a great savoury sandwich.


Ham and chicken paninis.

I stuck with the specialty, ordering a crêpe with apples ($6.50). It was made up of an oversize crêpe folded and filled with large chunks of apples. It was topped of with powder sugar and raspberry sauce.


Crêpe aux pommes.

The sweet proprietress insisted that we try some gelato and sorbet. The most memorable one was the Ferrero Rocher. If you enjoy Ferrero Rocher, how can you go wrong with Ferrero Rocher gelato?



If I lived closer by (on the South Shore of Montréal), I would definitely be visiting Biztrot. It is currently in a rather unassuming spot where nearby store have not yet opened up. However, I would rather stop by for a crêpe for breakfast, rather than the breakfast chains out there. They also offer savoury crêpes and specialty coffees, as well as a daily soup. Check it out if you're nearby!

Magical Breakfast Cream

I've been enjoying Magical Breakfast Cream (or MBC) as my daily breakfast for a year now, from the French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook. I don't usually follow fad diets but I'm always on the lookout for good and healthy recipes. I really love this recipe because it really includes all that you need nutritionally in one bowl. It's a great start to my day!



Magical Breakfast Cream
Adapted from French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook by Mireille Guiliano. I realized typing this that I don't follow the quantities and suspect I have more yogurt and honey than the quantities below. Of course, ingredients can be improved to taste: different fruit, different oil. One of the suggestions in the book is to sweeten with mandarin juice. I would buy fresh mandarins and squeeze the juice out. It was good but rather tedious so I add honey instead.

* ⅓ cup Greek yogurt, any type will do but I like how thick it is
* 1 tsp flax oil
* 1 tsp honey
* 2 Tbsp cereal, ground (I like to use Grain Shop High Fibre Crisp)
* 1 Tbsp nuts, ground (I use a mix: walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts)
* handful of blueberries
* half a banana, peeled and sliced

Scoop the yogurt into a bowl.
Add the flax oil and honey, and mix.
Add the cereal and nuts, and mix again.
Top with blueberries and banana.
Tada!


Yogurt with honey and flax oil, then cereal and nuts.

This recipe made me start having flax oil, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acid. It has to be refrigerated and ingesting 1-2 tsp a day is recommended.



Clearly, I like this recipe so much that I've been having it regularly for a year. Even on weekends when I allows myself to splurge on breakfast, sometimes I just want to have MBC. My perfect spoonful is having some blueberries and banana, and the crunch of nuts.

La Croissanterie Figaro (Outremont,QC)

5200 Rue Hutchison
Outremont, Québec
514.278.6567
website

Before we left Montréal, my boyfriend A and I met up my university friend C and her boyfriend R for lunch. We went to La Croissanterie Figaro, based on a recommendation of A's friend (the same friend who had recommended Rumi, just across the street). We were a bit worried that we'd have to wait in line on a glorious Saturday morning but we got a table right away, though the restaurant was quite busy.



We got to sit outside under a red umbrella, which tinged my pictures with a red hue. I don't quite remember what we ordered and unfortunately, the menu is not online. I will try to go from memory. R ordered a puff pastry stuffed with rapini and feta (I think). A ordered a roasted vegetable sandwich.


Rapini puff pastry and roasted vegetable sandwich.

Both C and I ordered the Spécial Bonjour ($7.95) which consisted of an orange juice and a café au lait, and a croisant topped with ham, eggs and melted cheese. My croissant was quite good and the brunch special was very filling.


Le Spécial Bonjour.

La Croissanterie Figaro is the perfect spot to catch up with friends over brunch. It was especially nice to be able to sit outside. It's in a very quaint area, near an Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood and we could watch families walking to the synagogue.

Eggsquis (Brossard, QC)

6400 boulevard Taschereau
Brossard, Québec
450.443.0358
website

The main reason I was visiting Montréal was that my lovely sister L was getting married and I wanted to take part in all of the pre-wedding celebrations. So upcoming posts will include her bachelorette and wedding! On this occasion, we were having brunch with (female) family friends. After discussing going to dim sum, we decided to meet at a breakfast place so we would have time to chitchat and not be rushed out the door.


Girls only brunch!

Since I was too busy catching up and hosting "How well does the Bride know the Groom?" (on this occasion, very poorly...), I very quickly took pics of our plates and even passed my camera around. Unfortunately, I did not take very good notes on what was ordered and how much. Overall verdict: very big portions of good breakfast food!



Clockwise from top left: my buckwheat crêpes with berries, eggs Florentine, Le 15 juillet 1995 (2 eggs, baked beans, potatoes for $8.95) and a banana chocolate pancake.

Being the future dainty bride that my sister was, she decided for a healthy option with L'Excellence Classique ($11.75) consisting of smoked salmon, bagel and cream cheese, a salad and fruit.


What a colourful plate!


A crêpe filled with bananas.


Crêpe with raspberries and crème pâtissière (pastry cream).

There are several Eggsquis location across Québec. All breakfast items include coffee and they just bring out a coffee carafe for you to pour yourselves - no need waving down a waitress for coffee. The service was pretty quick.

For some breakfast posts:
* Apple Pancakes
* Baked Egg Florentines
* Berry Fruit Salad
* Breakfast Potatoes
* Crêpes
* Homemade Baked Beans
* Homemade Breakfast Sausages