Review: Doktor Luke's, Sydney, Nova Scotia

The Restaurant

Doktor Luke's is a coffee shop within walking distance of the cruise port in Sydney, Nova Scotia.  We walked here during our cruise port day and enjoyed coffee, chai tea and pastries. 

Not much else to say other than that it was a pleasant way to spend some time while in port, as Sydney is a rather small town and there isn't really much to do.

If there are kids in the company, you'd be pleased to know that there are some toys that you can borrow as well!

What we ordered

• Chai Tea
• Coffee
• Pastries

The Bottom Line

• Relaxing and friendly place to enjoy a cup of coffee
• Rating: 7.8/10 (great value and decent service)
• 2.5/5 for food
• 4/5 for value
• 3/3 for ambience
• 3/3 for service

Related Posts

• Green Gables Heritage Place, PEI (7/10)
• Lunch at Blue Mussels Cafe, PEI (9.5/10)

Review: Lunch at Blue Mussel Cafe, PEI

The Restaurant

We visited Blue Mussel Cafe in Rustico after our visit to the Green Gables in PEI. We were in a rush as my nephew was getting hungry, so I just looked up "places to eat near me now" in my TripAdvisor app and picked one that is close by with a decent rating.

It was a lovely sunny day with a cool sea breeze as we made our way to the Blue Mussels.  The restaurant exterior is a simple looking structure, right by the coast, and you knew it was popular due to the number of cars parked outside.

The restaurant primarily consists of outdoor seating, right by the coast with a lovely view.  I'm a bit of a sun phobia (I burn easy…), so we opt to seat in a rather small indoor shack (where the w/c is located, but that's ok because it was clean and well-kept).

Once we sat down, we were greet by our friendly server and was given the menus.  I've never had lobster rolls before, so I ordered that.  And given that PEI is famous for their potatoes, I just *had* to order the side potato dish.

Food came shortly after, and we all delved into the big bucket of mussels and oysters.  The mussel soup was delicious, and the oysters came with two distinct sauces.

Then the star of the meal came, the lobster rolls!  I was happily surprised to see the huge heap of lobster meat on the roll.  The roll has been toasted and had a nice crisp, perfect compliment to the sweet fresh lobster meat.  I can understand why lobster rolls are such a favourite, you get to enjoy all the lobster goodness without the hassle of deconstructing the lobster.  Mmmmmm.  It was a great choice and I would return to Blue Mussel Cafe again for that delicious lobster roll next time I'm in that area!

What we ordered

• Lobster roll with potato salad - recommended
• Fresh mussels - recommended
• Oysters

The Bottom Line

• Fantastic family owned restaurant with great service and delicious lobster rolls
• Rating: 9.5/10 (great food in a lovely ambience with good value)
• Address: 312 Harbourview Drive, North Rustico, PEI.  C0A 1X0
• Time to Spend: budget 1.5 hour

Related Posts

• Green Gables Heritage Place, PEI (7/10)
• Doktor Luke's, Nova Scotia (7/10)

Review: Green Gables Heritage Place, PEI

Getting There

Our Canada/ New England cruise made a stop at Charlottetown today.  After renting a minivan, we headed off to the Green Gables Heritage Place, which is about a 30-45 mins drive north of Charlottetown. 

Green Gables Heritage Place

Green Gables is located in Cavendish, north of Charlottetown.  It is a popular tourist destination, especially for Anne of Green Gables fans.  The green roofed white house served as an inspiration for Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series.

For the 7 of us, we got a family pass for $33.

The house itself was small but cute.  You're be done touring the house in about 10 minutes.  If the weather is good, a stroll down Lover's Lane is also an option.

There is also a gift store where you can purchase Anne of Green Gables merchandise. 

All in all, we were done the visit in about an hour or two.  This place is worth a visit if you're a fan of the Anne novels, otherwise, opt to save the time and see other parts of PEI. (rating: 7/10)

Related Posts

• Doktor Luke's Cafe (7/10)
• Lunch at Blue Mussel Cafe (9.5/10)

Review: Summerlicious Lunch at NAMI, Toronto

The Restaurant

What a beautiful week it has been for us Canadians!  Because Canada Day (July 1st) falls on a Wednesday this year, it has been a rather unproductive week for some (dare I say most?) of us.  In any case, I got the Friday off instead of the Wednesday, so decided to head downtown and try out some of the summerlicious menu this year.

We picked Japanese restaurant NAMI for lunch, primarily because of past good reviews from friends.  We arrived at about 12:30pm (height of the lunch rush), and was seated promptly in a somewhat busy restaurant.

Our server, dressed in a cute kimono, presented us with the summerlicious menu.  For those of you unfamiliar with summerlicious, it is essentially a special prix-fix menu consisting of 3 courses - appetizer, entree and dessert.  Summerlicious lunch at Nami is $25.

I decided to order from the Summerlicious menu, while my husband opted for the regular menu (he is a big fan of the black cod combo there).  For the appetizer I selected the tempura, which included 2 shrimp tempura pieces along with other veggie pieces.  

Entre was the sushi platter, which included 6 pieces of sushi and 3 pieces of roll.  It was decent, the sushi rice was good, although the portion was a bit small. Could use a few more pieces of rolls.

Dessert was the vanilla ice cream mochi, which was absolutely delicious. I was so blown away by the mochi that I wished there was a second piece!

My husband, whom opted to go with the regular menu, ordered a black cod combo.  I have to say, the black cod was waaay better than my sushi.  It also came with a veggie rice that was infused with flavour.  If I were to come back, I would order the black cod combo, and finish off with the mochi ice cream.

What we ordered

• Black cod combo (5/5)- recommended
• Mochi dessert (5/5)- recommended
• Assorted Tempura (3/5)
• Sushi (3/5)

The Bottom Line

• Great atmosphere and service.  Although a bit on the pricey side, it is a good place to grab a lunch with a colleague.
• Rating: 7.3/10
• 4/5 for food
• 3/5 for value
• 2/2 for environment
• 2/2 for service
• 0/1 for experience
• Address: 55 Adelaide St E, Toronto, ON.  M5C 1K6
• Time to Spend: budget 1.5 hours

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Review: Lunch at Pho Ben Thanh, Cambridge (9/10)

Pho Ben Thanh

We visited Pho Ben Thanh on our way from a fantastic weekend Pelee Island camping trip back to Toronto.  It was getting late, and I was getting hungry, so we thought - what is quick, cheap and satisfying?  Pho immediately came to mind.  I quickly whipped up out my iPhone and started looking for Pho places near the 401.  Pho Ben Thanh came up, and since it had relatively good ratings, and was right off the highway, it was a no brainer.

Once we arrived at the restaurant, we somehow was made to wait for 5 minutes before being seated, even though the restaurant was mostly empty.  That annoyed me a little. However, the waiter was prompt and the food came relatively fast.

Between the two of us, we ordered spring rolls (deep fried), a Ben Thanh Special Beef Soup, and a Malaysian Seafood Laksa Rice Noodle.

The springs rolls and special beef soup were in line with my expectations, but it was the Laksa rice noodle that stole the show.  Flavourful and aromatic, it offers a delightful feast for my palette.  Granted, I would prefer for there to be more "seafood" - fish balls and imitation crab meat is not really seafood in my opinion, but for less than $10, it offers a good value.

In summary, if you're in the Cambridge neighbourhood next time and looking for a quick satisfying budget-friendly meal, head to Pho Ben Thanh and go for their Laksa noodle soup.

What we ordered

• Malaysian Seafood Laksa Rice Noodle - recommended
• Ben Thanh Special Beef Soup
• Spring Rolls

The Bottom Line

• Clean pho dinner with quick service and good value.
• Rating: 9/10 (great value and decent service)
• Address: 10 Pinebush Rd, Cambridge, ON.  N1R 5S4
• Time to Spend: budget 1 hour

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Pelee Island Camping Trip

As part of my convocation celebration weekend, we are going camping!  We took off on a Friday, stayed overnight at Leamington, then camped at Pelee Island on Saturday, and back on Sunday. Highlight of my trip?  I learned how to bike!  :)

Itinerary

• Day 1 - Leamington
• Best Western Plus, Leamington
• Day 2 - Pelee Island
• Pelee Island Ferry
• East Park Campground, Pelee Island
• Pelee Island Winery Tour
• Day 3 - Pelee Island - Toronto
• Bike Rental @ Comfortech Bike Rentals, Pelee Island 
• Sweets @ Pelee Island Coneheads
• Dinner @ Ben Thanh Viet Thai Restaurant, Cambridge