On my visit to Vancouver 5 years ago, I saw this beautiful Hotel Vancouver (Fairmont) in downtown Vancouver, and I was thinking will I ever have a chance to stay at this beautiful hotel someday? Hotel Vancouver seemed too expensive and too luxurious for me to stay.
I had a job to take care of at the Korean consulate, and I was looking for a hotel to stay for a day in downtown Vancouver. Then I realized that the cost of staying at Hotel Vancouver was much cheaper than what I had seen before. Perhaps it was a special promotion due to the decrease in tourists.
I decided I couldn't miss this opportunity, so I made a reservation.
We had a reservation at the consulate early in the morning, so we wanted to ask to leave our bagages at the front desk. Then, they were so kind that they allowed us to check-in early. It was around 9 am, and it was the first time I had checked in so early. If you happen to be staying at a high-class hotel, be sure to ask if early check-in is possible.
After finishing all the work at the consulate, we headed to Jam Cafe, the most famous brunch restaurant in Vancouver.
We waited in line for about 30 minutes to get a table. The server said we are very lucky. On weekends and during busy times, it is normal to wait for about 2 hours 😳
We ordered the famous French Toast & Chicken and Charlie bowl. I've always wanted to try the waffles & chicken but in Jam cafe they are uniquely served with french toast. I added a lot of Canadian maple syrup on top of it. It comes with sweet chili sauce, but I personally found it difficult to fully appreciate the taste of chicken and French toast because the taste of the chili sauce was too strong. I thought it would be more delicious only with maple syrup without the sauce.
And this is Charlie Ball!! It looked plain, but it was really delicious. Inside were buttermilk biscuits, Canadian ham, bacon, sausage, hash browns, etc. mixed in gravy and cheese. All the ingredients were cut into bite-size pieces, so there was no need to use a knife. Perhaps this menu is best eaten the day after drinking.
I also ordered cornbread. It was very moist and delicious.
The size of all menus at Jam Cafe is really big!! And now I know why people are saying it's the best brunch restaurant in town. I will definitely come here again, and I want to all of their menus!!
We couldn't eat anything until late at night because we ate too much at lunch. After resting at the hotel until late in the evening, we went out to get some pizza. I am happy to be able to buy sliced pizza anywhere in Canada. It's not common in Korea.
The next morning after we checked out our room, we went to a maze soba place called Kokoro. I really wanted to try maze soba, but I ended up eating it in Canada, not Japan. Most of the staff at this restaurant were Japanese, and many customers were also Japanese. I felt like I was in Japan.
Previously, when I went to a famous ramen restaurant, I remember that the staff kept making mistakes, did not apologize, and were unkind, but all the staff in Cocoro were friendly. So maybe I felt like I was in Japan.
When you're done eating the noodles, the staff brings you some rice, and it's really delicious when you mix it with the rest of the sauce! If you go to Kokoro, don't forget to try it.
It was a good 2 days trip in Vancouver. It was so much fun to stay at the Hotel Vancouver, and going to the restaurants I wanted to go to. Will I ever be able to stay at Hotel Vancouver again? I hope so. And next time I want to stay longer ;)