While staying at the Delta Ocean Pointe Resort in Victoria, we had two breakfasts and one dinner at the hotel restaurant, LURE. The restaurant is split into a lounge / dining area with someone playing the piano for our dinner experience. The restaurant overlooks the harbour, with raised seating in the centre so more people get to take advantage of the view – a lovely idea.
Children under 6 eat free off of the comprehensive children’s menu while children under 12 are also discounted. On our first night, Aiden had a huge meal of roasted chicken, veggies and french fries (instead of roasted potatoes). The meal was wonderfully prepared and flavoured – he loved it. He was given a menu with a colouring page and his beverage was also free.
For the first dinner, Ianiv had a burger delivered to the room (since someone had to stay with Damien while he slept) and both Dora (Babby) and I had the risotto special – mine was with the scallops, hers with the prawns. Each came with crispy bacon and an egg on top, which was different. The menu definitely was more high-end, but it was good. I thought the risotto was a little under-seasoned, but it was otherwise perfectly prepared.
We had breakfast at the hotel each day, choosing the convenience of dining on site so we could rush Damien back up to the room for his first nap of the day. On our first day, we dined simply on bagels or toast/cereal for Aiden, though on our second day we all ate bigger meals. I was personally incredibly impressed by the whole wheat blueberry almond pancakes – they were delicious – and Aiden’s plain pancakes were also quite tasty.
Although servers don’t come by as frequently as at some restaurants, we did appreciate that for our coffee (which was a little pricey), we were given a carafe on-table for refills and were offered to-go cups to take additional coffee for our day – a really nice touch.
Ianiv & I were married on April 1, 2006, having begun dating in 2000 while we were both in University. This year we celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary at Fraîche in West Vancouver. I’d heard many great things about Fraîche, though oddly enough I had no idea it was in West Vancouver. Upon the recommendation of Raul, we drove over to the restaurant in the beautiful British Properties. With a breathtaking view of Vancouver from up high, we dined on several courses of amazing food.
To start off with, I have to applaud Fraîche for having a series of amazing non-alcoholic cocktails on the menu. Being pregnant has left me with very few drink choices when we go out and it was nice to have a change of pace. The drink menu would definitely cater to those of us who don’t choose to drink as well as the many families I saw dining while we were there.
The food was amazing, both in flavour and in presentation. I had a lobster squash bisque that was amazing and subtle followed by a mushroom risotto that was the best I’d ever had. Generally speaking, I’m not a fan of all exotic mushrooms, so I was taking a risk with this one. However, none of the mushrooms were chewy (my usual complaint) and the flavour was perfectly balanced – and amazingly enhanced by the tomatoes. Such a surprising combination. Ianiv ate the grilled octopus followed by the daily special, a braised yak that was so perfectly done it just melted in your mouth. For dessert, I had the sticky toffee pudding (one of my favourite desserts) and Ianiv had the vahlrona chocolate cardamom cremeux. Both were amazing, though I think the cardamom was a little under-played on Ianiv’s dessert.
The service we received at Fraîche was beyond reproach. Ianiv had the bad luck to order beer that was unavailable that day, twice!, and as compensation the waitress offered him a glass of wine on the house. In addition to this nice gesture, they did up a special platter for one of our desserts to celebrate our anniversary. Really special.
We will be going back to Fraîche for sure – I can’t wait to try the menu without my pregnancy food aversions and with the ability to have a glass of wine!
See all our photos from our dinner here.
While enjoying our weekend away at Rockwater Secret Cove Resort, we were as much looking forward to our dining experiences as we were to the time spent relaxing in our tenthouse suite. Let’s face it, we spend a lot of time eating at White Spot as parents. We don’t often go out for dinner dates, so this was a real treat for us.
Wild mushroom & mascarpone ravioli with duck confit / Seafood chowder / Braised lamb shank / French toast with side of sausage
Though the menu at the Rockwater Secret Cove Resort restaurant is small, it offers the gourmet many choices for a wonderful experience. We took our time with both dinners, enjoying our way through 2 or 3 courses and most of the menu over our 2 night stay. I was most impressed by the seafood chowder, which was both generous with seafood as it was with flavour – love the addition of more vegetables. The ravioli was likewise melt-in-your-mouth amazing. I wish they had a second pasta on the menu, this one was so good.
All of our meals were cooked to perfection, even if I did have to order my steak well done (darn pregnancy!). The asparagus, so often overcooked, was the perfect crispness. The food all had a lot of flavour and came in quite decent portions. The chocolate torte we enjoyed for dessert was definitely both large and rich – I’m glad we decided to share dessert.
Our breakfasts were both great. Though the breakfast menu does not appear online, it offers a variety from the general variety plate to eggs benedicts to french toast. We’re quite grateful that breakfast was served until 11am – and that room service was available. I do quite admire the server who carried our breakfast, in the rain, all along the long path to our tenthouse – it arrived warm and delicious.
My most stellar recommendation for our dining experience was the staff – by far the best service I’ve had at a restaurant in many many months. Our servers were all very observant and attentive but without being overbearing. As with the rest of the staff at Rockwater, they talked with us about our stay and took a genuine interest in us. It was lovely.
Most of the other restaurants we looked into on the Sunshine Coast seemed to offer either a too-broad menu or just general dining options. Even if you don’t stay at the Rockwater Secret Cove Resort, we think you’ll find it your best dining experience in the area. There’s a reason we only ate one lunch off property in our 2 night stay!
Check out all our photos from our dining experiences and our stay here.
Disclosure: our first dinner at Rockwater was complimentary. We paid for our subsequent dinner the next night.
This Fall, Disney opened up a new Resort in Oahu called Aulani. I am a big Disney fan, so we made a point of going to see it, stopping for dinner after our day out visiting the sights of the Island. Aside from how gorgeous the property is, my first impression was definitely: “Where’s the Disney touch?” Aside from the gift shop, the resort was almost Disney-free. Apparently the resort was meant to celebrate Hawaii, though as a guest I think I may have missed the Disney touches.Although Mickey Mouse came out to say hi at one point, only hotel guests are allowed to take a picture with him. Big sad on that one.
We walked the property checking out the fun tube route and waterside, the wading pool and the infinity hot tub looking out over the manicured beaches. All very impressive. I know from the website, the on-site activities are impressive, so I think that part of the resort would be fun to experience. As a plus, the resort does cater to younger kids with their kids club.
The resort is quite far away from Honolulu and Waikiki, so most of your meals would probably have to be on property, as a guest. There are 4 restaurants and 2 bars – and all are very expensive. As a guest, you could expect your stay to be very expensive based on food alone.
We dined at the Makahiki buffet restaurant, which was a pricey $43 per person. Despite the hefty price tag, the food was very impressive. The assortment was large, as each section of the buffet was kept small and refreshed often. From fresh seafood and sushi to many hot meal items including some traditional Hawaiian dishes, we definitely made the most of our meal. The desserts were particularly impressive, including the mini lava cakes. Yum. There was also a kids buffet, featuring food that kids may eat more of such as pizza and macaroni.
If you’re very hungry and willing to make the drive, the meal is worth it – thankfully, if you eat on property, at least the parking is free!
I think a stay at Aulani would be amazing, but only if you go expecting to pretty much stay on property or if you rent a car. I think having to dine on property at the Disney prices is crazy, but perhaps it would be worth it for all the amenities the resort offers. What do you think?
Mid-way into our Hawaii stay, we walked down the road from our hotel to the Outrigger Reef on the Beach, another great hotel a little closer to central Waikiki. There we dined at the Kani Ka Pila Grille, the poolside dining option at the hotel. It was one of our best meals in Hawaii.
Kani Ka Pila Grille was recently rethought by Outrigger to feature more authentically Hawaiian entertainment, and I do have to say it was the best we heard in Hawaii. A lot less touristy and more subtle – just fantastic.
Aiden had his own gigantic burger from the kids menu, while we shared a crab cake for appetizer followed by some great meals. I had a seafood pasta while Ianiv had veal – both were amazing. Really well done (prawns were not overdone!) and well presented. The bread pudding dessert is what made the meal though – wow. Go there just for that.
Disclosure: Our meals were compliments of the Outrigger Reef, whose Director of PR invited us out even after we chose a different hotel for our stay.
