For this edition of #TastingPlatesYVR, Richard Wolak, aka Vanfoodster, took us on a trek across the Lion’s Gate bridge to Lower Lonsdale. These events are a great way to explore the culinary hidden gems in our YVR neighborhoods.

We started at the Welcome Parlour -Located in the heritage building “The Hodson Block” in North Van, this charming ice cream parlor is well known for their delicious, authentic and all-natural ice creams. Our offerings included hot fudge brownie sundaes and steamed ice cream floats. Who says you can’t have ice cream for breakfast? We were off to a great start.

Next up we found ourselves at Maru Korean Bistro. This restaurant is inspired by the Korean “Baek ban jip”, a folksy dining restaurant that offers home style and casual foods. The dish we sampled was a rice stack with Gochujang pulled pork. The pork was succulent and offered a pleasant spicy aftertaste.  It was complimented with crisp shallots and a perfectly slow poached egg – very well executed. I’m looking forward to experiencing the rest of their menu soon.

And what’s brunch without a beverage? We got a chance to sample the offerings of Beere Brewing Co.  A new addition to the Lower Lonsdale neighborhood (and I mean brand new, they just opened their doors on October 31). I was impressed with their Headspace double IPA.  Big on the alcohol content ( 8.5% alcohol Volume) this beer goes down smooth and has gorgeous notes of melon and citrus. Big fan.

For some sweets offerings, we found ourselves at Two Daughters Bakeshop. Opened in October 2012, this bakery was born out of the need for high quality gluten-free and vegan products. Their blueberry cream cheese scones and raspberry dark chocolate scones were not only gluten-free and vegan, they were also delicious.

Lastly, we headed down to The Juicery Co for a taste of Banana Bread Toast; made with Erin Ireland’s legendary To Die For Banana Bread, nut butter, hemp seeds and fresh banana slices. This was what brunch dreams are made from.

The Juicery Co offers an array of cold-pressed juice and nut mylk.

Next up on the Vanfoodster Event Calendar: A night of tasting to celebrate the upcoming holiday season at several markets around the city roving through a few neighborhoods from South Granville, to False Creek to Kitsilano. Tickets to Vancouver Foodster Holiday Market are now available, click here.