After walking past Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria on Italian Day I wanted to go back to try it. It's a chain store with restaurants in Alberta and BC. There were TVs on the wall and you can see the oven for the freshly made pizza.

I ordered a margherita pizzetta lunch deal which is only half the size of a regular pizza with a roasted tomato bisque. I thoroughly enjoyed the tomato bisque because it was creamy and I just love tomatoes. My only complaint is that it was not hot enough. The margherita pizza tasted good with a chewy crust, fresh tomato sauce and moderate amount of cheese. However, the crust in the middle of the pizza was slightly soggy and not firm enough to enable you to cut a slice and hold it up to eat. It would flop over. I've been to other great pizza places where it didn't flop over even on a thin crust.

Pizzetta with a side ($10)

Overall I'm still curious to try the other pizza flavours at Famoso and I hope the crust won't be soggy next time!

La Notte is an easy bus ride from UBC on Dunbar Street and offers pasta Tuesday special! All pasta on the menu is $8.99 each on Tuesdays.

The ambiance of La Notte is nice as it is dimly lit and there is a grand piano in the corner. While waiting for our food, we were given a basket of complimentary focaccia bread with vinegar and olive oil. The bread was so tasty because it was crunchy and tasted great with the olive and vinegar. Or maybe I was just really hungry.

Complimentary bread

Linguine alla Crema: Scallops and baby shrimp in a white wine cream sauce

I ordered this pasta because I was craving for white wine cream sauce. There was probably 1.5 scallops in my pasta and plenty of baby shrimp. The sauce was buttery and in good proportion with the pasta leaving my craving completely satisfied. I only wish that the baby shrimp was replaced with prawns instead because they weren't fresh and were mushy.

Linguine alla Crema

Overall, La Notte is a great place to come, especially on Tuesdays!

I think I ate one of my favourite pizzas in Vancouver at Bellaggio Cafe, the Vancouver Convention Centre location. I say think because I don't eat a lot of gourmet pizza.

The restaurant is a nice location and has a nice view looking out on Coal Harbour. They accommodated our large group very well and were attentive.

Baggio pizza: olives, sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese, parmesan, garlic, fresh basil

The pizza was 12 inches and sold as an individual portion but could easily fill two nicely. The crust was fresh and nicely bubbled from the oven providing crunch and some chewiness. I loved the small piles of goat cheese (white spots in photo) distributed over the pizza which added a punch of flavour and made the pizza even more delicious. YUM!

Baggio Pizza

Overall, the ambiance and food of Bellaggio Cafe would bring me back which is why I'm surprised the ratings on Urbanspoon is so low.

It is good to be back from a long unannounced hiatus! In the last 3 months I was in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Toronto so I definitely ate lots at each place but local Vancouver restaurants still offer the food that I like best.

In my first week back to Vancouver, friends and I went to eat at a place called Brioche. I immediately liked the vibe of the restaurant with pastries and quiche on display.

I ordered the seafood quiche and Greek salad. The quiche included salmon and shrimp in a buttery pastry pie crust. The portion size was quite large and I thoroughly enjoyed eating it.

Seafood quiche

Cioppino Pescatore Hot Pot is described on the menu as, "Tomato based shrimp bisque simmered with freshly seared wild salmon, basa, calamari, mussels, clams, tiger prawns and spinach." I would say that the description is accurate and this soup tasted really good! It was hot and hearty with lots of ingredients for the seafood lover.

Cioppino Pescastore Hot Pot

The following photo is Veal Parmesana. Again the portion size is large and tasted good but was just regular pasta.

Veal Parmesana

Overall it is a nice chill restaurant that allowed me to catch up with friends over good food that I did not get to eat while in Asia! If I had more room, I would like to try their fruit pies.

I thought it was going to rain again today but it turned out to be warm!

We wanted to go to Bunzten Lake to enjoy the weather but when we arrived the road to the lake was closed down for some repairments so we headed to the nearby Belacarra park.

It is definitely smaller and less scenic than Bunzten Lake but it is also a lot quieter with more free space.

After the lake, we headed to Port Coquitlam for some sweet treats. First stop was Luscious Creations to get cupcakes. We almost drove past this location because it is slightly under ground level with downward stairs leading to the front entrance.

We tried two kinds: a red velvet with cream cheese icing one and a nutmeg one.

I enjoyed the cream cheese icing but not so much the cake for the red velvet cupcake. The cake was not soft like I expected, instead it was dry and not moist or soft enough to be a cupcake. The texture was more muffin-like than cupcake-like.

The same muffin-like texture for the nutmeg cupcake. This one tasted like a sweet muffin actually.

Inside the store there were beautifully decorated cakes and pictures of past creations. The designs are unique and attention grabbing so I suppose they just make cakes better than cupcakes!

Second stop was Matteo's Gelato. It's a bistro cafe that serves gelato and coffee. There was a great assortment of freshly made gelatos to choose from. At gelato stores I want to taste test the flavours before I commit to choosing one but I always feel bad for asking so I just choose what sounds or looks best. This method doesn't work all the time but this time it worked!

This is creme brulee and blueberry gelato. I'd like to mention that their portion size is generous because mine was suppose to be a small gelato with two flavours but it was spilling over the edges! :)

Both flavours tasted good, especially the blueberry one since I love the fruit itself. The texture was creamy and smooth, comparable to Bella Gelateria's gelato texture. 

Creme brulee & blueberry

 I've never tried lemon gelato before but it was surprisingly refreshing. It tasted like tangy, slightly sour lemonade. Some people might prefer their gelatos more sweet than sour but I liked this lemon flavour.

Lemon

 Overall, I had a good range of sweets this afternoon! If I'm in the area again I would likely stop by for some gelato.

I really enjoy Italian cuisine which is one of the reasons why I really want to visit Italy! Yes, it always goes back to the food.

Anyways I went to try another Italian restaurant in Vancouver called Trattoria Italian Kitchen which is part of the Glowbal Collection. By the way, Lady Gaga's parents opened a restaurant named Joanne Trattoria. According to Google search results, a trattoria is an Italian restaurant serving simple food. 

I like the ambiance of this restaurant, lighting is dim with a red hue and booth seats along the wall. The staff were friendly upon arrival.

For an appetizer I tried the cream of cauliflower soup. It was blended smooth with butter and herbs.

Cream of cauliflower soup

Friend ordered the risotto and was indifferent about it. It was very filling made with lots of cream, rice and cheese.

Butternut squash and walnut risotto

 There were two pork loin pieces in this dish, some kelp and a type of dried berry. The sauce was sweet and the pork was mostly fat with little meat.

Roasted pork loin

I was expecting dessert to be my favourite part but it was not. The tiramisu plating was nice but the actual cake presentation was poor. There was little rum taste and the lady fingers were extremely soggy.

Tiramisu

Overall, I may try Trattoria again because I saw other tables ordering delicious-looking pasta which is probably what they are known for but I will not be ordering these dishes again.