It was a lovely weekend afternoon when we went to Heirloom Vegetarian for brunch and was seated by the window with sun rays shining through. It definitely felt like spring time despite being February. My friend is vegetarian and luckily Vancouver offers many options including Heirloom Vegetarian.

The menu was decently big but not overwhelming. I chose a lunch instead of a breakfast option by opting for the Heirloom Grilled Cheese. I was a bit surprised that the grilled cheese came with different fillings, so it was more like a grilled sandwich with cheese.

Heirloom Grilled Cheese

Between the sourdough bread was aged cheddar cheese, grainy Dijon, tomato and arugula. On the side was a green salad thoroughly and sweetly dressed. The portion was pretty large and I found the meal very filling and satisfying as everything tasted fresh.

Service was friendly and they constantly refilled our water. The interior is bright and spacious with free WiFi. It is definitely a great place to catch up with friends or enjoy a solo brunch.

Heirloom Vegetarian interior

Fricassée Champignon

White Chocolate Pistachio Rose Water Hot Chocolate

Hot Chocolate

Waffle with orange marmalade

When I went to Red Wagon Cafe, we passed by Yolk's. Previously I didn't know that they had a restaurant in addition to a food truck, so when we were in the area again today I suggested we go try it.

We arrived at 11:15am on the weekend and were not seated until 12:00pm. We ordered our food quickly since we had so much time to decide what we wanted. We ordered Belgian waffles and the Fraser Valley Duck Confit.

The Belgian waffles came with four quarter slices, so essentially one round waffle, and two English bangers with mustard. I liked the bangers because it wasn't too oily and paired nicely with the mustard that included mustard seeds. The waffle was soft and did not embody any crunchiness which is something I look for in Belgian waffles. The texture and sweet batter reminded me more of pancakes than waffles. I probably would not order this again.

Belgian Waffles ($9.75)

The Fraser Valley Duck Confit consisted of a free-range poached egg, housemade marmalade, spinach, hollandaise, two pieces of English muffin and crispy duck. I liked this much better than the waffles. The egg was perfectly poached and oozed yolk onto the well-toasted English muffin piece. The buttery hollandaise mixed with the sweet marmalade worked nicely against the crispy duck. I especially liked when I got a piece of crispy duck skin.

Fraser Valley Duck Confit ($11.75 for one egg, $16.75 for two eggs)

However during the time we were dining, there were always quite a few tables empty. Yolk's seemed to be adequately staffed and there was a continuous crowd waiting outside. From the perspective of a diner it can be frustrating to wait for so long when you can clearly see empty tables inside the restaurant. Perhaps a change in practise can help increase the restaurant's efficiency so diners won't be deterred from coming back due to the long wait.

Interior of Yolk's

Exterior of Yolk's

Service was not especially attentive and the tables were slightly sticky. Hot water cost $1. Overall there are many excellent brunch options in Vancouver that have an advantage in location, pricing, and wait time over Yolk's.

Red Wagon Cafe is a small corner breakfast joint on East Hastings. On the sunny Sunday morning when we went, there was already a line up outside. We arrived around 10:15am and had to wait about 20 minutes before we were seated.

I liked the ambiance of Red Wagon with its wooden tables and relatively closely spaced tables. It seemed like a favourite among neighbourhood residents. Service was also efficient and friendly.

Pictured below is only half the portion of the Super Trucker. I'm glad we decided to split it because I could barely finish my half portion! The Super Trucker consists of two eggs, two pulled pork pancakes, crisp pork belly, potato, toast and we added their specialty, the Jack Daniel's maple syrup for $2.75 extra.

Half portion Super Trucker ($15)

This is definitely comfort food and I enjoyed it very much. The pulled pork was thoroughly marinated and paired perfectly with the fluffy pancakes. The JD maple syrup is not necessary but definitely added a fun element to the meal compared to the typical maple syrup taste. The pork belly was probably the highlight with its layers of fat and meat enveloped in the crunchy goodness of the burnt edges. Every part of the meal added together to form the ultimate comfort food combo.

Be prepared to wait to eat at Red Wagon, especially on a sunny weekend morning, but the food is worth it and I'd like to try the BBQ Brisket next time.

I came to Butter Cafe hoping to try high tea for the first time but turns out they discontinued it already! I immediately liked the ambiance of Butter Cafe with its pastel green and floral scheme and small round tables. My first impression was that it reminded me of La Duree but much friendlier. La Duree gives off this feeling of being fancy but Butter Cafe gives off a friendly vibe.

So instead of high tea we each got some treats to eat. The baked goods were $2 to $5 a piece and tea was $3.50. They also serve breakfast and lunch like croque monsieur and quiche.

I tried the Coney Island Bar and the Cookies n' Cream macaron . I chose the Coney Island Bar because I wanted to try the house-made marshmellows on top. It was a deep fudge with crushed up walnuts and fluffy marshmellows on top. House-made marshmellows are much spongier than store bought ones and I definitely like the texture better. The fudge portion was very filling with rich chocolatey goodness.

Left: Coney Island Bar ($3); Right: Cookies n' Cream macaron ($3)

This is the largest macaron I've had and quite sweet. The cookie part was crunchy but wasn't chewy like how I enjoy my macarons. The filling inside was very creamy and sweet with small pieces of chocolate cookie bits which was interesting. If I were to go back I'd want to try the cookie sandwich!

Cookies n' Cream macaron

Below are what my friends ordered which they also enjoyed very much.

Raspberry cake ($5)

Left: The Dunbar ($3); Right: Vanilla bean macaron ($3)

Convenient bus stop outside Butter Cafe

Overall Butter Cafe is easy to access by transit with a bus stop right in front. I would like to visit again and try the other treats.

I've spotted Marulilu Cafe before and thought it was a coffee joint but they actually serve all day breakfast as well! Its convenient location by the 99 bus stop and Broadway City Hall Station is definitely a plus.

To be honest I wanted to try Marulilu because of the matcha latte I saw on their menu online. The presentation was pretty with the heart shaped pattern. It was mildly sweet with matcha powder and mostly consisted of frothy milk. I wouldn't go to Marulilu just to drink this again but it was a good accompaniment to my breakfast.

Matcha latte

I tried the breakfast plate with waffles which included two eggs, two hashbrowns, four pork sausages, and a waffle. The hashbrowns and sausages are store bought so they will probably taste similar to some other breakfast joints.

Breakfast plate

 On the other hand, the waffle was made in-house. I prefer my waffles to be crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside but this waffle was simply soft throughout. It came with maple syrup and two large dollops of whipped cream - plain and chocolate. I've never had chocolate whipped cream come with my waffles before so that was a nice touch. Actually I exclusively used the chocolate whipped cream.

Waffle with breakfast plate

 Overall, the service at Marulilu was good but their breakfast plate was only okay.

Enjoying brunch is supposed to be leisurely and the atmosphere at Catch 122 Cafe & Bistro captures that with its spacious floor and wooden tables. The service was friendly and the food was delicious just like all the positive reviews I read online.

The Dirty Breakfast: Bit of a funny name for a brunch meal but it caught my attention and it made my taste buds happy. It included duck fat toast, duck confit, sunny-side up eggs, house-made maple beans, and yukon nugget potato hash. The potatoes were crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside and I really enjoyed it compared to chopped potato wedges. The duck fat toast with duck confit on top was savoury with the toast absorbing the flavours. The only thing I didn't like was that the maple beans were too sweet for my liking. Albeit it is made with maple but the sweet taste stood out too much amongst the rest of the savoury foods.

The Dirty Breakfast ($12)

Braised Short Ribs Eggs Benedict: The hollandaise sauce is probably the highlight of this eggs benedict. It was the most buttery, smooth and aromatic hollandaise that I've tried in awhile. This dish included braised short ribs, poached eggs on english muffin and yukon nugget potato hash. Only one poached egg was successful as the other had a fully cooked yolk. That aside, everything on the plate was delicious.

Braised Short Ribs Eggs Benedict ($12)

Overall Catch 122 is a great place to dine with friendly service, comfortable seating, and delicious food. Plus the brunch portions are large enough to fill you up right through lunch.