The Year of the Rabbit - Victoria Chinatown Celebrates February 3-6

Picture above: Crowd watches the Lion Dance just outside the Gates of Harmonious Interest in -
Top Picture: Year of the Rabbit..one of UVic's finest - Why do they hang out there?

Victoria's Chinatown. If you have not gone before, do so soon. It is quite a spectacle of color and pageantry. It is exciting and very well attended. Get their early to get a good viewing point. This year's celebrations take place from February 3-6th.

Victoria Tea Festival Feb 12, 13 at the Crystal Garden

Visit the Victoria Tea Festival
February 12 & 13, 2011 at the Crystal Garden

Come visit the largest public tea exhibition in North America! Hosted in the tea capital of Canada, the 5th annual event features tea tastings, tea-food selections, complimentary presentations, and opportunities to purchase tea, tea-related products, and exquisite tea wares. A Silent Auction (live and online) will be offered. Proceeds to Camosun College Child Care Services! It’s a one stop shop for all things tea! For more info & ticket outlets, click here.

Critic's Choice - Victoria's Best Restaurants

Photo above Courtesy of the Hotel Grand Pacific.

The Victoria Times Colonist Food Critic, Pam Grant just released her Best of Victoria Restaurants for the 2010 year. The Mark shown above is one of Victoria's best restaurants. Her is what Pam says about the Mark. "The city's most exclusive dining spot seats 26. Menus illustrate genuine respect for both ingredient and methodology, offering unique and faultlessly harmonious dishes. Indulge in one of the seasonally themed tasting menus or dine a la carte, with local oysters with horseradish oil and preserved lemon mignoinette, followed by duck breast, butternut squash and chestnut confit and molasses butter. Desert? Perhaps roasted pear tart scented with fennel seed and orange zest, served with tarragon panna cotta and cranberry compote. Service in all venues at this hotel, whether a formal evening at the March or Chef Choy's fabulous dim sum on the patio of the more relaxed Pacific Restaurant is simply exceptional".

Well if you are looking for something special, this is certainly one of the best in the City. We have eaten there and certain "ditto" Pam's remarks. When a food critic gives you the high sign, it is hard to go wrong. Be sure with all of the restaurants discussed here that you make a reservation to avoid disappointment.

Other restaurants that got the go from Pam Grant are:

The West Coast Tap House in the Four Point by Sheraton Victoria Gateway, 829 McCallum Road in beautiful Langford, phone 250-474-6033. We have had great food here as well.

Basilico Ristorante and Lounge, 832 Goldstream Avenue in Langford. Phone 250-391-5589. We have eaten here a number of times and the food is sensational.

Kim's Vietnamese Restaurant, 748 Johnson St., phone 250-385-00455 - We have had good food here as well. Downtown Victoria.

Nar, 2540 Windsor Road, Oak Bay. Phone 250-598-1085. Turkish fare. We have heard good things about this restaurant.

Green Leaf Bistro, 1684 Douglas Street, phone 250-590-8302. Downtown Victoria.

Ulla, 509 Fisgard Street, phone 250-8795. Downtown Victoria.

Bon Sushi, 1467 Hampshire Road, Oak Bay, phone 250-592-0008.

Evadar's Bistro and Wine Bar, 2829 Peatt Road, in Langford. Phone 250-391-8636. As we live near here, we have been to this place multiple times and it is great!

Al-Sultan, 1813 Douglas Street, phone 250-590-4044.

Amrikko's Fine Indian Cuisine, 298 Old Island Highway, phone 250-590-4044.

The Marina Restaurant, 1327 Beach Drive, Oak Bay. Phone 250-598-8555. This restaurant has been around for a long time and it is always good.

Golden Chopsticks Chinese Restaurant, 627 Fort Street, phone 250-388-3148.

Restorante La Piola, 3189 Quadra Street, Saanich. Phone 250-388-3148.

Ho-Ting Chinese Restaurant, 809 Craigflower Road in Vic West, phone 250-383-8897.

To view Pam Grant's comments on these restaurants, click here to view the promo I received.

The Sun Sets in Victoria - a fine Winter Day

With slightly cooler weather on the West Coast, we often get more blue sky. With the clear skies come great sunsets. These two were from last night. We were on the move through Victoria, so we were not strategically located for great photos. As we drove the intensity of the sunsets increased. It was a spectacular evening in Victoria. Enjoy.

For more information on Victoria click here. For a great place to view waterfront sunsets, stay at Hemingway's by the Sea or Denniston by the sea.

Deepest Start in Resort History - Mount Washington Ski Resort Vancouver Island

Photo Credit: Mount Washington Alpine Resort

Mount Washington has literally been hammered by snow this week. The resort, already famous for being the home of Canada's deepest snow, beat it's own record for four day snowfall.

“We've seen unbelievable volumes of snow here over the last few days,” explains resort spokesperson Brent Curtain. “Over 1.5 metres has fallen in the last 24 hours and we've received over 2.5 metres of new snow in the last four days. I've never seen a start to the season like this.”

The snowbase at Mount Washington currently sits at 480 centimetres, which is now the deepest mid-mountain snowbase worldwide. With more snow in the forecast through Sunday, the resort is busy digging out as it prepares to host thousands of skiers and boarders through the holiday season.

Mount Washington reported some of the strongest occupancy numbers it's seen in years over the Christmas time period. La Nina and superb snow conditions are considered the two major factors for the resort's early season success.

“If you're looking for a winter wonderland this holiday season, this is definitely the place,” says Curtain.

Mount Washington Alpine Resort is the home of Canada's deepest snowpack. The resort is located 30 minutes above The Comox Valley on Vancouver Island. WestJet, Central Mountain Air, Pacific Coastal Airlines, and Island Express service the Comox Valley Airport (YQQ). To find out about accommodation and package information, call Mount Washington Alpine Resort at 1-888-231-1499 toll free or locally at 250-338-1386. Surf to www.mountwashington.ca for additional information including our live snow cam.

For more information on Courtenay and Comox, Click here.

Winter in Victoria - Late Dec. 2010

Tomorrow it is officially Winter in Canada. Most of Canada is covered in snow this time of the year. It is not that we do not get snow in Victoria, but it certainly does not come very often and it does not usually stay very long. Right now, we consider ourselves blessed. We have had some great sun shine days. December has had its fair share of rain this year, but when we get the good days, we know this is the best weather in Canada. We are lucky and know it. In the following days, I will share more winter pictures with you. Yesterday, December 19th, it was sunny and thousands of Victorians were out playing in the sun. The rest were last minute shopping. The pictures above are Mount Baker in Washington State, just south of Vancouver BC and the spectacular sunshine off Dallas Road in Juan de Fuca Strait. For more spectacular views visit our Facebook page.

For two great places to stay check out Hemingways By the Sea or Denniston by the Sea, two great B&B's. For more information on Victoria, click here.

Comedy of Errors this Weekend - Don't Miss It

Company C - the Canadian College of Performing Arts co-op program will be this weekend December 17-19 "The Comedy of Errors" at the Metro Studio on Johnson and Quadra.
Check the link for details.
The Comedy of Errors Teaser
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cjU7PQ2HOU