Kelowna Archives - chowtimes.com

Kelowna Trip Report: Breakfast at DeDutch Pannekoek House

Post author:Ben
Post published:July 21, 2006
Post category:Dutch Kelowna 2006
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We saw some travel brochures saying that DeDutch has the “Best Breakfast in Kelowna” and decided to try that for breakfast instead of the ho-hum fare that the hotel dishes out for free. There were a few DeDutch’s in Vancouver but we have never eaten in them before.

Despite that name DeDutch is a BC company with franchises around BC only. Their specialty is a dutch pancake called Pannekoek.

Knowing how large the servings are we ordered three different types to share. We simply had to try their Pannekoek and opted for their Farmers (Boer’s) Pannekoek. This huge plate costs $14.49.

Pannekoek is similar to the traditional pancake and is slightly thicker then crepe. The dish consists of Hash Browns, Ham, Bacon, Bratwurst, and Hollandaise Sauce.

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Kelowna Trip Report: Picking Cherries

Post author:Ben
Post published:July 20, 2006
Post category:Kelowna 2006 U-Pick
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The highlight of our trip to Kelowna is picking cherries. On the first day we were there we went to a cherry farm on Westbank. We had been to this farm before but were pleasantly surprised at the abundance newly ripe cherries on the trees.

Picking cherries is simple. You need to pick it with the stems on. This will keep the cherries fresh longer. The man in charge of the farm showed us how best to pick cherries — basically, you push the stem up and snap off the stem.

The cherries in the Westbank farm is free of pesticides but is a bit small compared to larger ones we see in the stores. They a bit soft and not crunchy.

You really need to climb ladders to get to the better fruit. The lower ones were gone very fast. We need to make sure that the ladder is stable. In all, we picked about 11 lbs of cherries from the Westbank farm. Each lb costs $1.25.

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Kelowna Trip Report: KFC in the Park

Post author:Ben
Post published:July 19, 2006
Post category:Kelowna 2006
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By the time we got near Kelowna, it was already noon. We took a few stops along the way to enjoy the scenery. Below is our first glimpse of the Okanagan Lake. The Okanagan is a longish and deep lake stretching north south for 120 kms. The area is famous for their fruit production and tourism.

The drive into Kelowna will pass through the West Bank on the western side of the lake.

We decided to get something to eat in a park by the lake. It was a great day to be out in the sun. We went and got a bucket of KFC fried chicken in Westbank.

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Kelowna Trip Report: Snacks on the Road

Post author:Ben
Post published:July 18, 2006
Post category:Kelowna 2006
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It takes about 4 hours in all to get from Vancouver to Kelowna. I think it’s about 400 km in all. We took Highway 5, which is better known as the Coquihalla Highway. This is the more scenic route as it climbs up very rugged and spectacular scenery.

Along the route, there are a lot of creeks and rivers. We stopped by one of them for a few minutes.

There are hundred of miles of greenery along the route. I am always amazed with the sheer size of the forests in British Columbia. BC is beautiful because of the abundance of nature.

For the past few years, the mountain pine beetle has infested much of the forests. It is a major concern in BC because there is no effective way to contain the infestation. The only effective way to contain the beetles is to have a prolonged freeze of -40C to kill them off. Winter never gets that cold in this part of BC.

You can see that the infestation has taken root with the forest turning flaming red. This is the beginning of the end of the tree and within a couple of years, they will completely die and turn the scenery grayish.

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Kelowna Trip Report: Breakfast in #9 Restaurant

Post author:Ben
Post published:July 17, 2006
Post category:Cantonese/Southern Kelowna 2006
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Every summer we always had plans for vacation away from Vancouver. However, this year, it’s difficult to get a week or two off on a stretch. So we decided instead to take a day off here and there and make a long weekend for s short trip nearby.

Last weekend we decided to make a short trip to Kelowna. It’s cherries season at this time of the year. This is the start of the series of our blog on our Kelowna Trip. Hope you enjoy it.

We started off from home early — at 6:30am — because the road trip itself will take about 4 hours non-stop. So, we decided to go out for breakfast. About the only restaurant opened at such time is the #9 Restaurant (a.k.a. Kau Kee in Cantonese) in the Lansdowne Mall in Richmond.

The #9 Restaurant is opened 24 hours and they have a steady stream of customers, even at 2am in the morning. However, when we were there at 6:30am, there were only about 3 tables of customers. The #9 Restaurant is a Cantonese restaurant but they not only make traditional Chinese food but they do also serve western-style food like spaghetti, fries, sandwiches, etc.

Arkensen ordered the breakfast meal consisting of scrambled eggs, toasts, bacon strips and hash browns. The dish costs $5.20.

Cantonese / Hongkong restaurants are famous for their milk tea (lai-char). It’s a creamy and rich black tea served with evaporated milk. Most people like it sweet and add granulated sugar. Not ordering this with chinese breakfast is like not ordering Coke with a Big Mac.

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