Around the City in the Honda Accord Hybrid 2021

I recently spent a week test driving the Honda Accord 2021 hybrid car around the city while I was out and about trying some new dishes on restaurant patios or for takeout in and around Vancouver.

After picking up the Honda Accord Hybrid I headed over to the Indish Food Truck that was parked in the Oakridge area for some delicious Indian food.

This time around I enjoyed a few of their dishes for takeout to eat at home which included their Butter Poutine, Chicken Rice bowl with their whitecaps curry, and a Spinach Kofta wrap.

The next day I met up with my friend Chef Brandon Pham for a socially distance catchup walk in a nearby park after we visited Bambu on Kingsway for some refreshing Vietnamese Che drinks. Brandon’s tasty Vietnamese Phamily Table sauce line is sold in that shop. The Green Lantern Che was so good with it’s yellow mung beans, Pandan jelly, coconut milk. You can find them on Instagram @bambuvancouver

Later that night I picked up some takeout from one of my favourite Indian restaurants, Bombay Masala Restaurant in the Point Grey neighborhood. They recently won 1st place in my annual Vancouver Curry Challenge for their Nargasi Fish Kofta, and I was craving another one of these delicious curries.

One of the great features is the three selectable drive modes, and the driver can choose with a push of a button located on the centre console. The Sport, EV (electric only) and Econ mode which is what I drove in mostly inside the city switching over to Sport when on the highway.

The next day I took a drive out to Langley to see Chef Parinya Loptson’s newly opened restaurant Food by Fanta. The restaurant in downtown Langley features a selection of inspiring & delicious modern fusion cuisine with Thai inspiration for Brunch, Lunch & Dinner.

While there I dined on the patio and enjoyed some of their delicious dishes including the Chor Muang Flower Dumplings traditional Thai flower dumplings, stuffed with chicken (2), pork (2) and veggie (1) seasoned filling with peanut, sweet radish, onion & cilantro. I have also tried the delicious Artic Char en Croute seared arctic char with green curry sauce & seasonal vegetables.

The Massaman Lamb Pommés Purée recently won 1st Place in the Vancouver Curry Challenge, this dish is a blending of Indian and Thai spices to create this aromatic and delicious Massaman curry. This flavourful lamb shank is served with hand mashed pomme purée, tamarind carrot and broccolini. Although I had this next dish for dessert, it is now on the brunch menu; the Menagerie French Toast Brulée recently won 1st Place in the Vancouver French Toast Challenge, Thai pandan leaf custard and bacon bread, peach cream stuffed French toast with banana brulée, topped with coconut caramel sauce and syrup.

The interior of the car offers a spacious 60/40 split fold-down rear seatback gives you even more cargo space, heated seats, and rear charging USB ports.

While in Langley I picked up some Thai take out from Ban Chok Dee to take home for dinner. These were all favourite dishes of mine, started off with the Panang with Chicken in a red panang curry sauce with coconut milk, peas, kaffir-lime leaves & red & green bell peppers. Next was the Gang Goong Pineapple Curry with Prawns, pineapple, red & green bell pepper with fresh basil leaves in red curry with coconut milk. Next was the Pad Thai Woon Sen with Pan-fried glass noodles in tamarind sauce with chicken or prawns, eggs & tofu, served with fresh bean sprouts, chives, carrot, lime & ground peanuts.

I also got the Power Greens in peanut sauce with stir-fried spinach & broccoli topped with house peanut sauce & roasted cashew nut; and the Shoo Shee Salmon Ocean-wise salmon fillets on broccoli, topped with savory red curry mixed with coconut milk & red & green bell peppers, sprinkled with lime leaves.

One thing I loved with this car was it’s excellent fuel economy; the Honda Accord Hybrid car battery charges itself while you are driving which truly economizes on the gas consumption.  After a week of driving this car around the city, my gas bill had me smiling.

Before returning the car to Honda Canada I viewed some of the beautiful cherry blossom trees in Richmond.

I really enjoyed the Honda Hybrid Accord it was a great car to drive in and around Vancouver in the to try some great eateries.

By: Richard Wolak

Disclosure: Honda Canada provided me with the 2021 Honda Hybrid Accord for a week to test drive, and photograph.

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