I recently spent a week test driving the Honda Passport 2023 car around Vancouver while visiting some new and not so new restaurants around Metro Vancouver.
Spent in afternoon in Burnaby and had dinner at Yugo Roll and Bowl inside The Amazing Brentwood for some delicious Japanese food, I had the Miso Salmon rice bowl with seasonal veggies and it was very good.
The next day I headed to Kitsilano to one of my favourite Mexican restaurants, Mi Casa Mexicana (on the 2nd floor at the corner of 4th and Burrard). I had the Quesabirria Tacos that I dipped in the delicious consommé beef broth, the dish came with two corn tortillas with melted cheese filled with birria meat, onion, cilantro, lime, and birria salsa.
I loved how much room there was inside the vehicle for passengers, both in the front as well as the back row. The front seats are wide and comfortable, with a handy armrest that can be adjusted for optimal comfort. The back seat is also roomy and allows the Passport to transport up to five people.
The next day I drove to Surrey to visit a newly opened patisserie, Mann & Co Bakeshop is located at 13411 71A Avenue in Surrey and they are making creative and elaborate cakes as well as the pastries.
I loved the outstanding Earl Grey Lemon Opera, Mango cardamom extreme, Cardamom Gulab jamun trifle and the Gachak peanut brittle cupcake; I also liked the Chocolate truffle cake pop, and Vanilla strawberry milkshake cupcake.
Back in Kitsilano the next night, I visited Z & W Shanghai Kitchen for the first time at 2126 W Broadway. I had the pleasure to taste my way through a selection of dishes on the menu at this established restaurant. They are a family-owned restaurant that proudly serves authentic Shanghainese food.
I loved the Black Tiger Shrimp with wasabi cream, such an interesting and tasty dish and it is a new one on the menu. The Xiaongbao is one of their popular dishes which is served with Shangainese vinegar that’s imported from Shanghai, perfectly made and cooked soup dumplings, the owners explained that this is a special type of vinegar eaten with these dumplings back home and they import the vinegar to create and authentic experience. The Eggplant with Yuxiang Sauce, tender and flavourful eggplant with a tasty sauce.
The next day I met my friend Jason in Maple Ridge and went to one of their local pubs for dinner, it was my first time at the Billy Miner Ale House and Cafe. Here we both had burgers, I had the Sweet Mango Chicken with Pesto Mayo Grilled Chicken, Mango Chutney & Goat Cheese with Spinach, Fresh Tomatoes; and he had the The A Train with Bacon, arugula, tomato, cheddar and creamy garlic sauce.
When driving late at night the dashboard lights up a glow. Every Passport sports an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It also includes Bluetooth and a wireless smartphone charging pad.
One eatery that I don’t get to as often as I should is Baby Dhal Roti Shop that specializes in Caribbean eats specially Trinidadian food. The restaurant is located in East Van at 2707 Commercial Drive and Lawrence joined me for Sunday dinner.
Here Lawrence and I got a couple orders of their Doubles which came with tamarind and sauce; we also got the spicy Chicken Stew as well as the Vegetable Curry.
The Honda Passport offers the automaker’s suite of safety and driver-assistance technology as standard content, which includes forward-collision warning, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, and more. I enjoyed the smooth ride both on the highway as well as in the city.
By: Richard Wolak
Disclosure: Honda Canada provided me with the 2023 Honda Passport to test drive, and photograph. As always, all opinions and photos are my own.