I recently spent a week test driving the Honda Accord Hybrid 2024 car around Vancouver while trying some dishes at some of restaurants. along with a Lunar New Year celebration in downtown Vancouver.

It was a rainy wintery week in Vancouver which is to be expected at this time of the year.

I went by for a repeat visit to Sweet7 at 1696 Robson Street to indulge in their Mango Pomelo Sago Sundae that features their delicious soft serve. This is their first location in North America right here in Vancouver, the company is based in China and now has 1500 locations in 135+ cities around the world.

The steering well is padded to make it a comfortable hands on experience with the popular buttons at the drivers fingertips.

The next night I drove to Surrey to visit Skye Avenue Kitchen and Lounge.

With it’s extensive selection of whiskey’s the restaurant boasts the largest collection of whiskey in the country with over 3,000 bottles and growing. The cuisine is global and it’s best described as a culinary adventure.

Chef Valerio Pescetelli leads the kitchen here and he has quite the elaborate plan for the menu going forward. The restaurant seats 250 inside and will soon add an outside patio to seat 100, and many will be happy to know that weekend Brunch service starts soon. They feature a Chef’s table offering guests and unparalleled culinary experience.

Lawrence joined me and we tried many dishes and drinks.

As they are known for their whiskey collection, they also offer whiskey based cocktails and Lawrence enjoyed the Penicillin Cocktail. They also offer a selection wines, beer, spirits as well as zero-proof cocktails for those that drive like me, I had the Rosemary ginger mocktail as well as a Saffron mocktail which the bartender created for me on the fly later in the meal. We both loved the Japanese ‘secret menu’ Brioche with whipped Green goddess. We also enjoyed the Fresh Vegan Ricotta -for all those that are vegan; made in-house from Almond extraction, served with their house sourdough. We also had the colourful Beet’s bowl.

The Salmon Oshizushi was outstanding, light and flavorful; and we also had the Tuna trio croquettes.

Their pizzas are all made on their 48 hour fermented dough, we had the popular Prosciutto and Burrata Pizza.

We tried a selection of their mains, the Chefs Burger was outstanding with 8oz organic grass fed, house ground beef, brioche bun, fontina cheese, truffle aioli, crunchy onions; along with the Cajun Chicken with Delhi Ratatouille and cardamom rice.

We also loved the Skye specialty cut – A5 Wagyu Tenderloin (Japan) 6oz steak that we shared, we added two of their delicious sauces, the peppercorn sauce and Peruvian chimichurri. We also had the Wrapped Salmon entrée that was served with mushrooms. They offer a good selection of sides and we tried two, the Charred broccolini and the Charred asparagus.

The Desserts section is also well thought out, we loved all three of the ones we tried, the Orange olive oil cake, Rocher tart and the Tiramisu.

The next evening, I drove over to North Vancouver to visit Akbar Joojeh after Chef Behashad in a recent interview I did with him, said it was his favourite Persian restaurant in the city. As I was on my own that night I could only try one dish, and I loved the gracious service as well as the tasty Chicken and Veggie Kebab platter.

The center consule features many different apps and features all in one central place such as FM radio, and more.

To usher in the Year Of the Dragon Glowbal Restaurant put on quite the ravishing Lunar New year celebration. I loved the Sushi, Nigiri as well as the Short Rib Beef and Potato mash parfait; the Cacio de Pepe pasta with black truffle shavings was divine, as were the Macaroni bites and Spring Rolls. The Dessert selection by chef Daria Andrienko featured her spectacular Honey cake, Tiramisu and the mini-Oranges. The restaurant wowed the guests with acrobatics show and beautiful decor; each guest received a red envelope with surprises to be had inside.

The next day I headed to Kitsilano for lunch at recently opened Tayybeh Syrian Cuisine. The all woman collective started by offering catering and then meals out of their commissary, and various foods through farmers markets; and after about 6 years they have opened their first restaurant which is located in Kitsilano.

My friend Paul joined me and we tried a selection of items for lunch. Some of the ones that I liked the most included the Samboosak (cheese filled), Fatayer (spinach & cheese), Kibbeh (beef) with hummus on the side and the Chicken Shwarma plate.

The next night I drove to Cambie Village to visit Ramson’s Pizzeria and Bar which is a great new addition to the neighbourhood. Featuring thin crust pizza with a delicious fluffy crust on the outside edge. As I was solo that night I only tried one of the pizzas off the regular menu which was the Veggie it had a pesto base, topped with vegetables and no cheese.

The next morning I drove to Commercial Drive to visit Merci Boulangerie that was in their soft opening. It is all about amazing French pastries in this beautiful bakery from owner/baker Natalie Cumberbirch offering up the very best in croissants and other baked goodies, they also have espresso based beverages and much more.

I tried several of their delicious pastries and everything was so good. My favourites were the Hazelnut praline creme Cruffin filled with vanilla pastry crème, Orange tea cake, Roule cannalle, Pain au Chocolate, Double baked chocolate noisette croissant and the savoury Roule onion fromage.

The car boasts a good amount of leg room for the driver as well as the passenger in the front row. There is also a terrific fuel efficiency as it’s hybrid functions recharge the battery as I drove around.

By: Richard Wolak

Disclosure: Honda Canada provided me with the 2024 Honda Accord Hybrid to test drive, and photograph. As always, all opinions and photos are my own.