I recently spent a week test driving the 2024 P2 Single Motor electric car around Vancouver while visiting some new and not so new cafes and restaurants.
Visited the East side of Burnaby that borders New Westminster for dinner at Desi Turka (7807 6th St, Burnaby) which as been serving the community of Burnaby for over 8 years has been going strong ever since and it was a first time visit for me, they have an extensive menu of Indian dishes and everything I tried was delicious.
The Dahi Bhallah Chat was a chilled appetizer of lentil dumplings with chickpeas, potatoes and yogurt was a great appetizer as well as the Tandoori Soya Chaap was marinated with spices and cooked in a clay oven.
Mango chicken was cooked in a mango gravy and spices and the Lacha paratha was the perfect accompaniment, their unleavened butter bread which pairs perfectly with the mango chicken.
Kashmiri naan was quite sweet stuffed with grated coconut, raisins, cashews. almonds and pistachios.
Both the Tandoori lamb chops – New Zealand lamb rack marinated with Indian spices and cooked in a clay oven and the Bhindi masala – fresh Okra, cooked with onions, tomatoes and spices were standouts.
Mango coconut kheer is a delicious dessert and it is vegan.
The steering wheel offers a great map in the front dash that is bright and colorful even at night.
The motor is a long range single motor with 220 kw, it is rear-wheel drive and output of 299 horsepower and 490 torque.
The next day I drove back to Burnaby but to a different area this time, to the Edmonds area of Burnaby for lunch at Mineiros Brazilian Bistro
This is mostly a self-service restaurant which is a common gastronomic establishment in Brazil, where food is made available for the customer to serve themselves, in the quantity and variety desired. You pay by weight for the dishes you take.
I tried some of their hot foods from the self-serve buffet that included the delicious Beef Stroganoff, Feijoada (black beans and sausage), Cassava powder, Beans, and Oxtail.
I also had a beef steak with fried onions.
I had a selection of their Brazilian finger food that included Coxinha, Beef risoles, Hot dog bites, Cheese balls, Croquettes, Kibe.
For a unique drink try the Cashew juice, I loved it.
For dessert, I had their outstanding Coconut cake that I took home to enjoy.
You can find all sorts of packaged products that is imported from Brazil along with some local finds such as Mogiana Coffee. They also sell a variety of desserts for eating in or to go.
The next day I headed to the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood to Main Street Brewing where they now have added food and good food at that from Rosie’s BBQ.
We tried several of their dishes which were paired up with their brews that included #1 Garage series – Kiwi breu pale ale, #3 Main street pilsner, #7 Vinyl dark lager and #10 Rye bitter.
Everything we had was good, my favorites from the best were “Gregg’s” Brisket Bake, then the Brisket meatball hero, Smoked chicken schnitzel. The Smashed Potatoes on the side was delicious, they also have a Sausage snack plate; as well as more snacks, sides and handhelds.
Over in South Vancouver a beautiful new cafe had just opened, it is Café Algan serving up delicious coffees and house-made baking and pastries. Over a couple of visits I’ve had a Cortado, iced Americano and an Algan cookie.
The next day it was back to the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood to one of my favourites, the Tamaly Shop (2525 Main Street) for lunch. Here I had their Horchata along with the Grenuda (chicken soup), and the Chicken Emmoladas covered in their delicious mole.
The fast charger (CCS) is the way to go but there aren’t that many standalone fast chargers available in Vancouver yet. I found a new spot with fast chargers in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood and this is where I charged the car the week I had the car.
By: Richard Wolak
Disclosure: Polestar Canada provided me with the 2024 Polestar 2 Single Motor to test drive, and photograph. As always, all opinions and photos are my own.