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Galbi Korean BBQ

Galbi Korean BBQ – It’s been a while since I found a galbi restaurant that I liked. The last one I had liked closed down during the Pandemic. Till this day, I still reminisce the amazing kimichi fried rice, the large kettle of Makoli and the simplistic menu of just pork belly and beef rib. The ambiance was a hole in the wall feel that filled with bbq smoke and tons of late night drinking patrons. This restaurant caught my eye because it was purely focus on just bbq – which is what I love the most. So when I found out about this place, I knew I had to try it. The menu was on the small side which I liked since it reminds me that they know what they’re good at, and they only want to focus only on that.
The quality of meat and the sauce they provided was exceptionally good and it was a great pairing. I did feel like the space between each table was very tight but the level of food and service was good. I would definitely go back for another round!  
@foodblogprec

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Highlights From the Real Estate Board August 2023

As summer winds to a close, higher borrowing costs have begun to permeate the Metro Vancouver1 housing market in predictable ways, with price gains cooling and sales slowing along the typical seasonal pattern.

“It’s been an interesting spring and summer market, to say the least. Borrowing costs are fluctuating around the highest levels we’ve seen in over ten years, yet Metro Vancouver’s housing market bucked many pundits’ predictions of a major slowdown, instead posting relatively strong sales numbers and year-to-date price gains north of eight per cent, regardless of home type.”

“It’s a bit of a tortoise and hare story this year, with sales starting the year slowly while prices increased due to low inventory levels,” Lis said. “As fall approaches, sales have caught up with the price gains, but both metrics are now slowing to a pace that is more in-line with historical seasonal patterns, and with what one might expect given that borrowing costs are where they are.”

Sales of detached homes in August 2023 reached 591, a 13.2 per cent increase from the 522 detached sales recorded in August 2022. The benchmark price for a detached home is $2,018,500. This represents a 3.3 per cent increase from August 2022 and a 0.3 per cent increase compared to July 2023.

Sales of apartment homes reached 1,270 in August 2023, a 27.4 per cent increase compared to the 997 sales in August 2022. The benchmark price of an apartment home is $770,000. This represents a 4.4 per cent increase from August 2022 and a 0.2 per cent decrease compared to July 2023.

“NOTE: this representation is based in whole or in part on data generated by the Chilliwack & District Real Estate Board, Fraser Valley Real Estate Board or Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver which assume no responsibility for its accuracy.”

Download The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver’s August statistics Package. Click Here

Download Fraser Valley’s Real Estate Board’s August Statistics Package. Click Here

Food for Thought on Real Estate – August

  • Seller’s market – A seller’s market is when there are more people looking to buy then there are homes available. This causes a rise in price above the long-term average rate of inflation. Typically this is indicated by a sales-to-active listings ratio of 20% or higher
  • Buyer’s market – In contrast, a buyer’s market is when there are many more homes for sale than there are buyers. As a result, prices increase slower than the long-term average rate of inflation. In extreme circumstances this can cause prices to decline. Typically this is indicated by a sales-to-active listings ratio below 12%.e
  • Balanced market – A balanced market occurs when supply and demand are about the same, with home prices rising in line with long-term average rate of inflation. Typically this is indicated by a sales-to-active listings ratio between 12% and 20%.Summary Over a sustained period of time:
    • a seller’s market is represented by a ratio of 20% or higher
    • a buyer’s market is represented by a ratio of 11% or lower
    • a balanced market rests between 12-19

September 2023 Newsletter Introduction

How was your Summer? I am aware this is the year for travelling – especially to Japan! There is currently a shortage of chips for Japan’s local train passes so it’s very hard for travellers to use public transit to get from one to another. So if you’re planning to visit – I highly recommend you talk to your friends and family if they have a transit card you can borrow! The saying rings true – as you get older – Time seems to past by so fast! I felt my Summer was a blur with work and spending time with family. I got to end my Summer by going to PNE and firing up the grill! 

So how was my experience in August in regards to the market – I definitely felt an immediate impact of lack of activity and interest. Speaking to my fellow colleagues, they also feel the impact so it’s goes right across the board. I can assume this may be due to the to the Summer influence of many are out of town or want to prioritize their time to enjoy the outdoor festivities. There is also some possible hold back of wait and see on whether the next rate announcement will impact purchasing power as well. 

Leading into the topic of the interest rates, it appears that the steady increments of interest rates since July have done it’s job to curb inflation. With that being said, this September announcement will probably be no change will remain the overnight rate of 5% for the remainder of the year. What do you think? 

– Sam

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May Rice Roll & Congee

May Rice Roll & Congee – There has been a surge of Cantonese comfort food rising back into the spotlight. The two items of comfort are rice roll and congee. Making some delicious rice roll is no feat. You need to be able to have the right consistency in order for the roll to hold up the filling inside. I love rice roll because it’s so silky and a soft chew that is irresistibly good. So when a IG reel came onto my feed about this place – I had to try it. I decided on the shrimp rice roll and the congee fish bites. The shrimp was a generous size with a nice crunch chew texture combined with the silky and soft subtle rice roll enveloping it made it so enjoyable to eat. The sweet soy sauce added the right sweet and savory taste that I could eat it up in one gulp. The congee was pipping hot! So I had to be extra patient to wait for it to cool down. The congee was nice and smooth and silky – not the thick version. I will say – it’s best to have it hot because once it gets cold – it gets very watery and the rice gets sinked down to the bottom and you’re left with more water on top. 
@foodblogprec

hangry_bunny

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Pho Net Viet

Pho Net Viet A modern designed restaurant with a large selection of standard noodles and rice but also have a great selection of items for the adventurous eaters. I had to try the bun rieu – the crab tomato noodle soup. Hands down it was so flavourful and on point on having legit crab meat to boost the taste. I enjoyed the flavours also – I did wish they added more crab/pork balls. The grilled sliced beef and chicken com – the rice dish. The meat was dry and overdone so I was disappointed. I would consider trying the soup again but would be more reserved wanting to try the rice dishes.
@foodblogprec

hangry_bunny

Highlights From the Real Estate Board July 2023

Home prices across all home types in Metro Vancouver1 rose again in July, as strong sales figures continue to push up against low levels of housing inventory in the region.

“While sales remain about 15 per cent below the ten-year average, they are also up about 30 per cent year-over-year, which is not insignificant. Looking under the hood of these figures, it’s easy to see why sales are posting such a large year-over-year percentage increase. Last July marked the point when the Bank of Canada announced their ‘super-sized’ increase to the policy rate of one full per cent, catching buyers and sellers off guard, and putting a chill on market activity at that time.”

“What’s interesting to see in the current market environment is that, while the Bank of Canada rate hike this July was only a quarter of a per cent, mortgage rates are now at the highest levels we’ve seen in Canada in over ten years,” Lis said. “Yet despite borrowing costs being even higher than last July, sales activity surpassed the levels we saw last year, which I think says a lot about the strength of demand in our market and buyers’ ability to adapt to and qualify for higher borrowing costs.”

Sales of detached homes in July 2023 reached 681, a 28.7 per cent increase from the 529 detached sales in July 2022. The benchmark price for a detached home is $2,012,900. This represents a 0.6 per cent increase from July 2022 and a 1.1 per cent increase compared to June 2023.

Sales of apartment homes reached 1,281 in July 2023, a 20.7 per cent increase compared to the 1,061 sales in July 2022. The benchmark price of an apartment home is $771,600. This represents a 2.6 per cent increase from July 2022 and a 0.6 per cent increase compared to June 2023.

“NOTE: this representation is based in whole or in part on data generated by the Chilliwack & District Real Estate Board, Fraser Valley Real Estate Board or Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver which assume no responsibility for its accuracy.”

Download The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver’s July statistics Package. Click Here

Download Fraser Valley’s Real Estate Board’s July Statistics Package. Click Here

Food for Thought on Real Estate – July

  • Seller’s market – A seller’s market is when there are more people looking to buy then there are homes available. This causes a rise in price above the long-term average rate of inflation. Typically this is indicated by a sales-to-active listings ratio of 20% or higher
  • Buyer’s market – In contrast, a buyer’s market is when there are many more homes for sale than there are buyers. As a result, prices increase slower than the long-term average rate of inflation. In extreme circumstances this can cause prices to decline. Typically this is indicated by a sales-to-active listings ratio below 12%.e
  • Balanced market – A balanced market occurs when supply and demand are about the same, with home prices rising in line with long-term average rate of inflation. Typically this is indicated by a sales-to-active listings ratio between 12% and 20%.Summary Over a sustained period of time:
    • a seller’s market is represented by a ratio of 20% or higher
    • a buyer’s market is represented by a ratio of 11% or lower
    • a balanced market rests between 12-19

August 2023 Newsletter Introduction

Half of the Summer have come and went, and now we have one more month to savor the long days and get outside as much as possible. I am surprised that this year the heat was much more bearable compared to last year’s heat wave!  I was glad to see some rain to break up the long dry summer haul. Did you get a chance to catch the Summer Fireworks? I personally think it’s great to see different countries represented through their own creative performances. I spent my first month of the Summer just focusing on just steadily working and learning to be extremely patient with the terrible two stage. I was told that this stage is very mild compared to the future growth stages….*I am sooo looking forward to this*

Since the interest hike in July, prices have remained steady with prices relatively close to the market/benchmark prices for most properties. There may be a possibility of a long lull in late Fall and close to the end of the year as many holding rates are expiring and there may be rush of buyers looking to close on some homes in order to secure the rate. 

Hopefully in the next interest announcement in September 6th, we hear some good news and July would be the last one for this year. However, there is a possibility that we may see another hike in next year. Keep watch to see our neighbouring country fair as we are heavily influence by their economy so we tend to follow suit on whether we will continue raising rates or not. 

– Sam

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Fat Boy Kitchen

Fat Boy Kitchen – If you crave HK style comfort food then Fat Boy Kitchen got you covered! The portions are extremely large and bang for your buck! Guaranteed you’ll leave full along with a doggy bag. I enjoyed that you can customized on your lunch specials – I had ordered the black pepper mushroom sauce with pasta on the side. Once I had the meal in front of me – I knew that I would only be able to finish 1/4th of it. I will say – you really need to mix the sauce into the pasta really well since it’s drenched on the beef because the pasta was dry on the side and the sauce was very seasoned. To balance it out, you’ll really to get into it and make sure each strand is well coated to really enjoy the meal. If not, you’ll find it pretty dry and salty – the pasta/sauce. As for the drinks – I had ordered a HK milk tea. It was disappointingly bland and no aromatics. If you’re looking for a quick and cheap meal – this place is the one to go to in the East Van.
@foodblogprec

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