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Living da PHAT Life


PaoPao

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PHAT stands for "Pretty Hot And Tasty " located in Yaletown on Mainland close to Nelson. Or as I like to think of it "Pao's Happy And Tranquil " place.

This place is outstanding!

Amazing Hot Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwiches with the meat flown in weekly from Montreal. They do have other sandwiches, breakfast items, etc. but I have yet to pull myself away from their premier Sandwich. I summoned up enough restraint to hold myself back and snap a pic before devouring mine today:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=mo...md=si&img=14677

Now, here is the "Ultimate Chocolate Croissant" :

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=mo...md=si&img=14676

These and a number of other delectable items are baked fresh daily at 5 AM every day. Now I'm not a chocolate person but these are the best I have ever had! No question about it. :wub: The other items look just as good including: Bagels, Nutella and Banana Croissants, Tarts, Struedal, Cookies, etc.

If you like these things, you'll love it at PHAT!

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Been there, done that .... :raz::laugh:

Chef Fowke reveals his big Phat addiction

The evidence ...

I like PHAT fine ... but I still prefer Kaplans on Oak. Cheaper (free) parking.

The Nutella Croissant on the other hand ... that Kaplan's doesn't have. Pretty tasty, and PHAT's coffee is pretty good too. And it looks like they've finally got their outside tables.

A.

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i was there on the weekend and had the challa turkey club.. it was stupendous. the service was very friendly and i have to say that if i wasn't completely stuffed by the sandwich i would definately have gotten the chocolate banana croissant too.... oh well, i'll have to go back for it! oh i loved the kosher pickle too, altho i wish they gave the whole pickle rather than just a quarter of it... but that's the glutton in me :laugh: on another not, i wasn't too fond of the coleslaw.... just my opinion tho.

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Have to say again that this place rocks!

We had breakfast there this morning and had the PHAT Benny on an Everything Bagel. They serve it open faced with Smokes Meat, Poached eggs, and their Home made Hollandaise Sauce. They couldn't have improved it if they tried.

My Boo had the French Toast made from Challa bread with their new option: Absolutely smothered in Nutella. Gotta say that I have never seen my wife so happy eating French Toast.

Paired very nicely with fresh squeezed Orange and Guava juice, this is the best breakfast we have had in Vancouver to date.

Without question we also had ordered to go: two Ultimate Chocolate Croissants, a Cheese Danish, and a small Strawberry Cheese Danish. They we're very nice and said that we we're going to make someone happy with the to go pastries, but I had to tell them that they we're for us to; and are very happy to eat them soon.

:laugh:

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We had breakfast there too this morning, 11ish. I had a corn muffin and my other half had a blueberry muffin, of which I managed to steal a few bites. Both of them were super-tasty (and huge), and the coffee was great too.

I observed all of the croissants from a distance. I think if I even occupied the same airspace as one of those, I would get fat. They do look really good, though, and I think I will try the nutella banana croissant as soon as I can find 3 people who will share it with me :smile:

Thanks for pointing out how good this place was - we had spotted it a few weeks ago on our way to breakfast at Melriches. There was a massively obese woman sitting out front and we had a cruel but hearty laugh at her ironic placement under the PHAT sign. We are evil. :shock:

Jenn

"She's not that kind of a girl, Booger!"

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A friend of mine told me that John Travolta's diet is to eat anything he wants, whenever he wants. The deal he made with his trainer was just to tell him how many hours per day he had to work-out to compensate. The resulting figure was 3 to 4 hours per day.

I think this is perfectly reasonable.....

With adding PHAT now into my mix of restaurants, I'm just adding another 30 min to my already 8 hour daily workout. :raz:

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If y'all love chocolate croissants, you should go to Anona's on Main and take home her u-bake frozen pain au chocolat. You leave them out overnight and when you wake up, pop them in the oven and a few minutes later, you've got the sublime smell of fresh croissants wafting through your home and you can munch on them while you read the weekend paper. They are made with Callebaut chocolate-no bananas though!

She also has frozen plain croissants.

She also has the best hot choc. I've tasted-Belgian chocolate and milk- AND she makes homemade marshmallows to melt on top-the esspresso ones are best.

Zuke

"I used to be Snow White, but I drifted."

--Mae West

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On the chocolate croissant front, I'll chime in for the ones at Pane From Heaven, makers of the all-holy Chocolate Ganache Cake, which is located at 1670 Cypress Street. No nutella, no bananas, just dark chocolate ganache filling with chocolate drizzled on top.

:wub:

Joie Alvaro Kent

"I like rice. Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2,000 of something." ~ Mitch Hedberg

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NO, NO! This cannot be happening....

The horror, the horror....

The lines are long enough, stop talking about this place!

:raz:

You have no on to blame but yourself..............

Have you not learned your lesson over the great Kolachy fiasco.

When you find something good...........keep it to yourself ( or close friends ) and if you feel the need to communicate it, use PM's :angry:

Neil Wyles

Hamilton Street Grill

www.hamiltonstreetgrill.com

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I observed all of the croissants from a distance. I think if I even occupied the same airspace as one of those, I would get fat. They do look really good, though, and I think I will try the nutella banana croissant as soon as I can find 3 people who will share it with me  :smile:

3 people shouldn't be hard to find at this site. I'm in if it doesn't include banana. When I got to the end of this thread I was thinking, "It's beginning to sound like quantity over quality." Really, how good is it?

It's so good ___________ (fill in the blank, please.) :biggrin:

"One chocolate truffle is more satisfying than a dozen artificially flavored dessert cakes." Darra Goldstein, Gastronomica Journal, Spring 2005 Edition

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It's so good that if you do go with 3 other people and order just one croissant; your inner gluttons will be sure to appear and we'll be hearing about the results on CTV that night:

"In the news tonight, evidence that people really are not that removed from the animal kingdom. Three, what friends and family report as being very courteous people had ordered one Ultimate Croissant with the intent on sharing it. What began is a dis-proportionate slice escalated into mayhem and unbridled taunting as to who was the best eGulleter. The conclusion was a poor innocent Ultimate Croissant torn to crumbs lying on the pavement. An investigation has ensued to get to the bottom of this tragic event."

C'mon, these Croissants are mostly air, don't let the size intimidate you ...... hah, that's some good advice that could be applied to many things on this site .. :raz:

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C'mon, these Croissants are mostly air, don't let the size intimidate you ......

If I get hooked on those croissants, that's what people are going to be saying about my a$$. :biggrin:

Jenn

"She's not that kind of a girl, Booger!"

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After months of lurking and finally upgrading to be able to post, here is my first entry. I am sorry to say it isn't that positive.

A few weeks back I tried the Phat Montreal Smoked Meat sandwich and was actually disappointed. It was too fatty and a little too grisly for my liking. The taste(flavour of the meat and light rye) was good but I don't like gristle and was put off.

Was it a bad day? Or will I like Kaplan's better?

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Okay, I just pulled myself off the floor! I have spent the last hour laughing and wishing I could call Montreal right now...

To be fair, Montreal Smoked Meat is not for everyone.

Lean Montreal Smoked Meat = the devil's work

Medium Fatty Montreal Smoked Meat = the communist's work

Fatty Montreal Smoked Meat = maybe acceptable in Vancouver

Extra Fatty Montreal Smoked Meat = YES! HEAVEN...what it is suppose to be (listen fans, it is not health food! It is tasty!!!)

Fat = Flavour

Kaplan's is meant for the masses and does a great job. PHATS is what is expected from a Montreal style Deli. Neither right nor wrong....just authentic.

P.S. I had the Matzo broth yesterday!!! A must try...

To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art La Rochefoucauld

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