Pig N Pancake

 

Pig N Pancake is a restaurant that specializes in breakfast and brunch menu items.  There are many locations throughout the cities along the Oregon coast.  It usually opens at 7AM in the morning and closes a 3PM in the afternoon.  The restaurant often has a gift shop at the entrance selling Oregon coast related souvenirs.

On the second day where we were at Cannon Beach, we decided to go for brunch and went to Pig N Pancake location at Cannon Beach.  The parking lot was small but not many cars were there and there were plenty of street parking spaces available.  As we entered the restaurant, there were only 2 servers handling all the guests and we had to wait for a bit to get our takeout order placed.

We ordered a Sausage Omelet, a Western Omelet, and a Strawberry Crepe.  The food was ready rather quickly and they gave us a huge cup filled full with fresh whip creme for the crepe.  The sausage Omelet was our favourite.  We loved the large amount of sausage mixed in the omelet and was very tasty.  The Western Omelet was more like a veggie option.  It was filled with tomato, onion, and pepper.  It was good, but not as tasty as the Sausage Omelet.  We also got the sourdough pancake as the side with the omelet.  The pancake was amazing but we didn't think we could tell the difference compared to regular pancake.  The Strawberry Crepe was great.  There were 3 pieces of crepe in the dish.  The sweetness of the crepe was not too heavy and the fresh whip creme really helped to balance out the taste.

Overall we enjoyed the brunch at Pig N Pancake!  There were many other omelet options that we definitely want to try next time!

Short Sand Beach

 

Short Sand Beach is about 1.5 hours of drive time from Portland.  It is a popular beach for surfers as the beach is at an enclosed cove and thus the wind is not as strong.  The beach is only 15 minutes south of another popular beach, Cannon Beach.  Short Sand Beach require people to do a short hike from the parking lot but the hiking trail is quite easy and very family friendly.

We got to Short Sand Beach around 10AM in the morning and the parking lot was nearly full.  Since it is a very popular beach, we recommend to arrive early to get a parking space.  Since Short Sand Beach is part of Oswald West State Park, there is a $10 day use fee required.

The trail was quite easy.  It was very wide and very flat.  From the parking lot to the beach, the trail was mostly going downwards towards the beach.  Near the end of the trail, there were few obstacles where we had to cross large tree logs but these were not showstopper issues.

When we got to the beach, it was at a cove and really beautiful.  It was during the low tide and we could go along the cliff side to look at all the tide pools.  There were also many surfers along the beach side getting ready to surf the ocean.  There were also people getting the wood log ready to set up some bonfire on the beach.

Overall, the Short Sand Beach was a beautiful beach that is really accessible and very family friendly.  We did not get to spend as much time here as we wanted, but we would definitely come back again and spend the whole day here.

Rowena Plateau

 

Rowena Plateau is a popular wildflower viewing location in Oregon.  It is about 1.5 hours East of Portland along the Columbia Gorge.  It is right across from Tom McCall Point trail.  Rowena Plateau trail is rather flag and suitable for anyone to hike.  People can also choose how far they want to go as the wildflower can be seen at the start of the trail.  It is one of the most popular hiking trail for wildflower enthusiasts.

Originally, we were going to hike Mosier Plateau but decided to go to Rowena Plateau instead.  When we got there, it was already 10AM in the morning and the parking lot was full.  Many cars chose to park along side the road.  We were lucky to find a proper parking spot when a couple finished early and left.

As we entered Rowena Plateau area, we could see the yellow and purple wildflowers along side the trail.  It was a beautiful scene and we could also see Columbia River on the far side as well.  The trail led all the way down the plateau towards Columbia River.  It was extremely easy to hike along the trail.

While we were there, we also saw several couples taking engagement photos and use the wildflowers as the background.  Since the weather was not hot with overcast in the sky, it was the perfect weather to take photos.

Later on we also went back to Rowena Crest just to look down towards the highway.  It was always amazing to see all the cars running along side Columbia River.

Rowena Plateau is always a great place for wildflower viewing.  Definitely worth a visit!

BBQ Chicken

 

BBQ Chicken specializes in Korean style fried chicken.  It offers 10+ flavors and can choose between regular, boneless, and chicken wings.  Each order comes with 8 pieces of chicken and can choose 1 flavor for every 8 pieces of chicken.  Compared to Buffalo Wild Wings, BBQ Chicken did not offer customers to choose multiple flavors per fried chicken order.  BBQ Chicken also offer Korean Fusion food such as Kimchi Pasta, Kimchi Fried Rice, and other soup dishes.

We got to BBQ Chicken around noon and there was literally no one in the restaurant.  The restaurant was quite large but lacks customers around this time.  We ordered an 8 pieces Golden Original chicken wings, a Kimchi Fried Rice, and a Odeng Kimchi Soup.

While we were waiting for our food, there was actually a lot of take out orders.  Most people ordered take out instead of dine in.

Our food took a more than 15 minutes to be ready.  Not sure if it was due to large amount of take out orders.  The Golde Original fried chicken is just like the classic fried chicken.  It was quite hot and fresh with a lot of juice.  However, we would say Jolibee offers better fried chicken than this at a cheap price.  The Kimchi Fried Rice came with an egg on the top.  We actually enjoyed the fried rice.  It had a lot of kimchi flavor but not so spicy at the same time.  We had mixed feedback on the Odeng Kimchi Soup.  It had great flavor that was both spicy and sweet.  We like the flavor of the soup.  However, there was a lot of mixed veggies and fish cakes in the soup.  The mixed veggies in the soup seemed random and did not taste good at all.

Overall, the experience at BBQ Chicken did not meet our expectation.  We had Korean Fried Chicken at other places and it was good.  But the recommended Golden Original Fried Chicken was just like the fried chicken at other places and not as good as Jolibee.  We would not recommend getting Golden Original Fried Chicken here but can try other flavors.

Good Catch Cafe

 

Good Catch Cafe is a restaurant specialized in Cantonese cafe food.  This includes dishes that mixed Western and Chinese cultural food together.  Good Catch Cafe has multiple locations and had outstanding reviews from people who have dined there.  While we were visiting Toronto this holiday season, we wanted to give this a try.

We went to the Good Catch Cafe restaurant at Fairview Mall.  The mall has definitely changed a lot with a lot more people than 5 years ago.  Good Catch Cafe is located right across from T&T supermarket.  We got there around 4:30PM before the dinner rush hour and got a table immediately.  There was a QR code on the table and we could scan it and order directly from the web page.

We ordered a baked chicken steak with spaghetti and it comes from Cantonese milk tea included.  The food came really quickly within 10 minutes and it looks delicious.  The chicken steak was precut into smaller strips and knife was not required.  The baked tomato sauce was very aromatic and had a faint sweet taste to it.  We really enjoyed this meal that mixed Western and Chinese cuisines together.

This meal cost $17 Canadian plus tax.  It was a great value considering that it included a large milk tea drink.  There were several other dishes we would like to try and thus we would definitely come a revisit again in the future.

GEN Korean BBQ House

 

GEN Korean BBQ House is a restaurant that specializes in Korean Style BBQ.  It offers all you can eat menu throughout the day with 3 different tiers.  The 3 tiers include lunch menu, dinner menu, and dinner premium menu.  Other than the price difference between the 3 tiers, the lunch menu only offers 32 items and dinner menu offers 64 items to choose from.  The dinner premium menu offers additional premium selections such as wagyu beef.  GEN Korean BBQ House opened its first Oregon location in Washington Square mall few years ago and we have not had the time to give it a try.  Since we had a day off right before Thanksgiving, we decided to try it out.

We got to GEN Korean BBQ House around 12PM and the restaurant was about half full.  The waiter led us to a table near the kitchen.  The grill was already prepared on the table for BBQ.  When we sat down, we could hear the fan blowing and it was quite loud.  In addition, due to the fan blowing at every table, it actually felt a bit chilly at the restaurant.

The lunch tier was $20.99 and it was the tier we chose since we wanted to give it a try first.  There were items for grill and items for appetizers.  We were only allowed to choose up to 4 grill items and 2 appetizers each round.  The waitress said this was to avoid people wasting food.  Once we finish all the food, we could order more.  We ordered the recommended items on the menu and also the Korean fried chicken and cheese corn as the appetizers.

The Korean fried chicken here was not very good.  It was very crispy and had good texture, but not much chicken in it.  Cheese corn was mediocre.  We thought it may be a tasty dish, but it was literally cheese placed on the corn.  We liked the thin slices pork and beef the most.  This is because they cooked very quickly and do not stick to the BBQ grill easily.  We did order bulgogi as well but it took much longer to cook and was quite salty.

After 2 rounds of food, we were already quite full.  $20.99 for an all you can eat BBQ was not a bad price especially when there are so many items to choose from.  We would definitely visit this place again but we would be carefully choosing the correct items for grill.

Tillamook Forest Center

 

Tillamook Forest Center is the visitor center of Tillamook State Forest in Oregon.  It is located about an hour West of Portland and also just about an hour off the Oregon pacific coast.  Tillamook Forest Center does not have many visitors usually, but it is a decently sized visitor center that provides a lot of history and experience in Tillamook Forest.

We drove to Tillamook Forest Center after having lunch at Tillamook Creamery.  When we got to the parking lot, there were only 3 other cars there.  As we got off the car, we could already see the high fire lookout at the front.  The staircase of the lookout was well maintained.  We were able to go all the way to the top and even visited the cabin and checking out the usual living items in there.  From the lookout, we could also see the entire Tillamook Forest Center from the top.  It was an amazing view.

As we entered Tillamook Forest Center, there were many interesting things there.  It had a lot of information about the tree specifies in this state forest and all the creatures living in this climate.  There were also replicas of tools, equipment, and tents used by the early explorers in the America.  There was even a small theatre going over the documentary of this place.

At the end of Tillamook Forest Center, the exit led to a long bridge that crossed the river.  During the summertime the river water is calm and clear.  People enjoyed having a swim in the water or even just dip their toes in there.  It was quite a soothing experience.

Tillamook Forest Center was a place that offered interesting experience for people to enjoy, especially for little kids after having ice cream at Tillamook Creamery.  We would definitely revisit again in the future when kids are older.

Crater Lake 2025

 

Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States and the Crater Lake National Park is the only National Park is the only national park in the state of Oregon.  The national park itself surrounds Crater Lake and it is not a large national park compared to the other ones.  Crater Lake is located in South Central Oregon, about 4.5 hours away from Portland or 2 hours away from Eugene.  The Crater Lake Lodge is one of the only lodging options in the park and it gets full very quickly.  It is recommended to book the lodge a year in advance.

We were lucky to be able to boot 2 nights at Crater Lake Lodge this summer.  We went to Crater Lake on a Friday and when there was thunderstorm when we got to Crater Lake.  It was definitely an interesting scene.  There was a lot of people at the lodge this weekend, not just for people staying overnight.  We had to wait for 30 minutes even just to get our room ready.

In the evening when we head out, the thunderstorm has already gone by.  The air was very refreshing and the lake was very calm.  The sun light formed an orange colour on the cloud which was a magnificent scene to see.  It was quite amazing.  We could also still see lightning on the far side of Crater Lake.

Next day morning, we went to Watchman's Peak to wait for the sunrise.  We hiked up just before the dawn and wait for the sun to rise.  The sun rose above the cloud and showed up as a crescent initially.  Then the sun slowly rose above the cloud and the sun rays started to shine.  It was a serene experience.

After we got back down to the parking lot, we drove the Cleetwood Cove trail.  The parking lot was nearly full at 8AM in the morning.  Cleetwood Cove trail was the only trail that allowed people to head down to the lakeshore and it will be closed until 2028.  We hiked down quite easily and enjoyed our time along the shore.  The lake water was freezing but it felt good under a hot day.

At night after dinner, we were getting ready to do some stargazing.  We drove to Merriam Point since that's the best place to take milky way photo.  While we were there, there were 3 other stargazing enthusiasts with us.  We were all just waiting for the moon to set below the horizon around the midnight.  Once the moon has set, the milky way was so clear for us to see.  The milky way core was so bright and amazing.

Crater Lake has always been our favourite trip in Oregon as we felt it provides a very relaxed atmosphere when we are there.  We would definitely visit again even if we can't book the lodge since we could just sleep in the car next time.