Green Tea Milk Spreads are so popular on Instagram, so I got my hand on 2 different green tea spreads:
O’sulloc Green Tea Milk Spread
Feliz Green Tea Almond Milk Spread
I got my mother in law to bring me some of the O’sulloc Green Tea Milk Spread all the way from South Korea and I found the Feliz Green Tea Almond Milk Spread at my local grocery store – T&T. These are so much cooler than Nutella.
They are most common on toast, cookies, or you can even make your own fondue by adding in a bit of milk.
O’sulloc Green Tea Milk Spread
This is the one product that kept popping up on my Instagram feed. It was a great spoonful of this. I love it best on ice cream or waffles. It reminded me of condensed milk or white chocolate with green tea.
Feliz Green Tea Almond Milk Spread
This was very similar to the O’sulloc Green Tea Milk Spread, but with bits of almond throughout. It was like a Ferrero Rocher with green tea. It was so good licking this off a spoon. This cost $9.99 at the grocery store, which is a bit much, but green tea is expensive.
Of the two green tea spreads I’ve tried, the Feliz Green Tea Almond Milk Spread wins because of the added almond bits. It gives the spread great texture. If you love crunchy peanut butter, it has that similar mouth feel. Both are products for South Korea and have similar ingredients inside. The only major difference are the almonds.
Ukrainian Village is a restaurant I see every time I get off the bus on Denman Street. It caught our eyes and we couldn’t resist going inside. It was busy and it was like walking into someone’s living room.
I’ve never had Ukrainian food before, so we had to come here. Initially we wanted Xiao Long Bao at another nearby restaurant, but we couldn’t stop thinking about trying their food.
The menu looked good and prices were very reasonable. The two of us decided to share family style instead of individual meals.
Russian Borsch
This has beef, tomato, red pepper, carrot, dill, cabbage, potatoes, beet and topped with sour cream. It also has saltine crackers on the side.
It was a good simple soup. Never knew sour cream would go so well with soup.
Herring
The herring is pickled and served with onion, sour cream and a slice of bread. We really didn’t know how to eat this, so we made it up as we went. The pickled herring is rolled up with a pickle in the centre. It was interesting trying it, but I wouldn’t order it again. It’s probably and acquired taste.
Ukrainian Dinner
It has 2 cabbage rolls, six perogies, Ukrainian sausage, veggies and sour cream and their mustard. There are 3 types of perogies:
potato and fried onion
potato and cheddar cheese
sauerkraut
All of them were delicious when dunked into the sour cream. The cabbage rolls are filled with rice, ground beef, ground pork, and topped with all that sauce. Everything on this plate was delicious and I would come back.
Beta5 Chocolates is back with their Spring Pop Up Shop at 3345 Cambie St (near the corner of 17th and Cambie). They currently have their Springtime in Vancouver 2017 Easter Collection and an upcoming season of ice cream social creations. We were invited for a sneak peek of what they are showcasing for spring.
From cream puffs to ice cream sandwiches, they are ready for your sweet tooth. I’ve been a fan of Beta5 for quite some time now and they always knock it out of the park for creativity and originality in the products they create.
Peanut Butter Rain Drops
The bags of Peanut Butter Raindrops were so beautiful and absolutely delicious.
In a nod to Vancouver’s wet west coast weather, chocolate clouds shower peanut butter raindrops to encourage Easter eggs to blossom.
Corcus Buds
Beautiful inside and out, this year’s intricately layered eggs are truly works of art. It comes in 3 types – Raspberry + Cocoa Nib, Coconut + Passionfruit, and Hazelnut Praline flavours.
Featuring alternating flavours of dark chocolate and house made praline, the eggs are available in two sizes – single-serving “bulbs” and larger “buds” that make the perfect shareable dessert.
April shower brings May flowers right?
Cream Puffs
BETA5 Chocolates recently introduced three new tea-infused flavours to their cream puff family: Mango Bubble Tea, Strawberry Jasmine and Matcha.
Hopping in for Easter are their Peanut Butter Cup and Lemon + Yogurt Cloud cream puffs.
Lemon and Yogurt Cloud cream puff has lemon curd, yogurt panna cotta, and a baked meringue cloud.
Peanut Butter Cup cream puff has dark chocolate cremeux, peanut butter mousse, and a blue peanut butter egg. Of the two, this was my favourite. I am a sucker for peanut butter.
Ice Cream Socials
Keep an eye on their social media as they always have sold-out ice cream socials. The next ones are April 21 and May 5 starting at 7pm until they sell out.
This one was the Rhubarb Crumble composed of toasted oatmeal and rhubarb-vanilla swirl ice creams, rhubarb-hibiscus compote, granola crunch, strawberry marshmallows and vanilla chantilly cream.
Final Thoughts
The BETA5 Chocolates Cambie Street pop-up will be open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 11:30am to 6:30pm, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11:30am to 10:00pm, and Sundays from 11:30am to 5:30pm, starting April 4 through May 15.
The 413 Industrial Avenue location will be keeping their regular hours of Tuesday through Sunday, 10:30am to 5:30pm. Select items from the Easter collection are also available to order online.
I bought 10 different coconut waters to see how they would compare to the real thing. I made a visit to 2 different grocery stores to get a wide variety of coconut water brands. There was definitely a lot, so I made sure to get at least 10. Originally I wanted to get 5, but 10 ended up in my basket.
I tried 10 different coconut waters so you don’t have to make any mistakes. All of the drinks were chilled and cool before consuming, which is the best way to drink coconut water.
#10 Tropico 100% Young Coconut Water
Tastes like chemicals. No. No. No.
#9 Grace Coconut Water with Pulp
Weird sweet finish yet somewhat citrusy. No.
#8 Frozen Young Coconut Juice
Needs to thaw before drinking. Very sweet but it does have large chunks of coconut meat.
#7 CoCos Pure
Meh.
#6 Vita Coco
The only one that had coconuts from brazil and also has Vitamin C. It had a weird tang to the aftertaste.
#5 Chaokoh Brand Coconut Water with Pulp
My childhood favourite but it is a bit sweeter than the rest. Nostalgia.
#4 Coco Libre
The only one that is from concentrate, but it is organic. It was alright as well.
#3 Blue Monkey
Good and tolerable.
#2 Thirsty Buddha
Very good but still missing more natural sweetness.
#1 Taste Nirvana
Hands down the best one, but not a 100% replacement for a real coconut.
BONUS: A real young coconut from Thailand
The best! Nothing compares…but it’s really hard to open. You’ll need a hefty knife.
I know I didn’t cover all the different coconut water brands in the market, but I tried my best in one sitting to drink 11 coconut waters. We had a good batch of coconut waters and a few terrible ones. Taste is very subjective , but Taste Nirvana was by far the best.
Teapressu is a mobile trailer that sells bubble tea drinks on the go. I was passing by with a friend and had to make a U-Turn to get here. I’ve never seen a bubble tea food truck, so we had to come here for a visit.
They have hot and cold drinks available. What I like most is their ability to customize your drinks by selecting the sweetness level and ice level. Similar to some other bubble tea shop around town.
There is no bubble tea shop near my work area, so I was really excited to check this place out.
Grass Jelly Milk Tea with half sweetness and minimal ice. It was really good. I usually order this when I go to a new place to see how it compares. They made a great milk tea and I would recommend this place. The grass jelly is delicious as well.
My friend got the cold honey lemon with no sweetness. Very brave, but she’s on a pretty minimal sugar diet. She did say she enjoyed it.
Red Bean Matcha Milk Tea is what a few people recommended to me. They suggested 100% sweetness to counteract the matcha as it is slightly bitter. It was good but I still really enjoyed their milk tea. Does that make me basic?
Final Thoughts
I gotta say, I did really enjoy their bubble tea. If you see them around town, definitely give them a try. I would highly recommend their milk teas. You can taste the difference in the teas and ingredients they use.
Flower and Horse in Spring is a new restaurant serving Yunnan Cuisine with their signature ‘crossing the bridge’ rice noodles. The legend of the noodles comes from the Yunnan Province where a scholar was studying for the imperial exams and his wife would make a long walk crossing a bridge to bring him his midday meal. The meal consisted of hot chicken soup with a layer of oil to keep the meal warm. She would carry the ingredients separately and combine them together when she gave him the noodles until he passed his exam.
This story was passed down from generation to generation inspiring the creation of the noodles that symbolizes the wifes love for the scholar.
Interior
We passed by this place as it looked quite different from the outside. Looking at the menu and seeing this place was packed, we decided to line up. It was a 15 minute wait but the food smelled good.
The bright decorations really reminded my friend of China. She definitely felt nostalgia.
Traditional Crossing the Bridge Noodles
I ordered A5, the first overall pick according to the menu. Not sure what that means, but I felt most of the menu was lost in translation. This set has crispy pork, prawn, kelp, squid, marinated pork, fish, spam, corn, chives, bean curd, quail egg, yunnan pickle, tomato, carrot, bean sprout, parsley, and green onion.
There are instructions at the table on how to put together the noodles, but I learned quickly that I was so hangry that I can’t follow instructions.
It says:
Beat the quail egg
Coat the sliced raw meat with egg and place into the boiling soup
Add cooked meat to soup
Put Veggies into the soup
Add rice noodle to the soup
We just dumped all the meat in first to cook it while the soup is hot. We then put in the rest of the veggies to cook. Then lastly, we throw in the noodles.
Once all the items were put together, it looked and tasted good. I wish it had more spice, but there was some chili oil that you can add a kick to the noodles.
Rice Noodle with sauteed pork sauce
The dish has a soup on the side too. The egg on top was delicious. The menu said the sauteed pork sauce was spicy, but it really wasn’t.
Noodles with with house special braised pork sauce in soup
It also has with shitake mushroom, bean curd sheet, bean spouts, chives, and other stuff. The menu had a big HOT warming on this item, but my friend said it wasn’t very spicy.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it was a great experience to try something a bit different in the city. The ‘crossing the bridge’ noodles were delicious and I’ll be back. It’s a small space and they don’t do reservations, so make sure to come earlier or have a bit of patience waiting.
Cactus Club Cafe in Coal Harbour near the Vancouver Convention Centre is their most beautiful location. It’s always packed and has a great view if you reserve a table near their window overlooking Coal Harbour.
I came here for lunch with a few friends to food and of course dessert.
All the Cactus Club Cafe locations across Canada from April 4 – 10, they will be donating $1 from every dessert sold to Make a Wish Foundation. They help support children living with life threatening conditions. The Sweet Dreams Dessert week will be helping 13 year old Morgan to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter with her family.
Rain Coast Greens
This has fresh greens, grilled chicken breast, avocado, tomatoes, feta, spicy pecans, cucumber, egg, and a lemon-thyme vinaigrette.
Baja Fish Tacos
It has beer battered ocean wise lingcod, shredded cabbage, chipotle aioli, fire roasted tomato salsa, pickled red onions, and jalapeño peppers. Instead of fries, I substituted it with a salad. This was a filling meal and the beer battered lingcod was a good size.
Grilled Tuna Club
This has ocean wise rare-seared albacore, tarragon tartar, bacon, cilantro, pickled ginger, and ciabatta. It is served with fries on the side.
Chicken Tacos
These have mexican-style braised chicken, avocado, lettuce, pickled radish, onions and jalapeños, feta, sour cream, cilantro, and sea salted fries. There are 3 tacos that come with this dish.
Key Lime Pie
Has lots of freshly squeezed key limes in the pie with a graham cracker crust and hand whipped cream. It was very good and had the right amount of tang.
Chocolate Lava Cake
The delicious molten dark chocolate cake is served with raspberry coulis, and tahitian vanilla ice cream.
This was my favourite dessert as it is so gooey and rich. It hits the spot for those chocolate lovers out there. We gobbled this up so quickly.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Bar
The crunch bar is served with tahitian vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce, and a few crunchy chocolate pearls. It was pretty sweet and dense. It’s a very popular dessert, but I wouldn’t be able to eat the whole thing. Sharing is great with this dessert.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it was a good lunch with friends and trying their different desserts. The food is solid and consistent.
77k Freeze is a new nitrogen ice cream shop that just opened on Commercial Drive. I came with a friend for a sneak peek of their shop before their grand opening. They are named after the low boiling point of liquid nitrogen – 77 Kelvins.
The owners, which are scientists discovered the joy of using liquid nitrogen to make frozen desserts while doing cryogenic experiments. They created a Cryogenic Control Unit to control the liquid nitrogen for making ice cream.
Interior
The interior is all white with snowflake decorations and blue accents to give the space a cool atmosphere.
There are seats out front, but they also have this lounge area that can be booked for events.
It’s great if you want to host an ice cream party or some gathering.
Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream
You can create your own ice cream selecting the base, flavours, toppings and sweeteners. Or, they also have a few creations of their own creations like Snowflake, Oh Canada, Blueberry Pine, and Vancouver Red Velvet.
When you choose what you want, they start mixing it up and thats when the liquid nitrogen works its magic.
I tried a few of their flavours but I really enjoyed the Oh Canada with the milk base, a bit of maple to sweeten it and it has crunchy bacon bits and poppy seeds. I loved the crunchy texture of the whole ice cream, but at $8 for their signature flavours, the price needs a bit of work as it’s very expensive compared to the other shops in town.
As they just opened, they have some kinks to work out, but hopefully with more customers giving feedback, they will improve.
This week we got to try out Honda’s new Civic Hatchback series! After a long hiatus, the hatchback trim has finally come back to the Civic line. I was a huge fan of the 2001 Honda Si-R hatchback, so I was very excited to see a refreshed hatchback look come to Canada!
Although I adore hatchbacks, I did not particularly like the gaudiness of the 2017 Honda Hatchback LX. Some people do not like the 10th generation of Civics for its hyped up sporty look and chrome, but I actually think it looks like the best one Honda’s ever made.
However, that sentiment did not carry over for me on the Hatchback version. The use of fake plastic vents in the front and back just feel cheap and fake. I would hang my head in shame if any car enthusiast comes closer to check out the Honda Hatchback.
I do like the spoiler and the nice TURBO written on the back windshield. It brings a nice retro feel to the car. I miss the Turbo vinyl on the back bottom doors that the 2016 Honda Civic Touring I reviewed last year had.
I also like the front grill of the car. It feels adequately fierce and angry. There are no LED headlights in this trim, which I think is both aesthetically pleasing and important for better visibility for driving.
Interior
This being the LX, lowest trim for the 2017 Honda Hatchback, it was not chock full of features I was accustomed to my reviews. There was no auto unlocking, no push button start, no flappy pedal gear box for Auto CVT, and no leather. There was also no right merge camera, which I thought was a strange omission as even the Fit had that.
The rearview camera is the same across all the Hondas I’ve seen. When it gets particularly stormy outside, the camera lens can get very muddled, losing its viability.
There is no sunroof in the Honda Hatchback LX, the higher tiers have a full panoramic moonroof.
The fully digital speedometer display and Apple Car Play is always great. However, I don’t know if it was because of the LX trim, but there were some weird issues with connecting my phone with this Car Play. One time I crashed the Honda display system fully.
I think it’s ridiculous that Honda would give you Apple Car Play/Android Auto but no onboard navigation system!
The lack of leather was okay, the stitching was slightly sporty. The leather steering wheel was not the smooth leather in higher tiers and felt like my 2012 Civic’s steering wheel.
Like all hatchbacks, this has a slightly bigger trunk than the sedan version. Not crazy enough to replace an SUV or pickup truck, but definitely more than an average sedan.
Drive
The 2017 Honda Hatchback LX is a joy to drive. The lowest trim comes standard with a 174hp turbocharged engine, that you have to pay $2,000 more for the Honda Civic Coupe.
It was a joy to drive this Civic. the engine was fun to punch and the turns were very accurate and on point. Going back to my normal Honda Civic 2012, it felt like turning a semi-truck in comparison.
Like all Honda’s the engine was gas efficient when it had to be.
Final Thoughts
I think the 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback LX highlights the amount of features you get at a higher trim for only $8,000 more. For $8,000 more you get:
Navigation system
Auto unlock keyless entry
Push button start
6 more horsepower engine
Chrome dual exhausts
Premium leather steering wheel
Better climate control
LED Headlights
Leather seats
Heated Rear Seats
Auto-dimming rearview mirror
Power seats
18″ dark aluminum wheels
Power moonroof
Smarter windshield wipers
Blindspot display
ETC.
I listed all the things that are a huge bonus for me. $8,000 for all of that and more is a steal in my opinion and still less than $30,000. I’d gladly take the 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback Touring instead, please.
So where does that leave us? I think this is a great starting car and trim for a high school student or a university student’s first car. It’s cheaper and it’s fake plastic vents might appeal to that demographic.
Otherwise, I like my hatchbacks to have all-wheel drive. Unfortunately, the Honda Civic Hatchback does not have that option. I think that shows you that this Hatchback is not in the same rugged competition with the Subaru Impreza, rather it is just for city folk who want a hatchback look and added convenience of a slightly bigger trunk.
Regardless, you still get a premium driving feel buying this car and I just can’t wait for the true Type-R to come to Canada. Here is a glimpse of what it looks like.
I’ve heard of SPUD for a long time now, a local online grocery store for Metro Vancouver with fresh, local, and organic grocery options. My fridge was empty leading up the the weekend and I saw a great deal to purchase their weekly staples box filled with goodies for $39.99 and free delivery. It contains over $65 worth of their customer’s favourite weekly staples.
[information]$20 off your first order of $50 or more. Coupon code: “CRVAN-CHADIF“.
Must be first time customer, one new customer per household.
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Since we are a 2 person household, this would last us longer than a week with what came in the box, plus we don’t always eat dinner everyday at home.
Delivery
They did Sunday delivery to my city, so it was nice to have it arrive on the weekend. You don’t have to be home to receive the package, but I was home anyways. They knock to check if you are home, but if you’re not, they can leave it at the front door, back door or whatever your instructions are.
The Package
My first order came in a large box, but you can also have them deliver it in plastic bins in order to be less wasteful.
Everything was inside and it was insulated with ice packs and dry ice to keep everything cool until you are ready to open it.
The produce was fresh, in good shape and tasted good. As they are organic, these fruits don’t come cheap. The apples and pears were a fair medium size as well.
There are still stickers on it so it’s easy to identify them. Some fruit is local and some is imported like the organic bananas since bananas aren’t local to the West Coast of Canada.
All the items were perfect staples for the fridge. Beautiful carrots with the tops still intact. You can cook with them or make vegetable stock.
The organic and omega-3 rich eggs were great and I usually get organic free range eggs anyways and they taste a lot more amazing than regular eggs. Something I can’t go back on because we eat so many eggs.
Avalon Organic 2% Milk and Happy Planet Organic Valencia Orange were 2 drinks that came with the package. Very tasty local products, but the orange juice taste pretty tart to me.
One item that I really value the most is quality of meat. The chicken breast that arrived from MapleHill Farms are raised without antibiotics, not fed animal by-products and grain and vegetable fed.
Final Thoughts
This was a good start to seeing the quality of the produce from SPUD. I loved the service and although it is pricier, you know you are getting good quality items from them.
The Weekly Staples Box would be an awesome item for any busy mom to keep the fridge stocked with the essentials.
Masaladobo is a Indian Mexican Cantina in Downtown Vancouver. This fusion cuisine is almost entirely gluten and dairy free, which is great for those with dietary restrictions. They now bringing healthy and delicious food to those who need a quick bite in the area.
The skytrain is just located a few steps away, which is very convenient for those taking the Canada Line.
Interior
The interior is fun, casual and full of colour. During peak hours, you order at the counter, but for other times, they can serve you at your table instead of going up.
There are lots of tables inside, so there shouldn’t be a problem finding a table.
Tacones
Tacos rolled up into a cone shape for easy eating. It has roti-taco-handroll hybrid red shred, masaladobo (spicy sweet indo salsa), raita verde, in a plancha tortilla, which is all gluten-free on corn tostada.
There are many kinds you can order but we tried the ginger duck kebabs and it has a very unique taste, which blends Indian and Mexican flavours together. The OceanWise options are great too with wild salmon pekora or the seared albacore & shrimp kebab.
Blackened tuna tikka taki
This has dry tikka spice and the albacore tuna is seared lightly. The item is on their Cantina Menu, where on Monday to Friday, it’s 2 for 1 from 2pm to closing. A good deal and it tastes great.
Masaladobo bowl
Masaladobo bowl with added ginger duck kebabs also has golden basmati and sofrito-coconut gravy with fresh greens , pickles and masaladobo.
Margaritas on Tap
They have margaritas on tap. It’s not a party without margaritas. A great item to have after work or sometime closer to the Summer during the hot months.
Indian Cola
A unique non-alcoholic beverage with all the syrups made in-house. It’s very different that your average soda.
If you want something stronger, they definitely have that too. Try a shot of tequila and a fresh-pressed juice chaser.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it’s a unique concept mixing Indian and Mexican flavours. You won’t find a lot of red meat on the menu besides duck, but if you have dietary restrictions, they cater well to those people that are dairy-free or gluten-free, and vegetarians.
Smartfood Popcorn has introduced a new flavour into the mix – Gouda & Chive. There are 5 other existing flavours, but the other popular ones are White Cheddar and Jalapeno Cheddar. Check out my past review on the other flavours.
We like to keep our popcorn close to the couch so it’s in easy reaching distance of the couch for movie nights or a regular evening with Netflix.
This new cheesy treat brings together the creamy flavour of Gouda and Chives into the world of popcorn.
Upon the first few handfuls, the gouda really stand out and then the chives hits you subtly. The popc.orn still has the same consistency as the other popcorn
It’s a nice addition to the line, but I still really love White Cheddar since I’ve eaten it for so many years that it’s just nostalgic to have it. What do you think of the new Gouda and Chive flavour?
