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Chatime BC and Vitasoy has launched a collaboration for a limited time only. There are 3 drinks created with Vitasoy products – Purple Dream, Secret Blossom and Golden Aura. You will have to act quickly to catch them all before they are gone. Each week, one drink will be featured so after that week is over, it’s gone forever. These are only available in the large size for $6.95 with no customization allowed.

Vitasoy has always been a childhood favourite drink and this collaboration with Chatime is so amazing. Very exciting as these are 2 awesome brands that I enjoy.

We were invited by Chatime BC to try the Purple Dream, Secret Blossom and Golden Aura drinks as part of this collaboration with Vitasoy.

Purple Dream

June 28 – July 4, 2019

Purple Dream is made of Vitasoy, fresh purple yam, taro and pearls. Of the 3 drinks, this was my favourite. I loved the purple yam and the taro combined with the Vitasoy. It wasn’t too sweet and the pearls are a great addition. Highly recommended.

Secret Blossom

July 5 – 11, 2019

The Secret Blossom drink has Vita Chrysanthemum tea, rose, and snow fungus. It was good and floral with the addition of the rose. The snow fungus added a nice texture to the drink as well. This was my second favourite flavour.

Golden Aura

July 12 – 18, 2019

The Golden Aura has Vita Lemon Tea, pineapple bits, raspberry and ai-yu jelly. As Vita Lemon Tea is generally more sweet than the other flavours, this drink was a lot sweeter than the other two drinks. I had high hopes for this drink as I love lemon tea, but was too sweet for my personal preference.

Available at these locations:

  • 1545 W. Broadway, Vancouver
  • 1274 Robson St, Vancouver
  • 6075 W. Boulevard, Vancouver
  • 2740 E. Hastings St, Vancouver 
  • 6361 Cambie St, Vancouver
  • 9100 Blundell Rd, Richmond
  • 8351 Alexandra Rd, Richmond
  • 5216 Kingsway, Burnaby
  • 2250 Metropolis at Metrotown, Burnaby
  • 10255 King George Blvd., Surrey
  • 130-2950 King George Blvd., Surrey
  • 2755 Lougheed Hwy., Pt. Coquitlam 
  • 51 Sixth Street, New Westminster
  • 2980 Island Highway North, Nanaimo
  • 1306 Douglas St., Victoria

Final Thoughts

These new drinks were a pleasure to try and the use of the Vitasoy beverages worked pretty well! If you’re near a Chatime in BC at the participating locations, definitely check it out.

Website:
https://www.chatimebc.com/

All drinks in this blog post was sponsored by Chatime BC but all opinions are all my own.

Starbucks Canada has launched 3 new Teavana iced beverages – Guava White Tea, Blueberry Black Tea, and Peach Green Tea.

These Teavana Flavoured Iced Teas are enhanced with guava, blueberry, and peach flavoured fruit juice blends. I like how they launched coffee and tea options on the menu for tea lovers.

Teavana Iced Guava White Tea

Teavana Iced white tea is mixed with guava flavoured fruit juice blend, sweetened with liquid cane sugar and hand-shaken with ice. This is very fragrant with the guava and it was quite nice paired with the white tea.

Teavana Iced Blueberry Black Tea

Teavana Iced black tea poured and then shaken together with blueberry flavoured fruit juice blend, liquid cane sugar and ice. This was my favourite for sure as I really enjoy black tea. It does have a subtle taste of blueberry.

Teavana Iced Peach Green Tea Lemonade

Teavana Iced green tea is combined with peach flavoured fruit juice blend, liquid cane sugar and ice, refreshingly shaken to perfection. I got this one with lemonade to see how it tastes. The lemonade really enhances the peach flavour.

Final Thoughts

Be sure try the Teavana Flavoured Iced Teas with lemonade for an extra zest of flavour and you can always switch up the teas and flavours for a fully customized experience.

Website:
https://www.starbucks.ca/

Starbucks Canada just launched two new items this Summer – Iced Honeycomb Lavender Latte and Honey Almond Bar. Iced Honeycomb Lavender Latte is exclusive to Canada only and not sold anywhere else.

Both items use real Canadian honey, so it was excited to give it a try. As today was the first day it launched, as usual, I was the only person that morning to order these new items.

Iced Honeycomb Lavender Latte

 The Iced Honeycomb Lavender Latte uses real Canadian honey and smooth cold foam on top. The next layer has milk, Starbucks Blonde Espresso, and honeycomb lavender syrup.

It’s definitely sweet and milky, so I would cut down on the syrup. The Blonde Espresso isn’t very strong as the milk and syrup take over.

As with all Starbucks beverages, the Iced Honeycomb Lavender Latte is customizable. You can get it hot, or with soy milk or even turned into a Frappuccino blended beverage. It would definitely taste better as a Frappuccino.

Honey Almond Bar

This has sliced almonds drenched in a Canadian honey glaze on shortbread crust. I loved this and I devoured this so quickly. The texture of the sliced almonds and shortbread crust were really nice. It isn’t too sweet either.

I would definitely get this again.

Final Thoughts

I had high hopes for the Iced Honeycomb Lavender Latte but sadly it was too sweet and milky for me that it masked the espresso. I did enjoy Honey Almond Bar a lot.

Website:
https://www.starbucks.ca/

Bovine Rice Bowls has been hiding in Downtown Vancouver serving up Pan-Asian rice bowls. I work Downtown and I can’t believe I haven’t heard of this place until now. They have been around for the past year and their 1 year anniversary is coming up in a few days.

They pride themselves of using great local ingredients and striking up partnerships with companies like Fife Bakery and Food Peddlers to name a few.

Interior

They are a counter-service restaurant with sit-down and take-out lunch service on weekdays from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The space is very small, but there are a few seats inside and outside. Most people grab their items to go.

Steak Bowl

Each piece of steak is draped over white rice and finished with different sauces, onsen egg and greens. A hearty bowl of steak, egg and rice where you can’t go wrong at all. It’s comforting and the flavours hit the spot.

Roast Beef Bowl

The delicious and tender roast beef sits on top of rice and topped with green, sauce, and an onsen egg. Each bite I had, I really enjoyed.

Just look at that roast beef, it’s beautiful. The ratio of meat and rice was good too.

Signature Garden

This is their vegetarian option and I was pleasantly surprised by this dish. This has a rotating blend of fresh veggies including crispy cauliflower, yam, baby potatoes, carrots, green beans, eggplant and tofu over a rich Japanese curry.

Their curry sauce is just so good and the different textures of the crisp tofu and veggies work very well. If this can impress a meat eater, it’s pretty darn good.

Rotating Specials: Creole Jambalaya

They have rotating specials as the 4th item on the menu. Last week it was the Creole Jambalaya with slow roasted chicken, andouille sausage and shrimp. The sauce has a bit of a kick of spice, shrimp was large and plump too.

Roast Beef Sandwich

This is specially launched for their one year anniversary and only available until quantities last. To thank customers for a successful first year, the first 30 customers at the restaurant on Wednesday, June 26 will receive a free Roast Beef Sandwich, no purchase necessary. To continue the anniversary celebrations, the sandwich will be offered at 50% off ($6) between Wednesday, June 26, to Friday, June 28 until supplies last.

This sandwich has slow-roasted Canadian Ribeye, fried free-range egg, caramelized onion jam, horseradish kewpie, fresh cucumber, pickled watermelon radish, sunflower sprouts, Japanese-style milk bread by Fife Bakery) served alongside kettle chips for $12.

I took one bite of this and loved it! The texture and the flavours go so well together. You can really taste the quality of the ingredients inside. I hope they bring this back permanently because this was so good.

Final Thoughts

Overall, their menu is refined and only has a few items so its great for those who are indecisive. All the items I really enjoyed, but my top favourites is the Roast Beef Sandwich and the Signature Garden. They are my favourites as they were the most surprising to me. The steak and the roast beef bowls were great too.

This is Asian comfort food. Simple, yet well executed. A great hidden spot to grab a lunch in Downtown, Vancouver. Highly recommended.

Address:
1050 W Pender St unit #118, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.bovinebowls.com

The best way to enjoy Japanese Green Tea is steeping it in hot water and drinking it. Sometimes, it’s fun to get a little creative in the kitchen, so when a packaged arrived from Japanese Green Tea Company with Issaku, Matcha, and Hojicha tea leaves, I wanted to try something new.

I absolutely adore tea! Coming from a Chinese family, tea is integral to all dining experiences and there is always a pot of tea to aid in digestion. I had a lot of tea like oolong and jasmine growing up. When I had green tea at a Japanese restaurant, I instantly loved it. As I grew older, discovering a wide variety of green tea really opened my eyes to how delicate yet versatile this tea can be.

I just steep my tea in hot water and sip away most of the time. Occasionally, I enjoy being a bit fancy. Below are some different ways of using Issaku, Matcha, and Hojicha tea leaves from Japanese Green Tea Company.

Japanese Green Tea Company is the only US-based company to source tea directly from Arahataen Green Tea Farms in Shizuoka, Japan. Shizuoka has been the centre of green tea cultivation in Japan for centuries, and the region’s intense sunlight and intermittent fog gives each batch of tea its distinctive flavour.

Issaku Cold Brew Green Tea

Issaku is the highest-grade tea available from Arahataen Green Tea Farm and due to the complex and long process of creating the tea, only a limited quantity is available to produce every year. This was a winner at the Global Tea Championship in 2017.

One way to enjoy this tea is turning it into a cold brew.

1. Use 3-4 teaspoons of tea
2. Dissolve in 30oz of hot water
3. Refrigerate for 3 hours
4. Stir tea, strain and serve cold

Cold brewing Issaku gives the tea a slight sweet taste and removes a bit of bitterness. It was strong but very enjoyable on a hot summers day. You probably didn’t think you could cold brew tea right? Most people talk about cold brew coffee, but yes, cold brew tea is a thing.

Hojicha Layered Latte

I absolutely adore their hojicha. Hojicha is roasted green tea and has lower caffeine and less bitter than other tea. I’ve had hojicha is a lot of different desserts, but making a latte out of these loose leaves if my favourite.

  1. Steep 2 teaspoons of hojicha in 1 cup of hot water for 1 -2 minutes.
  2. Froth 130ml of milk with a teaspoon of liquid sugar.
  3. Pour milk and honey mixture in a tall glass.
  4. Slowly pour your hojicha tea to create the layers in the latte.

The roasted flavour of hojicha mixed with the warm frothed milk really feels like a warm hug to me. One of my favourite drinks to make and easily impress any guests.

Matcha Brownie Mochi

Matcha is Japanese Powdered Green Tea. The green tea leaves are allowed to dry, stems and veins are removed from the leaves, and then the tea is ground into a fine powder. A lot of people drink it hot or drink it cold, but baking with matcha is pretty amazing too.

My friend Michelle from Sift and Simmer has a great recipe for Matcha Brownie Mochi. She also has other great ideas for using matcha too. All you need is matcha, glutinous rice flour, and some other kitchen basics.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed all 3 teas – Issaku, Matcha, and Hojicha and it came in the mail very quickly. Japanese Green Tea Company is located in Portland, Oregon but they distribute and sell tea in North America, so you don’t need to fly to Japan to get authentic green tea.

Of the 3 teas, I enjoyed Hojicha the most as it’s pretty hard to find where we live. Plus, the price point is great for the amount of leave your receive.

If you’re interested in Japanese Green Tea, Japanese Green Tea Company is a wealth of knowledge and also sells amazing varieties of green tea, which I highly recommend.

Website:
https://www.japanesegreenteain.com

PiDGiN has launched their newest Happy Hour menu which happens every day from 5 – 6pm at their bar. A short window of time but there are some good deals especially if you love sake. How can you not if you’re a sake lover?

We were invited for a sneak peek of their happy hour offerings.

Bar

As the happy hour is only offered at the bar, you’ll get a front row seat of the bartending action. One of my favourite places to eat at is the bar because it’s more interactive.

Happy hour is best spent with a friend, drinks and some nibbles.

Menu

Beef Chicharrones

The beef chicharrones were my favourite item on the menu. Simple but the spices that they add on top has a tiny kick of spice, salty, but works well together. It is on the menu with beer and it’s a perfect pairing. The crunchy texture of the chicharrones and the malty effervescent beer.

Yakitori

The yakitori is ordered per piece. You can choose from heart, skin or thighs. They don’t have the deep charcoal flavour in these skewers, but it was well prepared. Surprisingly, the hearts were my favourite. It was tender and quite flavourful. The thighs were tender and very juicy. The skin was ok, but it would have been nice if the fat was rendered a bit more.

Hando Katsu Sando

The katsu and kewpie mayo is sandwiched between milk bread. The katsu reminded me of corned beef that is breaded and deep-fried. The milk bread was very toasty and hard that is was a bit rough on the mouth.

Tempura

The tempura that they had was Shiso Wrapped Rockfish and Prawn and served with ponzu sauce. It was surprisingly really good. I loved the combination and it worked.

Sake Flights

Sake is 50% during this happy hour and they boast a wide selection. Two of my favourites were the:

  • Niwa no Uguisu, Junmai Daiginko
  • Masumi Kippuku Kinju, Junmai Ginjo, Yamahai

I was never into sake but these two were smooth and enjoyed cold.

Final Thoughts

Overall, there are some good bites that go well with beer, wine, cocktails, and sake. The menu isn’t extensive, but there is just enough for happy hour.

Address:
350 Carrall St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.pidginvancouver.com/

Cheetos has just launched Cheetos Leaves in Canada for a limited time only. These fluffy and airy Cheetos are nacho cheese flavoured and perfect for Canada Day on July 1st.

My husband brought me a bag of these since he knows I like to talk about new snacks that hit Canadian grocery stores.

Each Cheetos is shaped like a Canadian maple leaf and the packaging states its Made in Canada too. It’s dangerously cheesy and patriotic too.

If you like regular Cheetos, you’ll enjoy these. In our household, we had the great debate between these soft airy texture or the hard crunchy Cheetos. We were all split. I personally like it crunchy.

One thing that we noticed about Cheetos Leaves is that if they made it with the Flaming Hot seasoning, the leaves would actually be red instead of orange. But then again, little kids may not like that.

Nonetheless, these maple leaf shaped Cheetos are sure to be a hit at any party. Can’t go wrong with Cheetos.

Website:
https://www.cheetos.ca/products/cheetos%C2%AE-leaves-nacho-cheese-flavoured-snacks

Torafuku serves up Asian fusion cuisine and they are located right outside Chinatown in Vancouver. They have won award after award for their exceptional innovative dishes.

Torafuku does a variety of Omakase Dinner menus for large groups. Since it was my mom’s birthday, we decided to come here for a group of 7. My sister emailed Torafuku and organized the menu, we made some minor tweeks to the $45 menu and it also does not include drinks or desserts.

Interior

There is a long communal table and booth seating, so it is good for small to large groups. You can book your table ahead of time so you’re guaranteed a seat for your party.

Yuzu Lemon Soda

This is made of yuzu lemon juice, simple syrup and soda. It was really good! It surprised us and my husband got 2 of them.

Sushi Set

This come with 4 kinda of Torafuku style sushi rolls, which individually is on their regular dinner menu.

Kick Ass Rice 3.0 roll has torched pork belly, furikake, cucumber, avocado, shiso, miso mayo, and fuku hot sauce.

Dy-No-Mite roll has prawn tempura, avocado, cucumber, steelhead salmon, mango and 7 spice aioli.

Get in my Belly roll has spicy tuna belly, cucumber, avocado, and fuku hot sauce.

Eat Yo Veggies roll has enoki mushrooms, arugula, cucumber, avocado, toasted quinoa, and chimi.

All 4 rolls were pretty good and not your traditional sushi rolls. We did enjoy the variety that came.

Rabbit Food

This was the salad that came with the meal, it is a kale salad with gem tomatoes, lemon essence, grated Parmesan, quinoa crunch, Chinese prosciutto, and an anchovy buttermilk dressing.

This was a hit and we really liked the saltiness of the anchovy dressing, the texture of the quinoa crunch, and each ingredient brought the whole salad together.

Grilled Skewer Set

There were 4 types of skewers that arrived throughout the meal.

Asparagus topped with gremolata and salt. This was the seasonal vegetable.

Cherry tomato with basil and plum powder.

Beef Meatball with nori and 7 spiced mayo. This was my husbands favourite of the night as it was juicy and full of flavour.

Pork jowl with oroshi, ponzu and green onion. This was my favourite of the 4 skewers.

The skewers were decent, but Zakkushi is still better for all things skewers. It was just missing the deep charcoal flavour.

General Tao’s Chicken Wings

These wings are deep-fried to perfections, slathered with their secret sauce and served with broccoli on the side. The exterior is crisp with the sweet sauce coating it. Then the inside was very moist and juicy. Pretty good.

Everyday I’m Brusselin’

This dish has brussels, cauliflower, broccoli, black bean balsamic vinaigrette, crisp chick peas, fried quinoa, and toasted almonds. The star of the show seemed to be the cauliflower instead of the broccoli as there was more of it.

Magic Mushrooms

This has foraged mushrooms, yuzu tamari, brown butter, rice cake and ricotta cheese. This dish was ok, but the mushrooms that were in season weren’t as good this time around. If you come at peak mushroom season in spring.

The Market Fish

The fish is deep-fried and prepared tableside. They come and debone it at the table, which is nice and stay hot and fresh. It was flavourful and moist.

It is topped with toasted shrimp, crispy shallots, soy bean crumble, and a tamarind sweet and sour sauce.

The Steak Out

This has slices of Grilled Ribeye with tamari butter, chimichurri, and seasonal vegetables. The ribeye has a nice charcoal flavour and was tender.

Magic Stick

Chocolate Ganache, hazelnut feuilletine, raspberry coulis, and vanilla orange. It was rich and chocolaty which I enjoyed. The salt on top enhances the flavour too and gives it a salt and sweet combination.

Mango Madness

This is served in a jar with Coconut Panna Cotta, mango sago and mojito dust. The subtle coconut flavour in the panna cotta go really well with the mango.

Final Thoughts

The Omakase for $45 was a good deal and they give you the ability to tweak the menu for dietary restrictions or preferences as it is planned ahead of time. They were really easy to communicate through email and was a great experience. We all left full and got a good taste of the menu with this $45 omakase set.

Address:
958 Main St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://torafuku.ca/

Nespresso has introduced Barista Creations – their new range of coffees specially designed to go with milk. There are 5 new capsules launched for this line. 3 for the Original machine and 2 for the Vertuo machine.

These were inspired by the expertise of baristas, they make it easy to create coffee and milk recipes in the comfort of your home. It all starts with getting the coffee blend just right.

Chiaro, Scuro and Corto are created for the Original capsules. For the purpose of this review, I have a Vertuo machine, we are reviewing the Bianco Leggero and Bianco Forte.

Bianco Leggero

Bianco Leggero is inspired by the baristas of Brooklyn, who love the natural sweetness of coffee and try to preserve it. To achieve this, Nespresso chose Arabicas from Indonesia and Kenya and applied a uniquely light roast, to create a long cup with smooth, decadent notes of caramel and sweet biscuit when combined with milk.

Each capsule makes 80ml of coffee and recommends you add 120ml of frothed milk on top. Unlike the other Vertuo capsules, they don’t state an intensity as these were made to blend with milk.

I really enjoyed the Bianco Leggero. It’s strong and works really well with the milk. It is definitely smooth and you can taste the subtle sweetness as well. For my personal taste, I like the strong shot of coffee and then more milk added on top.

Bianco Forte

Bianco Forte was to emulate the robust, yet balanced recipes of Melbourne baristas in a large cup. To achieve this, they carefully selected Arabicas from Colombia and Kenya and gave them a contrasting split roast. The result is a rich, roasted and cereal notes that push through the sweetness of the milk you add thus creating a double cappuccino.

Each capsule makes 230ml of coffee and recommends you add 50ml of cold milk then the coffee, thus creating a Reverso Intenso. Unlike the other Vertuo capsules, they don’t state an intensity as these were made to blend with milk. You get quite a lot of natural crema on top with the bold coffee.

Final Thoughts

It’s great that they created these capsules that are tuned to blend with milk. Of the two, I liked the Bianco Leggero a lot compared to the Bianco Forte as its more smooth.

You can now get these Barista Creations capsules in stores or online.

Website:
https://www.nespresso.com/ca/en/barista-creations-for-milk

Chun Yang Tea has opened up their first North American locations in Richmond, BC and two in Ontario. They are best known for their black teas, use of real milk, and the Brown Sugar Pearl with Fresh Milk. They also have soy as a milk alternative so great for those who are lactose intolerant.

As were were in Richmond, my friends really wanted to go as we heard great things. I love bubble tea, so it was a no brainer to give it a shot.

Interior

The interior is really small. There are maybe around 9 chairs. Most people grab their drinks to go. You definitely don’t want to come here with a large group.

Chun Yang Black Soy Milk Tea with Pearls

This has a layer of the pearls, soy milk and then the black tea on top. It’s nice to see the layers between each item.

Chun Yang Black Soy Milk Tea

This is the drink without pearls. The drink was ok but the black tea needed to be stronger. At 100% sweetness, this was ok but could be a tad less.

Chun Yang Oolong Soy Milk Tea

The oolong tea isn’t as dark as the black tea but it does have a nice fragrance to it. 50% sweetness is good but I wouldn’t recommend going any lower than that. The soy milk was a good option even though I’m not lactose intolerant.

Final Thoughts

It’s good that they have soy, sugar and ice level options. With the oolong and black tea, we wished it was stronger with perhaps less milk. We did enjoy it with 50% sugar and any lower would make the drink too watery tasting.

My other friend ordered the popular Brown Sugar Pearl with Fresh Milk and really enjoyed it.

Address:
7971 Alderbridge Way #130, Richmond, BC

Website:
https://www.chunyangtea.ca/

Hot Star Large Fried Chicken is open in Richmond and is a chain restaurant originating from Taiwan. They are best known for their massive chicken cutlets served in a white and blue sleeve. It’s essentially the size of your face.

My friend wanted to come here for her birthday, so we made sure to come here right when it opened on the weekend to avoid any lines. It has been a month since opening, but they are still in soft opening phase and a lot of the menu items are still coming soon. We thought it would be smoother by now but sadly not.

Interior

There are tables and seats on either side of the restaurant. Most people we saw did get it to go. We personally loved eating it when it’s hot and crispy.

Menu

Original Large Fried Chicken

This comes in a few varieties – Salt + Pepper, Spicy, Seaweed, Plum, and Curry. They didn’t have a lot of these flavours so we went with Salt + Pepper and Plum.

Salt + Pepper reminded us of a huge Taiwanese Salt and Peppery Chicken but in a cutlet format. Definitely our favourite of the bunch. The exterior was crisp and the inside was moist and flavourful.

Plum on the other hand was similar but had the sour plum notes in the batter. I still prefer the Salt + Pepper flavour.

Crispy Large Fried Chicken

This comes in 2 flavours – Spicy and Seaweed. We went with Seaweed. You can tell right away that the batter is different than the other set of chicken, plus the seaweed sprinkles are on the outside. The seaweed flavour does come through.

Popcorn Chicken

We got it spicy (medium) and it was similar to the large cutlets in terms of flavour. For $7.99, it’s very expensive for what you get. I would rather get the big pieces of chicken for better value.

Plum Sweet Potato

I was really into this and one of the most surprising items we tried. The soft sweet potato is very delicious and the batter on the outside is crispy and has a crunch to it. The textures worked very well. In terms of flavour, the sweet and salty of the plum and sweet potato worked well.

Fried King Oyster Mushroom

I did enjoy the mushrooms since I am a huge mushroom fan. A bit of crunch on the outside and the juicy mushrooms hiding inside. This item is pricey for the amount that you get.

Taipei 101 Corn

This big piece of corn has nice flavour and was surprisingly juicy and sweet. A hard item to share but if you wanted to have it all to yourself, that works too.

Fried Vegetable Spring Rolls

Each order comes with 5 pieces and these were pretty average spring rolls. Nothing interesting at all. I would pass on these.

Fried Buns

The fried buns has a few options of bun filling – Creamy Custard, Taro, or Black Sesame. We went with creamy custard since it sounded good.

These came piping hot but the creamy custard was sweet and not that creamy. Not what I imagined for the custard.

Blue Curacao Yogurt

There a a bunch of non alcoholic drinks on the menu. They are all very colourful and sweet. The Blue Curacao Yogurt was sweet and tasted like those asian yogurt drinks. It was ok but we wouldn’t get it again.

Final Thoughts

We are still waiting for many of the menu items to be available but still no idea when. We ordered almost everything that was possible to order off the soft opening menu. We had our eyes on the hot cheese fried chicken but sadly not available yet.

Everything is essentially deep fried but it took a very long time for our order to come out. We were the first group there and everyone else after also had to wait a long time for their order too. Given that they are in the soft opening phase, hopefully it improves. You don’t want to order here if you’re in a rush or short on time.

For what we could order, the only items I really liked were the Salt + Pepper Original Chicken and the Plum Sweet Potatoes. Everything else I wouldn’t get again.

Address:
1623-4791 Mcclelland Road, Richmond, BC V6X 0M5

Website:
http://www.hot-star.ca/

This week is the 2019 BC Seafood Festival in Comox Valley, the largest seafood festival in Western Canada. There are a lot of events and activities that showcases the amazing seafood produced in this region. If you are a seafood lover, this is an event that shouldn’t be missed.

If you’re still figuring out plans for Father’s Day weekend, there are still tickets left for the Signature Weekend Day, Weekend Passes, and ticketed events. Having seafood for breakfast, lunch and dinner isn’t a bad thing at all when it’s all fresh and prepared by expert chefs.

Visitors have the opportunity to learn to cook BC seafood during chef demos throughout the weekend featuring top regional chefs, or can take in action-packed competitions including the Fanny Bay Oyster Shucking competition, the Best Caesar in Town competition, Junior Chef Challenge, and the BC Seafood Festival Chef Challenge.

Enjoy BC seafood at roving tasting stations; meet the producers and incredible chefs; savour BC craft beer, wine and spirit tasting stations. In addition to the Signature Weekend, there are so many other featured ticketed events that you don’t want to miss including Shucked! Oyster Bar Happy Hour (June 14), Baked n’ Boiled Kitchen Party (June 15) and Bounty! A Seafood Brunch (June 16).

Weekend Pass with 50 food vouchers $70, Weekend Pass (no food) $25, Saturday or Sunday Day Pass $15.

What better way to sample, savour and slurp your way through the BC Seafood Festival in the Comox Valley, Vancouver Island.

This isn’t just for adults, there’s lots of fun for kids as well. There is the Kids Interactive Zone with touch tanks and interactive displays. Learn about wildlife rescue, sustainable seafood and aquaculture. Kids can visit the Storytime tent, play games and enjoy all things seafood

Get your little ones cooking in the Kids Seafood Cooking Classes for 5-12 years and 10-15 year olds. New for this year is the “Learn to Shuck” classes with famous “Shucker Paddy” for 12-18 year olds with sessions available during the Signature Weekend. Classes are free!

Tickets are selling fast so be sure to book for one or many of the wonderful events and tours featured throughout the festival days. Now is your chance to enjoy the bounty of our oceans all during the BC Seafood Festival! Tours and tickets for events area available at bcseafoodfestival.com/#tours

Tim Hortons in Canada just launched their new Beyond Meat Breakfast items on the menu at almost 4,000 Tim Hortons restaurants nationwide. With vegan and vegetarian options, it’s great to give customers more options. Beyond Meat has made it big in the fast food scene, first with A&W and now with Tim Hortons in Canada. You can even find Beyond Meat burgers in grocery stores too. The patty has the texture of a beef patty, well spiced and 100% plant based with no animal meat.

I was pretty excited to see Tim Hortons offering these 3 items on the breakfast menu – Beyond Meat Egg & Cheese, Beyond Sausage Farmer’s Wrap, and Beyond Sausage Lettuce Tomato.

When I heard they had it, I rushed to Tim Hortons to grab these items to do a taste test with 4 others and write this review.

Beyond Sausage Egg & Cheese

The Beyond Sausage Egg & Cheese has Beyond Breakfast Sausage patty, fluffy egg omelette and a slice of processed cheese. It is served on a freshly toasted and buttered English Muffin. You can alternatively have this on a Homestyle Biscuit or toasted Bagel. 

Decent breakfast item and can’t go wrong. I do prefer it with a real egg and cheddar instead of the Tim Hortons egg omelette and processed cheese. A&W is still better for this as they use real egg and real cheddar compared to Tim Hortons.

Beyond Sausage Farmer’s Wrap

The Beyond Sausage Farmer’s Wrap is made with Beyond Breakfast Sausage patty, hash brown, egg omelette, creamy chipotle sauce and a slice of cheddar cheese. It is wrapped in a tortilla and grilled to order. 

I really liked this the most as it has a little bit of everything for a breakfast wrap. With the saltiness and spices from the Beyond Meat Sausage, you can barely notice that it doesn’t have meat.

A very hearty breakfast option and the most expensive at $5.29. Prices do vary from location to location.

Beyond Sausage Lettuce Tomato

This is an entirely vegan offering, the Beyond Sausage Lettuce Tomato starts with a toasted homestyle biscuit that is topped with the savoury 100% plant-based Beyond Breakfast Sausage patty, crisp lettuce and fresh cut tomato. 

It’s good to see the fresh Romaine lettuce and tomato in this but the texture of the veggies do take away from the sandwich. Nonetheless, it’s still a good breakfast sandwich with lots of textures. The homestyle biscuit was good too. It’s the least salty out of the 3 options and you can taste more of the beans in the Beyond Meat sausage patty.

Final Thoughts

Overall, all 3 items are decent for fast food vegetarian and vegan options. The Beyond Meat sausage patty is generally salty so it’s pretty hard to determine what mysterious ‘patty’ it is but the texture is on point and will trick meat eaters.

The Tim Hortons Beyond Meat breakfast sandwiches and wrap isn’t for everyone so don’t expect an amazing breakfast as it is still fast food. If you are a regular Tim Hortons customer, it’s good to have the extra choice to go meatless. If you are a vegetarian or vegan, it’s great that you aren’t limited to choices when you are at Tim Hortons.

Website:
https://www.timhortons.com/ca/en/index.php

Nespresso launched Reviving Origins, a new program to restore coffee farming in regions where it is under threat. Through its AAA Sustainable Quality Program, Nespresso is working with farmers in regions that have been blighted by conflicts, economic hardships or environmental disasters.

The announcement comes alongside the launch of new single-origin coffees from Eastern Zimbabwe and Caquetá, Colombia. These exquisite and rare coffees are virtually unknown, and have been slowly disappearing for decades. As a result of Nespresso’s investment and the commitment of partners, coffee farmers in these two regions are starting to rebuild sustainable livelihoods, restore their local economies and bring much-needed development to their rural communities.

Both these capsules made for the Original and Vertuo machines. For this review, these are the Vertuo capsules that we used.

Esperanza de Colombia

For more than 50 years, Caquetá, hidden away in the remote Colombian Amazonas region, endured the turmoil of internal conflict. It’s only fitting then, that the direct translation of this new coffee’s name is ‘Hope of Colombia’.

Esperanza de Colombia is a rich and balanced Arabica espresso, with fruity notes and fine acidity. Each year the Caquetá farmers develop their skills to ensure they continue to achieve such a unique flavour.

The is at an intensity level of 3 and the Vertuo capsule makes a 230ml cup of coffee. You can definitely taste the fruity notes and definitely not too acidic compared to the Tumuka mu Zimbabwe. Good for those who enjoy a smooth cup of coffee in the morning.

Tumuka mu Zimbabwe

Once world famous for the coffee it cultivated, Zimbabwe has suffered 20 years of economic and political crisis. But since the peaceful political transition in 2017, Nespresso has made it their mission to reignite coffee farming in the Honde Valley of Zimbabwe.

Tumuka mu Zimbabwe is a flowery espresso from Honde Valley. It has complex fruitiness and a zesty bright acidity, full of character, with notes of red berries, currants, and cranberries.

The is at an intensity level of 5 and the Vertuo capsule makes a 40ml cup of espresso. Compared to the Esperanza de Colombia, you can taste more of the acidity and it’s nice and bold. You can have it as a shot or mix it with some milk or turn it into an Americano to soften the acidity.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I really admire Nespresso for reinvigorating these two areas that have been burdened by conflicts through the Reviving Origins program. It’s also giving customers a taste of coffee from these two regions and ensuring the farmers and their communities are thriving.

We enjoyed both the Esperanza de Colombia and the Tumuka mu Zimbabwe were great and I would drink them depending on if I want a large cup of coffee or a smaller one. Both aren’t overly acidic as it’s at a 3 and 5, which is not bad compared to a 11.

You can now get these Reviving Origins capsules in stores or online.

Website:
https://www.nespresso.com/

KitKat Canada just launched their KitKat Ruby Cocoa bar in stores across Canada. This bar uses ruby cocoa beans to create a new kind of chocolate that tastes fruity and creamy. Using ruby cocoa beans, they create a striking ruby colour and unique flavour in this Kit Kat bar.

They say there are no added colours and contain natural flavours. In each pack are 4 little bars that you can break apart. It’s pretty hard to image how natural ruby cocoa can create such a pink colour.

On the inside, you have the same layers of wafer and chocolate. Just the exterior as the pink chocolate.

When I devoured the whole bar, the ruby cocoa does have a distinct flavour that is definitely fruity as they have described, even perhaps a touch of sourness. Other than that, the texture is still the same and does feel a little bit sweeter too.

I love KitKat bars but I wasn’t craving more of this bar.

The Greek has opened their latest location in the heart of Gastown. The other locations are in Yaletown and North Vancouver. I’ve been to the Yaletown location several times and it’s always a hit! We were excited to check out this location as it’s in a great neighbourhood and it needs some Greek Cuisine to spice up the area.

We were invited to give their dinner menu a try.

Interior

The space is big and looks beautiful. They even have a loft area upstairs if you want a private area for larger groups.

The feel is very young and modern. Loud with pop music and doesn’t fell very Greek until the food arrives.

Menu

Sangria

Sangria is perfect for the Summer. It was very delicious with lots of fruity notes and not too alcoholic tasting. Refreshing!

Karpouzi

This is a watermelon Mojito and it is a light and refreshing beverage as well. Very light on the alcohol taste and not too sweet.

Dip Taster

The dip taster is a great item to order for the table especially when you want to try more of the dips. It has tzatziki, taramasalata, and homous. It comes with a bunch of pita bread on the side for all the dipping fun.

Of the 3 flavours, we really enjoyed the tzatziki as we enjoyed the fresh taste of the cucumber paired with the smooth yogurt. The homous for us was a bit on the sour side.

Octopothi

This dish has grilled octopus, olive oil, a lemon caper dressing and crispy potatoes. It was definitely a comforting dish with the tender octopus and potatoes. We did find the potato was a touch greasy, perhaps from the added olive oil. Parts of the dish a bit charred and sour for our liking but it was still overall a good dish.

Ianis Prawns

This dish has sauteed mushrooms and prawns in a tomato feta ouzo sauce served with pita bread. It was a delicious dish and super yummy. There were about 5 prawns in the dish.

Souvlaki

This dish is served Kalamata style on pita and tzatziki on the side. You can choose a few different meat options – pork, chicken, prawn, wild salmon or beef tenderloin. We went with the pork and beef. It was pretty damn juicy and tender. Both were delicious but pork won by a slight margin. Highly recommended.

Pidakia

This lamb chop dish was amazing as well. Really tasty, tender and all around good. Highly recommended!

Final Thoughts

We enjoyed our dinner at The Greek in Gastown. It’s a beautiful space and the food is very comforting. We were really impressed with their meat dishes. They also have a very affordable happy hour with a great selection of items, so we’ll definitely be back to check that out as well.

Website:
https://thegreekbyanatoli.com/

Address:
221 Carrall St, Vancouver, BC 

Earth’s Own continues to push the boundaries of the usage of oats, as it expands its plant-based beverage lineup to include a delicious new flavour, Chocolate Oat.

Chocolate Oat

This beverage starts with oats grown by Canadian farmers using just sunshine and rainwater. It has 50% less sugar than regular chocolate milk and 4g of protein per serving, making it a delicious option for those looking to satisfy their sweet tooth without the guilt. We really enjoy our chocolate milk, so we were really curious about this alternative.

It is prepared with fair trade camino cocoa, the deliciously sweet, allergen-friendly drink can be enjoyed straight out of the fridge, heated up for a decadent and creamy hot chocolate, or blended for a creamy milkshake.

We just had ours straight up and it was delicious. Not too sweet and had a very rich chocolate aroma and mouthfeel. My husband is very picky when it comes to chocolate milk but this passed the test and reminds us of our favourite chocolate milk but without the milk.

These are available in two sizes: 1.75L and 250mL single-serve tetra packs.

We were pleasantly surprised and would purchase this.

Website:
https://earthsown.com/

Daily Delicious is a new bakery in Richmond near River Rock Casino on No 3 Road. They are a small family owned bakery creating unique baked goods that are different than most bakeries in town.

Upon first look, they may not seem very special at all. From the outside, it seems like a plain Western bakery. I have to admit I had the same thoughts too until I saw what they were creating.

Pre-Order

A lot of the items are sold out later in the day, if you don’t want to be disappointed, make sure you preorder. There is no limit on what you need to pre-order, but there are discounts.

Call in to order or send them an Instagram message, you get 10% off. Orders of $20 or more gets 15% off. (This deal is on as of the publishing of this article and can change).

Interior

There is one table inside with 2 chairs and another table outside with 2 chairs. Most people grab and go.

Sea Salt Bread

One of their top sellers by far is their Sea Salt Bread according to the owner. I was stunned since it seems like a simple standard bun. You’ll want to eat this warm for maximum deliciousness as its soft and pillowy on the inside. Simple yet so good.

Salted Egg Yolk Croissant

Let the Salted Egg Yolk Croissant craze continue since this salted egg yolk croissant was pretty damn good. It was crispy on the outside and the salted egg yolk flavour was really well balanced. Very enjoyable and would definitely order this again.

This also holds up very well for the next day too.

Masago Butter Baguette

This baguette is something new in Vancouver but has been around for Japan for a while now. This was pretty interesting to me and definitely not for everyone.

Masago are little fish roe, so it does have a fishy aroma when you eat this baguette. If you are a fan of masago, this is pretty good. They put the masago butter on top as well as the middle to make sure there is plenty of masago in each bite.

Tastes good when you eat it fresh from the oven (once it’s cooled down) or reheat it in the oven later in the day.

Croffin with Matcha Cream Filling

This sounded really good with the croissant and muffin hybrid – croffin. I thought there was too much sugar on the outside and the matcha filling wasn’t very strong, a bit too subtle for my liking.

Almond Croissant

This almond croissant is quite nice and is very flakey on the outside with a good amount of almond flavour. I enjoyed it. Not the best almond croissant I’ve had but it’s good.

Final Thoughts

Overall, there were a few hits and misses but items like the salted egg yolk croissant can’t be missed. We only tried a small amount of the items they are baking so we will be back again. The prices are also very fair for all the baked goods.

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/dailydeliciousbakery/

Address:
110 – 2811 No 3 Rd, Richmond, BC