Amaranthus is a new plant-based eatery inside River Market in New Westminster. The restaurant’s name is the Latin word for amaranth, a type of grain used to make alegrías – a popular Mexican sweet.
We were invited to have a sneak peek of the space and try some of their signature items.
They specialize in vegetarian and vegan cuisine with a charitable focus inspired by a chance encounter with Michael J. Fox. Proceeds from select items on Amaranthus’ menu like the Amaranthus veggie burger will be donated to IMPACT Parkinson’s, a New Westminster-based non-profit that supports people living with Parkinson’s disease.
Menu
Beverages
The beverages on the menu are excellent and they did a fantastic job at putting these flavours together. They are essentially zero proof cocktails. It feels like you’re drinking an alcoholic beverage but not.
Juniper and Tonic
The juniper and tonic tasted like you were drinking a gin and tonic but you aren’t. It was refreshing and not too sweet.
Beet Cream Soda
This drink surprised me. I expected it to be much sweeter than it was. It had the least sweetness out of the three drinks we tried. The beet flavour stood out quite a bit in addition to a mild cream soda flavour. It was delicious, but maybe it needs a touch of sweetness. Again another refreshing beverage.
Basil Shrub
This had the right amount of sweetness, ginger and basil flavours. It was very refreshing as well.
Fried Brussel Sprouts
These were amazing! One of the dishes we would love to have had more of.
The flavours were a perfect combination. Another thing that makes these sprouts so different than others is the addition of a poached egg.
Wilted Ridicchio
Another tasty dish. Loved the addition of the fig and fennel in this combination. It has very fresh flavours.
Wild mushroom risotto
The nice creamy texture and made just right. A bit of a heartier and comforting dish.
Amaranthus Veggie burger
This isn’t your ordinary veggie burger and very different than any other veggie burger we have had. A combination of roasted celeriac, Swiss card, blue cheese, and shallots make up this delicious burger.
Rosemary Salt Churros
These are a must try! It has a perfect touch of rosemary and salt with just the right crisp texture to these churros. They were spectacular and weren’t very sweet either. Will for sure be back for these.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it’s a great addition to River Market along with all the other eateries there. It definitely stands out and gives customers more options. Everything we tried at Amaranthus was great. They did a fantastic job of incorporating all the flavours with one another in each of the dishes. The dishes also tasted super fresh. We will definitely be back.
Address: 12 – 810 Quayside Dr, New Westminster, BC
New Mandarin Seafood Restaurant recently opened their doors near Kingsway and Gladstone right beside the new T&T Supermarket. There is ample parkade parking and if you make a purchase, your parking is covered.
We decided to come here on a Friday at noon for dim sum since I saw that they had some pretty unique items on the menu. How can I resist not coming here? We made reservations an hour before we came but we still had to wait a little bit for the next available table to be ready.
Interior
There are lots of large tables and many VIP rooms and tables as well. For a Friday, this place was busy!! I can’t imagine what the weekend looks like here. The ceilings are high, lots of TV screens and a HUGE LED TV too.
I can see this place being a space for a lot of wedding receptions as they already have strobe lighting set up.
Do note that from the main entrance, there are a few steps to get to the front desk and main dining area, instead of going down the stairs in a treacherous manner, use the mini lift. Thats what we did for our stroller.
Dim Sum Menu
Ordering
What I found unique about this place is their ordering system. You can either fill out the form with pencil and give it to the staff to input into the computers or you can scan the QR Code at the table and input your own order to ensure no mistakes. It’s great because you know the price of each item as well as your whole meal will be prior to the dishes arriving.
Of course this app isn’t for everyone. I know my parents would not want to order with their phone as its such a strange concept. Some of the dishes are named differently in the app and on the paper ordering menu, so just beware. I submitted the order through the app and when the restaurant gets it, they print out the ordered items like a receipt and tape it to your table. They cross off each item as it arrives.
Rose Honey Sweet Potato Swan Crisp
This is all edible and very cute. Definitely a fun item to order as the whole table will want to take pictures of it. The exterior is very crispy and it reveals the sweet potato mixture inside. I didn’t taste much of the rose or honey in this dish. Nonetheless, it still tasted very good and I was surprised.
Panda Egg Yolk Steamed Bun
No pandas were hurt in the making of this egg yolk steamed bun. It’s a fun item to order for the table if there are kids or big kids at the table. It’s very delicious and has a decent amount of the salty egg yolk inside.
Steamed Black Garlic with Egg Yolk Sui Mai
I thought it was awesome that dish has a whole quail egg inside with the gooey centre. It was well executed and one of the favourite dishes of the meal.
Steamed Truffle Sui Mai
When this dish arrived, you can really smell the truffles. A good combination with the sui mai which I haven’t seem many people do for this dish. Highly recommended too.
Crispy Shrimp Dumplings
This was on the menu too and it’s interesting to see these deep fried instead of steamed so I was very curious about it. It does add a crispy texture to the dumplings but was missing something. Maybe like some sauce to accompany it.
Steamed Special Hot and Sour Meat in Soup Dumpling
This was like a Xiao Long Bao but filled with hot and sour soup and a chunk of meat. It was surprisingly really good and it has a kick of spiciness. If you have a very low spice tolerance, you may not like this. I personally really enjoyed this!
Steamed Carrot Buns with Mashed Taro
This is another cute steamed bun. You can tell your kids to eat their vegetables and be delighted that it doesn’t taste like a carrot. I found this bun to have a small amount of mashed taro inside so it felt like a lot of bun to get through. I wouldn’t get this again.
Steamed Beef Ball with Black Fungus
4 comes to an order and it was a pretty standard beef ball. Nothing too interesting. It is a staple dim sum dish for my family as we always order this during dim sum.
Steamed Cordyceps Flower with Chicken Rice
This was a filling dish on the menu with a bed of hot rice and topped with the chicken, cordyceps flower and veggies. Make sure you pour the sauce over the rice so it can soak up all of its flavours.
Moon Rabbits
This was a cute dessert made to look like rabbits. It tasted like a subtle coconut pudding. Decent but nothing spectacular.
Soufflé Topped with Almond Flake and Blueberry
This was a beautiful and big looking dessert made mostly with egg whites. On the outside, there are the slices of almond and in the centre there is a small spoonful of blueberry jam.
They cut it up into 4 pieces but it can serve a lot more than that. The taste was very bland and fell flat. It was missing something and we wouldn’t order this again.
Final Thoughts
It was a bit annoying to see some dim sum dishes come with 4 pieces and some other with 3 pieces. As a table of 4, sometimes we would have to half items or someone would be left without a piece and ordering another basket didn’t seem logical. Nonetheless, there are some very aesthetically pleasing dim sum that taste good too, and a few that were flops. My favourite items of the meal were the black truffle sui mai, Steamed Special Hot and Sour Meat in Soup Dumpling, and the black garlic quail egg sui mai.
Starbucks Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino returns this Summer for a limited time only. This starts Tuesday, April 30 at Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada while supplies lasts.
The Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino is made of buttery caramel syrup blended with coffee, milk and ice, then topped with a layer of dark caramel sauce, whipped cream, caramel drizzle, and crunchy caramel sugar topping.
When we drank this, there is a strong taste of caramel in this drink and it is overly sweet. We even stirred it several times to incorporate all the ingredients, but it was way too sweet.
There are 2 more fan-favourite Frappuccino blended beverages coming back on the menu as well – S’mores Frappuccino and Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino.
The Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino was our least favourite.
Western Lake is celebrating their 12th year in Vancouver and their latest win at the 2019 Chinese Restaurant Awards for Critic’s Choice winner of the Roasted Salt Free Range Chicken dish. They have always been highly rated for the dim sum and dinner service. It’s been my family’s go-to restaurant for many years now.
We were invited for their media appreciation dinner and they showcased a plethora of their signature and award-winning dishes.
Chinese Restaurant Awards: Critic’s Choice winner of the Roasted Salt Free Range Chicken
The Roasted Salt Free Range Chicken is very juicy, tender and flavourful. In order to get this consistency, this dish is cooked in a unique way. The chef turns off the heat when the water starts to boil and allow the chicken to get cooked in its entirety in the residual heat. After poaching, he then plunges the chicken into ice water to stop the cooking process.
If you get a chance to try this during dinner, it’s definitely a must-have dish.
The chicken’s skin remains light-coloured, nearly white and the meat is tender and flavourful. It is served in pieces with the skin and bone attached.
This dish is accompanied by a condiment made b finely minced ginger, finely minced garlic and green onion.
King Crab Dinner
King Crab dinner is a luxurious feast and in season in the Spring. This is usually the best time to indulge in this delicacy. King Crab is prized due to its sweetly succulent flavour and the short duration of its season. The rise in popularity can be seen by how much the price has gone up over the years.
My family has been here several times especially when relatives come over from Hong Kong in the Spring. My grandpa always requests fresh King Crab. Luckily, Western Lake has several King Crab set menus.
At Western Lake, they typically showcase the king crab in an elaborate multi-course dinner that uses every part of the crab. The steamed King Crab legs are topped with lots of sweet and nutty garlic. The sauce it sits on is the natural crab juices. It’s so good and I love how the shells are already open, so eating this is so darn easy.
Another staple of the King Crab experience is the lightly battered and fried knuckles topped with rice cakes – King Crab in Superior Soy Sauce Bedded with Rice Cake. This dish is also really good since the sweetness from the crab and the soy sauce aroma just go so well together. The chef cook this dish really well.
Last but not least, leftover sauce from the steamed garlic crab leg course is being used to toss with noodles, chives and bean sprouts. The item pictured below is the noodles tossed in shrimp roe. I love how every part of the King Crab isn’t put to waste. Delicious as well and with the noodles it makes the whole meal more filling.
Chives and Crab Garlic Sauce Fried Rice with Black Truffle Topped with Gold Leaf looks amazing as it is presented in the shell of the King Crab. Nothing goes wasted. You don’t have to be as fancy with the truffles and gold leaf. Their standard fried rice is very good as well.
Peking Duck Dinner
Peking duck, one of the most delicious dishes of Chinese cuisine with a history of more than 400 years. Peking Duck is a meal with royal lineage, as it has been a staple for the elite and ruling class for centuries. A lot of care and preparation goes into these dishes so I can see why it’s a popular item on the menu.
This dish of Peking Duck has a thin, crisp skin with very little meat attached. Traditionally the skin is sliced in front of diners, but they don’t do that at Western Lake as the dining room is pretty busy. Peking duck is usually served in two courses, one with crepes and another with lettuce wrap. The succulent Peking Duck skin is accompanied by hoisin sauce (a sweet bean sauce), scallions cut into brushes, and thin wheat-flour pancakes, all of which are eaten together as a wrap.
Having this dish is such a delight and always fun to eat. Love the interactivity! Add a little bit of everything and eat it up.
The second dish of Peking Duck is made into this dish – Lettuce Wrap with Minced Duck and Assorted Vegetables. The meat of the duck is cut up and served with vegetables as a second course.
I love the crunch of the lettuce and the different textures the of the duck, veggies, and crisp noodles.
Beef Tenderloin with Deep Fried Potato
Another dish is their beef tenderloin with deep-fried potato which is beautifully presented in this deep-fried basket. The beef is tender and so flavourful. Highly recommended if you want something added to your meal that isn’t duck or seafood.
Assorted Seafood with Pumpkin Thick Soup
Western Lake has a variety of soups on the menu and different daily soups as well. A unique dish is their assorted seafood with pumpkin thick soup. Lots of seafood in it like this big scallop.
Egg Tofu Braised with Pea Tips and Enoki Mushroom
To balance out all the meat in a meal, there is always a veggie dish. Pea tips are delicious and when accompanied with mushroom and tofu, it tastes good and hearty. The freshness of the ingredients also shine through.
Dessert
Don’t forget to end your meal with dessert. Usually when you have dinner here, they have complimentary desserts. You can ask them what they have or pay a little bit extra for something more unique like their baked tapioca pudding.
Final Thoughts
There is a reason why there are huge line ups during dim sum and full tables during dinner time at Western Lake. The food is solid and reasonably priced for what you get. It’s one of the top Chinese restaurants in Vancouver.
Starbucks Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino returns this Summer for a limited time only. This starts Tuesday, April 30 at Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada while supplies lasts.
The Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino is made of a rich mocha sauce, vanilla syrup and Frappuccino chips are blended with coffee, milk and ice, and finished off with whipped cream and cookie crumbles.
This was actually really good. You get the taste of the mocha right away and it compliments with the texture of the cookie crumbs. This would definitely be my Summer go-to Frappuccino. At full sweetness, it wasn’t unbearably sweet like some of their other drinks. If you want it less sweet, you can always customize your drink with less pumps of syrup.
There are 2 more fan-favourite Frappuccino blended beverages coming back on the menu as well – S’mores Frappuccino and Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino.
Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino was my favourite out of the 3 returning Frappuccinos.
Starbucks S’mores Frappuccino returns this Summer for a limited time only. This starts Tuesday, April 30 at Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada while supplies lasts.
If you don’t know what a S’mores Frappuccino is, it has marshmallow-infused whipped cream and milk chocolate sauce along with a creamy blend of coffee, milk and ice. It’s finished off with more marshmallow whipped cream and a graham cracker crumble on top.
I personally haven’t had a S’mores Frappuccino yet, so it was good to finally get a taste as it hasn’t been back on the menu in years. The drink is perfect for the Summer as it reminds you of roasting s’mores on an open fire. It is a bit sweet, so you can get it less sweet to counter balance all the marshmallow flavourings. I love the graham cracker crumble!
There are 2 more fan-favourite Frappuccino blended beverages coming back on the menu as well – Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino and Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino.
I just had a baby a few months ago, but I still have to drink responsibly since I still have to breastfeed my newborn. Even when I was pregnant, I always resorted to getting sparkling water at the pub or at an event during the evenings. It doesn’t have the same feeling as I always felt lame but for good reason too because I’m nourishing a life. Of course, there are still many other reasons people abstain from alcohol besides being pregnant, non-alcoholic beer is always an option. I didn’t even realize that Heineken had a non-alcoholic option of beer.
Heineken 0.0 has a clear golden amber colour and reminiscent of the full-strength version of fresh, crisp, fruity and malty. It is twice brewed from their unique A-yeast from natural ingredients with gentle alcohol removed to achieve the similar taste of a regular Heineken. It’s a good alternative but without the alcoholic affects afterwards.
With all the new family commitments that I have, it’s important I don’t drink too much. Whether it be driving or doing the late night feedings with the baby, it makes me feel guilty when to avoid drinking all together or leave an event early.
If you like the taste of Heineken already and want an Alcohol-Free version, there you have it, it exists!
Globe@YVR is the restaurant inside the Fairmont Vancouver Airport and is quite popular among travellers to and from the Vancouver International Airport, as well as locals. They boast a solid afternoon tea, brunch, as well as lunch and dinner made with local seasonal ingredients by Executive Chef Nandaskishore Rangan.
His style of cooking that is represented on the menu as he calls it ‘local and honest’. They work really closely with local producers like Gastown Greens to secure the best produce and support local businesses. I really admire this as they put a lot of care into their dishes.
As a bonus, if you spend a minimum of $30, you get 3 hours of free parking at the airport.
We were invited to get a taste of a few of the items off their Spring menu. Pretty exciting as we haven’t dined at the Globe@YVR yet.
Amuse Bouche
The amuse bouche was a beautiful bacon wrapped scallop with a maple glaze. Really delicious and the maple goes so well with the bacon. The scallop was seared nicely too.
Globe@YVR Signature Beer Bread
You can add this to the start of your meal and it’s really delicious. It is made with local honey and baked fresh from the oven. It’s a treat and we really liked it.
Mushroom
This dish is comprised of a variety of mushrooms, spinach tortellini, small vegetables, ricotta, and Gastown Greens. I like how they add a bit of interactivity to the dish as well. The come out the pour the broth and also shred the cheese.
The dish is simple but packed full of flavour with all these local ingredients. The mushrooms have a lot of savoury umami flavour.
Nova Scotia Lobster
This is flown in daily to retain its optimal freshness. It is paired with sautéed spinach, triple-cooked fries, garlic toast, béarnaise, and charred lemon. Really great item to share among the table.
Haida Gwaii Halibut
This is accompanied with parisienne potato, zucchini, tapioca crisp, and crab bisque. The halibut was soft with a delicious seasoning that doesn’t overpower the beautiful taste of it. I really enjoyed that tapioca crisps that came along with it.
Mascarpone
For dessert we have a mascarpone mousse on the bottom, fresh strawberries topped with a kataifi nest. Then a strawberry consommé is poured around the dessert. It’s a light dessert and I like the contrasting textures of the mousse and nest.
Final Thoughts
It was my first time dining at Globe@YVR and it was good to get a taste of what Executive Chef Nandaskishore Rangan has done to transform the menu. It is very representative of BC and what this province has to order, so, locals and visitors will get a joy from experiencing the dishes here.
They are popular for Afternoon Tea as it’s a great price and conveniently located right by the Airport as well as transit. Next time, if you’re at the airport and want to treat yourself or your friends to a great meal, check out Globe@YVR.
Address: Vancouver International Airport, 3111 Grant McConachie Way, Richmond, BC
FIVE is a New England style Oyster Bar infused with Lebanese flavours. They are located right by the pier with views of the ocean. What better way to enjoy the sights than with the best that the West Coast has to offer. They only use fresh seafood and their seafood availability depends on whats in season. You won’t find any frozen seafood here.
We were invited to dine here and try a few of their signature items. It’s not that often that we are in White Rock, but good to see the restaurant scene diversifying.
Interior
There are lots of seats for small to large groups and you can grab reservations via OpenTable to make sure you have a table set aside for you and your party.
With some tables, you can get a view of the kitchen if you want to see their chefs hard at work crafting your meal.
Menu
Lobster Ravioli
This dish has ricotta and spinach ravioli with lobster meat and a blue cheese cream sauce. There are 4 huge pieces of the ravioli covered in the thick and creamy blue cheese sauce that compliments very well. This was one of our favourite dishes of the evening.
Creole Chicken
This dish is made of free range grilled chicken, topped with a spicy seafood creole butter sauce, lobster, prawns, scallops, bell peppers. served with roasted vegetable and potatoes. The sauce is very delicious with a subtle kick of spice, which goes well with the whole dish. The veggies and potatoes were cooked well.
Paella
Our portion was plated in a smaller portion for pictures, so the normal size of the dish will be bigger. This is made of short grain rice, chorizo, chicken, prawns, mussels, clams, sweet peas and kalamata olives in saffron tomato braise. This dish is a bit spicy and we found the rice to be a bit on the harder side.
Steak Board
The steak is served with daily potatoes, roasted vegetables and a Cognac peppercorn sauce. There are 2 versions of this board on the menu, either with Sirloin or Filet Mignon. Both are great options and it showcases Canadian beef and tastes great.
Oyster Rockefeller
These were huge!! It comes 4 per order and it is topped with blue cheese cream sauce, garlic, shallots and spinach. Good for those who like oyster and creamy sauces.
Kusshi raw oyster
Kusshi is a type of BC oyster named after the Japanese word ‘precious’. It’s our favourite type of oyster as it is so fresh, creamy, and sweet. If you’re new to eating raw oysters, its one of the varieties that are easiest to eat specially for those who may not like slimy textures.
These raw oysters were served with salmon roe, horseradish, lemon and their house made sauces.
Spinach Salad
This salad has spinach, pickled golden beets, dried cranberries, toasted pumpkin seeds, feta cheese and red-wine vinaigrette. If you looking for something light to accompany your meal, this is definitely it.
Final Thoughts
Overall, solid restaurant on the pier if you’re looking for some West Coast cuisine with a hint of Lebanese influence. We really enjoyed their fresh seafood, steak, and other items that show off some of the items that are produced in Canada.
Ampersand Bar & Bistro is the newest restaurant in Gastown taking over Mosquito dessert, which quietly closed their doors recently. They specialize in cocktails as well as designer dim sum. Clearly, they are going for more of a high end approach.
We were invited to try their drinks and designer dim sum, but with so many great dim sum restaurants in Metro Vancouver, it’s some tough competition. Given the area of Gastown, there aren’t any dim sum options around unless you head closer to Burrard where there is Kirin or Victoria Chinese Restaurant.
Interior
The interior of Ampersand has stayed unchanged. The space is still small and somewhat cramped due to the layout. It has a dark and intimate feel.
Menu
Ampersand Gin & Tonic
The gorgeous drink is made with butterfly pea flower infused Cascade dry gin, and St Germain Premium Indian Tonic Water. When you pour the 2 liquids together, the colour transforms into a beautiful light purple colour. The taste is of a standard Gin & Tonic, but with a beautiful look.
Rosso Negroni
The Rosso Negroni has Cascade Dry Gin, Sweet Vermouth, Campari, and Cynar. Love how there is one giant ice cube in the drink to keep it cold as you sip away at this drink.
Designer Dim Sum
The designer dim sum is the star of their menu, but it was a total let down. They boast 11 different kind of dim sum items, but a lot of them fell flat in taste and texture. The presentation is beautiful but all of the items are forgettable. After a short while, the skin of the dumplings, no matter which kind got dry and chewy. The crafted sauces and garnishes are mostly for looks and don’t add too much to the flavours of the dumplings.
Coconut Buns
This comes 2 per order and it is topped with Ampersand dulche de leche coconut sauce and coconut almond sesame sprinkle. The dulche de leche sauce was addictive and it kept me wanting more. Unfortunately, the coconut buns were very thick and dense to get into the coconut filling.
Final Thoughts
The designer dim sum was a let down for me as I know there are some stellar dim sum options in Vancouver that just can’t compare. THey do have other menu items that might be better but we didn’t try those. If you’re looking for drinks in Gastown, the space is nice to catch up with friends.
The long awaited opening of Matcha Cafe Maiko in Metro Vancouver, specifically Richmond is just days away with a Grand Opening of May 2, 2019. Matcha Cafe Maiko is a popular matcha cafe in Hawaii known of their fun and delicious matcha treats. Since opening in Hawaii, they have opened more locations across North America. Last year, we went to their San Francisco location in Japan Town and enjoyed their soft serve mix and Maiko Special Sundae.
This location in Richmond will be the first in Canada to open.
We were invited for a sneak peek of their Richmond location to try a few of their signature items. If you’re looking for parking, there is paid street parking right outside.
Interior
The interior is small with only 2 tables to seat 4 people. It is mostly a place for take out or enjoyed outside. There is a park close by, so during hot days, it’s best to eat it outside anyways as you enjoy the weather.
If you insist on being inside, there are some benches for you to sit down.
Menu
Maiko Special
I like ordering this as it has a bit of everything. We got this with the mixture of the matcha and vanilla cream. It also has matcha chiffon, corn flakes, red bean, kotuko jelly, chestnuts, and shiratama mochi. I really enjoyed the shiratama mochi with the mix soft serve. My personal favourite item to order but it is just over $10.
Hojicha Tea
There is hojicha tea on the menu served cold on ice. It has a strong roasted flavour and will give you a nice tea buzz.
Kokuto Matcha Latte
This is their matcha latte with kokuto jelly (brown sugar jelly). It gives the drink a bit of texture and the brown sugar jelly gives extra sweetness to balance out the matcha.
Hojicha Latte Float
This has the hojicha latte tea on the bottom with the matcha and vanilla soft serve mix. It’s a good option to order if you want to try the taste of the Hojicha latte and their soft serve without getting 2 separate items. It comes in 2 sizes, so we recommend getting the larger size so you get more of the latte drink on the bottom.
We didn’t mix these together and just enjoyed with a spoon and straw to enjoy both parts.
Soft-serve Ice Cream
Their soft serve ice cream comes in vanilla, matcha, or a mix of both flavours. It comes in a house made waffle cone and you can add toppings to it for an additional charge. I added Kinako and Shiratama mochi balls to it.
If you want to be even more extra, they have a version of this with the gold leaf foil.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it’s good to have more matcha options in Metro Vancouver and Matcha Cafe Maiko has been a popular chain that customers wanted. I enjoyed their Maiko Special Parfait as well as the hojicha items.
El Santo is a contemporary Mexican restaurant in New Westminster. We decided to come here as we needed a family-friendly place to have brunch on the weekend with our friends.
I’ve heard lots about this place and they had OpenTable reservations. With 2 kids with us, we really didn’t want to wait. As we came on a weekend, there were other tables of families too with strollers. That’s our new life now, but glad we don’t have to compromise on taste when it means taking children with us to eat.
Interior
The space is really nice with booth-style seating and then larger tables in the back. The windows are really large so there is a lot of natural light that comes in.
Menu
Horchata
This is their house-made rice milk with cinnamon. Beautiful and delicious. Not too sweet at all.
Los Benedictos
They have 2 different types of Egg Benedict on the menu – Costillita Benedict and Verduras Benedict. We ended up getting the Costillita Benedict which has Ancho braised short rib, skillet corn bread, poached eggs, and a chipotle hollandaise.
This benedict doesn’t look like much but it’s packed with so much depth of flavour. It was pretty darn good.
Chilaquiles de Conchino
This is essentially Mexican Nachos. It has confit pork belly, salsa verde, Cotija, and deep-fried chips. It’s more of a share dish rather than a meal for one person. The cotija is mild in taste which pairs with the bacon.
Huevos D I Vorciados
This has fried eggs, tortillas, refried beans, avocado, salsa roja, and salsa verde. Saucy and delicious.
Chamorro
This has Chili braised ham hock and rice. This was huge portion of meat as the ham hock can really serve a few people. It was so tender and flavourful! the sauce went so well with the rice. Highly recommended,
Churros
The churros are dusted with cinnamon and sugar. Then paired with a dulce de leche dip. The churros were coated with so much sugar that it was overwhelming. We had to shake off the sugar.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the dishes we had were delicious and flavourful. They really take care in creating beautiful flavour profiles in their meats. The churros could have been a bit better with less sugar.
Ramen Taka has opened their second location at Aberdeen Centre on the 2nd floor. Their first location is on Bidwell and Robson Street. They are best known for their delicious broth that is topped with seasoned Hokkaido lard. It is very rich and piping hot, so make sure not to burn yourself.
We were invited for a sneak peek of their new location and try some menu items.
Interior
There is one long table of communal seating and some smaller tables on the side of the restaurant. Good for small to large groups.
Menu
Drinks
It’s great that they have Japanese drinks on the menu that pair with their appetizers and ramen. It’s fun when some drinks just bring back nostalgia like the ramune.
They have alcoholic drinks on the menu but isn’t available just yet.
Ramune is fun because you pop the marble into the drink and it’s like a fizzy soda. UCC Coffee is what the chef’s recommended and you can get it hot or cold.
Dragon’s Wing Gyoza
This comes with 5 pieces to an order. It’s also another chef recommended item on the menu. The gyoza were ok, but we wish they were cooked a bit more crispier on the exterior.
French Fries with Truffle Salt
Who can say no to fries? We clearly couldn’t. These were good but a tad on the soft side. Also, the truffle salt wasn’t as noticeable.
Kakuni
It was described as melt in your mouth, but it was more on the dry side as you can see from the picture. Perhaps they are still working out kinks.
Paitan Dragon’s Dewdrop Shoyu
This has their creamy white tonkotsu pork broth with their signature soy sauce flavour. It also comes with seaweed, chashu, mushroom, bamboo and half an egg. We added corn to this ramen as well as less lard. The broth was delicious but we wished the corn was more crunchy. The chashu was a bit dry and the noodles were a tad overcooked.
Paitan Supreme Dragon Miso
This has their hearty and rich white paitan tonkotsu pork broth with a blend of different miso pastes. This broth was a tad on the salty side but still delicious. It also comes with seaweed, chashu, mushroom, bamboo and half an egg.
Similar to the other ramen, chashu was dry and the noodles were soggy and overcooked.
Final Thoughts
Overall, they have a few kinks to work out before their grand opening. We’ve been to their original location and we know the potential they have and it can be really good. It was nice to see their new second location, but we would recommend waiting a bit till they get a rhythm going.
The Alley is a Taiwanese Bubble Tea chain with locations across Asian, Australia, France, United States and Canada. There are already several locations in Ontario, but a first for BC. They are known for making their own tapioca pearls as well as their own sugar cane syrup. The most popular drinks are their Brown Sugar Deerioca series, which has their pearls in brown sugar with either milk or soy.
We were invited to a sneak peek of their location on Hornby Street before they open their doors on April 27th, 2019. During their grand opening weekend on April 27th and 28th, 100 free drinks will be given out starting at 3pm on a first come first served basis. Then after, it’s 15% off select drinks.
Interior
The space is very narrow and small with a few seats inside. Most people will be doing take out.
Menu
You can also choose the sweetness and ice level of the beverages. Some drinks on the menu have very obscure names, so we ordered a few of them so you can get an idea of what you’re ordering.
Royal No.9
This drink has their red tea infused with blueberry for a hint of blueberry aroma to the tea. Tapioca pearls are the best paired with it. I was very surprised by the unique taste like a floral milk tea. I thought it was pretty unique and no other bubble tea has anything like this.
Deerioca
This has their house made tapioca, slow cooked with brown sugar syrup for 2 hours to offer a textural sensation as each bite is different.
There are essentially 3 versions of the drink – fresh milk, soy milk or matcha latte. I really like it with soy as it balanced out the brown sugar and the pearls quite nicely. Remember to stir the drinks well to incorporate all the ingredients so you’re not just sucking up brown sugar and pearls.
Aurora Series
The aurora series has 2 beverages – Morning Dawn and Northern Lights. Both are in these cute plastic bottles with layers of different items.
Morning Dawn has a base of Jasmine Green Tea, crushed mango ice, and the blue butterfly pea tea.
Northern Lights has their apple vinegar, black currant crushed ice and the blue butterfly pea tea.
Both drinks are very refreshing but out of the two, we enjoyed the Morning Dawn as the mango and Jasmine green tea go better together. At $8.50 per bottle, it is a steep price.
Passionfruit Green Tea
The green tea has essence of passionfruit and there are even passionfruit bits inside too. There is also jelly and pearls in this drink. It adds a nice texture to this drink. Good to get it half sweet so you can fully appreciate the tea flavour.
Iron Goddess Tea
I got this with less sugar and the boldness of the tea came through. I love how they brew their own tea and you can taste the quality of it.
White Peach Oolong
There are 2 tea bags inside, so it’s nice to see that they use real tea leaves to steep it. Nice to get this half sweet as well. There are subtle fruity peach flavour to the oolong tea.
Apple of My Eye
Apple of my eye is like an apple cider vinegar slush with tea and aloe bits. Definitely different, but we really weren’t expecting the apple cider vinegar taste.
Hojicha Soy Milk
Love the look of this drink with the hojicha on top and the soy milk on the bottom. At full sweetness, this drink isn’t bad at all with the soy milk. You really have to mix this drink well to get the best flavour. We did notice that the hojicha tea was a bit of a gritty texture has had more sediments in it compared to some of their other drinks. Other than that, this was still very enjoyable.
Uji Matcha Latte
This has their uji matcha on top and milk on the bottom. Great for those who are matcha fans, but we would get this half sweet to be able to taste a better balance of the matcha.
Purple Rice Cocoa
As a hot drink only, this had bit of purple rice on the bottom of the drink and then a really rich hot chocolate drink. Try using a big straw with this drink so you can easily sip up the purple rice in every gulp. I would also recommend to get this half sweet.
The Alley Trio Milk Tea
This has their classic milk tea and 3 toppings – pearls, aloe and rainbow jelly. The addition of the toppings give it a nice texture in every sip. We found this to be very milky and not enough of a strong tea flavour.
Final Thoughts
Vancouver has a lot of bubble tea shops already but a lot of people have been urging The Alley to open up and Vancouver and it’s finally happening. Not bad to have another bubble tea shop as they offer a different items unique to their shop.
My favourites were the Soy Deerioca, Royal No 9 Milk Tea, and Hojicha soy milk. The quality of their drinks are good, but the price point on some drinks are higher than some bubble tea shops around town.
Ubuntu Canteen is an organic restaurant, bakery and community space on Fraser Street. It’s a really great concept and I love how they are engrained in the community and giving their customers a fantastic gathering space.
We were invited for brunch during the weekday to see what delicious dishes they have pumping out of their kitchen.
Interior
The space is very open and there is lots of space to roam around. Great for small to large groups. As a new mom, I appreciate the layout and how it’s so accommodating to strollers and families. Love, love, love it!
Menu
Pastries and Baked Goods
There is a good selection of pastries and baked goods at the counter. You can’t go wrong with any of them as they pair well with their coffee.
Chocolate Croissant
A standard chocolate croissant that is buttery and flakey with sticks of chocolate inside.
Raisin Swirl
A sweet flakey swirl with raisins was surprisingly good. Not too sweet and works well when sipping on a cup of coffee.
Coffee Brioche Bun
This was pretty delicious with the coffee cream hiding inside the brioche bun. The flavours inside do change up occasionally, so next time they might have a different flavour.
Croissant
A solid croissant that is buttery and full of layers.
Cortado
Cortado is an espresso cut with a small amount of warm milk to reduce the acidity. More popular in Europe than it is in North America, but it can be found on some menus in Vancouver. They use the beans from Bows x Arrows, which actually used to occupy this space.
Ham and cheese croissant
This crispy croissant is stuffed with cheese, then topped with ham and scrambled eggs. It looks amazing and tastes equally as delicious. Everything should be topped with scrambled eggs all the time.
Bavarian sausage
There are 2 pieces of Bavarian sausage, freshly baked pretzel, mustard and kraut. If you’re looking for something simply German, this is it. The pretzel is really delicious.
Chicken Broth
Who knew chicken broth could taste so good. It is topped with green onions and sesame. It reminded us of a really clean and nutritious pho broth but with chicken. We wouldn’t have ever thought about ordering this, but we were glad they insisted on it.
Red Fife Risotto
This isn’t your typical risotto. It also has Nettle Pesto, ricotta, and a poached egg. The grains have a nice bite and texture to it.
Roasted mushroom Tartine
A slice of artisan bread is topped with hummus, assorted mushrooms, preserved lemon and greens. This is great for any mushroom lover and it comes with a side salad too.
The side salad is nothing special, but it was a nice addition to the tartine to get more greens into the diet.
Lamb Bolognese
You can’t go wrong with Henry corn polenta topped with lamb bolognese and a beautiful sunny side up egg. The lamb bolognese is very flavourful and kept us wanting more.
Rotisserie
This items is available after 11am. You can have this as a quarter bird, half bird, or full bird. We ended getting half a bird for our order. The chicken comes accompanied with mushrooms, grains, sour cream, radish and spinach.
The chicken was juicy and flavourful. The skin isn’t overly spiced, so the natural flavours of the chicken do shine through.
Final Thoughts
The food here is fantastic along with their coffee that they serve. They are very proud to be working with so many local producers to offer the best food possible. Along with the focus of having a community space, its one that I will definitely be returning to.
They also have a lot of fun activities happening here like a book club, wine club, Sunday supper series, film night, and more. Check their website or their social media for the latest events.
M&Ms has just launched 3 new flavours – Thai Coconut, Mexican Jalapeño, and English Toffee in grocery stores. They want you to vote on the next flavour to join the M&M’s candies family. All 3 flavours have the peanut centre, so remember that just in case you have peanut allergies.
Between April 22nd and June 29th, you can let them know your favourite flavour by going to flavourvote.mms.com or on Instagram or Twitter using #VoteMexicanJalapeño, #VoteEnglishToffee, or #VoteThaiCoconut. The incentive? There are weekly prizes to be won as well as 3 Grand Prizes of $7,500 towards a trip to Thailand, Mexico, and/or England. Not a bad prize at all.
We were sent a bag of each flavour to give it a taste test.
Thai Coconut
The flavours of a Thai Coconut in an M&M was interesting and it really did have the essence of coconut and basil. Of the 3, this was my favourite as the flavour was distinct and unique.
Mexican Jalapeño
This flavour got me very curious since how can you mix Jalapeño and M&M’s together? But they did! It has the acidity from a Jalapeño and comes with a kick of spice, which is very surprising. My husband loved this flavour.
English Toffee
English Toffee M&M’s are different shades of brown to yellow to really capture the visual of the flavour. When we opened the bag, we could really smell the English toffee. As we bit into each one, we were surprised by the sweetness of the English Toffee taste and then the texture and taste of the peanut centre.
This seems like a safe flavour to us compared to the other 2.
Did you give these 3 flavours a try yet? If you did, don’t forget to vote for your favourite.
Hiel Cafe in Burnaby is a hidden gem that serves up coffee, sandwiches, poké, brunch, and soufflé pancakes. Located right at a very busy intersection, where most people pass by and don’t give this cafe a visit. I saw online that they have soufflé pancakes, so I had to come with my friend to give it a try.
Interior
The interior is very spacious and has lots of space especially if you have kids and strollers. Very family friendly, which is always appreciated. I usually lug around a stroller, so very happy to see a lot of space.
They also have a small area for meetings or large groups in this enclosed room, which is a nice touch.
If you have kids, I think you’ll appreciate this adorable tiny picnic table.
Menu
Einspänner
This is a Viennese coffee with 2 shots of espresso and a thick sweet cream on top. It’s actually really hard to find this in Vancouver since barely any cafe makes this nor does anyone really know about this. I really enjoyed it as it brought me back to the days in Vienna.
Latte
They also have another espresso based drinks like lattes. This is what my friend ordered. Very cute latte art on top.
Salmon Poké
I’m surprised they serve up poké. This has rice, seaweed, salad, tomato, cucumber, ginger, vinegar cured onions, sweet peas, corn, sesame oil, avocado, soy sauce, lettuce, and the raw salmon mixed with a house sweet mayo. There were large chunks of salmon but I wish it was wild salmon instead of this kind. I didn’t like the house sweet mayo either, but my personal preference would be more of the marinated salmon like other places.
Brunch Waffle
This comes with egg, smoked sausage, avocado, maple syrup, and butter with the pieces of waffle. A good hearty brunch.
Original Soufflé Pancake
This is a stack of 2 fluffy soufflé pancakes, sweet cream and berries. The pancakes are very airy and fluffy. Ones of the best I’ve had in Vancouver so far. Highly recommend it. If you had to go to one place in Vancouver, this would be the place.
It takes about 20 minutes to prepare, but its so worth it. They take a lot of care and effort to make this and it shows.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I’m very impressed by Hiel Cafe. I would skip the poké, but their other items are solid like the coffee, brunch and soufflé pancakes. It’s very family friendly and you don’t have to worry about cramped tables or it being too loud and busy. The parking is limited in the area as it’s a busy complex. You may need to make a few blocks over during busy times.
Hidden away in President’s Plaza in Richmond is AnAr, a stall specializing in Persian Cuisine. Take the escalator up to the second floor and you’ll find it in the back of the food court. I’ve heard lots of good things about Anar, so we had to check it out with some friends.
I never realized that there was a food court here. You would normally think it would just be a bunch of stalls with Chinese food, but there is Persian food too.
They are family owned and there is definitely a lot of soul in the food that they create.
Menu
Dolmeh Barg
These are stuffed grape leaves with rice and herbs. Reminds me of a similar greek dish – dolmades. An appetizer to start off the meal to get those tastebuds going.
Lamb Shank
One of the best deals in town for a whole lamb shank and a huge side of dill rice. This would be very filling for one person but we shared it among the 3 of us. The lamb was very tender and flavourful.
All the juices under it go so well with the rice to soak up all the flavours. Highly Recommended.
Kubideh
There are two skewers of seasoned premium beef and lamb served with rice and salad.
The beef and lamb were very tasty and flavourful. Huge portions for lunch and it’s great. I would also highly recommend this as well.
I’m so impressed what they can create from the small space of a food court setting.
Final Thoughts
Overall, all the dishes we had were great and would come here again. They are opening their Steveston location soon, so we are looking forward to that.
Address: President Plaza Second, 8181 Cambie Rd Floor 2260, Richmond
