Taiwanese Archives - Page 2 of 4

In Burnaby Central

Lao Shan Dong: Taiwanese Beef Noodle in Burnaby

October 12, 2017

Lao Shan Dong has handmade noodles in Burnaby near Metropolis at Metrotown. My husband was in search of Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup, so he looked up this shop to go to on the weekend. They are known for the cheap inexpensive food, but it is cash only, so make sure you have some cash on hand. I didn’t mind going since I still haven’t made a visit until now.

Interior

The interior isn’t anything special, it’s just a large area with tables and chairs. You can tell this has been here for some time as the decor is a touch dated, but people really just come here for the food.

Tea

When you sit down, they give you a big pot of tea and some cups. I love it when the bring the whole tea pot since I guzzle tea like crazy.

Braised Beef Flank and Tendon with Noodle in Soup

We got the small bowl and it was a very good size. We have no idea how anyone else could do a large. If you’re super hungry, definitely do the large. M liked the chewyness of the noodles, tendons and beef flank. The flank was more on the lean side, so it’s not tender and fatty.

Mmmmmm…. noodles!

Sour Mustard Greens and Shredded Pork with bean thread in soup

I wanted to try something different and I am a fan of sour mustard greens, so I gravitated to this dish. The broth was very clean tasting and not too rich. I love a hot bowl of soupy noodles when the cold Fall weather has arrived.

Boiled Pork and Veggie Dumplings

We got the small size with 10 pieces, but there is the larger option with 15 pieces. Easily sharable with small or large groups. Since it was just M and I, we split them with our small sized noodles. The perfect amount.

Final Thoughts

Lao Shan Dong doesn’t have the best Taiwanese Beef Noodles in town, but it is well priced and has a very homemade taste to it.

We Rate Lao Shan Dong:

Address:
4887 Kingsway, Burnaby

In Bubble Tea

Rad Tea Room: Bubble Tea inside Granville Skytrain in Vancouver

October 3, 2017

Rad Tea Room is in the Granville Skytrain serving up premium bubble tea and drinks made of loose leaf teas. I’ve been keeping an eye out when this would open since it’s always nice to have another option in the area. My friend told me that they opened and we decided to check it out. Imagine it as a hidden gem as it’s hiding in the skytrain station and they actually have some pretty good bubble tea.

Interior

The interior is clean, nice and quiet too. On their menu, they have bubble teas, smoothies, milk tea caps, matcha lattes, tea mocktails and cold brewed teas.

They have a large table in the front if you want to have a big group of friends. Alternatively, there are some seats for smaller groups in the back.

Milk Tea with Pearls

There’s so many versions of milk tea you can create and customize. I personally love the roasted oolong milk tea with pearls. Since the normal sugar levels are lower than most places, I keep it regular sugar and less ice.

Another feature of Rad Tea is that you can ask for almond or soy milk. Great for those who are lactose or vegan to be able to enjoy bubble tea like everyone else.

Cold Brew Pu’er Tea

They don’t serve coffee, but they do have cold brew teas. Today, they had the Pu’er Tea, which is a strong black tea. I love my black teas and this was good to have a good dose of caffeine.

Winter Melon Tea Cap

Another drink I also really enjoyed was the Winter Melon Tea Cap. It has a good balance of flavour and sweetness compared to other places. If you are a fan of Winter Melon, I would highly recommend their version at Rad Tea.

Strawberry Tea Mocktail

If you are looking for something a bit different, they have strawberry inflused tea mocktails with pearls if you want.

Matcha Tea Cap

They use ceremonial grade matcha, so it is deeper in colour and has a stronger matcha taste. I use it at home for drinks too and it’s definitely not for everyone.

Waffles

If you feel like you want something to nibble on, they have waffles served with different sauces for an additional charge. There is Salted Caramel, Lavender Chocolate, Matcha Cream or Dark Chocolate. Our group was torn between the lavender chocolate or the matcha cream. I personally prefer the matcha cream as it isn’t too sweet. The waffle itself was meh since the sauces stood out a bite more.

Final Thoughts

If you are looking for an independently owned bubble tea shop outside of all the Taiwanese chains, use loose leaf tea, and has milk alternatives like soy and almond milk, Rad Tea Room is definitely a place you should check out. The location is a bit hidden in Granville Skytrain, but enter through the Dunsmuir Street entrance and you’ll find it at the bottom of the stirs on the right. I’m a tea lover, so what really attracted me in the first place was their good taste in teas and how they balance the sweetness of the bubble tea.

We Rate Rad Tea Room:

Address:
80-678 Dunsmuir Street, (The Granville Station – Dunsmuir Exit)

Website: https://www.radtearoom.com

In Bubble Tea

ZenQ: Now Open in Vancouver

September 22, 2017

ZenQ is an international dessert chain originated from Taiwan within the same parent company as Chatime. They are quickly expanding in Canada, Vietnam and Hong Kong this year. They specialize in desserts that have grass jelly and Q balls (matcha, yam and taro flavoured).

Waffles

Orea Cocoa Waffle

There are 4 pieces of waffles with a sprinkling of Oreo cookies, bananas, chocolate sauce and a scoop of chocolate ice cream. Good for chocolate lovers.

Fresh Fruit Waffle

There are 4 pieces of waffles too with a drizzle of honey and as scoop of ice cream. The fruits that were on the plate are mangos, strawberry, honey dew, and banana. Of the two waffles, I liked this one because of all the fruits.

Creamy Frappe Series

Mango Creamy Frappe

They have a bunch of different snowy ice desserts, but this one has mango frappe, fresh mango, mango jelly, vanilla ice cream, condensed milk and fruit loops. The mango frappe was delicious and the textures of the mango and jelly went well together.

Tofu Pudding Series

Tofu Pudding No 3

In this dessert, there is Pearls, Q Balls, Peanuts, and Sweet Potato a top tofu pudding. The Q Balls were nice and chewy like mochi.

Hot Grass Jelly Series

Hot Grass Jelly No 2

This has grass jelly, taro, pearls, Q balls, and a ball of brown sugar.The grass jelly and the pearls were nice and chewy.

Royal Sweet Soup Series

Red Bean Soup No 3

Sweet potato in a red bean soup was ok, but we all personally didn’t like red bean soup.

Longan Black Glutinous Rice Series

Longan Black Glutinous Rice No 3

This version also has Sweet Potato right in the centre. The consistency is thicker and you get a lot of texture from the rice.

Oreo Cocoa Ice Diamond

If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll like the oreo chocolate drink.

Hot Hand Made Taro Milk Tea

There are pieces of taro in this and it’s pretty hard to find a taro milk tea with real taro. Make sure you mix this around as the taro sinks to the bottom.

Winter Melon Latte

The winter melon taste is faint as you can taste more of the milk and it has more of an almond taste to this.

ZenQ Milk Tea with Grass Jelly

Classic item to get at any bubble tea shop. Since they do specialize in grass jelly, it’s a must.

Strawberry Black Tea

The sweet strawberry paired with the black tea. Good for those who like a bit of caffeine and a fruity touch.

Mango Green Tea

The mango green tea I felt was a bit sweet for my taste preference.

Final Thoughts

Overall, some food and drinks were a hit and miss. If you want to impress your friends, go with the classic milk tea, waffles, grass jelly desserts or their tofu desserts. It’s good to have more options in town where there are desserts and bubble tea to hang out with friends.

We Rate ZenQ:

Address:
495 SW Marine Dr, Vancouver

Website:
http://zenq.ca/

In Bubble Tea

Boba Essence: Bubble Tea near Olympic Village

August 22, 2017

Boba Essence is a new Bubble Tea shop that opened up near Olympic Village. My friend knows I love bubble tea, so she thought of me when she heard about this place. Of course, I made sure to stop by during my lunch break to give it a try. It’s located right by Mario’s Gelati.

The exterior doesn’t look like much and you’ll probably pass by it without noticing they are here, so you gotta pay attention and look for their logo inside.

Interior

The interior is very small, so there is no seating. Everyone got their drinks to go. You can order at the counter or you can order from their website to pick up or schedule your order to pick up later in the future.

Regular Milk Tea

I got their regular milk tea with grass jelly and had it less sweet. It was ok, but it would be better if they used different tea bases to give more of a variety to the menu.

Strawberry Watermelon Slush

They did use fresh watermelon, but the taste of the strawberry was more artificial that we would have liked. The pearls were on the sweet side too.

Final Thoughts

It’s great to have a bubble tea shop in the area as there really are no options close by. The bubble teas that we tried were so-so in my opinion. With the amount of bubble tea shops in town, this would definitely not be on the top of my list.

We Rate Boba Essence:

Address:
68 E 1st Ave, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.bobaessence.ca/

In Bubble Tea

The Tea of Brightness (TTOB): Bubble Tea in Vancouver

August 20, 2017

The Tea of Brightness or TTOB is a Bubble Tea Cafe from Taiwan. There’s really not much I could really find online, but their cute menu items drew me in. I was with a few friends in the area and we made it a mission to give this place a try.

Princess Milk Tea

The Princess Milk Tea was really the main reason why I wanted to come here. I thought it was initially latte art, but it turns out it’s a marshmallow. SUPER CUTE. MEOW. The milk tea wasn’t very good, but them again, I’ve had a lot of milk teas in my life time, so I’ve become a milk tea snob. I could taste the powdered milk and I really don’t like that taste.

Three Flavoured Bubble Waffle

The 3 flavours are original, chocolate and matcha. We didn’t take a liking to the matcha flavour as it seemed super artificial. The original and chocolate are very good. Where else are you going to find a 3 flavoured bubble waffle? It’s pretty unique but it’s too bad the matcha didn’t stand out.

Final Thoughts

The basic milk tea was definitely lacking, but since I didn’t try any other drinks, I can’t comment on the other drinks. At any new bubble tea shop, I always get the basic milk tea as it’s a basic sign if the shop is good or not. The aesthetic of the princess milk tea was great but the flavour and taste was lacking.

We Rate TTOB:

Address:
3318 Cambie Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.ttob.com.tw/

In Cafe

3 Quarters Full Cafe: Sweet Treats and Taiwanese Cuisine

August 2, 2017

I have a soft spot for Taiwanese comfort food, and 3 Quarters Full provides just that. Roman and I attended the Media Tasting for the cafe’s updated menu.

The spread of cakes, sandwiches and teas definitely ramped up our appetites and the first item that drew my attention was the pyramid of Pineapple Cakes. These rectangular-shaped pastries are filled with a pineapple filling that is thick and jam-like. The exterior is buttery like shortbread. The Pineapple Cake at 3 Quarters Full was so good, I couldn’t eat just one!

Roman particularly enjoyed the Crispy Pork Sandwich, which is a typical Taiwanese breakfast item according to owner, Kaiyu. This sandwich had shredded pork, sliced cucumbers, and a fried egg which were alternately in between not two, but 3 pieces of bread. The pork was tasty, and the sliced cucumbers added crunch. The fried egg tied the sandwich together by providing creaminess from its runny yolk.

Behind a glass window with the 3 Quarters Full logo, kitchen staff assembled Pork Baos for the attendees. Each bao, which is a steamed bun, was put together with care and had meaty and fatty portions of pork. The bao pillowy soft and the pork was tasty. I’m not a fan of thick pieces of pork fat, but the bao benefited from it because it made it deliciously moist. The pork fat enhanced the flavour of the meaty pork portion, and made the bao savoury.

A fave Taiwanese comfort food of mine is salt and pepper chicken, and the version at 3 Quarters Full is called Basil Popcorn Chicken. The deep fried basil added a delicious, subtle flavour.

To finish off the tasting, Roman and I tried two different types of cakes. One was a Naidong Roll, and the other was a Japanese-style Cheesecake. We tried the Naidong Roll in Taro and Strawberry. This cake consists of a spongey exterior, with a creamy and custard-like center. As for the cheesecake, it is less dense and not as creamy as regular cheesecake.

The cakes were delicious, and paired well with the Sea Salt Coffee. The coffee’s flavour reminded me of salted caramel, but not as sweet. I enjoyed its creaminess, and the touch of salt that finishes off a sip.

The next time you’re walking around the West End, be sure to pop into the cafe. If you’re craving a sweet treat or a savoury bite, 3 Quarters Full has something for you.

Address:
1789 Comox St, Vancouver

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/3quartersfullcafe/

In Chinatown

Rhinofish: Taiwanese Beef Noodles in Chinatown

July 18, 2017

Rhinofish is a Taiwanese Beef Noodle shop in Chinatown. It recently opened and I was excited because it’s hard to find good Taiwanese Beef Noodle in the area. Before they opened, they gave a few of us a sneak peek to see what to expect.

Niu Rou Mian

Taiwanese beef noodle with braised soup, tomato, baby bok choy, carrot, potato and asian sauerkraut. I had high hopes for this dish as it’s their specialty, but it fell short of expectations. The beef was very dry and did not melt in my mouth. The broth was deep in flavour but tasted more like Chinese medicine. The noodles themselves were good.

Hua Diao Ji Mian

Hua diao rice wine chicken broth, sous vide chicken breast, baby bok choy, cherry tomatoes, and tea infused egg. I preferred this a little bit more, but the broth flavour is very very subtle. It was a clean homey flavour to it. Some others commented saying it was bland. I added some mustard greens and some chili oil to transform the flavour.

Guo Bao

Taiwanese steamed bun with pork belly was ok but it needed something a bit more to bind the two things together. Maybe more sauce to moisten the bun slightly.

Xiao Huang Gua

Pickled Japanese cucumber with garlic and chili is a nice item to start with, but for $5, it’s a bit much for what you end up getting.

Mu Er

Wood ear mushroom with sesame soy dressing and plum salt in this dish. Another starter dish to share.

Yansuji with Nanjing sauce

A classic Taiwanese dish of crispy chicken nuggets topped with fried basil. the nanjing sauce is on the side. The chicken is good on it’s own, so the added sauce doesn’t add much difference. The chicken was moist on the inside and the outer fried are was crisp.

Yansuji with Parmesan and truffle oil

Very similar to the dish above with the different toppings and a bit of lemon.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the food was ok but the menu prices are a bit high for what you get. We ended up giving the chef some feedback about the dishes but we’re not sure if he ever made changes before they opened. They tried to be innovative with their dishes but in the end it fell flat as they tried to reinvent the wheel as basic Taiwanese beef noodle is a classic dish. No one was impressed.

We Rate Rhinofish:

Address:
550 Main St, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.rhinofishnoodlebar.com/

In Bubble Tea

45 Degree Bubble Tea House in Coal Harbour

May 6, 2017

45 Degree Bubble Tea House in Coal Harbour is a new bubble tea shop close to Stanley Park. M told me about this place, so one day when I was waiting for him to get off work, I came here to get a drink. I love bubble tea, so I’m always on the look out for the best bubble tea out in Metro Vancouver.

Interior

The space is nice and simple with a few tables for groups. I came at 3pm on a Monday, so it was pretty dead. The staff were very nice to guide me through the menu since my order seemed pretty basic. They made a lot of suggestions for me.

Sakura Oolong Mousse

The sakura oolong mousse was very floral and light. It complimented the mousse on top very well. It kinda reminded me of beer because of the colour. It was interesting trying to find the best way to drink this but it seems like they instruct everyone on how to drink it. You press you lips into the cup and tilt it 45 degrees to drink the you get a good ratio of the cream and tea in each sip. If you lift the tab up on the drink, you get too much foam.

Black Tea Mousse

I grabbed this to go. It was delicious but it was stronger because its black tea. A good option if you straight up asian tea without the floral taste. When I ordered this I found it was funny how they tried suggesting other drinks to me too.

Final Thoughts

They have a good selection of coffees and teas. Even a few items were sold out. The teas are great here and brewed fresh, which is awesome. I would definitely come back to try more.

We Rate 45 Degree Bubble Tea House:

Address:
1467 W Pender Street, Vancouver

Website:
https://www.facebook.com/45-Degree-Bubble-Tea-House-1394743023927257/

In Bubble Tea

MYST Asian Fusion in Burnaby

April 27, 2017

MYST Asian Fusion just opened in Burnaby and they are serving up many different kinds of Asian cuisine. We were invited for a tasting of their menu to see what they offer. There is a parking lot but it can be quite full at peak hours, but there is free street parking too.

The restaurant is a bit hidden but just look out for the bright blue sign.

Interior

They have lots of seating inside with booth style configurations. This location took over Lester’s Arcade, so they really did a lot of renovations to get this look.

Drinks

Taiwanese Beer

They have a selection of Taiwanese Beer on the menu. It’s sweeter than the average beer and infused with fruity flavours.

Uchikinoki ice cream smoothie

A green tea drink with ice cream, mochi and red bean.

Slushies

They have huge slushies with marshmallow and chocolate eyeballs. This particular one was green apple flavour.

Pea Flower Tea

They have a series of pea flower tea, which have been quite popular among bubble tea shops around town. These 2 particular drinks were Calpis butterfly pea flower tea and the Strawberry lemon butterfly pea flower tea.

Potted Milk Tea

The milk tea base to topped with a cookie crumble and a green leaf. it was a really cool concept, but I didn’t like the gritty texture of the cookie crumble.

Takoyaki

It comes with 6 pieces and has a piece of cooked octopus inside. It is topped with mayo, teriyaki sauce, and shredded seaweed. It was interesting to see this on the menu, but tasted decent.

Fried green beans with minced pork

It has a good portion size for a table to share this. It had a nice caramelization from the hot pan. It was good.

Steamed sticky rice dumplings

7 pieces to an order in a steamed bamboo basket. The wrapper is filled with all the delicious sticky rice. It was an interesting dish but it was too carb heavy for my personal liking.

Skewers

They have a large variety of skewers on the menu. They were all pretty meh I would have wanted more char for added flavour.

Pork intestine
Lamb
Pork
Chicken
Fish cake
Chicken gizzard

Japanese style egg fried rice

There is a good amount of seafood in the fried rice and it’s topped with a fried egg, seaweed and mayo. My kind of comfort food.

Golden sand prawns with salted egg yolk sauce

Very delicious and the egg yolk crust is so addictive. I peeled the head off and at the rest with the shell on. Some people hate it with the shell but I oddly like it with the crunchy texture.

Chives & shrimp spring rolls

Mediocre spring rolls and nothing was special about them.

Pan fried beef pancake

The green onion pancake is rolled with beef, green onions and some sauce. 4 pieces some in an order and they are big pieces.

House special spicy lamb hot pot

This was my favourite dish of the evening. It is lit underneath with some fire to keep it nice and hot as you eat the meal. It is served with rice and 2 side dishes.

The hot pot was packed full of ingredients like spam, tofu, fish cake, bean curd, and imitation crab.

Deep fried ginger flavour chicken whole wings

This is their large order and each wing was perfectly fried. The exterior was crisp and golden brown.

Fried chicken in chili pepper

The pieces had a lot of bones so it wasn’t as enjoyable to eat. Meh.

Sandwiches

The sandwiches are pretty basic. Egg, tomato, ham and cucumber are inside the slices of white bread.

Chives, shrimp & pork dumplings

Pretty decent for dumplings and there is 10 pieces to the order and some sauce on the side.

Taiwanese style fried rice vermicelli

Soft vermicelli noodles with some veggies and meat mixed throughout.

Assorted deep fried basket

This basked had squid tentacles, salt and peppery chicken, blood sausage, and other deep fried items.

MYST beef noodle soup

Inside, we added beef shank, tripe, and tendon. It was decent and filling.

Marinated 3 item combo

This had dried tofu, seaweed and pork ear string. It was served cold on this dish and we slowly picked at it.

TaiNan style egg noodle soup

This was an ok dish but it didn’t compare to the other soupy dishes on the menu.

Myst deluxe marinated pork with rice

This dish had a lot of ingredients in it. Just mix it all together and enjoy.

Preserved cabbage with shredded pork fried rice cake

It was a good dish for sharing around the table. The chewy rice cakes with the preserved cabbage and pork were a nice combination.

Hakka style sweet rice cake

Nope. The dates gave it an odd bitter preserved flavour to the dish. No one likes it, but maybe you have to have an acquired taste.

Myst Jelly

This is a Winter Melon Jelly and has a consistency of a harder jello. It was very sweet and I didn’t really like this either.

Shaved Snowflake

They have this in either strawberry or mango flavours. We got the strawberry version and it sit on top of dry ice that makes the fog underneath. The strawberry shaved ice and the ice cream have a sweet artificial taste to it, kinda like Pocky. The strawberry slices were fresh.

Myst Taiyaki

The taiyaki sits in a ice cream cone bowl, matcha ice cream, mochi, red bean sauce, chocolate drizzle and a chocolate wafer stick. It was a dessert fit for a kid.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the food was so-so, but there is quite a variety that you’ll find something to enjoy. My favourite were the House special spicy lamb hot pot, deep fried chicken wings, and the golden sand prawns with salted egg yolk sauce.

We Rate MYST:

Address:
6400 Kingsway, Burnaby

Website:
http://www.myst6400.com/

In Bubble Tea

Shiny Tea: Bubble Tea Ice Cream in International Village

April 19, 2017

Shiny Tea inside International Village is serving up soft serve ice cream. They still have their classic milk teas and other drinks. After work, I came with a few friends to begin the long weekend and to enjoy some ice cream. It was close to the office, so we thought it would be great for a visit. It got busy later into the evening.

Interior

There are about 14 seat inside, so it’s not great for really large groups. But, the food court is a few steps away, so you can go there instead to sit and eat.

Soft Serve Ice Cream “Italian Gelato”

They have 2 flavours on rotation – Peach Mango Green Tea and their Sri Lankan Black Tea. You get 1 sauce and toppings are extra. The flavours change every week, but they usually have one tea-based flavour and a fruity one. They let you taste the flavours before you purchase, which is nice.

There is only one size, so it’s still good for individual consumption or sharing.

Yaaassss…condensed milk.

I got the Sri Lankan Black Tea with white pearls, black pearls and condensed milk.

They did have suggested toppings and sauces, but I wasn’t feeling it, so I crafted my own and it turned out delicious.

My friend got the Peach Mango Green Tea with brown sugar honey and it was a bit on the sweet side.

Milk tea

There are lots of drinks on the menu to choose from, but my favourites are the milk teas.

My friend got the 3Q milk tea. It has black pearls, white pearls and coconut jelly.

Overall,

We Rate Shiny Tea:

Address:
88 W Pender St,Unit 2113, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.shinytea.ca/

In Bubble Tea

Chatime Kerrisdale: Now Open in Vancouver

March 7, 2017

Chatime locations are slowly popping up all over Vancouver and in the subburbs. Their newest location that just opened in Chatime in Kerrisdale.

They are having their soft opening right now, but on March 10th till the 12th, they will be having their grand opening, where they are having a buy 1 get 1 free promotion, where the free drink is either Pearl Milk Tea or Grass Jelly Roasted Milk Tea.

I go to Chatime quite often as it’s my go to bubble tea shop in Vancouver. I always go with my usual order – Roasted Milk Tea with Grass Jelly, half sweet and less ice. This time around, we tried 5 different drink combinations to explore more items on their menu.

Interior

On the right side is where you put in your order and then wait till its ready.

There are a few tables in the front, but there are more chairs and tables in the back to enjoy your bubble tea and spend time with friends.

Butterfly Pea with Grapefruit Juice

We got this drink regular sweetness and regular ice. Butterfly pea is been brewed in teas dating back centuries while providing numerous health benefits. These flowers are known to act as anti-oxidants, increase blood circulation, help you sleep and promote skin health. The natural blue colour of the drink will magically change colours as the acidity level changes.

The name was inspired due to the shape of the flower and its glamourous blue-violet colour, resembling a butterfly.

The tea itself isn’t very strong, but the grapefruit juice balances really well with this drink. I can see it being a great drink to get once the temperature starts rising in Vancouver.

Oolong Tea Mousse

Oolong tea mousse was made with half sugar and regular ice. I like the variety of tea with the delicious salty sweet mousse on top. Similar to another bubble tea chain in town.

Pretty good drink, but I would get it with less ice.

Hazelnut Milk Tea + Coffee Jelly

We got this with no sugar and less ice. I’ve never had hazelnut milk tea before and it was good with the coffee jelly. Surprising combination.

Kumquat Lemon Juice + Aiyu Jelly

It has regular sugar and regular ice. They use fresh kumquat when available, but due to it being a seasonal fruit, real fruit syrup may be substituted. It was refreshing and tangy.

Aiyu jelly is a jelly made from the seeds of various figs that is found in the mountains of Taiwan. Aiyu jelly is usually served with honey and lemon juice as well as fruit tea. A good combination.

Strawberry Au Lait + Pudding

This last drink has regular sugar. It is made with blended strawberry syrup, coconut jelly and milk, then topped with more coconut jelly. On the bottom, there is pudding added.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the bubble tea is pretty consistent with some of the other locations and bubble tea is just delicious. If it’s your first time here, I would suggest my favourite drink – Roasted Milk Tea with Grass Jelly, half sweet and less ice. I always love getting milk tea as it’s a great benchmark to see how their drinks compare to other companies.

We Rate Chatime Kerrisdale:

Address:
6075 West Blvd, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.chatimebc.com/

In Bubble Tea

Gong Cha: Bubble Tea in Palo Alto

October 27, 2016

Gong Cha is one of my fondest memories from Hong Kong. Having bubble tea with their signature cream on top was something very unique to Asian until Gong Cha started expanding to the United States and Canada.

When I was in Palo Alto visiting a friend, I had to come here for an after dinner bubble tea.

They have a guide on the table if you want to know the different levels of customizations you can do to your drink like sweetness, ice, and toppings.

Milk Foam Green Tea was what I ordered with 50% sweetness and 50% ice. The milk foam on top is a bit salty, but after a while, it starts tasting pretty good with the tea.

We rate Gong Cha:

Address:
439 Waverley St, Palo Alto

Website:
http://gong-cha-usa.com/

In Late Night

Maji: Taiwanese Cuisine in Richmond

August 19, 2016

Maji is a Taiwanese Stir Fry restaurant in Richmond. I’ve been here before and I remember liking it for their dishes and beer. We came her for dinner and it was pretty packed with people waiting outside.

I was invited by Chopstick Fest to try their signature dishes in anticipation for Vancouver’s first Chinese Cuisine Festival in October.

Interior

There are lots of tables inside for small to large groups. It’s best to call ahead to make reservations so you don’t have to wait in line during peak hours.

Taiwanese Beer

They have Taiwanese Beer available in delicious fruit flavours. Alcohol content is pretty low compared to the usual beer. It’s a super light beer that goes well with Taiwanese food.

Food

Spicy Deep Fried Chicken uses boneless chicken leg served on shredded cabbage, chili sauce and cilantro. I liked the use of the dark meat from the chicken leg.

Crispy Chicken Skin is super crisp and served with salt, pepper, green onions, and chili. One of our favourite dishes of the night.

Braised Food platter comes with your choice of braised items. For our platter, we had:

braised egg
braised pork intestines
braised beef tripe
braised chicken gizzard

A nice dish for all to share assuming they like the taste of innards. I grew up with similar food, so I never flinch at eating this. The sauce that the items were braised in was delicious.

Dongpo Pork has delicious pork belly marinated with soy sauce and their secret brown sauce. The layers of fat and meat were so delicious.

Deep Fried Shrimps with Pineapples has the shrimp tossed in pineapples, house-special dressing, and garnished with parsley.

Taiwanese-style stir-fried noodles use oil noodles with shredded cabbage, carrots, shredded pork and basil.

Basil Clams has the clams sauteed in garlic, ginger and basil. The basil didn’t stand out too much but the clams were yummy.

Hakka Style Pork and Squid has shredded pork belly stir-fried withy squid, bean curd, dried shrimp, celery and chili.

Sesame Oil Pork Fried Rice has shredded pork, egg, rice, veggies and tossed in sesame oil. A good solid fried rice, but could have use a pinch more salt.

Pan-Fried Egg Tofu with Soy Bean Paste has egg tofu, vegetables, and soybean paste served in a hot skillet. The tofu was really good and silky smooth.

Overall, I really like Maji. The small plates are great for sharing and it reminds me of eating a dinner at home where you have the many dishes to pick from.

We Rate Maji:

Address:
1180-8391 Alexandra Road, Richmond

Website:
http://www.majirestaurant.ca/

In Bubble Tea

Shiny Tea: Bubble Tea in Crystal Mall

July 5, 2016

Shiny Tea is a new Bubble Tea shop established in Taiwan back in 2005 and have now opened their second location in Canada inside Crystal Mall in South Burnaby. They have over 360 shops around the world in countries such as China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Macao, Australia, and most recently, in L.A. and New York.

Their other location is in Richmond, but since I live in Burnaby, this location is more convenient for me to visit.

White Pearl Tea (Original) has Taiwan-style milk tea with sweet potato balls. It got it in a large size and half sweet. Even at the original sweetness, it isn’t very sweet at all. So, having it half sweet was pretty bland. I also noticed the tea taste wasn’t strong at all, it was mostly a milk taste. Even at 50% sweetness, I should be able to taste more of the tea flavour.

Panda Milk Tea is a small size was what Amy ordered. She wasn’t impressed with the drink either.

Overall, we both didn’t like the drink. With so much competition for Bubble Tea in Burnaby and Vancouver, this doesn’t hit the mark. Its very bland and doesn’t have much tea flavour, plus the pearls were not cooked well. I wouldn’t come back.

We rate Shiny Tea:

Address:
4500 Kingsway, Suite 2210,
Burnaby, Vancouver, BC

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShinyTea.Vancouver/

In Bubble Tea

Bubble Waffle Cafe in Kerrisdale

April 19, 2016

Bubble Waffle Cafe has their newest location in Kerrisdale. They serve popular street food snacks such as curry fish balls, egg waffles, stinky tofu, and fish soup noodles.

I was invited by ChineseBites to check out a few items on the menu.

This location has a decent amount of seating. Most people come here to grab a bowl of noodles and some bubble tea.

Due to their location, you’ll notice the prices are slightly higher than the other locations in the Lower Mainland. Either way, it’s still quite affordable.

Cheesecake Bubble Waffle was ok, but it was a bit sweet. I would stick with the original. Can’t go wrong with the classics.

Matcha Bubble Waffle had a nice crunchy exterior with pillowy soft bubbles. I found the matcha very very subtle, barely noticeable.

Cinnamon Bubble Waffle wasn’t very good at all. It was just overpowering and people should just stick with the classic original bubble waffle.

Taiwan Sausage comes with 2 pieces on skewers. It was ok, but I didn’t find anything special about it.

Fish Sui Mai has 6 pieces in an order. The texture was bouncy and lacked much flavour. It was mostly the sauce that added the extra flavour.

Stinky Tofu isn’t for everyone due to its smell. It’s a deep fried tofu square topped with the fermented sauce.

Takoyaki comes with 6 pieces and is topped with bonito flakes. Delicious and you can’t go wrong with takoyaki. Inside you will find a little piece of octopus.

Chicken Nuggets was a good choice too. Deep fried chicken nuggets with salt and pepper is always a hit.

Fried Shrimp Ball was ok, but since it doesn’t have any sauce to go with it, I felt like something was missing.

Milk Tea is a classic item to order. I thought it was a tad sweet for regular sweetness, so next time I would do half sweet.

You can create your own bowl of noodles with any combination of soup base, noodles, and toppings.

I went with the Preserved Egg Fish soup with udon, sliced beef brisket, fish tofu, fish puff, and more preserved egg.

The udon noodles was slightly thinner, but it was good. I quite liked the broth as it was pretty unique. I have a secret obsession for preserved egg. Even though it looks weird, I really love it.

Another popular option was the laksa soup base.

Overall, I found the food to be ok. The noodle soups were good and they have a wide range of broths which is nice. The flavoured bubble waffles were totally a miss. You just can’t beat original.

We Rate Bubble Waffle Cafe:

Address:
2279 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.bubblewafflecafe.com/

In Bubble Tea

Duotian Fish Soup Noodles Restaurant: Taiwanese + HK Style Cafe

April 10, 2016

Duotian Fish Noodles Restaurant is a mix of Hong Kong Style Cafe and Taiwanese Cafe. They are located in the plaza on 1st Avenue where T&T is located. They specialize in fish soup noodles, rice hot pots, Western dishes and hot pot meals.

I was invited to attend as part of ChineseBites to try a variety of items off their menu.

The seats inside have large booth and smaller tables.

Complimentary tea arrives in these metal cups. The handle seems to be made of plastic since the color has rubbed off.

One of their popular options is creating your own noodle soup with all these customizable options.’

You can choose your soup base, toppings, type of noodles, drinks and any extra items on the side.

One the reverse side, you can customize your congee or rice hot pots.

Laksa with rice noodles, BBQ pork and sliced beef brisket. Not bad at all, but there are a few other places in town that do customizable laksa a lot better, but if you don’t want to travel far, this will do.

For our customizable Rice Hot Pot, we got salty fish with pork and chicken with octopus. It is topped with bok choy to give it a bit of color.

When we dug in, it was pretty good. The combination of the meat and the salty fish worked really well.

Grabbing an Iced Milk Tea or Ice Coffee Tea mix is classic for Hong Kong style cafes. Both very good! We asked them to make it with less sugar. You will need to stir it a bit more to incorporate all the ingredients.

Iced Lemon Tea is another popular choice too. You have to take your straw and spoon to crush up the lemon slices to get more flavour out of it.

The bubble tea on the other hand wasn’t as good. The pearls were hard and could have used more time cooking.

Baked Spaghetti with meat sauce is one of my go to dishes at these types of cafes. All that meat sauce and cheese covering each strand of spaghetti.

Butter Biscuit toast was ok, but I felt the topping was too sweet. I wouldn’t be able to eat an entire slice by myself. Each of us had a quarter of the toast and it was enough to quell our sweet tooth.

Deep fried fish cake was ok. It had a slight sweetness to them.

Baked pork chop on rice with tomatoes bacon sauce was delicious. You can’t go wrong with pork chops and cheesy sauce.

Deep Fried Chicken Nuggets is a classic item to order. Crisp on the outside and a good amount of salt and pepper.

Yang Chow Fried Rice was a bit bland and sub par. The rice was hard and the texture was off.

Congee with sliced beef and fish balls. We wanted the BBQ quick but it was already sold out.

The first few tastes of the congee, it tasted burnt and there really isn’t a way to mask it.

It also comes with a pan-fried green onion cake as part of the congee combo.

Overall, the dishes were definitely a hit and miss. The most basic dishes weren’t executed well like congee and fried rice. The baked Western dishes and noodle soup dishes were decent.

We Rate Duotian Fish Soup Noodles Restaurant:

Address:
#212 – 2800 E. 1st Ave.
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://duotian.ca/

In Cafe

Pearl House Restaurant: Taiwanese Food in South Burnaby

December 18, 2015

Pearl House Restaurant in South Burnaby in the Edmonds area specializing in casual Taiwanese food. I came here with a few friends for a quick lunch before going to the mall. I haven’t heard too much about this place, but I always love trying new places.

The interior is bright and has tables configured for groups of 2’s and 4’s. There is one larger table near the back for big groups.

Deep Fried Boneless Chicken Leg on Rice comes with 3 side dishes on the plate – marinated cucumbers, tofu and seaweed. A good portion for the price.

When digging in, I realized they gave me the one with bone, but I let that slide since the service was already bad here. If I sent it back, it would take sometime for them to correct the dish. I was hungry in the morning, so I didn’t want not eat. The skin was very crispy and tasted good.

We also ordered the marinated pork ear slice and Wontons in chili sauce as appetizers, but it felt a bit below average. I forgot to take pictures, but the pork ear slice just had way too much green onion in it. The wontons in chili sauce tasted quite bland and not very spicy either.

My other friends ordered a noodle dish and another rice dish, but this place doesn’t compare to other Taiwanese cafes.

Overall, the food we had was all below average. There wasn’t any dish that would make us come back to have more. The service was poor and our waiter was a bit unhygienic when touching our plates and cups.

We Rate Pearl House Restaurant:

Address:
7152 Sperling, Burnaby

In Chinatown

Fat Mao Noodles: New in Chinatown

August 23, 2015

Fat Mao is the latest addition to Chinatown. Recently, there has been a bunch of new restaurants opening up nearby like Torafuku and Ramen Butcher. Since I work close to this area, I get super excited when something new opens up.

Chef Angus An’s (chef and owner of Maenam) newest venture serves noodle dishes inspired by a range of Asian cuisines. Recipes at Fat Mao are inspired by Chef Angus’s travels in Asia and his favourite family meals from childhood. Flavourful curries, sauces, and rice and wheat noodles are made fresh from scratch, and dishes touch on Thai, Taiwanese, Japanese, and Singaporean cuisines.

The casual 25-seater is open for lunch and dinner Wednesday to Sunday from 11am. Fat Mao will stay open until noodles run out, or 10pm—whichever comes first. Dishes are affordably priced under $12.

I came here with my coworkers during lunch and we were excited to give it a try.

While you wait for your order, you can read some Slam Dunk comics. If you can’t read Chinese like me…you can just look at the pictures. hahaha.

Century Egg with House Tofu ($7.99) is a nice dish to share in addition with your own individual noodles. I love this dish as the egg and the tofu are perfect matches. We were amazed by how smooth the tofu was.

Braised Duck Noodles ($11.99) comes with a huge duck leg which was awesome. They use rice noodles rolls in this dish. I didn’t like the use of the noodles as they didn’t really match to soak up the broth. The sauce is more thin compared to some of the other dishes. The broth was bland and I didn’t like it very much.

The waitress also suggested to add a few scoops of the hot vinegar sauce. It didn’t really help with the flavours either.

Koh Soi – Chiang Mai Curry Chicken ($11.99) was our favourite dish from the group. The sauce was pretty good, the chicken leg was huge and we loved the added texture from the crunchy bits on top. We would definitely recommend this.

Taiwanese-style Beef Noodle ($11.99) was another good dish according to Anne. Its well-balanced and has a good amount of beef.

Dan Dan Noodles ($8.99) is made with the same noodles as the curry noodles. My other coworker enjoyed it.

In the end, a bowl full of noodles and a shared side dish was just the right amount. Most of the dishes were fusion and the lack of descriptions on the menu may surprise some when the food arrives. The price is good for lunch but you definitely should get the Koh Soi – Chiang Mai Curry Chicken dish.

If you eat all the way down into your noodle bowl, you will find a cute surprise. Meow.

We Rate Fat Mao:

Address:
217 East Georgia Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.fatmaonoodles.com/

Taiwanese

Interior

Menu

Tea

Braised Beef Flank and Tendon with Noodle in Soup

Sour Mustard Greens and Shredded Pork with bean thread in soup

Boiled Pork and Veggie Dumplings

Final Thoughts

Interior

Milk Tea with Pearls

Cold Brew Pu’er Tea

Winter Melon Tea Cap

Strawberry Tea Mocktail

Matcha Tea Cap

Waffles

Final Thoughts

Menu

Waffles

Orea Cocoa Waffle

Fresh Fruit Waffle

Creamy Frappe Series

Mango Creamy Frappe

Tofu Pudding Series

Tofu Pudding No 3

Hot Grass Jelly Series

Hot Grass Jelly No 2

Royal Sweet Soup Series

Red Bean Soup No 3

Longan Black Glutinous Rice Series

Longan Black Glutinous Rice No 3

Oreo Cocoa Ice Diamond

Hot Hand Made Taro Milk Tea

Winter Melon Latte

ZenQ Milk Tea with Grass Jelly

Strawberry Black Tea

Mango Green Tea

Final Thoughts

Interior

Menu

Regular Milk Tea

Strawberry Watermelon Slush

Final Thoughts

Menu

Princess Milk Tea

Three Flavoured Bubble Waffle

Final Thoughts

Niu Rou Mian

Hua Diao Ji Mian

Guo Bao

Xiao Huang Gua

Mu Er

Yansuji with Nanjing sauce

Yansuji with Parmesan and truffle oil

Final Thoughts

Interior

Sakura Oolong Mousse

Black Tea Mousse

Final Thoughts

Interior

Drinks

Taiwanese Beer

Uchikinoki ice cream smoothie

Slushies

Pea Flower Tea

Potted Milk Tea

Takoyaki

Fried green beans with minced pork

Steamed sticky rice dumplings

Skewers

Japanese style egg fried rice

Golden sand prawns with salted egg yolk sauce

Chives & shrimp spring rolls

Pan fried beef pancake

House special spicy lamb hot pot

Deep fried ginger flavour chicken whole wings

Fried chicken in chili pepper

Sandwiches

Chives, shrimp & pork dumplings

Taiwanese style fried rice vermicelli

Assorted deep fried basket