Category

Bakery

Category

cafe-joie-sign

Cafe Joie is an independent cafe near Metrotown. I came here with Gastrofork and FoodQueen to catch up over some coffee and treats. You can easily take the Skytrain to Metrotown and then walk a block away from the mall.

Cafe Joie has coffee, tea, macarons, coffee buns, waffles, shaved ice and some other sweet treats.

cafe-joie-inner

The interior is quite beautiful, spacious and adorable. It’s a great place to do some homework or just catch up with some friends.

cafe-joie-cappuccino

Cappuccino was what I ordered. Nice, strong, and delicious. A definite winner if you want to just slowly sip away and have some pastries with it. Too bad it didn’t have nice art this time.

cafe-joie-latte-green

 Green Tea Matcha Latte was what Dee ordered and it has a cute spiderweb art on the top.

cafe-joie-shaved-ice

Milk Shaved Ice with Fruit was made in-house with their shaved ice machine. Instead of using ice to make it, they pour in milk to create the shaved ice, giving it a delicious taste when paired with the fruit and corn flakes. Highly recommended!

cafe-joie-green-tea-waffle

Green Tea Ice Cream with Waffles and Fruit was not impressive. The waffle was quite bland and has a soft texture. It was a good size for sharing but it just didn’t taste good.

cafe-joie-waffle

Chocolate and fruit waffle was the same as the green tea waffle. The waffle batter just isn’t good. It would be nice if it was more crispy.

cafe-joie-rose

Overall, great coffee, pastries and shaved ice, but stay away from the waffles.

We Rate Cafe Joie

Address:
110-6125 Sussex Ave
Burnaby BC

Website:
http://www.cafejoie.com/

Cafe Joie on Urbanspoon

purebread-tent

Purebread is one of my favourite bakeries. They don’t have a storefront in Vancouver, but they have one in Whistler and they also make appearances at a lot of the Farmers Markets in Vancouver. They are at the Main Train Station Farmers Market every other week on Wednesday and my coworkers all go crazy when they are there.One week, we rushed right when they opened to see what they had available.

purebread-pastries

Everything looked amazing and you can find pastries around $3 or $4. I really wanted to get everything, but I had to restrain myself. Plus, the staff are very friendly and helpful if you can’t decide what to get.

purebread-brownie

Outrageous Brownie ($3.50) was really rich and delicious! It was a really large portion too! You could easily cut this up into 4 pieces and share. Plus it goes great with a glass of milk.

purebread-crack

Crack ($3.50) was delicious and reminded me of Momofuku’s Crack Pie. It probably has lots of brown sugar and butter. Nonetheless, it is mighty addictive.

purebread-scone

Jalapeno Cheddar Scone was AMAZING! The flavours were spot on and I fell in love with scones. Mmmmmm just come here and get a scone, you will not regret it.

Overall, I loved everything I tried and I would definitely come here everyday if I could somehow find them. Highly recommend you find them in Whistler or at one of the local farmers market.

We Rate PureBread:

Location:
Varies

Website:
http://www.purebread.ca/

Purebread on Urbanspoon

bluebird-cakery-salted-caramel-chocolate

What can be more hip than a cake in a jar? Especially Salted Caramel Chocolate cake. Sounds very intriguing and has potential. Bluebird Cakery makes custom cakes and sweets all over Vancouver, but recently, their Cake in a Jar became available at UrbanFare, Creme de la Crumb, Chioffis, Nourish Market, Meinhardt, and Fresh St. Market. I’ve seen so many photos on instagram, so I wanted to give it a try.

I went to the closest UrbanFare near my work and picked up 2 jars. It wasn’t cheap at all and it is $6.99, but it was on sale for $5.99.

bluebird-cakery-layers

There are 3 layers of cake, butter cream and salted caramel. When I glanced at the nutrition facts, the whole jar packs a punch to your gut with about 900 calories and tons of sugar and fat. Don’t eat this all in one sitting.

I was only able to eat 1/3 at each sitting as it is quite rich. It is a sweet dessert, but I wish there would be more cake as I really didn’t like all the cream.

Overall, it was ok, but I wasn’t amazed by the taste. The best part is that you can reuse the jar for later.

Website:
http://bluebirdcakery.com/

Bluebird Cakery on Urbanspoon

SweetSalt-Pie

I was at Urban Fare and I picked up a German Apple Custard Pie from Sweet Salt Bakery. Of all the samples I tried, I really took a liking to this pie. It was different and I’ve never had this type of pie before.

SweetSalt-Pie-opened

The look of the custard and the apple doesn’t look very appealing as it is pulling away from the apples. I’m not quite sure if that’s normal or not, but I was more fixated on the taste of the pie.

SweetSalt-slice

M enjoyed the pie as it is different from a regular pie. The crust was good and crunchy. A good pie always has a great crust. I found the apples to be delicious but I didn’t like the custard in the combination as it didn’t add much to the overall taste.

SweetSalt has a bakery on Fraser street, so they have a lot more treats besides German Apple Custard Pie.

Website: http://sweetsalt.ca/

SweetSalt Bakery & Café on Urbanspoon

basho-basho

I came with my family to indulge in Basho’s delicious sweet treats. Previously, I  came here with friends and it has always been a positive experience. The wait for a table was quite a while for a group of 5, but if you are able to endure a little bit of a wait or some here early, you’ll love this cozy cafe.

basho-tea-time

Sitting here with matcha lattes ($3.75) and a few treats that range from $1 to $3.

basho-matcha

It’s a bit bitter without sugar, so you can add some to sweeten it up for taste.

basho-treats

Sesame brownie, red bean mochi, nut mochi, chocolate mochi are some treats they offer.

Basho-Earl-Grey

Earl Grey Tea ($2.85) and sesame brownie is what my sister ordered. The tea comes already steeped so you don’t have the bag sitting in it getting stronger and stronger.

basho-scone

Smoked Cheddar and Chive Scone was an item on the counter and it was SO good and addictive. I would highly recommend getting this.

Basho-pulled-pork

Teri Pulled Pork with lunch set ($8 +$3) the pulled pork is delicious and tender and it comes over rice with a few veggies. Alternatively, you can get it as a salad. With the lunch set addition, you get soup, mini sweets, and a coup of tea. It was really good.

Basho-tuna-tataki

Tuna Tataki with lunch set ($9.5 +$3) is my favourite. It’s a light meal, healthy, and the perfect amount for a meal. The 3 treats are worth it too.

Basho-matcha

Overall, all the baked treats were good and none of them disappointed. It’s a cute cafe to just chill and catch up with friends over drinks and nibbles. Highly recommend this cafe!

We Rate Basho Cafe

Address:
2007 E Hastings St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://bashocafe.com/

Basho Cafe on Urbanspoon

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=2007+E+Hastings+St&sll=49.281216,-123.0634631&sspn=0.0053752,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=2007+E+Hastings+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5L+1T9&z=16 “]

PappaRoti-sign

PappaRoti has made its way to Vancouver as the first location in Canada. The first store opened up in Malaysia in 2003 selling their signature roti buns. It was a hit and now they have over 400 locations around the world.

Their signature item is the roti bun, which has a sweet caramelized coffee cream on top. It is best paired with tea or coffee.

KoreanGirl and I have been on search for Coffee Buns in Vancouver. Before coming to PappaRoti, we had some at Coffee Bun and Cafe Joie.

PappaRoti-inner

PappaRoti was quite busy during the night at 7pm. It got increasingly busy as the night went on. A lot of people were eating catching up with friends, having a meeting or doing homework.

PappaRoti-menu

Their menu has coffee, tea, frappes, and smoothies.

PappaRoti-bun

Original Bun ($3.65) is twice baked and coated with their caramel coffee cream topping. The top was crispy and the inside was light and fluffy. Eat it right when it comes out of the oven because that is the best. 

PappaRoti-dry-cappuccino

Dry Cappuccino ($3.50) is my favourite type of cappuccino as it has more foam. I don’t like it with too much milk. The coffee they use is created by JJ Bean, which I was surprised as PappaRotti is a chain. I thought it would be pretty standardized.

PappaRoti-milk-tea

KoreanGirl ordered a Milk Tea, but whatever tea they used made it taste a bit weird.

PappaRoti-coffee

They don’t have a large variety for food, but people mostly come here for the coffee, tea and coffee buns.

Overall, it’s a nice place to chill. There is lots of seating and the coffee is good.

We Rate PappaRotti

Address:
1505 Robson St
Vancouver BC

Website:
http://papparoti.ca/

PappaRoti on Urbanspoon

coffee-bun-sing

The Coffee Bun is located in Coquitlam in Henderson Mall. This is their second location as their original one is in North Vancouver. KoreanGirl and I drove past it and were curious about this place, so after we had lunch somewhere else, we came here for a coffee and some snacks.

coffee-bun-inner

The space is quite spacious with lots of tables. Perfect for studying or a good place to hang out with friends. The tables are spaced out far apart, so you aren’t up close to others.

coffee-bun-iced-coffee

Iced Coffee was what KoreanGirl ordered. It was a hot day, so that made sense. The coffee is made with Kicking Horse coffee beans.

coffee-bun-kicking-horse-coffee

Hot Cappuccino is also made with Kicking Horse coffee beans. It was really hot, but after it cooled down it tasted good. It was made by a machine, so it doesn’t have that strong taste of espresso.

coffee-bun-coffee-bun

The coffee bun is baked with a coffee cream on top to create the aromatic coffee crust on top of the bun. There are 10 flavours of filling for the buns.

  • Original Plain (filled with butter)
  • Cream Cheese (filled with cream cheese)
  • Custard Chouz (filled with soft vanilla cream)
  • chocolate (filled with chocolate chips)
  • red bean (filled with red bean)
  • garlic (topped with coffee and herbs)
  • cinnamon (topped with cinnamon)
  • pumpkin (filled with sweet pumpkin)
  • ice cream (sandwiched with ice cream)
  • coffee bun sandwich (sandwiched with ham and cheese)

Depending on the location, the fillings and options can vary.

The original plain coffee bun came right out of the oven and was SO GOOD. The are fresh every 30 minutes, so I would definitely wait till the new batch comes out. The crust is really good and the little bit of butter inside pairs nicely.

coffee-bun-cream-cheese

Cream Cheese Coffee bun was ok. This one was got wasn’t heated up, so it was a little big unsatisfactory. We thought they would heat this up a little bit.

coffee-bun-custard

Custard Coffee bun is filled with the custard cream inside. If you have a slight sweet tooth, then this is what you might enjoy. It’s like a cream puff but inside a coffee bun.

coffee-bun-toast

Strawberry and ice cream toast was another item they had for their more dessert-like options. They also have Korean shaved ice and belgian waffles too. The strawberries were frozen and sliced. We weren’t impressed with this.

Overall, a cup of coffee and a fresh coffee bun is best to be ordered.

We Rate Coffee Bun

Address:
1011-1163 Pinetree Way
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
http://www.thecoffeebun.com/

The Coffee Bun Bakery & Cafe on Urbanspoon

Jean-philippe-patisserie-sign

Jean Philippe is the Executive Pastry Chef at ARIA Resort & Casino, has brought his expertise and passion for French gourmet to Jean-Philippe Pattisserie. The pattisserie is located next to the elevators to the hotel rooms. There is also another location inside Bellagio.

Jean-philippe-patisserie-gifts

There is a huge retail area where you can purchase chocolate as gift to bring home.

Jean-philippe-patisserie-packaged

Some items can be quite pricey, but its really good.

Jean-philippe-patisserie-lineup

A lot of people love to come here for the crepes. During peak hours, you can see a long line up.

Jean-philippe-patisserie-crepes

We were told the crepes were really good, so we decided to get a few of them. The crepes range from $7 to $12 depending on what you are ordering. We got the chicken crepe ($11.95), Salmon crepe ($11.95) and Berry crepe ($10.50).

Jean-philippe-patisserie-chicken-crepe

Chicken crepe ($11.95) comes with grilled chicken breast, spinach, chipotle sauce, piquillos peppers, swiss cheese and a lot of mayo. The chicken is all hiding inside. It’s not bad at all.

Jean-philippe-patisserie-salmon-crepe

Salmon crepe ($11.95) has caper/dill sauce, smoked salmon, swiss cheese, asparagus, spinach, and pico de gallo. They really don’t skimp out on the salmon. Theres a lot on top. There’s none inside the crepe, but its good enough.

Jean-philippe-patisserie-berry-crepe

Berry Crepe ($10.50) has marinated berries, whipped cream and powdered sugar on top of the crepe. It uses a different crepe batter than the savoury crepes. The marinated berries was quite sour for some reason, but it was still enjoyable. I think I would have been happier with the nutella version but the berries looked good.

Jean-philippe-patisserie-gelato-choice

Besides crepes, they also have gelato. There’s a good amount of flavours.

Jean-philippe-patisserie-gelato

Strawberry gelato scoop came in a cute cup. My little sister sure enjoyed it.

Jean-philippe-patisserie-snacks

Another section of the cafe has cake, snack items and stuff like that. The next day, we had an early start to the grand canyon, so we just decided to grab a few things quickly.

Jean-philippe-patisserie-baked

Croissants, blueberry muffin and a bran muffin. It was decent, but it wasn’t amazing.

Jean-philippe-patisserie-fruit-juice

I got a fruit cup and orange juice. Pretty simple stuff but I didn’t want anything too heavy for breakfast.

Jean-philippe-patisserie-parfait

My little sister got a yogurt parfait, it has granola and fresh berries. It was pretty good since it has both the fruit and granola. A good mix of items.

Overall, good selection of items for the sweet tooth or the savoury tooth..if thats such a thing. The items aren’t overly amazing, but its still decently good.

We rate Jean-Philippe Patisserie

Address:
3730 Las Vegas Boulevard S
Las Vegas, NV 89109

Website:
http://www.aria.com/dining/restaurants/jean-philippe-patisserie

Jean-Philippe Pâtisserie on Urbanspoon

Bouchon-Bakery-outer

Bouchon Bakery is located in The Venetian and there are 3 locations inside. It is owned by world renowned chef – Thomas Keller. He is the man behind The French Laundry and Per Se. This was a major reason why my sister wanted to try out this bakery to see if it lived up to the hype.

We came in the early afternoon and sat outside on the patio for some snacks and sun.

Bouchon-Bakery-enter

The entrance to the Bouchon Bakery is through the inside of the hotel.

Bouchon-Bakery-inner

It isn’t large, so it more of a to go place, unless you sit outside on the patio.

Bouchon-Bakery-counter

There’s a bunch of pastries on the counter. From croissants to cookies.

Bouchon-Bakery-fridge

In their display case, they have macarons, eclairs and sandwiches.

Bouchon-Bakery-snack

We grabbed a latte and a mocha. Both of them tasted horrible. The mocha was very sweet and we could not adjust the sweetness because they didn’t know what half sweet meant. We soon realized this was the case because their coffee comes out of a machine with a press of a button rather than made by hand like how its supposed to be.

Same goes with the latte, it didn’t have that personal touch from the barista. Came straight from the machine.

I expected a bit more from them especially with the name behind the bakery.

Bouchon-Bakery-burnt

Ham and cheese croissant was baked in the oven for us after we ordered. It was burnt on the edges but was pretty good. Not as good as Beaucoup in Vancouver.

Bouchon-Bakery-sweet

Chocolate eclair was small but it was pretty good. The coffee macaron was a disappointment. It didn’t have the right texture and it was really chewy.

Bouchon-Bakery-croissant

Overall, I was a bit disappointed in Bouchon Bakery. I can name a few places in Vancouver that are ten times better. Sigh, I had such high hopes. Perhaps I just have higher standards since Vancouver has some pretty amazing bakeries.

We rate Bouchon Bakery

Address:
3355 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Website:
http://bouchonbakery.com/

Bouchon Bakery on Urbanspoon

faubourg-inside

Another rainy Vancouver day and hanging out with the girls means we indulge on coffee and pastries. Typical womenly behaviours of me and my friends.

As we were in the Kerrisdale area, we decided to go to Faubourg. It was a busy Saturday afternoon and all the seats were occupied at 3pm. They always have great coffee and pastries.

faubourg-cappucino

Small Cappuccino was what I like to relax with. Surprising since caffeine is a stimulant. It was a good cappuccino.

faubourg-desserts

Tiramisu is made up of ladyfingers, Mascarpone cream, and blackout cake as a base. It was alright, but I wasn’t too impressed.

Chocolate Eclair is baked to perfection and filled the French way, with chocolate pastry cream and finished with chocolate fondant for a bit of added sweetness. It’s a decent size and pairs nicely with coffee.

Overall, good Saturday spent with friends indulging on treats and sipping on coffee.

We Rate Faubourg:  

Address:
2156 W 41st Ave
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.faubourg.com/

Faubourg on Urbanspoon


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theboss-restaurant

Magz and I went to The Boss Restaurant in Chinatown for lunch. It was packed and quite busy. We had to wait in line for a seat. Usually the turnaround is quite quick, so we didn’t have to wait too long.

There is also a bakery in the front where they sell cakes, pastries and bread. That section was quite busy too. Their lunch menu is quite cheap, so you can be full in under $10.

theboss-hot-milk-tea

Hot Milk Tea is a classic choice for any meal in a Hong Kong Style Cafe.

theboss-iced-milk-tea

Cold Milk Tea was good. I wish I could have added my own sugar because it was a tad too sweet.

theboss-set-lunch

Beef Steak with Pepper Sauce was part of their lunch menu. The best part was the beef steak and pepper sauce. The beef was tender and cut easily. It came with 2 thin pieces. There was also a lot of rice and some broccoli on the side.

Overall, not a bad lunch as its cheap and satisfies the tummy.

We Rate The Boss Restaurant

Address:
532 Main St
Vancouver, BC

The Boss Restaurant 大班餐廳餅店 on Urbanspoon

faubourg-outer

Faubourg opened their new location last year in August 2013. It is located right beside the Vancouver Art Gallery and has indoor and patio seating. They also have a location in Kerrisdale and Park Royal in West Vancouver. KoreanGirl and I stopped here for some croissants and a drink. But most importantly, to chill and talk.

faubourg-inner

The interior is really beautiful and a great place to send the afternoon with friends. Look at those chandeliers.

faubourg-relax

We came here when it was a little bit snowy outside, but it was nice to get out of the rain/snow.

faubourg-sandwiches

They have a variety of savoury items great for the lunch time crowd.

faubourg-tarts

There are also some very sweet treats. You might be staring at this section for a while because everything looks good.

faubourg-baked

Many baked items that smelled amazing. Croissants are definitely very popular here.

faubourg-macarons

Don’t forget to look at their beautiful macarons. So many choices!

faubourg-hotchocolate

Hot Chocolate was our drink of choice. We’ve been definitely having a huge craving for hot chocolate. It was rich and nice and smooth.

faubourg-croissant

Butter Croissant was good too! It was flakey on the corners and soft on the inside.

faubourg-sampler

Small Assorted Pastry Box ($16) was something I grabbed to take home to M. It is a bit pricey, but it makes a great gift. It comes with 4 mini versions of their signature tarts. It has lemon tart, blueberry tart, coffee opera, and chocolate tart. They are all bite-sized and great for people who like a taste.

Overall, we had a good time at Faubourg for a girl chit chat session over drinks and pastries. I’d come back again with friends. The location is also great because it is near skytrain and in the heart of Downtown.

We rate Faubourg

Address:
769 Hornby Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.faubourg.com/

Faubourg on Urbanspoon

basho-basho

Basho Cafe recently opened on Hastings Street close to Victoria Drive. It is a family run Japanese Cafe and they have yummy drinks, lunch sets and sweet treats.

FoodQueen and I decided to have an afternoon snack at Basho.

basho-inner

A lot of items in the interior are handmade by the family – the dishes, decor, furniture, and etc. Once you step inside, you know you want to fall in love with this cozy cafe. It really sets the mood, rain or shine.

It only seats about 16 people, so as word gets out about this place, it will definitely get super busy. We got there at 2pm and there were no spots left, so we had to wait a little bit till people started leaving.

basho-afternoon-set

Afternoon Set ($5 after 2pm) includes a matcha latte and 3 assorted treats. We found this was definitely a great deal as you get a tasting of what they have to offer.

The matcha latte isn’t sweetened, so if you like it a little sweeter, add some sugar.

basho-treats

Mochi Mochi Matcha looks like a cute little cupcake, but on the inside is squishy with the mochi. Really good and highly recommended. It’s also gluten-free and vegan.

Sesame brownie was very moist and had was very addictive.

Goma-miso cookie has lot of black sesame in it. Delicious as well.

basho-matcha

Matcha Sandwich Cookie has the matcha cookies on the outside and it sandwiches some sort of icing.

Matcha Brownie was good too. Tough choice between the sesame brownie and the matcha brownie.

Matcha coconut chocolate chip cookie was a delightful surprise. I usually don’t like coconut, but this cookie was gooood.

Overall, all the baked treats were good and none of the disappointed. It’s a cute cafe to just chill and catch up with friends over drinks and nibbles. Highly recommend this cafe!

We Rate Basho Cafe

Address:
2007 E Hastings St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://bashocafe.com/

Basho Cafe on Urbanspoon

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sweet-step-outer

When we were in Pohang, M’s mom showed us a cute coffee shop called Sweet Step. They serve up artisan coffee and bake their own pastries. Whats great about this place is that they even roast their own beans.

A lot of locals love this place because its different that all the other coffee chains out there.

sweet-step-inner

The inside is quite huge! There’s patio seating and 2 floors of seating too.

sweet-step-macarons

Lots of macarons.

sweet-step-doremon

Doremon bread!

sweet-step-drip

They have a siphon coffee maker on display. Looks pretty darn cool

sweet-step-pots

They also sell various coffee gadgets too.

sweet-step-counter

The counters menu has some english, so you will be able to make your order easily with no problems.

sweet-step-macaron

Coffee Macaron (2,000 won = $2CDN) was a cool treat to pair with coffee. I looked pretty.

sweet-step-huge

It was also humongous. I’ve never seen a macaron this big. Unfortunately, the macaroon was not very good. It was hard and chewy. A good macaron should have a smooth, crisp shell and a moist, chewy interior.

sweet-step-affogato

Affogato is what M ordered. It comes with a scoop of vanilla Haagan Daaz ice cream and a shot of espresso. You pour the espresso on top of the ice cream and its so delicious! A very Italian treat.

sweet-step-caramel-mchiato

Iced Caramel Macchiato is what Ms mom ordered. Looked very pretty and she said it tasted very good.

sweet-step-custom

Americano Misto is what I tried to order, but I don’t think they understood what I wanted. I think this drink got lost in translation. I think next time I will stick with a latte or cappuccino.

Overall, we did enjoy the cafe. It’s a perfect place to chill in the afternoon over some coffee and treats. Ambiance was perfect and there are tons of seats.

We Rate Sweet Step

Address:
남구 대이로143번길 21, Pohang 790-320

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/SweetStepCoffee

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rosemaryrocksalt-inner

Rosemary Rocksalt is the sister restaurant of Seigel’s Bagels. They have one location in North Vancouver and recently opened a new location on Main Street in Vancouver.

They serve up Montreal-style bagels and boy are they delicious! You’ll never buy bagels from Safeway or Superstore again.

rosemaryrocksalt-counter

All their bagels are freshly made in the store and it’s all displayed in the counter as you walk into the store. There are 10 types to choose from.

rosemaryrocksalt-menu

The menu is slightly more expensive than Siegels. But if you take into account location and demographics, it makes sense.

rosemaryrocksalt-breakfast

Morning Bagel ($6.50) has Montreal Smoked meat, cheddar and egg. Magz chose to have it on a rosemary rocksalt bagel. She loved it! Breakfast for lunch is always the best.

rosemaryrocksalt-jalapenomelt

Jalapeno melt ($8) has smoked meat, melted cheddar, jalapeno peppers, lettuce, tomato and mustard. I ordered it with the multigrain bagel. I’m really loving this type of bagel. It’s nice and crisp on the outside and chewy in the middle.

rosemaryrocksalt-meat

It was hard to hold together while eating it, but it tasted great. The best part is really the smoked meat.

We came here for lunch and we were not disappointed. It tasted great but it was a tad expensive.

We Rate Rosemary Rocksalt

Address:
2515 Main St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.rosemaryrocksalt.com

Rosemary Rocksalt on Urbanspoon

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SiegelsBagels-kits

Siegel’s Bagels sells authentic Montreal-style bagels in Kitsilano. After coming back from a trip, we decided to stop here for a quick lunch. I’ve heard much about this place, but I’ve actually never been here. I wanted to see if it was true that it’s like a Montreal Bagel.

SiegelsBagels-inner

The Kitsilano location is open 24 hours and have lot of sandwiches to choose from. They even have Montreal smoked meat.

SiegelsBagels-bagel

Lot of bagels to choose from. They make it all in-house and are fresh.

SiegelsBagels-club

Club Bagel ($8.50) has Montreal smoked meat, golden turkey breast, tomato, lettuce, cheddar, mustard and mayo.

SiegelsBagels-cross

Their Montreal smoked meat is pretty awesome. It has a great combination of ingredients.

SiegelsBagels-salmon

Lox and Cream ($8.95) has smoked sockeye salmon, cream cheese, onions, and capers. It’s quite pricey for what you get, but the combination of the cream cheese, salmon and capers is sure yummy. I got it on a multigrain bagel because I love the texture of the grains on the outside.

Overall, great bagels and its great they are made fresh. Don’t forget to buy a few for home! They also have their sister restaurant – Rosemary Rocksalt open in North Vancouver and Main Street.

We Rate Siegel’s Bagels

Address:
1883 Cornwall Ave
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.siegelsbagels.com/

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terra-breads-hot-chocolate-fest

Terra breads is participating in the 4th Annual Hot Chocolate Festival put on by City Food Magazine. From January 18th till February 14th. The event is a fundraiser that supports the Downtown Eastside Women’s Job Training Centre program of PHS Community Service Society and East Van Roasters. It’s really a great cause and I would highly encourage people to go out there and grab some hot chocolate.

There are many more restaurants and shops participating:

  • Beaucoup Bakery
  • Bel Cafe
  • Bella Gelateria
  • Blenz
  • Chocolate Arts
  • Chocolaterie De La Nouvelle
  • Cocoa Nymph
  • East Van Roasters
  • French Made Baking
  • Gem Chocolates
  • KoKo Monk Chocolates
  • Last Crumb Cafe
  • Leonidas
  • Mink Chocolates and Cafe
  • Schokolade Artisan Chocolate
  • Soirette Macarons and Tea
  • Terra Breads
  • Thierry Chocolaterie Patisserie Cafe
  • Thomas Haas
  • UVA Wine Bar

I went to grab a hot chocolate from Terra Breads as it is a few minutes from my work.

terra-breads-taxi

‘Call me a Cab’  Hot Chocolate ($4.95) has cacao barry extra brute hot chocolate with cabernet, cinnamon and pear.

I liked the combination of flavours and didn’t really taste alcoholic at all.

terra-breads-cookie

It is served with a pear crisp and a cocoa sugar cookie. Very nice touch! Terra Breads always creates some awesome variation of hot chocolate. Last year, they had the Stand Up and Stout, which was hot chocolate and beer.

Address:
1605 Manitoba Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.terrabreads.com/

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Patisserie-Fur-Elise-outer

Patisserie Für Elise is a pastry shop and tea salon in Downtown Vancouver. It’s quite a cute location since its located in a house instead of a larger building. You know once you lay your eyes on this place, you just are curious to take a peak inside.

I came here with some of my bridesmaids to catch up, since it’s hard to get us together since half of them are on the east coast.

I heard of Patisserie Fur Elise a few years ago at the Vancouver Bakers Market before they opened up their shop. It is great to see the owners dream become reality with their new store.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-first-floor

When you enter, the first floor is their retail space with a few pastries, teas and little trinkets to buy.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-shop

There’s macarons on the left and pastries on the left.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-item

There’s tea sets too.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-shop-item

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-window

Patisserie Für Elise

On the second floor, the tea salon is located there. There’s one main room and another room in the back.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-prep

They do all their baking on the first floor in the kitchen and they set up all the tea sets in this area.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-logo

It costs $30 per person for a 2 hour seating and you get the following:

  • Your selection of tea
  • a layer of savory items
  • scones
  • Chef’s choice starter
  • a layer of sweet items

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-afternoon-tea

The items do vary, so its hard to say what exactly you get since they like to switch it up. I found the items listed on their website to be less accurate. The menu that you get here is pretty accurate.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-tea-menu

On the right page, you have all the teas to choose from.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-cups

Shortly after, our tea sets arrived.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-pot

A little while later, out pots arrived. You get a little timer and you can wait for the time to count down.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-pour

You have a bird to strain out the tea leaves. You pour your tea through this, but we found that some tea leaves did not get caught.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-tea

I ordered China Jasmine Premium tea and I found that it needed more than a minute to steep. My other friends got the Blue Earl Grey tea and they didn’t need to steep for very long, unless you want it strong.

Our settings didn’t come with milk and sugar, so we had to ask them for it. Usually it comes with it already on the table, but we found this strange.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-set

After about 40 minutes since we got here, we got our tea set. It seemed a bit long for them to put it together especially when are can only have a 2 hour seating. Nonetheless, we dug in and chatted about life.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-panna-cotta

Chef’s Choice starter is a blueberry panna cotta it was really good! The panna cotta had a lot of yummy vanilla beans and the blueberry compote on top just paired perfectly. There is also a little gold leaf on top.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-bottom

We began with the bottom layer of scones and savouries.

  • Prosciutto brie and fresh basil sandwich
  • Cucumber dill finger sandwich
  • Asparagus and mushroom quiche
  • Scone with cheddar and pancetta
  • Scone with almond streusel

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-cucumber

Cucumber dill finger sandwich was simple but very good. The position on the cucumber threw us off, so we just moved it to the other side and began eating away. I really liked the creaminess of the center.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-onion

Asparagus and mushroom quiche was a tad small, so it was hard to really taste the depth of flavour.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-croissant

Prosciutto, brie and fresh basil croissant sandwich was my weakness. I can’t resist prosciutto and brie. The croissant wasn’t crunchy, but it was a bit limp. It would be nice if it had more of a crunch to it.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-scone

Scone with Almond Strusel is best with their housemade jam. We asked them for some clotted cream and it makes the scone much enjoyable.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-savory-scone

Scone with cheddar and pancetta was good. Every time I bite into some pancetta, I would be in heaven. I really like meat.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-dessert

Next, we devoured into the sweet tier.

  • Maple Pecan Daisy Tartlet
  • Tiramisu
  • Mini Fur Elise
  • Honey madeleine
  • Macaron

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-walnut

Maple Pecan Daisy Tartlet was very cute and not too sweet. The texture of the pecan with the maple was nice.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-cheesecake

Tiramisu was bit size and had some chocolate balls on top.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-strawberry-cheesecake   

Mini Fur Elise was like a strawberry mousse. It was really good and hidden inside is a slice of strawberry. Good flavours and this was my favourite dessert.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-madeline

Honey madeleine was topped with powdered sugar. My friends liked it, but I didn’t really enjoy it.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-macarons

The macarons were were tough and chewy. They looked pretty, but no one liked them. Very disappointing since we were looking forward to devouring these.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-box

Some of us couldn’t finish, so they gave us boxes to pack up our goodies. We wanted to pack our items ourselves since we knew the service would take a while to help us pack it. Even when we asked for the boxes, it took them a while to get them too.

Patisserie-Fur-Elise-chairs

Overall, the ambiance is very nice and perfect for high tea or any special occasion. The food items included in the afternoon tea was decent and will fill you up. Unfortunately, the service was slow was annoying. There is definitely room for improvement.

We Rate Patisserie Für Elise

Address:
847 Hamilton street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.patisseriefurelise.com/

Patisserie Für Elise on Urbanspoon

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