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Bubble Tea

Category

Teapressu is one of our favourite bubble tea shops on wheels, but recently we found out they have open a storefront in Burnaby on Kingsway. We were very excited, so we decided to give them a visit. Their hours are limited as they are in a very soft opening phase to work out any kinks.

They are known of their teas created using an espresso machine. It extracts great flavours from the tea, making each cup very strong and aromatic.

Their menu has a variety of bubble teas and even vegan options. Plus, soft serve too.

Menu

Pearl Milk Tea Soft Serve

I got the twist where it has the milk tea and vanilla together. Then I also added pearls to it based off their suggestion. It was really good and a nice treat, but it got quite messy when it melted. As the cup in tall and narrow, it would drip down the sides of the cup.

Pearl Iron Milk Tea

This is their number 1 best selling drink on the menu.

I got it at 100% sweetness, but it was a bit too sweet for me. Next time, I would do 50% or even 30%. Nonetheless, the pearls were nice and chewy. The tea was very fragrant too.

Apple Awakening

They have fruity beverages on the menu and my husband tried their Apple Awakening. It was very refreshing especially on a hot Summer’s day.

Final Thoughts

Teapressu is a great addition to the neighbourhood, but they do face tough competition as Chatime is just a shop away. Nonetheless, I do prefer Teapressu for their superior quality and affordable price. Support local as much as possible.

I highly recommend Teapressu, so if you’re in the Burnaby area, check them out.

Address:
5242 Kingsway, Burnaby BC

Website:
https://teapressu.com/

SunTea is now open in North Burnaby at Kensington Plaza. They specialize in fruit tea, milk tea, dorayaki, and floss cake. Currently, they are in their soft opening phase but we decided to check it out as we live a block away. They have other locations in BC, but I haven’t been to any other of their locations.

They do have 20% off the whole menu during the soft opening, which is nice.

Interior

The space is small, there there really isn’t too much room to social distance as people are either drinking by the window, ordering, or waiting for their drinks. We did observe all the staff wearing masks, which is good.

Menu

Strawberry Frappe

The strawberry frappe is made with fresh strawberries, strawberry slush, whipped cream and cake pieces. It did have a lot of strawberry, so that was nice. The drink was decent, but it didn’t taste outstanding. Just pretty average.

Purple Sticky Rice & Tofu Jelly Milk Tea

I ordered the regular size and it has layers of their purple rice and tofu in the milk tea. The purple rice really wasn’t sticky at all, but it added a nice texture to the drink and the I liked the slight sweetness of the tofu jelly.

It was good and I would get this again.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Dorayaki

The dorayaki was filled with lots of cream cheese and blueberry. Pretty good, but it definitely wasn’t cheap at just under $6 regular price.

The filled was good, but we did feel the pancake was very dry.

Purple Yam Dorayaki

Love the look of the purple yam dorayaki. It doesn’t fall apart and it’s very firm. It has a delicious filling which isn’t too sweet, but we also felt the pancake was dry as well.

Final Thoughts

They are still in their soft opening phase, so they definitely have some things to improve on. I did get a weird vibe when ordering from the staff. Even though I was standing right in front of them to order, they were busy looking at their phone to notice I was trying to order. I had to wave a few times to get their attention.

The drinks are dorayaki can be a hit and miss, but the area definitely needed another bubble tea shop. There’s 3 coffee shops, but no bubble tea shop until now. It’s not my favourite bubble tea shop, but I’ll come here out of convenience. I would get the Purple Sticky Rice & Tofu Jelly Milk Tea again.

Address:
6528 Hastings St, Burnaby, BC

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

Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash

Sometimes we savour bubble tea for so long that we leave it in the fridge. Most of the time, we somehow forget about it and the pearls turn hard. The texture has changed and you have to throw them out.

There is a way to revive them so you can enjoy them without throwing them out. I was quite stumped when a friend asked me what to do about day old pearls. I didn’t have a clue.

Paragon Tea Room in Vancouver suggested to steam them! It’s brilliant and makes so much sense.

Steam them!

  1. Fill up steamer with water and bring to a boil.
  2. Put day old pearls/boba on a plate/bowl and add it to the steaming rack.
  3. Steam for a few minutes until pearls become warm and soft.
  4. Let pearls cool down for a bit and add them back to your drink.

It’s a fantastic way to bring the pearls back up to temperature without them losing their structure. If you have some leftover bubble tea in your fridge with pearls and boba, give this method a try.

Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash

Chance Cafe is a local Vancouver cafe on Commercial Drive and had to shift their business drastically because of the Covid-19 pandemic. They have introduced their DIY Bubble Tea Kits with 31 differing ingredients you can choose from to create your perfect bubble tea kit.

31 Different Bubble Tea Ingredients

Yes, thats right, 31 different individual ingredients. You can mix and match items in your kit to create your perfect bubble tea kit.

Here are the different ingredient options:

  • Bancha Roasted Tea
  • Boba Tapioca Pearls
  • Coconut Powder
  • Coconut Jelly
  • Crystal Pearls
  • Earl Grey Tea
  • Green Apple Syrup
  • Honey Dew Powder
  • Jasmine Tea
  • Longan Syrup
  • Lychee Syrup
  • Lychee Popping Pearls
  • Mango Syrup
  • Mango Popping Pearls
  • Mango Stars
  • Matcha Powder
  • Mint Chocolate Chip
  • Oolong Tea
  • Orange Pekoe Tea
  • Passion Fruit Syrup
  • Peach Syrup
  • Rooibos Tea
  • Rose Syrup
  • Strawberry Syrup
  • Strawberry Heart Jelly
  • Taro Powder
  • Thai Tea
  • Vietnamese Coffee (Grinded)
  • White Peach Oolong Tea
  • Yogurt Syrup

Types of Kits

  • 1 bag of ingredient $13
  • 2 bag of ingredients $25
  • 3 bag of ingredients $35
  • 1 Reusable BBT Cup $17
  • 2 Reusable BBT Cups $30 (comes with 2 metal straws, 2 straw cleaners, 2 metal sealed lids, 2 customized plastic lid with hole for the straw to go through)
  • The Ultimate DIY BBT Kit for $50: 2 Reusable BBT Cups (comes with 2 metal straws, 2 straw cleaners, 2 metal sealed lids, 2 customized plastic lid with hole for the straw to go through) and your choice of 2 ingredients
  • The Ultimate DIY BBT Kit for $60: 2 Reusable BBT Cups (comes with 2 metal straws, 2 straw cleaners, 2 metal sealed lids, 2 customized plastic lid with hole for the straw to go through) and your choice of 3 ingredients
  • Eco-Friendly Bubble Tea Kit for $65: You get your choice of 3 bubble tea ingredients in mason jars with 2 matching bubble tea lids, stainless silver straws, and cleaner.
  • Turn any kit into an Eco-Friendly one with a $3 upgrade to jar packaging

How to Order

  1. Choose your ingredients
  2. Choose the type of bubble tea kit
  3. Email them at chancecafevancouver@gmail.com to coordinate (pick up or delivery)
  4. Send E-Transfer
  5. Order ready within 1-2 business days

If you have questions, feel free to contact them anytime and they respond quite quickly. The prices are current as of the writing of the article and is subject to change.

Final Thoughts

I love the 31 types of ingredients to choose from as I’m the type of person that has a little bit of everything in my kitchen. I’m just missing things like pearls, syrups, and powders to complete my bubble tea creation.

If you have your own milk, tea, and sugar at home, you can easily just pick up a few more ingredients to turn it into a bubble tea. I’m loving it and my husband can’t get enough of my peach green tea with coconut jelly and mango stars. I also love the eco-friendly options too.

Address:
3424 Commercial St, Vancouver, BC

Getting our bubble tea fix can be difficult as we stay at home to flatten the curve of the Covid-19 pandemic. We find ourselves missing bubble tea, but there are a few local companies that are offering DIY Bubble Tea Kits delivered straight to your home or even sent to friends are a nice gift.

I think it’s a fantastic idea as we buy a lot of bubble tea but not too many people actually make it at home. With these DIY kits, you can see how easy it is to make at home.

Chance Cafe

Chance Cafe has quietly launched 31 individual ingredients and kits that you can order directly from them to create your own bubble tea. You can mix and match items in your kit to create your ultimate bubble tea kit.

Here are the options:

  • Lychee Popping Pearls
  • Mango Popping Pearls
  • Tapioca Pearls
  • Crystal Pearls
  • Coconut Jelly
  • Strawberry Heart Jelly
  • Mango Stars
  • Passion Fruit Syrup
  • Mango Syrup
  • Strawberry Syrup
  • Lychee Syrup
  • Green Apple
  • Taro
  • Honey Dew
  • Coconut
  • Matcha
  • Mint Chocolate Chip
  • Rose
  • Yogurt
  • Peach
  • Rooibos Tea
  • Thai Tea
  • Vietnamese Coffee
  • Bancha Roasted Tea
  • Oolong Tea
  • Jasmine Tea
  • Green Tea
  • Earl Grey Tea
  • White Peach Oolong
  • Longan
  • Orange Pekoe

Send Chance Cafe a direct message on Instagram to inquire about their kits.
https://www.instagram.com/chancecafevancouver/

Cha Yuan 茶園

Cha Yuan 茶園 is a bubble tea shop located in Yaletown, which opened in 2019. They have classic bubble tea kits available with Oatly as an option to purchase. Each kit makes 10 servings of bubble tea.

They have free local delivery for orders over $20 (Vancouver, North Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody.)

Website:
https://www.chayuan.ca/

Paragon Tea Room

Paragon Tea Rom doesn’t have a bundled kit to make bubble tea, but they have everything you need in their online store to make your own bubble tea creation. They have an array of premium tea, pearls, and milks. If you need a recommendation, you can always ask for their HK Milk Tea recipe.

Website:
https://paragontearoom.square.site/

Passion Tea Room

Passion Tea Room was the first to launch the bubble tea kit at an affordable price with free delivery (within Burnaby, Coquitlam, Vancouver, North Vancouver, New West and Richmond) when you spend over $20. They can also deliver to Surrey, Delta, and White Rock for a $5 delivery fee.

The kit includes tapioca pearls, non dairy creamer, tea, straws, and tea bag filters. They also have flavour kits where you can make taro bubble tea or coconut bubble tea.

Website:
https://www.passiontearoom.com/shop-1

Perchance tea

Perchance Tea also has a Boba Bag where you get all the ingredients to make you own bubble tea. It comes with the tea of your choice, milk or milk alternative (soy, cream, or oat milk), organic cane sugar, dried boba, straws, and step by step instructions. Instead of plastic straws, you can upgrade to reusable metal straws for an extra charge.

What differentiates Perchance tea is their use of high quality ingredients. The owner and manager stand by using wholesome ingredients, which are as fresh as possible.

They deliver to Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Richmond and Burnaby for free with a minimum order of $40. They do pick ups at their store too.

Website:
https://perchancetea.square.site/

The Bubble Tea Shop

The Bubble Tea Shop has launched their DIY Bubble Tea Kits. Their shops are still closed because of Covid-19, but they are delivering Bubble Tea kits to your door.

They deliver free to Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby and New Westminster. A small charge to deliver if you are in Delta, Surrey, Port Moody, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and North Vancouver. If you aren’t in any of those area, they do Canada Wide Shipping too.

Besides their signature bubble tea drink mixes, they sell dessert in a jar, tofu desserts, reusable tumblers, and reuseable straws.

Website:
https://www.thebbtshop.com/

Wushiland Boba just opened up in Richmond, BC and I was very confused what the hype was about. It wasn’t until I saw the 50嵐 logo as they are one of the best known bubble tea shops in Taiwan. I’m not sure why it’s 50嵐 in Taiwan and then in North America its Wushiland Boba. I am very confused, but I realized I was deceived. It’s a complicated story.

Is Wushiland Boba associated with 50嵐 in Taiwan?

After reaching out to Wushiland Boba Richmond, they did not provide an answer, so I decided to Google this and I could only find articles written in Chinese.

A company in China – 1點點 owns the ’50嵐’ brand in Mainland China, but has no affiliation to ’50嵐’ in Taiwan. Most people associate 50嵐 with the Taiwanese bubble tea brand and has been confused when Wushiland Boba opens in other countries. You can find more information in this article by KKNEWS. Thanks to my friend VanFoodies for helping me research as I can’t read Chinese.

Of course, I’m sure the owners of Wushiland Boba in Richmond are not intentional trying to deceive their customers. Regardless of this logo drama, it’s all about how Wushiland Boba’s bubble tea tastes.

**UPDATE**

Wushiland Boba Richmond finally got back to us regarding the name. They do claim they are affiliated with 50嵐 in Taiwan, but head office requires different regions to have a different name.

Interior

There is 0 seating and the space only allows for a maximum of 4 staff according to their permits. This place is grab and go, so no space to sit and enjoy the drinks. There are seats outside in the plaza, but in the winter, its a bit cold to sit outside.

You can see into the kitchen and it’s quite large and shiny since its new.

Menu

Ultimate Chew with Four Seasons Tea

The Ultimate Chew is essentially a trio of toppings – boba (larger), pearls (smaller), and coconut jelly. According to the staff member, four seasons tea is a particular type of tea from Taiwan.

The tea is a bit floral with hints of pineapple to the taste. It was alright, but nothing special.

Ultimate Chew with Black Tea Latte

I got the Ultimate Chew with black tea latte. It did look impressive with the milk layer suspended below with the tea on top. The told me to give it a mix before I drink it. I found that there were too many toppings inside that it took away from the drink itself. The coconut jelly changed the taste of it a bit. The black tea was was a bit fragrant like perfume and didn’t have the strong bold taste of black tea.

You can customize the sugar and ice levels similar to other bubble tea shops. I went with 50% ice and 30% sugar.

Final Thoughts

The bubble tea here was just alright, but I wouldn’t come here just for it. Plus, there are so many other bubble tea shops in the same plaza. I can’t even count them all because there are so many.

Address:
8338 Capstan Way #1228, Richmond, BC

Tiger Sugar has finally opened in Metro Vancouver specifically in Richmond. They originate from Taiwan and is best known for their brown sugar bubble tea beverages. I went to Taiwan earlier this year and it was pretty good. So, I had to see how it compares.

Their infamous tiger stripes from the brown sugar syrup on the side of the group has really caught everyone’s attention.

Interior

The space is small, but its mostly meant for people to grab the drink and take it to go. There are a few tables as well as seats near the window. There is a lot of floor space, but that is just meant for people to either line up or wait for their drink.

Menu

How to Drink Brown Sugar Boba Milk

Step 1: Take a photo

Step 2: Shake up and down 15 times.

Brown Sugar Boba and Pearl with Cream Mousse

I went with the one drink that had a bit of everything. I did shake it up around 15 times, but really who is counting as long as it’s mixed up well. You want to mix it up as as you want to mix the brown sugar into the milk so you don’t get a sip full of it during your first sip.

The boba and pearl that are large and small give the drink a nice texture. The milk and the mousse make the drink nice and creamy too. It was veyr enjoyable.

What I miss most is the Tiger Jelly, which is available in Taiwan when we were there. It is coffee jelly as give it a nice texture to the drink.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was good if you come earlier in the day while the ingredients are fresh. My friend came in the evening and the pearls were too mushy and sweet compared to the day time.

Address:
8291 Westminster Hwy, Richmond, BC

Gong Cha is a world renowned Bubble tea shop from Kaohsiung, Taiwan. They have been in Vancouver for a few years now and they’ve recently opened up their location across from Renfrew Skytrain Station.

We were invited to give their drinks and bubble waffles a try.

It’s a pretty good location and there aren’t too many bubble tea shops in the area. Some of the popular drinks include – Royal Milk Tea with Pearl, Milk Foam Earl Grey Tea, and Earl Grey Milk Tea with 3J.

You can also customize your drinks sugar and ice levels. They also offer 2 sizes of drinks, regular and large. During our visit, we got it 30% sweetness and regular ice. We like out bubble teas less sweet so we can taste the tea more, but thats just our personal preference.

Menu and Daily Specials

Bubble Waffle

They serve up bubble waffles at this location in various flavours like original, pearl, matcha, red bean, and chocolate. These flavours can change, so you can ask them which ones are available. When we were here, we tried the original and the one with pearls inside.

Regular Bubble Waffle

This is the classic version with a crisp exterior and a chewy interior. It tasted pretty good when you eat it fresh. Highly recommended if you want something to share among friends.

Pearl Bubble Waffle

Why not add some pearls to your bubble waffle. It’s actually very interesting as it adds a nice chew to your bubble waffle. There aren’t too many inside, which is good as it compliments it very nicely.

Rose Tin Guan Yin Tea Series

The Rose Tin Guan Yin Tea Series is new and started in early December of this year. Not sure how long it will be on the menu for, but if you do see it, there are 3 drinks offered – Honey Rose Tie Guan Yin Tea Latte⁣, Milk Foam Rose Tie Guan Yin, and Rose Tie Guan Yin with White Pearl⁣.

Honey Rose Tie Guan Yin Tea Latte

This is beautiful and the drink is separated into 3 different layers. The honey and syrup is on the bottom, then the milk, and then the tea on top. You’ll want to mix this up before you drink it.

The drink is milky and not too sweet at 30%. You get the taste of the tie guan yin tea with the hint of subtle rose.

Milk Foam Rose Tie Guan Yin

I wasn’t a fan of the cup used as it is typically a wide lipped lid rather than the typical bubble tea cup. When mixed up, it did taste similar to the Honey Rose Tie Guan Yin Tea Latte.

Rose Tie Guan Yin with White Pearl

You get a stronger tea taste in this drink compared to the other two. The white pearls are a nice touch to add texture to the drink.

Matcha Milk Tea

We got the matcha milk tea and it was decent. Next time, I think we would prefer to have pearls to give it more texture in the drink.

Oreo Milk Foam Black Forest

This drink has layers of milk foam, pearls, grass jelly, and oreo crumble. It’s another interesting drink that looks pretty cool with all the items inside. You get a lot of different textures from the pearls to the grass jelly. It’s not your traditional bubble tea by any means. Some love it and some hate it. It has a stronger grass jelly taste, so its not for everyone.

Royal Milk Tea with Grass Jelly

This is a classic drink which you can’t go wrong with. We even brought a reusable bubble tea cup and straw as they will make the drink to save on plastic going to the landfill. One of our favourites.

Wintermelon Oolong Tea

This is another popular drink, which is great hot or cold. Having it less sweet is our way to have it. You get the sweet hint of the wintermelon complimenting the oolong tea.

Passionfruit green tea QQ

This was a surprising drink that was pretty good. We did love the pearls and coconut jelly that were part of it. Great option if you like fruity bubble teas.

Purple Sweet Potato Milk Tea and Pearls

It has a nice deep purple colour to the drink, but the texture of the purple sweet potato was very gritty. It felt too artificial for our liking.

Brown Sugar Milk Tea with Pearls

Brown sugar milk tea has been quite the rage this year in Vancouver. You’ll want to mix this up really well before drinking or else you’ll be sipping up the brown sugar pearls at the bottom. We did like this better than the regular milk tea, but the time that we were here, the pearls were a bit hard.

Strawberry Milk Foam Smoothie with Pearls

This has the pearls on the bottom, then the smoothie and topped with milk foam. If you like strawberry beverages, you’ll enjoy this. Definitely better to get this drink less sweet so the strawberry shines through.

Peach Yogurt Smoothie with White Pearl

You’ll want to get this at 0% sweetness or 30% sweetness because at regular sweetness, it was way too sweet. It has potential to be a good drink

Strawberry Yogurt Drink with Coconut Jelly

Another drink where we would recommend 0% – 30% sweetness. I would have been very refreshing if it wasn’t so sweet.

Milk Tea with Pearls

A classic bubble tea beverage. Milk tea with pearls is decent and I wouldn’t expect less as it’s the go to beverage.

Final Thoughts

Our team tried 16 drinks and 2 bubble waffles during 2 visits to get a feel for Gong Cha’s menu at the Renfrew location. We generally prefer less sweet bubble teas, so 0% – 30% sweetness is good at Gong Cha. We wouldn’t recommend getting 100% as it is way too sweet especially for the yogurt and smoothie series.

Gong Cha has a large menu, so when you go in a group, there’s something for everyone. The Renfrew location is great as there are lots of tables to sit and hang out with friends.

A few of our favourite drinks from our team – Passionfruit green tea QQ, Peach yogurt smoothie, Strawberry milk foam smoothie, Wintermelon oolong tea, Honey Rose Tie Guan Yin Tea Latte, and Royal milk tea with grass jelly.

Address:
2887 E 12th Ave, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.gongchacanada.ca/

It’s been a long time since our last visit to No 1 Beef Noodle House in Burnaby. It was always our go to place to have late night eats when we were in University. Prices are fair and good portion sizes. It’s great to see that it’s still around after 10+ years.

Interior

There are a lot of tables inside for small to large groups. The interior has been updated over the years.

Menu

Their menu is huge and they have got everything you can typically find for a Taiwanese restaurant. Lots of selection. We were invited to give a few of their signature items on their new menu a try.

Mix Beef Noodle Soup

We got this Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup with beef flank, tendon, and tripe. We also decided to get the thick noodles for this dish. The noodles hit the spot on a cold day as it warmed our stomaches. A good bowl of noodles and the thick noodles has a chewy texture so it added a nice bounce.

Stir-fried Pea Sprout with Garlic

A solid menu choice if you want some veggies in your meal. It is cooked very nicely and great to share among the table.

Chive, Shrimp, and Pork Dumping

Dumplings are another great sharing dish. These were good and you can’t go wrong with them. Dip it in some sauce and eat it up.

Preserved Veggie, Pork, Rice Cake

Another great dish to be shared among the table. The rice cake has a nice chew to them and the combination of the pork and preserved veggies work well together.

Japanese style Omurice with Side of Salty Peppery Chicken

At first glance, it doesn’t look like much of anything. On the inside, the fried rice was very flavourful and a good texture.

As for the side, we got salt and peppery chicken. Very good and can’t go wrong. We love the fried basil on top.

Shredded Scallop and Sliced Fish with Egg Whites

This is always an interesting dish as the fillet themselves aren’t that flavourful or fresh, but the addition of the shredded scallop and egg whites.

Sizzling Plate

The sizzling plate that we got had steak, chicken, chicken wing, egg noodle with half black pepper and half mushroom tomato sauce. It’s got a bit of everything. It comes on this hot sizzling plate and it’s another decent dish. The chicken is battered and fried, so it did got soggy under all the sauce. Might have been better if the chicken was pan fried. Other than that, the steak had a nice texture and taste.

Tainan shrimp paste roll

With first glance, it looks greasy but it wasn’t. The taste was good and there is a decent amount of shrimp paste. Tainan is a city in Taiwan and is known for their shrimp.

Stinky tofu with Taiwanese style Pickled Cabbage

These small fried tofu are cute and it had a decent fermented stink to them. It pairs well with the pickled cabbage.

Mango slush

This was huge and you definitely get bang for your buck with the mango slush. It’s good to split this with one other person as it’s enough for 2 people.

3 Brothers Milk Tea

The bubble tea here is solid and is best half sweet. It has pearls, pudding and grass jelly, which is fantastic as those are the best 3 toppings in a milk tea. We did enjoy it.

Coffee Milk Tea

If you love milk tea but need an extra caffeine kick, this might be for you. It is referred to as a ying yeung as it has both parts to make a whole. It was a tad on the sweet side even though it was half sweet.

Dessert

For this particular dessert, you choose a base from the list – red bean soup, sweet tofu, grass jelly, or lemon jelly. Then you can choose your toppings at an additional charge – pearls, mini pearls, coconut jelly, pudding, grass jelly, mango star, mini taro balls, red bean, agar jelly, taro, or ice cream.

It’ great to see the customization and many combinations.

Final Thoughts

Overall, No 1 Beef Noodle House is solid and has been a neighbourhood favourite for a long time. The parking is horrible during peak periods as there aren’t that many available in the complex for the other businesses too. We always end up parking a block or 2 away.

There are so many items on the menu and you’ll find something to enjoy. You can either get an individual meal or share a bunch of different dishes with friends. You get your moneys worth and it’s casual and comforting.

Address:
4741 Willingdon Ave, Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://jynoodle.com/

Milksha 迷客夏, a popular Taiwanese brand of Bubble Tea is opening their doors in Downtown Vancouver on Robson Street. This is their first location in North America. They currently have over 250 locations in Taiwan as well as other locations around the world.

They are known for the taste of their drinks by using high quality ingredients like fresh tea, Dajia Taro, and honey white pearls. A lot of their ingredients are frozen and flown from Taiwan to maintain their quality.

Milksha is known to use 100% fresh natural milk, no preservatives, chemical ingredients or artificial colourings.

Honey White Pearls

They are planning their soft opening on October 26-27, 2019 at 2pm with a few promos:

  • First 50 Customers – Get 1 FREE Drink
  • 51-150 Customers – Buy 1 Get 1 Free
  • After 151 Customers – Get 20% off

We were invited for a sneak peek of Milksha and try their signature drinks.

Menu

Dajia Taro Fresh Milk

This was really good upon the first few sips. It was an instant hit. It’s best cold of course and the milk and sweet taro tasted pretty darn fresh. There is no sugar added which is surprising as the taro is naturally sweet. It’s not gritty at all, but the drink does get sweeter and sweeter as you drink it.

Earl Black Tea Latte

It was delicious. A solid milk tea and we enjoyed it with the honey white pearls. We would suggest getting it 30% sweet if you’re adding the pearls. If no pearls, 50% sweetness is good.

You get the deep aroma of the earl black tea to go with the rich milk and sweetness of the pearls.

Orange Green Tea

This was a very refreshing drink. We haven’t found this anywhere else. It’s made with Liu Ding, which is a smaller orange from Taiwan. It has a zesty aftertaste which was nice. The base of the drink has pulp, which give it a nicer taste and texture. We would recommend 30% sweetness with pearls and 50% sweetness without pearls.

Izumi Matcha Fresh Milk

They get matcha powder from Japan for this drink. It has a good amount of matcha, smooth and not gritty unlike some other ones out there. If you like matcha, you’ll enjoy this.

Valrhona Cocoa Fresh Milk

Valrona is a great chocolate brand from France and it even makes a great rich chocolate milk. The drink isn’t too thick and great for chocolate lovers.

Wintermelon Fresh Milk

We tried a sample of this and it tasted like sweet milk, which was surprising to us. It was a little bit on the sweet side for us, so in the future, we would get it less sweet. It’s nice that they have wintermelon on the menu combined with milk.

Brown Sugar Fresh Milk

Their brown sugar milk is a bit different than others. Instead of pouring milk over brown sugar, they mix the brown sugar into the milk so ti is all combined. It’s a good drink option if you like brown sugar. We didn’t find it was too special, but its a nice option.

Final Thoughts

How many more bubble tea shops does Vancouver need? Apparently more and that’s ok. It gives customers more options and I love the new surge of bubble tea shops focus on quality ingredients. It’s really makes a big difference on taste.

The drinks that we featured are pretty solid and we did enjoy it but we would get it less sweet at 30% or 50% sweetness.

Address:
1258 Robson St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.facebook.com/milkshavan/

Catoro Cafe is the newest cat cafe to open up in Vancouver. They have partnered up with Cat Therapy & Rescue Society, a no-kill policy organization that takes in stray cats and readies them for adoption to find them a forever home.

I have had 2 adopted cats for the last 6 years and they are just the most precious creatures. Mew and Gandalf named after Pokemon and Lord of the Rings characters are the most sweetest cats ever and we only met them for about 10 minutes before adopting them. Back then, there were no cat cafes where you can take your time to play and understand their personality for hours before you choose to adopt. It’s a big commitment and you want to make sure their personality matches you and your household.

This is why I am a big fan of cat cafes because you can take your time knowing the cats, it’s all vetted so the cats are in good condition and its a suitable match.

Of course there is no obligation to adopt at all. If you’re not in the neighbourhood for a cat and just want some cat time without the commitment, thats what cat cafes are for. Some people may not be able to keep cats because they’re renting or just don’t have the time to take care of them. You can hang out with them at Catoro Cafe from 15 minutes to 2 hours if you wish.

Catoro Cafe is one half cafe and one half cat forest. We were invited to check out the space. I was excited to check it out as I’ve been to Cat Cafes around the world.

Cafe

You will walk into the cafe first to check in for the cat forest, order your snacks and beverages, or just observe the cat forest from afar. Good for those who are allergic or scared of cats.

They have a wide range of drinks which is surprising because I wouldn’t have imagined a cat cafe to have some decent drinks. They aren’t a bubble tea shop, but I like the wide variety. There is brown sugar milk teas, fruity drinks and even Vietnamese iced coffee.

Menu

Catoro Milk Tea

This is essentially milk tea and I always get this when I go to any new cafe to see if they can make a decent milk tea. They definitely did deliver as it has a nice black tea aroma and it’s not too sweet. The pearls had a good texture too.

Sparkling Lychee Rose with Crystal Jelly

This isn’t as effervescent as I imagined, but you will get a strong lychee taste and then the rose follows. The bottom on the drink has the crystal jelly. Make sure to mix the drink up so any syrup that sinks to the bottom of the cup can be combined together.

Really Strong Vietnamese Coffee with Condensed Milk

I love their collaboration with local company – Ca Phe. They are known for the Vietnamese inspired beverages and treats. The Vietnamese coffee is strong, but so damn good if you’re a coffee lover. I like to get it with condensed milk to smooth out the taste and give it a kick of sweetness. This is served hot, but I would have liked a cold version.

Reuse

What is very important to the owners to ensure there is as little waste as possible, which I admire a lot. They use compostable straws and cups. Diverting as much waste as possible helps our community. They also sell bamboo straws too that can be reused.

Cat Forest

Before entering the cat forest, you have to pause to take off your shoes, put on slippers, sanitize hands, and put away large bags before proceeding. They want to keep the place as safe and clean for humans and cats as possible.

The staff are really nice to interact as they are really knowledgeable about the cats and their personalities. That’s 40 cats that they need to know.

There are lots of tables inside to sit down, but a lot of people just wanted to hang out with the cats, so there was minimal drinking and chatting among guests as the star of the show are those cute cats.

You’re only allowed to bring in drinks from the cafe because they can ensure none of the ingredients in them will harm the cats just in case they get their paws on them. Sometimes cats are sneaky and will knock stuff off the tables.

On the table are diagrams of all the cats available for adoption as well as their names. They have quite a lot of options. Some are in the cat forest and some others are hiding in the back if they need a break from all the human interaction.

For the ones that want to play, there are lots of toys to interact with the cats. From feathers, to bells, to balls and even the popular cat laser, they will go nuts if they’re in the mood.

My friend doesn’t have any pets and was blown away by all the kitty love at Catoro Cafe. Such sweethearts especially Amber.

Some of the cats have absolutely amazing stories. Princeton was born without eyelids. When he was 6 months old, they did surgery on him to move some of this skin on this cheeks to create ‘eyebrows’. His is a very beautiful and adorable cat and I can’t stop thinking about the eyebrows. I hope he finds his forever home soon.

This cat doesn’t know whats about to happen hahaha. Always best to approach the cats slowly so they don’t freak out.

The staff don’t allow you to pick up the cats, but they can plop them in your arms. This is because they know which cats will tolerate being held. It’s quite nice since my cats at home will never be held or caressed because they just hate it.

Once your time is over, you can change out of the slippers and grab your things. They also have a lot of lint rollers too just in case a few cat hairs get on your pants. I actually found very very little cat hair on my pants, so the cats are well groomed and I’m impressed.

As a cat owner, my short haired cats shed on me like crazy. I probably need to groom them more often.

Final Thoughts

It’s definitely really busy at Catoro Cafe on the weekends, so make sure you make online reservations ahead of time. Weekdays are easier for walk ins if you want to spontaneously go hang out with some cats. They also have a bunch of different deals, so check out the website and social media to find out what they are.

Catoro Cafe is a great addition to Vancouver and super fun for kids and adults. I’m sure the cats have fun too. Of all the cat cafes I’ve been to in my travels, this is definitely very whimsical with the Totoro theme. Of course they can’t copy everything exactly because of copyright issues, but they do a good job.

Address:
666 East Broadway St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://catorocafe.com

Baroness 小黑糖, a boutique bubble tea brand from Taipei specializing in brown sugar bubble tea is now open in Vancouver. This is their first location outside of Asia as the other locations are in Hong Kong and Taiwan. They are planned opening in Malaysia and Vietnam too.

With so many other bubble tea shops in Vancouver we wanted to see how they compare. They took over the previous Broadway location of InTea, which became popular for their white rabbit bubble tea.

Vancouver has gone through the brown sugar bubble tea craze and people either love it or hate it. Baroness prides themselves on quality and has done a lot of quality control to ensure they can offer their customers the best. They have a mix of ingredients imported from Taiwan as well as local items like the Earth’s Own Oat Milk Barista edition.

We got a sneak peek to see what Baroness has to offer their customers.

Interior

The interior is a decent size and has seats for 2’s. Most people will grab their drinks to go, but if you can snag a seat, that is great.

Menu

Menu Provided by Baroness Canada

Purple Yam Fresh Milk 

This is one of their signature drinks and I can see why. The purple yam they use makes the drink very vibrant. I was observing how they make this drink, it’s definitely not fresh yams and was a dehydrated purple powder.

Upon first sips, it was pretty good. I ordered 50% sweetness and it was perfect. It would pair well with their taro balls.

Thai Milk Tea 

The Thai Milk Tea was very good as well. At 50% sweetness, it was just right where you can taste the tea and isn’t overwhelmed by the sugar.

I liked it with grass jelly, but you can also do the brown sugar with pearls but I felt like it was too sweet.

Uji Matcha Latte 

Uji Matcha Latte was pretty good. As usual, we recommend 50% sweetness and it had a better balance between the milk and matcha. It would go well with the pudding if you’re looking for a topping.

Brown Sugar Oat Milk with Pearls

The pearls were chewy and had a good texture. I found that there was a good ratio of brown sugar and pearls with the oat milk that wasn’t too sweet. I also got this 50% sweet.

Fresh Milk with Brown Sugar and Pearls

If you want the usual fresh milk with brown sugar and pearls, it’s pretty good. Make sure to mix it up to incorporate everything in the drink. It’s pretty good actually.

Final Thoughts

It’s great that they have Oat Milk for those who are lactose intolerant. Even if you’re not lactose intolerant, oat milk tastes really good. It has a good mouthfeel and a great replacement for milk.

There are a lot of customization that you can do to the drink and the toppings tasted really good. We didn’t try the whole menu, but their specialties are the brown sugar series and oat milk series.

If you’re in the area on West Broadway or passing by to/from UBC, check out Baroness.

Address:
2790 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.baronesscanada.com

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Xing Fu Tang is a Taiwanese Brand of bubble tea shop that specializes in Brown Sugar Pearl Milk. They make their stir fried brown sugar pearls in front of their customers to ensure freshness. If you’re a fan of Xing Fu Tang, they bring in the same key ingredients from Taiwanese suppliers to ensure the drinks are consistent like the ones found in Asia.

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Xing Fu Tang has opened their latest location in Coquitlam. This is the fifth location in Metro Vancouver and the other locations are on Cambie, Marpole, Kingsway, Richmond, and now Coquitlam. It’s much closer to those living away from the city. This particular location is different than the others as the owners of this franchise are there daily to ensure quality is consistent.

They are best known for their signature Brown Sugar Pearl Milk, but there is definitely more on their menu than that. We were invited to give their menu a taste test.

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Interior

The space is small, so there are only 4 stools to sit on. Most people get their drinks to grab and go. As it is located under an apartment building, there is limited parking around the shop.

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Menu

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Fortune Telling

In the store, you’ll find long red wooden sticks and a large drawer hung on the wall. This isn’t decoration as this is meant to tell your fortune.

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You start by randomly picking a red stick and it will tell you which numbered drawer to open to select your fortune.

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If you don’t read Chinese, this might be a little difficult, but the staff can help you if needed.

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I thought the fortunes were a bit funny and the English translation and the Chinese fortune does vary a bit.

My fortune tells me that my husband isn’t enough and I need to keep on searching. My husband’s fortune says his dream person is in love with him and it’s time for him to move to the next level. I think these fortunes are meant for single people. Do note that I can’t read Chinese, so I am basing this off the English.

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Brown Sugar Pearl Milk

This is their most popular item on the menu and it is the flagship drink that made this chain famous. This starts with the stir fried brown sugar pearls, milk, cheesy foam, and then brulee on top.

Stir this a few times to mix all the ingredients together, so you’re not just slurping up all the brown sugar in the first sip. The ratio of brown sugar and milk was good. Not too sweet at all. The cream foam on top adds a rich mouthfeel to the drink. The pearls are soft and chewy.

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Brown Sugar Pearl Milk Tea

If you are looking for the signature drink with tea, it’s on the menu too. This doesn’t have the foam and brulee on top. You’ll want to stir this up very well to incorporate the flavours.

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Bunny Jelly Mango Smoothie

The rabbit panna cotta jelly on top is so cute as it sits above the mango smoothie and pink strawberry pearls. It’s so sad when you have to stab the straw through the bunny. Or you could just eat the bunny first or push it aside. The drink has a strong and sweet mango flavour perhaps from the mango syrup.

This is another popular item because how can you resist the bunny?

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Soda and Homemade Jelly

This drink is beautiful with the blue soda and two big pink jelly balls. It’s very pleasing to the eyes but when we drink it, it reminds us of a refreshing soda like Sprite. The jelly just adds texture to it.

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Strawberry Pearl Milk

There are layers of pink strawberry pearls, milk and strawberry puree on top. When you mix this all together, it combines the layers together. The drink reminded me of strawberry pocky. My least favourite on the menu as I felt it was too sweet.

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Brown Sugar Pearl Tea Latte

This is another popular drink on the menu and the gradient of colours is nice. You have to mix up very well.

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Grapefruit Green Tea

Grapefruit green tea is refreshing compared to the brown sugar beverages on the menu. The grapefruit definitely stands out and pairs well with the green tea. We enjoyed this.

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Lemon Green Tea

The lemon green tea was great as well and refreshing like the other fruit tea beverages.

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Lemon Black Tea

A refreshing drink that isn’t too sweet. It was pretty good and I just wished there was more as it was more clean in taste.

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Matcha Pearl Milk

This drink reminds me of the Italian flag because of the layers of green matcha, milk, and pink strawberry pearls. The drink is on the sweeter side and is like a matcha latte.

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Brown Sugar Pearl and Herbal Jelly Milk

With this drink, I liked both the textures of the herbal jelly and the pearls. As for the brown sugar milk, it takes similar to the others.

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Final Thoughts

We tried 11 drinks on the menu and the Brown Sugar Pearl Milk definitely stands out. It’s definitely not for everyone but if you’re craving brown sugar drinks, this might be it.

Their other top drinks like Brown Sugar Pearl and Herbal Jelly Milk, Brown Sugar Pearl Tea Latte, and Brown Sugar Pearl Milk Tea all have brown sugar, which makes sense why they’re popular and have similar tastes.

We were impressed by the fresh fruit teas as well. Something that we wouldn’t normally get, but on a hot day, it’s quite refreshing.

Address:
1-1180 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam, BC

Website:
https://www.xingfutang.ca/

Weekend Tea is the latest cafe to open up in South Burnaby. They specialize in fruit-based drinks that are unique to this cafe.

There are a lot of bubble tea shops that have opened up on Kingsway recently, but they hone their craft of brewing fresh fruit teas.

Interior

The seating area is gorgeous with their garden wall and makes for great photos. There are a few seats for small groups but you can always push seats and tables together if you have more people.

Menu

Lychee Fruit Tea

There are bits of lychee, jelly, and the tea. The lychee and jelly bits added great texture. Very refreshing for the summer weather. Not too sweet either. We haven’t has lychee in a long time, so having this really brought us back to our childhoods.

Grape Yogurt

This was our favourite item! It has layers of grape slush with yogurt and then jelly bits inside. Surprisingly very good and the flavour of the grape really shined through. Remember to mix this drink so you incorporate the layers.

Yuan Yang (Coffee Milk Tea)

You can see the layer of milk tea and the coffee on top. Mix this up and then enjoy. The coffee was nice, strong and paired well with the milk tea. The coffee is more of the dominant flavour unlike the coffee milk tea you would find at Hong Kong style cafes.

Zang Mango

The Zang Mango has mango jam, mango bits, fresh milk, and cheese foam. Mix this up really well to incorporate the flavours. At first, it seemed like the weirdest combination, but we couldn’t stop sipping at it. The sweetness from the mango, and the salt from the cheese foam worked.

Golden Kiwi Fruit Tea

They use a whole golden kiwi in this drink as well as lime to balance the sweetness. It’s great that they use these kiwis rather than the green kiwi. The golden kiwi is sweeter and not as tart, which goes well in a fruit tea.

Pineapple Passionfruit Fruit Tea

This one is topped with salty cheese foam to compliment the sweetness of the fruits. I personally felt this was sweeter than the other drinks as pineapple and passionfruit are generally more sweet compared to other fruits.

Grapefruit Fruit Tea

The grapefruit fruit tea was very refreshing and loved the bits of grapefruit. Grapefruit and tea go very well together.

Assorted Fruit Tea

This is a drink you can find at other bubble tea shops in town and I just had to see how it stacks with the competition. It was well balanced and at regular sweetness, it wasn’t too sweet at all.

Honey Dew Yogurt

There are the layers of honey dew slush, yogurt and bits of jelly in the drink. Who knew honey dew and yogurt would go well together? Yet again, I was intrigued. If you love honey dew, you’ll enjoy this.

Brown Sugar Milk

There are pearls, brown sugar and fresh milk. After we mixed this drink up, we felt like it was too sweet. Not a fan of this one.

Final Thoughts

Overall, their fruit drinks are good for the hot summer weather. They don’t specialize in milk teas here, but the fruit teas are good especially the ones with yogurt. You can add pearls to your drink, but they suggest having it normal so you can get the true flavour of the drink that they intended it to taste. Some of the drinks do take some time to make, so when it’s busy, you might be waiting a bit.

Our favourites were the grape yogurt, zang mango, lychee fruit tea and coffee milk tea.

Address:
#101-5021, Kingsway, Burnaby, BC

BlackBall is an International Taiwanese Dessert Chain showcasing a menu of authentic Taiwanese desserts and drinks prepared with quality ingredients. 

The extensive menu features the award-winning BlackBall Grass Jelly, “Xian Cao”, known for its silky smooth texture and healthy benefits. BlackBall has redefined the classic dessert by pairing it with a variety of toppings that reflects the most authentic taste of Asia.

Founded in 2006 in Taipei, Taiwan, by the Tang brothers, BlackBall has also been rapidly expanding and franchising around the world in the last few years. The international Taiwanese dessert chain has over 100 locations around the world.

This is the first location in BC and second in Canada. The first opened up in Toronto

We were invited for a sneak peek before it opens up to the public.

Interior

There are 2 levels to the shop and very high ceilings. Good for small to large groups.

Menu

The menu has some great options where you can build your own bowl or choose the pre-made ones on the menu.

Customize it however your like and we love this option!

Membership

Instead of membership cards, they have a small key chain is for regular membership. You can use it to collect points and redeem for free desserts and other perks.

VIP Membership

If you noticed, their menu has 2 prices – VIP member and non-VIP. If you’re a fan of Black Ball, you can purchase a VIP membership by prepaying a certain amount to your account to get discounted prices on all items on the menu.

You get the bigger black fuzzy keychain and you can show it every time to pay and get the discounted price. The membership is worth it if you plan on making multiple visits here as you need to prepay a balance on your account.

BlackBall Grass Jelly

This has a base of the grass jelly ice as the base, then topped with Yam Q, Taro Q, peanuts, red bean, Konjac jelly / agar (Brown sugar flavour konjac jelly), and then a creamer for grass jelly from Taiwan.

The grass jelly has an herbal taste but it balanced out with all the items in the bowl.

BlackBall Supreme

BlackBall Supreme is the ultimate item to share with a few friends. You get a bit of everything in this bowl and is a good size for 3-4 people.

The ultimate dessert here! Just look at that!

Regular Balls vs Q Balls

Some dishes come with both Taro and Yam Balls as well as Taro Q and Yam Q, but what’s the difference you ask?

Q balls contain 95% real taro/yam and regular balls contain 75% taro/yam to give it a chewier texture.

Agar Aiyu Jelly

If you’re looking for something that’s not grass jelly, they have aiyu jelly. This bowl has aloe vera, taro ball, yam ball, wintermelon flavour ice, aiyu jelly, crystal pearls, and coconut jelly.

Aiyu jelly is made from a plant unique to Taiwan and tastes sweet and fruity. It really matches with the items in the bowl and perfect for the summer.

Forest Matcha Ice

This comes with matcha jelly, matcha pudding made with milk, matcha, sesame mini ball, taro mini ball and rice balls.

The sesame mini balls were really good and we highly recommend it as a topping.

Shaved ice contains Matcha syrup, condensed milk, and shaved ice.

Waffles with Fresh Fruit and Cream

There are 2 liege waffles topped with strawberries, chocolate tubes, condensed milk and a scoop of ice cream. The other one has chocolate sauce, bananas, vanilla ice cream on the liege waffles.

Something different if you’re with friends but don’t want the other desserts.

Drinks

Besides desserts, they have a variety of drinks on the menu too. They come in medium size and large size. The ones pictured here are medium.

Fresh Milk with Purple Rice and mini sesame balls (Secret Menu Item)
Wintermelon tea with mini balls
Fresh Milk with Grass Jelly
Cheese Top Fresh Brewed Tea
Milk Tea
Iced Lemon Tea with Aiyu Jelly

Final Thoughts

A lot of people will compare BlackBall with MeetFresh, but what stands out from this place is the ability to customize what is in your bowl. Choose your base, toppings, and served hot, warm, cold or iced. They are so many toppings choices on the menu too.

Address:
1061 – 8300 Capstan Way, Richmond, BC 

Website:
http://blackballdesserts.ca

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

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

Interior

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

Chun Yang Black Soy Milk Tea with Pearls

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

Chun Yang Black Soy Milk Tea

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

Chun Yang Oolong Soy Milk Tea

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

Final Thoughts

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

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

Address:
7971 Alderbridge Way #130, Richmond, BC

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

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.

Address:
985 Hornby Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.the-alley.ca/

Xiang Yuan Qiao is a Chinese noodle shop in Coquitlam that specializes in Yunnan Bridge Noodle. There are a few locations around Metro Vancouver.

Since it’s fairy new, I took the family out here for lunch.

Interior

There are lots of tables and booth seating inside, so good for small to large groups and is family friendly. The interior is new and modern. Plus, free wifi if you need it.

Menu

Puh Erh Milk Tea

I got the Puh Erh Milk Tea and it was ok. Pretty standard and nothing too special about it. It does go well with the noodles as its a nice cool drink.

Julienne Potatoes with Vinegar

An interesting dish that we ordered and good to snack on while we waited for our noodles. It’s not very spicy, but it has a good texture to munch away at them.

Crossing Bridge Rice Noodles

You can get this with their original or spicy chicken broth. We went with the original. You can also enhance your broth with items from the sauce bar.

There is also a tray of different items to put into the pot like quail eggs, carrot, corn, chives, cucumber, bamboo shoots, pickled sour mustard, black fungus, white fungus, mushroom, cabbage, pea shoots, bean curd, meat paste, Chinese style ham, and ham.

There is a certain order to cook the items, so follow the instructions on the plate. Add the egg, then the meat, then veggies, then noodles, then sauce, and finally enjoy.

It’s a fun interactive dish and you can tweak the bowl of noodles to your liking.

Signature Rice Noodle Soup with Braised Bone-in Pork

This was a meaty dish with a big piece of braised bone-in pork. It was very meaty and super tender and flavourful. The noodle soup had a lot of ingredients inside like veggies. Very filling.

Assorted Pot Rice Noodle

There is a broth base of chicken broth that you can get original or spicy. The items in it are beef, lam, pork belly, chicken, greens, black fungus, needle mushroom, bean sprouts, bean curd and quail eggs. It doesn’t look like much from the picture but it was filling as well with a good amount of meat too.

Sauce Bar

Don’t forget to check out the sauce bar as there is chilli oil, pepper oil, garlic, soy sauce, green onions, and other items to add to your noodles. We almost missed seeing this but glad we saw it so we could enhance the broth of our noodles.

Final Thoughts

It was pretty solid place for noodles. It’s nothing extraordinary, but a good restaurant to go with friends or family. Different for the area as there aren’t other places nearby serving Crossing Bridge Rice Noodles.

Address:
3030 Lincoln Ave #112, Coquitlam, BC