Cafe Archives - Page 24 of 28

In Cafe

Cafe-Bistro Van Houtte: Coffee in Montreal, QC

May 31, 2012

Walking around Montreal, I found that there were more Van Houtte Cafes in the area than Starbucks. I guess it isn’t’ too strange since Van Houtte is based in Montreal Quebec. Since I always need a cup of coffee to get my day started, I thought I would try this place out.

The interior is large and modern. Plus, they have wifi access, which is awesome especially for people who need to lounge around.

The cups even have their logos on it.

The latte tasted good and had a pleasant aroma. It’s good to have something besides Starbucks for a change.

Words of Wisdom:

Free Wifi
Decent coffee, decent prices
Nice interior to chill

We Rate Cafe-Bistro Van Houtte:

Address:
1 Place Ville-Marie
Montreal, QC

Website:
http://www.vanhoutte.com/

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In Cafe

Green Bean Cafe: Airport Food Sucks

May 17, 2012

Green Bean Cafe is located at the Domestic terminal of Vancouver Airport after you check-in and get scanned by security. There’s not much around to eat at the terminal besides this place.

Since I had a hunch that no meals will be served on our WestJet flight, I decided to get something quick. Plus, early flights aren’t fun, so I needed a coffee. This was what I could find.

They have drinks, sandwiches, and other little pastries. The prices and service

Medium Coffee ($1.70) was alright, nothing too special about it. Everyone else in line was also ordering coffee.

Butter Croissant was bearable, but was not fresh at all. The cashier just popped it into the microwave to heat up.

Overall, pretty subpar offerings from this Cafe. Since it is “airport” food, I wasn’t too surprised. If I had known there was a Starbucks a bit further, I should have gone there instead.

Words of Wisdom:

Nothing Special
Convenient just before your flight

We Rate Green Bean Cafe:

Address:
3211 Grant McConachie Way
Richmond, BC

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In Cafe

Mochikas Peruvian Cafe: Hidden Gem in a Car Wash

May 13, 2012

Mochikas Peruvian Cafe is hidden inside the Platinum Touch Autospa on Pine and West 5th. I drove by this place and I totally missed it because it really doesn’t stand out at all.

I came here with the Vancouver Gastronomical Brouhaha group to chow down on some Peruvian food. I’ve heard much about this place but never had the chance to come here till now.

The interior is quite small and so is their kitchen space. I find it amazing how they can do everything in such a small space. They can’t fit too many people in this space, but you will be ok with a group of 4 or 5 people.

Ceviche de Pescado ($13) has fish marinated in lime juice, rocoto sauce, garlic & Italian parsley served with sweet corn, toasted Peruvian corn, sweet potato & red onions.

Ceviche Mixto ($14) has fish, calamari, shrimp, octopus and mussels marinated in lime juice, rocoto sauce, garlic & Italian parsley served with sweet corn, toasted Peruvian corn, sweet potato & red onions. The sauce is very sour, which isn’t a bad thing since it’s what you need in a ceviche. I loved it.

Chupe de Mariscos (Small – $12) is a spicy, hearty seafood chowder with fish, clams, shrimp, calamari, mussels, cream, Aji Panca, smoke paprika, Peruvian oregano, rice & feta cheese. It looks spicy, but it wasn’t spicy at all. Highly recommended.

Yuca frita con chicharron is deep-fried pork belly and cassava root that’s like a potato. It’s a pretty delicious dish! The only issue was that the meat in the pork belly was a bit dry and tough.

Aji de Gallina ($12) has hand shredded chicken & potatoes in a creamy Peruvian yellow pepper & parmesan cheese sauce served with rice.

Overall, it can get quite pricey and the portions aren’t too large. The service did take a while between the dishes, so some people had to wait a while till their dish arrived. The food is definitely delicious regardless of the wait.

Words of Wisdom:

Pay parking on the street
Ceviche is awesome
Long waits for food
Small interior
Slightly pricey for the portions

We Rate Mochikas Peruvian Cafe:

Address:
1696 West 5th Avenue
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.mochikas.ca/cafe/

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In Cafe

Mink Chocolates: Willy Wonka of Chocolates

May 11, 2012

Mink Chocolates has a chocolate cafe in Downtown Vancouver near the Convention Center. They have fondue, waffles, parfaits, drinks, and specialty chocolates.

Since it was my last day of work, I had to bring something awesome for my coworkers. Since I am usually strange, I thought I should bring some strange chocolate to the office.

It’s a great place to sit and chill as you have a coffee or desserts.

Open In Case of emergency ($6.25) has mint, bourbon with chocolate ganache inside a dark chocolate shell. I liked the texture and the rich chocolate taste, but I felt that it was quite hard tasting the mint and bourbon.

PB Wannabe ($6.25) has almond butter and grape jelly in milk chocolate. It really brings out the kid in you as it puts together the flavour combinations of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

No Grumpy ($6.25) has espresso in a dark chocolate bar. The chocolate does have a strong espresso taste and will definitely liven people up. If you love coffee, you’ll love this.

Overall, they are quite unique and I love their strange flavour combinations in their chocolates. It’s definitely a great place to bring friends or relative that are out of town! On the downside, it’s not cheap either. Each item is around $5, so it can add up.

Words of Wisdom:

Good Hot Chocolate
Lots of amazing chocolate bars
Makes good unique gifts
Is a bit expensive
Closest Skytrain: Burrard or Waterfront

We Rate Minks Chocolate:

Address:
863 W Hastings St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.minkchocolates.com/

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In Cafe

Apres-Midi Teahouse: Tea Lattes & Desserts

May 6, 2012

Apres – Midi Teahouse is a hidden teahouse in Gastown. It can be quite difficult to find since it’s not near any main roads. They specialize in tea. They also serve desserts and coffee.

HipsterGirl and I needed to kill some time before an event, so I decided to take her to Apres-Midi Teahouse. I have passed by a few times, but finally decided to check it out since I am a lover of tea.

It’s quite relaxing inside with the rustic brick walls and natural lighting. They have their main level with lots of seats.

They also have an upper level too that is also relaxing. You can spend lots of hours just catching up with friends or even doing some work.

Gastown Fog was what HispterGirl ordered. It wasn’t exactly like a London Fog since the tea they used was slightly different that earl grey. She still enjoyed it.

Matcha latte is bright and vibrant green. I asked it to be half-sweet and you can special request stuff done to it too. It was delicious and creamy!

Chocolate Mousse Cake comprised of mostly mouse, which was awesome . it was light and airy but packed full of chocolaty goodness.

Overall, we had a great time just chilling here. The teas and desserts are good, but it is a bit expensive. Each items is around $5, but considering that it’s in the Gastown area, it is fairly priced.

Words of Wisdom:

Spacious Interior
Yummy tea lattes and cakes!
Has Wifi

We Rate Apres-Midi Teahouse:
Address:
1 Gaoler’s Mews
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.apresmiditea.com/

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In Cafe

Joyeaux Cafe & Restaurant: Avocado Smoothie & Banh Mi

April 29, 2012

Joyeaux Cafe is a very popular Vietnamese Restaurant in Downtown. They are always busy for lunch and most people make a reservation to ensure they get a spot to sit. Their portions are large and their prices are cheap, so it attracts a lot of people during the lunch hour rush.

My coworkers and I had a busy day, so we decided to have lunch at 10:30am and this place was empty. No surprise at all since no one has lunch that early. As we walked inside, the waitress greeted us and gave us menus. I was very surprised since this never happens during the lunch time rush. The waitress even spent time explaining a few dishes on the menu and made a few recommendations.

Avocado Shake ($3.99) was something I wanted to try for a long time at this place. It is a bit expensive, but it was really good. Very smooth with the subtle taste of the avocado. It seems like a strange combination, but I love it.

Vietnamese Sub with Grilled Pork ($4.99) had a lot of filling inside. The bun was hallowed out and filled in with the vegetables and meat. Everything stays nice and neat inside the bread, so no spillage occurs. You even get 2 pieces of fruit.

Overall, super impressed by the service before the lunch time rush. It starts to get busy at noon, so if you don’t have reservations, aim to arrive at 11:30am.

Words of Wisdom:

Large amount of menu items
Noodle soup is most popular ordered item
Good quality Viet Sub/Banh Mi
Under $10
Should make reservations if you want to get a seat right away

We Rate Joyeaux Cafe & Restaurant:
Address:
551 Howe St
Vancouver, BC
Website:
http://www.joyeaux-cafe-restaurant.com/

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In Cafe

Cafe Artigiano: Latte, Yogurt and Sandwiches

April 9, 2012

There are days in the office when I really don’t want to venture far for some breakfast or lunch. Downstairs from my office is a Caffe Artigiano, so it’s quite convenient to just grab and go. Even though there are lots of other cheaper coffee places around – Tim Hortons and Starbucks don’t even compare.

I found their lattes a bit of a hit and miss depending on who is there making the drinks. Sometimes I will get some amazing latte art and sometimes the art will be very very sloppy. I am not an expert on coffee tastes, but I know it was good enough to give me a jump-start for the day.

For breakfast, I just had some mango peach yogurt and a latte for breakfast.

Mango Peach Yogurt with Granola ($3.49) looks promising, but there really wasn’t enough mango and peach compote inside. Once I mixed everything around, it still tasted like the normal yogurt.

Then, I came back for lunch since their sandwiches did look quite good, but that means I didn’t have to walk far for lunch either. Clearly, I was having a very lazy day.

I grabbed a Green Tea and it comes in one size when you dine-in. If you need more tea, you can ask them to fill it up with more water.

Chicken & Brie Panini Sandwich ($8.59) has roast chicken breast, brie cheese, spinach, ﬁg jam, roasted garlic mayo served on a ciabatta bun. It is then grilled in their panini machine. You also get a side of salad too.

The sandwich was very warm and melted to perfection. The brie cheese complimented the chicken well and make it a very gooey cheesy experience.

Overall, Caffe Artigiano is a great place to have a chat with someone over coffee or lunch. It’s not great for studying as there is no wifi. The food is pretty good and makes for a quick lunch. They have tons of locations in Downtown

Words of Wisdom:

Quite busy during peak hours
No wifi

We rate Cafe Artigiano:

Address:

574 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.caffeartigiano.com

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In Burnaby Cariboo-Lougheed

Mui Garden: Curry Beef Brisket

March 29, 2012

Mui Garden has 4 locations in the Lower Mainland and serve up Chinese food. M and I come here once in a while when we want to just get some cheap eats without traveling far. We like to be lazy like that.

From past experiences, they have some decent food here and we’ve had some bad foor here. It’s always good to know what are the better items to avoid the horrible ones.

Sauces at your table. Its kinda gross how all the amounts in these jars are quite low.

Tea! Gotta love tea and gotta have tea everywhere I go.

Curry Beef Brisket ($10.50) is something that M always orders. It’s more Hong Kong Cafe – Style rather than what you would find in an Indian restaurant.

It has a good taste and it’s quite large! This is off the regular menu, but there is also a lunch set that you can get too.

Wonton Noodle Soup ($5.50) was very disgusting. It was quite salty or had lots of MSG. The wontons seemed pre-made or something that you can get frozen at T&T. Definitely avoid from here.

Overall, I would still say the dishes are a hit and miss. You can’t go wrong with the curry beef brisket.

Words of Wisdom:

Baked Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and Curry Beef Brisket
Great for large groups
Cash or Debt
Hit or miss food
Free parking
Decent prices

We Rate Mui Garden:

Address:
4327 North Rd
Burnaby, BC V3N

Website:
http://www.muigarden.com/

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In Cafe

Thomas Haas: Macarons, Cakes and Croissants

March 27, 2012

Thomas Haas Patisserie is known for their decadent pastries and treats. The owner- Thomas Haas has been recognized as one of top 10 chocolatiers in North America and have also won numerous awards.

I’ve been here a few times and it’s always tough to get to the North Shore, but its a treat thats worth the drive. The location is in the middle of nowhere, but it still draws a large crowd on weekdays and weekends. Amy, Angela, Anita, Kathy and I decided to stop by here after our Tomahawk adventure.

This place was super busy and packed!

Macarons are one of their specialties. One of the better macarons in Vancouver. Angela was a bit upset because even though she ordered 4 different flavours, they ran out of one of the flavours. They just give you any other random flavour. Nonetheless, she did enjoy it and you can read more about it on her blog – Muchkie’s Munchies.

The same thing happened to me too. I ordered Pistachio and coffee macarons, but the passionfruit and coffee came instead. I was sad because I didn’t quite like passionfruit but I ate it anyways. The texture and consistancies of the macaroons are top notch.

Lemon Tart ($5.50) has a shortbread crust, lemon cream on top of the light lemon custard.

Milk Chocolate with Passionfruit and Almond ($5.50) has a light milk chocolate mousse, passionfruit cream, soft
almond cake and crispy hazelnut wafer. Check out TheFoodQueen to see what Amy thought of this dessert.

Tiramisu au Chocolat ($5.50) has light mascarpone cream and soft almond cake with amaretto, coffee, and milk chocolate mousse. It was delicious and I love how you can see the whole cross-section of the cake. Tasted awesome too.

Butter Croissant ($2.50) has a lot of flakey layers to the croissant. It was good, but I wishes it was more crispy on the outside.

Look at all those layers.

Double Baked Almond Croissant ($4.45) was so good. There are no words to describe how good this is. *Drools* *DIES* It’s so savory and has so many almonds. Definitely a must get item! Tastes the best when it’s just fresh from the oven too!

Oh like at that. SO good.

Overall, Thomas Haas has some solid treats and even though the locations are so far away, it’s worth the trip.

Words of Wisdom:

Few free parking spots out front
You kinda need a car to get here, unless you like to walk
Recommended: Macarons, Double Baked croissants, and Tiramisu
Can be a bit pricey
Busy with people and might be hard to find a seat for large group
Outdoor seating (great for summer)

We Rate Thomas Haas:

Address:
998 Harbourside Dr
North Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.thomashaas.com/

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In Cafe

Venice Garden Seafood Restaurant: Wonton Noodle Soup

March 17, 2012

Venice Garden Seafood Restaurant is located in the plaza where T&T is on 1st Ave. They sell the usual HK style food at decent prices. They are open quite late, which is awesome but they are cash only. The prices are quite affordable, so you will probably only spend about $7 or $8 on lunch.

My parents and I just came here for a quick bite since we were in a bit of a rush. It was en route to where we needed to go.

I feel like this place has changed so many times that I can’t keep track of what restaurant this is. It’s been many years since I’ve been here, but I did notice the interior has had a face lift.

Steamed Rice Roll with Beef was quite decent. It was around $3, which isn’t too bad and the flavour was so-so.

Hot & Sour Soup was about $5 for a bowl and it tasted good. I’ve just been having a craving for hot and sour soup for some odd reason. The soup here wasn’t as intense but it had a good amount of ingredients in the soup, so every bite had something interesting in it.

Wonton Noodle Soup is very good. My mother swears that this is the only item that is good here. The wontons are quite large and plump with good flavour. Definitely recommended.

Roasted Duck Leg in Noodle Soup is probably like a bowl of fat, or at least that’s what my mom tells my dad. He obviously loved the duck leg, but he found the dish to be a bit salty.

Overall, the food is quite average, but some items do stand out. The service was quite lacking. There seemed to be only one person working the floor, which was super odd. It took them a while to give us menus and tea. They had a good amount of customers, but really needs more staff. I guess the price makes up for the horrible service since each item is quite affordable.

Words of Wisdom:

Bad service
Cash Only
Decent Food
Affordable prices
Free parking at lot

We Rate Venice Garden Seafood Restaurant:
Address:
262- 2800 E 1st Ave
Vancouver, BC V5M

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In Cafe

Thierry Patisserie: Chit Chats & Desserts

March 9, 2012

Thierry Patisserie is located near Alberni and Thurlow and sells some unique treats! From croissants to cakes… they have the tasty treats you want. It’s a great place that is open late and perfect to chill with friends.

The tables are very cramped together inside, but it’s usually hard to find places like this that are open late. I usually come here with friends when we just want a coffee and a snack to talk. Girls like to talk.. sometimes too much, but that’s what we do.

Latte was good as usual, but sometimes it can be a bit more milky than it should be. But, it’s up to your personal

Chocolate Succe Cake was quite hard to eat. It has hazelnut meringue, chocolate mousse and 70% chocolate ganache. The chocolate covering the cake was very thick and was hard to break through it to get into the ganache later inside. It still tasted good, but it was frustrating to eat it.

Chocolate trio was my favorite! It has white, milk and dark chocolate mousse and chocolate sponge. For a chocolate lover, this was my favorite item. It is very easy to eat and is filled with soft creamy deliciousness.

Lemon Tart was really good and best for those who like something more sweet and tangy. AdventureTimeGirl said this was her favorite out of the bunch of pastries.

Overall, Thierry Patisserie is a good place to chill with your friends over coffee/tea and pastries. Spiked Tea is good too if you like something new and different. It is a bit pricey than usual, so do be aware that it might cost you a bit.

Words of Wisdom:

Large variety of pastries
Can be a bit pricey, $5+ per dessert
Lots of tables
Beautiful decor

We Rate Thierry Patisserie:

Address
1059 Alberni Street
Vancouver, BC
Website:
thierrychocolates.com

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In Cafe

Leonidas: Waffles, Hot Chocolate and Chocolates

February 20, 2012

Leonidas is a Belgian Chocolate shop inside the Convention Center near Waterfront Station. They sell lots of signature chocolates, macarons, waffles, drinks, and other chocolate goodies. The interior is quite small, but can fit a few small groups.

M and I were in the area and we wanted to redeem our Social Shopper deal good for 2 waffles, 2 hot chocolates, 2 chocolate covered strawberries and a box of 6 chocolates. Since it was Valentines Day, it seemed like a good day to redeem it.

Dark Hot Chocolate was good! It was very smooth and had a nice rich chocolate taste.

Leiage Waffles were not good at all. The waffles were pre-made and reheated. I found this very strange since I’ve heard lots of good things about their waffles. Perhaps they made them ahead of time since they knew the shop would be busy during Valentines Day. M and I really thought the waffles were hard and bland.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries were good. The strawberries were big, plump and juicy with a good coating of milk chocolate.

The chocolates you can choose any 6 from their display case. I chose anything with dark chocolate and they were really good!! If you have no idea what to get, you can always ask them for advice. They have tons of choices to choose from.

Overall, the chocolates are the best items here. I would go back just for those. As for this experience, M and I felt that the service was quite poor. Some customers were ignored when there was no line up, so they just left. Our table was left dirty for a long time and as I went back to get the chocolates, they forgot I was already dining there. Granted it was a busy Valentines Day, I can understand the staff was flustered by the amount of customers. Since they are still quite new, I am sure they will improve on their service.

Words of Wisdom:

Delicious Dark Chocolates!
Under $10
Closest Skytrain: Waterfront

We Rate Leonidas:

Address:
#29 – 1055 Canada Place
Vancouver, BC
Website:
http://www.leonidaswaterfront.com/

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In Cafe

Bel Cafe: Hot Chocolates and Macarons

February 11, 2012

Bel Cafe is beside Hawksworth in the Georgia Hotel. They serve up sandwiches, pastries, coffee and other delicious goodies.

Rose and Raspberry Hot Chocolate (~$7) with Valrhona Ivoire White Chocolate, rose oil, vanilla, and freeze-dried raspberry.
It comes with Vanilla shortbread.

The hot chocolate was really pretty, but I found this to be too sweet for my liking. The sweetness overpowered the taste, but that might just be me.

Vanilla shortbread was ok, but I thought it was also sweet since it was coated in sugar. It came with the hot chocolate. I think it would go well with tea or a coffee.

Macarons ($2) are one of their specialties, so I was excited to chomp down on these! Yummm.

Black Sesame Macaron ($2) was a really unique flavour and I just had to try it. I really liked the black sesame flavour.

Pistachio Macaron ($2) looks electric green, kinda radioactive in a way. Besides the color, the macaron had a good texture and tasted really good.

I honestly didn’t like the hot chocolate, but the cookies and macarons were delicious! Perhaps you will find this experience a bit different from I did.

Words of Wisdom:

Hot Chocolates are not that great
Macarons are good
Gets pretty busy around lunch

We Rate Bel Cafe:

Location:
801 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.belcafe.com/

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In Cafe

Soirette Macarons & Tea: New Specialty Macaron Store

February 6, 2012

Soirette Macarons & Tea is a new little cafe that opened up near Pender and Broughton St. Flo bought me here since she really wanted to try out their macarons. She heard about them from an article in the Vancouver Sun and then bought a few Social Shopper deals.

We came too early to use the deal, but since we were there anyways, we decided to grab some macarons without the coupons. Since we heard good things from this place, we kinda knew we would be back in the near future.

The interior is very cute and cozy with mostly white and clear interior decor with a blue wall at the back. It’s definitely a place for the girls to just kick back and relax with the macarons.

There is very limited seating, so most people we saw just did take out. Definitely not a place for large groups.

They also have a large selection of specialty teas and drinks. I didn’t get a chance to get one, but tea does sounds like a good pairing with tea.

We came an hour before closing, so they were running out of macarons. We didn’t mind since there were still some great flavours.
Don’t let this picture discourage you from going since Flo and I just came late after work.

Macarons ($2 each, 6 for $11.50 or 12 for $22). Flo and I just got 6 macarons to snack on. We got the raspberry, cappuccino, matcha, Salted Caramel, Chocolate and pistachio.

All of them were equality as good as the next one. They are well made and had great texture and flavours.

Overall, one of the better macaron places in town! It seems to be the new fad, which everyone loves.

Words of Wisdom:

Great as gifts!
Priced similar to other places with macarons
Beautiful decor

We rate Soirette Macarons & Tea:

Address:
1433 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC V6G
Website:
http://www.soirette.com/

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In Cafe

Mink Chocolates: A Chocolate Cafe

February 4, 2012

Mink Chocolates in Downtown specializes in all things chocolate. They are dubbed the chocolate cafe since everything they serve has chocolate. They have fondue, waffles, parfaits, drinks, and specialty chocolates!!

Since it was Friday, the girls in the office wanted to fill our hot chocolate cravings. We decided to go to Mink Chocolates for their special hot chocolate for the Hot Chocolate Festival.

It’s a very cute cafe with a lot of natural light and its quite comfortable.

The Sheba Hot Chocolate comes with your choice of milk or dark chocolate ganache hot chocolate with pistachio. It also comes with 72% chocolate wafer.

The hot chocolate was quite smooth and milky with the subtle pistachio flavour. Its wasn’t over powering and they went well together.

The Mermaids Choice Hot Chocolate comes with either milk or dark chocolate ganache hot chocolate, salted caramel and hint of rosemary. It is also served with the chocolate wafer.

Everyone else from the office got this. They really liked the subtle taste of rosemary! They also have a specialty chocolate called The Mermaids Choice with a similar taste. It’s in bar form rather than in the hot chocolate.

The wafer that comes with it is a perfect complement! More chocolatey goodness!

As we were here, we couldn’t resist their amazing looking chocolates. They have so many unique flavours! When do you ever see chocolates named – “Love Potion”, “Open In Case of Emergency”, “The Girls Favorite”, or “No Grumpy”.

It’s quite unique in my opinion and would make amazing gifts. I’ll probably be back grabbing a few packs of chocolates for friends.

Words of Wisdom:

Good Hot Chocolate
Lots of amazing chocolate bars
Closest Skytrain: Burrard or Waterfront

We Rate Minks Chocolate:

Address:
863 W Hastings St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.minkchocolates.com/

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In Cafe

Bel Cafe: Hot Chocolate Festival

January 31, 2012

Bel Cafe is participating in the Hot Chocolate Festival thats happening till February 14th, 2012. Since I work in the area, I thought it would be nice to grab a hot chocolate to go and sip it back in the office. What I like about it is that you get a cookie with your hot chocolate too.

The hot chocolate and the cookie will cost you about $7, but all proceeds raised goes towards food services programs of the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre in Vancouver.

70% Valrhona Guanaja Dark Chocolate, orange oil, orange zest, roasted green cardamom

The initial taste of the hot chocolate was really good since the orange and cardamom taste really shined through. One thing I really didn’t like about the hot chocolate is the gritty taste, which didn’t make it very smooth. When it comes to hot chocolate, I am quite picky on the texture.

Valrhona dark chocolate fudge cookie

I really enjoyed this cookie.

Bel Cafe is featuring other flavours till February 14th, so check it out.

CITRUS AND GREEN CARDAMOM
70% Valrhona Guanaja Dark Chocolate, orange oil, orange zest, roasted green cardamom
Served with: Valrhona dark chocolate fudge cookie
Available: January 14 – 24

ROSE AND RASPBERRY
Valrhona Ivoire White Chocolate, rose oil, vanilla, freeze-dried raspberry
Served with: Vanilla shortbread
Available: January 25 – February 3

ORGANIC FILBERT AND SWEET SPICE
36% Valrhona Caramelia Milk Chocolate, organic hazelnut, hazelnut oil, chai spice
Served with: Hazelnut breton
Available: February 4 – 14

I honestly didn’t like the hot chocolate, but the cookie was delicious. Perhaps you will find this experience a bit different. It is still expensive for just a drink, but the money goes towards a good cause.

Location:
801 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.belcafe.com/

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In Cafe

Scoop!: Frozen Yogurt with Lots of Fun

January 23, 2012

Scoop! is a Frozen Yogurt place on West 4th. They have frozen yogurt with some amazing toppings.

After an event Downtown, a bunch of us headed here since Wongers insisted we go! It’s probably because its good and I’ve never been here. She raves about this place and now I know why.

The interior is quite homey with a few seats at the front and some more in the back.

Their most popular items are the frozen yogurts, but they also have smoothies and juices.

Their frozen yogurt machine pumps out their original flavour, so if you want green tea, mango, raspberry or chocolate hazelnut, they manually blend that together. You can choose 2 flavours and combine them together.

After choosing your size and flavour of the yogurt, you can then begin adding toppings. Its an additional $0.93 per 50g.

The best topping that they have are the Mochi! It’s made in-house and out of all the frozen yogurt places I have been to, it’s is really the best. I do also love all the fruits!

You can also add different syrups on top such as white chocolate, chocolate sauce, hot fudge, condensed milk, dulce de leche, and many more.

Small Original ($3.29+additional topping cost) goes best with fruit. It’s the best way to enjoy your froyo!

Small Original and green tea ($3.49 +additional topping cost). The green tea was mushed up at the bottom and the original was put on top. It was good and I liked the toppings!

If you do order the blended flavour, it looks more flat and melts faster than just the original.

The fun doesn’t end there! They have a lot of board games to play! They have a few classics such as Monopoly, Battleship, Jenga…etc. It’s really a great place to just hang out with a few friends. They also have this puzzle game called “Vortex”, I dare you to play it! I spent the whole time trying to solve it…but we couldn’t. If you figure out the secret, do let me know!!

They also have a Fooseball table! How cool is that? This little frozen yogurt place is cooler than some peoples houses.

Words of Wisdom:

Lots of games to play
Original flavour is best
Blended favours melt faster and not as pretty looking
Decent prices
Pay street parking

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Address:
2050 W 4th Ave
Vancouver, BC
Website:
scoopyogurt.com

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In Cafe

Nelson the Seagull: Carnivore Sandwiches

January 18, 2012

Nelson the Seagull is a cafe in Gastown. They are known for their coffee and their simple foods. Once you step foot inside of here, you’ll realize its very hipster. It’s a great place to do some work over a coffee, or just sit to find inspiration. The space is very very open.

I’ve heard lots about it, so I came to have lunch here with KoreanGirl, Mandu and Jojocake.

Their kitchen is very open, no wall, no doors, nothing. You can see them at work making your meal.

Here is their menu.

Tea ($2.50) comes in their super cool ceramic cups. Its shaped like a crinkled beer cup. You know, the one where you play beer pong with. Kinda expensive for tea…but I love tea.

Carnivore Sandwich ($9) has cilantro pesto, Dijon, boerenkaas cheese, and Big Lou’s Pastrami on top of their house made rustic bread. It also comes with a mini salad on the side consisting of apple, spinach and onion with a vinaigrette sauce.

All of us at the table ended up ordering the carnivore sandwich. I think it was the only meaty item they had on their menu for lunch.

The best part of this sandwich was Big Lou’s Pastrami! I thought the sandwich was really good, but the others had some mixed thoughts about the sandwich. Some thought it was salty, some thought the bread was a bit tough and burnt looking.

I personally would go again since the meat was so damn good!

Overall, Nelson the Seagull has a very simple straight forward menu with decent prices.

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