Type Archives - Page 41 of 125

In San Francisco

(M) Ike’s Place at Sweet Inspiration in San Francisco

January 13, 2017

Sweet Inspiration is serving (M) Ikes’s Place Sandwiches and I was very confused about this location and why it was called Mike’s Place. When I was in town, I spent quite a lot of time searching online if I was going to the right location. Long story short, Ike’s lost their lease to their original location and collaborated with Sweet Inspiration to serve his sandwiches, but they couldn’t name it Ike’s Place due to some city violation, so they changed it to Mike’s Place.

As we got here, we were still very confused if we would be getting authentic Ike’s Sandwiches.

There was plenty of sandwiches to choose from. We got them to-go and decided to eat it before our flight back to Vancouver.

Wonzo Sandwich

Wonzo Sandwich has Halal chicken, Ranch, Bacon, and Cheddar. It is also served with lettuce and tomatoes. You can have your sandwich with your choice of bread – Dutch Crunch, SF Sourdough, French Roll, Whole Wheat, or Gluten-Free. We went with dutch crunch.

Montana Sandwich

Montana Sandwich has Halal chicken, Asian Sesame Dressing, Bacon, Avocado, and Jack cheese. I went with the SF Sourdough.

Both sandwiches were very heavy and filling, but taste wise, it was a bit mediocre. It was a bit heavy on the dressing.

We Rate Mike’s Place:

Address:
2239 Market Street, San Francisco

Website:
http://www.sweetinspirationbakery.com/

In Brunch

Jane on Larkin: Cafe in San Francisco

January 12, 2017

Jane on Larkin in San Francisco is a local cafe that serves coffee, toast, breakfast, pastries and other items. I was on the hunt for a breakfast spot that also sold avocado toast.

Coffee

Coffee is definitely a staple in any cafe. I went with a Cappuccino

Avocado Mash

Avocado Mash has avocado, cracked black pepper, poached egg, pickled shallot and jalapeño. It was beautiful and very delicious, but I felt the pickled jalapeño was a bit too much especially in the morning. It sure cleared up my sinuses.

Breakfast Sandwich

Egg White Sandwich with spinach and avocado with provolone and a dash of sriracha served on your choice of house-baked sourdough, multigrain bread or baguette. Super healthy sandwich.

Overall, Jane on Larkin was good. We were able to get a table early in the morning. Food looks pretty and tasted good.

We Rate Jane on Larkin:

Address:
925 Larkin Street, San Francisco

Website:
http://www.itsjane.com/

In Japanese

Men no Kura: Ramen in Vancouver

January 11, 2017

Men-no Kura is another new addition to the ramen community on Robson Street in Downtown Vancouver. There are several ramen shops in close proximity, so competition is high.

I came here at night with a few friends to have 2nd dinner.

Interior

There is a large communal table and then a few smaller tables for other groups. Tables are clean and there is a nice modern industrial look to the space. Staff are nice and helpful too.

Dashimaki

There are 2 types of dashimaki – Japanese rolled omelette at Men-no kura.

Dashimaki mentaiko
Dashimaki cheese

The omelette was soft, warm and the center was filled with either of those salty delicious filling. Delicious. Of the 2 types, I liked the cheese one a bit more.

Japanese deep fried chicken karaage

Japanese deep fried chicken karaage is their most popular item. It is very tender and super juicy with a nice crisp exterior. Very enjoyable and a great item to share.

Tonkotsu Black Garlic

Tonkotsu Black Garlic Ramen is one of their most popular ramen on the menu. It has a rich broth, chashu, garlic chips, and green onions.

Tsukemen

They have Tsukemen on their menu. You can have the noodles hot or cold. You have a choice of 3 different broths to choose from:

Original
Garlic Miso
Spicy

Deluxe Tsukemen

Deluxe Tsukemen comes with extra toppings of ramen egg, bamboo shoots and chashu. The broth is served in a mini hotpot so it stays warm. There was also some fried garlic chips on the side. The broth is quite rich, so without the hot flame underneath, it would congeal. The broth is very favourful and if it’s too rich for your liking, they can dilute it a bit more for you.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the ramen at Men-no-Kura was good. Their broth is much richer than other ramen shops, but I prefer it that way. It was good ramen, but with so many other ramen shops out there, it’s hard to choose. I still have another favourite, but if I was close by, I would come here again.

We Rate Men-no-Kura :

Address:
1773 Robson Street, Vancouver

In Bar and Grill

St. Regis Bar and Grill in Downtown Vancouver

January 10, 2017

Taking over the kitchen and updating the menu at St. Regis Bar & Grill is Executive Chef Daniel Ackland, who had a challenge of finding a fine balance of refreshing existing favourites and creating new dishes which seamlessly blend into its casual, comfort-focussed philosophy. Chef Daniel Ackland had a clear vision for reshaping the food program and he’s proudly launched a completely refreshed menu for the fall and winter. We were one of the first people to give this menu a try.

I came here 5 years ago when I worked at BCIT across the street, so it’s a nice way to revisit.

Quinoa Salad

The quinoa salad has mint, cranberry, cherry tomato, roasted roots, greens, feta cheese, and a citrus vinaigrette. A nice healthy option if you’re not into heavier food on the menu.

Regis Burger

The Regis Burger is a classic burger made fresh daily. The patty is made of house ground beef blend is a mix of 100% AAA Chuck and Brisket. It is topped with lettuce, tomato, and red onion on a brioche bun with smoked onion & garlic aioli. It is served with skinny fries or you can substitute it for soup, salad, yam fries or onion rings for a little extra.

Veggie Burger

The garden burger patty is made of chickpea, couscous & roasted hazelnut. It is topped with jack cheese, onion gastrique, salsa, and grainy dijon mayo on a onion bun. The patty was huge and made it hard to eat, but was definitely missing something.

Pizza

Italia Pizza comes with mozzarella, Napoli salami, salsiccia picante, prosciutto, and chiffonade basil.

Fungi Pizza has mozzarella, shallots, mushrooms, and truffle oil.

Margarita Pizza has bocconcini, mozzarella, basil, and tomato.

The pizzas were ok, but I didn’t enjoy the dough or the toppings.

Short Rib with Garlic Mash Potato

Short rib has garlic mashed potato, shallot confit, steamed spinach, red wine jus, and frizzled onion. Super tender short rib. I really enjoyed the dish.

Chicken and Mushroom Penne

Chicken and mushroom penne has broccolini, shallot, thyme butter, and lemon. The dish was ok, but I needed more sauce to it. A bit dry and needed some more butter and lemon to coat the penne a bit more.

Spicy Noodle Bowl

Spicy noodle bowl has sauteed teriyaki chicken, mixed vegetables, and green onion.

Quarter Chicken Plate

Quarter chicken dinner has BBQ chicken, coleslaw, skinny fries, and gravy. The chicken was tender and I loved the BBQ sauce on the outside.

Warm Cookie Skillet

Warm cookie skillet has white chocolate chip cookie, shaved dark chocolate, chocolate sauce, and vanilla bean ice cream from Mario’s Gelati. This was my favourite item of the night as it is soft and warm contrasting with the ice cream covered in chocolate. A real treat.

Overall, the dishes were a hit and miss. For a bar and grill, they have a diverse menu of bar classics mixed with the more decadent dishes on the menu.

We Rate St Regis Bar and Grill:

Address:
608 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.stregisbargrill.com

In Dineout

Vancouver Fish Company: Dine Out Vancouver

January 9, 2017

The Vancouver Fish Company is participating in Dine Out Vancouver from January 20 to February 5, 2017. They are offering guests with their 3 course meal on Granville Island for West Coast Cuisine for $40 or $29 for lunch. Reservations should be made in advance.

Dine Out 2017 Menu at The Vancouver Fish Company

Appetizers

VFC seafood chowder
Lentil soup
Humboldt squid salad
Maple walnut prawns

Entree

Lobster mac’n’cheese
Thai chicken curry
Crab-stuffed sole wellington
Steak oscar

Dessert

Apple bread pudding
Mango sorbet

As I came during a preview night, the items pictured might not be 100% how it looks when it arrives at your table.

Appetizers

Lentil soup has organic red lentils, and garam masala cream sauce. It is Vegetarian and gluten-free friendly.

Maple walnut prawns has lightly fried prawns, seaweed salad, maple, spiced walnuts, and sesame. It comes with 3 pieces to an order.

VFC seafood chowder has fresh seafood, fresh clams, thyme cream, and bacon.

Entree

Lobster mac’n’cheese has baked lobster casserole, creamy cheddar, and bread crumbs.

Thai chicken curry has braised chicken, scented basmati rice, coconut curry sauce, julienne vegetables, roasted peanuts, and cilantro. It has a nice kick of spice to this dish.

Crab-stuffed sole wellington with fresh sole, crab meat, cream cheese, puff pastry, braised kale, and lobster bisque. I found with this dish, the cream cheese and puff pastry masked the sole and the crab meat.

Steak oscar has seared skirt steak, crab meat, baby shrimp, hannah brook farm vegetables, garlic confit mashed potatoes, bernaise, and peppercorn jus.

Dessert

Mango sorbet has mango, coconut cream, and lime dust. I enjoyed this one as it felt like a palate cleanser.

Apple bread pudding has warm bread pudding, caramel sauce, and spiced walnuts. I felt it was a bit on the sweet side.

Overall, I felt the menu had a good amount of choices but the tastes were just ok. I felt the menu was lacking dishes that highlighted fresh piece of fish. For a $40 dinner option, it is a bit pricey for what you get.

We Rate The Vancouver Fish Company:

Address:
1517 Anderson Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.vanfish.com/

In Noodles

Pho Xe Lua 24: Vietnamese Cuisine in Vancouver

January 8, 2017

Pho Xe Lua 24 is a little restaurant on Cambie Street serving up traditional Vietnamese food. A few of us came here for dinner an event. We all haven’t been to this restaurant yet, so we decided to come in and give it a try.

Just note, it is cash only.

Appetizers

Shrimp Salad Rolls comes with 4 pieces and a dipping sauce. It good, packed with vermicelli noodles, lettuce and shrimp held together by the rice paper. The sauce was delicious too.

Deep-Fried Chicken Wings comes with crisp pieces of wings and drumettes. The sauce that came with it was nice and tangy, which balanced well.

Vermicelli

Lemongrass Chicken with Spring Roll and Vermicelli had the chicken cooked well, the spring roll was crisp.

The fish sauce poured over the vermicelli was good.

Pho

Extra Large House Special Pho was what we ordered since we wanted to see how big this bowl really is. There’s a bit of everything in here from beef balls to tripe to rare stake. Good clean tasting broth that wasn’t too salty.

Overall, we had a good time dining here, the food was good and the price was cheap. The 3 of us spent $40 after tax and tip. Not bad at all. If you’re in the area and want large portions of good food at good prices, it’s here.

We Rate Pho Xe Lua 24:

Address:
3346 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC

In Brunch

Mama’s: Breakfast in San Francisco

January 7, 2017

Mama’s on Washington Square was where we had breakfast on the last day we were in San Francisco. Apparently it was a local favourite, but now it is mostly tourist. We came a few minutes before opening and the line was down the block. Everyone wanted a taste of what Mama’s was offering.

Once you get through the line, you’re line up again to order before getting seated.

The staff are very friendly, so have patience with them because it so busy.

I started off with a coffee as I need some caffeine before the day begins. A cappuccino for me and freshly squeezed orange juice for my friend.

Farmers M’Omelette has smoked bacon, baby spinach, grilled leeks and Sonoma goat cheese.

M’Omelette’s are served with Mama’s Grilled Potatoes and your choice of toast. You can choose from white, whole grain, rye, english muffin or sourdough baguette. I went with the sourdough.

The dish was very good and filling for brunch.

Florentine Benedict has baby spinach and sautéed mushrooms. There are also two poached Petaluma Farms eggs served on a toasted English muffin with hollandaise sauce and Mama’s Grilled Potatoes. My friend enjoyed the dish.

Monte Cristo has roasted turkey breast, honey baked ham, cheddar and Gruyère cheese battered in egg and grilled, served with homemade jam. This is one of their signature items and we had to split this between the two of us. Highly recommended. I loved the balance between the savoury and sweet.

Overall, it was an experience to eat here. The food was great, but that line up was very long. We tried our best to get here earlier, but everyone else had the same idea too.

We Rate Mama’s:

Address:
1701 Stockton St, San Francisco

Website:
http://www.mamas-sf.com/

In lunch

Frog Hollow Farms: Avocado Toast in San Francisco

January 6, 2017

When I was travelling in San Francisco, I had a crazy addition of Avocado Toast. When I was at the Ferry Terminal, I took a visit to Frog Hollow Farm to get a taste of their toast.

The Shop

They serve pastries, sweet and savoury treats, and other items.

Even fresh fruit.

The Menu

They have a pretty small menu, but good items that people can easily grab and go at the Ferry Terminal.

Avocado Toast has garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper on Acme green onion bread. I got the full size for $10.99, which is pretty expensive, but it looks so beautiful.

After eating this all, I was super satisfied and really full.

We rate Frog Hollow Farm:

Address:
Ferry Building, Level 1, 1 Ferry Plaza, Suite 46, San Francisco

Website:
http://www.froghollow.com/

In Cafe

Honolulu Coffee in Downtown Vancouver

January 5, 2017

Honolulu Coffee opened their first shop in Canada on Nelson Street in Downtown Vancouver. They have plans to open more locations in the near future. They bring to the Vancouver scene a twist on the regular coffee shop by having a taste of Hawaii. They are located beside Gyu Kaku, and Guu Garden.

Interior

The interior is a good size and beautiful. There are lots of seats but limited spots with outlets. Time spent at a cafe should we talking to others and enjoying their company, but sometimes you can’t help but crack open your laptop to check on something.

Coffee

One of their signature items – Hawaiian Latte has coconut, macadamia, espresso, and milk. I found it was a bit sweet even at half sweetness. You get a subtle taste of the coconut and macadamia in the latte.

I got my latte with banana bread. It came prepackaged, but it would have been better if they offered to heat it up.

I also tried the Chocolate Macadamia nut cookie and it was ok. It was packed full of chocolate chip and nuts, the cookie was dry and hard. The Cheese Scone was also mediocre.

Overall, I didn’t really like Honolulu Coffee, but it was mostly because of my personal preferences. I tried things I normally wouldn’t order because it was their signature items. Next time, I’ll stick with a cappuccino and cake.

We Rate Honolulu Coffee:

Address:
888 Nelson Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.honolulucoffee.com/

In Chinese

Sun Bo Kong: Vegetarian Chinese Food in Vancouver

January 2, 2017

Sun Bo Kong is an award-winning vegetarian restaurant for Chinese cuisine. They are open 7 days a week from 11 am to 9 pm. Reservations are also available.

I came here for lunch to try Chinese vegetarian food. A nice change to eating a meal without meat.

Gluten Combination comes with a 4 flavours on a plate with different sauces. The gluten is spongey kinda like tofu. A good starter to the meal and easily can be shared.

5 Spice Bean Curd Rolls Stuffed with Mushroom has 2 rolls and was very delicious.

Deluxe Premiere Bamboo with Vegetarian Thick Soup is filed with different kinds of mushroom. A clean and clear tasting soup with rich mushroom flavours.

Pea Tips Rice Sheet Roll is stuffed with the naturally sweet and crisp pea tips.

Vegetarian Cutlet with Orange Sauce was one of our favourite items. We ate this dish us really quickly.

Monkey-head Mushroom with Vegetables doesn’t have any monkeys in it despite the name. The mushroom is porous and soaks up the sauce.

Lo-Hon Chow Mein had mushrooms, black fungus, and other veggies on the crisp noodles. This was ok, but we probably wouldn’t order it again.

Deep-fried Taro Rolls were so delicious. The exterior was nice and crisp, so when you bite down, you get the soft taro inside.

Deep Fried Seaweed and Enoki Mushroom Rolls had mixed reactions at the table. I personally liked it because I inhale anything mushroom.

Overall, Sun Bo Kong Vegetarian Restaurant was delicious and it’s hard to find a really good vegetarian Chinese restaurant in town that appeals to meat eaters as well.

We Rate Sun Bo Kong Vegetarian Restaurant:

Address:
1363 Kingsway, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.sunbokong.com/#vancouver-vegetarian

In Chinatown

Juniper: Happy Hour in Chinatown

December 31, 2016

I love the abundance of Happy Hour options near my office. My coworkers and I wanted to grab a quick drink after work to celebrate the holidays. We headed to Juniper as they had a earlier happy hour than some other places.

On their happy hour menu, they have:

Beer on tap
Cider on tap
Cocktail on tap
Wine on Tap
Aperitif

They also have some food options too.

I’m a beer drinker, so I got the Four Winds La Mason Saison on tap. The beer is part of Four Wind’s Notus Series, named after the Greek God of the South Winds, is a series of their low-ABV brews.

It has a light body with a pale golden hue. This dry table saison is brewed with spelt and rye and then fermented with wild yeast for notes of pepper and tropical fruit.

We rate Juniper:

Address:
185 Keefer Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.junipervancouver.com/

In Brunch

Homer St. Cafe: Brunch in Vancouver

December 27, 2016

Homer St. Cafe serves brunch on the weekends and I always have lunch with my brunch buddy to try new places around town and catch up. I’ve been here for events before but never brunch.

I started off with a Cappuccino. A nice airy foam above the espresso. A coffee is always great to start off the day especially for brunch time.

Maple Chicken and Bacon Cobbler was what I ordered. Their butter milk biscuit sits above the other ingredients. It is a small portion but the biscuit fills you up. The bacon was thick cut and very delicious. The chicken had a hint of maple but wasn’t overpowering at all. It felt like a nice hearty breakfast.

Roast of the Day had sausage and pork belly over some roasted potatoes. It is served with bread and eggs on the side.

Overall, it was a nice space to dine, servers were nice and the food was good.

We Rate Homer St. Cafe:

Address:
898 Homer Street
Vancouver, BC

Website: http://homerstreetcafebar.com/

In Cafe

Chocolate Chair: Dragons Breath in San Francisco

December 25, 2016

Chocolate Chair at the Japan Centre draws huge line ups for their Dragon’s Breath, a cereal-like fruity pebbles soaked in liquid nitrogen. Once you comp down on the cereal, a bunch of smoke comes out of your nose and mouth.

It’s been catching wildfire on social media and I wasn’t intending on coming here, but since we saw the huge line up, we decided to give it a try too.

They make it to order and its run to watch them put it together as ton and tons of smoke come out of their mixers.

The cup with the Dragons Breath is super cold and becomes frosted over. The smoke it coming out of the cup.

Grab a few and pop it into your mouth to see the steam coming out of your mouth or nose. It just tasted like dry stale cereal. Most like fruity pebbles. It was a fun experience to try it but it doesn’t warrant a revisit anytime soon.

We Rate Chocolate Chair:

Address:
Japan Center, Level 2
1737 Post Street, San Francisco

Website:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chocolate-Chair/845948145417911

In BBQ

Arisu: Korean BBQ in Coquitlam

December 24, 2016

Arisu is a Korean BBQ place in Coquitlam. I came here with a few friends on the weekend to hang out and find a new place to try out.

As a Korean restaurant, they have a variety of items besides BBQ.

Interior

A majority of the seating is booth seating. Tables all have grills and ventilation over top.

Our booth had a TV playing music videos. There was also a button where you can call the servers without looking around to flag them down. It makes the service a lot better, so they don’ have to read your mind.

Drinks

A Korean restaurant isn’t complete without a good drink menu. They have beer, soju, sake and other alcohol. I went with a beer as usual.

Banchan

Banchan are complimentary side dishes that arrive with the meal. We had 4 in total.

One of them features zucchini with onion, and carrots. Served cold and tasted good.

The next one had seaweed and had a nice pickled taste to it.

Kimchi is a staple and a good way to see if the restaurant can make a good basic kimchi. It was ok, but I like mine a bite more crunchy and sour.

Last, we got some shredded cabbage with a light dressing. It balanced very well with the grilled meat that we ordered.

Jok Bal

Jok Bal is steamed soy marinated pork hocks. The serving size was very generous, but the quality was lacking. It was tough and didn’t seem very fresh.

The dish came with lettuce wraps and some sauces to eat with it.

Steamed Egg in a Hot Clay Pot

Steamed Egg in a Hot Clay Pot looked pretty awesome but was a bit bland. It definitely needed a bit more salt and pepper.

BBQ Meats

Boneless Kalbi Short Ribs are beautifully marbled, but the biggest fault to their BBQ meats is the grill and the overly attentive service.

What I enjoy most about having the BBQ grill at the table is that you cook it yourself. Since it was a quite night at the restaurant, the meat was flipped for us by multiple servers.

Also, the BBQ Grill is quite weak and due to the thin metal threads of the grill, it cooked very slowly and let the meat cook in a weird way.

Beef Tongue was thin and the slices looked very nice. Nice cut of meat, but we still had similar problems with the grill and the servers flipping it for us.

I totally understand why they would flip it for us to ensure that it’s cooked well, but the young server that we had didn’t seem to know what he was doing.

Overall, we found more misses with their food. Their cuts of meat are really nice but everything else wasn’t able to help cook the meat to its full potential. With other BBQ restaurants in the area, they have tough competition. Also, even though they have ventilation above the grills, you will leave the restaurant smelling like meat. It’s a common occurrence with other BBQ restaurants too, so don’t wear your favourite clothes here. I really wanted to like this place, but my friends and I were disappointed.

We rate Arisu Korean BBQ:

Address:
4501 North Rd #203, Burnaby, BC

In Bakery

Chez Christophe: Pastries, Sandwiches and Holiday Treats

December 23, 2016

Chez Christophe is located in North Burnaby and they recently moved locations to a larger venue. There’s more seating and a lot more treats to be had. Since I live pretty close by, I was invited with a few other bloggers to check out a few of their new holiday items as well as their other items on the menu.

Sweet Treats

They have lots of delicious treats at the counter. Small cakes to larger ones for parties.

Freshly baked pastries are in basket that fill the aroma of the shop.

Their decadent chocolates are lined row by row.

Behind the Scenes

There is a huge window where you can see Chez Christophe work on some of his chocolate sculptures. It’s pretty fascinating.

Holiday Showpieces

All sculptures are created onsite with their award-winning Swiss chocolate Carma, which is unique to Canada. The pieces are completely edible and consists of hollow chocolate in its entirety, airbrushed with cocoa butter.

Sliding Penguin was my favourite. He looks so cute with the little santa hat on.

Abstract Santa is bright a red just like the big man.

Holiday Bear is probably really popular with the kids.

Santa’s Boot is decorated with a few chocolate treats.

Large Acorn is pretty cool, there are hidden chocolates inside. All you need to do is crack it open.

Lunch Time

We sat down to enjoy a few of their items on their menu to give more of a more thorough review.

Hazelnut Pain au Chocolate was flakey on the outside with a lot of layers. There was a good amount of chocolate in the centre too.

Creme Salee was an interesting pastry. I didn’t like the crust, but the filling was like a delicious custard.

Croissant Sandwich was pretty good here if you want a savoury lunch crossed with their croissants. You have Irish ham, provolone, arugula and aioli in this. Simple but delicious.

Beef Brisket Multigrain Croissant was put in a panini press, so the exterior. The grilled onions, mustard and that flavourful brisket was even better than the croissant sandwich.

Kalamansi Chocolate Tart has a bright orange centre covered in 70% dark chocolate ganache.

Paris-Brest has a choux pastry with almond hazelnut praline buttercream and kalamansi gel. I wasn’t a fan of the tart kalamansi gel.

Chocolate Bar Trio has:

Honey Ganache and Gingerbread Caramel
Eggnog Ganache and Marzipan
Mandarin ganache and Mandarin Jelly

He also has macarons at the store too. I didn’t end up trying these as I was so full eating all the other things here.

Hot Chocolate was really good and rich. They also topped it off with cocoa that is shaped like a heart.

Overall, a few good items to pick up at Chez Christophe. What they are best known for are the chocolates and some pastries.

We Rate Chez Christophe Chocolaterie Patisserie:

Address:
4717 Hastings St
Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.christophe-chocolat.com/

In Dessert

720 Sweets: Ice Cream at Metropolis at Metrotown

December 23, 2016

720 Sweets is a popular shop serving up soft serve ice cream, drinks, and other treats. They have opened up their newest location inside T&T Supermarket at Metropolis at Metrotown. They have plans to open at every T&T Supermarket in the country, and the opening of its first supermarket location in Burnaby marks the beginning of their long expansion.

Their other locations are a bit too far away from me to make a regular trip, so having this location here is very convenient.

The menu is limited to 2 of their flavours – Milk Tea and Green Tea. Both very popular flavours and their top sellers.

There are 4 different soft serve ice cream combinations:

Milk’ee – Chocolate stick, almonds, caramel boba, and caramel sauce
Milk’ee Way – almond waffle, almonds, caramel popcorn, and caramel sauce
Matcha Madness – mochi, red bean, rice krispies, and condensed milk
Matcha Kinako – korean rice cake, roasted soy bean powder, pocky and condensed milk

When I went there, the space was small and had only one person working there. The line up was long, but he was able to pump them out at a decent pace.

I went with the Matcha Madness and it came in a cute santa cup. Inside the cup is dry ice and water to create a nice steam coming from inside the cup. A super cool effect that has drawn a lot of people to take photos of this beautiful treat.

I enjoyed the combination of the mochi, red bean, rice krispies, and condensed milk. It wasn’t too sweet and it was a nice treat at the end of lunch to share with family.

Overall, the same delicious treat and convenient location. Since the malls have tons of seats, you can either walk around or find a place to park yourself. The only downside about this location is the limited flavours.

We Rate 720 Sweets:

Address:
Metropolis at Mterotown inside T&T Supermarket

Website:
http://720sweets.com/

In British Columbia

Starbucks Canada: Nitro Cold Brew Coffee

December 22, 2016

Starbucks Canada introduced their new Nitro Cold Brew coffee to be served at six Vancouver locations. Nitro Cold Brew is Starbucks’ newest take on its signature Cold Brew, infused with nitrogen for a smooth, creamy texture.

The Nitro Cold Brew is cold right out of the tap so it is served without ice and as with Cold Brew, it’s served unsweetened to highlight the flavour the cold brewing process brings out in the coffee.

If you order by phone, they will make it for you when you arrive so it is as fresh as possible, plus it is fun to see the Nitro Cold Brew being poured and seeing the natural crema come out.

We tried their regular iced coffee, cold brew and the Nitro Cold Brew and everyone loved the Nitro Cold Brew for the smooth creamy taste. I found that for myself, I could only drink half a grande before I started feeling the caffeine heavily kick in. I was really wired.

Nitro Cold Brew can be found at six Vancouver locations:

English Bay (at Denman and Davie Street)
600 Dunsmuir (at Dunsmuir and Seymour Street)
on the corner of Robson and Thurlow Street
2906 Hebb Avenue (at Renfrew and Hebb Ave)
2193 W 41^st (at West Boulevard and W 41^st Avenue)
930 Burrard (next to the theatre on Burrard and Smithe Street)

More locations will follow.

If you are looking for a nice strong coffee that will keep you going all day but with a nice smooth flavour, you’ll really enjoy this drink.

Website: https://www.starbucks.ca/

In Fusion

Osum! Kitchen + Lab: Baogers and MoNoodles in Steveston

December 21, 2016

Osum! Kitchen + Lab is a new fusion restaurant that specializes in making unique baos and noodles. Besides being a restaurant, they are also a food lab that experiments with new creations. They have hopes of having special tastings and collaborations in the future.

They are located in Steveston on Bayview Street. The restaurant is small and with only 2 tables. We noticed some people doing take out and smaller groups here. Wen we left, there was even a birthday party.

I was invited to OSUM! to give a few of their items a try.

Their main items are Baogers, MoNoodle, Osum!Noodle and Cha. There’s not a large variety of items, but you’ll find something to enjoy.

Baoger

OSUM! Pork has slow-braised pork belly, cucumbers, pickled greens, cilantro, crushed peanuts, and OSUM! garlic peanut & sesame sauce. Nice warm bao backed with ingredients but it is a bit hard to eat as there is the pork floss covering the top of the baoger. You’ll need to use the wrapper to keep those hands clean.

OSUM! Beef has tender braised brisket, pickled greens, crispy shallots, toasted pine nuts, and OSUM! spicy peppercorn sesame sauce. I hint of spice but not too much.

OSUM! Chicken has grilled cheesy chicken, cucumbers, cilantro, crunchy cheese puffs, and OSUM! Korean sweet spicy sauce. A very playful creation, but the cheese puffs ended up being a bit limp because of the sauce in the baoger.

OSUM! Nutella is a fun items for kids with a sweet tooth. It has all-natural Nutella, crushed peanuts, raw premium almond flakes, and marshmallows.

OSUM! Noodle

Hot Dry Noodle has tender braised pork belly, handmade thick noodles, bean sprouts, pickled greens, scallions, cilantro, crispy shallots, homemade chili oil, and their OSUM! signature garlic-sesame-chili sauce. I like this dish as it has a lot of complimentary ingredients that work well together and has a kick of spice.

Coco-Curry Chicken has grilled chicken, handmade thick noodles, cucumbers, bean sprouts, lemongrass, pure coconut milk, crispy shallots, and OSUM! lime coconut-curry sauce. It is also topped with slices of cheese. I found the cheese to be a bit unnecessary. It sure made it a bit more fun, but

MoNoodle

Multi Mushroom needs 2 days in advance to create. It has handmade kale monoodles, assorted mushrooms, pine nuts, kale chips, truffle oil, bean sprouts, cilantro, peppercorn oil, and OSUM! special mushroom sauce. What is unique about this dish is their noodle is a single 1m long handmade broad kale noodles that fits in a bowl. It’s a good dish if you are vegan or love mushrooms. This is one of the more expensive dishes on the menu due to the ingredients.

Drinks

They have a few drinks on the menu. They have bottled fizzy drink and hot drinks on the menu.

I had the Cocoa Ovaltine to warm me up as it was a cold snowy day outside.

Overall, my favourite item was the hot dry noodles as the flavours worked really well together and wasn’t as fusion as the other dishes on their menu. When it comes down to their food, it depends on your flavour palate. As they are still quite new, I am sure they will continue to work hard to work out the kinks.

We Rate OSUM! Kitchen + Lab:

Address:
125 3531 Bayview Street, Richmond

Website:
https://www.liveosum.com/