Mon Paris Patisserie is helping us all celebrate Mother’s Day a little bit different this year. With Covid-19 pandemic, holidays have come and gone but we haven’t lost sight of celebrating special events and milestones together while being apart.
We got a sneak peek of a few items from the Mon Paris Mother’s Day collection, which features chocolates and cakes with floral flavours and motifs.
Mon Paris Patisserie is offering free delivery on May 8, 9 and 10 on orders of $40 or more. They have cakes, chocolate bon bons, and some stunning chocolate show pieces that will bring a smile to mom’s faces.
Love You Mom Black Forest Cake
This heart shaped cake is stunning on the outside. What is hiding inside are decadent layers of Black Forest Cake, cherries, and delicious mousse. A classic cake flavour, but elevated.
Milk Chocolate Tea Cup with Truffles
This tea cup is made of milk chocolate and there are three assorted truffles hiding inside with some floral decorations. This is 100% edible.
Chocolate Bon Bons
They have individual chocolate bon bons to boxes of 16. Each piece is stunning and you won’t have the urge to eat them.
In the box, there are:
Tiramisu (Truffle with Coffee Ganache)
Jamaica (Pineapple and Malibu Ganache)
Cassis (Blackcurrant Compote Yogurt Ganache)
Champagne Truffle
Milano (Coffee Ganache with Gianduja)
Inaya (Milk Chocolate Ganache with Crunchy Caramel)
Guava (Guava Jam with Yogurt Ganache)
Granita (Pomegranite Ganache)
Red Currant Cheesecake
Maduixa (Balsamic Vinegar Reduction and Strawberry Ganache)
Havana (Lime, Mint, and Run Ganache)
Blue (Lemon Ganache and Hazelnut Crunch)
Earl Grey (Dark Chocolate with Earl Grey infused Ganache)
Passion Fruit (and Mango Truffle)
Mandarin (Mandarin and Dark Chocolate Ganache)
Sesame (White Coconut Ganache, Milk Chocolate and Sesame Seeds Ganache)
This box of bon bons is an adventure. So many unique and complex flavours that compliment each other.
Final Thoughts
Chef Elena Krasnova of Mon Paris Patisserie puts a lot of love and hard work into her creations. Since opening the store in 2017, customers from all over Metro Vancouver has been loving her sweet treats.
Put in your pre-orders for Mother’s Day before it’s too late. They will have some items available for last minute gifts, but to guarantee you have everything you need, make sure to order now.
Fior di latte Gelateria And Caffe (FDL Cafe) just opened a few weeks ago in Burnaby Heights. With the Covid-19 Pandemic, it was unfortunate timing as all dining rooms are closed.
If you’ve been to a few farmers markets in Vancouver, the name R. Nathaliae Pattiserie will ring a bell. They are behind FDL Cafe and have so much to offer their customers. Their pastries were stellar! So, I was really excited to check them out again as FDL Cafe.
They are now back for take out and delivery via UberEats.
Chickado Sandwich
This massive sandwich has miso roasted chicken, fresh kimchi from Salty Cabbage Kimchi, avocado, and mixed greens. 1 sandwich can feed 2 people, it’s crazy. Plus, crazy delicious. I love the meaty pieces of tender chicken paired with the creamy avocado and crunchy kimchi.
London Brisket Sandwich
This has a lot of slow roasted beef brisket, which has been dry brined, mixed greens, and cheese. This sandwich is also a winner. The brisket is really tender and so flavourful.
Spinach and Feta Pita
This isn’t your regular pita bread. It’s more like a phyllo pie were it has filling inside. This one has spinach and feta.
Mushroom Pita
This doesn’t look like much from the outside, but wow, it is stuffed with so much mushroom mixture inside. Highly recommended. Just look at that. The pastry is thin and theres lots of mushroom hiding inside.
Mushroom Tart
Clearly, I love mushrooms. They have mushrooms tarts too. The pastry is very flakey and the mushroom is creamy and savoury. Delicious too.
Blueberry Danish
They have a few different types of fruit danishes, but we picked up the blueberry version. It’s very fresh and bursting with flavour. It’s very crisp and enjoyable so make sure you capture all the crumbs that fall.
Bacon Cheese Roll
This is so indulgent. This bacon cheese roll is enrobed with freshly melted cheese in the oven. Highly recommended.
Sour Cherry Turnover
The pastry is so flakey and the sour cherry is perfectly hiding inside. Well balanced in flavour too.
Peach Galette
Another beautiful pastry! The peaches are delicious and paired with the flakey pastry is a good combination.
Final Thoughts
Everything we had hit the spot and we were not disappointed at all. Highly recommend FDL Cafe to anyone in the area. Their pastries and sandwiches are really delicious and it made me crave them even more. We will be back soon.
Tacomio has shut down their locations in Vancouver due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, but has quickly adjusted their new menu for take out from their central kitchen in Strathcona.
As we are staying at home to flatten the curve, eating together at home made us come together as a family. It’s the highlight of our day and what better way than have a fun interactive taco dinner. They sent us their taco kit for 2 to give it a try.
The taco kits are very affordable:
Taco Kit for 2: $25
Taco Kit for 4: $45
The taco kits are massive and can definitely feed more than the suggested amount of people.
In the taco kit, you get:
Your choice of 3 taco fillings
Large rice
Large beans
Mild, medium and spicy house made salsas
Pickled jalapeños
Pickled red onions
Pickled veggies
Fresh cilantro
Corn chips and roasted tomatillo salsa
Corn tortillas
Frituras (tradicional Mexican wheat crisps)
Valentina hot sauce
Fresh lemon
Chicken A La Plancha – Sautéed bell peppers, caramelized onions, chipotle tomato sauce, and shaved cabbage.Beef Salpicon – Angus beef in Guajilo sauce, nugget potatoes.Roasted Cauliflower – Chipotle hummus, shaved cabbage, cilantro, lemon vinaigrette.Large RiceLarge BeansCorn chipsFrituras (traditional Mexican wheat crisps)
Final Thoughts
The Tacomio Taco Kits are a great affordable choice for an interactive meal. There’s a lot to this meal and you have to get the cauliflower as one of your fillings.
Highly recommend it for yourself or even as a gift.
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
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.
C Market Coffee is located in Coquitlam near the IKEA and they have been around for years serving up delicious coffee to the neighbourhood. My friends and I would have mommy hangouts there before the Covid-19 pandemic as it’s very kid friendly. Unfortunately with dining rooms closed, they had to work fast to adapt to take out and delivery.
There were 2 things I’ve been searching for that my local grocery store would always be low on – Oat Milk and Yeast. I love that they carry a few staples for the home kitchen as well as many local products in addition to their coffees, pastries and meals.
I put in an online order to get some kitchen staples and coffee of course. They were kind enough to put in a few more extras into our order, which was very nice of them.
Black Salt Cream Coffee
This coffee has an Americano base with pure cane syrup, sweet cream, and Black Lava Salt. This is one of my favourite drinks here. I love the combination of the sweet cream and salt.
Mocha Frappe
I got a Mocha Frappe for my husband and he loved it. Not too sweet and had enough caffeine to get through the day. It’s also quite nice with the whipped cream and chocolate.
Meatloaf Sandwich
The sandwich is made with homemade meatloaf, pickled onions, lettuce, tomato, and cheddar cheese. It has a strong BBQ flavour that pairs well with the meatloaf. The bun is soft and squishy.
Chicken Salad + Grape Sandwich
The chicken salad sandwich is made with natural Chicken breast, lettuce, grape, mayo, celery, red onion, pepper, salt, mustard, lemon, cranberry, and dill. It uses the same soft bun.
Frozen Corn Flake Crusted Chicken
They are selling their frozen corn flake Crusted chicken in 5 piece packs. In the cafe, they use this for their chicken and waffles. It’s great that it keeps in the freezer for a long time. They do suggest you deep-fry these to get a really nice crispy exterior.
It’s pretty good and we paired it with mayo and teriyaki sauce.
Korean Beef Bulgogi
You can get raw marinated Korean Beef Bulgogi. You also have the option to add a veggie pack to it as well. It comes with more sliced onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms.
You can make this at home by putting it in a hot skillet. You can also put this on a Korean BBQ grill too if you want to get the extra charred flavour. We with the the frying pan method.
Chocolate Walnut Drop Cookie
This was really good! If you put it in the microwave for 10 seconds, it gets soft, warm, and gooey. Highly recommended.
Macarons
They have 5 different macaron flavours on the menu – green tea, clack sesame, strawberry, yuzu, and earl grey. They’re pretty big size and delicate.
Cheesecake
I really enjoyed the cheesecake. Simple and it hits the spot.
Carrot Cake
The carrot cake was also very enjoyable as the added nuts really give it more body and texture. It’s not too sweet and there is a good ratio of cream cheese frosting.
Groceries
They have a small section for groceries and they have a good amount of items there. We picked up come yeast and oat milk as it was hard to find at the bigger grocery stores.
They are always adding new items, so if you are looking for something in particular, definitely message them.
Final Thoughts
I do love that cafes like C Market Coffee offer more than what they normally would. Even the expansion of grocery items help a lot when people don’t want to venture off into crowded grocery stores.
Tojo’s is back with a new menu which focuses on takeout and prepare at home meals. With the Covid-19 pandemic, they really have to work hard to pivot their business to offer fresh and delicious meals to their customers while maintaining social distance.
Their main focus is to provide comforting, healthy and flavourful dishes using locally sourced ingredients. They have always stuck to this motto and it shows with their new offerings.
They offer curbside pickup and complimentary delivery to Vancouver addresses with a minimum order. If you do decided to pick up, they offer a nice complimentary side dish for all takeout orders.
Complimentary Side Dish
You can choose between miso soup, sunomono salad or potato salad with your order. We tried the miso soup and potato salad for our meal and its a nice accompaniment especially for the bento bowls.
Spring Vegetable Roll
This roll uses fresh organic vegetables, beautifully topped with Nanohana and pickled cherry blossom. It’s really nice and fits the season perfectly as the cherry blossoms are blooming right now for a short amount of time.
The ingredients are very fresh and provides a nice crunchy texture to this item.
Battera Sushi
Their newest items it the Battera Sushi Box sushi topped with either house smoked Canadian Sablefish, Salmon or Mackerel and pickled kombu. I was very impressed by strong flavours of the fish and it worked well with the amount of rice. I was skeptical at first, but it worked well. You can eat it right away when you get home. It does stay good for 2-3 days in the fridge.
The Battera Sushi depicted in our pictures are a different size and was part of a media sample to try a few different sushi items.
Tako Chirashi Bowl
The tako chirashi bowl features thinly sliced Pacific Octopus, and masago smelt roe with organic greens, wakame salad, seasonal veggies served over sushi rice. It is accompanied with a soy balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
It is a beautiful bowl and the seasonal ingredients are very fresh. The octopus is a touch chewy, but thats pretty typical of octopus.
Soy Ginger Sablefish
There are a few items on the menu where you can prepare at home. One of those items is their Soy Ginger Sablefish. This is Tojo’s famous Canadian Sablefish marinated in soy ginger honey. It’s so nice and tender that it melts in your mouth. Make sure you serve this over rice as it’s a perfect pairing. You can also pair this with steamed, sautéed or baked veggies.
If you don’t eat this right away, this can be stored for 12 months in freezer.
Final Thoughts
It’s great to see Tojo’s is back with different dining options with this pandemic. Their new items like the Bento Bowls and Battera sushi are more affordable option. I really love the marinated seafood in the pouches as it tastes so good and you just pop it in the oven to cook.
Earnest Ice Cream is back as they have found a way to continue offering their delicious ice cream while keeping their staff and customers safe during this Covid-19 Pandemic.
You can find their product at a few shops around town, but it may be a bit hard to find. I like to go to the source! Every Tuesday morning at 10am, Earnest Ice Cream opens up their online store and once all the spots are filled for the week, they can’t add on any additional spaces to ensure physical distancing.
They offer pints of their ice cream as well as Ice Cream Sammies. There is a minimum $40 order, but it’s pretty easy to reach that amount if you get a few pints for yourself and a few to give away as gifts.
Curbside Pick Up
When you arrive, you call them saying you’ve arrived. Pop open your trunk and they will drop it in there. Very simple and no interaction required.
Pints
They have a long list of pints and the selection is great. It’s nice to have a decadent treat in the fridge waiting in there at the end of the day.
We went with :
Toasted Coconut
Oatmeal Brown Sugar
Apple Pie
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip
Mint Chip
All these flavours are solid and can’t go wrong with. A few classic flavours are Whisky Hazelnut. London Fog, and Espresso Flake.
We’re definitely going to be accumulating the jar quickly as they aren’t currently accepting the jars back. They do make great containers for storing other things.
Sammies
If you are looking for something different, there are ice cream sandwiches. The flavours change, but the ones that we got were:
Apple Walnut Sammie
Carrot Cake Sammie
Milk Chocolate Cookie Bar Sammie
The flavours sound amazing, but I personally wasn’t a fan. Some of them are either too sweet or the texture is just mushy.
Final Thoughts
Glad Earnest Ice Cream is back with their selection of delicious and addictive Ice Cream. One of the best places in Vancouver for great flavour combinations. I’ll definitely be back again for more pints once my current stash runs out.
When I think about Asian beers, I default to a few favourites – Asahi, Tsingtao, San Miguel, Hite and Singha. Three Kingdoms Beer Co. in Vancouver wants to find a cross section between Asian culture and the beer industry. They are working in partnership with partnership with Dogwood Brewing.
Hefeweizen
At 12 IBU, it’s quite hoppy, thus the bunny illustration. The can is smaller 355ml cans compared to the other 473ml. Hefeweizen uses German pale wheat malt, where you get the aroma of banana, cinnamon, clove, and the strong hops. This would pair well with seafood, chicken, mild cheeses, or sweet desserts.
Honey Kolsch
The Honey Kolsch is our favourite of the 4 beers they offer as it matches our personal beer preferences. It has a subtle floral and fruity notes and finishes with a hint of sweet honey. Very refreshing and enjoyable.
You can pair this with fried foods like fried chicken.
Hazy IPA
For an IPA, the flavours are nice with hints of sweet citrus with a tropical hop finish. It’s a very easy to drink IPA and well balanced. We were definitely surprised as we generally refrain from IPAs. You can have spicy food to pair with the Hazy IPA.
Chocolate Milk Stout
The Chocolate Milk Stout is a treat to enjoy. It is dark in colour and is sweet with deep roasted malt flavour with a touch of milky lactose. It is smooth and malty with the dark chocolate taste. You can pair this with BBQ and other grilled foods.
If you’re lactose intolerant, you will need to take lactase pills to counteract the lactose in the Chocolate Milk Stout.
Final Thoughts
I’m glad Three Kingdom Beer Co is adding more diversity to the beer industry. I’m all for it! Their 4 core beers are a solid line up that attracts different types of beer drinkers. My personal favourite is the Honey Kolsch as I usually lean towards light effervescent beers with less hoppy flavour.
Another local company – Fuggles and Warlock in Richmond is doing an exceptional job merging Asian culture and flavours in the beers they brew.
I haven’t been able to count which day we are at for social distancing, but I do know I miss my friends and family a lot. Somedays I don’t even remember if it’s a weekday or weekend.
Molson Canadian is inviting Canadians from coast to coast to connect over a #VirtualHappyHour. As a bonus, they will reward hosts with a $25 gift card to use at their favourite local bar or restaurant. This helps bring people together while supporting an important sector.
I raised a glass with one of my favourite Vancouver bloggers – Vie A Maggi. All you have to do is take a screenshot of your Virtual Happy Hour and post it on Instagram or Twitter. I nominated one of my favourite Vancouver restaurants – Miku Restaurant, which boasts a great cocktail menu and delicious Japanese eats.
They message you to verify your eligibility as you have to be of drinking age. There is a little bit of back and forth, but your $25 gift card to your favourite restaurant or bar will be on its way.
The program runs until April 30, 2020 or while supplies last (whichever comes first). Rules on how to participate are available on the website. Follow @MolsonCanadian on Instagram and @Molson_Canadian on Twitter to see #VirtualHappyHour being featured from coast to coast.
Times are changing with the Covid-19 pandemic and restaurants like Torafuku have created new menu items that are ready to be enjoyed at home. The Torafuku@Home is a new collection of heat-and-serve offerings featuring long-loved favourites and Kuan family recipes. It’s a great way to get a taste of their dishes without dining in.
The new Torafuku@Home dishes come in convenient packaging for storing or freezing; all meals can be prepared within 10 minutes. Each item or meal package is accompanied with reheating instructions. Most items are vacuum-sealed and require only a quick drop into boiling water to reheat.
All menu items can be ordered on their website at www.torafuku.ca
As a family of 7 (8 if you count the little spud), I built our dinner around the Family Meal for 4, then had a few extra items to add to the meal. We also made rice to stretch out the meal. Our family loves a taste of everything.
They have recently launched their regular menu for takeout and delivery. Now, you can have their classics like the Kickass Rice Bowl and Crack Salad. If you really can’t wait to reheat up the meal kits, these ready-to-eat dishes hit the spot.
Pick Up
Orders are available for pickup daily between 3:00pm – 5:00pm from the restaurant.
Delivery Options
Delivery is available for pre-ordered items and is complimentary for orders over $50 within Vancouver. Delivery to Richmond and Burnaby is available with a $10 fee. Delivery service is available daily between 5:00pm – 7:00pm.
Family Meal for 4
I got the family meal for 4 because it was a good way to try an array of items off their Torafuku@Home menu. This serves 4-5 people.
You get:
2 x Yuzu Pomme Puree
1 x Le Tigre Style Pork Belly
1 x Sake Braised Beef Shank
2 x Miso Veggie Chowder
2 x Everyday I’m Brusselin’
1 x Gone Fishing
They have instructions on how to reheat everything and it was easy. Since I was running around with the kid, my sister decided to reheat this slowly using a sous vide machine. Of course you don’t have to be fancy like us, but we just needed an excuse to use it.
Yuzu Pomme Puree
Mashed potato isn’t boring anymore! This has creamy and buttery mashed potatoes with house made yuzu butter and Japanese yuzu peels. It was a bit hard to wrap my head around eating dinner and having an Asian fusion dish of mashed potatoes. It was different but the yuzu was very fragrant and complimented nicely.
Le Tigre Style Pork Belly
The pork belly is braised with orange, star anise, and sweet soy. Tender and melt in your mouth pork belly. Remember to save the sauce and put it on your rice.
Sake Braised Beef Shank
These are sake and soy braised beef shanks with Torafuku house-made chili oil, house-mixed five spices, ginger, and shaoxing wine. This is also the asme beef shanks in the Beef Noodle for 2 kit. The beef shank is thick but still flavourful and tender. Very meaty and was enjoyed.
Miso Veggie Chowder
Miso vegetable chowder has cabbage, carrots, fingerling potatoes, Japanese Kabocha squash and onion. It’s not a thick chowder at all. It’s more like a soup.
Everyday I’m Brusselin’
This salad has grilled brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, balsamic black bean vinaigrette, crunchy chick peas, roasted almonds and crispy quinoa. It is so good. It’s always been my favourite dish. Highly recommended.
Gone Fishing
They take a whole market fish and deep fry it. It is paired with a tamarind sweet and sour sauce, mixed herbs, and fried soybeans sprinkles. This dish is great when you dine in at Torafuku, but the texture of the fish does suffer a bit.
Beef Noodle Soup Kit for 2
There are 4-5 pieces of sake and soy braised beef shanks, 1L of Torafuku beef noodle soup with hand-pulled white noodles (uncooked), Asian sauerkraut, and marinated soft-boiled eggs for 2 people.
The says it serves 2, but you can stretch it to make 4 bowls if you wanted to. The broth has a depth of flavour and a kick of spice. The beef shank just melts in your mouth and is so meaty. The noodles have a nice bounce to them and so enjoyable. Highly recommend this kit!
Pork Napa Stew
This is a traditional Taiwanese stew with marinated pork shoulder, Japanese Napa, shiitake mushroom, enoki mushroom and eggs. Add some rice to this dish and it soaks up all the sauce. The pork shoulder was nice and tender too.
Fried Egg Floss Cabbage Stew
This is Traditional style Taiwanese cabbage stew with wood ear, shiitake mushroom and house made fried eggs floss. Love the crunch of the wood ear mushroom. Definitely reminds me of home cooking. You will want some rice with this too.
Old Grandma’s Tofu
This is Mapo Tofu style with house-blended chili bean paste, green onions, garlic, ginger, and ground pork. There is 16oz in each pouch and easily reheated. It has a depth of aroma to this dish and it wasn’t too spicy at all. Very fragant and is amazing on rice to soak up all the flavour.
Three Cup Chicken
This has Taiwanese-Style saucey pan-fried chicken thigh with ginger, garlic, shaoxing, soy, basil and a touch of Thai chili. Another delicious dish that does great on rice. There is 20oz in the pouch, so its good for 2-3 people. Just make sure to make a pot of rice.
We saved the leftover sauce and added more chicken into it the next day to make a new dish. Their sauces are very very fragrant and can’t be wasted.
Ugly Zongzi (Frozen 2pc)
This is their Southern Taiwanese Style Zongzi, a special nostalgic food with flavoured sticky rice, marinated pork, salted egg yolk and mushroom. It is also paired with Torafuku’s house-blend special condiment.
Each Zongzi is smaller but the quality is nice and very very flavourful. That marinated pork with salted egg yolk is heavenly. It was good to have this in the freezer and ready to heat up either by boiling it or steaming.
I Love Dumpling (Frozen)
There are 20 pieces of frozen classic pork and chive dumplings. This is served with Torafuku’s house-made chili oil vinaigrette. Very good pairing. A quick boil for a few minutes and it’s ready. Very delicious and hits the spot. Can’t go wrong with dumplings.
Lucky Dumpling- Vegetarian (Frozen)
There are 20 pieces of frozen vegetarian dumplings with eggplants, wood ear, konyaku, kale, shiitake mushrooms, and gem tomatoes. This is also paired with the Torafuku house-made chili oil vinaigrette.
Another solid option as we always have frozen dumplings in the freezer. It was delicious and I loved the combinations of veggies inside.
Final Thoughts
Clearly, we have tried a lot of items off the Torafuku@Home. It’s a nice variety of items to choose from for families that are big or small. There are more asian fusion flavours and then the more traditional flavours inspired from Mama Kuan’s recipes.
As they do delivery and takeout, it’s easy to gift these items to friends and family or even enjoy for yourself. Of all the takeout options I’ve had during this pandemic, Torafuku is by far our favourite.
I heard about Ça Croustille on Facebook and people in Burnaby seem to love them, so I decided to put in an online order. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, they would sell their pastries at local farmers markets and pop up event.
Where do they deliver?
They do deliveries once a week and deliver to all regions of Greater Vancouver – White Rock, Surrey, Delta, Richmond, Vancouver, North Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Port Moody, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, and Langley.
What do they have?
They do deliver if you have a minimum order of $20. Their pastries range from $3.50 to $4.50.
Butter Croissant
Pain au Chocolate
Almond Croissant
Almond Chocolate Croissant
Pain aux raisins
Cinnamon Swirl
Chocolate Twist
Pear Almond Turnover
Taste Test
Some of there’s items I haven’t seen at local cafe and it’s a decent assortment. We enjoyed the Cinnamon Swirl the most and goes well with a cup of tea or coffee.
The almond croissants had a bit too much almond extract as it was very prominent. The execution of the butter croissant and pain au chocolate ended up to very soft and fluffy, but the exterior could have had more crunch. As the pain au chocolate was so bloated, it needed more chocolate sticks inside to balance the ratio.
I was nice to have a box of pastries in the kitchen so the family could munch on it over the weekend. Something to brighten up the day with a delivery.
Butter CroissantButter Croissant Cross-SectionPain au ChocolateAlmond CroissantAlmond Chocolate CroissantCinnamon SwirlPain aux raisinsChocolate TwistPear Almond Turnover
Final Thoughts
It’s a nice assortment that arrives at the door and would be a great gift. It is a good price and comes with delivery if you meet the $20 minimum.
I like to browse the take out apps to see what is new out there around my neighbourhood. One of the restaurants that kept popping up is Pampanga’s Cuisine for their Pampanga-style of Filipino cuisine. They are located right by Joyce Skytrain Station serving up their delicious cuisine.
I normally would order through food apps for delivery, but I wanted to make sure more money goes into the pockets of the owners.
Staff Meal
Pampanga’s Cuisine has joined the “Staff Meal” program initiated by Say Mercy, another local restaurant. There is a $2 donation per order and it is donated to the Vancouver Food Bank. It’s a great way to help those who need it.
Menu
Compared to their online menu, they have more specials and desserts listed in the restaurant.
Crispy Sisig
The Crispy Sisig has crispy chunks of pork with ginger, onions, chilli and their secret seasoning spices. The seasoning spices at first is quite strong and tart, but after a little bit, it does subside. For takeout, I was surprised how crisp the pork was even when we got home.
Beefsteak
The Beefsteak has thin slices of beef, marinated in soy sauce and lemon, topped with onions and potatoes. The beef was tender and the sauce was very nice. A great item to go on top of rice.
BBQ Chicken
This has chunks of chicken marinated in special mixture, grilled and mixed with their homemade special bbq sauce. It was good and has a nice char to the chicken.
Adobo
This adobo has chicken and pork cooked in vinegar and garlic soy sauce with diced potatoes. Definitely Filipino comfort food right here. A good depth of flavour.
Pinakbet
This has an assortment of vegetables such as bitter melon, okra, long beans and squash with shrimp and sautéed in shrimp paste. This was very delicious. The vegetables definitely standout and was a good accompaniment to the other meaty dishes in our meal.
Ginisang Monggo
This was a dish I’ve never had before. It has sautéed mung beans with sliced bitter melon and shrimp. The bitter melon was good and it wasn’t too bitter. I usually try to avoid that vegetable, but I wanted to give it a try. My parents also enjoyed this.
Pancit Palabok
This has thick rice noodles with sauce made of ground pork garnished with boiled eggs, onion leeks, shrimps and lemon. Their version was ok, but it needed a bit more sauce to go with the noodles.
Spaghetti
This has spaghetti noodles with Filipino style sweet sauce, ground pork and cheese topping. This was ok, but we felt the spaghetti needed to be mixed with the sauce. The spaghetti was underneath and then the sauce was on top. It didn’t get the chance to soak in the flavours of the sauce into the noodles.
Pork Spring Roll
The pork spring rolls are really cute. It’s their homemade pork spring roll with a sweet chilli sauce on the side. They look like cute little cigars, but they taste very good.
Ube Halaya
Onto dessert! This is purple yam cooked in evaporated milk and sugar with latik and desiccated coconut flakes on top. I really enjoyed this! It’s not too sweet and it’s like a soft pudding thats room temperature. I would get this again.
Buko Pandan
A classic Filipino dessert – Buko Pandan. This has sliced green jello & coconut strips mixed with whipped cream and pandan flavour. The pandan flavour isn’t strong as there is mostly a stronger coconut flavour.
Final Thoughts
It’s hard to be a restaurant at this time during the Covid-19 Pandemic, but the family behind Pampanga’s Cuisine is making this work. The dishes are well priced and tastes homey. The noodle dishes were mediocre but will give them another chance once dining rooms are open again.
They were busy for take out and delivery during the weekend lunch hour, so that was great to see.
Ben and Jerry’s Netflix and Chill’d has finally arrived in Canada. This launched in the United States first and now we are just getting it in Western Canada. It’s such a fun name
The Flavour
The Netflix and Chill’d flavour is made of peanut butter ice cream with sweet and salty pretzel swirls & fudge brownies.
Where to find this?
With the Covid-19 Pandemic, finding anything in grocery stores is a hit and miss. I was able to find this at the Real Canadian Superstore in Western Canada. I have also seen it at Shoppers Drug Mart.
Taste Test
I really enjoyed this. There is a dominant flavour of the peanut butter ice cream. The brownie adds a nice chewy texture and the pretzel swirl really help enhance the taste as well.
It’s a touch on the sweet side, but then again, it’s ice cream. I still really love this flavour as it has everything I enjoy. Highly recommended.
Nutrition Facts
Ingredients
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed it for it’s name and also for the flavour. I would totally buy this again if I see it. It’s such a great gift to give friends too.
Like many Chinese restaurants, dining rooms are close and have to rely on delivery and take out. Chef James on Hastings is only during take out at the moment and we saw an ad in the Chinese paper for a great promotion when you order. I’ve never dined at Chef James on Hastings, but only heard raving reviews from customers. It was my dad’s birthday and we would normally go out to a Chinese restaurant to have dinner, that isn’t possible because of Covid-19. We opted to order take out.
It’s a pretty good promotion. No indication when it ends, but when you call to make you order, just say you saw it on the paper and on their Instagram.
Order $35+ and get free Hai Nam Chicken on Rice
Order $60+ and get a free Half Hai Nam Chicken
Order $80+ and get a free Curry Beef Brisket
It’s definitely a difficult time for all restaurants, so we try to do take out a few times a week to support local restaurants.
We ordered the items below:
Daily Soup
Deep Fried Crispy Whole Chicken
Peking-style Pork Chop
Pan-Fried Pea Leaves with Garlic sauce
Tofu and Rock Cod Hot Pot
Gai-Lan with Beef
Curry Beef Brisket
All the items were pretty good and we ordered enough for 7 adults. As this was takeout, the Deep Fried Crispy Whole Chicken wasn’t crispy anymore by the time it arrived, but it’s bound to happen. None the less, we loved everything else that we ordered. It was nice to have a Chinese meal together where we didn’t have to cook it.
Plus, the Curry Beef Brisket was definitely a highlight.
Final Thoughts
They only do online orders for pick up and delivery for a certain area. As we are outside of the area, we decided to pick up.
Hopefully once the pandemic is over, we can go dine inside Chef James on Hastings to experience what it is like inside the restaurant.
Dalgona Coffee has taken social media by storm. If you have instant coffee, sugar, milk, water, and ice, you can whip it up. Some find success, but some have failed miserably creating the Dalgona Coffee.
There are a few cafes in Metro Vancouver serving up Dalgona Coffee to go. With the Covid-19 Pandemic, all dining room are closed but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a taste of this trendy coffee.
If you know of anymore places that have Dalgona Coffee or Dalgona inspired treats, send us an email at Diana@foodology.ca or comment below.
There’s a new challenge in town and C Market Coffee has made take out fun. To celebrate their 1 year anniversary, C Market Coffee has brought on their Sandwich and Dalgona Challenge.
During the month of April, they have a $10 Gourmet Sandwich Special and you get the chance to win a free drink if you complete the Dalgona Challenge successfully. You are given a Dalgona candy made of Dalgona, sugar and baking soda.
You must extract the symbol inside the Dalgona candy without breaking any piece of it. If you are successful, you win a free drink. If you fail, you can post about it on Instagram and then you will get 2 more Dalgona candies with your next sandwich purchase.
Hiel Cafe has their version of Dalgona Coffee too. They have this iced latte with Korean traditional sweets on top. You can order take out order online via Uber Eats. The image pictured isn’t their Dalgona Coffee.
La Forêt in Burnaby has debuted their crunchy dalgona latte. It is served iced cold in 2 sizes – 12oz and 16oz. They put a twist to the dalgona coffee but adding crunchy caramel bites on top.
With dining rooms closed for social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s a great chance to explore some neighbourhood eateries. I live in Burnaby and there’s still lots of family run businesses I haven’t visited yet. Agra Tandoori Restaurant has been on my list, but haven’t been able to make a visit.
They are currently open for take out a delivery via Skip the Dishes. We loved the personalized note on our delivery.
$10 Lunch Specials
On Skip the Dishes, they have $10 lunch specials, so I decided to check them out. It is available Monday to Friday from 11am until 3pm. These are personal sized lunch plates, so it’s hard to share.
Butter Chicken and Rice Lunch Combo
This has boneless chicken nuggets marinated in their special sauce and cooked in garlic, ginger, cream, and tomato sauce. A classic choice.
Paneer Makhni and Rice Lunch Combo
This one has tender pieces of paneer simmered in butter with their tomato sauce then finished with cream. Can’t go wrong with paneer.
Vegetable Pakora
These are deep-fried mixed vegetable fritters. It comes with chutney on the side to dip them into. There is a good amount per order and it is crisp on the exterior and packed with veggies. It’s one of my favourite things to order in an Indian restaurant.
Aloo Paratha
This is unleavened bread fried on a griddle stuffed with potato mixture. It’s made fresh and it’s something I haven’t had before. It’s good but it is a tad spicy.
Garlic Naan
This is garlic leavened bread and it’s a bit different than what I’ve seen at other restaurants as this is incorporated into the bread itself. It’s definitely easier to eat with and nothing sticks to your hands.
Butter Naan
This is their regular butter naan. Simple and classic item to pair with curry.
Bhindi Bhaji
This dish is a vegetarian dish and it’s made with okra, onions, tomatoes, and a blend of spices. It was a nice dish and it’s not too often we have okra. The okra didn’t feel as fresh as I could have been. Usually fresh okra has a slimey and meaty texture to it, but this didn’t. It seemed more dry.
Papadum
Papadum is my guilty pleasure and I absolutely love it. It’s a thin crisp cracker with cumin seeds. I love cumin seeds. You can eat it with other items in the meal, but I just eat it as is.
Final Thoughts
The food was decent for take out and so hard to say what the experience would be like if we dined in. Once the pandemic dies down and dining rooms open again, I’ll definitely be giving it another try.
When we were in University, we loved mixing AriZona Green Tea with all sorts of alcohol like vodka, sake, and soju. It’s a great drink that’s even better with a splash of something something if you know what I mean.
It’s been a long time coming, but FINALLY they have launched AriZona Hard Green Tea made with vodka. This is 5% ABV.
Where Can You Find this
I found this at my local BC Liquor Store in 473ml single cans. They also have a 6 pack with 355ml cans. You can check online to see which location has it in stock. You can also find that at Independent liquor stores as well.
This is not available in the US yet.
Taste Test
AriZona Hard Green Tea has a dominate taste of the brewed green tea with a touch of the ginseng. Not too strong but still nice, sweet and refreshing just in time for the Summer. The vodka is definitely there but the touch of honey balances out the beverage.
It’s a very easy drink to consume but you’ll know right way that there is vodka in this. Can’t fool anyone.
Final Thoughts
With the nice warm temperature on the West Coast, it’s nice to just have a beverage while social distancing. Next time you’re at the liquor store, check if they have AriZona Hard Green Tea in stock as it’s a great drink for the warm weather.
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 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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
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.
