Three Beakers Archives - Page 10 of 63

Natsumi Ramen: Ramen on Commercial Drive

November 16, 2016

Natsumi Ramen on Commercial Drive is one of the newer ramen shops to pop up in Vancouver. There aren’t any ramen shops in the area, so I was surprised this was here. I was walking along Commercial Drive with a few friends and we decided to stop here, avoid the rain and have a hearty bowl of ramen.

Interior

The interior has a lot of cat silhouettes. No problems here since I love cats. Dog lovers are welcome here too.

There are a decent number of tables here for small and large groups.

Side Dish

Before the ramen arrives, everyone was given pickled and marinated onions. Surprisingly really good. Something to munch on before the ramen arrives.

Ramen

Tsukemen has a soy sauce based broth with noodles on the side. There is also diced pork belly, soft boiled egg, bamboo shoot, green onion, and roasted seaweed. This is a dipping ramen, so you take some noodle and dip it in the broth, then slurp it up.

Miso Ramen has pork belly, bean sprout, bamboo sprouts, blacktree fungus, fried onion, green onion, corn and roasted seaweed. My friend added an egg to this.

Cheese Kimchi Ramen has a soy sauce based broth, pork belly, soft boiled egg, bean sprout, green onion, corn, mozzarella, chopped kimchi, and roasted seaweed. This loaded ramen had an interesting concept, but the cheese easily dissolves into the ramen and doesn’t hold together well after it melts.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the meal, cute little candies come in a box to finish up the meal. The ramen was pretty average, but it was nice to have a ramen shop in the area.

We Rate Natsumi Ramen:

Address:
1179 Commercial Dr, Vancouver

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

In Coquitlam

Chicken Holic: Fried Chicken in Coquitlam

November 15, 2016

Chicken Holic is a new Fried Chicken shop in Coquitlam on Austin Road. We passed by and Chicken Holic caught our eye so we took the chance and decided to grab some food here after our first dinner.

They specialize in Korean fried chicken and have a few other dishes on their menu. I love going to unknown restaurants to discover those hidden gems around town.

Interior

The interior is very basic. A few tables and a counter to order. We did see people do take out but not too many eating in, which worked out for us as we had a large group.

Boneless Fried Chicken

Small Crispy Boneless Chicken was a must as it is the most classic item to order here. You can see how well they fry the chicken as it is crisp on the outside and the inside is still very moist. When I’m at a Korean Fried Chicken shop, I ordered this as I prefer chicken without sauce.

Small Soy Garlic Boneless Fried Chicken and Small Sweet & Chili Boneless Fried Chicken were combined in one larger plate. People around the table enjoyed these 2 flavours as there is more taste and dimension to these. Of the 2 favours, the soy garlic inched out ahead.

Deep Fried Dumplings are filled with veggies. 6 pieces to an order, so there is 2 orders in this basket. These were super crisp on the outside and the filling was delicious.

Side Dishes and Sauce

We got pickled radishes as a side dish to go with all the fried chicken that we ordered. It was nice to have to break up the fatty taste.

They also gave us honey mustard sauce and BBQ sauce to dip the fried chicken into.

Final Thoughts

I was pleasantly surprised by Chicken Holic. This hole in the wall has some good Korean Fried Chicken.

We Rate Chicken Holic:

Address:
1104 Austin Avenue, Coquitlam, BC

In Cafe

Tsim Chai Noodles: Dumpling Trail in Richmond

November 12, 2016

Tsim Chai Noodles is located in Richmond and serves Cantonese cuisine. I love Cantonese food since it reminds me of eating at home.

We were invited by Tourism Richmond to experience the Dumpling Trail. Tsim Chai Noodles is one of the restaurants featured in the trail for their dumplings in soup.

Interior

The interior is nothing impressive. Lots of seats and can accommodate small to large groups.

Dumplings

Sui Kau in Soup has a good amount of dumplings inside and they were larger than other places. Plump and there is big pieces of shrimp. One thing I didn’t like about the broth was that is a a little bit sweet. Teh dumplings differ from wontons due to the shape.

Wonton Noodle in Soup came piping hot. The noodles were good and chewy, wontons were delicious but that broth also felt a tad sweet. Perhaps it was just an off batch when we dined here.

Other Dishes

Beef Rice Noodle wasn’t too oily and has a good amount of beef, bean sprouts, green onions, and noodles. A good dish to share among people at the table.

Yeung Chow fried rice is another good dish to order for multiple people at the table. There is pork, shrimp, egg, and peas in it.

Preserved Egg and Pork Congee is a classic item on the menu. One of my favourite dishes. I had a lot of congee as a kid and when I need a dish that makes me feel better, it’s congee.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the food is solid but we felt the broth of the wonton noodles and Sui Kau Soup to be a bit sweet.

We Rate Tsim Chai Noodles:

Address:
50-8251 Westminster Highway, Richmond, BC

In Burnaby Cariboo-Lougheed

Standing Egg Cafe: Coffee in Korea Town

November 11, 2016

Standing Egg Cafe is located in Korean Town between Burnaby and Coquitlam on North Road. There are a few good cafe on North Road that has popped up recently, but none of them are as hip as Standing Egg.

Interior

The interior is really nice with a lot of metal and wood accents. There are a good amount of seating inside, which is great since a lot of cafes have very little seating.

They have a lot of cute glassware on display in the centre of the room and it just works so well with the decor.

Ordering

You go up to the counter first, put in your order and pay. Then, you will get this electronic device that will start buzzing and blinding when it’s ready.

I like this because you can just take a seat and chill with a friend so you aren’t standing around.

Coffee

After waiting a while, our order was ready. I got a latte and it was beautiful with a heart on top. The latte was nice and strong just the way I like it.

Desserts

They get their desserts from Chez Christophe, which is also located in Burnaby. I ordered the Chocolate Eclair and it was delicious. A good amount of fluffy chocolate filling with the choux pastry.

Overall, great new cafe with strong coffee and delicious desserts. They could be a little be quicker with orders.

We Rate Standing Egg Cafe:

Address:
4501 North Rd, Unit 109, Burnaby,BC

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

In Coquitlam

Ta Bom: Korean BBQ in Coquitlam

November 10, 2016

Ta Bom serves up Korean cuisine, but what they are known for is their Hot Plate items with egg, cheese and corn. The line up was ok at 5 pm, but once it got to 5:30, there was a long lineup out the door.

I’ve heard that lines could be anywhere from 30 mins to 1 hour. So, the group of us made sure we got here early to avoid any lines.

Side Dishes

Before the meal, they provide their customers with banchan, which are complimentary side dishes. There were potatoes, kimchi and bean sprouts.

Hot Plate

They have 6 different varieties to choose from:

Dak-galbi – Stir-fried spicy chicken
Bulgogi – beef bulgogi
Pork- bulgogi
Jeyuk-bokkeum – Stir-fried spicy pork
Jukkumi-bokkeum – stir-fried spicy small octopus
Jukkumi-Jeyuk-bokkeum – Stir Fried Spicy small octopus and pork

They all come with the side of egg and corn. You can add the extra cheese from $5 more.

You need to order a minimum 2 portions for these hot plates, but since we had 6 people, we just ordered 2 portions of the stir Fried Spicy small octopus & pork and 2 portions of the beef bulgogi.

Jukkumi-Jeyuk-bokkeum

Jukkumi-Jeyuk-bokkeum has stir-fried spicy small octopus and pork. We made sure to order the extra cheese.

As the gas stove starts, make sure to stir the items on the grill so it cooks evenly. The little octopus look really cute. This dish is delicious but it is spicy, so if you can’t handle spice, you may not want to order this.

They come over and cut the octopus into bite size pieces so you don’t have to have a hard time chewing it.

Once you’re done eating, make sure you leave the sauce so you can order the rice for $3 extra and they mix it into the sauce and bits left over.

Beef Bulgogi

We also got Beef Bulgogi as a non-spicy option. It was nice to have this with the other spicy dish to balance it all out. Good flavours and cheese was so gooey and addictive.

I would highly recommend Ta Bom for something a bit different than the other Korean restaurants in the area. There are no reservations, so come early.

We Rate Ta Bom:

Address:
1046 Austin Avenue, Coquitlam

In Gastown

The Poke Shop in Gastown: Bowls and Drinks

November 8, 2016

The Poke Shop is the latest restaurant to open serving delicious poké to Vancouverites. Located in Gastown across from the steam clock, this restaurant is a bit hidden, so look out for the Poke Shop sign outside. With many poké stores opening in Vancouver, I wanted to see how it compares to the other shops in town.

Poke bowls typically feature seasoned sushi-grade seafood on top of rice and garnished with various ingredients like seaweed salad, green onions and sesame seeds. The Poke Shop offers their own fresh take on poke with a variety of bases, proteins, toppings, and signature sauces.

Interior

The interior is small, but they have a few tables for seating. Since there will be a mix of people eating in and doing take out, it shouldn’t be too bad.

I liked the little hints of Hawaiian decor. They also have a mural on one side of the restaurant with a large wave.

Ordering

They have 2 sizes for their bowl – super large and large. Both are good sizes, but generally large is a good size unless you are super super hungry. Price is on par with the other poke stores in Vancouver.

Step 1: Pick your base

Japonica White Rice
12 Grain Organic Purple Rice
Organic Mix Greens
Baby Spinach
Zoodles (Zucchini Noodles)

You can choose more than one. I got a mix of purple rice, spinach and zoodles.

Step 2: Pick your proteins

Ahi Tuna
Albacore Tuna
Atlantic Salmon
Wild Sockeye Salmon
Baby Scallop
BBQ Unagi
Oven Roasted Organic Chicken
Grilled Organic Chicken

You choose 2 proteins and any more is $2 extra. I went with the ahi tuna and the spicy wild sockeye salmon.

Step 3: Pick your toppings

[one_half last=”no”]

Macaroni Salad
Red Onion
Fried Onion
Green Onion
Garlic Chips
Pickled Ginger
Red Radish
Beets
Pineapple
Mango
Peaches
Strawberry
Watermelon
Oranges
Pomegranate
Lemon

[/one_half]

[one_half last=”yes”]

Lime
Cilantro
Carrot
Cherry Tomatoes
Cucumber
Zucchini
Edamame
Organic Avocado ($1 extra)
Poached Organic Free range Egg ($1 extra)
Imitation Crab Meat
Tobiko
Wakame Seaweed Salad
Furikake
Nori

[/one_half]

The toppings are unlimited, so you can pack your bowl with your favourite ingredients. Just make sure you get fried onions, red radish, beets, pineapple, watermelon, cucumber, seaweed salad, nori and imitation crab meat!

Step 4: Pick Your Sauce

Signature
Horseradish Aioli
Sweet Chilli
BBQ Shoyu
Miso
Wasabi
Spicy

You can’t go wrong with their signature sauce thats top secret. I also liked the wasabi sauce to add a kick to the meal.

Thats all the steps to put together your poke bowl. They have a few pre-constructed bowls, but I found that it was better customizing it to cater to your own taste buds.

The Taste

Depending on how many toppings you add to your bowl, it could either be enormous or the same size as the bowl. Being me, I loaded up the bowl with my favourite toppings and 2 sauces. The poke was good and had lots of marinade on it. It was delicious and healthy fast food.

Specialty Drinks

For $2 extra, you can adda drink to your poke bowl. Or it’s $3.50 for just the drink. A pretty good deal!

They have:

Roasted Macadamia Milk Tea
Pineapple Plantation Iced Tea
3 Berry & Lemon Soda
Cucumber Agave Lemon Water
Hawaiian Chocolate & Coffee Milk Tea
Iced Matcha Green Tea with Honey

We didn’t try them all but we gave a few of them a try.

Roasted Macadamia Milk Tea had a strong milky tea taste with bits of macadamia nuts at the bottom. I liked the texture from the bits of nuts but it didn’t add a lot of flavour to it, just texture. Not too sweet, which I liked.

Hawaiian Chocolate & Coffee Milk Tea is good for those who love chocolate. A good balance of the chocolate and coffee. There are also cookie crumb bits at the top of the drinks, so its nice added texture.

Pineapple Plantation Ice Tea was our favourite. It’s light and refreshing to go with the poke.

Final Thoughts

It’s a great option for something fresh and healthy if you’re in the Gastown area. They only have poke bowls and drinks for now. I love their unlimited toppings and their specialty drinks menu. SO much better. Soon they will be working on some dessert selections. I’ve been to a majority of the poké restaurants in Vancouver and find that each one varies slightly and it all comes down to personal preferences.

We Rate The Poke Shop:

Address:
306 Water Street, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://thepokeshop.ca/

In North Vancouver

Thai House: Celebrating 30 Years with 1986 Prices

November 7, 2016

In 1986, I was -2 years old, Vancouver had Expo 86, Top Gun was the top grossing movie and Thai House Group opened their first location on Robson Street. 30 years has passed and Thai House is celebrating their 30th anniversary by bringing back their 1986 pricing with a $30 tasting menu for 2 with their top menu items.

For $30 you get:

Spring rolls
Tom yum goong soup
Kaeng kiew waan (green curry)
Pad ma-mung him ma-pan (sautéed chicken with cashews)
Steamed Thai Jasmine Rice

Foodgressing and I were invited to try out the menu and went to the North Vancouver location. This special menu is available throughout the month of November at all Thai House locations.

Interior

The interior was nice and has a good amount of seating for small to large groups.

Drinks

Drinks are extra but we tried out the Fresh Young Coconut and Thai Iced Tea. Both were delicious and what I liked about the Thai Iced Tea was that it wasn’t too sweet. Just the right amount of sweetness. Drinks aren’t included in the set meal, but it’s a nice accompaniment.

Appetizer

For the appetizers, we got 2 spring rolls and 2 bowls of tom yum goong soup.

Tom Yum Goong is a spicy and sour noodle soup with tiger prawn, mushrooms, lemongrass and Thai spices. It had a good amount of spice to the dish.

Por Pia Tod are spring rolls. They are deep-fried and served with their sweet chili sauce. Crisp on the outside and the savoury veggie filling inside.

Entree

For the entrees, there are Kaeng Kiew Waan (green curry), Pad Ma-Mung Him Ma-Pan (sautéed chicken with cashews) and Jasmine steamed rice with coconut milk. Plenty for 2 people to share.

The green curry has chicken, coconut milk, eggplant, bell peppers, and topped with fresh basil. I found the chicken to be a bit dry but other than that, the taste went well with the steamed rice. I liked the hint of coconut milk.

Pad Ma-Mung Him Ma-Pan is sautéed chicken with cashew nuts, veggies, and roasted chili. The chicken was also a bit dry too and I would have liked a bit more spice to this dish. You can ask the kitchen staff ahead of time to have your dishes more spicy or less depending on your preference. I generally like my food a bit more spicy to bring out those bold flavours.

Dessert

Sticky Rice with Mango is what we ended the meal with. A good item to share and I like how it isn’t too sweet. There are days where my sweet tooth isn’t there. This isn’t part of the set menu, but it’s an option to order if you need something to end the meal off with.

Overall, the $30 set meal for 2 is a great price. The spice level could be increased but thats just my personal taste preferences. You get a good amount of food at 1986 prices…something that we probably won’t see again like the housing prices in Vancouver. It’s only here until the end of November, so grab some reservations before its too late.

We rate Thai House:

Address:
116 W Esplanade Avenue, North Vancouver

Website:
http://thaihouse.com/

In Chinese

Xi’An Cuisine: Dumpling Trail in Richmond

November 5, 2016

Xi’an Cuisine is located in the Richmond Public Market and is popular for their hand-pulled noodles. It’s a local favourite and the owner started Xi’an cuisine since he couldn’t find it anywhere else in Richmond.

Dumplings

Potstickers are triangular in shape and golden brown on each side. The skin was a bit thick, but the meat inside was juicy.

Spicy wontons were really good. Soy sauce, chili oil and peppers made my tastebuds tingle.

Other items

Beef Roll was crisp on the outside and had a good ratio of meat.

BBQ Lamb Skewers are covered in spices. This was ok, but I wanted a bit more char to it.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed the spices and flavour profile of Xi’an cuisine. The dishes are made from scratch and is something unique at the Richmond Public Market food court.

We Rate Xi’an Cuisine:

Address:
2370-8260 Westminster Highway, Richmond

In Cafe

Ghirardelli: Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop in San Francisco

November 4, 2016

Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop is located near Fisherman’s Wharf. Ghirardelli is one of the oldest chocolate company in the US. They are also a division of Swiss confectioner Lindt & Sprüngli.

Since I was in town, I wanted to stop to try a few of their chocolates and grab a beverage.

Once you head inside, they give you a small piece of chocolate to sample. A nice little touch.

The shop isn’t very large, so you can buy a few gifts and get a snack or beverage here.

Sea Salt Caramel Hot Cocoa is topped with whipped cream and served with a a piece of milk chocolate. After taking the first few sips, it was delicious, It wasn’t overly sweet, but just the right amount. The texture was smooth and that sea seal caramel worked so well together.

Overall, it was fun to stop here for a drink before carrying on with out day. There’s not much to do there besides shop for chocolate and have a drink.

We Rate Ghirardelli:

Address:
900 North Point Street, San Francisco, CA

Website:
https://www.ghirardelli.com/

In Bubble Tea

TMIX Butterfly Lover Series: Blue Coloured Tea

November 3, 2016

TMIX tea & dessert bar is located on Cambie and they recently introduced their Butterfly Lover Series of new drinks using Butterfly Pea Flower that gives a natural vibrant colour to their creation of drinks.

The Butterfly Pea Flower is an ancient Thai herbal plant which is believe to provide antioxidants, improve eyesight, nourishes skin and hair, prevents premature aging, boosts immunity, and it slims. I’m not 100% sure if these claims are accurate, but I find it pretty neat that it produces such a blue colour. They also don’t advise pregnant people to drink this.

Foodgressing invited me to tag along and since I’ve been seeing this pop up on Instagram, I wanted to try it for myself.

Interior

There are tons of seats inside the cafe and the staff is very friendly.

Butterfly Lover Series

They have 7 drinks in their series:

Starry Night: Iced Butterfly Pea Flower and Kumquat Soda with Ai-yu Jelly
Reverie: Iced Butterfly Pea Flower and Ribena
Blue Danube: Iced Butterfly Pea Flower and Earl Grey Latte
Romantic Sunset: Iced Butterfly Pea Flower and Passionfruit Green Tea
Love in Coco Island: Iced Butterfly Pea Flower and Pina Colada Slush
Snowy Lover: Iced Butterfly Pea Flower and Calpis
Blue Moon: Hot Honey Butterfly Pea Flower with honey

We tried 4 of the flavours and I liked the Starry Night the best because of the added ai-yu jelly, it adds a nice texture to the drink as you have it with the kumquat soda. The Butterfly Pea Flower is very subtle and you are tasting predominantly the soda.

We also had the Reverie and similar thoughts. They also advised us to shake this drink before consuming to mix the flavours.

Blue Danube has 3 distinct layers of colour from the different densities of liquid in the drink. With the strong earl grey tea flavour, it masks the Butterfly Pea Flower too. It’s not necessarily a bad thing because of the colours of the drink. You will want to mix up this drink too to incorporate all the flavours.

Blue Moon is the only hot beverage using the Butterfly Pea Flower and honey. Once it is steeped, it has the vibrant blue colour. You can get refills of this drink which is nice.

The tea has hardly any flavours to it. What special about it is the natural blue colour that makes it fun to drink and great for photos.

Overall, the new drinks are pretty unique due to the strong vibrant blue colour. As for the taste, because of the subtlety of the tea flavour, it does get masked by the other flavours in the drink.

We Rate TMIX:

Address:
3432 Cambie St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.tmixtea.com/

In Fast Food

In-N-Out Burger in San Francisco: Hidden Menu

November 3, 2016

In-N-Out is a popular place to go to in San Francisco near Fisherman’s Wharf. We try to go to In-N-Out when we are in the states just to get their animal fries and a few burgers. Since this location was so convenient, how could we not go?

It was super packed by locals and tourist who wanted a taste of their burgers. We waited a little while to get our order and it was so hard to get a table inside, so we ended up eating at other tables outside.

The menu prices seem a bit higher than the location that I went to in LA. Even with the higher prices, we weren’t discouraged.

Protein-style Burger

You can get any burger ‘protein-style’, where your favourite burger wrapped in hand-leafed lettuce instead of a bun. I ordered the double double wrapped in lettuce. It was so good. Because I was already eating so much on this trip, I had to resist carbs. The lettuce held together really well and had a bit of a crunch to it.

Animal-style Fries

To add some excitement to normal fries, you can ask for them animal-style. This means your fries will come topped with melty cheese, grilled onions, and Thousand Island dressing. It tastes as awesome as it sounds.

When you’re in San Francisco, don’t miss the In-N-Out at the Wharf.

We Rate In-N-Out:

Address:
333 Jefferson Street, San Francisco

Website:
http://www.in-n-out.com/

In Bubble Tea

Shake Shake Tea: Bubble Tea in Richmond

November 1, 2016

Shake Shake Tea is a new Bubble Tea shop in Richmond at Empire Centre. I was invited to try a few items and since I was in the area with a few friends, I thought it would be convenient to stop by and try some of the teas. With the amount of Bubble Tea shops opening in Metro Vancouver, it’s pretty tough competition since a lot of the large chains in Asian has started opening up shops here.

What made Shake Shake Tea unique as they use real milk, loose leaf tea and quality ingredients in their drinks.

Interior

Their shop has a few seats and can fit a few groups inside. Most people we noticed did take out. It gets busier later in the evening when people need their bubble tea fix.

The menu has their milk tea, iced milk, flavoured tea and hot drinks.

Milk Tea

We started off by trying their milk teas.

Roasted Oolong Milk Tea was my favourite. At 100% sugar, it was the perfect amount for me without toppings. The tea was very strong and the roasted flavour shined through. The use of real milk makes a difference in the taste too.

Jasmine Milk Tea was my second favourite. Similar feelings to the roasted oolong milk tea but with the different flavour of Jasmine tea.

Grass Jelly Iced Milk and Caramel was more sweet than the first 2 drinks. The caramel was more present and good for those who have a sweet tooth.

Iced Milk and Black Sugar with Pearls was the sweetest of them all since they cook the pearls with sugar. I prefer the milk teas.

Flavoured Teas

I also got the Peach Green Tea with coconut jelly. It was really good and just the right amount of sweetness.

Toppings

They have pearls, grass jelly, pudding, coconut jelly, agar, green bean, red bean and taro.

A good selection of toppings, but I really enjoyed the grass jelly. It helps add texture to the drink and it’s not sweet. The pearls were a bit too sweet for my liking. It was good that they tried to infuse more flavour into the pearls by cooking it with sugar, but not my personal preference.

Seasonal Desserts

For the fall, they have introduced their Jar Desserts for a limited time. They have 3 different combos to choose from:

Original Milk Tea + Rocher Mousse
Jasmine Milk Tea + Matcha Granola Mousse
Earl Grey Milk Tea + Caramel Banana Mousse

The combos are around $15, which is a bit pricey, but they only have limited quantities a day and do sell out.

Rocher Mousse is topped with a Ferrero Rocher and a chocolate straw. There are delicious layers of chocolate and mousse and accompany the teas well.

Matcha Granola Mousse was good as well and the added granola texture worked. The matcha was strong but not bitter at all.

Caramel Banana Mousse has bits of banana bread on top.

Overall, I think their milk teas were really good. It’s not overly sweet and is good with 100% sugar. The dessert prices seem a bit high but could be due to the ingredients they use inside. I would come back for their Roasted Oolong Milk Tea, Oolong Milk Tea and Peach Green Tea.

We Rate Shake Shake Tea:

Address:
4600-3 Road, Suite 131, Richmond, BC

Website:
http://www.shakeshaketea.com/

In Kid Friendly

Suhang Restaurant: Dim Sum + Dumpling Trail

October 31, 2016

Suhang Restaurant is a Shanghainese restaurant located in Richmond on Ackroyd Road.

We were invited by Tourism Richmond to experience the Dumpling Trail. Suhang is one of the restaurants featured in the trail for their diverse selection of dumplings from crispy to chewy to all types of textures.

Interior

We came here on a weekend around noon and it wasn’t busy at all. We did have reservations just in case it was busy.

Dumplings

Xiao Long Bao had a nice thin skin, so we were afraid to accidentally break them. All that precious soup inside shouldn’t be wasted. The meat filling inside was delicious.

Potstickers had a bit of the thick skin to them compared to some other restaurants. Nonetheless, the meat filling makes up for it.

Pan Fried Dumplings had a nice golden brown colour on the bottom. The bun was fluffy and the filling was delicious just like the others.

Other Dishes

Dan Dan Noodles were pretty bad and the worst dish of the meal. It was like eating peanut butter with noodles.

Hot and Sour Soup was delicious. Always a delight having hot and sour soup.

Stir-fried Rice Cakes has a chewy texture to them, but it was good to have rice cakes instead of noodles.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the dumplings were delicious here but a few dishes were a miss especially the dan dan noodles.

We Rate Suhang Restaurant:

Address:
100-8291 Ackroyd Road, Richmond

Website:
http://www.suhang.ca/

In Naramata Bench

Elephant Island Orchard Wines: Tasting in the Naramata Bench

October 30, 2016

Elephant Island Orchard Wines is a hidden gem tucked away in a 5 acre cherry orchard specializing in fruit wines. We made a stop here to try something a little different from the other wineries.

Tasting Barn

The tasting barn is where you can do a series of tasting, shop for wine and purchase other items.

Since the tasting barn was super crowded, there was barely any room to move, so they opened up their patio for a more comfortable tasting experience.

They also sell cheese too if you want to purchase some to go with your wine.

Patio

With the weather so nice, having a seat outside was perfect. We all sat down and their amazing staff guide us through all the different types of wines.

Our complimentary tasting included:

Pear Wine
Cherry Wine
Black Currant Wine
Blackberry Wine
Crab Apple Wine
Apricot Dessert Wine
Framboise
Cassis

All of them were really good and the fruity flavours really shine through. Of them all, Black currant and cassis really stood out to me.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was one of our favourite wineries during our time on the Naramata Bench. All the tastings are complimentary and they give you a good range of wines to try.

We Rate Elephant Island Orchard Wines:

Address:
2730 Aikins Loop, Naramata, BC

Website:
https://www.elephantislandwine.com/

In Distillery

Legend Distilling: Spirits Tasting on the Naramata Bench

October 29, 2016

Legend Distilling creates unique hand crafted spirits in small batches. When we were driving along the Naramata Bench, we had to stop here. It’s a nice break from all that wine tasting and try some good ol’ spirits.

Legend Lounge

This place was packed when we arrived, so we waited a little bit so some of the counter space was cleared.

Tasting

We tried:

Defender Island Gin
Doctor’s Orders Gin
Shadow in the Lake Vodka
Slowpoke Vodka
Blasted Brew

All of them were really good, but I ended up purchasing the Blasted Brew as it goes well with desserts.

They use locally roasted organic coffee from Backyard Beans in Summerland. You will find hints of dark chocolate and vanilla with the smooth flavour of cold brewed coffee to create this unique craft liqueur.

Backyard

In the back, you can lounge around outside, drinks some cocktails, have some snacks, and enjoy the company of you and your friends.

There are picnic tables too if you want to bring your own food to consume.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was nice to try something different than wine on the Naramata Bench. When we passed by, we knew we needed to make a stop. Their spirits were really good and unique. We all left with a bottle that tingled our tastebuds.

We Rate Legend Distilling:

Address:
3005 Naramata Road
Naramata, BC

Website:
http://legenddistilling.com/

In Bubble Tea

Gong Cha: Bubble Tea in Palo Alto

October 27, 2016

Gong Cha is one of my fondest memories from Hong Kong. Having bubble tea with their signature cream on top was something very unique to Asian until Gong Cha started expanding to the United States and Canada.

When I was in Palo Alto visiting a friend, I had to come here for an after dinner bubble tea.

They have a guide on the table if you want to know the different levels of customizations you can do to your drink like sweetness, ice, and toppings.

Milk Foam Green Tea was what I ordered with 50% sweetness and 50% ice. The milk foam on top is a bit salty, but after a while, it starts tasting pretty good with the tea.

We rate Gong Cha:

Address:
439 Waverley St, Palo Alto

Website:
http://gong-cha-usa.com/

In Dessert

Wild Sweets: Designer Cakes and Experiences Gallery in Richmond

October 24, 2016

Wild Sweets sells some stellar chocolate in Richmond and recently, they launched their new line of delicious designer cakes. A few of us were invited for a tasting of their new cakes. I have a bit of a sweet tooth, so I couldn’t resist.

Experiences Gallery

They also expanded their retail store to make room for their Experiences Gallery. It gives guest a sneak peek into the chocolate making process. It features their Cocoa Bean-To-Bar Chocolate-Making Lab, Chocolate Art Gallery & Chocolate Tasting Bar.

What I thought was super cool was their display of the raw cocoa beans. You can touch them and smell them.

Chocolate Tarte Macaron

Chocolate Tarte Macaron has a few different versions:

Banana Macadamia
Chestnut Pear

It’s a pretty intricate dessert. On the outside, you don’t see any macarons, but it does include it. The macaron cookie is loosely crushed and then mixed with crushed fruit, butter and baked crunchy-soft as a single layer. The “macaron” is place on top of a tarte made of a base layer of the crunchy-soft and buttery Sablé Breton cookie topped with an almond cream mixture. When baked, a luscious egg ganache made with our cocoa bean to bar dark chocolate is added and cooked to a perfect custard-like texture.

It is then finished with a dark chocolate coating, a hand-painted chocolate decor.

Cream Cakes

They have 2 versions of these cream cakes:

Dark Chocolate & Raspberry Cream Cake
Milk Chocolate & Passion Cream Cake

This cake blends the richness of a pound cake with the lightness of a sponge cake. It is coated in chocolate studded with ground roasted almonds or coconut for a wonderful texture, simply finished with a chocolate plaquette.

Apricot Milk Chocolate Crème Brûlée ‘Gateau’

There lies layers of crispy crêpes hazelnut praliné, milk chocolate Crème Brûlée cream, apricot fruit Crème Brûlée cream, milk chocolate almond paste Sacher sponge cake and caramel gelée, elegantly finished with hand-painted chocolate bark.

One of the favourites of the cakes we tried. I love the texture of the different ingredients and it’s definitely a delicious treat.

Cherry Dark Chocolate Crème Brûlée ‘Gateau’

You will find layers of crispy crêpes hazelnut praliné, dark chocolate Crème Brûlée cream, cherry fruit Crème Brûlée cream, dark chocolate almond paste Sacher sponge cake and cocoa gelée, elegantly finished with hand-painted chocolate bark.

Another delicious cake. Very similar to the other cake, but still good.

Venezuela Ocumare ‘Intensely’ Chocolate Terrine

Inside, there are layers of double chocolate Brownie cake, crispy crêpes hazelnut praliné, dark chocolate & vanilla bean ganache, dark chocolate Crème Brûlée cream, dark/milk chocolate sabayon mousse, chocolate spray, and elegantly finished with hand-painted chocolate decor.

All these cakes really appeal to be because of the crispy crêpes hazelnut praliné. It really gives it a nice balanced texture.

Crème Brûlée ‘Chantilly’

There are 2 types of Crème Brûlée ‘Chantilly’ cakes.

Apricot Milk Chocolate Crème Brûlée ‘Chantilly’
Cherry Dark Chocolate Crème Brûlée ‘Chantilly’

This cake is their version of the classic French Tarte Bourdaloue — with a few twists. The typical harder sweet dough base is replaced with crunchy/soft cookie. The unctuous custard cream laced with poached fruits is still front-and-center, but they have added another layer of pure decadence: a cloud-like chocolate ‘Chantilly’ mousse.

The mousse is what makes this cake very indulgent.

Crème Brûlée ‘Sabayon’

There are 2 versions of this cake:

Passion Milk Chocolate Crème Brûlée ‘Sabayon’
Raspberry Dark Chocolate Crème Brûlée ‘Sabayon’

There are the layers of Sablé Breton cookie, crispy crêpes hazelnut praliné, chocolate & fruit ganache, the fruity Crème Brûlée cream, dark/milk chocolate caramel sabayon mousse and crème fraîche gelée, elegantly finished with hand-painted chocolate citrus crystal barks.

Overall, the cakes were pretty good. My picks would be for their Crème Brûlée ‘Gateau’ and Venezuela Ocumare ‘Intensely’ Chocolate Terrine cakes.

We Rate Wild Sweets:

Address:
2145 – 12191 Hammersmith Way, Richmond, BC

Website:
http://dcduby.com/

In Chinese

R&H: Chinese Food + Dumpling Trail

October 22, 2016

R&H Chinese Food is located in the Lansdowne Centre Food Court. They serve up delicious Chinese food that’s a bit different that the other stalls here.

We were invited by Tourism Richmond to experience the Dumpling Trail. R&H Chinese Food is one of the restaurants featured in the trail for their diverse selection of dumplings from crispy to chewy to all types of textures.

You can watch them make the dumplings right in front of you. I love watching them make dumplings since it’s really a craft. I’ve tried making dumplings and I can never make them look beautiful.

Potstickers with cabbage and pork filling had a nice colour on the bottom. As the skin is a bit thicker than the other ones that we ordered, these can be quite filling. Best to share dumplings among others.

Boiled Pork Dumplings with Chives was one of our favourites. Delicious filling and reminded me of a little taste of home.

Xiao Long Bao are steamed juicy pork buns and they come in a bamboo steamer. Nice thin skin, but the tops of them were a bit dense.

You should return the bamboo steam to them once you’re done.

Overall, R&H has a good amount of dumplings on their menu. If you want a taste of homemade dumplings and other Chinese food, come give them a try. Prices are very good too.

We rate R&H:

Address:
5300 Number 3 Road, Richmond