Midam Rice Cake House

July 7, 2013July 9, 2013Leave a comment

Midam Rice Cake House is tucked away in a Korean mall in Coquitlam and you probably wouldn’t notice it at all. If it weren’t for all the instagram pictures, I’m pretty sure I would’ve never came here.

Inside, the place reminds me of bubble tea shops, but with a Korean touch to it. Maybe it’s the wooden furniture and decor. Oh and I guess pretty much all the diners were Korean too…

Green Tea Mochi Ice Cream

Midam is famous for their rice cakes of course, and especially for their rice cake desserts. Green tea, mochi, and ice cream are three of my favourite things, so of course I had to get the Green Tea Mochi Ice Cream! This was so delicious. The rice cake was chewy and the ice cream was hard so it melted in your mouth slowly. And of course, it was presented nicely too. A must get!

Green Tea Shaved Ice

And then there’s the Green Tea Shaved Ice. I’m not usually a big fan of shaved ice because after I few spoons, I usually get a brain freeze and start shivering. However, Midam seems to be famous for these, so I had to give it a try. It was bowl of shaved ice topped with red bean, almonds, green tea covered rice cakes, and a spoonful of green tea ice cream. We found it extremely bland, and the girl brought us something that tasted like condensed milk. Immediately after pouring it, it tasted much better. Still, I’m actually not a huge fan of red beans, unless it’s red bean paste, so this wasn’t exactly my favourite. I wish it was just all green tea rice cakes and ice cream! The rice cakes were decent, although I found the green tea to be a little bitter. A hint of sweetness would’ve made it better. It was still chewy and soft and I loved the texture of it. I also found the shaved ice to be pretty big chunks of ice. If it were finely ground, it would’ve been better. Overall, it was just okay.

Lastly, J got the dinner set, which I can’t remember the name of and I can’t find it on their website. We came during dinner time, but silly me decided to have desserts for dinner. J, on the other hand, wanted an actual meal. The lunch set included some appetizers, like salad, beans, kimchi, and miso soup. It also came with black rice and I think his main dish was squid with rice cakes. On the side, it also came with a bowl of steamed eggs.

Midam Rice Cake House seems to be quite popular for the Koreans. You could find different ages eating during dinner time, and many would order desserts too. I guess it’s similar to a Taiwanese bubble tea house, but this one is filled with Korean rice cake desserts. The rice cakes itself are delicious, but some items seem to be a hit or miss. I think I came in with high expectations for the shaved ice, so I left quite disappointed.

The Coffee Bun

June 27, 2013Leave a comment

J told me that The Coffee Bun has some really good…well coffee buns, of course. They currently only have two stores in Greater Vancouver. One in Coquitlam and the original store is in Lower Lonsdale in North Vancouver. The shop definitely grabs your attention with such a large coffee bun sign.

They’re famous for their original coffee bun, but they also have variations of the bun. Some have cream inside, and even ice cream! They also offer honey bread, waffles, and an assortment of beverages, including coffee and tea.

I couldn’t help but take a few snapshots of their cake displays. I’m guessing they do special orders for the cupcakes and wedding cakes. Not sure how well they taste, but they sure look good!

Look at those cupcakes with faces on them! Extremely cute!

And these Santa Claus cupcakes are so adorable. They would make the cutest Christmas desserts to bring to a party.

Ice Cream Coffee Bun

This is the Ice Cream Coffee Bun. It is essentially a bun with an aroma of coffee cut in half and a scoop of ice cream is placed inside. The buns remind me of Chinese buns in terms of texture and taste. Definitely has the egg and butter taste to it, but it’s also got a slight hint of coffee flavour. The outer edges are also crispy which is a plus. The bun is warm and begins to melt the ice cream, so you need to eat this quickly before it all melts!

Blue Lemonade

On a second occasion, we went back to get coffee buns again. This time, J also got the Blue Lemonade. It reminded me of Mountain Dew with lemons. I thought it was a bit sour for my liking, but then again, it’s lemonade.

Ice Cream Coffee Buns

And of course, we got the Ice Cream Coffee Buns again. Maybe I should try some of their other variations next time. They also have shaved ice, which looks really good. I love how the place is a great hangout place to chat with friends. It’s similar to a coffee shop setting, but with these awesome buns!

Meat & Bread

June 16, 2013Leave a comment

Finally! I can finally say I’ve tried Meat & Bread! I swear literally everyone has been here, and sadly, I have been too lazy to make my way to this awesome sandwich shop. M and I decided to go check it out, and we arrived shortly after noon on a weekday. And of course, we saw the line up that everyone talks about.

They mainly serve their signature sandwiches, and their infamous Porchetta Sandwich which made its appearance on Diners Drive Ins and Dives. However, they also have a daily sandwich everyday. I guess because their menu is so limited, they can focus on doing their best on those few and therefore they are consistent in their food.

The owner or co-owner also came out to greet us and she explained to us the menu since we told her it was our first time. Extremely friendly and awesome service! She also assured us that we would find a seat quickly even though the spot is small, but people usually eat and leave right away.

The line moved along quite fast. They’re efficient in taking orders and making their sandwiches, so we probably only waited for around 10 minutes. Not bad at all.

You can see how busy it is, but they get the line moving quick!

And I had to get a picture of the man chopping up the porchetta.

And here, he’s creating my sandwich! A decent amount of meat and topped it with some pork rinds to add crispiness as well.

And lastly, he topped it with some salsa verde, which is essentially green salsa (I guess my Spanish class is paying off). The salsa verde totally made the sandwich. The hint of tanginess was perfect!

Porchetta Sandwich

And here our M and I’s Porchetta Sandwiches! It comes with a glop of mustard as well, which is so delicious! Dip your sandwich in a bit of the mustard, and mixed with the salsa verde, it’s just perfect!

The bread is surprisingly not too tough. I always assume that this type of bread would be a little tough, but this wasn’t at all. Extremely easy to chew, but it definitely gets a little messy with the overflow of meat. Whenever you bite into the pork rind, you get the crispy texture as well which is awesome!

SIP Rosemary Lime Soda

Lastly, I finished it off with a SIP Rosemary Lime Soda. M and I both ended up getting drinks because they had such interesting drinks that we thought were pretty “hipster”. Okay, yea they look pretty cool, but we both agreed they didn’t taste as amazing as we imagined. My Rosemary Lime Soda definitely had a hint of rosemary and lime, but it also reminded me of detergent upon first taste… I guess the flavour grew on me after, and it wasn’t so bad in the end. M got the Lemonade and it was extremely sour. But again, he said it was alright after a while.

Now I know why Meat & bread has such great reviews and craze. They know how to make a good sandwich and they stick to the ones they’re good at. I’d actually love to try their other sandwiches as well, and for a gourmet sandwich, the price isn’t too bad for the amount you get. I was genuinely full by the end of my meal. They’ve also opened up another location to cater to all the business people.

Scoop!

June 13, 2013Leave a comment

After Jethro’s, we went looking for some dessert. Scoop is located on West 4th, and although I’ve heard the name plenty of times, I haven’t been there. West 4th was having major construction, and it was extremely difficult to find parking. We ended up having to park in some residential areas, which were very limited.

Scoop is essentially a frozen yogurt shop, similar to Menchie’s. The cool thing about Scoop is that they also have a game area, and offers Foosball as well as games like Jenga. The place is fairly small, with limited seating, but it’s a cool place to hangout. It was quite empty on a weekday afternoon.

The menu is fairly simple. You choose your size of frozen yogurt, and then the server gives you your cup with the yogurt in it. You then proceed on to place as many toppings as you wish. She then weighs the yogurt and tells you the price.

There’s a wide assortment of toppings, and they’re popular for their homemade mochis.

A close up of some of the toppings!

Matcha Frozen Yogurt with Mochi, Coconut Jelly, and Mango

And this is what I ended up with. I paid a little more to get flavoured frozen yogurt, which I believe comes in a few flavours, like chocolate and hazelnut. I chose the Matcha Frozen Yogurt. You can tell that the shop is fairly small, because they literally whipped matcha powder into the yogurt manually… Yup, they don’t have pre-made frozen yogurt that is already flavoured. Because of that, I felt that the matcha flavour wasn’t strong enough. As someone who isn’t a huge fan of frozen yogurt, I also found it to be a little too tangy. But I guess that’s what froyo lovers enjoy! I added some mochi, coconut jelly, and cubes of mango. The mochi was soft and had a slight chew to it. Awesome! My bill came to a little under $5, so typical froyo prices.

Cold Stone Creamery

May 30, 2013Leave a comment

After dinner at Sushi Garden, SP suggested we go to Cold Stone Creamery. She said she always walks by it, but never had a chance to try it out. I didn’t even know that Metrotown had a Cold Stone Creamery! It’s teamed up with Tim Horton’s too, so it’s literally right next to each other and you order at the same cash register.

Strawberry Blonde – Strawberry Ice Cream with Graham Cracker Pie Crust, Strawberries, Caramel and Whipped Topping

SP shared the Strawberry Blonde with SK. The Strawberry Blonde is one of their signature creations, so you don’t need to think which flavours will go well with what. It reminds me of Marble Slab, since they actually mash up the ice cream on the “cold stone” and form a new flavour essentially. They got theirs in a waffle cone since it was at no extra cost. A pretty good deal since I think it came to be a little under $5 for a medium size. Much more affordable than Marble Slab, although I don’t remember how the quality was at Marble Slab. If you get a waffle cone, the guy who serves your ice cream also throws it up in the air and catches it in the cone. Pretty entertaining!

Iced Cappuccino with Gummy Bears

For myself, I didn’t want to mix and match my flavours, but I noticed that they had an Iced Cappuccino flavour! Ice Caps are already good by themselves, but as a flavour for ice cream?! I had to give this a try! I got a small cup which I believe was around $3. You could have it in a waffle cone for no extra charge as well, and also one choice of topping. I went for the gummy bears, which they would normally mix it in your ice cream, but I asked for it just on the top. The Ice Cap ice cream was literally what it was. I’m guessing they just add more cream to the ice cap and freeze it. Pretty good if you are a fan of ice caps! However, the gummy bears seemed to be old and had sat in the glass jar for too long. They were hard and difficult to chew on, so I definitely won’t be getting that next time.

Overall, ice cream at a fraction of price compared to Marble Slab, but you essentially get the same experience. I can’t quite say how the quality is compared to Marble Slab, since I haven’t had Marble Slab in a long time, but it’s good enough if you’re just craving some ice cream and you’re in the Metrotown area. Plus, you can get other Tim Horton’s goodies while you’re at it.

Myung-Ga Sonmandoo

May 21, 2013Leave a comment

Since we had just finished shopping at H-mart, we looked for a quick snack in the same mall. Just across H-mart in the same complex was Myung Ga Snack Bar which offers a few basic Korean snacks and their famous dumplings.

The snack bar is fairly small with only tables on one side of the wall. The wall is plastered with Korean, which I’m guessing are the dishes on their menu. It’s a quick place to grab a snack, so the turnover rate is quite high.

On the other side of the wall is where the food is cooked. I saw tons of dumplings that had been steamed on the side, but I didn’t get a chance to try them this time.

Beside each table, they have a menu which thankfully has English translations on it. The prices are quite cheap too.

Spicy Rice Cake

First, we got the Spicy Rice Cake. A decent sized plate of rice cakes with fish cakes were covered with a spicy sauce. I found this to be quite spicy, so I ended up draining the spice out with some water. Kind of gross, but it worked. I especially loved the fish cakes.

I’m not sure what this was called, since J ordered this in Korean and it wasn’t on the menu. The roll on the left hand side was essentially clear potato noodles wrapped with seaweed lightly fried. On the other side were vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots, and onions, which were also lightly battered and fried. This was a crunchy snack although I still found it a little oily.

Oden (Fish Cake Soup)

Lastly, we got the Oden, which you often see at Japanese restaurants. It is a fish cake soup and it comes with different snacks, such as fish balls, fish tofu, and other delicious snacks. I enjoyed the soup, and the fish balls were bouncy.

All in all, cute shop to grab some quick Korean snacks. And I will be back for the dumplings!

Mimibuloveme

May 21, 2013May 21, 2013Leave a comment

I’ve been seeing everyone posting delicious dessert pictures from Mimibuloveme so I dragged J along to go check it out. Weirdly enough, the outside of their store says Bubble House. We were sort of confused for a second, but I walked closer and saw that they sold the same things I had saw on their Facebook page. I’m guessing they haven’t switched the sign from the previous shop?

The place is fairly small, and is actually the same location where Dots Desserts used to be. Their tables reminded me of what Dots had too. They also have this awesome panda bear sitting on a chair. Totally wanted to hug him.

They also have these paintings around the shop, and they also sell greeting cards with these characters.

Matcha Crepe – red bean, matcha ice cream

I chose the Matcha Crepe to share and it was filled with red bean and a few mochi balls inside and on the top. I wish they put more mochi balls, because those things are my favourite! It was then topped with a scoop of matcha ice cream on the side. Not bad! It’s also decently priced at around $5 compared to many other crepe places which charge at least $8.

Matcha Ice Cream

Because I enjoyed the Matcha Ice Cream so much, I asked for another scoop of it for just $1.50. Not bad at all considering a scoop of ice cream is usually over $3 at most dessert shops!

Overall, Mimibuloveme is a cute little shop to grab some desserts and chat with friends. I’m guessing that it gets really busy on weekends and late nights, and therefore hard to find a seat.

La Casa Gelato

May 9, 2013Leave a comment

After dinner, I dragged J along with me to visit La Casa Gelato. I’ve heard that the place has over 200 flavours of gelato and some pretty exotic ones too, and I’ve been dying to visit the shop. To my surprise, the place is painted bright pink, and even their parking lot across the street is pink…

The place is pretty huge for a gelato shop, but it’s got to be that size to store all the flavours! Some weird flavours included wasabi, curry, and garlic. They also had more normal flavours such as vanilla and chocolate.Sorbet is also an option if you don’t want gelato.

Your gelato can be scooped in either a waffle cone or cup, which were seen all around the shop.

Before purchasing your gelato, you are welcome to try the flavours. There are many employees behind each fridge, and they were extremely friendly and helpful. I didn’t dare try the exotic tasting flavours, such as curry or garlic, but I did try one of the alcoholic ones. I believe it was called Tequila Sunrise, and they definitely put some alcohol in it! However, I felt like it was too strong, and it just didn’t taste good. After trying several flavours, I found that most of the flavours didn’t actually work. They were creative, but the it was either too strong or lacking some flavour. The recipes definitely need work!

Green Tea Gelato

In the end, I ended up with the Green Tea Gelato, which is my all time favourite ice cream flavour. However, I didn’t think it was the best gelato I’ve had. The green tea wasn’t strong enough, and the gelato wasn’t exactly smooth. They did, however, give me a pretty large scoop which I think was around $5. Overall, don’t expect any quality ice cream. It’s definitely a shop of quantity over quality. If you’re looking to try some crazy flavours, then you’re at the right place.