Beta5

August 10, 2016August 11, 2016Leave a comment

NOTE: All desserts provided in the media event in the first section were complimentary. All opinions are based on my own experience.

Beta5‘s 2016 summer collection, ‘livin’s easy’ launched last month and we were invited to attend their media event to try out all the new items. Beta5 is located in an industrial area which is not transit friendly, but so worth the trip!

The shop front is quite small but you can see the chefs at work in the back which is pretty cool.

Remember to come here early as these goodies run out quick. Many times, I arrived near closing and they sold out of many of the flavours I wanted.

Cherry Cola Cream Puff – botanical cola custard, Okanagan cherry jelly, whipped vanilla ganache, fizzy cherry chocolate, amarena cherry

I really enjoyed that fizz in the chocolate. It was like eating those popping candy!

Pina Colada Cream Puff – coconut ash choux, pineapple curd, whipped coconut-lime ganache, black chocolate rings

One of my favourite desserts of the night was the Pina Colada Cream Puff. Something about it was so mysterious being all black! But inside was filled with a fruit pineapple curd and was perfect for the summer!

Lime Spritzer Cream Puff – mint-lime curd, greek yogurt pannacotta, cucumber meringue, cucumber pearls

Refreshing and perfect for the summer!

Ants On a Log Eclair – milk chocolate and peanut whipped ganache, celery whipped ganache, white chocolate celery stick, peanut glaze

This was super witty as the eclair tasted just like peanut butter on celery! Perfect for those who enjoy celery.

S’More Eclair – 68% dark chocolate mousse, 46% milk chocolate mousse, toasted vanilla meringue, cinnamon graham cracker crust

This brings back memories of having s’mores in front of the campfire in the summertime. Tastes just like a S’more!

Neopolitan Eclair – vanilla cremeux, strawberry cremeux, chocolate cremeux, caramelized white chocolate crunch, neopolitan whipped ganache ice cream in a chocolate cone

Another one of my favourites and who can resist how cut this looks! Gobble it quick before the ice cream melts!

The 2016 summer collection also includes some new flavours of their delectable chocolates. The new flavours include Cinnamon S’more, Strawberry Daiquiri, Raspberry Lemonade, Cucumber Cooler, Root Beer Float, and Celery + Peanut.

The flavours are bold and bright and bring back childhood memories of summer.

Mint Chocolate Sundae

We also got to try their Mint Chocolate Sundae which is part of their ice cream social.

Beta5’s Ice Cream Social happens every Saturday from 1-5pm. They serve up sundaes, ice creams and sorbets and they have a special flavour every week.

On another occasion, separate from the media event, S and I checked out their ice cream social which featured the Raspberry Earl Grey Sundae.

Raspberry Earl Grey Sundae

This was so delicious! It came with earl grey sundae, raspberry swirl ice cream, fresh raspberry compote, raspberry-earl grey macarons and chocolate garnishes. Loved how creamy the ice cream was!

Signature Chocolate Sundae

One of the sundaes they featured in July was the Signature Chocolate Sundae. We were able to choose from a variety of sorbets and ice creams and the toppings were preset. We went with the cola sorbet and it was so refreshing! I loved the textures of the different chocolate garnishes as some had a nice crunch.

Overall, we had an amazing time at the media event as well as our own visit to Beta 5. Definitely worth checking out during the summer as you can grab some ice cream (which is only available during summer) and take a box of the summer collection goodies home! Makes a perfect gift too!

Wild Sweets

July 26, 2016Leave a comment

NOTE: All food and beverages were complimentary, but all opinions are based on my own personal experience.

Thanks to Jacqueline, I was invited to Wild Sweets for a tasting of their new summer products. I live in Richmond and am always on the lookout for new restaurants, but looks like I’ve missed this one. Tucked away in the commercial offices behind Ironwood mall, Wild Sweets offers a small retail section but focuses on selling to retailers. However, they have recently launched their new summer collection: Prêt-á-Manger, which is only available at this retail location.

Mousse Chocolat Milk

We got to try their whole collection, with each container sold for $4.99. If you purchase 5, you can get 1 free. The first set were mousse based, so they were all very creamy. Each were topped with chocolate pearls. Flavours for the mousse included:

Mousse Chocolat Milk: milk chocolate mousse & passion fruit creme brulee cream
Mousse Chocolat Dark: dark chocolate creme brulee cream
Mousse Chocolat White: white chocolate lemon zest mousse & raspberry fruit creme brulee cream

Mousse Chocolat Dark

Mousse Chocolat White

My favourite was the white chocolate as I love the pairing of white chocolate and raspberry. I liked how it wasn’t too tart or sweet.

Tarte Banane

Next up, we sampled the tartes which containes housemade cookie, cream, and fruit. These are great if you want more texture as you’ll get some crunchy parts as well. The tartes come in four flavours:

Tarte Banane: banana custard cream & white chocolate
Tarte Citron: lemon custard cream & white chocolate chantilly
Tarte Chocolat: chocolate creme brulee cream & dark chocolate chantilly
Tarte Framboise: raspberry custard cream & white chocolate chantilly

Tarte Citron

This was my favourite out of the tarte collection as I loved the fresh lemon flavour without it being overly sour. It was just the right balance.

Tarte Chocolat

Tarte Framboise

Pistachio Strawberry Ice Cream

Lastly, we got to sample my favourite items, which were the ice creams! The ice creams come in 3 flavours:

Pistachio Strawberry Ice Cream: strawberry sorbet, vanilla ice cream & pistachio butter parfait
Peanut Butter & Banana Ice Cream: banana ice cream, chocolate ice cream & peanut butter parfait
Hazelnut Passion Fruit Ice Cream: passion apricot sorbet, chocolate ice cream & hazelnut butter parfait

These were all delicious but my favourite had to be the Pistachio Strawberry. The sorbet was so refreshing and I loved the nutty flavour of the pistachio.

Peanut Butter & Banana Ice Cream

Hazelnut Passion Fruit Ice Cream

I think what’s worthy to note is that the goodies at Wild Sweet go through intense research to get to where they are. The owners, Dominique and Cindy Duby, are world-acclaimed chefs, chocolate makers, and designer chocolatiers. They really know what they are doing and have even written cookbooks and won many awards.

They also use a bean to bar approach so all the chocolate is actually made in house from the start of the bean. I find that very amazing as their production facility is quite small and taking this approach can be very costly. Everything is produced in house, except for the chocolate pearls. They really pride themselves in the quality of their products.

Other than the new Prêt-á-Manger collection, you can find chocolates and fruit confits. Their fruit jams are to die for! The intensity of the fruit flavours are so strong and only contain 20% added sugar.

Their selection of chocolates and confections make great gifts for family and friends.

At the end of our tasting, we got to take home some delicious snacks, including some of their chocolate bars, the buttered caramel popcorn, and the dark chocolate bark. Everyone at home really enjoyed these and devoured them in no time!

Overall, I am extremely happy to have discovered Wild Sweets and learned a ton about chocolate from the owners. They are truly passionate about what they do and it is amazing to see how much time into perfecting each product. Currently, the retail store hours are only Saturday 10AM-4PM, but if you order online, you can arrange for pickup by appointment.

CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice (Richmond)

July 21, 2016July 19, 2016Leave a comment

CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice opened up their first location in Vancouver a few months ago in downtown and have since opened another in Richmond in Broadmoor Shopping Centre. Since there was a grand opening promo going on, there was a huge line up.

We ended up waiting over 30 minutes because of the long line ups. We found service to be quite unfriendly at CoCo. I know there’s a huge line and they want to get things moving, but a smile or just thanking the customers for waiting would have been appreciated.

There is some seating in this location, but most people grab take out here.

The promo during their grand opening was buy any one of their top 10 drinks and you get a free regular sized milk tea with pearls for free.

You can choose large or regular size with a difference of 50 cents.

Three Guys

I decided to try the Three Guys which is one of their most popular drinks, consisting of grass jelly, pudding, and pearls. This is quite good as you get a bit of everything but some may find that it’s too much. I actually didn’t mind the variety especially since I love all three toppings.

Milk Tea

The free Milk Tea that came with the promo is pretty good but I still prefer the Chatime roasted milk tea. However, it definitely beats the Shiny Tea one. I would say it’s pretty good compared to the other options out there, but Chatime’s roasted milk tea is still my favourite. In terms of the pearls, they were quite chewy, a little too chewy for me personally.

Taro Milk Tea with Pearls

On another occasion, I went back to take advantage of the deal, and also because I wanted to try the Taro Sago. By the time we got to the cashier, we were told there was no sago and only pearls. I was quite annoyed as I wish they had announced that earlier since I came mostly for the sago. Well, since we had waited forever in line, we got the Taro Milk Tea with Pearls instead. This was quite disappointing with the taro tasting like powder.

Overall, CoCo falls below Chatime but above Shiny Tea for me personally. Price is around the same as Chatime at $4-5. Apparently you can also customize ice and sugar level just like Chatime but the cashiers never let the customers know. Perhaps it was because they were too busy during the promo period.

Pros:
– Solid milk tea
– Customizable sugar and ice levels

Cons:
– Service is unfriendly
– Pearls are too chewy

Price Range: $5

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food: 3 Service: 1.5 Ambiance: 3 Parking: 4 Overall: 3

Snowy Village

July 15, 2016July 14, 2016Leave a comment

When Snowy Village opened up their first location in Richmond, it was rage with line ups outside. I still remember trying to come here for over 3 times and leaving with take out because of the wait. Since then, they’ve opened up more locations including one on Robson so I feel like the waits aren’t as crazy. Still, the place is packed so be sure to come here at odd times to avoid the crowds.

I ended up visiting both the Richmond and Robson location, so I’m just going to combine the review into one post. The set up is similar at both locations, where you order at the front and pay first. At the Richmond location, they will bring you the food, whereas you must pick up at the counter for the Robson location.

Other than shaved ice, they are famous for their Taiyaki also known as croissants boong bread.

You can smell these upon entering the shop. A must order!

Injeolmi Shaved Ice (small)

Snowy Village is famous for their shaved ice because they brought over the famous Korean powdery ice that feels just like snow. The Injeolmi Shaved Ice was topped with red bean, peanut powder and mochi balls. We really liked this as the peanut powder was not overly sweet and I lvoed the chew of the mochi.

Mango Shaved Ice (small)

Another favourite was the Mango Shaved Ice which is topped with lots of mangoes which are ripe and sweet. The fruit ones are a favourite as the dessert is more moist, whereas the ones with powder tend to be a little dry.

Taiyaki

You can choose from a variety of fillings for the Taiyaki, including red bean, injeolmi red bean, nutella, and custard cream. I’ve tried quite a few but my favourite is still the injeolmi red bean and nutella. The custard cream is too sweet for me. I love how flaky the taiyaki is and tastes just like a croissant.

Overall, we quite enjoyed the Richmond location and I found service to be very friendly here. However, parking is horrendous here.

Oreo Shaved Ice (large)

On another occasion, we visited the Robson location. The first thing you will notice is that the Robson location uses plastic cups instead of the metal bowls. We found that the size of these appear to be much smaller than the Richmond lcoation yet we pay the same price. The Oreo Shaved Ice was surprisingly very good even though I normally find Oreos too sweet.

Mango Shaved Ice (large)

We also got the Mango Shaved Ice and again it did not disappoint. The mangoes they use are so sweet!

Injeolmi Shaved Ice (small)

As you can see, the small size here appears to be much smaller because of the cup they use. It’s also extremely easy to tilt the cup because of the narrow base. Loved the Injeolmi Shaved Ice again!

Matcha Shaved Ice (small)

The Matcha Shaved Ice was probably my lease favourite despite the fact I love matcha everything. Since it was mostly matcha powder, the shaved ice was rather dry and needed something moist like condensed milk.

Overall, I think I would prefer the Richmond location more based on the service and also sizing of the shaved ice. However, the consistency of both locations are on par for their menu items.

Pros:
– Shaved ice is so powdery smooth
– Taiyaki is really flaky

Cons:
– Long waits all the time
– Parking at Richmond location is terrible

Price Range: $10/person

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food:4 Service: 3 Ambiance: 2.5 Parking: 2 Overall: 3.5

Honey Doughnuts & Goodies

July 12, 2016July 12, 2016Leave a comment

Quarry Rock is a hike that I do pretty much every year just because it’s probably one of the easier hikes yet you still get an amazing view once up top. For years, people have been telling me about Honey Doughnuts & Goodies and that you must get some of their doughnuts after your hike. Well, since I came to hike, I thought it would be more wise to eat it first and then hike it all off… Anyways, when we arrived, they said they only had their honey doughnuts left, but they do normally have other doughnuts available.

Honey Doughnuts

We ended up all getting the Honey Doughnuts since there was nothing else available. Man, these are big doughnuts! The texture is more like a cake batter with the outside very crunchy. It sort of reminded me of the sweet Chinese doughnuts if you know what I’m talking about. Is it as amazing as how everyone says it is? I wouldn’t say so, but I wouldn’t mind coming here to grab it after or before a hike. I wouldn’t make a trip here just for the doughnuts though. I think these were around $2-3 but they are quite large and dense so can fill you up. Service was mediocre. They seemed very busy and in a rush to move the line.

Pros:
– Love the crunchy exterior
– Reasonable price for the size

Cons:
– Other doughnuts can sell out quickly
– Some people might not like this cake batter type of doughnut

Price Range: $2-5/person

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food:3.5 Service: 3 Ambiance: 2.5 Parking: 2 Overall: 3

Your Guide to the Panda Market (2016)

July 11, 2016July 11, 20162 Comments

NOTE: As part of the ChineseBites media event, all food and beverages were free, but all opinions are based on my own experience.

Thanks to ChineseBites, we were invited along with other food bloggers to sample over 20 items at the Panda Market. Thanks to the rebranding, you can now clearly figure out which night market is which. The Panda Market is the one near Ikea (also known as the older one). We were invited in 2015 as well, and you can read about it here.

The Panda Market has really shrunk this year in terms of food stalls (down to only one lane!). Admission is free although parking does cost money, but round up your friends and carpool and it’ll come to a dollar per person.

I also liked how there were less people here so you can actually stand around and eat or even find tables in the back alley to sit down and enjoy your food. We checked out the Richmond Night Market by River Rock and there was no chance of that! You could barely move there and the line ups were crazy long…

Xin Jiang A Fan Ti Halal BBQ

I was paired up with Areta from Foodgressing to indulge in our night market adventure. We started off at Xin Jiang A Fan Ti Halal BBQ.

Chicken Skewers, Lamb Skewers

We were able to sample the Chicken Skewers and Lamb Skewers which may be one of my favourite items of the night. The chicken was my favourite because it still remained moist inside. The lamb was good but the one I had had a lot of fat stuck on so those parts were inedible. I loved the spices they used though and you can ask for spicy to get more kick.

BBQ Squid

There are two stands that sell squid at this night market. The one we sampled from was called BBQ Squid.

Fried and Grilled Mix Squid

We tried the Fried and Grilled Mix which as the name says, comes with a variety of grilled and fried squid rings and tentacles. The grilled squid comes with a sweet chili sauce but I found it to be more chewy, although not gummy. My favourite was the fried one as the texture had more bounce to it. This plate is priced at around $8.

Shake Shake

Getting thirsty, we headed to Shake Shake which has the trendiest drinks, including lightbulb drinks, watermelon and pineapple juice in the actual fruit, and liquid nitrogen drinks.

Watermelon Juice

We tried the Watermelon Juice which had liquid nitrogen fuming out on the side making it very picture worthy. The smoke actually lasted for quite a few minutes too. We added some popping balls in the drink, but I found that tasted a little odd. The watermelon juice itself was okay but the watermelon itself clearly wasn’t very sweet. They also have a pineapple version.

Cheese Tarts: Lavender and Original

Next to Shake Shake is Cheese Tarts which sells out fast so may be a stall that you want to check out first. They sell the popular cheese tarts that are the hype in Japan and Asia. Here, you can choose between Lavender and Original and they heat them up for you. I found the center to not be as runny as the ones in Japan but I did enjoy the lavender flavour. Great for those who enjoy floral flavours.

Top Dough

Top Dough brings Czech pastries to Richmond and features Trdelník also known as chimney cakes.

Chimney Cake

They feature three versions: the original, one filled with nutella, and one filled with nutella, whipped cream and topped with a slice of strawberry. We got the last and this one is cone shaped in order to hold all the cream. I liked how the outside was crunchy, but the inside was gooey and I felt like it was undercooked. This is not as good as the ones I had in Prague for sure, but I guess it’s decent for what we have in Richmond.

Mini Doughnuts: Oreo

At Mini Doughnuts, you can get your favourite carnival snacks and mini doughnuts! You can have them plain with just cinnamon and sugar or have them dressed up with some interesting flavours. Each order normally comes with 12 doughnuts, but they were able to give us 6 of each flavour instead. The first was the Oreo which was dressed with icing sugar and topped with crushed Oreo cookies.

Birthday Cake

The second was the Birthday Cake which comes with icing sugar and topped with rainbow sprinkles. They also have a S’mores version. The doughnut itself was great but I find that the ones with icing sugar get quite sweet after a couple. I would order these with just cinnamon sugar instead.

Shanghai Special: Pork Schnitzel

At Shanghai Special, they serve Shanghai food but also Pork Schnitzel! Sort of random, but it turned out to be quite good with the pork being only a tad dry but the batter very crispy.

It’s Toasty: French Toast

It’s Toasty served French Toast which we thought was deep fried tofu at first. It was served with a side of condensed milk and this was again surprisingly very good. The outside was crispy and the center pillowy soft and fluffy!

Pie Pie Okonomiyaki: Squid Okonomiyaki

At Pie Pie Okonomiyaki, they serve variations of Okonomiyaki filled with different ingredients such as pork and beef. We chose the Squid Okonomiyaki which was topped with Japanese mayo and bonito flakes. I found the inside to be rather gooey and doughy and would’ve liked it crispier.

Be Fabulous: Corn Pancake

Be Fabulous served us Corn Pancake along with a side of sweet chili sauce. It was well seasoned but something about it was quite underwhelming.

Orr Street: Green Apple Slush with Pearls

Areta got the Green Apple Slush with Pearls from Orr Street and we found the Mr. Panda to feature our drink. Yes, you’ll find a couple of these pandas walking around!

Twist Potato

There are two stands that sell the famous hurricane potatoes. The first stand was Twist Potato.

Bavarian Cream Korean Waffle

Twist Potato is also the only stand that sells the Korean Taiyaki fish waffles. We filled ours with Bavarian Cream. I found this to be underwhelming and the cream was like a custard which I found too sweet. I’d much rather get the ones at Snowy Village!

J&J Hurricane Potato Fries: Barbecue; Twist Potato: Garlic Mayo

The other stand is J&J Hurricane Potato Fries. Let’s compare it to Twist Potato! By the looks of it, Twist Potato (on the left) is much taller and so you get way more potato, but at the same time it’s more thinly sliced. After trying both, I actualy enjoyed the one from J&J more because of the thick cut texture. However, based on the flavours we tried, we enjoyed the Garlic Mayo from Twist Potato more than the Barbecue at J&J. But then again, you can choose from a variety of flavours so at the end of the day, I would probably go with J&J. J&J also allows you to choose two flavours.

Mr. Pretzels: Neapolitan Pretzel

Next we tried the Neapolitan Pretzel from Mr. Pretzels. This was topped with Parmesan and some Italian herbs and must be eaten when warm! It was very soft and great for sharing.

Totoro: Mango Bubble Tea; Happy Lemon: Passionfruit Lemonade

Onto more drinks because night market food can make you very thirsty! Areta got the Mango Bubble Tea from Totoro, while I got the Passionfruit Lemonade from Happy Lemon. I love how you can flavour your classic lemonade and this was just the right sweet and tart.

TW Traditional Snacks: Taiwanese Sausage

Yup, this looks funny… but TW Traditional Snacks ran out of popcorn chicken and I had already tried their stinky tofu last year, so I tried their Taiwanese Sausage this time around. Quite typical and is sweet in flavour. Nothing too special. I would stick to their Stinky Tofu or Popcorn Chicken!

Sea Monster

A new addition is the Sea Monster which seemed to be a big hit.

Sweet Onion

They literally deep fry a whole squid on a stick and you can choose a seasoning to go with it of which we chose the sweet onion. This is difficult to eat and can get very messy, but I actually quite enjoyed this. The squid itself was very tender and I loved the crunchy batter and seasoning.

Takoyaki: Squid Takoyaki

Takoyoki is another popular item and here you can choose to add other ingreidents again such as pork. We stuck with the traditional and got Squid. Crispy on the outside and gooey inside. Not bad.

Cocoro: Deep Fried Oreos

Onto some desserts at Cocoro, we tried the Deep Fried Oreos which I had first tried at the PNE. I always found these to be good, so it was no surprise here either. They’re on the sweeter side, so definitely share them.

Mangoholic: Mango Shaved Iced

Mangoholic served us their Mango Shaved Ice, which is perfect for a sunny day. The mangoes were ripe and sweet and came with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream. Not bad!

Ying Kee: Bubble Waffle

Last but not least, Ying Kee served us Bubble Waffles and I went for the classic original although they have other flavours. The outside was crispy but I wished the inside was more chewy.

And there you have it! We tried almost every single food stall at the Panda Night Market! I have to say, I did appreciate how the line ups and wait times were way shorter than the one at the Richmond Night Market.

Of course, you won’t find as many innovative items here as they tend to open at the Richmond Night Market, but if you are looking for your classics, then I think the Panda Night Market does a pretty good job.

There are also fun and games for the kids and live entertainment. But I mean, I think I most of us go the night market for the food, right?

Tangram Creamery

July 4, 2016Leave a comment

With the sun out these days, I’ve been craving ice cream so I suggested we check out Tangram Creamery in the Kits area after seeing all the pictures on Instagram.

The ice cream prices are on par with most of the other gourmet ice cream shops starting at $5 for a single scoop. Cookie cones which are made in house and what Tangram is famous for is an additional $1 but a must purchase! They also have ice cream maracarons and affogato.

The menu is quite limited but they change it up about once a week so ensure to check out their social media to see what flavours are available.

We chose to get single scoops and got the Mango Sorbet and Salted Caramel. They pack quite a lot in a single scoop so the cone is filled inside as well. The mango sorbet was very refreshing, but the salted caramel was the star. I loved the mix of sweet and salty and the ice cream itself was very smooth. The cookie cones are also absolutely delicious and a great change from the typical waffle cones. I love how they dip the pointy end with chocolate so your ice cream doesn’t drip out.

Overall, S and I both really enjoyed the ice creams at Tangram Creamery. Service was very friendly and there is self-serve water available. There is limited communal seating, but with the nice weather, taking a stroll in the neighbourhood is a good option as well.

Pros:
– Delicious rotating flavours
– Love the cookie cone!

Cons:
– Very little seating

Price Range: $5-10/person

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food:4.5 Service: 4 Ambiance: 3.5 Parking: 3 Overall: 4.5

17°C Dessert Cafe – ChineseBites Media Event

June 19, 2016Leave a comment

Note: All food and beverages were complimentary, but all opinions are based on my own personal experience.

After our huge meals over at Golden Eats, the ChineseBites crew walked a block over to the newly opened 17°C Dessert Cafe. Pictures have been all over social media and they even ran out of ingredients on their grand opening.

They focus mainly on fruit shaved ice and offer some drinks as well. The interior is rather small so can only fit around 20 people or so.

They also have the famous Lightbulb Drinks featuring four flavours right now.

Cantaloupe Icy

We started off with the Cantaloupe Icy with a milky shaved iced and melon balls scooped out on top along with popping balls. It also comes with condensed milk to drizzle on top. This was refreshing with the shaved ice being very creamy. I quite enjoyed this as it was not overly sweet.

Watermelon Icy

Another popular icy of theirs is the Watermelon Icy. Again, same concept with the watermelon being scooped out into balls resting on top of the same milky shaved ice. This one came with thinly shaved almond and Pocky sticks. The watermelon was not very sweet, so it really helped that a scoop of vanilla ice cream sat on top.

Pineapple Icy

We got to try one of their new menu items which was the Pineapple Icy. Same concept again, but I would say you get less of the pineapple balls just because of the size of the fruit. I was surprised they were able to scoop these out though since it can be quite difficult with a pineapple. This came with blackcurrant gummies which were pretty good on their own but I didn’t think it added much to the dessert overall. This was pretty good since it had a nice balance of sweet and tart.

Lightbulb Drinks

Lastly, we tried their series of Lightbulb Drinks. We tried the passionfruit, kiwi, lemon, and red pomegranate. This were slightly fizzy as they were carbonated and you could choose to mix it with green tea. Frankly, I found these underwhelming as they tasted like artificial flavour. They only look good in pictures but flavour is a definite miss.

Overall, I quite enjoyed the shaved ice but would skip the lightbulb drinks. The shaved ice do come at a price at $14.99 for both the cantaloupe and watermelon but I guess you are paying for the fruit itself and the labour of scooping the balls.