Heart Coffee Roasters – Portland

October 16, 2014October 14, 2014Leave a comment

The next morning, we wanted to go grab breakfast at Screen Door, since we heard it’s really popular. And of course, there was a huge wait again. We waited a while, but we realized it would be another 2 hour wait. Annoyed by all this waiting time we’ve been having in Portland, we decided to skip it. We were pretty fed up especially since we drove all the way to the East side. Nearby, Heart Coffee Roaster looked hip and cool, so we decided to grab a quick snack before we headed off to look for more food.

Coffee and Cheese Croissant

J got a Coffee with a Cheese Croissant. The Cheese Croissant was pretty good since it was flaky. J said the coffee was pretty good too. Their coffees are mainly from Central America, South America, and Africa.

Chocolate Cookie

For myself, I went for the Chocolate, which was a huge disappointment. It was chewy, but hard at the same time. Way too chewy perhaps. It also had an odd flavour to it and didn’t taste like regular chocolate cookies.

Overall, Hearts seems to be a great place for coffee, but their other items might be a miss. They also don’t offer wi-fi on the weekends which is odd. The place is great to study and hang out though.

Salt & Straw – Portland

October 14, 2014October 13, 2014Leave a comment

After 5 hours of driving, we finally arrived in Portland and settled into our hotel at Park Lane Suites. It’s a pretty nice hotel for the price and was located quite near downtown city centre. After dropping our stuff off, we decided to take a walk in the neighborhood and try Salt & Straw, which is a famous ice cream shop.

The inside is hip with cool music blasting and friendly servers. It reminds me of Earnest Ice Cream, with unique flavours. The inside smells like freshly made waffle cones too!

There’s a line up, but it’s really not that bad. The servers will come up to you and ask if you would like to sample some flavour. They then bring you spoons with the samples to try before you even get to the ordering area. That way, it speeds things up.

They have their classic menu, but also a seasonal menu. They were featuring a summer harvest series, which included sweet corn, apricots, peaches, and plums. A favourite classic that many talk about is the Pear and Blue Cheese, which I actually sampled and surprisingly thought was really good! A odd combo and for someone whose not a blue cheese fan, I actually still liked it! They also have sundaes, ice cream floats, milkshakes, and draft beverages.

Honey Lavender

For myself, I ended up with the Honey Lavender. I’m a sucker for floral flavored food, or food items that use flower petals.

The Honey Lavender uses Oregon-grown lavender petals which are steeped in honey to extract the floral flavor. The honey used is from Bee Local which is harvested from urban hives all around Portland. I loved the hint of floral but sweetness from the honey. It was smooth and creamy! A huge scoop in a huge waffle cone as well. I believe it only came to $5.

Oregon Peaches with Toasted Walnuts

K went for the seasonal flavour of Oregon Peaches with Toasted Walnuts. It’s made with freshly pureed peaches and mixed with toasted walnuts. Super refreshing.

Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons

J got the Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons. It uses Fleur de Sel and is topped off by ribboning in hand-burned caramel that is made in house. I loved the salty and sweet flavour!

Overall, Salt & Straw did not disappoint! If you’re an ice cream lover, you won’t be disappointed with all the unique flavours! I’d definitely revisit this ice cream shop again!

Potter’s Garden

October 4, 2014October 4, 2014Leave a comment

Since we were in the Metrotown area, we decided to grab some food after hiking. We ended up going to Potter’s Garden. There were customers constantly coming in, which is always a good sign! I believe the owners are Korean as well, but they can speak fluent English, so no problem with ordering here!

They first start you off with some appetizers. Here, we have marinated seaweed salad, beansprouts, sweet potatoes, and kimchi. We actually got two sets of these for 5 people, and I’m pretty sure you can ask for a refill.

They also provide you with lettuce so you can wrap your grilled meat, some dipping sauces, and my favourite ssamjang.

Bulgogi

We started off with the Bulgogi, which is just stir fried marinated tender beer with vegetables. Since we only ordered two grilled dishes, they did not open up the grill for us to grill on our own. I actually prefer that since I don’t exactly enjoy the grilling part and smelling like grilled food afterwards. The meat was very tender and flavourful. Along with ssamjang and wrapped with lettuce, it was very delicious!

LA Galbi Jui

Next, we got the LA Galbi Jui, which are grilled marinated prime ribs. I found the ribs to be slightly disappointing as the meat was a bit tough to chew. And of course, there weren’t too much meat as well. The sauce was very good though.

Nakji-dolsot-bibimbap – rice mixed with assorted vegetables, octopus, optional red pepper paste in a hot stone pot

My favourite of the night was the Nakji-dolsot-bibimbap. This was your typical bibimbap or rice in hot stone bowl with a twist. It has assorted vegetables like bean sprouts, carrots, and zucchini, but also octopus! The octopus was very tender and easy to chew. It was also dressed with the red pepper paste so it was very flavourful and feisty! Recommend!

Japchae

We got our all time favourite Japchae, which is potato noodles stir-fried with vegetables and beef. This was a small size and was a good portion to share so everyone could get some. It was filled with lots of vegetables and beef, so you would get some crunch to it.

Haemul Pajeon (seafood)

Lastly, we got the Haemul Pajeon, which is the Korean style pancake with seafood. Again, this was the mall size. I thought this was done very well as the top was crispy, and they didn’t cheap out on the seafood. It had a mix of squid, shrimp, and of course lots of chives.

Overall, Potter’s Garden was quite good for the value. Nothing too outstanding, but I would probably revisit again when I want Korean food near Kingsway. I believe they are also open until 2 a.m., so a perfect place to get some drinks and late night snacks.

Beta5 Chocolates

September 30, 2014September 28, 2014Leave a comment

Milk Chocolate Praline, Blueberry Yuzu, Cherry Cola, 85% Dark Chocolate and Caramel

Cream puffs are one of my guilty pleasures. I’m not always craving for them, but they always make my day when I have one once in a while. There’s the go to place, like Beard Papa, but Beta5 Chocolates is the place to get unique cream puffs! I’ve had one before, and finally, K came home with a box of 4 to share. How could I say no? A box of 4 will come to a price of $16. It’s quite pricey, but they’re also quite large and well worth the splurge! They recently launched the Cherry Cola, which is the one with a red piece of chocolate. I loved the hint of cherry flavour, but it was mostly a cola flavour. Felt a little fizzy actually. The Milk Chocolate Praline, which was dusted with icing sugar, was also quite good, with the milk chocolate being very creamy and smooth. I liked how it wasn’t too sweet.

Blueberry Yuzu

The Blueberry Yuzu had a yellow piece of chocolate on top. Beta5 is very famous for their chocolates, so of course even the piece of chocolate was smooth. The cream puff shell’s texture is a bit different from typical cream puffs. It’s a bit harder, so even when you cut into it, the shape stays.

The Blueberry Yuzu was very refreshing. It was filled mostly with vanilla cream, but you could taste the slightly sour taste of the yuzu. The blueberry jam was great to bring sweetness to the puff.

85% Dark Chocolate and Caramel

The 85% Dark Chocolate and Caramel of course came with a piece of dark chocolate with a speck of gold. The puff itself was chocolate flavoured and filled with dark chocolate cream and caramel, which made it extra smooth and creamy. One of my favourites out of the four I tried!

Overall, Beta5 is a great change to your typical Beard Papa or store bought cream puffs. They are slightly pricey, but a great treat once in a while. I just wish their location wasn’t so far off. Their hours also close when most people get off work…so it’s always hard for me to get more!

Bella Gelateria (Yaletown)

September 29, 2014September 28, 2014Leave a comment

Bella Gelateria is my all time favourite for gelato, and I was excited when they opened their second location in Yaletown. It’s right by the water, so it’s quite nice on a summer evening. K and I decided to go there on the first day it opened, but ended up going pretty late. We were shocked to see a huge line up, but later realized the line was for gelato only. Phew! So we quickly got seated outside and our server was beyond knowledgeable. She was able to explain the menu thoroughly and gave us her personal favourite suggestions.

The indoors is brightly lit with white decor. At the back, you can see the pizza chefs making the Neapolitan pizzas – which are one of their main features. Apparently, it only takes 90 seconds to bake the pizzas since the oven is very hot.

They also have a showcase of desserts. There are ice cream sandwiches that another company sells here, some ice cream macarons, and the famous gelatinis! A very pretty display! There are also baked good in the morning for the brunch menu.

Margherita – San Marzano (D.O.P.*) tomatoes, fior di latte, parmigiano-reggiano, EVOO, & fresh basil

The menu is quite pricey at Bella Gelateria, with our Margherita pizza being $12. It’s extremely thin, so one person could easily finish it. They use San Marzano Tomatoes (Protected Designation of Origin) which are plum tomatoes. The menu claims they are considered to be the best paste tomatoes in the world. I could definitely taste the acidity and freshness of the tomatoes. The parmigiano is aged for 36 months, rather than the typical 12 months and EVOO stands for Italian extra virgin olive oil. They definitely use the top ingredients. However, we were slightly disappointed that our pizzas didn’t come sizzling hot. When we told our server, she explained that they are made to order, so shouldn’t be. Not sure why ours was sort of cold, but she said she would let management know.

Matcha Smash Gelatini

We couldn’t come to opening night without giving their gelatini a try. The Gelatini is something owner, James, invented, which is martini + gelato. Our server described it as sort of like an island, with the gelato being the island, and the martini being the ocean. We went for the Matcha Smash, which combined matcha powder with vodka and a tcouh of herbal Chartreuse. It was topped with a bit of lemon juice and a slice of lemon peel. Honestly, I thought it was really boozy! And our server said there was one that was way stronger. The vodka was almost too strong for me. I had to take a scoop of gelato before drinking the liquid to balance it off.

The Wonka Coppetta

We also wanted to try their other desserts, so we got The Wonka Coppetta. Coppetta really just means a cup in Italian. The Wonka had Tahitan vanilla gelato, and was topped with a blueberry orange compote and a chocolate drizzle. I liked the balance of sweet and sourt from the blueberries. However, it’s quite pricey – coming at a price of $8. Would I get it again? Probably not. It reminded me of a sundae with fruits and chocolate sauce.

If you go into the restaurant, you can see the kitchen where they make the gelatos. James is here as well!

I love how they incorporated the famous gelato truck inside. If you want gelato after your dinner, you can simply skip the line and order your gelato. I like how they’ve made the line begin outside the restaurant, so it doesn’t disturb the diners. Therefore, the line may look longer than it really is. To be honest, the lines at their original location are even longer since they start inside! Overall, I thought the pizza was mediocre. The gelatinis are interesting, but a little too boozy for myself personally. I’d love to give some of their other desserts a try. Still my favourite spot for gelato though! Now I have another location to visit if I want some of Bella’s gelato!

Forty Ninth Parallel Café & Lucky’s Doughnuts (Main St.)

September 28, 2014September 28, 2014Leave a comment

Since Shishinori closed pretty early, and we wanted to get some sort of desserts so we could continue our conversations, we ended up driving a few blocks down to 49th Parallel Cafe & Lucky’s Doughnuts on Main St. I believe they have a second location, but this one opens later. Free parking down in the residential areas so that’s always a plus!

The cafe is actually quite big, and there are tons of people studying or on their laptops here. There is also a patio outside, which is great for the summer. Good choice of seating as well, from communal tables to two seaters.

The cafe is famous for their coffee, but they also launched Lucky’s Doughnuts, because I mean, coffee and doughnuts do sound like a good pairing right? Since we came pretty late, we were disappointed to see that most of the unique doughnuts were all sold out. The lady said they wouldn’t be baking any new ones soon, so we had to just settle with what there was. The doughnuts are supposed to be made fresh everyday throughout the day. S said that if you come here in the morning, you can get the freshest and best choice of doughnuts!

Coconut Bismark

The only more unique doughnut left was the Coconut Bismark, which had a coconut cream filled inside and vanilla glaze on top. It was then topped off with a Swiss meringue and some toasted coconut flakes. It was very creamy and sweet. Very strong in coconut flavour for sure.

Sugar and Spice

Sugar and Spice was more like a cake-based doughnut. It was dusted with sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom, so it tasted quite like your typical mini doughnuts at the fair but not as soft.

Since I’m not a coffee drinker, I went for the teas instead. I chose the Organic Fujian Bohea Black Tea, which had a fruity and honey aroma. I love how you get your own teacup and their signature mug.

Overall, Forty Ninth Parallel Café & Lucky’s Doughnuts is a great place to have late night conversations, or to even study. I wish there was a closer one to Richmond, so we have more choices other than the typical chain stores.

Shishinori

September 27, 2014Leave a comment

Shishinori opened up quite recently and is located near Broadway and Cambie. S recommended to go here after seeing all the pictures on Instagram. You order first inside, and can take a seat anywhere. We ended up sitting outside sine it was a beautiful sunny day. Their menu consists mainly of salad rice bowls, and although I’m not a salad girl, I was quite impressed.

Ahi Tuna Carpaccio Bowl, Iced Acai Berry Tea, Matcha Jello

The bowls range from $9 up to $12. By adding an extra $2.50, you can turn it into a meal. The meal consists of your choice of beverage and dessert or soup. S got the Ahi Tuna Carpaccio Bowl, which came with thinly sliced ahi tuna carpaccio. I was suprised that there were so few pieces. She said it was more like eating tuna sashimi. Her bowl came with a large amount of veggies – it looked like a lot more than mine. She made it into a meal by adding the Iced Acai Berry Tea and the Matcha Jello. Her acai berry tea was super sweet though. It definitely looked better than it tasted. You would think that the iced teas would be rather strong in tea flavour instead. The Matcha Jello was also really odd… They added something similar to condensed milk on top, and the jello itself was barely sweetened. Quite disappointed with the jello for sure.

Curried Chicken Bowl, Iced Strawberry & Orange Tea, Matcha Jello

For myself, I chose the Curried Chicken Bowl. I was actually surprised how quickly our food came out. My curry wasn’t sizzling hot, so I have a feeling that the hot portions of the food are pre-made. It came with loads of potatoes, carrots, and not as much chicken as I would’ve liked. On top, there was also half a soft-boiled egg. There was also brown rice underneath, so even though it was only salad on the side, it filled me up well. The salad was actually really good. It consisted of different greens, onions, carrots, edamame beans, lotus root and a light soy dressing. The way they put everything together was just visually appealing. I also made it into a meal by adding the Iced Strawberry & Orange Tea. Again, it wasn’t as great as it looked. I found mine to be quite diluted this time. And of course, the jello wasn’t great.

Overall, Shishinori is a great place to grab a healthy meal. I guess eating salads don’t have to be so boring anymore. I would stick with their bowls however, and skip making it into a meal. The drink just looked pretty in the Mason jars, but the flavour needs work. The only downside about Shishinori is that they close relatively early – at 8:00pm. I wish we could sit around and order their desserts as well, but they already started cleaning up.

Browns Socialhouse (Ironwood)

September 26, 2014September 25, 20141 Comment

Bellini

J and I finally set a date to meet up and we had originally planned to check out the Milestone’s Girls Night Out Menu, which featured 4 appies and 4 drinks for $40. However, taking a look at the menu, nothing really intrigued us. Plus, there wasn’t a Milestones in Richmond. Being lazy, we ended up going to Browns Socialhouse in Ironwood Mall. I’ve been here before, but it’s been years since I revisited. The small patio was full, so we ended up sitting indoors. I started off the Bellini, which is always on special for $5. Pretty good deal, but I found that it was way too sweet for my liking. I felt like I was literally eating the fuzzy peach gummies! As for J, she got the Traditional Mojito, since there was a $2 off special going on.

Chicken Quesadilla

For food, I went with the Chicken Quesadilla, which was surprisingly presented very nicely. It came with three sauces – salsa, guacamole, and sour cream. The tortillas were filled with cheese, chicken, peppers, and jalapeno peppers. A bite into the jalapenos really gave you a hit of spice. The quesadilla was crispy rather than soggy, which I was very pleased with. J went for the Charred Peperoni Pizza, which was a perfect size for one. Plus, on Sundays and Mondays, all their pizzas are for $9 which is a great deal! She said the pizza was really good and had a good amount of toppings.

Overall, Browns Socialhouse is always a great place to grab some drinks and food with friends. It’s casual food with great service and prices. A nice change from always going to say Earls.