Triple O’s Strawberry Sundae

Craved some ice cream at school the other day…and Triple O’s was closest so I decided to give their Strawberry Sundae a try! I’m guessing no one really ever orders sundaes here, since the cashier paused for a second before processing my order. Pretty good vanilla ice cream, and you can even see the little black spots of vanilla in it! Came with a little wafer stick too! Not bad. At least it satisfied my cravings!

Triple O's (UBC) on Urbanspoon

Kaneda Japanese Restaurant

Assorted Sashimi, including Salmon, Tuna, Hokkigai, Tako (Octopous)

Beef Sashimi

Lobster/Kani, Chopped Scallop, Shark Fin, Mirugai Nigiri Sushi

Tobiko, Toro, Unagi Nigiri Sushi

Dynamite Roll, Alaska Roll, California Roll, Chopped Scallop Roll

Fresh Oyster, Gomae, Agedashi Tofu, Fish Soup, Prawn Tempura

Yakitori (Chicken Skewer), Beef Short Ribs

I was flipping through an asian food magazine and found that a new restaurant called Kaneda Japanese Restaurant had opened on West Broadway. I hadn’t had all you can eat sushi for a very long time since I hate that feeling of stuffing myself just to get my money’s worth, but  I was definitely craving some this weekend. Decided to give it a try, but I have to say I was quite disappointed. I looked at the reviews and I saw that they had pretty good reviews, but I have to say that the food and service is not up to par. The food took extremely long to arrive and the order of food came in an awkward order. You would expect to get all your sashimi and salads first, but no, things like beef short ribs came before salmon sashimi was served. Salads as simple as gomae and shrimp sunomono took what felt like 30 minutes to come. You would assume that all you can eat places would have things like salad all prepared ahead of time since they need to send them out in bulk amounts. But no, they took forever, and they didn’t taste any better than other all you can eat places that served them right away. Our sushi was also all mixed up, or it was either that they didn’t have it and just substituted our food without asking. We ordered lobster nigiri sushi, but it tasted like imitation crab, and our albalone nigiri sushi never came, but something that was clearly chopped scallop, which we had not ordered, came. Would’ve appreciated if they let us know beforehand there wasn’t the items and they shouldn’t have just substituted it for something else. All the cook food, like skewers and agedashi tofu were pretty good though, and they presented the sashimi on a very nice platter. Food just took way too long to come though, and we had to even ask our server where our food was. He replied that there was only one chef preparing the sushi. Understaffed on a Saturday night? The restarurant wasn’t even full too though, so maybe that’s why. Service was just way too slow, and even when we asked for our bill, it took them 10 minutes to get it to us. Definitely not going back, but I have to say they have a large variety of food to choose from for all you can eat at around $25 a person.

Kaneda Japanese Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Faubourg

Cakes

Savouries

Types of Teas

Vert Provence – A grand green tea with flowery aroma combined with tastes of Provence, red and black fruits plus sweet lavender

3 sets of Purple Afternoon Tea – choice of 2 sandwiches, 2 pastries, and a scone with cream and jam, and choice of tea

My Purple Afternoon Tea Set! – Mini Opera, Chocolate Mousse, Smoked Salmon and Wasabi Cream Sandwich, Cucumber, Roast Beef, and Corriander Cream Sandwich, Scone with Cream and Mandarin Orange Jam

Went to Faubourg a little late in the afternoon, so most of their pastries and savoury  items were already all sold out. We decided to have high tea, and they had a smaller set called the Purple Afternoon Tea for $16. We got to choose 2 sandwiches and 2 pastries, and it came with a scone and choice of tea. I have to say that service was quite terrible. We were served by a rude man who wasn’t very polite when we asked questions about the teas. He almost seemed impatient and didn’t want to serve us. Funny, since he was dressed in a dress shirt and all, and looked almost like a manager. He might’ve been, actually, but I don’t know. Food on the other hand was good, and everything was presented nicely. I extremely liked the Chocolate Mousse and the Smoked Salmon Roll. They also have another afternoon set for a slightly higher price, but it includes all the different pastries and sandwiches. I guess you have to go earlier if you want to try their full size pastries!

Faubourg on Urbanspoon

Thomas Haas

Chocolate!

Cakes!

Mmmmm

Macarons!

Tree made of Macarons!

Dark Chocolate Orange – Layers of thin chocolate manjari cake, orange bavarian, orange confit, caramelized cocoa bean crunch and dark chocolate mousse, Exotic Cheesecake – Classic cheesecake with passionfruit, mango and orange zest , Crispy Chocolate Raspberry – Dark Manjari chocolate-raspberry mousse, light vanilla Bavarian, chocolate sacher cake, and crispy hazelnut wafer

Double Baked Almond Croissant

I finally got to visit Thomas Haas! After a disappointing visit to find out it was closed on Tuesdays, I decided to go again on a weekend. Probably a bad idea though, because it was packed with people and there was nowhere to sit! The lineup almost reached the door! I decided to try a few desserts since it took me twice to finally get some desserts! I’ve had Thomas Haas chocolates and truffles from gifts before, but I never visited the store myself, so I was extremely excited to see all the desserts in the behind the window! The Dark Chocolate Orange was quite good, although I found it a little too sweet. The Exotic Cheesecake was not bad too, but the fruits were a little sour, so I probably would have preferred to an original cheesecake. The Crispy Chocolate Raspberry was definitely my favourite though. It had a wafer bottom, and it wasn’t too sweet. Really delicious. Another one of my favourites was the Double Baked Almond Croissant. I don’t know what it was, but something about it was REALLY delicious. You don’t get that really buttery oily flavour to the croissant, and the almonds make it extra delicious. I would definitely go back for that croissant. And there are still so many other cakes I would love to try! The chocolates and macarons also look delicious! I was also able to see Thomas Haas, himself, at the store, and he was kind enough to let us try a new cake, I’m guessing. I believe it was some sort of fruit cake, and it was quite delicious as well! Would love to go back soon now!

Thomas Haas Fine Chocolates & Patisserie on Urbanspoon

Bubble World

Tofu Dessert with Red Bean

Matcha Ice Cream Slush with Agar Jelly


Been to the Bubble World in Richmond a few times already actually, but never really took pictures in the past… Bubble World is usually really packed during after dinner hours, especially on weekends. I went on a random weekday in the afternoon though, so it was basically my table and another table. Quite empty so service was really quick. They’re similar to Pearl Castle, with a variety of food and drinks to choose from. I tried their Matcha Ice Cream Slush with Agar Jelly which was quite large in size to my surprise. The Matcha was not bad, but I wish it actually had ice cream in it. I didn’t really get the ice cream texture, and it was more like all slush and ice instead. It was my first time trying agar jelly, which I heard was pretty good. I wanted a change from the normal pearls and coconut jelly. To my surprise, it didn’t really have any flavour to it, but it had a very nice chewy texture – not as chewy as pearls or coconut jelly. Nice change for once, but I think I still prefer coconut jelly!

Bubble World 大頭仔 (Richmond) on Urbanspoon

Sweet William’s Dessert

Brownie

Truffle

Brownie

Cookie

I honestly do not remember the full names of any of these desserts, so I know my captions really suck. My friend and I had originally wanted to go to Thomas Haas, but when we got there, we were disappointed to see that they closed on Mondays and Tuesdays! And of course, of all days we chose, we decided to go on a Tuesday. And what better way to satisfy our dessert cravings by Urbanspooning what was nearby. We found Sweet William’s Desserts had a high percentage of  “likes” so decided to go there. Took us quite a while to find the store and realized it was inside City Square, and that it was actually part of the Food Court. We had really thought it was its own boutique of some sort…. But we were there anyways, so decided to give it a try. We were greeted by a friendly woman who was prepping to make more desserts. We decided to try an assortment of desserts and got these. My friend and I, however found them quite sweet, and they were just okay. Nothing too fabulous about them. Looking on ubranspoon now, I realized that they might be more specialized in making cakes and paklova, so perhaps we should’ve tried those instead. Maybe next time when I’m at the mall! But I don’t think I would go so far just to grab some sweets here again.

Sweet William's Dessert (City Square) on Urbanspoon

Tsukiji

Assorted Sashimi (Salmon, Tuna, Hamachi, Tako, Hokki, Hotate) and Uni (Sea Urchin)

Chopped Scallop Roll and House Roll (Prawn Tempura Roll Topped with Unagi, Avocado and Masago)

Nabeyaki Udon – Thick Noodle in Soup with Prawn Tempura, chicken, and Vegetables (Forgot to take the one in the big bowl!)

Negitoro Maki (Chopped Tuna Belly  with Green Onion)

Unagi Don (Grilled BBQ Eel)

Karubi (Beef Short Ribs)

Went to Tsukiji for Christmas Eve Dinner since my family didn’t want to crowd at other restaurants, but Tsukiji was actually quite full too. They brought us to rooms where we actually had to  take off our shoes and sit on mats, so it gave us a little Japanese ambiance to it. Food was quite good with good quality, but I have to say the portions are quite small for the price. We had to keep ordering after our first orders of food came since we were all still hungry! Place is still great though, and I’ll probably come back again!

Tsukiji Japanese Restaurant 築地 on Urbanspoon

The Edge Social Grill and Lounge

Hot Chocolate

Sweet Potato Fries with Parmesan Aioli

Honey Garlic Wings

BBQ Wings

Mac & Cheese with Caesar Salad

Eating at The Edge was actually by random as we were planning to go to The Twisted Fork, just very close by, except they didn’t take reservations and was very full by the time we got there. Can’t say it was anything out of the extraordinary, but it’s not bad for the price and service. Food, did however take extremely long to be served. The yam fries were great, but maybe it was because I was hungry. The wings are just average – I didn’t really like the honey garlic ones as it almost tasted bland. Mac & Cheese is one of my favourite comfort foods, but this one was definitely not up to par. It didn’t have that cheddar taste to it, and tasted almost like alfredo. I really only enjoyed the crusted top, but it still wasn’t that great. I could get a better Mac & Cheese at Boston Pizza or somewhere else. Service and ambiance was great, although it was very empty, but maybe it was because it was a weekday. I just wish the food would’ve came out a little quicker. Okay food at a decent price, but probably wouldn’t go back again.

The Edge Social Grille & Lounge on Urbanspoon