Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bar

January 30, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Got these Cranberry Bliss Bars from Starbucks during the holidays, but never ate them til now. I’ve had their Cranberry Scones in store before, but never tried these bars. I got the ones that came in a box with 6 bars, and they’re supposed to be kept in the fridge. Surprisingly, they still taste really fresh, and are actually quite soft. They are basically a blondie cake base topped with sweet cream cheese icing. I love the white chocolate pieces in the dough and the cranberries and hint of ginger bring a great flavour to it.

Faubourg

January 23, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

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!

Thomas Haas

January 22, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

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!

Godiva Chocolates

January 11, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

More holiday gifts! Godiva is one of my favourite chocolate stores! These are the Limited Edition Chocolates with Seasonal Pieces! Not bad, but I wish they included some of the cream chocolates! I love those! If you also haven’t had one of their Godiva Shakes before, you better try one! They are so delicious!

Butter Baked Goods

January 11, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Holidays are over so I guess I’m a little late posting these… but I got this little treat as part of my Christmas gift from my amazing friend! It’s a Chocolate Gingerbread S’more from Butter Baked Goods. I never heard of this place before, but my friend said she bought them at Whole Foods. I did a little research and found that they actually have a store on Dunbar! Definitely want to check this place out now. They have baked goods ranging from cookies to cupcakes to muffins to gourmet marshmallows! This one was great for Christmas as the outer cookie had a hint of gingerbread taste to it so it was quite festive. The marshmallow part was also really good! It was just the right amount of sweetness. Definitely want to check out their other goods now!

After Hours at Bubble Queen!

December 26, 2011May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Chocolate Mochi Bubble Waffle

Some white chocolate flavour sauce I put in my drink!

Almost done…

White Chocolate Lindor & White Chocolate Kit Kat Slush with Mochi

Mocha Cookie Slush with Ferrero Rocher and Oreos

Green Tea Slush with Kit Kat, Ferrero Rocher and Mochi

Green Tea Slush with Hershey’s Cookies and Cream, Oreo, and Mochi

Can’t believe it’s already Christmas! Merry Christmas everyone! So I was very lucky to be able to go to Bubble Queen after the shop closed to make my own bubble tea! Really exciting since I haven’t actually made real bubble tea other than homemade slushes with overcooked pearls… First off we made some Chocolate Mochi Bubble Waffles. It was interesting to see how they actually put the mochi in! Seemed like you needed good timing. Next, I made a white Lindor chocolate with white Kit Kat slush topped with some green tea and taro mochi balls, a white Lindor chocolate, and a Bueno chocolate piece. Must say it was very delicious! Did not know they actually put so much chocolate into the slush, but surprisingly it doesn’t taste overly sweet. Probably tons of calories though! Everyone’s creative drinks all tasted really good! Definitely a must try if you haven’t gone to bubble queen before! They have the most creative drinks with a variety of chocolates to choose from, but if you like to stay on the safe side, they also have original drinks!

Cookshop

October 11, 2011May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Given some complementary white wine!

Margarita Pizza with Fresh Tomatoes, young Bocconcini & Fresh Basil

Beef Tartar with Capers & Shallots served on Toast Points with a Quail Egg
Potato Ravioli filled with Chicken & Sage
Crispy Calamari with Tomato Caper Sauce
Local BC. Halibut Cakes Served with Spicy Aioli

Chocolate Panna Cotta

My birthday was a while ago, and one of my gifts was a cooking class at Cookshop! Located at West 12th, it’s a cookstore with a large variety of cooking and baking ware, but also a cookschool at the back where you can learn a variety of different cuisines. My friend knew I was interested in Indian food, and had originally paid for the Indian Favourites lesson, but with conflicting times, we ended up switching to the Summer Tapas workshop. It was however quite different from what I had imagined. I imagined the workshop to be like high school foods class, where we each had a unit with our individual ovens and such, but we were only given a few tables with cutting boards in front of us. A large demo table was in the front with a mirror above so we could see. The chef had prepared most of the items and we were divided into 3 groups to work on different parts of recipes. So some people minced meat, others kneaded dough, and also battered dough. But I guess it makes sense that we weren’t given a whole lot, since the whole workshop was only 3 hours. Quite impossible to make 6 different dishes! Classes are around $79 if you choose ones where you can participate. They are slightly cheaper if they are classes where you just watch the chef cook and enjoy the meal afterwards. There is also a decent amount of food you get at the end, so it’s quite filling. Looked around for a lot of different cooking lessons, but Cookshop is probably one of the few around Vancouver, where you aren’t attending “culinary school”.

Check out their cooking classes at: www.cookshop.ca/

Damien’s Belgian Waffles

October 8, 2011May 4, 2013Leave a comment

White Chocolate Belgian Waffle

Always heard about Damien’s Belgian Waffles in Steveston Village but never got a chance to try it! Took me a while to even find the place since it’s not exactly near the wharf area. Place was quiet and small, but there were a variety of waffles to choose from. I decided to go for the white chocolate flavour. It started to melt really quickly when I began eating it though. It’s also cold, which is kind of weird for a waffle. I guess I had too high of an expectation coming in, so I only left with a “It’s alright”. I do want to give the matcha belgian waffle a try though since I love green tea flavoured food!