What8ever Cafe

April 12, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Vanilla Ice Cream Toast

Taiwanese Deep Fried Tofu

Hadn’t gone to What8ever Cafe for a while so decided to go on a weekday night. It’s almost assumed that you’ll be waiting if you go on a Friday or weekend night as the place is extremely small and everyone loves going there. What8ever Cafe is famous for their Ice Cream Toast, which is a must try if you have not tried it yet. It’s basically a loaf of bread with the center taken out and cut into french toast sticks and put back in, then layered with ice cream and all sorts of treats. This one was the Vanilla, which I believe was the first one they started with. They now have strawberry and green tea too. Would love to try the green tea next time! Also got some Taiwanese Deep Fried Tofu, but found them not up to par. They were quite deflated as you can see in the picture, and I’ve had better ones at other bubble tea shops. Overall, great place to hang out, but does get quite busy so it’s not a place where you can talk the night away.

The Sweet Spot Bakery

March 5, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Friend of mine brought me some sweets from The Sweet Spot Bakery! I’ve been talking about trying this place for ages but they’re closed on Mondays, and somehow I always end up in that area on a Monday, so never got the chance to try it out! I don’t know what the names of these sweets are on the menu, but I’ll give a guess to what I think are in them. Top Left hand corner was a dark chocolate cake, that kind of had mousse in it I believe? Whatever it was, it was delicious! The bottom left hand corner was a hazelnut cake. The bottom was crunchy as it had some type of wafer at the bottom, and a few nuts (I believe they were pecans) along the bottom. Also very good, but I would choose the dark chocolate cake over the hazelnut one! On the right, we have a homemade ice cream. It’s called Malted Kulfi, according to the label, and I really had no idea what it was. So I did some googling, and found that Kulfi is an Indian dessert, that is quite like western ice cream, except that it is not whipped, and therefore is much more solid and dense compared to ice cream. It is also the reason why it doesn’t melt as quickly as western ice cream. No wonder it took forever for me to even be able to grab a scoop! The colourful little grains are what I believe are malted candies. It had an interesting flavour, maybe not something that I’m extremely fond of, as it almost tasted like licorice. But then again, it was interesting! I have never tried a dessert quite like this before. Now I really want to go to the bakery again on my own to see all these wonderful desserts!

L’Abattoir

February 6, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Poached Egg with Potato Gnocchi
Leeks, mushrooms, pecorino sabayon

Country style pork pate
Toast, pickled vegetables, apricot sauce

Duck Breast and Leg Meat Sausage
Buttered green cabbage, pan fried German noodles

Homemade Pasta Stuffed with Braised Lamb Shoulder
Roast tenderloin, ricotta cheese, tomato and onion pan gravy

Chocolate Caramel Bar
Banana ice cream, chocolate yogurt

Earl Grey Pot de Crème
Lemon shortbread, whipped milk

Dine out is such a great event each year because it allows us to try a variety of restaurants that we otherwise might not. The prices are often a really good deal for a 3 course menu, so trying places a little more fancy won’t break your wallet. This year, I went to L’Abattoir in Gastown, where they offered a dine out menu for $38. I left the restaurant extremely satisfied as the food and service were both excellent! The poached egg appetizer was cooked perfectly. It was a little runny, but the egg complemented the food around it, like the gnocchi perfectly. The pork pate was also a nice appetizer, but I would probably choose something like foie gras over it. Then came the entrees. The duck breast was delicious! It was cooked perfectly so that it was extremely tender, and not tough at all. The lamb was also extremely tender and cooked just right.The past was filled with lamb, which I found quite special, as it wasn’t just the regular cheese filling. It was a nice twist to regular pasta. Last but not least, the desserts! My favourite part! The banana ice cream was my favourite. It actually had a very strong banana flavour and the dessert just melted in your mouth. Definitely a very special dessert! We also got the earl grey pot de creme, and it was perfect for people who didn’t want something too sweet. The alternating layers of cream and shortbread gave a very nice texture to the mouth. Food was excellent and the ambiance was also really neat. Apparently, the restaurant was built in the 19th century and was actually the first jail in Vancouver! Kind of creepy at the same time I guess…but the interior has been modernized a lot while keeping some of the classic French tile work. It’s even got a bar, so to be honest, it’s not a very fancy restaurant. It’s a really hip restaurant with laid back service, but excellent food!

Triple O’s Strawberry Sundae

February 1, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

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!

Bubble World

January 18, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

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!

Chicco Coffee & Dessert Bar

December 1, 2011May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Cheesecake Parfait & Green Tea Parfait

I’ve been seeing pictures of these delicious parfaits in food magazines for a long time but never really knew where Chicco was. Finally decided to search it up, and found it was on Robson St, past all the shops. A very small store, but greeted immediately with friendly employers that seemed to be Japanese. They have a variety of hot and cold drinks, cakes and other small desserts, and their famous parfaits. My friend and I decided to try the Cheesecake Parfait and Green Tea Parfait. Both have pieces of cake at the very bottom, then a layer of cornflakes, then a layer of jelly depending on the flavour, and some whipped cream along with ice cream. The cheesecake parfait came with vanilla flavoured ice cream topped with a piece of Japanese soft cheesecake and drizzled with strawberry sauce. The green tea parfait came with green tea ice cream, red beans, mochi, and a piece of green tea sponge cake. Definitely satisfied my sweet tooth!

Ben & Jerry’s Pistachio Ice Cream

October 18, 2011May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Going States grocery shopping means buying some ice cream! The States sells branded ice cream like Ben & Jerry’s, Haagen Daaz and Dreyers for ridiculously cheaper prices than in Canada! Decided to try this pistachio flavour Ben & Jerry’s and it actually has pieces of pistachio nuts in it. Has a great pistachio flavour and the bits of nuts in it gives it a great texture. Delicious!

Yavis Club Cheesecake Cafe

July 11, 2011May 4, 2013Leave a comment

White Romance Cheesecake

Green Tea Glacier Cheesecake

Yavis Club is located in Richmond, and offers a variety of cheesecakes and drinks and opens till late night. Their cheesecakes are either New York Style, so baked, like the White Romance, which is really an original flavoured cheesecake, or it is Glacier style. Glacier cheesecakes are basically ice cream mixed in the cheesecake. It gives a icy feeling, almost like an ice cream cake. A great place to get some cheesecake late at night!

Check out their menu at: http://www.yavisclub.com/index.asp