Blossom Teas

Blossom Teas is situated in a residential area in North Burnaby, next to Mountain Shadow Pub. Most people only know of Blossom Teas if they live in North Burnaby or by word of mouth. The bubble tea establishment offers an extensive menu from real fruit smoothies, ice cream and yogurt shakes, ice shave, coffee and tea lattes to dessert.

The atmosphere at Blossom Teas is very homey and non-rushed (although the place was not busy when we arrived). There is a fair amount of tables, a sofa, and even a couple of Japanese dart machines. The only reason I chose to visit Blossom Teas is because they offer shaved frozen yogurt! I am not a fan of shaved ice at all because shaved milk/snow ice is way better. Way. Better!

Maji Restaurant 麻吉台式熱炒

After waiting an hour and a half for Maji to open and suffering the consequences of grabbing a snack at R&H House in Lansdowne, we finally arrived! The Taiwanese tapas restaurant is located on Alexandra Road in Richmond and their hours run from 5:30pm-12:00am (open later on weekends). Maji has been on my list for a while because I have been wanting to try something different such as a restaurant that does not offer live seafood. Moreover, a restaurant that offers reasonable prices which is hard to find in Richmond when HK Style Cafes and Bubble Tea restaurants are excluded.

However, I was hesitant on trying Maji because being Taiwanese, I am more selective towards the cuisine. Okay, fine, I am very selective towards any cuisine… I really do not know why. When looking from the outside of the building, the restaurant does not even look that big so we were surprised upon entering. Furthermore, the interior looks fairly nice. The seating arrangements are not tight either and even the washroom was very clean.

Dinesty Dumpling House : Robson location

Whenever I have a negative experience at a chain or franchise business, I tend to avoid any of the other restaurants (ABC Country, Banana Leaf, Sushi Bella, Swiss Chalet…). This is somewhat unfair because every chain and franchise business is operated differently so one location may be horrible while another is great. In this case, the franchise is Dinesty Dumpling House. I have visited the location in Richmond before and the food was horrible along with the service. Not only was there no service, but the staff was also rude!

However, BF has been wanting to try Dinesty at the Downtown location for months. He is also the same person who had dinner with me at the Richmond location and vowed never to return! I guess in the end, I did not mind trying the Downtown location just because I was in a good mood. Plus, I was not really hungry since we went to Rodney's earlier. Picking up a pair of stilettos that finally arrived after a couple of weeks of waiting did not hurt either, hehe.

Walking in, the manager immediately stormed past us and closed the front door while yelling in chinese, "who didn't close the door?!". She then made eye contact with us after slamming the door so I asked for a table for two. Although there must have been a miscommunication on her end because she waved us away like we were pan handlers and rolled her eyes… umm? After standing there for a while, a waitress approached us but did not say a word so we asked if the restaurant was still open. With a response of yes, we asked her for a table for two.

At this point, it seemed like deja vu with the Richmond location (rushed atmosphere and unfriendly staff) and I sort of wanted to leave but we already seated. The waitress was neutral though and there were no dirty looks or a negative attitude. Also because we arrived fifteen minutes before the last call, we only ordered a few items to sample and decided to revisit if the food tasted good.

Yougo Chicken (2nd visit)

Needing a snack and already at Aberdeen Centre, my first and immediate choice was Yougo Chicken. The food stall serves plenty of Taiwanese snacks and I go for my favourites, which are the deep fried goodies.

Zestea

Zestea is a bubble tea restaurant and the newest addition to join the Lonsdale strip in North Vancouver. The restaurant offers both Belgium and Hong Kong style bubble waffles, bubble tea, fresh fruit juice, milk and yogurt smoothies as well as slushes. Walking in, the waitress asked if we were looking for something to go or for here. For those grabbing take out, there is a menu posted at the counter.

The restaurant is newly renovated, clean, looks bright and has a welcoming atmosphere. There are comfortable seating arrangements and although another table could have been squeezed in (which would be too tight), I am glad the restaurant chose not to. Also, there are a few seats outside as well. As for the service, the people here are friendly. Every one of them.

Bubble World 大頭仔 : New Westminster location

Bubble World is a Canadian franchise restaurant with ten locations in B.C, but only five of the restaurants serve food while the rest sell drinks. As for the Bubble World in New Westminster, the restaurant is located within seconds from Douglas College and I remember making a visit years ago, but the food was not very good. At that time, I concluded this location caters to students and declared the restaurant as probably being the worst out of the whole franchise.

So why the revisit? A friend of mine moved in to her new condo in New West and it was based on convenience. Plus, perhaps the food has improved and she could also find out if the restaurant could be her go-to for late night snacks.

The interior looks modern as well as clean, and nice for any Asian fast food restaurant. Also, there is a good amount of booth seats and comfortable as well as spacious seating arrangements. When we walked in, the staff was friendly and there was Taiwanese pop music playing in the background. If anything, because the restaurant has two sides, it may be hard to get service for those seated on the side without the counter (like us, which we thought was fine).

Estea Beverage Club 生活小品 : Burnaby location

Continuing with my interest in finding a regular bubble tea joint to frequently visit, Estea Beverage Club was next on my list to try. There used to be a couple of other Estea locations in Burquitlam as well as Richmond, and both the restaurants have closed. The only Estea locations that appear to be surviving is the restaurant in Burnaby and an "express" location at the Aberdeen food court.

Walking in from the back, we seemed to have startled the owners and the wife immediately walked up to greet us. She was friendly and passed us off to the rest of the staff, where the rest of them greeted us as well.

Estea is a very large restaurant and is the largest bubble tea joint that I know of. There are plenty of seats and the seating arrangements are not cramped at all.

Pearl House Restaurant 珍珠小館 : Burnaby location

After a disappointing meal at No.1 Beef Noodle House, I was craving for some good Taiwanese snacks and headed to Pearl Castle a couple of days later. From what I remember, I thought Pearl Castle sucked and offered nothing but cheap quality bubble tea food. However, after trying Pearl Castle in Richmond, their Taiwanese popcorn chicken along with the beef noodles were good! So, of course I had to try Pearl Castle in Burnaby.

Walking in, my friend and I were hesitant on grabbing dinner here because we peaked into the kitchen and noticed most of the cooks appear to be young students. However, after taking a look at the menu, we noticed  the dishes are a lot simpler compared to Pearl Castle in Richmond. The menu is very simple and assuming because the cooks are young, there is less room for mistakes. There are a lot of simple items such as fried goodies, stewed dishes, noodles and snacks, like pancakes as well as egg rolls. 

Oh yeah... by the way, I thought this restaurant was Pearl Castle for the whole time until I started writing my post LOL.

No.1 Beef Noodle House 京園牛肉麵

To conclude a disappointing day at Steveston (Sockeye City, then Timothy's), the best choice was to stay home and cook. But, I really wanted some green onion pancake with beef wraps without having to make them myself. So, we headed to No. 1 Beef Noodle House. Plus, like I was really going to start cooking shank after a crappy day...

Many people mention that if the restaurant's name states what the restaurant specializes in such as wonton houses or Taiwanese beef noodles, the specialized item should taste good.

Well, I never really thought about that and honestly, it makes sense! As for No.1 Beef Noodle House, it used to be a frequent restaurant of mine throughout high school but the noodles have never been a Top Five! Thinking about it now, how does a restaurant not feel embarrassed? Personally, it is not a big deal to me because I never come here for the noodles. However, I do end up always ordering them. Perhaps I subconsciously wonder if the restaurant will improve. But hey, makes sense though eh? The restaurant should have great noodles considering their name...

Corner 23 萬巒豬腳

I have always wanted to save Corner 23 for an emergency late night dinner, but since an emergency late lunch was needed, bubble tea food it was. Corner 23 is fairly clean and the seating arrangements are comfortable, not cramped. Actually, the interior is quite nice for a bubble tea joint.

The restaurant has a high ceiling along with cherry blossom paper lanterns and although plum blossoms would have been a better choice because it is Taiwan's national flower, who really pays attention? Asides from me… In addition, I like the pink, green and white orchids displayed.

Huang's Beef Noodles

Huang's Beef Noodles is a small neighbourhood restaurant on Victoria Drive and has less than eight tables available. Walking in, the restaurant was full with two large families and a few single diners. One of the diners was friendly and quickly slurped up his noodles to give us a table!

Yougo Chicken

Browsing through the food court at Aberdeen Centre, I noticed quite a few new food stalls such as Yougo Chicken. Yougo Chicken is a food stall serving Taiwanese bento boxes, sausage, fried pork chop, tofu and of course, popcorn chicken. The prices are fairly reasonable and I believe the bento boxes are only $7.50. Yougo Chicken also offers dessert such as Taiwanese style waffles and the thick cut toasts. However, since I wanted to try other food stalls, I stuck with something small and a favourite of mine which is the Taiwanese popcorn chicken.

Pearl Castle Café 圓香生活餐飲 : Sexsmith location

How indecisive can someone be? After finishing up some shopping Downtown, we headed to Commercial Drive for a sandwich. Right, I forgot BF does not like sandwiches and picky me, did not want to eat anywhere else on Commercial Drive so we made our way to Main Street. While driving through, none of the restaurants interested me and we continued to Fraser Street, then Marpole and to Victoria Drive. After spending some time thinking I honestly really wanted a freaking sandwich, we ended up in Richmond. 

Great, what is there to eat in Richmond at around 2:00pm? After some more circling around, we settled on Pearl Castle. Really? Out of all places we come to Pearl Castle? I just really wanted something tasty and being picky sucks because I miss out on many opportunities. As for the interior, the restaurant is fairly clean and dimly lit.

Taiwan Beef Noodle King

So… it seems like I have been craving for noodles in the last couple of months. I am pretty much a poser when it comes to eating noodles and only eat around five to ten strands, literally. However, lately I have been wanting to eat noodles and can finish a whole bowl, probably because it is nice for a change and something different for me. Taiwan Beef Noodle King is a small family owned restaurant with the husband working at the back of the house and the wife overseeing the front. Despite the somewhat small restaurant, the interior is well ventilated and has a high ceiling as well as spacious comfortable seating arrangements.

NOODLE SOUP WITH STEWED BEEF AND BEEF TENDON, BEEF IN CHINESE PANCAKE, PAN FRIED PORK DUMPLINGS, MARINATED EGG, MARINATED DRIED TOFU AND MARINATED BEEF TRIPE, STEAMED JUICY DUMPLING, XIAO LONG BAO, AND STEWED BEEF NOODLE IN SOUP.

Kalvin's Szechuen Restaurant 松林居

Kalvin's Szechuen is a small family owned Taiwanese cuisine restaurant. By small, I mean there are only nine tables in the restaurant.

Luckily, on a Sunday evening we were fortunate to grab a seat without waiting. Kalvin's Szechuen also sells housemade frozen goods (dumplings, xiao long baos and buns) and unfortunately we were seated by the freezer which was quite cold. In addition, the restaurant gets quite chilly, especially when customers walked in and out.

Ding Hao Noodle House 頂好牛肉麵

Getting to Coquitlam Centre before closing (one of those girl things when you rather pick up something than wait for a store transfer), we were stuck in the area with limited restaurants to dine at. Montana's was an option to revisit because I wanted those tasty ribs that I deserve. However, it was not worth the risk of leaving disappointed again and complaining about not spending the extra time driving to the Langley location. Using Urbanspoon (hey it does get handy eh?) we found Ding Hao Noodle House which is located in the same plaza as Sushi Town, pretty close to Coquitlam Centre. Walking in, we were greeted by a silent waiter with a blank face meaning we could seat ourselves anywhere. The interior looks clean, spacious and the seating arrangements are comfortable. Christmas music was playing in the background and the restaurant has cute gardening decor on the left hand wall which was dust free including the shelf. After ordering, I noticed a clipping from the Vancouver Sun which showed some reassurance the food would be tasty. An interesting find in the article is that the restaurant does not use MSG. I find that misleading because certain ingredients already contain MSG and they probably mean the restaurant does not add extra (I am against those who say MSG is a negative thing so it does not affect me anyways).

HALF AND HALF VERMICELLI IN SPICY SOUP, HANDMADE PORK AND VEGGIE DUMPLING, 3 ASSORTED MARINATED ITEMS, MARINATED BEEF SHANK, MARINATED PORK EAR AND MARINATED DRY TOFU, BEEF FLANK NOODLE IN SPICY SOUP, AND TAIWANESE CRISPY POPCORN CHCKEN.

Tapioca Cafe 三年一班

I am the worst person to be with in Richmond for a late night dinner. Why? Because I do not want to eat Chinese or Shanghainese food anymore. Also, I think it is silly to visit Cactus Club if I am in Richmond. Plus, I did not want hot pot either so that limited my options quite a bit. I was however, craving for Taiwanese beef noodles (I am pretty much a poser and can only eat 10 strands)! After circling Richmond for an hour, literally, I made up my mind and decided to try Tapioca Cafe. I only know of Tapioca Cafe because I used to see their "soft opening" and "grand opening" signs when I headed next door to Richmond Sushi. The restaurant's interior has a classroom style layout and looks cute. The only complaint would be the tables. Every table has a bar which prevents people from crossing their legs.

GINSENG CHICKEN SOUP, PEPPERY CRISPY CHICKEN, HOUSE SPECIAL STEWED BEEF NOODLES, DEEP FRIED FISH CAKE, CHINESE HERB WITH LAMB HOTPOT, AND SLICED PORK AND CABBAGE IN SPICY SAUCE.