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.

SPECIAL TOFU DESSERT, DELICIOUS TOFU PUDDING WITH SOY MIK ($4.19).

The special tofu dessert is a very Hong Kong and Taiwanese style drink consisting of soy bean milk, brown sugar and tofu pudding. The drink can be served cold or hot and we ordered the latter, which is served in a medium sized coffee cup. For the cold version, the drink is served in a tall glass. Red bean, fresh taro and mixed beans are also available as toppings for $0.75.

There is a rich soy milk flavour along with a hint of sweetness and a good amount of tofu pudding.

WATERMELON SLUSH ($4.59) AND MATCHA GREEN TEA ICE CREAM SLUSH ($4.89).

Both drinks are very well blended and there is not one single ice chunk. Also, the portions are huge and the drinks are filled over the rim (we drank a bit of the watermelon before the other drink arrived). Beginning with the watermelon, the slushy tastes refreshing, not watered down and has that nice natural fruit flavour. As for the green tea, I would have preferred a bit more matcha powder but the creaminess from the vanilla ice cream is there. We enjoyed the drinks along with the thick quality glass mugs and like how the waitress even brought over color coordinated straws (which are individually sealed too).

VERY BERRY BELGIUM WAFFLE, SEASONAL MIXED BERRIES, ICE CREAM, WHIPPED CREAM AND SPECIAL COULI SAUCE (MIXED BERRIES) ($6.49).

The presentation of the very berry waffle is spot on. There is a variety of fresh fruit dusted off with icing sugar including kiwi, raspberry, blackberries, blueberries and slices of strawberries. As for the couli, the mixed berry sauce has a light sweetness and a nice consistency.

Moving towards the highlight, the waffle tastes neither fresh nor made to order and lacks that nice soft chewiness. However, this is an authentic Belgium waffle and there are pearl sugars in the middle. The sugar caramelizes the exterior, provides a nice sweet crunch in the middle, and the waffle has a nice sweetness (although the texture is a bit too dense). As for the ice cream, I was surprised. This is good quality hard ice cream; rich, creamy and does not melt fast. I mean, I cut through the ice cream and it takes quite a while for it to melt!

TOTAL: $19.05 + TIP $2.95 = $22.00.

Despite that the waffle could have been made to order, we enjoyed the dessert. The price is great along with the presentation, fresh fruit and quality ice cream. After finishing our snacks, I did not want to sit around and felt bad asking for the leftover drinks to go; but my friend says it is normal and the staff was friendly about it too. Furthermore when we got back the drinks, both of us were surprised at the portion and these are practically new drinks!

As we we were walking out, someone asked how the drinks were and we said great. Whenever I am in the area, I will not hesitant to revisit Zestea and majority of the reason is because of the friendly staff. There is also currently a promotion for their grand opening, $1.00 off drinks for the month of September.

POSITIVES

- Large drinks

- Quality ingredients

- Friendly and welcoming staff

NEGATIVE

- Waffle could have been made to order considering the restaurant was not busy

LITTLE THINGS

- One of the better bubble tea restaurants

- One of the better places to visit on the Lonsdale strip

- Variety of drinks (homo or skim, coconut, almond and soy milk options as well as yogurt)

Food: 4/5 (waffle 3.5/5)

Service: 4/5