MISS VANCOUVER PIGGY
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!
Pho 99 and Pho Hoa (I guess Pho Boi now…) are two of the largest Vietnamese franchises in Vancouver. Of course these restaurants may not serve the best Vietnamese food and cannot compare to some of the small family owned establishments, but they get the job done… sort of, for those who have a craving. Or in general, for the non picky.
The newest Pho 99 restaurant is in Coquitlam on Schoolhouse, very close to the SilverCity theatre. The back of the restaurant also has a door which leads to a bowling ally! Since this is the newest Pho 99, the restaurant is very clean and looks nice. I believe this is the largest restaurant in the franchise as well. There are plenty of seats along with booth seating arrangements and the restaurant overall was very comfortable to dine in.
Just Juice is located in Downtown Vancouver and offers cold pressed juice. The cold pressed juicing process is better than using "generic" juicers because there is no heat produced during the juicing process. Furthermore, cold press juicers can extract more liquid from the fruit/vegetable and the consistency is a touch thicker because there is more pulp. Some of my friends hate pulp and have to use a strainer after, but I personally love it.
Just Juice offers a variety of drinks, from classic juices to smoothies and health shots. The juice shop also offers a few healthy snacks such as trail mix, banana bread and chia pudding.
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.
There is always someone I know that wants to try Bubble Waffle Cafe, but I rarely crave for bubble tea. However, since C'est la vie a Maggi and I were in the area, we decided to make a visit. Our first choice was actually Icy Bar but the restaurant was randomly closed for the day. Also, I thought Milk & Sugar Cafe (which is located across the street) was Bubble Waffle Cafe! Maggi wanted to go to Milk & Sugar Cafe too but it was my fault because I got the restaurants mixed up.
As for the interior, the restaurant is fairly clean and there is a good amount of seats. Every table has three types of menu which includes noodle combos, Japanese paper hot pot, teppanyaki, snacks, rice rolls and drinks. Since we spent the whole day eating already, we decided to try only the bubble tea and bubble waffles. As for the service, the owner is quite friendly. I put my purse on a chair next to the table beside us and she pushed the chair towards me. Although her English was not the best, she was friendly.
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).
Pho Don is one of the newer Vietnamese restaurants to open along Hastings Street in Vancouver. The restaurant is very large and the interior looks modern. In addition, there are plenty of spacious seating arrangements and the restaurant is squeaky clean.
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.
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. 
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...
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...
After finishing dinner at Sushiholic, my friend and I were still hungry and decided to try out Duotian Fish Soup Noodles. The restaurant is located at the 1st Avenue plaza along with Fortune City, T&T Supermarket, Thai Son and Venice Garden. As for the food, the restaurant serves "build your own" noodles (like Deer Garden and Cattle Cafe), congee and clay pot rice, along with Hong Kong style cafe food.
When we walked in, the interior surprised us. The restaurant looks clean and is fairly large. In addition, the seating arrangements are not cramped. Not sure why but we were expecting a sort of run down Chinese restaurant. Furthermore, the staff was friendly!
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.
Pho Capital is one of the newest Vietnamese restaurants to pop up in Burquitlam and has been around for almost a year. Having visited before during the grand opening, the food was nothing special and I never wanted to revisit. However, my friend claims it is not bad for the area and since we were looking for a light late night dinner, I caved.
The restaurant is fairly clean and has booth seating along the wall, and the tables in the centre. When we walked in, the owners were friendly and throughout dinner, the husband tried making small talk. He told my friend to replace his phone because the screen was cracked and asked who his service provider was. In addition, he mentioned Rogers is practically next door and said my friend should get a new phone as soon as possible LOL. As for myself, he asked if I found the rice platter pretty because he noticed I was taking photos of it. If only he knew I thought the opposite…
Bubble Queen is located in Richmond and is known for serving fresh mango drinks and chocolate slushes (such as Ferrero Roche and Kit Kat). The bubble tea joint has less than fifteen seats available and the tables were quite dirty (spilled drinks and garbage left). Considering there was only one family ordering, the slow period and two staff members at the front, it would have been nice if the place was a bit more clean (although I probably forget how bubble joints are considering I do not visit frequently them anymore).
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.
Bubble Town eh? Out of my at least fifty times coming to this plaza to grab a sub at Ba Le, Bubble Town has never crossed my mind. Why the sudden interest? Well, it was that awkward 5:00pm first meal of the day and not wanting to spoil my appetite kinda thing. I mean, of course I really wanted to go to Sal Y Limon… but if I did, I would probably order at least a couple of tacos and a burrito, which would have spoiled my appetite for dinner. When we walked in, there were a few mothers' with their newborns and the bubble tea joint seemed like a neighbourhood hang out. The second thing I noticed was the owner cutting up some fresh mangos on a sheet of newspaper, and my immediate thoughts were "fresh mango juice!".
Deer Garden was pretty much packed on a weeknight and the restaurant properly maximizes their seating arrangements, which is very important to me. There is nothing more uncomfortable than nudging the stranger beside you, struggling to get to your seat, or possibly knocking someone elses' food off the table! We were seated on the other side of the restaurant and the seating arrangements are a lot more spacious as well as comfortable there (although I do not mind the cafeteria layout pictured above, it is a lot better than Cattle Cafe's!).
Some people are just so goddarn picky, and not me for once! BF does not like Jugo Juice and wanted something from Orange Julius. PREMIUM FRUIT SMOOTHIE, TRIPLE BERRY - STRAWBERRY, BLUEBERRY AND RASPBERRY ($6.20) + PROTEIN ($0.99). I used to like Orange Julius, until they removed a pretttttty good mango drink. Protein powder? What is wrong with him? I think it is stupid adding protein to fruit drinks. The drink tastes like creamy berries with a bitter aftertaste of protein, blahhh. The drink has more of a strawberry taste than blueberry and raspberry.
