Candy Meister

Going for a stroll on Commercial Drive since C'est la vie Maggi and I rarely come down here or are familiar with the area, she randomly yelled "candy food truck" and we made our way to Candy Meister. Walking up to the candy truck (the only truck where one can take candy from a stranger!), the friendly clerk offered us some samples while we took a look around. 

Candy Meister offers fruit as well as herbal flavoured hard candies, cough drops, lollipops and marshmallows. Personally, I am not a fan of hard candy because I like to finish sweets right away rather than savouring them in my mouth (also because of fob thoughts such as getting a cavity!), although I do find the cough drops healthier than grocery store brands. The hard candies are priced at $3.81 each or 3/$10.48 and we went for three packs. Maggi's choice is the Green Woodruff Leaves and mine are the Honey Bees as well as the Fizzy Candy. Luckily for me, Maggi is not a big fan of Candy and I got to keep all three packs LOL. Plus, she paid for them too!

Mei Jan Hong Beef Jerky LTD

Making impulse purchases and eating when I am not hungry are two things I am good at. So, every time I am at Aberdeen (well, to be honest, whenever I am in Richmond not necessarily the mall), I always make a trip to Mei Jan Hong for some jerky. This little shop is one of the only two places that I know of for freshly made jerky. I have tried the chicken, beef and pork, and honest to truth, the jerky is only average at best (although I have high standards for a lot of things). 

The main point (for me) is that the jerky is housemade and fresh. Also, there is a limited amount of fresh jerky shops in B.C. After a few errands, I continued with my weekly routine to grab some jerky. I started snapping some photos until the owner came out from the back and said, "no photos" in an unfriendly tone of voice (I do not blame her). I was a bit surprised since there was never an issue of taking photos before. Plus, I always buy a few pounds, am a regular and was already paying for my jerky, still no photos allowed? I mean, I totally respect if there was a sign posted saying no photos… but she did not have to be so angry about it. Being the immature person I am, I only wanted four strips of each kind and cancelled the 3lbs she was already weighing. That of course caused her to glare at me more but meh, I only come here for impulse purchases anyways. If I loved the jerky here, then this would be a different story.

Excellent Tofu & Snack 好好豆品專門店

Another delayed post has been Excellent Tofu & Snack. I forgot where I had dinner before dropping by, possibly Shanghai House? Excellent Tofu & Snack has been here for many years and has always been my go to for tofu pudding, until I started making my own. The tofu shop is a small family owned business with friendly owners.

Ayoub's Dried Fruits and Nuts : Burnaby location

One of the newest stores at the Kensington Square in North Burnaby is Ayoub's Dried Fruits and Nuts.

The interior of the store has nice cosmetics and bright lighting. Other than nuts, dried fruit and vegetable chips, the shop also sells turkish delight, chick pea cookies, nougat, toffee and butter cookies.

NUTS AND VEGETABLE CHIPS.

The store roasts nuts on site (not sure how often).

VANILLA NOUGAT ($5.00). The nougat tastes soft, chewy and has no slight hint of sweetness. Each piece of nougat has a good amount of pistachio but IMO these are nothing special and I have had a lot better nougat. I know the nougat is not stale but they honestly resemble a stale taste. The soft and chewy texture is more.. hardish and elastic, not very pleasant. A few other customers felt the same way.

DRIED FRUITS ($15.00/lb) AND VEGETABLE CHIPS ($10.00/lb). 

POSITIVES

- No sugar added to the dried fruits (some taste very sour)

- Vegetable chips are seasoned, tastes crunchy and can satisfy picky eaters

- Located next to a health store?

- Nice interior

NEGATIVES

- Some of the nuts taste overly salty (especially cashews)

- One of the worst nougat ever

- Service can improve

- Average items

LITTLE THINGS

- For a newly opened store, customer service should be better. Quite a few customers who were not familiar with Ayoub's seemed quite lost. When one asked the manager what she was making, she responded "a gift package" and gave the cold shoulder. If I was the manager, I would mention which items I was selecting and that gift packages are available. After a mini line up formed at the cashier, the manager continued making her gift packages and only came when the first customer asked to be helped. When it was my turn, I asked the manager if she was the owner (usually they are friendlier) and she mentioned that only her and the supervisor was here. I guess if the owner was around things would be different

- Meh, I rather visit another location 

Food: 2.5/5

Service: 1/5 (comparing to other Ayoub locations)

Magnum Ice cream

Magnum Ice cream's are my staples for when I am hungry before breakfast, lunch or dinner, and cannot wait to eat so I grab these on the way at gas stations. My favourite is the white chocolate Magnums but I never see them anymore.. only double caramel, almond and gold at most gas stations. Every girl needs a lame photo like the one on the right LOL ->

Magnum double caramel, vanilla ice cream dipped with chocolate, then a thick layer of caramel, and another layer of chocolate.

Magnum almond, vanilla ice cream dipped with chocolate that is mixed with almonds.

Magnum gold, vanilla ice cream dipped with chocolate and another layer with gold coloured chocolate.  Every time I have the gold, they always have a streak or tint of either green or blue, weird.

This was from the morning, I got smart and told BF to buy a whole box at Safeway so it is cheaper rather than buying individually at gas stations. I ate two before breakfast and he ate one. Did it ruin my appetite? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes.