Northern Meixi 山東拉麵

An Instagram friend mentioned that Xu's Wonton House was "gone" and confirmed with "Yeah it's gone now!", but I did not believe her. How could Xu's be out of business? So after finishing an errand in Vancouver and still hungry because we did not eat much of the unappealing dim sum at Red Star, we rushed to Crystal Mall. When we arrived, turns out the food stall was only closed for the day! Geezus, was she trying to give me a heart attack?

Since we still needed a small snack to prevent spoiling our appetite for dinner, we decided to try a food stall that sells dim sum along with freshly made noodles. Well, actually BF wanted to try this place and I was more like… the food will not be good. I swear, some people really have a sixth sense regarding food. As he was ordering, he asked the owner if the xiao long bao tastes juicy and I thought that was a stupid question. Not because XLBs should always taste juicy and he was asking an obvious question, but more on the grounds that I find it rude to ask in case the buns are not juicy. However, the owner responded, "Yes! Of course! Juicy!" and he saw my eyes light up. I even accentually blurted out, "Wow! Good!" because I was shocked and believed him.

Qoola Frozen Yogurt Bar : Oakridge location

Qoola is a Canadian frozen yogurt franchise and there are over ten locations in B.C. The frozen yogurt stands are usually located in shopping centres and are completely self serve.

Consumers select their choice(s) of frozen yogurt along with toppings and have control of the portion. This year, Qoola launched an organic selection and the flavours on my visit includes banana split, blood orange passionfruit, green tea, peach lychee, vanilla, lemon, original and blackberry. Asides from frozen yogurt, Qoola offers smoothies, "Q2GO" take home froyo or sorbet, and waffles.

Orange Julius : Lougheed Mall location

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.

Food: 2.5/5

Service: 5/5 (super friendly staff!)

Jugo Juice : Lougheed Mall location

Continuing with the most random day… lunch at Sushi Gen, then had a stomachache (unrelated to lunch), grabbed soup at the Graniery Cafe to feel better, and immediately after I wanted some juice. THE MIGHTY KALE, FRESH SPINACH, MANGO, PINEAPPLE, ORANGE JUICE AND APPLE JUICE ($6.25). The mighty kale is one of my favourites and Jugo Juice has a really good system - pre organized frozen fruit in individual baggies so there are no inconsistencies. Unfortunately the drink tasted oddly extremely sweet (too much "100% juice" from concentrate) and did not taste so good. Do I drink these for health benefits? Naa.. but for those who want to start, this is a pretty good drink because the taste of spinach is never there. Usually the drink tastes refreshing and creamy, with a hint of sweetness.

Food: 2.5/5

Service: 2.5/5

The Grainery Cafe

After having lunch at Sushi Gen, I had a really bad stomachache! Of course unrelated to the food, it was probably from eating too fast. Being in the area, I thought some soup would help. Grainery Cafe is located in Lougheed Mall and serves soup, salad, sandwiches, pies and other homemade goodies.

 CREAM CORN SOUP AND CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP.

Jugo Juice : Richmond Centre location

The new food court at Richmond Centre is so pretty! The only thing I had from the food court has probably been Pinkberry.

PARADISE C EXTRA BENEFIT SMOOTHIE, STRAWBERRY, PINEAPPLE, TROPICAL NECTAR, ORANGE JUICE ($5.95) CITRUS C GRAPEFRUIT, ORANGE AND PINEAPPLE JUICE ($7.45).

I have this weird tendency to think if I am going to get a drink, I would prefer fresh juice (IE no concentrated juice, syrup or sugar, frozen fruit sometimes if blended with juice from concentrate) or I rather drink water. My citrus C is freshly squeezed and seems like a safe drink for newbies that will not get any bitter surprises (some people just can't drink spinach, kale, yada yada). Her paradise C tastes like a fruit smoothie, no complaints.

Food: 4/5

Service: 0/5 (what a grump LG, if I worked at a juice place I would have so much fun)

Jugo Juice : Metrotown location

THE MIGHTLY KALE, FRESH SPINACH, MANGO, PINEAPPLE, ORANGE JUICE AND APPLE JUICE ($6.25).

My new favourite drink here! It is pretty creamy (I guess from frozen fruit) and it tastes naturally sweet while healthy. I have had some misses here with their mango drinks though, I guess it is about knowing what to order.

Food: 5/5

Service: N/A

Dessert Dynasty

This will be a boring post since I did not get bubble tea or dessert. In my defence which is a bad one, I try not to put myself in a position where I will be disappointed.

My FRESH MANGO JUICE ($4.50). The mango came from a puree which sucks because I like to see my mango pieces before being blended! But oh well. No sugar added. Meh. I have had worse and also have had better. It would not be my first option especially at Metrotown, but I would rather come here than go to T&T for a drink.

Food: 2.5/5

Service: 5/5 (the girls are pretty friendly)

Delicious BBQ 龍華燒臘專門店

I was told this is the best BBQ meat shop in Crystal Mall. I went through an obsession with roasted pork a few weeks ago and came here for some. The skin on the roasted pork was not really crisp and the pieces were kind of chewy. I decided to try the soy chicken today while I waited for my XLBs from Xu's Wonton House.

The soy chicken leg ($4.00). I really like this, it is above average than other places. My favourite soy chicken is still Sam Po's, but I like this in a different way. It is a lot sweeter but not overly sweet and the chicken is not chewy. I only recommend the chicken here since I never tried the BBQ duck (the BBQ pork is okay, a bit dry).

The cashier is a bit mean for someone who would over analyze a situation (like me). But getting chopsticks slammed (not placed or put, but slammed) in front of you is typical for Crystal Mall? :(

Food: 2.5/5
Service: 1/5

Paradise Juice and Burger

The only juice stand other than bubble tea options in Crystal Mall, I think.

Mango juice ($3.50) and fresh young coconut ($4.75).

I find the mango juice to be average, I have had places where they use less ice and more mango. My boyfriend would have liked his coconut more if the hole was punched differently so he could eat some of the coconut meat. Meh, If I am in the mall I would come back.

Food: 2.5/5

Service: 5/5 (Owner is so friendly)

Xu's Wonton House 白玉蘭麵家

One of the best places for xiao long bao is at Xu's Wonton House in Crystal Mall. Yup, better than majority of the Shanghainese restaurants'! Including "high end" ones!

Sashimi Sushi

Sashimi Sushi inside Lougheed Mall.

There is seating for about 4-5 people.

Area for tea (I think it is tea..).

Salmon and tuna nigiri, rainbow roll and dynamite roll.

The first time I came here is around 4 years ago? It is okay, average, only sushi place in the mall. I was in a hurry this afternoon and it took literally 25 minutes for 2 rolls?! It was empty too, I was their only customer.

Dynamite roll ($3.95). Presentation was meh, wish they used a longer container or something.

Rainbow roll ($6.45). It was okay, there are no avocados in the roll but there are some on top.

Tuna and Salmon nigiri ($1.25/each). They used the wrong part of the tuna, the part of tuna they used is near the skin which is considered the cheaper part and used for rolls. I never experienced this before, kind of cheap of them to do that.

Meh, it is sushi in a mall, you do not really expect much from that. The wasabi is too hard, the rice is too lose so the nigiri fell apart and if anything, the owner is not really friendly. Sashimi Sushi is average. I would just stick with rolls to be safe. 

Food: 2/5

Service: 0/5

Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt : Metrotown location

I love this place because they make it so pretty for you! I always get the mango or green tea frozen yogurt. I usually get a large too.. but it is boring to get a large when my boyfriend only gets a small. I prefer the mango over their green tea just because their green tea is kind of bland and sour, Qoolas' green tea is better. If you are at Metrotown and want green tea, you should go to Qoola instead!

ON THE LEFT IS MY MANGO WITH BLUEBERRIES, YOGURT CHIPS, KIWIS AND CRUSHED ALMONDS. ON THE RIGHT IS HIS GREEN TEA WITH PINEAPPLES, WATERMELON, BLUEBERRIES AND BROWNIE PEICES.

PHOTOS FROM BEFORE

MANGO FROZEN YOGURT WITH KIWIS, PINEAPPLES, YOGURT CHIPS, BLACKBERRIES AND MANGO BALLS AND EXTRA TOPPINGS OF BLACKBERRIES, MOCHI, PINEAPPLE AND CRUSHED ALMONDS.

VANILLA YOGURT WITH KIWIS, BLUEBERRIES, PINEAPPLES, MOCHI AND CRUSHED ALMONDS, AS WELL AS MANGO YOGURT WITH MANGO BALLS, SHREDDED ALMONDS, PINEAPPLES, BLUEBERRIES, YOGURT CHIPS AND KIWIS, AND EXTRA TOPPINGS OF CRUSHED SKOR CHOCOLATE, MOCHI, CRUSHED ALMONDS AND SHREDDED ALMONDS.

PHOTO FRAME of my other pink berry experiences, as you can tell MANGO is my favourite.

Food: 4.5/5

Service: 5/5 (the Asian male employee is always very positive and cheerful every time, the rest.. not very friendly)