Globe @ YVR, Afternoon Tea at Fairmont (2nd visit)

The marketing coordinator from YVR Fairmont contacted me through Instagram to inquire about my previous afternoon tea experience. Furthermore, my response to a fellow IGer was very vague as I only mentioned Hotel Vancouver provides better service and would only revisit YVR Fairmont if I had a voucher. After responding to the marketing coordinator, she forwarded my e-mail to the Outlets Captain who invited me and a guest to another afternoon tea experience because the restaurant was planning to launch a new menu.

The invitation from the upper management is very appreciated because keep in mind my first experience was a voucher based visit, and my comments were quite vague on IG. In addition, the comments on my previous blog post were taken into consideration; i.e I mentioned the place mats are not very sanitary because the staff does not sanitize them and merely brushes off the crumbs. And on my revisit, I noticed the place mats were gone! The shiny glass table tops that are now properly wiped down not only look nicer, but is more sanitary.

TEA MENU $42.00 || JUNIOR TEA $18.00

MaThai Hotpot Restaurant 泰麻鮮火鍋

MaThai is the newest Chinese hot pot restaurant to open along Alexandra Road in Richmond, and replaces the former AYCE restaurant Cattle Hot Pot. Being a big fan of hot pot restaurants and continuing to find regular ones for myself to frequently visit, MaThai has been on my list for a while. In addition, the director of MaThai invited me to try their restaurant. I received a coupon via e-mail, which was to be presented after my meal so I could blog about a true dining experience as a regular guest.

The interior looks similar to the former hot pot restaurant but the staff is noticeably different, as in they are friendly! The waitress was also attentive and continuously added additional broth to the pot without us having to request. This is worth mentioning because at many hot pot restaurants it is hard to wave someone down and I usually wait until there is almost no more soup base before making an effort to find the staff. Asides from the service, the restaurant is also fairly clean. Usually I wipe down the table setting with tea but did not need to this time.

ADULT $19.95 || CHILD (4-11) $14.99

BROTH $7.50 - $11.00 || POP $1.50

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.

Frappe Bliss

RESTAURANT CLOSED

Frappe Bliss is one of the very few (as in perhaps less than five) dessert shops in Vancouver that offers shaved milk rather than ice shave. Shaved milk originated from Taiwan and has a very light, fluffy and feathery texture. There are plenty of flavours such as mango, matcha, milk, strawberry and peanut, compared to a generic "snow cone" which is just plain ice.

The thing is, the service here is disgusting. On a rainy day with no customers, we walked up to a miserable looking owner who did not even bother saying "hello" or acknowledging us. I am always more understanding if a business is busy and the staff is tired out, but when there is not one single person in line? And it is the owners? If it was not for our craving, we would have walked away. On top of that, the presentation is sloppy, the ingredients are not fresh and she even tossed the bill along with the stamp card at us. Who does that? When is there ever a need to toss something? Oh yeah, the price ain't cheap.

Double Double Restaurant 老油條大牌檔

Not feeling live seafood, Taiwanese food or HK style cafes, my options for Chinese food in Richmond were fairly limited. Our original dinner destination was Chef Tony but I wanted something very simple and to get home soon, so Double Double it was. From what I have heard, a friend mentioned the food is "okay" for those in the area but his wife dislikes the restaurant because she finds it dirty. Another incident occurred months ago when after finishing dinner at Bushuair, I shared an elevator with a couple that mentioned the food is mediocre and did not recommend the restaurant. Meh, so we walked in with expectations of average food.

Double Double claims to be the most popular restaurant in Vancouver for Chinese donuts and I was surprised that no one mentioned that! The restaurant is larger than what I expected and there are booth seating arrangements as well as tables for larger parties in the middle. In addition, the restaurant is not really dirty asides from the table setting that should have been clean. Every bowl and spoon had dried food residue stuck on and even the napkins had dried up tea, it was weird.

Walking in, a waitress waved us to take a seat on the side and we waited literally fifteen minutes for the menu. The wait time was a bit ridiculous because there were five waitresses at the front, but I assume the staff already thought someone brought over the menus. As more time passed, our drinks were forgotten but a waitress was friendly when she reminded herself in Cantonese, "Oh no! I forgot the drinks" twenty minutes later.