Berry Good

As Marie Antoinette said, Let them eat cake!

We chose to go a little cafe called Berry Good located at 8766 McKim Way, inside a little strip mall in  Richmond. Try not to make plans to go on Wednesday and Sunday because they're closed.

Caffe Latte

I went with a friend of mine awhile ago and thought the place was quaint and cozy. Berry Good is not like the numerous bubble tea cafes in Richmond, they specialize in cakes which are made fresh every day, and everything just tastes better because you know they put the time and effort into their cakes. The drinks are a mix of tea and coffee, served in the "high tea" style without pearls, grass jelly or other knick knacks.

The cafe is very small, with about 20 seats or so. Each table is lined up side by side, so I don't recommend sharing secrets, the table next to you will hear it all. There is a big transparent refrigerator where you can see the decadent desserts next to the cafe counter. I like that idea since they don't always make the same cakes and you get to see them before you select them.

Royal Milk Tea

Their menu comes in a combo style, where you can choose a mousse or chiffon cake and your choice of beverage, usually tea, coffee, frappe or an ice cream float.

Green Tea Chiffon Cake

I got the Green Tea Chiffon Cake with Royal Milk Tea for $8. I love green tea, put those two magical words together and I will drink it or eat it. The cake itself was moist, which was excellent, but call me strange, I thought the taste of matcha comes-and-goes out of your taste palette. So for the most part I just tasted moist sponge in my mouth. Yum? There was an unbelievably large amount of whipped cream, which was also great, but since I got a creamy beverage I thought it was a little overwhelming. Clearly I didn't think this through.

Compared to my first time at Berry Good, where I got the Mont Blanc - a rich taste with the different layers of dark, milk and white chocolate - this time was a little disappointing. Everything just went so perfect together with a Mont Blanc. I could really taste the homemade goodness, loved the sight of all that chocolate and cream. The whipped cream tasted light and went really well with the chocolate, it was a match made in dessert heaven. The sweet factor was just perfect. Lesson learned.

Tiramisu

Michael on the other hand really liked his dessert, he got the Tiramisu with a Caffe Latte for $7.40. Michael said that the Tiramisu, again, wasn't made in the same style as other Asian bakeries around Richmond might. It arrived with chocolate cupcake sprinkles on the edges and a black polka dot pattern on top, instead of the regular chocolate flake covered top. He said it was moist and not overly sweet, with a gently firm texture. Very good.


Follow me on Twitter!
Follow @AllizonLiu

Vancouver Food Carts

It's Eat St style baby! Eat St is one my favourite shows on Food Network, and I always thought how awesome would it be to eat at one of these trucks!  I know that food trucks are on the rise in the culinary world, so why not embrace what the food trucks in Vancouver has to offer?

I really had a hard time trying to figure out what I wanted to get, but I wanted something that was fishy most definitely. I picked  TacoFino, I saw it awhile back on Eat St and I thought their food looked absolutely  fabulous and the owners seemed really laid back. I'm definitely there! I got the Tuna Ta-Taco for $6.50, which was a lightly sesame soy seasoned albacore tuna served with wasabi mayo, cabbage and seaweed. All wrapped in a warm flour tortilla.

The tuna was made to perfection, warm and flaky, melting apart in your mouth. There was a light heat that kicks in the back of the mouth from the wasabi which wasn't too overwhelming. Everything was balanced out with the cabbage and coolness of the seaweed, which was marinated into fabulousness and added a nice crunch to everything. Although my lunch tasted amazing I wish there was more of it, sadly there was only a few bites  worth of the taco, I was left still hungry, really hungry, so far $6.50 I don't know I might have to reconsider that. I would give TacoFino a fair 7/10.

As for Michael, who had a better experience with his Eat St adventure, he went to the Re-Up Truck, which was also featured in Eat St! They are known for their beef brisket sandwiches and also their pulled pork sandwiches.

Michael had the Pulled Pork Sandwich for $7. He thought his sandwich was delicious, almost good as Jethros, the veggies added a nice crunch, and the food was quickly made but tasted fresh. He especially really like the sourdough bun, it was very soft and fluffy. The food felt a little heavy because there was a lot of meat and sauce for such small circular bun. To wash down his lunch he got a Jarritos soda, mandarin flavour from TacoFino. Nothing he has seen and thought he would give it a try, result? Not bad!

Overall with today Eat St experience, I thought it was okay, I am willing to try the other trucks in Vancouver, hopefully I will leave full and satisfied.


Follow me on Twitter!
Follow @AllizonLiu

Tomahawk Restaurant

A novelty gift shop, Canadian map place mats, all day breakfast and a First Nations theme defined our experience today at the award-winning Tomahawk on the North Shore. It's somewhere that I've been wanting to go to ever since I saw it on Diners, Drive ins, and Dives with Guy Fieri. When I saw one of my favourite Food Network hosts, John Catucci, take a try himeself, I thought to myself now I really have to go!

Tomahawk is located at 1550 Phillip Ave, North Vancouver. The exterior of the place looks nothing like an ordinary restaurant and it blends in with a residential neighbourhood. The totem poles in the front are what you'll have to look for to find the place.

Once you step inside in to the restaurant there is a counter where you can purchase little novelty items such as t-shirts, hats, and a rubber duck. The restaurant decor gives the diner a cozy homely feeling, with lots of First Nations style decorations, such as dream catchers, masks, drums, and many other interesting items. When you sit down at your table, the place mat is a map laid out that shows the different parts of B.C. and how the rest of Canada relates to our fabulous province.

I had the Yukon Style bacon and eggs from the all day breakfast menu for $11.95 and thought the meal was pretty good.  I was served with four pieces of toast buttered to perfection, five round slices of bacon, egg whites and instead of hash browns I got French fries. Yum! I loved the toast, it was so fluffy and soft and it went so well with the generous amount of butter that arrived already slathered on. The bacon was interesting, it tasted like a regular piece of bacon but it was in a circular shape. It was little dry to my liking, but it paired nicely with my toast. The egg tasted good, nothing too special, after all they are just eggs. The French fries were nice and crispy and I poured a generous amount of vinegar. Absolute perfection!

Michael had the Salisbury Steak for $15.20 which was a beef steak served with mashed potatoes with beef gravy and veggies on the side. Michael thinks the beef was around 7 or 8 ounces, a generous portion considering everything else on the plate. The beef was very tasty, and inside were onions and other veggies with seasoning. Nicely marinated and easy to chew - can't beat that. The mashed potatoes were served in a huge portion, I was lucky enough to try some, it was creamy, soft and had texture. It was clearly home made and it went really well with the rich creamy gravy. Everything was so well seasoned. Michael didn't have room left for the seasonal veggies that came with the dish though. Maybe next time.

After today, we would love to come back to Tomahawk, there are so much more things we would like to try on the menu and see their heaping amount of serving sizes. Today’s lunch affair was treated by my fabulous aunt and we would both like to say thank you to her. Michael says its his treat next time! 

Follow me on Twitter!
Follow @AllizonLiu

Ikea Restaurant

Hej! We were going through quite a hectic day when we decided to make a casual foodie trip to Sweden. It wasn't the most authentic of its kind, but not bad.

We visited the Ikea restaurant in Richmond located on 3200 Sweden Way. People who attended the grand opening had raved about it and Michael was really keen on it too, so I thought why not. The cafe itself had a very open space located upstairs of the store. There were dozens of people dining when we arrived, but the open space made it feel not so busy, no one was pushing or shoving.

The line up was simple and self-explanatory, you pick up a little cart that holds food trays, bring it along the railing at the serving counters where attentive staff serve food in a cafeteria-like manner. How smart and convenient. The best part was the food's so cheap it's nearly unbelieveable.

Michael and I both ordered the Swedish meatball combo, which came with 10 meatballs and a serving of mashed potatoes, topped with gravy for $5.99, with a salad on the side. The meatballs were decent quality, not the greatest but definitely satisfactory for what we paid. The mashed potatoes were delicious and really went well with the creamy gravy. We also both ordered garlic bread for 50 cents a slice. What a deal. The bread wasn't hard at all, it was nice, soft and flavourful, you could really taste the buttery goodness infused with garlic.

Next, we noticed they had a pasta dish with veggies and tomato sauce for $1.99. I was curious to try it, but the penne was sadly a little rough tasting and the sauce was very bland. But we couldn't expect much for less than two bucks.

To wash down this big meal we each got a can of Ikea-brand apple cider for $1. In total, the bill came to $20. What a bargain! We both felt full and satisfied. Coming to Ikea for linner (lunch / dinner) was really unusual since we don't usually go to places for express services. We even took a little after dinner stroll around the place to walk off the calories.

Overall, I would say it was a fun and enjoyable experience,  I would love to come back. Lyckligt ata alla! (happy eating everyone!)

Follow me on Twitter!
Follow @AllizonLiu

Posh Hot Pot

Michael and I had a short day Saturday and were looking for a place to eat after we paid a visit to one my friends graduation events. We stumbled upon Posh a Japanese style hot pot restaurant located at 1123-3779 Sexsmith Rd., right beside the popular Pearl Castle bubble tea cafe.

A little different from Chinese hot pots, it's much thicker

I am not a fan of hot pot and I could probably fill a phone book with my reasons. But we've both heard so many good things about Posh from our friends, and Michael seemed like he was really keen on trying it. It was also $17 per person for the all you can eat dinner menu. So I thought I would take a chance with him. The restaurant is very small and has only a few tables, seating at most two dozen or so, but the environment was  simple and modern.

Bok choi, enoki mushrooms and baby corn

Michael and I sat at the bar area, it was a little squishy but it made the dining experience seem more cozy. Another thing I liked about this hot pot restaurant is that it is very different from other hot pot places we've seen before. Where many of them are dirty, loud, and lack customer service. But Posh has none of that. The waitress was nice enough to explain to us the process and the how-tos, considered a rarity at Asian restaurants. There was water and soy sauce for us to pour in the pot when it gets dry, and when we eat our meats, dip the cooked meats in to the a sauce of raw egg, giving it a nice creamy texture.

The cooking element, adjust temperature as needed

The "pot" arrives with cabbage and broth inside, under a cooking element. In goes the vegetables that we had ordered, such as enoki and shitaki mushrooms, radish, potatoes, radish,and bok choi, combining their tastes nicely with the broth. What I thought was unique from this broth was that it there was a creamy and buttery taste along with the soy sauce, which I found very tasty. What can be wrong with butter?

All you can eat pork and beef!

For meats, Michael and I ordered pork and beef, both meats were very tasty, they were thinly sliced and soft to chew. It was weird dipping in to a raw egg though, at first it just felt it was meat going in to a raw egg but after I did taste the creaminess of the egg going along with the meat.

Follow me on Twitter!
Follow @AllizonLiu

Joeys Restaurant

Restaurant franchises are something Michael and I try to avoid, but we've always had a soft spot for Joeys. This weekend we made a short shopping trip to Burnaby and decided to get dinner at Joeys Burnaby located on 1899 Rosser Ave. The restaurant's location was nearby where my aunt lives, so I'd like to give a shout out to her!

The decoration is like any other Joeys located throughout the Vancouver area, although Michael and I thought it was really hard to find the place since it was located adjacent to a main road and tucked upstairs in a building. When we finally found the parking lot there were quite a few additional turns through corridors and a few stairs to climb inside to make it to the actual restaurant. As I said, it's quite hidden.

Joeys Restaurant - beautifully presented Pesto Shrimp Flatbread $14

We started with the Pesto Shrimp Flatbread for $14, which featured mozzarella cheese, sun dried tomatoes, chipotle aioli , and basil. From the sounds of it, I thought there were going to be actual pieces of mozzarella, but when it arrived, I was quite disappointed to see there was just a slight smear of it. Other then my mozzarella catastrophe, the flatbread tasted really good. Filled with flavours, the shrimp was fresh and the chipotle aioli gave it the right amount of heat. I also loved that the flatbread was soft and fluffy.

The delicious taste of Joey's Blackened Basa is always consistent

For entrees, Michael had one of his favourites at Joeys, which is the Blackened Basa, served with a tomato pickled salsa with rice and vegetables for $19.50. Michael said that his fish was very soft and fluffy, crunchy on the outside but melting apart like butter on the inside. It came in two separate fillets, large portions that promise to fill even the hungriest of diners. A bed of rice is laid under the fish to complete the plate. Delicious.

Butter chicken and salad, no thanks on the naan bread

For myself, I chose the Bombay Butter Chicken for $17. One of the reasons I love Joeys is that they offer their menu to diners who are non-meat eaters. Since I was a little sick today and wasn't feeling really meaty, I substituted my chicken for its soy variety. The classic butter chicken dish is usually served with rice, but I also decided to change things up, vying for a tossed salad instead. The butter faux-chicken arrived mixed in with bell peppers which added some colour to the broth; there was a little heat to it but my cold tossed salad really balanced it out. The naan that was served on the side wasn't your familiar soft and fluffy naan though, it came in like nacho texture and it appeared to have chutney baked into it. Why mess with good naan?

Overall the experience in the restaurant I felt was alright, I would give it a fair "meh" for the dining experience. Michael thought the service wasn't that great which I have to agree, but other then that he really liked his food

Follow me on Twitter!
Follow @AllizonLiu