BBT Shop: And we have a winner!

Been hearing about this new bubble tea place and Adorables won their door prize of 10 free bubble teas, so why not drop by for free food (Thanks Adorables) =D

Restaurant: The BBT Shop (visit their website here)

Location: 4651 No. 3 Road, Richmond (under Superstore)
Cuisine: Coffee, Bubble Tea, Bubble Waffle
Price range: $5-10

Date of visit: January 31, 2015
Atmosphere: 4.5/5
Staff/service: 5/5
Food variety: 4/5
Food quality: 5/5
Buck worthy? 5/5

I couldn't decide what drink to get, so opted for a Triple Decker Bubble Waffle ($6.25) instead. They said we could use the free bubble tea card like a gift card, so this was "on the house" aka on Adorables ^-^ The bubble waffle was crispy on the outside, chewy and moist on the inside! Also not overly sweet, it went well with the banana, strawberries, Nutella, and whipped cream. Yum!

First, they put in a lot of effort making the presentation beautiful. I love the care they put in. Secondly, the bubble waffles and other ingredients were very fresh and tasty. Finally, the interior was clean and open. I like the Rubik's cubes they put on every table! Gives you something to do, and if you solve one, you get a free drink! Can't wait to try other items on their menu =)

Tapioca Cafe: Chem class?? Where are the schoolgirls?

Post-Victorian adventures, Adorables and I met up with Mr. Photographer for dinner. I had heard of a "maid cafe" here from friends, so we decided to come here to check them out (which to our disappointment there were none). Sneak peak of our food fusion plates haha








Restaurant: Tapioca Cafe 三年一班 (visit their website here)

Location: 1438-8388 Capstan Way, Richmond
Cuisine: Taiwanese, Bubble Tea
Price range: $10-20 per person





Date of visit: August 10, 2014
Atmosphere: 3/5
Staff/service: 4/5
Food variety: 5/5
Food quality: 4.5/5
Buck worthy? 4/5

Walking in, I knew there would be no maids =( Anyhow there were teppanyaki specials going on and seemed like a pretty good amount of food for hungry starving young men. Mr. Photographer ordered the Chicken Teppanyaki ($11.95) which came with two pieces of chicken, an egg, noodles, and veggies smothered with sauce on a hot plate. The portion size was pretty large, and plate was definitely hot. He enjoyed the meal but with his huge appetite, craved for more xD

Adorables ordered the Steak Teppanyaki ($11.95) and it was also quite large. The egg was cooked so beautifully... I almost shed a tear of joy. I don't know what noodles they use, but these were AMAZING. Chewy with good texture and taste-- gosh! I wanted to ask them where they got it!! Beef was tender and not bad.

I "spoiled" myself with a Lamb Hot Pot ($11.99), spoil as in getting something not on special haha. It came in a pot with a chemical rock fire underneath and had lots of extra meats, tofu, fishballs, napa cabbage, enoki mushrooms, and glass vermicelli. Taste was quite generic, I enjoyed the lamb slices and overall was pleased with this order.

Also ordered a Matcha Red Bean Slush ($3.00 with meal). I found it generic. Doesn't stand out but at least it meets the norm.

Our bill came in a cute pencil case, I guess to match their theme of a classroom (but no schoolgirl uniforms *disappoint*). I found the prices to be quite reasonable and tasted good! Hoping they bring back their themed restaurant =)

No. 1 Beef Noodle House: It's so spicy!! But oh-so-good I can't stop!!

*Late post* Last stretch of finals!! Before my fun sleepover at SW's (closer to campus for my crazy early final), we stopped here for dinner! Right beside Sushi S, I was almost tempted to go for sushi instead! But super cold night, needed something to warm our bellies!

Restaurant: No. 1 Beef Noodle House (visit their website here)

Location: 4741 Willingdon Avenue, Burnaby
Cuisine: Taiwanese, Noodle Shop, Smoothies, Dessert
Price range: $10-20





Date of visit: December 11, 2013
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 4/5
Food variety: 5/5
Food quality: 4.5/5
Buck worthy? 4/5

We ordered some appies to start our meal, with the 3 item combo ($9.50) we got seaweed, pig intestines, and beef honeycomb tripe. The random garlic sauce was quite strong and the sweet seafood sauce smothered over everything made everything taste... the same. However the texture was great and flavors weren't that bad :)

SW ordered a Beef Brisket Noodles ($7.75), and the brisket, like my last visit here, was delicious. She liked the noodles and flavors, and the amount of food was plentiful =)

On the side we also ordered Shanghai Dumplings ($6.50) because I've been craving them since I saw them last time =P They were very juicy and the wrapping was nice and chewy. I felt it was a bit too sweet for my liking, I prefer a saltier version of these little suckers.

For myself, I tried their Seafood Laksa ($9.25), which turned out to be quite a big bowl! The flavors were all there, so deliciously crafted with a milky curry base and spiciness added such a great kick. Ingredients were plentiful as well, I couldn't finish this giant bowl! Felt very satisfied though :)

Even though we were both super full, decided we needed dessert to end our meal, so a Tofu Pudding with Black Sesame Sweet Soup ($4.45) was ordered. This was a bit disappointing because the black sesame sweet soup was just your generic powdered stuff, clumpy, and way too thick. The portion wasn't bad and the tofu was decent. I wouldn't order it again.

Such an amazing evening catching up with this lovely lady! And good food! One could say I was a happy camper ;)

No. 1 Beef Noodle House 京園牛肉麵, Burnaby: Hidden Gem

Last final exam for the summer! Decided to treat myself to some sushi, but sadly, it wasn't open =( Walked around the corner and discovered this tucked away in the corner! Glad we decided on it, I wasn't disappointed.

Restaurant: No. 1 Beef Noodle House 京園牛肉麵 (visit their website here)

Location: 4741 Willingdon Avenue, Burnaby
Cuisine: Taiwanese, Bubble Tea, Noodle Shop
Price range: $10-$15 for dinner




Date of visit: August 1, 2013
Atmosphere: 5/5 (props to them because they were playing Kung Fu Panda on their TVs)
Staff/service: 3/5
Food variety: 5/5
Food quality: 5/5
Buck worthy? 4.5/5

After some discussion, we decided to stay even though it was CASH ONLY. We had enough to cover our meals, so all good.

Since it's a noodle house, I told myself I had to order some noodles. As much as I wanted the Shanghai steamed dumplings, which I'll try next time, I got a Tomato Beef Noodle ($8.25). In Chinese it's supposed to be beef brisket, but I didn't mind their beef shank. It was amazing. Tender and springy at the same time but not sticky to the teeth. It was delicious. The noodles were chewy and the broth was amazing too. Happy =)

Forgot to mention, you get to choose from a variety of noodles, I had the egg noodles and LL had their thick noodles with his Wontons and Beef Noodles ($8.75), this looked really good and he enjoyed the wontons.

MW ordered their Home-Style Noodles ($7.50) with thick noodles. This had pork strips, mushrooms, and veggies. Not a beef broth. She enjoyed this as well.

Finally, J ordered their Sakura Shrimp Fried Rice ($9.75) and it looked superb. The side dishes were cold, but the rice looked beautifully fried. A bit oily, but every piece of rice was translucent and separate (no chunks). Taste was many thumbs up as well. Shrimps were a good size (although she likes small ones haha)

Overall I enjoyed myself, especially since they were playing Kung Fu Panda on the TVs =P Will come back to try their dumplings. BTW. 12% off from 3-5 =D

Munchie Adventure: The One Restaurant 美味關係, Burnaby

It never occurred to me that this restaurant was the one that was talked about so much by my friends until I came here! It's right across from Metrotown Mitsubishi, which is a perfect location for lunch when I go for an oil change next time! =D But this time wasn't for an oil change, got to watch Wreck-It-Ralph ^-^ It was SO GOOD. Loved it =]

Restaurant: The One Restaurant 美味關係 (visit their website here)
Location: 5908 Kingsway, Burnaby (across from Metrotown Mitsubishi)
Cuisine: Taiwanese, Bubble Tea, Drinks
Price range: $15-20




Date of visit: December 2, 2012
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 3/5
Food variety: 3.5/5
Food quality: 4/5
Buck worthy? 4/5

It was rather difficult to get into my seat, they fail on the design for that part. The person sitting behind me was helpful and tried to tuck in further but that didn't solve the problem. So I had to slide my chair awkwardly sideways and slip myself in then slide sideways again =.= *dislike* I couldn't decide what to order either, nothing that really caught my eye, besides their infamous GIANT slushes, which I knew I wouldn't be able to finish. They don't have guava drinks either *sadface*

Ok, enough of the whining, onto food! EC ordered their Deep Fried Chicken Nuggets with Noodles in Soup ($10.50). The chicken tasted typical, like most other Taiwanese establishments-- except this one was more salty =( Noodles looked like a big portion. Probably soggy and too soft because he wanted to wait for my food to arrive before he started xD

EC also got Mango Black Tea with Pearls ($5.50 + $0.50). big cup, don't know what the frothy yellowy stuff at the top was though =P Look at my tiny cup of water LOL

I finally decided on their Seafood Hot Pot with Milk ($13.95) (there's a no milk option). It was quite big, and had lots of shrimp. There were also baby squids, fish, mussels, fish balls, pork balls, thick vermicelli, and veggies. Tasted very good, it also came with a big bowl of rice, which I couldn't finish. Rice was cooked well, if only they didn't burn it and give that burnt part to me =.=

Service wasn't bad, but really, they need to fix the seating >< *If* I come again, I'll try their slush for sure, it looked really good when the table beside us ordered 5 of them for 6 ppl xD

Munchie Adventure: BBT Cafe, Kerrisdale (Vancouver)

Needed to go to UBC today, so we wanted to find a place close by, and decided upon BBT Cafe. Turns out it's pretty well known amongst UBC students! It's my second time here, last time was for dinner though, here's lunch =) They open at 11:30am on the dot though! haha

Restaurant: BBT Cafe
Location: 5979 West Blvd, Vancouver
Cuisine: Taiwanese, Chinese, Bubble Tea
Price range: $10-15 per entree




Date of visit: November 8, 2012
Atmosphere: 3.5/5
Staff/service: 2.5/5
Food variety: 3.75/5
Food quality: 3.5/5
Buck worthy? 3/5

First off, we were told some menu items would be a long wait (15-20 minutes), but we had time. And it turns out the waitress didn't lie to us, it did take longer.

The first to arrive was my lunch. Which was the Deluxe Meat Sauce on Rice ($8.50). Probably cuz the meat is already pre-made and rice is usually already cooked, I got to stare at my food first. (Because I find it rude to start eating before everyone has their food) There were a lot of fat chunks, so I removed some of them to feel less guilty =P There was also a lot of rice, and for the side dishes, I particularly liked the cabbage. I found a liking to it after a while actually, didn't like it at first xD

Next was the Salty Chicken Nugget ($6.50) that KW ordered and shared with everyone =) It was very crispy and HOT. Seasoning was good, and they used chunks of chicken instead of grounded chicken. Gave us something to munch on while we waited for the other food to arrive ^^

JL ordered their House Special Fish Pot ($8.95) and asked for it to be non-spicy (it's normally spicy). It had fish shaped tofu in it ^^ Cute. I think she liked it, looked like a decent portion size.

KW ordered their Satay Beef Hot Pot ($10.50), and there was fire. So I guess he got his money's worth =P He ordered extra spicy, but I guess they goofed up and made it non-spicy... which he was rather disappointed about. At least the stone fire was amusing xD

Then after about 10-15 mins, JC's order arrived. His Grilled Chicken Rice ($8.95) looked really good! He said it was very fresh and worth the wait =) Reminded me of teriyaki chicken, but with a bit of spicy?

Last to arrive was SL's Stir-Fry Chicken Meal ($9.25). It came in a little pot, but I couldn't really distinguish the chicken. Seemed really dark, but I think it was good, she didn't say much about it =P

After everyone's meals arrived, I noticed how different my side dishes were, cuz they all had scrambled eggs, corn, and some veggie. Weird. Not that I didn't like my egg, I got tired of it after half xD Took a while to get a box and bill, but overall it wasn't a bad experience. Not stellar, but decent.