Strength: Grass Jelly has a very pleasant soft texture
Weakness: No Service
Other Taiwanese Dessert
- Xing Fu Tang (4.5 Stars)
- Little Bean Tea Station (1.5 Stars)
- Brown Sugar Milk Tea Boba Ice Cream Bar (4 Stars)
- Micha Asian Fusion Kitchen (3.5 Stars)
Storefront of the BlackBall
BlackBall is a newly opened dessert place that focuses on grass jelly. This is a signature dessert topping native to Taiwan. Blackball Taiwanese Dessert is located in Union Square, Richmond.
Aesthetically pleasing decoration
BlackBall has a mural wall featuring Taiwanese elements using cute illustrations. The restaurant is a medium operation with seats for of 30 customers.
Cute decoration with cluttered table
When entering BlackBall, you will immediately notice the drop in temperature. It is very comfortable to come here during Summer. The direction signage is not very clear, so the interior seems cluttered. We make our way to the ordering counter to the left. After we were done with the menu, we were unacknowledged for about 3 minutes.
The store owner sits next to the ordering counter. He was about to stand up to take our order when we were served. I assume this is part of his soft launch assessment. When the store got busy, he gave up his seat for the customers.
Pager for picking up orders
After ordering, I was given a pager much like the one from the Cactus Club. This is when I realized I need to pick up my order. Later on, I saw the self-serve table for me to put back the dirty dishes. I probably shouldn’t have paid for tips.
Simple and complete self serve table
The self-serve table everything you need in a dessert place. It is worth noting they have normal plastic spoons here.
BlackBall Signature Crushed Ice
The first thing I noticed was the droopy grass jelly covering the crushed ice. They are black and shiny like a mirror. It is the most jiggly grass jelly I have seen in Vancouver. When eating, the grass jelly has a noticeable herbal taste. The soft texture makes it the highlight of this dish.
Good texture for crushed ice
The crushed ice is course but not sharp. They are soft to the bite. Unlike Icy Bar’s Razor Sharp Ice, there is no unpleasant texture. There are condensed milk and brown sugar added to the crushed ice. I could taste a strong of cane sugar, which is also quite pleasant.
and YamQ
Taro Balls and Yam Balls are being called “TaroQ” and “” at BlackBall. To be honest, I am a little disappointed in these. The bite to them has no bounce. This means that there is not much starch powder added, but it is not the texture I was looking for. Flavour-wise, they are not really but has natural of taro and yam.
Mung Bean, Adzuki Bean, and Kidney Bean
The beans are perfectly cooked. Adzuki bean and Mung beans are cooked until their skin starts to peel. This made the interior very starchy. Sugar was added and is very noticeable. The Kidney Beans are larger beans. The structure is more intact. I could still feel the pop when I bite into them.
Inconvenient spoon
The spoon has a funky shape. They are not as deep, and quite thick in the front. The shallow profile matches my mouth better. The thick front makes picking up the last little bit of content difficult.
Spoon will tip over small bowl
The rear of the spoon is heavier than the front. When I put it in the small bowl it will tip the whole thing over. The tableware and utensil choice has not been thought out properly.
604 Food Critic Assessment
The cost of coming to BlackBall is about $15 per person. They have very good overall food, both ingredient-wise and presentation-wise. The service is a bit lacking. The area for ordering, picking up, and return lines up from left to right of the counter. You can see the owner’s attempt to streamline customer’s behavior but I cannot appreciate that. This free up staff time, but put the burden on the customer. Even though I do not agree with their business decision, BlackBall is still my new favorite location for Taiwanese Cuisine.
Menu
How to get in touch
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackball.canada.7
- Address: 1061 – 8300 Capstan Way Unit, Richmond
- Hours: 12:00 pm – 12:00 am
