Downtown Vancouver
Shiny Tea’s quality is comparable to Hanlin Tea House, if not identical. The lower cost for the same tea comes without the wonderful interior decor Hanlin Tea House has. The price tag of $5.49 is cheaper than Hanlin, which makes Shiny Tea the perfect tea station for a quick grab and go.
Samyang’s Sutah Ramen is pretty cheap at $4.97 for a package of 5. That’s only a little more expensive than $1 per package after tax. I like the texture of their noodle, which is clearly advertised on the packaging. The spicy flavour is good but the soup base is a little boring. I would recommend this ramen for people who enjoy the chewy texture of noodles. It’s a luxury to be able to enjoy this at home. I would probably try to make my own soup base though.
I think $14 per pizza is a fair price to charge because of the space required for customizing pizza. The authentic pizza places are more expensive, but they also have a better topping selection, so we cannot compare Assembli to them. If we compare all the big name franchises like Pizza Hut, Fresh Slice, and Domino, etc, Assembli is more expensive, but also has more of an artisan feel to it.
Benkei Ramen is a seasoned ramen joint that’s been around for a while. Their price went up a little but remained in the same range throughout the years. That is why it is still a ramen place a lot of people default to. I personally think their ramen is too soft and feels a little overcooked. Their special dish is the curry ramen, with the soup similar to the miso ramen that is too thick to drink. Benkei Ramen is an okay ramen joint with a very competitive price of $13 per person. Because of that, there’s always going to be customers willing to come here instead of Raman Santouka across the street.
Fragrance’s salted egg fish skin cost $7.99 for a small bag. I think this is more expensive than Stip’s Chips Salted Egg Potato Chips, but it is reasonable because we are comparing fish skin to potato chips. Texture-wise, they are both crispy thin that tastes salty. The fish skin adds more flavour, but it’s less sweet. They are both quite good, but the subtle flavour difference caters to different foodies.
Most of the large tea in Coco is in the range of $5 to $6. My 3 guys cost $6.40 because of the toppings. Coco’s large size drink uses the long and narrow deceiving cup. It is because of this, I prefer Chatime over Coco. All prejudice aside, Coco’s drink has a good flavour. They are not aiming to be the top of the line bubble tea place, but they are the good enough tea shop when it’s convenient to you.
A bag of Stip’s chips salted egg potato chips weighing 200g cost $11. This is a lot of money to be spending on a bag of chips. Regardless of what I think, people are still buying these chips because it provides such a unique flavour. It feels like a lot more work has been put into making these chips compared to regular chips, so I can somewhat justify the price. I enjoyed the bag I purchased, and I think the flavour is very addicting.
Nemesis Coffee was worth the trip. The two-page menu looks simple, but the flavour of toppings really compliment each other. I heard their brekky sando and french toast are really well made, and that is what I am going to order next time. The cost of $14 per person including drinks is not that expensive either. Nemesis Coffee is one of the best brunch places in town, and I encourage everyone to go and enjoy a lazy weekend morning.
Meat & Bread serve very well crafted sandwiches. They are focused on sandwiches and do this niche very well. This place is perfect to grab a high quality quick bite. The credit card machine defaults to a 15% tips and I think it’s worth it because they have a staff going around collecting the plates. I like the simple whole-number price tag. Everything in this store spells out simplicity for me. I enjoy the no-fuss environment.
