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.
I understand the location probably cost a lot more than a stall in Richmond Public Market, but $5.25 can almost buy me two $2.75 drinks from Peanut’s Bubble Tea. When the drinks here don’t even taste as good, I can’t justify coming here. Dessert Dynasty feels like a bubble tea shop who just hoard a good location to make a quick buck.
RedBeef noodle Kitchen serves authentic Taiwanese food, but everyone mention their price whenever this restaurant is talked about. It seems like customers are always willing to eat sub-par food in exchange for a lower price point. In my experience in talking to restaurant owners, I found out that the last little extra mile of quality always requires a disproportionate large amount of effort. I don’t think RedBeef is expensive for the quality they provide.
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.
Snow Angel Cafe may not have a business philosophy, but they really captured the heart of many customers with their beautifully presented desserts. Everything we have ordered was created with a very high standard that they don’t just taste good, but also very exciting to look at. I know their bingsoos are also very beautiful but didn’t have a chance to try them during this visit. We would definitely come back for it.
The menu here is like a patchwork with no focus. This tells me they can make everything, but does not excel in anything. It’s kind of like an upgraded version of a Cantonese Cafe. They serve Southern Chinese cuisine like Szechuan food that is not spicy and Shanghai food that is not delicate. They also serve Northern Chinese cuisine like pancakes and noodles that I did not dare to try. The price of $26 per person is simply too high for the poor quality of food.
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.
I think Macao Doulao has pretty good all you can eat option if you are only looking for normal, non-extravagant ingredients. The price tag of $28.88 is a little misleading because you also have to add the $4.99 soup and $1.99 condiment access fee. The all you can eat option will cost $36 per person, minimum. This is very cheap considering the amount of meat we’ve had, but do know that the meat has lower quality.
We arrived at No1 Beef Noodle House and realized their new menu looks very similar to Myst Asian Fusion on Kingsway. Then I found out the owners of these two restaurants are brothers. I am very troubled by how they added the Northern Chinese dumplings and cold flat noodles on their menu. Seriously, what is Northern Chinese food items doing in an authentic Taiwanese restaurant’s menu? I’m not sure if this is the first step of No1 Beef Noodle House turning into a do-it-all Taiwanese Cafe. In terms of food, the items we ordered still has good Taiwanese flavour. The mini lamb hotpot still tastes as good as before. I hope they continue to strive in the things they are good at, and not sway too far from their origin.
