Taiwanese

Chase Tea, John 4:14

August 28, 2019

On the outside of the original milk tea, I see a failed attempt to mimic the trendy brown sugar pearl milk tea. The exterior streaks are crude for marbling. The milk tea tastes quite watery. There is not much taste for either tea or milk. The pearls have acceptable chewiness. Some pearls are stuck together but separate with a light shake. I was disappointed that they used taro powder instead of the fresh stuff. In my defense, the taro milk tea's location on the menu was a little misleading. It was below Earl Grey Milk Tea, and above Fresh Milk Tea. I didn't think they would use "Earl Grey" powder or "Fresh" powder, so I assumed "Taro" is also not powder. To be honest, it's probably my own fault for the assumption.

HouCaiLei Tea House

August 24, 2019

HouCaiLei is an artistic tea house perfect for hipsters. The interior is very beautifully done. Everything from this tea house are beautifully done. It's a perfect place to spend an entire afternoon, but I hope there are more seats. It cost about $6 per person. The drinks are a bit on the sweet side, but they can be customized.

Bubble Waffle Cafe Hainanese Chicken Overall

Bubble Waffle Cafe, Cantonese Food Stand

August 21, 2019

The first bubble waffle cafe I tried was the one in Landsdowne Mall. I considered it a high-school kids operated food station at the time. Their bubble waffle are too awful to call themselves the "Bubble Waffle Cafe". Obviously, their business model took off with all the people whose only consideration for food is the price. Bubble Waffle Cafe can now be found in most malls in the lower mainland. Bubble Waffle Cafe calls themselves "Hong Kong and Taiwanese Cuisine". I can tell you right now that Bubble Waffle Cafe may give their food Taiwanese names, but their food are not Taiwanese cuisine. Their food has lots of carbs. It is similar to Cantonese Style Cafe food, so I guess it is Hong Kong Cuisine.

BlackBall Taiwanese Dessert Blackball Signature Crushed Ice

BlackBall, Taiwanese Dessert in Richmond

August 13, 2019

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. 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 flavour of cane sugar, which is also quite pleasant. Taro Balls and Yam Balls are being called "TaroQ" and "YamQ" at BlackBall. To be honest, I am a little disappointed in these. The bite to them has no bounce. I understand 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 sweet but has a good natural flavour of taro and yam. All these 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 to the cooking process and very noticeable. The Kidney Beans are larger beans. The structure is more intact. I could still feel the pop when I bite into them.

Strike Taiwanese Cuisine Deep Fried Chicken Nuggets

Micha Asian Fusion Kitchen

August 12, 2019

As soon as I walked in, it is evident the restaurant had been renovated. The front curve that direct customers towards the left have been replaced by two straight walls. This is a much more efficient use of space. The tables and chairs have also been changed from ugly, cheap (it was the theme before), and down to earth style to the Zen-like Japanese style decoration. The feature wall on the left has been kept. You cannot tell it's an old wall. Overall, it is a much appreciated transformation aesthetically.

Yi Fang Taiwanese Fruit Tea

July 11, 2019

Yi Fang's Brown Sugar Pearl Milk Tea use traditional slow cooking method to cook the brown sugar's sweetness into the pearls. The pearls are added to the cup before the milk to create interesting patterns inside the transparent cup. If you start drinking right when you get the drink, you'll find it too sweet. You will also find the pearls warmer, and very soft to chew on. It is highly recommended to shake well before...

Little Bean Tea Station (綠豆苗), where to get the worst Taiwanese taro balls.

June 26, 2019

Little bean tea station is a bubble tea place in the food court of Yaohan Centre on No. 3 Rd. and Cambie Rd. in Richmond. They have been around for at least 15 years. This used to be the place to...