Ho Yummy

Review: Olympic Drinks at YEW

With the coming Olympics, many restaurants have been prone to making Olympic themed foods and beverages. Awhile back, I had the chance to try an Olympic drink at YEW Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel, when Jenkins, Gigi and I dropped by for a holiday dinner. We all ordered our regular sized (and delicious) entrees, but I also ordered the most expensive drink I’ve ever had. Some people know, I’m a real sucker for caesars (the drink, not the salad), so when I saw on the YEW drink menu a new type of Caesar, I just had to try it!

In the spirit of the Olympics, the drink is called the “Silver Calgary 1988″, and is made with Crystal Head Vodka, YEW’s own clamato recipe, spices, and topped off with a piece of buffalo jerky. This was most likely one of the best Caesars I’ve ever had. The Caesar was spicy, flavorful, and had a smoke-flavor to it.  Gigi commented that it tasted like a Caesar with BBQ sauce added to it, which might have been one of the secret recipes. If it weren’t for the price of the drink ($19.88), I could have chugged a few more with no problem at all.

gigi’s note – Although not Olympic-themed, I had the caramel apple-tini and I really liked the presentation and the taste. The apple flavour had a hint of caramel and although not super unique, it was still quite tasty. YEW will also be running Olympic-themed promotions throughout the course of the games (Feb 12-28).

Details:
791 West Georgia Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-689-9333

Summary:
Food:
Service:
Price: $$$

Posted in Drinks, Lower Mainland Cities, Reviews, Vancouver | 2 Comments »

Review: Corner 23 Bubble Tea

After my birthday dinner at Bistro Sakana, we decided to continue the evening and go for bubble tea.  We were all in the mood for something new so Lucy suggested Corner 23.  She had bubble tea there the other day and said that it was pretty good.  Corner 23 is a new-ish Taiwanese eatery that opened at the corner of …you guessed it!  West 23rd and Cambie in Vancouver.

I decided to try the malt milk tea with pudding chunks.  I have to say that I was pretty disappointed with this.  It didn’t taste milky at all and had cereal-like chunks floating around.  The pudding was actually kind of interesting but since I didn’t like the milk tea itself, I wasn’t able to actually enjoy the pudding.  This was the first time in a while but I didn’t even finish my drink!

Lucy had a pudding milk tea with pudding chunks.  She had the same thing a few days earlier and said that one tasted way better.  The pudding milk tea was overly sweet and also had a strange consistency to it.

Samantha had a strawberry milk tea.  She had ordered this initially because she thought it was made with fresh strawberries but it was actually made with strawberry powder.  It was too sweet for her taste although she said someone who enjoyed really sweet drinks may have liked it more.

Jenkins had a lychee green tea slush with half coconut jelly and half pearls.  He also noted that the lychee slush was quite sweet and the lychee flavour was a bit artificial tasting.

The one saving grace about Corner 23 was that their drink straws are individually wrapped.  It drives me nuts when people touch all the straws in a bucket before finally selecting the one they want.  I think more places should have individually wrapped straws…although I suppose this may not be as good for the environment.  Perhaps they can wrap it with paper similar to what is at MacDonald’s and Starbucks. 

The four of us wondered if the spotty quality of the bubble tea was because it was late at night and everyone was just eager to go home.  Or perhaps the regular bubble tea maker didn’t work the night shift.  For whatever reason, I think it will be quite a while before I try the bubble tea here again.  The service was also really slow.  It took about half an hour for our drinks to come and the restaurant wasn’t even busy!  The servers were quite polite and nice though.  I did go back a couple of weeks later to try their food and I have to say that was pretty tasty.  Check back later to see my food review on Corner 23. 

Details:
4008 Cambie St, Vancouver
Tel: 604-709-9788

Summary:
Food:
Service:

Posted in Drinks, Lower Mainland Cities, Reviews, Vancouver | 7 Comments »

Review: Dragonball Tea House

Note: this is my last post before I tackle my China trip series!

I was in the mood for some bubble tea one evening after dinner so Jenkins and I made a quick stop at Dragonball Tea House.  As mentioned before, it is one of my favourite bubble tea places in Vancouver.

I opted for the guilinggao milk tea this time around.  For those of you who don’t know, guilinggao is a Chinese herbal jelly made with turtle shells.  At only $3.50 for this drink, I’m not sure how much guilinggao is actually in the drink.  The taste is actually very refreshing and tastes very similar to grass jelly.  My mom used to make guilinggao for me all the time when I was younger because it was supposed to be good for my skin. 

The guilinggao milk tea seems to be just regular milk tea with guilinggao jelly chunks at the bottom.  It was a good thing I didn’t add coconut jelly nor pearls to my drink since the jelly chunks were filling enough. 

Yet another good pick at Dragonball…although I must admit that I have rarely made a poor choice when picking drinks here.  I think I may order the guilinggao again the next time I’m at Dragonball.

Details:
1007 W King Edward, Vancouver
Tel: 604-738-3198

Summary:
Food:
Service: n/a
Price: $

Posted in Drinks, Reviews | 6 Comments »

Review: Dragonball Tea House

Jenkins and I went to Dragonball Tea House for some bubble tea one evening after dinner. Dragonball is my absolute favourite bubble tea place in the Lower Mainland. I like how they have a great selection of bubble tea drinks and the pearls are always the perfect texture. Their specialty would most definitely be the fresh fruit drinks…with or without milk and slushy or no slush. The fruit drinks are especially refreshing on a hot summer day and more thank likely, there will be a long line-up at the counter. It is located right at the corner of King Edward and Oak in Vancouver.

I had eaten a light dinner that day so I was feeling particularly indulgent and selected the green tea ice cream bubble tea with pearls. The consistency is not as thick as a traditional milkshake and the taste is full of green tea goodness. This drink is extremely filling, especially when you add pearls to the mix! I like how the pearls are slightly frosty from the ice cream.

Jenkins was a tad healthier than I was that day and picked the fresh strawberry slush with milk. He also requested half pearls/bubbles and half coconut jelly. This option is especially great for those of us who can never pick just one. With the milk, this drink is slightly creamy although you can always choose “no milk” for a slightly healthier option.

The seating area at Dragonball is tight and cramped at best. I usually order my drinks to go and either take it home or some other place where I can enjoy my yummy drink. Most drinks run about $3.50-4 depending on what you order.

Details:
1007 W King Edward, Vancouver
Tel: 604-738-3198

Summary:
Food:
Service:
Price: $

Posted in Asian, Drinks, Reviews | 7 Comments »

Review: Bubble World

Louis and I popped over to Bubble World for an end-of-week debrief one Friday. As you have probably noticed by now, it is our preferred location for bubble tea due to its proximity to our work office. It was pretty cold that day so we both picked hot drinks.

Louis picked the hot almond milk tea. I like almond tea, both hot and cold. It is made with Chinese almonds and the taste is stronger than the regular brown almonds people usually snack on. Sometimes, this drink is a bit on the sweet side but is still one of my favourite drinks to order.

I picked the honey green tea. I like the taste of green tea more than black tea and the lemon really brings out the green tea flavour. I normally opt for honey because I feel that is healthier than plain sugar.

While we were at Bubble World, who should walk through the door but Farz and Derek! Derek ordered the hot longan tea, which came in a nice little tea pot. The taste is a bit medicinal but it is supposed to be very good for you.

Farz picked the hot taro milk tea and also added bubbles to his drink. Because plunking the bubbles directly in the tea would probably melt them, they came in a cute little pot. One thing to note is that if you put all the bubbles in your drink right away, the hot liquid will overflow in the cup so take a few sips first before adding the bubbles.

Hot drinks at Bubble World are usually about $0.50 cheaper. I guess ice is expensive these days.

Details:
1-4300 Kingsway, Burnaby
Tel: 604-434-5551

Summary:
Food:
Service:
Price: $

Posted in Drinks, Reviews | No Comments »

Review: L&G Bubble Tea

Samantha, Lucy, and I met up for bubble tea at L&G Bubble Tea after dinner one day. It is one of the many bubble tea houses in Vancouver and is located at the corner of Granville and W. 41st Ave (5701 W 41st Ave). After Dragonball Tea House, this is one of my favourite bubble tea joints in Vancouver.

L&G offers up a large array of bubble tea options that are sure to suit anyone’s tastes. After you settle on the type of drink you want, you also get to choose if you want milk or no milk, slush or no slush, and the type of pearls you want. Of course, pearls refer to the regular brown tapioca pearls but you can also have coconut jelly, grass jelly, and a bunch of others that I can’t remember. Most of the time, I choose half pearls and half coconut jelly…just because I can never make up my mind.

This time, I had a lychee green tea with no milk and half pearls/half coconut jelly. The reason I like the lychee tea here is because they always add chunks of lychee to the drink, which is a nice touch.

Samantha had strawberry slush with no milk and half pearls/half coconut jelly. This is one of her favourites and it was quite tasty. Lucy opted for something new and chose the jackfruit slush…also with half pearls/half coconut jelly. It was a bit on the sweet side though.

All of our teas cost $3.50 each. Considering that both Lucy and Samantha chose fresh fruit, the prices were quite reasonable. The coconut jelly and pearls are actually quite filling so I normally opt for a plain drink unless I am feeling hungry.

Details:
5701 Granville Street, Vancouver (but it’s actually on 41st Ave)
Tel: 604-269-3682

Summary:
Food:
Service: n/a
Price: $

Posted in Asian, Drinks, Reviews | 1 Comment »