dessert Archives - Curiously Carmen

Lee’s Donuts

July 25, 2020 Leave a Comment

The fiance and I decided to go to Granville Island for some takeout by the dock (we decided on Kaisereck Deli, you can read my review here) earlier this month, and enjoy some donuts afterwards! I have heard great things about Lee’s Donuts for awhile, so it was about time we try it out.

Lee’s Donuts is located inside Granville Island Market. They are known for their quality donuts, made from scratch each day. While in line, you can actually see them making the donuts.

As expected, there was a lineup. However, it went by very fast – I would say we waited less than 5 minutes!

Honey glazed: I went with their classic honey glazed. This was delicious and I could see why this place is so popular. The donut was soft and fluffy.

Mango madness: I haven’t tried a mango donut before, so decided to give it a try. The donut was also delicious and very fresh. The mango filling inside was still a bit warm!

Dutch crumb: The dutch crumb came with a cake crumb topping and cinnamon sugar. The cake crumb added a slightly crunchy texture to the soft donut. The cinnamon sugar was a tasty addition as well!

Bavarian: The bavarian came with a dark chocolate custard filling. Like the rest of the donuts, this one was amazing too.

All in all, we enjoyed our visit to Lee’s Donuts and glad that we finally tried it after hearing so many great things about it.

We ate them outside the market, and had to keep an eye on a pigeon who was eyeing us the whole time… it was not his or her lucky day though because they did not get a donut from us! 😉

Blackball Dessert – Kingsway Location

June 4, 2020 Leave a Comment

Disclaimer: In light of COVID-19, I just wanted to say that I am doing my part by social distancing and only going out when necessary. This is a review based on contact-less delivery.

We are now in phase 2 which means restrictions are slowly lifting. It is crucial that we still limit our social circle, and wear masks when out. Yes, you may feel fine but you could be passing on the virus to someone who is immunocompromised or elderly that may not survive this virus. I know it’s summer and we want to go out and enjoy the sun, but let’s all remember to be safe and protect those most vulnerable.

Blackball Dessert is a Taiwanese dessert chain that made its way to BC last August, in Richmond. I wrote a review on their Richmond location and have been there multiple times since writing about it!

I noticed that another Blackball had opened up closer to us in Vancouver, so we placed a delivery order. I’m not sure if it was because we ordered delivery or not, but it was disappointing and not the same as our previous visits to the Richmond location.

One thing I really liked about Blackball was that you could customize their dessert bowls. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do that on Doordash. The price was also steeper than I remembered, at almost $9 for a small dessert bowl.

Taro balls grass jelly: Since I wasn’t able to customize, I picked an item that seemed closest to what I’d normally order in person at their Richmond location.

When the dessert bowl arrived, I was surprised at how small it was for the price! I found it disappointing and not worth the price. As mentioned above, I don’t remember how much I paid before, but I don’t recall it being almost $9. I definitely wouldn’t have gone to the Richmond location multiple times for that price point and small size, so I think they’ve increased the price since. I was curious to see the price in Richmond, but unfortunately I couldn’t find a recent menu pic with prices online.

Anyways, the dessert itself was not bad, just small portion for the price. The pearls were chewy with a nice sweetness. The taro and yam balls were tasty as well. Blackball has won awards for their grass jelly in Taiwan, and it was good as well. I’m not a fan of Asian bean desserts (gasp!!!!) so the fiance happily ate that part.

Brown sugar pearl with fresh milk: Again, this drink did not seem to be worth the price. It was quite small as you can see in the photo.

Taste wise, the fiance enjoyed it but thought it was very small for the price. There are so many other places that we could have gone to for bigger size for the same price or even cheaper.

I really did enjoy Blackball’s Richmond location when they first opened last summer so I had high hopes for this location. However, after trying their Kingsway location, it seems like the prices have gone up and do not reflect the value anymore.

By the way, I pride myself on my honest reviews. There are a lot of food influencers out there who only focus on the good… to the point where I have never seen a negative review on a restaurant before and I don’t trust their reviews. So rather than seeing me as picky or complaining, I hope you can see that I’m keepin’ it 100% 😉

Mello

May 25, 2020 Leave a Comment

Disclaimer: In light of COVID-19, I just wanted to say that I am doing my part by social distancing and only going out when necessary. This is a review based on contact-less delivery.

When I heard about Mello donuts earlier in the year on social media, I knew I had to check them out (well via delivery because we are living in strange times)! Mello is a Korean-owned donut shop in Chinatown that recently opened in December.

Mello specializes in brioche donuts! Brioche donuts are similar to your usual donuts, except they contain more butter, eggs and less water.

The fiance and I picked a few flavours to share on our anniversary. Our stomachs were very happy that day, as we also had Ask For Luigi! I had to do a big workout the next day for all the unhealthy (but delicious) food consumed but it was a day for celebration (at home due to the pandemic).

Vanilla brioche donut: I wanted to try a regular vanilla donut to compare with their other fun flavours. Yes, the brioche donuts stand up by themselves LOL! The donut itself was absolutely amazing and I fell in love at first bite. It was light, fluffy but with a rich and sweet flavour.

The filling was akin to a custard. The custard flavour was very Asian-style: light, a bit sweet and not too dense. It balanced out the brioche donut perfectly.

Cookies and cream: The fiance is a big fan of cookies and cream, so he had to order this donut! The cookies and cream is not a brioche donut, but under their ‘dipped donut’ category.

The cookies and cream donut was incredibly soft, springy, and fluffy. The crushed oreo glaze on top elevated the taste even further. If you’re a big fan of cookies and cream flavour, this is a definite must try!

Nutella brioche donut: This donut was delicious as well. Stuffed with a light but creamy Nutella filling inside, the brioche donut was as soft and fluffy as the others. The sugar coating gave it a sweeter taste although it was a bit messier to eat.

Chocolate dipped donut: The chocolate dipped donut was comforting because it reminded me of long john donuts that I used to get in elementary school. Although simple, it was still tasty and enjoyable!

Tiramisu brioche donut: Last but not least, the tiramisu brioche donut! This was an excellent pick from the fiance. The tiramisu filling had a strong coffee taste but the texture was light, like whipped cream.

The outside of the donut is dusted with a cocoa powder, which was the cherry on top of a delicious donut.

Cereal cookie: I read a few reviews saying that the cereal cookie was also a must try, so why not? This was the first time that I’ve seen cereal put on top of a cookie and it is actually a pretty genius idea.

The cookie itself was buttery and chewy. Meanwhile, the corn flakes cereal gave the cookie a fun crunch to it!

The cereal didn’t elevate the taste of the cookie, but gave it more of a fun, textural twist. It was good, but if you were to pick between their donuts or cookie, I’d pick the donuts any day.

Overall, Mello was delicious. You can really taste the quality of their donuts. They were delicately light and fluffy, with a slight chew to it and the perfect amount of sweetness.

Vancouver does not have many donut shops but I’m glad Mello has opened up. I will definitely be back!

Comebuy Bubble Tea

May 8, 2020 Leave a Comment

Disclaimer: In light of COVID-19, I just wanted to say that I am doing my part and social distancing. This is a review based on contact-less delivery.

I know that you may want to go out and have fun, but it is crucial that we distance ourselves to slow the spread of the virus and flatten the curve before it gets worse. Yes, you may feel fine but you could be passing on the virus to someone who is immunocompromised or elderly that may not survive this virus.

After not having bubble tea for two months, we are on a roll with trying other bubble tea places lately! You can read my reviews on Dive In Dessert Bar and Good Day Good Time. Comebuy was the latest addition to our bubble tea adventures, but we found it to be meh.

There are two Comebuy locations currently. We ordered delivery from the Burnaby location inside Crystal Mall, there is also a location in downtown!

One minor complaint I have is that their drink stickers were not labelled in Chinese, and not English. Especially if you have a large group order with many drinks or ordering delivery, not being able to read the label is confusing. I understand that their staff can read Chinese so it’s easier for them, but it would be better to have both languages on customer-facing products so they can tell which drink is which.

We ordered four drinks to reach the free delivery minimum, and saved two for the next day!

Sweet rose drink with basil seeds: I was happy to see that there were more than 2 drink options that didn’t have caffeine or dairy! This drink sounded delicious, so I gave it a try. I also added pearls to it.

The drink was alright. Nothing special or extraordinary. The pearls were cooked well and chewy and I liked that there was a decent amount of basil seeds.

Lychee delight: The fiance loves his lychee, so he had to get this when he saw it on the menu. His drink was also alright, nothing special about it.

The lychee jelly that they used here was a bit different than most as you can tell from the photo but he didn’t mind.

Neptune milk tea: The milk tea was pretty disappointing. I could already tell looking at the colour that it probably wasn’t going to be that good.

The tea flavour was very light. In addition, the drink also wasn’t milky enough. It wasn’t as disappointing as Good Day Good Time‘s milk tea, but we still weren’t impressed with this drink.

Grapefruit lemonade: The last drink we tried was the grapefruit lemonade. Again, it was alright. Nothing particularly good or bad about it.

All in all, the drinks that we ordered were alright (except for the milk tea). It was a forgettable experience and not a place where I would be craving their drinks anytime soon.

With so many bubble tea options in the Lower Mainland these days, Comebuy does not sit high on my list but I wouldn’t mind getting it again if someone wanted to go!

Good Day Good Time Tea

April 28, 2020 Leave a Comment

Good Day Good Time Tea is yet another addition to Vancouver’s rapidly growing bubble tea shops. I can barely keep up with the new shops that are opening! I found out about Good Day Good Time Tea via Maki and Nigiri, who know all the delicious bubble tea places.

This post is the combination of two delivery orders! For the first order, I decided to have a mini photoshoot for these drinks =P. I was bored and in need of some fresh air after not leaving the house for a week.

Mango pomelo sago: The mango pomelo sago is one of their new releases. This was the drink that sold me with this place, despite their mix-ups on our other drinks as you’ll read about soon.

The mango pomelo sago drink is made with coconut milk. Does it taste as good as it looks? Yes, it does! Fresh mango is used, in addition to fresh pomelo pieces.

The drink is made in layers, with the bottom layer being chopped mango, sago, then fresh mango slush with mango pulp, pomelo pieces, and topped with rich coconut milk. I am not sure how the coconut milk manages to stay on top without mixing into the drink, but it sure makes for a beautiful Instagram shot. Just make sure to mix the drink fully before you drink.

This drink was actually the reason we placed a second order the following week. I found that the drink was a bit better the first time. The pomelo pieces were not ripe enough and too sour on the second visit.

Oolong milk tea: The fiance ordered the oolong milk tea, but unfortunately they messed it up. At least, we are pretty sure they did because if this was their normal flavour, it would be awful!

The oolong milk tea was very watery and unsweetened. In addition, it was not milky at all. We ended up getting a refund for this drink from Uber because it was not drinkable.

Guava lemonade: To qualify for free delivery, we ordered another drink for later. Well, since the oolong tea was not good, the fiance ended up drinking this instead. The guava lemonade was light, simple and refreshing. Not bad and would order again!

Grapefruit yakult: Another mess up from Good Day Good Time on our second order. We had ordered a strawberry kiwi smoothie, but this was delivered to us instead.

In the end, we didn’t really mind because the grapefruit yakult ended up being very tasty. There was a delicious balance of grapefruit and yakult. It was a refreshing drink and took me back to childhood because I used to drink a lot of yakult!

Dragonfruit yakult: The fiance ordered a dragonfruit yakult this time, and they did not screw up his drink again so yay! I haven’t seen this on a menu before so I found it unique.

The drink came with dragonfruit pulp and seeds, and you could also taste the yakult. He really enjoyed this drink and it redeemed the messup of the oolong milk tea in the first order.

Good Day Good Time could improve on their consistency and organization, but I understand they have only been open for two months, and trying to operate a new shop with COVID-19 must be tough.

Both of our orders had errors, whether they messed up a drink or gave us the wrong drink. However, I am willing to overlook these issues as growing pains, because the mango pomelo sago and yakult drinks were delicious and great quality! We will still be ordering from them and I have trust they will improve.