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Curiously Carmen

Trees Organic Coffee House

April 8, 2014

While walking through Gastown one sunny afternoon after class, my classmates and I noticed this cute little coffee shop in one of the heritage, brick Gastown buildings.

We decided to pop in to talk about our class project. Originally, I wasn’t planning on getting any pastries, but I was sold after seeing their pastry case. We ended up sitting at a table near the window, where the window shelves were made into a seat, filled with pillows!

photo (10)Here is the till, there was also self serve lemon water on the side. The workers were also really friendly and attentive, gladly answering questions that I had about their pastries.
photo (11)The selection of sugary, fattening, and indulgent goodness. From what I saw in the case, I would assume that their specialty is the cheesecake.

They also had some small paninis and lunch items on the top two shelves. Curious to see which pastry I got?! Well, after debating for a bit.. I decided on getting…
photo (13)The vegan banana oat power bar $3! Okay, to some of you, that might sound really gross since it’s so healthy. But I was really curious to try it because I didn’t feel like indulging in a cheesecake or brownie that day, and I love bananas!

I asked for them to warm it up, which they put in the microwave. This bar was decent- there were a LOT of seeds in it. The worker told me that this bar was made out of banana puree, seeds, nuts, and oats. At one point, I started feeling like a bird because it was so seedy. Apart from the seedie-ness, I enjoyed the taste of the bar. It was very filling and guilt-free.
photo (12)Apart from the bird-seed loaf (Haha, just kidding it was actually pretty good), I ordered an americano. I forgot the price but it was around $3? The espresso was smooth, and not that bitter.

All in all, I enjoyed my quick visit to Trees. The only negative thing would be the sketchy washroom which was located in the basement. You had to walk through this sketchy hallway to the elevator, and once you arrived, it was very quiet and dingy. The washroom was shared by other merchants in that building. There was a funky smell to it as well. Apart from the washrooms, I would definitely come here again if I was studying in this area (but who wants to study in Gastown when there are so many local clothing stores?!).

-Carmen

Trees Organic Coffee on Urbanspoon


Filed Under: coffee and tea, food & drink, Uncategorized Tagged: americano, banana, coffee, healthy eating, healthy oats, oats, power bar, seed bar, tea, vegan, vegan bar

Moii Cafe

March 25, 2014

Moii Cafe is a cute little cafe off of Cambie. However, they also have a crepe section, which is a good addition if you’re craving something sweet to indulge in.

There are so many cute little quirks about this cafe, which makes it stand out from the hundreds of cafes in Vancouver!
IMG_3271The first thing I see when I step into the cafe. I love antique furniture.

IMG_3267I love this section of Moii. The chalkboard menu is brilliant, it was very informative even though it didn’t fill up the whole wall. I love the different colours on the menu.

The small shelf of vintage Archie comics and nutella wall are a cute plus too!
IMG_3268This is part of the seating area. There are mini tables, but also a long one in the middle (it’s a bit cut out here) for conversation with a bigger group. There’s also a small room in the corner, which isn’t really a room? More like a wall frame but it gives you a sense of privacy. There were vintage albums on those walls as well.
IMG_3270I ordered an americano. Originally, I wanted to get tea but I thought it was a bit pricy. Tea was $4.25 while coffee was cheaper, so I settled on this. It tasted like a regular americano, nothing too special about it.

However, I gave some to the boyfriend after I left and he said it tasted watery, it tasted fine to me. I would love to come back here to try their crepes though.
IMG_3269This thing right here is what made me fall in love with Moii. As I was sipping my americano and waiting for my interviewee, I noticed this small wooden box and the picture above it.

For a person like me who loves and appreciates the art of writing, especially on actual paper, I was really happy to see this. It was also really refreshing to see, because these days we are used to everything being online.

In conclusion, I enjoyed my visit here due to the ambiance and atmosphere.  I read on another blog that this place is owned by an Emily Carr graduate, which totally makes sense because of all the artistic elements Moii has. The ambiance is what stood out to me the most, and what sets it apart from other coffee shops.

Moii Cafe Cambie on Urbanspoon


Filed Under: coffee and tea, food & drink, Uncategorized Tagged: coffee, crepes, food review, foodie, herbal tea, tea, urbanspoon, vancouver

Pekoe Tea Lounge

March 17, 2014

I am so excited to share this review with you! I stumbled upon this place completely by accident, the boyfriend and I were at the hospital visiting someone and after we left, we noticed there was still quite a bit of time on the meter.

We decided to check out Pekoe Tea Lounge which was right across from the hospital. Finding cute and quaint cafes make me so happy, I’m glad we stumbled upon this hidden gem.

They have a broad tea selection (Probably more than David’s Tea just to give you an idea), and the sitting area is absolutely lovely. It’s a perfect place for conversation over a delicious cup of steaming, hot tea.

IMG_3261Upon entering, the first thing I noticed was the shelves on shelves and shelves of tea. There was a lovely table featuring mini tins of their tea selection for customers to see and smell before ordering. I probably spent about 5 minutes going around the table smelling each tea that caught my eye.

IMG_3250I love how they have this feature as opposed to places like David’s Tea or Teavana, where you have to ask the worker to smell the different teas. You can also buy tea tins in different sizes.

IMG_3245

IMG_3254I finally settled on ordering the Hawaiian Cocktail, a herbal fruit tea that consisted of candied pineapples, papayas, mangoes, and lemon peel.

My favourite teas at the moment are fruity teas, and although they had a huge selection of fruity teas, I picked this one because it smelled really fruity and sweet. The mangoes in it smelled so good! I enjoyed the fruity aroma and taste of this tea.
IMG_3255The boyfriend got the Jasmine Dragon Pearls, which smelled really good as well. Also, not sure if you notice on the cup, but the sleeve was an advertisement for a Japanese airline. All the workers spoke Japanese as well so I’m assuming this place is Japanese-run!
IMG_3252Here are the fancy and detailed glass cups you can get if you choose to drink your tea in store. We came 15 minutes before closing so there wasn’t a point of ordering it for here, it also cost a bit more.

I was reading reviews afterwards, and a food blogger mentioned that this seemed unsanitary since the top cups are just lying face up in the open.
IMG_3253All in all, we really enjoyed our fast but enjoyable visit to Pekoe Tea Lounge. I’m really glad we discovered this place, we will definitely be back again! I wish this place was open later because it would be perfect to go after a dinner date 😉

-Carmen

Pekoe Tea Lounge on Urbanspoon


Filed Under: coffee and tea, food & drink Tagged: antioxidants, black tea, cafe, coffee, green tea, healthy drinking, herbal tea, organic tea, rooibos, tea, tea lounge, tea tasting

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Hello!

Hi and welcome to Curiously Carmen! I am Carmen, the girl behind the blog. You can read more about me here!

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