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Curiously Carmen

45 Degree Bubble Tea House

October 2, 2018

While hanging out with Cola and the monkeys downtown, Cola suggested we grab some bubble tea here. 45 Degree Bubble Tea House is a small little cafe off West Pender, close to Stanley Park and the seawall. It was pretty quiet when we came on a weekend afternoon.

I was planning on getting bubble tea that evening with friends, so I didn’t order anything here but the rest of them did.

Milk tea with pearls: The boyfriend got his usual, a regular milk tea with pearls. It was fragrant and one of the better milk teas he has had. He said that the pearls were fresh and chewy as well.

Lavender milk tea: Cola ordered a lavender milk tea, which she had no complaints about.

Strawberry slush with pearls: Monkey 1 had the strawberry slush, which she enjoyed.

Mango slush with coconut jelly: Monkey 2 had the mango slush, which she enjoyed too.

Since we were in the area, 45 Degree was convenient and we would probably go back should we crave some bubble tea!

Yay!

 

45 Degree Bubble Tea House Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato


Filed Under: coffee and tea, food & drink, taiwanese

Boba Monster

September 14, 2018

A couple of weeks ago, I was meeting up with my cousins and they suggested on going to Boba Monster. It is one of their go-to bubble tea places. I’m glad that I tried it because it was delicious!

Strawberry mango slush with pearls: I can’t remember what my cousins ordered, so I’ll just describe my own. The slush had a nice consistency and was the perfect sweetness for me.

There was a good balance of fresh mango and strawberry. In addition, the pearls were sweet and chewy.
Mango sago: The mango sago was one of their specialty drinks. It was a fresh mango slush with mango chunks, mango stars, and sago. Maki opted to get it without whipped cream. She didn’t have any complaints about it, and I thought that the mango stars looked really pretty inside the drink!

Matcha red bean: Nigiri ordered the matcha red bean, another one of their specialty drinks! The boyfriend has been ordering this the past couple of times now too. It came with matcha slush and red bean, topped with mochi, whipped cream, and more red bean.

I would recommend this if you’re a fan of red bean! Red bean is just average to me so I wouldn’t order it myself. But I enjoyed the matcha portion of it.
After a couple visits, we discovered that Skip The Dishes offers free delivery over $20!!! How convenient (and bad) is that! We took advantage of this deal while babysitting my cousins, because it’s only worth it if you have 4+ people. Otherwise, you would have to pay $4.75 delivery fee plus tips.

Boba Monster has not yet disappointed and I can see us coming here more often for our bubble tea fix. Especially during board games night, we can take advantage and order it with friends. Service is friendly and quick too!

Yay!

Boba Monster Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato


Filed Under: coffee and tea, food & drink

Food: PappaRoti – Two Visits

June 21, 2018

After spending a few hours at the aquarium with Sangria and Lager, we decided to go to Sura for dinner because we’re not in this area often. But with amazing food, comes with long waits… so we decided to pop on over to PappaRoti to see what snacks there were, because we were all STARVING by the time we finished going to the aquarium! And it was going to be at least a 45 minute to 1 hour wait.

It was a great decision because we discovered their signature roti bun.

PappaRoti is located on the corner of the street across from Sura, which is how it caught Sangria’s eyes in the first place. I don’t remember the exact street but it is along Denman, where all the delicious food is at.
The inside of the cafe is pretty cute, with different styles of chairs and tables which end up matching perfectly. It’s a good place to get those Instaworthy photos.
None of us have tried Papparoti before, so we were unsure of what to get. But since the menu was mainly advertising the roti bun, the four of us decided to get two to share.

They have an original without any toppings, or you can choose from the special creations pictured above. The special creations are a few dollars more.

Original bun, $4.00: After waiting a couple of minutes for them to warm it up, a plate of heavenly goodness arrived at our table.

At first sight, it reminded me of the Chinese pineapple buns which I grew up eating and absolutely adore. Time to dig in!
The original bun was absolutely DELICIOUS. The outside is dusted with a light layer of crispy caramel and coffee. Inside, the bun is incredibly fluffy and soft and has a tiny bit of salted butter. The sweet and salty ratio go together perfectly. With the crispy caramel and coffee, it was a match made in heaven.
A month later, I was hanging out with Latte in this area again and I suggested we check it out. She was very excited to try it after I described how good the bun was.

Iced karak tea: This is a black tea with a variety of different spices and cream. I didn’t try any but Latte thoroughly enjoyed the drink.

Strawberry fields, $7.00~ish: We shared the strawberry fields, which is the original bun with a side of fresh strawberries and whipped cream. It was just as delicious as the first vist and the fresh strawberries were a nice addition too.

Overall, I’m glad that we stumbled upon this place by accident. I guess we have the long lines at Sura to thank. It looks like there are a couple locations around the Lower Mainland, in Chinatown and Coquitlam. I’d highly recommend trying their original bun! You won’t regret it.

Yay!

PappaRoti Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato


Filed Under: coffee and tea, dessert, food & drink

Jia Plus Fusion Cafe

September 9, 2016

I don’t know about you, but I rarely venture out to Pitt Meadows. There hasn’t ever really been a reason to hang out in Pitt Meadows, until now! One of my friends opened up a cute little cafe in Pitt Meadows last year, in Osprey Village.

We were pretty surprised at how fast the drive was to Pitt Meadows! It was a bit under 30 minutes from Burnaby. Without traffic, the drive is really smooth and easy.
Jia Plus10 Osprey Village is a new development in Pitt Meadows right by the river. It reminded me of a quaint little seaside village, similar to Steveston but a lot more quieter, community focused, and no salt water smell.

There is one central street, which is lined with little boutique stores. There is also plenty of parking, and also a big parking lot for visitors!
Jia Plus9If you didn’t already guess by the name, Jia Plus serves Asian style beverage and snacks. All the syrups are made daily by Vicky, and the teas are brewed fresh! The price is really reasonable as well.

Jia Plus1The cafe has five tables inside and does not feel cramped at all. There are also a couple of patio seats, which are perfect for the summer! The high ceilings and warm lights makes it feel very comfortable.

The artwork inside the cafe is actually a partnership with a local art gallery down the block, and customers are able to purchase the original pieces.
Jia Plus5Passion fruit green tea w/ pearls: It had all the qualities that I looked for in a bubble tea, and more. The jasmine green tea and a really fragrant and floral flavour, which is my absolute favourite when it comes to green tea. I am very picky about my jasmine green tea and this one tasted absolutely perfect. In addition, the pearls had the perfect chewy consistency and tasted fresh.

Unfortunately, I don’t recall exactly what my friends ordered. However, they all also really enjoyed their drinks!
Jia Plus6Ramen: Apart from the drinks, Jia Plus also has some food items as well! The majority of us ordered the ramen. Vicky cooks the broth from scratch, and you can really taste the quality in it. The ramen also comes with a slice of tender pork, egg, and bamboo shoots. It was very comforting and filling, perfect for the cloudy day when we visited.
Jia Plus7BBQ Chicken Rice Bowl: I know, it doesn’t look like a rice bowl right? The rice was actually underneath the greens! Sadly, I didn’t get to try this because the dressing had dairy in it. However, my friends are also all foodies and I trust their opinion when they said it was really good!
Jia Plus8Jia Plus also offers cute little macaroons!

All in all, Jia Plus is a fantastic little cafe with one of the best green teas in the Vancouver area. Everything is made with quality, and you can definitely taste it.

yay-nay-or-meh

Yay!

JIA PLUS Fusion Cafe Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato


Filed Under: coffee and tea, food & drink, japanese, taiwanese Tagged: asian fusion, bubble tea, cafe, coffee shop, food, food blog, food blogger, foodie, ramen

Cafe Joie

May 3, 2016

Cafe Joie is a little cafe across from Metrotown. I’ve always seen many cute pictures online, so I didn’t pass the opportunity to check it out myself when my friend invited me to come along!

However, I must say that a cafe is probably one of the worst places, food wise, that I can go to. I can’t have caffeine, can’t have dairy, and I don’t have a sweet tooth. That is like 80% of menus at all cafes, but I still go once in awhile to check them out =P

Cafe JoieAlthough it looks pretty small on the outside, it is pretty spacious inside. It got pretty busy throughout our visit, and the line never stopped and tables were mostly full.

Luckily, we scored the only big, round,wooden table at the side of the cafe! It was probably the most comfortable seating in the cafe, as the other tables were pretty cramped together.
Cafe Joie 4They also have cute, bear shape macarons with little ears on them in their display! As well, they have cake slices.
Cafe Joie 2The four of us also got a drink each! Starting from top right, going clockwise:

Green tea latte w/ almond milk: Cinnamon wanted skim milk, but unfortunately they were sold out that day and replaced it with almond milk with no charge. She found it to be really sweet and asked them to make it again without sweetener.

Fancy rooibos tea: Since I can’t have dairy nor caffeine, herbal teas or juices are pretty much  my only drink options at a cafe. The rooibos tea had a strong flavour, and had a fragrant rose smell to it.

London fog: Cocoa had no complaints about her latte!

Nutella latte: This is as good as it sounds. Espresso + velvety milk + nutella! If I could have dairy and caffeine, I would have definitely ordered this as well! Lollipop loved it and described it as drinking warm nutella. Yum!
Cafe Joie 3Green tea waffle, $10.99: Cocoa and Lollipop shared this delicious waffle, topped with green tea ice cream, moci, whipped cream, almonds, kiwi, and strawberry. They both LOVED this waffle and said it was absolutely scrumptious.

I tried a bit of the waffle that didn’t touch the caffeinated green tea or dairy. It was very sweet, soft, and fluffy!

Overall, I would recommend Cafe Joie as a place to study or just hang out with friends. The waffles are definitely worth trying and great for sharing!

yay-nay-or-meh

Yay!

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen

Cafe Joie Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato


Filed Under: coffee and tea, dessert, food & drink

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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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