cafe Archives - Curiously Carmen

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.
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!
If 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.

The 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.
Passion 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!
Ramen: 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.
BBQ 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 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!

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.

Upon 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.

I 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.

I 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.
The 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!
Here 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.
All 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

East Cafe

March 16, 2014

East Cafe has this certain charm to it. Maybe it’s the atmosphere, or the genuine service, or their vintage Vancouver decor and photographs. I came here with two friends recently and we had a wonderful time.
I love the vintage bicycles on their walls. They also have pictures of Vancouver from the past, which I really love..

It also gives East Cafe a really local feel to it which I love. There were a lot of pictures from hockey teams in the 1900s, different bands, as well as what different neighbourhoods looked like.

Vegetarian panini on grilled foccacia with roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, roma tomatoes, Swiss cheese, spinach, and pesto mayo. All paninis are served with a hot pepper and Lays chips.
Prosciutto panini with boccincini cheese, roma tomatoes, red onions, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and pesto mayo. The prosciutto and pesto was amazing!
Montreal smoked meat panini with Swiss cheese, mustard, and caramelized onions. Again, this was so good! The melted Swiss cheese was so delicious and dreamy.
Almond croissant with filling. So good! Light, fluffy, and crispy!
Nutella cookie. It tasted like homemade cookies, which is good and bad. Good because it’s delicious and gives you a comfy feeling, but bad because you can easily just bake this at home for a cheaper price.

This was my second time, and I didn’t order espresso this time. I ordered a wildberry tea, which I asked for iced and they gladly accommodated my requests. I have had the espresso here before though, I would say that it’s quality espresso and has a sweet and fresh finish to it. You can really taste the quality in it.

All in all, although East Cafe is relatively new, it has made it’s mark in Vancouver’s coffee culture. East Cafe exhibits an authentic and local character, while still staying cute and charming. Of course, their food and drink is absolutely delicious as well.