Crackle Creme is a relatively new cafe in Chinatown that specializes in creme brulee. As the Chinatown area slowly turns and adapts to modernization and hip places for the young, Crackle Creme definitely fits in perfectly. Nestled under a new apartment complex, it is located right on the edge of Chinatown by the Georgia viaduct.
After our semi-disappointing lunch at Pacifico Pizzeria, we decided to try our luck with this cafe. Sangria was back for Thanksgiving weekend, and she is a huge fan of creme brulee so it was the perfect opportunity to try this place out.
We went on a cloudy Sunday afternoon, and the streets were quieter than I expected. Because of this, it was a bit harder to find Crackle Creme because I thought that it would be busier there on a weekend.
We finally saw the sign a few stores prior, and the logo of Crackle Creme was a bit hard to read too. You can kind of see it on the glass window there, but not really if you’re far away or if you’re not specifically looking for the place. We knew this was the right place because of the sign out front advertising their goodies, it was definitely not from the window.
Out front, they have a small area for customers to enjoy their creme brulee. The table space is pretty small and cramped outside, there is probably only enough room to fit your creme brulee, which is perfectly fine because that’s what they specialize in.
The table is more of a thin wooden slab no more than 15 inches long I think? Unfortunately, it was too cold that day so we didn’t get to enjoy the seats out here and hipster watch teeheehee.Crackle Creme was pretty small, and there was only one person working, we assumed it was the owner. The table space inside was pretty tight too, as with the patio seating. We liked how there was self serve mint water, but two of us had to use the washroom really badly but we were told there was no washrooms =( So we decided to not drink any more water LOL.
After deciding on a flavour, they then takes a pre-made creme brulee from the fridge, sprinkles some sugar on top, and torch it in front of you. We agreed that the service seemed a bit cold and unwelcoming.
Sangria decided on getting the earl grey creme brulee ($5). She has a major sweet tooth, and really enjoyed her creme brulee. The flavours of the earl grey were really pronounced, had a great custard texture to it, and was very sweet.
For myself, I decided on getting the matcha creme brulee. I was happy that there was a strong matcha taste to this and that the top layer did in fact, crack as the company name suggests 🙂 However, I am the opposite of my friend and don’t have much of a sweet tooth, and couldn’t end up finishing it as it was waaaayy too sweet for me. Sangria helped me finish half of it. I’m not sure if I’m biased because I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but in retrospect, $5 for this seemed a bit overpriced for the size it was.
There are two types of people in this world, those that prefer savoury foods and those that prefer sweet foods. Pick your poison, I much prefer savoury and salty foods over sweets and desserts. Because of this, I didn’t enjoy Crackle Creme that much, and don’t think I would have a craving to come here again, and think that it is definitely over hyped (I’m sorry if you’re reading this and you hate me right now, but that is just my own personal opinion).
I would come back in the future if my friends wanted to, but I don’t think I would order another one by myself. If you love desserts and sweets, this place might be checking out. But if you’re like me and prefer a savoury bacon pepper potato hash (which is exactly what I cooked up this sunny afternoon) over an extremely sweet creme brulee, I wouldn’t recommend trying this place.
