sweet tooth Archives - Curiously Carmen

Beta5

May 10, 2015

Hi everyone!

Last month, the boyfriend and I were heading back from somewhere (I forget now) and I suddenly had the idea to stop by Beta 5 and finally try their famous cream puffs!

Beta 5 is tucked away and hidden in an industrial part of the city. We weren’t sure that we were in the right place, but I felt confident because my fellow food bloggers had said it was pretty hidden. There isn’t much in that area, but I did see some of my favourite food trucks parked there which was pretty cool!

The inside was a lot nicer looking than the exterior. Beta 5 is a pretty small place, there is no room for customers to sit down and order. I think this is because they are mostly a neat little chocolate factory, but decided to open up a small area for customers to come in and buy their goodies.

There were beautiful, pristine displays of their many different kinds of award-winning chocolates. I was lucky enough to try a few pieces as one of our clients had brought it in to the office before.
We ordered the salted caramel and passionfruit coconut cream puffs. Both of these came to approximately $9. If you buy four, it is 0.50 cents cheaper for each but we didn’t feel like ordering more. You place your order with one of their friendly workers, who types it down in an iPad. Shortly afterwards, another worker will bring out your cream puffs from the kitchen.
The salted caramel cream puff had a rich caramel flavour to it, but it wasn’t overwhelming sweet. The texture of the creme puff was fluffy and perfect, with a generous amount of filling.
We both liked the coconut/passionfruit cream puff a lot more than the salted caramel! The coconut and passion fruit flavours complemented each other perfectly and had a very smooth flavour. The boyfriend absolutely fell in love with this one and continues to rave about it to this day.

At first, the boyfriend was hesitant to come here as he wasn’t convinced that a cream puff could be THAT amazing, but did he change his mind after having the coconut/passionfruit one. He was even more enthusiastic about them than I was, and wanted to go back to buy more! I told him I was right and he should be glad that he listened to me 😉

Have you tried Beta 5 creme puffs yourself?

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen

The Last Crumb Bakery

March 16, 2015

Hi everyone,

Valentines Day for the boyfriend and I was mostly spent eating out and trying new places, we tried a total of 3 new restaurants in one day. In the afternoon, we went for brunch and dessert followed by a lovely dinner at The Fish House in Stanley Park.

I had my eyes set on taking him to The Last Crumb, since I thought he would enjoy the peanut butter pie! I called The Last Crumb to confirm that it was not a daily rotation special. They confirmed that it was baked year round, but could not guarantee it would be on the shelf since it is very popular.

We drive past this area quite often and Main Street is one of our favourite neighbourhoods in Vancouver to eat in, but I’ve never really noticed this place. I think because their sign is small and hanging on the top, so if you’re in a vehicle and looking out the window, it’s not at eye level? I always thought it was some kind of furniture or interior design store… not a bakery with yummy goodies!
The cafe is very spacious and simply decorated. I really liked how roomy it was in there, yet it didn’t feel too big. There is also a small alcove upstairs with more tables, and even a little play station for toddlers!
I’m happy to say that they still had the peanut butter pie! Obviously, it was a big hit with the boyfriend and he thought it was amazing. Peanut butter lovers, this one is for you. Very rich in peanut butter flavour and creamy, although the texture itself was a bit soft like whipped cream if that makes any sense.

I normally do not like peanut butter desserts, but I gave it a try anyways. I was pleasantly surprised to find it okay! I think it was due to the caramel drizzle and Reese peanut butter chunks inside that sealed the deal for me. I wouldn’t order this for myself, but wouldn’t mind having a few bites to share.

The crust was a layer of cookie crumbs. I want to say Oreo, but it was not sweet at all so it’s probably some other type of crust filling. It balanced the sweetness of the rest of the cake.
I wanted something for myself too, and ordered a herbal fruity tea called “Hanna’s picnic tea”. It was slightly sweet even though I didn’t add any sugar. It was also pretty concentrated in flavour.

I can’t believe I didn’t see this when we were going up the stairs, but look how interesting this is – real tea cups and saucers glued on to an otherwise plain wall!

This would be a nice place to get dessert after dinner, but sadly they are only open mornings until late afternoon.

Are you a peanut butter lover? Would you give the pie a try?

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen

Soft Peaks Ice Cream

March 4, 2015

Hi hi!

What type of food blogger would I be if I didn’t talk about the latest ice cream shop that has been taking Vancouver’s social media by storm? Can you guess which place I’m talking about? Yep, Soft Peaks Ice Cream! Soft Peaks is located in the cobblestone streets of Vancouver’s Gastown neighbourhood.
After hearing many stories of people waiting upwards of one hour for a cup of organic ice cream, I did not want to partake in that so we decided to not go on a weekend, which is probably when it’ll be the most busy. Finally, the boyfriend and I found time to go one weekday evening. There wasn’t much parking available and it’s probably easier to commute there, we paid for parking three blocks away.

Soft Peaks has very high walls, which gives it a spacious appearance. There is also a small alcove on the second floor where customers can enjoy their ice cream. Overall, I would say seating is pretty limited if the place was packed but it doesn’t feel cramped.
The girl at the counter was very friendly and had great service. We waited approximately 7-10 minutes for our soft serve, but it seemed a lot longer than that because I was really anticipating my order.

I was a bit surprised when I saw the size, I thought that for $7 it would be a bit bigger. But, quality over quantity?
The boyfriend ordered the rocky mountain with his choice of chocolate syrup. I was secretly hoping he would order the caramel syrup so that I could try it =P

Being the milk lover he is, he really, really, REALLY loved his soft serve. He emphasized how creamy and smooth it was, and how delicious the Avalon milk was. He would be back again in a heart beat. But what about those who don’t have a “soft” spot for dairy?
I ordered the mudslide, which came with crushed tim tam flakes. Unlike the boyfriend, I was not in love at first bite. I didn’t think it was amazing, but it wasn’t bad either as what seems to be the general consensus around this place.

Since the soft serve is made with organic Avalon milk instead of cream, the good thing meaning that it is lower in fat, but the negative thing might be that people aren’t used to this taste. When eating soft serve, people are accustomed to super sweet soft serve like at Dairy Queen or McDonalds.

Without the chocolate syrup and tim tam flakes, I would have found this very plain. I’m really glad that I had the chocolate and flakes which gave more excitement to an otherwise plain soft serve.

Another thing I noticed while reading reviews were that people were angry and felt ripped off because the soft serve had a giant hole in the middle! If I was paying $7 for a small sized soft serve, I would be angry too. I think they have since corrected the problem since my soft serve only had a slight hole and the boyfriend’s didn’t.

Soft Peaks had a great idea by re-inventing the soft serve with organic and high quality Avalon milk. The quality of the soft serve is definitely there, and it is very smooth but it is not the sweet soft serve that people are accustomed to.

-Carmen

PS. If you haven’t bought a bottle of Avalon milk before, you must try it on its own – the quality and smoothness of it is undeniable.

*Media sample provided by Soft Peaks. Opinions and thoughts are my own, and are not altered by the requests of the company.

Purebread

February 7, 2015

The latest and most popular bakery has hit the streets of Vancouver by the name of Purebread, which also has locations in Whistler. I have been eyeing Purebread since their construction days, as I pass by that area when I go to work each morning.

I remember their clever “coming soon” sign back in the Fall- your breakfast is t o a s t , with each letter in toast printed on a fake piece of bread. I had a feeling it would be hit among Vancouverites, and I was correct!
We came around 2 pm, and there was no lineup but most of the seats were filled up. It took us a bit to absorb all of the seemingly delicious pastries in front of us… there was so much to pick from! I’m glad there was three of us so that we could share and get more, as opposed to just coming alone.
I wish that Purebred would put a brief description on what is included in each pastry item, as I’ll explain below. All the food is behind a tall clear glass and is covered.

I ordered the avalanche bar because it looked pretty good and it reminded me of a rice krispie bar, which I haven’t had for awhile! However, when I took a bite I was a very disappointed. It didn’t specify that it was a peanut butter bar! If I had known, I wouldn’t have ordered it. I do like peanut butter, but not in pastries.

I gave some to my coworkers and ended up packing it back home as the boyfriend is a serious peanut butter addict. He thought this was simply amazing and was on cloud 9 after gobbling the whole thing up (in 5 seconds).

My coworker had a tough time deciding as well, but ended up chosing the raspberry brownie. It was moist and chewy, and wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet. It came with a layer of tart raspberry and custard inside.

I liked this a lot more than my avalanche bar… sorry, I’m still sour over how they didn’t bother to mention it was a peanut butter pastry >=( But I guess lesson learned, I’m going to make sure I ask what’s inside anything if there’s no description offered.

The last thing we got was a whoopie pie, made with two very sweet oatmeal cookies that were hard instead of chewy. The filling and oatmeal cookie went really well together, but it was a bit messy to eat. As you bite down on the cookie, the filling on the opposite size will ooze out.

Purebread is a good place to try out, the quality of the pastries is noticeable and service is friendly as well, with reasonable prices. Just be sure to ask what is inside the pastry if you’re not sure what is inside to avoid disappointment like I did.

However, they’re still relatively new so I shouldn’t be too hard on them – the quality was there, and I probably would have LOVED the bar if I was an avid peanut butter fan.

-Carmen