Thierry Cafe

Thierry located at 1059 Alberni Street. The newest creation by Chef Thierry, the patisserie of the Cin Cin and West restaurant group. The place to showcase his chocolate and dessert creations.





We chose to try the assorted macarons. At over $11 for 7, these are some expensive macarons. In comparison to some that we have tried at other bakeries and restaurants, I have to say these are very exquisite. For the fruit flavored ones, there is a little preserve sandwiched inside the macaron.

I enjoy the fruit flavors over the chocolate as the chocolate caramel that I tried was still on the sweet side, although not nearly as sweet as some I have tried before. The macaron itself was light, airy and delicate to the touch.



I tried the mocha offered and realized that they did not use liquid chocolate as Farbourg does, so it was not a very satisfying mocha give its size and price.

As we were only here briefly we did not have time to try the other desserts offered here. I have to say that visually the desserts looked better than the pastries, but I will have to come back and try both of them before I can make judgement.

What I like, the cozy atmosphere and the dessert display

What I did not like, the specialty coffees are expensive compared to all the other coffee shops in the area. Based just on the mocha I tried, I did not find the coffee strength or flavor to match its price point.

Nu Greek food cart

Nu Greek opened a few weeks ago on Granville and Georgia Street. When I arrived at lunch time there was a line of about 5 people in front of me.

Thanks to a coupon deal I was able to try this newest street cart addition. The service was slow for a food cart, the line of 5 people in front of me made this a close to 20 minute wait.

The souvlaki wrap choices include chicken or lamb. Your choices are simple as toppings only included tomatoes or onions with the tzaziki sauce. For my version I chose only tomatoes. The Greek style pita is thick and fluffy. IMO the lamb souvlaki was over seasoned and way too salty. Even when combined with the pita, the saltiness overpowers all the other favors. They were very generous on the tzaziki sauce. The sauce had a little too much garlic for my tastes, but the sauce does help to offset the saltiness of the meat.

At 6.50, the lack of vegetables and lettuce in the wrap make this seem overpriced. La Brassiere operates across the street and offers their burger at the same price point. lthough they have a really good location, close to the granville skytrain station, I have to say I probably would not come back here. With so many food carts downtown, competition is fierce. Although at a reasonable price point, I do not think their flavors are distinct enough for me to revisit.

I liked the location. Lamb is a hard to find street vendor ingredient.

I did not like the over salted meat and the lack of lettuce in the wrap.

Milestones on west 4th

I do not normally choose to review a chain, but there is always a first time.

Milestones is part of the scene program, so you can also earn scene points when you eat here.

Our selection tonight included
Artichoke dip, kobe beef sliders, tomato soup, watermelon and beet salad.

The Place Restaurant

Address: 6028 Granville St
Tel: 604 261 3948

Located at a central location, diagonally across from Safeway, this unassuming Chinese restaurant has been my favorite for a few years now. Selling good value and large portions, this small restaurant offers both Szechuan food as well as northern China dim sum dishes.

I have yet to try everything on the extensive menu, but here are some of the things that I like from this place.

Beef Roll. Although a popular dish at many Taiwanese restaurants, this version tastes a lot lighter. They balance the marinated beef with some Hoisin sauce and print onions. I do not normally like to eat spring onions, but the onions are a perfect addition in this case



Ji-Cai Dumpling soup. This is my favorite dumpling. I come back here time and time again. The dumpling is filled with mostly vegetable, with a little meat. The skin of the dumpling is ever so slightly chewy when you bite into it, which gives it the perfect consistency. I have no idea what type of leafy vegetable Ji-Cai is, but I love this dumpling! The simple egg floss, seaweed and parsley soup makes sure the dumpling is center stage. Lightly salted and the perfect vegetable to meat ratio. I always have to buy some frozen dumplings when I come for dinner so that I can enjoy it at home as well.





Braised beef and tomato noodle soup. The soup has a nice tartness from the tomatoes that balances out the flavor of the noodles. This dish has evolved from when the restaurant first opened to now. The tomato flavor has been enhanced and the beef is now always tender. I love the homely feel when you eat this.

What I like:

• Homely feeling of the restaurant.
  
• Good food and large portions.

What I did not like:

• presentation is non existent. Don't expect fancy plates, just lots of good food

Trader Joe's mango red quinoa and chicken salad.

We decided to try another salad from Trader Joe's while deciding what to eat for dinner.

We chose the quinoa salad as this was harder to find at regular grocery stores.

I love the quinoa and mango as the contrasting textures makes this a delightful salad. The curry chicken pieces also go perfectly with the whole salad. The description in the cover is misleading as the vinaigrette was more of a curry sauce than a chilli dressing.

Imo the sweet curry vinigrette could do with less sugar and more ground pepper. I used less than one third of the sauce and still found the salad to be very flavorful

Another winner from my favorite TJs!

Cute pearl tea house.

I have been to this place a few times in the last few years. What I always come back for is their pudding milk tea. Why? They actually make the pudding properly. Its soft and not overly sweet. Combined with the milk tea it adds just the perfect texture that you do not need to add any pearls to it.

This time around I noticed the mugs that the drink was served in was larger than before. Always a plus when you get more for what you pay for.

We ordered the spicy pork blood with pork intestines. The order comes with rice and 3 side dishes. The side dishes included a bunched baby bak choy, preserved vegetable with egg, and fried Tofu in tomato sauce. The egg and preserved vegetable stir fry was super salty. The other 2 sides were standard fair. The spicy pork blood pot was too salty, although that is pretty standard for taiwaneese fair. They did give a generous portion of pork blood but skimped on the pork intestines. Again the preserved vege simmering in the pot made it overly salty

What I like

• The pudding bubble tea is the best i've tasted.
• Comfortable setting.

What I didn't like

• Over seasoned and mediocre sides.

I would come here for the bubble tea, but if i' m looking for good quality taiwanese food in the same area, I would rather go to BBT cafe.

Swiss bakery

Swiss bakery on main and 2nd is a small bakery located in an industrial area. They offer lots ot baked goods that you don't see at other Valerie.

I tried the peach danish and chocolate croissant. I loved the fluffy and light texture of the croissant. It was much lighter than the ones at Cobbs bread.

The peach danish had a fluffy and crunchy outside with the peach and custard filling at the center. I loved that as a whole the pastry was light and not overly sweet, a perfect compliment to any beverage.

The bakery also has a large selection of cakes. They also offer sandwiches served on artisan bread. Unfortunately there was no soup available during the weekend. I will definitely come back to try some of the cakes.

What l liked:

• Lightly airy pastry
• Peach danish lightly sweetened
  

What I didn't like:

• Location was hidden
• Not a lot of seating room