Hapa Izakaya @Kitsilano 1-A whole new experience ;)

The first Hapa Izakaya I went to was their Yaletown location (post here) and I didn't really like it. I like the food, though. It's just the atmosphere wasn't quite right for me...maybe that's just only me hmm :/

Anyway, so why would I end up in their Kitsilano location? Dine Out Vancouver is the answer to the question (yes I know it was long long time ago...) My friend invited me to go Dine out with her at Hapa; however, the Dine Out Vancouver menu was only available at their Kitsilano location. So before heading to the YVR airport that night, I decided to give myself a little break from all the school work, and went to Hapa with my friend as a treat for myself :)

Takifugu Japanese Dining-Japanese Tapas?

It's almost the end of May; I've been living a hectic life over the past few weeks. Busy weeks, busy weeks and luckily, they are finally coming to an end. Since I still got work to do tonight, I decided to stay in Richmond for an easy saturday dinner.

Scroll down the wishlist on Urbanspoon, and ah, Takifugu looked pretty good to me.

Michi Waffle & Espresso Bar-A good ending to my long weekend :)

Actually right after we finished parking, EU recalled there's a waffle place on Robson Street that she has always wanted to try. Since we didn't order much in Banana Leaf, we decided to visit that waffle place.

The Eatery-Astro Boy?!

There are a few restaurants that appear in both EU and my wishlists. When it comes to sushi places, we are always looking for special rolls, and of course, sashimi! (Well, at least for me)

Last weekend when we were strolling around Kitslano, I saw The Eatery, and that reminded EU of their loooonggggg menu. Since it coincidentally appeared on our wishlists, we decided to give it a try this weekend.

Juno Vancouver Sushi Bistro-Everything fits!

After watching Robin Hood in Richmond, it's time for dinner. It's a sunny Saturday in Vancouver today! EU suggested to try a Vietnamese restaurant in Richmond, but given the wonderful weather today, I decided to go for something farther. Then Juno came to EU's mind because it was on our Wish Lists. Yaletown? A good place for an easy dinner. Japanese restaurant? Oh yeah. So Yaletown off we go!

Gyoza King

The weather in Vancouver is getting better and better everyday even though it's still very windy sometimes. EU has finally finished all her final exams, so we decided to have a little shopping spree to celebrate her free post-exam period and, to celebrate the arrival of spring ;)

Originally, we planned to have Viet Sub (mainly because both of us MISS their subs so much); however, they had coincidentally run out of french bread. Of course, we were very disappointed. Then, EU suggested Kingyo, which is on Denman Street. Even though I was not feeling Japanese that day, Kingyo seemed a good idea since I've already heard its name for a couple times. As we were taking #5 bus, EU said she actually meant Gyoza King instead of Kingyo! Luckily I found out the right after we got on the bus......so there we went, the "legendary" Gyoza King.

Hapa Izakaya @Yaletown-Hapa Izakaya?

I should say Hapa Izakaya is the first izakaya I have heard of when I first came to Vancouver. Maybe for that reason, I have always wanted to try either one of the three Hapa Izakayas (Kitsilano, Robson and Yaletown), especially the one in Robson. However, with the wide selection of izakaya in Vancouver, I've never got the chance to give them a try :P

After having a super-filling lunch with EU at Maple Castella, EU and I decided to have a lighter meal to end our day. Want a fast and satisfying meal? Izakaya is a good choice. My izakaya wishlist? Hapa Izakaya. Okaaayy, so off we went!

Dulcinea Chocolate Cafe-Delicioso!

After having lunch at Barefoot Kitchen, we decided to go for some dessert. Yes, there are many dessert places nearby, such as Beard Papa's, Marble Slab Creamery, Cupcakes, Qoola, and even Barefoot Kitchen itself! However, we decided to go for some gooey-ooey chocolate! :)

Bubble Queen #2

After visiting Bubble Queen on Monday, I have been craving for their Matcha Red Beans Egg Waffle lately! So...I decided to satisfy my craving tonight, with my foodie buddy, EU, again.

Bubble Queen
1200-8888 Odlin Crescent, Richmond BC

Ratings
1:Yucks! 2:Improvement needed 3:So-So~ 4:Good 5:Very good 6:Heavenly

Food: 6 (only based on their egg waffles; but I know everyone has a different taste on egg waffles)
Price: 5.5
Service: 6
Ambiance: 5.5
Overall: 6

• Mon-Thur 2pm-9pm Fri 2pm-midnight Sat 12pm-midnight Sun 12pm-6pm
• Cozy place; suitable for teenagers
• Super friendly and patient owner (Vivian)
• Large variety of drinks available
• Flexible choices
• Egg waffles (aka Bubble waffles), snacks, thick sliced toasts, casual meals and seasonal desserts available
• Many egg waffle flavours available (Is Bubble Queen the only restaurant to offer different flavours of egg waffles?)
• Magazines available (English, Chinese and Japanese)
• Free Wi-fi
• TV on the wall
• Dine in/Take out
• Popular to locals (esp. teenagers)
• Take-out menus are not 100% accurate; the menu they have is more detailed and has more choices!
  (For more detailed menus, please visit a little sweet treat for Eu)
• Limited seatings
• *Remember to check the pictures here and the white/glass board next to their counter! All the new flavours of both drinks and egg waffles are on the board!

We arrived about 5:40pm and we were the only customers at that time. The owner, Vivian, was not there, but there's another young lady busy preparing some batter. About 6pm, more and more people arrived and had almost filled up the whole store!

Blueberry Slush with Aloe Vera Cubes-5.5/6

• $4 ($3 for drink, +$1 for Aloe Vera Cubes)
• Made from frozen blueberries
• I don't think they blend in any ice. It's thick but not icy. I like it.
• I ordered "No Sugar Added", and they really did a good job on that :) It's 100% unsweetened (Well, I know some bubble tea places normally ignore this request).

• Loaded with Aloe Vera CHUNKS!

Matcha Red Beans Egg Waffle-6/6

• $3.50
• One of their new flavours
• Like last time, I asked for a thicker batter for this waffle. And the result...it was served warm, very chewy and very soft! It was very soft and chewy that I could gently tear them apart (see below photo)! I like the texture very much!

• LOADED with red beans!!!
• The red beans were not overly-sweetened.
• BOTH green tea and red bean flavour were there!
• With +$0.50 more than the regular ones, I think this is totally worth it.

(Image from a little sweet treat for Eu)

Oreo Cookie Egg Waffle-4/6

• $3.50
• One of their new flavours
• You can compare this egg waffle with the one I had. Apparently, this is harder than the Matcha one. I think it's a bit too hard and crispy for my liking, but EU likes it a lot.

• Same as the one I had, this was LOADED with oreo cookies!

*EU also ordered a Raspberry Slush with Aloe Vera Cubes, you can visit her blog for more info on that :)

Bubble Queen-Queen of Egg Waffles!

I have always been looking for the best egg waffle in Richmond. But after having the waffles from Rainbow Cafe yesterday, I am even more desperate to find one. EU has suggested Bubble Queen before, but due to it's odd location (to me), I have never got the chance to try their drinks and egg waffles.

Originally, we planned to buy a loaf of pumpkin bread from Maple Castella; however, all pumpkin bread were already sold out when we got there :( So, EU came up with a brilliant idea-go to Bubble Queen and try their egg waffles! Egg waffles? Sure, why not? ;D

Chau Kitchen & Bar

Excellent Tofu & Snack Ltd-Mung Bean Journey #3

Tofu has always been one of my favourite food :) No matter it is the tofu skin, hard tofu, or soft tofu, as long as it's tofu, I'm ok with it.

Saturday night, after having dinner with EU, we decided to grab a dessert. But since I am not craving for any mung bean dessert (from Bubble Fruity or Dessert Kitchen), and for some reason, EU wanted to have some tofu that night. With a doubt, we end up in Excellent Tofu & Snack Ltd for a quick tofu dessert.

Excellent Tofu & Snack Ltd
#160-4231 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond BC

Ratings
1:Yucks! 2:Improvement needed 3:So-So~ 4:Good 5:Very good 6:Heavenly

Food: 5 (for their desserts only)
Price: 6
Services: 5.5
Ambiance: 2.5
Overall: 4.5

• As you can see from its name, they are popular for their home-made tofu products
• Drinks (soy bean milk), desserts, and snacks available
• Large variety of desserts (actually the difference is the toppings you choose; the base is still tofu pudding)
• Healthier dessert choices
• Offer hot and cold desserts
• Popular to Chinese
• Tofu puddings are made fresh everyday
• Late nights on Friday and Saturday
• Limited parking spaces (or you can park in Aberdeen Centre)
• Ginger syrup and plain syrup available
• Dine in/Take out

Mung Beans & Tofu Pudding-4.5/6

• $3.25
• They microwaved the mung beans and put them on top of the tofu pudding
• It is too watery for me
• I chose mung beans (as always) because the picture on the menu looks so good! But when it looked different when it came. I wish they can give me more topping
• The tofu pudding is not hot enough. I am sure it will be taste better if everything comes (smoking) hot
• It is 100% pure-no preservative or sugar added (I'm not sure about the mung beans though)
• You can choose to add either ginger syrup or plain syrup; you can find both bottles on the table so you can add as much as want
• I'm not sure about this but EU told me that the ginger syrup is also a home-made product by Excellent Tofu & Snack Ltd

Taro & Tofu Pudding-4/6

• $3.25
• Again the dessert appears to be really watery
• I'm not a fan of taro but EU seemed to enjoy this dessert a lot, so I guess it must be pretty good

The also offer other snacks, including Chinese pastries and Cold Tofu Topped With Preserved Egg. I will like to come back and check out their snacks and drinks! :)

Twinkle 2-A Little Star...Jelly

Twinkle 2
#125-8291 Alexandra Rd, Richmond BC

Ratings
1:Yucks! 2:Improvement needed 3:So-So~ 4:Good 5:Very good 6:Heavenly

Food: 3.5 (haven't tried their snacks)
Price: 5
Servces: 4.5
Ambiance: 5
Overall: 4.5

• Used to be a division of Twinkle 1 (also in Richmond Alexandra Rd), but I think they have separated now
• Large variety of drinks
• Popular and suitable for teenagers
• Suitable for a large crowd
• Group-games and magazines (mainly Chinese) available
• Suitable for all ages
• Taiwanese restaurant
• Have different special drinks
• Twinkle's special star-shaped jelly
• Snacks available
• Late night

Passion Fruit Green Tea Slush w/ Star Jelly and Oreo Cookie Slush w/ Star Jelly-5/6 (for Passion Fruit Slush), n/a (for Oreo Cookie Slush)

• I forgot the price but I remember Twinkle 2's drinks are more expensive than other regular bubble tea places
• Passion Fruit Green Tea Slush is so good! Its sweetness is suitable for me
• The star jellies are really chewy. They have several flavours for you to choose on the menu, such as grape, apple, peach, etc.
• I didn't try the Oreo Cookie Slush
• The cups are bigger than I thought. Are they bigger than other regular bubble teas?

Chicken Teppanyaki With Rice-n/a

• I didn't try this and sorry for not-so-appealing photo
• I don't remember the exact price but I think it's about $7-8
• It comes with some side veggies

Three Spice Chicken With Rice-3.5/6

• It is also about $7-8
• Their three spice chicken are acceptable but I have had better ones
• The dish was served warm; I wish it could come hotter
• Talking about presentation, to be honest, I don't like restaurants putting all sides, mains and rice/noodles together on a plate (maybe that's just me)

I know Twinkle 2 has snacks too. But I hope they can expand their food menu a bit. On the other hand, I was walking pass Twinkle 1 the other day and saw their food menu is richer than Twinkle 2! They actually have some Japanese style hotdogs as well! (Don't know what I mean? Think the famous Japadog in Vancouver downtown. AHA!)

I will sure come back for their drinks...but I will rather go to the nearby Well Tea for a quick Taiwanese snack/meal.

Kakurenbou Japanese Dining-Open Sesame!

I was flipping through some magazines few weeks ago and saw there was a new izakaya opened in downtown. Curious enough, I decided to give it a try. Also, given the fact that it is during the Winter Olympics, I would love to visit downtown and experience the "GO! CANADA! GO!"

What is the best way to go to downtown? Bring your buddy with you! (or you can bring your map too if you want) So, I brought my foodie buddy, EU, with me to experience the enthusiasm of the people, with a taste of this new izakaya :)

As we were walking along Robson Street, people were cheering and some even stood outside the stores and watched TV. I love this atmosphere.

When we arrived Jervis Street, my one-and-only guide EU immediately reminded me to make a right turn. At first, I stood outside their door and could not see any lights in the restaurant. I then gave them a call and asked them whether they're opened or not. Suddenly, a Japanese girl came out and opened the door for us. I was really pleased by her services.

There was a big, old, heavy, wooden door when I entered. Kakurenbou is even larger than I expected!

Kakurenbou Japanese Dining
#793 Jervis St., Vancouver BC

Ratings
1:Yucks! 2:Improvement needed 3:So-So~ 4:Good 5:Very good 6:Heavenly

Food: 4
Price: 4
Services: 5
Ambiance: 5.5
Overall: 4.5

• Authentic Japanese restaurant
• Chefs, waitress, bar tender are all Japanese
• Suitable for hang-outs
• Large variety of cocktails available
  
  
• Interesting interior design
• Menu is not large in variety. To be honest, EU and I had a hard time deciding what to order
• I could only see one waitress (who is the girl), so services were a bit slow
• Mon-Sun 5:30pm-midnight

Strawberry Pineapple Cocktail-4.5/6

• I don't remember its actual name and price
• Strawberry flavour is stronger than the pineapple, but overall both flavours blend well together
• Yes, it's a cocktail but I don't think they put much alcohol in it

Orange and Ginger Cocktail-3/6

• again I don't remember its actual name and price
• Hmmm...this cocktail's flavour is not as appealing as the first one. I could taste a little bit orange flavour and some ginger flavour. I wish they could add more ginger to this cocktail.
• Same as the first cocktail, they didn't put much alcohol in it

Tuna Tataki-4/6

• I don't remember the price
• It came smaller than I expected
• I like the onions they served on the side; it tastes good with the tuna tataki
• I didn't try the sauce they gave us but I think it's a ginger mix soy sauce
• Tuna is soft and fresh
• This is a really common dish so it doesn't really require any skills

Pan fried Mochi Pizza-4.5/6

• Sorry no price again!
• This came as a surprise to me. I thought their pizza was going to be the mini version of Pizza Hut/Domino's. However, the crust of this pizza is thin and crispy! It's like eating biscuits!
• There are mochi on top but I think it will be better if they add more
• It is served with Tobasco sauce on the side, so you can choose whether to add it or not (I didn't add)
• Looks like it got too much cheese on top? No worry! The mozzarella cheese in this pizza is not that heavy
• It is not those heavy, super-filling pizzas you have in the typical Western restaurants. EU and I finished the whole pizza and we were still able to have desserts afterwards. Haha

Grilled Cod Fish-4.5/6

• No price again
• The cod fish is actually pretty big. Oh, or I should use the word "long" instead of "big".
• The fish tastes good but it's a bit salty for me. Thus, I squeezed some lemon juice on top-yummy! problem solved! ;)
• I remember there are quite a number of tiny, thin bones in cod fish. So be careful when you eat this.