EXO Concert Noms, Perugia, and Starbuck's V-Day Drink

I think one of the best things happened to me. My neighbor had extra tickets to EXO in Vancouver :O that was definitely an experience of a lifetime. To be honest, my k-pop knowledge was sort rusty D: definitely not on the level of most of the girls here.

They actually serve vegetarian hot dogs at the UBC Thunderbird Stadium. They were.. Meh. Nothing too special, just cheap food.

Also got a bag of popcorn to enjoy.

The UBC Music Undergraduate Student Association had $1 pancakes and waffles :D I went during passing period and ate on the way to my next class... I was almost late, but eh, totally worth it. 

Starbucks had V-Day specials! This is the molten lava hot chocolate. It has chocolate whipped cream and Java chips on the bottom. I can tell they used Hershey's chocolate syrup though... Kinda disappointing, but still good.

I finally got to try Perugia, which is on the other side of campus. Why can't my side of campus serve food like this >:( lol
Fatmine/Jaja-myung got the prosciutto flatbread, and I got the vegetarian eggplant panini. I really liked it; the panini tasted well balanced, pretty fresh, and was pleasing to the eye. The ingredients were nice and smooth :P yummmmm.

Galentine's Day and Singles Awareness Day Before Heading to Redmond

Before heading back to Seattle, my (actual) fam found a Taiwanese place called Ali Shan that had pretty good reviews. This place was not too bad. We got some noodles, omurice with pork and curry, fried rice, and Chinese pancakes with eggs. There wasn't anything that really stood out, but nothing sucked :P well, I guess the pancakes were my favorite. They had a good egg to pancake ratio :P mmmmm

We stopped by Blenz Coffee, and Sankiupo ordered hot dark and white chocolates, both candy cane flavored. They looked cool *__* didn't try it though, hahaha I think I should lay off hot chocolate for a while...

Enjoy.

I spent part of Galentine's Day at Oakridge (but since he's not a girl... Is Guylentine a thing. Why is Galentine a thing. Never mind, too complicated).  It was raining a lot too, and we both complained... Yet we still came here. Lol.

Mimibuloveme was difficult to find, but it's along Cambie, near Oakridge, and right across from the massive BC liquor store. Fatmine's club has a discount card here, so I knew I had to use that. I haven't had waffles in 5ever, so this made me happy. But $6 CAD? Eh, I guess the price is OK. I got nutella with banana, and he got strawberry. The outside was crunchy and the insides were nice and smooth :P that's a pretty solid waffle. Usually people serve bananas that are either too ripe or too raw, but these bananas were perfect; they shouldn't be too ripe and sweet because the other ingredients are already sweet enough. Plus, I don't like my bananas too mushy.

I had another lovely rainy adventure to Earnest Ice Cream with Salad and Cherry. The photo below is Salad's hot chocolate and cute Valentine :3

The featured ambrosia hot chocolate chocolate was amazing. There wasn't too much hot chocolate, and the ice cream balanced the spiciness of the drink. It was a party of flavors :P the cookie was nice too; I like crunchy cookies and brownies. I dipped it into the hot chocolate P:

I also stopped by Koko Monk to get expensive chocolate and to try the hot chocolate flight. I ordered them Vegan (to save my stomach from lactose pains). I also didn't know they came with macarons! I got Earl grey and salted caramel...mmm. 

The hot chocolates have really strong flavors, which my family didn't like....but I loved it, heehee. There's the Rashomon (green), Istanbul Blues (top left), and Wild Saje. The Rashomon is matcha and sake. It kind of tasted salty? The Istanbul had Ottoman root and cinnamon, and it was really thick; it actually burned my mouth, and when it cooled, it had the texture of pudding. The Wild Saje had Turkish coffee, and salted rose caramel. Both of these drinks had a thick flavor; they were sightly bitter, but not like coffee... Like cocoa powder. Yummy.

Family Day in Richmond ft. Fatmine and Pseudo Korean: Snowy Village, The Bubble Tea Shop, Well Tea

I haven't had a fatventure with Fatmine in a long time :P I also haven't seen Pseudo Korean in forever (I don't think I've ever introduced her. She's been on two fatventures with me). Anyways, let's get to it.

These Koreans know how to do their stuff, especially dessert. Below is taiyaki (which actually originated from Japan, but it's enjoyed throughout Asia and is a common street food in Korea. In Korea, they call it bungeoppang), but it's not your classic taiyaki; they used croissant batter, which makes them fluffier and crispier. They also have large grains of sugar on the surfaces :P

They come in three flavors: custard, sweet potato, and red bean. Custard was my favorite <3<3 

This is the best bingsu (shaved ice) I've ever had. I like places where the shaved ice isn't ice, but tiny shaved bits of frozen sweetened milk. It's much more delicate, and it melts in the mouth nicely. We ordered the cheesecake, which has bits of cake and almonds sprinkled on top. I think there's also cheesecake whipped cream? The chunks of cheesecake are Asian-styled cheesecake, which is more cake than cheese (common cheesecakes have a creamy texture, but some Asian cheesecakes have a spongy texture). The metal bowl stayed cold, which slowed the melting process. When we got the bottom, it tasted like cereal milk. I love this place so much.

I revisited the Bubble Tea Shop, but we were too full to get bubble waffles. I got a simply lychee green tea with grass jelly. My rewards card is so empty, lol.

We also tried Well Tea for the first time, and I was thoroughly impressed with their vegetarian menu. First, I wasn't expecting one since this was a Taiwanese restaurant (In Asia, meat is a delicacy, which is why they put it in everything). When I was reading the titles, they read "vegetarian chicken nuggets" and "vegetarian pork", so my first thought was that the translation of the dishes must be a bit inaccurate (common issue at Asian restaurants). Lol, I'm sorry, I have no faith in Asian restaurants  when it comes to vegetarian stuff xD When I got my "chicken nuggets", they tasted way too similar to actual chicken, which freaked me out a bit. I was fine with eating it, since I didn't want to waste food, but Pseudo Korean asked the waitress whether the order was correct anyways. She said they were made with soybeans and then flavored like chicken. I was dumbfounded; the chicken flavor was waaaay too similar. I seriously thought I was eating the real thing guys. :O Well Tea, tell me your secrets, hire me. I'm definitely going back here because I'm very curious to see what the other vegetarian dishes taste like. I'm so glad I got this.

It was also too much food ($10), so I took half of it home, lol.

I've also heard their bubble tea was pretty on point here. I usually don't like taro bubble tea because many of them taste so artificial or too starchy. Psuedo Korean ordered one, and it was made with real taro. She also ordered it with grass jelly; I was thoroughly impressed. It wasn't too sweet, and the flavor wasn't too overwhelming. She also ordered tofu and pork, which is the bottom right photo. Fatmine got fish cakes (top right). Down at the bottom left, we accidentally received fried pork :O Oh well.

HCA Part 3: Thomas Haas, Earnest Ice Cream, Mink Chocolates (totally accidental), Freshii, and Glory Juice (also accidental)

I made a specific plan to just go to Thomas Haas, Earnest, and Freshii...but it was a bit difficult to adhere to when there were two other places that I've been dying to go to >__> 

I loved this hot chocolate; it's called Mumbai Meets Paris, and the chai spices are superb. It's fragrant and tasteful, and the small cookie compliments the drink so well. I could also taste some citrus zest, which mitigated the sweetness.

I didn't know that Earnest's hot chocolate came with ice cream :D That made me happy. I got the vegan Cocoa Nucifera and vegan chocolate ice cream. I actually wish I got a different flavor just to experiment with my options...but I didn't want lactose issues either. Problems guys, problems.

The hot chocolate was pretty simple, except for the coconut milk, which was very evident. I had a hard time deciding between this flavor and their Ambrosia, which was a spicy hot chocolate...gah maybe next time. Maybe.

In an attempt to clean out my super unhealthy diet, I got two different green smoothies. Ha, who am I kidding, drinking smoothies doesn't negate the sugar from all that hot chocolate...The one from Glory Juice (left) tastes a little more raw and less sweet. I also didn't expect it to make me feel full. I probably wouldn't pay $8 for another one because...that's just too much lol. The one from Freshii is much different. It has avocado and greek yogurt, so it's super smooth. It's also sweetened from the natural ingredients, but not too overbearing. Because of the dairy and avocado, it's more filling that the one from Glory Juice and not only that, it's cheaper. Despite all the pros of Freshii, I can't really choose which is my favorite; they're both good. :P
I also didn't plan on visiting Glory Juice, but...it was right next door to Earnest. Ahem.

Mink's was right next to Freshii >__> sooo well...hmm......
Mink's is well-known for their super weird hot chocolates. Last year they had crickets in their hot chocolate (they taste like chips :P ) This year, I got the "The Voices in my Head Tell Me This Ain't No B.S." Of course B.S. stands for butternut squash, duh. It's difficult to taste the butternut squash, but the squash is evident in other ways. The drink is slightly tinted orange, and it's also thick and smooth. It also stains -__- I accidentally got some on my bag...
What surprised me the most was the oyster that came with it...??? Like...what, why?! Despite being vegetarian, I ate it anyways (don't waste food guys). I never really liked seafood, but this surprised me. The oyster was so heavily marinated that there wasn't any "rotten ocean taste". In fact, it was really good; a good savory bite to contrast with the hot chocolate.

HCA Part 2: Chocolate Arts, Bella Gelateria, Glenburn

The Hot Chocolate Festival is still going on :P

One of my profs also recommended this place to me. It was a bit difficult to find, but I finally arrived there, despite the heavy rain. Still worth.

This is called the Malt Teaser, which is also spelled Maltezer? They put a bit of whiskey, but honestly I can barely taste it. Plus, they didn't card me, so the percentage must be pretty nonexistent, lol. It was rich and easy to drink (went down smoothly), and the malt candy was niiiice :D I used to eat a lot of Whoppers when I was young, but nowadays I don't really eat much candy. The candy was like an upgraded Whopper, except it was a bit salty, and super crunchy.

I got the Bounty at Bella Gelateria. This was a bit harder to finish because the concoction was much thicker (from the coconut milk, since the drink is vegan), but I still enjoyed it. The macaroon is tasty by itself, but I also dipped it in the drink. The macaroon soaks up the hot chocolate but the insides keep its texture...super nice. The drink already has bits of coconut, giving the smooth texture some contrast.

This was by far, my favorite hot chocolate so far...because of the whipped cream, ahahah. The whipped cream was cheesecake flavored <3 it was like fluffy cream cheese. Not only that, it had bits of white chocolate and moist red velvet cake. The red velvet flavor in the hot chocolate was a bit hard to identify, but the whipped cream was the best part of this drink anyways. The cookie was pretty standard to me, but it adds an adorable touch.

Here are just some other places I went to during the week. I went to Seedlings twice; sometimes they have new desserts there, like the Snickerdoodle at the bottom. I also got Mercante's vegetarian breakfast and free pizza from Uncle Faith's (I went to a meeting that provided food P: ) They put sesame seeds on the pizza, pretty creative.