blissberri: true frozen yogurt bliss

my love for frozen yogurt extends beyond just vancouver as i try to get it everytime i go to the states as well. this picture is from the lovely blissberri located inside bellevue square. just like most frozen yogurt places, it is self serve and then paid for depending on the weight of your yogurt. unfortunately at this point, it just looks like a mass but underneath that pile of goodness is nutella, chocolate and cookies and cream frozen yogurt. they have a good 10+ choices at blissberri and you can ask the person at the front for sample cups! i topped it with mocha, oreo bits and my favourite: GRAHAM CRACKER CRUMBS! YUM! 

(sorry dont remember the price, but its on par with most places)

4/5

cattle cafe: pick and choose your noodle

i absolutely LOVE noodles. from pho to udon to basically anything that isnt rice, i love and cattle cafe satisfies my craving perfectly. everybody probably knows already but they're popular for their noodle combo where you choose a soup base, a noodle, 2 toppings and add $2 for up to 2 side dishes. it also comes with a drink which you can upgrade to bubble tea! they also have amazing egg waffles and french toast that are worth trying!  my favourite location is the richmond one, just tastes better to me, but it's pretty consistent across the locations but here is my usual order minus the additional sides. 

mango slush with mango stars 

noodle combo ($8.50): tomato pumpkin fish soup (so good!) rice noodles with beef brisket and something fish for my mom (: it also comes with mushroom and napa cabbage which makes me very happy since i LOVE my veggies! 

tealips: waffles and drinks (or water)!

during the summertime, i went out to eat a bunch and one place i visited with friends was tealips bubble tea and coffee. we came here after having a huge sushi meal looking for dessert. there was also a menchies downstairs which i opted for instead of the waffles but here are pictures of what my friends ate. they said it was pretty good and not too expensive but they would rather pay more for the quality at neros. really nice ambiance there with lots of people studying and its just like a peaceful aura throughout the store. 

leige waffle with ice cream and caramel sauce add ons ($~5) 

matcha red bean brussels waffle (~$6-7)

bella gelataria: worth the 1 hour wait?

after having dinner a guu one summer evening, i headed down to bella gelataria in search for some dessert. being a summer day, i assumed there might be a line but it turned out to be over AN HOUR WAIT. the shop closes at 10? i believe but they were kind enough to continue serving everybody in the line even past closing time. 

when you get there, you are allowed to try up to 3 flavours. honestly, i dont remember what i tried but i remember them all being amazing making the choice even harder. this ice cream isnt cheap at around $5 per scoop but it is very good quality gelato as it comes from metal buckets instead of on display like many other places and it just pleases every single tastebud in your mouth.

fortunately (or not) i am not a very picky eater and find most ice cream to be equally good so even though this one was amazing, i did not think it was worth the 1+ hour we waited in line. DEFINITELY worth trying but maybe in the winter? 

single scoop hazelnut gelato ($5) 

4.5/5 (-.5 for the ridiculous waiting)

sake maki: social shopper goodness

im always looking for deals on social shopper that aren't too far away and was super excited when i saw one for my favourite food, sushi, and it was IN vancouver. what i didnt realize was that west broadway is actually far from home but my family made a trip out there anyways where we got $60 worth of food for $30. using the social shopper, sake maki was a good deal because we ate A LOT but if it wasnt for the social shopper, they still have some pretty good deals. i dont remember the details but there were combos where you pick a special roll and two others from a list of sashimi, rolls and appetizers for ~ $15 which is pretty good considering the special rolls are $8.95 by themselves. anyways we got that special while using the social shopper so it was like deals on top of deals. the sauces are a bit salty but other than that, solid japanese! 

tuna and avocado w/yuzu ($11.95): good fish, too much salty yuzu sauce

3.75/5

salmon belly tataki ($9.95): again good fish, but its masked under all that sauce and garlic

3.5/5

grilled eggplant w/garlic ($5.95): tasty but expensive and small portioned.

3.5/5

dynamite roll ($3.95): pretty good! lots of prawn and not too much rice

4/5

fuji roll (part of $15 combo): spicy salmon topped with seared salmon: very yummy, i love westernized special rolls :P

4.5/5

agadashi tofu (part of $15 combo): probably the worst of the night...tofu was hard and batter was too thick and i think agadashi tofu should be served IN the sauce

2/5

chicken kaarage (part of $15 combo): surprisingly good! the portion was pretty small but chicken was fried up nicely and i love when kaarage is pieces and not wings

3.5/5

deef fried banana ($5.95): not the most amazing but satisfied the dessert craving

2.75/5 

sushi garden: all rolls look the same!

ahh sushi garden, one of those places where you it is clearly quantity over quality but the quality is good enough that you keep going. i dont go too often but when i do, i always notice how similar the rolls look. all stuffed with cucumbers and avocado then topped with bright orange tobiko. anyways, these take out boxes were from a LONG TIME AGO (yes again) and the rolls are good for the price that you pay. that huge dynamite roll there will only set you back about 4 bucks and you dont get the feeling of "im eating super cheap food so i'll probably be sick tomorrow". whats not pictured here that i LOVE is the alaska roll (difficult for takeout) where theres an avocado roll topped with salmon sashimi and covered in this tangy garlic sauce. DELICIOUS and pretty heavy but worth trying. 

house roll (sorry for the crap photo $4.50): filled with some raw fish, crab meat and tamago
very good price since it was HUGE

3.95/5

 spider roll ($6.50): soft shell crab roll - since it was take out, i cant really complain but the crab wasnt the crispiest

3.5/5

 dynamite roll ($3.95): prawn tempura (THERES 2!) + loads of cucumbers (just like all the other rolls) again, very good price for the portion.

3.75/5

chicken katsu roll ($3.95): one of my favourite rolls from sushi garden because i dont see it at other places. the sauce is a bit tangy and its pretty packed with meat

3.85/5

chopped scallop roll ($3.75): again, cheap but i didnt try it

my lone salmon nigiri ($1): i need some raw fish! 

3.5/5

bluefin: asian buffet with a side of sketchy washrooms

one of the best thing about driving down to seattle is the buffet choices that they have there. from asian cuisine to casino buffets, there is more choice than vancouver. i read about bluefin on a different food blog and brought my family there to try it. this was at least 2 years ago (sorry!) but from what i remember it was not anything amazing. very mediocre food but i love asian food, even the cheap food court kind, so i was more than satisfied. ALSO this place had the sketchiest washrooms i'd ever seen. you take some sort of elevator to them thats all old and creaky then they are disgusting...maybe that's changed now but...here's some pictures to feed those eyes! 

first plate: some tempura, sushi, deep fried chicken wings (i remember them being good but it might just be the picture tricking me), nigiri, spareribs, choy, pork chop and more veggies 

second plate: more tempura, chow mein, nigiri, and sushi (not much choice)

close up of second plate

desserts: mini cakes (not homemade), strawberry liquid?, fruit and jello

cakes close up: i love ALL cake

more cakes, cream puff and cheesecake