Thomas Haas Chocolates & Patisserie (W. Broadway)

My sister and I were on our way home from UBC the other day and for some reason we were weirdly craving some Almond Croissants. Where better can we get the best almond croissants here in Vancouver, but at Thomas Haas Chocolates & Patisserie! Located on 2539 W. Broadway (Kitsilano area), Thomas Haas Chocolates & Patisserie has been serving Vancouverites and tourists with their fine chocolates and to die for pastries ever since they first opened up shop here in 2000. Whenever we go there for coffee, snack/dessert or just take out, I always end up buying more than I'm craving for because everything just looks so delicious to eat! Especially when I see my favorites (Almond Croissant, Herb & Cheese Scone, Macarons and their Kalamansi Cooler) on display or just freshly baked right out of the oven, I just can't help myself! You would be surprised at how fast a lot of their pastries get sold out especially when it comes to their almond croissants and scones! (My suggestion is to go early during the day when it's freshly baked and still in stock!) They also have one of the coolest looking packaging designs on their chocolates, not to mention.. very tasty chocolates as well! But if your thinking of going for breakfast or lunch, they also offer a variety of soup and sandwiches on their menu. Normally they are closed on Sundays and Mondays (so you have to find somewhere else to go if your craving for pastries), but they are back in business on Tuesdays to Saturdays from 8:00am until 5:30pm. What I also like about their shop is that the interior of the space is designed with a lot of wooden aspects. It's very clean, simple looking and modern, at the same time very inviting and relaxing for customers to look at. One issue that I find hard to deal with in this location though is street parking. Since it is located on West Broadway, street parking is the only available parking spot for you to park in. Not only is it a pain to look for a nice and close parking spot, but also to do parallel parking when there's a huge wave of cars coming right at you. Since I do really really love their pastries, I try to look past the street parking issue (no matter how painful or annoying the process is) just so I could get myself some of their awesome pastries!

Macarons

Almond Croissant

Thierry

Thierry Busset is famous for his awesome desserts at CinCin restaurant and now he finally opened up his own store that sells his best and most delicious desserts! Located on Alberni street across from Coast and Black & Blue, this place is certainly one of the best dessert places to go to in downtown. Their macaroons and pear financiers are to die for! as well as their super thin apple tarts and caneles! Their cakes and mousses are filled with creamy goodness! And their fruit tarts are just absolutely divine! (especially my personal favorite.. their lemon tart!)

Like any other place in downtown, there are a couple of ups and downs when it comes to going to restaurants/cafes. One of them is definitely parking! Parking as everyone knows is really really expensive in downtown. Usually street parking is the way to go but there's always a chance that you might not be able to find one at all. Also, it costs around $4 just to park for an hour so not only is it a pain to find a good parking spot, it's also very expensive. If you don't want to park on the street however, there are a couple of underground parking lots that do let you park for a couple of hours or up until the next day (It just depends on which parking lot you end up in). Another solution here is to just take the sky train! It's way easier and faster to travel to downtown and costs less than paying for gas and parking (which could also mean less money for parking and more money for food!).

Most of the time though, I usually go to Thierry after dinner or in the late afternoon. From what I've seen and experienced at Thierry after dinner, there's usually no tables or chairs left for us to sit on because this place is always full! When someone leaves, there's always someone waiting on the side to take their table/chairs. What I've learned from going to Thierry over and over (after dinner) is that you have to be quick in action! If not then you just have to patiently wait for the next table to leave or just order their desserts to go and then find somewhere else to enjoy their pastries/desserts/drinks. After lunch time isn't as bad as compared to after dinner because there's still vacant tables and chairs whenever I go there in the afternoons. I do find however that they have way more options to choose from during the day as opposed to their selections at night. They do restock their items but it seems that sometimes a lot of what I want is already sold out by the time I go there for dessert after dinner. I try to see this as a good thing though because at least it gives me a chance to try out some of their other items on display. Thierry also has an all day soup and sandwich menu, just in case you haven't had anything to eat yet, Thierry has totally got you covered! Their soup and sandwich specials do change from time to time but if I were to pick a favorite, I would have to say their Mushroom soup is the best! I haven't had a chance to try out any of their sandwiches yet but for sure I will find a free day just to go back for their sandwiches. What I also find very cool here is that they make their own sodas! I definitely would recommend you guys to try them out because they are pretty awesome! White Plum soda is what we usually order but they have a couple more options to choose from. Last time I went, all of their sodas were sold out! (Bummer!) but I guess this just goes to show how good they are since they actually run out of their own soda.

Unlike Thomas Haas, Thierry is actually open every single day! (Thank God!) From 7am to midnight on weekdays and then 8am to midnight on weekends and holidays. So no matter what day of the week it is or how busy you are, Thierry is still open (til midnight) to cater to your (sudden) cravings of sweets and pastries! 

Day time

Night time

Night time

Night time

 White Plum Soda

 Carrot Ginger Soup

Coconut Tuile

 Caneles: If you guys don't know what caneles is, it's a soft french pastry that has a caramelized outer shell with a soft and custard center. Thierry's version is I think the best one that I've tried so far. Although it looks burnt on the outside, it's actually really soft to eat. It's not too sweet and too heavy so you won't feel as guilty eating two in one sitting.

 Apple Tart: Its a thin layer of apple pastry but it's very good! It's a delicious choice for a light snack and it's covered in thin apple slices. Most of the time when you think of apple tart or pastry, it's usually a bit heavy because of the crust or pastry part but Thierry's apple tart is exactly the opposite of that!

 Tiramisu: What I love about their version of the tiramisu is that it's not fully covered in chocolate powder at the top so you won't get all chocked up after inhaling the top part of the cake by accident. Also the cake itself (after taking off the chocolate sides) is very soft and creamy which makes it even better to eat.

Lime Mousse: The right balance of sweet and tangy!

Opera Cake: I didn't like eating this cake as much because I found it a bit too rich for my liking but if you like eating rich chocolate cakes, you'll love their Opera cake.

Salted Caramel, Blackberry (purple), Lychee (pink), Earl Grey
I adored all four! Each one is exactly true to their name and flavor! And what I like about this set is that each one is not heavy on the coloring.

Chocolate Trio (Left): Unlike their Opera cake, the chocolate trio is actually lighter even if the whole cake is made entirely out of chocolate. It's creamy, soft and light as well as not overly sweet.

 Macaroons: Apple Spice, Pistachio, Pumpkin, Raspberry

The apple spice is (for me) the best one out of the 4 here! All of their fruit flavored macarons actually have a fruit at the center of each macaron so the Apple spice one has a small piece of apple in the middle. All of them actually taste good but it just depends on what type of flavor you like better. I like the apple more because although the flavor was simple, it's also very light, flavorful and not heavy on the coloring so it doesn't leave any coloring on your mouth after you eat it.

 Coffee and Gianduja Macaron: The Gianduja is also one of my favorites!
It reminds me a lot of my Ferrero Rocher because of it's hazelnut and chocolate flavor.

 Citrus Madeleine: They were okay

 Almond Pear Financier: Absolutely one of my must buy/favorite items here! Their financier actually comes in 3 flavors but the almond pear financier is definitely the best one out of the three! These were super soft and moist to eat! You can also taste very well the almond and the pear flavor that's incorporated into each of the tiny financier.

Tropika (aberdeen)

I've been craving a lot of eggplant lately and when I mean crave.. I mean eating eggplant almost every single day! I'm seriously not joking! I'm the type of person who can eat the same thing every single day until I get tired of it. What's funny too is that I'll take a break from eating it and then if I start craving it again.. It's the same cycle all over. So when my friend asked me where I wanted to go for lunch, I had exactly the right place in mind! This place not only serves great Malaysian/Thai food but also makes one of my favorite tofu appetizers and eggplant dishes in Vancouver. Located in Aberdeen Center, Tropika has already won numerous awards such as "Most Memorable Restaurant" and "Golden Plate Award". I'm sure this place has also won the hearts of many Vancouverites and tourists and has been one of the staple restaurants for authentic Malaysian/Thai cuisine ever since they first opened their doors to the public in 1990.

This Tropika location is really convenient because unlike other restaurants in Richmond, there are tons of parking spots to choose from in Aberdeen's parking lot (hundreds actually). But if your planning to go there for lunch/dinner on a weekend or on a holiday, I would suggest going earlier or later because for sure there will be tons of people in the mall during peak eating hours. Even with hundreds of parking spaces, you would be surprised at how many people go to Aberdeen! Sometimes it could literally take you from 5 minutes to as long as an hour just to find a parking spot! I'm seriously not joking! (one good example I can give you is Chinese New Year).

The restaurant itself is very spacious and open so they can easily accommodate a huge number of people. What I really like about this location too is that one whole side of the restaurant is designed with floor to ceiling windows so the restaurant looks even bigger and brighter when your eating. Also, since it is located along one of the many entrances of Aberdeen Center, you could easily see people and cars passing by.. so another bonus here is the view. When it came down to the service, I would have to say it wasn't the best that we've experienced but it wasn't the worst either. I'm not really sure if our server was just forgetful or lazy because when it came to our extra requests for refills, napkins and for a new set of utensils, he seemed to keep walking by without bringing anything in hand. And to think the restaurant wasn't even busy or full at the time we were there! The food on the other hand was so much better compared to the service (Thank God!). We actually ended up ordering 7 of their dishes to share, and for only three people eating.. 7 dishes was already a lot!  Usually when we come here we would order their Tahu Goreng Nyonya (Fried Tofu), Satays, Roti Canai, Spicy Jumbo prawns, Pad Thai, Pineapple Fried Rice, Hainanese Chicken, Chicken Curry, Terung Udang Kering (Eggplant), Sambal Bunchies, KangKong, Bubur Cha Cha (Warm Soup Dessert), and Goreng Pisang (I think there's more but I just can't remember them exactly at the top of my head right now). What I really like about Tropika too is that they make amazing vegetarian dishes so if you hate eating vegetables, maybe they can help change your mind!

Tropika is actually not a bad place to go to for celebrations as well. I myself have celebrated a couple of occasions there (including my birthday) with tons of people in our party and we were still able to enjoy ourselves over and over. The service just depends on which server you get, sometimes it's good.. sometimes it's bad.. but I think what keeps us going back to the restaurant is because of their food (I mean come on, what's not to love about Malaysian/Thai food?)

 Tahu Goreng Nyony: One of the best tofu dishes that I've had! When dipped into their sweet soy sauce, it just tastes even better! The skin is lightly fried and not super oily so when you bite into it it's just soft and melt in your mouth smooth. 

 Pineapple Fried Rice: They were very generous with their pineapple chunks so I was pretty happy about that. It's really cool too how they serve it inside a pineapple so it's really a full on pineapple dish.

Hainanese Chicken: The chicken was cooked very well and the sauce was great especially when you finally put it on the chicken. Their pickled vegetables however needs improvement.

 Pad Thai: One word and one word only.. Fantastic!

 Terung Udang Kering: One of my favorite dishes! It's cooked very well and I think they probably make one of the best eggplant dishes here in BC. It's not as oily too compared to how Chinese restaurants make them so you won't feel as bad/oily after eating it.

 Sambal Bunchies

 Bubur Cha Cha (Warm): I personally love Ginataan so I really loved this dish! If you guys don't know what Ginataan is.. it's a warm soup like dessert made with coconut milk, tapioca, Saba, rice balls and etc. that's really popular in the Philippines. It's sweet, yummy and good for my tummy!