Welcome fellow foodies, I'm Mijune - dedicated foodie from Vancouver. I write restaurant reviews in Vancouver and the lower mainland as well as when I’m traveling. I'm searching for the best ____, popular hole-in-the-wall restaurant & local gem. I cook & bake so I’ll also post recipes. I invite all foodies to follow me on this tasty experience!
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Restaurant: Maple Castella - Pork Floss Bread Cuisine: Bakery/Breads/Pastries/Desserts Last visited: March 7, 2010
Area:Richmond, BC #1068 - 8700 McKim Way (In Admiralty Cenre) PriceRange: $10 or less
1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!
Food: 5 (6 for hits, 2 for miss) Service: n/a (biased b/c they know me now)
Ambiance: 2.5
Overall: 5
Additional comments:
Taiwanese bakery in Richmond
Specializes in Taiwanese buns/baked goods (sweet & savoury)
All breads/buns made on site daily
Amazing breads and buns - cookies not as great though
Bread are more on the sweeter side
Always busy, familiar to locals and Chinese
Taiwanese bakery not Cantonese - so buns are different than Chinese bakeries like Maxim's
Closed Thursday
Smells absolutely delicious inside and outside the bakery
**Recommendation:Pumpkin Bread, Pork Floss Bread, Pork floss bun with the egg wrapped around it
Maple Castella is still one of my favourite Asian bakeries. Sure they have some items that are better than others, but the stuff that is good is really really really good! For example the famous pumpkin bread that I have recommended to everyone – so far I haven’t received any negative feedback from it.
Everything is made daily and seriously the bread (the loaves) sells out as soon as it comes out of the oven. They only make about 12 loaves of each type of bread a day. It’s small bakery with a small operation so believe me when I say PRE-ORDER. Any of their loaves, even their white bread sells out at the end of the day. The pumpkin bread is a guaranteed sell out in like 2 hours on a slow day.
This entry is on another bread that I really enjoy there. The pork floss bread! On the table:
**Pork Floss Bread 6/6
$4.00 for half a loaf – don't think they offer them in whole loaves.
I love it just as much as the pumpkin bread, and it’s quite different so I can’t compare. It deserves a 6/6! It's probably more for Chinese taste buds just because of the pork floss.
The base of the bread is the same as the pumpkin bread. It’s a super fluffy egg and butter based bread. It’s delicious! So soft! It’s not a crumb bread but a stretchy fluffy one.
It’s interwoven with swirls of pork floss or dried pork fluff.
Pork floss is pretty much shredded pork jerky. It has a cotton like texture and it’s nice and salty. The pork is marinated and dried in soy sauce so that’s why it’s salty. I love this stuff! Asian kids grow up with it.
This bread is delicious and it’s savoury bread.
They bake it with a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese on top! It’s soooo good! It gives the bread a salty crust and goes great with the salty pork floss. Even without the cheese the crust is still good! Reminds me of those cheese pretzel breads you eat/ate as kids.
Their breads are so soft and fluffy I recommend to eat them as is. Skip the toaster…if anything you can microwave them for 10 sec. to eat warm.
Restaurant: Maple Castella - Review for Blueberry Bun Cuisine: Bakery/Breads/Pastries/Desserts Last visited: March 7, 2010
Area:Richmond, BC #1068 - 8700 McKim Way (In Admiralty Cenre) PriceRange: $10 or less
1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!
Food: 5 (6 for hits, 2 for miss) Service: n/a (biased b/c they know me now)
Ambiance:2.5
Overall: 5 Additional comments:
Taiwanese bakery in Richmond
Specializes in Taiwanese buns/baked goods (sweet & savoury)
All breads/buns made on site daily
Amazing breads and buns - cookies not as great though
Bread are more on the sweeter side
Always busy, familiar to locals and Chinese
Taiwanese bakery not Cantonese - so buns are different than Chinese bakeries like Maxim's
Closed Thursday
Smells absolutely delicious inside and outside the bakery
**Recommendation:Pumpkin Bread, Pork Floss bread, Pork floss bun with the egg wrapped around it
I’ve written about Maple Castella on a few occasions and have really come to realize that when their breads are good it’s a 6/6 and when they’re not they’re really just okay.
I’m eating my way through all their items and so far, the best is still the pumpkin bread and the pork floss bread.
Everything is made daily and seriously the bread (the loaves) sells out as soon as it comes out of the oven. They only make about 12 loaves of each type of bread a day. It’s small bakery with a small operation so believe me when I say PRE-ORDER. Any of their loaves, even their white bread is sells out at the end of the day. The pumpkin bread is a guaranteed sell out in like 2 hours on a slow day.
On the table:
Blueberry Bun 2/6
$1.10
This looks better than it tastes.
It’s one of their newer items so I was very excited to try it, but it didn’t impress me .
The blueberry is like a jam with mini whole blueberries in it and it’s not very sweet. I wish there was more becuase I could really taste an blueberry flavour with so much bread. It was kind of like a Taiwanese style Danish.
The bread part wasn’t even that good. Still quite soft and fluffy but not as much as their loaves. They can do better. It was actually a bit dry and it’s more neutral than it is sweet.
The bubble like topping should have been more crumbly and sweeter. It’s usually more of a sweet crust made of butter and sugar that gets all crusty and crumbly when baked. This bubble crust was just bread-like.
For me this wasn’t sweet enough to be a dessert, but more of a snack.
Unit 2800-4151 Hazelbridge Way (In Aberdeen Mall) Range: $10-20
1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!
Food: 2
Service: 3
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 2
Additional comments:
Specializes in Taiwanese beef noodle and soup bowls
Taiwanese/Chinese (China) chefs/cooks
Fresh, made upon order
Homemade, everything made from scratch
Handmade noodles, dough etc.
Prepared in small batches
Large selection of drinks (bubble tea, brewed tea etc.)
Selection of desserts (shaved ice, Frappe Bliss)
Large selection of tradition Taiwanese snacks
Very long line ups at peak hours
Open/display kitchen
Lots of seating, quick service
Popular to locals/Chinese
Lunch and dinner
Offers snacks and bubble tea
Private room available
Open 7 days
**Recommendation: Noodle topped with ground pork sauce, Pan fried ground pork cake
Chef Hung is getting slammed left, right and centre.
Yes, it’s a bit overpriced, but they do give you a lot of meat. Yes, it’s not worth the long line up, but it might be worth checking out if there is no line-up and if you’re still curious. Yes, it’s overrated, but do I regret trying it? No, because I still had to see what the hype was about; and when there’s a 30+ min. line-up for over a month now…they must be doing something good right?!…errr maybe not…nonetheless I tried everything I wanted to try to make sure I wouldn’t have to line-up again to give it another chance.
For me it was a cross of Taiwanese and Shanghainese food, and in this case I could get better of each cuisine elsewhere. The broth just wasn’t as flavourful or rich to match the authenticity of Taiwanese or Shanghai cuisine. They’re charging a couple dollars more than Japanese Ramen Noodle places and a lot more than Wonton Noodle places and the food is surprisingly bland. The portions are really deceiving because it’s a big bowl with not a lot of noodle, yet a significant amount of meat. The noodles are deceiving too because although they don’t give you much, but they really expand and fill you up fast. You have a choice of either flat noodle, thin noodle or vermicelli and most people seem to be getting the flat noodle.
I do appreciate how everything is homemade and fresh, but the flavour just wasn’t there. It is a relatively quick eat – after all the line-up doesn’t die down during dinner. They’re not rude about it and there’s a lot of staff so the food comes fast and they don't hesitate to ask when you need your bill.
On the table:
Champion beef shank with noodle in soup 2.5/6
Champion beef shank with noodle in soup $10.95 – Flat noodle
For $10.95 I should be getting either a big portion, or really amazing noodles and soup. I got neither. This is their hot ticket item and it was only ok. That’s kind of embarrassing.
If I only order this I’d be really disappointed because this itself isn’t worth the wait. The bowl is big, but not the portion too.
The broth was very basic and light and almost watered down in taste. It wasn’t very flavourful and the beef taste wasn’t as potent as it looks for sure.
The noodles were great though. They’re cooked in small batches just until al dente. This is a tricky word – al dente is actually more “undercooked” than one may think. So these noodles come across as undercooked but they’re not. They’re chewy, hand made and it absorbed the flavour (as little as it had to offer) of the soup well.
They do give you a lot of meat though. The beef shank is quite tender, could be tenderer, and the fat is almost interwoven in layers.
They also have 2 slices of seared beef which is individually hand seared with a torch. This part was good as well.
**Noodle topped with ground pork sauce 3/5
Noodle topped with ground pork sauce $6.95 – Flat noodle
Beef is their specialty, yet this pork noodle bowl was better! I still like it better at other authentic Taiwanese places though – like Lao Shan Dong in Burnaby, or even Zephyr in the Sky in Richmond.
This noodle bowl is only supposed to come with a little soup, just enough to wet the noodles and then some. The soup again is a bit bland although it looks rich. It’s sweeter, saltier, thicker and richer than the soup in the beef bowls.
They give you a lot of ground pork which is quite tender and lean. It’s actually quite chunky and not minced like other authentic Taiwanese places would serve it. It’s pretty good though, very marinated, but not saucy and it could have been saucier. I think there were bits of tofu in it, but it wasn’t apparent.
I do like the al dente chewy and slightly hard noodles. Although I think the thin noodle would have matched the dish better since the meat was ground.
Marinated Beef Crispy Pancake 2/6
Marinated beef wrapped in crispy pancake $5.95
This dish is much better at Shanghainese restaurants.
It was a homemade crispy pancake/crepe rolled with marinated beef slices, green onions, cucumbers, and Hoisin sauce.
It looks better than it tastes. The pancake part was good and crispy and there was lots of filling, but the dominant taste was raw green onions.
I could barely taste the meat, and it was very crunchy but there was too much onion and they needed more cucumber. It was slightly spicy from the onion overload.
Overall it was a bit dry although not oily, but I needed more Hoisin sauce for sweetness and more flavour in general.
Fried Chives Pancake 1.5/6
Fried chives pancake (2 pcs) $3.95
This was stuffed with vermicelli, chives, and scrambled eggs.
The pancake was a very thin crepe and not crispy but soft. It was quite floury and left a powdery layer on my lips.
The filling was a bit oily and bland with a slight white pepper taste. If anything else it tasted like sautéed onions, with just the natural flavour of the onions and nothing else.
**Pan-Fried Ground Pork Cake 4/6
Pan fried ground pork cake (2 pcs) $3.50
I think this is the best thing I ordered and it was worth it. If anything I would come back for these if there was no line-up and it was convenient.
They dough is homemade and it’s very crispy and thin almost like dumpling skin but more doughy.
It was the most savoury, but not necessarily flavourful and I wonder if it would be more flavourful than the beef cake. After all the pork noodles were more flavourful than the beef was.
The pork was really juicy and when you cut into it the juice even leaks out. It reminded me of those Pan-fried Shanghai Pork Buns.
They’re very crunchy too because they mix the pork with green beans.
They’re made completely in house and you can watch them doing it. They’re very oily though, but I would order them again.
Pan Fried Sliced Radish Cake 1/6
Pan-fried sliced radish cake (2 pcs) $3.50
Ok, no. I like the sliced radish in pastry they serve for Shanghai dim sum better than this.
I really like radish too, but this was just really bland and fishy tasting. It was fishy tasting because they put some dried shrimp in it as well as Chinese mushrooms although it was way too little and you couldn’t taste them.
It was packed with filling and really juicy and crunchy, but the dominant flavour was just fishy.
This was also very oily and I preferred the pork version hands down.
Dessert
Mango Shaved Ice 4/6
$3.50
This dessert is from Frappe Bliss - a franchise, so they just bought the machine that makes it.
There is an actual store front for Frappe Bliss in the Aberdeen food court upstairs and it’s better there because you get more variety for toppings. Toppings here are limited and +$1 each.
This dessert is still amazing and it’s a pretty decent bowl for the price.
1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!
Drinks: 5 (haven't tried food)
Service: 2
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 4
Additional comments:
Specializes in bubble tea
Hot food available
Mainly Taiwanese food, some Cantonese
Extensive menu for food and drinks
Great for snacks/late night
Brightly lit
All ages
Open late
Great slushy drinks, but undercooked pearls
Large glasses
Self order sheet
Popular for shaved ice, variety for toppings
Cash only
Minimum $3.95 per person
$.50 for additional pearl, small pearl, coconut jelly, lemon jelly, grass jelly
Lunch/Dinner/Snacks
**Recommendation: Pudding Smoothie with Milk
Tri-Ty Café is a brightly lit bubble tea house that attracts people of all ages, similar to PearlCastle. It’s comfortable and they have a lot of options for snacks, drinks and meals. People go for lunch or dinner and everything on the menu is served all day including, fried rice, hot pot, noodles and desserts. Only their light meals are like toast, sandwiches and waffles are served at 2:30pm-5:30pm or after 8:30pm. The all day meals are $8.50-$9.50 and they look pretty good although I haven’t tried them. The Taiwanese Style Popcorn Chicken actually looked really good! A lot of people order their shaved ice as well because they have a lot of topping options and you can choose any 5 for $6.50.
I’ve ordered one thing only, but I always keep going back for this one drink! It’s also my recommendation. Overall their other drinks are pretty good too. The only problem I have is that the pearls are a bit hard because they don’t cook them long enough. As a result they’re a bit smaller than they should be and they’re not as chewy. The drink part is great though, and it’s been consistent all the times I have gone. I always get a smoothie and they do a good job here. It’s really thick and they pile them high and some of them include a scoop of ice cream!
On the table:
**Pudding Smoothie with Milk 5.5/6
$5.25 Additional $0.50 for pearls etc.
I bet all the smoothies are great here! They taste like milk shakes and it kind of is because they do use ice cream.
This one tastes like vanilla ice cream, mixed with actual vanilla pudding and some milk tea. It does have a really subtle tea taste to it. It’s pretty sweet, but not overly sweet for me. Let’s put it this way, I discovered it over a year ago and have introduced people to it and this time we went 4/7 of us ordered it!
Unlike the typical pudding drinks, there are no actual pudding pieces in this drink.
There's ice cream in the smoothie already but I love how they put another scoop on top. It's just vanilla ice cream and then the pudding flavour comes from the vanilla pudding powder.
The only thing wrong is the pearls. They’re undercooked and therefore they’re a bit hard and smaller in size. Hence my .5 deduction.
Strawberry Blueberry Slush 5/6
They use real frozen blueberries and strawberries and they don’t sweeten it too much so it’s very natural.
Again nice and thick and piled high. I’m pretty sure it’s dairy free and they sweeten it up with some simple sugar syrup. It was sweet and tart from the strawberries.
Same thing with all their drinks – undercooked pearls.
Mango Peach Smoothie 4/6
This one isn’t very sweet at all. It’s maybe because I had it after my pudding smoothie which is quite sweet.
Again it’s made with real frozen fruit. Well at least the peaches are. It’s a great balance of both fruits because I could taste both. However I think the mangos they use could be canned. They garnish it with some mango syrup on top, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it was mango syrup or canned mangos.
Again, I love the scoop of ice cream! If you order “smoothie” it will come with ice cream, but if you order “slush” it might not.
Undercooked pearls.
Lychee Calpis
I didn’t try this one, but it’s not as exciting as their slushy series. It looks cool though! The blue thing is actually just a fake ice cube with a light.
Lychee Slush 4.5/6
This was canned lychee which is expected, but it was good. It was what you expect, not too sweet or anything but just canned lychee with the syrup and some ice blended up. This one was most refreshing.
It’s under $10, but it’s actually quiet expensive compared to others
Board games/magazines available
Attracts young Asian crowd – not a rowdy one
Minimum charge $3.50/person
Free parking, but lot always full
Open late
Cash only
**Recommendation: Taro Coconut Slush
I’ve been to Twinkle (the original location just down the street) on more than a handful occasions over the past few years. It’s not my go-to bubble tea place in Richmond, but when it comes down to bubble tea, what’s open, nearby, and convenient – it’s an option.
I actually came to Twinkle 2 for the first time over the summer, and I thought it was owned by the same people. However I think they franchised it because I tried using a free bubble tea card and they said my card was only valid at Twinkle (1). So they’re different owners – and FYI these promo cards no longer exist at either location because someone stole the stamp.
On this particular visit to Twinkle 2 it was for a mid-afternoon snack. There was hardly anyone there, but at night it gets quite busy. They have quite a selection of food although I found it more Taiwanese in flavour than I did Japanese-Taiwanese fusion. The menu is more Taiwanese in general and they offer a lot of creative bubble tea flavours that I haven’t seen at other places. There’s a lot of selection but it’s one of those places where it seems like they’re adding $0.50 here $1.00 there and I can't read it so it get’s confusing and quite pricey. It is more expensive than most bubble tea places.
On the table:
**Taro Coconut Slush 4.5/6
Taro Coconut Slush $5.85
I always get pearls, but I didn’t this time because I was going to have a rather early dinner and wanted to be hungry for that.
This is pretty much the thing I will keep coming back for. It’s not so much that it’s the best here, but it’s the only place I have found that offers it. I’ve also tried the Matcha Coconut Slush, which is really good. The taro one is just a bit sweeter, but both are good and not available at other places.
My biggest problem with this drink is that they don’t make it with milk. It’s ALL milk powder and that really bothers me. If you’re going to used milk powder than you can’t charge the price of using real milk. It’s $5.85 with tax and tip NOT included…that’s a pretty expensive bubble tea.
I think they mix taro, coconut, and milk powder to create this drink. Then they just add water. It’s not as sweet as a regular taro bubble tea. The coconut really stands out but they balance each other really well.
It was nice and thick, rather light tasting and I like the glass they serve it in. I still enjoyed the drink, but I just think it’s expensive for what they’re using.
**Satay Beef Ramen 2.5/6
Satay beef ramen. Served with your choice of soup base: tonkatsu, miso, or spicy $6.85
This dish usually wouldn’t be my choice, but I was still curious to try it. I ordered it with tonkatsu soup.
It was ramen topped with lettuce, corn, 1 fish ball, 1 small artificial shrimp flower cake thing, ½ an artificial crab stick, ½ a fish cake, 2 bamboo shoots, nori, bean sprouts and beef.
I appreciate the variety they tried to give, and I understand them trying to meet costs, but c’mon…those topping are pretty weak. I would rather have fewer toppings, but good ones. Actually I would rather have wonton noodles…but that’s completely different.
The tonkatsu soup was surprisingly good. The broth was rich, creamy and white which is a common characteristic of pork-bone soup. The noodles were chewy and also a good part.
I couldn't even taste the flavour of the beef because I couldn't get past the fact that it was not tender at all. It was old and really tough and I left that almost all to the side.
The bamboo shoots were also very hard and woody, and I was literally gnawing on them so those went to left as well…to the left, to the left…like Beyonce would say.
The ramen bowls come with a free drink from a small selection of drinks, but there's all these options and additional charges if you want pearls, or to make it cold, slush etc...I got confused.
