Forecast Coffee

I've always wondering how Starbucks Reserve would fare at their Main Street location when it first opened.  Well, it didn't take long for the experiment to end.  Whether it be too niche of a market for their upscale beverages, too big of a space or the pandemic, it is gone.  Now in its place is another coffee shop in the form of Forecast Coffee.  They also serve breakfast, lunch and an array of baked goods, including Wilder Cookies.

We stopped by for a quick bite in the morning and started with a Latte and a Mocha.  Sure these aren't the typical drinks one judges coffee due to the addition of milk and chocolate.  However, that is what we got and for what its worth, they were pretty good.  I thought they were more mild-tasting than other versions I've had, but the flavour was there and it went down smooth.  I found them to be on the sweeter side, good for those who aren't usual coffee drinkers.

You may have noticed the Wilder Salted Caramel Cookie in the previous picture and here it is split open.  This was a fairly large cookie that was quite moist and had a nice chewiness to it.  The base cookie itself was pretty sweet and it didn't help that the salted caramel frosting on top was even sweeter.  For those who like it sweet, this would be for you, but for me, it was far too sweet.  So much so, I didn't even get much of the salt (or maybe it helped amplify the sweetness even more so!).

Off to something savoury, we had the Bacon Breakfast Sandwich that also had a fried egg, lettuce and tomato (hey a BELT!) on a toasted brioche bun.  As simple as this was, the execution and construction was on point.  Everything was neatly assembled where the bacon was crispy, egg still was a bit runny and the produce was fresh.  Loved the soft brioche as it hugged all of the stuff inside. 

On another visit, I picked up some quick lunch in the form of the Fried Chicken Sandwich (yes, I still eat those) with a side of Truffle Fries.  This featured an aggressively breaded and fried chicken breast which somehow remained moist.  The breading was firmly crunchy and well-seasoned.  Personally, I would've liked a lighter exterior.  The whole sammie ate well with some mustard pickles, cabbage slaw, spicy mayo and mesclun greens.  So there was some spice, creaminess, tang and crunch.  The toasted brioche was the right bun for this sandwich where it was soft and airy while retaining its integrity.  I thought the truffle fries were excellent being hot and crispy with just enough seasoning.  It didn't need any dip (as it didn't come with any either) because it was good on its own.

Ending off sweet, we had the Sweet Berry Croffle with berry compote, mascarpone whip and toasted pecans.  This was also good with a waffle iron-pressed croissant that was crispy and light.  In fact, even though it was compacted, it was still airy and not heavy.  I didn't find it buttery enough, but that was a minor point.  Berry compote was tangy and fruity with just enough sweetness.  Overall, Forecast Coffee is a cool space where you can grab a drink, cookie, breakfast and/or lunch.  Things are solid and lots of windows makes it a relaxing place to be.

The Good:
- Simple decor and relaxing spot
- Food is good
- Coffee is good

The Bad:
- Cookies are pretty sweet, but I'm sure some people like that

Beechwood Cafe

For all the times we have visited the City of Angels, we have never hiked up to the Hollywood sign.  I guess it just might be that we were always there during Summer and it would be uncomfortably hot to do so.  This time around, Viv and I were here not in the midst of July or August. The weather was just right.  We were able to snag a parking spot near the starting point of the hike and did the leisurely stroll up the mountain.  Very strange that part of it is someone's driveway...  After that, we were pretty hungry and did the touristy thing and stopped by Beechwood Cafe (apparently many people do this...).

After a 30-minute wait, we were seated and got started with the Housemade Spicy Buffalo Wings.  These didn't look it but they were actually pretty hot.  I personally love spicy food so this didn't make want to order milk, but it definitely had impact and left my lips tingling.  I found the batter to be pretty crispy (even with all the sauce) and the skin was fairly rendered.  As for the meat, it was moist and juicy.  I really liked these and should've gotten more in a different flavor!

We ended up sharing a few dishes including the Backyard BBQ Pizza with grilled chicken breast, cilantro, red onions, jalapenos, cheese blend, marinara and housemade BBQ sauce.  The crust was pretty thin and uniformly crispy.  Interestingly, this pizza featured both tomato sauce and BBQ sauce.  I actually liked that as it broke up the sweetness and added another layer of flavor.  The pieces of chicken were fairly tender while the onions provide sharpness and the cilantro did its herbaceous thing.

For myself, I took the advice of our server and ordered the Kimchi Chicken Burger.  I thought the addition of housemade kimchi was the key to this.  It was crunchy and had a fermented spice to it. Unlike other Korean-style chicken burgers out there, this wasn't drenched in gochujang.  Instead, there was only a modest amount of sauce.  Therefore, the chicken was still crispy and also plenty juicy.  Those fries on the side were pretty awesome, hot and crunchy.

From their breakfast menu and also acting like our dessert, we had the Classic French Toast with strawberries, fresh cream and maple syrup.  This was really good where the bread completely soaked so it was a bit eggy and almost custardy.  The outside was nutty from the pan-sear.  Overall, our meal at Beechwood Cafe was pleasant with some real highlights.  No wonder it is so busy and not only because of tourists.  Food is good and done right while the portions are generous.

The Good:
- Diverse and large menu
- Food prepared properly
- Service was great

The Bad:
- Super busy, prepare to wait
- Cramped seating arrangements

 

Davie Village Bakery

Last time I visited Davie Village Bakery, I was there to try their Giant Croissants.  Okay, before you roll your eyes thinking that these were solely a novelty, they were actually really good!  The croissant itself was exactly what I want from one.  It shattered, had good lamination and was buttery.  Sure, they were as large as my arm, but I found them reasonably-priced.  This time around, Jackie and I were there to try their Giant Donuts as well as other goodies.

So let's get right to those Giant Donuts!  So these were not technically donuts even though they were shaped as such.  In reality, they were large eclairs featuring choux pastry with a cream filling inside and a glaze on the outside.  We had to let them warm up a bit first since they were in the fridge.  Eating them like an eclair, they were legit with all the right textures and not being incredibly sweet.  We put a regular donut next to the "Simpsons" donut for size comparison.

We had some baked goods in the form of a regular Butter Croissant, Hazelnut Croissant, Pistachio Chocolate Croissant and Double-Baked Crookie.  Since I've already had their giant croissants, I already knew their butter croissant would be solid.  That it was with good lamination and shattering beautifully when I bit into it.  The other 2 variations had similar qualities except with chocolate hazelnut and pistachio chocolate respectively.  The crookie was interesting that was, you guessed it, a cross between a croissant and a cookie.  It was not as firm as a cookie but not flaky like a croissant.  It was semi-sweet and I thought it was not bad.

Then we moved onto some creative Desserts featuring Lemon, Peach and a Raspberry Macaron.  Love the whimsical presentation where once cut into, the lemon revealed a lemon cream filling and a lemony custard centre.  Really refreshing and natural-tasting.  The peach was very similar except for the difference in flavour.  It wasn't too sweet and had a nice floral fruit taste.  As for the macaron, the texture was on point with a crispy delicate shell with a soft but slightly chewy texture inside.  Raspberries and the cream in the middle were fruity and light.

For even more variety, they also have made-to-order crêpes as well as gelato/sorbetto.  Naturally, being freshly-made, the Crêpes were soft, warm and fluffy.  Loved the nutty and aromatic pistachio.  Of course the Nutella was a bit sweet, but at least it was a pleasant sweetness.  We then moved onto the Gelato and it was also quite good.  I liked how it was creamy and light (where it was melting, which is a good thing because no stabilizers used).  The flavours were chose were Cherry Cheesecake, Pistachio and another flavour that I honestly forgot.  But what I can say is that it was purposefully sweet and surprisingly good for a non-gelato spot.  In fact, everything I've ever tried here has been very good.  You can't go wrong with the things here and the pricing is reasonable.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Solid all-around

- Their novelty items (giant croissant and giant donuts) are actually good and well-priced

- Large selection of items

The Bad:

- Crêpes were good texturally, but maybe a bit too much sweet sauces

Hearthstone Pizza

Almost 10 years ago, I had visited Hearthstone Pizza out in PoCo (more like Coquitlam, but technically PoCo).  Fast-forward to the present, Jacky and I were invited to check it out.  Despite still being a pizza place, it is now run by a wonderful Korean couple where they have put their own touches on the menu.  Sure, there is still classic stone oven thin crust pizza, but they also have Korean-inspired pizza featuring a thicker crust that is actually not heavy.  Of course, they've added Korean snacks and dishes for their dinner menu as well as a pop-up of cream buns.  They are also licensed.

We ended up trying out most of their menu starting with the classic pizza.  These featured a thin crust and barely-there edge.  We started with the baseline in the Margherita.  This consisted of tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and fresh basil.  There was a good amount of everything on top, but despite that, the crust remained fairly crispy.  I found the tomato sauce to be mildly tangy with a balancing sweetness.  The decent amount of cheese made each slice rather hearty.  Despite the big slices of tomato, it didn't make the pizza too wet.

To get an idea of the other offerings, we did half-and-half of the Meat Lovers and BBQ Chicken as well as the Mediterranean and Hawaiian.  As with the margherita, the crust was relatively thin and was uniformly firm from edge to centre.  I liked how the toppings and cheese made it almost to the very edge of the pizza.  My favourite of the bunch was the meatlovers with the ample amount of meat.  The Hawaiian was also solid with plenty of ham and pineapple.  They weren't shy with the cheese either.

For the Premium K-Pizza featuring a thicker dough, we had the large No. 1 Signature that had a bit of everything atop its square pieces.  Each piece represented the different pizzas available on the menu.  The amount of mozzarella cheese on this pizza was ridiculous but welcomed.  Very cheesy and filling.  As for the crust, it was still thin on the bottom while thicker on the outer edge.  However, it was airy and light while filled with more cheese!  I feel that a large K-Pizza would easily feed 4 people (as long as they are not football linebackers).

Even though we had all of the pizzas represented already in the Signature, we ended up with 2 medium pizzas so we could try them in a bigger slice.  We got the No. 4 Gold Rich and the No. 7 Garlic Shrimp.  As much as there was just as much cheese and toppings on the gold rich as the signature, I wasn't a huge fan of it as it ate very heavy.  The sweet potato puree sure tasted great, but carbs on carbs make for a heavy slice.  However, the garlic shrimp was primo as the generous amount of melted mozzarella melded well with the buttery and well-seasoned shrimp.  Each slice was so delicious and aromatic, I wanted to eat more of it.  Alas, I was getting quite full at this point!

In addition to pizza, they also feature a few flavours of baked Chicken Wings.  We ended up with the Honey Garlic.  To ensure we were able to try the other flavours, we had side sauces of the BBQ and Spicy too.  Since these were baked, there was no batter on the outside, which made the skin more rendered.  As for the meat, it was fairly moist given that the wings were baked enough for the skin to be rendered.  The honey garlic was mild and only lightly sweet.  I loved the BBQ sauce, it was plenty tangy and sweet.  The spicy did have a nice kick to it.

Onto the Korean eats, we had some snacks including the K-Corn Dogs and So-Ddeok So-Ddeok.  I really enjoyed the So-Ddeok So-Ddeok as the rice cakes were crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.  Such appealing texture.  Also, there was just enough sweet and spicy sauce drizzled on them.  The sausage was meaty and nicely grilled.  Lastly, the corn dogs were coated aggressively, but the batter was not as heavy as it appeared.  Nice crispiness on the outside and plenty cheesy on the inside.

At night, they serve certain Korean dishes including the Gamjatang and Korean-Style Sausage Stew.  I really enjoyed the pork bone soup as it was served bubbling hot and was flavourful.  There was a nice meatiness to it while exhibiting a noticeable spice.  The pork bones were fall-off-the-bone tender.  The sausage stew was a smaller version of the dish and sported noodles in a spicy broth.  There was a good amount of sausage and tofu as well.

One more snack was the Corn Cheese that was served on a long and deep plate, the corn cheese had plenty of cheesiness while the corn niblets were nicely textured and sweet.  Our last Korean dish was the Steamed Egg and if you look at the picture, it was plenty fluffy and light.  There was a good amount of green onion on top which partially dominated the flavour profile (dependent on where you scooped).  Otherwise, it was sweet and mildly flavoured.

Also located within Hearthstone Pizza is Golden Brown where they have a selection of savoury baked buns as well as their sweet cream buns.  We tried all 3 of their savoury options including the Corn Cheese, Basil Pesto & Chicken and Ham & Cheese.  All 3 featured a firmer exterior that was slightly crispy while inside was soft and nearly pillowy soft.  There was no absence of ingredients and seasoning to make these tasty.  I very much enjoyed the basil pesto as it was herbaceous and the corn cheese was sweet from the niblets.  Ham & cheese was pretty basic, but had a good mix of cheesiness and saltiness.

Now those were really good, but I found their Cream Buns to be even better.  The bun themselves were pillowy soft and had a slightest of chew that gave it a great mouth feel.  Inside, there was so much filling that you can't help but get it all over your face.  My favourite of the bunch was the basic milk cream as it was like eating an eclair but in a soft bun.  The Oreo cream was good too, but sweeter.  Chocolate was similar to the milk cream except tasting like milky chocolate.  If red bean is your thing, the matcha & red bean had plenty of impact from the slight bitterness, but balanced off by the sweet red bean.  So as you can see, there is a lot to eat here at Hearthstone.  A bit misleading from the name, but rest assured, the Korean food is legit and the buns are heavenly.  I guess you might have to make multiple visits to try everything!

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- That K-pizza has so much cheese and toppings (even in the crust!)

- Solid Korean dishes

- They even have Golden Brown cream buns

The Bad:

- They do a good job in pulling it off, but maybe a bit too many items on the menu?

Chakura Tea Cafe

Now after a filling and delicious brunch at The Wooden Spoon, Jackie and I made our way down the street to a cute lil' Japanese spot going by the name of Chakura Tea Cafe.  In addition to hot and cold beverages, they feature some cakes and treats as well as a selection of hot items.  For all of the Japanese restaurants we have in the GVRD, we don't have many that serve the things that Chakura offer, let alone one in South Surrey/White Rock.

Getting right to it, we were first served the Pork Katsu Bowl.  This was a healthy portion of perfectly cooked rice that was chewy but not dry topped with a salad and a thick pork cutlet.  It was coated with panko and fried just enough that it was crunchy on the outside while still moist and juicy on the inside.  Don't be alarmed with the modest drizzle of tonkatsu sauce on the top because there was a side of it to make it more saucy to your heart's content!

Next, we had the Spicy Chicken Karaage Bowl with the same chewy short grain rice.  Yep, we had the same fresh salad with greens, tomatoes and edamame.  The dressing was typical Japanese being sweet, tangy and slightly salty.  Onto the chicken, they were in large chunks of dark meat with a crispy coating.  Like the pork katsu, the chicken was juicy and dressed with a sweet and tangy sauce that did have a noticeable kick.

Staying with the same protein, we had the Curry Chicken Karaage.  Unlike the other 2 items, this was served on a plate (so that the curry didn't drench everything).  Of course the chicken karaage was the same as the previous dish, but with the curry, this ate very differently.  The curry softened up the outside of the chicken more so and provided an aromatic and subtle flavour.  In typical Japanese fashion, the curry was not spicy and trended towards the sweeter side.  However, I found this one to be not as sweet.  Nice viscosity where it sauced the rice without making it soggy.

For those who aren't into the fried meats, the next bowl might be your fancy.  We had the Shrimp & Avocado Poké Bowl that was significantly lighter than the previous dishes.  In addition to the same rice and salad, we found fresh avocado, wakame salad and of course sautéed shrimp.  They were cooked just right where they had a buttery snap.  The seasoning was sufficient to seasoned the shrimp but more sauce was need for the rice.

Another use of the pork katsu was for the Pork Katsu Sando that featured a substantial amount of cabbage.  I do believe that there was a bit too much of it and it obscured the pork.  I would've also liked the bread to be toasted a bit less as it become a bit hard.  However, the pork was just as good as the first bowl we had where it was juicy with a crunchy exterior.  I believe with a few tweaks, this sando would be really good.

Same could be said about the Egg Salad Croissant.  It was quite good and would've been perfect except for one detail.  They used processed cheese in it that made the entire thing salty.  However, I did mention that to them and I believe that will be changed.  As for the croissant, it was crispy and buttery.  The egg salad was creamy with enough seasoning.  Fresh greens completed this sandwich.

Of course we had to also try all of their Roll Cakes including the blueberry, chocolate, mango and strawberry.  These were super light and airy where eating one wouldn't be very hard to do.  However, I thought they were a little on the dry side, but the fresh cream did help alleviate that problem.  I found the sweetness to be on point where it was just right.

Lastly, we also tried some of their drinks including the Hojicha Pearl Milk Tea.  This was good with balanced sweetness while being a bit smoky and aromatic.  Nice creaminess too while the pearls were perfectly textured being chewy, yet soft.  Overall, the food at Chakura was pretty solid and in significant portions.  I think the roll cakes could use a bit of work, otherwise, definitely a great place to grab some lunch and a drink.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Unique for the area

- Good portions

- Well-prepared hot food

The Bad:

- Roll cakes could be more moist

Tanaka PDX

After some healthy and delicious eats from Carioca Bowls, we made our way over to Tanaka PDX located in Downtown Portland.  Upon walking into the place, we were greeted with a spacious dining room with communal seating and high ceilings as well as floor to ceiling windows.  As for the menu, they feature a variety of Japanese fare including those viral fruit sandwiches as well as a host of katsu sammies as well.

As much as the plight of Portland's downtown has been in the news, the area around Tanaka was fine.  We got straight to the Sandos including Chicken with yuzu egg salad, Spicy Fish and Toasted Egg Salad.  With toasted milk bread, the texture was more robust, but it helped hold all of the ingredients inside.  Mind you, the creamy egg salad did leak out from the sides (but that was expected).  Loved the addition of yuzu as it really lightened up the salad.  The spicy katsu sauce really added kick to the crispy fish.

We also had the classic Pork Katsu Sando with cabbage slaw as well as the Breakfast Sando with egg, cheese and bacon.  Being slightly thinner than the chicken, the pork cutlet was more firm, yet was uniformly more crunchy due to the meat-to-panko ratio.  Loved the crunchy and bright slaw.  As for the breaky sando, it was pretty standard and had a nice runny egg with plenty of meat.

As good as the sandos were, I was pretty impressed with the Chicken Katsu Nuggets with a variety of dips including Karashi Honey Mustard,  Tanaka Katsu,  Shishito Ranch, Spicy Tanaka Katsu & Curry Aioli. I found the panko coating to be crispy and not greasy.  The meat was moist, but the real draw here was the dips.  I particularly enjoyed the spicy BBQ as it had a real kick to go with the sweetness and tang.

 

We also had a Miso Caesar Salad as well as some Fries with curry aioli.  With the addition of miso, the salad did have that rich fermented saltiness.  Hence it had a little something something that made it interesting.  As for the fries, they were crispy with soft potato goodness inside.  The side of curry aioli was creamy with only a mild hint of spice and sweetness.

As the defacto dessert due to their fruitiness, the Fruit Sandos featured strawberry, orange and kiwi.  With airy whipped cream and fresh fruit, these ate very much like a dessert, especially with bread that masqueraded as sponge cake.  These were a fine finish to a delicious meal that wasn't very complicated, but executed well.  These could be classified as unique eats that won't break the bank.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this post*

The Good:

- Fully-stuffed and delicious sandos

- Reasonably-priced

- Spacious dining room

 

The Bad:

- Can get busy and seats are at a premium

- Parking is a bit difficult to find