Tram Cream Coffee 5

After constant urging from my cousin, we finally relented and visited Tram Cream Coffee 5 in Newark (California).  This is one of their newest locations and it happened to be conveniently located near our hotel.  As their name suggests, they specialize in cream coffee, specifically Vietnamese cream coffee.  We did 2 visits to the place in order to get a decent variety.

To get a baseline, I had to order the Cream Coffee from their signature series.  This particular cup was a small and believe me, that was more than enough for me.  That Vietnamese coffee was predictably strong, intense and rich.  It wasn't as bitter as other versions I've had while it did have a slight chocolaty finish.  Of course the coffee was balanced off by sweetness provided by the cream.  Naturally, it diluted the strength of the coffee with the cream itself too.

We also had something from their Creamliner series in the Sesame Cream Coffee.  In addition to the sesame cream, we found Vietnamese coffee and also whole milk.  This itself made the coffee less of the focal point.  Rather, we got the full brunt of the nutty and aromatic black sesame (when mixed that is) and also the cool creaminess of the milk.  Coffee only added a bit of aroma to the drink.

On another visit, we had the Tiramisu from their signature series.  Of all the ones we tried, this was probably the sweetest of the bunch.  Due to the sweet cream, it more than balanced off the strong Vietnamese coffee.  I'm not sure if I necessarily got Tiramisu vibes from this drink.  However, it was creamy and sweet, which is great for those who want less bitter coffee notes.

The best drink in my opinion was the Creamy Hanoi from the signature series.  This was super creamy and with the addition of egg cream, it was richer and thicker.  I thought this was the best balance of the rich coffee and cream.  With some grass jelly, this added another layer of texture and a different bitterness.  In general, the drinks at Tram are solid and there are plenty of options.  Lots of locations for you to check them out!

The Good:

- Vietnamese coffee is impactful without being overly strong

- Lots of options including more coffee-forward to more creamy drinks

- Lots of locations

The Bad:

- Can be a bit sweet

Automne Boulangerie

On our last day in Montreal before an evening flight, we decided to hit up a few places where we could bring some things back to Vancouver.  One of which was Automne Boulangerie.  Opened in 2016 under the partnership between Seth Gabrielse and Julien Roy, their mission was to use local ingredients to craft their high-quality products.  They work with local mills and the results speak for themselves.  They are now up to 2 locations with the original being on Avenue Christophe-Colomb and the one we visited at 1470 Rue Bélanger.

Fortunately, it wasn't too busy for a Sunday morning (at 10:30am) as we were able to walk right up to the counter and order.  We even scored a table!  Beyond a few hot bevvies, we got a collection of baked goods including the Butter Croissant.  Gotta say, this was a good croissant.  It was flaky and shattered when I bit into it.  Nice lamination, yet the inside was a bit dense.  Definitely could taste the butter and was nicely aromatic.

One of the more striking items we tried was the Chocolate Danish.  However, it looked more like a sweet version of their Croissignon.  With a spiral design on the outside, it had plenty of texture in the form of firm crunchiness.  It was also plenty aromatic and buttery. Inside, there was some softer buttery portions encasing a semi-sweet chocolate filling.  Adding more crunch was some cocoa nibs on the outside.

Another interesting item was the Cruffin à la Cannelle.  So as the name suggests, this was a hybrid of a croissant and a muffin.  Consisting of croissant dough, this was flaky and buttery.  Due to its compact nature, it was not as light and airy as the butter croissant.  Inside, the cream cheese filling was creamy and not too heavy.  It was purposefully sweet while still maintaining a rich cheesiness.

Looking quite delicious, the Noeud Cardamome or Kardemummabullar is a Scandinavian cardamom knot pastry.  So think cinnamon bun but in a different shape and of course focusing on cardamom.  I loved the crispiness of the exterior, especially the sugary crunch on the top.  Inside, the bun was soft with some elasticity.  The cardamom did come through and it wasn't too strong so the sweetness was at the forefront with only a bit of background aromatics.

Heading to something fruity, we tried the Brioche Saisonnière featuring blueberries.  This was fairly light pastry where the brioche was soft and airy as expected.  However, on the outside, it great colour and just a touch of crunch.  Nestled in the middle we found the juicy blueberries in a semi-sweet glaze.  There was enough of it for every bite of the brioche.

Our last item was an Muffin aux Pommes which had classic apple cinnamon vibes.  It was pretty sweet, but had enough tang with the apple to balance.  The muffin itself was somewhere between fluffy and dense, which was a pleasant texture.  A bit of crunch on top added more sweetness and butteriness.  In addition to these items, we had dined on Automne Boulangerie sourdough several times when we were in Montreal.  Really good bread with a crunchy exterior where the inside was moist with a pleasant chewiness.  Overall, the stuff at Automne is solid, especially their sourdough.  Definitely can see why they are one of the best in Montreal.

The Good:

- That sourdough

- Solid baked goods

- Now they have 2 locations

The Bad:

- Croissant could be more airy inside

Saigon Drip Cafe

You'd think that heading into Downtown Seattle, in particular Pioneer Square, on the Sunday of the NFC Championship would be a great plan right (yes, they already won the Superbowl...)?  Well, we had a date with Saigon Drip Cafe blocks away from Lumen Field.  But there we were, amongst the sea of Seahawk fans decked out in their blue and green.  But we were about to see it was worth the trouble!  Go Seahawks!

We got to the main event with the Ribeye Hot Pot (or Bún Bò Huế for 2).  This featured a heated hot pot with a rich and savory broth that had brininess and definite spiciness.  We found 2 large beef ribs with tender meat that included 6 ounces of shaved ribeye.  There was a wealth of meat and also some pork's blood.  By having the noodles on the side, it ensured that they stayed al dente with a wonderful elasticity.  The usual compliments such as cabbage, banana blossoms, basil, lime and chilis were there to customize your bowl.  This was a lot of food and could feed more than 2 people if you ordered some other dishes.

Some of those other dishes included their Pho with steak, meatball and brisket.  Again, this was fully-loaded as the picture suggests.   I found the amount of meat to be generous.  There was enough all the way to the last bunch of noodles.  The meat was sliced thin and extremely tender.  Noodles were al dente despite sitting in the hot broth while we took pictures.  About that broth, it was clean and not overly salty.  Therefore, the natural meat flavors were present.  Solid bowl of Pho.

We also got their Vermicelli Bowl with Pork.  Staying with the theme of large portions, this was loaded with tender and charred pieces of marinated pork.  Lots of caramelized sweetness and definitely savoriness.  It came with a crispy spring roll that was stuffed with tender pork that was well-seasoned.  The rice was fluffy while still firm at the same time.  Perfect for accepting the nước chấm.

They have a section of the menu dedicated to Bánh Mì and we chose to try the Bánh Mì Drip featuring a boatload of beef brisket.  There was so much of it that we could barely keep it all in the baguette.  It was tender, saucy and full of umami.  The bread was light and crispy while the side of bone marrow soup could be used as a dip.  However, I didn't do that as there was plenty of moisture already.

Of course we couldn't forget about the drinks too right?  We went for the Cafe Sua Da & Salted Foam as well as the Cafe Sua Da & Durian.  I found the coffee itself to be rich and aromatic as Vietnamese coffee is typically like.  The salted foam added some creaminess and further intensified the flavors.  Absolutely loved the durian as it was definitely funky, but just enough to give the coffee some extra without being overwhelming.  Overall, some solid eats at Saigon Drip Cafe and served in large portions too.  Great place to grab a quite bite on your way to the game!

 

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

 

The Good:

- Solid eats and drinks

- Large portions

- Reasonable pricing

 

The Bad:

- Limited seating other than 2 large tables

 

Goldies Langley

Over the last couple of decades, we've seen a considerable amount of development in Langley.  Once seen as a place that was "too far" is now a desirable destination for people to move to.   I have some friends who are out in Walnut Grove and that area was already built-up a while ago.  Another spot that has seen rapid growth is around Willoughby Town Centre.  Once lined with trees, there are multi-unit complexes sprouting up all over the place.  I've been out to Moku a few times last year, where it is nestled within one of these developments.  Sandwiched in between that and Willoughby, we find the newest location of Goldie's Donuts & Bakery.  It too is also at the ground level of another complex.  Love the concept of these little communities within a community.  We witnessed that as many families came in during our visit to Goldie's.

For those who aren't familiar, Goldie's is a brioche donut shop that also offers a selection of baked goods.  The name is inspired by their golden retriever and in fact, they have a plushie of one at both locations.  Their original opened in Horseshoe Bay in March 2024.  The new Langley spot is bigger with more seating.  They offer the same fluffy filled brioche donuts including Tiramisu, Oreo, Matcha and Strawberries & Cream.  Maybe it is recency bias, but I found these to be so light with a pleasant ending chewiness.  They were only mildly sweet with the fillings to be natural-tasting.  The fresh cream was light with only the right amount of sweetness.  I particularly enjoyed the strawberries and cream since it was light and fruity.

They also feature some donuts that are both filled and glazed.  We tried the Pistachio Cream & Raspberry Puree, Triple Berry Cream and Hazelnut Praline.  Although these appeared to be super sweet, they were only mildly so.  I particularly enjoyed the triple berry as it was fruity, with a light berry cream with a sweet glaze on top.  The hazelnut featured a nutty cream and chocolate glaze.  The pistachio was good too with an aromatic nuttiness balanced off by the fruity raspberry puree.

In addition to donuts, they have baked products as well.  We tried the viral Korean Salt Bread, Ham & Cheese Croissant, Blueberry Scone and Double Baked Almond Croissant.  The first time I tried the salt bread, I didn't think much of it.  This time around, I really enjoyed the textural contrast of the crispy exterior compared to the chewy interior.  The salt level was just right.  The scone was a little too flat for my liking but it was moist and full of blueberries though.  Ham and cheese croissant had enough filling for each bite to be fulfilling and the pastry itself was flaky and shattered.  It was a little on the dense side though.  Really enjoyed the double-baked croissant as it was crunchy with lots of slivered almonds.  The filling was buttery and nutty.  There was also a single Old Fashioned Vanilla Glazed Donut with these baked items and it was cakey with a pretty sweet glaze.

We also had some of their drinks and beyond looking rather appealing, they were also great to drink too!  We had the Matcha Cream Latte, Almond Cream Mocha, Matcha Cream Latte with Stawberries and the Nutty Cloud.  Yah, don't sleep on these because they are just as good as the donuts!  My favourite of the bunch was the Nutty Cloud.  There was some crunch on the top and the whole thing was indeed nutty, creamy and just a bit sweet.  The Matcha Cream Latte with strawberries appealed to me too as it was sweet in a good way and had the nice balance between bitter and fruitiness.  Overall, the stuff at Goldie's is quite diverse and ultimately tasty.  Great place to stop by for a drink and a donut/pastry or to grab a box and impress your friends.

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

The Good:

- Fluffy brioche donuts

- Just sweet enough

- Lots of space at this location

The Bad:

- The way the counter is orientated, it becomes quite the bottleneck when there is a large lineup

- Due to the light flavour of some of the fillings, it might not be sweet enough for some (but I like it)

Cộng Cà Phê

Upon finishing up at Congee Queen for a quick meal before the Jan Arden concert, we didn't quite rush to Massey Hall.  You see, we stumbled upon Cộng Cà Phê on the way there and just had to stop for some bevvies.  Too bad we were rather full after ordering too much food because we were quite tempted by their selection of Bánh Mì.  We did end up visiting them again later on this trip, but that was once again after a meal, so we only did drinks.  One day we will come back for the Bánh Mì!

So the first time we dropped by, we had the Coconut Coffee.  Yes, this was on the sweeter side, but in a good way.  It was so fragrant and aromatic with the classic creamy coconut milk vibes.  Mixed in, there was the strong Vietnamese coffee that was well-balanced by the sweetness of the condensed milk.  Since this was a blended ice beverage, it had an appealing cold temperature (great for a hot day).  Also, it was smooth and totally drinkable.

For our other drink, we had the Coconut Green Rice, which was also served as a blended ice drink.  This and the previous drink is part of their Signature menu.  I found this one very sweet and not as balanced as the coconut coffee.  Now that is my very subjective opinion as I'm not into very sweet anything.  So for those who like a coconutty sweet drink with the nuttiness of rice, this would be great.  Once again, it was blended well and easy to drink.

As we were walking back to our hotel after eating another meal, we stopped by to grab a few dinks.  I decided on the Fresh Lime Freeze.  It was essentially a lime slushy with real lime zest.  It was refreshing and light with plenty of bright tanginess.  The lime zest added some bitterness and aromatics.  Once again, this was blended well and it was super easy going through the straw.  It was very sweet though, so despite the tanginess, it was a full on sugar rush.

Lastly, we had the Saigon Salted Kumquat.  Naturally, with it being a drink rather than a slush or some sort, this went down very easy.  it was fruity and citrusy without being too sweet.  It had just enough salt for it to be noticeable further enhancing the natural flavours.  Great drink to quench one's thirst.  Really wished we tried the sandwiches too because they looked good.  I'll make sure I do so next time I'm in town.  Otherwise, we were pretty happy with the drinks albeit on the sweeter side.

The Good:

- Love the cute space

- People are super nice

- Refreshing drinks

The Bad:

- On the sweeter side

Emmer Bakery

So what is this hype about a Pistachio Croissant anyways?  Well apparently, it is enough for people to get to Emmer Bakery on College Street much earlier than it opens to get their hands on it.  The last time I was in TO, I couldn't get myself to wake up and lineup for a croissant.  So on my return visit a few months later, I took a different approach.  Rather than lineup prior to 9:00am, we would come for some lunch and hit up the second batch at 12:45pm.  That we did and hey, success!  But we had some other things too prior to striking the proverbial pistachio jackpot.

Since we got there just as breakfast was ending, we were able to try some of their lunch offerings including the prominently-displayed Muffaletta sandwich at the front counter.  Gotta say this was really good and comparable to the ones I've had in New Orleans.  Served on round Sicilian sesame bread, this came with all the goodies including salami and mortadella, provolone cheese, olives, pickled veggies and EVOO.  This had a great saltiness from the cured meats as well as the sweet tanginess of the olive dressing.  Loved the bread as it was sturdy enough without being too dense.

Next, we tried their House Burger with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion 2 ways, pickles and burger sauce on a potato bun.  Oh man, this was a masterpiece as the burger patty was thick, juicy and well-charred.  The meat was tender and moist while nicely salted.  Good smokiness and nuttiness from the char.  What really made this burger though was the potato bun.  It was super soft and had brioche vibes.  Despite this, it held up to the wet ingredients, but just barely.  It soaked up all of the burger juices and was on the verge of breaking apart, but it held on til the last bite.

We also had the Butter Croissant, which was pretty large and featured good lamination with a tender dough that still had an appealing chewiness.  It was plenty buttery with a nuttiness and aromatics.  There was a decent amount of shatter from the exterior of the crispy croissant too.  Really enjoyed this as it was a good croissant.   We also had the Passionfruit Danish which was also solid.  It featured crispy buttery exterior with defined layers of puff pastry.  The passionfruit cream filling was excellent with the natural aroma and tanginess of the fruit.  It included the crunchy seeds.

Now the for the main event...  We were able to secure the Pistachio Croissant by heading into back into the store at 12:40pm.  In fact, we were the first to get the 2nd batch.  After that, they were going fast.  Gotta say, this was well worth it as the thing was loaded with chopped pistachios.  That in itself afforded the classic pistachio nuttiness and crunch.  There was also pistachio cream to amp the flavour even more so as well as added sweetness.  The croissant itself had some good crunch on the outside while the inside had a slight chew while being pretty sweet.  Okay, now that croissant did live up to the hype, but I though the rest of the things we had were quite good too.  I would say that you don't need to visit Emmer just for their signature item, you'll be happy with anything else on the menu too.

The Good:
- Yes, that Pistachio Croissant is really good
- The burger is next level too
- I don't think you can lose with anything on the menu

The Bad:
- We went on a weekday, so it was manageable, but on busier days, you will need to wait and possibly be out of luck with the croissant

Burnt Orange Cafe + Bistro

When I noticed that Kazu Japanese on Hastings in North Burnaby was closing, it made me sad.  That was one of the few authentic spots in the area, but it was time for the owner to retire.  Well, when one door closes, another opens right?  The space has been taken over by the Burnt Orange Cafe + Bistro, which is a breakfast/brunch spot that has a Korean influence.  Seems like The Grey Olive has some competition now!  I ended up making 2 separate visits and had a variety of breakfast and lunch items.

On my first visit, we shared the Sweet Soy Garlic Chicken Wings to start.  This was a pretty large portion of equally big flats and drumettes.  The meat was juicy and nicely seasoned, but the batter was on the thicker side.  Hence there was a considerable crunchiness, but it was also heavy.  Fortunately, the skin was somewhat rendered and hence, there wasn't any flabbiness.  In terms of the seasoning, it was good with a balance between sweet garlickiness and saltiness.

For our mains, we tried the Burnt Orange Burger with a thick beef patty, bacon, lettuce, tomato, pickles, double Swiss, chipotle aioli and an onion ring on brioche.  This was a pretty solid burger where the patty was charred while the meat was still moist.  If you look at the picture, you might be wondering where the cheese, bacon and pickle are hiding.  Well, there was cheese, it was just off to one side, but I think they left out the pickle and bacon?  It was still a good burger though as the brioche held everything together.

We also had the Mushroom Cream Rigatoni with sauteed mushrooms, mushroom-miso cream, asparagus, pecorino, bread crumbs and shaved parmesan.  If this sounds heavy to you, then you would be right.  This was indeed creamy and rich with lots of nuttiness and saltiness.  I thought the umami really came through with the mushrooms as well as with the miso.  The rigatoni was firmly al dente and held onto the cream sauce well.  There was also a piece of garlic sourdough toast that was quite good.

On my next visit, we did mainly breakfast items including the Burnt Orange Breakfast Plate.  This was loaded with 2 eggs, apple sausage, 2 slices of bacon, parmesan potatoes and 2 slices of cranberry sourdough toast.  Solid plate of food with the eggs being doing overeasy perfectly with a runny yolk.  The bacon strips were crispy and not flabby while the sausage was meaty, juicy and sweet.  Wasn't a fan of the potatoes as they were too squishy.  However, that cranberry sourdough was really good.

We also went for the Pulled Pork Benedict that also came with the parmesan potatoes.  Well, you know what I thought about the potatoes, so I will only hope they make them crispier next time.  As for the benedict, the amount of pulled pork was substantial.  Better yet, it was tender and nicely sauced.  Hence it was moist and had plenty of smoky and sweet BBQ flavour.  The poached egg was beautifully runny and the Hollandaise was creamy and well-seasoned.

Now saving the best for last, the best item I had here was the Blueberry Pancakes.  Just look at the picture.  There was so much fruit on top!  This meant each bite was fruity, tangy and sweet.  However, the pancakes themselves were super fluffy and relatively thick.  Everything soaked into them and I barely needed the maple syrup.  Overall, the food at the Burnt Orange was solid and served in large portions.  Those pancakes were my favourite and would gladly have them again.

The Good:

- Solid eats

- Large portions

- Nice service

The Bad:

- Hash browns could be crispier

- Seating is tight

404 Coffee Lab

If you have been following any form of social media, you might remember the long lines at 404 Coffee when they initially opened.  Located in a small enclave within the recently shuttered Ramen One, 404 Coffee specializes in Asian-inspired coffee and desserts.  They have a walk-up take out window facing busy Broadway just across the street from the Canada Line station.  Now they are expanding into the space vacated by Ramen One and offering a small dine-in menu.  Jackie and I dropped by to check it out.

Of course the first order of business was to sample their Matcha Lovers Menu with the Dirty Matcha Cream Latte, Mango Matcha Latte, Strawberry Matcha Cream Latte and Yuzu Matcha Cream Latte.  I found all of them creamy and smooth with the slight bitterness of matcha.  With the addition of fruit, it lightened things up and added sweetness.  My favourite was the mango as it was tropical-tasting while balanced by the matcha.  However, the best of the bunch was the Dirty Matcha as it added rich coffee to the mix.  Hence it was full-bodied, aromatic, nutty and creamy.   On the end, this was the Einspanner Latte, which was also rich and creamy.  Lots of coffee impact, but not bitter.  Rather, it went down smooth with balancing sweetness.

On their food menu, they have a $6.00 Breakfast Special where you can choose from 6 different "snacks" and from 7 drinks.  For the one pictured, it was a Mentaiko Onigiri with an Iced Americano.   The onigiri had nicely textured rice and plenty of mentaiko mayo for flavour and moisture.  We also tried the Karaage Sando (for $2.00 more) and it was quite good.  There was more than enough juicy seasoned chicken within the soft hot dog bun while dressed with terimayo and nori.  For $1.00 more, you could have a latte or cappuccino rather than the basic coffee.

Sure, they have specialty coffees and some snacks, but interestingly, they also have bigger dishes as well.  These included Rustic Smoked Duck and Street-Style Takoyaki with tomato pasta.  These dishes were served in large portions and I especially enjoyed the duck.  There was an abundance of moist slices of smoked duck atop perfectly al dente pasta.  The tomato sauce was unique as it had some umaminess to go with the slight tang and sweetness.  However, there was something really savoury about it.  As for the Street-Style Takoyaki, it was the same pasta but with some fried squid dressed in unagi sauce and kewpie mayo.

Also available on the menu, we found a selection of Japanese curry.  We ended up choosing the Tempura Curry featuring 3 large ebi tempura.  All mains came with a side salad.  This was rather surprising as I wouldn't have expected such a solid curry at this spot.  It had a nice viscosity and was full of earthiness, sweetness and umaminess.  The rice was dry enough to accept the curry beautifully.  The 3 ebi tempura were crispy with a buttery piece of shrimp inside.

Of course we had some dessert too with Coffee Parfait, Once in a Blue Moon and Caramel Mocha Affogato.  At the core of each dessert was the creamy and rich soft-serve.  It was on the sweeter side, but the natural milk flavour did come through.  I particularly enjoyed the simplicity of the blueberry sundae where there was a ridiculous amount of soft-serve with crunchy blueberries and blueberry sauce.  The affogato was also awesome where their aromatic and strong coffee blended well with the milky soft-serve.  Loved that there was much more soft-serve than coffee, as it remained very much an ice cream with just coffee flavour, rather than turning into a melted mess.  The coffee parfait was on the sweeter side due to the layers of coffee jelly, espresso cake, chocolate sauce and cereal.  Definitely lots of rich coffee flavour while having the same creaminess of the soft-serve.  These desserts are something that I would definitely come back for, but the drinks are even better as they are rich and flavourful.  I wouldn't sleep on the food either as the plates were large and also appealing.  Nice use of the old Ramen One spot!

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

The Good:

- Drinks are seriously good

- Soft-serve is creamy and milky

- Food is decent too

The Bad:

- Due to the setup of Ramen One, the seating is a bit awkward for more than 2 people