Hello fellow foodies. It’s not regularly I rave about about a dessert place. Although, I do love desserts very much. But this one I definitely recommend. I found out about this place through one of my church friend and definitely if you have some place to recommend hit me up anytime because there’s just no way that I can explore all these awesome places without breaking the bank. And I believe sharing is caring!

Combo 3 – Emperor’s Pik

I fell in love with Icepik on my first visit. It was a hot summer day, so something cool was in order. After having a hearty meal at Burgoo with the gang, I suggested we try something light and sweet. Hence, I remember Icepik. It was the best choice ever cause everyone liked it. Despite inside was like an oven, they don’t have air con and it was just super stuffy even with fans. So we decided to just eat on the busy streets of Kingsway. It’s really not the optimal place to have a dessert, but with most desserts place it’s in some shady place in town.

Icepik is not your traditional shaved ice. They call it a “snow cream”, a hybrid of traditional Hawaiian shaved ice (had no idea shaved ice came from Hawaii) and ice-cream. It was light and fluffy, like SNOW.

Icepik has 5 pre-made combos and of course you can always make your own combo. It was our first time, so we decided to go with their pre-selected combos. The Emperor’s Pik could not be a better choice as we both love green tea/matcha. The Emperor’s Pik was green tea snow cream with mochi (house made rice cakes), grass jelly, mango and lychee jelly.

Condiments

There’s 4 different sauces to pick from to make your snow cream more sweet: chocolate, strawberry, caramel and condensed milk. We topped it with condensed milk and it was just amazing!

Combo 4 – Fresh Pik’d Fruit

Came back on a second occasion, this was the Fresh Pik’d Fruit. A mango snow cream with mango, strawberries, mochi and mango jelly. We both thought the Emperor’s Pik was better. Usually the first choice is always better (almost always).

Give it a try before the cold starts to kick in. It’s definitely worth a try. The snow cream is much smoother compared to shaved ice. It is fairly priced, starting at $4.50.

Know any other dessert places, let me know in the comments section below!

The post Icepik Shavery (Best shaved ice in Vancouver!) appeared first on eatwith.ROBINLEUNG.com.

#EWRL Disclaimer: I was invited by Della Casa Restaurant Group for a tasting dinner at one of their newest establishments, Char 631! Opinions are my own.

Char 631 – Dining

Char 631 is one of the newest restaurants owned by Della Casa Restaurant Groups, located on 631 Lougheed Hwy right next to the Ramada Hotel. I don’t drive by that way very much, hence, I didn’t even know there was a new restaurant in the area until they reached out to me. Being one of the few food bloggers in Vancity that lives in the suburbs, I was happy that there is something new and exciting closer to home.

Char 631 – Lounge

They are still in the midst of a full launch and grand opening. But this restaurant is interesting, it’s a steakhouse and a lounge. But I had neither of those feelings when I walked in the door. I was a bit confused when I walked in the door, which side should I pick? The waiter stand was outside the front door but nobody was there to greet us. It was forgiving, understanding that they have not fully launched. More on their service later.

Char 631 offers more than just a traditional steakhouse offering but also many signature Ocean wise seafood, sandwiches, pasta, soups and salads. They also serve breakfast, lunch and happy hour. There’s something for everyone here. They guarantee everything is freshly made in-house, including their pastries and desserts. Their steaks are only USDA prime delivering a quality experience.

Fruit Stand (left) Philips Blue Buck Ale (right)

At Char 631, drinks selections were decent and so were the prices. They even have happy hour drinks specials at $3, 7 days a week. The fiancée had a mocktail which was a combo of cranberry, pineapple and orange juice. Being a steakhouse, I should’ve ordered the reds or whites but being the beer type of guy, I opted for a glass of Phillips Blue Buck Ale. I was surprised they even had some Craft beer offerings.

Mac & Cheese Stick

Chef Saboor Asadi had such a heart-warming personality. We were greeted by his first dish before we even had a chance to study the menu. The deep fried mac & cheese drizzled with a 3 cheese sauce is one of their many sides.

Mac & Cheese Stick

The first few bites were heavenly. The flavours were rich, crispy on the outside while creamy and cheesy on the inside. A recommended side for those mac & cheese lovers.

The ultimate meat platter

Our chef asked what we wanted to have for dinner tonight? Here’s a tip, it pays to trust the chef! And that’s exactly what we did, despite we studied the menu. Chef Asadi completely spoiled and surprised us with three of their Signature entrées served on a cutting platter.

Salmon w/ Jumbo Sautéed Tiger Prawns

The salmon was cooked perfectly. At first, it looked a little dry that was until I took the first bite, the juice locked right in. Served with grilled vegetables, jumbo sautéed tiger prawns and a personal touch of in-house smoked salmon.

Cornish Hen

That’s right, a whole hen served right in front of you. Originally served with garlic mesh, bay carrots and rosemary jus. But our chef decided to swap it with brussels sprouts and grilled ‘shrooms. This is definitely the most farm to table dish of the night. The hen was marinated very well, every pieces of meat had hint of rosemary. Loved the brussels sprouts, simply lemon, capers & parmesan.

8oz strip-loin

Here comes the main piece of attention tonight, 8oz USDA prime strip-loin served with grilled zucchini and  roasted potatoes. The steak was seasoned very well, every piece was juicy and meaty. Charred to perfection.

Striploin

I think we were pretty full before dessert arrived and for your information we couldn’t finish all the food but we didn’t put it to waste. We were privileged to try a variety of their signature dishes which were all solid.

Desserts anyone?

Just when we thought the night was wrapping up, our chef surprised with 4 of their desserts on a platter. You can see where the night is going, food coma!

Chocolate cake

At Char 631, their desserts are made in-house by pastry chef. Now, I’m not a major fan of chocolate cakes, but this one was exceptional. Composed with a mixture of dark chocolate and Belgium chocolate, and a layer of crisp inside. Definitely recommended for the chocolate lovers. Surprisingly, it was not overly sweetened as well (perfect for my Asian tastebuds).

New York cheesecake

The cheesecake was soft and light. New York style.

Creme Brûlée

My personal favourite. I’m a creme brûlée fan! (So yes, I maybe bias.) But this was creamy and warm. The toffee taste was mmm…delicious!

Butter cakes

Our chef raved about these butter cakes, I found them a bit hard but who can deny cute littles pieces of pastry?

Char 631

All in all, Char 631 offers a rock solid food experience and presentation. With that it brings new options to those who wants to try something new and beyond the chain restaurants.  I think their service is still a work in progress and they have not fully launched their regular menus yet, so if you want to give them a try you may be disappointed that some items on their website is not available until their grand opening. But rest-assured that all the items in this blog post are on their testing menu. If you’re in for a steak dinner and you want to try something beyond the local chains, give Char 631 a try! You will definitely be “well-fed”.

The post Char 631 – A Modern Steakhouse appeared first on eatwith.ROBINLEUNG.com.

Location: 4090 Hastings Street, Burnaby

Phone: (604) 500-4548 | Website: http://www.glenburnsoda.com/ | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glenburnsoda

There’s plenty of ice-cream shops that have popped up in Vancouver this year. But this place is not your typical ice-cream shop. In fact, it’s not just an ice-cream shop. Glenburn has been a long standing store known for soda fountains and other things sweet.

Fountain Service

Decor in here gives it a dated atmosphere. It feels like you’re almost travelling back in time to the old days. There’s love in this place as you browse around. You can pick from sodas, cones, milkshakes, floats, malts, egg cream, and the list goes on!!

Sundae

My fiancée and I came on a rather chilly afternoon. For some reason, yes, we like to eat ice-cream on rainy and cold days for some reason. The good thing about that is it’s not over-crowded. Since we finished lunch not too long ago, we decided to get a small sundae to share. It’s topped with whipped cream, walnuts, hot fudge (but you get to pick from a selection), and a cherry on top. Looking at first, I thought this was going to be a sweet bomb but it turned out to be a balanced sweetness to it. Whipped cream was freshly whipped, not sweet at all. The hot fudge was warm to the mouth. Overall, loved it!

Glenburn

Will definitely be back to try more things from the menu.

The post Glenburn Soda Fountain & Confectionary appeared first on eatwith.ROBINLEUNG.com.