Matcha cafes seem to be popping up all over the place these days, and it's hard to keep up with all the trendy new spots. Luckily, M keeps me posted, and she told me about their opening, so I hopped on it. Right after work on Thursday, I persuaded S to go with me, before we met up with the others for dinner and badminton.
This one is hidden away on the plaza at Saba road, not a lot of space to sit. There was a short line up when we arrived, and the line kept growing! Not the fastest service for the opening day.
I had the Maiko Special, which is the name for their parfait. It comes with their soft serve, shiratama, a water chestnut, red bean, matcha cake, cornflakes, and at the very bottom, a layer of their kokuto jelly, but...
They ran out of the jelly, and substituted it with something else (I don't remember what they called the replacement...). Either way, it was disappointing that they were running out of ingredients, when they should have prepared for it in advance. Did they not realize the power of social media would bring droves of foodies to their shop on opening day, especially in a city like Vancouver?
My conclusion is that the Maiko Special was not worth the $11. It was interesting to look at, and it tastes great (sorry for the bad photo, because S didn't want to hand model properly for it), but if you're going to charge a premium price, then the overall experience should feel more satisfying and I'd want better ambiance inside the cafe. If you do go, the shiratama and the matcha did compliment each other very well, so I'd suggest just getting the ice cream with shiratama on the side to go.
It feels like a lot of things have been happening around the office lately, but it's been manageable. We get some interesting moments, like how K will become a beauty vlogger, and overhearing some really awkward conversations about presents that my coworkers have purchased in the past for their wives.
It went something like this:
Coworker 1 - I've purchased lingerie before for my wife, and told her that it's a present for her now, but she can wear it as a gift for me later!
Coworker 2 - Yeah! I've bought it so many times for her though, she just says, "This again?"
Coworker 3 - It's funny sometimes to watch these guys go into lingerie shops to shop.
Coworker 2 - Oh no, I'm used to it.
Pretty disgusting to talk about in the open at an office setting, but I just ignored them... One of the 3 coworkers from that conversation just left the company today. I guess this job was not a good matcha for him!
This one is hidden away on the plaza at Saba road, not a lot of space to sit. There was a short line up when we arrived, and the line kept growing! Not the fastest service for the opening day.
I had the Maiko Special, which is the name for their parfait. It comes with their soft serve, shiratama, a water chestnut, red bean, matcha cake, cornflakes, and at the very bottom, a layer of their kokuto jelly, but...
They ran out of the jelly, and substituted it with something else (I don't remember what they called the replacement...). Either way, it was disappointing that they were running out of ingredients, when they should have prepared for it in advance. Did they not realize the power of social media would bring droves of foodies to their shop on opening day, especially in a city like Vancouver?
My conclusion is that the Maiko Special was not worth the $11. It was interesting to look at, and it tastes great (sorry for the bad photo, because S didn't want to hand model properly for it), but if you're going to charge a premium price, then the overall experience should feel more satisfying and I'd want better ambiance inside the cafe. If you do go, the shiratama and the matcha did compliment each other very well, so I'd suggest just getting the ice cream with shiratama on the side to go.
It feels like a lot of things have been happening around the office lately, but it's been manageable. We get some interesting moments, like how K will become a beauty vlogger, and overhearing some really awkward conversations about presents that my coworkers have purchased in the past for their wives.
It went something like this:
Coworker 1 - I've purchased lingerie before for my wife, and told her that it's a present for her now, but she can wear it as a gift for me later!
Coworker 2 - Yeah! I've bought it so many times for her though, she just says, "This again?"
Coworker 3 - It's funny sometimes to watch these guys go into lingerie shops to shop.
Coworker 2 - Oh no, I'm used to it.
Pretty disgusting to talk about in the open at an office setting, but I just ignored them... One of the 3 coworkers from that conversation just left the company today. I guess this job was not a good matcha for him!
