Dining Out: Mango Strawberry Mixed Rolled Ice Cream at Roll Me Up

It has been a long time since I've had Thai-style rolled ice cream (probably two decades, honestly), so I was particularly excited to go to Roll Me Up with Chelsea for a late night dessert:

   Mango Strawberry Mixed Rolled Ice Cream

When the server asked me what toppings I wanted, I told him to decide for me, so he chose the matching mango and strawberry popping bobas and this combination was PURE DELIGHT. So, now I must come back ASAP to make up for all the years I didn't have rolled ice cream.

Roll Me Up

9325 Yonge St., Unit 18

Richmond Hill, ON L4C 0A8

(905) 508-0600

Take Out: Pistachio and Hazelnut Gelato at Love Gelato

Pistachio and hazelnut gelato

Went to Love Gelato (because spring means gelatoice cream frozen dessert season has begun) after work and got a double-cup of my favourite pistachio and hazelnut — my forever couple.

Love Gelato

116 Main St. Markham N.

Markham, ON L3P 1Y1

(905) 201-2918

Hong Kong 2024 Travel Log: Day 4 — Afternoon Tea Set at Fast Gourmet

We were exploring the many, many levels at The ONE and decided to stop for afternoon tea at a cafe called Fast Gourmet, which offers a set for $129 HKD from $258 HKD on weekdays:

Afternoon tea set

Seared Hokkaido jumbo scallops with caviar

Prosciutto bruschetta, French duck liver mousse, and crab meat salad on toast

Sous-vide crème brûlée, white chocolate truffle cheesecake, French rainbow macaron, and classic Opera cake

Latte (with a swan!)

This is the first time I've ever seen seared scallops as part of an afternoon tea set, but it actually ended up being my favourite item, followed by the crème brûlée. Generally, I'd say the dessert items in the afternoon tea set were better than the savoury, but we can't complain at an afternoon tea for less than $25 CAD per person. (We did pay extra to switch from tea to lattes, though. I know it's called afternoon tea, but... we're coffee people.) 

Fast Gourmet

The ONE, L608, 6/F

100 Nathan Rd.

Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon

Hong Kong

(852) 3572-0736

BTS Birthday Event: "SOPE" Celebration for J-Hope and Suga at Golden Bubbles

Oh, yes, Iris and I are back at it again with the BTS cup sleeve events! We unfortunately missed Tae's and Jin's birthdays because we couldn't find an event that would work with our schedules in December, so when we saw that GTA BTS Events was hosting a SOPE event (that's Suga + J-Hope for non-ARMYs) this weekend, we jumped at the chance.

BTS Suga and J-Hope "SOPE" Birthday Event at Golden Bubbles
The BTS Waffle
Apple Pie Waffle with vanilla ice cream
Brown sugar tea lattes with BTS SOPE cupsleeves
BTS Suga and J-Hope "SOPE" Birthday Event at Golden Bubbles
BTS Suga and J-Hope "SOPE" Birthday Event at Golden Bubbles
BTS Suga and J-Hope "SOPE" Birthday Event at Golden Bubbles
BTS Suga and J-Hope "SOPE" Birthday Event at Golden Bubbles — Photocards

It was held at Golden Bubbles, so of course, we had to get the BTS Waffle that only comes out for BTS birthday events (taro bubble waffle, taro ice cream, whipped cream, and star-shaped sprinkles), but we also got their new Apple Pie Waffle with vanilla ice cream, and two of their new Brown Sugar Tea Lattes, which were all quite delightful and provided us enough sugar intake for the next three days.

Thank you to GTA BTS Events for hosting and organizing this event, and happy early birthday to our beloved Hobi (February 18) and Yoongi (March 9)! 🐿️🐱🎉💜

Golden Bubbles Vaughan

Tuscany Place

3175 Rutherford Rd., Unit #41

Vaughan, ON L4K 5Y6

(905) 760-9288

BTS Birthday Event: "Jimin Chaos" for Jimin at Golden Bubbles

Due to some scheduling and commuting issues, we couldn't make it to any of the RM birthday events last month, so Iris and I decided we had to go to at least one Jimin birthday event this month. Technically, Jimin's birthday was last week, but due to the BTS "Yet to Come" in Busan concert, a lot of the Jimin birthday events were pushed back to this weekend instead. So Iris and I decided to drive all the way to Vaughan to attend the "Jimin Chaos" cup sleeve event at Golden Bubbles this afternoon.

BTS Jimin "Jimin Chaos" Birthday Event at Golden Bubbles
BTS Jimin "Jimin Chaos" Birthday Event at Golden Bubbles
Golden Bubbles is, of course, known for their Hong Kong egg waffles (or "bubble waffles"), and they've created two specialty waffles for this event. One is the "BTS Waffle," which is a taro waffle with taro ice cream, taro syrup, whipped cream, and star-shaped sprinkles. (If it looks familiar, it's because they've made this before for another BTS event.) The second one is the "Jimin Waffle," which is a black sesame waffle with black sesame ice cream, mango ice cream, and whipped cream. 

The BTS Waffle: Taro egg waffle with taro ice cream, taro syrup, whipped cream, and star-shaped sprinkles
The Jimin Waffle: Black sesame egg waffle with black sesame ice cream, mango ice cream, and whipped cream

 

MY GOD, I haven't indulged this hard in a while. I do think the BTS Waffle is more aesthetic (I mean, it's purple with sprinkles and sprinkles make everything prettier), but I actually preferred the Jimin Waffle as a whole because I'm biased towards black sesame and mango flavours and they work surprisingly well together. Still, they're both delicious in their own right and you can't go wrong with either. (Unless you hate taro, mango, or black sesame flavours. In which case, you're fucked up. Just kidding. Kinda. But there are a ton of other non-BTS-themed options to choose from.)

   Kiwi Guava Green Tea (left) and HK Lemon Tea Slush (right) with "Jimin Chaos" Cup Sleeve

But then we got really thirsty, so we also ordered some boba — a kiwi guava green tea for me (I had to go sugar-free on this — I can't even imagine how high my glucose level spiked after those waffles) and an HK lemon tea slush for Iris, which were both delightfully refreshing on a surprisingly warm and sunny fall day like today. Of course, we got cup sleeves to go with our orders — this angel wing-style is particularly gorgeous — as well as a bunch of photocards and little bags of candy for Halloween. Thank you so much to GTA BTS Events for hosting and organizing this lovely event! It will be on tomorrow as well, so if you're an ARMY in the GTA reading this, you still have a chance to go if you missed out on today.

And, most importantly, HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO OUR BELOVED JIMINIE!

Golden Bubbles Vaughan

Tuscany Place

3175 Rutherford Rd., Unit #41

Vaughan, ON L4K 5Y6

(905) 760-9288

BTS Birthday Event: "HAPPY JK DAY" for Jungkook at Palgong Tea

Went to celebrate Jungkook's birthday with Ying at Palgong Tea!

BTS Jungkook "HAPPY JK DAY" Birthday Event at Palgong Tea
BTS Jungkook "HAPPY JK DAY" Birthday Event at Palgong Tea
BTS Jungkook "HAPPY JK DAY" Birthday Event at Palgong Tea

This is the first time I've seen an actual cafe host and organize a BTS birthday cup sleeve event. Usually, these events are organized by an ARMY or a team of ARMYs, and they ask a cafe if they can host it at the venue, so I'm guessing the team at Palgong Tea Metro Square are ARMYs themselves. This particular location does not have any seating so it is take-out only, but the cafe staff did an amazing job at decorating their little shop space. 

"Euphoria" Banana Milk Tea with "HAPPY JK DAY" Cup Sleeve at Palgong Tea
"Euphoria" Banana Milk Tea at Palgong Tea

They made a special menu just for this event with three limited edition drinks just for the occasion, so we both decided on the "Euphoria" — banana milk tea, in honour of one of JK's favourite drinks — because we wanted to try something that was different from our usual boba choices. It's sweet as heck but is ridiculously delicious and incredibly addictive, like banana ice cream. Some people don't like artificial banana flavour, but we are not those people. I would absolutely order this again. (And I imagine Jungkook would totally approve of this boba.)

Happy 25th birthday to our beautiful, talented, golden maknae! 

Palgong Tea 

Metro Square

3636 Steeles Ave. E., Unit 125

Markham, ON L3R 1K9

(289) 554-9638

Dining Out: Shrimp Boil with Corn and Baby Potatoes, Cajun Fries, Crab Cake Benedict, and French Toast with Peanut Butter and Condensed Milk at Good Catch Bar & Cafe

It's FRI-YAY! And I get an entire weekend off! Which starts with tonight's dinner with Amanda and Viv. Viv suggested going to Good Catch since it's become both a seafood boil house and an HK-style cafe in one and she's been craving both recently.

Shrimp boil with corn and baby potatoes
Cajun fries
And it was there that we had seemingly the most random dinner, ever. We started with a pound of boiled peeled shrimp with corn and baby potatoes in their spicy house blend sauce and a side of deliciously crispy cajun fries. For mains, Viv decided on baked black pepper chicken with spaghetti, Amanda had the sakura shrimp and chicken fried rice, and I decided on the crab cake Benedict. Not exactly a dinner food, but I saw it on the menu on one of my previous visits and was hell-bent on finally trying it. (Plus, I am a big fan of breakfast for dinner.) It was pretty good, and came with a side of cajun home fries and salad, but I do wish the crab cake itself was more tender (I'm almost positive the crab cake was from frozen) and that there was two of them as Benedicts usually come with. I mean, we had a pound of boil to share as well, but if I had come for this Benedict alone, I don't think it would've been filling enough. And for $19.99, I expect to be full.

Crab cake Benedict
French toast with peanut butter and condensed milk

However, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise because Viv really wanted to get the condensed milk and peanut butter French toast for dessert, and neither Amanda nor I were going to deny having one of the most delectable HK cafe offerings known to man. As it turns out, the one at Good Catch is A BEAST. Two thick slices of milk bread with peanut butter in between, deep-fried until crispy and golden, and then drenched with condensed milk and icing sugar. (With butter on the side because this alone isn't fattening enough.) One of the most indulgent foods I've ever seen, but SO WORTH IT. 

And the reason for such a random smorgasbord of foods? Viv announced that she is officially 12 weeks pregnant. 😁

Good Catch Bar & Cafe

179 Enterprise Blvd., Unit 109

Markham, ON L6G 0A2

(905) 940-3232

BTS 9th Anniversary Event: "Yet to Come" at Kung Fu Tea

"Yet to Come" BTS 9th Anniversary Cup Sleeves
"Bora-Berry Iced Tea" at Kung Fu Tea
"Yet to Come" BTS 9th Anniversary Decorations
"Yet to Come" BTS 9th Anniversary Decorations
Happy BTS Comeback weekend! In honour of BTS' 9th anniversary this coming Monday and the release of their new album Proof yesterday, Iris and I went to an adorable cup sleeve event at Kung Fu Tea, where we both got the "Bora-Berry Iced Tea," a deliciously fruity, refreshingly tart, and fantastically purple drink made with butterfly pea tea, cranberry tea, lime juice, and agar jellies created just for the event. Thank you so much to Army Events Toronto and Kait Martin for organizing and hosting this awesome event and creating some of the cutest cup sleeves I've ever seen. 

Happy 9th anniversary and comeback to BTS! 🥰💜 

Kung Fu Tea

584 Yonge St.

Toronto, ON MY 1Z3

(416) 551-8580

Dining Out: Club Sandwich and Macau-Style Baked Portuguese Chicken Rice at Good Catch Bar & Cafe

I was way too lazy to cook after work today so I took my mom to Good Catch Bar & Cafe for some good ol' HK-style cafe food. (I did say I wanted to come back ASAP, after all.)

Club sandwich
Macau-style baked Portuguese chicken rice

On tonight's menu, a club sandwich and the Macau-style baked Portuguese chicken rice. (So much for trying to be healthy this week.) The club sandwich, which totally falls into the category of "something I could make at home but would never take the effort to," lacks bacon and sliced poultry, but it does replace those with a deep-fried pork cutlet, so it's forgivable and totally delicious. Their Portuguese chicken rice uses regular white jasmine rice instead of fried rice and doesn't include potatoes, but it does have an excellent coconut curry flavour, a great thick, saucy texture, and includes quite a lot of chicken, so I still thought it was worth ordering. Each food item also comes with a complimentary hot or cold coffee or tea which negates the need to order drinks, so our meal ended up being less than $15 per person after tax and tip.

GOD, I LOVE HK CAFES. AND NOT HAVING TO COOK EVERY NIGHT.

Good Catch Bar & Cafe

179 Enterprise Blvd., Unit 109

Markham, ON L6G 0A2

(905) 940-3232

Dining Out: Spam & Egg Sandwich, Deep-Fried Calamari & Fish Balls, Prawn & Beef Scrambled Eggs on Rice, Stir-Fried Udon with Swiss Beef, and Baked Rice with Chicken & Creamy Truffle Sauce at Good Catch Bar & Cafe

Went to the (relatively) new Hong Kong-style cafe restaurant by Good Catch Boil House, aptly named Good Catch Bar & Cafe, with Ying and her family for dinner.

Spam and egg sandwich
Deep-fried calamari and fish balls
Prawn and beef scrambled eggs on rice
Stir-fried udon with Swiss beef
Baked rice with chicken and creamy truffle sauce

Our (pretty random) menu for the evening: a Spam and egg sandwich (simple but SO FREAKING GOOD — I still don't know how they get the eggs to be so fluffy — and did you really go to a HK cafe if you didn't get a Spam and egg sandwich?), deep-fried calamari and fish balls (carried over from Good Catch Boil House — decent, but the fish balls were dry and chewy, and not in a good way — wouldn't order again), prawn and beef scrambled eggs on rice (excellent, again with the fluffy eggs, plus plump shrimp, and sauce-drenched beef with two carefully placed broccoli florets — you can't go wrong), stir-fried udon with Swiss udon (this is usually made with flat rice noodles, but I love the chew of the udon), and baked rice with chicken and creamy truffle sauce (an indulgence but SO WORTH IT — baked dishes at HK cafes are definitely one of the few instances where I prefer rice over noodles). 

Nostalgia aside, there are just way too many things on the menu that I need to try. Baked Portuguese chicken rice? Curry beef brisket with instant ramen? Crab cake Benedict? God, I need to come back ASAP.

Good Catch Bar & Cafe

179 Enterprise Blvd., Unit 109

Markham, ON L6G 0A2

(905) 940-3232

BTS Birthday Event: "SOPE WORLD" for Suga and J-Hope at Bloom Cafe

SOPE WORLD Min Yoongi/Suga Cup Sleeves
SOPE WORLD Decorations
SOPE WORLD J-Hope Photocard
Made a quick stop at Bloom Cafe with Ying this afternoon for the "Sope World" BTS cup sleeve event which was honouring both Suga's and J-Hope's birthdays. There were three cup sleeves to choose from for this event, but since we celebrated J-Hope's birthday last month, both Ying and I chose Suga cup sleeves today since his birthday was just several days ago. (In case you're wondering, I got a matcha latte for today's drink because Bloom Cafe does one of the best ones in the city.) Thank you to Cynnie/Rock Bison Shop for hosting and organizing today's event, even in the freezing cold and snow! And of course, happy birthday to our Min Yoongi a.k.a. Suga a.k.a. Agust D! 💜🎉

BTS Birthday Event: "HOBI DAY 2022" for J-Hope at The Alley Hub

First BTS birthday of the year!  🎉💜 

HOBI DAY 2022 Cup Sleeves!
Deerioca Fever Soy Milk Bubble Tea
HOBI DAY 2022 Photocards
HOBI DAY 2022 Decorations
HOBI DAY 2022 Cup Sleeve Tower
HOBI DAY 2022 J-Hope Poster
HOBI DAY 2022 Decorations
HOBI DAY 2022 Decorations
HOBI DAY 2022 Decorations
In honour of J-Hope's 28th birthday, Ying and I went to a cup sleeve event at The Alley Hub after work today. (This particular location just opened and is having their soft opening right now, so you get 15% off any drink this week!) We celebrated with our favourite Deerioca Fever bobas (they're basically brown sugar milk teas, but I get mine made with soy milk because it tastes exactly like Oatmeal Crisp Maple Nut cereal and IT IS DELIGHTFUL AF), which got us the adorable cup sleeves and a set of sexy Hobi photocards. Thank you so much to @jwaehope218 and @ghopewrld for hosting and organizing such a beautiful event. So glad we could celebrate on Hobi's actual birthday this year! 

Happy birthday to our eternal sunshine, our Piece of Peace, Jung Hoseok! ☀️✌🏼🥳

The Alley Hub

8750 Bayview Ave., Unit 1

Richmond Hill, ON L4B 4V9