La Cuisson 咖啡坊

La Cuisson

Something I have noticed in this city: Vancouver itself is a true, Pacific Northwest coffee-loving city, with absolutely no limits to how many Starbucks and/or specialty coffee shops can occupy a single block. In its suburb of Richmond, however, this trend is very obviously replaced  by bubble-tea houses. There is around the same number of Starbucks in the whole city of Richmond as there is within a half-mile radius in downtown Vancouver alone. It is, however, almost impossible to count the number of tea houses in Richmond.  

Unfortunately, for coffee lovers of this suburb, the best and most convenient roast would be from your own machine. At least, there aren’t many non-chain coffee places serving up a great cup of espresso in Richmond. A search led me to La Cuisson 咖啡坊, a real “coffee house” in Richmond. I have always passed by this place in the Union Squre Plaza, but have never gone in.

It’s a cozy little shop with about 7 tables. Many coffee confections – from machines, to giant bags of beans, to little exerpts about coffee sitting by the tables – surround you. There was one barista and one waitress working when we came, and several tables of people. The service is friendly and fast. They have beans from many different parts of the world. Hot drinks, cold drinks. There is tea on the menu for non-coffee drinkers, and aside from the pastries there is also a little snacks menu (I remember seeing toast and stuff).

I had the Americano, with a bit of crema, not a lot. I found it slightly lacking in aroma and body. Roast is very slightly bitter, acidity is low.

Americano

P chose the espresso with cookies. The cup and serving dish look pretty. Decent crema on the espresso.

Espresso with cookies

NF’s latte, with little hearts. Unfortunately I had to use my cell phone to take these pictures so I apologize for the poor quality. I didn’t like the cup this came in…serving a latte with latte art in a run-of-the-mill coffee cup just doesn’t seem right. I tried a bit of this- it’s not bad, definitely better than chain stuff, but again I found it a bit lacking in aroma and body.

Latte

Supposedly all the treats in the store are home-made by the owner’s wife (I don’t think either were present when I visited). The cakes look pretty good. We ordered some biscotti. With almonds. Not bad. Taste like biscotti, which aren’t really my thing. They seem to like sprinkling powdered sugar on everything.

Biscotti

La Cuisson is not that much more expensive than your typical chain-coffee house, and I found it to be cheaper than many tea houses. They also sell machines and beans. All in all, a genuine coffee shop owned by a true coffee-lover. I’d come here again and try their other stuff.

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La Cuisson 咖啡坊

1326-8368 Capstan Way, Richmond (In the Union Square Plaza)

Tomato Fresh Food Cafe

The day before my surgery last week, W and I had lunch at the Tomato Fresh Food Cafe. This would be their new home in Kits that opened this summer, after the Canada Line construction forced them to move from Cambie Street. I like their warm, casual, and inviting decor: the restaurant is brightly lit – mainly by skylight, there are large indoor trees, the restaurant is very spacious, and the bars and booths are comfortable. Definitely more trendy and sophisticated compared to the old Cambie location.

We arrived at about 1pm. The place was busy but not full, but they still make you sit in the little waiting area (with tables and comfy couches) for about 10 minutes before they seat you. We were seated by a big tree near the back of the restaurant.

W and I shared two sandwiches: the vegetarian with hummus and mayo. The hummus was OK. I ordered it on the sourdough (instead of the whole wheat). The sourdough was OK, not that sour, not that crusty, and I think there is some whole wheat flour in it. Overall, it was an OK sandwich.

And we also ordered the lox and cream cheese on a bagel. I love lox and cream cheese. This was very good. (Though I have yet to compare it to the same thing at Siegel’s or Solly’s.) The smoked salmon and capers were quite fresh. The bagel itself was great. It was a sesame bagel, with a nice chewiness and slight sweetness to it. I wonder where they get their bagels from.

I like how things are freshly made here, and you can ask them to make a particular sandwich on the menu to your liking. The atmosphere is nice and relaxing, though if I was in a hurry for lunch I might just pack my own sandwich, because it does take a while for them to seat you and then for the food to come. Two little things: They didn’t refill our water even once, and a leaf fell on W’s head while she was eating her bagel. 😀 Otherwise, a nice place and I might revisit for the brunch menu.

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Tomato Fresh Food Cafe

2486 Bayswater Street (and W. Broadway)

Naked Bagel @ Tim Horton’s

The object of my Bagel Quest is to find bagels that are delicious as is – plain and without any added toppings. Indeed, my bagelogy is that if your plain bagels ain’t good, your bagels ain’t good, period. Anyway, last week I had a sliced, toasted plain bagel (“Naked Bagel”) from Tim Horton’s. Probably something everybody is familiar with. Uggh…not great. Semi-dense, not that chewy. It definitely lacked that slight sweetness that I love in bagels. In fact, there is hardly any flavor to it. That’s probably why they kept asking if I wanted cream cheese.

I’d say that if I was born without a sense of taste or smell, then I might be able to identify this object as a bagel just by mouthfeel.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Since I can’t eat much, there isn’t much to post in terms of turkey, Christmas baking, or giant festive meals, sorry. So … instead I shall post a picture of little sesame challah buns from the GC Bakery.  Challah is kind of festive, no? ^___^

Latte Art @ Cafe Artigiano

Back from a little hiatus… which involved a hospital visit and being dissected. This unfortunately means that my Christmas posts will not be filled with extreme feasting. *sigh* However, I am backlogged on posts, so we should be bursting with food nevertheless! For Christmas Eve, I have decided to dedicate a post to something lovely: Coffee.

I was a tea drinker… once. I used to dislike coffee. Somehow, some when, I converted. At first, I could drink the instant stuff. Then I went from getting a tall Americano from Starbucks once in a little while, to having a grande every day. Now, the drip brew from Tim Horton’s tastes like shit to me. I am by no means a coffee connoiseur, I don’t even brew my own… but I salivate when I see nice espresso machines. I only know that I don’t like drip brew, I don’t like bitter, I don’t like over-roasted, and I prefer espresso-based drinks.

Caffè Artigiano is considered to be one of the best coffee houses in Vancouver, and has won the Canadian Barista Championship for several years. I love their espresso for what it tastes like, not the leaves and hearts that decorate the milk foam on top. Not that I don’t consider it a skill, but latte art in general doesn’t impress me so much, because sometimes I think of fancy-shmancy as a cover up for a less satisfactory product. This is, of course, not the case at Artigiano. Though I must admit the latte experience is more exciting with the art than without.

Their Americano is good, better and with a nicer crema than your typical Starbucks fare:

Now, if you have had a latte at Starbucks, and actually like it, then that’s just… too bad. I can still drink Starbuck’s Americano, but there is no way I’d have the latte at Starbucks. I don’t know if there is latte better than Artigiano’s: their’s has got a great aroma, very roasty, and not at all bitter. Which is very important. It is far superior than most latte’s out there, even without the latte art. This particular leaf wasn’t the prettiest, but it really doesn’t matter:

Due so soon?! A tall just isn’t enough! 

Before I tried it I had an impression that this place might be a little overrated. I don’t think it is – Artigiano is really that good. But maybe just how great you think it is depends on your specific coffee preferences and snobbiness, and what you order. Artigiano is pretty much the same price as Starbucks, but to me it is far better. Unfortunately they just aren’t close to where I live, and I don’t have an espresso machine.

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Caffe Artigiano

5 locations in Vancouver: Pender, Hornby, Hastings, Park Royal, Kerridale.

The Ugly Duckling: Okinawan Purple Sweet Potato

The Okinawan purple sweet potato is one interesting tuber. From the outside, its tan, light brownish colored skin makes it a plain old root vegetable, and its thin, irregular shape puts it at the ugly end of the spectrum. (Not that any tuber can be considered remotely good looking, but some are not particularly ugly, like baby potatoes.) At first glance you might disregard it as another dirty root vegetable sprung from the ground; I definitely wouldn’t know it’s got anything to do with purple if it wasn’t labeled as such. In fact, given the price (over 2 dollars per pound) I might just roll my eyes and pick up a typical, cheap as dirt, sweet potato.

But! Never judge a book by its cover, or, er, a potato by its skin! Because underneath this very unassuming exterior hides a most majestic interior – a deep purple lightly speckled almost like a gem of sorts – that is deliciously rich, slightly moist, and very sweet. I didn’t believe it when first introduced, but the purple sweet potato is the Cinderella of root vegetables, and tastes as beautiful as it looks (inside).

The purple sweet potato was introduced to Japan in the 1600s from China. Today, outside of Japan, it is mainly grown in Hawaii. In your Asian supermarket, you will find it falsely labeled as “Hawaiian Purple Yam“. According to this source the purple sweet potato is not the same as the ube, which is a yam that also has purple flesh but red skin. (And this Nerd really shouldn’t have to explain to her dear readers what the difference between a yam and a sweet potato is, should she now? ;-))

Although both the purple sweet potato and the ube is pureed into a purple mush to create various kinds of purple-colored desserts like cakes, pies, and ice cream, I think it is great to enjoy it as is. The best way to prepare it is not by baking, but steaming. Despite being sweet, it doesn’t have as much moisture as the normal sweet potato, so baking doesn’t quite produce a soft and moist potato but dries it out. (This was baking 2 hours at 375F – the thing was still hard and not mushy unlike baking a sweet potato.) On the other hand, steaming it on a plate sat on a water-filled pan or wok, is much faster and retains a bit of the moisture. From experience, not all are sweet, and skinnier potatos that don’t have giant bulges (or at least have a somewhat uniform diameter throughout) seem to be sweeter. But I am really no expert, so you might want to buy more than one in case I am not right.

Banished from the kitchen!

Day 3 of being completely cut off from the kitchen, because brand new floors are being installed this week (beautiful dark-colored tiles to replace a 2 decade-old, beige vinyl flooring, oooh!) This means no stove, no sinks, no cookware, flatware, no cooking. As painful as you can imagine. I took with me a few small bowls, my mug, some plastic eating utensils, my vitamins, and waved good-bye to my favorite room in the house, as though off on some godforsaken journey into… a fallout shelter.

Banishment, indeed.

On the weekend I made all my lunches for the week and stuffed the fridge full of food that  needed to be prepared/precooked/prewashed. Now I am watching it dwindle away without replenishment. *sob* (When will it end!!?) Luckily, a few things were saved from this disaster: the fridge, the microwave, and the toaster, now occupying various odd spots in the living room with the TV. The bare necessities of life right there, I’m telling you. With the fridge next to the couch as I watch TV, I am somehow reminded of a combination of both Homer Simpson’s reclining toilet chair, and King-Size Homer. 

Now if only I could also work at home.

Supersize My Blueberry Loaf!

This morning the robot at work did something very freaky (things were broken, water was everywhere) while N was using it (L said this might just be the day that our robot gained its own intelligence and betrayed its masters). N wondered why she is always so unlucky with the robot, and I said it was because she really needs to wear lucky underwear on days of crucial experiments (I do, because screw ups are a given when you do important experiments). Poor thing. So then, as I was getting my coffee, I got her a piece of this pretty looking Cranberry Bliss cake and brought it back to the lab –  it had a layer of white icing decorated with red cranberries on the top, so Christmas-y :-).  She offered me some, but T said not to because it will just end up in a jar on my desk.

OK, OK! I promise I will stop before my desk at work is overwhelmed with my Supersize Me experiments. No food or drinks allowed in the laboratory, afterall. But you know me, I just can’t resist temptations of the nerdy nature. And if people keep bringing in “interesting” food specimens (I don’t see why they would stop) to feed the pack during lab meetings, I might just get into some trouble here (and having all the evidence splattered over my blog). Nevertheless! Until then, we are all for the (criminal) pursuit and satisfication of scientific curiosity, are we not?

This brings us to yesterday’s acquisition – a Blueberry Loaf from Langley Farm Market (located in Lansdowne Mall), brought in by C. A 1/2 inch slice is now trapped in a 500mL glass beaker, covered by parafilm:

At first glance I thought this was a pound cake, though it seemed too fluffly and crumbly to be one. Indeed, it turns out there wasn’t any butter in it (FYI: a pound cake  is named as such because it is comprised of 1lb each of flour, butter, egg, and sugar. Makes me reminisce about those frozen Sara Lee Pound Cakes I so loved as a child. Hmmm). So this is just a cake then, and a simply constructed one at that:

The general impression was that this cake was really not the greatest (“way too doughy”, “not good at all!”, chucked after one bite, etc). Perhaps adding butter to the ingredients might have helped (and did anybody notice that while it is a “Blueberry Loaf“, and very obviously contain blueberries, that “blueberries” did not actually appear in the ingredients list?? So what are those dark blue purply things?? :-P). Nonetheless, I was quite happy to see that it did have enough fat (would have to be in the eggs alone) to leave quite the grease mark on the paper towel it sat on for about 10 minutes. Otherwise, with such … modest ingredients I am guessing this will mold pretty soon. Maybe in a week or two.

Gremlins! The Beard Papa’s Craze

 

Ever since Beard Papa’s opened its first Canadian store a few months ago at Aberdeen Centre, and there has been a bit of a commotion over it. For hours, people waited in a snake, right off the escalators to the third-floor food court, just to max out that “2 dozen per customer” limit. They are still making only one flavor (plain vanilla), but boxes and boxes of yellow cream puffs continue to fly off the shelves.  On the weekends it is still supposedly crazy; on a weekday it looks something like this:

I must say I am not a big fan of profiteroles: First – I don’t like cream, creamy fillings, sweet creamy custards, etc. (With the exceptions of ice cream and a bit of whipped cream on the cappucino.) Cream is often too sweet for my taste, but it is more its goopy texture that puts me off. It is something I always scrape off of cakes, or out of custard-filled pastries. (And this I have done as a child, long before I knew what “fat” and “health” meant.) Second – I did have a fascination with cream puffs, once. Once upon a time, I bought a giant box of those little frozen ones from Costco (probably a bad idea that resulted in my relationship henceforth with cream puffs), and after having to eat the first dozen, I got sick of them and had the box sitting in the freezer staring guiltily at me for the longest time (and I still didn’t finish it). 

So, I digress, but that is essentially my very personal feelings with profiteroles.

Anyway, this Beard Papa’s looks rather funny to me, since it basically a store infested with clones of only one variety of cream puffs. It reminds me a little of a scene from Gremlins. (Also, I am guessing that they are saying here that 230 calories per sugary puff is a good thing.)

Gotta wash it all down with some coffee. Hence the heading back down to ground-level Starbucks for an Americano:

I must say, aesthetically, a cream puff is a really peaceful, angelic looking pastry, even these big ones. It could be the powdered sugar sprinkled on the top of that fragile exterior which encases that sweet custard inside. For me at least, it’s only after you bite into it that you get attacked by giant globs of cream! Aaahhh, GREMLINS!

This reviewer says: I don’t see what the big fuss is all about, I’ve had better puffs in Vancouver. These are not overly sweet, but I still had to scrape out a lot of the custard. It’s not exactly cheap either (so I’d probably head for the 雞蛋仔(Gai Daan Jai) the next time I’m at this food court). Can we go shopping at Daiso now that we’re done?

Maybe if they have other flavors… perhaps a green tea custard might sit better with me.

Happy Hannukah! Solly’s Rugelach. (And bagels of course)

Rugelach (“RUG-oh-la-khhh”) are sweet little pastries meaning “little twists” in Yiddish. (“Rugel” also means royal.) A popular treat during Hannukah, it is made from a cream cheese dough, with a fruity and sometimes nutty filling, and rolled up into little crescents (but sometimes into pinwheels as well). Apparently the classic European version is made with a yeasted dough, while the cream cheese dough is a purely American-Jewish invention. Solly’s sell several flavors of these little pinwheel-shaped “cookies”, which they call “Rugoleh”. The ones I got had dates, apricot and raisins. Nice slightly flakey crust. The pinwheels are cute, but I kind of think they look more … decadent as crescents. Maybe it’s the association with croissants.

I remember watching the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, make them before. Here’s her recipe.

And of course, what is a visit to Solly’s without some more bagels? Ah, look at them delicious bagels! (I still think their plain bagel is the best.)

Related post: Solly’s Bagelry

Solly’s Bagelry

368 W. 7th and Yukon (featured)

2 other stores: 2873 W. Broadway and MacKenzie, 189 E. 28th and Main

Flour Power: Bagels Revisited

We had the first major snow-storm of the season this weekend (it snowed only on Saturday and Sunday, and today the snow is all but washed away in the rain), so there was much opportunity to be cooped up in the house and spending time in the kitchen.

It is rather easy to satisfy my stomach but extremely hard to please my palate, especially when it comes to my own cooking. In other words, I don’t criticize as long as it is somewhat edible, and sometimes things are “nice” because it was actually amusing to me that I can actually make food. But praise – praise is more difficult to come by. I’ll admit these bagels are not really much food porn (but then again, nothing I ever bake is that wonderful looking), but they tasted good and authentic. I am not the greatest fan of my own baking, being so much of a recipe-straying beginner, but I will definitely make these again. They don’t look as cute as the mini-bagels I made before, but I’m just going to say that this is the artisanal look. (Actually, the truth of the matter was that I was hungry and wanted to make these in time for lunch, so I didn’t have much patience to round the dough and shape them into perfectly round circles).

I tweaked various steps in the protocol of my last bagel experiment – tweaks that at least I thought would result in better bagels. I used different flour. Different yeast. I made more regular-sized (but not big) bagels. I added a bit more sugar. I boiled them for a much shorter time, and in my Le Crueset dutch oven. (That last one should make no difference but I would call it scientific-superstition.) And was there ever a big difference. I attribute it most to the flour and the boiling time. I had come across this “Organic Whole Wheat Hi-Rise Flour” at Choices so I thought I would give it a try. It’s more fine than typical whole wheat flour; I’m guessing it’s probably just whole wheat bread flour:

I also used instant yeast this time instead of active dry. In fact, I changed my brand of yeast. I have used Bakipan’s Active Dry Yeast before, now I am using Fleischmann’s yeast. (It is interesting to note that the size of the Bakipan’s Active Dry yeast is somewhere between Fleischmann’s Active Dry and Instant yeast.) But even with the “Hi-Rise” flour and the instant yeast, I didn’t get a faster rising time or any higher a rise at the same ambient temperature, so I don’t know what’s going on. The flour didn’t seem to rise any different than regular whole wheat, though it tasted a bit less ‘wheaty’ to me.

The boiling time was shortened from 5 minutes total to about 2 minutes, about 1 minute per side. The result was a chewy crust that was not too thick, and a dense interior crumb that still retained a bit of softness. The consistency was just good. There was just a hint of sweetness to these, the right amount for me in a plain bagel. (I thought they tasted even better than the plain bagels from GC Bakery but that is probably just personal opinion! :-D)  The only thing I wasn’t super pleased with is the look. The color I can’t really change, but I should have made them more round and poofier looking.

Whole Wheat Bagels
(makes 6-8 bagels)

Materials:
360g whole wheat bread flour (see notes above)
<1c warm water
1T Instant/ rapid rise yeast
1t salt
4t sugar
1 egg white, lightly beaten with a pinch of salt (optional)

Protocol:
1. Combine and mix all dry ingredients. Add in warm water gradually until a stiff dough is formed. Knead 6-8min.
2. Cover and let dough rise 1hr (my dough didn’t quite double at this point.)
3. Divide dough into 6-8 equal portions, and shape into balls. Punch a hole through the middle of each ball with a floured thumb, and rotate the dough around in your hand to shape it. Cover and let rise 30 minutes.
4. During the last 10 minutes or so, bring water to a boil w 1t salt in a large dutch oven. Lower the heat so water is gently simmering.
5. Preheat oven to 375F.
6. Slide 3-4 bagels into the simmering water (or whatever fits into your pot as long as it doesn’t get crowded). Boil about 1.5 minutes on 1 side, gently flip over and boil the other side for 1 more minute. Remove from water and dry on a towel.
7. Brush with egg wash (can also add toppings like sesame seeds at this point), and bake for 25 minutes or until the tops have turned golden.
8. Remove from heat and cool on a wire rack for about 20 minutes before eating.

Fwlisht (Food Wish List)

Dear Food Santa:

December is here at last! And to welcome the arrival of this wonderful month Cooking Nerd has been working hard on her Christmas Fwlisht (Food Wish List). She’s been so good and nerdy this year. So please put under her tree some simple things, some much needed things, and some totally useless things she would otherwise never buy for herself. You get the point. 😉

– A pullman loaf pan
– A square bread baking stone
– A double-burner stove top griddle, like this Le Creuset one
– A non-stick crepe pan
– These Mario Batali silicon pot grips (preferably in orange or some color that matches my orange Le Creuset dutch oven)
– Saffron.
– Cuisinart’s 6-cup Non-stick Muffin Top pan
– These French bread razors (I know, I know. I have razor blades and I can make one myself. Still. )
– Oh so many books, but I will list just a few:
Twinkie Deconstructed – Steve Ettlinger
The Science of Cooking – Peter Barham
Millennium Cookbook – Eric Tucker
Let Them Eat Flax! – Joe Schwarcz

That’s all. For now. Thank you Santa,

Sincerely,

Cooking Nerd.