cheesecake Archives - Macarons and Mischief

December 2, 2012

Birthday Dinner at Aoyama Cafe + Exotic Cheesecake by Thomas Haas! pic heavy

Birthdays are never complete without food (or any day) and I had a last minute, casual get together at Aoyama Cafe at Aberdeen Centre. I hit the 22 year old mark today and I was glad my closest of friends were there with me! We had a whole table of Japanese-fushion-ish food.

Aoyama Cafe is known for their brand of UCC coffee, but I’m not a coffee drinker and I like going there for their food. The ambiance is quite quiet, peaceful. and not loud or busy on a Saturday night. My group there was definitely the loudest table.

Here are some snapshots of all the food that was on the table!

I love the details of this peppermint hot chocolate my friend ordered!

Also, Justin from thewalkntalk came as well and ordered the Tonkatsu Omurice!

He also ordered a Kori Coffee– which was introduced in Japan in the late 1980’s. Frozen coffee is in the cup and milk is poured over it! Pretty neat, gimmicky concept.

My friend ordered this Chicken teriyaki rice pizza and gave me a bite, this was so delicious! The cheese makes this little pizza very filling though!

Two of my friends ordered the Unagi and mushroom spaghetti and loved it!

My friend ordered the Garlic Seafood Spaghetti- this did not look like anything in the picture of the menu. Nevertheless, she liked it taste wise.

Lastly. I ordered the Black Pepper Seafood Spaghetti ($13.95).

Taste: I liked the black pepper very much, and it wasn’t too salty and I liked biting into the ungrinded pepper bits. The shrimp was good, but I wished there was more than 4-5 pieces! I had to make sure I didn’t finish all the seafood part and be left with spaghetti. I still enjoyed the meal thoroughly.

Portion: Enough for me, but still a bit on the less side for the price.

What I liked was the presentation of the food at Aoyama Cafe. Giant white plates, the orientation of the meats/sauce/rice looked well placed on each plate. Considering how loud we were and the amount of people, the service was fairly good and attentive!

One thing I noticed is that, although the food tasted fairly good, they do not look like the pictures in the menu! Also, because we had a group of 12, any party over 7 people requires a 15% gratuity.

Aoyama Cafe makes a good spot for casual lunches and dinners for a moderately priced meal. They also have amazing and unique desserts! However, I didn’t need to order any of Aoyama Cafe’s deserts because thewalkntalk surprised me with an “Exotic Cheesecake” from Thomas Haas!

Thewalkntalk decided to fool me saying he tripped and fell and squashed the cake and I completely fell for it. Then during dinner everyone was distracting me then this came out! I didn’t know when I became so gullible but this was a big surprise!!

This is an AMAZING cheesecake. It has flavours of mango, passion fruit, and orange zest. The cake is soft and melts right in the mouth and the crust was perfect too! Very, very, very delicious. Thank you thewalkntalk, foodie bloggers know best 😀

Great birthday evening; thanks to all my lovely friends 🙂

June 25, 2012

Dessert at Mazazu Crepe

One of my favourite food courts is in Aberdeen Centre because it is filled with various selections of food- Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and even a Vera’s. They also have lots of different dessert and snack stores too. A place I tried recently is Mazazu Crepe– which is a shop selling Japanese styled crepes. They have been opened for quite a while now, at least more than a year, so I’m kind of late trying this place! I can’t remember the last time I had a crepe, it must have been years at Cafe Crepe in downtown.

This place sells savoury and sweet crepes- so you could have either a meal or a snack/dessert. They also sell smoothies and soft serve ice cream. They had a large glass display on the types of crepes and what’s in it:

Photo 2012-06-23 3 57 58 PM — Crepe display

I had the Caramel Strawberry Cheesecake soft ice cream, since it had everything I liked in it. The fake crepe shows the crepe as a flat, but when you order it and pick it up, it’s rolled into a cone. I had a choice of milk ice cream or green tea. I chose green tea.

Photo 2012-06-23 3 59 00 PM — My choice of crepe

They make it fresh when you order. I watched them make the crepe part, and then watched them add the stuffing.

Final product…

I had to pay an extra $0.05/spoon since I was sharing the ice cream.

The person stuffing my crepe literally added 3 strawberry slices. I don’t think it even made up a whole strawberry. If I buy a strawberry flavoured something, I expect more strawberries! They also filled whipping cream at the bottom of the cone, then added the green tea ice cream on top, and stuffed a slice of cheesecake in it. I thought the whole cheesecake in the cone was genius, because I love cheesecake. I would have thought green tea ice cream with cheesecake was odd, but they tasted together pretty well.

I loved the green tea ice cream. It tasted very rich and milky, and had a true green tea flavour to it. I would come back to get a soft serve green tea ice cream. The whipping cream was just the typical aerosol whipped cream, nothing special. The crepe was made fresh, and it was still warm when I was eating it, and it didn’t melt the ice cream. It was quite chewy and I could taste a bit of sweetness in it. I wish the crepe was a bit crispier though.

Photo 2012-06-23 4 07 31 PM — The whole cone

This is the picture of the whole crepe. The crepe isn’t actually that tall and goes all the way down to the tip of the cardboard holder. Looks can be deceiving, eh? Whipping cream layered on the bottom, ice cream on the top. I wish they added some strawberries on the bottom of the cone too, instead of 3 tiny slices on top! I found that it was a bit pricey, since after tax it came to $6.25

I like the concept of this dessert- which a chunk of cheese cake and rich green tea ice cream. They shouldn’t be too cheap on the fruits and wish they added more ice cream and fruits at the bottom of the cone, so you aren’t eating pure whipped cream + crepe. This dessert packs a lot of sugar and calories, so I think this dessert is suited for two.

Pros

✔ Made fresh
✔ Delicious green tea ice cream
✔ Filling

Cons

✘ Too little strawberry toppings!
✘ Could be a long wait if busy- there was one cash and 2 other people making the crepe when I went.
✘ Paying $0.05 for an extra tiny spoon

April 23, 2012

Brownie Indulgence @ Yaletown Brownies

Me and my friend went to Yaletown Brownies on Saturday after our exhausting final exam. It was a random, abrupt, spontaneous trip, and I was glad it was done!

*For anyone who is living in Vancouver and reading this, Yaletown Brownies is NOT in Yaletown. It’s on West Broadway (Kitsilano area.)

I never really had official brownies from a legit brownie store before. I usually go for the bag of two-bite brownies you see in superstores, or the giant brownie squares UBC sells for $2. And I haven’t had a brownie since last year. Hence, I was quite excited to try an official brownie cafe! When I first walked in, I noted the cleanliness and freshness of the place. There wasn’t anyone in when we came in, but after my friend and I sat down, there was quite a stream of customers. There is a counter, with two fridges of brownies, cakes, and on top are cookies jars filled with a variety of treats.

Photo 2012-04-21 3 27 41 PM — Inside the store

Of course, I was staring at the displays, unsure which brownie to get. There were 9 different flavours of brownies (including gluten free options). The lady behind the counter offered us a sample of the chocolate glazed brownie. So heavenly.

However, what caught my eye first, was not the brownies, but the mini cheesecake. I love cheesecake, and I always want to try different ones from different places. After my cheesecake experience at Trees Organic Coffee, I wanted to see if there are other “best” Vancouver cheesecakes out there.

Photo 2012-04-21 3 28 36 PM — Mini Cheesecake

This is one of the cutest desserts alive, ever.

This costs $2.25. I was sucked in by aesthetics, for sure. It was a very small proportion, but it was enough for me. I didn’t want to stuff myself, so I liked the size of this cake. The crust was good, and the cheesecake was better. It was sweet and tasty. It was moist, and it melts into the taste buds. A pack full of flavour for a cake so small.

I also took a brownie to go, since it IS a brownie store. I couldn’t walk out of a place without trying their specialties. I chose the pecan chocolate brownie ($3.25.) Firstly, they use 100% Belgian chocolate for the brownies. +1 for that! I love Belgian chocolate.

Although I got my brownie to go, I ended up eating half of it in the restaurant, after I finished my cheesecake. And I took the other half at home, and my brother finished it when I was not looking 🙁 At least I have another excuse to get another brownie now!For $3.25, it is NOT cheap for a brownie. However, it was an extremely nice indulgence because everything tasted so good. There was a glaze on top over the pecans. It was crunchy on the top, and chewy on the bottom.

Photo 2012-04-21 3 37 05 PM — Pecan Chocolate Brownie

DOES THAT NOT LOOK DELICIOUS? One annoying thing is that the glaze is so hardened, it’s hard to chip off a small piece without it cracking and making a mess. Looking at that picture makes me want to get another one right now.

My friend ordered a white chocolate chip brownie, heated up. It’s one of her favourites and she let me take a bite. I dislike white chocolate, but that brownie was delicious.

Photo 2012-04-21 3 28 31 PM — White Chocolate Brownie

I had to include full sized pictures of these desserts or I wouldn’t be doing them justice.

By the way, the brownies are in trays when you order them. Then the lady takes the cakes/brownies out of the trays and puts them on the plates and add the chocolate garnish on the plates. Talk about nice finishing touches! It’s these little things that makes me want to go back to cafes like these!

Also, ask for a stamp card when you purchase a brownie! Buy 9 brownies and your 10th one is free!

April 21, 2012

Tea time Break @ Trees Organic Coffee

After being told that Trees Organic Coffee is famous for their cheesecakes in Vancouver, I went by the Richmond location couple weeks ago to get a cake to motivate my studying.

The main cafe is in Gastown, Vancouver. However, living in Richmond, I was lucky that a Trees Organic Coffee is located just right outside the entrance of the Richmond Public Library. Although their location in Vancouver is an actual shop, in Richmond, it is a cart. It is a fairly good location because people can purchase something to drink from them, then bring it to the library and enjoy sipping on something hot while reading or studying.

Photo 2012-04-10 2 27 11 PM — Trees Organic Coffee cart

I ordered a slice of New York Cheesecake ($5.75) and a small cup of hot apple cider ($2.30).

Their cheesecake was voted best in Vancouver, so I was extremely excited to pig out on it.It was refreshing, and it just melts in your mouth. It wasn’t overpowering cheesy or sweet, but I wish it was less “thick/creamy.” I like my cheesecakes with a bit of “air” in them. It was a fairly big slice and I brought half of it home to munch on later. I did especially like the crust of the cake. But, for $5.75, it is not worth the price. I have tried better and I wouldn’t name it the best cheesecake I ever tried. Sorry 🙁 I still like the souffle-styled cheesecakes better.

Photo 2012-04-10 2 30 56 PM — New York Cheesecake

I also had the apple cider. It was fairly tasty and it gave me that “cozy feel” , but I wish there was more cinnamon flavour to it.

Nonetheless, this little treat was a great study booster to accompany my miserable Philosophy readings.

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