downtown vancouver Archives - Macarons and Mischief

I’ve been dying to check out Leonidas forever, and I dragged two of my friends to the Vancouver Convention Centre one sunny, windy Friday to find out this place. We wandered around for 20 minutes trying to find it, and we were glad we did! It was a very small place, but the customers were many. I’m lucky to have friends to aimlessly wander around with me!

Leonidas is a chocolate store, but they also sell ice cream and other baked treats (including macarons!)

Look at all the chocolate! I don’t know why I never buy chocolates from a chocolate store though. *shrugs*

My friend bought a cup of cookie dough ice cream with white chocolate base. My friend said tt was creamy, sweet, and perfect for the day, but more cookie dough flavour could’ve been added. She let me taste test, but I do not like white chocolate at all, so I wasn’t a fan. (Still love Bella Gelateria for gelato!)

I, myself, opted for macarons and a cup of tea! Leonidas serves Mighty Leaf tea, my favourite tea, but they’re so expensive! I got a cup of Organic Mint Melange, I love how the flavours of different mints are combined. Love mint tea!! I always feel so refreshed and detoxed after a nice cup of hot minty tea.

Of course, I also had to have some macarons! Because I went later in the day, there weren’t many flavours left. I bought three macarons at $2 each – black sesame, lemon and lavender, and espresso.

All three macarons were absolutely delicious and I liked the texture and its appearance. The macarons weren’t overly sweet, and true to their flavour. Especially loved black sesame. I’m on a total black sesame food crave lately, and this macaron hit the spot! They were chewy and creamy, I want some more! I wish I got the Cherry flavour, because you don’t see that flavour everywhere, stupid me! I will definitely come back to spoil myself with those macarons!

Yes! Another macaron spot in Vancouver, and I enjoyed it with lovely weather and a lovely friend. Today’s choice of macaron eats is Bel Cafe, located in Downtown on West Georgia.

Photo 2012-07-14 3 29 28 PM — Bel Cafe storefront

You can take out macarons and pastries, or wait to be seated. We decided to sit down. Bel Cafe have savoury and sweet selections of food- such as soup and sandwiches, or pastries, desserts, and macarons!

I ordered a “Dawn” Tisane Tea ($2.50 + tax) – which is organic ginger fresh tea, and 2 macarons ($2 each ($1.79 + tax))- Rose & Raspberry flavour, and Black Sesame & Yuzu flavour. My friend ordered a Femtimans Soda in Curiosity Cola ($3.57 + tax) and 2 macarons as well – Vanilla Bean & Cookies and Cream.

Photo 2012-07-14 2 55 39 PM test — Rose & Raspberry. Black Sesame & Yuzu

I love the simplicity of two pretty, colourful food items sitting on a plain, white dish. The rose and raspberry macaron was divine! It wasn’t sugary sweet, it had raspberries in the ganache, I didn’t feel like I was biting into butter-the ganache was creamy and melty. The macaron had the slight hint of a rose taste, and it smelt more like a rose than tasted like one. The raspberry flavour was fresh. I love it!

The other one- black sesame and yuzu was more peculiar, but I liked it too! I had no idea what yuzu was until I googled it twenty minutes ago, but apparently is some sort of Asian citrus fruit. The ganache was a bit tart, but it complemented with the black sesame flavour well! I didn’t know what to expect, so I liked the macaron Hellespont!

I love a good cup of hot tea, and I love anything that has ginger, so this tea was the best of both worlds. It didn’t have a strong raw gingery taste, but it had a good zingy flavour which I enjoyed. The tea leaves are organic too!

Photo 2012-07-14 2 55 43 PM — Vanilla Bean & Cookies n’ Cream

Unlike I who like to eat different macaron flavours, my friend opted the more conventional sweet confectioneries- vanilla bean and cookies n’ cream. She had her pupils dilated and a look of delight while chewing on these- which means that these macarons hit the home run as well! I love the look of the cookies n ‘ cream macaron!

Photo 2012-07-14 2 55 01 PM — Curiosity Cola

This is the Curiosity Cola. The bottle looks like a vintage Harry Potter potions bottle! It tastes similar to coke, but a bit sweeter, and a bit like Asian coke candy. It was a boost of sweet energy.

I enjoyed this mini-less expensive afternoon tea in downtown. This is a great location to grab a bite during the busy rush or a warm summer day while shopping amidst in Downtown Vancouver.

Macarons (Part XI), Sweets, and Tea at Leonidas

Macaron Adventures Part VI: Bel Cafe

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