Edmonton is experiencing a ramen craze, but there's something else that is popping up all over the city - bubble tea spots! I find that Taiwanese bubble tea and noodle soups tend to go hand in hand, so I'm not surprised that more bubble tea and snack shops are opening around the city.

Purple Bubble Tea Store - 10551 109 Street NW - Edmonton AB

Located just north of Grant MacEwan on busy 109 Street is Purple Bubble, and you'll see their signature purple hue coming from the windows as you drive by. I stopped by after dinner one evening to check out the space and see what they had to offer.

While bubble tea isn't a go-to for me like it was in my younger days, I definitely appreciate a good milk tea every once in a while! At Purple Bubble there are a variety of drinks and a handful of snacks and desserts you can order as well.

When it comes to bubble tea I'm a green tea or traditional milk tea kind of girl. The Original Milk Tea ($5.49) at Purple Bubble is smooth and isn't overly sweet. making it a winner in my books. The menu has an extensive list of milk teas, including some specialties like Hokkaido Caramel milk tea and Pudding milk tea. If tea isn't quite your thing, Purple Bubble also offers fresh fruit smoothies and fruit slush.

One thing that separates Purple Bubble from all the other bubble tea spots in the city is their Blooming Art Tea ($6.99). A clear teapot suspended over a tealight holds a single flower bulb that "blooms" as it steeps. It really is quite lovely to see the flower open, and it makes me think I need to get myself a clear teapot!

When it comes to the snacks, Purple Bubble has both sweet and savoury offerings. There's the usual fries and Chinese snacks like dimsum and dumplings, but on the more interesting side there's Taiwanese fried chicken, seafood ramen, Taiwanese style rice bowls and even Korean style spicy rice cakes. As this visit was after dinner we decided on an order of Egg Waffles ($4.99) - one of my favourite street foods in Hong Kong. Very few places in the city offer egg waffles, and those that I've tried have been quite disappointing. Luckily the puffy egg waffles at Purple Bubble are the best I've had in the city. Served fresh out of the waffle maker, the waffles are light, puffy, eggy, and lightly sweetened.

For a dessert option Purple Bubble has Snow Ice ($6.99), which is their variation on a bowl of shaved ice. This dessert is available in four different flavours: Matcha, Vanilla, Strawberry, and Mango. We opted to go with the mango, and the shaved snow came topped with fresh mango chunks and a light drizzle of condensed milk. The snow was fluffy and creamy, and the mango topping sweet and fragrant. However this shaved snow did have a bit of an artificial flavouring to it, so it didn't quite hit the spot for me.

Purple Bubble is in a great location along busy 109 Street and just a quick walk away from the Grant Macewan campus. It would be a great spot for students to study or catch up with friends, and it's in a place where it is convenient to stop on the commute out of downtown. I would happily stop by for some tea and egg waffles if I were in the area and craving something sweet! Check them out and let me know what you think!

A few weeks back it was about 9:30PM and I was craving something warm and comforting to eat. Given that most restaurants close around 9:00PM, Diane, Teresa and I found ourselves checking out the snacks at a bubble tea cafe.

Teapsy Cafe - 9959 82 Avenue - Edmonton AB

Like most bubble tea places in the city, Teapsy was quite full on a Friday night. Tables were full of patrons enjoying bubble tea and playing card games and we were lucky to snag one of the last open tables. The space is small and cozy with red accents and artwork placed around the dining area. Upon opening the menu it was quite clear that Teapsy's specialty is their drinks, and there were numerous combinations available for to choose from.

We started off with some Egg Puffs ($5.50) which are an Asian snack favourite. Typically served as a street food with a crust and a bit of a cakey interior, they're the Asian equivalent of the Belgian waffle. At Teapsy, the waffle is golden and served with some matcha whipped cream. I was so excited to dig in until I picked up a small piece - it was soggy and definitely not freshly made. If anything, it was made earlier in the day and microwaved to a lukewarm temperature. Needless to say, it was not an impressive start.

Takoyaki ($5.50) is another popular Asian snack in which octopus pieces are cooked in a batter and topped with bonito flakes and various condiments. We had hoped the takoyaki would be made in house as it is fairly simple to make, but these were prepackaged then plated. Again, the takoyaki was made earlier in the day and reheated to a lukewarm temperature before being served at the table. From a food safety standpoint, Teapsy really doesn't do a good job of fully heating up their food. The flavour was good but I was so unimpressed at this point with the microwaved food.

We also ordered the Homemade Wontons with Spicy Garlic Sauce ($5.50) which turned out to be better. See what happens when you actually make the food in house? The wontons, however, were overcooked, leading them to be very firm with an extremely sticky skin. The wontons themselves had very little flavour, but the oil they were served in had enough heat and garlic to flavour the dish. Without it, this dish would have been another dud.

Teresa ordered the shrimp dumplings ($5.50) to satisfy her dimsum craving, and we already guessed beforehand that they were going to be store bought. Our suspicions were right, and the shrimp dumplings had very little flavour. On the plus side, they came to the table piping hot.

To go with the food, I had ordered the Pudding Milk Tea ($5.25) which is supposed to be one of Teapsy's special drinks. I expected it to be creamy with a custard flavour, but my drink ended up quite watery with a few small pieces of custard here and there. The custard chunks didn't add much to the drink, and after the first sip I instantly knew I should have ordered my go-to green tea. Oh well!

Unfortunately the late-night trip to Teapsy Cafe was a huge disappointment. If the food been served properly to food safety standards it would have been better. The cafe does feature shaved ice and a waffle that I'm interested in checking out, but whether I'm open to giving this place another shot is pretty slim. Has anyone else been there and had a better experience? Let me know!

On my last trip to Vancouver, I was able to squeeze in some catch up time with my girlfriend Lucy. I had previously seen these desserts called 'toast boxes' and was pretty intrigued with the way they looked. And since Edmonton does't do anything remotely familiar, I took the chance to visit What8ver Cafe (how are you even supposed to say that?!) in Richmond to see what the toast box was all about.

What8ver Cafe - #1108 8328 Capstan Way - Richmond BC

Located in a strip mall amidst an area full of restaurants and other dining establishments, What8ver Cafe is little place serving up bubble tea and Taiwanese snacks from the afternoon into the late hours of the night. The interior is small and intimate, typical of your usual bubble tea establishments.

Sitting down at the cafe, we perused the menu, only to find out that the toast box isn't on the menu! I asked the server about the item, and apparently it's an off menu item and actually quite popular - maybe it should make its way onto the menu? With that aside, the toast box comes in three different variations: strawberry, vanilla or matcha green tea.

Essentially, the toast box is half a loaf of bread with the middle cut out into 9 strips. The bread is drizzled with honey and sugar, reassembled into box form, is toasted, and then topped with your choice of ice cream and toppings related to the flavour that you choose. Lucy ordered the green tea version, in which the ice cream was served with red bean, custard and decorated with cheerios.

I ordered the vanilla version for myself, which came with strawberries, bananas, custard, an oreo, pocky sticks, and was lightly drizzled with chocolate syrup. I'd have to say this is probably the most unique dessert I've ever tried, and apparently it's really popular over in Taiwan. My toast box was actually a little burnt on the outside, meaning it was over baked and the bread was quite hard and dry. It was basically impossible to eat the outer "box", but the strips on the interior were lightly sweetened and much softer. The ice cream and custard added just the right amount of sweetness, making it a pretty delicious afternoon snack.

Having had the toast box experience, it's probably not something I would do again. I'd say eating it is more for the novelty experience - which seems to be working for What8ver Cafe, because they get long lines on the weekends with patrons hoping to try it out. The item itself does take a while to prepare, so be ready to sit and wait for yours. Do keep in mind that this toast box is a massive amount of carbs - I was stuffed for hours, so time your visit right. If you're looking to have this for dessert, bring a buddy to share the experience with!

To finish off last week, some friends and I headed to Dream Tea House on Whyte Ave. We were planning on having shaved ice, which unfortunately they ran out of !! So we were faced with a dilemma. Give me a dilemma and I will shoot one right back at you! (well, only when you upset me!)

So, I asked them to make me something that wasn't on the menu. I was honestly craving shaved ice with condensed milk, so I asked if they could try to make me a condensed milk bubble tea. The first one they came up with tasted like vanilla flavoured milk, kind of like those Milk 2 Go drinks you find in vending machines, only with weaker flavour.

I asked them to add more condensed milk in it, and voila! It tasted delicious. But my lactose intolerant body did make me pay for it later.. But I think it was worth it!



On a side note, they have begun serving up food again! Lots of deep fried goods to satiate your cravings while you drink your bubble tea :)

For dinner last night, some friends and I decided to try out Dadeo on Whyte Ave. Self proclaimed as a New Orleans Diner & Bar, it was definitely what I expected it to look like. A classic retro 50's American diner, jukeboxes and pink toned furniture included.

The inside of the restaurant was dark, and relatively dim. It was rather full when we arrived, full of hungry customers that seemed to be enjoying what they had ordered. For me, the most important thing to try out was the jambalaya. Clearly I'm obsessed with it, since I order it when I go to places like Boston Pizza & Cactus Club.. so I wanted to see how this Southern style restaurant served it up.



Compliments of the restaurant, our starting dish consisted of little biscuits served with jalapeno jelly. The biscuits were cold when I wished they were warm, but the jelly was a nice touch. Although sweet, there was a bit of spice from the jalapeno and prepped us for the meal we were about to eat!



To start off our meal, we ordered the Four-Tune fritters. I've never tried a fritter before, but they describe them as "deep fried dumplings". For me, they were more of deep fried dough, where the inside had a bread-like fluffiness. Our order had four different fritters: crab & parmesan, jalapeno cheddar, sweet potato & corn. I'd have to say the best were the crab and jalapeno ones, because they brought a different flavour to the fritter. Corn & sweet potato didn't really do much for me, because they are relatively sweet/bland to begin with, so the little chunks added little impact. The best part I would say is the sauce - garlicky and to die for!! Star of the dish.


blackened catfish po'boy

Vince, Crystal & Andrew all ordered different Po'Boys (Cajun style sandwiches), and I can't say they were impressed with what we received. Although the sandwiches themselves were delicious, the sweet potato fries were not. I had read previously that they had the best fries in Edmonton.. but I beg to differ. Although breaded nicely, half the fries were uncooked, and the waitress wasn't around often enough for us to say anything about it.


fried oysters po'boy


pulled pork po'boy



I ordered the Bayou Jambalaya, which is with andouilli sausage, shrimp, chicken, smoked ham, and veggies. Unfortunately, I was less than unimpressed. There were tons of herbs in the rice, don't get me wrong, the only thing is that it was so bland. No salt in this dish whatsoever. It's like they forgot to use anything salty to cook it! I just don't understand... I basically lost hope in this restaurant, because jambalaya is something they should have perfected!

The service at this restaurant was underwhelming.. it took a while to order the food and receive it, and our waitress didn't visit us too often. Everyone I know always says that this restaurant is fantastic, and I'm sad that I didn't feel the same way. I don't know if I have the confidence to try this place out again based on what happened! We'll see in the future, I guess.

To end off our unimpressive dinner, we headed to the Dessert House to have food we know is actually good...


mango & pomelo dessert


black glutinous rice w/ coconut milk dessert


crispy egg balls


fresh raspberry milk smoothie


Taiwan style almond milk tea

At least our night ended well :)

Having been unsatisfied with my last visit, I rounded up some friends and went out for dessert!

Arriving at about the same time as before, it was obvious that business had started to pick up, as most of the tables available were full of people. Some tables even required the additions of stools to accommodate the space that chairs could not fit into.

We ordered an assortment of drinks and late night snacks to try & share:

Curry Fishballs


Curry Beef Balls


Satay Lobster Balls


Satay Squid Feelers

I really wouldn't recommend getting any of the satay sauce food items, simply because it doesn't really taste like they put familiar satay sauce on the food. It tastes similar to shrimp paste, but in the form of an oily emulsion.. It is simply placed atop of the food. Things would taste much better if they actually tossed the food in the sauce, like with the curry sauce.


Taiwan style coconut milk tea with grass jelly

This was my own creation for the night - the drink wasn't too sweet, and perfect when paired with the salty food. The only thing that really bothered me was the size of the grass jelly - the cubes were so big, I wasn't able to suck the pieces up through my straw! I ended up manually crushing them up into little pieces and things worked out better.


Honey green tea with pop boba


Green apple green tea with pop boba


Flat Rice Chezi Noodles

Ryan chose to tryout the chezi noodles - you can customize what goes into your bowl! You pick your noodle base (vermicelli, rice noodles, instant noodles, etc.), soup flavour, and toppings for $1.75 each. The bowl above features satay rice noodles with stuffed tofu, lobster balls and fish balls. It looked pretty delicious, but you have to watch what you're adding to the bowl, because the price goes up pretty fast!


Crispy egg balls

One of my favourite snacks off the streets of Hong Kong! I was disappointed that they were unable to make this for me on my first visit, but at least they had them this time! It took forever for us to get this to our table, because the staff kept forgetting we had ordered them. After 1.5 hours of waiting, we got to try them out, and they tasted really good! I would probably say they tasted amazing had I not had to wait forever.. The egg balls are crisp on the outside, but still tender and substantial in the middle. I think these actually taste better than the ones I've had in Hong Kong!

After coming home on Sunday, I was definitely still craving Asian styled desserts, especially with the current hot, hot weather we're experiencing in Edmonton. Remembering that the Dessert house was scheduled to open today, I called them up around 5pm to find out that they were opening at 6pm, and closing around 11. Perfect opportunity to call up friends and go out for some yummy late night dessert.

The Dessert House - 8412 109 Street - Edmonton AB

Meeting up with Andrew and Crystal, we arrived at a relatively empty little space near the University. I'm sure not many people were aware that they had already opened. The space is clean, but the walls are bare and in definite need of some decoration!

My mother laughed at me when I told her I was going on opening day, and now I know why. Many of the items on the menu were unavailable! So many of the things we wanted to try required ingredients that were still in transit from Taiwan :( We were able to order most drinks though, and picked out a couple snacks to try.







Andrew ordered the almond Taiwanese style milk tea with grass jelly.. so good! The drink wasn't overly sweet, and the grass jelly paired so well. Crystal ordered the Taro milkshake with tapioca pearls which was also quite delicious. Definitely on the heavier side though since it was a milkshake. As for myself, I got the fresh mango milkshake and it tasted just like the one we got in Calgary. It's nice to know that the food prep is consistent!

As for snacks, we ordered their curry fishballs and steamed rice rolls.



The curry fishballs were served hot & steaming, at $1.75 per skewer. The curry was thick, providing even coverage over each fishball, and giving a nice punch of flavour. Definitely recommend these ones to try out!



The steamed rice rolls also arrived to the table hot & steaming, and the noodles were soft and fresh. One half was covered in peanut sauce, with the other half covered in hoisin sauce, with a small side of hot sauce. I'm pretty sure I thought it was super tasty because it was hot and I was hungry! At $6.50 per order, this dish can definitely be made at home for much cheaper and in a much bigger portion. I can't wait to try out their pan fried version though. That's what we wanted at first, but they couldn't make it for us!

Because we made our visit on the first day, we were disappointed since so many items on the menu were unavailable. We wanted to try out their takoyaki and crispy egg balls.. but unfortunately they were unavailable. In a couple of days I'll probably find myself back there, hoping to try out the ones I missed tonight!