Pho Hoa

<2010-10-25 Mon>

No. 131

Located in the most competitive area in Victoria (Fort St, between Douglas and Blanshard), Pho Hoa is a chain Vietnamese restaurant. It is exactly across from Pho Vy, a local favorite when it comes to Pho.

It is a medium sized place, and has a look and feel very different from Pho Vy (its tables are nicely spaced and its the menu screams chain restaurant).

I ordered a #44: Pho Chin, Nam, Gau, Gan, Sach: Brisket, Flank, Tendon, Tripe & fatty flank. What a mouthful. I was slightly disappointed. The meat was dried out, and overall, felt average.

The natural comparison for this restaurant are its two Vietnamese neighbours: Pho Vy, or around the corner, Saigon Harbour. In my opinion, both places offer a better product. In terms of price, there is not much variance between the three.

There is, however, one saving point for Pho Hoa. It is a place that stays open later than the others. They close at 10:00 PM, if I remember correctly, which is why I sometimes end eating there.

Verdict: there are better places around.

Paid: 8.95

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Teaopia

No. 130

<2010-10-21 Thu>

On the South side of the Bay building, this is a tea shop that sells both the tea leaves, and by the cup.

It is hard to describe the process or ordering a cup of tea. You come to the counter and you are confronted with what they call "the Tea Wall", that features literally more than 100 bins filled with different varieties of tea.




They will try to gauge your understanding of tea and try to show you teas that you might like, giving you some background about each, opening the bins, inviting you to smell them. It is an educational experience, albeit overwhelming. Of course, I had no way to know how accurate their information was; after all, they are a biased source of information.

I am keen on lightly or non-roasted tea and became curious about their white teas, and ended ordering simply white tea, and ordered a cup. The cost was steep --4.20, tax included, but, if the tea is as rare as they promise, I think it is not a bad one (regular teas are priced a 2.75).

You are invited to seat---they will bring the tea to your table--- something I appreciate it. The table next to mine was like a Tupperware party. They were having a tea tasting, discussing flavour and aromas like sommelier (apparently they were planning a tea party).

I got my tea. The cup is probably 350-400 ml. Large. The tea had, as I expected, a subtle flavour. As I expected, it was slightly sweet, but didn't have much smell (something I missed). Definitely a good cup of tea.

The place is small. it sits approximately 16 people in a combination of tables and comfy chairs.

One think that bothered me is that I didn't get to see the tea leaves. I understand the process of making tea, but I would have wanted to see what the leaves turned to after they are used. Otherwise, what guarantees me that the tea I got was the one I ordered?

I enjoyed my visit. It turns tea drinking into an experience of discovery. If you are willing to take the time to listen to their descriptions (and sales pitch), and to learn about teas, Teaopia is worth the visit. The downside is that, if you are looking for a cup of tea only, it will be an expensive one.

The obvious comparison is against Murchies. As a tea speciality shop, I feel Teaopia is better. At Murchies (the restaurant) you can order almost any tea, but there is no ability to ask about each, or get to smell them. They will not educate you (that is what the store is supposed to do, but they can't make the tea for you, you have to go back to the restaurant). On the other hand, Murchies has coffee, pastries and food (much better than Teopia). Murchies has more sitting space, and is cheaper.

Verdict: Expensive. Visit only if you are tea aficionado.

Paid: 4.20


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Cafe Bliss

No. 129

<2010-10-14 Thu>

Cafe Bliss is located in Pandora, just west of Government.

Open for breakfast and lunch, Cafe Bliss specialices in salads and soups.

This is vegetarians paradise. Cafe Bliss claims to use local and in-season produce, and to prepare everything organic and raw. Yes, no cooking allowed.

Prices range from 8 to 14 dollars, depending on the salad, or whether you want soup or not.

I am not a "salad" as lunch person, and I was feeling it was unfair to rate this restaurant based on a pizza and a soup, but I didn't feel like having a salad today. I was, however, curious on what a "raw" pizza looked like.

The space is narrow, and long. It has few tables and a long bar, where I sat. It feels inviting, and it is filled with a smell of tea brewing.

To call this dish a pizza is a misnomer. This was more like a huge cracker with a salad on top: spinach, pear, cream, cucumber, onion, nuts, what felt like an avocado-based sauce. The soup is not traditional either. It was a corn "chowder", and the corn was not cooked. The rest of the ingredients read: winter squash and cashew cream. It was very interesting.

I am torn in how to evaluate it. I think in terms of inventiveness and presentation, this place gets top marks. The flavours were there, but they are not the expected ones, because the food has not been cooked at high temperature. You might like them or you might not. My last concern is that, I felt it was expensive for the amount of food that I received, and there are very few options to choose from. If you like salads for lunch, this is definitely a place to come to.

If you are vegetarian, you probably know about Bliss already. If you are not, and you can enjoy a full meal made of vegetables, give it a try.

Verdict: Recommend for vegetarians, or salad "nuts", otherwise your might or might-not.

Paid: $15.68

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