The Globe @ YVR at the Fairmont Airport Hotel

So I came for some afternoon tea at the Fairmont with my friends on a Saturday afternoon. We were greeted and guided to our table with no delay. We ordered our teas which were served to us promptly followed by our goodies (pictured below). I chose the "Fairmont Vancouver Airport Jetsetter” tea which was alright. One of my friend's teas, the "Safari Masala Express," was exceptionally good. The "Fairmont Express`and the "Berry Berry" were alright. What I liked about the teas, was that they were served in a glass jar that allowed us to steep the tea for as long as we like and kept the drinks warm throughout.

The Food

We requested that all our food be vegetarian. The sandwiches were boring and a bit dry. The bagel sandwich was too chewy. The only good thing on this tier was the Curried Egg Salad croissant. 

The Orange and Cranberry Scones were pretty good. They were fresh, flaky, not too sweet and tasted great with the butter and jam.

The sweet stuff were all a bit boring, except for the Opera Slice chocolate cake in the middle. The green tea slice of cake was actually quite bad with a bitter flavour that was very off-putting. 

Overall, the food was not great except for the scones and one of the cakes which were really good and the tea was alright. The service was good, and the place looked nice and high end. However, it isn't really the place I would go for high tea. I would prefer a more homely ambiance. My friends and I decided that we probably won't return just because of the food not being so great. If the food were better, we most likely would have returned.

Leonidas - Poor Service + Meh Dessert = Not Returning

Expected a lot more. Service was lacking severely, two of the ladies working there were being rude and the lady who was serving me crushed my macaron while handing it to me using her bare hand (picture below). Ick.

Rosewater Macaron

The macaron was rosewater flavoured and the filling was really good, but the shell was dry and had a stale taste to it. Patiserrie Fur Elise has a really good rosewater macaron.

Chocolates

The chocolates were nothing special. They were too sweet and did not use good quality ingredients. The only good one was the Ganache chocolate (bottom left), the other 5 were just meh.

Sciué Italian Bakery Caffé

Had the Margherita and the Funghi Pizza.

Pretty good Traditional Pizza

Crust = Soft Decadent Texture

Toppings = Great Combinations and Plenty of Flavour

Now to the Chocolate - Dipped Waffles? Don't know why others were raving about it.

Taste = Slightly Stale and Slightly Cold

It was as if they were kept in the fridge for several days. I was really hoping for some fresh waffles dipped in chocolate, not these days old waffles. Especially from a bakery cafe.

On the search for the perfect dipped waffles.

Waffle Gone Wild

Hands down the best waffles I've ever had!

The waffles from Waffle Gone Wild are Belgian Liege (as were the Sciué waffles) and they were SOOO good, that I find it hard to believe that there could be better elsewhere. So we walked in and were greeted by two girls who handed us each a menu. I chose the Banana & Nutella Waffle.

These were the freshest waffles I've enjoyed, it had the right amount of crunch on the outside with the right amount of softness on the inside - just perfect. The dish was a work of art, as you can see in the picture above. The banana, whipped cream with toasted coconut flakes, and nutella-drizzled ice cream alongside the waffles was scrumptious. And although I should try something else on the menu the next time I visit, I don't think I can help myself from ordering the same combo. I can't wait to return!

Update

So I lied, I didn't get the Banana & Nutella Waffle. This time I got the Chocolate Volcano, and as you can see from the pic below, was toooootally worth it! As usual it was beautifully decorated and it tasted just as good. Ice cream, mocha-whipped cream, Oreo crumbs and dark chocolate sauce, all over the scrumptious waffle? How can you go wrong?  

http://www.wafflegonewild.com/

Capstone Tea & Fondue

I've never gone out for tea or fondue, so this was a great way to experience both for the first time.  Except for the fact that they didn't serve us our ice cream truffles (which were suppose to be included), it was a memorable experience with lots of yumminess to satisfy my sweet tooth.

 My friend and I walked in and were seated at a table for two right away. I handed over my SocialShopper deal which included 2 orders of High Tea Lite, 2 orders of Chocolate Fondue Sampler, Ice Cream Truffles & 2 Drinks for $29. The waitress asked us to order any drink per person, which I thought was pretty nice because everyone has different preferences on different days on what kind of drink they'd like to have. They had lattes, frappes, and teas of different types; including iced, flavoured, herbal, and fresh fruit teas. I ordered a latte which was a huge mug of rich and creamy goodness, and pretty soon afterward our dessert feast arrived.

The High Tea Lite set (per person) was a small tower made of 2 tiers. The bottom tier had a fresh cheese, mayo and spinach sandwich cut up into 4 pieces. It was simple but it was so good! (We had to request this to be made vegetarian because it usually is made with ham). Between the pieces were 4 individual-sized pastries including a danish, turnover, jam-filled croissant and a chocolate croissant, which were mediocre and to me tasted like average grocery store fare. The top tier had two macarons, a rasberry tart and a yummy chocolatey square. I'm not a fan of rasberry so that tart was blah to me, but the macarons and chocolate square were very good.

Our Fondue Sampler included, (also per person) a warm pot of rich belgian chocolate fondue (heated with a candle underneath) and a plate of treats to dip into the chocolate. Half of this plate was made of fruits: strawberry pineapple, grapes and apple; the other half was made of bite sized cakes and cookies. The items on this plate were nothing special and the cakes were not that good, but when dipped in the chocolate, they tranformed into yummy delights. (But this was obviously due to the chocolate).

 

Although everything was small, there was just so much food that by the end my tummy was near-bursting, and my friend had to take the rest of his home.

The food definitely deserves a 3.5 out of 5.

The service was mediocre, and given that they forgot to include our ice cream truffles, I would give it a 2.5 out of 5.

Ambiance was nice, but it felt more like an bubble tea cafe than a high tea and fondue place. I think a dark, romantic setting would have been more suitable. But it still was a nice place, and the presentation of the "meal" was very well done, so I will give them a 3.5 out of 5.

This joint only gets a 3.2 out of 5 overall, but I will definitely be back because I love the concept of an eatery dedicated to desserts, fondue and different kinds of drinks. It's so different from my usual eats, and different is good. So you can expect expect an addition to this review.

http://www.capstonetea.com/

Update:

Went back a second time, and that will be my last. The afternoon tea that we ordered was lacking in quality and quantity. The sandwiches seemed a bit dry. The pastries seemed like the ones you would buy at Walmart or Superstore. Not worth the visit.

Death by Chocolate

My friend and I came here after having dinner at another restaurant. We ordered a Peanut Butter Cheesecake to share and coffee for my friend. My friend liked his big mug of coffee, but I thought it was too bitter. The cheesecake was good though. However I felt it was overpriced at 6.95 per slice for cake that wasn't super delicious. It was still pretty good but it was pretty much like the ones I can get at Safeway. I feel like this place has good potential, if it focuses more on the desserts. Perhaps it was because we went near closing that there weren't that many options on display. But I really liked the service; very attentive and friendly although we only ordered coffee and dessert. I also liked the ambiance; it was a nice place to sit and relax after a night out.

 

 

(image from google)