604: Chez Christophe (White Rock/ Burnaby)

I think I found my new favorite spot for a good croissant! Here I got the butter croissant, almond croissant and their famous croissant cube.

Butter Croissant (The Classic):

I am pleased to inform you all that their classic croissant has passed my butter croissant test:

✔ (1) the appearance - it should be puffy and volumized, with a flaky and golden exterior

✔ (2) it has a flaky exterior that crumbles under a knife or when you bite into it

✔ (3) it has a honeycomb appearance inside, but not filled with gigantic air pockets

✔ (4) it should smell and taste buttery

✔ (5) inside has a brioche texture. Remember croissant is a type of bread.. otherwise, it's just be puff pastry.

I learn from their staff that they get their pastries at 5 am and start baking at 6. They open at 9 so it means the croissants might have been sitting around for a few hours. Yet, they still hold their shape and crispiness!!!! Now that's some mind-blowing baking technique they have. 👏🏼

Overall, I'd give their classic croissant a full rating - 5/5 !

The Double Baked Almond Croissant:

I am also very pleased with their almond croissant and giving it a 4.9 out of 5.

It has passed nearly all of my almond croissant checklist:

✔ (1) it has a flaky exterior that crumbles under a knife or when you bite into it

✔ (2) Generous amount of toasted almonds

✔ (3) it should smell and taste buttery

☐ (4) It still has a bread texture

✔ (5) Reasonable amount of almond filling and a good almond aroma

✔ (6) It has the right amount of sweetness

I am glad that they didn't use the cheating method, as some bakeries do with the toasted almonds as a disguise to cover up the failed, soft, exterior of the croissant, but of course it does the trick by adding the crunch.

From the first bite, their almond croissant gives you a combination of crunchiness from the outer layer of the croissant and the crispiness from the toasted almonds. As you savour it a little longer, the butter flavour unfolds. When you take a deeper dive into the almond croissant, you get a mouthful of almond paste along with all that crunch. The centre of the croissant is combined with all that crispiness from the outer layer and accompanied with a soft almond filling that has the perfect amount of sweetness. The only drawback of this pastry is that it has a thin layer of bread texture and could be improved on. I know it's a lot going on, but I think by increasing the bread volume in this would make it just absolutely perfect. Overall, this is an amazing almond croissant that really demonstrated excellent baking skills.

The Croissant Cube:

I don't have a checklist for the cube because this is my first time trying a croissant cube, and boy, I was not expecting all that filling from it. (Turn on the volume for the video).

Out of the three products, I think this may be my favourite because I'm a s sucker for bread, and this cube has the most bread feel of all and the exterior was still so flaky. I think I read somewhere from their website that the filling changes daily based on the chef's choice. Today, they filled it with strawberry jam and custard. I was worried at first when I saw all that filling inside the cube, making it overly sweet or causing the cube to turn soggy, but I was so wrong. It had just the right amount of sweetness (even my Asian friends without the sweet tooth would approve of this) and the bread was perfectly moist without it being too damped.

So I'm giving a sold FIVE for this cube as well! And you guys know I'm super picky... a 5 is rare from Joyee and this place earned two 5's from me! That says a lot. So if y'all haven't been to Chez, please start driving over there now!

By the way, they have two locations. I was at their second location which is very close to me... but...oh, it's so dangerous!

Location: White Rock || Burnaby

Website: Here

Price:

$3.25 - butter croissant

$4.25 - croissant cube

$5.45 - almond croissant

Taste:

5 / 5- butter croissant

4.9 / 5 - croissant cube

5 /5 - almond croissant

atmosphere: ⭐️⭐️⭐⭐️⭐️

seating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐⭐️

Price Performance ratio: 5/5

604: Cafe Eggstatic 雷亭 (Burnaby)

You'd be surprised, but I find that the average quality in the bubble waffle productions here actually exceeds the majority of the waffles I've had in HK. I remember having them occasionally when I was a child. My mom would buy me bubble waffles whenever we pass by a hawker stand (street food vendor). I can't remember if it tasted extra good because (a) they made better waffles or (b) I was less picky or (c) extra brownie points were given because of the experience, or possibly all of the above.

I was referred to this cafe for their amazing waffles. I can tell that they are extremely serious about their productions. Their batter is chilled in the fridge and then stored in an ice bucket of water.

Here, I ordered the classic flavor. It's pretty darn good and I am pretty confident to say that it's better than most bubble waffles in HK. It's made fresh and it's ultra crispy but you have to consume it quickly because the magic disappears at a rapid rate... I would prefer mine a little sweeter but I think most of my Asian friends may like this. Finally, I feel that there could be more fluff inside the bubbles. In my opinion, this is a great waffle but I actually prefer the waffles from bubble waffle cafe in Richmond (except for the Steveston location - it's never fresh; and I haven't tried other branches from other cities). it's a bit greasier but there are more substances, more fluff, and their crispiness holds a little longer. Also, the custard flavor is much stronger, making it tastier.

Btw, they also sell matcha bubble waffles with mochi filling. Can't comment on this one as I was pretty stuffed from the original waffle...

Location: Here

Price: $4.25 per waffle

Taste: 3.8 / 5

atmosphere: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

seating: NA

Price Performance ratio: 4/5

604: Bonjour Banh Mi (updated)

As per your request, here I am at this newly opened Vietnamese Banh Mi Store - Bonjour Bahn Mi. I ordered their special Sub and I liked it enough to go back to grab another order of their grilled pork Banh Mi. Just look at the ratio guys! Please stop going to Banh Mi Saigon if the price is the major consideration for you guys. For an extra dollar, you get so much more filling. Mind you, meat is not cheap. If you are a meat lover then you would definitely love this place!

They are generous with their mayo, which is mixed in with a little bit of pate. I'd prefer a bit more pate in it but it's acceptable.

On the other hand, the grilled pork sub really threw me off. It reminded me of spam with a touch of honey...hmm.. this is not my type of grill meat but it might be yours. The grilled pork or chicken that I usually get are marinated with lemongrass and have a good char. On the bright note, they also added the mayo pate in this, so it made it more flavorful.

Now Obahnmi or Bonjour Banh Mi? Obahnmi has a marginally better baguette that's more buttery and the inside is slightly fluffier. Their vegetables are also more pickled, but everything else is on the milder side. Again, I'm Cantonese so I prefer things that are saucier and stronger, so I prefer Bonjour Bahn Mi in terms of the taste. I also like their meat ratio! In my opinion, I think Bonjour Bahn Mi is just a tad better than Obahnmi, but Obahnmi is still listed in my top picks!

By the way, they also have a loyalty program where for every 10 subs you purchased, you get a free Bahn Mi. So if you purchased enough Bahn Mis, your sub comes down to $6.50. For an extra 50 cents per sub, will you still be going to Saigon for a harder baguette with two thinly sliced cold cuts but with more cilantro and vegetables? Not I. Saigon is actually more expensive considering how they cheaped out on the fillings.

Update: So I came back here to try their lemon grass chicken because the staff recommended it last time. I was slightly disappointed with this because the chicken was on the chewier side and the lemongrass flavor was totally lacking. Why do restaurants cheap out on lemongrass and garlic is a mystery to me... it's so cheap... Overall, it's not a bad sub but I wouldn't say it's very authentic. I still like the generous amount of mayo they add though!

Bottom line: just go with the classic here. I wouldn't want to be adventurous with the other flavours at this store any more.

Price: $6.50 - $7

Taste:

Special (Cold Cut): 4.8/5

Lemongrass Sub: 3.6/5

Grilled pork sub: 3.5/5

Atmosphere: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐

seating: NA

Price Performance ratio: 4.9 / 5

Location: Here

Menu: Here