Foodie Friday: Bangkok City Cafe in Vancouver Review

I had been craving Thai food this week and finally got my fix on Wednesday when I went to Bangkok City Cafe with a friend. I found this place on yelp and it had really good reviews so I decided to check it out.

We went there for lunch and I guess we were pretty early because nobody was there. The door was open and it had the open sign but the people who worked there was in the back. That was the one thing I did not appreciate because we didn't really know what to do. I sort of called out to them by saying "hello" but I kind of almost wished they had a bell or maybe something that sounds when we enter because it was kind of awkward to stand inside the empty restaurant for a few minutes hoping they would notice us. Other than that, the service was good and prompt.

The waitress gave us the menu and I had already looked at it the night before, so I already knew what I wanted. The menu has a good selection of choices and a lunch menu as well. There isn't too many items on the menu that would make you feel overwhelmed with choices, which in my opinion is always a good thing because my friends and I can sometimes be quite indecisive. Everything always sounds soooo good, so when the menu isn't too big, it makes picking something a lot easier. Anyways, on to what we ordered.

A friend of mine told me to try Thai Iced Tea, so I decided to order it there and it was really good. Not entirely sure how to explain it, but it had a rich taste to it. Never had Thai Iced Tea before so I have nothing to compare it against.

I had been craving something spicy but also craving pad thai. I asked whether the pad thai was spicy but they informed that it was not, however they were able to make it spicy for me. The pad thai was really good. The noodles weren't too soft or too hard. The most important part was that they didn't stick together the way some other places do. I am not Thai so I cannot say how authentic the pad thai was but I definitely recommend it.

My friend had the red curry from the lunch menu. She said it was really good as well.

For those who didn't want to read my ramblings, here is a quickie review. Everything is out of 5.

Qoola - Mini Review

Qoola is a frozen yogurt bar that I had the pleasure of trying a few days back. I love frozen yogurt, ice cream, gelato's, etc. I was excited to try Qoola out the moment my friend and I passed the place while looking for a washroom in the mall.

After we relieved ourselves, we went back to Qoola and we each got a Qoolala as they call it.  There were a bunch of flavours to choose from but I chose the original flavour plus a mixture of strawberry lemonade and a berry mix (I can't remember the name) and I added strawberries, kiwis, blackberries and raspberries on top.

Qoola is one of the frozen yogurt bar's that charge you by weight. I find that this way of charging can end up pretty costly especially if you are like me and like to add fruit on top which tends to weigh more than say gummy bears. I don't think it necessarily costs a lot more than other yogurt bar's that charge this way though.

One thing about these types of frozen yogurt bar's is that you serve yourself. You go get your own frozen yogurt and add your own toppings on to it. It might be fun to get your own frozen yogurt although I prefer when someone else does it for me because than it looks all pretty. I know my priorities may be a little skewed but I like pretty things. Now the adding your own toppings onto it, that's the part that I find CAN get messy. People scooping what they want into their bowls and not putting things back where they belong. This is a huge concern to me since I remember going to one of the places that were like this and the person I was with was allergic to some things. It becomes very difficult to ensure that one container won't be contaminated by the other and makes it near impossible for someone with allergies to pick toppings. Obviously, the person working their will do their best to keep things clean but when your busy, you can only do so much.

Now for the most important part, how did it taste?

I chose the original flavour for this purpose. The original flavour was good but it was more sweet than tart the way an actual yogurt is like, which was a bit disappointing. I love frozen yogurt because it's NOT as creamy tasting as gelato's and ice creams can be, it's usually got a bit of a tartness. I did really enjoy the strawberry lemonade flavour, it seems perfect for the hot summer months but that one was TOO tart in some ways. A mixture was definitely a good choice on my part.

Overall:
The service at the location I went to was pretty good. They had a pretty good variety of flavours I think but most importantly, the flavours that I tasted didn't taste artificial or anything. Price is about the same, but you can save a few cents if you bring back your old Qoola container, it said it in store but I don't see it online so I can't give you the exact amount you'd be able to save. All this being said, I would definitely go back for more.

Have you tried Qoola in Vancouver? What did you think?