Frilly Finds: Automatic Honey's Mermaid Cove Release

FrillyFoodie ~ Frills Edition

Automatic Honey's Mermaid Cove Release
http://automatichoney.com/

So you could say I have a obsession with Automatic Honey (the accessory brand); it's got tons going for it - cute and delicate designs, lovely artwork, and lots of love poured into them. They make great statement pieces as they're so different from the run of the mill junk you can find in your nearest Claire's or Aldo's. Heck most of the time they have more design work put into them than some of the brands you'll find out of Nordstrom's.

So this impromptu post today is all about their newest release (in fact it was only put up online 2 hours ago). Mermaid Cove is a cute seashell design made up to look like a compact and perfume bottle. The colours are right on point with this time of year - in lavender, sax (baby blue for those not up and up with the lolita lingo) and mint.

The release isn't terribly big, but I love the transparency of the material - it gives it a sort of glowy ethereal look. The rings and necklaces match well together and can work well with most of my spring and summer weight dresses and outfits.

That being said, I think due to some releases happening at the same time, we're lucky enough to still be seeing some of these up on the website available for sale. Normally their items fly off the site and you have to fight to get anything. Literally you need to be on the website at 8pm Pacific on the dot and in a mad rush put everything in your cart.

So if you're wanting something a bit different and special head on over to Automatic Honey's website and grab something while you still can! It's pretty affordable for great work like this and makes for a great present!

2016 Foodie Finds: Ladurée

Ladurée: Macaron

Address: 1141 Robson St, Vancouver, BC

Phone: 604-336-3030

Website

Not everyone may know, but Ladurée finally opened it's doors in Vancouver - it's first location in Canada. Now I was silly and decided to drag my good friend to wait in line on opening day. Suffice to say we endured the horrid lines (2+ hours) outside and then more lines inside (1 hour, but only because these 3 Asian ladies were holding up the entire staff behind the counter for 30+ minutes).

Now, suffice to say, the lineups are not nearly this bad anymore (it's been a few weeks), however on weekends there may still be a lineup as tourists and people off of work will be more likely to try and stop by. During the week however, it's much emptier and you can just walk right in (thank goodness).



The decor is pretty much what you would expect to find from a high end brand patisserie (even if it isn't a full one) - painted ceilings, brass/gold accents with the clean white spaces, all very European in feel.



The back area is where the sit down service is provided. The price tag is somewhat jaw dropping considering Afternoon Tea Services elsewhere get you much more bang for your buck. 





So there are a plethora of items you can purchase from the front end of the shop - macaron key chains, reusable lunch bags, reusable shopping bags, candles, perfumes, honeys, jams, teas, chocolates and more. It's quite overwhelming if you're not going in for something specific.



However this wasn't the time to try it out so I simply purchased a box of 6 macaron and two of their teas (violet and rose black teas) to take home with me.




The box doesn't cost anything extra (unless you want whatever limited design box they may or may not have at the time) and they have a number to choose from, I went with the black since my very good friend in Seattle likes black and gold designs (no so much the macaron from Ladurée). There are 17 flavors total, a couple of which are seasonal/limited flavors (and yes there are different boxes for different amounts so you don't have to haul about 3 small sized boxes if you want 18).



So just talking about the macaron here (I won't go into detail on each flavor though to save you all from reading a horde of information) some were ok and others not so much. At $3 a pop, these are the most expensive macaron in the city (though cheaper than at other Ladurée locations around the world funnily enough). Pictured above was the Strawberry Candy Guimauve - the white filling is a marshmallow filling so it's springy and a bit chewy while being very sweet. The shell on this particular macaron didn't quite get to temp as it had the tell tale section of air between the outter shell and the chewier innards. Otherwise it was ok in taste, but I wasn't sure I enjoyed the filling. The sugar granules made for an interesting mouthfeel.



So shown above, was the special maple flavor that was released for the store. Out of all the macaron that I had bought, this one was surprisingly the best. Typically I cringe at maple flavored items as they tend to be overly sweet and far too strong in maple flavor (like someone distilled maple syrup for too long and packed as much of the resulting stuff in as possible). However this one was light in flavor, but gave enough of the maple push to give you the feel and taste of maple. The shell was well baked, and the filling was a great silky texture. As for the mouthfeel of the macaron, I think I prefer the Ladurée macarons in Tokyo - there was a strange granular gathering of the sugar/almond flour in my mouth when the initial bite and feel is quite smooth. I think it may have been the humidity that day as it was quite rainy.

Other flavors I had notes on - the Marie Antionette flavor, Ladurée's tea flavored macaron, is quite heavy on the floral scent and taste. If you don't like overly flowery flavors this one is not for you. For me personally it was a little over the top, and probably why I didn't buy the tea itself (the violet tea is quite mild and lovely though). The salted caramel flavor was delicate and not overly salty, though perhaps a touch more would have enhanced the flavor more. 



Overall for most of the flavors (Marie Antoinette and Citron aside and the well balanced maple) needed a touch more oomph to them if you're planning to eat more than just one. The flavor profile can be very subtle in some of these flavors, and perhaps not as well suited to the North American taste-bud. Also due to the strange texture/mouthfeel of the macaron I had that day, I would say that these are not my favorite macaron. I may go back and try them again but even comparing to the ones I had in Tokyo, there are better macaron in the city to be found for much cheaper.



I did happen to dress up for opening day, in my Angelic Pretty one piece dress (aptly named French Cafe for the outing). The workers there (specifically the ones from headquarters in France) seemed to quite enjoy my dressing up, so I take it that they would be quite happy to have several of us turn up for tea one day.

Quick Survey

It's already Mid April (well almost the end of April) and the blog has been going very regularly now since the beginning of the year. I'd like to start encompassing a few more non-food blog posts now and then along with foodie finds outside of the city (much like the one I posted from my last visit to Japan).

What would you like to see? Please comment and let me know!

If there's a specific restaurant or eatery that you think I should review I'm also up for suggestions! Please keep in mind though I'm allergic to crustaceans so asking me to review a lobster/crab joint is a bit pointless.

2016 Foodie Finds: Marulilu Cafe

 Marulilu Cafe: Lunch

Address: 451 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC

Phone: 604-568-4211

Facebook Page

So I was running around town the other day, just getting some errands done when I realized that I hadn't eaten anything all day at it was closing in on 4pm. Since I was in the Broadway corridor (near the City Hall Skytrain station) I figured I'd go back and try Marulilu Cafe. My previous experience was so long ago it was fuzzy but I didn't recall it being terrible. Also I remembered that they served at least one type of mentaiko dish.

The outside of the shop boasts a little chalkboard sign with some of the daily specials. It was rather sunny so the blinds were down to avoid blinding patrons inside. Sadly I forgot to take a photo of the outside.


Inside, the decor was pretty much as I remembered - quaint coffee house style place with a fair amount of seating considering how small the space is. The staff are pretty much all Japanese, and greet patrons as one would expect in Japan. If you care to converse/practice your Japanese language skills, the staff seem pretty amenable on the whole.


After being seated, I glanced at the menu - it was a lot bigger than I remembered. There's a shorter list on chalk boards on the wall but the paper menu they sit you down with is quite extensive. There was still the Japanese fusion type foods along with a bit of this that and the kitchen sink. Pretty much catering to a business lunch rush type of clientele. I was itching for mentaiko (a type of fish roe that's been marinated with a slightly spicy sauce) so I ordered the mentaiko udon and then a royal milk tea.


I received the royal milk tea first (as expected) and found that the taste is very rich and full. Also not overly sweet like most drinks in North America. If you have a chance do try the matcha latte here as it's made in true Japanese fashion. I find that the popularization of matcha lattes here in North America has meant an ungodly and copious amount of sugar has been added at a base level, rendering it unrecognizable from it's origins. Unfortunately, no latte art on the milk tea since...well...it's milk tea.


Next came the meal! A smallish portion of mentaiko udon and a nice salad. The salad was light and the dressing bright and not too heavy. Their salads here are a great choice, especially in summer I would think. The udon portion seemed small for the price until I got to mixing everything up. Mentaiko is not a cheap ingredient and it looks like they used an entire sac of the eggs. 



It was a bit unorthodox however, as they tossed the egg sac skin into the dish (which is still tasty but traditionally left out). It also tasted like they added some sort of broth (bonito?) to the eggs as they were more or less cooked through and a bit soupier in texture than a traditional mentaiko spaghetti mix (which was what I was expecting). The additional broth kicked down the flavour profile a notch, making it very subtle. I was looking for a bit more punch like a typical mentaiko dish so I ended up having to season it a bit with some salt. Spice lovers will also want to add some kick back to it since the spicy flavours are a bit lost from the addition of the liquid.

All in all, the place isn't bad, especially if you're in the area and in a pinch. The drinks are all nicely made at the very least.

2016 Tea Series: Fairmont Pacific Rim

 Fairmont Pacific Rim: Lobby Lounge Afternoon Tea Service

Address: 1038 Canada Pl, Vancouver, BC

Phone: 604-285-6199

Website

Having tried afternoon tea at most of the Fairmont locations, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to give the last local one a go when a friend invited me.

Reservations were made ahead of time, and when we were seated we had our own lovely metal teapots brought out with the tea we had selected. The pots were very heavy, so word of warning for those with weak hands or writsts. Otherwise, the setting held a very Asian flare with a sense of minimalism tossed in for good measure. It's not my favorite aesthetic but hey it works.

When the food came (the service was a little slow as it was very busy and the wait staff seemed to be on the low side for such a large space) it was on this great huge three layer metal tower. I think you could easily kill someone with it.

The entire presentation seemed a bit awkward to me, but it did the job at least.

The first thing I tried was the sushi. Since I'm allergic to crustaceans (shrimp, crab, and lobster etc), they substituted one piece for me. These were so lovely, I couldn't say it was a downgrade from the shellfish to the fried yam. The flavours were delicate but well thought out and balanced, while the textures matched the tastes perfectly. This was a great start to the afternoon tea selection.

    

Next came the trio of finger sandwiches. Light, befitting the warmer weather, and with a bit of Asian flare. Piecing nicely with the top tier foods and bringing things more into the European style of foods. I really liked the ingenuity of the tamago style egg on the summery salad-like filling, though a bit awkward to eat, it still tasted good.

Then onto the next part, which wasn't on the tier. The scones weren't anything to write home about, nor the condiments with them. Perhaps my least favorite part of the service.

    

Onto the desserts. Quite nice - I liked the fruit tart and the chocolate cup the best out of them all. The macaron was ok, and luckily not soggy from being pressed up against other sweets. The almond cake piece was quite a bit heavier but to be expected as such.

And this, this was not my favorite dessert. Something about the texture rubbed me in the wrong way and I couldn't finish it. I had such high hopes since I love green sweets (since they usually are matcha flavoured) but there was just something that just didn't hit my palette in a good way.

All in all, this was a fairly pleasant surprise offering from the Fairmont group. At a $35 price tag, it's much lower than other Fairmont services yet surprisingly refreshing in it's choice of savories. While not my favorite (Urban Tea Merchant will always hold a special place in my heart) it's not a bad choice, though for the price point there are other comparable services with much better parking options for one's vehicle.

As for me and the frills, this is what I wore that day. The staff at the Pacific Rim Fairmont were very excited to have us, all dressed to the nines, and sat us in a great seating area well in view of the street.