Soho Tea Room: Salmon Wellington & Fire on Ice

A few years ago, I'd always go to Richmond for bubble tea and Chinese food, but it seems like there are more and more bubble tea cafes here in Vancouver now. Soho Tea Room opened not too long, and they're owned by the same owners as Flo Tea Room (which ironically closed their former Vancouver location on Granville).

Upon entering the restaurant, the environment and atmosphere seemed more modern than typical bubble tea cafes.

Salmon Wellington

Salmon wellington with prawns & spinach cream in puff pastry $19: I don't know about you, but when I first hear the word, wellington, I think of Gordon Ramsay. Then when I take a bit of this, I could hear Gordon Ramsay say "what a shame". Where's the layer of spinach and prawns? It looks completely different than their picture in the menu which had a thick reddish piece of salmon and then a layer of spinach and prawns. Some parts of the pastry was soggy and the salmon was a bit dried. I didn't expect much though, as this is like a western dish and most of the time western dishes aren't perfected in an Asian restaurant.

Thankfully, the set came with soup of the day and a choice of fries, salad, or spaghetti.

fries

Pan fried thick noodles with pork cheek

Braised pork cheek with black bean sauce pan fried thick noodles $9: I knew I wanted this the second I finished reading its name. Pork cheeks are my favourite parts because it's not fatty and is chewy, yet tender. Thick noodles are also my favourite type of noodles. This dish was not disappointing at all and exactly what I expected. I thought they would give a very small amount of pork cheeks, but I was wrong. I also thought the portion was large, so it's great for sharing.

Fire on Ice

The look of this drink corresponds with its name - fire on ice. On the menu, it says "approx. 30 minutes" and when we asked the waitress, she said this drink takes 30 minutes to serve if they're busy. Really? I don't know why a drink would take that long to make. I think it took just about 10 minutes this time even though the restaurant was neither full nor empty. I don't know why they would write that beside the drink, which will probably in turn make customers unwanting to order it. This slushy consisted of lychee, peach, mango and strawberry - fruity, sweet, with a twist of tanginess. 

There are actually other quite a handful of other bubble tea cafes close by such as Corner 23, Copa Cafe, and Gloucester Cafe. I think their wide variety of drinks (and the names for them) and their extensive menu are things that make Soho Tea Room stand out. 

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Corner 23 萬巒豬腳: Pig Feet and Pork Hocks

Corner 23 is located, as the name implies, right at the corner of 23rd Ave. and Cambie Street. It's a Taiwanese bubble tea place and can be super packed at night, as it is conveniently across from the King Edward Canada Line station. No worries if they're full, guess who's beside them? Hong Kong style cafe - Copa Cafe!

So what's the Chinese name for Corner 23? It actually has nothing to do with a corner or the number 23. The Chinese name directly translates to "Wan Luan pig feet" - Wan Luan is a rural place in Taiwan. Apparently, there are "Corner 23's" in Taiwan too, featuring their signature dish, Wan Luan pork hock. Though I've been to Corner 23 many times, but I've never gotten their signature dish as the thought of eating pork hock or pig feet did not seem very appealing to me. But after seeing people from other tables eating it, I decided to give it a try. You can order just pork hock, or with noodles/rice set. 

Wan Luan Pork Hock rice set

The sauce is the magic in this dish. So, I'd recommend getting the rice set so you can thoroughly enjoy the sauce (since you can really mix sauce in noodle soup).  I've never been a fan of eating skin - I don't eat fish skin, chicken skin, and definitely not a great fan of pig feet skin. However, the meat was tender, but tasteless without the sauce, so remember to dip it into the sauce.

On another visit, I got the seafood milk hot pot set. When I think of hot pot, I think about all the raw fatty beef that people gather around a pot to cook in a tasty soup base. However, this is not that at all. It's only for one person and everything in the pot is cooked, even though there is fire beneath keeping it warm. This was very tasty but the milk seemed water down and not the fresh smell of warm milk. Though still lots of yummy variety of seafood in the pot.

Seafood milk hotpot

My friend got the five-spice chicken set which came with a bowl of rice, and some veggies. The chicken definitely had a lot of flavour and was cooked nicely. However, I don't think everyone will like unique flavour that it creates with the 5 spices.

And of course, what is going to a bubble tea place without having some bubble tea? Their bubble tea is OK, neither the best nor the worst. Ok, their bubbles are good and have a consistent chewiness. However, it is their addition of powder flavour that I dislike. So, I'd suggest sticking with tea or milk tea and not to get any exotic fruit flavours - the mango one is an exception - very good.

Mango Milk Tea Bubble Tea - to go!

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