The second half of our Vancouver trip was somewhat freeform (read: laid back). Luckily, that didn't mean we slacked on the food exploration... or... at least I didn't. The third day started off with a trip to Granville Island, which we took a small ferry (read: tiny-ass boat) to get to.

On the island we were greeted by a vast array of fresh produce and artisan goods. If you're a fan of farmers' markets and craft fairs, you should definitely check this out.

After wandering around, we found a macaron patisserie and bought a custom box of 6. (Look how beautiful they are!)

Dinner was spent at a Korean bbq place called Ta bom on Robson Street (surprise...), which had a wide selection of BBQ as well as dakgalbi and hot pot options. We ended up ordering two servings of samgyupsal and two of dakgalbi.

Both were delicious, and service was swift. Would definitely recommend!

Afterwards we got bingsu again at Sulbing, this time ordering the plain matcha one in an effort to try something new. However, it wasn't nearly as good as the strawberry matcha one (and not as aesthetic either).

In the latter parts of the evening we found ourselves at Sunset Beach. I'll admit my expectations were not high, since I'm generally not a fan of beaches, but the view was absolutely gorgeous. And since it was a Wednesday night, it wasn't crowded at all.

I'll have to say that it was called Sunset Beach for a very good reason.

---

Most of the next day was spent in Gastown, enjoying the rustic feel of the Victorian architecture and brick-lined pathways. We meandered through numerous mom and pop shops, on our obligatory souvenir hunt.

A few hours later we returned to Downtown and, much to my surprise, found a Xing Fu Tang located inside Granville Station. Part 2/? of boba places that I thought only exist in NYC actually also existing elsewhere?

My friend and I decided to try something slightly more different for dinner - a place called Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba that sold mazesoba, a brothless noodle dish originating from Japan.

It was a very worth choice, although if I went again I think I would've gone for one of the lighter options. (I chose Niku, which was a bit heavier, and my friend got Shio, which was lighter.) At first I thought that it was basically brothless ramen, but the taste and texture was actually quite different from ramen in general, and since there was no broth, the flavor of the toppings was much more intense. We were instructed to add vinegar to the noodles if the taste became too heavy or greasy, which we followed. The service was also on the slower side, but the restaurant was very full and it appeared that they made the bowls one by one, so the wait was understandable.

After dinner we passed by a Japanese convenience store (Konbiniya Japan Centre) and I stopped by to purchase a matcha-vanilla swirl soft serve from their crepe/soft-serve counter to end my day.

---

On our final day in Vancouver, we headed to Richmond via SkyTrain for... DIMSUM! There were too many highly-rated options in the area, and after much head-scratching we eventually chose Fisherman's Terrace Seafood Restaurant, located inside the Aberdeen Centre, a large multi-story Asian mall inside the Golden Village district.

Needless to say, we did not make the wrong choice.

Plus egg tarts:

In fact our ordering was a little over-ambitious, since we struggled to finish everything in the end. Leaving the restaurant completely stuffed, we explored Golden Village a bit, stopping by a soybean dessert place called SoyTalk (because there is always room for dessert, no?).

SoyTalk is a pretty interesting dessert place, in the sense that all the desserts are made with soy instead of dairy milk. Milky soft-serve? Nope - soymilk soft-serve only. Traditional latte? Nah - try a soy latte instead! Regular pudding? You get the deal - why not soy pudding?

For a soybean-lover, this place is heaven. For someone like me who just came for the aesthetics and prefers dairy desserts... well... at least I got the photo I wanted.

Across the street from SoyTalk was a large Taiwanese supermarket called Kuo Hua. A friend recommended their snacks, and I wasn't disappointed.

Finally, in late afternoon, we headed back to Vancouver. We were still pretty full from dimsum, so for dinner, my friend and I took it easy, ordering a couple of hand rolls at Hello Nori on Robson Street.

The hand rolls were top quality, and you can choose from a 4-, 5-, or 6-roll set, or select individual ones you want. Then the sushi chef makes and serves each one separately in front of you, only serving the next one once you've finished the previous one, ensuring the hand roll doesn't get soggy and warm. I really liked this place, although the wait time was quite long before getting seated (go early!).

Since it was the last night, my friend and I stopped by Breka for some desserts, and then headed to Sunset Beach for one final vibe trip.

---

This Vancouver trip was not as carefully planned as the type of vacations I'm used to, but we got to try a lot of different foods, and the quality and variety of the Asian food scene honestly blew my mind. There were so many restaurants that we didn't have enough mealtimes to try. All in all, I would definitely come back again.

So long, Canada. ☆

tags: location/canada, granville island, ta bom, sunset beach, gastown, xing fu tang, kokoro tokyo mazesoba, fisherman's terrace seafood restaurant, hello nori