Tag Archives: Coffee

Food

RICHMOND HILL: ELEPHANT GRIND COFFEE

Elephant Grind Coffee is a brunch spot located in Richmond Hill neighborhood. The restaurant is brightly lit with natural light. The interior is minimal with white walls and simple wooden furniture that creates a cozy ambiance. The menu features brunch classics with Asian flavours like char siu, lap cheong and go chu jang. On our weekday visit, we decided to stick with the classics and order the Egg Benedicts, Chicken & Waffles, and The Classic.

Egg Benedicts ($15 CAD)

There are many options for Egg Benedicts. All served on english muffin with house salad & home fries. If you want an alternative to the classic Egg Benedict, you can try the house char siu pulled pork with pickled veggies and kale or truffle cream, cremini mushrooms and spinach. We went for the Egg Benedict with smoked salmon and yuzu avocado spread. The egg was nicely poached and covered with a blanket of creamy hollandaise sauce. However, I wasn’t able to taste the yuzu flavour in the avocado spread as it was thinly layered on top of the english muffin underneath the smoked salmon.

  • Chicken & Waffles ($15 CAD)
  • Hojicha Latte

Next up is the boneless fried chicken with Belgian style waffle, house salad, house hot sauce and cheddar sauce. The portion size was quite large as there were three large pieces of boneless fried chicken on top of the Belgian style waffles. The fried chicken were lightly seasoned and had a light batter. The crispy skin and tender chicken meat complimented well with the sweetness of maple syrup and fluffy waffles. I especially liked the side serving of spicy aioli which you can mix with maple syrup for a sweet and spicy twist.

  • The Classic ($13 CAD)

Lastly, The Classic is a breakfast staple and consisted of two eggs any style, bacon/sausage, sourdough toast and baked beans.

There is nothing fancy here, just a cozy place to go for decent brunch in Richmond Hill area. Keep a note that this restaurant is cafeteria style ordering where you order and pay at the counter first and wait for the food to be served to your table.

Elephant Grind Coffee
Address: 10 East Wilmot St Unit 7, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 1G9
Website: https://www.elephantgrindcoffee.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elephantgrindcoffee/?hl=en

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Travel

LOCAL CAFES IN SAPPORO (HOKKAIDO)

ATELIER Morihiko

  • Sandwich and Coffee Set (680 yen)

Address: 12-4-182 Minami 1 Jonishi, Chuo-ku, Sapporo 060-0061, Hokkaido

The Morihiko coffee company has several cafes located throughout Sapporo, all with a different decor. Atelier Morihiko is located in a quiet neighborhood close to Odori Park. The interior features high ceiling, white walls and vintage furnitures. The atmosphere is calm and relaxing with warm soft lighting. You can choose to be seated at the window side tables, the large communal table in the centre, or the counter to watch the coffee being brewed.

We were seated at the window side table facing the street where the only tram line in the city runs through. The menu consists of cakes and coffee as well as sandwiches for breakfast. We ordered two sandwich and coffee set (one sweet and one savory) available from 8:00am-11:00am. The sweet sandwich and coffee set for 680 yen is a popular menu item because of its pretty presentation. It is wrapped in wax paper and topped with savory roasted pistachios and raspberry. The bread is both moist and sweet and matches well with the richness of the fresh cream inside.

In the morning, only hand drip coffee is served. Don’t expect to get cappuccino or latte. Coffee beans are freshly grind to order and use Nel drip brewing method with cotton flannel filters. You can order different types of coffee such as MORI no SHIZUKU, Morihiko French blend, and Morihiko mild blend. We ordered the Morihiko mild blend and liked that it does not have astringent taste and is pleasant on the tongue and palate.

Baristart

Address: 4-8 Minami 1-Jo Nishi, Chuo-ku | 1F Freeden Bldg, 060-0061, Hokkaido

Baristart Coffee is a tiny coffee shop best for a to-go coffee. Seating is limited to a small counter with four seats or an outdoor bench. What makes this place unique is that they serve lattes made with milk from various regions of Hokkaido each with their own flavour profile. There are three kind of milk to choose from, Hakodate Holstein, Tokachi Jersey and Biei Jersey milk. The lattes vary in the level of richness and taste depending on the kind of milk used. I highly recommend the Tokachi Jersey cow as it was sweet and rich. The milk was dense but I could still taste various flavours of coffee inside. Lattes are quite pricey but you are paying for their specialty milk. Great spot to drop in for a morning coffee or mid-day caffeine fix.

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Travel

CAFE HOPPING IN MONTREAL

One of the things I always enjoy when travelling to Montreal is the never ending list of cute cafes to visit. Montreal really know what it’s doing when it comes to a good cafe scene. If you’re like me, and nothing makes you happier than visiting cute coffee shops, check out some of my recommendations below.

Cafe Leaves

Address: 2051 Rue de la Montagne, Montreal, QC H3G 1Z8

Everything in this cafe is vegan friendly. They serve up all kinds of concoctions, from espresso drinks to matcha lattes, caffeinated or not, you can choose your type of plant milk. Their almond, soy, and coconut are free of charge. They also have oat milk and others that are available for a small extra charge. The ambience is very calm and casual with all sorts of cactus and succulents around. Seating is very limited but there is tons of natural light that enters, making the space seem larger than it is.

Cafe Sfouf

Address: 1250 Ontario St E, Montreal, QC H2L 3G2

Cafe Sfouf is a lovely lebanese cafe located in Gay Village. The ambience is rustic and cozy with superb natural lighting from the large garage door windows. The first thing that caught my eye was the plant wall which is very cute and instagrammable. The cafe is also family friendly with a kid’s corner. The menu at Cafe Sfouf is simple, you can choose from coffee, hot drinks, homemade cakes, and savory or sweet open-face sandwiches. Every drink comes with a Sfouf cake which is a yellow turmeric cake that is very famous in Lebanon and the middle east.

Cafe OSMO

Address: 51 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal, QC H2X 1X2

Cafe Osmo is a minimalist cafe serving local coffee beans, pastries and salads. The interior is furnished with wooden tables and acapulco chairs in white and turquoise. The space is big and industrial with high windows to let in lots of natural light. It is a community space with relaxing atmosphere that is perfect for studying or working while enjoying good food and coffee.

Tommy Cafe

Address: 200 Notre-Dame St W, Montreal, QC H2Y 1T3

Tommy Cafe is one of the most popular cafe in Montreal with its picturesque decor. This quaint cafe has unique multi-level seating with beautiful Victorian architecture and intricate mouldings all along the walls and ceilings. This pretty space also has mirrored walls that makes the space look larger than it is. The atmosphere of this cafe is very inviting and it’s a charming spot for a drink.

Crew Collective & Cafe

Address: 360 St Jacques St, Montreal, QC H2Y 1P5

Crew Collective & Cafe is a hybrid coffee shop and co-working space in Montreal which uses the bones of an old historical bank for its space. The architecture here is pretty spectacular, fancy columns, and high ceilings with intricate, ornate decor. The ambience of the cafe is warm and inviting with natural light entering from huge round top arch windows. This cafe is the perfect space to work with meeting rooms that can be rented. It also serves up gourmet food, pastries, and coffee.  

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