604: JoDeen (Burnaby)

Yayyyy, I came here on a Friday late afternoon and beat the hyped-up frenzies. There are a few street parking across the street, but I can imagine it being difficult to find parking spots on the weekend. When I walked into the store, I was surprised to see how spacious this cafe was. I was also surprised by the number of workers behind the open kitchen making their wheel cakes. There were at least 4 of them in the store and I was the only customer.

I ordered 3 wheel cakes with custard, taro, and red bean filling, and they were made to order. I think I waited about ten minutes in total, which isn't bad, but judging by how concise and careful they are with each wheel cake (see video below - I purposely didn't speed up the video so you can see their pace), it made me wondered how they would be able to manage any mass orders. I'm pretty sure they will be swamped on the weekend and a few upset customers would walk away.

The staff there are all Taiwanese and they are so friendly, as they normally are! They are also very thoughtful - they stamp the requested flavor onto the back of the packages so you know which is which.

As soon as I got out of the store, I took a bite into it (gotta try it fresh haha) and the texture of the wheel cake completely threw me off. It reminded me of a fortune cookie with lots of filling. Each flavor has its subtle distinct flavor with a mild sweetness to it. It's not too sweet, which is perfect for my Asian homies, but for those of you who enjoy brownies, red velvet cupcakes with extra cream cheese icing, and cinnamon buns with ice cream and more ice cream, this isn't for you. It's also slightly gritty with bits of microscopic oatmeals from the pastry.

From admiring the tasteful design of the cafe layout to observing the workers putting the wheel cakes together gingerly, then placing the items into a well thought out package, to savoring their wheel cakes, I can tell that quality is highly emphasized. They've put a lot of thought into their branding. I just don't know how they can deliver their products in a timely manner.

Indeed, my friend who stopped by their store the next day complained that she had to wait 2 hours for her wheel cake. Yikes...

I know everyone is or will be comparing this with the wheel cakes from Peanuts in the Richmond Public Market, especially with the price point. It's $3.25 to $3.75 per wheel cake at JoDeen, and it's under a dollar at Peanuts. A lot of them complain that it's expensive at JoDeen's, but considering that they have a massive store with a desirable contemporary ambiance, higher grade ingredients used, and overall more expensive overhead cost than Peanuts, I think they're reasonably priced. (I also believe that Peanuts is underpriced but I would not tell them that.)

Now is it 3 times tastier than Peanuts? The custard filling is four times tastier than Peanuts but all other fillings are just marginally tastier than Peanuts. As for the exterior, I much prefer Peanuts' chewy and glutinous texture. I also like that Peanuts have more options but JoDeen is currently in the soft opening phase. So maybe they will have more options in the future?

P.S - Sorry I didn't order the savory ones. It's not my thing. Neither are pearls with custards... but again it's a matter of personal preference.

📍Location: Here

💵 Price: $3.25 - $3.75 per wheel cake

🤤Taste: 4 / 5

🕯Atmosphere: 4.8 / 5

🪑Seating: 3.5 / 5

📈 Price Performance ratio: 5 / 5

Retention Rate: May be if I'm in the area...

ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕤:

- Spacious cafe

- contemporary design

- friendly staff

- thoughtful packages

- all flavors have their own distinct flavor

- high quality ingredients used

- Can taste the oatmeal in the pastry shell

- very crispy exterior

- generous filling

ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕤:

- slow

- no chew to the pastry shell

- parking may be an issue on the weekend

𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:

- Reasonably priced considering that they have higher overhead costs than peanuts

- Prefers peanuts' chewy texture

- prefers the custard filling from JoDeen's

604 Joyee's Fave: Hiel Cafe (Burnaby)

Finally, I've found a cafe that makes souffle pancakes that are on the same level as the ones I had in Japan!!!!! You guys can forget about Fufu Pancake or Gram Pancakes here. Even though Gram Pancakes is from Japan, I wasn't a fan of their pancakes when I was in Japan. It's denser compared to Happy Pancakes or Flippers. I like the cloud-like-texture from Happy Pancakes. They were moist, airy, and light. Dreamy!

The location of Hiel is in between the border of Burnaby and New Westminster on 10th Avenue. It's a big cafe with outdoor patios, and the inside is quite roomy. They have a vast food selection ranging from cheesecakes, cookies, bars, souffle pancakes, drinks, and lattes etc. We ordered the two recommended souffle pancakes by the barista, which were the original and creme brulee.

I was timing them for fun and we waited about 20 minutes for the pancakes, which was the average time to make a souffle pancakes. While we were waiting, I enjoyed the jazz music playing in the background.

When the souffle pancake arrived, we were both surprised by the size of the pancakes. They were as big as my head. But coming to think of it, they only offer 2 pieces of pancakes, instead of the usual three, so I guess it's the same amount of batter used compared to the industrial standard.

First thing first, we had to test to see if it jiggles and it passed the test via boomerang. When we jabbed the original pancake with our knives, we already could feel the softness.

The first bite took me back to Asia in a split second. It's airy, it's pillowy, it's moist, and it's soft. The topping was just whipping cream whipped in soft peaks and has a lot of berries decorated around the plate. This would be suitable for all my Chinese friends since it's not too sweet.

The creme brulee was a little sweeter which I am more fond of. The topping is made with French custard and was torched with sugar to create the brulee top. It was harder to divide this up as the top was hardened by the caramelization. The bananas on the side were also caramelized. They were fantastic.

What I especially liked about their pancakes is that they both had a bold eggy taste to them. As you know, eggs in Canada have no flavor so I'm not sure what eggs they've used, or if they've added extra substance to the batter to bring out the flavor. Their pancakes are 95% similar to the ones from Happy Pancakes or Flippers, and this is probably the closest thing I could find here in Vancouver that resembles a real souffle pancake. In fact, their pancakes are very similar to my homemade souffle pancakes where we both use the undercooking technique to create these soft and moist pancakes. The bottom to the middle layer of their souffle pancakes is just cooked through and the top layer has a creamier texture since it's slightly undercooked. While the Japanese use the ultra slow cooking method to make a perfectly soft souffle pancake under low heat, and this method yields a perfectly consistent texture throughout - soft and airy. Personally, I prefer the undercooking method because it's easier to control the texture, and it's faster to make. I'm impatient. I also like the slightly undercooked gooey batter that gives the pancake more moisture, but the drawback with this method is that you would have to sacrifice the height and it's not as airy.

How do I know all this? I've probably read 100 articles on making souffle pancakes and learned all the science behind it. All I can say is that the Japanese are really good at Science...

The cost of these pancakes is $16 per plate, which I find very reasonable considering the time required to make these. It's cheaper than FuFu pancake too!

What are you waiting for? Head over there now!!!!

Menu:

📍Location: Here

💵 Price: $17 per stack of pancake

🤤Taste: 4.9 / 5

🕯Atmosphere: 4.8 / 5

🪑Seating: 5 / 5

📈 Price Performance ratio: 5 / 5

Retention Rate: 200%

ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕤:

- Jiggly and moist pancakes

- worth every penny

- friendly staff

- spacious and cozy cafe

- super pillowy and soft

- great portion

- made fresh

ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕤:

- may take a bit of time but that's normal for any souffle pancakes made to order

𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:

- Best souffle pancakes in town

- Better than FUFU Pancakes and Gram Pancakes

- Marked as one of my favorite dessert shop in Vancouver now

604: Mochido (Vancouver)

Finally, I have successfully checked into this place and have joined the hype!

Interesting fact - it's located in an industrial area in South Vancouver. Another interesting fact - this has come in as the second ... least favorite donut shop from my donut polls.

As always, I did enough research before heading over and my homework saved me from a long que. Although I arrived at a quarter to 1 in the afternoon, before their opening hour, a short line has already formed. By the time the clock stroke 1, the line was assembled roughly by 10 or so people. This is on a Friday afternoon by the way. As I was hiding behind a car trying to avoid the direct heat from the scorching sun, I overheard the people in front of me complaining how the line was insanely long on her first visit, but it was on a Saturday. (I didn't quite catch how long she had to wait for it though. I was busy looking for shades.)

I was the third in line and I honestly don't understand what was the hold. The first person ordered two boxes of assorted plus two singles, the second group ordered another box of assorted with some minor changes, I ordered three singles. It's so freaking simple and I don't even need a notepad to write these down. On the other hand, the lady took our payments swiftly and had us waiting on the side. I had to wait 30 minutes in total for 3 single donuts. For crying out loud, how hard is it to throw in three donuts into a paper bag!?!?!! What took 30 minutes!?

To save you some trouble, I suggest that you come on a weekday at around 2:30 to avoid the first wave of craziness. Of course, you could also pre-order on their website, but you would have to commit half a dozen of donuts by doing so.

Now about the donuts, I ordered three different flavors including the black sesame, salted brown butter, and ube coconut. All the donuts have the same mochi donut base but were dipped with different flavored glaze. The black sesame was quite bland but it's not as sweet as the other two. I can see why so many Asian bloggers praise highly on this. After all, the highest form of praise on desserts from the Asians is that - it isn't sweet... The sesame taste comes mainly from the sesame sprinkles on top, which were scattered sparsely.

The ube flavor has a stronger flavor but I could tell it's composed mainly of the Ube extract and coconut shavings on the top. It's pretty good but not mind-blowing.

Last but not least, the salted brown butter is my favorite of all. I believe it's a favorite from the majority as well. It's on the sweeter side but it's perfectly balanced by the salt added to it. It basically tasted like the caramel popcorn, and I'm almost positive that it's the same ingredients used, but minus the baking soda and corn syrup. Imagine a moist brown sugar powder paste that crumbles easily, and tasted like caramel popcorn on a donut, with a chewy and bouncy bread texture.

Overall, I would say these are pretty delicious. Its texture was chewy and fluffy and it did not harden after it was cooled down. Compared to Mister Donuts from Japan, I could confidently say that Mochido is superior to the mochi donuts from Mister Donuts (Honest to God and I'm not being patriotic). So well done! The ones from Japan were a bit hard and the flavor wasn't as impactful.

Even though I've given Mochido a higher score than Duffin Doughnuts, the same outcome from my donut poll, I think I would still prefer having Duffin's if I ever feel like having a donut. I have a hard time accepting them as part of the donut family, that's all.

📍Location: Here Menu: Here

Preorder: Here

💵 Price: $16.95 for six 🍩 || $2.95 for 1 🍩 (For walk in only)

🤤Taste: 4.3 / 5

🕯Atmosphere: NA

🪑Seating: NA

📈 Price Performance ratio: 4.8 / 5

Retention Rate: 50% (It's great but it's just not my type of dessert)

ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕤:

🍩 Chewy & springy

🍩 Fluffy

🍩 Loved the salted brown butter flavor

🍩 Not overly sweet

🍩 Could avoid line ups by pre-ordering

ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕤:

🍩 Service is slow as hell

🍩 Long line ups for walk ins

🍩 Parking can be a pain (as per my research) 🍩 Black sesame flavour was pretty bland

𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:

🍩 Better than Mister Donuts from Japan

🍩 Great but not my type of dessert

🍩 But would I recommend it to you guys? Absolutely. I saw a lot of returned customers ordering a few boxes at a time. That says a lot!