Bella Gelateria: Hot Chocolate Festival 2014

Hot Chocolate Festival 2014

"Hot chocolate festival? There's such a thing?" 

That's the reaction I get from many of my friends when I am trying to find someone to go with me. It's fourth year running, Vancouver's Hot Chocolate Festival is steadily growing in participants. With an extra hour to kill between watching Frozen and dining at Mosaic Bar and Grill, we took the opportunity to take part in the festival. Bella Gelateria is only two blocks away from Mosaic, so we decided to pay a visit.

Hot Chocolate Festival 2014 menu

The Three Nutty Crumpets came to Bella Gelateria for during the Hot Chocolate Festival last year and since then, the menu of hot chocolate has incredibly expanded. I remember having about three or so choices, and it costing a lot more. I'm extremely impressed with the creative flavours Bella Gelateria has to offer this year; if my stomach was bigger, I would've loved to try more! A gelato bar in hot chocolate? My love for hot and cold food together is calling...

Black Sesame Hot Chocolate ($5.50)

Since dinner was around the corner, I limited myself to having just a cup of hot chocolate. My heart was set on the Black Sesame Hot Chocolate the moment I saw it on the menu. Knowing how ah-may-zing their black sesame gelato is, I was really excited for this drink. For $5.50 (tax included), this generous cup of hot chocolate is creamy and packed full of the flavours advertised. It wasn't overly sweet, as the base of this drink was half white chocolate and half 85% dark chocolate. I drank about half of this and packed the rest to go. As I was pouring it into my paper cup, I saw how much black sesame paste went into this drink. A thick layer of black sesame paste lined the bottom of the cup; remember to stir while drinking. No wonder it tasted so good! 

All Hot Chocolate Festival drinks at Bella Gelateria come with half a slice of Erin Ireland's To Die For Banana Bread. I was pleasantly surprised that this year, the slice of banana bread was of normal thickness. Not exaggerating but last year we got half a slice that was only one centimetre in thickness. That's half of what is seen in the photo! Like seriously, you must be kidding me... -shakes head- However, the banana bread isn't as good as I remember it to be. It was missing the crunchy bits of salt that contrasts the sweetness of the loaf. There was even less macadamia nuts than before (it didn't start off with much in the first place) and it just tasted sugary. Nevertheless, the side of banana bread is a nice treat that, with the drink, will satisfy any sweet tooth.

Italian Honey Moon Hot Chocolate ($5.50)

My other two friends both ordered the Italian Honey Moon Hot Chocolate. "Hazelnut" totally caught their attention. I saw little chunks of honey nougat and hazelnuts floating on the surface. This one should be a little sweeter than the black sesame since it is made with 65% cocoa chocolate. The Clumsy One said that there was a generous amount of hazelnuts in the drink. Our other friend commented that she had to open her mouth a little wider to get the bits in as she drank. The serving size of the hot chocolate here is very large, be prepared to feel very full after gulping down the whole cup! (And a experience a bit of a sugar rush as well) Both drinks are well worth the very reasonable price. A specialty drink at Starbucks costs just as much, if not more, and they just use flavoured syrups and blech.

I'm very glad we decided to make a stop here, as it is probably one of the best places to join in on the Hot Chocolate Festival. Bella Gelateria's menu contains more flavours than most of the other participating cafes, making it a good choice for larger groups that may have different preferences. And ice cream bars in hot chocolate sounds insanely cool. If I get the chance to come back to try more of their Hot Chocolate Festival offerings, I have my eye on the London Foggy, Black Magic, and Extra Dark Chocolate drinks. Peanut Crumpet had the extra dark chocolate last year and it's not sweet at all. Those that love a true dark and bitter chocolate should definitely try Bella Gelateria out!


 
Love from Coconut Crumpet & Co.

Tiki Juice Bar: The Dole Whip

Tiki Juice Bar

Located at the entrance into Adventureland from Main Street USA is this little straw-roofed hut that serves the best ice cream in the park. Don't bother buying five dollar Mickey-shaped ice cream bars from the carts, make a beeline straight to Tiki Juice Bar instead!

Coconut Crumpet and the Dole Whips

I don't have a photo with just the dole whip, so one with my face in it will suffice. Sorry... Evidently my family was too eager to get something cold into our systems before we overheated.

The Dole Whips (just the soft serve ice cream) are $3.69 each. There is also a Whip Float for $5.19, which is pineapple juice, topped with the pineapple soft serve, then decorated with a paper umbrella and such. It's very pretty and totally 'instagram-worthy' but we were on our way to grab lunch at French Market and didn't want to use up too much stomach room. 

So..are the famed Dole Whips worthy of their rave reviews? YES! This tall swirl of soft ice cream is creamy and full of fresh, tropical pineapple flavour. I can understand why Dole Whips are a must-get at Disneyland. Sometimes the line up at Tiki will be long, sometimes there is no wait at all. There is no need to fret as the line up goes really fast. You must stop here to get ice cream, or the float! But..I'd skip purchasing any fresh fruit in Disneyland. A small chunk of pineapple for $3? I could buy a whole pineapple for less than that!

Reviews on Yelp



Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Ghiradelli Soda Foundation and Chocolate Shop

Ghiradelli is a San Fransisco based chocolate company; they are the Lindt of America. My mom and I had our eyes set on dessert from Ghiradelli the second we walked past it while looking for lunch, which we later found at Flo's V8 Cafe.

Golden Gate Banana Split ($9.95)

Named after San Fransisco's iconic bridge, this luscious boat of ice cream and all the fixin's was heavenly. I surprised myself and liked the chocolate and strawberry ice cream most. The chocolate ice cream was rich and chocolately, not just sugary like that fake stuff sold in the aisles of the grocery store. Comparable to Bella Gelateria's chocolate gelato. I haven't had strawberry ice cream in ages, no exaggeration used, mainly because it usually tastes too fake and sugary. But this was totally different, there were chunks. of. fresh. strawberries. Ehmagawd. The crushed pineapple topping was an uncommon but delicious addition. I didn't care much for the bananas, as it wasn't very ripe. But the ice cream was gorgeous, beautiful, made in heaven. Three scoops for ten dollars isn't that bad when the quality is as phenomenal as this. Guys, this is the real deal. Oh, sorry for the melt-y looking sundae photo, we ran three minutes from Ghiradelli to Fiddler Fifer & Practical Cafe in the 30+ degree sun. There is only a handful of tables outside the ice cream parlour, which 1) isn't very pleasant to sit in the hot weather, 2) you may cry watching your delicious ice cream melt before your eyes, and 3) the tables are probably all full in the afternoon.

Mint Bliss Dark Chocolate Sundae ($8.95)

Since my mom's favourite ice cream is mint chocolate, that is the flavour of sundae she chose. Before I begin the rest of my ranting, this dark chocolate fudge. Oh. My. It was sinful, and so good. Dark chocolate has never been this amazing before and this sundae just took it to the next level. One scoop of chocolate ice cream, which was also in the sundae and I've mentioned that it is ah-may-zing, and one scoop of mint ice cream. The mint ice cream is okay, very creamy and smooth but I don't love mint ice cream as much as my mom. The mint ice cream (that isn't dyed green) from Coconut Bliss is probably just as good. The highlight of this sundae is the dark chocolate fudge. The cold ice cream turns this hot, liquidy chocolate sauce into chewy fudge. I felt naughty eating this stuff.

Although the prices at Ghiradelli inside California Adventure are a bit steep, it's well worth the splurge and the portion sizes are acceptable and can be easily shared with another person, or two if you're kindhearted. I will dream about these decadent ice cream treats. Did I mention you get a free square of chocolate each time you step into the store? Oh yes, we went in twice. Once to see the menu in the morning and once to actually purchase ice cream. We left the park with a total of eight squares of melted caramel-filled chocolate, whoot whoot!

Reviews on Yelp 

Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Oasis Date Gardens

My only goal in Palm Springs was to visit a date garden. Or maybe two.

With only one full day to spend in the Palm Springs-ish area, we wanted to make the most out of it. I knew I wanted to visit Shield's Date Garden, which was pretty much around the corner from our awesome hotel (Homewood Suites in La Quinta!), but my dad found a brochure for Oasis Date Gardens a little further away in Thermal. So we went there first.

Date Shake

I've heard rave reviews about the date shakes at both Oasis Date Gardens and Shields Date Gardens. The name 'date shake' made me think it was a date-flavoured milk shake. But it's not. Soft serve ice cream blended with date crystals. We got this half-cup size for free because we had a coupon for a free date shake with a purchase of like $10. Contrary to all the rave reviews, I didn't find this date shake anything close to amazing. It was good ice cream, but it didn't deliver with the date flavour. Vanilla soft soft ice cream is what I tasted. The full-size version of this is really large, an stuffed cup full of date shake for around $4. However this sample size was more than enough for the four of us because it wasn't that exciting. After trying Oasis' date shake, I was no longer interested in Shield's version as I believe it's the same thing.

Medjool Dates from Oasis Date Gardens

The store portion of Oasis Date Gardens is pretty small. And there were no other customers when we arrived at 10am, which made it rather awkward to browse around. The shelves were a bit empty and the gift sets looked like they had been sitting there for a while. (I'm just guessing by the slightly drier-looking appearance of the medjool dates) We tried a few samples, and bought a pound of medjool dates from the bulk area. We just wanted to buy something, try a date shake, and get out of there. 

I actually didn't have much expectation for these medjools, because who knows how long they've been there? However, I am extremely impressed with these. Perhaps their bulk and wholesale boxes sell a lot quicker than the gift boxes. These medjools are meaty, moist, and super caramel-y. I would describe them as nature's caramels. In fact, these are better than caramels! I crave them every single day.

So, would is it worth going to Oasis Date Gardens? Hmm... Since Shield's is closer and they have medjools just as juicy and caramelly, I'd say it isn't necessary to drive the extra distance. 

And a tip for those that often use a GPS to navigate around, Grapefruit Blvd is actually Highway 111. Our GPS didn't have Grapefruit Blvd as a choice so we looked at a physical map and saw Highway 111 ends and then turns into Grapefruit Blvd. Why don't we get cool street names like that in Vancouver? I wanna live on Blackberry Street or Blueberry Lane...

Oasis Date Garden
59-111 Grapefruit Blvd, Thermal CA 

Reviews on Yelp

Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Hatley Gelato Scoops

On past vacations to Whistler, my family would only get ice cream from COWS Ice Cream, sometimes even twice in a day. But after seeing the small vendor stand for the Whistler-made Lucia Gelato earlier in the day at the Sunday Farmer's Market, we wanted to give the local gelato a try. Hatley's Gelato Scoops is one place Lucia Gelato can be found.
 
At 9:30pm, my family decided to go out for a stroll before jumping into bed. Suddenly mom said she was in the mood to have ice cream so we dropped by Hatley's to get some. Even though the store opening hours stated they closed at 9pm on Sundays, the doors were still wide open and employees didn't look like they were cleaning up anytime soon so we walked in.

Lucia Gelato at Hatley Gelato Scoops

There wasn't any of the cool flavours from the Farmer's Market like panna cotta or coconut cookie dough. Instead, mom chose Strawberry Guava and Pineapple Coconut Peach, both were sorbets. Most of the available flavours were fruit based sorbets and there were a few richer flavours like peanut butter, mocha, and chocolate. The pistachio was completely sold out, too bad...

Strawberry Guava and Pineapple Coconut Peach Sorbet

The Strawberry Guava was the better flavour of the two. The texture was smoother and both fruits could be tasted in each bite. Guava being the stronger flavour. The Pineapple Coconut Peach was more icy. Peach was the dominating flavour in this scoop. Next was the pineapple and the coconut was like non-existent.

This two scoop medium cup of sorbet cost $5.50, which is a very normal price for ice cream in Whistler. However I don't really like sorbet as it tastes like a popsicle than ice cream. Even though COWS doesn't serve the most amazing ice cream on earth, I'd rather use my $5.50 at COWS Ice Cream than at Hatley. 



Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

COWS Ice Cream

Visiting COWS has become a tradition for my family when in Whistler. I've grown up looking forward to eating COWS Ice Cream on every trip since elementary school. The smell of freshly made waffle cones travel out the doors making it impossible for anyone passing by to resist going in.

COWS Ice Cream

Line ups can get insanely long in the late afternoon and at 9pm during the summer months. When we went on a Friday night at 9:30pm, the line up still curved out the door past Bessie the cow. Everybody in line seems to have no problem with waiting half an hour for ice cream because we're all tourists and are trying to kill time anyways. Look at the punny cow jokes written on t-shirts, postcards, and other souvenirs or admire their collection of every cow related item possible to amuse yourself as you make you way closer to the counter.

COWS Flavours and Pricing

The prices for ice cream in Whistler are pretty high, be prepared to pay at least $5.50 for two scoops of ice cream. COWS is no different. Scoops are decently sized here but the quality seems to have declined. I'm not sure if it's because as a kid any ice cream tastes good, or if the company has actually changed the quality. They claim to have the creamiest ice cream because of the 16% milk fat milk used. I guess they didn't use enough of that fatty milk because the ice cream wasn't as dreamy creamy as it should be.

PEI Strawberry Ice Cream & Moo York Cheesecake Ice Cream

My family wasn't really in the mood to have a ton of ice cream after eating a hearty barbeque dinner. We got a two scoop cone to share. Since COWS originated from Prince Edward Island, I figured the PEI Strawberry flavour would be pretty good. However it was rather disappointing as it tasted like a standard strawberry ice cream purchased from the grocery store. No chunks of fresh strawberry or anything exciting like that. 

The bottom scoop was the Moo York Cheesecake. Cheesecake is a common flavour that can be hit or miss. It's a miss here. There was only the faintest hint of cream cheese that could only be tasted if you really pay attention. Even a supposedly rich flavour like cheesecake wasn't that rich at all. As mentioned earlier, the base of the ice cream is not creamy enough.

The waffle cone everyone continuously inhales while standing in line is very tasty. However, I don't remember the cone being so thick. Maybe it's just to give more strength to the cone so it doesn't crack as the ice cream melts inside. COWS' freshly made waffle cones are great!

The verdict? I'll come for the sake of tradition, even if I have had better ice cream at Bella Gelateria. The waffle cones are worth standing in line to smell too. (It must be a business tactic to lure customers in) The ice cream is better than the Lucia Gelato sold at Hatley's nearby and cheaper than La Bocca Gelato, but it's still not jaw-droppingly amazing. The quality seems to have gotten worse but since there aren't that many places to get ice cream in Whistler, COWS is still one of the best choices. COWS is open from 10 to 10 everyday. Doors will close and cut the line up promptly at 10pm.



Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Nero Belgian Waffle Bar

Nero Belgian Waffle Bar

When the mid-afternoon low blood sugar level hit as we strolled around Downtown Vancouver, my best friend's mom suggested we find something sweet for a snack. Walking along the streets until the afternoon sun made us crave ice cream so we headed towards Bella Gelateria. But from two blocks away, we saw the line up curving around the corner and went for plan B, waffles. Since Cafe Medina just closed at 4pm, I recommended we try Nero Belgian Waffle Bar as it has been on my wish list for a while now.

Those four blocks we walked felt like the largest four blocks that existed in downtown. Located at 1703 Robson Street, Nero Belgian Waffle Bar is a small restaurant that could easily be missed if one wasn't paying attention. The three tables outside were all full with customers enjoying their sugary treat. With a bit of tree shade and a light breeze, it is an impeccable environment to relax and chat with a friend over a plate of waffles. Being a dessertatarian, my eyes sparkled with excitement. My fancy waffle experience was about to begin!

Nero Belgian Waffle Bar's Summer Specials Menu

Bella Gelateria

The best gelato in the world? Possibly found right at home at Bella Gelateria. 

Black Sesame and To Die For Banana Bread Gelato ($6.43)

This is my third encounter with Bella Gelateria, and it definitely won't be my last! Especially since the summer season has just begun. After a very enjoyable experience at Mosaic Bar & Grille, we decided to find dessert elsewhere. My aunt is quite like me, loves to shop and eat sweets. Bella Gelateria was not only close by, but also an ideal place to bring my visiting aunt. We arrived at around 8pm and there was only a short line up that led out the door (don't worry, the door is very close to the counter). We also snagged a table as soon as we saw one. There isn't a lot of seating indoors, but in the summer, many people take their ice cream outside where there are quite a few benches on the sidewalk. You can do some people watching as you enjoy eating this creamy deliciousness.

A Day of Coconut Bliss

Exam time has come for us students, which means study time occupies (or should occupy) the majority of our time and effort. Seven tests coming up in the next two weeks for Coconut Crumpet, such joy. I'm not even sure my brain has the capacity to hold four full courses worth of information at one time. And to add to my troubles, I have been feeling sick for two days now. Congested nose, headaches, fatigue... It seems like viruses and bacteria happen to only love me during test times.

Coconut Pancakes

To relieve some of this stress and pressure, I decided to allow myself to enjoy a fancy Sunday morning breakfast. Surely I can use some time to appreciate the most important meal of the day before studying for another few hours. After watching Leaftv's drool-enducing video, my mind has been set to make these pancakes. The time has come for Coconut Crumpet to do so. Although my pancake-making skills are still lacking, I thoroughly enjoyed my coconut pancakes. Get the recipe at A Cozy Kitchen and make these filling pancakes! Using my silver dollar pancake pan, half the recipe yielded me exactly 4 pancakes. My new found way to eat my pancakes is with a generous dollop of yogurt and a drizzle of honey. In this case, with the best coconut yogurt I've encountered so far, Liberte's coconut yogurt. Yes it's fruit bottom (meaning lots of sugar) and almost 9% milk fat, but everything in moderation is okay~

Coconut Bliss 'Ice Cream' in Naked Coconut

So far my weekend has consisted of eating, or studying. A pile of physics review, social studies vocabulary and 410 Mandarin vocabulary words sit on my table longing for my attention. Since studying requires a lot of brainpower, and the majority of calories are burned to function the brain, it's important to fuel the body when doing some serious studying! When my tummy started asking for food again, I went to grab my newly bought tub of Coconut Bliss. You can read about my first experience with this genius masterpiece here. Eating this just alleviates some stress and brings me to bliss~ I can't wait to eat more of it over the course of the upcoming summer season. That is, if I live to see the end of June..

Sunday is the day that passes by much too quickly; church in the morning then afternoon and evening zooms by. Before I can fully recover, is Monday again. A funny quote I saw a while back said "Why is Monday so far from Friday and Friday so near to Monday?" I wholeheartedly agree. To some, summer is right around the corner. For me, summer is so distant, it's almost unattainable. To help me get through busy times, I tend treat my tongue to some of my favourite foods, like coconut. How do you keep yourself motivated during a hard time?


Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡