Signage has gone up at 1170 Robson St for the upcoming opening of Feng Cha 奉茶 .

Feng Cha is a Chinese brand that is part tea-house and part-bakery. They are best known for their fresh fruit teas paired with European-inspired baked goods.

The brand has 1,000 locations worldwide and expanded to Canada last year with two locations in Greater Toronto (one in Scarborough and one in Richmond Hill). This location on Robson will be their third Canadian location and first in Metro Vancouver.

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Feng Cha Menu

No information is available regarding the Vancouver menu, but here is what is being offered at other Feng Cha locations.

On the menu at Feng Cha are Mousse Teas, Fresh Fruit Teas, “European-Style” Bread and Desserts.

You can customize your Mousse Tea by choosing the tea for the mousse layer (like Sea Salt, Cheese, Durian or Matcha), premium tea (like Four Seasons, Peach Oolong, Earl Grey Tea, Lychee Black Tea and so forth) and the topping (like Tapioca, Red Bean, Aloe Vera, Ai-Yu and more).

Fresh Fruit Tea options include Watermelon Green Tea, Kiwi Basil Green Tea, Fresh Lemon Black Tea, Jasmine Apple Green Tea and more.

Feng Cha also offers sweet “European-style” buns in cute shapes and fun flavours like Honey Pumpkin, Chestnut Chocolate, Durian, Chocolate Cheese, and Matcha Red Bean.

They also offer Mango-based desserts like Fresh Mango with Pearls, Mango & Coconut Sago Mix, Mango Slush with Yogurt Ball, Mango Cloudy Ice Cream Tea.

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Top 10 Best Seling Feng Cha Items

The top 10 best selling items at Feng Cha are:

1. House Special Fruit Mix Tea
2. Oreo Cheese Milk Tea
3. Fresh Orange Fruit Tea
4. Fresh Strawberry Fruit Tea with Mousse
5. Watermelon Green Tea
6. Twilight Milk Tea
7. Kiwi Basil Green Tea
8. The World Milk Tea
9. Grapefruit Smoothies
10. Fresh Mango with Pearl Delight

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Stay tuned to more information about Feng Cha Vancouver as it becomes available.

Giving blood is a simple yet powerful act of kindness.

Donating blood is one of the kindest things an individual can do to help someone in need, yet only 4% of eligible donors sustain the Canadian blood system.

This November, in commemoration of Remembrance Day (November 11) and World Kindness Day (November 13), KIND Snacks and Canadian Blood Services are creating change and encouraging Canadians to celebrate kindness by donating blood.

KIND Snacks has partnered with Canadian Blood Services to drive awareness of blood donation during the month of November, both in honour of Remembrance Day and World Kindness Day.

Every minute of every day, a patient in Canada needs blood. All Canadians are asked to consider donating, particularly those donors with type O-negative blood which can be transfused to any patient, making a lifesaving difference in emergency situations.

To drive Canadians to Do the KIND Thing, every individual who visits a Canadian Blood Services donor centre from November 11 – 15 will receive a KIND bar.

Visit www.blood.ca/worldkindnessday to take the pledge and celebrate World Kindness Day by giving blood – it is the kindest thing you can do.

Disclosure: I am a KIND Snacks media partner.

Truffles…little balls of decadence, highly aromatic and highly prized. CinCin’s annual Mushroom & Truffle Festival is now on until November 30. Black and white truffles or “the miracle in black and white” have been carefully sourced and hand-selected for this special menu.

CinCin Truffle Dinner 2019, in conjunction with the festival, took place this past week and featured an evening of autumn flavours, fragrant funghetti and delicious wines. Here’s a recap of the evening.

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1st Course

Grilled glorious organics radicchio salad with truffle vinaigrette, hazelnuts and pecorino al tartufo. Paired with Broccardo Langhe Nebbiolo 2017.

2nd Course

Beef carpaccio with truffled aioli – sourdough croutons, arugula and burgundy truffle. Paired with Vietti ‘Perbacco’ Langhe Nebbiolo 2016.

3rd Course

Porcini mushroom egg tagliatelle with rosemary cream sauce, white truffle from alba. Paired with Elio Altare Barolo 2014.

4th Course

8 – hour striploin of beef – hanging over fire, braised master kobe beef cheeks, cavolo nero, truffled mashed potato, black truffle. Paired with Broccardo Paiagallo Barolo 2015.

5th Course

Honey panna cotta with wood fire roasted quince. Paired with Massolino Moscato d’Asti 2016.

A few captures of some wine moments during the evening.

Thank you Executive Chef Andrew Richardson, Chef de Cuisine Andrea Alridge and the culinary team for a delicious evening! Looking forward to the dinner again in 2020.

The Christmas spirit is filling the air and one great place to go Christmas Shopping is Potters Nursery in South Surrey.

It’s 28,000 square feet dedicated to all things yuletide as Potters Nursery transforms itself into Western Canada’s largest Christmas store.

Open now until December 24, The Christmas Store at Potters boasts tens of thousands holiday-related items. You’ll find decor that is tasteful yet unusual – there’s something for everyone!

I enjoyed a media visit to Potters and found lots of fun and interesting items. Here are a few captures from my visit and it was great fun to find and photograph some whimsical items to share in this post.

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50,000 Ornaments

Their extensive line of ornaments (more than 50,000!) make for great personalized gifts and come in a wide variety of themes, including pets, travel, food, “Baby’s First Christmas,” and much more.

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Gourmet Food Area

For the foodies, the Gourmet Food area offers thousands of products you won’t easily find elsewhere, including multiple flavours of popcorn, hot chocolate, jams and sauces.

Some notable finds of mine include Pink Hot Chocolate, a variety of “Poop” (aka chocolate), fun Candy Cane flavours and Hot Sauces.

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Potters’ “Sweet Tree”

Be sure to check out the “Sweet Tree” – an upside-down white tree with a three-foot scoop of “ice cream” at the top, complemented by ornaments in the shape of ice cream cones, donuts, cupcakes and more.

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Stockings Galore!

Another impressive area is the stockings section feature 50+ options as well as a variety of stocking stuffers.

An attraction not to be missed is the 3,000-square-foot “Dark Room,” illuminated by an incredible array of themed tree-light sets, including favourites like The Grinch, Star Wars, Peanuts, Christmas Vacation, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and even retro Bubble Lights.

New for 2019 is WhoVille, with a wide variety of Grinch-themed items including teddy bears, ornaments, mugs and snow globes

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It was certainly worth the drive from Vancouver to shop at Potters. PRO TIP: Plan on spending a couple of hours here — almost everyone does.

The Christmas Store at Potters is located at 19158 48th Ave. in Surrey.
Phone: 604.576.5011. potters.ca/christmas

Open daily through December 24
Mon – Wed: 9am – 6pm
Thu – Fri: 9am – 7pm
Sat: 9am – 6pm
Sun: 9am – 5:30pm