Rating / 4 out of 5 stars

Chinese dessert places in Vancouver — with the exception of bubble tea houses, which seem to be popping up all over like pimples — are pretty rare. Richmond’s Bubble Fruity is one of those rare shops that serve just desserts and snacks — all made in house served with a smile and a side of character.

Bubble Fruity is a family run business that used to operate as a stand at the Richmond night market. Their success led to the birth of Bubble Fruity’s dessert shop on Saba Street, behind the Richmond Public Market. The place looks disorganized and deserted — making us wonder if it was worthing stepping in at all. The space is small and cramped with a handful of tables and chairs.

(Above: Papaya Almond Soup.)

Two simple menus are laid out on the table: one dessert and the other snacks, all within the price range of $2.50 to $4.50.

Tre ordered the papaya almond soup which arrived hot. Mini chunks of real payapa were swimming in a sweet, milky soup flavoured with ground almonds. The soup was slightly gritty from the almond grinds, but was delicious overall. I can imagine this soup tasting even better served cold.

My cold tofu pudding was refreshing. The ginger syrup was not overly sweet and was a welcome compliment to the otherwise subtle flavour of the tofu pudding.

(Above: Tofu Pudding with Ginger Syrup)

Our bill including taxes came to $11, which was a sweet deal. The operation is very mom and pop. Furniture, dishes and utensils are all mismatched and feel borrowed from someone’s home kitchen, but the owners are very friendly with a healthy sense of humour. The simple, home made desserts served with a smile make Bubble Fruity worth visiting.

Perfect for: Something light, something sweet and something different.

The Details

180 8188 Saba Road, Richmond
778.297.6820

Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

Marble Slab Creamery, a Texan franchise, is part of the redevelopment that has been happening along the West Broadway corridor near Cambie over the past few years. I’ve always found Ice Cream joints a curiously popular phenomenon in Vancouver. But Marble Slab brings a little twist with a fancy, frozen marble slab.

(Above: Marble Slab’s Rock Road — Chocolate Swiss with Chocolate Chips, Marshmallows & Walnuts.)

Inside, two stations sit side by side — first, a row of home made ice cream in tubs just chilling next to the marble slab station stocked with a mise en place of various toppings. I went plain jane and ordered a straight up Chocolate Swiss on a waffle cone.

Case ordered a Rocky Road. Now, my Chocolate Swiss was good — rich, creamy with a smooth texture, not frozen at all. But, the real magic began with the mix of Case’s Rocky Road. A meticulously weighed scoop of ice cream was placed on a marble slab. Scoops of chocolate chips, marshmallows, and walnuts were ladled onto the shapeless lump of ice cream and expertly mixed with a scoop and spatula.

The resulting concoction — an indulgent ice cream mix that’s smooth and highlighted by chunks of hidden candy treasure.

(Above: Marble Slab staff are mixing it up.)

Our frozen treats came to just under $13 for two child size waffle cones, which felt really price for a couple of ice cream cones. The ice cream was good, but what you’re likely footing the bill for is the novelty of freshly hand mixed ice cream on a gigantic marble slab. Nice as an indulgence every once in a while, but certainly nothing we’d make a habit.

Perfect for: some seriously pimped out ice cream.

The Details

541 West Broadway, Vancouver
604.568.9007
marbleslab.ca

Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

Boulangerie La Parisienne, on Mainland Street in Yaletown, is a French bakery carrying an assortment of desserts, breads and pre-made sandwiches. It’s a nice place to go when you want to grab something on the run. Although the prepared sandwiches may be convenient, it’s the breads and desserts that are the standouts.

We’ve had our share of Boulangerie’s desserts sampling various kinds of cheesecakes, lemon tarts and chocolate cakes. The cheesecakes are generously portioned: dense, rich and very satisfying. The lemon tarts are delicious, not overly sweet or heavy. We didn’t find the chocolate cakes particularly special, but they have all sorts of sugary delights, I’m sure there’s something for everyone.

Two pieces of pastry will run you just under $14 which is pricey, but about what you’d expect to fork out in Yaletown. As an occasional indulgence, it’s forgivable. I’d pass on the pre-made sandwiches. The baguettes and multigrain breads, on the other hand, are definitely worth a try.

Perfect For: occasionally indulging your sweet tooth.

The Details

1076 Mainland Street, Vancouver
604.684.2499

Rating / 4 out of 5 stars

Boulangerie Cho Pain is a small, French bakery on Vancouver’s West End specializing in various sweet delights: artisan breads, pastries, cakes, casse-croute and snacks. They seem to be a local favourite — the front counter staff appearing to know many of the regulars and their usual orders.

(Above: Boulangeri Cho Pain has a pretty nice selection of fresh baked breads.)

We were here for the desserts, but I couldn’t help eye balling every baked item in sight. I wanted to try them all. We settled on: Gateau Basque, Sachertort, Napoleon Josephine and a Lemon Tart.

(Clockwise: 1. Selection of head-sized cookies. 2. Gateau Basque. 3. Croissants.)

The Sachertorte was dense and rich, layered with a raspberry filling. It was just sweet enough to balance bitterness of the dark chocolate.

The Napoleon Josephine had rich, buttery whipped cream sandwiched between thick pieces of puff pastry with chunks of pistachio scattered. The cream was nice and light, but the puff pastry was more dense than flaky.

By far, our favorite was the lemon tart. The lemon meringue filling was feathery light and caramelized to perfection. A nice surprise were the pieces of rhubarb mixed within lemon filling. The added sourness was a nice counter to the sweetness of the meringue.

As for the Gateau Basque, we didn’t get to eat it. We put the almond cake in the fridge and it turned rock solid. Perhaps next time.

(Above: a Trio of Gateau Basque, Napoleon Josephine, and Sachertorte.)

Our bill including taxes came to just under $18. The prices at Boulangerie Cho Pain are pretty reasonable and they have a wonderful selection of freshly baked pastries and cakes.

Perfect for: satiating your sweet tooth.

The Details

1165 Davie Street, Vancouver
604.669.4271
boulangerie-chopain.com

Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

Qoola is a frozen yogurt and fruit bar offering all sorts of frozen, non-fat yogurt treats including their signature Qoola — a frozen, non fat yogurt which comes in three different flavors: original, chocolate and green tea.

They also feature other yogurt-topped treats such as: Qrepes, made with unbleached flour and organic wheat and finished with your choice of toppings; Q waffles, made with a blend of organic whole grains. Also, they have smoothies and Qool-acai, an energy bowl made with a blend of acai, fruit and soy milk.

(Above: The signature Qoola frozen yogurt topped with pineapples and strawberry.)

Tre and I ordered a small Qoola — the original with two toppings, pineapple and strawberries. The frozen yogurt dessert was refreshing. It had the right amount of tartness, with a semi creamy, not too dense texture. The strawberries were fresh and had a bit of sweetness. The pineapples, on the other hand, were a bit sour and tasted like they’ve been sitting around for awhile. The yogurt didn’t taste like it’s non-fat.

(Above: How come all frozen yogurt joints appear to go for the modern, minimal look?)

A small Qoola yogourt with two toppings set us back $5 — not the cheapest. And even though the Qoola was good, it didn’t blow me away. However, it’s worth a try as a healthier alternative to frozen treats like ice cream.

Perfect for: A snack that you can’t believe isn’t non-fat.

The Details

4151 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond
778.297.5488
qoola.com