Tag Archives: cheesecake

Trees Organic in Gastown

After dining at Taishoken, the 5 of us walked to Gastown for dessert and to meet up with one more friend. We arrived at Trees Organic in a location which I never knew it existed before. I have walked by it so many times, and never noticed.

With the heavy ramen broth, I was not interested in any more food, so I just had a Rooibos tea $2.40 instead. I also told them, the cakes were really sweet, and I could barely finish half. My friend ordered the Blueberry cheesecake $7/slice. Everyone loved it, and wondered why I would say it was super sweet. I did like it, but then again, we were only taking small bites, sharing a slice. I think it would be different if each of us had one.

The staff seemed to be Japanese, and the service was pretty good. The man who seemed to be the owner even brought in a small table with 2 chairs for us, though we ended up on the counter instead, and finally moving to the bigger table later on. The cafe is quite small, and I think they try to cram in too many tables and chairs… You are practically brushing each others’ chairs.

The owner brought our drinks to our table, and when we were about to leave, I still had most of the tea, so I asked for a to go cup, and he happily transferred it into a cup.

To get to the bathroom is a bit of a mystery at first. The cafe is inside a mini mall (if I can even call it that). We went into the stairwell, and found that whether we went up or down, there was a gate. We got back onto the floor with the cafe, and tried the elevator down. We came upon an area that looked a bit familiar. Hey! I know this bathroom! I went here when I dined at Al Porte! …so that was interesting.

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Uncle Tetsu’s Japanese Cheesecake

My roommate had just returned from Toronto, and as a souvenir, she had brought me back Uncle Tetsu’ cheesecake. I didn’t know that it was so popular, nor that such place existed. She said that she had to wait in line for nearly 1.5 hours!! Thank you roommate!

So with me having to skip the long line wait, plus the free delivery from TO, I opened the box to see a spongy cake with the Uncle Tetsu’s character baked on top. When I cut out a piece, I could see how soft it was. Now if you’re used to the ‘Western’ style of cheesecake that is dense and sweeter, you may not like the style and flavour.

Mmmmmmmmmmmm!! It just melts in your mouth! Like most Japanese sweets, it’s not that sweet. On the first evening, I ate half of the cheesecake – all by myself. I could have kept going, but I wanted to also share it with Sheepie, so I resisted my temptations, lol.

If there was one in Vancouver, I’d definitely go and buy it for a special occasion. It doesn’t have to be a special day or anything as the 6″ cheesecake isn’t that overly expensive at $8.88 – which is probably another reason for the line ups.

I will check it out the next time I’m in Toronto – though I doubt I’d be patient enough to wait over an hour. I am also curious about the Uncles Tetsu’s Matcha cafe right next door. The matcha ice cream looks delicious too~

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Trees Organic Coffee on Granville

Located on the vibrant street of Granville in downtown, this cafe seems like it’s always busy and full. It was near the end of summer, a week before the leaves started to change colour. Almost all the tables were occupied and the patio full of customers trying to enjoy the last days of sunshine.

We sat inside on the high stools by the window. As we approached the counter by the window, the staff ran up and scooted pass us to wipe off the counter. Very good service

It didn’t take long before I was boiling and sweating a bit. I’m usually a cold-blooded person LOL so I’m usually freezing and shivering, but this place was too hot. The lady beside was asking the staff whether the AC was on or not. The staff (different from the girl who wiped off the counter) seemed like she was high or something. She couldn’t really answer and who knows what she was trying to say. In the end, it wasn’t really clear if it was on, off or broken.

Industrial interior

Awesome Chai Latte!

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Chocolate croissant $2.99

The service at the counter seemed a little chaotic. The long line up wasn’t getting any shorter. They didn’t seem to know how to efficiently run the place. The cashier (the girl who seemed high or drunk) was slow…maybe it’s her first day? The area for placing the ready food and drink was so small and inconveniently built.

The drink however, was excellent. Both my friend and I ordered the Chai Latte. She got the pumpkin muffin while I got the Chocolate croissant $2.99. The total came to $7. I thought the croissant was a bit overpriced. It was good, but pricey. The Chai was creamy, and was delicious with cinnamon on top of the foam. My friend agreed it was really good.

Way in the back of the cafe, you can pick up a glass of water- self serve. Chilled, and refreshing in a hot cafe and after a creamy rich latte. The drink is a thumbs up, but the staff and cafe itself needs a bit of order at this location. Also, if you’re not sitting by the window, the lighting of the cafe is poor, so it tends to be dark…not in a romantic dark way, but insufficient lighting dark kind of way. You feel a bit enclosed and the cafe space smaller than it really is.

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