Daldang is a Korean dessert store which specialises in fatcarons, which are like French macarons, but they have twice the amount of filling and are less sweet. They also sell meringue cookies, which are essentially meringues baked into cookie shapes with fillings such as pretzels. Their fatcarons are on the expensive side, but they are made to the highest quality, and the taste, texture, presentation, and overall balance is sensational. I tried half a dozen fatcarons (with my family) for $27. My least favourite out of the four that I tried was definitely the creme brulee. It was just a vanillia fatcaron with a caramelised top, so it didn't have too much flavour. Personally, I think that the caramelised top did not contribute much to the fatcaron, or help with the flavour. My third favourite was the blueberry cheescake. It had more flavour than the creme brulee, and presentation-wise, it looked a lot better too. However, I don't like cheesecake too much, and the cheesecake flavour was more dominant than the blueberry. It still tasted nice, but I liked the other flavours better. My second favourite flavour was the tiramisu. The coffee cream was delicious - it wasn't too strong or too diluted, and also the perfect amount of sweetness. It would have been nice to have a bit more chocolate in the fatcaron rather than just cocoa dusted on top, but apart from that, this flavour was a solid 9/10. My favourite, however, was the raspberry. Even my Dad who doesn't like raspberries like it! The raspberry flavour was nice and strong, and there was some raspberry concentrate/paste/sauce in the center, emcompassed by the cream. The cream also tasted like raspberries, but it wasn't too strong so that the raspberry puree could shine. The small bits of freeze dried raspberries helped put it over the top, presentation and taste wise. Overall, Daldang is expensive, but it is worth it for the quality and variety of fatcarons.
Although St Pierre's are most well known for their sushi, they also sell teriyaki chicken, mochi, salads, miso soup, and other side dishes and snacks. Their sushi is consistently made to a high standard, and it is a good price when you get the special of the day. My favourite is the fresh salmon supreme with avocado. I also really like their teriyaki chicken, which is a perfect combination of sweet and salty. The texture is nice as well, and the ratio of chicken to rice is executed well.Their mochi is overpriced at nearly $3 for a miniscule piece, and some of their sushi is a bit expensive when it isn't on sale, but St Pierre's gives you good value for your money, especially when it comes to their teriyaki chicken.
Kai Eatery has a very wide range of food and drinks. In saying this, I would stay away from their drinks as they are smaller yet more expensive than most of their competitors, and the taste, texture, and overall quslity of the drinks is nothing special, especially for the steep price. Aside from their drinks, Kai Eatery is an amazing place with a very wide range of food. Their XL Taiwanese Fried Chicken is incredibly succulent yet crispy and the flavour explodes in your mouth. My favourite is XL Extreme, which is the most flavourful. I would 100% recommend trying this chicken. Another menu item I love is the Hei Hei Bao. I also tried the Seoul Bao, but it was my least favourite as I didn't like the flavours or textures as much. My second favourite was the Taipei Bao, which is a pork belly bao. The flavour of the pork is really nice, and the meat is soaft and tender. However, the Hei Hei Bao is a cut above the rest with its flavourful sauce and thoughfully matched salad to go with the star attraction -the chicken- which is crispy and moist. My family and I tried a few of the sides too, and they are equally as incredible. The Cauliflower Florets were beautifully seasoned, and they were nice and crispy without being dry. I really liked the cauliflower florets, which says a lot because I usually don't like cauliflower. The Karaage Squid is also delicious, and it is nice and crispy and pairs well with the Kewpie Mayo which is included on the side. However, it is a bit expensive for a small snack-sized portion. My favourite item on the menu is the takoyaki. I have never had such creamy, soft, flavourful takoyaki from anywhere else. This takoyaki really is a must try item! Overall, Kai Eatery has a wide range of food items including rice bowls, dumplings, and more that we didn't try. However, most of the food we tried was amazing and I would highly recommend trying it!
Cha Plus is relatively similar to Kai Eatery, except it has a smaller food menu and focuses more on drinks. Cha Plus drinks are a lot better than Kai Eatery's, and they are cheaper and bigger as well. My favourites are the mango milk tea with pearls and the brown sugar fresh milk with brown sugar pearls. The mango milk tea tasted like a mango milkshake, but it had a strong mango flavour without being too sweet. The texture of the regular pearls were also quite nice. The brown sugar milk was really nice and although it was a bit sweet, the flavours were quite good. The brown sugar pearls were a cut above their regular pearls, with a more caramelised, sweet flavour and a softer texture. Aside from the drinks, I also tried their Mini Spicy Fried Chicken. Although this chicken is marketed as mini, it is a good size and it was enough for a meal with a drink. Like Kai Eatery, Cha Plus also has XL fried chicken, which is twice the size of their "mini" fried chicken. The chicken was nice and moist, and the flavour was also nice. However, whilst it was crispy, the crunch was slightly inconsistent. This might be because I ate the chicken about 15-20 minutes after I bought it, so it wasn't as hot or fresh. Personally, I like quite spicy food, and the chicken wasn't very spicy. Despite this, it still tasted really nice and the texture was good. Next time, I would try some other flavours as well as some of their other sides and mains which include bao, crispy quid, kumara fries, and more. I also tried the dirty mango shake. It was expensive at $10.50, but the teture, flavour, and presentation was top-tier. It wasn't too sweet, but the mango flavour was quite prominent. I was also happy about how it was thicker than all of the other milk teas I have tried before. It was nice and creamy, but it had more of a mango flavour than a milky flavour. The drink also had a variety of toppings including clear pearls with a jelly texture and fresh mango chunks. The only thing I could fault was the amount of ice in the drink, but that's just because I don't like much ice in my drinks. I also tried the crispy squid, and it was incredible. It was so crispy that you could hear the crunch, but the squid was soft and tender. The squid was evenly coated and the coating tasted really good too. It came with tartar sauce which enhanced the taste and brought out the sweetness in the squid which I didn't pick up earlier. The sauce was paired perfectly with the squid, and had an acidic taste and creamy texture which was the best possible match for the crunchy yet tender squid. In the picture on my webite, you can see the sheer size of the XL cumin fried chicken! It was similar to the spicy fried chicken except for the obvious fact that it was not spicy and had a nice cumin flavour. The only thing it could imporve on is being consistenty crunchy, as there were some patches in the crumb which were a bit soft. I also tried the original fried chicken bun, and the oriinal coating was quite similar in taste to the coating used on the squid. The chicken was moist as usual, and the sauce, salad, and bao compliented it well. Extremely light, fluffy bao with the warm, crisy chicken and the refreshing, flavourful sauce was amazing. The only things that could be improved on with the boa is how well the auce is spread, and that is just nit-picking. Overall, Cha Plus has a great range of food and drinks, which certainly live up to expectations as they are among my favouites. I highly reccommend trying it out!