WANDER | Meet Me in Gastown x Café Kitsuné x Water Street

Gastown—(August 31, 2023) Last week, several blocks of the historic Water Street were cordoned off to traffic and taken over by pedestrians for the second annual Meet Me in Gastown street festival in celebration of local dining, shopping, and live music.

KAFFE | Honolulu Coffee x Olympic Village x False Creek

Olympic Village—(October 13, 2022) Honolulu Coffee recently opened a brand new twenty-five-seat location in the False Creek area to complement its two other Hawaiian-style cafés.

KAFFE | Affogato x Sunny M Specialty Coffee & Tea x Richmond

Richmond—Of the many wonderful varieties of places and hole-in-the-wall joints you can find to visit in the airport-adjacent suburb, I have always felt there was a lack of independent coffee shops. So when I heard about Sunny M Specialty Coffee & Tea (originally starting out as a pop-up at local markets) nestled somewhere in Empire Centre, one of many Asian strip malls, I had to pay a visit.

TREAT | Machi Machi x Bubble Tea Shop x Richmond

Richmond—Famous for being Taiwanese Mandopop superstar Jay Chou's favourite global bubble tea brand, Machi Machi expanded to Canada's frosty shores a couple of years ago—first in Toronto before opening up shop on Robson Street, then another location in the boba-rich area of Golden Village last year.

KAFFE | Soon Coffee x The Amazing Brentwood x Burnaby

maple-glazed doughnut from Lee's Donuts

Burnaby—Calgary's own Soon Coffee opened up shop inside the brand new The Amazing Brentwood mall—replacing the old Brentwood Town Centre—inside their swanky Tables food court and dining hall.

KAFFE | French Café x Marché Mon Pitou x Fairview Slopes

"Savoir vivre."

espresso tonic

Fairview Slopes—Thanks to the return of indoor dining in British Columbia, I was able to enjoy a very pleasant mid-afternoon weekday brunch inside the still newish and very charming French-style neighbourhood café and bakery, Marché Mon Pitou.

KAFFE | Aperture Coffee Bar x Riley Park–Little Mountain

Riley Park–Little Mountain—The photography-themed Aperture Coffee Bar's second location on Main Street feels much more unassuming than it actually is.

KAFFE | Snacks and Plants x The Garden Strathcona x East Van

Strathcona—East Hastings' The Garden Strathcona has been open for a couple of years now, operating as its own little concrete oasis full of plants (lots of them and many for sale) and snacks across the street from Les Amis de Fromage in its changing East Van neighbourhood.

KAFFE | Pastificio di Luigi x Giovane Café x Fairmont Pacific Rim

Coal Harbour—(September 28, 2020) After ten years, the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel transferred operations of their street-level Giovane Café + Eatery + Market over to Kitchen Table Restaurants of Ask for Luigi, Di Beppe, and Pizzeria Farina fame over the summer.

KAFFE | New in Town x Harken Coffee x Japantown Café x Railtown

Railtown—Formerly operating as a pop-up known as Aubade Coffee inside the Chinatown antique store Space Lab, the new Harken Coffee shop takes its cues from the surrounding Japantown heritage neighbourhood on Powell Street.

TREAT | New in Town x Mello Donut Shop x Chinatown

Chinatown—(January 12, 2020) The new and modern, Korean-owned Mello Donut Shop—from the same proprietor of the well-loved but short-lived Uyu Ice Cream shop, opened up next door to Umaluma Gelato at the tail end of last year, to an already exciting reception.

GETAWAY | Aloha! Honolulu x Waikiki Beach Bum x Oahu, Hawaii

Waikiki—(November 19 to 22, 2019) Aloha! For four gloriously tropical days and nights, I visited the scenic city of Honolulu on the third-largest island of Oahu (aka the "Gathering Place") in the remote Hawaiian Islands—squarely located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Let's relive a few sunny highlights.

TREAT | Beta5 Chocolates x Café Opening x Strathcona

Strathcona—(November 14, 2019) After various pop-ups and making the most of the original dessert commissary, the award-winning Beta5 Chocolates and owner/pastry chef Adam Chander have finally opened a proper café space, dubbed "Beta5 V2.0", next door to their home base on Industrial Avenue—finally replacing their makeshift storefront.

KAFFE | New in Town x Flourist Mill & Bakery x East Van

"This is not grocery store flour."

Kensington–Cedar Cottage—East Vancouver's new Flourist Mill & Bakery (formerly known as Grain) is the local brand's first proper brick-and-mortar shop and café from the well-known premium dry good purveyors.

TREAT | Sneak Peek x Fufú Pancake Café x Fairview Slopes

Fairview Slopes—(August 28, 2019) The hotly anticipated Fufú Pancake Café specializes in serving Japanese-style soufflé pancakes, and local diners seem excited about its impending opening on West Broadway.

KAFFE | Coffee Italian Style x Caffe Di Beppe x Gastown

caffè mocha

Gastown—Caffe Di Beppe, the front-facing coffee shop portion of the two-hander space of Di Beppe, has quickly become a charming little cafe destination after replacing the short-lived Joe Pizza location from the same proprietors behind St. Lawrence and Ask for Luigi, Kitchen Table Restaurants.

KAFFE | Iktsuarpok Coffee Stand x Downtown Eastside

Downtown Eastside—The tiny, shiny, and new Iktsuarpok Coffee Stand utilizes its compact but bustling 183-square-foot to-go space and location to serve some precisely brewed coffee.

KAFFE | Coffee Break x Small Victory Bakery x South Granville

South Granville—Fresh bread and coffee purveyor Small Victory Bakery's very bright and shiny second location in its ritzy neighbourhood is a spacious cavern of stylish baked goods.

KAFFE | Pallet Coffee Roasters x Oak Street x Shaughnessy

Shaughnessy—Pallet Coffee Roasters' fourth location on Oak Street has much more of a neighbourhood feel to it with the same East Vancouver spirit and coffee, of course.

KAFFE | Buns + Boba Café x Bubble Tea x Mount Pleasant

"But first boba."

Mount Pleasant—It was bound to happen. One of Vancouver's newer (and definitely hipper) cafes has a decidedly Taiwanese sweet drink twist. Buns + Boba Café, located centrally on East Broadway, takes the simple pleasures of bubble tea drinks and brings a more artisanal style approach.