Truly this a taste of Japan - department store B1 level. Reminds me of when I wander through…read moreDaimaru looking for tasty souvenirs to bring home. J Sweets is a much smaller version than the mighty Departo, but more expensive too. Still with the travel ban in place I am so happy to find such a place locally. We tried the mochi with various flavours. Apple pie flavour was very creative and fun. My favourite was sweet potato, hands down. The mochi exterior was so soft and gentle. Each flavour was intense and pronounced. Mixed with light whipped cream, each bite was heaven. Several fresh mochi stores have opened up nearby in Richmond. None of them compare to the quality of mochi from Japan. Mochi from this place is the genuine article directly from Japan. I will likely find myself coming here often. 4.5 stars.

Japanese gifts and fresh mochi. Mochi was decent but slight more money. Reminds me a bit of being…read moreat the narita airport duty free

As a non-BC citizen, non-Canadian, I think there's some context missing about who these guys are…read moreand what (if any?) nostalgia or specialty or size of operation they really have going for them. But here's the context I do know: they make a nice chocolate and I found them in the mall. The latter first--the mall. I will save my full mall experience for the actual mall review, but I rarely visit them even in my own town. But being here from out of town and being stranded after a cancelled flight means you have some time to kill. And I'm looking at it as a blessing, because I've been on this chocolatier kick lately and when I fired up the Yelp app it pointed me to the mall and to Purdys. Due to its location here, I'm guessing it's a larger chain of stores in malls and other accessible spots across Canada, so while it's not hand-dipped by a grandmother in Belgium, it's still chocolate. That brings me to point two: the chocolate. I picked up four different bites to try. First, the white spruce. It's a dark chocolate ganache with a minty, creamy center that has a hint of white spruce. It's blue and beautiful and I like the mintiness. I tried the PB&J and it was much more bold, with a fruity molded gel and chunky peanut butter inside of a decorated shell. The maple meltie was pure Canada, and even though I don't adore maple, I could eat a dozen of these no problem. The surprise winner, though, was the goat cheese and chardonnay. Equally beautiful from its painted outside to its double-decker inside, it was rich but not punget, and a really unexpected win. From the packaging to the branding, it's all very polished. These would make the perfect gift if you were looking for something to bring back to the chocolate lover in your life. Surely they would forgive you for not taking them with you, if you showed up with a box of truffles?

Canada's chocolatier began in downtown Vancouver in 1907. They are known for hedgehogs and sweet…read moreGeorgia browns. The hedgehogs have a hazelnut filling and they are extremely cute. My girls absolutely loved them. The Georgia browns are milk chocolate abundantly packed with roasted pecans and soft caramel. My husband who is normally not a fan of caramel, really liked these. We also bought a few chocolate bars: crispy milk chocolate bar, milk chocolate with almonds, and 38% milk chocolate. We would definitely buy these again when we revisit Canada.

Friends got me a coffee milk tea yin yeung cake for my birthday, love that it's a square shape…read more(super easy to cut) and flavours really came through!

This bakery counter is a little hidden gem below the food court upstairs. We've enjoyed their mango…read morecream puffs which were light and mango forward, their cream filled giant croissant s were wonderfully flaky and so satisfying. The French technique is so obvious in how their croissants are made. Service was patient as we tried what to decide to take home! The ambiance is quiet and unrushed. We can't wait to try more if their delicious creations on our next visit.

Ordered take out banh mi for work and got the grilled pork; while the taste was okay, it was a bit…read moreheavy on the spread and pricey for the amount of food received.

We in Vancouver are blessed with so many amazing Vietnamese places, but this place, I guess I…read morehaven't tried it because it's all the way down here in Richmond, but man it's one of the best I've had, right up there with Do Chay. Excellent service, interior decor, but most of all, unique and awesome food. Some unique items include soft shell crab banh mi and salt and pepper squid - which was really good. Highlights: - mini crepes. They are done using this special pan made of 7 mini cupcake sized holes, it is so Insta worthy. They taste amazing too. Crunchy, excellent flavour, goes super well with fish sauce. - cha gio. Not too crunchy, just right. Excellent texture. - bun rieu. I love this crab meat tomato soup and they do a really good job of it. A big chunk of crab on top. - the pho was really good and the presentation second to none. - salads. They are all good, except the one with beef jerky was weird and too spicy. Overall this place is the bomb. Taste, looks, service - they got it all.

I can't shop thinking about this place! It's a Vancouver gem. I normally don't like chocolates…read morefilled with surprises but someone gifted me a box of bespoke chocolates and every single one was amazing. I loved it so much that I came here my last day in Vancouver and bought a few boxes to gift to my family. I got there before it opened and was surprised there were a few people waiting outside. These chocolates are art! They are beautiful from the outside and delicious.

I used to come to BETA5 for their cream puffs. Sadly, those are discontinued now. They are pushing…read moretheir focus to artisanal chocolates. I loved their pastry and absolute creativity with the cream puffs. They were both gorgeous works of art, and a delicious treat that was not too sweet! Their chocolate is good quality but quite expensive compared to other artisanal chocolatiers. I'd only get chocolates here if I found a unique flavour (which isn't uncommon here at beta5) but it's not my go to stop.

I came here to pick up some treats while in the Steveston neighbourhood. I got a maple brioche,…read morepistachio raspberry tart, and an earl gray and cranberry scone. It is quite a small store inside with no seating but I did appreciate how it had a ramp to get inside as I had my stroller with me that day. I would have to say that every single one of the baked goods that I got were absolutely phenomenal and I cannot wait to be back to try more of their selections.

Clean place. The person serving is very helpful and accommodating. Would definitely come back.read more

I love chocolate, and while I've had my fair share of high-quality chocolates, Thomas Haas stands…read moreout above the rest because of the amazing service, excellent quality of their chocolates, innovative flavors, and diverse selection. I'm thoroughly impressed by Mr. Haas' background in the chocolatier profession, and it truly shows in his creations. I loved everything I tried when I visited both of their locations, one in Kitsilano and the other in West Vancouver. I also enjoyed their matcha latte, which I prefer to drink unsweetened. I'm already looking forward to visiting again when I return to Vancouver. This was one of my favorite experiences while visiting this lovely city. Even more amazing, if you're on a ketogenic lifestyle like me, their sugar-free chocolates are some of the best you'll ever have. No yucky aspartame. They taste amazing.

Needless to say this is indulgence at its best. Went for a quick & cheap dessert before a birthday…read moredinner. It was paired with roobois tea which I'm not a fan of but the person who ordered it was. The pastry was good, enjoyed it.

Have been wanting to try this spot ever since they opened in BC. I've even ordered a delivery for…read moremy loved ones in Toronto from Daan Go and they love this spot so I had high expectations. I tried their croissant when they were first opening and loved their black sesame croissant. Perfectly flaky and very deep in black sesame flavours. On a different occasion, had the opportunity to get a cake from them. It was a seamless process to place an order for their cakes online and pick up the order. I ended up getting the Vietnamese Coffee Tiramisu cake since I thought the birthday recipient would prefer that one the most. When it came time to cut the cake, it was a complete mess as the sponge was way too soaked mixed with the cream, the top layers of the cake were shifting while the cookie crust stayed put since it was too firm to cut through. It was a sticky, wet cake situation that was a bit unpleasant for a birthday that some people even said they'd skip the cake because of the mush appeal... this would've been great as a spoon the cake out of a bowl type of tiramisu situation however, for the price and size of the cake, you'd expect a cake to cut properly if it is sold as 'x' servings....

A very innovative HK-meets-west bakery, with really well done traditional western pastries with…read moreinnovative themes (crab truffle croissant, matcha churro with caramel filling), plus creative cake interpretations of dim sum items. we bought a whole bunch of pastries and cakes and they were all really good, lots of great mango based fillings too. Highlights: - Bolo Bao (guava strawberry compote vanilla chiffon and passion fruit mango) and Siu Mai (mango compote passion fruit mousse yellow choco wrapper) - honey butter vanilla - a croissant with amazing filling - the "Cinnabon" is not the traditional Cinnabon. It is more like a twisted churro creation but really good. I feel a place like this is the best of marrying western baking and Chinese themes. It is the kind of innovation I often saw in Hong Kong. In fact I think this place was founded by a HK based engineer who came over.