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BBT Cafe
Category: Restaurants Taiwanese Taiwanese [Edit]
5979 West BoulevardVancouver, BC V6M 3X1
Neighbourhood: Kerrisdale
(604) 266-2195
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11:30 am - 10:30 pm
Fri-Sat 11:30 am - 11:30 pm
Sun 11:30 am - 10 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
16 reviews for BBT Cafe
16 reviews in English
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Review from Justin L.
8/7/2011
BBT Cafe has managed to appeal to a variety of ages. It's not just kids who come here, but their parents, their parents friends, and even their grandparents. Thus, be warned: this is not the place to come with your secret boyfriend or girlfriend or mistress if you don't want to be seen.
Solid Taiwanese favorites such as FRIED PORK CHOP ($7.95) and DEEP FRIED CHICKEN NUGGETS (a.k.a. popcorn chicken) ($7.95), MEAT SAUCE (pork) on rice ($5.50), etc. are reliable. The meal combos make for a perfect lunch as the protein comes with a side of sweet corn, scrambled egg in tomato sauce, green vegetable (either mustard greens or broccoli) and a bowl of rice. On my recent visit, I felt like trying the STEWED EGGPLANT ($8.50), which was excellent.
An order of fried tofu or SPICY DUMPLINGS ($7.25) makes for a good shared side.
The drinks here are pretty good, though on the pricy side. The SHAVED ICE is brilliant: you know how after you eat the fruit and other toppings, and eat up the shaved ice that has the condensed milk, then you're left with just a pile of plain ice? Well, at about that point, here at BBT, your spoon will tap into the underground (under-ice) reservoir of hidden flavored fruit SYRUP that has been injected into the depths of the bowl! Lovely. But extremely sweet.
The only reason to de-star BBT Cafe is the shaky service. On my last visit, we had to wait a good 10-15 minutes at the entrance feeling rather awkward before one of the servers came over to ask if our names were on her clipboard. When I told her my name in English, she gave up and told me to write it myself, since she couldn't be bothered to try spelling my name. We had to ask several times before our tea or water were refilled. It wasn't so much bad attitude as it was negligent. An older lady at an adjacent table really chewed her out, yapping away in high-pitched Chinese ferocity, for her faults. Guess what? After that, the service was great.
Credit cards accepted. Don't expect patience with your non-Chinese: always point to the item on the menu to make sure there's no misunderstanding.Listed in: Vancouver: Chinese
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Review from Carrie B.
Vancouver, BC
4/16/2012
When you go to a restaurant with kids, you live or die by the service. Dining with children, especially small ones, is a form of triage: mop up the worst of the mess and get everyone out alive. In the best cases, servers become your assistants in this process, bringing more napkins and ensuring drinks are one quarter full.
Or not.
Our arrival at BBT Cafe didn't start out badly. We got an appetizer and no plates, but we made do with napkins and our fingers. As I inserted a straw into my bubble tea, however, a server took it out of my hands, explaining that it was the wrong one. The other tea was also wrong, but the server did offer to replace it. We declined.
Things only took a complete nosedive after the fourth member of our party arrived. We ordered more food, and waited for his chopsticks, bowl, tea, teacup, and napkin, none of which ever arrived. At our insistence, the cups on the table were refilled, once, before that waiter disappeared entirely. Three meals arrived, one after the other, over a ten-minute period. The last only made its appearance once we'd nearly finished everything else, after we'd enquired. It was piping hot, as if it had been forgotten and then hastily cooked.
I don't expect servers at a casual Taiwanese cafe to necessarily be proficient in English. I do expect that when I beckon over the closest staff member and say "Napkin?" in interrogative tones, pointing at the item in question, that he get it. Instead, he eddied at the front of the room, avoiding eye contact, while we tried to mop up with our fingers. Eventually, my eleven-year-old began bringing napkins, bowls, etc from the service hatch herself. You'd think the staff would notice this and conclude we needed their help. Nope.
So why bother going to BBT Cafe? The bubble tea's the best in the city (Well Tea is a close second). Meals are fresh, authentic and almost all under $10. The fried fish was delicious, my spicy chicken stirfry had integral heat, noodles were cooked with shiitake and fungus, even a plain wonton soup had lovely broth and delicate wontons. When my partner paid, the woman behind the counter rushed after him to point out that he'd forgotten to leave a tip. We took perhaps malicious pleasure in assuring her, in detail, that the omission had been deliberate. I think the words "worst service we've ever not had in our lives" were spoken, In sum, a great place to eat - just don't bring the kids. -
Review from Amanda H.
5/8/2012
The spouse and I have only been here once to buy a bubble tea on a hot summer day. The service was pretty lousy and the bubble teas were so bad we both ended up throwing them away. I was so turned off by this experience that on a recent outing in the area we had the chance to try it again and just decided to pass. Which is a shame, because I hear the food is pretty good. I just can't abide bad service.
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Review from Chaicharn S.
4/20/2011 2 photos
My wife and I made sure we checked out this place during our recent visit to the Pacific NW. After a short drive (~3 hours) from Seattle, we found this location after being confused a bit by the Google map directions. Travelers - take note: Google maps isn't very accurate in the Pacific NW.
As far as the food at this location, my Taiwanese wife had been craving some distinct flavors that is just too difficult to readily find in NC. We wound up ordering: Spicy tofu meal, Taiwanese popcorn chicken meal and a taro bubble tea w/milk.
The food flavors were spot on and delicious. The portions were just right for a light snack/meal. The taro bubble tea was a bit sweet for me, but just how my wife likes it - that's what matters, I guess.Listed in: Favorite traveling eats
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Review from Maria W.
Vancouver, BC
7/20/2011
I'm not here often, but when I do come, it never disappoints.
This time around I had the braised pork belly meal. It was done very well, and the small dishes that came with it were quite tasty.
For a drink I had a regular milk tea with pearls. The pearls were done to the perfect tenderness and sweetness - not too chewy, not too soft. The drink was good - regular milk tea, pretty standard.
For dessert I had a hot grass jelly. This drink is a special treat for me because I can't find it at many bubble tea places. I liked all the different "toppings" this drink came with - taro, red bean, green bean, pearls - all inside the hot grass jelly. Since the toppings themselves were sweet already, the grass jelly wasn't sweetened. This proved to be a problem for one of the girls I was with - she likes her food SWEET tho - but it was easily remedied by asking our server to bring us a little liquid sugar to add in, which he gladly brought us.
The place has been renovated as well, so the ambience is nice, and the bathrooms are clean - the same cannot be said about a lot of other bubble tea places out there.
If you've got a craving for traditional Taiwanese food in the Kerrisdale area, at reasonable prices, this is the place to go!
Overall, an excellent meal from start to finish! -
Review from Edward L.
One of the better Taiwanese bubble tea places in the Kerrisdale area, but it's a bit out of the way from everything else.
I've been here several times and it's always been quite decent. Not sure if their drinks use powder.
Today I had the spicy chicken (ji ding) meal set with rice. It looked good in the picture, and was good in real life!
Broccoli - had some kind of sauce, but was a bit mushy
Cabbage - had vinegar sauce with a slight ginger kick. I normally don't like the flavour of ginger in general, but it worked out pretty nicely here.
Chicken - ooh this was spicy and good. Not too oily, though there was a salty sauce at the bottom of the bowl. Not a problem as you can wipe it up with the included bowl of rice. The proportion is almost perfect. In other words, I ran out of chicken and rice at the same time. Yummy.
The only complaint I have about this place is the service/layout. It's 2 commercial spots with the dividing wall partially ripped out, so any staff working in the other half cannot see you at all. Hence the lack of service if you are sitting in the "other" half.
Definitely a step up over Cabin 5555 (which is also decent, mind you), but a bit out of the way. -
Review from Rachael T.
Toronto, ON
11/15/2009
vancouver magazine says that BBT cafe is one of the best BBT places in the city... and I get it.
I walked in thinking it was just a tea shop - but it is actually a (fine dining) taiwanese restaurant... their bubbletea selection is pretty large and many of the items are made FRESH!
I ordered the FRESH peanut almond milk tea.... and I was afraid I was going to be tricked with powder.. but no - there were little peanut bits, I could taste it!
It was super tasty and really original, I thought... for $4.50, it is a little pricy, but take out is 10% off so for about $4.00 a drink, I think it's fair.
Can't wait to try their red / green beans and their food too!!!Listed in: Bubble Tea Shops and other…
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Review from Annie M.
Vancouver, BC
It is another good bubble tea shop to go, of coz, it serves with Taiwanese food.
I went there few times, the BBT was good and the food also pretty good. -
Review from Ken T.
Vancouver, BC
11/26/2010
This bubble tea cafe actually has very good selection of Taiwanese food. Don't just go there to get a drink, bring an appetite.
I've been here many times and the food quality and service have always been very consistent. The last time I went I ordered the congee bowl with mixed toppings. There were four mixed toppings and I'm guessing they were: mustard greens, preserved egg, some tiny fish, and an assorted mushroom and intestine (which I didn't eat) dish. The congee also had bits of boiled green pumpkin in it which was a nice touch. All in all the dish was a little "asian" for me but it was still very good. -
Review from Nadine C.
Vancouver, BC
6/1/2011
This place is okay, but I'd be a bit wary if I were you. The waiter/waitresses don't seem very comfortable with speaking English, so be very clear when ordering. What really makes my skin crawl was when my friend ordered a salad, only to find a large bug sitting on the plate! She didn't notice until I pointed it out to her: imagine how close she could have come to eating it! This makes me wonder about how clean their kitchen is...They did try to make up for the salad-incident by giving her a new one and putting it on the house, but frankly I won't stand a restaurant that serves bugs in their food. Blech.
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Review from Juan J.
Burnaby, BC
4/12/2010 2 photos
Fresh Taro slush is rather insipid, tasted almost like water. Could definitely use more flavor.
The food was excellent. Especially the spicy dumplings and the special fish on rice.
For Dessert, the Strawberry on Ice is fantastic. -
Review from Angela N.
Vancouver, BC
8/22/2011
Great atmosphere.. bubble tea and food are very tasty.
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Review from Elisa W.
Vancouver, BC
1/26/2011
This is an acceptable place for bubble tea and snacks/meals. I find that the pearls in the tea are good (not too soft or crunchy), but occasionally their drinks are too sweet. They remedy that by offering half sweet, 25% sweet, or 75% sweet. If you are requesting 25 or 75% sweet, please make sure they understand exactly what you are asking, or you will get the opposite. Their regular teas, especially their hot fruit teas, are also delicious but on the very sweet side. The food is delicious, and as I'm writing this review I am thinking about stopping by for a snack. The reason I didn't give more stars is that their fresh fruit selection for their fresh fruit slush drinks is quite limited, even in the summer.
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Review from Gabby S.
Vancouver, BC
2/28/2009
The bubble teas are good but overpriced. Maybe it's because they use fresh ingredients...I really don't know.
I've always thought the dishes were a bit pricey for the portions and recently, they raised the prices and shrink the portions a tiny bit. That's no good. I'm sure my mom will continue patronizing this place despite the price increase.
I still like the spicy dumplings - price is the same.
The crowds vary from high school kids (who spend their parents' money so it really doesn't matter how much food costs) to families and walk-ins buying bubble tea.
The ambiance is nice with some jazzy lounge music. It's clean and that's rare with Asian joints.
Staff is friendly but several times when it gets real busy, they can't seem to handle the crowd. -
Review from waisik m.
Burnaby, BC
5/5/2011
Great quality consistency in their beef noodles. Not better or worse than other Taiwanese noodles, but consistency is really the key.
Loved their spicy chicken rice set which comes with a generous portion of chicken (ie not filled too much with veggies), sides dishes with pickles and boiled greens. Ingredients tasted fresh.
The BBTs were very good and I hope to try the hot teas next time with bubbles (pearls).
Service is relatively on the slow side. You often have to wait to be seated, not because there were no tables, but because the staff is busy serving other guests. -
Review from Justin W.
Vancouver, BC
3/15/2010
Extensive menu of BBT drinks that taste fresh and delicious. I agree with Rachael on the fine dining comment, it doesn't come across as a BBT store at all. It resembles more of a restaurant that also makes BBT drinks on the side. Nice and classy place. Will definitely be back.
