I had the pleasure of sitting down and catching up with Amy (Food Queen – read her review here) at the newly opened Soho Tea Room. The restaurant is located on Cambie and 19th, between Park Theatre and the Starbucks – though you can’t miss it with it’s inviting exterior. I believe it’s the ‘replacement’ for Flo Tea Room on Granville which closed a couple months ago.

To start off, we ordered some bubble tea. I ordered a mixed drink – I’m not quite sure what the name was (either Tinkerbell or Tropica) – anyway it predominantly had mango and coconut. It was very delicious, creamy and very filling. There was still a great bit left when I was on my way home (in the snow…yes, cold drinks on a cold day!).

Amy ordered the Traffic Light – I always love the colours of this particular drink.

To start, we ordered the Salty, Peppery chicken. It was very juicy, tender on the inside and crispy and super flavourful on the outside. I don’t think we even needed the sauce as this was so good on it’s own. Amy and I were trying to figure out how this chicken could be so tender and so tasty!

Our food came shortly afterwards. Amy ordered the Taiwanese style Beef Noodle Soup. The portion seemed big.

I ordered a set meal of Szechuan Chicken. I can barely pronounce the word, I’m a little embarrassed! Anyway, the chicken comes with a bowl of rice and two ‘appetizers’. Very similar to many other cafes. The appetizers today were pickled carrots and radish and tofu with cabbage. The Szechuan Chicken was a good mix of onions, peppers and chicken. The chicken was tender but the vegetables were not over cooked (which is how it should always be).

I’d definitely come back here again, especially when I’m visiting my parents who live very close. There are a lot cafes around, so what is the difference? The layout is nice, wide and the dining area is very clean and comfortable. The drinks are great and the food is great too. I can think of people who may not care for ‘clean and comfortable’ or ambience (thinking of my husband right now!) – but to me, it is important and I do appreciate Asian eateries that agree.

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