14 Mar 2012
in Caf? Hopping, Chopstick Foodscapes, Coffee Tea or Me, Markham Tags: bubble tea drinks, Chinese food, Destiny Cafe, East Beaver Creek Drive, gyoza pork dumplings, Markham, matcha latte, ramen noodles, Richmond Hill, soup noodles
Now that you have all read about my tale of birthday ice cream cake embarrassment, it?s time to get down to food business with photos and food stories of noodles and tea drinks!? Destiny Cafe is situated in what I call the ?restaurant congregeation? of Richmond Hill, right by East Beaver Creek Drive and Highway 404.? I?m not joking when I refer to this area as restaurant central ? there are more than 10 restaurants on this one plot of land and they?re all within hopping and skipping distance from one another!? If you?re in the mood for fruity drinks and tea, snacks, and lots of Chinese food, and if you happen to be in the area, Destiny Cafe is your destination.? In my opinion though, Destiny is worth going to even if you?re aren?t in the vicinity because I think their menu caters to many tastes and appetites.?
Destiny Cafe?has two locations, one in Scarborough and one in Richmond Hill, and while I?ve been to the Scarborough?location several times in the past, this was my first time eating at the Richmond Hill one and I was beyond shocked when I stepped inside the large and majestic cafe.??I knew it looked huge from the outside, but nothing could have prepared me for?what I saw on the inside.? This wasn?t a cafe, this was the size of a banquet hall!? The entire space was bathed in ivory, cream, and chocolate brown with splashes of soft green.? Beautiful light fixtures?hung from the ceiling and gorgeous floral arrangement planters?filled with calla lilies, siberia lilies, and other flowers dotted the?dining areas throughout the?cafe, bursting with red, oranges, and?yellows.? Big windows allowed plenty of natural light to filter through and?seating was?ample and spacious.? The atmosphere felt fresh, peaceful.
What I love about Destiny, aside from the gorgeous decor,?is the variety of food and drink and how organized the menu is.? The menu is divided into two sections (drink and food), where the first portion of the menu is devoted to bubble tea, herbal tea, and coffee drinks.? A rainbow of bubble tea, slushes, soy drinks, milk teas, milkshakes, coffee drinks, lattes, and tea drinks with ice cream greet you within the first five pages or so, followed by a page of herbal and flowering teas.? If that?s not enough to make your head spin, the menu continues on with a healthy dose of dim sum appetizers, snacks, diner style sandwiches, toasts, fried rice, fried noodles, steamed rice meals with meats and vegetables, and soup noodles.?
In addition to their regular menu, they also offer a set lunch menu from 11am-2:30pm which includes a salad, spring roll, your choice of entree, a small coffee, iced/hot green tea or milk tea, and a dessert for $7.99.? On top of that, there?s an afternoon tea time menu offered from 2:30pm onward, with dim sum dishes, small plates, and snack items.
If I had to compare Destiny Cafe to another place, I?d say that the menu is somewhat similar to that of Ten Ren?s Tea Time.? Both Destiny and Ten Ren?s have an abundance of bubble tea and tea drink menu items, as well as a menu centered around Chinese, Taiwanese, and Japanese dishes among other Asian foods.? While both menus offer the same scope of bubble tea and tea selections, Destiny?s food is definitely more diner style whereas Ten Ren?s leans more toward traditional dishes found in Cantonese and Taiwanese cuisine.? For example, while you wouldn?t?find diner style sandwiches, toasts, and fried rice at Ten Ren?s, you would find plenty of soup noodle meals, steamed rice with meat and vegetables, and appetizers and snacks.?
Given how I?m?on a bit of green tea latte?and dessert kick, I had a delicious, warm matcha latte ($4.49) to go along with my ramen noodles in soup with gyoza pork dumplings ($7.99).? The latte was nice and strong in matcha flavour and not ?milked down ?or diluted in the least.? It was a great accompaniment to my noodles which I enjoyed so much.? I love noodles and I especially love ramen noodles in soup.? It?s one of my favourite comfort foods and meals.? The warmth of the soup broth, the savouriness of the noodles ? it?s happiness in a bowl!? I was debating between the pork cutlet with ramen noodles and the ramen noodles with the gyoza dumplings and ultimately, the dumplings won me over because I adore dumplings with noodles.?
The ramen noodle bowl contained a tea egg (cha-yeep-daan), some crabstick meat, bean sprouts (I?m not the biggest fan of bean sprouts and telling the nice waitress?completely slipped my mind, so I?ll admit that many of them were still floating around in the leftover broth when I was finished.? My bad.), some vegetables, three pork gyoza dumplings, and lots of scrumptious ramen noodles.? The noodles were absolutely delicious.? They were cooked perfectly al dente and they?were savoury and thick and just divine.? And the dumplings!? They were golden brown, crispy around the edges, and juicy and soft on the?inside where the pockets of pork were.? It was a wonderful meal, one that I would most definitely have again.? Coming here has made me realize just how much I?ve missed it and how crazy I?ve been for not coming back for good eats sooner!? Even though the humourous catasphrophe that was my birthday is an event I can look back on and laugh, I?m happy to have these new food memories.? Especially ones that tasted as delicious as these.?
*****
Destiny Cafe is located at 165 York Blvd. in Richmond Hill, Markham.? The large space is housed within a complex of restaurants and eateries and can be accessed via East Beaver Creek Drive and Highway 7, just off the 404.? Destiny Cafe has two locations in the GTA.? The other location is located in Scarborough off Silver Star Blvd. and Steeles Ave. East.? The markham location is open for business at 11am.
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