Noshwellmenu

[rating:1] :

Tre and I and a few friends hit Estea Beverage Club in Burnaby. It’s been a while since we’ve been here. I actually thought the place had closed down, but was informed that it’s been renovated. As we walked in, we noticed it’s gone from funky modern to sleek and sophisticated. Dark wood floors,white suede chairs, bamboo potted pots with intimate lighting. The place was packed, but we still managed to get a table. The ambiance was nice, but the crowd is younger. Our waiter didn’t seem too interested in taking our order. I was feeling out of my element here, and I know Tre is too.

We ordered some drinks and a few snacks to share. I ordered a hot green milk tea without tapioca pearls. The bubble tea is straight forward. Green tea mixed with milk served hot– no pearls. There’s no science to it. When my tea came, it wasn’t hot. When it’s not hot, it’s not good. Tre orders an earl grey tea, which our server seemed to struggle with understanding until he finally pointed it out with his finger on the menu. It took forever and came long after all the other drinks and food are served and only after finally flagging down someone to see what was taking so long. Despite the cool looking glass teapot that the tea is served in, it was–the shits. I’m not sure if it’s Estea’s special brew, but it wasn’t earl grey and it wasn’t drinkable. Tre was not pleased. The drinks our friends had ordered were equally unimpressive.

As for the food, we ordered thick toast with condensed milk and a peanut butter spread. The toast is only ok. We also order the Taiwanese crispy fried chicken. They sucked. It was slightly grey in color and the excess batter wasn’t shaken off, so powdery bits would crumble off. We’ve have had better.

Our experience wasn’t great. They turned off the light above our table. And when we asked why, they informed us they had to turn it off for 10 minutes. But the light never came back on. The ambiance didn’t meet the food and service expectations it’s trying to portray. The only good part of the night is hanging out with our friends and trying not to laugh at our waiter’s drawn on moustache and eyeliner. We weren’t sure what he was trying to be, but it was hilarious.

The Details

6401 Kingsway, Burnaby
604.438.0186

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