I’ve been taking lots of early morning walks with a friend lately. Afterwards, we usually end up at the new Fol Epi location on Yates Street. They have very nice, perfectly brewed tea, and the coffee is good too.
Toast made from the bakery’s organic wood oven bread is available weekdays, and comes with maple cinnamon butter, or butter and house-made current jam.
The last little bit of Festive decor with early morning light.
View from the window seats, onto bustling Yates Street, Victoria BC.
It is the wintery season and my thoughts turn to hot chocolate. For this year, I’m going to post about what’s new in Victoria and hopefully, I will find some new gems.
A delightful little coffee shop called Hide + Seek Coffee has recently opened in Oak Bay. I loved the atmosphere and the super-friendly staff. We enjoyed one of their versions of hot chocolate: organic camino coco and a bit of sugar with the milk of your choice. It was delicious and bitter-sweet.
I’ll be visiting again soon to try their London Fog and sample a baked treat or two. They have some nice looking gluten-free options.
2207 Oak Bay Avenue, near Hampshire Road.
Slight fail with the foam decoration on the right was handled with humour. Didn’t make any difference to the flavour! Plus I think it’s a perfectly rendered sea turtle.
Fun staff making delicious drinks.
I loved the mixture of beautifully upholstered Danish mid-century and contemporary furnishings.The atmosphere was very pleasing.
It’s always time for tea when I’m out with Annie, so last week we stopped by JagaSilk on our way to a craft fair…
JagaSilk Teabar is a gem tucked away in Nootka Court, just off Courtney Street.
Instead of my favourite maccha latte, we mixed it up with a London Fog and a Masala Chai; plus house-made vanilla bean shortbread cookies.
Peeking through the window at teaware… and Annie.
Victoria’s newest offering in the realm of tea is Terroir Tea Merchant on Fort Street. In one of a row of my favourite retail spaces in Victoria, Terroir has created a calm retreat of tea experience. Their passion for their product is immediately evident. We enjoyed Black Ruby from Taiwan, and Ceylon Chai blended in house with spices and tea leaves from Sri Lanka, both infused with their interesting method. A wonderful addition to the increasingly fabulous 800 block of Fort Street.
Tea is big in Victoria again. We’ve never lacked places to purchase high-quality tea – Special Teas, Silk Road, Murchies. But now, there are increasing options for sitting down for a fine cuppa. Recently, a friend and I stopped at one of our favourite Oak Bay haunts, Just Matcha. They will be opening a new location in our neighbourhood soon. My latte was very pretty, as well as delicious. Like so much of Victoria’s food culture, tea inspires a passionate dedication to quality and preparation.
Before I am fully involved in seeking out new venues for my seasonal hot chocolate obsession, I will be visiting some of the fine tea purveyors in the city.
A new and amazing experience yesterday. A friend and I flew from Victoria’s Inner Harbour to Coal Harbour in Vancouver on Harbour Air. I have moderate flying anxiety and never thought I would be able to travel to Vancouver this way, but it was so easy and such a beautiful flight. We arrived in Vancouver before 9 am, so took our time wandering up to Robson Street. After a browse at the new Nordstrom Department Store (including a delicious visit to Sugarfina), we headed to Roche Bobois on West Hastings. It was fabric and furniture heaven going through all the possibilities. Then a nice walk through Gastown, filled with tourists and locals eating in cafes and enjoying the summer-like autumn day. We finished the day at one of my favourite Vancouver places, Mink Chocolate Cafe, for refreshment before boarding the float plane back to Victoria. A very late lunch at Victoria’s Red Fish Blue Fish completed a perfect day. Big thanks to J for bringing me along; a day I’ll not soon forget!
Victoria BC: Inner Harbour, downtown and Beacon Hill Park.
Victoria Airport in Sidney.
BC Ferries vessel sailing into Swartz Bay.
Gulf Islands.
Morning mists over Delta.
Beautiful English Bay and False Creek with the Granville Street and Burrard Street bridges, Vanier Park at the top left, and the West End at the top right. A perfect view of Vancouver.
Beautiful Coal Harbour at the Harbour Air terminal.
Early morning view of the Vancouver Convention Centre.
An interesting curtain of lights at Nordstrom.
Heading east along Alexander Street with views of the working harbour.
Delicious hot chocolate and treats at Mink.
Looking back up the Burrard Inlet toward where we had been earlier.
Last view of the Coal Harbour walkway as we head to our plane back to Victoria.
Our friend Annie is embarking on a whole new life. We spent part of the day yesterday celebrating in the sun: watching a Flamenco performance at the Victoria Flamenco Festival, fabric shopping at Gala Fabrics, and enjoying iced Maple Maccha Lattes at JagaSilk. The daifuku was delicious and my favourite latte was even better iced.
My birthday was a couple weeks ago and I was overwhelmed with beautiful local gifts. Here are a few pics –
Our dear Annie made me a beautiful wrap top from gorgeous Indian print cotton. There was also a beautiful stitched small placemat and some other fabric gifts (plus some candy, which didn’t last long enough to make it into the photo!).
Annie makes most of her own clothes, a talent which is awe-inspiring to me!
And, she made us a lovely meal and delicious gin and rosewater cocktails!
Oh yummy! Preserves by our dear friend Rebecca. She sells from the Moss Street Market on Saturdays. The apple pear mince is amazing on ice cream.
Friends J and M gave me a beautiful wooden box, lovingly adorned with raffia and rosemary. It was emanating a delicate smell.
When I peeked inside…
Ta da! No, not a box of fruit, but hand-carved soaps made to look like fruit. The maker, Laura-Victoria Handmilled Soaps, has been making beautiful soap for more than 30 years. The scents are gentle – like lemon and herbs – not necessarily the fruit they represent.
And the second layer – vegetables – also in the same lovely scents as the fruits.
Haven’t been able to use them yet; they are just too pretty!
Abundance from friends who grow and raise much of their own food. Eggs, vegetables, herbs and jam – yum, yum, yum!
The other day I had errands which would take me from one end of the city to the other on my bike. Right in the middle of my journey I stopped at Dockside Green. I enjoyed a delicious tea from Café Fantastico and delicate croissant from Fol Epi Bakery while gazing out at the industrial landscape of the Upper Harbour. This spot is a hub of activity for cyclists, walkers and workers from the various businesses which surround it.
Cool new things are always popping up in Victoria. Here’s another little place I like for coffee (or tea, etc) – Hey Happy Coffee, 560 Johnson Street, Victoria BC.
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