Starbucks

The Starbucks "red cups" are always a thing to look forward to when Christmas is around the corner. As finals are right around the corner (for me, literally next week!), I can't stop but think about how soon it will be until I am home. Living half way across the world also makes it hard for communication. I haven't really talked to my parents for a while, so I am even more excited to be heading home. Christmas is always a time for family. To keep myself motivated during finals, I decided to hit up Starbucks on University Street last week. Not only were the red cups such a nice reminder of the holiday spirit, being surrounded by Christmas decorations reminded me of home and how soon it will be before I am back.

During holiday period prior Christmas, Starbucks always release holiday drinks. This year, my favorite two coffees are the Caramel Brûlée Latte and Peppermint Mocha. The Caramel Brûlée latte tastes very similar to the normal Caramel Macciato drink and they serve year round. The sweet taste of the drink warms my heart during the cold weather. The Peppermint Mocha has always been an all time favorite. I love the chocolate-y taste of the Mocha (nothing more suitable during the winter), but also the refreshing taste of the Peppermint. 

Peppermint Mocha

As Starbucks is a huge chain around the world and are super known for their coffee, most chains are almost always full. The one on University is not an exception. When I went there, I stood around for a couple of minutes before I found seats. Next, because it is such a popular place, a lot of people gather there for meetings or chats, rather than to study. Although the music is very nice and cheerful, the combination of the music and the chattering around is very distracting. In addition, because there are always so many people walking in and out of the shop, it is also very distracting. Not only is there not enough space there, there are also very few outlets. Therefore, although it is nice that they provide free Wi-Fi, if your computer dies really quickly, it is also quite not ideal to study at Starbucks.

Regardless, Starbucks is always a nice place to hit up. Not only are their drinks always well made, the holiday spirit they host always makes me feel relaxed and comfortable. Classic coffee stores will never die down. 

Caffè Art Java

Today, as I was walking down University, I saw Caffè Art Java. I have passed by it before, but never really thought to stop by and go inside. As finals start to kick in, the library and cafés are becoming more and more busy. When I peered into the café, there weren't a lot of people, so I decided to head in to study and grab some food. 

Cappuccino

The food there is really good. I would not say there is anything that different from what is offered at most other cafés, but it is still a nice place to get food at. I tried their Cappuccino, and it was really good! The coffee wasn't too sweet or bitter, and it was just the perfect temperature for me to take a sip but not too warm that I felt like I was drinking a cold coffee. They also made it into a nice pattern with coffee art, which was really nice. Every time I enter a café and they decorate the coffee del with coffee art, it always makes me feel a bit more valued as a customer. It seems as if the store makes more of the effort to make my coffee more personalized. 

There aren't that many tables inside the cafe, so that actually makes studying nice and easier because there aren't that many people talking. The café is also quiet for the most part, so it makes it a good place to read, study or write papers. When I people watch, I often also get a lot of inspiration and new ideas. Furthermore, the staff here are also very friendly and helpful. It made my experience a lot more welcoming and it made me feel more at home, which is unlike most other café chains. I would definitely return to try their pastries. 

Olivier Potier

The next place I am going to recommend is Olivier Potier. This café is located on Sherbrooke down the corner of Mackay and Sherbrooke.

The interior design of this café is a modernistic homey mixture. When you first walk into the café, you are greeted by a wide selection of breads to your right and extremely delicately made cakes to your left. The wooden floors are paired up with some sofa chairs and wooden chairs. As you continue to enter into the café, you will see tables for people who want to sit down and grab a coffee or lunch. The layout of the café is very open and the tables are quite closely placed together, which I feel like takes away from people's privacy.

Cafe from the inside

At Olivier Potier, I ordered a Smoked Salmon Sandwich and a Cappuccino. It was surprising that they didn't have a variety of options on their menu—made it hard to choose what to have because some of their sandwiches were also sold out by 1:00PM, but there were no more than 8 to choose from to begin with. Regardless, their sandwiches were still delicious and the Cappuccino was made perfectly.

Smoked Salmon sandwich and Cappuccino

Overall, I liked the vibe of the cafe a lot. The number of options was disappointing, but the food and coffee was still good. As I was leaving the cafe, I got to take a good look at their options of cakes, which all looked amazing. Next time I come back, I will definitely try their cakes!

Nocochi

It has been quite a while since I have updated this blog, but to fair, I have been fairly busy recently with midterms, projects and papers. It also didn't help that I caught the flu all last week especially after my birthday. Anyways, the first café I want to introduce this month is Nocochi. My friend and I came here two weeks ago for afternoon tea, and it was purely amazing.

We bumped into this place by pure accident. But when we were walking by, we saw their window sill decorations and just could not walk away. Their decorations seemed so intricate and nicely put together that we were sure it would be nice on the inside. I am a very visual person, and their use of colors was so attracting—it was detailed in a very intricate way.

Nicochi Outer Window Sill

Nicochi is located on Rue Mackay right on the corner of Mackay and Sherbrooke. Although it lies fairly close to Concordia, it did not seem too full or busy of students, which makes it a good place to study at. The vibe of the café was very chill and relaxed, and the music playing was very smoothing and calming. The café is very big, so the cashier is not close to any of the tables. If customers came in to buy take-away, it was not loud at all or distracting. In addition, the tables are also very spread out, which gave each table enough space for their own privacy. The inside decor of the café is also very cool. Hanging on the walls are paintings and art pieces after another. They are all for sale. Some of the paintings complement each other in the subject and the colors, while others were vastly different. I really enjoyed looking at each of the different paintings. It added a nicer artistic touch to the whole café.

After we entered, we realized that afternoon tea sets was a big thing here. Nocochi pastries are honestly really good. They have two afternoon tea sets, one the Nicochi, and the other the English. Both include a pot of tea with a selection of finger foods such as mini sandwiches and scones. I had the Nicochi set. Everything included was delicious, but my favorite was definitely the scones. It was the perfect sweetness, so when paired with butter, it was the perfect combination between sweet and salty. Furthermore, it was also not too big, which made it easy to handle and eat without making a mess. They also serve a lot of dishes. For breakfast, they serve omelettes and other pastries. For lunch, they have a variety of salads, sandwiches and pasta. On the weekend, they also have special brunch sets that include mimosa's!

My friend and I were really only supposed to go in for a couple of minutes, but we ended up staying and talking for hours. Sitting next to us was a table of six ladies, also catching up on their week. This is definitely a nice casual place to hit up when you want some privacy with good food that is not too overwhelming. The artwork also makes the café that much more interesting and enjoyable. I would definitely recommend it.

Presse Café

Presse Café on Milton and Parc is no stranger to most McGillians who live in the ghetto. It was definitely one of my most frequent places last year.

I love that Presse is so big. Even when people are studying, it normally never gets too loud, which is perfect when one needs to concentrate. The setup of the place is so that there is enough space between each table so that you don't have to overhear the table next to you talking. In addition to that, the tables are of various sizes. Some are very spacious, so when you have a lot of stuff or studying material, it is more than easy to lay everything out. There are also smaller individual tables if people prefer that, or round tables too. There are two main sections to Presse. One is the first general space you arrive at when you first enter the café. The cashier is at the opposite side of the room in this first area. To the right of the cashier is another section of the café that has extra studying tables and a TV for people to watch when there is a game on.

Presse also has a variety of food, including salads, pastries, soup and sandwiches/wraps. They offer different sets such as a salad and soup or a wrap and salad. The food here is pretty good on most days. The drinks here also range from coffee to Italian water to even beers if you're ever in the mood! However, to be honest, I am not a big fan of their coffees. Depending on who is making the drinks, the resulting taste can vary quite a fair amount. Another thing about Presse is also that their service isn't always the best. Sometimes when the owner is here, he will come over and make sure you've ordered something before you can continue with what you're doing. They can be a bit strict about that. The music here is also not overbearing, which is awesome. They open till 11:30 sometimes even 12-12:30 during busy seasons.

All in all though, Presse is still a place that I come to when I need to study. I like that it is very spacious and convenient, and it is always nice to have a backup for emergencies.

Café Vasco da Gama

It has been a long two weeks full of studying. This week, I want to introduce another café on the west side that I also absolutely love. It is called Café Vasco da Gama on the corner of Peel and Maisonneuve.

This café has extremely nice decor with brick floors and lights that hang above the ceiling. The walls are also filled with containers of tea leaves, coffee beans and other food ingredients in general, which makes it seem cosy. The place is quite packed during lunch time, especially of businessmen around the area. Although this might not be the best place to study during lunch time, the food here is extremely good and so are their drinks. I really like that they have a wide range of food which include salads, sandwiches, burgers and even pasta! Their pastries are also extremely good, and for anyone who is lactose or gluten intolerant, they make lactose, gluten-free cookies too!

View from the entrance of the door

The ambiance of the café was very relaxed with music playing in the background. Vasco da Gama is the perfect place for people to go when they need to relax and just have a nice cup of coffee (or wine!) and chill. The relaxed vibe also makes it a great place for people to hang out and catch up with friends. The seats in the café is very comfortable with sofa seats. The one thing I don't really like about the café though is that the pathway is kind of small—sometimes too small that when the café gets crowded, it is not easy for people to move in and out. Another down side is that the cafe tables are a bit small, especially if you are going to have lunch there. There may be just enough space for a plate of salad and a drink.

Large latte

All in all though, this café is also one that I enjoy going to every once in a while when I'm catching up with a friend. It may be busy and loud, but their drinks and their friendly servers make up for it. 

Café Castel

Today, I am going to introduce a café that most of us Bronfmanites are probably familiar with. This is one of my most frequent cafés in Montreal. Not only is it convenient for management students, but the coffee and food there is also really good!

Café Castel lies on the corner of Peel and Sherbrooke in the Best Western Hotel, right by Desautels Faculty of Management. Although the owner of the café is the same as the owner of the hotel, the businesses are run separately. The café is open every morning from 7am till 8pm at night. This makes for a good place to review materials in the morning, but not a place where you can camp out late at night. Depending on the time of day, the café can be a really good or not so place to study. When there are a lot of people, the café gets really crowded and loud and you can get distracted easily. However, on the occasion that you're there when there isn't a big line and it is not that full, the ambience of the café is perfect for studying. Since it also lies on the corner of two very busy streets, a good variation of people go there. From hustling businessmen to students, the café also makes for a good place to people-watch—another thing I enjoy doing when I'm by myself. Just today, I was sitting next to a man who was conducting interviews for jobs. It might not have been the best location to hold any sort of formal interviews, but at least it was an interesting experience for me!

At Café Castel, the food they have there range from sandwiches and wraps to salads and soup to all different kinds of pastries! Personally, I am a huge fan of their salads. The other day, I tried a green curry chicken salad with apples. The combination of ingredients was not something I would've ever thought to throw together, but the final product was delicious. The mix of the saltiness from the green curry paste and the sweetness from the apples was just right, and I can't stop thinking about it!
Another perk is the amount of options available. There are six options of salads to choose from each day, and even more of a variety for sandwiches! But be aware, they do sell out fast, so make sure you get there relatively early to catch all the different choices! In addition, each of the portions are pretty big and the pricing is very reasonable. There are also a lot of combos available for if you want to taste a bit of everything.

Green Curry Chicken Salad with Apples (right),
Spinach Salad with Tomatoes (left) 

Other than food, Café Castel is definitely known for their variety of gourmet coffees. They have everything from flavored lattes to cappuccinos to moccacinos! But the thing I love the most about Café Castel is their latte art. From tulips to "Rosetta" designs, every time I order a latte from them, they surprise me with something new.

With assignments due and midterms around the corner in addition to the arrival of snow in Montreal today, I was feeling a bit uneasy. But when I got my daily order of coffee from Café Castel today, everything just seemed better.

Latte

Love coffee on a snowy day. It really is the littlest things that make the biggest difference.

First Post

As midterm season hits, there is no doubt that stress levels are rising. I'll admit, it took me some time to adjust from the summer 'Let's just have fun and worry about everything else later' mentality to 'Holy crap! I have midterms next week and at least one midterm and assignment due every week from then on?' As inevitable as studying is, I was and still am not big on libraries. Therefore, I am going to dedicate this blog to introducing various cafés that I am going to start studying at. For all those out there who, like me, cringe at the existence of libraries, I hope this blog will be of use to you! 

The first café that I am introducing this week is called Chai. It lies on the corner of Parc and Milton, right next to El Mundo. Although these two cafés are owned by the same owner, they are individually very different.

El Mundo is what you would expect of a normal student café: wooden tables and chairs with booths that allow students to study together. They serve everything from coffee to generic tea to juice and soft drinks. Chai, on the other hand, took a toll on its own. Not only is the decor inside the café nice and chic, but also very comfortable with sofa chairs and couches available. Even the selection of drinks here is quite different from El Mundo. Although they do still serve the usual coffees, their main product of sale is tea. With a many different types of tea and multiple flavors per, the variety of tea they have is incredible. In addition, the atmosphere here is also very peaceful. The music is never overbearingly loud with a nice selection of study songs by artists such as Jack Johnson, Bon Iver, etc.

Green tea is my favorite kind of tea, so I was really excited to see that they have a selection of over ten flavors of green tea! I ordered the Kyoto Cherry green tea, and I was so happy with this choice. The cherry aroma from the tea could be sensed as the server brought over a tray that consisted of a teapot, a cup and a filter with the tea leaves inside. When you order your tea, they also give you an option to use a Chinese teacup or a normal "British cup," as they call it.

Kyoto Cherry flavored Green Tea

Another thing I love about this café is its selection of pastries. El Mundo has always been known for its good food, and Chai did not disappoint. Not only do they have a selection of cupcakes, scones and other pastries, they also make macaroons that go perfectly with the tea. I ordered raspberry and orange blossom flavored macaroons to go with my tea, and my friend ordered raspberry and lime flavored ones.

Raspberry and Lime flavored macaroons

Raspberry and Orange Blossom flavored macaroons

Needless to say, it was delicious. 

It is now past 11:00pm and they are about to close. I guess this would also be an appropriate time for me to end this blog post. 

To all those out there looking for a nice new environment to study in, really, try Chai! I'm sure you won't be disappointed. I know I'm not.