Dance and Dessert: Dulcinea Chocolate Café

Today’s post is small and sweet, just like this café is.

After a wonderful walk near English Bay, why not stop for some dessert? There are a lot of restaurants and vendors around the area but I always find myself returning to Dulcinea Chocolate Café.

Pronounced as Dool-see-nay-ah, this cozy Spanish café is a great spot for smaller groups or couples to stop by. As you step into the café, you are greeted by the sweet aroma of chocolate and the warm shades of brown décor. Seating is a limited for big groups so this isn't the best place for crowds of more than six people.


Although they are known more for their drinks, GT and I opted to check out their dessert selection instead. GT had the Xango, pronounced as Changa, which is one of my favourite desserts from this café. I had the Lava Blanca (its pyramid shape amused me).

Xanga $6.10
Warm, crispy flour tortilla wrapped around New York style cheesecake, and topped with caramel, chocolate, or strawberry sauce (taken from menu)

Lava Blanca $6.95
Fluffy chocolate mouse with a Crema Inglesa custard center (taken from menu)

What I love about Dulcinea is how they incorporate culture into their café. They show their appreciation for the local arts by featuring emerging artists who often interact with the café’s guests.

While chatting with their friendly staff, I found that they do special events every Tuesday and Thursday. On Flamenco Tuesday and Salsa Thursday, an on-site instructor introduces guests to these dance types. I think learning something together while having fun is a great way to build chemistry between couples. Give it a try.

Have fun ♥♥♥

Dulcinea Website: http://www.dulcineachocolatecafe.ca

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Sweet Stroll: Thomas Haas in North Vancouver

Fellas, what I’m about to tell you is quite possibly a dangerous secret weapon…a trump card, if you may. Girls love dessert. So what better way to ask a girl to go on a date with you then to ask her to try a new dessert place with you? It’s really hard to resist when a guy asks “I heard about a really good dessert place, want to check it out with me?” Really really hard.

• Cozy dessert café tucked away close by North Shore (great place to take a walk together afterwards!)
  
• Operating hours: 8:30 am – 5:30 pm; Closed Sunday and Monday
  
• No public transit; vehicle required
  

A year or two ago, I had one of the best birthday cakes at my friend WYL’s birthday. That was the first time I was introduced to the amazing world of Thomas Haas Fine Chocolates & Patisserie.

Imagine sitting under their orange umbrella with your date and sipping a cup of creamy hot chocolate sprinkled with cocoa powder in the shape of a heart on a warm sunny day. 

Hot Chocolate  $3.75

Thomas Haas is one of those trump card dessert places that all guys must know. Described as the Ferrari of Chocolate, you know this place will impress the girl. There are two locations in Vancouver: one in Kitsilano (map) and one in North Vancouver (map).

Mesmerized by the photos from Chow Times about this place, I went on an adventure with my co-worker KH to try their hot chocolate. Besides chocolate and dessert, the store also features savory goods. I decided to order a Ham and Cheese Croissant for lunch.

Ham & Cheese Croissant   $ 3.95

KH and I also shared a slice of Exotic Cheesecake.

Exotic Cheesecake  $5.50
Classic cheesecake with passionfruit, mango and orange zest (from website)

They also have a lot of take home goods like chocolate bars and ready-to-bake cookies.

Some of their chocolate bars have numbers on the front. This is their “Cocoa Percentage” series which ranges from 37% to 83% cocoa content. Personally, I like milk chocolate and found 43% “Caramel Crisp” perfect for me.

Chocolate Bars

Unlike other dessert places in Vancouver, Thomas Haas’ operating hours are shorter and they’re not even open every day. They are open from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm and are closed on Sunday and Monday. Keep this in mind to avoid disappointments.

I think Thomas Haas is a wonderful date place. This cozy café is not only home to some of the best chocolate in Vancouver, it is also really close to a nice park – perfect for a lovely walk.

Room for dessert?
Always ♥♥♥

Thomas Haas Website: http://www.thomashaas.com

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Lunch date: Rogue Kitchen and Wetbar

• Located inside the Waterfront station: easy access
• Casual but hip place to have lunch with co-workers if you want to avoid chain restaurants
• Great décor. Awesome for parties – features an upstairs semi-private area that can seat 30+ people
• Separated into lounge and dinner area

I work in North Vancouver, so it’s not often that I can meet up with friends for lunch. Last night, however, AG asked if I wanted to try the new restaurant at the Waterfront station that he has passed by a few times. So, I decided to take the Seabus and an extra long lunch break (1.5 hours, heehee) just to pay this restaurant a visit.

Previously the lavish TransContinental, the Rouge’s name now represents a dramatic transformation of the restaurant with a unique menu. “What is a wet bar,” you ask? According to Wikipedia, a wet bar differs from a regular one in that it includes a sink, which allows for greater efficiency, I suppose. There is an extensive wet bar menu at the restaurant, but I didn’t get a chance to explore it – I had to be sober for work, after all.

One thing to note about the restaurant: it features an open upstairs area, which is great for parties. I think it can cater to more than 30 people easily, so this would be a great place that I would look into for big group gatherings.

We were seated in the restaurant portion of Rogue. Our table was quite small, and the chairs were rather high. This gave us limited room for our food and drinks, which made for a somewhat awkward dining experience. The restaurant is busy and music does play in the background, but the noise level is nevertheless perfect for engaging conversations.

Fries X3  $7.99

We started with an appetizer called Fries X3. This dish gave you fries done in three styles: bacon, plain with onion and poutine.

1. Bacon: strong flavor from bacon and cheese topping
   
2. Truffle Oil and Garlic: bland
   
3. Poutine: both bland and salty; really depends on which side you ate from

Overall, this is a good dish to share, but I would definitely try something else on their menu next time for an appetizer.

Chicken Cappelini  $14.99

Sticky and Sweet Chicken  $14.99

I chose the Chicken Cappelini and AG tried the Sticky and Sweet Chicken. Originally, I expected AG’s dish to be somewhat similar to the Chinese sweet and sour sauce, but the taste turned out quite unique and definitely varied from the traditional Chinese standard. My Chicken Cappelini tasted good, but it certainly wasn’t breathtaking. An hour or two later, I’ve already forgotten the taste.

Our bill came to $42 not including gratuity. It is slightly on the more expensive side, but nevertheless, the ambience of this restaurant, along with its convenient location, would definitely be worth trying. Unfortunately, the service was somewhat lacklustre. It was somewhat difficult to identify servers, as they are typically dressed like normal pedestrians. Although the majority of them were relatively nice, they tended to be somewhat inattentive: they did not offer any ketchup for our Fries x 3 nor give any water refills. Perhaps this is a result of the restaurant’s business, but it is nonetheless an issue.

Rogue is a great place for a lunch date. They use quality ingredients for their food and the ambiance is modern and chic. Their wide selection of alcoholic beverages should keep the casual drinker satisfied. As long as you can overlook its mediocre service, it's a good place to take your date. On second thought, maybe not your first date.

Have fun ♥♥♥

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Star Gazing at Burnaby Mountain Park

Recipe for a Great Star Gazing Experience:

1. Find somewhere to sit (Nice spot on the grass, a bench, in the car)
2. Bring a blanket to sit on - shows thoughtfulness!
3. Familiarize yourself with easy-to-spot constellation
   
4. Have a flashlight for walks around the park
   
5. Ideally, it should be a quiet ambiance. Prepare quiet music if that suits you (Suggestion below!)
   

Star gazing is an activity that sets the stage for meaningful conversations. Really awesome.

I have a notebook where I jot ideas down. Star gazing has always been something I’ve wanted to try. Hoping to catch the last of The Perseids Meteor Shower, AG and I decided to head up to Burnaby Mountain Park.  (Google Map) It was quite packed as it was a Friday night of a meteor shower. I didn’t get many pictures from this area as I felt it seemed inappropriate to use flash photography on unsuspecting couples. I didn’t want to disturb anything. ;) The best views of the sky are found in fields with as little light as possible. This will help minimize the light pollution which prevents your eyes from adjusting to the dark. Of course, Burnaby Mountain Park isn’t the only place you can go, but what you can see of Greater Vancouver is definitely an added bonus.

My attempt at night photos. Tips?

Try to familiarize yourself with some easy to spot constellations and impress your date. I have always felt it was super romantic to locate constellations, even though it was just something I can never do. Then again, provided your date knows little about astronomy, you can always try making them up. (Not that I’m encouraging this!)  

If you, like us, decide to stay in the car and watch from the moonroof, you have the opportunity to plug in some music to set the mood. When I say set the mood, do not automatically go for your secret Michael Bublé collection – from experience, I can tell you this can cause awkward situations. So unless your date is a die-hard Michael B. fan, save those for another night.

Instead, let me recommend a Quebecois singer/songwriter: ‘Coeur de Pirate’ (‘Pirate Heart’ in French) Her French songs are light, whimsical, romantic, piano-driven, and done in a sing-song style with a dream-like fashion. Explaining with words how her songs are like is futile, though. Here, experience it yourself:






Although I chose to come here for a meteor shower, we didn’t get to see any but honestly, I think star gazing is an excellent date anyways. It's a great after dinner activity and the perfect setting for meaningful conversations. Hopefully, I get to visit this place again when it's not as packed to get the best experience.

The rest is up to you! ;) ♥♥♥

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Why “Just a Date”?

Dating shouldn't be intimidating. But the more we think about it, the more nightmare-like they become: Not only do you need to figure out how to make a good impression, planning out a perfect date may suddenly seem overwhelming.

“Just a Date” wants to help you relax and find a fun activity to share with others. You can leave a great impression by suggesting fun adventures to try. And go ahead; you can even take the credit of planning out the date, especially for the fellas – a perfect chance to showoff your organization skills!

And remember: No matter what happens, it's just a date.

Have fun ♥♥♥

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My First Post (Date)!

Welcome to Just a Date – a blog that shares fun adventures and things to do around the Greater Vancouver area, whether just with friends or that special someone.

My name is Sandy and I’m a full time student at the University of British Columbia. Blogging has always been something I wanted to try. However, I wanted to join the Blogosphere with some sort of message.

During a lunch with my friend AG, it occurred to me that it was hard to find fun places to go in Vancouver. It wasn’t because our city is anything less than spectacular; I just couldn’t come up with places to go until it was too late.

Within hours, I solidified this idea and mapped out I wanted to do with this blog. I believe we all want to be romantic and fun, but the finer details often elude us. Luckily, this is where I can help. I want to help plan dates and outings. Essentially, I aim to introduce new things for people to try in Vancouver.

That night, I shared my ideas with my buddies DL and AG and we embarked on finding the perfect name for the blog. After a long discussion, DL came up with “Just A Date” and within 12 hours, I had started my own blog.

If you would like more information on Just A Date, please get in touch with me through my contact page.

Have fun ♥♥♥

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