5 Things I Tried At This Year’s Cherry Blossom Food Festival

Pretty petals, amazing events, and overall beautiful spring weather— what more could you ask for? For me, the seasonal cherry blossom-inspired treats are the best part. This year’s Vancouver Cherry Blossom Food Festival features 22 local businesses from various neighbourhoods in the city, all offering indulgent menu items that will have you coming back for more. This self-guided food tour is the perfect opportunity to spend a day café-hopping and trying their seasonal items.

Fufú Café

If your friends prefer waffles over pancakes, take them to Fufú Café. Instead of the usual dense pancakes, Fufú serves up fluffy and airy soufflé pancakes that melt in your mouth the moment you take a bite. This cherry blossom season, Fufú introduces a special sakura strawberry panna cotta soufflé pancake ($19) to its menu, combining the cloud-like pancakes with a sakura strawberry white chocolate ganache whipped cream and house-made panna cotta. Top the pancakes with a generous serving of strawberry jam and you’ll have yourself a delectable treat to start the day. I also tried the sakura-cha ($8.75), which is a cherry blossom dirty matcha latte topped with strawberry cream and matcha powder. fufusoufflepancake.com

Address: 1266 W Broadway

Opening hours: Tuesday—Sunday 10a.m.–6p.m.

Drunken Chocolatier

This artisan chocolatier is all about using local ingredients and products in their chocolates. The blossom-themed chocolate box ($27) has nine different flavours that are delicious in their own right, but the stand outs have to be the Umeshu Amaretto Sour and Bee’s Knees. The Umeshu Amaretto Sour is a sweet but boozy chocolate that mixes a housemade sour plum whisky with a Sons of Vancouver amaretto-spiked dark chocolate ganache. Jane’s Honey Bees wildflower honey, Suntory Roku gin and kalamansi white chocolate ganache come together to form the zesty and exquisite Bee’s Knees. drunkenchocolatier.com 

Address: 223 W Broadway #108

Opening hours: Wednesday, Friday 11a.m.–5.30p.m.; Saturday 12p.m.–6p.m.; Sunday 12p.m.–5p.m.

Sunny M Specialty Coffee & Tea

People usually visit this cozy café in Richmond for its Formosa teas and craft coffees, but may we suggest skipping your usual order and opting for its seasonal offerings this time? While the Strawberry Zen Master ($9)—an earthy matcha with strawberry puree—is a solid choice, the Caramel Matcha Maestro ($8.75) takes the cake. The full-bodied ceremonial grade matcha pairs perfectly with a smooth shot of espresso, milk, and sweet caramel. sunnymspecialty.com

Address: 4540 No. 3 Road #1345, Richmond

Opening hours: Daily 9a.m.–5.30p.m.

Tutto Belle Il Gelato

You may know about Tutto Belle Il Gelato when it gained popularity for its mochi gelato, and they’ve released a special flavour this cherry blossom season. A delicate cherry blossom strawberry gelato is wrapped in a soft mochi and topped with whipped cream and a juicy strawberry ($7.95). Tutto Belle has also released an exclusive flavour for the festival, which is a creamy cherry blossom genmaicha gelato ($6.85) that marries florals with roasted green tea and brown rice. tuttobelleilgelato.ca 

Address: 2151 W 4th Avenue

Opening hours: Monday–Friday 1p.m.–10p.m.; Saturday–Sunday 12p.m.–10p.m.

Whisk Matcha Café x Level V Bakery

Miffy-lovers, this one’s for you. Whisk Matcha Café and Level V Bakery have come together to bring a delicious plant-based parfait with the adorable bunny at the forefront ($13.95). The housemade hojicha custard is light and does not overwhelm the other flavours like the sweet red bean and sakura ice cream, and the strawberry cornflakes were the perfect crunchy addition to a parfait filled with soft and chewy components. Don’t be like me though—control yourself and take lots of pictures before digging in. whiskmatcha.ca

Address: 39 Kingsway

Opening hours: Daily 9a.m.–6p.m.

Café-hopping routes

If you’re a busy bee who doesn’t have many days off, or simply a café fanatic who wants to hit up as many cafés as possible, a good café-hopping route is essential. As you’ve seen, there’s a lot to try at each venue, so grab some friends if you’re hoping to try everything there is to offer.

Fairview–Mount Pleasant

The Fairview–Mount Pleasant route is not for the faint of heart, as this route hits up five cafés in one go. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of walking between each spot to offset those calories. Start your journey with a fluffy pancake at Fufú Café and take the 9 down to AVIK Café for a mochi gelato. After all the sweet treats, stroll down West Broadway and pick up a box of sakura-themed chocolates at Drunken Chocolatier. Head up Columbia Street for lunch and a delicate sakura and strawberry shiratama latte at Nana’s Green Tea, and finally, end your day with the cute Miffy parfait at Whisk Matcha Café.

Richmond

There are three spots to hit up in Richmond, and they’re all pretty close to each other. Drop by popular fruit tea chain Sweet7 for a refreshing Strawberry Coconut Candy drink and walk it off by shopping around at the Aberdeen Centre. Grab some lunch before heading over to Sunny M Specialty Coffee & Tea for earthy matcha lattes. End your café-hop at Daan Go Cake Lab with a flaky sakura croissant and sakura macarons.