Estea Beverage Club (Burnaby)

Estea Beverage Club has been operating in Burnaby for as long as I remembered. I must have passed by it hundreds of times but only made it in a couple times. There wasn’t once that I recalled a great experience there; needless to say, there wouldn’t be a good incentive for me to return. However, Lun told me about his surprisingly good dining experience there which sparked my interests. I thought – why not give it another try and see?

The interior seemed have gone through a bit of renovation – at least it was different than what I remembered. Also – it’s operating with similar style as Bubble World and The One. That made me even more curious about how the food would taste like.

Assorted Marinated Items

 At first we thought we were only allowed to choose a few from the list, but our server said it included all – Dried tofu, marinated egg, marinated fish cake, seaweed and chicken wings. It was pretty sizeable for its price and provided good variety as well.

Meaty Sauce on Rice

They had this one special with choice of black or green tea. There were quite a bit of meat but the sauce could have been a bit more.

Beef Noodle Soup

The beef was very tender and full of flavour. I was glad to see they didn’t cheap out on the pickled cabbage (unlike many other places). The broth wasn’t overly watery nor salty – it was quite enjoyable and a bit towards sweet side.

Pickled Cabbage Hot Pot with Pork

There was quite a bit of ingredient in the hot pot and it came with three side dishes. The broth was fine but it could have used a little more pepper to bring in a little more kick.

Deep Fried Salty & Peppery Chicken

It was a good size in portion and the chicken was boneless. The outside wasn’t as crispy as it could have been.

Deep Fried Pork Chop with Spicy Soy Sauce

I thought the spicy soy sauce wasn’t really that spicy – it did have a bit of kick though. The pork chop came with rice and two sides. Portion-wise, it was fine. The deep fried pork chop was a bit soft.

Since we all had a “surprisingly good” moment with our first visit, we went back again to try other items.

Crispy Tofu

­The tofu skin was quite crispy and it was very soft on the inside. Besides the soy sauce drizzle, the item also came with pickled cucumber and sweet and spicy sauce.

Spicy Tofu Hot Pot

This was quite spicy and if we have known, we would have asked it to be made mild. The taste was not too bad but a bit towards the saltier side once we got to the button. The item also came with a bowl of rice and two sides.

Kimchi Tofu Soup with Seafood

This was surprisingly not as spicy. When you ordered this, you can choose to have it with seafood, pork, beef or chicken. Ours was with seafood and the broth was quite nice. There was quite a bit of ingredients to go with the rice and two sides that were given.

Deep Fried Pork Chop with Black Pepper Sauce

Similar to our last experience, the pork chop was quite soft and was lukewarm when it came. It felt like they had fried it ahead of time. The black pepper sauce was also just okay.

Satay Beef Fried Noodle

The portion of this fried noodle was quite small. Or perhaps it’s our perception with the big plate it came with. The beef was pretty chewy and the noodle was too soft.

3-Spices Chicken with Rice

This has quite a strong flavour and would definitely need to go with rice. The chicken was bone in and there were quite a bit of broken little bones, making it less enjoyable.

The overall taste was quite decent but it was also a bit of hit-&-miss. The service was alright – they were quite courteous and attentive at least for our visits. The portion for some items was a bit smaller than expected. I think it’s not a bad option to go especially when Bubble World is super busy and the price at The One is creeping up a bit too much.