There was a lot of hype about The BBT Shop located under Superstore in Richmond. The photos online of their bubble waffles looked good but there's room for improvement.

I ordered the matcha red bean waffle and took the photo from the nicer side. The bubbles on the other side of the waffle were dented and exposed red bean pieces due to lack of batter. There was only a slight matcha taste and uneven distribution of the small amount of red bean. It would have been nice if there was more red bean so that it doesn't taste like a plain bubble waffle.

Matcha red bean bubble waffle

The drink is a lavender hot chocolate and I couldn't finish it. It didn't have any chocolate taste and was much too sweet from the heavy dose of lavender syrup. We requested hot water to add to the beverage to water down the sweetness but it was still much too sweet to consume. They did offer to add more milk to the drink though, so if you're unsatisfied with your drink it seems that they are accommodating to fix it.

Lavender hot chocolate

Overall, I think there is potential for The BBT Shop as it was able to generate hype but they have to improve on the quality of their products.

Coffee Monster is only a short walk from Lougheed Skytrain station and various other establishments on North Road. There is free WiFi, including Shaw Open, and big windows to let in light.

Interior of Coffee Monster

 I didn't try any desserts this time around but there was a good selection.

Desserts

I ordered the passionfruit mango iced tea. On the menu it read "Iced Tea (real fruit)" so I imagined the drink would be seeped tea made cold with slices or cubes of real fruit in it. Turns out it was a well blended concoction of real fruit that didn't taste much like tea at all. I really enjoyed it because it was refreshing with slight tartness to balance out the sweetness.

Overall this is a great place to hang out or study, which we observed many of the other customers doing.