C Market Coffee: Yelp elite event in Coquitlam
C Market Coffee is a local coffee shop in Coquitlam that opened in 2018. They create specialty grade coffees from different microlots, arranging a location where growers, families, and artisans can be connected in one single location.
They also have a brunch and new dinner menu focusing on fresh ingredients and healthy living. I was invited to try out their new dinner menu as part of a Yelp Elite.
Interior
The interior of C Market Coffee is quite modern and trendy. It is a decent sized cafe with open seating. They have an on-site roastery, which is pretty cool. Usually, you order via the counter (cafeteria style), but for the Yelp Elite event, they had tables and servers set up for us.
Coffee
This place is a coffee shop so it doesn’t feel right to not talk about the coffee. The owner, Bridgette, is a super nice lady who seems very passionate about making good coffee. The manager, Danielle, even gave us all a demo on pour overs and how to brew better coffee at home.
We get to try some of their pour over coffee, specifically the El Salvador. Unfortunately, I am not a big coffee drinker because it makes my bowel system go crazy, so I can’t comment much on the taste of the coffee. If you are a coffee lover, I am sure they have the right one for you as their coffee menu is quite extensive and detailed. A cup of coffee will cost you around $2-6 depending on what you order.
Food
We are here to try their new dinner menu, but they also have a brunch menu and all-day breakfast menu on their website.
As part of the Yelp Elite event, we are seated into tables of 6 and we get to share 2 appetizers, 5 mains and 2 desserts!
Appetizers
Roasted beet salad
The first appetizer we receive is a very beautifully plated roasted beet salad. This salad consists of beets, cherry tomatoes, orange, radish, arugula, candied pecan, whipped lemon goat cheese and a citrus mustard dressing. Regular price for this dish is $12.
I’m not a vegetarian so normally, I would not order this dish. However, I do really like beets and this salad roasts them, which makes them taste even better. I also really like the candied pecan and whipped lemon goat cheese – gives it a bit of sweet and savoury. The mustard dressing is interesting as well and goes well with everything.
Gangnam Chicken
The second appetizer is KFC (korean fried chicken)! We have some korean spicy fried chicken on top of romain lettuce and a Jalapeno cheese sauce. They also add a bunch of crispy scallion and a house pickle. Regular price for this appetizer is $10.
So I love fried chicken, especially Korean fried chicken because I find they just fry them better (more crunchy, less oily). My standard for KFC is pretty high so I can’t say I would order this again. I just find the chicken to be not fried enough as they use very little batter.
As you will read later on in this post, their foods definitely center on healthy and wellness (lots of salads and bowls).
Mains
Buddha bowl
The first main we try is some sort of a bulgogi bowl. Bulgogi literally means “fire meat” and is Korean for thin marinated slices of meat on a BBQ. In this bowl we have this korean style meat, lots of spinach and other vegetables like bell peppers and scallions. The dressing is gochujang (red pepper paste).
I like the marinated meat and how big the bowl is in terms of portion size. I do find it slightly strange to have rice in the bottom – it’s kind of like the regular bibimbap but missing a lot of other ingredients.
Smoked Salmon Bowl
The second main we try is the smoked salmon bowl. It looks very healthy with a generous blob of smoked salmon in the middle of the bowl. Around it we have avacado, cucumber, onions, scallions, and red cabbage. Underneath is rice and it is sprinkled with a few garlic flakes. The dressing on the side is charred scallion dressing (not spicy). Regular price for this dish is $14.50.
I like smoked salmon so I enjoy this bowl and all of its healthy goodness. Again, portion size is pretty huge and enough to share with 6 people!
Breakfast bowl
Next we have a breakfast bowl, which is a little smaller than the other bowls that have come out previously but it is still packed with food. In the bowl there are scrambled eggs, minced beef, cherry tomatoes, corn, avocado and a sprinkle of cheese. It kind of makes me think of a burrito.
I’m a big breakfast person and I’m sure this will certainly feed a hungry university student, but if I was at C Market Coffee for breakfast/lunch, I’d probably order an eggs benny over this breakfast bowl.
Temple bowl
The temple bowl is a vegan main. Upon first glance, my eyes latch onto the fried tofu balls, but the bowl has a bunch of other healthy goodies like avocado, Kimchi slaw, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and beets over a bed of quinoa. Regular price for this dish is $14.
I am also not vegan, so again, I would never order this dish on a normal day but it is yummy! The tofu balls are fried well and gives it a nice crunch and soft texture. All the vegetables are fresh and the quinoa is cooked well.
Bulgogi bowl
The last main we try is the bulgogi bowl. C Market Coffee’s bulgogi bowl includes bell peppers, onions, mushroom, spinach, Kimchi slaw and a fried egg. At the bottom of the bowl is rice and you can mix in your choice of gochujang. Regular price for this dish is $14.50.
This is my favourite main because I love bulgogi and I love fried egg. But I am also blown away by how tasty the mushrooms are!
Portion size for this bulgogi bowl is gigantic. You will not be able to finish it as one person. The only downfall to this dish is that it’s not in a hot stone bowl so you don’t get that crispy rice, but this option is much healthier.
Desserts
C Market Coffee also offers a variety of desserts as part of their bakery offerings.
(Giant) macarons
These are giant. GIANT. Each one is around the size of my palm, which is pretty crazy.
We get to try different flavours – green tea, strawberry, yuzu (lemon), sesame and earl grey. Since we are sharing as a table, I don’t get to taste every flavour, but I do get to try the green tea, sesame and earl grey. The green tea is very sweet and resembles the taste of a matcha kit kat bar. The sesame macaron is yummy as well with a subtle black sesame flavour, which is not very common for macarons. Lastly, the earl grey kind of tastes like a marshmallow to me.
Rice cake churros
The last dessert we try are rice cake churros. These look like french fries but they are actually rice cakes cut into that shape. The sauce on the side is chocolate sauce.
The rice cake churros are kind of crunchy on the outside as they coat them in cinnamon, similar to a churro, but the inside is still chewy. I personally am not a big fan of chocolate (yea you can stop reading my blog now. What kind of food blogger doesn’t like chocolate right lol), so I didn’t like the sauce with it, but I’m sure children will.
Final thoughts
I really enjoyed C Market Coffee’s Yelp Elite event. It’s obvious they care a lot about their coffee and how their food is made, so being a socially responsible business is always a plus in my books.
All the dishes have one common theme: healthy and fresh. They are generous with their portions and even more generous with their vegetable servings. Even their macarons are big (lol)! Definitely check this place out if you are into healthy eating and specialty coffees. C Market Coffee is conveniently located near the Coquitlam Silver City movie theatre.
Sincerely, Loewe
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