BlackBall Canada – the Best Taiwanese Dessert in Vancouver

BlackBall Canada is about to open their BC’s first location in Richmond, and I was lucky enough to have a sneak peak of their menu and some of the signature dessert items. It is a bright and spacious corner store, located at the Union Square. Unlike majority of the dessert places in Vancouver, it has two floors. Although the second floor is still under construction, I am excited to be up there once they opened to the public. Now let’s get into the real talk!

BlackBall Canada features authentic Taiwanese dessert and associated the brand with ball mascots. They are used to signify the store membership. You will get a fuzzy black ball keychain, and you can get all menu items at a discounted price. Its membership card can be used across Canada, so I will definitely come back just to get the keychain.

One thing I love about BlackBall Canada is “customization”. Customers can choose their recommended bowls on the menu, but also customize the bowl fully by picking their favourite toppings. We tried a bit of everything on the menu, including:

• Blackball Supreme / $18.90
• Forest Matcha Ice / $12.95
• Agar Aiyu Jelly / $7.95 (reg)
• Blackball Grass Jelly / $7.50 (reg)
• Matcha Jelly / $5.50
• Assorted toppings that offered in store

Blackball Grass Jelly arrives first. The grass jelly flavoured ice crumble is served with fresh grass jelly, organic red ean, TaroQ, YamQ, pearls, konjac jelly, and black sugar. The dairy creamer here is imported from Taiwan. The Taro Q and Yam Q are one of the signature toppings that are only available in BlackBall. The cubes are handmade and contain 95% of the main ingredients (taro or yam) and only 5% of starch. They look similar as the taro and sweet potato balls, but with a stronger flavor and chewier bite. I also love the addition of Konjac Jelly (????) because it is a refreshing, gelatine-like topping with low-calorie and low-sugar.

Agar Aiyu Jelly conversely tastes more like a summer-like dessert. The winter melon flavoured ice is served with aloe vera, coconut jelly, crystal pearls, aiyu jelly, taro balls, and sweet potato balls. Unlike the Q cubes, the Taro Balls and Sweet Potato Balls are softer, with a mochi-like texture. Aiyu Jelly has the same texture as the grass jelly, but sweeter and more citrusy. This bowl is lighter, and I can probably eat one bowl by myself. I hope there were more ice though.

Blackball Supreme has a bit of everything, and the bowl can probably feed 3 to 4 people. I recommend ordering this, if you all crave for the same thing. It is a cheaper option, rather than ordering individual bowls. Again, I would ask for an extra scoop or two of ice crumble.

We also tried the Forest Matcha Ice. This combo comes with the shave ice drizzled in matcha syrup and condensed milk, matcha pudding or matcha jelly, and toppings including red beans, rice balls, and barley. I am not sure if you can substitute any toppings, but I would prefer Matcha Mini (see below) than barley. The shaved ice has a strong matcha flavor, and the touch of sweetness from red bean and condensed milk is on point.

The difference between the Matcha Pudding and Matcha Jelly is that the pudding has milk, but the jelly does not. Using premium matcha powder, both pudding and jelly have a pungent and bittersweet flavour. They are not overly sweet, and I highly recommend to order them. They are super jiggly, so I just kept playing with them!

Lastly, we tried all other toppings that we haven’t tried in previous dessert bowls, including Taro Mini, Yam Mini, Sesame Mini, and Matcha Mini. All mini balls are handmade, and the most memorable ones are definitely the black sesame and matcha flavours. They are chewy with pungent flavours, especially the black sesame one. Meanwhile, I would prefer ordering the bigger version of Taro and Yam Mini, because their flavors are subtle in such a small bite.

I also ordered a drink, Fresh Milk with Purple Rice & Mini Balls. Unfortunately, I did not try the drink, but my friend said it was delicious, and she would come back to try other items here.

Overall Impression

Comparing to Meet Fresh, I think I have a better experience with BlackBall Canada. Not only it has way more toppings, all their bowls are 100% customizable. The portion and price is more reasonable, so you won’t get stuffed after. In addition to their classic grass jelly bowls, I highly recommend to try the Matcha Pudding and Matcha Jelly. The Q cubes and Taro & Sweet Potato Balls are my favourite toppings. Though the store is not opened to public yet, but make sure to follow their social media for their actual grand opening. I hope to see some of you there!

Taste : 4.5/5 • Service: N/A • Ambiance: 4/5 • Quality-Price: 4/5

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Disclosure: Media Tasting