I believe the first time I went to this bubble tea joint/Taiwanese restaurant sometime last year during or after the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. I remember because Will mentioned it and I had never heard of it before. Located on the busy Alexandra Road in Richmond, which is just overflowing with restaurants, Twinkle 2 is a spin-off of Twinkle, another similar place down the street. I’ve never been to that one but I’ll just assume they’re mostly the same.
Bubble tea places have dominate Alexandra Road, popular with the younger crowd looking for places they can sit and chat with friends over brightly colored drinks full of tapioca and tasty, inexpensive food which can be snacks or tapas to be shared or meals if you order larger portions. They’re also licensed and open late so I’ve found myself here late at night more than just a couple times. Surprisingly, the patrons are usually rather quiet compared to other places on the same street that cater to the same crowd. The interior is comfortable and well, odd and interesting. There’s neon lighting in corners and a shelf above the bar holds a row of collectible (and somewhat expensive) toys.
I came with a few of my friends for dinner and although there was only one other table occupied, service was a tad slow. Twinkle 2 is rather understaffed most of the time, I assume since every time I’m here, the whole place is worked by a single waitress.
This is my order, crispy chicken nuggets on rice, a standard by which I usually judge most Taiwanese restaurants/bubble tea joints. Twinkle 2 has a rather good example of this dish as the chicken is seasoned well and not overly battered. There’s bits of skin still attached to the dark meat pieces to lend extra crispiness and flavor. The sides were good as well. I’m not a fan of cabbage but I do enjoy seaweed and the rice is livened up by a little meat sauce on top.
My friends’ orders include this seafood noodle soup…
…this deep-fried pork chop noodle soup…
…and this tobiko (fish roe) and eel fried rice. I’ve had this before and it’s excellent. I know some people aren’t into eating eel since they’re not great looking when they’re alive but eel is absolutely delicious. The rice is moist, fluffy and full of unagi flavor. This is one of several dishes with a sort of Japanese influence but the food is decidedly Taiwanese.
Although Twinkle 2 is a decent option for bubble tea and Taiwanese food in Richmond, there’s several things going against them. The parking lot they’re in is one of the most difficult to navigate and as with every other place on Alexandra Road, it is perpetually full even at the strangest hours. The food at Twinkle 2 is actually rather good value but their drinks are a bit more expensive than most other places. Also, pay attention to what you’re ordering as the menu has a bunch of extra charges for various options for drinks. I ended up paying for something I didn’t know cost extra…but mostly because I didn’t read that part.
Twinkle 2 isn’t bad. There are some very tasty menu items but nothing in particular stands out among the thousands of similar places located in the surrounding strip malls but if you want a nice place to hang out with friends for awhile over bubble tea, then give Twinkle 2 a try.
