Out & About #88 | Toronto Things: Frappy Hour + More Mabu Station + ZenQ

It happens about once a season and enables one to only pay half of what is normally charged - Frappuccino Happy Hour (or as many of us call it, "Frappy Hour").
This year's Frappy Hour period took place between May 1 to May 10, and though I'm slightly ashamed to admit to it, I probably purchased more Frappuccinos during this period than I have during the last four months. (Yikes!)

The sole non-Frappuccino purchase was this Iced Mocha.
(I confess to trying the newly-released S'Mores frap on more than one occasion.)

( From L to R, top to btm:

• Double Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino
• Vanilla Bean Frappuccino w/ Cool Lime Juice, Chocolate Chips, and Mocha Drizzle, S'Mores Frappuccino w/ Cookie Straw, Green Tea Frappuccino w/ Peppermint Syrup and Chocolate Chips
• Green Tea Frappuccino w/ S'Mores whipped cream and graham cracker topping
• Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino, Green Tea Frappuccino w/ Peppermint Syrup, Chocolate Chips, and Crunch Topping
• Vanilla Bean Frappuccino w/ Orange-Mango Juice and Blended Frozen Blackberries
• S'Mores Frappuccino, Mocha Frappuccino w/ Raspberry Syrup )

There's no better time to try out the Secret Menu than when all fraps are 50% off, so I took to Pinterest for some inspiration.

One of my favourite all-time creations is actually not a secret menu item, but rather the Halloween-limited Frankenfrap. The spooky drink uses a Green Tea Frappuccino base and adds to it chocolate drizzle, peppermint syrup, and chocolate chips; there's simply nothing like it.
For times when I was more adventurous, I combined the Green Tea and S'Mores flavours in a mini cup (which, by the way, is cute to look at, but severely overpriced and just not worth it) and added Cool Lime juice to a Vanilla Bean Frap (didn't taste it at all though) In addition, two other drinks I tried involved injecting a bit of Raspberry syrup into a Mocha Frap (though that didn't taste that great) and blending a Vanilla Bean Frappuccino with Orange-Mango juice and frozen blackberries for a more fruity vibe.
Majority of the slushie-drinks were actually pretty good! I definitely recommend getting a little creative if you enjoy customizing your drinks.


I had planned to meet a friend (who also brought another one of her own) at Finch later in the evening and proceeded to board the subway from Union during rush hour.

We met shortly after, but couldn't quite decide upon a place to dine. After some repetitive strides down Yonge, it was suggested that we go to Mabu Station.
After my previous experience the day before, I was less than thrilled to hear this, but had no choice in the end as majority prevailed.

We ordered a Creamy Cheese Udon w/ Smoked Salmon and Bacon, along with a bowl of Minced Meat on Rice.
Service still remained to be as lacking as ever, but at least we didn't need to wait for an empty table.

As always, the entire album can be found HERE.


I had been dying to try out some of zenQ's desserts for some time; with the tea house being just a few shops down the street, I had no choice but to forcibly persuade my fellow foodies into accompanying me. We ordered a Creamy Milk Tea Frappe, which was a milk tea-flavoured snow ice that came with large tapioca and coconut/lychee jelly cubes as toppings. We also decided to add matcha-, sweet potato-, and taro-flavoured Q balls to the mix.

I was also curious about their drinks, so I ordered a Grass Jelly Latte to go. I was pretty shocked when I received my drink - about 60% of the drink was grass jelly!
At this point, I feel the need to describe how different types of grass jelly can yield a completely different flavour to the food/drink it is being ordered with: high elasticity, softness/hardness, odour, texture, etc. I find that the addition of grass jelly in bubble teas and desserts generally heighten flavour while adding a refreshing texture, and this one did exactly that!


Once again, the full album with HQ photos can be found HERE.