Vancouver Voyage | DAY 7: Metrotown + Crystal Mall

The annual trip to Burnaby is inevitable. Metrotown is the next largest shopping destination to Pacific Centre, as well as a major transit hub; Crystal Mall is the must-visit stop for all things Asian, including bubble tea, K-pop merchandise, and Japanese/Korean beauty products.

I've been contemplating the various possible routes to this destination since the second day of my arrival. The SkyTrain enables one to reach Metrotown from Richmond by first travelling to Waterfront station in downtown on the Canada Line and transferring to the eastbound Expo Line. This trip would span a total of fifty minutes.
Other options would involve riding the SkyTrain to Oakridge-41st Avenue or Langara-49th Avenue and hopping on an eastbound bus. Depending on bus and train frequency, the combined SkyTrain and bus option had the potential to be fifteen to twenty minutes quicker.

Setting out around 12:30 pm, I had hoped to avoid the peak hour rush while still reaping the benefits of higher-frequency weekday transit schedules. Sadly, the outbound journey wasn't as efficient as I had hoped. Opting train-bus route that involved taking the 49 from Langara station, it was quite a dismal feeling to observe two westbound buses arrive, and then depart while the group of riders gradually accumulated on the south side of E 49th.
It eventually pulled in with a delay of approximately six minutes, and somehow managed to surpass the other 49 bus in front during the excursion.

​Nearing 2:00 pm, my stomach began to lurch from hunger. Not quite in the mood for Curry Express or Nando's, I simply headed to Pinkberry, thinking that I'd likely obtain a savoury item later in the day to munch upon.

My first visit to the West Coast franchise had been remarkably positive, so I had been hoping for the same experience. The store was void of any customers when I made my entrance, which explained the absence of any staff members behind the counter. This situation didn't persist though - a friendly, cheerful girl soon appeared from the back to assist me.

A small cup of Pineapple and Original yogurt was chosen since my all-time favourite green tea flavour was, regrettably, unavailable. As with majority of frozen yogurt stores (Yogoberri is an exception), it melted fairly quickly; the frozen dessert began to that from the top down, leading one particularly forceful scoop to send a blackberry flying onto my white shirt before hitting the floor. (I'm not quite sure why I hadn't requested a waffle cone despite my rants about the East Coast franchises.)

What is a Shiatsu Clinic? (Hi Rilakkuma!)

Following the intense scrubbing of the depressing berry stain, I continued to wander around the neighbouring shops. After delving into Artbox in search of K-Pop merchandise, I strode into Manzano Bakery, which was located directly across.

Manzano Bakery, officially termed "Manzano Europa Bakery", is interesting in that they are one of the few retailers within Metrotown in possession of their own dining area, which is "fenced off" from the regular patent leather mall seating and consists of thin-framed chairs. In addition to an impressive assortment of pastries, breads, cookies, and biscotti, Manzano also offers a basic selection of caffeinated drinks to accompany their creations.

At first, I order a slice of Coffee Cake and an Iced Latte, only to find that the shop only accepts cash or debit as payment. Ultimately, I walk away with the only $2.79 slice of espresso-infused cake in hand.

​The layers of the cake are absolutely scrumptious! It's difficult to pinpoint the exact points of interest as there are several aspects that truly amazed me: the sections of sponge cake were subtly sweet and fluffy, but still firm to fork into. A slick glaze and the addition of a few raisins contributed to the overall indulgence the cake. (And let's be honest: the box is nice too.)

Once satisfied with my achievements at Metrotown, I ventured over to Crystal Mall.

Priorities in mind, I headed in the direction of the second floor washroom, only to be surprised that the crepe stall that I had greatly praised two years ago had now been taken over by Shiny Tea.

A small lineup had formed near the stall, but in contrast to the Aberdeen Square location, it moved very quickly. From what could be seen from the other side of the counter, there were three members of staff crafting drink orders and one member handling the cashier. This number was identical to that of Aberdeen's, except I noticed that there were no stern-faced manager-like authorities present at Crystal Mall.

The girl at the cashier was friendly, efficient, and very loveable, even adjusting the speed at which she took (and repeated) orders according to the degree of urgency in customers' voices. Drink orders that had been completed for pick up were called out in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English - three languages/dialects in which all the girls were competent in communicating proficiently.

​I gave the Honey Tieguanyin a second try; the Crystal Mall location had created an even stronger brew, which succeeded in blowing me away with each sip as I browsed the remainder of the two-floor shopping centre.

I wanted my return commute to be a tad different than my outbound route, so I opted to take the Expo Line to Waterfront before transferring to the Richmond-bound Canada Line, all against my better judgement.

It hadn't exactly occurred to me that I was now travelling in the midst of rush hour. There was a moderate amount of traffic on the Expo Line, but the Canada Line was as packed as crowded as could be. Limited space was available for breathing, let alone seating to relive me of my sore feet.

The trains for the Expo Line were more compact - an indication that it had been designed for a lesser capacity. Distance between seats was far less spacious, meaning that accessibility within the car was almost non-existent. Designated bike spots were also nowhere to be seen.
Vancouver's Canada and Expo Lines can be compared to TTC's Line 1 and Line 2 respectively, with the exception that the Expo Line was a tad more cramped, was less grimy, and remained properly ventilated throughout the journey. Both SkyTrain routes allowed access to satellite and cellular networks, whereas TTC only functioned with particular service providers.

The commute didn't conclude after the incredibly packed SkyTrain ride though; hoards of commuters ran for the fare gates after exiting the train - some quick-footed and some painfully snail-like, but all rushing to tap their Compass Card on the not-so-sensitive fare gate. A lengthy lineup then ensued at each of the main bus bays.

​I was out of the house for approximately six hours, yet almost half of that time was spent in transit. Area-wise, Mississauga supersedes that of Vancouver and Burnaby combined. Yet oddly enough, travelling from one end of the neighbouring city to the next requires twice the travel time. Let's also not forget that congestion is horrid even at off-peak hours.

That said, I declare my first-hand BC transit study to come to a close for the day. Further research shall be conducted during my stay.

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