Vanessa Reviews Boa & Hare
In the hunt for a new matcha shop in the city, Boa & Hare caught my eye in a brief instagram reel. Despite not being a matcha shop, this cozy cafe offers a small variety of matcha options. This was the first time I have visited a cafe that offers a drink as a regular espresso, matcha, or hojicha option! I immediately felt this was a unique shop as many cafes usually will keep certain flavours exclusive to certain drinks.
Boa and Hare’s cafe and lunch menus
Located in Pacific Mall in Chinatown, this cute little location offers Edmontonians a quiet getaway from the hustle of downtown streets. Although not easily accessible or visible from the street, I’m very pleased following my visit! This shop is unique as it serves cafe drinks in the day, and cocktails in the evening. I think this is a great way to diversify the space and expand the cafe’s reach to a greater number of people in the community. This is a great place to visit if you’ve been looking for a reason to head to Chinatown!
They offer a very cute and cozy ambiance!
As mentioned, Boa and Hare is not entirely a matcha shop. Despite offering a small menu selection, the matcha recipes were simple and still offered enough variety for a range of people to enjoy. They also offer a variety of espresso beverages as well if matcha is not your thing. Their food menu has a selection of basic Chinese street food, all fairly priced.
I chose to try the strawberry matcha, the bao sando, and the banana bread. The matcha was smoothly whisked and presented nicely. Despite being a strawberry matcha fanatic, I have never had one that did not use puree as the strawberry flavoring. Boa and Hare utilized a thicker syrup, which made it easier to mix the flavor into the rest of the drink. Since it was a syrup, I did find this drink to be slightly more sweeter than typical strawberry matchas. I still enjoyed it enough that I got a second one for my drive home!
Strawberry matcha, $8.00 before tax.
The bao sando was moderately priced. It came with a side of house salad, a nice complement to the light flavours of the bao, though I found the serving to be pretty small. We chose to try the Taiwanese braised pork as our protein option. It was delightfully tender yet not an overpowering flavour. The bao itself was on the smaller side as well, as is reflected in the price when compared to other bao options in the city. If you’re feeling snackish, this dish is a great option. We also tried their house-made banana bread. Although on the pricier side for what it is (in my opinion, at least), it was quite large, making it perfect for 2 to share. It was served with a strawberry-ginger puree. These aren’t flavours I would normally pair with a banana bread, but they actually all worked together very well.
Bao sando with Taiwanese braised pork, $8.00 before tax.
Banana bread, $7.00 before tax.
The staff at Boa and Hare were also very kind! It is a small shop, and I know from Instagram that one of the owners was working that day. He was a delight and very informative of the menu.
Overall, I give Boa & Hare a 8.5/10!
Written by GAPSS VP Internal Vanessa W.