3 Quarters Full Cafe – Quality Over Quantity
3 Quarters Full (aka known as “3 Full 4” by Meta Knight) Cafe is a little mom and pop Taiwanese cafe situated on Comox Street, just off of Denman, and one/two blocks away from Peaked Pies Vancouver.
This is a very unassuming cafe and you can easily miss this if you don’t look hard enough.
I came here two times within the same week just because I liked the food so much and I wanted to bring everyone I knew to try it. Their menu is simplistic and they serve only a few signature items: Baos (steamed buns), Cheesecake, Naidong roll (Taiwanese cake roll), and Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken.
They have a very enticing glass case right near the entrance with lots of delicious freshly baked pastries and buns on display. I was so tempted!
I was so close to getting a Pineapple Bun but I figured I should go for their signature baos instead. 😀
My friend got the Pork Belly Bao + Lychee Slush ($9.50) and she loved it! The bao was incredibly soft and supple while the pork belly was tender. She did mention that the portion was a little too small for lunch though because we ended up getting hungry very shortly after and had to get the Naidong roll for dessert. 😛
I got the Matcha Latte + Popcorn Chicken Bao ($9.50). For ten bucks, yes this is expensive (considering I can get a bowl of filling ramen for this price). However, with every little detail of this meal, you can tell the product was made with love and high quality ingredients. When we looked through the window into the ‘kitchen’, we even saw the chef making pastries using ingredients we normally would use at home. Whole fresh eggs, real milk, everything.
This popcorn chicken was probably one of the best Taiwanese popcorn chickens I’ve ever had, and despite it looking very lackluster being paired with two thin slices of cucumber, it somehow worked! I would highly recommend getting this item.
One of the things I knew I had to try when I visited was this Naidong Roll ($4.50). They have two flavours: Vanilla with strawberry and cream, and Matcha with red bean and cream. From what I’ve heard, Naidong rolls are a traditional Taiwanese dessert and it’s unlike a regular Swiss Roll. The difference is the cream inside. Naidong rolls have a block of custard-like filling that is more gelatinous and tastes like pudding.
I got the regular Naidong roll and overall I thought it was really good! The cake was soft, light and had just the right amount of sweetness. As for the custard, it’s super hard to describe what it tastes like or even compare it to something else because it is unlike anything I’ve ever eaten. The closest thing I can compare it to is a very light block of custard. Super delicious though.
I tried the Matcha Naidong on another occasion and it was very similar to the regular one. The matcha flavour was light so don’t expect to get any deep green tea flavour here.
Overall, I would absolutely come back to 3 Quarters Full Cafe. The food is solid, the family behind this cafe makes me want to support them, and I think they’re doing something really unique here by serving something no other cafe is doing in Vancouver (Naidong rolls). I’d recommend giving this cafe a try if you’re in the area and want a quiet place to study. However, don’t expect to be super full from their food because it is quality over quantity here.
Service Rating: 2.5/5
Food Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $$
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Happy Eating!
