While we recently covered the opening of Asian Canadian brunch eatery Breakfast Table, here are two spots that have opened up in downtown Vancouver to offer some new takes on Asian food and drink to check out: a Korean barbecue joint and a Taiwanese drink shop.

Cup-a-Korea

Korean food fans on the go will be pleased to know that a new downtown spot will help them grab a bite on the run—and a barbecued bite, at that.

Cupbop Canada opened up in the last week of September in the downtown core at 995 Hornby Street at the corner of Nelson Street.

The menu offers a handful of familiar Korean faves that comes with rice or noodles. For barbecued options, there's beef bulgogi, chicken bulgogi, spicy pork, and squid.

Whether you're vegetarian, health-conscious, or just want to eat vegetables, an option for veggie-seekers is japchae, made with stir-fried sweet potato noodles and vegetables.

All come in a convenient cup (hence, the name) and go for $9.95 each. If you're hungry enough to devour two items in a cup, it's $13.95.

But for those who want to chow down at the premises, there are benches and tables in the brisk and breezy spot.

The emperor's new teashop

Another Asian drink company is entering Vancouver's competitive market.

Taiwan-based Gong Cha has opened up at 386 Robson Street across from the Vancouver Public Library's central branch.

The company already has two locations in Ontario: one in Markham and another in North York. But since being established in 2006, it also opened over 1,000 stores in over 10 countries, from places such as Thailand, Cambodia, and Malaysia to New Zealand and Australia.

The name refers to tea that was served as tributes to Chinese emperors, and thus the highest-quality tea available.

There's brewed tea (from black tea to wintermelon oolong) and an extensive list of milk teas (such as royal milk, caramel, coconut taro, earl grey, or sesame).

Smoothie-lovers have plenty of options with flavours like passion fruit, lychee, grapefruit, and matcha.

The "moustache" series features drinks featuring a moustache-inducing (if you don't use a straw) milk foam layer and made with teas, but there are also caffeine-free versions, such as wintermelon.

Plus there's all manner of inventive choices like peach yogurt drink, lemon green tea with ai-yu jelly, lemon wintermelon with basil seeds, or brown sugar oolong milk tea with coffee jelly.

Some options include red bean, grass jelly, pearls, basil seeds, and more.

If you stand looking at the menu stunned by the sheer volume of choices, we won't blame you.