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Curiously Carmen

Tasty Pho

February 26, 2017 Leave a Comment

When I was in my third year at university, my friends and I would frequently come to Taste of Asia for a cheap and delicious bowl of pho, although laden with so much MSG that copious amounts of water would not suffice. We came here so frequently that the servers recognized us, and we would often engage in conversations with them!

Unfortunately, they changed owners within the past year or so. Taste of Asia became rebranded as Tasty Pho, and they underwent renovations as well. It is no longer a hole in the wall style place but still seems to be family-run. There’s a brand new coat of paint, some big TV screens, new tables and new chairs.

The boyfriend and I came here twice in the last 4 months. Both times, it was because Wah Lun next door was really busy and we didn’t want to wait for a table. The service here is quick and it is never that busy, although the food is decent.

#28, Pho Tai, Nam, Sach, $7.95: This bowl of pho came with rare beef, flank, and tripe. There was a decent amount of meat and tripe. The broth was delicious and fragrant, although a bit more on the salty side. I loved that there was a lot of chopped green onions as well. Overall, very delicious and comforting.

Grilled pork and spring rolls w/ vermicelli, $9.50: The pork was very flavourful with a good amount of lemongrass flavour to it. They do a great job of grilling meats and it’s always very flavourful w a slightly grilled and sweet taste.

The spring rolls were fresh and crunchy as well. The side of veggies were also really fresh, just like my pho.
Overall, Tasty Pho does live up to its’ name and is pretty tasty! Out of the two other Vietnamese places we eat at in this neighbourhood (Coconut Tree and Thai’s Saigon Bistro), Tasty Pho has risen to the top of our list.

Yay!

 

Tasty Pho Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Filed Under: food & drink, noodles, vietnamese

Yu Xiang Yuan Handcrafted Noodles Restaurant

February 11, 2017 6 Comments

If you read my CC Curently (A new series featuring monthly-ish highlights of mah life)post, you would know that I caught a cold in Victoria. Once the boyfriend and I arrived back in Vancouver, it was almost dinner time. Seeing how we were in the middle of that Arctic air snap, we both wanted warm, comforting noodles. The first choice was Deer Garden since we had to drive past it to go home, but then we remembered this restaurant was in the area as well.

This is one of the unusual cases where the boyfriend finds new places to try. For the longest time, we wanted to try this place because we both LOVE handcrafted Lanzhou style noodles. BUT, we couldn’t because we kept on forgetting the name or where it was! Even when writing this post, I had to Google ‘Fraser and 41st noodle restaurant’ to find the name. =P
The restaurant is more on the small side, but the seating still felt pretty comfortable. The decor is a bit all over the place with mismatched chairs (note the more royal red seat covers vs. the others) and mismatched tables (note the white table cloth tables, wooden table, and glass pane table) but that’s when you know it’s a legit Chinese restaurant!
Beef noodles w/ vegetables in soup with dragged noodles, $7.50: For $7.50, this was really worth it and so delicious! The broth was clear and not too heavy, but still full of flavour. There was a generous amount of beef slices and vegetables as well.

And of course… the noodles. DELICIOUS. Lanzhou style noodles are one of my favourite foods ever, and this place nailed it perfectly. They were nice and chewy and soaked up the delicious broth. It was a perfect bowl of noodles for my yucky cold and cold weather.
Dan dan noodles w/ cutting noodle, $7.50: What Lanzhou noodle soup to me, is dan dan noodles to the boyfriend. He loves dan dan noodles due to the peanuts and spiciness. I only tried a small bite since I was sick and didn’t want to aggravate my stomach with the chili oil, and it was really good!

The dan dan noodles had a nice spicy kick to it. There was a strong peanut flavour and a good portion of meat as well.

We both loved our noodles here and will definitely come back when we are craving it! If you’re not familiar with the different types of noodle styles, there are pictures at every table showing you what style it is.

As an added bonus, the free wifi sign at the front of the restaurant says “FREE WIFE” instead of wifi. LOL! Now you definitely know it’s a legit Asian place… typos everywhere and too cheap to print it again.

 

6 Comments
Filed Under: chinese, comfort food, food & drink, noodles

Bai Bua Thai Cuisine (Two Visits)

February 8, 2017 5 Comments

While looking for dinner options for our girls reunion, Cinnamon suggested Bai Bua. She had raved about it before and I’ve heard great things from other people as well! I am really glad we ended up coming here.

This post is a combination of two visits!
Bai Bua is conveniently located in East Van, by Hastings and Nanaimo. Within a couple of blocks, you are in foodie heaven… Tacofino, Red Wagon, East Cafe, Platform 7, Aer Cafe, Sushi Nanaimo… and of course, Bai Bua!

We weren’t sure how busy it was going to be, so I called in to make a reservation for four a few days prior.

Throughout the night, it was pretty quiet, which was good because we had brought our belated Christmas presents to exchange after dinner. Throughout the night, service was pretty decent although there was confusion around them forgetting one of our dishes.

Walking in, I really liked the decor of the restaurant. It felt very cozy and warm, with some hand painted artwork on the walls.
Tom yum noodle soup, $10.90: Cinnamon had been here a couple times before, and said the tom yum noodle soup was pretty good. Despite not being allowed to eat spicy food, she decided to break the rule that night because this soup was just THAT good! It packed a good amount of spice and was a generous portion.
Curry noodle, $11.90: It took us awhile to order because I was having a hard time choosing what to get. Everything sounded so good! In the end, Sangria was nice enough to offer splitting two dishes! The first dish we ordered was the curry noodle. Sangria had also been here before, and really loved these noodles.

All of their curries are made in coconut milk, meaning that it was safe for me to eat! The curry noodles were nice and creamy with a rich broth, and a good amount of spice. There was a combination of both the pad thai noodles and fried egg noodles (I think that’s what it was?).  The protein in the curry noodles was chicken breast, which there was a good amount of.
Roasted duck red curry, $12.90: Originally, Sangria and I had ordered green curry. But after placing the order, we saw the roasted duck special listed on their chalkboard and both wanted that instead! Then, Cocoa read the menu as well and decided that SHE also wanted to change her pad thai to the roasted duck red curry as well.

We were really glad we changed it, because this was aammaazziinngg! The roasted duck was very tender, juicy and flavourful. There was quite a bit of roasted duck in there as every spoonful was met with pieces of duck meat. As for the curry, it was sweeter due to the cane sugar and pineapples. I wish that this was a permanent item, but all the more reason to come back again before February ends!

Cocoa isn’t much of a spice person, but she enjoyed this because it was more on the sweet side with only a hint of spice. I brought the leftovers back and the boyfriend scoffed at me for ordering red curry instead of green curry (because green curry is better), but quickly changed his mind once I heated it up for him with the coconut rice.

Tom Yum Noodle Soup, $10.90: The next week, I took the boyfriend here! We were both wanting to try the tom yum soup, so why not get some noodles with it too? I’m glad I double checked with the server because although it didn’t sound like it, this dish contained both coconut milk and regular milk.

This was my least favourite dish so far. Although I liked how it was spicy and sour, I wasn’t a big fan of the herbs they used in the soup- there’s a spice that I don’t like in Thai food, but I can’t put my finger on which one exactly it is… Maybe since we couldn’t have the regular milk inside, that made the taste of the herbs a bit stronger? However, the boyfriend enjoyed the dish and happily ate the rest of it.

I was also unlucky and ate a big chunk of dried, chewy lemongrass. I also didn’t really like the texture of the noodles either. Oh yeah, and the beef was dry and rough.
Green curry, $11.90: On my first visit I tried the red curry, this time it was the green curry! The green curry wasn’t as spicy and more on the sweet side. As with the red curry, the green curry was rich and creamy from the coconut milk. The chicken was moist and juicy, with a good amount of veggies inside.

Coconut rice large, $5.00: A Thai dinner isn’t complete without coconut rice! Their coconut rice is so good. It has a strong coconut flavour and is slightly sweet. Any curry and their coconut rice is the perfect marriage!

I recommend getting the large for two people, as you can pack it up with the remainder of the curry sauce and eat it for lunch the next day, as I did 😉

Phew! Such a long post… but for good reason! I definitely see myself coming back here in the future and I’m glad Cinnamon suggested this place!

Yay!

 

Bai Bua Thai Cuisine Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

5 Comments
Filed Under: asian, food & drink, noodles, thai

Angel Cake Cafe

January 5, 2017 4 Comments

Okay, I don’t even know how to begin this post! Angel is one of mine and they boyfriend’s regular places to eat. We LOVE this place for cheap Hong Kong style food!

We come here quite regularly because, as you will see, their set combo is super delicious and CHEAP. If we are super hungry, ordering ONE of these combos will fill us to the brim.

The lunch combo we order is $15, which includes ALL the food below!

In fact, we went to Cora’s for brunch the other day and joked how $35 of food there was not remotely satisfying or delicious as $15 of Angel’s. 😛

Angel Cake Cafe Vancouver Soup
Soup: The combo comes with your choice of soup. Usually it’s Borscht or Cream of Mushroom that you can pick from.

The boyfriend usually has the soup, unless he picks Borscht then I’ll have a bit. The soup is always really flavourful and filling, even though there aren’t many pieces of meat/veggie inside.
Angel Cake Cafe Vancouver Garlic Bread
Garlic bread: This garlic bread is AMAZING. It comes toasted, and is very fluffy and slathered with lots of butter. But of course, I can’t eat this anymore because of the butter. 
Angel Cake Cafe Vancouver Milk Lemon Tea

Drink: To have a cold drink, you’ll have to pay an additional $0.50, which is the standard at HK Cafes. The drinks here are always tasty and satisfying.

On the day we came here, we decided to each order a drink. The extra drink was full price at $3.50.
Angel Cake Cafe Vancouver Set Menu

Choice of two meats, rice/spaghetti, and sauce WITH veggies and fries: Seriously. Look at how big this portion is. FOR $15, which includes the appetizers! And, it is so delicious too!

The boyfriend and I each pick one of the meats. You can also order 3 meats, but we did that in the past and it was definitely a regret because we didn’t even touch it.

Angel Cake Cafe Vancouver Fish Filet Fish cutlet/fillet: The boyfriend always picks the fish fillet. Each time we get this, the fillet is very fresh and crunchy.

The fish meat flakes off really nicely and is accompanied by a cheap jar version of tartar sauce.

Angel Cake Cafe Vancouver Chicken

Chicken steak: I always get the chicken steak, and like everything else here, it is amazing every time! Look how BIG that is, the plate was a large plate and compare it with the fork!

The chicken steak is seasoned very well. The skin is nice and crispy but the inside is always really juicy.

Angel Cake Cafe Vancouver Spaghetti

Spaghetti with black pepper sauce: Again, they give a very generous amount of spaghetti. The black pepper sauce is perfect with a nice amount of heat and flavour to it.

You can also pick from other sauces or have rice instead.

Let me remind you how much this super filling and delicious meal costs- $15! It’s seriously mind blowing due to the quality and portions they give you. This lunch set begins at 11:30 and they have a dinner version, which costs a bit more and includes a BAKED POTATO. Even thinking about how much deliciousness they give you is making me full right now.

Although the boyfriend and I don’t live in the neighbourhood, we are always willing to drive here just for Angel’s!

Yay!


Angel Cake Cafe Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

4 Comments
Filed Under: asian, food & drink, noodles Tagged: food, food blogger, foodie, vancouver

Fat Mao Noodles

January 2, 2017 4 Comments

My friend had wanted to try Fat Mao Noodles, and being the noodle fanatic that I am, I did not say no. If I ever say no to noodles, you should know that I am probably not okay.

The restaurant has been open for a bit over a year now, and gained a bit of interest in the foodie community. Why? The restaurant was opened by Angus An, who is behind Maenam, Longtail Kitchen, and Freebird. You can read my review here on Longtail Kitchen afterwards!
fat-mao-noodles-chinatownFat Mao Noodles is located inside Chinatown. It is easy to spot from the rest of the stores on the bloack due to it’s glass walls.
fat-mao-vancouver-chinatown-seatingThe restaurant is fairly small, but seating is still comfortable because customers do not have to squish beside each other. I was greeted instantly by the workers in the open concept kitchen. My friend and I came around 12 pm, and there was only one other table (pic taken before we left).

The place started filling up around 12:30pm, so we were glad we came before the rush and got to order and ask our server questions!
fat-mao-noodles-vancouver-menuThe menu is also worth including because it is so cute! We really enjoyed the cat themed decor in here, and I’m sure cat lovers would appreciate it as well.

After all, mao is cat in Cantonese, so the restaurant name translates to fat cat!

fat-mao-noodles-sauceEach table also has a side of sauces to go with the noodles. As you’ll soon read, these sauces played a really important part to my bowl of noodles!
fat-mao-duck-noodlesBraised duck noodles, $11.99: With this dish, you could choose between either Shangnai chewy noodles or wide rice noodles. I love my doughy and chewy noodles so I went with the Shanghai noodles.

First off, the duck was amazing. It was soooo tender, and effortlessly fell off the bone. It was also full of that Chinese BBQ flavour. Just for the duck alone, I’m glad I ordered this! I’ve attached another close up of the duck below because it was that delicious.

fat-mao-duckThe noodles were perfect as well. They had a perfect bounce and were chewy. Since they weren’t completely flat, some of soup went in between the folds and made it more flavourful.

The broth was average. It was more on the sweet side, but it was really flat. The server recommended two scoops of the vinegar sauce. I ended up adding 5 scoops and one scoop of chili to make it have more depth. I’m really glad the sauces were there!
fat-mao-vancouver-chinatownBoat noodles, $10.99: This was the special that day. It was a spicy pork broth with pork shoulder, beef balls, fried garlic bits and crunchy deep fried noodles. We also speculated on why it was called boat noodles.

Unlike the duck broth soup, this boat noodle broth was full of flavour. The broth had a nice tangy spicy kick to it.  It didn’t really need any of the additional side sauces but my friend added some chili flakes for even more heat.

We both agreed that the noodles were a bit underwhelming. They tasted kind of like pho noodles, but were harder (not in the undercooked way). We both liked the broth of the boat noodles more, but the noodles for the braised duck noodles were better.

The boat noodles were definitely more of a southeast Asian influence while mine was more like a Taiwanese noodle. This is why we liked Fat Mao because you could get a mix of different types of Asian cooking!
fat-mao-vancouver-chinatown-durianDurian ice cream, $5.99: Although my friend was quite full, she really wanted to try the durian ice cream. She is a huge durian lover and wondered how durian ice cream tasted.

The ice cream was very light and fluffy, more like a mousse. It had a strong durian taste which she liked, and it was drizzled with caramel sauce on the top.

However, for the price, it was not worth it. She got the small size, which was about 6 regular spoonfuls. For $6, that was really steep and if she had known the price, would have not ordered it. So, it was delicious until she found out the price. But she also commented that she should have asked for the price before ordering.

Overall, we enjoyed our visit to Fat Mao and left satisfied. Although my broth was pretty flat, it was easily made better with their sauce. And that whole duck leg was just amazingly tender and what a meat lover’s dreams are made of.
yay-nay-or-meh

Yay!

Fat Mao Noodles Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Filed Under: asian, chinese, comfort food, food & drink, noodles Tagged: chinatown, fat mao noodles, food, food blogger, foodie, noodles, vancouver

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