western Archives - Curiously Carmen

Burnaby Mountain Clubhouse

March 9, 2017 Leave a Comment

It was my mom’s birthday, and I wanted to take my parents out for dinner! She suggested Burnaby Mountain Clubhouse after hearing it about it from her coworkers. I’ve heard many great things about this place, especially during Dine Out season. I remember attempting to make a Dine Out reservation, only to be told there was a 50 table wait list!

After taking a look at the menu, they offered a $25 three course dinner which seemed like a good value! Plus, there were dairy free options for myself! It’s hard for me to have a set menu because most items contain dairy, especially the dessert. But, I called in a day before to ask about their dairy free options and they said they could give me sorbet or fruit instead of the usual dessert.

Since it is a set course, the price for each item will not be included.

Burnaby Mountain Clubhouse is located in a pretty quiet and hidden area, by Burnaby Mountain Golf Course. There was a large parking lot for both golf course and restaurant customers.

Walking towards the restaurant, I didn’t expect the exterior to look as plain as it did. But, the interior looked pretty nice and modern. It also wasn’t that large of a restaurant, so it felt pretty cozy and intimate inside.

Crispy prawn Caesar salad: My dad ordered this and said it was pretty decent! The romaine lettuce was nice and crunchy.

Seafood chowder: My mom said the chowder was really good and filling, due to how creamy it was. There was also a good amount of salmon and other seafood!

Veggie spring roll salad: I ordered this because it was the only dairy free appy option. The salad was Asian inspired, with a sweet chili and peanut sauce. My dad actually enjoyed the taste of my salad more than his! The spring rolls were a nice filling addition and were crunchy, with some peas, carrots and cabbage filling.

New York steak: Both my parents ordered the 8 oz NY steak, and enjoyed it. I had a few bites and there was an amazing grilled and charred flavour to it, but not that yucky burnt flavour!

Wild sockeye salmon: I didn’t want us to have 3 of the same dish, so I tried the salmon! I’m glad I did because I really enjoyed it!

It came with a clam and tomato infused pilaf, but I tasted mainly only the tomato. I really liked the tiny chopped pieces of pineapple in the rice because it added some extra texture and pop of healthy, sweet flavour! It reminded me of Malaysian style rice with the pineapple.

My salmon also flaked nicely and was juicy!

Waffle with ice cream: Man, did this smell good. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth and prefer savoury items (which is a blessing considering my dairy restritcion) but this smelled so good that I really wanted it. But I resisted for the sake of my health. Sad life.

Ice cream w/ ginger cake: My dad was confused with the Mason jar style that is so hip nowadays, LOL. He said it wasn’t as practical to eat the dessert, which is true. The ice cream came w a ginger cake that he wasn’t a fan of.

Raspberry sorbet: My dessert looked so sad compared to theirs 🙁 and it was so plain. But I’m glad they had a dairy free option available! Once I saw my mom’s waffle w strawberry syrup, I asked if I could have a side of the syrup to drizzle over. That made my sorbet taste a lot better!

All in all, we enjoyed our visit to Burnaby Mountain Clubhouse and can see why it’s so popular during Dine Out. You get a quality, fancy meal with an excellent atmosphere at a very affordable price.

Service was a bit slow but our server was friendly and did an excellent job in acknowledging my dietary restriction!

I would definitely recommend this place for a special occasion or day without breaking the wallet!

Yay!

Guest Post: Fable Kitchen

January 25, 2016 5 Comments

Guest post from the boyfriend today! Read on to see his thoughts on Fable 🙂

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Hello readers! I’m back for another guest post. While not officially a part of the DOVF list of restaurants, Fable Kitchen does its very own take on Dine Out, called Dine at Fable.

It’s a three course offering (appetizer, entrée, dessert) for $35, much like those offered at DOVF restaurants. This was the second year for our group going to Fable for this event.

The menu changed slightly this year, but there was no doubt it would be delicious once more.

Without further ado, the food!

House made tomato soup: For the appetizers, this is the one we had to come back for. There was a scare when we thought it would not return for this year, but thankfully it did.

It’s a generously sized portion, and comes topped with two pieces of their grilled cheese. Rich and thick, creamy, velvety smooth, and delicious.

It was the unanimous choice for the six of us when it came to appetizer. The other choice for appetizer was a Moroccan style eggplant salad.

Duck carpaccio: This was a feature that night, and we were sold the minute we were introduced to it.

It was a nicely smoked duck breast sliced thin, topped with crispy rice, different veggies, poached apples and what I think was said to be a truffle vinaigrette or something.

It was an explosion of flavours in your mouth, and was definitely worth ordering.

Chickpea fritters: These were made into falafel, but it was topped with pickled red onions and a curry sauce.

They were crispy and flavoured well, but was something more of an acquired taste.
Maple brined pork chop: Two people ordered it as their entrée that night.
It consisted of a grilled, bone-in pork chop on a bed of spaetzle, topped with cabbage.

The pork chop was grilled perfectly, being juicy and having excellent grill flavour.

If I had the choice to change my entrée, I would have picked this one for sure.

Ling cod: It consisted of a piece of ling cod served over a brandade (salted cod and olive oil, similar to a crab cake consistency), and mussel and bacon chowder.

I found the ling cod to be kind of plain, but everything else in the dish was very delicious. This was the entrée I had picked.

Lemon parfait: The lemon parfait I tried a bite of was very lemony, but had good balance with the vanilla ice cream.

S’mores: The s’mores for one was a sweets lover’s dream: chocolate ice cream with brownie chunks, and graham cracker bottom. Definitely my favourite of the two.

There you have it: If you like what you read, go try it soon. Dine at Fable runs until the end of January so you still have a bit of time.

Even if you don’t get the Dine Out style menu, the food at Fable will still be delicious. We all left Fable satisfied with our experience once again, and it’s safe to say we’ll be back for a third year for the Dine at Fable should the event still happen.

Thanks for reading. Happy dining!

Flying Beaver Bar & Grill – Dine Out Vancouver Festival

January 24, 2016 Leave a Comment

Another Dine Out review! Luckily, the Dine Out menu here features the same dishes as the regular menu, so you can still read this review even if you’re not planning on doing Dine Out! I found this restaurant through social media, with many people saying that it was a really good deal.

After finding out that they have a waterfront view with seaplanes, we were sold! We love nice views and airplanes!
Prior to visiting this restaurant, we had never been in this area before and missed the turn from Vancouver to Sea Island. It is in a pretty quiet area, with nothing else here except for the smaller airport terminal for flights within the province.

The restaurant is also connected to a seaplane terminal, which was being advertised for leisurely private flights around Vancouver and Victoria. Maybe one day, I’ll afford to ride in one of those for fun!
This place is in such a random and quiet area that they offer a shuttle bus service! I thought that was pretty awesome. I’m not too sure on how often the shuttle service works and where they pick up customers from, though.

They offered a 3 course meal for Dine Out, and was $20 per person. Here is what we ordered:
Baja fish tacos: The boyfriend chose this as his starter. It was a pretty good taco, with a generous piece of fried cod inside. The veggies here were crunchy and fresh as well!
Steak bites: I wanted the clam chowder, but since it contains dairy, I chose to order the steak bites instead. I definitely did not regret my decision because this was delicious! The steak bites were cooked medium, and was slightly pink in the middle. It had a nice smoky and grilled taste, and was bursting with flavour. It was also really peppery, which I loved.

The dipping sauce was a chiptole aioli, which didn’t really complement or enhanced the savoury steak flavour. In fact, they didn’t mix well at all and was really random.
BBQ Pork Ribs w/ scalloped potatoes & cole slaw: The boyfriend loves his ribs, so this was an easy choice for him. The pork ribs were very tender and fell off the bone perfectly. There was a generous amount of BBQ sauce, giving the pork a lot of extra flavour too.

It came with scalloped potatoes, which the boyfriend was crazy about. He gave me a bite and I automatically regretted it (and simultaneously loved it) because I tasted a LOT of cream and cheese. It’s strange because now that I can’t have dairy, I am able to taste or smell the flavour of cream/cheese/milk more than before. It’s like my body is warning me even more now that I can’t eat it.

Anyways, that one small bite I had was really good and reminded me of what a sweet life I used to have – being able to have rich, dairy goodness without reacting badly and getting sick.
Seafood grill w/ veggies & jasmine rice: I love my seafood, so this was an easy decision for me! The skewer came with sockeye salmon, prawn, and Atlantic halibut. The skewer was pretty big and all the seafood was cooked well. The fish flaked perfectly off, while the prawns were nice and snappy.

It didn’t come with much seasoning (maybe just a bit of salt?) and had a nice grilled taste, just like the steak bites.

It also came with a ginger soy sauce, which I wasn’t a fan of. The ginger taste was too strong. It reminded me of a very strong honey ginger tea.

Adding the sesame string beans, I felt like I was eating a Chinese meal instead of Western =P The rice was slightly aromatic and came with some freshly ground pepper. There was a pretty generous amount of veggies and rice, as you can see!
Tiramisu w/ belgian chocolate: I wish I could have tried this, because the boyfriend kept saying how amazing this was with every bite that he had.

He said that it was very balanced, meaning that it wasn’t overly sweet but had just the right amount of chocolate and coffee.
Chocolate brownie w/ vanilla ice cream: I asked for the ice cream to be served on the side, so that I could enjoy the brownie without worrying about dairy contamination.

The brownie was served nice and warm. I didn’t find that there was much chocolate taste though – it was just VERY sweet.

I had four bites before it was too much. Sweet tooth people, this one is for you! I gave the ice cream and rest of the brownie to the boyfriend. Comparing the brownie to the tiramisu, he said the brownie was definitely a LOT sweeter.

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For $20 each, this was a really good deal and I’m glad that we drove all the way out to this restaurant. Although it was pretty busy, service was friendly and attentive. I wouldn’t come back just for the food because I could probably get similar food a lot closer to where I live, but rather, come here for the nice view instead. It’s a breath of fresh air to be away from all the hustle and bustle of the city! I would love to come back when the weather gets warmer and enjoy some drinks and snacks on the patio.

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen

Milestone’s Bar & Grill – Girl’s Night Special

October 19, 2015 Leave a Comment

Back in the summer, a few of my girlfriends and I went to Milestone’s for their $40 girl’s night special! We have all never had the girl’s night special, but thought it was a really great deal and decided to check it out. This was at the downtown Milestone’s on Robson Street.

The girl’s night special is offered every Monday. It comes with four bellinis and your choice of four select appetizers for only $40, not all appies are valid for this deal. I was expecting the appetizers to be mini size, but turns out it was the full size. That itself makes the girl’s night special already worth it! Oh, in case you are wondering, they also have a guy’s night special where you can get beer instead of bellinis.

Our four bellinis – made with white rum, peach liqueur, sparking white wine, and sangria. Normally, these cost $7.50 each so you are definitely getting a good deal with the special.

You can never go wrong with this bellini, I’ve had it a few times before and the taste is always consistent, no matter which Milestone’s I go to. It is very smooth, sweet, and easy to drink. The perfect drink for relaxing and talking with friends. I find it identical to the bellini at Cactus Club taste-wise, except Milestone’s presentation is neater.
Hot spinach & artichoke dip: I had a friend recommend this to me when I told him I was at Milestone’s, he said it was the best dish there and a must try.

Andddd oh man, did we love this dip. It was amazing. It was incredibly creamy and cheesy, and full of flavour. There was also a generous amount of spinach. Hands down, my favourite appetizer that night. I couldn’t stop eating this!

Baked goat cheese & roasted garlic: I had tried this at a previous visit to Milestone’s, and remembered that it was pretty delicious so we ordered this as well.

The flatbread was really soft and warm, and was dusted with herbs – yum! As for the other toppings, everything went well together. The spiced cranberry relish jam was very sweet, which contrasted the savoury flatbread, goat cheese, and garlic. I am a big fan of arugula and it gave the dish a fresh crunch.

Sorry for the terrible lighting, the restaurant didn’t have good lighting for photos as you can tell!

Piri piri dip: Here is a bit of a side story to give you context on why we were disappointed with the dish, bear with me! When we went back in July, the piri piri dip was actually called the piri piri guacamole. Since it was titled guacamole, we were expecting… well, guacamole. Smooth and creamy avocado deliciousness.

When double checking the menu for this post a few months later, I noticed that they had changed the name of the guacamole to a dip. My friend remembered that it was called guacamole as well, which is why we all wanted to have it – who doesn’t love some guac?? She found an old menu online which called this the guacamole instead of dip.

What arrived was a questionable mound of mostly chick peas instead of the green and creamy guacamole we were expecting. I have nothing against chick peas and I actually love chick peas, but the description totally threw us off. In addition, we found the dip to be really dry, lacking in any flavour, and hard to eat. To make matters worse, we were expecting guacamole so it made an already not-so-good dish to an even worse dish.

I would definitely recommend avoiding this dish to save yourself the disappointment! I’m glad that they decided to rename this to a dip because it is definitely not the guacamole most people know about.

Mango chili shrimp: The shrimp was very fresh with a nice crispy batter and snap to it. It was slightly spicy due to the chili, but sweet due to the mango sauce. We all really enjoyed this dish but wish that it came with a few more pieces of shrimp.

Normally, this would cost $13.75, which doesn’t seem like a great deal for 6 pieces of shrimp – although it is really delicious!

Overall, we had a great time here and enjoyed our food and drinks, except for the piri piri dip confusion. Since we came here for a late dinner, happy hour started half way through our meal and there were more deals being offered!

The $40 girl’s night special is definitely a great value, and I would recommend trying it out. If the four of you were all hungry, it probably isn’t enough food but it’s a great snack after a small dinner. Or, you could just go with two people which would be filling enough for a dinner (you would just have 2 bellinis to yourself!). It’s a good way to try the different dishes Milestone’s has to offer, without paying full price.

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen

Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co.

August 26, 2015 Leave a Comment

Sometimes, the boyfriend and I are in the sudden mood to try out a new restaurant. More often than not, we will already have a list of restaurants we want to try together so it is a matter of deciding which one. It is a task that might not be as easy as you think! On one particular warm sunny evening in June, it was Rocky Mountain Flatbread that we decided to finally check off our dining list.

There are two locations in Vancouver, we went to the one on Main Street. Main Street will always be one of my favourite neighbouhoods, the area is always buzzing with energy and there are a plethora of restaurants to pick from. I should make it a goal to try all, if not most, of the restaurants here!

Walking in, the atmosphere was fantastic and really set the mood for the rest of our visit. The patio was open, with the sunlight graciously pouring throughout the mid-sized restaurant. There was also a live band playing in the corner of the restaurant, featuring an amazing acoustic singer. The ambiance here was very warm, as well as the friendly service.

To start, we ordered the homemade iced tea and lemonade. Both were not very sweet, I would have preferred my lemonade to be sweetened a bit more because it tasted like concentrated lemon water (which I know is essentially what lemonade is… but more sugar would be nice). It was definitely a drink where you take occasional slow slips because of how sour it was.

I ordered the ‘parma’, which came with organic tomato sauce, mozzarella, Parmesan, cured ham, arugula, mushrooms, and mango. Perhaps the most interesting topping on this was the mango, but I was very intrigued and had a good feeling that all the flavours would go well together. Was I correct?

A million times yes!! Everything was really fresh, and the mango gave it a bit of a ‘spark’ to an already awesome flatbread. The sweetness of the mango enhanced all the other flavours, this dish was just brilliant. 12/10 would order again.

The boyfriend ordered the Italian sausage, which came with pesto, mozarella, Italian sausage bits, and spinach. Again, this dish was executed very well and we enjoyed it. The ingredients for both flatbreads were very fresh, while the dough was soft and chewy but crispy on the outside.

I am really glad that we finally tried this place out, and I feel like we would come back here again. From the ambiance, to the service, and the food, everything was simply wonderful and we had a great time. I would recommend coming here with a group of people, so that you’re able to try more of the flatbread varieties they offer.