Curiously Carmen - Page 2 of 157 -

Maru Korean Bistro- Revisit

January 5, 2021 Leave a Comment

Almost 3 years ago, the fiance and I went to Maru Korean Bistro for dinner which I wrote a review on. At the time, Maru had just newly opened in the area and it wasn’t as popular yet. We enjoyed our dinner there but since there are a bunch of other Korean restaurants that are more convenient, we haven’t come back until now when we found ourselves in the area.

Since we were doing an errand in the area, it was the perfect time to come back and see if Maru was as good as we remembered it!

Walking in, the restaurant was split into two sections. The front section was closed off and only the back section was opened.

The back section was a lot bigger and really spacious so it made sense. The tables were more spaced apart than the health protocols needed, but we aren’t complaining because it felt really safe and clean.

Korean fried chicken: The fried chicken at Maru stood out than other Korean restaurants I have been to. The reason is because they also included deep fried rice cakes with the fried chicken! I’m not a huge fan of fried chicken except for chicken strips (GASP! The audacity!) so I happily had the rice cakes instead. The rice cakes were delightfully chewy on the inside, but crunchy on the outside.

You can pick from the soy garlic, spicy gochujang, or miso sauce. The fiance picked the soy garlic sauce which was delicious with a nice sweetness to it. The fried chicken itself was piping hot, crispy, and not oily at all. The perfect Korean fried chicken with a nice addition of rice cakes and pumpkin seeds.

Banchan: The banchan was pretty average, nothing particularly good or bad to note about it.

Beef rib soup: I normally order beef bone soup whenever I go to Korean restaurants, and this time was no different. The price was more expensive than I was used to, at $18 a bowl in 2020 (who knows, if this blog is still around in a few years, this may be considered a reasonable price cause inflation). With that said, I was a bit wary that it would be disappointing and not worth the higher price point.

However, the beef bone soup turned out to be delicious! The beef bone was huge and came with tender beef that easily fell off the bone. There was also some tender sliced beef in the soup. The soup broth itself was very flavourful and comforting, with lots of depth. I could see why it cost a bit more than other places. I would gladly order this again.

There were also some dates and nuts inside the soup, which I hadn’t seen before. This made the soup feel more herbal and healthy.

Tofu soup and meat combo: The fiance went with one of their lunch combos, which was a pretty good value for what you get. It came with a full portion of meat (your choice of beef bulgolgi, spicy chicken thigh, spicy pork shoulder, or grilled soy pork shoulder).

The fiance went with the beef bulgolgi and it did not disappoint either. The beef bulgolgi was marinated well and very juicy. The portion was really big, and the cost of just the meat plate alone would have been worth it.

The combo came with a smaller side of tofu soup, my bowl was bigger. The tofu soup packed a spicy kick and there was lots of tofu inside.

Overall, we left very full with some leftovers for dinner as well. Although the prices were a bit higher than most Korean restaurants, the quality and taste of the food was delicious and worth it. Service was also friendly and attentive too. Maru is a gem in North Vancouver and I highly recommend it. We will be back again!

Sharetea – Renfrew

January 3, 2021 Leave a Comment

Earlier last year, I was happy to see a Sharetea open up so closeby to me! I wrote this review back in May or June, but wanted to add a few more visits before publishing. Well, it didn’t happen because we usually get Jenjudan now if the bubble tea craving hits. I forgot about this post until now.

The newest Sharetea to open is on Renfrew and First Ave, in the new low-rise condo across from First Ave Marketplace. I’ve also written reviews on the Kingsway location and Kerrisdale location.

A couple of doors down, another bubble tea shop has been slated to open for many months now but still hasn’t, probably due to the pandemic.

But when they do open, there will be 3 bubble tea shops within a 2 block radius… Ding Tea, Sharetea, and whatever the new place beside Sharetea is called. Will they all last?

Passion fruit green tea: The passion fruit green tea was delicious, fragrant and strong. There were a few passion fruit seeds which I don’t like having in my drink, but fortunately there wasn’t enough to distract the drink from me.

Hokkaido milk tea: The fiance really enjoys his Hokkaido milk tea. Hokkaido milk tea is known to be richer and creamier than your standard milk tea. Ding Tea makes a really good Hokkaido milk tea but the fiance wanted to see how Sharetea’s was. It was still delicious and would get it again, but he prefers the Ding Tea one more.

Sharetea is a great addition to the neighborhood. I remember a couple of years ago when there weren’t any bubble tea places around here but I’m glad to see more are popping up.

Remi Patisserie

December 27, 2020 Leave a Comment

Vancouver has been abuzz lately with the opening of Remi Patisserie’s storefront! Over the past year, Remi Patisserie has gained popularity by selling their pastry products in other cafes or on social media. They are a small shop located by Cambie and Broadway, and pre-ordering days in advance on their Instagram is highly recommended.

Maki and Nigiri told us good things about Remi Patisserie back in the summer, and really enjoyed it. They were nice enough to drop off some cake for us recently! It was the perfect treat and pick-me-up since the fiance and I were both feeling sick that week.

Maki and Nigiri picked out 3 slices of cake for us. While looking on their Instagram, I believe these are called tea rolls. They are more Asian inspired and reminded me of an elevated version of the Chinese swiss rolls from Asian bakeries that I grew up eating.

Thai tea roll: First up, we tried the Thai tea roll. At the time, we didn’t know what flavour it was… but knew that it was DELICIOUS and that we loved it. The roll itself felt dense and thick, but it was actually very soft and fluffy when bitten into.

In addition, the filling of the Thai tea whipped cream was delicious. There was a strong milk tea taste while the cream filling was light and delightful.

Matcha sesame tea roll: Secondly, we tried the matcha sesame tea roll. The matcha used at Remi Patisserie is organic and from the city of Uji in Japan. Again, this roll was delicious. Just like the Thai milk tea roll, the quality and flavour of the matcha was excellent. The matcha was nutty, strong and earthy.

The sesame added more nuttiness to the roll and highlighted the strong matcha flavour even more. The combination of the two was great.

Earl grey and salted caramel roll: Lastly, we tried the earl grey and salted caramel roll. Out of all three, this one was my personal favourite. The earl grey and salted caramel cream inside was so incredibly light and fluffy.

The tea flavour in this roll wasn’t as strong as the Thai milk tea or matcha, but I could still taste it. In addition, the salted caramel gave the roll an extra amount of sweetness.

Overall, we really enjoyed the pastries we tried from Remi Patisserie, and can see why they are so popular! The quality of the pastries is evident and it was so delicious. The texture of the tea rolls were perfect too.

As mentioned earlier, they reminded me of a fancy version of traditional Asian pastries. I would love to try more of their other desserts as well.

House of Dosas

December 22, 2020 Leave a Comment

A couple of years ago, the fiance and I tried House of Dosas a few times. The first time was delicious, and was how I was introduced to chicken biryani. The second and third times weren’t as good though, so we stopped ordering from them. I didn’t end up writing a review because back then, I didn’t want to write delivery reviews.

How funny is it that fast forward two years later, most of my reviews are delivery because a “small thing” called a pandemic happened and uprooted everyone’s normal lives?!

Since it’s been awhile, we decided to order from here again and see if it was any good two years later. We are trying a bunch of Indian restaurants now to see which is our favourite and could be the go-to, hence why you are seeing a bunch of Indian food reviews lately.

Chicken kothu paratha: When Lager took us to Sri Lankan food at Kurumba earlier this year, I really enjoyed stir fry roti bread dish. While looking at the menu, I noticed that House of Dosas also offered this dish so I ordered again in hopes that it would be as delicious as I remembered it to be.

The flavour was delicious, it was very aromatic and seasoned. There was a hint of spiciness to it. However, I found it to be more on the wet/oily side, and lacked the smoky, grilled taste from the pan that Kurumba. I wish that it was fluffier too.

The portion was absolutely huge, and we were only able to finish half of it that evening. Despite the huge portion, there wasn’t much chicken in it. But what chicken there was, it was tender and flavourful. Overall, the dish was disappointing, especially having Kurumba to compare. I wouldn’t order it again because of how wet, oily and dense it was.

Chicken korma: One thing that I remembered we really liked from House of Dosas was that their dishes came with papadum, which is a thin, and crunchy flatbread. In addition to the delicious papadum, they also include roti bread and rice too. It’s great that they have all 3 sides offered at no extra cost!

The chicken korma was delicious. It was fragrant and really flavorful. My favourite would be the roti bread though. The roti bread was perfectly layered, chewy, and soft – perfect to dip with the chicken korma.

The chicken korma also came with a tub of sauce? We weren’t too sure what it was but ate it anyways. There was a sweet taste for the first few seconds, which quickly turned into a spicy kick.

Overall, House of Dosas was alright. What stood out to me most was the papadum and delicious roti bread. Those two sides would be the reason I’d order again rather than the main dishes.

It is also quite hit or miss here. As mentioned in the intro, we ordered delivery here a couple of years ago and the chicken biryani was different quality each time. This time, the chicken korma was delicious but the kotthu parotta wasn’t.

With so many Indian restaurants to choose from, House of Dosas wouldn’t be high on my list. Dosa Factory is on the same block as House of Dosa, and I would prefer Dosa Factory instead.

Nando’s – Davie Street

December 19, 2020 Leave a Comment

Another day in the pandemic, another delivery review. While looking on UberEats, the fiance and I saw that Nando’s and UE was offering an unreal promotion. Nando’s had a BOGO chicken combo promotion, and we were able to combine UberEat’s 30% off discount as well so our total came to about $18 after fees, tip and tax!

Since then, it seems like UberEats doesn’t allow you to combine discounts but we enjoyed it for that meal while it lasted!

I’ve written reviews on the Nando’s in Richmond’s Garden City Plaza, and the location on Kingsway. The delivery order was placed for the Nando’s in downtown on Davie and Howe Street.

1/4 chicken with 2 sides: My go-to order whenever I have Nando’s. The chicken was very juicy and flavourful. I ordered mine with a medium spice and it was perfect.

For the sides, I went with the garlic mashed potatoes and spiced rice. I absolutely love the garlic mashed potatoes, maybe even more than I like their chicken. They have one of the best mashed potatoes in town. They were buttery, creamy, and garlicky.

You also can’t go wrong with the spiced rice either! The rice was light and fluffy and seasoned well. I mentioned this in my previous Nando’s review, but incase you didn’t read it, I recommend getting these 2 sides for delivery because they don’t get soggy like fries or something deep fried.

1/2 chicken with 2 sides: The fiance ordered the same as me, and enjoyed it a lot as well. He loves the wedge fries, and decided to get an extra side of it. I’m not a huge fan of the wedge fries and prefer their garlic mashed potatoes or spiced rice.

The quality and taste at Nando’s is consistent no matter which location you go to. They have delicious and reliable food that you can’t go wrong with! On that note, I would also like to try Barcelo’s one day, which I heard is very similar to Nando’s.