Curiously Carmen - Page 3 of 148 -

Sushi Garden – Revisit

April 18, 2020 Leave a Comment

Disclaimer: In light of COVID-19, I just wanted to say that I am doing my part and social distancing. This is a review based on contact-less delivery.

I know that you may want to go out and have fun, but it is crucial that we distance ourselves to slow the spread of the virus and flatten the curve before it gets worse. Yes, you may feel fine but you could be passing on the virus to someone who is immunocompromised or elderly that may not survive this virus.

For cheap and reliable sushi, my mind wanders to Sushi Garden, Sushi California, and Nanaimo Sushi to name a few. You can’t really go wrong with any of those places. It has been awhile since we had sushi, so the fiance suggested that we order from Sushi Garden for dinner!

I wrote a previous review on Sushi Garden almost 1.5 years ago, so I thought it was time for an updated post.

Negitoro roll and negihama roll: The fiance’s go to rolls. As usual, these did not disappoint! The tuna and onion was fresh and there was a decent amount inside the roll.

Chopped scallop roll: Another one of our go-tos. The scallop was fresh and flavourful. There was a lot of scallop, to the point where it was bursting out of the roll! No complaints there.

I found it to be slightly watery inside, as if they added some water to the mayo because the sauce was quite thin and runny. In addition, the roll was chopped unevenly but that wasn’t a huge deal to me. It was still a delicious roll and I would happily order it again.

Alaska roll: I love Sushi Garden’s Alaska roll! The avocado was ripe and buttery, topped with a slice of salmon sashimi and the signature Alaska roll sauce.

Chicken karaage: I may be weird, but I prefer chicken wings over chicken drumsticks. I was happy to see that all the chicken karaage were chicken wings!

The chicken karaage was seasoned well and very juicy inside. No complaints at all!

Salmon nigiri: The salmon nigiri was disappointing. The salmon texture was fresh, but there wasn’t much salmon taste to it.

All in all, Sushi Garden is a great and cheap place to go to satisfy your sushi cravings. It has been around a long time and I personally have been coming here for years!

Travel: Kyoto Eats

April 15, 2020 Leave a Comment

During our trip to the Kansai region of Japan earlier this year, we stayed in Kyoto for 3 days! Since we were only here for 3 days, we picked a very central location to stay at. You can read my review on the hotel, Grand Bach Hotel Kyoto, here! A major plus was that we were close to so many food options such as Nishiki Market and Teramachi Street!

Here’s some of what we ate during our time in Kyoto! I didn’t include all the places we ate at because I don’t remember the name of or didn’t take a picture (gasp!).

Freshly Baked Melonpan: Yes, this is the name of the food stand! Melonpan is a popular type of Japanese pastry which is a bun topped with sugar in the shape of melon, hence the name. I saw the Freshly Baked Melonpan stands quite a few times throughout the trip, and it did not disappoint. The melonpan was warm, fresh, and so delicious. You can also add soft serve!

Sugi Honey Shop: This was located in Nishiki Market, where there are tons of food stalls! Although this place specializes in premium honey (which was very good, by the way), they sell soft serve on the side drizzled with their honey. We really enjoyed the yuzu honey soft serve and came twice during our 3 day visit!

I contemplated including this place because this was the only picture I had (why didn’t I take a picture of the soft serve?!), but in the end, I want to look back at my posts and remember this lovely shop!

Yakitori Kanazawa: Since we were a mere 20 footsteps away from Teramachi Market, the fiance looked up some yakitori places around there and picked Yakitori Kanazawa. Props to him because it was a great find! The yakitori was juicy, delicious and full of that grilled, smokey flavour.

One of the chefs/waiter (it was a very small place, probably only fit 10 customers) was really funny and liked to scare customers. He would talk normally and then all of a sudden, scream AH!!!!! which was startling to us, but then entertaining as we saw him do it to other customers, LOL!

Katsukura: Oh my GOD, the best meal we had in Kyoto! We still talk about Katsukura to this day. Katsukura specializes in tonkatsu. The tonkatsu was so delicious and the best we’ve had so far. I ordered a set that came with shrimp tempura above. Just writing about this makes my mouth water and I’m hungry again.

A Happy Pancake: A Happy Pancake isn’t new to us, as we tried the location in Tokyo in 2018. We were happy to see a location in Kyoto and came here for lunch before heading back to Osaka. A Happy Pancake is known for their fluffy pancakes. The pancakes were delicious here as well but be prepared to wait! Luckily we came right when they opened so there wasn’t a line yet.

To be honest, I didn’t enjoy Kyoto as much as I thought I would because the city was over crowded with tourists. I don’t want to be one of those people who complain about tourists because I am also one, but it lacked an authentic vibe to me. However, the food was really good and memorable.

I enjoyed the quieter cities of Kobe and Kurashiki more. I published my post on Kobe earlier this week, which you can read here. I will be publishing a post on Kurashiki soon!

Vietnam House

April 11, 2020 Leave a Comment

Disclaimer: In light of COVID-19, I just wanted to say that I am doing my part and social distancing. This is a review based on contact-less delivery.

Another day, another day of social distancing and being at home. I realized that I did not step outside for 7 days, which I am not sure if that is impressive or just sad. I finally broke the streak by going to stock up on more groceries!

Anyways, it has been a whole 7 days of not eating restaurant food since our last meal with Wara Thai, so we decided to treat ourselves for lunch. The fiance had a coupon on Skip, and I was craving bun bo hue so we decided to try out Vietnam House since it had free delivery.

Vietnam House didn’t sound familiar to me, but when I googled it, I remember it used to a hole in the wall called Thai Hang. Thai Hang had been around for ages… I went as a kid and in high school as well. Looking at pictures, it seems like they went through a renovation in addition to the name change.

The menu on Skip was a bit odd, as it didn’t include the names of the dishes in Vietnamese. For example, they didn’t even write ‘pho’ but at least that is easy enough to translate to English. I had a harder time finding ‘bun bo hue’ and ended up calling the restaurant to find out which one it was. The translation was ‘beef and pork in rice spaghetti in soup’.

Spring rolls: I normally don’t order spring rolls because #health, but we are in a pandemic right now and I wanted to excite my taste buds.

I was also motivated by Michael at Yes We’re Eating Again to plate my takeout food nicely, as takeout boxes don’t make for aesthetically pleasing photos! #FoodBloggerProblems. It was fun, although I was rushing because we were hungry and the food smelled so good!

The spring rolls were fresh and still a bit crunchy despite being takeout, which was great! They were your usual Vietnamese spring rolls and tasty.

Bun bo hue: As mentioned above, I had a craving for bun bo hue, and this did not disappoint. When I first opened the takeout container, I was immediately greeted with an aromatic, fragrant soup.

The bun bo hue packed a lot of spice, and there was also hints of lemongrass flavour. There was also a generous amount of meat as well.

Had to give up with chopsticks and use a fork because the noodles were too chopped and short… 🙁

My only complaint would be that the noodles were too choppy and short, so my chopsticks couldn’t pick it up. I gave up and ended up using a fork at the end because they were just bits and pieces of the noodles. This made it a bit harder to enjoy because I am the biggest noodle lover out there.

Grilled beef, chicken, and spring roll on vermicelli: The fiance ordered a vermicelli dish, and his was delicious as well. I had a bite of the chicken, which was bursting with grilled lemongrass flavour, and also very juicy! The beef was also very juicy and flavourful.

He noted that his vermicelli noodles were also chopped and short, so he had a hard time picking up the noodles with his chopsticks as well.

All in all, Vietnam House was delicious! One good thing (obviously I wish that this never happened in the first place) about that this crisis and social distancing has brought on, is that we have been trying new, local places for delivery. When we do order delivery usually, we just stick with the usual and familiar places so it’s nice to branch out.

So far, we have tried Manpuku for Japanese rice bowls, Wara Thai, and now Vietnam House! All three discoveries have been great and I hope the the next delivery order we place will be just as delicious.

Travel: A Day in Kobe, Japan

April 7, 2020 Leave a Comment

During our trip to the Kansai region, Kobe was a city that I was really wanting to explore! Kobe is smaller than Tokyo and Osaka, so it doesn’t receive much international attention, except for its world-famous, mouthwatering Kobe beef! However, I personally really enjoyed our day trip here! There was a lot less tourists here, and felt like a breath of fresh air from the crowds of Osaka and Kyoto.

We travelled to Kobe from Osaka via a regular train which took roughly a hour. You can also take a Shinkansen which is faster, but it would cost a lot more. Our friend took a plane from Tokyo and met us in Kobe. Since he had limited time, a domestic flight was a lot faster than taking the Shinkansen from Tokyo.

We were in Kobe from the morning until evening! Here was our itinerary for the day:

Meriken Park: We started our day by walking around Meriken Park, towards the harbour. The photogenic Kobe Port Tower is located here, as well as a big Kobe sign that would make for a nice souvenir photo. The skies were blue and sunny, so it was a pleasant walk around this small area.

We also saw a small ferry terminal, and a boat offering tours around the harbour!

Harbourland: A quick 10 minute walk along the same path as Meriken Park, is Harbourland. There are some malls here to do some shopping as well. We walked around the path outside and took some pretty photos of the ferris wheel.

Lunch at Steakhouse Zen: You can’t go to Kobe and not try Kobe steak. Our Japanese friend knew a local, who recommended Steakhouse Zen to us. We came during lunch so the prices are a bit cheaper, but I will warn you that Kobe beef is not cheap!

The quality of the beef is unparalleled and unlike any steak you will ever eat. As expected, the beef was mouthwatering, melted in our mouth, and super delicious. We ordered a lunch set, which also came with rice, soup, veggies, and dessert.

The cherry on top of a perfect lunch was that Steakhouse Zen is located on a higher floor of a building complex above the train station, so you get a beautiful view while eating Kobe steak. To our right, were buildings and the water peeking out. To the left, was greenery and mountains (including Mt. Rokko, our next destination!).

Mount Rokko and the Kobe Nunobiki Herb Gardens: After lunch, we walked to the base of Mount Rokko, next to Shin-Kobe Station. We took the cable car to the peak of the mountain.

The ride up in the cable car was beautiful and we also saw Nunobiki Waterfall from above. Alternatively, you could also hike up the mountain but we wanted to spare our tired feet when possible.

Atop of Mount Rokko is the Kobe Nunobiki Herb Garden. The Nunobiki Herb Garden is a really pretty, calm area where guests can see many different types of herbs, flowers, and greenery. There is no entrance fee to the garden.

You start at the top of Mount Rokko and can walk down the mountain to see the different types of vegetables and herbs that they grow here. Unfortunately we came during winter so the trees and leaves were bare, but I still found it to be very beautiful and calming here. I can only imagine how breathtaking it would be during sakura season!

Foot soak atop Mt Rokko: One of our highlights of the day was the herbal foot soak. For 100 yen, guests can soak their feet in a hot, herbal bath made with fresh herbs from the garden. The foot soak has a beautiful view overlooking Kobe. We ended up spending a hour chatting, just enjoying the view, and enjoying the hot water relaxing our feet.

There are also hammocks at the herb garden! It was a bit too chilly to fully enjoy in the winter time though.

City Loop Bus: After our relaxing visit to Mt Rokko and the Kobe Nunobiki Herb Garden, our friend (tour guide/translator hehe) suggested that we take the City Loop bus back to the Harbourland area for dinner.

The City Loop bus stops at all major and recommended Kobe attractions. This was a great suggestion because we were able to see other areas of Kobe instead of being in an underground train!

Harbourland at night: We were thinking of going on the sunset cruise, but we spent too long relaxing at the foot soak at Mount Rokko and missed the sailing time. Oops! But no regrets because that foot soak was amazing. Anyways, I would recommend the sunset cruise if you have time.

We ended up walking around Harbourland a bit more, and took some pictures of the night landscape. You could also take this time to shop around Habourland.

Dinner: Our friend suggested Vietnamese food for dinner! It was my first time having Vietnamese food in Japan. We went to Thang Cafe Motomachi which was a short walk from Harbourland.

Compared to Canadian Vietnamese restaurants, the noodles were thicker and chewier. The main distinction was that the pho broth was very gingery so that may be a good or bad thing depending if you like ginger or not.

Overall, it was a very fun day in Kobe. We left very satisfied with the sights that we saw and the city left a great impression on us. The weather was beautiful the whole day as well. Kobe, you were great!

Wara Thai

April 4, 2020 Leave a Comment

Disclaimer: In light of COVID-19, I just wanted to say that I am doing my part and social distancing. This is a review based on contact-less delivery.

Wara Thai is a Thai restaurant that quietly opened in Chinatown a year ago. I remember coming across the restaurant online last year while looking up food options in the area, but haven’t heard anything about it on social media or food blogs so I kind of forgot about it. While looking on Uber Eats, we decided to try Wara Thai because they were offering a $3.00 off coupon.

Compared to other Uber Eats places we tried, it took a really long time for our food to come. It took over a hour, almost close to 1.5 hours! Needless to say, we were hangry! I am not sure if this was due to Uber Eats or perhaps Wara Thai was just slow at preparing their food, but I try to be as informative in my reviews as possible.

Green curry w/ chicken: Out of all the Thai curries, the fiance and I love green curry the most. Naturally, we had to give this a try and compare it to other Thai restaurants!

Our first impression of the green curry was that it was very watery… like soup! We were confused and worried that it would be disappointing (especially after almost 1.5 hours wait) but thankfully the curry turned out to be delicious.

We ordered a medium spice level which was perfect for us! There was a spicy kick and the curry was very fragrant and flavourful. I am used to Thai curries being more creamy and rich, but this was still very delicious.

The tub was quite big so we had enough curry to eat the next day after cooking more rice. Speaking of rice, we also ordered a small coconut rice which was creamy with a rich, delicious coconut flavour!

Spicy basil fried rice: This was one of the specials that the fiance picked. This was absolutely delicious as well! There was a lot of ‘wok hei’ or grilled wok flavour, which is an absolute necessary in perfecting fried rice.

The chili was also pre-roasted which elevated the ‘wok hei’ taste even more. There was a generous portion of seasoned pork. The basil leaves added more excitement and texture to the fried rice. It also came with some freshly sliced cucumbers to help balance out the spiciness.

Another thing I appreciated about Wara Thai was that they catered to dietary restrictions. Their menu informed you whether or not it was dairy free, gluten free, or could be made vegan. As someone with dietary restrictions and chronic digestive problems, I really appreciate the small details and care that a restaurant puts into the menu to inform customers like myself.

We really enjoyed our meal from Wara Thai and would order again without a doubt! I would also love to visit the restaurant for a meal when this social distancing fiasco is over.

There aren’t too many Thai places in Vancouver to pick from (compared to other Asian cuisines such as Japanese, Vietnamese, or Chinese) so Wara Thai is a nice addition to Vancouver’s Thai food scene!