curiouslycarmen, Author at Curiously Carmen

Smoky Eye Look w/ Naked 1 Palette

January 27, 2016

I received the Naked 1 palette as a gift two Christmases ago, and I love it! Between the Naked 1 and Naked 2, it has been my go-to. It is so easy to create simple, natural looking eye makeup but also a smoky eye. The combinations are endless!

Here is a look that I came up with over the weekend.

Naked1Palette I tried to take a decent photo of the palette, but it is a dreary January afternoon and the lighting is just bleh. It does not do the palette justice. Here is a photo of the palette that I found online instead:
Palette

To create this look, I used the shades virgin and naked as a base. I then used the shade hustle all over my eyelid to create a good transition colour. On the inner corner of my eye, I dabbed the shades sidecar and sin to make my eyes pop. I then used the shade sidecar again, as well as half baked, in the middle.

To create the smoky eye, I used the tape technique. Simply use a piece of masking tape and angle it on your eye, then peel it off when you’re finished your look to reveal a clean cut. On the outer corners, I first used dark horse all over my lid and almost to my brows. Then, I used an angle brush and lightly dusted the shade creep to create dimension.

Afterwards, I blended the colours together with a small, round blending brush from ELF. Blending is your best friend when it comes to eyeshadow!

I finished my eyes with Kat Von D tattoo liner, and The Face Shop mascara.

Thanks for reading!

Carmen

Guest Post: Fable Kitchen

January 25, 2016

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

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: 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

Tai (Thai?) One and the dragon monster waitress – Dine Out Vancouver Festival

January 21, 2016

When my friend messaged me and suggested we catch up over Dine Out, I haven’t seen him for awhile and wanted to catch up, so I said yes! I told him about my dairy restriction and that I would prefer an Asian place because they don’t cook with as much dairy. Luckily, both him and his wife wanted to try Tai One, a new Taiwanese restaurant opened by the city-famous Bubble World franchise!

Unfortunately, we all left with a negative first impression of the restaurant, including getting yelled at by one of the waitresses. Keep reading to see why.
I made reservations for Dine Out two nights before. After finding some free parking (yay!), the boyfriend and I were really early. We both weren’t sure if we wanted to order from the Dine Out or regular menu, and took quite a long time deciding so I’m glad that we arrived first.

I also find it hard to write a relevant review during DOVF because most places have specialty dishes that aren’t served after the festival. Luckily, this wasn’t the case at Tai One as their regular menu options were offered in the Dine Out menu!
The restaurant looked very new, was very spacious, and felt very comfortable. You can see the middle tables they have there that store the napkins, cutlery, etc, but they decorated the top to make the place look a bit more modern.

We were also a bit confused as to what the official name of this restaurant was. Their menus and signage was a mix between Tai One and Thai One. Inconsistency really irks me, please stick with a correct name, people!!
Chicken and prawn spring roll w/ miso-based sauce: A couple of us ended up ordering this as our DOVF appetizer. The server let us know that she accidentally gave us two extra spring rolls, and that it was supposed to come with just four.

I found the spring roll to be very fresh, crunchy, and bursting with flavourful ingredients. I love prawn spring rolls, so having the chicken and veggies inside was an extra bonus! However, I did find the spring rolls to be very oily. The bottom of the bowl was dripping with oil near the end. I found the sauce to be a bit bland, and enjoyed the spring rolls without the sauce.
Green curry w/ jumbo prawns: Can you tell that I like prawns yet?! Not going to lie, the prawns solidified my decision in ordering this dish. I was impressed with the amount of prawn they had in this dish! In addition, the prawns were juicy, fresh, and had a nice snappy ‘bounce’ to them.

The green curry itself was a delicious aromatic and spicy affair. I wasn’t expecting it to be this spicy, and I am pretty tolerant of spice. I had to pace myself to eat really slow due to the rising heat levels of the curry. The coconut milk made it creamy and rich too.

Marinated chilled tofu: I loved the side dish as well. It was also spicy, but had a hint of sweetness too! It was a great addition to the plate and came with freshly chopped green onions.
Taiwanese Basil Chicken Stir Fry w/ rice and side dish: My friend found the chicken stir fry to be pretty spicy, even though it didn’t specify on the Dine Out menu. However, he enjoyed his dish.

Instead of rice, he asked to substitute salad, which the waitress agreed to originally. However, steamed rice arrived and after asking for salad again, they came back and brought him two of the same side dishes instead. Okay….? At that point, he just decided to eat the two side dishes because service was becoming increasingly slow, and staff seemed really rushed (although it wasn’t that busy)…..
BBQ Pork Jowl: The boyfriend and my other friend both ordered the same dish. They both loved the pork jowl. It had a nice grilled flavour to it, and wasn’t too fatty. It was also cut up into nice individual bite sized pieces already.

Their dish also came with the same delicious marinated chilled tofu!

Here is where things go bad…

As I mentioned above, service was becoming increasingly slow so my friend didn’t bother letting them know about their mistake. At this point, service was pretty much nonexistent. After our main courses, we sat and waited for our dessert for at least thirty minutes. We didn’t really mind since we were busy chatting, but still wanted to make sure they didn’t forget.

After trying to wave a waitress down multiple times, we finally asked if our dessert was coming. She said yes. Then, she came back a few minutes later letting us know that the dessert we ordered was sold out. Instead, she offered us two dessert items on the menu or bubble tea. This came out to a slightly better deal for us because the main dessert items were bigger than the DOVF dessert.
Matcha red bean shaved ice: After hearing our original desserts were sold out, my two friends decided on splitting this. It looked really good, but they said it was disappointing.

Normally, this would cost $10 and it is definitely NOT worth the price. We all thought that it was real mango chunks, which would make the $10 price more justifiable. Much to my friend’s dismay, it was actually just the cheap, jello, mango chunks! As my friend said, they could make this at home for half the price.
Fresh coconut pudding (large size): Not much else I could order, since the other desserts all had dairy and the tofu pudding was sold out. This dessert was better than the ~~ripoff~~ one my friends ordered above.

The inside was coconut pudding, similar to jello but with a creamier and thicker texture due to the fatty coconut milk. There was also fresh chunks of coconut meat throughout the dessert. Topped with oreo crumbs and dried coconut flakes, I haven’t had such a delicious dairy free dessert in ages. It gives me hope that I can enjoy desserts again.

Here is where it gets even worse.

Dragon monster waitress story:

So, remember how I told you all that we were informed the tofu pudding was sold out? Yup. After telling us that, the next two tables after us proceeded to get their tofu puddings. WHAT?! We were so confused. Why would you tell us that it was sold out, then give it to the next two tables after us?

I also mentioned that service was becoming nonexistent. At this point, we just wanted the bill. Again, it was really hard to waive a server down even though it wasn’t that busy. Finally, our bill came.

Since we were all curious as to why the tables after us got the ‘sold out’ dessert, we very politely asked the server why. After we asked her, her mood changed from ‘rushed and don’t care about you’ to dragon monster. I kid you not.

She got EXTREMELY defensive, saying that they ordered before us (they didn’t,we were there first and ordered first, but we weren’t going to push it because she was already really mad), she gave us extra spring roll by accident, and that HE (*points angrily at the boyfriend* LOL) didn’t even order Dine Out and gave us the larger desserts.

Keep in mind that we weren’t being rude or angry at all, and I was actually really satisfied with the new dessert. After having been in customer service for 5+ years, I am very mindful of the way I’m perceived by servers. I never treat servers rudely because I know how it feels. We were simply asking her a question and didn’t find a need to lash out.

FYI: In the beginning, I overheard one of the waiters saying to walk-in customers that DOVF required a reservation, in order to ensure they had enough dessert for DOVF customers. We made a reservation, but still didn’t get one? Interesting.

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I would love to give them a 5/5 rating because the food was cooked exceptionally well, but it’s not just about the food. It’s about the ambiance, service, and overall experience. However, service was nonexistent for most of our meal, and very rushed/careless when they came. Then, we got yelled at from the waitress for a simple question so I’m not too sure if I would want to come back. Was a very interesting experience indeed.

Thanks for reading!

Carmen

Zest Japanese Cuisine – Birthday dinner!

January 13, 2016

For my birthday this year, I didn’t feel like doing anything big, so the boyfriend just took me out for dinner. Originally, he had made reservations for Suika but the day before, we both decided we wanted to try a new upscale place.

We saw that Zest had tables left on OpenTable, and have heard good things about this place and made the reservation.
I used to frequent this neighbourhood a lot, but I actually never noticed Zest and was so surprised at where it was. It is tucked behind/beside the Starbucks on 16th & McDonald.

There was a really small parking lot but we found free street parking really close by.
The restaurant was pretty empty, but we had an early reservation. The restaurant slowly filled up near the end of our meal during regular dinner hours. The restaurant was very clean and the seating was very comfortable.
Wild Sockeye Salmon Sashimi, $15: Every time we go to a new Japanese restaurant, we order their sashimi and use it as a basis for comparison.

The sashimi tasted fresh and had a good salmon-y taste to it. It wasn’t anything that special and we weren’t too blown away with it, so probably wouldn’t order it again.
Assorted sashimi salad, $15: I’ve been having sashimi salads more lately wanted to see if Zest can make a stellar sashimi salad as well. It came with one thick piece of seaweed tempura, sashimi, fresh greens, seaweed, and grapefruit.

We thought the grapefruit was strange, but it actually went really well with the salad. We both devoured the salad within minutes because it was that delicious. It came with a soy onion dressing, which was delicious.

This is what it looked like on my plate, with the dressing on the side. The greens were very fresh and crisp, as was the seaweed. Everything about this dish was so refreshing and delicious. We would definitely order this again!
Miso Cured Grilled BC Wild Salmon, $16: This dish originally came with quinoa, but I substituted for rice as I was really wanting plain, warm white rice that day.

Again, this dish was delicious. The house blend miso was slightly sweet and thick. There was just the right amount of miso so that I could still taste the freshness of the salmon. Speaking of the salmon, it flaked off perfectly and had a nice, subtle smoky flavour to it.
Roasted Duck Breast Carpaccio, $14: This was the boyfriend’s entree, I don’t think we both expected it to be that small.

This dish was an explosion of delicious, crazy flavours that went together so well. It was an eclectic mix of savoury, zesty, sweet, and crunchy (due to the fresh veggies) that had us wanting more.
Zest Roll, $13: We were glad that we ordered this since the duck carpaccio was quite small, albeit delicious. The zest roll came with albacore tuna, grilled salmon skin, cucumber, and tobiko.

The grilled salmon skin was the highlight of the roll and saved the roll from being bland. Without the grilled salmon skin, it was underwhelming but the salmon skin gave it a nice smoky taste and crunch texture.

The only complaint I would give them was that service was slow, especially since it was quite empty when we were dining. The servers also weren’t that knowledgeable of the dishes.

Overall, we really enjoyed our meal here and glad that we tried it out. Our favourite dish would have to be the sashimi salad, followed by the entrees. Zest does an amazing job of combining different ingredients together, resulting in an explosion of fireworks for your tastebuds.

Yay!

Thanks for reading!

Carmen