Curiously Carmen

Green and Oak – Multiple visits

This review is a long time coming! Back in August, Cola, the monkeys and I had lunch at Green and Oak. I had heard about this restaurant, which took over Mr. Chili a couple of years ago. I’m not surprised that Mr. Chili shut down because it wasn’t good.

The monkeys had mentioned that they liked Green and Oak before, and the menu looked decent so we came here one afternoon.

I was really surprised at how good it was here. We have been sleeping on Green and Oak this whole time! I brought some takeout back for the husband, who also loved it. Since then, we have gotten a couple of take out orders and Green and Oak has quickly risen to one of our favourite restaurants, which I never would have expected!

The restaurant was really clean and nicely decorated with a wooden theme. I also appreciated that they had wooden shelves under the table for bags.

Roti bread: We started with a roti bread, which was delicious and served hot and fresh.

Clear chicken noodle soup: I was surprised to see a clear noodle soup on the menu. Usually, Malaysian places don’t have clear noodle soup. I was curious if it was any good, and decided to order it with vermicelli noodles.

Firstly, the chicken soup is a great deal because it came with Hainanese chicken (I think?). There was so much chicken in the soup, and it was juicy, flavourful, and tendor. The soup base was also flavourful and garlicky. I really enjoyed the noodle soup and would get it again.

Clear chicken noodle soup: I didn’t know this, but the chicken noodle soup is the monkeys favourite! They come here often and always order this. They chose the egg noodle. You can pick from egg noodle, vermicelli, rice noodle, or a mix.

Pineapple fried rice: Cola picked the pineapple fried rice, and it was delicious! The fried rice was very flavourful and had a generous amount of prawn, BBQ pork, and pineapple.

Mee Goreng: The mee goreng was absolutely delicious as well. I don’t normally order mee goreng and am not sure how it is supposed to taste, but we all really enjoyed it.

Fried chicken wings: The monkeys are also a big fan of the chicken wings, and I could see why. The chicken wings were piping hot, fresh, and crunchy. Each order comes with 4 big pieces. The chicken wings also came with a lemon vinaigrette sauce which complimented the chicken wings well.

Now, on to our two take out orders!

Malaysian curry seafood on rice: The husband decided to try one of their curry dishes, and he really enjoyed it. The seafood curry had a lot of seafood inside. The curry was also really fragrant. He switched the rice for the chicken oil rice, which was delicious too! The roti was delicious when dipped into the curry.

Curry seafood fried rice: I ordered the pineapple fried rice, but when we opened the takeout container, we realized they gave us the curry seafood fried rice instead. I didn’t mind too much because this was really good too. They were quite generous with the shrimp and fish pieces.

Singapore fried vermicelli: The singapore fried vermicelli was soooo good. This is usually served in Chinese restaurants too, but I found that Green and Oak included some fried shallots in here which elevated the dish even more! There was a strong curry powder taste which I loved.

After one dine in visit and two take out orders in the past month, it is safe to say that we are fans of Green and Oak! We have tried a few different items and they were all good. We will definitely be coming back here or ordering more takeout.

Green & Oak Malaysian Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Travel: Nanaimo Eats

Right after the wedding, the husband and I went to Nanaimo (plus a day in Tofino) for a few days to relax and unwind after a crazy summer. This post will be mostly photos, and short and sweet. Mainly, it’s for myself to remember where we ate for if we came back to Nanaimo!

We stayed in downtown Nanaimo at the Coast Bastion hotel. We had some minor complaints about the hotel (more dated than the photos looked, public parking lot where you have to take a elevator to the hotel, then walk to a second elevator to get to your room was a bit inconvenient) and wouldn’t stay again here, but the location was perfect. I should have taken photos of the room for a review but blogging had completely slipped my mind then.

Nori Japanese Restaurant: This had really high reviews online, so we went and it did not disappoint! This was our favourite restaurant on the trip, and we came back here right before we boarded the return ferry. I highly recommend making a reservation because it is always packed. The atmosphere was bumpin’ and modern too. They are an authentic Japanese restaurant with high quality sashimi. Our favourite was the yosenabe udon, which had amazing umami flavour and was a seafood based broth.

Saigon Subs: This was located in the small town of Duncan BC, and we came here for a late lunch after a drive out to the Cowichan river. Our expectation was pretty low due to a small town with not much Vietnamese options. This restaurant also served donairs which we found funny! We ordered a vermicelli bowl and pho. Both were pretty meh but it was alright for this area. If we were in Vancouver, this would not be good! Lol!

Top Notch Burger: This was a recommendation from my aunt and was conveniently located across from our hotel, inside the Best Western! They are a sister restaurant to The View restaurant, which is more upscale. We enjoyed the burgers here a lot, and the husband ended up coming back again for takeout on our last day for lunch. Their tuna poke was also really good! They also had many dipping sauces to pick from. We really liked the basil aioli and truffle aioli!

Basic Goodness Pizza: This was in Tofino and we came here for dinner before driving back to Nanaimo. We wanted to stay in Tofino but the accommodations within our budget were already sold out, so we decided to come for a day. I do not recommend doing this because we spent 8 hours on the road that day and were sooo tired. It would have been 6 hours but there were highway closures going there and back.

Anyway, the pizza here was good but be prepared to wait a long time. They have signs informing customers that there is usually a wait because they only have 1 pizza chef (the owner), and if you’re going to be rude then go elsewhere. So, we already expected the wait. Our only complaint is that the pizzas were dripping with olive oil.

Had no other photos of the food so a cropped photo will do!

Penny’s Palapas: This is a small outdoor restaurant located on the pier, just steps from our hotel! While walking around the pier on the first day, we noticed it and decided to try it. The food was hit or miss, but the atmosphere and service was great! You’d come here more for the views than the food. On the first visit, the shrimp ceviche and grilled fish tacos were amazing. The enchiladas weren’t good. On the second visit, I ordered the grilled fish tacos for lunch while the husband got Top Notch Burgers. The fish tacos during the second time weren’t good, because they were soggy. Our server actually remembered us from a few days before too!

Lighthouse Pub: Just no. We came here because it was right on the water, but the food was awful. The husband’s clam chowder had very few, miniscule pieces of previously frozen seafood. His stomach was not feeling well after eating it. My chicken sandwich was lackluster and I could have made a better one at home myself.

Waterfront Confections: We came here a couple of times for dessert. The highlight was the husband’s Nanaimo bar flavoured ice cream. I had the pineapple sorbet which was good too (but not as good as the Nanaimo bar ice cream), and was reminiscent of the Dole pineapple whip.

I can’t remember if this is from Waterfront Confections or Javawocky….

Javawocky Cafe: This is also located along the pier and was recommended to us by our server at Penny’s Palapas, for her favourite spot for a Nanaimo bar. The Nanaimo bar here was amazing!

Sushi California – Downtown

A couple of days prior to my wedding in August, Cola and I spent an evening downtown getting our nails done for the big day and going for dinner after. Cola suggested Sushi California because she knew I was eating lighter food prior to the wedding to avoid any stomach distress on the day.

I didn’t know that there was a Sushi California in downtown, but it is near Burrard Station and opened a bit prior to COVID in Feb 2020. The restaurant is quite spacious and looks more upscale than the other Sushi California locations. They are usually busy during the day. When we went in the evening, it was pretty quiet.

Plain udon: I was craving udon that day, and this did not disappoint. I love dashi broth and this was perfect. It was delicious, yet clear and light. Usually I order this with beef or chicken, but since we split a salmon sashimi, I decided to go with a plain one.

Salmon sashimi: I love Sushi California’s sashimi because of how fresh it is, and how big the portion is. The downtown location was no different!

Salmon aburi: Cola ordered a salmon aburi, unfortunately I don’t remember the exact name. She had no complaints about it.

Special roll: Unfortunately, I don’t remember the name of this roll that Cola ordered! I took a look on the website, but there are so many different varieties of special rolls that I gave up looking. The inside had imitation crab meat and prawn tempura, topped with salmon sashimi.

Salmon nigiri: Omg, I don’t know or remember what the name of this special salmon nigiri Cola ordered was called either. Why am I writing this post?! Lol. Anyway, a picture will do.

Despite my failure in remembering the dishes that Cola ordered, we both enjoyed our dinner at Sushi California. August was a crazy month, and it was nice to go out for dinner and try a place I haven’t been to. I’d definitely come back to this location again if I was in the area.

Taverna Greka

The theme of this summer was weddings, weddings, weddings! In early August, a week shy of ours, we attended the outdoor ceremony of our friends wedding in New Westminster at a local neighborhood park. After the ceremony, the husband and I decided to see what was in this area and came across Taverna Greka, which looked like a nice spot for date night.

The restaurant had great reviews about their view, and it did not disappoint! We made reservations just incase it was busy, and I’m glad we did.

Calamari: We started off with a calamari. The calamari was fresh, hot and crunchy. The tzatziki sauce that it came with did not disappoint either. This was a delicious dish to start our dinner with.

Pita bread: The pita bread was served piping hot and fresh. The bread was fluffy and pillowy.

Chicken souvlaki: I was pleasantly surprised to see the cheaper price of chicken souvlaki here. Most chicken souvlaki costs $20+ at other restaurants, but the chicken souvlaki here was just under $20. I love ordering chicken souvlaki because I always have enough for leftovers the next day, so it’s akin to prolonging a delicious meal.

The chicken skewer was flavourful and juicy. The Greek potatoes were perfectly lemon-y, although I found it to be wet? It seems like maybe I got the bottom of the bowl of potatoes but I still enjoyed it. I didn’t have too much of the rice because it was cooked with dairy. The veggies in the Greek salad were fresh and crunchy, and I also requested for no feta cheese.

Moussaka: The husband ordered the moussaka, which is a baked dish with ground beef, zucchini, eggplant, tomato, potatoes, and bechamel sauce. He enjoyed it a lot, and couldn’t stop raving about it! I had a bite and also agreed that it was really good.

Overall, we enjoyed our dinner at Taverna Greka. We left feeling stuffed, and had leftovers for the next day too. Taverna Greka is a nice gem in New Westminster, and has a great view too. The service was also friendly. We were glad that we tried it, and would come back again even if we weren’t in the area.

Taverna Greka Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Pearl Castle – Richmond

The husband and I find ourselves in Richmond a lot, we really enjoy coming to Richmond! Usually, we have lunch at Happy Day Cafe, Yah Yah Yah Ramen, or Deer Garden. This time, we were having a craving for Taiwanese food and decided to go to Pearl Castle on a whim. We were going to go to Chef Hung’s but the parking at Aberdeen Mall was chaotic so we came to Pearl Castle instead.

It’s been many years since we’ve been to Pearl Castle. I remember we came here for bubble tea many years ago, but don’t remember how the visit was.

Due to COVID, customers order through the mobile app. It was pretty convenient to order this way, more places should have this option!

Taiwanese beef noodle soup: I was craving beef noodles, and this did not disappoint! The broth was flavourful, and the beef brisket was very tender and marinated well.

My only complaint is that it was more pricey than I was used to. As I’m currently writing this, the price was $17ish (maybe my blog will still be around in 10 years and this is considered a reasonable price haha).

Taiwanese chicken nuggets combo: The husband also really enjoyed the chicken nuggets combo. The chicken nuggets were hot, crispy, and fresh. He also enjoyed the deep friend marinated tofu and cucumber sides.

Chrysanthemum tea: We also shared a chrysanthemum tea. The tea was refreshing and light, perfect for a hot summer afternoon. The pearls really stood out to me here. They were so bouncy and fresh. I’d definitely order this drink again.

Overall, we were really satisfied with our lunch at Pearl Castle and would come back. The only complaint is that they are more pricey than the usual Taiwanese places we go to. But, it’s a decent spot for Taiwanese food in Richmond.

Pearl Castle Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato