curiouslycarmen, Author at Curiously Carmen

Food: Chez Christophe Chocolaterie Patisserie

June 14, 2018

A couple of months ago, I had scheduled a RMT appointment. After the appointment, I was feeling quite relaxed and when going back home, I noticed that Chez Christophe was closeby! I have been hearing really great things about this place so I thought it was a nice day to treat myself.
I believe this is their new location, their old cafe used to be a couple blocks down or maybe even on the same block? I can’t remember. Anyways, the cafe was nice inside and was super clean. They had a plethora of assorted chocolates, as well as a bunch of seasonal goodies (It was right before Easter when I went). All of their desserts looked very yummy.

Hot chocolate, $4.75: Since I don’t drink caffeine, I went with the hot chocolate. It was made with steamed milk and Swiss chocolate and lightly dusted with cocoa powder on top. The hot chocolate was the perfect amount of sweetness for me. The cocoa powder on top was bitter and unsweetened, so it helped to balance the richness.

Hazelnut croissant, $4.00 (approx): Mmmm, this was so delicious! The croissant was light, soft, and flaky. The chocolate hazelnut filling inside was delicious as well!

Chez Christophe is a great place to get your chocolate fix. You won’t be disappointed with their quality or selection. It’s a good place to come hang out or meet with friends too!

Yay!

Food: Yook Korean Grilled BBQ & Bistro

June 6, 2018

When Yook opened last summer, the boyfriend and I have been talking about trying it out, since it’s pretty much the only Korean restaurant in this area. Well, it’s been almost a year and we finally came to try it out with Smores!

Yook is located on Nanaimo and East Broadway, which is more of a residential area. There are a few restaurants in this area but nothing compared to the hot spots in Vancouver. Since this is a quieter area, there is free street parking which is easy to find, although we just walked here because the location was very convenient for us.

Going inside, it seems as that Yook has renovated from the old Vietnamese restaurant that used to be there. There were a few other tables but it wasn’t super busy when we came on a Monday evening.

Tip: If you check in on Yelp, you can get a free drink!

Banchan, free: The banchan was pretty standard, nothing super good or bad about it.

Seafood and green onion pancake, $16.95: This was served to us piping hot and fresh! The outside was crispy. Our only complaint about this was that there wasn’t much seafood in it… it seemed like more of a vegetable pancake instead. There was lots of green onion though.

Bulgogi beef, $18.95: The bulgogi beef came on a sizzling hot plate and smelled amazing! Flavourwise, it was delicious as well. The beef was marinated very well and was juicy. There was a generous amount and pretty worth it for the price.

Japchae,$14.95: The japchae was so good! There was a good amount of beef inside too. I don’t remember exactly what the sauce was made out of, but I do remember that it was very delicious. Of course, the glass noodles just completed the dish because glass noodles are bomb.

Spicy dakgalbi with cheese, $18.95 + $5.00 for cheese: Koreans love their meat with cheese, so we had to order this one! This was a spicy chicken with veggie dish, which we added cheese to for an additional $5. This was SO GOOD. It packed a good amount of spice and the chicken was nice and tender. Once the cheese melted, everything went together so perfectly.

I’m not sure why we didn’t try this restaurant any sooner, but there is not a doubt that we will be back. We all left stuffed to the brim and very satisfied with our dinner!

Yay!

Food: Passion8 Cafe

May 30, 2018

One random evening, Macaroni and Cheese asked the boyfriend and I to try Passion8 Cafe! We have driven by it before and I’ve seen good reviews online, so off we went!

Passion8 is most popular for their Korean milk shaved ice, aka bingsoo. It is essentially a mixture of ice and milk shaved in paper thin sheets.

They also have cakes, cafe drinks, and toast boxes, but it seemed like the bingsoo was the most popular among customers that night. It was also pretty busy but we got there minutes before a line started, yay!

Strawberry blossom bowl, $14.00: The boyfriend and I went with the strawberry, and it did not disappoint. The milk shaved ice was refreshing, light, and slightly sweet. It would probably be too bland by itself though. It came with a generous portion of sliced strawberries, a scoop of chocolate (your choice of choco or vanilla) ice cream, and some cheesecake bites.

We really enjoyed it and did not leave feeling disgustingly full because it is such a light dessert.

Mango bongo single, $11.00: Macaroni and Cheese had a large dinner, so they decided to just share a single. It came with fresh mango cubes, cheesecake, and a scoop of ice cream as well. The mango was fresh and ripe, just like our strawberries. They had no complaints about it as well.

I’m really glad that they suggested this place because we really enjoyed it here. I would love to come back if I’m craving some bingsoo!

Yay!

Food: Trader Joe’s Haul

May 22, 2018

Woohoo! This post makes me so happy to do because it’s a long time coming. I did a Trader Joe’s haul four years ago and wanted to do more reviews on their products, but then the exchange rate became crap and we stopped going to the states as often. But finally we came back!

Going to Trader Joe’s is always a highlight of the states and during my visit in February, I made sure to stock up!

This will be a review of the items that I bought!

Bamba peanut snacks: These were quite interesting. They had a light fluffy texture like Old Dutch’s Popcorn Twists. The taste was the same except that right after you bite it, it goes from salty to a powdered peanut butter taste. I didn’t really like the taste and wouldn’t order it again… Maybe if it wasn’t peanut butter flavoured.

Chocolate hazelnut cookies: Oh gosh, these were AMAZING. I wish I bought more than one box. The cookies were light but tasted like shortbread. The hazelnut spread inside was super delicious. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth but these were so good!!!

White truffle potato chips: We are huge truffle oil fans, so this went into the grocery cart instantly. They tasted like regular chips but with a hint of truffle oil. Would definitely repurchase this as well!

Strawberry rhubarb soda: The soda was alright, nothing too special about it. It had more of a rhubarb taste and didn’t taste like strawberry. Not bad but not super good either!

Speculoos Cookie & Cookie spread: The OG product that made me fall in love with Trader Joe’s in the first place. A combination of their chocolate and cookie spread, this goes well with so many things!

Almond butter: The almond butter spread is pretty good too, although obviously not as good as the Speculoos 😉 It’s a good alternative to peanut butter and also does a good job in keeping you full.

Honey crisp apple cider: I was quite excited to try this, but it tasted just like regular apple juice instead of a cider. It was still delicious and refreshing though.

Dark chocolate Speculoos cookie: This was an impulse buy while waiting in line to check out. But man, am I glad I got this because it was delicious! Dark chocolate with a layer of Speculoos cookie inside? Can’t go wrong with that 😉

Mac and cheese: The boyfriend ate this when I was not home one night. He said it was very disappointing, so I’m glad that I didn’t miss out on much. He said that it wasn’t cheesy or creamy at all. That’s a bummer!

The items at Trader Joe’s are either hit or miss. It all sounds delicious on the packaging so the real test is when you purchase and eat it. Hopefully this post will help you not have to test out as many products and save some moolah (especially since it’s in USD)!

Read more: We stayed one night in the states, and I did a review of the hotel we stayed at!

Travel: Din Tai Fung Seattle

May 18, 2018

While on a weekend getaway to Seattle, I really wanted to check Din Tai Fung off my list and try these Michelin-star rated Xiao Long Baos. In the Seattle area, there are four different Din Tai Fung locations. We visited the one in downtown which is about a 15 minute walk from Pike Place Market and inside a mall (I know that the Zomato spoonback is for the University District, but they didn’t have a page for the Downtown location).

We were prepared to wait, and in total we waited probably about 30-35 minutes? You can provide your phone number and they’ll text you when it’s almost your turn. We killed some time and splurged at See’s Candy which is across the street! There’s also a Sephora and Nordstrom across the street so the wait time goes by quite fast.

The vibe of the restaurant was pretty fancy compared to all the other Taiwanese restaurants that we have been to. It was tastefully decorated and pretty modern.

Xiao long bao: You can’t come to Din Tai Fung without getting the famous Xiao Long Baos! We made sure to order them.

It was love at first bite. What sets them apart is that the skin is very thin and slightly chewy, yet it does not break on impact. The thin skin is still able to hold all of the delicious juices inside.

The XLBs are definitely worth the hype and wait. Do yourself a favor and order it!

Moving to the other menu items that aren’t as popular but delicious as well!

Taiwanese spicy beef noodle soup: Nigiri’s beef noodle soup had incredibly tender beef chunks, which were marinated very well too. It wasn’t too spicy although the broth was very flavourful.

Taiwanese beef noodle soup: Maki and I both ordered the same simple beef broth soup. It was very clear yet still flavourful. The taste was very homemade and comforting, and reminded me of the boyfriend’s dad’s broth.

Dan Dan noodles: The boyfriend had mixed feelings about his noodles. There was a large portion of noodles but no meat. Although there was a large portion of noodles, it didn’t feel like any substance so it would have been better with a protein of some sort. It didn’t seem worth the price since it was just noodles, despite the sauce being delicious.

I’m not sure if it’s because I am Canadian so I have to keep in mind the extra 30% (approximate) approximate exchange rate, but our meal was pretty pricey. I am glad I finally tried it though and would love for Din Tai Fung to open in Vancouver so that it wouldn’t be as expensive.

I would still recommend trying the famous XLBs because they are definitely worth it! Perhaps don’t come as hungry as we did because the portion of noodles aren’t that big compared to what we usually get back home. Which is surprising because America is land of the big portions!

Yay!