Curiously Carmen

Yuwa Japanese Cuisine

It has been a crazy summer and blogging fell on the back burner. One of my best friends got married, I got married 3 weeks later, then we went to the Island for a week, and then work has been really busy since returning. In between all that, I had no time to blog but I will slowly churn out the reviews from June onwards.

We are so glad to finally be married and put the stress of planning a wedding during COVID behind us. Perhaps I will write a post one day about our intimate and simple wedding, but the short version is that we were very happy with the way things turned out and had no regrets of not doing a “normal” wedding.

Also, the fiance will now be referred to as the husband on the blog! Now, on to the review!

Yuwa Japanese Cuisine is located in the spot that Zest Japanese used to be, in the small plaza at McDonald and 16th Avenue. We have been to Zest before a few years ago for my birthday, but not Yuwa. While looking for a place to go, Jujube and Aero suggested Yuwa so off we went. Both places are/were authentic Japanese!

Prior to coming, we checked the menu and was told that their menu changes every month. The waitress mentioned that there are some regular items but I forgot what they were. You can always call and check first.

There was plenty of patio seating and it was a nice summer evening, so we sat outside. The patio seating area used to be a small parking lot but they probably converted it after the COVID restrictions, and ended up keeping it. The restaurant is quite peaceful and has an upscale vibe to it. It would be nice for date night.

Albacore tuna and avocado nori-shoyu: To start, we tried a tuna sashimi dish and it did not disappoint. The tuna was fresh and delicious, while the avocado was ripe. It’s been 2 months since the visit, but I remember also really liking the beets and soya sauce underneath too. The crispy rice cracker bits were also a nice touch.

Chashu wappa meshi: I didn’t realize this was a monthly special until writing this review! Wappa meshi was a new type of dish that we haven’t had before. The food is cooked in special round containers, called wappa, that is made of thin wooden sheets. It usually contains rice, and topped with other ingredients.

The husband (! first time referring to him as that here) ordered the chashu wappa meshi, and it did not disappoint. The chashu wappa meshi came with pork, shitake mushroom, simmered kombu, shiso, ikura, mitsuba herb, and Japanese rice. The chashu pork was flavourful, tender, and melted in your mouth. The husband really enjoyed this dish. It’s too bad this was only a special because he would love to come back for it.

Anago no wappa meshi: Jujube and Aero also tried the wappa meshi, but they ordered the anago one, which is saltwater eel. Unagi is more common, which is the freshwater eel. They also enjoyed their dish.

Duck udon: For myself, I was sold on the duck udon when I saw it on the menu. The selling point was 1) duck, and 2) the lemon zest broth. I had a really delicious duck udon w/ lemon zest broth in Tokyo and I wanted to see if Yuwa’s was any good.

The broth was clear and light, perfect for those with sensitive stomachs. Although light, it was still delicious. There was a hint of lemon zest, I was hoping there would be more of the lemon flavour in the soup. But overall, it was still a good noodle soup and I’d order it again.

Jujube and Aero also ordered a couple of rolls. I forgot what they ordered and since the menu is seasonal, it has likely changed by now so I will only include the photos.

Overall, our dinner at Yuwa was enjoyable and I would recommend coming here!

Yuwa Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

BaiBua Thai Cuisine – Revisit

Bai Bua is our go-to whenever we are feeling like Thai food. We have been here many times over the years, and it did has not disappointed so far. Since we were in this area last month, the fiance suggested coming here for dinner, and Jerky and Toro joined us too.

Sukho Thai noodle soup: I had plans to get the clear chicken soup, but I saw this on the menu and decided to switch it up. I love spicy foods but over the years had to cut down due to health reasons. It’s been so long since I had a spicy noodle broth!

The spice was pretty mild. I found the soup to be actually more sweet than spicy. I prefer my noodle soups to be more on the savoury side, but this was alright. I’d probably stick with the clear chicken soup next time because it was a bit too sweet for my liking.

Penang curry: The fiance was going to also get his usual curry, but we noticed the specials board and the Penang curry caught his eye. I’ve had a few of their specials before and they are always really good!

Unfortunately I don’t remember what was in the special and it’s not on the menu. But this was delicious!

Green curry: Jerky and Toro split a green curry with a side of large coconut rice. Coconut rice is a must when having Thai curry. It makes the flavours so much better! They had no complaints and said it was delicious.

Curry: Jerky and Toro ordered another curry dish as well. I forgot what this one was, but they enjoyed it. You can’t go wrong with any of the curry dishes at BaiBua.

Mango sticky rice: I love their mango sticky rice! A bonus is that it is dairy free. The mango is cut into a pretty flower shape, on top of fragrant and sticky coconut rice. Finally, it is topped with more coconut milk. The dessert is a bit pricy but worth it.

Overall, it was another delicious dinner at Bai Bua. Bai Bua is a solid choice for Thai food in Vancouver.   

Bai Bua Thai Cuisine Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Chewies Oyster Bar

This review is a long time coming because I have heard about Chewies for many years now. I’ve been eating more raw oysters lately and wanted to try a few places out. Honey and I came for the happy hour special. She’s been here before and enjoyed it.

We went to the location in downtown by Coal Harbour. They are on the ground floor of an office building. The layout of the restaurant was long.

I normally don’t review the washroom situation at restaurants but that would be my main complaint here. For the size of the restaurant, that only had two handicap washrooms for the whole restaurant. There definitely wasn’t enough washrooms and there was always a line.  One handicap washroom was hidden next to the hostess stand, the other down a hall behind a bar.It wasn’t too busy when we came and the restaurant was operating on reduced COVID capacity, but there was always a line already.

Sticky ribs: The ribs were part of the happy hour menu. I didn’t have any, but it looked saucy and tender.

Oysters: The current happy hour deal is $1.50 oysters, which seemed to be the current going price for happy hour in Vancouver. I found the oysters to be alright, but I’ve had better. They were thinner than I was used to and one of them tasted a bit off.

Jambalaya: The jambalaya was delicious. It was very flavourful with a good amount of chicken breast and sausage. I don’t normally have jambalaya so I can’t tell if it was authentic, but I found it to be delicious. The portion was pretty big and I packed some back for the fiance, who enjoyed it as well.

Although it wasn’t entirely bad here, Chewies wouldn’t be my first choice for happy hour oysters. If I was in downtown, there would be other places I rather go to for oysters. I wouldn’t come downtown purposely for Chewies either. I’ve had better oysters elsewhere and the washroom situation is inconvenient.

Chewies Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Pizza Ludica – Revisit

It’s been many years since I went to Pizza Ludica! Pizza Ludica is a pizza and board game restaurant, with two locations by Chinatown and New West. I’ve been to the Chinatown location a few time over the years, and always had a great time. You can read my review on my first visit here.

Pepperoni and I were discussing board games, and had plans to go to a park to play. But the weather wasn’t on our side that day, and I suggested Pizza Ludica so we can still play games somewhere.

The Chinatown location is located on the border of Chinatown and downtown, a few steps away from Stadium station. There is meter parking around but beware of angry nesting crows. I was attacked by two when I was paying for my parking meter! 

Due to the pandemic, Pizza Ludica has temporarily stopped taking reservations. There used to be many tables prior to COVID, but they have removed a lot and spaced them out. It looks like they spaced the tables more than they needed to but I’m not complaining about that. If you’re coming on a weekend, I would recommend coming early since they don’t have many tables and no reservations currently.

I had some concerns about touching the board games and eating, but they had it all planned out. Board games are quarantined for 3 days after being played. This could also be a downside because if you see a game on the quarantine table, you can’t play it. But they have such a large collection of games that we didn’t feel disappointed.

Also, they recommend that customers eat their pizza with a fork and knife so that it’s more sanitary than touching game pieces and your pizza.

Hawaiian pizza: The pizza here is similar to Neopolitan pizza, in that it is baked fresh in an oven and also thin crust. They don’t advertise it as Neopolitan pizza though.

I was happy to see that they offered Daiya vegan cheese here, at no additional cost. I’m not a fan of Daiya cheese except when it’s melted and on pizza.

The pizza here was delicious although the bottom was slightly burnt. There was a lot of ham and pineapple topping, and the dough was thin and chewy.

Montreal pizza: Pepperoni ordered the Montreal pizza which came with pepperoni, mushrooms, and green peppers. There was a generous amount of toppings on her pizza as well, and she had no complaints.

The Pandemic board game is probably really popular right now. We actually bought the mini version a few months ago to play at home. Pizza Ludica’s Pandemic board game was on the quarantine table, but Pepperoni and I saw the Iberia version available so we played a couple rounds of this.

Board games are also categorized by difficulty level and have stickers on the box to show you. You can choose if you want a quick game, a longer strategy game, or something in between.

Overall, we had a good time playing board games and eating pizza at Pizza Ludica. It’s a great place to hang out with friends if you like to play board games.  

Ludica Pizzeria & Game Room Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Bon Chaz – Revisit

Oops, I took an inadvertent break from blogging over the past couple of weeks. We have been getting in the full swing of wedding planning, seeing friends again with restrictions opening up, and I’ve been spending what time I have left reading (or resting) instead of writing. I have a backlog of restaurants from over a month ago which I will slowly make my way writing!

Back in my student days, Bon Chaz was my go-to spot for lunch. The sandwiches were fresh, delicious, and affordable on my student budget. It’s been awhile since I came to Bon Chaz and since I was in the area picking up our wedding rings, I decided to stop by.

It seems in the recent years since I’ve been here, Bon Chaz focuses on corporate catering more. They closed their Main Street location, and their website and cafe promotes their catering heavily. I should have seen that as a warning sign.

Tuna sandwich: This sandwich was definitely not like how it used to be and was disappointing. Even without my expectations, it was ok at best.

They used to bake their bread fresh in store daily, and I looked forward to the scent of freshly baked bread each time I used to come here. They don’t bake their bread fresh in this cafe anymore.

In addition, they used to have this delicious, fresh baguette for their tuna sandwich that I was looking forward to this time. I was disappointed that it was just two slices of sourdough.

The sandwich filling itself was ok at best. Just your average tuna with some chili powder so it had some spice, plus a slice of melted cheese.

What the tuna baguette used to look like!

Here is a photo of what the tuna baguette used to look like 4 years ago from my previous review. It was way tastier too.

I’ve definitely had better at Bon Chaz but it seems like they don’t really care about the cafe operation anymore. That is disappointing because it used to be so delicious. 

Bonchaz Bakery Cafe Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato