Curiously Carmen

Sushi Garden – Revisit

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!

Sushi Garden Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Vietnam House

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.

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.

Vietnam House Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Wara Thai

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.

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!

Wara Thai Eatery Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Sushi California – Cambie St

Disclaimer: In light of COVID-19, I just wanted to say that I am doing my part and have been social distancing. Luckily, I have some drafts saved up before this whole craziness began so please don’t attack me for posting restaurant visits.

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.

Before this craziness began, Sangria’s Riskay Girls found ourselves at Sushi California after a morning of bridal shower and bachlorette planning for Sangria’s wedding! Unfortunately, everything is now being put on hold until the madness is over. Side note, my thoughts are with all the brides getting married this summer, it really sucks.

I actually haven’t been to this Sushi California location until now. I found this location to be less busy than the original Lougheed location. Parking may be a bit hard to find since this is such a busy area, but it is a minute away from Broadway/City Hall station.

Salmon sashimi: The salmon sashimi was delicious and satisfied my sashimi cravings. The sashimi was very fresh and the pieces were very large too!

Dynamite roll: The dynamite roll was alright. Nothing too special about it. I found it underwhelming compared to the other dishes we ordered.

Crunch house roll: The crunch house roll was delicious! It was a deep fried roll with crab meat, avocado, tuna and salmon sashimi. The teriyaki sauce was a pleasant, sweet addition to the roll.

Although the roll was deep fried, it didn’t feel too heavy or greasy to me, and had a light crunch.

Beef yakiudon: The yakiudon was delicious, with a creamy, mouthwatering sauce. I thought I tasted a bit of butter in the sauce but not too sure.

The only disappointing thing about this dish was that it was quite small so I didn’t find it worth the price. The photo is deceiving because it makes it look bigger than it was.

Okonomiyaki: Last but not least, the okonomiyaki! The okonomiyaki was delicious and very filling.

Overall, I enjoyed this location of Sushi California. Reliable, straightforward sushi at reasonable prices.

Sushi California Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Manpuku Bento

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.

During this whole COVID-19 madness, the fiance and I have been mostly cooking ourselves. However, I browsing on Uber Eats and saw that they were currently offering no delivery fee for local restaurants!

We came across Manpuku Bento and it looked very delicious, so we placed an order to support our local business owners during this crazy time.

Manpuku Bento is located in Chinatown, and opened last summer. They are a small, Japanese quick serve style restaurant similar to Ebi-Ten. Manpuku Bento does not serve sushi, but rather cooked meals like rice dishes and curry. These types of quick serve places are very popular in Japan and are often very cheap there!

Miso soup: Both our orders came with miso soup. Taste wise, it was pretty standard. What set their miso soup apart for us was that they included a lot of ingredients in it. The soup contained some sliced red peppers, bamboo shoots, and onions.

Karaage bento: The karaage bento came with 3 large pieces of chicken karaage and rice. Since we ordered delivery, the chicken was not as crispy anymore but it was still delicious. The chicken meat was juicy and bursting with marinated flavour.

Katsu don: Again, since we ordered delivery, the pork katsu was soggy by the time it arrived. But nothing an air fryer can’t fix! Pop it in there for a few minutes and it is just as fresh, crispy and juicy.

The katsu don came with a bit more things such as caramelized onion, egg, and their house donburi sauce. The donburi sauce was delicious and the egg was slightly runny, which mixed perfectly with the rice.

Personally, I liked the chicken karaage more because the chicken pieces were so juicy and big, but I liked the donburi sauce and egg in the katsu don. So, if I could somehow order a chicken karaage don that would be perfect!

I’m really glad we discovered Manpuku Bento and I could see us ordering here again. It’s not the healthiest but once in awhile, you just need that delicious piece of fried chicken for your soul…. especially in unprecedented times like these!

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