Curiously Carmen

Sushi S

November 18, 2019

Sushi S is an inconspicuous restaurant in the small plaza (not sure if there’s a name?) with No. 1 Beef Noodle House on Willingdon. I’ve been there a couple of times for takeout only, so have yet to write a review. My coworkers and I came here for lunch, so I thought I would finally write a post on it!

The parking lot in this plaza is really awful. It’s always cramped and not enough spots. I would recommend parking along the residential streets although those homeowners are probably going to hate me for suggesting this, whoops.

Salmon sashimi: One of my coworkers and I shared a salmon sashimi. The salmon tasted very fresh and was delicious! I’d order it again.

Appetizer tempura: Since my stomach problems have temporarily gone away, I have been taking advantage of this and eating things I normally can’t…. aka fried food!

The appetizer tempura came with one piece of prawn, zucchini, and yams. They were all very fresh and crispy with a satisfying crunch.

Chopped scallop roll: The chopped scallop roll was filled with fresh scallop, to the point where it was almost overflowing. This was delicious and I had no complaints about it!

Dynamite roll: The dynamite roll was a bit on the small side. The shrimp and yam tempura inside weren’t as crunchy and fresh as the appetizer tempura, so I wonder if they use the leftover pieces for the rolls.

Now, onto the dishes that my coworkers ordered!

Chicken teriyaki donburi

Alaska roll combo

Vegan veggie roll

Salmon oshi

There are so many Korean owned Japanese restaurants in Metro Vancouver. I would rank Sushi S higher on the scale. The sushi is fresh and the prices are decent.

Service could be improved though, it was a bit hard to get service. I’ve also been here for takeout a couple of times and the staff weren’t friendly.

Yi Fang Taiwan Fruit Tea – Gilbert Road

November 15, 2019

There are so many Yi Fangs opening up in Metro Vancouver, and for good reason! Based on my previous visits at other locations, you can really tell the quality of their drinks. You can read my review here on the Cambie Street location in Vancouver.

This time, I went to a Yi Fang in Richmond on Gilbert Road. Located in the same apartment complex as Milkcow and Dinesty, this location is connected to Dinesty so you can order their drinks if you eat there!

This Yi Fang was not as busy, and more spacious than other locations I’ve been to. There was also free parking underground for the apartment complex which was easy to navigate (I say this because Richmond parking can be a nightmare).

Starfruit juice: Instead of my usual wintermelon juice, I tried this despite a warning from one of the staff saying it wasn’t that good. I appreciated that honesty, but I was in the mood to try something different!

The drink reminded me of ‘wah mui’ or sour salted plum snacks, that I used to eat at my grandma’s when I was a kid. In that sense, it was nostalgic so I enjoyed it.

However, wah mui isn’t something you would binge eat normally…. A few pieces would be enough. That was the case for the starfruit juice too. The sour and saltiness was nice the first few sips but it wore off and became strange.

It wasn’t terrible, just not my cup of tea after awhile. Good thing I wasn’t thirsty because this isn’t the type of drink too chug either! The saltiness prevents you from doing that. I definitely wouldn’t recommend it unless you are a huge fan of salted plum.

Original fruit tea: Scallop went with her go to, the original fruit tea. One thing that sets Yi Fang apart is how much fresh fruit they include in the tea! She had no complaints about her drink.

I would love to come back to this location – parking is easy, not super busy, and spacious. I’d also like to go to the Dinesty next door so I can order some Yi Fang to go with my food. It’s not everyday that two different shops combine!

Banana Leaf – West Broadway

November 10, 2019

The fiance and I were in the mood to try something different. After looking at different cuisines, we decided on Malaysian! I can’t say I’ve had much Malaysian food in my life. Anyways, we have heard good things about Banana Leaf and picked the location on West Broadway.

We came on a Saturday evening around 6pm without reservations, and it was quite busy already. If we came any later, we probably would not have gotten a seat right away!

I do remember coming to this location as a kid with my relatives, so it has been around for a long time! However, I remembered the restaurant being darker inside. The restaurant does seem to have been renovated in the past few years, I was looking on Yelp and it used to look different. The style now is more open and modern.

Drink: I don’t remember the name of the drink and it isn’t listed on the online menu, boo! But it was a virgin cocktail made with passionfruit, mango, soda, and maybe some other juices.

The drink was sweet and refreshing and wasn’t overloaded with ice, which I appreciated. One of my pet peeves is ordering a drink and half of the drink is ice. My only complaint would be that the banana leaf decor they put inside the drink was a bit dusty, which was off putting. I ended taking it out of my drink.

Chicken skewers: We started off with the grilled chicken skewers. The chicken was very juicy and full of flavour. There was a lot of lemongrass and garlic flavour, which we enjoyed. The skewers were a great start to the dinner!

Beef rendang curry: Rendang is a type of spicy Indonesian meat dish, which we haven’t had before. I love all different types of curry – Japanese, Thai, Indian, and now I was able to try Indonesian curry!

Compared to Japanese and Thai style curries, the spices were sharper if that makes any sense, and less creamy. The beef rendang curry packed a nice, spicy heat to it. It reminded me more of Indian curry. The beef was also melt in your mouth tender, and it was a generous portion.

We ended up ordering a side of roti canai to dip into the curry, which was the perfect complement!

Pineapple seafood fried rice: This is probably one of their most popular dishes, and visually appealing ones too! I was quite excited to try the fried rice and it did not disappoint.

The pineapple gave the rice a slight sweetness to it and was unlike other fried rice dishes I’ve tried before. There was a lot going on in the dish with some seafood, chicken, pumpkin seeds, raisins, and pineapple… However, the flavours all went together and wasn’t as overwhelming as it sounded.

It was a bit messy to scoop out because the rice would fall onto the plate, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. I also found the portion to be a bit small for the price, but at least it was good.

Roti canai: The roti canai was an extra addition to go with the beef rendang curry. I remember having roti canai many years ago and enjoying it, this time was no different.

All the dishes we ordered were delicious. Since I don’t have Malaysian food often and am not of Malaysian descent, I am unsure of how authentic it is…. but it was definitely tasty. It was nice to have something different apart and we would come back.

Milkcow

November 7, 2019

Milkcow is a Korean dessert chain focusing on high quality, organic milk soft serve. There was a location in Richmond so I suggested we try it out since the fiance loves his milk and dairy products.

We loved it so much that we have been back a few more times! This post contains multiple visits.

My digestive issues have settled down for now, so I am finally able to reintroduce dairy again! I hope that it can stay this way for awhile because cheese and ice cream are amazing. I am going to ‘MILK’ this for as long as I can =P

Cookies and cream: On our first visit, we split the cookies and cream soft serve. Within the first bite, we noticed the delicious, smooth and milky taste of the soft serve.

Compared to other soft serves, I would say this one has a pure, milky taste as opposed to ice cream. The oreo bits were a nice touch but the soft serve was delicious enough to eat by itself too.

Milky cube: The milky cube came with honeycomb and drizzled with honey. It was simple yet delicious.

Ube soft serve: Ube was one of their seasonal flavours. I’ve only recently tried ube so I jumped at the chance after seeing it on the menu. This flavour was delicious too!

I would describe the flavour of ube similar to artificial taro powder (such as in bubble tea), but lighter and muted.

Black pearl: Although the name says pearl in it, this soft serve didn’t actually come with pearls. In this case, pearls meant Maltesers, which are still delicious!

If you’re a fan of Nutella, you would enjoy this. The black pearl soft serve came with a chocolate hazelnut syrup. The sea salt enhanced the sweetness. The Maltesers were at the bottom of the cup as a nice finishing touch!

All in all, we loved Milkcow as evidenced by our multiple visits. The soft serve is delicious and high quality.

Price was quite reasonable too, at around $5-$6 per cup at the time of writing. The portion would be good for two people to share. We will definitely be coming back!

Gordon Ramsay Burger – Las Vegas

November 4, 2019

Gordon Ramsay Burger was definitely on our to-try list, and seemed to also be on everyone else’s list as well because it was always lined up whenever we walked by! The line up was worth it though because we left with very happy stomachs!

Gordan Ramsay Burger is located inside Planet Hollywood. There is a giant glass fireplace where patrons wait against. To keep people busy, there was a big touchscreen menu that you could look at while in line.

Big touch screen menu outside the restaurant

We came for a late dinner around 9:30pm, after watching a variety show at the V Theater nearby. The total wait time for us was around 20 minutes, and this was also on a weekday. If you’re coming during prime dining hours or on the weekend, I would expect to wait at least 40 minutes.

The one thing I didn’t really like about this place was how pushy our server was to us for buying drinks. Since we looked at the menu in line, we already knew what we were ordering. It made me feel a bit uncomfortable to tell our server a few times that we didn’t want drinks.

Onion rings: I was a bit surprised to see that the burgers did not include sides here! The fiance ordered onion rings to start, which set the tone for a delicious meal to come.

The onion rings were big, fresh, and crunchy. They came sprinkled with some shredded cheese which made it taste even better. My favourite part was the cheddar ranch dip, which went perfectly with the crunchy onion rings!

Hog dawg: You’re probably wondering why on Earth we would order a hot dog at a place specializing in burgers. Well, for starters, it was definitely not a ‘basic’ hot dog! A lot of reviews recommended the hot dogs, so the fiance decided to get the hog dawg.

The hog dawg was a giant pork sausage, wrapped in bacon, and topped with pulled pork and fried onions. It was delicious and easily the best hot dog we have ever tried.

Fish and crisps burger: My fish and crisps burger was equally delicious. Fish burgers aren’t something I normally order, but I wasn’t feeling like a beef burger that night.

Just like the onion rings, the fish fillet was fried to a crunchy, crisp, golden perfection. The burger also contained ‘crisps’, which I would describe as hickory sticks but without the smoked hickory flavour. The crisps didn’t have much flavour though, they were more there for the texture.

The yuzu dill mayo was absolutely AMAZING and complemented the fish and crisps perfectly. I enjoyed every single bite and would definitely get this burger if I came back.

We left very satisfied with Gordon Ramsay Burger. The burgers and hot dogs aren’t just your typical burgers and hot dogs – they have crafted quality, unique combinations which complemented each other really well.

They definitely know what they are doing here, and the line speaks for it.