Curiously Carmen

Rain or Shine Ice Cream – Revisit

October 18, 2019

My original post on Rain or Shine was written over 5 years ago, when it first opened. I wrote it back in 2014 but didn’t end up publishing it until 2015! That was for the first location on West 4th in Kits.

Rain or Shine is a staple for artisan ice cream in Vancouver! The fiance and I used to come here more in the past, but ever since Elephant Garden opened, we have been going there instead since it’s closer.

However, after dinner at Nabebugyo a couple of blocks down, I suggested we head over here!

The name Rain or Shine was very fitting for the downpour that evening. Vancouverites truly do get their ice cream in rain or shine! The place was full so we aren’t the only ones who wanted ice cream in the pouring rain.

Malted milk chocolate: One of their most popular permanent flavours, and the fiance’s personal favourite. The ice cream came with honeycomb chunks which added a nice textural element. The malted barley also went really well with the chocolate and honeycomb.

If you’re a fan of maltesers or malt flavours, you should definitely try this flavour!

Vegan yumaste sundae: I usually order the vegan coconut chocolate ice cream, which is delicious. This time, I noticed they had it in sundae form with some extra toppings so I gave it a try!

The vegan ice cream was delicious as usual. It has a strong chocolate-y taste and was decadent. I enjoyed the candied hazelnuts, which went really well with the chocolate – ferrero rocher anyone?!

The berry compote was delicious too. It went well with the chocolate and hazelnuts and wasn’t enough to be overwhelming.

My only complaint would be the chocolate sauce. It was very dry and thick. I noticed that the staff member was having a hard time squeezing it out of the tube. The sauce didn’t add any additional flavour to the sundae as well. It would have been better if it was melted so that it would be more like hot fudge.

Anyways, it has been awhile so it was nice to go back to Rain or Shine again!

Nabebugyo

October 11, 2019

It was one of those nights where the fiance and I wanted to go out for dinner, but had no idea where. After an indecisive hour of debating and browsing, we stumbled across Nabebugyo.

Both of us were in the mood for hot pot so we decided to check this place out!

Nabebugyo is located on Cambie and 16th. I’ve driven past this restaurant many times throughout the years and have always wondered if it was good or not.

Nabebugyo specializes in individualized Japanese hot pot, otherwise known as shabu shabu. They only serve hot pot here – no sushi, sashimi, etc.

Shabu shabu: I decided to go with the traditional broth. My hot pot came with beef, mushrooms, cabbage, tofu, udon, and rice. I was told by the waitress that the broth would be plain, and asked if it was okay. I said yes but didn’t realize exactly -how- plain it would be.

The ‘broth’ was just boiled water with a piece of kelp inside. On the menu, it said the kelp was supposed to give the water a slight umami flavour. This was not the case though… It just tasted like boiled water.

To give it more flavour, I tried to cook all the rare beef first. That didn’t really help. The fiance ended up giving me some of his broth which was a lot better. It also came with ponzu and sesame sauce which gave it more flavour.

Sukiyaki hot pot: The fiance made a better choice than I did with the sukiyaki hot pot. His broth actually had flavour and wasn’t just water. It was a sweetened soy sauce broth which was yummy.

His ingredients were the same as mine, but he opted for pork slices instead of beef. He had no complaints about his hot pot.

Ice cream: At dinner time, they offer free ice cream. It was your standard ice cream, nothing special but nice to enjoy. Since I currently can’t have dairy, the fiance happily enjoyed both.

Overall, Nabebugyo was alright. Nothing extremely delicious, but not bad either. The portion was good, but I definitely ordered the wrong broth. It was way too clear for my liking.

But Japanese food is quite clear and healthy, and the waitress did ask if it was okay, so I have no one to blame but myself. I wouldn’t mind coming back, except I would order a different broth next time.

Yay!

Beauty: Nature Republic Hand Cream

October 9, 2019

Hand cream seems like a pretty basic thing to write about, because it’s just hand cream right? However, I do believe that not all hand creams are made the same. It has to be very rich because I work with my hands all day and wash my hands a lot (#germaphobeproblems), yet absorbs quickly so it doesn’t distract me from work, driving, cooking etc.

When Cheese went to Korea last year, she gave me a Nature Republic hand cream as a gift. It has been a staple in my makeup bag and one of the best handcreams I have used, next to the Crabtree and Evelyn one.

It’s no secret that Korea is a forerunner in all things beauty…. Now that I think of it, Korean food and K-Pop as well. Korean culture is quite popular in Vancouver now too!

Anyways, back to the review… Since Korea is a forerunner in all things beauty, it shouldn’t come to a surprise that this hand cream is amazing!

Application: It comes in a standard tube with a good quality plastic twist cap so that it doesn’t spill and smear all over your bag.

A tiny drop usually does the trick because it has has a thick texture. Th cream absorbs instantly into my skin. I love that it feels softer right away without a sticky feeling so I can get right back to my activities.

The scent of this one is great as well. It has a floral and delicate scent.

I would definitely purchase this again and perhaps try out another scent. It would also make a nice, small gift for a friend.

Yay!

Availability: Korean beauty stores, online
Price: Not sure, was given as a gift

Nam Nam Noodle

October 6, 2019

I am always on the lookout for fresh, hand pulled noodles. Noodles are my favourite type of food, hands down.

Thin noodles, thick noodles, rice noodles, vermicelli noodles, egg noodles, spaghetti… ALL noodles, I love em all.

So when I came across Nam Nam Noodle, I knew we had to check it out! While having lunch with my mom at Boiling Point across the street, she recommended it as well so the fiance and I came here for lunch the next day.

When I think of fresh, hand pulled noodles, I think of hole in the wall joints. However, Nam Nam Noodle actually had a nice, woodsy theme going on and seemed to be renovated from whatever it previously was.

It was quite clean inside, you could see the chef hand-pulling the noodles fresh to order and the chopsticks had their logo engraved into it.

Beef noodle soup: I went with the classic beef noodle soup. It was delicious and I found myself savouring every bite. The broth was light yet flavourful. It was not like the Taiwanese beef noodle broth, but a lot lighter with a hint of white pepper.

The sliced beef was very soft as well. But the star of the show was definitely the noodles! The noodles were a doughy, chewy delight. If you’re a fan of hand-pulled noodles like moi, you need to try them.

In addition, the noodles were very long too! It seemed like I was endlessly slurping on one strand of noodle!

Chicken nuggets: The fiance’s noodles didn’t come with meat, but it was okay because he wanted to try the chicken nuggets. They came piping hot, fresh, and crunchy.

The nuggets did not taste like the Taiwanese chicken nuggets with the 5 spice powder and star anise seasoning, but they were still very good.

Spicy oil spill noodle: The fiance went with a spicy, soupless noodle and really enjoyed it as well. At first, we were a bit worried the peppers would be the Szechuan peppers, which people either hate or love due to the intense numbing properties. He was glad to see that was not the case.

The noodles packed a nice, spicy kick. Compared to my thin noodles, these noodles were a lot wider and thicker.

All in all, we left very satisfied and happy. We will definitely be back in the near future when the noodle craving hits!

Yay!

Andamiro Korean Bistro

October 2, 2019

Andamiro Korean Bistro has been on my to try list for awhile now. While looking for a place to have dinner with Sangria and Lager, I suggested this place. It was a delicious meal and we left very full and satisfied.

Andamiro is located in East Van along Kingsway Street. Parking was a bit hard to find because it is all street and residential parking. There are many other restaurants around so you’ll probably have to drive around a couple times during peak hours.

Walking in, the restaurant was cutely decorated and very Korean style. There was also a little play area for kids which I thought was awesome!

Banchan: The banchan was disappointing and I was worried this would set the scene for the rest of our dinner. The sweet potatoes were very bland and flavourless. You could probably tell judging by the colour, usually they are a nice, golden brown.

I haven’t been served lettuce as banchan before and it just seemed cheap to me (or maybe I don’t know banchan well enough). A single piece of lettuce cut up into small pieces. The beansprouts were alright but could have used more flavour. The only good thing was the kimchi, which had a nice kick to it.

Anyways, Sangria, Lager, and the fiance went with a set menu which was a pretty good deal. I wasn’t sure how my stomach would fare, so I ordered my own soup but had a bite bites of their items.

Seafood tofu soup: The first dish in the set menu. Although they ordered a mild spicy level, it still packed a good amount of heat. The broth didn’t look that spicy which was deceiving!

Short ribs & beef bulgolgi: The MEAT! This came sizzling hot and smelled delicious. It did not disappoint either! The meat was juicy and thoroughly marinated with a nice sweetness to it due to the bulgolgi sauce.

Royal seafood japchae: The japchae was delicious as well. I love crystal noodles – actually, all noodles in general, I don’t discriminate 🙂 The noodles soaked up the flavour nicely and it came with a good amount of ingredients.

Seafood pancake: The seafood pancake was a bit on the smaller side compared to other Korean restaurants, but it was a good amount to share. The pancake was crispy on the outside, while the inside had a good amount of ingredients.

Ox bone soup: I love my Korean oxbone soup! I was expecting to have to season this myself with the salt and pepper provided as with most Korean places, but this was already seasoned. The broth was very flavourful and milky due to the ox bone.

There was a very generous amount of sliced beef inside as well. The beef was soft and delectable.

However, near the end, it got a bit too salty for my liking. I kept needing to drink water.

Takoyaki: Lager noticed that you could get a free plate of takoyaki if you posted a photo on Instagram, so obviously we did that! I didn’t have any, but the rest of them had no complaints about it.

Overall, we left Andamiro with leftovers and very full tummies. I did find some of their items to be very salty though so just a heads up on that. Service was friendly and attentive, decent prices, and tasty food – I would come back!

Yay!