Curiously Carmen

Thai Son – Richmond

August 28, 2019

When the fiance and I first started dating many years ago, the Thai Son at First Ave Marketplace was our go-to place for pho. It was close by, fast, and cheap although laden with copious amounts of MSG.

But over the years, we stopped going to Thai Son as much – mostly because we discovered Basil Garden and haven’t looked back.

I was craving pho and since we were in Richmond, I suggested Thai Son for old times sake. This location is also relatively new, only being open for the past 3ish years compared to the First Avenue Marketplace location that has been open since I was a child.

Starting off, service was rude but I’m not sure why I expected any different. Perhaps because it was a nicer location, but nope. One particular waitress was really snappy and rude when I asked for the menu and some water after sitting down and waiting for 5 minutes.

Small pho: I ordered a small pho with brisket, rare beef, and tripe. There was a generous portion of meat in the bowl which was appreciated. However, the broth tasted very flat and just like MSG.

I ended up giving the rest to the fiance because there was too much MSG for my liking and I didn’t want to feel like a lethargic, thirsty piece of crap after dinner.

Large pho: The fiance ordered the beef ball and rare beef pho. Like myself, he also found the pho to contain lots of MSG and too salty. But he ended up finishing it anyways.

Lemongrass chicken: The lemongrass chicken smelled amazing when it arrived! It smelled more like fried chicken than lemongrass though.

The chicken was very juicy and delicious. The meat was well marinated although it had the flavour of chicken karaage more than lemongrass. It was also very oily.

Overall, Thai Son is not the healthiest or best choice for Vietnamese food but it gets the job done. I probably will be offending some people but this is my own opinion.

Yes, it is a staple and well known restaurant chain in Vancouver but we found it too salty with copious amounts of MSG. There are definitely better choices for pho in Vancouver though.

Nay!

Whitby’s Coffee House

August 25, 2019

Whitby’s Coffee House is one of the many cafes along the main street by White Rock pier. After having lunch at The Boathouse a couple of blocks away, I was feeling like some dessert.

My parents and the fiance wanted dessert initially too, until they finished their lunches at The Boathouse and decided they were all too full.

I didn’t really have a preference to which cafe/gelato place, so we randomly walked into this one on the way back to the car. There are seriously so many places to pick from within the few blocks!

Passion fruit and mango sorbet: I’m actually not that big of a sorbet fan because it’s not rich or creamy enough for me. But since I can’t have ice cream and most gelato places currently do not offer coconut milk based dessert, I had to settle with sorbet.

I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious this was for a sorbet. I’m a big fan of anything passion fruit or mango based so this was right up my alley. There was more passion fruit flavour than mango here.

In the past, I’ve had sorbets which contained ice chunks because they weren’t blended properly. This was not the case at Whitby’s, the sorbet was smooth and blended well.

There are so many choices for dessert in White Rock that it is a bit overwhelming. I’m glad I stumbled into Whitby’s though, and would love to get the sorbet again if I ever came back to White Rock!

The Boathouse – White Rock

August 22, 2019

It’s been a few years since I have been to White Rock! My parents wanted to go, so the fiance and I took them there for an afternoon. On that particular day, it was cloudy so it was quite dead. Adding to it, the boardwalk has been closed all year since it was destroyed in the storm.

I had a restaurant in mind but like most restaurants that day, it was closed. Probably only half the restaurants were open along the main stretch which was disappointing.

Picking a restaurant and having it fall through is hard for someone like me who has digestive problems and needs to look up the menu and plan what to eat beforehand. The Boathouse seemed suitable enough and we were hungry so we came here despite the horrible reviews on Yelp.

The Boathouse is probably one of the most popular restaurants along the main beach stretch, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell that day because the whole area was so dead. The restaurant spans an impressive three floors, with the top floor being a patio that has amazing water views. The third floor patio was closed so we got a seat outside on the first floor.

Tuna poke: I found my poke to be overpriced, but I really didn’t have any other option on the menu with my digestive problems. The tuna was cut in tiny cubes and tasted really fresh, so that was a relief considering the price and how dead it was in here!

It also came with some fresh avocado, mango salsa, wonton crisps, rice, and salad. I personally would have liked more rice than salad but it wasn’t a big deal. Overall it was good, but not worth $25.

Wild salmon BBQ burger: My parents split the salmon burger and said it was delicious. The wild salmon had a healthy, nice red colour to it and flaked off nicely.

Clam chowder and salad: The chowder was a bit smaller than we were expecting, but my parents didn’t have any complaints about the taste. For $7, you could upgrade to a Caesar salad which they did.

Smoked salmon hash: The fiance’s dish smelled amazing when it came to the table! The hash came with poached eggs, hollandaise sauce, potatoes, and cooked smoked salmon. We both thought it would be the cold smoked salmon but he enjoyed this version of it as well.

He was pleasantly surprised with this dish and would get it again. It was super filling to the point where he decided to not get gelato afterwards!

Overall, we came with low expectations due to the bad online reviews. But the food ended up being pretty decent. I did read a few saying that the fish and chips were bad so I’m glad none of us ordered those. This would be a restaurant that you come more for the patio views and people watching.

My only complaint would be that service was slow, especially considering there were only 3 other tables that afternoon.

Yay!

Blackball Taiwanese Dessert

August 19, 2019

Blackball Taiwanese Dessert is a new dessert place that opened up two months ago in Richmond’s Union Square! They are a Taiwanese company with many locations around the world, and the second one in Canada (other location in Toronto).

The fiance and I have been here a couple times and we love coming here for their customization options! Think of Blackball as a DIY Meetfresh or ZenQ.

They have a cute mascot, aka the Blackball! There are also names for the other characters that I saw on the wall. How cute!!!!

What sets this place apart is the customization! They also have pre-set desserts too if you don’t want to choose yourself.

You first start off with choosing the temperature, picking between icy, cold, warm, or hot. Then, you pick the base of grass jelly, matcha pudding, or aiyu jelly. Lastly, you add the toppings!

Cold matcha pudding base with grass jelly and aloe vera topping: The fiance really enjoyed his DIY dessert. The matcha pudding had a really strong matcha flavour to it, which he couldn’t get enough of!

The aloe vera and grass jelly went well with the matcha too. They also give you a small pack of cream, which made his dessert taste even better.

Cold grass jelly base with pearls and yam Q balls: I really enjoyed my DIY dessert as well! The grass jelly was light and refreshing, not too sweet. The pearls were fresh, chewy, and perfect. The yam q balls were a chewy delight too!

We will definitely come back to Blackball! We came here a second time, but ordered similar things so I didn’t take photos. The quality is great and it is delicious here.

Yay!

Earls – Brunch

August 16, 2019

For Macaroni’s birthday, we had a surprise birthday brunch at Earls Bridge Park! I’ve been to this location many times in the past for birthday dinners or happy hour.

Throughout the years, I’ve found it to be quite hit or miss as mentioned in my previous posts. However, Earls is making a tremendous effort on revamping their menu offerings because the menu seems to have new items that I don’t remember seeing in previous visits.

We came for their brunch happy hour, which was a really great deal!

Tuna poke bowl: I ordered the tuna poke bowl without the sauce, because it had dairy. Even without the sauce, I was very pleasantly surprised and found it to be delicious.

The rice had some sort of sesame oil/soya sauce mix, which was delicious. In addition, the tuna was fresh and also marinated with sesame oil. The poke bowl also came with some ripe mango and avocado.

I’ve gotten the tuna poke bowl in the past here but forgot how good it was for a Western restaurant! For comparison, I had one at Joey’s and it was not comparable to this one at Earls.

Chorizo & mushroom hash: Macaroni and Cocoa both ordered the chorizo and mushroom hash that day. Normally, it would have been $16, but it was a great deal during happy hour at the price of $9.75.

It was good, but could have used more chorizo.

Southern fried chicken and waffles: A brunch classic, fried chicken and waffles. It looked delicious and Macaroni’s mom did not have any complaints about it!

Country breakfast: Macaroni’s sister ordered the country breakfast, which came with 2 eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, and beans. Most places make you choose between bacon or sausage, so it’s nice that Earls gives you both!

The finishing touch was a chocolate lava cake! It was super rich and chocolate-y. The vanilla ice cream came in a dried, edible caramel cup which was pretty cool.

Yay!