Curiously Carmen

Song Huong Vietnamese Restaurant

March 4, 2019

After trying Got Pho a couple of weeks prior, I wanted to try Song Huong Vietnamese which is only about a 3 minute drive away.

The reviews looked promising, and I remember one of my aunts had said really good things about this place years ago, so off we went for lunch. However, I found it pretty disappointing.

Song Huong is a run down, hole in the wall restaurant (without the delicious food aspect so actually just a run down, shabby joint). The restaurant has definitely seen better days.

They have decorated the restaurant with plastic vines and fake fruit on the ceilings, which I found made the place look dirtier because they didn’t look dusted for awhile. There was also an abandoned dusty fish tank with dried algae stuff on the glass… not very appetizing at all.

Pho, small: I ordered a simple pho but substituted it with round rice noodles. Taste wise, it was a bit flat but passable. Definitely not the best I’ve had. I was mostly disappointed at how small the portion was.

After a few bites, I was done! Usually, a small size is enough to fill me up but I was still so hungry after.

Lemongrass chicken: The boyfriend’s lemongrass chicken came with crispy skin that was full of lemongrass flavour. However, the actual chicken meat itself did not have any flavour and was quite bland. It seemed like they only seasoned the skin.

He had no complaints about the spring roll, which came with pork and veggies.

Bun bo hue, small: This was perhaps the most disappointing dish of our lunch. On the menu, the bun bo hue was touted as their house special. Even on their signage out front, they advertised their bun bo hue (see first pic). Many reviews online said it was delicious too, so my mom gave it a try.

Just like my pho, the bun bo hue was very bland and flat. We found it hard to comprehend how this was one of their most famous dishes. The portion was also quite small and not worth the price. Good thing my mom had ate some breakfast prior to coming here so she wasn’t that hungry to begin with.

Pho, large: My dad was smarter and ordered the large pho, which filled him up.

I left still hungry and disappointed with Song Huong. The food was bland, portions were small, and the place just looked dirty. I don’t have a problem with hole in the walls joints if they are actually delicious, but this place definitely was not.

There are so many other Vietnamese places to choose from. I would rather go to Got Pho or Basil Garden for Vietnamese food, both of which are under a 5 minute drive from Song Huong.

Perhaps we came on a bad or off day, but I would be hesitant to come back here again.

Earnest Ice Cream – Revisit

March 1, 2019

In Vancouver, it seems like the two most popular ice cream places are Earnest, and Rain or Shine. Both are great choices and worth the hype. It’s been almost 4 years since my last post on Earnest Ice Cream, so I thought I would write a revisit post!

Although it was a cold February night, that did not stop the boyfriend and I from getting our ice cream fix. We were thinking of checking out Roosters but they were closed already, so we drove up Fraser and came to Earnest a few minutes later.

There is free street parking in this area but you may have to drive around the block a few times to find it.

We were surprised to see that the store was relatively full for a cold evening and 15 minutes before closing! I guess you can’t stop Vancouverites from getting their Earnest fix.

Here were the flavours of the night, they rotate daily. I was happy to see that they offered more than 1 vegan option – they had a whopping five! The vegan chocolate is a staple, but I haven’t seen the other flavours during my past visits.

Cookies and cream: The boyfriend went with a single scoop in a cup. It was delicious, creamy, and full of dairy goodness. He loved how it was loaded with cookie chunks too!

Vegan peanut butter chocolate pretzel: I’m not a crazy peanut butter lover, I’ll have some if it’s around… which was surprising that I purposely picked a peanut butter flavour! Who am I?? But it was just that good.

It reminded me of the filling inside a Reese peanut butter cup. There was also generous chunks of dark chocolate chips, and soft pretzels. The pretzels were a bit mushy inside, but I did enjoy biting into the dark chocolate. It kept the cone exciting and there was so many chunks!

I was happy to hear that the waffle cone was vegan/dairy free, so I jumped at the chance to have it. No regrets, the waffle cone was delicious as well.

We both left very satisfied with our ice cream craving. If you asked me, I would pick Earnest over Rain or Shine. Even before when I was able to have dairy, I still preferred Earnest (the salted caramel is so good!).

Location wise, I like the Earnest by Olympic Village/Main Street more because it is more spacious but the ice cream and service is the same so it’s not that big of a deal.

Pho 99 Noodle House (Renfrew location)

February 26, 2019

The boyfriend and I decided to go check out Pho 99 since it was close by to our appointment. Pho 99 is a chain restaurant with a few other locations around Vancouver.

This was one of the rare times where we didn’t look up reviews prior to visiting… I’m kind of glad we didn’t though because it was a measly 2 stars on Yelp! I was a bit surprised, but then again, the pho was not that good (the other dish was good).

Walking in, the restaurant was quite spacious and modern! I was quite surprised, but I guess I shouldn’t be since they cater to business people at Broadway Tech.

I would imagine that it gets quite busy here during the weekday lunch rush, because there aren’t many restaurants in this area! When we came in the evening, it was nice and quiet, only a few tables were occupied.

The booth seating along the wall also offers chargers for laptops. I assume that is because they are located in a big office complex, so it is probably a convenient and thoughtful touch for their customers.

A nicely designed menu! They also have a few vegan dishes too.

Pho, build your own: I went with the build your own pho! You choose the broth (beef, chicken, seafood, or spicy/sour), noodles (rice or egg), and 3 toppings (steak, flank, brisket, chicken, beef ball, tripe, tendon, veggies) – I bolded what I picked.

When the bowl first came to my table, I was a bit disappointed because it looked small. However, it was jam packed with noodles – it probably could have used a bigger bowl!

Taste-wise, it was alright, slightly bland. It seemed oily but I didn’t get a stomachache afterwards. There was a good amount of steak and tripe, but 3 half cut beef balls (making it 1.5 of a whole beef ball).

Noodles, build your own: The boyfriend took advantage of the DIY set too! It’s not often that Vietnamese places offer this! You choose the starch (vermicelli noodles or rice), and 2 toppings (chicken, beef, pork, prawn, or 2 spring rolls).

He went with the beef and spring rolls! The beef was super good, and probably the highlight of our meal. Instead of the usual lemongrass beef, it tasted like beef luc lac – the perfect amount of savoury and sweet, with a hint of lemongrass at the end.

The portion was also pretty big, which was a plus for me because I kept eating the beef!

The vermicelli also came with the usual fish sauce and side salad. The salad seems like it would contain lettuce, etc but the bottom is actually just beansprouts.

Anyways, we were quite surprised at how much we enjoyed our visit. We came in here with average expectations, but the beef was really good. I also found out as we were paying, that they have bubble tea!

The place was also very clean and modern. Service was friendly and quick too. It wouldn’t be my first choice but if I was in the area or wanted some quick food after my chiropractor appointment next door, I would come back. I would also recommend the stir-fry beef instead of their pho.

Baker and Table Cafe

February 23, 2019

Baker and Table Cafe has been on my radar ever since it opened two years ago. I always make a mental note to try it when we are in the Fraser St. area, but the restaurants we usually go to (Deer Garden or Angel) are sooo filling that I end up forgetting about going.

It’s no secret that the boyfriend and I love Japanese food and culture. Despite going to Tokyo only 3 months ago, we miss Japan a lot and can’t wait to go back! To get our Japanese grocery fix, we go to Fujiya often.

On one of our grocery trips, I noticed Fujiya carried some mochi melonpan from Baker and Table (weekends only)! I took my chance and bought all 4 buns that they offered. My stomach was not happy with me but sometimes I want to try new things.

A melonpan is a type of Japanese bun. There isn’t any melon in it per se, the name originated from how the bun looks like a melon. Pan is the Japanese word for bread.

These are the four melonpans that we bought! The flavours that day were matcha white chocolate, black sesame, London smog chocolate, and matcha red bean.

Matcha white chocolate melonpan: The matcha flavour was pure, strong and earthy. It reminded me of matcha treats in Japan, because they do not sweeten their matcha as heavily as in North America (I’m looking at you, Starbucks).

After a few bites, we were greeted with the chewy mochi! It was delicious. Although there wasn’t much white chocolate taste, it was still a delicious bun.

Black sesame melonpan: Next up was the black sesame! The first few bites didn’t have much sesame flavour, but once we got to the center of the bun, there was a lot of black sesame paste.

As with all of them, the texture was fluffy and soft. So delicious!

Matcha red bean melonpan: Compared to the matcha white chocolate melonpan above, the red bean one was a lot neater to eat. I let him eat all of this because of my digestive issues.

This is one of the boyfriend’s favourite combinations, and he quite enjoyed it.

London smog chocolate melonpan: Last but not least! I also let the boyfriend eat all of this because of my stomach problems. I was surprised that he enjoyed this one the most, I thought surely he would have loved the red bean matcha most!

The reason why he liked this one the most was because it was the sweetest. This is probably the most ‘Western’ one of them all because of how sweet it is!

All in all, we enjoyed all the melonpan that we bought that day. I didn’t eat as much as I would have wanted due to my digestive issues, but I did enjoy the bites I had (and surely suffered after lol).

Time to go check out their actual cafe and try more things! They also offer lunch and dinner things too. Another cool thing about Baker and Table is that they are a peanut free facility, for those with peanut allergies.

Now, they just need to add some non-dairy versions so I can enjoy more of their pastries! They have a vegan waffle which I would love to try!

Scandilicious Cafe

February 20, 2019

Today’s post is a bit special and different, because it features Scandinavian brunch! I’m not sure if we ever had Scandinavian food, and we don’t go for brunch often because there’s not much I can eat with my digestive problems.

But, Cocoa told us about this place and the menu looked friendly enough for me, so off we went.

Scandilicious Cafe is located in a random, industrial part of town just before DTES. There was plenty of free street parking, and not many other restaurants in the surrounding blocks.

Once you get in, you wait to get seated and then you order at the counter. I found the ordering process to be a bit slow, especially when it is a full house.

While in line, a barista/staff first asked customers if they wanted a drink. If not, the customer would then continue to wait for the cashier. Since not many people ordered drinks, the barista was just standing there wiping the counter. It would probably have been more efficient if they could help the cashier write down the order first because I waited in line for about 10-15 minutes.

It seemed like ‘slow’ was the theme of the restaurant, but whatever, we weren’t in a rush that day. Other reviews have mentioned that it is quite slow here too, so you have been warned. We didn’t mind because we weren’t in a rush, but I was hungry! LOL.

Hangover Helper: Finally, our food came! The boyfriend’s egg bennies came with ham, and green onions served on their signature waffle. He enjoyed his dish and in particular, he noted how delicious their Hollandaise sauce was.

Vegan waffle: I’m not a vegan, but I can’t have a lot of dairy these days (yes, I have a lot of digestive health issues, not getting into it here) so these intrigued me. I ordered a plain one just to try it out, and these were really good!

They were thick, warm, and super fresh. The waffles made up for the long wait. Compared to the regular waffles, the vegan waffles had a nutty, almond taste with a hint of cinnamon. I would love to come back and have a sweet (not savoury) version instead.

West coast waffle: After seeing smoked salmon, I was set on trying this dish! It did not disappoint although it could have used a bit more smoked salmon.

For about $14-15 per plate, it would have been nice to have a side of hashbrowns or something… it is brunch, after all! However, everything we ordered was of great quality and you could tell they put effort into it hence the long wait time.

In particular, both the regular and vegan waffles were delicious. I know where I’m going if I want a waffle fix!