Curiously Carmen

Lao Shan Dong Homemade Noodle House – Revisit

February 17, 2019

A couple of years ago, Sangria and I tried Lao Shan Dong, and I wrote a review about our visit. The boyfriend and I were around the Metrotown area one evening and didn’t know what to eat for dinner, so I suggested we come here.

Lao Shan Dong is located across from Metrotown. There is a parking lot but it is quite cramped and can be hard to find a spot! They share a parking lot with the other restaurants in this building – Cattle Cafe, Dae Ji Cutlet House, and Morak. Luckily, we got the last spot that evening!

The service was quick and friendly throughout the meal. In this photo, the restaurant looks a bit dead but there were some parties that were seated before and after this was taken.

Beef flank noodle soup: I love spicy foods, but my stomach is unpredictable these days so I played it safe and asked for no spice =( .

I’m not sure if most of the soup broth flavour comes from the spice, but unfortunately, I found the broth to be very bland.

I added some vinegar which gave it a bit more depth, but it still was tasteless. It would have been nice to have more preserved veggies to give it more flavour.

On the plus side, there was TONS of beef, as you can tell in the photo! The beef was flavourful and soft, although some pieces were a bit overcooked and dry.

Sesame paste noodles: The boyfriend enjoyed his sesame paste noodles! I had a bite, they had a nice, smooth sesame flavour and was a bit grainy. He checked out the menu prior and knew it didn’t come with meat already, so he wasn’t disappointed in that sense.

Pork dumplings: Since the boyfriend already knew the sesame paste noodles were meatless, he went with a side of pork dumplings!

They were good and had that homemade comfort feeling to it. The skin was thick and chewy. Nothing special, but comforting on a cold day. There was a lot of fresh ginger in it which was overpowering at first, but after a couple of dumplings, you get used to it.

Overall, Lao Shan Dong is a decent choice if you’re in the area. It isn’t a restaurant I would purposely make the trip for though. The broth is a bit bland but portions are pretty big, filling and reasonably priced, which is probably the biggest selling point.

Phnom Penh Restaurant

February 14, 2019

Oops, this post is from over one year ago! I came here with Smores after the Vancouver Tea Festival back in November 2017… I was going to publish it then, but we didn’t order that much so I was going to save the post for when I came back again in the future.

Well, that never happened and I don’t have plans to visit anytime soon, so let’s just post this now and do a re-visit next time! Hehe.

We came at 4pm which was a bit of a strange time, but we were a bit hungry after checking out the Vancouver Tea Festival. But coming at non-peak times means that you won’t have to wait! I really enjoy Phnom Penh, but the long waits deter me from coming more often.

At 4pm, we took one of the last tables and I remember people were starting to line up around 5pm already. Craziness!

Free soup: The was the soup that came with our beef luc lac. It was your typical free soup that you’d get at Vietnamese restaurants, aka MSG water with some onions thrown in. There wasn’t anything too memorable about it and made me a bit thirsty afterwards, probably due to the MSG.

Beef luc lac: One of the classic dishes at Phnom Penh! The beef was very saucy, and delicious. It was slightly sweet, garlicky, and oniony. The beef luc lac was also accompanied with a fried egg, rice, and some fresh greens. With everything combined, you are sure to be full and satisfied.

Chicken wings: Smores ordered this to go, because his family really enjoys these. It’s been awhile since I had their chicken wings, but OMG are they ever delicious. They have a little hint of sugar which adds a bit more dimension to it. The chicken wings are one of their most popular items, so I would definitely recommend trying them!

If you’re willing to brace the long lineups, you will be rewarded with delicious and cheap Cambodian/Vietnamese food! Or just come at non-peak times like we did (3pm or 4pm ish, gets busy around 5pm).

Yu Xiang Yuan – Revisit

February 11, 2019

The boyfriend discovered Yu Xiang Yuan on Fraser Street about two years ago, when I wrote my first review! We have been back a couple of times since, so I thought I’d write an updated review.

If we are craving handmade, doughy, chewy noodles, this is our go to place. It is a bit of a hidden gem and run down in here, but it hasn’t disappointed us yet! The only annoying part is that parking is hard to find around this area, unless you’re willing to walk a few blocks from the free parking lots on before 41st avenue.

Dan dan noodles (dragging noodle option): The boyfriend’s go-to noodles here! They pack a spicy punch, and also contain a lot of crunchy peanuts. The portion of noodles are quite huge, as you can tell!

Beef noodle soup (cutting noodle): The beef noodle soup here is a lot more clear and lighter compared to the Taiwanese-style beef noodle soups. I enjoy both! It also contains a good amount of fresh green vegetables.

There is a lot of tendon in here, which is not my favourite, so I usually give it to the boyfriend. The noodle portion is huge and I’m always full after having it.

Beef roll: We knew we would be super stuffed from our noodles, yet we wanted to try their beef rolls too. At least beef rolls are easy to pack home for later!

The beef roll here was delicious! There was a generous amount of sliced beef inside, which seemed like the same beef in my noodle soup. The exterior of the roll was crunchy, while the inside also contained fresh green onion and sauce.

Overall, I feel like Yu Xiang Yuan doesn’t get as much recognition as other similar restaurants such as the Peaceful Restaurant chain. The place could use a bit of a facelift, but the food is delicious and consistent!

Got Pho Thein Kim Vietnamese

February 8, 2019

It’s been awhile since I’ve tried a new Vietnamese restaurant, usually sticking with my current favourite, and trusted, Basil Garden. When I suggested Basil Garden to my mom, she said she’s been before and didn’t like it. I was shocked! I guess everyone has different taste buds, which is why I’m hesitant to recommend restaurants to people sometimes.

Anyway, since Basil Garden was out of the question, I suggested Got Pho Thein Kim which was only about 4 blocks away. It’s been on my to-try list for over a year ever since Maki recommended it to me.

It’s a pretty small, no frills hole in the wall Vietnamese restaurant. However, there was always a healthy amount of customers so you knew it was not sketchy!

House pho, large: We were pleasantly surprised at how cheap the pho was! My parents both ordered the house pho which came with all the usual meat. Normally, my dad complains that there’s not enough noodles and he is still hungry… But this time, he was really full.

Pho, small: I ordered the brisket, rare beef, tendon and tripe pho. There was a very generous portion of meat underneath the noodles which surprised me! For $7 in 2019, you really can’t complain about it!

Because I love food, I did some reading on pho. According to chef Chi Le, who was on Masterchef Vietnam and the owner of Chi Vietnamese Kitchen in Kitsilano, different regions have different styles. Northern Vietnam pho tends to be lighter. The south tends to be sweeter, and the central part tends to have more depth.

Based on this knowledge, I would say Got Pho is more Northern style. The flavour does not have much depth as Basil Garden. The more you learn!!!

Pho with lemongrass chicken: The boyfriend enjoyed his plain pho as well. The star of the show was the lemongrass chicken though. It was extremely fragrant and full of delicious lemongrass flavour. The chicken thigh was cooked perfectly and super juicy.

All in all, we left very satisfied. It was only $40 including tip for 4 people, and we were all super full! I’m glad that we finally tried this place out and found another Vietnamese spot in this area.

So Hyang Korean Cuisine

February 5, 2019

It’s been awhile since the boyfriend and I have tried a different Korean restaurant! So Hyang Korean Cuisine has been on our radar for awhile now, and we finally went to check it out for lunch one weekend.

So Hyang is located on Fraser Street. The storefront is a bit small and easy to miss. But once you get inside, the restaurant is a lot bigger than it seems because it is long and narrow.

Service throughout our visit was really friendly, we had different serves refill our cups and ask if we needed anything!

Banchan: We were given four different types of banchan. The beancurd was sweet and delicious. The beansprouts had a strong, yummy sesame taste. I didn’t like the sweet potato as much because there was an overpowering amount of ginger taste. The kimchi had a nice, spicy kick to it.

Remember how I said the service was really good? A couple of servers came by throughout our meal, asking if we wanted refills.

Seafood pancake: We knew that we wouldn’t be able to finish this, but we wanted to give it a try and pack the rest back for a later meal.

It was delicious! For my first few bites, all I could taste was the red and green peppers. There was a lot more vegetables than seafood. The pancake was crunchy outside while the inside was doughy and packed with ingredients.

It came with a sweet, garlicky sauce that was absolutely delicious. I usually eat my seafood pancakes without sauce, but I used a lot of the sauce this time because it was so delicious.

Bulgolgi tuk baegi: My soup bowl came piping hot! I wasn’t really sure what to expect as the menu just said ‘marinated beef stew in chef’s special sauce’, but the photo looked good!

It was delicious! It was sweet and garlicky, with many slices of seasoned boiled beef inside. There was also some enoki mushrooms, red peppers, and rice cakes. The soup came with a small bowl of rice too so I was quite full.

Beef bulgolgi hot plate: The boyfriend went with his one of his Korean favourites, beef bulgolgi. This dish also came with a side of rice. The beef was delicious, and he really enjoyed it. It was richly marinated and saucy.

We left the restaurant very satisfied with our meal. The food was delicious, and service was friendly as well. There’s no doubt that we will be back!