Curiously Carmen

Sushi Garden

November 8, 2018

I can’t believe I haven’t written about Sushi Garden in my almost 5 years of blogging. Sushi Garden is one of the cheap, staple, go-to sushi restaurants in North Burnaby and is usually busy. Six or seven years ago, I used to come here with Avocado and Jerky a lot… we’re talking probably weekly until the point we got bored of it!

Anyways, it’s been a couple years since I’ve last visited. After an afternoon of checking out a wedding show with Sangria and her bridal party, we were hungry and decided to have lunch here. Since we came around 2pm, the lunch rush had just finished so we didn’t have to wait for a table.

Tuna & salmon combo: There’s not much food I can eat at the moment without getting sick, but my body is able to handle good ol’ sushi thankfully. No complaints about this, it was your usual cheap and filling sushi.
Sangria’s assorted sashimi combo
J’s sashimi salad. It looked pretty delicious and also came with some vermicelli.
K’s tonkatsu with a side of green salad. It looked very delicious and crunchy.

Sushi Garden is a good choice for some filling and cheap sushi. It’s been around for awhile now and I can certainly see why. Service is not that friendly, but they are very quick and efficient.

Yay!

Jowaé Youth Concentrate Complexion Correcting Cream

November 4, 2018

Last month, I introduced a new brand named Jowae on my blog. Jowaé just launched last month and can be now found exclusively at Shoppers Drug Mart!

Since writing that post, I have been using some Jowaé products daily, including the one I will be reviewing today! It is such a mouthful so I will just be calling it the correcting cream.

What it says (taken from press release):

Twice as concentrated in antioxidant Lumiphenols, brewed from protective, repairing, anti-dark spots white tea, this serum also contains vitamins B3 and E and was inspired by the radiant complexion of Korean women. It is all skin types’ best friend. The youth concentrate complexion correcting is a true youth activator and skin perfector and defying all the negative effects of daily aggressions.

Application: The cream easily dispenses with the pump, and the packaging is nice and sturdy. It has a light, thin consistency but don’t let that fool you! It is actually very moisturizing and rich, and absorbs very quickly into your skin.

Because it is very rich (despite the light texture), this would be suitable for those with dry skin. I have oily/combination skin depending on the season, and I found that when applying this in the morning, it made my face more oily throughout the day. So now, I only use it at night as a rich repair cream while I sleep.

The Jowae correcting cream also has a nice, light scent too. It is not as feminine smelling like their sakura cream.

Overall, my skin has been loving this cream! I like to use this right after my shower and before I sleep. In the morning, my face is soft and well moisturized!
Yay!

Availability: Shoppers Drug Mart stores and online
Price: $52.00 CAD

Press product featured. Opinions are own.

The Incredibles DIY Costume – Cheap, Easy, No sewing needed

October 27, 2018

Woohoo! It’s that time of the year again – Halloween! I actually almost forgot to write a DIY post on my costume this year, but I still have a few days before Halloween to get this in!

This year, we decided on doing….. The Incredibles! In particular, Mr and Mrs Incredible because we don’t have kids. Incredibles 2 just came out this summer, so I thought it would be quite fitting. As well, this costume was easy peasy! My soap costume last year took a long time so I’m glad this one was finished in less than a hour total.

As usual, no sewing is needed! I’m no sewing expert, so I want to show that you don’t necessarily need sewing experience to make a cheap and easy costume.

Materials:

-Orange, black, yellow, white felt (multiple of each incase of cutting malfunction)
-Red shirt X2
-Hot glue gun
-Scissors
-Black gloves X2
-Elastic fabric (or a headband that you cut into one strip)
-Black pants

Instructions (for t-shirt):

1- Cut the coloured felt into The Incredibles logo.
2- Use hot glue gun to put the pieces of felt together.
3- Glue it onto the red t-shirt.

Instructions (for eye mask):

1- Cut the black felt into the eye mask shape.
2- Cut two holes for your eyes.
3- Glue the elastic headband.

Sooooo easy right! And cheap! Each piece of felt was around 60 cents at my local Michaels. Each shirt was around $7 maybe?

I also found the perfect leggings for Elastigirl on Amazon. I would recommend ordering these because they look cooler than just black pants! They were $21.00 CAD which isn’t that expensive and came quickly with Amazon prime.

Here is a photo of all the cheap, easy, no sewing DIY costumes over the years (minus the firefighter one because we did a group Pokemon costume that year which I wrote on instead)! Boyfriend is blurred out for privacy 🙂

Mickey and Minnie DIY
Pikachu DIY costume
Monsters Inc Sully and Mike DIY
Sushi costume DIY
Soap & loofah costume DIY

Happy Halloween and happy costuming!

Edit: Here is a photo of our finished outfit!

Jowaé- New Beauty Brand Introduction

October 23, 2018

I am happy to share a new brand on my blog today, by the name of Jowaé (pronounced cho-wha-e). They are part of the French based beauty company, Alès Groupe, and influenced by the science behind Korean beauty products hence the Korean sounding name.

I have been trying their products for a couple weeks now after finding its reviews on tashanicolewright.com, and will be slowly rolling out individual product reviews of my own! This post will be a quick introduction to all of the products currently available in Canada.

From left to right-

Purifying cleanser gel: Suitable for those with combination to oily skin. It has notes of jasmine, mandarin orange, and mint. It also contains purifying and smoothing sacred lotus extract, and lipoaminoacid which neutralises bacteria to minimize breakouts and infections.

Soothing cleansing milk: This contains the lovely benefits of peony, vegetable glycerin, sunflower oil, and jojoba oil to help clean and moisturize your face. It is a gentle and creamy cleanser.

Wrinkle smoothing light cream: The highlight of this cream is the red ginseng. Growing up Chinese, I was always told to have ginseng chicken broth soup for the tremendous amount of health benefits, and now it is being used in skincare too. Ginseng helps collagen production and protects cells from UV damage.

Hand & nail cream: Currently the only hand cream that Jowae carries in Canada. The packaging reminds me of chamomile, but it is actually made with camellia oil.

Youth concentrate complexion correction: If you have dark spots, this is the product for you! It contains twice as concentrated lumiphenols, which is an antioxidate, as well as white tea.

Wrinkle smoothing rich cream: This product is from the same family as the wrinkle smoothing light cream. The only difference is that this one has a thicker consistency. I would recommend this as a night time moisturizer, and then the light cream as a morning moisturizer.

Wrinkle smoothing eye serum: This product is from the same family as the wrinkle smoothing light cream, and also contains red ginseng.

Hydrating water mist: The favourite product of the night! The water mist contains refreshing Sakura blossom that is immediately absorbed by the skin. It is suitable for use after makeup application too.

Moisturizing light cream: Admittedly, I have been using this product the most because of how much I love the fragrance! It contains Sakura blossom just like the hydrating water mist. There is also a hint of jasmine. The two combined help wake me up in the morning and keep my skin moisturized and soft throughout the day!

Revitalizing moisturizing lotion: Last but not the least, their body cream! It contains bamboo water as the featured ingredient. The body cream absorbs quickly and says that it will not leave a sticky residue after.

Now, you’re probably wondering where you can find JOWAE products! They are currently exclusively available at Shoppers Drug Mart. Everything is reasonably mid priced, averaging around $25-$30 a product.

Stay tuned for some individual product reviews!

New York City: 5 Day Itinerary

October 19, 2018

I have been itching to travel, as I have not gone on a plane since 2017! I also miss writing travel posts, so I recently dug out my New York City itinerary from my files. I realized I never shared my itinerary, although there were quite a few posts on specific attractions and restaurants (which I will link)!

I created this itinerary based on a first timer’s experience, so it covers most of the quintessential, must visit New York City tourist spots.

The takeaway from this post is how to spend your time efficiently so that you can make the most out of your 5 days! When planning, I decided to focus on specific neighbourhoods each day, so that my mom and I would not be wasting time going across the city after each attraction.

Day 1
Neighborhood: Time’s Square (ish)
Attractions visited: Time’s Square, Grand Central Station, Hershey’s Store, M&M’s store, The Morgan Library, TKTS ticket booth
Food: Ippudo Westside Ramen

After my mom and I landed, we took the subway from JFK and stopped at Grand Central Station before checking in at our Airbnb. We had a red eye flight so took a must-needed nap before heading out in the late afternoon.

We started off with a visit to The Morgan Library, which I would recommend if you’re a history/classical lover. Then, we had a delicious dinner at Ippudo Ramen and headed off to Times Square, which is worth visiting at least once. It is a overwhelming spectacle of bright lights and consumer culture at its finest.

We also checked out the flagship Hershey’s and M&M stores there.

Tip: I would highly recommend lining up at the TKTS ticket booth for discounted Broadway shows. We waited about 45 minutes in line in Times Square, but it was so lively and full of sights that the wait was not bad at all. We ended up getting Broadway tickets to the Matilda show for 50% off!

Day 2
Neighbourhoods: Lower Manhattan, Chelsea, Broadway Show
Attractions visited: Staten Island Ferry (free view of the Statue of Liberty), Battery Park, 9/11 Memorial, Century 21, Chelsea Market, Highland Park, Broadway show
Food: Chelsea Market

We started the day by riding the free Staten Island ferry roundtrip, which gives you a beautiful view of the Statue of Liberty! Then, we walked around Battery Park where the pace was slower and quieter. We then walked up to the 9/11 Memorial site and visited the museum, which was very somber and saddening. From there, we walked a few blocks into the Financial District/Wall Street and shopped around Century 21, a department store with great prices!

Then, we took the subway to Chelsea Market and walked to High Line Park. I really enjoyed High Line Park, it was peaceful and quiet but you were still able to see the sights of the city. It was a great place to people watch.

We walked along the whole path and ended up in the Broadway district, where we ended the night watching Matilda on Broadway! It was one of my favourite movies growing up and the show did not disappoint at all!

Day 3
Neighbourhoods: Midtown, Upper East Side
Attractions: Central Park, The Met Museum, Empire State Building
Food: Blue Dog Cafe, Candle 79, Five Senses Korean Restaurant

For our third day, we started off bright and early with the Empire State Building to avoid line ups. After taking in the views, we went to Central Park and spent a couple of hours strolling around and taking photos and stopped at Blue Dog Cafe for lunch.

Then, we went to the Upper East Side for the Met museum and Candle 21, a delicious vegan restaurant. We walked around Upper East Side after, marveling at the apartments and went into a few shops.

Since we had the cityPASS which came with a day and night visit of the Empire State building, we topped off the night with Korean food nearby and then a night view from the Empire State Building.

Day 4:
Neighbourhoods: Midtown, Upper West Side, Hudson River
Attractions: Rockefeller Center, American Museum of Natural History, Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise
Food: Del Frisco Steakhouse, Totto Ramen

Can you tell I like views? We had an early start to beat the lines at Top of the Rock although tbh, either Empire State/Top of the Rock would have been fine, no need to have gone to both. After that, my mom and I splurged a little and went to Del Friso Steakhouse where we felt slightly out of place with all the fancy corporate people in their suits.

Then, we walked around the American Museum of Natural History, which was not as boring as I thought it would be. We walked around Upper West Side for a bit and then walked over to the piers along the Hudson River for our sightseeing cruise! This was the only professional tour we did on the trip, and it was really enjoyable!

The round trip boat cruise did a U shape around the lower part of NYC, passing the Statue of Liberty, and going under all 3 bridges and then came back to the pier. After this, we went to Totto Ramen for a late night dinner which was sooo delicious.

Day 5:
Neighbourhoods: East Village, Chinatown, Brooklyn
Attractions: Brooklyn Bridge
Food: Tasty Handpulled Noodles

For the last full day, we checked off the Brooklyn Bridge on our list! We slowly made our way there, discovering a delicious hole-in-the-wall noodle joint in Chinatown, Tasty Handpulled Noodle in the process.
By the time we made it to the Brooklyn Bridge, it was packed and so busy! We were originally going to walk across the whole bridge, but it was so full of people and noisy from the roaring traffic below, that we decided not to. We just walked around the area, and slowly wound up in East Village. It was a nice, slower paced day compared to all the sightseeing we did in the past 3 days.
We did stay an additional day, but we just mainly walked around Times Square, bought souvenirs, and checked out Ripley’s Believe it or not museum before taking the subway to the airport in the late afternoon. It was a fun filled 5 days and NYC has left a positive impression on me!

Check out the hyperlinks in the post to read detailed reviews on the restaurants or attractions!