Curiously Carmen

Food: Original Joe’s (Cambie & Broadway)

April 11, 2018

I first discovered Original Joe’s a couple of years ago, when some friends invited me to Wings Wednesday at their downtown location. We ended up going a few more times over the past two years. Since then, I’ve gone to Original Joe’s on Broadway and Cambie here and there after work. It’s about time that I write a review on it!

Wings special, 50% 0ff – approx. $6/plate: I took Latte here for Wings Wednesday. We shared the dill pickle wings and barbeque wings. Dill pickle wings sound kind of weird, but they are actually really good. The flavour oddly works and it is one of the most popular flavours when my friends and I came.

The barbeque wings are pretty standard. You can always rely on the wings to be juicy and meaty. It’s a pretty good deal on Wednesdays!

Hummus and veggie platter, $10.75: To counteract the wings, we ordered some healthy hummus and veggie platter. I was quite surprised at how much veggies and naan bread it came with, and would probably order it again. The veggies were fresh and crunchy and the hummus was good as well!

Garlic cheese toast, $7.00: What dreams are made of! Garlic bread smothered with a variety of different cheeses. It was so extremely cheesy and totally worth the $7. They do not play around with their garlic cheese toast.

Yay!

Food: Cha Time

April 10, 2018

Cha Time is a popular Taiwanese chain that gained popularity in Vancouver a couple of years ago. There are now many different locations around Vancouver. The thing I like about Cha Time is that you can customize your sweetness and ice level, and they actually pay attention to it!
The location I mainly go to is the East Hastings location, which opened up a few months ago. It’s usually lined up but most people take their drinks to go. This location has free parking in the lot or also on the street.

Malt milk tea: This is the boyfriend’s go to, ever since he discovered it the first visit. It is the same as a regular milk tea, but they add malt powder to it. The malt makes it taste even better and if you’re a fan of malty things such as Maltesers or Ovaltine, you should definitely try this!

Mango slush: I usually alternate between some sort of fruit slush with 50% less sugar. The pearls here are consistently tasty and chewy.

Edit: Why are the reviews on Zomato so bad….? It’s not even that terrible here!

Yay!

Food: Nando’s Flamed Grilled Chicken

April 8, 2018

Mmmm, Nando’s! The boyfriend and I are big fans of Nando’s, although we stopped going for about half a year because he got food poisoning. After you get food poisoning from a place, it’s not surprising to steer clear of it…

Word of advice- be cautious when you go to the Metrotown food court location! That was the location he got food poisoning from.

Since Nando’s has a few different locations, this review will be focusing on the one in Richmond at the new Garden City Plaza. This is our go-to location even though we both don’t live in Richmond, we do love making the drive to Richmond.

When you first arrive, the host or hostess will seat you at a table where the menu is. After that, you order at the front counter and they will bring the food to you. Drinks are self serve as well.

1/2 chicken with 2 regular sides, $15.75: This is our go-to! The first time we came, we made the mistake of ordering a full chicken which was wayyy too much food. Even with 1/2 chicken, it was quite a bit.

Anyways, this location has never disappointed us. The chicken is incredibly marinated and has a delicious grill flavour. The medium spice is a good level, which leaves your mouth with a satisfying kick, yet not enough spice to make your mouth burn, eyes tear up, and run for milk. But of course, it depends on your spice tolerance!

Peri-peri fries: These are my absolute favourite side dish because of the seasoning! It comes with a special blend of peri-peri herbs and has a hint of sweetness. They always come out super fresh and crispy.

Spiced rice: This is the boyfriend’s favourite side dish. It is seasoned as well, and is always very fluffy.

Can’t wait till our next visit! Nando’s is also one of our go-tos on Skip The Dishes when we are feeling too tired to cook. I wouldn’t recommend ordering peri-peri fries if you’re doing delivery because they are soggy by the time it arrives. The rice and garlic mashed potatoes would be more suitable!

Yay!

Food: Assembli Pizza

April 7, 2018

Originally, Coffee and I had plans to eat dinner in the West End. But on the day of, it was pouring rain, I didn’t get enough sleep the night before, and overall did not want to make the extra trek to downtown anymore.

Luckily, she was accommodating about the last minute change and so I quickly looked up some places on Google and came across Assembli, a new DIY pizza place which had good reviews!

Assembli is located by Broadway and Cambie, an easy walk from the Canada Line. It seemed to be pretty new and it was comfortable in there, with super high ceilings and spacious seats. It seemed like a restaurant that would be really busy at lunch with office workers, but it was quiet when we came in the evening.

The best part about this place is that for only for $14, you can get a decent sized pizza with unlimited toppings! Yes, you read that right… unlimited! Even the meat! I definitely took advantage of this deal.

Custom pizza, $14: To create your own pizza, it is like Subway, where you tell the staff what kind of toppings you would like. You pick your own: sauce, cheese, meats, and toppings. Afterwards, they bake it for you fresh and bring it to your table.

I got the: spicy tomato sauce, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, chicken breast, shrimp, salami, mushrooms, pineapples, and red pepper.

I absolutely loved my custom pizza and thought it was such a good deal for $14! It was really cheesy and they did not skimp out on the meat. Every bite had a different meat. You really can’t go wrong with a custom pizza since you’re picking the ingredients that you like!

All Greek To Me pizza, $14: Coffee went with one of the pre-determined pizzas. It came with goat feta, mozzarella, red peppers, olives, artichokes, kale, and balsamic drizzle. She was a bit disappointed with her pizza because the melted goat feta had an odd texture that made her pizza very wet.

I had a slice and I agreed with her that the melted goat feta did not go well. If she came back, she would also order a custom pizza.

Overall, I would definitely come to Assembli again and recommend checking it out. For $14, it is quite a good deal and they have a generous portion.

Yay!

Food: Broken Rice

April 6, 2018

It was a cold winter night, perfect for Vietnamese food! I suggested Thai’s Saigon Bistro, but Cinnamon wanted to go to Broken Rice instead, which was fine by me since I have wanted to try it. It’s located on the same block too.
The restaurant was pretty clean and had some gentle classical music playing.
Spring rolls, $7.50: Sangria, Cocoa, and I shared the spring rolls which came with minced pork, taro root, mushrooms, and more. They came very crunchy- piping hot and fresh!
House pho, $9.95: Cocoa and I both had the house pho, which was delicious! It came with a decent amount of rare beef, brisket, and beef balls. The broth was perfect and not too salty.
Grilled beef short ribs, $11.50: Sangria went with the grilled beef short ribs, which she thought was delicious as well albeit pretty salty. It was a big portion and she ended up packing some of it home.
Vegetarian vermicelli: Cinnamon ordered the vegetarian vermicelli which came with fried tofu and vegetarian spring rolls. She had no complaints about it either!

Overall, it was a good first visit to Broken Rice and I would come back again for the pho and crispy spring rolls!

Yay!