dinner Archives - Curiously Carmen

The Flying Pig (Olympic Village)

March 9, 2015

Happy to announce that this will be a guest post by le boyfriend. We tried The Flying Pig for the first time but we left disappointed, read on to find out why. Thanks for reading! – Carmen

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Hi everybody! Welcome to another guest post. Carmen really wanted another post from me, but I was hesitant at first. I originally intended to write my post on Fable Kitchen as part of the Dine at Fable event, but that went nowhere as evidence by the lack of a post. So here is a review for The Flying Pig, at their newest location in Olympic Village. Carmen had really wanted to try The Flying Pig for a long time, and one night we decided to visit the aforementioned location.
This location does not have big signs or bright lights on the outside of the building, and it was quite difficult to locate in the dark. Once inside, we were greeted and seated promptly. The restaurant was about 75% full when we arrived, but I found that the table we were seated at was pretty cramped. Our server was very friendly, and rang off the specials of the day for us.
For an appetizer, we ordered the Bone Marrow Cheezy Bread. Carmen heard from a friend that the bread was a “must try” item, and it did not disappoint. It was warm, fluffy, and loaded with cheese.
For her entrée, Carmen ordered the Veal Piccata. It consisted of a parmesan risotto in a lemon caper butter sauce, served with veal slices. The risotto was creamy and cooked perfectly, but that’s about as good as it gets.

The veal, while tender, was underwhelming and bland. The lemon capers gave it an overly lemony taste, which required a lot of salt and pepper to mask. It also had a slimy texture that was very off-putting.

Overall, Carmen did not enjoy it very much, and I switched dishes with her only because I could tolerate it a bit more. We both agreed, it’s not worth recommending.
Next up is the entrée I selected: The Flying Pig Signature Pork Rack. It really sounded good on paper but was sadly another uninspiring dish. The pork rack consisted of one piece of pork chop attached to the bone, served with a side of pulled pork poutine, with an apple cider reduction sauce and seasonal vegetables.

The pork was cooked very well, being very tender and juicy, but just like the veal, it was bland and poorly seasoned. Carmen tried a piece and was not impressed either. Sadly for this dish, the best part was the side of pulled pork poutine, which you can add as a side to other dishes as well. There was a generous amount of pulled pork layered on top, and the pulled pork was absolutely delicious.

Considering how poorly seasoned the rest of the meats we had that night were, this was an absolute delight. There is also a generous topping of cheese curds and gravy.

Our first experience at The Flying Pig was, overall, not a very positive one. Most of our food ended up being very disappointing, and for what we paid, we felt like it was definitely not worth the price. We also agreed that it would be worth revisiting another time.

Carmen did in fact go back to The Flying Pig (albeit their Gastown location) and had a much better experience during their happy hour. You can expect that review to be up pretty soon after this one. Until next time, thanks for reading!

Sushi UOmo

December 9, 2014

Update 11/2018: Since writing this post, it seems that Uomo has changed ownership and things have gone downhill. The prices increase each time, while the quality and quantity decreased. We have stopped going here now.

Sushi UOmo has been around for awhile now, I’d like to say at least a year? Maybe two? Correct me if I’m wrong. In case you are wondering…no, it is not a typo, it is capital UO and small mo = UOmo. I’ve been meaning to try this place, since all my friends have been raving about it. “CARMEN! You have to try this place! It’s so good!” So finally, I went to try it.

In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have gone when I was battling a cold… I think my taste buds were a bit off that day (stuffy nose) and I was feeling very groggy. I need to come back when I don’t have a cold so I can actually taste the full flavours of all the food LOL. Lesson learned, don’t try new places when sick. =( So, take this review with a grain of salt please.

We were pleasantly surprised when we received miso soup at our table. We told the server that we didn’t order miso soup, but she told us it was a complimentary starter, how nice!

Restaurants usually don’t offer free miso soup anymore. It tasted pretty standard, a bit saltier than normal and had a healthy amount of green onions, seaweed and tofu on the bottom. Considering it was free, it was still full of flavour and served hot.
Up next, was our tuna and salmon sashimi. The pieces of sashimi were absolutely HUGE. I don’t think I’ve seen such giant chunks of sashimi before ever, and it weirded me out in a way. But of course, quality over quantity, and was that the case? Despite my sickness, I still tasted the fresh and juicy flavour of both the tuna and salmon sashimi. Look at that glisten! I was already starting to feel a bit full since the sashimi was so big!

Then, our plate of rolls came! Starting off with the negitoro roll, it was my favourite out of all the dishes that night. Just like the tuna sashimi, the negitoro roll was packed full of fresh flavour, and there was a strong green onion taste which is what I’m looking for in a negitoro roll! The boyfriend and I almost always order negitoro roll every single time we eat Japanese food, we both agreed this was one of, if not the best, negitoro roll that we had so far.

Following that, was the BC roll. I didn’t have any because I’m not a fan of salmon skin, but the boyfriend said that it was very crunchy and had a lot of cooked salmon meat inside.

Here is where I regret trying new restaurants when I’m sick. I thought that the chopped scallop roll tasted a bit bland and rubbery, which surprised the boyfriend because he thought it was absolutely delicious! Well, more chopped scallop rolls for him then! I need to re-order this dish next time because I’m sure it tasted fine.

Moving on, I felt like trying something new so I ordered the smoked salmon roll. I loooove smoked salmon, so I thought that it would taste great in a roll. I didn’t really like this roll though, I think I prefer my smoked salmon alone. It was a bit warm which was off putting, and I didn’t like how the roll was so salty. There was nothing wrong with the sushi rice or smoked salmon, but I personally don’t like the taste of it together and will probably stick with salmon sashimi rolls.

I really wanted to try their tobiko, so I had a one piece of nigiri. The tobiko was very fresh, and extremely crunchy. In fact, it was so crunchy that as I was chewing on the tobiko, my boyfriend heard the crunch from the other side of the table LOL… which made him want to try some of it too.

Everything went well with our visit to Sushi UOmo, I think we will be back (I am feeling better now, and have fully regained taste yay!). It is a lot better than the place next door, Yo Sushi . I’m sorry, it had be said but I would pick UOmo any day over Yo Sushi. For the price you pay there, the quality is NOT worth it. Okay, I don’t want to rant about Yo Sushi so just read my review on it *~~~positive vibes~~~*

-Carmen

Al Porto Ristorante

December 8, 2014

Al Porto Ristorante is an Italian restaurant in the heart of Gastown, located in the basement of one of Gastown’s many beautiful historic brick buildings. Al Porto had a fancier feel to the restaurant, but I wouldn’t describe it was fine dining. It is certainly a restaurant that to go to when you’re not in a rush. I thought that this place would be great for romantic dates, but after reading a few reviews and hearing some stories from friends, seems like this place gets quite noisy in the night time and it’s hard to hear the person across the table from you.

The main entrance to Al Porto is located off the side of the building, towards the train tracks. There is a sign out front with a big arrow, so it’s pretty hard to miss the entrance. The picture above is the entrance to their second floor loft. I came with a few of my coworkers for lunch. The restaurant was pretty empty when we arrived, and were seated quickly. I liked how we got one of the round tables for the five of us, it made conservation easier and it was nice to see everyone without having to lean forward or anything like that. I wish more restaurants had circular tables =P Like Chinese restaurants!

Right after we ordered, our bread came! If I was going to be picky, it would have been nice to have the bread warm, but oh well. I’m not sure what the bread on the left was called, but it was very doughy and chewy, with subtle garlic and herb tastes to it. I liked how it was chewy and I am a big fan of herbs so this bread was an obvious winner in my books. I wish I could say the same about the right one, but unfortunately I found the outside to be rock hard and bland tasting.

My side of caesar salad was better than I expected it to be, which is always a great surprise! That, or I normally don’t have great experiences with side salads. The lettuce was very crunchy, as were the croutons (and not in a bad way like the complementary bread above). It had a great garlicky flavour to it. Everything tasted really fresh and tasted like what a delicious caesar salad should taste like! There was also bits of crushed pepper, which added more dynamic and a hint of spice to the salad.

Soup of the way was a white bean, tomato and basil soup. It had a thick texture to it, and was a bit starchy due to the potatoes. However, all of the flavours in the soup complemented each other really well and I didn’t find the soup to be extremely salty (I’m looking at you, Olive Garden). I try to stay away from soups at Western restaurants because I find them to be very salty, but this wasn’t the case. I added a bit of pepper to the soup to give it a bit of a flair too. Yum!

For myself, I ordered the tagliatelle buongustaio ($10.95). Tagliatelle is the type of pasta, which is a flatter and wider noodle. My plate came with chicken, sweet pea, and mushrooms in a garlic cream sauce. The tagliatelle was cooked al dente, and had a good bounce to it. The sauce was delicious as well, it was very creamy without being too heavy, and had a subtle garlic and butter taste to it. The chicken chunks had a slightly grilled and smoky taste to it, and was juicy. I love my pepper, and requested for extra in my plate which completed my dish perfectly. I sprinkled a bit of Parmesan cheese, which melted a bit due to the warmth of the everything else.

With all that said, one thing I found a bit off was their service. The service wasn’t bad or rude… it was just a bit off. I wasn’t feeling well that day and had a cold, so I asked for a warm honey water to maybe give my sore throat a relief, and so that I was actually able to talk with my coworkers because I was about to lose my voice. She seemed very confused about it and looked a bit annoyed. The rest of the time, I felt bad and uncomfortable asking her for more water, which I don’t think a server should make you feel especially at a restaurant that is known to be a bit more upscale. So I sucked it up and took Halls like there was no tomorrow.

Going to a restaurant is not just about the food, it is about the ambiance, service, and overall atmosphere. Al Porto really hit the points high with their food, but I think their service could use a bit more work, or maybe the two staff were having an off day. I don’t think I would come back for dinner since I know it gets pretty busy and is a popular tourist destination, but I wouldn’t mind coming back for lunch (if there is better service).

-Carmen

Kamamarui Ramen – Metrotown Location

November 23, 2014

After going shopping, it was one of those nights where we didn’t feel like cooking at home. Since we don’t eat in the Metrotown area much except for Cattle Cafe, we spent the next 5 minutes shivering in the cold trying to think of a backup place to eat after seeing that they were closed. Warm, soupy noodles… Oooh! Kamamarui! We spared no time shivering in the cold, ran back to the car and made our way to Kamamarui.

After walking in, we were greeted and told to sit down at the waiting chairs. The guy spent a pretty long time (well, longer than necessary), to clean everything and have us seated even though it wasn’t busy. He was just hanging out, walking back and forth slowly, while we sat there waiting for him to seat us… eventually, he finished wiping the table and went back and was doing some other stuff.
The menus were tacked on the wall, which was more convenient for both the servers and customers I guess? The walls looked like cement but they actually weren’t. Menu was pretty straightforward, they mostly served ramen and small sides such as gyoza/rice/or these rice balls known as “bombs”.

My favourite type of ramen is shio because it’s usually very rich and creamy, something I crave in ramen broth. Since they didn’t have shio, I ordered the tonkotsu ($9) because that seemed like the next closest thing to the richest broth there was. The broth was very creamy, rich, and flavourful.

The noodles were cooked al dente and had a great bounce to it. In addition, the cha shu was very tender and sweet since it was covered in some sort of marinade. As I was enjoying the noodles, I realized that the broth was so thick that I ended up asking for some hot water (which the server microwaved, I was confused) to dilute it.
The boyfriend ordered the cha shu ramen with extra noodles. The cha shu ramen didn’t specify which broth it was, but it tasted like mine. The meat was also the same as the one in my bowl, so I guess the only difference with his was that he received a lot of extra cha shu. He also thoroughly enjoyed his noodles and cha shu.

Our bowls of ramen were very satisfying and delicious. From the reviews and positive things I have heard about Kamamarui, I personally that it really does live up to the type. I had my doubts that this place would be on par with Kintaro Ramen or Santouka Ramen in the Great Authentic Ramen District (fyi, I just made up the name of the district lolol), but it really is a great substitute if you don’t want to commute down to the Denman area.

Throwback: Favourite bowl of shio ramen at Kintaro

I know that it’s not authentic and is Korean owned, and I’m not sure if they slow cook their broth like the others, but I do know that it’s pretty decent here. I think we will be back!

Rajio Japanese Public House

November 16, 2014

Rajio. Radio? Rajio. Japanese izakayas, or Japanese tapa bars, have become a common thing in Vancouver the past few years. Izakayas are a great place to wind down and relax, enjoy some drinks, and delicious food in a great and loud atmosphere. Emphasis on the loud, it is tradition for servers and kitchen staff to belt out greetings and thank you to every customer that walks in and out of the doors. I personally love izakayas, my favourite in Vancouver is Suika. But of course, I’m always up to try new izakayas, especially one that is a sister restaurant of Suika.
I apologize in advance for the grainy pictures, lighting was a bit dim inside. Walking in, we were greeted with loud welcomes in Japanese. At first glance, I loved the juxtaposition of cartoon characters and rustic, historic Japanese decor.

We were seated by the front in a small circular table, the type that you would see in a small coffee shop. From this table, we had a good view of the restaurant and the street. We went during a promotion last month, which came with four of their food items (the first four down below).

We started off with the Bagna Cauda ($6.80), an assortment of veggies with their in-house made dip consisting of garlic, anchovy, olive oil, and Japanese sweet mayo. Admittedly, I never eat enough veggies and I’m also not a big fan of them either. However, the sauce was what completed the meal for me. It was creamy and had a light garlic taste that went really well with the fresh and crunchy vegetables. Definitely not your average veggie dip, we were left wanting more and discussing how we could try to recreate the dip at home. It was a good starter and filled us up.

Up next was the sashimi salad ($8.80). Again, the greens in the salad were very fresh and crispy. The dressing was also very delicious, and the tobiko added a savoury and crunchy taste to the salad. The tuna sashimi was incredibly soft and melted in our mouth. Again, just like with the veggie dip, we were left wanting more… are you starting to see a reoccurring theme here? Hehe 🙂

One of Rajio’s specialties is their kushikatsu. Kushikatsu originated in Osaka, Japan, and is a very popular street food. It is basically either deep fried veggies or meat that comes on a skewer, with a special kushikatsu dipping sauce. The dipping sauce was very dark and opaque, and came in a mason jar. We were told to not double dip, I was also reading that in Japan, some of the restaurants reuse their sauce with other customers. I seriously hope this isn’t the case and it probably isn’t due to Vancouver’s high health standards. Anyways, we were given an assortment of veggies which I can’t recall, and a chicken skewer. The veggies still packed a lot of flavour despite being deep fried and dipped in sauce.

Our ebi ramen came next. I actually preferred the oxtail ramen at Suika, their sister restaurant, more. The noodles were bouncy and cooked well, and the pork was very moist and tender.

After all our food came from the voucher, we wanted to see what else Rajio had to offer. We ordered the peking wrap ($7~), which for some mysterious reason, I can’t find on their menu or anywhere on the internet!! The peking wrap tasted exactly like the traditional Chinese wraps, it came with the usual hoisin sauce, fresh white onion, and meat. The dough of the wrap was very soft. The only difference was that it wasn’t Peking duck and the chicken was deep fried, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Every time the boyfriend and I go out to eat Japanese food, it is not complete unless we order some sort of negitoro roll. But this time, we upgraded and got the negitoro battera ($9.80), pressed sushi with tuna belly, scallions, daikon, and sesame. Just like the sashimi salad, I enjoyed the freshness and taste of the tuna sashimi but I found the daikon taste a bit too overpowering. I let the boyfriend finish this plate off since he liked it more than I did.

Last but not least, squid karage ($6~)! Hm, just noticed that deep fried food seems to be an occurring theme in this visit.. oops. It was love at first bite. The squid was very crispy and crunchy, jam packed with flavour and I wished this plate would never ever end.

Our food was undeniably delicious, and with every dish, we we left wanting with more. Staff seemed a bit disorganized as our drinks were forgotten, only to have arrived twice at different intervals after we asked them. Our ramen came twice as well. We were told that our additional items after the set menu would take awhile since it was busy, fair enough. We ended up waiting 30 minutes in between, good thing we weren’t in a rush. I’m glad that we came a bit earlier and beat the rush. Rajio, you have stolen my heart much like your sister!

-Carmen