ebi mayo Archives - Curiously Carmen

During the last week of summer, the boyfriend and I went to a bunch of different outdoor places around the Lower Mainland to savour what was left of the season. One of these places was the beautiful Whytecliff Park, which is a bit past West Vancouver and by the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal.

After enjoying an afternoon at Whytecliff Park, we decided to venture to Horseshoe Bay. Four minutes drive later, we arrived into the small but lively village and decided to try Olive & Anchor after I found it on Yelp!

I am really glad we tried this place because everything about it was spectacular!
Since we had already quickly looked at the menu on Yelp, we knew we wanted to try their happy hour. I also really wanted to try this place because most of their happy hour items were dairy free! Olive & Anchor has some Asian influences in their dishes, which explains why there wasn’t dairy in a number of their plates.
Ebi mayo, $6: We started off with the ebi mayo, which was a shrimp and green bean tempura. After seeing this at another table, it looked kinda small and we were kinda doubtful that it was worth $6.

However, the tempura was fried really nicely and had a lovely crunch to it. It came with Japanese mayo, which we both love a lot. If you haven’t tried Japanese mayo before, I urge you to try it out!
KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) Wings, $6: The chicken wings came in a delicious sweet chili glaze, topped with crunchy cashews and sesame seeds.

The wings were juicy and full of flavour. Just like the ebi mayo, the fried batter on these wings tasted really fresh as well.
Crispy cod taco, $6: I am normally not a fan of tacos (cue GASPS) but I was feeling adventurous that day and ordered this. BOY, am I GLAD I did because this was delicious. This taco right here is starting to convert me into a taco person!

The cod was fried perfectly, while the fish was juicy and flaked off nicely. The taco came with a generous amount of fresh veggies and a slice of avocado. I was seriously considering ordering another one but stopped myself.
Fish poppers, $6: These were like mini fish fillets. Again, the fish was juicy and flaky with a very fresh and crunchy batter. So good!

Olive & Anchor really wowed us not only with their food, but with their service as well. Our server was really friendly, knowledgeable, and efficient. I wish that all servers were this amazing.
I have nothing but good words to say about Olive & Anchor. I wish we discovered this place at the beginning of summer, so we could take advantage of the outdoor seating and ferry view more. But, I know that we will definitely be back!

Yay!

Hi everyone!

Hands down, Suika is my absolute favourite place to go in this city for Japanese tapas. I love that Suika is super authentic, has amazing quality & preparation, great service, and a lovely atmosphere. I have a positive dining experience every time I come here, and this time was no different.

Back in December, Suika was offering a 10 course (plus dessert, so eleven) set meal for $25 a person. When I saw this offer, I immediately jumped on it and asked three other friends to come with me, since they suggested a party of four.

Without the set course menu, we calculated that each person would have had to pay at least $50 each, so it was definitely an amazing opportunity to enjoy some authentic Japanese food without breaking the bank.

Each plate of food comes with inclusions that complement each other really well, I don’t know how they come up with these recipes but I am truly in awe with how everything is perfectly prepared here.
I love this sake bottle chandelier! It looms above the restaurant, making this restaurant so unique.Little details like this go noticed and appreciated.
3 kinds of appetizer – I believe it was taro, kimchi tofu, and vegetables. At first, we all thought the tomato was salmon which was disappointing, but oh well! Can’t really complain when you’re already getting a good deal. I enjoyed the taro root dish most, it was really flavourful and crunchy.
Beef tataki- super fresh, and well seasoned! The veggies on top, lemon, and horseradish really brought out the flavours and sauces of the dish.
Sashimi salad- This was SO GOOD. Everything was mixed perfectly and complemented each other so well. There were also some tobiko in it, to add some flair and crunch. We cleaned off every piece of green on this plate, that was how delicious it was.
Chicken karaage- This dish was too oily for me, so I avoided it. My friends thought that this dish was pretty oily too, so they used a napkin to dab some oil off. It came with a small bowl of dipping salt. (Pic taken by my friend)
This was some sort of salad, I can’t remember exactly the name of it. I just remember it was very delicious. (Pic taken by my friend)Ebi mayo- delicious! The mayo wasn’t too rich, from what I remember it was also a bit sweet. Lightly fried and well seasoned. We wished there was more because it was sooo good!
Salmon battera- Essentially their take on a regular salmon roll. From what I remember, the salmon was lightly flamed, giving it a smoky flavour. Salmon was also very juicy, the rice was soft, and the vegetables complemented the flavours perfectly.
Kimchi yaki udon – The noodles were cooked very well- very soft and chewy. Although I’m not a big fan of kimchi, I really enjoyed this dish due to the sauce they add on the noodles, plus the fresh onion they add on top.
Beef short rib- THIS WAS SO GOOD. It was marinated in some kind of BBQ sauce. Heaven in every bite. It was extremely soft, tender, and juicy. I’m pretty sure we had a hard time trying to share this dish as we all wanted it to ourselves 🙂
Kakuni bibimbap. We forgot to take a picture of this, so I got it off their website. We really enjoyed this rice dish cooked in a stone bowl, there was a lot of tender and juicy meat inside. There was a really rich and aromatic flavour to this.
Matcha creme brulee for dessert! Hands down, my favourite dessert ever. This even beats out cheesecake. It is a slice of matcha ice cream, but frozen enough so that you have to kind of cut into it with your spoon. The crunchy part is caramelized sugar, with a side of fresh whip and a slice of strawberry. (Pic taken by my friend)

Needless to say, we all left very full and satisfied, I was left with an extremely joyous feeling in my tummy. If you’re planning on coming to Suika on a weekend, you should make a reservation or you’re going to be waiting awhile. I’ve tried coming here without one, and they usually ask you to be done within a certain time because they need to prepare for a reservation.

Service here is really friendly and accommodating, servers are really knowledgeable about the dishes. I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it! Suika, if you’re reading this, sponsor me!!! (Joking… maybe #whynot )

Thanks for reading!