Curiously Carmen

Longtail Kitchen – Modern take on Thai street food

Hi everyone!

I’ve been hearing many great things about Longtail Kitchen on social media, and decided that it was finally time for me to try it out.

Longtail Kitchen is a sister restaurant of the very popular and successful Thai restaurant, Maenam. I actually didn’t know that Longtail was a Thai inspired eatery until reading the reviews and their website!

IMG_2459.JPGLongtail is located inside the River Market at New Westminster Quay. I haven’t been to New West for awhile, and don’t remember seeing this building the last time I was here… but basically, the bottom floor is like an upscale food court. You won’t find any greasy, old looking stands here (not that there’s anything wrong with that!) but instead more local and new eateries.
IMG_2460.JPGAt Longtail, you order and pay at the front, then the staff will bring your food to you. This was our first meal of the day at around 3pm, so we were pretty hungry! We sat at a table right next to the window wall (? Is there a specific term for these??) which I’m pretty sure they open up so people are able to sit outside in the summer.

You are able to see a bit of the Fraser River and the boardwalk, but unfortunately I was too short and my eye level hit right where the white window pane was and couldn’t see anything. =( You can see the picture above to understand what I mean.
IMG_2462.JPGThe boyfriend ordered the green curry with chicken. When it arrived, we could smell the delicacy and aroma of all the spices that went into this dish. The green curry had a strong, rich coconut taste to it. The chicken was very tender and juicy as well. It came with a rice bowl side, we were hoping that it would be coconut rice but sadly it was just plain rice.

IMG_2463.JPGFor myself, I ordered ‘Mama Cheung’s laksa’, which I don’t see on the menu anymore, so I guess they rotate their menu frequently to ensure freshness of all the food items! The laksa came with a seafood curry broth, chicken, fish cakes, prawns, veggies, and noodles.

I was expecting the curry to have a fishy taste to it due to the seafood broth, but it was very mild. Again, the curry was rich and spicy. The prawns were big and juicy, and had a nice snap to it- a sign of freshness. I saved the tofu puffs for the end so that they would be saturated with the curry! Everything tasted extremely fresh and made with great quality.

The laksa soup was so good that I drank all of it, I wasn’t even thirsty afterwards! That is a wonderful sign and says a lot about how it was prepared 😉
IMG_2461.JPGAnother cool thing to add about Longtail is that they also offer some Thai cooking products to bring home! We spent some time looking at what they sold, as we haven’t heard of some of these products before.

Needless to say, we found ourselves savouring every single bite and were glad that we made the trek out here! One thing to add though, was that the portions were a bit smaller than what we were used to. But it is understandable, they use quality and fresh ingredients and the prices aren’t bad for how delicious everything was.

Which would you rather order – chicken curry or laksa soup?

Thanks for reading!
-Carmen

Longtail Kitchen on Urbanspoon

Joyeaux Cafe

Hi there!

So, it has been a tradition where every Friday, my coworkers and I go source out new restaurants to try around our area. They started to appoint me each week seeing I’m the food blogger, but I didn’t want to always be the one that picked, we now take turns! One week, my coworker took us to Joyeaux Cafe for lunch as she had been here before and liked it.

Although I am in downtown quite often, I’ve always gone by this place without noticing. I didn’t know that it was an extremely popular lunch destination! We made reservations at 1:30pm to avoid the lunch rush, but it was still really packed. Seating there is very tight, so don’t be surprised if you have to share tables with other customers. Two of us came back a few weeks after, and we shared tables with others.

Walking into the restaurant, you first order and pay for your food. The cashier then gives you a number, and you’re proceeded to fight the jungle  find a table.  It gets a bit hectic in there during the busy lunch hours- you have been warned! The other workers then bring out your food in trays, and search for your number. All of the staff were really friendly and efficient though, so props to them!

IMG_2456.JPGOn our first visit, I ordered the typical Vietnamese cold cut sandwich, or banh mi. At $5, the price was a bit higher (for 2015 prices) than what I normally pay for a banh mi, but understandable since this place is in the downtown core. The bread was soft and fresh, and the banh mi came stacked with plenty of fresh ingredients as you can see!

All the veggies tasted really fresh and crunchy. They even went the extra step to crack fresh pepper! I was also really happy at the fact that they put Vietnamese pate, some restaurants I go to don’t include this.
IMG_2457.JPGMost of my coworkers that day ordered the lemon grass chicken special, which came with your choice of noodles/rice and spring roll/salad roll for $10. I had a bite of the chicken and again, it was really good. The chicken had a slight crisp on the outside, but was nice and juicy inside.

IMG_2458.JPGI’m not going to show all the food that we ordered since they were pretty much all the same thing… but this was the daily special again, but with vermicelli instead.

Joyeaux Cafe is a good place to go if you’re in downtown and craving Vietnamese food. The food is fresh, tastes great, and fast. It’s a bit more expensive than I’m used to, but I would gladly come here if I wanted good Vietnamese food in downtown! Extra points for serving their banh mi with meat pate!

Joyeaux Cafe & Restaurant on Urbanspoon

The Truffle House & Cafe

Hi everyone!

I know this is a bit late… but I hope you all had a good long weekend! I sure did, I spent the weekend discovering new restaurants and playing tourist in my own city. There are so many little nooks and crannies in the Lower Mainland, you can’t possibly be bored here on a sunny day.

Urbanspoon told me that The Truffle House had really good ratings, and was a popular place for brunch so we decided to stop by here!

IMG_2465.JPGThe restaurant is easy to miss, it is located in Dundarave Village on the main stretch of stores. The Truffle House was quite narrow and long too, and was full when we arrived. Luckily, they had their solarium open for overflow and we took the last spot there. The entire place was very clean and service was very friendly throughout our whole visit.
IMG_2468.JPGAre you surprised that when I saw smoked salmon on the menu, I ordered it right away? You shouldn’t be because I am the biggest salmon lover ever! West Coast benny – house smoked salmon, two poached eggs, hollandaise sauce and home fried potatoes.

There was a generous amount of smoked salmon, and it was delicious. I requested my eggs to be poached medium-hard and it was perfect to my liking. As well, the hollandaise sauce was buttery and flavourful. The home fried potatoes were quite good as well – crispy, and well seasoned with a lot of herbs! I was satisfied and full after eating this.

IMG_2466.JPGThe boyfriend ordered the eggs benny – which was the same as mine but with smoked ham instead of smoked salmon. What looked good on paper unfortunately did not apply to what tasted good in his mouth – sadly, the ham was very bland and lacked flavour. I gave it a try and agreed that there was no flavour to the ham at all.

I’m glad that we got to try this place, as the service was very friendly and atmosphere was spot-on. My smoked salmon benny was delicious, but unfortunately the eggs benny could have done better with flavour. With that said, we wouldn’t mind coming back if we were in the area but the boyfriend would probably order something else instead.

Smoked salmon or smoked ham – which one do you prefer? =)

Have a good day and thanks for reading!

-Carmen

The Truffle House & Cafe on Urbanspoon

Archimallows – Homemade Gourmet Marshmallows

Hello everyone!

Archimallows is a pop-up marshmallow shop, with their kitchen located in South Vancouver. They’re probably best known for being the adorable pop-up stand at Pacific Center’s Holt Renfrew in Downtown Vancouver, but they do private functions all over town.
IMG_1914.JPGAt the social, Kyle had a small little table decorated with cute pieces of fake moss, fresh marshmallows in mason jars and white rice, finished off with polka dots! I LOVE POLKA DOTS, so naturally we were off to a great start. In fact, I’m wearing my polka dot printed PJs and have my polka dotted phone case to my left right now.

IMG_1915.JPGHis flavours rotate depending on the week. At the event I attended, he had dark chocolate salted caramel, lemon meringue, vanilla sprinkle, and cola float (pictured above).

After lightly torching the marshmallows, you have a selection of finishing it off with a quick dip in coca-cola or Bailey’s (yes, the alcohol). You can see the bowl of Bailey’s in the first picture, the cola is a bit hidden behind the marshmallows =)
IMG_1918.JPGHere is Kyle lightly torching the lemon meringue marshmallow. Each of the marshmallows are individually torched in front of your eyes!
IMG_1917.JPGAfter toasting, Kyle asked if I wanted to try it as a s’more… the answer was a 100 percent YES!

Oh man, this was heaven in a bite. The graham crackers were crunchy and had a light flavour to them, so that it did not steal the spotlight from the marshmallow. The lemon meringue had a slight lemon taste, but it wasn’t super sour. It was soft and melted in your mouth, but had a nice, thin crisp exterior.
IMG_1913.JPGVanilla sprinkles! Just like the lemon meringue, it tasted really fresh and the marshmallow was very soft. This was dipped in Bailey’s so it had a slight caramel taste to it, which enhanced the lightly torched exterior. There isn’t much Bailey’s on the marshmallow, it is definitely not enough to get you drunk if you’re worried about that.

IMG_1916.JPGKyle was also nice enough to make more s’mores for my friends and I! I had the salted caramel s’more, and it was probably my favourite flavour of the night. It came with dark chocolate flakes which were slightly melted due to them being torched. I liked how it was slightly salty and had a caramel taste, even before it was dipped into the Bailey’s!

My marshmallow experience before trying Archimallows went only as far as jumbo-puffs, or those generic store brand marshmallows. I got to try and see a whole new wide of fancy, quality marshmallows!

archimallows
Mini egg archimallows! Taken from their Instagram

The best bet to find Kyle and his pop up stand is at Holt Renfrew! If you’ve ever been there, you might recall seeing his stand right near the bridge/tunnel that connects Holts and Pacific Center. Next time I’m in the area (which is often considering I work closely), I am definitely going to try to find Archimallows!

Which flavour sounds the best to you? Dark chocolate salted caramel, lemon meringue, vanilla sprinkle, or cola float? Let me know in the comments down below!

Thanks for reading!

Carmen

Archimallows on Urbanspoon

The Flying Pig (Olympic Village)

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.
unnamed (12)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.
unnamed (13) 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.
unnamed (15)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.
unnamed (14)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!

The Flying Pig on Urbanspoon