I went to Dadeo with my sisters a few weeks ago, for lunch. The place is located in the grunge-chic Whyte Ave. of the city, and in an unassuming building with just a simple purple-coloured neon sign to announce its presence.
Inside, think 1950's diner-style decor. Booths, vinyl-covered chairs, and funky juke-box music, with an adult-only sort of atmosphere.
Service was efficient and quick. Place was packed full for their lunch special of various types of po'boy sandwiches. I had the cajun blackened catfish po'boy with a side of glorious sweet potato fries, which came with some creamy, sinfully-delicious dipping sauce. The po'boy was very large and I actually ended up eating only half of the bread and all of the fish from the sandwich. I had most of my fries, though, because they were spicy and crispy and had this great coating on them which gave them the cajun flavours. One sis had the fried oyster po'boy, and the other tried the calamari one. From what I can tell, they enjoyed their sandwiches and fries as well.
I was stuffed by the end of lunch, and my meal only cost me $8.95 (plus tax and tip). Not bad considering how much I felt like I had eaten. I didn't bother ordering a drink because I needed the cleansing power of the water to help degreasify my meal and also dilute the spiciness of the food.
Overall, fantastic experience, and I'm totally coming here again with Hubbs next time. Dadeo's - if you want funky cajun diner-style grub in an adult-only restaurant.
Rating: 9. 5 / 10
For a very belated Christmas present, Hubbs and I took his Granny and Grampa to Ric's Grill Downtown the other night.
The restaurant is located on the corner of a chic part of downtown, in a historic brick building with lots of character. The inside of the place is appropriately romantically-lit (read: dimmed lighting, soft music), and decorated with a nice upscale modern yuppie look.
We were seated right away, in our choice of table or booth. Granny chose table, and we ended up at a lovely table near the window (although we couldn't see out the window while seated due to the higher ledge).
Ice water was brought out to us quite promptly, although our drink orders took a few minutes. The drinks were yummy though (mine was a chi-chi, Hubb's was some banana liqueur drink, and Granny had a blush wine), and perfect choices for everyone. Our server was appropriately friendly but not overly-so, and he gave excellent advice to help guide our orders. Hubbs and I ordered a starter of crab cakes, but our guests didn't want to share these with us. The crab cakes were not greasy and very tasty, although a tad rich for my tastes (the centers having some sort of creamy texture to them). Our bread was amazing, however; the crust was crispy, the center of the bread was warm and soft, and it was a great way to start off the meal.
For main entrees, Grampa had the teriyaki chicken, Granny and I the prime rib, and Hubbs the black and blue tuna. All of these entrees came with a choice of side as well as a starter soup or salad, which I appreciated as it made me feel better about the cost of each entree (ranging from $29 - $44).
There was another delay before our meals were served, but the wait was worth it. Judging from Grampa having finished off his entire meal (leaving nary a morsel on his plate), he liked his chicken and stuffed potato. Granny also liked her prime rib, although this was her first time having it medium (as opposed to well done), so we were worried she would find it too raw. She said it was tender and tasty, much to our relief. I thought the prime rib was delicious, although it wasn't the best I had ever tasted. I also adored the mashed potatoes, which I believe to have been peppered and cheesed. Hubbs ate his whole dinner and said it was fantastic.
After dinner, the four of us shared an order of Ric's apple pie, which I knew from previous experience to be a delicious slice of heaven. True to form, it was so good that Granny and Gramps, who both claimed they would only take a bite of the pie, ended up eating half the slice.
We were satisfied with the food and service from beginning to end, and more importantly, we were delighted that our grandparents were able to venture out of their dining comfort zones and enjoy this delicious meal with us. The company was impeccable, and the food was good, and the ambience was quiet and intimate, which was what we had wanted.
So, overall, I give Ric's Grill a very positive rating, and recommend the place to anyone wishing to have a quiet, delicious, slightly-fancier dinner in a more upscale steakhouse.
Rating: 9.5 / 10
On Friday Hubbs and I met up with StevieC for Japanese food at one of the most obscure, underrated surprise Japanese restaurants in the city, Zen Sushi & Grill (formerly known as Shabu-Shabu, and Sakura).
It was our first time there, and admittedly we were a little worried at first. The location: sketchy downtown, on the edge of Chinatown and near dark alleys. However, we were delighted upon entering, to see a very clean, very spacious, very Japanese-y restaurant with tables, booths, and those Tatami semi-private rooms. LOTS of Tatami rooms, in fact. The restaurant was well-lit and comfortable, and remarkably quiet for a Friday night.
We sat down to wait for StevieC, and were immediately greeted by our server, who brought us our drinks right away (a very small pot of green tea). If I have one complaint with Zen, it is that their teapots are far too small to accomodate my thirst. The servers here, like at Doan's, seemed to "share" our table and thus we were served by whichever server happened to be free, rather than one designated person.
Anyway, our choices were to order a la carte from the menu, or go with their all-you-can-eat special (which I think they do nightly). Of course, at $24/person, we opted for AYCE. The list they brought us allowed for unlimited portions (and a fair variety) of sushi, cones, maki, hot food (gyoza, tempura, edamame, baked oysters, green onion cakes, miso soup, teriyaki beef and chicken, etc.), and a limited amount of sashimi as well. Although each portion was not huge, it wasn't miniscule either, so we were happy with what we got for our money.
The food didn't take too long to come out, and in total I think we
ordered three separate rounds of grub. The servers were patient with us while we were waiting for StevieC, and they were also very good about bringing us plate after plate of food. They were polite and we were impressed with the service.
At the end of our feasting/gorging, we sat around chatting for quite a lengthy period of time, and it seemed not to bother the staff for us to loiter for so long following our meal. We eventually paid and left, and luckily, our car was still there! ;)
Before Zen, I had no idea that our humble town even had AYCE sushi, but now that I know about this gem of a restaurant, you can bet that I'll be back! Hubbs is already craving sushi again, so it likely won't be long before we head there once more. If you're looking for relatively affordable, decently fresh AYCE Japanese food, for sure give Zen a visit. You will probably end up rolling out of there, satisfied.
Rating: 9.5 / 10
On the insistence of Mrs. Vinny and Vanilla Con, Hubbs and I went to Huong Que Pho Restaurant to see if their pho lived up to the hype. Keeping in mind that we only had the beef rice noodle soup a few days ago, we figured that only the reputedly "best pho in the city" would make us want it again so soon.
The place is located in Chinatown, which means that prices are often more than reasonable, but the location usually sucks. True to form, the "shops" near the restaurant were all run-down and vacant, and the neighborhood of the place was sketchy at best. When we walked in, there was nobody at the till and we had to wait for a bit before the server lady came out to give us menus and a place to sit.
The pastel green walls and salmon pink tabletops were an interesting combination to be sure; as a whole the place was clean (for an Asian Chinatown eatery) and relatively quiet and pleasant, although tacky in terms of the furnishings. A TV and DVD player set on a platform in one corner of the room loudly played a Cantonese serial with Vietnamese dubbing while we sat waiting for our food.
We ordered their house special pho, and the server lady brought out tea for us automatically. We were a little hesitant about the teacups, though; they were of the Chinese variety but all the design had faded off the sides and they looked a little dirty (though I think they were clean and just speckled). Then the server lady brought out some sprouts and mint leaves for us (and yes, Mrs. Vinny, these tasted like mint leaves), but we didn't actually have any.
When the pho arrived, the first thing that I noticed was the scarcity of meat in my bowl. I had one beef ball, a couple of slices of raw beef (it looked like about 4 thin ones), and about 3 thin slices of beef brisket. There was also some shredded tripe in between the layers of meat, but that I assumed to be no more than about 2 tablespoons' worth. This was noticeably less meat than what I had in my pho at Doan's (2 beef balls, too many slices of beef brisket to count, and equally many slices of raw beef), and since I was particularly hungry during this meal, it was a tad disappointing. The broth, as promised, was delicious and tasted homemade, but generally speaking I found their pho to be less filling and less satisfying than the pho I had earlier in the week.
The bill was an affordable $14.45 for two orders, but once again, I believe that this was quite comparable to the prices charged at Doan's for the same thing.
Overall, if you are downtown in Chinatown and have a craving for pho, Huong Que is a decent place to go for some homemade goodness. However, if you're closer to the southside or have a few extra minutes to spare, I would advise driving down to Doan's for their pho instead. For nearly the same price, you get a lot more meat and certainly a safer environment (Doan's is located beside a police station), and it's quieter there, too - that is, unless you *want* to watch that Canto-dubbed-Vietnamese serial.
Rating: 7 / 10
Yes, I realize I have been a blogging delinquent here. Truth is, we have been eating out (or ordering in), but mostly we have been unadventurous and have stuck with our favourite places.
However, I did manage to go to Doan's Vietnamese Restaurant twice in the past few weeks. Why twice? It was that good, and I had me a hankerin' for pho (beef rice noodle soup).
So about Doan's - they are a pretty casual eatery, clean and spacious and comfortable. The decor is a nice mix of booths and tables, and they even have the 8-person cubbie-style booths for larger groups.
Service, as we experienced, has been efficient, prompt, and curious. Rather than your typical server-per-table style, they serve tables on an as-needed basis; the servers don't ignore you if you are not their table, but instead they help whichever table happens to need to place an order or get the bill or get more ice water (which is automatically brought out to you upon arrival).
Both times that we visited Doan's together, Hubbs and I ordered the half-order of salad rolls, and the second time Hubbs also got some steamed scallops to start. The salad rolls were decent, although smaller than at other Vietnamese places in town, and also conspicuously lacking in lemongrass within the roll. I assume that this is to cater to the less-Asian population that frequents Doan's, but was nonetheless a little annoyed at having to peel my own lemongrass leaves (from the plate of bean sprouts, lemongrass, and sauces that was brought out when we arrived) to add to my rolls. The scallops were light and not terribly tasty, but acceptable.
I then ordered my pho, but not just any pho; I ordered the house special, which came with many slices of raw beef, beef brisket, and beef balls in a broth of onions and spices. The rice noodles were perfectly al dente, and the raw beef was appropriately raw. The beef brisket, though marbled with bits of fat, tasted absolutely amazing and I was truly stuffed before I could even finish half of my noodles (although I wanted to eat on, because it tasted so darn good!).
The best part was that our meal was enjoyed in a quiet atmosphere, for although Doan's is a rather large place, it has not been packed at the times when we've gone, and somehow the sound has been muted (either by quiet patrons or by really good sound-absorbing walls and booths). Regardless, we enjoyed our meal in peace and were pleasantly surprised by the affordability of our delicious, filling fare. The total of our two half-order appetizers and our two pho came to a mere $30!
Some argue that Doan's is the best Vietnamese food in town, but I cannot yet vouch for that given that my exposure to Vietnamese restaurants has been limited, and I'm told there is an even better pho place downtown (in the heart of Chinatown, across from Lucky 97). However, I highly recommend Doan's to anyone who wants an affordable, quiet, tasty meal on a cold wintery day; it's come-as-you-are, and you definitely won't regret your visit!
Rating: 8.5 / 10
For Ridley's b-day, Hubbs, Ridley, Big Brown Guy, and I went to Montana's for dinner.
BBG made the reservations, and we showed up fashionably late (only 10 minutes). Anyway, apparently by the time we had arrived the server had already messed up Ridley's drink order. We ordered water with wedges of lemon, and were promptly informed that they were out of lemons. We ended up with limes.
So began the rest of a disastrous meal. Don't get me wrong - the company was fantastic, but the food and the service was hit-and-miss (and mostly miss). The restaurant itself was pretty Western-themed, with a log-house sort of feel to it. The tables were lined with butcher paper, and atop the tables were crayons and a mug tree (with apparently zero functionality, as far as I could tell).
Hubbs ordered the rustic citrus-grilled salmon salad, and I had the steak sandwich with a side of house greens. Ridley had their pot roast and BBG had the meatloaf. With the exception of Hubbs, I think we all ended up being disappointed with our meals. Ridley's meal, which was supposed to come with yorkshire pudding, didn't - and the server failed to inform him in advance that they were out of that, as well. BBG's meatloaf was too sweet, and my medium-rare steak was actually overly-well done, to the point of dry and yucky.
The only highlight of the evening was the server's enthusiasm that it was Ridley's birthday; she and her fellow servers came by with a large "water buffalo-esque" hat that they forced Ridley to wear, and then they sang a birthday song that uses the melody from the Flinstones theme song. They had the whole restaurant clap for our birthday boy, which was nice. Then they gave him his free dessert, which was uber-cheap: vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup.
When we paid our bill using two separate credit cards, our server messed up on the totals, charging one card for the full amount and the other for the additional amount. She didn't even bother to correct it, but tried instead to tell us that since it was a pre-auth, we could write down any amount we wished that was less than the full amount, and that would be the value that would be put through. I'll have to double-check our account once the payment goes through, since her incompetence throughout the night suggested that she probably cannot be trusted.
Anyway, I am glad we had such great company and fantastic conversation, because overall, Montana's food sucked and the service was poor and the atmosphere wasn't exactly classy. I would not recommend anyone going there, period. There are way too many good places to eat, including Smokey Joe's if you want BBQed meat (cheap, greasy spoon with killer huge portions and yummy fattening grub).
Rating: 5 / 10
I'm in school, damnit. So I will keep this short and sweet.
Hubbs & I went to Ichiban, a Japanese restaurant that the Wackies highly recommend as their favourite. We went with a last-minute reservation that we didn't need, because the place wasn't full. Located in a strip mall on the west end of town, the restaurant was small and humble and clean and comfortable. Very typical of many of the Japanese restaurants in town, actually.
Anyway, our drink orders (green tea) were taken right away. We got down to business and studied their menu, which was less extensive than Mikado's but still a decent size. We decided to order the sashimi boat because you could get 43 pieces for $30.95 (a great deal in our books!). We also got an order of rainbow maki (touted to be their signature dish) and some edamame.
Food came in good time, but I wasn't super-thrilled with its quality. The edamame was overcooked, so some of the beans were uber-soggy. Also, I didn't see that lovely layer of salt that usually covers my edamame. The rainbow roll was fantastic, although very heavy (filled with crunchy tempura bits and covered in avocado) and something that ought to be shared (which we did). The boat was impressive in size but not in quality nor variety. We had a lot of tuna and salmon, as well as some scallop, red snapper, octopus, and yellow tail. No shrimp at all. No roe. No eel. No fancy fish to name. And our octopus tasted like it was still thawing out (wet all along the bottom). It was relatively fresh, and a good deal, but we were sad not to get more variety in our 43 pieces (12 of which were salmon), and even sadder that our octopus was so un-tasty.
The bill came in good stead, and the server was super helpful and nice. If only the food was of better quality, this place would have been perfect! As it is, I recommend you go if you want some inexpensive, decent sashimi in a quiet place with good service. I would not recommend you go if you want the best cuts of raw fish in town. Overall, we'd definitely give Ichiban another chance, but our favourite remains Wasabi.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Some members of my fam & I headed to Golden Rice Bowl for dim sum yesterday. We didn't get there until 1:00 p.m., so we were seated fairly shortly after arrival.
Though the place was large and relatively spacious, the restaurant was almost full and also loud, really loud, and we found it difficult to hear each other over the noise of other patrons dining at their respective round tables. The decor was sparse and simple, with pastel green walls and a generally green coloring to the whole restaurant.
The food was quite delicious, although we made careful effort not to order too many items (particularly deep fried dishes), so we didn't taste the entire spectrum of what was available. Their selection, however, was quite extensive, and definitely better than Cha for Tea's. Of note were their stewed chicken's feet, which was very tender and very "meaty," and their Chinese mustard greens, or yau choi, which was very fresh and not greasy in the least. It was perfectly cooked and I couldn't stop eating it.
Our tea server/bill collector person was quite hard to track down, which frustrated us a little and caused my mom to have to get up out of her chair and hunt them down in order to settle our bill. My mom paid, so I can't tell you if the prices were fantastic or not.
However, as an overall experience we thought Golden Rice Bowl was a lot better than we had expected, and their variety of dim sum dishes definitely impressed us. If Dynasty Restaurant is ever full and driving to Century Palace would take you too long, I would recommend Golden Rice Bowl as the third option for your weekend dim sum dining.
Rating: 8 / 10
I am in love ... with Krispy King Taber Corn. This is the sweetest, most large-kerneled yellow corn I have ever
sunk my big rabbit teeth into, and every bite is assuredly heavenly. It's a seasonal indulgence, since the Taber corn people only come out in the summer to offer their wares, and I'm pretty sure they're just about ready to pack up their side-of-the-road vendor stands and drive home pretty soon.
Until then, though, I am going to try to eat an ear a day, because this stuff is amazing and I cannot resist its sweet, crispy, juicy taste. Yum!
Oh - and if you're interested in eating Taber corn with mounds of butter, here are some recipes for various types of butters that you can make. I'm a purist, so the only thing I add is some Becel Light Margarine (if that).
And if you enjoy Peaches and Cream corn, apparently there is a bicolour Taber corn out there for you too! I have yet to try the P&C variety, but I definitely will in the next few days.
Rating: 10 / 10
My in-laws, Hubbs & I had a chance to dine at Delux Burger Bar on the weekend. We had heard great things about the place (reviews in the paper and by Wacky), plus we knew that this eatery was owned by the same people who run LUX. Needless to say, our expectations were pretty high.
And Delux did not disappoint. Though we didn't have a reservation, we managed to get seated in a booth upon arrival. The server came by right away to get drink orders, and their drink menu was pretty large. I opted for the virgin strawberry smoothie, which turned out to be quite thick and also very tasty (although perhaps a tad heavy for a burger meal). Though their actual dining menu was small, limited to burgers and salads and apps (plus a children's menu), we found exactly what we wanted. Our table shared an order of lobster nachos, and then Hubbs & Dad E. ordered ahi-tuna burgers while Mom E. & I shared an urban burger(a regular cheeseburger) and their deluxe signature salad.
Looking around, I noted that the decor was very much in a funky diner style, with lots of teal blue and dark browns. The patio looked very inviting, though we stayed inside where the place was adorned with both booths and tables. The bathrooms at Delux were admittedly a bit strange - they were single-toilet washrooms that shared an area for washing your hands; that is, the men's room and ladies' room faced each other, and in between were two sinks. It was a tad inconvenient when I *really* needed to use the washroom and it was occupied, but I was appeased when I saw the nice TV built into the wall inside the bathroom. Impressive, non?
We didn't even notice the time fly by and our app was alread served. Though the size of the nacho platter wasn't huge, it was a sufficient portion for 4 (although better shared by 2). As requested, Mom E.'s and my food was divided into two portions and plated separately for service, which prevented us from having to do the messy deed of cutting up the burger and divvying up the salad. Dad E. & Hubbs both very much enjoyed their large burgers, as evidenced by the fact that they ate all of it. My burger tasted pretty standard, although I must confess that in my bid to reduce carbs, I pretty much ate just the middle and left the bun. The salad was *amazing,* however, and I ate every last morsel of it. As described by the menu, it consisted of, "fresh lobster, mandarin and apple segments, candied pecans, grapes, and butterleaf lettuce with a tangy orange dressing." The dressing wasn't too heavy or too tangy, and perfectly complemented the fruit.
We didn't get a chance to try their sweet potato fries (or their regular fries) since we were so full, but you'd better believe I will be ordering that the next time I'm there =D As we observed, these fries are usually served in shopping carts. Another cool touch!
Instead, we asked for the bill, which came alongside a small tower of cotton candy. It was the perfect end to a fun and enjoyable meal, and a total throwback to my younger years.
Overall, the service was good, the price was decent ($12-15 for the burger, $3-6 for the fries), and the food was fabulous. I loved the funkiness of the ambience at Delux, and recommend this burger joint to anyone who prefers upscale burger dining.
Rating: 10 / 10
Last Friday, Ah-Lei-See, Norrie, Hubbs & I went to The Creperie for dinner. We made a last-minute reservation at 6:00 p.m. for 6:45 that night, and got a table with no problem whatsoever.
It was Ah-Lei-See & Norrie's first time there, so I was glad to be able to observe the restaurant again through newbie eyes. They both loved the quiet, cozy ambience of the restaurant, as well as the way that tables were separated into little "rooms." We were in the "kitchen" room, judging by the pots and pans hanging from the ceiling. In previous visits I've sat in the "library" as well as in the more restaurantish booth areas.
Anyway, we brought coupons with us to the restaurant in a bid to get my money's worth from my Student Union Ticket Pak. Our server was a lovely dude who very patiently explained the coupons as well as the menu to us. He also brought us warm, crispy, soft-in-the-middle buns for us to enjoy while we made our final decisions. In the end, I decided to go for the three-course meal, with a spinach salad to start, a sesame-ginger beef crepe entree, and then the combo dessert crepe (crepe framboise cardinal and crepe glace au chocolat). Hubbs opted for lamb shanks provencale prepared with red wine and herbs, while the other girls both had crepes pacific (salmon, shrimp, and asparagus in a creamy dill sauce).
Our salads came very quickly, although our entrees took a little more time. In the interim, I had a virgin chi-chi to sip, while Ah-Lei-See had white wine. Our server came by many many times to refill our ice water, and we very much appreciated his prompt service.
When our meals came, we were pretty hungry, but not enough to finish these very hearty portions. Our crepes came with veggies and orzo pasta on the side, neither of which I was able to finish eating; in fact, none of the girls finished their entire meals. Hubbs' lamb shanks were gigantic, and even he (carnivore that he is) wasn't able to complete both shanks and had to doggie-bag the leftovers. My ginger beef crepe wasn't as tasty as the other crepes I've tried, mostly because I think the whole east-meets-Euro thing just didn't work. On its own, however, the ginger beef tasted pretty good (impressive for a French establishment!).
Our desserts came in pre-frozen portions, with vanilla ice cream centers surrounded by crepe and then drizzled with raspberry puree and chocolate sauce. It was delicious and satisfying portion that definitely marked the end of a great (and filling) meal.
When the bill came, it wasn't completely outrageous, either. I think each person's share ended up being around $27 (excluding gratuity), and we almost had to roll out the door since we were so full.
I definitely recommend that everyone try The Creperie at least once or twice. The menu is quite extensive and has other entrees besides crepes for patrons to enjoy, the service is impeccable, and the price is right.
Rating: 9.5 / 10
Okay, so this isn't a review, but a shameless self-promotion of my tastiest pasta yet, as well as reminder to myself on how to replicate it.
Today, after preparing the pasta (flax-seed rotini), I returned it to the pot and added my newly-cooked, self-seasoned ground bison & bison juice, over very low heat. After I mixed the two together, I slowly added the Healthy Choice Garlic & Herbs Pasta Sauce and combined it with the ingredients in the pot. Then, I let the whole thing simmer over low heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
The pasta tastes way more well-blended than my previous pastas, which always tasted like pasta + sauce. I think that adding the meat & meat juice separately to the pasta before adding the tomato sauce, made the difference.
Anyway, I rate my own pasta a 9.5 / 10 for deliciousness, the - 0.5 being that I slightly overcooked the pasta beyond the point of al dente.
Bison - the best red meat to cook with and the healthiest member of the cow family to eat! =D
Call me Debbie Downer, but I had a miserable time at Heritage Days this year, save for being with my Hubbs, the only true highlight of my 4.5 hour experience.
The brief run-down: the LRT was crowded, our Park-n-Ride bus was crowded, and the whole entire freakin' park was crowded at 3:45 in the afternoon. Line-ups were really long and confusing to locate, and several venues (Mexico and Jamaica, to name a few) ran out of several of their entrees by mid-afternoon. The Chinese food was mostly inauthentic (save for the ones I had mentioned in a previous post) and there was no place to eat, unless I wanted to sit on the grass in the sun near the garbage cans (all of which were overflowing with waste).
There was only one real highlight to the festival, which you can read about here.
The foods we tried and liked: Jamaica's beef patty, Scandinavia's almond danish, China's & Hong Kong's green onion cakes (the former was grilled, the latter was deep-fried), and France's crepes.
Overall, though, we either went at the wrong time of day, the wrong day, or in the wrong city. Heritage Days was not at all a fun and educational experience for us, since we spent the majority of our 4.5 hours in line-ups for food. We may not return next year, and channel our Taste of E-town and Heritage food voucher money towards a better cause, like going out for dinner.
Rating: 5 / 10
Recently, I rediscovered a favourite of Hubbs & mine - bison burgers. They're not inexpensive ($10.99/6 frozen patties @ Save-On-Foods) but they are an excellent source of protein and a great lean alternative to beef burgers.
We usually grill ours on the George Foreman for about 3-4 minutes (post-defrosting) to ensure that it is properly cooked but not overcooked and dry. They taste almost exactly like beef, but without the disgusting aftertaste of fat on your tongue afterwards. The only drawback is that they are very easy to overcook, so you have to be incredibly careful.
Anyway, this comes highly recommended by me, because I am always looking for good protein-rich foods that don't make me sick or require many hours of my time to prepare. Bison burgers - quick, easy, tasty, and healthy.
Rating: 9 / 10
Another great discovery we've had recently in the protein department has been chicken bacon. It is the lean alternative to bacon, and is essentially a strip of chicken and bacon meat combined, and made into the shape of bacon strips. We have been buying the Maple Leaf Breakfast Grill brand (sorry, couldn't find a picture), but I think these are available in several other brands as well. The Maple Leaf version costs about $3.99 on sale at Save-On.
We usually prepare them in the microwave, sandwiched between two layers of Bounty paper towel, and they usually come out quite crispy (especially the "end" pieces near the edge of the plate) and very non-greasy. They don't taste entirely like bacon, but they do taste very good and they are quite low-calorie (50 calories for 2 strips!), so you don't feel so bad about having 4 strips.
We have also tried the turkey bacon, which I also enjoy, but Hubbs is particular to the chicken bacon, which he claims is the better-tasting of the two.
If you're looking for more protein at breakfast and you're sick of eggs, I definitely recommend that you try chicken bacon. Once you've had it, you may never want to give it up (I have it almost every morning now).
Rating: 9.5 / 10
I would like to preface this post by saying that I do not think my experience with New Asian Village tonight is indicative of their normal food and service quality. Tonight was a freakishly bad aberration from the norm.
We ordered via Dial-and-Dine, and though our order was promised to arrive within 80 minutes of our call, it actually took nearly 2 hours for it to be delivered. The reasons? A) The normal regular chef at the restaurant wasn't working, and the substitute chef was having some issues filling both the restaurant and the take-out orders, and B) supposedly there was a back-up in traffic on the bridge. To compensate for the huge delay, $10 was knocked off our bill, which we were satisfied with.
Our food had arrived to a very hungry me. Usually, when one is half-starved, the flavour of their food is enhanced proportionately to their level of starvation. This was not the case tonight. Our Tandoori Grill platter was missing the fish (which is promised along with the lamb and chicken and shrimp on the menu), and lacked zing. Our Kadai curry with lamb also tasted sort of bland. I also found the accompanying rice to lack flavour, which I found immensely disappointing. I did enjoy trying the meetha paratha (a sweet bread layered with honey), which was a bit chewy in texture but a nice sweet compliment to the spicy meat, and the garlic naan was good, too. However, as a whole, my very huge hunger was not well satiated by the meal we had ordered.
So, based on tonight's experience, I would NOT advise that anyone try ordering New Asian Village's fare via Dial-and-Dine, who informed us (during one of our follow-up phone calls to locate our order) that the restaurant has been known to put phone orders as their lowest priority for filling, especially on busy nights. Maybe if we ever decide to head to the restaurant again to try their fare, I will provide a more glowing recommendation. However, for now, I am not too eager to eat at this Indian restaurant again any time soon.
Rating: 6 / 10
Hubb's Rating: 10 / 10
(Obviously my hubby's tastes aren't as discriminating as mine! He rarely gives a bad review.)
I initially told the girls from my Cow-town Road Trip that I wouldn't be posting about the city's eateries since they're out-of-town, but I couldn't resist posting about Crave. Crave is a bakery shop located in the Kensington area, known for their deliciously-topped cupcakes and other baked goodies. We stopped in there after church yesterday after we realized that if we waited until later in
the afternoon, all the cupcakes would have already been sold.This teeny tiny bakery shop offered the most moist and delicious cupcakes, avaiable in large or mini sizes and in either vanilla or chocolate, and topped with a variety of differently-flavoured buttercream icings. I bought a dozen minis in several different flavours, and also one full-sized signature Crave-o-licious cupcake, which I promptly gobbled up in my post-church, pre-lunch hunger. As it turns out, this flavour proved itself to be my favourite - it was a chocolate cake covered with a blue vanilla butter cream icing and chocolate shavings. It was heavenly.
Miche-Lin's favourite was the Peppy Pattie (light peppermint butter cream icing and peppermint candy shavings over chocolate cake) while her hubby K's was the Lovely Bunch of Coconuts (vanilla butter cream icing and coconut topped over chocolate cake). The other gals in the group were, like me, newbies to Crave, so hadn't declared their favourites yet.
When I got home from Cow-town, Hubbs tried out the cupcakes. As I had predicted, his favourite was the Nutty Over Chocolate, which was also a chocolate cake topped with a peanut butter cream icing.
The cupcakes at Crave are crazy expensive (cost = $19.15 for a dozen minis & one full-size cupcake) but totally worth it for a sweet, every-so-often sort of treat. I was very impressed by the moistness of their cake, the complementary flavouring of uber-sweet icing and lightly-sweetened cake, and the softness of the cakes. When in Calgary, go to Crave! It should definitely become an indulgent tradition akin to going to Pete's Drive-In!
Rating: 10 / 10
Hubbs & I headed out to the Taste of the City to check out this year's restaurant representatives. We were bitterly disappointed to see that most of the vendors were the same as last year's, except that the Ghengis Grill (who used to do the green onion cakes) was replaced by Hong Kong Bakery doing the green onion cakes. There might have been one or two new stalls, but we didn't notice.
Although it was sprinkling rain and overcast and muggy outside, it was super crowded at the food fair. We thought that it was stupid that the city didn't bother to space out the stalls a little more, especially the more popular stalls that gathered a huge line-up of people. With the food stands set up literally side-by-side along *one* street in opposite directions, people didn't know quite where to stand to line up for their grub, and passersby were easily mistaken for people standing in line, and vice-versa.
As well, I think the "prices" went up this year, as many of the dishes cost 5 tickets despite not really
offering anything substantial enough to warrant a $3.75 charge. Hubbs & I sampled only a few items, as we cheaped out and purchased a mere 30 tix. We had the seafood paella from Nisku Inn, which was quite a generous portion of rice that came pretty loaded with meat and seafood. There were also two mussels given on our plate, which Hubbs thoroughly enjoyed. This dish was worth its 5 tix. Next, we shared the green onion cake (4 tix), which was a tad on the greasy side but crunchy and delicious all the same. Of course, I prefer the puffy 
kind of green onion cake to this pancaked version, but this was still pretty good and hot off the grill.
Then Hubbs tried the lamb chop from the Outback Steakhouse. Though we were never impressed by this restaurant when we've dined there, the 5-ticket lambchop that he was served was actually pretty good, according to him. It had a fair bit of meat on it (for a lamp chop) and looked perfectly grilled and juicy. It was also served with a cabernet sauce, which apparently added to the meat's flavours.
Next, we ventured around the block of stalls again, and this time I stopped to get the bbq beef ribs from the Baccarrat Casino. For sure we had never eaten at the casino before, but the size of the ribs had my curiosity piqued and so I had to get one. 5 tix later, I was getting down and dirty with my very generously-sized ribs (they gave me two shorter ones as opposed to one longer one). The meat was tender, although the bbq sauce had a bit of that baked beans taste to it and wasn't my favourite. Still, it was meat and it was pretty good and I was hungry. However, I was definitely sick of the ribs before I had finished both of them, but since Hubbs refused to get dirty and eat the second rib, I was stuck gobbling it down too.
Hubbs then redeemed 5 more tix for a buffalo kabob from Normand's. It was a lone kabob, far too small to be worthy of $3.75 (in my humble opinion). However, Hubbs felt that sinced buffalo meat is a more rare meat than beef, this was a small price to pay for a semi-delicacy. It did look pretty well grilled, and again Hubbs described it as "good" and tasty.
Finally, with a mere 6 tix to go, we tried to figure out what to order. Hubbs had been eyeing the creole jambalaya from Four Rooms, so (foolishly) we lined up and ordered it without first glancing at other people's dishes of it. This was by far the biggest mistake of our night, because we watched in horror as a scoop of white rice was plopped into the styrofoam bowl, and then a ladle full of soupy red liquid was glopped on top. Nowhere did we see any big shrimp. Hubbs fished out about 4 pieces of tiny shrimp that was buried in the "sauce." Two very small, very sad pieces of what I can only guess to have been sausage were also hidden among the many grains of rice. Oh, and I think I saw a miniscule piece of ham as well. Hubbs described the taste as horrible and soupy, and regretted ordering it the moment he took his first bite. In fact, he claims he would have preferred to eat feces over this stuff (a hyperbolic exaggeration indicating his level of immense dissatisfaction). Anyway, after he fished out those poor little shrimp pieces, he tossed the rest of the bowl into the nearest garbage can, swearing never to eat at Four Rooms ever again.
Overall, we were not entirely impressed with the Taste of the City this year. The food was at best okay / mediocre, but certainly nothing gourmet or spectacularly impressive. Expect that if you go, you're consuming food prepared in a portable restaurant and done en masse, neither condition amenable to gourmet cooking to begin with. Add to that the pressure to turn out a product quickly, and we're talking average (or above-average) food at best. It's also an expensive venture to eat there, because drinks cost you several dollars and the portions you get for your tickets aren't often that large, unless you only eat beef ribs. Finally, the crowds can be unbearable, so try to go at off-hours if you still want to go. And always look before you line up; let someone else be the guinea pig first. And avoid the creole jambalaya.
Overall rating: 6 / 10
Hubb's Jambalaya Rating: -1000 / 10
My friend Lynn & I met up at Vi's for Pies to catch up yesterday evening. Having been to the little bistro-bakery with Mrs. Vinny on several previous occasions, I knew this would be a great evening.
The very clean, very eye-appealing atmosphere was simple and comfortable and well-lit with natural light. WIndows surrounded the entire restaurant. Although there were only a few tables in the small eatery, I saw several patrons come in and take-out their famous desserts without staying for dinner anyway. There was also a small patio that we did not check out, but that I eyed another set of diners sitting out on.
The menu was written on portable blackboards that were then set beside tables that had not yet ordered. Although the selection was limited, the fare of homestyle meals appealed to me. They had several types of "buns" (sandwiches), two soups, two salads, two appetizers, three feature entrees, and about six dinner entrees to choose from. While Lynn had the spanikopita, I chose the chicken cheddar salsa.
Service was relatively prompt; wait times for drinks and the bill were a tad longer than I would have expected, but given that this was likely a coffee-and-gossip sort of joint, I figured that they were used to giving their guests some extra talk time between everything. Our dinner came out quickly, though. My chicken cheddar salsa was, to my surprise, wrapped in phyllo pastry (like a spanikopita) and served with a green salad and full-fat Italian dressing. It tasted delicious and fresh, but since it was a pretty simple dish, it didn't have a lot of flair. I had initially contemplated ordering the shepherd's pie dinner, but when I considered that I wanted dessert, I was glad to have chosen a slightly lighter meal.
For dessert, both Lynn & I ordered the peanut butter mousse pie and coffee. The mousse pie was decadent, rich, delicious, and perfectly prepared, not to mention gigantic in size. In the end, I could only finish about half of it and had to pack the rest to take home. I was glad for the free coffee refills, because each delicious creamy bite needed to be chased down by a good sip of java to clear my palate in preparation for the next sensational bite.
Okay, so I am completely biased. I have always loved Vi's for Pies and their triple-layered uber-moist chocolate cake has been a favourite of mine for the past several years. This is definitely the bistro to go to when you need to grab dessert with a friend. The pies here are second-to-none, and the portions are impressive as well. The meals are well-prepared and reasonably-priced, but don't come to Vi's for Pies for the meals - skip them entirely and go straight to dessert; otherwise, you may not have room to finish your pie!
Rating: 10 / 10
As a belated Christmas gift, Hubbs & I took my parents out to LUX for dinner on Tuesday evening. Those of you who know us know that we've been raving about this place since we "discovered" it last September, after it had taken over for Chance restaurant (which we had never dined at).
As always, we had made a reservation, and when we arrived promptly at 6:30, we were seated immediately at a lovely table in the corner. I say lovely because it was a bit removed from the hustle-bustle of the rest of the restaurant, which I appreciated very much.The ambience of the place was chic, stylish, classy, and done
in all red, brown, and dark mahogany colours. The lighting gradually dimmed as the evening wore on, and the music on this non-Thursday was gloriously soft and unraucous, although to our dismay LUX was playing Top 40/hip-hop songs instead of their usual jazz. Hubbs & I get a very Vancouver-esque feel from dining here, which tells you a little about why we love the place.
The server came by and took our drink orders quickly; Mom & I opted for water while the boys had caesars of varying spiciness levels. LUX has the most diverse caesar drink menu I have seen, and this impressed Hubbs to no end when we first came here. His favourite? The Insanity Caesar. My dad very much enjoyed his Fireworks Caesar.
The menu, which offers only a handful of entrees aside from the steaks, also lists a modest variety of appetizers, sides, and salads. The menu is known to change every few months, and has shifted quite a bit since our first visit last year. My Dad and I both ordered New York steaks, Mom had the pan-seared halibut, and Hubbs had his ahi tuna. As well, Hubbs & I got the truffled lobster mac-n-cheese to share, and my folks got the horseradish & peppercorn mashed potatoes.
One drawback to the restaurant is that they do not immediately assume that you want bread; you have to ask for it, which we did. When it was served, I found the slices of baguette to be quite dry, although it didn't appear to have been toasted. The garlic herb butter that it was served with was yummy though.
Our meals arrived in good time, and I dug into my steak right away. As per all restaurants, it was a little more medium rare than the rare that I had ordered. However, it was aged well and tasted great. I would have preferred a little more grizzle on it, but that's just the unhealthy part of me talking ;) Hubbs' ahi tuna was excellent according to him (he didn't share), and so was the smoked gouda polenta that it came with; the polenta was bold and flavourful because of its cheese content, and was also very rich and filling to eat. Our truffled lobster mac-n-cheese was far more mild, but also tasty and delicious and creamy. My Dad enjoyed his steak immensely, and gobbled all 8 oz. of it up in record time. He also commented that the mashed potatoes were very good, which is a high compliment given that my dad is stingy on compliments when it comes to food that he didn't prepare; however, the potatoes were definitely lacking in horseradish and peppercorn taste. The three peppercorn demi that Dad got for his meal was also very flavourful and appealing (I know this because he poured a lot of it over his potatoes), although both he and Hubbs felt that it didn't taste peppercorny at all. Mom quietly enjoyed her halibut, which she later commented was really good; I didn't taste her fish but I did notice that it was a rather small portion (likewise with Hubbs' ahi).
A few more caesars and a couple of conversation topics later, we got the bill. It was a whopper to be sure, but given the overall satisfaction that my folks had with the food, I felt the price was worth it. My parents were very much impressed by the setting of the restaurant, although a little shocked at the steep prices that they charged. My Mom especially was chagrined to note that sides didn't automatically come with the steak entrees, and had to be purchased separately.
All in all, a good Christmas gift and a nice treat for my parents, who almost never dine anywhere fancier than Tony Roma's (their regular joint for celebrating birthdays). I highly recommend LUX to those of you wanting to dine at a fancy place and have some delicious fare (although, don't go on Retro Thursdays or else you'll find the restaurant to be deafeningly loud due to music from the lounge). I would suggest, however, that you save up your pennies and only come here for special occasions, as its entrees (averaging $30 each) are not for the stingy of wallet!
Rating: 9 / 10
Hubb's Rating: 9 / 10
(He said, "Knock off a point or two for them playing rap music instead of the acid jazz/jazz combo")
My in-laws were sweet enough to take my parents (and us) out for dinner at Billingsgate Fish Co. (the Lighthouse Cafe) last night. I had no idea what to expect from the place, except that Mom E. had assured me their steak was really good.
The entry of this establishment led to the fish market first. It was a surprisingly small store, although they did seem to sell a lot of different types of seafood. Most were prepackaged and already frozen, except for a lobster tank here and a crab tank there. I think I've seen more live seafood at T & T (or in most Chinese supermarkets), but the selection at Billingsgate was certainly respectable.
The restaurant was set up very much in the fisherman-lighthouse theme. It was almost borderline tacky, with fake fish and other nautical symbols and pictures displayed prominently on its walls and from its ceilings. However, there was definitely something kind of quaint about this eatery as well; its small tables and simple chairs worked well with the rest of the decor and gave us a very comfortable, casual feeling.
The menu listed a pretty fair selection of entrees and appetizers, although the dessert variety looked a tad sparse and salads were definitely missing from the menu (except for ceasar salads). The prices were also reasonable, with most entrees ranging from $18-30. I opted for the striploin steak, having been shellfish-spooked from my rather nasty seafood-induced experience recently. Hubbs got the steak and seafood combination.
After we ordered, the bread was brought out. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't the
standard crusty bun fare; this bread was sundried tomato foccacia, and although it wasn't served with oil and vinegar (just butter), it was still very tasty and a treat to have. When the meals came after a bit of a wait, my striploin was a little overdone (I asked for rare and got medium rare), but was still very good and tender. The steak had been topped with a variety of grilled mushrooms and some grilled garlic, and these made it far better tasting than what it would have been on its own, or with a ton of HP sauce, or gravy. On the side came steamed veggies (which I didn't eat), and roasted blue and white potatoes. The potatoes were also prepared well, and had a nice crispy edge to them that made them delicious. Hubbs said that his lobster (that came with a dipping butter) was excellent, and that his steak also tasted great. My parents also remarked that their orders (wild sockeye salmon topped with lobster meat, served in a cream sauce) were done really well and tasted good. I didn't ask my in-laws about their meals, but presume that they too found their entrees pleasing to the palate.
The service was also efficient and unobtrusive. Mom E. must have known the server lady, because they struck up quite the conversation. The rest of our servers were pretty quiet and not too keen on interrupting our conversations to refill our water, etc., which was nice.
In summary, we really enjoyed our time at Billingsgate. Sure, they aren't your five-star fancy classy restaurant by any stretch of the imagination, but the food was affordable and tasted good, and sometimes a casual ambience all that a gal wants.
Rating: 9 / 10
In a bid to be more diverse in our Chinese dining adventures, Hubbs & I decided to take our family out to Cha for Tea Palace for dim sum. Due to weird church schedules, Hubbs & I arrived there first, and had to wait for over an hour before the rest of the family came. That was fine, since the restaurant had informed us previously that we needed to be there by 12:00 (which we were) if we wanted a table, as they did not take reservations and by 12:30 their restaurant would be full and we would need to wait. We figured we were table-saving, so we waited, smug in the knowledge that our prompt arrival secured us a sweet table near the window.
However, at 1:10 pm when Vanilla Con and my folks finally arrived, there were nearly a dozen large round tables still empty in the restaurant. Our wait was needlessly long, thanks to the misinformation I had been fed over the phone.
During our lengthy wait, I had lots of time to admire the East-meets-West decor of this restaurant. The bathrooms were immaculate and smelled of lavender air freshener, the seafood tanks were stylishly built into the stone-textured display wall, and the dark wood bar was funky enough to rival the bar at Joey's Grill in South Common. The decor of the rest of the restaurant was simple and somewhat "elegant," although perhaps a tad overdone in the case of the ornate glass chandeliers hanging from the middle of the ceiling. The chairs were upholstered in a soft yellow brocade-esque fabric, and were very comfortable to sit on. Although our table settings were definitely Chinese (chopsticks, bowl, plate, and tea cup, plus a Lazy Susan in the middle of the table), perched on the Lazy Susan was an all-English placard advertising the special alcoholic cocktails served at Cha for Tea. Hubbs remarked to me that this reminded him slightly of our Lingnan experience. *shudder*
As usual, we ordered our standard har gow, siu mai, chickens' feet, and pan-fried pork dumplings (waw teep). We also tried out their house specialty, the pineapple-BBQ pork-bun (baw law bow). I must say that in spite of the impressive setting (it was impressive as far as Chinese dim sum places go), the food was not all that memorable. It tasted good and fresh, but none of the dishes we sampled were particularly great. As well, their selection was not nearly as extensive as I would have liked to see. For a restaurant that 
boasts 24-hour dim sum, one would think that they would have made an attempt to at least match rival restaurants' menus as far as selection is concerned. Apparently, this was not a concern for them. Instead, Cha for Tea stuck with the standard dim sum items and added just a handful of their own specialties. We found this a little disappointing.
The service was excellent, however. The cart-pushing ladies were friendly and accommodating, and the other "runners" were also pretty prompt and on the ball. In fact, I think this was the best dim sum service I've had in the last 3 years.
The host and hostesses were another story. These young people (who looked no older than 20) were dressed in the least professional attire I have ever seen at a Chinese restaurant in North America (and I've seen quite a few). One girl wore a super-short skirt that literally offered only an inch and a half of coverage below her butt cheeks. Another girl wore a shirt that bared one of her shoulders, plus skin-tight jeans and black boots. The boy-host sported a t-shirt with a pattern that looked like blood stains on the right side of his back and the left side of his front torso. I'm not sure what sort of image Cha for Tea was going for with their hosts, but it certainly left an unpleasant taste in my mouth.
The cost of the menu items at Cha for Tea was a tad high for our preferences as well, considering the quality of their food. However, it wasn't unreasonably high, and of course we all know that brocade-covered chairs don't pay for themselves!
All in all, Cha for Tea is a good dim sum restaurant for the first-time Chinese brunch diner, or for non-Chinese people who would rather pay a few extra bucks for a newer, more stylish atmosphere than for great dim sum. It's not a bad restaurant to go to, especially if you only like the most standard dim sum fare; however, if you want an extensive selection of unique and funky brunch dishes to choose from, you may want to go elsewhere.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
As always, Dynasty has proven itself to be one of my favourite dim sum restaurants. Sure, it was loud and packed with people when we arrived, but isn't that the measure of any great Chinese eatery? My parents showed up early to hold a table for the rest of us, so when Hubbs & I arrived we got seated immediately.
The selection was diverse as always, and amongst other dishes, we ordered some of our favourites: stewed chickens' feet, shrimp dumplings (har gow), pork dumplings (siu mai), pan-fried Chinese turnip cake (law bahk goh), Chinese donuts wrapped in rice rolls (tzah leung), and steamed BBQ pork buns. Of note was the chickens' feet, which were perfectly meaty and tender and flavourful.
The only drawback to Dynasty: the old yucky bathroom. Its floor perpetually looks dirty, like some little old Chinese lady had missed and peed on it. There were no paper towels or even an automatic hand dryer, and the pull-down-fabric-towel contraption was broken. Eeew a thousand times over.
For an extensive selection of good authentic Chinese dim sum, go to Dynasty. It tastes great, it's affordable, and thousands of Chinese people from the south side of the city can't possibly be wrong! ;)
Rating: 9 / 10
My parents decided to take the family out for dinner to Mirama. Hubbs & I were decidedly troubled by this decision, because we knew the neighborhood to be sketchy and we recalled that it had played host to some gang stabbing a few years ago.
However, out of Chinese face-saving respect, we decided not to argue their judgement, and parked our car in the sketchy lot beside the restaurant. We later discovered that there were customer parking stalls behind the building, but by then we were already inside and didn't care to move our vehicle. Anyway, en route into the building, we saw a homeless man sleeping in the grass beside the building, not more than 20 feet away from our car. Nice. We silently prayed that our car would still be there when we finished our meal.
When we got inside and were seated at our round table, I took a good look around. The restaurant has not changed much since its predecessor, Furama, set up shop nearly 2 decades ago. The carpet was worn, but old tile had been replaced by newer stone. The bathroom doors, which Vanilla Con noted, had been repainted a bright purple colour; the walls still looked stained and worn down. As well, there were new drapes over the windows. The old double-happiness wall, complete with faux gold dragon and phoenix figures hung in the same place as it always had. The table cloths looked worn and so did the chairs and tables. Generally, the atmosphere was sort of grungy and old, and not in a comfortable sort of way.
The restaurant was pretty empty, despite having dozens of large round tables on the floor. We didn't even glance at the menu, but my parents ordered the typical set meal for us. The dishes that came consisted of:
-Fish maw soup-Stir-fry with mushrooms, chicken, and green beans
-Empress chicken
-Chili-fried prawns
-Crab fried with ginger and green onion-Steamed halibut with green onion and ginger
-Ginger beef
The last dish was an add-on my parents decided to order when they saw the diminuitive size of our first two dishes; they quickly calculated that 7 hungry adults would not be sufficiently satisfied by dishes of those proportions. As well, they knew that a near-riot was about to occur because their childrens' favourite dish, sweet & sour pork, had not been ordered.
For the most part, the meal was pretty tasty. Though the soup and stir-fry and crab were pretty average-tasting, most of the other dishes were quite delicious. The prawns were spicy without being painfully so, and had a delicious crisp texture to them. The halibut was fresh, devoid of any "fishy" taste, and had such a delicate texture that it nearly melted in my mouth. The chicken was moist, tender, and cooked perfectly. Unfortunately, the ginger beef left much to be desired; though it had a crispy texture, this had been drowned out by an overly-thick, overly sweet & sour sauce that lacked any taste of ginger. It was, in actual fact, a dish of sweet & sour beef strips, and left my Hubbs (who hates sweet & sour-flavoured foods) very disappointed.
The service at Mirama was nearly as sketchy as the environment. Our server, a very smiley and polite lady, served us promptly and courteously. However, another man whom she worked with (and who we presumed to be the manager), was obnoxious and rude and incredibly loud. Shortly after we had arrived, he was screaming at our server for some reason unbeknownst to us; the poor lady had to grin and bear it and then return to our table to take our order. This man also spoke very unprofessionally towards other patrons at the restaurant. His unbearably loud, gruff voice permeated the restaurant because he didn't know when to shut up. By the time our order had been placed, Superstar Jo was ready to go over and put the guy in his place!
When I got home, I also got sick. As it turns out, Mirama either uses a type of oil that I have difficulty digesting, or I was having a reaction to the crab or shrimp that I had eaten. My IBS (irritated bowel syndrome) kicked into high gear shortly after dinner, and I was in agony for the next 10 hours.
As such, given the rather poor location and setting of the restaurant, the hit-and-miss fare, the small portions, and the poor service by some of their staff, I would NOT advise anyone to go to the Mirama for dim sum or dinner. Go, instead, to Good Buddy, or Dynasty, or Century Palace (the old Marco Polo Restaurant).
Rating: 4 / 10
After seeing The Devil Wears Prada, Mom E. & I headed to Mikado for dinner. As always, we were impressed by the decor from the moment we entered; the waterwall at the entry, the hip-and-chic dark brown furniture, and the general ambience of the place gave it a very metro, Vancouver-esque feel.
We were seated right away and the server brought us warm (though slightly too cool for my tastes) towels for our hands right away. Our drink order was also taken quickly; Mom E. had the white wine while I chose green tea and my standard ice water with a wedge of lemon. Then, we got down to business. The very large menu (with different sections devoted to appetizers, seafood, grilled goodies, sushi, sashimi, and maki rolls) took us a few minutes to peruse, and then we finally decided: I was going to have the regular sushi combo, and Mom E. was going to have the miso soup, a small order of gyozas, and the herbed shrimp.
We got lost in conversation and failed to notice how much time had passed before our meals arrived, but it didn't seem to take long at all. The miso soup was served first, and then they brought out the shrimp and my order at the same time. We were mightily disappointed to find that the herbed shrimp (cost = $7.95) amounted to a mere two pieces of butterfly shrimp. Thankfully, Mom E. had her gyoza to look forward to, because there was barely enough shrimp there for her to even get a good taste of the herbs!
When my meal arrived, I looked around my table for some soy sauce. There was none. As a result, I had to get up from my table to steal a bottle of soy from the empty table beside ours. The server watched me do this (we even made eye contact), but failed to apologize for her oversight or even acknowledge the lack of soy at our table. That was a little annoying.
With my soy sauce/wasabi mix complete, I took a good look at my $16.95 meal, which came with 6 little salmon makis, two pieces of shrimp sushi, two pieces of salmon sushi, and what looked like 4 pieces of tuna sushi (maybe they were different types of fish but they didn't taste different at all). The cuts of fish were quite generous in size, although not nearly as thick as the pieces we enjoyed at Wasabi. As well, the Mikado gave me quite a bit more rice to try to "fill me up," but the rice wasn't nearly as flavourful 
as the freshly-cooled rice from Wasabi either. Finally, I was disappointed that there wasn't nearly the variety that I could get with a simple sushi combo at Toyko Express, in this sushi combination platter.
The one highlight of this meal was that the mini rolls were filled with salmon rather than cucumber (a standard cheap-out move made by most restaurants), but considering the price of the meal I felt this was warranted.
Overall, our meal was fair, but not amazing. The Mikado is the type of place you will want to go to for a large selection of decent, slightly overpriced Japanese fare in a hip dining environment. It isn't, however, the place to go to for the best sushi in town, or the cheapest. I would probably come here again, but not before I go to Wasabi or Yokozuna a few more times.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
