New Asian Village

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.)

Crave - Calgary

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

Taste of the City (You Know Which One)

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

Vi's for Pies

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

LUX Steakhouse

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")

Billingsgate Fish Co. (Lighthouse Cafe)

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

Cha for Tea Palace

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

Dynasty

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

Mirama

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

Mikado - South

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

Parkallen Restaurant

In belated celebration of Hubb's birthday, Vinny, Mrs. Vinny, and the two of us went to Parkallen Restaurant. I had heard fabulous things about the place both from Mrs. Vinny and from several reviews written online, so it was with much high expectation that we went there.

We arrived later than the Vinnys, so we sat down with them right away. The first bit of news we were given already left a bad taste in my mouth; they had lost my reservation (made only a day prior), and the server, an elderly Lebanese fellow, when told by Mrs. Vinny that she had not made the reservation herself, "jokingly" informed her not to trust her friends, because (*insert finger rotation gesture near temple of head*) they might be crazy. Nice. I was insulted before I even sat down!

Though the exterior of the Parkallen is rather bland and casual, their interior had a very comfortable feel. The chairs and booths were well padded, the walls were an inviting mustard colour, and the lighting was warm. The arrangement of the tables was not too crowded, and the natural light streamed in from the large windows at the front of the restaurant (which is where we sat).

Our server brought us water right away, and throughout the evening was very prompt (albeit a tad abrupt) at refilling our glasses. The menu selection was quite varied, and offered both steaks and traditional Lebanese fare. Their wine menu was even more impressive, although none of us decided to sample the spirits this evening.

We decided to split the Taster Platter ( Humus, Baba Ganouge, Tabouleh and Baked Goat Cheese Rolls) to start. For our main entree, we also decided on communal dining. Their mansaff ( A traditional feast consisting of a slow roast Baby Lamb, served on a generous platter of Lebanese Rice and finished with a variety of indigenous Nuts. Truly a tremendously tasty meal meant for sharing and celebration) was just too enticing to resist, so we decided to be adventurous and give it a try.

After we ordered, our pita bread was brought out to us. We waited until our platter came out, and then jumped right in. The tabouleh was (in my opinion) at tad too lemony, but very refreshing nonetheless. The humus was denser than I am used to eating, but tasted great served with the olive oil. I enjoyed the baba ganouge, which was also served with olive oil; this particular dip had a smooth and light consistency and was done just right. The baked goat cheese rolls were my favourite; the flavour of the goat cheese was strong and powerful, but the texture was creamy and rich, and when combined with the grape vine leaf (in which it was wrapped), formed a delectable contrast in my mouth.

We then waited for a long time (think 30 minutes) for our mansaff to arrive. When it was finally brought out, our first thought was, "Oh, we should have ordered two of these!" The entree was served on a large platter, with the fragrant nutty rice on the bottom and slices of grilled lamb piled on top of this rice, garnished with some lemon wedges. The meat-eaters at the table (the men!) weren't sure if there would be enough meat; I was a little worried myself. However, when we began to eat, it soon became apparent that the lamb portion was almost just right; we could have had a few more slices for the guys, but they were pretty satisfied with the amounts that they ate. The lamb was delicious; it was thinly sliced and grilled well, with just the right balance of lean to fat. The rice was amazing; it was prepared with pistachios, almonds, and pine nuts, and spiced with cinnamon as well as some other Mediterranean spices. It was very hearty and filling, and the portion provided in the mansaff was well beyond what the four of us could eat.

Next, dessert! We saved small corners in our tummies for the sweet treats, and looked forward to an equally tasty finish as our main courses were. Mrs. Vinny and I both ordered coffee, which tasted like standard coffee provided in restaurants. The Vinnys ordered a Lebanese dessert called the ismaliya ( Shredded Filo Pastry filled with custard and finished with rosewater blossom syrup and pistachios), while boring Hubbs & I opted for vanilla and blueberry creme brulee. I would have to say that we were quite disappointed that our memorable meal ended with such a fizzle. The Vinnys found their dessert to be strange, and the salty nut topping didn't seem to mesh well with the dense custard of the ismaliya. Our creme brulee was poorly prepared; the sugary top layer was hard to crack, and could literally be removed from the rest of the creme in the pot. The creme was far too dense and not nearly smooth enough to be a true custard cream, and in the end both my Hubbs and I (avid lovers of good creme brulee) did not finish this dessert.

The verdict? Parkallen is a great place to go if you want some delicious Lebanese cuisine in a nice and comfortable environment. It is not the place to go if you want fantastic dessert or impeccable service. Go for the mansaff and the baked goat cheese rolls, and forego the sweets.

Rating: 7 / 10
Hubby's Rating: 8 / 10

(Note: For a portion of our time there, the Parkallen was playing Coltrane. That's all Hubbs needed to hear to give it a higher rating).

Sorrentino's South

Today a couple of the girls and I decided to check out Sorrentino's South and bask in the beautiful sunshine during the lunch hour.

Ever wary of potential holiday crowds, I made us a reservation for noon. When I arrived five minutes early, I realized that my reservation wouldn't have mattered anyway - the parking lot was nearly empty, as was the restaurant.

I walked into the main foyer and waited to be seated. I waited, and then I waited some more. Nobody was at the hostess station. In fact, there weren't any staff anywhere (except inside the kitchen, where I heard lots of dishes clinking around). At one point a patron inside the restaurant cocked his head and peered at me from his booth, wondering why I was just standing there. Finally, after 5 very long minutes, one of their staff walked by and saw me, and called for the hostess to come and seat me.

Mildly annoyed but still polite, I informed them of my wait and my reservation. The official excuse according to the hostess was that she was the only one on duty, and then she muttered something about being at another "station" during the time that I was waiting. In any event, the excuse was pretty weak, but her earnestness to make up for her blunder was commendable, and she went outside to prepare a patio table for us.

We were then seated on the patio and provided with ice water and bread, even before all the members of our group had arrived. It was nice that the patio wasn't already packed; in fact, it was empty except for us. As we sat and gabbed, we found that the lone umbrella shading our two adjoining tables wasn't sufficient to block the very penetrating rays of sunlight, so we helped ourselves and moved another umbrella near to our tables; this would prove a nearly-fatal decision when our umbrella fell over due to a particularly strong gust of wind, and almost impaled Viener in the neck. Luckily, she was not injured, and another staffer (who happened to have come out onto the patio) ran over to help us better secure our umbrellas to their stands.

When everyone arrived, the server came around again to take drink orders. We then got down to business and examined our menus between discussions. I noted that Sorrentino's offered a fairly large selection of appetizers, pizzas, entrees, sandwiches, and pastas. The cuisine didn't sound remarkably original or unique, but did definitely sound tasty.

The server came back after a few minutes and informed us that their DIY pasta station and summer feature pasta dishes were not available because of the holiday. She then took our orders, and I ordered the Sorrentino burger (" Alberta AAA prime rib beef, Asiago cheese, Italian bacon, tomato, pickled jalapenos, & mayonnaise on focaccia") with a green salad (cost = $9.95).

As we awaited our lunches, I sampled a bit of the bread and the clear reddish-hued dip that was provided. Miche-Lin guessed it to be a type of oil with chilies in it. Whatever it was, it tasted okay, but wasn't terribly flavourful.

I was impressed by the size of my burger and salad when these were brought out. The salad was a fairly generous portion, and the burger was thick and large (in terms of diameter). The salad tasted quite fresh and the house vinaigrette was light and subtle. I decided not to over-carb, and instead took my burger apart to eat. The two slices of Italian bacon on the burger were tasty and crispy (in expected bacon fashion), and the medium-well done prime rib burger was hearty and filling, although perhaps a little on the bland side. The foccacia bun (which I ate a portion of) was toasted and a sweetened mayo had been spread on it; this gave the bun some flavour apart from the standard foccacia taste, and was very enjoyable eaten separately from the rest of the burger.

When we had all finished picking apart our meals and eating only the goodies out of our burgers, our server came and took away the remains. Then we sat on the patio for a good long time undisturbed, chatting and catching up; the server came by a few more times to fill up our water, and then brought us our bill. We took another long time talking before we settled the bill. The server accidentally double-charged Miche-Lin's credit card and forgot to charge mine, which was a little annoying; however, she did quickly reverse her double-charge and bring out my bill, which I was happy to see.

All in all, the company we kept as a group was fantastic, and made the experience at Sorrentino's great. However, the service was hit-and-miss, and though we passed the time effortlessly on the patio, I think some of our turnaround times for getting the bill, more water, etc., were a tad on the slow side. Considering the lack of a lunch rush that they experienced, impeccable service and prompt turnarounds should have been reasonable to expect. As well, though my burger meal was tasty, it wasn't memorable in the least, and the restaurant gave me the same sort of meh feeling that I get from going to Earl's or any other sit-down burger-and-pasta place. Overall, go to Sorrentino's if you want a relatively inexpensive, decent meal on a nice patio (or inside a nice Earls-esque restaurant). Go somewhere else for quality Italian fare.

Rating: 7 / 10