Lazia Downtown Edmonton (10200 102 Ave NW)

Heh, slowly, I'm catching up to some of my pictures, or not since I've been trying out putting my smartphone away and actually having a real conversation with the people that I've been going out with. I've been fairly busy. I haven't gone out to eat as much as I'm saving up for a place to live. But this blog post is kind of special in its own way.

So Lazia, its packed for lunch. I work downtown at Commerce Place, and this place was ideally the closest they wanted to go for someone's going away party. Needless to say, I try not to judge but I kind of blanched at the urbanspoon score. I was not looking forward to this lunch but hey, if its paid for, then for sure.

I'll keep it at that. They kind of deserve it, even with a mediocre large party of 8.

I'd like to point out that this restaurant is like Asian Fusion; my meal was really... unpleasant and I ended up switching it with my buddy who didn't like hers. But, presentation looked good.

 Right? It looked good. 

Anyways, despite the poor service we received, and the forcible 15% gratuity that we had to tip them and the frustration of getting drinks in the first place. I'd say, well it wasn't that bad (please don't hurt me). But the only comment I have to really make and emphasize is that: we made reservation - at least don't make us wait for 30 minutes if you can't honor them especially for a business lunch!

  

Pho Kim (1511 Centre Street N)

Hey all so its been awhile since I've blooged, and now I'm back

So I went down to Calgary alot over the summer whether it be for Stampede or just a weekend getaway. And I ate around, luckily since I have a job again, I can get back to telling you about my food adventures.

A must-have staple while I'm in Calgary is some good pho. Sometimes in Edmonton, its hard to come back delicious broth with the right amount of noodle to meat ratio. Anyways, I recommend Pho Kim. My father, when he went to University of Calgary, use to frequent this visit a lot - mainly to the due the price-food ratio factor. I would say that it use to be quite generous and since economic times are rough, the portions kind of shrunk. Its unfortunate but hey, pho-makers need to make a living too!

Keith got the satay beef! Its pretty good I would have to say, very strongly of the satay/ curry.

I got my standard bun bo hue. Nothing really special but I do enjoy the meat to noodle ratio!

Check it Out!

I present to you, a McGangBang

Have you guys ever had a McGangBang? I know its a bad name but basically its a junior chicken inside a McDouble OR a McChicken inside a Big Mac if you're brave.... 

TRY IT TODAY

SEAWEED

So I know a lot of people that read this blog might probably be Asian. Okay. Maybe not. But today's post is dedicated to edible seaweed.

Well, how should I start this? For those that haven't tried it, its pretty much dried algae formed in sheets. Its kind of fishy. A lot of Asian cultures use this in their preparation of food. Seaweed is found in sushi, kimbap, soups, salads, etc. I'm just going to focus on the dried snack version.

Anyways, seaweed is really high in iodine - aka really salty, a pack of like 10 paper thing slices is the same as a pack of potato chips. I find either most people are addicted to this stuff or they're really blah and they won't try it again. Seaweed is a matter of personal preference.

Anyways, todays post is where I buy my seaweed. Generally, I don't know for what reason, I like the really small packets of seaweed that you can buy at any Asian grocery (Lucky, T&T) imported from Japan. They're super expensive like 8.00 for like the smallest possible pack. Ugh. But recently, my mom brought him a box from Costco. Its so reasonably priced that I have just accepted the fact that quantity > quality.

But seriously though, this stuff isn't bad. For 9.99 CDN you get 36 packets... and they're pretty good. Packaged in South Korea!

Jayone Roasted Seaweed

Throwback Thursday: The Cupcakery (Monte Carlo Street of Dreams, Las Vegas)

This week's feature is The Cupcakery, from Las Vegas Nevada! I actually miss Vegas a lot. But last summer, I stayed at the Monte Carlo and every morning I would walk past this little cupcake shop before heading down the strip. Everything inside was really pink, really cute, and sparkly! The Cupcakery is located inside the Street of Dreams inside Monte Carlo, but they have other shops too located around Vegas. 

I'm generally not a big fan of cupcakes. But the designs on some of them did catch my eye. Haha. At least they were really good. 

Strawberry Shortcake w/ Cream Cheese frosting :)

Carry on friends! Vacation time is awaiting!

T.H.I.S. Place (10382 105 St)

So some of you know Tom who owns Lan's Asian Grill. Well recently over the summer he invested in a new venture called T.H.I.S aka To be Happy Is Simple. THIS is located right across from building 5 from Grant Macewan. Contrary to popular belief, THIS doesn't actually serve food (sorry guys, I know Thai food at Lan's is definitely a hit!)- its a coffee shop. They have a plethora of coffee, teas, hot drinks, cold drinks, and popsicles. When the time is right, they'll have frozen yoghurt. 

When you walk in, the doorway is a maze and it leads you straight to the counter where you're greeted by the other owner of THIS. She's really nice and she'll recommend you things that are absolutely delicious (or what she feels like making for you - its especially good). 

All their hot chocolate is made with real chocolate, not powder and definitely not chocolate milk. Their popsicles are all handed made and the sticks have their special insignia on it. 

 

Viet Iced Coffee Popsicle

Sorry for the blurry picture, I was running late for my class and I quickly snapped a shot. The above popsicle is not actually on the menu. You can try it out, I totally recommend it. It has a lot of caffeine in though, so beware. If you've never had a viet iced coffee before, its basically really strong coffee over condensed milk (which is the white parts). 

Try it out! I give this place 10/10. But be wary, the shop isn't open Sundays and its closed at 7 from Monday- Saturday :) 

EDIT 1: Go try their hot chocolate, they come in plenty of different flavours! And they're made of real chocolate!

Its Springtime!

I know I know. Edmonton isn't exactly the ideal place to call home for spring and summer. But when spring is about to come, and after the last snowstorm, it means its a time for flowers, and ice to melt and everyone tries to lose weight to fit into bikinis again. 

To me, springtime is welcomes the plethora of fresh fruits and vegetables. Fresh fish, er ... fresher fish, and BBQ meats come out again! Long gone are the 8 months of canned goods that you're forced to endure. Okay, I'm over exaggerating, but I tend to eat a lot more canned foods over winter. On the plus side, spring welcomes lower costs of grains and vegetables.

Most people are probably grimacing from this post. Like WHY DO YOU EAT VEGGIES THEY DON'T TASTE GOOD!

YOU TELL ME IF THE BELOW PICTURE DOESN'T TASTE GOOD.

Ahi Tuna Salad from Joeys Downtown

I'm not a fan of the warm or hot weather. But I'm a big fan of food that tastes good. I hate eating, to me its a chore to stay alive. I eat minimally but when I have to eat, I prefer stuff that tastes good so I'll actually enjoy it for once. 

Anyways, welcome back spring, I'm sure a bunch of people missed you.

:)

Sloppy Hogs Roed Hus (10406 118 Ave)

BBQ BBQ BBQ is what men always crave. So when I give the chance for my partner in crime to choose the restaurant, it was going to be BBQ or steak. I visited this place once before bringing along my male BFF.

This place is packed. By packed I mean, this place is super small and they take reservations and is quite busy. I went on both a Friday and again on a Tuesday and there wasn't any smaller of a crowd.

This place features a pig riding a motorcycle and purposedly misspelled name as its sign.

The first thing you see when you walk in (besides the amazing amount of people with large amounts of food in front of them) is a quaint little house on the prairie stove selling their marinates/ dipping sauces. In my opinion, I liked the honey mustard the best - its tangy with the right amount of thickness. The other two flavours are worthy mentions. You can try all three dipping sauces with any order of beef brisket.

Anyways, I'll cut to the point. Its a lot of food and no vegetables. The servers all have anti-vegetarian sentiments. Besides the offensive tshirts, the restaurant is very smoky inside (like I'm pretty the BBQ fumes fans out into the seating area). Also it is very dimlight

The menu features a few items served different ways. The appetizers are all standard BBQ - so sliders, poutine, fries, coleslaw. BBQ chicken, BBQ pulled pork, BBQ ribs, BBQ beef brisket are arranged in different manners but in the end you're getting the same thing. All meals come with cornbread and a side of beans. All items on the menu are priced decently for the amount you get. There are family sized packages for the brave.The alcohol list is well packed with your standard domestic beers, a few imports, and of course the "girly drinks"

1/2 ribs, 1/2 chicken with fries

Beef Brisket Burger w/ Mustard

You come out of this place smelling like BBQ. Its so good, you're so full and all the boys are happy. Just be prepared to feel really really greasy when you're done. But the satisfaction from food while showering is the best feeling. :D I give this 9/10.

Izakaya Tomo (3739 99 St)

So I know I haven't updated in a while. My phone broke, I got a new one and recovering all my pictures were a pain. 

Anyways, back in January, this little shop opened up. Izakaya Tomo is found in a weird awkward industrial part of town. Its hard to spot, but its by the south side Canada Post depot and tucked along side Don's Photo and a little pho place. 

When I went, it was quite busy. Reservations can be made in advance. I guess thats what happens when a new place opens up. You're first greeted by a friendly... er, friendly servers. The place itself is very small. A few bar stools. And very small tables. You won't fit more than 4 people.  The server seats you and gives you a menu. Then he introduces the place. (Apparently Izakaya is a bar or pub style in Japanese). He mentions the portions are very small and they're mainly appetizers or finger food, as he liked to put it.

The drink selection at Izakaya Tomo is very large, for Japanese imports, and for non alcoholic popular drinks. Outside the standard pop and juices, they offer Japanese teas, Japanese beers (not many domestic ones sorry!), and popular Japanese drinks (includes yakult and calpico!)

So you order the drinks and you open the menu. Its about 4 pages. Most of the food is decently priced, maybe on the pricey side once you see the sizes. The selection of sushi and standard Japanese meals are very limited. Everything in the menu has a western take or a very Japanese take. Like the server warns you, the portions are appetizer sized. Probably the larger dishes are udon and rice dishes but not so much.  Anyways, I've attached some images for you: 

 

Tuna Tataki - very fresh tuna in ponzu sauce with the right amount of onions and seaweed!

Takoyaki - very freshly fried and light and crispy inside. A large helping of dried octopus flakes on top. 

Fried Oyster Balls - the top part is a light yam hash 

Beef Tataki - thinly sliced meet in ponzu sauce over a bed of onions

I did order other things, but I got kinda hungry and I started eating those dishes before taking a picture. I enjoyed this place but I am kind of on the fence about coming back. Maybe its because I tend to avoid a bar setting when eating with my partner in crime. But, the atmosphere is enjoyable despite a bit cramp. 

If you get a chance, try it out! The food isn't really bad at all. :) 

De Dutch (10030 Jasper Ave)

I got to school downtown and somedays I'm there really early and I didn't eat breakfast.

So, I was browsing through my friend's Instagram and I saw a cute little place. Anyways, downtown is always under construction, so my boyfriend and I walked to this place. Parking is pretty terrible at this place after we got there. Its only accessible from one side and this restaurant sits close with 5 other.

Anyways, this place is very bright inside, and very orange. Its cute. Decor is interesting. Washrooms are clean hahaa.

It wasn't very busy when I went at 11. But we ended up ordering breakfast (they also serve lunch too). The menu is quite friendly and they offer special delights. (I wasn't really in the mood for their special Dutch pancakes).

BC Salmon Eggs Benedict

Big Breakfast

They serve very crispy but soft inside hashbrowns and offer you a side of salad or fruit with every meal. Surprisingly, they give you jam and peanut butter for free, not just butter. My boyfriend found the biscuit that the eggs benny was one kind of different, but its apparently dutched style: very multi grain and even more dry than the normal biscuit. There wasn't enough hollandaise sauce on it.

I'd give this place a good 8.5/10. I'd return if I missed a meal and I wanted to walk here. Parking is really bad, and the construction outside is really loud. But food is good! :)

Holiday Hot Pot

So usually when its hot pot, asians gather around and do hot pot. Its warm, there's a lot of food, and basically there's a lot of company. You eat so much that you can't eat anymore, and then you go an pass out.
Here are some holiday tips to keep you from getting the hot pot sweats and not get a sore throat the next day!

- If you know you're doing the hot pot that night, prepare yourself. Hydrate with water, chrysthaneum and maybe honey&lemon water. It'll do you some good when you're scrambling to find something to drink later.
- Wear loose and bagey clothing. Your stomach will thank you. And so will that $200 dollar blouse.
- Choose a spot where you're out of the splash radius of the pot
- I suggest drinking herbal tea during hot pot. It'll save your throat For example:



- Don't eat more than you can handle. (I know we're all guilty of it) But when it comes down to it, don't over do it. You'll regret it later.

- Choose a more clear soup base for hot pot instead of super spicy. In the end it'll taste the same.

- Check the quality of the meat and make sure its cooked before consumption. I know a friend that likes rare beef in her hot pot. She got salmonella, it wasn't pretty.

- Contrary to popular belief, eating rice during the hot pot isn't going to help you digest. Its pretty bad actuallly. The rice absorbs the sauces from the hotpot and you don't know whats been inside. Also, do you really want to stuff yourself with rice instead of delicious meat.

If you're eating out AYCE

- Don't over do it on the fish balls. You're paying for it later. Order more slices of meat as an alternative. Its probably healthy for it. 

- Trying to hide your excess never really works. The waitress always knows. Order a lot in the beginning and then trim the stuff you don't want to eat.

Here are some tips now. :)

TO BE CONTINUED

Lucky Supermarket (13851-127 street)

This entry is highly unexpected. Firstly, I didn't want to believe it but urbanspoon does have an entry for this. Note: This is not a restaurant, it is an asian supermarket and they have "fast food" just like T&T. Anyways, I don't need to discuss the fact that its just a grocery store in the northside beside a Superstore. Opened by the same owners of Lucky 97 in Chinatown WHICH doesn't have food, this is a twist. Lucky supermarket is much cleaner, more ethnic groups are employed here and HOT FOOD is served!

They serve everything in the hot food section. They make fried rices, fried noodles, pho and bun dishes. They have the choose X number of items, dim sum, froyo, and bbt. Anyways, that almost sums up everything. Over the weekdays, they only many a certain number of items for choose X items and fried rices, so if you go at night, most of the time they'll run out of fried chicken with rice or fried pork. :'(

The banh mi is bit different that the Nhon Hoa that you get in Chinatown or from TC or V Sandwiches, the bread isn't toasted to crisperfection. Its still soft and they slander everything onto it. Good price for what you want!

Pho on the other hand, its always available. They have pho dac biet and bun bo hue and bun rieu. Generally anything you can make with premade soup, they will make you. And certain days, there are "specials".

Bun aka vermicelli dishes, are also available: you can choose from the premade OR make your own (for more cash) or choose the special.

All of these items are priced ridicously. Its the cheapest in the area. But, these dishes don't come in large size. One size fits all and in the case of my boyfriend, it doesn't always feed. It tastes like any other generic pho place. Its good. It could be better but you won't argue for that price. I like to come here for a quick bite, and all the time even though I live on the other side of the city.

Cake in a Mug

So you went out and bought this:


And it wasn't that great.

So DIY!!! (measure exactly please or it will taste funny!)
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
2 tablespoons whisked egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil (no olive)
3 tablespoons chocolate chips

Microwave for 3 minutes!

Enjoy

Spring Roll Kitchen (2395 111 Street)

Despite the bad reviews that this place has recieved, yes, this place probably deserves them. The service here is probably tops the top tens unhumanitarian and unclean viet restaurants in Edmonton. I believe that the service here may be on par with the Pho Hoa inside West Edmonton Mall. Half the time, you seat yourself in an awkward place because the waitress/owner doesn't clean off most of the tables. And this is at like 2pm, way past the lunch hour.

Since the bad is out of the way. Lets begin!
Spring Roll Kitchen has chosen a nice location to open its doors. You can find this in Century Park, right by the Starbucks and that Brewsters. Its easily acessible via public transit and there's plenty of parking INCLUDING handicap because a medical clinic is next doors. Renovation-wise is  very modern. The place is open and surrounded by glass - it gets really bright in the summer and really cold in the winter if you sit by the windows. Despite the poor reviews, I find myself going back. Sure, just because I'm asian I can tolerate bad behaviour and get away without tipping or showing poor consumer choices. I get it. I'm just as bad. I'm a poor student and I'm not willing to go all the way to Chinatown some days for good viet food. Spring Roll Kitchen just happens to be in the south side, the only other actual competitors being Pagolac South and Pho Hoa Elle.

I've tried a bunch of their food on several different occasions. Its okay, maybe just mediocre. Its not exactly the best, but on a good day, it might be better than Pags. I think the wavering quality of food between poor and decent is based on the mood of the lady that brings you the the table. For instance, the bun bo hue, the level of spiciness.... is substantially different everytime ranging from "OMG can I have more tea? Okay blatantly ignored" to "are you sure you didn't just give me pho dac biet". That being said, its always the same amount of food in my plate each time. In fact, the amount is consistent, its just some qualities of the food differ from time to time.

Anyways, I find myself coming back. Maybe one day they'll get a better attitude. As long as I don't feel like they're spitting into my food or any other sanitary issues, I'll be back.