Chinatown Dining Week Returns for a Fifth Year
It’s hard to believe Chinatown Dining Week is now into its fifth year! When a small team of volunteers launched this event back in 2018, we did so because we wanted to encourage the wider community to explore what we believed to be an underappreciated neighbourhood in Edmonton. Five years later, this continues to be the case, and perhaps even more so because of the pandemic.
From January 13-23, 2022, participating businesses are offering special $10 and $18 menus. It is our biggest cohort yet, with a total of 18 participating businesses this year, with 7 of them joining the event for the first time.
We’re coming off our most successful event, thankful that the community rallied around the participating businesses in 2021, just as restaurants were shuttered to in-person dining. This year, many of the businesses are offering takeaway options in addition to dine-in service.
Please consider checking out a new restaurant during Chinatown Dining Week, or perhaps revisiting an old favourite, at a time when they could really use the patronage.
COVID-19-related News
- Reminiscent of what occurred in November 2020, a number of restaurants, including Chartier, Northern Chicken, Fleisch, and Arcadia, have chosen to voluntarily close in-person dining. Some of the closures coincide or extend pre-planned holiday closures, and others, like Northern Chicken, are temporary, but it’s hard not to think this might be a harbinger of mandated government closures. This uncertainty is the latest in a series of challenges facing the restaurant industry.
- Awn Kitchen has decided to postpone their in-person classes. During this closure, they are pivoting to offering prepared meals under the banner Awn at Home.
- 70 Acre Brewing Company had to temporarily close due to staff testing positive for COVID-19.
Openings
- Smoke BBQ and Bar is now open inside Crash Hotel at 10266 103 Street.
- Cafe Bel-Air, a vendor at multiple farmers’ markets, has opened up a brick and mortar shop at 8020 101 Street.
- Love Pizza’s Leduc location opened in December at 5411 Discovery Way, #110.
- Taiwanese bubble tea chain Xing Fu Tang has opened two locations in Edmonton, at 18483 Stony Plain Road and 3955 Calgary Trail.
Closures
- Darling Wine Bar closed up shop in December, but promises that “It’s not goodbye, it’s see you soon.” The intention will be to find a more permanent location.
Upcoming Events
- El Cortez is again hosting Yoga and Tacos on January 11, 2022, with an hour-long yoga session followed by a taco meal.
- Monsoon Bistro & Bar is hosting a Regional Indian Cuisine & Culture Series event on January 12, 2022, featuring a guest speaker and a four-course menu with wine pairings. Tickets are $145 per person.
- Chinatown Dining Week returns for its fifth year, January 13-23, 2022! Check out the special $10 and $18 menus being offered by 18 participating businesses.
- Deep Freeze, the annual winter festival in Alberta Avenue, is scheduled for January 14-23, 2022.
Local News
- If you haven’t seen it yet, Linda put together a great article about Edmonton food trends to watch for in 2022.
- Eat North looked back at Alberta’s food and drink scene in 2021.
- Phil reflected on his year of Best Dishes columns. His last feature was on Chinatown gem Gui Lin Noodle House.
- Website complex.com offers a list of the 30 Best New Canadian Restaurants, which for Edmonton lists Meat the Bun, and an Edmonton location of a Calgary chain, Bro’Kin Yolk.
- Given the deep freeze we’re in – Linda’s post featuring her favourite 20 spots for comfort soups in Edmonton couldn’t have come at a better time.
- May, the new restaurant located in the Art Gallery of Alberta, started serving lunch on December 21, 2021.
- On the Edge Coffee will soon be roasting coffee at the Edmonton Downtown Farmers’ Market.
- Farrow has started offering its own line of pickles and condiments.
- The Journal checked in with Kirsta Franke of Wild Heart Collective.
- Twyla profiled The Marc’s Patrick and Doris Saurette in Modern Luxuria Magazine.
- The Canadian Food Inspection Agency just changed the guidelines of the amount of food that can be brought into the country for personal use.
- Just before Christmas, Malina Ukrainian Bakery was broken into and had some equipment stolen. Thankfully, the community came out to support them.
- PCL staff donated $26,000 for the Edmonton Food Bank.
- A Calgary-based women shares her tips on stretching her food budget.
What I Ate
Happy New Year! It’s felt like a particularly gluttonous holiday season, mostly because heading outdoors for walks (my preferred exercise method) has been non-existent over the past two weeks. While I’m not looking forward to returning to the usual routine, I will be looking forward to more low-key meals, and hopefully, a break in the temperature! I hope you had a good holiday with loved ones as well.
- Earlier in December, feeling under the weather (and thankful for a negative COVID result), take-out from King Noodle House hit the spot.
Bun Bo Hue for the win!
- Food trucks in the winter are new to me, but props to the team behind Winter Promenade for their successful first event. The Avila Arepa empanadas helped warm us up, and Emily loved the visit from Santa.
Avila Arepa empanadas
- Given the current circumstances, my family has reverted back to take-out only (I managed to dine indoors five times since March 2020), but I will say we were disappointed by a recent OEB brunch order. The serving size seemed unfortunately small, especially for those of us who opted for their signature brunch poutines.
Confit de Canard poutine take-out from OEB
- Our love affair with Rosewood Foods has spread to my family with this amazing Christmas Eve box – the Black Forest cupcakes and gingerbread crullers in particular were hits.
Rosewood Food’s Christmas Eve box
- We also recreated a birthday tradition we started in the pandemic – enjoying Mack’s favourite carrot cake from Rosewood.
All smiles for Rosewood Food’s carrot cake
Only Here for the Food 