Happy holidays to those who celebrate! Just a note that this will be my last Food Notes of 2022 – thanks for reading and supporting local businesses along the way.

Openings

• Chain restaurant Chung Chun, serving up Korean-style hot dogs, is now open in West Edmonton Mall (Unit 2583).
• Taiwanese dessert chain Meet Fresh has added a second Edmonton location in South Edmonton Common (1915 98 Street).

Local News

• Phil’s latest Best Dish column highlights Crum, Stopgap, and Fawkes Coffee and Doughnuts.
• Linda has a handy post rounding up holiday baked goods available from local bakeries.
• Also from Linda – her latest partnered Chinatown post highlights a dozen
  stocking stuffers under $12 that can be found at Lucky 97.
• Edify visited Curry Corner in Riverbend and Match Eatery and Public House.
• NAIT put together a gift
  guide featuring items (including many food and drink options) sourced from
  companies started by NAIT grads.
• Edmontonian Renell Doneza competed on CTV’s new show Cross Country Cake Off.
• Antonio Frattin, co-founder of the Italian Bakery, passed away on December 14, 2022.
• New Harvest, a non-profit focused on cellular agriculture, is collaborating with the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute to advance the science of lab-grown meat.

What I Ate

• I had a lovely visit with a friend last week who offered to bring take-out from Pho Tau Bay over to enjoy. Needless to say, it hit the spot (as did the cup of broth I reserved for the next day!).

Pho Tau Bay take-out

• Mack and I picked up lunch from our neighbourhood Northern Chicken last week. The chicken sandwich was very satisfying, and given its size, negated my usual need for an afternoon snack that day.

Fried chicken sandwich with Dorito mac and cheese

Openings

• Luna Mexican Restaurant has reopened in the same location as Huma Mexican Comfort (9880 63 Avenue).
• Slow Pour, a beer bar which features beer from around the world (and with a new beer each week), opened last week at 10316 122 Street.
• So many Asian concepts and chains have opened at West Edmonton Mall over the past couple of years – the latest is a Toronto-based chain called Mogouyan, offering hand-pulled noodles. Find them on BRBN Street. Lydia checked them out already.
• Korean restaurant K-Papa has opened a new stand-alone location at 5728 104 Street (they were previously housed in H-Mart).

Upcoming Events

• So many holiday events to be had around town, but a favourite of our family’s is Winter in Little Italy. Their horse-drawn sleigh rides are great, but so is the chestnut and marshmallow roasting for those looking for some tastes of the season. The final date runs December 18 from 11am-4pm.

Local News

• I hope to write a standalone post on the food scene over the past year, but in the meantime, I did an interview with Taproot (where I am also a contributor) about the year in Edmonton restaurants.
• Jeff Nachtigall from Sugared & Spiced shared the financial challenges they were facing this year; five days later he tweeted that they’ve been inundated with orders for some days in December.
• Last week I missed linking to Linda’s partnered post about 10 soups to warm up with this winter in Edmonton’s Chinatown. A few of my favourites are on the list!
• Edify checked out Dookbaeki and Hakone Japanese Cuisine.
• Also from Edify, they collected some food and drink recipes to consider as you’re entertaining this holiday season.
• There are many holiday boxes to choose from at this time of year, including those from Culina which include a treat for the furry members of the family.
• Chefs Doreen Prei and Levi Biddlecombe were interviewed by Alberta Prime Times.
• Campio, Odd Company, and Irrational Brewing collaborated to each brew a different beer based on the same base but their own yeast strains. $1 from every pint and growler will go to support Boyle Street Community Services.
• Hungry Zine is launching Community Supported Art program as a way to support their artists and writers. It is similar to a subscription and the 2023 share will include the next three issues of the zine.
• The latest Canada Food Price Report estimates that food prices will increase by 5-7% on average in 2023.

What I Ate

• Last week, we ordered from Charcoal Dragon, the Vietnamese food pop-up run by Tu of Jack’s Burger. We weren’t sure what to expect, but were blown away by the flavours. The fry bread reminded me of youtiao (one of Emily’s favourite baked goods), and was served alongside a fragrant stew. It was my second time trying bun cha (the first was earlier this summer at Get Cooking), and I really loved the grilled meat. Mack couldn’t get enough of the spring rolls. The next pop-up is scheduled for January 12, 2023.

Three-course take-out from Charcoal Dragon

Openings

• Takopo, serving up Japanese food, transitioned from a food truck to a brick and mortar storefront in West Edmonton Mall. They are located in #1546, Phase 3.

Local News

• Edmonton has its first Carlo’s Bakery cake vending machine, found at Kingsway Mall. A slice will cost you $10.49 plus tax.
• Phil’s latest Best Dish column highlights La Boca Loca.
• Edify checked out 124 Street restaurants Tropical Sweets and Three Vikings.
• Boyle McCauley News tried the fare from Tee Pee Treats.
• Several other local brands are available at the Wow Factor Desserts store, including Jacek and Confetti Sweets.
• Siwin Foods announced a $54 million expansion of their Edmonton facility.

What I Ate

• We ordered from Panini’s Italian Cucina for the first time last week to satisfy a pizza craving. Chicken pesto is usually my go-to order, but I was particularly impressed with the loaded Italian. The Bolognese beef sauce made for a really flavourful base, and the meatballs were really tasty. We will definitely order rom them again in the future!

Loaded Italian and chicken pesto pizzas from Panini’s