Food Notes for January 22, 2024

Openings

• New bakery and cafe Scratch Baking is now open at 44 Capital Boulevard downtown.

Closures

• Pei Pei Chei Ow announced that they are closing in two weeks. A small glimmer of hope – in the same post, they do tease “a new chapter”.

Upcoming Events

• Chinatown Dining Week is on until January 28 – there are some great deals to be had for $10 and $20 at 24 different businesses.
• Linda is hosting a Feed the Soul Dining Week Food Tour on January 27, which will preview three participating restaurants. Tickets are $45 each.
• Fu’s Repair Shop is hosting the first Swine and Dine dinner of 2024 on January 31. Chef Winnie Chen’s family-style menu incorporates Alberta Pork through the Chinese provinces. Tickets for the 4-course meal are $68.88 and can be reserved by phone or online, referencing the Swine and Dine menu.
• Winefest Edmonton is coming up next month, February 23-24, 2024 at the Edmonton Convention Centre. Tickets start at $137.02.
• Edmonton Cocktail Week is taking place March 4-10, 2024: its “a homegrown initiative spearheaded by a group of passionate entrepreneurs who believe that this is a great place to make cocktails.” The event includes a bartender competition, $12 feature cocktails at 8 local restaurants, and a distillers’ symposium.
• Edmonton International Beerfest returns March 21-23, 2024 to the Edmonton Convention Centre. Tickets to the event start at $29.75. Also offered this year at the event is Cicerone Certification, recognized as the “premier certification for beer servers, makers, and masters”, and rarely available in-person in Canada.

Local News

• The Edmonton Downtown Farmers’ Market shared that their last likely day of operations in their current location in the GWG Building will be January 28: “It is unable to sustain operations in its existing location. The association board has recommending ceasing operations at the end of January and exploring bankruptcy.” The Board had been exploring options to return to 104 Street but is no longer in a financial position to do so. Some vendors are exploring other options. When the market announced its move in 2019, I had many questions – but what is most clear from the move is just how much potential was never realized, and how much the market gave up with the shift to an indoor location.
• The Journal has the story behind Momma Tong’s new storefront in Old Strathcona.
• Edify had more information about Northern Chicken’s 124 Street closure: it was a combination of inflation, a drop in business, and the CEBA loan repayment.
• Also from Edify, they checked out Tatsu Sushi, and were hosted for a Chinatown Dining Week meal at Spirit Bistro.
• An all-female team is headed for the IKA Culinary Olympics February 2-7 in Germany.

What I Ate

• My parents picked up the first of our Chinatown Dining Week meals last Friday – Padmanadi and Syphay are family favourites.

Take-out from Padmanadi and Syphay

• Mack and I followed up that meal with take-out from Xu Hue. I tried their rare beef salad for the first time last fall – it is so good.

Chinatown Dining Week combos from Xu Hue

• We also celebrated Emily’s birthday early over the weekend. We returned to Cupcake Mama for her delightful treats, also a family favourite.

Emily requested “bright pink” icing, of course