Category: Edmonton

Lunch Time Pressure: Viphalay

I’d heard much ado about Viphalay (10724 95 Street NW), from a friend, a newspaper and a chef. Dickson and I agreed on this new-ish Thai and Laotian restaurant for a lunch meet-up last week so I was finally able to experience it firsthand.

With bars on the windows, I really didn’t feel welcome approaching the eatery. Next to a school, with a tiny parking lot shared with a handful of other businesses, the location left much to be desired. But walking into the space, I was immersed in a much different feeling. The interior was modern and elegant – red walls accented the bar at the rear of the restaurant; the inset ceiling, lined with bold red and black paint, brought an unexpected jolt of vibrancy to the mostly white dining area; and lastly, the delicate spotlights that shone on the periphery of the room created a subtle but classy mood.

Interior

The restaurant was less than half full when we walked in just after 12:30pm. We were asked if we had a reservation, and when we responded that we didn’t, were promptly seated anyway at a table along one wall. The place setting included a wine glass, which seemed unnecessarily fancy, but then again, so long as the drinking vessel is clean, I shouldn’t complain.

We took some time to peruse the menu, and despite being momentarily tempted to order the lunch special (which seemed the most economical way to sample their fare), I ended up with my benchmark dish of Pad Thai ($12.99). Dickson opted for the Tamarind Chicken ($11.99) and a side of coconut rice ($2.99/bowl).

I would gather that for most on a noon hour jaunt, time is of the essence. Of course, not choosing a “15 minute guaranteed express lunch” from Kelsey’s or the like means that I was, on some level, making a conscious choice to gamble with an unknown time factor. At the same time, as the restaurant was seated with half of its maximum capacity, Dickson and I expected some expediency with our meal.

It took a good thirty-five minutes to deliver our food, leaving us with about fifteen minutes to eat. I want to press that our waitress was great throughout our meal – attentive and polite to the point of pushing formal (presenting our bill with two hands and a bowed head made me a little uncomfortable), but she couldn’t alleviate the time stress we felt because of the slow kitchen.

As for the food – we thought it was average. The pad thai was more sweet than spicy, and the number of shrimp included were a paltry three – I would choose the same dish at Bua Thai or Syphay any day. Dickson’s tamarind chicken was all right, but with a flavour that was mildly sweet but not wholly distinct, neither of us would recommend it as a standout entrée.

Pad Thai

Tamarind Chicken

I may visit Viphalay again, perhaps for supper or for a weekend lunch date, but I surely won’t be back when an acute awareness of time will impede my enjoyment of the meal.

Viphalay
10724 95 Street NW
(780) 423-3213
Tuesday – Sunday, lunch 11am-2pm, dinner 5-9pm, closed Mondays

NBA Pre-Season: Toronto Raptors vs. Denver Nuggets

When my sister found out that the Toronto Raptors would be staging a pre-season game in Edmonton, she immediately jumped on the opportunity to watch Chris Bosh (aka “CB4”) live in action. I told her I wouldn’t be willing to spend $500 for courtside seats, but something more reasonable would be fine. It turned out our $39 seats were quite a good deal – decent view, and on the side where the most hilarious mascot concentrated his entertaining efforts.

Me and my sister in Rexall

Converted centre ice (it seemed quite sad to both of us that the floor had to be borrowed from the University of Alberta)

CB4!

Strangely, they brought out the anthem singer with 12 minutes left in the warm-up, and prior to the announcement of the starting line-ups

Raptor team huddle

It’s probably been a good ten years since I paid close enough attention to the NBA to recognize individual players (“What, Allen Iverson doesn’t play for Philadelphia anymore?!”), but my sister was a good resource to get reacquainted to the unfamiliar team composition.

The game itself was decent – I had forgotten how perfect basketball is for those with short attention spans (as opposed to say, hockey), as the scoring is constant. The sold-out crowd was obviously largely cheering for the Raptors, but unfortunately, they couldn’t outdo the exceptional three-point shooting and defense of the Nuggets, and lost 94-105.

In action

We were both expecting the music to be more consistent in the game, but the DJ played only short snippets when the Raptors were in scoring range. He also seemed to have about a ten-song repertoire (New Kids on the Block and Michael Jackson were on high rotation).

The best part of the entire game for both of us was Raptor, the team mascot. He had two different costumes – the more form-fitting, “fuzzy” one we were used to seeing, and a second, inflatable version that neither of us had seen before. It was this second costume that made the game for us, as he wandered around harassing courtside patrons, breakdancing, and moonwalking to Michael Jackson. I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard in a long time. Near the end of the game, they played a video chronicling Raptor’s most embarrassing moments (set to Daniel Powter’s “Bad Day”) – who knew the inflatable raptor had a costume big enough to engulf a whole person?

 

There he goes!

The “fuzzy” mascot (is there a technical name for the costume?) also performed two trampoline-assisted slam dunks, much to the audience’s delight.

Success!

It was a fun night overall – should another NBA team swing by Edmonton, I’d consider going again.

My highly-repetitive photo set is here.

Homeless Count 2008

On Tuesday morning, Mack and I had the opportunity to volunteer for the eighth Homeless Count, an initiative coordinated by Homeward Trust. Every two years, a “snapshot” of the number of people without permanent accommodation is taken in Edmonton in order to advise and advocate for proper funding to address the issues of homelessness and affordable housing. From the website:

“At last count, there were 2,618 homeless people living in our community…1,774 were absolutely homeless, meaning they not only didn’t have a home of their own, they had no housing alternatives. That forced them to either sleep on the streets, a park, stairwell, or if they were lucky, with a friend. The remaining 844 people were ‘sheltered’ homeless. These people were living in emergency accommodations at the time of the count, but had no permanent place to live.”

We attended an orientation last Thursday, which was quite helpful in preparing us for what was to take place on Tuesday. We were given a light supper, our “base sites” as enumerators were assigned, and we listened to a presentation about various aspects of the count. A police constable reminded us about “common sense” safety, an organizer ran through the questions we would ask, and perspectives from a former volunteer and someone who was formerly homeless were shared.

The diversity in presenters made the hour-long session zoom by, and our favourite speaker had to be Leonard, the gentleman providing a first-hand account of living on the street. His honesty was unintentionally funny (he advised that the best time to count homeless people was at 10am – when liquor stores open), but his candid nature was refreshing. Everything enumerators needed to know was covered that night, and the package that we were given provided text support in the event that volunteers needed additional reinforcement of procedure.

Susan McGee, the Executive Director of Homeward Trust, did briefly speak to the methodology of the count, which has been questioned over the years – how can a count of transient and often hidden persons actually take place? She acknowledged the inherent flaws of the method, but essentially responded with a “this is the best we can do” mentality. And as the count would also take place in shelters, drop-in centres, hospitals, bottle depots and the food bank, the most complete picture possible of the situation would be captured.

On Tuesday, we headed to the John Howard Society, our base site, and received our route, along 107 Avenue. Before heading out, we put on our reflective City of Edmonton vests, and badges delineating our purpose.

Homeless Count badge

Our route was further than we had expected – about a 20 minute distance on foot. We elected to take a bus there so we would be there closer to our expected start time of 10am. As it was a truly blustery day, we weren’t surprised that the streets looked vastly empty. There were a few pedestrians here and there (and as we were to approach everyone we encountered, at least we could spread awareness via our questions), but the majority of people we spoke to were actually waiting at bus stops. As the Avenue of Nations area houses quite a high number of immigrant and refugee residents, it was also expected that a number of people weren’t able to understand enough English to answer our queries. It occurred to me that the question itself – “Do you have a permanent residence to return to tonight?” could be heard and interpreted as a question about Canadian status by those who understand English as an Additional Language.

107 Avenue route

We ended up having enough time to walk up and down our street just over three times – great exercise, but one I should have prepared for better by wearing more comfortable shoes. It wasn’t a taxing shift at all, and we both really enjoyed the advocacy role we could play when people asked us why we were asking such questions. We returned to our base site once our shift was over (apparently we were the “first to arrive” for our time slot, and the “last to leave”), and handed over our tally sheets.

Me and Mack in our reflective glory

The 2008 Homeless Count report should be out by the end of the month, and will be accessible on their website. Thanks to the organizers of the count for this opportunity to volunteer for a great cause.

An Old Favourite: Urban Diner

After opening the fridge and exploring the pantry in Mack’s apartment, I realized we wouldn’t be able to put together a coherent meal beyond Kraft Dinner. We opted instead for a late lunch at the nearby Urban Diner (12427 102 Avenue). I’ve written positively about their brunch and their dinner selections before, but it has been a while since either of us had been to the restaurant.

Though it was cloudy outside, there was still enough natural light floating in to make the space bright and conducive to the mood generated by the groovy 70s music being played. We looked through our options, and both decided on sandwiches – Mack the Monte Cristo (three layers, egg-dipped, turkey, ham, swiss) and I the Club (roasted turkey, bacon, tomatoes, cranberry thyme chutney, roasted garlic aioli and sharp cheddar), both priced at $11.95. Mack opted for fries on the side while the weather made soup the natural selection for me.

Mack with their house-brewed iced tea

Our plates took a bit of time to arrive, but it was well worth the wait. The split pea and ham soup was just what I was looking for – warm and hearty, it satisfied my soft spot for lentils. My club sandwich was visually stunning, a spectrum of colours that tasted just as good as it looked. I loved the multigrain bread, and was surprised with their usage of real turkey meat (instead of deli-sliced turkey), but the cranberry chutney pretty much overpowered all other flavours.

Mack’s sandwich was equally good, though quite different. His creation included a generous amount of cheese and meat, and the side of skinny “diner fries” were the perfect crispy accompaniment.

Club Sandwich with ham and split pea soup

Monte Cristo with fries

After a delectable-looking chocolate cake was delivered to the table behind us, I knew I had to have it as well. So though our waiter recommended the Sour Lemon Pie, we chose the 5-Layer Chocolate Torte instead ($9). It turned out to be a tad expensive, as we didn’t know the price beforehand, but it was a nice way to end our meal. Mack, who doesn’t normally enjoy too-sweet desserts, was even able to finish his half of the cake. My only nitpick was that it would have been better at room temperature.

5-Layer Chocolate Torte

Reliable, relaxed, and friendly, Urban Diner is one of my favourite casual restaurants in the city.

Urban Diner
12427 102 Avenue
(780) 488-7274
Tuesday-Friday 11am-9pm, Saturdays 9am-1:30pm (brunch), 2-5pm (lunch), 5-9pm (dinner), Sundays 9am-3pm (brunch only), closed Mondays

Food Notes

  • My blog turns two today! You know you’re addicted to the medium when you refer to some things occurring “before blog” and “after blog”, heh. I’m still enjoying the ride, and the slow expansion of my writing borders. Thanks always for reading!
  • Congratulations to Team NAIT, who performed superbly at the Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany this weekend. Every member of the team medalled, and two competitors were able to secure gold. I was privileged enough to be invited to one of their practice sessions in September – click here to read.
  • Edmonton’s second Sobeys Urban Fresh, situated in the old location of Planet Organic Roots in the Garneau neighbourhood (8225 – 112 Street), opened last Thursday. As individual stores are designed with the immediate community in mind, this branch features a large floral selection because of the nearby hospital and frozen meals to cater to university students.
  • An interview with Chris Lachance, head of the Century Hospitality Group that just opened Hundred Bar Kitchen, reveals that he has plans for a sushi concept named Stingray tentatively slated for next spring.
  • Kerstin’s Chocolates, my favourite confectioner, will be unveiling a new Chocophilia bar at this weekend’s Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival. They also have a new product that I’ll have to try: Chocolate Melt-aways, made with a mixture of chocolate and cocoa butter.
  • There’s a new Vietnamese place in town: My Tho (9261 – 34 Ave, 780-988-2968). It was reviewed in Vue Weekly this past week.
  • Edmonton’s newest duelling piano bar (who knew there was a market for this?), The Red Piano on Bourbon Street in West Edmonton Mall, will host its grand opening on October 31.
  • There has been some chatter on Connect2Edmonton about Nikita’s (and possibly Le Table de Renoir) having been shut down. Does anyone know anything new?
  • The Journal had a bit piece on Bistecca, the new Sorrentino’s Group outpost, last week.
  • FoodTV is looking for “restaurant scouts”: if you have a notable restaurant in your community, send it in and you’ll be considered for monthly prizes. November’s challenge is your local “hidden gem”.
  • Zagat reports that automated ordering is the way of the future. While I’m not sure I would enjoy interacting with screens beyond the initial novelty of it, I’d definitely try it out.

Strikingly Pedestrian: Hundred Bar Kitchen

When I saw the brown paper signs depicting the newest Century Hospitality hotspot, I knew I hadn’t been so excited for a restaurant opening since L’Azia’s Wildflower Grill earlier this year.

Hundred Bar Kitchen exterior

Hundred Bar Kitchen (10009 101A Street), situated in the McLeod Building, has taken over the space of two  failed sports bar ventures. I am certain the name recognition of Century Hospitality alone will guarantee Hundred’s success, and based on a recent visit to the near-capacity restaurant, it is well on its way to becoming a popular downtown hangout for the 24-35 crowd.

Mack and I had reservations for Thursday night, and upon being greeted by a friendly hostess, we were promptly seated at the rear of the restaurant. The interior had been gutted, and has nearly no resemblance to the last tenant, save perhaps the location of the bar. Instead of a masculine space accented with dark leather and furnishings, Hundred is plush – carpet, curtains, rounded leather banquets, and stunningly gorgeous crystal chandeliers. Great for large groups, we passed more than our fair share of the after-work crowd and those that wanted to see and be seen.

I had previewed the menu online, so was already familiar with the contents and the design – a single page, divided into easy-to-read sections (though the writers need to review their use of quotation marks – when is ‘fromage’ not fromage?). The focus is on share plates, continuing with their group-friendly mentality, though there are a few sizable entrees, including the $100 surf and turf for those looking for more substantial eats.

We ended up ordering basic items, rationalizing that the restaurant had to walk before it could run. Mack wanted to give their Calamari ($11) a spin, while I was interested in their Kobe Meatball Sliders ($14). The Turf Flatbread ($16) appealed to both of us, a pizza topped with sausage and pancetta among other things, though in hindsight was rather pricey.

Hundred also has an extensive liquor “market” to tempt us, though I wasn’t in the imbibing mood that night. The $6 beer flight and $8 wine flight seemed to be the best deal, offered every Thursday night.

Our dishes arrived in timely fashion, attractively presented but not overbearingly so. The calamari actually turned out to contain a smaller portion than we expected, fluffed up in a high-backed bowl. I liked the sweet dipping sauce, but Mack’s final verdict was that it was a version comparable to the one produced at Earls. The slider meatballs themselves were good – slightly tangy from a tomato bath and nicely seasoned on the inside. The kaiser rolls, however, lowered the overall quality of the mini-burger – having realized the difference fresh bread makes after amazing sandwiches at the Italian Bakery and elevated sliders at Devlin’s, the slightly stale-tasting rolls just didn’t cut it. Lastly, Mack and I were divided on the flatbread: I awarded the kitchen points for achieving a sturdy crust, but I wasn’t sold on the flavour combination of sweet sundried tomato pesto, salty pancetta, smoky roasted red peppers and savoury sausage. Mack, on the other hand, loved it – so to each their own.

Calamari

Kobe Meatball Sliders

Turf Flatbread

The most memorable moment of the night had nothing to do with the food or anything tangible, but occurred when Mack was taking non-flash shots of the restaurant interior. The manager immediately came up to him and questioned his actions. Mack explained that he wasn’t from a conventional media source, and mentioned my food blog. The manager didn’t seem to be familiar with the world of social media, and while this may be excusable for “mom and pop” operations, for an establishment “courting the yuppie vote” so to speak, at least a scant awareness of life on the internet is called for.

Once the hype of the eatery has died down, I’m not sure Hundred has the kitchen chops to maintain my business. But judging from the success of Century Hospitality’s other holdings, I don’t think my absence will make much of a difference. 

Hundred Bar Kitchen
10009 101 A Street
(780) 425-0100
Lunch: Monday – Friday: 11am – 5pm
Dinner: Sunday – Wednesday 5pm – 12am, Thursday – Saturday 5pm – 2am

Decent Stopover: Lemongrass Cafe

Needing a quick bite before the third and final Presidential debate, Mack and I headed to Lemongrass Cafe (10417 51 Avenue). I came to that decision for three reasons: it was on our way home; the restaurant had provided food of reasonable quality at our staff retreat last week; and I had an Entertainment Book coupon to burn.

My first impression of Lemongrass Café wasn’t a positive one. A makeshift paper sign had been taped up on the door, reading something to the likes of “We are not accepting 2008 Entertainment Book coupons or cards.” As we wouldn’t have been able to get to and out of another non-fast food dining establishment in time for the show, we elected to eat there anyway.

Walking in to this strip-mall restaurant with an aged awning, I was surprised to find an uncluttered, clean and fairly modern space inside. The furniture appeared to be fairly new, though the wicker chairs left some more comfortable seating to be desired. Black and white photos of posed Asian women adorned the walls, and while artful and unexpected, they were a bit unnerving.

The physical menu was simple but nice – easy-to-read typeface on a white background, accented with photos of different ingredients or implements used in the cooking process. For the most part, the available dishes reminded me of the offerings at Hoang Long – both in composition and price.

Without a discount incentive to order a more expensive dish, I opted for a warming bowl of pho, my usual variety topped with medium rare beef ($7.50). Mack gravitated towards a rice plate, and decided on the stir-fried vegetables with beef and chicken, choosing to exclude the squid ($12.75).

Our food arrived in timely fashion (though the same could not be said for the water refills that did not come). My pho was bereft of onions, with just a few measly slivers to speak of, but I was happy to taste the comforting broth, flavourful but not too salty. Mack enjoyed his dish, noting that the kitchen didn’t skimp on the meat, but claimed there were “too many vegetables.”

Medium Rare Beef Noodle Soup

Stir-fry with Beef and Chicken

 

Caught in photography mode

Lemongrass Café won’t replace Pagolac for me, but should I be in the area and in need of an emergency hit of pho, at least I know now that there’s a decent stopover nearby. 

Lemongrass Cafe
10417 51 Avenue NW
(780) 413-0088
Monday – Thursday 11am-9pm, Friday 11am-10pm, Saturday noon-10pm, Sunday 4-9pm

Food Notes

  • My latest post at FoodTV went live last week – I wrote about a coffee tasting experience I had at Transcend this summer. Mack’s more timely post can be found here.
  • I’m sure everyone who pays attention to the city’s culinary scene knows about the ill-timed closure of Il Portico by now – the building and lot having been purchased by the Alberta Blue Cross for additional staff parking. From how I read the article though, it seems like a deal would have happened sooner or later. It’s just even more unfortunate that the space won’t be filled by a similar establishment.
  • Hundred Bar & Kitchen released their menu online last week. The designers of it – both graphic and culinary – deserve some applause, as I can just see the downtown post-work crowd (myself included) salivating at their creative take on appetizers and share plates. There has been some discussion as to whether or not they are more of a bar or a lounge – to me they are a hybrid of both, in the true resto-pub sense, and the fact that patrons can make reservations on-line seems to speak to Hundred’s alignment with more traditional restaurants. This may be a bad time for any restaurant to be introducing a $100 entree into the market however – I’d be curious to see how many of “The Hundred” (100 gr. Kobe medallion, 100 gr. lobster tail, seared foie gras, caramelized shallot mash, porcini mushroom demi, truffle butter) they sell.
  • The Sorrentino’s Group has stealthily opened up a new “Italian Steakhouse Wine Bar” called Bistecca in the space that formerly occupied one branch of That’s Aroma (2345-111 Street). Wine bars seem to be joining the list of Edmonton’s current culinary trends which include gastropubs and places that serve only tapas/small plates.
  • The Journal reviewed the new-ish Quan’s Cafe this weekend.
  • I took a look at the Edmonton page on Open Table recently, and 20 more restaurants have jumped on the bandwagon since my first look last spring, where a measly 16 establishments were listed. I love the ease of being able to make reservations any time of day (and their snazzy e-mail invitations are pretty cute too).
  • I have been eying Second Cup granola bars ever since I saw them on store shelves.  I finally bit the bullet last week and purchased a box. The bar had an aroma of coffee about it, which was nice, but overall, it tasted very similar to the Quaker yogurt-coated granola bars that I have tried previously. While it didn’t quite quench my thirst for a latte, it made a nice afternoon snack.

 

Second Cup Cafe Delights

  • I had an opportunity to visit Handy Bakery (8660 118 Avenue, 780-477-8842) for lunch the other day. I was curious to see whether or not their fresh, deli-made sandwiches would be better than those found at the Italian Bakery. I was able to build my sandwich with either mayo, mustard, or vegetable spread (I chose the latter), one meat from the case, cheese, and my choice of vegetables (lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, peppers). Though the bread was remarkably good (and dare I say better than the Italian Bakery’s buns), there was something about the sandwich that wasn’t as satisfying as the Italian Bakery.

 

Small sandwich with turkey breast ($3)

Filipino Buffet: Fat Jakks

My friend and I met for lunch on Friday at Fat Jakks (10126 107 Avenue), a restaurant of her choosing. I had never been before, but really, what better guide could I have at a Filipino eatery than the person who introduced me to the cuisine in the first place?

Though I was able to walk to Fat Jakks, I noticed parking was quite tight around the area. And as the restaurant doesn’t have its own designated parking lot, I would recommend arriving early in order to guarantee yourself street parking.

My friend was a few minutes late, but that allowed me time to preliminarily survey the buffet, menu, as well as the decor. My friend told me later on that the space had been fully renovated after the former owner of the Palabok House (another popular Edmonton Filipino restaurant) moved to this new property. Fat Jakks features a dance floor, a flat screen television, and all new furnishings – I would imagine they are hoping to host their share of holiday and special occasion functions in the coming months.

Interior

The menu was surprisingly short, though filled with dishes I couldn’t help but be curious about. In particular, there were three types of spring rolls (Vietnamese, Shanghai, and Manila) listed on the first page, and another catch-all page with dishes from Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Like most Asian restaurants that attempt to be more diverse than their kitchen should be, I decided to stick with Fat Jakks’ Filipino roots and paid the most attention to the section of the menu titled “Philippines’ Best”. My only knock on the restaurant was the inaccessibility of this page, as none of the dishes were explained. Though I’m certain the friendly waitress would have been more than happy to elaborate, for the patron’s ease, I would have appreciated brief dish descriptions underneath each name.

At any rate, once my friend arrived, she decided the buffet was the best way to go, as most of the dishes contained on the “Phillippines’ Best” page were represented in the buffet. Just $9.95 (offered only on Thursdays and Fridays), I couldn’t think of a better deal to sample 15 hot dishes plus a number of desserts.

Buffet line

Many of the dishes seemed very similar to ones I’m used to eating at home, so though the meal was filling and thoroughly satisfying, I didn’t find it a wholly unique experience. That said, I did have a few favourites, including the stir-fried vermicelli noodles, stir-fried beef, and the oh-so-tender beef brisket. The Manila spring rolls turned out to be very similar to the Chinese version I am used to, except that the filling looked and tasted like it had been compounded together with a mash of some kind, as opposed to visually distinct individual ingredients.

My first plate

My friend’s first plate (we had two each)

By the time we had our fill of the entrees, we barely had time (or room) for dessert. Of course, it was difficult for me to pass up an opportunity to try some Filipino sweets, so we headed to the hidden table to investigate our options. I ended up with a piece of custard-like coconut dessert and part of a tart made of cassava. The former was my favourite – not overly sweet, and light enough not to tip me over the scale.

Our dessert plates

Given that the restaurant was only graced by five other parties during our stay, I am hoping that the word spreads quickly about Fat Jakks. Clean, efficient and economical, their buffet is hard to beat.

Fat Jakks
10126 107 Avenue NW
(780) 485-2557
Monday, Wednesday-Saturday 11:30am-10pm, Sunday 12-9pm, closed Tuesdays