Category: food

Food Notes for January 12, 2009

  • I registered for the upcoming Food: Today, Tomorrow, Together Conference running January 29-30 this past week. I hope to get some blogging in during the conference, so watch for posts at the end of the month! If you can’t make it to the entire event, there is a public keynote by Carol Off, author of Bitter Chocolate, on Friday evening.
  • From Vue Weekly: Culina Highlands is now open for lunch, Tuesday to Saturday, 11am-2pm. I hope their new website debuts soon!
  • From City Palate: there’s a new bakery in town called Prairie Mill Bread Co. (14253 23 Avenue, 780-436-0920). They recently opened their first location in Edmonton after finding success in Calgary.
  • Liane was back this week from a brief hiatus, and covered Edmonton’s burgeoning scene of meal assembly studios. I had no idea there were nine in the city.
  • Food Network Canada’s third season of Family Restaurant, this time featuring the Quons of Lingnan and Chicken for Lunch fame, began on January 8. The 10-episode run got off to a good start, with the frenetic energy of the family on display.
  • Mack tipped me off to some interesting discussion on Connect2Edmonton about the upcoming Downtown Dining Week, an annual event that encourages patrons to dine in the core by offering set-meals at a “discounted” rate. I have to agree with IanO – Edmonton’s independents do themselves a disservice by offering two competing dining weeks (something I’ve said in the past) – why not combine Downtown Dining Week and Original Fare’s Fork Fest?
  • I saw commercials advertising Boston Pizza‘s new “10 for $10” feature on television this week (dine-in only from Sunday to Thursday, until February 8). I wonder which will be the next non-fast food chain to push value-for-dollar meals?
  • Speaking of advertising, I love the current Tim Hortons campaign, which pushes their coffee into the spotlight. Like Starbucks should be doing (instead of say, diverging to tea), the spots focus on the 20 minute freshness of each pot – simple, but effective.

All About Appearances: Kai Asian Grill

After Courtney’s lukewarm review and hearing lacklustre comments from friends about Kai Asian Grill (100, 10909 Jasper Avenue), I was less than eager to pay them a visit. But on an evening when venturing outside was a welcome reprieve from a weekend of self-imposed house arrest, coupled with Mack’s need to scope out Kai as a potential venue for an event he was planning, we hopped on a bus to have dinner at Kai.

Interior

I’m not sure why the owners decided on a name change (signs boasted of “Tao” coming soon), but I doubt substituting another Asian-sounding monosyllable would have made a resounding difference with the patron reception of the restaurant. At any rate, the interior of the former Chili Hot Hot had been gutted and divided into a number of areas – a dining room, a small sushi bar, two elevated, semi-private dining areas, and finally, a gargantuan lounge, which is at least double the size of the dining room. We asked to be seated in the dining room (as is our custom when trying a new restaurant), but had we known of Kai’s lounge-forward stance, we would have made an exception to our rule. Shades of black and grey dominate the dining room, with looming statues reminding patrons of the restaurant’s Asian and East Asian slant. The most striking feature is the ceiling, however, with lights calling attention to the overhead red hue. I was happy that they decided to maintain the large windows looking out onto Jasper Avenue – the bustling intersection outside makes the restaurant seem that much more cosmopolitan, however coincidental. Everything looked great, polished and perfect, but upon closer inspection, it seems some financial shortcuts were taken. For example, the bamboo plants that lined the side were artificial, while the counters were marble-coated. As the overall renovations must have cost a fortune, I’m willing to cut Kai some slack.

I had previewed the menu online, so knew of Kai’s approach to fusion food – one very similar to OPM, and really, any other restaurant that strives to cater to as many people as possible out there (I’m looking at you Earls, Joeys, and Moxie’s). We were handed cocktail and wine lists, but other beverages such as beer and coffee were nowhere to be seen on the page. Mack would have appreciated this, as his Sapporo beer came in at a surprise $7.25, although he rightly could have confirmed the price prior to ordering it.

The one dish that caught my eye online, the Coconut-Crusted Tofu ($22), maintained my gaze in the restaurant, as I was hoping to satisfy my craving for tofu. Mack, on the other hand, zeroed in on the peculiarly categorized Kai Mini Burger Trio ($16) – we thought it sounded more like an appetizer than an entrée (and would likely encourage more spending if coded as the former). Always up for the house calamari ($9), this time dressed with salt and pepper, we ordered that to start as well.

Our appetizer was delivered quite promptly, dressed with green onions and accompanied by a chili and lime aioli. Dotted with black pepper, Mack liked the calamari well enough, while I was easily swayed by the fact that the battered morsels was fried to a fresh crisp.

Salt and Pepper Calamari

We had a little more time to admire the interior than we wanted to while we waited for our entrees, but the calamari tided us over somewhat. When Mack’s Burger Trio arrived, I couldn’t help but be drawn to the bright orange sweet potato fries – not mentioned in the menu description, we now understood why this had been classified as an entrée. While I don’t know how the burgers fit in with the “Asian fusion” mandate of the restaurant (besides the bamboo skewers used, heh), the sliders were great, particularly because of the type of bun used. The White-Castle-like soft bread cushioned and complimented the thin patty well.

Kai Mini Burger Trio

The size of my dish was deceiving at first glance, though as I began to dig through the rice and vegetables, I found that the bowl held more than met the eye. The Thai curry sauce used lovely, and balanced the heat with a hint of sweetness. The tofu, which had been lightly breaded in coconut, then deep fried, was unfortunately dry in the centre, with a texture that reminded me more of chicken than soy. It was an interesting take, and one I might try to recreate at home, but not again try at Kai.

Coconut Crusted Tofu

I had no complaints about our waitress – she did her best to find all of the answers we needed for our numerous and sundry questions, and as it seemed she was covering both the lounge and the dining room, did a bang up job ensuring all tables were cared for. Though my predilection for Kai steadily improved through my visit, it’s lack of real menu focus prevents me from fully embracing it. I would recommend it, but don’t expect fireworks.

Kai Asian Grill
100, 10909 Jasper Avenue
(780) 428-3336
Monday-Thursday 11am-midnight, Friday-Saturday 5pm-2am

The Cooking Chronicles: Cap’n Crunch French Toast

Inspired by a dish I saw made on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, I made Cap’n Crunch French Toast over the weekend (improvised, without the recipe I linked to). In theory, the dish excited the child in me – a crunchy, sugar-coated treat for breakfast? Score!

I put Mack to work crunching up cereal with a potato masher and a large Ziploc (though we found later that it was actually easier just to use a rounded plastic spoon in a flat dish to do the same), while I readied the dredging concoction of eggs, milk and cinnamon. In hindsight, we should have bought some white bread for this experiment, as the wheat cut through the sweet flavour we were trying to achieve in a negative way, but we went ahead with what we had on hand.

After soaking up a slice of bread, I did my best to coat both sides with crushed cereal. For whatever reason, it didn’t work as well as I had seen on the show, but we did our best and placed it on the pan.

It turns out medium-low heat works best, otherwise, the Cap’n Crunch just burns – we found that out the hard way. We also discovered that a finer-ground cereal makes a better crust, as it encouraged an even cooking process. The result was a golden-brown, thoroughly crunchy coating, and a still-eggy quality in its interior. The Cap’n Crunch didn’t provide a distinguishable flavour however – nearly any sweet, non-chocolate cereal (Corn Puffs, Fruit Loops, etc.) would likely create a similar taste.

Cap’n Crunch French Toast

Though it was a novel way to start the day, we will likely stick with our regular French toast recipe.

Indian Meal Deal: Rasoi on 50th

I caught up with Bettina over dinner at Rasoi on 50th (4341 50 Street) last week, a restaurant near my house I suggested trying when she proposed that we have Indian cuisine.

There has been some confusion in the Edmonton dining scene recently with Indian restaurants with “Rasoi” in the name, as two opened up at around the same time this summer, both located in southside strip malls. Rasoi on 50th happens to reside in a space formerly occupied by a coffee shop, and for that reason is smaller and seemingly more demure, at least from the outset.

While I can’t remember exactly how the interior of Cappuccino Affair used to look, the palette of warm beige and brown seemed familiar. Café seating next to the order counter had been eliminated in favour of a buffet (offered only at lunch at the moment), so we were led to the mezzanine dining area at the rear of the restaurant. The flat screen televisions, while perhaps acceptable at the front take-out counter, were out of place and distracting where we were seated, particularly because the rest of the décor was cozy and conducive to a nice evening out.

Our waitress was a bit abrupt, not even allowing us to take off our coats before asking about our drink order, but her keenness could be excused for the fact that we were the first customers through the door that night. Service improved through our stay, save for the waitress not considering that our lengthy lingering at the end of our meal may have signalled our desire for the bill.

Not having to even consider the buffet was a blessing in disguise, as after my brush with the Origin India owner, I realized I may have been doing a disservice to Indian cuisine by always jumping to the buffet rush. Our server presented us with the option of a fast food-inspired “two can dine” special, which, priced at $24.99, was a bit of a steal. Comprised of naan, rice, raita, green salad, and two entrees of our choice (vegetarian and/or meat), it seemed like an economical way to sample what the restaurant had to offer. For my entrée, I chose the unavoidable Butter Chicken, while Bettina was a bit more adventurous with Lamb Curry. She was also intrigued by their Egg Pakoras ($6), so we added that onto our order as well.

We munched our way through complimentary papadam, and didn’t have to wait long before our appetizer arrived. Bettina was disappointed with them, as she had anticipated something more exciting and unusual than what we received – hard boiled eggs that had been battered then fried. I thought they were all right, though the outer shell didn’t maintain its ideal crispness.

Egg Pakoras

Plates cleared, our meal was delivered in expedient fashion. I was expecting more than five small pieces of chicken in my entrée, but thankfully, they were a tad more generous with Bettina’s lamb. I also should have made it a point to ask them what was contained in their rich sauce – it was unlike any butter chicken dressing I have ever had, almost as if they had tossed in a bottle of barbecue sauce or something else unorthodox into the mix. It was really tasty though, so perhaps it is a well-guarded secret ingredient. Bettina liked her lamb curry, though noted that it was nothing out of the ordinary. The green salad was unexciting (iceberg lettuce, sliced tomato, cucumber, carrot), though if anything, did provide a fresh respite from the dense meat entrees. Lastly, the naan was fresh and crisp, with the only downside being that there wasn’t more of it to go around.

Our “two can dine” meal

While not necessarily a destination restaurant, Rasoi on 50th is worth stopping by if you’re in the area, and looking for an a la carte Indian experience that won’t break the bank.

Rasoi on 50th
4341 50 Street NW
(780) 756-5600
Monday-Thursday 11am-9pm; Friday-Saturday 11am-10pm, Sunday 12-9pm

Culinary Q & A with Diane Begin-Croft

Occupation: PR

What did you eat today?

Nothing yet, just Orangina.

What do you never eat?

Salmon, sardines, oysters, Kinder Surprise and white chocolate (none of the above are actually chocolate)

 

What is your personal specialty?

Sweet & sour spare ribs. Actually it’s my mom’s recipe, but it’s a big hit especially with plain rice.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

Chopper (hand or electric) to make fresh salsa. I just hate cleaning it. My one cup coffee maker also ranks quite high.

World ends tomorrow. Describe your last meal.

For sure I’d have gazpacho with croutons and tiny cubes of veges, beef tataki, beef carpaccio, a nice salad with misonaise dressing and the rest would probably be Mexican food, like a whole buffet when you go to a resort. I never eat this much, but what if the end is delayed…

Where do you eat out most frequently?

At work, in the NAIT Common Market or Bytes, just because it’s there. If I were to venture out somewhere I’d have a chicken Texas BBQ Ranch wrap with noodles at Badass Jacks.

What’s the best place to eat in Edmonton?

Just outside of Edmonton, there’s a restaurant in St. Albert called The Cajun House. It’s my favourite place to go because it’s cozy and the food is fantastic. Ernest’s Dining Room at NAIT for the Friday lunch buffet is also one of my favourites, when we can get in.

If you weren’t limited by geography, where and what would you eat?

I was going to say Paris for the cheese, but I think I’d probably go to the south of Spain to have some gazpacho and yummy tapas. Restaurants typically open at 9pm for dinner, which works great for my night owl schedule. (then I’d go to Paris for breakfast)

Food Notes for January 5, 2009

…starting the year with dated food notes, to make them easier to distinguish when archived.

  • Sabor Divino (109, 10220 103 Street), the new Portuguese restaurant on the Boardwalk is now open.
  • According to the link Mack sent me, The Cupcake Bakeshoppe & Cafe (17298 Stony Plain Road) will be “changing [their] name and appearance.” Keep an eye out on  their website for details.
  • Pita the Great (3, 10141 34 Avenue) has now become Alsalam Bakery & Restaurant.
  • Something I totally missed from about a month ago – Good Earth Produce closed their two locations in early December. I was wondering what happened after I passed it a few weeks back and saw the windows at their downtown location papered up.
  • Julie van Rosendaal’s last “day in her kitchen” post came a few days ago, but it seems she will continue, to the delight of her readers (and to her husband’s dismay, heh).
  • Jennifer Causey, the woman behind simply breakfast, a beautiful “art of breakfast” photo blog, has decided to end her blog. She will continue to post here, expanding beyond her morning meal.
  • An interesting read from the NYT about the five stages in which an ingredient passes through to become mainstream.
  • I couldn’t find a solid 2009 trends article that I liked, but this one from Epicurious is a quick read, and echoes most of the “common sense” projections one would guess.
  • I tried the new London Fog TAZO Tea Latte (a grande for $4.15) this weekend – it tasted like a creamier, sweeter version of a tea latte I had at Vancouver’s Blenz, with an aftertaste I can never seem to shake when it comes to Earl Grey tea.

 

“Tea Time” at Starbucks

  • Mack and I met Tom at Bourbon Street for lunch last week, and ended up at Moxie’s. I haven’t been to the chain in a while, so most of the menu seemed new to me. I ordered the Tandoori Chicken Pizza ($13.99) – the crust was a tad too hard and the chicken a touch dry, but I liked the mildly spicy curry sauce used. The boys ordered the Big Life Fish & Chips ($12.99), and both liked it. My biggest disappointment was with the service that afternoon – our server completely disappeared after taking our order. Our food finally arrived after an over thirty minute wait; I expected at least a cursory “thanks for being patient” check-in from the waiter. I guess that was too much to ask for.

 

Tandoori Chicken Pizza

 

Big Life Fish & Chips

The Cooking Chronicles: Cheese Fondue

After our successful experiment with chocolate fondue earlier in the year, Annie, May, Janice and I met up again to try our hand with the warm-weather appropriate cheese fondue.

Janice hosted the event this time around, searched out a recipe, and did most of the heavy-lifting with ingredients, roasting a number of vegetables which were ready by the time the rest of us showed up. We did all contribute in one way or another though, either bringing wine, the cheese, or additional ingredients to be dipped, so it felt like a team effort in many ways.

Once everyone had arrived, we got started melting the grated Swiss gruyere into the simmering white wine. The mixture thickened nicely once all of the cheese had been added, and we transferred them into two small fondue pots placed at both ends of the table. The spread included the requisite vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, zucchini and mushrooms, among others), bread, garlic sausage, nacho chips (for “gourmet” nachos), and fruit for dessert.

 Annie uncorking the wine

Janice at the stove

The spread

We found rather quickly that the nearly two cups of wine the recipe called to was way too much – the fondue mixture reeked of wine, so much so that the flavour overpowered anything we dipped. Still, fondue was a great way to catch up with everyone, as we casually worked our way through the food on the table. The roasted potatoes and garlic sausage ended up being my favourite things to dip.

At the table

Me and May

It was great that all of the vegetables had been either blanched or roasted, as it allowed us to enjoy them without cheese adornment as well (“raw” would have been fine, but as with most vegetables, they taste better roasted).

 Janice shows what is left of the cheese

Thanks again Janice for hosting! Cheese fondue is a great winter treat, though next time, we will be definitely be mindful of the amount of alcohol we should be adding.

Culinary Highlights: 2008 Edition

Though I didn’t get away to far-flung food havens in 2008 (compared with my travel-filled 2007), I still had a great year, continuing to explore the culinary scene in Edmonton and beyond.

So again, in no particular order, here are a few of my culinary highlights from the past year.

 

My first experience with foie gras at Characters (in paté form, unfortunately)

 

I heart the brioche bread course at Wildflower

 

Warm Chocolate Cake from the Red Ox Inn

  • Continuing to be thoroughly impressed by the dining scenes in Calgary and Vancouver.

 

Duck Confit and Steak Sandwiches from Calgary’s JAROBlue

 

Montreal Smoked Meat Omelette from Calgary’s Galaxie Diner

 

Divine Butternut Squash Ravioli from Vancouver’s Cactus Club Bentall 5

Vancouver’s Vij’s famous Lamb Popsicles

 

Me and Amanda in The Cocoa Room

Roasting gradient example at Transcend

  • Experimenting in the kitchen much more than I expected, and throwing my first-ever dessert party in the spring and a housewarming party for Mack and Kim in the fall.

 

Melting Moments (one of the five desserts we served)

 

Apple-Cheddar Turkey Burgers (slider-versions served at the housewarming)

  • Contributing to FoodTV and to Vue Weekly, in the process getting the opportunity to meet some of Edmonton’s upstart chefs and restauranteurs.

Margherita Flatbread at Devlin’s (Executive Chef Sebastian Lysz, the focus of my first published piece)

 

TASTE! of Summer at St. Albert Grain Elevator Park

Here’s to an even better 2009!

Epicureous in Edmonton: 2008 Year in Review

I thought 2008 was a great year for Edmonton’s burgeoning culinary scene, and many in the community that I’ve talked to in the past few months have expressed the same opinion. Of course, with maintaining this blog, my bias is staying afloat of news and trends, and picking up on information that I would have ignored just as easily in the past.

That said, more local bloggers joined the online fray in 2008, the number of locally-owned and independent restaurants continue to rise, and farmer’s markets are not only mainstream, but the consumer thirst for seasonal, sustainable agriculture is stronger than ever.

Here are a few of the year’s notable occurrences:

  • Edmontonians flexed their culinary muscle this year – Chad Moss of Transcend Coffee placed fourth in October at the Canadian National Barista Competition, while the Culinary Team from NAIT brought home a total of five medals from the prestigious Culinary Olympics that took place in Germany.
  • Edmonton Journal readers bid adieu to longtime Bistro writer Judy Schultz at the end of 2007, and welcomed Liane Faulder to the section. She published her first series of articles in mid-May, and is continuing to dodge her predecessor’s still-looming shadow.
  • The city mourned the loss of a few beloved eateries, most notably Il Portico in October. Four Rooms, Nikita’s, and Bacon, among others, also called it quits.
  • On the upside, downtown Edmonton has been the recipient of quite a number of new and exciting endeavours: Kerstin Roos opened her fantastic chocolate shop The Cocoa Room in February; Sobeys piloted their new “Urban Fresh” concept on the rapidly-developing 104th Street in May; Century Hospitality swooped in on the vacant storefront in the historic McLeod Building for Hundred Bar & Kitchen in October; and a new incarnation of an Edmonton institution, renamed The Hat, began on October 24.
  • Other culinary pockets are popping up in our sprawling city, such as southwest Edmonton with Health Fare and Red Brick Pizza, and a trend of more upscale food alternatives on Whyte Avenue, like Devlin’s and Origin India.
  • Many locally-grown establishments also branched out this year, including Sorrentino’s, with Bistecca, an Italian steakhouse, and a second Culina, nestled in Highlands.

I have a feeling 2009 will be even better, as citizens continue to become more aware of where their food is coming from, and the food community grows in presence and vocalization.

On that note, look forward to a meetup of local foodies in the new year, spearheaded by Hanne from Supper in Stereo and I. Keep an eye out on the wiki for details.

The Cooking Chronicles: Eggnog Pancakes

I am a bit of a fridge nazi. Nothing makes me happier than being able to piece together a meal with neglected ingredients slightly past their prime. It is likely tied also to the fact that by purchasing groceries now on a regular basis, I actually know firsthand how expensive food really is.

Though frugality shouldn’t have played a part in Mack’s birthday meal, it did somewhat – a 2L carton of eggnog was fast approaching its expiry date in his fridge, and though I can’t stand to drink the stuff, I find it slightly more bearable when diluted in recipes.

Mack’s opinion on the seasonal drink is quite opposite of mine, though if he had his way, eggnog would become a popular flavouring in more than just his favourite cookies. So after printing off a recipe for Eggnog Pancakes, I was ready to prepare a breakfast starring his beloved drink.

The recipe is perfect for doubling (which I did, so he could have pancakes the next day as well), and used common ingredients most would have on hand. The instructions advised to leave the batter for five minutes, which allowed the baking soda to react, creating an airy, voluminous batter I’ve never before seen with pancakes.

I probably should also not have scooped such heaping spoonfuls onto the griddle, as the puffy batter retained its fluffy shape on the pan, and did not have time to cook through before the sides burned. I dressed up a stack of the pancakes with icing sugar, a handful of blueberries, and two candles, though in hindsight the sugar was a bad idea (ending up as a casualty of blowing out the candles).

Eggnog Birthday Pancakes (it’s a kind of “cake”, right?)

Mack enjoyed his birthday breakfast though, primarily because the eggnog flavour was not overpowering. The pancakes themselves were also wonderfully fluffy – the tell of a from-scratch vs. Bisquick batter.

Seeing as he still had about half a carton remaining, more recipes that make use of eggnog may be on the horizon.