Chinatown Dining Week Returns for a Sixth Year

Chinatown Dining Week is back for a sixth year, and will run January 26 – February 5, 2023. 15 restaurants will be offering $10 and $20 deals for dine-in or take-out. The full menu will be posted on January 13.

Having launched Chinatown Dining Week in 2018, the past six years have been a whirlwind. Getting traction for a new event can ben challenging, but we are fortunate that Edmontonians responded really well and embraced our campaign to encourage diners to discover culinary gems and revisit old favourites.

That said, the past few years have no doubt been tougher on our business partners. After the pandemic at the start of 2020 closed restaurants to indoor dining, a wave of anti-Asian racism related to how the pandemic started impacted businesses in Chinatown. The fifth wave of the pandemic continued into 2021 that brought another set of operating restrictions. In 2022, discussions about Chinatown were overwhelmingly linked to impressions of a lack of safety and security in the neighbourhood.

But through it all, the businesses who are a part of Chinatown Dining Week have soldiered on. While some restaurants are newer to the area, having opened over the last two years, such as China Marble, Co Chin Saigon, and Spirit Bistro, the majority of participating businesses have been operating for at least a decade. Hong Kong Bakery and Kim Fat, for instance, have both been open for more than 30 years. The presence of such long-standing businesses speaks to the resilience of the business owners and the community. We hope Chinatown Dining Week can play a role in continuing to raise awareness about these locally-owned establishments and support their longevity in Edmonton.

Openings

• Zula Kitchen and Wine Bar, from the folks behind Sofra, is now open in Glenora, located at #120, 14055 West Block Drive.
• Kind Ice Cream announced that they will be opening their third location in Oliver, coming early 2023.
• Japonais Bistro is opening a second location in the currents of Windermere this spring.
• Culina will be opening an outpost at The Piazza in Little Italy on 95 Street and 108 Avenue.
• New Asian restaurant Chi & Em (10542 82 Avenue) opened in Old Strathcona at the end of December, and offers some traditional Vietnamese dishes not typically found elsewhere in Edmonton.
• Rhubarb Cafe & Cocktails is the latest business to open in Manchester Square, located at Unit 12, 12020 107 Avenue.
• Sheng’s Tea is the newest bubble tea shop to open in Edmonton. Find them at 10048 82 Avenue.
• The Varisty has taken over the former Red Robin’s space on the south side (4211 106 Street), and is especially accommodating for families with little ones. It opened at the end of December.
• Taco Delhi offers roti and naan tacos, and is now open at 3318 Gateway Blvd. Edify checked it out.
• Honi Honi is a new Tiki lounge, located at 10262 103 Avenue. Katy Ingraham of Fleisch asked whether Tiki bars should still be in existence at all.
• The Boiler Room, located in the basement under Fox Burger, is now open, offering additional seating for Fox Burger and offering a similar food and drink menu.

Closures

• Tres Carnales announced that they are permanently closing its doors after 12 years in business. Their last day of service will be January 14, 2023. This announcement comes after Alberta Health Services forced the restaurant to close back in October for violating a number of food and health regulations.
• The last day for HOM in the 5th Street Food Hall will be January 21, 2023. HOM will still be available for catering, take-home dinners and private events.
• The Journal recounted the brief life of The Gavel Pub, which opened during – and did not survive – the pandemic.

Local News

• May will be relocating from the Art Gallery of Alberta to Canteen’s former space on 124 Street.
• The Tomato is once again soliciting nominations for their Top 100 Things to Eat and Drink list. Nominations close on January 23, 2023.
• Twyla featured El Mero Mero last week on Edmonton AM.
• Edify visited Pizza Garage in St. Albert, as well as Halo at the Edmonton International Airport.
• Calle Mexico is now offering breakfast.
• Rosso Pizzeria made Big 7 Travel’s list of 50 Best Pizzas in the World.
• You can now find Carlo’s Bake Shop vending machines at West Edmonton Mall, Southgate, and at the Premium Outlet, in addition to Kingsway Mall.
• Edmonton-based Oodle Noodle has expanded to Calgary with their first location.
• The Norwood Legion hired a chef from Ukraine and uses Google Translate to communicate.
• Certainly the saddest news to come out of the holidays was the announcement that Jean Paré, the venerable cookbook author, had passed away on Christmas Eve at the age of 95.

What I Ate

It’s been more difficult to blog with two kids than with just one, something I probably should have anticipated but didn’t think would be that much harder! As a result, I took a longer break than I originally planned – but did have a really restful and rejuvenating holiday with my family. I hope you had a similarly wonderful start to the new year.

• Inspired by a piece by Ramneek Singh in Hungry Zine, my family tried Punjabi-style pizza for the first time over the holidays. Based on our first taste from Supreme Pizza, it’s a style we will definitely order again. The palak paneer pizza in particular was the crowd favourite.

Palak paneer and butter chicken pizzas from Supreme Pizza

• We can never get enough noodles – our go-to on a cold winter night was our neighbourhood Dagu. Their salted crispy chicken was a great side addition.

Our Dagu take-out

• Mack and I were also fortunate enough to get away for a date night at Birdog. We finished our night with their version of a Deep ‘n’ Delicious cake – and I can report that it was a dead ringer for the cake, complete with the foil-lined packaging. The texture and flavour is what you’d expect, but the cake is springier and the icing doesn’t have that sheen of oil. Thanks Birdog for the treat!

Birdog’s chocolate cake

• We tried Butternut Tree’s high tea for the first time over the holidays. It was pretty close to Emily’s dream meal, as it’s probably the only time in her life she was permitted to eat cookies for her lunch. We were satisfied with the spread of items, with our favourite bites being the bacon-wrapped dates and the turkey and gravy poutine rappe.

Emily cameos with our Butternut Tree high tea spread

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

Birdog on the Hunt for Repeat Customers Downtown

Century Hospitality Group has opened Birdog, its sixth restaurant and its third in Edmonton’s core, intending to complement the downtown food scene.

Century Hospitality Group owner Chris Lachance said he is always looking for opportunities to grow. While he has passed on more than two dozen offers to expand over the past few years because they weren’t right, Lachance was intrigued when he was contacted by a friend over the summer. He was an investor in Bottega 104 and shared with Lachance that it would close in September.

“I already knew the (Bottega 104) landlord, and he was very flexible and accommodating,” said Lachance. “And my friend stayed on as a partner at Birdog and made it easy to transition.”

The name of the restaurant came to Lachance in a dream. The term “bird dog” primarily refers to hunting dogs that fetch game birds after they are shot, but it is also a term in sales parlance for referrals in business. For Lachance, Birdog perfectly conveys what he is trying to achieve with the guest experience.

“It’s the relentless pursuit to get what you’re after,” said Lachance. “In the hospitality business, it’s the way you make people feel. So let’s do something great here, go after it, and let’s bring those guests back.”

Lachance said Birdog was designed to fill a gap he identified in the area. “We looked at what was missing downtown, and thought we could bring in a restaurant with a really cool lobby hotel feel,” said Lachance.

The restaurant at 10181 104 St. joins two Century restaurants downtown: Lux Steakhouse and The Parlour.

While Birdog retained Bottega’s long bar along one wall, the new layout opens up the space. There is also a private room in the back that accommodates up to 12, with its own private washroom. At present, Birdog is open for dinner Tuesdays to Sundays but will consider adding lunch and brunch depending on the response from the community.

While he is proud of the drink menu, Lachance was quick to emphasize that Birdog has a “serious kitchen.” Culinary leader Tony Le has created an approachable menu not out of step with other Century Hospitality properties.

For example, pizzas feature prominently on the menu, as Century retained Bottega 104’s industrious pizza oven. “It’s the Ferrari of pizza ovens,” said Le. “At Parlour, I had to learn how to control a wood-fired oven for our pizzas. Here, it holds a consistent temperature, so I don’t have to worry about it.”

In addition, Le highlighted the burger on the menu, a Minnesota-style “Juicy Lucy.” The beef patty is stuffed with American cheddar and served on Martin’s Famous Potato Rolls, brought in from Pennsylvania. They’re the same buns used at the popular American chain Shake Shack.

Korean-inspired dishes are also on the menu, with kimchi mac and cheese, kimchi wings, and Le’s version of Korean corn cheese. “Maybe I’ve been watching too much K-dramas,” laughed Le.

Experimentation with Korean flavours ties in well with Century Hospitality’s next project, Stingray, located in the former Delux space in Crestwood (Century Hospitality had sold its burger-focused property Delux a few years prior, but subsumed it over the summer). To open in 2023, Stingray will allow Le to flex his interest in pan-Asian cuisines, including tastes from his Vietnamese heritage.

Both Lachance and Le credit their loyal customer base as the reason they continue to thrive, in spite of several rough years during the pandemic. “It was the worst time in my life,” said Lachance. “But to see our guests coming out to ask what we needed, I cried. That’s what being rooted in the community is all about.”

Openings

• From the folks behind Smokin’ Barrels comes Tropical Sweets Cafe, located at 10235 124 Street, Unit 100B.
• Forno Flat Bread, offering “Mediterranean and Italian fusion”, is now open at 3418 99 Street.

Upcoming Events

• Filistix is launching their Kusina Speaker Series on December 7, 2022. It features a multi-course meal from Chef JP Dublado and a presentation from him about his experiences in hospitality. Tickets are $90.
• A reminder that the Edmonton Christmas Market kicks off on November 30 and runs until December 18, 2022 at Fort Edmonton Park. Admission is $15 for adults and $10 for kids 6-17.

Local News

• Arcadia announced that “taking into account the ongoing human rights issues surrounding the World Cup this year, we cannot in good conscience promote the event”, and will not be showing any of the matches.
• The Butternut Tree has adopted a policy RGE RD did last year, and as of earlier this month, introduced a $10 deposit fee per person to secure a reservation. The deposit is refundable upon arrival.
• The more winter patios, the merrier, so it’s great to see that Fu’s Repair Shop has winterized their backyard! See other winter patios listed here.
• Happy first birthday to the Downtown location of Jack’s Burger Shack.
• The Downtown Business Association is launching a gift card on December 1 that will be accepted at more than 40 shops, restaurants, liquor and cannabis stores, venues, and hotels.
• Taproot has the story behind an initiative from Converse and Cook: a new cookbook capturing how Edmontonians coped with the pandemic with comfort food.
• Edmonton Eats has put together 5 cooking kits that benefit their cultural hosts. The kits cost between $8-20.

What I Ate

• We celebrated American Thanksgiving with Jack’s turducken burger, a supremely satisfying combination of a turkey patty, chicken skin, and duck gravy. It was a special offered just that day, and sold out for good reason.

Jack’s turducken burger

• I also cannot believe Elizabeth is three months old! I meant to share a photo earlier, but as parents know, better late than never!

Emily and Elizabeth

Openings

• Century Hospitality is opening a new property called Birdog in the space that formerly housed Bottega 104 (10181 104 Street).
• Sauce Modern Caribbean Cuisine opened over the weekend, located at 13655 St. Albert Trail.
• Dorinku Osaka has a new pop-up ramen shop called Tenjin Ramen, that opened over the weekend.
• The Mash has opened their third location in the Edmonton area, this time in Old Strathcona (joining restaurants in Windermere and St.Albert). Find them at 10402 82 Avenue.

Closures

• After 4.5 years in operation, Yelo’d shared that they are closing on December 23, 2022. In their announcement, they do hint at “amazing things” planned for 2023.
• High Dough is closing their Garneau location (in order to concentrate their pizza operations at the Strathcona location). But they promise new life for the former Three Boars space.

Local News

• I love local collaborations! This one sees Jacek partner with Kind Ice Cream to recreate three of their most popular ice cream flavours into chocolate bars. The bars are sold exclusively at Kind.
• Another great collaboration is between Remedy and Alley Kat, to produce a Chai Latte Porter.
• The Silver Skate Festival has brought back their Celebrate Edmonton Bags, surprise bags filled with goods sourced from local companies. I’ve purchased them in the past and have found them to be a delight.
• After only a 7 week trial, the Edmonton Downtown Farmers’ Market has decided to call it quits on opening on Fridays: “At this time we would like to focus on our current customer base who is telling us their preferred market days are on the weekend.”
• Edify suggests places to watch the World Cup.
• Also from Edify, they checked out brunches at Tiramisu Bistro and Versailles Cafe.
• The University of Alberta held a forum to ponder what we might be eating in 50 years.

Urban Agriculture and Farming

• Those looking for locally-grown lettuce can consider Vertical Roots Canada, who farm their greens in south Edmonton using aquaponics. Their product is available at the Bountiful Farmers’ Market.

What I Ate

• There’s nothing like a morning pick-me-up from Rosewood Foods. Their breakfast sandwiches and potatoes are just so good.

Chicken sausage sandwich from Rosewood Foods

Openings

• Hesco Foodservice has opened Ribeye Butcher Shop in St. Albert (#335, 935 St. Albert Trail).
• Gintaro Kitchen is a new-ish Japanese restaurant located at 11850 145 Avenue.
• Love Pizza’s Heritage Valley location opened last week, at 2812 James Mowatt Trail.
• Ace Coffee will be opening up a location on the second floor of Manulife Place in 2023.

Upcoming Events

• Dalla’s Amano Holiday Market returns on December 3, 2022 from 11am-3pm. They will have roasted chestnuts and local vendors.
• A Christmas version of the popular Filipino Sari Sari Mercado Market will take place on December 10 and 11, 2022 at 10505 106 Street.

Local News

• The owners of Tres Carnales posted an apology for the health concerns that led to the restaurant being shut down last week. They have been permitted to re-open on November 15.
• After being closed for many months for rehabilitation, Cafe Bicylette is now fully open as of November 10.
• Taproot has the story behind Asymmetrical Brewing, which bills itself as a “family-focused” brewery. It opened on November 9, 2022.
• Twyla highlighted Yarrow on Edmonton AM.
• The Lingnan is celebrating its 75th anniversary! As a part of their celebrations, they are offering some of their 1940s menu items at 1947 prices (i.e., crispy veggie rolls for 60 cents).
• Happy tenth birthday to XIX Nineteen!
• Edify checked out Oliveto Trattoria and brunch at Glasshouse Kitchen.
• Local business Sweetness Colouring Cookies was featured on Dragon’s Den last week.
• Hotel Macdonald unveiled its annual edible gingerbread house for the holidays.
• Elks player Justin Renfrow hosts a YouTube show called What’s Cooking JR? that features behind the scenes at local restaurants.

What I Ate

• While at Dalla for lunch last week, I couldn’t pass up the chance to have the scaccia again – I love the all of the layers of meat and cheese.

Scaccia from Dalla

• I have noted in the past that I do wish more meal kits created in the wake of the pandemic remained, but I am glad for those that are still available. This includes the frozen Vietnamese soups from Momma Tong, which are so handy when a craving for Bun Bo Hue hits.

Bun Bo Hue from Momma Tong

I’m doing my best to keep to my weekly posting, but the reality is the return to having a newborn in our house has been a steeper curve than I expected! I know some of you missed my Food Notes last week, so here is a super-sized version to catch you up.

Openings

• Vintage Fork’s tea shop in the historic Barto Residence is now open at 11425 95A Street.
• Asymmetrical Brewing is opening their new space on November 9, 2022. They are located in part of the storefront that formerly housed Two Sergeants Brewing, 11821 105 Avenue.
• Rigoletto’s is moving to the CKUA Building (9802 Jasper Avenue), aiming to re-open in mid-November.
• Bodega is opening their sixth location in Ellerslie in mid-December, located at 916 103A Street SW.
• After closing their Downtown pop-up, Fawkes Coffee & Doughnuts has shifted their pop-up across the river to 10507 Saskatchewan Drive.
• Bubble tea shop Boba Bar opens in Sherwood Park on November 8, 2022 at 540, 3850 Sherwood Drive.
• Taiwan-based bubble tea chain Kung Fu Tea has opened in Edmonton at 14250 23 Avenue.
• Loblaws City market in Ice District officially opens on November 9, 2022. It is located at 10324 103 Avenue.
• A new “dessert experience” is coming soon to Old Strathcona, called Phat Bar Bakery, located at 101, 10813 82 Avenue.

Upcoming Events

• The inaugural ICE District Chili Cook-Off will be hosted at the Molson Hockey house on November 10 from 5-8pm. The entrance fee is a $10 donation to the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation and includes 8 sampling tickets and a vote for the People’s Choice Award.
• The Butchery is hosting a Christmas Market on November 27, 2022. $15 tickets include food and wine samples, and a $5 credit towards any purchase at The Butchery.

Local News

• Alberta Health Services ordered that Tres Carnales Taqueria close on October 31 after their inspection found numerous health violations, including pest infestations. The owners indicated that they have rectified the issues, and that they stemmed from the building.
• At the end of October, the downtown location of Jack’s Burger Shack was vandalized and broken into.
• Edify released their 2022 Top 40 Under 40 list, and a number of #yegfood folks were included: Peter Keith of Meuwly’s, bartender James Grant, The Old Red Barn’s Matthew Schur, 
• Congratulations to Serge Belair of the Edmonton Convention Centre for winning the Great Kitchen Party Regional Qualifier. Lindsay Porter of The Common and Holly Holt of She Cooks rounded out the podium. Serge will go on to compete at the Canadian Culinary Championship in February 2023.
• Air Canada’s short list of Canada’s Best New Restaurants came out last week, and unfortunately, it’s no surprise that Edmonton was left out again. It was great for Pei Pei Chei Ow to be recognized in two sub-categories (Best Trailblazer and Best New Take-Out), but why couldn’t the restaurant be a part of the top ten?
• Linda has a great post highlighting all of the Edmonton-made advent calendars available, including the Italian Centre’s popular version that goes on sale next week.
• Also from Linda in a partnered post, she blogged about 10 bites under $10 in Edmonton’s Chinatown.
• A reminder that the deadline to participate in the Food Faves contest is November 16. Tag us when you visit one of the businesses to be entered for your chance to win $25 gift cards to one of our favourite places – winner’s choice!
• Edify checked out Fuzed Kitchen + Bar, The Lunch Box Diner, Miss Korea, and The Moth.
• Odd Company Brewing is the latest to be selected for the Best Dish column.
• Twyla featured Transit Smokehouse and BBQ on Edmonton AM.
• Also from Twyla – she put together a weekend getaway guide to Edmonton for Afar Magazine.
• Edmonton AM’s remaining Halloween Snackchecker segments showcased Canadian Dollar Store, Ben’s Meats and Deli, Sugared and Spiced, and Confections Cake Co.
• Congratulations to Teresa Spinelli of Italian Centre Shop for receiving the Order of the Star of Italy (similar to the Order of Canada) for her work on promoting Italian foodstuffs and gastronomy.
• Happy sixth birthday to Northern Chicken!
• Alberta
  will be home to Chick-fil-A restaurants “in the coming years”. While no
  cities were confirmed in the announcement, given Edmonton has successfully bred
  so many chain concepts in the past, it would be surprising if the city doesn’t
  end up with a location.
• During the World Cup, Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis will permit bars to serve alcohol in the morning.
• Three additional 7-Eleven stores are now
  also licensed to sell alcohol. The first 7-Eleven to begin selling alcohol
  opened back in December 2021.
• A man has been charged with the molotov cocktail incidents that occurred in the summer at Mann Meats and Indian Cuisine.

Urban Agriculture and Farming

• Has the City’s food and urban agriculture strategy moved the needle at in the decade since coming into being? Not much, some urban farmers told Taproot.

What I Ate

• Leopard finally began offering take-out, so we finally were able to try their pizza! I’m sure the pie would have definitely been better eaten hot out of the oven, but I loved the chew in the crust. We’ll definitely have to go back in person one day.

Paulie’s from Leopard (we appreciated that they honoured our request to put olives on only half the pizza, too)

• We’re always grateful to have Tiffin so close – to be able to walk out with a meal in minutes definitely helps on some of those extra busy nights.

Take-out from Tiffin (I especially love their mango paneer!)

Presenting: Edmonton Food Faves We Crave

While both Linda and I have maintained long-standing blogs which include weekly suggestions for dining options, we are often still asked for recommendations and to share our “favourite” restaurants. As a result, some time ago, Linda and I started to think about how we might put together a list of some of our favourite places. Edmontonfoodfaves.ca was born, with 15 categories of our #YEGFoodFaves, with three suggestions under each.

We want to make it clear that this list (like all “best of” or “top” lists) is completely subjective to our tastes, not at all exhaustive, and reflects our biases.

To help launch our list, we’ve put together an “Edmonton Food Faves We Crave Passport” you are invited to follow for a chance to win prizes, while supporting local restaurants and eating some pretty tasty food along the way!
From Oct.19-Nov. 16, 2022, visit places on our Food Faves list and share about where you’ve gone and what dishes you’ve tried to be entered to win gift cards to our favourite places! More details about how to enter are on the page.

We hope you’ll enjoy eating your way through #YEGFoodFaves as much as we enjoyed putting together our list!

Openings

• Chain Yushang Rice Noodle is now open at 10167 109 Street.
• Oomami Dog, offering Asian-inspired kurobuta pork hot dogs and seafood rolls, is now open inside the south side location of Splash Poke (4112A Calgary Trail).
• NV Restaurant opened about a month ago in Edgemont (20015 Lessard Road).
• Walmart has opened in Kingsway Mall (having relocated the location from Westmount Centre).

Upcoming Events

• Beverly Dining Week returns October 21-30, 2022, with 10 participating restaurants offering menu specials priced at $15-$30.

Local News

• Phil’s latest Best Dish column highlights Cafe Caribbean.
• Edmonton AM’s Snackchecker is returning for one week with sweet treats, starting with Summerside Cookie Co.
• Taproot covered the story behind the YEG Food Masters competition, which launched earlier this month. It was launched by the folks behind El Beso, and will continue monthly until next June.
• Taproot also featured Hungry Zine and the philosophy behind their approach.
• CBC interviewed Shaminder Parma for a primer on Diwali, the festival of lights being celebrated in South Asian cultures around October 24 this year.
• Northern Chicken fostered a bike that had been prevented from being stolen last week.
• Alberta Impact interviewed The Public’s co-founder Ken Bautista, as well as Nicole Matos and Courtney Hanak of Oonie.
• Jason Foster shared his thoughts on the winners of the 2022 Alberta Beer Awards.
• Prairie Gardens in Sturgeon County has since been allowed to re-open since a stop order was issued, but only at a third of its usual capacity.

What I Ate

• We started our month of #YEGFoodFaves with a return to King Noodle House. I love noodle soups year-round (as evidenced from the list!), but the cravings especially kick in when the weather takes a turn. We made the brisk walk over on Friday to pick up our take-out of my go-to Bun Bo Hue.

Our King Noodle House order

Openings

• Remedy opened a new location in HUB Mall at the University of Alberta.
• Sauce, offering “modern Caribbean cuisine” is opening soon at 13655 St. Albert Trail.

Upcoming Events

• LitFest’s annual Food Matters on October 22, 2022 is about the Chinese diaspora and identity this year, featuring author and film documentarian Cheuk Kwan, and Hungry Zine’s Kathryn Gwun-Yeen Lennon and Kyla Pascal. Tickets are $25 in advance.
• The next Swine & Dine event will be hosted at RGE RD. Tickets for the family-style feast are $65 per person.
• The Edmonton Christmas Market returns at Fort Edmonton Park, from November 30-December 18, 2022. Admission starts at $15 plus fees for adults and $10 plus fees for children 6-17.

Local News

• Langano Skies began offering take-out last weekend out of Barb & Ernie’s restaurant, and will be adding delivery options in the near future.
• Twyla highlighted Rosewood Foods.
• Edify put together a feature about five types of pizza available in the city.
• The Gateway visited the Fuwa Fuwa location in Old Strathcona.
• Also from Edify, they stopped by Shojo Izakaya for lunch.
• This tweet capturing the exorbitant food costs at Rogers Place went viral last week, with some pointing out the better value offered by restaurants in the area.
• Fans bid adieu to Ralph’s Handi Mart and their famous fried chicken last week.

What I Ate

• It had been a while since our last order from Syphay, so it seemed time to reacquaint ourselves with their pad Thai and green curry. It definitely hit the spot!

Take-out from Syphay

• We had to take to the trails on such a glorious weekend. And it really was the perfect day for a cool treat, so we couldn’t pass up some Pinocchio ice cream from the River Valley Adventure Co.

Pinocchio ice cream break

• I’d been curious about Dosi Rock after passing them at the Legislature grounds countless times, and given this might just be the last nice week of fall, it was a good time as any to give them a try. They were super efficient (the order was prepared in two minutes flat), and I really enjoyed the flavour of the bulgogi.

Bulgogi from Dosi Rock