REVIEW | TROPIKA (SOUTH) | EDMONTON

If you know me well (or have read my blog long enough), you'll know that Malaysian food is one of my absolute favourites. There's not much choice for Malaysian restaurants in Edmonton, since there's really only three: Island Cafe & Bistro, East, and Tropika, which actually has two locations: west and south.

The south location is the original, and has been around since 1996. I've been going to Tropika since I was a kid so it definitely holds a lot of memories. If you're in the same boat, do you remember how they used to have one huge straw chair at every table? Guess who always got that seat? Me! I was a princess and it was obviously my throne.

I'm actually not sure when they changed their exterior sign because I hadn't been to the south location in a while. It's easier to read now in plain font, but I prefer the old one, just sayin'.

The restaurant space is quite large, and it's split into two dining areas, with a private room in the back. The main dining room (to the right) was fully booked up for a private party, so we were sat on the left side where the bar is. Service was pretty typical, could be better but could be worse.

Fair warning, the dishes we ordered are pretty similar to the ones in my first post about their west location, save for one or two items. Descriptions will be brief, so please refer to the other post if you want to read more in depth.

We started with two orders of their roti canai, or malay bread ($4.50). Arriving in a mountainous pile, the roti was soft and chewy, with slightly crispy edges. The accompanying curry sauce is pretty mild, but I find that the heat does slowly creep up on you.

Here's something that wasn't in my previous review, but was featured in my list of recommended dishes: the stir fried radish cake ($6.00). You commonly see radish cake, or lo bak go, at dim sum restaurants, but here at Tropika, it's cut into cubes and then stir-fried with dark soy and XO sauce. The radish cakes are soft and tender with bits of Chinese sausage throughout. It's a bit spicy, but not overwhelmingly so. I'm a self-proclaimed wimp when it comes to spicy foods, and admittedly, my lips do get a little tingly but it's a tolerable heat. They also throw a couple of shrimps on top to complete the dish.

The satays ($2.30 each, minimum of 6 sticks) are a must at Tropika. They're even better if you go on  a day between Monday and Thursday since they're half-priced! Available in chicken, beef, or lamb, we usually stick with the chicken and lamb. The satays are grilled to a nice char, with the meats remaining juicy and tender. On the side is a plate of chunky peanut sauce, bits of pineapple, and cucumber.

Another must-have of mine is the mee goreng ($14.00), a sweet and spicy stir-fried yellow noodle dish with beef, shrimp, tofu, cucumber, bean sprouts, and tomato. Lettuce and hard boiled egg are used to garnish. On this visit, the noodles were slightly wetter than normal, like there wasn't enough wok hei (breath of the wok). Still one of my favourite dishes though.   

My aunt wanted the hainanese chicken ($18.00) which is a traditional poached chicken dish served with a side of ginger sauce and chili sauce. The skin turns a bit gelatinous so it's not a dish for me, but my other family members happily gobbled it up.


I'd say my experiences at the west and south locations were pretty similar. In general however, I do find the food quality slightly better and more consistent in the south. It's the OG, and they know what they're doing.

Tropika (South)

 www.tropikagroup.com

6004 104 St NW

Edmonton, AB

(780) 439-6699

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REVIEW | TURQUAZ KEBAB HOUSE | EDMONTON

In my personal food journey, I'd consider Lebanese cuisine to be relatively unexplored territory.  Besides falafel, hummus, and donairs, I'm pretty clueless as to what they have to offer. To change that, I decided to make a visit to Turquaz Kebab House, a Lebanese/Turkish joint that one of my coworkers highly recommended.

Turquaz is located a tiny bit north of Skyview, right in the middle of a small strip mall at 140th avenue and 127th street.

The restaurant is a decent size, with two rows of booths on the left and some additional seating on the right. The color scheme is on the darker side, but with warm accents such as the chandeliers hanging above and the booth coverings done in red. The atmosphere is pretty casual since it operates fast-food style. Ordering is done at the counter, and then you're free to pick any available table. When your food is ready, they'll call out the number on your receipt. A lot of people eat in, but getting take-out is also a popular option.

What they're most known for is their kebab platters, which come in a variety of different proteins and preparations. Also on the menu is shawarma, whole BBQ chickens, pita wraps, and a few side side dishes. Most of the food is cooked over a charcoal wood BBQ, so the room is filled with delicious smells. If you sit in long enough, your clothes might even pick it up (so don't bother wearing anything fancy).

On our first visit, we went on a Sunday and the place was pretty busy with a steady line. I decided to try the mix shawarma ($15.45) and got it to-go, which took about 10-15 minutes to prepare. The platter came with chicken and beef shawarma, rice, salad, hummus, pita, fries, and toum (garlic sauce).

As you can probably tell, this was a lot of food. One regular platter could probably feed two people (or more!) comfortably, or you'll just have leftovers for days. 

I found the shawarma on its own slightly dry, but it was easily rectified when mixed up with the salad. The salad was a mix of lettuce, red cabbage, tomatoes, and cucumber. The dressing was a bit tangy with an earthy undertone. Beside it, the hummus was smooth and creamy, with a subtle zip of lemon. The fries were pretty generic, but a-ma-zing when dipped with the toum, a super creamy and garlicky sauce. I'm not ashamed to say that I could probably eat jars of that stuff. So good!



My sister got the chicken shawarma pita ($7.95) and paid $3.00 more to make it a combo with pop and fries. Sadly, they forgot our fries when packing up our order (╥_╥). Oh well.

The pita was stuffed full with chicken shawarma, red onions, tomatoes, and bits of lettuce. I think there was a bit of toum spread in there as well. She enjoyed it, and liked how remarkably un-greasy it was.

 * * * * *

I wanted to do a second visit to try the kebabs that they're so famous for. A couple of weeks later, I dropped by on Monday after running a quick errand. Monday was not nearly as busy, and there was only a couple of people behind the counter. The older man (perhaps the owner?) who took my order was super friendly and they also walked my food over to me when it was finished.

To get the most out of my visit, I ordered the trio kebab platter which comes with chicken, kafta, and beef ($18.95) or lamb ($19.95). I chose the lamb. At first, it might seem a little pricey, but keep in mind how many mouths one platter could feed!

All three of the kebabs had a nice char, and there was definitely a smokey flavour that was imparted from the grill. The chicken and lamb were a touch on the dry side, but still tender and pretty delicious. I especially liked the kafta kebab, which was a long ground beef patty mixed with different herbs, spices, and onions. The rest of the platter was the same as before but I must reiterate how good that toum is.

Quick note! Their pitas are supplied by Sunbake Pita Bakery, which is another popular northside eatery.



I feel like Turquaz is an excellent starting point for those uninitiated (and even those well-versed) with Lebanese cuisine. I thought the food was fresh and delicious, and the restaurant casual and unpretentious. I don't know where Turquaz stands amongst other places around town, but after trying their food, I'm so down with discovering more hidden gems like this!

Turquaz Kebab House 

www.turquazkebabhouse.com 

14016 127 St NW

Edmonton, AB

(780) 476-4511

 

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REVIEW | BON TON BAKERY | EDMONTON

Bon Ton Bakery is revered for being one of the oldest and most established bakeries in Edmonton, having been open in the city's west end since 1956. For almost 60 years, customers have flocked to the bakery for the wide variety of artisan breads and European-style pastries on offer.

After our lunch at Ichiban, we walked to the end of the strip mall to Bon Ton to pick up a few goodies. By few, I mean seven. Yes, seven cakes and pastries. My mom and I clearly have eyes bigger than our stomachs. But hey, we needed to make the drive out worth it.

It's surprising that I've actually never been to Bon Ton before, considering my affinity for desserts and sweets. But after being gifted with two small cakes from Bon Ton on my birthday last year (thanks GY!), I knew I had to check them out for myself. It only took me... 6 months.

Stepping in, the bakery is large and spacious, with display cabinets galore. Cash registers separate the bakery into two, with cakes, cookies, and pastries on one side and breads, muffins, and croissants on the other. Around the perimeter of the bakery, one can find an assortment of gourmet pantry staples such as dips, sauces, jams, crackers, and much more. Since their renovations (both outside and inside), Bon Ton has also began selling coffee and a selection of sandwiches curated by local chef Paul Shufelt, of Workshop Eatery and (previously) Century Hospitality Group fame.

With so many tempting choices, it took a good while for my mom and I to pick what we wanted without going (too) overboard. We ended up with a pretty varied selection, as you'll see below.

First off, a salted caramel eclair ($4.95): choux pastry filled with salted caramel cream, topped with a caramel glaze. The Duchess Bakeshop makes a pretty life-changing salted caramel éclair, but unfortunately, it was only a feature flavour during the month of January. Because its return is indefinite, I tried to find consolation with Bon Ton's rendition. The two definitely looked similar, but I found Bon Ton's version a bit more watered down. It certainly would've benefited from an extra touch of salt to contrast the sweet caramel flavour.

The pistachio dacquoise ($5.50) was one of my mom's picks. This featured layers of pistachio sponge cake, pistachio dacquoise, chocolate ganache, and pistachio buttercream. Basically pistachio overload. While I do like the actual nut itself, I'm not particularly fond of pistachio flavouring/extract that they use in cakes and ice cream. If you do, then this cake is for you. 

Another item that we chose was the vanilla mille-feuille ($5.50). I believe they also do one in hazelnut, but it wasn't available on our visit. Mille-feuille, translated to English, means a thousand leaves, referring to the layers of puff pastry sandwiching the custard cream filling. The top is glazed with a marbled caramel fondant, and the sides pressed with broken flecks of puff pastry. Out of all the cakes that we bought, this was probably my favourite. Though it wasn't flaky, the puff pastry surprisingly stayed crisp and firm. The vanilla custard also wasn't too sweet. In fact, it was quite mild which allowed the caramel fondant to shine.

The hazelnut mignon slice ($4.95) was chosen with my chocoholic sister in mind. Layers of hazelnut sponge, hazelnut butter cream, and hazelnut ganache. It tasted like ferrero rocher in cake form: rich and decadent. Personally I couldn't see myself having more than a bite or two.

The raspberry white chocolate cake ($4.50) was another pretty layered confection with vanilla sponge and raspberry buttercream, enrobed in white chocolate ganache. It was a lighter cake, with subtle raspberry flavour. I felt like the cake, similar to the one above, was on the drier side, and the raspberry buttercream a bit too stiff.

The lemon slice ($3.95) fared a bit better in that the chiffon sponge cake was lighter and fluffier. It was also helped along by the sweet lemon buttercream and tart house-made lemon curd.

Continuing with the lemon theme, the last dessert we picked out was the tarte citron meringue ($5.95), which is their classic lemon tart with a toasted meringue topping. Again, the house-made lemon curd was both sweet and tangy, but I found the actual tart shell to be a bit hard. 


I'd have to come back to try out their boulangerie side, but I'd say what differentiates Bon Ton Bakery from other bakeries is their sheer production value. The display cabinets are full and the selection is plenty. I'm convinced that their breads are made fresh everyday, but when it comes to their cakes and pastries, that's where I get a little skeptical. While they were good for the most part, I don't doubt that some of them are sitting around for more than a day or two, which accounts for them being slightly dry. It's hardly a criticism, but with Duchess Bakeshop 10ish minutes away, I'm sure they could do better.

Bon Ton Bakery

bonton.ca 

8720 149 St NW

Edmonton, AB

(780) 489-7717

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REVIEW | ICHIBAN JAPANESE CUISINE | EDMONTON

It seems like I eat Japanese food almost every week, but I'm not complaining. It's one of those things that I don't think I could ever be tired of. My mom ended up with the same day off as me so I decided to treat her with a mother-daughter lunch date. Her request? Japanese of course, which brings us to Ichiban in the west end.

Ichiban has definitely been around for a while now, staking claim in a pretty large strip mall on 149th street. Sometime during the summer of last year, the strip mall underwent extensive renovations and the exterior certainly looks a lot more clean and slick. I don't think there was anything done inside the restaurant, as it looked the same as it did during my first visit a couple years back.

Though it had been a while, I remember the food being okay, not great, but I thought it was about time to do a revisit. (The real reason for choosing Ichiban? Bon Ton Bakery just a few doors down...)

It was a surprisingly busy room when we walked in on the Tuesday, just 20 minutes into opening. Definitely a big lunch crowd following, with a couple of people coming in to pick up take-out orders as well. We managed to snag the last booth out of the row on the left.

Service was quick, and we were offered a complimentary bowl of miso soup to start. I thought we ordered quite a lot of food between the two of us, so we passed on it.

Off of their appetizers section, my mom ordered oyster motoyaki, or baked oyster as it's referred to on the menu ($4.50). In typical motoyaki fashion, the oyster is covered in misonnaise sauce (basically a combination of miso paste and Japanese mayo) and then given a quick broil in the oven to brown the top. Some restaurants keep the oyster in the shell, but given that this preparation somewhat masks the freshness of the seafood anyway, I forgive them for putting what I assume is an already shucked oyster from a jar onto the plate.

I'm not as big of a fan of oysters, so I went for the scallop version in the yaki hotate ($3.95). The scallop was pretty large, and baked with a generous amount of the misonnaise. The sauce was smooth and creamy, but it was almost too much of a good thing, as it was very rich and heavy. I prefer my mom's homemade version much more, in which she'll use oysters (or mussels for me!) and bake them with a light coating of Japanese mayo, sriracha, and a tiny sprinkling of shredded cheese. Sounds weird, I know, but moms are wizards in the kitchen.

We also shared one of their lunch bento boxes (served from 11:30-2:30), and decided on bento box B ($13.50) which had sushi or sashimi, tempura, agedashi tofu, rice, and green salad. We chose the sashimi, and were given three pieces of salmon and two pieces of tuna. I thought the sashimi was cut really strange, but they were okay in terms of freshness. The tempura was also nothing to write home about. The batter was a bit thick, but I did like how they included a piece of squid into the mix.

Moving onto sushi, I was surprised at the sheer variety of rolls that Ichiban has on their menu. They're also quite cheap (for Edmonton standards), capping at $9.95 for their more elaborate rolls. Granted, the rolls only come 4 to 6 pieces an order, and they're not exactly huge. Still, you won't feel too out of pocket for ordering a lot of them.

We chose two to try, starting with the lava lava maki on the left ($9.95). Advertised as Ichiban's best-selling roll, it has softshell crab, tobiko, and mayo in the middle, and then unagi, avocado, sesame seeds, and teriyaki sauce on top. It was a bit difficult to distinguish that the middle was softshell crab and nothing more than just a crunchy texture, but I did like the flavours of this roll. I'd probably order it again.

On the right is the fuji maki ($9.95), with spicy tuna inside and chop chop on top. The tuna had a very mild heat to it, and even that was tempered by the creamy scallops. Nothing too exciting going on with this roll.


Overall, Ichiban lies somewhere on the spectrum between average and good. The food certainly isn't winning awards for freshness or quality, but it's affordable fare that's halfway decent. If you're in the area (and don't have enough gas to drive a bit further to Kobe), it'll do to satisfy the sushi craving. 

Ichiban 

8750 149 St NW

Edmonton, AB

(780) 481-5252

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REVIEW | TAKE 5 | EDMONTON

Take 5 is what you would consider a real diamond in the rough. Located in the Beverly neighbourhood on notorious 118 Avenue, it's a humble coffee shop that has become, for many years, a local gathering place for its community.

Everything about it is quintessential old school. The decor is dated and the patrons are as diverse as they are interesting. Based on first impressions, you wouldn't expect them to be serving up some of the best donuts in town. Yet, they do.

Besides fresh homemade donuts, the menu is relatively simple fare: sandwiches, soups, and other baked goods. I haven't tried or seen their other stuff, but I also don't really need to. Not when donuts are in the equation.

The donuts here aren't fancy or Instagrammable a la Moonshine Doughnuts or Frickin' Delights (I've had both and I wouldn't say I'm the biggest fan of vegan donuts). However, the selection is pretty decent. Most of Take 5's donuts are made from yeast-raised dough, and they also offer up a couple of cake ones as well.

Individual rings are just over a dollar, while half of dozen is yours for only $5.75 (including tax). 

Honey glazed

The donuts here are very light and super fluffy. Texture is definitely on point. The glaze is nice in that it's really not too sweet, it's just right.

Blueberry fritter

Similar to the glazed donut, just with a few blueberries thrown in. Also available in apple.

Raised maple

Strong maple flavour, but I did find the glaze to be a bit cloying and overly sweet.

Hawaiian

This screamed childhood to me. Not sure why it's called Hawaiian (bright colors maybe?) as it's pretty much a vanilla dip with rainbow sprinkles. Also a bit too sweet for my taste, but my 5-year-old self loved it.

Dulce de leche

Had to get a chocolate donut for my sister, so I decided on the most interesting. Basically a chocolate glazed donut, filled with dulce de leche-flavoured whipped cream in the centre. Very subtle on the caramel flavour, but the cream was light and airy.

Honey cruller

The crullers are cake donuts with a denser crumb. I think I prefer the yeast-raised donuts over this as it was a tad heavy, but everyone has their own preference. Also available in walnut.

Before you assume that I demolished all 6 donuts by myself... food blogging is serious business.

I drive by Take 5 on my morning commute, so I'm happy to see an honest business doing well by serving up honest fare. I wouldn't be at all nervous going in; the place has its quirks, but it's part of the charm. Just go take five at Take 5, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Take 5 

11801 48 St NW

Edmonton, AB

(780) 471-6037

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REVIEW | YUZEN JAPANESE RESTAURANT | ST. ALBERT

Ever since ramen has become one of the more trendier food items in Edmonton, Yuzen has become famously known for their Saturday ramen lunch special. It's been touted as one of the better ramen spots in town and apparently people flock in droves, with constant line-ups out the door. Unfortunately for me, working on Saturdays means I can't partake and find out what all the hype is about. FOMO much?

Despite that, I still made my way out to Yuzen after work on Saturday since I was curious to see how their sushi and dinner offerings would stack up. (Code speak for: my parents were out of town and I was too lazy to cook and make a mess of the kitchen.)

Located in an older and somewhat unassuming strip mall, Yuzen is one of the three Japanese restaurants that call St. Albert home. It's surprisingly small, so I can see why there would be line-ups out the door. Because the restaurant is family-run, it has a bit of a homely vibe. The tables and chairs are a little old-fashioned, but they're comfy and familiar. 

When we went, it was Easter weekend and there were only a few other tables occupied. Even the waitress had mentioned that it had been a slower day.

We started off with a bowl of miso soup and sunomono salad which both came as part of the bento box that we had ordered. The miso soup was pretty standard and had a good amount of tofu and seaweed floating around. The sunomono salad was a refreshing bite of noodles, seaweed, cucumber and ebi marinated in a light and tangy vinaigrette. I normally wouldn't order sunomono salad, but it was very crisp and clean tasting. Definitely a nice way to start off the meal.

I love takoyaki ($7.50 for 8 pieces), but I often find Japanese restaurants take the shortcut route and just dunk frozen ones into a fryer. These were no different, but I did like how they had big chunks of octopus inside. They were also dressed with all of the usual fixings: takoyaki sauce, Japanese mayo, seaweed, and bonito flakes.

Compared to other places, Yuzen actually has a pretty modest selection of rolls. We decided to get the crispy Cajun roll ($10.00) since my sister loves dragon eye sushi, and this combination of ingredients seemed like its equivalent. The roll comes with your choice of shrimp or salmon filling (we chose the latter). The whole thing is battered and deep fried, and then served with spicy mayo and a sprinkling of Cajun seasoning. I found it a bit stodgy since the roll was quite tightly packed together. I also would've preferred the roll without the Cajun spice since it was overwhelming and tasted kind of out of place. My sister did enjoy it, although she's the type of person who would bathe in spicy mayo if she could.

To round out our meal, we shared the Ume bento ($21.00) with teriyaki chicken, rice, assorted tempura, sashimi, salad, and fruit. The chicken was juicy and tender, and there was an ample amount of sauce to go with the rice. The sashimi (salmon, tuna, and tai) were all fresh and pretty generously cut. The tempura was also good, with the batter being light and crisp.


With Yuzen now crossed off my ever-growing list of restaurants to try, I've finally completed the Japanese restaurant triad in St. Albert! If you want to read more about their competition, click here for a review on Ohana-Ya, and here and here for reviews on Sushi Park. Overall, I still think Sushi Park has the upper hand in St. Albert, but Yuzen comes in at a respectable second. The restaurant isn't anything fancy and the food isn't exactly mind-blowing, but it's just good and comforting. I know I haven't tried their ramen yet, so the rankings could very well change. As the saying goes, first the worst, second the best.

Yuzen Japanese Restaurant

 1 Hebert Rd #127

St. Albert, AB

(780) 569-5270

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