REVIEW | CARAMIA CARAMELS | EDMONTON

For many Edmontonians, Saturdays mean a trip to the farmer's market. For me, it's another day on the job. Fortunately, I have a sister who loves me and buys me treats that I normally can't get myself.

One such treat --  Caramia Caramels, a new summer vendor at the downtown City Market on 104th. Caramia Caramels is run by a sister duo, and features 100% handcrafted, artisinal caramels. 

There are a total of five flavours in rotation, including original, root beer lemon float, sriracha roasted almond, earl grey, and smoked maple bacon. You can buy bags of each individual flavour, or even sample all five in a mixed bag.

The sriracha roasted almond sounds pretty amazing! So if anyone wants to pick me up another bag, that'd be lovely and I'd love you long time.

LT picked up a bag of the original: pure, unadulterated goodness. Each bag comes with 8 wrapped caramels. Creamy, melt in your mouth, with a deep buttery caramel flavour. You don't have to worry about pulling out a filling or getting these stuck in your teeth. They put Werther's Originals to shame.

Get one. Try one. Have your life changed forever.

REVIEW | KYOTO JAPANESE CUISINE | EDMONTON

There's plenty of dining options in and around U of A, but Kyoto has consistently been one of my go-to's for lunch and dinner while on campus. I've eaten here probably a dozen times, and now that I think about it, Kyoto was my first meal as a university student, and on the day of my convocation, my last. I guess we've come full circle.

The university location is only one of two. Funny enough, the other restaurant is also located on 109 street, although north of the river in the Canterra Shopping Centre downtown.

Inside the restaurant, there's plenty of seating with booths, tables, and tatami rooms. During the semester, Kyoto can get moderately busy but I've never had an issue with getting a table right away. We visited on Canada Day for lunch and it was actually pretty quiet inside. 

First up, we were both given a bowl of miso soup and bean sprout salad as part of the bento box that we had ordered. The miso soup was warming, while the beansprouts were peppery, gingery, and refreshing.

For an appetizer, we ordered the cuttlefish tentacles ($4.50). Lightly fried with a thin batter, the tentacles were tender with a slight chew. The mango dipping sauce was a bit unexpected, but I thought the sweetness paired well.

The tsunami roll ($13.50) is a pretty safe and solid maki to get. Tempura shrimp, cucumber, and mayonnaise, layered with salmon, unagi, tobiko, and tempura crumbs. I do like how the tempura crumbs give additional texture to an otherwise soft roll.

We ended off with a bento box to share. All bento boxes are served with a bowl of rice and the aforementioned miso soup and beansprout salad. We chose bento box C ($14.80), which comes with battered teriyaki chicken and your choice of sushi or sashimi (salmon, tuna, red snapper, and surf clam). The box also includes green salad and a random side dish. Nine times out of ten, the accompaniment is agedashi tofu, but this time around, we received two pieces of gyoza. Pretty solid all around. No complaints here.


Kyoto isn't necessarily my favourite Japanese restaurant in the city, but the prices, consistency, and location is what brings me back again and again.

Kyoto Japanese Cuisine

 kyotojapanesecuisine.ca

8709 109 St NW

Edmonton, AB

(780) 414-6055 

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REVIEW | REINETTE CAFE & PATISSERIE | EDMONTON

Millwoods. Residential area. Strip mall. The last thing you'd expect to find is a cozy little cafe serving up beautiful French pastries. With their grand opening held on June 18, Reinette Café & Patisserie defied those expectations and proved to be a welcome addition to the neighbourhood.

According to their website, the word Reinette actually translates to little queen in French. Between Duchess Bakeshop and Dauphine Bakery, it seems like Edmonton has its own version of the royal family. Since desserts are my calling, we stopped by on Canada Day to check them out.

The shop is small and quaint, but bright and welcoming. The display case features tarts, small individual cakes, scones, macarons, madeleines, etc. Sandwiches are also available, along with a standard coffee and drinks menu.

There's not a whole lot of tables and chairs in the shop, but desserts can easily be packaged up and taken to-go.

Macarons are available in a variety of assorted flavours, including salted caramel, lavender, and chocolate. In honour of Canada Day, maple macarons ($1.75) and macaron pops ($2.00) were on feature. The macaron pops were too adorable to pass up, so we chose one of the bear designs. The macaron shells were perfectly crisp and chewy, while the filling was creamy and distinctly maple. If the others are this good, I'm excited to try their other flavours!  

I'm a big fan of lemon desserts so the lemon meringue tart ($5.98) was an obvious choice. The lemon curd was refreshingly tart and a great compliment to the creamy torched meringue. If you like things tart and tangy, you'll love this. This ended up being my favourite dessert that we tried!

Up next, we have the Paris brest ($5.98), with soft choux pastry sandwiched with an almond cream and almond flakes on top. I found this one a tiny bit dry since there was an additional layer of choux pastry in between the top and bottom rings. So despite its appearance, there wasn't as much cream in between to go around.

Lastly, the rose green tea macaron ($5.98)! A rose macaron base and top, with fresh berries and a green tea-infused cream. Presentation was indeed beautiful. A feast for the eyes really. I found the rose a bit too perfume-y for my taste, but the green tea flavour really came through. The berries also added a touch of freshness and brightness to the dessert.


If you're in the area and have a sweet tooth, definitely stop by Reinette for some coffee and treats. It's a real hidden gem, and we definitely need more of them.

Reinette Cafe & Patisserie

chezreinette.wixsite.com/home 

301 Woodvale Rd W

Edmonton AB

(780) 577-0971

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