REVIEW | FORMOSA BISTRO | EDMONTON

 

** This restaurant is now closed. **

 

Back when Portuguese explorers stumbled upon what we know as Taiwan today, they called it "Ilha Formosa," or beautiful island.

That is the inspiration behind the name of Formosa Bistro, the charming family-owned Taiwanese restaurant that opened on 34th Avenue early last year.  

Before Formosa and global chain Chef Hung opened their doors, I actually don't recall any restaurants in Edmonton that served Taiwanese food. (And no, bubble tea shops don't really count.)

Taiwan itself is a melting pot and its diverse cuisine also reflects that. It blends various Chinese styles, along with influences from Japan and America.

At Formosa Bistro, you'll find a clean, almost modern room. Alternating lime green and white banquettes brighten up the sleek and shiny black walls. Posters of their most popular dishes, as well as photos of Taiwan, are hung up with pride.

The menu is pretty large, with a wide array of appetizers, noodles, and rice dishes to choose from. Service is friendly; our main server was eager to lend explanations for things that may have seemed unfamiliar. Between the three of us, we were able to knock out a good variety of dishes.

Arguably the most popular street food in Taiwan is Taiwanese popcorn chicken (small $8.99). These little nuggets are coated with sweet potato starch and seasoned with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and Chinese five-spice. They're crispy, tender, and seriously addictive. Don't make the same mistake that we did; get the large!

For another appy, we ordered one of their newer menu items, the beef rolls ($9.99). It's a crispy, somewhat flaky pancake wrap filled with tender pieces of beef, cucumber, and scallions. Hoisin sauce is brushed inside, giving the rolls that characteristic sweet, salty taste, similar to a Peking duck wrap. It wasn't the most memorable dish we tried but I would order it again.

We were most excited to try the gua bao ($6.99), a Taiwanese 'burger' if you will. A traditional gua bao consists of a steamed bun, braised pork belly, pickled mustard greens, fresh cilantro, and ground peanuts. At Formosa, you also have the option to swap out the pork belly with a braised pork chop or chicken karaage.

The bao was soft and fluffy, but sturdy enough to hold everything together. The braised pork belly was much the same way; soft, tender and fatty but still meaty. KT and LT took out most of their pickled mustard greens but I liked them and stuffed their pickings back into my half. I could see how it might be too pungent for some people, but I thought the sour pickle and the cilantro helped to cut the fat and freshened things up. I also really enjoyed the addition of ground peanuts, which added a sweet, nutty note. With everything combined, it was a nice balance of sweet, herbaceous, sour, and savoury.

Since the parentals were gone to the motherland for three whole weeks, there was a collective craving for some rice in our diet. We ordered a small braised pork rice ($6.99), or lu rou fan, to help combat those cravings. The diced pork belly is braised in a mixture of soy sauce, herbs, and spices. The tender, saucy meat is scooped onto white rice, along with some cucumber and a marinated egg. We were also given a bowl of clear soup on the side.

This, folks, is comfort food.

Our last dish was a small bowl of Taiwanese beef noodles in stewed broth ($12.99). The soup is boiled for six hours with no added MSG. We got the medium spice level and the broth had a good, tolerable heat. As a result of the braising, the beef was soft and tender. The noodles are also locally made and have a nice springy chew to them. A few pieces of bok choy, carrot, and daikon also round out the bowl.



In an area dominated by Korean and Indian eateries, Formosa Bistro is not unlike its mother country. Geographically isolated, but a gem just waiting to be discovered.

Formosa Bistro

www.formosabistro.com

9314 34 Ave NW

Edmonton, AB 

  (780) 503-0110  

- CT

REVIEW | GANGNAM STREET FOOD | EDMONTON

Back when Gangnam Street Food opened in January, I was really intrigued by their concept. No doubt you're spoiled with choice when it comes to Korean restaurants in south side Edmonton, but none are doing it quite like Gangnam.   

Gangnam has carved out their own niche and identity, as a fast-casual restaurant focusing on the various street foods you'll find in Korea. That means meat on a stick, deep-fried things, and plenty of cheese-pull opportunities.

They're located in K-Mall on 34th Avenue, which is aptly named because it's also home to the likes of Ginseng, Miga, Pocha, Let Eat Snow, and Korean grocery store A-Mart. There's also a second location in the works for West Edmonton Mall; they'll be joining Splash Poke and Calle Mexico as locally-owned restaurants infiltrating the food court market.   
 

Gangnam is a fun place. There's pops of yellow and neon-green, with random license plates on the walls and a cartoon street mural. There's a decent amount of seats, with counter/bar seating and tables of two that can be pushed together for larger groups. 

When you walk in, it's pretty much a self-service deal. You order, pay, and pick-up your food at the counter. There's a cooler filled with drinks (Korean cult favourites like Milkis, banana milk, and Yakult) and a selection of instant ramen, candy, and snacks for sale. The menu is plastered on TVs above, but they also have large laminated copies so you won't have to strain your eyes too much.

Speaking of the menu, it has over 20 items (27 to be exact but they're also making updates to the menu) with prices starting at $5.50 and capping at $8.50. It's affordable, but prices can definitely add up (especially if your eyes are bigger than your stomach, like mine)! It's best to go with a group so you can order a bunch of stuff to share.

Kimbap is a popular portable snack; you can find them everywhere in Korea from street carts and markets to dedicated kimbap restaurants, even convenience stores. It's sometimes referred to as Korean "sushi," but the only similarities between them really are the kim (seaweed) and the bap (rice). Instead of raw fish, a classic kimbap is usually filled with (but not limited to) egg, ham, pickled radish, carrot, cucumber, burdock root, and fish cake. At Gangnam, they have several different varieties including original, bulgogi, spicy pork, veggie, and tuna mayo ($8.50) which is what we ordered.

Each kimbap comes with 10 pieces, which makes it perfect for sharing, or filling enough for one person on its own. When we were kids, I remember my mom made her own version of "sushi" at home, with unconventional fillings like egg, spam, tuna mayo, and pork floss. So tuna mayo in kimbap was quite nostalgic. It was one of my favourite items that we ordered. Maybe not the easiest thing to stuff in one bite, but it was fresh with great crunch from the veggies.     

Another popular item at Gangnam are the Korean-style hot dogs, basically the Korean adaptation of a corn dog. The only reason we ever went to Klondike Days as kids was for the corn dogs (and okay, maybe the mini doughnuts) so it's almost dangerous that I don't have to wait once a year to get my corn dog fix. (Too dangerous!)

The hot dogs are battered and then breaded with panko before being deep fried. They even have an option to add cheese around the sausages (mozzarella or cheddar) so that each bite has a molten cheese pull. We got the potato hotdog ($6.50) which has pieces of hashbrowns embedded into the dough. You can also sauce it up however you'd like with their variety of dips (ketchup, honey mustard, spicy mayo, etc).

It wasn't LT's first visit to Gangnam so she recommended getting the dak gang jung ($6.50), boneless pieces of Korean fried chicken. We got the special spicy sauce, but there's also a honey mustard option. These were almost like popcorn chicken, but bigger, meatier, and piping hot. The sauce definitely has a good kick to it, and surprisingly, the chicken stays crispy under its weight.

We didn't want to order everything deep-fried so we thought the bulgogi cup bab ($7.50) would be a nice change of pace (balance out carbs with more carbs and meat, you know?). The cup-bab is basically a mini rice bowl, with thinly-sliced beef bulgogi, stir-fried kimchi, and two mini pork sausages. They also have a spicy pork and a chicken teriyaki version.

We thought the cup-bab was just okay. If anything, it's a bit boring compared to the other items on the menu. If you were craving rice or wanting something more filling, I would prefer ordering the kimbap to this.

Finally, you could not talk about street food in Korea without mentioning dduck bo kki ($6.50). It's *the* quintessential Korean street food. Rice cakes and fish cake simmered in a spicy gochujang sauce. I thought I would enjoy this more than I did, but it wasn't my favourite. The rice cakes were nice and chewy, but because they were the thick kind, I was pretty done after two pieces. They were almost like mini starch bombs.



After consuming the amount of carbs and deep-fried stuff that we did, it's easy to walk away from Gangnam feeling a little (okay, a lot) bloated. But it is a snack bar after all. Everything in moderation, kids.

Gangnam Street Food

gangnamstreetfood.com

9261 34 Ave NW #15

Edmonton, AB

(780) 244-0148 

- CT