SNAPSHOTS | CALGARY AUG 2021 | DAY 2

Our original plan for our second day in Calgary was grabbing brunch at Queens Breakfast & Cocktails. For whatever reason, we weren't feeling another egg-centric breakfast so we pivoted to dim sum. A quick Google search later, we found ourselves at Aroma Dim Sum, a relatively new Chinese restaurant located in Country Hills.

The restaurant opens at 11 on weekdays and 10 on weekends. Surprisingly we weren't the only car camped out waiting for the doors to open. 

I find most new dim sum restaurants forego the traditional push carts for a checksheet menu. I do prefer it this way since it minimizes food waste and ensures you get fresh, hot food.  

We ordered the classics, including shrimp dumplings ($6.95).

 

 Minced pork dumplings ($6.25).

Deep fried shrimp dumplings ($6.75) and deep fried donut wrapped in rice roll ($7.25).

 

Braised chicken feet in black bean sauce ($5.95) and steamed BBQ pork bun ($5.75).

Prices were higher on average but the food was generally pretty good. I really liked the light, crispy wrapper on the fried shrimp dumplings but was disappointed with the fried donut which was unfortunately soggy. I don't think I was blown away by anything, but it's a respectable choice for dim sum in Calgary.

Our next stop was True World Foods, a small Japanese market located in an unassuming industrial area. It's a pretty small space, but the store is packed to the brim with all sorts of imported Japanese snacks and food.

Our main mission was to pick up some Japanese A5 wagyu for my brother.

We chose the ribeye over the striploin because there was a bit more marbling with the ribeye. At $155/lb, it certainly doesn't come cheap!

The ribeye is sliced pretty thin so you have to be careful to not overcook it. We sliced a piece of the fat off to grease the pan first and then seared the beef for less than a minute on each side. Finished off with some flaky salt and it was done. I can't imagine finishing the entire steak by yourself because the meat was super rich and fatty. I wouldn't say it was melt-in-your-mouth but it was certainly easy to chew. Fun to try, but too pricey for a repeat experience.

 

Last stop before hitting the road always has to be Bun Bo Hue Deli. For ~$25-30, they fill your pot with bun bo hue soup enough for 4-5 people. The soup comes with the usual fixings: meat, noodles, bean sprouts, and garnishes. To transport it back to Edmonton, I would recommend bringing a cooler as well as some rope cords to secure your lid in place!

Easy peasy dinner after your drive home!

 

Until next time Calgary!

- CT

SNAPSHOTS | CALGARY AUG 2021 | DAY 1

 

It's sad how much I miss airports and making travel plans (I can plan a mean itinerary). But alas, traveling was not in the cards yet again this summer, so we made do with another road trip to Calgary. This time around, my sister and I were joined by our cousin, JD. The more the merrier!

First order of business in Calgary is always brunch! We decided to try Sammie Cafe, a small, casual sandwich joint located in Marda Loop. Sammie is sister to Brekkie, a popular breakfast restaurant in West Springs.

 

The restaurant is on the smaller side, but during the warmer months, they do have a patio with lots of picnic tables outside. The vibe is fun and casual, and the service was super friendly to match.

I was eyeing a few items on their "all-day" menu (namely their katsu sandwich and japa fries), but when we arrived around ~10:30, we were only given a brunch-specific menu. Oh well. 

 

I decided to go for the chili crab bennie ($17.00) with dungeness crab, chili sauce, lettuce, tomato, avocado, soft poached eggs, and hollandaise. There was a generous amount of crab and a good creaminess to the hollandaise, but I thought the dish was really missing some texture. Between the soft crab, avocado, and soft bun, it all felt rather one note. A toasted English muffin would have done wonders.

 

JD went for the green eggs and ham ($16.00), a cute name for a croque madame, topped with a pesto fried egg and warm maple syrup. He thought it was good but not anything mind-blowing.

LT got the braised brisket eggie ($11.00), a breakfast sandwich with sesame soy marinated brisket, crispy fried egg, lettuce, tomato, chili crisp, garlic mayo, and cilantro mayo. Beef was tender and there was a good combination of flavours. Again, good, but nothing mindblowing.

We were just around the corner from Village Ice Cream at Garrison Corner so it was a no-brainer to stop by. Between Village Ice Cream and Made by Marcus, Calgary has it good!

 

I guess we were on the cusp of July and August so there was almost twice as many seasonal flavours available. I went for a kid's scoop ($3.00) of strawberry milk tea with a handmade waffle cone ($1.00). I love how kid's scoops don't have an age limit because it's still a good amount of ice cream packed in there. The strawberry milk tea was actually one of their vegan flavours, a soy coconut milk base steeped with black tea and churned with fresh strawberries. The soy flavour was actually more prominent than the coconut which was surprising to me. The black tea wasn't too bitter, but it helped temper the sweetness of the strawberries. Best bite will always be their still-warm waffle cones.   

Next on our agenda was to grab some giant cookies from Chunk'd. Located in Kensington, Chunk'd is a new bakery that initially began as a cookie delivery service. They're known for their over-the-top cookies, stuffed with tons of filling and chocolate.

Chunk'd seems to have a core menu of flavours, but there are a couple that change out every week. The cookies are $5.50 each which seems pricey until you hold one. They're pretty hefty!

We decided to get three cookies in total. LT got "the chosen one," a classic loaded chocolate chip cookie. I also picked one of these up for AL, who I was meeting up for dinner later that night. We didn't try this one until the next day, so the dough felt a bit more stiffer. Best advice is to probably warm it up in the microwave for ultimate gooeyness. 

I definitely enjoyed my pick the most! "The Creamy" included tons of Oreo pieces and Hershey's cookies & cream bar. Not to mention, a cheesecake core. I repeat, a cheesecake core. The cookie was soft and chewy, but crispy on the outside. So sweet and so decadent. 

Afterwards, we made our way downtown to check out High Park. It's essentially the top floor of a parkade that they've converted into a cool rooftop "park." There's some picnic tables and some cool art installations, but I think the main draw is the downtown views.   

Since we already paid for parking at High Park, we decided to walk the 15 minutes over to Central Library. Going to a library doesn't exactly scream fun times but the architecture, both inside and out, is pretty amazing. I would highly recommend visiting at least once to see it in person.

It was such a hot day that after walking back to get our car, we desperately needed refreshments to cool us off. The only parking we could find at our destination was for H-Mart customers, so we actually walked around the store to offset the guilt.

 

Our original destination was actually Thé Moon Tea House, a super aesthetic cafe that serves bubble tea, coffee, and soft serve. It's a light and airy shop with plenty of moon motifs around.

We had the following drinks:

• Golden Moon ($6.50): passionfruit juice and mango cold pressed juice with jasmine green/kung fu black tea, coconut jelly and moon pearls
• Blush cloud ($7.00): strawberry slush with cloud foam topping, coconut jelly, and moon pearls
• Hawaiian light ($6.50): kumquat juice and pineapple cold pressed juice with jasmine green/kung fu black tea, seasonal fruit, aloe, and moon pearls

 

The drinks were refreshing but unfortunately we found the pearls a bit hard. We probably got a bad batch or the pearls weren't cooked enough at the time we visited. 

 

We didn't have too much planned, so we decided to rest up at the hotel for a little bit before checking out Market Mall. We've always gone to Chinook, or the CORE, so it was a nice change of pace. While at the mall, we came across The Dapper Doughnut, a stall serving up mini doughnuts in an array of flavours. We went the simple route and just got a dozen cinnamon sugar ($6.99). Classic. Who needs to go to the Stampede really?

 

I had dinner plans that night, so LT and JD decided to get takeout from Takumi Sushi to enjoy at the hotel. We had Takumi Sushi during our last trip to Calgary and really enjoyed it. They got the same party tray C ($68.95 + 10% off for takeout) as last time, which includes four pieces each of salmon and tuna sashimi, two pieces each of salmon, tuna, toro, and amaebi (sweet shrimp) nigiri, and three sushi rolls of your choice. 

• Salmon battera (6 pieces): avocado inside with torched salmon, spicy mayo, unagi sauce, and jalapeno 
• Unagi battera (6 pieces), unagi inside and outside with unagi sauce and nori
  
• Signature special roll (8 pieces): deep fried scallop, avocado, and cucumber inside with torched chopped scallop, spicy mayo, spicy sauce, and jalapeno
  

 

Everything was pretty much the same as last time except LT wanted to try the unagi pressed sushi. It's a pretty good value and the sushi is pretty fresh. Would recommend.

 

For my dinner, AL picked me up from the hotel and drove us over to Famoso over in Country Hills. It's been ages since I've had Famoso but I do enjoy their pizza. My favourite is definitely the cavoletti which comes with fior di latte, oven-roasted Brussels sprouts, prosciutto crisps, dates, walnuts, and honey. I just ask them to omit the Gorgonzola because I'm not really a blue cheese fan. I got the 7" pizzetta size which comes with a side of soup or salad. I went for the napoli salad which comes with mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, red onions, carrots, chickpeas, and house balsamic vinaigrette. Simple but satisfying.   

We were pretty full at this point but AL wanted to take me to her neighbourhood ice cream shop. Leavitt's Ice Cream Shop, or LICS for short, is an old school ice cream store. They've been open since 1982 and serve up a wide variety of ice cream flavours. Walking in, the store has nostalgic, family-run vibes. I went for a baby scoop of key lime pie which was tart and sweet. Perfect way to end the night walking by the Bow River.

 

Stay tuned for Part 2!

- CT

REVIEW | TASTE OF PERSIA | EDMONTON

Hotel restaurants don't usually illicit much excitement from me, but I was genuinely excited to give Taste of Persia a try. Taste of Persia is located adjacent to the Comfort Inn West, and just opened two months ago in the space that used to house an Albert's and most recently, Zesty Family Restaurant.

Even though I drive past the area weekly, I probably wouldn't have noticed the restaurant change if not for the recommendation from my coworker, SR. Although the restaurant still serves western breakfast and lunch classics (most likely to attract hotel guests), it's the Persian side of the menu that certainly piqued my interest.   

 

After work one day, I came to the restaurant for dinner with LT. I wasn't expecting much from the exterior, but the restaurant was surprisingly spacious and clean. Only a few tables were occupied, but it did get slightly busier before we left.

Middle Eastern cuisine is quickly becoming one of my favourite things to eat, but I can't say I've tried Persian (or Iranian) cuisine specifically. Persian food is very much a communal experience, with dishes meant to be shared family style. You can tell, because the portions here are huge. We ordered one appetizer and two entrees, but it fed the both of us for three meals. Best part is that everything is extremely affordable considering how much food you get. My advice is to come with a bigger group, so that you can try a bit of everything.

We started off with kashko bademjoon ($8.00), a Persian dip made from eggplants and whey. The eggplants are fire-roasted before being mashed together with a blend of spices. It's finished off with a dollop of yogurt whey, dried mint, caramelized onions, and fried garlic. The dip is soft and creamy, and has a mild smokey flavour. It's wonderfully aromatic from the onions and garlic, but I found the spices used to be on the more subtle side. My only wish was for the pita to be served warm, but the dip was so good that we pretty much ate it by the spoonful, mixed with the rice and meat from our entrees.

 

 

Our first entree was fesenjoon ($14.00), a traditional Persian stew made with chicken, ground walnuts, and pomegranate. The dish isn't much to look at, but the sauce is thick and rich, and it coats the tender pieces of chicken so well. It was my first time trying fesenjoon, so the sweetness of the sauce initially caught me off guard, but it grew on me the more I ate it. It has a fruity kind of sweetness, and finishes off with a slight tang. The sauce pairs perfectly with the mountain of rice they give you. Perfectly fluffy basmati rice with a hint of saffron. 

 

 

Kebabs are probably the most popular food in Iran and it would be a mistake not to try them. Taste of Persia serves two kinds of kebabs, kebab koobideh (beef) and joojeh kebab (chicken). We couldn't decide on which one to get, but our server mentioned that we could order kebab vaziri ($16.00) which isn't explicitly written on the menu, but includes one each of koobideh and joojeh. The kebabs could easily serve two people, as it comes with a mountain of saffron rice, fire-roasted tomato, pickled red onion, and a lemon wedge. Our server also brought over a shaker of sumac, which can be sprinkled over the beef.

The kebab koobideh is made from a mixture of ground beef, onions, and spices. The joojeh kebab is chicken breast, marinated in lemon, yogurt, and saffron. I personally would've liked a bit more char, but both meats were tender, juicy and nicely spiced. The kebab koobideh was probably my favourite, as the sweet sharpness of onion definitely came through. The joojeh kebab was a touch acidic, but I do wholeheartedly recommend trying both to see which you prefer.

 

 

From where we were sitting, LT had prime view of the desserts on the counter. Although we were stuffed, she was intrigued by one sweet which resembled jalebi, our favourite guilty pleasure Indian dessert. We turned to Google to decipher the dessert menu and found what we were looking for: zoolbia bamieh ($3.00). Zoolbia bamieh are two different Iranian sweets, zoolbia and bamieh, but both are commonly served together. Zoolbia is a sweet, crunchy fritter, which bears a striking resemblance to jalebi, whereas bamieh is a choux-based doughnut, not unlike a churro. Both of these sweets are soaked in simple syrup and rosewater. The desserts are super sweet with a strong floral flavour. They are probably meant to be eaten alongside tea to wash down all the sugar, but LT was satisfied nonetheless.

 

 

Taste of Persia is a gem of a restaurant and I do hope that they can succeed. We certainly need more restaurants like them.

 

Taste of Persia

toprestaurant.ca

17620 100 Ave NW

Edmonton, AB

(780) 443-2525 

- CT

REVIEW | OH! CHICKEN | EDMONTON

 

Even though Alberta is "open for summer," it's almost been a full year since I've dined inside a restaurant. Shocking, I know. At the same time, it's sort of been nice getting takeout and enjoying it in the comfort of my own home (sweatpants and all). While takeout isn't always representative of the full restaurant experience, food trucks never really had that problem. Takeout is their bread and butter after all. Which brings me to one of the best bites of food I've had in a while, coming from a bright yellow food truck in the parking lot of a community hall. 

Oh! Chicken is a relative newcomer to the food truck scene, having opened in March of this year. They specialize in Korean fried chicken, which to me, is the only "KFC" that matters. Their original location was outside of a car wash in the southside but they've recently moved and set their sights north. (Finally! Someone has heard my prayers!) 

The yellow food truck now sits in the parking lot of the Ukrainian Youth Unity Complex at the corner of 97 St and 153 Ave. 80 Flavours Ice Cream also has a food truck here, and I've seen a couple others park here from time to time.

The fried chicken is made fresh to order so I would recommend calling to place your order ahead of time. We were quoted 20-25 minutes. We pulled into the parking lot and waited in the car.

 

 

Exactly 25 minutes later, we received a call that our order was ready. The chicken is packed up in their signature yellow with a quick scribble to distinguish the different flavours. You can tell portions are generous because the rubber bands barely hold the boxes together. 

 

Although fried food usually suffers with takeout (turning soggy with condensation), the boxes have strategically placed air vents that keep the contents fresh and crispy. Thankfully we don't live too far away, because the smell wafting from the bag was borderline intoxicating.

 

The fried chicken comes in a variety of different flavours: original, spicy, old school (lightly breaded), snowing cheese, snowing butter, sweet and spicy, crazy hot, and honey garlic. You can also choose between bone-in or boneless, in three different portion sizes (single, half, or whole). We ordered both bone-in and boneless single portions to see how the two compared.

 

First up was the boneless honey garlic ($12.00). Our single box had about 11 pieces of chicken, complete with fries, pickled radish and coleslaw. The chicken was super crispy, yet moist, tender, and juicy on the inside. It was pretty much all dark meat, which leads me to believe that they use chicken thighs for their boneless chicken. The honey garlic was probably my favourite flavour out of the ones we tried. It was sticky, sweet, and garlicky, but not overpowering. One of the best Korean fried chickens that I've had in the city! 

 

Fries are usually an afterthought for me, but these were delicious! It's the same fries that Costco uses, which have some sort of extra batter or coating around them. It makes them extra crispy and addicting. I also really liked their coleslaw, which had a creamy dressing and bits of corn throughout. The pickled radish also helps to cut the grease and serves as a bit of a palette cleanser.

    

For our bone-in chicken, we got the sweet and spicy flavour ($12.00). The box had about 5-6 pieces of chicken, but they were definitely bigger than the boneless version. The cuts are a bit random so finding the bones can sometimes be a surprise. The chicken was still moist but there was more white meat pieces which has the tendency to dry out a little. The sweet and spicy sauce was super flavourful with just a touch of heat, but I find you can only eat a couple pieces before the flavour becomes too much.

While bone-in meat usually has more flavour, I did prefer the boneless chicken. 

We also ordered the chicken gang-jeong ($9.00), a common street food in Korea. Bite-size nuggets of boneless chicken, glazed in a special sauce with rice cakes. There are three flavours, including original (mild), spicy, or honey. We got the original which had a tiny touch of heat and a hint of cinnamon. Super easy to pop these back. I also loved having the soft, chewy rice cakes in there to break up the texture. The cup size was plenty to share, but it also comes in a box for $16.00. 

 

The food truck season isn't particularly long in Edmonton (weather permitting), so I hope there will be some sort of future transition into a brick and mortar. Oh!'s chicken is super delicious, and I'm craving it as we speak. Perhaps we'll be on speed dial basis.

Oh! Chicken

www.instagram.com/ohchicken.edm

9615 153 Ave NW

Edmonton, AB

(780) 868-9399

- CT

REVIEW | ROSEWOOD FOODS | EDMONTON

 

No one could ever predict a global pandemic bringing the world to a complete halt, but even that couldn't stop the genius people behind Rosewood Foods from opening and surviving thriving in an almost barren downtown. 

 

Rosewood opened a month into the pandemic and just celebrated their first birthday a couple months ago. Something about good, honest food seems to just resonate with people.    

Rosewood Foods occupies a nook at the end of Rice Howard Way, just kitty corner to the Westin and directly across from our spaceship of a library. 

 

The food is fast-casual, with a focus on breakfast, lunch and housemade baked goods. Breakfast is served all day while lunch items are available after 11am. On Saturday, all items merge into a brunch menu.

The room is blessed with tons of natural light pouring through the floor to ceiling windows. We visited at a time when only patio dining was allowed so all of the interior tables were pushed to the side.

Since we were grabbing take-out, we decided to order on their website which was nice and convenient. Pro-tip: pre-order their crullers early on to avoid disappointment! They tend to sell out on the daily.

 

As soon as she saw Vietnamese iced coffee ($5.50) on the menu, LT had to order it. Espresso and sweetened condensed milk mixed together with ice made for a great afternoon pick-me-up. It was strong, creamy, and perfectly refreshing. Take it from someone who always stole sips of her dad's ca phe sua da growing up. It tasted legit! 

 

What's a breakfast joint without a breakfast sandwich? We went for the lox & egg sandwich ($12.00), but there are three other iterations including bacon, sausage, and a vegetarian-friendly scallion version. 

 

The lox and egg sandwich comes with house-cured pastrami-spiced steelhead trout, dressed kale, scrambled egg, and caramelized onions on a house-made milk bun. The cured salmon just seemed to melt together with the eggs which were perfectly cooked. Super soft and fluffy. Although cooked down, the caramelized onions still had a bit of sharpness to them.

We also shared the chicken katsu sandwich ($18.00), which seems to be one of their most popular menu items. The chicken is breaded with panko and fried. Served on a house-made milk bun with house kewpie mayo, katsu sauce, and shredded red cabbage. The chicken was super crispy and held up even after the drive home. We noticed it had a nice gingery hit to it and appreciated the tangy cabbage which cut the grease from deep-frying. Even though the chicken was spilling out the sides, the bun was fantastic at containing everything within. It was soft but substantial and held up to the weight of the ingredients. 10/10, would happily eat again.

 

All lunch sandwiches are also served with a side of crispy potatoes. You can sub in for a kale gomadare salad or soup for an extra $2.00. But when the crispy potatoes are this good, you really shouldn't. The potatoes are chunky boys with crispy edges and tender insides. They were super addicting and good to the last bite.    

 

 

No visit to Rosewood is complete without one of their famous crullers! They carry such a wide variety of baked goods on the daily -- items like brown sugar banana bread and old-fashioned carrot cake that reminds you of home. Although I was tempted by their other treats, willpower won (unfortunately) and I got two flavours of crullers: cinnamon sugar spice and citron honey ($3.95 each). The crullers are light and airy with a slight crisp. The citron honey strangely reminded me of Froot Loops. It was the sweeter one of the two, most likely because of the glaze. The cinnamon sugar was very reminiscent of a churro which I loved. Possibly my favourite, but I do plan to work my way through their rotating flavours.

 

 

If only I was downtown more often, it'd be easy for me to be a regular here. Stop on by and grab a cruller people!

Rosewood Foods

www.rosewoodfoods.com

10150 100 St NW #101

Edmonton, AB

(780) 757-8030

- CT