Triple Date at the Pourhouse finishing with Twisted Yogurt

the decor inside

Finally, my computer is working & the blog is loading again. I was experiencing some difficulties for a while! Anyways, quick update of this place we went to in November on Whyte Ave. Went to The Pourhouse Bier Bistro as some friends and I were curious about the food after looking at their menu online. Located where the former Flavours restaurant was on Whyte Ave, it seemed that the Pourhouse took over most of the previous owners tables & chairs. The restaurant does have itself set up as a sports bar with big screen t.vs and a rather extensive beer menu. We visited on a Saturday night, the night before the Grey Cup incidentally. There didn't seem to be many tables that night, perhaps 3 other tables aside from ours. However, this was perhaps a good thing, as our table was definitely the loudest one as one of my friend's has quite the laugh! :) Here's what we had that night.

Pulled pork burger with salad - it even had some nice chickpeas in it ($12)

"Pourhouse burger" with salad: happily endorsed by my friend here.

Chicken Sandwich with salad and chipotle on the side

Mac 'n cheese: My friend was craving comfort food so she chose this.
Sadly, there didn't seem to be enough cheese in this Mac'n cheese.  

Tables & chairs along the length of the restaurant.
If you keep following it, it leads you towards the washroom.
Speaking of washrooms, I think those are important things to look at 
when at a restaurant! They say the extent of a restaurant's washroom
may indicate how their kitchen is like. This one had a good one! :)

Overall, the food at the Pourhouse Bistro is decent. The one thing we did notice, is that there are no fries on the menu. Or at any rate, there were no fries offered as an option with our meals. This is probably for the better, as the salads were quite tasty. Their signature Pourhouse Burger was said to be also decent as well. After all, we were at a bar, so it was around the standards of a regular bar's burger. The dinner menu here at Pourhouse Bistro is not extensive in any way, which may be a good thing as it allows them to focus on a few items. It would be nice to actually have cocktails though, as it was listed on the menu (we went in November) so perhaps that has changed now. We would also have appreciated if they updated the menu on their website as it was advertising specials that unfortunately, were "last month's specials". For the time being, I believe all of our curiosities were met re: the new restaurant on Whyte Ave. Not sure when we'll be back next though as there were few 'unique' aspects pulling us in. Plus there is some hefty competition around Whyte Ave as Marianne & Charles from Loosen your Belt mentioned in their review back in October 2010.  


After dinner, we all headed to Twisted Yogurt down on Calgary Trail. The place is really bright and open with the potential yogurts lined up along one wall. Plus, you can sample your way through all the yogurts before settling on your choice. Just remember, they measure everything by weight so don't put too many heavy fruits (i.e. pineapples) into your yogurt! 

Dan's choice of Mango & Passionfruit mixed yogurt
with his choice of fruits & granola

mm..lots of fruits & berries!

Total price for both of ours came to around $7. Of course, it depends on what types of toppings you put on your yogurt. I would definitely recommend a visit to this place the next time you're in the south of Edmonton. Plus, there seems to be a really neat Sushi restaurant (?) that was going to open next to it! Currently, they have two locations in Edmonton - one in Sherwood Park and one in Edmonton South Park area. According to their website, there will be one opening on Whyte Ave in June 2010 so look out for that one! Definitely, going to bring a bit of competition to the area with Marble Slab also on the Ave.


Pourhouse Bier Bistro

(780) 757-7687

Edmonton, AB
10354 82 Ave NW
http://www.thepourhouse.ca/

Twisted Yogurt

#650-3803 Calgary Trail

Edmonton, AB

780-440-4955

http://www.twistedyogurt.com/index.html

home cooked meals-pan fried steak and mushroom sauce

Certainly, there are a number of food items I would eat for dinner in Edmonton. From sweet potato fries & Po-boys at Dadeo's, to salmon sashimi at Wasabi or any choice of delectable desserts from Duchess. True, desserts are not dinner items, but it would be a good way to end the meal! Regardless, of all the vast array of choices available, I am a firm believer that the best steak is the one you make at home. So, that is what I had for dinner today. A nice juicy steak (again from the handy Sobey's downstairs for only $2) topped with mushrooms ($1) and accompanied with the potato, carrot & onion soup from last night (approximately $2). So dinner for two at home comes up to $10.

 

Recipe for Delicious steak

2-3 cloves of chopped garlic

ground pepper

steak (we used sirloin tip this time)

1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

1. Place steak in mixing bowl and add in chopped garlic

2. Ground pepper

3. Mix in olive oil 

4. Start pan at high heat. Place some garlic in pan with olive oil.

5. Once garlic starts to sizzle, place steak in pan.

6. Sear for 1-2 minutes each side (depending on thickness of steak)

7. Place steak on plate, cover and let it rest while working on mushroom sauce.

Mushroom Sauce

200g mushrooms (or 12 whole mushrooms), sliced

1 clove garlic

1 tsp or 2 of cornstarch 

1. Taking the same pan you used to cook the steak, add a bit of water to the pan.

2. Add garlic to pan and let it sizzle.

3. Add mushrooms.

4. Let mushrooms cook with the steak juice & mushrooms until desired softness.

5. In a separate bowl add cornstarch and a bit of water. Mix well.

6. Add cornstarch mixture to mushrooms and stir.

7. Continue stirring until desired consistency is reached.

8. Spoon mushroom sauce on steak and enjoy! 

Time for more soup & some extra taste!

Ah Winter. How it makes one so cold! In order to combat the coldness I decided to make some more soup. It also helped that the handy-dandy Sobey's downstairs was selling soup stock at 2 for $1! I also had a good smattering of baby carrots left over (also $1), some potatoes from Danprime's parents (yes, those are purple potatoes!), and one large onion. I just spent the past 20 minutes chopping everything up following the recipe that I used from my last post on soup and now waiting for it simmer away! Oh and I also added in a small piece of something for extra flavouring. Can you guess what it is?

The Unforgettable Chinese Restaurant

UPDATE: this place is now closed. 

Did the title catch your eye? Yup, you're reading it correctly! There IS a restaurant in Edmonton with this name. Located on your left as you travel south on Calgary Trail, The Unforgettable Chinese Restaurant may be easy to miss; however, there is a sign with that states "Dim Sum Daily". You may also think that it is a rather interesting name for a Chinese restaurant. In fact, the restaurant's actual name in Chinese is completely different ("hey seung hey"). However, once you visit the restaurant your doubts will disappear. 


First off, their dimsum is not only good, but also very fresh! It's on a per order basis, so while there are no carts, once you order an item on their sheet they make it just for you. Secondly, their location, although not easily accessible, is rather busy on a Saturday morning and during the weekdays which is always a good sign when it comes to dim sum. Thirdly, their service is attentive and they are very happy to provide suggestions - especially for a weekday dinner and when you're unsure of what you're reading on the bilingual menu.


 My first visit to this restaurant was during the May long weekend for dimsum. My parents were in town and a family friend highly recommended it.  Here are a few of the items that we had for dimsum that Sunday.

Red Bean Filled Deep Fried Sesame Balls

Stuffed Eggplant

Siu Mai

Ha Gow

Lotus-Wrapped steamed Sticky Rice

Steamed Radish Cake

Near the end of October, I visited again with danprime and we had a few different items. Again, this restaurant does not disappoint, as all dim sum dishes are tasty and fresh! 

Thousand-Year Old Egg with Congee

(danprime says it's one of the best tasting congee for $5.50 in Edmonton)

Rice Noodle Wrapped Chinese Doughnut (crispy and fresh)

Deep Fried Shrimp Wrapped in Tofu

Pan-Fried Radish Cake (Highly Recommended)

Now their traditional Chinese desserts are something you have to try. I think that this is the highlight of my visits. If you ever have a chance to try this restaurant, make sure you have room to eat one of their desserts - and yes it goes awesome with the dimsum!

Goji-Seed Glass Jelly

Broiled Tapioca Pudding With Shredded Coconut (Highly Recommended)

Mango Pudding with Condensed Milk (my personal go-to dessert and favourite)

As for directions, head south on Calgary trail from Whyte (82) Ave. You'll pass 72 Ave and the restaurant will be on your immediate left. Don't blink or you'll miss it (see picture above for what the front looks like). Parallel parking is available in front of the restaurant.


The friendly owners and very clean restaurant make for a pleasant and memorable visit. They serve traditional Chinese dishes and their menu is completely bilingual in both Chinese and English. I'm positive that they are more than happy to explain or translate anything for you. The portion sizes and prices for congee and the noodle dishes are very reasonable. We definitely plan to visit the "Unforgettable Chinese Restaurant" more often.


Unforgettable Chinese Restaurant
7219 104 St
(780) 431-0220

Fall Chills calls for Soup

September definitely flew by. Since it was rather brisk 'fall-like' in September I decided on trying two new things in increasing my cooking knowledge and skills. First, I would use the recipes from the Stop's Good Food for All  recipe book as inspiration to make some good easy comfort food and and secondly, to learn how to make soup. Yes, I've never made soup before. Not sure why I've never ventured into this territory, but since I was feeling rather cold most of September I figured that it would be a good time to try. For my first soup, I decided to make some hearty potato and carrot soup. Prepping for this soup was actually really easy! It also helps that I have an immersion blender (my birthday present to myself last year) to blend the soup to a smooth and tasty consistency. Here's what I put into my soup:
1 onion (chopped & diced)
2 pieces of garlic chopped
3 cups of chicken stock
3 large potatoes - diced (for this one I used a couple of small potatoes from the garden)
2 carrots (peeled & diced)
1 cup of milk
Shaved asiago cheese

1. Chop onion into pieces and cook for about 10 minutes or until you're finished peeling and dicing other ingredients (I also threw in 2 pieces of chopped garlic for taste).  
2. Once onions are mushy, pour in chicken stock.
3. Turn heat up.
4. Add in chopped potatoes and carrots. 

5. Let soup boil for about 20-25 minutes; until potatoes are soft.
6. Take off heat. Place the immersion blender in and blend until your desired consistency. 

7. Pour in 1 cup of milk and stir until well mixed.

8. Pepper & salt to taste.

9. Add a dash of asiago cheese before serving.

More must-eats in Montreal

Before I blog about the many delicious soups I've been cooking up, let me show you two more food items you 'must-eat' while in Montreal. First up is Schwartz's. We actually went to Schwartz's shortly after hot sandwiches were available (around 10am) for an early Sunday morning smoked meat sandwich. This was important, as there is virtually no line at this time.

A variety of lean, regular, and extra fat sandwiches ready to be eaten (each $5.90).
Oh and do you see that sign up in the corner? The one about 13.95/pound of smoked meat that is hot or cold? My friend bought about 6.6 pounds of that (almost a small baby!) to bring back to Toronto. I'm guessing her family is still enjoying small chunks of smoked meat from Montreal!

Pickles always make sandwiches taste so much better!

Another food item you must eat while in Montreal is poutine! This poutine was from a restaurant in Old Montreal. Cheese curds make a big difference in poutine. They must have that squeaky feeling to it as you bite in. Drizzled with just the right amount of gravy and accompanied with little nibblets of fries. 

Schwartz's Montreal 
3895 Saint-Laurent Blvd.
Montreal, QB
(514) 842-4813
http://www.schwartzsdeli.com/

Upscale dining in Montreal - at Le Pois Penche

     To complete our grand food tour of our full day in Montreal, it felt quite appropriate to eat at a french restaurant. We chose Le Pois Penche mainly because a co-worker had recommended it. Looking at their menu you may be slightly taken aback by their rather expensive prices. They are after all a traditional brasserie with all the usuals complete with a list of overpriced wines. They also advertise themselves as an upscale dining experience that is unpretentiousness with good service. While some reviews by patrons (e.g. chowhound, travelocity, expedia etc..) agree with them, most that I found while researching a bit about the restaurant found them to have rather pretentious and arrogant waiters, bad service, but solid food. My friends and I decided that we would try out the restaurant for ourselves and see how it went. First, to start our visit to the restaurant on a positive note, we made a reservation for 8:30pm on a Saturday night one day before our visit. The woman on the phone seemed rather friendly and was quickly able to confirm that their prix frixe menu ($23) was still available for a Saturday night dining experience (this was the main reason we wanted to try this restaurant).  
     Upon arriving at Le Pois Penche, the atmosphere seemed hurried and laid back at the same time. Making a reservation ahead of time was a good idea as we were quickly shown to our table while other guests waited a tad longer. The restaurant was fairly full for 8:30pm, there were patrons at the bar, enjoying their meals with friends and at the oyster bar. We sat down and were quickly given some crunchy baguettes to chew on. The waiter introduced himself, gave a few suggestions about wines (although wasn't very certain about recommending a particular type of white wine), and drink orders appeared fairly promptly afterwards.

There were 5 prix fixe available all paired with our choice of soup or salad. There was the pan seared salmon, the 'Curtis chicken', steak frites, fillet of sole, and the pappardelle pasta roasted duck with spring truffles. For $23 this seemed like a fair price. Here is what we ended up ordering.  

Lobster Bisque: Another try at lobster bisque,
hoping that it wouldn't be as salty as the one at L'academie.
This one included some sour cream which was a nice complement.
It also helped that the soup was hot, creamy, and not too salty!

The Salad option

Pan seared Salmon with fresh seafood broth & garden vegetables

Fillet of sole: with tomatoes & feta cheese, black olive tempenade
 and "fresh tomato salad" (in this case, I think it became 2 pieces of bok choy!?).
Really odd combination with the large pieces of boy choy. Somewhat out of place right? 

By the end of our prix fixe meal all appeared happy with their selection. Service may have been inconsistent at times (e.g. waiting for refill for water), but still fairly decent as they were attentive to requests. Their only drawback was that it took a tad longer to complete the request. We didn't find anything close to the negative remarks made by other previous patrons and we enjoyed our time at Le Pois Penche. I would recommend, though, that if you were to go to order off the prix fixe menu. This really seemed to be the best choice for quality, quantity and cost. Other entrees around the restaurant looked equally appetizing, but I'm certain it was for a much higher price! We ended our meal with some delicious profiteroles as one of my friends had never tried them before. They were light, fluffy, stuffed with vanilla ice cream (which I think is much better than cream) and perfectly delicious. Drizzled with just the right amount of chocolate sauce they were a great end to our meal. 

Le Pois Penche
1230 de Maisonneuve Ouest
Montreal, QC
(514) 667-5050
closest station - Peel
www.lepoispenche.com