Beijing Beijing -Dim Sum

2013 UPDATE: Since this review, I've visited Beijing Beijing for Dim Sum many times. Over the past three years, the quality of the Dim Sum dishes have improved to the point where we bring friends to have Dim Sum. In fact, one of my friends even had a wedding banquet at Beijing Beijing. This is a sign that over time, the Dim Sum scene in Edmonton is constantly changing and improving.

Ever since Beijing Beijing opened in the south side of Edmonton, I've only been there for dinner. Both times our experiences were mediocre at best. Which is surprising since their modern dining room setup with nice round tables, comfy chairs and a variety of differently shaped serving dishes suggest otherwise. 


So after the Good Friday service back in April, a few people suggested going to Beijing Beijing for Dim Sum. Not having gone before I hoped the experience would be comparable to our experience at Urban China. Here are a few selections of what we had- again very similar fare to what we had at Urban China.  

At Beijing Beijing there is also the cart system and you choose food you want as they go by. Because it was a very similar group of us that had gone to Urban China, we couldn't help but compare. Within the first few dishes, we all immediately agreed that everything was unnecessarily salty!  What the siumai (a signature dimsum dish) lacked in flavour it bore it's weight in salt content. The chicken feet was certainly hot (temperature) enough, but was chewy instead of soft - where at Urban China the meat seemed to fall off the bone. There was also the pervasive use of salt which took away from its true flavour. Another dish we had enjoyed was the Loa Wong Bao (Special Egg yolk bun), where a bun filled with egg custard is steamed and upon opening the egg custard flows out like lava. This also needs to be eaten hot. The one at Beijing Beijing seemed to carry more flour and was more dense. No custard flowed out either.  All the other dishes seemed pretty typical, and unfortunately more salty then needed.

Price wise - there were the same number of ppl (8) at both dimsum places, but we felt that we were able to order twice the number of dishes for the same price ($15/ person)! This is rather significant considering that all dishes were overly salty! Beijing Beijing may have the decent service and modern atmosphere, but the price you pay, the potential wait time ( especially during peak hours), extra salt and quality may have you wanting to try something else .

Beijing Beijing

700, 3803 Calgary Trail, 
Edmonton, AB, Canada
(780) 430-7720

Vancouver Marathon of food!

First weekend of May was definitely a marathon eating of food in Vancouver! Dan ran the BMO marathon that weekend, but together we ate our way through a lot of great food places in Van! Pictures and reviews to come shortly. Meanwhile, here is what we brought back as our snack! 

 These huge cream puffs are from Beard Papa's located in Aberdeen Centre in Richmond, British Columbia. We bought one of their regular flavours - vanilla, and their special of the day - mango. 

Upon ordering the different flavours, each pastry shell was injected with the filling. The "cream" inside the puffs were more of a custard consistency. The mango puff leaned more towards 'mango pudding' in custard form, while there wasn't anything too special about the vanilla one. I believe the one in Aberdeen features different flavours for each day (e.g. strawberry, chocolate, coffee, green tea) - there is even a handy calendar to help customers remember.

Given their size, it would be safe to say that it's probably not recommended to eat an entire one by yourself. Two cream puffs were split three ways, and that was more than enough for the three of us! Plus, the alarming fact is that there are approximately 220 calories in one cream puff! There's even a sign at the cash register reminding patrons of this - as if this is a healthy fact.

Either way, despite the alarming calories, it's definitely worth a try. So, if you're ever near a Beard Papa's try one out. In Japan it's all the rage, as well as all over the globe. Remember, it's best to eat them fresh. Each cream puff at Beard Papa's costs $1.75. But if you get more than 6 then it's slightly cheaper, but one wonders about the calories. 

Beard Papa's

4151 Hazelbridge Way
Aberdeen Centre
Richmond, BC V6X3R8

Tel: (604) 270-1234

http://beardpapascanada.com/ 

Crème brûlée - with less the fat

Crème brûlée - by far my favourite dessert (next to macarons)! Although, the one difference it has over macarons is that thus far, I'm actually successful at making crème brûlée. This particular crème brûlée I made though has much less cream then the ones you usually order - as I used 1% milk. Yup, that's right 1% milk. It still has the same smooth texture, but less creamy and heavy in comparison to the restaurant variety. It definitely encourages/allows you to have more than one.

Crème brûlée (makes 4 full ramekins) 

2 cups of cream or milk - I used 1% in this case

1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

8 large egg yolks

1/2 cup of sugar

1. Separate egg yolks from egg whites 
2. Beat yolks until smooth 
3. Heat cream/milk until almost simmering 
4. Slowly add cream to eggs 1 tsp at a time - watch that you don't cook eggs 
5. When 3/4 of the cream remain, pour the rest of the cream into the mix 
6. Use a sieve to strain custard mixture to remove small clumps 
7. Blend in vanilla extract 
8. Pour into ramekins 
9. Place into a water bath and cook at 250F for 1 hour  
10. Check for done-ness by shaking and seeing if center jiggles (like jello) 
11. Place in fridge for several hours to set if desired 
12. Sprinkle sugar on top and carmelize with blowtorch

baking notes: If using 1% milk instead of cream, turn the oven up to 300F or 350F (depending on your oven) so that the mixture will set within the hour. To prevent cooking of the eggs, start with room-temperature eggs. For a less sweet dessert, cut down the sugar to 1/4 cup or less. 

  

More Cupcakes from Whimsical Cupcake....

Having tried two butter cream cupcakes from Whimsical Cupcake Studios a few week ago, I wanted to try their cupcake with the cream-cheese frosting. Pictured below is the Ruby.

The Ruby is a red velvet cupcake topped with cream-cheese frosting. True to my previous impressions, the cake's insides were pleasantly moist. Unfortunately, I found the cream cheese frosting overtly sweet and thick (almost chewy) compared to their cupcakes with butter cream.

Since Dan's first cupcake from Whimsical was the Ruby, I wanted him to try one with a buttercream topping. So, when I was there last week I purchased Envied.

This vanilla cupcake was topped with an almond pistachio butter cream. The pistachio buttercream was nice and light and not too heavy making it a pleasant combination with the moist part of the cake. Upon biting in, there was also a strong taste of pistachio. As well, Dan commented that, "anyone eating Envied is definitely to be envied". I take it that he liked it.

The contrast between the two types of frosting can be differentiated by their level of sweetness and texture. I prefer the light butter cream frosting to the cream cheese frosting which occasionally is overkill in terms of sweetness. As you might tell, I find that the cakes from Whimsical Cake Studio are definitely moist which I think is a crucial factor for a good cupcake. The crust is not consistently present, but the moistness factor and their truly fluffy buttercream topping continues to keep me going to Whimsical Cupcake Studio.  

Whimsical Cake Studio
8716 109 St.
(780) 988-CAKE (2253)
call for hours
www.whimsicalcupcakes.com