Edmontons Best Sushi- Sushi Wasabi! My Vote for best Salmon Sashimi

     Sushi Wasabi. How can I impart upon you the greatness of this place? I think the only real way to understand why this place is incredibly tasty is for you to go and eat there. However, if you're unable to do that, let me begin with my favourite dish at Sushi Wasabi - their Salmon Sashimi. Salmon sashimi is slices of raw salmon and should not to be confused with salmon sushi which is a slice of raw salmon on a small pillow of rice seasoned with vinegar. It's believed that salmon sashimi is served the way it is (without rice) so that the person eating can taste the subtleties of the meat without being distracted by anything else.

     I can't seem to explain it but their salmon sashimi tastes so fresh! By far, the freshest tasting salmon compared to any other Alberta based Japanese restaurant I've tried so far. Try it without any soya sauce and you'll see what I mean. The nice thick slice of salmon is firm and as you bite, a slight sweetness emerges; or is that the taste of freshness? One order of salmon sashimi may seem to be slightly pricier than other restaurants, but the feeling you'll have afterwards is simply irreplaceable. You really do gain an experience in the subtleties and sometimes not-so subtle differences in raw salmon taste and texture.

Salmon sashimi - 1 full order

There are also a number of starters that you can choose from at Sushi Wasabi. One of the ones that my friend recommended was the Spinach Gomae: typically made from steamed or boiled spinach, sesame paste & of course mixed with a bit of soya sauce.

Flash fried salmon with green onions, daikon in ponzu sauce
- the ponzu sauce itself is supposed to be a bit sour so don't be put off by the taste.

Maki with tempura smelt and avocado

Maki with salmon tuna, mushroom, avocado and roe on outside

2 pieces of yellowtail (left) and 2 pieces of chopchop (right)

Maki with tempura shrimp and avocado

     There are probably a number of items on their menu, but these are the ones that I order again and again - especially the salmon sashimi. Sushi Wasabi serves up traditional Japanese food and they do it very very well! Their quality, taste and attentive service is what keeps everyone going back. Which is why it is imperative that you make reservations at this restaurant. It may seem that they have a nondescript location in a strip mall beside the Sunterra market (in Lendrum area), but this place is busy! Even if you only have two people in your party make a reservation to avoid disappointment.

Sushi Wasabi 
5714 111 Street
(780) 433-0533
Tue-Thu 5pm-9pm; Fri-Sat 5pm-9:30pm; Sun 5pm-8:30pm
closed Mondays

Emperor's Palace Edmonton - no go for dim sum or dinner!

     Seeing that it was Chinese New Year's recently (where celebrations continue for the entire month of February) I'm thinking that some people in Edmonton will want to check out some dim sum places. There is a new restaurant that opened recently in Edmonton's Chinatown called Emperor's Palace. Formerly occupied by Shun Fat grocery store before a fire in the butcher shop closed the entire space, the renovated area is an expansive place. With its impressive decorations, a huge and colourful photo album menu, and rumours of dim sum chefs imported from Vancouver, Emperor's Palace, for all accounts and purposes, looks like a great place to have dinner or dim sum. Sadly, this is not the case.

      We visited Emperor's Palace twice now, our first time was for dinner and the second visit was for New Year's Day Dim sum. I think the biggest sign that this was not a place to dine at was when we first walked in for dinner. There were a number of large tables of 10+ that were seated that evening, but no one was eating anything. I'm certain, it wasn't because everyone had just sat down. Plus, the restaurant was eerily quiet-which is extremely unusual for any good Chinese restaurant. Patrons were talking to one another, but since there was nothing to eat, no conversations revolved around the food. Instead, all you could hear was sighing, patrons asking waiters when their food was ready, and silence as patrons sat...waiting. One large table had sat down, waited twenty to thirty minutes before any waiting staff attended them and then left because the staff took so long to give them their drinks and tea. The food we had that night was decent, but for the mere fact that the first dish (a simple cold cut dish) took such a long time to arrive we weren't certain we would try it again.

standard dish for start of meal - this took over 1 hour to arrive!

Enoki mushrooms and veggie: not exceptionally amazing.
A bit on the salty side. 

fried rice with XO sauce - there was none to be found!

     However, we did eat there again on New Year's Day as Urban China was packed! We headed to Emperor's Palace where there was a fair number of seats available. Again, this was probably the sign we should have heeded. Once again service was slow, there were only a few dim sum carts with few of the signature dim sum dishes, and portions were incredibly small. The other rather annoying fact was that waiters constantly tried to sell you the same dishes within a very short period of time!

One of the dishes they tried to sell us again and again: bbq pork

Siu mai: a bit on the small side & slightly salty

Ha gaw - This had a particularly thick skin
and shrimp inside had an interesting taste

Their one redeeming point: They didn't have a variety of
dim sum dishes (it was only 12pm), so they agreed
to make this steamed bean curd wrap for us.

     All in all, if you're hoping to eat some good solid dim sum in Edmonton I would highly suggest another restaurant other than Emperor's Palace. You may be impressed with its size and grandeur, but you'll be rather disappointed with their quality of food service. After dining here more than three times, I'm thinking you'll definitely be better off waiting and eating at Urban China. Perhaps in the future, they will improve, only time will tell.


Emperor's Palace
10638 100 St
Edmonton, AB
(780) 757-2288

Big City Cupcakes - Adding another one to the mix

    I finally had a chance to try out Big City Cupcakes in Edmonton City Centre (East) Mall as I had a conference this weekend. During a break, we passed by the shop and decided to take a look at the cupcakes. I can't say my intention was to purchase one as I was simply perusing at first. Pictured below are a variety of their cupcakes.

     As you can see, they have some pretty hefty toppings and yes, those cupcakes although priced the same as other cupcake shops ($2.95) are much bigger (sorry the picture doesn't do them much justice)! While browsing, I asked, "What made their cupcakes different" from the other stores. Turns out I had the perfect people to ask, as the owners of this particular store, Sonia & Garry were in that day! Sonia & Garry were quick to give me a nice overview of their cupcakes. While they sell "regular" cupcakes their premium cupcakes are bigger in size, and some have cupcakes that are filled. All the ingredients in these cupcakes are from large brand-name baking supplies - such as Philadelphia cream cheese and are made with real whipping cream (i.e. for the ganache). I also asked Sonia & Garry, what they thought of the 'moistness factor' in these cupcakes. They were optimistic that we would not be disappointed. Clearly, Dan & I were eager to try it out as you can see Dan making a purchase in the picture below! 

     Sonia & Garry were also eager to show us some of the ice cream flavours that were now available in their store. Now you may wonder, how come they serve ice cream in a cupcake store? Well, each of the ice cream flavours correspond with most of their cupcakes. We tried a sample of the strawberry cheesecake (as this was one of the cupcakes we had purchased), a sample of peanut butter cup, another peanut-flavoured one and coconut. By far, the coconut ice cream was the winner as its smooth flavour tasted like real coconuts (I'm sure there was some measure of real coconut shavings in as well!). 

     With regards to the two peanut-flavoured ice creams: One was really interesting since Dan said it tasted exactly like peanuts (though he really liked the coconut ice cream Note: Dan isn't a normal fan of coconut-flavoured food). The peanut butter cup was a tad sweet, but I enjoyed the creamy texture of the strawberry cream cheese ice cream. This one also matched nicely with its cupcake contemporary. Another interesting fact is that all of the ice creams they get are hand mixed so real peanuts are mixed into the ice cream, strawberries, coconut etc..

     Now, if you've been to Big City Cupcakes downtown, you'll notice that they don't have room for a kitchen. That's because they have a bakery in town where all the cupcakes are made (for both locations - Kingsway & Downtown). In fact, Big City Cupcakes is originally from Vancouver. The bakery they have in Edmonton makes as many cupcakes that each location believes they need for the day and they arrive at their respective locations super fresh and moist in the early hours of the morning. Sonia & Garry also try to keep the moistness of their cupcakes to a maximum by using a closed display case - which is not often seen in most cupcake stores. Big City Cupcakes also makes cupcakes for those with Gluten Sensitive or Egg & Dairy Sensitive Diets - though I believe those are only available on certain days of the week.

     Oh and I must not forget about the cupcakes we had that day! Below, in the foreground is the Red Velvet Cheesecake with a baked in cheesecake filling topped with cream cheese icing. In the background, is the Strawberry Cheesecake with a cheese cake filling topped with strawberry cream cheese icing. In terms of moistness and density these cupcakes had it! I did find the strawberry cream cheese icing a tad sweet, though Dan enjoyed it. I liked the velvet cupcake topped with its cream cheese icing and didn't find that one too sweet. There is no crust on these cupcakes, but I don't think that was the driving point behind them. The unique aspect to these cupcakes is that they had cheesecake baked into the cupcake. Not only was this unique, but it gave the cupcakes more texture and body.

     I know that most people are saying that cupcakes are out and pies are in. However, the next time it's someone's birthday, I'm thinking it'll be more likely that I purchase some cupcakes or a cake for a friend instead of a pie. Not sure how aesthetically pleasing candles in a pie would look? Either way, I didn't get to try a cupcake with their butter cream topping, so I'm definitely slated to go to Big City Cupcakes for one of their chocolate cupcakes with some sort of butter cream topping!

Big City Cupcakes - Edmonton City Centre (East food court)

(780) 421-4263

Suite 21, 10205 101 NW St.

Edmonton, AB

www.bigcitycupcakes.com

Food Vacationing in Calgary - Day 2 CHARCUT Roast House

     For our second day of food vacationing in Calgary, we were eager to find a restaurant that would cap off our trip. After looking at a number of Calgary foodie blogs, Open Table for ideas, and checking out various restaurant's websites - only to find that most were closed on Monday nights, we settled on CHARCUT. As I didn't have access to internet for the rest of the day, I had no idea what to expect for dinner. The restaurant was relatively easy to find, with their location right across the street from the Calgary tower and beside Hotel Le Germain. The only difficulty my friend experienced was finding parking near the restaurant due to the number of one-way streets in downtown Calgary.

     Dan & I had made reservations through Open Table earlier that day, so upon walking in (and having our coats checked) we were immediately seated at our table - which was in a great location! Not only could we see the street view and the door, but it lent us the opportunity to look out on the restaurant's activities and to peer behind us at the open kitchen - where all the food passed the final prep stage.

     While we were waiting, Chef Connie came by and introduced herself to us. She also left a small sample plate behind for us to try. Pictured below are slices of their house-made sausage topped with Parmesan and shaved lamb with Gruyere cheese. These samples were excellent and it was a great way to start the night!

     After some thinking over the menu we settled on two smaller plates and a charcuterie board to share. This seemed like the best choice as we wanted to get a good sample of the different types of charcuterie meats. Here they are!

Brioche with Marrow Butter and Maldon Salt ($4)

The brioche was beautiful, fresh and toasted just right. 

Plus, the maldon salt was not overly bearing.

Duck Fat Poutine with Cheese Curds and Truffle Gravy (yes, Duck Fat!!) - ($8)

I can't tell you how amazing this poutine is. This is probably one of the best

 poutines I've ever had. It was incredibly flavourful, likely from the duck fat and 

the addition of the truffle gravy! It was a melt in your mouth lingering taste of truffle gravy 

and fat (not just as a heat source) but you could taste the fat.  

The Charcut Board containing the signature Pig's Head Mortadella, lamb with gruyere, salumi with parmesan, slow-cooked shaved ham, pork croquettes and house-made brassica mustard and aioli sauce! ($36)

     After a very satisfying dinner, Chef Connie came by again to see how the dinner went. Needless to say, all we had were praises and exclamations of how enjoyable each dish was, including the Pig head Mortadella. Did you know that it takes almost an entire a weekend for them to prep the pig heads? From our conversation with Chef Connie, all the pig heads come in from local farmers on a Friday for instance. Then, they take all the meat out of the pig heads to season them etc...After the seasoning they stuff the meat back into the pig heads, sew the heads up and cook them (can't recall how long though). Then, when it its finished they let the meat sit for the weekend. Finally, the meat is done and that's the amazing taste you have when you try their pig head mortadello! Of course depending on what the seasons are for that week, each time you go it will likely be different.

     Oh and of course, we had to have dessert while we were at Charcut. Pictured below is the chocolate torte with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

Chocolate Torte ($8)

Compliments of the chef - their no bake cheesecake in a mason jar created by layers of cream cheese 

and graham crackers topped with house-made cranberry preserves and caramel pieces.

Although, I'm partial to chocolate, this one was the winner! 

     All in all, a great meal to complete our two day eating trip in Calgary. Service at Charcut was consistently attentive throughout the evening, our water was always filled, servers reminded us what the dishes were when they arrived and the dessert was stellar. With house-made cranberry preserves and layers of cheese and graham crackers you cannot go wrong! I will definitely return to Charcut on my next visit to Calgary! 


Charcut Roast House
101 899 Centre Street SW
Calgary, AB T2G 1B8
(403) 984-2180
www.charcut.com

Calgary Trip Day 1!

     Ever since moving to Edmonton, I've visited Calgary several times. However, every time I've gone I've always visited and eaten at the same places! Since I wasn't able to go away for Christmas, I decided that I would head down to Calgary and treat it as a vacation. So, that was my intention, to "eat" my way around Calgary as if I was tourist! Everything we did had to be unique! Of course, most of the places we went to focused heavily on food! Most of the research we did was done the day of as we didn't have much time to research before going. So, here are some quick highlights of where we went.
     First stop upon arriving in Calgary shortly after 2pm was FARM on 17 Ave. I had just read about it earlier that day, so I was happy to have a chance to try it out. Everything at FARM is sourced from local farmers. They even have a beautiful map in their washroom depicting where all the different farmers are around FARM and what they purchase from the farmers.  

     Definitely a great way to start our food adventures in Calgary. The chabichou du Poitou was a great recommendation from our waitress. It was a firm goat cheese which worked nicely with the accompanying shaved radish & toasted baguette. The soup of the day was equally satisfying with crunchy croutons and a bit of spice. Most of all, I loved my brioche french toast topped with apples & fresh cream. One selection of cheese was $5.50, the soup was around $8 and the french toast around $13. 
    While we were sitting there, I remember commenting to Dan that we should get some coffee later. The next thing I know, the guy next to our table recommends a great coffee shop around the corner. So, that is where we headed next (after some walking of course!). The place we were directed to was Cafe Beano which really is right around the corner from FARM. 

Super huge mocha to stay @ Cafe Beano (aprox $3.75).
Look at the size of it! I think there were several shots of espresso in this!

After reading a bit, we looked up some restaurants on twitter, food blogs & the Avenue Calgary's best restaurant guide. We finally settled on Globefish Sushi & Izakaya at their Kensington location. 

Salmon lover's roll with salmon, salmon skin & lettuce with with smoked salmon ($9.95)

Vancouver roll with fresh tuna, mango, salmon & avocado ($8.25)

Tuna Katsu: albacore tuna which is lightly deep fried with
avocado & tobiko and ponzu sauce ($10.95)

mm..Can't remember name of this one.
It was cucumber, salmon & tuna sashimi wrapped in what felt like
the wrapping in those clear Vietnamese springrolls and peanut
tasting sauce. A bit of an odd combination truthfully.

 Regardless, a great day for food adventures in Calgary. The Calgary Avenue was a great help to figuring out where to eat in Calgary for our first day of food touristing in Calgary. 


FARM
1006-17 Ave SW.
Calgary, AB
403-245-2276
www.farm-restaurant.com



Cafe Beano
1613 9 St. SW.
Calgary, AB
Mon - Wed 6am - 11pm
Thu - Fri 6am - midnight
Sat 7am - midnight
Sun 7am - 11pm
http://caffebeano.ca/



Globefish Sushi & Izakaya - Kensington
332- 14 St. NW.
Calgary, AB.
403-521-0222
Monday - Friday: Lunch 11:30am - 2:00pm, Dinner 5:00pm - 9:30pm
Saturday, Sunday & Holidays : Lunch 12:00pm - 2:30pm, Dinner 5:00pm - 9:30pm
http://www.globefish.ca/index.asp