2011 Taste of Edmonton - part two

Well, our plans to head out early today were ended by the deluge of rain this morning. What a downpour!

By mid afternoon, it was looking safe to head out. My older daughter decided to stay home, but my younger daughter, Danielle, had to go to the library. It's right at the square the festival is being held at, so she decided to take it in after all.



For our first tastes, we picked up a Hurricane Potato from Korean Village, then went back to Lit - Italian Wine Bar for their Basil stuffed Bocconcini with Prosciutto Wrap.

The Hurricane Potato is a really fun dish! Danielle is not a big potato fan. She likes her mashed potatoes and that's about it. She's the only kid I've know who didn't like french fries. So when she says she found the Hurricane Potato delicious, that's pretty impressive! *L* I found it very tasty as well.

As for the stuffed bocconcini...

Wow. That was SO delicious!!! Danielle didn't know what bocconcini was (I have bought it once before, but we really didn't know what to do with it), so she wasn't sure what to expect. When I asked her what she thought of it, all she could say was "MMMMMmmmm!!!" while savouring every bite. Both this dish and the Ahi tuna salad Nicole and I tried there yesterday took longer to get than at any other booth we tried, but they were well worth it. It was fabulous!




Next up, we went to The Palace Banquets for their Bacon Wrapped Scallops, then to Kyoto for their Canada Maki and Tempura shrimp. These were all sure things for us. The scallops are a tried and true favorite and one of the things we get as a treat after we've tried all the new stuff we were interested in. I had the maki last year, but Danielle hadn't, so it's a new one for her.

As expected the scallops were wonderful. So much flavour! What a treat.

Of the other two, the tempura shrimp is another treat. The downtown location for Kyoto is near my husband's office, and is among the places on our list of restaurants to go to when we meet him for lunch every now and then. Their service kinda sucks, but the food is always really good. The shrimp did not disappoint. The tempura batter is light and crispy and it's cooked just right. We both liked it.

Danielle is new to enjoying sushi type foods. Last year, she wouldn't even try it, but since then she's developed a taste for the California rolls Nicole and I sometimes get, so she was willing to try it this year. She liked the maki, except she wasn't big on the cucumber. She just doesn't like cucumber much. Still, she found it good. I found the flavours very fresh and light, and really enjoyed it.



Our next stop, we again went back to booths Nicole and I had gone to yesterday. I knew Danielle would like to try the chocolate shooters from The Sutton Place Hotel (I was right, she loved them), and I wanted to try the Grilled Hungarian Sausage with Potato Salad from Bistro Praha, which is the same place we got the marinated strawberries and vanilla whipped cream from.

Danielle is indifferent to sausage at the best of times. She found it good, but not good enough to actually eat all of her half. She liked the potato salad better - another surprise from her! I, on the other hand, found it amazing. Grilling really took the sausage a step up, and the potato salad had a wonderful lingering flavour. In fact, it was so good, I gave my chocolate shooter to Danielle, because I didn't want to spoil the flavours by eating something sweet. It was just so satisfying - comfort food at its best! In fact, as torn as I am by the prosciutto wrapped bocconcini and the bacon wrapped scallops, I really thing the grilled sausage and potato salad was my favourite dish of all.



For our last dish, we went for stuff we like, but from places we've never been to before. We got hooked on Taro flavoured bubble tea just a few short weeks ago, but this one was from I Love Bubble Tea, which is new for us (sorry, can't seem to find a link for them). It was delicious. The tapioca balls on the bottom were a different size that we were used to, and the texture was remarkably like a slushie, but these were not negatives, by any means.

I was a bit nervous to try the pad thai. I love pad thai, but have only ever tried it from one place, which allows me to choose the amount of heat I want. Being sensitive to spicy foods, I always picked the least amount. This pad thai was from Numchok Wilai Restaurant (their booth was one of my favourites for their decoration). I was really surprised by the quantity they gave, which barely fit on the plate. It was mildly flavoured, so my concerns about heat were for naught. It was slightly sweet, which is not something I am big on, but quite tasty. The bits of sprouts added a nice crunch. It was one of those things I liked more, the more I ate of it. Danielle, on the other hand, doesn't care for pad thai at all. She took a small taste and that was it. Not her thing.

At this point, we'd used up all the tickets budgeted for this year.

Today we had a lot more hits than misses compared to yesterday, which was strangely disappointing. We've got a couple of new restaurants on our list of places to look for, that's for sure!

I'm already looking forward to trying more new things next year!

2011 Taste of Edmonton - part one

Hello again!

With various goings-on in our home, we've missed out on some of the festivals being held in downtown Edmonton. Taste of Edmonton, however, is one I didn't want to miss!

My younger daughter isn't as interested this year, so it's just my older daughter, Nicole, and I this year. We usually split things between two days, focusing first on trying new stuff before we finish off our tickets on some tried and true favorites.

The festival runs from 11am to 11pm. Usually we go during the day to beat the lunch rush, but with the heat, we tried going in the evening this time. Unfortunately, that meant my pictures sucked. I did manage to fix some to upload to my flickr account, but most weren't worth making the effort. We're planning to go back for 11am tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll get some better shots.

You can see all the photos in the set I made for this year's festival. For now, I've just got the booths we bought from and the dishes we tried.

Here are our first dishes.



First we checked out Lit - Italian Wine Bar for the Seared Galliano Crusted Ahi Tuna Salad, and Hoang Long Restaurant and Noodle House for Grilled Quail with Pomegranate Sauce.

Nicole was really looking forward to trying the Ahi tuna salad, but I was much more trepidatious. I don't like tuna much, and have a real problem with raw or seared flesh. I like my protein cooked! No surprise that Nicole loved it, but I surprised myself in being able to eat the tuna without shuddering. That's a big accomplishment. *L* As for the rest, it was very tasty, and an interesting combination of flavours and textures. The touch of salt really made a big difference.

We were both looking forward to the quail, which neither of us have had before. We both love pomegranate, so this should have been a shoe-in.

Surprisingly, it wasn't. Nicole's verdict was "not bad." I found it good. We both found it difficult to eat. By the time I finished getting the meat off all those little bones, I felt like I hadn't actually eaten anything. It was tasty but... not as good as we'd hoped.

On to the next two dishes.



Here we have Teriyaki Salmon on Rice from Zen and Lamb Tostada with Avocado Creme Fraiche from Zinc.

Zinc is a rather new restaurant we've been interested in trying out, so we were pretty happy to see them represented at the festival. I found it very tasty. It had more heat than I expected. I have a very low tolerance for spicy food, but this wasn't too much for me. The tostada on the bottom really added to it. Nicole, on the other hand, found it tasted like a burrito, which was a touch off-putting for her. She didn't find it bad, but it wasn't what she was expecting, and not as good as she'd hoped.

As for the Teriyaki Salmon, we had an interesting diversion of opinions. I don't particularly like salmon. That part was all right, but for me, it was the sauce that made the dish. Nicole, on the other hand, loves salmon, but doesn't care for teriyaki. She found the sauce much too salty for her liking, but really enjoyed the salmon (she is indifferent to rice). There was only one small piece of salmon for us to split, which she found a bit disappointing.

Next up, we went for something sweet.



The marinaded strawberries were from Praha, and the cappacino chocolate from The Sutton Place Hotel. (Note; I'm using the spelling from their sign.)

The shooter cups were easily the most adorable items being served! At only one ticket each ($1), they were also the best deal. They had a very intense chocolate flavour. In fact, chocolate was pretty much all we could taste. I happen to love chocolate, especially dark chocolate, but Nicole can take it or leave it. She didn't particularly like the texture of the dark chocolate cup, but it was nice. Neither of us could taste the cappacino.

As for the strawberries, they were good. We both love strawberries, and we both like whipped cream. Neither of us could taste the Grand Marni er the strawberries were marinated in, so it basically just came across as ... well, strawberries and whipped cream. We quite enjoyed it, but nothing made it stand out for us.

For our last dishes of the day, we mixed sweet and savory.



The Mango Lassi was from Khazana Authentic Tandoori Cuisine, while the wasabi beef on a bun was from Hawkeyes Too.

We are not big mango fans, but Nicole wanted to try it out after seeing how good they looked on display. I chose the wasabi beef.

I found the wasabi beef to be delicious and tender. The wasabi wasn't overpowering, but my inability to handle heat did me in. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't finish it off. Nicole enjoyed it as well - more than she expected.

As for the mango lassi, she really enjoyed it and, surprisingly, I did as well. I found it quite sweet, but the smooth creaminess countered the spice from the wasabi very well. The mango flavour was quite intense. We both liked the texture of it.

In the end, we enjoyed all the dishes, but still found it rather disappointing. It was all good, but nothing was really exceptional. We actually both settled on the Ahi tune salad as our favourite (even though I would have preferred it without the tuna, which my daughter finds quite amusing).

What I found strange is that, even after having 8 different items between two of us, we didn't feel like we'd had much at all. Last year, with 3 of us sharing 9 items, we were usually very full by the time we had dessert. This time around, we found ourselves debating going someplace to sit down and eat. The quantities don't seem to have changed from last year, and we're splitting 2 ways instead of three, but it just didn't feel like we ate much at all. Very strange.

In fact, I'm rather hungry right now. Time to find something more substantial to eat...

Back at Taste of Edmonton 2010

Anna:  The girls and I were planning to use up the rest of our tickets for Taste of Edmonton today, but my older daughter wasn't feeling well, so it was just two of us, this time.  It was quite a lovely day for it, and the crowds weren't as thick as they were yesterday.  That didn't make it any easier to find someplace to sit and eat, though.  The space with grass and shade had very few picnic tables, but the beer garden was full of them - mostly empty.




First, we stopped at Hawkeyes Too Restaurant and Bar.  We were going to have their Lemon Grass Chicken Wrap, but it had tomato in it, so we went with the Dry Ribs.  They were quite delicious, and the portion was quite generous.

Next, we visited Firestone Restaurant and Bar for their Bacon Wrap Scallops.  They were rather steep at 5 tickets for only 3 scallops (tickets are $1 each, or 10% off if purchased in advance, as we did).  There is very little seafood that I like, and I liked these scallops a lot, as did my daughter.  Comparing the amount we got to the dry ribs, which only cost us 4 tickets, did have me debating whether or not they were actually worth the cost.  I still haven't decided.

Either way, both dishes got a positive vote from each of us.




Our next foray led us to Zen Shabu-Shabu Japanese Cuisine, Sushi and Grill for their Beef Tenderloin Wrapped in Bacon.  There were 4 pieces of bacon wrapped beef on the skewer, and they tasted quite good.

We also stopped at Tropika Malaysian & Thai Cuisine, getting their Roti Canai (Malay Bread).  Half the fun was watching the bread first being grilled, then smooshed on all sides before being hacked by a cleaver, then plated with some dipping sauce.  I really liked it, though my daughter could take it or leave it.

So that's two positive votes for the beef tenderloin, but one enthusiastic vote for the Roti Canai tempered with a "meh," neutral vote.

After this, my daughter and I were in need of hydration, but after seeing the prices on the vending machines, we decided to go to Three Bananas for drinks, instead.  Not that we ever need to have our arms twisted to go there.  We've often had their delicious pizzettes for lunch.

Next up, it was time for dessert.  Sorta.



We searched out the Strawberry Cheesecake for my daughter, who is an absolute cheesecake nut.  This was offered by The Old Spaghetti Factory.  No surprise that my daughter loved it, but I find it too sweet.  One vote for, one... meh.

Then we got tempted by an old favourite, Green Onion Cake from Hong Kong Bakery.  Because we just can't go to a local festival without having some green onion cake.  Gotta have it.  Two enthusiastic votes in favour of the cakes.


At this point, we were ready to go home, but not without picking something up for my other daughter.  We picked up a few more tickets and got another Green Onion Cake, as well as...



...some Vegetable Tempura from the Korean Village Restaurant, where we got the Seafood Pancakes yesterday - a treat I look forward to every year (I got a second one for myself) and Deep Fried Wonton with Crab Meat and Cream Cheese from Panda Hut Express.  Those are another treat we look forward too.  I was really impressed with the portion size for the Tempura Vegetable.  My younger daughter doesn't care for either, but my older daughter and I love them.

We're now out of tickets, but the festival runs until August first.  Who knows.  We might head back at the end of the week. ;-)

Taste of Edmonton 2010

Anna:  I've got quite a few photos from the past while to post - just haven't got around to resizing them to post online.  Meanwhile, the girls and I took in Taste of Edmonton today.  We waited until the afternoon, to avoid the lunch time crowds.  You can check out all the photos from today in my flickr account.

One of the hard parts of the festival is fighting the desire to have nothing but our tried and true favorites, most of which we only indulge in during this festival.  We sought out dishes we haven't tried before.  First up are out "main course" choices.



My older daughter was really looking forward to the Korean Village Korean Seafood Pancake, which we'd read about in a newspaper review.  She really liked it, but I found it rather bland.  My younger daughter and I both thought it was rather "meh."  Not bad, but nothing we'd go out of our way to eat again. 

So this one got one vote in favour and two neutral votes.

I was pleased to see that's Aroma! Italian Kitchen on the list.  It's a place I've wanted to try that we've just never got around to visiting.  They specialize in garlic dishes, which is a total winner in my books! We tried the Garlic Chicken Satay.  My younger daughter loves white chicken, while I prefer dark and my older daughter doesn't like chicken in general, so white chicken meat skewers would be touch and go for our little group.  I found it absolutely wonderful, as did my younger daughter.  My older daughter, on the other hand, got a taste of the sauce as she was about to take a bite and was thoroughly repulsed.  She couldn't eat it.  So her sister happily ate it for her.

Two very positive votes and one very negative vote on the chicken satay.

Next was the Cheese Empanada from Roma Bistro.  I don't think any of us have had empanadas before.  I thought it was quite good.  My older daughter really loved it, while it got a "meh," from my younger daughter. 

One good, one very good, and one neutral vote on the empanadas.


Next, we sought out some vegetable dishes.  This was a bit more challenging.  There were very few we hadn't tried before.  Here are the dishes we settled on.



First, we picked up some Spanakopita from It's All Greek to Me.  My older daughter and I both love spinach and feta.  I like Greek food in general, so my expectations were perhaps a bit high.  I found it good, while my older daughter found it quite good.  My younger daughter, on the other hand, didn't like it at all.  But then, she doesn't like feta at all, so that wasn't much of a surprise, I guess.

Two votes for, one against, the spanakopita.

Next, we stopped at the Japanese Village for a Bean Sprout Salad with Ginger Sauce.  The sprouts were nice and crunchy.  I enjoyed the taste at first, but strangely, the more I ate of it, the less I liked it.  Not sure how that works.  The portion was quite generous and, this being our second course, the three of us couldn't finish it.  Neither of the girls really liked it, though.

Two votes against, one half-vote for.

Our third choice was another Japanese treat, the Canada Maki from Kyoto Japanese Cuisine.

First off, I need to be clear.  We aren't sushi types.  Personally, I detest cold rice, while my kids don't like rice in general.  Strangely, though, my older daughter and I have both developed at taste for California Rolls.  We've tried Maki before and didn't like it.  So while this was a beautiful looking offering, our expectations were rather low.

The 3 portion serving was quite generous - and perfect for us, since everything was being split three ways.  It included a surprising amount of pickled ginger (which I love, but I'm the only one in the family that does), some wasabi and soy sauce.  My older daughter and I were totally impressed.  They were delicious.  My younger daughter, on the other hand, couldn't even bring herself to try it.  In fact, she chose to eat more of the Bean Sprout Salad, instead.  Her sister and I split the last one, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Two enthusiastic votes for, one too-disgusted-to-even-try-it vote against.


Which brings us to the dessert course.



There were so many possibilities - and old favourites - to choose from!

First up, the Apple Crumble with Jack Daniels Carmel Sauce from On the Rocks.  The crumble was quite hot - hot enough to make holding it while we made our other choices a bit of a challenge - with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.  I really enjoyed it.  Personally, I prefer really tart apples for a dish like this, but found it quite tasty.  The girls, however, didn't enjoy it as much as I did.  They both found it good, but nothing they'd go out of their way to eat.  My older daughter complained that you couldn't even taste the Jack Daniels.  *L*

One enthusiastic vote for, and two not quite so enthusiastic votes for the apple crumble.

Next is the surprisingly bright green Leprechaun Pie from Brewsters.  Our expectations were actually rather low for this one - probably because we were put off by the colour a fair bit.  It's a mint flavoured pie with mint chocolate chips.  I happen to really love mint, but my kids aren't big fans of it.  Still, we all enjoyed this one.  My only complaint was that I found it a touch too sweet. 

Three positive votes for the brilliant green pie.

Finally, we had the Custard Horn from Pazzo Pazzo.  I was sure we'd had this before, but my kids told me we didn't, so we gave it a go.  It was wonderful!!  The pastry was light, crisp, and perfect.  The filling was bliss inducing.  Truly delicious.

Three enthusiastic votes for the Custard Horn.

By the time we had all these, we were pretty full (well, maybe not my younger daughter - it was a bit of a disappointment for her!), so we called it a day.  Tomorrow, we come back with the rest of our tickets, and will probably indulge in our tried and true favourites!

Taste of Edmonton, 2009

Taste of Edmonton, 2009
Originally uploaded by amkb

Anna: More photos here.

The girls and I took in this year's Taste of Edmonton food festival. I'm so glad we timed it to miss the lunch rush!! As it was, when we caught a table in a bit of shade opening up, I had to leave the kids there to keep it while I went back to the booths to pick up new dishes. When we started packing up, someone else grabbed it right away. *L* It was a lot of fun, though the 28C heat made it a bit difficult to enjoy. There was a wide variety of dishes to try - I made notes of what we got at the above link - with prices ranging as high as 5 coupons. Coupons were $1 each unless purchased in advance. I got 2 sheets (30 tickets) in advance for the 10% discount. We still have some left, and my daughters suggested we keep them for tomorrow, when we're back in the area for library day.

We plan to be there earlier in the day, before the lunch rush and the predicted 27C temperatures!