Love for the Locals: Taste of Edmonton 2013

It's actually been at least a few years since I last went to the Taste of Edmonton, but in the spirit of Edmonton's summer events, I went with some friends after playing badminton. One friend was nice enough to order tickets through work so that he could get them 10% off :) P and I shared one sheet of 30 tickets (the perks of having an SO, woohoo), and this is what we came up with...

To start off our venture, we grabbed a large lemonade from Lemon Heaven for 4 tickets to battle the heat and quench our thirst. It was funny because there was a big Lemon Heaven by the Tix on the Square office where there was a ridiculously long line to go with it. Then, there was the smaller booth set up next to ice cream and bubble tea that nobody noticed, where we went. It was your typical lemonade, but it helped that the sweet to sour balance was bang on. :)

Chicken Bhoona on rice from Bob's Bombay Curry 'N' Hurry! It's kind of awesome how the shadow from the window in front of the big vat shone over the mass of Chicken Bhoona. They were smart and had a plastic window with a wall and window to protect the simmering goodness from seagull poop attacks.

We grabbed a regular plate for 3 tickets! It was actually pretty good, and portion-wise pretty decent for Taste of Edmonton too. You got the rice from the ordering window, and walked over to the vat to get your bhoona on. It had chicken, bell peppers, and onions...and bhoona. I'm sorry, I don't know what that means, but it was pretty tasty.

Alberta Prime Rib Stuffed Mini Yorkshire Pudding from On the Rocks for 3 tickets! P and I lucked out because they gave us a larger mini yorkshire pudding and more prime rib than our friends got. Haaa... It was basically that - a mini yorkshire pudding with some slices of prime rib, and some creamy, tangy sauce on top.

Falafel from Drift for 2 tickets! For 2 tickets, this was probably one of the better deals. It came with lettuce, onion, a falafel pattie made of chickpeas and other sorts of beans, on a little bun. My first epicurean taste into the land of food trucks. 

House-Made Alberta Cannelloni from Bistecca Italian Steakhouse & Wine Bar for 3 tickets! Fresh cannelloni pasta with ground bison, and a cream sauce on top. It actually tasted like your average cream-based lasagna to be honest :/ But not bad, and it was somewhat filling, which is pretty good for Taste of Edmonton.

Who says dessert has to come last? Not us - that's for sure. Crepe Glace Au Chocolat from The Creperie for 3 tickets! It was a frozen dessert crepe filled with vanilla ice cream, with a spoonful of dark chocolate sauce, a sprinkle of sliced almonds, and a healthy dollop of whipped cream. Mmm... They also gave each customer a $5 off gift certificate :D Yay!

P really wanted spinach pie, so spinach pie, he had. Spanakopita from It's All Greek To Me for 3 tickets! A spanakopita is a greek spinach pie consisting of phyllo pastry, creamed spinach, and cheese. It tastes pretty good, but it was a bit too buttery and rich for me :/ My tummy isn't built to handle immense amounts of dairy...especially considering I just had a crepe filled with icecream, and ate all of the remaining whipped cream.

"Mac" Scone with Whipped Cream and Berry Compote for 4 tickets from Fairmont Hotel Macdonald. Nothing less than expected from such an expensive place. It was so good...and there was definitely mascarpone in the whipped cream...it was so tiramisu-like, and the sweetness was ever so slight...sigh...I had to let P finish all of the rest because I was reaching my dairy limit :(

Wild Mushroom Bisque, Truffle Oil, and Puff Pastry Stick from Fairmont Hotel Macdonald. Probably one of the best mushroom bisques I've ever tasted...so...mushroomy...and only 2 tickets! 

The last item that we tried was the Mini Mac Melt from Molly's Eats for 3 tickets. It was one of the longest lines at the event, so we left it until the end to try. The melt was very interesting...it was bacon mac 'n cheese and pulled pork inside a grilled cheese sandwich o_O I had never had pasta inside a sandwich before, so that was definitely something. I think it was good that it was a small portion though...it was interesting, but not my favourite. 

Overall, I'd say that P and I had a pretty successful haul from this year's Taste of Edmonton! Most items that we picked were 2-3 tickets which equated to a bit less than $2-3 each, and for the most part had decent portions. We got a good variety of dishes for a bit less than $30!

There was a lot of East Indian cuisine featured at the Taste of Edmonton this year, and a lot of ice cream. Some of the foods vended were more carnival-esque than anything else... You had your deep-fried Mars Bar, candied bacon on a stick (that without the stick was novelty-free candied bacon), deep-fried pickles, and "pig balls", which were made of pulled pork, wrapped in risotto and deep-fried.

Nonetheless, it was a fun summery thing to do in Edmonton, especially with one of our friends who hadn't spent a summer in Edmonton yet. I wonder what we should do next...

-M

Budget-Friendly Bites: Cowgary Commute - Stampeeeede!!

It's that time of year when the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth livens up the city of Calgary. A few weeks ago, Calgarians and other Albertans in K-Country and the South were struck with the flood of 2013. Many popular areas in central Calgary were flushed out with river water including the designated Stampede grounds. While things didn't look too good for the Stampede, the mayor of Calgary promised his citizens that the show would go on. With commendable efforts of the CPS and EPS, Calgary has recovered quite well. The Stampede was able to carry on with its Chuckwagon Races, Rodeo, and other cowboy inspired festivities, with the exclusion of concerts that were to take place at the Saddledome. Great work to everyone for lending a hand to our neighbours! Remember that organizations such as the Canadian Red Cross and Tim Hortons are still collecting donations to support the flood victims. :)

P and I were able to make it down to Calgary for the opening weekend of the Stampede. We enjoyed all sorts of things from hotdogs and mini donuts to people flying around on jetskis to ferris wheels and fireworks! It turned out to be a great day on Saturday when we went to the grounds despite the rainy forecast. It did rain for a little bit in the early evening, but it was while we were inside watching Superdogs, and when we came out, it was even sunnier than before! Talk about good timing, huh?

P's friends were nice enough to spare us a free lunch from Fhat Dawgs! We got a Japanese (fried onions, dried nori strips, mayonnaise, and teriyaki sauce) and a Mexican (fried onions, bacon, tomatoes, jalepeno sauce, and mayonnaise). It was pretty good (but probably not very good for me)!

Anyways, the purpose of this post is not to go on a cutesy gush about my amazing weekend, but to tell you all that not everything is outlandishly priced at the Stampede! This is where the budget-friendly business starts. Across from the South entrance to the Saddledome is the Agriculture area where you can see all kinds of farm animals like pigs, sheep, baby chicks, and horses. 

In the midst of it all is THIS - A Milk 'n Cookies vendor. For the "say what!?" price of $1, you can get a 250 ml carton of white or chocolate milk and...

A wagon wheel! (We must have looked a little bit crazy upon leaving the place. P and I were getting milk and cookies for some friends too, and I had 6 small cartons of chocolate milk in my shoulder bag. The 6 wagonwheels went in P's camera bag. What do you store in your purse??)

Another amazing find with less than a million calories! While casually walking past all of the crazy deepfried pickles and deepfried cheesecake and barbecued turkey legs, P and I found a vendor just across from the West entrance to the Saddledome!

Hidden Valley was looking to promote its salad dressing, so for the "say what what?!" price of $1, you could get a tupperware container of freshly chopped and mixed greens (grape tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, lettuce, and cucumber) along with a plastic fork, and a packet of Hidden Valley dressing! What's even better is you get to keep the brand new tupperware container, and it comes with a little tupperware cup that click onto the inside of the lid for future snackings requiring sauces or dressings! 

P and I most definitely took advantage of these awesome deals, but we also haaaad to have a bag of those little donuts (each) because come on! Stampeeeede!!!

-M

(Thank you to P for the awesome way-better-than-from-my-cell-phone-camera pictures!)

Love for the Locals: Koffee Cafe

On Canada Day, I usually volunteer for the Millwoods Canada Day Celebration at the park, so P took me for breakfast in the morning at a place called Koffee Cafe (6120-28 Avenue). Neither of us had been there before, but as in most cases, P consulted the ever so prestigious Urbanspoon and apparently the breakfast was supposed to be pretty good, so what the hay? 

From the outside, it looks like your typical independent strip mall convenience store. Shaaady...

Inside, however, it wasn't so bad. It looked like a mix between a cafe and a diner. That, and they sold practically anything you could think of. So, there's a cafe, but they also sell lotto tickets, artwork (similar to what they do at the Sugar Bowl), internet access (like in hotels?), newspapers...oh, and for the special price of 5.99, you could get a glass of wine! 

If you wanted to feel more at home, there was a strategically placed sofa and loveseat set complete with a table, also set with ketchup, salt and pepper, and cream and sugar.

For the special of $6, you can get the Homesteader breakfast which consists of 2 slices of white or brown toast, 3 strips of bacon or sausage, 2 triangular hashbrowns, and 2 eggs any way. Both of us opted for the Homesteader with white toast, bacon, and 2 "over-easy" eggs (P likes to tease me because since I was little, my dad told me "easy over", so I always say "easy over", but even Wikipedia tells me otherwise :( Talk about dashed hopes and dreams, huh?). Nothing was particularly greasy or salty, so I'd say sure! I also wanted to take a closer picture of their menu, but the people who worked there were already looking at me funny.

For a not-too-shabby breakfast in the Millwoods area, try hitting it up at Koffee Kafe, where you can get Butter Chicken and naan or rice first thing in the morning! :D P and I will be your personal guinea pigs and try that someday.

Oh, and Happy Canada Day ;)

-M

P.S. This year was P's first Canada Day as a Canadian! Woo~

Budget-Friendly Bites: Viet Subs!!!

Okay, so first of all, whoever hasn't had a Viet sub yet neeeeeds to have one. I can't believe I only started eating them in 2013! Where the heck have I been? Thank goodness for P!

For a really good Vietnamese submarine sandwich or "banh mi" for a pretty darn good price, people should check out Nhon Hoa 2 (10622-97 Street) in Chinatown, just next door to the Italian Bakery on 97 Street. Seriously. Like most places in Chinatown, it looks quite shady and small, and without prompting, one might not venture inside. Even inside, the place is rather modest.

I didn't actually know the name of this place until I took a look this time, (i.e. visit #4).

Even inside, the place is pretty modest as with most Chinatown business tenants. But things are kept quite clean, and food is always prepared and handled with gloves.  

They also sell various other Vietnamese foods, drinks, and desserts, which you could try as well :) I have at one time tried their salad rolls which are quite nice. I'm curious to one day try the sticky dessert rice just because I love me some sticky rice! 

Like in Subway, you have a choice of fixings to add to your sandwich. The best move is just to get everything - cucumbers, chili peppers, pickled carrots, and cilantro. For one, I don't like pickled carrots, but the whole thing put together in the Viet sub is perfect harmony. You also have the option of adding (or not adding) liver pate, which to me, doesn't really matter as the taste is quite faint. 

P and I headed to the Legislature grounds to have a picnic. As you can see, his modelling career has certainly flourished, for he now features his lower abdomen, his knees, and a smidge of foot. Oh how far he has come...

The sandwich pictured is Vietnamese Submarine Combination #3. It has the special combination of Vietnamese deli meats on a toasted and buttered baguette with all your fixings. All for a swell price of only $3.75 (including tax)! There are quite a few sandwiches you can get for about that price, and I find it more appetizing and surprisingly filling than a footlong that isn't always $5 at Subway. 

Am I trying to coax you into the land of Asian sandwiches? Yes. Yes, I am.

Doooo it.

-M

B-b-b-baking: Summertime Strawberries

I know I haven't been posting a lot lately, but I actually have a few incomplete entries that I'm working on...I'll have them up as soon as I can!

For now, to start off my summer baking spree, I've decided to go with something simple. I have a monthly meeting to go to tomorrow, and I always bake something for them, because well, it gives me an excuse to bake! My parents have a habit of buying large boxes of fruit in the summer because they're in season. But...they tend to go to waste unless I eat most of them, but then I feel bad for eating so many. Today, I noticed a lovely box of strawberries. Strawberries are great by themselves, on top of things, inside things, and infused in things... I love strawberries.

Things I have learned today about custard tarts:
- They are ridiculously simple to make.
- Like food in general, they taste best when eaten fresh, so preparing components ahead of time is a good idea. That way, assembly can be done in a snap :)
- I am still not clear on the distinction between pudding and custard. I always thought that pudding was the stuff that you can buy in Jello cups, but then the Japanese call creme caramel a "custard pudding", and then you have phenomena like Yorkshire pudding and bread pudding. Seriously, what the heck?
- Custard can be made using any kind of milk - heavy cream, whole milk, milk, soy milk, almond milk...yay for dairy-free custards! It is so unfortunate that full fat dairy products always taste better.
- Custard tarts work for any kind of fruit! Any kind of berry would be my go-to for summery baked goods ;)
- Even better with whipped cream...probably?

Inspired by a new favourite food blog of mine, "Hungry at Midnight" (that is so me), strawberry custard tarts seemed like a good direction to go in. I used some of my leftover puff pastry in the freezer instead of her crust recipe, so it turned out a bit differently, but in my opinion quite nicely. There was a little bit of salt in the crust, a hint of sweetness in the custard, and tartness in the strawberries, so everything was well-complimented!

I really liked the colour contrast of the red in the strawberries and the pale blue in the cupcake liners. I had to use pink ones for the remaining 6 because I ran out, but oh well.

Each tart was "uniquely shaped" because I did them all by hand and I'm an amateur. I think they looked presentable enough though...

Strawberry Custard Tarts (adapted from Hungry at Midnight)
*Makes 18 tarts*

4-5 fresh strawberries
Frozen puff pastry/a recipe of puff pastry (enough to make a standard sized pie top and bottom crust)
1 tsp pure honey

Custard
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp cornstarch
A pinch of salt

1. Preheat your oven to 350F. Line 1 1/2 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
2. Roll and divide your pie dough to make 18 tart shells and place them in the cupcake liners. (I found that by using my circle cookie cutter to cut 2 circles and overlapping them made a good sized tart shell to fit into the cupcake liners.)
3. Bake the tart shells in the oven for about 20 minutes. Once finished baking, remove the muffin tin from the oven and set aside to cool.
4. While the tart shells are baking, assemble your custard. Add the sugar, eggs, vanilla, cornstarch, salt, and half of the milk into a medium sized bowl. Whisk until smooth.
5. Over medium heat, add the rest of the milk into a medium saucepan, and scald the milk (heat to just under boiling). Remove from heat, and whisk into the rest of the custard mixture.
6. Return the entire mixture into the saucepan over medium heat, and stir once in a while until the mixture has thickened. (I would suggest using a wooden spoon rather than a whisk at this point or you might get lumps in your custard.) Remove from heat and set aside.
7. Wash and core the strawberries, and divide them into quarters.
8. Once relatively cool, spoon some custard into each of the tart shells, and top each of them with a slice of strawberry.
9. Brush the surfaces of the strawberries with a little dab of honey. (This is in case the strawberries are a bit tart, and so that the sweetness isn't too overpowering.)
10. Enjoy! (And eat the extra pieces of strawberry.)

I actually made these for a board meeting I was attending the next day. These tarts are really simple and easy to make, but they look nice! Great for those days when you want to seem impressive, but really, you're just lazy :D

-M