Jelly Modern Doughnuts

March 21, 2013April 27, 2013Leave a comment

After Tubby Dogs, we decided to head down a few streets to grab some desserts! Jelly Modern Doughnuts is a chic yet casual little shop offering creative gourmet doughnuts in Calgary.

They also seem to have a Jelly Food Truck, which sounds really cool. I’m not sure where they are located though, so any Calgary foodies out there can let me know!

When we arrived, most of the doughnuts were already sold out! The place isn’t packed, but they have a steady amount of customers coming in and out. Look at that kid trying to decide from all the delicious flavours!

Lots of customers buy boxes of their doughnuts for take out as well. If you choose to eat in, you still order and pay at the counter.

I love the atmosphere in the shop. It is girly but also family oriented. They have low sofas and wooden chairs with pink lanterns and couches. If I lived in Calgary, this would totally be a cute place to hang out and chat with friends during the day.

S’mores Hand Filled Doughnut

The customer in front of us actually bought the last ones by the time we got in line, but luckily the baker came out and we asked him if there would be any more. Luckily, he had just made another batch! A few minutes later, he brought us a large S’mores Doughnut! Surprisingly, it wasn’t as sweet as I had imagined. I loved the marshmallow at the top though. The doughnuts are quite big though, so one is already plenty.

Maple Bacon Doughnut

The second doughnut we ordered was the Maple Bacon Doughnut. It was glazed with a maple glaze and topped with some bacon. Sweet and salty at the same time, but it totally works.

Doughnuts are $2.45 each if you purchase singles, but if you purchase more, I believe there are bulk discounts. Of course, they are more expensive than Tim Horton’s doughnuts, but they are gourmet! However, I actually think that Cartems Donuterie in Vancouver are much better! Their bacon doughnut was much better and the general doughnut dough tastes more fresh. I guess this is their go-to place for gourmet doughnuts in Calgary though!

Tubby Dog

March 17, 2013April 28, 2013Leave a comment

Day 2 in Calgary: Shortly after lunch and some presentations, S, H, J and I decided to go explore the city a bit and look for some snacks. S had previously checked out the top places on Urbanspoon, and Tubby Dog was one of them. Since it was quite a far walk, we decided to take a cab instead. Upon arriving, there was a man cleaning the windows, hence the bizarre picture.

They had their menu on their door, and it reminded me of Japadog, but North American style. The prices are quite high for a hot dog, so I was hoping they better be good.

Inside, they have the menu again, but also with some specials. I wish I got a picture of the kitchen area, since you can watch your hot dog get cooked and assembled in the front. You basically order at the counter, and they call your name when it’s ready.

The place is super retro and hipster. If I were still in high school, I would probably think that this would be where the “cool” kids hung out. I love how they had a cabinet full of food items that seemed to be collectibles. They definitely weren’t the typical packaging you could find in a grocery anymore. I’m guessing some of them might’ve been limited editions.

And they even have a mini arcade! I can totally picture some skaters coming here for a hot dog and playing games after school. It’s so old school and almost gives you a “back in the day” vibe. The place has posters hanging around the walls, and they all add to that hip vibe. Even the employees have a retro vibe to them.

Tubby Dog – homemade chili, bacon, cheese, onions, mustard

And now finally onto the food! We decided to share a Tubby Dog since we had just ate lunch. We weren’t sure which hot dog to choose, but I guess you can’t go wrong with the one that’s named after the store! It was layered with tons of chili, onions, cheese and bacon bits along with a mustard sauce. It is definitely quite a large hot dog for one person, and would be decent to be shared between two for a snack. You basically need to eat this with knives and forks though, since there is no way to avoid a mess. I actually found that the bun was a bit soggy though, and wasn’t as crisp and toasted as I would’ve liked it. The onions were also barely cooked so the taste of raw onions were quite pungent. I loved the chili, bacon bits and loads of cheese though!

T-Rings

We also ordered a side of T-Rings. These are essentially double battered onion rings. I can almost be sure to say that they are also double fried… These things are deadly and oily! Because they are double battered, the batter is extremely thick and oily. I actually found that distracting and would’ve liked a thinly battered onion ring instead. It felt so unhealthy eating all that oily batter! The onion rings, however, were huge in circumference! Each order came with 5 onion rings.

Overall, I wasn’t extremely impressed with Tubby Dog’s food. I didn’t think it was as amazing as the reviews said. If I were to pay a price of around $7, I rather buy a Japadog instead. I guess Calgary needs to try some Japadogs, and they may rethink about what a good hot dog is! I do, however, love the atmosphere at Tubby Dog. That retro vibe is difficult to find, and they definitely played it well at this diner. A really cool place to hang out with some friends and devour some greasy food!

Ichi Rock [ra:ku]

March 16, 2013April 28, 2013Leave a comment

For dinner, we took a 15 minute walk to an area with more food. S had urbanspooned some popular restaurants, and Ichi Rock [ra:ku] had some pretty good ratings.

The place is essentially run by a young Japanese couple. The man is the one cooking and behind the sushi bar, and the lady does all the serving and order taking. The interior is decorated with a modern twist, with lots of Ikea lights (Don’t ask why I recognize them..). The restaurant itself is quite small and can probably only fit 30 people max. It was still almost half full on a weekday night. Not bad for a small business. Food of course came out a little slower since there is only one chef.

Green Tea

I was surprised that we were actually charged a $1 each for our green tea when I looked at the bill later. However, I was fine with that as the green tea didn’t seem to be too watered down. It also came in fancy little cups!

Risotto Roll – avocado, crab meat, chopped shrimp, cheese, mayo topped with honey mustard sauce (served warm)

S and I decided to share two items. They have a variety of special rolls, but the Risotto Roll especially stood out for us. It said it was served warm! I’ve never had warm sushi, so I was curious what it would be like. It was served on a plate covered in tin foil, and the sushi was covered with sauce, mayo and cheese. It was stringy and definitely reminded me of risotto! Japanese style of course! It was essentially a California roll, but with a twist to it. Quite creative and worth a try!

Okonomiyaki – Japanese style pancake with seafood

The second dish we chose was the Okonomiyaki. I really enjoyed this dish. You can choose from bacon, seafood, or vegetables, but we chose seafood. It was filled with oysters and squid and tons of cabbage. It was then covered with cheese, mayo, fish flakes, and seaweed. I loved how the cheese added a stringy texture to it and it almost felt like there wasn’t any batter to it. Really flavourful and the portion was huge. We ended up sharing it with the other girls.

Overall, I was quite content with the food at Ichi Rock. Although the service was slow, I can understand since they are run by only two people and the friendly service definitely makes up for it. They also have some homemade desserts that looked quite good. The prices are average – not exactly cheap, but not ridiculously expensive. After trying two Japanese restaurants in Calgary, I still find that Vancouver has better restaurants at a better price!

Koto Sushi Lounge

March 14, 2013April 28, 2013Leave a comment

Last week, I went to Calgary for a school competition. There was still snow on the streets and the temperature was in the negatives! Totally appreciate Vancouver weather now… Anyways, we were trying to figure out where to eat for a late lunch, but most places were not within walking distance. We walked out of the Westin Hotel, and one block down we saw Koto Sushi Lounge, so we decided to check it out.

The interior is quite nice. The place was filled with high tables and high booths. Unfortunately, we were eating at around 4 pm, so there was only one other table. There was also only one server working who definitely failed to give a good service. We understand that the place is completely empty, but doesn’t that mean that it’s easier to provide service to us since you only need to keep an eye on one table? But no – after waiting for 10 minutes waiting to place our orders, we literally had to walk up to her to give in our order sheet. The Japanese restaurants here seem to use order sheets a lot even though it’s not all-you-can-eat.

Spicy Salmon Crunchy – salmon mixed with volcano sauce, jalapeno pepper, fried red onion chips on top of a crunchy roll of tempura asparagus, tobiko and mayo
Koto San’s Seared Salmon Roll – seared salmon, Korean sweet and spicy sauce, imitation crabmeat, mayo, cucumber, avocado and sesame
Yammy Yammy Roll – avocado, yam tempura, mayo, mango sauce and crispy yam tempura slice

Our food, however, came quite quickly. We chose three of their specialty rolls. The one in the back was the Spicy Salmon Crunchy. It is definitely full of spice with the jalapeno pepper! At first, I ate the pepper on its own, which was definitely a bad idea, but when you eat the whole roll in one bite, the spiciness isn’t as apparent. In fact, it tasted much better with the spice mixed with the sauce.

In the middle is the Koto San’s Seared Salmon Roll. This was opposite to the first roll, where it was a little sweet with the mango. Definitely good to eat after the first one! A cleanser almost!

The roll in the very front, called Yammy Yammy Roll, was surprisingly really good. At first, I thought it would be a typical yam roll, but it actually had a spin to it. I loved how it came with yam chips, which were really crunchy and gave the roll a nice texture.

Overall, the food was alright. I found the sushi rice to be a bit hard though. The service was definitely poor. Even when we wanted to pay, it took forever to get her attention. The prices are also a bit pricey, but I guess it’s because it’s right in the heart of downtown with business people everywhere.

Shyun Sushi Bar

March 13, 2013April 28, 2013Leave a comment

Shyun Sushi Bar seems to be a hidden gem. It’s not exactly easy to spot, but looking at the reviews online, it has really good ratings.

It serves authentic Japanese food, and I believe that the owners were working that day. We were greeted by a Japanese lady and there was a man behind the sushi bar. The place is quite simple but homey. There was only another table during our time at the restaurant, but it was a weekday night.

I thought their chinaware was quite special. They were decorated as opposed to typical plates that you could purchase on the market.

Gyu-Tata – quick-seared beef tenderloin sliced and immersed in “ponzu” sauce

We started off with the Gyu-Tata, which is basically their beef tataki. It was a large plate and the beef tenderloin was sliced thinly and lightly seared on the sides. Not bad!

Flying Dragon – BBQ eel, yam tempura, cucumber and salmon
Unagi Nigiri

We also got some sushi. We got the Flying Dragon, which had yam tempura and cucumber inside and topped with eel and salmon on the top. It was flavourful with the sauce and therefore you didn’t need to dip it in soy sauce. The Unagi Nigiri was also quite delicious.

Aburi Butter – *not on the menu!

J saw online that there was some sort of clam dish, but we realized that it was just a clam miso soup. We asked the lady if the chef could just cook up some sort of clam dish, and they did! It was flavoured with mushrooms, enoki mushrooms and a buttery sauce. Quite delicious!

Chopped Scallop Nigiri

I love chopped scallop, so I got the Chopped Scallop Nigiri. I was surprised that they had a little bit of tobiko on top, which I don’t see often. The scallops were extremely fresh and it was one of the best Chopped Scallop Nigiris I’ve had!

Sweet Crunch – some vegetables and kaiware

Lastly, we got the Sweet Crunch. It’s basically a california roll with something crunchy inside! I guess it was just a tempura batter, but it added some great texture.

Overall, I must agree with the other reviewers that Shyun Sushi Bar is a hidden gem. It’s authentic and the service is genuine. They also have some homemade desserts that sound delicious!

The Jade Seafood Restaurant 玉庭軒海鮮酒家

March 12, 2013April 28, 20131 Comment

Located on Alexander Rd, Jade Seafood Restaurant is always packed with people. They essentially have their own parkade, which is a big lot, but the place is still impossible to find spots.

If you place an order before 11 a.m., you can also get a discount for your dim sum. I believe it was 20% off.

Salted Chicken Congee

Instead of ordering the typical dim sum, we chose to get a dim sum set lunch that would feed 4 diners. It was only $39.99 so it was extremely affordable and filling. First, we had the Salted Chicken Congee which came with salted Chinese donuts and salted peanuts on the side. The congee was flavourful because there were pieces of salted chicken in it. However, I disliked how the chicken still had bones, so it was a little difficult to eat.

Vegetable in Fish Soup

The second dish was Vegetables in Fish Soup. It was topped with bean curd. The vegetables dipped in the fish soup made it tasty and healthy.

Chicken and Vegetable Chow Mein

The third dish was Chicken and Vegetable Chow Mein. I found that the noodles were way too oily but lacked flavour. This was just alright.

Assorted Dim Sum Platter – BBQ Pork Steamed Buns, Shrimp Dumplings, Seafood Spring Rolls, Siu Mai

The last item was the Assorted Dim Sum Platter. It included 4 of each items since it is designed for 4 people. The items were all decent but I wouldn’t say they were anything amazing. I found it odd that they put a steamed shrimp on top of the shrimp dumplings though. Only one…How odd…

Beef with Chinese Parsley Rice Roll

Since we had 5 people eating, we decided to add some extra dishes although we were comfortably full already. I didn’t try the Beef with Chinese Parsley Rice Roll, but I was told it was quite smooth.

Steamed Phoenix Claws

Lastly, we also got the Steamed Phoenix Claws, which is one of my favourite items for dim sum. This one was marinated nicely with a little heat.

Overall, Jade Seafood Restaurant has decent dim sum food. It’s not a place to expect spectacular food, but it isn’t bad. Service was also a hit and miss. Our first server was extremely efficient, but when we asked another server, it took us around 10 tries to get his attention. He stared at our direction, but I’m not sure where his eyes were looking because he either just zoned out or had terrible observation skills.

Froshberg Gelato

March 5, 2013April 28, 2013Leave a comment

Matcha Gelato

The new Dining Terrace at Richmond Centre has been open for quite some time now, and everyone was talking about the new Froshberg Gelato. I finally decided to go try it out during my break from work, and chose the Matcha Gelato. However, I wasn’t too satisfied with the flavour. I found it really sweet and almost artificial. It didn’t have the true matcha tea leaves flavour to it. It almost felt too milky and creamy for it to be a matcha gelato.

I’ve yet to try the other flavours though, so perhaps the other flavours are much better.

New Concept Hot Pot 蜀九香

March 3, 2013April 28, 2013Leave a comment

I’ve been to New Concept Hot Pot once before, but for some reason, I don’t have a fond memory of it. It’s a tiny little shop on Westminster Hwy, so reservations are pretty much a must. I find that the place is much cleaner than many of the other hot pot places too. However, they are not that great in English, so it’s more catered to mandarin-speaking customers.

They use an electronic heater, and you can tell that everything is pretty brand new and clean. It’s interesting how they offer sunflower seeds while you wait for your food. Their menu isn’t too extensive though, so they really only have the basics.

We got one side with spicy Sze Chuan soup base, and the other side a mushroom soup base. The mushroom soup base was also filled with goji berries. New Concept Hot Pot also offers a pot that can have 3 soup bases, which isn’t seen at many restaurants.

Udon, Rice Cake

I found the udon to be of poor quality since it wasn’t chewy at all. The rice cakes were also not that chewy. I wasn’t too satisfied with these two items.

Tripe, Ice Tofu, Soft Tofu, Octopus, Lotus Root, Wintermelon

Sweet Potato Noodles, Yam Root Noodles

Dumplings

Variety of Veggies

Enoki Mushrooms

Spicy Beef and Spicy Fish

I found this too spicy personally, but the beef was very tender. It was almost like a chili base for the spice.

Beef

Another variety of Beef

Overall, the food was quite typical. Nothing extremely amazing. We ended up paying a little under $30 each person. Their menu is definitely smaller than many other hot pot places though. But the quality of their food is decent. Service was also quite well. The food took a little long to arrive in the beginning, but after that, the wait was quite reasonable.