Undercover Gourmet

“I scream, you scream, we all scream for yogurt!” Yes, yes, I know it’s supposed to be “ice cream”, but that’s just how I excited I felt when I entered Menchie’s Garneau. The color scheme of the international franchise is an uplifting bright pink and green, the perfect atmosphere for families, children and young adults. The images of cartoon yogurt cones and cow characters seen around the store remind me of a Japanese video game. I guess it could have been the atmosphere, or that I was honored with an invite to the store’s grand opening.

Menchie’s has been opened in Edmonton for 6 weeks now, a first time appearance for this self-serve frozen yogurt chain. As with other self-serve froyo joints, you get to choose your flavor of yogurt, what toppings to put on and of course, how much of each your stomach desires. “Mix, weigh, and pay” is their motto. We were able to sample each and every one of the yogurt flavors available that day. There was a good mix of a variety of flavors, of sweet and tart, light and heavy.

My top flavors include:
1) Green apple tart: light, sweet, tart, good natural green apple flavors
2) Cherry tart: also light, sweet, and tart. Could use a bit more cherry flavor.
3) Peanut butter: creamy and delicious. It had the perfect intensity of peanut butter. Not too much where I felt like I was eating a spoonful of peanut butter, but enough that I could eat it on its own or add Reeses peanut butter cups to it.
4) Red velvet: it was more chocolatey than red velvet, but overall the texture was creamy and smooth. The chocolate was not overwhelming, and again it had a good enough flavor that additional toppings wouldn’t put you into a sugar coma.

Some other flavors included:
1) Irish mint: a good palette cleanser. Too minty for a whole serving. Maybe some oreo cookies or chocolate bits would break the mintyness up
2) Breakfast special: interesting concept. Remember when you were a kid (or last weekend), when you would eat a bowl of Fruit Loops, then drink the milk afterwards? Well turn that into a yogurt!
3) Birthday cake: we were informed that it was one of their most popular flavors, however I found there was a slight aftertaste.
4) Ripe red strawberry: not sweet enough for me, and I found it lacked in strawberry flavor. My yogurt partner Davina said it reminded her of Hi-chew candy.

The toppings were pretty standard. There was a good mix of chocolates, candy, fresh fruit and sauces. They had blueberry mochi available that day, which is a huge winner for me! And the popping bobba, which by the way, I had no idea that was the proper term for it.

The two owners and kind hosts for the Blogurt Fest grand opening held that Saturday morning were wonderful and informative. It was a nice way of welcoming some community bloggers, hold a creative yogurt contest, as well as entice the general public to free yogurt for a generous window of 4 hours. We learned about the founding of Menchie’s, which was originally opening by a Californian couple. The word ‘mench’ meant good and loyal friend., and the “ie” was the feminine conjugation which was the name given to Danna by her husband, the successful husband and wife team of this delicious yogurt shop. Such sweet beginnings to a very successful empire. Prior to the invite, I had never heard of Menchie’s (and I’m a huge yogurt lover!), so I was impressed to learn that there were already 300 stores internationally, and 49 of those were right here in Canada.

After a generous tasting of all the yogurt flavors, the contest began where each contestant were to put forth their unique yogurt creation. A panel of 3 judges scored each contestant on their presentation, taste, and the name of their yogurt creation. I named mine the “red and green goblin”, a twist of green apple and cherry tart yogurt, topped with kiwi and strawberry. It was not one of  the winners that morning, but I got to eat free yogurt and it certainly hit the spot!

When the fun and games came to an end and we left the store, a line-up of eager freebie yogurt lovers snaked its way around the strip mall. If it’s one thing that will get Edmontonian’s out of bed on a Saturday morning, it’s free yogurt!

Thanks for a lovely time Menchie’s Garneau, I’m sure you don’t need the good luck, but I still wish you all the success!

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Hungry for European fare but a few airmiles short of a ticket? Bistro Praha has you covered within city limits. After returning to Bistro Praha from a 3 year hiatus it is always good to know the consistency is there and the flavours are as vivid as you remembered. The meals so sinfully delicious when they relocated, due to a fire, they had to be closer to a church.

The roasted duck (or goose when available) is amazing as always, coming out picture perfect and served on a warmed plate. When you bring your utensils down on your meal the browned skin speckled with fennel seeds and spice breaks away revealing tender meat beneath that beads with its own juices in anticipation. There is no need to really “cut” into the meat as it can just as easily be pulled away in succulent threads. With a bit of the warm seasoned skin to go along with your first bite and enjoy. Now even though the roasted duck plays by itself nicely the two supporting sides makes this a complete dish. Sauerkraut with bits of smoked pork cooked together to create the perfect acidity to enhance the flavours of the meat. The bread dumplings, I believe are steamed, reminded me of Chinese “mantou” buns. Though softer and less sweet than their Chinese counterpart, are equally delicious as they are drizzled with jus from the roasted duck which absorb and retain the savouriness in its fluffy pockets. Creating bites with equal parts of all three items on your plate can be quite the challenge but becomes exceptionally rewarding when achieved. This dish does come in a half order but why would anyone deny themselves this pleasure?

Please enjoy responsibly with the Lobkowicz Baron beer which is a medium bodied dark lager with caramel and chocolate qualities.

This post is written by Jason Fong

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I’ve never been to Spain, but if I were to close my eyes and imagine, it would be exactly like the magical adventure that I experienced with this Jamon. Let me start from the beginning…

One day my food-partner-in-crime Jason sent me a Costco link. The link advertised a gorgeously aged, imported from Spain, Jamon Iberico. The price tag, $1000. What is so special about this ham you say? Well for starters it’s imported from Spain, and even the spaniards consider this meat a delicacy. The pig itself is a special breed. Black hoofed, feeding mostly on acorns, and only raised in certain areas of the peninsula, this pig once cured, develops the most mouth watering flavorful ham ever.

After a quick discussion with my fellow family members, it was agreed upon that the holiday of 2012 would be the perfect occasion to splurge for this ham. Plus, with Costco, it most likely would not be available for much longer. The final decision was of course, to splurge how much? The $1000 Jamon was aged a lengthy 39 months. Having had some smidgen of common sense left in our consciousness, my dad agreed to make-due with the $550 one which was aged 24 months. He calls this our “practice ham”. For the record my mom, brother and husband all thought we were crazy for spending this kind of money, but I hope the real culinary coinassours out there will disagree. The order was placed, and we all patiently wait.

New Years Eve arrives, and the package is delivered at noon, right on schedule. What emerges from the box is not only a tantalizing Jamon, but is a masterpiece waiting to be assembled. Ham, wooden stand, and carving knife, all conveniently dropped off by the UPS truck. The Jamon itself weighs a hefty 12.5 kg. What percentage of that is pure meat is still to be determined. The assembly begins with a little online video tutorial. www.tienda.com has a great clip on how to care for, carve, and store your ham. We are advised to let the meat rest at room temperature for 1-2 days, but with my brother and girlfriend leaving back to Calgary that day, we had no choice but to dive right in (I know… even after he called us crazy). With the hoof end of the leg securely clamped in place, we were ready to carve! According to the tutorial, there were multiple parts of the leg to carve from, each with there own unique flavors and ratios of meat and fat. We decide to tackle the babilla, which is the rump end of the ham, or the top section when the leg is positioned with the hoof facing down. We start by slicing away large portions of skin and fat, putting them aside as we were instructed to save it for re-covering the ham afterwards. As we take turns carving and getting to know the pressure required and motion of the knife, slowly, perfect paper thin slices of beautiful ham were laid upon a snow white plate. Maybe it was the anticipation. Maybe it was the build-up of excitement. Or maybe, it was just that damn good. This was the greatest slice of cured meat I have ever had. The flavor was distinctly pig, the saltiness was of a perfect amount, and the texture was almost silky. The ratio of meat to fat was such a wonderful combination, it melted in your mouth. Between bites of Jamon and sips of sherry, one could almost believe, almost, that my mom’s messy kitchen was the beautiful countrysides of Spain.

Next we tackled the La Maza, the underside of the leg. With the leg rotated 180 degrees, hoof facing upwards, we discovered a whole new taste. To our surprise, the meat had almost an entirely new flavor. It was more mellow on this side of the leg, and had a much more pleasant aftertaste. There was distinctly more fat, which in turn, gave the paper thin slices of meat an almost surreal texture. This was by far a more superior side. This side also housed more meat, holding up to several more slicing sessions. Reminiscing on the ham from the La Maza section instinctually causes my mouth to water. The way the flavor of the Jamon bursts into your mouth upon contact causes my eyes to widen and my consciousness to go into a momentary state of bliss. I would do anything for a slice right now…

La Punta was the last section, located on the opposite of the hoof. Sadly we did not get to experience this side as my mom had harvested the meat one afternoon, most likely out of boredom. According to her, it was a bit tough and not as pleasant. I guess we’ll have to wait for the next ham to verify that opinion.

Looking back, I must say that this was one of the best food experience I’ve ever had. Yes it may have cost $550, but for the experience it gave us, I could almost say it was priceless. It allowed us as a family to spend hours together, talking, laughing, bonding, sipping sherry. We were able to satisfying our curiosity for Spanish culture, giving us a taste of what delicacy that country can offer. Would I do it again? I wouldn’t even have to think twice about that answer. I guess we had better start saving up for next Christmas.

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Reality food blogging has begun. To see the latest meals, follow me on Instagram (undercovergourmet), Twitter (@UndrcovrGourmt), or Flickr.

The average person eats 1095 meals per year. 3 meals a day, some people less, some people more, 7 days a week, 52 weeks in a year. That’s a lot of meals!

Starting January 1st, join me as I document each and every meal consumed in 2013. Not every meal will be elaborate, nor will it always be a pretty picture, but it will be a real meal-by-meal representation of a true foodie. When we blog, we only write about things that really move us, restaurants that really piss us off, or recipes in which we are successful at. But what happens on the days we don’t feel like cooking, or when we sneak in that Big Mac from McDonalds?

Why am I doing this?
#1 Memories. I can barely remember what I ate 2 days ago, let alone what I ate a few months ago! This will be a great experience to reflect on. Especially meals consumed on vacation.
#2 Document what we really eat. I’ve come across blogs where the writer challenges themselves to be free of processed foods for a certain amount of time, or cooking all the recipes from a well known cookbook, or post a food related blog everyday, but these are not from a normal routine. The purpose of this is to share with everyone what happens in real life. Let’s calls it “reality food blogging”.
#3 I always love a challenge. “You’re not going to keep it up” my husband says. I say, “challenge accepted”.

Some ground rules to share:
Don’t expect a colorful essay on each meal because let’s face it, that is not realistic. Don’t even expect a paragraph. It will be a simple format, a picture with the following caption: name/brief description – meal/time of day – location.

There are some things I eat or drink everyday, so I’m not going to bother to post those. On a work day, the routine is a yogurt followed by a coffee. Not particularly exciting either so we’ll nix that unless its a fancy coffee or I’m having a coffee binge day. Same with water, tea, and juice. Definitely not ground breaking news.

I snack a lot. Like multiple times a day. If I put up photos of my day-long snacking, I may be fired from my regular job, so we’ll also leave that out unless it’s something noteworthy other than chips or candy.

Finally, if you have read up to this point then I’ve somewhat intrigued you! All photos will be loaded into a couple of different places. There will be a rolling gallery located on the side bar of this blog showing the most recent meals. You can also view the entire photo collection on Flickr or on Instagram (undercovergourmet).

Happy ‘Reality Food Blog’ following!