Undercover Gourmet

If there’s one thing I love about Edmonton, or Canada in general, is the diverse population of ethnic groups. From a far, it may seem like Edmonton is full oil rigging prairie folk, but look closer into the small streets and corners and you will discover a quaint little community.

My favorite hidden gem for Vietnamese subs is Nhon Hoa Sandwich Bar. It may not look like much from the outside, but this little family owned shop puts out fantastic subs. I always order the “special”. To be honest, I still don’t know what the proper Vietnamese name for it is, but the owner always seems to understand me just fine. This delicious sandwich begins with a long sub roll that gets a quick toast. Mayonnaise and pâté are spread on next, followed by a good helping of assorted gelatinous Vietnamese sausage, which is very similar to head cheese, a squeeze of dark sauce, shredded carrots, cucumber sticks, your choice or not of hot peppers, and then is finished with cilantro. Please don’t pick the cilantro out (I know it’s a very acquired taste, and the majority of people hate it), as it gives a refreshing contrast to the sausage and pâté spread. The proportion of bread to filling is perfect, unlike a few other sub places in Chinatown that offer way too much bun (and not to mention some that cut the roof of your mouth!). I also recommend getting 2 subs if you’re hungry, which will only cost you $7 for both. Located north of 97^th street along 106 Ave. Nhon Hoa also has a shop located on the eastern end of Whyte Avenue.

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I was pretty upset when during my last visit to NYC I forgot to stop at Dylan’s Candy Bar. When Dylan’s did a special Valentine’s candy suite for the Renaissance Hotel, it was a good enough excuse for me to place an order.

From the beginning, I had a feeling there would be problems. My first contact with the candy Shoppe was via email, where I inquired about international shipping costs. No response. That’s ok I thought, email questions are usually a hit and miss. My second attempt was by telephone. The agent I spoke with said someone would email the shipping costs to me, as their international orders agent was gone for the day. Again, no response. Being the persistent, sweet toothed individual that I was, I called again several days later. Finally somebody with answers. Decisions were made, cute candy bins were admired, and a $70 group candy order was placed. All I asked for was an invoice with tracking number, so I could divvy up the costs between friends. Nothing came by email. By then I was starting to get frustrated. It’s only candy people, how hard can it be! To make a long story short, Dylan’s is extremely disorganized. There was confusion about whether I had placed my order with the warehouse, or at their NYC location. That alone took multiple phone calls to clarify. When the candy arrived days later, I was sad to see it was not what I ordered. The mini colorful gummy frogs I saw on the internet where just regular sized green frogs. My Swedish fish aqua life was only Swedish fish, and one of the two mini plastic bins was cracked and damaged during transportation.

When I called to voice my concerns, the repetitive answer I received was “I’m sorry, I wasn’t the one taking your order”. Hoping that this would be the last and final time I had to call the store, I asked to speak to the manager. After several more minutes of playing the blame game, I was offered a new bin to “call it even”. I was accused of not communicating clearly, when in fact Dylan’s website was confusing, without product codes, and the agent taking my order did not clarify the items with me. Shouldn’t your own staff know the products better than your customer? Is that not called customer service and product knowledge?!?!

I don’t mind paying extravagant dollars for products, but a good level of customer service better balance out the costs. It took half a dozen phone calls before an order of candy was placed and somewhat properly received. Has working in the hospitality industry set my standards too high? Or is good customer service more difficult to come by? Regardless, Dylan’s has made it onto my blacklist.

Every February, I moan and groan about how Chinese New Year is coming around the corner, and that there will be many long family gatherings, taking place around endless meals, ending in a dosage of Tums or other antacids. The truth is, aside from all the obvious pros like red pockets, I don’t mind Chinese New Year. Like Christmas holiday, this is another time of year where each member of the family battles for their night to prepare an over the top, heart-stopping, jean unbuttoning meal. If you are also married to a Chinese, then your dining days just doubled exponentially. Each family dinner is unique, of course because each cook has their signature dishes and specialties. Then there are the dim sums, also with different sides of the family, and then the big meal at a Chinese Restaurant with EVERYBODY. This year I have 3 scheduled meals, meaning before the week is over it will probably be more like 6 meals.

Dinner #1 – Beijing Beijing

This night was the perfect example of Hong Kong style chaos. Tables of diners crammed inside the restaurant like sardines, a waiting area overflowed with hungry pacing customers, tables and chairs bobbing up and down as waiters scramble to create more sitting space. Our food took an hour to arrive, a very long time for Chinese standards, but it gave me time to watch in amusement as the madness unfolded. Our reservation was at 6pm, and the restaurant was already full by then. We sat elbow to elbow, with our chairs pressed close to the table, and our backs being bumped frequently by passing servers. We watched as the waiting area slowly flowed into the dining room, causing impatient individuals to teeter over diners trying to enjoy their meal. Intermittently you would hear the waiters shout “excuse me, excuse me please!” as they passed chairs and tables to each other through the lobby area, and weaved around the already tight round tables. I watched, intrigued, waiting for somebody to lose an eye. Tables were being set up in awkward places, in front of the hostess stand, and near the washroom entrance. I cringed, envisioning how angry a fire marshal would be if he walked into this establishment at that very moment. I was positive every fire code was being violated that night.

Lobster with Vermicelli

The food finally arrives. We started with a crab meat and shark fin soup, a must to start the New Year off right! Although slightly stingy on the shark fin, the chunks of crab meat were plentiful. The soup was tasty with a good slightly thick consistency. 20 minutes later the rest of our meal was finally underway. Whole lobster with vermicelli noodles arrived, followed by free range soy chicken with wide flat rice noodles. I enjoyed the chicken as the flavour penetrated into the tender meat, and the skin was smooth and silky, however the noodles were disappointedly dried out. Battered sea bass, Chinese black mushrooms with dried oysters and vegetables, and pea shoots with dried scallops came next. The sea bass was one of the better dishes with fish cooked to perfection and coating that was nicely seasoned. Although we were initially promised fried rice, our waitress was mistaken, and our set dinner in fact only offered plain white rice, which she forgot until we inquired about it at the end of the meal. The night somewhat redeemed itself when the bowls of sweet red bean dessert soup with

Soy Chicken with Rice Noodles

sesame dumpling were placed on the table. The dumpling was soft, bursting with black sesame filling, and swimming in a sweet but not too sweet red bean liquid. Overall it was overpriced for the quantity and quality, but it’s Chinese New Year, a moment to spend time with family, not for complaining. I’ll let this meal slide.

Dinner #2 – My Aunt-In-Law’s

My aunt-in-law is one of the best Chinese cooks I know. Her meals are always plentiful, and range in complexity from simple and clean to intricate dishes which require multiple days to prepare. Nobody ever goes home hungry, and this year’s dinner was no exception.  Our feast consisted of:

Garlic shrimp, taro root with duck, omelette with fried miniature white fish and fish belly, braised pork belly with tendon, pork skin and turnip, Chinese greens with abalone, stir fried salmon and cucumbers, vegetarian dish of tofu wrappers, mushrooms and greens, and salty chicken.

Good thing I wore my loose jeans that night.

Dinner #3 – Jumbo Restaurant

Our last celebratory meal to Chinese New Year lands us at Jumbo Restaurant in the west end. It was a very quiet night, being a weekday, and the chaos of Chinese New Year 3 days behind us. In China and Hong Kong, the celebrations last several more weeks, with weeklong holidays given to many. Trying to coordinate 20 odd individuals is not an easy task, so here we gather for the grand finale.

Our feast begins with a large plate of appetizers: jellyfish, Chinese assorted cold cuts, pickled chicken feet, pickled cabbage and calamari. Fish belly soup, and peaches and cream shrimp soon follow. This fried platter of shrimp smothered in mayonnaise and decorated in peaches is usually my favourite dish, but today the sauce tastes slightly off. We rest momentarily before the main dishes arrive in steady intervals. Lobster in cream sauce with egg noodles (almost always present at special occasion dinners), scallops in crispy birds nest, salt and pepper crab, fragrant garlic chicken, stir fried white fish with mushrooms, and finally fried rice with fish roe and seafood. By the end of our meal, everyone was stuffed beyond belief. We’ve been training all week, filling our stomachs beyond the limit with each passing meal, but unlike an Olympic athlete, our training did not improve our stamina or strength. We all felt the food was subpar from its usual standards, possibly the leftover ingredients from the busy weekend, or maybe we all overdid it this time. Regardless, many boxes of leftovers were for the taking.  

I braved the overcrowded restaurants, sat through endless meals with relatives, and ate so much I’m considering going to the doctor to check my cholesterol level. This is the survival of Chinese New Year.

I have to admit, Cora’s is the only restaurant where their menu pictures come out exactly the same in real life. The fruit arrangement, the colors, the plating, it’s pretty much spot on when your breakfast arrives! There is a rumour to clarify when dining at Cora’s: yes, the wait is long on the weekend. I have been told by several people to go early on Sunday and Saturday’s, like 8am or earlier. I was extremely skeptical of that (I mean it’s the weekend… doesn’t everybody sleep in?!), but after Sunday morning, watching all the hungry patrons sandwich into the entranceway like sardines, I accepted the truth. By 9am, the line started to grow at the hostess stand, and by 10 when we were done our meal, the line looked rather uncomfortable.

However, once inside and seated comfortably, the scenery changes for the better. The decor is cheerful and bright, with oversized cartoon drawings of food scattered across the walls. For those who don’t fall under the morning person category, this restaurant will definitely ease you into your day. The food on the other hand, was slightly over rated. I do admit the selection is way more sophisticated than Denny’s or Smitty’s, and the presentation is beautiful. My first choice, Raspberry 4 Lucie, a crepe dish with raspberries and cream cheese, sadly was not available, so I settled for an April 89. The crepe was monstrous! Filled with custard and fresh fruits, this enormous crepe stretched the entire length of a 12” plate. Disappointingly, I only managed to eat half (I thought I could do at least ¾’s!). Two guests in our party opted for Benedict’s, while my husband intriguingly ordered the crepomelette, a crepe and omelette rolled neatly together. While it was innovative, we thought the hollandaise sauce looked rather orange, a red flag for sauce from a package. Other than that, the overall meal was good. I enjoyed my gigantic crepe with fruits, but honestly couldn’t say I would brave the line up for it. Service is on the slow side, both for table service and food; two hours for breakfast would cause any restaurant to back-log. The fruits for each plate are cut to order, which, while benefit in freshness, does affect other factors. Things might have ended differently if they hadn’t 86’d my first choice. Maybe there will be a next time…we’ll see how early I get up.

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