Nagoya Japanese Restaurant - Saskatoon, SK

Sorry for the lack of photos... was hangry!

I was craving sushi for a while and nothing beats all you can eat. There are actually quite a few choices for all you can eat sushi in this city and I no doubt, before I move, will try them all. At Nagoya Japanese Restaurant, they provide a chinese buffet part of the included price, which I found interesting and loved the concept. Foodwise on the buffet wasn't the freshest, you can tell its been sitting there all day.. most of the food tasted very dry - don't blame them though since I went at around 8pm and they close at 9 or 9.30 (Bad memory).

Buffet was around $26 and it included sashimi. In the past when i've been to all you can eat (Calgary + Red Deer), the usually don't include sashimi so I was happy they did here... but wasn't happy with the quality of it.

Its known for restaurants to freeze salmon etc to keep it from going bad/getting parasites but here you could tell it was definitely not fresh, it tasted still frozen... it just tasted like eating a cold half frozen piece of rubber. I was very disappointed.

The all you can eat menu was an adequate amount, they had desserts (Deep fried bananas + ice cream), appetizers, rolls, udon, etc. Their special rolls were pretty taste, dragon roll... I only tried a few. No regrets there.
Service was below average, we went too close to closing so they were pretty obvious in letting us know we should leave.

Overall, I think you can tell if a sushi restaurant is good dependent on their sashimi served. Sashimi is so simple yet so delicate. They lacked in that department and since there are a abundance of japanese restaurants in the city, I highly doubt I'd come back to this place.

Aroma Mediterranean Resto Bar - Saskatoon, SK

Aroma! During my move to Saskatoon, I stayed twice at the Radisson and dined at their Aroma Restaurant conveniently located downstairs. I normally don't dine in the hotel and prefer to dine at local restaurants in the city but the first time I dined here, it was purely for the convenience and I am very happy I did. The second time I stayed at the Radisson, dining at Aroma was one thing I was looking very forward too! The food here is fantastic!

Since I've moved here, i have dined at a few restaurants in the city and spoken to a few people about local eats, I believe this is a highly underrated restaurant in this city. The service and food is exceptional.

 I had the same male server for both times I've been here (Can't remember his name :( ) but he was pleasant and observant, random side note: not a big fan of their uniforms, the long apron throws me off. I've had a couple of dishes here,

The first time, I had this unbelieveable pasta dish... looking at their current menu online, I don't believe its on there now :(. I'm usually avoid ordering pasta dishes from restaurants that don't specialize in it because I find myself with a very watery bland dish. This dish was amazing, all i remember is that it had truffle oil in it and I could not get enough of it in case you couldn't tell by my ravings. In the elevator, I was speaking to a gentleman and they were a little tipsy but was telling me how he just had fantastic pizza at Aroma... so of course when I was here, we ordered two as well. One being off the vegan/gluten free menu and the other being the Pig & Fig. The Pig & Fig had a great balance of sweetness from the onions and figs with the heaviness of the meat. They make the pizzas fresh by hand in the back of the restaurant.. pretty neat to watch. Most "wood stone fired" pizza's I find are easily burnt but these two pizzas were perfectly cooked. Both were pretty good, wasn't as great as the elevator guy made it to be... but then again he was a little under the influence and we all know how great food is at that stage.

One thing I was impressed with, is that one member of our party is vegan and they offered a separate menu for her which made it super easy to pinpoint the delicious dishes available for her. The second time I went, I ended up with a dish that was a chuck part of the meat (Also not in the current menu it seems), it was pretty good, very tender.
We also had a few appys as well which were of course, very appetizing.

Everyone that I ate with here, enjoyed their experience as much as I did.

I love the fact they offer little Hors D'oeuvrs before the entree. One is a antipesto (we got this both times), the second time we were offered an extra one but I couldn't remember what it was, what I do remember was that it was equally amazing.

I apologize, but I didn't seem to take photos of my first experience... must have been too hungry.

Overall, I have quite enjoyed both my experiences at Aroma and it is currently my favorite restaurant in Saskatoon. One thing this city does not lack is restaurants, shopping on the other hand... well thats another story. I love trying new restaurants but when I want a good experience and know I will be served delicious food, I will of course make my way to Aroma Mediterranean Resto Bar in the Radisson. 

Famoso - Red Deer, AB

Oh Famoso, everyone in town was super excited when you were opening a year ago. A year later and I'm still not a fan.  I've had a few bad experiences, chalked up to the first month or so they were open and no business will run smoothly without any mistakes when they first open.

In the beginning, I found that they were overstaffed and there was a lack of communication between the staff. I have many examples of what i find demonstrates this but that was then.. this is now. And the most important aspect of a business is of course, the food.
Everytime I go here, I always find my pizza a little burnt... I understand that its flat bread and its pretty hard to cook/keep it consistent. But because of the couple burnt pizza's I've had, I'm not really a big fan. Overall, the apps, the pizzas and the dessert's I've had aren't anything special to me...
The desserts, most of them are overwhelming sweet. Definitely can only handle a couple bites, but they are pretty good to look at and good to share... especially with other women when its a certain time of the month ;)

Overall, I'm not a big fan of Famoso, on a recent trip there was hair in the pizza. Working in the restaurant industry, I know these things happen but personally just from when they first opened and the mishaps I've had with them... it's not a place I frequent when I'm dining out. Side note, other then the first month or so of opening, the service is consistently friendly and the owner is usually always there and is very genuine in knowing how your meal went.

La Casa Pergola - Red Deer, AB

Oh La Casa Pergola... the great things I've heard about you. In High school my friend and I stopped by this little place and honestly I wasn't a big fan of their lunch menu...
But I've heard from many locals that this is the place for great authentic italian food. When i mention my "Meh" previous experience, they tell me the dinner menu will be worth it.


So a couple of us stopped by to check out this hidden away restaurant in downtown red deer and my reservations about this place prior were correct.

Ordered the Calamari, personally I found it unappetizing and soggy. The sauce, I was told, base is sour cream and it was weak and tasteless... Never had tasteless sour cream. Wasn't a very special dish. I love calamari and find most restaurants make it a little too oily, it wasn't oily here... when i say soggy, i mean it was un crispy from maybe not being properly cooked or sitting there too long before it was brought out...

I had the Fettuccini Con Pollo , small portion for $17. And boy.. was it small. I could probably grab the whole portion in my small hands and cover it all.
I understand fine dining and their small portions, but this place is not exactly the real fine dining experience.
I also found this dish flavorless. The Chicken was cooked perfectly and seasoned well. But that was the only appetizing aspect of this dish.
The pasta sauce is described to be made with all these cheeses yet I honestly didn't taste anything. It just tasted like watered down white sauce with a faint faint hint of cheese.
I think those cheap side kick packages at the grocery store have more flavor then this dish.
And the price... not worth it.
(They ran out of broccoli that night and subbed mushrooms.)

Overall, my experience wasn't memorable at this joint. I love the ambiance of the place. Its quaint and sadly it would be a great restaurant if the food was more flavorable, or at least the price should not be that high for the quality of the food.
Don't see the great food that everyone else is saying so personally, I will not be returning to this restaurant.

The Coconut Room - Red Deer, AB

Cafes like these are all the fad these days. I'm not a big coffee drinker, prefer to get my caffeine fix from some good ol' green tea but I've heard from many coffee drinkers that they love going to the Coconut Room for 'Real Coffee'. I stopped by here with a friend for lunch when I  heard they have a great lunch menu! I wasn't expecting much for their lunch menu, knowing it was more of a cafe with pastries, but they really only had three meals to be served for their lunch. We had the coconut curry (Which i'm starting to think its one of their most popular dishes) and what I believe was called the burrito bowl...

Its a very open space, with a small gallery in the corner.. did i mention it on top of Sunworks? Nice to do a little shopping on your way out! Their plating is simple yet fitting for the atmosphere. A bit expensive for what you get... but you pay for the quality not quantity.
Didn't find much special about the burrito bowl, pretty generic in my opinion. The Coconut Curry on the other hand, I can see why most people mention this dish when they talk about the food there.
Its a pretty tasty dish, very sweet.. what i love about this dish, is that they put a dollop of coconut on top of the curry, so you can mix it in or add a little to each bite. Both dishes are very hearty. They offer a mason jar with cinnamon sticks and apples... Personally, I didn't like it but it's nice to see that added touch.

They do offer many soups and salads, all of which sound very tasty. And they have a large selection of home made pastries. I've seen from their facebook page that they do offer a changing dinner menu, all of which looks pretty tasty and worth the try. 

If you like coffee, a quiet atmosphere, do not want gluten in your pastries, want into that whole healthy raw food or want to try out one of those trendy cafes that are popping up everywhere than this will be your place. Or even if you just want a decent snack while you are in downtown, try their coconut curry.

It's a quaint little cafe, I'm glad I tried it out. Doubt i'll be there again soon, or often... not really my type of restaurant but It's definitely worth it to stop by and check it out. 

One Eleven Grill - Red Deer

I remember the days when it was the Med and I didn't mind it. Looked to me they kept the same contemporary deco from the Med. Checked this place out for a friend's birthday on a friday night and it was pretty packed. Overall great atmosphere and they do offer live jazz music on Friday and Saturday nights.

But on to the more important part, the food....

I've heard many good things about their blueberry ribs but I knew i would never be able to finish a main dish of them. Luckily they do offer an app of mini ribs that have blueberry sauce on them. Honestly I'm one of those people that prefer traditional dishes and usually dislike any meat mixed with fruit sauces/purees or even the classic combo of chocolate and fruit...
But I'm glad i tried these mini ribs. Huge serving, I ordered it with the soup and salad and thought i might have to be wheeled out of there.
The pork ribs were succulent, very tender and the blueberry sauce was not over powering at all. You'd get the hint of fruity sweetness, not over powering at all! I loved it!

We ordered the red velvet cake for desert since they were all out of the cheesecakes. Wasn't a huge fan of the cake, it was a bit too dry for me and .. the desert wasn't really anything special nor really that tasty, just tasted like a dry flour cake with cream cheese icing.

Everyone else at our party enjoyed their mains. No complaints. Great atmosphere, an interesting menu - always something to try, tasty food and decent service. A place worth trying.

Joey Chinook Calgary

Stopped by Joey's since we were at the mall and ready for food but didn't feel like going to the food court.

First off, rant: i'm probably the only person to complain about this but I must! I'm a petite person. And i find the seat/table height ratio at Joey's bothering. The booth/chair thingys are comfy and my feet do firmly touch the ground but when i first went to sit down, I underestimated how low it was and basically just flopped into my seat. The tables are rather high compared to the seats,  halfway past my chest high.
I'm use to tables being halfway up my stomach and barely any inches between my thighs and the table top. But there was a good 9 inches from my thigh to the table. I thought it was an awkward position. Why must you put those chairs so low and the tables so high up?

Putting aside that, the food at Joey's is pretty good. Worth its price. The service on the other hand... could be a little better. 
They were adequately staffed, by that I mean i saw plenty of hosts/servers wandering around especially regrouping at the host stand. I don't mind if they're chatting and all but they could have actually been more attentive towards the guests. We were seated right away, but our drink orders took a good while. At first we thought our server was going to stop by asking for our drinks but then after a while a different hostess came by to take our drink orders (three waters). A while longer, our server came by with our drinks. And i noticed the same thing happened to other tables. It wasn't too busy in there...
Other then the table/chair heights annoyance (First time this has happened) , I get annoyed when my water/drink is constantly empty. I drink a couple cups of water during a meal and if I have to ask multiple times for more water, especially if they have looked at the table a couple of times, i'm not overly impressed. Nor am i impressed when hostesses are wandering around that are capable of filling drinks/collecting plates, or when we asked a different server for a refill but she never did return with water...

... maybe i'm a little anal about my water. :P But seriously, our glasses were empty during the entire time of our mains before we could finally get our server to refill them.

FINALLY, the food part! 

We had the Lettuce Boats with Chicken to start. They will give you extra lettuce boats if you want them too. They were pretty good, nothing that made it different for me then any other restaurant with lettuce wraps. Slightly spicy sauce, nice crunchy noodles.

I had the Steak frites as my main. Loved the seasoning and the parsley butter on top. It was very tender. Only thing is that I asked for a medium rare steak and i found it to be ... pretty rare for a medium rare. Not complaining, as long as it is not blue or well done, I will eat it! Because it was pretty rare, it was pretty juicy as well. Love the fries that come with the meals, it reminds me of the fries at earls... thin and crunchy. Mcdonalds fries except 10x better.

(after some googling on Joey's Tomatoes I found out it is part of the earl's family, which explains those fries!)

Steak Frites

Medium Rare Steak

Panang Prawn Curry Bowl

 Had a bite of my friend's Panang Prawn Curry Bowl, I didn't find it too spicy but then again I do love spicy.. or maybe my bite just didn't have any since the others did say it was spicy. Nice creamy curry. I find the plating to be a little odd with that tower of rice...

My other friend had the Chicken Souvaki and said it was decent.. the chicken was well seasoned. Personally, I didn't see it to be worth the try...

Chicken Souvaki

To conclude, pretty good dishes, the chairs and table heights bothered me, it seemed the hostesses don't do much from my point of view, my server or rather the whole team could be a more attentive. Worth the go.


Joey's AB Menu

Meet Fresh!

Ahh, Meet Fresh. One of my favorite places that i went to in Australia. Wish we had one in Alberta. Meet Fresh is a Taiwanese desert chain that offers reasonable prices for their deserts. The name threw me off at first, i thought it was Meat Fresh - some weird butcher deli shop. But now that I look back, I laugh, Its a cute name.

Deserts with taro balls, yam balls, nuts, red beans, ice cream and grass jelly among the many. They provide you with the little packets of cream if you wanted to add it to your already yummy desert. Most people mix it all up but I personally, like to just keep it like it is.

You are able to order most of the deserts hot or cold, suiting the weather. I usually went to the one in Haymarket and it was always packed. Even though there is always a huge line, the staff is efficient and the line goes by quite fast.

My favorite part is the shaved ice with herbal syrup, its quite refreshing and tasty. Reminds me of my childhood.

They have a great menu, many items that you must try! One of those places I miss most from Australia.

Thai Express Review - Crossiron Mills, Balzac, Alberta

Hi there,

Was shopping with a friend at Crossirons and we were both craving some thai food!
I was feeling up for some Pad thai but wasn't a fan of the thin rice noodles they were using, I prefer the flat rice noodles though the photos did look appetizing.
We both ended up ordering curry, some spicy Green Chicken Curry for myself and mild Yellow Chicken curry (around $8-9 dollars/each) for my friend. She also ordered a salad roll for around $2.50/ 1 piece + generous amount of peanut sauce.

Yellow Curry with Salad Roll

Green Curry

The curries were pretty good, especially for their price. Personally I like a 2:1 ratio of rice to curry but many places put a ton of curry sauce and very little rice. Luckily Thai express puts just the right amount of rice & curry for this lady :) Good amount of meat and eggplant in mine, my friend's as well. Only thing was that for green curry, i expect it to be pretty spicy - clear my sinus' spicy! And i'm pretty sensitive to spice, a drop of sirachi sauce or a tiny bit of kimchi has my heart going! But the green curry there wasn't really that spicy, it was a "Oh I taste some spicy/thingly feeling on my tongue" which was a bit disappointing. As well as it wasn't .. green...
My friend's curry was mild, perfect for her liking - a good classic yellow curry. Another dislike is that I didn't really taste any coconut milk in the curry, every once in a while a hint of it..

Her salad roll was just a regular vegetarian salad roll, the peanut sauce was a pretty dark brown for what I usually see but it tasted fine. I always think salad rolls are expensive for what they are...

Overall for the price, its a good place to relish your craving for thai food!

www.thaiexpress.ca

Yum Yum Korean Chicken & BBQ Cuisine, Airdrie, Alberta

Yum Yum Chicken lives up to its name, I am addicted to their chicken.
I've heard from a few family members that the chicken there is amazing, the skin beats kfc skin (Say whaaa? I find that hard to believe, nothing beats KFC skin) and with the raving reviews on Urbanspoon my next trip to Calgary, I decided I had to stop by in Airdrie to try out this yum yum chicken.

I went in around 6pm on Wednesday night and only a couple guys were sitting down waiting for their food. The cashier worker guy was pretty helpful and very patient with us trying to decide on which chicken we wanted to try. We tried the Spicy Fried Chicken, Shallot Chicken and Yum Yum Chicken. My favorite was the Shallot Chicken, it has a little spice to it as well. On all the Chicken, the skin was crispy, crunchy, delicious. 

The Yum yum chicken is lathered in their kind of sweet and sour sauce and then deep fried again. Spicy fried Chicken was spicy but not overly where I want to drown myself in milk.
I had extra of the Shallot chicken and bought it home, I was worried that the steam would ruin the crispy outside or when I microwaved it the crispyness would become soggy. But surprisingly it held up for two days in the fridge and through the microwave. The skin was still crispy, the shallotty spice was still preserved into the chicken. It was delicious as the first day i got it fresh, even a little better since I could taste more of the spice.

Price is reasonable, around $10 for a 2 piece meal, fries and a drink.. basically the same price as KFC. I ordered a small order of fries and it was a very generous portion!

Only downside of this place is that the to go containers, we ordered a half order to go and it was a generous size but it didn't fit into the little box they provided. There should be bigger to go boxes that cover the chicken adequately.     
I love this place, Yum Yum chicken lives up to its name and I will be making more stops here in the future. KFC you have some competition.


Yum Yum Chicken & BBQ Korean Cuisine
3 Stonegate Dr NW
Airdrie, AB T4B0N2
Phone: (403) 980-8303