jasongogal's Profile
What should I do with tons of chanterelles?
Just thaw.
Have since found that partially or mostly drying (WITHOUT heat!) and then freezing works great too.
South Indian in Edmonton?
I have had good food at Shudh cafe and Masalaz. Shudh does a great buffet and Masalaz does great thalis.
Edmonton - Lingonberries
You could have come to Saskatchewan or went to northern Alberta sometime in the last month and picked them or paid a hilarious 35 bucks for an ice cream pail of them.
Tim Hortons - breakfast sandwiches
I have a weakness for Tim's breakfast sandwiches. It's primarily the texture of the biscuit, with the flavor of the bacon and egg. I know I can make them taste much better at home, and I often do make biscuit sandwiches, but...the Tim's sandwiches do sometimes hit the spot.
Visiting Vancouver in May - request for Indian and SE Asian suggestions
My pleasure...if you have any further questions I'd be happy to elaborate.
You guys and you guys alone helped me discover mam nem and some outstanding beef preparations at VN restaurants. Thank you!
Visiting Vancouver in May - request for Indian and SE Asian suggestions
OK! The trip has come and gone, and here is my report.
Day 1: Chutney Villa for brunch. Being a fan of all foods South Indian in nature, I of course greatly enjoyed my meal here. The thali came with pongal, a thin tangy curry (puli kolambu?) rava upma, sambar, 2 spiced idlis, 2 dosas, and a hastily fried omelet. Plus 4 chutneys on the side, and some banana. It was all tasty but you could tell most if not all of it was premade and simply reheated. Still, all enjoyable and unique meal with some outstanding flavors. Would visit again.
For supper I went to Hai Phong and attempted to get a brisket and rare beef pho, and some spring rolls. What I ended up getting was pho with meatballs and rare beef. Those errors aside (maybe I butchered the VN terms too much), I must say the pho itself was really tasty. What puzzles me though is, going around to asian stores that day, I saw tons of herbs at pretty much every store in various states of limpness. Why aren't they used more in restaurants??? Also wish I had known what else to order at HP besides pho.
Tried to go to Bo Laksa King for roti canai after, but they had just closed :/
Day 2: Saravanaa Bhavan for lunch. I loved it. I would go to this place all the time if I could.
Nooru Mahal for supper. Not very impressive. Wouldn't go back.
Day 3: SB again for lunch buffet (had to bring my buddy). Just as awesome as the day before, and I could drink the Vatral Kuzhambu by the glass.
Song Huong for supper. SH was awesome. I very much enjoyed the Bo 7 Mon, although I could have done without the congee and even the salad was a stretch as my dining compatriots didn't seem to understand that it was a shared thing and each got buns of their own. My favorite parts of the Bo 7 Mon were the nhung dam roll-your-own salad rolls, and the little sausages. Very tasty, nice staff, neat restaurant, would come there regularly if I could. I wouldn't ever like the fish mint though.
Day 4: Pho Linh for lunch. I had spring rolls and the Bun 3 Mon, which was three kinds of little sausages grilled and served on a bun bowl with mam nem. I got to chatting with the proprietress and she brought out some rau ram and mint. The herbs plus the bun plus the mam nem were exactly what I had been looking for in terms of asian food this time. Absolutely delicious, I loved all of it. I must must must learn how to make those sausages at home. The spring rolls were great too, and her nuoc cham sauce was excellent. Oh, the proprietress also makes a VN style sate sauce that is served at each table. It was a little fishy for my liking, but I definitely have to give her props for the extra effort. Pho Linh is awesome.
I went to Vij's for supper and absolutely loved both the yam paneer koftas and the lamb popsicles. I also liked the little appetizers they kept bringing by. Vij's is really something else. It was the best restaurant meal I have had in a very long time. I could go on and on effusively but to sum it up briefly, I give the restaurant very high marks and enjoyed the food immensely.
Thanks all for the information, it was very helpful! I would have gone to SB and Vij's anyway but your other recs were much appreciated, especially the amazing Vietnamese experiences I had.
On another note: buy yourself a piece of jackfruit at San Lee sometime...it's a very tasty fruit.
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Vij's Restaurant
1480 11th Ave W, Vancouver, BC V6H1L1, CA
Hai Phong
1246 Kingsway, Vancouver, BC V5V, CA
Bo Laksa King
4910 Joyce St, Vancouver, BC V5R, CA
Bo Laksa King's--weekend specials
Man, this food looks crazy good. If I get a chance, I'm going to definitely hit it up.
Where to get reverse osmosis water?
I have pretty good tap water where I live, so I haven't worried about it. If you need to get rid of heavy metals or traces, that's fine, but you don't need to monkey around with the ionic population too much. Also, water is best for the body when it's slightly alkaline.
Best Indian and Asian grocery stores in Vancouver?
Going to be in town soon...if anyone has any recommendations please let me know! I'm curious about tropical and exotic fruit! San Lee sounds promising, but any others?
I saw some jackfruit here recently but I'd like to get some from closer to the source!
Where to get reverse osmosis water?
Don't drink RO water. Its lack of minerals is bad for you because it is basically corrosive to your body and will leach minerals away.
Again, avoid it.
Best Indian and Asian grocery stores in Vancouver?
Hi all, I am going to be in Vancouver in May, and near the end of my stay I would like to make a couple pit stops at Indian and Asian groceries, mostly for produce and exotic fruit. What are the best Indian and Asian grocery stores to check out? For Indian one of the more exotic things I'd be looking for would be mango ginger and fresh turmeric root, and for Asian I would be into finding tropical fruits. On my last trip to Van I was after top shelf lychees...long story short, I bought a bunch of what seemed like the best lychees available, only to find huge ones still on the stick at the next one I walked into. :\
Anyway, recommendations would be appreciated! Thanks!
Visiting Vancouver in May - request for Indian and SE Asian suggestions
You have a point. I really do want to have some good pho though. In Calgary I had some spicy "pho satay" which had definite potential, and I have had other phos with potential, but to my thinking a little more garnish or som'n som'n is desirable.
I think with what I've gleaned here, I can make some pretty good selections for pho places.
Visiting Vancouver in May - request for Indian and SE Asian suggestions
Yeah I'm not down with the tripe and greeblies. Maybe I'm thinking fantasy or thinking of the crap I make at home, but I meant busy with stuff like crisp fried onion and various seasonings and accompaniments. Thanks for the tip on Knightafter! I realize "best" pho is a totally subjective thing and that's fine, but having almost zero experience on Vancouver's food scene puts me at a disadvantage in terms of comparative vocabulary...
Visiting Vancouver in May - request for Indian and SE Asian suggestions
Now I'm curious, you mentioned Pho Linh, where would I find a really explosive pho in Vancouver? A busy pho with lots of goodies?
Visiting Vancouver in May - request for Indian and SE Asian suggestions
Ahh OK. I figured you were from there.
Visiting Vancouver in May - request for Indian and SE Asian suggestions
Thanks rosetown.
BTW my SO is from Rosetown. Small world.
Visiting Vancouver in May - request for Indian and SE Asian suggestions
Yeah I was planning on getting takeout or delivery from BLK.
If you think that Pho Linh has the best pho, I'll do it for lunch one day. Anyone feel free to chime in on the "best" pho in town.
Visiting Vancouver in May - request for Indian and SE Asian suggestions
Thanks grayelf...I had hoped you and fmed would chime in. I definitely have a short list now. The pho ga sounds promising, but I'm also searching for the best possible pho for a lunch slot.
I basically have 4 days to hit the scene. Lunches will probably be Indian for the most part, except I'd like to get a pho in. Evenings will probably be, in no particular order, Song Huong, Phnom Penh, BLK, and Vij's? It's hard to narrow it down though! Truong Tranh sounds promising. The one main herb I'd like to have served is rau ram. I use it at home but have never seen it in a restaurant. In this regard, the pho ga at My Chau sounds like a good ticket.
Again, thanks for your recommendations, much appreciated.
Visiting Vancouver in May - request for Indian and SE Asian suggestions
Thanks fmed!
Good call on Chutney Villa, it looks very promising! Definitely going there at least once. Also definitely checking out Song Huong and Phnom Penh. Looking forward to it!!!
Visiting Vancouver in May - request for Indian and SE Asian suggestions
Hi all, I'm going to be in Vancouver for a few days in early May and I have been doing a bit of research on where to go for Indian and SE Asian foods. Saravana Bhavan and Vij's are definitely on the list. I would like to also check out some Vietnamese, Thai, and/or other SE Asian restaurants as well. I'm not really as familiar with these as I am with Indian, so I'm somewhat unsure what would be best.
The challenge: what restaurants would you recommend I check out for Vietnamese, Thai, and related (Burmese, Cambodian, Lao, etc) cuisines? I am looking primarily for vibrant, fresh flavors of tamarind, lime, thai herbs, and hardcore herbs like rau ram, etc. I think the VN term for the plate of herbs and garnishes is rau song. Places serving herb and garnish plates to accompany signature dishes would be good in this regard.
I'm reasonably sure of where to go for Indian food, but if anyone can recommend any hardcore south indian (tamil nadu, kerala, andhra pradesh, karnataka, etc) places, that would be much appreciated.
Any and all recommendations will be greatly appreciated!
The difficulty: I'm not down with pork.
Saskatoon trip
I still haven't been to Schryer's, primarily because it's in such a weird location, but I really need to check it out. I'm sure their cornbread will be miles better than the sad little frozen microwaved sugar puck I had at Montana's.
Kabab King in Saskatoon - Great Indian buffet
Haha, sorry, didnt' see this at the time. The buffet is a large selection. If you want to do menu items, a weekend night is the time for that.
Raj Palace now open in Calgary
I went here for the lunch buffet today and really enjoyed it. They had some so-so dosas and idlis, cauliflower 65, eggplant curry, a dry potato curry, lamb curry, butter chicken of course, rice, papadams, salad bar, chutneys, etc.
I particularly enjoyed the cauliflower and eggplant. The lamb curry was very tasty although the meat was tough. In general though it was a great buffet and I was very pleased with it. If I lived in Calgary, I would go there fairly often to get the southern style stuff. It's too bad south indian food is so underrepresented in the Indian restaurant scene.
Calgary's Anpurna--what's up?
OK so what are the best south Indian places in Calgary now? I may take a trip there soon and would like to know.
Kabab King in Saskatoon - Great Indian buffet
For years now there have been several Indian restaurants that have done buffets. I would occasionally eat at one of them and leave feeling moderately satisfied.
Now, Kabab King has opened in the strip mall at 108th and Central, in Sutherland, and it is a revelation. It seems to be run by Pakistani guys but they serve a variety of dishes that represent other Indian styles.
What impresses me the most, other than how well prepared the food is, and how their food and chutneys are unique, is that the buffet changes daily. I have been there 4 or 5 times now and they have had different curries pretty much every time, except always butter chicken.
This is not run of the mill stuff, their veg curries are very well prepared (which is lacking at other pakistani restaurants), and the meat curries are also excellent. I leave feeling like a pig every time because I want to try everything and end up going for seconds on one or two things.
I could go on blathering about how this detail of this dish was so great, and how good their yogurt chutney is, but the point here is: if you like Indian food, check them out. They have a full menu besides the buffet, but when the buffet is 11 bucks for lunch and 15 for supper, and is stocked up with awesome stuff, who needs a menu?
Ricebowl Fusion in Saskatoon
In my humble opinion, the green curry was unbelievably awful. The kimchi was also gross. And the glass noodle wasn't nearly as good as the first time I had it.
I don't know that it's reasonable for me to be so turned off by one visit, but I'm done with that place for a long time. You know, I can go to Koryo again and again for the same mediocre stuff and bbq meat, but the last experience at ricebowl just turned me off.
Ricebowl Fusion in Saskatoon
It will be a long time before I go back. The second visit was way on the unappetizing side. The only good thing was the stone rice bowl.
Maybe they are trying to be creative with the menu changes, but some of the dishes are falling far short of what one would expect.
Edmonton - gjetost or Norwegian fudge cheese
I always used to see it at Superstore in a red box.
Ricebowl Fusion in Saskatoon
The curry here is terrible. Don't get it. Some of the other stuff is good though.
