Food – Page 113 – Elsie Hui

September 13, 2011May 11, 2019

Marra’s Way Sushi Ltd – Canmore, Alberta

We were wanting sushi this one evening from Canmore, and even though this wasn’t the original location we were looking for, I’m happy we stopped to experienced Marra’s Way Sushi, located just off the main street in downtown Canmore.

We tried many types of sushi, from specialty sushi such as three sister, smoked salmon and spicy shrimp salad, all which were really good. I really liked the fact they used a local attraction to make the “three sisters sushi”, which really was quite tasty. I believe it was salmon, shrimp and tuna, which made a very good “sample sushi” plate. The smoked salmon was quite fresh, and I actually didn’t get a lot of smoked salmon flavour – maybe there was too much rice, or too little smoked salmon… or even the pretty pink wrap took flavour away. It was still really good, even if it was just a plain salmon roll, the quality of the fish was there.

Of course, our usual suspects as well surf clam, inari, and gyoza with Green Tea and Miso Soup to drink! The gyoza was actually quite disappointing for me, and it came deep fried without stating that on the menu. It was not only fried to a crisp, which is good, but the flavour of the pork filling was just tasteless, so it was a bad note to end with. Regardless, I think I will be back (just not for the gyoza’s), especially if I’m looking for a “fast food sushi”! Very fast, convenient, delicious and cost effective! Each plate of sushi was on a coloured plate, and with the colour, it had a price (Orange plate = $2.40, Blue Plate = $3.99, and White Plate = $5.99)

Marra’s Way Sushi Ltd.

637 10 St
Canmore, AB
(403) 609-0479

September 12, 2011May 11, 2019

Muku Japanese Ramen – Calgary Alberta

I’ve always loved Japanese noodles and ramen, and when I heard about Muku Japanese Ramen, it bumped a lot of places down on my “to-go” list. I was sick and exhausted and I just wanted a fantastic bowl of noodles. I think I got my hopes way up as we entered the parking lot, I couldn’t stop smiling. Well, unfortunately, that smile quickly turned flat for confusion, and then upside down.

The menu was great, it offered a lot of options and different types of ramen from different regions of Japan. Seeing the menu so specialized, I figured it didn’t matter what I ordered, it’s gotta be good. So, we got a little appetizer and we ordered the Shrimp Dumpling, which really was as it stated on the menu “steamed shrimp dumpling” which is what the Chinese has for dim sum… but here at Muku, they lacked flavour. It was really bland, and I had to add hot sauce to the dipping sauce it came with.

I tried the Shoyu Ramen and from the menu, it says it’s from the Tokyo region, with ramen cooked in chicken broth soup with a soybase sauce. The Shoyu ramen was topped with sliced chicken breast, green onions, bamboo shoots (menma), a tiny slice of Japanese fish cake (naruto) and a sheet of dried seaweed (nori). I must say, it was definitely prettier to the eye than to the taste buds. The noodles were under cooked, and there was a taste of

We also ordered the Koku-Miso Ninja Ramen mainly because it sounded cool! Who doesn’t want a bowl of ninja ramen? Well, this bowl had bbq pork, green onion, bean sprout, and corn, and the miso soup was quite different. It was yellow and much greasier.

Overall, I think someone would really have to drag me here for me to go again. I’ve heard of a few other Japanese noodles places in town that I’d love to try before returning. The prices weren’t terrible, but I was a little disappointed with the lack of flavour, and the texture of the noodles with a weird taste of the noodles, and the amount of grease in the soup just doesn’t attract me.

Muku Japanese Ramen

326 14 St NW
Calgary, AB
(403) 283-6555

August 31, 2011March 17, 2019

Sushi Bar Zipang – Calgary, Alberta;

After just over a year of wanting to try Sushi Bar Zipang I finally went! It was great, the fish was fresh and reasonably priced.

The sashimi slices were really thick as well – which made it really good, and justified the price! The location is a little restaurant, and with constant customers – they’ve built a reputation for success here!

I would definitely go back given the opportunity! The restaurant had a dining area and a sushi bar area, and the overall ambiance was very quiet and casual. The service was alright, but the food was just excellent.

I love starting with Gyoza’s, and oddly enough, they don’t have any here! They have quite a large selection of appetizers, but they just didn’t have dumplings — unless of course, I just missed it.

We ordered from the sushi/sashimi sheet, and from there, we selected sushi such as hokki – surf clam,
smoked salmon and hotate – scallop. All of these were really good as well. We had no complaints at all during the entire time we were at Zipang.

We ordered spicy salmon roll which consisted of salmon, spicy sauce, lettuce and the spiciness was just right, you still get the salmon flavour without the spiciness to overwhelm the entire sushi. It was well balance and one of my favorites for the evening.

Then, we ordered an Alaska roll which was sushi wrapped with smoked salmon, avocado, cream cheese and this wasn’t as flavourful of an Alaska roll as some other places I’ve tried. It seemed to be lacking some flavour, but you definitely got the cream cheese taste. I think they may have put too much cream cheese in.

Just to have a wider selection of sashimi, we ordered their Special Assorted Sashimi and this assortment had salmon, tuna, octopus, and scallops. It was actually really good, and this plate came with 14 pieces of sashimi for $19.50, which is quite a good deal!

And, at the end, we ordered an order of Agedashi Tofu, and it wasn’t really a good deal at all. It was $5.00 for only 2 pieces of tofu, and we all know tofu isn’t expensive. It tasted good, but it wasn’t worth it in my opinion.

Overall, I will be back, I really enjoyed the atmosphere, the sushi, and the sashimi… and that’s all that matters in a Japanese restaurant when we’re out for sushi! 🙂

Sushi Bar Zipang

1010 1 Ave NE
Calgary, AB
(403) 262-1888

August 30, 2011August 30, 2011

Harbour City

We recently went back to Harbour City after many years of trying new places, and Harbour City being one of our favourites, we chose to go there again. The quality of food has decreased, unless it’s the same, but we’ve been eating much better dim sum. But, it’s still not bad at all. We’ve definitely had worse, and for it’s price, it’s quite reasonable! (you pay what you get! – Reasonable price, reasonable food)

One thing I like most about Harbour City is the fact they still do it “old style” meaning they still bring out the bamboo steamers table side with a cart/trolley. Many restaurants have switched to a sheet of paper and they’ll just take out what you’ve ordered. I really enjoy the old style, but it always makes me over eat – since they always bring something that looks really good to the table side. This is really good from the restaurant business perspective though!

We’ve tried our typical items as always to compare and contrast: Shrimp dumpling (or known to lots as Har Gow) here was really large, and the shrimp was decent. It didn’t have any odd tastes or anything, but the texture isn’t as crisp as “fresh” shrimp dumplings. The skin was relatively thin, it’s standard for dim sum places in Calgary. One bamboo ste4amer comes with 4 large shrimp dumplings.

Another would be the Pork Dumplings (known as Siu Mai) was another really large portion! This bamboo steamer came with 4 large siu mai’s and they were really good! Pork Dumplings is something you really can’t go wrong in when you’re eating or making! Of course, it’s just minced pork with some Chinese mushrooms, and sometimes shrimp basically!

The Chicken Feet wasn’t something I enjoyed from Harbour City. This is one of the items I remember loving, and it’s changed. It’s as though it was a left over, and they added water to the chicken feet to heat it back up. If you look at the picture, the colours seemed washed out… well, it looked like that! The skin was falling apart, as were the bones (really over cooked) and it was unfortunately kind of tasteless in flavour. I am not sure if it’s just my steamer that was like that, or if it has changed or what’s going on, but I’m almost afraid to try it again from here! 🙁

Moving on though, the lady who pushed the dim sum to us kept asking if we wanted Spareribs so eventually we caved and got some. Funny thing though, she didn’t give us spare-ribs, she gave us Pork Tendons! After it arrived on the table, I looked at it and said “it’s not cooked, spareribs shouldn’t be translucent!” until I realized it’s not. It was really good though, the black pepper sauce was extremely peppery. But, because it wasn’t something I wanted, I didn’t bother finishing it. I wasn’t about to argue with anyone either, so I just ate as much as I could and left the rest.

One of my old time favourites that I seem to only be able to get from Harbour City is the Shrimp balls with corn which is a steamed ball with shrimp in it, with corn kernels on the outside. It sounds weird, I know, but the balance of flavour and texture actually works! The sweet and crispness of corn, and the chewy ball of shrimp – it’s actually really good! It’s one of those dishes that you have to have when you’re here! I know a lot of people that don’t like it though…

And, the highlight of this dim sum trip would be the Curry Cuttlefish and it’s my highlight not because it’s extra good or anything… it’s more the fact I haven’t had it for almost 2 years from anywhere, and I saw it, and I had to order it. It’s one of those things I didn’t expect to have at the end, but I just had to. And, am I ever glad I did! The texture was great, the flavours were there, it was just an all round great dish! I’m not sure why I don’t order this more often…

Last but not least, it’s a BBQ Pork Pineapple Bun, and it’s basically a BBQ Pork Bun, but inside what the Chinese call a Pineapple Bun from the top of the bun that mimics the look of a pineapple. It’s a sweet pastry bun, with a crumbly crunchy top. The top is similar to a cookie, and the bun itself is soft sweet – it’s a wonderful bun by itself also.

Weird thing about this trip, I didn’t get Beef Tripe, mainly because I didn’t see it being pushed passed my table, or they pushed it, and didn’t say anything to me. Oh well, I’m happy with most my meal here at Harbour City! Few things I never really understood about this restaurant, it’s the awkwardness of the location where you pay the bill… it’s tucked away in the corner, with spare tables and chairs. It’s quite a mess there, and I don’t know why they did it this way. And, the place is painted dark blue… which isn’t really an Asian colour… so, if I was to hold a special event, I’m not sure I’d pick it from the colours. It’s not going to look nice in pictures! Oh well, those are just some funny things I thought up of… and regardless of those weirdness, I enjoyed my experience here at Harbour City again, even though it’s changed.

Harbour City

302 Centre St S
Calgary, AB
(403) 269-8888

August 25, 2011June 2, 2019

Holy Smoke Barbeque and Smoke Pit – Calgary, Alberta

I was recently introduced to Holy Smoke Barbeque and I have to say that I LOVE it! It’s delicious, and once you walk by the building, you can smell the meat being smoked! Outside of their washrooms is the wood that they use and it makes the “washroom area” smell great too!

I actually stuffed myself really full at Holy Smoke BBQ and it was worth it! I had a small Chopped Beef Brisket Sandwich with couple of ribs! It’s so neat here, they sell rib by the bone for only $1!! And, it’s fall off the bone tender, with the right amount of smokiness! I did use some sauce just to try, and I really liked their house sauce, so I used it to dip my ribs into the sauce.

The beef brisket sandwich was really tender and juicy, and I was actually a little worried when I first ordered it because I hate it most when it’s not tender enough to bite through. Here, it’s done to perfection. This is my favourite smoke house so far!!

We also ordered the Manwich Sandwich which was a combination of the beef brisket and the pulled pork, and this was a large sandwich! It’s topped with some coleslaw and a pickle, which adds not only a bit to the sandwich, but some acidity to balance the flavours. It’s a wonderful sandwich, and a must try if you’re hungry!

Overall, we definitely will return as I mentioned, it’s our favourite place for smoked meat right now!

Holy Smoke Barbecue and Smokepit

4640 Manhattan Rd SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 605-9365