Archive for the 'Other Cities' Category
Tuesday, April 8th, 2008
After spending our morning looking at the terracotta soldiers, we were off to lunch. We ate on the second floor of the Xingshen International Hotel, which also housed a small market where you could buy souvenirs and knick knacks.
Before our main dishes arrived, we were directed over to a small buffet table of cold appetizers. My favourite dish at this table was a cold buckwheat salad with snow peas and red peppers. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of it but it was very refreshing and the noodles had a nice crunch to them.
The chicken was a bit dry and had a slight herbal flavour to it. I think I would have enjoyed this more if the herbal taste was stronger and it would have made the dish stand out as being very unique. But because the taste was so mild, it made me uncertain as to whether or not the herbal taste was done on purpose. 
My mom told me that these crystalized honey potatoes were a specialty of this region and that it was a favourite of both my mom and dad when they were in Xi’an a few years ago. Despite the honey, I did not find the potatoes to be overly sweet and really enjoyed the contrast of the crunchy outside with the meaty potato inside. I can really see this as a yummy snack to have if you’re at the movies or something. You had to eat this dish immediately though because it wasn’t as tasty once it cooled down.
The handmade noodles in sesame oil were eaten cold. Although it was a bit plain, it provided a nice base to eat with some of our other dishes, epseically the ones with more gravy/sauce.
The cauliflower was actually very tasty and I enjoyed the red carrots quite a bit. Does anyone know if there are red carrots available in Vancouver? The carrots are so red in the picture below that they almost look like tomatoes.
The spicy lamb dish was very tasty although on the oily side. I also felt that there should be more lamb in proportion to the onions and peppers.
Next came the celery and pork. I am normally not a big celery fan because I find the taste to be too strong…but I like the mild taste of the celery in this dish.
Our last dish of the day was a sweet and sour pork. I thought this dish looked good but it was easily the worst dish of our meal. There was way too much fried batter and it wasn’t even warm!
My favourite dishes here were the potatoes and the noodles. I’m going to have to investigate just how they make those honey potatoes…
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Posted in Xi'an, Other Cities, Asian, Chinese, Reviews | No Comments »
Sunday, April 6th, 2008
The first official city of our China/Hong Kong trip was Xi’an. Xi’an is the ancient capital city of China and is home to the terracotta warriors and the tomb of China’s first emperor. The region here is one of the agricultural centres of China and is full of rich farmland and we definitely had our fill of fresh and yummy vegetables while we were here.
To start our meal this evening, we had some Chinese beer. I’m not a big beer drinker back in Canada so I don’t have a point of comparison, but I found Chinese beer to be quite light and mild in taste.
To start our meal, we had a variety of cold dishes. The cold beef was thinly sliced and lightly seasoned.
The cold chicken was pretty standard and regular tasting…although I also found it to be a bit dry.
I enjoyed the cold lotus root quite a bit. It was lightly drizzled with sesame oil and was very crunchy.
The cold cucumber dish was also lightly drizzled with sesame oil. It was slightly salty and very crunchy. I don’t think it was cucumber season back in Vancouver so I actually hadn’t eaten any in quite a while but the cucumbers here in Xi’an were very fresh.
The soup was loaded with veggies and mushrooms…
These green gourds were slightly tangy and also very crunchy. As you can probably tell by now, I have a penchant for crunchy vegetables.
The chicken and chive dish was great with rice. The chives had a light onion/garlicky taste but was not too overwelming.
The beef and pepper dish was spicy and also very good with rice. Although it had quite a few chilli peppers in the dish, it was not too spicy.
The chicken cubes in the next dish were a bit dry but I enjoyed the cucumber and carrot chunks. Notice how red the carrots are…I suppose this is why they are called red turnips in Chinese?
My mom referred to these veggies as Chinese lettuce. It was lightly stir-fried and very fresh.
I think these noodles were one of the best dishes of the evening. The noodles were freshly made and al dente. The light soup broth perfectly complemented the noodles.
I wasn’t too impressed with these pork dumplings…they looked a bit sad all lined up on the plate like that.
For dessert, we had some steamed sweet rice cakes. These tasted almost exactly like the white steamed rice cakes available in Vancouver but I liked these more because they were a bit chewier and weren’t as watery.
All in all, I enjoyed our first meal in Xi’an. I had been warned previously that the food in the other Chinese cities I would visit were much better but maybe that was why I enjoyed the food here. The vegetables were all very fresh and what I liked the most was that the food appeared to be completely absent of MSG! The service was also very attentive and friendly.
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Posted in Xi'an, Other Cities, Asian, Chinese, Reviews | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008
During our one evening in Japan, we were all determined to try some sushi. Our travel agent recommended a good place to us in the Narita city centre, but we got our directions mixed up so we ended up eating at the Japanese restaurant in our hotel instead. We were prepared for some inflated hotel prices but hoped the dinner would still be good.
Once we were seated, we were given cute little paper cranes to rest our chopsticks on.
Jenkins and I both ordered the chirashi, which cost 3400 yen (approx. $34 Cdn). Of all the items in the chirashi, I enjoyed the tamago the most. It was not too sweet and had a slightly roasted taste to it. I also liked the tuna, which was moist and had a nice red colour (different from what we’re used to in Vancouver). All the seafood had a nice fresh taste and even though it was on the small side, we still filled up.
Jenkins noted that the wasabi was tastier than the usual green stuff we are accustomed to and was much more potent. I don’t think this was real wasabi though.
All our meals also came with miso soup, which came with clams on the bottom. I liked the light clam flavour of the soup but found the clams to be somewhat overcooked.
I enjoyed our meal here but wished we had the opportunity to check out the travel agent-recommended restaurant. I’ll have to add that to my list of things to go back and do the next time I’m in the area.
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Price: $$$
Posted in Narita, Other Cities, Japanese, Asian, Reviews | 4 Comments »
Monday, March 31st, 2008
Since we were flying to China via Japan Airlines, we had a half day stop over in Japan near Narita Airport. Since we didn’t get to our hotel until late in the afternoon, we only had enough time to shop at a nearby Narita mall. I would have loved to zip into Tokyo but it just wasn’t practical. But I suppose that just means I will need to go back to Japan someday.
We found out about Aeon Mall from my aunt, who brought us maps and mall directories from her last trip to Tokyo. Since we were hungry after our long flight, our first stop in the mall was to Beard Papa’s. I’m sure most people in Vancouver have been to the Beard Papa’s in Aberdeen Centre by now but how can you resist Beard Papa’s when you are in the country where it was invented? The selection was much larger (obviously!) and the line-ups were not as long.
The cream puff shells were piled high on the counter and looked so delicious. There was someone constantly pumping these with one of the several flavoured creams available.
The cream puff of the month was strawberry, so we decided to give that a try. There was also a new product on the market called the “Paris Brest”. It was a doughnut-shaped cream puff shell pumped with fresh vanilla cream.
Yum…just looking at these pictures makes me want to eat some more cream puffs! We gobbled these up in no time.
My favourite of the two was the strawberry cream puff. The outside was crispy and light and the strawberry cream was rich with strawberry goodness. I found these to taste better than the ones in Vancouver…perhaps because they are more fresh? To be fair, the Vancouver ones that I ate were a day old.
Grick and Jenkins liked the Brest more. I guess because the doughnut shape had more surface area than the regular cream puff, it was much crispier. If I was in Japan for more than just half a day, I would definitely try all the other flavours. :) Each brest or cream puff cost approximately $1.50Cdn.
Details:
24, Wing Tsuchiya, Narita, Chiba, Japan
Tel: +81-(0)476-23-8282
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Service: n/a
Price: $
Posted in Narita, Other Cities, Dessert, Reviews | 2 Comments »
Monday, March 3rd, 2008
Edmonton is pretty neat in that in most major buildings downtown, there are food courts set up for people to quickly order lunch from. I suppose because it is so cold there in the winter, it is way easier to grab lunch downstairs as opposed to braving the elements. Mabel, Dallas, and some others had been telling me about Chicken For Lunch, a Chinese fast food eatery in the Scotiabank food court. This place seemed to be famous for its good food, a lady who remembered everyone’s orders and names, and a huge lineup that circles around the food court at lunch. Mabel and I got there just after 12pm and there was already a long line formed.
Both Mabel and I ordered the medium size lunch for $6.50. For this price, you get rice, noodles, veggies, two types of chicken, and a spring roll. The price was more than reasonable and the portion sizes are pretty huge.
I settled on the lemon chicken and the hot and dry. Hot and dry is a bit spicy but is also the one that came most recommended when I was trying to decide on what to order. The lemon chicken was pretty tasty and had a nice lemony flavour. There was also quite a bit of sauce so it went nicely with my rice. As for the hot and dry, it was pretty good but I’m not much of a fried chicken lover so I wasn’t completely sold on it. It was very crispy though and was spicy without being overwhelmingly so.
Chicken for Lunch was not bad although I have to say I am surprised that people are willing to lineup so long to eat it…sometimes every day! I suppose I am probably spoiled by the great food in Vancouver so it takes a bit more to really wow me. The food was a great deal though and there was a lot of variety in the types of items you could order.
Details:
10060 Jasper Ave, Edmonton, Alberta
Tel: 780-425-9614
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Service: n/a
Price: $
Posted in Other Cities, Edmonton, Fast Food, Asian, Chinese, Reviews | No Comments »
Saturday, March 1st, 2008
Both Mabel and I were in work for Edmonton for a few days. Luckily for me, Mabel is from Edmonton so she offered to take me somewhere for dinner on the night I arrived. We ended up at Cheesecake Cafe, which she noted was known for their excellent cheesecakes. This place is actually a smaller scale version of Cheesecake Factory, which is prevalent in most big US cities.
To start, Mabel and I shared the spinach and artichoke dip. The chips seemed to be freshly fried because we could still see some oil sitting on some chips. The dip itself was not bad although it was a bit watery towards the bottom and there was definitely more spinach than artichoke.
Since I was in Alberta, I decided to go with the honey garlic sirloin, which came with some veggies. I also had a choice of a baked potato or salad to go along with my dish and I chose the salad with a honey dressing. Even though I asked for medium rare, I found my steak to be a bit overcooked and kind of tough. I also couldn’t taste the honey or garlic, which theoretically should have kept the steak nice and moist. The vegetables appeared to have been boiled and were overcooked although the salad was pretty tasty.
Cheesecakes are definitely the specialty here so Mabel and I ordered a key lime cheesecake and an Oreo cheesecake. Some of the cheesecakes are seasonal and are available during certain times of the year. The key lime cheesecake was a nice shade of green and had the slightest hint of lime flavour. I liked the graham cracker crust although I wished it was thicker.
Of the two cheesecakes, I actually preferred the Oreo one more. It was not too sweet and also had chunks of Oreo cookies in it. Both the cheesecakes were very dense and we ended up eating only half of each flavour. Although the cheesecakes were good, I do like my cheesecakes to be creamier and the flavours here were too subtle for my liking.
I definitely preferred the cheesecakes here over my main dish and appetizer. If I were to come back again, I would probably just come for dessert and pick one cheesecake to share between two people…unless you are feeling really hungry.
Details:
17011 - 100 Ave, Edmonton, Alberta
Tel: 780-486-0440
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Price: $$
Posted in Canadian, Edmonton, Other Cities, Reviews | No Comments »
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