eating out

It’s been weeks since we visited Raw Bar but I’m still thinking about the amazing food we had that night.  Tucked away in Hotel Arts, we were lucky to get a reservation.  The place was packed and we soon discovered why.

It was hard to decide which appetizer, everything looked so good.  We decided to share the BC Spot Prawn and Papaya Salad Roll.  This was a really pretty dish to look at.  Eight mini rolls were served on a long platter on top of strips of cucumber, carrot and daikon.  It was really tasty and left us wanting more.

Seafood prevailed in our main course with both of us choosing fish dishes (and splitting them of course).  We settled on the Miso Black Cod Donburi which was served with king oyster mushrooms, sticky rice and teriyaki sauce.  This was such a great fish and I really loved the Asian flavours.

The other dish we had was the Salmon.  This came with lemon ricotta tortellini, spring vegetables in a shellfish broth.  The salmon was prepared perfectly and hubby was happy that it was paired with the pasta.

As full as we were, we ordered dessert.    We had a white chocolate cheesecake which was served with a strawberry sorbet.  I was looking forward to the coconut lime sorbet it was supposed to come with but this was still delicious and satisfying.

All in all, it was a great evening and I look forward to going back!

Last month, we finally had a chance to check out Anju, a Korean-inspired tapas restaurant.  It seemed that everyone on twitter was talking about this place and raving about the great food, and I couldn’t wait to try it.

Anju is located in a cute little house converted into a restaurant in downtown Calgary.  It was a good thing we had made reservations because the place was packed.

I had heard amazing things about their gochujang chicken wings, and knew we definitely needed to try them.  The reviews did not disappoint and this was our favorite dish of the night.  The sticky sauce was spicy but I couldn’t get enough.  I’m hungry just thinking about these wings. 

We also tried the oxtail tortellini which I loved!  This was finished with truffle oil and cheese.

The spicy salmon tacos were great!  A little messy to eat but incredibly tasty.  They had just the right amount of heat and Q loved the crisp wontons.

Our server recommended the stone rice bowl which we had with beef.  It was good but after the flavour we experienced in our tapas, this seemed a little bland.  We asked for a side of the gochujang sauce and it perked up the dish tremendously. We really enjoyed it after the addition of the sauce.  Q, who can eat eggs every day for every meal, was very happy that the dish had one.

All in all, it was a great experience.  I would definitely go back to enjoy a flavourful meal of appetizers.

My 2 year old loves sushi.  So much so, that when any of the various websites featuring daily deals has a sushi deal, I grab a few.  We all felt like sushi last weekend so I turned to the vouchers to help us decide where to go.  We headed to Fuji Yama on 17th Avenue.

We were greeted with a familiar face – a sushi chef who used to work at Kinjo, one of our favorites!  He started off our meal with an orange, segmented and turned into a great little creature.  Q loved it!

Because there were four of us, we were able to use two of our vouchers ($40 for $80 worth of food…yay!).  We started with shrimp tempura which was really good.  The batter was light and crispy and it was a great way to begin our feast of sushi.

Some of the nigiri sushi that we sampled was the salmon, tuna, scallops and unagi.  All were very fresh and tasted great.  We also had many rolls – spicy salmon, california, dynamite and yam tempura.  All of them were so delicious.  We definitely got a lot for our money and Q had a lot of california rolls to take home for lunch the next day.

Service is huge for me and I was very pleased that it was amazing.  Our server checked on us often and made sure we always had our drinks refilled.

We really enjoyed our meal at Fujiyama and look forward to our next visit.

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, hubby and I chose to have dinner at Ruth’s Chris.  We had been to one Ruth’s Chris in Vegas a couple of years ago but we hadn’t tried the Calgary location.  We had heard such a range of reviews, we just had to check it out for ourselves.

For Valentine’s Day, Ruth’s Chris was offering up their date night menu – an appetizer to share, an entree each, a dessert to share and wine for $99.  It was a good thing we had reservations because the place was busy!  The restaurant, located in the Tower Centre, was on the 2nd floor and had a good view of downtown. Ruth’s Chris provided parking in the Tower Centre.

To start, we settled on the mushrooms stuffed with crabmeat.  There were four mushrooms and the crab stuffing was pretty good.  We were also served garlic bread and cheese bread, both of which were delicious and we had inhaled them long before our steaks arrived.

For our mains, I ordered the 8 oz petit filet and hubby ordered the 12 oz new york strip.  The steaks came sizzling to the table in butter, how could that not be good! The petit filet was perfect if you were looking for meat that was soft and melted in your mouth.  For flavour, the new york strip was the way to go.  By ordering one of each, we had the best of both worlds.

We were able to order two sides to go along with our meals.  We ordered the sauteed mushrooms and the mashed potatoes.  Unfortunately, the sides were bland and disappointing.  The mushrooms tasted like they were straight from a can.

To finish off our meal, we chose the creme brulee.  Creme brulee is one of those desserts that we order every chance we get.  This was one of the best brulees we have had!  The sugar topping was light and delicate and the custard was creamy.

All in all, we enjoyed our meal.  Except for the sides, the food was good.  The service, which is a huge factor for me, was really good.  Our waiter was very attentive and even the manager came to every table to ensure that everything was going well.  We will definitely go back for the steak!

My husband has a new job.  For the past few years, hubby has been a construction project manager, working on office buildings, supermarkets and large box stores.  I am excited about his new venture with LUX Group where he will be in charge of building restaurants and coffee shops.  Yes, food establishments.  Hooray!

Hubby’s new boss B and his girlfriend M (who it turns out I went to high school with!) were kind enough to take us out for dinner at NOtaBLE, Michael Noble’s restaurant located on Bowness Road.  I had heard and read great things about the restaurant and was excited to check it out.

We weren’t able to make reservations for the day we went and the restaurant was busy – we did have to wait about 30 minutes for a table.  We were quite hungry by the time we were seated and went straight for the main course.  I ordered the char-grilled and braised lamb shank served with chanterelle mushroom and asiago risotto.  It was a great choice.  The lamb was moist and the risotto was creamy and delicious.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Hubby ordered the whole grilled sea bream with lemon, thyme, and red wine butter sauce.  Our server offered to debone the fish for him, although he didn’t take her up on the offer.  The fish was moist and very tasty.

There weren’t a lot of vegetarian options for M but the kitchen was kind enough to make her gnocci with assorted veggies which she seemed to enjoy.  B ordered the New York steak which looked juicy and tender.

We had to of course order dessert.  The double baked chocolate cake was served warm with a scoop of chocolate sorbet and was delicious!  B ordered the stilton cheesecake and enjoyed it even though he didn’t like blue cheese.  The cheesecake was served with a rhubarb compote.

Michael Noble worked with B on the menu for Kayne’s so I did get an introduction after our meal.  He was even kind enough to take a picture with me.  We had a great time at NOtaBLE – great food and great company.

This weekend we had the opportunity to go to the opening of Kayne’s Restaurant in Calgary.  Kayne’s is a venture by Lux Restaurant Group and features a menu that was developed with Chef Michael Noble.  Located on 17th Avenue, this modern-looking pub boasts a lounge area with a wall of flat screen tvs.

There were so many great things on the menu, it was hard to decide exactly what we wanted to try.  We decided to make a meal of appetizers and they were delicious!

We started with the Bison Pops.  These are indian-spiced bison meatballs served with a garlicky tzatziki.  These skewers were exploding with flavour, we had to resist the urge to order some more.

Being the cheese lovers that we are, we just had to try out the Crispy Brie.  The brie was lightly breaded with panko and the warm cheese just oozed out with every bite.  This was served with a sweet cranberry sauce and was fantastic!

We also tried out the Seafood and Chicken Purses.  These were fried wontons stuffed with a shrimp and chicken mixture.  Another great appetizer.

One thing that stood out in all the dishes was the amount of flavour! Great food and great service – we will definitely be back to try out the rest of the menu.