Eat Well: #abcsofyyc #zipang

ABC's of YYC (Week 26: Z)

Zipang Sushi Bar
1010 1 Ave NE

So the last stop of our ABC's of YYC adventure is Zipang for Z week!  It was one of the first and most memorable fine dining experiences we had on Valentine's Day in 2009 (by fine dining, we mean one of the nicer restaurants).  We were still both in high school and were so giddish when we managed to land a table for their set menu dinner.  It was such a lovely experience that we still remember it to this day; from the beautiful tasty food, to the roses that John had gotten delivered to me at the restaurant, so needless to say we were quite excited.

Ika- Mentai- squid wiht spicy pollock roe

The squid was very tasty and has a unique texture.  There was a nice little addition of heat from the pollock.

Kaki Ponzu- deep fried oysters with punzu sauce

Big and flavourful with a wonderful crunch.  A little bit of acidity from the lemon helps balance out the flavours.  First time trying this and we both really enjoyed it!

Spicy Ebi Roll- prawn, cucumber, spicy sauce and lettuce

Fresh and tasted good, but it seemed a bit lacklustre compared to everything else we had ordered.  The sushi here is not bad but everything else is levels above.

Special Scallop- scallop, flying fish roe, mayo

An abundance of delicious scallops paired with a perfect amount of mayo.  The special scallop here is quite good.

Deluxe Assorted Sashimi- 18 pcs

The sashimi here is always so fresh and delicious.  They provide you with large pieces without sacrificing any quality.  the highlight of the plate was definitely the shrimp.  We had this here many years ago for Valentine's Day, and it's been our favourite since.

Grilled Beef Tongue- nuff said

Perfectly grilled and packed with so much flavour!  the beef has a little chew to it, which allows more flavour to seep out in your mouth.  

Chopped Spanish Mackerel- served with ginger

The Mackerel was fresh and topped with so many goodies.  Quite different than your typical Mackerel as its missing that distinctive savouriness to it.  The texture is also different, but John enjoyed it!

They deep fried both the shrimp heads and the Spanish Mackerel after we finished the dishes.  The shrimp head was so crispy and tasted amazing.  The Mackerel actually tasted even better cooked as the flavours were more prevalent.  We devoured the entire thing (John even ate the crispy bones). 

Midsumame- fruit cocktail with red bean.  Added Anko (red bean paste)

The dessert was so refreshing and light.  The abundance of fruits topped with a lovely red bean paste really hit the spot after the lovely meal.

The dinner was simply wonderful.  The ingredients were fresh and prepared very well regardless of style; raw, grilled, or deep fried.  It was so perfect, yet bitter sweet that we managed to finish our new food adventure #abcsofyyc together at the place where we started our love for food and fine dining more than 6 years ago.

Enjoy!

Eat Well: #abcsofyyc #yellowdoorbistro

ABC's of YYC (Week 25: Y)

Yellow Door Bistro
119 12 Ave SW

Yellow Door Bistro is a quirky restaurant attached to Hotel Arts.  The place is filled with such a random assortment of décor that works perfectly together, as it fills you up with a feeling of joy.   

Pomegranate Glazed Quail- apple / endive pomegranate brown butter

The small and adorable quail was prepared very well and tasted amazing.  Great depth of flavours which paired perfectly with the crispy apple and endives.  A little bed of braised quail underneath helped since John was starving.  

Roasted Haida Gwaii Halibut- zucchini noodle / salsa verde / carrot coriander broth 

The dish was presented beautifully, simple and clean. It had a nice light sear on the outside but it was difficult to cut into and was a bit dry.  Nevertheless, the sides were tasty and enjoyable. 

Herb Roasted Crispy Pork Belly- chickpea pepperonata / corn polenta / pork jus 

So fatty and incredibly delicious.  The flavour is amazing and the pork was cooked perfectly.  The meat had a beautiful crispy crust to it and there was an abundance of fat which melted in your mouth (John loves fat =]).  The pork was served with a side of polenta, colourful cauliflower, and a chickpea salad in an assortment of sauces (one of them provided a delightful smokiness).  This was such a perfect dish as it tasted great and was really filling. 

The food was so flavourful and left you wanting more (except the fish sadly).  The plating was beautiful as it felt really inviting.  The atmosphere was very nice and the service was lovely.  The pork alone would bring John back, and hopefully Kim can find something more suited to her tastes next time.  

Enjoy!
 

Eat Well, Feel Well: #blissfulblueberry

Blissful Blueberry Banana Muffins
Vegan, gluten free, refined sugar free

My apologies for the lack of posts friends, I've finally caved and started Netflixing... so bad. 

Anyway...

Blueberries, bananas and walnuts oh yes please!  I was browsing Oh She Glows website one day and I stumbled upon these delicious looking muffins.  I was ecstatic when I saw that I had all of the ingredients (I was low on groceries).

Recipe By Oh She Glows

Yields: Approx 12 regular and 12 mini (I only have one regular sized muffin tin) OR 18 reg or 36 minis

3/4 cup Mashed Bananas (approx 2)
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp Unsweetened Almond milk
1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 cup Maple Syrup (the good stuff!  Not the Aunt Jemima madness)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup Coconut Oil, melted
2 cups Spelt Flour
6 tbsp Coconut Sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
1.5 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Fine Grain Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 cup Walnut Pieces, chopped
1 cup frozen or fresh Blueberries

Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease the muffin tin (if you don't have parchment cups).  If you do, just use parchment cups

On a small cutting board, mash your banana with a fork.  I find this a lot easier than fumbling around the bowl.  Place the banana into a medium bowl with the almond milk, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup and vanilla.  No need for stirring at the moment.  Set it aside.  

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda.

Stir the coconut oil into the wet mixture.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until JUST combined!  You do not want to over mix this.

Gently fold in the walnuts and then the blueberries, again do not overmix.  The right picture is what my batter looked like before I added the walnuts and blueberries.

Spoon about 1/4 of the batter into each parchment cup; it'll be about 3/4 full.

Found him like that while I was baking haha #boss .

Bake for 23-27 minutes (I did approx 25) until you prick a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean.  I only had one large muffin tin, so I did end up making some minis too and I stuck some chocolate chips inside them.  Cool in the muffin tin for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

These were quite delightful and make great snacks!  I did use fresh blueberries but if you do only have frozen blueberries, make sure they're kept in the freezer right up until you add them into the batter to prevent bleeding.  They were moist, cakey and burst from the blueberries.  As you can see. I took some before taking a picture hehe.  They were hard to resist.

Enjoy!

Eat Well: #abcsofyyc #phoxuan

ABC's of YYC (Week 24: X)

Pho Xuan
920 36 St NE

Luckily one of our favourite Pho restaurants start with an X because we were quite stumped with this letter.  Pho Xuan is located in a strip mall across from the old T&T.  This strip mall is definitely one of the gems ;).  Why?  Because it also houses Insadong and Aja Sushi which are pretty fantastic.

Salad Roll- shrimp

The salad roll was fresh, tasty and had good texture from the various components.  The sauce had a really nice viscosity, where it lightly coats the roll without being chunky.

Pho Dac Biet- the special with beef, tendon, tripe, and beef balls

Mmmmm the beef was soft, tender and oh so flavourful.  Lots of toppings were provided which was awesome.  The soup was very fragrant and refreshing, while the noodles were soft and chewy.  Everything was perfect.

Pho Xuan is a little guilty pleasure of ours as they serve cheap and delicious Pho.  During the week we are stuck with downtown Pho, which tasted great, but ended up costing more than 10 dollars a bowl.  If you ever find yourself having a hard time deciding what to eat, drop by the strip mall and have your pick at some delicious Korean, Sushi or Pho.

Enjoy!

 

Eat Well: #abcsofyyc #wowchicken

ABC's of YYC (Week 23: W)

Wow Chicken
324 10th St NW

After passing the take out window time after time, we finally made our way to Wow Chicken for W week!  The KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) scene has taken over Calgary in the past few years with new stores opening in every quadrant of the city.  We don't usually indulge in deep fried goodness, so we were both ecstatic. 

Shallot Chicken- original crispy chicken marinated in sliced green onions and WOW chickens special spicy mustard sauce  

The chicken was super crunchy, tender, and seasoned perfectly.  The batter was light and enjoyable (Kim doesn't usually eat batter).  The green onion was very refreshing.  The honey mustard provided a light sweetness to the dish.  

Wings (Hot Garlic)- deep fried breaded chicken wings enriched in osteoporosis preventing collagen

Slight sweetness from the soy sauce paired with a hint of garlic resulted in a wonderful flavour profile for the crunchy, meaty wings.  

Bulgogi Fries

We got distracted by all the delicious chicken we forgot to take an individual picture of the fries.  The crispy fries had a very unique taste that was simply amazing.  A wonderful flavour profile that we can't quite describe, definitely worth a try.

House Salad- freshly mixed veggie salad

The salad was super fresh and provided a much needed balance to our deep fried meal.  We opted for no dressing to feel a bit healthier =D. 

Every piece of chicken was tender and delicious.  The batter was crispy yet light, making it easy to eat.  The variety of sauces provided unique flavours that complemented the chicken instead of overpowering it.  Overall, the meal was enjoyable and we were both impressed.  

Enjoy!