Yummy #5: Dinner at Dae Jang Geum

Hola Amigos:

It's Yummy, bringing you another restaurant review. Today, I am going to review Dae Jang Geum Korean Restaurant. It is located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The owner of this restaurant, a friendly Korean couple, migrated from Toronto to Calgary, bringing with them authentic Korean cuisine. The name of their restaurant originated from a famous historical figure, Dae Jang Geum, who was the first Korean medical physician of the Imperial Palace and the head chef of the royal kitchen.

Exterior of Dae Jang Geum

Just a brief overview, this restaurant is located on 10th Avenue, in the Korean Plaza right beside Arirang Market. I highly recommend their food because of the food quality and the generous portion size. Along with every order, they provide you with unlimited refills of their side dishes (5 varieties).

Variety of Side Dishes

I highly recommend their Lamb Hot Pot Soup, which comes with two bowls of rice. The quality of their soup was amazingly fresh. the lamb was stewed to perfection, along with spinach and other vegetables. The soup was so tasty, even if you have leftovers, you could bring the soup home and recook it with the addition of tofu to make the soup less concentrated and less spicy.

Another thumbs up to their barbecue meat. If you enjoy table top barbecue, you must try out their barbecue. Their meat was fresh, tender, and well marinated. It comes with lettuce wrap and other condiments. If you enjoy barbecue cooked from their kitchen, I recommend the Big Beef Rib. Although it was around $30, it was definitely worth every penny. The meat was very juicy and well marinated, which seems a bit like sweet Soo's Jerky, but much more tender and flavorful. It also comes with a bowl of rice and lettuce wrap.

Their Seafood Pa Jeon (Seafood Pancake) is very tasty too. Its texture was between a pancake and a crepe, with assorted seafood such as mussels, clams, calamari, shrimp and scallop inside. The pancake was crispy outside and chewy on the inside and when you dip it in the pancake sauce, the spiciness of the sauce brings out the seafood flavor.

Now I will continue with other dishes but this time, there will be photo support.

Every time we go there, we would definitely order their Chap Chae, which is the stir-fried clear noodles with meat and vegetables. It is very flavorful, the meat is tender and the vegetables are fresh and crisp. The stir-fried sauce is similar to Teriyaki sauce or Korean barbecue sauce, making it very tasty.

Chap Chae

We also ordered the vegetable Bok Geum, because of the number of different vegetables you could find in the dish, such as broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, red bell peppers, green bell peppers, and Korean mushrooms. It balances out the meat within the meal.

Vegetable Bok Geum

Lastly, I recommend the Pal Bo Chae. It is a dish that is not often available, but if it is, it is the best dish. There is marinated beef, shrimp, sea cucumber, squid and a variety of vegetables and spices stir-fried together, making it extremely flavorful.

Pal Bo Chae

Sometimes, after having barbecued food, they would provide you with a free dessert, which is ice slush with sweet Korean fermented rice beverage, called Sikhye. It is able to cool you down from all the heat from the barbecue.

Sikhye

Overall, the food quality and portions were great, the staff and owner were very friendly and welcoming, making it one of the best or the best Korean restaurant in Calgary.


Dae Jang Geum's Address: 1324 10th Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta

Telephone Number: (403) 228-1120

Yummy #4: Lunch at the Calgary Zoo

Hello Again:

It's Yummy. Today, I am going to share with everyone my dining experience at the Safari Lodge. If you are wondering whether the Sunday Brunch are being held there, I could answer you with an enthusiastic YES! However, this time I went for lunch on a Friday because I got a complimentary ticket and lunch to the Zoo for a Private Function.

The Safari Lodge in the Calgary Zoo

Upon entering the Zoo, I was immediately greeted by a welcoming Peacock and a train of Animatronic Dinosaurs. It took us a short meandering around the zoo before my friend and I were able to find where the function would take place.

Entrance to the Prehistoric Dinosaur Park

Animatronic Dinosaurs and I

Peacock and I

The lunch was served in a buffet format. Although the food selection was limited, the food quality was fair. Appetizers included Caesar Salad, Garden Salad, Vegetable Soup and a variety of bread. Vegetable selections included roasted scallop potatoes, baby carrots and broccoli in cream sauce. Entree selections included veal in red wine onion sauce and chicken breast stuffed with alfredo and asparagus. Dessert included fresh fruits and a variety of mini pastry tarts, cheesecake, mousse, brownie and so forth.

Appetizers and Entrees

I will begin discussing the appetizers then entrees, followed by the desserts. The Caesar salad was very good, the croutons were crunchy, the lettuce was crisp and fresh and the parmesan shavings were delicious. However, the soup tasted quite plain and the vegetables were overcooked. The scallop potatoes were alright but I really liked the broccoli, it was crunchy but not too hard and the cream sauce on top made it very tasty. In terms of entree, I absolutely loved the stuffed chicken breast with aspargus and cream sauce. The chicken was very tender and the aspargus in the center had absorbed all the juice from the chicken, allowing both the chicken and its stuffing to instantly melt in your mouth. The veal was fair. The sauce and the mini onion bulbs were delicious. If the veal was stewed a bit longer, it should be more tender and more able to absorb the surrounding sauce, potentially making it easier to masticate.

Fresh Fruits

A Variety of Tarts, Cheesecake, Mousse, and Nanaimo Bar

Last but not least, the desserts. The fruits were quite fresh, juicy and sweet. The desserts' quality was great. I absolutely enjoyed the yellow passionfruit tart. The cream was fresh and the passion fruit cream was made with genuine passion fruit puree. The cheesecake, Nanaimo bar and mousse was a bit too sweet and there was too much cream on the raspberry tart. Other than that, their pastries were fabulous, comparable to the ones you purchase from Sunterra Market.

Overall, it was my pleasure to visit the zoo during the nice weather and able to enjoy a fantastic meal in a warm and welcoming environment.

Calgary Zoo Address: 1300 Zoo Road NE, Calgary Alberta

Telephone Number: (403) 232-9300

Yummy #3: Macarons In Calgary

Hello Everybody:
Today I am going to introduce you all to a new dessert pastry that has recently emerged in Calgary. It is called a Macaron. Please do not confuse it with Macaroon, which are coconut rolled in egg white and sugar. Macarons are fairly popular in Paris, France. They are little cookie sandwiches made with meringue and almond flavor and filled with a fruity or praline filling. The place that I went to try out these cookies is called Yann Haute Patisserie. It is a small yellow house on 23rd Avenue SW (in Mission), located diagonally across from Mercato's and directly behind the Bank of Montreal.

Yann Haute Patisserie Exterior

When I first entered, it was sort of confusing with two white doors. Apparently the owners live upstairs using the door on the right. Customers have to use the door on the left to enter the main floor, which sold their pastries and bread. The moment I entered their bakery, I was immediately attracted to the colorful macarons that they have in their display. The lady who introduced me to the macarons and described each flavor that they have was extremely polite. Little did I know that she was the female owner of the place. Her husband was the baker behind these culinary cuties. Therefore, I bought 6 macarons just to try out the flavors. The flavors that I bought include Rose Lychee, Peanut Butter Jelly (PBJ), Pistachio, Hazelnut, Caramel Fleur-de-Sel, and Pineapple Coconut.

Macaron Display in the Shop

In terms of flavor, I really enjoyed the Caramel Fleur-de-Sel, Hazelnut and Peanut Butter Jelly. I will begin reviewing the Rose Lychee. It was fragrant with a light hint of rose extract on the red cookie part. The white cream in the center was mildly sweet with a small piece of lychee in the center. The green one throughout was the Pistachio. It tasted more or less the same as the pistachio ice cream you find within Spumone ice cream, not very catchy. The Pineapple Coconut was a little better. The beige cookie had coconut shavings and the center had yellow jelly rich in pineapple flavor. The tan color Hazelnut one was very tasty, it tasted like Ferrero Rocher, with the hazelnut cookie exterior and the hazelnut cream/nutella center. The purple Peanut Butter Jelly had a crunchy outer shell, where the real deal was the filling. It was creamy and lightly salted peanut butter and when you approach ther center, you would find blackcurrent jelly. I saved the best for last. It was the Caramel Fleur-de-Sel. It was tasty, with the filling that tasted like chocolate butter fudge. The yellow and brown cookies had a hint of caramel flavor.

The Six Macarons That I Bought

Overall, it was a great experience to taste a bit of Paris in Calgary. However, these cookies are the size of Oreo cookies or the center part of a toilet paper roll. They are priced at $1.80 (CDN) each, which makes them an extravagant delicacy. They should be consumed not so often except on special occasions. My box of six cost me a grand total of $10.80. Although this may seem cheaper than 1.50 Euros each from Paris, it is still quite expensive for such a small serving size.

Yann Haute Patisserie Address: 329 23rd Avenue SW Calgary, Alberta

Telephone Number: (403) 244-8091

Yummy #2: Dinner at Joey Tomato's

Howdy All:

This is Yummy again. Today, I am going to share with everyone my dining experience at Joey Tomato's. This is a restaurant chain that emerged from the West Coast of Canada, before manifesting eastwards across Canada and eventually the United States. The location that I frequently go to is located within Chinook Centre, the largest shopping centre in Calgary, Alberta.

I personally enjoy going to this restaurant because of its atmosphere, decor and the quality of the food. First of all I am going to review their main entrees. I will begin with the Maple Salmon. It is cooked medium moist, thereby preserving the moisture of the salmon. The salmon is tender and sweet due to the juice preserved within the fish. The rice was soft and the asparagus was freshly cooked with olive oil.

Maple Salmon

The sirloin steak with King Crab was also an awesome dish. The steak was well-aged. The juice preserved within the steak was rich and delicious. The King Crab leg was fresh and tasty even without the the lemon-butter sauce.

Top Sirloin with King Crab Leg

Lastly, the full rack of baby back barbequed ribs with coleslaw and alfredo pasta on the side is also a must-have dish. the ribs were perfectly marinated and slowly roasted to perfection. The alfredo pasta was rich and not-too creamy with a hint of chopped tomatoes herbs on top.

Baby Back Barbequed Ribs

In terms of dessert, their menu contains only two selections. The individually baked apple pie and the molten lava chocolate souffle. The apple pie was flaky with slices of granny smith apple in rich cinnamon apple sauce. The apple pie was topped with roasted granola (similar to a date square) and a scoop of maple ice cream. A very delicious and not too sweet dessert.

Individually Baked Apple Pie

The molten lava chocolate souffle is definitely a must-have for chocoholics. The exterior of the cake was crunchy and the inside was rich and moist, with a smooth running chocolate center. Beside the cake was a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. If you eat the lava cake and ice cream together in one bite, the clashing between the heat coming for the cake and the cool from the ice cream makes the temperature just right, where both texture meet and mix together evenly and melts in your mouth. This feeling definitely seems like a little piece of heaven.

Molten Lava Chocolate Souffle

Often during the weekends, there is a line up and it takes about a half hour wait before you are seated in the dining room. If you are impatient or desperate for food due to extreme hunger, you could choose to sit in the lounge or the roof top patio during the summer, where you will not have to wait to get a spot. However, if you choose to wait in the line, the hostess would often serve you wine and samples of their appetizers, entrees or desserts. This makes the waiting experience more enjoyable.

Joey's Chinook Address: 6455 Macleod Trail SW, Calgary, Alberta

Telephone Number: (403) 692-6626

Yummy #1: Dim Sum in Victoria

Hello Everyone:

I am Yummy. This is where I will be posting reviews for different restaurants and places to eat.

Today I will begin reviewing a restaurant named Golden City Restaurant. It is located in Victoria, BC, Canada. I have to say that their Dim Sum was AMAZING!

Golden City Restaurant's Exterior

First of all, I have to give their minced beef rice with an egg a 5 out of 5. The presentation was amazing, the color was very attractive. In terms of taste, the beef was very smooth, with an apparent taste fresh water chestnut and a hint of orange peel. When the raw egg on top was mixed in with the beef and the rice, it was immediately cooked rare, making the dish even smoother in terms of texture. The rice was cooked just right, where each grain of jasmine rice was cooked to perfection.

Minced Beef Rice with Egg in a Hot Pot

In terms of dessert, I highly recommend the glutinous rice cake with custard filling and the old-fashioned steamed sponge cake. The glutinous rice cake was the best I have every tasted. It was very soft and chewy, and the custard was sweetened just right, not overpowering the fragrance delivered by the freshness of eggs and cream. The serving was 3 rice cakes per dish, which was often enough to share. I also like the old- fashioned sponge cake, it was made with genuine cane sugar, which was visible from its brown color. It was not too sweet and unlike other yellow sponge cake we see at other Dim Sum places, which has small holes. The sponge cake here has more elasticity and it gave us a greater sense of pleasure when we masticate the cake. It was not falling apart due to the cane sugar within, unlike other restaurants that uses plain white sugar in order to keep their budgets low.

Custard Filled Glutinous Rice Cakes

Old-fashioned steamed sponge cake

Overall, it was definitely worth our trip to go as far as Victoria to find this real gem. It was the most authentic old-fashioned Dim Sum I have ever tasted. Even the local Lions Club hold their gathering at this restaurant once a month, which further indicates the status and quality of this restaurant. No doubt that this was one of the best or maybe the best Chinese restaurant you could find in Victoria. Furthermore, the prices were fair, the portions were generous, the service and ambience was warm and welcoming!

Golden City Address: 721 Fisgard Street, Victoria, British Columbia

Telephone Number: (250) 386-8404