La Poutine: Review

Welcome back to What Elephant Eats! I am back to do more review and will try to keep this up again.

Today review is la Poutine, on 109 st near the U of A. I actually went there during the first two weeks of the place opening. I still remember that there were long line up even during weekday lunch.
First impression: the place is quite small with about 3 people working, and enough seats for about 10 people at most. The décor is modern and the place is well lit.  When you enter la Poutine you will get hit with the smell of ... Poutine! O that lovely gravy and fries smell.

Meat's Lover Poutine - Large

La Poutine's menu when it first open.

I had the Meat lover's  poutine (what can I say, I just love meat, especially BACON). My friends ordered various kind of poutine and all of them got plenty of topping, cheese and gravy. Their gravy is lighter than other place but its very flavourful.  The bacon in my poutine wasn't as chunky as I hoped, it was more like bacon bits. The sausage and the ground beef was good, and the bacon help to enhance the overall flavour. The cheese curd is rich and taste great! Fries are well cook and a bit crunchy just the way I like them. I had a large size poutine, which is quite large and should be more than enough for dinner.

I personally find that their prices are quite high for poutine. However, the poutine I had was very good. I would probably go back again but with the price like this I won't be going back as often as I would like.

Large Canadian Poutine

Small Traditional Poutine

Small Vegan Poutine

Overall best poutine in town - check them out and enjoy the heart attack.               - Elephant-Ply

Large Montreal Poutine - one thing about this is that it is not as good as
the poutine with Montreal smoke meat I had in Montreal :P

                                                                                                           

  

Chianti Cafe and Restaurant (Whyte Ave) : Review

Hi!!!

Chianti on Whyte

Its been a while, I am behind on my review posts. There was a hot water main broke at work last week, right above my desk space. So I've been busy with the clean up and what not. 

Today review is Chianti Cafe and Restaurant on Whyte Ave.  I have been here a couple of times before and all of my previous visit were quite good, but nothing spectacular. The food were good but not THAT good, to be honest. However the portion were quite big and it is not expensive with most pastas cost around 11-13 dollars. To be honest, the service was slow, but tolerable. We were there on Tuesday night at 5:30pm and the place was packed! What I didn't expect.  

Menu

Chianti has quite an extensive list of pasta menu that will boggling your mind, and you will most likely have a hard time choosing what you want (I took sooooo long). I ordered the last item on the seafood section which is Gamberi Con Salsiccia ~ Prawns, spicy Italian Sausage, Feta cheese, Black Olives, Red Pepper, and spinach with Rose Sauce Over Fettuccini, $18 (Ok its $17.99) o(；ﾟoﾟ)ツ The food doesn't take long at all (maybe 5 minutes), which make me wonder if they start cooking fresh pasta or not. In the menu, I believe, its said that all their pastas are made in house. What this mean is that they might have soft pasta on hand which will take less time to cook. 

Gamberi Con Salsiccia - 1

Gamberi con Salsiccia - 2

Gamberi Con Salsiccia - It is a good dish but there is something missing. I think that the rose sauce is just ok. The prawn and italian sausage is very tasty. What I am most dissapoint about is that, the fettuccini was cold. It seem like the pasta were precook and was just splash over with hot pasta sauce and just hope that the pasta will be hot too. It is not the case, and you might be able to tell from the picture, the fettucini that is not cover looks abit dry, which is precisely what its felt like. Overall I did actually enjoy the dish, but would I order it again? Probably not. 

Coffee and Dessert menu

I then got a dessert! This is the first time that I have dessert here (I think). I got Chocolate Mousse (Rich and Velvety - Made with Callebaut Chocolate). Please click on the menu picture to enlarge, you can see all item on this menu. 

Chocolate Mousse

After my first bite of this chocolate mousse, I think that they should change the description on the menu to "VERY VERY RICH...". This chocolate mousse is very very good ... for about 5 minutes. Then it just get too rich. I should have order coffee to go with it, then it would be perfect.

Artistic Chocolate Mousse

Final words: Overall I think Chianti is a good place to go for casual italian dinner. It is not too expensive, big portion and good/ok service. The decor is very fitting for a casual Italian restaurant (I didn't post picture on inside the place because their were too many people, please go to chianti website at http://www.chianticafe.ca/edmonton-gallery.htm to see more picture).

I would give this place around 7/10 (from my past experience as well)

Please click the like button if you like the post o(#＾▽＾)ツ Or share the post with other social network. 


Other Reviews 
http://www.yelp.ca/biz/chianti-cafe-and-restaurant-edmonton

Frozen Pizza: Dr. Oetker Casa di Mama - Ultimate Deluxe

Hoi! It has been a while since I post my last review. Many of my online friends (and by many I mean Whoopsy) asked me to do frozen pizza review. Since I usually eat frozen pizza on Monday night, I told him that I will. The reason why I eat frozen pizza on Monday night is because I volunteer until later at night. So I get really tired and don't want to cook. (maybe if you guys are lucky, I might finally post picture of the food I cook).

So the credit go to Whoopsy and Tomato who tell me that this pizza is the shit! So I suck it up and spent 7 dollars on this semi-small pizza, Dr. Oetker Casa di Mama - Ultimate Deluxe.
Toppings include the following:
- Pepporoni
- peppers
- red onions
- mushrooms
These toppings are very similar to other frozen deluxe pizza.

Here is the nutrition facts label (I ate the whole thing... D: ). The Calories is aboutt he same some of the Delissio pizza that is twice the size/

First impression: Not impressive at all >_<. The pizza doesn't really look appetizing. Note that the pizza come with what they call parchment, which is the white paper between the pizza and the cardboard. This parchment paper must be left under the pizza during baking for best results. 

IN THE OVEN!: 480 F or 250 C for 12-14 mins, lowest rack with tray and baking sheet/aluminum foil. This is the first time that I have to place a frozen pizza on a tray/sheet to bake (notice that the parchment is intact). I have to say that it takes less time to bake than other frozen pizza. The fragrance is alright, very generic for frozen pizza.  

Out of the Oven and in my MOUTH! I must say that the pizza actually looks really good. The crust looks amazing, and there are actually a lot of cheese, but not as much mushroom as I would like. The pepperoni is as thin as other frozen pizza.  

Taste: This pizza just taste very generic, apart from one thing. The crust is AMAZING. Hands down the best crunchy crust I have ever eat among frozen pizza. The texture is very good (I have no words to describe them lol). The taste of sauce and topping themselves are just as good as any of the deluxe pizza (Delissio, McCain, PC, etc ...), but the crust actually make everything better. 

Conclusion: 8/10

If this crust were to be like any other crust, I would have rate this pizza around 6.5 or even 6 (my standard for other typical deluxe pizza), but I would rate this crust around 9 or 9.5. Average out to be around 8. 

Please let me know if there is any frozen pizza you would like me to review. 

Happy Eating :D and please click the like button :D 

Razzellberries (Restaurant & Cappuccino Bar): Review

Good evening everyone!

Today review will be a bout a small Sri Lankan restaurant downtown of Edmonton, Razzellberries Restaurant and Cappuccino Bar. This is my first time going to Sri Lankan restaurant and I never had Sri Lankan food before. This place is indeed owned by a Sri Lankan family. I will only write about their lunch buffet as that was the only thing I experienced there.

Part of Razzellberries Menu

It was my friend, R, birthday so we decided went there for lunch (R ninja paid for everyone, we were planing to pay for her D:). This place located right in the middle of downtown just off Bay/Enterprise Square LRT station, close to Sobeys, and Red Arrow bus terminal. It is a very good location to grab lunch if you work around there.

Inside Razzellberries

Although it has perfect location, the look of the restaurant just didn't have what it take to attract people. The front of Razzellberries is covered with banners and pictures of their food which I felt were unnecessary. Inside decoration, tables and chairs are just plain and looks more like cafeteria. Even their water was served in plastic cup. Then again, I try not to judge the book by its cover and by that I mean not to judge the taste of the food by its presentation. However, I am sure that the decoration and the front of this place would have turns many people around looking for something different.

Buffet and Special Menu

Menu:

As the name and banners suggested that this is almost like a one place serve all kind of place. They have everything from bake goods, pastries, coffees, sandwich, burgers to Sri Lankan traditions. Many of my friends call it "fusion" food and that they would only serve authentic Sri Lankan food on Saturday (I will have to go back to try it).

Waiting to get food :D

For the price of $8.95 the buffet was what we went there for. Their sandwiches are almost the same price, and if you have time to sit down then it is a better option to go. For their buffet they only have 6 dishes to choose from:

- Sri Lankan Fried Rice

- Devil

- Pasta (Penne)

- Chicken Tetrazarea??? (some type of chicken cream sauce with celery and carrot ... first time I ever seen)

- Lentils

- Veggies

Chicken Cream sauce penne, and veggies

At first I was skeptical about Razzellberries and its food. I had put a bit of everything on my first plate so that I could try small portion of everything out before I went for second. First of all I was impress with the chicken cream sauce with the rich flavour it has, although its been sitting in the food warmer for however long. The penne on the other hand was a bit dry. The lentils was better than expect as it was edible for me (I do not like lentils very much). The veggies on the other hand was... old and wrinkle, just like what you would get at some fast food Chinese restaurant.

Devil beef, rice and lentils

The devil beef took me by surprise, it has a rich, deep and refreshing flavour that will make you ask for more. Although not as spicy as I would hope for, the hint of lime and the sauce just goes so well with rice. I was lucky with the devil beef because they had just put out a new batch into the food warmer. One negative thing about the devil beef is it is not very tender and can be tough to chew at time. The rice was dry and not very flavourful at all (not something you would expect from fried rice), but this might be so that the devil beef would go well with the fried rice, which it certainly did.

Verdict:

Cheap eat, alright/good foods (depend on what you get). Will eat again and will have to go try their Saturday Authentic Sri Lankan buffet. Come down from your office if you have time during lunch, with 8.95, it is worth the money.

Overall : 6.5

Devil Beef: 7.5 (my Sri Lankan friend rated it 7)

Links

http://www.yelp.ca/biz/razzellberries-restaurant-and-cappuccino-bar-edmonton

Have a good night :D

Nomiya Restaurant: Revisit

Hi guys

Its been couple of weeks since I last wrote a restaurant review. I will try to write another one today (along with this short write up). I have revisit Nomiya couple of times after my first visit. The last time I went to Nomiya was last Friday for dinner. My gf, J, ordered our favourite Tantan-men (Please see my last Nomiya review for more info). However this time I found that the tantan-men this Friday night just did't cut it for a good ramen. There were lots of noodle in the bowl and not enough soup, consistently because there two of my other friends also order it as well. I ordered shio ramen this time, again there were lots of noodle, but at least I got more soup than J and our friends. Shio ramen was pretty good, and the light but tasty soup is pretty good (7/10 due to unbalance amount of noodle). My undercover agent (a friend who work there) said that there are some people that cook better than other, so consistency is an issue. In general the food still pretty good, the ramen still better than other place around town.

Mobile picture (I didn't bring my camera this time)

Link to previous Nomiya review:

http://eternity-ply.blogspot.com/2011/03/nomiya-restaurant-review.html

Cheers

Beard Papa's WEM : Review

I was hyped and excited to go to Beard Papa's at West Edmonton Mall for some great cream puff. The self proclaim "world best cream puff" originated in Japan and have spread all over the world, boasting great vanilla, macha and daily special flavour including but not limit to: mango, strawberry, and chocolate. However, it was a disappointment at first bite. Here is my review for Beard Papa's at WEM (opposite to McDonald, side entrance of Galaxy land, close to ice rink). I want to apology for not having my camera with me when I visit the place but I took some picture of the cream puff when I got home.

After dinner in chinatown, my gf and I headed to West Edmonton Mall to fulfill the cream puff craving. We were excite to go to Beard Papa's, especially since most of my friends that tried it in Vancouver said their cream puffs are amazing (including my better half). We were there at 8:15, just 45 minutes before it close. The store is clean (should be expected for new store). There was only one store clerk serving the location at the time. Once we approach the counter, she let us know that since the store is closing for the day soon, all big cream puff are only $2.00 instead of $2.59 (?) for vanilla cream or $2.99 for macha cream (green tea) or mango cream (special flavour of the day).

The puff pastry itself looks nice but probably been sitting on the counter for a while. So we decided to get 5 cream puffs, 2 vanilla, 2 green tea, and 1 mango. The clerk promptly filled the cream puffs (2 squeeze) and pretty much try to fill it as much as she could. I don't know if this is how they do it normally, or she was just giving us more filling because its almost time to close. Cream puff were sprinkle with icing sugar and green tea powder. My gf really wanted to eat it right then. I told her to wait until we get in the car because then it will be easier to eat, man was I wrong.

Oozing Vanilla Cream Puff

I was expecting a rich creamy filling for this great looking creampuff (most of my friends told me that the cream is very rich and can be almost ice-cream like). However, the filling end up being quite liquid, as you can see its oozing out when you break the cream puff in half (this is only 5 min after we purchased the puff). We end up making big messed in the car. (＞△＜｡) Thats not the only thing, the texture of the filling is quite grainy and is not very smooth (this is what I would expect to be in a cream puff), especially the green tea cream. I am glad that they gave us lots of filling, BUT overfilling the cream puff did not help with cream explosion.

Cream puff filling

Taste wise:

Puff pastry: Soft, and nicely baked. Would be a lot better if its warm. The texture is still nice and would go really well with heavy cream filling.

Filling in general: not cold, runny liquid, grainy and not very smooth. Worst of all, it will cause big mess all over your hand.

Vanilla cream puff: Quite tasty actually (neglet the texture). Nonetheless, it is not really better than generic vanilla cream puff that you can find from a chinese bakery in chinatown. If factor in the texture of the cream, it is worst. (5/10)

Mango cream puff: Didn't expect it to go well with the puff pastry, but it actually did. The smoothest of them all, and less runny than both vanilla and green tea. Still, not up to par with average cream puff. (5/10)

Green Tea cream puff (macha): I was actually very excite to try this. To my disappointment the cream is SUPER grainy. This could be due to the fact that they put in alot of macha powder. Although the flavour of the macha is there, the cream itself was disgusting and runny as hell. Boooooooo ╮(｡´ω`)╭ (4/10)

Runny green tea cream

Overall : 4/10

What a disappointment. We were expecting good cream puff, but end up with the opposite. The runny cream was not enjoyable to eat. Not only that, both of us got stomach ache right after too. I thought it might be because we had it after Chinese food, but I also end up with stomach ache the next day as well when I ate two more. I don't know if this is what its like at other location (I hope so), or it could be my luck with a bad batch/day or cream puff... I don't know. But, I will never again buy cream puff from this location. Let me know if you have different experience, since you might be able to convince me to go there again. Sorry if my picture make it looks good and make you guys want to go and eat there. Cheers

More pictures below and :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eternity-ply/sets/72157626244214683/

Big mess

Mango Cream Puff

Other Review:

http://www.yelp.ca/biz/beard-papas-edmonton

Kabuki Sushi & Grill: Review

Hoi ヽ(・o・｡)ノ

Welcome to my second restaurant review :D This week I am writing about Kabuki Sushi & Grill, locate on 109st and Saskatchewan Dr. right by Garneau theater and High Level Diner, right across from Kyoto Japanese Restaurant.The location is not bad for people who are in the walking distant, however, finding parking spot around that area can be challenging. They have complicate system of customer parking which I don't fully understand, there are couple of spot right behind the restaurant, couple of spot in the back alley behind one of the house, and I believe that customers can park in front of the smile zone (Dental office, right next to restaurant) and they will reimburse the parking cost. Still this is too much of a hassle for many.

First Impression:

Kabuki is a relatively new restaurant in Edmonton. I believe they open a year ago. This place is small and cozy, probably seat about 30-40 people, and can feels cramp at time. There are a huge sakura (cherry blossom) tree in the middle of the dining area. If you are lucky you might be seat under the sakura tree and hopefully it will make you feel like spring in Japan (except then you look outside and realize that its snowing and -30c). All jokes aside, this place have a pretty good decor and the color scheme of green tea green and brown go together quite well.

I actually ate here several time before and is one of my favorite place to go with my girlfriend with my friends. The service here is very good but can be slow at times. Many times we have to wait 5 min or more for tea/water, especially when you are in a big group. This could be that there are one 2 servers (I am pretty sure the owners are the one who serve), both of them are very nice and would accommodate various request you have about the food. Once orders are taken, foods come out quite fast but not all at once (common thing with sushi).

This time there were 8 of us eating there. Again, we waited for about 5-10 min before we receive our green tea, and many 10 more minute before anyone come to ask if we are ready to order. I ordered 3 rolls for myself including, chop scallop roll (5.95), Edmonton roll (6.95) and Queen's roll (13.95?). All in all we ordered about 18 dishes or something along that line. I found that the price here is decent for the size and quality of the food here. In general their presentation is still lacking and thus sometime the sushi rice can come off when pick up or tobiko can be all over the place. However their flavour is the real deal. Today I will be reviewing couple of dishes I had.

Takoyaki

Beef Tataki

Whether because we order so much, or because they remember me or might be the power of my camera, they gave us free foods! First they start of with miso soup (which is normal), then they brought 2 serving of beef tataki! We were all surprise and frankly was confuse and question ourselves if we order beef tataki (raw beef with marinated sauce). The server quickly told us "on the house, on the house". We were even more surprise when they brought out two serving of takoyaki (fried octopus ball)! Oh my! Big brownie point for this review :D. Furthermore, this wasn't the first time we get this kind of service. Last time I went there (group of 4), we also got free serving of takoyaki.

( ￣∀￣)o彡ﾟ

Edmonton Roll - $6.95 (8/10) - above

This is a combination of tempura, spicy tuna, and crab (imitated). I am a fan of spicy tuna, and a fan of tempura so this roll is perfect for me. The prawn tempura is crunchy which add that texture to the roll, while spicy tuna add more flavour. (I am not a fan of imitated crab therefore im not going to say anything here lol) For the price this is a pretty good roll. Its about half the size of the big fancy roll. I personally like the half size portion better because then I can try many things :D

Queen's Rolls - $13.95 (8/10) - above

This is a very interesting dish both in term of presentation and combination of ingredient. The description in the menu said "Prawn tempura, smoke salmon, crab, tobiko". I did not expect two kind of smoke salmon o(✿⊙ω⊙)o. When the dish was serve, first thing you notice is the salmon flower right in the middle of the dish surrounded by tempura roll topped with smoke salmon and tobiko. The salmon in the middle is salmon sashimi that been bundle up and 'smoke' with blow torch. The sushi roll itself is very good too, and the smoke salmon on top added a very nice taste to the tempura. Highly recommended.

Chop Scallop roll - $5.95 (5.5/10) - above

Not much to say about this dish. The scallop is chopped, mixed with mayo and tobiko. This is an okay dish, it was good to try once, and I will probably not get it again. To be honest, the favour of mayo overflavour that of scallop.

Empty miso soup bowl

About the free food we got:

Miso Soup - very good soup, but I wish that there are more green onion and tofu.

Beef tataki - another very good dish, better than many other place in edmonton, the beef was fresh and the sauce is very good.

Takoyaki - Here's the thing, takoyaki is one of my FAVOURITE food. The best takoyaki I ever had was made by my friend. Takoyaki at Kabuki is ..... alright. The batter is good, sauce is good, and they fried it pretty well BUT where is my tako? the octopus was so small ლ｜￣o￣ლ｜

Other recommendations:

Beef teriyaki roll - girlfriend favourite (she's allergic to fish ( `・～・´)o彡ﾟ

Spicy tuna roll - very good

Negitoro - tuna belly and green onion

Blazing unagi roll - Unagi roll on FIRE! awesome

Overall - 7.5/10 (8.5./10 due to free food lol)

Another thing I forgot to mention, I love their wood plank for serving. :D

Let me know if you guys have any question :D

Other pictures

Other Review

http://www.yelp.ca/biz/kabuki-sushi-and-grill-edmonton