Tag: Pork Belly

The market at Evergreen Brickworks | Toronto

The market at Evergreen Brickworks | Toronto

Ah outdoor markets — what every Canadian fiends for for all winter long, anxiously waiting for days when purchasing fresh local non-root vegetables is an option. Last weekend, Adam and I decided to venture to the Evergreen Brickworks for the inaugural outdoor market of 2016. The 

The Adelaide Oyster House | St. John’s

The Adelaide Oyster House | St. John’s

The second last night of Christmas vacation the girls and I headed for Chelsea’s farewell meal. We are grownups now. Babies and houses and jobs have spread us across the world —the five of us don’t spend much time together, a couple days a year at most—but 

Lunch at Truly Tasty Ramen: Halifax

Lunch at Truly Tasty Ramen: Halifax

Do you need a fork? Sadly this is a phrase that I hear all too often at Asian restaurants. I must look very awkward while using chopsticks, because every time I sit down for a bowl of Pho, a heaping plate of Pad Thai, or a steaming bowl of Ramen, I am almost immediately offered North American cutlery. At first I was offended, I mean who are you to say that I don’t know how to use chopsticks properly? Does this happen to everyone? I just assumed that the waitstaff gave forks to all non-Asians, and then it hit me:

I am really crappy at using chopsticks.

Granted, no one ever taught me how to use chopsticks when I was a kid; authentic Asian food was hard to come by where I grew up. When I finally started travelling and eating various meals that required these cunning utensils, I just went with the flow and taught myself (hence the awkward chopstick handling). It was only after moving to Toronto for grad school, where I fell in love with Asian food, that someone finally taught me how to use them properly. I started to master the art, which I am embarrassed to say, I have yet to achieve. It really is a true wonder to me how people are able to use them with such finesse and ease. I think it’s hard.

A few weeks ago Adam and I went to Truly Tasty on Quinpool Road for lunch. It was our first time there, and I was pretty impressed with the modern decor: The walls were not covered with the stereotypical Asian art and the furniture was sleek and new. We were greeted by a very friendly server and chose our lunch pretty quickly. The lunch menu is small and direct: dumplings and ramen. What more do you need?

After ordering, the server brought water and a small Sprout Salad. The tiny salad was packing quite the punch with its intense flavours of chili and its deliciousness really got our tummies grumbling.

Salad

But sure enough, before I had brought the first bite to my mouth, the server appeared out of nowhere and asked: Do you need a fork?

Okay lady, I know I must look like I’m struggling to get this little bean sprout into my mouth, but give me a chance. I managed to eat the salad without the fork, success!

For our mains, we chose the lunch special, Ramen with Pork, and an order of pork dumplings to share (we like pork). The steaming bowls of ramen came out really fast and they were huge even though we had ordered the small! It looked and smelled amazing.

Ramen

The ramen was great. The pork belly was cooked perfectly, soft and juicy, the egg was magically brown on the outside and was deliciously gooey on the inside. The noodles were the perfect texture, and there was also some tree fungus in there that I couldn’t identify specifically, but it was awesome too! I did have to give in and use a fork, which I was actually grateful for at this point, there was so much yummy food in front of me I didn’t want to slow down to use the chopsticks.

The dumplings were less than great for me, Adam finished mine, but overall the meal was really good! I am so happy to have found a great ramen spot in Halifax and I will definitely be back for more. I encourage anyone who hasn’t tried this hidden gem to Explore.Eat.Repeat. yourself down to Quinpool Road, immediately.

And so continues my struggle with attaining the perfect chopstick skills. I will trudge on in the hopes of one day not being asked the dreaded question: Do you need a fork?

Things Worth Mentioning…

Cost: SO CHEAP! For lunch for two it was less than 25$ plus tip. A great bang for your buck.

Things I liked: The surprising decor and the pork belly.

Things I didn’t: The dumplings.

Best Place to Sit: Near the back of the restaurant, it gets a little drafty on the first level close to the door.

What To Order Next Time: More dumplings. I want to give them another try, maybe the veggie ones.

Truly Tasty on Urbanspoon

Dinner at 2 Doors Down: Halifax

Dinner at 2 Doors Down: Halifax

I finally had dinner at 2 Doors Down! For months, I have been peering longingly into the windows of the Barrington Street location two doors down (get it?) from its older sibling Chives and drooling over the menu online. So, when my dear friend and former classmate 

Best Of: First Blogiversary Round Up

Best Of: First Blogiversary Round Up

HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY THE FOOD GIRL IN TOWN! Wow, what a year it has been! When I first decided that I wanted to write a food blog I had no idea what an adventure it was going to be! I was really nervous when I pressed 

Dinner at EDNA: Halifax

Dinner at EDNA: Halifax

Halifax, say hello to EDNA, the north end’s newest restaurant! Opened last week by Jenna Mooers, daughter of Jane Wright from janes on the common, EDNA, which stands for “eat, drink, nourish, always” was buzzing with activity last night when I went for dinner. My first experience was amazing and definitely won’t be my last!

EDNA Collage

Named after famed poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, the restaurant is located right next door to the newly relocated jane’s next door, across the street from Ratinaud French Cuisine, and sits in the newest food destination in the north end. My friend Erin and I entered the restaurant this past evening and were seated immediately by the window. EDNA is not taking reservations for the time being, so we were lucky to get a table: By the time we had our drinks, there was a line at the door!

The restaurant is cheerful and trendy. The menus are all printed on different sheets of pretty patterned paper, and the clean lines of the cutlery and glassware compliment the decor. The juxtaposition of raw wood ceilings, painted board, and industrial shelving and lighting creates a unique and comfortable atmosphere that feels metropolitan and local at the same time. The furniture is eclectic, yet modern and clean with rich wooden tables and metal chairs. The bar is constructed with painted black pipes, dark wood, and white subway tile. Across from the bar is a long high wooden table that seats at least 25 people and sits underneath a long geometric chandelier. The bathrooms were probably my favourite part with dark blue ceilings, peacock floral wallpaper, and antique light switches that make me nostalgic for my grandparent’s old house. Every detail has been considered, and contributes to the awesome atmosphere of EDNA.

French 77

We were greeted by our awesome server Moriah, who took our drink order. Erin and I both chose the French 77, which contains Elderflower liqueur, lemon, and sparkling wine. It was delicious! The drink list contains classic cocktails, awesome local wine and beer, and even cider on tap, which I always appreciate.

After ordering our food, we were brought fluffy, thick bread that was served with creamy  butter. Normally, I wouldn’t mention such a simple amuse-bouche, but the butter is worth talking about. The saltiness was prominent in a good way, I am talking crunchy bits of salt that made it more decadent and yummy than your run-of-the-mill table butter. The bread was homemade, fresh, and oh-so-soft.

Butter

To start, Erin chose the Soft Shell Crab Taco. It looked amazing! They had fried the whole crab and served it upon the taco in the most awesome presentation. At first, Erin wasn’t sure how to eat the taco, but Moriah instructed her to just dig in and eat the crab whole! Erin loved the avocado mousse that accompanied the taco, and raved about the spicy salsa that topped the creative crustacean.

Soft Shell Crab Taco

I had the Pork Belly to start and it was also delicious! Served with diced pear and very thinly sliced lemon rind, the sweet and saltiness of the dish was everything I could as for. The pork itself was prepared perfectly, with the soft meat melting in my mouth, I barely needed to use my knife!

Pork Belly

When the mains arrived, we oohed and ahhed at the whimsical plating of Erin’s choice, the Arctic Char. The fish was served with root vegetables, edamame, and wild mushrooms. Topping the delectable dish were crispy rice noodles that gave an excellent opposition to the flavours of the meal. Erin loved it!

Arctic Char

My choice was no less delicious. I chose the NS Butcher’s Cut of the evening, which was a 6 ounce Sirloin. The meat was prepared to a perfect medium rare, and served with potatoes lyonnaise. The fresh greens and carrots that accompanied were coated in the delicious flavourful sauce; the simplicity of this dish was a true triumph.

Butcher's Cut

Though the dessert menu looked extremely tasty, both Erin and I were just too full of food and drink to order a final treat. But I am looking at this as a reason to go back again very soon! The food at EDNA by Chef Robert Reynolds is fresh, local, and innovative and couldn’t be more delicious. I loved the attention to detail and the delightful simplicity of this place, and the service was amazing. I am excited to see how this restaurant grows and evolves and encourage everyone to take a stroll up Gottingen to Explore. Eat. Repeat (many times) this new restaurant! Bravo Jenna!

Things Worth Mentioning…

Cost: About $140 including tax and tip for 2 apps, 2 mains, and numerous beverages for the both of us. There is a large price range on the menu and it is very reasonably priced, for example, the $5 local cheese and charcuterie prices.

Things I liked: The decor, the attention to detail, the food…pretty much everything!

Things I didn’t: That I didn’t leave room for dessert!

Best place to sit: By the window for date night, or at the big communal table for a night out with a group of friends.

What to order next time: Local charcuterie and cheese, and more cocktails!

Edna on Urbanspoon

Dinner at FiveEleven West in Summerside and Lot 30 in Charlottetown, PEI

Dinner at FiveEleven West in Summerside and Lot 30 in Charlottetown, PEI

*Note: Lot30 is now closed.  This weekend past I was helping my old boss Dana with a Bra Fitting and Sales event in Summerside PEI (Dana owns The Boobie Trap in St. John’s NL, and yes, I lived a former life as a professional bra fitter). Though we were very 

Dinner at Bistro Le Coq, Halifax

Dinner at Bistro Le Coq, Halifax

Let me start by saying one thing: I LOVE FRENCH FOOD! Having been deprived of this delicious type of cuisine for the better part of my life, my love affair began slowly when a friendly co-worker introduced me to the wonderful world of foie gras. I