Then I Ate - A Food Photoblog: asian

Showing posts with label asian. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Cui Hua Gui Lin Noodle House: Brisket and Chicken Lo Noodles

Cui Hua Gui Lin Noodle House (10626 97 Street) is a Chinatown restaurant specializing in - as its name suggests - noodle dishes. The menu consists of a variety of soups (which include noodles), vermicelli dishes, and house specialty noodles. The proteins in most of the dishes include beef, pork, and chicken, as well as lamb in a few of them.

Since noodles is the Gui Lin speciality, house noodle dishes are what I ordered: a Chicken Lo Noodle and a Brisket Lo Noodle, to be precise. The noodles were flat and almost clear, with a slightly chewy texture. They mixed in well with the protein, peanuts, and bamboo shoots, and parsley that adorned. Each mouthful resonated with notes of sweet, spicy and sour in different levels of intensity. The flavours were balanced, and as someone who has a low spice tolerance threshold, I was not overwhelmed with heat, but felt my taste buds tingling just enough. While the chicken mostly tasted from the hot and sour flavour soundtrack, the brisket was tender and maintained some of its meaty notes, although it also had the same flavour combination underscoring it. The person who ate the rest of the Brisket Lo Noodle raved about the dish's flavour.

I also ordered one of the restaurant's appetizers, the lemongrass chicken. What looked like the equivalent of two thighs were cut up in bite-sized pieces and cooked in the tangy and mildly spicy lemongrass, served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce. Definitely flavourful and satisfying.

Overall, after finishing my lunch I felt like I had taken a culinary journey, which I hope to explore again.

Brisket Lo Noodle

Thursday, January 21, 2021

Noodleholic at the Door

Noodleholic is one of my favourite Chinatown restaurants. How can I resist a steaming bowl with my choices of broth, noodles, and toppings? I was thankful to find out the restaurant is on Uber Eats. These bowls of glory were delivered along with iced coffee, green onion cakes, and a Chinese long doughnut.

Sunday, February 24, 2019

Kaiming's Kitchen

View this post on Instagram

It’s Christmas, so what’s a Jew to do but go for Chinese food. Lovely little place in the west end for lemon chicken, Szechuan beef, and chicken with vegetables and cashews. #yeg #yegfood #chinesefood #christmas #yegeats #yegfoodie

A post shared by Paula E. Kirman (@livingsanctuary) on Dec 25, 2018 at 4:00pm PST

Noodleholic Creation

View this post on Instagram

Its a brisket, tofu, vermicelli, beef broth kind of day. #yeg #yegfoodie #yegeats #yegfood #chinatownyeg #noodleholic

A post shared by Paula E. Kirman (@livingsanctuary) on Dec 13, 2018 at 12:51pm PST

Champion Beef Brisket Soup at Chef Hung

View this post on Instagram

Champion beef brisket soup. The broth was a clear beef stock, while the brisket was quite fatty. I had flat noodles, which held up well. At $17.50 though, it seemed a bit overpriced. #yeg #yegfood #noodles #brisket #yegeats #yegfoodie #whyteave

A post shared by Paula E. Kirman (@livingsanctuary) on Nov 24, 2018 at 4:09pm PST

Friday, November 9, 2018

Fried Noodles with Beef at Fuqing Lanzhou Noodles (10824 97 Street)

View this post on Instagram

Hand-pulled, fried noodles with beef for lunch. Chewy goodness with cucumber on top (not too sure what was up with that, but it worked). #yeg #yegfoodie #yegeats #yegfood #noodles #chinatownyeg #yegdt

A post shared by Paula E. Kirman (@livingsanctuary) on Nov 4, 2018 at 12:17pm PST

Hand-pulled, fried noodles with beef for lunch. Chewy goodness with cucumber on top (not too sure what was up with that, but it worked).

Soup and More at Noodleholic (9658 107A Ave.)

View this post on Instagram

Noodleholic is located at 9658 107A Avenue. You can build your own soup by picking a broth, type of noodle, and two toppings (or more for an extra cost). My first bowl (top) was a Little Sheep vegetarian soup base (named after the company that makes it), with marinated chicken, beef brisket, and thick rice noodles. The brisket was extremely aromatic and the chicken was chewy, but flavourful. The noodles were like spaghetti, while the broth was rather bland. My next visit had me try a chicken broth (tasted rich like chicken pho), flat rice noodles (like ribbons of noodle goodness), shiitake mushrooms (big and bold), and again the beef brisket. You can also get a side like a green onion cake for a reasonable price, and beverages are an extra dollar if you buy soup. This is my new haunt in Chinatown. #yeg #chinatownyeg #yegeats #yegfood #yegfoodie #yegdt #noodlesoup

A post shared by Paula E. Kirman (@livingsanctuary) on Nov 2, 2018 at 6:17pm PDT

Noodleholic is located at 9658 107A Avenue. You can build your own soup by picking a broth, type of noodle, and two toppings (or more for an extra cost). My first bowl (top) was a Little Sheep vegetarian soup base (named after the company that makes it), with marinated chicken, beef brisket, and thick rice noodles. The brisket was extremely aromatic and the chicken was chewy, but flavourful. The noodles were like spaghetti, while the broth was rather bland. My next visit had me try a chicken broth (tasted rich like chicken pho), flat rice noodles (like ribbons of noodle goodness), shiitake mushrooms (big and bold), and again the beef brisket. You can also get a side like a green onion cake for a reasonable price, and beverages are an extra dollar if you buy soup. This is my new haunt in Chinatown.

Thursday, June 21, 2018

Vegetarian Betel Leaf Wrap Vermicelli at An Chay

Betel leaf wrap vermicelli. #yeg #yegfood #yegeats #nofilter #plantbased #anchay

A post shared by Paula E. Kirman (@livingsanctuary) on May 16, 2018 at 3:28pm PDT

Monday, July 3, 2017

Eggplant Curry at Panda Hut Express

Tried a few summer menu items at @pandahutexpressedmonton today - fried pineapple rice and coconut curry eggplant. #yegfood #eatalberta150

A post shared by Paula E. Kirman (@livingsanctuary) on Jun 16, 2017 at 2:41pm PDT

While in the west end needing lunch and craving Chinese food, my friend and I went to

Thursday, March 24, 2016

The Pho Files: Vietnamese Beef Stew at Delicious Pho

Vietnamese beef stew #yegfood

A photo posted by Paula E. Kirman (@livingsanctuary) on Mar 21, 2016 at 1:44pm PDT

A meeting right across the street from the 124 Street location of Delicious Pho made the restaurant the perfect place for lunch. I tried the beef stew with cooked carrots and rice noodles. The broth was aromatic to perfection, as were the carrots perfectly cooked. The chunks of beef were smaller and leaner than in other versions of the stew, which made for easier eating. All in all, a definite win.

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Edmonton Folk Music Festival 2015

I attended the 2015 Edmonton Folk Music Festival from August 6-9, and once again food was a part of my activities.

I decided to stay vegetarian for most of the weekend, and started off with the ginger beef from Padamandi. Kasim also threw in a spring roll and veggie chicken drumstick. The flavour and texture of the "beef" is a pretty good imitation of the real thing.

I also had the combo of Pad Thai, green curry with tofu, spring rolls, and rice from Numchok Wilai. The curry tasted great but was a bit too hot for me. Very satisfying portion size.

I have never eaten in Langano Skies before, but tried the split pea curry with injera from their booth. Tasty without being spicy, although a bit of a challenge to eat in such a setting.

The weekend got hotter as it progressed and I found the quinoa avocado salad from Sailin' On to be flavourful and refreshing. My only suggestion is to have the avocado better integrated - it could have been pureed and seasoned and presented more like a dressing as opposed to a few plain chunks here and there.

Calico Baking Company is a new vendor on the scene, selling its local creations at various events and farmer's markets around the city. Their fare was perfect for the morning/early afternoon workshop sessions. The mint water was especially wonderful on a hot day, and simple - water infused with mint leaves. My muffin was supposed to be banana sourdough with chocolate, but was actually more like bran.

As the weekend wore on, so did my resolve, and I wanted a morsel of meat. The lemongrass beef skewer from Hoang Long satisfied that craving.

My final full meal was the chili chicken from New Asian Village. A hearty portion, although the pile of saffron rice satisfied my need for carbs better than the cold roasted potatoes.

Of course, no visit to the Folk Fest would be complete with a green onion cake (from the food booth of that name) . . .

. . . Or, my annual serving of fresh-made greasy French fries.

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Vegging Out: Tofu Vermicelli Bowl at Delicious Pho

I was riding my bike home on a hot weekday evening, and stopped in to Delicious Pho at the halfway stop to grab some supper. I wanted something on the lighter side, so had the vermicelli bowl with tofu. The tofu was fried and covered in a mild garlic teriyaki sauce which also permeated into the noodles below. I asked for peanut sauce instead of fish sauce, but I actually did not need it. The serving was a good size and I like how the salad part is served to the side of the bowl instead of under the noodles (where the lettuce and sprouts end up getting hot).

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Spring Rolls at Pho Huong

Pho Huong/Mama Pizza (10531 107 Avenue) is one of my favourite pho joints in the city. I normally have green onion cakes when I am in the mood for something crunchy to go with my pho, but when I found out that they have vegetarian spring rolls I simply had to try them. They were crunchy and filled with shredded veggies and cellophane noodles. Served with fish sauce, I opted for hoisin instead. Can't really go wrong with this.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

The Pho Files: Beef Stew at La Pagode

I have been to La Pagode (17020 90 Avenue) a couple of times this past week as I have been in the area, and tried the beef stew with rice noodles. La Pagode is owned by the same people who own Pagolac in Chinatown and the south side, and has the same great menu. The stew was packed with thick chunks of brisket and loads of noodles, in a slightly spicy broth. Definitely a great choice for lunch on a cold day.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Hakka Noodle at Naanolicious

Naanolicious is well known as my go-to place for post-libation nourishment on Saturday evenings. I had the opportunity to try a few bites of the Hakka Noodles, an Indo-Chinese fusion vegetarian dish that is essentially a vegetable stir fry in a spicy, savoury sauce with elements of teriyaki and ginger. A very bold flavour, if I ordered this for myself I would add chicken and ask that the heat be turned down just a touch.

Friday, October 17, 2014

Veggie Dumplings at Pho Delight

Whether you call it Pho Delight or Friends and Neighbours (only a wall separates the two sides of what is basically the same restaurant at 10838 82 Avenue), you can order a variety of pho soups, western meals, and vegetarian dishes no matter where you sit. I tried the veggie dumplings as a snack. Five dumplings were filled with a tofu and vegetable mixture that tasted predominantly from spinach and peas. The texture was very pleasant and the outer shell tasted a bit like pan-fried pancake, although some were a bit overdone. Overall though this was a solid vegetarian take on an Asian favourite appetizer.

The Pho Files: Phovarite at Phobulous

I was heading to film a protest near Phobulous last week and decided to curb my hunger with a bowl of Phovariete, which is the cute menu name for rare steak and well done brisket. While slightly higher in price than other nearby pho places (let alone Chinatown), the portion was full of noodles and lots of meat. It took a little while for the rare steak to cook in the broth, even though it was reasonably hot. Otherwise, this was a satisfying bowl of pho.

Monday, September 22, 2014

The Pho Files: Maki Maki

On Saturday, I was attending an event at a venue almost directly across the street from Maki Maki. It was well over two years since my first and only visit to the restaurant, and without even knowing it, I ordered the exact same meal! The only difference was the addition of an order of green onion cakes, which were crispy and delicious. Otherwise, I enjoyed the avocado roll, with the crunch of tempura adding texture to the fresh avocado.

The pho tai did not disappoint - it was even better than I remembered. The broth was rich and flavourful, and there was so much meat that I actually ran out of noodles first! Sliced so thin, the steak was amongst the most tender I have ever had in pho.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Teppan Beef and Mushrooms at Pagolac

Everyone at Pagolac (10566 97 Street) knew this dish was coming to our table - the sizzling and smoke trail were impossible to ignore. A mountain of beef and mushrooms served on a sizzling platter - the one it was cooked on. The beef was a bit on the chewy side, but tasted great. Perfect for sharing, and be sure to order some rice or noodles to the side.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Taste of Edmonton 2014

Taste of Edmonton is a local food lover's paradise. There are a number of new restaurants and dishes in the festival this year. One of the tried and true is the Beijing Style Kung Pow Chicken from The Lingnan. I only had a spoonful of this as it was for someone else, but it was full of spicy flavour and chicken, on top of a bed of rice. Really intense.

For me, the only menu item I chose to get again from previous years was the dry spicy chicken from The Lingnan. I can only eat a few pieces but it is worth the lingering burning on my lips.

The Fried Green Tomatoes from Creole Envie was my absolute must-try for this year, probably for the same reason as many others: the movie of the same name. That being said, for only two tickets I got at least six slices of lightly breaded and fried green tomatoes, which tasted slightly acidic with a nice crunch, accented by the creole aioli.

I was really happy to see Aboriginal food being represented this year by the inclusion of Native Delights. The bannock fry bread, made with non-GMO ingredients, was absolutely delightful: not greasy but crispy on the outside, with a chewy inside and slight sweetness.

I have not had the courage to visit Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse as I do not think I have the fortitude to withstand such a meat overload, but the Beef Garlic Rump Steak satisfied my curiosity. Rump can be a very tough cut, but this was marinated to perfection and the garlic was not overpowering. Although I had one bite that was practically all fat, overall I enjoyed the skewer.

I love lentils so was overjoyed to discover the yellow lentil dish Ater Kik Alecha Wok from Langano Skies, another restaurant that I have heard many good things about but have never ventured within. Served with a small piece of sour injera bread, this was a great dish for vegetarians and a gentle introduction to Ethiopian food.

The Beef Short Rib and Mash from Normand's Bistro was one of my favourite dishes of the afternoon. The meat was practically melting in my mouth, the mashed potatoes were creamy, and the sauce was at once sweet and savoury.

I had to wait a while to get a Jamaican Beef Patty from Irie Foods (2807 Millwoods Road), because they were sold out. Once I finally got my hands on one, I could see why. The size is fairly substantial, with a light, flaky pastry filled with spicy beef. Served in a paper bag, it was slightly awkward to eat, but really good value and ideal for people who like it hot.

The Pineapple Chicken from Blue Willow was for someone else, but I managed to sneak a bite of the lightly breaded chicken in a sweet pineapple sauce.

By this point I was winding down and desiring dessert. The Black Forest Whoopie Pie from the Edmonton Petroleum Club was my choice. The whipped cream and cherry filling between two chocolate cake wafers was certainly good satisfaction for my sweet tooth, although I would have enjoyed more of the cherry.

I was out of tickets by now but retrieved dessert for someone else, and how I wish this Jack Daniels Apple Crumble with Ice Cream from On The Rocks was mine!