The Pho Files: Saigon Taste

Pho! Medium rare beef. #yegfood

A photo posted by Paula E. Kirman (@livingsanctuary) on Aug 25, 2016 at 10:53am PDT

Although I have passed it many times on my journeys back and forth from downtown, I never set foot in Saigon Taste until a few weeks ago when I was in the area for a while. I found the place clean and bright, with good service, and started off with an onion cake. How was it? It was an onion cake. It didn't really stand out to me one way or the other. The soup was a good portion of meat and noodles (I always try the Pho Tai first whenever I try out a new pho place), but the broth was rather one-note. It wasn't bad, just bland. I would come here again if I was in the area, and perhaps try one of the vermicelli bowls instead.

The Pho Files: Oodle Noodle

I have never had a really good experience in a fast food noodle place. In fact, I tend to avoid them unless I am really in a rush and it is a convenient option.

Earlier this week, I ventured into the 170 Street location of Oodle Noodle for the first time. Someone I trust convinced me it was excellent. I was impressed with the selection of noodle dishes from different parts of the world, but I was craving one thing, and one thing only: pho. I was thrilled that they have it, and at the very low price of $6.95.

Although I was sceptical, I ordered a bowl of Pho Bo, which has well done brisket. It was the only choice, as opposed to the standard medium done sliced beef I usually order - I suspect that Oodle Noodle is going after pho newbies who may be alarmed at the sight of pink meat floating around in their soup.

I was first surprised by the size of the portion - it was equivalent to any regular sized bowl I have had elsewhere, full of noodles and lots of chunks of meat. Some of the meat could have been leaner, but brisket tends to be fatty to start with. Also, the aroma of the broth overtook our table almost immediately. The flavour was incredible, and I thoroughly enjoyed the soup.

Since I often enjoy a green onion cake with my soup, I was glad to see them on the menu at Oodle Noodle as well. I ordered one and it was hot and chewy. Flavour-wise it was great, but I prefer my onion cakes a little more crispy. Still, this was minor and I would definitely order one again when I return for another bowl of that incredible hpo.

Fringe Food 2013

I spent several afternoons at the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival last week because I love roaming the grounds and taking in the buskers, and also because I was part of the volunteer Multimedia Team. As far as food goes, the pickings seemed a bit slimmer than in previous years. The biggest surprise was the lack of any food trucks (other than ones used for special events).

I had to have an onion cake, with its crispy outside and soft interior. I ended up having two (on different days).

Soner's Donair is a yearly hit because the food is incredible. I had the falafel and there were at least four large balls of fried ground chickpeas, amidst the tzatziki sauce and veggies. A little messy to eat, but worth the effort.

As much as I love kettle corn, my favourite kind of popcorn is the traditional, movie-style kind. I am happy to see it available at festivals and enjoyed a couple of bags during the Fringe.

The mango chicken from Zaika is another yearly favourite for me. Think butter chicken, but sweeter. I also love the addition of a veggie samosa. I could have added naan for another couple of dollars, but the portion would have ended up being too large for me.

Who doesn't love mini-doughnuts? So soft, so hot, so sweet. Best of all, they were half price for volunteers!

Edmonton Blues Festival

Thanks to one of my social media friends, I was able to score tickets to this year's Edmonton Blues Festival. I am a big blues fan, and Blues On Whyte is one of my regular weekend hang outs.I loved the variety of Blues presented at the festival, and the fact that the performers were from all over the world. You can read my blog post about the music over at Inside World Music. The band pictures above is MonkeyJunk, my new favourite!

The food was as diverse as the music! Of course, I had to have a Fat Frank because hot dogs and the Blues go so well together. There was also a Vietnamese vendor offering both freshly-made vermicelli bowls and wraps, as well as fries and onion cakes. I had one of the onion cakes, then later had a brisket sandwich from Smokehouse BBQ - talk about east meeting west!

The choice of beer was also quite diverse - everything from Molson Canadian to Newcastle to Corona, a few coolers, and Strongbow. At $7 per drink ticket it was slightly pricer than other beer tents I have visited, but large cans were being served (the 473ml variety) so the portion size fit the price.

Great music, great food, and great atmosphere - the Edmonton Blues Festival is definitely worth checking out for any serious music fan.