Two Paneer Curries from Namaste India

Tried Namaste India yesterday, via @skipthedishes! #yeg #yegfood #yegeats #foodporn

A post shared by Paula E. Kirman (@livingsanctuary) on Nov 16, 2017 at 4:56pm PST

My brother and I ordered from Namaste India through Skip the Dishes last week. We each ordered a paneer curry. I had the palak paneer, which is my favourite. It was very creamy, with a smoky taste I really enjoyed. He had the butter paneer - chunks of the pressed cheese in butter sauce like what is used for butter chicken. It was quite rich and tangy. On the side was saffron rice. We ordered two servings, but one would have been more than enough. We also shared a plain naan and veggie samosas. The samosas came cold - I am not sure if this is how they are served in the restaurant, but it did not hurt the flavour at all. Overall the food was very fresh and satisfying.

Vegging Out: Vegetarian Appetizer Sampler Platter at Naanolicious

There is a special at Naanolicious on Thursday evenings that vegetarians will definitely want to check out. The vegetarian appetizer platter, paired with a beer, for $14.95 is a huge portion on a large plate: one samosa, several veggie pakoras, a couple of aloo tikka patties, naan bread with a dipping sauce, and two chutneys. I managed to devour this flavourful feast myself, but if I was less hungry, I also certainly could have shared.

Festival Food: Fringe 2015

I was once again a volunteer on the Multimedia Team for the 2015 Fringe Theatre Festival so again I hit up some of the food on site. While there was actually quite an impressive selection of food this year, much better than in the previous couple of years, I stuck with the tried and true - I think I was more focused on taking pictures than eating.

I got started with the Chicken Tikka from Zaika. The dish is very flavourful and making it a combo with the samosa really made for a hearty meal.

It would not be a true Fringe experience without eating something greasy, so I went for the spiral potato from Punky Potato. The deep fried, thin slices of potato had a great texture in addition to flavour. Plus, Fringe volunteers got a 50% discount. Can't beat that.

I tried Quick Meals, which offers Mediterranean and Western fare, because they too were offering a 50% discount. My greatly reduced falafel was fresh and crispy, with refreshing tzatziki sauce that did not overpower the wrap.

Mini-doughnuts are also a staple of the Fringe, and again, the 50% discount for volunteers was more than an incentive. The portion was so huge, I had to share it! And thank you to all of the food vendors who supported the volunteers this year - much appreciated!

Taste of Edmonton 2013

Taste of Edmonton is one of the city's best events if you are a food blogger. Dozens of restaurants set up in Churchill Square to offer small samples of their menus items. This year, several restaurants are new to the festival, while yearly regulars are offering new menu items.

Today was the first day of version 2013, and I headed to Churchill Square for lunch. Myself and a friend pitched in and bought 60 tickets - enough for quite the sampling. And then, the fun began.

I had to start things off with the green onion cake from Hong King Bakery. It's crispy outside, soft inside, and generally wonderful texture makes it my favourite onion cake in the city and I look forward to it every year.

My friend adores the pineapple chicken from Blue Willow, and it is something he returns to every year as well. The large portion did not seem much bigger than the regular one though. That was one of the major changes this year - some menu items had regular and small options for different ticket values.

I did not get a chance to sample this hand crafted orange and tangerine ice cream sandwich from Blue Willow, but my friend said it was worth the awkward effort eating it. I think the crispy sandwich part and cold filling would make a delicious contrast in texture.

The chicken tikka and garlic naan from New Asian Village was full of flavour. I found the regular serving more than adequate, with its plentiful vegetables and chicken chunks.

Padmanadi is one of my favourite restaurants and their menu items this year are excellent choices for people wishing to sample vegan goodness. The chicken drumsticks have a great texture: crisp on the outside and stringy on the inside, with a flavour that does resemble the carnivore version.

The chili chicken also had a realistic texture and a sauce with sweetness and a kick. Definitely a winner when it comes to "fake meat." And, at only three tickets an item, Padmanadi has great value also.

The dry, spicy chicken from Lingnan is another annual favourite and we each had to have our own portion. Another great value at three tickets (but noticeably smaller than last year's portion) the pieces of chicken are breaded and fried to perfection. The hot pepper flakes abound - be sure to have something on hand to drink!

The chicken penne from Old Spaghetti Factory was hands down, my friend's favourite and he ended up having another portion! I took a quick taste. While the penne was a perfect al dente, the chicken felt rubbery to me.

This was on our "must try" list. The s'more fritters from Mercer Tavern are a deep fried, hot, sticky, fun dessert. Very very rich - it was perfect for sharing. I didn't really taste any marshmallow as the chocolate dominated (not a bad thing necessarily).

The avocado roll from Zinc packed a huge flavour punch into one little spring roll. The middle is a puree of avocado, tomatoes, and various seasonings. I was detecting that the avocado was a touch over-ripe. The cilantro honey pesto was the star - sweet with cilantro highlights. At three tickets for only one roll it is a bit on the pricey side, but it was one of the most memorable Taste of Edmonton items I have ever sampled.

I had a few forkfuls of the Pad Thai from Numchok Wilai - one of the dishes I enjoyed last year and my friend requested. Just as I recalled, the noodles were firm and flavourful - and the dish is vegetarian to boot!

I found the steak bites from Canadian Brewhouse a little too chewy for my taste, although my friend loved them and the sesame steak sauce.

The tandoori chicken samosa from Guru was another favourite from last year that I had to try again. Once again, it was packed full of minced tandoori chicken in a coating that was soft enough to manipulate with a fork (without things getting too awkward) but still had some crunch to it.

When you are eating lots of great food in the hot sun, you need something to wash it down with. I decided to sacrifice four tickets for 24 ounces of Lemon Heaven. It got very hot this afternoon and this tasted so good.

Then, I had to jump into the City Hall wading pool to cool off! I had a wonderful afternoon at Taste of Edmonton and still have a few tickets left over. A return visit is planned for next week.

Celebrating Old Strathcona

On July 7, I stopped by the Old Strathcona block party organized by Blues On Whyte. 103 and 104 Streets were blocked off, two stages were filled with music, vendors sold unique items, and, of course, there were food trucks.

I had lunch while I enjoyed some live music and started with a brisket sandwich from Smokehouse BBQ. The slightly sweet, fresh bun was filled with chunks of brisket. The meat was lean, with just a tiny bit of sweet fat to make things rich. The sauce was not overpowering, and the spoonful of coleslaw on top made me glad I grabbed a fork - things could have gotten messy!

I had a snack later on, and went for a vegetarian samosa from Naanolicious. It was interesting seeing the street food truck right there, when their physical location was right nearby! The samosa could have been a little warmer on teh inside, but the outside was satisfyingly crunchy. I also wanted something sweet, so tried an order of Can-naandians, which are pieces of naan bread in the shape of maple leaves in a maple sauce. They were almost like soft cookies in a sauce.

Although the weather did not fully cooperate when I was there, I had a great time hanging out on Whyte Avenue and celebrating the culture the area has to offer.