Eat, Drink, Ottawa

comrade cholly chee

2009-06-10T00:09:00.000-07:00

for those actually interested in following the travails of a food lover in HK... and there are millions.... see http://comradechollychee.blogspot.com/

For all you whiners and would be foodies out there

2008-12-09T07:36:00.000-08:00

For all you whiners out there who think that I complain too much about this food disaster area that is Ottawa, here is an example of why I would say that I would have nothing to say about the food, where I am going.... HK vs Ottawa is not another city, country or planet... it's another universe man.....!!!

Chicken Wings served in a Michelin Starred restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel, Hong Kong.

as for commenting on HK restaurants..... well when they are like this.... I am beyond commentary....

Richard.

Leaving Ottawa... finally, ......meh......

2008-11-19T03:04:00.000-08:00

For readers of this blog..... I am leaving Ottawa for Hong Kong and so shall have nothing more to say about Ottawa food.. hallelujah.....

of course I shall not be writing about Hong Kong restaurants, but anyone interested in food travels in Europe can check out my opinionated opinions at:

http://elysianexpedition.blogspot.com/

I would rate Ottawa as one the worst cities in the world, that calls itself international, to eat in. And the foodies, the least knowledgeable... Anne DesBrisay has an easy job....

Meh.

Richard.
2008 11 18.

PS for all those cussing about my 'racist' comments, I guess you have never read Hemingway...... and I am a chink..... and a proud one at that... but the human condition is not race based......

Sushi Lovers.... move to Toronto....

2008-11-01T21:20:00.000-07:00

I wish there was decent sushi/sashimi in Ottawa... but really, there just ain't.....

New find in Toronto... if any of you are willing to travel.... At Eglinton and Mt Pleasant.... called oisi oyster..... see www.oisioyster.com.....

Just to show I have nothing against chinks who run jap restaurants... this is one run by a chinese guy, where they know how to do raw! Raw beef, fish (and they have toro, saki belly and uni...), lobster, even raw pork, if you ask...., oh yes and oysters..... and that's only the sashimi... the sushi rolls are pretty interesting as well.... and it's run by a chinese, as in chink..... lol.... so u see, I am not biased... just the chinks in Ottawa are too concern about milking the margins..... think it is actually against the Confucian philosophy on ethics and profits..... but that's another story...

ciao ciao... r

Indians in Ottawa, and other resto.... (Benitz, Fougeres, Navarra, Sans Pareil, Oz Cafe, etc ........

2008-11-01T09:26:00.000-07:00

I noticed a few comments on Indian food in Ottawa... and I must say, the challenge is to find an Indian resto in Ottawa... that is even half decent.....

see rest of this site for my comments on the various indian resto's in Ottawa.... (there are a few... but changing....)

I know Indian food (ten years in India) and it sucks here.... big time...., in Ottawa..... (too much acclimatization to the Ottawa psyche....).... see comments on Ceylonta, etal....

And .... I also know Spanish and Portuguese food having lived in the region..... and Lebanon.... etc... so for all u anon guys... go lick a tree....

and much about french food... which is the only cuisine to negotiate the straits with the chinese .....

I will not write on Fougeres, Sans Pareil and Benitz Bistro ... as I do not find it worth my while.......... mediocre at best.... Sans Pareil has lost its Belgian-ese, Fougeres was uninspiring... rabbit dry, lamb indifferent and the rest... OK... and benitz... well a real disappointment.....

and Navarra, too cosmetic and superficial and probably a little too expensive for real 'world' diners.....

there is no hope for Ottawa... and I am glad I am leaving.....

Oz.... u can never get in....

Richard.

2008 11 01

Paris, London and Oxford.......

2008-10-22T04:56:00.000-07:00

Hi, Guys.

Wanted to let you know that I shall be leaving for Paris the 3rd of Nov, via Montreal and Ottawa; and then leaving Paris for London the 10th and visiting Oxford... (I had suggested that I had friends there when el was considering LSE)..... probably going to have a pub lunch on remembrance day in Oxford, same day there...lol... and steak and kidney pie and Cornish pasties....ughhh; returning to Ottawa the 12th.

Probably catch a play in London... for a change, heard 'wicked' was playing.. and some curry!!! maybe fish and chips, although the last time this was really bad...; and hopefully will have some fun in Paris in Nov... a rainy and cold month when the airfares are cheap.... or cheaper...... yes, I shall go to some museums and sites, but looking forward to the cheese, for us lactose intolerants, probably an exciting adventure, and the brasseries (Lipp, Dome and Coupole), and cafes in the Quartier Latin..... Ste Germaine and St Michel. Believe impressionism at Rodan, L'Orangerie and Quay D'Orsay are also must sees... and some great 'open markets', but don't know if the weather will cooperate. Book stores... FNAC on rue moutard....lol.... it's all about food, isn't it?

If you have suggestions, let me know. I shall be eating at Senderens on the 4th, a three star restaurant giving up its stars and getting into a big debate with respect to 'who owns the stars' and 'whether the chef can give it up'. The chef, Alain Senderens is one of the original 'inventors' of nouvelle cuisine and have restaurants all over the world, including HKG, NYC, London.... It used to be called Lucas Carton, when it was three stars... I think he/restaurant probably became more famous because of that.....hahahahaha.... Now rated as 2 stars.... of course the chef doesn't own the stars.... E$150 for table d'hote.... ughhhh, but have to do it....

Only Italy left I think... no,... haven't been to Germany for Oktoberfest... hear the Germans hate it... and the Nordic places.... raw herring... ughhh..... have a relative in Switzerland and another in Sweden, but.... not close.....

love u and since u guys are in Tor. anyways, no sense leaving any more info.....

Lac Leamy Oct 15th Gold Medal Plates Competition

2008-10-10T19:07:00.000-07:00

Lac Leamy Oct 15th Gold Medal Plates Competition

See comments in Benitz, etal, Suisha Gardens, etal, and Chef at Chez Eric, write ups/sections of this blog, but I thought I would provide my comments on the 10 best chefs in Ottawa who are competing in this cook off, of presumably hors d'oeuvres.....

First of all, the really bad ones that I would not care for:

Ben Baird @ Urban Pear
Arup Jana @ Allium
Steve Wall @ Whalesbone

Ones I have not tried with comments:

- Stev George, @ Olivea in Kingston.... not able to try, if they have to get someone from Kingston, says something about the chefs in Ottawa.
- Yannick Anton @ Signatures... since this is a teaching hospital, would not want to go there unless the chef is cooking and chances are he won't be....
- Pat Garland @ Absinthe... have not been, but have not heard good things about him and am loath to try, considering my standards...
- Mike Blackie @ Perspective ... @ hotel brookstreet.... have heard good things, but a hotel restaurant... can't be good and it's way out in the west end....
- Matt Carmichael @ 18.... I have heard lots of things about him, but not all of it good and given his work habits.... and I tried to get him a number of times in reservations specifying him in particular... and that he is a disciple of Susur, who is truly a hero of mine... as opposed to Vardy... I will leave to serendipity to make an appointment to eat at his place....

And finally the two that I have been to but have caveated as so so, in the respective sections herein...

Benitz @ Benitz
Charles Part @ Fougeres.

So..... that gives a good idea of what I think of the bistro cooking in Ottawa and will probably not bother with this cook off....

2008 10 22

PS.... fougeres won.....the best of the best in Ottawa.... I guess so..... going to give up on the others then.... I thought the food at fougeres was OK at best....

Benitz, les Fougeres, Allium and Royal Treasure

2008-10-08T11:50:00.000-07:00

Royal treasure, Benitz, les Fougeres and Allium

Went to these four places recently and wanted to post something before it became stale-dated.....

Royal Treasure... forget about it... this is a regular haunt of mine that has raised it's prices twice in recent months and it is just not worth it.... Szechwan sucks and the rest is Cantonese stir fry..... I used to go here all the time... like every day....but other than the sour and hot soup and the large singles plates.... it’s the pits...

Allium is an avoid.... terrible food, surprised it is actually on a list of 'chefs' in Ottawa to eat at...

Fougeres was a disappointment... and I did not have high expectations.... the sommelier sucked and the food was at best country style cooking.... and relatively expensive because of the reputation.... I would pass on this one, although it was after many years that I found the occasion to go again recently... as in a couple of days ago....

Benitz, I was there in the past week and I was really disappointed....I shall write more, but it would appear that Derek was drawn between the two kitchens and was not present, in mind, the night I was there…... the wine, a malbec…… was fine…., but did not really go with the food….. and some of the food items were either too bland, as in the rabbit… or too ‘tick’… as in the soup, and duck confit…..

To be fair, I will write more on the details of Fougeres and Benitz... but the other two, AVIOD.....

b side wine.... benitz's new wine and tapas bar

2008-09-30T12:03:00.000-07:00

Hi, Andrew.

Just to confirm, we have an 8:30pm on Sat the 4th at Fougeres and we shall turn up at your place around 6pm, instead of 5pm.

I also have a reservation at Benitz Bistro on the 2nd for Thelma and I have been assured that Derek Benitz will be cooking that night. Also that they have opened a place next door called ‘b side wine’, which is a tapas wine bar type place where the evening chef is Tim Smith and Darryl at lunch…. I wouldn’t go there myself, but I just wanted to mention this as this is the same idea as I had very early in 2006 after I came back from Spain…. And the dishes are $10 a piece… so that would be around E4 a plate… relatively expensive and also I am not sure that a Canadian trained chef can do good tapas! Also I am not sure at all that Ottawans have the same ‘eating habits’ as the Spanish, with their special ‘tapas’ dance that they do before dinner…..

Will let you know how the Benitz trip goes……

Ciao. Richard.

Chinese restaurants in HKG vs Ottawa

2008-09-17T18:34:00.000-07:00

I started writing this.... and may update... but there is just no comparison.... Ottawa a zero..... HongKong a 10... if you know where to eat...;

and of course it's a whole lot cheaper..... in HKG..... A decent meal at a known restaurant with specialized foods will cost $20pp.... in Ottawa it may well be $80 if you're lucky enough to find the specialty.....

2008 10 22

PS
actually the Vietnamese food in Ottawa, say at Viet Palace, is better than some of the places in HKG... and the prices are comparable... therefore expensive in HKG. Ottawa, because of Marion Dewar's project 2000, welcomed many viets here and most of them can cook....

Open letter to Jeff Alford

2008-08-26T13:13:00.000-07:00

Open letter to Jeff Alford.

This is poorly written and disjointed, but the spirit is here and I will edit later rather than delay publishing….

Although I try to stay with Ottawa restaurants, because of the lack of decent ones, I have started to try new recipes at home…. (and you all know how much I dislike cooking at home…)

Carlo Rota’s Great Canadian Food Show for a love of food….. NB scallops and lamb, NF berries, cod, cod tongue and cheeks….. other shows are mediocre at best…. Especially the one on Domus and the ‘freshness’ of Ottawa groceries…. Quebec City show was not bad…

And the one with Ken Roth’s Glenora distilleries in Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton, I think, the only place in North America to distill single malt whiskey is good from the single malt perspective, but really shows how little the Scots and by implication the English Canadian knows how to cook or eat! The shameful destruction of wonderful organ meats like kidney and liver, with wonderful lamb and other ingredients, drowned in scotch or malt whisky and stuffed into an oversized sausage called a haggis is a terrible waste of food…. I have had haggis in Ottawa before and well, to be very polite it’s an acquired taste, but to find out that it has such wonderful ingredients… it is wonton destruction of great ingredients…. And deep fried all else, the Scots cannot cook!

Point there was to lead into my comments:

But have to go to Jeff Alford for a combination of travel and food….. especially as an ‘outsider looking in’…..

Been reading Alford’s book…. Hot sour salty sweet (HSSS) … got the idea from Martha Stewart

Tried ‘your fav noodle’ for breakfast.

But deconstructed it to veggies, meat, noodles and sauce…

The sauce is the key….

It is very much like all other Asian noodles, like cha chuan mien…. (chinese spaghetti sauce, no tomatoes, with brown bean paste and minced pork)

It is fine when combined, but you need to know that it can be de-constructed… and that the sauce is a basic ingredient… it becomes less exciting then…..

And the primary secret in south asian cooking is the garlic and scallion roast …. I think to prepare the sauce and took some out before adding the dao ban jian (I used hot DBJ rather than the basic black salty one…)… etc… and it is a basic condiment in south asian cooking…. It goes with everything and certainly makes this noodle of your’s ‘superior’ rather than just ordinary…

I have seen this condiment in keao suie..… it is a very traditional Burmese dish used in eastern Indian, Burma and northern Thailand… basically a curry chicken coconut sauce over noodles… (your ‘Chiang Mai curry noodles’ or thai ‘khao soi)….. which you also have a recipe for… I have not tried but I think the secret in the sauce there is the red curry paste, which I shall buy and try… but the condiment of fried garlic and onion is a standard that went with that when I was in Burma….

I have a recipe from Charmaine Solomon’s Far Eastern Cookbook and a lost traditional recipe from my ancient brother’s Burmese (called panthee kowshwee) servant, circa 1800, but have not been able to try… I shall do so soon and report….

The store purchase red curry paste turned out great… and beats blending the individual ingredients…..
I don’t think your book really covers this, although you address the ‘stuff’ the locals put on, which is quite true… but short of doing your circuit, I cannot critically object to your analysis….

By the way, the deconstructed Thai ‘guaytio ladna’ (‘our fav noodles with greens and gravy’), turned out great… but for one person… deconstructed is better….!!!

The net link…. http://www.hotsoursaltysweet.com/ … although they have not deemed it appropriate to share some of these recipes out of context… which I agree with….. but that’s a shame as we all need net access to recipes…. After we buy the books…. Mangoes & Curry Leaves (MACL)….. India; and HSSS… South East Asia, are the two of the best books I have read on cooking in the region…. Although very short on details but good for context…

Kowshwe….. or Khao Soi (northern thai) in Alford’s HSSS.

The operation was a success, but the patient barely survived… lol.

I got the sauce and taste right, but after deconstruction, the chicken was not browned enough and probably should have use bone in rather than breast meat and the veggies were missing… though the deep fried accouterments were great…. Didn’t use the correct noodles, but that’s just the starch component and as long as it’s au dent…..

To cut the story short, the Holy Grail reference was that this was one of my brother in law’s favorite dishes as a child… he was Bengali and had a Burmese servant. Anyway, I loved it when I went to live with them in India….. Like my father’s cooking I suppose. When we went to England for our honeymoon, one of the requests was to get the recipe from him so that we could do it when we came back to Canada. For whatever reasons (being polite here), my ex never made it and the recipe was lost forever….. Just sort of like the Holy Grail story, eh? So it means a lot, that after all these some 40 years… that I am able to reconstruct at least the sauce of this dish and the flavour of a long lost treasure……

Found a recipe from Jeff Alford’s HSSSS that does not require a blender but uses red curry paste and fish sauce……

And Jeff…, Thanks for the Memories…..

Vietnam Palace

2008-08-21T12:15:00.001-07:00

Vietnam Palace on Somerset

After reading Jeff Alford and finding that the chinese restaurants have priced themselves out of the Ottawa market, I thought I would try some Vietnamese restaurants that serve non street food…..

There used to be a Pacific Village many years ago, which folded, that had decent dishes outside of your noodles, wraps and rice dishes, but they gave it up, the matriarch who was the chef/cook retired… I still see gramps walking along the canal on the odd occasion….. I eventually migrated to New Mei Fung…. which had moved from Somerset to its expanded location on Booth. Apparently…. and I haven’t been back since they raised their prices in 2004 and 2006,… the restaurant has a new owner… so the cook/chef, also the mother… though much younger than the one at PacVi, is also gone… so…. the food…. I don’t know….

Anyway, the point is that with the Alford book exciting my taste buds and the price of chinese dishes rising… I thought I would give Viet Palace a try… Had been there once several years ago for beef brisket noodle soup… to try their viet green papaya salad and sweet and spicy fish…..

The restaurant has a full menu, but does not have great tasting food, but it is more classy than the usual viet pho place and they have interesting presentations. Tried the green papaya salad with shrimp, which was ok… didn’t know they had a more traditional one in the vegan section with no shrimps (there were no shrimps in mine either, think they were the small dried shrimps chopped up….) and their curried lamb with coconut milk… which was actually quite nice. Lunch for one with no alcohol came to $25. About average for this kind of meal these days. I have to go back and try their sweet and spicy viet style fish… and probably their quail and jackfruit and other exotic things….. Expect dinner would be in the same price range….

Sort of like a Yangtze of viet food…. Would definitely go back if it wasn’t eating just for one…. It would also take me a lifetime to go through their menu like the one at Yangtze… so….

2008 08 26...

Vietnamese are secretive people... think I said this elsewhere on the blog... but the more I know the more I feel this way..... maybe it's the immigrants on project 2000 and their children.... or it's the nature of their land... don't know...

anyway, went back to this place for a full meal, albeit at lunch time... had their ‘ca kho tieu’... or ca kho to’ on their menu... item 120 I think, which is their sweet and spicy fish.... on the menu it says special sauce, so ask for it in viet.... it was fabulous... best stew hot pot fish I have ever had.... don't know if it's as they make it in viet, but heck it was well done at this place…. had their papaya salad from their veggie section and honestly I couldn’t tell the difference between this one and the one with shrimp... ok to so so..... this plus rice and beers, came to $45 all in.... not bad for a stuffing good traditional viet meal..... you be the judge and check it out... it has a full menu and well, is pretty ok as a viet place to eat… the cooks can cook... not great, but can cook.... and if you ask for the specialties cooked in the traditional ways... you might get lucky... like Yangtze....

tried their ‘thit bo kho’ here 5 years ago on the recommendation of the matriarch at Pho Bo Ga and it was again pretty good.... middling, not as good as Pacific Village was... but don't know where to get this beef stew noodle dish anywhere in Ottawa these days.... they don't make it any more, either because it has be made in bulk, the beef stew part... and portioned out... or there is no demand… shame Ottawa… And they also used to make banh xeo... a viet crepe, but no more and ‘muoc tuoi’, squid with ginger and garlic... hot version... which is also not made any more.... so if interested... let me know where we can get this stuff that seems to have disappear once again into the Ottawa underbelly of food in-appreciation... or 'ottawa non foodies dot com'....

had drinks... so price doubles.... theory still works....

Chef at Chez Eric

2008-08-20T09:47:00.000-07:00

Hi, Andrew.

I re-read DesB’s article.

The chef at Eric’s is Che Chartrand and is not the same chef I am thinking about. Chartrand was probably just a cook at Beckta’s and Par’fyum learning from the master. The chef I was thinking of is Stephen Vardy… bit of a rogue and renegade he was one of the most creative and capable young chefs to have been working in Ottawa…. Believe he has left for Toronto. Vardy was the first chef at Beckta’s, which is run very well by Stephen Beckta and spouse, but knows little about great cooking and genius. He is a wine grad from Algonquin. Anyways, the story is that Vardy was what made Beckta’s great, from just very good… Unfortunately Vardy has a bit of an attitude problem… being the genius that he is… so he left and moved around, from Kinki, to learn and create new sushi… a lot of the new style sushi started here, with mayo etc….. then to Par’fyum and then to Whalebone…. But believe he has left there as well.

There are websites that track famous chefs….. and Vardy was one of the 5-10 real chefs in Ottawa. Most of who now work for hotel or museum restaurants… probably easier money…. Laurier at Civilization, Blackburn at Brookstreet… you get the picture.

Based on Des B’s review of Eric’s, I wouldn’t even bother to visit. Appears the only thing Chartrand can do is cure duck which is really just not cooking, it is made before hand and can be done at home at much less… (Terrine also mentioned, is a pre-prepared food…) And to drive so far…. it’s like that fish and chips place that Bill and I came up to visit when you bought your TT… so so….

There is another vegan place I visited when I was up there visiting Lynda, my Wakefield friend… called Soup’Herbe… the soup was good, but the service was uptight and it’s way out of town!

Richard.

New Koreans in Chinatown... a comparison....

2008-07-31T12:31:00.000-07:00

New Koreans in Chinatown…..

I shall use this post to do a compare of the new Korean restaurants in Chinatown…. i.e., on Somerset between Preston and Bank….. I know about Joy.... but ….

There are only three…, I don’t consider Seoul House to be a new Korean in Chinatown as it is well established and the food is just plain poor… and the sushi….

SooRa, Bulgogi (BG) and a yet to be named place across the street from Bulgogi in the NW corner of the block with Chu Shing on it…. another spot that cannot keep restaurants going… as is BG’s, whereas SooRa is in the old Chuck Brown’s location….

You will see details on Bulgogi in another part of this blog.

Went to SooRa for lunch and the impression this time around was that it is a place that is trying to be ritzy with the prices to go along with it. In terms of value for money, Lunch was $20, vs. $15 for BG and $10 for Arum’s. For essentially the same components in terms of food….

I would say it was a little expensive… and the comments from waitress Erin (lunch everyday except Fridays… she is cute but married to a ToiShan guy for god sake!), were that comments from initial customers are that people in Ottawa like their food with more salt, msg and spice than normal… and the food in Korea is plainer in terms of soy/salt/msg, but more pungent. I just said… do you want to compete for the real connoisseurs or the general public!

Anyway, for $20 (tea was $3 more) you don’t even get a lot… but the Kalbi ribs, i.e., meat, was pretty impressive… as in tasty and very good quality cuts…(chef does his own),…. so much for Ottawans wanting more soy… and I eat a lot of salt. I will try another traditional meal of ‘rice with tea’ next…. sounded fascinating. Pork Bone Soup, shabu and table BBQs will just have to wait for a compare with BG….The soup and kimchi had more bonito flavoring in it than BG’s… some might like that more, as in the Jap palates. The green salad I have commented on before….they also had little binnies, or potato pancakes, but I think ‘Chicken Boy’ near Korean Gardens does this much better…. They don’t have sushi yet…no fridge in yet…. and they are planning some tradition kaisaki style Korean dinners… which I am looking forward to. This is besides the other stuff mentioned in an earlier related post.

All in all, so far, just a nice traditional, but expensive Korean place that might stray from the ‘right’ way, due to local tastes… ‘too much pastiche here’!!! They have only been open 1.5 months and already have a feel that they should adapt… like the Chinese restaurants…. They have cooks from Korean… my suggestion is to stick it out and stay away from the competition…. And take the less trodden path to authentic Korean food….

2008 08 29

Had the ‘pork belly’ table top cooking at Soo Ra and it was terrible… they also had a problem with their table top elements for cooking, as they are trying to get a liquor license and the gas feeds were not up to code, so they have all been disconnected for 4 – 6 weeks. So table top cooking consists of pans on top of tables with no exhaust… who would want to do this!!! The restaurant stinks!

The waitress without giving out this info said pork belly was smoky and would we like it cooked inside the kitchen, so we said yes and it came out absolutely miserable!. So hands down Bulgogi is better again because, as I said, the ingredients are better... and for table cooking you do it yourself anyways… so crowds…. move to Bulgogi… at least for the next 4-6 weeks….

Of course we also had the cold noodles, which is not available at BG and the pancakes were not much better and the spicy beef stew was so so….. So besides the Kalbi and the other stuff mentioned above… SR is having troubles….

Waiting for the new one on Somerset…. Bring on the competition…

Kwon’s Chicken House for best pancakes….

What constitutes Good Cooking?

2008-07-29T22:42:00.000-07:00

I am willing to moderate a discussion on what constitutes GOOD COOKING.

A Good Cook
1) does not waste
2) knows how to use "leftovers"
3) is a teacher or an artist or both
4) knows the difference between cooking and eating
5) understands quantity vs quality vs value
6) shows us something we don't know
7) able to make leftovers taste good rather than depend on the 'freshness of ingredients'
8) understands the difference between looking good and tasting good.

This following discussion constitutes an interesting perspective of what it's about.....

It is a debate between my son and I… you can guess at the names… but the perspectives are interesting… on ‘Give it up, Anne’… on this site….

"C'mon dad! Ceylonta is a great place. My wife and I really liked it.

I think you might be getting caught up in the "it's not authentic so it isn't good" problem that most restaurant reviewers (and critics in general) get caught up in.

I would argue that 'ethnic food' in a foreign country (if we can even say that) is more about pastiche than it is about bringing you the 'taste of India' or an 'authentic Chinese experience'. But that doesn't make it any less meaningful (or less tasty). Food, like culture, is not some static thing that exists outside of time and cultural-historical context. It is constantly changing, becoming better or worse as the case and tastes may be.

In the cultural context, we might look at selected middle-eastern, Chinese or some Indian communities that live here in Canada, separated - culturally - from mainstream Canadian society. A number of people from these groups that travel back to their country of origin note that they experience culture shock because things have changed so much. Is the middle-eastern food cooked here in Canada by semi-enclosed middle-eastern communities more authentic than food created in the middle-east? Authenticity is an idea that humans created in order to exert power over other people and their ideas about who we are and who we should be. And it's from this perspective that I would argue that authenticity has at the same time lost its meaning in an age of cross-cultural globalization, and been mobilized in an attempt to maintain existing, dominant power relations... about what food is really all about.

Hahaha... yeah, that makes some sense."

And my response….

"Well, since you made a comment and such a thoughtful one, I would have to respond.

You have to tell me why you think Ceylonta is a 'great place'? I know how much you know about Indian food and how much spice you can handle. And I only base my comments on the food. I think the ambiance and other aspects are more subjective.

The food at Ceylonta, at the original location on Somerset, is not very good. And I am comparing it not only to South Indian food in India, but also South Indian food in Ottawa (Haveli's) and especially in Toronto. Now compared to Vij's in Vancouver, we are talking another planet. The masala dosas, a typical dish is way too large at Ceylonta. The wadas way too dry. And when I said ‘the dosas were huge’ to the waiter, he said... 'Well I thought you knew how big they were'. I had obviously over ordered and he was probably worried about me not paying for it. That assumes we are all really ignorant consumers... and perhaps most of us are.

Pastiche! I had to look the word up. Although I agree there is some degree of transformation, both by the local input... eg, 'chinese canadian food' or thru evolution... eg, 'fusion food, pan pacific, etc', it is true that it does not make it less tasty, but to whom? I do not look for a potpourri when I go to a specific restaurant. I go to Ceylonta, for instance, to eat South Indian food.

Your temporal argument is really quite academic as is your point vis a vis culture.

I feel the food experience should be something that the restaurant brings you in such a way as to exhibit the particular ethnic culture and brings it to life. It has to excite. The gold standard right now in Canada for ethic Indian food is Vij's, not because they are good, but because they continue to experiment and be creative. Ceylonta as with most Ottawa restaurants are not creative. We live in a government town, full of conservatism.

As for your point comparing authenticity to power and control over what is right and wrong, that is a societal constraint, not one bounded by creativity. Fusion food came about? The $150 hamburger vs. the Works are just some examples. Would I eat a $150 hamburger, certainly, if it has truffles and foie gras in it. But I tried the Works' $20 hamburgers and while it is superior to Harvey's Angus burger, I cannot justify the difference. And can I do better at home…. you betcha!

As for an authentic chinese experience, there are so many restaurants in Toronto nowadays, that have gone beyond that already, with chinese restaurants creating new dishes that are 'cross-cultural', ‘non traditional’. Ottawa, chinese food... well, it is still somewhere where Toronto was 30 years ago... and it's getting worse, not better, because of people not complaining. You know my oligopoly rant. The thing is all the chinese have started to find their money in Jap and Korean food, especially sushi. And my QED is the rush of sushi take outs these days (‘sushi go’ being the latest).

In fact, although a few years ago, I would have said the viet soup was better in Ottawa than even Toronto, because people there was trying to find the margins, the level of viet food in Ottawa has gone steadily downhill. That is why I am agonizing over the quality of the Ottawa consumer. I believe that if you can cook it at home, eat at home.

So is the food authentic? I am not arguing that it should be, simply that if a restaurant wants to represent a certain regional cuisine, then it should not stray too far, but in the name of experimentation and creativity, there is certainly room. But this is absent in most Ottawa restaurants.

Therefore, my point is that if as consumers, we don't complain enough, we will never get the quality and standard of restaurants that we deserve. And Ceylonta is pretty low on the totem pole. But alas, perhaps I complain too much. If nobody cares, then we will continue to be treated badly and even regress, like the chinese food in Ottawa.

But when someone like the respected Anne Desbrisay supports this mediocrity, she should just stay out of the ethic arena."

Posted by Richard to Eat, Drink, Ottawa at 5/26/2008 11:45 PM

Posted by Richard at 11:21 AM

Sushi Go

2008-07-25T23:41:00.000-07:00

Sushi Go

Have to go there more often to really give a decent comment, but a first blush is that they are way too expensive and use a lot of mayo and cream to bring out the flavour of their rolls. So for those with egg or lactose allergies..... forget it.

Otherwise, they have a half price sale a half hour before closing, which in the Glebe, is 10pm everyday, except for Sunday, Monday and Tuesdays, when it is 9pm.

They usually run out at about 29min to closing; and at half price, the average cost is still 50c a piece, for mostly maki rolls, with a nigiri or two thrown in! That's expensive. Cheap is as in Vancouver where those Jap fisherwomen sell nigiri for 25c a piece... that's cheap....

Koreans in Chinatown

2008-07-25T22:43:00.001-07:00

Koreans in Chinatown

Two new restaurants besides Bulgogi Garden… SooRa is the new one where Chuck Brown’s used to be, at least the inside half of chuck browns. The corner half is now a bar that has musicians, open to the street, cafeteria style place… at least on Friday night when I was there….

There is also Seoul House, but that place although run by a Korean family, tries to be more Japanese, as in their Korean food really sucks…. The name is quaint. I used to go there regularly when it was the only Korean/Jap place in Chinatown and dropped $300 there for lunch for two, 6 years ago, with a babe from Montreal… mostly blown on sushi and booze… she could drink, man… and yes, they have a license, and no, I don’t remember their kimchi.

SooRa (SR)…. I stand by my comments about Bulgogi, their ingredients and kimchi are still the best in Ottawa, but it’s like a grocer running a restaurant… the input may be good, but if you can’t cook it…. then there’ll be problems, unless there are other creative avenues, like ‘all u can eat’…

SooRa has decent Korean chefs. The cooking is pretty good in that it tastes good, not because of the ingredients, but the method. The soy sauce and kimchi were still pretty low quality, and you don’t get that green tea or miso soup, the ‘side dishes’/kimchi were especially poor, one being just a green salad…., but the menu is certainly more exciting.

I will do a head to head with Bulgogi and the other new one when I get a chance. I have been to BG for their pork and beef ‘cook at the table’ dinners and the price is certainly comparable. I must say the beef at BG was pretty badly marinated…. (used dark soy instead of light soy) but I have also said this about their squid and octopi before… they are not that good at the cooking part of the equation….

SR also has the cold noodle soup amongst others, like pork bone soup…. very big in Tor right now…, and a better variety of choices, but no booze license yet and the owner just 5 months from Korean… guess I forgot to ask North or South… but he apologized for not speaking English well, which surprised me….. said that they will also have sushi starting next week… the restaurant is only 1.5 months old. The décor is nice and prices comparable to BG. They also have a tatami room and Korean style hot pots. And interesting combo dinners. I had the grilled fish and beef marrow, bone and brisket soup… it was pretty impressively cooked… the fish (mackerel) was nicely grilled with a teriyaki coating, the soup in a separate pot tasted pretty ‘thick’. The kimchi was not great and they had a sweet potato soup (instead of the usual miso) that was ok. $20 for a meal…. About the same price as BG… expensive for Chinatown…. Although Jadeland, across the street, has priced themselves out of the market… so I would have to say…. about average… nowadays.

We leave the comments on the survival of BG till I have tried the ‘compare’ between all three new Koreans in Chinatown.

The Angus Burger

2008-07-22T20:13:00.000-07:00

MacDonald's Angus Burger has a neat ad.... in a negative sort of way, but at least the burger looked good. And the name implies a nice piece of beef patty inside.

Well the real McCoy is nothing like the ad. It stinks and the meat patty is as bad as ever. For $10 with a drink and fries, it's something to avoid. Stay with Harvey's.

Actually, I really like Arby's roast beef sandwiches and make a point of stopping in Kingston on the way down to Toronto. Of course, there are no Arby's in Ottawa.

Beef Tartare and where to eat it in Ottawa…….

2008-07-18T10:02:00.000-07:00

Was watching CTV and know how much my son likes Beef Tartare and Sushi and generally raw stuff…. (I know where he got his cravings from….). So I thought I would comment, in case he reads this....., on the Wellington GastroPub’s beef tartare.

It would appear that the beef tartare, served as an appetizer, could be eaten as a dinner. If the chef… and elsewhere I have commented on his cooking abilities,… is accurate in his representations on CTV today as to the ingredients of the tartare, I would say that this is the place to try it… definitely! I think it would be the tenderloin; egg yolk only; and truffle oil that would make or break this dish. As Chris Deraiche (chef) says, it is pretty simple to make at home…. , but who the hell wants to buy all of the ingredients….and do it at home….. Especially the truffle oil…. (Oooopppss I forgot for a moment that I was in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada!)

I will be sure to give this dish a try… just hope that Deraiche is there when I order…. Maybe I should ask when I make my reservation, whether he is working that night…. (TIC… as in Tongue in Cheek!).

The food is ok (as in less than 50% 'marks wise’) at this place, but the ‘organization’ works very well……. see elsewhere on this site for those comments.

My response to Deraiche’s question as to why anyone would want to eat this stuff....., it’s like why the Japs eat blowfish… and mmmmmhhhh…, because it tastes great! especially in Ottawa..... and that it is Raw...… like sushi… there is a Risk and a high one at that…... and everyone in 'Ottawa!' loves sushi..... as in the riskksss....? ... just that there are no descent restaurants.....

CIAO.

Tucson's on Bank @ Hunt Club

2008-07-10T14:09:00.000-07:00

Tucson’s

Elsewhere on this blog, I have given this place faint praise for the food, as in cooking, wait staff and atmosphere (the ingredients were horrid). Well, I have been back today and the ingredients have improved, but the cooking has gone downhill significantly, the wait staff has deteriorated and the prices have gone up!

(I am also planning a piece on what constitutes a ‘good restaurant’ and my basic premise is that the COOKING has to be good… the other stuff like fresh ingredients, love of the food, can be replicated at home (see DesBrisay’s article this weekend); and the atmosphere and wait staff… well, if you had enough money, it can all be done… the difference is in the cost benefit analyses. I pay for good cooking and well…. there is not a lot of it in Ottawa… Beckta’s, their new guy Mike Moffatt is really not up to scratch and their Achilles’ heel… Even the jap guy at the Casino is ok…. The only great chef right now is Laurier, but he’s succumbed to working at the Museum of Civilization… shame….this is the Ottawa mentality…. And I have not tried eighteen… Matt Carmichael or I like to call him Susur’s disciple… the cooking at Social was so so… but I think this was before Carmichael took over the kitchen….. and John Taylor (Domus), besides his foie gras, other stuff is just ok…. think it’s the truffles or coulis)

All this to say that this place, Tucson’s, now is on the list of avoids because it sucks... no matter who the blues groups are that are coming through.

I had a ribeye and mash, their 'special potato’ for the day. The ribeye was nice enough, ingredient wise, but it isn't too hard to do steak. The grill was obviously not hot enough and I had to ask for it to be put back on the grill to sear (and make the grill hotter this time! … nicely, of course). See, I like my steak Chicago style, burnt on the outside and rare on the inside. Instead of agreeing to do this, the waiter suggested that they have a searing pan where cook can do this. Well... the cook cannot replicate a proper ribeye, with all the fat and sinew (and this part is where the ingredients were good... the steak had the right amount of fat, etc) cooked to rare or even medium on a very hot grill. And the waiter's suggestion just cooked the steak a little more. Couldn't really send a steak back twice.... shame on them...

The potatoes were awful and tasteless. Pretty hard to screw up mash! … And the veggies... please, ... all restaurants cooking snow peas, for god sake... take the strings out of them... it's like those viet restaurants that would not buy the more expensive bean sprouts without the tails.... it really depreciate your food!!!

The steak was $30! And the beers were $12. Plus tax and tip for lunch... a $50 bill, for one! For that kind of price.... I expect more... much more.... It's like Gordon Ramsay says... if you can't FRIGGING cook meat on a Barbee... you shouldn't BE in the business....

The best ribeye in Ottawa, is still at Prime 360.... And I think they are still at around $30- $40. Except they have nothing else besides steak going for it.

Bulgogi Gardens or the best kimchi in Ottawa

2008-06-30T11:25:00.001-07:00

Bulgogi Garden or the best kimchi in Ottawa?

Will report more on this place in Chinatown, but if you liked the kimchi at Arum’s, you will find the ex-owner has moved to the Bulgogi Garden, on Somerset, between all those Chinese establishments.

(There are actually two more Korean Jap places opening soon, besides the Seoul House. Can Chinatown really handle it? Traditional Chinese usually do not like Korean or Japanese food. They don’t like raw, cold and spicy things, despite what the common knowledge is. But then you know my opinions on Szechuanese food in Ottawa…)

The reason why the kimchi is so good is that the ingredients are good. And the ingredients at this place are so good because the owner is from Montreal where she ran a Korean grocery. She has all the right sources of supply and when they moved to Ottawa, they started Arum’s, which is the restaurant, with an attached grocery store. The stuff is more expensive, but the input is good, so the output quality is very good indeed. She has sold both the restaurant and the grocery on Bank Street…. And each (Arum’s and the attached grocery store) now make their own kimchi. And I have tried kimchi from all three places as well as all the other Korean restaurants in Ottawa and quite a few in Toronto and Montréal. (Besides other provinces, countries and continents.)

And my opinion is that Bulgogi now makes one of the best in Canada. But then it is somewhat a question of taste. I have to add though that other ingredients, such as soya sauce at Bulgogi is first class as well, as is the dried kelp used to make futomaki, the radish pickles, etc. But can they cook….. Ummmm, I am still trying other things, but cooking is not a strong point at Bulgogi as in all Korean food…. BBQ and kimchi and iced noodles soup…. What else is there? The cooking at Arum, where the old cook is still at is still reasonably good, and a 20% price differential… you be the judge… is it quality of taste, or quantity of food for price….? Even the miso soup is bigger and better at Bulgogi, but gotta say that the squid and octopus’ sauce was great, but needed more infusion into the rubbery meats…. Arum’s cook still can do that.

I am going to try their ‘cook your own’ dinners for two, but split for one… the advantages of knowing the owner…. Lim is her name, and the waiter’s Eddie. Tell them Richard sent you…. Maybe they’ll do it for you too.

Buffet to come soon plus all you can eat ‘cook your own’, which was something very big in Toronto a few years back and I had been suggesting to Lim to try since.

No booze license and they will sell you the kimchi separately if you like and ask. They are thinking of having a small store upstairs in the near future. For a place that has been open 8 months now, they sure move glacially. Maybe that’s a good thing in this time of tumultuous change?

2008 06 30.

Elgin Street Diner

2008-05-28T17:27:00.000-07:00

This place has a lot going for it and it shows in the clientèle. Mostly young urban golden triangle dwellers. Been there several times. French toast is great for brekka, sandwiches with poutine for late night dinners. Desserts are creative and fun… and the waiters generally know what they are talking about and pretty non-intrusive.

The only thing is that when it gets busy, it’s a pain in the ass. And it usually is. And don’t drink because the booze is really quite expensive.

All in all a nice local eatery for that quick bite, if they have room. $30 pp all in with a beer, but you can get by on $10 pp if you don’t drink and eat only a main. The sandwiches are $4.99 plus $3.50 for the poutine, which I am told is ‘the best in Ottawa’ by some teens who seem to know what they were talking about…. That’s Ottawa of course and not in the Gatineaux!!! Of course! Poutine is the best in Wakefield/La Peche, but it was pretty fantastic at Elgin Street Diner.

Would I go back? Sure, if I wanted a quick meal and instead of Harvey’s or the FF place on Bank and Sunnyside…. which by the way has the 2^nd best poutine in Ottawa…..

La Roma on Preston

2008-05-28T17:14:00.000-07:00

La Roma is one of the originals in Ottawa. Have been following it since Somerset and Bronson.

Not bad but I would not write home about it. Tilapia was done well if a little insipid. Manicotti was OK, Carrot soup need more blending, but some like to feel the carrots and sage. Tiramisu was a little too light... needed more body... as in mascarpone.... With a glass of wine…. $80 pp. About average for Ottawa these days, but about the only thing going for it was that it still had that old La Roma feel…!

Arrow and Loon

2008-05-17T20:38:00.000-07:00

2008 06 28. Their weekend steak special is now ONLY on Sundays!!!. Now that's a short weekend!!!! Could argue for FALSE ADVERTISING! But then, just pass on this place... and try Corner Grill up the street.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>
forget it... horrid food... except for jazz night with their weekend steak special for $10.

All else is a failure and I would give it minus marks out of 6.... as with all restaurants in the Glebe .....

Wellington GastroPub

2008-05-17T19:41:00.000-07:00

Well, finally, we have arrived at the Wellington GastroPub. I had high expectations.... and were they met? ... sort of..... Another one of those restaurants that I would not normally have reviewed, but since it's such a hot place.....

It was upstairs... so for anyone handicapped... it's out. Not exactly impressed by the decor and the acoustics was terrible.... and we did not have reservations, but was kindly given a table if we 'could be done in an hour.'.... typically 'Ottawa silly'.... (there's also a story on the people who reserved for 7:30pm ... who were given a better table.... so I don't know...)

The one outstanding feature with this restaurant is that the restaurant works.... in terms of communications.... Everyone talks to everyone... the manager is excellent in ensuring the staff know what the hell they were doing, the wrong wine recommendations are promptly returned... the bus boys talk to the waitresses and they to the owner and then to the kitchen, and then it goes around. Since we were only to have an hour, the food came promptly.... so the kitchen must be informed of the priorities.... Little did they know, we were gourmands.....

That was about the only real plus with this place. Service was ok.... The decor/environ was shit as mentioned above... and the food was so-so.... not very creative at all, but consistent to the level of restaurants that it strives to be... so not bad... And $60/person all in... not bad, but I wouldn't go back.....

We had, ... well what does it matter... the food was consistently good, but not to die for and to remember... pumpkin soup was good... tuna sashimi appetizer was ok, pork belly and pork roast was interesting (both the last two were very very Asian), but pork was a little over done (dry) on the outside and just pink on the inside... belly was good; and then the rib steak... it's better at Prime 360 or Metropolitain Brass, but then that's the only thing Prime 360 can do.... so the repertoire is much greater here. Mashed potatoes with the rib steak was excellent and beans were good.... no dessert or coffee or .... and a glass of wine each... and $60 each (or $120 since there were two of us for all of the above). They do have an interesting wine list and have lots of varieties by the glass and their beer list is interesting.

so that's it... ho hum ... as all Ottawa eateries are wont to....... there is some magic here, but it is all in the organization....

Mambo Restaurante in Market

2008-04-27T09:03:00.000-07:00

You know, secretly, I get the Sunday paper just to read Anne DesBrisay's reviews. And although I have been critical of her ethic reviews and non-committal on her other stuff, I think she is finally coming into herself as a restaurant reviewer.

This Sunday's review of Mambo Restaurante is certainly very useful. The food was shit, so for me she was right on; and as she was, I was also looking forward to this restaurant. Thanks to her review, I shall certainly save up my pennies for Le Baccara.

I don't comment on mediocre restaurants, one way or the other, and I have been to a few in the last little while including: Angelina's on Preston (the Italian Embassy goes there for pizza? maybe, but not); La Favorita on Preston (renewed decor, Canadian style, pizza hut type pizza, love it... skip the thin crust); Works in the Glebe (I like Harvey's better value); Clocktower Brew Pub (nice beers, rushed service and the fish absolutely sucks... reminds me of 1980 pub fair); Pe Nan Wok (generally a miss unless you know what to order...); Siam Kitchen (way past its prime, run by non Thais); Pot Au Feu in Wakefield (nice patio by the rails, lousy service and poaches eggs were ok); Soup' Herbe in Chelsea (service was good but too formal (as in anal), food, all vegan stuff, was nice, soups were great, if it was only not out in Chelsea; it's like the fish & chips place up there, very early on in this blog); The Brig on York in the market (same as Works, except they have a nicer patio and was in the 'centro'); amongst other more forgettables .....

......... 20080427.

Give it up, Anne!

2008-03-30T10:53:00.000-07:00

Give it up, Anne Desbrisay....!

Other than French and 'Canadian' cooking, you should give up reviewing ethic restaurants....

I am alumni and am tempted to go to your Queen's 'talk', but am afraid I might bust your balloon and create a scene.....

The subject today…. your review of the new Ceylonta location.....

Anyone with any small amount of understanding of Indian cooking, culture and knowledge through living the ‘Indian life’ will tell you that you are way off base... I read your first and last paras and that was enough....

There are no decent Indian restaurants in Ottawa! South Indian food is the 'true' Indian taste/cooking and is generally vegan, with dahi wadas and masala dosas ... the curries are pretty deep and intense… as in just ‘hot’ as opposed to sour or sweet or salty…. (can you even get past the chilliness?) and it is the true remnants of the Indian sub-continent, the north being invaded by the Europeans/Caucasians.

Tandoori was brought in by the moguls and Alexander, the western coasts of Bombay and Goa by the Portuguese and the Eastern burbs by the Thais and Burmese.

It's like comparing Cantonese food with the Mandarin, Shaghainese and Szechwan cuisines.... by the way; there are no real decent Chinese restaurants in Ottawa either! (There is a new Chui Chow find in Toronto, though).

Be that as it may.... it is really distasteful to me that Anne DesB and Ottawans, besides French and Canadian foods.... know little about other cuisines.... why? ... because no one wants to live here and Ottawans as a general group 'celebrates mediocrity' in terms of food and restaurants....

Dirge of food in Ottawa seems to have become my mantra nowadays…. I welcome suggestions to this site as to places to try and I am open minded, but …. one can only take so much!

National Dishes ... discuss....

2008-02-15T20:24:00.000-08:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_dish

Thank goodness for google? To continue the discussion of national dish, here is what wiki says. I was essentially stuck in the pre 1980s thinking on this, before computers could merge international thinking and change perceptions.

The only error I found was that Portugal’s dish is incorrect... at least pre 80’s when it was porco a la alentejana, a pork stew with clams from a central region of Portugal where you would never think clams existed! Maybe that’s why they have moved it to bacalhau… dried cod fish. Or maybe it was political… in the sense that they wanted to corner the last remaining market for cod. Would I go in and change it… not worth the effort, but….

Sauerkraut is the German dish…. And maple syrup, Canadian… I think we had about half of those on the list. Like Peruvian cerviche, Chilean sea bass… You were also correct in the regional dishes…. But this I think is a North American phenom as they ‘own’ the internet.

Gee I could talk food forever… the Ethiopian chicken and egg is one that requires more study as to why, I think. It tastes like a dry chicken drumstick curry with the hard boiled egg in it, very similar to a Japanese dish….. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Did you know that the Japanese have no word for ‘thank you’ before the Portuguese arrived; and the jap word ‘arigado’ is from the Portuguese ‘obrigado’? Culture and food, which came first?

Habesha, Blue Nile, Horn of Africa.....Ethiopian

2008-01-11T08:58:00.000-08:00

Blue Nile @ 577 (377?) Gladstone near Bronson and Horn of Africa on Rideau near the Rideau Center.

Had to try the Blue Nile since it is actually in the downtown area and on my way home in the evenings. I did have an Ethiopian friend with whom I tried Horn of Africa many years ago. If I remember vaguely the pancakes were a little sour, as in Habesha’s, but the pancakes at the Blue Nile were not. I must say, I prefer the non-sour ones better. The food at Blue Nile was a little spicier and the combination plate had many interesting chunky beef & veggie items that were quite curry like. The price however was a little more at Blue Nile. ($25pp vs. $20pp)

Other than that, I would say that Habesha had more Ethiopian customers than Blue Nile, so on the theory that the ‘locals’ would go to their favorites, Habesha is the better bet. Shame though, because the décor was much better at Blue Nile. I am not one for décor…. only the food. And since I can’t be considered an expert in Ethio food, I have to say the curries tasted better, based on an indo-sino palate, at Blue Nile.

Would I go back? Service was next to nil. Got my bill wrong. And the restaurant was empty. I don’t even remember the address anymore.

Habesha, Ethiopian @ 1087 Wellington.

After watching the ‘take home chef’ do a beef wellington, I was encouraged to visit what might be the food of kings and emperors before Christ. I sound like I am following the Desbrisay trail.... I must admit, I had noticed this restaurant before; replacing a Vietnamese restaurant that I thought was most creative with a real chef from New York. Alas, their prices were too high and this spot is now taken over by Habesha, opposite KFC as DesB has deemed to mention.

If you like injera, which is a sour pancake eaten as a bread or staple, then this could be a place for the adventurous and frugal. (Is this the same restaurant that DesB visited?)

The prices are great and I am waiting to go back to try the lamb tripe, and dry beef dishes.... And who am I to judge whether the pharaohs, Caesars, and Queens (Cleopatra) knew how to eat.

I would call them curries, rather than stews... curries without the 'curry' of India. There are various spices without salt and the yellow coloured species; but spices nevertheless.... More so than the Portuguese or the others who traded in spices....

I don't know if I sat in an unheated corner, but I am absolutely chilled after a lunch I had there on a very warm Jan day. Do I think the food has a cooling effect, definitely. And wine actually goes with Ethiopians... vis a vis Indian (East) food, which does not go with wine at all......

Cash only!...., but good value, if you like sour pancakes. $20 pp for a meal with a beer/wine. I will write more on the other more exotic dishes, which I am dying to try. To call them stews is indeed a sin. I only saw africans there....

Ciao. Ricardo.

Little India in Ottawa

2008-01-09T18:14:00.000-08:00

Little India Cafe on Carling opposite Britannia.

As the common indian in Ottawa has stated, this is probably the best value for Indian food in Ottawa, if you are willing to go all the way out to the west end....

Dinner for two, $80, all in, no booze. That's about average for a meal in Ottawa, but this place is actually quite tasty. In line with the Haveli's, or benchmarks in Ottawa. Tandoori and nan, a little burnt, but I like the carcinogens. Beef with spinach... the spinach was excellent, cheese (paneer) with okra, they made that especially for us, was very nice. Pickles, yogurt (raita), rice, roti and that's how it adds up. All pretty ok... the main dishes were better.

The owners have changed, but the food is still pretty good. Par with all of the best indian restaurants in Ottawa..... like the chinese.... the best is a 2/5. It was obviously not outstanding, but I have yet to have an outstanding indian meal in Ottawa.

Chaba Thai

2008-01-05T11:46:00.000-08:00

As an extension of Nokam's, I would say the food is virtually identical. No booze though... and $40 pp without booze...., so $80 pp if you're drinking..... Not cheap, but reasonable for Ottawa for dinner. And we did not scrimp and save.. yum tom, satay, duck red curry, pad thai, mango salad..... etc...

Except it is at the old 'Salvatore's' location near Carling, on Rochester.

Somewhere between the Arachnid's and the rest.....

See other parts of site for better valued places... I like it cause it's closer now than ever, despite DesBrisay's claim that you can never get a seat at Nokam's... maybe she takes up too much room....!

I still think Bangkok Thai is the best for value in between the thais and the chinks.

Totoya on Dalhousie

2007-12-28T11:17:00.000-08:00

Well, I have finally ventured on to Totoya, since I had heard so much about it on ottawafoodies.com, the place where I learnt that there is actually a Swiss restaurant in Ottawa… fondue everything….

But first a few words about current trends in eating….

Poutine, see montrealpoutine.com as the new cuisine canadiana, now where could that go….? Heard that it was good for hangovers, but any milk product is good for hangovers… try a glass of milk before you pass out after a night on the town…. Or better still before you go out on the town… The morning after poutine would probably be too late…. Maybe in a century it’ll replace pizza as the true north’s cuisine des arts. And I wonder what Health Canada would have to say…

And eating in the dark….! Now that’s a trend that the blind can follow…. Jap food is definitely out, because all they have is presentation! I wonder if they cover the laundry bill after….?

Back to Totoya and why I went… alone, for lunch on a cold winter’s day… I had heard so much about it from the web sites in Ottawa that I had to give it a try… (They had jap pizza too…)

Disappointment is the only word I have for it….. And it is run by Japanese…..!!! $80 pp for lunch is very expensive, but then jap food in Ottawa is expensive… except those run by those frugal chinks… Takara just up the street is a case in point….. I had heard so much about the ramen though…..

I asked if they had toro and uni … and surprise…. they had uni... (By the way, uni comes in from Boston on Thursdays… and I am beginning to wonder whether the larger cities have usurped all of the toro…)

So I said I’ll have the omakasi…. you choose… six pieces…. And I’ll have the uni in it…. Sure test of freshness of the sushi… They said they didn’t have any omakasi, but they would bring six pieces of sushi as an appetizer…. Great… test failure… I had expected that I would get six different pieces to please…, instead I got two uni, two salmon and two maguro…. The uni was fresh enough… (and believe me… I have had bad uni in Kingston, Ont., at an established jap restaurant…), the salmon was quite fresh, but you know my thoughts on salmon…. most parasitic of the sushi’s and not really eaten by the japs…and the maguro was pretty bad… also the choice was non existent… still think Ichibei has the best sushi in Ottawa… benchmark that….yuck….

Then the piece de resistance… ramen is only available at lunch… fine, it’s hamburgers for the japs or kfc…. And it was pretty so so… granted I have never had it in Japan… but those ottawafoodies.com folks who have, must have been to some pretty so so restaurants in Japan. The broth was ok…a little low in quantity and thick in taste… but the ingredients were easy to come by… (like the viet pho’s, the soup broth and au dent-ness of the noodles is the thing…), and I can do it better at home with the packaged noodles and for less than the $17 price tag…. The noodles were overcooked… a cardinal sin… and the pepper was… well… pepper… not the jap stuff….

I toyed with the idea of having the sushi lunch… but was only interested in the nigiri sushi… mistake… The difference in price was $10… quite a bit…. (uni $13, salmon $10 and maguro $7). And I didn’t get soup, salad and rice…

In short… not a place for sushi; and totoya ramen was the only ramen on the menu… the other two noodles were udons with tempura… I had expected much more… like 6 different pieces of nigiri sushi and a number of ramen to choose from…. With tea and saki (the cold booze, not the salmon), for lunch $80…choke… next time I will try the little jap fast food place in the market mall... which had udons for under $7…..

Checked out the dinner menu and it was not much better… definitely not a ‘full’ jap restaurant like Suisha or even Ichibei…. There were some domburis, but not much else…. Definitely trying to be a ‘fast food jap place’.

0/5 on my scale of restaurants to eat at… for Japanese; and my benchmark Suisha Gardens only gets 2/5… Mark it up appropriately…..

Interesting clientèle though… mostly locals who frequent the place, it was ¾ empty at lunch in the market on a holiday Friday… a francophone that spoke Japanese, who spoke constantly to the chef, rather than his guest…. wonder what he ate... and most people greeted by name… doesn’t impress me as I only look at the food, but puts context around other comments I have heard….

Picture was taken by ottawafoodies.com and my ramen was not as colourful, no greens and reds, but two half eggs…must have run out of ingredients….

The Firestone Conspiracy

2007-12-24T09:44:00.000-08:00

Did you know that the Firestone family... late of Senators fame, owns the Metropolitain linked to Empire Grill as well as the Luxe, Stella and Blue Cactus group? Wonder what else they own.

Talk about the chinese food oligopoly. No wonder eating out is so expensive in Ottawa for the medium priced ($40 - $120 pp) restaurants.

Ciccio Cafe and Le Panache Cafe

2007-12-24T08:08:00.000-08:00

Ciccio's on Preston and Panache on Somerset. The former to be laid to rest soon and the latter... is already semi dead.

As for Ciccio's, that's the last time I go there... I woke up at 1:40am and had that same sinking feeling as I did from Le Panache... think it's the msg again. I get a reaction from drinking red wine with msg.... was awake the rest of the night!

Too bad that these restaurants are all falling by the wayside with retirements and old age.... Speedi, right? Think he used to work at La Strata way back and then moved to Ciccio's. He's the one they wrote about in the citizen and my friend loved the bread he baked fresh every morning and the tiramisu that was one of the best in Ottawa. Apparently Speedi passed away in the fall. The bread was cold and rock hard; and the tiramisu was passable. I had the pork roulades ... msg city, but just tasted over-salted at the time. Friend had the raviolis ... which was not bad. 1/2 litre of wine, a salad to share and the bill was $50 a person. And no speedi to sing for us and no osso buco, one of my favorites at this place.. with none in sight... I was told. It was fairly full though so the word hasn't gotten around yet.

Le Panache on Somerset... awful amount of msg, empty on a Saturday night... think msg was used as a preservative here because of the lack of business. Mama and papa waiting to retire... best turn it back into a chinese restaurant... it was so bad... Or as the saying goes, 'they shoot horses, don't they?'

Small wonder that people in Ottawa would rather eat at home.... I am only going to waste my time writing about really good places or really bad places from now on. These two are the ones that would rate 0/5 on my 6 point scale. Metropolitain based on the one shot... 2/5. (I wasn't going to write about it, but my son insisted...) Beckta's, the benchmark 3/5. Heard Benitz on Somerset is supposedly good... almost afraid to waste my money.....

2007 12 22.

Metropolitain Brasserie

2007-12-24T08:02:00.000-08:00

We had dinner at the Metropolitain Brasserie which is one of 'the' places to eat in Ottawa these days.

But Ottawa is really not a town that thrives on eateries. Most bistros I had called were closed Sunday nights... and this place's kitchen was closing at 8pm. I asked if the chef was in.. he was not... just the sous.. so we ordered accordingly and the results showed.

Appetizers of foie gras was passable... duck confit, dry and awful. We all had beef, my son the black pepper steak and daughter and I shared the chef's rib cut for two. Both were excellent, cooked exactly right... and daughter had a cream caramel, which was ok. A bottle of very nice Spanish red, three teas and an aperitif came to $100 a person. Kind of expensive.

Sushi in Ottawa... there is none...

2007-11-19T21:18:00.000-08:00

Will put more on my blog when I get time, but the most recent discovery is Sushi Time on Queen Street in Toronto. It is run by a Chinese chef from Hong Kong who has worked in Japan. As a result, he has merged some of the best Chinese orientations to this Jap dim sum… and with creativity. And it’s not all raw fish….. The guy’s name is Tony…and that’s about all the facts I know at this point, but the program was pretty impressive and you’d have to speak Cantonese to get it, but he has squid with melted cheese, eggplant deep fried topped with raw tuna, sushi made with fruit and fried salmon roe…. The tastes are of course in the sauces and ingredients, and are supposedly magical.

Goes to show what we have in Ottawa… how low the standards are and where we have to go to get decent multi cultural food and vindicates my berating of Chinese cooks usurping other cuisines like Thai and Jap because of the margins in Ottawa. Until we get world class chefs here, there will always be a niche for someone to make money…. Or maybe not… does Ottawa really know what to eat?

Also read Desbrisay’s pieces in this past Sunday’s paper and you will see why I don’t think much of her reviews….

2007 11 19. Aspy's Birthday....

Mukut Indian Restaurant on Rideau

2007-09-22T06:12:00.000-07:00

Was one of my fav Indian places, but my latest experience last night was:

Mukut is now off my list of Indian restaurants to eat at. The chicken tikka, should have been tandoori pieces cooked in a more buttery sauce, less coconut. The boona gost was essentially tasteless, certain de-spiced to death and aloo gobi was pretty well tasteless as well for a curry.

The latest rumour in the Indian community is that Little India on Carling is probably one of the best Indian Restaurants in Ottawa. I have been many years ago, but then I liked Mukut as well. I am sure the owners at Mukut has changed, as I believe has the owners of Little India since then.

The futility of following restaurants.

Ichibei, Suisha, Genji, Wasabi, Takara, and other Jap Restaurants, or the ones that want to be Jap vs Korean!

2007-08-23T16:06:00.000-07:00

2007 11 11.. or thereabouts...

I went back to Ichibei for lunch recently and dropped $30 for lunch! The part I wanted to share was my chat with the sushi chef.....

Apparently he was the main sushi chef at Suisha Gardens! But wanted to start his own place... he was grumpy, but with a few enticements, divulged what he thought of Ramen and that the new center town place that has that great ramen that is so close to Japan, as some of the folks on Ottawa foodies have suggested....

As suspected ramen is fast food, like hamburgers, in Japan... I knew this, but to charge $17 a bowl... god forbid, where is the 'eating sense' in Ottawa.

Probably the only Jap rest I have not visited...... even forgotten it's name.... (Totoya)

and fish comes in twice a week, Tuesdays from east coast and Thursday from the west coast... uni actually comes in from Boston and toro... forget about it.... go to Tor.

2007 11 28.

Let me start by saying that there is an inordinate amount of interest in the Jap restaurants in Ottawa, & on the web... don't any of you know how to eat Jap food? ..... (I will give a tutorial as part of this piece....!!!)

I also noticed that the names of the restaurants in the title gets more hits.. shows how much you guys know about food... try 411.com or the yellow pages....!

revised.. 2007 08 25.

Ichibei @ 197 Bank

At $50-$60 pp all in for dinner, and no booze, this place is medium priced; as are all Jap restaurants run by Japs. That's why the chinks (I am a chink and I know the margins!!!) have gotten a hold of the margins!.

Over $100 for dinner, without booze and tip and taxes is expensive...., ok?

Now Ichibei...

At least the raw fish is fresh... OmaKasi (sushi chef decides on what’s fresh and he sets it up for you) ...Toro, Sable fish, Mackerel and Salmon. Extremely fresh... just about as good as it gets on a Thursday night in Ottawa. Especially the Saba or Mackerel, which is a challenging nigiri sushi fish at the best of times. At a buck a piece, it was cheap... 3 x 4 pieces... (They didn’t have uni, alas...) ....... And you know my opinions on salmon sushi.... it is always fresh... snicker...

The dinners were pretty standard; steak, trout and eel.

The trout was the most interesting, unfortunately ordered by a transitioning vegetarian, so the crispy skin was not appreciated, nor the head and cheeks of the fish. Nicely de-boned.

The eel was nice and moist and ‘fatty’. I kind of like it a little more dry and crispy, but this had an interesting flavour to it. (humility here... more later...)

At $25 a shot/dinner, a little expensive. Each dinner came with miso soup, rice and a mayo based appetizer, the last of which was nothing to write home about.

(Have stories about service (sukiyaki), good, (and humility about the eel!) and the sushi chef, grumpy, .... but will add these later..... keep in touch.... and try to read the rest of the site for the 'basis' of my opinions.....!)

Another $12 for a steak appetizer that was also expensive and 'good' tasting. That, with three green teas and no dessert came to $150 for the group of three.

All you can eat sushi (Sushi Kan) may not be as fresh, but a heck of a lot cheaper! (see other parts of this site) ...

Is it better than Genji, the fish is fresher, but it is more expensive, so there is less ‘value’. (see Genji review on this site, I liked them for trying, in a chinese way, so hard....). Compared to Suisha Gardens (baseline) ... I would say that it is a little more expensive than necessary. And they didn’t really provide amuse bouches....

So I would say, traditional, fresh fish, but little creativity in changing with the times...

(I personally know the manager of suisha, my kendo assistant coach, so I know he has been trying very hard to make it THE definitive Jap restaurant in Ottawa. He is doing a great job! But alas innovation is the new holy grail....)

And yes I have been here at Ichibei, many times before, for lunch and dinner, but not in the last couple of years or so.... My opinion has not changed and they have not improved. Only prices are slightly higher.

Will have more later on the other two parameters.

Read EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Foodies Sites and a Good Read

2007-08-21T06:08:00.000-07:00

Now this is a site to visit for an interesting read about food and travel. (I am not a writer nor a food reviewer, so I can be sloppy in my comments, but they are all 'tongue in cheek')

http://petercherches.blogspot.com/

Perhaps all those anal retentive folks on copyright laws, malaprops, puns and other things to do with language and its usage, can get an education on what it means to be a writer as well as a lover of food and life.

This is the context that my stuff should be read in!

And just for the record, right here, I have nothing against chinese chefs or cooks, as long as they can cook. Copying Thai, Italian, Indian or other cuisines and doing a bad job is what I would rail against as a 'place run by chinese'.... I am fully aware of Susur Lee and others as well as the funny ones like 'Wok with Yan' and 'Yan can cook', whom I do admire and have the utmost respect for. But stick with what you know.... (An average to good 'chinese' cook that has potential in Ottawa is the viet at 4 cuisines. Try them out.....)

That's the way I call them..... in all my blog notes here.....

Read EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Re-visits

2007-08-09T17:19:00.000-07:00

I do re visit restaurants and provide updates.... but I do not know how to set it up in the system such that it is by restaurant....

so check out, once more, the restaurants that you are interested in... for an update... like Jo Moon Ting.... etc. Karma karma in the indian section.....

I also find that 'by restaurant' gets more hits...

tell me if I am wrong...

Read EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Tuscon, Thruway and other pubs/eateries

2007-08-09T16:16:00.000-07:00

2007 10 22.... add another one of those pub non-descript eateries to the list called Tucson on Bank at Hunt Club..... some interesting bands, and items on menu, but ingredients suck, so quality of output is so-so. Service, pretty well like all other pubs. The Fosters ads work on the way in....

Thruway Restaurant in Carleton Place & other family/pub restaurants

This story is really about asking the locals where to eat..... one of my cardinal rules, or pet peeves....; ask a chink where to eat chinese, a paki, Indian, a jap, Japanese... etc.

Actually that would be a paki..Pakistani... (there is no difference except for religion....) but I couldn't think of anything derogatory to say about Indians... except those crazy Sikhs.... the Singhs... that is... They are like the newfies to Canadians, as they are to the Indians.... the butt of all jokes.... the joke is that the turban retains heat.... Indians would love this one...

Anyway, if you are ever by Carleton Place this is where the locals eat.... It's a wonderful family restaurant with beer, vino and reasonably priced food, for large portions.... good service (Brodie was fast, efficient, friendly and just the right distance away....), like heart & crown (I'm thinking the new place on Preston, which I have also been) and other pub type places in Ottawa, beats eating at Macdonald's, Timmy's or the riverfest... the food really sucked at riverfest... and that was the reason I was down there....

Prices are $40 for dinner for one, not cheap, but average nowadays.... but I had 2 x 20oz drafts for only $10 before taxes and tips... and a rib steak dinner for $19. This included soup or salad, the steak was a decent cut and size... much like the ones I used to have at La Strada's for $36... a Delmonico rib steak... with great home fries... and veggies and mushrooms and ... well... you get the idea. Friends had fried chicken.. not bad, but good value... shrimp pasta, ... all good...

Sort of like Ruby's on Corner Gas... only the food and drink is more like Heart & Crown.... actually probably food is better cause the guy can cook.... and he buys & serves good ingredients. 6/10 for those who want a rating.

But I do play a lot of golf in the area and have friends... scots most of them... in the Perth ... Pike Lake areas ... so here's a place to eat if you're in the area... good family/pub place in the heart of Carleton place... 10432 Hwy 7.

UUUooohhhh... there is another.... on the same strip, but I have not tried... in the spirit of star wars....

Use the force.. Luke.... use the force....

This is where the locals eat.......

Read EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Sweet Basil, Anna's and Nokham's

2007-08-09T14:37:00.000-07:00

Ottawa Thai Restaurants

I was asked recently what I thought of the Ottawa Thai restaurants scene and which was the best and the one I would go to…

I will put a little more meat around this piece, but initially the baseline will be:

Sweet Basil and Anna. Run by the same guy… forget his name… a multi syllable monstrosity like Visakhapatnam… (which is an Indian sea port by the way…) original owners of Siam Bistro and Siam Kitchen…. (I wouldn’t eat at these nowadays… as they are run by non-thai cooks…..maybe even chinese….) Tastes at Anna and SB, and I have never been to Thailand… for Ottawa and Canadian standards, probably the best, but way expensive than necessary. ‘It is food fit for a Thai king’. Think he had some royal connections or aspirations….. and also some involvement on the monopoly/restrictions of food and recipe exports from Thailand….. (think Anne DesB did a piece on them/this about 15 years ago…..)

Nokham’s and it now has a sister restaurant run by his daughter. ‘Noble Thai’ or snobby Thai… trying hard to be king, pretty traditional based on Anna and SB.… but way expensive again.

On the cheap side now… Bangkok Thai on Dalhousie. Peasant foods run by peasant Thais... very good value for just about pretty close to the taste of Anna and SB. I take all my friends there if I am buying.

And chinese thai... Royal Thai, also on Dal… owned by the same chinese guy as Palais Imperial and Mandarin Ogilvy. Another one of those chinese guys seeing the margins in Thai food….. Not too expensive, but I have heard the food is not very good… I have been and think it’s ok for what it is… chinese thai… not the Anna/SB standards. Cheap thai is better.

And the Anna and SB standards are unfortunately the only ones I know. I have had thai food in Toronto which was pitiful compared to Anna’s as well as on the east coast. Of course these are walk in’s with no prior knowledge or info… the worst way to visit a restaurant, but I thought I would be safe in Toronto! Wrong...

And of course this does not include those near Thais or Thai bistros that have relatively good food… like 4 cuisines, hot peppers etc… Like everyone has a pad thai, which is chow mien, essentially. I think the Loblaw’s one is pretty good….

The only others that I would say aren’t great are the green papaya’s, coriander’s, etc that I have tried, but not as memorable as you guessed it… Anna’s and SB. And prices are close to Nokham and Anna…so….

Reports from friends who have visited Thailand are that the place is as bad as they make it sound… cheap sex… and odd sex and child sex….; and it is really cheap for meals…. And street food is actually quite tasty… but… Guess you have to be a king to get food in Thailand….

Read EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Gewürztraminer

2007-08-04T06:15:00.000-07:00

Gewürztraminer

Had a German Fraulein as a friend once and she introduced me to this strange name for a white wine…, not being a white wine drinker at all back then. It’s in the past tense now of course, but I never did forget the experience...

Only recently did I find out that Gewürztraminer means a spicy white wine… and the German word for Gewurzt is spicy? Or is that the other way around?

Being such an un-spicy country… sauer being the taste of the kraut…. this is as spicy as it gets, and I wondered about how the two connected…. well it is German and it’s from the Alsace.

See http://www.stratsplace.com/rogov/art_gewurtz.html for further info... the magic of the net…..

No wonder German food is so un-spicy…. Goes well with chinese food though…. Kind of a spicy, but not as spicy as Indian food level of spiciness I guess…. And goes with fatty foods… another chinese food anomaly….. Have the dryer Gerzt though.

Pinot Gris anyone….?

Read EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

New Asian Restaurant

2007-08-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

Oh, No... Not another Chinese restaurant!

Yes, indeed, the less I want to write about them, the more I gravitate towards them. New Asian Restaurant at 258 Bank at Cooper.

Now a picture is worth a thousand words.... and there are lots of sites now with lovely pics. But do you need a thousand words to say something that is not worth saying? Pictures do lie.... as well. It’s like Stats, damn stats and lies.

Anyway, the point here is that the restaurant has some really nice pics in the front, but the food, well, it’s not quite as good. It’s not bad.... and I am here to sing the praises of this place beside the food..... Now that’s a twist, right? And Chinese food at that as well.

And so what’s so special about this place beside it being like any other greasy spoon with nice pics outside....

Had been meaning to try this place for some time, since it was close to where I worked before I started consulting. It opened around 4-5 years ago. And have been back twice since my recent visit.... It's one of those 'personable' restaurants (think Hino’s) that once you get to know the owner and cook, he can make up whatever you like and give you special treatment.... Food is not bad..., but convenience... and home cooking essentially...

They actually specialize in Sichuan Chinese (West). The food taste alright, but the cook is actually from Hebei (North) and if you get to know him... and I am not the first to say this apparently, he’ll cook up whatever you like. They have Italian food on the menu! The take out menu looks like any Cantonese (South) or Canadian Chinese place. Also they provided an interesting array of fruits for dessert... like an expensive hotel restaurant. The cook obviously has been around and has worked in different restaurants around town. Came from China 9 years ago to be with his family... wife is an engineer (came 13 years ago)....... beat that one for a curve.

But if nothing else, here is a chance of East meeting West in Ottawa and with very ‘personal’ service. Home cooking without cooking at home.

Prices are reasonable especially if you get specially prepared meals. Did not check out their washrooms, but not expecting much there. Presentation... excellent... very western... like Mekong, Ging Sing... etc.

‘Eclectic East meets West’ would be a good way to put it. But don’t expect fusion. Or its associated prices. And it’s right on what now is starting to be a restaurant strip...

Small format, so not conducive to large groups...

2007 08 02.

Read EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Anne DesBrisay's reviews of Courtyard, Jadeland, Mekong, Chu Shing and others

2007-07-29T19:53:00.000-07:00

2007 09 07

One more dish that Jadeland makes that I have not been able to get anywhere in Ottawa, or for that matter in Canada, but I am sure if one knows in TO or Van, one could find it, is 'Minced pork steamed with salty preserved duck eggs'. It is one of those 'mom it the best' type dishes and there is a long story there about allergy to chicken eggs, but this will work, ... etc...

See, I don't hate chinese cooks, as long as they cook chinese food, or what they are good at....

Unfortunately, Ottawa is full of these 'specialty' restaurants where they can't seem to get it all right all the time...

Jadeland also does a good job of Back Bacon cooked with preserved vegetables, beggars chicken, although they call it salt baked chicken on the menu ... all of which are not seafood....

And Jade Tree Chicken, which is a de-boned sliced chicken with ham slices and chinese broccoli, if you see it, you will understand... presentation is all..., but they don't like to make it as it is time consuming and they need specialty ham. The last few times I have been there, they have just put sliced deli ham..... bad...., but the chicken and veggies with sauce, is still excellent. The price though is expensive, for a half chicken... $25... but this and Yangtze, in Ottawa, are the only two places that can make it... alas they should try to buy the real thick canned ham to make it!!!

They also put oyster sauce in all their beef stir fries , like Wok with Yan....

2007 08 24

Here's a kudos first to Anne DesB. She did a great review of the Courtyard restaurant in the Citizen Sunday the 19th instant. Funny and to the point. Only thing I would add is $100 pp before drinks, tax and tip is way expensive and let's hope the food is as enlightened as Anne makes it out to be. Also think history on Marc Lepine is that he cooked at the French embassy or something, but that would have been an interesting aside.

That being said, Chu Shing is on par with Jadeland in terms of cost/benefit for food tastes. They are both cheap. $20pp all in, including a beer, for dinner, is cheap in my book. Chu Shing is better though for large groups of 6 or more. Format. But service really needs work. That's cause the owner hires young girls/women from china right off the boat. Slave labour and not trained in the service of the masses. (Beckta would be just the diametrical opposite on this front.) Jadeland is way small and kitchen cannot handle a crowd, as was witnessed by myself many times over, but especially when I brought a group of 7 over one evening with reservations for dinner. Because it is so small, the service is of course relatively better. But essentially there is not much difference in the food of either place, Chu Shing being slightly better. Seafood at Jadeland is not great per DesB review!

Mekong has one of the most creative, innovative chinese/viet restaurateurs in Ottawa. Long history there and we go back a long way to the days when he was a waiter in Yang Shing in the '70s. The selling of art on the walls, the hiring of chefs to do decent western style chinese cooking are all his ideas. Firsts in Ottawa and probably around Canada. But the only really outstanding dishes at this place is the Hunan Beef. Which, and one of the chefs who left and is at Ging Sing, very few can do as well. It is by far the best in Ottawa and Ontario. I am sure that if one tried hard, one could find similar in Toronto and Vancouver. But it is nonpareil. And the fish is done quite nicely here as well, especially steamed or flash fried with asparagus or pea shots. But you know, that's about it.... The other stuff that Anne raves about are just middle of the road and can be found anywhere in Ottawa. Mekong is also expensive..., run you about $40pp all in with drinks....

And knowing Anne is such an icon, she wouldn't mind a few hits, especially since she knows so little about Asian food.

Wok flavour, go to Royal Treasure..... fried seafood included, they don't steam because it uses up a wok, so they are out of touch there....

Older......

Have to knock Anne DesBrisay's recent review of Mekong and an older one of Jadeland.... in context.... have to think of a smart way to say it... in the works...

quickly though.. she's way off the mark on both Mekong and Jadeland and like I have said here before... she may know French/European food, but her appreciation of everything else is limited to her ability to taste the ingredients... And one would hope that a cuisine is more than the sum of its parts... synergy they called it in the '80s... but it's been around a lot longer than that....

Read EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Anne Hardy's Where to Eat in Canada

2007-07-23T21:40:00.001-07:00

And how does Anne Hardy's autochthonous guide (read seminal) compare to the Michelin guide? I should certainly have something to say!

Off hand... I would say that her three stars could possibly qualify for a one Michelin star.... quite accurately....

I like her guide... and I think that Canada as a place to eat is nowhere close to France.... but the two stars I went to in Bordeaux had their own bakery, winery and just about everything you'd want in a cuisine, let alone a restaurant.....

For all of those who travel frequently, like Drew, Alan, Alice et al, suggest you get a copy from the library.... for St Agathe, and other odd places.... proves my point that there aren't any really decent places to eat in Ottawa, and similarly in Montreal…. that on the East coast... Toronto is where it's at!

Choose the high end or the value stuff... low end... she can be quite critical, which is good.....

Read EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Papagus .... baited breath?

2007-07-23T20:53:00.000-07:00

Papgus is gone... closed its doors and ..... 2007 10 22 So goes Greek 'food' in Ottawa.

Greek fest is on this week.... 2007 08 09.

Greek Food in Ottawa

The Greek festival, which comes up in the summer every year, seems to be serving the needs of Ottawans for what Greek food has to offer. Essentially, souvlaki (a shish kabob), salad with oil and vinegar, some filo pastry desserts like baklava, and lamb chops. Ouzo, bouzo and rice and potatoes.

Then there are the Greek restaurants.... Pilos in the East end seems to be a perennial favourite. Believe they moved here from Montreal.... where they have a little Greek town with a number of famous restaurants. Where you can bring your own vino. Au Vieux Duluth was a restaurant that immigrated from Montreal.. from the greek town area of the same name... but it did not survive in Ottawa's east end... says something about Pilos..... Then there is the Greek Souvlaki House on Prince of Wales at Baseline, which seems to be a favourite of the more parsimonious Greeks amongst us. Portions are huge, especially the potatoes and rice...and the prices are reasonable. One just has to know what one likes and should eat.

And then there’s Papagus’ Greek Taverna, which has been in Ottawa for donkey’s years. It is a popular spot for lunch, but it was one of those few occasions where a friend suggested that she liked Greek food, that I decided to give it a try for dinner. (Did anyone know that Mamma Theresa's was at this location before they moved to the present one).

I was suitably shocked at the prices. Greek food is not complex stuff, as described above. The variety was quite interesting though. They had a lamb stew in a filo shell; very similar to a beef wellington, except with filo and lamb (arnaki/lamb exochiko) ... you get the picture. It was quite interesting. At $18, including some rice and green beans vegetable, it was very interesting. And I had the beef and lamb souvlaki... with the same accoutrements and some potatoes. The 5 chunks of meat were relatively large, the beef being the better two pieces of the five. Requested medium rare, but came medium anyway. At $22 very expensive. And then we had hot dolmades ($7.50)... really interesting..., ouzo, some Apelis (house) white wine ($15 for ½ litre or $24 a bottle) and dessert (kadaifi, wonder if Gaddafi likes kadaifi?). Came to $120 for two. I would have to say that it was pretty expensive, for just plain old Greek food and wondered if Montreal was as expensive.

Service was essentially brusque, stoic and just short of rude (Sandy was his name... probably the only waiter needed for a silent Sunday night to a mostly empty restaurant). Flambé cheese with ‘ooupa’ at next table was interesting, and aside from Socrates, Plato and some of the great philosophers and story tellers, I would ask the rhetorical question of... do Greeks really know how to cook? And do they care?

May you live in interesting times...

2007 07 23

Read EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Ottawa Chamber Music Festival & Prime Rib Roast

2007-07-23T20:06:00.000-07:00

‘If music be the food of love... play on... give me excess of it, that the appetite may sicken and so die’..... In context this is dangerous, but superficially.... it's fun...

Actually I am reading Hemingway... for whom the bell tolls...

The Ottawa Chamberfest is more than just chamber music... it is classical as well... and for all of those who like classical music... here's an idea for a special treat for that special night out.....

If you are looking for roast beef, sorry... eh, prime rib roast... why don't you try the pre theater special at Fridays.... seating before 6pm, $29.75 for a 4 course meal….. soup or salad, prime rib Friday's cut, (maple syrup) crème caramel and then tea/coffee/herbal. According to my rules, that should bring you to $120 plus 30% or $150.... Should be pretty good.... Not cheap, but you can tell me about the quality of the rib roast at that price; and at least you can have some decent reds with the rare roast.... Then you can take her out to the chamber fest for an 8pm show... at the Dominion Chalmers Church, which is air-conditioned.... or one of the other concerts at another church... you’ll have to check the fest’s schedule…

Angela Hewitt was on tonight and she was just this side of outstanding!!!! Tuesday is the Moscow string quart doing Beethoven. Wednesday night is the Gryphon Trio doing Mozart and Thursday is the shanghai quart doing Beethoven again....

Would be special for her birthday, especially if she likes classical music...

And if you like other alternatives for a decent roast beef.... Mooney's Bay was not bad and so was Rideau Carleton Raceway, but you have to be there pretty early...6pm is good... to get decent rare roast beef.... Then there is the Keg at Maplelawn...haven't tried that one yet; and of course if you're a golfer... the ClubLinks course at Kanata Lakes for their weekend roast beef dinner... pretty fantastic, but you need a membership and you need to be there early. Then there’s The Mill…. a long lost icon of Ottawa prime rib roasts….

Other than that... I am afraid that there are no decent prime rib roast places in Ottawa... not saying that any of these are really as good as.... you fill in the blanks….. The bell tolls for a place that can make a decent prime rib roast in Ottawa! I am taking reservations.... hahaha

Hemingway would have eaten at La Botin and roast pork! That guy was really into Spain…. http://www.cochinillosegoviano.com/cochinillo/EN/

2007 07 23

Caffe Mio

2007-07-20T11:22:00.000-07:00

Caffe Mio on Wellington West

Another one of those restaurants that is crying out to be tried. In a nutshell, it’s like the 4th avenue wine bar, except the food is much better here, but the wine is not quite there.

Bill was $65, all in for a light snack for dinner, 07 07 19 after 8pm. So very expensive. But the food is quite good and if you have a small appetite, it’s probably a neat place to have meals at odd hours. Decor was modern, service was alright and food.... we had their garlic shrimp with prosciutto appetiser for $12. Very nicely done, especially the prosciutto, sort of used like bacon bits. Dinner steak pizza special for $13... if you like thin crust and chucks of meat on your pizza, then it is fine. I thought it was very fine. Organic Baby Greens ($6).... not bad... better at the old location of Junipers, not that I am a big fan of that spot, especially their new Otto’s location.

The white wine, a chardonnay by Lulu B ($6.75) was quite wonderful. The two reds, a house Italian valpola ($4.95) and a pinot noir by Lulu B ($7.50) ranged from watery to drinkable. The pinot was definitely not ‘full bodied’. I make wine better. The 4th ave wine bar was definitely better.

If we had eaten regularly and drank more, I would say that it would be closer to $120 for two... not an immodest amount for a casual bistro dinner out... just too expensive, value for dollar.

Read EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Yangtse, Chu Shing, et al....

2007-07-05T07:26:00.000-07:00

Chinese Food in Ottawa

Thought about this too late... but might do a more comprehensive piece on chink food in Ottawa.

Pieces on individual chinese restaurants are spread out all over this blog....

In summary though, chinese food in Ottawa is very average to low in quality and high in price... Oligopolistic price increases led by the larger oligarchs like Yangtze have made eating chinese food as expensive as European food…. And the customers in Ottawa have a large burden to bear for this... they should be much fussier about eating authentic, traditional and well priced chinese food…. We do live in a knowledge society? At least that’s the buzz-word these days… Vote with your feet… for such a politico city….

And the weather is not conducive to some of the better chefs from Hong Kong or China (or even Toronto or Vancouver) ever wanting to settle in a place like this… (The really good cooks also don’t like Montréal much because of the political situation with the PQ… chinese are high avoidance people…) unless there were some real attractions… perhaps like a higher price… but when the food sucks and the prices are high… something is wrong…..

But this is not a spot for economics or political debates… just food and taste and value…

Other Asian foods, like Thai, Korean and Japanese are already overpriced… and there really aren’t any real Vietnamese restaurants other than fast food and Pho…

EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Karma, Ceylonta & Haveli's

2007-07-05T07:08:00.000-07:00

Little India in Ottawa

2007 10 22..... Karma Karma is gone, closed and presumably the cook has gone somewhere else...

2007 08 09....

Yes, I have been to Karma Karma on Bank Street and it is OK... that's a big OK.... very limited stuff, but the taste is good... the prices are high... but they get the lunch crowd and the chef is not that friendly till you get to know him.... service is sporadic and if you consider it is a fast food indian type place,.... well it's kinda expensive... , but the food taste good. The eggplant, cauliflower, spinach (sag), and beef and lamb curries are good... the nans are good... the tandooris...so so....? Did not look great.... The pickle... pretty bad... what else do you need to know before you try... it ain't paradise in India... but it's not bad... try Moni Mahal on Laurier if you want variety in buffet... and Haveli's for traditional chef from India type cooking...

and there is a lot more coming....

And look on this site for Goan stuff.....

Celyonta: was not impressed.... portions too huge for tradition... not really that great.... Lived in Indian during teenage years for 8 years... so I know! Better in good places in Toronto.....

Piece Under Construction.

Am working on a piece for East Indian Restaurants in Ottawa..... and this would include Indian, Pakistani, Bangla Deshi, Sri Lankan, Goan, South Indian… blah blah blah… Indian sub-continent or East Asian…. Whatever…

Rather than do individual pieces on each restaurant and you can go to ottawafoodies.com for info on that... I think it is more appropriate here to do more generic pieces.

And since I lived in India for all of and more of my teenage years... I would consider myself an expert in this area...

so hope you guys are looking forward to it...

Any feedback.... Try and leave a name, I generally ignore anonymous feedback…..

EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Suisha Gardens, Genji and Takara

2007-07-03T12:01:00.000-07:00

Japanese Food in Ottawa….

Being able to claim some Japanese ancestry on my mother’s side… and mistaken for being one when I walked into Yakitori House… if you remember that restaurant many years ago on Rideau…, I can claim some knowledge of Japanese food and eating….

There is more to Japanese food than sushi! (And ‘presentation’, which is the oft quoted anecdote when the food sucks…). Much much more… the invention of sushi as you might know was that the vinegar-ed rice was put onto the raw fish to keep it fresh… as in pickling… and the rice was usually thrown away originally, before eating the fish… The national dish of Japan is sukiyaki… not sushi… Sushi to the japanese is like dim sum to the chinese, or tapas to spaniards….. snack food….

The problem with many of the Japanese restaurants in Ottawa is that they are run by Chinese folks… that’s not a bad thing necessarily, unless they don’t have a Japanese sushi chef…. Then it’s a bad thing… as in fresh fish… the purchasing function comes seriously into play here…. and like some martial arts that are kept as secrets... I am sure that it is extremely difficult to be in a position to learn to recognize and buy fresh fish…. as they come in off the plane here in Ottawa… That’s one reason the Japanese always say Suisha Gardens is the best jap restaurant in Ottawa... because they have jap chefs… at least for sushi for sure… and the story of Festival Japan is that the east indian maitre d’, stole some chefs from Suisha and went on to form Festival Japan….

All of the places since those halcyon days have been fast food Jap places…. (as in ‘sushi plus’…), except many years ago there was a place in the market… (Taste of Japan, I think it was called… but there is a recent establishment in the west end now with that same name… I have not been to the new one…so cannot comment…).This old place in the market (where empire grill is now...) was indeed very up market, very fancy, very stylish, run by a japanese gentlemen.... went there with my ex in a suit and dress… (me in suit and she in dress); and got food poisoned from the grilled fish (shioyaki)….which tasted excellent by the way… but through a process of elimination we figured it was that. Story there was they went back to Japan… but obviously, making a go of it on the margins… like the chinese do so well…. was much harder for the japanese…. At least in the restaurant business …. Which was way before this trend of the chinese finally figuring out that the margins on Jap food was much greater than chinese food.

Besides sukiyaki, there is yakitori (skewers), domburi (rice bowls with meat on top), ramen (noodles with meat on top), tempura (deep fried foods called agemono as a group)… nabemono (one pot cooking) of which sukiyaki is the fried version and yosenabe and shabu shabu are the boiled versions, similar to the Chinese fondues….

And then there are different kinds of sushi and sashimi as well…. As in maki sushi, nigiri sushi…. Hand rolls... foot rolls… blah, blah, blah… that’s when we start to talk presentation….

With that in context… here are my comments on Genji… a very popular, but in my opinion a so-so Japanese restaurant in Ottawa…

The only Jap restaurant I would recommend in Ottawa is Suisha Gardens…. for the food… not service, not presentation…. But also for the venue and atmosphere… very traditional Japanese…. All the japs go there… The fish is fresh… But there are others… which have since closed because they can’t compete with the chinks…

Genji… on Canada Day….

My test for sushi is to order Toro (tuna belly), then Uni (sea urchin roe), but when they don't have fresh Tai (snapper).... I start to wonder...

The night I was there they only had Maguro (tuna and a very poor quality one at that), Himachi (yellow tail) and Saki (Salmon).... By the way, Salmon is a recent western phenom for sushi as in teppanyaki.... The japs don’t eat it, why should we…? Salmon also has the highest bacteria content of all raw fish consumed in the world…(that nice pic with the orange-y colours is salmon).

The sushi chef and cooks are chinese.... sorry I wouldn't try fugu (blowfish) here.... (cute pic found on wiki of fugu, for those who may never try …).

On the positive side this is a great value restaurant for the price of what we got in terms of their packaged dinners for one or two; miso soup is good, hot stuff not bad... but fish is not good... I had their seared tuna, which was essentially tasteless…..

Presentation great, service great, prices great... very good value…. but not raw fish... or even slightly cooked fish... think the fish is just not fresh enough....something to do with the chefs, I’ll wager..... And their tempura surprise called Medusa sucked! The melange of veggies in the deep fry came out to taste like deep fried....

Interesting thing in this place is the Jap/sushi Pizza (see pic) and something else that was unusually… modern fusion… sushi sandwiches I think it was…. But did not try….

And Takara in the market:

Takara has been around a long time as one of the favorites in the market area... I have been there countless times…but it is run by chinese... not japs, and the sushi is ....well so so ... (their eel, unagi, is terrible…!!!)

I think it is more the market rah-rah and atmosphere that spills over from Kinki's... which is another Jap restaurant run by chinese ... you know Stephen Vardy worked at Kinki's....

For really good sushi... one must have a jap chef (not only the knife action…, but also the purchasing function…) ... and Suisha Gardens and Festival Japan are the only two traditional places... (latter being run by an east indian who stole the chefs from Suisha's) There was one in the Tunney's Pasture area, run by jap women, but they have since turned viet....

Ichiban is the other one that I can think of ... and I have not tried Totoya yet.... that are actually run by Japanese.

As you know, I am chinese by the way, in most parts... so it has nothing to do with race and everything to do with the taste of the food....

2007 07 03

EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Royal Treasure

2007-07-03T10:45:00.000-07:00

Royal Treasure………….

Suppose I should add something to this restaurant besides the Hot & Sour Soup...

I go there everyday for lunch and sometimes for dinner...

Service sucks (too hyper!!!), cleanliness so so, prices... too high, but portions are enormous...! they make you take out... I have tried to make them reduce prices and portions... but they are a little 'thick'...

But the H&S soup is #1 in Canada.... think he stole the recipe from another cook... and the seafood dishes are excellent..... as is the 'wok flavour' for those orientals who know what that means... For those who don’t, it means the ability to transfer some ‘mi’ to the food by using the heat and the fire and the taste of wok cooking…. Only in restaurants, as the chinese would say… “If you can make it at home… eat at home…”

It is small and crowded... so I am loathed to make it more so....

Szechwan really sucks, but Ottawa doesn't know Szechwan food...

My kids will not eat in this restaurant! They are very Canadian…. This place is too dirty… long story there…

2007 08 01. Finally found out where the cook/owner got the recipe for the Hot & Sour Soup. The kids would/could not tell me, but I finally got it out of the co-owner/wife. It came from an old cook who worked at Peking Restaurant. Now, I think this restaurant is gone now.... but this would explain the inconsistency in the soup. There is a slow attrition here... The cook/co-owner is kind of moody too.... understatement here.... and aside from this secret and the 'wok flavour', the food at this place is so-so. They also don't do steamed fish, as this involves using up the wok and they only have two....so..... tsk, tsk, tsk... And they don't do congee, even though it is on the menu. And they don't know how to adapt to changing requests from customers!

But they have enough business to keep them happy and not wanting more....

EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Miga and Jade Restaurants

2007-06-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

Korean-Japanese Restaurants

Miga Restaurant.

You know, somehow I recognized the owner of this place. I suppose if you’ve been in Ottawa as long as I have, and eaten at as many restaurants, even though these Koreans all look the same, they start to look the same…

Anyway, I didn’t confirm, but I am sure he was the previous owner of Seoul House. And his kids have grown and started to help.

Lunch was $50 all in for two…That’s pretty expensive in my book, especially for a Korean greasy spoon. Would have been much cheaper at Arum’s, but then my son, who I went with... the sushi fiend, liked the taste at this place better than Arum. And I must say he has more delicate taste than I.

For a place that calls itself Mi Ga, which loosely translated is The House of Taste (or Mi), the miso soup was insipid! I added salt to it! But then I am rough at the edges…. (Mi Ga is in chinese of course on the store front... that may be because the ancient learned scripts of Jap, Chink, Kor, Viet are all the same.... or something else is suspect here...)

Then we thought we would order two lunch specials, but before that, assuming the portions were small, we thought we would order a soft shell crab appetizer to share ($11.95!). The soft-shell crab was OK to interesting at best. Looked nice, but suspect it was not thawed out properly before deep frying. Smelled fishy. It was a nice crab as in before freezing as you could see the central roe… but for two bites, it was expensive at that price.

Then we had the bulkoki lunch and the sashimi domburi lunch. Presentation was excellent. Explains a lot of the pics from ottawafoodies. But the taste while being better than Arum was OK. Pretty hard to make minced raw fish taste good. You have to sub with quantity as in Steak Tartare… as opposed to the Koreans that fill with veggies… finely sliced up of course.. Their kimchi was not very good….Arum’s is better...much.... Taste was essentially flat, not spicy. But then I am rough at the edges, right… The other veggies were nice, but nothing to write home about. The beef had a nice taste, my son says better than Arum’s, but Arum’s is in deep trouble because their sizzling plates don’t even sizzle! And they are just down the road

Service was ok... with tea for two, it came to $25 pp for lunch, the portions were small, and I am still hungry…presentation is just not enough and prices are still from the old days of Seoul House... expensive…..

Would I go back... if in the mood for expensive Korean greasy spoon… maybe… but there’s Kwon’s, Seoul House and more…. And for the sushi… my son’s reply was … I would go to all you can eat… it’s a lot cheaper and well…. He’s the expert on sushi….

I sell no beer before it's time......

Jade Restaurant at Laurier W and Elgin 07 07 20.

Another one of those KJ Restaurants, but this one with a twist. It is in an office tower downtown and is in the basement of the building, so it has really odd working hours, essentially open for lunch and therefore also for an early dinner or pick up to take home.

Been recommended by friends and other office workers and civil servants, even with some advice on take home after work... So I had to go... and check it out,.... today for lunch. They have advertised lunch specials for $9.99 and as I walk in, it reminds me of Hino’s, except in the basement of a building open for lunch only. The cook is a couple, a Caucasian that talked about moving his place to Preston and an oriental woman doing the sushi and helping when it gets busy. The catering part looked like something from Bento’s. They also had a waitress who was actually quite good. Restaurant is more jap than Kori.

With a bill of $15 all in, but no booze, but jap tea... I would say that it is certainly an alternative downtown for lunch.... I don’t know if the limited repertoire would hurt on Preston... And that would be the biggest criticism of this place. Very limited menu and portions are not big. The tempura was small shrimps.... bad idea... the chopsticks were metal and I didn’t like that. They didn’t have sushi soy sauce. But the green stuff... wasabi.... was mild and quite rich tasting.... (jap chili sauce)

This has to be compared with Genji, Miga and Ichiban as an alternative for lunch, as they are all downtown. It is not as good in presentation as Miga, but the miso soup is tastier. They didn’t have kimchi...so I don’t know about how Korean it was.... And their fish... well, I was not impressed... worse variety than Genji! And generally I would prefer Genji over this place, as Genji has at least a larger variety of things to eat...

All in all, if someone asked me for a place to have a fast and reasonably priced lunch, I would say that this place is OK, but I would not go back on my own... too many other choices downtown. I don’t think you can call this a Korean or a Japanese restaurant... maybe a new varietal... KJ greasy spoon.....

EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

May's Garden Restaurant

2007-06-24T13:29:00.000-07:00

This is a picture I had a while ago for their sweet and sour fish, which is an authentic Northern style dish. (Actually I think it's originally from Szechwan province as with all sweet and sour dishes). In any event, they do this as well as any other place in Ottawa...in fact probably the best... and it's been a long time since I have had it in Toronto that is as good or better.

This is not really a southern chinese style restaurant (Cantonese). The cook specializes in Northern style cooking (Peking Duck, fondues, breads, thick noodles, dumplings…).... and is well, not bad.... probably the best in Ottawa... except for the dumplings... which used to be the best at Northern 2, which by the way has had a change in ownership and there are really no decent places for dumplings and noodles, northern style, in Ottawa now.

This place has reasonably good northern style dishes, like Peking duck, the fish, Chinese fondue, etc.... Hunan Beef is better at Mekong and now Ging Shing. ‘Pork neck BBQ’ a southern dish…also Ging Shing.

Their dumplings and noodle soups are average... Kong Pow chicken is also a spicy Szechwan dish that’s available and not bad here. Haven’t had it as good as HK anywhere in Canada. And they don’t kong pow everything…

In Ottawa a lot of Szechwan dishes are mistaken for northern style dishes… Szechwan is in the west… and not all sweet and sour red and spicy!!!... Smoked duck is a Szechwanese dishes and it is nothing like anything made in Canada!

The restaurant is not the cleanest around….so if that bothers… don’t bother… Cook/chef/owner was one of those mainlanders that emigrated on a cook’s visa from China…..somewhere… and well….. we don’t accept chinese doctors’ licenses here!

2007 06 24.

EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Jo Moon Ting....... Final Resting Place

2007-06-24T11:58:00.000-07:00

2007 08 24.

This place is closed! Just goes to show how useful these web sites are in supporting restaurants. Customers will vote with their feet... Back to Cafe Orient.

The location must be jinxed!!!

Back to Viet for late night meals as the only game in town.

2007 08 09.

Latest intel from folks in the restaurant industry in Ottawa and Toronto is that congee is a big thing in Toronto these days and there are several restaurants in the north eastern parts of Steele and 400 that specialize in congee. The variety is suppose to be astounding and the taste much better than Jo Moon Ting. So much for good congee in Ottawa...

Names of these restaurant all have queen in them, like queenie, queen's congee and stuff like that.

Luck....

Jo Moon Ting.... 2007 07 03...

I am just a sucker for punishment, aren't I? Went there again tonight for their after hours half portions at half price, specials... Kung Pow Chicken $3.99... pretty bad... XO sauce fried Pork $5.99... so so... prices were reasonable but the chef for this part of the menu has definitely left the house... (heard one of the two main chefs had gone back to Toronto).

The place is too small anyways to support that kind of a format... I hate crowded restaurants... Cafe Orient was three quarters empty! and this place was the other end of the spectrum... because they have half the number of seats!

Jo Moon Ting…. The last time….. 2007 06 30.

The latest on this place that is different from the Café Orient is that it is open till 3am… Hope he has the clientèle! Ottawa is pretty dead after 7pm. And I had their roast pork and must say, and others agree, that it is the best in Ottawa. It is not suckling pig, but they use a younger pig with the suckling pig marinade before cooking and that makes a huge difference…. Much better than Double Happiness, which is a rip off place from my perspective…. Their suckling pig is not as good as Jo’s regular roast pig….

Most of the cognoscenti agree that the wonton noodles are better at Orient and many of the customers that migrated to try the new place in town have returned to the fold….

Also the BBQ chef is still here from Tor., but the other chef has returned to Toronto… presumably leaving the recipes for the XO fried noodle dishes to sous in Ottawa. So if anyone is venturing to try their regular dishes other than fast food …. it might be too late…… shame…

I certainly hope they make a go of it… it good to have an alternative to Café Orient for Chinese greasy spoon fast food…..

Revisited piece:

It was a beautiful Sunday morning and having done my groceries for the week, thought I would bike down to Chinatown and try out Jo Moon Ting, the new congee restaurant on the block…Somerset & Rochester block that is, which is supposed to have a great wonton noodle soup. Or rather it’s a five-ton noodle soup… bad old Chinese joke!

Anyway, it’s at the old Pacific Village and was a congee/noodle place with suckling pig before this latest transformation. I got there for noon and was lucky to get a seat. The seating has not changed since the previous Chinese and then Viet restaurants, so it is essentially a 30-40 seat restaurant, with one sizable table for 8. The décor is basically the same, and is not really suited for singles or doubles, or large groups greater than 6, during rush periods. The restaurant was full of Chinese people. A good sign for sure, but it was noon on Sunday. And Café Orient was full already… as this is just down the road from there.

The service was erratic and very rushed as the waitress was unused to the crowds. The owner was pretty understanding, especially if you spoke Cantonese to him. But they did get some orders wrong and if this bothers… then don’t bother…

The wonton noodle soup was good, but not as good as Café Orient’s. It just didn’t have the right soup, consistency, taste and au dent-ness as the bench-mark cafe. But it was very good! Probably as good as anything in Ottawa or ‘off the street’ in Toronto. Price point was a little high though, at $5+. The interesting twist here is that they will make ‘pork’ wontons if you’d like, but you have to ask. When I got in, the flustered waitress was so naïve that she asked if I wanted pork or shrimp and I said, ‘really, you have pork wontons?’. The manager/owner quickly interceded… it’s a rather ‘closed quarters’ type of place and if you’re claustrophobic... skip this place… He had to step in and say that ordinarily, all wonton soup is shrimp unless there is a specific request…. Then they will make the pork…. Great for folks who don’t like, or is allergic to shrimp!!!

No need for pictures as chinese fast food looks all the same….., actually in Toronto, they now have as in HK, dim sum which is shaped like birds and piggies, etc… so much one can do with har gaw and shui mai…..! These were pork wontons in the pic though and the “dried fried beef noodles” was reportedly good.

Now their specialty is congee, so I had to compare with my fav from Orient…and that was ‘assorted meats’… which is not for everyone as there is liver, tripe, intestines…etc… I found that the congee was actually better than café orient’s! The liver was as consistent... which would mean spongy and chewy, the intestines were not as nice (smaller and dryer pieces), but the tripe was pretty chewy-good as well, and the taste of the congee was supposed to be special… And indeed this shall certainly be an alternative to Café Orient.

In fact when I was here, the place was constantly filled and refilling with people … Chinese…not Caucasians, though. It was Sunday lunch and there was a lot of overflow from café orient, I am sure… (The main dishes being eaten by another table of six did not look great….!)

But back to the congee….they also had a number of specialty congees that are not available anywhere in Ottawa…. Like goeduck, clams, lobster (be loathed to try that, having to pay cash….) and well, I think this is a great addition to Ottawa, for that kind of food. Not everyone likes congee though, but as you know the Chinese eat this stuff for breakfast and brunch. I eat it when I am sick, so it’s like chicken soup for me….

I also asked if they had suckling pig, of course… my favorite…and they said yes. And I believe they will serve in the restaurant as well, but I did not see it on the menu.

This brings me to the point of the menu. It tries to be more than just a wonton/congee/noodle and roast meats type of place, like many that you find in Toronto’s Dundas and Spadina area….. It actually has a full menu. The evolution of café orient was that they were specialist in wonton noodle and congee and expanded to a fuller menu, with dishes and ‘one-dish’ meals. Whereas this place is starting out trying to be a full restaurant that has wonton, congee, etc specialties.

I wish them well of course, but I doubt very much that there will be a market for such a small format restaurant with so few seats and specializing in meats and noodles, to develop a clientele for dinners like Yangtze and Chu Shing…. Which means better try their other dishes now, before, if the chef hasn’t already left for Toronto, they remove the stuff from the menu? There is also Ging Shing further west on Somerset that is very good and has a chef from Mekong, who knows how to do Hunan Beef and ‘special young BBQ pork’… and the decor is better….

Anyway, I shall certainly make another trip for their ‘eat in’ suckling pig. And if there is company maybe their other dishes, but not for their décor, service, or wonton noodles. And will probably venture only in non-rush hours times, like weekday lunches and evenings, and weekend evenings…. Café Orient is pretty dead by 7pm at night…all nights….

2007 06 24 Jean Baptist Day.

EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Fourth Avenue Wine Bar

2007-06-22T11:34:00.001-07:00

Fourth Avenue Wine Bar & Café, at 107 Fourth @ Bank

This is another one of those places in the Glebe that needs to be tried out… and so I did. I must say, I have not been to a wine bar, but suspect that the feel and intent is similar to a tapas bar in Spain. This one was interesting in that it was nicely laid out. It had a great selection of wines. Nice metallic euro-feel about the place, bar and all. Since it provided that kind of ambiance…. You know, drink wine and snack on something…even though we arrive at 7:30pm after a long work day and was ready for dinner, we decided to have a couple of glasses of vino and some apps.

We ended up trying a white, Righetti pinot grigio and a Spanish red, Juan Gil (both $8). I particularly liked the red. Then we tried a couple of reds, an Omrah Shiraz (Australian) ($10.50) and a Bogle merlot (Californian) ($10). Both good, but not as nice as the Spanish red and more expensive at that.

For snacks and food in general, the value and tastes were disappointing. We tried the Portobello calvados…OK and expensive at $9. Deep fried Brie…. great if you like cheese and sweet cheery sauce. And a prosciutto plate, which was just ham from the deli… Their appetizers were OK and definitely not at a tapas/dim sum standard. We also had a beef kebab dinner, the meat was nicely curried, but the mushrooms were dry. One shish each. The rice had dried fruits in it and was cold… if that’s your thing... great... I hated it. And the beans were green, but hard and waxy and way undercooked. And $2 for bread.

Service was fast and efficient….no problems there… wines… great…. just the food was pretty much below par.

Bill was $45 a person all in, but I was hungry and had to eat something else later. Disappointing as with all the restaurants in the Glebe.

2007 06 22.

EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Foodies websites

2007-06-19T13:11:00.000-07:00

An interesting website to visit is travelingfoodies.blogspot.com.....

LiveToEat

2007-06-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

By the way, for those who want my comments on individual restaurants in Ottawa, plus other people's comments, visit www.OttawaFoodies.com. My alias is 'LiveToEat'.

Here I shall try to be more thoughtful and loquacious; and put more of a story behind the food, restaurants, evolution and culture behind the dishes. Everything in context, right?

And perhaps also include the reasons for my biases....

2007 06 18.

Jo Moon Ting, God forbid we talk chinese food...

2007-06-16T13:28:00.000-07:00

Jo Moon Ting or that thing in Ottawa...... ;-)

Walked down to the Italian Ferrari drive-by & festival on Preston and had lunch at May’s Garden… hadn’t been there for a long time (2 years). Probably the only authentic northern style chinese place in Ottawa… Still full of chinese people. Finally walked past this Jo Moon Ting restaurant and realized that this was the place Ashley was talking about!

This is the old Pacific Village....which I considered the best Viet place in Ottawa. Ate there at least once a week for about ten to twelve years. Sometimes, up to five times a week! When they closed, they didn’t even let me know…. Don’t know about those viets….Before that it was a Caribbean restaurant. And since then it has been through many transformations. At one time (2004) it was the only place in Ottawa and also probably Toronto, where you could get chinese suckling pig!!! The chef/cook has since returned to Toronto. Don't know the full story, but I have found a place in Toronto where it can be eaten without being pre-ordered. (The Spanish also have suckling pig, cochinillo; one of Hemingway’s favourites…and the Portuguese have Leitau……geographically controlled to Coimbra, … so much for breaking racial barriers….). The last permutation was a Viet place that was not too bad, forget the name.

Must say I have not tried it, but if the wonton noodles is better than Cafe Orient.... I would be very surprised if they don’t get a hugh following. Cafe Orient is known to be the best place for wonton noodles in Ottawa... And aside for the price points, I think it's as good as anything anywhere else in the world. HongKong included....

The prices sound good though. Just to compare, I had wonton noodles in Toronto for $3.95.

Their specialty is Congee though… the Jo is congee… moon ting is a quiet corner…

2007 06 16.

The Mysteries of the Pho Bo Ga and the Pho Bo Ga La's

2007-06-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

New Pho Bo Ga La with the blue sign and the brown wood Buddha is on the north side of Somerset…. is in fact the PBGLa than MingD is talking about. There is also one on the south side of the street further west of Bronson with a blue sign… this is the ‘old’ PBGLa…and it’s been around a long time and I have never been too impressed by it. It has also gone through many reincarnations thru the last 20 years and I found the food wanting.

The New PBGLa is the one I went to try Bun Bo below and is the one I was not too impressed with their rice dishes…… talk about too many viet places…..

Didn't know there was a 'new' PBGLa. (761-763 Somerset W?)

Must be a dynasty like the PBG1, 2 3 and Springroll House.

PBG1 had the greatest soup, but has deteriorated recently. Springroll has a great pork chop on rice, but the soup's ok. Seems they may have lost the PBG1 soup secret to someone else. Since I know the original owner, must ask what happened. Unless someone else knows?

The soup at 'original' PBGLa was ok, but restaurant & things seem to be saying that the soup is 'better' here.

After Pacific Village and then PBG1, I'd have to go backwards in memory and think that the Golden Turtle place has the best soup stock after this. I have been to quite a few viet soup places since then though.

2007 06 16.

Prime 360

2007-06-16T05:23:00.000-07:00

Have to say that it had the best rib steak I have ever had in Ottawa, nicely marbled; or for that matter anywhere else, including Alberta, where I think they have the best T-bones in the world.

My friend had a nice sirloin as well, but she had dessert! Mistake, it translated to a muffin with cream sauce, thin sauce at that as well… I think I read somewhere, ‘don’t go for the dessert, but their steaks are great…’. I liked them better than Hy’s etc…. for value though, Nate’s had a decent rib steak and a whole lot cheaper….

As if they cared anyways, lots of clientele on a week night… mostly business suits.

Would I go back…if on a business expense and eating steak only... in fact only the rib steak…?

200 06 14.

EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Have been on OttawaFoodies.com and this is a site to check out. So is TorontoFoodies.com

Cambodian & Vietnamese

2007-06-11T10:37:00.000-07:00

Vietnamese .... still trying.....

Was at the recommended Bun Bo Hue place on Somerset, Pho Bo Ga La to try out their Bun Bo ($10 for a bowl of medium, including tax/tip, for lunch). Somehow, I thought the write ups by MinhD were about a pork noodle soup, but this was beef. At least the ‘covering’ was beef tendons. The noodles were the best part…au dent. Great… (Au dent is in any language, the way to do noodles….) The soup was ok and the stuff on top is pretty well reproducible at home. (Family in Toronto have said that the viet soups, the secret, are better in Ottawa than Toronto. Must be project 2000….). Would I have it again there….no, but I tried it.

Are there any recommendations for beef stew with noodles? Forget the name in Vietnamese. I will try Pho Bo Ga La for that as well, but have not been able to find anything of the calibre of Pacific Village’s… now gone…mother retired; so have not been able to find it anywhere. Have tried a number of places on Somerset, but none really authentic… well I have never been to Vietnam, but from the viets I have spoken with, include the original owner of Mekong, Pacific Village’s was the best.

When Pac Village folded, I turned to New Mee Fong (at it’s new location, the old one on Somerset being too small….story there as well). Was a regular there for the longest time, enjoying their rice dishes, especially the one with steak. Until they raised the prices sometime late last year and early this year. Their noodle soup is average, but with the price increase…’next gen’ running it now, I think it’s overpriced. Mostly local civil servants going there for lunch... as with PhoBoGaLa… Always crowded and uneven service…. But then who eats viet food for service….? It’s like a Chinese greasy spoon…

Does anyone have a place that has really good Vietnamese rice dishes?

Cambodian.......

Phnom Penh

There are two of these, one in Mechanicsville (noodle house) and the other in Kanata...big difference...different owners as well...., the one in Kanata is suppose to suck big time……

I have never been to the one in Kanata; there is also one that closed on Carling near Woodroffe with the same name...

But I have been to the one downtown many times....Somerset in Mechanicsville. It was pretty good. I have never had Cambodian food before and the owners are chui chow chinese, but the dishes are quite different from the viets. I would say I found their stuff interesting, but don't go back regularly.

Very limited menu though.... family run, sisters and mother in the kitchen type of place.

I had warned them of the confusion when I was more regular, but they just shrugged...

2007 06 11.

EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Whalesbone Oyster House

2007-06-11T07:43:00.000-07:00

I have not been since Vardy joined either, but have to agree with the Citizen food critic, Anne Desbrisay, on this place. They are way too expensive for the decor.

Did notice earlier this year that they were renovating the restaurant though. Still, it's an awfully small place. And if they put in plusher seats and bring in Vardy, does that mean that they are going to be even more expensive!? I think they would price themselves out of the market then.

And the service was no hell the last couple of times I have been there, back in 2005/6.

They were originally themed after the Rodney Oyster House in Toronto, which was significantly more impressive. The variety of oysters there was significant. I think I counted 60 the last time I went back in the late ‘90s. Whalebone should not call itself an oyster house at all. It’s more of a bistro restaurant that wants to sell oysters. Trying to compete with Big Daddy’s on Elgin, which was more interesting than Whalebone, for oysters.

I have always thought that the chef makes or breaks a restaurant, so it would be interesting, consider Vardy's nomadic nature, whether he really makes a difference.

I still haven’t been to Par-Fyum either…. Slipping…

2007 06 11.

EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Bella's Bistro in Westboro

2007-06-10T16:27:00.000-07:00

Went to West-fest this past weekend and decided to try Bella's. Besides being the name of an old girlfriend, I have always heard good things about it.

Because it was last minute they did not have room in the restaurant, but did on their tiny patio. So we opted to partake.

Their Patio Menu is quite limited and I presume different from their white linen-ed interior, but I did not expect quality of food to suffer.

We had BBQ shrimps with rice and veggies and seafood ravioli. I am not a big ravioli fan, expecting something quite extraordinary for the $20 pre-tax/tip price point....outdoors on a plastic chair. Because of lobster, crab and other things named in the menu for the ravioli, my expectations might have been high. It ended up being pretty much something I could have picked up at the Loblaw’s and cooked up myself at home. Couldn’t taste any lobster and the crab came out of a can. I would rate that as awful.... If I can do better at home, it's not the place to be for me.

The shrimps were nice enough, but only three and the veggies was a sprig of rosemary! What would one expect for $10 pre tax… maybe a little bit more veggies would be nice?

We have pics, and we shared!

A table next to ours had a pasta with mussels… and well, it didn’t look very good, but I didn’t ask them what they thought.

To top it, one of the waiters either was just slow or having a bad day; nasty, and even made a mistake on the bill. (Total bill including tax was $60 for two, so not cheap, but not very expensive... we had some wine, but no dessert or appetizers, just one entrée each…small at that. I left hungry.)

With the plethora of Italian places in Ottawa... and I can think of a few that are actually pretty good, how can a place like that survive? Looks like there were a lot of locals out for their Sat night dinner, mostly older... Island Park types....

2007 06 10.

Live to eat or eat to live...........?

2007-06-06T11:11:00.000-07:00

Do you live to eat or eat to live…………..?

After surfing ottawafoodies.com and torontofoodies.com, I have come to realize that there are certainly some nice pictures in the websites of the food being served in various restaurants. The commentaries are also interesting in that everyone has their own tastes and idiosyncrasies; and that always works its way into the reviews.

It is nice to see that there are so many people interested in good food, like to eat and do it often enough that the cost benefits have to make sense.

In Ottawa, there is quite a variety of restaurants, what with the Foreign Service, embassies and consulates here. It is quite surprising to find though that there may be one or two decent places that spring up… and then the business is just not there, and the owners move to Toronto. A good example is Chinese suckling pig, which is only really available in Toronto. There are a set number of good chefs that move within the city, like the one from Beckta’s to Par-fuym, Westin to 4cuisine etc, and ones who retire, but there are also those who end up moving away. It is those who move away that really shows Ottawa as not being a real foodies city. The remainders seem to be able to command unreasonable prices for mediocre food.

So, despite the variety of restaurants, aboriginal food, veg Thai, etc and the interest in food and eating by Ottawans, this place is just not set up with decent places to eat. There is no real Buddhist vegetarian food for example, or Taiwanese, Shanghai-nese, Bengali, or Burmese food. The Szechwan food here sucks and even the Beijing dumplings places have closed off.

So for those who eat to live…Ottawa will do fine, but for those of us who live to eat…. It’s time to move or complain loudly so that restauranteurs will hear. For those foodies in Ottawa, it’s time to stop eating at places that are mediocre and encourage the ones that merit our attention by telling them they are way too expensive compared to Tor or Mtl.

Sorry I don’t have any nice pics to show you guys. Am working on it.

2007 06 06.

All You Can Eat Sushi

2007-06-01T08:52:00.000-07:00

Apparently there is another place for all u can eat (AYCE) Japanese, and the hot (non raw fish) stuff is pretty good. It's called Sakura on Merivale. Found it on www.ottawafoodies.com. Guess there are more than enough websites commenting on food.

Anyway, we should try it once…seems like they had uni, roe and other stuff that I liked that was not on the Sushi Kan place and the comparisons on the foodies site were that Sakura was better... better service, better food, built only slightly of course… I am not a fan of all you can eat places except for the price. At my age I just don't eat enough to make the price worthwhile.

The one in Toronto, Ten-ichi is relatively more expensive I think, but they had hot teppanyaki etc. That would certainly add to the price. They have all you can eat lunch Sat and Sun between noon and 3pm and the price is confusing, but think it 19.95. That's double of Sushi Kan’s.

All this to say that there are a lot of foodies writers out there.

2007 06 01

Dirge of decent restaurants in Ottawa

2007-05-31T11:18:00.000-07:00

Dirge of decent restaurants in Ottawa.

Was going to wander into that debate about decent restaurants in Ottawa, but must report that I have to agree with the Montreal food critic that was in town almost a year ago now….., (must admit I have not be vigilant in my update of this blog, read mainly by friends in any event), that other than French haute cuisine and bistro food, there are no decent restaurants in Ottawa. This runs the gamut of Asian, European, African, American and Australian food, if there is such a thing as the last two.

I have been traveling the food.blog highways though and there are a number of blogs that are so professional and with so many pictures that I am starting to wonder whether there are too many food writers out there. One particular existing site based in Australia worth a look is grabyourfork.blogspot.com.

Back to eating and the food in Ottawa.

A couple of weeks ago I went to the ‘all you can eat’ sushi place here in Ottawa, Sushi Kan, on Merivale Road. With much trepidation, given the web write ups on this restaurant and how it did not deliver in terms of order promptness and accuracy, and after much soul searching, I did finally get around to going with my son and daughter who are, like dad, food fanatics. My son had already been there a couple of times and said it was ok. Now he loves sushi, can eat vast amounts of it and what better test than have someone like that to judge the place.

The trick here is, know what you want and order as soon as you arrive, having a first glance at the menu. Then wait and look at the menu in detail and order for a second round. There is a limit of 1.5 hours sitting time, so if you wait, you can only get one order in. They have no license so don’t worry about the sake. Drink tea or soft drinks, which is also all you can eat… The waitresses are knowledgeable, but I suspect there is a rule that they follow, whereby they are the actual ones judging what you should be eating. If he/she feels you know what you are ordering, there will be little or no mistakes.

Then there is a wait, because unlike a mass produced all you can eat place, they make the stuff individually. And it takes about 30 min to get stuff to the table…that’s why order as soon as you sit, then you’ll be able to order the next round after the first one comes. The servers know when to come around and check. We polished off the first round of about 30 to 40 pieces and my daughter was already figuring out what the next ones were.

They have little unagi rice bowls, which were actually quite good and also hand rolls and udon noodles and tempura. During the 2nd round, we had ordered some tempura and noodles, but it never came….suspect the waitress judged that we were getting full, which we were… But we did finish everything that was served to us on the second round and had green tea ice cream to boot. This was the third round of ordering… We did not leave hungry.

In any event, for $15 per person for lunch, all in, it beats hands down anything else you can get in the city or even close by. So it’s good value, but you have to know and order fast. It’s not a place for atmosphere and lingering, like other Japanese restaurants; but the food is not mass or pre-produced, so it is as good as (and you know what I think of the making of sushi…very over priced in Ottawa), the bites at any of the other fancier places in Ottawa.

Are there any other Japanese restaurants in Ottawa? The Japanese say only one…Suisha Gardens. I would have to agree. But only because there is really a dirge of good restaurant of any sorts in Ottawa. Just like the Chinese would say Yangtze and Chu Shing are the only two half decent Chinese restaurants in Ottawa. And we all know how overpriced these restaurants are. A meal at the Japanese restaurant would set you back $60 and the Chinese ones $40.

There are no three star status Michelin guide restaurants in Ottawa. Or even two star. I mean good cheap food is also of value, but there is a lack of that too.

On the flip side, there are some really poor restaurants in Ottawa, where even food poisoning is not unheard of. And these are places that are popular, but the food is so bad I would never go back. The worst of the bunch would be Johnny Farina on Elgin, the Fish Market in the market and Penang Wok & Siam Kitchen on Bank street south. Mandarin Court in the Merivale area and Caveau de Szechwan in the market are also amongst the worst. I mean I have been sick myself after eating at these places. The slightly less worse are those where the emphasis is on the rah rah, but the food sucks, or the food is so expensive that you need an expense account to get it and it isn’t haute cuisine. Some of these are any sports bar on the Ottawa side, Lone Stars, Baton Rouges, and Boston Pizzas.

A couple of interesting finds, and I say interesting, not great, but worth a go if you like good food is Sacred Garden at 1300 Bank St., and Four Cuisines Bistro at 268 Preston. But beware, both have idiosyncrasies. The sacred garden is an exotic vegetarian Thai places. It is interesting, but being a non-veg, I find that they’ve yet to pass mustard on creating veg dishes. And at that price, I wouldn’t go back….But veg food is expensive in Ottawa…like everything else….

The Four Cuisines Bistro chef owner Minh Trang is actually Chinese and lived in Australia before coming to Canada. He has worked a number of places including the Westin’s main restaurant kitchen as chef there, so his stuff is pretty good. Does it come close to anything like in Toronto, like Lee’s or Susur’s? Not a chance.

Oh and my fav perogies place, Katlinka’s is closed for lack of business… I am devastated.

So the good ones don’t last, the bad ones go on forever…..is there a dirge of good eating in Ottawa… you be the judge….

2007 05 31

EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

More Korean Food

2007-05-30T19:23:00.000-07:00

More than a year later and Korean food has only gotten worse in Ottawa. My favorite haunt, Arum’s, has gone through a number of changes in ownership again and generally I would say that it is at best not as good as it was before. And there have been no new discoveries. Guess it's time to give up on all you can eat Korean. Learn how to make your own kimchi and buy a BBQ!

2007 05 28.

Korean Restaurants in Ottawa

2006-01-13T09:59:00.000-08:00

Korean Restaurants

Was recently in Toronto and wondering Korea-town down there. The latest craze, besides all you can eat Korean BBQ, which makes a lot of sense as you do the cooking yourself anyways …, is Pork Bone Soup (PBS) .... (is that why they call it Hog Town?)

Basically PBS is essentially a cut of Pork near the shoulder bone, including the bone, done up in a hot-pot with soup and the usual kimchi spicing. It’s very good and economical.

Of course when I got back to Ottawa, that was the first thing I went in search of. There are many Korean restaurants in Ottawa, some of them masquerading as Japanese .., essentially because the mark-up on raw fish is so high …. I mean how hard is it to make sushi!

There’s Korea Garden on Rideau … the grand-daddy of Korean food in Ottawa, where it is expensive and the service is so-so. Besides BBQ, iced noodle soup, kimchi in everything, there isn’t really a lot going for Korean food. But with such similar climates, I was always amazed that there weren’t more. Inflexibility in pricing is my main complaint.

The newest is Kwon’s Chicken House (Wilbrod). Run by a nice couple whose family in Korean owns a chain of such ‘chicken house’ restaurants. Their specialty is chicken and well, think kimchi chicken and you have it all … They have an extremely limited menu and have this interesting pork BBQ dish which was favored only by the embassy folks … so they stopped serving it!. Even with much pleading and bribing … you know how stoic/inflexible these guys can be, they still refused …. Reason given was that it was raw bacon, then BBQ’ed and was not popular with the non Asian clientele. (I know of many Chinese, European, Indian, etc dishes that especially use the bacon part of the pig because of its taste …. Latest Chinese thing is using the pork meat from the neck. It does taste much better, less fatty, but priced accordingly, but that’s another story on Chinese food …)

Seoul House on Somerset has been around a bit and thru a couple of owners. It’s next to the funeral home, so the name is a bit of a joke, but it was one of the first to mix Japanese and Korean food back in the ‘80s. Expensive for what you get.

And then there’s Arum’s on Bank at the Queensway. Originally run by a couple from Montreal, he runs the car dealership next door; it is the name of their daughter …. They run the restaurant and the Korean food market that’s attached. It used to be a bike shop and ski shop of some ill repute, but it got transformed. Quantum Meruit, it is the best Korean restaurant in Ottawa. The owners sublet the restaurant part out to another couple and the service slipped a bit, and the food got a little bit too ‘canned’. But the originals have gotten the place back and it has returned to its former glory, or so to speak … Running a restaurant is a labour of love and it shows …. Especially to ‘old hands’ like me. Anyway, I have been trying to edge them into a new place with all you can eat BBQ … before the fad passes …. And they’ve always had pork bone soup on their menu … how about that! It was not as good and cheap as in Korea-town, but hell, it’s a lot closer …

There are many more that’s kinda Korean, but when you go back to first principles, there really isn’t a lot to Korean food … except the kimchi … and the kimchi at Kwon’s is less spicy and some may like this more, but Arum’s has the best kimchi in town, in my opinion. You can also buy a six pack on your way out if you really like the stuff. But you’ll be eating it everyday and kimchi does go bad … really …

2006 01 14.

Parties are not corrupt, people are!

2006-01-12T15:36:00.000-08:00

With all this election activity going on and all the spin doctors going nuts, I just want to state that this thought came to me in a blinding light...... 'Parties are not corrupt, people are....'.

God help us if we repeat past failures like the Mulroney era ..., or is that error?.... and elect another 8 years of social conservatives/Republicans. Harper has got to figure out that he is not the next savior.... witness the Mercedes/booze scandal ….

2005 01 12.

VAT and Fried Chicken. Or there’s no such thing as a ‘good’ tax.

2005-12-14T07:20:00.000-08:00

The other day I was in KFC for Tooney Tuesday. Do you realize that if you buy one tooney you don’t pay PST, but after two, you do? That’s an addition of $0.20, a tooney! I have been buying toonies since they started some 5 years ago and saw it go from $2.00 to $2.22, to $2.49 now. Maybe when your purchase five toonies, you should ask for separate bills?

Which leads me to suggest that this whole discussion about the GST and a 2% cut over three years is rubbish. It was Mulroney, a conservative, who put it in; and now Harper, a conservative, is suggesting we ‘reduce’ it! Talk about adding insult to injury.

No tax is a good tax. I’ve heard all the arguments. If they were to suggest an increase of the GST, a VAT, to 15%, but get rid of, and that reads ‘completely eliminate’, the personal income tax, I’d say that’s the person to vote for. But Chrétien ran on a platform to get rid of the GST, which was supposed to be temporary, and look at it now. And the income tax was also supposed to be temporary too, at one point in time!

So is the argument temporal?

I think the whole VAT (includes PST and GST) and income tax systems are screwed and what we need in the next leader is a visionary, who will take drastic measures to dump double taxation. Wasn’t that the principle on which the whole fairness of the tax systems was based? We need a leader who will say ‘Who says we can’t get rid of personal income taxes or the GST in its entirety? “Just watch me!”’

Look at the savings in Govt bureaucracy alone.

Target marketing is good for a temporary solution, but I plan to be around, in Canada, for at least another 50 years.

2005 12 14.

Il Primo and Tuscony

2005-12-06T10:03:00.000-08:00

The Anne Desbrisay review in the Citizen this past Sunday (Dec 4^th ’05) suggested something to do with Tuscany and the restaurant Il Primo in Little Italy (Preston).

Maybe I'm stupid, but I saw no reference to Tuscany and food of that area. All I saw was 'lunch was good, dinner sucked!' So they could make mussels and not veal Milanese? Then what …..

And she got paid for three meals there!

Maybe I just dislike Anne DesB, but I find her reviews, if positive, a place to NOT try and negative, then maybe.

To say I disagree with DesB is an understatement. Anne has ‘the ability to taste food (i.e., differentiate between the ingredients), but one has to have ‘good taste’ to be able to judge a restaurant.

I wouldn’t go to Il Primo anyways. I’ve been there before, was not impressed, and there are just too many good Italian restaurants to even suggest that they have some Tuscan ability!

I wonder where the chef/owner from that Tuscan/New Edinburgh restaurant went to …... can’t recall the name ….

As an aside, I heard Clair De Lune is closing! Copeland’s fav. rest. Maybe we can save it?

Maybe the Citizen should give me the job of reviewing restaurants?

05 12 06

More than food and drink, xmas presents

2005-12-04T09:05:00.000-08:00

Best Buy has a Home Theater System DVD player, with 5.1 speakers. Think it has no remote, but I haven't opened the box yet. But for $89.99 that is a steal. Just bought three for x'mas presents.

Good today till Dec 8th I think, says the flyer (4 days). When I left the east end store with my three, they still had four more. Then there is the west end Best Buy that may have some.

Not refurbished, new in boxes.

Happy Holidays!

Rule of Thumb for cost of eating out

2005-12-03T08:36:00.000-08:00

Here are some rules of thumb that I use. Everyone wants good food…., cheap…... And then there's the service… and atmosphere…. Everything costs…..!

My rot (rule of thumb, that is) is that whatever the price of the meal itself, double it if you drink alcohol (and we all drink sometime?!) and then add 30%, for tax and tips. Unless the govt gets rid of the GST, and that should be the aim!, (not some niddly picking 2% over three years!), there is 15% for taxes, gst/pst, and 15% for tips.

So, a meal of say $10, which is pretty cheap by today's standards, would be $20 with the booze and then $26……., to include what you owe the govt and for the service/atmosphere.

(As an aside, the fish and chips at Chelsea Bis/Pub ended up to be $30 a person for lunch! That’s $14 for the meal ((which was rich)), we all had fish and chips, and a couple of beers, ie, $28, and then with the taxes and tip ended up to be over $30 pp. I did most of the drinking and the others drank less, since I didn’t have to drive. But still $36 a person for lunch…., at a ‘relatively’ good fish and chips place, that is way out of the downtown area, is a little steep!!!) )

I don't normally tip 15% unless the atmosphere and service is great, more like 10% if everything is fine, but that's unfair when you think of the portion the govt takes!

<>(Again I have tipped less than 10%, but don’t want to piss the ‘working class’ off …..!)

So life sucks as a waiter. At least you don't have to declare income taxes on it?!. Again the Govt is the arse. (That’s Brit for bum, backside, ass, asshole, etc).

To live in a Govt town!!!! That is most of ‘your’ employers, I’m afraid! No wonder there are no decent restaurants in Ottawa/Gat and the United Way get so much money. In spite of what Harder is saying.

Anyway, the bottom line is, that say, a $100 per person dinner at a fancy restaurant, which again is not unusual, ends up costing $260.! Per Person!!!!!! That's a lot of mullah and it's about time some of the 'finer' establishments think about 'the cost of eating out' especially if they believe in the mantra of the ‘Consumer Being King’. No matter what you say, to run a restaurant is a labour of love for some, (who knows how to cook,) can manage a cost constraining business and still end up being happy.

Dec 3rd, 2005. Noon.

Lunchtime!

(Shall only date it in the future if it is not within the date of writing….)

Cumin & Goan

2005-12-03T06:47:00.000-08:00

Cumin & Goan …. May be just Goin’ …….

Revisited Cumin & Goan a number of times and the latest report, well, I think Barb Gomes finally recognizes me …

This time, I tried the Lamb Shakruti, not a ‘real’ goan dish, but nevertheless it is shown as ‘toasted coconut & spices’ and I have had charuti/sharuti/xacuti before…..

I think in this dish it really shows that Barb does not know how to use the tamarind to bring out the sour. Vinegar just doesn’t do it.

I also tried the Kachumbar, another ‘ok’, as was the raita, which Desbrisay raved about … And the only other two pickles/chutneys were mixed veg/celandro, both of which were very good, but an accoutrement does not a meal make. (The Prawn/tomato was to die for …)

So if you want Goan, the Sorppatel is the only really decent dish. Pork vindaloo will be very good. Maybe try the Fish Curry, but if it’s anything like the sharuti, I’d pass….

Does that mean you should not go to this place ? …. Not at all …. There are a lot of Northern style Indian restaurants (most tandoori places) and Southern style Indian restaurants (Ceylonta, Coconut Lagoon ), none of which are outstanding in Ottawa (go to Toronto), but if you want Western Indian food, Cumin & Goan is the place in Ottawa.

Now how about an ‘Eastern Indian Restaurant’, i.e., Bengali, Hyderabadi or Burmese….

Do we really want to figure in the multicultural culinary world that is Canada? I rank Vancouver, Toronto and Quebec City, even Montreal before Ottawa. Ottawa is way overpriced and truly provincial in terms of food and places to eat and value for money …… Chinese and Indian food are two very good examples. Either the restaurateurs think we don’t know how to eat, or they just figure there is no competition ….

Happy being happy, especially during these holidays ….

2005 12 29.

Hey Guys and Gals,

A lot of you are not into spicy foods. But then some of you are! For
those not interested in Goan food, I will not expect any interest in this piece.

But there has been an interest shown by some, in something spicy and interesting?. And
this place (Cumin & Goan) is run by a typical Goan woman, hoping to make it in
the East Asian/Indian cuisine world. Before they 'transmogrify' into an
Indian restaurant, I would expect that any of you truly interested in
trying Goan cuisine, to let me know and I will set something up. (There
is nothing in it for me, except your company!)

But it is so far, pretty good Goan stuff. As some of you already know,
Goan is a Portuguese colony, just south of Bombay, India. If you need
more, email me. But it's cuisine is spicy but sour, with vinegar and
tamarinds. And also Spanish / Portuguese sausages and spices.

Oct 19th, 2005

Well, how is that for 'killing two birds with one stone'..... Both

these restaurants (Cumin & Goan and Katlinka) are side by side. They are located at the old
Manfred's and Singapore restaurants respectively in a little 'non
descript' mall on the South West side of Carling, near Woodroffe. You
would have to shot past the place if you were going west on Carling and
do a 'u- turn'.

Anyway, Katlinka is the new mid european restaurant that you guys have
been so reluctant to go to. It is in place of the old Singapore and
well, I have not tried it, but you guys are the euros! Call me if you
want to go, anytime.

As for Cumin & Goan, it is located at the old Manfred's location. As
some of you may know, they (Manfred's) had the best' duck done in a lime
sauce' that I have ever had. And that was in the European tradition. I
hear Manfred still goes to Cumin and Goan.

The C&G restaurant specializes in Goan food and before it gets
transmogrified, I would suggest that we try it. It is similar to Indian
food and for those who know, Goa was a Portuguese colony. They use
tamarinds and vinegar a lot in their curries which brings out the mix of
blended spices that go to make a great curry. Therefore it is a little
more complex than your usual tandoori. Vindaloo is a goan dish. They
also have saurpatel and shakruti, a couple of other very typical
goan/south indian curries. As some of you may know, the south indians
were the indigenous aboriginals of India. The north west being conquered
by the Persians/Romans/Greeks and the east by the asians/moguls. The
real mystical/fatalistic of the indigenous indians moved south into the
peninsular. So the true curries of india must be the southern indians'.
The owner of C&G is from Bangalore, the garden city of south india and
'capital' of the region.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, it is worthwhile to try this place.
You can go on your own or with a group, but do so before Jan 2006 as the
owner is planning on introducing a buffet and we all know what that
means for the traditionalists.

Anyway, call me if you'd like to go. As I have always said, there are 4
indian restaurants in the Glebe alone and not one really special one!

Sep 13th, 2005.

Anne DesBrisay has just done a piece on the Restaurant (C&G) in the Sunday Citizen Nov 27th, 2005 and

1) I wonder if she tried it her usual three times,
2) Shows how much she knows about Indian food,
3) The raita is not 'to write home about', a little watery
4) you can get good tandoori in most Ottawa restaurants
5) vindaloo should always be pork
6) sorpatel to die for and the shrimp pickle is outstandingly Goan

When in Rome, one should eat Roman.....

Dec 3rd, 2005.

Amber Garden, Katlinka Restaurants, Middle Europe

2005-12-03T06:38:00.000-08:00

Middle European food in Ottawa.

2007 10 22... Kalinka's has been closed for 2 years now.

Tried Amber Garden at its new location, was not impressed.....

Katlinka Restaurant.

I think I have already mentioned that for Russian/Ukrainian/mid European
food, I have not had better perogies than at Katlinka's. (Better than
Constance's, if she ever makes them!)

They have a great meatball soup and interesting pork chops/weiner sniz.
And a great mixed meats platter.

But food is not Germanic (Their sniz is not as good as Lindenholf's).
And they don't have caviar! They don't have polish tripe soup (like
Polonius). They are not into mixed grills and sausages (like Chicken Boy
dusseldorff). They don't even have a variety of vodka's as in Amber
Gardens.

What they do have is the best perogies I have ever tasted, the best
meatball soup and a very interesting egg covered pork chop. They also
have a number of stroganoffs and a la kiev's that I would like to try. (
I haven't tried everything on their menu yet.) And apparently,
according to the proprietor, quite an Embassy following?

It's also a nice little 'family restaurant in the west end' with nice
'home cooked' ukrainian stuff and some parties like 'um bah bahs' .....

However, I sense that the Ukrainians, Scots and spouses (if you guys ever eat out) may form an appropriate group to partake. And if there are more interested, pls. let
me know. All on distro welcome. ( And I don't get any money or
enticements out of this, except I get to have fun with the boys/gals)

Oct 15th, 2005.

Best Fish & Chips in Ottawa/Gatineau?

2005-12-03T06:21:00.000-08:00

I went and tried the fish and chips at the Chelsea Bistro, on Old Chelsea Rd., in Gatineau, which reportedly, by you and you English friend, is the 'best in the area'. And I must say
that based on my opinion.....

The chips were pretty ok to bad. They were too greasy. And the fish is
pretty good. To say they are the best in the area is debatable. Perhaps
a reflection of the food in the area!!!! At $14 before tax and tips, it was also a little steep considering the drive out there.

I went with a couple of other friends, so the opinion is not mine alone.

I always welcome other comments on the area's fish and chips. I am going
to try the stuff at 'Arrow & Loon', for which I do not have high
expectations......

The best fish and chips ....., other that London, England, is Hong Kong.
Doesn't get any better than that!!!!

Dec 1st, 2005