DINNER AT FUSION SUSHI - Highland Park

Finally an AYCE sushi place in the NE! And the quality is good and fresh too. The restaurant is located at the edge of the industrial area of McKnight and Edmonton Trail. It is easy to get to in all directions.

All I can say the service here is amazing except for one little blunder - one dish arriving after we paid the bill. I think there were 4 servers, and they come around constantly to clear away any empty dishes and to grab new orders. I have been here twice and both times they didn't miss anything on our list. First time we checked by having a copy of what we gave to the server and checked the items off as we received them. The restaurant is old school using pen and paper. I remember being at an AYCE sushi place last year where we use an ipad to order, and it was a disaster. We didn't get food that we ordered from the first round and then ended up cancelling a lot of the items because we waited so long for them, and the place wasn't even busy being that it was in the middle of the afternoon.

This place also do al a carte too if you and your party don't want to do the AYCE. The AYCE price, being a weekend (Fri-Sun + holidays) dinner, is $27.95. Monday to Thursday is $26.95. The price is consistent with other AYCE sushi places around Calgary. They have a variety of appetizers, cooked food, sashimi, and sushi. They even have Thai food on the menu as well. So, my friends and I opted to do the AYCE so we can try the different variety of food. We started out with just ordering tempura, sashimi, sushi, and rolls. I let my friend do the ordering with me requesting a crispy mango roll. I didn't get to take pictures of everything we ordered because everything looked so good to eat that we just dived right in.

Assorted sushi - Unagi (my friends ate those fast), octopus, tuna, and salmon; Assorted sashimi - beef, salmon, surf clam, mackerel, snapper

Assorted rolls - Crispy Mango, Spider, Rainbow, Red Dragon, Crispy Mango, and Volcano

As you can see, everything was so well presented. I like the Crispy Mango roll the best because there is no avocado in it. Since I'm allergic to avocado, the tragedy :(, I couldn't eat a lot of the rolls. I think I can eat 6-7 pieces before feeling the affect. I did sampled one piece each of what my friend ordered. Surprisingly, the volcano roll is not that spicy at all and you can taste the jalapeno peppers in the sauce. I was a little disappointed in the Spider roll as it had a thick rice bottom. I just ate the top part of it and then place a salmon sashimi piece on top of the rice to make my own sushi. The sashimi was nice and fresh, and the salmon slices were just thick enough for two bites.

We also ordered some tempura. I think we liked the tofu tempera the best. It was nice and smooth and had plenty of benito flakes. It was so good that we ordered it twice. Since we went big on the first round, we decided to see if there were any cooked items or anything we would like to try for the second round. We only got through two rounds which I think is pretty good. My friend wanted to see what lo-mien was so she ordered it, and I wanted to see what the coconut shrimp was since it was under the Thai items. Well, when the lo-mien came, my friend didn't really like it. She said she will stick to ramen or udon instead. She ordered the spicy beef soup version. The beef wasn't spicy but the sauce was and she couldn't handle it, and she can handle a lot of spice. As for the coconut shrimp, it came after we finish paying the bill. We were stuff at that point, and I had my mango ice cream already. We tried a few pieces and left it since the bill was already paid. The coconut shrimp, in case anyone is wondering, is battered shrimp, deep fried, and has a nice coconut sauce drizzled on top along with some sprinkling of shredded coconut.

Overall, I would come back here again but probably not for the AYCE. I have been recommending this place to my co-workers since we work in the NE.

Fusion Sushi
511 McKnight Boulevard NE
(587) 354-1757

LUNCH AT BON-GA KOREAN RESTAURANT - Chinatown

Bon-Ga is a Korean restaurant in Chinatown amidst all the Chinese restaurants. It is located on the second floor, above Dessert House, in the Golden Happiness Plaza. I stumbled in here solely because all the places I thought about eating at were either closed for the holidays or not opened yet when they stated they were opened.

My day started early as I was running some errands. I went to Vero Bistro Moderne to grab my friend a gift certificate for her birthday (good thing she doesn't know about my blog yet). It was about 10:30 in the morning, and it wasn't busy at all. I thought about staying for their brunch because the food looks sooo delicious and decent portion coming out of the kitchen but I wasn't that hungry and was solo. I mean there is nothing wrong about dining alone but at a place like Vero Bistro Moderne you should come with someone so you can sample their meal as well :).

Next, I stopped by Chinatown to grab a couple of birthday gifts. I sure do have a bunch of friends whose birthdays are in January. I walked around trying to find somewhere to grab a quick bite. Dim Sum was out of the question as I didn't want to order many dishes for my lonesome self. The last time I was in Chinatown, I saw a Wow Chicken so I decided to go there only to find out that they are closed for a week between Christmas and New Years. Bummer, right? Next, I went to Quickly since they have food and bubble tea but they open at 11:30am which was no problem since it was only a ten minute wait so I walked some more. I arrived back at Quickly at 11:40am, and their outside door was locked. So I went inside the building and saw the person was just setting up in the kitchen. However, the lights were still off and chairs still up. By now, I'm a little peeved and hungry just thinking about food.

So, I decided to cross the street to see what Bon-Ga had to offer. They had a Grand Open sign so it is a relatively new place. Bon-Ga means main house, from what I gather. It is generally used in South Korea during Korean Thanksgiving, Chuseok, where the people pack up and head to their ancestral hometown, usually where the eldest or head of household lives "bon-ga".

At the entrance, they advertised hot pots, or shabu-shabu, bento boxes, and Korean fried chicken. Sounds good so I went upstairs. When I arrived, there were only two other tables occupied and one server. The server was very nice and attentive. He asked me if I wanted any recommendations when I was perusing the menu. The hot pots looked pretty good and reasonably priced. I was, however, disappointed that the fried chicken sold as a whole. I was debating on just ordering the whole thing and bringing the leftover home, but I would be the only one eating the thing and that's not good. Also, the bento boxes were only available during lunch on weekdays. So, I settled on ordering Bulgogi with rice.

Free Banchan - potato, kimchi, and bean sprouts

These three banchan were very good and fresh. The potatoes had a little crunch and was sweet. The kimchi was a little spicy for me but I did sampled it. It had a nice crisp to it. The bean sprouts were nice and soft and had a light flavour to it.

Bulgogi with Rice with Miso soup (not pictured) $13.99

There was a lot more meat and veggies than rice which is good. The beef was very tender, and the vegetables were fresh and cooked to perfection for this dish. There was lots of onions, zucchini, carrots, green peppers, green onions, mushrooms, and even shiitake mushrooms. The sauce was very good and not too salty at all. I would recommend this dish for anyone who don't like spicy food. The miso soup was excellent. You can taste the bean flavour and it wasn't salty at all. It kinda reminds me of the miso soup in Japan. There was lots of tiny pieces of tofu in the soup as well.

Overall, I would definitely come back here again with friends to try their fried chicken and hot pots. If I am ever in Chinatown during the weekdays, I will drop by for their bento boxes as well. They look good from other people's posts.

Bon-Ga Korean Restuarant
111 2 Ave SE #201
(587) 475-1657

DINNER AT JOEY BARLOW - Northeast

Joey Barlow is located at a convenient location of 32nd Ave and Barlow in the Northeast. I usually come here two to three times a year. A few friends and I came here before Christmas for a little get-together. Earlier, I mentioned to one of my friend that they have a new item on the menu, Spanish paella. My friend and I are always looking for a place that have paella. She and I make good paella but we always try to find restaurants that have it (so we don't have to cook it :)). I made reservations online because being the holidays and all it could have been busy and might be a wait. When I got there, the restaurant was almost full. The person that seated us asked what we wanted to drink, and we gave him our drink order. It did take awhile especially with the waters. Our server did come by frequent enough to check up on us throughout our meal.

Spanish Paella $22

The Spanish paella is made of lobster saffron broth and has shrimp, smoked chorizo, chicken, peas, red peppers, and arborio rice. The dish came in its own little paella skillet and it seems very small. I think the potion is just right and leave room for sharing an appetizer or dessert. The paella dish, however, was a little disappointing, and the price seems a little over-priced. I got 4 pieces of shrimp which is ok and had other small shrimp as well (see pic), but the chorizo was non-existence since it was cut into thin slivers and I think I got like 3 pieces of that. The chicken was cut into small bite size pieces and there wasn't a lot of that either. The rice was at least not dry and had the crusty bottom that was a little burned. I can taste a little spice in the rice and it was good.

Baked to Order individual Apple Pie $8.75

This apple pie was delicious. I think the added toasted almonds gives it a crunch and a unique flavour with the apples and cinnamon. The crust was flaky and good. The pie was baked to order so it was nice and warm with different ice cream topped on top. We got one scoop of vanilla bean and one scoop of Canadian maple ice cream. Both is just as good with the pie.

Overall, this is a good place to go if your party is indecisive of what type of meal they want. Joey has a lot of variety of cuisines. It is also a place with a good atmosphere and nice lighting.

Joey Barlow
3026 23 St NE
(403) 219-8465

DINNER AT PIO PERUVIAN ROTISSERIE CHICKEN - Northeast

Located by Lowe's in the Northeast, I have been recommending people to come here every time they mention rotisserie chicken. Some of my friends are regulars here now. The price is right and the food is always excellent.

I have been coming to this place since it first opened. I miss their family meals. The servers are always super nice and attentive. I think I have tried all their sides with their yummy rotisserie chicken. Recently, I have been getting Pio Con Salchipapa which is rotisserie chicken with beef sausages and hand-cut fries. It comes with two out of four sauces. I love their Pio white sauce the best which is a tangy white house sauce. But yesterday, I decided to try something new, and I know I wouldn't be disappointed since everything on their menu looks fantastic. I had their classic dish, Lomo Saltado.

Lomo Saltado $17 (regular size)

I had take-out so the picture doesn't look so nice but the taste was wonderful. This Peruvian classic is a stir fry dish with tenderloin beef, onions, tomatoes, and secret juices. It comes with crispy fries and garlic rice. The tomatoes slices were fresh and the onion has a crisp. The beef pieces were a little chewy but good. The sauce was delicious with rice and fries. The rice didn't taste garlicky but it had a favour to it that is not just plain rice. The regular size portion for me was just right.

I highly recommend this place of anyone in the area, but remember they don't open on Mondays and Tuesdays. You won't be disappointed. Also, I recommend their drinks, chicha morada (blend of purple corn, pineapple and lime juice) and jugo de maracuya (Brazilian passion fruit).

Pio Peruvian Rotisserie Chicken
104 2929 Sunridge Way NE
Calgary, AB T1Y 7K7
403-681-7378

DINNER AT HOT POINT FUSION CAFE - Alyth-Bonnybrook-Manchester

I went to dinner with an old co-worker/friend to catch up. Since it was a cool winter night, we decided to warm up with hot pot and we were also craving cold bubble tea. We heard of the place that serves on Macleod Trail. After some googling, we found that this place was in the same strip/building as Seoul Korean BBQ.

This was on a Sunday and before 7pm. The restaurant didn't look busy at all. So we got a big table all to ourselves. The server gave us drink and hotpot menus right away. The server was attentive enough to come right after we finished picking out what we wanted. However, at the end of our meal and once the dishes were cleared, we didn't get our bill. I don't know if that is common practice or not. When we went up to pay, we waited quite a bit for someone to come and take our money and was surprised to be asked where we were seating.

The restaurant had a variety of mini/individual hot pots, that's what they are known for, with different meats options, soup flavours, and also one vegetarian option as well. Depending on which hotpot you pick, there was also different types of vegetables that goes with it. If you are only there for the bubble tea, there are also snacks or appetizers to munch along with your drinks. This place is also known for their thick bread with variety of sweet toppings but I heard it was either a hit or miss. I didn't try it so I don't have an opinion.

For my meal, I picked the Curry Fishball Hot Soup and my friend picked the Spicy Beef Hot Soup. All hot pots, from what I can tell, are $11.99 and comes with a bowl of rice. The curry fishball soup had vermicelli, cabbage, Chinese turnip, fishball, tofu, corn, imitation crab stick, white mushrooms, tomato, and pork. You can also add extra or additional items for a minimal charge.

Curry Fishball Hotsoup $11.99

When the hot pot arrived, the server lit the burner so it was nice and hot throughout the meal, but don't worry, the flame will eventually burn itself out so it cools a little. At first glance, it looked like a lot of food, but at the end I think it was just enough for a hungry person. The soup had just the right amount of curry favour and was not spicy at all, just mild. There was a lot of cabbage, a few fishballs, a stick of imitation crab, a slice of tomato and a sliver of corn. There was not a lot vermicelli in the soup unless it melted? The soup was very good with rice when mixed together.

No picture *sad face* of my bubble tea. I had the lemon yogurt ice slush for $4.50. It was lemony (not as lemony as Quickly) and good. My friend and I intentionally got ours in a to-go cup and no pearls or jelly.

Overall, this is a good place to try if you are in the area. It is also a good place for those individuals who are too picky when it comes to hot pot and types of soup and can't agree when it comes to communal hotpot.