DINNER AT GAGANA RAMEN - Airport

I have been wanting to try this place when they first open back in May. I was excited to learn that the restaurant is the Northeast but at a very odd location. Gagana Ramen is located on 11th Street kitty-corner to the main Canada Post office or up the hill from Deerfoot City. Gagana Ramen is a franchise from Japan. They even had a Japanese chef come in to train the local chefs the Gagana way. I think the owner of this location is Chinese since they took an ad out on the local Chinese newspapers, and I can hear them talking in the back. However, it doesn't matter as long as the food is good and authentic.

I think I'm turning one of my co-workers into a foodie. So far, she has love all the places I suggested she should try. So, I decided to take her here. Since we leave work at different times, we decided to meet at the restaurant at 6 pm. We came on a Wednesday. Currently, Gagana has a promotion: Monday to Wednesday 20% off total bill; Thursday to Sunday Free order of Chicken Karaage, Edamame, or Seaweed salad when you purchase 2 orders of ramen or rice; for 4 or more, additional 10% off the bill. When I arrived at the place, there was only one other table occupied. By 7 pm, more people were starting to come in. Naturally, my co-worker was very late so I had a chance to really browse the menu.

When you step inside, Gagana looks very minimal, but I can assure you that food and service are excellent. Gagana, on their menu and wall picture, describes how their ramen broth is made. It looks like a long process. I recently read and seen that people in Japan, if they wanted to open up a ramen shop, will go to Ramen school to learn the process of making the broth, combining different flavours, making noodles, and learning to cook the different toppings. It was a interesting read and video segment. Gagana stew their pork and chicken bones and more than 10 kinds of vegetable for more than 12 hours and then use bonito to blend that together. The process continues on after that. Gagana has a very small menu. Even though they have only four ramens on their menu, it can been seen that they take great pride and care with the four ramen dishes. Since there were two different ramen dishes I wanted to try, I ended up coming here twice in one week.

Chicken Karaage 300g $10

My co-worker and I felt very gluttony so we ordered the large size of karaage. There is a smaller size, 150g for $6. When this order came out, I was surprise how much 300g was. I'm not good at judging size/amount at all. The chicken was crispy, but not too crispy, and the meat was very tender. It is one of the better karaage I had in a long while. The karaage came with two dipping sauces. There was the typical red chili sauce mixed with Japanese mayo, and a soy sauce based one which was new to me. I like the soy sauce based one. It had a roasted seaweed or sesame after taste to it. We couldn't figure it out. I asked the server what the sauce was made from but she had no idea.

Tonkotsu Ramen with Egg $12 + $1.50

I wanted to try their traditional Japanese broth. It was very good and not salty at all for my taste. I think I still like the milky pork broth better since I can taste the pork in it. With this traditional broth, you can taste layers of flavours with nothing very distinct. The noodles are made from wheat and whole wheat flour, and they are a little thicker than what the other ramen shops around Calgary serve. They were cooked with just enough softness for me. The noodles were topped off with 2 slices of lean/fatty char siu, green onions, leeks, cabbage, bamboo shoots, corn, seaweed slice, red chili powder, and fried onions. I like the char siu here. It melts in your mouth and is charred a little to give it more flavour. It is the second best char siu I had in a ramen so far. I had to order the soft boiled egg separate. The only ramen that comes with half an egg is the spicy miso. The egg is soy sauce based and was cooked very well with the yolk being very creamy. The only thing that I thought didn't belong in this dish was the cabbage. The pieces were big and too cumbersome to eat. I understand that it brings a another element of crunch but it didn't work for me.

Tsukemen (Dipping Ramen) $13.50

My co-worker ordered this on our visit, and I'm a big fan of dipping ramen and soba. So I decided to come for a second visit to give this a try since I was in the area picking up some packages. This is a cold noodle dish with the broth being hot/warm. The broth and noodles are a little thicker in this dish. This is better to get the broth with the noodles. The broth was a little salty by itself but once you mix things in, it gets better. In the broth, the chef put thinly sliced leeks, green onions, and red chili pepper. With the noodles, it had a slice of lemon, char siu bamboo shoots, cucumbers, and cabbage. I usually squeeze the lemon in my broth but it can be put on the noodles. I got to really taste the char siu by itself. It was nice and melted in my mouth. The bamboo shoots were very good and crunchy too - doesn't taste from the can. So, to eat this dish, you grab a chopstick full of noodle and briefly dip it in the broth and eat it. You also do the same with the vegetables and meat as well. It really is that simple. Once you are finished or almost finished, the server usually offers you a dashi based soup/stock for the broth. If they don't offer you this, just ask them. The dashi stock dilutes your broth so you can enjoy another flavour. You drink this up like a soup. Tsukemen is a good experience to try.

All in all, this little shop in the middle of an industrial area is a great place to enjoy ramen that is currently served in Japan. With the small menu, it allows the chefs to take their time to fine-tune their dishes. This is one of few restaurants that serve Tsukemen in the city. I recommend everyone to give Tsukemen a try. They are open everyday and close at 8:30 pm.

Gagana Ramen
#101 5421-11 Street NE
403-452-3826

BREAKFAST AT OEB BREAKFAST - Downtown

I stopped by here for breakfast on a Sunday. The new second location is very convenient. It is located right in the Fifth Avenue Place building. When I got there at 9:30 am, there were some tables available but it filled up quickly after. This new location is bigger, and it has very funky decor. There is one table in an egg and some are in tipped-over baskets. The place is very bright and modern. The kitchen is also opened so you can see all the action.

When I first got there, I was a bit confused about the people standing around - were they waiting in line to get a table or were they waiting for a table? After loitering around for a few minutes outside the "door", I decided to just budge the people - if they were waiting in line to get a table - and asked for a table myself. Since it was only me, I got to chose bar at the window looking outside or bar at the window looking inside. I chose looking outside. The service here is excellent. The servers were attentive, friendly, and accommodating.

Confit de Canard $16.99

After reading the article, "62 Things to Eat and Drink in Calgary Before You Die" from DailyHive, I decided to challenge myself to complete this. I don't know if I can finish the challenge or not since I'm not a big fan of alcohol or coffee. I do like to try different cocktails but I reserve those for celebrations/special occasions. So, one of the items on the list, the first actually, was to try a Breakfast poutine at OEB.
Any of OEB's Box'd section of their menu is a Breakfast poutine. There are a variety to choose from. I like duck so I chose the confit de canard. Overall, it was delicious. I couldn't really taste their lingonberry jam though. The poached eggs were perfectly seasoned, and the duck was tender and not overly salty. Plus everything sits on a bed of their twice fried herbed potatoes cooked in organic duck fat which I can eat all day long. The potatoes were crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. So I agree with the article on this one. you should totally try a breakfast poutine at OEB.

All in all, this location is a good choice. It caters to the downtown workers and tourists - if they tour the downtown. I know that if I worked downtown, I would be here eating breakfast here at least once a week. OEB is opened everyday from 7 am - 3 pm.

OEB Breakfast
#110, 222 – 5th Avenue SW
587-352-3447

LUNCH AT FIASCO GELATO CAFE - Marlborough

Fiasco Gelato has been a staple for me when I go to conventions and shows at the BMO. I like to try their different flavours of gelato and sorbetto. I keep forgetting that this place is close to my house. I remember their old place before they moved was slightly farther. Their new HQ/cafe is big, bright, and modern. They are located a block from Centre Avenue on 19 Street in the Northeast. They are close to Barlow C-Train Station and the Calgary Herald building. The dining area in the front is small, but I think people don't usually dine in or stay that long. I like how you can see into the kitchen area. They also have an academy which they run in the evenings to teach people how their gelato are made. It looks very hands-on and you get to bring all the gelato home. The price is a little steep, but I think it would be worth it. I just need some friends to do this with me.

Just a few flavours I have bought so far: Frozen Hot Chocolate, Mint Stracciatella, Blueberry Basil, Greeen Tea Lemonade, and Mango Pineapple

I have been to the cafe a couple of times to buy their pints. Recently, I have decided to dine in and try one of that sandwiches and take out a sundae. I went on a Saturday around lunch. They were not busy at all since all the businesses nearby were closed. There were a few random people coming in for gelato. On an interesting note, one of co-workers saw an article online from the Daily Hive, "62 Things to Eat and Drink in Calgary Before You Die", published in June of this year. Fiasco Gelato is on the list with their Frozen Hot Chocolate.

Porchetta Sandwich $9

I came in to quickly grab some gelato for my coworker, and since I didn't have any food at home, I decided to stay and try their sandwiches. The porchetta sound good. It consist of porchetta, a grainy dijon aioli, chimmichurri, and topped with arugula. Then they make it warm putting it in a panini press. The sandwich was presented on a cute little cutting board. The porchetta was a little salty but it works overall with the sandwich.

Hotlime Bling Sundae $7

I got this to-go and it traveled well. It was only a 5 minute drive so nothing melted too much. I think everything in this sundae was made right in the kitchen. The gelato is their key lime gelato and is topped with graham crackers, their house-made mallow fluff, lime curd, and whipped cream. The mallow fluff was lightly torched to give the sundae a little of caramel flavour and crunch. The lime curd was very tart which is good. The key lime gelato doesn't really have a deep lime flavour, but the flavour is their. Like most of the citrus, the key lime gelato acts like a palate cleanser.

Overall, I'm really glad that this place is open. The service is always friendly and welcoming. They are open everyday early morning to late evening. If you don't know what flavour gelato to try I recommend getting the Tasting Flight. You get 1 scoop each of 4 different flavours to try.

Fiasco Gelato Cafe
#110 - 221 19 Street SE
403-452-3150

LUNCH AT PRESS'D - Northeast

This place opened up super close to my work back in June. I usually don't order sandwiches since I can easily make them at home, but I was curious about this place. The place is quite hidden if you aren't looking for it. It is beside the new EFW Radiology place on Sunridge Blvd in the Northeast. Press'd was an idea created by two university students at the UofA up in Edmonton. They wanted a place where people can get fresh-made, high quality sandwiches at a fair price. Press'd is an alternative to all those fast food places.

So first of, this place is not Subway. You don't get to pick your ingredients. Instead, Press'd offered a wide variety of familiar sandwiches as well as a few of their own creations. You get to, however, choose the bread. They have white, whole wheat, rye, focaccia, and gluten-free options. They make their bread daily which I cannot smell from work. They don't bake the gluten-free bread at the shop. Usually we can smell the cooking from nearby restaurants but maybe the wind hasn't shifted towards our workplace yet from the bakery. I stopped in on a Monday after the lunch rush, 1:30pm. (Yes, I do tend to eat lunch late which is pretty bad.)

Golden Bear Sandwich (reg.) $6.59

I ordered this hot sandwich on whole wheat since it sounded appealing and unique. Although, I'm pretty sure I have eaten this sandwich before on Europe somewhere. I'm guessing this sandwich is their (maybe of many) signature sandwich since it is named after the UofA sport teams. Again, I don't know why but they left out an ingredient - the spinach. I ordered the same sandwich for my co-worker and they missed it on that sandwich as well. I know for a fact that we are not on a spinach shortage in this city. I digress. The Golden Bear consist of roasted chicken, Brie cheese, roasted apples, spinach, and sweet fig jam. The sandwich was sweet due to the apples and fig jam. I agreed with the other review saying that they should use granny smith apples instead. Overall, I enjoyed this sandwich for lunch since it was quick.

Ginger Slush with Mango (small) $2.99

This is a very small size. I initially ordered a citrus base but she gave me spicy ginger. I had a full blast of ginger flavour, but I have to admit it was pretty good mixed with mango. This slush is all natural. There are two base flavours to chose from, spicy ginger or tangy citrus. Then you get to chose the syrup - raspberry, mango, white peach, chopped basil, or chopped mint. This is a nice refreshing drink. If I get sick, I know where to get my ginger drink from :)

Overall, this is a cute little shop, and they have places to sit so you can dine in. They also have salads on their menu if sandwiches aren't your thing. The people working there were very friendly. I don't know if I will be back since I usually bring lunch to work, and I can make my own salads and sandwiches. I do recommend this place for everyone to try. Press'd is open everyday from 11am to 8pm except for Sunday where they open from 11am to 7pm.

Press'd
#101 - 2851 Sunridge Blvd NE

DINNER AT ENERJE CAFE - Northeast

This review is for two separate visits to Enerje Cafe.

First Visit:
My co-worker wanted to come to Enerje Cafe for their All-You-Can-Eat Wings. So we gather as many co-workers, significant others, and friends as possible, bought advance tickets, and headed over there. This was Enerje's third AYCE wings night in as many months. I was hesitant to go at first because I heard that they were totally disorganized. However, after much thinking and telling everyone this, we decided that maybe third time is the charm, and everything will go smoothly. I called for reservations and got the low-down on how the AYCE will work. Basically, the nice girl on the phone told me that we reserve in one hour increments and we are suppose to order everything within the one hour limit but we can stay there as long as we want. Somehow, this didn't sound organize to me.

So, the Friday came and I reserved for 7pm. The AYCE event was from 6-11pm. Advance tickets are $15 and $20 at the door. In addition to the wings, you get two bubble tea drinks as well. There were six bubble tea flavours to choose from. So all of us made it to the restaurant before 7pm. I entered first to tell the person that our whole party was here. I was met by a girl sitting by the front door with the reservation sheets. She told us that the place was full, and we would need to wait. She kept saying that it was her fault for letting walk-ins in at 6:30 and that the kitchen was a bit slow. This did not instill confidence in me. So we ended up waiting for about 30 minutes. During this time, I could see all the people with 7pm reservations were getting angry and impatient. Finally, they opened up the little room on the side, and two parties got to sit in there. My party was one of them. Once we got settled and got in our bubble tea and wings order, there was quite a wait. There were lots of people standing around waiting for a table, and I keep hearing the girl at the table say that there were no refunds for the tickets. So people would either lose money or wait.

Pic: Our first round of wings.
The two bubble tea flavours I ordered were milk tea and mango. The milk tea was okay and really sweet. The mango was very good and tasty. They use fresh mango in it. I heard the avocado was good as well. For wings, there were 14 different flavours on their menu. We can order anything but the lemongrass flavour, as they didn't have any. So as a group, we just ordered one of each kind. At this place, you don't order per wing, you order per basket which is 1 lb. Each basket comes with 8 or 9 wings. By the time the wings came, we were starving. I don't think we got one of each flavour, and I don't think anyone cared. I didn't try all the wings as about half of them were spicy. The ones that I did try were very good, and the wings were big. Our second round, we ordered the same thing, one of each kind.

Overall, the AYCE was very disorganized. We finished at around 9:30 with two rounds of wing orders. We didn't order everything within the hour limit. The server was very busy. When she did get back to us we were ready to order our second rounds of drinks and wings When we left, there were still a couple people waiting. I think they need to set a two hour time limit for each reservation like they do for AYCE sushi. They also need to either limit their advance tickets so they can include walk-ins or not have walk-ins at all. I hope if they continue to have this event, they will learn to organize better. If anyone does want to do this event, I recommend the first seating unless you don't mind waiting.

Second Visit:

I came back here last Sunday at around 4pm for late lunch/early dinner since I was near the area visiting my friends and their new baby. Naturally, at this time, it was not busy. There was only one other table that was occupied. I got to sit anywhere I like. The service was good since the server only had two tables. There were some people that had come in and ordered bubble tea to go. I came here with the intention to try their Filipino items. To my disappointment, they didn't have a lot of stuff on the menu available as they were out of pork belly, oxtail, lemongrass wings, Enerje fried rice. They had ramen there - spicy miso - but I didn't want to try it.

Mango Bubble Tea $5

Since I like their mango bubble tea so much last time, I decide to order it again. I didn't order any 'toppings' since I'm not a big fan of them and they cost $0.50 extra. I was delighted to find that the bubble tea was the same as before. They use fresh mango, and I watch the bartender put it in. However, I don't know if it is me, but the bubble tea was a little overly sweet. I got my drink in a to-go cup since I know I wouldn't be able to finish it. If you dine-in, the bubble tea usually comes in a cute little carafe.

Japizza $7

This is dish is on the Large Plate section of the menu. The dish is good for sharing as it was sliced into 8 pieces. The based of the 'pizza' is sushi rice patted flat and deep fried. On the pizza they added a teriyaki/masago mayo sauce, spam, bonito flakes, and masago. The menu said that there was suppose to have nori (seaweed) as well, but they didn't put any on this pizza. This was a little disappointing that they forgot to put on an item that was listed. Every slice had a piece of spam on it with a little masago. The base had a wonderful crunch. The sauce was unique and messy as they over-sauced the pizza. The bonito flakes gave the pizza a little fishy taste, and the spam was fried and salty as usually. If you let the pizza sit for long, the base does get a little soggy.

Sticky Rice $7

This dish is also on the Large Plate section of the menu, and this is certainly not a large plate. This is enough for one person. I was a bit disappointed since I saw the other Zomato picture of this dish, it looked big. I really hope that they did not adjust portion size according to people eating the dish and charge the same price. This dish was really good, and I like the sauce. It does remind me of the sticky rice dumpling they serve at dim sum. This dish is sticky rice topped with shiitake mushroom, chicken, Chinese sausage, and supposedly green onions. I didn't get any green onions :(. Also, the menu said this dish has roti sauce. I don't know what or where the roti sauce was.

All in all, this place is confusing to me. I don't know if I can recommend it to people since not all the items on their menu are available at all time. However, if you are in the area, I would recommend coming here for their bubble tea. For me personally, I would come here again to try their Filipino dishes but I will call them first to see if they have it. So far, this place isn't high on my list for my go-to bubble tea/hang-out place.

Enerje Cafe
1075 Falconridge Drive NE
403-454-4744

LUNCH AT RISTORANTE PULCINELLA - Kensington

I went down to Kensington for the Harry Potter/Diagon Alley event. I arrived early, 9:15-ish, and there were only a line-up at Pages. After 10am, when the event started, it was crazy busy. My friend arrived late and was having trouble finding parking. We tried to walk around a bit but gave up. We just ended up at Pulcinella. I was curious about their gelato that they had for the event, but my friend was hungry. We decided just to have lunch in the restaurant since she love their pizza.

Pulcinella is a nice modern Italian restaurant with a gelato display case by the front door and a wood-burning stone oven near the back were you can watch the pizza masters do their work. Since we chose this place randomly, I didn't have time to do any research so I have no idea of what to expect. The server was very nice and attentive. Every time he stopped by the table to check up on us, he would refill our water from the carafe on our table. I wasn't really hungry so I decided to just order an appie. However, my friend also talked me into sharing a pizza as well.

Arancini $14

Arancini is one of my favourite Italian dishes. When I ordered it, I was under the impression of just getting one ball. I was pleasantly surprise that three big balls came in this appetizer. So I was quickly rethinking my saying yes to a shared pizza. Arancini is a stuffed rice ball coated with bread crumbs and deep-fried. The arancini I ordered was stuffed with mozzerella, and the rice was infused with saffron. The balls were topped with a nice light tomato sauce and a fried basil leaf. The appetizer was warm when I got the dish so when I cut into one of the arancini, the cheese was all nice and melted. The arancini also had a nice light crunch to it from the deep fried outer layer. The balls were a little bit salty for my taste but overall it was very good.

Verdure Grigliate $18

Pulcinella is known for their authentic Neapolitan pizza with the chef being a member of the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (VPN). My friend and I decided to order a 'light' pizza which means not overloaded with meat. So, we were looking at all the veggies ones, and they have a good selection of those. I think I counted ten different vegetarian pizza. The pizza we chose, verdure grigliate - translated to grilled vegetables - was loaded with vegetables. This pizza consist of tomato sauce, grilled aubergine, peppers, zucchini, mozzarella, parmigiano, basil, and fresh tomato. All the vegetables were grilled except for the tomatoes. The crust was thin and bubbly. Neapolitan pizza has to be cooked in a wood-fire stone oven. Everything was fresh and delicious on the pizza. The only problem I had was I think I took a bite of crust that was very charred. My mouth had an ash taste that I couldn't get rid of quickly.

Overall, this was a pleasantly surprise restaurant to visit. I'm glad we stopped by here. However, after all that food, we weren't able to get a scoop of gelato. Next time ...

Ristorante Pulcinella
1147 Kensington Crescent NW
403-283-1166

DINNER AT MARUJU SUSHI - Centre Street N

Continuing on the ramen quest, the next place to try was Maruju. This place has been here for a long time. I remember when it first open back when I was in high school, but I have never tried this place. I didn't like sushi until I went to Japan and ate it there. My two friends have decided to join me this time. We decided to go very early, 5 pm, once the place opened for dinner. Since it was Saturday, I didn't know how busy it would get so the earlier the better. We all arrived early and separately. I think we all wanted to play Pokemon Go in Crescent Heights.

Maruju is a small cute restaurant located in same building as Starbucks before going down the hill into Chinatown on Centre Street North. I heard some good things about their sushi, but we were there for the ramen. My friend is pregnant so out of respect we didn't order any sushi. She is counting down the days until she can eat sushi again, and we are all going out for all-you-can-eat. I was the first one in the restaurant as they open a little before 5pm. After that, a few people came in for take out and a couple more for dining in. It wasn't really busy as I expected but then again it was hailing and pouring out.

Large Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura

My friend decided to order this so I have no idea how much it is. You get 7 or 8 pieces of tempura shrimp and a variety of veggies - broccoli, yam, pumpkin, etc. I didn't really get a good look and only ate a couple of pieces since I wasn't that hungry. I was saving room for my ramen. The tempura was nice and light and not too overly oily. It is just the average tempura dish.

Tonkotsu Ramen with Chashu and Egg $9.95 + $1.50 + 0.75

The ramen menu is one page and seemed a little confusing at first. The main price is on the protein with additional pricing on some of the soup bases. The egg and wonton options are extra add-on as well. There are a variety of proteins to choose from - pork, seafood, deep-fried cutlet, and tempura. They also have different soup bases as well from tomato, miso, spicy miso, tom yum, shoyu, and tonkotsu. I chose tonkotsu, and it had a wonderful flavour. The soup was milky and wasn't salty at all; however, the pork flavour was a little faint. The chashu is one of the best I had so far. You get three pieces and each piece was lean with a little fat on one part of the edge. The pieces were a little charred to bring out another texture and more flavour. The egg was perfectly cook - soft enough and not runny. This ramen is one of my top favourites so far. This dish is really simple in that you only get noodles, green onions, whatever protein or extras you selected and a piece of seaweed.

Overall, this is a quaint little restaurant. I can't wait to come back here for the sushi. The servers here are nice and attentive. The food coming out of the kitchen was a bit slow but understandable since we were the first to order ramen during dinner, and we all ordered different soup bases as well. My friends ordered spicy miso and tom yum. The restaurant is open everyday but they close for a few hours between lunch and dinner.

Maruju Sushi
919 Centre St. N
403-276-8008