LUNCH AT MUKU JAPANESE RESTAURANT - Kensington

I am back to my regular foodie hunts. After a couple months of vacationing and doing a major renovation, I have finally have the funds in my foodie budget :).

My friend invited me to see the visiting Broadway show, Newsie, at the Jubilee on Sunday. I was task to finding a lunch place before the show. After excessive questioning and pondering, I had narrowed down my 2 choices a couple days before, and on that day, I would spontaneously choose. Yes, this is as spontaneously I get. Usually, I plan first before doing anything. On that day, I chose Muku as it was close to the Jubilee, and my friend only had ramen once before. Also, Muku was on my list of ramen places to "try". I have been to Muku a couple times before but it has been a while. We arrive a little before 12:30pm and had managed to snag the last table. This place, like the other ramen places in Kensington I find on the weekends, fills up pretty fast once they open, and this place is small.

Located down the hill on 10th Street in Kensington, Muku is part of Globefish. However, don't look for them to serve sushi as the signs posted everywhere in the restaurant said. Muku is one of the few original ramen places in Calgary before the ramen trend started more than a couple years ago. I haven't been to Muku in a couple of years, and it seemed that they have streamline their menu but kept their main components. They still have the butter ramen. When I was in university, all I hear about this place was the butter ramen and how it made the broth creamy and taste better - the more butter the better. I think I had it once and didn't really see what the hype was all about, but then again I'm not really a fan of butter unless it is on popcorn or corn. I don't like buttered toast and sometimes I only lightly butter my buns. Anyways, I glad they kept their basics and have their specialties as well - original and ninja soups and men (non-soup ramen).

My friend and I opt to order an appetizer and a ramen each. I wasn't really hungry but was serious debating about getting a set - where they add a small rice bowl of chashu, sukiyaki, or unagi - for an additional price. However, I didn't really want to be over-stuffed for the show. As I mentioned earlier, my friend only had ramen once before, about 2 years ago, and thought it was ok. She had it at a place that I haven't try their ramen yet so I don't know what she didn't like about it, but she was enthuse to try it again. I gave her a brief run down on all the different types of broth there were and the typical toppings that come with ramen. She played it safe and ordered what I ordered.

Shrimp Dumplings $6.50

This cute appetizer come with 8 little dumplings. They are steamed and arrived at the table while it was still a little hot. The dumpling consist of one shrimp wrapped in rice wrapper. It was very good, and the dumpling had a little bounce to it. The dipping sauce is a diluted version of soya sauce which is nice since it wasn't overly salty.

Tonkotsu Ramen with Chashu $12.60 (?)

I'm not too sure of the price but I know is it around that mark. This ramen comes with 5 extra piece of chashu in additional to the 2 pieces that usually comes with the ramen. It was chashu overload which was fine. However, out of the 7 pieces of chashu, only 1 piece was fatty and the rest was lean. The broth is not the typical tonkotsu broth where it is milky due to the fat and bone marrow. This broth is clear with small amount of fat floaties. The broth is good as you can really taste the pork flavour. It remains me of a Chinese soup from my childhood. I didn't order any extra toppings so my ramen was just the basic of noodles, green onions, baby corn, and a slice of colourful fishcake. The noodles were soft to my liking.

All in all, I think my friend really enjoyed her ramen, but I think she would prefer the spicier ones. The service here is ok because once we got our food, the server did not check up on us until we finished and left the bill which is understandable since it was busy. Muku has not changed one bit since I first ate there. I forgot to check on their hours since different sources say different hours. I would definitely recommend this place as they offer different types of ramen from the other places.

Muku Japanese Ramen
326 14 St NW
403-283-6555

LUNCH AT BUBBLEMANIA CAFE - Central 16th Ave N

I thought I already posted this review before I left for vacation but I guess I didn't *sad face*. So, this review is a bit late, and Bubblemania has updated their menu slightly.

I remember Bubblemania back in my high school and university days when smoking in restaurants were allowed. I didn't really like this place then but all my other friends did because of their cheap wings and bubble tea. When this place first open, it was dark with people smoking, loud from the people and music blasting, dirty sticky floors, and very sketchy. I'm glad that, over the years, Bubblemania has re-invented itself to be a clean, modern, family-friendly restaurant. My friends like to say that it grew up with us because it first became a place where us teenagers and young 20-somethings hang out to a place where these same people can take their kids to eat. I would like to see what Bubblemania will evolve to next, but I'm sure they are at a good stage now that no changes are required. Although, I did remember that at one time, they were trying to get into the breakfast/brunch thing, and it didn't work out it seemed.

My friends and I rarely hang out here as a group anymore. However, if one of us wanted bubble tea or light snacks, then we would all meet here. My friends and I came here after the Comic Expo on Sunday because the weather was hot, and we wanted some refreshing drinks. We didn't stick around the expo for the whole day since we all got the 4 day pass and already went through everything before. We arrived here a little before 2 pm without realizing that it opens at 2 pm. While we were waiting around the door, I noticed a fair number of people were waiting in their cars. We were the first ones in followed by a massive crowd behind us once we were seated. This is a very popular place during the mid-afternoon on Sunday as we gathered. My friends and I decide to order some food along with drinks. The service here is okay as it was busy.

Cold Thai Milk Tea $4.80

This is not the best Thai milk tea I had as they used a different type of tea when they made it. It had this deep roasted (maybe a little brunt) taste to it. However, I was glad that this was not overly sweet.

Curry Deep Fried Fish Balls (8) $6.70

My one friend without a doubt always order this when we come here...all the way back to our early university days. You get 8 fish balls which is dense and doesn't really have a taste. Although the fish balls are deep fried, it doesn't have the crunchy outer layer - it is just soft. To make these balls delicious, you coat the balls in as much curry as possible. The curry has a nice favour and not spicy at all. The curry is almost like Japanese curry.

Eggplant Dip with Mantou

The menu has been updated recently, and I don't see this on the menu anymore. This is a vegetarian dish, and I don't think it is popular. This dip is good but on the saltier side. There wasn't much of an eggplant taste. The mantou, Chinese steam bun, was not fluffy but good for piling the dip on. Mantou are typically plain buns, and these were no different despite their colour. You only get four little buns and lots of dip.

Spicy Stir-fried Thai Style Udon $10.60

My friends ordered this, and I had a little bit as it was very spicy for me. This dish is made with sliced chicken and fish balls, bean sprouts, onions, and green onion. They stir-fried this up with a spicy Thai red curry. This dish is very good the first few bites before my mouth was on fire. I would recommend this to everyone who loves things a little spicy.

Overall, Bubblemania, is a good place to hang out and enjoy some bubble tea if you are in the area. It is very convenient as it is just off of 16th Avenue N a block away from Edmonton Trail. Bubblemania has evolved throughout the years and seemed to stay strong as most of their competitors seem to go out of business. They are open at 2pm (except for Tuesday they open at 5pm) and stay open very late midnight, 1am or 2am. They are closed on Monday. Also, since I'm finishing this post up after a couple of months of initially writing this, I heard this is a popular place to hang out for Pokemon Go :)

Bubblemania Cafe
455 - 16 Avenue NE
403-277-9398