...Ikemen Ramen Bar (Calgary)

Overall - 6/10
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Food - 6/10
Service - 6.5/10
Ambiance - 5/10

We were excited to try Ikemen, one of the newer ramen establishments in the city but were unfortunately disappointed by several aspects of the dining experience.  Upon arrival we noticed a lack of a host/hostess or servers, which left us standing for several minutes before someone in the kitchen noticed our arrival.  The restaurant itself is not large and at the time, not very busy so we were a little surprised.  The restaurant also seemed to be unheated and on that chilly autumn night we saw many customers keeping their jackets on just to stay warm.  We had hoped the food would make up for the disappointing start to the evening.

We ordered two appetizers.  First, the unagi poutine and a special: raw octopus marinated in wasabi served with seaweed chips.  If there is one thing we would recommend at Ikemen it would be the unagi poutine which was both unique and quite tasty.  It had chopped unagi in a unagi sauce 'gravy' with cheese curds and bonito flakes on top of the fries.

The wasabi raw octopus was a good concept but unfortunately failed to execute.  The raw octopus was extremely slimy and quite chewy making it hard to eat.  The deep fried seaweed chips were leathery and very hard to chew as well.  We inquired about the chips and the kitchen replaced them with fresh chips which were a great improvement.

We tried the shio ramen and the green curry seafood ramen.  The shio ramen was good and I didn't have much to complain about.  The char siu was extremely tender and the broth tasty.  

Darrin had the green curry seafood ramen and unfortunately the seafood was not fresh.  The seafood had a texture of being previously frozen, slightly mushy.  The broth wasn't particularly tasty, the flavours fell flat to the expectations of a seafood/curry broth.  However, the soft boiled egg was done to perfection in both ramen bowls.

Afterwards we decided to have dessert at Crave where one of the girls working there inquired if I was Taiwanese because I looked like her mother, as we have similar 'bone structure'.  I then suggested she look up Chrissy Teigen's mother, who has an uncanny resemblance to my own mother, as I thought her mother might also resemble Teigen's mother.  I can't speak for Darrin, but that very random conversation, the cupcake and going to the bead store after made the night much more enjoyable.  Maybe it was an off night, but we hope that if we ever go back to Ikemen we will have a much better experience.

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...Carino Riserva (Calgary)

Overall - 9/10
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Food - 9/10
Service - 9.5/10
Ambiance - 8/10

Carino Riserva is another take on it's sister restaurant Carino, which according to our server, is more Italian focused.  We enjoyed the food at Carino so we were excited to try Carino Riserva.  Tucked away in the heart of the Mission, the delicious food and friendly, attentive service more than makes up for the underwhelming interior.  If you make reservations in advance, we would recommend requesting the tables by the window.

On this night we shared two appetizers, the hamachi salad and spicy prawns & "yaki-onigiri" salad.  You know when you eat something and the first thing you think is, "Wow that's good!"?  Both appetizers did that for us with subtle umami flavours and seasonings that were neither too salty or sweet.  The hamachi salad was presented beautifully and very light and fresh.  The fish was complimented with flavours of citrus, wasabi, a balsamic reduction and soy.

The spicy prawn and "yaki-onigiri" salad was a fantastic creation.  This dish is more filling than the hamachi with the grilled rice ball, but absolutely worthy of the space in your stomach.  The prawns were cooked just right, but not spicy at all, as advertised, which we didn't mind.

The pasta dish we shared was the campenelle which is a rolled pasta that was fantastic at capturing the thick, rich wagyu meat sauce.  The meat sauce was on the sweeter side, which is how we like our tomato sauces anyway.

I had the rack of lamb with scalloped potatoes. The lamb was served on a bed of peppers, zucchini and olives cooked in tomato sauce.  The lamb had a crispy sear but was tender on the inside and I couldn't get enough of the salsa verde that was served on the side.  The scalloped potatoes were very creamy but perhaps on the saltier side. 

Darrin had the striploin steak with foie gras, roast potatoes and citrus salad.  The steak was cooked medium rare and very tender.  It was glazed with a tasty soy gastrique, which is a traditional French sauce made from vinegar and sugar.  The foie gras had a smooth silky texture and a nice 'buttery' accompaniment to the steak.

Finally for dessert we shared the tiramisu which was beautifully plated with raspberries, blueberries and edible flowers.  The tiramisu had an outer layer of coffee cake wrapped around a mascarpone centre.  This was a delicious ending to our meal that wasn't overly heavy.

We can see ourselves coming back soon! 

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...Haru Sushi Bar (Calgary)

Overall - 8/10
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Food - 8.5/10
Service - 8/10
Ambiance - 8/10

Haru Sushi Bar was a place we tried out of convenience since it was close to home.  The first time we did it was a take out experience and were pleasantly surprised by the quality and consistency of the food.  Our dine-in experience was equally satisfying.  The exterior gives no indication of the surprisingly modern decor inside that comfortably accommodated our infant.  The service was efficient and we were done eating before our baby could protest the fact that she was not the centre of attention.

The rolls on the menu were typical of what we've seen and we weren't wowed by their creativity but were won over by the careful preparation and high quality ingredients.  The fish was fresh and the rice was cooked just right.

Dragon roll

 Rainbow roll

 Spicy Tuna & California Rolls

Tonkatsu roll

The dish we were most impressed with was the assorted tempura.  The batter was perfectly crisp, light and not at all doughy.  This was even the case after being left to steam in the take away box.  When we dined in the tempura was even better right out of the kitchen.  This is the best tempura we've had in Calgary thus far.

Overall, we've enjoyed Haru Sushi and wouldn't hesitate to come back or order take out again.

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...Top 5 French Bistros in Calgary

Recently we were invited to write a guest blogger article on Calgary's "Top 5 "for Taste Trekkers.  Our love for French food inspired us to write "The Top 5 French Bistros in Calgary", highlighting our favourite bistros to date.  What is your favourite French restaurant?  Do you have a Top 5 list of food experiences for Calgary or your city?

(The fresh produce of sun dappled Aix-en-Provence)

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...Gachi (Calgary)

Overall - 8.5/10
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Food - 9/10
Service - 8/10
Ambiance - 8/10

Recently we were planning big family dinner and were hoping to do something other than the usual Chinese restaurant we frequent. We settled on this little restaurant located on 17th Ave SW that serves Korean food with Japanese and European influences. Since we had so many people we pretty much had the chance to sample the entire menu and can honestly say that we were very satisfied with the unique flavours and are already anticipating our next visit. We were warned up front that with such a large party the service might be on the slow side but to our surprise the food came out at a good pace and with a nice explanation for each dish. Here are a few of our favourites:

Tomato Amuse bouche - cherry tomatoes stuffed with creamy cheese and basil oil

Wild Calamari - Spicy fried calamari with tomatoes

Tuna Tataki Salad - with fried garlic chips and lemon olive oil dressing

Unagi Fantasy - crab, avocado and cucumber

1,2,3 Chicken - Fried chicken with sweet spicy, honey-soy-garlic, and cream sauces 

Bulgogi Donburi - Korean BBQ beef over rice and veggies

Pork on Fire - Spicy Korena BBQ pork over rice and veggies

Bon Thai - Thai style yellow coconut curry with soft shell crab and rice 

Magma - Spicy seafood stew with rice pasta and veggies

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...Goro + Gun (Calgary)

Overall - 9/10
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Food - 9/10
Service - 9.5/10
Ambiance - 9/10

For those not in the know, we have just added a new addition to our family in the form of a sweet little 6 week old girl. In adjusting to life with a little one, we have found that we really miss eating out at some of our favourite restaurants. Thankfully we've discovered that with a little bit of planning we can still try out some of the places we've been eyeing for a while. One of those places is Goro + Gun which is a trendy ramen joint located in Scotia Centre. Aside from having amazing food, a great happy hour menu and a convenient location, the servers and staff were wonderfully accommodating to our young family. 

As mentioned, we decided to dine at an earlier hour to avoid the rush and were seated right away.  A happy hour menu was available prior to 6pm and included $5 pints of Sapporo and $5 appetizers.  We chose the pork belly ramen sliders and the BBQ beef short ribs.  The sliders were made from tender pork belly and kimchi sandwiched between crispy fried ramen cakes. The ramen cakes were a touch oily but the melt in your mouth pork belly more than made up for this slight imperfection. The BBQ short ribs were delicious and tender with a sweet marinade and dipping sauce. For only $5 we thought these two dishes were a great deal.

Since we aren't able to get out as frequently anymore these days, we also decided to try one of their rainbow rolls. The rice was well done and the fish was super fresh. The use of scallop sashimi and trout roe to top it off with added a nice upscale touch to a pretty ubiquitous roll. 

For our ramen course we chose the spicy lamb and pork belly/kimchi ramen. The broths were perfectly seasoned and the toppings on each were quite unique and tasty. The spicy ground lamb really had an intense lamb flavour that might not be to everyone's tastes but for me it was delicious. The pork belly again was really tender and flavourful while the spicy/sourness of the kimchi cut through the rich broth. If you're extra hungry like we were, make sure to get a smoked tea egg as well.

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...Red Bean Glutinous Rice Balls (Mochi)

This dessert has many variations in Asian cuisine; the Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese all have their own versions.  The one that you can find in Hong Kong style pastry shops contain either sweetened red bean or peanut, with a sprinkling of shredded coconut.  The flavours of the coconut and red bean are reminiscent of the hot red bean soup dessert served at the end of meals in a Chinese restaurant (if you receive fortune cookies, ask the server for the real Chinese dessert); only at room temperature, making it a perfect treat for the warmer months of summer.

Ingredients: (Yield ~24 balls)

-3/4 cup red beans (or buy the ready to use paste)

-Rock sugar, to taste

-4 tablespoons vegetable oil

-1 bag of glutinous rice flour (400 g)

-1 cup of sugar

-1 can of coconut milk (400 mL)

-1/2 cup of milk 

-1 cup of shredded fine coconut (we used unsweetened)

Method

1. Soak the red beans overnight in water.  Add the drained beans to boiling water and cook until soft on medium-low heat.  This can take up to 1.5 hours depending on how long you pre-soak the beans.  Add more water to the pot as needed as it evaporate.  Halfway through the cooking process, add as much rock sugar to the water as you like to sweeten the beans.

2. Once the beans are soft, drain the water.  Depending on if you like whole beans or a paste, you can use a processor to blend it.  We blended our beans and then added vegetable oil to make the beans into a paste.

3.  Mix together the glutinous rice flour and sugar in a large bowl.  Then gradually add the coconut milk and cows milk while stirring the mixture.  The texture should be stiffer than pancake batter, but we've seen people who like to make their mochi extra soft and add even more milk.

4. Put the mixture onto a shallow greased dish and steam for about 45 minutes to an hour or until you can no longer taste uncooked flour.  You can split the mixture into two batches for steaming if your dish is not big enough.

Uncooked mochi

Cooked mochi

5. Once the mochi is cool enough to be handled you can start making the balls.  Take about a golf ball size of mochi and flatten it into a round disc (not too thin).  Place the red bean paste in the centre and fold the edges to seal it in.  Roll in your hands to make a uniform ball and then place into the coconut to coat.  

*Hint:  If you mochi is not sticky enough use a tiny bit of vegetable oil to help the coconut stick.  Conversely, if your mochi is too sticky to handle, use gloves or make sure your hands are wet when you handle it so it doesn't stick to your hands.

Enjoy!

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