...Raw Bar (Calgary)

Overall - 8.5/10
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Food - 9.5/10
Service - 8/10
Ambiance - 8/10

Raw Bar located in Hotel Arts has recently had an overhaul of both its menu and decor to reflect a focus on modern Vietnamese cuisine or 'Vietmodern' as they call it. The interior definitely reflected the modern aesthetic with cool blue tones and the clean lines of the furniture.  In our opinion, Raw Bar has more of a party/bar kind of ambiance and less of a couples/intimate atmosphere, which we prefer when going out for our weekly date night.  However, this didn't detract from the fantastic food.  The food was the embodiment of what modern asian food should be. Every dish had an abundance of unique flavours and contrasting textures to make each bite interesting from start to finish.

Their menu is divided into three columns; seafood, meats and vegetables. Each column is then divided into small and large plates allowing you to craft a non-linear dining experience beyond the usual appetizer, main and dessert routine.  They also have an extensive cocktail menu from which I chose their well known "Derelict", a dangerously sweet mix of vodka, lychee liqueur, pineapple juice, plum & clove jellee and lemon.

We started off our meal with a series of small plates from the meat, seafood and vegetable columns which were great to share amongst the two of us. The squid a la plancha was perfectly seared and topped with nori flakes, a house chili blend and a tart lime aioli sauce. Unlike the usual fried calamari  appetizers found elsewhere, this dish was light, tender and popping with flavour.

The beef short rib steamed buns are another great shared dish that allows you to fill your own soft steamed bun with as many tender morsels of beef, green onion and chili aioli as you wish.

One of the dishes that was a surprising favourite was a crispy taro and mango slaw. The crispy fried shoe string taro root was mixed with a combination of green mango, tomatoes and cucumbers and then topped with fried shallots, peanuts and a citrus dressing. It was the freshness of the vegetables and mounds of fried taro that made this dish so memorable.  The flavours of salty, sweet, spicy and sour were perfectly balanced.

The larger dishes were also great for sharing and our favourite of the night was the lemongrass roasted half duck. The breast was thinly sliced and the meat from the leg was slowly roasted until tender and then shredded. The meat which was perfumed with the aroma of lemongrass was served with thin rice flour pancakes allowing you to create your own wraps.

We also shared the hanger steak which was served alongside a crisp and refreshing kohlrabi slaw. Hanger steak isn't something we see on too many menus, but is one of our favourite cuts of meat when we can find it due to its tenderness, flavour and value.  This particular hangar steak did not disappoint with its sweet-savoury Asian marinade.

With it's versatile menu and sociable atmosphere, we recommend going to Raw Bar with a large party so you can try as many of the dishes as possible.

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...Watercress Express (Calgary)

Overall - 8.5/10
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Food - 9/10
Service - 9/10
Ambiance - 7.5/10

Watercress Express' food definitely lives up to it's slogan "Viet-Modern Cuisine at its Best".  While they offer the standard pho (beef noodle soups), they have done a fantastic job offering up other creative options that are tasty and unique.  Located on the busy 17th Ave, Watercress Express is the perfect place to grab a bite to eat to-go or in our case, a sit down family meal with Baby S.  Although seating is limited, many patrons were ordering food to-go so we didn't have any difficulty getting our table of choice.  The menu is clearly visible above the ordering counter, with descriptions of each dish.  We were tempted by many dishes and ordered a variety of appetizers and mains, forgoing our usual bowls of pho.  The dishes were unique and flavourful and demonstrated a great balance of flavours and careful presentation.  The attention to detail was evident and we were impressed by our experience.  

The following pictures shows the deliciousness that ensued:

Crispy Char Siu Wontons

The wontons were perfectly crisp with the ultra tender sous vide char siu pork shoulder.  The addition of tart green apple slices on ginger scallion sauce was a winning combination. 

Chicken Wings

These chicken wings were absolutely delicious.  Crispy with a light glaze of caramelized chill lime sauce and sprinkling of sesame seeds and fried shallots.

Pineapple Nuoc Cham Pork Wrap

 The wraps were beautifully presented, pre-cut to look like sushi and easy to eat in one bite.  The sweet pineapple in this pork wrap was a tasty addition.

Tamarind Beef Wrap

The refreshing cucumber and tangy tamarind beef was delicious and satisfying.  My question is, how do they cut/wrap each slice so perfectly?

Grilled Pork & Spring Rolls Vermicelli

The grilled pork was tender and flavourful and the spring rolls crisp.  A great classic vermicelli dish done right.

Kimchi Fried Rice

The spicy kimchi fried rice mixed with the runny yolk of the fried egg made it extra tasty.

Nuoc Cham Braised Pork Cheek Bao 

Served up hamburger style, this boa containing tender pork cheek, sweet and tangy pineapple and green apple was a hit.  On this day, we also had a side of fried shoestring onions which were very addicting.

Woking Shrimp Stir Fry on Crispy Egg Noodle

The crispy egg noodles were topped with fresh shrimp and vegetables.

Watercress Express is definitely a place to check out if you're looking for a fresh take on Vietnamese cuisine with fast, friendly service and quality food.

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...San Francisco Foodie Travels

We ♥ SF

Hog Island Oyster Co. aka Seafood Mecca

It's been rather quiet lately here on the blog, reason being we took a 10 day vacation to San Francisco.  We went mainly to see the sights, indulge in the food and meet up with some family who currently reside in California.  The weather was rather chilly, cooler than Calgary at the time, but we managed to have an amazing time even with baby in tow.  Most of the time Baby S resided in her stroller without too much fuss while we pushed her up and down the infamous hilly streets.  We did a lot of walking but it felt great and we didn't have to feel guilty about the extra calories that were ingested in the holiday spirit.  If you are ever thinking about staying at the Ritz Carlton in Union Square, we would definitely recommend it.  Our suite was newly renovated, the staff extremely attentive and they give you a ride back to the airport in one of their spacious Suburbans for which they charge a flat rate, equivalent to riding a taxi. Baby S had the free children's breakfast, (which could pass for an adult breakfast) and was given a cute lunch bag with a bib, bath essentials and a teddy bear.  All the extras and service made up for the cost of staying at the Ritz; it was definitely a highlight of our trip.

In-room dining at the Ritz- salmon and polenta

Some other highlights include our side trip to Half Moon Bay, Alcatraz, shopping Union Square and of course the amazing fresh food.  Despite having to limit our options to family friendly restaurants, we could not find fault in any of the food we had in San Francisco- even the Asian Box we had in the basement of Macy's was more than decent.  We will be posting several reviews on our food experiences so stay tuned for those.

Farm Table- Daily Toast

Asian Box (Macy's)

Buena Vista Cafe- Crab Legs

Hog Island Oyster Co. - Seafood Soup

PPQ Dungeness Isalnd- Vietnamese Crab

Pressed Juicery- Green juice

Sotto Mare- Sand dabs

Yin Du Wonton Noodle- Wonton noodles

Half Moon Bay- chilly but beautiful

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...Salad Rolls

These salad rolls are inspired by what was available in our pantry and our garden.  The salad rolls you can get at a Vietnamese restaurant typically contains pork and shredded lettuce.  In this recipe, we decided to go vegetarian, forgoing the pork, and used the "spring salad" mix we had handy in our fridge.  These are perfect for a light, tasty and healthy (gluten free too) snack or meal.  

Ingredients
These amounts will vary based on the size of your rice paper.  We were able to make ~16 rolls.

-Rice paper
-Rice vermicelli
-35 cooked shrimp, halved
-Salad leaves or shredded lettuce
-Carrots, julienned 
-Cucumber, julienned
-Basil leaves
-Hoisin sauce
-1 clove garlic (optional)

Method

1. Prepare the rice vermicelli by boiling the noodles in boiling water until soft.  Rinse under cold water.

2. Cook the shrimp if you have raw shrimp.  I fried ours in a bit of olive oil and hit it with a tiny splash of sesame oil for extra aroma and flavour.  After they have cooled, cut them in half.

3.  Cut up your carrots and cucumber.  I also cut our basil leaves in half as well since they were particularly strong.

4. Set up your work station and have a bowl of warm water ready to soak the rice paper.

5. On a plate or cutting board, place a softened rice paper.  It should only take the rice paper less than 20 seconds to soften in the warm water.  Then add four shrimp halves in the middle of the rice paper with the cut side facing up.  Modify number depending on the size of your rice paper).

6. Below it, add the salad greens, then cucumber, carrots and basil.  Then add rice vermicelli on top of the shrimp.  

7. Begin rolling over the vegetables first, then over the shrimp and vermicelli.  Fold over the sides and continue rolling to the end.

8. Try not to place them too close together or stack them as you make them, since the rice paper can tear easily when moist.  You can use plastic wrap to separate the layers.

9.  You can choose to dip them in only hoisin sauce.  I fried up some garlic, added 3 heaping tablespoons of hoisin sauce into the pot, then added a cornstarch slurry to thicken it slightly.  Simmer for about 5-7 minutes until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.  Cool this sauce before eating.  You can also add crushed peanuts and chilli sauce to your taste.

Enjoy!

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