Restaurants

by

Makisu All You Can Eat Japanese Restaurant, Lethbridge

I was dismayed to see this week that another sushi restaurant had opened up in Lethbridge, with this one being just around the corner from The Apartment! EEP! However, it is of the ‘all you can eat’ variety, so my expectations were low.  The ‘dinner buffet’, as they call it, is $26.99 plus tax. There is a huge assortment of things you can order, and you can place multiple orders. I took a fair sample of the menu, pleased that almost all portions were tiny. I ordered a mountain of food, but did not come anywhere near stuffing myself.

The offerings were really hit or miss. Let’s see if I can remember everything. 🙂

Terrible

The salmon nigiri tasted old.

The eel nigiri tasted like an aquarium. Eep!

Bad

The chicken teriyaki was icky. The flavour was good but the meat was gristly.

So-So

Presentation was a bit sloppy, but that’s par for the course for an all you can eat that goes through great volumes.

The shrimp tempura was a bit slimy.

The miso soup was bland and it had mushrooms in it.

The tuna handroll was bland. I had ordered spicy tuna, which would have been delicious, but they brought the wrong topping. The nigiri and rice were good though. With the right topping it would have fit in the next category.

The gyoza (dumplings) tasted more oily than anything else.

Green tea ice cream was okay, but I had ordered one scoop each of the red bean and mango!

Service was very slow an inattentive (I didn’t want to be there all night, so I didn’t reorder the mistakes).

Good/Delicious

I asked for more pickled ginger and got a mountain of it.

Once I was able to get someone’s attention, my water refill came quickly.

The yam and brocoli tempura were flawless.

The octopus nigiri was so awesome I ordered two pieces.

The ‘Toyko’ roll with salmon and mango was great; a very plain roll with the mango giving it a little something extra. Really glad I tried this.

The spicy salmon and spicy tuna were each delectable. I ordered tuna in the first round and it was so good I got both tuna and salmon in the second round!

The masago (roe) nigiri had perfect flavour and texture.

Awesome

I had given up on my ‘tuna pizza’ but am so glad it came and that I finished with it. It was a thick fluffy rice cake encased in fried panko topped with thin slices of tuna sashimi and drizzled with the sweet sauce that usually comes on eel rolls. Totally worth the wait!

I really got my money’s worth at Makisu. That said, I’ve decided that with sushi I prefer quality over quantity, so I am more likely to go to O-sho or Dono if I want to spend $30 on dinner, or Umi if I want something quick. I can’t believe how many sushi options there are in Lethbridge and that I still have one left to try!

The table next to mine had a group of sushi novices and they quickly figured out that, hey, the gal at the next table knows her way around the menu! And could you help us figure out these chopsticks? They wound up being rather unadventurous, but provided quite a bit of amusement.

I’ve been remiss in my Japanese studies, but I had one incredible moment tonight. I was gazing at the bowl that held the sweet dipping sauce for the tempura and thought “Oh, isn’t that cute! It says oishii!” It took a moment for me to realise that a) I had read the word  the way I read a word in English, that is as a word rather than individual letters and that b) I didn’t translate it into English. It means ‘delicious.’

Well, I sure hadn’t planned on spending three hours on dinner (although the time away from home did me some good), but I have work to finish for tomorrow, so back to the grindstone I go.

by

Well, That Was Unexpected

I just got in from the staff holiday party put on by the company for which I’m working this winter. This was quite a treat. I did get a dinner out from the crazies at the RV park in Oliver (which was rather shocking), but otherwise this is my first staff party since the 2003 holiday season. Oh, we got a staff party when I worked the government, but we had to pay to attend, so it doesn’t count.

We had the party at the Regent Restaurant, here in Lethbridge. They serve Canadian-Chinese food. The owners ordered a variety of dishes and we ate family style. It was very good! There were a few chicken dishes, some beef, assorted vegetables, noodles, and rice. Chinese food is at the bottom of the list of cuisines I’d go out for, but I don’t hate it, I just find that it tastes like junk food. This stuff didn’t. If someone was to ask me to recommend a Chinese restaurant in Lethbridge, I’d say I’ve only been to the Regent and I can recommend it.

Everyone was given an envelope and I didn’t think much of it, assuming it’d be a thank you/happy holiday card. I opened it in the car and, sure, enough, that was it. But there was something else in the envelope, too, something that shocked me so much it took five minutes for me to recover enough to be able to drive. I’ll just say it was the most generous bonus cheque I’ve ever been given and I was able to order myself an iPad when I got home.

I’m off to stare at my Amazon order confirmation for a while. I don’t expect delivery until the New Year, but it’s on its way. Amazing.

by

Dono Sushi, Lethbridge

This has been my second weekend in a row glued to the computer for a big transcription job. Saturday wasn’t too bad because I had a ton of chores to do, so I had ample reasons to get off the computer chair and move around. The downside was that I had about eight hours of work to do today. I decided to just plow through to be done by dinner. By mid-afternoon, I was soooooooore. I knew I needed to go for a long walk, but it was cold (sub-zero!) and dark out there. There was only one option: go out for dinner so I would have motivation to face this bitter fall night.

I went out for sushi on the 31st, so I wasn’t craving it, plus it’s not the first thing I want when I come in frozen from a long walk, but miso soup, teriyaki, and tempura sounded like just the ticket. So I schlepped the 2.5km (1.5 miles) to Dono Sushi  (link is to their menu). Jody’s daughter had told me that Dono was worth going to, but the sushi isn’t as good as that at O-Sho.

Dono is located in a strip mall. I was surprised by the cozy wood paneling decor. The menu is huge, but easily narrowed down if you’re not really in the mood for sushi. I zeroed in on the $13.95 teriyaki and sushi combo–teriyaki chicken, a ball of rice, two pieces nigiri (which turned out to be yellowtail and shrimp), and California rolls. I decided to splurge and ordered a side of veggie tempura ($7.95) and a Sapporo beer (a surprisingly reasonable $5.50). Total with tip was just under $33. It’s a good thing I’m usually  more reasonable when I eat out. 🙂

The food was delicious!

First up was a miso soup. It was heavy on the soy sauce, so not quite to my liking because you lose that unique miso flavour, but the broth was rich and had plenty of spring onions and tofu in it. So, not my favourite miso soup in the universe, but not one at which I’d turn up my nose!

I did find the nigiri to not be quite as nice as those at O-Sho; it was just a subtle flavor difference that could simply be due to the fish coming from a different supplier. I wasn’t crazy about the California rolls because their version has mayo. I couldn’t believe the meal came with eight pieces! That would have nearly been a meal on its own!

The chicken was very tasty and the sauce just sweet enough. I like that the chicken had a strong grilled taste coming through the sauce. It was served on a bed of cabbage and sprouts, which I like for the crunch.

As for the tempura, oh my! Whenever I’ve had tempura in the past, it’s been the same thing–yam, broccoli, and zucchini (which I firmly believe only belongs grated in chocolate cake, but I digress). Dono added three things to their tempura. The first was red pepper. I can’t even begin to describe how tasty the red pepper was wrapped in the tempura batter. It was crunchy but still melted in my mouth. Yum! The second thing was an asparagus spear as long as my forearm (yes, I compared the two). This confirmed to me that the reason I don’t like asparagus is that the people who serve it to me overcook it. This asparagus was firm and crunchy, the second time I’ve had it like this, and it was delicious! Finally, the last thing was acorn squash! Now that was practically a dessert! I sampled all the tempura but left the zucchini. 🙂

The next time I’m in the mood for walking to teriyaki, I will order the teriyaki and tempura combo and add some nigiri. No sense wasting calories on something containing mayo. 🙂

It was a great meal and the walk home wasn’t nearly as bad as the walk there!

by

Thuan Hoa Vietnamese Restaurant, Lethbridge

After work, I needed to get away from the apartment complex, so I decided to walk to a restaurant for dinner. I was in the mood for ‘exotic’ and decided to head over to a Vietnamese restaurant, Thuan Hoa, near head office, about 1.5 km away. It just so happened that Jody’s daughter recommended it to me during Thanksgiving lunch.

I haven’t had Vietnamese in ages, maybe even since I left Ottawa. I used to meet a friend at a Vietnamese restaurant in the Hull sector of Gatineau on a regular basis, with my favourite dish being squid in a sweet and spicy black bean sauce served with tasty minty spring rolls. So tonight I looked forward to a wonderful, fragrant, tasty dinner.

Well. There was nothing wrong with the food at Thuan Hoa Vietnamese Restaurant, but it was bland! What?!

I had the dinner combo 1A: two salad rolls, a spring roll, vermicelli, and pork, for $11.50. When I’d looked at the menu online, it said I could add a bubble tea for $2.50, but I found out that was just for take out orders. The server let me have it for that price anyway since I had waited so patiently to order; I asked for a mango tea.

The salad rolls were very pretty roll ups of rice paper, vermicelli, shrimp, cucumber, and lettuce served with a sweet peanut dipping sauce. Where was the Vietnamese mint?! Without the sauce, the rolls had great texture but no taste.

Dinner came in a giant bowl. If I had known the portions were going to be so outrageous, I would have had only one roll and half the dinner and brought the rest home. Anyway, the dinner was a bed of vermicelli over which were a carroty over-cooked spring roll (at least there was sweet fish dipping sauce on the side), really tasty crispy pork, and more lettuce and cucumber. I had to drizzle peanut sauce over everything to get any real flavour.

The mango bubble tea was a huge disappointment. It was the creamy kind that was pure sugar. The tapioca bubbles literally made my teeth hurt they were so sweet. I thought I’d had bad bubble tea before, but this was terrible! I didn’t even finish it. Next time I want a mango bubble tea, I’ll do like I did last time, and pay the $5 for a fresh juice one at Umi Sushi.

It would be grossly unfair of me to say that this was a terrible meal. Tea excepted, everything was fresh and beautifully prepared with generous portions. I just can’t get used to the way flavour is stripped out of cuisines out west to suit the meat and potatoes palate of the population. The only thing I was pleased with was the pork. I’ve only just started to eat pork again and am finicky about grizzle, but this was cooked and seasoned perfectly. It’s just a shame that everything else was so plain.

The restaurant is very popular and was super busy. I won’t be going back, but I can’t categorically not recommend it. It was really a case of the food not being right for me rather than the food not being right.

by

Moving Day

Today’s agenda was to finish destriping and Poliglowing the driver’s side, pack up, and move to the apartment. I was quite a bit behind schedule, but with Gary and Jody’s help I made it!

I was ready to move the rig around 4, so they helped me out and off I went to gas up, dump, and park the rig outside my building. The first thing I brought in was the cat supplies, then the cats. I locked them in the storage room with everything they needed to be comfortable except a window. It must have felt like a prison cell to them. 🙁

After, I did several loads, bringing up the contents of the fridge and freezer, the bedding, and some kitchen supplies. Gary and Jody met me at 6:30 to help me move in my bed and some furniture they are lending me (wait till you see my headboard!). We then debated how to best park Miranda, reached a consensus, and I was able to square her away. I then drove back to their house to pick up my car (and some curtains since my loft curtains aren’t quite enough and some fresh baked bread).

Back at the apartment building I went to Miranda to grab toiletries, a few more kitchen things, some clothes and my computer.

Before I left, I let the cats out. When I got in around 8, Neelix was roaming around, but Tabitha had literally vanished. I was really puzzled but not worried since she’s done this to me many times. I couldn’t wait to find her secret safe spot, but I thought I’d examined all the possibilities. Then I just knew. The pallets! Sure enough, Tabitha was under the bed! She let me pet her, but then retreated further under the bed, just out of reach.

By this point, I was famished but in absolutely no mood to cook and I can’t use my new microwave until I get an extension cord. So I decided to walk over to the McDonald’s a couple of blocks away. I was so hungry and exhausted by this point that my vision was blurry, but the food and fresh air did me a world of good.

On the walk home I realised that I’d forgotten to grab some pajamas and a skirt to wear tomorrow so I went back to the rig to grab them as well as my little green machine so that I could wash the recliner and ottoman Gary had pulled out of storage. What was one more chore by this point when it meant that I could enjoy the chair tomorrow evening. 🙂

Then, it was time for a most satisfactory shower. I was pleased with the shower head, water temperature, and the water pressure. It’s not much fun having to step over the edge of the bath and wrestle with a shower curtain, but I won’t miss my shower as much as I thought I would.

Now, I’m lying in bed with the kitties. I don’t usually use the computer in bed, but it’s either that or the floor! 😀

I am completely at peace with where I am tonight. The only place in Canada where I can winter with my RV is the second most expensive place in Canada to live. There is no way that I could do the $1,000 plus a month it would cost me to live in BC in addition to the taxes there. I badly need to see a doctor and this is where I’ve found one. The price to pay is living in this apartment. I will make do. I mean, I have a cozy temporary abode, no commute to a job I like, and good friends living close by. This is the perfect set up for me to get my health issues sorted out and I feel very grateful to be here.