Sicillian Pasta Kitchen South

Scicillian Pasta Kitchen is literally right down the road from me so what better option than to go there for dinner.

My dining companion ordered the cannelloni with tomato cream sauce. The pasta came out a little dry and the sauce a little to tangy for my taste, but other wise it was flavourful and served as a huge helping. (~15$)

Cannelloni with a tomato cream sauce

Every time I've gone to Sicilian Pasta Kitchen I've always ordered the same thing, the Borseti (pasta purses stuffed with feta cheese in a cream sauce with snow peas and ham). Today however I decided to try another dish I had been curious about for quite a while. The Lobster ravioli in a lemon cream sauce sounded too good to pass up. Unfortunately I was wrong. The pasta looked and tasted like one of those pre-made store bought fresh pastas and in no way did it taste like lobster. The lemon sauce wasn't even lemony and instead tasted like typical cream sauce. The 'loberter' ravioli had an orange color filling, but it tasted like the tri-colored cheese ravioli you can buy in a bulk pack at Costco. It tasted fine, but was a disappointment when I had been looking forward to getting big fully ravioli filled with fresh lobster meat. (~15.50$)

 

Lobster ravioli with a lemon cream sauce

Smitty's

My companion and I were craving a greasy breakfast the other day so we decided to go to Smitty's. For those who do not know, Smitty's is the equivalent to Dennys, Humpty's and Albert's. At least in my mind.

I love chunky hash browns so whenever I order breakfast my meal has to include chunky savory hash browns (I absolutely detest the shredded ones). So, what better meal to order than the Sunrise Skillet (10.99$) : chunky hash brows topped with 3 scrabbled eggs and cheese, tomato, sausage, and diced peppers. Suprisingly the skillet looked better in person than it did in the menu pictures.

To fullfill my sweet tooth we also ordered a pancake dish (I forgot the name) that has 6 pancakes with a Bavarian cream filling and topped with strawberry sauce, chocolate sauce, and maple syrup. I'm not much of a pancake person, and these did not convert me, but I still enjoyed them (~8.50$)

Twisted

I know I already have an entry about Twisted Yogurt, but I love this place so much I can't help but expose you guys to it even more.

The process is simple: take a cup, go to the machine and fill it up with whatever mix of yogurt your heart desires, add some fresh fruit or dried toppings, weigh it, pay, eat. Simple as that!


South Park location



Fresh fruit and some dried toppings. There are more
toppings along the side wall

Banana, kiwi lime, bubblegum grape

Bananna, apple pie, and plain

Can't Miss This!

Baskin Robins locations in Edmonton (WEM, Millwoods TC, Kingsway) are having their 31 cent scoop days again this coming April 27th from 5-9pm. I know that's a little far from now, but mark it in your calender!

Bee-Bell Health Bakery Edmonton

This entry is still under construction.

Lemon danish

Kyoto (Downtown)

A little while back I visited the downtown Jasper and 109st Kyoto for a light dinner. I've walked past this place a millions times but have never ventured inside until now.

Like many of the more 'high end' Japanese restaurants in the city like Mikado and Japanese Village, you can not see the interior. So it was a pleasant surprise walking in to see how nice and cute it was inside. The restaurant has a sushi bar where patrons can sit on stools and look upon the sushi chefs preparing the food. They also have table seating as well as several tatami rooms (the little private rooms with the low tables).

The menu was very straightforward and unfussy. It contained sushi, sashmi, several udon bowls, about 4 bento boxes ($19-25$), maki rolls, appetizers and sushi boats.

I can not remember the name of the maki rolls I ordered but it was a maki roll with an egg and tempura flake filling and smoked salmon on the outside ($8~). It was awesome! I would go back just to order the same thing. The flavor of the smoked salmon and the tempura flakes made for a very savory roll.

My friend ordered the avocado rolls. These are different from the typical smaller mini maki avocado rolls you typically see. From what I remember it contains roe and tempura flakes on the inside and had avocado slices on the outside ($8~).

Compared to an establishment like Tokyo Express, Kyoto is on more of the expensive side. The atmosphere of the restaurant however balanced out the higher prices as is really a place I'd recommend going to with a small group of friends rather than yourself.

Queen of Tarts

Today I had the chance to visit one of the newly opened establishments in Edmonton- The Queen of Tarts. After selling her tarts and pastries at various local farmers markets, the owner has decided to open up shop on Jasper and 104st in the beautifully restored warehouse district.

Tucked in the basement of a former warehouse, The Queen of Tarts is a chic little cafe with a Parisienne flair. Along with her lemon and lime tarts and custards that they specialize in, they also offer a verity of squares 3$ (lemon coconut, date, nectarine), flourless chocolate brownies, chocolate torts, and a handful of french pastries (2.75-4.75$). They also have an assortment of beautiful artisan breads (5-12$) neatly displayed in marble nooks against their back wall. While their selection of goodies is rather limited, they still offer many speciality delectables uncommon in Edmonton.

Unfortunately, I found many of their items a little over priced, at least for my budget. A rather small mini lemon tart ran for about 4.50$, while a large palm sized lemon tart at Duchess was 5$. While I have yet to try out Queen of Tarts lemon and lime tarts, I'd be interested to see if they are indeed worth the extra dollars. I guess I will have to find out.

In the mean time, The Queen of Tarts is a cute new spot in Edmonton featuring boutique bakery items and would be a nice little spot to grab a coffee and a treat with a friend or a date.



They also carry fine pressed oils, The Jam Lady perserves,
as well as some house made packaged treats



I just can't get enough

Once again I have fulfilled my Duchess craving.

This time I savored a lemon tart (5$) -which I had initially bought for a friend as a small birthday suprise. It was too tempting. A cherry macron and a cheddar black pepper scone followed suit.

The lemon tart was tangy and sweet. The citrus flavor was nicely balanced and did not over power the custard. A a mere 5$ it was also a great satisfying treat for both me and my wallet.

The scone was large and dense and the pepper and cheddar flavors were very clear. For some reason how ever I did not enjoy it as much as I thought of, perhaps because I was looking to satisfy a sweet tooth the the savory pepper flavor did quite the opposite for me. The scone would have been more enjoyable warm. Nevertheless, it was quite a satisfyingly large scone for the price (2.50$).





Downtown Winter Farmers Market

Yey! The Downtown City Market is back and starts this Saturday, March 12 at City Hall.

25 Best Things to Eat in Edmonton

Check this list out for the 25 best things to eat in this city.

http://www.avenueedmonton.com/articles/page/item/25-best-things-to-eat

Edmonton Downtown Dinning Week

From March 4-13th, thirty two Edmonton restaurants will be hosting lunch and dinner specials for 15, 25, and 50$. This is a great opportunity to try out some of the great downtown gems for a great set price. The menus are available for viewing on the link bellow so enjoy!

http://www.edmontondowntown.com/random.asp?ID=7

Hello dear

Hello hello,

Sorry I have not had any recent post lately, school and work have increasingly taken up my time. However, I will try to post some new entries here and there. So stay tuned!