June 2015 - Eat Your Broccoli!

June 17, 2015

Pie Cloud

Continuing on my tour of new places in Kensington, I stumbled upon Pie Cloud. I love pie. All my dreams have come true; I can now take out fresh pie whenever I want! I decided to try their luscious lime pie. It’s sub-lime, if you know what I mean? Everything is made fresh daily, right down to the freshly squeezed lime juice. The velvety filling is layered on a crispy gingersnap crust. Topped with pillowy whipped cream and freshly grated lime zest. Heaven in a pie tin – they even customize their tins!

Better get there quick, the luscious lime is their most popular and I got the last one of the day.

They also serve breakfast and savoury pies as well. On my to try list is their apple pie milkshake.

June 17, 2015

Ikemen Ramen Bar

It feels like it has been ages since I’ve been down to Kensington. Oh, it’s probably been just over a month now, but since then several new places have opened. One that I have been eager to try is Ikemen Ramen Bar. It has been open for about three weeks now. They were still putting the stickers on the windows.

I love ramen. Traditional, fusion, and even my homemade attempts. All good. Ikemen has sprung up where the old Tandoori Hut used to be. They have a small selection of traditional and fusion ramen. We started with the age dashi tofu and gyoza. I had the green curry seafood ramen and my sister-in-law the dynamite roll. The tofu was simmered in a delicious broth. Our server asked us to to describe the dish as she had not yet tried it. I said the broth was rich with overtones of dashi and bonito. With the bonito flakes blowing in the breeze.

I really enjoyed my ramen. The green curry was a tad on the medium spicy side, but full of flavour. They could have been more generous with the seafood, as it came with a whole shrimp, mussel and a couple of scallops. SIL had the dynamite roll which was beautifully presented. For dessert, we shared the organic corn ice cream which was on their daily special board. It tasted of sweet corn and vanilla. An interesting combination. Worth a return trip!

June 14, 2015

The Block Kitchen and Lounge

Looking for dinner one night, hubby, MIL and I went to The Block Kitchen and Lounge. It’s located on a section of 4th St. NW somewhat known for its turnover in restaurants. I would say it has the potential to become a nice neighborhood restaurant. We went early on a Sunday night, as expected the place was just about empty.

We ordered appetizers to share. The charcuterie was tasty. There were homemade bread and butter pickles and lap cheung. It also came with date jam, honeycomb, grainy mustard, cured meat and bread. We also had the sweet potato perogies. They tasted hearty and delicious.

I had the lobster pot pie which stayed steaming hot throughout my meal. Hubby enjoyed his steak and hubby’s mum, her burger.

Dessert was lovely. I had a rich butterscotch pie and Hubby the s’ mores crème brulee.

The service was a bit slow to start, but we mentioned we were in a hurry as we had a sitter at home. Our serv was appropriately quickened. Our server was nice and friendly.

THE “BLOCK” CHARCUTERIE cured meats, artisanal cheeses, pickled vegetables (for two) — THE “BLOCK” CHARCUTERIE
cured meats, artisanal cheeses, pickled vegetables (for two)

SWEET POTATO PEROGIES double smoked bacon, crème fraiche, fried sage, brown butter, gruyère — SWEET POTATO PEROGIES
double smoked bacon, crème fraiche, fried sage, brown butter, gruyère

LOBSTER POT PIE poached lobster, atlantic cod, peas, shellfish gravy, house salad — LOBSTER POT PIE
poached lobster, atlantic cod, peas, shellfish gravy, house salad

BUTTERSCOTCH PIE toffee crumble — BUTTERSCOTCH PIE
toffee crumble