Teatro is one of those places that have been on the periphery of my radar. One of those places, at some point, that I would get around to visiting. I finally did, lured by a vendor luncheon.
Special lunch menu
I was feeling less then well at the time, so I opted for something that I hoped to be lighter. I went with the caesar salad and the spatzle. The caesar was nicely presented and it tasted, like a caesar salad. The spatzle was rich, creamy and divine. Not very light, but very filling and tasty for a vegetarian dish.
I didn’t have the lamb, but almost everyone else did. It was a beautiful frenched rack, done to medium rare.
Leek and Spaetzle Cauliflower, white gold provolone, parmesan cheeses, tomato concasse
The butternut squash tart was delicious. I really enjoyed the gooeyness of the toasted marshmallow and the accompanying coulis.
Butternut Squash Tart cinnamon meringue, caramelized zucchini
The decor was very nice. We were in the Opera room, a room outside the main restaurant. The ceilings were high and the lighting looked as if they had installed two large full moons in the ceiling. I will have to come back for a more typical meal.
I knew there would be another visit. A friend wanted to go for her birthday. She asked for the Chef’s tasting menu, for the four of us. What we got was a selection, chosen by the chef from the regular menu.
We started off with the yam tempura, which were not part of the tasting menu. Sweet potato cut french fry style fried in tempura. It was amazing.
Up next was the Tai miso soup. Sort of a luxury miso soup, with a variety of mushrooms. Tasty.
Pan fried sushi grade tilapia with steamed tofu, oyster, king and shiitake mushroom in soya bean brothSeared seasoned New York steak thinly sliced dressed with homemade spicy vinaigrette
The spicy chicken was indeed spicy, it reminds of the flavors of gojujang sauce.
Fresh chicken stir fried with seasonal vegetable in house made spicy miso sauce
The pork belly was tasty. It tasted of Chinese five spice with soy undertones. Here’s a version of the recipe. He mentioned it cooks for six days.
Slow cooked pork belly in house secret recipe sauce (Okinawa style)
What really shines are his house specials. Okonomiyaki, a Japanese style pancake. The bonito flakes got the audience going as they looked like they were fluttering in the air.
Japanese style pancake with bacon and mixed vegetables sprinkled with dry fish flakes top glazed with otofuku sauce and mayoSeared sashimi grade ahi-tuna served on top of a variety mix of seaweed with a touch of kani-su and house miso dressing
Here’s another house special, the Treasure of Ocean roll. The dry bean curd wrap was an interesting touch.
Soya bean wrap, steamed prawn, avocado, red tuna, tobiko, tempura and spicy mayo. Topped with sweet sesame mayo.
At this point, I thought we had about eight or nine dishes, but when the server asked if we were still hungry, one of my friends said yes… So we got another three dishes and dessert. Not hungry anymore, just a bit full.
Deep fried breaded horse mackerel served with a sweet soy based vinaigretteCrab meat, mayo, avocado, red tuna, mango, sweet may, wasabi tomiko
I really like the yam chips that came with the Ayumi Unagi. The rest of the dish was good too, but I was too full to properly enjoy it.
BBQ eel, avocado, sweet shiitake mushroom,. Served with house made special sauce and tobiko.
There’s always room for dessert. I had the mango panna cotta. The mango syrup reduction was very rich and flavorful. The banana bread was an interesting touch.
Tiramisu, mango panna cotta and banana bread
We had the opportunity to chat with the chef, Oscar, and his wife, April. They are both very genuinely nice people who really care about their food. As we left the restaurant, we realized it was quite full and sort of amazed how quickly our food came out.
I don’t know why I haven’t found this place earlier. It’s so good and the portions are huge. Friday lunch, the three of us arrived at 12:30 We caused the lineup to go out the door. No matter. They have lunch service down. Food is served up as quick as they can make it. I ordered the small chicken shawarma, veggie samosa and a pistachio rose baklava. The chicken was melt in my mouth tender. There was an orchestra of garlic dancing on my tastebuds and subsequently, my breath. I’ll be happy to have garlic breath any day. Hubby ordered a medium beef donair, which was almost too big to finish. No supper required. The prices are a good value for what you get. They apparently have ice cream which may warrant a stop on my cycling route.
Small Chicken ShawarmaMedium Beef DonairPistachio Rose BaklavaThe Counter
I had the occasion to finally visit Chef’s Table at the Kensington Riverside Inn. Eight of us were there for a surprise birthday dinner. Our table was directly in front of the open kitchen and offered a nice view of the hustle and bustle. We started off with an amuse bouche, which tasted like a deconstructed BLT. The flavors that I remember were lardons, and a gelee with a subtle mustard flavor.
Amuse
My second course was agnolotti which is similar to ravioli. The flavors were very delicate and complimented each other nicely.
Agnolotti
I suspect this was the birthday girl’s appetizer. The presentation was nicely done.
I had the ling cod for my entree. The fish was perfectly cooked. The granola added an interesting texture to the dish. The flavors of tomato bubbles, carrot and saffron seemed very much like my appetizer. If I had realized that, I would have ordered differently.
The dessert was light and refreshing. The subtle flavor of the poached pear was a nice foil for the strong flavor of the blackcurrant ice cream.
Pear ginger, blackcurrant, polenta, pistachio
The service was very good. The servers had a sense of humor and showed patience while waiting for our entire group to arrive. They must have spent a lot of time memorizing the ingredients for each dish. It’s the type of service that I would expect from a fine dining restaurant. This warrants another trip for a special occasion, next time with hubby in tow.
I finally got around to trying this place. We waited at the entrance for a server, but they must have been busy. So we seated ourselves. It was around 2pm in the afternoon, it didn’t look that busy. Our server came around a few minutes later. I decided to order the gluten free renegade ranchero pizza. The crust was thin and crisp like a cracker and the toppings didn’t soak through. The toppings were interesting. It wasn’t very spicy which was fine with me. I liked the idea of cranberries as a topping. Hubby ordered the one love tacos with yam fries. The fries were nice and crisp and he enjoyed his tacos. The service was friendly, but a bit slow. I will be back to try more of their menu.
one love tacos Jamaican jerk marinated chicken, shredded lettuce, house-made mango salad, drizzled with cilantro lime sour cream with yam friesrenegade ranchero pizza Spicy Spolumbo’s sausage, banana pepper, red onion, cranberries, mozza
I finally got around to trying this place. We waited at the entrance for a server, but they must have been busy. So we seated ourselves. It was around 2pm in the afternoon, it didn’t look that busy. Our server came around a few minutes later. I decided to order the gluten free renegade ranchero pizza. The crust was thin and crisp like a cracker and the toppings didn’t soak through. The toppings were interesting. It wasn’t very spicy which was fine with me. I liked the idea of cranberries as a topping. Hubby ordered the one love tacos with yam fries. The fries were nice and crisp and he enjoyed his tacos. The service was friendly, but a bit slow. I will be back to try more of their menu.
one love tacos Jamaican jerk marinated chicken, shredded lettuce, house-made mango salad, drizzled with cilantro lime sour cream with yam friesrenegade ranchero pizza Spicy Spolumbo’s sausage, banana pepper, red onion, cranberries, mozza
Classic Chinese food. In more ways than one. Place is outdated and kind of a dive. Food is delish and service can leave a lot to be desired. If you speak their language, you get good service. Enough said. The seven of us ordered dishes to share. A couple of plates of salt and pepper squid, half a crispy duck, mixed vegetables with noodles, chicken, ginger and pineapple stir fry, pea shoots with garlic sauce and steamed rice. All the food was good, except I did not try the duck. I don’t eat duck. I still think their jiew yim sin yau is the best in town. Service was slow, but I suppose that gave us more time to chat and enjoy the food. They were accommodating in heating up one of the babies’ food.
I love the food of Singapore and Malaysia. I traveled there a few years ago and savoured laksa (my favorite), clay pot chicken, roti, beef rendang, nasi lemak and mee goreng. Ever since Tropika closed it’s doors years ago, there hasn’t been anything comparable in Calgary. I’ve had to venture to Vancouver and Toronto for my Malaysian food fix. Then Tropical Delight came along. I have been saved.
My friend and I decided to indulge after a few hours at the climbing gym. We were hungry. The portions are generous and the amount of food we had would easily feed three people. We ordered to share. The laksa lemak was nice and spicy. It contained what I thought was squid and scallops, but after the spice fog cleared, I’m pretty sure it was sliced fish balls, fried tofu, fake crab sticks and hard boiled egg. I’m glad we ordered the wonton kolo mee so we could give ourselves a break from the spice. This was dry egg noodle with ground pork, green onion, deep fried wonton and soup on the side. Comfort food; it reminded me of my Mom’s homemade wonton noodle soup. The roti canai was delicious and the curry sauce also spicy. We also had a complimentary dessert. My friend suspected it was cassava cake. It was yellow and dense, tasted a bit like squash with a hint of coconut. Tasty. Lunch was rather affordable.
They had some interesting specials such as white curry which I will have to try another time. The service was quick; our food arrived within minutes of ordering. Well, we were there at 2:30 in the afternoon and surprisingly, the restaurant was half full. This warrants a repeat visit.
They take only cash and debit and are open Monday though Saturday 10:00am – 5:30pm. The following menu photos only shows the pages with the specials.
Portion of menu with specialsDessert SpecialsLaksa LemakRoti CanaiWonton Kolo Mee
The Big Taste is on this week; the former Downtown Dine Out week. Tonight I decided to try downtownfood. It’s been on my hit list for a while. I suspect Mondays are generally slow, as we were the third party in the restaurant. Most of us ordered from the prix fixe menu.
I started off with the beet tartare. Some of my party thought it was beef tartare and were perhaps a little disappointed. I quite enjoyed it. I tried topping the cumin crisp with the beet, but the crisp was so delicate that it fell apart. It was tasty any way it went down.
Beet Tartare Roasted yellow, pink and red spiced beets, garlic aioli, mustard greens, and cumin crisps
Next up, the trio of pork. The pork shank reminded me of crispy pork belly. Yum. The pork loin satisfied my hunger for something substantial. The crispy skin was quite a treat, as it sat on top of some sriracha sauce which made that and the loin beneath suddenly spicy. Perhaps a bit too spicy. The BBQ sauce was perfect for my sweet tooth. I should have mixed the hot sauce with the sweet and it might have been the perfect balance.
Broek Acres Pork Trio Braised pork shank, pork loin, crispy pork rinds, kohlrabi puree, shmeji mushrooms, and asian BBQ sauce
I enjoyed the grapefruit sorbet. It was light and refreshing; it paired well with the lemon tart. The pastry is shaped “dtf” although looking at the one served to my dining companion it looked like something else. It resembled a woman kneeling in a dress holding up a cross. Sort of like the Virgin Mary on French toast.
Heath Lemon Tart Crème brulee’d lemon in a shortcrust pastry with grapefruit sorbet
At the beginning, I thought the portion sizes were a bit small, but I was corrected as the meal went on. It is perfectly portioned to satisfy and not so much that you leave overly full. It speaks to portion sizes at other restaurants which are probably too large. The service was generally good, except for a few times where our server was slow to refill the drinks. I really liked the atmosphere and there were fewer people so it was not so loud. The pictures of Calgary on the walls were quite nice.
We went with a good sized group, (20+ people) for dinner. Considering there were staggered arrivals, some more than an hour late, I thought the server did rather well. We had a private room booked. It was nice, as the curtains hanging above seemed to help absorb the noise so we could actually hear the conversation. We didn’t mind paying the 15% mandatory gratuity.
Onto the food. I had a taste of hubby’s Malaysian Blazin’ Noodles. It was a bit spicy with interesting flavors. I made my own stir fry. The veggies at the bar were fresh and the portions filling. I’ve always passed this place by when we are in the area, next time I think I will return.
