I went to Goro + Gun a while ago. Just a little behind on my blogging. Located in the former West Restaurant and Bar location, it is definitely the largest ramen serving restaurant in Calgary. It’s not exclusively ramen; there are other Japanese influenced Asian dishes on the menu.
Hubby and I started with the okonomiyaki. It is a traditional Japanese savoury pancake. I quite liked the taste and concept. There was pork belly topped with ginger, bonito flakes, mayo, and teriyaki style sauce over a fried green cabbage batter. It was a fairly substantial appetizer and something that I have not tried before.
I went with the Miso ramen for my main. The noodles are what I would expect with ramen; yellow, slightly curly with a chewy texture. The broth was tasty and more like creamy tonkotsu if compared to Shiki Menya’s. I liked the added flavour of the black garlic oil.
Hubby and I shared the dessert which was a black sesame creme brulee. It was served with what tasted like a rice cracker on the side and topped with what seemed to be deep fried crispy noodle. It was a very interesting and unique dessert. I love the richness of black sesame, which works well in this case.
Lovely wine rackOKONOMIYAKI green cabbage, green onion, pork bellyMISO RAMEN bbq pork, kikurage mushrooms, red ginger, green onions, misoSesame Creme Brulee with Rice Cracker
We decided to check out The Wooden Spoon for breakfast and then the White Rock Farmer’s Market. I needed something a little lighter and healthier so I choose the granola with spicy sausage bangers. The fruit was fresh, but the parfait was pretty average. The sausage had kick, but was a little dry. I liked the coffee, served in a french press. Hubby enjoyed his Wooden Spoon poutine. I had a taste and found the flavours satisfying, but a tad on the greasy side. Service was really attentive to start, but faded as they got busier and when we tried to get the bill. They are definitely creative with their brunch items, if I am in town again. I might return.
Granola Parfait House roasted granola served over Greek yogurt topped with Fraser Valley honey, and fresh fruit Spicy sausage bangersWooden Spoon Poutine Spicy house ground sausage, sauteed sweet peppers, caramelized onions, cheese curds, topped with two poached eggs and hollandaise
This week we have: rainbow chard, lettuce, Chinese cabbage, flowers, kohlrabi, radish sprouts, radishes and garlic scapes. Going to be making a lot of stir fried veg and salads.
I was in White Rock a couple of weekends ago, visiting friends. We were looking for breakfast and decided to try Five Corners Cafe. I loved it. This is a fifties style diner which hasn’t changed. They had old cameras (I mean really old), photos and other knick knacks on display.
The food is traditional diner food. I had to try the full Irish breakfast. I’ve had a real full English breakfast, but not an Irish one. It was so big that I shared it with my friend. You know their portions are generous when there are half servings available for some menu items.
My Irish breakfast from L-R: baked beans, scrambled eggs, tomato, white pudding, ham, black pudding, sausage, potato cake and soda bread. It was delicious. The black pudding is pork blood and oatmeal. White pudding is oatmeal and suet. Both tasted pretty good. The service was friendly and the place is popular on a Saturday morning.
I’ve always wanted to try making pizza on the grill. I just needed an excuse to do it. Today is the day, a beautiful bluebird 27C day and a preference not to turn on the oven.
I defrosted the leftovers from my last pizza party – one piece of dough, caramelized onions and tandoori chicken. Prep the chicken, onions, and mayo before grilling.
Tandoori Chicken
This recipe is adapted from the book Simply More Indian by Tahera Rawji. It is actually part of the butter chicken recipe, but I omitted the sauce ingredients and adapted the instructions.
2 lb boneless chicken pieces
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp tumeric
1 tbs tandoori powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbs ghee or oil
1/4 C crispy fried onions (buy at an Indian grocer)
1 C warm water
Cut the chicken into 1 inch cubes. Combine the ginger and garlic pastes, chili powder, tumeric, tandoori powder and salt. Toss this mixture with the chicken in a plastic bag and let sit for 30 minutes in the fridge.
In a large, deep, saucepan (dutch oven works well), melt the ghee over medium high heat. Add the crispy fried onions and the chicken. Saute the chicken until browned, about 5-8 minutes. Add the warm water and simmer for 15 minutes, until the chicken is tender. Let the chicken cool, and pour into a strainer to remove any excess liquid. This will make more than enough for one pizza. I suggest freezing the remainder.
Caramelized Onions
I love caramelized onions and usually double or triple the recipe to save for other uses.
Slice a large yellow onion into 1/2 inch rings. In a heavy bottomed pan, (Dutch oven is great), heat 1/4C oil suitable for high heat such as ghee or grapeseed oil. Saute the onions on medium until they turn golden brown. This may take at least 20 minutes. Take off heat and cool.
Mango Chutney
I cheated and used some store bough Patak’s chutney. I used about 1/2 the 250 ml jar.
Mix all three ingredients together. The colour should be a slight tinge of yellow. Add more curry powder to taste.
Pizza Dough
Use whichever pizza dough recipe suits your fancy. I froze my dough before proofing, so I let it sit on the counter in a large zipper bag for an hour.
I stretched it out, and it was round when it hit the cookie sheet. I basted olive oil on the top and tried to pick it up and put it on the grill. Unfortunately, it stretched and turned into sort of an oval. The temp was less than 500F but I had to reduce the cooking time as it was already starting to brown. The olive oil and the grill marks make for a satisfyingly crisp crust. Next time I will just do flatbreads using the pizza crust. So good! Or maybe naan…
Back to the recipe. After the first flip, I slathered on the chutney, followed by the chicken, and then the caramelized onions. Do not put on the mayo!
I followed the instructions from The Kitchn for grilling.
After taking it off the grill and cutting for serving, top off with the curry mayo to your own taste. Delicious!
Tandoori chicken pizza on the grillServed with curry mayo
It’s that time of year again, fresh veggies from the farm. I’ve signed up with Eagle Creek Farms going on three years now. I never tire of freshly picked vegetables. This week we have: arugula, mixed greens, spinach, parsley, pea shoots, green garlic, strawberries and some kohlrabi plants. I am a reluctant gardener; I still have a basil plant from a couple years ago that’s going strong. Last year’s Thai basil had to be thrown out due to insect infestation. 🙁
I like a little fusion with my Italian; it keeps things interesting. On a Thursday night, the place was just about empty. Given that, parking was still a challenge. Avoid the $15 Stampede lots south of the restaurant. Instead, as advertised on their webpage, try NW of the location around 10th Ave. We parked just down the street from Village Ice Cream. Convenient dessert.
I like the decor. It is in an historical building, called the Dafoe Terrace, built in 1910. The interior is cozy with a modern touch.
I started with the minestrone. It came out piping hot. I had to give it a moment to cool before I wet my whistle. It was fresh tasting and had a rich tomato flavor. I ordered the Nero linguine for my main. I was surprised that the pasta was made from squid ink. It was piping hot like the previous dish and delightful. The seafood was cooked to a turn; the scallops and prawns were still juicy. Hubby enjoyed his gnocchi.
The service was top notch and quick. Definitely worth a return visit.
NERO LINGUINI scallops, prawns, mussels, tomato, onion, garlic, basil, tomato sauceGNOCCHI house made ricotta and potato gnocchi, double smoked bacon, red onion, tomato, basil, red chili, tomato sauce
This restaurant has been on my wishlist as I was curious about it. Curiosity has been more than satisfied. I realize that large groups perhaps are not the appropriate setting for spectacular service, but ours could really use some improvement. We had at least 20 people in our party. The evening started out good; our server was on top of our drink orders. Unfortunately, as the evening progressed, the restaurant filled and our service got progressively worse. It wouldn’t have been so bad, except we were stuck with a mandatory 18% gratuity for large groups. No incentive for good service. Amongst the faux pas: the doneness of hubby’s steak was incorrect, the server mixed up a couple of the orders, and was slow in general.
The food was for the most part, average. Many who ordered steaks had the incorrect doneness. My beef skewers were dry. The salad and shrimp I had weren’t bad and the dessert was the highlight for me.
The overall volume was loud; even before the live band started playing. Halfway through our speeches, they finally turned the music down.
I was so busy socializing that I forgot to take pictures, except for the dessert. Sorry guys, there will be no next time.
Milhojas con Arequipe Dulce de Leche Custard/ Mille-Feuille
This is a recipe that I’ve been meaning to post for some time, and have finally gotten around to it. The burgers come out nice and moist. It is a summer staple on my grill. You can’t have just one!
Thai Pork Burgers
1 lb ground pork, regular not lean
1 heaping tsp pureed ginger
1 heaping tsp pureed garlic
2 tbs fish sauce
1 tsp shrimp paste
1 egg, beaten
1 tbs or more to taste Dried Thai basil
1 tbs or more to taste chopped fresh or dried cilantro
Handful bread crumbs for consistency
Dash black pepper
Combine all ingredients except for bread crumbs. Add bread crumbs just enough to get the mixture to hold together. Use ¼-1/3 cup to make large meatballs. Slightly squish onto cookie sheet. The burgers should be slider size. Ensure the burgers are at room temperature before heating; otherwise they will stick. Preheat grill on high. Grill for 5 minutes at 350F, flip and grill for another 6 min.
Serve with your choice of dinner roll. They are the perfect slider size. I served them with flax seed buns as pictured below. It doesn’t need condiments, but a dab of sriracha, or sweet chili sauce will liven it up. Ketchup, relish and grainy mustard are all good too.
Slider sized burgsSlider with strawberries, blueberries and spring greens with chili balasmic dressing
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