Zinc: Quiet and Classy Brunch

March 23, 2012 at 11:05 pm | Posted in Western | 1 Comment

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It took me a while to get this up, considering I was swamped with school up until this point. We actually went there about 2 weeks ago but I haven’t had the time to upload this until now.

Since it was Edmonton’s Downtown Dining week, we decided to try out some of the nicer restaurants around town. Sundays aren’t very busy around the area so we found it was hard to find a place that was open for lunch. So Zinc was the place to go!

Zinc is tucked right by the entrance in the Art Gallery of Alberta which wasn’t too bad to find. We were a bit taken back by how nice it looked in the restaurants. With so many glass windows, it wasn’t lights that brightened up the room… It was natural sunlight which is nice for a change.It was also nice because there weren’t very many people so it was quiet.

After we were seated, we found that Sundays only served brunch (not lunch) which was a bit of a disappointment. But I their brunch menu looked very appetizing. I read reviews from other bloggers around Edmonton that their 3 course brunch is fantastic. So we ordered a 3 course lobster benedict to share, considering Sally wanted dessert and I just wanted the main.

Turns out it was our server’s first day on the job so I couldn’t blame her. A new job can definitely be overwhelming, but she did her best to accommodate us. We were enjoying each other’s company so much that we didn’t realize the food was taking a long time. Turns out they had a mix up in the kitchen and forgot about us. So we ended up getting a 2nd entree (Salmon benedict) free! (Thanks!)

First up came the appetizer. There was an assortment of cheese, tea biscuit, fresh, sweetened, and dried fruit, along with a cupcake and parfait. I wish I had taken notes when the server was explaining it to us but he spoke so fast so we couldn’t catch too much. The cheese and the tea biscuit was pretty good. My favourite by far was the cupcake. I’m normally not a fan of sweets but the cupcake was so moist and it wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet. It was honestly the perfect cupcake! The parfait was a nice addition which reminded me why I was there (for breakfast!). I can’t say I’m a big fan of the little cups of fruit. One was marinated assorted fruit while the other was marinated orange. While it wasn’t overly too sweet, I wasn’t a big fan of the texture or taste. But my personal preference.

Next up, our benedicts were served! If you know how I like my food, I generally like things raw. So when our benedicts came, there were two benedicts on each plate. And the yolk was still runny! I had swapped one of my lobster benedicts with the salmon one to try it out. The salmon benedict was not bad. I really enjoyed the salmon but I think it was a bit salty. Each of the eggs were on top of the salmon which was on top of a potato medallion. I’m a big fan of medallions but with the addition of smoked salmon (generally salty), it resulted in being overly salty.

The lobster benedict on the other hand was fantastic! (Despite how unappetizing it looks) I ended up eating part of it until I realized I didn’t take a photo! I enjoyed the caviar on the top and I was hoping there would be more lobster in the benedict but it only came with 2 pieces on the side and a lobster salad that was on the spoon (which I ate with the benedict).

I’ve never had benedicts before (mainly because I was traumatized in my 2nd year of university) but I think it’s my new favourite! I loved the sauce and the runny yolk. It was a delicious combination!

The last course that was served to us was the hot chocolate with the chocolate cake. The cake was fantastic, not too sweet and not overly moist either. I think their dessert menus are one thing to try out. The hot chocolate on the other hand.. May actually be literally hot chocolate. When I took the first sip, I thought it was odd that it took some time because it was so thick.. But the texture seemed a bit odd to me. It tasted nothing like the hot chocolates I’ve had before. We wondered if it was actually a dipping sauce for the cake, given it’s taste and texture…

Other than that, it was a pretty good meal. A bit pricy but worthwhile to experience at least once. 😀

Cheers,

Dino

Zinc
(780) 392-2501
2 Sir Winston Churchill Square Map
Edmonton, AB 

Nomiya: Yayyyy Ramen!!

March 16, 2012 at 5:30 am | Posted in Japanese | Leave a comment

I figured I should probably start blogging before I forget.

After a long day of work and a brutal auditing midterm afterwards, my friends decided to take me out for ramen. 😛 I am a big sucker for noodles so how can I possibly say no? Also I had a nice cold can of COORS on the way there so it was refreshing. Beer and ramen… Fantastic!! Haha. We were making jokes about how we would get pulled over, I would be the reason why. 😛

Anyways. I ordered a Spicy Miso ramen. I wish I took pictures, but by the time the food came, the alcohol had already hit my face and I was glowing red for the rest of the evening. Like a light bulb. It was hard to even concentrate on something else other than my glowing face.

It was a nice broth, mild but not overly compared to a Vietnamese Bun bo hue. The broth was “sweet” enough and well flavored. It was a much better experience compared to the first couple of times I’ve been there. But I suppose it can be a hit and miss.

Princess was saying how the noodles didn’t have the right texture to it. There isn’t a lot of “bounce” to it so it tasted like spaghetti than noodles. But it was still pretty decent because it wasn’t like soggy or anything. Along with a few slices of charshu, some bamboo and black fungus.. That really hit the spot on a nice lil’ evening. I feel like a glutton because I ate dinner twice already.

Not bad though. To me, noodles are my comfort food. I tried Katsudon one time when I was stressed but it just didn’t feel the same. 😛 Hahah it’s nice to have a lil’ ramen place on the south side. I can’t say it’s the best ramen I’ve tried (because nothing in Edmonton is comparable to authentic Japanese ramen!) but it’s pretty good.

I’ll probably come back since it’s close to my workplace and it’s southside. Thanks guys for the beer and food. 😀 Gochisousama deshita!

Cheers,

Dino

Nomiya
3803 Calgary Trail, Edmonton AB
(780)462-1300

We’reeee Back!! :D

March 10, 2012 at 10:48 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Hey all,

It seems like I have so many blogs going on at the same time. 😛 Hahah I seem have neglected a couple but mainly I’ve decided to revamp and revive our old blog. Here we go!

It’s been over a year and a half since we updated our OISHIIIIII blog so long ago.. But since there were only 2 entries I decided to start fresh with wordpress. 😀 This way, people in our community (like the other members of F4) can help contribute too.

OISHII comes from the Japanese term “delicious”. Considering we are all Japanese food fanatics here, we decided it was appropriate. Hope you enjoy. 😉 I’ll update this more when the time comes.

Dino

“The bagel, an unsweetened doughnut with rigor mortis.”

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