[Quick Bite] Seattle: Seattle Uwajimaya September 29, 2012

Stopped by Uwajimaya for some light browsing. But, of course, I had to grab something to eat as well.

Got a piece of spam musubi. Obviously this was nothing compared to the one at Marination Station. I realize that it looks kind of sad in the picture but it was actually not too bad.

$1.29

I also got a japanese bento box to supplement my lone spam musubi.

$5.99

It is food court food, so I wasn’t expecting to be blown away or anything, but it actually wasn’t too bad. The tempura shrimp was kind of limp and soggy, but the rest of it was good – especially for only $6. In the top left corner is a small salad. Going clockwise, there was a sushi roll type of thing wrapped around ham and tamago. Next to it is some beef and lotus root (FYI – I <3 lotus root). Then there was the tempura shrimp and grilled shrimp. Under the grilled shrimp was tonkatsu.To the left of the broccoli was some chicken karaage. And finally in the bottom left corner – a couple pieces of salmon. I loved all the different types of food I got to eat for just 6 dollas.

The bf got some Korean grub from one of the little food court places around the parameter of the building.

Probably around $10

I definitely think what I got was better value for the money, especially because of the variety. The bf liked his choice though, it was hugely portioned and meaty. Top left going clockwise – kimchi, pickled bean sprouts, hot sauce, dumplings, a huge pile of meat (chicken…?), and delicious, delicious white rice.

For dessert I got this Cyrus O’Leary sour cream lemon pie:

$2.89

This was kind of expensive now that I think about it.

Kind of sort of line a cheesecake?

I wish we had a Uwajimaya in Calgary…

SEATTLE UWAJIMAYA
600 5th Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 624-6248

[Dine-Out] Calgary: Maru Restaurant & Bar July 5, 2011

**Please note that what I’m posting below is no longer offered on the menu as a set, we stopped by the other day and learned that they had changed their menu.**

We started off the meal with some complimentary Korean Rice Tea, it can be served hot or cold. I don’t like it when places charge for tea (like most Japanese restaurants), I’m too used to free tea being Chinese and all.

Hyeonmi Cha?

One of the things I loved about eating at Maru was all the Banchan (Korean side dishes) that came with the meals:

Yum

From left to right: miyeok muchim (미역무침), kimchi (김치), and yoengeun jorim (연근조림). Miyeok is a seaweed that’s pickled with sweet vinegar and salt (one of my favourites!), kimchi is just the basic fermented napa cabbage, and yoengeun jorim (I think that’s right) is pickled lotus root. You can also see in the back that the meals came with a fried sardine (?) each.

The meals also came with a light salad:

Super refreshing

More normal kimchi and Dongchimi (동치미 - fermented vegetables in a white brine)

Now finally, on to the meal itself. Before this new current menu, you could order a protein dish that came with their signature Soon Tofu Soup for around $17.00, but alas, that’s no longer the case. The best thing about this combo was that you could pair the protein with any of the soups offered. That means for $17 – $19 (depending on your choice of protein), you could get their more expensive seafood soups too!

Soon Tofu is pretty much just a super soft, super silky, super custardy tofu, which, is how I like my tofu!

Spicy Kimchi Tofu Soup

I, of course, being Asian, had to take advantage of the combo, and got their more expensive seafood soup:

Spicy Seafood Soon Tofu Soup

Their soups are delicious and very expertly spiced. We had this in the summer months, but it would definitely hit the spot in our -30 winters.

Bf got the kimchi Dweji bulgogi, thinly sliced pork marinated in soy sauce, garlic, sugar, sesame oil, green onions and black pepper served on a charcoal plate.

불고기

And I got the normal bulgogi with beef:

more 불고기, minus the kimchi

Each meal also came with a side of rice:

Cute pot!

The way that Maru teaches you to eat the rice is, first, scoop the rice out into a metal bowl:

dfd

Second, pour boiling hot water into the stone pot and cover to make a rice soup. It’s almost kind of like 粥 (congee) but less cooked.

And lastly, later in the meal, you lift the lid, scrape the rice off the sides and, voilà, you have a rice soup!

Rice Soup

Overall I really liked Maru. It was one of my favourite Korean restaurants to go to because the food was great and the value of their combos were unbelievable. Now that they no longer offer the combo…it just seems a little pricey. Maybe if they never offered the combos in the first place, I’d be okay with paying what they charge now. But since they used to have it, I just don’t think it’s that great of a deal anymore!

Oh, and I should mention that they play a never-ending loop of K-Pop on their flat screens. While some people might find this obnoxious, I actually finds it adds to the atmosphere. Also, it’s fun to discuss their ridiculous matching outfits and equally ridiculous “story arcs” in their music videos.

MARU RESTAURANT & BAR
550 11 Avenue Southwest
Calgary, AB T2R 1M7
(403) 452-6278