[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

[Quick Bite] Seattle: Marination Station August 31, 2012

Man, was this hard to find. That’s what I get for just grabbing the address off of google and not going on its website. Its website clearly clarifies that in order to get your fill of Hawaiian/Korean/Mexican goodness, you’d have to make your way to the second floor. Didn’t see that and walked up and down the block literally 20 times.

Finally! Beat the rain too, look at that grey sky…

For my meal, I ordered the Kalbi taco and the spam musubi. Honestly, the spam musubi was the only reason I wanted to eat here. I love me some spam. Sure, sure, some of you might think it’s gross, but growing up in Hong Kong, it was a staple that we ate. You have to pan fry it so that the outer bits are all crispy and delicious. Don’t knock it until you try it the right way!

SPAM SPAM SPAM 

A spam musubi is pretty much spam sushi. Hawaiians love it, I love it, the bf loved it and tried to steal it from me. Rice, spam, seaweed. Simple salty goodness that is almost like a comfort food. Apparently, the Marination Station doesn’t have the spam musubi as a regular menu item, so if when you’re there and it’s on the menu, ORDER IT. If you’re going to try spam, might as well try it in sushi form.

I also got the Kalbi taco, a flour tortilla filled with tender short ribs marinated in a soy-based marinade.  This was good, but I would’ve rather eaten more spam musubi.

The bf also got a Kalbi taco and he changed things up with ordering a spicy pork taco as well. The spicy pork is likened to the classic Korean bulgogi.

This plate is missing something…hmmm….maybe a little SPAM?!

MARINATION STATION
1412 Harvard Avenue
Seattle, WA 98122

[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

[Dine-Out] Calgary: Kangnam Station Izakaya May 12, 2011

Kangnam Station Izakaya took over what used to be the Cappuccino Company. I really liked the Cappuccino company, it was owned by a really nice Korean couple; they had fantastic food that was fresh (homemade soup!) and inexpensive prices. Their lunch specials consisted of a massive sandwich (changed daily) and either a bowl of homemade soup (chicken noodle was the best – it was filled to the bream with veggies) or fries. The owner lady would make me wonton soup to go with my lunch combo even though it wasn’t on the menu!

I’ve never been to the Kangnam Station for lunch because their prices have gotten much higher. The same (I assume) sandwich & soup combo cost about $1.50 more now. But they do have more variety. They offer sushi rolls and lots of Korean style foods.

The bf and I did go to Kangnam for dinner one night though. We ordered two dishes to share:

Beef Stone Bowl

Spicy Seafood Stone Bowl

These stone bowls were good, came out nice and hot. The spices were nice. The seafood one had lots of squid~ I think these were both under $10.00 each, which is fairly cheap compared to the other Korean restaurants in the area (Don Day and Anju). Kangnam is good for a quick meal, the atmosphere is quite nice too. On any given day (or night) there’s always a big group of Koreans eating and drinking, and all in all, having a good time.

When we went, they were still pretty new…probably a week or two into business. They didn’t have all the kinks worked out yet. Our water came from this big jug that was kept outside (to keep cold I presume), and we had to ask several times to get our waters refilled (that seafood stone bowl was spicy!!). It was hard trying to get the owner’s (he was tending to the cash & bringing the food out to the tables) attention, I hope they have everything sorted out now!

I’m not dying to go back though, the food was good, but I’ve had better, it’s not going to be my first choice for a meal. The bf really liked it though, he was raving about the spices and how good everything tasted. Sometimes I think that boy’s food standards are too easy to please…

KANGNAM STATION IZAKAYA
A-924 7 Avenue Southwest
Calgary, AB T2P 1A4
(403) 262-5445

[Dine-Out] Calgary: Anju April 6, 2011

I’ve been to Anju three or four times now. The first time I went there was a looong time ago, their menu was different back then; it was separated into categories based on price, five, ten, fifteen, etc. And another time I just went for drinks.

Anyways, on to try out their new(ish) menu!

We started out with the Crispy Tofu with Sautéed Kimchi. I’m trying to avoid eating soy and soy products, so I only had half of one. The bf had to polish off the rest. I had to order it because it was on special that night! I think it was…$5.00… instead of the normal $8.00. Ha, the Asian in me just had to get it, I couldn’t pass up such a good deal~

Tofu~

The bf liked it, but he pretty much likes anything that we can dunk into a mayonnaise based sauce, in this case, it was a citrus aioli. From the half a bite I had, I found the exterior to be too hard – it didn’t have a nice crispy texture, it tasted like it sat out for too long and it got tough to chew. The tofu on the inside wasn’t that much better either. They used firm tofu instead of the silky soft ones, so the texture was really rough, and it made it quite hard to swallow. I definitely wouldn’t order it at the regular price.

The bf ordered the Bibimbap (stone rice bowl) for his main. We’ve definitely had better bibimbap at other Korean restaurants, but this one wasn’t bad. You have a choice of the protein you want in it, which is nice. The choices are: chicken of tofu ($15.00), salmon, AAA striploin, tiger prawns or BBQ eel ($17.00), and additional masago for $2.00 more. The bf wanted the eel with masago, but the server was new and left out the masago. It came with a kimchi garlic hot sauce on the side, which the bf loved since he looooveeesss spicy food.

Bibimbap

Soooo delicious, thinking about this dish makes my mouth water

I got the Claypot Chicken Wings, it’s not on the menu anymore, but apparently, if you ask nicely they might still make it for you (thank god for Twitter)! The sauce was the best thing ever, mmm…writing this post makes me want to eat it right now. I remember I was also pleasantly surprised by how many chicken wings were in the bowl, like 12+. The side that was supposed to come with it was fingerling potatoes, as you can tell in the photo above, they brought out rice instead. The server later on brought me the potatoes and even let me keep the rice! The extra rice was perfect with the leftovers as a lunch for the next day.

BTW, if you go to Anju, you have to have their fingerling potatoes, they’re dellliicciousss!! Those potatoes are the most perfect potatoes I have ever eaten. They are nice and crispy on the outside, and soft and squishy on the inside, AND they have the most wonderful seasoning on them! Can you tell I love potatoes?

The dessert was also amazing, we got the Roasted Asian Pear Pie with Vanilla Bean Ice-cream to share:

I love pie!

The fifteen minutes wait was well worth it. The mint was the perfect accompaniment to the warm rustic pie and the cold creamy ice-cream. I’m not sure if Chef Rebekah Pearse (formerly the owner & chef of Nectar Desserts) was acting as pastry chef yet on my visit, but I will have to for sure go back to try her dessert creations. I remember when I first found out Nectar was closing, I was nearly in tears because I realized I could never have their scones ever again. It was a sad, sad day, I still dream about those scones…

ANJU RESTAURANT & LOUNGE
507 10 Street Southwest
Calgary, AB
(403) 532-9419