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Steamed Egg and Seaweed – April 21, 2009
I was feeling lazy one night, but wasn’t lazy enough to eat instant noodles or go out for some junk (McDonald’s or 2-4-1 Pizza).
I made some steamed egg with little bits of fake crab (you can’t see any in the picture) and green onions. As for seasoning, I added some salt and fish sauce. Steam until the middle is no longer liquid, and you’ve got a dish! The only thing I hate about this dish is washing the bowl afterwards. The edges get crusty and gross, and it’s a total pain scrubbing it off.
That night, we also opened up a can of BBQ eel from Taiwan and some packets of seasoned, roasted seaweed. Not exactly an awesome meal, but it’s definitely better than noshing on pizza or McDonald’s.
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Bun Bo Hue and Vermicelli from Little Saigon – April 23, 2009
Jimmy and I had a quick lunch at Little Saigon late one afternoon. The place was completely empty, which felt weird for a place that always has a few tables eating.
We ordered the spring rolls, as per usual. The picture only shows two because Jimmy and I greedily ate the first one before remembering to take out the camera. Oops!
As you can see, it’s served with fish sauce. Jimmy made his own dipping sauce of garlic chili sauce mixed with soy sauce (both condiments are always on the table).
This time, the spring rolls weren’t fried and blistered enough. It was soggy in some bites, and crispy in others. Not the best we’ve had.
Jimmy craved a bowl of bun bo hue. I don’t remember his comments about it.
I ordered the curry beef vermicelli. My complaint with the vermicelli (bun) dishes at Little Saigon is that they don’t give enough vegetables and herbs. In fact, they don’t put in fresh herbs at all! Lame.
This was okay. It didn’t blow my mind, but it wasn’t awful either. The end of the bowl looked like I had just eaten a soup because the curry beef comes with almost a ladleful of curry sauce.
It seems that each trip to Little Saigon ends up in “meh” rather than “wow!” That kinda sucks, but I guess that’s what happens when you eat there every other week.
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Cambodiana’s Saucy Dishes – April 24, 2009
We had dinner here before catching a movie at the theatre. For the past few trips to Cambodiana, it seems that they can do no wrong.
As we were seated, the waitress brought us some glasses of water and a pitcher to keep at the table. Jimmy judges a restaurant’s service by how often they come by to refill his water. This pitcher means a perfect ten in his books.
I don’t know which dish I ordered. Judging by the picture, it had chicken, tomatoes, and basil in a red curry sauce. I know it wasn’t overly spicy, and it was aromatic. The rice was a little mushy, but at least it wasn’t undercooked. That’s just nasty.
Jimmy ordered the salaw kako. My grandma makes an awesome version of it. It’s a very green stew with bits of all sorts of vegetables, normally whatever my grandma has lying around in her fridge. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to find a place that tastes like my grandma’s kako.
It’s not a spicy dish at all, and it’s not meant to be spicy. There’s a delicate aroma to it, but it’s definitely an acquired taste.
This meal was pricier than lunch at Little Saigon, but I think we were more satisfied with the food. The dishes still cater to non-Southeast Asians, but it has a vibrancy in flavour that Little Saigon lacks.
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Little Saigon
284 Princess Street
(Between Clergy and Sydenham)
Kingston, ON
(613) 536-5774
Cambodiana
161 Brock Street
(Brock and Montreal)
Kingston, ON
(613) 531-0888
*Cash and debit only!*
All that food looks delicious! I've never tried salaw kako but it sounds great. I prefer getting a bottle or pitcher too as waiters can often forget!
ReplyDeleteThe salaw kako is a fantastic soup, but it may not float everyone's boat. It's a humble, homey soup that my grandmother specializes in. It's hard for me to eat it at a restaurant when I know that my grandmother can make a much better one.
ReplyDeleteLove your blog! I agree that Little Saigon is usually fairly disappointing. It does seem like there are a lot of Vietnamese places in Kingston but overwhelmingly, they are fairly "meh". My usual go-to place when I order delivery for the hospital is Mekong. Not so much for taste but for value. You seem to get a lot of food for the price. The only drawback - they water down their fish sauce! ARGH!
ReplyDeleteCambodiana is really tasty, particularly the Golden Chicken. I tried ordering other things there but I routinely return to the Golden Chicken, mostly because all the other dishes seem to be a variant of this dish. Have you checked out Royal Ankor? I prefer the Cambodian food there, in my opinion.
Anyway, keep up the posts! Nice to see a fellow Kingston food blogger.
-Russ
Thanks for the support! I have to admit that I check your blog pretty often, too! It's pretty neat having someone else eating at a lot of the same places as I do.
ReplyDeleteI have actually never gone to Mekong to eat. I went there once, with Christine, to get bubble tea, but that was such a dud that I never returned for anything else.
I was about to agree with your comment about Royal Angkor, but then realized that I have never eaten there. I was thinking of Phnom Penh, on King Street. I'll have to check out Royal Angkor when I get back in September.
Again, thanks for the support! Hopefully, by the time I get back to Kingston, I'll be able to post regularly about good eats.
Regarding bubbletea, might I suggest Classics (underneath) Princess Towers. They are Korean run and they have a pretty good list of bubbleteas that are not powder based. Their tapioca is chewy and also firm, not the slippery soft garbage that they have at some places. Only problem is that they tend to run their drinks a bit sweet. If you ask for half-sweet or no-sweet, it turns out a bit better.
ReplyDeleteThey also make cheap Korean food. They make a pretty good dduk bok kee (Korean rice cake with spicy sauce). Not the best I've ever had but at least they make it and they don't charge you a fortune (like Ta-Ke).
Lookin' forward to more posts on Kingston. Together, we will have reviewed the entire culinary world of Kingston!
Russ