An Expensive Noodle Adventure to Green Tray – April 11, 2010

Jimmy and I passed by Green Tray at least a dozen times before we finally tried it out because we couldn’t tell what kind of cuisine it served. I thought they were one of those cafeteria-style restaurants. I was very surprised to learn that it was actually a pan-Asian restaurant, serving a range of Asian dishes from sushi to Taiwanese beef noodle soup.



Unsure of what to order, I decided upon the wonton noodle soup. Although the broth was clear and the wontons huge, I was disappointed with my lunch. The chow mein noodles were overcooked, which was their first major mistake. Secondly, the broth was bland and under-seasoned. It tasted like a vegetable broth, but coupled with the soggy noodles, the entire dish was blah.



The wontons weren’t very flavourful either. In fact, they tasted like the frozen types that Christine likes to buy. In the end, I ate less than half of the bowl and had to give up.



Jimmy saw beef noodle soup on the menu and couldn’t resist ordering it. He’s been eternally hopeful in finding a worthy replacement for his former favourite, Mr. Sun’s Noodle House. As you can see, the noodles were unadorned with any greenery whatsoever.



Again, the noodles were overcooked and limp. In the close-up, you can see that they were practically translucent. The beef chunks, however, were incredibly tasty. Just thinking about them makes me salivate. The spiced flavour was deeply concentrated in every tender piece, but alas, there weren’t enough cubes of beef for the both of us. We both agreed that their soup came close to Mr. Sun’s gloriously spicy broth, but it still fell short. It has the potential to be awesome.



The real star of the menu is the bubble tea. It aced all of Jimmy’s criteria for a truly delicious bubble tea: good tea, soft and chewy tapioca pearls, not too sweet, and icy cold. I loved it. It rivals Ten Ren’s bubble tea in Toronto. The only drawback is the price. I’ve forgotten how much we paid for two large bubble teas, but I remember balking at the bill.



In total, we spent nearly $40.00 for lunch – totally unacceptable for two bowls of noodles, xiaolongbao (not pictured because it was unremarkable) and bubble tea. I wouldn’t visit again, unless I was having some SERIOUS cravings for bubble tea.

Our Last Trip to Arisu – March 2, 2010

After a bad first impression, Jimmy and I came to love Arisu, located on Division and Queen.



We started with an ice-cold Sapporo beer. It’s a Japanese beer, but its light, clean flavour pairs wonderfully with Korean food. Just make sure that you finish it before it gets warm. This beer becomes completely undrinkable when it’s room temperature.



Shortly after the beer arrived, we received our assortment of complimentary banchan (Korean side dishes). The kimchi in the foreground was clearly made that day. It wasn’t fermented, so it tasted more like a napa cabbage salad with red pepper paste. Jimmy was disappointed since he favours Arisu’s kimchi over the rest of Kingston’s offerings. The seasoned zucchini was light and tasty. It contrasted the kimchi in flavour and texture. I loved the potato salad dish with its barely cooked potato in a sesame dressing. I am a fan of sesame oil, so this played right into my palate. I asked for another refill of this.



Jimmy ordered yukae jang, a spicy beef brisket stew containing vermicelli and a barely cooked egg. It was deeply flavoured with beef and onions, though spicier than I normally eat it. I could only eat a few bites before giving up.



The bibimbap was very refreshing. The ingredients (bean sprouts, cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, daikon, zucchini, and a fried egg) were incredibly fresh. The vegetables were laid out in a separate bowl, with a small bowl of rice on the side. I liked their bibimbap sauce, but I found it a little sweeter than I like. This was probably influenced by the fact that I was eating a lot of huedupbap with its vinegary sauce prior to this outing. I didn’t bother to take a picture of everything mixed together because it would have looked like a big, red mess.



I was feeling a little hungrier that night and ordered a maki. I can’t remember the name (French Kiss maybe… it was something unusual). It had avocado and shrimp tempura inside, covered with slices of smoked salmon. The soy sauce drizzled on top made it quite a salty roll. It wasn’t horrible, but the flavours didn’t do much for me. It was just a “meh” roll.

Altogether, the dinner cost less than $50, and we left with full bellies. The only thing that really needs work is the service. It took forever for our food to arrive, and we watched more than one table receive their food before us even though they arrived nearly 20 minutes after us. Still, the food is consistent and reasonably priced. I think this restaurant will be around for a while.

Cousin’s Apple Pie – July 10, 2010

One weekend, MT decided she wanted to make apple pie from scratch. With the help of her mom, they made this:



Isn’t it gorgeous?



The crust and apple filling were made entirely from scratch. I believe she used shortening for the crust, so it wasn’t as flavourful as using lard or butter. Still flaky and unbelievably tender. They used Macintosh apples for the filling, and they baked beautifully in the pastry. The slices held their shape well and the texture of the baked apples were firm instead of soft and mealy.

I hand-whipped the whipped cream because my cousin wasn’t confident in her whipping skills. She did measure out the cream and sugar for me, where I would have just done it by taste. She told me that her dad (my uncle who used to work in a bakery) taught her that the perfect whipping cream uses 90% whipping cream and 10% sugar in terms of weight.

We polished this off in less than 10 minutes.

*UPDATED* Ottawa's Chicken-Ribfest 2010

*UPDATED* with Lucy's comments in lavender.


You can find these ribs at the 2010 International Chicken-Rib Cook-Off in Ottawa in the next two days. Sunday (June 27th) is the last day, by the way, so get dressed and go get some!


We went down to the smoke-filled Sparks Street earlier today and bought a few orders of ribs. We started lining up around 5:00 PM, so the flocks of tourists hadn’t yet arrived. The crowd was predominantly federal government employees picking up Friday night dinner. The longest line-up was about 15 minutes for Uncle Sam’s and the Silver Bullet.

Then we took a ride down the Ottawa River Parkway and stopped at the Deschenes Rapids (the last place you can park your car before the Parkway ends). We only went to four places for ribs: Silver Bullet, Billy Bones, Uncle Sam, and Camp 31.


A full rack of ribs with a side of coleslaw and beans from Silver Bullet.

Lucy's comment: Over the past few years, Silver Bullet is probably my favourite lunch. The ribs were very tender and lean, making it very easy to eat. The sauce was the sweetest in comparison with the others, which also meant that their beans were super dark (in colour) and sweet. The smoky flavour was wonderful, permeating the meat to the bone. The stall was generating huge plumes of smoke while I waited in line. Overall, it’s a solid rack of ribs, and the flavours won’t offend your palate unless you can’t stand a sweet sauce.


Ribs and pulled pork combo from Billy Bones. The pulled pork was really sweet. After two bites, I couldn't eat anymore.


Half a rack of ribs from Billy Bones.

I actually don’t remember much about this one. The meat was rather tough, so it involved more chewing action than the other ribs. The sauce was sweet and spicy but it balanced well with the other flavours. I thought the pulled pork had an excessive amount of sauce. I would have liked it more if they added half as much sauce and offered the other half on the side. If I had known how delicious the sauce was going to be, I would have definitely bought a few bottles of it for myself.


Full rack of ribs with coleslaw and beans from Uncle Sam. The first image in this post is also from Uncle Sam.

These ribs were fall off the bone tender, but they were also ridiculously fatty. The grease really put me off when I looked at my hands and saw the grease and not the sauce. The sauce was standard – nothing was offensive. The beans were rather bland, so I ate them with the beans from Silver Bullet. It actually rounded out all of the flavours quite nicely!


Half a rack of ribs with coleslaw and beans from the defending champions of the best ribs, Camp 31.

At first, I was skeptical of the ribs from Camp 31. Where would the flavour be hiding if there’s barely any sauce on it? It was amazing. The meat was lean, and the flavour was strong. There was a harmonious balance of sweet, savoury, tangy, and smoky flavours in each bite. We were quite disappointed that we only bought half a rack, but that meant we were fighting over the ribs, making it taste even sweeter with victory, MUAHAHAHA! This was also easy to eat, leaving us wanting more.

Lucy, Jimmy, Richard, Andrew, and I have collectively agreed that the best ribs came from two places...
The best "wet" ribs came from Billy Bones.
The best "dry" ribs came from Camp 31.

We couldn't name an overall winner because they were two different styles. Billy Bones' sauce was awesome! No wonder they've won the award of the best sauce, at this competition, these past two years. Camp 31 were very gutsy by not using any sauce, but hey, the meat was full of flavour. No wonder they are the three-time defending champs of the best ribs and BBQ sauce.

Update: Camp 31 has successfully won the best ribs and sauce again.

There's also one lemonade stand (Alabama's Freshly Squeezed Lemonade) on Sparks Street, which is alright. We packed some drinks in our cooler this time. Last year, there were two younger guys running this stand. I was surprised not to see them there anymore. They must not have sold enough last year.

If you aren't familiar with these sorts of competitions, all I can say is bring an empty stomach, cash, and patience.


The prices for all of the different competitors look similar to Silver Bullet's prices.

Last reminder, Ottawa's ribfest ends this Sunday! I'd suggest you go for lunch instead of dinner. Even though it looks like we'll be getting rain this weekend, it's worth lining up for. For some tips on how to prepare yourself for the event, check out my list here.

~*~*~

2010 International Chicken-Rib Cook-Off
Sparks Street