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Jun 30, 2010

in edmonton, padmanadi, Summer 2010, vegan food

New Stuff at Padmanadi (again)

It’s been a long time since I’ve ordered something new to me at Padmanadi, but it’s been a Padmanadi couple of days, since friends have wanted to see the new location, and who better to come along than me!? The first few visits years ago consisted of ordering a new thing on the menu every time, then I got into a routine of familiar favourites. Well, with the slightly new menu came new opportunities. Yesterday three of us tried three items that were new to us:

The Hot and Sour Soup

I’m just going to come out and say it. I didn’t like the Hot and Sour soup. I loved the cilantro on top, and it was still “good” but there was something about the flavour I just didn’t enjoy. It comes with veggie ham in it, and copious amounts of starch.

As I was eating it, I kept thinking… Oriental Veggie House’s Hot and Sour soup is still the best vegetarian version I’ve ever had.

The Spicy Coconut Eggplant

This was amazing. It has a little pepper beside it on the menu, but It wasn’t very spicy. Although the spice/pain receptors in my tongue could be dulled from overuse. One out of the three of us didn’t like it, and thought it was spicy and too squishy, but me and else thought it was just awesome all around. A lightly spicy coconutty spicy flavour permeated the eggplant and made every bite equally tasty.
I think it might be a new favourite.

Mongolian Chicken

This was so impressive. Our omnivorous companion LOVED this dish. She’s 12 and the next day told all of her friends about it. I think that’s really saying something. The texture and flavour were great, and very true to the real thing. Sweet and tangy sauce with a hint of spice. The menu say’s this dish comes on a bed of crispy noodles, but ours did not, but it didn’t matter much as it disappeared all the same.

I was really excited to see the new items on the menu, and I’m looking forward to trying more. I have at least two more trips planned to Padmanadi with different folks in the next month, so hopefully I get the chance to try a few more of the other new dishes.

Jun 27, 2010

by MeShell

in edmonton, Edmonton City Market, farmers market, vegan food

Edmonton City Market

I had lofty goals to get out to the St.Albert Farmers Market this weekend, but decided that after a full 12 hour night shift, it was probably better to take it easy. So, a quick LRT ride and I was downtown bright and early, waiting for the bell to ring (which signifies the vendors can start selling). Considering the unpredictable weather, the turn out was decent right from the beginning, and as 9am rolled around the sun came out. Perfect!

This time I was looking for some truffle olive tapenade and LimeGreen’s macaroons, unfortunately, man with the truffles was nowhere to be found, and there weren’t any macaroons at LimeGreen’s. Maybe next week! I made the best of it. Gave me an excuse to try a bunch of other things.
As an aside, it looks like LimeGreen’s is doing an assorted nut milk/raw food delivery service, sounds like an interesting idea and I hope it does well! More information is at their website

First stop was The Happy Camel, since I’ve been meaning to try some of their Za’tar flat bread for a while. It’s fluffy and delicious, and perfect with sliced fresh tomatoes. They have a nice red pepper hummus that’s vegan and also tasty. You can find them at most Farmer’s Markets in the city (and in St.Albert too) as well as their bakery/cafe in the Callingwood Shopping Center (6404-177 Street.)

Next I stopped by the Innisfail Growers, and picked up some Gourmet Asparagus Relish. I wish there were samples to try before I bought it, but I’m looking forward to cracking it open with a few friends soon. Time for a summer bbq!

I love the people at Fiesta Olives, I had wanted to try their stuff last time but they were so busy and now I know why. They are so enthusiastic about the creation of delicious and well spiced olives, and that makes a huge difference. One reason I love the farmers markets is occasionally people as so passionate about what they do. It’s a nice change from the supermarket. Talking to one of the owners made me love olives even more than I already did. It was hard to decide between the garlic stuffed black olives and the almond stuffed black olives, but I went with the garlic ones (when in doubt, the answer is garlic). Luckily, not only do they have samples, but they seem to genuinely want you to try everything.

I walked past Olga’s Nature’s Sense (the website is under construction) a couple of times yesterday, but right before I was leaving I had to see what was available. Not everything is vegan (there is honey and beeswax in some of the products) but most of the soaps were. The Chocolate Mint Chaos was my favourite of all the soaps, the rich smell of real cocoa and peppermint oil is heavenly. I think I might try the coffee soap next time. I loved the little gift tins of assorted soaps (I might hint at them for the next birthday/special occasion.)

I left gnawing on a cob of fresh roasted corn (husk and all) and may have won the award for weirdest person on the LRT at 10am from the way people were looking at me. I think they were all just jealous of my breakfast!

Jun 25, 2010

by MeShell

in edmonton, padmanadi, vegan food, wheat free

The New Padmanadi

I visited the new location for Padmanadi in Edmonton at 10740 101 St. I envy Victoria High School (I went there, once upon a time) students because Padmanadi is now a five minute walk for lunch. The new location is unassuming from the outside, but once you walk in, it’s very bright, the furnishings are beautiful, and every plate is etched with the Padmanadi logo.

For a place that had a very family style feel, there is this hipness to the new location that the old one never had. I’m sure it will grow on me, but it’s a dramatic change. Either way, the food was still the same, just a couple dollars more than before. I’d like visit it at night and see what effect the lighting has on the ambiance, as they have east facing windows that let in a lot of natural light during the day.

We ordered the wheat free curried mutton and the roti canai. I’m looking forward to going back and ordering something new next time. I noticed that they finally had Hot and Sour soup listed on the menu, something I’ve been dreaming of since Padmanadi first opened, so that’s something I am thrilled to try. I’m glad to see the wheat free items marked on the menu since so many people are effected by that intolerance/allergy or just want to avoid it for their own reasons. (However, I’m not sure if that means gluten free in general, since there are other sources of gluten)

Wheat Free Curried Mutton from Padmanadi

One thing that I was disappointed about (but not too much) was the lack of chrysanthemum tea. Our server mentioned that because they were so busy it was getting difficult to manage that much tea, so instead they have several other varieties of tea to choose from. It didn’t matter though, because the server was friendly, helpful and attentive, and kept my water glass full the entire time.

Another thing you might notice, since I know I did, was the lack of default chopsticks. Every table has plates and forks, but they still have chopsticks and/or bowls if you ask for them. I always enjoyed not having to ask for chopsticks, but it sounds like I’m in the minority on that one.

CBC was doing interview’s on the new location and he mentioned that Kasim (the owner of Padmanadi) was thinking about spreading out across Canada, which I think is a great idea, and has a lot of potential for success. At the very least, Toronto should have one (though Buddhas Veggie House on 666 Dundas is pretty darn good too.)

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