Sushi.... At Hakone Japanese Cuisine.

As we were planning on having a date night, my husband and I went looking for a restaurant to try out on the north side of town. Heading up 137 Ave right around 127 Street we spotted Hakone Japanese Cuisine. We both enjoy sushi and decided to give it a go.

Walk in and you find a small but clean and sharp looking little restaurant. Booths line one wall and a private room and the kitchen/sushi area line the other. An kind older lady was behind the counter making sushi for another table, but still greeted us warmly when we walked in. A moment later a young girl comes out of the back and seats us at a booth and asks what we would like to drink. Our go to beverage at any sushi restaurant is the green tea.

After browsing the simple menu we decided on the Boat-Boat. Sushi, Maki and Sashimi all on one boat. It sounded delicious.

After about 20 mins of waiting our boat showed up at the table and we started to dig in. First piece in and we noticed it was a tiny bit fishy, but kind of usual at a sushi restaurant in land locked Alberta. The part that set me off a little was that the sashimi actually tasted a little salty, so I let my husband finish the sashimi and stuck to the sushi instead. The other thing we noticed was how little there was on the over $40 dollar boat. As we were in a hurry to make it to a movie we decided to not make a fuss about it and just ate and moved on.

While the staff were nice and the food was okay, I don't think it is a sushi restaurant we will go back to.

Food: 3/5
Ambiance: 4/5
Service: 3.5/5
Dinner for 2: $55.00
13907 127 St NW
(780) 761-3006

A new foray into Indian food... At Daawat.

During a cold night in Edmonton my husband and I decided to try and warm things up by going for something spicy for dinner. Mexican and Thai are normally where we lean but on that night we opted for something new... Indian. We had heard a lot about a restaurant on Whyte Ave called Daawat and figured we would give it a go.

Parking on the street is an issue but there is ample parking in the back. Walk in the door and you are greeted by tidy tables in gemstone colours and the scents and smells of a far away land. A buffet lines one wall and tables on the other.

If you know exactly what you want you can order from the menu, or you can try a little of everything through the buffet. This is what we opted on. They also have an impressive selection of beers from all over the globe, and we tried a couple Indian beers. My husbands choice was one named Taj Mahal, similar to a pale ale. Mine was Kingfisher, a light but crisp lager.

There are plenty of vegetarian options as well as many for those of us who prefer some meat with our meal. The ones that stood out the most for me were the Mattar Paneer (Homemade cheese cooked in peas with a mild curry sauce), the Beef Curry and the Coconut Naan, but I would definitely go back for the Butter Chicken, Fish Pakora (think spicy fish fritters) and Chana Masala (Chickpeas cooked with cumin, onions and tomatoes) as well.

Their mango Lassi (A yogurt based drink blended with mango juice) was DELICIOUS and I barely had enough room to finish it but made sure I did because it was that good. And I finished the evening with a small bowl (only because that is all I had room for) of their Kheer (a rice pudding with pistachios) which was sweet and creamy.

We will definitely venture back here and I suggest it to anyone who is nervous about trying Indian food as they are very welcoming here and are willing to answer any questions you have.

Food: 4.5/5
Ambiance: 3.5/5
Service: 4/5
Dinner for 2: $70.00 (with drinks)

Daawat Authentic East Indian Cuisine
10015-82 Ave
(780) 469-3517
http://www.daawat.ca/