Lucky Supermarket

Today I went shopping at Lucky Supermarket, 1051 Winnipeg Avenue.

Lucky has the best variety of any supermarket in town, hands down. The thing that makes them different from the rest of the Asian stores is their huge supply of western groceries. You can get milk and cheese, and all kinds of other items not available at most of these specialized shops. 

Their produce section is beyond compare, with little signs to explain what the more exotic items are and where they come from.

There is also a little restaurant that features buffet items, both Chinese and Vietnamese ranging from between $ 6 to $9 depending how many items you desire. They also have a limited dim sum menu with most items costing $3.

The thing about Lucky is the savings. Tons of items are always on sale for the best prices in town. We filled a full shopping cart today and spent just over $200. A cart filled with all kinds of normally expensive goodies like a full side of beef ribeye that was under $5 per pound! 

Head down and start saving !

Thai Bochi

The lovely dining room at Thai Bochi

Thai Bochi Restaurant is located at 870 Logan Avenue, (204) 832-7192. They serve Thai, Cambodian and Chinese cuisine. The food is delicious and their dishes stray from the usual dishes you find repeated on many Thai menus across the city.

We started with the fish-tofu stuffed with mushrooms for an appetizer. Light and delicate with a crispy crust, they were bursting with earthy flavour and tender on the inside. They came with a sweet chili sauce that complemented them nicely.

Next, we had the shrimp pad thai. Unlike the all too common red ketchup-studded variety, this fried noodle dish, loaded with mung bean sprouts, was less sweet. It came with chunks of fried onions, roasted crushed peanuts and perfectly prepared shrimp. The musky, but slightly sweet fish sauce, which came on the side, rounded out the flavours beautifully.

The absolute highlight of the meal and one of my all-time favourite dishes in the city is the Cambodian sour beef stew with natural herbs served with rice. Spicy and tangy, the stew is filled with chunks of tender stewed beef. Every bite is filled with sumptuous delicious mystery. Probably my favourite thing to find at a restaurant is a dish I don't have any idea how to make. I am at a total loss as to what is in this incredible stew.

Finally, we tried the battambong style dry noodle with pork liver, kidney, pork patties, ground pork and sliced pork, that came with a light savoury broth on the side. It was topped with cilantro, fresh bean sprouts, a red chilli and a lime wedge. It is a Cambodian dish and was unique and delightful. Perfect for anyone who wants to get all kinds of porky goodness in a single dish. It was mild and light which made for a nice complement to the rest of the flavour packed meal.

The bill was less than $40 for the whole shebang and we still took a pile home. Thai Bochi also has a very reasonably priced liquor menu which includes some import beers, including Tsing Tao from China and Singha from Thailand. Head on down, they are exceptionally friendly and justifiably proud of their great food!

El Izalco

696 Sargent Ave.

El Izalco Market is located at 696 Sargent Avenue (204 779-7092). This fun little market is owned by Sarah Esparanza and features Mexican and South American grocery items and more.

Candy!

For such a little place there is an astounding variety of goods. If you are serious about this kind of food and want to make your food from scratch, there is everything you need. Masa flour for tortillas, pupusas and tamales, dried black and red beans and herbs like epazote.

The selection of chiles includes guajillo, arbol, ancho, pasilla and chipotle. There are more. She even has dried hominy corn for the posole lover.

There is also a wide assortment of delicious packaged items. The Ducal brand of refried beans are my personal favourite and there are all kinds of tortillas.

The hot sauce selection is huge and cheap. Cholula is my go to sauce, but they're all good.

Sarah stocks all kinds of South American sodas and juices, along with snack items and candy that are very unique. I particularly like the sweet sour burst of the tamarind candies.

Homemade beans

One of the best things about shopping at El Izalco is that you can go home with pre-made items and sample some of Sarah's cooking. She has tamales, pupusas, chile rellenos and more. She has a variety of salsas and hot sauces of her own and curtido (sort of a South American coleslaw) she makes with homemade vinegar. It goes on top of pupusas and also makes a great taco filling.

Get me a stick!

The pinata selection is a fun addition and livens the little market up nicely.

Whether you want to cook from scratch or just have some great prepared food around for those busy days, El Izalco has what you need for a delicious feed!

Kimbaek Restaurant

Kimbaek Restaurant is located at 193 Isabel Street, (204) 942-1833. They make absolutely delicious and very authentic Korean fare. The entree prices range between $9 and $11. With an entree you get regular tea, four side dishes (called banchan), a bowl of rice and dessert tea. Four of us hedonistically shared five dishes and left stuffed, while the bill, before tip, was only $55.

Banchan

The banchan at Kimbaek consists of kimchi, a fermented suey choy (napa cabbage) dish loaded with fish sauce and Korean chili powder (gochutgaru or kochukaru, actually the western spellings I've encountered are much more varied than the product itself), wakame seaweed, crisp and light with a sweet chili sauce, blanched mung bean sprouts with sesame and potatoes that are served room temperature in a slightly sweet and spicy sauce. Every Korean restaurant serves banchan, but selection differs immensely. A friend of mine ate at a restaurant in Korea that featured 26 varieties of banchan, including one dish which consisted of fish eyeballs and orange crush!

Kimchi Chigae

We started with kimchi chigae, a spicy stew of pork, kimchi, potato, tofu and green onion. Served boiling hot in a heated stone bowl, the dish was a perfect start to the meal on a snowy fall day.

Haimool Pajun

Next, we devoured the haimool pajun, a savoury seafood and vegetable pancake served with a strangely delicate sauce considering its ingredients. Green onions, sesame, vinegar and soy all mixed together somehow seemed to balance each other out and made for a beautiful combination with the robust pancake.

Doenjang Chigae

The doenjang chigae, my least favourite selection, was exceptional. Doenjang (sometimes spelled doenjjang) is a fermented soybean paste, a Korean miso if you will. The soup was loaded with slices of zucchini, tofu, daikon radish and green beans. Topped with green onions, it was definitely the healthy pick of the day.

Beef Kalbi

Peppery beef kalbi, thinly sliced beef ribs are wonderful and simple, yet somehow mysterious with their subtle charbroiled flavour. Served sizzling on a hot plate, I could've scarfed the whole dish by myself. Lucky for my dining companions I can occasionally show some restraint and share.

Pork Bulgogi

Ah, the delectable awesomeness of pork bulgogi, the true staple of Korean barbeque. Loads of Korean chili powder and gochujang (fermented chili paste) are the key to this dish. Other ingredients vary, but it is  usually a bit sweet and salty. My favourite recipe for home has honey and pureed Asian pear. I don't know how they make it, but I can can hardly get enough. If I could choose my way to die, I think it might be to drown in a sea of bulgogi!

Demolition. Carnage.

Korea is a northern country and that is reflected in the cuisine, it is hearty fare and great on a cold blustery day (though I could have it and do on any day). There are other good places in town, but for truly authentic country Korean cooking at an astonishingly low price, Kimbaek rises to the top.

Picture Menu

P.S.
We forgot to order bibimbap, but it it a rice dish served in a hot stone bowl, so the rice gets fried and crispy, then topped with a whole bunch of fresh vegetables and finally a fried egg. Oh lord. . . so delicious, and a great way to go if you are eating alone. And really, who doesn't enjoy saying "bee bim bap".

Sun Wah Supermarket

Sun Wah Supermarket, located at 303 King Street, (204) 944-9162, is one of a number of Asian supermarkets and it is one of my two favourites. While Lucky Supermarket cannot be beat for sheer variety of produce, and the fact that you can get your western groceries there too, Lucky is also invariably crowded. At Sun Wah it is generally easier to get around and they have those little things (like apple vinegar drinks) that you just can't find anywhere else.

The market is definitely no frills in the decor department, but if you want cheap quality ingredients, this is your place. I should point out that these Asian markets are often the best places to shop for ingredients that are not for Asian foods. Making soft shell crab Po' Boys? No better deal on those than Sun Wah.

Some ingredients for our dinner party from Sun Wah.

There can be a bit of a language barrier with the good folks at Sun Wah and they were apprehensive about allowing me to take pictures inside, so instead of showing pictures from the store, I am going to show what I purchased and what my wife Rhoda and I cooked with the ingredients. What did we do? We had a dinner party!

The selection of fish and seafood is unparalleled in the city. They also have amazing Dim Sum you can steam at home, which is great if you don't feel like cooking but want some exotic flavours.


I could go on at length about all the wonderful stuff Sun Wah has to offer, but you should just go down and browse! It's fun trying to identify all the mysterious wonderful ingredients. Grab something you've never heard of and make a dish with it! You all have the Internet, find a recipe, you will be richer for it!

Flavour Bundles

First we served flavour bundles, consisting of homemade Laotian sausage, dried shrimp, toasted peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, minced shallots, bird chilies, cilantro and minced lime with the peel all wrapped in lettuce leaves.

Papaya Salad

Next, papaya salad. A kitchen mandolin really helps with this one, but you can shred it with a grater too. Julienned with a knife works too, but is pretty painstaking. A little carrot, tomato, some cilantro and Asian pear make up the body of the salad. Next, dress it with fish sauce, sugar, chilies and lime juice and top it with more peanuts and you're ready to go.

Coconut Shrimp Soup

A chicken stock (preferably Asian, with lemongrass, ginger and cilantro as opposed to the classic french mire poix), a can of coconut milk and some fish sauce make for a great soup base. A simple mild soup like this, with some shrimp and noodles, makes for a wonderful contrast to the otherwise bold and spicy dishes. You can add all kinds of stuff, oyster mushrooms, bamboo shoots, whatever you feel is right.

Rice Buddies! Kids love them!

For the main course, we served grilled chicken marinated with garlic, pepper, salt and fish sauce with steamed sticky rice. Sticky rice is glutinous jasmine rice that you form into balls and dip in sauce, or press together with hunks of meat. You can make them into little snowmen for the kids.

Rice and Chicken with Table Sauces

Sharing is what a dinner party is about. Sharing conversation, experiences and ideas over a great meal is very rewarding, but all of these are perfectly complemented by sharing music. I love vinyl, the warm pop and scratch of the needle brings me a sense of connection that I don't get from digital mediums. I love to get guests to pick a record and spin a side on the record player. If you have vinyl, a side is the perfect length to let everybody at the party have a pick or two. You never know what your guests will pick, so it is also great for revisiting forgotten gems in your collection. Alas, if you have no vinyl, get friends to pick from your iPod or computer.

Like ethnicities of food, there is no truly bad genre of music, but the true connoisseur is very picky about what they call good within the genre.

Think about the Asian dishes you love, find some recipes in a book or online and head to Sun Wah for those otherwise hard to find ingredients and have a party! No, not just a party, a dinner party!

Viena Do Castelo Portuguese Foods

Man, Oh Man! Is this place a gem! Viena Do Castelo , located at 105-819 Sargent Avenue, (204) 415-4615 is not just a fantastic market, it is also a terrific place to eat! Okay, okay, I'll try to stop with all the exclamation marks, but seriously everything from the super delicious, but dirt cheap Portuguese olive oil to the pasteis de nata (custard tarts, I dare you to try and have just one) screams quality and value.



Smooth and silky, fresh pasteis de nata
 A portuguese tradition

The menu is relatively simple on weekdays, serving homemade soup and traditional sandwiches (with a different sandwich special everyday) and an array of scrumptious baked goods.

They really do it up on Saturday with a variety of delectable authentic Portuguese specialties that are drawing aficionados of flavour from all over the city.

I sort of feel guilty paying just $ 5 for their soup and sandwich, so I make sure to grab a juice or soda and have plenty of those tarts for dessert.



5 bucks! 

Check out their Facebook page for gorgeous photos and a list of the Saturday specialties. Head down! They are also wonderful, kind, and friendly people who exude genuine passion for the food they prepare and sell!

The Nucleus

Clearly there are great places to eat all over the city, but first I want to discuss the "nucleus", Sargent and Ellice Avenue between Arlington and Salter. As far as diversity of ethnic food choices, and value, both for restaurants and markets, nowhere in the city compares.

The sheer number of options for affordable and delicious Vietnamese fare alone, is astounding. Viva, Pho Hoang and KG Saigon (just a block or two west of Arlington) are a few of the available options in the nucleus.

Harmans, on the east side of Sargent Avenue, offers Ethiopian and just next door is La Rica Vicky with Peruvian. The Green Chili serves Pakistani and Indian food, while Nou Eul Tor Korean Restaurant serves. . .well you can probably guess.

Some of the items available at El Izalco

There are many fun little markets and bakeries in the area. El Izalco is the place for all your Mexican and South American needs. Owner Sarah Esparanza is one of the friendliest people you will ever meet, and her curtido (a South American cabbage salad) is sure to tantalize your taste buds. They even have pinatas and everything you need to fill them. 

Stop by the Lisbon Bakery and grab a loaf of water bread, you won't regret it. Head to the Ellice Meat Market for some cured meats. It's all smoked in-house and you can pick up some goose fat for roasting potatoes (though duck fat is truly best).

The smoke room at Ellice meats

Take a stroll up and down the avenues and delight in the smells emanating from the restaurants and bakeries. Peruse the menus and reviews posted on the windows. Need a snack? Pop into India Palace for a samosa or try a spinach and cheese pie from Shawarma Time.

GO FORTH and EAT!