Brooklyn Tomato

After exploring the newest and biggest Canadian Tire in Canada (and maybe even the world?) located in South Edmonton Common last Friday afternoon with CJ, a lunch break was much needed. Walking around in a massive store with two floors is tiring after all. The night before I had learned of the grand opening of a restaurant named Brooklyn Tomato (104 - 2920 Calgary Trail) which relocated to Calgary Trail from their former establishment in Bonnie Doon. I will happily welcome any new food business that opens up in the southside! 

Brooklyn Tomato Modern Vietnamese Restaurant.

Business Hours.

Brooklyn Tomato is located in the same building as Tasty Choice although it is a bit further inwards from the main road. That being said, there is plenty of parking space available. And I know what you're thinking... why is a modern Vietnamese restaurant named Brooklyn Tomato... that doesn't seem fitting! The name doesn't bother me in particular... in fact, I think Brooklyn Tomato is kind of cool to say! 

The interior.

The interior... really big space!

My first thought stepping inside the restaurant: "This place is soooo big!". The photo above shows only one side of the restaurant which is to the left when walking in... there is still an area to the right that is just as spacious (and clean)! Definitely no shortage of seating here! Given the big space I would say that Brooklyn Tomato is a great choice for larger group outings. 

The menu... sorry about the glare!

Menu: Appetizers | Soup | Beef Noodle Soup (Pho) | Chicken Noodle Soup.

Menu: Vermicelli | Grilled Meat Steamed Rice | Wok Fried Rice Dish | Sizzling Plate - Seafood.

Menu: Sizzling Plate continued - Beef & Chicken | Stir Fried Noodle | Wok Fried - Seafood & Beef.

Menu: Wok Fried continued - Chicken & Pork | Vegetarian | Desserts.

There is a lot of selection on the menu at Brooklyn Tomato, but it is fairly easy to understand given the descriptions and pictures provided for some food items. I initially only wanted to share a dessert with CJ but after wandering around Canadian Tire for a good hour or so, we both wanted something more filling. 

Grilled Chicken with Steamed Rice.

We both had our eye on the choices under Grilled Meat Steamed Rice ($12.95). I told CJ to say which meat he wanted on the dish and I would do the same at the count of 3. "1... 2... 3... Chicken!" was what we both said. Lol, we really are meant to be! Accompanying the meat and rice are two wok fried eggs, shredded lettuce and marinated carrot, tomato and cucumber. The chicken and rice are also topped with green onion. This dish tasted exactly like how it looked. No surprising flavours, no questionable textures. A simple, classic rice dish with perfectly cooked chicken, eggs to bring the flavours up a notch, and vegetables to refresh the palate. The portion size was great for sharing with CJ since I don't tend to eat that much anyways. Apparently CJ found that there was more meat compared to the rice we were given but I felt the opposite... in fact, the amount of rice I had was perfect since I find that other restaurants serve smaller portions of rice than what I would prefer. 

Grilled Pineapple and Banana.

CJ and I came here for dessert so of course we had to order one. I chose their Grilled Pineapple and Banana ($4.95) which is served with a creamy coconut sauce and vanilla ice cream. Since I tend to go for desserts with chocolate, this dessert consisting of fruit was a nice change. I absolutely loved the warm, grilled banana and pineapple topped with nuts paired with the contrasting cold ice cream. My favourite part was the creamy coconut sauce which had small tapioca pearls in it... so yummy! Both CJ and I really enjoyed this dessert. I would love to recreate this at home. 

Our experience at Brooklyn Tomato was very positive. Because it was only CJ and I in one quiet corner of the restaurant, I felt relaxed and free to take my food photos and eat at my own leisurely pace. Our server was friendly and attentive, with our food arriving fairly quick too. I recommend checking out Brooklyn Tomato if you're in the mood for modern Vietnamese cuisine - you'll also be supporting a new, local restaurant as well. I wish Brooklyn Tomato all the best at their new south Edmonton location. Don't forget to check them out on Facebook! 

Saigon Cuisine

After finally checking out Popbar at West Edmonton Mall for the first time (see previous post), CJ and I were looking for something more filling for an early dinner. We decided to head over to Riverbend Square for food, since we needed to go to the Riverbend Public Library anyways. Trips to certain areas of the city always result in me using Urbanspoon to search up nearby food places. I ended up finding Saigon Cuisine (saigoncuisine.net), the only Vietnamese restaurant in the area.

Now here's the funny part. When CJ and I got to Riverbend Square, I immediately started looking around to locate Saigon Cuisine. Turns out, it is located pretty much right next door to Booster Juice. I have made countless trips to this Booster Juice location, yet I have never noticed Saigon Cuisine before. Wow. I guess searching up food places beforehand really forces me to open up my eyes to the area around me.

As we were approaching the entrance, CJ described the place as looking sketchy. I think it was due to the curtained windows, so we couldn't see the inside of the restaurant from the outside. Stepping in, however, the restaurant had a clean, simple appearance. One of the staff told us to sit where ever we wanted, so we chose a booth towards the right side.

Our view from our table, facing the entrance.

After ordering our drinks, CJ and I spent some time looking over their menu. Saigon Cuisine has a really large menu with many different types of dishes, such as grilled dishes, rice dishes and rice noodle dishes, just to name a few. CJ and I both wanted something with rice, so we were focused mostly on the rice dishes. I decided to get Lemon Grass Chicken with Bell Pepper & Onions on Rice ($10.95 on their website), while CJ got Lemon Grass Pork with Bell Pepper & Onions on Rice ($10.95 on their website). Both of these dishes had "Spicy" listed under their description as well. 

I noticed some customers coming into the restaurant while we were waiting for our food. While a few of them sat down to eat, most of them were picking up their food to go. I guess Saigon Cuisine also offers the option to take out in addition to dine in, which is always a great bonus. 

It didn't take too long for our food to come out. At this point CJ and I were both really hungry, but of course I had to stop him from eating in order to take a couple pictures! 

My dish (left) and CJ's dish (right).

The food that was served to us looked very simple and homey. Nothing too extravagant about the presentation, which I liked. I tried my first piece of the chicken... and I loved it! The lemon grass flavour was well rounded and not too overwhelming. The spice on the food was nice and mild... definitely not the kind of spice that's unbearable but the kind that you enjoy. 

My Lemon Grass Chicken dish.

The bell peppers and the onions were a nice addition as well. Although I wish they could have been cut a bit smaller, they went well with the chicken nonetheless. I normally don't tend to eat vegetables that come along with rice dishes such as this one, but I ate almost every bell pepper and onion on the plate! 

CJ's Lemon Grass Pork dish.

CJ told me his dish was delicious as well. The only downside about our food was that we both felt there wasn't enough rice! With each piece of chicken (or in CJ's case, pork) that I eat, I like to have a nice spoonful of rice with it. Since there were a lot of pieces of chicken, there wouldn't be enough spoonfuls of rice for all of them! Even though I personally became full after eating my food, CJ was still hungry probably because he didn't have enough rice to accompany his meat. 

Despite us feeling that we didn't have enough rice on our plates, CJ and I really enjoyed our food. I thought the food we had was very comforting, well-made and tasty. This is definitely something that I would find myself eating at home on the couch while watching TV.

Saigon Cuisine is a great place to go if you're looking for something more casual. Not the place for fancy dinner dates, but great for down-to-earth relaxing dates. I'm still very surprised that I didn't know about this place until more recently. CJ even asked our server how long Saigon Cuisine has been around and she told us 7 years! Oh my goodness!!! I'll definitely want to come back here if I'm ever in the Riverbend area again.