Tasty Choice

There was actually a brief period when I was all caught up with my blog posts, but now I am behind with them again (as expected). Last Tuesday, I went on an unplanned shopping trip with my cousin and aunt to look for a dress for my brother's wedding. After having no luck in the first few stores we went to, I managed to find the perfect dress with the help of my mom who arrived later on. I left with my mom and other cousin and we decided to check out South Edmonton Common for some more shopping. But first, food! My mom was asking me for suggestions, and since we were heading down Calgary Trail I knew I had to take this chance to go to Tasty Choice! 

Tasty Choice (www.facebook.com/pages/Tasty-Choice/) is located down Calgary Trail and is connected to what I believe is an office space on the upper floors. I've been to Tasty Choice a few times in the past, so I thought I would try it out again! Stepping inside, there are a lot of cute, colourful posters and displays. There are also tables with regular chairs, as well as tables with big leather couches for relaxing on. 

The interior.

My mom wanted to sit at a table with regular chairs, but I obviously insisted on sitting on the huge leather couch. After sitting down, I think I would've preferred sitting at a regular chair because I found the couch to be a bit too low compared to the height of the table. It made for some uncomfortable eating and picture taking on my part. Oh well. 

The menu.

The menu at Tasty Choice is quite big, but I loved that they added pictures with some of the dishes! Tasty Choice offers a variety of appetizers, rice dishes, bubble tea and desserts. So many items to choose from! I decided I would get something sweet since I had already eaten some dumplings earlier, while my mom and cousin picked two different rice dishes for themselves. 

The poster display.

While waiting, my mom was mostly preoccupied trying to read these posters. She pointed out how Tasty Choice had extended summer hours. Monday to Thursday they are open till 12am and on Friday and Saturday they are open till 1am. This would definitely make a great late night hangout spot. 

Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowl. 

The first dish to come out was my cousin's Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowl ($7.99). This dish is served with teriyaki chicken (of course) with vegetables over rice. I didn't try it, but I didn't really hear any complaints from him. There was a lot of steam coming from the bowl, so I knew it was freshly made and quite warm. 

Taro Bubble Tea.

I ordered my cousin a small Taro Bubble Tea ($3.99) to drink. He said he didn't want it because he was already getting full from the food, so he gave it to me. The bubble tea at Tasty Choice is really good - very similar to the bubble tea served at Dream Tea House. The only thing I didn't like were the tapioca balls! I always order bubble tea without the tapioca, so I had to put in some effort to avoid getting them into my straw. 

Mini HK Style French Toast.

The dish I chose is actually one of their appetizers - Mini HK Style French Toast ($5.50). I've never had HK Style French Toast before, so I thought I would give it a try here. It is served as 6 mini pieces, drizzled with maple syrup on top with a square of butter on the side. I thought my French toast had the perfect amount of crispiness and sweetness. I loved how it is already cut into smaller pieces which made it a lot easier for me to eat. My mom wanted to try a piece, and she thought it was yummy as well! 

Korean BBQ Beef Rice Bowl.

Next to arrive at our table was my mom's pick - Korean BBQ Beef Rice Bowl ($8.99). She said she wanted something with Korean flavours for lunch, so that's why she chose this dish! As she was eating, she was commenting on how the portion size was actually quite big for a seemingly small bowl. She let me have some of her food because she couldn't finish it all. I personally thought the beef had a flavour that was too strong and "in your face"... it's a bit hard to describe, but I just wished it had a more mellow taste. Nevertheless, I still liked the savouriness since the food I had picked was on the sweeter side. 

Strawberry Cream Crepe.

Finally, my Strawberry Cream Crepe ($5.50) was the last to arrive! I was so excited to eat this! In the past, I would go here with my sister and my cousin just to get their crepes. The Strawberry Cream Crepe is made with sliced strawberries, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce. The first couple bites aren't as appetizing because you only taste the actual crepe, but as you work your way to the bottom all the flavours tucked away come together. I just wish that they added more strawberries and cream towards the top part of the crepe so that it would taste even better. Eating this crepe definitely brings back a lot of childhood memories. 

Tasty Choice is an awesome place to go for some Asian dishes, desserts, and bubble tea. They are open late if you're ever in need of a midnight snack, and the big couches are perfect for lounging on with a group of friends. The prices for food and drinks are quite reasonable - not too expensive at all. I would definitely want to come back here to try more desserts for sure! The best part about this place? The One Piece figurines inside their display cases! Coolest thing ever... I absolutely love One Piece! 

I need all of this in my room.

MEAT

One of my most favourite things to do is plan surprises for my boyfriend. And that's exactly what I did last Friday evening when I secretly planned on taking CJ to MEAT (meatfordinner.com), one of Edmonton's newest restaurants. 

I called him earlier that day to tell him that we'd be going to a cafe with a few of our friends. He doesn't like cafes at all, but he agreed to come anyways. After he was done work (I was lucky to have gotten this day off!), we headed off to our destination. 

We took the bus down Whyte Ave and got off at the stop next to 104th Street. As soon as he noticed that we were in front of Block 1912 (a European cafe), he immediately had a bummed look on his face. "Aww... we're going here?" He said with a sad tone. Right after, I said "Just kidding!" Instead, we crossed the street and started walking towards MEAT. "Hey I see MEAT... we're going to MEAT aren't we? Alright!" The fact that he immediately became so happy after seeing we'd be eating at MEAT for dinner made planning this surprise for him so worth it! Ever since I first told him about this restaurant, he has always been asking me to go! CJ is a lover of meat... he doesn't really eat vegetables even though I tell him they're good for him. We only go out for dinner dates occasionally, and since I had the day off, why not go this time? 

We arrived at MEAT a few minutes after 5:00pm, which is the time the restaurant opens. It is located north of Whyte Ave along 104th Street, beside The Next Act Pub which is its sister restaurant. The interior of MEAT is very open, bright, and clean. The main dining area consists of longer wooden tables, with some higher tables next to the bar. CJ and I got a seat at the far back area of the restaurant, so we had a nice view of the entire place. The perks of arriving early?

The menus. 

The menus at MEAT had a nice and simple layout. Not difficult to read or understand at all. Our server returned shortly after and asked what we would like to drink. CJ and I went for our usual - orange juice for me and iced tea for him. Unfortunately, we were told that they didn't have any of those drinks! Instead, we both got Upson's Classic Lemonade ($3.50) - Classic Lemon for me and Rose for him. 

Upson's Classic Lemonade in Classic Lemon.

Our server explained to us that this drink consisted of club soda with a lemony taste. It is a carbonated drink, which caused the straw to actually float to the top of the drink (lol). I actually didn't really enjoy this drink too much, mostly because I wasn't really getting the lemon flavour. Next time I'll want to try one of the Boylan's Soda or even a beer! 

After getting our drinks, we were ready to order. I chose to get a Quarter Apple Glazed Smoked Chicken, while CJ ordered One Pound of Pulled Pork. We also got large Garlic Fries to share and decided on a Pecan Pie for dessert later on. 

Our food served on a large tray.

Honestly, I don't think CJ and I even had to wait more than 5 minutes for our food to arrive. It really felt like as soon as our orders were taken, we got the food immediately after. Wow. We were both surprised at how quick the food got out to us. 

Garlic Fries.

I helped myself to their Garlic Fries to start my meal. So good! These are definitely some of the best fries I've tasted. The fries had a nice garlicky taste, but it wasn't too overwhelming. They were also very crispy! CJ said that it felt like the garlic was infused inside the fries, and that he wanted to learn how to make these fries at home! I highly recommend getting these fries as a side. CJ and I had requested for a large size ($10), but on our bill it actually came up as a small size ($5). So I'm not sure if the serving we got on our tray was a small or large! 

Quarter Apple Glazed Smoked Chicken.

The meat I picked for the night was their Apple Glazed Smoked Chicken. I got it in the Quarter size ($9), which is the smallest option. You could also get it in the Whole or Half size. I really liked the taste of my chicken! The chicken itself was moist, while the skin was very flavourful. The only downside for me was that I felt like the skin was a bit dry and slightly tough to cut. Other than that, very delicious! 

One Pound of Pulled Pork.

CJ ordered a huge serving of meat for himself, specifically One Pound of Pulled Pork ($14). If you're not much of a carnivore like CJ is, you could opt for the Half Pound or even go for the Pulled Pork Sandwich. CJ absolutely loved his pulled pork! He couldn't stop eating! I helped myself to the pork and it is definitely flavourful and addicting. We'll be getting this next time for sure too! 

Housemade sauces.

Next to us were four bottles of sauces, made in house. It is labelled as Bourbon, Cherry, Spicy, and Mustard. My favourite was the Cherry sauce! Best sauce I've tried. It went well with my chicken as well as the pulled pork CJ ordered. CJ was also alternating between the Cherry and Spicy. The sauce inside the Bourbon bottle was a bit harder to get out for some reason, even though the bottle was filled to the top. Weird. Both CJ and I wished that the sauces could be somewhat easier to get out of their bottles! 

The interior.

At this point, the restaurant was getting quite packed. I was very happy that we arrived early and were seated at our own individual table instead of the longer tables in the centre. The only downside about a full house? The noise! Even though CJ was across from me, I could barely hear him! We practically had to yell at each other if we wanted to say something. I heard some people sitting near us complain about the noise as well, pointing out how it was pretty loud in the room. Please get this noise issue fixed! 

Pecan Pie.

To finish off our meal, CJ and I got a Pecan Pie ($8) to share for dessert. I don't normally choose pie for dessert, but after seeing people post on Instagram praising the pie here, I just had to try it! Oh my goodness. Absolutely delicious! I couldn't stop eating... I don't even think I stopped to take a drink in between. Wow. By far one of the most memorable desserts I have eaten! The pie itself was sweet and chewy, while the layer of pecans on top added the perfect amount of crunch. The vanilla ice cream made a great contrast to the warm flavours of the pecan pie. Finally, the caramel drizzle added another hint of sweetness that wasn't too overwhelming either! While CJ enjoyed this pie, he obviously liked the meat more. This was my favourite eat of the night! 

CJ and I had such an amazing experience at MEAT! Sitting across from me, CJ was all smiles. "Let's just come here every Friday!" He said. "Thank you for taking me here, this is the best surprise ever!" Aww, so sweet! CJ said that this would be his favourite restaurant of all time. We will without a doubt be coming back here! 

If you're a lover of meat like CJ is, try out MEAT! The portion size is reasonable, and the price of each food item isn't too bad (although I did think the size I got for the smoked chicken was a bit small considering the price). Service was also very quick. MEAT is only open for dinner and they don't take any reservations, so this is a good place for casual date nights. However, if you want to have a decent conversation, maybe hold off until the noise issue gets fixed! Other than that, both CJ and I highly recommend this place for dinner!