K-Days 2014

Yes, I know it's already mid-August... but I just had to include a K-Days 2014 recap! Anyone who's ever lived in Edmonton knows about this annual 10 day exhibition that occurs during the summer at Northlands around the end of July. Along with lots of different rides, there are also carnival games, concerts, performances, and many other indoor and outdoor attractions. Definitely a lot of things to do for people of all ages! The two main reasons why I like to visit K-Days (k-days.com) are for the food and games. Summer fairs are all about indulging in crazy, deep fried food and trying things you've never had before. Deep fried oreos and Mars bars, wiggle chips, scorpion pizzas... you name it. Winning prizes from the carnival games are just as fun as well. CJ was actually the one playing all the games to win prizes for me, so I was very happy whenever I got a new stuffie! Thank you bb! 

He won all of this for me. Of course I had to include a picture <3.

K-Days 2014 was different for me, because this time I actually went on a few rides! It's been many years since I've gone on the rides at K-Days. That being said, I only went on about four rides: the Megadrop, the Giant Yellow Slide, the Ferris Wheel, and one of those rides where you have to walk through them. I'm not that crazy about going on rides anyways, but I did wish I got to go on one of the roller coasters. 

Now let's talk about food! My friends and I decided to have our lunch at the Food Court in Hall E, inside the Edmonton EXPO Centre (also at Northlands). This area is specifically named "Eat at The Grand", which is presented by Coca-Cola. Here you'll find a variety of food options at this international food court.

Lemon Grass Chicken with Rice and Vegetables.

CJ and I were both very hungry since we had skipped breakfast. I decided to go for a more filling option for us - Lemon Grass Chicken with Rice and Vegetables ($8.95) from Lemon Grass Wok. You could also choose to have the chicken served with vermicelli. I found the chicken to be quite flavourful, and the vegetables gave off a nice aroma. When paired with the warm rice, it definitely made for a satisfying lunch. I would have to say this was my personal favourite eat at K-Days. 

Lite Bite.

Jeline got herself the Lite Bite ($6) from Baba's Kitchen. This dish comes with 3 perogies and one kobbasa (better known as kielbasa) sausage. A small amount of sour cream and slaw was served on the side as well. I only tried a piece of the sausage, and the slight smoky taste I got from it was enjoyable. 

Pizza Dog.

June's pick for lunch was a Pizza Dog ($5) from Blaine's Burger Bar. This hotdog comes with pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese on top. I didn't try it myself, but I don't recall hearing any complaints from June either. 

5 Food Items.

After having lunch, my friends and I spent the rest of the day walking around the fair grounds and attempting some of the carnival games. Of course, we were all bound to get hungry again. We returned to The Grand food court to fuel up and rest before continuing our K-Days adventure. CJ and I shared yet another dish, but this time we decided to order 5 Food Items ($9.75) from Chopstix. Specifically, we got their egg fried rice, ginger beef, black pepper chicken, vegetables, and green onion cake. This is the type of food you see offered by most Asian establishments at food courts. That being said, I wasn't expecting the most amazing food. It was just decent but enough to fill me up. I think the best food item on the plate was the black pepper chicken - nice and crunchy and reminiscent of popcorn chicken. 

Mini Donuts.

Getting a bag of fresh mini donuts is a must at any fair. For the past few years I've gone to K-Days, I've made a point to always purchase some mini donuts. It's a tradition. This time however, I wasn't really craving mini donuts enough to buy them myself. Good thing Jeline got a bag of 20 donuts (~$5) and shared with everyone! The donuts were light, fluffy and tasted delicious since they were hot and freshly made. I just wish that they were tossed in more cinnamon sugar to make them sweeter than they already were! 

Beef on a Bun.

Last food item of the day! I do realize that I was talking about trying all the deep fried goodness offered by many places on the fair grounds, but ended up not getting anything fried at all! The reason why? Everything is so expensive and over-priced! Haha. Unfortunately, I just didn't feel like spending any more money. Anyways, Jeline decided to get Beef on a Bun ($7.50) from Beef on a Bun. I thought it was amusing how the name of this item matched the name of the vendor. This dish is essentially some pulled beef in between a bun... I'm pretty sure there weren't even any other components to it! Although Jeline ate most of the beef, she didn't finish off the bread because it eventually got too soggy and unappetizing. Hmmm... was this really worth the price she paid? 

View from the Ferris Wheel.

I had an awesome day at K-Days with CJ and my friends. While the food we had was just okay overall, you can't really expect the most delicious food at summer fairs. After all, it's mostly there to fill you up so you can enjoy the rest of the attractions! Leaving K-Days with 5 new stuffies won by CJ was definitely the highlight of my day. Maybe next year I'll actually go on more exhilarating rides and try more of the food from the outdoor vendors. See you next year, K-Days! 

Coco Deep Fried Chicken

Hey everyone! I'm excited to say that this is the last food adventure I went on before Taste of Edmonton. That means my blog posts will finally be in order after this (at least I will try to keep it that way). Just two days after mine and CJ's monthsary date at Nineteen, my friends and I ended up planning an afternoon playing golf. We went to Bogey Busters Driving Range which is located in South Edmonton on Ellerslie Road. This actually wasn't our first option... we were considering several other golf courses. But after some research, I soon found out that these other golf courses followed a particular dress code... and I did not own any proper golf attire! I'm not the most athletic person... I only own the most basic sweats and running shoes. With that being said, Bogey Busters was the best option (for me, at least. All my friends had actual golf clothes). No one would care what you wear, and the pricing for the baskets would most likely be not as expensive as other golf courses. 

Alright, here's a summary of my day at the driving range. I paid $12 for a large basket of golf balls, and my friend Jeline let me borrow her golf clubs. Of course, being the noob that I am at sports, I could barely hit the ball. I didn't even know how to properly stand and hit the ball in the first place actually. Good thing I had my friends and CJ to teach me how. I was very happy whenever I did hit the ball and watched it fly off (even though it didn't go that far). I guess all it takes is lots and lots of practice. If you're hanging out with your friends and don't know what to do, I would suggest going to the driving range! This was definitely something out of the box for my group of friends, considering we usually like to go to the movies or shopping for our hangouts. The only thing to note is that you'd have to bring your own golf clubs to use. 

After the eventful afternoon at the driving range, the first thing on my mind was obviously food!!! Standing outside in the heat of the afternoon sun, of course I would get hungry. CJ, June, and myself headed over to a place that I've been wanting to go to for awhile now: Coco Deep Fried Chicken (www.facebook.com/pages/Coco-Deep-Fried-Chicken)! This is a Korean restaurant located in a strip mall on the intersection of 34 Ave and Parsons Road. Considering I live in the south side, this restaurant was very easy to get to for me as I've passed by it many times before! There is also plenty of parking available as well. 

The interior.

Walking in, I was actually expecting to see a more formal restaurant set up... a hostess to seat you at a table, servers, individual menus. I'm not sure why I was thinking that in the first place, because I soon found out I was wrong. Coco Deep Fried Chicken is a casual restaurant where you order at the front counter then choose to dine in or take out. Good thing there were just a few empty tables left for my friends and I to sit at! 

Special Set 1.

We decided to share an order of Special Set 1 ($29.99). This comes with 10 pieces of half and half chicken - specifically, crispy chicken and sweet & hot sauce chicken. It is also served with a side of pickled daikon. Lastly, you can choose any 2 drinks or beer bottles. I loved how large each piece of chicken was... perfect for sharing with two other people! 

Crispy Chicken.

I went for the crispy chicken first. Wow! The exterior was nice and crispy, and the chicken itself was beautifully moist and tender. So delicious, and very addicting. 

Sweet & Hot Sauce Chicken.

Next I tried the sweet & hot sauce chicken. This is a traditional Korean sauce - my first time trying it! I loved the sweeter notes in the sauce, and the heat definitely came through with each successive bite. The heat even had CJ in sniffles. Like the crispy chicken, the meat for the sweet & hot sauce chicken was just as juicy. Considering the addition of the sauce, I would say this chicken would be the more flavourful option between the two. Just a warning: eating this chicken gets pretty messy! CJ and I had to use several paper napkins to clean up the mess on our fingers and faces. Hahaha. 

As for the side dish: I don't think I've ever tried daikon before, so I was a bit hesitant to eat it at first. June convinced me to give it a taste... and I'm glad I did. For those who are unfamiliar with it like myself, daikon is a winter radish native to east and south-east Asia. I really enjoyed the mild flavour and the crunchiness of it. I thought it made for the perfect palate cleanser. 

I highly recommend checking out Coco Deep Fried Chicken if you're ever looking for some delicious and flavourful fried chicken lunch or dinner! They claim to serve the "Best Deep Fried Chicken in Town", but until I've tried all of Edmonton's fried chicken eateries, I can't make that call yet! While they specialize in chicken, they do offer some sides which include fries, sweet potato fries, onion rings, caesar salad, rice, kimchi, coleslaw, potato salad, and finally the daikon I mentioned earlier. I'm looking forward to coming back here for some more KFC - Korean Fried Chicken!