Category: Edmonton

Day 3 Harmony of the Seas Cruise Trip

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Day 3 we landed in Labadee! We have to admit we were tired and wanted to sleep in a bit so we left the boat a bit later.

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We were super excited to finally get off the boat. This is also the first time being able to see the whole boat!

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The water is just so beautiful here (as seen in cover photo hehe)! Labadee is one of the spots that the Royal Carribean bought so it’s just a tourist area. And of course a mandatory picture of the place’s name with the ship in the background

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We were trying to find the perfect palm tree to take a photo with. Spoiler alert: it didn’t happen. ahahah

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I got two platefuls of food hehe. The buffet was okay, there was very watered down juices available. But all the fresh fruit that I wanted to eat!! WATERMELON and pineapples MmmMmm.

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Oh look, Nancy’s foot completed this picture. 🙂

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It was here where I first met Timothy.

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He even introduced me to his family.

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We were pretty lazy this day and just played fail volleyball, looking for seashells and splashing in the water! P.c. Brenton

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Justin’s the best ;). Can’t ever be overprepared. P.c. goes to Brenton Chung

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We came back to find our room attendant made some cute animal with towels! Not quite sure if this is a dog or a goat or something… what do you guys think?

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We all have assigned dining rooms to eat at, but today for some reason they brought us to the American Icon Grill? I think we all agreed we liked the look of it better than the usual one we go to. Maybe because it was well lit up with all the open windows to look outside.

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Anyways the MOST important moment you guys have all been waiting for is dinner!

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Terrible photo sorry. But here we have Justin a bit tipsy ahaha.

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The chilled shrimp was okay, it tasted just like the shrimp platter you get at superstore with that typical cocktail sauce.

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Salmon Tartare! Not bad, bit bitter though.

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Justin got the Iceberg wedge. Not really the best tasting and it’s kind of difficult to eat, but if you miss veggies, this is the thing to order. (we’ve been eating way too much meat on the cruise haha)

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The papardelle? Nancy’s theme on the cruise ship was TRUFFLE. It was really good the first beginning bites but then it got to be a bit too heavy.

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The almond crusted haddock. It was alright, not much flavour. I wish the almond slices were thinner and the potato underneath was really dry.

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The grilled New York Sirloin steak. It was kind of dry and tasted like slightly spicy seasoned beef.

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Grilled chicken breast. We’ll just leave it at that.

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Justin ordered the rack of lamb. It definitely couldn’t compare to the Jamie Oliver one we ate. And it was way too overpowering for me. Though Justin says it melts in your mouth (he was also a bit tipsy so I’m not sure about his judgement :p)

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I believe this was a mango cheesecake with passionfruit drizzle. It wasn’t what I expected :(.

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If I remember correctly this is the apple pie with ice cream? It was good!

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For the boy’s room, look what the room attendant did! haha

Anywho the server we had today was super sweet and funny! She called me Michelle, ma belle :3. What did we do the rest of the day? O.O It’s a blur. Was this the night we cracked the wine bottle open in the room?

LOVE.

Michelley

3. Ikki Izakaya (I)

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My overall score: 3.8/5
Nancy’s overall score: 3.8/5
Lydia’s overall score: 3.3/5

Ordered:
             -Takowasabi ($4.50)

   -Tuna Tartar ($10.99)

   -Motsuni Stew ($8.75)

   -TK Udon ($13.00)

   -Ultimate Shrimp Roll (We switched out the sake for some green tea. $15.00)

   -Crispy Spicy Tuna ($15.00)

This is near friend’s place: BRU beer and coffee house!
Here with Lydia and Nancy! It’s a cozy and nicely decorated place!
Takowasabi!
Intestines.. it was so soft :3
Tuna tar tar! Avocado, crisp apples at the bottom!
Crispy spicy Tuna: jalapeno, spicy tuna, crispy onion and tobiko~
TK Udon
Ultimate Shrimp Roll

GUESS WHAT. THIS PLACE HAS A GIANT MOSTU-DON FOOD CHALLENGE (Really tempting lol. If you finish within 45 minutes, you receive a free T-shirt and you don’t pay! The price is $50 in case you were wondering :p. Anyways this place is awesome for just a nice day of drinking with friends and some snacks. Not as much as a place to fill you up though!

Presentation:                    4.5/5
Very cute, simple presentation for the food. I love how they used many different types of bowls, and ways to present the food.

Health:                                  3.7/5
They had a quite a bit of vegetarian dishes than I see in some Japanese places. There were corn croquettes, tofu dishes, etc.

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Look at the sake and alcohol!

Atmosphere/location: 4/5
Location is conveniently on Jasper Avenue, but once again the main problem lies in parking. We parked in a neighbourhood and walked over hehe.
The atmosphere was very cozy, dim lighting, love the decor and how they showcased the alcohol. It was pretty small (won’t seat many people) but that’s how Izakayas usually are! Very clean too eee :3

Cost:                                  3.4/5
It wasn’t very filling, but it is definitely meant for a drinking and light snacks place! But it would be considered bit pricey for the proportions we got. Hurray for friends to split bills :p

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Takowasabi!!

Taste:                                3.8/5
–Takowasabi: It wasn’t too chewy, and I felt it was a good ratio of wasabi and raw octopus :o. I liked wrapping it in the seaweed and having a cucumber before taking the next bite! Wish there was more though…

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Tuna tar tar! Avocado, crisp apples at the bottom!

–Tuna Tartar: It was just a fun dish: some crunch, softness of tuna and avocado, and sweetness of crisp apples. It was hard to spoon it onto the spring roll chips :/. Feel bad for making a bit of a mess… waitress spent a bit cleaning that basket thingy woops >w<

–Motsuni Stew: This was yummy! This is basically pork innards, it was very soft! The stew had a bit of a bitter aftertaste like drinking ginseng soup. But I love it, reminds me of home cooking :3. Wish there was more of it haha…

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TK Udon: inari tofu, green onions, fried onions

–TK Udon: A very light wakame broth, with some pieces of fried onions that give a bit of flavour…it’s a very simple dish, but for the size and taste, it’s definitely not worth the $13… I could get a full bowl of ramen for that price.

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Ultimate shrimp roll: shrimp, tempura shrimp, tobiko, avocado

–Ultimate Shrimp Roll: I think it’s one of their better tasting rolls… It’s not something out of this world, but there’s sweetness from the sauce, and who can go wrong with tempura shrimp in the center? Don’t really notice the avocado though.

–Crispy Spicy Tuna: Very soft on the inside. There wasn’t much flavour unless you really like heat and eat it with the jalapeno and the siracha sauce on the side~

I’m picky about the ginger served with dishes, it was odd tasting. I think they didn’t use as young ginger to make it~

Service:                              3.5/5
They were nice and friendly, the rolls took a while to make even though the store only had another couple along with us.

Peace out~

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Girl’s Night out~

-Love Mish.

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Thank you for your response. ✨

1. Nudoru Ramen Bar (I)

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Overall score: 3.8/5

Ordered:
             -Nudoru bunger ($9.00 for 2)

-Make your own noodles ($13.00)

Nudoru bunger
Spicy miso ramen
Shoyu ramen
steamed bun, pickled pears, sweet miso sauce, pork belly

We were off to Whyte and decided to try out this ramen place people were raving about! I’m in love with the noodles… thick, house-made noodles that cling together to hold up the soup! Just lovely. D’:

Presentation:                    3.5/5
Overall, the presentation of the food is average. I was really tempted to move around how they placed the individual ingredients inside the bowl before taking the picture haha. I wish there was some pop of colour or something for the dishes.

Health:                                  4/5
Reminds me of my mom’s cooking! There are some places that I went to before where the soup is very oily, and the buns leaves a film of oil around your mouth. But not here, just the way I like it! It wasn’t too salty either.

I heard the noodles and buns etcetera are made in-house! This is exciting, because it means ingredients can be made fresh, without buying from other places where they tend to add in preservatives.

They do have a vegetarian option.

Atmosphere/location: 4.5/5
It is near the new escape room 出xit, and located conveniently on Whyte ave (very accessible). Right when you walk inside, there’s a beautiful dragon painted on the wall, Japanese tea whisk-inspired lights.

It is spacious, relaxing and open, and the seating is good for 2-4 people. I’m pretty sure they can push together the tables if you had more people.

Cost:                                  3.5/5
The cost is pretty comparable to other places that sell ramen as well. It was a filling meal with just the two items we got. In terms of the ingredients, I believe that with the in-house made noodles and buns I think the price is pretty good. I know how much effort it takes to make those. (><)”

Taste:                                3.7/5
–Nudoru bunger: The pork belly tastes just like what my mom makes; it is more on the boiled and soft side. The main flavours I found came from the sweet miso paste scraped on the bottom of the bun, and the lovely pears that paired (hehe) nicely with it. I don’t think I would’ve been able to take as many bites without the pears as the concentrated miso taste would’ve been a bit strong for me. So make sure you taste a full bite!

I feel like they missed the grilled scallions for our buns though… I think that would help add some other depth to the flavour. The bun is nice and pillowly, and doesn’t leave a film of the bread stuck on the roof of your mouth (not sure if you guys experienced that before).

–Spicy miso ramen: I have to say this is one of the best noodles I’ve had in a while in Edmonton ramen places. It is the thick and wavy kind that has a yellowish hue. The noodles kind of cling together to hold the soup (which is awesome, especially to capture the miso bits), so each bite has flavour! The noodles is definitely my favourite part, just a really nice texture!

The individual components I got was: nori, soft-boiled egg, pork belly and cabbage. There was 2 pieces of nori, and a marinated soft-boiled egg (in soy sauce I believe). I did wish they gave a bit more cabbage, it was a very thin layer of it on the top of my soup. The pork belly was okay, it was the same boiled one as the one in the bun, but I felt like it didn’t really stand out at all in the ramen dish.

I find individual components in the ramen just as important as the broth and noodles itself, and I felt that if they had a seared or crunchier, maybe even more marinated pork belly it would add some different textures in the overall dish.

The broth was good and piping hot :), I tried a bit of the shoyu one, and I’m glad that you can actually differentiate between the broths. It is more of a kotteri (rich) broth with the miso in it, and I was surprised how they used chopped up chili peppers for the heat rather than most places that would use a powder or chili paste.

I noticed in some other pictures that they had the long japanese soup ladle before, but we got a long spoon (it was more awkward feeling in my hands).

Service:                              4/5
They had friendly service. Not much to say haha. Maybe could be bit more organized or attentive? We didn’t have napkins or the pencil for marking etc… and we had to keep asking for the items individually. But other than that it was good~

EEEEEE that’s the first post, have a lot to improve but it’s just me thoughts~

-Love Mish.