BITE-SIZED BLURBS: CHINATOWN DINING WEEK

Our Bite-Sized Blurbs are our honest opinions about a local restaurant, bakery or café that aren’t part of a larger Gracilianca series! Bon appétit!

The focus of this Bite-Sized Blurb is Edmonton Chinatown Dining Week! This event is organized annually by 4 volunteers, and its goal is to bring awareness to the Chinatown community in Edmonton and promote some of the restaurants in the area. While our Chinatown may not always have the best reputation, this event aims to showcase some of its diversity in cuisines and attempts to encourage people to give the restaurants a try. This will be the 4th year that the event will be taking place, and this year it ran from January 14 to 24, 2021.

With COVID, there were some changes that had to be made this year - with the provincial restrictions in place, dine-in services are not currently allowed. As such, patrons could only order take-out from the various restaurants with Chinatown Dining Week. There were 10 restaurants participating this year in total with a variety of cuisines including Chinese, Thai, Filipino, Vietnamese, and Indian, amongst others, and the restaurants were all offering $10 and/or $18 specials! The full list of restaurants participating can be found here.

For this review, C visited 2 locations: King Noodle House Pho Hoang and Namaste India!

First up is King Noodle House Pho Hoang!

Location: (780) 428-8983, 10615 97 Street, Edmonton, AB T5H 2L5

Items on the menu: Choose from Combo A or B as follows: ($18/order)

Combo A – Large Bowl of Pho (your choice, excludes #33 and #34) + Spring Rolls / Grilled Pork Balls Combo Platter (this is what I got for my review!)

Combo B – Large Bowl of Pho (your choice, excludes #33 and #34) + Vietnamese Iced Coffee and Spring Rolls

Tell me more: King Noodle House Pho Hoang has been serving customers in Edmonton for 22 years, and is actually owned by the parents of the well-known Canadian blogger and social media influencer Linda Hoang! They simmer their broth for up to 14 hours, and the recipe has been passed on for 3 generations. Please note that they are CASH ONLY. I was luckily informed of this during my phone call to order (and had to scramble - thanks to G for lending me some cash)! On their website, it also states that you can pre-order online via email, and that paying by e-Transfer is an option if ordering online.

So, how was it? I bought 2 orders of the Combo A to share with my family - I chose the spring rolls and grilled pork balls platter over the Vietnamese iced coffee that came with Combo B, for a number of reasons: 1) it was cold and I didn’t want an iced drink, and 2) it was getting late at night so caffeine did not seem like a great idea for me. I called ahead to order and was told that it would be 15 minutes before the orders were ready - super fast and speedy!

I arrived, found some parking on a side street, and ran into the restaurant. When I entered the restaurant, I was faced with a second big wooden door with a slot that the server stuck his head out through to ask me what I was picking up. I paid him in cash and was served my food promptly, and off I went!

Funnily enough, I did find the server a little bit no-nonsense and abrupt, but didn’t think too much of it. However, look at this disclaimer I found on their website: “Please don't mind our grumpy server! He's affectionately known as Moustache Man by our regulars, but his straight-to-the-point, no-nonsense demeanour can be a surprise for new customers. If you think he's being rude to you, we're sorry, and assure you it's not personal.” Love it! I also did discover that this Moustache Man is none other than Linda’s dad! Shoutout to Moustache Man for your prompt, efficient service!

For our rankings, we’ll be looking at a few categories, taste, presentation, and value!

TASTE:

4.5/5 - This was quite delicious! I actually was not asked what item of pho I wanted on the phone (I just ordered “Combo A” happily!) so I think I got a combination of rare steak and well-done brisket. By the time I got home, the soup had cooled down since it’s about a 30 minute drive from Chinatown to where I live in the deep suburbs. We heated up the broth and it was good to go! The broth was tasty, the noodles had a good consistency to them, and the spring rolls/grilled pork balls platter were delicious.

PRESENTATION:

4.5/5 - I thought everything was packaged appropriately and it was appealing when I opened the takeout containers! There was a container with the meat, noodles, and cilantro, and another container with the broth. We were also provided with a bag of bean sprouts, lime, basil, and chili peppers, and another container with the grilled pork balls and spring rolls. I was pleased with the overall presentation!

VALUE:

5/5 - I thought $18/meal was a great deal - there was a good amount of meat, noodles, and broth! The spring rolls and grilled pork balls were also quite filling. I felt like this was one of the best valued meals offered at Chinatown Dining Week!

FINAL THOUGHTS: Would you get this again?

Pho sho! I would return to try some more of their pho dishes, and hopefully once COVID ends I will be able to come for dine-in services (pho just isn’t the same for takeout!) That being said, though, I did read that King Noodle House’s business has been down 70% since COVID hit, so please support them during these difficult times!

Next up is Namaste India!

Location: (780) 540-0100, 10023 107 Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T5H 4L4

(They also do have a second location in the West end as well: (780) 757-7550, 10070 163 St NW, Edmonton, AB T5P 3N4)

Items on the menu: Butter Chicken Combo, served with Saffron Rice and Butter or Plain Naan ($18/order)

They were also offering $10 specials: Butter Chicken, Vegetable Korma (served with Saffron Rice and Butter Naan or Plain Naan), or Chana Masala (served with Saffron Rice and Butter or Plain Naan)

Tell me more: Namaste India first opened in the West end in 2015, with the Chinatown location opening in October 2017. During pre-COVID times, they were known for their buffet with 9 hot dishes, plus salad and dessert! They are one of the few Indian restaurants that serve chicken malai tikka (a mild, creamy dish cooked in the tandoor oven), and they also serve a mango prawns special! Check out their website for their menus!

So, how was it? I ordered the Butter Chicken Combo, and received it with Saffron Rice and Plain Naan! I called ahead to order and was told that it would take approximately 25 minutes for my order to be ready. I arrived at the restaurant, and it was quite busy when I got there - there was one SkipTheDishes courier there, and another customer ahead of me waiting for his order. I only had to wait a few minutes before the server was able to attend to me, and my order was ready within a few minutes. Pretty smooth sailing!

For our rankings, we’ll be looking at a few categories, taste, presentation, and value!

TASTE:

4/5 - The butter chicken was quite creamy, but could have used more of a kick to it. I acknowledge that butter chicken is not supposed to be spicy, but it felt like it could have been more flavourful. I did really enjoy the naan and the Saffron rice though!

PRESENTATION:

3.75/5 - Pretty standard: the butter chicken and rice came together in one takeout container, and the naan was wrapped in aluminum foil. Nothing remarkable about the presentation!

VALUE:

4/5 - This combo was a good deal considering that an order of butter chicken is $15, an order of Saffron rice is $4.50, and an order of naan is $3-3.50. There was a good quantity of food and I even had leftovers for the next day!

FINAL THOUGHTS: Would you get this again?

Yes! I am a fan of butter chicken, so I would probably get this again - although I am more intrigued by their other dishes like their famous chicken malai tikka and mango prawns! Again, after COVID ends (one can hope, right?!), I would also like to come back to try their buffet!

Disclaimer: This review is not affiliated with or sponsored by Chinatown Dining Week, King Noodle House Pho Hoang, or Namaste India - views expressed are solely our opinions!