WYF

I just read the newspaper this Wednesday and it seems that John Taylor has hooked up with the owners at Empire Grill to open a new bistro in the market. Maybe another resaurant to consider is Sweetgrass bistro.

For solid Chinese food head to Palais Imperial on Dalhousie. It's more expensive than the places that my family usually heads to but it's our choice for special occasions. If you don't mind going out of the way a little bit and getting some help from the servers, New Hong Sing on Greenbank Road off of Hunt Club Road in the west end of Ottawa has a late night snack menu being served after 8:00 pm. One of a few chinese restaurants that do it in Ottawa and it's a new thing for them. I like it alot better than the other ones I go to. Think of it like Chinese tapas..:) Unfortunately the menu is only in chinese so you will have to request it and ask for help translating it. I've already mentioned to the chef to translate it for me since I can speak but but not read chinese. IF you'd like to get a bit adventureous, try their cold marinated pig stomach, fried tofu with "low siu" sauce, there's an excellent cold chicken dish, and if he has the ingredients on hand and has the time, ask for his chiu chow oyster omelette. He made is especially for my father the last time we went and it was excellent. I find their dishes less greasy than other chinese restaurants in town. For Korean food, try Arum on the corner of Bank and Catherine. They don't have any parking but you should be able to park along the street somewhere near. This restaurant is attached to a grocery store. The food is pretty good there, more homestyle cuisine. Try dolsot bimbimbap, gamja tang, a tofu stew or if you by chance get an english speaking server, ask for recommendations. For spanish food the only other two places I know of are El Mason I think on Montreal Road, and 222 Lyon for tapas. I've heard good things about the tapas restaurant, although I have no idea if it's as good as spanish food. For simple mexican food in the Market, you can try out Ahora on Dalhousie. It's in the basement location next to Palais Imperial, cheap simple foods. The other mexican restaurant in the market is Azteca, although their prices will be much higher. I've also heard of a chilean restaurant on Seneca and Sunnyside I believe called Cocina Latina, something along those lines that has good empanadas. If you feel like Portuguese food or bbq, head to Casa do Churrasco on Dalhousie. Their chicken is great, and their ribs even better. Nice simple food in a homey environment. For the diner experience for breakfast, the kitchsy place is Zak's diner in the market. If you want a good brunch, I hear the Manx Pub serves a good one, and Stoneface Dolly on Bronson has a very good one as well. As for coffee, I'm not a big fan of the stuff but I hear that Bridgehead has great coffee. Someone told me to try the Peruvian coffee blend there. None of these places save Azteca and Palais Imperial are fancy. They are just every day type of restaurants, but I hope if you head to any of them that you will enjoy.

I've also been to Harvest Wagon. It's a short distance from the Summerhill Subway station. I saw Dinah Koo from Tiger Lilly Noodle Shop there once. And of course there is always the Whole Foods Markey for specialty foods. Both can be a bit pricey. If you want asian gourmet, best bet is the Taiwanese grocery stores T & T. There are a few locations in Toronto, but I don't know the exact address. For Korean food, if you want big grocery stores then best bet is to go to Galleria.

I mostly eat Chinese food when I am at home in Ottawa. It isn't as good as Toronto, but it will do. I frequent the Oriental Palace on Prince of Wales for dim sum and dinner. If you go, try their pork siu mai and shrimp and chive dumplings. For dinner, we usually order off the chinese set menu lists. If you like congee, head to Man's Kitchen or the one on Somerset near Lebreton, it has a green sign but the name escapes me at the moment. That one also makes pretty good wonton soup noodles. Try the one with beef tendon. Vietnamese food go to either New Mei Fung, Mei Xim, or Pho Bo Ga. For Vietnamese sandwiches or take out dishes, I frequent one store. It is near Pho Bo Ga LA, in the building next to it that is set back from the street. You can get banh mi for $2 each and take out dishes for about $3 each. What they have changes every day, but I've gotten chicken curry, lemongrass chicken, fried fish, really good omelette, beef stew, bitter melon stew, and many desserts. Good homestyle cooking. For El Salvadorean, I go to La Cabana on Merivale Road near Carling. Their yucca root with chicharron is very good. I also enjoy their pupusas. Service is a little slow, but they are connected to a latin grocery store that I like to wander in. Sometimes I like to go to Algonquin College's Restaurant Interational for dinner or lunch. The students cook the meals and depending on the chef who is in charge, the food coming out of the kitchen can be very good. And at about $22 for a four course meal without tax, it's a good deal. For burgers, I head to the Works or the Dicks Dairy Dip. Carribean food I love going to Carribean Flavours on Somerset in Chinatown. There is also a Persian restaurant downtown on Laurier that is great for dinner. They also serve lunch mostly to the business people on their lunch break. For Indian food, I like the go to Ceylonta on Somerset, across from where the Somerset theatres used to be. Sometimes I'll head to Curries indian buffet if I want a little bit of a variety, but still pretty good quality. For Thai food I like to go to Siam Bistro. None of this is fancy food, but I guess it's a different take on Ottawa's cuisine.

I'm making different rice cakes for new years. Daikon and chinese sausage rice cakes, coconut rice cakes, and also fresh water chesnut rice cakes. Also making fried sweet dumplings filled with sugar, peanut, coconut and sesame seeds. Family tradition at my favourite time of the year...