Just a quick note to say YAY Forest Whitaker won!
You all need to go see it now!!!
ENJOY!
Lauren
Towa Sushi vs Globefish (visions of sumo wrestlers dance in my head) February 28, 2007
So we went to both of these restaurants over the past week and we had two very different experiences, excellent to compare as they both offer a similar style of sushi, very modern, very big and very Calgarian.
Globefish
Warning! I’m writing in reference to my first Valentines Day with Zac, obviously I am going to have a lovey dovey approach to this part of the post, this possibly will also create a bit of a rose colour on the evening (because it really was lovely). 
Up 14thStreet just past Chicken on the Way we tucked ourselves into some Globefish.
Globefish has completely upped the anti in regards to my idea of what sushi is and what it can be.
Arriving from the blustery cold weather we fought our way into the restaurant and were seated by a young and slightly frazzled looking waiter. From what I can tell Valentines Day was a big day for them and I’m not necessarily sure whether on the service side they were completely up to the task. When we made reservations we were told we got the last two seats which were at the bar, needless to say they were probably a little stretched.
The decor was sparse and nothing particularly special, lots of mirrors and very clean lines. It was a lovely place, but slightly cramped considering the number of people that were in the restaurant. I can’t remember what this space has been used for in the past, though I’m certain at one point it must have been an oldy timey diner, this doesn’t take away from the restaurant itself but is a good way to describe the spatial issues that exist.
The food was a treat; it was very good and very inventive but not at all hard on the wallet.
We started with a few appetizers, Endamame beans (because they are yummy), these crab puff rolls and some tempura, all of this was very good and quite lovely. The tempura was light and fresh while the crab rolls were gooey and soft; all the three appetizers were lovely.
We ordered two types of mains and found them to be MORE than filling. Firstly we ordered the Vancouver Roll and the Crab Paradise. The Vancouver roll was lovely and a very creamy and smooth roll. The inventive addition of mango tasted sublime along side the avocado and salmon. The Crab Paradise was even better. The roll consisted of
All in all Globefish was a FANTASTIC experience for the taste buds and provided exactly what we needed, yummy sushi at a great price.
Towa Sushi
This experience was less than fantastic and I was very annoyed, this is possibly because I wasn’t exactly in the lovey dovey mood that I was in on the 14th but it might also have something to do with the fact that I wasn’t exactly impressed with the sushi quality and taste.
Firstly we ordered the chirashi which is effectively a bunch of sashimi and other sushi fixins (yes that is both the technical and traditional term for it) on a bed of rice, this idea was very nice and I did very much enjoy it, until I bit into the partially frozen tuna that made me feel like I was about to throw up. Furthermore, even though we mentioned to our waitress that the tuna was in fact FROZEN she smiled at us, because surprise surprise, the service here though very friendly was missing something in translation, ie they didn’t REALLY speak English (it’s fine when the food is good and I have nothing to say to the waitress, but oh my, when I have a complaint you had better be good and ready to hear it and tell the kitchen they’ve screwed up). So fact of the matter, there was no apology.
We also ordered two types of rolls the avalanche roll and the rainbow roll. The rainbow roll was ok, the avalanche roll wasn’t very good. I like the use of colour on the rainbow roll and I do LOVE the fresh raw fish, that being said, I was slightly concerned because of the tuna experience. The description of the avalanche roll did not mention the fact that this roll was SMOTHERED in a cream cheesy/sour cream sauce, it wasn’t very good, it looked very interesting but this was just a bit too much for me. I can do fusion and I really do like it but sour cream is meant for nachos, perogies, chili and baked potatoes. IT IS NOT MEANT TO GO ON SUSHI. Just a little bit gross.
I got the feeling that Towa is trying to appeal to the Calgarian market a little too much and is sacrificing the flavour and idea of what sushi is and can be. I’m certain that there are many a Calgarian that will swear up and down that this is the best sushi they’ve ever had, but for me, growing up in Vancouver I was able to have fantastic sushi and this place with it’s partially frozen tuna does not cut it.
(NB- I am not writing Towa off entirely, in fact I will probably go back in the next couple months because I loved the way it looked, seriously great interior design, and am wondering if we just came on a bad night, as it was highly recommended.)
So go to Globefish and enjoy their yummy and adventurous rolls, go to Towa for the interior design and tell me what you think of the food, I’m willing to give it another shot… even though frozen tuna in sashimi is an unforgivable sin.
The Last King of Scotland, or OH MY GOD FOREST WHITAKER IS AMAZING!!!!! February 23, 2007
Zac and I decided that we needed to go see this movie AGES ago, and finally we got around to it last weekend.
I’m sure you’ve all read the rave reviews and heard all the Oscar buzz (it’s very much deserved) but I’m going to add my little spin on it because frankly, Forest Whitaker performed the role of Idi Amin very convincingly and frankly I thought this was a great story.
It reminds me of a coming of age story, in which a young man travels to go seek his fortune and leaves his native land behind him. To a certain extent this it true and one could easily compare this to one of those stories, however things tend to go wrong for our protagonist. This film quickly develops into so much more, documenting and providing my generation, with an idea of one of the more famous and unstable political figures from the past. From what I have read, Whitaker has portrayed a very real version of Amin.
The reality of the character forces its way into the story developing a dichotomy of two very distinct realities. The film/theatrical reality of the young scottish doctor and the ultimate reality of the character of Idi Amin. I received the impression that reality was not the life of the young Scottish doctor, but the actions of Amin and the problems in Uganda during his reign.
Does Whitaker deserve an Oscar for this performance? In my opinion, of course he does, that being said it will be interesting to see what happens on Oscar night!
Links of interest :
MMMM CURRY…(Mmmmango shiva) February 22, 2007
Having lived in London for a year and having a bit of a love affair with the nation and one of the nationals for some time helped to teach me to me appreciate a good Curry.
Coming back to Canada made me appreciate it a heck of a lot more.
It’s not that we don’t HAVE Indian restaurants but they don’t have the same feel or have the same gastronomic tendencies of those lovely restaurants that exist EVERYWHERE in the UK (this is in my experience although I’m pretty sure I didn’t see an Indian restaurant in the Yorkshire Dales/Lake District and that the distance/time makes the heart grow fonder). That being said I have made it a goal to find great curry restaurants in Calgary and I have been to a few and found that I have enjoyed most although parts of the meal maybe less than others.
A couple weeks ago after an array of directional and logistical errors (on my part) Zac and I found ourselves far away from the restaurant that we wanted to go to (an Indian on 4th called Rajdoot of which I have heard great things) and very close to one of his old standbys that has become one of my new standbys (for lunch), Mango Shiva.
For those of you that don’t know, Mango Shiva does an amazing lunch buffet and it has become my ultimate place to go for comfort food/treats on a bad or busy day at work. The buffet is $14 per person and if you do like me and takeaway you can fill a Styrofoam container for 9$ (it’s amazing how much food I can manage to get in there). That being said I have never been for a proper meal and have enjoyed the thought as I had perused the menu in the past finding it to be quite different from the restaurants I had been to in
London.
Firstly this isn’t what I know to be a traditional curry night out sort of place (the kind that the English tend to go to after a night of drunkenness and debauchery). The décor is beautiful with lovely contemporary colours which drastically go against my memories of the garish colours decorating the walls of the Indian restaurants I have been to in the past. It is intimate and lovely with the open kitchen being the centre of the restaurant.
We started with the Basil and Crab Samosas, to share (as we both weren’t TOO hungry and didn’t want to make this an expensive night), not too long after we ordered a beautifully presented plate with a couple of small triangular samosas and a tossed salad arrived. The Samosas were lovely and reminded me a bit of crab cakes, definitely not in a bad way, definitly not what I was used to but a very lovely starter that set the trend for the rest of the meal.
For mains we decided to get an individual curry bowl each, Zac opted for the the Tikka Masala with a skewer of Chicken and I chose (upon his recommendation) a Kashmiri Curry with a skewer of Lamb. We ordered a side of garlic Naan (yummy, there’s no real reason to discuss this I love Naan in all shapes and sizes and this was very good and very garlicky).
The presentation was beautiful, not that I was surprised following the starter. Again differing from my previous curry/Indian experience instead of the meat being stewed in the sauce they put a skewer of lamb on top of the creamy cashew sauce. The look was very clean and I appreciated the difference and use of colour on the plate, it was quite gorgeous.
The lamb was cooked perfectly and was wonderfully tender; a nicely browned outside with the center being pink, it was gorgeous. The Kashmiri sauce was creamy had a hint of heat but wasn’t over bearing and some chopped almonds scattered over the top added a very nice cruchy texture. Divine and lovely, from what I can tell Zac enjoyed his Chicken Tikka Masala as well; it was quickly and entirely devoured.
Zac opted to finish his meal with a Chai Tea from the Chai Bar they have there, I’ve had them before and can vouch their loveliness, very good with a lovely flavour of cardamom. I opted for a green tea and decided to try the chocolate samosas for dessert. While I like the idea and loved the presentation it wasn’t necessarily my most favourite dish, effectively this was a smaller version of a chocolate croissant with more chocolate and flakier pastry. Of course if you put another in front of me I wouldn’t say no, but it was lacking in substance, perhaps if they had let the samosas cool and served them with a warm dipping sauce I would have appreciated it more.
All in all it was a fantastic meal and the service was wonderful, it was never intrusive but friendly enough to make use feel welcome and put us at ease, something that has been lacking in our dining experience as of late (I blame the labour shortage, bad side of the boom 
).
Coming next is my review of Globefish Sushi and Towa sushi (we got into a sushi mood on Valentines day), The Last King of Scotland, some general musings on relationships, making cupcakes for Zac’s little bro’s birthday (next week EEP) and possibly a frantic post on what to wear to a hippy/dreadlocked wedding in the middle of the mountains ( I am thinking hemp based shopping trips and possibly using egg whites to make my hair look all funky and possibly dreadlocked 
)
Hello! Hello! February 4, 2007
Welcome to the redhead’s new home online.
There was a time when I had a blog and barely anyone I knew noticed it, now this bold, new, changed and mildly wiser girl has decided to let the fear go and let you read all about the sexy and fantastic life of an Admin Assitant in the oil patch.
Enjoy!
