About a month ago, I wrote about an out of town guest whom I called TNG (and, from here on, after given authorization to use her real name, I will refer her as such: Trinh). Truth is Trinh is from Edmonton and has been in Vancouver a couple of times. As for myself, living in Vancouver for 8+ years, I have seldom been around town other than usual places. So, when my task was to showcase some “other locations”, well, I had to resort to the help of others. And I believe it actually worked, as Trinh seemed to enjoy the places we went, not to mention the dinner we had at City Temple of Shanghai in the end (not necessarily the food but, at least, the company). So, a couple of weeks prior to BC Day, somehow the idea pops out: Would I consider visit Edmonton, given I haven never been there? (Just in case, they celebrate Heritage Day on that same long weekend). At first, I was hesitant but, in the end, why not! So I checked with Trinh and that seemed to be a good idea. So, I booked myself a ticket to the place a lot of us diss (and sometimes even themselves) as “Deadmonton”.
(Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the airport or some major sign saying “Edmonton”. However, given the high price of gas in BC, I think this works quite well…)
(Warning, this post is a photo-essay of sorts. It contains a lot of pictures and, as a result, I have broken it in part 1 and part 2).
So, 2.5 days in Edmonton, what to do? Where to go? Though there were some activities planned (specifically, I wanted to go to the Heritage Festival), for the most part, I left the rest to Trinh, i.e., let her showcase Edmonton. And, just in case, to take it out from everybody’s mind, yes, we did end up going to West Edmonton Mall but, to paraphrase Trinh, I had a face of despair (not exact quote but it is representative of what happened). I am sorry but, while I understand the enticement of such place, with an indoor amusement park, a water park and all that, in the end, it is a mall. Nothing wrong with me taking a stroll (and I will assume a good place to do so if it is below 0C outside) but, still, it is a MALL!!!! OK, enough ranting. What I wanted to make emphasis here is that, for this trip, West Edmonton Mall wasn’t a place I had in mind (or considered) going but, because I am sure I was going to be asked and partially due to “suggestion” of all Trinh’s friends and family, we went there just to take it out of the list. So, what places we ended up going? After having lunch first (sorry, it will be in a different post…), we were in the Downtown Edmonton area and it just happened that Taste of Edmonton was taking place.
Whenever you find Chinese people, there will be a Chinatown, right?
Now, this is Taste of Edmonton!
Did we end up getting some food, despite we just had lunch? Oh, yeah! Now, first a small reminder of this post I wrote over a year ago (it is a short one and will open a new window. Go ahead, I will still be here!). Yes, it is what you are thinking!
Lingnan stand
Dry Spicy Chicken
The booth of the Lingnan. Here, Miles (to the right) and sister Mandy (left) were serving Kung Pow Chicken and Dry Spicy Chicken – We ordered the later. I think the description was partially suited to what was served: it was darn dry, either because of the excessive batter or the meat used (not to mention a lot of small chunks). I don’t think I tasted any spiciness…I know, I know, this isn’t authentic Chinese but, given their fame, you would think they should have some standards. But, I guess, it is demand that trumps that. But, fear not, at least, I had a quite good Chinese meal in Edmonton. Yup, I said it, OK? So, wait for that post, now! 
Bacon wrapped scallops
Nope, that wasn’t all! In festival like these, you will see some smoke and, whenever you see smoke, there will be some griddle/grill action! Here, bacon wrapped scallops. We couldn’t really taste the scallops (not unexpected considering it is a land locked city) but… Ah… Bacon… (drool…!) Was it worth it? Well, yes and no. Let’s just say that, on the same weekend, as mentioned above, there was Heritage Festival…
Now, moving on, here is a place Elaine and Chris’ suggested we visited – the Legislature:
Sort of a skyline of Edmonton?
Despite it is not that big, there was something quite evident: similar to Queen Elizabeth Park here in Vancouver, it seems to be a primer spot to take wedding pictures. In fact, I think I counted over 10 couples in the park and surrounding areas! (At one point, when we were walking one of the lanes, a photographer asked us to hasten our pace so she could take a picture!).
Da Capo. Hmmmmm…. Gelato followed by a visit to a dentist.
After walking around, Trinh took me across a bridge over the Saskatchewan River (Groat Road) to a place she had a keen interest going: Da Capo. Reason? It seems she had made previous attempts to visit it but, almost every single time, it was closed. So, in a way, it seems I was a lucky charm because it was open this time! And what was there?
Gelato – Nocciola (hazelnut) and Myan (sic?) Cioccolato
Given it was relatively hot those days, we ended up going for gelato. I know, I know. There will be some comparisons drawn with Bella Gelateria in Vancouver. If that is the case, please do not. Instead, I would compare it to, say, Dolce Amore. If that is the case, I will have to say it was quite decent.
Now… part 2!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
What beautiful weather you had! I miss the clear blue Alberta skies sometimes!
LOL – Lingnan – so shameful!
I used to work just across the street to the north of Da Capo – I never went there because Sugarbowl is so fantastic as a coffee shop & light fare restaurant!
LOL at the picture of the gas price… it’s crazy that we consider it “cheap”! i’ve only seen family restaurant once and i was surprised to see that they were there. for some reason i assumed they were in toronto or something. too bad about the food – sounds like they’re a victim of mass production?
Elaine, I think I know about the place you are making reference to. We were tempted to stop there but chose not to in the end.
Trisha, Lingnan… Well, it is a case of probably they not knowing better. I mean, after years of serving Chinese Canadian food and, people thinking that’s it, why they would change? But, in my case, I come from a different background…
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