Monthly Archives: July 2010

Rainforest Creations, London

Posted on by bruleeblog

Rainforest Creations is a stall found on certain days at Old Spitalfields Market, as well as at stalls in the Chelsea, Hammersmith and Alexandra Palace markets. They also recently opened permanent spot in North Kensington. They specialize in organic, raw, vegetarian (and I think vegan) food, with Caribbean flavours.

Rainforest Creations

Rainforest Creations

Rainforest Creations - side view

Rainforest Creations - side view

I ordered a £5 Rainbow Box, which was stuffed with a selction of Tropical Coleslaw, Caribbean Sunrise, Red Quinoa, Wild Rice, Mung beans and Lentils, Chickpeas,  Angel Kale and Avocado salads, as well as sprouted hummus, an Akashe Ball (kind of like a falafel), and dressing. Everything was placed in a take out box, and served with a little wooden fork.

Rainbow Box

Rainbow Box

It was a little hard to pick out the flavours of all the individual salads as they were all in close quarters, but everything tasted fresh and crisp, with some salads having a mild curry flavour and some salads having some satisfying crunch. The box was quite large too, and could easily feed two people (or one very hungry person). This is the kind of meal that you’d love to have on a hot day. I loved that it was good value, as well as being healthy and tasty.

Rainforest Creations
www.rainforestcreations.co.uk

News and events

Posted on by bruleeblog
  • I recently stopped at Famoso for a meal (lots of photos over at my review from 2009). The pizza was great as usual, but they’ve recently changed their gelato supplier from Edmonton’s Bueno Gelato to Calgary’s Fiasco Gelato. I tried two flavours – the blood orange sorbet and the banana chocolate gelato, and was disappointed. The sorbet was a little too icy and grainy, and didn’t have much blood orange flavour. The gelato, while creamy and smooth, had no banana taste whatsoever and I wasn’t crazy about the chocolate flavouring. This really surprised me; while I haven’t tried them in any of their Calgary locations, Fiasco ordinarily gets pretty good reviews from what I can tell.
  • Superstore is now selling bread made with Red Fife. There’s a $1 coupon that you can get if you want to try it out (expires July 16). When you click on the link, just skip to page 4 of their baking booklet. There are also coupons for other breads and cinnamon buns on that same page.
  • Liane Faulder at the Edmonton Journal has a blog post about a food writer’s tour of Alberta.
  • Gary at travel blog Everything Everywhere has started up Project Pringles – his effort to document every flavour of Pringles from all over the world. If you have a picture of a Pringles flavour, you should send it his way. (And yes, he’s right. They are everywhere. I even found Pringles in Morocco, but unfortunately I didn’t take a photo of them.)
  • World Cup fever – did you know that the Dutch wear orange because of purple carrots?
  • And more on the World Cup – the “Oracle Octopus” could end up as dinner if German fans have any say.
  • Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko is in hot water after spending a lot of money on breakfasts during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Maybe he’s a hobbit who needs breakfast, second breakfast and elevenses?
  • Jeffrey Steingarten interviewed Gwyneth Paltrow for Vogue magazine – she’s coming out with a “cooking for families” cookbook later this year. The best line from the article has to be “Our conversation was not much different from what it would have been if Gwyneth were a longtime food friend, except that Gwyneth is nicer than most of my food friends.” You can see a bunch of photos of Gwyneth’s kitchen(s) and read an edited version of the article on the Vogue website.
  • Fast Company did a feature on innovative U.S. cities, and a couple of cities caught my eye – New York’s urban farms and Portland’s farm-fresh food.
  • And lastly, check out Beer and Butter Tarts, a Canadian food and drink blog aggregator. I recently added my blog to the list!

mrkt (market)

Posted on by bruleeblog

A took a stroll down Jasper Avenue the other day, and decided to stop at a brand new café (and apparently wine bar) called mrkt (a.k.a. market).

mrkt - exterior

mrkt - exterior

With food from the folks at Soul Soup, it’s located in a newly renovated space above the Red Star Pub. Mrkt is currently only open for lunch, but will be open for dinner soon. They post their menu on a board outside (notice the change from “cold” to “hot” on the sign), and inside the restaurant on a giant chalkboard painted against the back wall.

promo sign

promo sign

The space is long – and this feeling is emphasized by the long banquet table, lights and wood panelling. Two skylights over by the cash register give the space some needed sunlight at the far end of the room. I did like the space, but I have to admit that the panelling and the trees made me feel a bit like I was in a cabin… or an Ikea store.

mrkt - interior

mrkt - interior

They provide vegetable, fish and meat soup choices like Soul Soup does, as well as a selection of sandwiches. Soups and the specials change daily, while the sandwiches change less often. You can eat in or order take out. They also offer a number of drinks, or you can help yourself to a free water from the cooler on the bar.

the menu

the menu

I went for the soup and sandwich deal, which is priced at $13. My choices were the Trinidadian crab and corn soup with mango and the spicy tomato braised beef with pesto and caramelized onions sandwich.

mrkt soup and sandwich

mrkt soup and sandwich

The soup was a mix of a bunch of different flavours – peppery and not “fishy” at all, sweet from the corn and carrots, and a mix of sour and sweet from the pieces of mango.

mrkt sandwich

mrkt sandwich

The sandwich was great also, but very messy to eat. The beef was extremely tender and permeated with the flavour of tomatoes, and I also liked that the tomatoes weren’t acidic at all. It was almost like trying to eat a bowl of stew, but in sandwich form. The inside of the bun was soaked in the braising liquid and the crust of the bun held together very well. My fingers were a mess after eating.

All in all, mrkt made a very good first impression on me. I can’t wait to try more of their lunch offerings and sample their dinners! The soup and sandwich are a little too pricey to fit into my budget for too many regular visits, but I can definitely see myself popping in here once in a while for some interesting food choices.

mrkt
10534 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton

Mrkt on Urbanspoon

Best potluck ever and a taste tripping party to boot!

Posted on by bruleeblog

I knew I was in for some good eats when I was invited to a potluck dinner party at A Canadian Foodie‘s gorgeous house (a.k.a Valerie), and then I found out that over 30 foodies and bloggers were invited. And when I found out that part of the evening includes a chance to try the miracle berry, well let’s just say that there was nothing short of the plague that was going to keep me away.

I started off trying to take nice photos but then I eventually gave up and took half-hearted, slightly blurry ones instead. There were lots of other people with better photos though, so don’t worry I’m sure there will be more popping up on blogs soon! I’m linking to recipes and blogs as much as possible but there were so many people there that it’s inevitable that I will miss some.

Valerie and her husband Vanja are great hosts and they made me feel welcome as soon as I stepped into their home. I thought I was going to arrive a little bit late but people were just starting to arrive when I got there. Valerie was prepared – name tags for all of us as well as tags for all our dishes!

potluck signs

potluck signs

more potluck signs

more potluck signs

Look at the dish names; this wasn’t just any old potluck! When foodies bring food (even “simple dishes” like we were instructed), we go all out.

Moose tongue and homemade saskatoon wine

Moose tongue and homemade saskatoon wine

Two different cuts of smoked moose tongue and homemade saskatoon wine by the talented Kevin Kossowan. Tasted like a heavily smoked ham and was delish. I think I preferred the texture of the back section of the tongue more though (dish on the left).

kefta, prosciutto and fig crostini, and tzaziki

kefta, prosciutto and fig crostini, and tzaziki

Kefta from XOX Lea Lea, prosciutto and fig crostini, and tzaziki from Take it and Like it.

OMG so much food!

OMG so much food!

Then so many people started to arrive all at once and I gave up trying to take photos of everyone’s dishes. Just look at that bounty! My mouth waters just thinking about all the yummy dishes. Yes, someone brought a rice cooker. And someone else brought a tagine! I’m glad Valerie let me borrow one of her dishes to plate my dessert, cause I think my plastic Ziploc container wouldn’t have looked nearly as impressive. Continue reading →