About

I am a food enthusiast, work-out enthusiast, amateur yogi, Redditor, Internet junkie, and (sarcastic) Atheist. This is just my blog to chronicle some of the great (and not so great) things that I've eaten in Calgary and in my travels.

A little bit more about me...

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Since this is mostly a food blog, I thought I would do the Omnivore's Hundred list from the Very Good Taste blog. It is a subjective list of all the foods that the author thought every omnivore should try at least once in his/her life. As per the suggested instructions on the the VGT blog, bolded are the things I've eaten, crossed out are the things I wouldn't consider eating.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
  • I tried this for the first time in Paris at a small street-side cafe called Cafe du Marche. It was rich but didn't taste that way at all. Interesting texture and great flavor with raw egg mixed in.
5. Crocodile
  • Tried this in Thailand. It was grilled on a skewer and honestly was just a lot like chicken... It was too long ago and I don't remember too well. Would definitely eat again to re-sample.
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
  • Awesome(!) but sooo heavy - I tried this for the first time at a friend's dinner party. Delicious smorgasbord of vegetables, breads, and meat dipped into a variety of cheese.  Best dippers: steamed asparagus, steamed broccoli, and croutons made from olive ciabatta. Follow it up with chocolate fondue with fruit & cookies -- yum.
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
  •  Who doesn't love deep fried calamari? So great with spicy aioli. I've had some really good fried calamari, but fried food always tastes good -- still looking for something really memorable.
12. Pho
  • Pho is one of those cheap meals that is a great go-to on any given day. Great A dear favorite is Pho Hung from Toronto. Pho Hoai in Calgary makes a legit bowl as well. Plenty of hoisin sauce, plenty of hot sauce please.
13. PB&J sandwich
  • I strangely did not try this until university. I have Asian parents and this was not a known sandwich variety. I got really carried away when I tried it in university and at it once a day for about 2 weeks. Even better after you grill it on a panini press (mmm...warm gooey PB).
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
  • I had quite a few encounters with "street meat" in Toronto while I lived there as a poor student. There are so many hot dog carts around the U of T campus, you just gotta find the best deal with the highest turnover (so that the food isn't sketchy/stale). And you gotta get all the fixin's. All. of. them.
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns 
  • A dim sum staple! Sort of -- it's one of those things that my parents order when we go out for dim sum, but I am more of a shrimp dumpling kind of gal. Only awesome when 1) the char siu is well made and 2) the pork-to-bun ratio is high.
20. Pistachio ice cream 
  • Pistachio is the greatest ice cream flavor ever - tied with hazelnut(?). Better than pistachio ice cream: pistachio gelato from Amorino which is a chain gelato shop in Europe - tried this for the first time in Paris -- best I've ever had.
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
  • I was introduced to this during my university years after a trip to St. Lawrence Market in Toronto. So delicious and definitely one of my favorite foods. Love it on crackers, love it even more in a sandwich. I am always delighted when banh mi restaurants put it into their sandwiches.
24. Rice and beans
  •  I keep seeing this suggested on Reddit as a survival food for those who are low on funds. True dat - super cheap food. :) I actually haven't eaten this many times... a few times while I was in Mexico(?). Tasty when made right: well-seasoned and not goopy. Can't go wrong when it's served in burrito form either...
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
  • Raw, baked, in pasta, in soup: it's all delicious. My favorite is still when found in soondubu; oyster soondubu is definitely my favorite item to order at any Korean restaurant that offers it. Great at A Ri Rang Tofu House in Los Angeles: they give you kimchi which has raw oysters in it, but I love dropping them into my soup for extra oyster action when my soup is served.
29. Baklava
  •  Buttery flaky deliciousness. I've always wanted to make this from scratch, but it looks so labor-intensive. I always check out pictorial recipes and salivate a bunch, but still haven't gotten around to making it.

30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
  • I was extremely addicted to this snack for a few weeks of my life. Unreasonably extremely addicted.
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
  •  I thought that using a bowl as a soup-serving-vessel was the most brilliant thing in the universe when I saw this for the first time eating with a friend at The Cheesecake Cafe in Calgary (their soup is really nothing to write home about, I was just mostly dazzled as a teenager to see soup being served in a bread bowl).
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
  • Pretty indifferent towards root beer floats. I like beverage and ice cream to be separate entities...
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
  • Cigar, yes. Not with cognac tho. Perhaps someday, when I am a classy middle-aged man.
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
  • My mum makes a mean braised oxtail - falls right off the bone.. mmm. I have no idea what goes into it, I just know it's amazing and I'm willing to leave it at that.
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
  • I am sad to admit that I am the type of girl that flinches and flails around at the sight of large insects. I have eaten my share of accidentally-inhaled bugs while running and cycling, but in the interest of not barfing, I don't think I would ever intentionally ingest a bug.
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
  • Give it to me in sushi form! SO good with extra sauce on rice.
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
  • When Krispy Kreme first opened in Calgary, I remember there were 45-minute to 1-hour waits. Then they kind of fell out of fashion because donuts weren't cool anymore, people were eating healthier, and business dwindled. Then there was the last gasp of air when they tried to sell a ""healthier"" whole wheat donut (seriously?). Then they shut down forever. The best are the ones they give to you while you wait in line - super fresh-out-of-the-fryer deliciousness that just melt in your mouth. Those were so good while the store lasted. Also super-fun to watch the conveyor belt churn out donuts while you wait in line. :)
50. Sea urchin
  •  Uni is okay.. it is difficult to describe the flavor. Tastes ... oceany.... and has the texture of custard or semi-cooked egg yolk. At first I tried it in Canada and thought it was a bit fishy for my liking, and thought maybe it just wasn't fresh. Then I tried it in Japan fresh at the fish market, and it was definitely less fishy tasting but still not something I loved. I don't mind eating uni, but I would rather stick to fish and scallop sashimi if given the option. :)
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
  • Coming from a Chinese background, I've had a number of opportunities to eat this. It's decent, but definitely overpriced and overrated - like shark fin and bird's nest soup. Meh.
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
  •  I tried this for the first time at a Dairy Queen in Calgary. Come on now - you can't really go wrong with fries, cheese, and gravy. But then my eyes were opened: check out Smoke's Poutinerie in Toronto, which has a number of meat variations on poutine that you couldn't even dream of.  Smoke's also conveniently has one of its locations in the Entertainment District for post-clubbing / drunken rehabilitation.
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
  •  Camping staple. That is all.
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
  •  I don't understand why some people are so afraid to try this. Sure, it smells a little funky. But I don't even feel like it smells that bad(?). The 'meat' is so sweet and delicious when you find a perfectly ripe fruit. You can buy the 'meat' in a frozen package, but I think it's really worthwhile to learn how to open a durian yourself. Not to mention it's a nutritional powerhouse with plenty of fiber. 
66. Frogs’ legs
  •  Tastes. like. chicken. Really!
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake


I've tried 43 out of 100. :) I did cross out a few on the list -- I'm not much of a alcohol drinker (Asian enzymes), and am not really a fan of prepackaged / fast food. Never say never, but I guess those are the ones that I'm not so eager to try. All others are fair game! :)

1 comment:

  1. Hi Chicken Pot 3.14 –

    I’m working with a start-up for food bloggers in Southern California called Tabelog (www.tabelog.us). They’re a subsidiary of the largest company in Japan Tabelog.com (similar to Yelp here in the US).

    We’re bringing their annual restaurant awards to the US that are judged solely by a panel of local food bloggers (all online). The winning restaurants get a framed 2014 award and the food bloggers get an “official judge” icon/etc and related PR for their blog. We’re looking for bloggers from the Southern California area to invite as an official judge. Is this something that you would be interested in?

    Thanks in advance!
    Brock

    ReplyDelete