I had been warned that Boualouang, a Thai and Laos eatery in Chinatown, was tiny, but I wasn’t prepared for a space that likely wasn’t ever meant to be a restaurant. Dickson and I intentionally planned a late meal, and arrived at Boualouang at 1pm in an attempt to avoid the lunch rush, and were [...]

I’ve mentioned in the past that an unintended benefit of changing office locations is being able to explore a new culinary neighbourhood. In my current case, that neighbourhood is the nearby Chinatown. I crossed the street from my usual banh mi place, Nhon Hoa 2 on 97th Street and found myself at Kim Tuyet (10645 [...]

My officemate was recently asking me about cheap eats in our area. I immediately directed him to the Italian Bakery and Nhon Hoa. Nhon Hoa (10622 97 Street), with two locations within a stone’s throw of each other, was a frequent stop in my childhood. Not for me (I didn’t learn to appreciate food until [...]

Aside from supermarket treats, another stalwart Chinatown tradition from my youth were trips to Chinese bakeries. For just a few dollars, a box of sweet or savoury pastries could be mixed and matched to your heart’s content. They have fruit cakes too! While the giant T & T Supermarket (#2580, 8882 170 Street) in West [...]

Having learned from experience not to attempt to have lunch at Thanh Thanh Oriental Noodle House (10718 101 Street) during their peak midday hour, I met Dickson there at 1pm on a weekday. We hit the tail end of the rush, and were seated fairly quickly as the crowd started to disperse. Making good on [...]

Besides easy access to reliably inexpensive eats, my newfound proximity to Chinatown also allows me to relive my childhood. Through food, that is. While the growing diversity of Edmonton’s population means ethnic products are readily available at some major supermarkets, nothing beats the selection and one-stop-shopping convenience at an Asian grocer. I ended up at [...]