Big Sugar put on a delightfully bumpin’ opening night show at Taste of Edmonton Thursday — double-neck guitar action, huge crowd — but besides Gordie Johnson asking us to be his “honey bunny,” mostly all I was dreaming about was the Japanese cuisine I’d be having for breakfast. Read More
Taste of Edmonton runs until July 27 at Sir Winston Churchill Square
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Big Sugar put on a delightfully bumpin’ opening night show at Taste of Edmonton Thursday — double-neck guitar action, huge crowd — but besides Gordie Johnson asking us to be his “honey bunny,” mostly all I was dreaming about was the Japanese cuisine I’d be having for breakfast.
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“Hajimemashite” means nice to meet you in Japanese, which is exactly how you’ll feel if you dive into any of these, written up here in increasing order of pure yum, also known as “oishii,”
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Bring your own chopsticks if a wooden fork isn’t your jam, PS!
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Chicken Yakisoba, Tokyo Noodle Shop (Booth 14, 4 tickets)
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A buff mix of soba noodles, carrots, cabbage, sesame seeds and bite-sized chicken morsels in sauce, this substantive box of delicious will fill you up pretty fast. Standard yet excellent fare — just make sure and eat it while it’s hot. A promising start, let’s move on.
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Dragon Ball from Sushi, Tokyo Noodle House (Booth 13, 4 tickets)
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Not so much next door as continuing one giant booth, these deep-friend, decent-sized balls are even better than they look, a textural explosion of crunchy, chewy and just a little bit fiery via the spicy mayo criss-crossed over top. These first two items are seriously enough for a decent lunch alone, but…
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Flamed Salmon Nigiri, Takopo (Booth 3, 4 tickets)
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Well, here’s the best-tasting thing I’ve had so far at ToE: salmon on steamed rice with an incredible mayo sauce on top. Each piece is hand-flamed, so you get a little pyro show as well. But once you put it in your mouth — bam — smoky, salty as the shimmering sea and almost dessert gooey. I found myself talking to my food, thanking it for its service like Mari Kondo or, really, just experiencing a general, Buddhist sort of gratitude which extended to all the hardworking people around the festival making this sensual wonderland happen. Seriously, this nigiri is that good! Doesn’t hurt that it looks like bacon.
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