Hot and Sour at Hamachi Kita

On a beautiful, sunny afternoon earlier in May, Mitch and I went out for some brunch.  We got ready and went out without coming to a consensus as to the resto.  He was all for the Pad Thai at Fid and I wanted eggs; specifically a delicious, inventive, spicy egg dish at The Coastal.  I won.  

We walked from the South end of Barrington all the way to Robie and sat outside to enjoy a coffee and check out the menu while we waited for a table. At this point, Mitch confided some essential info: that he "wasn't in the mood for eggs." So I rolled my eyes, paid for my coffee and racked my brain to determine a place that would make us both happy.  We settled on Epicurious Morsels in the Hydrostone where I could have brunch and he, a savoury dish.  Of course, we arrived just as the brunch service was ending, so we went next door to Hamachi Kita, where Mitch got: the Pad Thai.  It all comes full circle!

Pad Thai ($13.99) 

w/ shrimp, stir-fried rice noodles, egg, bean sprouts 

and chili Pad Thai sauce

The Pad Thai was very nice.  With the peanuts, sauce and bean sprouts, it had elements of fresh, crunchy, sweet; all the things you look for in a good noodle dish.  The portion was pretty good too. 

Green Curry Vegetable Puffs ($7.99)

fried egg roll wrappers filled w/ 

sweet potatoes, corn, peas and served w/ a sweet Thai chili sauce

Tom Yum Hot and Sour Soup ($6.99)

herb broth w/ lime leaves, galangal, tomato, lemon grass, 

mushroom, shallot and shrimp

My green curry puffs were OK; though not something I'd likely order again.  The flavour was nice, but they were a bit dry and the serving size - for $8 - left much to be desired.  The Tom Yum soup on the other hand, was just that: yummy.  I expected tiny shrimp, but was pleasantly surprised at the size of the prawns and the fact that there were at least four in the bowl.  There was a great contrast in flavour here too; spicy with a touch of sweet, and the fresh cilantro gave the bowl a burst of bright freshness.


This was a pretty good lunch on the fly.  I wouldn't order the curry puffs again, but I'd definitely go for the Tom Yum soup on a crisp winter's night.  The Pad Thai was pretty delicious too - and on that note, stay tuned for my next post featuring Pad Thai at Fid!

Thai feed for New Year's Day!

And so, on New Year's Day, after a night of celebrations, the eating continued. The day started off pretty lazy, but later, I insisted on a nice long walk in the brisk evening air. I think I was in danger of slipping into a food coma at that point...

Earlier in the day, we ordered take-out from Talay Thai to munch on as we watched movies and relaxed on the sofa. One of my favorite take-out spots, Talay Thai never disappoints for fresh, well-packaged take out. And packaging is very important!!

We ordered a nice little selection of hot dishes. My fave is the spicy Thai Green Curry with coconut milk, but we also ordered delicious Cashew Chicken and some Thai comfort food; Pad Thai. Because I always feel the need for something green and fresh - especially with this meal to counteract all the sauces - we also ordered some Fresh Spring Rolls.

The Spread...

Fresh Spring Rolls

Accompanied by a sweet and savoury dipping sauce, these spring rolls had the crisp, fresh, unfooled-around with flavour and texture I was looking for. Simplicity at its best!

Vegetarian Green Curry

Yum! With a heat akin to wasabi, this dish was creamy and spicy. I like green curry so much as the heat seems to slowly creep up on you and permeate your mouth. The vegetarian option provides a good mix of both tofu and veggies - a nice alternative to meat.

Cashew Chicken

Cashew chicken is a luscious Thai dish. Though the sauce was slightly on the cloying side, the crisp vegetables and crunchy cashews provided another layer of texture. The sauce itself was a nice contrast to the creamy coconut milk-based curry sauce.

Pad Thai with Chicken

In essence, this is a pretty plain combo; noodles, green onions and bean sprouts. However, the yummy peanut sauce adds the zing that this dish requires to make it a meal. Tossed with chicken and sprinkled with peanuts, Pad Thai is remarkably filling and fills you up without making you feel weighed down.

Chabaa Thai warms up a 'chili' night!

A couple Saturdays ago, a friend and I waited in line at Chabaa Thai for 30 minutes! I know- crazy! However, by the time we got to the resto we were so cold that venturing back out, unfed, was not an option. The other reason, was the fact that a jam-packed resto is normally a sign of good things!

We took advantage of our time in line and decided on our order. We shared Deep Fried Spring Rolls as an appy and moved on to an order of both Green and Masaman Curries.

And as the saying goes... "when in Thailand..." so we played the part and ordered two Singhas, a Thai beer that paired nicely with the spicy cuisine. How can you go wrong with Thai Spring Rolls? They were crispy and light and the sauce had a touch of spice.

Spring Rolls

Glass noodles, shredded cabbage, carrots and mushrooms, wrapped in a spring roll skin,

deep fried and served w/ sweet n' sour sauce.

We made some good choices with the curries too. The Masaman was rich and earthy; the mild red curry sauce was slightly sweet from the addition of sweet potato and peanuts. The green curry on the other hand, was spiiiicy! I went with the vegetarian option, adding tofu for a little more body along with the crunchy bamboo and tender eggplant. Fresh basil leaves added a vibrant lemony flavour. I make an effort to try the green curry in every Thai resto that I go to in order to find my fave. This one was certainly worth the wait!

Masaman Curry

Red curry paste in coconut milk w/

sweet potatoes, onions, peanut sauce, chicken and tofu.

Green Curry

Green curry paste in coconut milk w/

mini eggplant, basil, bamboo shoots, red chilies & tofu

Talay Thai tantalizes my taste buds

I had a pretty impromptu dinner tonight. A friend called, asked if I wanted to go for Thai, and when I responded "yea", said good I'll be there in 5. Eeekk! I ran around my apt. getting ready and then proceed down to Talay Thai on Barrington St. for one of the best Thai meals I've had in a while.

While in NY over Christmas, my sis got me hooked on green curry. I do love meat, but for some reason, this dish lends itself lusciously to tofu- crisp on the outside and soft within. I spooned some sticky rice onto my plate and then proceeded to lavish it with the rich, spicy curry. As the sauce and rice melded together, I inhaled the sweet aroma of basil-the best part of a green curry.

Green Curry w/ Tofu
Green curry paste w/ coconut milk, eggplant, bamboo, red pepper and basil

Garlic Prawn
Deep fried prawn w/ garlic & black pepper

These were delish; a simple marriage of black pepper and garlic
made an incredible flavour sheath for the juicy prawns

Thai Hot and Sour Soup: Tom Yam w/ Prawns
Soup cooked in a herb broth w/
lime, lemongrass, galangal, tomato, mushroom, shallot & chili

Nom, nom, nom. What a great feed- I even have some leftovers. Talay Thai creates great, rich curries, but they also have some fantastic appys. Check out the Duck Curry, Cashew Chicken and their delicious Spring Rolls here.

Talay Thai

Talay Thai is one of those random little restos in my hood that I always noticed, but never ventured into- BIG mistake! This place is one of those little gems that, once you've eaten there, it'll end up on your "go-to restos" list. At least I have one- doesn't everybody??

I went with a friend of mine and we decided to share two distinctly different curries. He also indulged my desire for grease when I declared my need for something deep fried. We shared two spring rolls that were only slightly greasy, delightfully crispy and ridiculously delicious!

Spring rolls

We shared the two curries that were freakin amazing, and an order of basmati rice. I have to say, it's a little humbling when you out eat your date, but I'm over it because this food was so delicious. The Duck Curry had big chunks of meat in a sweet and spicy sauce accompanied by tomatoes, red grapes and pineapple, while the Cashew Chicken, a little milder had loads of peppers and crunchy, buttery cashews.

Duck Curry

Cashew Chicken

I love trying little spots that are just around the corner. There's no shortage of fine dining, ethnic cuisine or greasy goodness in my SOSG hood (South of Spring Garden, although it doesn't have the same ring as SOHO). Dammit! Anyway, these all contribute to my stomach being satisfied, and when you think about food as much as I do, that's my #1 priority.

Hamachi Kita delivers..literally!

One of my very close gal pals and favorite partner in crime recently made the ridiculous decision to further her education, move to Australia and abandon me. Hmph. Kidding...I'm so proud of her moving across the globe, and now get regular updates of the cuisine down unda'!

When I asked my pal what she wanted to do for the "last supper", she mentioned a local restaurant that we've both been dying to frequent due to their incredible menu of gourmet comfort food. Unfortunately, when the day arrived, accompanied, in true Nova Scotian fashion by torrents of rain, we were swayed to abandon our original plan and order in.

We tossed several ideas back and forth, and decided that sushi would be just the thing to drown our farewell sorrows...but what better to pair with sushi than curry! That's right, Hamachi Kita offers a menu of both of our favorite types of ethnic foods. The Asian fusion offered by this menu is downright dreamy- we proceeded to pour over their online menu and made our selections.

We ordered our favorite type of curry that never fails to sate our hunger for spicy-sweet fare; Thai Red curry with duck is, in my opinion, a staple for any Thai restaurant visit. With the spicy broth, rich meat and sweet red peppers and snow peas, the flavors touch all of your taste buds.

Thai Red Curry

We then moved on to the sushi component of the meal; lots and lots of rolls! We compromised on this issue, getting Maria's Fire Kamakachi, a mix of rich smoked salmon with creamy avocado; my deluxe lobster roll, no explanation is necessary here...mmmm... and a classic; the well-loved spicy tuna roll.

Maria & Krissy's Special Combo
Fire Kamakachi~Avocado, spicy mayo, tempura, topped with smoked salmon
Deluxe Lobster Roll~Avocado, green onion and spicy lobster
Spicy Tuna Maki

Lastly, Maria allowed me to indulge in a little deep fried goodness - sweet shrimp in crisp, salty won ton wrappers...I felt the need for something naughty, so deep-fried normally does the trick!

Shrimp Fire Crackers Jumbo shrimp seasoned in red curry,
wrapped in won ton wrappers and deep-fried

These delicious dishes paired with vodka martinis marinating a slice of pickled ginger made for an absolutely lovely meal- no restaurant setting required. I miss my gal pal, but I know that someday I'll be hanging out in Aussie land eating Kangaroo steak...and I can't hardly wait!

B-Day dinns at Baan Thai

Overlooking Dresden Row is one of Halifax's culinary treasures. Though the sign is displayed street side, I had never taken the initiative until my friend mentioned her craving for Thai food. Now, since it was her Birthday that we were celebrating, I left the choice of restaurants up to her...but not without emailing her the suggested menu!

Upon reading the menu, I knew that this would be my choice. It wasn't until I saw roasted duck curry on the menu that I knew she would be like putty in my hands...muahahaha.

Unfortunately, the driving force behind my desire to eat at Bann Thai, the shrimp chips were not available that night. After a little bit of sulking - after all, it wasn't my party, I couldn't cry if I wanted to - we went with the mango salad accompanied by another starter of fish cakes.

The B-day girl went with not one, but two curries! I've never seen anyone with such an enthusiasm for this type of dish. We chose the roasted duck curry, obviously(!), and the Green Jungle Curry, which was insanely hot. We also got an order of Jasmine rice to soak up all the yummy, spicy sauce.

Appys:

Fish Cakes

The fish cakes were delightful, with a crispy batter enclosing the tender fish. The dipping sauce was a sweet and salty soy based concoction that was the perfect pairing for the tasty, slightly greasy fishcakes. Gotta have a bit of grease every now and then...

Mango Salad

A sweet and refreshing mango salad accompanied the cakes. Tossed with peppers and crisp, almost spicy red onions, our choice of appy combos were in perfect balance.

Mains...

Roasted Duck Curry
w/ grape tomatoes, basil and pineapple

Thai Green Jungle Curry
w/ pork, eggplant, mushrooms and peppers

This was certainly a great night for a B-day celebration. At the end of the evening, no cake was to be had, as we were all in a food induced comatose state. However judging by the satisfied face of the B-day girl, no cake was needed!

1569 Dresdent Row
902.446.4301