A Food Adventure Through Alberta's Mid-January Deep Freeze: Khan Kebabs and Tokiwa Ramen

Khan Kebabs
It was the 12th, a Sunday, and the Deep Freeze of Alberta was upon us. To be clear, I thought the weather would be so frigid we could not leave at all. I had not yet seen this level of cold -- how can -30 degrees exist? But my mom, who was still visiting through the 13th of January, gave an indication that maybe we should go out and eat.

In particular, she had Khan Kebabs in mind -- back in August, when I was getting settled into Alberta, my mom had gotten this flyer. So we took a chance and decided to head out to this restaurant, taking an Uber. Lo and behold, the weather, despite being frigid, was manageable! We realized that we had made a great choice in coming here; we ended up getting very authentic food that more than made up for coming out in the cold!
Lamb:

This was mainly my mom's idea to order, but I ate some too! My mom, mentioning how it was a rare treat to eat a 'proper' lamb dish, was overjoyed by it. On the other hand, I am still unused to the meat's texture, but I enjoyed myself as well! (Still not nearly as weird as brain curry, involving literal goat brain.)

 Seekh kebab:

Seekh kebab was the main dish I ordered, something of a comfort treat for me. Kebab, rice, and mint chutney is a very classic combination that can be hard to beat! I especially appreciated how the kebab was not drying.

Chapli Kebab

The chapli kebab, prepared in the North Pakistani style, also surprisingly avoided drying my mouth, despite easily being the meatiest dish. Once again, mint chutney, the savior of dry mouths, came in handy in preserving the flavor!

Below is my food review that I shared on the restaurant's Facebook page:

"An excellent experience in Pakistani cuisine, in Edmonton and in general, housed in an unassuming diner space yet also very professional in service. The chef being from Peshawar (in northern Pakistan) added a strong sense of regional flavor to the food. Our server, who doubled as the cashier, also thoughtfully asked for our full impressions. Very flavorful seekh and Chapli kebab that does not feel drying in feel. When paired with mint chutney, the flavor comes out even more powerfully. The food coming with naan and biryani rice also kept the meal very engaging. Furthermore the spice levels left a moderate yet very refined fiery aftertaste. It inspired me to buy a bottle of coke, which I rarely do, so I could savor that lingering flavor. Truly a wonderful experience! Khan Kebabs has only been around for 5 months but already demonstrated itself as a key member of the city's food scene.

Highly recommended!"


Tokiwa RamenThe *next* Sunday, on the 19th of Jan, I was actually planning to head to Nando's again. The Deep Freeze was still ongoing because of course. But I realized that Tokiwa Ramen, a popular place recommended to me by friends, was both nearby and somehow not completely stuffed with people! Beyond that, there was a greater fear: that the restaurant was closed (as it often does in the afternoon due to its popularity).

 I must say, though, that the (minuscule) hallway leading into the place was narrow, making the few people present seem like a large crowd. And it was cold, so any time the front door opened felt so chilly! Speaking honestly, being a party of one felt especially lonely in such a bustling place.

That said, the staff was kind enough to pass around menus to those waiting!

 Being of South Asian descent, I of course was quite intrigued by the Spicy Miso and the Aka Kara. (Admittedly the yuzu shio caught my attention as I had eaten that ramen just a few weeks prior!) Seeing "3 kinds of chili peppers" absolutely drew me in.

But first, given that I felt charitable towards myself, I ordered the chicken rice bowl, which is smaller than it appears below. A rather simple dish, but it was an excellent serving for only $4 CAD! It propped up my energy, even as I still felt a bit anxious about being alone at a place like this, so that I could dig into my main course.

 This main course, of course, was the Aka Kara. True to its name -- with Aka meaning red in japanese -- the ramen appeared volcanic, threatening an attack on my tongue. The spicy level was comfortingly warm -- intense, but not enough to overwhelm me. Given the powerful flavor, I found myself picking off items, such as the boiled egg, between making an approach for the ramen itself. Water helped soothe my throat as well. This wait helped me savor the taste of the ramen more -- before I knew it, the ramen was largely gone, leaving behind immense amounts of broth. This broth I decided to take home, so that I could use it in further cooking.

Tokiwa is well worth the acclaim it has received, though the setup may be rather small, and it was a worthy substitution for Nando's. Unfortunately, now I have to do more searching to find exquisite food places in Edmonton! 

An aside from yesterday, Jan 20th: I learned that "Aka" refers to the color red, whereas "akai" refers to a red object. As I understand, "kara" simply means spice....which disappoints me a lot. There were so many potentially better names! Even more shocking, ramen broth is not meant to be completely consumed. From my mom, I learned the art of taking home leftovers to repurpose for dinner, so I had of course gotten the broth to go home.


And then I just rode the (heated) bus to the northernmost train station....and getting to see these views of the river absolutely made it worthwhile. Without even walking outside, I got to see much of the northern part of the city!

Last but not least, I repurposed the ramen broth into a chicken curry! As mentioned, the usual Japanese approach is leaving the ramen broth in the bowl at the restaurant. So, by reusing the broth, itself perhaps a Pakistani idea, and adding some Pakistani spices, I inadvertently created a multicultural dish.

It was good!

From Oregon to Alberta, Across Sheets of Ice and the Ages: A Trip to the Royal Alberta Museum

Like other "photo overload" posts on this blog, I am focusing images based on some informal sections. The Royal Alberta Museum is the obvious highlight, but I also captured some cool images of a frozen river running across town and the ice castles.

Please, please, please keep reading until you find the object located in this museum that has traveled from Oregon to Alberta. It represents this blog really well!

Before letting loose with my usual collection of photos, I would like to share some general impressions of my time at the museum.

Most significantly, I had been recommended this museum by a family friend who also lives in the city. I also saw the museum in passing when going to the MacEwan university (which I was not fond of). Yet it took me *three* months to get here.

Most simply, I got an opportunity when a friend informed me that we could not do a parliament tour. Given that my mom is in town, I saw the chance for us to see the museum together. Despite having been to this area before, I saw the city from a new angle, as we approached via the roadways. So even the museum exterior scarcely seemed familiar despite entering my direct view just a month prior!


Royal Alberta Museum


 

The two below images are incredibly pretty, as if this were an art museum! Well, nothing wrong with a natural and human history museum fooling us into having a sensual experience!

So....why is there an image of the Cafe here? Honestly, this is an inside joke for a friend. He knows who he is.

At $19 CAD, the museum was easily more expensive than I expected, clearly earning its "art museum" impression!

But when you get sights like wooly mammoth displays, you really cannot help but admire the museum. Yes, it's not even sort of rare, but it does add to the experience pretty greatly!

The greatest discovery of mine was a piece of obsidian that traveled from Oregon to Alberta. If you've been asleep reading this blog, please look alive! This piece of obsidian is literally my predecessor, so maybe it should get the Fulbright scholarship too. Amazing that I could find an object that perfectly encapsulates what this blog is about!

The next three images are just for some friends of mine who like military history way more than I ever could.

There were some very silly WWI posters, like below. Lots of stuff about capitalism to support war, as you can imagine! They kept mentioning victory loans, or victory bonds, or liberty bonds. War euphemisms make me tired, so I won't try to remember the names!

In case you can't tell, it was the natural history side of the museum that kept me completely engrossed here haha.

I will always enjoy seeing indigenous canoes.

See? I've already slipped in another image of the same canoes lol.

I am not much of a hockey person, but being a *true* Canadian, I of course photographed this honoring of the Edmonton Oilers! (Definitely was not expecting this, being honest.)

There were many awesome displays of skeletons in the museum on the second floor. Truly, this second floor of natural history section was the undisputed highlight of the entire visit. Well, I say undisputed, but it was just my mom and I agreeing. (My friend had to receive an important phone call, so unfortunately she did not see this part of the museum)

Truly some marvelous shadows with the 2nd floor skeletons! Another big highlight for me.

The anatomy of this creature (whose name escapes me) was an incredibly surreal sight to see in the museum. Wracking my brains leaves me nothing for the question of "what was even close to that level of weirdness". But that made it quite memorable for me!

Someone please think of the poor bison!

Below is an image you can absolutely see my mom pressuring me to pose in front of (For a photo). To her credit, it did happen!

Natural history is alive and ongoing, which makes it exciting! A turtle in a tank was both a welcome surprise and entirely fitting for this purpose. It helped the museum feel dynamic and still in motion.

Below might be hard to see, but it shows many birds of Alberta!

And then a cool replica of a bear den.

The turtle was not the only living creature shown as part of this history. You are not mistaken; there was a live fish in a tank at this museum. I suppose it's another testament to the living nature of history!

Next was a display about the geological features that arise from ice -- this is quite relevant to Alberta, as you might imagine.!

Many cool minerals -- far too many to properly display. Below is just a sampler!

The minerals from India caught my eye both because of their aesthetic and their retrieval from Maharashtra State, where I have a friend living right now!

Of course, the Royal Alberta Museum had gems from Alberta!

Below are a couple shots of a T-rex ancestor -- given the ubiquity of the T rex, to see a distant relative was a rather exciting experience. I marked this display for further photography just upon entry, after all! There is a great power to this display even compared against the more 'impressive' dinosaurs.

Going with my friend (and my mom by car) let us see a side of the city that is scarcely accessible by public transit. Though not all the roads were particularly great (looking at you Groat), there was some beautiful scenery, especially as we moved to and from the city's core (dominated by tall buildings).  The frozen river was perhaps the best sight.

Isolated shots of the frozen river splitting Edmonton:

Lastly, we decided to forgo paying for the ice castles -- it was both nearing sundown, letting us grab a beautiful sunset, and the entrance fee was $17 per person for what seemed to be just a few icicles and some sculptures. In the end, it was much more of a bucket list item than a delight. But a bucket list that includes the Ice Castles as a minor attraction surely is exciting!


Some Shots of the Ice Castles from far (alas we chose to just take some photos from afar, rather than enter)