Thursday, May 14, 2009

Canary Cafe - Birthday~

Canary Cafe
5100 Belt Line Rd. Ste 402
Dallas, TX 75254
(972) 503-7080
www.canarycafeaddison.com
Price: $$$

I had another birthday dinner 2 weeks ago. We went to Canary Café Mediterranean Steak & Seafood. I first found out about this place over 2 years ago but never got to try it.

After we ordered the waiter brought us some bread with olive oil and parmesan.
We were also served a drink to cleanse our palettes (orange juice, carrot juice, and pomegranate on the bottom. I’m not a fan of carrot so the drink wasn’t too tasty for me, but it was refreshing.





For starters, I ordered the Hummus (with pita bread). $5~

The texture of the hummus was really good. The flavor was good but not the best I’ve had. There was a lot of garlic in it so it created a slightly spicy taste which was really good. They definitely need to give more pita bread because we still had hummus left after we ate all the pita.

A friend of mine ordered the Artichoke Salad (mixed field greens, kalamata olives, mushroom and garlic). $7~ I was able to have a taste. It was really good. There were lots of ingredients with different textures and was very fresh. The dressing was very light and suited the salad very well.

He ordered the Lamb (16oz. Australian T-Bone served with tabbouleh and tzatziki). $28~ The dish looked really good, but the lamb pieces seemed kinda small. He said it was really good and finished the entire plate.

Canary Café is known for its steaks. Apparently the chef has won numerous awards for his steaks. I shared the 14oz Prime Ribeye (*winner* served with gorgonzola garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables) with a friend. $32~ The steak was cooked very nicely…a tender medium rare. However, I thought it was missing a certain flavor…not quite sure what it is, but it was missing something. I was also hoping for more vegetables, but I guess the main reason for the veggies was more for presentation than filling up your tummy…haha. The gorgonzola mashed potatoes were very creamy but overpowered by garlic. The texture was nice but all I could taste is garlic…





I told the waiter that it was my friend’s birthday so he gave us a free dessert! Score!! :P It was a chocolate cake with raspberry sauce (usually $7~). The presentation was pretty cool...very creative. The chocolate cake was yummy…super rich…makes you want to eat it with a glass of milk. It was a good ending to the meal.

Overall, the dinner wasn’t too bad. The ingredients used in the dishes were definitely fresh and high quality, but the flavor was mediocre. It was tasty, but not special enough for me to go back. The restaurant is very small and the service was great. It’s a good place to go for small groups and special occasions.

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Monday, May 4, 2009

Naan - Korean & Sushi

Naan Sushi
7161 Bishop Road
Plano, TX 75024
(972) 943-9288
www.naansushi.com
Price: $$

April is a month full of birthdays (including my own! :) Went to a birthday dinner at Naan, a contemporary Korean/sushi restaurant in the Shops at Legacy. This was the 2nd time I’d been to Naan. The first time was when it first opened and I wasn’t impressed…it was just overpriced Korean food...that was meh. I can go down to Royal Lane or H-Mart area and get much better and cheaper stuff.

This time around I was pleasantly surprised. It was still pricey for Korean food, don’t get me wrong, but it was definitely tastier than I remembered. The first time I didn’t get to try the sushi. I got to try a couple different kinds this time.

The birthday girl ordered a large platter of sushi. Octopus, squid, yellowtail, salmon and eel sushi…Spider Roll (deep fried soft shell crab, cucumber, avocado topped with eel sauce) and Unagi Mambo Jumbo (eel, cucumber, avocado wrapped in soy paper).
I was able to try the Unagi Mambo Jumbo. The sushi was pretty fresh and had good flavor and texture. The rice was the right texture…I hate it when the rice is too mushy.

We also got the Rocket Roll (jalapeno, avocado, cucumber, shrimp tempura, topped with spicy tuna and crab meat) and the Ahi Tuna Tower (tower with a base of rice, with layers of avocado paste, crab, spicy tuna, Japanese mayo, sriracha and wasabi). The Rocket Roll was good. The spicy tuna and jalapeno definitely added a nice kick. The Ahi Tuna Tower was pretty cool. Once served, the waiter takes two spoons, destroys the tower and mixes all the components together. After it's mixed...it doesn’t look that appetizing…haha…but don’t let that stop you. It was super tasty! Nice heat from the spicy tuna and sriracha with the creaminess of the avocado…YUMM!!



In addition to the sushi, we also ordered some Korean dishes. I got the Dol Sot Bi Bim Bap (ribeye steak bi bim bap cooked and served in a hot stone pot).

This is one of my favorite Korean dishes. You mix all the components in the bowl together along with a red spicy sauce. The stone bowl makes the bottom of the rice nice and crispy. The flavor was nice and it was full of ingredients. I would definitely recommend everyone to try this dish…at any Korean place. The one at Naan was good, but still overpriced.

We also ordered the Barbeque Pork (Jai Yook Gui) – pork marinated in a spicy red pepper sauce. Like a lot of places that try to cater to more Americans, the pork was a little sweeter than it should’ve been. But it was full of flavor and cooked nicely. It was also a nice size portion, good for sharing. Most Korean dishes are meant to be eaten family style.

Lastly, we have the Spicy Pork with Kimchi and Tofu. Some thought the dish was too sour, some thought it was too sweet. I actually liked it. I love kimchi and really enjoyed the sweet and sour pairing. The tofu was really good. It was very light so it complemented the bold flavors of the dish very well.

Overall, I was pretty happy with the food. Naan definitely redeemed itself in my book. The food is good, but I still think it’s overpriced. I still probably wouldn’t go there if I wanted some Korean food. Although, if you wanted a nicer/classier setting for Korean and sushi, you might want to give this place a try.

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~