Dining out in Edmonton

Having spent the past 3 months in tropical Malaysia and blessed with a week of good weather in Toronto I thought I have completely avoided the Canadian Winter until I arrived in Edmonton for a couple of meetings.

Despite the crappy weather I managed to meet with my clients and navigate my way to the restaurants I wanted to try with my handy GPS and reliable Yaris.

The first was Furasato, a highly recommended restaurant that I found via Google that is a favorite among Edmontonians for serving up some decent Japanese food at an affordable price.



The restaurant was located in “Old Strathcona” and had a variety of Bento combos for lunch. I had to settle for a Sashimi Platter with Rice and Miso Soup because there wasn't any Sashimi Bento Box.





The Sashimi platter consisted of Salmon, Tuna, Scallops, Ebi and Hamachi. I usually like Salmon Sashimi to be sliced thick but Furasato’s was huge. The Salmon wasn’t very fresh nor was it cut properly. The texture of the fish has a lot to do with how the fish is sliced and here I had to challenge with some chewy areas from the poor cutting skills of the chef.

The meal wasn't very cheap and cost me CAD $25 including tips and taxes which is a little steep for the kind of quality I got. At this price I could have had an “All-You-Can-Eat” in Toronto with much better Sashimi.

Food: 2/5
Service: 4/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Price: $$ (Under USD $25 per person)

Contact Information: Furasato
Address: 10012 82 Avenue Northwest, Edmonton, AB T6E 1Z3
Tel: +1 (780) 439-1335



Things were a lot better for my second meal as I headed to Ban Thai. Entering the restaurant I was glad to see a real Thai chef cooking in the kitchen.



I ordered a plate of Som Tam and requested for it to be less sweet and more sour and got exactly what I wanted. Despite using carrots instead of unripe papaya the Som Tam was pretty good. There was a nice amount of heat and the flavor tasted similar to what we could get back in Bangkok.




Next was Gai Yang (Thai Style Grilled Chicken). The chicken reminded me of Bangkok except for the serving size where I was given ½ a chicken. The chicken had a nice char exterior and one could definitely taste the charcoal flavor from the grilling. In my opinion it was actually better than the one I had at “Hai Som Tam” a couple of weeks back.




The two dishes I ordered in Ban Thai were definitely good. The only problem I had was the price. My two dishes came in at CAD $33 including tips and taxes which was very pricey.

Food: 3.7/5
Service: 4/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Price: $$$ (Under USD $35 per person)

Contact Information: Ban Thai
Address:15726 100 Avenue Northwest, Edmonton, AB T5P 0L1
Tel: +1 (780) 444-9345