Happy sushi belly

Trio of chocolate mini- domes from MonkiBistro

I am pretty sure that half of my recent restaraunt visits lately have come directly from Instagram… between neat ice cream places and cool eateries – there’s also Monki Bistro. (Seriously… check out the Monki Bistro Instagram feed. Maybe not on an empty stomach though…)

Well, I put the idea forward to the little foodie group I’m a part of, and one Sunday afternoon we headed there, en mass.

Fantastic mint-filled lemonade at Monki Bistro

With a reservation for 10, I was a little worried that this tiny, trendy place with a reputation online for long line ups would have us elbow-to-elbow with other guests, but since it was a sunny day, their patio was open, and it was a Sunday… we were actually in super-luck! They took my reservation, and me and 9 of my foodie friends went down for a bite.

I started with the mint lemonade which was just LOADED with mint and super refreshing. (Especially since I’d spent the previous few hours running around downtown trying to catch Pokemon!)

My friend’s salad from MonkiBistro

I knew from their instagram feed and the online menu, that I wanted to save my appetite for dessert… but it felt a little weird to dive straight into the sweets, so I did order some savory food too. One of my friends ordered one of their salad bowls loaded with spinach, quinoa, yam, turmeric, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, roasted almonds and more.  She’s vegetarian, and appreciated that there were a few things on the menu that she could eat – although it’s a small menu… so if you have specific food issues, do check in advance.

Spicy fries from MonkiBistro

For my savory… I went for the spicy fries served with a lemon aioli. Honestly, despite the name they weren’t spicy at all, and the aioli wasn’t very lemony. They were… ok.  Not the star of this story though by far. Next time I’ll try something else, or have something before I go and dive right into the dessert….

  Two friends shared the ‘shareable platter’ from MonkiBistro

Two friends opted to share the Monki Taster Platter, which is listed as sharable…

Now.. we noted that it’s not actually super shareable between two people, since it only has one slider, and five wings – still they figured it out and thought it was tasty. They had theirs with truffle fries – which as soon as the platter came out I could tell – the scent of the truffle oil was really strong. I’ve had truffle fries a few times before – and there aren’t too many places that get the balance right for my tastebuds. While my friends were happy with it – my sampled fry was just too strong in taste for my liking.

They did say that the slider was awesome (albeit messy to eat.. as they always are!) and that the wings were great.

To quote Sonja "why didn't I order this???" To quote Tara (I think) "omg I'm dying!" More from @monkibistro. I ordered the triple mini dome dessert with #tumeric, #matcha and earl grey chocolate mini domes (rather than the mega dome from my earlier post) filled with cookie, and other sweets. The server is pouring salted caramel sauce over the domes to melt them. I'll blog about this visit soon in #happySushiBelly (on wordpress) if you're interested in reading my thoughts…. and what I'd recommend. . 🍫🐒🍽🐒🍫 #monkiBistro #YYCfood #yycFoodies #YycFoodBlogger #nom #yum #calgaryfood #calgaryfoodblogger #CalgaryFoodies #iamdowntownYYC #calgaryeats #yyceats #treatYoself #iamdowntown #earlgrey #chocolate #deathByChocolate #saltedCaramel #cookies #dessert #sweets

A post shared by Dawn (@sadinadawn) on May 28, 2018 at 8:58pm PDT

But now… on to those desserts…..

I ordered the trio of mini domes… these are chocolate domes filled with either fruit, brownie, mousse, cookies, or other lovely bits. There’s a salted caramel sauce that is poured over the domes to melt the chocolate.  I ordered the plate that had an Earl Grey flavoured dome, a Turmeric flavoured dome, and a Matcha flavoured dome.

So… the yay – it is just so neat! Super filling, loads of flavour…

The… nay – the server pours the sauce.

Now.. no big deal, right? But the sauce was WAY too sweet for me, and it was on EVERYTHING. I also don’t really LIKE caramel that much. I had hoped the sauce would be served in it’s own little pitcher that I could pour over the brownie if it needed a little more moisture or flavour. It would also mean I would be able to taste the chocolate – rather than it being sort of melted chocolate puddle. Next time… next time I shall have it with the sauce on the side (or no sauce if that’s not an option…)

The large chocolate dome at Monki Bistro (before the caramel sauce)

The large chocolate dome at Monki Bistro (after the caramel sauce)

One of the other guests had the full-size dome, and this thing was HUGE. Like… two people had to help him eat it huge (mind you, everyone had also had sliders or wings, or other food before the desserts came out.) This is filled with matcha mousse, strawberries, and brownies too. I had a piece of the unmelted chocolate, shell and it was SO good.

Sunday evening I checked out @monkibistro with the CAKE crew. Dan had the big chocolate dome… helped out by a few of the other #foodies! It was way too much for one person! . 🥂🐒🍽🐒🥂 #monkiBistro #YYCfood #yycFoodies #YycFoodBlogger #happySushiBelly #nom #yum #calgaryfood #calgaryfoodblogger #CalgaryFoodies #iamdowntownYYC #calgaryeats #yyceats #treatYoself #iamdowntown

A post shared by Dawn (@sadinadawn) on May 28, 2018 at 1:16am PDT

Another friend had the bubble waffle, and it looked cool too – but.. No photos.. cus I was busy eating my melty domes…

Monki Bistro 1301 10 Ave SW, Calgary, AB (587) 352-7131

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After having a great meal at Poké in Kensington, I had to try making my own at home...

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Sumo Grill Japanese Restaurant

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Shogun Teppanyaki Grill food truck menu

I was super hungry when I ordered… so I was easily tempted. I couldn’t decide between sweet and savory, cool and warm.. so I went with both. I really wanted the soft taco, the gyoza… and was also tempted by the melon pan a friend had ordered the day before (which would have been packable… ) but ultimately I went with the Okonomiyaki J-Dog (Japanese Hot Dog) and the mochi ice cream.

Okonomiyaki J-Dog

Okonomiyaki Japanese-style hot dog

The hot dog is topped off with Japanese wasabi-mayo, matchstick carrots, ketchup, and bonito flakes I think… the menu didn’t indicate, and a search didn’t help…

The hot dog was yummy – but too big, and there was a bit too much bun. The bonito flakes are super yummy, but not good with all the wind… I think I lost about half of it to the strong wind…. I didn’t actually end up finishing the hot dog, cus after the ice cream too… I was full. 😦  I would have it again for sure though – maybe in a more sheltered area…

Mochi ice cream

mochi ice cream from Shogun food truck in Calgary

mochi ice cream from Shogun food truck in Calgary – a bite out of vanilla

mochi ice cream from Shogun food truck in Calgary – a bite out of strawberry

mochi ice cream from Shogun food truck in Calgary – a bite out of matcha

This is a new addition to their menu, little balls of mochi filled with ice cream. The ‘sampler’ has vanilla, strawberry, and matcha flavours. I didn’t really care about vanilla, but the other two were quite good. They were small but easy to eat – though my hands did get covered in powder! I hope that in future they keep them this size, but maybe offer single-flavour options or a mix-and-match option… where you can get a little bowl of how many and whatever flavours you have in mind. I would also prefer to see more exotic flavours… strawberry and vanilla are boring.. what about black sesame, mango, salted plum, coconut, or similar to join the matcha?

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