Kai Asian Grill open in Edmonton

[kazzy]

Noticed on my walk home from work tonight that Kai Asian Grill (which was being advertised at TAO for many months) at the corner of 109 Street and Jasper Avenue (former Chili Hot Hot location) is now open.

Nice decor from the street. Hoping it's not all flash. Looks like a knock off of OPM on the southside in some ways. Fusion Asian with a couple coats of paint and bamboo decorations.

The smell of grilled meat on the street was incredible however. Not sure if the food will hold up, I imagine a lot of spring rolls (ugh, I'm so jaded.) I'm sure it will be popular with pre-clubbing bachelorette parties and people on birthday dinners and the like, in the 20-something age range. Someone try it and report back! My restaurant menu dance card is full for a little while.

Just because it made my walk home a bit more interesting, and is somewhat related to the Jasper Ave renewal that pleases me so much, I'll also mention Prohibition. It is a bar at the bottom of the "One Eleven" building on Jasper Avenue (oddly enough, at 111 Street) where the Stonehouse Pub used to be. It dropped its blinders today so I could finally peep inside! The interior is looking pretty fancy and pretty different from its previous incarnation. It's nice to see some thought in the decor in new establishments going in in the city.

The Hat, which I visited this week, was also looking nice, if a bit rushed and rough around the edges on some of the details. (my thoughts on the food are probably best saved for another time. I gotta get dinner going) Later!

[Bob Mac]

"...Looks like a knock off of OPM..."

kazzy:

Thank you for the "heads up". I have been off on holidays for awhile so have not been downtown in quite some time.

Living in the "burbs" I do not expect to get to Kai Asian Grill or the Hat anytime soon but appreciate teh update.

Hope Kai turns out to be better than OPM. I do not know what your impression of the latter was/is but after an initial good reaction I have been disappointed.

The cynic in me noted that almost anything that had an asian influence from the appetizers of Earl's/Joey's ended up on their menu but that was not necessarily a bad thing.

Then it seemed anything I enjoyed ended up being dropped and when I inquired, was advised that they were lower/slower sellers, i.e. Szechwuan charred ribs, deep fried or steamed dumplings, etc.

Good original wine list which then was pared down, i.e. no more Burrowing Owl pinot gris.

Ultimately, found that I was paying a lot for fairly mediocre food although I did enjoy the steamed basa with garlic and ginger. The garlic fried snap peas were delicious but at their price you can buy a large number of peas and garlic...oh well, c'est la vie I guesss

Let us know what your reaction to the food is at the Hat if you do go back.

I expect that with the holiday season upon us, I'll be getting out of downtown earlier than later to avoid the $30 taxi rides....

[felix the hound]

We were there for lunch today.
I ordered the sesame beef with broccolini ($15.99), and my two colleagues had the tataki beef sandwich ($15.99) and the sweet and sour chicken ($11.99?), respectively. Our order came about 20 minutes later nicely arranged on deep square dishes. While the quality of the ingredients was good ( my dish had thick strips of beef, probably top sirloin, and broccolini that was fresh and crisp on a bed of rice), we all agreed that the food was overly sauced (everything drenched on sauce) and overly salted. As a matter of fact the saltiness overwhelmed the flavour of the sauce, which lacked any complexity.
A lot of effort has gone into the looks of the place and the staff but unfortunately the food we tried today was not up to it.