Lazia Fall Menu Tasting
Yegventures was recently invited to the fall menu tasting at Lazia Restaurant for four. Before our meals, I had a chance to walk through a lounge party serving hors d’oeuvre and they looked mouthwatering. From left to right, four of the selections were: parmigiano doughnuts, boxing wings, edamame sesame dip, and Moroccan lamb meatballs.
We arrived at our table to quench our thirst to have 4 specialty drinks designed at Lazia. I had the fuzzy peach, which uses peach popbles in a cooler. The best way to describe them are fruity balls which burst with juice as you pop them open in your mouth. The others had a lemonade, a margarita, and this neat smoky drink where they serve it by pouring smoke onto the cocktail. Talk about food tech in today’s drinks, eh?
Once we arrived at our table, we were greeted with an amuse bouche, a bite size off-the-menu taster which few restaurants serve. This was followed by small dishes including this chicken and shrimp tower. Then it was the Mediterranean Pork Belly, which was everyone’s favourite, accompanied by crispy wonton and duck fat aioli. My personal favourite was the savoury halibut scallion pancakes. This one I’d definitely reorder again.
Before the next course, we had the owner Richard Lim come to us to offer samplers of ginger chicken. It uses the original recipe which made ginger beef popular in Alberta. The 1972 Peter Mang sauce combines several different types of vinegars.
The Korean shrimp salad was a refreshing and light dish which was perfect between the meaty appetizers and the main course. This dish best highlights the fusion concept of Lazia. Where else would you find asian pear and quinoa married with quebec shrimp so nicely combined?
For the main, we had the Kuala Lumpur Seafood hotpot, a menu item brought over from the Malaysian Chinese restaurant EAST. I can go on and on about how amazing EAST is as I’ve even had my birthday party there before.
The pacific wild salmon was my pick for the main. There’s so much care put into their dishes. They use certified wild salmon on top of the flavourful chorizo and lentils. I also couldn’t get enough of the confit tomatoes.
And the last dish was the teppanyaki New York steak with miso sesame dressing and hollandaise sauces. The veggies were also not just garnishes that were thrown on the plate. The togarashi fingerling potatoes were to die for.
To be honest, I headed straight for their well-known creme brulee, and ignored the introductions of the other two desserts. They were all made in-house, and like the other dishes on the menu, each of these also take a lot of thought and time to put onto the plate. One of these is a red velvet cream cake, and I think the other is a chocolate mousse cake? I usually find restaurant desserts to be overly sweet to finish, but I could picture myself finishing all three of these desserts by myself.
While many say that fusion is on the wane, I would certainly disagree with that statement. Recent TV food shows like MasterChef and especially My Kitchen Rules would also support that fusion, done right, is here to stay. Spending the evening with Richard Lim coming and going to introduce his dishes, hearing about his travels discovering new food and experimenting with ingredients limited to the Edmonton market, gives me a new appreciation for fusion food. Learning also from the cooking shows and from Richard, food is food at the end of the day, and what really distinguishes a meal and a masterpiece is love on a plate.
Lazia customers receive free parking vouchers for Edmonton City Centre West parkade. There’s also a hidden Bay parkade inside this parkade. When you arrive at the Edmonton City Centre West parkade on 103 St, proceed inside and head down. After turning at the end of the ramp, continue into the level and mid way is the hidden parkade for Bay parkade to the left. When you approach the garage door, it will open and you will enter the secret Bay parkade. Once inside, drive in and look for unreserved parking spots. Ask for the voucher after your meal at Lazia, and you’re home free.
To arrive at Lazia by LRT, take exit B at Bay/Enterprise Square Station. Turn northbound and you should see the Lazia street sign two blocks ahead. If you’d like the indoor pedway route, take exit D1 at Central Station, head straight towards Manulife Place, then continue through the pedway to Edmonton City Centre West. Turn left and take the escalator down, then turn right towards the south exit and it will be beside the door.
Yegventures also has a couple past videos of previous visits. Note that some menu items in these videos may no longer exist.
