Ottawa Foodies

I went again to Thi Fusion and had the Yellow Curry with Chicken and it was absolutely divine. I asked for it to be spiced number 7 (they spice on a a 1-10 level) and it was good for me. I probably could have gone up another notch. My friend had some soup with chicken and pork dumplings, as she was a little under the weather and thought it was only so-so.

The portions are huge so I ended up packing half for lunch the next day.

And to comment on my last post, this is my new favourite restaurant in Kanata

I think this may be my new favourite restaurant in Kanata.

Four of us met for dinner. The service was incredible. Our waiter was knowledgeable, friendly and super attentive. Probably one of the best services I have had in a really long time. Our water glasses were never empty for more than 2 minutes.

I ordered the Hot and Sour Soup which was fantastic and huge. Might decide to share that dish next time. My friend ordered the Tom Yum Goong soup which had coconut milk and she also thoroughly enjoyed it.

Then came the sushi. The sushi was incredibly fresh. By far the freshest I have had in the Ottawa area.

One friend ordered the Yellow Curry with Chicken and Jasmine Rice and she could not get enough of it. Another Friend ordered the Black Bean Dish with Chicken and loved it. Their portions were huge and they ended up taking a lot of it home.

I think that you can either order an entree, or order smaller items off the sushi, soup, salads and appetizers menu. Which is what I did. That was perfect for me because I like having different things rather than just one dish.

We all left full and happy. Not one complaint from any of us.

I personally think the prices were reasonable.

I will definitely be going back and will probably do take out from here on a regular basis.

Went there for dinner, the fish tank is one of the things I remember most of the place.

We were served promptly. Drinks came fast.

Tried the smoked salmon/blue cheese sushi rolls. If I lived closer to Kanata I would be ordering that dish for takeout at least once a week.

Went for a coworkers lunch this afternoon. When I walked in, I thought "how is it possible that I live so close and have never even heard of this place". The swanky decor peaked my interest and perhaps somewhere in my subconscious set some unreasonable expectation for what I was about to experience.

My memory is a little foggy (terrible, considering it was only 10 hours ago), but the lunch menu had only 7 or 8 items. 3 salads (garden, ceasar, and "pan-asian"), pad thai, bento box, and 3 wraps, none of which were asian. Confused? So was I. Ceasar salad? Chicken wrap? To be fair there was a very large and very interesting sushi menu, but still. Where is the curry? Where is the pork and basil? Where is the papaya salad with soft shell crab?

The lunch pad thai was $15 (!). I ordered shrimp pad thai, which it turns out was $16, and only available off the dinner menu. The pad thai was quite good. 5-6 good size shrimp. Ketchup based sauce. I got the 5/10 heat which was pleasant. Others got the 7 and were quite satisfied. Some coworkers had curry dishes from the dinner menu, others had sushi. Everyone believed the food to be above average.

The service was very good, and did their best to cover for the kitchen. The kitchen was very slow (we were there for over 2 hours, not by our choice). The waitress said that they only have 2 woks. Strange, because the seating capacity with patio must be close to 80. Maybe that is why they offer salads and wraps.

All in all, it is too bad they did not have a more diverse asian menu. What I ate was good. The ambience was nice. The service was good. But I just don't see myself returning week after week for a $20+ lunch of the same pad thai or green curry.

Interestingly, true to FF's comments, we had no cell phone coverage and we counted at least 3 surveillance cameras in the dining area alone.... very strange...

beef black bean noodles @ thi fusion. as this mofo doesn't put up with skimping, requested extra sauce and double meat. very flavorful dish there, perhaps my fave as i've had most of their menu items over the last 2 years. garnished very well with pickled red onions, fresh crisp bean sprouts, mandolin thin carrots, and drizzles of red pepper olive oil, balsamic reduction, chili oil. usually swing by there before moooovies @ AMC Kanata. good chow alternative to unhealthy overpriced colon-cancer inducing treasures at the theater concessions. swank saltwater aquarium and sexy & courteous staff to boot round out the atmosphere.

We came here after a movie, hoping to enjoy another bowl of their delicious pho. Unfortunately they no longer offer pho, so we settled for their other soups. The hot and sour soup was fine but nothing amazing. The wonton soup was pretty good with a nice broth. Both were overpriced for the smallish portion.

My cell phone (Rogers) showed zero signal strength in this restaurant. Could they be using a cell phone jammer to prevent annoying at-table phone conversations? Anyway, something to keep in mind if you need to be reachable throughout your meal.

This is the classiest looking Vietnamese restaurant I've been to. It feels a bit like Milestone's, except the food seems to be good. ;-) We've only tried the Pho so far and it was excellent. Prices are high compared to Vietnamese restaurants, but not too ridiculous compared to Japanese or Thai. Check out the online menu before you go.

Service was smooth and friendly. The server brought me a small soup instead of a medium and when I pointed it out she insisted on replacing it; however, I insisted more (the size was okay and I don't like waste) and she recanted. She apologized again when she came by to see how it was, then a final time when she brought the bill. I thought it was a more than sufficient demonstration of remorse so all was good in the end. We didn't order any drinks but our server gets bonus points for suggesting and then bringing ice water.

Looking forward to going back here for other food items!

I just started the blog as you can see and have only been talking about places I've gone recently. There was no real positive review as I had yet to have one in the 2 months I've started. I guess I'm blogging in real time- no point in talking about a place I went to 3 months ago as details may be missed. So as I encounter great places there will be more positive reviews. But same goes if I encounter really bad places too. I started the blog for my friends originally, good or bad I may assist them in making a decision and if I can save them from a bad meal...great. I only recently thought it would be nice to share my thoughts more openly so I just put the main page out there for people to surf as they wished.

I will blog about places I love in the future as I know not all places can be that bad. Thanks for moving the comment.

Chow Hound, that's just a link to your blog's main page. It would make more sense to link to your specific article on Thi Fusion. What strikes me as strange about your blog is that you've reviewed two restaurants -- one bad and one middling. Try blogging about the places you really love and your blog will become popular. I firmly believe that people want to know where to get good food rather than where to get bad food. :)

Anyway, you posted your comment under "Pho Thi Fusion" which is the restaurant in Barrhaven. The place in Kanata is this one "Thi Fusion". I've moved your commment to the right place.

I've been curious about Chez Piggy in Kingston, so thanks for posting that review!

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On my last visit I was saddened to find that the pho is no longer on the menu.

I was impressed! Only two sizes (S+M) and the prices are about a buck more than other places ($7.95 and $8.95), but it's worth it. Wifey and I each had chicken-based broth soups, hers was a Seafood Medley Saté and mine was BBQ Pork with Shrimp. A most delicious broth -- better or equal to all the really good places on Somerset. Noodles are the nice wide thin ones, and meat is in sufficient quantity.

Unlike most pho houses, the little plate of bean sprouts, basil, chili, and lime is served as an individual portion -- each diner gets a separate one. Pretty classy.

I should also add that the shrimp are done exceptionally well here. Most times shrimp in pho are overcooked and rubbery. These ones were succulent, moist, and even had the tails removed!