Oh, gosh! Is it just me or is there some incredible seafood in Calgary right now? All I can say is I’ve been loving eating it all up. Earlier this winter, I attended a sweet little gathering of foodies and journalists at the Hotel Arts Raw Bar for a tasting of their new Asian fusion menu. Complete with a delicious and fizzy cocktail to compliment each dish, it is an understatement to say we were impressed.
Pictured below we have my favourite cocktail of the evening – the incredible Blossom Cooler. Fresh edible flowers line the glass of this sparkling cocktail. Without better words to describe it, it takes exactly like a Sweet Tart in drink form. Delicious! Below that we have one of the stunning desserts included in the meal, Plum Wine Poached Pear with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Plum Wine broth infused with sake. I love the idea of a cold soup that is also dessert. It was heavenly.
There was so much great fish throughout the evening but the Steelhead Salmon Tataki with avocado, jimca and orange slaw was definitely a highlight dish. Sprinkled with soy sesame dressing it was sweet and savoury, all at once. Below we have the BC Spot Prawn & Scallop Sunomoto with buckwheat noodles and dashi sunomoto. Wow, so fresh and lot of flavour packed into this dish. I loved the texture of the seafood with the buckwheat noodles. Any lastly, we have another favourite cocktail – Mister Grey infused with fresh lavender. Delicious, light and will be amazing in the summertime on the Hotel Arts pool patio.
I am also really looking forward to Hotel Arts’ new restaurant, the Yellow Door Bistro which will be opening up sometime this month. It will be a fabulous place to grab a meal anytime of day!
visit Hotel Arts & Raw Bar:
