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Meal Kit Box & Recipe Review: HelloFresh

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HelloFresh’s welcome booklet.

This year, I’ve been on a meal kit subscription kick. So far, my boxes from Chefs Plate and MissFresh were discussed in previous posts. Both Canadian businesses provide delivery across the country. Today, I’ll be talking about option number three: HelloFresh.

Unlike Chefs Plate and MissFresh, launched in 2014, HelloFresh emerged out of Berlin, Germany back in 2011. Within five years, they expanded to the UK, USA, The Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, and then Canada. It is one of the largest scale meal kit delivery services in the world.

Their Canadian branch is based out of Toronto and, from what I’ve received, it’s apparent that the meat and most of the produce is sourced through partnerships with local farms. Smaller items such as a packet of Bonne Maman honey comes from a family-owned French company and Colavita balsamic vinegar as well as a pack of orzo seem to be from Italy.

Similar to the other services, all of the food arrived in an insulated box shipped through FedEx. Vacuum sealed meats were ice packed at the bottom and then partitioned to separate them from the remainder of the items. All of the other ingredients were sorted into heavy paper bags that were closed and labelled with stickers that indicated the meal to which they belonged. Welcome info and recipe cards were placed at the top of the package.

The box is clearly labelled from HelloFresh.
They try to be as environmentally friendly as possible.
They use sustainable packaging and they source locally when possible.
Frequently asked questions are answered in the welcome booklet.
This is where HelloFresh is currently available.
The meal kits come packaged in thick paper bags.

Surprisingly, even though only three of the week’s available recipes were selected for my order, they provided all five cards in my box. I suppose if I’m ever inclined to try out the other options, I can actually do that. My fiancé thinks HelloFresh prints the sets as a cost saver to the company because they can just toss them into every box. They don’t have to spend the time separating the cards out or printing a specific number for each recipe. He’s probably right. Either way, it’s a tiny thing, but I kind of appreciated the extras.

The individual meals and items were all packaged really well. Greens that needed to breathe were placed into resealable baggies that had perforated holes on the backside. Everything else came in sealed plastic. All components were clearly labelled. Some of the veggies had even been prepped ahead of time, shaving off several minutes of washing, cutting, chopping and dicing. Butter, oil, milk, salt, and pepper is assumed to be a staple at home already, so those are not supplied.

For my first box of three meals for two people (regularly $79.99, including free shipping), my fiancé and I picked the following recipes: Moo Shu Pork Tacos, Crispy-Skinned Chicken, and Seared Steak. Each of them took 30 minutes or less to cook and the calorie count ranged between 520 to 1,000 per portion. However, a full nutritional breakdown is not to be found unless viewing through their website.

The front of the Moo Shu Pork Tacos recipe card.
The back of the Moo Shu Pork Tacos recipe card.
All of the Moo Shu Pork Taco ingredients laid out.
The single pan used to cook.
A close-up of the taco filling.
An overhead shot of the taco.

Moo Shu Pork Tacos shifted things into gear. These were simple to make. The process pretty much required just a single pan and a couple of dishes, which is ideal when it comes to cleanup after dinner. We both loved the depth of flavour from the spice (Note: Moo Shu Spice Blend is a mix of garlic powder and ground ginger, if you want to recreate this) as well as the Sriracha mayo. With three meat and cabbage stuffed 6-inch tortillas allotted for each person, this was actually an incredibly filling meal. I can definitely see why the calorie count is much higher for this dish. My only issues with this kit were the sliced radishes (too thick) and the lack of Sriracha and mayo to make the sauce. Had there been enough mayo, it may not have been necessary for us to add extra cheese to taste. Still, after a minor change or two, this is a recipe that we’d happily make again. This selection deserves an 8 out of 10.

The front of the Crispy-Skinned Chicken recipe card.
The back of the Crispy-Skinned Chicken recipe card.
The Crispy-Skinned Chicken ingredients laid out.
This turned out to be a really colourful dish.
The chicken skin was nicely crisp.

The Crispy-Skinned Chicken was likely our favourite of the week. This consisted of skin-on chicken breasts, smashed potatoes, roasted green beans, leeks, and a rosemary pan sauce. I did find that the chicken was a little bit greasy as we may have drizzled a bit too much oil into the pan when roasting the meat and beans. Yet, the texture of the chicken skin and flavours from the sauce and leeks helped to elevate the dish further. This was hearty without being heavy. We award this recipe an 8.5 out 10.

The front of the Seared Steak recipe card.
The back of the Seared Steak recipe card.
The Seared Steak ingredients laid out.
The dish was pretty with all the colours, but it lacked in flavour.
The cut of steak was pretty chewy.

As experienced with Chefs Plate and MissFresh, the steak dishes were always one of the best in the bunch. Therefore, we left the Seared Steak and its accompanying roasted broccoli and warm caprese orzo salad for last. Unfortunately, HelloFresh truly disappointed. The cut of meat was sub par; even though it was cooked to medium, it was much chewier than we like our steak to be. It was also incredibly bland as they instructed the steak to be pan-seared using just a drizzle of oil and nothing else. The orzo pasta had a decent dressing made using a honey and balsamic vinegar base, but the only added pop to the entire dish came from the tart grape tomatoes and basil. Bocconcini cheese, which has an okay mouthfeel is rather flavourless without some sort of heavier dressing to go with it. Sadly, this supper only warrants a 6 out of 10.

Compared to the other meal kit subscriptions, this one is more expensive. While the others work out to $10.99 per portion for the basic plan of three meals for two people, HelloFresh is ringing in at a lofty $13.33 per person for each recipe. We found the quality of the packaging to be fantastic, but the quality of a few of the ingredients to be less than expected. On the one hand, it’s certainly convenient. On the other, the dinners were hit or miss. Should there ever be a chance for me to try a second HelloFresh box at a discounted rate, I’d be delighted to give them another go. Until then, I will have to pause deliveries as the savings aren’t quite there. If it’s feasible for you, I’d recommend testing HelloFresh yourself, so you can see if it’s a good fit for your life.

This review is in no way affiliated with HelloFresh. I purchased these meal kits on my own and have chosen to share my thoughts here. If anyone is interested in signing up for a subscription, please use my HelloFresh referral link at checkout to receive $40 off of your first delivery.

Edmonton Restaurant Review: The Harvest Room (Full Breakfast Buffet)

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My first run at the Full Buffet.

I’ve been to The Harvest Room at the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald several times over the past few years, but the last time I wrote about it was just over four years ago. A recent visit, prompted by the purchase of a Groupon, is giving me the chance to talk about this downtown Edmonton spot once more. This time, instead of coming in during lunch or stopping by for dinner, my family and I opted to meet up for breakfast bright and early on a Sunday morning.

Street parking on Sundays is free, so it’s possible to find spaces nearby without having to pay for the use of a lot or for the Fairmont’s valet services. The rest of the week, it will cost to park until at least 6:00pm. We had made reservations for 9:30am, and we arrived right on time. Before we were led into the dining room, the host hung up our coats in the closet, and he also requested our Groupon voucher. In this instance, the deal was a $100 value for $65 to be used on a Sunday to Thursday towards breakfast or dinner. However, I also managed to get an additional 25 per cent off with a promo code, which dropped the price down to $48.75. The original offer is still currently available.

Our table of four was seated next to one of the big windows, allowing us a great view of the entire restaurant and the patio. The space isn’t all that big and it’s not as regal as I’d assume a Fairmont dining room would be. It is classically styled though, and the servers are all dressed more formally. There’s even a window into the kitchen, so you can watch the staff as they work. It starts to feel like a fancier place when it’s apparent that they will bring brand new cutlery every time you begin eating off of a new plate.

French toast, bread pudding and a pastry.

The breakfast menu ranges from $12 for a Super Green Smoothie to $26 for a House-Cured Hot Smoked Salmon Benedict. It’s certainly not cheap. Especially when any additional drinks, including coffee, tea, and juice, are $5 each. Although, they do offer the value option of a coffee or tea with juice for $8. Taking all of that into account, it just made sense for our group to go with their Full Buffet option ($31.50 each). For about the same price as a single dish with a drink, we’d get unlimited fresh fruit, smoked salmon, domestic cheeses, yogurts, assorted cereals, bagels, toast, pastries, eggs benedict, french toast, bread pudding, crispy bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, omelettes, breakfast potatoes, and the daily smoothie. Plus, coffee or tea, and juice — I questioned whether or not the orange juice was actually fresh as indicated on the menu — comes with it as well.

From the Continental Buffet, the best item you’ll find for the value is the smoked salmon.

Personally, I wasn’t super impressed with the Continental Buffet ($21.50) selection as I found the bagels to be kind of hard like they weren’t made fresh and there wasn’t much in the way of cheeses. The fruits were alright. I particularly enjoyed the pineapple and watermelon. Both were juicy and sweet. I also will commend the pastry chef because the mini danishes that I ate were delicately flaky and soft. Otherwise, it’s only worth the money if you’re a fan of smoked salmon and yogurt-based smoothies. Eat as much of the house-cured fish as you can and drink a couple of glasses of the daily smoothie to completely justify the cost. But, really, for an extra $10, it seems like a no-brainer to just go with the Full Buffet. While I didn’t try the eggs benedict or the scrambled eggs (I’m not a fan of eggs that have been sitting for periods of time), I made an effort to sample everything else.

Prairie Omelette made fresh to order.

First off, I’ll say that I appreciate the fact that, even though it is a buffet, they’ll take omelette orders at the table, so the dish is freshly cooked and comes hot from the kitchen. I chose the Prairie Omelette, which is usually $23 on its own, served with potatoes and tomatoes. Filled with boar bacon lardons, charred peppers, tomatoes, green onion, smoked apple wood, and smoked cheddar cheese, it was okay. I definitely could have used more cheese, and I would have preferred a fluffier egg.

The bread pudding at the 12 o’clock position was so good, as were the mini danish pastries.

Again, items that sit out at the buffet in warmers are never going to be the best unless there’s high turnover. That’s why I wasn’t too keen on the french toast. The slices seemed kind of stale and the berries that were tossed into the pan looked as though they’d been heated a bit too long. On the other hand, the bread pudding was fantastic. When I lined up to get some of that, I was at first disappointed to see that the tray was missing. But, that turned to happiness when I saw that a new bowl of bread pudding was being brought out just as I reached the buffet. The sweet bread was subtly flavoured with cinnamon and a dusting of icing sugar. I paired it with a few strawberries I pulled from the tray. It’s simple, but tasty.

The breakfast potatoes were savoury and tossed with roasted tomatoes. They were the perfect accompaniment to the plump sausages and the copious amounts of crisp bacon strips that I had. Those were all perfectly prepared.

My pot of tea was included in the price of the Full Buffet.

All in, my family paid about $100 after tax and tip out of pocket. At $25 per person, the value was there. However, when it comes down to the regular price, this is more than I would typically spend on breakfast (I’ll take the $8 happy hour special at Earls over this any day). Yet, if it’s not too out of the way, you’ve got a big appetite, and you’re looking to treat yourself to something nice, the Full Buffet at The Harvest Room should be a contender. Go for the drinks, fish and meats, and fill out the rest of your meal with other sides such as the delicious pastries. Just keep in mind that the value lies in certain items and stick with those.

Meal Kit Box & Recipe Review: MissFresh

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MissFresh’s welcome card!

As promised in my earlier post about the Chefs Plate meal kit delivery service, today, I’m going to go over my experience with MissFresh. Where Chefs Plate was based out of Toronto, MissFresh is headquartered in Montreal. Still, both are Canadian-based businesses, which is something to support.

I learned of MissFresh through Groupon. In January 2018, they offered a deal on the discount site for two weeks of delivery for the price of one ($65.94). Additionally, I was able to save an extra 25 per cent off with a promo code. All in, I spent just under $50 for six meals that provided enough food for two people.

After buying the voucher, I pulled up the MissFresh web page to see what was on their upcoming menus. Nothing peaked my interest at first, so I waited a week or two before I found a few recipes that I liked enough to place my initial order. Upon signing up to the subscription, I had to decide on the level of service I wanted (number of meals, number of portions, frequency of delivery, types of recipes, etc.). Then, I got to pick the meals that would be sent to my condo. Past that point, they take your address and payment information as well as any discounts that need to be entered. I put in my Groupon code, and, once everything was processed, it showed that I had another coupon awaiting use for a later date.

Ordering is straightforward and simple. What can get tricky is remembering to confirm or skip shipments before the cutoff date each week (every Wednesday before 11:59pm EST). I forgot to do that at the beginning of March. This resulted in me having to ask the company to cancel meals I didn’t want, and, now, I also have a full price credit applied to my account as they wouldn’t issue me a refund, only a coupon to be used towards a box at another time. Regardless, if I can keep on top of this, it’s kind of nice to know that I have the option of choosing when I want to receive a delivery. Customers are not locked into purchasing every single week. Currently, my calendar is set to skip all boxes for the next two months. I think the majority of users register to test it out and continue with the service as needed. Members can even deactivate their accounts indefinitely to ensure they aren’t inadvertently charged for anything.

Recommendations are provided with your welcome box.
The interior of the box that the meals ship in.

Like Chefs Plate, MissFresh is one of the more affordable meal kits out there. The two are comparable in cost. Both shipped packages for free through FedEx who always managed to deliver by noon, but on one occasion left our shipment in the communal lobby of my building when I missed their call to be buzzed in. However, what I noticed is that MissFresh doesn’t quite have the same polish as Chefs Plate. The box it ships in is fine — thick insulated cardboard lined with recyclable ice packs — and the produce is decent with meats vacuum sealed. But, the ingredients are stuffed tightly in basic plastic bags. They don’t really allow things to breath as well. Plus, the recipe cards are printed on pretty flimsy paper.

What is important, though, is that the food is fresh, the recipes are clear, and the meals are tasty. For the most part, I think MissFresh fits the bill. The meals came with everything we needed to cook the dishes, save for oil, salt, and pepper. Our six recipes included: One-Pot Pasta with Smoked Salmon and Spinach, Turkey Cordon Bleu Ballottine, Seared Sirloin Steak, Crispy Battered Sole, Maple Pork Fillet, and Cajun Chicken Pasta.

The front of the recipe card provides a photo, the cooking time and quick calorie info.
The back of the card has the ingredients listed, the cooking instructions and all nutritional info.
Ingredients come pre-measured and packed in bags, if necessary.
The One-Pot Pasta with Smoked Salmon and Spinach before the cream cheese was added.

Starting with the One-Pot Pasta with Smoked Salmon and Spinach, this was just alright. Personally, I love the flavour and texture of smoked salmon after it is cured. So, I wasn’t too keen on cooking the fish over any heat. Sure, the smoky taste remained, but the fish became flaky rather than smooth. I enjoyed the combination of dill, cream cheese, and lemon juice as it popped on the palate. Yet, the sauce wasn’t creamy enough for me. My fiancé and I would give this one a 6 out of 10.

The front of the Maple Pork Fillet recipe card.
The back of the Maple Pork Fillet recipe card.
The ingredients for the Maple Pork fillet.
The finished Maple Pork Fillet dish.
The best part was the succulent pork.

I found the Maple Pork Fillet to be a really nice cut of meat as it was succulent and lean. The buttery baby potatoes that accompanied the dish were yummy. I’m also a big fan of portobello mushrooms for their fleshiness. Nevertheless, this was far from my favourite. The maple glaze had a wonderful flavour; however, the consistency, even when we left the sauce to reduce on high heat, was rather runny. Most of all, I never succumbed to the sharpness of the Gorgonzola cheese that was stuffed into the mushroom. It overpowered much of the plate and gave everything a wine-like aftertaste. Rated out of 10, this one should be considered a 6.

The front of the Crispy Battered Sole recipe card.
The back of the Crispy Battered Sole recipe card.
The ingredients for Crispy Battered Sole.
The battered sole being pan-fried.
Frying up the slices of plantain.
Look how summery this dish is!
Crispy Battered Sole with Fried Plantains, Slaw and Guacamole

The Crispy Battered Sole was a bit of a surprise. Served with the fish were pan-fried plantains. When I had selected this menu item, I had pictured the mini bananas found at the grocery store. To my amazement, we received two huge plantains that looked unripe (the peel was lime green in colour). We pulled them apart, sliced up the fruit, and tossed them into hot oil to fry them up as we made the fish separately. This transpired into a beautifully bright meal with the golden brown sole, yellow discs of plantains, slaw, guacamole (oddly prepacked instead of freshly made with avocados), and lime wedges. It was light, zesty, and refreshing. It felt like summer on a plate. What was unexpected was that the sweet scent of the plantains as they cooked wouldn’t come across on the taste buds. In fact, they were rather bland. As it turns out, this fruit is typically used as a replacement for starches like potatoes as they share a very similar texture. For that, this recipe is graded with a 7 out of 10.

The front of the Cajun Chicken Pasta recipe card.
The back of the Cajun Chicken Pasta recipe card.
The ingredients for Cajun Chicken Pasta.
Tossing everything together.
A plate of the Cajun Chicken Pasta.

When I was perusing the menus on the MissFresh website, I was excited to see their Cajun Chicken Pasta with Sun-dried Tomatoes. The photo was appealing and the ingredients all sounded great. It was a quick recipe, too, clocking in at around 25 minutes to prepare and cook. It became one of my fiancé’s top picks of the meals we tried. It’s probably because this dish utilized the Cajun mix, generating a lot of spicy heat on the tongue, which he likes (if he can put Sriracha on something, he will). Since I love them, I would have increased the amount of sun-dried tomato used. Not only would it have punched up the flavours more, but it would have balanced out the Cajun spice better. We’d slot this plate at a 7.5 out of 10.

The front of the Turkey Cordon Bleu Ballottine recipe card.
The back of the Turkey Cordon Bleu Ballottine recipe card.
The ingredients for Turkey Cordon Bleu Ballottine.
The plated dish of Turkey Cordon Bleu Ballottine.
Brussels sprouts were a great accompaniment to the stuffed turkey.

Turkey is often thought of as dry and tasteless, but I thoroughly appreciated the Turkey Cordon Bleu Ballottine. Stuffed with smoked ham and Swiss Cheese, the tender poultry became the star. Our mashed potatoes weren’t as smooth as they could have been. We’ll chalk that up to not having the necessary tools to make them properly. Even with onion powder folded into the potatoes, they were somewhat mild. Swapping out the onion powder for a more potent garlic powder would have improved this dish further. On the plus side, the roasted Brussels sprouts were delicious. The outer layers of the sprouts were crisp from being broiled in our choice of olive oil, salt and pepper, providing another textural element. Out of 10, this deserves a 7.5.

The front of the Seared Sirloin Steak recipe card.
The back of the Seared Sirloin Steak recipe card.
The ingredients for the Seared Sirloin Steak.
Perfectly seared medium rare steak.
Added some of the beef jus from the pan to the steak.

Last, but certainly not least was the Seared Sirloin Steak. The quality of the cuts of sirloin were top notch. We were able to sear in the juices and cook the meat to a gorgeous medium rare. We even elevated the recipe by adding a smoked balsamic vinegar to the meat to amplify the flavour. When it came to the side, neither of us would ever think to use barley in place of rice. Yet, here, the broth and cooking white wine soaked into the barley nicely, giving every bite of the starch full body. Hands down, this was our preferred dish out of the six we ordered, and it’s one that we’d be inclined to make on our own again. This one merits an 8.5 out of 10.

Much like Chefs Plate, the MissFresh meals took between 20 to 35 minutes to prep, cook and plate, meaning it was relatively fast every day. The recipes were also quite healthy with the highest caloric intake listed at just over 750 to the lowest at under 400. I do believe that MissFresh can improve their packaging a little as they don’t have the same level of professionalism that I’ve seen with the other meal kit delivery services. Nonetheless, their offerings get the job done, and, in a household that might be too busy to spend ample amounts of time shopping for groceries, or who just want to make some simple home-cooked food, but don’t know where to start, this could be an excellent option.

This review is in no way affiliated with MissFresh. I purchased these meal kits on my own and have chosen to share my thoughts here. If anyone is interested in signing up for a subscription, please use my MissFresh referral link or enter my coupon code (CRYSTALLEE) at checkout to receive $35 off with your first delivery.

Edmonton Restaurant Review: Famoso (Magrath)

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Korean BBQ Chicken Pizza

Famoso‘s original Jasper Avenue location was one of the first handful of local restaurant reviews I wrote on this blog. I’ve been a loyal customer over the years, but with the introduction of delivery service through SkipTheDishes, I started having the food dropped off at my condo and I stopped going into any of the physical locations.

Fast forward to January. I had a Groupon on hand for the Magrath Heights Famoso at Rabbit Hill Road and 23 Avenue. My fiancé and I popped in for an early supper on a Sunday afternoon. When we arrived, the server indicated that we could sit wherever we liked. We ended up grabbing a cozy booth and she dropped the menus off.

A few of the seats in the Magrath Heights location.
Famoso’s seasonal magazine.

I took a look at the space and thought I’d make note of the table number, so I’d know what to tell them at the till during our order placement. As it turns out, the number was missing. I asked the server if the restaurant was now full-service and she confirmed what I thought. The manager mentioned that they switched to that template about a year and a half ago. This is actually preferable because it never really made sense to me to have customers get up from their seats. In the long run, they were still paying for staff to work the restaurant during the remainder of the meal and I don’t think it really saved anyone much time.

On this occasion, we opted to get two 12″ pizzas: the white Cavoletti ($17.35) and the seasonal Korean BBQ Beef ($18.35).

Cavoletti Pizza

The Cavoletti is my all-time favourite pie at Famoso and, ever since I introduced it to my fiancé, it has become his as well. The combination of the soft, chewy, slightly charred dough topped with prosciutto crisps, oven-roasted Brussels sprouts, Gorgonzola cheese, dates, walnuts, and honey is always satisfying with its balance of saltiness and sweetness. I call it a game changer.

Korean BBQ Pizza

Our second choice of the Korean BBQ Beef was actually surprisingly good. There was a generous amount of oven-roasted hand-pulled beef covered in house-made Korean BBQ and hoisin sauce. It was sweeter than expected. Yet, the duo of a mild fior di latte and a stronger cheddar cheese, along with chopped green onions, helped to tone that down.

This was a really enjoyable dinner that was speedily prepared (we were in and out within an hour) and provided leftovers for lunch the next day. We even received a couple of vouchers to come back for half off our bills during their Gratitude Week that ran from January 21 to 25, and we took them up on the offer twice.

As usual, the Cavoletti pizza was a staple. However, we also decided to try some different items: a New World Sweet BBQ Chicken pizza, a half order of the Prosciutto Wrapped Mozza Balls ($11.95) and the Pistachio Pesto Primavera pasta ($16.35) with added Chicken ($3.35).

Sweet BBQ Chicken Pizza

Admittedly, the Sweet BBQ Chicken pizza was disappointing. We did alter the recipe by asking them to omit the cilantro as neither of us likes the taste of the herb. That left roasted chicken with honey smoked BBQ sauce, fior di latte, smoked mozzarella, tomatoes, and onions. I don’t think there was enough of the sauce or that the mozzarella tasted like it was smoked at all. If it’s smoked properly, that scent comes off the plate immediately and the flavour packs a punch, but it was missing completely. Maybe in place of cilantro, some spinach would have been good to bring in a little bitterness. That, or a more intense cheese such as feta.

Prosciutto Wrapped Mozza Balls

Regarding the Prosciutto Wrapped Mozza Balls, these were decent. Their Campania tomato sauce is so fresh and tasty. I love that they drown the mozza balls in the stuff. It’s a wonderful accompaniment to the garlic flatbread. Our only issue with the dish was that it wasn’t warm. While we could tell the cheese had melted as it was still soft in the middle, it wasn’t all that gooey and it had cooled considerably by the time it made it to us.

Pistachio Pesto Primavera Pasta

I was quite impressed with the Pistachio Pesto Primavera pasta. Although I would have liked to have seen more of the linguini pasta on the plate, they certainly did not skimp on the roasted zucchini and mushrooms, green peas, sun-dried tomatoes, and chicken. The house-made pistachio pesto cream sauce was lighter than what might be found at other places, but there was enough to ensure that everything was evenly coated. We didn’t think we’d manage to finish our bowl of pasta and whole pizza that night. Yet, both items were so good that we polished it all off.

It seems that the best time to visit is in the middle of the afternoon on weekends though. We never had a problem finding a table at those times and the service was always more attentive. On our last visit, we went after work on a Tuesday night and the location was packed with people, mostly families, out for a meal. Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait as we managed to grab the only available table for two. Despite that, the service was still pretty quick and friendly.

The Famoso chain of restaurants is one that I’ll keep recommending to people because there’s a comfortable consistency. Plus, it’s a local success story and I think that patrons appreciate that aspect of the business.

Edmonton Restaurant Review: Seasons Hot Pot (Closed)

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My hot pot spread at Seasons.

I’m not one to have hot pot that often. For some reason, it’s just never at the top of my list when it comes to food. Yet, I’d been craving it for a while. Whenever I had the chance, I’d snap up Groupon deals. Unfortunately, before I had the opportunity to use it, the first one I bought for Chili Hot Pot fell through as it was cancelled by the business. So, when I saw that Seasons Hot Pot was offering a deal, I couldn’t pass it up.

It’s not a large space, but it’s bright and clean.
The back of the restaurant including part of the prep space.

Seasons Hot Pot is located at 109 Street and 23 Avenue just to the east of Century Park transit station. We dropped in on a Saturday afternoon for a family lunch. I had phoned the day before to make a reservation, but I had a feeling they didn’t actually make a note of it because the woman I spoke with forgot to even ask for my name. I had to offer it to her myself. My parents arrived ahead of us and let them know I had booked a table. It seems that my suspicions were correct because my mom said they were caught off guard. Still, it wasn’t crazy busy at 1:00 pm (the place filled up as we dined), and they got a spot right away.

Aside from the forgotten reservation, the service was pretty decent. While we were making our choices, both of the servers came by to see if we had any questions. They were more than willing to explain anything. Plus, when I inquired about the sweet potato noodles to make sure I was ordering what I thought I was, the one staff member even went to the kitchen to grab a strand to show me. I appreciated that.

Side A: Combos
Side B: Create Your Own

At Seasons Hot Pot, their menu has two options: combos or create your own. Prices for the combos vary ($16 to $26) depending on the amount and type of meat selected. However, the cost includes the soup, which happens to be free during lunch hours, an assorted platter, and a bowl of noodles. The create your own menu stipulates a minimum spend of $15.95 with individual items ranging from $2 to $5 each.

Curry Soup
Satay Broth
Spicy Broth

My parents both decided to go with the Beef & Lamb combos, one with the plain chicken broth and the other going with the satay broth. My fiancé and I, on the other hand, chose to personalize our meals. He took on the heat with the spicy broth. I hoped to jazz things up with the curry soup. The two of us each ordered three plates of meat and three additional sides as well as some noodles.

Some of the sauces and condiments available.

First off, I will quickly say that the all of the soups, except for the spicy broth, were pretty bland. There was a hint of flavour to them, but nothing that was really able to saturate any of the ingredients. I think that’s why they offer so many different sauces and condiments. We also had to wave someone down to have extra soup added to our pots when they got low, and I also question whether or not it was actually soup that they poured in or if it was just plain water.

My cooking station.
One of the assorted combo platters.
Working my way through all my food.

In any case, the important part was that I had a boiling pot of liquid to cook my food in, and there was a ton of food! If we’re talking about value for the money, I’d definitely recommend that visitors create their own hot pot meal. The combos were alright because there was a good mix of stuff, but for the price, there really wasn’t that much meat. The beef and lamb combos that my mom and dad ate had a total of about a dozen slices of meat per plate. Whereas I ordered the sliced beef, sliced lamb and sirloin beef. All in, I was looking at around double the portion of meat for approximately the same cost. In fact, after consuming my tofu puffs, pork dumplings, enoki mushrooms and my sweet potato noodles, I had to start sharing some of my lamb and beef with everyone else.

I think every kind of sauce or condiment one would want is here.

Since we had never been to Seasons Hot Pot before, I count this visit as a learning experience. If we go back, I know to: stay away from the marinated chicken (it’s tender, but in a too smooth way), avoid broccoli when having spicy broth because all of the tiny chili peppers get stuck in the florets, choose sirloin beef over sliced beef, mix sauces — satay, peanut and sesame — for amazing combinations, and order only what I truly like so nothing is wasted.

Was this the best hot pot I’ve had in Edmonton? No. It’s not. Some may also argue that they don’t have an all-you-can-eat menu like other hot pot places. Yet, how much can one really consume anyway? For about $20 per person, including tax and tip, all four of us left with full bellies. Neither my fiancé nor I ate dinner that evening. We didn’t have room for it. Therefore, for an affordable and more than passable lunchtime meal, check out Seasons Hot Pot. For those who live in the far southwest side of the city, it’s probably the closest restaurant of its kind to you, too.