The street food of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) is world famous. We're super excited to partner with our dear friends the Lam family - owners of Seasoned restaurant - as they share with us their favourite street foods from their home country of Vietnam, with an emphasis on the everyday treats found on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City. This 10-course feast will be a dinner you'll never forget!

Members of our dinner club were given a gift certificate to one free meal at Saskatoon's new restaurant Oreno! They are excited that they are bringing yakiniku (Japanese grilled meat cuisine). Put simply, Steve and Jessica know that you our members appreciate good food, and they wanted their honest feedback about their new place. 

This is one of Japan's most popular styles of hot pot dining and is otherwise not available in Saskatoon. Quality meats are cut thinly, requiring only a few minutes of cooking time. As a result, it is more practical for diners to cook at the table so they can still enjoy them nice and hot, straight out of the broth. Once the vegetables and meats added to the broth have cooked through, diners grab them and place them in individual bowls.  Their selections are then dressed up with the condiments and dipping sauces provided, allowing for some playful experimentation.  As the meal continues, the broth evolves, changing flavor and becoming more and more complex.

China's cuisine is steeped in ancient and rich traditions. With delicacies derived from the tastes of so many regional influences, flavours come in a wide variety. Of course there are the four basics that Chinese cuisine is famous for balancing: salty; sweet; sour; and spicy. But there are so many more layers to this complex culinary tradition. Aromatics, hints of smoke, fresh, bold spice combinations and of course a medley of textures tantalize the palate and delight the senses.

The New York Times the Basilicata region of Italy’s as the #3 place to travel to in 2018. This dinner allowed people to enjoy the Tastes of Basilicata without having to buy a plane ticket!

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Taverna Italian Kitchen worked with Saskatoon’s local Basilicatans to create an authentic menu exploring the unique dishes of this region. 

Luciana, in particular, had a great influence on the menu and worked closely with the kitchen. An Italian grandmother from a small town in this region, she personally attended the event and rode herd on the kitchen to make sure everything came out as she would serve it to her own family.

How many of us think Vietnamese food is just a bowl of rice noodles and spring rolls (or, if we’re living on the edge, rice noodles and 

lemongrass chicken), or a bowl of pho? Given what we’re accustomed to being offered at restaurants, probably most of us.
 

But there’s so much more to Vietnam’s cuisine than that! We worked with the wonderful team at Seasoned Fusion Tastes to develop and present an authentic village feast. Those who joined us were treated to amazing hospitality and had a chance to savour the many flavours and textures that authentic Vietnamese cuisine really has to offer.

Japa bowl hosted our first ever Off The Menu dinner. A selected group of people joined us to dine on some of Steve's (the owner's) favourite dishes! 

It was a cold winter day with macha tea, lots of sake, more food than we could eat!