The counter at Indochine Bahn Mi. Yes, they have bubble tea.

Fusion tacos. One might be prone to skepticism at such a term. Are they overdone? Tired? How could they be better than regular old Mexican tacos? Who eats fusion food anymore?

I do.

I eat fusion tacos at one of my favourite counter-style joints in Halifax, Indochine Bahn Mi.

A no-frills experience with a massive amount of flavour, Indochine is the perfect environment for a messy, solo, eat-in fusion taco experience. Order at the counter (get the two for $7.50 deal), and ask for what they call their Korean tacos. I’ve tried the haddock and the tofu. I went back for the tofu.

Fusion fish taco. Worth the mess.

Bulgogi-style marinated organic tofu (think soy, garlic, ginger and deliciousness) is done really well – it’s anything but bland – you can taste every marinade ingredient, and the texture retains some firmness. Along with tofu there is Indochine’s ‘spiced Asian slaw’ (fantastic, with fresh chiles), pickled daikon, cucumber, sprouts, and a sriracha-citrus mayo.

The textural combination is delightful, as you can probably guess, with lots of crunch. The flavours just work so well (maybe because they’re delivered efficiently and cohesively to your mouth via the near-perfect eating vessel that is a taco), the sriracha-citrus mayo, for me, sends it over the top. It isn’t overly spicy so I add a bit more sriracha and settle in, with a large pile of napkins.

The mess is worth it. I tried eating these while driving once. Don’t do that. Just find a few moments to stop in and enjoy fusion tacos at their finest.

Monday night foodie experiment: fresh Nova Scotia scallops, two ways. Same ingredients, but two slightly different preparations.

The first? A crudo. Very close to eating them raw. A simple, fresh, citrus sauce is prepared, to hit the bowl first. Freshly squeezed and zested lemon and lime, orange juice, Liquid Gold jalapeño white balsamic vinegar, dash of soy sauce, olive oil, freshly grated ginger, and a teeny, fresh hot chile from Riverview Herbs, sliced razor thin. Those babies are HOT. Whisk everything well. Pour.

After slicing the scallop very thin, place on top of the sauce. I also added fresh chives from the back deck, and a few flakes of sea salt. Enjoy outside in the sun and fresh air.

Second preparation: scallop ceviche. Slice more fresh, raw scallops, and place in a bowl with the rest of the citrus sauce, enough to cover. Add freshly chopped chives. Seal with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Remove from the fridge, and the acidity of the fresh citrus sauce has done it’s work. The scallops should now have a brighter white colour, having been cooked by acids.

Mine were sealed for a couple hours – the freshness of the flavours had penetrated the scallops’ flesh, acting also like a marinade. The texture was divine, so delicate, smooth and soft like butter. The kick of the chile and ginger was wonderful.

My favourite? The ceviche.

Since St. Patrick’s Day weekend is coming up, I thought I’d quickly share my experience at the newest Irish pub in the HRM, Seamus David’s.

Now, I wouldn’t call myself a regular visitor to Dartmouth… especially the crossing. I like to shop (and eat) local, and all, so there’s not much of a draw. However, the man wanted to look at some man store that sells car parts, and Dartmouth is good for that, so I thought I’d tag along and try out this new pub, which is both locally-owned, and not a chain.

After reading a couple hilarious Yelp reviews that claimed the staff there are incredibly sexist (in the favour of tables of all men), I really didn’t know what to expect. This was a Friday and when we arrived for lunch it was absolutely jammed. We picked one of the last couple available tables, and settled in.

I immediately was pleased because they not only offered cider, they offered more than just Strongbow. While Strongbow was the only cider on tap, there were two local ciders by the bottle. I chose my favourite cider, Shipbuilder’s.

The service was friendly and decent – albeit a little slow as the pub got busier, and busier.

The menu didn’t stray much from your traditional Irish pub food, and the prices were pretty  good. I think that’s because the food is very simple and (my guess is) not much is made in house.

I ordered fish ‘n’ chips, and after asking if the chips are hand-cut (the answer is no), I opted for sweet potato fries. The tartar sauce was two packets of Kraft, and the coleslaw very much tasted like it was mass-produced. The fish and batter were great.

So, while Seamus David’s isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel with the food, I think they’re mission is to provide an Irish pub affordable enough for people who work in Dartmouth to eat there a few times a week. The offering of local beer and cider is admirable. This is definitely a place I’d come back to just to have a few pints, or if I’m in the neighbourhood and craving some fried pub food.

Voting is open for The Coast‘s Best of Food Readers’ Choice Awards until April 10th!

I almost forgot they have a best local food blog category, then BAM, there I was, listed as a nominee! Hooray.

Click through on the below image to take the survey.

Vote now!

I keep getting this sneaking suspicion that I missed out on something really good last night at the 10th annual Savour Food & Wine show.

This year, the event was held at the Cunard Centre – which is a great venue. The room is so large and wide open, though, that it felt like I’d never make it to all the booths in only two-and-a-half hours. Hence the nagging feeling that I missed something tasty!

I did manage to sample more than a few really great dishes. The crowd favourite seemed to be (and I agree) the braised short rib on celeriac puree with sweet peas and double-smoked bacon from Saege Bistro. All biases aside, this was a fantastic, melt-in-your-mouth, deeply flavourful dish.

Another decadent and unbelievable taste was the foie gras mousse with caramelized apples from Ratinaud! Well done.

A few other favourites of mine were: the gnudi with beef bolognese and Parmesan cheese from MODA, the Port Pub’s lamb burger, and the truffle aioli that accompanied the steak frites from Bistro le Coq. Yum.

Here is a quick photo tour from the night.

This year’s Valentine’s Day weekend was fantastic. We got the hell outta dodge for a couple nights and drove to one of our favourite places: Malagash.

Up on the north shore of Nova Scotia, there’s a fantastic coastline, across the water from PEI. We like to stay at a secluded cottage, read food magazines by the fire, and forget about life for a while.

At the cottage, there’s an outdoor hot tub with a view of ocean, the horizon, falling snow flakes and the forest. It’s easily one of the most peaceful places I’ve been to, anywhere.

As usual, we packed enough food to last two weeks. We like to keep our options open, because we’re cooking all the meals from scratch, (another activity I find incredibly therapeutic).

Beginning our weekend with a trip to the Seaport Farmers Market in Halifax, we took our culinary leads from what was available there.

Much to our surprise and delight, Ran-Cher Acres has introduced even another goat’s cheese product: ricotta. It was settled, we were making ravioli from scratch.

Goat ricotta, caramelized onion and basil ravioli. Tossed in evoo, freshly squeezed lemon juice and arugula, truffle oil drizzle

Here’s how the endeavour rolled out… literally.