It is an inevitable fact that time keeps marching on and with the that comes changes in the tides of life. And so in the middle of winter, our resident group was faced with sending off one of our beloved members. Like any group of friends, we enjoy sharing conversation over a good meal. And so as one of our final gatherings, someone suggested we try one of the newer restaurants in town that prides itself in preparing dishes meant for sharing. So off we went, into the heart of downtown, to try The Merchant Kitchen.
Street food seems to be in vogue over the last few years, whether from the food truck or a sit down restaurant. The Merchant Kitchen joins in on this trend, but strives to bring "elevated street food" to the table. Its story is one of bringing together flavours and techniques from 21 cities and 14 countries, while incorporating local ingredients. The multi-country inspiration is obvious in the menu, which is a selection of both Latin and Asian-inspired street food meant for sharing. The theme of sharing is also evident even in the way that the restaurant is laid out. A large open area with modern decor is filled by an eclectic arrangement of seating: long tables with benches and chairs, allowing for ease of conversation and sharing of food.
We decided to get things started with an order of
Guacamole. Merchant Kitchen's version comes with crispy warm taco chips, crunchy and light, perfect for dipping without getting you stuffed before the mains arrive. The guacamole itself was quite tasty, more on the citrus end of the spectrum, but overall, nothing extraordinary. It also came with a second dip, an eggplant-based dip similar to Baba Ghanoush.
A few of the group who had previously been to Merchant Kitchen insisted that we try the
Grilled Corn. When they bring the corn to your table, they shave the kernels off for you making it easy to share. The grilled corn was topped with a creamy mixture of Mayo, sour cream, feta cheese, chili powder, lime, and cilantro. The fragrant grilled kernels were crunchy and bursting with a combination of sweet, sour and spicy. So tasty we ordered a few of these and definitely the winner of the night.
Duck Rolls were one of the wraps/rolls offerings on the menu. Plated on a soft taco-like wrap were many morsels of roasted duck accompanied by a variety of greens: asian coleslaw, coriander, and mint. The coriander and mint really added a fragrance that helped to enhance the other flavours, while the peanuts added crunchy texture. This wrap was pulled together by a creamy sesame soy vinaigrette. This dish is reminiscent of one of ways to eat Peking duck, but the flavours here are more tangy.
Another variation of wraps is the
Shrimp & Kimchi Lettuce Wraps. Lightly tempura-battered, crispy fresh shrimp tossed with chili peppers, kimchi and Asian coleslaw. The idea is to take the soft and flexible pieces of butter lettuce, stuff it with some shrimp, tangy and spicy kimchi and coleslaw, and add some crunchy fried vermicelli. These wraps were accompanied by a soy-based sauce which was a part sweet and part salty. These make-your-own lettuce wraps are a fun bit-size offering and makes you feel somewhat healthy with the lettuce, but in the end did not amaze me.
You might know by now that I love my fried green beans, so I could not resist ordering a plate of
Dry Fried Green Beans. The fried green beans themselves were a disappointment. Fried too long, they lost their inherent crisp nature. However, the flavour palate was different from what I am used to and a pleasant surprise. Preserved mustard stems added a pickled crunchiness while the arbor chilis packed a spicy punch. If you are spice-shy though, you might want to stay away from this dish.
Brussel sprouts are that vegetable that most people hate as a child, but for some mysterious reason really grow on you when you are an adult. As such, most restaurants have their version of brussel sprouts and here we tried the
Wok Roasted Brussel Sprouts. Whenever you eat something cooked in a Wok, you expect the ingredients to be infused with the fragrant aroma that only the technique of stir-fry in a Wok can bring. It is hard to describe, but it is a bit like a char-grilled essence. The brussel sprouts did have some of this, which was enhanced by the fragrance of roasted garlic and crispy fried onions. Again, chilies were in this dish, this time in the form of Thai chilies. Not my favourite combination in the brussel sprouts world, but overall a solid dish.
Spicy Thai Fried Rice was next and as the name suggests, it is indeed spicy. Fried brown rice with egg and prawns were married together by the combination of Thai basil, garlic, Thai chilies and red pepper. This was another savoury dish whose flavour was heightened by spice and tang, if you chose to add lime juice. The rice used here was not the usual found in Chinese fried rice which is intentionally drier leaving a crunchier texture to the dish. Instead the rice here is more "wet" and with the frying became too moist and almost mushy, and ended up taking away from the overall enjoyment of the dish.
Prior to this dining experience, the one thing that I heard the most about The Merchant Kitchen was its
Korean Fried Chicken. A lot of people really love this dish and even claim that it is one of the best fried chicken in the city. So it was a no-brainer that we had to try it for ourselves. In general, Korean fried chicken is different from the North American variety because it is usually fried twice, making it crunchier and less greasier. Indeed, Merchant Kitchen's offering is not your typical fried chicken and it all stems from the batter. Instead of your usual dense batter with whatever assortment of seasoning and spices, this batter was light and airy while still retaining crunchiness. It was almost like a tempura batter, but a bit more dense. Inside was piping hot chicken, and what The Merchant Kitchen does well is retaining the chicken's moist and tender qualities.
To accompany the Korean Fried Chicken were two sauces: Garlic Chili Sauce and Soy Syrup. Unlike other fried chicken that incorporates flavour into the batter, this fried chicken is bland and uses the sauces for flavour. If you are looking for a savoury dish with a hint of sweet flavour, the soy syrup is for you, but if you enjoy spicing things up then try the garlic chili sauce. Overall the chicken itself was plain and bland, the batter unusual and the sauces ordinary all amount to a disappointing, uninspired and expensive plate of food.
By now our group was feeling rather satisfied by the enormous amount of food we had ordered, but we were determined to find some small corner in our stomachs to try the
Pound Cake Cinnamon Churros. Not your typical churros, this dessert is the delicious collision of two worlds: cake and cinnamon churros. After such a filling dinner, thankfully the pound cake was light and not too dense. It was enveloped in cinnamon and kind of reminiscent to mini donuts. The cake is meant to be eaten after being dunk in the accompanying bowl of warm malted chocolate milk. A delicious way to end the night.
Merchant Kitchen prides itself on fusion cuisine and indeed each dish was a nice mixture of Asian and Latino inspired taste. And while on paper everything sounds great, the majority of the dishes lacked balance and finesse and instead became a uninspired combination of random flavours. And while there are certainly some dishes to like, The Merchant Kitchen is overall simply average.
yummy
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