Remedy Cafe

Today really shouldn’t have happened, taking this rendition of chai along. I had a job interview for 10am and was ready a lot earlier than anticipated, which led me to unintentionally take my bus an entire hour early (it’s like my brain was more focused on the minutes on my watch rather than the hour, if that makes sense), and I’m sure the interviewer thought I was an idiot. I’ve never done that before. Ever.

So having to kill an extra hour without venturing off too far, I walked down to Remedy and tried this. I had a feeling it would be a bomb because this particular location is, I’d say, their worst. Usually the chai is the weakest and even the food is blander. But I wanted to try something different. Sure enough, it’s like their regular chai (mostly cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and maybe clove) with a smidgen of cocoa added to it. Barely a smidgen. You really need to concentrate to catch it. Ordered half-sweet with soy, I find that that combination allows for the spices to come through more, but not this time. The spices themselves are weaker too. It sucks thinking that I could have spent that money on chai at one of their other locations which makes them better. Also grabbed a chewy sesame square to make the debit transaction worthwhile.

What also made this day full of regret is my bad eating. Running into a food truck specializing in donuts (grabbed two to share with my mom since I was on my way to visit her after the interview, plus shared the sesame square), which although scrumptious, were not part of my plan either. Then my mom wanted to go for lunch, and despite opting for a healthier sandwich place, my West Coast chicken wrap, although delicious and packed full of good stuff, was still much bigger than I needed. So I know I totally overate and I didn’t walk as much as planned I’m going to have to really make up for it.

Oh yeah, and I got tea in the mail, for which I got slapped with an annoying customs fee. Yay for tea! Boo for customs. Second time this year too! And I haven’t been placing that many orders from the States either.

It’s one of those days when everything good gets counterbalanced with something stupid? I know, I know, it’s nothing completely terrible at all, really. More than anything, I’m just angry at myself for likely ruining an opportunity to snag an office job that would end the retail rut I’ve been enduring due to the recession.

So in conclusion, this chai sadly isn’t approved. I just don’t understand why this location is consistently sub-par.

What a bizarre day yesterday. I was supposed to have lunch with a friend, but turns out flaky friends are flaky, and she never bothered getting back to me for days, when we were in the middle of deciding on where to even go/meet. So, of course, life story, I spent hours waiting around my apartment to see if she’d finally respond and confirm that we are indeed still having lunch. Messaged her at 2pm stating that I guess lunch is a no go since I haven’t heard from her. Over a day has passed and still no response, by the way. And she’s done this in the past, agreeing to hang out with me on a certain day but just dropping off the face of the earth when I’m trying to confirm a time and/or place. Actually, as a side note, most of my friends who still live in this city are like this: they’ll talk about wanting to hang on a certain day but refuse to solidify any further (like time or place), then tell me that they’ll let me know later. So of course, like a fool, I’ll wait all freaking day on that day, at their beck and call, not doing anything else with my day since they don’t even have the decency to give me a ball-park time like afternoon or evening, until they decide they’re done with doing whatever else they’re doing, finally get back to me and expect me to be ready to go. Well, if I’m lucky. Many times, they won’t get back to me at all so I spend a whole day waiting around for nothing. Like wow. I could never imagine doing that to someone. Does anyone else experience this?

Anyway, so after being annoyed that I had half my day wasted, I decided I needed to submit some job applications. Hey, how about getting out of the apartment and heading over to Remedy? So I did just that. It was pretty hot yesterday so I ordered an iced Coconut Chai half-sweet with soy milk, plus grabbed a delicious-looking, huge date square . All the places with plug-ins were taken so I ordered my chai to go and figured I could hang out somewhere on campus.

Totally supplementary information, but I ran around for a good fifteen minutes looking for a place to work on my applications and enjoy my Remedy goodies. Walked through a building where I used to spend time writing papers and whatnot in the evenings since those classrooms are pretty much always left unlocked, but thought I’d first try a seminar room in another building I used to have a lot of my classes in—out of nostalgia and comfy-ass seats—but it was locked. The neighbouring library is also getting renovated and closed earlier too, so I ended up in that initial building, making a huge loop. Why is this relevant? The ice in my iced chai was melting from the heat whilst I was running around like a moron trying to find that perfect spot.

So, by the time I hunkered down and took my first sip, this was rather watered down. They sprinkled some coconut shreds on top but that didn’t make a difference in the flavour. The coconut flavour was very weak, and even the spices were weaker in comparison to their other chai offerings. I’d say it had your standard cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg, in that quantitative order, but it was nothing outstanding. I actually tried a hot Coconut Chai when they first introduced it—for a limited time— a couple years ago and recall that it was better then. Sweeter than the others, but had more depth than this time around. Again, could also be because it got watered down by the melted ice.

And because a lot of the ice watered it down, that prompted me to drink it faster, so I felt like I didn’t enjoy it as much as I should have. Oh well, but that date square was delicious so no regrets there!

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween! My mom and I went gallivanting down Whyte avenue yesterday window shopping and stopped in at Remedy for a Pumpkin Pie chai before they go away. When I went for a walk a few days ago, I got so excited when I saw the sandwich board advertising this, so for days I was looking forward to trying it out.

I guess I got my hopes up because it was the weakest chai I’ve had at Remedy yet. I’m not even sure what they did to make this a “Pumpkin Pie” chai since it takes like a watered down version of their original chai. They probably added some pumpkin spice-flavoured syrup since they also currently offer a pumpkin spice latte. I’m sure they use the same for both. We both ordered ours half sweet with soy milk and the liquor looked kind of translucent compared to their other chai with soy. It’s like adding milk to a very weak batch of tea, you know? Nevertheless, I’m sure that would explain why the flavour was weak. “Half sweet” = half the flavoured syrup = half the flavour that was supposed to be in here.

Nutmeg and/or allspice, where are you? That is definitely what I expect for anything labelled ‘pumpkin pie’. And clove too. But I got maybe a smidgen of cinnamon. There may have been some of the aforementioned spices in there but they were clearly buried. They were ghosts. Appropriate for the holiday, I guess? I wanted those spices to haunt my damn palate, though.

You cut me real deep, Remedy.

I’m sitting here on a cold, autumn-like day feasting on a Palak Paneer wrap with their scrumptious tamarind cinnamon sauce along with a cup of this chai. I ordered this half-sweet with soy milk and boy, does this one have bite. Definitely the spiciest, in terms of heat, than any of their other ones. I haven’t had this one in many years but I do recall it to not be all spicy when ordering it with the regular amount of sweetness. Methinks this is why this particular cup packs a punch. Plus it’s ginger, yo. Of course it’ll be spicier than their half-sweet Kashmire chai, where Zee (the fabulously genius owner) goes heavier on the sweeter star anise.

Wow, ground ginger is in the foreground, rather than fresh ginger root. I think there is cinnamon and nutmeg in this, as well. I’m wondering if he also adds a pinch of black pepper? As I’m getting towards the bottom on the mug, it’s getting spicier and spicier. There’s even a layer of spicy sludge on the bottom. Awesome.

Last sip and my throat is burning. I love it.

Oh boy, there’s that Kashmire Chai again. I’m not sure if I should even write about this here because for the first time, I tried it as a MILKSHAKE. Now that my mom finally sold our home in the middle of nowhere, she’s been toying wit the idea of buying a condo rather than sticking to rentals, so yesterday, I accompanied her on her condo viewing excursion. TMI, but my TOM hormones are a lot more spastic than usual and had me craving ice cream something fierce. I normally could take that stuff or leave it. But from ice cream, I thought, daaamn, I could actually go for some creamy, wonderfully-spiced kheer. Since that’s hard to come by, I started thinking about epic Kashmire chai. Then I was like, wait, doesn’t Remedy make chai milkshakes? My mom is a huge fan of their espresso milkshakes. They are truly the bomb.com. So, after the condo viewing appointments, when I was rattling off my ice cream- and chai-related cravings, we were like DUH LET’S GO TO REMEDY.

I took her to the one near my new place since I was oh so impressed by their food and drink last time, where we both ordered milkshakes in spite of the chilly rain. Her espresso milkshake was fabulous as usual (although they apparently can’t put crushed espresso beans like they used to which cranked the awesomeness up to 11). Me, I took the plunge, put the hot chai on the back burner for a change, and ordered the Kashmire Chai milkshake.

Outcome? Not sure if this will make sense, but the satisfaction level depends on which way you look at it. As a milkshake, it was glorious: creamy, very generous with the vanilla, excellent consistency, and filling. As a chai thing, it fell a little short. I wish they would have injected more of those chai spices into it. Imagine drinking a vanilla milkshake with the lightest dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, anise, ginger, and pistachio. I won’t order it again but I’m still glad I tried it. At least it also annihilated those ridiculous hormonal cravings.

After working six days in a row, I treated myself to one of these yesterday evening, as well as a Palak Paneer wrap. I went to their High Street location for the first time and colour me impressed by the flavours of both the chai and wrap. I find that the more they expand throughout Edmonton, the more they are cutting corners on the quality, unfortunately. At their other locations, the chai seems to be more watered down and not as spicy, and the wraps aren’t as spicy and are smaller too.

Going to this location yesterday was like turning back the clock a few years. The Kashmire chai, which I always order half-sweet with soy milk, was heavier on the spice, and they were more generous with the pistachio and rose topping too. The wrap was also spicier and was larger than the ones I’ve ordered from their other locations. I hope this wasn’t just a coincidence!

I told myself not to eat badly (I swear I must have gained back a few pounds over these past couple months) but I just couldn’t resist this. It’s probably been half a year since I went to Remedy.

In conclusion, that was the best Kashmire chai I’ve had since moving back to Alberta.

Happy New Year, everyone! I thought I’d treat myself to one of these today, with soy and half sweet. They were so generous with the ground pistachios this time around. Wow! But it’s still not as spicy as they used to make it years ago.

I have to behave myself because I am surrounded by people, but in my mind, my arms are flailing and I’m swooning all thanks to this wonderful chai which has been generously topped off with a ton of ground pistachios this time around. Such a crazy evening leading to this chai, which I planned on having five hours ago.

My mom is out and about and took the only keys to the apartment with her, and I decided that instead of being a loser trapped inside, I’ll venture out and have a chai (and try their newer coconut chicken curry wrap) since I have not been to a Remedy since October. Walked past it to notice that it was ridiculously packed, so I wandered around for a while wondering where oh where to go? I’m famished, I need sustenance and I’ll allow myself to have a cheat day, so finally I went to a sandwich place. Had a fantastic chicken-spiced-apple-Brie-fig-jam-thing-of-glory-on-rye. With a side of chili for extra protein. Score. Ok, so now I’m full but I need to kill a few more hours and this place is closing at 8. Hmm, ok, then I might as well head to Tim Hortons, partake in roll up the rim (0/1 damn!). As it got a little later, sketchballs started hanging around and being sketchballs. Have to pee from large double-double. Sketchy people in washroom. Ok, Sobeys down the street it is. Get there only to discover it closed over an hour earlier due to Family Day. Ugh. Fine. Walk to Safeway only to discover that their public washroom doesn’t exist anymore. Seriously? So I book it to Remedy, which I know has a non-sketchy washroom, is now a lot quieter, and now I’m finally enjoying this glorious chai. Trufax.

The prominent star anise will always make my day. Half sweet, soy milk, and rose petals to accompany those ground pistachios. I even redeemed one of my free drinks on my stamp card since I already spent enough today. Normally, I get the entire card stamped out before redeeming any of my free drinks but not this time. Lesson learned after misplacing my last stamp card which had four free drinks on it. Tsk tsk.

Long story short, delicious free chai at my favourite cafe!

Going to Remedy on a Sunday around supper is a pretty bad idea, as it’s so busy. The lineup was soooo long, which deterred me from browsing their wall of loose teas and opted for my trusty Kashmire chai. I’m not sure if it was the employee himself, or because it was busy, or because they’ve expanded and are hence cutting corners, but the chai was a little weak this time around. Last time I had it, it was a little more flavourful, but I think it’s a combination of all three aforementioned possible factors. Their food in general has been less spicy, and over the past couple years, they haven’t been as generous with the ground pistachio and rose toppings, or with the concentration of the spice in the chai, as well.

Sigh. But I’ll give them credit that their Falafel Sabji wrap was really tasty yesterday, and that was the first time ordering it in six years. Yep, not as spicy, but it was still delicious.

Let’s hope my next cup of Kashmire will be better.

On another note, seeing that it was so packed there, I sat at the bar for the first time in ever, and studied their beer cooler, which is generously filled with a nice array of beers from near and far. It prompted me to stop in at a liquor store on the way home and pick up some of those beers that interested me (boo, couldn’t find the Alley Kat Pumpkin Pie Spice ale that Remedy was stocked up on!). Although it wasn’t at Remedy, whilst at the liquor store, a tall green can of Carpe Noctem Melonball strong beer caught my eye and I thought, “Melon?!” so I grabbed one. I blame Butiki’s Cantaloupe Cream for making me semi-obsessed with melon-flavoured things. Long story short, this may very well be one of the worst beers I’ve ever tried in my life. So incredibly artificial-tasting, like a concentrated melon Push Pop but with even more chemical. Damn. Give me some melon-flavoured tea or a Melona bar instead, please.

I didn’t even know that you can get order this “half sweet” until my friend told me a few weeks ago, so I’ve had it that way the past few times with my usual soy milk and it’s just as tasty. There’s more of a spicy bite with every single sip, especially regarding the star anise. As usual, the ground pistachios and roses petals on top seals the deal. I’m going to have to submit reviews for a couple of their other kinds of chais one of these days but I always want to make sure I have an adequate photo taken.

OMGWTFHABS. 5-1? Seriously? There is no reason why they should be heading to game 6. Ridiculous.

But at least I got to go to Remedy and check out their newly renovated original location earlier today. I chose this with soy milk and I could drink it over and over again. Lots of ground pistachios were left at the bottom of the mug. That star anise lingers on the tongue long after you finish the last drop too. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find my hole punch loyalty card thing, which already had two free cups worth, so I had to start another one. Hope I’ll find it!

While in Edmonton the past few days, Remedy Cafe’s Kasmire Chai (their spelling) has come up several times as a ‘must-try’. So today I found one said café (there are three in town), that happens to be just a few blocks from my hotel. I arrive, ask about the chai, and if I can buy some to take home with me.

“No, it’s a super-secret recipe, and it’s simmered for days in-house only”.

Well, crap. So I vow to come back after dinner – they’re open until midnight on a Sunday!! – and try out this infamous chai. I see signs on the walls saying it’s decaf and has nuts (pistachios) in it as warnings. Most of the people in the place are ordering/drinking the chai, and it’s surprisingly busy.

When I return, I order it “normal” (normal milk and sweetener). I find out later I can have it with several different types of milk, and any variation of sweetness. I do find it too sweet with the simple syrup used, but otherwise? Wowza.

I can see rose petals in the liquid itself, and eat them – surprising for me since I normally avoid rose petals in tea. I can also see and eat chunks of pistachios in every sip, which seem to add to the experience in very good ways. The rest I can only guess – I’m thinking standard chai spices, zero tea. Some call it “spicy” and while I can see why they’d say that (there is a lot of spice in this) it’s a 1 on a scale of 1-10 for spicy heat, like chili’s.

I really, really wish I could get some to take home with me, it’s that good and unusual. I may need to try and see if I can concoct something similar at home.