Lindork’s Lists #152 – Chinatown Dining Week, Ice Carving, Winterruption & more!
Newsletter for Jan 25-31, 2023
Note: this is the public version of my weekly email newsletter that gets sent to subscriber inboxes first each Wednesday. Get the full newsletter first by becoming a free subscriber.
Things to Do This Week
We’re still in a pandemic! Please mask up, stay home if sick, and get vaccinated/boosted.
Celebrate Lunar New Year in Chinatown (Lucky 97 / Ukrainian Hall)
There’s an outdoor Lunar New Year celebration this weekend in Chinatown, starting outside Lucky 97 with a dragon and lion dance / opening ceremony at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28, followed by free performances and activities inside the Ukrainian Hall at 10629 98 St. from 1-5 p.m. I haven’t seen an online link to the event but was sent the poster. If you’re interested send me a note and I can pass along the poster!
Check out Chiseled Ice Carving Competition (ICE District/Old Strathcona)
Chiseled, Edmonton’s International Ice Carving Competition (formerly Ice on Whyte) runs until Jan 26 in the ICE District Plaza, with more activities in Old Strathcona over the weekend Jan. 27-29.
Watch 8 teams create 15 block sculptures then vote for your favourite! You can also watch resident carvers in action Jan. 27-29 in Dr. Wilbert McIntyre Park (Old Strathcona)—and even try ice carving yourself!
Experience Winterruption Winter Festival (various locations)
Edmonton Winter Festival Winterruption runs this week Jan. 25-29 at various venues across the city, with live musical performances, comedy, drag shows, live podcast recordings, wrestling and more. Get a festival wristband or tickets to individual shows.
Take advantage of the City’s Free Winter Recreation (various locations)
The City of Edmonton is offering all sorts of free, family outdoor winter programming at its river valley parks and skating ovals every weekend through March, including free hot chocolate and warming fires on Fridays, kicksledding, snowshoeing, snow fort building, and orienteering on Saturdays and Sundays.
Get your Home Renovation on at the Edmonton Renovation Show (Expo Centre)
The Edmonton Renovation Show returns this weekend Jan. 27-29 at the Edmonton Expo Centre with more than 200 exhibitors, main stage presentations and celebrity home reno guests, if you’re looking for some inspo!
Do a Late Night Skate + Sleepover in Sherbrooke (13008 122 Ave.)
The Sherbrooke Community League is hosting a Late Night Skate + Sleepover at their hall this Saturday Jan. 28 (free or pay anything to attend). There will be skating, movies, a supervised sleepover (parents welcome to attend to supervise as well), plus next day breakfast. Event is intended for kids 10-16.
Got an Edmonton area event, virtual event, or something coming up you think my readers would be interested in knowing about? Let me know!
Food to Try This Week
Please continue safely supporting local restaurants, in whatever way works for your comfort levels. If not dining in, please do take-out! Please stay home if you’re sick.
It’s Chinatown Dining Week! Plan your Dining Week eats (various locations)
The sixth annual Edmonton Chinatown Dining Week returns this Jan. 26 and runs until Feb. 5, with 15 restaurants in Chinatown offering $10 and $20 food deals. Take the opportunity to try a restaurant you’ve never tried before, or return to an old favourite and take advantage of their Dining Week deal! Note some restaurants are offering take-out deals only, while others are offering dine-in only or both take-out and dine-in.
Love that the Week comprises two weekends so you’ve got lots of time to support these local restaurants and the neighbourhood!! You could try what I love to do too—plan a Chinatown Dining Week Food Crawl to hit up a few spots and deals in one afternoon or evening!
Brace for the upcoming deep freeze with Liuyishou Hot Pot (9700 105 Ave.)
It’s going to get and stay pretty cold this weekend into February which means warming up with soup should be top of mind! I was invited to try Liuyishou Hot Pot in Chinatown last week as they’ve recently started offering All You Can Eat and it was excellent! They offer 80+ items for your hot pot, premium housemade broths, plus if you share a large pot you can order their fun meat ring platters. They do individual pots too (and you can still order meats, just not in a fun ring shape lol). I write more about my hosted visit here.
Liuyishou Hot Pot (along with 97 Hot Pot and Asian Express Hot Pot) are also offering Chinatown Dining Week deals Jan 26-Feb 5 (not all you can eat).
Book your table for an Ernest’s Student Showcase Buffet (NAIT – 10701 118 Ave.)
Ernest’s at NAIT, Edmonton’s awesome Culinary student-run fine dining restaurant, is open for the semester and reservations for their Friday Student Showcase Buffets are filling up fast! Be sure to snag a reso before they’e all gone, or you can check out their weekday regular a la carte menu (they do a $22 three-course meal option too!)
Check out the rice bowls from Drip Sip To Go Downtown (YMCA 10211 102 Ave.)
So I had no idea until recently that Drip Sip To Go, originally a drip coffee company selling at farmers markets, now has a physical space inside the downtown Don Wheaton YMCA selling sandwiches, appetizers, breakfast, Asian rice dishes, and more! The rice bowls look great. I didn’t get a chance to try but saw them serving them up at a recent local BTS pop-up event.
Support new independent bubble tea shops around Edmonton (various locations)
There’s been at least three independent bubble tea shops that have recently opened up in the Edmonton area—two in Spruce Grove Bubble Tea Coffee Lab (100 King St.) + Hobby Tea (700 McLeod Ave.) and one in Sherwood Park – Boba Bar (3850 Sherwood Dr.) Show them some love if you’re in the area!
Eaten something amazing recently? Want to show some love to a struggling restaurant? Have a take-out suggestion? Let me know to include in this newsletter.
Small Business Spotlight
I don’t know what’s going on with a rash of break-ins at businesses lately but Majesty and Friends at 12024 107 Ave. in Manchester Square, one of my favourite local gift shops, was broken into this week and could likely use some extra support if you have some gift needs to fulfill—go there!
Wizards’s Comics at 8625 109 St. was also the victim of a bad break-in this month (with thousands in merchandise stolen) if you’d like to swing by there to support.
Anniversary Giveaways Coming Soon!
This February marks three years of this Lindork’s Lists newsletter!
As a thank you for being part of this email community I’ll be running a few giveaways throughout Feb, just for you, my newsletter subscribers. 💛 Stay tuned for details + to enter!
Get up to 90% off your Fresh Prep order
I’ve resumed my partnership with my favourite Canadian meal kit company Fresh Prep so first time orders / new accounts can get up to 90% off using code INFLINDORK90. This code is valid until Feb 14 so if post-holidays has you feeling a little unmotivated to cook, or you’re strapped for time and recipe ideas, try Fresh Prep!
#FreshPrepCA_Partner
New on the Blog
For Lunar New Year (Vietnamese Tết), and as part of my 2023 resolution to cook / document at least one Vietnamese recipe per month, I’m excited to share the recipe for one of my favourite Vietnamese soups: Canh Khổ Qua (Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup). Bitter Melon is definitely an acquired taste, so if you’ve acquired it, this dish is definitely for you lol!
From the Blog Vault
I’m headed to Jasper National Park this weekend for one final mountain getaway before the baby arrives, so thought I’d throw back to this “15 Things to Do in Jasper, Alberta” blog post from this time in 2019. I am hoping it won’t be too cold to do the Maligne Canyon Ice Walk!
Some News to Know
I’m piloting a new newsletter section sharing a few local / national news you may be interested in each week—from light and heartwarming to hopeful, political & more!
Congrats to Edmonton home cook + blogger Cindy (@cookwith.chopsticks) for being featured in the new Netflix show Cook at All Costs! So fun.
Interestingly, two different people caught photo/video of elusive wolf packs in B.C and the Northwest Territories this week. Check out the wolves in NWT and the wolves in Kelowna, B.C.
After it was revealed that the Edmonton International Airport wasn’t compensating artists performing at the airport, the airport has announced it will start paying performers as part of its music program.
Just awful. A new report says tainted, unpasteurized milk, intentionally given to First Nations children at an Alberta residential school, was responsible for many of those childrens’ deaths.
Popular on my Blog Right Now
Here are the top four most popular posts on my blog this week:
Discount Codes to Save You $$$
Get 20% off Honest Dumplings via the Uproot Food Store using code LINDA. Applies to one-time purchases. No minimum purchase requirement. One use per customer. Can’t combine with other discounts. Code active until Jan 31!
Get up to 90% off your first order of Fresh Prep using code INFLINDORK90.
Get 20% off the world’s most versatile smokeless firepits from Coulee Outdoor using code LINDORK20.
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See more discount codes over on my blog
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