The Bob and Earlene Asian Food-a-Palooza

A few weeks ago I got an email from Bob Gray, bon vivant, man about town, and summertime restaurant reviewer for The Guardian newspaper: he wanted to write about the burgeoning Asian restaurant scene in Charlottetown, and wondered if I’d serve as a guide. Always willing to shed more light on this less-discovered slice of the city’s culinary landscape, and always eager to accept a free meal, I agreed.

Which is how I ended up across the table from Bob and his wife Earlene at Tai Chi Gardens at 11:30 a.m. this morning, on stop number one of a four-restaurant tour of the scene.

It’s odd, having lived on Prince Edward Island for almost 20 years, and have a good portion of my friends and acquaintances who are also friends with Bob and Earlene, that we’d never met. But we hadn’t. And so today’s adventure, for me, was a short course in them as much as it was a short course in Asian food for them.

After snacks and drinks at Tai Chi Gardens we headed over to Ta-Ke Sushi for sushi and tempura, then to Sushi Jeju for vegetable samosas, Indian fried rice, and teriyaki salmon. The plan had been to finish off with dessert and Korean tea at SeoulFood, but when we showed up at 3:00 p.m. there was a “closed until 3:30” sign, so our tour finished without a final flourish. But we were full and happy nonetheless.

Earlene and Bob were excellent dining companions, and I’m looking forward to reading what hits The Guardian from Bob’s pen the Saturday after next.