10740-101 Street 780-428-8899
Dave's Selection
We have decided to title this Dinner Club: "I can't believe it's not..." Padmanadi is a vegetarian/vegan/non-alcoholic Indonesian restaurant. Immediately upon entering, BOOM, there was a huge Buddha to the right and cool wooden chairs that Angela thought resembled the letter A. Bree thought they weren't loungey/comfortable enough. The walls have framed photographs of various employees and the wallpaper became funkier the farther one got into the space. We ordered three appetizers: gado-gado (a tofu salad with peanut sauce), salty chicken* with hot sauce (not real chicken) and roti with curry (a crepe-like bread). The salty chicken was great but Bree especially enjoyed the salad. The restaurant's concept encourages sharing and not only with the appetizers. The three entres we chose to share were ginger beef* (also not meat), spicy string beans, and Indonesian rice with vegetables. Bree liked to call the last dish 'crazy rice'. We're not sure why. Oh well. The food was served very quickly and it was piping hot. The waitress brought us enough water to drown in. In other words, the service was prompt and efficient. We were well fed and well hydrated. The meal was delicious, however, the desserts did not have a wow factor. From the many choices, Bree was quick to pick chocolate lava cake. Angela set her sites on a pineapple cupcake with coconut frosting. Dave made the safe choice and took on a vanilla cheesecake drizzled with berry sauce. The chocolate cake lacked flavour. The cheesecake wasn't dense enough. That leaves the cupcake with the distinction as best dessert. It actually had flavour. Despite the lack of alcohol (Bree couldn't satisfy her beer craving) and the speed of the experience (we were in and out in an hour), we did enjoy a change from the ordinary meats and treats of our previous restaurants. Come to think of it, the time has flown so fast! This is the third year anniversary of Dinner Club. That would make it the longest relationship Dave has had with a woman. Two women actually! Let's hope for many more to come!
