Popular food truck setting down roots

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This article was published 28/02/2019 (2729 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Fans of the Baohouse food truck, a mobile source of Asian fusion cuisine that’s been dishing up such delicacies as Korean bulgogi beef poutine and kimchi falafel tacos all over Winnipeg, will be happy to know there will soon be a permanent bricks-and-mortar location where they can get their fix.

Located at 637 Corydon Ave. (formerly home to chef Roddy Seradilla’s late, lamented Filipino restaurant Bisita), the new bistro will be having a soft open Friday, March 1, to Sunday, March 3, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Baohouse has been providing a catering service out of the location, offering platters of bao (steamed buns) with a variety of fillings from Peking duck and pork belly to barbecue eggplant and butter chicken, Asian tacos and Asian hotdogs with such toppings as wasabi sauce and panko.

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If you want a sweet treat after stuffing your face full of bao, just up the block behind the pink door at 651 Corydon Ave., lies Milksmith, a new shop that combines childhood nostalgia with elevated, more adult flavours for craft beverages and desserts that turn grown-ups into kids in a candy store. Considering the lineup on a recent frigid Friday night to enjoy a cold treat, they must be doing something right.

The Rocket Rose has raspberry, lychee, rose and lime flavours with a carbon dioxide addition that gives off an eerie fog. The Naked Ernie is topped with an aromatic foam that looks like a bubble bath; it comes garnished with an appropriate tiny rubber duckie.

The waffle pops (waffles on a popsicle stick): the M’Oreo comes dipped in marshmallow fluff, crushed Oreo cookies and chocolate drizzle; the Strawberry Bae comes coated in Nutella with a strawberry milk drizzle.

The shop also serves trendy rolled ice cream in such fanciful combos as the Nutty Monkey (chocolate cream with peanut butter and banana) and Gimme S’more (cream with Teddy Grahams, toasted marshmallow and chocolate drizzle).

Owner Siuleen Leibl has brought that sense of fun to the small space’s clean decor as well, using framed rows of Starbust candies or boxes of strawberry Pocky to create whimsical, pink-themed artworks.

Milksmith is open Wednesday to Sunday, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

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One of Canada’s best cups of joe can be found in Gimli, according to Big 7 Travel, a website aimed at millennials that creates city guides for adventurous travellers seeking “authentic experiences.” Flatland Coffee Roasters — a roasting company and café owned by Chad Ermel and located at 40 Centre St., in the Manitoba beach community, came in at No. 3 on the site’s top 50 list, released last week.

“The best coffee you’ll find within a large radius, by some distance,” said the judges. “Flatland Coffee Roasters do their own roasting with a focus on small batches and keeping up a seriously high standard.”

Finalists were selected from all across Canada with the stipulation that all provinces and territories had to have at least one entry. Votes were cast in a poll of Big 7 readers, on social media and by a panel of coffee experts; reviews and media coverage were included in the rating.

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A public notice posted on Manitoba’s Liquor, Gaming & Cannabis Authority website for a “manufacturer’s licence with retail endorsement” lists Lake of the Woods Brewing Co. as the applicant, with the address — 242 Hargrave St. — indicating it will soon be setting up shop in True North Square. The licence application also indicates the brewery will have a patio area.

Rob Wozney, vice-president of communications and content with True North Sports and Entertainment, would only confirm that there are plans for the brewery to be on the list of tenants for True North Square; he indicated there would be further announcements in the coming weeks.

The Kenora, Ont.-based brewery opened its doors in 2013 in the city’s decommissioned fire hall; over the years, the brewery’s distribution has widened to include Manitoba, with many of its brews available at Liquor Marts.

In 2018, Lake of the Woods Brewing announced it would be opening a brewery, which is slated for this spring, in the small border city of Warroad, Minn.

jill.wilson@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @dedaumier