2 minute read
Stick to it
RENFREW COLLINGWOOD COMMUNITY NEWS
January 2022 9
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Eating out in RC
Zoom fatigue? Favourite lunch breaks from the home office
by Julie Cheng
It’s been almost two years since I started working from home due to COVID safety measures. I miss the cycle commute to my downtown office, a good chat with my coworkers and all the usual lunchhour eateries.
Now Zoom fatigue and work isolation is getting to me. For my mental health, I try to get some sun and exercise with a walk around the Renfrew Ravine. I also go out for a lunch treat once in a while.
These are my favourite restaurants within walking distance. In addition to delicious food, they have kind and friendly staff.
Kopitiam Malaysia
3885 Rupert Street and East 23rd 604-566-9898 kopitiammalaysia.ca
The name of this Malaysian restaurant has changed (they are no longer part of the Penang Delight franchise), but the wonderful flavours of my favourites remain the same – chicken curry laksa, mee goreng and sambal green beans. Check out their lunch special.
Basil Garden
2889 East Broadway and Renfrew 604-871-9998 basilgarden.ca
The hike down and then up the hill to Basil Garden is well worth it for me. All their pho is wonderful. I discovered their free-range chicken pho to be just as flavourful – I ask for no skin as a healthier option. Also healthy are their vermicelli bowls ad salad rolls. It gets busy at lunch so go early or late.
Dami Sushi and Korean Restaurant
3280 East 22nd Avenue and Rupert 604-431-8887 damisushikorean.ca
This restaurant has been going strong since opening in Renfrew-Collingwood in January 2021. I agree with Paul Reid, in his Taking out in RC review, that the pork in the Gamja-Tang hot pot “is of the melt-in-your-mouth variety” – just like the bone broths my grandma used to make. My favourites are the bibimbap and japchae.
Kimu Japanese Cuisine
4441 Boundary Road and East 29th 604-563-0722 kimujapanesecuisine.com tion to delectable sushi, they have a good grill – I love their teriyaki meals. There’s even more reason to stop there now with Masala Meats next door.
iSushi
iSushi opened despite the pandemic and quickly pivoted to become a busy takeout spot. I like to dine in to enjoy the tea and the food fresh from the kitchen. You can choose from a variety of sushi and rice bowls to make your own lunch special, but I invariably order a healthy house salad and sashimi.
Mee goreng and chicken curry laksa from Kopitiam Malaysia are two of my lunch go-tos. Photos by Julie Cheng
Ramen from Kimu Japanese Cuisine warms you up on a winter day. The Gamja-Tang hot pot from Dami Sushi and Korean Restaurant is a pork back bone soup with Chinese cabbage, potato and perilla seed, served with rice.
