I have been looking so forward to going to Sticks and Stones since it opened in mid-April. S&S has the same management team as Ayden Kitchen & Bar and Little Grouse, so I was somewhat biased going in…and it did not disappoint!!

When: Tuesday, May 2nd – 5:00pm (me, my mom, my son, and his girlfriend)

At a glance: A modern Japanese/Korean restaurant in downtown Saskatoon, open kitchen, locally-sourced ingredients (and beer!), abundance of tables along the wall of a long narrow building, and one can also sit up to the kitchen-facing, bar-style table. Upbeat and great music (older and newer hip-hop/R&B) and an amazing menu – ramen, gyoza (dumplings), tataki, buns, fried meats/seafood/vegetables, rolls and plates of all kinds, and desserts – all that capture common and not-so-common Japanese and Korean dishes. S&S stays open until 2am and one can order take out – I love the late hours and the ability to take my food to go.

What we ate: We started and shared the Vegetarian (squash, cabbage, shitake) and Mandu (beef, pork, tofu) gyoza (dumplings) – 5 with each order, spicy dipping sauce, and plated in a boat-shaped dish (I know this doesn’t really matter but I loved it). These dumplings were great and clearly handmade however, our vegetarian dumplings had a slight taste of burnt oil but the Mandu gyoza were amazing – they were cooked perfectly and the ginger in the filling made it pop.

I ordered a dish I’ve wanted to try since I saw it on made on TV (Top Chef?) – bibimbap (pictured above). Basically it’s rice put into a extremely hot bowl so it gets crispy, topped with various meats, vegetables, and an egg. In this case, I had kimchi (cabbage), carrots, green onions, bean sprouts, shitake mushrooms, and bulgogi (Korean beef) – served with chili paste (gochujang?). This dish was so tasty, texturally so interesting, filling, it stayed hot for at least 10 minutes (hot bowl), the beef was tender and full of flavor, and the chili paste just made the rice so much better as I got to the end of the dish.

My family had the soy orange marinated trout, spicy pork ribs, and various rolls – and loved them all. If anything wasn’t 100%, it was because of personal taste preferences, not the cook or presentation. All were plated beautifully and full of flavor.

Dessert: We all shared the black bean brownie (happens to be gluten-free) with matcha ice cream – the brownie was so soft, warm, and delicious – filled with flavor, the matcha ice cream was my absolute favorite. Creamy and flavorful…and tasted like green tea.

Drinks: I had the seasonal rotator, Nokomis Pale Ale, which I love, my son did not love, haha, but he’s not a fan of a strong hop flavor, my mom had a white beer that she liked, my son’s girlfriend has the Caesar which was extremely spicy ( I could smell it when the waitress put it on the table). I also had white wine (vinho verde) that was crisp and light.

Honorable mentions: the glossary of terms on the food and drink menus (helpful for newbies),  friendly and knowledgeable staff

For more information about the restaurant, see: http://www.sticksandstonesyxe.com or their Facebook page

Happy bites!

Update: I went back 3 days later and had the Shoyu ramen, the crispy Korean chicken, and the Mandu and prawn gyoza – ramen is not my favorite, I’m told that’s what it’s supposed to taste like but it just reminded me of eating Chinese noodles back in elementary school…chicken was good but it didn’t blow my mind, and the gyoza were as tasty as they were last time!