An Insider's Guide to Waterloo Region

Setting up for the festival which runs this Saturday and Sunday

One of our favourite annual festivals is on this weekend at Victoria Park in Kitchener. I took this picture last night as we walked at the park between rain showers. Hopefully the weekend weather will cooperate for this outdoor event. The Kitchener Waterloo Multicultural Centre has more information on their website.

K-W Asian Food Market 607 King St West Kitchener ON

There are a few ethnic food stores we visit in the region including this one which specializes in Korean and Japanese food. The shop is small but is a good source for reasonably priced sushi ingredients. The staff is very helpful if you need help with unfamiliar items. (map)

K-W Multicultural Centre, 102 King St W Kitchener ON

Click on the picture to enter the website of the centre.

Since we were driving through Cambridge anyway, we decided to try out the Mango Chutney Restaurant, featured in this week’s Nightlife in The Record. The Indian food did not disappoint at all (**Note – the portions may look small at first, but really, you’re stuffed to your eyeballs by the end of the meal…seriously).

The vegetarian selection was good, and, for the spicy fiends, the Chicken Vindaloo is apparently a dish not to mess with. You’ve all been warned.

Postscript by Ruth… I had Dal Makhani which is described on the menu as “lentils cooked with freshly ground spices sautéed in tomato sauce.” The taste was out of this world. The owner told me it takes 2 days to make this dish and it is the most time intensive item they serve. The service here is excellent!

I’m not gonna lie – Taka is pretty pricey. However, the food was good, the restaurant itself was very nice and presentable, and the serving staff were friendly. This is probably one of the better sushi places in Kitchener, IMO.