Nepeta

I've been meaning to do some restaurant reviews ever since we moved to GP. Last night my wife and I, as well as our acquaintance Jon, tried out the Catmint Teahouse & Martini Bar, so I figure now is as good a time as any. So here goes.

The Food
Seeing as how we are all uncultured slobs, and didn't recognise many of the items on the menu, we just orderd a dinner for three and hoped for the best.
Egg and Tomato soup - A nice flavour, but I don't like tomatos and the mushy shredded egg threw me off.
Dutch Beans - Actually snow peas. Not sure if that was just some engrish on the menu or if dutch beans is an actual alternate name for snow peas. Anyways, they were really tasty and had a really nice savoury garlic flavour.
Chicken and Shelled Shrimp Chow Mein - There was chicken and shrimp in this? Other than the tiny amount of meat, it was really tasty. I'm a big fan of chow mein in general though.
Brazed Pork in Sweet Sauce - Usually I hate sweet food (sweet is for candy, not meals) but I actually quite enjoyed this. The sauce was more smokey than sweet in my opinion, so that may be why. The meat itself was not the highest quality, with a fair bit of fat and gristle.
Steamed Jazmine Rice - What it says on the label.
(Food Rating - 3.5 out of 5)

The Drinks
I didn't get a chance to try the tea, so I'll have to try and remember to blog about it the next time. We sampled about 10 different kinds of martinis, which is probably why I don't recall all of the names of them. I don't really enjoy classic martinis, though I can understand how one could aquire a taste for them. A few of the variations I could see myself trying again, but a lot of them just weren't that memorable.
(Drink Rating - 2.5 out of 5)

The Service
Could have been better, speed wise, but they were friendly and very helpful in suggesting food and drink items for us to try.
(Service Rating - 3 out of 5)

The Environment
The decor was nice, a combination modern style (lots of frosted glass) and the usual knicknacks you usually see in chinese restaurants. It was rather quiet while we were there (keeping in mind we were there from 8:00 - 10:30 on a sunday night), and we only saw I think 7 other patrons. They chose to use modern hits for background music, which I could have done without but I'm sure a lot of other people would enjoy (I'm just not a huge fan of Soulja Boy Tell'em while I partake in fine food). I did notice a bit of a cold draught, but were seated next to the door, and it's always windy in GP.
(Environment Rating - 3.5 out of 5)

I really enjoyed myself, the food was good, and next time I'll be trying the tea. That being said, I do recommend you try out Catmint Teahouse & Martini Bar, but bring a little extra cash if you want to sample the martinis: they range from $4.95 to $12.00. If you know your way around Grande Prairie, Catmint is right next to KFC on 100th. If you don't know GP, find someone who does.
(Overall rating - 3.25 out of 5)