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The Other Paw Bakery Cafe – Jasper, Alberta

I love going to Jasper. I love going there unprepared… I seem to always do that. I’d be the idiot walking around in a dress and sandals while it’s snowing. It hasn’t failed me and I guess I just won’t learn that lesson. Now with that said, I was freezing and wanted to warm up in a cafe, and we stumbled into The Other Paw Bakery and Cafe where the lineup was massive, but they move the line fast! It helped as no one was in line for ice cream!

I ordered their Latte and enjoyed it thoroughly. We sat at a table near the back where it wasn’t as busy and enjoyed our breakfast/lunch/snack there! The latte was spectacular, and the coffee flavour was really amazing!

I love pineapple and and anything Hawaiian or tropical, so I had to get their Aloha Muffin. I’m not even too sure what’s in it, and I didn’t really care. I know this muffin was super moist and soft, fresh and delicious! It was still warm! I was in love with this muffin!

What my hubby had was a Chai Tea Latte, he’s more the type that likes to change it more than I do!! Weirdly, I introduced him to Chai.. The chai here was tasty and spicy, creamy and hot! Just the way I liked it. But, I can’t have my latte and his chai. I’d be asking to stop at the side of the road every hour if so!

He decided he would eat Jalapeno Pizza Pretzel, which wasn’t surprising to me. It totally sounded like what he would order! They heated it up for him and he really enjoyed his quiet time with his order. It wasn’t over spicy or anything, this place knows how to make amazing food and drinks!

Overall, this place is amazing. I even recommended it to friends when I hear people are going to Jasper. I love this place and it’s good for any time of day. We even bought a loaf of bread on the way home and it made excellent sandwiches for lunch!

The Other Paw Bakery

610 Connaught Dr,
Jasper, AB
(780) 852-2253
The Other Paw Bakery Cafe Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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London Fog Cafe – Calgary, Alberta

I was looking for a non-chain cafe just to sit down at and enjoy some me time and ended up at the London Fog Cafe and it’s totally not what I was expecting. To be brutally honest, I was going to turn around and walk away as it wasn’t what I wanted at the time. It looked like it was a family ran place and I don’t know what I was expecting that day either. But, I stuck to my original plan as I didn’t really want to get into the car and start driving around again.

I ordered a Latte which I didn’t have too much expectations for, but it was pretty decent. To my delight and surprise, they attempted latte art!! The latte was nice and hot, with the right amount of everything! It kind of made my afternoon!

I knew I needed to eat, and if you know me personally, you’d know sometimes I would need to eat or I’d pass out. It’s one of those days! I got myself a Carrot Cake Loaf and it was definitely homemade! Just a side note, because I thought it was interesting, I did end up passing out after this anyway. I went to the European market in the same plaza and then passed out in London Drugs. People thought I was pregnant and had complications… how embarrassing, but this is how I deal with embarrassing situations – I share it! But, the carrot cake loaf wasn’t bad at all! It was very moist, a bit more dense than a muffin, and lots of carrot cake taste without the cream cheese icing. I think that’s what I really wanted too, the icing!

Overall, not a bad place to visit. With parking and lots to do in the same parking lot – it was easy to spend an afternoon here!! Passing out has absolutely nothing to do with this cafe, in fact it probably prolonged it for me! The service here was amazing, the ladies were super nice and asked if everything was alright. I was really pleased with my choice to come here and I’m sure I will return!

London Fog Cafe

8330 MacLeod Trl SE,
Calgary, AB
(403) 301-4880
London Fog Cafe Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Norwegian Cruise – Norwegian Sun Balcony Stateroom

I had the best opportunity and it was the most amazing experience and it was to go on a cruise with friends to celebrate 3 out of 4 birthdays! It was a trip to Alaska, aboard Norwegian Sun, which was a cruise line we have taken before and enjoyed it for it’s casualness. This trip, it departed from Vancouver and went to a few amazing port cities in Alaska, where it returned back to Vancouver.

We booked a Balcony Stateroom as I got spoiled on the Pride of America years ago and can’t go back. Our friends got an ocean view room and it was very interesting to see the difference in the 2 types of staterooms. And, the neat thing was, it was the same, just without the floor to ceiling sliding doors to the balcony. We got our beds pushed together to make a King size bed and it was plenty of space in the room.

We never spend a lot of time in the staterooms anyway as I really enjoy cruising as it’s an all-inclusive resort that moves and takes you to new places while you sleep or eat! It’s fun to find things to do and the best thing about these Alaskan ports, it’s not necessary to join excursions if you don’t want!

Storage isn’t an issue with these rooms as I found there were tons of drawers in the room and shelves in the closet and inside the bathroom. The bathrooms aren’t very big, but with all seriousness, I don’t spend a lot of time in there. I think the only complaint regular passengers might have would be the size of the shower. I am relatively average sized but short and I found myself banging my elbow on the wall here and there while washing my hair. It’s a walk in shower that’s got your amenities in there so I think I stood far away as I didn’t want to whack myself on that.

It was a really nice cruise, it was a tad older but it was nice and casual. The food was fairly decent, and the service was really good! We didn’t have any issues the entire week on the Norwegian Sun and even got to find ourselves in places we probably weren’t allowed to be in. The staff was amazing and for the most part, they recognized the 4 of us and they spent time with us as we were the “fun” passengers on the ship!

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Peking Garden – Calgary, Alberta

This is interesting, as I’m not too sure how we ended up at Peking Garden for lunch one afternoon. We’re rarely in the area and would rarely go for Chinese food if I was in the car stating I was hungry! We also had to wait a good 20 minutes for a table, which I wouldn’t have done if I was that hungry! The place was packed and there was a constant order of take outs. We did get seated and the service didn’t see slow or rushed!

One of my favourite dishes to order are Dumplings as all my coworkers claim I make the best dumplings ever. I always want to find a comparable place to try to trick them… but they’re kind of right, I do make a great dumpling! Here, they make a good one as well, with skins a bit thicker than my own, but the filling is tasty and not dry. I appreciate a well seasoned dumpling then if the skin is thick, I wouldn’t mind. Just like the ones here!

My inlaws use to take me to eat Salty Soy Milk or some call it savoury soy milk. It’s not something I was familiar with until they brought me to experience this and now I love the uniqueness of it. They had it when we went to Shanghai a few years ago and I’d get it when I can. Both sweet and savoury.

Because I’m a huge fan of sweets, of course I needed to try their Sweet Soy Milk as well. Yes, we did order too much of this stuff!! LOL! But, surprisingly we finished it all!! One was more like a drink (the sweet one) and one ate like a soup! So, we separated the two and finished it.

Then, when we were in Shanghai, we ate TONS of Xiao Long Bao, and when I saw this on the menu, naturally I would order it as well. Haha, this lunch does get bigger as well… sadly. But, it was really well made xiao long bao’s, steamed nicely and it did have the soup inside the dumplings still! It’s not easy to make it like this, but they got it!

Alright, your little pig friend finally stopped ordering food. After the order of Sticky Rice. I loved zha choy, and sticky rice, and fried donut… and stick them together, I LOVE IT! So, yes, I ordered some Sticky Rice and it wasn’t as exciting as I’d hope. I was just glad to have some though as there’s really not many places that would make this for you, unless you come to my house, or T&T supermarket. So, just come to my house for my homemade soy milk, dumplings, xiao long bao and sticky rice! I don’t think I’ve ever made a meal JUST this for anyone yet.

Anyway, just rewriting my adventure here at Peking Garden stuffs my belly and makes me proud of what I’ve accomplished at home in my own kitchen. It was a great time here and to top it off, they give me Tofu Dessert! This place is wonderful! So, all and all, this place is fabulous!

Peking Garden

4625 Varsity Dr NW,
Calgary, AB
(403) 286-0488
Peking Garden Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Green Chilli Grill – Calgary, Alberta

We wanted a hot and spicy dinner on a cold wintery night and decided to go towards Mahogany and see what food outlets has opened in that area. We stumbled into Green Chilli Grill just off of 52nd Street. There are tons on parking in the parking lot, but there’s also lots of food options in the area so I can see it being busy especially during hot summers nights.

We went in and got seated right away. It wasn’t too busy, but there were tons of take away orders as we constantly saw people come in and grab food and leave (both delivery services and personal pickups)! So, it was a promising sign. I started with a nice hot Masala Chai which came in an individual pot and it was well spiced. It wasn’t as creamy and rich to my liking but I did enjoy it thoroughly!

Right away, they brought out the Papadum which was really nice! It didn’t have a burnt taste to it or anything. The sauce was really tasty as well! It was like a spicy plum sauce or some remake of it!

We decided to order 2 curry dishes with the sides to carry the curry and soak up the sauces. we decided to both pick a dish and I decided I wanted the Mango Chicken, where it had a generous portion of chicken in a sweet sauce. I normally don’t pick dishes with white meat, but I decided to go for this as they cooked in cashew based sauce with cream, butter and mango pulp.

The other curry dish we had was more “typical” and was their Chicken Tikka Masala, also with chicken as the name suggests, but cooked in a sauce that’s both creamy and delicious. It wasn’t too spicy but it was just right. The waiter did ask us for our spice level and we said medium. So, it was perfect.

Along with the curries, I love eating Garlic Naan so we had an order of that. I love scooping up the curry as it saturates itself in the rich sauce. I believe it’s the perfect vehicle to eating my East Indian curries.. but, my other half likes to be different!

To satisfy him, we also had an order of coconut rice. He likes that the curry sauce gets absorbed into each grain of rice and swells up in flavour. I do like it as well, I can’t lie!

Overall, we had a fantastic time here and it’s nice to have another East Indian option that isn’t too far from home. The service was great, the food was excellent and the prices was fair! There’s no complaints at all. I know we’ll be back in the future!

Green Chilli Grill

1460-7 Mahogany Plaza SE,
Calgary, AB
403-457-0313