elsie – Page 15 – Elsie Hui

November 11, 2018

Old Salzburg Restaurant – Radium, British Columbia

This has been an interesting weekend in the making. I originally wanted to have a nice relaxing soak in Banff Hot Springs, but when we got there, the pools were closed for maintenance. So, we decided to go out to Radium instead as we knew we’d be back in Banff within a few weeks. During our weekend stay here, we dined at Old Salzburg Restaurant which we’ve driven by numerous times, but finally stopped in.

We were greeted right away this lovely evening and got seated in a perfect little table. They took our order and brought us this awesome bread basket. It was quite tasty, for a bread actually! I wasn’t even that hungry but wanted to eat so I can go back to the hot springs!

I actually ordered their special, which was a special take on their Old Salzburg Pfandl with extras! They made their gravy with their local beer and added a piece of lamb! This was amazing as there was grilled chicken, beef and lamb in their hot skillet topped with gravy!

Another of our favourites to have when we’re in an European restaurant is to order schnitzel, so we had an order of Jagerschnitzel which as usual is a breaded pork with ham & bacon topped with a mushroom sauce. The Jagerschnitzel here was truly exceptional as the crispness of the pan fried breaded pork stayed crispy till the end even with gravy.

We were super stuffed as the portions were massive and at a fantastic price, it made the dinner very enjoyable. Becuase I enjoyed myself, that’s when I order desserts… so, we ordered their Apple Strudel with Ice Cream to split. This was absolutely something we didn’t need, but I really wanted. Thin layers of pastry that wrapped thin warm apple splices with a perfect little sauce inside, with the side of ice cream – you just can’t lose! So, when in Radium, do it! Let me tell you though, I was quite self conscious of myself when in a bathing suit right after in the hot springs, but the nice thing is, no one knows me here! 🙂

Overall, this was an amazing dinner and it was the perfect meal on a cold fall day. The food, price, service was all awesome and the atmosphere was very warm and intimate. They can accommodate larger groups as well so it’s just a great place to go for everyone!

Old Salzburg Restaurant

4943 Hwy-93,
Radium Hot Springs, BC
250-347-6553

November 5, 2018

The Fisherman’s Restaurant & Bar – Seattle, Washington

We took a daytrip to Seattle, Washington just to walk around the Pike Place market and try to eat at the chowder place. We didn’t make it there as the wait time was ridiculous! We walked a few blocks and found ourselves at The Fisherman’s Restaurant which is located right on the pier. It’s got a lot of dining space so the wait wasn’t bad at all.

Once we sat down, we felt like we wanted to enjoy as much seafood as possible. I absolutely love a good Clam Chowder so I felt like we had to try it from here. We really can’t get closer to the water here than this, and I’m glad we did try this amazing soup! They had a generous amount of hearty clams, tender vegetables and sweet cream

For lunch, we shared a platter and this platter was called Crab Boil! What an amazing experience this was! This Crab Boil consists of snow crab, king crab, dungeness crab with some corn and potatoes. The portion was huge and it was a good idea we ordered this to share. Everything was so fresh and the shell of the crab cracked like a rock! Super strong and brittle. All the crab was sweet and delicious!

This lunch location was amazing and I would recommend it to anyone! It was fun, messy and delicious!

Fishermans’s Restaurant

Pier 57, 1301 Alaskan Way,
Seattle, Washington
206-623-3500

November 4, 2018November 4, 2018

New Town Bakery & Restaurant – Vancouver, British Columbia

We were hanging out in Vancouver for a few days while our friend had a conference here. We tagged along on their trip and while he was in a course, we took his wife to breakfast at New Town Bakery & Restaurant in Vancouver Chinatown. While it was only street parking, we went early enough on a weekday where we were able to find parking pretty much right outside the restaurant.

We all knew we wanted Chinese food and I knew I was ordering my favourite Chinese breakfast, as weird as it may sound, it’s the Pickled vegetables and sliced pork rice vermicelli noodle soup. There’s a lot of names for it but I decided to do the direct translation of it today. I eat this preserved/pickled vegetables with everything as it’s awesome to me, and not even from my region. It’s great on everything! Anyway, this was a huge bowl of noodles and it was really tasty! The flavours were excellent!

My noodle came in a combo, with a drink where I got their Milk Tea and to me it’s a staple drink for any Chinese bakery/restaurant. A good one is when it’s thick and can coat your tongue, like a rich coffee. I always order this with sweetened condensed milk anywhere I go! It’s not bad here, it’s pretty standard and decent.

I was ordering a bunch of sides as it’s what I wanted. I failed to take pictures of anyone elses food as the waitress was busy yelling at me. Well, not yelling at me, but she wasn’t friendly towards me. So, I just sat there like a bad kid. I ordered a Pineapple Bun with Butter as it’s another thing that I always order. The cookie top always lets you know if they’re good at their bun baking. Then, they heat it up and put in a slab of butter. There’s nothing more satisfying than this bun with a milk tea if you’re looking for a “small” breakfast. The bun was soft and delicate, the topping was crispy, and the butter melted perfectly. It was amazing!

This last dish isn’t even mine. I think I just claimed it from the table. It’s the Radish Cake that I lie to make at Chinese New Years. My hubby likes to compare others with my recipe. I don’t even have a family recipe or anything as no one makes it… but, I’ve made it into my own which has become my tradition. I make a delicious lo bak goh and if you’re a lucky person, I’d give you some or even one! If I give you one… please do not try to give it away right in front of me. At least do it when I’m not here. Someone I thought that liked me did that to me and it seriously broke my heart. Anyway, this radish cake was more cake than anything, but it was freshly steamed so it was super soft.

Overall experience here was great! The food was good, the service could be better and the price for these breakfast combos are always awesome, no matter where you go! You always get a lot of food for a decent price. Parking costs money, where we parked on the street anyway. I’m not sure if they got their own lot or not.

New Town Bakery and Restaurant

148 E Pender Street,
Vancouver, BC
604-681-1828

November 3, 2018November 3, 2018

Beet and Basil – Sandpoint, Idaho

We went to Sandpoint, Idaho for their 50’s carshow and by the time we drove into town, I was starving! We scoped out the location of the carshow, parked and decided to walk around trying to find some food. We just walked right into Beet and Basil, and I was really unsure if this was where I wanted to eat… but I needed to eat!

I didn’t know what to order, so I decided I would order their Chicken Ramen, I know, I know.. but it was kind of the only thing that interested me on the menu! This was a very interesting take on a ramen, as it wasn’t actual ramen noodles. The used an egg noodle which was a neat take on the noodle soup! It was full of vegetables and flavour. The broth and toppings was delicious.

My hubby knew he wanted to order something with Potatoes, and was wanting Idaho potatoes, so he ordered Lomo Saltado, a stirfry of top sirloin beef with shishito and bell peppers, heirloom tomatoes, and crispy fingerling potatoes in a spicy aji amarillo sauce. This was actually really good! The sirloin was super tender and delicious and everything in the sauce made it absolutely amazing!

Overall, we really enjoyed our time here. We got changed into our 50’s gear from here and walked out and no one blinked an eye at us. Others must do that here as it almost felt like it was normal!

Beet and Basil at the Creek

105 S 1st Ave
Sandpoint, ID
208-920-6144

November 3, 2018November 3, 2018

Wolf in the Fog – Tofino, British Columbia

We went to the Island for a week for my friends wedding ceremony to celebrate them getting married earlier in the year. We found ourselves in Tofino, because we were trying to go to Pacific Rim and found this restaurant as I wanted to eat seafood!

We had to wait a bit for a table, this place was very popular and everyone was enjoying themselves in this town. It definitely wasn’t a city pace place which was awesome and I wasn’t hungry enough to be hangry so it was just right! The wait staff did tell us to look at the menu as we were waiting in line an to put the order in as soon as we can once we got our table, so we took their advice. I ended ordering the Sweet Tuna, albacore tuna with coconut, chili, herbs and it’s served with iceberg lettuce!! I don’t usually eat “salads” but this one was intriguing. The best thing about this is the lettuce was a giant wedge next to the tuna, so I didn’t have to eat it! It was perfect!

We also ordered their Fishermans Lunch was a delicious pot or deep skillet of fresh seafood in tomato broth, with some perfectly grilled bread to soak up all the broth with seafood goodness. This was definitely the highlight of the meal and we really ordered it as a lot of other guests were enjoying it and we didn’t want to be left out!

The overall experience here was divine! It was a beautiful afternoon here at Tofino where we ended up spending the day at Pacific Rim.

Wolf in the Fog

150 4th St,
Tofino, BC
250-725-9653