Bennys Breakfast Bar – Calgary, Alberta

I went to visit my sister branch the other day and drove by Bennys Breakfast Bar and I was so excited to try this place! This place is packed and very retro looking inside which I absolutely adore!

I ordered one of their Eggs Benedict and it was amazing! I picked the Monte Cristo which is a bennys on a brioche french toast with turkey, ham and Swiss cheese! It was a familiar bennys but it was a great new twist on the traditional!

I also love perogies so I ordered their Montreal Smoked Meat Hash and added perogies! What an amazing breakfast bowl! It was very filling as it was full of everything – but all things amazing!

This has become a little place that I tell people to try when they’re in the area! I’m really glad I stumbled upon it. I am also glad it’s not my office that’s here otherwise I would be ordering from here way too often!

Bennys Breakfast Bar

7007 11 St SE,
Calgary, AB
403-252-3443

Tin Tin Dim Sum – Calgary, Alberta

We went to Chinook Centre and went to one of my favourite little store when we stumbled by Tin Tin Dim Sum and it was packed!! We decided we were doing absolutely nothing so we’d join in the fun!

We were not that hungry to be honest but wanted to try LOTS of things… so, we ate lots! I found on the menu what they called Egg White Bunnies and I had no idea what that was so we ordered some. It’s like marshmallow meringue that’s super light and not sweet at all. It was weird using my chopsticks and ripping the bunnys head off, but it’s all good.

I also decided to have an order of their Black Peppered Short Ribs as I recently made some Korean short ribs and enjoyed them so I wanted to just have some. These weren’t as tender but the flavours were absolutely amazing!

I’ve taught myself to make traditional Radish Cake, but I like just just steamed. I’ve never been too successful pan frying my recipe as I don’t like it firm. The recipe here is still soft but it doesn’t fall apart pan fried. There was plenty of radish in the cake so it was delicious.

Something I don’t usually order is Steamed BBQ Pork Buns as buns are very filling I ordered them and ate them all anyway! The inside had a good amount of filling and the texture of the steamed bun was really silky and thin but it doesn’t fall apart at all. There’s still a nice sauce in bun and it was very tasty.

Alright, just when you think it wasn’t enough food, the Pork Shu Mai is always one of my go to dim sum menu items, so I had to get this as well!! The dumplings were pretty big in size and like everything else tasted really good.

Just when we were about to leave, we got a complimentary order of their Mango Pudding which was super awesome! I actually NEVER order this but it was so much fun because it brought me back to my childhood! What a fun and delicious surprise!!

Overall, I love this place. It’s great as there’s parking here, and then if you over eat you can walk around the mall to help you digest! At first I wondered what they do for the later hours but when I looked again, they had some Western Chinese dishes! Brilliant!

Tin Tin Dim Sum

6455 Macleod Trail SW,
Calgary, AB
403-253-7742

Monki Breakfastclub & Bistro – Calgary, Alberta

I was actually searching for a fun place to go to after I went to an eye exam and got some interesting news and it was about lunch time. I decided to go to the YYC Hot Chocolate Fest to see what I could find and I stumbled upon Monki Bistro and I made a reservation to their Beltline location. We did find street parking right across the street as it was an afternoon that was blowing snow!

I actually did order their feature hot chocolate that they called Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Hot Chocolate and the name is long, the drink was hot, the whipped cream was fresh, the drink was fantastic!! It was a decadent drink that wasn’t too sweet, and the toppings was the perfect amount!

From the eye doctor, I was told to eat more fish, Omega 3’s, and leafy greens. Yes if you know me personally, you know when I stopped listening!! So, I ordered their Salmon Bene with “fruits” that made the plate so beautiful!! The benedict was perfect with smoked salmon with capers ontop of a perfectly toasted muffin. There was a piece of tomato on it and it was as nice pop of freshness. The menu did say there was an option for pink prosecco hollandaise and I purposely didn’t feel like saying anything but it wasn’t offered when they took the order. Beyond that, this was a perfect smoked salmon eggs bene!!

Another of my favourites is Perogies and when I saw it on the menu I ordered it!! The Monki Perogies came on this hot skillet with their hashbrowns and it really was amazing pockets of pillow awesomeness! The sweet chipotle sauce really made it taste like one of my favourite BBQ chips so I enjoyed this dish thoroughly!

Overall I absolutely loved this brunch place! It was a random cold and late afternoon and the place was packed still. It’s cozy and charming, the staff was fantastic and the food was perfect!!

Monki Breakfastclub & Bistro – Beltline

1301 10 Ave SW,
Calgary, AB
(587) 352-7131

The Bro’kin Yolk Mahogany – Calgary, Alberta

I’m going to start by saying I’ve been cleaning up posts from the beginning of this blog so back end has been doing house keeping and this is not forgotten! But, I have been searching the internet looking for a new breakfast place to eat and found Bro’kin Yolk that’s close to home and they take a text to reserve a table technique. We lucked out as I didn’t know about this until we got there, and we were early enough that we actually beat the rush. This is the beauty of waking up early!

Started the breakfast with Nutella Hot Chocolate as sugar was what I wanted, and not the caffinie. This drink was as delcious as it looks!

I love to eat eggs benny! If you get to eat breakfast with me, you should know it’s often one of my staples. Whether you’re a friend or a coworker, or family, it’s not unusal. So, it’s not unusual that I ordered myself their Upstream Benny which is a traditional Eggs Benny with salmon!

Of course my other half gets to eat as well, and he got ordered himself Short Rib Hash, and he’s pretty particular on how he likes his hashbrowns, although it wasn’t how he loves it, he really enjoyed this hash! I’m pretty sure it has everything to do with me spoiling him and cooking the way he likes.

Overall, this is a fantastic little place to go to. It’s not the biggest, but it’s definitely busy! Be sure to take advantage of their advanced reservation system by texting! I think that’s really cool!

The Bro’kin Yolk

1410 7 MAHOGANY PLAZA SE
CALGARY, AB
(403) 457-5955

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

New Town Bakery & Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato