Cafe – Page 8 – Elsie Hui

December 20, 2014December 20, 2014

Jump Start – Banff, Alberta

Long time ago, we went for a walk and decided to stop in to Jump Start for a quick bite. We found that the location was perfect for a cafe place like this as many guest could grab something and take out – and enjoy at the park or wherever their travels will take them.

We decided to take a break from the outdoors and went to dine inside. We ordered their Hot Chocolate as it was a breezy day. It tasted fine and it was in a nice mug where we could slow down the pace with. I like drinking my hot drinks out of a mug!

Then, we ordered their Roast Beef Sandwich and we did mention to them we’re eating in. They just took the sandwich from the fridge and placed it on our plate. We thought it was kind of strange they didn’t make it to order or at least ask to heat it up or anything. It looks like there’s a lot of roast beef in the sandwich, but it really only has 3 slices where they folded it. It was rather disappointing and reminded us of something you can grab from the fridge at a convenient store.

Without knowing that is what the did to the sandwiches when we ordered them, we also had their Ham Sandwich where you can actually see there’s only 2 slices of ham, and stuffed with lettuce and tomatoes. This one we didn’t mind cold as the vegetables wouldn’t be as nice if it was warm – but they still only took it out of the fridge. That was the nice thing – the veg was really fresh!

For what we paid, we’re not too satisfied although it was filling and convenient. Unfortunately they didn’t taste like much, but we were here when they first opened. Hopefully they’ve changed their ways – especially if they claim they’re the sandwich place. The location is very comfortable and we were here for awhile watching the people walk by, so that was really nice!

Jump Start The Coffee and Sandwich Place

206 Buffalo St
Banff, AB
(403) 762-0332

December 15, 2014December 15, 2014

Evelyn’s Memory Lane Cafe – High River, Alberta

We’ve been meaning to drive out to High River, AB to eat at Evelyn’s Memory Lane Cafe for quite some time now – basically after I first heard of them on Foot Network Canada’s “You Gotta Eat Here”. So, we had an afternoon where we didn’t know where we wanted to eat – and here we were!

We sat down by the diner bar and was greeted immediately. The entire team of staff was very attentive, friendly and quick! We started with a bowl of Beef & Barley Soup which was loaded with barley and had tons of soft and tender pieces of beef. I don’t normally love thick soups full of “stuff”, but this one I really enjoyed!

We also wanted to try their Strawberry Milkshakes as I love milkshakes from small towns. I claim they’re different and much more delicious! I was right – it was rich and creamy with the nice consistency and enough strawberry flavours. I believe I read somewhere stating they make their own ice cream, but I’m not sure…

Of course, if there’s perogies on the menu, chances are I will order it. I had an order of their Perogies which was absolutely amazing. Both the skin and filling was perfect and then with the onions and bacon – you couldn’t go wrong anywhere! It was definitely one of the best!

I ordered off their daily special and it actually came with a Cabbage Roll as well. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but once you cut into it – the world of aweseomeness came through. The texture of the filling was nice and it wasn’t dry at all. It had meat and rice in it and it was firm, while the cabbage was sweet and tender. It was nice!

From there, we ordered their Beef Stew also off their daily special. It came in a pretty good size bowl with almost a beef soup looking stew. It was still very hearty and delicious and tons of beef flavour. The vegetables were cooked perfectly as they were tender but not mush! They have the best bread as well!

Just in case we thought we didn’t eat enough, we decided to try a slice of their Pumpkin Pie and it was special! It was darker than pumpkin pie I’m use to seeing, but it was a nice texture. The crust was excellent and we devoured this dessert!

Overall, this was such a fabulous place I look forward to returning. It was a lot of fun, the food was top notch, the service was excellent and the prices were amazing! So, no complaints from anywhere! Can’t wait to return to see the train go around the restaurant again!

Evelyn’s Memory Lane Cafe

118 4 Ave SW
High River, AB
(403) 652-1887

December 12, 2014

Starbucks – Banff, Alberta

We were strolling the streets in Banff, along Banff Avenue when we decided we would warm up with some festive drinks inside Starbucks. It’s a great location as it’s super busy but they’re pretty speedy about getting your drinks to you! I sat down and all I wanted was their new Chestnut Praline Latte which is a new seasonal favourite of mine as I use to love nothing more than their Eggnog Latte.

My husband enjoyed their Gingerbread Latte and he enjoyed it as it was really subtlety sweet and it actually has the taste of gingerbread cookies – which was excellent! Overall, this was the perfect place to warm ourselves up during this holiday season!

Starbucks – Banff

225 Banff Avenue
Banff, AB
(403) 760-8777

December 4, 2014

Banff Springs Hotel Castle Pantry – Banff, Alberta

We woke up late during our stay at the hotel. We decided to grab a quick breakfast before checking out so we went downstairs to Castle Pantry located right at the main lobby – next to the Concierge. It’s a great place to grab something to go, or grab and sit at their seating area – which we did.

As we were just grabbing and basically going, I picked up their Apple Cinnamon Turnover which was absolutely amazing! It was light, crispy and flaky pastry crust with tender and delicious apple filling, covered in cinnamon sugar. It was not too sweet for breakfast for me as it as delicious.

We also picked up their croissant as the day before, we had an amazing Egg Salad Croissant during afternoon tea. We were quite hopeful it would be just as amazing. It was good, but not as good! We were still very content with the croissant!

Overall, it was the perfect place for a quick bite. Filling, delicious and reasonably priced. The service was great and it was like a cantina styled cafe. It works and it’s good!

Castle Pantry – Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel

405 Spray Ave
Banff, AB
(403) 762-2211

December 4, 2014December 5, 2014

Cafe HK – Calgary, Alberta

This side of the restaurant is a portion of T.Pot China Bistro and it’s just off to the side – but they have their own name and different style of Chinese food. Cafe HK is a cafe style whereas TPot is your sit down meal type food and a bit more traditional.

We really like it here although we don’t come here often, I like to think I don’t come here enoough! This particular visit, we started with Jelly fish, Surf Clam and Seaweed Salad appetizer which sounds kind of strange, but it’s got all the things I love on 1 dish! It was meant to bed. The surf clams tasted great, they’ve cleaned it well and prepared it to perfection!

Then, because of the hour we dined, it’s a late lunch/early dinner, they still had their afternoon specials on – which came with drinks! We both ordered their Almond Drink which was amazing! It smelled good and tasted great! My husband loved it more than I did, as I prefer mine to be sweeter.

I had a crazy craving for Beef Fried Ho Fun so I ordered that as it as still on special. Surprisingly, it was quite a large dish and it tasted great! Just the way I expect it to taste – and since I was craving it, it as even better!

As we weren’t expecting the dishes to be so large, we also ordered on their menu Chicken and Pineapple Rice Bake which was also really a large dish! With rice at the bottom, topped with chicken, pineapple and cheese – then baked… this ooey gooey goodness hit the spot for both of us!

We love this place, and we’re glad we stopped in again! I’m sure we’ll be back when another craving kicks in! It is your typical Chinese place, so service is decent, it’s quite clean, and the food is fantastic! Of course, prices are reasonable as it is competitive in a Chinese populated neighbourhood.

Cafe HK

Unit 100, 9650 Harvest Hills Blvd NE
Calgary, Alberta
403-532-3982