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Colossi’s Coffeehouse – High River, Alberta

It’s the Christmas season, and it’s the time of year I have a lot of time on my hands alone so it’s my time to relax and work on this! I am sure we all know by now my lover for little towns and coffee shops so lets start this one in High River, Alberta at Colossi’s Coffeehouse which was actually a stop RIGHT after I ate at the Whistle Stop diner as I wasn’t ready to leave.

As this was already an after lunch treat, I wasn’t hungry at all, so we just sat and chit chatted for awhile until I wanted to leave. I remember sitting here with my girlfriend on the line as she was trying to waste time because she was stuck getting her hair done. The coffee here was fantastic, the atmosphere was cozy and the people were fantastic!

This was definitely a great place to stop in for either a quick socializing coffee or even to hunker down and get some work done! This is a spectacular coffeehouse and I love the locally owned and love shop that has so much pride and passion.

Colossi’s Coffeehouse

114 4 Ave SW,
High River, AB

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Yum Bakery (Calgary Farmers Market) – Calgary, Alberta

We love the farmers market, and this time, we went there to enjoy a little French treat from Yum Bakery which is a little stand in the market.

We decided to get a box of 5 macarons as they’re a little costlier than other places. The box was really pretty and the colours of the macaros were so vibrant!

We got 5 different flavours and tried their pistachio, earl grey vanilla, rose lychee, hazelnut praline and lemon lavender. All the flavours were excellent and the texture wasn’t bad either.

We enjoyed these macarons we dragged some friends out to the Farmers Market the follow weekend to enjoy the same selection of macarons!

Yum Bakery on Urbanspoon

Yum Bakery

Calgary Farmers’ Market
510 77 Ave SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 472-1296

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Monplaisir Delicacy – Calgary, Alberta

We were introduced to Monplaisir which is located on the food court level of TD Square in the corner. Here, the offer delicious French Macarons and Belgium Chocolates. I haven’t tried their chocolates yet, but we have tried a few of their macarons!

We decided to try a small sample box, where we bought 6 delicate macarons. They asked us to leave it out a few minutes to take the chill off before eating, so we decided we’d get a drink from a nearby place in the food court. The custom box looks amazing and almost too good to eat, but we did pull the first one out and tried their Earl Grey flavour. You do get a hint of Earl Grey taste and scent, it’s subtle, sweet and nice! The Earl Grey one is the yellow one with the greenish filling!

With such a delicious macaroon, I had my hopes high as I tried their Chocolate Coconut and I was not disappointed. You get a nice rich chocolate taste and then the sweet coconut comes through afterwards. You do get coconut shreds in your bite as well!

Creme Brulee was always a sweet dessert we enjoy a lot, so we had to try their Creme Brulee flavour. This one really didn’t taste like much to us, but kind of sweet. It did offer the sugary crunch on the side but if you closed your eyes, creme brulee wasn’t the what came to mind – maybe vanilla.

our all time favourite flavour from Monplaisir would be their Espresso which was really fragrant with espresso aromas and flavours. You know what it is when you bite into it and it tastes absolutely amazing!

As Pistachio was another macaroon that we tried, it wasn’t as amazing as hoped. You definitely get a hint of pistachio but for whatever reason, I was hopping it would be more intense. Now I think it’s silly that I had that expectation as these are small delicate treats – so I do like this flavour!

The last one we chose to try on this visit would be the Wedding Almond. Not sure about the name but you definitely get the almond taste and flavour – which is really nice!

Overall, we thoroughly enjoy the macarons here and has been back a few times already! It’s great as they are opened on weekends as well as they are in a mall!

Mon Plaisir

Suite 410, 751 3 St SW
Calgary, AB
(587) 538-0690

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Brown Sugar Bakeshop – Okotoks, Alberta

My coworkers know how much I love cinnamon buns and when they had an opportunity to tell me about Brown Sugar Bake Shop, I went there at my first opportunity! It’s located on the North end of Okotoks right in a strip plaza near Drake Landing.

Once we figured out what we wanted, as there was a lot to choose from, I decided I was going for their Caramel Sticky Buns which was heavenly! It was really light and fluffy with the perfect amount of sweetness from the caramel! It wasn’t a small piece either, everything about it was just perfect!

Then, for some savoury food, we ordered their Taco Beef Bun which was absolutely amazing! It was seriously beef taco in a bun instead of a taco shell. I think I enjoyed this more than a taco! The meat inside was well seasoned and flavoured to taste like beef that you would find in a taco. The bun, again was light and fluffy – but not so light where it just falls apart.

Then, their soup of the day was Chicken Taco Soup which does sound redundant with the options we picked in savoury selection – but everything was so different and delicious! The soup was hearty and well seasoned and made me want to make something like it at home right away!

Overall, a fabulous experience with great food and service. There was a lot of customers that came in just for the sticky buns, so you can tell it was a good one! I know we’ll be back as I enjoyed them so much and there was lots of other goodies I would love to try in their display case. The even have a wide selection of gluten-free products for those who need it!

Brown Sugar Bake Shop on Urbanspoon

Brown Sugar Bake Shop

#109 – 235 Milligan Drive
Okotoks, AB
(403) 982-9878

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Ici Ice Cream – Berkeley, California

We heard about an amazing ice cream place in Berkeley and although I am a little sick, I figured I’m going to have ice cream anyway! 🙂 We ventured and found Ici Ice Cream which is located right on College Avenue. They do have street parking along the sides, and be prepared to wait in line outside as the shop is a small one with tons of customers!

We decided to try their Pumpkin Caramel Swirl flavoured ice cream in a dish and it was amazing. It definitely tasted almost like a pumpkin pie and it almost seems like it can have the texture of a frozen pumpkin pie filling. It was amazing and very enjoyable. You get pieces of frozen caramel swirl within the ice cream so it’s a nice treat when you get some!

We also got the Vanilla Creme Brulee in their home made waffle cone! The cone was really different but it was really tasty. Definitely not too sweet at all, and it had a chocolate nugget at the bottom to stop ice cream from dripping down as it melts. The ice cream was amazing and there was pieces of the broken burnt sugar from the brulee which added nice texture to the ice cream!

We love local shops and stores and we have no problem waiting for a good one. This place was worth the wait! A great treat any day!

Ici Ice Cream on Urbanspoon

Ici Ice Cream

2948 College Ave
Berkeley, CA
(510) 665-6054