D Dutchmen Dairy – Sicamous, British Columbia

I really love dessert, and last time we were in the Sicamous area, we saw this Ice Cream place called D Dutchman Dairy and we tried to go there. We pulled right into their parking lot only to see them switch the sign over from “OPEN” to “CLOSED”. We said next time we’re in the area, we have to stop there. This was our opportunity!

Once inside, there was a wide array of flavours and I settled for one of my favourites, Coconut Ice Cream and it was nothing like I have had before. It was really creamy and light, yet tons of coconut flavour. It wasn’t rich, as it felt really delicate. It was pretty awesome and even the cone tasted pretty good.

My husband enjoyed one of his favourites, the Mocha Almond Fudge and he really enjoyed it. I tasted it and it was a nice mocha based ice cream with almond slivers swirled with dark fudge chocolate. It was really delicious. The ice cream base is amazing and we believe they get their dairy from the dairy cows from behind the shop and make do their own creamery.

Overal, this has been one of our favourite ice cream places we have ever been too! It’s definitely worth the trip out and I’m sure I will be back to try other flavours!

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D Dutchmen Dairy

1321 Maier Rd
Sicamous, BC
(250) 836-4304

La Boulangerie – Calgary, Alberta

I still really love bakeries and cafes and when we drove by Le Boulangerie I knew I wanted to try this place and enjoy my snack on it’s patio. So, we parked our car and paid a fortune for coming here. I should’ve parked further away and taken a stroll over, but that’s the price I pay sometimes!

This cafe is quite popular and it’s busy! Even at the odd hour that we went, it seemed like it was packed. The selection of goodies inside was huge, but we opted out for our favourites as its just a little snack. You can order things from their hot menu items or sandwich items as well as their bakery/pastry selection. I decided to have their Hazelnut Eclair which looked quite delicious. I was worried about it being too sweet, but it was very subtle. Unfortunately, it didn’t taste very fresh although it was tasty. I could only imagine how wonderful it would be if it was fresh!

The other thing we ordered was their Almond Croissant which didn’t look that appealing. It did have almond flavour but it too wasn’t very fresh. It was quite crispy on the outside but it wasn’t light and fluffy on the inside. I’m not sure what’s going on, besides thinking it wasn’t too fresh.. or I was just overly excited and being to hopeful.

On a positive note, our drinks were very delightful! I ordered a cup of Chai Tea Latte and it was really fragrant and delectable! It was really nice to enjoy a nice hot drink on a breezy summer day on the patio!

My husband also enjoyed his Hot Chocolate which was decadent and delicious! Our drinks really hit the spot and it was good!

Overall, I think if I do return, I will order something from their savoury menu where they have to prepare it – like their crepes! Now that I read other customers reviews, it looks like crepes are a popular thing here! So, I could be back for that and some hot drinks!

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La Boulangerie

2435 4 St SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 984-9294

The Donut Mill – Red Deer, AB

There’s no better little birthday cake than having a donut! We stopped at The Donut Mill on our way to Edmonton for a delicious donut in lieu of a birthday cake so when we walked inside this place that looks like a windmill, we were floored with the selection of delicious looking donuts.

Their display of donuts was quite impressive and there was never a quiet time in line – there’s always someone walking through their doors for either sweets or savoury foods. The selection is huge and they have quite a large dining area as well.

After I ordered my donut, I then saw some eclairs – which was what I really wanted when I was there. They were in a separate display case, but I’m sure that I will be going back to enjoy a giant eclair someday soon!

I ended up picking the Chocolate Venetian which was a donut filled with vanilla pudding topped with chocolate glaze. It was really quite delightful! The donut was really fresh, light, soft and fluffy!

The other donut we enjoyed was their monthly special called Donut of the Month which happens to be a maple donut with whipped cream inside! It was also really nice! The light airiness of the whipped cream inside the donut really was a treat as we’re use to creams, puddings or custards!

Overall, I loved this place and I already know I will be back – to try to eclair and some of their hot and savoury goodies! It’s a great stop whether you’re around this area for a quick bite or an actual meal.

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The Donut Mill

Gasoline Alley Westside – 37420 Hwy 2
Red Deer, AB
(403) 347-8904

Manuel Latruwe Belgian Patisserie & Bread Shop – Calgary, AB

Bakeries and patisseries and anything baked is still my favourite type of food to eat as I’m not good with baking things in general. So, it always seems like I’m looking for bakeries and what not. I made a trip to Manuel Latruwe one afternoon for lunch and I’m quite happy I did! The location is quite small, and it is busy!!

We ordered signature haute chocolate, pot for 2 with their callebaut chocolate as it’s got the lowest cocoa percentage! I’m not a fan of bitter chocolate and I’ve always been a fan of Callebaut Chocolates! It’s a nice teapot of hot chocolate that you pour into a cup with cocoa powder. It’s a warm and delicious drink!

From our drinks, we went to croissants! Another of my favourites is the Hazelnut Croissant. My husband loves Plain Croissant, so we ordered some of these as well! The croissants were light and flaky, buttery and delicious! We loved the Hazelnut twist as it was full of flavour, not too sweet at all – it was perfect!

My lunch item was their pain de campagne baguette which was their fresh baguette stuffed with salmon, cheese, tomato confit, hard boiled egg! It was a nice sandwich on a delicious baguette. This sandwich was fresh and surprisingly refreshing.

My husband ordered the Sourdough Sandwich as he loves no bread more than the sourdough! This sandwich has calabrese salami, Gruyere cheese, tomato confit and black olives in between sourdough. This was a delicious Italian inspired sandwich, and the bread definitely had a hint of sour! It was a delightful sandwich!

We shared their soup of the day, which was a Potato Onion Bacon Soup and this soup was full of flavour, hot and super tasty! We really enjoyed the soup, full of flavour, and the texture was divine! The soup doesn’t look like it was great, but it was almost a highlight of this visit! Nothing was more delicious than my hazelnut twist! 🙂

Overall, this was a great place to sit down to eat a great lunch. It is a little costly but well worth it if you’re looking for a great quality sandwich or treats!

Manuel Latruwe Belgian Patisserie & Bread Shop on Urbanspoon

Manuel Latruwe Belgian Patisserie & Bread Shop

1333 1 St SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 261-1092

Bellagio Cafe 鹿港小镇 – Shanghai, China

We ventured to the Super Brand Mall in Shanghai and found a great place for dinner called Bellagio Cafe and it’s located on the 8th Floor of the mall and relatively easy to find! It’s closer to the IMAX, if it helps! 🙂

We ordered a bunch of dishes and shared it, Asian style! We first started with their Black Pepper Beef on Iron Plate which smelled and tasted absolutely amazing! The amount of pepper used was the perfect amount on beautifully tender pieces of beef!

We also tried Steamed Shrimp with Garlic and I know it doesn’t sound too appetizing, but it was absolutely amazing! The shrimp was really fresh and steamed to perfection. Tons of garlic on top of the shrimp – so luckily we all had at least one piece!

From there, with us being so Asian, we ordered some rice, Taiwanese Fried Rice, and it’s quite different from the fried rice that I’m use to! It is very similar, but different! Usually the main difference between Chinese fried rice and Taiwanese fried rice will be in the egg cooking format. Chinese will basically make scrambled eggs or an omelette first, while the Taiwanese will crack the raw egg into the fried rice and then mix it up.

A very traditional and popular Taiwanese dish is the Three cup chicken (三杯鸡) which is made with 1 cup soy sauce, 1 cup rice wine and 1 cup sesame oil. This recipe will make TONS of chicken, so it’s nice to modify it and Bellagio Cafe definitely modifies it and adds other ingredients such as ginger and basil into the dish to make it extra special!

My husband actually has Hakka ancestors so it was neat to him to find a dish done in this style. When he saw Hakka Stir Fry Dried Squid an Celery he ordered it! It is exactly as it sounds! Most of Taiwanese cooking is derived from 3 simple ingredients, and this dish shows the simplicity of their cooking with rice wine, soy sauce and some sugar! This dish was so simple yet so delicious!

We actually ordered a dessert or 2 for this meal, and the most memorable dessert was their Mango Pancake which was a mango crepe that was really thin around some light cream with some mango inside. It was light and airy and actually kind of refreshing! We really enjoyed this and I ate up my husbands half of the dessert! 🙂

Overall, we loved this place and it’s a place we would recommend for Taiwanese food! It’s neat to see Shanghai has different types of Asian cuisine and it’s actually done properly! The food, service and atmosphere ranks top notch for sure!