Dinner – Page 34 – Elsie Hui

January 5, 2014

Shibuya Izakaya – Calgary, Alberta

I’ve been to Shibuya Izakaya in the past, but it’s been ages — way before I started my blog. So, I thought I would revisit them as I was wanting a bowl of udon for lunch! It’s located right on 16th Avenue, and they do have a small parking lot. It’s a lot easier to find parking spaces dsuring the day than in the evenings.

We started by ordering some Gyozas for an appetizer. I don’t normally order appetizers for lunch, but I can’t turn down dumplings of any sort! So, I got a plate and they weren’t bad. The skin was really thin, and it was steamy hot inside. It did lack a little flavour, but it was pretty good with their dipping sauce! So, they compensated it expecting you to use the sauce.

One of my favourite sushi would be Hokkigai and when I can order it alone, I normally do. However, I’m not sure why I did here. These 4 pieces below cost me $9!! They weren’t bad, but it’s definitely not the best, and not for the the price!

I ordered a bowl of Chicken Udon and that was actually really good! The broth was really delicious and the texture of the udon was quite authentic! The chicken was still juicy and tender, so I really enjoyed my bowl of udons!

My husband also wanted a bowl of udons for lunch so he tried their Tonkatsu Pork Cutlet Udon. The pork cutlet looked like it as awesome, but the meat was pretty tough and a tad dry. They did a great job frying it though! The broth and the udon noodles was the same as mine, so overall quite satisfactory (not as good as my Chicken Udon though)!

Overall, we left on a full belly and quite satisfied. It was relatively quiet for a Satuday afternoon around lunch time when we got there. I guess most people don’t think about sushi for lunch, but you can always think about ramen/soba/udon! This is a great place to go for a Japanese noodle fix though!

Shibuya Izakaya

449 16 Ave NE
Calgary, AB
(403) 277-8823

January 4, 2014

Kaffee Stube Edelweiss Village – Calgary, Alberta

Ah, German food, ja? Das ist gut! I found Edelweiss Village which is a German Market, but inside, there’s a cafe called Kaffee Stube which is a pretty cool “fast food” place! It’s pretty big and pretty busy, and most of the people who go to the cafe eat sweets with coffee… except for me, I get real food!

I had to order myself a Hot Chocolate as we’re in a cafe, on a cold day! It was a delicious and decadent hot chocolate with a great chocolate wafer roll on the side! It was so good that I got a tin of these wafers from the market on my way out!

We ordered a Red Borscht as it was one of the soup of the day. It’s also one of my favourite soups (I know, I love a lot of things…), but I really enjoyed the flavours of this soup! It was quite different from the Ukranian ones I’ve tried.

My lunch was their Ukrainan Classic which had sauerkraut topped with a Bratwurst, and homemade Perogies! It was a tad costly at $10.25 for only a few perogies! I must admit, the food was good, but I’m not sure if it was worth that much for a fast food/take out place, which is really too bad.

Then, we ordered a plate of their Schnitzel Plate which had pork schnitzel, German potato salad with sauerkraut for $12.95! The Schnitzel was a tad disappointing as they took it out of the smorg and heated it up in the microwave, which made it soggy. The flavours were great, so maybe next time, I’ll take it home and bake it until golden and crispy!

Even though it was costly, it was decent food and there was still a LONG line up. It tells you something! I would return as well, and have some sweets as they look delicious! I’m sure it will be a cheaper experience as well when we do that!

Kaffee Stube

1921 20 Ave NW
Calgary, AB
(403) 282-6600

Mon. Tues. Wed. 9:30-7:00
Thurs. Fri. 9:30-8:00
Sat. 9:00-6:00
Sun. & Holidays – Closed

January 4, 2014

Pfanntastic Pannenkoek Haus – Calgary, Alberta

I really love trying places that people can’t stop talking about, and this is one of them! This place is called Pfanntastic Pannenkoek Haus which specializes in Dutch pancakes, which is more like a crepe as it’s thin. The location is pretty easy to find, but because this place is so awesome, there’s always a line up! So, either go early or be prepared to wait! This is also a Food Network’s “You Gotta Eat Here” recommendation as well!

We sat down and I ordered a tea, as it was pretty chilly outside and we did have to wait in line. We weren’t expecting to be as busy as it was, but it’s great and worth the wait! When you order coffee, you get a biscuit as well, so that’s pretty fun!

For the actual pancake, I ordered the one with Ham and Pineapple as I love Hawaiian Pizza, I figured I’ll have my pancake inspired by that pizza. They called it Ham, Ananas en Kaas, a Classic Pannenkoeken! It was absolutely delicious with the thin pancake that was delicate, the flavours on top wasn’t over powering. It was a great balance of sweet and savoury!

The other pancake we ordered was a full savoury one, which was Spek, Gerookte worst en Champignons Classic Savoury Pannenkoeken, which was a pancake with bacon, smoked sausage and mushroom! Again, this was delicious and better than pizza or pancakes from a regular place!

Overall, this was absolutely amazing! I think about returning here all the time, but I talk myself out of it. We’re into trying new things, but once I’m out of ideas, I’m sure this will be a place I will be lining up for again!

Pfanntastic Pannenkoek Haus

2439 54 Ave SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 243-7757

January 4, 2014

Steels Cafe & Grill – Calgary, Alberta

Originally, I use to go to this hotel to eat dinner every Valentines Day. We started it around 2006… but now I guess it has changed. In 2013, we went here as a tradition, and realized it’s now called Steels Cafe & Grill which means it’s different. There’s no more prime rib buffet!! I use to know a cook, training to be a chef here, so I would come here to see him. Now, he’s gone and everything is a little different. This restaurant is located on the main floor of the Executive Royal Hotel, across from their Front Desk. Reservations are usually not required, at least we always had the luck!

Once we sat down, we were presented with a menu. We knew immediately that times has changed, but gave the sit down thing a shot instead of our usual Prime Rib dinner. We ordered what we wanted and out came our drinks and some Dinner Rolls. They were dinner rolls, nothing good or bad about them!

But my husband and I ordered soup to start. I don’t actually remember who got ordered what but I remember eating both bowls up. I think I went for the Clam Chowder as it’s more my thing. I like creamy things – what can I say!? It was interesting, I remember it being very clam tasting (which is good) with some sand in the soup too. So, it’s real!?

The other bowl of soup we got was their Minestrone Soup which was good! It’s usually fool proof food, so it was good! I don’t remember anything out of the ordinary, and that’s a good thing on it’s own!

From there, we go straight into our dinner! I ordered their Grilled Wasabi Salmon which had some bok choy and rice. It was a light dinner and it was perfect as I remember we just got off the plane that evening and came straight here. It was a great meal despite of how it looks on my picture! I didn’t have the camera I got today at this time.

My meat eating husband ate 10oz New York Steak with some mashed potatoes and veggies! The steak wasn’t bad, but it’s no prime rib! The steak was pretty good, and I must say, the mashed potatoes stayed on the plate the way it looks. It was dry and kind of rubbery. Good thing the meat was satisfactory!

Overall, I think we miss our prime rib buffet for this special day. It just didn’t meet our expectations as it wasn’t what we were looking for. The food was decent and unfortunately it wasn’t the same as what we’re used to. We’ll search for a buffet and make a new tradition.

Steels Cafe & Grill – Executive Royal Hotel

2828 23 St NE
Calgary, AB
(403) 219-7484

January 4, 2014January 4, 2014

Best Taste Chinese Restaurant – Oakland, California

For the first time ever, I went down to California in 2013 to celebrate Chinese New Years with my husbands family. We had a wonderful time and one of the places that I remembered really well was Best Taste and they’re known for their Clay Pot Rice, so we went there to eat some, along with other things – but those are just minor things!

We had a chicken clay pot, and the rice was cooked into the pot leaving a nice hard crust that my husbands family craves and loves! There’s really nothing like eating rice cooked from a clay pot – and we just do it normally as it’s a pain to clean afterwards. This dish was excellent and my favourite as it had tons of chicken pieces in it, with the delicious rice and soy sauce!

The other clay rice pot we had was basically a Chinese cured meat one, and it’s got a bunch of Chinese sausages in it, with some vegetables. Chinese cured meat is different from anything else, and I’m not sure if it’s an acquired smell/taste, but I know I love it. Some people do find it too greasy – but it works so well with rice! The rice absorbs the grease with the soy sauce and other flavours that it was steamed with! It’s truly a treat and if you haven’t tried it – now is the time!

Overall, I absolutely loved this place! It’s the type of food I love and I guess my aunt-in-law love this stuff too! I’m so happy they brought me here, and I’m sure I’ll request to go back next time I visit them!

Best Taste

814 Franklin St
Oakland, CA
(510) 444-4983