Dinner – Page 40 – Elsie Hui

August 2, 2013August 2, 2013

Basil Ultimate Pho and Fine Vietnamese Cuisine – Calgary

We found ourselves seeking out for more Vietnamese food, and this time we ended up in the Northeast at a place called Basil Ultimate Pho. It’s just off 32nd Avenue and it’s not hard to find! It’s a large place with signage!

We were greeted really quickly and by we kind of knew what we wanted to try. We started with their Beef Spring Rolls which was a deep fried spring roll with beef in it. It was a neat change to their typical pork, and you knew it was beef!

I ordered theier Ultimate Sub which was a mixture of sate beef and chicken on a toasted baguette, with the typical Vietnamese sub toppings. The sub was really good and had a nice heat level to it.

Of course we’d order some pho, we’re at a pho place! We ordered a Pho Tai which is always our go to one! They called it Rare Steak Pho here, and it’s basically the same thing!

Overall, the experience here was nice. The location was large, spacious and clean. The service was great and the prices seem a little high for a what it is. It was an average visit for the pho, but I really enjoyed the Vietnamese sub!

Basil Ultimate Pho and Fine Vietnamese Cuisine

10, 2770 32nd Ave. NE
Calgary, AB
(403) 457-0808

July 28, 2013August 13, 2013

Aspen Crossing – Mossleigh, AB

We found ourselves looking at old wooden grain elevators lately, and we landed at Mossleigh, Alberta. From there, we realized that there was a dining room located inside an old 1887 Pullman Dining Car so we knew we had to seek this opportunity out! It’s at a place called Aspen Crossing which is also a hotel in Caboose Cabins or a Camp/RV parking. Right on their property was what I was looking for at the side of the parking lot – the dining car!

Without question, I knew this was where I wanted to eat. We hopped on-board and realized it was their Sunday Brunch Buffet which was fine with me! There were tons of tables that was reserved and when we left, the place was pretty much packed inside the dining car.

This was a great buffet, it had tons of fresh food, ranging from fresh biscuits with your typical breakfast items like sausage, bacon and eggs. Then, as it was a brunch buffet, they had special items like perogies and beef ribs! It was a buffet that is well worth it!

Overall, I’m in love with this dining car! I will go back and try their dinner theatre or their dinner buffets! The food, service and atmosphere was fantastic here! I loved every moment of this experience and I can’t wait to tell people about it!

Aspen Crossing

Box 30
Mossleigh, AB
(403) 534-2129

July 28, 2013

Cafè Bellagio – Las Vegas

We were staying at the Bellagio and we had to run downstairs for a quick dinner, as we had a show to catch. We found Cafe Bellagio and thought it would be great as it’s a cafe, and it’s opened 24 hours!

We sat down and was welcomed with our menus. We wanted to eat lots as it was a show and figured we’d stuff ourselves. So, we ordered a soup each – where I ordered the Chefs Soup of the Day which was a cream of mushroom soup. It was a decent cream soup and it was nice and thick with lots of flavour to it!

For the soups, we also ordered a French Onion Soup which the top was made to perfection with their melting of cheese! Such a simple soup, so we were expecting nothing but perfection! Here with the soup, they definitely delivered!

My main course was their Grilled Atlantic Salmon which I absolutely loved! It was a good sized piece of grilled salmon with some broccolini, persimmon and papaya salsa. It was a light and tasty dinner even though it was a little over cooked – it came out a little dry. The salsa was delicious and added sweetness and moisture, so it worked out great!

The other main course that we ordered was their Harissa Lamb Chop which was tender, juicy and delicous! It had 3 good sized pieces of lamb chops on a bed of lentils with swiss chard.

Overall, it was a decent enough big meal! The prices was actually really fair, considering the location and the food wasn’t bad at all! We were definitely stuffed leaving Cafe Bellagio!

Cafè Bellagio

3600 South Las Vegas Boulevard
Las Vegas, NV
(702) 693-7111

July 28, 2013July 28, 2013

Lemongrass – Aria (CityCenter), Las Vegas

CityCenter is my favourite area of the Las Vegas strip! I love both Aria and Vdara so much, I’ve even purchased their scented sticks to bring home so my house could smell like the resort! It’s wonderful! When I heard that I am going to eat Thia food for lunch at Lemongrass inside the casino level of Aria, I jumped with joy! I had a feeling it will be a great place and that nothing would disappoint me! I was right!

We started off with their Tom Kha Chicken which is their Chicken soup with coconut milk, lemon grass and galangal. It’s kind of like a Chicken Tom Yum with coconut milk to tame the spiciness. It was a delicious, full of flavour, smooth and spicyy soup! It was a winner for sure!

We actually had 2 main courses this time as we wanted to try their food! We ordered from their curry section the Red Curry Duck which is still to this day my favourite curry dish! It was an elegant mixture of roasted duck with red curry, pineapple and basil. We enjoyed this dish thoroughly over jasmine rice. The curry had the sweet, the heat and the tanginess and I loved it!

The last thing we ordered was their Pad See Ew Moo which is a wok fried flat rice noodle with pork and seasoned with soy sauce with some kale in it. It was definitely a delightful dish full of flavour!

Overall, I absolutely love this place and all the food! We were so stuffed that we didn’t make room for dessert, which was alright as we got to eat other sweet things later on in the day! The service was top notched and the restaurant itself was really amazing! I hope to be back soon!

Lemongrass – Aria (CityCenter)

3730 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV
(877) 230-2742

July 21, 2013

Melissa’s Missteak Restaurant – Banff, AB

Finding breakfast isn’t hard in Banff, but choosing one is tougher because there’s quite a bit of options. We picked Melissa’s Missteak Restaurant located right on Lynx Street with tons of street parking (but it fills up fast!).

I love smoked salmon with bagel, and when I see it on a menu, that’s usually what I go for, and on this menu, it’s called Lox and Bagel which is an opened faced smoked salmon bagel topped with capers, red onions and cream cheese! They are extremely generous with the cream cheese – in fact, I think they were too generous with that!

My other half ordered their Mixed Grill which was a plate of hashbrowns, Two eggs, Two sausages, Two strips of bacon and toast. This breakfast is definitely for those who love breakfasts or is very hungry! I think in this case, it was a little of both! 🙂

We really enjoyed our breakfast experience here! The service is wonderful, fast and efficinet. The food tastes wonderful and their prices are well within reason! This place is also opened for lunch and dinner – so I’m sure we will be back to give it a shot!

Melissa’s Missteak Restaurant

218 Lynx Street
Banff, AB
(403) 762-5511