Dinner – Page 44 – Elsie Hui

May 5, 2013May 5, 2013

NEM Delight

I really had a thing for Vietnamese food this week, and I found myself not too far from home, just off of Bow Bottom Trail. We found ourselves at NEM Delight just because of the high ratings on Urbanspoon. Once we saw that, we figured that this is where we were going to go… so, we ventured off! When we got here, we realized it was just a take-out place only, so we just grabbed 2 subs and called it a night. It was a typical take-out place so it was kind of shocking when she said the wait was about 10 minutes for a sub… but it wasn’t like we were in a hurry or anything!

We ordered a Grilled Chicken Submarine which was actually very reasonable for a sub price. It was $5.70 for a decent sized Vietnamese submarine. The wait was probably the fact they were actually grilling the chicken and onions – which was extremely flavourful! It wasn’t your typical Vietnamese sub, but it was a good one! The jalapeno peppers was quite something – they were very spicy, and they kept the seeds in and all too! We ended up taking the peppers out to finish the subs.

The other sub we tried was their Grilled Pork Submarine and for the same price, we picked pork – as it’s not a common one you see on the menu. Usually, you get the beef and chicken, and that’s it! The pork was really tender and also packed with flavour! The grilled meat in the subs topped with the usual Vietnamese sub toppings, cucumber, cilantro, pickled carrots and onions… which really made it seem like a usual sub to the next level with almost a fusion of flavours!

Overall, these were good subs, but not sure if I’d go all the way over that way for another… the parking lot was small, and there wasn’t a ton of parking spots either. The nice thing is the menu is extensive and the prices are very well priced. The food is quite decent as well.

NEM Delight

6, 13750 Bow Bottom Trail SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 235-5757

April 20, 2013

Lemongrass West

I’ve been hearing great things about Lemongrass and I think the reports I’ve been hearing about are regarding the Lemongrass East, which really wasn’t the location I wanted to go to – primary due to the location. So, we opted out to Lemongrass West which the plaza this is located at was under some renovations.

We just ordered some tea as we really didn’t want to drink anything fancy this late afternoon/evening. It’s fine, their typical tea! But, we did order some appetizers, and we tried their Lemongrass Chicken Salad Rolls which I thought was a tad pricey, however, it is quite unique so it is kind of worth it… if you look at it that way! The skin on the wrap was a little dry, making it a little hard… so you know it’s pre-made. The flavour of the salad roll was decent though, and it looks fantastic!

I ordered something kind of neat, it was under the wonton noodle section (as the numbering system was kind of out of order), but it’s called Tamarind Chicken Soup and not thinking too much about it, the description made it sound delicious. So, I ordered it. When it came, it was a noodle soup looking bowl, but it didn’t come with noodles… it was all beansprouts! I was shocked the waitress didn’t say anything when I ordered it, or asked if I wanted noodles. At the end of the day, it was a tasty soup and it had nice pieces of chicken (lots of it too). It would be an excellent choice if you order it with rice noodles.

My other half ordered their Vietnamese Beef Stew which was a noodle soup. This one actually sounds like it wouldn’t be, but it was actually under the noodle soup section of the menu. The beef was tender and they were rather generous with the portions of both meat and noodles. The soup was awesome, and tons of flavours!

Overall, it was a weird experience here for me. I like it,and loved that there was full and vibrant flavours in everything! Service was fine, typical Asian place service. The place is decent, I’ll probably try to remember it if I’m in the area, but yet, there also tons of other things to try too! 🙂

Lemongrass West Vietnamese Cuisine

3715 51 St SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 242-2633

April 18, 2013

Mug Shotz Sports Bar & Grill – Calgary

I’m often looking for a great place for delicious wings, and when a friend told me about Mug Shotz I thought “why not!?” This location turns out to be a tad tricky to find for the first time. It’s not exactly located RIGHT on Ogden road as the address suggest, but it’s right behind it, right before you reach Blackfoot Trail.

We got here on a Wednesday night and it was packed already! So, we sat at the bar and then later moved to a table. We ordered quite a few wings as I love wings, and of course we tried their signature Mug Shotz Salt & Pepper Wings which was amazing!

We also got an order of their Sweet Thai Chili Wings which was absolutely delicious! Sweet Thai Chili sauce is great on anything and everything, and wings are no exception! Sometimes when you order wings and it’s a saucy type, the texture isn’t as great, but here – they were able to maintain the chicken wing texture with a hint of crisp and it definitively helped to absorb all the sauce.

Then, we decided we would try their Dill Pickle Wing which was another amazing wing. If you love pickles, this is definitely the wing to order! As gross as it looks and kind of sounds, it’s really amazing! Think of a fried chicken sandwich without the bread and all the other toppings… you’re left with amazing meat and pickles!

At the end of this visit, I’m glad to say I’ve found a great new wing place that offers great tastes, flavours, and all at a great price! The wings are large and full of meat – and they all taste like what they claim they should taste.

Mug Shotz Sports Bar & Grill

12, 2808 Ogden Road SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 264-4441

April 18, 2013

Surahi Restaurant – Calgary

I really enjoy the flavours of Indian Cuisine, and a friend/coworker actually recommended me to Surahi Restaurant which I’m so glad I took her advise! The location of this restaurant is behind the Co-op off Maclead Trail, it can be a little tricky to get into – but worth the effort!

Once we sat down, we were greeted by the waitress. She was quite friendly, but the service is a tad slow. It was fine though, as we were looking for a slow, quiet, and relaxing dinner – with excellent food! And, that’s what we got! We ordered a cup of Chai Tea which came out in a little tea pot, and was poured table side from a high height to get the froth. The flavours was there and subtle.

We started our evening with an appetizer, where we ordered a plate of Beef Samosas, and it comes with 2 samosa an order. The samosas were quite greasy, but the skin was thin and crispy. The beef filling was stuffed and packed with flavours. It was a great appetizer despite of the grease! It’s worth it!

For the dinner entrees, we wanted something different from butter chicken and the usual food. With that said, I ordered the Fish Masala, which was huge dish of fish that was coated and fried. Then, it was cooked in delicious Indian tomato and onion sauce. It was delicious, the sauce was creamy and the fish was fresh!

The other entree we ordered was Lamb Kashmiri which the menu described the dish as lamb cooked in cream, apple and mild spices. I fell in love with this dish as it had sweetness, creaminess and spiciness all together and it was very balance and delicious. This is definitely my new favourite curry dish.

With the curries, we ordered some Butter Naan which was extremely fresh and delicious. It had just the perfect amount of butter and flavour on it. It’s a great vehicle for the curry sauces.

And, of course we have some rice as well, so we ordered the Coconut Pilau to go with the delicious curries. What a great meal! We loved the curry sauces and we loved every bit of it. We gave this place a chance and ate everything ordered! It was so good we couldn’t even order a dessert.

Overall, the prices are comparable with other places I’ve been to, and the dishes are a little bigger as well – making it a very decent deal. The restaurant is very clean and the food is excellent. We will definitely be back without hesitation!

Surahi Restaurant

8906 Macleod Trail SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 212-1324

April 3, 2013

Homemade Pizza

I just made a bunch of ham and what I really wanted was a ham pizza. So, instead of going to the grocery store and purchasing a premade crust, I figured I would try my hand at making one.

Ingredients: (makes 1 medium or 2 small)
2 cups of All Purpose Flour
2 cups of water
1 package of yeast (traditional)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

The first thing you need to do is activate your yeast. I poured my yeast into a little bowl and put 1/4 cup of warm water to dissolve the yeast. Then, I added my teaspoon of sugar. Just leave it for about 10 minutes and it should have expanded and almost doubled in size.

From here, I mix together the flour and salt and the yeast mixture. Then I slowly combine with the rest of the water in stages. I keep mixing until a ball of dough forms. My dough ball here was much more sticky than it probably should have been, but I left it anyway. Just knead it for a few minutes and when you’re ready, let it sit to rise and rest. I put saran wrap on top and left it for about 45 minutes.

After the ball of dough has doubled in size, you can knead it out on a floured surface to the crust shape you like. I didn’t use a pizza tray or anything as I like it kind of rustic, so I just rolled out a thick crust of a random shape on my silicon mat.

After I got my crust ready, I now preheat my oven to 425F and I start decorating my pizza with toppings. I do this rather gently as I’m probably letting it rise again for the second time as I wanted my crust more bread like.

When your pizza is topped with all the goodies you would like, pop it into the oven for about 25 minutes. It comes out delicious, kind of like a pizza bread! 🙂 You could have brushed the crust with butter or oil or even egg wash if you like a prettier crust. I just left mine as is.

Now, after the cooking period, take the pizza out of the oven, and slice it if you want – but you’re ready to enjoy a simple and delicious home made pizza!