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Selkirk Grille at Heritage Park – Calgary, Alberta

We found ourselves at Heritage Park Historical Village for their Once Upon a Christmas event that was held there. When we got there, it was getting close to noon so we thought we would try Selkirk Grille which is located outside of the Heritage Park gates with no entrance fee and close access to free parking.

We started our lunch with a delicious Panko Crusted Crab and Shrimp Cakes which was 3 really delicious crab & shrimp cakes. The panko made the cakes really light and crusted with fluffy crunchy bites – it was really good. However, they seemed to only have heated one side of the cake, so only the top was really nicely crusted. I found that the inside wasn’t completely heated through, but it was “hot” enough! These shrimp and crab cakes sat in a puddle of red pepper aioli and tomato relish, and then topped with a roasted pepper.

As it was a lunch, I tried the Driview Farms Lamb burger which was a homemade lamb burger on a toasted golden grain bun Gorgonzola cheese, sweet and spicy onion marmalade Pesto aioli and arugula Kennebec potato fries or house greens salad. I got my meal with fries and it was good enough that I didn’t need gravy or ketchup! The burger is the best lamb burger I’ve had – it was a huge lamb patty cooked to perfection (medium, pink and juicy) with cheese that melted over the patty and topped with fresh veg! There’s nothing I don’t like about this burger!

We also ordered a delicious Bison Ragù Shepherd’s Pie Portabella mushrooms, tomato and rosemary ragù Whipped Yukon Gold potatoes Served with a house greens salad. This is a special lunch menu item, and we even recommended to the guests at the table beside us! The mashed potato top was light and fluffy, creamy and savoury! It was perfect alone! The Bison Ragu was an awesome and hearty stew with nice chunks of meat and it came out all nice, bubbly and brown! It sure was a Shepards Pie unlike any other!

Dining at the Selkirk for lunch seems reasonable in price. The food quality is really good for the main meal and it’s a wonderful family restaurant – or even a special occasion place!

Selkirk Grille at Heritage Park

1900 Heritage Dr SW
Calgary, AB T2V
(403) 268-8500

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Ten Ren’s Tea Time

I really enjoy drinking Chinese teas, and when we figured out there was a little sit down place with Chinese teas, we knew it was a place on our “to go” list. The only Ten Ren’s Tea Time location in Calgary with a sit down dining would be this one, where all the others are just drinks. The place is in an interesting location as it’s kind of tucked into residential area, but isn’t far off the ring road – so I can see it being an ideal location once the road is completed and further development is completed.

We arrived on a weeknight evening, and it was really quiet. The entire time we were there, we were the only table. This was during the dinner hour too, but we didn’t mind as it’s nice to sit down in a quiet dining room once in awhile!

We first sat down and ordered some drink, and I ordered the Almond Milk Tea with no Pearls, as I still don’t like pearls in my drink. However, when the drink got to me, it was the Almond Black Tea, but I had nothing against the black tea, so I just kept it. It was quite good actually – full of almond flavour in the drink. Some places try to dilute the almond so they can use less, and I’m happy to say they didn’t do that with my drink!

For dinner, I had a bowl of Beef Stew Noodle Soup, and what really caught my eye was in the picture on the menu – the noodles was green! When my bowl of noodles came, it was only a slight hint of green colour.

We also ordered a plate of Special Salty Sliced Pork Belly on Steamed Rice, and oddly, it took a long time for it to come. The pork belly was really nicely done as the skin was really crispy and salty! It went perfect with the steamed rice.

As much as we eat, we really wanted to give their wings a try, so we ordered some Deep Fried Chicken Wings and it was fried really crispy! Ten Ren is really good at frying their food as it’s all coming out great!

I do say their deep fried food looks great because our friends ordered some dishes with deep fried chicken over steamed rice, and it looked really tasty! I can hear the crunch of the crust as they bite into their dinners which really is quite impressive!

I quite enjoy this little location, and I can see it being a popular evening place to grab a bit to eat as they are opened quite late. The prices are quite reasonable, especially for it’s portion size. The food tasted good, so there’s nothing I can complain about! I can’t wait to return and have some more goodies!

Ten Ren’s Tea Time

1110 Panatella Blvd NW
Calgary, AB T3K 0S6
(403) 269-6088

Hours:
Sunday~Thursday: 12PM to 11PM
Friday & Saturday: 12PM to 1AM

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The Ranche Restaurant – Calgary, Alberta

I really enjoy going to Fish Creek Provincial Park in Calgary, it’s a beautiful location where the Bow River passes through this park. At the edge of this park lies a wonderful little restaurant that is delicious and known as The Ranche Restaurant. I’ve only been here twice – ever! Both times I’ve been here so far was during the Christmas season and it’s jammed packed! Somehow, they always manage to bang out delicious food, and great service!

This time, we started our dinner with Blue Corn Crusted Red Spring Salmon and Lobster Cakes Lambs Lettuce with flaxseed Vinaigrette, pickled red onions and lime aioli. This appetizer was amazing, and you definitely know it’s salmon cake as salmon does have it’s own distinctive taste. The lobster adds lightness to the cakes and makes it sweeter. It’s a wonderful combination and unfortunately, I don’t have a beautiful picture of the appetizer. I’ve got to say it’s one of the best “seafood” cake appetizers I’ve had in a long time!

For the dinner, I tried Roasted Brome Lake Duck Cider braised red cabbage, pancetta crisp, ricotta parsley gnocchi, maple raisin gastrique – which is caramelized sugar, deglazed with vinegar. The gnocchi was little light pillows of potato goodness. It was really light and fluffy and infused with flavour. The duck was really well made, and delicious – even though it was slightly on the tough side.

The other meal we had was Seared Atlantic Scallops and Braised Porkbelly which was made with Roasted fingerling potatoes, cauliflower puree, aged balsamic reduction. The pork belly of course was a fattier part of the meat, but it makes the pork so tender, juicy and pork tasting it was great! The crispy skin on the pork was very memorable. The pieces of scallops was quite large, and thankfully it wasn’t over cooked at all. It wasn’t rubbery at all and it was fresh and sweet!

Desserts was something I really loved. I ordered a Chocolate Lava Cake with decadent rich, dark chocolate that souffled out of the ramekin and a pool of chocolate oozes out when I started digging into it. I never did figure out what the custard sauce was, but I mixed it into the molten cake. It was really delicious and definitely a highlight of the evening.

The final dessert we ordered is a Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Café Napoleon Caramelized Orange Sherbert, Chocolate Tuille. This wasn’t really what I was expecting, as I was thinking it would be in layers of light crispy phyllo pastry or something like that – where in fact, the dessert was really hard and brittle. It tasted great, but not the dessert I had imagined it to be.

The Ranche Restaurant is a wonderful place to eat for any occasion – whether it’s for a romantic night out, a party or gathering, it’s just a nice place! It’s great for families and entertainment! The best part is, they always seem to serve excellent food!

The Ranche Restaurant at Fish Creek Park

15979 Bow Bottom Trail SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 225-3939

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Q Haute Cuisine – Calgary, Alberta

We went out for a fancy dinner to Q Haute in downtown Calgary. We weren’t planning on it, but we did as I purchased a LivingSocial voucher for who knows when… that of course expires at the end of 2011. We made a reservation which was pain free and got ready to go for our evening date. Because it was so close to the Christmas Holidays, the place was decorated elegantly. Once we entered the main doors, there was a nice grand staircase that brings you up to the restaurant.

The service was really good, and the atmosphere was warm, inviting and very romantic. The dining room isn’t large at all, but it’s cozy and comfortable. We chose to pick our dinner from a la carte as we weren’t hungry enough to eat a huge course dinner in “surprise” form. Once we ordered, first came some bread and some great citrus herb butter and an appetite starter (Cold Canapés) of brioche crostini with Prosciutto wrapped goats cheese.

I then got my first course, which I choose to try Seared Digby Scallops which was prepared with sauteed broccoli ramps, roasted abalone mushrooms and wild boar sausages. The scallops were fairly large and cooked to perfection, but it was a little under seasoned. It was really quite a nice starter dish as it was fresh, crisp, simple and elegant! It was my favourite by far!

The other first course we got to enjoy was Venison Carpaccio which essentially is a plate with raw venison with soft boiled quail eggs, carrot griddle cakes, gherkins, Vin Cotto with some pickled winter radish ad frilly mustard greens. The venison was cut into this slices and it was really easy to eat! It was fresh and tender – so I quite enjoyed this unique carpaccio! The quail eggs was very memorable as it was soft boiled to perfection! it held up its shape and when punctured by teeth or fork, the yolk came oozing out – and it was a beautiful bright yellow colour.

My main course – or what they called second course was amazing! I ordered the Roasted Alberta Lamb Chops and it came with 2 lamb chops, sous vide loin from the canon with warm carrots, vanilla bavarois and honey glazed Heirloom carrots. When you first bite into the lamb, you definitely know it’s lamb, and it wasn’t tough at all. I asked for it to be medium, and it came out medium, full of flavour and it was 2 big lamb chops!

The other main course we enjoyed was the Sous Vide and Roasted Beef Fillet which was a plate with delicious tender roasted beef fillets with ploppino mushroom brioche pudding and drizzled with Madeira jus.

This was definitely a delicious dinner, and we still ordered a dessert to share. We ordered a Mango Cheesecake with some tea and espresso to end our evening. The cheesecake was really creamy, light, and fluffy – just the way we liked it. It had a layer of mango jellie where most of the mango flavour came from. On top was a super thin and crispy layer of cracker that balanced itself on some sorbet. It was really a refreshing dessert even though it seems quite heavy.

After dinner and dessert, while we thought we’d be getting ready to pay the bill to leave, another treat came to the table. It’s what the waiter called The Last Bit and this was a chocolate ball with orange flavour, then it was rolled in coconut. It was really nice! There was also a nice light mousse which I thought was a perfect pair for the last bit. It came in a really neat magnetic spoon, and it was on a magnetic carrier.

We really enjoyed our evening out at Q Haute! The location was really nice as it was in front of the river – it was quiet, remote, and romantic. The food and atmosphere was really nice. We sat at a table next to Dave Bronconnier, so if this location is good for the former Mayer, it is good enough for me!

Q Haute Cuisine

100 La Caille Pl SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 262-5554

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Pho Taurus – Calgary, Alberta

We really like Vietnamese cuisine, not only are they filling, but they usually are very reasonable in prices – especially when you can find a location that is really delicious! We’ve been going to Pho Taurus for a few years now, and we stopped with a 2 year period in between… and in which they’ve renovated the place and the food it seems.

I love their appetizers especially their Roasted Quail dish! It comes in a plate with 2 quails, and they are always perfectly cooked and tastes delicious! The skin is always crispy and the meat remains juicy. They are something I always get from Pho Taurus and I still love it! And, of course when you visit a Vietnamese restaurant, you always have to order their Vietnamese Spring Roll and these come in a plate of 4 crispy fried spring rolls filled with ground pork, chicken & vegetable

For the actual meal, I like to get the Rare Beef with Beef Balls Noodle Soup which seems to be my trend, while my husband just gets the Rare Beef Noodle Soup which is the same thing without the beef balls. Usually, this place makes these bowls of pho packed with flavour, but this time, it seemed quite watered down. We don’t normally stock up on tons of Hoisin Sauce and Srichacha Sauce but this time we weren’t left with any choice but to do so…

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As Pho Taurus was once my favourite locations back in 2008/09 and suddenly upon returning, it was quite disappointing that the soup was watered down so badly we didn’t know what to do with our noodle soups. Hopefully it’s a phase they’ll soon recover from.

Pho Taurus

#311-500 Country Hills Blvd NE
Calgary, AB T3K5G9
(403) 567-1228