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The Panorama Restaurant – Banff, Alberta

We were staying the night in Banff and decided we wanted to experience Alpine Lights Mountaintop Dining Experience that was at the Panorama Restaurant at the top of Sulphur Mountain. With this reservation, you get a free gondola ride up to the top and as it’s winter time, you do get a free ride down the mountain afterwards as well!

We were seated by the window and enjoyed beautiful views of the town of Banff and the restaurant itself was quite beautiful! The staff was friendly, the food was wonderful, it truly was a great dining experience!

It was a set dinner that came with this experience and they start you off with some delicious bread! It was actually really tasty and the butter they infused was also quite delightful!

We then got their House Salad which was extremely fresh and delicious! The dressing was perfect, although a little bit over dressed! It was quite tasty for a salad and very interesting and colourful!

Then, the main course was their Prime Rib which was a huge piece of perfectly cooked prime rib and it wasn’t too fatty or anything! It was delicious and we devoured the entire piece of prime rib and potato!

To top off the evening, we got a Cheesecake for dessert and it was really light and creamy! It wasn’t overly sweet or too rich – so it was really how we like our cheesecakes to taste!

Overall, this experience was truly one to remember for a lifetime! The scene was magnificent, the ride of the gondola was quite the experience in the dark going down, and the food was perfectly cooked and presented beautifully. The service was pretty good as well. I think you get a great meal out of this experience and should try it!

Panorama Restaurant – Top of Sulphur Mountain

100 Mountain Ave
Banff, AB
(403) 762-2523

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Le Beaujolais New Years Eve 2014 Dinner – Banff, Alberta

We’ve been to Le Beaujolais many years ago for lunch and thought it would be the perfect dinner spot to ring in the New Year! We made a reservation for their Gala Seating for their 6 Course Dinner as we have nothing but fond memories of this restaurant! Decorated festively for the New Years, we were glad we came in to celebrate with them!

We sat down and it was quite cold outside, I just wanted a hot drink. As odd as it sounds, I ordered myself a cup of Hot Chocolate which I must say has become one of my favourite hot chocolates! I think they use a marshmallow whipped cream on top – but it made the cup of hot chocolate spectacular!

Once our drinks came and we got comfortable, they came around with the first course which they called Ocean Flavors which was cured Artic Char, Scallop Ceviche and Salmon Rillette. This was an amazing start as it just tickled our curiosity for the amazing dishes to come! Although you can’t really see the scallop ceviche, it was amazing, sweet and tender. The Artic Char was almost juicy although cured and the salmon rillette was my favourite! Almost like a salmon salad without all the other fixings, it was just perfect!

From here, we moved on to the next course their Lobster Duo which was lobster ravioli and butter poached lobster! I love lobster and to put this course down in front of me, I was in heaven! The lobster ravioli was actually filled with lobster meat in a delicious lemongrass bisque topped with the perfectly poached lobster claw makes this a dish to remember into the New Year!

We were then presented with their House Smoked Brome Lake Duck Brest, a beautifully smoked duck breast topped with some Riesling Foam and Port reduction really makes this dish shine! You really taste the smoke on the meat but it doesn’t overwhelm in any way! It was very delightful!

Here’s where we had a choice for the main entree, I went for their Maple and St Germain Glazed Sablefish that was prepared really delicately. The sablefish was perfectly cooked and it sat on a bad of smooth and creamy celery root puree. The sablefish was so flaky and fresh, I’m sure I could have eaten a million of them!

My husband ordered the Filet Mignon Marchand deVin which was a beautifully cooked and a generous portion of Filet Mignon with shallot confit. The meat was perfect in every aspect and very enjoyable. We really loved the Dauphine Potatoes as well as it was fried nicely on the outside and soft on the inside! The perfect mashed potato puff!

Just as we’re so full, there came a Cheese Board and I’m not much of a stinky cheese eater, but luckily my husband is! I enjoyed some Honey Almond toasted break and pear compote, while my husband had the bleu benedictin and le cendrillion with some pieces of toast! He enjoyed it thoroughly and I was waiting patiently for my dessert!

Now came what I was withing for, the Chocolate Surprise 2015 was a beautiful hazelnut mousse in a chocolate cup, topped with coffee foam! This dessert wasn’t too sweet and it was just delicate and delicious! What a perfect way to end 2014! We couldn’t have asked for a better night!

With a full stomach, we were ready to put behind 2014 and we went outside to celebrate the New Years! The staff equipped us with some hats/tiara’s and some noise makers on our way out! Happy New Year!

Restaurant Le Beaujolais

212 Buffalo Street
Banff, AB
(403) 762-2712

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Chili Island – Calgary, Alberta

This year for Christmas eve, we thought we were so smart and made reservations to a place that didn’t open. So, we were left on a scramble with a lot of other families looking for a place to eat! We found Chili Island that was opened, and luckily we found a good parking spot as it was busy!

We were seated right away and we were expecting service to be really slow as they were very busy with dine in customers as well as take out. They actually did an amazing job getting food to their hungry customers! We started with a soup, their Gar Tom Khars Soup which was their Thai Chicken and Mushroom soup with coconut milk. I like it because the coconut milk helps with the spiciness of Thai soups! It was delicious and extremely fragrant and flavourful!

Then, we got an order of their Peek Kai yod Sai which was Thai Stuffed Chicken Wings which was really quite shocking! The order had 4 wings which were super sized. The middle portion of the wing was deboned and stuffed with minced pork and other goodies, and then deep fried! It was amazing and gigantic and really quite spectacular as it was something we’ve never had before! I would highly recommend this dish/appetizer but make sure you come with a big appetite!

For the main entree, we shared an order of their Cantonese Chow Mein which is really nicely done! The fried noodles were crispy, using the thin egg noodles and topped with really fresh veggies and meat! The entire dish was cooked well, seasoned well, and priced well! We thought for sure we would have left overs for Christmas lunch, but everything tasted so good we decided to enjoy everything fresh. After you take these noodles home, it won’t be crispy, and we didn’t want it to go to waste!

Our overall experience for Chili Island was it was surprisingly delicious and not exactly overpriced for the food you get and the portions! We had a wonderful time and realized what an amazing job they did, even with such a large rush of customers! I am sure we will be back, with no hesitation!

Chili Island on Urbanspoon

Chili Island

4600 130 Ave SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 726-0733

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Harvest Room at Fairmont Hotel Macdonald – Edmonton, Alberta

During our stay at the Fairmont Hotel Edmonton, we decided we would eat our breakfast there and then venture around Edmonton before taking off and starting the journey back to Calgary. We figured we’d grab our breakfast at the Harvest Room the restaurant on their main lobby.

We were seated immediately, and it’s a small dining room so we were shocked we beat the morning rush! We didn’t feel like having their buffet, so we decided we would order ala carte! We figured for sure we wanted to try their Jasper Ave Egg Croissant which was a croissant stuffed with bacon (although they called it grilled ham), fried eggs, cheese, and tomato. There was also some potatoes on the side which was absolutely delicious!

From there, we figured we’d order something sweet, so we settled for their Stuffed French Toast which was my favourite! Tt was a brioche bread stuffed with mascarpone cheese and blueberries, and it had a side of sausage which had lots of links – which was amazing!

Overall, this was a fantastic breakfast. Everything was made fresh so it was hot and tasty and it looked beautiful! We enjoyed our time in this dining room!

Harvest Room on Urbanspoon

Harvest Room – Fairmont Hotel Macdonald

10065 100 St
Edmonton, AB
(780) 424-5181

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Tres Carnales Taqueria – Edmonton, Alberta

We were thinking about a quick and simple dinner when we stumbled into Tres Carnales Taqueria which we’ve heard of by Food Network’s “You Gotta Eat Here”, and like always, John Catucci’s recommendations haven’t failed us yet! We love this place!

We started our meal with their Sopa de Tortilla which is a soup I enjoy making myself! It’s really fresh and awesome here and their chips are deep fried which makes them extra crispy and extra delicious! We enjoyed it thoroughly as they hit it with some lime juice, guacamole and sour cream!

We then ordered some food to share where we picked their Quesadilla Carne con Chile which was magnificent! Once you bite into the quesadilla, the delicious beef that was tender with the melty cheese – this was our favourite for the evening!

We also ordered an order of their Tacos de Pollo which was little tacos with chicken in it! It was really tasty and their tortillas were really tasty and something different!

Overall, we were really glad we decided we wanted to stop in here for our dinner! It’s lighter than what we could have had and it was so tasty! It was a bit on the costlier side, but the quality, freshness and passion really made up for it!

Tres Carnales Taqueria on Urbanspoon

Tres Carnales Taqueria

10119 100A Street
Edmonton, AB
(780) 429-0911