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Monki Breakfastclub & Bistro – Calgary, Alberta

I was actually searching for a fun place to go to after I went to an eye exam and got some interesting news and it was about lunch time. I decided to go to the YYC Hot Chocolate Fest to see what I could find and I stumbled upon Monki Bistro and I made a reservation to their Beltline location. We did find street parking right across the street as it was an afternoon that was blowing snow!

I actually did order their feature hot chocolate that they called Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Hot Chocolate and the name is long, the drink was hot, the whipped cream was fresh, the drink was fantastic!! It was a decadent drink that wasn’t too sweet, and the toppings was the perfect amount!

From the eye doctor, I was told to eat more fish, Omega 3’s, and leafy greens. Yes if you know me personally, you know when I stopped listening!! So, I ordered their Salmon Bene with “fruits” that made the plate so beautiful!! The benedict was perfect with smoked salmon with capers ontop of a perfectly toasted muffin. There was a piece of tomato on it and it was as nice pop of freshness. The menu did say there was an option for pink prosecco hollandaise and I purposely didn’t feel like saying anything but it wasn’t offered when they took the order. Beyond that, this was a perfect smoked salmon eggs bene!!

Another of my favourites is Perogies and when I saw it on the menu I ordered it!! The Monki Perogies came on this hot skillet with their hashbrowns and it really was amazing pockets of pillow awesomeness! The sweet chipotle sauce really made it taste like one of my favourite BBQ chips so I enjoyed this dish thoroughly!

Overall I absolutely loved this brunch place! It was a random cold and late afternoon and the place was packed still. It’s cozy and charming, the staff was fantastic and the food was perfect!!

Monki Breakfastclub & Bistro – Beltline

1301 10 Ave SW,
Calgary, AB
(587) 352-7131

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Captains Boil – Calgary, Alberta

We made it to the Captains Boil randomly as we were doing a picture project and the theme was “trash” and I thought it would be a brilliant idea to take a picture of the trash from shelled food! So, we made it here one sunny afternoon and it was a great time. There wasn’t too much street parking but we did manage to find something obviously!

I ordered their lunch special and I picked my feast with fish and captains boil sauce and this came on a sizzling plate which also had a small assortment of seafood which was 2 crawfish, 2 shrimp, 2 mussels and 2 clams.

And, of course the main feature of the lunch was a bag of goodness and this one we picked the Dungenese crab in the captains boil sauce. It came with a bib and some plastic gloves for us to make a mess with. We dumped out the bag onto the table and to start the feast. It was amazing, the crab meat was sweet and the sauce was delicious!

Overall, we had a great time here and we would do it again! I think it’s more fun with more people as the selection would be massive and the mess will also grow!

Captain’s Boil

1324 D Centre Street NE,
Calgary, AB T2E 2R7

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Noodle Exchange – Las Vegas, Nevada

This is now the most random Las Vegas trip. Our main purpose of the 3 days here was for their airshow as I love airplanes and airshows. Our friends thought it would be fun to be as Asian as possible so Noodle Exchange was definitely not on my radar to go try, we did anyway! This little place was inside the Gold Coast Hotel that’s off the strip. We had rented a car so we were able to get around but I hear there’s buses that go here.

As we were Chinese’ing it up (I know!!) a home meal you’d rarely find in restaurants really interested me. I don’t know why a lot of our dishes sounds terrible translated, but they seriously taste fine!! This one is Minced Beef on Rice which is a very simple dish not even worth the price but it’s easy to eat!

The other dish we had is a noodle dish, and we had their Beef Shank Noodle Soup that was braised beef shank that was full of flavour and it was tender. It had some spice to it and it was delicious.

As I’m here reflecting a bit on the trip, it was quite a different one. It’s really nice that food brings people together and we get to make new memories while sharing past ones. Some friends are meant to keep and some are meant to suddenly exit without much said.

Noodle Exchange

Gold Coast Hotel
4000 West Flamingo Road
Las Vegas, Nevada
702-367-7111

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Redcliff Bakery – Redcliff, Alberta

I’ve always got a lot of things going on at once, and I do have a cup series going on in the background of my life so I found myself here at Redcliff Bakery for a letter on my cup. I love bakeries and you’ll often find me there. This one I really enjoyed and the staff was insanely patient with me and helped me with my cup series.

I ordered a drink and needed their logo, and asked for a sticker. Obviously I was successful as I had my drink with an apple fritter. Their pastries were amazing! You can taste the love they put in their baking and it makes this stop worth it!

Another thing that I absolutely love is cinnamon buns or cinnamon anything, so I had a cinnamon bun as well. I loved their baking so much I actually bough some regular buns to take home, and it was still amazing even after I spent the afternoon in Medicine hat.

There’s nothing better than a little shop with people with passion in their cooking/baking and this place was fantastic. The love they have for their food and their customers makes this bakery/eatery one of my favourites. I’d go back, even if it’s almost 3 hours away!

Redcliff Bakery and Eatery

#8, 3 Street SE,
Redcliff, Alberta
(403) 548-6050

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M Palace – Calgary, Alberta

I like that there’s now more dim sum options in the South as we found M Palace on Macleod Trail while going for a random car ride. The place was quite busy when we got there, but we didn’t need a lot of space so they had a table for us.

We ordered some random things that are our typical standard dim sum for us to compare and contrast. I knew I wanted Beef tripe as it’s often one of my favourites because it’s something I wouldn’t make! It’s got great flavour here, but it was a bit chewy. Just a bit more time in the steamer would’ve made it amazing!

I know a lot of my co-workers think I’m absolutely disguising as I like eating Chicken Feet and they keep reminding me what chickens step in. Guess what, I don’t care! I actually like eating this so I will continue! I only live once, and I’ll fill my belly with what I want. This was pretty good here and I think I’ll take an order back to the office next time!

A dish that is so simple that I enjoy would be Rice Crepes and it’s something I’ve tried to recreate at home. It’s so different homemade, but not really worth all that effort. It’s fine getting it fresh from elsewhere like the restaurant! It was smooth and thin here and that’s almost the only requirement! Simple and perfect.

Something I make every year near Chinese New Years would be Shanghai steam buns and it’s a pork dumpling with actual soup in it made with bone marrow. It’s time consuming but I like that ones I make as it’s actual soup and not full of oil. It’s not bad here, but it’s a lot of hot dripping oil that leaks from the dumplings here.

The last thing we ordered is definitely something I make a lot during the winter months, also hugging Chinese New Years as it’s got great symbolism and tastes great. I love trying everyone’s own recipes and it’s not something we can compare, no matter how much you eat of it. Pretty darn good here!

Overall, it’s a decent place! Not bad for dim sum without going to Chinatown or up North. It’s a great place to go if you’re looking for a quick fix for dim sum!

M Palace

10400 Macleod Trail SE,
Calgary, Alberta
(587) 333-3088