Lunch – Page 63 – Elsie Hui

October 21, 2012October 21, 2012

Cheezy Bizness Calgary Food Truck

OK, so, it’s been awhile since my visit to Cheezy Bizness Food Truck, but better late than never! We went to try this food truck during the first annual Sundown Chowdown at the Calgary Farmers Market. It was a lot of fun, but I don’t think any of the food trucks was prepared for the amount of people that showed up for it! Swarms of people lined up for all the trucks ranging anywhere from a 45minute wait just to get to the window up to 2 hours!! We went in a group, and we each lined up for a different truck – so we kind of know how long it took. We just tagged each other out so we all waited for something at one time or another.

One of the last trucks we lined up for was the Cheezy Bizness truck, where we waited that day in line for almost 2 hours and another 45 minutes to wait for the food to get picked up – after we pay for them. I think they were definitely in overload mode! By the time we got our sandwiches, we were eating in the dark under a street light! It was fun and quite the experience. I ordered the Aloha Arkansas as I love anything with pineapples in it! This lovely grilled cheese sandwich was actually $9.50 and had pulled park, pineapple and smoked cheddar. It was delicious! It was one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches I have ever had!

Then, the last sandwich we ate was the Home on the Range grilled cheese sandwich made with Silver Sage slow roasted beef with shaved red onion, Brassica mustard and horseradish aioli, cheddar and gruyere cheese.

I know the pictures are extremely hard to see, but the picture was either killed with the bright flash, or these ones with more detail underneath the street lights. This just means I will have to try Cheezy Bizness again another day! I really enjoyed their grilled cheese sandwiches, but I enjoy any grilled cheese sandwiches. However, to experience it out of a truck, you can only get from the Cheezy Bizness food truck!

October 20, 2012

Le’s Pho – Heritage Meadows

Sundays are tricky for me – my favourite southeast Vietnamese restaurant is closed on that day, and sometimes, all I want is a nice bowl of Vietnamese noodle soup. So, we decided to venture off – but not too far to find some. We went to Heritage Meadows and found Le’s Pho Vietnamese Cuisine and Grill where I knew I had to try it.

Once we were inside, there was a sign that says “Please Wait to be Seated”, and it seems like it took forever to get seated, even though there wasn’t that many customers there at that odd time when I went (it as around 2 or 3pm). Once we sat down, probably another 5 minutes, a waiter came by to see what we wanted to drink. We just ordered some tea, since that’s what we like with our “Asian” meals. I quickly ordered the Spring Rolls and it came quite quickly. They looked pretty good, and it tasted good too! We’re off to a good start! Sure, it’s not the texture I was use to, but the flavours were all there, so I enjoyed them thoroughly! It’s hard to not like something deep fried, unless it’s soggy and not even a tad crispy!

I wanted something with a bit more flavour, so I tried their Satay chicken Pho which when it came out, it didn’t taste like satay at all! There was no other flavours besides a ton of spice… as though I ordered a super spicy chicken pho! There was no taste or texture of what you would expect from satay. Besides the spice though, the soup was very flavourless… a tad of fish sauce, and soy sauce didn’t help.

We also ordered a bowl of Pho Tai which is essentially rare beef with pho. This one is hard to goof usually, but the beef was fine, and the broth was really watered down. It tasted like nothing, so we were kind of disappointed with Le’s Pho!

The portion sizes are fairly large and the prices are within reason, but we didn’t like the watered down soups and just the overall lack in flavour of the pho. The noodles wasn’t too bad – just a tad on the soggy side, which I can’t blame them… sometimes I take too long trying to take a picture… but, I can say that taking long doesn’t make the flavours of the soup wash away. Overall, not my new favourite place for sure… but if I had to go back and give them a second shot (like I do with some places), I just might!

Le’s Pho (Heritage Meadows)
8180 11 St SE
Calgary, AB T2H
(403) 259-3883

October 16, 2012October 16, 2012

Sunterra Market – Keynote

I love markets, and I especially love food courts/eatery in markets! A few of Sunterra Markets offers food in a fast food style, but here in the Keynote Sunterra, it offers a little eating area on the main level and also what they call MarketBAR that’s located on the top floor. There’s also a patio seating area as well, but, it was too cold the day we went – it was snowing!

There’s tons of entrances/exits for you to get into either the Sunterra Market, or Sunterra MarketBAR as it’s all attached, with many signs around the Keynote building! Once inside, depending on which door you’re at – it will depends where you are! The first time there, through the doors in the picture above, that brought us to a remote location of the store. It’s got the stairs and elevators bringing you up to the MarketBAR. So, if you’re looking at just eating without walking the market, this entrance would be ideal for you!

Once you’re upstairs, you’ll get the the “take-out” and “eat-in” area, which reminds me of a fancy food court. Past this area however, it looks to be an actual sit down restaurant area – which I assume it’s the same menu, but with service!

We ordered 2 bowls of pasta, as it was dinner. It came with a slice of garlic toast, which is my favourite! Nothing like garlic toast, alone or with pasta! Anyway. we ordered a bowl of Bolognese Pasta as this one is a hearty meat sauce over pasta!

The other bowl of pasta that we ordered would be the Parmesan Chicken and it’s a rich white creamy and cheesy sauce. If you don’t like the smell of Parmesan, you probably won’t like this one! Both bowls of pasta was enormous – which I couldn’t finish. Chunks of meat throughout the sauce, and enough sauce without drowning the pasta! So, overall, I really like this place! The prices are very reasonable, the portions are huge and the food is excellent! I will be back for dessert one day!

Sunterra Market – Keynote

200 12 Ave SE
Calgary, AB T2G2H8
(403) 261-6772

October 10, 2012October 10, 2012

Yummy Yummy 好滋味 – Parker Place

During our stay in British Columbia – well, Richmond really… we stayed at the Radisson 2 blocks from Parker Place which was a Chinese Mall. I love it, since we don’t really have anything like that here in Calgary. One of the days that we were there, we got to break free from all the family events and we found ourselves here… looking for breakfast! We decided on the place with the longest line up, which just happens to be Yummy Yummy in the food court.

They actually move through their line up really quickly – or they tell you to sit down and wait for your order. They were really friendly and speedy! Everyone in the line in front of us was order Chinese HK style Milk Tea so, immediately, we knew we had to as well! It was actually quite a delicious cup of milk tea, one of our favourites during our visit actually!

We were looking for a light-ish breakfast as we knew we wanted a day with tons of food. So, I ordered the Condensed Milk with Toast which has always been one of my favourite breakfasts. I hate ordering it because I always think to myself I can make it at home, cheaper. But, regardless, that’s what I wanted, and that’s what I ordered!

My husband ordered a sandwich too, but his was the Corned Beef with Egg Sandwich which is something he has always loved! I don’t usually make corned beef, since I am not a fan – so I was really happy he ordered it for himself! He ate it in 4 bites, so obviously he was in love!

Then, just for fun, we ordered BBQ Pork Rice Rolls just because another person in front of us was, and there were other tables in the food court who were enjoying this dish as well. We didn’t go wrong, that’s for sure! The rice crepes were steamed fresh, and they had just the perfect amount of BBQ Pork. I loved this dish, and it was just so fulfilling!

Overall, we really liked our food court experience before we headed over to Vancouver for some adventure!

Yummy Yummy

4380 No. 3 Rd
Richmond, BC V6X4E8
(604) 270-8830

October 10, 2012October 10, 2012

Yung Ho Soy Drink 永和豆漿

So, we were traveling and we went to Richmond, British Columbia. We stayed at the Radission hotel, which was located at a convenient location. There was a walkway on the 2nd floor over to a food court – and it connects to their T&T. One morning, we decided to have breakfast at this food court – and we settled at Yung Ho Soy Drink.

We were a table of 3, as my father-in-law joined us for this meal – and, he ordered a hot soy drink with Chinese Deep Fried doughnut. He seemed to really enjoy it! The deep fried doughnuts were amazing! They were crispy and light, and it didn’t feel greasy!

I ordered a combo – the Combo 7 which came with a hot soy drink, and original stuffed rice. I love stuffed rice, and these ones were the sticky rice! What a perfect little breakfast, as I love both of these 2 items. The best part of it – the combo was only $4! As funny as it sounds, I actually don’t have a picture of the sticky rice from the inside. I opened it and started eating it… and forgot to stop to take a picture! I guess it tasted great! 😉

My husband ordered Combo 4 which was fun, since we didn’t know what it was. It says it comes with Salty Pastry with Scrambled Onion Eggs and Soy Milk. The salty pastry was pretty much the texture of “Chinese Onion Cake” and Puff pastry mix… and it wrapped some scrambled eggs inside. It tasted really good!

Overall, we loved this place! The people behind the counter was extremely friendly and patient. I don’t speak Mandarin, but they spoke slowly and loudly… and they repeated many times for me. It was definitely an experience and we love it! When we’re back in the area, I’m sure we’ll be back!

Yung Ho Soy Drink 永和豆漿

#2255, 8181 Cambie Road
Richmond, BC V6X3X9
(604) 232-9969