Food – Page 68 – Elsie Hui

June 26, 2013

Earls Kitchen and Bar – Shepards Flats

I’ve been trying out restaurant patios lately and I’ve been loving them! I never know whether or not to wear my hat, but that’s another problem! I’ve found myself at Earls in the south by McKenzie Towne just off 130th Avenue and 52nd Street. It’s very new, quite large and full of friendly staff serving delicious food! We had to wait a little bit for a late lunch on the patio and at the front, they actually took our drink orders while we waited!

For the drink, I decided I was going to have their White Peach Lemonade as I was already feeling dehydrated from the nice heat from summer! It was the perfect drink for a hot summers afternoon with the refreshing lemonade flavoured with white peach, fresh lemon and soda!

As this was a late lunch kind of thing, we just settled on a bunch of snacks. We started with a nice bowl of their Earls famous Clam Chowder which was really delicious! It’s no wonder it’s famous! It’s not like the typical full cream ones as this one has tomatoes in it – which makes it taste lighter. The soup was a little separated but it didn’t matter as it was one of the best clam chowders we’ve had!

Then, we ordered a Prawn & Pesto Pizza and this pizza was served on thin crusted that looked like a wood burning oven from the big burnt bubble on the top and the thinness of the crust to ensure it’s cooked to its entirety. The pizza was really tasty, the shrimp was really fresh and of course with the pesto, it was great!

Finally, we ordered some chicken wings! We ordered their Thai Chicken wings and these wings are done really nicely! It’s fried to a perfect crisp on the outside and tender & juicy chicken! Then, it’s tossed in really great sauce! We’ve been back during their wing nights on Wednesdays afterwards as well as we’ve enjoyed it so much. They only come in 3 flavours, hot, hotter and Thai!

Overall, as you can tell, we love this place! We’ve been back already and I’m sure we’ll be back many more times to come!

Earl’s Shepard Flats

200 – 5155 130 Ave Southeast
Calgary, AB
(403) 255-3275

June 24, 2013

Blue Dragon Tomato & Sweet Chilli Cooking Sauce

I haven’t cooked with my Blue Dragon cooking sauces in awhile now, and today I just felt like trying their Tomato and Sweet Chilli Cooking Sauce and I’ve got to say, it ranks really high in taste for me!

I made a simple dinner with this sauce so I first sauteed my onions with the chicken slices, until the chicken is almost completely cooked.

Once the chicken is almost done, I add the sauce, and mix it completely. Then, I add the asparagus (or any kind of vegetable). I just had fresh asparagus from the market, so it’s what I used for this day! 🙂

Now, I just let the entire contraction simmer away in the wok until the asparagus is at tender crisp – and I claim it done! It’s a delicious dish of food with tons of sauce to serve over rice – that’s how I had it!

Overall, I love this sauce and it’s a great balance of the spice and sweetness from the tomato. I’m sure I’ll buy this again as I’m sure it’s going to be great with noodles too!

June 23, 2013

Lazy Monkey

I was looking for a new place to try for things like Taiwanese bubble tea and other small snacks. I went online and found this place called Lazy Monkey which offered great reviews – but it was located at the other end of town at Norbrent Shopping Centre (across from Churchill High School).

We knew we wanted to have their Milk Tea of some sort. They didn’t have an extensive drink menu, but what they had was pretty good! I had their Jasmine Green Milk Tea which was really good.

We had 5 of us for this evening, so we ordered a bunch of miscellaneous snacks and meals to share. The first that came out was the Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings which was really good. It was really crispy and fried to perfection. A lot of seasoning on each wing, which is always nice.

We also had an order of their Fried Puffy Tofu which really wasn’t anything special. The seasoning tasted like the MSG packages from instant noodles, and the texture was a little chewier than what you’d expect for a puffy tofu. When I think of puffy tofu, I think of it being hollow in the centre. Who knows, maybe that’s how the Taiwanese do it! 🙂

Then, we our order with Fried Squid Tentacles which was fun! They had big pieces of tentacles and they were really soft and tender with lots of flavour. This was a great dish!

Then, we had 2 dishes of their main, one was their Egg wrapped Rice with Curry and I’m not sure what the actual name on their menu was, but it wasn’t bad. It was neat as they made a nice omelette and wrapped it around rice. Then, there was a large section of curry that didn’t carry much flavour or seasoning.

The last thing we ordered was what we think was called Taiwanese Chicken Meal which was a large portion of chicken, with some vegetables and a bowl of rice. It also had a hard boiled egg braised in Chinese soy sauce marinade.

Overall, we had fun and the food wasn’t bad at all. I personally liked their little snacks more than their meals, and I did enjoy their drinks! I’m sure we will be back as we did enjoy it!

Lazy Monkey

3616 52 Ave NW, Unit 11
Calgary, AB
(403) 338-2123

June 23, 2013June 23, 2013

Ceili’s Irish Pub and Restaurant

I was at Macleod Trail South area and was getting hungry. I wasn’t too sure where to go, so we just got out of the car and walked around. We ended up walking by Ceili’s Irish Pub and it caught our attention as they were roasting a pig outside on the patio! Once we saw that, we knew we’re in – even though it wasn’t ready for us to enjoy.

I really didn’t know what to order, so I just found words on the menu that caught my eye. I found their Fish Tacos which was blackened haddock, chipotle mayo, horseradish cream, hot sauce, pineapple salsa, coleslaw, mixed green salad. Now that I look at it, I think they forgot my salad as I didn’t get one! 🙁 The pineapple salsa and the haddock was the highlight, it was delicious and refreshing. The hot sauce was absolutely delicious, and it wasn’t just “hot”, it had lots of flavours in it too.

We also ordered their Chicken Pot Pie made with pulled chicken, light thyme cream, then topped with light and flaky puffed pastry with an organic mixed green salad. Clearly, this meal came with the salad. The filling in this pot pie was really good, and it wasn’t heavy at all.

Overall, we really enjoyed the dining experience here on the patio! We enjoyed watching the pig roast and the food and service was really good. I’m sure we’ll be back one day to see how the pig gets used – and to try it too!

Ceili’s Modern Irish Pub

297-9737 Macleod Trail South
Calgary, AB
(403) 252-2700

June 17, 2013

Giddy Up Cafe – Saskatoon Farm

Recently, it seems like everyone around me has been raving about Saskatoon Farm which I thought was in Saskatoon, so I always said I wasn’t going to go. It turns out, it’s kind of between De Winton and Okotoks, in Alberta! So, I ventured my way to Saskatoon Farm for some famour Saskatoon Berries. The drive going there, you do go on relatively rural roads but it’s actually kind of hard to get lost! Once you get there, you’re greeted by a huge Saskatoon Farm sign and tons of parking. We just walked around the gardens and ventured through the area to see what there was to offer. We then found ourselves sitting at the patio of the Cafe!

We were greeted by super friendly staff and a little bit of wait, but it’s well worth it! We sat down and ordered some drinks! I settled for something hot as it was a little breezy, so I got the Hot Chocolate which tasted great! Even the whipped cream on top was light and delicious!

Of course, my other half was completely opposite and he wanted something cold and I guess kind of refreshing. He ordered the iced latte which was really good! The coffee was perfectly brewed with the right amount of cream and sugar! We don’t expect much as it’s just a iced latte, but we got something just extraordinary!

As we were here during in between times, not lunch, not dinner, we just opted for snacks, and by snacks, I mean dessert! I ordered their famous Saskatoon Pie made with a home made crust and delicious Saskatoon berry filling. This pie wasn’t too sweet at all, in fact it wasn’t sweet! Then, I ordered it with their Saskatoon ice cream which they make and this dessert is to die for! I highly recommend this if you’re here visiting!

Lastly, we ordered their Saskatoon Butter Tart which again wasn’t too sweet. We didn’t like it as much as the pie but it was still divine! Made with the homemade crust and the newly fruit – Saskatoon berries, then in a butter tart, there’s really nothing to complain about!

Overall, we enjoyed our first visit out here so much we have already planned our next trip here to experience the “U-Pick” fruits that are available from late July! So, we decided we will come have lunch and the pick some berries and then head back! It will be a great afternoon for sure!

Giddy Up Cafe
3338 Ave SW (Saskatoon Farm)
Okotoks, AB
(403) 938-6245