Food – Page 77 – Elsie Hui

November 25, 2012November 25, 2012

Top Shanghai Cuisine 上海一只鼎 – Richmond

During our trip to Vancouver, we were recommended a Shanghai place to eat, so we decided to stop there for a little snack. We were told it was located at the intersection of No 3 Road and Ackroyd Road and was called Top Shanghai Cuisine and we were excited as there were a few tables there during an odd hour of visit. We weren’t really greeted by anyone, so we just picked a table, and some menus flew down on our table.

We started off with the usual suspects. the Soybean Milk and we got one hot and one cold! The cold one came in a fairly good sized glass, and it was cold and refreshing. It doesn’t tasted like store bought soy milk, yet, it’s not the same as the ones I make at home either. Regardless, it was really nice.

The hot soybean milk came in a little mug, and it was piping hot! Super comforting, and actually something I was looking for to help cut some grease as I’ve been eating a lot and wasn’t planning on quitting eating healthier as I was on holidays!

When I talk about grease, there’s nothing more notorious than Deep Fried Dough, and here, it comes on a plate with a few pieces. To be honest, it wasn’t the best either… It was decent, with a nice crunch to the dough, but the inside wasn’t super tender and soft and there was tons of grease in this one.

From here, was ordered some Shanghai style dumplings, which they called Steamed bun filled with pork Nanxiang Style which was really good. The skin on these steamed buns was extremely thin and delicate and the meat filling was plenty!

Here’s an excellent shot of the inside of the steamed bun – not too much hot liquid came out of these, but it was really delicious!

While we were here, we also ordered something that I love, the Pan Fried Pork Dumplings which I love from anywhere. Here, the skin seems a little chewier and with this unique texture, it leads me to think they made the skin by hand! I’ve never tasted any skin quite like it and it’s very enjoyable.

Now, as delicious as this was, I must say, it was the greasiest dish of them all! As you can see on the plate, there are already puddles of oil, but it never stops me from eating dumplings! I do wish there was a tad more filling in these but the flavours was spectacular! It was very enjoyable, and filling. Now that we’re full and bloated – we were ready to find the next food adventure!

Overall, I did enjoy this place, and I’m glad I only came here for a quick snack and not a meal. There’s tons of food and it’s a tad greasy. The prices aren’t terrible either! Parking can be a challenge as it shares a parking lot with other stores and supermarkets – it’s located in a strip plaza and drives go anywhere, in any direction.

Top Shanghai Cuisine 上海一只鼎

5880 #3 Road
Richmond, BC
(604) 278-8790

November 21, 2012

Mountain Home Smokehouse Grill – Banff

This is going to be a strange review as we discovered this restaurant during Banff Bon Appetite and what drew us to this restaurant was the word “Smokehouse” in the name. So, we made ourselves a reservation at the Mountain Home Smokehouse Grill in Banff, on Banff Avenue, just off the highway. This restaurant is inside of the Banff Voyager Inn which is a hotel we stayed in many years ago… and it’s got the best rates of the town, but for a reason!

We were about 15 minutes early for our reservation, so we decided to go in anyway. There was only 1 other table of 6, and only 1 waiter on duty. We were seated after he had taken the order to the large table and from there, we waited. After he came to take our order, we realized we didn’t get our drink order in. It was only Hot Tea that we wanted, and it took a long time for him to find water and boil it. By now, another table has come to sit behind us and they wanted to order off the regular menu, instead of the Bon Appetite special. He took forever to figure out if he could do that. It was interesting! We got some Bread and Butter and the bread was fine, but the butter was completely melted – there wasn’t a way for you to spread the butter… you had to dip it. To make it worse, the waiter dropped some butter (dripping butter) on the floor and tried to give it to the table behind us. The customers said “you got to take that back” and the waiter didn’t. I was glad it wasn’t my butter that landed on the floor – or so I think! The bread was fine though, the service was a little weird…

Okay, now it’s been awhile, and I got a glass of water, and our tea finally came. He didn’t bring us cream or milk, or even a mixing spoon – so I just used my knife. Tea was fine, it was just normal Red Rose Tea and we never got asked if we wanted the water refilled.

Now, we get our appetizers, which I ordered the Spinach Salad which was a salad over dressed in pear vinaigrette and candied walnuts! The walnuts were amazingly delicious and there’s nothing wrong with the salad – beside it being over dressed. Not bad start! The portions were extremely generous as well!

The other appetizer that we ordered was the Buffalo Barley Soup and this soup was amazing. It was meaty and hearty with tons of flavour! This soup offered huge chunks of buffalo pieces and lots of vegetables. It was the favourite of the 2 appetizers from the special menu!

After the appetizers, we realized we’ve been waiting there for over an hour already. We waited for another 20 minutes before the waiter came out to ask us if we had our appetizers already… and we told him we did. We knew it would be quite a wait for the actual entrees… but, when they came – it was pretty good! I ordered the Elk Meatloaf that was topped with brandied saskatoon berry demi glaze served with oven roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes (you could choose from fries or even sweet potato fries too!) and it was pretty good! Elk is a very lean meat, so the meatloaf was very lean. It wasn’t too dry, but it was quite dense. The flavours were all there, and they gave 1 1/2 slices. The bottom piece was only a half piece! I enjoyed the Elk Meatloaf even though the demi glaze sauce looked weird to me, it was good as it added moisture to the meatloaf!

The other entree that we ordered was the Beef Ribs which came with 2 enormous ribs smoked over cherry and hickory wood, then braised in Big Rock Traditional Ale for extra tenderness finished with spiced rum BBQ Sauce! Yup, this was as good as it sounded! It was juicy, tender and tasty!

From here, we waited and waited and then the waiter comes out to ask us what it was that we ordered. I said I wanted the Chocolate Pecan Pie as it’s what they advertise as “made from our own recipe”, so I was hopeful for the best pie I’ve had in a long time. The pie was cold, and it had no texture at all! Mushy crust, soggy pecans and a chocolate gooey mess. It just wasn’t what we were hoping for…

Now, we were excited for the Homemade Apple Pie as nothing sounds more delicious than a nice warm piece of apple pie, right? This one was stone cold, mushy crust again! What’s happening? You can’t really goof on an apple pie! Ah well, they’re just not too great with desserts. I’m sure someone out there likes their pies, but I had different expectations. The portions of the pies were huge, like everything else!

Overall, there were a few slips and downfalls, but for $25 for a 3 course meal, it was extremely awesome! Service isn’t everything for us, you need the food to back it up, and surprisingly, it turned out okay! Soup and entrees were amazing, and like I’ve been stating throughout – the portions are very generous. These items are on their regular menu as well, so you can try it out. Nothing here really screamed “smokehouse” to us though. Another thing to note, they’re only opened for Breakfast and Dinner!

Mountain Home Smokehouse Grill

555 Banff Ave
Banff, AB T0L
(403) 762-3301

November 20, 2012

Ricky’s All Day Grill – Country Hills

I’ve been to a few Ricky’s now, and because they are all individually owned, it’s fun to find which ones are the good ones. I’ve been to this location a few times now, and I would say this is one of the better Ricky’s All Day Grill locations! It’s located near Superstore on Country Hills Blvd, but just on the North side (towards Starbucks) – which is the better part anyway as the parking lot can be quite chaotic!

We went with my parents here as this is my mom’s favourite place to eat at (when it’s not Chinese food)! She was excited all week for it, and it didn’t disappoint anyone! Once we walked in, my parents wanted a cup of coffee, where they made them a fresh pot – and boy, did it smell good! We just jumped right to dinner, and I ordered the Certified Angus Steak Sandwich which was a delicious 6oz sirloin, grilled to medium-rare as it’s what I love, on a great garlic Portuguese bun, topped with Forty Creek Whiskey BBQ sauce, topped with onion crisps! Well, I was suppose to get onion crisps, but they gave me some onion rings instead – which I love it more! On the side, ther was some sweet potato fries and cajun aioli dip. This was delicious and very memorable!

My husband decided to eat something that is something that he has always loved, and it’s the Fettuccine Bolognese which is essentially just fettuccine with Kobe meatballs, bolognese sauce and shredded parmesan cheese
+ baked with 3 cheeses, and a generous slice of garlic bread! Well, it’s not just a slice of garlic bread, it’s actually a little loaf – and it’s delicious! The pasta is cooked really well, and the pasta sauce was divine!

My dad ordered pasta as well, he ordered Pesto Alfredo fettuccine which is again fettuccine and he got it topped with shrimp in pesto-alfredo sauce! The shrimp wasn’t the best as it was soggy – but thankfully it wasn’t fishy tasting/smelling, which is good… but, I think we’ll get it with chicken next time! Again, this came with a mini loaf of Garlic bread!

My mom ordered her favourite. I guess she comes here often enough to have a “usual” dish, which was the Veal Champignon in the lighter portion. This dish has a generous portion lightly breaded veal, topped with hunter sauce – our blend of alfredo, mushrooms and peppercorn gravy, and a side of vegetables! The veal was so moist and tender, and was really good!

Well, at the end, we didn’t all just have our own dishes as we did ask for a few plates on the side to share our meals! So, we know everything was really delicious! This is a place I will go back to when my mom doesn’t know what to eat – that’s not Chinese! I feel like this is a place that they just won’t complain about!

Ricky’s All Day Grill (Country Hills)

510 – 5149 Country Hills Blvd NW Map.9324877
Calgary, AB
(403) 547-9362

November 19, 2012May 11, 2019

Murrieta’s Bar & Grill – Canmore, Alberta

We went for a nice day trip to Canmore, Alberta and took a walk around the Bow River walk around Riverside Park. It was just a quick walk as it was really cold outside! We finished our walk and made it to downtown Canmore around 10:40AM, so we walked up and down the main street to see what we could eat for lunch. We ended up at Murrieta’s Bar & Grill as we wanted some food soon and to warm up – and they were opened at 11AM.

This restaurant is located on the second floor of a corner building right at Main Street. We were immediately greeted by really friendly staff, and it’s always funny when the staff ask where we’re from – “we’re only from Calgary!” but, it’s such a nice getaway it seems like we went faraway! We started off with some hot tea, as we were freezing! I ordered a Green Tea and my husband had a Earl Grey Lavender Tea. These packs of teas are really fancy, and full of flavour. The first cup wasn’t over powering and the second cup wasn’t super diluted!

We started off our lunch with an appetizer called Tempura Flour Crusted Calamari with this delicious Chipotle Mint Yogurt as a dipping sauce on the side. The calamari was so delicious on it’s own that you don’t “need” anything on the side. The calamari was super crispy on the outside with the nice thin batter that actually stayed on the calamari! Just a squeeze of fresh lemon really made the appetizer!

We both ordered sandwiches for lunch, and I had the delicious Grilled Chicken Sandwich which is a sandwich with
Sundried Tomato Tapenade, Vine Ripened Tomato, Lettuce, all stuffed between Olive Sourdough bread! I got my sandwich with a side of fries that were perfectly fried – and I couldn’t stop eating the fries! Even stuffed with fries, I was able to inhale my entire lunch! It was perfect!

The chicken sandwich actually had a really nice smokiness spread on the bread and it added tons of flavour to the sandwich. The chicken itself didn’t have too much flavour, but it wasn’t dry – which is very important to me! It’s kind of like their take on a “pulled chicken sandwich”!

We actually cut of meals in half and switched a half so we could taste what we both ordered. My husband ordered the 6oz House Made Beef Burger with a side of house salad. This classic burger is built with
White Cheddar, Horseradish Aioli, Lettuce, Vine Ripened Tomato, inside the Grilled Classic Burger Bun, topped with a Dill Pickle!

The beef burger was cooked to perfection – still a little pink inside with delicious beef juices running out! The burger was smoky, and it seemed like it was made on a grill. The vegetables in the burger was extremely fresh, which added a great crisp element to the sandwich. This could be one of my favourite burgers I’ve had in awhile!

At the end, I was sitting there already thinking about dessert. I was absolutely stuffed, but I decided I really wanted something sweet. We ordered the Cheesecake Souffle which is a neat plate with Cheesecake Souffle – poached pears, house made cookie, honey mint jelly! I must be honest, I was worried that the mint jelly would be overpowering, but it was a perfect compliment to the dessert making this the perfect dessert and very memorable!

Overall, this place was quite amazing! The food was really delicious, the service was great, and the prices was reasonable! All prices in Canmore seems to be set a little higher, but they all have the quality to back it up – which means I can go there expecting nothing but deliciousness!

Murrieta’s Bar & Grill

737 Main St
Canmore, AB T1W2B6
(403) 609-9500

November 19, 2012November 19, 2012

O’Cup Calgary

There’s this one day, I just went to Chinatown, and noticed a new restaurant/cafe – so I called up a few friends and advised them something called O’Cup was opened. We made the effort to go down. It’s in the former location of Bubble Station (former location of original Dessert House). This little place has really odd hours which doesn’t make me feel like it’s very convenient. We got in at 8pm as a few of us got off work around then, and right away they told us it was last call. Regardless, we asked for a few more minutes as the rest of the party arrives – and they were really accommodating in that aspect! At the end, when we were about to leave, there were a lot of tables that did come in for drinks, so I think it’s okay if you actually make it in before 9PM.

Their menus are really interesting as they put lamination on the menu and you check off what you want with a white pen. We ordered some Milk Tea, and it says it can come “hot”, and we ordered 2 drinks from that section. One of them came hot, and the other was cold. We didn’t specify, as we assumed it would be “cold” unless we asked them for a hot drink. Regardless, it was a very decent. The drinks did come out one at a time, so it was like they only had 1 drink maker. We got the Almond Milk Tea and that came out hot and it tasted quite delicious!

I ordered the Hazelnut Milk Tea and it came out cold. It tasted really good, but there was a ton of ice cubes.

As a little snack, I ordered my favourite Condensed Milk Waffles. I love condensed milk, and I am convinced that if you put it on anything, everything tastes good! The condensed milk was delicious, but the waffles was just a little weird. It was really dry and dense and not my favourite.

We also got another sweet waffle, and we tried the Oreo Cookie Waffle which was good, except for the texture of the waffle – so I think it’s their batter that hasn’t been perfected… otherwise, it’s just a different type which I’m not a fan of! I am sure there are lots out there who would like it. I just like the ones with a crispy exterior and a light and fluffy interior.

We also had some Popcorn Chicken which comes in a little bowl and some mustard mayonnaise as a dip. It was fried to a nice colour with a huge crisp! I really enjoyed their popcorn chicken and I’m sure I’ll get it again!

We all shared another deep fried item called the Taiwanese Fried Chicken which are small pieces of chicken slices, seasoned with a seasoning very much like salt & pepper chicken. Again, it was really crispy and tasty and the chicken wasn’t too dry!

Finally, our last little treat that we ordered was the Curry Fish Balls, and it was interesting as it wasn’t actually all fish balls. They have pieces of lo bak (daikon) in it – and just a few fish balls. So, we were just a little mis-lead, but it tasted good anyway! But again, you really can’t goof up something like this!

Overall, I did enjoy the “deep” fried food and the drinks from here. So, now, we got another little place where we don’t mind going to on a Saturday or Sunday, as the hours work best for us there!

O’Cup

2-110 2 Ave SE
Calgary, AB T2G
(403) 452-2606

Hours of Operation:
Mon – Thurs 11AM – 9PM
Fri-Sat 11AM – 11PM
sun 11AM – 6PM