Food – Page 8 – Elsie Hui

February 9, 2019February 9, 2019

Gorilla Whale – Calgary, Alberta

This was a fun afternoon here at Gorilla Whale which is a place that takes a spin on Japanese food. Nothing here is “traditional” but it’s exciting!

I wasn’t sure what to have, and one of the managers came and sat with me and introduced some of her recommendations to me. She told me to try their Chicken Chicken Bang Bang Noodle Soup so, I ordered that! This noodle was in a Japanese curry broth with chicken, crispy fried chicken skin, with pickled ginger! This was a really neat mix of ingredients and taste! The fried chicken skin was amazing and I would eat an entire plate of it!

The other thing we ordered was their Karaage Burger and this was really different. The fried chicken was really crispy and delicious. It was not greasy at all. The bacon was amazing and was almost he star of the show! The mixture of flavours here was unique and it compliments each other.

Overall, it was an amazing experience and definitely not your traditional Japanese restaurant. I enjoyed the modern twist and the fun spin!

Gorilla Whale

1214 9th Ave SE
Calgary, AB
587-356-2686

February 9, 2019February 9, 2019

94 Take the Cake – Okotoks, Alberta

I love going to little towns and I often find myself going to Okotoks as it’s closer for me to go there than downtown Calgary! A super cold evening, just around Christmas I parked outside 94 Take the Cake without knowing it. So, as I was done my evening, I stopped in before heading home.

I had to wait forever for the lens on my camera to thaw out, so we get a foggy look yet mystical carrot cake! I really wanted to eat the carrot cake, so I dug into this huge piece of cake that was perfectly cooked, well spiced and just amazing! The cream cheese was divine and it was just the perfect snack for the drive home! This slice is big enough to share, which I appreciate!

Then came my Latte, I really needed this to warm up my fingers. I of course was still wearing a dress and the owner of the shop came and put this giant fluffy blanket over my lap and said I was silly. She looked at me as though I was 5 years old, but her love for me really showed me she cared for her shop and customers. It wasn’t that cold but it was a December night in Alberta! The latte though was really tasty. I didn’t need to do anything to it and it was the perfect compliment to my carrot cake.

This bakeshop was so warm and inviting, and the coziness to the shop was so hospitable. It’s a place I can see myself being in all the time if I lived in this town. The owner told me that the original “house” that the shop is in was an cold police station! How neat is that!! This cake shop is a little tucked away but it’s a must go to! Their cakes are amazing and I think next time I need to order a cake if my friends don’t want to bake one for me, I will get it from here!

94 Take the Cake Bakery

94 Elma St W,
Okotoks, AB
587-757-1090

January 27, 2019

Tokyo Noodle Shop – Edmonton, Alberta

We take random trips out to Edmonton and this particular afternoon we were there and found ourselves at Old Stratcona area fueling up. We decided to eat something before the drive home for the evening, so this was an early dinner when we went downstairs to Tokyo Noodle Shop. It was a busy Saturday night as the place was half full, not sure if everyone else is doing what we’re doing or what’s going on but it was a lively place!

I ordered their Chicken Ramen which the waitress said it comes the way it looks in the picture when I asked if there was corn in the ramen. I know it sounds strange, but I do like corn! The chicken ramen wasn’t bad, a nicely grilled piece of chicken that sits on top of the soup with a generous portion of noodles and toppings!

The other noodle we ordered, they called it Deluxe Udon, which was a bowl of udon with chicken and crabsticks and it also came with shrimp tempura.

The Shrimp Tempera that came with the Deluxe Udon was pretty decent! The shrimp was clean with a good texture and it was perfectly fried to a nice light crisp.

Overall, we enjoyed our dinner here. It was fun to see the beautiful presentation that they have for the customers that order sushi. They really take pride in the work they do, and it does show!

Tokyo Noodle Shop

10736 82 Ave NW,
Edmonton, AB
780-430-0838

January 27, 2019January 27, 2019

Raj Palace Midnapore – Calgary, Alberta

It was a cold evening and I really didn’t want to cook. All I wanted was a warm hug from the inside out. So, I requested to go eat out for dinner and the only thing I said was “I want to eat curry”. As a recommendation, Raj Palace came up and I have never been here before, so I figured it’s the perfect excuse! It’s not a big place and this particular evening, they had quite a few tables seated so we were seated by the door, which was extremely breezy when the door opened. Thankfully we weren’t there that long!

It seems to be a family ran location. I didn’t really talk to the waiter or anything as he seemed really busy with the orders in house and delivery service orders. It was a bit of hustle and bustle so I didn’t want to be bother. So, we just ordered our food and I decided I wouldn’t get my chai as I haven’t been sleeping well. We ordered more premium and got their Prawn Coconut Curry, and I can’t say I tasted the coconut, but it’s got a nice heat level to it. It’s a tomato based sauce with coconut cream which was perfect with the rice. The prawns were big, large portions, deveined and pretty amazing!

The other dish that we had was their Lamb Chettinadu and I got this because it was the only one under lamb/goat that was “boneless”! LOL! I was having one of those evenings. There’s not much to the description to the curry besides “chettinad spices in home style”, but it was tasty!

That’s all we ordered for curry, otherwise, it was our usual suspects of garlic Naan which was a nice treat because it wasn’t only smothered in butter with garlic powder on it. The texture of the naan here was one of the best we’ve had and I think they actually make their garlic butter! It was very tasty.

The other vehicle that I get with curry is Coconut Rice as I find it easier to eat my curry with and it absorbs the sauce, which means I wear less of the mess! The coconut rice was a large bowl and devoured in no time for me with that Prawn Coconut Curry sauce. It was my favourite!

Overall experience here was pretty amazing. It was a chill environment, no one was in a rush for anything, food and service was good. There wasn’t anything to complain about!

Raj Palace Midnapore

15425 Bannister Rd SE,
Calgary, AB
403-454-3345

January 26, 2019January 26, 2019

Shuswap Pie Company – Salmon Arm

We have been driving out to Vancouver a lot for no good reason. Sometimes, we just have an itch to go eat at the wharf, and we’ll do crazy things like leave after work to stop at Salmon Arm or Sicamous, stay the night, wake up early on Saturday and arrive to spend a few hours in Vancouver. On Sundays it’s always just the drive back home to go to work on Mondays. With this trip done so many times, and always arriving when this cute pie place is closed, I wanted a special trip to Shuswap Pie Company on a day it’s opened. We made a special trip for pie!

For me, nothing beats a homemade Apple Pie à la Mode whenever possible. Once I saw a fresh apple pie on the counter, I knew it was what I wanted. The line was long, but absolutely worth the wait.

I normally drink a coffee, but this day I just ordered a London Fog and it was super! It was a nice blend and I appreciated this hot drink that didn’t take away from my pie!

As we got here for lunch, dessert wasn’t the only thing we ordered. I can’t survive a meal without meat, so we had a Chicken Pot Pie and that was amazing! The crust was perfect, the filling was tasty and hot!

The overall experience here was perfect. Well worth the effort and the experience was amazing. I still talk about driving here for an afternoon pie, but we haven’t done it again yet. I’m sure if I run out of ideas on things to do, it’ll be back on my list!

Shuswap Pie Company

331 Alexander Street,
Salmon Arm, BC
250-832-7992