Food – Page 85 – Elsie Hui

June 28, 2012July 3, 2012

Rustica – Silvertip Resort Canmore

Alright, it’s been a month of eating out and I love it! We went for a fancy dinner at Rustica in Canmore, Alberta – at the Silvertip Resort. From Calgary, going towards Banff (Highway 1 West) and take the Canmore Town Centre exit. Take a right at the stop sign and a left at the Holiday Inn hotel. Take Silvertip Trail up the mountain (5 minutes) to its termination at the Timbers Clubhouse. We actually asked for some directions as we got to the resort as the restaurant isn’t really marked well.

This restaurant is really nice, and the ambience is just fantastic! I can see this location being really popular in the winter as well as the summer. The real wood/log burning fireplace really set the mood for me! Rustica is known for it’s beef, so we knew we’ll order beef! Right after we put in our orders, a fantastic array of breads came to the table! The bread was fresh and delicious – and it tasted great even without the dipping sauce (Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar).

We were a table of 4, and we actually shared most of our food. The first appetizer that came to our table was Caribbean Crab Cakes which was a loose crab cake (not dense at all) that was crusted with coconut, and had some spicy mayo on the side adding tons of flavour to the crab cakes.

From there, we had a bowl for their soup of the day – which was Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup with truffle and it was a really creamy soup that wasn’t overly fatty… leaving you feeling kind of bloated! The freshness of the soup was really delicious.

Then, our last appetizer was Tequila lime Scallop Ceviche, which was a ceviche made of bay scallops guacamole, mixed with a fresh salsa fresco. As a serving vehicle, it was served with grilled tortillas! It was a refreshing and very fresh ceviche, and to be honest, I had a better time eating the ceviche alone – I didn’t need the tortillas!

Mom and dad shared a large piece of Filet Mignon which was extremely tender and juicy! This piece of meat was cooked to perfection, and flavoured perfectly!

I ordered the Mixed Grill which was a fantastic combination of all the best offerings (in my opinion!) It had a 4oz piece of tenderloin, half a rack of ribs and some prawns!

My husband ordered the New York Steak which was remarkably tender making this an exceptional beef steak!

The 4 of us ordered a bunch of side dishes to share, and it was also tasty! We ordered baked truffle penne, and garlic fingerling potatoes! We were so satisfied with our main meal, we decided to get some desserts to split and to stuff ourselves to the max! We ordered Cheesecake Spring Rolls which was deep fried cheese cake, berry coulis, caramel sauce

Then, the final dessert we ordered was the Lemon Tart which was a refreshing lemon tart with whipped cream and candied lemon!

This restaurant makes delicious food, and presents it in a sexy way! The price was competitively priced, especially for the Canmore region. Canmore offers lots of fantastic offerings and this is a place you should try!

Rustica

2000 Silvertip Trail
Canmore, AB T1W3A6
(403) 609-6599

June 27, 2012December 31, 2018

Chicken on the Way – McKenzie Towne Calgary

I was bummed out when Blockbusters closed on High Street in McKenzie Towne, but to my excitement, Chicken on the Way opened a new location there! They’re a little shop that takes take-out only, and often, the line is out the door (rain or shine)!

The first time I ate there, I purchased their daily special – and on that day, it was 3 piece chicken, fries and a fritter with gravy! The wait time wasn’t bad at all, and it comes in their famous yellow box that smells so good just holding the hot contents.

The chicken was perfectly fried and perfectly seasoned! Their pieces of chicken are actually larger than some other places that serves fried chicken. These large pieces of chicken has super crispy skin and really juicy chicken meat! It’s a perfect fried chicken in my opinion. The fries and fritter during my first visit was over fried and over salted, but all other times I’ve revisited the location, they’ve fixed that problem and made it better!

I really enjoyed their fritters – even though it was a little over fried, the sweet batter was excellent. With a super crispy exterior and a soft interior, the fritter is something I will always get when I visit Chicken on the Way.

When I don’t make a big enough for dinner or just want an awesome snack, Chicken on the Way is where I like to go now! It’s close to home and the prices aren’t completely ridiculous, making this a great option! I would recommend trying it out if you haven’t done so yet!

Chicken on the Way

27 McKenzie Towne Avenue SE
Calgary, AB T2Z3S7
(403) 720-2367

June 27, 2012December 31, 2018

Shogun Teppanyaki Food Truck – Calgary

A wonderful food truck would be Shogun Teppanyaki which I tried during Lilac Festival! I was really happy to see so many food trucks gathering for a street event. It was a chilly day and I wanted something savoury and hot – so I choose to eat at Shogun this time!

I ordered the Beef Teriyaki with udon noodles, and it was really good. It was similar to some fast food Japanese concessions, but I found that the sauce wasn’t as thick and salty – which makes Shogun a better option! The food was prepared perfectly, and it was a great order! I added some hot sauce to my noodles, and it definitely kicked it up a notch and I loved it even more!

Overall, this is a great food truck, especially on cold days! I can see me lining up for this in the winter. The only downfall, I can’t really see into the truck to see the “teppanyaki”… when I think about teppanyaki, I think about a show on a flat bed grill (even though I know it’s a cooking method).

June 25, 2012December 31, 2018

Braizen Food Truck – Calgary

Food trucks are something that is still really new and exciting to me! It seems like they’re coming up with a new truck every week! I don’t follow any trucks religiously, but I do have my favourites that I will eat at if they’re where I’m at! Braizen Food Truck is one of the trucks that I really appreciate. The Braizen food truck is a small black “food truck” that is compact, quick and serves up delicious offerings!

We went on a gloomy Saturday afternoon as they were parked at Deerfoot Meadows – which is one of my favourite locations to enjoy food trucks. I ordered their Harrisa Chicken stew which is a slow cooked chicken stew that sits ontop of quinoa and raisins. This stew is jammed packed with flavour, and it definitely has a nice kick of heat!

We also ordered the Coconut Beef Curry with Potatoes, and this was awesome! You can taste the coconut curry – which is great flavour! I may say at this point this beef curry is my favourite so far from Braizen as it was a perfect curry, and the texture was perfect!

Our friend ordered the Jerk Chicken Sliders with pineapple slaw and he said it was good, but cold. I guess they didn’t toast the buns, which would have made a big impact on a gloomy day. I didn’t get to try it, but it sure tickled my appetite!

Overall, this truck is really good as each dish has bold flavour and it’s definitely well seasoned. The food is amazing and the portions are decent for what you get from a food truck!

June 25, 2012June 25, 2012

Sushi Towa Calgary

It was my birthday, and I was looking for a special place to celebrate it! We were originally thinking about something along Stephens Avenue – however, it was not only the beginning of wedding season, it was grad season as well. It was impossible to find parking anywhere, and we had no reservations for anywhere (mid week)… so, we went to plan B. This plan was going to Sushi Towa which is located on 4th Street! This little sushi place looks like a house, so look carefully for it if you want to eat here!

We were recommended something unique, so we had to try it! It was the Ishikari Soup which was an item on a printed menu – which was absolutely delicious! I would recommend this soup to you if you like salmon and soup! It was creamy and savoury. It roughly translates to salmon miso soup.

Of course, when I go for sushi, the first thing I look for is the surf clams (hokkigai)! They have some here, and it’s my favourite! I like it so much we ordered it sashimi style! We also really like salmon and tuna, so we opted for salmon this time! What a beautiful plate of sashimi! In the center, it was some Spicy Crunch gunkan style sushi.

We didn’t stop there either, we ordered a few more rolls, and the one I want to mention would be their Fire Cracker Roll which was made of jalapeno tempura, sour cream, smoked salmon which was a great combination! The first few pieces weren’t really spicy as the jalapeno pepper wasn’t spicy – however, there were a few pieces at the end that was extremely spicy, which was probably how this sushi roll was suppose to be! The sour cream really helps cut down the heat level, and the smokey smoked salmon was a great balance of taste and flavours all in one roll.

The last roll that we had is a sushi roll I still dream about! It consists of all things that I love – in a form I love too!! It’s got pineapple, cucumber, avocado, red onion, shrimp, spicy sauce, balsamic vinegar on side. This wonderful roll is called the Hawaiian Roll which is something I would highly recommend if you enjoy sweetness from pineapples in your food.

This sushi place isn’t like any other place I’ve been too. Sure, the prices are a little higher than usual, but their quality is exceptional! The service is great but the most memorable thing is the overall experience that Sushi Towa provides with their food!

Towa Sushi

2116 4 St SW
Calgary, AB T2S0H3
(403) 245-8585