Posted on

Ramada Lethbridge Alberta

I had the opportunity to go to Lethbridge, Alberta this year to watch the Lethbridge Air Show. We knew we wanted to stay over, so we chose a hotel that offered Wyndham Rewards and ended up at Ramada Lethbridge.

The location is located on a major road which was extremely convenient and quite close to the airport! There’s a set of street lights right into the parking lot which makes it really easy to get in and out of the hotel during anytime of day, including rush hour! Ramada Lethbridge does offer airport shuttles if needed.

The hotel is quite old as it is an old town, but because of that, it is in the centre of many tourist attractions and business centres! The rooms are extremely quiet, even facing the Magrath Drive, I wasn’t able to hear any traffic with the windows closed at night! If you’re here for business, there is a desk in the room which is perfect for you to get things done! There is a business centre on site in the hotel as well.. if you need more than a workspace.

The bathrooms are quite spacious and offers a tub/shower in case you want a quick shower or a relaxing soak. The bathroom amenities are provided by San Francisco Soap Company which is one of my favourite hotel bathroom amenities providers!

The rooms are spacious enough as we’re not really living there during the stay. Basically using it when we need, but these rooms also have a little seating area which is great for just winding down or if you have a visitor or 2, it makes it more comfortable.

The hallways are a little run down and the sound proof between the doors and walls could use a bit of updating, but overall, it was a wonderful experience staying here! We loved every minute of it!

During our stay, there was even complimentary coffee in tea in room, and there was a complimentary continental breakfast in the hotel which was a delicious breakfast offering in the restaurant located in the lobby with a breakfast selection of cereal, waffles, fruits and even some hot food! There was much more pro than cons here!

Check out the link below for the walk-through of the room we stayed in!

Ramada Lethbridge

1303 Mayor Magrath Drive South
Lethbridge, AB T1K 2R1 Canada

Posted on

Homemade Blueberry Pancakes

Well, this sounds a little strange but I’ve never tried to make my own pancakes before, let alone Blueberry Pancakes. I just realized it’s such a simple recipe as my co-workers told me if I want it more runny and thin, add more water. If I want it thicker and fluffier, add more flour. So, I made the fluffy version!

Ingredients: (makes 4 pancakes)
1 cup of flour
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 large egg
1 cup milk
blueberries
oil

This recipe is so simple, I actually just mixed all the dry ingredients in a bowl and then mixed the wet ingredients in… all in the same bow. I mixed until it was smooth, and let it sit to rest for a bit.

From there, I heated up my frying pan with a thin layer of oil. I made sure it gets nice and hot. Once the bubbles start forming and come to the top, you know you’re ready to flip!

Then, I just made it toasty in colour, served hot, topped with some butter and maple syrup! It’s delicious for you and your family to enjoy!

Posted on

Homemade Pizza

I just made a bunch of ham and what I really wanted was a ham pizza. So, instead of going to the grocery store and purchasing a premade crust, I figured I would try my hand at making one.

Ingredients: (makes 1 medium or 2 small)
2 cups of All Purpose Flour
2 cups of water
1 package of yeast (traditional)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

The first thing you need to do is activate your yeast. I poured my yeast into a little bowl and put 1/4 cup of warm water to dissolve the yeast. Then, I added my teaspoon of sugar. Just leave it for about 10 minutes and it should have expanded and almost doubled in size.

From here, I mix together the flour and salt and the yeast mixture. Then I slowly combine with the rest of the water in stages. I keep mixing until a ball of dough forms. My dough ball here was much more sticky than it probably should have been, but I left it anyway. Just knead it for a few minutes and when you’re ready, let it sit to rise and rest. I put saran wrap on top and left it for about 45 minutes.

After the ball of dough has doubled in size, you can knead it out on a floured surface to the crust shape you like. I didn’t use a pizza tray or anything as I like it kind of rustic, so I just rolled out a thick crust of a random shape on my silicon mat.

After I got my crust ready, I now preheat my oven to 425F and I start decorating my pizza with toppings. I do this rather gently as I’m probably letting it rise again for the second time as I wanted my crust more bread like.

When your pizza is topped with all the goodies you would like, pop it into the oven for about 25 minutes. It comes out delicious, kind of like a pizza bread! 🙂 You could have brushed the crust with butter or oil or even egg wash if you like a prettier crust. I just left mine as is.

Now, after the cooking period, take the pizza out of the oven, and slice it if you want – but you’re ready to enjoy a simple and delicious home made pizza!

Posted on

Shikiji Japanese Noodles and Sushi Calgary

Japanese food and cuisine in general has always been a favourite of mine – always! I go for Japanese things for great times only – mostly in celebration for something. However, once in awhile, all I want is a great bowl of Japanese noodles, and I’m glad I found Shikiji Japanese Noodles and Sushi even though I’ve only tried their noodles so far!

This restaurant is located right on 16th Avenue and it’s not hard to find. Parking can be trickier, but I just park in the residential areas and walk over (but be careful with the parking permit zones). The restaurant interior is quite dark, but it’s still really comfortable! The staff was really nice and friendly, and the food was relatively quick and delicious. We didn’t have anything fancy to drink as we came here on New Years Eve and we knew there would be check stops everywhere. We just ordered Green Tea which is the usual drink for me when I go to a Japanese restaurant!

We started the evening with a simple appetizer, the Tako Yaki, and basically it’s just a ball of pieces of octopus that is deep fried! It’s an amazing snack/treat! These often come with a sauce that is drizzled on top of the takoyaki’s, and this appetizer was excellent! I really enjoy watching the dancing bonito flakes too – as they tend to wave around when they touch hot foods, and they’re so thin that any breeze/draft will make them wiggle! 🙂 Anyway, these tako yaki’s was stuffed with pieces of octopus with a really nice batter – and deep fried to a delicate crisp!

I ordered a bowl of Shio Ramen which was a large bowl of ramen noodles in a light salt soup base with nice fatty BBQ pork (which I picked), and some veggies. It had a little bowl on the side where I could mix up some toppings for my noodles as well! I liked the fun and interactive way to customize my meal! The ramen had a nice chewy bite and the delicious fatty BBQ pork was nothing less than perfect! I would totally ask for more pork and just pay extra!

My other half ordered something quite fancy actually!! His had an interactive element to his dish as well. He ordered Hot Shikiji Udon which was a bowl of udon noodles with some tempura shrimp, and tons of little things on top that was fried (which added tons of texture to the bowl of noodles), and on the side was a little flask of soup that you pour into the bowl yourself. There was also a quails egg where you can put in the noodle which adds a nice creaminess to the dish. It was neat bowl of udon as the soup hit the fried croutons and bean curds – it really thickened up the soup – making it extremely hearty and filling!

Dinner was awesome, and even though we were sooo stuffed, we still decided to have some dessert. We ended splitting a scoop of Green Tea Gelato which was absolutely refreshing and helped me digest actually! I didn’t feel nearly as stuffed after the gelato – which sounds really odd, I know!

It was a perfect way to end the year, and I’ll be back, as it’s the perfect way to end any day! Even though I know they’re opened for lunch, I think because the portions are so large, it’s a dinner place in my mind! I’ll also have to go back anyway to try their sushi and other noodles! I can’t wait!!

Shikiji Japanese Noodles and Sushi on Urbanspoon

Shikiji Japanese Noodles and Sushi

1608 Centre St N
Calgary, AB T2E
(403) 520-0093

Posted on

Blue Dragon – Thai Red Curry Paste

I really love products out there that helps me make meals that are quick and delicious! I got to try this new paste from Blue Dragon called Thai Red Curry Paste that comes in a convenient jar.

Here’s my little recipe for my meal:
Ingredients: (serves 2 large portions)
– 2 carrots sliced
– 2 stalks of celery
– 1 small onion
– 4 to 5 white mushrooms
– 4 pieces of chicken thighs
– 1/2 jar of Blue Dragon Thai Red Curry Paste
– small can of Coconut Milk (165mL)
– Cooked Rice

I wasn’t too sure what to do with this sauce and on the back of it, it kind of states that it’s extremely versatile, so I decided to basically make stir fry with the sauce (stir fry with chicken and vegetables over rice), and it was really simple! I first prep my vegetables by cutting everything into even pieces. I just used whatever I had in the fridge, which was onions, celery, carrots and mushrooms. Of course, wash and cook your rice to start with. The entire meal takes about 30 minutes to make start to finish.

Put the vegetables aside, and slice the chicken thigh. I did do a quick marinade of salt and pepper as I love to add a little something on my meat – always! After it marinates for a few minutes, I heat up a wok and some oil. Then, I add the chicken to the wok and leave it for a few minutes. Once the chicken is about half cooked, I add in the onion and carrot into the wok. Once the chicken is almost cooked through, I add the rest of the vegetables and cook it until it’s a nice tender crisp.

Basically, we’re on the home stretch now – it really is this simple! From here, I add 1/2 a jar of the red curry sauce due to my portion sizes, and a small can of coconut milk. I turn the heat down as I like to cook my coconut milk gently. I stir and let my stir fry simmer away for a few minutes so it can absorb the great flavours.

From here, I added a few more chili flakes as I like my curries a tad spicer. But, we are ready to serve and eat already! Just get a bowl of rice and top it off with the delicious curry!

The finished product is filled with Thai flavours such as ginger, lemon grass, and chilies. It’s absolutely amazing and it tastes great even if you opt out the coconut milk.