Product Review – Page 13

January 5, 2019January 5, 2019

London Fog Cafe – Calgary, Alberta

I was looking for a non-chain cafe just to sit down at and enjoy some me time and ended up at the London Fog Cafe and it’s totally not what I was expecting. To be brutally honest, I was going to turn around and walk away as it wasn’t what I wanted at the time. It looked like it was a family ran place and I don’t know what I was expecting that day either. But, I stuck to my original plan as I didn’t really want to get into the car and start driving around again.

I ordered a Latte which I didn’t have too much expectations for, but it was pretty decent. To my delight and surprise, they attempted latte art!! The latte was nice and hot, with the right amount of everything! It kind of made my afternoon!

I knew I needed to eat, and if you know me personally, you’d know sometimes I would need to eat or I’d pass out. It’s one of those days! I got myself a Carrot Cake Loaf and it was definitely homemade! Just a side note, because I thought it was interesting, I did end up passing out after this anyway. I went to the European market in the same plaza and then passed out in London Drugs. People thought I was pregnant and had complications… how embarrassing, but this is how I deal with embarrassing situations – I share it! But, the carrot cake loaf wasn’t bad at all! It was very moist, a bit more dense than a muffin, and lots of carrot cake taste without the cream cheese icing. I think that’s what I really wanted too, the icing!

Overall, not a bad place to visit. With parking and lots to do in the same parking lot – it was easy to spend an afternoon here!! Passing out has absolutely nothing to do with this cafe, in fact it probably prolonged it for me! The service here was amazing, the ladies were super nice and asked if everything was alright. I was really pleased with my choice to come here and I’m sure I will return!

London Fog Cafe

8330 MacLeod Trl SE,
Calgary, AB
(403) 301-4880

January 5, 2019January 5, 2019

Norwegian Cruise – Norwegian Sun Balcony Stateroom

I had the best opportunity and it was the most amazing experience and it was to go on a cruise with friends to celebrate 3 out of 4 birthdays! It was a trip to Alaska, aboard Norwegian Sun, which was a cruise line we have taken before and enjoyed it for it’s casualness. This trip, it departed from Vancouver and went to a few amazing port cities in Alaska, where it returned back to Vancouver.

We booked a Balcony Stateroom as I got spoiled on the Pride of America years ago and can’t go back. Our friends got an ocean view room and it was very interesting to see the difference in the 2 types of staterooms. And, the neat thing was, it was the same, just without the floor to ceiling sliding doors to the balcony. We got our beds pushed together to make a King size bed and it was plenty of space in the room.

We never spend a lot of time in the staterooms anyway as I really enjoy cruising as it’s an all-inclusive resort that moves and takes you to new places while you sleep or eat! It’s fun to find things to do and the best thing about these Alaskan ports, it’s not necessary to join excursions if you don’t want!

Storage isn’t an issue with these rooms as I found there were tons of drawers in the room and shelves in the closet and inside the bathroom. The bathrooms aren’t very big, but with all seriousness, I don’t spend a lot of time in there. I think the only complaint regular passengers might have would be the size of the shower. I am relatively average sized but short and I found myself banging my elbow on the wall here and there while washing my hair. It’s a walk in shower that’s got your amenities in there so I think I stood far away as I didn’t want to whack myself on that.

It was a really nice cruise, it was a tad older but it was nice and casual. The food was fairly decent, and the service was really good! We didn’t have any issues the entire week on the Norwegian Sun and even got to find ourselves in places we probably weren’t allowed to be in. The staff was amazing and for the most part, they recognized the 4 of us and they spent time with us as we were the “fun” passengers on the ship!

December 30, 2018

Peking Garden – Calgary, Alberta

This is interesting, as I’m not too sure how we ended up at Peking Garden for lunch one afternoon. We’re rarely in the area and would rarely go for Chinese food if I was in the car stating I was hungry! We also had to wait a good 20 minutes for a table, which I wouldn’t have done if I was that hungry! The place was packed and there was a constant order of take outs. We did get seated and the service didn’t see slow or rushed!

One of my favourite dishes to order are Dumplings as all my coworkers claim I make the best dumplings ever. I always want to find a comparable place to try to trick them… but they’re kind of right, I do make a great dumpling! Here, they make a good one as well, with skins a bit thicker than my own, but the filling is tasty and not dry. I appreciate a well seasoned dumpling then if the skin is thick, I wouldn’t mind. Just like the ones here!

My inlaws use to take me to eat Salty Soy Milk or some call it savoury soy milk. It’s not something I was familiar with until they brought me to experience this and now I love the uniqueness of it. They had it when we went to Shanghai a few years ago and I’d get it when I can. Both sweet and savoury.

Because I’m a huge fan of sweets, of course I needed to try their Sweet Soy Milk as well. Yes, we did order too much of this stuff!! LOL! But, surprisingly we finished it all!! One was more like a drink (the sweet one) and one ate like a soup! So, we separated the two and finished it.

Then, when we were in Shanghai, we ate TONS of Xiao Long Bao, and when I saw this on the menu, naturally I would order it as well. Haha, this lunch does get bigger as well… sadly. But, it was really well made xiao long bao’s, steamed nicely and it did have the soup inside the dumplings still! It’s not easy to make it like this, but they got it!

Alright, your little pig friend finally stopped ordering food. After the order of Sticky Rice. I loved zha choy, and sticky rice, and fried donut… and stick them together, I LOVE IT! So, yes, I ordered some Sticky Rice and it wasn’t as exciting as I’d hope. I was just glad to have some though as there’s really not many places that would make this for you, unless you come to my house, or T&T supermarket. So, just come to my house for my homemade soy milk, dumplings, xiao long bao and sticky rice! I don’t think I’ve ever made a meal JUST this for anyone yet.

Anyway, just rewriting my adventure here at Peking Garden stuffs my belly and makes me proud of what I’ve accomplished at home in my own kitchen. It was a great time here and to top it off, they give me Tofu Dessert! This place is wonderful! So, all and all, this place is fabulous!

Peking Garden

4625 Varsity Dr NW,
Calgary, AB
(403) 286-0488

December 26, 2018December 29, 2018

Jinya Ramen Bar – Calgary, Alberta

I often have lazy afternoons on weekends, and this one day I was not only lazy, I was starving! So, we decided to venture to 4th Street and see what kind of food we could find for lunch. We parked the car and we knew of Jinya Ramen Bar and figured if it’s too busy, we’ll go try elsewhere.

To my delight, we got seated within 10 minutes and I was really excited as I love ramen! I decided right away that I was going to have a bowl of Tonkotsu Ramen which is one that I order a lot. I like to think of it as a “signature ramen” for any ramen place. When the bowl of ramen came out, it was large portion sizes, sizzling hot and there was a sign that says to enjoy by stirring up the bottom to the top. I did! It was great!

The other bowl of ramen we ordrerd was their Unami Miso Ramen and the bowl of ramen was amazing and if you ate all the noodles, you can ask for more noodles and they’ll add it to your broth for a small charge! What a fantastic idea!

We really enjoyed our Ramen here and it’s a great place to go for it, especially for it being in Calgary! The food was tasty, the service was prompt and amazing and the prices were extremely fair!

Jinya Ramen Bar

1800 4 Street SW, Unit 180,
Calgary, Alberta
(587) 356-0721

December 26, 2018December 31, 2018

Xu Hue – Edmonton, Alberta

We were driving home from Cold Lake, Alberta and wanted to take a stop in Edmonton for lunch and something lighter as we still had a few hours to go before we returned home. We decided to try a Vietnamese restaurant for some soupy pho and found ourselves at Xu Hue, where we found some street parking on the streets behind.

I sat down and wanted something hot and spicy as it was a rainy day and it rained on us on and off at Cold Lake for the airshow. I decided I wanted my favourite dish, Bun Bo Hue and I asked for it “not so spicy” so I wouldn’t get a tummy ache during the adventure home.

This restaurant had some very unique items that we’ve never seen on a Vietnamese restaurant menu and I wish we had the opportunity to try more, but there’s always next time. We asked the manager what Duck Congee was and his face lit up when explaining it. It was really different so I’m glad it’s something we tried. The item came in 2 portions, the first section was the congee which was a great congee base with lots of flavour. It was far from boring and if this was all we got, we would have been very satisfied.

Almost immediately after came what the manager called Duck Salad, and that was a plate of duck! It was really odd! This salad had lots of greens and toppings on and we weren’t actually sure how to eat it. The manager told us to put the salad in the congee or eat it on the side. So, we did both. It was amazing! It was light, it wasn’t heavy, it was sort of refreshing. We really enjoyed this!

This experience was extremely memorable. We eat out for Vietnamese all the time and this one just stuck in my head. Last week, we were in Edmonton and when we drove by, I made the comment of the “duck congee”, so it’s great it’s on my radar!

Xu Hue

10548-97 Street,
Edmonton, AB
(780) 426-7775