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Monplaisir Delicacy – Calgary, Alberta

We were introduced to Monplaisir which is located on the food court level of TD Square in the corner. Here, the offer delicious French Macarons and Belgium Chocolates. I haven’t tried their chocolates yet, but we have tried a few of their macarons!

We decided to try a small sample box, where we bought 6 delicate macarons. They asked us to leave it out a few minutes to take the chill off before eating, so we decided we’d get a drink from a nearby place in the food court. The custom box looks amazing and almost too good to eat, but we did pull the first one out and tried their Earl Grey flavour. You do get a hint of Earl Grey taste and scent, it’s subtle, sweet and nice! The Earl Grey one is the yellow one with the greenish filling!

With such a delicious macaroon, I had my hopes high as I tried their Chocolate Coconut and I was not disappointed. You get a nice rich chocolate taste and then the sweet coconut comes through afterwards. You do get coconut shreds in your bite as well!

Creme Brulee was always a sweet dessert we enjoy a lot, so we had to try their Creme Brulee flavour. This one really didn’t taste like much to us, but kind of sweet. It did offer the sugary crunch on the side but if you closed your eyes, creme brulee wasn’t the what came to mind – maybe vanilla.

our all time favourite flavour from Monplaisir would be their Espresso which was really fragrant with espresso aromas and flavours. You know what it is when you bite into it and it tastes absolutely amazing!

As Pistachio was another macaroon that we tried, it wasn’t as amazing as hoped. You definitely get a hint of pistachio but for whatever reason, I was hopping it would be more intense. Now I think it’s silly that I had that expectation as these are small delicate treats – so I do like this flavour!

The last one we chose to try on this visit would be the Wedding Almond. Not sure about the name but you definitely get the almond taste and flavour – which is really nice!

Overall, we thoroughly enjoy the macarons here and has been back a few times already! It’s great as they are opened on weekends as well as they are in a mall!

Mon Plaisir

Suite 410, 751 3 St SW
Calgary, AB
(587) 538-0690

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Signature Palace – Calgary, Alberta

We weren’t sure what we wanted to eat one evening, and we stumbled to the Southwest Calgary and found Signature Palace Restaurant which is in a strip plaza. The place isn’t difficult to find and there’s tons of parking. It seems like it’s a popular place as we kept seeing customers come in and out either dine in or take out!

As odd as this sounds, we started the dinner with an appetizer of Chicken Wings. They were large wings which made the price tag a little more bearable. It was over $10 for the plate of wings but they were really tasty, juicy, and crispy!

We ordered more lunch items of dinner, where we split a Beef Flank Noodle Soup, and the beef flank was tender and the portions was huge. The soup was quite tasty for being a plain soup. There was a few beef tendons which I love. We have always loved beef flank with the flat rice noodles and it made this dish perfect!

Then, we shared another of my favouriets, the Perserved Vegetables with Pork Noodle Soup and this was in rice vermicelli noodle soup – the way I know it to be. Tons of toppings and the portions again was really generous!

Overall, we were pleasantly surprised with the quality of food, and portion of size. The staff was really friendly and the bathrooms were cleaner than expected! This turned out to be a great place and we’re excited to go back one day to try a Chinese dinner here!

Signature Palace

1919 Sirocco Dr SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 246-8883

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Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge – Jasper, Alberta

We are very fortunate and we’re able to splurge when we want to. When an opportunity came for us to visit Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, we took advantage of it! Our motivation for this trip was to see all the Gingerbread houses that at Alberta’s Fairmont resort. We knew that date the gingerbread house was coming down at this location and there really was only 1 weekend – so we took it! We booked a nights stay and got to experience their Junior Lakeview Suites which was absolutely amazing! This hotel is magnificent, beauty from every angle, inside and out!

We got checked-in and they were awesome at the front desk. All the staff we dealt with are exceptionally helpful and friendly! The key was still an old style brass key which was a neat treat from your typical magnetic room key card!

Once we got into our room, we were blown away from the size of the room. It was beautiful! Once inside, off to the side was a closet and mini bar area which leads you into the bathroom.

The bathroom was about the size of the bedroom itself. It has a double sink, a soaker tub, a stand up shower and of course a toilet! It was quite amazing. The soaker tub was quite a large single person tub which I didn’t get to enjoy – but that leaves room for another nights stay another time!

The shower was all glass with a ledge inside for you to put your amenities on. It’s quite amazing to shower in an all glass shower as you feel like you’re somewhere very luxurious – and you are! It was really a nice touch!

Once you come back to the main hallway, you’ll walk by the bedroom area. It’s got pocket doors to keep the space spacious and open – and almost a pocket window so you can see right outside from the bed! The King bed was nice and amazing and there’s also a TV in the room.

The sitting area was large and spacious with a table for 4 people, with a sofa and chair – it’s a great sitting area!

There’s also a wood burning stove in our sweet, which they give you some newspapers and logs to light a fire if you choose to. There’s also a TV so you can cozy up however you like during your stay!

The patio offers amazing lakeviews and it’s remote and quite. A perfect suite for down time and to enjoy the company you’re with! Our stay was amazing and we can’t stop raving about it and looking to find rates where we can justify another awesome adventure in Jasper!

Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge

Old Lodge Road
Jasper, Alberta, Canada
Phone: 1-780-852-3301

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Poppy Brasserie – Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise Alberta

I had the pleasure to eat at Poppy Brasserie while were were looking at Gingerbread Houses (Village) while visiting Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. We had no reservations or anything, so we ended up whereever, and it was fantastic! Just located on the lower floor a little tucked aways is this great restaurant!

Once were were seated, with our drink orders taken, they came out with a fantastic bread basket that was warm and fresh! It was quite enjoyable!

We wanted to do a started so we opted for their Seafood Chowder and I must say it’s the best seafood chowder we have had to date. It sounds really odd, but it was fantastic! It doesn’t look like much, but it was creamy and velvety, with tons of flavours and seafood in this chowder!

As this was lunch, we decided we wouldn’t stuff ourselves with a full entree, so we ordered a Bison Burger which was better than expected. It was lean but tender and juicy of a patty. The toppings were minimal and perfect. The spicy arugula, with the with cheddar, smoky bacon aioli, sauteed mushrooms and topped with tomato chutney made a perfect bison burger!

Then, we had their Steak Sandwich which was a generous portion of 6oz striploin steak topped with blue cheese cream cheese on a wedge of grilled sourdough. Everything was cooked to perfection and you felt like you were eating from a true castle!

Overall, the experience here in the chateau was truly magnificent! The food and service was top notch, while the breathtaking scenery – there’s nothing that compares and makes your meal magical!

Poppy Brasserie – Chateau Lake Louise

111 Lake Louise Drive
Lake Louise, AB
(403) 522-3511

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The Panorama Restaurant – Banff, Alberta

We were staying the night in Banff and decided we wanted to experience Alpine Lights Mountaintop Dining Experience that was at the Panorama Restaurant at the top of Sulphur Mountain. With this reservation, you get a free gondola ride up to the top and as it’s winter time, you do get a free ride down the mountain afterwards as well!

We were seated by the window and enjoyed beautiful views of the town of Banff and the restaurant itself was quite beautiful! The staff was friendly, the food was wonderful, it truly was a great dining experience!

It was a set dinner that came with this experience and they start you off with some delicious bread! It was actually really tasty and the butter they infused was also quite delightful!

We then got their House Salad which was extremely fresh and delicious! The dressing was perfect, although a little bit over dressed! It was quite tasty for a salad and very interesting and colourful!

Then, the main course was their Prime Rib which was a huge piece of perfectly cooked prime rib and it wasn’t too fatty or anything! It was delicious and we devoured the entire piece of prime rib and potato!

To top off the evening, we got a Cheesecake for dessert and it was really light and creamy! It wasn’t overly sweet or too rich – so it was really how we like our cheesecakes to taste!

Overall, this experience was truly one to remember for a lifetime! The scene was magnificent, the ride of the gondola was quite the experience in the dark going down, and the food was perfectly cooked and presented beautifully. The service was pretty good as well. I think you get a great meal out of this experience and should try it!

Panorama Restaurant – Top of Sulphur Mountain

100 Mountain Ave
Banff, AB
(403) 762-2523