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Mountain Mercato – Canmore, Alberta

Lunch in the mountains is my way to wind down the city life. You’ll hear me say that a lot as I am quite a high energy and fast paced person. These trips helps me keep sane and keep in balance. We walked into a little store and turned the corner and found Mountain Mercato which was a little deli that we sat down at.

I sat down and ordered a Latte and it was so nice. The environment was comfortable and there were a lot of people that came down to this little gem for a quick bite to eat, or they took it to go. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and everything was really nice.

I know I ordered their Daily Special Panini, I started with their frittata, but they ran out so I went for their second best. I honestly can’t remember hat it was called, but the balance of the panini was amazing and with gooey cheese. It was delicious even and it even seemed healthy!

The other panini seems liked the perfect one to order as it was brunch. It was the Farmhouse Panini with egg, cheese and meat with seasonal vegetables. It was a perfect brunch in between bread!

This was a fun place to go, and you do need to be prepared to spend some time here. The food and coffee really hit the spot. The seats are limited but most people do take out.

Mountain Mercato

102-817 8 St,
Canmore, AB

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New Club Cafe – Vulcan, Alberta

Weekend cruises to small towns has always been one of my most favourite things to do. This time we piled some friends into a bigger car and went out to Vulcan. I can’t believe we spent almost an entire day here but we made some pretty amazing memories. We didn’t know where to go for lunch as all the options were either closed for the weekend or Covid or something was up. We walked right by New Club Cafe and I was the one leading the pack at this point and all I wanted to do was look at the menu. The lovely gentleman who just finished lunch there opened the door for me and I couldn’t tell him I wasn’t going in… so in we went!!

I wasn’t expecting to eat here, and actually none of us but we stared at the menu for awhile!! The menu was extensive and it felt like home in a way. I really miss out old restaurant and just being able to run into the kitchen and help out and just look around to help me decide what to eat. My girl friend and I ordered a burger special each, just plain and simple. The burger was quite large and juicy so overall an awesome burger with fries.

The guys ordered different things. From a Ginger Beef platter with an Egg roll to a Veal Cutlet, which I recommended to these boys… to go for a veal cutlet in these small time Western Chinese restaurants!!

We had strawberry milkshakes and Shirley Temples, but taking pictures of our food this time wasn’t on the top of our list as we were trying to figure out and complete the Vulcan walking tour. LOL! For the record, we did complete it!!

New Club Cafe

24 Centre St,
Vulcan, AB
403-485-2030

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Pho 26 – Calgary, Alberta

After a road trip, we came back to the city and stopped at Pho 26 as my girlfriend I was with recommended it. It’s in a small strip plaza and the place looks like it used to be an Italian restaurant or something. The space inside is huge and there was plenty of space even with Covid!

I often do an order of Spring Rolls no matter where I go unless I’m not wanting the grease. This day after a road trip, I wanted it with my hot tea and I’m sure glad I did. Although they didn’t look like much or anything special, it was one of the spring rolls that is packed with flavours. It was really good and the skin was thin and crispy!

I ordered a nice warm bowl of Satay Beef Noodle Soup and it wasn’t the peanut satay. It had a kick to it but it wasn’t overwhelming. The portion size was quite large as I barely finished it – but I do eat a tad less after a day sitting in the car. They had a generous portion of beef as well where I didn’t feel like it just wasn’t enough, or it wasn’t fair.

So, overall, it was an enjoyable time and I’m glad my girlfriend told us to go here! It was good and they didn’t judge me for taking soup home. I seriously just asked for a container for just the soup.

Pho 26 Calgary

4019 17 Ave SE,
Calgary, AB
403-457-2636

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Han Corea – Calgary, Alberta

I’ve recently started a new job and my co-workers here now know I love food. They’ve given a huge array of things to try and places to go as I’m in a new area of the city and really know nothing. A handful of people have now told me to go to Han Corea and report it to them after the weekend – so here we are! This little place is busy, and it can be a bit hard to find as it’s a small place. I only found it due to the amount of vehicles going in and out of the parking lot.

Once we ordered our food, a selection of kimchi dishes arrived to our table. They didn’t have a lot, but a good variety. They did ask if we wnated more after I devoured it. I actually love kimchi and I often have a tub in my own fridge. I eat it after work, I eat it with rice, I eat it everywhere!

One of my absolute favourite Korean dishes is Japchae and to my shock, they didn’t have it here! It honestly was what I was going to have but I ended up getting a bowl of rice and their order of So Bulgogi where their Korean ribs are made with their Korean sauces and grilled. I love making Korean ribs so it’s so much fun to taste different recipes. This one was really tender and well seasoned. The aroma when it came to the table really made everyone look! It was fantastic!

Something we don’t typically order is a tofu stew and this time it was a new place and new everything – so an order of Soondubu-Jjigae was ordered and it had the silkiest tofu in this hot soup that we ladled over rice. It’s was the perfect winter dish as it was warming from the inside out.

Overall this place was very enjoyable and I now know I can listen to some of my guys recommendations! It’s close by as well so if I was feeling very adventurous over lunch hour, who know, maybe I’ll do a take out!

Han Corea

7008 Farrell Rd SE,
Calgary, AB
403-255-6542

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Caltons Chinese Restaurant – Calgary, Alberta

Recently we celebrated a non so pleasant event and this was a small gathering for a month later. We got invited to dinner at Caltons Chinese Restaurant which was just off McKnight Blvd in the Northeast. There was plenty of parking which always makes it easier for me.

This was funny as we sat down and all 6 of us just said we wanted Salt and Pepper squid and we laughed and said we’ll eat an order each. Of course that’s not what we ended up doing, but I’m sure we are all silly enough to do it! We did order one portion and it was really tender squid, and not overly battered with a good amount of flavours.

We ordered a more traditional Chinese dish as we knew we would need to eat our veggies although none of us likes it. We had some Sweet pea sprouts in soup and I’m not even sure how to translate that – but that’s what we had. I like sweet pea sprouts so I ate it!

The hosts of this event wanted to have some chicken, and we all eat chicken to the bone and so we ordered their Garlic Crispy Chicken which had a nice thin crispy skin and was done really well!! These chef’s/cooks here really know their traditional cooking techniques which I appreciate it!!

My next dish I want to talk about is actually different, and I can’t seem to find it on their regular menu, so it must be only on their Chinese menu. If you’ve had lobster in a cream sauce over noodles, this is a “cheaper” take on it, and I think they called it Mixed Seafood in White Cream Noodle. Yes, we ordered it because of everything that is going through your mind. BUT the white cream sauce was amazing and it coated the noodles well. The seafood was all the white seafood, so it was a pale dish but tasty!

As every event dinner ends with noodles and rice, we ordered their House Special Fried Rice which was also yummy!! It’s standard, but no complaints is a great thing!

From what we were doing and what we brought to dinner with us, the staff at the restaurant knew what we were celebrating and they even got us complimentary dessert which was their Osmanthus Goji Berry and it was a really nice way to end the dinner.

Caltons Chinese Restaurant

5010 4 St NE #14
Calgary, Alberta
403-275-8181