Travel – Page 43 – Elsie Hui

October 7, 2014

H & K Restaurant & Alleycat Lounge – Brooks, Alberta

We ventured to Brooks to look at the Brooks Aqueduct this one afternoon where we found ourselves a little hungry. At an odd hour, and just driving down what looks like their downtown, we found H & K Restaurant where we popped in for a snack.

I’ve been looking for some really awesome Dry Ribs as we use to have a family friend who owned a restaurant in a small town and I loved their dry ribs – so we gave the ones here a shot. They called it Dry Garlic Ribs, but it’s basically more or less what I was looking for. The portion was huge and the price was reasonable! It came pretty close to what I’m looking for, but I guess childhood memory food is hard to find – unless I go to the source and get them to make it for me. These ribs had tons of flavour and lots of meat on the bones. It’s fried really nicely and seasoned well too!

Then, we got a bowl of Wor Wonton to share as it’s something I use to get in our family restaurant when I didn’t feel like eating anything else. Here, the bowl and portion was huge and the wontons were quite good!

Overall, it was a great experience here. The owner was really nice to us and very sociable and hospitable. It was a fun experience and really reminded me of our old family restaurant.

H & K Restaurant & Alleycat Lounge

123 2 St W
Brooks, AB
(403) 362-8836

October 7, 2014

Restaurant at the Lougheed House – Calgary, Alberta

We got some of our wedding pictures done at Lougheed House and we thought it would be fun to travel back and go through the Lougheed House as tourist, instead of a photo shoot. When we got in, we were surprised to see they have opened a restaurant here, so we decided to have a little brunch at their restaurant that was located near the back side.

Inside the dining room, it basically only fits a few tables, but it’s still very impressive as we’re inside a sandstone mansion that was built so long ago – it’s really a neat experience.

I actually knew what I wanted this time as the menu isn’t too large, it narrows my selection down. I opted to have their Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict which wasn’t bad, although pretty standard.

My husband who is always a tad more adventurous than I am ordered their Bison Meatball Hash Eggs Benedict as he loves hashbrowns, especially the shredded potato hash. This has was more mini potato pieces but was still nicely cooked. The bison meatballs were a little dry, but very flavourful. It was a neat combination and the hollandaise sauce was really well made.

Our overall experience was great. We were celebrating a special milestone in our lives and had decent food, and then we got to take a tour of this amazing historic house.

Restaurant at the Lougheed House

707 13 Ave SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 410-9288

October 2, 2014November 10, 2014

Afternoon Tea in Fairview Dining Room – Lake Louise, Alberta

I have wanted to experience Afternoon Tea for year now, and I finally got my first opportunity at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise inside the Fairview Dining Room which was a wonderful anniversary present I got. We waited for a table by the window to overlook Lake Louise and it was a fantastic view for sure! We sat down at the table and it was already ready for us which made us really excited.

We started with their seasonal fruit salad which was really perfectly cut and prepared and tasted great! The fruits were sweet and it as just a nice summery treat!

Then, came the star of the show, our 3 tier afternoon tea platter with our dainty sandwiches on the bottom, scones in the middle and desserts on the top! It was as amazing as it looks!

The finger sandwiches was fresh and amazing! My favourite would be this little guy on the croissant and the smoked salmon sandwich. Everything was amazing – so it’s pretty hard to pick just one!

Then, the middle tier was the scones and those were absolutely amazing. With the fresh berry compote and devonshire cream, it was a delight! But, nothing beats my favourite tier, the desserts! The best dessert on this try for me was their Coffee Eclair.

We had such a great time here, instead of waiting 14 years before our next visit, we’re planning to make this an annual event as they do change up their afternoon tea menu – so it will never be the same!

Fairview Dining Room

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

October 2, 2014November 10, 2014

Giorgio’s Trattoria – Banff Alberta

I’ve been to Giorgio’s Trattoria in Banff before – a few years ago, but never for lunch. This time, we stopped in for a relaxing lunch and it was great! We got a table outside and it was a great way to spend the afternoon.

We started with an appetizer of Atlantic Mussels which was a big bowl of PEI mussels cooked in a tomato fennel sauce. The mussels were really plump and fresh, so they were really good. The sauce was tasty and not over powering and not water downed either. It was a great dish and set the bar for a really good lunch ahead!

I ordered their Canadian Pizza which I thought was an individual sized pizza. It turns out to be quite large so I ended bringing half of it home. The pizza crust was really good, and hand generous amount of toppings making the pizza quite delightful.

Then, it wouldn’t be an Italian place if we don’t eat pasta – especially they advertise themselves for homemade fresh pasta, so we ordered a bowl of Spaghetti Bolognese where we added meatballs to the meal. The pasta was delicious and the meatballs – tons of flavour. The sauce they used was a meat and tomato sauce which I thought was a little bit watery so it wasn’t as flavourful as it could be.

Overall, we still love this place. Even though so many years has passed, it still has great food, great service and a wonderful ambiance. It’s always worth the price tag for a treat so great!

Giorgio’s Trattoria

219 Banff Avenue
Banff, AB
(403) 762-5114

October 1, 2014

Sushi Bistro – Banff, Alberta

We accomplished a hike up Ha Ling Peak and decided we would reward ourselves with sushi. We got into Banff and stumbled into Sushi Bistro which is just off Banff Avenue – right near Brewster’s Mountain Lodge. We didn’t have to wait too long to get seated as it was tail end of the dinner rush when we arrived.

We sat down and ticked off all the good things we wanted to eat. We started with Deep Fried Chicken which came out in a little plate. The chicken was delicious and juicy and fried really nicely, not greasy.

Then, we got in a little bowl, which we thought was strange, our Salmon Sashimi, the fish was really fresh and the portions was quite generous, especially for the price ($6 for 5 pieces).

We had an assortment of sushi’s that we like so we ordered some Surf Clams, Inari and spicy tuna roll. All the sushi was delicious and fresh and tasted really good!

Our last item we ordered was on their menu under Ramen Noodle and it turned out to be a big bowl of ramen! It was delicious and it only cost $9.50 which is at par with all the other places or cheaper. The soup was really tasty and the ramen texture was nice.

Overall, the experience was amazing. Service was great, food was fabulous and the prices were very reasonable. It’s a nice quiet restaurant tucked off the busy street – but it doesn’t mean the place isn’t busy!

Sushi Bistro

208 Caribou St.
Banff, AB
(403) 762-4000