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Ping Pang Pong

Yes, I am aware that having Dim Sum in Las Vegas is odd, but we did it! We went to Gold Coast Hotel just off the main strip for Dim Sum at a place called Ping Pang Pong

I’ve got to say, not bad at all for dim sum!! The quality of the Chinese food was really good, and I honestly don’t really remember the price, but I believe it was very reasonable – otherwise, I would either be saying “it’s a GREAT deal!” or “it was SO NOT worth it!”

We started with a bowl of jook or congee – pork with thousand year old egg (Preserved Egg Porridge), which is a very common and popular Chinese rice porridge! It was actually really good, and the texture of the jook was smooth and done quite well!

No matter where I go, I’ve always got my favourites – like Chicken Feet which always seems to be delicious! It’s not exception here, the sauce is really one of my favourites and it was tender!

Also, you really can’t go anywhere without enjoying some Ha Gow – Shrimp Dumpling, and the shrimp was really fresh, sweet and crisp! The dumpling skin was really nice – steamed to perfection!

My parents really like Steamed Pork Balls, so of course they order it! I didn’t mind it here, and it was great!

Steamed Bean Curd Roll

Beef Tendons are one of my favourites when done right. Here, they did this right too! The tendons was infused with flavour and the tendons were soo soft with the “tender” gummyness texture. It was intense and deep, and cooked with the perfect marinade!

This was a weird order, it’s a Shrimp Balls with Crispy Rice, which is like the typical shrimp balls, but they covered it in crispy puffed rice! It added a new dimension of texture to what seems like a simple dim sum! It was a great idea! It worked!

I love any sort of rice crepes, but we ordered 1 order of Beef Rice Crepes, and I honestly thought it wasn’t enough! They actually stuffed their crepes with lots of filling, as some places just put a thin layer of meat in. The actual crepe was really fresh, soft, silky and quite thin!

Overall, this turned out to be a fantastic place for lunch! Everything was so delicious, and the service was excellent. Food constantly came out – which was really easy to over eat! This would be a place I would return to if I wanted a dim sum fix in Las Vegas! Everything was really fresh and you can definitely tell all the dishes were steamed not long before arriving onto the table!

Ping Pang Pong (Gold Coast) on Urbanspoon

Ping Pang Pong – Gold Coast Hotel

4000 W Flamingo Rd
Las Vegas, NV 89103
(702) 367-7111

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French Market – Orleans

My parents really like to go to Las Vegas, and I do follow them a few times when they go. They seem to really like the more “economical” priced places to eat – probably because how often they go. I found myself a little off the strip on Tropicana Avenue at The Orleans hotel, walking into a buffet called French Market.

The buffet is actually huge as there are many “stations” from different parts of the world. I did find that the buffet selection remains more or less the same through the days of the week. The stations feature Italian, Mongolian, Barbecue, American, Seafood, Mexican and Chinese cooking, as well as an oversized dessert bar!

I’ve got to say, I really enjoyed the selection. Even though there’s no way I could try a little of everything, I did get a huge plate of food, soup and dessert!

Overall, it’s a fabulous place to enjoy lots of food – and quite a large selection. The price as mentioned was really reasonable, and I believe my parents had a “B-Connected” loyalty card which gave them a discount as they qualified for “Young at Heart” coupons. Even without coupons, I was really happy with the price I paid!

French Market (Orleans) on Urbanspoon

French Market – Las Vegas

4500 W Tropicana Ave
Las Vegas, NV
(800) 675-3267

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Clay Oven – Calgary, Alberta

Recently, as the weather has been starting to warm up (well, it’s been a nice and milk winter), I’ve been wanting spicy food – as we normally eat spicy on the coldest days – which we didn’t have too many of. So, we went to and ventured to the northeast, and found ourselves at Clay Oven located in a small strip plaza.

Once we got to the table, some Papadum was given to us (and every table), but it also appeared on the menu for $2.00 which made it confusing… is it a gift or if we eat it, would we have to pay? I must admit, I never did pay attention to the bill when it came, so I still can’t answer my own question. The papadum that was on the table is two thinly sliced wafers toasted on an open flame. This one didn’t taste burnt either, but had a subtle smoke background to it! The sauce that came with the papadum was really tangy with a nice kick to it! It was good!

I’ve really started loving Mango Lassi drinks, and now every time I go to an East Indian restaurant, I would order one. This one is one of the best, as it didn’t separate through the night, and it wasn’t so fibrous making it hard to drink. The mango lassi was full of mango flavour and this location has just made me one of my favourites in the city!

Of course, when you eat curries, you eat it with some sort of Roti! We ordered the Garlic Nan which is leavened bread of fine light flour baked to perfection. The Naan here is huge, and it was baked to perfection. But, the simple fact that their garlic nan was made with a huge taste of “garlic powder” kind of disappointed me a little. The garlic flavour was definitely there, but I was hoping for some fresh garlic infused in oil or something like that. I think next time I’ll just get a plain nan!

We also ordered some Plain Rice which their plain is great, it’s basmati rice richly flavored with spices and saffron. I like using rice for my vehicle to eat curries.

For the curries, we ordered a medium heat level of Butter Chicken which is made of chicken fillets blended in a creamy butter and tomato sauce.

The other curry that we ordered was a Beef Curry, also in medium heat level. This curry is made of fillets of beef cooked in curry sauce and spices

The food and flavours from Clay Oven are phenomenal! The heat level is actually quite spicy, and I believe there were 4 levels of heat, and we’re only at the 2nd heat level! The flavours are bold and strong, and to be honest, the heat actually numbed me by the end – I just continued eating and I didn’t think it was spicy at all! I really enjoyed the food from here, and I am glad I was introduced to it from my friends wedding – as she used Clay Oven as their caterer!

Clay Oven

3132 26 St NE
Calgary, AB
(403) 250-2161

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The Grizzly Paw

I love all the food in Canmore, Alberta, and when we stopped by this time, we went to try lunch at The Grizzly Paw which I had known they brewed their own beers and made their own sodas. I’ve tried their soda for the first time from a food truck in Calgary – the Perogy Boyz, and I’ve loved it since then!

It was a busy Saturday afternoon when we went (during a long weekend), and waited about 30 minutes for a table – which I thought was very reasonable, since it was the tail end of the lunch rush! Of course, I sat down to order a bottle of their Cream Soda which is a delicious naturally brewed made with the finest vanilla beans.

I was looking for a lighter lunch option and settled for the Down South Salad Wrap, which was a fresh “salad wrap” made with lots of lettuce, cheese and mango salsa. Inside the wrap had spiced chicken breast with avocado spread on the wrap. When all these ingredients are rolled into a tortilla wrap, it was a delightful lunch!

We also ordered a Mushroom Swiss Burger with Bison Patty with mushrooms, topped with Swiss cheese. This burger became very special after we substituted a “normal” beef patty to a bison patty. You definitely get the gameness of the bison meat which added a lot of extra flavour to the burger.

Overall, this was a fantastic place, and now it really makes sense why the restaurant/brewery is always packed – at any time of day! This is a location I have no problem returning to, as the food is really delicious! I really love that they make their own beverages as that is a special touch of uniqueness they’re able to offer to the community! With plans for them to expand, I’m sure they’ll still be packed!

The Grizzly Paw on Urbanspoon

The Grizzly Paw – Canmore, Alberta

622 Main Street
Canmore, AB
(403) 678-9983

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Swiss Chalet – Calgary, Alberta

Over the weekend, we wanted to eat out but didn’t know where to go. I remembered that someone gave me some gift cards to Swiss Chalet, so we decided to stop by the one on 130th Ave SE. We went in during the late afternoon, and oddly, no one was around to greet us or seat us. We were a little confused, but that’s alright!

We started our lunch with Seasoned Dry Ribs and it came with 9 pieces of ribs for about $5.99 which wasn’t the best deal, but still within reason when you eat appetizers out. These lightly seasoned ribs was exploding with flavour and tasted great on it’s own. The pieces weren’t too big, but it was tender and juicy. The sweet chili dipping sauce was really good and tasted good – and just as it was described you get the sweetness and then a nice kick of heat followed!

With our meal, we also ordered a Chalet Chicken Soup which tasted like a regular chicken noodle soup. The consistency was thick and it was really hearty. It appears that the soup is made with their white chicken meat, simmered with vegetables and noodles in a savoury chicken broth.

I ordered their new menu item of Hickory Rotisserie Chicken Flatbread Rotisserie Chicken served hot with Hickory Mesquite BBQ sauce, Monterey Jack cheese, crispy bacon and mayo folded in a Panini grilled flatbread. I ordered this with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy. The smokey barbeque sauce was delicious and the main flavour of the flatbread. This was delicious and the cheese was perfectly melted. The mashed potatoes was gritty and cold, but I didn’t need to eat it since we had some delicious starters, I didn’t need to fill up on that!

Then, from their signature menu, we ordered a Classic Hot Chicken Sandwich – hot Rotisserie Chicken smothered in home-style gravy. This arrived and we looked confused because the actually sandwich was drenched in gravy! It was interesting as nothing could taste bad with gravy all over, however, the chicken meat was cold, and the gravy was really salty. The best thing on the plate was actually the medley of fresh vegetables… even the fries was cold and soggy. It was quite a disappointment as it was what they called a signature dish!

Overall, this was a fantastic lunch – of course not considering the signature dish of classic hot chicken sandwich. I’m really tempted to return to try their actual rotisserie chicken meals as well as their chicken is quite delicious!

Swiss Chalet

4916 130 Ave SE, Unit 300
Calgary, AB T2Z0B2
(403) 216-2557