Elsie Hui – Page 24 – Calgary Travel Foodie

August 5, 2015

Hy’s Steakhouse – Calgary, Alberta

It was our anniversary, so we decided to celebrate it at Hy’s Steakhouse downtown. We did street parking, but I guess there’s complimentary valet parking – that’s the sign I saw when we came out. I’m not sure how accurate it is, but it doesn’t matter. Hy’s was decorates really nicely, and with the open kitchen concept, it made it really fun for us to sit and watch them prepare our food!

We sat down, and I decided to order a girly drink, but virgin. I settled for the Pina Colada which was fun as they kept calling it “juice”. It doesn’t matter, it looks pretty and tastes great!

For our starter, we chose their Jumbo Prawn Cocktail which was amazing! The prawns were about the size of my head (each), and they were perfectly prepared and quite fresh!

I settled for their Filet Mignon Beef Wellington which was adorable! The perfectly baked pastry with the steak inside – cooked just the way I like it. It was very memorable and I would claim the best one I’ve had so far!

My husband decided long time ago that he was going to have their Steak Diane which is prepared tableside. As he likes his beef “rare”, it took no time for them to make. The beef was absolutely tender, the sauce was amazing, and overall perfect as well!

Just in case we weren’t full enough, we decided to have a dessert as we were celebrating a special day, and the food was so good, it didn’t hurt to try their Cheesecake. The waiters recommendation was perfect, as the cheesecake was just the way I like it. Light, fluffy and cheesecake tasting!

Our overall experience here was top notch! We haven’t found a better place for steak yet! We know a few places that come close, but I have to put them at the top of my rank books right now!

Hy’s Steakhouse

751 3 St SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 663-3363

August 4, 2015August 4, 2015

Spice Hut East Indian Cuisine – Canmore, Alberta

We made it to the top of Sulphur Mountain yet another time, and this time it got cold as we got to the top, and figured some nice curry would really warm us up. We went to Canmore, Alberta, where we stopped into Spice Hut East Indian Cuisine which is located right on Bow Valley Trail in Canmore, and there’s tons of parking in front of the restaurant.

Once we got in, we ordered some Indian Chai Tea which is one of my favourite teas and I love how everyone has their own special blend, and it make it fun to taste!

We eat Indian curries family style so we order a bunch of food and put it in the center of the table to share. We started with their Mango chicken Curry which was amazing! I really like the taste with the mango paste, with the ginger! It was something I don’t get to taste often that I love!

The other dish of curry that we enjoyed was their Beef Korma and it was also very tasty! Fragrant with a hint of spice, we really enjoyed this! This dish has boneless beef cooked in a whipped cream sauce with their spice. Not too spicy but full of flavour.

We ate these 2 curries with some stuffed naan, were we ordered their Beef Keema Naan which essentially is ground beef cooked in a tandor stuffed naan. It was really amazing to eat on it’s own, or with curry!

Our overall experience here was very satisfactory! It really hit the spot, warmed us up, filled us up! It was delightful!

Spice Hut East Indian Cuisine

1310 Bow Valley Trail
Canmore, AB
(403) 609-9997

August 4, 2015

Kane’s Harley Diner – Calgary, Alberta

We got up really early this one morning to play a little prank on a friend. Afterwards, it was still really early and we were getting hungry, so we went to Inglewood, and went into Kane’s Harley Davidson Diner which is right on 9th Ave SE. It’s an old school looking diner from the outside, and there’s some street parking, especially if you go early.

Looking around the restaurant, it was pretty neatly decorated and I love the retro style of the place! Although bikes aren’t “my thing”, this was still an exciting place to go! They had other sorts of antiques around which made it fun for me!

I was quite hungry as mentioned, we got up early. I decided to go for their Biker Bowl which was a giant portion of hash browns topped with 2 eggs, ham, tomato, green onions, cheese and hollandaise sauce. To make the meal even bigger, it even came with toast! At first sight, it didn’t look like much, but as you keep digging into this bowl, you really notice how full you’ve become! It tasted really good and the hash browns were excellent, until the last one!

My husband ordered their Classic Fueler which was another large breakfast that consisted of 6oz of Alberta sirloin steak and 2 eggs, over hash browns. This “steak and egg” breakfast also comes with toast! The steak was well seasoned and cooked well! It was tender and flavourful, so it was perfect in our books.

Overall, the dining experience was quite a unique one! They really thought out the details from naming the dishes, to decorating the diner. The prices, that was awesome for the amount of food you get! We left here with a really full belly and we were really satisfied.

Kane’s Harley Diner

1209 9 Ave SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 269-7311

July 6, 2015

Home Restaurant – Salmon Arm, British Columbia

We were traveling home from Vancouver this one day and we figured we should stop halfway and grab some lunch. We stopped in Salmon Arm and basically drove to whatever was opened as it was a late Sunday afternoon. We stumbled into Home Restaurant which turns out to be a small chain in BC!

Once we sat down as there was a little bit of wait, they told us the soup of the day was their Seafood Chowder and coming from a place where I had lots of seafood, it was what I wanted! I ordered a bowl of their seafood chowder and although it wasn’t the heartiest, it was really filling and it hit the spot. I really enjoyed the flavours and texture of this chowder.

For the actual meal, I couldn’t get my mind away from having their Fish and Chips and this amazing classic specialty comes with 2 pieces of their fried fish with a mountain of fries and coleslaw! You really get a large meal for the small price! It was amazing as the fish was fresh and fried to perfection! Tender and juicy fish with a really light and crispy coating!

The last thing we ordered really didn’t go with my “seafood” theme, but it’s alright – it was pretty awesome anyway! We had their Schnitzel Champignon which was pork schnitzel with mushrooms and it is one of my husbands all time favorite schnitzel! This mushroom topping was made from fresh mushrooms and a gravy on top, with a side of mashed potatoes and more gravy! It was really amazing and the gravy made the vegetables seem extra amazing!

Overall, we left here feeling so full and satisfied we felt like that was the perfect meal to end our road trip! Sometimes just randomly stopping into places you find hidden gems and we lucked out here!

Home Restaurant Salmon Arm

2801 – 10th Avenue N.E.
Salmon Arm, BC V1E 2S3
Tel (250) 832 9991

June 24, 2015June 24, 2015

Travelodge Hotel Vancouver Airport – Richmond, British Columbia

We got to stay at the Travelodge Hotel Vancouver which is right by the airport of Richmond, and it’s pretty strange of a location as it seems like the highway exits to this hotel from one side only – or we haven’t figured it out. Either way, the hotel is in a conveniently location as it’s near one of their main traffic arteries and near the airport.

We booked a 1-night stay here in their 1 King Size Bed Room and the room was quite nice! It was a corner unit/room that looks the front of the hotel so it wasn’t noisy or anything. The room was a little run down, but there’s tons of space and the hotel and room was really clean.

The bathroom offered their standard hotel amenities and if you needed more, you can always ask their front desk for some amenities if you forgot any during your stay. The interesting thing about this room was the coffee maker was actually in the bathroom – which is only strange as there’s a lot of room in the actual room! But I’m thinking they were short on outlets, or they’re trying to make it easier as you get water from the bathroom tap!

Our overall stay was very enjoyable! It was quick, but it was nice and comfortable. The bed wasn’t as bad as it looks and the parking turned out to be complimentary! So, it was a great place to crash for a great rate!

Travelodge Hotel Vancouver Airport

3071 St Edwards Drive
Richmond, BC
604-278-5155