Elsie Hui – Page 56 – Calgary Travel Foodie

July 27, 2014July 27, 2014

Cochrane Palace Restaurant – Cochrane, Alberta

There’s something satisfying about small time Chinese/Western buffets which I know it as smorgs as we use to have a family restaurant in Medicine Hat. Now, as it’s not available to me, I find myself craving it, so we’re been driving around Alberta small towns looking for smorgs where we found one in Cochrane called Cochrane Palace near their downtown. Tons of parking and the space is large!

Once we were inside, we were seated for buffet and basically they release you to the buffet! There are tons of options at this buffet and their food was simple – which is how it’s suppose to be!

We had a few plates of food, tried their wonton soups and we left satisfied. The dim sum didn’t have a lot, but it’s something unique here as dim sum’s are not normally in Chinese/Western buffets!

We enjoyed the selection of food here as they offered some roast, some dim sum, and their fried foods was really well fried! I did find the food to be a little on the bland side, but a dallop of hot sauce can go a long way!

Cochrane Palace Restaurant
22 Westside Drive
Cochrane AB Canada
403-932-199

July 25, 2014

Crazyweed Kitchen – Canmore, Alberta

I’ve heard many great thing about Crazyweed Kitchen so we recently went there to try them out! We made a reservation which turned out to be a good idea as they were very busy! We got seated right away and the staff was extremely friendly!

We started with their Soup de jour which was a curried butternut squash soup which was a little bowl of tons of flavour! The soup was excellent and we weren’t sure why they bothered giving us some bread with the soup as it was paper thin, we couldn’t even get butter on it and if it touched the soup, it just disintegrated. So, we just enjoyed the soup as is.

I ordered the Albacore Tuna Sandwich which was an openface sandwich made on crispy ciabatta with garlic aioli, arugula topped with green olive tapenade served with duck fat potato skins. The sandwich itself was absolutely delicious while the duck fat potato skins sounds awesome, it was soggy and too greasy. I would’ve devoured the entire plate if it was crispy!

My husband ordered the Chicken Pot Pie which was really hearty, more like a chicken stew which was absolutely delicious and warming to the soul! The pie was made with mushrooms, carrots, potatoes, peas, truffle, tarragon, thyme, topped with buttery crust served with greens!

Overall, we loved Crazyweed as much as everyone else! The price was about the same for any dining option in Canmore. It was an absolutely amazing dining experience and I am sure we will be returning one day soon again!

Crazyweed Kitchen

1600 Railway Ave
Canmore, AB
(403) 609-2530

July 25, 2014

Peking Peking Riverbend – Calgary, Alberta

I wanted to eat some “Western Chinese Food” this one evening and we ventured to Peking Peking Riverbend that’s just off of 18th Street and Glenmore Trail. It’s a little location and it looks like they do a buffet as well.

We started by ordering a Wor Wonton as it’s something I’ve made recently myself and I wanted to eat it again – without making it! This wor wonton had noodles in it which is weird as it’s not a wor wonton noodle soup that we ordered (so we thought), but it’s okay. The wontons were flavourful, but I’m not sure what flavours they were. The soup lacked a little bit of salt, but it’s an easy fix by adding some soy sauce!

We then ordered a plate of Fried Noodles with Beef & Vegetables which came in a large plate. It tasted really good, but it was quite greasy. The beef was really tender and almost a bit too tender, but it was good. This plate was so large we even got to bring some home for the following day – but the grease settles which made the bottom not so good.

Overall, the food was alright. It wasn’t what I had expected or wanted, but it must be because they are from a different area as their cooking techniques are quite different from what I’m use to. The prices was average and so was the food.

Peking Peking Riverbend

8338 18 St SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 279-8134

July 24, 2014July 24, 2014

Vendome Cafe – Calgary, Alberta

I got to go out and eat breakfast one morning at a local restaurant in Kensington at Vendome Cafe and I loved it. The service is exceptional here and the food is divine, made with real and fresh ingredients.

I started my breakfast with a cup of Hot Chocolate that tasted absolutely amazing!

I ordered a half order of Mushroom Eggs Benedict and the mushrooms were amazing! This has got to be one of my favourite eggs bennys as it tasted like what it’s suppose to! The picture really doesn’t do its justice but it tasted amazing!

With the eggs benedict, I had their soup du jour which was a Barley Soup and it was very savoury and flavourful! It was a very hearty soup and it was warming for a chilly morning!

My overall experience here was super! The atmosphere, the food, the service and the community really puts this place on the map! What a great find!

Vendome Cafe

940 2nd Ave. NW
Calgary, AB
(403) 453-1140

July 24, 2014July 24, 2014

Skoki’s Waffle and Frozen Yogurt – Banff, AB

We were wandering around Banff, when we stumbled upon a new frozen yogurt place which was neat as we’ve been seeing a lot more of these places pop up. This particular one is called Skoki’s and it’s located right on Banff Ave, which is an optimal location!

Once you walk in, you walk along the left wall to the back where you pick up a cup or line up for a waffle bowl. The waffle bowls look pretty thin, but I wasn’t hungry so I opt’ed for just a normal bowl. As you walk along the wall, you come to the wall with all the frozen yogurts. Fill it up with as much or as little of your favourite flavours!

When you’re done picking your selection – you can go to the topping bar and load your cup with toppings! Then, you get your bowl weighted and paid.

Finally, you get to enjoy your custom created treat! The yogurt was really good and the topping selection was quite large. It definitely was a great little treat!

Skoki’s Waffle and Frozen Yogurt

109 Banff Ave
Banff, AB
(403) 985-2220